Chapter 62

“But this is it,” Judas continued. “It’s my last battle for the rulers of the Black Heavens. I will not be called on to be your butcher again. I’m not stupid. I know what Satan’s plan is and am well aware that I may lose my place in God’s kingdom, but even if I have to wander in limbo the rest of my life, I will not return. I’m closing the door between us this night.”

“Then let me tell you one last thing, and listen well, my son. Before I left, I found that since Lupercus’s death has been ordered, he has been stripped of his powers. You will no longer be battling a god, but a man.”

“So what Harz told me was true.”

“Yes.”

“Why are you telling me this now? Why not then, when I asked you?”

“When you are in the camp of the enemy, there are many eyes and ears. I couldn’t take the chance. I am glad you escaped. I know now that the war in heaven was wrong, and it was wrong to go against the god of this world, but what’s done is done. Now I must live with my mistake.”