“I apologize for my poor punctuality, Sister,” Azrael said, smiling ear to ear, “but I brought some friends.”

He offered me a hand and as soon as I took it, heat rocketed through my body to the tips of my wings, healing me instantly. “You came,” I breathed, having to force the words out past my utter shock.

“We were at last given the orders to descend to Earth,” he said happily. “Michael leads the legion. We will devastate the demonic Hellspawn. It’s up to you to defeat Sammael.”

“But not alone,” came another voice. Antares settled to the ground beside Azrael, her gleaming auburn hair settling around shoulders and wings. She had returned to her former glory and was even more achingly beautiful than before. “I don’t believe our bargain was entirely even,” she said. “I’d like to amend that tonight, if you’ll accept my assistance.”

I held out a hand for her to shake. “Thank you.”

Antares watched my hand curiously, and then I realized how human the gesture was. But she surprised me when she took my hand in both of hers and held it tight. “I’m honored to fight with you,” she said.

“And I with you, but—” I turned to Azrael. “I lost my swords.”

“You don’t need them anymore.” Azrael held out his arm and the hallowed glaive shimmered into existence. I stared at it, bathed in the beauty of the weapon, and I took the staff tenderly in both my hands. I closed my fingers around it, feeling the heat from its energy course into me and meld with my own, as if it were merely an extension of me—a fifth limb.

“Remember what I told you,” Azrael said, voice grave, “about summoning the power to use the hallowed glaive.”

I looked up to meet his gaze. “I know. I’m ready. Thank you, Brother.”

Antares called a long, elegantly curved sword. “I will meet you on the battlefield. Good luck to you.” Her wings carried her into the air, and she was gone.

“I must return to Michael now,” Azrael said. “All of our brothers and sisters have come to fight and to bid you farewell.”

I smiled at him. “I’m happy that I won’t be alone when I lie down for the last time.”

Azrael jumped into the sky, beat his wings once, and shot toward the battlefield so fast that he became a ball of fire once again. I squeezed the staff of the hallowed glaive again, testing its center of balance. I wasn’t nearly as tall as Azrael, but the glaive, behaving like a sentient thing, seemed to adjust to exactly where I needed it.

“Gabriel!” Lilith screamed in rage from above.

I answered her call, leaping into the air, feeling rejuvenated by my healed body and new hope. The black eyes of the Demon Queen fixed on me as I dived for her, and the hallowed glaive lit up with angelfire from blade to pommel. She drew her own weapon, a thin blade nearly as long as she was tall. From above, I struck, swiping left and right with the glaive. Her sword glanced off each blow and she whipped her body out of the glaive’s path when I thrust it right at her chest. This was my vulnerable point, I realized, when she sliced open my arm. I left myself open with every attack. I hissed in pain and spun my body, smashing the pole of my weapon into her back. She hit the dirt with a grunt and my boots found the earth.

“I hate you,” she snarled. “You, and everything you stand for.”

“The feeling is mutual, I assure you,” I said in return.

We circled each other, searching for any sign of weakness. She wore no armor, so all I needed to do was get past her sword. The length of the glaive would help me do that, but I still felt a little clumsy and unused to such a small blade in proportion to the long helve. I charged at her again and her blade met my strike; left and right I sliced, cutting fabric and flesh as she cut mine. I launched off the ground and kicked her in the chest. As she staggered away, I flipped the glaive over my head and thrust. The blade plunged into her belly, just shy of her heart.

She bared her teeth at me, grabbed the helve, and yanked the blade from her body. She held fast and I refused to let go of my weapon. She dragged me toward her and slashed with her sword. When I ducked to avoid losing my head, she kicked me in the ribs and then again right under the chin. I flipped end over end through the air and hit the ground with a grunt, feeling my cracked ribs and jaw twisting and snapping back into place. The healing was even more agonizing than when they first broke. Lilith came toward me and I struggled to rise, flailing, and every muscle in my torso shrieked as the ribs healed. I reached for the glaive, but she crushed her boot into my wrist, shattering it as well. I screamed in pain, writhing.

“My favorite song!” Lilith said joyfully. “Though I do prefer the chorus to the verses. What shall I break next to get you to sing the bridge?”

“Ellie!”

My head fell to the side just in time to spot Cadan jetting toward us. Lilith snarled, having noticed him too. She cast a hand out, her power grabbing his body and hurling him over her head through the air. He hit the rocky ground with a thud and an earsplitting crack and then lay still.

With my good hand, I grabbed a fistful of dirt and pebbles, and just as Lilith looked back at me, I chucked the debris into her face. She screeched and clawed at her eyes, but she lost enough of her focus for me to roll free. I grabbed the pole on my way to my feet and shoved the blade with all of my strength right through her chest, punching through her body cavity, stopping her cold.

Lilith dropped to her knees and the glaive’s magic killed her, sending lightning through her veins and crackling in her open mouth and eyes. I ripped the blade back out and she began to shudder violently, collapsing onto her back. Her death throes finally faded when her life did, and the lightning consumed her in angelfire flames. As the power of the hallowed glaive took the Demon Queen’s life, I could feel it slowly taking mine with her. I’d used so much of my angelic energy to destroy her that I wasn’t sure if I had enough left in me to battle Sammael. It was suddenly harder for me to breathe. My limbs felt heavier and a bit numb, as if they were full of sand.