Heaven and Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro Page B

“What’s that about?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t know. But we need to figure this out fast, before anyone else is attacked.”
    “I can tell ya this. The bloke was takin’ orders from the blasted demon like he’d been the one who’d given him his powers. If me gut hadn’t told me the big one was a demon, I might’ve thought they were magister and illorum.”
    “Perhaps you’re closer to the truth than you think,” Eli said. “If the demon is as old as you say, he could have the power to seduce nephilim, corrupt their minds, and persuade them to do his bidding.”
    Liam shook his head. “Naw. This bloke already had his power. No demon can trigger a nephilim’s angelic half, no matter how old he is. Only an illorum sword can do that.”
    “But an angel can. Rifion figured it out. He’d triggered the power in hundreds of nephilim before I banished him,” I said. “Those people are still out there. They’ve got the same power as you and me, but no mark, no sword, no focus. What if this guy was one of them?”
    “Possibly. We know this demon had been serving Rifion—working with him and the awakened nephilim,” Eli said. “Now he’s finishing the job on his own.”
    “Naw, I don’t believe it,” Liam said.
    “I agree with Liam,” Amon said. “That black sword came from somewhere. Like a twisted version of an illorum sword. Someone made it for him. And even an old demon can’t do that. There has to be a Fallen behind the scenes pulling the strings.”
    Eli’s cold, blue eyes shifted to Amon. “You’re a demon. Your opinion is suspect by default and therefore meaningless. Fallen do not work in concert with each other; their egos won’t permit it. Rifion would not have shared his knowledge with another Fallen. It is unreasonable to believe any other Fallen would have risked being in the presence of an empowered nephilim long enough to discover that he had not been marked.”
    “So who made their swords?” I asked.
    Eli looked at me. “I can’t say for sure without inspecting the weapon itself. If this demon is as old as we suspect, he could have the power to seduce an illorum and turn him against his calling. In that case, maybe the blackened sword is an indication of corruption.”
    “Have ya ever heard of such a thing?” Liam asked.
    Eli shook his head. “No.”
    I shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. There’s a first time for everything. But something about it doesn’t feel right to me.”
    “Then we should not assume anything,” Eli said. “You were born to battle the Fallen and their demon minions. Your instinct would not mislead you.”
    “Glad you’re sure of that,” I said.
    Eli smiled and my heart skipped a beat. “I am sure of you,” he said. “I will request an audience with the Council. If there’s any instance of a blackened illorum sword and corrupted mark, they will know of it.”
    The Council was made up of seven archangels who interpreted the word and will of God and served as a kind of Supreme Court for all angelic matters. They rarely came to earth, using several self-important errand boys, like Fred, to keep them up to date on the dirty details.
    “Good idea,” I said. “Let me know.”
    “We’ll stay on the prick’s trail,” Liam said.
    “And I’ll…go home. I’ve got a family thing tomorrow.” I wanted to do something, go after them, go with Eli to hear what the Council knew, but I’d promised my mom. And my sister Lacey would never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t show up.
    “I’ll keep you informed,” Eli said, as we all turned to leave.
    “Elizal, wait,” Amon said. “Where is my daughter?”
    My heart dropped. “You’re going to kill her? She’d still be just a baby.”
    Amon’s violet eyes shifted to me. “No. I want to help raise her. We’re not all the selfish fiends you’ve been told. Some of us, many of us, love our children as any parent would. Even when they’ve been turned against us.”
    Well, crap. That