Free Genesis: Falling Angel by Keily Arnold Page B

parted to tell her “no,” to tell her that it was a suicide mission. However, if pretending to be this girl’s friend and ally helped me take her to Lilith, I was all too willing. “I’m in,” I said.
    This was apparently the wrong thing to say. She looked suspicious. Apparently she wasn’t as naïve as I thought. “If it’s so dangerous, why are you so eager?”
    Well, might as well lie again. “If God sent you, and I’m the first to find you, then I must be m eant to be your guide.” There I was, playing the God card.
    She brightened at this. “My thoughts exactly!”
    “Why wait?” I said, feeding off her excitement. “Let’s get started now. The journey could take a while. We’ll have to go through the seven regions to reach Superbia.”
    “Of course!” she exclaimed.
    “We’ll need supplies, too.” Of course I could’ve flown off while she was sleeping and brought supplies, but I knew of caves that Reapers kept supplies in for missions. I’m sure the Reapers wouldn’t mind if I looked through one of their storages. They wouldn’t notice anything missing. The creeps never ate much to begin with. “You might want to get a drink of water. This will be a long trip.”
    She ran to the pool without hesitation, stumbling slightly. The whole ordeal was almost too easy. God had stepped onto the playing field, so he had to be planning something. The question was simple: “what?” What could God be using this poor, naïve girl for? She drank greedily from the pool, and I watched her as if something might swoop down and snatch her away from me at any moment. I couldn’t lose her. She would earn me more favor with Lilith than ever before. Maybe she’d even demote the Fallen in Superbia. Maybe Luxuria would become the capital. Maybe—
    A roar came from overhead. I jumped to my feet, dashing to Gabrielle ’s side in a heartbeat. She was too stunned to move, apparently. I tried to get her to move to the shade, but her eyes were transfixed on the sky. Finally, I scooped her up in my arms, making a mad dash for one of the trees. Once there, I turned my eyes to the sky and set Gabrielle down. Anger flared up within me.
    A golden dragon circled overhead, letting out another earth-shaking roar. The beasts were a nuisance to me. What was one doing so far away from Avaritia? The greedy lizards were always near treasure. There was nothing in Ira except ash and blood. Obviously, the dragon had no idea where it was going.
    When it finally left, it took a few moments for Gabrielle to speak. “What was that thing?” she whispered as though it could hear her.
    “Walk with me. We need to get moving.” The sun wasn’t high up yet. There was still time to make it to a cave.
    “What was that thing?” she repeated with a hysterical note in her voice.
    “It was a dragon. They’re vermin, basically,” I replied, grasping her hand. I pulled her forward, toward the cave with renewed vigor. “Walk faster before it comes back. They eat humans sometimes. They don’t even like how we taste. They just think that it’s fun to watch us squirm. They’re usually in Avaritia, so I have absolutely no idea what one is doing so far out here.” I observed the skies. “They have human forms as well. They can fool you easily, so just watch the eyes because they have an unnatural shine to them. Their skin is hard and cold, mimicking their scales.”
    She looked even more scared now. I sighed. “Just stay close and you’ll be fine, all right?” She was getting to be more trouble than she was worth.
    She was silent the rest of the way to the cave. I’m not sure how long we were walking. At some point, she started limping. She began to slow us down with it, and I grew tired of her stubbornness. When I made to help her, she shooed me away, not meeting my gaze. I finally scooped her up once more, and she turned away from me. Her feet were swollen. I had forgotten that she had never walked in a human body.
    She was light. Her