Clutching my stomach, I ran with Ty back to the church’s entrance. My right eye throbbed and as I could hardly see out of it, I assumed it had nearly swollen shut. As soon as Ty reached the door, he threw it open and stepped inside. We ran down the aisle to get to the room where we’d met with Father Donahue, and as I neared the front of the pews, I gazed at the people to see if the strange man from earlier was still sitting among them. I let go of Ty’s hand and stopped, my breath stuck somewhere in the back of my throat.
Ty turned to me, eyebrows raised.
“Alana?”
“They’re dead, Ty,” I informed him quietly, nodding to the people in the pews. My stomach churned, but my voice sounded much steadier than it should have. “They’re all dead.”
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Chapter Four
“Oh no! Father Donahue!” I rushed the rest of the way down the aisle to check on the priest.
“Alana, wait.” Ty grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me to a stop. “I’ll go. Stay here. Be careful.”
I nodded, wrapping my arms around my middle as I took in the devastation in front of me. The pain in my stomach took a back seat to the horror of what I witnessed. I’d been hopeful that we’d find the priest alive, but if the bloodbath in the pews was any indication, it didn’t seem likely. We’d left less than fifteen minutes ago. How had this happened? I counted six bodies in total—five women, one man. The fact that there were no children present was of little comfort.
I tore my gaze away from the wide, unblinking eyes of a middle-aged woman to see Ty heading my way, his face grim.
He shook his head.
“He’s dead,” he confirmed, his voice raw with emotion.
“Who would do something like this in a house of God?” I asked.
Ty sighed. “I don’t know. Demons can’t enter a church. They can’t even set foot in the parking lot out front. It’s hallowed ground.”
“But…”
“But what?” Ty asked, holding my gaze.
“It had to have been that man who was sitting in the pew. I knew something wasn’t right about him.”
Ty frowned. “I don’t understand how a human could do all this damage.”
I tried to pull up the man’s image, but it didn’t matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember his face.
“I don’t understand, either.” I shook my head as if to clear it. “This sounds crazy, I know, but I honestly can’t remember what he looked like. I remember nothing about him except for www.totallybound.com
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his eyes. They were black and lifeless. I remember the feeling he gave me too. He made me feel… cold.”
“That all points to a demon,” Ty said, shaking his head. “But it doesn’t make sense. A demon couldn’t get in here.”
Ty ran his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end. He looked as tired as I felt.
“You lost your hat,” I noted.
“Yeah, lost it in the fight. I’ll get it later, if it’s still out there.”
My thoughts drifted back to our reluctant savior. “Do you think Malaki’s okay?”
“He battles demons every day, doesn’t he?” Ty scowled. “He shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. He had no right.”
“Maybe what he said was true,” I mused. “Maybe I’m not fit to be a hunter.”
Ty held my gaze. “Don’t say that. Don’t even think it. It’s been a rough couple of days.
That’s all. You have to admit that none of this is even remotely close to what we usually come up against.”
Ty was right, of course, and I loved that he was trying to make me feel better, but there was still a niggling doubt in the back of my mind that said I wasn’t good enough, that I could never be good enough. Despite my inner turmoil, I forced a smile on my face and squeezed the top of his arm.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll call the council.” He nodded to the pews. “Get them to send us some help.”
He pulled out his cell phone then punched in a number, presumably for his handler. He was midway through the call when the doors to the church burst open and Malaki staggered inside. There was fresh blood on his face and clothes.
“Malaki, are you okay?” I rushed back down the aisle and when I reached him, I put my arm under his and helped him to the nearest seat.
“Thank you,” he said as he sat. “I must admit. I’ve had better days.”
I could believe it. I didn’t know Malaki well—our paths had crossed a few times—but I’d never seen him look as defeated as he did that moment.
“What happened to the demon?”
“I’d like to say he’s back in hell where he belongs, but I’m afraid he got away and I doubt we’ve seen the last of him.”
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I sighed. “Right. And the warlocks?”
“Dead.”
I waited for him to continue, then Malaki went on, “The demon’s handiwork, not mine.”
“Here you go.” I pulled a fresh handkerchief out of my pocket then used it to clean the cut on his cheek.
He frowned. “Why are you helping me?”
I mirrored his confused expression. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I help you?”
“The way I treated you outside,” he said. “The way I spoke to you.”
“Oh, that.” I shrugged. “You were angry. I shouldn’t have called you here to help. I know how busy you must be. I didn’t think about that. I should have handled…”
Malaki let out a burst of surprised laughter then said, “Humans never fail to amaze me.”
“We don’t?”
“Sometimes you make it so easy for me to understand why He loves you all so much.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t say anything.
“You didn’t do anything wrong out there,” he said. “Do you know that it was my idea to drag hunters into this war and I went against the wishes of the other angels to do it?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know that.”
