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I came up to the stage on my father’s side of his table, steering as clear as I could of Pharzuph, but it wasn’t far enough. As I stepped onto the stage next to Gerlinda I heard a cough and a theatrical gagging sound. Pharzuph waved a hand in front of his face. Drama king.
“Good Hades, Belial! She’s still a virgin!” The Dukes all gasped.
My father stood, leaning down on the table with fists like rocks and a face even harder, and told Pharzuph to mind his own business. He threw in some colorful words, and I got a clear image of the life he’d led with hardened criminals.
“You think I don’t know she’s a virgin? She’s a virgin because I’ve damn well told her to stay one. It’s the leverage we’re using on a boy who’s proven to be a hard sell. She’s on the cusp of breaking him down, and her virginity will be gone by the time it’s over. It’s all been included in my reports to the boss, so shut your trap.”
“Her odor is offensive,” Pharzuph said.
“Deal with it.”
“This virginity is not even necessary to lure men,” Pharzuph argued. “Women have been successfully fooling men into believing they’re virgins since the dawn of time.”
“Enough!” scolded Rahab.
He shoved Gerlinda backward, hollering for her to get out of his way. Before I could turn away he punched the side of my head and I staggered to the side, bending and catching myself with my hands on the floor. My ear rang and my head throbbed, but with slow movements I got to my feet. I kept my eyes down, scared to see the bloodlust in his eyes.
I saw his arm lift and I braced myself. He hit the other side of my face. I didn’t fall this time, but I did let out a small cry from the sharp pain in my ear. Taking shallow breaths, I straightened again and balled my hands at my sides.
I thought about the hilt. My dad said he would give me a sign if it was necessary to use it. At the moment his face was murderous. He kept still, so I did the same.
Rahab moved beside me, setting the gun on the table.
“Pick it up,” he told me. Was he serious? One look at his feral eyes told me he was. With a trembling hand I picked it up. It was heavier than it appeared. I held it in front of me.
“To make amends for disrupting our session, you will complete it for us.”
I swallowed and it got stuck in my dry throat. Rahab stepped back and pointed at Gerlinda.
“You will kill her yourself.”
My body’s immediate response was to shake my head back and forth. No. No. No.
“Rahab...” My father’s voice came out even deeper than normal. But Rahab only grinned, knowing he’d chosen the perfect punishment. The fact that it bothered my father only sweetened the deal.
“Either you kill her and live, or you both die.” He emitted a singular chuckle. Several Dukes joined him. Together their laughter rose until my scalp tingled.
“You will obey me now, daughter of Belial. Raise the gun.”
Gerlinda and I looked at each other for the first time since I’d gotten onstage. Her eyes held no hope. She believed I would kill her to save myself.
“Brother Rahab,” one of the Dukes called to him, and tossed up another gun, which Rahab caught. He pointed it at my forehead. I held my breath. This was it. I was going to die, and my poor father and friends would have to watch.
There was only one who could save me now. Please help me.
“Last chance.” Rahab gloated, cocking the gun with a click.
Scraping noises, like chairs pushing back, came from the side of the room where my friends sat. Before anyone had a chance to look, somebody shone a flashlight—no, a spotlight in the back of the room. Every head turned at once toward the blinding light.
As confused and curious as I was, my mind wandered back to the noise I’d heard. I tore my eyes from the growing light to find Kopano and Kaidan standing. A knife gleamed in Kaidan’s hand.
Sit down! I willed to them, panicked. They both wavered, and Kopano sat. Kaidan’s eyes locked on mine. I pleaded with him as he stood there, obstinate. The light was further brightening the room, distracting anyone who might have noticed our interaction.
Dukes shielded their eyes, even my father, and Rahab’s gun arm dropped to his side.
Please sit, I willed to Kaidan once more, begging. And this time he did.
A sudden peace rolled over me, ironing out the creases of anxiety and fear in my soul.
The light was now a gaping, bright hole in the back wall, blinding, and from it walked an angel, then another, and another, until their ranks filled every open space in the room. These were not the sweet-natured type of angels that guarded humans. These were warrior angels, brimming with justice. They wore armor that shimmered like the hilt. Each had flowing hair of differing lengths and enormous white wings. Everything about these angels was fierce and ethereal, stoic and gallant. I could barely breathe.
The Dukes stumbled, pressing back toward the stage. Gone were their cheers and jeers. The demon spirits above us flattened themselves to the ceiling, hissing like cornered alley cats.
“Wh-wha—” Rahab caught himself stuttering and stood up straighter. “How dare you come here!”
“We go where we are sent,” answered the angel in the center.
“Yes, yes, of course you do,” Rahab spit. “No minds of your own. What do you want?”
“You will not kill the daughter of Belial.” The room went ghostly quiet. My heart soared.
“The Nephilim have never been your concern. They are ours!”