She needed to stay here and wait for him, regardless of the fact that she would place everyone in danger by doing so. The others could leave. She didn’t want to see Amelia anyway. She hated her.
Erin sighed.
She didn’t hate her.
She wanted to though. She wanted to be angry with her but she knew in her heart that she was only clinging to feelings that weren’t really hers. She wanted to blame all her pain on Amelia when in reality it was all because of the Devil.
Why had he returned her to the island?
He had sent her back for a reason. Something told her that it was because he wanted her to suffer and be alone. He wanted everyone to find out what she was and leave her, so all her ties to this world were broken and she lost hope and every shred of positive emotions she possessed. He wanted to break her and rid her of her compassion and sentimentality.
He wanted her to embrace the darkness inside her and then return to him of her own accord, accepting him as her father.
It wasn’t going to happen.
She would never do such a thing.
She would never be alone.
Erin touched the scar between her breasts and stared at it.
No matter what happened, Veiron would always be with her.
Erin sighed again. She was confused and hurt, and being alone was only worsening those feelings, allowing doubt to grow in her mind and fear to spread poisoned tendrils around her heart. She was already on her way to doing just what the Devil wanted. She couldn’t let that happen.
She stood and brushed down her backside.
She had to leave with the others.
When Veiron returned, he would find her wherever she was. He would come for her and he would be fine, and she would feel like a fool for doubting him and believing that he had been killed. Together they would laugh about how silly she had been and what a close call it was, and they would tease everyone for leading her astray.
Erin sighed. He would. They would. She was sure of it.
She tipped her head back and looked up at the endless blue sky, hoping that everyone was wrong about Veiron and that he wasn’t up there now, an angel again.
And that he hadn’t forgotten her.
CHAPTER 28
Veiron beat his wings and couldn’t contain the smile that curved his lips. Hot sun streamed down on him from high above, warming his skin, his armour and his feathers, relaxing every muscle in his body and imbuing him with a sense of peace. Endless sea stretched below him, glittering in the strong light, a beautiful reflection of the cobalt canvas above. The warm air teased his scarlet hair and flowed over his feathers, tickling them as he glided a short distance. He beat them again, a stronger flap this time, taking himself higher above the world.
It was so quiet.
He had never realised before leaving Heaven that it was noisy there. Wherever he went, there were fellow angels talking, discussing everything from their last mission to the latest inventions in the mortal realm. He didn’t miss the constant background noise. He liked this silence. It soothed him as much as the gentle wind and the warm sun.
A bubble of excitement rose up in him and popped, birthing more bubbles that widened his smile.
A tiny green dot marred the sea ahead of him, embraced by turquoise waters.
His first mission.
Veiron looked down at the guardian angel below him. The pale-haired male’s silvery-blue wings beat the air at a steady pace and his rich blue armour reflected the sun, the silver edging dazzling Veiron. Nevar had spoken barely a handful of words since their superiors had introduced them at the gates of Heaven and given them their mission.
Veiron couldn’t believe that they had sent him out on his first mission so soon after his rebirth. He had only been back for a few months and had barely completed the first round of retraining. It was unusual for Heaven to send a newly reborn angel on such an important mission too, but his superiors had told him that he was perfectly capable of handling this and that they had every faith that the mission would be a success. Pride swelled his heart and he grinned. He would prove their faith in him was correct. He would see this mission through and it would be a success.
Veiron banked left and spun in the air, rolling down in an arc until he was flying next to the angel assisting him on the mission.
Nevar didn’t even look at him. They weren’t from the same division of guardians but Veiron had expected him to be civil at the very least. The angel seemed to detest him. Veiron had questioned him during their long flight but Nevar had shrugged and said he had no reason to hate him or anyone. Maybe he just wasn’t talkative. Maybe it was because his superiors had reassigned him from another mission to this one with Veiron and he was angry about it. Either way, Veiron wasn’t going to let it get him down. This was his chance to prove himself strong and capable, worthy of his superiors’ belief in him.
“There is no sign of mortals on the island,” Nevar said, deep voice battling the wind. “We are good to go.”
Veiron nodded and swept lower, gaze scouring the white beaches skirting the small island. He spotted their target on the far side, in a curved shallow bay. She walked the shore, and she was alone.
Without a word to his companion, Veiron beat his wings and shot down. Wind buffeted him but he held his course, his wings pinned back to speed his descent. He landed hard in a crouch on the beach, sending white sand exploding upwards and shaking the island.
His target turned to face him, her short black hair swaying with the speed of her reaction. She stood before him dressed in only small black shorts and a tight t-shirt. Red flames licked over her hands. They stuttered and banked, and then died completely.
Veiron rose and straightened to his full height.
Her eyes widened, her shock rippling through him, and then tears filled them. She was afraid. Veiron smiled. This was going to be easier than he had thought.
Her hand covered her mouth.
“No… it can’t be. No!” Her fingers shook and the tears in her eyes spilled onto her cheeks.
It wasn’t fear that she felt after all. Veiron frowned, confused by the threads of emotion that he could sense in her. Her distress seemed genuine, as did her pain. It wasn’t an act, and something wasn’t right. He should only be able to sense hints of her feelings, detect them and pinpoint them. He could feel her pain. How?
