“You will know! I will make you feel every second of torment that I can wring from you!” I’ve never seen Byzantyne so angry in all of my lifetimes. The realization dawns on me that Reed has done more than just spare me pain, he has inadvertently saved Xavier’s life, too.
“You won’t.” I try to control my fear so that no one sees it. “You won’t hurt him.”
Byzantyne swings around, pinning me where I am with a horrible sneer. “Will I not?” How do you propose to stop me? It’s a debt and I intend to exact more than just a pound of flesh!” To the angels holding Reed, he says, “You can leave him to me. I plan to take my time making him cease to be.”
“You can’t kill him.” Serenity eludes me, so I pretend to be calm.
Byzantyne’s hand forms a claw. With his back to me, unwilling as he is to look away from Reed, he pushes his claw out in my direction. “Do not think to interfere, Simone. There’s nothing you can do. His fate is sealed!”
I glance at Reed. He’s watching me. He shakes his head almost unperceptively, warning me not to speak. I ignore him. Instead, my eyes return to look at the back of Byzantyne’s head. I call out in Angel, “CHAMPION!”
Byzantyne, who has been bent toward Reed, slowly straightens. I can’t see his expression until he looks over his shoulder at me. He’s stunned. The entire room quiets. “What did you say?” he growls.
“I challenge you for this angel’s life. I will be his champion.”
A laugh of disbelief escapes from Byzantyne. “You challenge me? For this.” He waves his hand in front of Reed with a scornful look.
“No!” Reed’s jaw clenches as he throws a ferocious look in my direction.
“Yes,” I reply simply.
“You. Challenge. Me?” Byzantyne asks as he turns toward me and stabs his chest with his finger. His exquisite Seraphim wings become almost heart-shaped for a moment.
“That’s right,” I affirm.
Byzantyne’s mood changes, he titters as if he’s heard the best joke of his life, but cannot believe it. He flies toward me. Reed wrenches his arms, attempting to free himself from the Cherubim holding him. They won’t let him go. Right before Byzantyne gets to me, the Cherub who brought Xavier in inserts himself between us. His blue feathers, spattered with mud, move to keep him in stasis in the air. He blocks my view of Byzantyne. Byzantyne growls at him. “I have negotiations with this soul!” he warns the Cherub.
“I will mediate the terms,” the Cherub replies. I peek at Byzantyne from behind the angel.
“And who are you?” Byzantyne looks down his nose at the blue-winged angel.
“My name is Atwater.”
“Move aside, Atwater. You interfere.”
Atwater holds his ground. His wingspan widens to keep Byzantyne from seeing me. “There are no promises made from Paradise without me to mediate them. You either exact your vengeance on the Power or you allow me to agree to terms on behalf of Heaven. There are no other options. Choose.”
“You would not last a moment in Sheol,” Byzantyne snarls.
“We’re not in Sheol,” Atwater replies.
“Let us discuss terms then. We can bury you in the weeds later.”
“Excellent choice,” Atwater says. He moves so that he’s beside me. His blue wings flap effortlessly, keeping him beside me as if we were standing on the ground.
Byzantyne has managed to squelch all emotion now. He’s every inch the horrifying, unfeeling monster that I remember from my past deaths. He’s always nearby when I’m killed—waiting, hoping that this time I’ll be his. Face to face with this ancient Seraph, I begin to doubt my every decision. What I’ve done hits me like a slow-moving bullet. I try to hide my growing terror at the cunning gleam in Byzantyne’s brown eyes as they devour me. He’s warming to the idea of having me at his mercy. He’ll enjoy this much more than destroying an anonymous Power angel. If there was ever a time to attack, it’s now. I have to set my trap just right. I need him to agree to every point I make. He needs to believe I’m caught up in his web.
“So you’re offering your soul for his life?” Byzantyne’s low, menacing voice jolts me out of my thoughts. He indicates Reed with a gesture over his shoulder.
My eyes lift to Reed’s green ones. He struggles to get loose from the Cherubim. “Do not do this! I am prepared to die!” Reed orders. His regal charcoal-colored wings flail with effort. He is maybe the most beautiful angel I’ve ever seen. Elegant and passionate in a way that Power angels almost never are. They’re normally robotic precision. Ready to do their duty—obsessed with killing—anxious to destroy anything they deem evil—drone-like, but not this one. He’s a knight.
My attention turns back to Byzantyne. “Yes, I’ll champion this angel.”
“You believe you’ll win!” Byzantyne’s eyes glisten with hunger. “Still so na?ve, even after all of this time. You can’t possibly defeat me!” His enormous chest puffs as he hits his fist against it. The sound is a drumbeat.