by Lily Luchesi
Danny blushed fiercely. He had forgotten that while she was drinking from him, she could hear his thoughts.
“How far is the portal?” Angelica asked, healing his wrist.
“About a hundred or so meters,” Danny said. “However, there might be guards. Someone had to be alerted that you got out, especially if that bastard from the Lombard nest escaped.”
Angelica scoffed. “I’m sure they have. No offense, Collins, but you weren’t exactly stealthy when you broke me out. Oh, Danny, whose ass do I have to kick for letting you bring her down here?”
“Hey, he didn’t let me do anything. I made him take me,” Helena protested. “And I did succeed, so maybe you could be a little nicer.”
Well, shit, Danny thought. This is going to be interesting.
Angelica stepped toe-to-toe with Helena, making the mortal step back. “I’m going to forgive that, because apparently what you know about me could fit on the head of a pin, but let me tell you that the next time you speak to me like that, I promise you won’t live to regret it.”
Turning on her heel, Angelica took out her shorter blade and said, “Weapons ready. Collins, if you feel you can’t do this, stay back and try not to get your throat slashed. Danny, don’t forget to help me see the demonic essences.”
Danny smirked. “Not my first rodeo, Angie.”
Angelica walked ahead, but Helena pulled Danny back.
“Are you just going to let her talk to and about me like that?” she demanded.
“First thing to remember about her: no one let’s Angelica Cross do anything, she just does it. What I did is risky and reprehensible. She has a right to feel the way she does right now. This threatened the integrity of her company. Come on. Don’t wanna get left behind.” Danny walked ahead, gun cocked before him.
Having been on the bench for the past year had been a real pain in the ass. He had missed this, the thrill of the hunt, the fear and adrenaline rushing through his veins. He felt half his age as he stalked the bowels of Hell, following the strongest vampire on Earth. This was his element. It was what he loved and what he was born to do. Danger was like a drug to him, and he had been in need of a fix for quite some time.
He caught up with Angelica quickly and she led the way through the narrow corridor. There were very few entrances and exits in Hell. Only three in all of the United States: Hollywood, Chicago, and New York City. Unless you had the blood of a demon, you could only get in and out of Hell through those portals.
They were about to reach the Chicago portal when Angelica said, “I need to get back to Hollywood.”
“What? Why?” Danny asked.
“That’s where she was when she was abducted,” Helena answered for her.
“Angie, if you go back there, they’re gonna see you,” Danny said. “They know you were in Hollywood, and if you go back they’ll know where to find you.”
Angelica whirled on him. “Haven’t you figured out by now that you can’t tell me what to do? My things are there, my home is there—”
“No,” Danny interrupted, “your home is in Chicago. And besides, I think Mark needs to see you. How long has it been since you were in contact with HQ?”
Angelica sighed. “I called Mark once to tell him about the hunt that was going on, letting him know I had it covered.”
“What? When?”
“Does it matter? It was about seven months ago,” she said. Evidently, Mark had been lying to Bart about who gave the update, or Bart had been lying to him. Either way, it felt rotten.
Danny was about to say something else when an unearthly screech was heard, and a black, flying thing came straight at them. It was a cross between a bat, a raven, and a pterodactyl. Its eyes were burning with Hellfire, and it began to spew actual fire at them. It had black scales, which lit up with reddish orange underneath, as if its very skin was aflame.
“What the fuck is that?” Danny cried.
“It’s known as an ignem infantem,” Angelica said, ducking away from the flames.
“For those of us not as educated as you are?” Helena asked, diving behind Danny in fear.
Angelica switched her blade for her sword. “They are descendants of the zmey: a Slavic dragon. You’re lucky they don’t have one of those down here.” She swept away, out of the fire’s range, and leapt up just as the dragon was about to dive down at her, meeting it at its throat. Her blade sunk deep into its flesh and it let out a screech that Danny was sure would leave him deaf. His nerves rattled from it, but it was worth it: the dragon’s screech faded. Danny watched the fire in its eyes and its body die away as it fell to the ground with such a thud, the whole place shook.