It didn’t matter how. He had a mission to complete.
Veiron held his hand out and called one of his curved silver swords to him. He grasped the blue and silver hilt and swept the blade downwards, slicing through the air. Her amber eyes widened further and she took a step back.
“Veiron?” she whispered and he faltered, pain tearing through his heart as though that word was a blade and she had cut him with it.
How did she know his name?
He hesitated and it cost him. The original angel came out of nowhere, her silver mutated wings beating fiercely, and crashed into him, sending him down with her on top of him. She smashed her fist into his face and her eyes flashed silver, as bright as her long hair.
Veiron growled and rolled with her, intent on pinning her beneath him and taking her life too. It would be a bonus and he was sure his master would be proud of him. She was gone before he could manoeuvre her, leaving him facing the sand, his back wide open to attack. She landed a hard kick on his spine between his blue chest armour and the strips that protected his hips, sending him face first into the sand.
“Amelia, no!” The target. Why was she stopping the original angel from fighting him? Did she fear for her comrade’s life?
A wise woman. Veiron snarled, pressed his palms into the damp sand and shoved himself upwards, knocking the abomination off him.
He found his feet and turned on her. His blade clashed with that of the traitor, Marcus. Heaven had warned Veiron about him. Other voices called across the beach and Veiron silently thanked Nevar when he landed behind him, providing much-needed back up.
Veiron drew a deep breath and attacked Marcu
s and the original angel as Nevar fought the other traitors.
The sight of Marcus in armour so similar to his own disgusted Veiron. The man had no right to wear the armour of an angel. He was as much an abomination as his master. She didn’t wear armour at all. A small pale cream dress was her only defence against his blade.
Veiron drove Marcus back and called his second blade, evening the odds. They clashed hard again, the dark-haired traitor wielding his twin blades with expertise that Veiron found difficult to match. He didn’t have the battle experience of this former angel but he wouldn’t be defeated here.
Veiron ducked to avoid one of Marcus’s blades and launched his fist up, catching the man hard under his jaw. Marcus flew backwards and beat his wings to right himself in the air. Before he could attack again, Veiron turned on the one his target had called Amelia. She blocked his path to his target, a blade in her hand and a steely look in her eyes.
Why wasn’t the target defending herself?
She stood a short distance away, eyes wide, frozen in time.
He could still feel her hurting. Perhaps it was a power of hers. She intended to weaken his resolve to capture her and present her to his superiors. That would never happen.
Veiron battled Amelia, driving her backwards, towards his target. When she realised what he was doing, she fought harder but she wasn’t skilled enough with a blade to beat him. He slashed at her, keeping her occupied with defending herself. He could feel Nevar behind him, the angel now battling Marcus. The demon female lay injured on the beach, the fallen angel tending to her.
The tide was turning in his favour.
Veiron swung hard with both swords. Amelia leapt to dodge the blades, giving him the opening he had been waiting for. He sent one of his swords away, grabbed her leg, and spun with her. She screamed as he sent her flying and then hit the sand hard, sending a plume into the air as she tumbled across it.
Veiron turned to face his target.
The female lowered her hand to her side, swallowed, and looked him straight in the eye. A brave if foolish woman. Did she think she could intimidate him?
“You may come peacefully, Devil spawn, or you may fight me. Either way, I am taking you in.” He called his second sword back to him and swept both blades through the air.
She tipped her chin up.
“I’ll fight you. I don’t want to… but I will. I will not let you hurt my friends.”
He snorted. “Such evil cannot know true friendship. You have poisoned their minds with your darkness, just as your master poisons this realm.”
Tears lined her lashes again. “How can you say such cruel things?”
“Cruel? Strange words from the lips of the antichrist. Do you intend to poison my mind too?” He cut through the air with his swords again and advanced on her. “I will not let you.”
“And I will not fight you.” She closed her eyes and held her head high. “So if you wish to claim my life to satisfy your new master, then do so.”
New master? He halted again. Tears slipped from her lashes onto her cheeks and rolled down them and the sense of pain inside him increased. She swallowed and sniffed, but made no move to attack him or defend herself.
Why wasn’t she fighting him?
He didn’t have time to come up with an answer and what happened only left him with more questions. Pain blazed across his back and he roared, arching forwards away from the blade. He turned on the original angel and threw himself back into his fight with her, but not before he had caught the horror in his target’s eyes and felt her fear.
She feared when he had been injured but not when he threatened to kill her?
His head ached as he battled Amelia, driving her towards Nevar and Marcus this time where they fought further along the beach. Marcus was winning. Veiron growled under his breath and struck at Amelia with each blade in quick succession, forcing her to defend. He needed to get to Nevar and assist him.
“Nevar, you know me!” Marcus said and Nevar looked as confused as Veiron felt. Nevar slashed at Marcus with his sword and shook his head.
“I do not know you, traitor.”
“Marcus, he’s the angel who tried to take me twice… my guardian,” the target called from behind Veiron and Nevar froze.
Marcus saw his chance and took it. He twisted Nevar into his arms, pinned his wings with one arm and held his blade against his throat with the other. Nevar stilled. Veiron cursed.
