AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am questioning your reasoning.”
“You know I don’t pay you to question anything.”
“Pay me?” asked Abaddon, his eyes narrowing.
“It’s a human expression. Point is, just kill her already. That’s an order.”
I still had that Light shield in my hand, only now I didn’t know whether to point it at Lucifer or at Abaddon. Abaddon hadn’t moved, but I knew how quick and how deadly he was. If I wasn’t ready to defend myself against him, I would’ve been dead before I knew it. Lucifer, on the other hand, was so insanely powerful I doubted if either of us would know we were dead unless Lucifer wanted us to.
But the moment grew, and deepened, and Abaddon didn’t make a move against me.
“Abby…” Lucifer said, putting on a face of mock disappointment. “Come on, now. Be a good boy and consolidate your position as the King of the Ashes. Do it for me.”
I frowned. “Is that how you talk to him?” I asked. “Really?”
“Not generally,” muttered Abaddon.
“I’m not going to ask you again,” said Lucifer. “All I’ll say is, I have scores of demons waiting to tear you to pieces and take your place. All I have to do is say the word, and this place becomes your tomb, too.”
I could feel the conflict radiating off Abaddon’s skin like heat, and I didn’t like it. Refusing to kill me should’ve been a no-brainer, the easiest choice of his life. But that was the Abaddon I knew, the Abaddon who had gone to Heaven with me and tried to right the mess Lucifer had made.
This was a different Abaddon. He was the King of the Ashes, tortured, and scarred, and marked like never before. The things he had gone through, the things he had seen, the things he had done—I had no way of knowing just what this last year had been like for him, but none of it had been good.
“I am an angel of my word,” said Abaddon. “You are not an angel of yours.”
“You didn’t know that already?” asked Lucifer. “That sounds like a you problem at this point.”
“You want me to kill this angel. I will not.”
Lucifer’s eyes darkened. He clearly wasn’t someone who appreciated being denied. “Is that so?”
Abaddon nodded. “I am going to take her out of here, and when she is safe, I shall return so we may continue this conversation.”
“No. No, I’m afraid that doesn’t work for me. I mean, you’re ruining everything! You were supposed to kill her, thinking she was just another dumb test. And then I was going to show you her dead face and go nope, she’s the real deal, and you killed her. Congrats! Then there’d be nothing stopping you from truly taking your place at my side. Side note, maybe we would’ve become best friends, but that’s neither here nor there.”
I could already feel the darkness pressing in around my Light. “Abaddon,” I said, “they’re getting closer.”
“Do not stray,” he said. “Stay close.”
“Just what are you planning on doing?” asked Lucifer. “And don’t tell me you’re about to gallantly save her and run off into the night. That would be incredibly dull and boring.”
Abaddon took a step towards Lucifer, interposing himself between me and the first angel. “No,” said Abaddon. “First, I am going to tear your wings off… then I am going to run off into the night.”
“Bold words. Stupid, but bold. You sure I can’t get you to reconsider? I’d hate to lose you.”
“We are done, here,” said Abaddon. “I will not let myself be manipulated any longer.”
“It’s cute that you think I manipulated you when we both know you’ve had the time of your life sitting on that throne. I watched you, Abaddon. Very closely. The things you’ve done? That won’t wash off no matter what you do. Trust me, dying here and now would be preferable to the life that’s waiting for you outside of these walls.”
The darkness around us lunged, surging forward like a wave. I raised my Light shield and made the Light shining from between my wings burn even brighter and hotter. The darkness screeched, but it wasn’t deterred. It wasn’t long before shapes emerged from within the shadows; vicious shapes with claws, glowing red eyes, and lashing tails.
One damnable creature leapt towards me, its body taking shape into something vaguely humanoid but almost entirely shrouded in shadow. Its claws gleamed against the moonlight. I raised my shield to protect myself, and when the creature made contact with the Light, it hissed and retreated.
With my shield firmly held in one hand, I extended my other hand and manifested a glowing sword made of pure Light. I had hoped the lightshow would give the shadows a moment to really consider what they were about to do, but it didn’t. They came nonetheless, and they came screaming.
Before I knew it, I was surrounded. These shadow creatures swirled around me like dark smoke, making it difficult to get a strike in anywhere that would count. Abaddon seemed entirely unfazed by the appearance of these shades. He instead advanced on Lucifer, one bold step after the other like he was on a mission.
I didn’t have the time to focus my attention on what Lucifer was doing, though. I had to keep the shades at bay and stay close to Abaddon like he’d asked.