He smiled, but there was no trace of humor in the expression. “I thought it would be easy for hunters to find the grimoires, that you’d have knowledge and resources that would help you. Since the war escalated, we’ve been stretched to the breaking point fighting demons and we needed help.
“I knew it would lighten our load if hunters stepped in, but I was foolish. I should have considered how dangerous it would be for you all to get involved. I should have known I’d be putting you at risk.” He muttered a curse under his breath. “You did nothing wrong,” he said again. “You can’t help us fight in this war if you’re dead.”
I offered him a small smile. “Apology accepted.”
Malaki cocked an eyebrow. “That wasn’t an apology.”
“Oh.” I lowered my head.
“But this is.” He put his finger under my chin and lifted it so that I met his gaze again.
“I’m sorry for the things I said to you. I said them because I was angry, and I knew they’d hurt www.totallybound.com
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you. When you’ve lived for as long as I have, you learn how to read people. You learn their passions and their fears. You learn what makes them tick.”
“I thought angels were supposed to be above such meanness.”
“We are,” he said simply then shrugged. “We might not be human, but we’re slaves to our emotions, just as you are.”
“I haven’t met any other angels,” I said, “so I can’t make any comparisons, but you always seemed so―”
“Sexy?” he prompted.
I smiled in spite of myself. “Rational.”
“Alas.”
This time when he smiled, the expression made it all the way to his eyes, but it didn’t stay there for very long.
“I probably spend
more time around humans than I do with my own kind,” he admitted.
“Why is that?”
“I suppose they keep me sane. They remind me of what it is I’m fighting for.”
“But if you don’t spend time with other angels, don’t you get… lonely?”
He gazed into the distance for a moment and stayed silent as if lost in thought. “I was in love with a human woman once,” he said at last.
His admission surprised me. I didn’t want to pry, but my curiosity got the better of me.
“What happened to her?”
He sighed softly and his entire body seemed to deflate. “She died. Old age.”
“I’m sorry for your loss. You must miss her.”
“Terribly.” He looked across to the pews and his face became solemn. “As soon as I’ve fixed you up, you’d better tell me what went on in here.”
“Fix me?” I gasped when he placed a hand on my stomach, right over the wound, then the other on my right cheek.
“Close your eyes,” he whispered.
I did as asked, but I didn’t have much choice in the matter. My eyes grew impossibly heavy—so heavy I couldn’t have kept them open if I’d tried. A tingling sensation began in my stomach then radiated throughout my entire body, making me feel warmer and safer than ever www.totallybound.com
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before. Behind my eyelids, there was a flash of light so bright I thought it might blind me, then it was gone and the tingling stopped.
“Good as new,” Malaki said.
I was.
The pain in my stomach had disappeared and I felt great—better than I had when I’d woken that morning.
I opened my eyes again and was relieved to be able to see clearly out of both. I raised a hand and ran my fingers over my healed eye and cheek.
“Thank you.”
“What’s going on?” Ty said, glaring at Malaki.
The angel smirked. It was an expression I’d seen him wear countless times before, but after the things he’d just shared with me, it didn’t seem right on him anymore. Maybe I recognized it for the cover that it was—a mask to hide his true emotions. He let his hand linger on my stomach for a moment before letting it fall away, then slowly got to his feet.
“What? We were just getting to know each other better.”
Ty didn’t look very happy with Malaki’s response. He caught my gaze then quickly glanced away.
“The council is sending a team here to try to get to the bottom of this,” Ty said, his voice lacking emotion.
I nodded. “Good. Did you tell them about the hellhounds?”
“Yes. They’ll warn the team to be prepared.”
When Malaki strode down the aisle, I followed him and Ty brought up the rear. Malaki looked over the bodies then shook his head.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say these people had been savaged by a hellhound, but that’s impossible. Like demons, hellhounds can’t get into a church or step foot on consecrated ground.”
He turned to me, all business now.
“Tell me everything you know.”
There wasn’t a lot we could tell him, but Ty and I went over our visit with Father Donahue.
When I mentioned the man I’d seen sitting in the pews, Malaki nodded.
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“He must have been enthralled by a demon. That would explain his eyes and the fact that you can’t remember what he looked like. That used to be a rare occurrence, but since the war has escalated, it’s happening more and more.”
“You mean like a possession?” I queried.
Malaki shook his head. “With a possession, the demon inhabits the human’s body, but when they enthrall a human, they essentially put them under a spell. It allows them to command a human and enables them to get into places that a demon can’t go.”
“Like consecrated ground,” I added.
“Precisely.”
Ty frowned. “Of course. I can’t believe I didn’t I think of that.”
“Why are they all still seated?” I asked. “Surely they would have seen the first person slain then tried to run away.”
“The enthralled have a small amount of power they can wield over people,” Malaki explained. “It isn’t nearly as strong as a demon’s power, but it would be strong enough to keep these people in their seats.”
