Page 60 of Alastair

Flutters swarmed my stomach, and a tingling warmth rippled through my chest. Had he always been so…

“Beautiful,”Pride said.

It was suddenly harder to breathe. The damned fated mate bond was stronger now, as if the seal had further weakened.

“Ah, Alastair,” Michael said, the cheerfulness in his voice a stark contrast to the tension in the air. “Perhaps you can offer some insight into this debate.”

“It’s not a debate,” Lazarus told him before glaring at Penemuel. “You arenotdoing this. I forbid it.”

“You forbid it?” Penemuel met his glare with one of his own. I’d never seen that side of the fallen angel. He was always so mellow and laid-back. “Lucky for me, I don’t take orders from you.”

“Of course. How could I forget.” Lazarus bared his teeth. “You defected with all the other traitors. But you followed the Morningstar’s orders. If you believe for a second I’d allow you to taint humankind—”

“Easy, Lazarus.” Michael placed a hand on his shoulder. One touch, but the meaning was clear: stop. “Let him speak.”

“Thank you.” Penemuel tipped his head to the archangel.

“Don’t thank me quite yet,” Michael responded, and unlike earlier, there was a slight edge to his voice. “I listen to both sides of an argument before passing down judgment.”

“Someone explain what’s going on.” I drew closer, glancing between the three of them. “And keep your voices down. You’ll wake the whole island, if you haven’t already.” I said the last bit while looking at Lazarus.

He averted his eyes.

“So far during this war, I’ve been of little help,” Penemuel said. “I don’t pretend to be a warrior. My pen has always been mightier than my sword.”

“Yes,” Lazarus snapped. “And you use that pen as a weapon to—”

“Lazarus.” Michael didn’t raise his voice, but his authority rang clear. Then, in a lighter tone, he added, “Don’t make me put you in time out.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. For as long as I’d known Lazarus, I had never seen anyone hold that type of authority over him. It would do him some good.

“The mortal realm is quickly spiraling into chaos,” Penemuel continued. “The monster attacks. Vepar’s power that’s causing unpredictable weather patterns, which many humans are saying is a sign of the end of days. People are frightened, and that fear will lead to mass panic, just like before when Belphegor was on his quest for souls. I didn’t step up back then. I left Asa and his army and hid away, regrettably, like a coward. I wanted no part of this war. I just wanted to write my books in peace.”

“Youdidhelp though,” I told him. “You told us of Belphegor’s plan to release Lucifer.”

“But I should have done more.” Guilt pierced his honey eyes. “Which is where my plan comes in.”

“Tell me.”

“All right.” Penemuel smoothed a hand over his brown hair as excitement lit his expression. He reminded me of a nerdy scientist about to explain the irrefutable results of a complicated experiment. “Vepar controls the weather. Purah raises the dead. And I can influence minds through my literary works.”

“Brainwash humans,” Lazarus muttered.

I fought another smile. His attitude was oddly amusing. Maybe because it was a side of him I hadn’t seen.

“I give them enlightenment,” Penemuel corrected. “Yes, it’s a power that can corrupt minds—” He glanced at Lazarus before returning his gaze to me. “—but it can also be used for good. My idea is to use my power and give humans instructions on how to protect themselves during these troubling times.”

“How would you do it?” I asked.

“With the age of technology, information can be spread like wildfire with the simple click of a button,” Penemuel answered. “It’s my understanding that Daman is good with computers? I could write out the instructions, and he could make sure it goes viral, reaching as many humans as possible. It won’t save them all, but I’m confident it would help many. One life saved is better than none at all.”

Michael kept his silence. He was carefully considering the proposal before voicing an opinion.

“What kind of instructions would you give them?” Lazarus asked.

Penemuel explained that he’d tell the humans to network with each other about monster sightings, how to protect themselves if they were attacked, and to never go anywhere alone. Everyone who read the message would also be enlightened to the existence of the supernatural world, so it would eliminate mass panic when more humans came across zombies, ghouls, or any other horror thrown at them—as if the knowledge had been there all along. Then, once the war was over, their memories would be wiped of anything pertaining to the supernatural.

It was basically mind control, but…