MILO’S JAW TIGHTENED IN ANGER, but when he spoke, his voice was calm and courteous. “I’m here on behalf of the Legion, Elder Hugo.”
“You’re here because I’ve allowed you to come,” said the old man. “Do not make the mistake in thinking otherwise. The Legion of angels has always overstepped its authority with its claim to govern the mortal world. While the Legion has some influence upon the decisions made by the Elders’ Guild regarding matters relevant to our race—final decisions are made by the Elders’ Guild, not by the Legion of angels.”
Elder Hugo leaned forward. “I’m told you were there at Hallow Hall when the innocents were attacked by angels. I want to hear what happened from your own mouth. Why did the Legion sanction these attacks?”
“The Legion isn’t to blame,” said Milo, his voice rising. “The angels who attacked the mortals had been cast out of Horizon. They acted alone. They were under Hades’ instructions.”
“The pagan god?” laughed Elder Nicholas. “How absurd. Angels would never side with a lowly deity with little power. Their egos wouldn’t allow it unless there was something in it for them. Perhaps they thought they could acquire more power by giving in to their inner demon? Did they embrace the darkness in exchange for power? The darkness still has many followers. It wouldn’t be the first time an angel had welcomed the darkness. Am I right, angel?”
Alexa looked from Milo to the elders. She felt like she’d just stepped into some private argument that had begun long ago, something that concerned Milo. She was annoyed that the elders had not even bothered to ask them their names, and that they had behaved as though angels were beneath them, like stains on their bright white robes.
“As I said, we’re here on Legion’s business,” said Milo, barely controlling his anger. “We’re here for the books.”
Pink blotches had appeared on Elder Hugo’s cheeks before he spoke. “Elder Nicholas is right. I don’t believe for a minute that angels would side with a pagan god, no matter which one. Pagan deities are nothing more than a race of greater demons. They were created by the devil himself to instill fear in mortals and to control them better. Once upon a time, the old pagan gods dominated the human world and gained strength by feeding on the blood and souls of their worshipers. But those days are gone. Even if they were to rise again, they lack power. Hades has nothing to offer the angels.”
He tapped his desk with a long skeletal finger.
“Tell me the truth. Why did the angels kill the innocents at Hallow Hall?”
Milo looked at Alexa, and she could see his frustration. She sensed that whatever had been haunting him since the first day they met was somehow about to reveal itself. But if he were about to reveal himself, the moment passed, and the look that protected him like armor returned.
Milo did not reply.
Alexa’s self-consciousness evaporated and while her hatred for this old frog burned in her throat, it also gave her confidence to speak.
“Because they’re looking for something,” answered Alexa.
She stepped around Milo and glared at Elder Hugo. She waited for the old man to look at her before she continued. It took a few seconds.
“A weapon, probably,” she continued. “There’s something in those books that Hades wants. Needs. Something he can use against the Legion. Something to make him more powerful.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Elder Nicholas although he didn’t sound convinced. “She’s just as mindless as this one.” He gestured to Milo. “Lies from the mouths of angels are still lies.”
Milo had gone still except for the narrowing of his eyes. For a moment Alexa feared he was about to throw himself at Elder Nicholas. But Milo just stood there and said nothing.
Alexa fought the urge to strike him as well and spoke to Elder Hugo instead.
“The Legion would never harm innocent mortals, but I’m guessing you know that already. These were fallen angels, rebels, and they acted alone. Milo and I tried to stop them, but they got away.”
She looked at the books and then back at the elder. “Those angels did despicable things. Terrible things. To me, they are not angels but monsters. And I want nothing more than to kill them myself.”
She looked hard at the old man. “We need to focus on the bigger picture. Hades doesn’t know the books in his possession are copies. But when he learns that they are, he’ll come here looking for them. I guarantee it.”
“Is that a threat, angel?” said Elder Hugo.
The cold, barely controlled anger in his voice almost destroyed her confidence. The woman next to him glowered at Alexa like a mountain lion circling a doe just before it clawed out her neck.
“No, of course not,” said Alexa, taken aback.
“I’m just trying to make you understand how serious this is. Hades and his threat are real. We need to work together. To help one another.”
Alexa knew if Hades got his hands on whatever he was looking for, she’d never be able to vanquish him and her soul would be lost.
Elder Hugo’s smile never reached his eyes. It was the kind of smile a man would wear after he had played a cruel joke on someone.
“I will not hand over our most sacred books just because you ask.”
Elder Hugo pointed his bony finger at Milo. “Especially not to you, tenebris angelus. You are not welcome here.”
Alexa stared at Milo. “What the hell is going on?” she whispered.
But Milo was as taut as a wire next to her. She could feel his tension rippling through his shoulders like the sparks from a downed electrical cable. His expression hardened, and he looked at Elder Nicholas.
“What have you done?”
Elder Nicholas glared at Milo coldly, but his eyes danced with satisfaction.
“Only what was right, and what was needed. What the guild should have done all those years ago,” he said finally.
“Milo?” Alexa felt as if she had walked into an ambush. “Milo, what’s going on? What’s he talking about?”
But Elder Hugo spoke next.
“You think the guild has forgiven you for what you did? For those you killed? The innocent lives you took all those year ago? The innocent women and children you murdered?”
With some effort, Elder Hugo stood up and supported himself on the desk. His body was shaking like a leaf in a breeze.
“Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur,” chanted the old man, intoning a prayer.
