This was a long one, for real. At least for me. Anyway, read and review- I love the feedback!

Chapter Thirty-Six

Patch's POV

The strangled look on Hank's face was priceless.

"Not a single Nephil in here has sworn fealty," I told Gabe, gesturing to the room. "Have at it."

Despite that, I sensed the small horde of fallen angels out in the woods nearby. The Nephilim in this warehouse weren't the only ones about to likely lose tonight. Any of them in the other warehouse were about to take a good amount of casualties tonight, either from fallen thirsty for fealty or simply for kicks. It didn't matter to me.

Gabe strolled forward, his thirst for blood almost palpable. "He meant to say none of you strapping lads have sworn fealty…yet."

"What's this?" Hank hissed.

"What does it look like?" Gabe taunted. "When my buddy Patch here said he knew where I could find the Black Hand, he sparked my interest. Did I mention I'm in the market for a new Nephilim vassal?" He gestured at Dominic and Jeremiah, flanking both to each side of the room.

Hank glanced at me only for a moment.

This isn't what we agreed upon, you duplicitous bastard!

I smirked, offhandedly so no one would notice the interaction. No, it wasn't. But we clearly aren't good at keeping deals, are we?

"Ten of you, four of us. Do the math." Gabe said, pulling Hank's thoughts back to the moment.

While they went back and forth, I felt out for Dabria. She stood on the outside of the door in the back of the warehouse, predicting where Hank would run out.

I got it- trust me! I could hear her smile in her words. Would I ever trust her? No. But I wasn't ungrateful for appreciate her help.

"Don't just stand there!" Hank roared to his soldiers. "Bring this arrogant fallen angel to his knees!"

He took off toward the back door, and the rest of his soldiers took off like rats on a sinking ship. So much for 'stronger than you think'. I stood still, calmly waiting for the warehouse to clear. Then, I turned to the cage with the frightened girl contained inside.

I ran down to my studio, with mixed feelings of trepidation and excitement. I finally had Hank, after everything. I…we finally had the opportunity to deal with this, once and for all. However…there was a cost to what had happened. The archangels had once again made us pawns in their game, and this time it directly affected her. What I had sworn was no small feat… If I was being honest, I didn't know how to go about it; let alone if Nora was going to be able to handle it. All I knew was that Hank was a giant barrier in the way of the goal they had set for us, and killing him was a start. Unfortunately, we only had tonight to do it, effective immediately. I'd planned on torturing him while he was still immortal, so that was a bust. I would have to use kid gloves on him and that wasn't my style. Anything that I wanted to do would instantly kill him, and while I would love to do that, I couldn't. At least, not while keeping my promise to Nora that I'd let her handle it.

Nora…is she ready for this?

I remembered our argument from when she'd first sought me out.

I spun to face her. "I'm also a thief, a gambler, a cheat and a murderer. But this happens to be one of the rare times when I'm telling the truth."

Yes, I was all of those things. Incidentally, I was very good at being those things- especially the murderer. I knew that I was damned. But I didn't want her to have to feel that way about herself, ever. I'd love her regardless (I'd have no right not to), but she didn't deserve to have to question her own worth or morality every day.

I opened the door, and immediately sensed something was off. Tension, fear, panic…

Angel? I called out, scanning the apartment. Silence. Angel, please be here…

I moved to the bedroom, wondering if she was hiding. No one else had been here, so whatever had happened had only involved her. My drawers were opened, and I noted things were missing. I doubted that Nora wanted to rob me, but there had to have been reason for her to go through my things so hurriedly. I found my armoire ajar slightly, and opened it up. What was she looking for? More importantly, why isn't she here? My stomach dropped; the only reason Nora would have left was if she felt that her family or friends were in danger. Who was in immediate danger that she would need to-

Scott Parnell.