“Is she right? You were her guardian and you tried to capture her for Heaven?” Marcus growled the words and Nevar’s pale green eyes widened as the blade nicked his throat, spilling a thin line of blood.
“She lies. I have never seen her before today, nor you.”
“She isn’t lying, Marcus,” the original angel said and swiped at Veiron. He was so caught up in what was happening with Nevar and Marcus that her blade cut across his arm. He hissed through gritted teeth and cursed at her this time. Her second attack failed. He easily blocked it and pushed against her, sending her tripping backwards and gaining himself some space.
He raised one sword above his head and brought it down hard, intent on cutting her down before she could recover her footing. Bright blue light shone from her palms and the whole world exploded. Pain splintered his bones and his head spun, reeling as his ears rang and he tried to comprehend what had just happened. When his head cleared, he found himself sailing through the air and landing hard on the ground, close to his target. Victory.
Veiron went to launch onto his feet but his body didn’t respond to the command. It blazed white-hot, every muscle burning with pain so intense he barely clung to consciousness. What had happened?
Had the abomination struck him with her power?
She appeared above him, her hands still glowing, and held her palms out towards him.
Veiron breathed shallowly, struggling against his pain, and stared up at her. He had failed. His superiors had been wrong. He was not capable of capturing the Devil’s spawn.
Amelia glared at him. “Better luck next time.”
“No,” the target screamed and was suddenly between him and Amelia, her arms outstretched.
Protecting him?
“Don’t hurt him!” she said and shook her head.
Amelia backed off a step. “He might look and sound like him, but he isn’t him… remember that.”
“I know… but I would sooner die than see Veiron suffer again.” Those softly spoken words cut him deeper than any blade could and served to increase his confusion.
She had called him by his name twice now, refused to fight him or let him come to harm, and feared when he had been injured.
“Do I know you?” he said without thinking and pushed himself onto his elbows on the sand. His head spun but not as fiercely as it had before and the pain in his limbs had lessened to a dull throbbing. He lumbered onto his feet, spread his wings, and flapped them to align his feathers. They ached as much as the rest of him.
The target looked over her shoulder at him, pain in her amber eyes. The wind ruffled her short black hair, blowing it across her face, and she turned away and lowered her head. A look of sorrow crossed Amelia’s face and Marcus sighed.
“The Veiron you knew died, Erin. He will not remember you,” Marcus said and she nodded, and her pain increased again.
The Veiron she knew?
Was this all an elaborate lie to fool him and Nevar into lowering their guard? Why would he have known the Devil’s daughter and these traitors?
“You are all traitors and liars,” Veiron said and Erin turned to face him. Her eyes met his and the ache in his head worsened as he stared into them. He didn’t know her. He couldn’t remember his past life but he was sure that he would never have had a reason for knowing the spawn of Satan. “You lied about Nevar being your guardian. Why would such evil need the protection of an angel?”
She flinched and looked away, casting her gaze downwards.
“Erin?” Amelia whispered behind her and Erin closed her eyes.
“Is he speaking the truth about you?”
Erin frowned and then nodded.
Amelia’s silvery eyes widened and the same look of shock echoed on the faces of her comrades too. They hadn’t known that Erin was the child of the Devil.
Was she playing them all for fools?
“Evil,” he spat the word at her and she covered her face with her hands and hid there for long minutes.
“What do you know of myself and Amelia?” Marcus said and Veiron looked across at him. He still held Nevar against him, his sword poised to slit the guardian angel’s throat.
“We have been told about you.” Nevar spoke before he could. “You are traitors and must be captured or executed.”
“You must know our accomplices then?”
Nevar nodded. “Apollyon, bringer of death, Lukas of the mediators and Einar of the hunters.”
“And what of the Devil’s men?”
“I do not know.” Nevar grimaced when the blade nicked his throat again, sending a new rivulet of blood trailing down to his collarbone. “There was mention of a fallen angel.”
Veiron took a step forwards to help him and stopped when Erin lifted her head and looked at him again. He stared into her eyes.
“That angel sacrificed himself recently when trying to save me… and his name was Veiron,” she said and as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t detect a lie in what she spoke.
“No.” He shook his head, unwilling to believe it. She was tricking him. She was trying to confuse and weaken him. None of what she said, what any of them said, made any sense.
“Veiron,” she whispered and he refused to look at her. He would not be deceived. “You died barely a week ago trying to protect me… and now you want to kill me? You must remember me. Don’t you remember being with us in Hell and fighting the angels? You must remember!”
“You lie. I died months ago.” He took a step back from her and glared into her eyes, anger rising like a tide within him. He flexed his fingers around the grips of his swords.
“You died no more than a week ago… and your last words in that lifetime were that you loved me.”
Veiron stumbled backwards, head aching and spinning as he tried to process that. It had to be a lie. He had died months ago. He turned his glare on the sand and focused, trying to remember something about his past life so he could prove her wrong. The ache in his head sharpened into a deep stabbing pain and darkness loomed, threatening to render him unconscious.
Her Angel: Eternal Warriors Complete Series Box Set Page 61