She tried to be as casual and mortal as she could as she searched the crowd. Erik was the first she spotted. Even with his hood up, she recognized his shoulders and the locks of his hair that peeked out.
He leaned against the back wall across from her next to the EXIT sign. He had the perfect view and was still close enough to reach her in a few bounds if anything should go wrong. He saw her, and she quickly looked away, not daring to draw attention to herself or him. Matt was opposite him, making casual conversation with two mortal girls, but always keeping his focus on her.
They both blended well with the crowd. No mortals would ever suspect that the young men were demon hunters. They both had a clear view of the front doors. Alexa tried not to be too clumsy as she fished out her cell phone. Erik was watching her every move. She checked the time. It was ten past nine. Michael was late.
Was this part of his plan? To make the girls wait, thinking he wasn’t coming? Or had he spotted her? Was he here already and watching her? Alexa’s angel senses scanned for the cold, empty feeling of death and the smell of sulfur. But she felt and smelled nothing out of the ordinary.
Another trick of Michael’s?
She’d made sure to sit with her back to the front entrance. Her face was hidden in the folds of her long hair, and the sleeves of her shirt were pulled over her hands and fingers.
Her plan was perfect. Michael would spot the lonely girl sitting by the window and come over before he’d had a chance to see her face. She’d surprise him with a blade pointed to his chest and escort him outside into the parking lot. Then she would reveal once and for all that he was a demon by throwing a handful of salt in its face. The salt wouldn’t cast the demon out, but the purifying properties of the salt would reveal it. It would be enough to convince Erik and Matt.
Alexa still had not felt anything unusual. The stale, hot air simply smelled of too many people stuck in a small space, coffee, and teenage hormones. It was a place she probably would have enjoyed with her friends if she were still alive.
She checked her phone again. Her face fell as she read the glowing 9:30 p.m. She could see Erik frown, and she knew he was thinking the same. Michael wasn’t coming. She’d either been very wrong, or Michael was smarter than she’d thought, and he was on to them.
At that moment, several of the streetlights lining the sidewalk flickered and went out. Alexa stilled as the ceiling lights above her head flashed and went out as well.
He was here.
The crowd cheered at the sudden darkness, and then they booed as soft light returned a few seconds later. Alexa could detect the faint thump of a generator working outside.
Alexa leaned forward anxiously. She could see Erik’s hands slip to the hidden weapons inside his jacket.
Michael was coming.
It was him. The expression on Erik’s face confirmed it.
You’re mine.
Bristling with nerves, Alexa gripped her hand on the hilt of her blade and waited. Her stomach tightened as she tried to make herself inconspicuous.
She heard and felt the air move behind her, and then she sensed the presence of a man next to her.
She whirled around and said, “Not what you were expecting—”
Alexa’s face fell. Ryan stood in front of her.
“Actually, yes.” Ryan smiled slyly. “You’re exactly what I was expecting.”
Ryan’s trusted deputies, James and Will, moved alongside him. They were accompanied by another guardian she’d never seen before. His smile was as vile as the others’.
Alexa scowled at the angels. “What the hell are you doing here?” She wanted to cut that cunning smile off the Ryan’s face. “Do you know what you’ve done? You stupid, stupid fool,” she seethed.
“Me?” laughed Ryan. “It is you, my dear, who is the fool.”
People screamed, and a flash of white fur bounded into view next to her.
“Alexa, I’m so sorry,” Lance’s tongue lolled out the side of his jaw. “I tried to stop them, I tried. But I couldn’t.” The whites around Lance’s eyes told her everything she needed to know.
“What’s going on?” Erik pushed his way forward with Matt following closely behind.
A crowd had slowly materialized around them. Erik was about to confront Ryan, but the angel paid him no attention. He concentrated on Alexa. He looked triumphant, and while something else flashed in his hateful eyes, she couldn’t tell what it was.
“Why are you here, Ryan?” she asked, although she already knew the answer to her question.
