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Munching noises filled a cave. Within it, Andrea was devouring Sariel’s corpse. Pyre sighed and shook his head. “The mighty leader of the angels,” he said as Andrea ripped off one of Sariel’s legs, “devoured by a hungry child. What a way to go.”
“Hey,” Andrea said and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I wasn’t the one who killed her. I thought you were supposed to be a smart person.” Her stomach gurgled as she finished off Sariel’s corpse, leaving behind the angel’s head. She leaned back, resting against Palan’s torso as she adjusted her spot in his lap.
“I suppose murdered by a fallen angel is a more fitting death for someone like her,” Pyre said and glanced at Raea. She was curled up into a ball, sitting with her back to the wall while staring at the ground. Pyre sighed and pulled out his pipe, lighting it with the bonfire. “I’m probably going to regret asking this, but what’s wrong, Raea?”
Raea raised her head and narrowed her eyes at Pyre. “I’m angry, but I don’t know why,” she said. A few wisps of black fire fell from her feathers, setting the cave floor around her ablaze. “I killed Sariel; shouldn’t I be happy now? I got revenge, so why do I feel even worse than when I started?” She clutched her chest. “It’s burning even hotter than before.”
“Oh,” Cory said and raised a wing. She was playing a game of cards with Cleo despite her lack of hands. “That’s because you haven’t killed Meffi yet. Didn’t he anger you somehow?”
“Madison’s contractor,” Raea muttered. Her brow furrowed. “Would that really make me feel better? What if it gets even worse?”
“Your anger stems from your sister’s death,” Pyre said. “The harpy surprisingly has a good point.”
“What do you mean surprisingly?” Cory asked as lightning crackled around her body.
Pyre ignored her. “Your anger won’t be gone until everyone involved in your sister’s death is dead. That makes sense, right?”
“Are you just using me to kill more people again?” Raea asked and snorted. “You told me killing Sariel would make me feel better. Look at where that got me. Why should I listen to you now?”
A hollow laugh escaped from Pyre’s lips. “Forget I said anything just now,” he said and shook his head. He sighed. “I still don’t understand why I’m here.” He bit on his pipe as he glanced at Palan. “Why did you drag me along?”
“Encyclopedia,” Andrea said with a straight face.
“I feel like you’re the kind of person that I need to watch over,” Palan said and ruffled Andrea’s hair. “If I let you out of my sight, something bad is going to happen. Solra trusted you for a bit, and now Solra’s dead. The angels overlooked you when they were hunting down your father, and look what happened to them. You built a gigantic laser that demolished their capital. I know the way I treated you could bring about a grudge, so I’m keeping my eye on you.”
“Why don’t you just kill him then?” Andrea asked and tilted her head, spinning her body around to face Palan.
“I need him to create a portal to send us back to Div’Nya,” Palan said and pinched her nose. She recoiled and batted his arm away.
“We’re going to the angels’ world?” Andrea blinked twice. “Why can’t we stay here? I like it here.”
“You’ll like Div’Nya more,” Palan said. “Trust me. Food. Food everywhere. You don’t even have to travel long distances to find prey to hunt. They’re everywhere. The cities are like storage chests filled with salted meat.”
“Hah?” Andrea asked, her eyes widening. She swallowed her saliva and blinked at Pyre. “Snack dispenser number two.”
Raea snorted. “Aren’t you becoming too complacent?” she asked Palan as she stood up. She definitely wasn’t feeling jealous of his sister or anything and wanted to ruin their atmosphere. Not at all. “What happened to finding Abaddon and killing him?”
“I don’t need to find him now that I have her,” Palan said and hugged Andrea to his chest. “There’s no time limit on our contract. I never have to see him again.” He paused. “Now that I think about it, we can leave right now.” He glanced at Pyre. “Start forming the portal.”
“We’ll need mana to power the portal,” Pyre said. He cleared his throat and avoided Raea’s gaze. “And some live angel blood.”
“Huh?” Raea asked. “Why?”
“That’s just how it works,” Pyre said. “We connect Div’Nya to Eljiam by using demon blood. We connect Eljiam to Div’Nya by using angel blood. There’s some kind of connection between a person and their home world, but it’s lost when the person dies.”
“Then, we’ll use your blood,” Raea said.
“I’m half-demon, remember? I’m not sure it’ll work.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this earlier?” Palan asked.
“You didn’t ask. And you didn’t give me any time. You had me open portals and threw me over here, what else was I supposed to do? I’m not omniscient. How was I supposed to know she’d kill Sariel like that?”
“How much blood is required?” Raea asked and bit her lip.
“Just like one and a half,” Pyre said and let out a hollow laugh.
“Drops?” Raea asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No way,” Cory said. “Think of how big the circle is. At least one and a half cups.”
“Bodies,” Pyre said. “One and a half angel’s worth of blood.”
Raea glared at him. “Where are we going to find that many angels?”
Pyre shrugged. “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before throwing me through the portal?”
“You’re really spiteful for an old man,” Andrea said and tilted her head. She rested her head on Palan’s shoulder. “Now I see why you want to keep an eye on him.”
“Isn’t it fine, though?” Pyre asked. “We take Abaddon’s blood. We take half of Raea’s blood. Then we have enough for the portal. Simple.”
Palan raised his head as rumbling sounds filled the cave. Voices drifted through the entrance.
“She’s in here?”
“Yep. Have I ever been wrong before?”
“I’m not going to answer that.”
Andrea’s ears perked up. She tugged on Palan’s arm. “It’s Abaddon.”
With another angel with him. How convenient. 🙂