by Mary Ting
Marcus snarled at me.
“You ass. That’s what you get for showing yourself.” I pointed my bow at Marcus, Daniel by my side. We fired again, again, and again. Four watchers down.
Enoch’s body crashed on the table, a knife at his throat. Marcus hovered over him.
“Get back or I’ll gut him,” Marcus said.
I shrugged as a lie left my mouth. “Go ahead. I was going to kill him anyway, so you’ll be doing me a favor. Besides, you need him more than I do.”
“I’m no fool, Keira. You are the fool who walked into my trap. Look behind you.” He smirked.
I swallowed a lump of fear and quickly composed myself. Watchers often teamed up with demons—or, used them was more like it. So this was nothing new. Did he expect me to shake or beg him for mercy?
Piece of cake. I’d been in worse situations before. Besides, my backup stood behind the countless demons that had taken over the nightclub.
Relief flooded through me to know the humans had all run out. When Daniel and I had blasted the four watchers from their existence, the humans had seen only fire. I also purposely shot at the human tables to get them running. The mortals couldn’t see the demons, but the demons could certainly see and kill them.
When Jonah yanked out the fork lodged in his hand and stabbed Tanya’s eye. I whipped around and let my bow do its magic, shooting out machine gun-fast on its own accord. My bow detected demons, and it never missed. All the while I used my wings to shield myself from claws.
Daniel reached over to take out the other dagger, which expanded on contact, and sliced through the havoc of brawling demons. Monsters squealed in pain as he diced them apart. Ashes floated about like drifting snow.
From behind me and to the side, Suri released her whip, golden light carving through the demons’ bodies. Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack. I loved the sound of her whip. And as sick as it was, I loved seeing it tear the demons to pieces.
I made a mistake by keeping my attention on Jonah and Mayra, who were protecting and guiding Enoch. I jerked aside when a demon’s claw slashed across my leathers. It would have been worse, but the leather had been designed for such protection.
I somersaulted to the side to dodge another blow and kicked the beast in its gut. It landed on a table, obliterating it on impact. Plates and bottles shattered.
I caught a glimpse of something silver fly across space. Suri had hurled a knife into a demon’s neck. The same demon leaped on the adjacent table, crushing the table flat. I picked up one of the broken pieces, ducked, and swung around to pierce it through the demon’s chest.
When I whirled for the next beast, Daniel, Suri, and the nephilim stood around me. All the monsters had gone, leaving the nightclub as if a tornado had gone through it.
“They’re gone?” I questioned. But something seemed odd.
“Those freakin’ idiots.” Suri craned her neck, her auburn hair falling over her cheek. Then she spat and crimson liquid spotted the ground.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Just a punch to my face, but no big deal. I did worse to them.” She winked as her whip coiled around her arms.
I hadn’t realized she had two whips. She also had them snaking around her boots.
“Cowards,” Daniel murmured as his swords collapsed back to daggers. Then he returned them onto his back. “Run. Run all the way back to Hell or wherever you came from.”
“They didn’t run.” The sudden revelation clicked like a light bulb. “Stay here and clean up the mess. I’ll meet you back at the base.”
“No. We stick together. Where—”
I bolted. Daniel’s words became lost in the wind.
Chapter 12
Interrogation
Keira
The demons didn’t run. They had too much pride to run, even knowing they would die. It only meant one thing—they’d gone after Enoch.
I reached them just as the demons pulled the roof off the car and yanked Enoch out. A demon’s claws had punctured Enoch’s shoulders. Enoch could do nothing but let it take him as Jonah and Mayra sped down the highway.
A strange feeling enveloped me I couldn’t define. The need to help Enoch. I told myself it was merely the need to bring him back to base, but in my gut I knew it went beyond that, and it had nothing to do with stalking him.
Why this strange feeling now? Why not when I had first spied on him?