“We’re the retrieval team,” said Ryan, his lips curved into a smile. “You’re going back to Horizon.”
CHAPTER 24
“ALEXA, RUN!” ERIK RUSHED BETWEEN her and the group of angels.
Alexa was a bit stiff at first, but her adrenaline kicked in and she bolted out the back door. She sprinted across the pavement and out towards the parking lot. Her boots splashed through puddles of beer and vomit. But she didn’t stop.
She leaped over a small fence and tore down the street. The night air stung her eyes and tears fell down her cheeks. She tried to control her panic.
The Legion had sent a retrieval team. What was worse, they had sent Ryan. If they caught her, not only would they force her into a pool, she’d never see Erik again either.
And the soul thief had gotten away.
The street lamps loomed over her like giant illuminated scarecrows. Alexa had no idea where she was going. She just ran like the entire Netherworld demon cavalry was at her heels. If Michael had witnessed her confrontation with Ryan, he would probably be smiling on the way to his next victim.
Bastard.
She could hear their heavy footsteps right behind her. Their supernatural speed was more than a match for her and her injured body.
The joints in her knees cracked, and her legs stiffened. There was no way she could outrun the other angels. She’d have to outsmart them.
As Alexa tried to run harder and faster, her every effort tore at the wound on her back. The poison was continuing to weaken her and her M-suit was failing. Her vision blurred, and she blinked furiously to clear her eyes.
“You can’t keep this up,” called Ryan from close behind her. “Your body is finished. Look at you, you can’t even run like a mortal. Give yourself up, Alexa. You don’t want the alternative. Trust me.”
“Trust you?” she bellowed. “Who the hell are you kidding? I’d trust a demon before I trusted you.”
Black spots clouded her vision with every step. There was no stopping them. She felt the air move behind her and knew they’d jump her any second. There was nothing she could do about it. Her body was useless, and if she tried to use her soul blades against them, that in itself would be a death sentence. She was finished. What had happened to Erik and Matt? Lance?
The thought of never seeing Erik again sent a stabbing pain through her chest.
“Alexa, stop,” said Ryan. “We can run like this all night if we have to, but you’re done. It’s over. Your little experiment at playing the mortal is over.” He let out a laugh that penetrated her to the bone.
Alexa whipped around a corner and dashed through a row of boxwood shrubs between two houses. Her left foot got tangled in some hard roots, but she staggered forward and managed to keep running.
She knew she was running on fumes. She was alone, and her supernatural strength was gone. The well had dried.
She ran on. She would stay in the mortal world somehow. She would stay with Erik. It was stupid and immature, but she couldn’t help how she felt. She was screwed.
She crossed a large yard and leaped over flower beds and small vegetable gardens.
“Alexa, stop!” Ryan shrieked with rage.
The angels were closing in. She saw an opening between a fence and a garage. She made for it.
“If you don’t stop now, the mortal dies.”
Alexa didn’t stop. If Ryan thought she’d fall for that, he was an idiot.
“What are yo
u doing? Are you mad?” called a voice behind her.
It was Erik, and he sounded out of breath and terrified.
Alexa stilled, her limbs froze, and she pitched forward. She landed on her knees and palms.
When she pushed herself back to her feet, she saw Ryan standing next to a large in-ground pool in a neighboring yard. He was dangling a little boy just above the dark waters of the deep end. The boy’s eyes were closed. He looked dead.
“You killed him! You bastard!”
Ryan wiggled the boy like a doll. “Of course not. He’s still alive, but he’s unconscious for now.” The smile on his face widened, but the shadows cast over his face made him look more like a demon than an angel. “But if you don’t give yourself up and come with us, the boy dies.”
Alexa shook her head. “You can’t do that. You can’t kill mortals. It’s against the most basic rules of being a guardian.”
“I’m not going to kill him,” said Ryan. “But you will, if you don’t come with us.”
“What?”
