Free Rebel Angel: A Sainted Sinners Novel by Vivian Wood Page B

pound. He threw himself into the battle, his stomach dropping a little each time another human died. More demons flocked toward the humans, afraid of Ezra but unable to resist the temptation of a good meal.
    He fought until he was sweating, until his muscles grew sore. For every demon he culled, two more arrived. The number of humans decreased bit by bit, until he could see that there were only a few rows of adults encircling all the human children, doing their best to protect them.
    Some of the children started to clamber across the rocks and vanish into the water. Ezra couldn’t blame them; it wasn’t as if he was going to save them, no matter how hard he tried.
    Behind him, he heard a booming laugh. All the demons went still, drifted away from the humans. Ezra turned to see none other than Lucifer himself, riding in on a gleaming, armor clad horse. The stallion was black as coal, matching the oil-slick dark feathers of Lucifer’s wings, the black nothingness of his eyes.
    Behind him, four dark-hooded black horsemen rode, flanking a woman on a white mare.
    Aurora . Her long copper hair flowing down her back, her sky-blue eyes dull and unblinking. She wore a silvery dress, slit high at the sides to display her bare legs and allow her to ride astride. She didn’t so much as glance at Ezra or the humans near the river. Instead, she focused on Lucifer, following his every movement as though he were her personal deity.
    “Aurora!” he called out. This time his voice rang clear as a bell, but Aurora didn’t acknowledge him.
    “She can’t hear you, Ezra,” Lucifer said, drawing the procession to a halt before Ezra. “You are too late. She belongs to me now.”
    “Aurora, look at me!” he said.
    Unflinching, she continued to stare at Lucifer as if he were the only creature in the entire universe.
    Lucifer grinned.
    “Beautiful, isn’t she? My greatest accomplishment, breaking her.” He glanced back at Aurora. “Isn’t that right, slave?”
    “Yes, my prince,” Aurora said. As she spoke, a slow tear broke free and slipped down her cheek. She let it fall, frozen in place.
    “You bastard,” Ezra uttered, horrified. “What did you do?”
    “That is no longer your concern, Ezra. I think you’d do best to think about what comes next for you.”
    “Next?” Ezra asked, looking around the apocalyptic landscape, at a complete loss.
    “You’re an immortal. You don’t die with the rest of the humans. And there’s no Heaven to run to anymore, the angels have all Fallen to join me.”
    “You mean you forced them to Fall,” Ezra gritted out.
    Lucifer shrugged, unconcerned. “Some of them have a little more loyalty than you do, Ezra. In any case, you’d better practice your groveling if you hope to rejoin my Army.”
    “Never,” Ezra swore, glancing at Aurora.
    “Once the cleansing is complete, and the earth has been converted to nothing more than another level of Hell… I think you’ll change your mind. That, or I’ll find a way to kill you,” Lucifer said.
    Before Ezra could say another word, Lucifer pulled at the reigns, making his stallion rear and whinny. Lucifer turned and took off at a gallop, Aurora and the four horsemen fast on his heels.
    Gritting his teeth, Ezra did the only thing he could think of. Raising his sword, he hurled it at Aurora. It flew straight and true, closer and closer.
    It sunk deep into her back. She cried out, a blossom of crimson appearing at her back…

7
Ezra
    E zra startled , opening his eyes. He looked around for a few moments before recognizing his location, the bedroom at the safe house. The sheets clung to his damp skin, and he shoved the fabric away as he sat up.
    Surely, the dream was just a product of the stressful situation. Ezra had never had a prophetic dream in his aeons of existence, it was unlikely that he should start now.
    Still, the dream shook him up. The dying humans, the way Lucifer gloated, the dead look in Aurora’s eyes… he knew enough of Aurora