Torment - A Fallen Novel By Lauren Kate

Torment is a 2010 young adult fantasy novel from the Fallen series written by Lauren Kate. Torment, the sequel to Fallen, continues the story of Lucinda "Luce" Price, a 17-year-old girl who is in love with Daniel, a fallen angel. In Fallen, Daniel reveals to Luce that their love is damned: she is condemned to fall in love with Daniel, die, and be reborn over and over until their mysterious curse is broken. The seemingly endless cycle of their romance is followed avidly by heavenly and demonic forces, who seem to have something big riding on its outcome.

Something seems to be different during this lifetime, and Daniel is determined to keep Luce safe from hostile forces while he teams up with other angels and demons in an eighteen-day long truce. He installs Luce at the prestigious Shoreline school in Northern California, where she meets a number of part-angel students who have yet to choose between good and evil. Luce is frustrated by Daniel's unwillingness to be honest with her and is determined to discover the truth on her own.

From the book

"Daniel stared out at the bay. His eyes were as gray as the thick fog enveloping the
Sausalito shoreline, as the choppy water lapping the pebble beach beneath his feet. There was no
violet to his eyes now at all; he could feel it. She was too far away.
He braced himself against the biting gale off the water. But even as he tugged his thick
black pea coat closer, he knew it was no use. Hunting always left him cold.
Only one thing could warm him today, and she was out of reach. He missed the way the
crown of her head made the perfect resting spot for his lips. He imagined filling the circle of his
arms with her body, leaning down to kiss her neck. But it was a good thing Luce couldn’t be here
now. What she’d see would horrify her.
Behind him, the bleat of sea lions flopping in heaps along the south shore of Angel Island
sounded the way he felt: jaggedly lonely, with no one around to hear.
No one except Cam.
He was crouched in front of Daniel, tying a rusty anchor around the bulging, wet figure at
their feet. Even engaged in something so sinister, Cam looked good. His green eyes had a sparkle
and his black hair was cut short. It was the truce; it always brought a brighter glow to the angels’
cheeks, a shinier sheen to their hair, an even sharper cut to their flawless muscled bodies. Truce
days were to angels what beach vacations were to humans.
So even though Daniel ached inside each time he was forced to end a human life, to
anyone else he looked like a guy coming back from a week in Hawaii: relaxed, rested, tan.
Tightening one of his intricate knots, Cam said, “Typical Daniel. Always stepping aside
and leaving me to do the dirty work.”
“What are you talking about? I’m the one who finished him.” Daniel looked down at the
dead man, at the wiry gray hair matted to his pasty forehead, at his gnarled hands and cheap
rubber galoshes, at the dark red tear across his chest. It made Daniel feel cold all over again. If
the killing weren’t necessary to ensure Luce’s safety, to save her, Daniel would never raise
another weapon. Never fight another fight.
And something about killing this man did not feel quite right. In fact, Daniel had a vague,
troubling sense that something was profoundly wrong.
“Finishing them is the fun part.” Cam looped the rope around the man’s chest and
tightened it under his arms. “The dirty work is seeing them off to sea.”
Daniel still gripped the bloodied tree branch in his hand. Cam had snickered at the choice,
but it never mattered to Daniel what he used. He could kill with anything."


Read "Torment" full book now