Alexa felt a chill in her spine when all the other elders began to recite the prayer alongside him.
“Tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen.”
Alexa stared at Milo.
“Milo?” she hissed, but he wouldn’t look at her.
Spit flew from Elder Hugo’s mouth as he continued, “Did you think you could come back here and not pay for what you did? Not pay for your sins? Unlike the Legion, the Elders’ Guild will not turn a blind eye to the loss of innocent lives. We cannot ignore your sins. We cannot pretend that none of it ever happened.”
His smiled widened. “Did you think we’d let you leave?”
Alexa felt as though the icy winds from outside had finally reached her. She struggled for breath. She remembered what Hades had said about Milo, that at one time humans had meant nothing to him and just the sight of them disgusted him.
Could Milo really be a murderer of women and children?
His face was so beautiful and pure, the face of an angel. Ever since she’d met him, his actions had only been pure and in the Legion’s best interest. He had only ever tried to keep mortals safe.
Could this angel be what the elders were saying? Could the angel who had protected her be a murderer? Should he be in Tartarus?
While Alexa felt there had to be some mistake, she’d had always sensed a great sadness about him, as if some dark secret was eating away at him.
“Do you expect me to deny it?” Milo seemed resolved to the memory of an old grief.
He looked at Alexa.
“I made grave mistakes and did terrible things. Not a single day goes by that I don’t regret what I did. I was a fool, and I know I can’t be forgiven,” he said softly.
He looked back at the elders, “But the legion gave me a second chance, and I’ve been making amends ever since.”
“Not nearly good enough,” Elder Hugo’s eyes flashed. “The Elders’ Guild also abides by a set of rules—rules that we enforce upon all those who commit atrocious crimes. I don’t care if you’re an angel, a god, or even if you came to us in the form of a child. The elders have considered your actions, and we have found you wanting.”
“Just a second,” Alexa suspected that her chance to retrieve the books was slipping away. “I’m sure Milo has paid for whatever he did. Otherwise the Legion would never have let him back in.”
She tried to meet his gaze, but Milo’s attention was only on the old man.
Elder Hugo’s face contorted in disgust. “A Legion that lets the murderer of children back into its service is no Legion at all. We cannot condone the massacre of innocents.”
Alexa shook her head like a stubborn child. “No. Can’t be.”
“It is,” said Elder Hugo as he eased himself back into his chair. “He is a demon. A demon with a man’s face, but a demon still. A demon has no place among mortals. We kill demons.”
Suddenly, there was a shuffling of feet behind them, and before Alexa could turn around she and Milo were surrounded by more than fifty elders. Their long silver swords were drawn, and they moved with the silence of elderly ninjas. Alexa knew not to be fooled by their age. They moved like ghosts.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” said Elder Nicholas.
Milo froze where he was, but Alexa could see that his hands had already reached for his swords.
Elder Hugo smiled at the surprise on Alexa’s face and said, “The Legion may be the army in the heavens, but the Elders’ Guild is the army on Earth.”
Milo looked at Elder Hugo. “Don’t do this.”
The old man raised an eyebrow. “I do as I please. You have no authority here, tenebris angelus.”
“Please,” said Alexa, raising her hands in protest. “This is a huge misunderstanding. We would never have come here if we’d known it would have made you so distraught.”
She started to move forward but stopped when her face was nicked by the tip of a silver blade. She winced as warm liquid trickled down her cheek.
“We only came to ask for help, and it was with the best intentions, I swear. But I see now that it was a mistake. We’ll just go quietly and pretend none of this ever happened.”
“Go?” laughed Elder Hugo coldly. “There is nowhere for you to go. All the rivers are frozen over. The only spring runs beneath this mountain, but you will never see it. Where you’re going, there is only darkness.”
Milo lowered his hands. His body was trembling, and he spoke with a low growl. “You tricked me, and you lied to the Legion. You were never going to give us the books.”
“Of course not, you fool,” spat Elder Hugo.
“You are an enemy,” he said in a voice as oily as a blade slicked with butter. “You are an enemy to all mortals, and to our extended Sensitive family. You are an enemy of the Elders’ Guild.”
He looked across the room at Alexa. “You should have kept better company. Regrettable as it is, you leave me no other choice. I can’t leave loose ends.”
Alexa whirled on the spot.
“Milo. Do something,” she hissed.
But he wouldn’t look at her and kept his eyes focused on the ground.
Elder Hugo leaned back into his chair and smiled at Alexa. “Tell me. Have you ever seen an angel die simply because they couldn’t return to Horizon?”
He waited as though he wanted Alexa to comment.
“Have you ever witnessed what happens to your false mortal skin when it cannot be rejuvenated? How it starts to rot like a bad apple? No? Well, I have. You will begin to decompose. You will wither away, screaming in agony, until your angel essence spills out of you like the puss from a burst abscess. The stink will be unbearable. It will stay with you for days.”
“You won’t get away with this,” said Milo impassively. “The Legion will find out. I don’t care how old you are—you’ll die for this.”
Elder Hugo laughed wickedly.
“No, the Legion will never know what happened to their angels. Because after you’re dead, no one will tell them.”
“Where are you taking us?” Alexa couldn’t stop trembling.
“To a place where you will be forgotten. Where it’s cold and damp, and where no one will hear your screams.”
Elder Hugo’s gummy smile was not a thing of beauty.
“You’ve taken lives, tenebris angelus. And now we will take yours.”