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Their chests smoked as they scrambled to their feet, swatting out the charred marks on their chests. They shot each other a quick look and promptly disappeared with two thunderous cracking sounds that echoed across the field.
I saw Ryuu sprinting towards me with an anxious look on his face.
He was coming to protect his lotus blossom. And I was okay with that.
I dropped the Spear with a sigh of relief and it winked out of existence, returning back inside me where it belonged. At least, I hoped it still belonged there and I hadn’t inadvertently created a new type of monster. An all-powerful human with god-level powers and two spiritual bodyguards—
The naked Anghellian wobbled unsteadily and the apparitions winked out behind him. “I…don’t feel so good,” he mumbled as Ryuu finally reached us.
And then the Anghellian vomited on the white tiger, causing her to let out a feral snarl of anger. Zoe, being a clever old bird, squawked, hopped back a safe distance, and then spread her wings and burst into a pillar of flame that made me jump.
“Oh, god. I’m turning inside out!” the Anghellian shrieked, hyperventilating, not even seeming to notice the ten-foot-tall bonfire a few feet away. “I’m dying!”
Ryuu grimaced distastefully. “You’re fine. You just threw up—”
The man doubled over, throwing up on his own bare feet. “Ah! My insides are on my outsides. I’m liquifying!” he cried, wiping his forearm across his mouth and dry-heaving. Bai yowled angrily, realizing that she couldn’t get close enough to murder her target without getting tagged again, began to pace back and forth, snarling in frustration.
“Calm down, man. You’re fine,” Ryuu said, side-stepping clear of the blast radius. He pointed toward the nearby pond. “Go jump in the pond. It will…stop you from liquifying,” he said, hiding his smirk. The Anghellian lurched upright and awkwardly sprinted towards the pond, screaming in terror the whole way. Bai thought about chasing him, but decided against it. Zoe’s flame winked out and she lifted her head away from her vomit-coated sister with a haughty cry.
Ryuu stared at the pair with an awed look, and then turned back to me, shaking his head incredulously. His happiness shifted to concern as he knelt down beside me, checking me for wounds. I stared at the bloody wound in his own side, alarmed by how deep it looked. Was that bone?
“I’m fine, Ryuu,” I snapped, swatting his hand away. He obviously didn’t want to talk about his flowery taunts against Gabriel and Wrath. Perhaps he was embarrassed about it.
Idiot.
He nodded with a breath of relief and clasped my hands between both of his, staring me in the eyes. “Let’s all go for a swim,” he said, smiling crookedly. “Sanguina and my sister are already down there.” And then he was tugging me to my feet before I had time to answer. As if he hadn’t just mentioned…
“Your sister?” I sputtered.
Ryuu frowned. “Yes. Aala. My sister—”
Xuanwu and Qinglong suddenly appeared at my side, making me jump in alarm, worried that Gabriel or Wrath had returned to kill or abduct me. Xuanwu laughed delightedly and scooped up the pissed off white tiger with one massive claw and pulled her close to his shell. He abruptly hissed, angling his head about as far away from her as he could. “Who vomited on my sister?” he demanded protectively.
I pointed at the fleeing, screaming Anghellian. “The new guy.”
Qinglong reared up on his hind legs so he could use his front claws to scoop up the phoenix. He closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath as he hugged her tightly, seemingly unbothered by her flames. “You’re alive,” he whispered. Then he shot me a desperate, overwrought smile. “You saved them, White Rose,” he breathed, choking up.
I nodded, lowering my eyes. I couldn’t bear to look at the raw emotion on his face. And I was too exhausted to do more than stand and blink at the same time. Which was where Ryuu volunteered his services. Without warning, he scooped me up in both arms to carry me horizontally across his chest. I reared back to punch him, but hesitated upon remembering his wounded ribs.
“Put me down! You’re the wounded one!” I argued.
“And I’ll die from blood loss waiting for you to hobble down the hill by yourself,” he muttered, entirely too amused. Putting proof to his words, he began walking towards the pond, ignoring my weak protests. Xuanwu and Qinglong flanked us, staring adoringly down at their sisters in their arms, who had apparently both fallen asleep after their brief, yet eventful, time awake. They probably needed days of sleep and had only awoken thanks to Wrath and Gabriel’s sudden arrival.
I gave them a quick rundown of what had happened beyond the Gateway, and how I’d accidentally made the Anghellian by combining Michael and…Pride. I kept his other name to myself, thank you very much. Once I was finished talking, I looked ahead, studying the Anghellian wading out into the pool beside Ryuu’s sister—who looked perfectly fine after her dip in the healing pool. “I’m glad she’s okay,” I told Ryuu.
I felt his arms tighten involuntarily. “I’m thankful that you’re okay,” he murmured. “I’ve never been that scared,” he whispered, as if the words had been pulled out of him. “When I saw the explosion and then saw you just lying there…” He stiffened and I pressed my cheek into his chest affectionately. “I don’t quite remember making that first slash at Gabriel,” he admitted with a frown. “I was suddenly just there, ready to kill both of them. I’m lucky my sister chased after me.”
