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They landed on the bank of the river under the shade of a weepingtree, sending a flock of agitated ducks flapping into the water In broad daylight, the angels folded in their wings Luce stood behind Daniel to watch the intricate process as his retracted into his skin

They drew in fro a series of soft snaps as layers of muscle folded on empyreal feathers Last calowed as they disappeared inside his body, leaving no trace on his specially tailored T-shirt

They walked to the bridge, like any other tourists interested in architecture Annabelle walked much more stiffly than normal, and Luce saw Arriane reach out and touch her hand The sun was bright and the air se wasarches underneath

There was a sle tower attached to one side near the entrance of the bridge It held a sign that read CHAPEL DE SAINT NICOLAS Luce wondered where the real tourists were

The chapel was coated with a fine, silvery dust

They walked the bridge silently, but Luce noticed that Annabelle wasn’t the only one upset Daniel and Roland were tre well clear of the entrance to the chapel, and Luce remembered they were forbid-den to enter a sanctuary of God

Dee ran her fingers over the narrow brass railing with a heavy sigh "We are too late"

"This isn’t--" Luce touched the dust It was insubstantial and light, with a hint of silver shimmer, like the dust that had covered her parents’ backyard "You els have died here" Roland’s voice was monotone as he stared into the river

"B-but," Luce stammered, "we don’t knohether Gabbe and Cam and Molly even made it here"

"This used to be a beautiful place," Annabelle said

"Now they’ve marred it forever Je m’excuse, Bénézet "

That hen Arriane held up a quivering silver feather "Gabbe’s pennon Intact, so it ive to an Outcast who didn’t get it before" She looked away, holding the feather to her chest

"But I thought the Scale didn’t kill angels," Luce said

"They don’t" Daniel bent down and wiped away some of the dust that waswas buried underneath it

His fingers found a dusty silver starshot He wiped it on his shirt and Luce shivered each tiers drew near the deadly dull tip At last, he held it out for the others to examine It was branded with an ornate letter Z

"The Elders," Arriane whispered

"They are happy to kill angels," Daniel said softly

"In fact, there’s nothing they’d rather do" There was a sharp crack

Luce whipped around, expectingshe didn’t knohat Scale? Elders?

Dee shook out her fist, rubbing red knuckles with her other hand Then Luce saw: The wooden door to the chapel was smashed in the center Dee ht it was ree

"You all right there, Dee?" Arriane called out

"Sophia has no business here" Her voice quaked with rage "What Lucifer is doing is beyond the compass of the Elders’ concern And yet she could ruin everything for you angels I could kill her"

"Promise?" Roland asked

Daniel slipped the starshot into the satchel and clasped it shut "However this battle ended, it un over the third relic Someone found it"

"A war of resources," Dee said

Luce flinched "And someone died for it"

"We don’t knohat happened, Luce," Daniel said

"And on’t know until we stand before the Elders

We need to track them down"

"How?" Roland asked

"Maybe they went to Sinai to stake us out," Annabelle suggested

Daniel shook his head and paced "They don’t know to go to Sinai--unless they tortured the location out of one of our angels" He stopped and looked away

"No," Dee said, looking around their circle on the bridge "The Elders have their own agenda They’re greedy They want a larger stake in all of this They want to be reo as ent location to stage your own ht Daniel’s wings bristled as he scanned the pale pink eastern sky Annabelle ran her long nails through her hair Arriane hugged her arround, at a loss for sarcastic words Luce see about Finally, Roland’s voice echoed ootha Place of skulls"

ELEVEN

VIA DOLOROSA

As the angels banked right over what looked like the southern coast of France, Luce watched the dark waves roll below the the distant shore She did soht, it would be Tuesday, December 1 Five days had passed since she’d returned from the Announcers, which meant they were past the els fell to Earth Lucifer and all their earlier selves were h the Fall