Beloved Purgatory (Fallen Angels, Book 2) (30 page)

Camael fought defensively, only striking when the
dragon attacked. Still, he was breaking apart the demon's body
faster than it could heal. If it continued like this, wouldn't Oz
get too hurt to--

"Our gallant knight is doing a good job of protecting
his little, defenseless, beloved Devi." Forneus said from the
safety of his circle. "It's too bad you're not enjoying yourself,
but I suppose it can't be helped. Princesses should not fall in
love with dragons."

My head whipped around to face the devil in a motion
as reckless as my heartbeat. "Stop them! I don't know what you did
to him, but this must stop!"

I wished I didn't sound so shrill--that I could
respond to him in the same detached, condescending tone he used
when addressing me--but I couldn't. Not with the foul scent of
demon blood so near, and when I could see that pale fire burning
even when I shut my eyes.

"Azazel is putting up a good fight, but I don't think
he'll last much longer. He's losing too much blood, too quickly.
Still, he'll keep fighting until he ceases to breathe."

I sucked in a breath--no, sucked in ice. My body
froze, and the world around the two of us went black. "But won't
that be forever? You said that only I could kill him."

"Not exactly. Only you can bring about his death,"
Forneus said. "And I think this might count. In theory, an angel's
blade can kill a demon. Despite their regenerative properties, they
aren't immortal. Of course, the curse normally grants them
immunity, but since Camael is acting on your behalf..."

He stepped to the edge of the circle. "Azazel is
being forced to condemn the one he loves against his will, as the
thing he hates most in this world protects her. Do you see the
blankness in his eyes?"

I shuddered. I didn't want to think about the way he
looked when he saw right through me.

"That's not how he truly feels, but since he vowed to
serve me, his body becomes like that whenever anyone tries to
breach a contract--even if that person is the one who requested my
aid."

He leaned forward, revealing a set of straight, white
teeth as his cracked lips curled. "Do you think this scene is cruel
enough to satisfy the terms of the curse? Or does God have an even
more horrific fate in store for him?"

For a moment, I couldn't do anything but stare into
his hypnotic eyes. The sound of Camael's sword clashing against the
monster's shield-like skin became soft as rain. A chill sliced
through me as I took a step back. "How can you do this? You called
him your dearest friend--"

Forneus interrupted me with a hiss. "It doesn't
matter how I feel, or what I want. This act was written for us to
play out long, long ago, and we are powerless to stop it."

"We're not powerless! You can stop it right now!"

His eyes narrowed. "I made a promise, and so I must
honor it. You asked something of me, and so you must honor
that."

"But if it hurts everyone we care about, what's the
point?"

His smile was slow and painful. Blood stained his
neck like a black cravat. "You must accept casualties if you want
to change fate. It doesn't matter if it's a trinket, food, or
love--anytime you possess something, you are either denying it or
taking it from something else. If you think your desires are
selfish or cruel, hate yourself. If you think the world unjust,
then hate your God."

I pushed my palms to my eyes, trying to banish the
image of fire, but it didn't disappear. The flames just grew,
twisting with his searing words until I could feel both eating me
from the inside out.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," I whimpered as
I looked up at him, eyes big and cold from the mist drying on my
tears, begging silently.

With a theatric flick of his wrist, he placed his
hand over his heart. "Do not hate the one who listened to your
troubles, then offered you solutions. Any evil I commit from here
on out is in your name, and thus a reflection of your own
cowardice, ruthless determination, and base yearnings. Still, I
will offer you a way out."

Forneus held out his hand. "I can end it right now,
if you come to me."

"Devi, don't--"

The dragon reared forward and swiped his tail across
the ground, throwing the angel to his feet and stopping his plea.
Camael adjusted his grip and stabbed the dragon's tail. The entire
backside of the demon's body burst into flames.

Fire danced in the devil's expressionless eyes. "You
can fulfill our agreement. You can do what you want to do, and what
I want you to do. Then, the demon will stop attacking, and the
angel will cease to fight. The alternative, of course, is to stay
here and watch the angel's sword turn his body to ash."