I thought about pestering him on the sister thing, but there was entirely too much sibling drama going on at the moment. I stared at the Anghellian, wondering what I was supposed to do with him.
“Xuanwu?” I asked. The turtle loomed over me, using his long neck to his advantage. “Is he human?”
The Black Tortoise considered the question, glancing ahead. “I believe so.”
“You must not have seen his shadows,” I muttered. “Hulking archangel and archdemon apparitions.”
He grunted. “Oh, we saw. The power on the field today,” he said, sounding troubled, “was guaranteed death, even for Divines. It took everything we had to keep the wards up before all of Heaven and Hell descended upon my sanctuary.”
I arched an incredulous eyebrow.
“We were too weak to stop Wrath and Gabriel, though,” Qinglong added.
“Any sane person wouldn’t have dared enter the fray,” Xuanwu said. Ryuu kept his eyes forward, pretending we were talking about the weather.
Ryuu and I had a lot to talk about after I recovered. The minute I recover, not later, I promised myself, cringing at the last word. “How are your sisters?” I asked Xuanwu.
He glanced down and smiled. “Asleep.” Qinglong echoed his agreement, sounding amused. “But they are healthy, Callie. You saved them, and for that, I am eternally grateful.”
Again, Qinglong echoed his sentiment.
“Good,” I said with a tired smile. “Because I fear we managed to piss off both sides. Heaven and Hell won’t stand for this. Whatever this is,” I said, gesturing at the Anghellian. He was laughing with Aala, which I took for a good sign. I saw Sanguina dozing on a patch of grass, but I could see her wet fur and knew that she would be fine after her rest. If not for her holding open the Gateway, I wasn’t sure any of us would have survived.
“We’ve been here for two days, waiting,” Ryuu said meaningfully, noticing my glance at Sanguina. “I’ve never seen that much power held for so long.” Xuanwu and Qinglong murmured their agreement, sounding beyond impressed. “She’s exhausted, but fine.”
“Two days,” I breathed. “What happened while I was gone? Because I’m almost confident that Gabriel himself was spying on me from within the Keep. And judging by his appearance here with Wrath, I’m wondering if we weren’t all lied to. Wrath and Gabriel were working together the entire time. It had nothing to do with Envy, and it also explains why Michael and…Pride were targeted. Why they were set up,” I said, hoping no one noticed my hesitation on his name. Lucife
r.
Ryuu cast a glance back at Xuanwu, processing the information about Gabriel. Finally, he nodded. “That makes more sense,” he admitted. “Apparently, the rebels at Castle Dracula surrendered. They walked right up to the Keep and asked to turn themselves in to the Bone Heir.”
I sucked in a breath. “You’re kidding. Xylo?”
Ryuu smirked, nodding. “They seemed very confused on what they’ve been up to the last few weeks, but they found enough evidence to realize they’d been doing something…ill-advised. They all mentioned the name Envy, however, speaking like they’d been brain-washed.” I frowned suspiciously. “Xylo believed them,” he added.
I pursed my lips thoughtfully. “Which means Envy and Gabriel were both at Castle Dracula,” I murmured, troubled. “Envy must have fled, abandoning his cause. I wonder if that was at Wrath or Gabriel’s command, or if it was just self-preservation.”
He shrugged, shifting my weight in the process. “Either way, they will come back twice as hard.”
The Anghellian settled his gaze on me as we finally reached the edge of the pond. “And we will be waiting for them,” I told Ryuu out of the side of my mouth. He smirked, setting me back on my feet but remaining close to catch me if my wobbling legs gave out. “What do we call you, now?” I asked the Anghellian.
He thought about it. “Lucifer and Michael,” he mused, scratching at his cheek. Ryuu stiffened, bouncing me up and down in the process, but Xuanwu and Qinglong didn’t bat an eye. “How about Luchael?” the Anghellian asked, frowning thoughtfully at the made-up name. It sounded like he’d said Lucky-el.
“How about Lucky?” I asked. “Kind of fits since luck got us out of the Neverwas in one piece.”
Luck and love.
“Lucky,” he repeated, nodding. “I like it. I feel more like Lucifer than Michael. Maybe because my demon side knew how to exercise more free will…” A ghost of a frown drifted across his face and he clutched his stomach nervously. “I think I’m still adjusting to this. My stomach hurts,” he said, glancing down to poke his chiseled stomach with his finger. He frowned, poking it harder. “But it hurts on the inside. How curious,” he murmured, poking it even harder and faster, practically stabbing it.
Ryuu shot me a mischievous grin. “I think you’re talking about hunger,” he suggested. “Humans need to eat food. I’m taking it that this wasn’t a concern as an angel? Or a demon?” he added.
Lucky shook his head. “I’ve eaten before, but only to see what all the fuss was about. Everything tasted the same, though,” he said, frowning. “Except for Frappuccinos,” he clarified, licking his lips dreamily.
“I think your taste buds might be different now. You ever had bacon?” Ryuu asked, smiling.
“No.”
“Do you want to?”
“Absolutely. What’s it taste like?” he asked, excited about the new adventure of discovering tasteful foods.
