Divide the Sky

Chapter 3: Dirty Deals

Rafael sat slumped on the chapel path. His whole body was listing sideways, pulled down by his broken wing. There was a dark sweep in the sand behind him where he'd let the whole wing drag before he'd hit the grass.

Tyler froze up under Rafael's gaze. He didn't recognise his old boyfriend in those eyes. The stare was piercing, and bright, and wrong in a way that took him a moment to puzzle out.

Rafael had never liked making eye contact with anyone. With other survivors he managed to force it, but with Tyler he didn't stress himself out by trying—they just stuck close, side-by-side, and the closeness was enough.

Now Rafael was staring his straight in the eyes. Like they were strangers sizing each other up in an empty street. Rafael was alone without backup, entirely outnumbered, but he still sat here waiting for them.

Instead of the fear he'd expected, Tyler just felt gut-squirming disappointment.

Diego kicked out his wings. The frozen sand didn't drift up like it should, flying up in frozen chunks instead and dropping in heavy lumps between them. At his feet, his shadow seemed to twist and jump closer to Rafael.

"I thought we had an understanding," Diego said, and there was a new, low rumble to his words. "There was going to be an order to these things. Should've run when I told you to, angel."

Throwing his wings behind him, the demon leaned down to Rafael. Tyler knew he should grab him, and keep him out of range, but instead he froze as Diego moved right into Rafael's killing range and took a long, deep inhale.

"Smells like a good, peaty whiskey, doesn't it?" Diego said. Tyler's stomach turned when he realised he meant the wet-earth tang of angel blood on feathers.​

Rafael snapped at him, his teeth grazing the air in front of Diego's nose, nearly clipping a stray lock of hair.

"How can I run? He broke my fuckin' wing," Rafael snarled. "And if your Butterfly Queen wants me, you'll find me either way. Aren't you her bloodhound?"

Rafael's voice was thin was pain. Whatever inner strength he'd been using to hide his exhaustion had run dry, but he still kept his head high as he stared at Diego. He even leaned closer, his third eye spinning in its socket.

"What if I was to read you, demon? What would I see behind all that swagger?"

"You wouldn't see a damn thing." Diego took a step forward, flashing white teeth and snapping his wings. Rafael flinched backwards, shuddering as his wing caught underneath him.

That's when Tyler decided, for sure, what side he was on. There was a violence in Diego's eyes that rang through him like a bell. A wall of force and a promise of blood, and he held it between Tyler and the angel as if it were a shield.

Diego would kill Rafael. He owed Tyler nothing, but he'd do it. It didn't matter that they were strangers, because this wasn't a favour or a job he had to do—this was something he wanted. An excuse to let the monster out. Just a bit of fun.

He saw Rafael notice it too, recognition sharpening every edge of his face.

This is how they used to be. Tyler had always been Rafael's excuse. A thing to protect.

A man who could make an angel cower like that was someone he wanted on his team. But even as part of him leapt to see Rafael cowering, a deeper sense of alarm rose within his chest.

He didn't want Rafi to die here. If he'd wanted that, he would have done it when the angel was screaming at the sea's edge. This mess with the vines complicated their plan, but he still held onto a shred of hope—if he could free Rafi from the vines curled tight around his brain, finding a way to remove them without shredding his brain, they could fight side-by-side again. They could still save the home that had been stolen from them.