Angelica yanked her blade free, bringing ash and red hot blood with it. Danny thought the blade looked a bit unsteady, as if the metal had been exposed to lava. Dragons, he thought, Hell has dragons with lava blood. He had little time to muse on this discovery, because he felt the distinctive energy-draining pull of multiple demons heading their way.
Sure enough, three possessed people ran around the corner, their powers momentarily knocking him dumb, and Helena already began groaning from the energy being taken from her.
“There’s only one way to go,” Danny said. “Angelica, you take Helena. I can cover you both.”
Angelica started to grab Helena when she asked, “Are you sure?”
Danny smiled, wanting to show her that he was confident. “Don’t worry: none of my training has left me yet. Go on.”
She turned around, holding her hand to the portal and said, “Exit aperta.”
Danny heard the portal open with a “whoosh” of air as he fired consecrated bullets at the demons. He hit one in the essence and it fell down dead. The other two were merely wounded and still coming for them. He kept firing till he felt Angelica tug his sleeve hard enough to get him halfway into the portal.
“Danny, come on, damn you!” she said, tugging him in further. “Exit claudo!” she said, and the portal closed, cutting off one demon’s hand in the process.
The hand went up with them, as the magic in the portal spiraled them upwards to the entrance in the basement of the PID headquarters.
“Oh shit, I’m going to be ill,” Helena whined.
Danny looked up to see Mark and Bart standing there, looking down at the three of them with a mix of shock and anger.
“Hey,” Angelica said calmly, smiling. She picked up the bleeding severed hand and held it up as she continued, “I thought I could use a hand with Leander.”
Danny and Bart both burst out laughing, but Mark was not amused.
“Damnit, Angelica! Danny— you I’m going to fucking throttle! No wonder you keep falling in love: you’re both utterly impossible. Get up, both of you. And you, whatever your name is, stay here while I talk to these two. After that, I hope I never see your face again. You’re obviously as out of your mind as these two are!”
Angelica got up and threw her arms around Mark, who was dwarfed by her when she wore high heels. “God, I have missed you.” She backed up and said, “Hey, Danny, why didn’t you bring Brighton with you? Lord knows he’d be up for an infiltration of Hell.”
Danny looked down, not wanting to meet Mark’s eyes. Brighton’s passing had been an event neither of them had been able to get over. Now they’d have to relive it for Angelica.
“My office. Now.” Mark turned and stalked away. Angelica looked over her shoulder questioningly at Danny before following him.
Danny took Helena by the shoulder and said, “Wait here. This probably won’t be long.” He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile and then followed the other two into the elevator and up to Mark’s office.
No one spoke on the way there. Between Mark’s anger, Danny’s shame, and their grief, they could not speak through the heavy veil of emotion that was surrounding them like a shroud. They walked into the office and Mark told them both to sit down.
Angelica leaned forward in the chair, dark eyes bright with worry. “What is wrong? I men
tioned Brighton and you both shut down like clams. Did you break up? I hope not.”
“Angelica…” Danny reached over and grasped her hand, which was still warm from his blood. “We had no way to contact you. No way to get you here. ...Brighton died, Angie. After he defeated Peter Mabuz in London, he died from his injuries. I’m so sorry.”
***
Brighton was dead? Their brilliant, vibrant, eccentric, beautiful Brighton was gone? No. Angelica refused to believe it. Brighton was the light of so many lives. He had made her understand her humanity more than anyone. He had helped Danny enhance and utilize his powers. He had been the first real friend she made in her entire life.
Brighton Sands could not be dead.
“Come on, don’t say things like that,” she said, snatching her hand away from him. “It’s not funny, Danny!”
“No, it’s not,” Mark said. Angelica looked up to see tears streaming from his eyes. He was staring down at his hands, unable to look up and make eye contact. “It’s not funny, because it’s true. He— he really is gone.”
