by Lizzy Ford
With a sound of frustration, Kaylee returned to the kitchen. “You let her leave, knowing she can’t see?” she demanded.
“I didn’t let her leave,” Eddy replied. He placed two plates of food on the table. “She’s in the basement.”
“May I ask why?”
“She’s not as vulnerable or weak as you think. We had a talk. I wasn’t satisfied, so I sent her to the basement to think about her answers,” he said. He sat at the table and motioned for her to do the same.
“You grounded her.”
“Exactly.”
“Is she okay? Did you hurt her?”
“Not yet. We’re going to have another talk later.”
Alarms went off in Kaylee’s head.
“Try anything and I will hurt her,” Eddy said. “Sit down and eat.”
The sense she should offer some token resistance, barge down the stairs, or go on a hunger strike, fled at the threat Kaylee knew to be true. She sat down and picked up her fork, starving after a day or two without food.
“I know she’s not weak,” she murmured. “But Eddy … please don’t hurt her.” Kaylee glanced at him. Eddy was eating quickly, attention on the screen of his cell phone as he played a game. He ignored her.
“The devil wouldn’t play games on his phone,” Kaylee said icily.
Eddy smiled faintly without taking his eyes off the screen.
She ate her breakfast, annoyed with him already and concerned about Shanti. She finished her meal and swept up both their plates, depositing them in the dishwasher with the other dishes Eddy had used. Thunder rumbled outside the house, and rain pattered on the rooftop.
“What’re we doing today?” she asked.
“This is it.”
“Just hanging out?”
“Yep.”
It wasn’t the worst idea. She’d been far too cold and wet the night before to want to be outside. Still, she couldn’t help thinking of Shanti out there somewhere, wet and cold and scared.
Kaylee folded her arms across her chest and went to the window. “Can I see Shanti?” she asked.
“Nope.”
Kaylee sighed. Even when Eddy claimed he didn’t have a plan, she suspected he did or was waiting for something.
“Make yourself comfortable here,” Eddy advised.
“I take it the owners won’t be returning from vacation soon.”
“No, they will not.”
“Are they alive at least?” she ventured.
“Nope.”
She hugged herself. “I guess I’ll look around.”
“Just avoid the basement,” he said nonchalantly. “If you break this rule, you won’t get another free pass, and neither will your friend.”
Kaylee shuddered. “Maybe you really are the devil,” she whispered. She marched out of the kitchen and went to the family room. It took effort not to look at the portraits and school pictures on the walls of the hallway. She didn’t think she could handle imagining what Eddy had done to the parents and three kids who had lived in this house or where he had stashed the bodies.
This is a nightmare. Kaylee crossed to the windows facing the backyard.
Lightning streaked across the steel colored sky, and she dwelled on what Shadowman had been trying to tell her when she asked for help.
What about the warm light inside her? The one that had delighted Shanti? Could she summon it, or had Shadowman been controlling it?
Kaylee closed her eyes, focusing internally, the way she did when sensing Shadowman. He was present, quiet, cold, distant.
Show me again, she ordered him.
Shadowman complied. The tiny trickle of warmth made her shiver for reasons different than when Shadowman moved within her. This felt … nice, like drinking hot cocoa during the holidays.
Her body relaxed, soothed by the warmth despite her danger. Kaylee stood, content and comfortable with the dual sensations – Shadowman and light – moving within her.
How long she remained in place, she didn’t know. The window’s chill reached her eventually, and she opened her eyes. She had no idea what the warmth meant, or if it even mattered.
Turning away, she paused, unaware of how long Eddy had been standing on the other side of the room.
His chin was down, his gaze edged with the creepy intensity that scared her, and his head tilted, just like Shanti did when she was reading someone’s energy. He resembled the villain in a horror movie assessing his unsuspecting prey.
“Don’t do that,” Kaylee murmured.
Eddy straightened, and the predatory vibe left his air.
“You can read energy?” she asked. “Or auras?”
“Yes.”
“Which?”
“Both.”
