Page 43 of Alastair

A memory was all it could ever be.

***

“Victory in this war requires more than excelling in combat,” Michael said, hands behind his back as he stood in front of the boys and their mates. “You must use your minds just as much as your strength. Lazarus has trained you well. I saw your skills during the first war with Lucifer and have occasionally looked in on you since then as you took the position as protectors of humankind.”

Gray stood beside Mason, hanging on to his bicep, and slow blinked at Michael before yawning. Castor lost focus when a ray of sunlight caught on the hilt of his golden dagger. He twirled the weapon in his hand, admiring the shine of the gold.

Daman glowered—undercaffeinated and veering on murderous because of it. Raiden paid attention for a moment, then became distracted by a butterfly that landed on Titan’s metal arm.

I stood to the right of Michael, clenching my jaw. Whether to keep from snapping at them or laughing, I wasn’t sure. None of them were impressed by the lecture on warfare that early in the morning.

Even Alastair seemed dazed, as if he hadn’t slept any better than I had.

Kallias was the exception. He intently listened to Michael, nodding every so often. The island setting had been good for him. Perhaps because, while the island still had modern amenities such as running water and electricity, there were aspects that reminded him of the ancient world he was more familiar with. The training arenas. The grassy fields and rolling hills. The earth beneath his heels and the sword in his hand.

“Now.” Michael clapped his big hands together once. The sound caused Gray to snap his head back up from where he’d slowly been falling asleep against Mason’s arm. “Lazarus trained each of you to have a special skill set: strategy, tracking, brute strength, and assassination. But I’m interested in your other skills. The powers that relate to your cursed blood. Explain them to me. I never got the opportunity to see them firsthand.”

“Thank the gods for that mercy,” Alastair said. “Our powers are nothing to play around with. I would caution you against us using them unless absolutely necessary.”

“I’ll be the judge of what’s necessary,” Michael coolly responded. “I need to know all your strengths and weaknesses before we can strategize an attack against Lucifer. To better understand an enemy, we must first understand ourselves, and—”

A loud rumble filled the air, and Raiden’s cheeks reddened. “Sorry. I need a snack. Man. I have a sudden cravin’ for sesame chicken. Maybe some red bean soup and sticky rice cakes too.”

“Focus, baby.” Titan squeezed Raiden’s hand.

“He’s focusing all right,” Castor said. “On his stomach.”

“All of you need to focus,” I interjected. “Before I lose my patience.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Castor muttered, earning an elbow jab in the side from Kyo. “Hey!”

“When did I lose control?” Alastair pinched the bridge of his nose. “Someonepleaseget this meeting back on track before I order all of you to shut the hell up for the remainder of the day.”

“Fine. Whatever. I’ll start,” Daman said, examining his nails. “Envy feeds off people’s insecurities. I hear their jealous thoughts and can enhance those feelings, making them lash out at the object of their envy, sowing seeds of bitterness and doubt in their minds.”

“Wrath feeds off people’s anger,” Galen said. “When set loose, my sin makes those nearby highly aggressive. It’s useful when facing a swarm of enemies and pitting them against each other instead.”

“Good, good.” Michael nodded and moved his attention to Bellamy. “You specialize in carnal desires, correct? You can release pheromones into the air that turns anyone who catches a whiff into a lust-driven fiend. Tell me, how do you know the correct pheromone to release? How does it work?”

“Lust senses what turns someone on and uses it against them,” Bellamy said. “It’s also why my eyes change color depending on who looks at me. Lust makes a person see the eyes they find most appealing.”

“Fascinating. I’m nearly tempted to ask for a demonstration.”

Michael’s curiosity had probed him to say such a ludicrous thing. He was fascinated with the boys and their sins. And when something fascinated him, he could be like a mad scientist, doing anything to further his understanding of it.

“That could be arranged,” Bellamy said, and the demon at his side growled low. “Not with me, Nix.”

“I have no qualms about kicking an archangel’s ass,” Phoenix said, his deep brown eyes flickering to red as they settled on Michael. “So watch yourself.”

“Down, boy.” Bellamy bent to nuzzle his mate’s collar. “I belong to you. Completely.” He smirked as he lifted his head again. “I could set him loose on Lazarus. That would be fun.”

“No,” Alastair snapped, baring his teeth. Then, just as quickly, he smoothed a hand over his pale hair, regaining his composure. Though… the edges of his eyes remained taut, and he did that tightening thing with his jaw. “Enough of the jokes. We don’t have time for them.”

Amusement shone in Michael’s gaze. “Interesting. Very interesting indeed.” He glanced at me, as if to say “I told you so.”

I ignored him… but I couldn’t ignore my own mind. Why did Alastair snap at Bellamy? To stop him from wasting time? Or to stop him from using his power on me and Michael?

Michael nodded to Raiden. “And you?”