Numb the pain.I wanted something now, not to numb the pain though, but to wipe what I'd seen from my head.How could I lock away what he'd shown me?There wasn't a trinket box big enough to hold that horror.Behold the Seraphim , he'd said. Born of fire . The Great Winged Serpents. Caretakers of the Throne. Destroyers of the First. Changeless. Eternal . The Highest of the Most High . They are your gods. They are your saviours, your judgement and your damnation.There were four of them. Four huge creatures, each with twelve wings of fire that burned so brightly it was difficult to look upon them. Their skin shone with coppery scales and their serpent tails, stretched long behind them, twisting and curling together as they flew, spinning a never-ending maelstrom around the empty Throne of the Angels.Their faces were distant echoes of humanity, as if at some point, the two races had been connected somehow. A sleekness to their sharp cheekbones. A semblan

Almost hypnotised by the sight of it, a blur of black smeared the edge of my vision, and I glanced across the road to see a priest crossing in front of a gelato parlour, a tan leather satchel clutched under his arm, his heavy, dark robes swishing behind him as he walked. I gasped and pushed myself instinctively closer to Ethan, who squeezed my hand in return, barely even giving the priest a second look.'Not all priests are agents of the Council,' he said, as we continued to walk, and I glanced furtively back over my shoulder. 'Most of them genuinely believe that what they have dedicated their lives to, is the truth. They know no better.''You sound almost sorry for them,' I remarked.Ethan chuckled. 'No. No sympathy from me, I'm afraid. I couldn't give two fucks about the sheep who choose to follow the flock. I've seen too many of them use their faith to manipulate others. Why should I care that they've been manipulated themselves? I'm just saying that they're not al

I grimaced and the stout man in front turned to shoot Ethan an irritated glare, thankfully oblivious to the fact we'd joined the party much later than everyone else. Ethan just returned his stare with an apologetic smile and a shoulder shrug, gesturing to me as if I was the one causing the disturbance. I elbowed him in the ribs, spotting the first sign of a smile creeping back into his face, not that I was about to relax into this again. I doubted very much that he'd forgotten our deal.We followed the party through the underground maze and I did my best to pretend to pay attention to the tour, with Ethan pretty much attached to my waist and knowing we were one step closer each time to reaching the Vaults.Finally, we turned a corner into another tunnel, where the party had congregated to listen to the guide as he whirled the pointer around again, jabbing it towards the two mausoleums on the right. He had a touch of over-dramatic out-of-work actor about him, more intereste

Once the tea was made, the Erelim - now known as Albert - brought the cups to the table, his hands shaking slightly, the cup clacking against the saucer. Placing mine in front of me, he sat in the other chair, staring at me in wonder and cradling his own cup in his hands, almost as if he had forgotten it was even there.'Drink,' he said, finally. 'I do hope it's to your liking. Please say it is.' There was such a desperation to please in his voice, that I almost felt sorry for him.I sipped at the fragrant liquid, smiling my appreciation, even though I hated the taste. Coffee would have been better. Vodka preferable. A fuck load of vodka.'Thank you,' I said.He hadn't stopped looking at me. Hadn't taken one sip of his own tea. I was getting creeped out. Seriously, creeped out.'So... Albert...' I began. Talk shit to it, Ethan had said. Talk shit . Like it was easy. Like sitting here, sipping tea with a creature that kept the amputated hands of demons in jar

'The wormhole is up there. I knew it was here somewhere.' He looked pleased with himself, a smugness creeping into his features, despite the fact we had a whole army of very pissed-off Angels on our tail.'You expect us to climb up there?'It was high. Really fucking high. I didn't have any particular fear of heights, but I also didn't spend my days hoping I could climb up the tallest bookcase in existence without a safety harness. He had to be kidding about this. Had to be . I stared at him with a hope that died a quick death as soon as I saw the look in his eyes.'Well, unless you're about to grow a pair of wings and fly us up there, yes, I do expect us to climb and I expect us to do it as fast as we bloody can before a Cherubim swoops in here and rips our hearts from our chests.''Cherubim?' My mouth went desert-dry. 'You never said the Erelim had called the Cherubim.''I have no idea what's coming, but whatever it is, it's pissed as fuck. So, if you want