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blood.”
    “Yeah and I had a huge jagged tear in my shoulder from her teeth.”
    “I don’t remember biting him, I swear. I just—”
    “Lost yourself,” Gus finishes. “The empty memories, the overthrow of your senses, the lust for blood.” He nods, humorless. “I’ve read about this before.”
    I push more fallen locks of my hair behind my ear and peer up at Gus.
    “You have?” Azael and I ask at the same time.
    “The Lilim virus.”

Chapter 7

    We stare blankly back at Gus. He shakes his head in exasperation. “Honestly, do you two even listen to anything I say?”
    “Well it really depends on how many times I hear my name,” Azael answers with a smile. “I can hardly show an interest in something that doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
    “You’ll just have to give it your best effort to pay attention then,” Gus says pointedly.
    “No promises,” he mutters, slumping on his elbows so his head dips down between his shoulders.
    Gus shoots him a sharp look before explaining. “The Lilim are demi-demons and the offspring of Lilith.”
    “Wait, Lilith has children?” I question. “How? She’s a demon. It’s physically impossible.”
    “I’m offended that I wasn’t invited to her baby shower,” Azael says.
    Shut it, Az, I warn him, kicking at his ankles. He makes a huffing noise in acknowledgement.
    Gus doesn’t seem any more bothered by his comments than he already is. He ignores him and answers me. “She used to have hundreds.” He looks at us expectantly. “You’ve learned about this. Or do you ignore my history lessons, too?”
    I look at him guiltily and Azael flashes a smug smile.
    “Great, I’m glad to see I’ve made such an impression on you two. Here’s an abridged version…”
    He lets his head fall back and he takes a deep breath, like he’s breathing in the twenty-six letters that hang above him to piece together into a story. I lean forward to listen.
    “Lilith found humans… fascinating . She used to be one, after all, before Lucifer stole her from Eden and brought her back to Hell with him. In the dawn of the human race, Lilith was particularly interested in men. She would seduce them, and because she was once human herself, she was somehow able to bear their children—all daughters. When her first daughter was born, it was neither human nor demon. The child was both.”
    “Half-human, half-demon?” I whisper.
    He nods. “Lilith had inadvertently created a new breed of demons. With a foot in both worlds, Hell and Earth, her daughters were incredibly powerful. They had the strength and speed of a demon. Their only flaw was mortality. They were born without souls, but they had hearts that would beat only until their death. You must have found one that was still in the process of changing, otherwise Azael wouldn’t have found a soul at all.”
    “If there’s a soul to reap, I’ll find it,” Az intones, uninterested.
    Again, Gus ignores his comments. “Lilith kept bearing children and eventually built up a small army of demi-demons. They threatened the purity of Earth, and Heaven recognized the danger. So the angels created the Nephilim.” He looks between me and Azael. “Please tell me you remember what I’ve taught you about Nephilim.”
    It takes me a moment to grab onto the thread of the memory, but I find it. “Angel-human crossbreeds. Made by mixing human blood with that of a powerful angel.”
    “Good,” Gus sighs, sounding relieved.
    Azael rolls his eyes. Teacher’s pet.
    I jab him sharply in the ribs with my elbow.
    “The Nephilim,” Gus’s voice echoes in the empty chapel and disrupts the flames, “were stronger than the Lilim. Their blood was pure and old, much older than Lilith’s. But Hell had no alternatives to Lilith’s blood. She was the only demon who could procreate with humans successfully, not that others didn’t try. Demonic children not born from Lilith’s blood died in miscarriages.”
    “How many children died?” I

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