Angelica felt dizzy. Faint. If possible, there was an actual pain in her chest. “Oh, my God. Please, tell me...tell me that’s not true.” Cold blood tears dripped down her face. She was numb to them, and felt that at any moment she was going to fall out of the chair she was in.
“Mahon...his brother...he found this. I was saving it, hoping you’d come back in my lifetime so I could give it to you.” Mark slid an old, leather-bound book across the table. “I wish we’d known this when he was still alive.”
Angelica reached for it, noticing that she was trembling. There was a page marked. She noticed this was an extremely old book, and hoped the oils in her hands wouldn’t damage it. She opened the marked page and saw that it was a family tree. Vincent’s family tree.
“My father had an older sister?” she said.
“Yes. She was adopted privately, because the family could not afford to keep a child at the time she was born,” Danny said. His voice sounded hollow to her ears. “It’s her branch that you need to look at.”
Angelica read, “Rosamund Cross. Married Forsythe Quinn. Children...Mahon and Benjamin Quinn? Oh, holy fuck.” She and Brighton had been first cousins back then. And technically still cousins. He’d had the same soul, just not the same blood. That just made the tears come harder, knowing all she had missed out on with one of her two only living relatives. Now she’d never be able to connect with him the way she wanted to. The way they should have.
She felt Danny’s hand on her back, rubbing small circles. It barely registered in her mind. She had only been gone a year. How could everything had gotten so fucked up so fast?
“Mortals have a short shelf life, Angelica,” her mother had once told her. “If you love one, make sure to treasure the time you have with them, because it will be over in a blink.” That had been said when Veronica had not yet changed Vincent, and Angelica could recall how forlorn her mother had looked at the thought of losing her husband.
She had not treasured any mortal in her life the way she should have, and regret ripped through her. It was times like these that she wondered when she would finally lose her human emotions. They were a burden, they were messy, they were unnecessary, and they made it harder for her to do her job.
“I’m sorry, Mark,” she said, her voice cracking. “I’m really sorry. I know how you feel.”
Mark smiled through his tears. “I had two lives with him. It’s more than others get.”
Angelica rapidly dried her tears, the watered-down blood staining her fair skin. “I want to go and pay my respects, but at another time. Right now, we have more important things to contend with.”
“Yeah, like why the fuck you ran off a year ago, and why Hell is hunting you,” Danny pointed out. “After everything we’ve been through, I think I deserve an explanation.”
Angelica shook her head, acting as if she didn’t even hear him. “I need to get back to Hollywood, and then I need to get back into hiding. Danny, listen, this isn’t like Vincent or even Fiona. This isn’t one adversary: this is quite literally a Legion of adversaries, all sent to get me. I have no idea why I’m being hunted. I don’t know what Hell wants with me. That is why I made the choice to leave. If Leander knew you had information on me, he’d hold you hostage and torture you— all of you —till he got that information out of you. I couldn’t bear to have that happen. So I left. And now I need to get back, because they know I came back through the Chicago portal. They can’t follow me here.”
She stood up, foolishly thinking that Danny would let her go that easily.
He grabbed her by the shoulders, not hard, but enough to make her feel a little pressure. “Angie. I appreciate that you left because you wanted to protect us all. I do. But we are not helpless. We can hold our own against one demon, or the whole Legion. If the whole PID can’t stand against Hell, you certainly can’t do it alone. Let us help you.”
Angelica looked deep into his warm brown eyes, admiring his bravery and trying to understand his selflessness. She had always loved the hero in him, the man who wanted to save everyone. She was never quite capable of comprehending it, but she loved him for it.
“Angelica, after what happened with Brighton, I can’t lose anyone else I care about. Let us help you. It’s what you made this company for, to defeat evil,” Mark spoke up.
“This isn’t your fight. Neither of you. And certainly not Helena’s,” Angelica said, unable to stop the hint of anger in her voice. “Danny, you never should have let her get into this. She’s not fit for this lifestyle, and now that she knows about it, what can I do? She can’t work here, and I can’t trust her to keep quiet about the paranormal community. One wrong word, and she could have a mob of scared mortals down on us in no time.” What she didn’t want to say was that, if Helena was as much of a liability as she seemed, she might have to kill her.
