Reversal of Fortune [malexmale]

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

"Long time no see," Uriel said drolly, pushing off the wall of the room and stepping forward to greet me. He no longer wore handsome suits and tailored clothing like he did when he was an archangel in Heaven.

Now he wore a long leather coat with matching pants and a sleek button up with studded bracelets and a choker with a skull on it. His tall monstrous boots matched and were an obvious overcompensation for the fact that he had the body of a sixteen-year-old. Such a figure came as an eternal curse from his almighty brother, Michael, who punished him for having betrayed Heaven. I'd say he got off easy considering what Michael had done to Lucifer.

"Last I saw you, you were fleeing Heaven with your tail tucked between your legs," I said smoothly, knowing it was going to rankle his hide. Even though he flashed me a smile, I could sense the irritation boiling off him as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat.

"You've missed a lot betraying the Shifter," Uriel responded, walking over so he could casually peer out the window, his black eyes gleaming as he eyed Sin, "Ooh, another Beast? Tsk tsk, Ro, you never learn, do you?" I said nothing, just eyed Uriel closely. He wasn't just here to chat, and neither one of us was that stupid. It was strange, playing this game with him, almost like ice dancing, waiting to see who was going to eat ice first.

"It's so hard to ruffle your feathers," Uriel said when I didn't answer, and he turned to look at me, amused, "Although, I heard the Shifter had no problem last time. Do you enjoy your time in the dungeon with our professionals? Could've sworn I heard you scream a few times." I still didn't answer, but there was an eerie trickling sensation down the back of my neck, like an ice cube sliding across my skin.

Phantom pains erupted in my hips, on the bottoms of my feet, in my face, my mouth especially, and in my ears. A flash of the darkness inside that cold cell back at the castle slammed against my conscious and I blinked it away, cocking my head slightly, giving Uriel this look that encouraged him to continue before I grew bored of his attempts to scare me.

"Fuck, you're so boring," Uriel sighed, "Hades would've been so much easier. All you have to do is say one of his bastard kids' names and he flies off the handle. You should've seen the way he acted when Abdul said Theo's name. Not that it matters since Abdul's corpse is now under Hades's watchful eye in his realm. Pity, I liked Abdul. He was very talented with a scalpel. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" I felt my teeth come down together hard.

I remembered exactly what he was talking about, and the image of that scalpel coming down in front of my eyes seated my brain, the feel of the blade cutting down on my tongue in slow sawing motions until I was drowning in my own blood. My lungs constricted at the memory and my tongue shriveled to the back of my mouth.

"So," I said after a moment, keeping my voice steady, "You were the one who launched the attack on Hades." Uriel beamed.

"He speaks! And all it took was bringing your favorite bastard into the conversation. Sounds like you heard all about my handy work," he commented, then nodded and looked so damn proud of himself, "It was a failed mission, but we definitely had some fun. I bet your sweet auntie told you that everyone's doing fine and dandy, huh? Bet she didn't tell you that we almost had him, Ro."

I said nothing.

Uriel leaned closer, invading my personal space, his eyes staring up into mine like razor blades sticking me in the face.

"So, so close. I could almost taste that special blood of his going down my throat," he whispered, making me narrow my eyes on him, "We'll get him next time for sure. And when we do, you'll come running. I know you. You can play the aloof enigma, but in the end, you're utterly predictable, just like the rest of these cockroaches."