How It All Goes Down
Deadly Bird of the Soul
- Razgut can see Akiva, who's been invisible to Karou. Also, he recognizes Akiva—he even speaks his language, "the language of the seraphim" (14.4).
- Izîl tells Karou that she must run to Brimstone and warn him that the seraphim are here.
- Run? Karou wonders. But how can someone as gorgeous as Akiva be an enemy?
- Her senses get the better of her, and she runs. But Akiva catches up with her.
- They tussle, and Akiva slashes Karou with his sword. She fights back with a shard of wood and manages to plunge it into his side.
- He's pretty scary-looking up close. His expression is flat, "the living face of a dead soul" (14.39). He is not smizing, that's for sure.
- A splinter in the side isn't enough to kill Akiva. He readies his sword and prepares to cleave Karou in two.
- Despite this being a life-or-death situation, Karou has a lot of time to think about what's going on. She thinks she sees hesitation and confusion in his expression.
- But she's also feeling a tingling. In her palms.
- She has a tattoo of an eyeball on each palm, and they're burning with energy.
- Soon, she raises her palms and blasts Akiva with a huge burst of invisible energy. The angel goes down, woohoo.
- While he's down, Karou bangs on Brimstone's door. After way too long, Issa finally lets her in.
- Akiva pursues her, but when he opens the door, he almost collides with a woman holding a broom. He can't enter Brimstone's shop that easily.
- Akiva does know one thing that Karou doesn't, however: Karou "was not, in fact, human" (14.77).
- Wow. Now that's a fun reveal.