Ryuu chuckled. “You’ll see. Your life will never be the same. I’ll cook some up for you when we get back. It’s the least I could do for you risking your life to save them,” he said, pointing at the sleeping Divines. “And for defending Callie,” he added, bowing his chin in a show of respect and appreciation.
Xuanwu and Qinglong silently waded out into the pond, speaking soothing words to their sisters so as not to startle them when they felt the water. Judging by the typical reaction of cats to water, Xuanwu was in for a rough time. Good thing he had a shell.
I squawked as a blast of water hit me in the face, soaking me. Lucky burst out laughing, splashing me again. “Thanks for saving me, too, Callie! You saved my grace from Purgatory!”
Rather than dive into the theology of angelic and demonic souls, I dove into the pond, vowing to dunk the Anghellian into the pond to establish dominance.
Conversation soon switched to teaching Lucky how to be human. Magic and war, and Heaven and Hell could wait. There were some things in life worth taking a step back from the craziness for.
Like bacon.
And Frappuccinos.
After an hour of splashing about in the water with the Anghellian and the reunited Daemons, I swam back to shore and sprawled out beside Sanguina with a weary sigh.
There were a million questions to be answered, but the only thing I had energy for right now was to sit on my boulder and try to look pretty while my Buddha kept me safe…
Ryuu leaned on a shoulder beside me, staring into my eyes, and I felt my breath catch.
“Do you know where Claire went?” he asked, as if the question had just popped into his mind, snapping him out of his idle gazing. “She left the Keep about the same time as you. Two days ago.”
I stared at him, the hair on my arms suddenly standing on end. “You mean…the night Envy and Gabriel fled?” I asked.
He nodded grimly. “I had hoped you sent her on some mission…”
I shook my head numbly. “No. No, I did not…”
Had Claire been abducted?
Or…
Had she inadvertently been working with Gabriel or Envy?
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TRY: OBSIDIAN SON (NATE TEMPLE #1)
There was no room for emotion in a hate crime. I had to be cold. Heartless. This was just another victim. Nothing more. No face, no name.
Frosted blades of grass crunched under my feet, sounding to my ears like the symbolic glass that one would shatter under a napkin at a Jewish wedding. The noise would have threatened to give away my stealthy advance as I stalked through the moonlit field, but I was no novice and had planned accordingly. Being a wizard, I was able to muffle all sensory evidence with a fine cloud of magic—no sounds, and no smells. Nifty. But if I made the spell much stronger, the anomaly would be too obvious to my prey.
I knew the consequences for my dark deed tonight. If caught, jail time or possibly even a gruesome, painful death. But if I succeeded, the look of fear and surprise in my victim’s eyes before his world collapsed around him, it was well worth the risk. I simply couldn’t help myself; I had to take him down.
I knew the cops had been keeping tabs on my car, but I was confident that they hadn’t followed me. I hadn’t seen a tail on my way here but seeing as how they frowned on this kind of thing, I had taken a circuitous route just in case. I was safe. I hoped.
Then my phone chirped at me as I received a text.
I practically jumped out of my skin, hissing instinctively. “Motherf—” I cut off abruptly, remembering the whole stealth aspect of my mission. I was off to a stellar start. I had forgotten to silence the damned phone. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
My heart felt like it was on the verge of exploding inside my chest with such thunderous violence that I briefly envisioned a mystifying Rorschach blood-blot that would have made coroners and psychologists drool.
My body remained tense as I swept my gaze over the field, fearing that I had been made. Precious seconds ticked by without any change in my surroundings, and my breathing finally began to slow as my pulse returned to normal. Hopefully, my magic had muted the phone and my resulting outburst. I glanced down at the phone to scan the text and then typed back a quick and
angry response before I switched the cursed device to vibrate.
Now, where were we?
I continued on, the lining of my coat constricting my breathing. Or maybe it was because I was leaning forward in anticipation. Breathe, I chided myself. He doesn’t know you’re here. All this risk for a book. It had better be worth it.
I’m taller than most, and not abnormally handsome, but I knew how to play the genetic cards I had been dealt. I had shaggy, dirty blonde hair—leaning more towards brown with each passing year—and my frame was thick with well-earned muscle, yet I was still lean. I had once been told that my eyes were like twin emeralds pitted against the golden-brown tufts of my hair—a face like a jewelry box. Of course, that was two bottles of wine into a date, so I could have been a little foggy on her quote. Still, I liked to imagine that was how everyone saw me.
But tonight, all that was masked by magic.
I grinned broadly as the outline of the hairy hulk finally came into view. He was blessedly alone—no nearby sentries to give me away. That was always a risk when performing this ancient rite-of-passage. I tried to keep the grin on my face from dissolving into a maniacal cackle.
My skin danced with energy, both natural and unnatural, as I manipulated the threads of magic floating all around me. My victim stood just ahead, oblivious to the world of hurt that I was about to unleash. Even with his millennia of experience, he didn’t stand a chance. I had done this so many times that the routine of it was my only enemy. I lost count of how many times I had been told not to do it again; those who knew declared it cruel, evil, and sadistic. But what fun wasn’t? Regardless, that wasn’t enough to stop me from doing it again. And again. And again.
Anghellic: Feathers and Fire Book 8 Page 32