Danny sighed, and Angelica felt frustration radiating off of him. “Look, she wanted to save her favorite author.”
Ouch. That sarcasm was hard to miss.
“I thought she’d be scared, or think it was a joke. I knew I needed to save you, and if I had to take her with, so be it.
“She’s not about to bring the mortal world down on the company. Yeah, what I did was reckless, but it isn’t as bad as you two are making it out to be.”
Angelica stepped away from him with a laugh. “Fine. You know what, if you want to help me, I’ll stay. However, I will not be responsible for her. Anything goes awry, that’s on your head.”
“I have to say I’m on her side, Danny,” Mark commented. “The PID can’t be responsible for her wellbeing.”
Danny nodded. “I know. Bart said as much. I take full responsibility for her.” He stepped closer to Angelica again, and she felt the heat from his skin. “The reason I brought her was because I would do anything, sacrifice anything, to rescue you. Anything, to be sure you were okay.” She stayed still as she felt his hands on her waist, on her face, tilting her head up to look at him. “I am furious with you. Words can’t express how angry I am, Angie, but fuck it. I’m too relieved to have you here to dwell on my rage. I’m just glad you’re here.”
He pulled her up into a harsh kiss, filled with the rage he mentioned, but much more. The relief. The passion. The full range of emotions that was swirling in his heart all came out in that kiss, and Angelica wanted to drown in it.
This wasn’t the first time he’d risked his life for her, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but this particular stunt had been reckless, dangerous, and just plain stupid. He was a great PID agent, but he was in no way prepared to go to Hell. And to know he was willing to endanger Helena for her sake...it was hovering on the line between terrifying and endearing.
Angelica did not know how to respond to it, so she just held onto him and kissed him as if life itself depended on it.
They only pulled apart when Mark cleared his throat loudly.
“In case you’ve forgotten in
the span of one minute, we’ve got the Legion on our arses and a mortal who is sitting in our basement with a werewolf. Danny, you go and talk with Helena. Tell her what we’ve decided. Angelica, you need to tell me more about what’s happening, anything you can, really.”
Angelica nodded, ignoring how her heart lurched as Danny nodded and left. They were in the middle of what could possibly be the start of the apocalypse, and yet as soon as she and Mark were alone the first thing she asked was, “How long has Danny known Helena?” She knew he hadn’t known her well when he was under her father’s employ.
Mark tried to hide his smile but failed.
“What is so funny?” Angelica demanded.
“The fact that the strongest vampire on Earth is prone to jealousy,” Mark replied. “She and Danny met at Brighton’s funeral, actually. She was coming in to arrange her father’s funeral. I really don’t know what else transpired. That day...well, you understand.”
She nodded. Yes, she understood what it was like to lose the love of your life in many different ways. Death might have been the most final way, but at least then there was closure. Unlike losing them while they were alive, so you had to see them with someone else. Despite that kiss, she knew there was something between Danny and Helena. It was not paranoia: it was something she saw in Helena’s eyes.
“Well, let’s get on with this. If you’re willing to have your skin peeled off with sulfuric acid by demons, I’m not going to try and change your mind about it.” She sat down at the desk and began to talk into the tape recorder for reference.
“When you and Brighton informed me about the demons looking for me, I fled, thinking I might go to Europe. It’s quite easy to disappear there, especially in some small towns in Italy. However, as I was arriving at the PID office in Los Angeles, I realized that if Hell wants me, I can’t hide anywhere. There will always be mortals around who can be tortured or bought to give information on my whereabouts.
“I got out my old Carrie King IDs and put into action a backup plan I’d had to go into hiding in plain sight. I contacted the publisher who put out my two so-called ‘fiction’ books, of course they’re run by empaths and white witches out in L.A. who work for us, and everything went into motion. For all these months, no one from Hell could find me. Angelica Cross had disappeared into thin air.