Angel Betrayed by Immortal Angel Read Free Book Online

now. Whatever you do, stay alive. And when the time comes, remember how it feels to give, to love selflessly, and to care about something higher than yourself. The true choice between darkness and light is subtle – there are a million shades of gray. There is darkness even with angels, and light even within demons. You have to pierce through to the heart of the matter and decide whom you most truly align with. I pray it will be light.”
    At that, Peter disappears and everything dissolves around me.

2
Gillian
    When the world around me reappears, the blinding pain is gone. But I can’t quite catch my breath.
    Brion appears suddenly and puts his arms around me. “Steady. Breathe slowly.”
    Zakiel is in front of us, putting his hand against the rocky outcropping at the very top of a mountain.
    I look to the left and instantly feel a sense of vertigo. We are literally on the edge of nothingness, and the clouds are far below. Brion holds me tightly and wraps his wings around me.
    To my surprise, I hear a door open. When I look ahead again, Zakiel has disappeared inside the opening in the rock. Brion unwraps his wings and gently pushes me inside ahead of him. The minute the door closes behind us, my breathing becomes easier.
    A knock on the door behind us puts us all on high alert. Zakiel opens it cautiously to find Cas on the other side. “That was fast,” Zak comments.
    Cas steps inside and looks at me. “And that was close.”
    He’s holding my box of research. “I stopped by your cabin and picked this up. Or what’s left of your cabin.”
    Brion winces, and I hastily step forward and grab the box from Cas.
    He seems relieved to be rid of it, and furls his wings. “Peter said she can’t come back until she’s immortal, even for a second. Or she may poof out of existence for good.”
    The other two look grim.
    “Is that what the terrible pain was?” I ask, my grip feeling slippery on the box handles. “It felt like I was splitting apart.”
    “That’s because you were,” Cas answers.
    My mind paints a perfect picture of what they’re describing, and my stomach lurches. There’s no way I’m going back to Heaven until I’m sure it’s safe.
    “Thanks.” I reply dryly, leaning back farther to compensate for the weight of the box. Then I peruse the tiny room. “What is this place?”
    “This is Zakiel’s safe house,” Brion explains with a strained smile. “Unfortunately, you’re not the first person we’ve have to protect from demons.”
    His admission makes me feel a tiny bit better. All this “The One” talk had me feeling as if I was the only human who’s gone through this. Half human , my mind reminds me, and all the other humans didn’t have an entire demon horde chasing them.
    I shift and bump into Cas, mumbling an apology, then shift and bump into Zakiel. “Geez. This is going to be a rough five days with all of us crammed in here together.”
    “Oh,” Zakiel laughs. “That’s because we’re only on the top level.” He walks to the far wall and puts his hand against it. With a flash of light, a trapdoor seems to pop out of the floor. He gestures to it and Brion holds out his hands for the box. I give it to him, glad to be rid of the weight, then find myself climbing down a circular staircase at least three flights into the center of a space that widens with every spiral. Light comes from irregular slits in the walls all around the upper stories.
    “Nice,” I say.
    Zakiel turns back to us and spreads his arms wide. “Please, make yourselves comfortable. My home is your home.”
    I walk toward one of the sofas set out in a large rectangle around a great square carpet, trying to take in the entire space. The walls of the safe house are made of stone. The ceiling is vaulted in the center up to where we came in, and it looks like there are rooms around us that branch off with double doors. There are a number of swords and paintings on scrolls on the walls. It seems very…Asian.