“I am not afraid of you, your kind, or your god.”

“I wonder which will get you killed faster—your loyalty or your stubbornness?”

“So,what do they call you if they don’t know your name?” There’s a brief pause before he answers. “The Wrath of God.”

“Nothing natural could cause this kind of fear. It goes beyond a fear of physical harm and into the realm of mental and spiritual. Like the fear of losing your sanity, of losing your soul.”

“Angels are violent creatures.” “So I noticed. I used to think they were all sweet and kind.” “Why would you think that? Even in your Bible, we’re harbingers of doom, willing and able to destroy entire cities. Just because we sometimes warned one or two of you beforehand doesn’t make us altruistic.”

“I don’t have kind memories of you, Raffe, in case you’d forgotten. After all this time, you show up in my life again with no warning. Making demands. Insulting me by flaunting your human toy in my presence. Why should I do this for you instead of sounding the alarm and letting everybody know you had the nerve to come back?”

“I knew from the start that your loyalty would get you killed. I just never thought it would be your loyalty to me that would do it.”