I needed all three of them. Azazel was sleeping, Belial and Tascius were still in the Ninth Circle-
Or at least one of them was still in the Circle below. The eclipse on my wrist was warmer than the sigil on my palm, the chain between us strong and bright. I held up my arm, watching as the chain connected to Tascius brightened and faded. The harder I thought about him, the bright the connection was.
No matter how much distance was between us, I’d always be able to see and follow the chains now.
I ran down the stairs and through the empty stands to the rest of my fortress. The faint sound of metal on metal tinkled in the distance, catching my ear.
They were in the training rooms, of course. I skidded to a halt in the doorway as Tascius leveled an attack at Michael with a broadsword, just missing the older archangel’s abdomen.
Silver against gold, they fought like tigers, hacking and slashing in a flurry of white wings. Haru leaned against the back wall with one foot propped up behind him, arms crossed over his chest and smirking as he watched the fight.
Tascius and Michael were absorbed in attempting to kill each other, but Haru’s smirk faded when he saw me.
“What is it?” His voice was as sharp as the canines that flashed when he spoke. One luxurious tail flicked behind him in agitation.
I tried to calm my heart rate. “I need Belial if you know where he is.”
Tascius faltered at the sound of my voice, and Michael drove the butt of his sword into his solar plexus.
I winced, but Tascius didn’t go down. He pulled a face and shot Michael a dirty look, but the golden archangel just let out a booming laugh.
“We need to meet up right now,” I added, stressing the now. “I think I know where Lucifer and Vyra are.”
Haru had pushed off the wall. He shrugged his arms into the sleeves of his kimono and was at my shoulder before I blinked, looming over me. “Where?” he asked, his tone dangerously silky.
“I don’t know where, which is why we need Belial.” Did they not understand the urgency? I pulled the sword out of Tascius’s hands and tossed it aside. “Let’s go, now.”
Azazel was sleeping upstairs. I could go get him… or I could practice calling them.
I turned my back on the lot of them, squeezing my eyes shut for concentration. We were all connected by the Chain, and it seemed like mate marks were a special sort of chain. If I could feel their emotions, surely I could reach out to them.
My fingertips brushed over the violet star on the nape of my neck, and I felt for Azazel’s bond, the sense of comforting, all-encompassing darkness he gave off.
I cracked one eyelid, and there it was: thin and shimmering violet, extending over my shoulder and into the ceiling overhead, leading towards the bedroom.
His emotions were unclear to me: he was dreaming, his emotions sliding from one to the other and back again. Here and there was a slight ripple of worry and anger, but then his thoughts would go dark again, leaving his connection as calm as a still lake.
What did someone like Azazel dream of?
Azazel? I thought his name with all my might, holding onto the violet links in my hand. I probably looked like a crazy person, standing there with my hands up in the air, but there was a sudden shift in his emotional climate: from the depths of sleep where his emotions were hard to control and vague, to his usual iron control.
The air in the arena shivered, and Azazel stepped out of thin air, perfectly dressed and looking nothing like he’d just been completely unconscious.
His arms were wrapped around me before I even lowered my hands. “You called for me?” he asked, his voice soft in my ear. I felt warm lips brush my cheek as I turned to look up at him.
“It’s an emergency, Azazel,” I said. “We need to get Belial and meet in the war room.”
He nodded, his lips tightening, and stepped out of existence again.
Tascius took my hand as I plunged into the corridor, heading for the meeting room we’d christened the ‘war room’. It wasn’t large, but it had a table and enough chairs for everyone to sit and discuss our next move.
I forced myself to slow down a little. Fortunately, my memories remained clear for now. I still had the image of the landscape around Lucifer imprinted in my mind.
“Is he helping you at all?” I asked my large friend, dropping my voice to a near-whisper. “Or is he just being a pain in the ass?”
Tascius flicked his silver braid over his shoulder. “A little of both, if we’re being honest.”
Behind us, Michael told Haru a dirty joke and cracked up laughing.
I rolled my eyes skyward. Maybe I should’ve left him in the Pit.
“There’s so much I don’t know,” Tascius said. He moved his hand up to wrap his arm around my shoulder instead, conscious of the bandaging. “If it helps, I’m willing to suffer him.”
“Good, because we’ll probably need it.” I scowled as I shoved the war room’s door open. If we had to cross that abyss of darkness to reach Lucifer and Vyra, we needed an archangel’s light on our side.
I’d barely pulled a chair out when Azazel rematerialized along with Belial. The Watcher was already sitting, but Belial stumbled and almost ran into the table.
“Fucking space-time warps,” he muttered, and came to sit on my other side, his brows still pulled in a scowl. “Azazel, you interrupted a meeting with Adranos and Lucifuge Rofocale. It’d better have been worth it.”
I wrapped my hand around his and he pulled it into his lap. “It’s worth,” I told him. “Trust me.”
Michael sat in a chair, legs spread wide and holding another bottle of whiskey, and Haru, as usual, leaned on a wall. The kitsune wasn’t one for sitting down; if he wasn’t pacing, he was standing at the very least.
All eyes were on me.
I looked at my Watcher across the table. “Azazel, this is likely going to be your forte, but I want everyone in here to hear it. I went into the Chainlings’ temple tonight and managed to make contact with the Chain.”
Deep interest flickered in his violet eyes. “What was it like?”
“Terrible,” I said, but I couldn’t remember exactly why. Besides Lucifer’s location, I had only a vague sense of despair and unease about everything else it had shown me. “But I saw Lucifer. And I mean exactly where he is right now.”
I described flying over the Fields of Asphodel, the dark sea, the void of light and color that had seemed endless… and finally, the jagged mountains covered in a soft fall of ash.
Azazel sat straight up when I mentioned the ash and withered trees.
“His soul-bonds were still in effect, yes?” he asked, his voice clipped. It was easy to see his mind was already racing, far beyond this room to look at the bigger puzzle pieces around us.
“They were crimson,” I said quietly. “And looked painful.”
Azazel gave me an apologetic look. “Did he see you?”
I shook my head slowly, looking down at my hands entwined with Tascius and Belial’s. “I don’t think so, but don’t quote me on that. I touched him. Physically, I mean. The Chain didn’t want me to get too close, but I just managed to brush his shoulder.” I looked back up at Azazel. “He felt like he was burning, Azazel. It was like touching a fire. But even if he didn’t see me, he seemed to sense something was there. He was trying to reach back out when the Chain pulled me away again.”