I tried to help Enoch, but a swarm of demons blocked my way. If I didn’t do something fast, Enoch may be gone for good. NU needed answers, and he was no good to us dead. Though I considered myself one of the best warriors, I knew when I was outnumbered.
The power I needed to elude them would take a toll on my strength, but I had no choice. As the demons surrounded me, my body prickled with warning and a warm, tingling sensation flashed through me.
I raised my palm and let the divine power blast from my hand. White light, pure and bright, engulfed the vicinity, drawing bellows of pain and horror from the demons. As some beasts shredded into pieces, others scattered.
Enoch was falling.
The sight of him distracted me from my duty, and I soared across space to catch him. I had never strayed from my course before. Damn it. Get yourself together. He cursed and raised a gun I hadn’t seen in his hand at me. I should have known he held one, but again my mind had been preoccupied.
Before he had the chance to pull the trigger, my reflexes took over and I let him go. Mayra caught Enoch as I had expected when she soared out of the car like a bat out of Hell. I released Enoch knowing he would be fine.
Mayra held Enoch in her arms, floating just above Jonah’s car. With the other hand, she shot at me. I hadn’t noticed her gun, either. I stopped the bullet with my power before it hit me.
I realized then Mayra hadn’t shot to kill, but to force me to keep at a distance. A reassuring sign. Perhaps I could convince her to join our side.
“What do you want with Uriel?” she asked.
I flapped my wings just as fierce and swift. The hurricane-force wind kept the demons from reaching us. “If he remembers, he might ruin us all. We can’t let him.”
“I assure you. He doesn’t recall his past. Let it go. Let him free.”
Mayra’s tone told me she told the truth.
“I can’t. There’s too much at stake. He needs to be gone. It’s the only sure way there will be no war.” I didn’t want to tell her I wanted to take him to our base to be questioned. Depending on his answers, he might be terminated. And I didn’t want to lie.
“You don’t know that for sure.” Mayra sighed. “He’s worth more alive than dead. He could end the war at last.”
I cocked my eyebrows and scoffed. “At last? Demons and watchers are still here. After two thousand and eighteen years, they’re still here. A war is what we need to finally end it all.”
Mayra lowered into the car, turned a midair somersault, and drop-kicked my chest. I had thought she approached closer to talk. Huge mistake. One I would learn from. Mayra was never to be trusted.
By the time I righted myself and flew back, they were gone. Having no choice, I went back to our base underneath St. Peter’s church.
Daniel ran toward me as soon as I entered. Instead of a happy welcome greeting, he scowled. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried. You do not get to just tell me you’ll be back and take off. Let me remind you, we’re partners under the Nephilim Creed, so where you go, I go. Where I go, you go. What part of that have you forgotten?”
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.” I released a long sigh and headed to Ezekiel’s office.
“That’s what you said last time and the time before.” Daniel matched my pace, keeping in step with me. “I hope you at least found something.”
I sidestepped to my left, avoiding Tammy pulling back her chair. “Well, I didn’t find anything, but I think...”
A vision of Enoch’s pained expression entered my mind for a split second. Where was h
e? And why did I care? He had been injured, and if he couldn’t recall who he was, his wound would kill him. Unless someone helped him fast with holy water.
“Keira, if you want a different partner, then tell Ezekiel.”
“What?” I halted.
Daniel kept walking until he realized I wasn’t by his side and spun around.
“Why? What made you think of such an idiotic idea?” I blinked, baffled.
We had been partners since I had turned sixteen, the official age one became a demon hunter as long as one met the criteria. For six years, Daniel had been my partner.
“I asked you and you didn’t answer me.” Daniel scratched the back of his head. “So I figured that was your answer. I asked you three times, Keira.”
My chest rose with my labored breathing. “You stop that nonsense. I don’t want any other partner. You’re the best partner anyone can ask for. Me, on the other hand, I’m surprised you haven’t asked for a new one.” I snorted and meandered down the hallway.
