Cadan nodded and disappeared after Merodach. I looked around, hoping to figure out how many reapers were left alive. Will was covered in blood and his sword was stained neon beneath the black lights. He finished off the last of them, and when his gaze caught Merodach climbing back through the window, Will’s face twisted with hatred.

“Marcus!” he roared to rally the other angelic reaper.

Marcus appeared in the room, his own hands and clothes tattered and bloodied from battle. “They’re dead,” he said. “They’re all dead, except for Xastur. He took off.”

Merodach surveyed the other reapers and his gaze rested on me. He bared his teeth, flashing bright fangs in the black light. “The coward. You win this one, Preliator.”

Will roared with rage and launched himself in the air toward Merodach, sword swinging. Merodach whirled to the side to avoid the blade, but Will followed him. They were neon blurs in the darkness, nearly invisible—until Will’s body rammed into the wall and Merodach appeared above our heads, black wings spread wide. Feathers drifted to the floor. Merodach’s hands rolled into fists and he loosed a bellow of fury and frustration. And then he vanished. When Merodach didn’t reappear, I ran to Will’s side and helped him to his feet. He punched the wall, his fist burying deep, and he swore at the top of his lungs.

“He’ll be back,” Marcus offered. “You’ll have another shot at him. At least we didn’t lose anyone.”

“Ellie did,” Cadan said in a low voice.

Reality came crashing down on me. I didn’t want to look at Landon’s body, but my legs moved toward him anyway. He was crumpled on the floor against the opposite wall, his limbs tangled like a tossed doll’s, and what was left of his face stared straight up at the ceiling.

One of my best friends was dead. I wasn’t sure if that fact would ever begin to make sense. Merodach had taken someone else I loved from me. There was one deafening thought repeating itself in my head, so loud I couldn’t think, like I’d forgotten the entire English lexicon but for five words.

I will kill them all.

10

“I WANT TO KNOW WHERE XASTUR WENT,” I SAID, my tone sharp and commanding. “I want to play croquet with his head by dawn, do you understand?”

The three reapers nodded in unison.

“Someone has to know a demonic reaper named Xastur,” I continued. “I want Ava and Sabina on this too. Marcus, call Ava and tell them to drop whatever they are doing.”

Without questioning me, Marcus took his phone out and dialed. He began to relay what had happened as Ava listened on the other end. Will stepped close to me. The scent of blood on him was gut-wrenching.

“We may not track him down tonight,” he warned. “But eventually we will. He will die for what he did to Landon and the other humans.”

“I swear I will make him suffer,” I said.

Will studied my face for a couple moments before exhaling. “Xastur may give us something on Merodach too.”

“He’s right,” Cadan added. “There’s a chain of command in their ranks. This guy obviously isn’t a grunt, and there’s a good chance he is privy to crucial information. He may even have artifacts that will help us.”

“Like a relic?” I asked.

“Maybe,” he replied. “Xastur might even have the copy of Antares’s grimoire that you’re after.”

My mind raced with possibilities. “Better yet…if Bastian figured out how to summon Lilith, then they might know how to summon others.”

“Other Fallen?” Will asked, surprised.

“No,” I said. “Summon an angel like Azrael. If we don’t find the grimoire copy with Xastur—which is likely—then we might still find out if Xastur knows how to summon Azrael. He’s an angel, an ex-archangel, to be exact. He has to know if it’s possible for me to ascend and become Gabriel.”

Cadan’s expression hardened. “Do you still want to do that?”

“I have to do whatever it takes to destroy Sammael and Lilith,” I said. “We start with talking to Azrael. We have to find out how to summon him.”

“Guys,” Marcus interjected. “Sabina knows who Xastur is.”

“Does she know where he is?” Will asked.

Marcus flashed a dark, satisfied grin as he slipped his cell back into his pocket. “Yeah, she sure does. She’s never infiltrated his hideout before because it’s too heavily guarded. So, what do you say we crash someone else’s party and pay him a visit?”

“Let’s go.” I didn’t wait for a response before I began marching toward the front door.

In the distance, countless sirens from emergency vehicles wailed mournfully.

I plugged the address Sabina gave us into my GPS. Will rode shotgun beside me and the rest of the reapers flew through the Grim straight for our destination. My heart pounded so hard in my chest that it was painful, but there was no way for me to relax. I stared hard at the road ahead, desperate to drive the images of the bodies of my friends and classmates from my mind.

My phone buzzed. Kate was calling. I took a deep breath and caught Will’s glance out of the corner of my eye. “Hey,” I answered.

Kate’s response was a string of unintelligible angry sobs and curses.

“Kate, slow down,” I ordered. “Are you safe?”

“I’m home!” she cried shrilly into my ear. “Where are you? What happened? oh my God, Ellie—”