Read Entice: An Ignite Novella for Free Online Page B

assignment?” Gus looks between the two of us. Azael nods enthusiastically but I just stare back. “It involves Eden.”
    “Eden?” I taste the name on my lips, remembering the way Azael said it earlier with such eagerness. Both times I’ve heard it, something in my chest stirred. The name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it in a helpful context. Eden . I flip through the stories in my head in search of the word but come up empty.
    “As in ‘the garden of,’” he explains, expecting me to understand him. “Heaven’s paradise for man on Earth.”
    “Not for long.” Az’s voice is a dark whisper.
    “If all goes as planned, no. Not for long. As one of the two teams—”
    “ Two teams?” Az cuts him off, irritated.
    After throwing him a look of annoyance, Gus continues. “Yes, one of two teams tasked with corrupting man. You will be expected to collaborate with the other team assigned to this task. It is of upmost importance.”
    “And how do we do that exactly?” I ask, standing up from the bed, wound too tightly to remain still. I pick up a couple of my books and begin sorting them into piles to keep my hands busy.
    “And who is assigned to the other team?”
    “Naamah and Botis,” Gus answers.
    “The siren and the snake?!” Now Azael stands up. He kicks out at my books, and I push him away from me, hitting him hard in the shins.
    “Two teams have been deemed necessary,” he continues. “The first interference mission Lucifer completed on his own. He met man—Adam—and his wife, Lilith.”
    “I’ve heard this story, Gus .” Azael says his name slowly, letting the condescension flood the three small letters.
    “I haven’t.” I look over my shoulder.
    Gus slides his eyes over both of us, narrowing them to slits when he meets Azael’s contemptuous glare. He clears his throat to continue. “Lilith was easy to corrupt. Very flawed and easily manipulated. Lucifer believes it’s because she already had a crack of rebellion in her.”
    “Or maybe Adam wasn’t a good lay,” Az chimes in pleasantly, causing Gus to sputter. “Not enough time to hone his skill.”
    I slam a thick book down on the floor with a crack, drawing Gus’s attention back to me. “But Adam?”
    “But Adam...has not given in to temptation yet. He’s complicated, stronger than her in conviction. Unlike Lilith, he’s perfectly content to do as he’s told. Or maybe he just doesn’t have the courage to try otherwise. Either way, the more hands we have working on this mission, the higher probability of success.”
    I stack my books in a couple twisting towers and slide them to sit up against the side of my bed. “You still haven’t explained how we are supposed to do anything about this.”
    Gus stands up and holds his notebook out in front of him, gesturing to me. “You do what you do best. Get creative and share your disgrace with man. You wanted to give him words, so give him words.”
    I look up at him. Words . Strings of stories, of poems and songs and histories I want to share, spin through my mind. I’m bursting at the seam with sentences and letters and symbols, and I need to give them to someone, to unburden myself from the weight of some of these words. I taught Azael how to write, how to read... How different could man be? Surely a simple human would be easier to teach than Azael. Probably less hostile, too. A new soul like Adam—
    Gus smiles, as if he can see the eagerness painted in my eyes and stained across my face. He pivots on his heel and marches toward the door, looking back at me and Azael once before leaving. “You have until tomorrow to come up with a plan. I’ll speak with you about it then and divine the outcome.”
    He shuts the door behind him, and it latches into place with a loud click that reverberates off the icy walls of our dormitory.
    “I think he likes me,” Az says sarcastically. “I bet we’ll become the best of friends.”
    I laugh and dive back into my books, plucking