I opened my eyes when I heard Gabriel open the front door. His face was troubled.
“What’s the problem?” I said.
He hesitated, and I saw an indefinable emotion flicker across his face.
“Lord Azazel has ordered that we do not track Ramuell at this time. After the incident at the Agency he is wary of your drawing too close to Lucifer’s enemies.”
I wanted to retort that one more enemy wouldn’t make much of a difference, but I bit my tongue. Gabriel didn’t deserve to be shouted at just because I didn’t want my every breath approved by Azazel first. Although I was pretty annoyed that he had talked to Azazel. It made me wonder if I would ever come first in his eyes.
“And he is sending Nathaniel to you to ensure your safety,” he said.
“What!” I exploded, coming to my feet in one angry motion. “I don’t want that pompous jerk hanging around and annoying me while we have work to do.”
“You do not have a choice, Madeline. He is your betrothed,” Gabriel said softly.
“We’ll just see about that,” I muttered. “Look, it’s almost daylight. Ramuell attacked me in the alley near Greenwitch’s house. You may be able to trace him directly from there. And maybe we can avoid Nathaniel while we’re at it.”
“He would still be able to trace you,” Gabriel said.
“How?”
He held up his cell phone.
“You don’t have to answer that, you know.”
“Yes,” Gabriel sighed, “I do. And you cannot ask me to directly ignore an order of Lord Azazel’s.”
Which told me everything I needed to know. When push came to shove, Gabriel would choose Azazel over me. It made the feelings between us a little easier to ignore, I supposed. I wanted him but there was a universe of obstacles in our way.
“Fine. You don’t have to ignore Azazel’s orders, but I can.”
Gabriel took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if he were searching for patience. “It is seditious for you to ignore the will of your father.”
“If my father wanted me to respect his will, then he should have hung around. As it is, he missed the key personality-formation years and therefore can stick it.”
“Madeline . . .”
“No,” I said, growing angry. “I am not going to sit around and wait for Ramuell to come after me again. I am not going to wait for him to tear some innocent bystander to pieces. I am going after him. Are you helping me or not?”
Gabriel looked at me. I gazed steadily back. Beezle rotated his head back and forth between us, trying to see who would break first.
Something shifted in his eyes. “Lord Azazel did not, I suppose, directly order you to stay away from Greenwitch’s.”
I nodded.
“And I am bound to stay at your side.”
I nodded again.
“Then I suppose I must accompany you there, and if we happen to come upon Ramuell’s traces, then it would be folly not to follow them.”
I smiled. Maybe the obstacles between us weren’t so great after all.
“Can nephilim come out in the daytime?” I asked.
“I suppose so,” Gabriel answered. “Why?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I’ve only seen Ramuell at night. I was wondering if maybe sunlight ...”
“Burned the nephilim to ash like a vampire?” Beezle snorted. “Maddy, remember that the nephilim are half-angel, and angels are born of the sun.”
“Right.” I nodded and went into my room to change. But I was thinking about the ragged shreds of skin left on Ramuell after I’d blasted him with the starburst. That power seemed to have a lot in common with the sun. Maybe every nephilim wasn’t vulnerable to sunlight, but Ramuell could be. His father was the Morningstar, after all, and Beezle had said that the traits of the angels were twisted inside the nephilim. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that a father so closely associated with the sun could have a child that couldn’t bear the touch of it?
It was something to think about, anyway.
We managed to get out of the house before Nathaniel arrived. Beezle promised to delay the angel as long as possible so that Gabriel and I could work uninterrupted. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when we arrived at Greenwitch’s place. It was too early even for the coffee shop on the corner to have opened yet.
The building looked much the same as it had the last time I had been there. Gabriel stepped up to the door. He put his hand over the doorknob and muttered something under his breath. I heard the dead bolt click open inside.
“It can’t be that easy,” I said, hesitating on the threshold.
Gabriel stepped inside and headed down the staircase. “My magic is not insignificant, Madeline. I, too, am a descendant of Lord Lucifer.”
I dithered for a moment in the doorway and finally decided it was better to follow him and close the door. No sense standing on the stoop, yelling after him and waking the neighbors.
The air inside was filled with the scent of herbs, thyme and sage most predominantly. It didn’t have that unused smell that living spaces get when the occupants are gone for more than a few hours. Greenwitch hadn’t been gone for that long but still, I’d have expected the air to be a little stale.
“I didn’t say your magic was insignificant. And I’m not interested in playing a who’s-closer-to-Lucifer’s-bloodline game,” I said as I hurried after him. “I said it can’t be that easy. Greenwitch was an extremely powerful demon. She probably had a lot of enemies.”