“Archangels don’t swear blood vows,” Pepper sneered.

Getting warmer, I thought.

“Do they shove fallen angels they’ve got a beef with into hell?” Scott asked.

Pepper looked at us as if we were insane. “What are you raving on about?”

“How does it feel to be the archangels’ peon?” I asked.

“What’d they offer you in return?” Scott demanded.

“The archangels aren’t down here,” I said. “You’re on your own. Do you really want to go up against Patch alone?” C’mon, Pepper, I thought. Tell me what I want to hear.want to That this contrived story of blackmail is an excuse to fulfill your assignment from a rogue group of archangels to get rid of Patch.

Pepper’s expression of disbelief deepened, and I pounced on his silence. “You’re going to swear that oath right now, Pepper.”

Scott and I closed in on him.

“No oath!” Pepper squeaked. “But I’ll leave Patch alone—I promise!”

“If only I could trust you to keep your word,” I returned. “Trouble is, I don’t think you’re a very honest guy. In fact, I think this whole blackmailing business is a ruse.”

Pepper’s eyes widened with understanding. He sputtered in disbelief, his face turning a throttled pink. “Let me see if I’ve got this. You think I’m after Patch for blackmailing me?” he screeched at last.

“Yeah,” Scott supplied. “Yeah, we do.”

“That’s why he’s refused to meet me? Because he thinks I want to chain him in hell? I wasn’t threatening him!” Pepper squealed, his round face growing more flushed by the moment. “I wanted to offer him a job! I’ve been trying to get that across all along!”

Scott and I spoke at the same time. “A job?” We shared a hasty, skeptical glance.

“You were telling the truth?” I asked Pepper. “You really have a job for Patch—and that’s all?”

“Yes, yes, a job,” Pepper snarled. “What did you think? Crikey, what a mess. Nothing has gone as it should.”

“What’s the job?” I quizzed him.

“Like I’d tell you! If you’d helped me reach Patch in time, I wouldn’t be in a hot mess. This whole thing is your fault. My job offer is for Patch, and Patch alone!”

“Let me get this straight,” I said. “You don’t think Patch is blackmailing you?”

“Why would I think that when I already know who’s blackmailing me?” he fired back, exasperated.

“You know who the blackmailer is?” Scott repeated.

Pepper shot me a look of disgust. “Get this Nephil out of my face. Do I know who’s blackmailing me?” he snorted impatiently. “Yes! I’m supposed to meet them tonight. And you’ll never guess who it is.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Ha! It would be lovely if I could tell you, wouldn’t it? Trouble is, my blackmailer made me swear an oath not to reveal their identity. Don’t bother probing. My lips are sealed, literally. They said they’d call with the location of the meeting twenty minutes before I have to be there. If I don’t cover up this mess soon, the archangels are going to sniff me out,” he added, wringing his hands. I noted that his demeanor quickly switched to fearful at the mention of other archangels.

I tried to remain unfazed. This wasn’t the move I’d expected him to make. I wondered if this was a tactic to throw usc to thr off his trail—or walk us into a trap. But the sweat beading his brow and the desperate look in his eyes seemed genuine. He wanted this over as badly as we did.

“My blackmailer wants me to enchant objects using the powers of heaven that all archangels possess.” Pepper dabbed his pink forehead with a handkerchief. “That’s why they’re blackmailing me.”

“What objects?” I asked.

Pepper shook his head. “They’re going to bring them to the meeting. They said if I enchant them to their specifications, they’ll leave me alone. They don’t get it. Even if I enchant the objects, the powers of heaven can only be used for good. Whatever evil ideas they’re entertaining, they won’t work.”

“Just the same, you’re actually considering doing it?” I asked reprovingly.

“I need them off my back! The archangels can’t know what I’ve been doing. I’ll be banished. They’ll rip out my wings and it’ll all be over. I’ll be stuck down here forever.”

“We need a plan,” Scott said. “Twenty minutes between the call and the meeting doesn’t give us a lot of wiggle room.”

“When your blackmailer calls, agree to the meeting,” I instructed Pepper. “If they tell you to come alone, say you will. Sound as compliant and cooperative as you possibly can without going over the top.”

“And then what?” Pepper asked, flapping his shoulders as if to air out his armpits. I tried not to stare. Never could I have guessed that the first archangel I’d meet would be such a sniveling, cowardly rat. So much for the archangels of my dreams—powerful, inescapable, all-knowing, and perhaps most important, exemplary.

I fixed my eyes on Pepper’s. “And then Scott and I will go in your place, take the blackmailer down, and deliver them to you.”

Chapter 27

WHAT! YOU CAN’T DO THAT!” PEPPER SPAT the words vehemently. “They won’t be happy, and they’ll refuse to work with me. Worse, they might go straight to the archangels!”