I closed my eyes for a moment as I thought about that. “How awful. So they would have seen what was happening to the others, but weren’t able to move to save themselves.”
Malaki nodded. “More than likely. Just be careful from now on. Enthrallment or possession isn’t always apparent from the person’s eyes. They’re sometimes able to hide it. If a person you know is enthralled, there’ll be telltale signs, but it won’t always be obvious in strangers.”
Ty groaned. “Great. That means we have to be wary of the entire city.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Just another in a long list of things that we need to be wary of.”
Malaki tilted his head back and raised his eyes to the ceiling. His expression cleared and he became stock-still.
I studied his face then asked, “What’s wrong?”
“You said you hadn’t met any other angels?” When I nodded, he added, “Be careful what you wish for.”
The doors to the church flew open and six men strode inside. No, not men. There was no mistaking that they were angels. Unlike Malaki, they had an ethereal quality. Their bodies moved with the sort of grace I would have expected of a celestial being. Despite their obvious www.totallybound.com
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muscles and impressive height, they all but floated down the church’s aisle. They wore a uniform of black that suited the dark mood that accompanied them. With their gazes fixed on Malaki, they wore matching expressions of ire.
Whether purposely or unconsciously, Ty moved in front of me, thus shielding me from their view. The protective gesture was sweet, if pointless. Nothing could have protected me from their wrath if I’d been the focus of it. The power they exuded was magnificent, yet utterly terrifying. Fortunately, they didn’t as much as glance in our direction. They stood together in a group, separate from Malaki, and looked over the dead bodies seated in the pews. The angels’
faces were impassive, but the air around them crackled with charged electricity. Malaki didn’t move a muscle.
“He’s not pleased with you,” one of the angels said without looking up.
Malaki gave an impatient shrug. “I’m quite sure. What are you doing here, Gabriel? You don’t usually concern yourself with the death of humans. Don’t you think them below you?”
Gabriel’s eyes brimmed with anger and contempt. “This is in His house!” he roared, his voice rattling the church’s stained glass windows.
Shock and fear coursed through my veins. Far from objecting when Ty pulled me into his side and put his arms around my shoulders, I welcomed the comfort, warmth and feeling of protection.
“I’m well aware of that,” Malaki replied calmly. His voice, though barely louder than a whisper on the wind, was as clear as a werewolf’s call to the moon.
An indefinable spark of emotion shone in Malaki’s eyes. His face remained impassive, yet something about his demeanor had changed. It was as if he’d stood up to his full height, even though he hadn’t, in fact, moved at all. Malaki looked every inch the angel he was, which was both striking and terrifying.
“You’ve become complacent, Malaki,” Gabriel spat. “Have you forgotten that He can strip you any time He sees fit?”
Malaki roared, and the sound was even more frightening than Gabriel’s outburst had been. I gasped when the air around Malaki shimmied and wings of purest white grew out of his shoulders. He took to the air before they had even fully formed and he loomed over Gabriel, an impressive yet foreboding presence.
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“He can have my wings if He wants them,” Malaki thundered. “One day, I might even offer them to Him of my own accord. But hear this, Gabriel. If I find out you’ve been conspiring against me, Heaven help you.”
Gabriel’s mouth twisted into an ugly sneer as Malaki turned and flew at top speed toward the door. Before he reached it, the air lit up with a blinding white light. I lifted my arm to shield my eyes and when I removed it, Malaki had disappeared. Gabriel shot a hostile glare our way before turning to one of the other angels.
“Uriel,” he snapped, before nodding to the pews. “Clean up this mess.”
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Chapter Five
As it turned out, cleaning up a mess was simple when you were an angel. A flick of the wrist and the bodies in the pews, along with the pools of blood at their feet, vanished without a trace. I was sure the council would come up with a way to explain the disappearances, but as we waited for their operatives to arrive, I spared a thought for the families, friends and loved ones those people had left behind. I couldn’t imagine how excruciatingly painful it would be to wave goodbye to someone in the morning before I went about my day, only to arrive home later that night to learn that it had been for the last time.
How did anyone get over a loss like that?
“You still with me?” Ty asked, his gaze raking over my face.
I felt every look he sent my way deep down in the pit of my stomach. Each concerned glance or worried expression fed a need in me I hadn’t realized I possessed. I curled my fingers around his shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, ignoring the awakened response within me that touching him produced.
“I’m hanging in there. Thanks for supporting me. I don’t know what I would have done without you these past couple of days.”
“I do. You’d have gotten the job done, just the same. You’re a survivor, Alana. Hunting is in your blood, just as it’s in mine. Surviving is what we do.”
I grinned back at him. “Can’t you accept a compliment?”
“Don’t deserve one,” Ty returned. “Fact is that you wouldn’t have found yourself in any of those situations if it wasn’t for me. It was my decision to go out hunting last night when we ran into the demon and hellhounds and I brought us here to the church today.”
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