Camael was screaming, but I couldn't make it out
above the dragon's roars. The smell of the dragon's--no, Oz's--pain
overwhelmed me: a scent at once unnatural and too full of life,
like rotting fruit dipped in ammonia.

It had been less than ten minutes, and already this
contract I'd made to save the ones I loved was causing them to tear
each other apart. I never wanted to hurt anyone. Maybe that is what
I should have asked of the devil:
Make everyone happy. Make it
so that they don't have to suffer anymore.
But even then, he
might have found a way to make me regret it.

Still, it didnt' matter. Regardless of where he took
me, I had no choice if I wanted to stop it.

"I'm sorry, Camael," I whispered. "And Oz..." My
throat was too sore to finish, so instead I kissed my
fingertips.

Then, with my eyes still closed, I ran into the
devil's arms.

Chapter 16

Forneus grabbed my wrist and held it above my head.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something shimmer in the
dark.

"No!" I tried to yank my arm back.

His grip tightened. "Just an offering." His bloody
teeth gleamed like pearls sinking into oil. "Mortals must sacrifice
something when traveling to the underworld, where nothing is gained
without paying a price."

I sucked in a breath as his blade sliced into my
skin.

"There." He sheathed his knife and put his free hand
on the center of my back and pulled me close. His arms curled
around me, plastering me to his torso. "Don't let go, no matter
what happens."

Purple light shot up from the floor. No, the floor
was gone. There was nothing but that haunting, sickly light prying
open my eyes, clogging my tear ducts, and plugging my nose.

My screams were replaced by light. I sucked it in
instead of air. I saw that violet glow and nothing else, not even
when I stuffed my nose into Forneus' damp shirt, where I heard no
heartbeat. If he hadn't been holding me so tightly, if I hadn't
been able to feel his hair on my cheek and smell his sour breath on
the back of my neck, I would have thought I was alone.

Almost as suddenly as it had started, the light began
to dim. The vibrant purple was drained until it turned silver. It
filtered slowly through the air before settling like dust on the
amethyst palace around us. And then it too was gone.

My chest felt tight. The
Rukah-Hayim
. It
coated every surface, changing value and hue like gleaming jewels
viewed beneath water.

I tried to move away.

"I told you to not let go," he snapped. He fisted the
back of my shirt and latched onto my wrist, cutting off the
circulation to my hand. My cut began to sting, and my palm
throbbed.

Forneus watched me wince dispassionately. "I don't
have anything for it," he said before letting go.

Was that last bit really necessary?
I curled
my fingers into a fist and pressed my sore hand into my stomach.
"Thanks, you freaking psycho."

"Freaking psycho?" He chuckled and stepped back. I
guess it was okay to let go of me now. I glared at him.

Immediately, I regretted it. I wished he'd forced my
face into his coat, and dragged me, all bundled up, into Purgatory.
That way, I wouldn't have seen him.

And I would have never known how beautiful he really
was.

The gash in Forneus' throat was gone. Even the blood
on the front of his shirt had disappeared. His clean teeth
reflected soft, violet light. In fact, his entire body sparkled
with a purple beauty only overshadowed by the eerie brilliance of
our surroundings.

I dropped my head and allowed my bangs to fall over
my face. I probably looked like that creepy little girl from
The
Ring
, but that was alright as long as he didn't realize how
intently I was studying him.

Yes, I was studying him even though it hurt to look.
Those cruel lips had softened, the surface of his skin glittered
harshly, and there was a new depth in his eyes so akin to
passion.

"Are you so surprised by the way I look?" He drawled.
"Our bodies heal immediately whenever we return to the
underworld."

It's more than that. You look like an angel
.
My heart hammered against my rib cage. No, not an angel. He was too
seductive for that. More like the embodiment of temptation had
wrapped itself up in stolen--

Eew. Devi, stop. It's Forneus.

I needed to wash my mind out with soap.
No, make
that Draino
. What was wrong with me?