Alexa could see that Erik and Matt were being guarded at knifepoint by James and Will. Erik had his weapon drawn, and Matt had a very strange smile on his face, almost like he’d really enjoy a fight with the angel.
Then she heard a whimper and a retching sound. The third angel had tied a rope around Lance’s neck and was choking him. A low growl escaped her. She wanted to kill him.
Alexa knew she had to stay calm with Ryan. He had an ego as big as his head, and his temper was infamous in Horizon. She’d seen him lash out at rookie angels for no other reason than to instill fear and feel superior.
She raised her palms in surrender and approached the pool carefully. The moon’s silver rays on the water made it look like oil.
“Let the boy go, Ryan.” Alexa kept her hands up and her eyes on Ryan. She knew he wanted to show his friends that he could make her do what he wanted. So she played along, anything to save this boy’s life. “This isn’t you,” she said. “This isn’t what angels are supposed to be. Just let him go, okay?”
Ryan’s white teeth flashed in a wicked smile. “Only if you agree to come with us.”
He had to be lying. No angel would endanger or even kill an innocent mortal. Demons did that. Not angels. This was personal. Ryan had somehow convinced the Legion to bring her back. But why? What had she done to him that would make him forget the angel laws and put a mortal life in danger?
The wound on her back throbbed and burned, but she straightened up and said, “And if I refuse?”
He was bluffing. He had to be.
Ryan lowered the boy until his forehead broke the surface of the water. “He drowns.”
Alexa made her way to the edge of the pool until she stood straight across from Ryan. “You would kill an innocent?” This was madness. She could see that Erik was angry, but he looked trapped and frightened, too. Was it fear for the boy’s life or fear for hers?
“I was told to do whatever it took to bring you in,” said Ryan. “So that’s exactly what I’m doing. If this innocent mortal dies, it’ll be your fault.” Always watching Alexa, testing her, he lowered the boy again until the water brushed his nose.
Alexa stood her ground. “This is crazy. There’s no way the Legion approved this. Let him go. You’ve done enough already.”
Ryan laughed and began to do circles with the boy, like he was stirring a cauldron. “What do you know of the Legion? You haven’t been there long enough to make you anything. Metatron gave me complete discretion where you’re concerned. He’s pretty pissed at you. And you don’t want to be on Metatron’s bad side. Believe me.”
Alexa had only heard of the archangel Metatron. She’d never actually seen him. And what she’d heard was that he enjoyed torturing angels to get what he wanted, even killing them. He was the most dangerous and ruthless archangel.
“And the one thing he hates above all else is rogue angels,” continued Ryan. “Calls them cowards and criminals. There’s nothing he hates more than rogue angels. That’s what he told me. And guess what, Alexa. That’s exactly what you are. A rogue. A mortal loving coward.”
“Shut up, you spineless prick,” growled Erik. “She’ll go when she’s good and ready. If anyone’s a coward, it’s you. Torturing some poor little kid to get what you want. How about we face off, man to angel. I’ve always wanted to kick an angel’s ass. Let it be yours.”
Erik made to move, but James jabbed him in the chest with his blade, and Erik winced. Alexa could see a maroon stain start to form on his shirt. Bastard. She was going to take care of James as well as Ryan.
“Shut up, mortal, or I’ll cut you,” said James. “This doesn’t concern you. We don’t have time for your earthly feelings.”
A strange, disgusted expression marred Ryan’s already scowling face. “What’s this?” He looked between Alexa and Erik, and his eyebrows rose. “Sleeping with mortals, are we? My, my, my, Metatron is going to have a field day when he hears that you’ve been pleasuring some mortal.”
“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alexa felt she would burst into flames. She felt so ashamed and misrepresented. She hoped Erik could see her true feelings.
“I’m pretty sure that, too, is a capital offense,” said Ryan, looking pleased at this newfound information.
