"Asmodeus?" Dominic rounded a corner and still could not find his partner. "Asmodeus?"

He continued to search the Spires, muttering uncertainly. Uncertainty - not a feeling he liked. Questions were exploding in his mind and he couldn't find the right answer to any of them, not in absolute Truth. Was Asmodeus just late? Was he unwell? Had Asmodeus been wrong, and Lucifer had been planning something odd? All will become clear, Asmodeus had said, and he'd accepted that, but what if Asmodeus was hurt?

He dashed around another corner and bumped into a blaze of fire, which caught and steadied him in its rings. It took him a moment to identify the touch on his scales. "Gabriel!"

"Dominic, what are you doing here?"

"I -" He wished he could pinpoint why that horrified demand caught him off guard so. "Asmodeus is missing, Gabriel, have you seen him?"

Gabriel was silent a moment before touching his wings sympathetically. "There is war in Heaven, Dominic."

True. "What?"

"Lucifer has started a rebellion. Your Asmodeus stands at his side."

Truth. Dominic started to mouth a denial but couldn't finish it. True. True. True.

"Quickly, arm yourself. We're needed." Gabriel stroked him once more, sympathetic but unrelenting, and sped on past him.

Dominic turned to stare after him. There was a sharp twist inside him, the desire to deny the undeniable. He could taste betrayal in his mouth like blood. /But we serve together/, he thought helplessly. /But I love him./

It did not - could not - change the truth. He choked out a sob - "/Unfair/, Asmodeus! Unfair!" Helpless, he shifted to vessel form so he could, as Gabriel said, arm himself.

His Vessel manifested with a sword in his hand, burning hot. It sang in his hands: Unfair, unfair, unfair.

So he wiped his eyes with a forearm and walked out to meet the rebelling army.