Page 4 of The Halo & the Heathen
The broken halo that once ringed Lucifer’s head. The halo God has long wanted returned to her. It’s right there for the taking.
Hesitating, I search the shadows, trying to see if it’s guarded, but who would dare try to steal it?
Lurching forward as the ground burns through my shoes, I pull in a sharp and silent gasp. Each step is pain. There is no difference if I move fast or slow. The rocks sizzle and scrape against my skin, cutting and cauterizing the wound at the same time.
By the time I reach the craggy plinth it rests on, glowing and yet so dark all at once, I barely feel my feet anymore.
When I reach for it, my fingers tingle with warmth and I grit my teeth in case it burns. But the moment I touch the halo, I’m jerked backward.
Dark claws pierce me, and I know… I’ve failed.
The Nameless
I can’t affordto fail.
Irefuseto.
Clutching the halo in my hand so tightly I’m certain it will slice through my palm. I steel myself for whatever comes next.
I can’t let it go. I can’t—
“You don’t belong here.”
The voice slithers over my skin, leaving an invisible trail as it goes.
The demon turns me in their hand, moving me until they can press their face close.
I see their massive horns first. Black and glittering, they are cracked and chipped.
And then wings. Brittle and burned things that look like torn leather stretched over charred bone. If this demon can fly, I would be amazed.
Dark eyes beneath a cruel brow glare at me over a mouth that seems locked in a perpetual snarl. Big pointy teeth… I stare at them and grip the halo tighter.
I can’tlet it go.
But something sharp and smooth wraps around my wrist, slithering between my palm and that halo. And before I can domore than breathe a sharp protest, the demon takes it from me. They don’t let me go. They don’t even release me when their tail places the halo back onto the plinth.
And I don’t look away either.
I can’t.
There’s something hypnotic in the depths of their dark eyes.
I’ve memorized all of the named demons in the convent records. This one was not among them.
Movement in my periphery makes me flinch. It breaks his spell.
The creature there is tiny. A body like a hairless mouse, it scurries over the walls. Chittering away and I don’t like how it feels more dangerous than the demon who holds me.
But that’s a lie. It has to be.
I look up at the demon. “Who are you?”
“He has no name.” The tiny creature laughs like a villain who’s sucked down helium… until the nameless demon throws an iron spike through it, silencing it by turning it into an ashy goo.
“The pest was right. I have no name.” His claw hooks in the chiffon between my breasts. The tip is hot as it rests against my sternum. “But you do.”
I do. But I’m not going to tell him.