“Your blackmailer doesn’t work with you anymore. From now on, he or she deals directly with us,” I said. “Scott and I are going to retrieve the objects they want enchanted, and we might need your cooperation in evaluating them. If you can tell us what you think they might have intended to use them for, the information could be valuable.”

“How do I even know if I can trust you?” Pepper said in high-pitched protest.

“There’s always a blood oath. . . .” I let the idea dangle. “I’ll swear my intentions, and you’ll swear to stay away from Patch. Unless, of course, you’re still too good for an oath.”

“This is awful,” Pepper said, tugging at his collar like it was pinching him. “What a tangle.”

“Scott and I will have a team in place. Nothing will go wrong,” I reassured Pepper, then added a quick private instruction to Scott using mind-speak: Keep him calm while I call Patch, will you?

I walked to the end of the alley before placing the call. Dried leaves rustled past my feet, and I snuggled deeper into my coat for warmth. Of all the nights to be out, I’d chosen the coldest one yet. Frost bit into my skin and made my nose run. “It’s me. We’ve got Pepper.”

I heard Patch sigh in relief.

“I don’t think the double life is an act,” I went on. “He’s got a genuine gambling problem. Nor do I think he’s on a mission from the archangels to chain you in hell. He might have been down here on assignment originally, but he’s given it up in favor of indulging in a human lifestyle. Now for the big news. He knows you aren’t blackmailing him—all this time he’s been trying to pencil you in for a job.”

“What job?”

“He didn’t say. I think he’s dropped it. He’s got bigger problems to fret over. He’s scheduled to meet with the real blackmailer tonight.” I didn’t say the rest, but that didn’t keep me from thinking it. I felt so confident Dabria was behind this, I would have bet my life on it. “We don’t know the time or the meeting place yet. When the blackmailer calls Pepper, we’re going to have a twenty-minute window. We’ll need to move fast.”

“Do you think it’s a trap?”

“I think Pepper is a coward, and he’s glad we’re going in and he doesn’t have to.”

“I’m ready,” Patch said grimly. “As soon as I know where we’re heading, I’ll meet you there. Do one last thing for me, Angel.”

“Name it.”

“I want to find you safe and sound when this is over.”

The call came ten minutes before midnight. Pepper couldn’t have given better answers if he’d rehearsed them. “Yes, I’ll come alone.” “Yes, I’ll enchant the objects.” “Yes, I can be at the cemetery in twenty minutes.”

The instant he hung up, I said, “Which cemetery? Coldwater’s?”

A nod. “Inside the mausoleum. I’m supposed to wait there for further instructions.”

I turned to Scott. “There’s only one mausoleum in the city cemetery. It’s right by my dad’s gravesite. We couldn’t have picked a better spot ourselves. There are trees and headstones everywhere, and it will be dark. The blackmailer won’t be able to tell it’s you in the mausoleum, not Pepper, until it’s too late.”

Scott tugged the black hoodie he’d been carrying all night over his head, leaving the hood partly up to cover his face. “I’m a lot taller than Pepper,” he said doubtfully.

“Walk hunched over. Your sweatshirt is baggy enough that they won’t be able to tell the difference from a distance.” I faced Pepper. “Give me your phone number. Keep the line open. I’ll call you the minute we have your blackmailer.”

“I have a bad feeling,” Pepper said, wiping his palms on his trousers.

Scott lifted the hem of his hoodie, revealing to Pepper his unusual belt, which was glowing an unearthly blue. “We aren’t going unprepared.”

Pepper’s lips pinched together, but not before a wail of disapproval escaped. “Devilcraft. The archangels can never know I was involved in this.”

“Once Scott immobilizes your blackmailer, Patch and I will rush in. This is about as simple as it gets,” I explained to Pepper.

“How do you know they won’t have their own backup?” he challenged.

An image of Dabria flashed across my mind. She had only one friend, and even that was putting it kindly. Too bad that one friend would be instrumental in bringing her down tonight. I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when Patch jabbed a sharp, and hopefully rusty, object in her wing scars.

“If we’re gonna do this, we gotta roll,” Scott told me, glancing at his watch. “T-minus fifteen minutes.”

I grabbed Pepper’s sleeve before he could run off. “Don’t forget your end of the bargain, Pepper. Once we have your blackmailer, you and Patch are done.”

He nodded earnestly. “I’ll leave Patch alone. You have my word.” I didn’t like the spark of mischief that seemed to flare momentarily at the backs of his eyes. “But I can’t help it if he comes looking for me,” he added cryptically.

Chapter 28

SCOTT DROVE HIS BARRACUDA ACROSS TOWN, AND I rode shotgun. He had the stereo turned low, playing Radiohead. His hard, set features flashed in and out of sight as we passed under cones of streetlight. He drove with both hands on the steering wheel, at ten and two precisely.