“Is that how you always predict what I’m thinking?”
“Neat trick, right?” he replied.
“Why can’t I do anything like that?” she asked in frustration. “I’m completely useless!”
“You have a different purpose. You need different skills.”
“You can’t pretend to be compassionate and keep me prisoner at the same time. It’s weird!” she snapped.
“I figured you’d prefer it this way,” he countered. “Unless you prefer the basement option. I planned on bringing Shanti up a little later. You can take her place and we can have a chat under less friendly terms.”
Kaylee glared at him. “You were never an angel, fallen or otherwise.”
“Keep thinking. You’ll get there!” he said in his camp counselor voice.
“No basement. We’re good,” she mumbled. “I’m just going to watch television.”
“Sounds great. I’ll bring coffee.”
You weren’t invited. Kaylee responded silently.
“Can I ask you something else?” she ventured.
“Go for it.”
“What do you know about Barachiel? The archangel.”
Eddy folded his arms across his chest. “I know he … or she … is a pain in the ass for someone like me.”
“That’s who I was, isn’t it?” Kaylee detested herself for putting more weight into Eddy’s response than Pedro’s, who allegedly was in charge of all the angels in the universe.
“Yes.”
“That’s why you took away the tablet after I Google’d him … me,” Kaylee said. “Shadowman is the first Horseman of the apocalypse, and I’m an archangel named Barachiel. Do I have superpowers?”
“You really think I’m going to let you point a loaded gun at my head a second time?” Eddy countered with a smile.
He left for the kitchen.
For the first time since Shadowman began to torment her, Kaylee felt hope unfurl within her. Eddy wouldn’t tell her the truth, because he wasn’t going to risk that she used her archangel abilities against him.
I’m not helpless, she told herself. She was an archangel named Barachiel. Even if she had no idea what that entailed, except it had something to do with lightning.
NINETEEN
AFTER BORROWING a stranger’s cell phone to call Troy, Nathan and Amira waited in the quiet parking lot of a grocery store. Nathan had no wallet and no money to buy them both much needed new clothing. Meticulous about his dress code, he had been bristling about the black uniforms Zyra’s 3G members were required to wear. From the poor quality t-shirt he wore beneath the canvas top, to the boots that cost a fraction of what his Italian loafers did, he had been uncomfortable since setting foot in Zyra’s camp for more than one reason.
He could tolerate a few more hours of his current dress. It was Amira he worried about. Or rather, Troy when he saw Amira. Her clothing was torn and bloody, and dried blood smeared across her exposed skin, leaving no one any doubt about what she’d been through. A steady drizzle made them both look worse than they already did.
Amira appeared content, excited even, at the prospect of seeing Troy. Nathan sat back against the tree under which they’d taken refuge from the rain.
I need a cigarette, he thought, irritated.
He’d been using patches while in Zyra’s camp but had abandoned them the moment she cuffed him.
Half an hour of sitting in the parking lot, Troy’s truck sidled up beside them.
Amira leapt to her feet, her features glowing. Nathan remained where he was, satisfied to give them their reunion before filling Troy in on just how bad things were.
Troy slung open his door before he’d parked the truck and hopped out. His jaw ticked, and his gaze went straight to Amira.
She was smiling.
The corner of Nathan’s lips curved up as he watched Troy’s reaction to his angel’s state. Fire flared within Troy’s eyes as long dead emotion sprang to life. He’d been in a downward spiral long enough, and now, he had a reason to pull himself together and become the badass guide Nathan knew him to be.
Red crept up Troy’s neck and face, all the way to the tips of his ears. He was rigid, frozen in place, the muscles in his cheeks ticking, and fury in his features as he met Amira’s eyes.
Troy gripped her arms. “Why the fuck did you leave my side?”
Her smile faltered, and her vulnerable air turned desolate.
“She thinks you’re mad at her, Troy,” Nathan said, aware she couldn’t hear him.
“Maybe I am!” Troy snarled.
“Sure. Whatever.”
