by Ciara Graves
“Morning,” she said as she turned toward me.
“Morning.” I kissed her cheek as I sat, draping my arm over her shoulders. She curled against my side.
“Hmm, you’re so warm,” she mused.
“Usually.” I breathed her in, enjoying the view from our front porch, as we did every morning.
The mountains stretched out before us, covered in evergreens, sloping all the way to the horizon.
My black truck and Mercy’s new bright orange Wrangler sat on the gravel drive beside our shop. When we’d decided to drop off the grid, we took up some hobbies, blacksmithing amongst them.
Mercy was damned good at forging blades. Almost as good as she was at using them.
“You know,” she said quietly, “I’ve been thinking.”
“Why would you do that? It hurts,” I teased.
She nudged my side. “Would it be terrible if we turned down the offer from the Hunters? I mean running our own team would be great, and all, but I don’t know, I’m kind of enjoying this life.”
“I am too, but eventually we’ll have to go back to work. Sadly, we need paychecks.”
She sighed. “You had to ruin it.”
“Just being realistic. It’ll be good for us. Think of all the good we can do for the dragonborn and demons.”
“I dunno. I’m not a dragon anymore, remember?”
I set my mug on the porch and did the same with hers. Then I pulled her onto my lap, giving me a chance to see if she was upset about not being a dragon anymore.
“Doesn’t make you any less one,” I told her. “You sacrificed the dragon in you to save everyone. You gave up a part of yourself. You did it willingly. Don’t forget that.”
She smiled then leaned in and kissed me. “Gods, I love you.”
“Good, because you’re stuck with me for a very long time.”
Her arms wound around my neck.
Gravel crunched under tires.
She grunted, clearly annoyed.
I chuckled.
“Make them go away.”
“If I could I would,” I promised.
Gigi, Nor, and Horace came out of the car.
After the fight against Shuval, Gigi went to stay with her coven for an extended visit. The attack had taken much out of everyone with magic. Now, she looked in high spirits and had a glow about her.
Mercy slid out of my arms and went to greet her, hugging her friend as they laughed.
I followed her off the porch and shook Nor’s hand. Horace hauled me into a one-armed hug.
“This place is damned nicer than the last time I was here,” Horace mused, taking in the cabin and the workshop. “You sure you want to go back to hunting evil bastards?”
“Someone’s gotta do it. Going to assume that’s why you’re here, Chief?”
“Mostly. I wish I could give you two more time, but the Hunters are begging me to check in and get an answer.”
I shoved my hands in my front pockets. “Can you blame us for not having responded yet?”
“No, definitely can’t do that.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled at Mercy. “She seems good. You both do.”
“We have been. How’s everything in Sector 21?”
“Bowen’s settled into his new role working for the Feds. He still refuses to give in and become an agent. So does Horace,” he muttered.
Horace smirked. “What? Someone had to take over Damian’s bounty hunting legacy.”
“Shep?”
“He’s doing better,” Nor told me. “Wanted us to pass along his hello. There’s a crate of beer in the back from him. And you’ll be happy to know the Gathered has been officially purged of all the mages who’d gone to the other side. Sycamore has taken full control by majority vote. The Gathered will be renamed in the next few months and will no longer be their own entity.”
“He talked them into becoming regulated?”
“That he did. Didn’t take much to convince the other mages after they saw how many of their kin had joined Shuval.” Nor turned around, a glint in his eyes. “Damned nice out here. I hate asking you to come back.”
“We’ll come back to work, but we’re keeping this place,” I informed him. “I’m not about to return to the city.”
“I’d be disappointed if you did.”
“Chief, Horace,” Mercy said as she joined us.
Nor hugged her, but Horace lifted her off her feet and spun her around until she was giggling.
“You all up for some breakfast? Don’t worry, Rafael will cook,” she offered as he set her back on her feet.
“Oh, I will, huh?” I asked as she slipped her hand into mine.
“Please, for the love of god, do not let Mercy cook,” Gigi pleaded.
“I’m sure I can get something going. Nice morning to eat on the patio. Enjoy one last day of peace and quiet.”
Mercy’s eyes darkened at my words. I told the others to head inside and we’d catch up.
“You sure you’re alright with going back?” I cupped her cheek.
“I keep thinking about the what if, you know? What if we don’t go back? We could make it work here, get normal jobs, but—”
I raised my brow when she didn’t go on. “But what?”
“But if we don’t do the job, someone else will have to. I don’t think I can live with that. Can you?”
As much as I wanted to say yes, I had to agree with her. “That’s what happens when we’re the good guys.”
“Rafael?”
“Hmm?”
Her brow furrowed, then she smiled and looked into my eyes. She didn’t have to say anything. She never did.
I leaned in, letting my lips brush across hers as I held her face in my hands.
She was mine, and I was hers.
Forever.
We’d been through hell more than once and came out alive. Came out stronger. Nothing would ever break us apart.
“Do you two want us to leave and come back later?” Horace called out the front door. “I mean we can. There was that bait shop down the road.”