I bolted out of the studio. Of course! I'd known that Hank was catching up to him, but it would be the perfect thing to draw Nora out, and Scott wasn't smart enough to not call for Nora…Stupid! Just stupid! How could he put her in danger like that? How selfish could that idiot be? The day that Nora didn't care for him would be the day that I… I reached the car and jumped in, simultaneously calling Dabria.

"Where is he?" I said as soon as the phone clicked on. I heard muffled protests in the background.

"I have him in the warehouse, in the cage he put the archangel in. Gagged him for good measure. I love the irony," she replied. "Hey, hands off asshole!" I heard a loud crash into the bars, along with a pained growl. "I can see why you find this so fun. We work so well together, you know. I just love how-"

"I'm taking him."

"Wh-what about our plan?"

"New plan." I hissed. "We're bringing him back to the studio."

"…may I ask why there's a need…"

I hung up on her.

I chained Hank's unconscious body to the wall. He fought the entire way into the studio, until I had to choke him out. The chamber was dark, only lit by torches on either side. Incredibly medieval. Exactly the way I liked it. Once I was confident that he could not escape, I found a bucket of cold water and threw it in his face. He woke up, shocked and cringing from the temperature. He went to move his hand to his face and found that it was chained. The panic on his face from his surroundings slowly turned into rage as he looked at me.

"Prick! You think that I can't get away from here? I don't know what you've done to these chains, but I assure you that you'll regret using them."

I glared at him, willing myself not to strangle him to death right there. I stood over him, my face covered in shadow.

"Where's Nora?" I growled.

"Hell if I know, or care." He spat. I grabbed him by his neck.

"Where's Scott Parnell?" I tried a different angle. His eyes widened with sick humor.

"Parnell? That traitor?" he choked. "In one of my dungeons, finding out what it means to betray the Black Hand." I let him go, and he gasped for air. "I would think that you and your whore would be happy that he was getting his, considering he—"

I kneed him in his ribs, savoring the crack I heard as he doubled over in pain, eyes rolling back in his head.

"Do not ever—" I paused. My rage was threatening to spill over, but I needed to find her, soon. He could throw foul words all he wanted, but it wasn't giving me the answers I needed. He'd confirmed my suspicion that he caught Parnell, meaning that Nora likely wasn't far behind. "Where is Nora?" I whispered, leaning in front of his face. "Last chance, before I take what I want."

Hank laughed, an insane sound. "You're a fallen angel, taking is all you know." He yanked on the chains. "Is this supposed to be poetic? I can tell you, between my daughter and I, one of us takes solitary with grace."

I was so disgusted that there weren't words. "I need you to know, from the bottom of my darkened soul, that the only reason you aren't dead right now is because I promised your daughter that I would allow her to do the honors." Before he could question anything I said, I forced his head back and began pillaging his thoughts, searching for any harm he may have done to Nora. It was much easier than anticipated, given that he was no longer immortal.

The memory was blurry, vague. I was in a small chamber, only lit by one window. I looked down to the emaciated girl on the floor, hair covering her eyes. She was very still, sitting up straight against the wall, with a small smile on her face. I jumped as I realized that it was Nora- hardly recognizable at first. I leaned down to touch her face, but as soon as she realized who it was in the room, her legs curled back up as she wrapped her arms around them…

I had to move. I couldn't watch this, not now.

I opened my eyes to the scene of a car crash. I watched Hank attempt to pull himself off of the ground. "Get…me…to her!" I followed his eyes to the area where Nora's body lay. I ran over to her, scanning over her body with horror. So this had been what had happened the day that she walked into my thoughts… Her body was swollen and covered with small cuts, but the biggest injury was a large glass shard sticking from her head.

As angry as I was getting, those weren't the memories I was looking for. I needed tonight.

"Nora. Open your eyes. Look at me."

She shook her head. "I won't swear the vow. Not now, not ten minutes from now, not ever."

"I admire your bravery. But there are all kinds of bravery, and this one doesn't suit you." Hank tucked her hair behind her ear, watching her jump. "Swear the vow the become a purebred Nephil and command my army, and I'll let you and your mother go."