“I’m sorry, Troy,” Amira said sadly.
“Jesus, I’m not mad at you!” he replied. “I haven’t slept since you disappeared. Who the fuck laid a hand on you?”
Amira shrugged. “Lots of people. I can’t really remember.”
Troy was ready to erupt. Amira searched his features, her sorrow growing as she assumed Troy’s anger was a form a rejection.
Nathan laughed. He understood what she did not; Troy was awake for the first time in over ten years.
Troy hugged Amira against him hard. Her arms went around him, and her aura burst into the brilliant hues of joy.
Nathan watched, genuinely happy for his friend. Troy was starting to understand how important Amira was to him.
He won’t fuck it up like I did, he thought gloomily.
Troy held Amira for several minutes, the tension slipping from his body at the touch of his OTL. He pulled away and cupped her cheek in one hand.
“Don’t leave my side again. Got it?” he told her.
She nodded and smiled. “Someone had to save Nathan,” she joked.
Troy forced a smile. “Next time, I’ll do the saving.” He released her but remained close. “Did you know she was my soul mate?” He directed this to Nathan.
“Pretty sure everyone knew,” Nathan replied and stood. “Except you, of course.”
“Fuck you, Nate. You could have told me.”
“And ruin the surprise? At least you figured it out. Shadowman had to tell me.”
“Who hurt her?” This question was a low growl.
Zyra and Maggy both made a mistake crossing Troy’s soul mate. The muscular man, half a head taller than Amira’s six feet, bore the swarthy, fat free shape of a Viking on steroids. Any damage Nathan could do, Troy would triple, and Nathan was no lightweight.
“Let’s go somewhere and talk,” Nathan said. “We both need to clean up. She’s healed but we’re both beat.”
Troy growled low in his chest, displeased. His eyes went to Amira and lingered. Her disheveled appearance and pale features changed his mind, as Nathan knew they would.
Troy circled the truck and opened the passenger’s side door for Amira before returning to the driver’s side. Nathan hopped in behind Troy.
“I’ll take you home,” Troy said. “Then you’re going to tell me the name of every person who came within an inch of Amira.”
“Sure,” Nathan agreed, unable to hide his amusement. “Aren’t you glad I roped you into this?”
“This feels like Pedro meddling. He had to have known about Amira being my … I can’t even say it!”
Nathan laughed again. “I feel ya, Troy,” he said ruefully. “I still can’t quite believe I’ve got a soul mate, either.” His mirth fled as he thought of Kaylee.
Sensing the change in him, as only a guide could, Troy glanced at him via the rearview mirror. “She’s lost again, isn’t she?” he guessed. “And you probably fucked it up with her.”
“You know me better than I do,” Nathan replied. “Yes to both your questions. I helped her escape 3G and handed her off to Eddy, because I wasn’t in a position to protect her.”
“Eddy … Steele? The Satanist?”
“Yep.”
“Well, she’ll be taken care of, until they don’t need her,” Troy said.
Nathan gazed out the window at the gray, rainy day, reading what he didn’t need right now in his best friend’s aura: Troy’s pity.
“We’ll figure it out,” Troy said.
Nathan looked at the back of Troy’s head, surprised. “Look who’s decided to dive headfirst into the deep end instead of killing himself.”
“I don’t have much of a choice now, do I?” Troy replied acidly. “My only friend, and now my … angel are both in trouble, and I’ve gotta fix everything.”
Nathan grinned, grateful to know the man he had known for three thousand years was finally back.
Oblivious to their conversation, Amira’s gaze went from the scenery flying by out the window to Troy. “We need nuggets,” she told him. “And a milkshake.”
“Agreed,” Nathan seconded. “Cigarettes for me.”
Troy muttered a curse beneath his breath but nodded once, curtly.
“I missed you, Troy,” Amira told him.
“You’re an asshole, Nate.” He glanced at her then back, softening. “I missed you, too, Amira.”
She smiled, and so did Nathan.
AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER, Nathan and Amira had bathed, eaten and started to relax in Troy’s dusty home.