Smoke from Purgatory's entrance--no, excuse me, the
school gym--still clung to my body. I patted myself down and
coughed, trying to act natural.

Forneus scowled.

I blushed. "Um, why don't you come down here to heal
instead of asking Oz, then?" Yeah, I could continue the
conversation.

"I can only enter Purgatory on my own when I have an
assignation." I shivered, not liking the way he said that "a" word.
He lifted his eyebrows, then continued. "As far as visiting
Hell...well, let's just say I dislike seeing my extended
family."

He thought that last bit was hilarious.

I didn't get it.

"Is Azazel part of your extended family?"

His lips straightened into a thin line. "No. He's
closer than that."

"Is that why you control him?"

His eyes narrowed. "You're getting bolder, Devi."

I didn't feel bold, just confused and alone. My ankle
wobbled. I tripped over a rock and almost toppled over into the
lush tapestry of the
Rukah-Hayim
.

Don't let him get to you. Hold your ground,
I
told myself firmly. "Why did you tell me to run when we got there?
Why did you allow him to hurt you?"

Forneus looked down. Then, and only then, I let
myself give into my nerves, and trembled. I was breathing so
heavily that I almost didn't hear his voice: "Because I don't enjoy
forcing him."

"What?"

The left corner of his mouth curled up as he
snickered. "Are you really so surprised? It's degrading, for both
of us." He sighed and retrieved a sable pouch from his coat, then a
starched handkerchief. "Now, before we continue, I'm afraid I must
do something else degrading."

He walked to the wall of the cave, stepping in
between the patches of the
Rukah-Hayim
growing on the floor.
He laid the handkerchief on the ground. Then, crouching low but
careful not to let his knees touch the floor, the dug his fingers
into the wall.

Something snapped. Shards of obsidian fell to the
ground. How was he cutting through something like that? And then I
saw it--that all too familiar blood dripping down his arm, as black
as the rocks he sliced through. The snapping sound was his own
bones, breaking as he grabbed more and more rock.

I almost cried out.

Forneus glanced at me. "I'm touched by your concern,"
he whispered, then removed his hand and held it up for me to
inspect. The wounds were closing as quickly as they would have had
he been a demon.

That's right. He could heal in this world
instantaneously. But I still didn't understand. "Why are you doing
this now?"

This time, he answered without stopping. "We can only
collect it when we release a spirit from Purgatory at a client's
request, and we can only take as much as Lucifer allows us to." He
dropped the first batch of plants onto the handkerchief, then
continued digging.

"Why?"

Forneus looked up at me and smiled. It wasn't a
pleasant one--more like the 'smile' a half-crazed father might give
his bratty kid after asking for the thousandth time:
Are we
there yet?

"Because, darling Devi, it is power--power Lucifer
wants to control, and through controlling it, he controls us as
well."

That condescending tone was meant to shut me up.
Instead, it pissed me off. So, going back to that car metaphor,
this time when I asked I decided to do the equivalent of kicking
daddy's seat. "How is it power?"

Forneus sighed. "Do you really want to know this, or
are you just trying to irritate me?"

I was trying to irritate him. "I really want to
know," I said.

He gritted his teeth. "Fine. The spirit cannot
generate anything on its own, it can only reshape things that
already exist. The purest, most malleable material is, the original
soul, which is what God bent to create matter. Historically, we
devils do not have direct access to the Original Soul, and have
found it difficult to manipulate lesser souls, so we've had to make
do with this."

He held out his hand face-up. The plant writhed in
the center of his palm. "This seemingly insignificant object is
saturated with spirit. All my 'magic' is a result of my will
breaking apart its body and reforming its released spirit into
whatever image I want to make. However, these images, divorced of
vitality or soul, are illusions that exist only in the mind."

I stared at him.

He set the plant down tenderly on top of his pile.
"What?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were so
high right now."

He laughed. "You can use the
Rukah-Hayim
to do
that sort of thing, too." He finished scraping the rock clean and
closed his satchel. "I hope you found that answer
satisfactory."