Daniel kept quiet, seemingly satisfied with my answer as we walked. When I turned the last corner, I stopped. Suri and Kai were near Ezekiel’s office.
“Hey.” I stiffened as I wondered if Suri would be as upset as Daniel had been.
“Hey. You’re back.” Suri smiled, twirling a six-inch dagger. “Daniel was worried sick about you, but I told him not to worry, ‘cause you wouldn’t be stupid enough to put your life at risk, right?”
“I wasn’t worried sick. It was far worse than that.” Daniel met my eyes and frowned.
Suri’s tone told me she didn’t agree with what I had done, but she wasn’t going to make a big deal of it. She too had her moment of spontaneous weakness a while back and had thought she could fight demons on her own. Suri had taken off just like I did, but had ended up being badly injured. She had almost died. Had it not been for her partner, Kai, she would have been taken alive by the demons.
Kai had found her just as the demons had wounded her and begun dragging her away. Luckily she kept fighting and gave the demons a difficult time. But she’d paid a great price. Her wings never fully healed. One side drooped lower than the other.
The sight of her injured, her wings bloody, should have taught me a lesson never to leave the team on my own. Apparently, when my adrenaline ran fast, the need to destroy the demons at all cost made me senseless.
“Of course,” I said and gave her a wink.
She rolled her eyes and pressed her lips together for a playful smirk. “Your wings are beautiful. Don’t make them like mine.”
“You’re perfect the way you are.” Kai ran his fingers through his hair and gazed down as if he realized he shouldn’t have spoken.
Suri shoved Kai lightly on his arm. “Liar.”
Kai smiled, his dimples showing. “Anyway. If you’re here to see Ezekiel, he’s not here.”
Daniel crossed his arms. “Where is he?”
Kai tilted his head downward. “He’s interrogating a demon you captured.”
“You captured one?” I said, giving him a look of pride.
Capturing a demon was not easy. Usually either we ended up killing it, or it ended up killing whoever tried to capture it.
Daniel gave me a bashful grin, and then it turned into a frown. “You would have seen me do it had you been there. After you left, a few lingered behind.”
“I’ll be there next time. I promise.” I patted his back and took a step before Kai extended his arm to stop me.
“Wait. I don’t know if it’s a good idea. You might not be able to stomach it.”
I furrowed my brow. “I might not be able to stomach it? Seriously?” I scoffed, shoved his arm and kept walking, Daniel’s footsteps behind me.
Suri’s voice echoed down the hall a few seconds later. “Wait for me.”
Chapter 13
Safety
Enoch
My muscles weak and limp, I pulled myself up through where the roof would have been and gawked. Countless demons snarled and glared at us, their knifelike claws and teeth snapping trying to eat through the blue light shield.
“Where are we?” My words croaked in my throat.
We had exited the freeway and sped faster than anyone should even attempt on the dirt road.
“An old abandoned church.” Mayra couldn’t peel her eyes away from the terrifying sight. Not a glance at me. “This is sacred ground. No evil souls can enter.”
How? How does this even exist? Any of it? I brushed my fingers through my hair, trying to grasp all that had happened. A simple fun outing had turned into a horror movie.
Jonah hopped out of the damaged car. I was surprised it even made it this far with his side door collapsed. He stretched out his arms and walked toward the edge of the shield. The demons’ thunderous roar sounded muffled, and I could only imagine how loud it would be on the other side.
“I want to speak to your leader,” Jonah said, not an ounce of fear in him. The boulder in the vicious ocean storm.
“We have twenty. Be more specific.” One of the watchers spoke, but it was difficult to identify which when so many piercing burning eyes stared back and their mouths didn’t move.
“Ah, yes, the twenty original watchers. The sons of God, the Bible called them, if I remember right. By any chance, has a new one popped up in the last century?” Jonah didn’t give him the chance to respond. “Your masters are always hiding and leaving you old farts to do their dirty work. Even if you knew where their bodies were hidden, you wouldn’t be able to raise them.”