“Fishing does sound nice,” Nor chimed in.
Mercy and I parted, to find them in the doorway.
Horace wiggled his eyebrows. Nor laughed.
“We should probably feed them,” Mercy said, hurrying inside.
The sounds of talk and laughter flowed out the front door. I was indeed home.
“Rafael, you coming?” Mercy yelled. “Either that or I’m about to start cooking.”
“Get away from that stove, woman,” I shouted back. “You’ll burn the whole damned place down.”
I walked up the front porch steps and closed the door, joining the rest of my family.
KEEP READING for an excerpt from the next Ciara Graves series!
Excerpt: Judge Not
Reign Of Shadows Book One
Seraphim, lords of hell, angels, demons, corrupted mortals, hell spawn, and the dark creatures of nightmares. The Reign of Shadows is just starting!
Lela’s a warrior of light. As a warrior of light her mission is to protect the world from the legions of demons, corrupted mortals, hell spawn, and the dark creatures of nightmares.
Cracks in the veil have opened up the war of shadows and brought it to the mortal plane, opening up the seals to the realms of angels and hell.
Lela’s latest orders are to close the rift near a rundown human settlement. Ambushed by demons during her mission, she finds herself squaring off against a massive demon covered in tribal tattoos.
Tonamech—known as Mech— a tat-covered demon is one of the elite fighters under one of the nine Lords of Hell. HIs mission is to capture souls and return them to hell and fight off angel attacks.
Mech could do without angels. Any of them. Now he’s fighting an angel bearing a very specific branding mark on her shoulder signifying her high rank. He takes her captive. She could provide valuable intel.
Lela’s hope is to build up a burst of holy light to help her escape the demonhold.
She didn’t count on Mech’s tenacity.
Warning: Unputdownable action-packed fantasy, with a touch of romance which features seraphim, lords of hell, angels, demons, corrupted mortals, hell spawn, and the dark creatures of nightmares.
Chapter 1
Lela
The dagger in my hand shone in the bluish tinged holy light around me. I held it up, examining every inch of the blade to ensure it was properly cleaned and purified. The last fight against a horde of zombies had left all my gear stinking of rotting flesh.
Satisfied, I sheathed the dagger at my side with the other blades and folded the polishing rag.
My eyes wandered around the armory I had mostly to myself. Several other commanders were here, seeing to their weapons and armor. None of us spoke. We’d all witnessed too much tragedy these last few days to be much comfort to one another.
Racks of fresh chainmail chest pieces, silver metal bracers, shoulder guards, leather armor, and weapons of all types stretched from one wall to the other.
The only light in the room was natural, the same as it was everywhere in our kingdom in the heavens. The armory had arched windows running along the top of the stone walls, garnished with stained glass depicting scenes from various battles. Battles of good overcoming evil.
There was a time I wholeheartedly believed good would always win. Lately, I wasn’t sure we had the strength to endure this war.
Lately, I wasn’t sure about a lot of things.
This war had taken a dark turn, and every mission I came back from left me wondering if we were ever going to find a way to end it. Some days, I forgot what we were even fighting for.
Bickering amongst the generals had trickled down to the commanders and soldiers. I used to not have issues with the teams I took on my missions. Now, dissension ran rampant, and it all started with High General Hadariel, who conveniently enough, hadn’t been seen in weeks.
If the generals knew where he was or why he’d been gone so long, they kept it to themselves, as with all things in this never-ending war.
“Commander Lela, orders from General Morael.”
I held out my hand without turning around to face the angel messenger.
A paper was placed in my palm, then the messenger exited the armory.
I had just returned from one mission and hoped to have some time to let my wounds heal. Apparently, that was not going to be the case. I read over the missive and bit back a curse.
Anger would get me nowhere, no matter how justifiable it may be. I had to keep it together for the ones in my charge.
“What does it say?” Nathaniel, another commander and the only friend who’d remained alive asked as he joined me.
His blond hair was so light it was nearly white, matching perfectly shaped brows. Despite the few pale scars across his face, he had handsome, sharp features with sky-blue eyes. He was taller than me and had a more slender build than most other commanders.
“They want me to lead a team to seal another rift.”
His light blond eyebrows shot to his hairline. “Another one? You just got back this morning. They know you were injured, right?”
“Minor injuries. I’ve already healed for the most part.”
“Lela, you need time to rest. They can’t keep doing this to you,” he argued, keeping his voice quiet. “It’s no secret Lavina has it out for you lately.”
“It’d be nice to know why.” I took a cursory glance around the armory, but the commanders with us were too busy cleaning their weapons to pay us any attention. “The orders might have been signed by Morael, but Lavina is the one telling him which commander to send.”
“She and Amriel, you mean.” He shook his head. “I don’t like it. You should wait.”
“To what end? That’ll just make it worse, and until I know what they’re plotting behind closed doors, I’m going to keep my head down and do my duty.”
