Revenant

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure Revenant has abandonment issues. And he’s obsessed with rules. No idea why.” He took a swig of his beer. “But fuck, E, I don’t know if I can ever trust him. Satan’s blood runs in his veins. He was raised in Sheoul and has five thousand years of bad history behind him.”

“Can’t you say almost the same about Harvester?”

“Yes, but she was always working for the greater good.”

“And yet she was a fallen angel, where Revenant is an angel.”

“So is Raphael,” Reaver growled. “And he’s a bastard. Angel isn’t code for good.”

“All I’m saying is that I nearly gave up on Wraith a time or two. It would have been a mistake. Until you know for sure that Revenant is beyond saving, you can’t give up.” Eidolon let Reaver chew on that for a few minutes before saying, “That said, I’m a little concerned about his relationship with Blaspheme.”

“Yeah, I already got a peek into that disturbing development.” Reaver jammed his hand through his hair, which fell back into place in perfect gold waves. “I didn’t have a chance to warn her not to fuck with him. The last thing he needs is to get run through the emotional False Angel wringer. He might kill her.”

“That’s not what’s going on,” Eidolon said softly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Eidolon bent down to pet Mange again, but Mickey chose that moment to streak around the cabinet and nip the dog’s tail. The two of them took off like a shot, and now it was only a matter of time before he heard the crash of furniture. “He’s obsessed with her, and she’s the only one he’ll allow to treat Gethel.”

Reaver’s hand froze with the beer bottle halfway to his mouth. “Tell me you didn’t just say that a doctor from Underworld General is giving medical assistance to the evil monster who tried to murder my grandson.” The bottle in Reaver’s hand shattered, spraying beer and angel blood all over the counter.

“Take it easy, man.” Eidolon grabbed for the roll of paper towels. “You know I wouldn’t authorize that without a good reason.”

“I’m waiting.”

Eidolon sopped up the mess as he spoke, hoping the angel didn’t break something worse, like Eidolon’s head.

“Blaspheme performed a brief exam and got a blood sample. She didn’t actually treat Gethel, and if anything, she made things medically worse for the bitch instead of better.” He met Reaver’s steady sapphire gaze. “This has given us an opportunity to get to her. We can’t pass it up, so if you have any brilliant ideas, now is the time to share.”

Silence stretched as Reaver rubbed his chin. “A few centuries ago,” he said slowly, “Heaven experimented with something called solarum. They hoped to use it to wipe out evil on a massive scale. Unfortunately, solarum is impossible to produce quickly or in large quantities, so they gave up. But for something like this…” He nodded, as if talking to himself. “You’re saying you can get close to Gethel?”

“If Revenant will take me.”

“And if he won’t? If he insists on Blaspheme being Gethel’s physician?”

“It would be her choice whether or not she wants to help destroy Lucifer.”

Reaver gave a reluctant nod. “Agreed. But you understand that anyone who helps Gethel and her unholy spawn will be considered my enemy.”

“Understood,” Eidolon said.

Reaver made the slightest gesture with his hand, and the blood, beer, and broken glass disappeared. “I —” He broke off with a curse. “Speaking of enemies, I gotta go. Revenant’s in Heaven again.”

Nineteen

Heaven was huge. Vast beyond even Revenant’s comprehension. It was also beautiful. Rev felt almost sad as he strolled through a verdant meadow dotted with blossoming trees and framed by snowcapped mountains, his footprints leaving behind dying grass and rotting flowers. As he watched, the decay spread, and he wondered if it would continue unchecked after he left. Would the damage he was causing with his presence be repaired when he was gone, or would Heaven be permanently scarred by his evil?

As he gazed up at a soaring eagle, he felt a tingle on the back of his neck, knew Reaver had arrived to expel him. On the upside, Reaver’s tingle was far better than Satan’s drilling headache, which seemed to be cut off by the Heavenly barrier. Cool.

“What are you doing here, Revenant?” Reaver’s voice came from behind him.

Revenant didn’t turn around. “Walking.”

Reaver appeared several yards in front of him, looking obnoxiously angelic in dark gray slacks, a blue shirt, and his twenty-four-karat wings arched imperiously behind his shoulders. “And you couldn’t have done that on Earth or in Sheoul?”

Rev flared his own wings, figuring they might as well get the cockfight started. “Why should I? All of this belongs to me, too, does it not? I am an angel, after all, same as you.” He stopped a few feet away from Reaver and waited for the inevitable, You aren’t the same as I am.

So he was surprised when his twin turned away to gaze at the mountains. “Have you made a decision regarding Gethel?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

Revenant waited until Reaver turned back to him. He wanted to make sure his brother knew this wasn’t some bullshit ploy to wring more promises out of the archangels. That this wasn’t a game. Rev had always been a straight shooter, and he wasn’t going to change now that he knew he was an angel.