I watched as they went back and forth, watching as he threatened the life of her mother and her best friend if she didn't swear the oath. Finally, she broke down.

"I swear now, with this new blood running through my veins, that I am no longer human, but a purebred Nephil. And if you die, I'll lead your army. If I break this promise, I understand my mom and I are both as good as dead."

She looked at Hank, devastation clear on her face. "Did I do it right? Is that all I have to say?"

He nodded. "Walk her down to her mother, and lead them both out. They're done here. I'll be going to the warehouse over."

I let go of Hank's head, watching it fall. A Changeover Vow. So that was it, then. He'd lured her to Scott, with every intention of forcing her to lead his army. It explained what the archangels wanted from her. I looked down at him with revulsion.

"What is wrong with you? How could you do that to your own daughter?" I asked, shaking. I didn't even know why I asked; this was a monster that tortured her for eleven weeks…this wasn't out of his realm.

Hank sneered, knowing exactly what I was talking about. "How could you do that to Chauncey? How could Rixon do that to me? How could thousands of fallen angels do that to Nephilim, usually no older than Nora herself? Face it, you're the pot calling the kettle black. At least I'm doing my part to keep my people safe, even if they don't realize that it's what they need."

Hank's god complex was almost frightening to me. He felt completely entitled to throw around lives as he saw fit, no matter who it was.

Seeing that he'd gotten under my skin, he continued. "You know, it'll never last. Not because she's worth anything anyway, but because she's Nephilim. Even if she doesn't want to, she'll realize that both of you are incompatible by more than just race. Unless of course, you realize that first. You're a smart boy, much smarter than my daughter. What do you plan on doing when you finally come face to face with her?"

My fists clenched- he didn't know when to quit, did he? I turned to him with a dark hatred in my eyes. He continued, undaunted.

"She's now everything you've ever hated, everything you've ever wanted to destroy and corrupt. She's going to make you sick, and you're going to make her sick. How will she look her own people in the face with you attached- unless of course, you have no intention of letting that happen. Do you think your beautiful blond friend will want to force her to swear fealty? You'll end up with the best of both worlds; two worthless females."

I chopped him in the middle of his back, causing his shoulders to dislocate with the force. He spat blood onto the floor. "Enough. Speak again and I'll break something else."

"My shoulders," he whimpered quietly. I stomped down on his shin, crushing it. His screams of agony were music, but he stopped talking.

Good. I didn't want to hear anymore of his supremacist garbage. I didn't want to admit it, but he'd scared me. Made me afraid of the idea that Nora might not want me anymore because of who I was, and because of what I represented. As much as I didn't want to see it, I was being forced to look back at everything I'd done with any Nephil and put Nora's face in the image. It all made me sick. I wasn't about to start feeling guilty for anything I'd done- that would be entirely too many things to feel bad about- but she might not feel the same.

"You haven't responded to anything I've said, proof that I'm getting somewhere." Hank whispered, somehow still having steam. "You can keep me down here as long as you like, but it won't kill me. What was it you said- returning every hand I put on her, ten-fold? You'll have to start soon then, because I made sure she suffered during her time with me and I enjoyed it."

I moved forward with every intention of making him eat every word he'd ever said to me when I sensed movement in the studio. Nephilim. I quickly turned toward the door, fists tightening. Hank looked around me, a flash of hope in his eyes. If someone had come to get him, they'd need to pry him from my unfeeling hands. I left the room, moving up the walkway and into my bedroom.

It wasn't until I stepped foot into my bedroom when I realized that the energy that I was sensing was Nora. I didn't see her yet, but I knew. The fact that I'd immediately sought her out as an enemy caused my heart to drop. It was something I'd have to get used to…if she gave me the chance. I saw everything flash in front of my face again- what if she changed? What if she began to resent me for being a fallen angel? What if she decides that she doesn't need me anymore... I moved to shake away the insecurities that Hank implanted when I connected eyes with her.