For months now, I sensed something with the generals was amiss. When I was appointed commander, several argued against it, claiming I wasn’t ready. Morael fought for my appointment though. Now, Lavina seemed to be doing everything she could to ensure I didn’t have time to rest.
Or that I simply didn’t come back home. At least, not alive.
Despite my desire to follow orders and stay true to our code, I was not above questioning orders or flat-out refusing to follow through if I thought my team would be put in too much danger.
Morael said I had the makings of a leader. Lavina had sneered at his compliments and continuously found ways to make me pay, no matter how slight. If only we knew where our High General had disappeared to, I might have more insight as to what game they were playing.
Nathaniel frowned as he read over my orders, shaking his head. “They’re only letting you take a team of six. You can’t seal a rift with six angels plus yourself.”
He was right, but the chances of getting those orders changed were slim. I ensured all six daggers along my ribs were strapped in, then reached for the two swords I cleaned earlier. I sheathed them at my back, forming an X, and took the orders back from Nathaniel.
“You and I both know I don’t have a choice, not unless I want an argument on my hands, and I’m too exhausted to deal with Lavina today. I’ve done a mission like this before. It might drain me, but it’ll be sealed, and that’s what matters.”
“Yes, you do have a choice,” he muttered angrily as he sheathed his long sword at his hip then reached for a short one to place on the other side.
His silver chainmail shimmered with renewed holy light that covered most of the black and brown leather armor beneath it. I took a long moment to take in the scars he bore from injuries that had nearly taken his life.
We both had plenty of scars to go around. The war with the demon lords of Hell had carried on far longer than our generals originally believed it could.
In the beginning, battles were fought in the dark pits below or the heavenly skies above. We were careful to keep it out of sight of the humans who back then hadn’t truly known about our existence.
Now, the rifts made it nearly impossible to confine the battles. Though we did our best to protect fragile humans.
Until the time that the demon lords no longer kept the war hidden from the mortals we angels were intended to protect.
The war spilled over to the surface.
The mortals paid the price.
All of us did, in truth. Both sides had taken heavy losses, and it was only getting worse with each passing day.
The day of the Great Catastrophe, what the humans would call an apocalyptic event, rifts opened, spewing forth all manner of nightmarish creatures from the depths of Hell. With them came the souls that had been damned for eternity.
The state of the world was chaotic. Death clung to everything, and each time we sealed a rift, it seemed another opened. Or we lost another human city to evil.
Long ago, I believed we would win. Now I merely hoped we’d survive.
“Lela, did you hear me?” Nathaniel grabbed my arm. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. If you’ll excuse me, I have orders to carry out,” I muttered.
“I said I’m speaking with Morael before you leave,” he insisted, exiting the armory with me. “You cannot take only six angels with you. My team will accompany you.”
“Those are not your orders. I suggest you do not try to interfere. Not again. Neither of us needs Lavina breathing down our necks.”
Nathaniel was one of many commanders, but like me, he didn’t always play by the rules. The generals tolerated him because he was damned good at beheading demons with that sword of his. He had the appearance of a true warrior with his angelic blond hair drawn back in a tight braid and determination in his eyes. Beneath the serious exterior, though, he was more of a free spirit.
I was more the soldier, though I spoke up when I deemed our orders or the generals’ plans ridiculous. I’d gained a reputation for being the first commander chosen for the most dangerous missions. I wanted
to keep Nathaniel from suffering the same fate, if possible.
We walked purposefully through the fortress toward the main hall where the generals gathered. Only four remained.
Our High General had not been seen for several weeks, so when we entered the hall, and he was there, it took a moment for me to sink to one knee at the sight of him and the holy light surrounding him. Nathaniel was right next to me, slightly behind, kneeling, his anger covered by a blank expression.
“Apologies for the interruption,” I said hastily, keeping my head lowered.
High General Hadariel walked toward me, his armored boots clanking against the stones. “Rise, Commander Lela. And you, Commander Nathaniel. No need for such grandeur on my behalf.”
Hadariel was among the oldest of our race and had been in his position since before I was born. He had a gentle smile with kind, light blue eyes. His armor always shone brightly, as if freshly polished. He bore a white cloak that trailed off his shoulders and dragged behind him.
Here in the great hall, he didn’t seem to be battle-hardened or able to wield a sword. I’d seen him fight though, and that alone was enough for him to earn my respect and loyalty without falter. He had not been made High General for his charming smile.
But today, his smile felt forced and there was a shadow in his eyes I hadn’t noticed before. Even his white cloak appeared dingy.
“You received your orders?” Morael asked from behind Hadariel.
Unlike Hadariel, Morael wore gold armor and had dreadlocked black hair, drawn back with a leather band. His gold eyes stood out against his bronze skin.
I respected him even more than I did Hadariel. Not that I would ever say so aloud. Morael was the one who’d trained me and had given me the rank of commander after I showed my worth in battle.
I bowed to him. “I did, General Morael. I’m going to gather my team and head out, but I had concerns.” I bit the inside of my cheek as soon as I said it. Somedays, I just couldn’t help myself.