I have no doubt that an angel can take on a scorpion and not break out in a sweat. But there are far more scorpions than angels, and the scorpions behave like mindless beasts crashing into bodies. Even as some of them swerve at the last second to try to avoid fatal collisions, they can’t seem to stop their own group momentum as they slam into the angels.

The sheer force of the bodies repeatedly ramming into the crowd brings them all down flat onto the lawn.

Everyone but me, Raffe, and Paige, that is.

The swarm splits around us, knocking everything in its path but leaving us untouched.

The wind caused by their wings makes me stumble backwards into Paige until she’s squeezed between Raffe and me. I reach back to hold her hand. Her little hand clings tightly to me.

Raffe spreads his wings to shelter us so that he’s at our backs with his wings protecting us on either side.

Doc may have been wrong about Paige’s feelings for Beliel, but I’m becoming convinced that he was right about Paige having something special about her. Whatever it is that Doc secretly did to her, it gave her some kind of connection with the scorpions. They’re swarming around her and protecting her with their own bodies.

They keep coming. Some sting, some don’t, as if the scorpions are confused about what they’re supposed to do. But even the ones who sting don’t linger. It’s more of a hit-and-run as if they sense that they’d be in big trouble if they stayed.

The swarm lifts, leaving the lawn littered with angels on their knees and bellies. Everyone stares up at the sky to see what’s next. We’re the only ones still on our feet.

The swarm twists and turns around to make another pass. The angels who are on their knees dive down on their stomachs, and everyone covers their heads.

Maybe if they could use their swords, the dynamics would change. But no one seems to want to risk having their sword refuse them even if it’s just for one battle.

I look around to try to see what we should do. Since they haven’t aimed for us, ducking for cover doesn’t make a lot of sense.

The swarm keeps coming. A huge gust of wind makes my eyes sting and almost knocks me off my feet.

But they split around us as before, letting us stay upright while everyone else flattens on the ground.

Still holding the folded wings, Paige slips out from between us and lies on top of Beliel. The wings are sandwiched between them with the downy feathers fluttering in the wind.

Beliel has shrunken and is almost unrecognizable lying like the dead on his stomach. The wings covering his back, though, look contrastingly full of life as they droop over him like a white blanket.