“Baby, can you give us a minute?” Nathan asked Amira.
She nodded.
Troy’s eyes didn’t leave her until she turned the corner from the kitchen into the hallway. “How did we both end up fucked?” he asked, a note of disbelief in his tone.
“Blame Pedro,” Nathan said. He leaned forward. “I need your help, Troy. You’re the only person I can trust.”
Troy’s gaze settled on him. “You never told me who hurt her.”
“There is a laundry list of possibilities. Zyra, Maggy, other members of 3G.”
Anger turned Troy’s face red once more.
“But, and you aren’t going to like this,” Nathan continued. “We need to tread carefully. You can’t charge in and crack skulls.”
“We can’t do nothing!” Troy growled and rose, pacing.
“I’m not saying we do nothing. I’m saying if we don’t do this right, we’re going to get everyone killed. Or worse, facilitate the apocalypse,” Nathan told him. “You know I’m the last person on the planet who hesitates to do what needs to be done. Do you think I’d recommend this plan if I didn’t think it was the only way?”
Troy was quiet. Unhappy, but quiet.
Nathan summarized everything he’d been through while at Zyra’s camp, to include the information Amira provided about the portals being a combination of people and places, and the possibility of Zyra trying to open a portal to challenge the devil himself.
Troy ceased pacing, riveted by the story Nathan privately admitted was worse than any nightmare he could create.
When Nathan paused, he was met by stunned silence.
“That’s why we need to find out what 3G is doing and what Kaylee’s role in all this is. And protect the gatekeepers. And fight off Eddy and his pals. And prevent Armageddon or the emergence of any archdemons. With no support from anyone,” he finished.
“We’re going to need lots of weapons,” Troy said finally.
“And a plan.”
“Fuck pla –”
“And a plan,” Nathan said more insistently. “If anything happens to either of us, Amira, Kaylee and the other gatekeepers will be on their own
to face our enemies.”
Troy rolled his eyes. “Fine. We’re headed to Virginia?”
Nathan nodded. “And we’re taking Amira with us.”
“No.”
“She knows where the portal is.”
“She can tell us the location,” Troy said stubbornly.
“She needs to go, Troy. There are too many unknowns for us to leave behind one of the four people connected to the gates,” Nathan replied.
Troy started to speak, stopped, and then sighed. “I already lost someone I cared about, Nathan. I can’t do that again.” The words were quiet. His gaze was on the floor, the muscles of his jaw ticking as he clenched it.
“She’s safer with you than alone here,” Nathan said softly. “I know what you went through, Troy, what losing your daughter did to you. But we need Amira with us, and you can protect her better if she’s with you.”
“It didn’t help the first time.” A note of raw pain was in Troy’s voice.
“This isn’t a disease. You can protect Amira. You aren’t helpless this time.”
Troy was silent, pensive, brooding. His aura was one of suffering and deep sorrow. There was no way to relieve Troy’s pain, but if there were, Nathan would have gone to the farthest reaches of the world to help him.
“If things turn bad, I’m sending her away,” Troy said.
“I respect that,” Nathan said.
Amira returned to the kitchen wearing a rain poncho and carrying a backpack. “I packed everything you said to, Nathan,” she said. “I’m ready to find Kaylee when you guys are.”
Troy glared at Nathan, who smiled. “I know you, Troy,” Nathan said. He faced Amira. “Good girl! We’re leaving as soon as Troy empties his arsenal.”
Muttering curses directed at Nathan, Troy slammed the back door of the house open and strode out, towards the shed in the backyard.
Nathan retreated upstairs to grab boots and raingear before returning to the kitchen.
Troy had indeed lugged in his arsenal, which included everything from CZs small enough for Amira to hold, to semi-automatic handguns and rifles, a grenade launcher, sniper rifle, grenades, and a mini machine gun.
“High explosive rounds,” Nathan said, picking up a box of wicked looking shells.
Troy returned for another round and dumped more ammo and magazines on the table.