Danika appeared to blink slowly. “I think I need to sit down.”
“You are sitting down.”
“Oh.” She swallowed thickly. “All right, then.”
Frowning slightly, I wondered if she was okay.
Nicolai finally found his voice, which led to the same questions Zayne had when he first learned of the plan to bring Lucifer into the mix. Were we out of our minds? Would this kick off the biblical end times? How could we control him? All valid questions.
“What will we even do with him once he’s topside?” Nicolai demanded.
“Ehh,” I said. “Haven’t gotten to that point yet.”
He stared at me.
“Mainly because we’re not even sure if he’s going to be game to play,” I reasoned. “And because I’ve been kind of busy with this one.” I jabbed a finger in Zayne’s direction. “So, I haven’t had a lot of time to really think the whole thing through.”
Zayne snorted from behind me. “Thinking things through would’ve come in handy, especially since Lucifer is also out looking for Trin. He sent Ghouls and an Upper Level demon after her.”
Dez came forward. “That’s who sent the Ghouls?”
I nodded. “What can I say? I’m popular.”
Zayne tugged gently on the bun. “That you are.”
“Why is Lucifer looking for you?” Nicolai demanded.
“Not sure,” I said. “Maybe he’s just looking to expand his friend circle?”
“I know I don’t have a whole lot of experience with demons,” Danika said. “But I cannot imagine having Lucifer looking for you is something good.”
I sighed. “Probably not, and I don’t know if those orders are recent, like coming after Roth and Layla had spoken to him, or if they were issued before. I’m hoping they came before.”
“But even if they came before Roth and Layla met with him, it’s still an issue.” Zayne’s hands returned to my shoulders. “That needs to be dealt with.”
“It’s been added to the ever-growing list,” I murmured.
Zayne squeezed my shoulders again. “I’m guessing we don’t know where Gabriel is hiding?”
Nicolai shook his head. “We’ve been keeping an eye out for Bael or any sign of Gabriel, but there’s been nothing since the night at the school.”
“There’s been no more Warden deaths?” Zayne asked.
“No,” answered Dez. “There’s also been very little demon activity.”
As they talked, my mind wandered as it often did, skipping from one thought to the next, starting with the horrible final moments under the school, when Zayne showed up and killed Sulien. My mind snagged on the other Trueborn. Had it been him who left the angelic weapon behind? Or Gabriel, since only archangels carried them? Either way, it was incredibly reckless of either of them, to the point it seemed impossible for either of them to have been responsible. The golden, luminous spikes were angel blades, capable of killing anything, including angels—
Holy crap.
I’d totally forgotten about the damn angel blades and the fact we had in our grasp a plan A and B this whole time.
And that was one of the strange, marvelous mysteries of a random brain. No joke. Sometimes all the random thoughts served a purpose and were connected. Sometimes they didn’t and just led me to do things that were quite impulsive or nonsensical to most.
“We need the angel blades,” I blurted out.
Nicolai’s head inclined. “Angel blades?”
“That’s what those golden spikes were.” I looked back at Zayne. “Remember when Roth saw the writing in the tunnels?”
Understanding washed across his expression and his gaze snapped to Nicolai’s. “They’re angelic weapons used by archangels, and they can kill anything with angelic blood, including an angel. We need them.”
Dez let out a low whistle as Nicolai nodded. “We’ll get them to you ASAP.”
“Why would Gabriel leave them behind if they can kill him?” Danika wondered the same thing I had. “Or anyone working with him?”
“They were found on Morgan,” Zayne said, referencing one of the Wardens who’d been killed. “Gabriel was the one killing Wardens, and I seriously doubt he would’ve left them behind.”
“Unless he’s that arrogant,” Dez mused. “And thought we wouldn’t figure out what they were.”
“Possible.” Zayne’s thumbs pressed into the tight muscles at the base of my neck.
Arrogance could lead to some pretty stupefying decisions, but that? “Could it be possible that someone else did? Archangels are fast, and that camera feed was messed with.”
“You’re suggesting that another archangel could’ve left the blades there?” Danika tipped forward. “Impaled them in the Warden after Gabriel killed him?”
“That sounds really disturbing when you put it that way.” I wrinkled my nose. “But maybe it was the only way it could be done without anyone knowing who did it?”
“Why would they be worried about anyone knowing they did it?” Dez asked.
“Probably due to some stupid heavenly rule,” I muttered.
“Actually, it would be against a rule,” Zayne said. “The agreement angels made to not raise arms against one another. You were that loophole,” he reminded me. “I’m a loophole. An archangel leaving those weapons behind could technically be considered another loophole.”