Jonah’s humorous tone did not amuse me. In fact, I didn’t understand how he seemed to be so calm. I supposed the shield held firm and the demons couldn’t penetrate, but regardless, their voice alone sacred the crap out of me.
“Be careful what you say, Jonah. One day when the original watchers arise, I will gut you and slice off that smart-ass tongue of yours. Until then, I will speak on their behalf.” One demon folded his flapping wings to a close. As he transformed into a man, he gravitated to the ground. “Speak.”
Even in human form, Marcus’s voice boomed.
Jonah crossed his arms and picked at a nail. “We’ve held strong for two thousand and eighteen years. Why bother? You can’t win.”
“Why not now? We’re tired of being in between, neither here or there.”
“Really? I like you neither here or there just fine.”
Marcus growled and took a step. The blue light from the shield sparked a warning.
“Okay. That wasn’t nice of me.” Jonah pouted. “If you tell me something, I’ll tell you something. A trade?”
Marcus’s chest rose and fell with his rage, his human skin hardening into beastly leather. “What do you want to know?”
“That girl who attacked you goes by the name Keira. Who is she and why is she after you?”
Marcus’s eyebrows pinched and his eyes beamed with satisfaction. “All-knowing Jonah doesn’t know. How interesting.” He raised his clawed hand to his human chin.
“Shut up and tell me before I change my mind.”
“Why should I answer first? You might not answer mine.”
Jonah inhaled a deep breath, patience wearing thin, it seemed. “What do you want to ask me?”
“Where is Uriel?”
Jonah shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. He abandoned us. What can I say?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You play me for a fool? Where’s the Book of Watchers?”
Jonah waggled his index finger. “Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You asked me two questions. Now answer mine before you really piss me off.”
I had never seen Jonah out of control, but when his voice thundered, eyes beamed like headlights, and oh shit, man...wings spread out, spanning twice the length of his arms. Jonah an angel? He had been my friend all my life and I’d never known.
Marcus took a couple of steps back. Even the demon cowered from Jonah. Then his lips curled wickedly. “Nephilim.”
He said the word as if it was a plague.
> “Nephilim?”
Marcus scrunched up his features in disgust. “Some nephilim have come together in a group called Nephilim Unification to get rid of all demons, watchers and archangels on Earth. Perhaps we should work together and get rid of this nuisance.”
Jonah nodded. “That might not be a bad idea.”
Just as Marcus’s eye beamed in delight, Jonah said, “Not. You’re out of your mind. We couldn’t stand each other when we first arrived and we still can’t stand each other now. Hell. No. Besides, I would never trust you. Your goal is to take over the human world. My goal is to get rid of you. See that? Our goals are not the same. Now that I got my answer, see ya.”
Jonah walked backward at first, and then turned. He continued with that cool swagger, an I’m-a-badass walk into...where? There was nowhere to go. Nothing but empty dirt road for miles and miles.
Then, as soon as he passed the double trees, an old white church materialized like a magic trick.
“You’re going to regret this!”
I could have sworn I felt Marcus’s breath against the nape of my neck as the ground shook.
“Come on.” Mayra tugged at my shirt and trailed behind Jonah.
When I crawled out of the vehicle, I gawked at the furrows and dents that covered the car, and then I looked over my shoulder at the demons, and thought Hell had come to Earth.
Chapter 14
The Church
Enoch
The condition of the church made me question if it had been through Hell itself. The scent of rotting things, shattered windows, broken pews, an altar with no legs, and the gaping holes in the ceiling proved it had. The church had materialized when Jonah had waved a hand. Obviously, normal people couldn’t see it, so what was this place?
Petrified by the number of demons surrounding us, I had brushed off my pain, but I could no longer pretend I wasn’t injured. I sank into one of the pews closer to the front and closed my eyes. So tired. I was so tired of running, nearly having a heart attack, and then being clawed by a demon that shouldn’t exist.