She smiled at me. “You’re too much of a force to lose yourself to anything. If you forget who you are, then we’ll help you remember. You’ve got incredible friends with you who believe in you and love you too much to let you lose who you are.”

Madeleine was right. I had friends and family at home, and I’d brought friends—and family—with me on this journey. None of them would ever give up on me, no matter how many reasons I gave them to walk away. I had to do what I had to do, and they would follow me anywhere.

“What do you say we head back to the others?” she asked, rising to her feet and holding out a hand to help me up. “Then I will give you a tour of the armory and we can play with swords.”

I grinned and took her hand. “Sounds like a plan to me.”

26

MADELEINE HAD TRANSFORMED AN OLD CLASSROOM in the castle into her own incredible armory. The walls of the room were lined with swords of all sizes and origins, polearm weapons topped with vicious-looking blades, and an assortment of battle-axes. There was even a tomahawk decorated with feathers, and an elegant parashu whose sweeping, curved blade was etched with images of Hindu deities. I strolled along the walls, examining and admiring the collection as if I was in a museum, but Will was like a kid in a candy store. I bit my lip to keep from laughing, watching him struggle to decide which weapon to pull off its display mount first. He retrieved a fine example of a Celt-Iberian falcata inlaid with gold, only to return it to its rack and bring down the saya scabbard containing an unusual Yari spear.

“I take it that he inherited his weapon aficionado tendency from you?” I asked Madeleine as I cracked up watching Will’s giddiness over all the new toys.

She smiled in return. “Most reapers tend to bring beloved artifacts with them through the ages. I have few belongings I’ve held on to that aren’t weapons.”

I thought of the things Will had kept all this time: the cross his mother gave him, the books on his shelves, his guitars, and even a few of my own things he’d kept over my many reincarnations, like my winged necklace and the phoenix hair comb he bought for me from the peddler in Shanghai. I wondered about Cadan, if there was anything besides sad memories that he’d held on to over the centuries.

Speaking of Cadan…he sat on a raggedy, mildewed sofa beside Ava. Marcus leaned his back against the wall. The three casually observed Will and me as Madeleine gave us a tour of the weapons collection.

“Which one is the glaive you suggested I practice with?” I asked Madeleine.

She moved to the polearms section of her collection and retrieved a partisan that resembled Azrael’s hallowed glaive, but in a far more primitive design. Every inch of the angelic-made weapons were not only unnaturally beautiful, but had an unearthly presence to them that gave them a faint feel of sentience. Will’s sword had been given to him by Michael, and I assumed my own Khopesh had been crafted for me in Heaven. our weapons had been forged with the purpose of being used on Earth. I could only imagine what sort of power the hallowed glaive could wield in our realm, a realm it was never meant to enter. Then again, I already knew the answer to that question. The power this divine weapon could wield, the amount of power I would need to summon just to use it, would kill me.

Ava put a hand on my shoulder and rescued me from my thoughts. “Marcus and I will do some research to find some possible locations of the Naphil.”

“Good call,” I said. “There has to be someone else who knows where he is. The Naphil may have angelic protection. Check with every reliable source you have. Every rumor should be treated as a lead.”

She gave a curt nod and left the room with Marcus in tow. Cadan remained on the sofa with his arms crossed and his head tilted back. He looked as if he were dozing off. I turned back to Madeleine, who returned to me with the partisan staff in both hands. She handed it over, and I gauged the weight and balance of the weapon. It was hundreds of years old and yet balanced perfectly. The blades were double-edged and still sharp, with no signs of rust. Madeleine had taken care of this antique.

“Do you know what Sammael fights with?” she asked. “We should have you spar against something similar.”

I shuddered as I remembered the weapon Sammael used to brutally glean a young girl’s soul and devour it. “He had a scythe, but I don’t know if that’s his primary weapon. I saw him use it to take a girl’s soul.”

Her mouth turned down as she considered this. “I don’t like polearm against polearm. These weapons are meant to be used from a distance, not in close combat where there is not enough room between you and your enemy to strike. Have you seen Lilith use a weapon?”

I shook my head. I wished I remembered something from my time in Heaven’s army. I knew nothing about my enemies in battle, nothing that would give me an edge. However, once I became Gabriel, that might all change.

“Will,” Madeleine called to her son. “Spar with Ellie using your own sword. The weapon is large enough to minimize the partisan’s defenses and make using the partisan challenging.”

Like I needed a spar with Will to be any more challenging. He called his sword as instructed and moved to stand about fifteen feet away from me, well out of reach of my blade.

Madeleine positioned herself next to me and laid her hands over mine to guide my stance. “Your right hand is dominant so it must be your rear hand. This is where your power comes from. Your forehand guides the direction of the blade.” She lowered my rear hand, pivoting the staff so that the blade lifted to chest height. “This is your ward. Right heel stepped back, hands a great distance apart to keep the balance even. There you go.”