“Give me two days,” said Alexa. The pool’s ripples were making her dizzy. “That’s all I ask. Two days, and I’ll go back. I promise.” Two days wasn’t much time to figure out another plan to get Michael. They had messed up their chance of getting him tonight, so she would have to figure out another way.
Ryan looked even more irritated. “You just don’t get it, do you? You’re not an archangel. You don’t get to make those kinds of decisions. You do what you’re told, like the rest of us. You’ve got ten seconds to decide.”
Alexa wasn’t ready. She wasn’t prepared to go back, and she certainly wasn’t mentally prepared to jump into the water. She needed more time.
“Please, I need more time.”
Ryan bared his teeth and shook his head. “Fool. You’re so pathetically predictable.” And then he tossed the boy into the deep end of the pool.
“No!” Alexa watched in horror as the boy sank like a stone. He was going to drown.
She ran around the pool and stopped just short of the edge. She could barely make out the boy’s shape in the dark water. She hated water more than anything in the world.
Images of an eight-year-old boy floated before her like a waking dream. She imagined his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping on the shore. His purple lips. His lifeless eyes.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she couldn’t move. She was frozen like ice.
“Do something!” she yelled at Ryan.
Ryan crossed his arms and said, “He’s got a few more seconds before he drowns. If you don’t jump in now to save him, he dies. Just like that little boy you let drown at his own birthday party.”
Alexa flinched. She’d never told anyone. How could he possibly know this part of her life? Her private memories? He had no business there.
“It wasn’t my fault,” her voice was barely audible. “I was just a kid.”
The little boy’s terrified face danced before her eyes. She remembered his last scream and the haunted look in his eyes when he fell in the water, when he knew he was about to die.
Erik was watching her. He looked to be as distressed as she was.
“Five seconds and this boy dies,” said Ryan. His voice was flat and uncaring, as if it didn’t matter that he had just tossed a boy in a pool to drown.
Alexa was almost overcome by a primal anger that rose from her gut. Fountains of tears ran down her face. “You’re a bastard.”
“Two seconds,” said Ryan, pretending to smile.
Alexa leaned over the edge of the pool. Her teeth chattered, and her body trembled so badly it looked like she was freezing. She hadn’t even touched the water, but it was already choking her in its freezing embrace.
This was it. She had to jump, or the boy would die. She had never thought she could hate someone as much as she hated Ryan right now. So she fed on that hate until it consumed her fears. She couldn’t let that innocent boy drown.
She didn’t know what would be waiting for her on the other side. She was almost more terrified of returning to Horizon than of the water itself.
She made her decision. Bending her knees, she leaned forward.
“Alexa.” Erik shook his head, pleading with her and sharing her pain. She knew she was in love with him, and she knew she’d never see him again.
She braced herself and jumped.
She crashed down into the wall of water and sank to the bottom with images of the dead boy playing in her frantic mind. She tried not to think about how she was trapped under the cold, cold water. Her legs and arm muscles clenched in spasms of panic. But she controlled her fears and opened her eyes. The water was dark like the inside of a cave, but she could see the pale face of the boy floating just off the bottom.
Her fear was replaced by the anger at the Ryan. She did not look at the dark waters or succumb to her fear of it. There was only the boy. She had to save him.
She landed close enough that she only had to reach out to grab a handful of his shirt. She tugged him towards her. She could barely bend her knees and ankles to kick, but somehow she managed to drag the boy to the surface. She rolled him over the edge of the pool, and just as she saw his eyes open—it happened.
White light exploded all around her, just as it had done the first time someone in Horizon had accidentally pushed her into the pool. Her body began to glow with fluorescent white light. She shielded her eyes and saw Ryan. He looked like he’d just won a gold medal at the Olympics.
She would always hate him for endangering the boy and forcing her into the water. But she also felt proud that she had overcome her fear. She knew she would be changed forever.
Alexa felt her M-suit tugging and pulling apart. And then her mortal body disintegrated into millions of brilliant particles.
The Soul Thief Page 18