a girl falls into an A B Y S S . ( this ISN’T going to end in a p u n c h l i n e ) a girl falls into an A B Y S S && the devil grabs her feet to pull her down faster. teaches her to FIGHT && says, this is for y o u . he hands her a KNIFE still wet with blood from her BACK && says, still for YOU. sets her up for MURDER && says, i did it for YOU. the DEVIL has a way of dressing lies up so well even QUEENS will die to trust him. there’s no part where ANGELS come to save her
nothing WINGED or ARROWED left in this graveyard city. the devil wraps himself around HER && says, i am ALL you have && don’t you WANT me here ? don’t you NEED me here ? at the BOTTOM of an abyss, a girl ACCEPTS the devil’s embracebut she’s WEIGHING that bloodied knife in one t h o u g h t f u l hand.( THEA || elisabeth hewer )
isabelle slid off the stool she’d been sitting on, and knelt down in front of her little brother. she could see their r e f l e c t i o n in the steel of the refrigerator: her own dark hair, cut to her shoulders now - she remember vaguely years ago, when her hair had reached her waist - and max’s brown curls and glasses. ‘ do you know OLD i am ? ’ she said.
‘ twenty-two. ’ max said, in the tone of voice that indicated he wasn’t sure why she was asking him such astupidquestion.
twenty-two, she thought. she’d always been seven years older than max, max the surprise, max the little brother she hadn’t expected.
MAX, WHO S H O U L D BE FIFTEEN NOW.
she swallowed, suddenly cold all over. everyone was still laughing and talking all around her, but the laughing sounded distant and e c h o i n g, as if it came from very far away.
‘ and how old are you ? ’ isabelle said.
‘ nine, ’ said max. ‘ i’ve always been nine. ’
isabelle stared. the kitchen around her was WAVERING. she could see through it, as if she were staring through printed fabric: everything going transparent, as mutable as water.
‘ baby, ’ she whispered. ‘ my max, my baby brother, please, please stay.’
‘ i’ll always be NINE, ’ he said, and touched her face. his fingers passed through her, as if he were passing his hands throughs m o k e.
‘ isabelle ? ’ he said in a fading voice, && DISAPPEARED.
❛ in the garden of e d e n all the monsters are made forsinning,
but in the seelie queen’s chamber only the FIFTH matter. ❜
lucifer && raziel face each other ,
b r i n g i n g along an ARMY.
ONE KNIGHT FOR HEAVEN / OTHER FOR HELL
name.