by Elicia Hyder
“May we join you?” a deep voice asked. I knew it was Jett without looking from the way Iliana perked up.
Jett didn’t wait for a response. He grabbed a chair from another table and dragged it over beside my daughter. My eyes narrowed. Beyond him, I could see Angel coming with a to-go bag and a drink carrier. I stood. “Reuel, you can have my chair.”
“You’re not going to eat?” Iliana asked.
I nodded toward Angel, and the guardians looked. “I’m taking breakfast to Fury.”
“Ooo,” Iliana teased.
It was my turn for eyerolling.
Angel offered me the bag. “Here you are.”
“Thank you, Angel.” I took the food and the drinks. A strong mix of smells rose from the bag. My stomach rumbled like its name had been called.
Angel smiled. “Go eat. I’ll bill your room.”
“Thank you.” I turned back toward the angels at my table. “We’ll all reconvene back here soon, I’m sure. Does anyone know who’s meeting the ferry?”
Reuel wasn’t listening. He’d pulled open the edge of my bag to peek inside. I moved it away before he started rummaging through it.
“I believe Nathan and Samael were going,” Jett said.
Part of me wanted to tell Jett he should call Nathan “Mr. McNamara.” Another part of me wanted to tell him to move away from my daughter. Neither part spoke.
“Can someone come get us if they get here early?” I asked instead.
“Sure thing,” Iliana said.
“Reuel, you’ve got your sword?”
He patted his side.
“Keep it handy. I hate to think we might need it, but we need to be extra cautious today.”
“Warren!” a man yelled.
We all looked as Nathan and Sloan walked out of the restaurant. “Found Mom,” Iliana said, pointing.
I chuckled. “Smart ass.”
“You heading out?” Nathan asked, funneling something with his hand into his mouth. Probably candy.
I raised the bag. “Taking food to Fury in the villa.”
Nathan poured another handful of Skittles. “We’ll walk with you.”
“Didn’t you just eat breakfast?” I asked.
Sloan pulled on my arm. “Might as well save your breath, Warren, because like you said, some things never change.”
Laughing, I tipped my chin up toward Iliana and the guardians. “I’ll see you all later.”
“How’s your room?” Sloan asked as the three of us started toward the villas along the ridge.
“Really comfortable. I’ve finally caught up on all the sleep I missed.”
“I thought angels didn’t need sleep?” Nathan asked.
“We do if we’re on Earth, just not as much as humans. Where’s your villa?”
“Same row as yours, a few villas down,” Nathan answered.
“We’re next to Iliana on the right side, if you know where she and Anya are staying,” Sloan said.
“Before we got here was Iliana staying in a villa by herself?”
Sloan looked up at me. “Yeah. Why?”
I walked a few steps, contemplating how to ask what I wanted to ask. “I was just wondering about Iliana’s relationship with Jett.”
Sloan chuckled. “You think Nathan would let her share a villa with a boy?”
“No. Not at all.”
“I put tape on the outside of her door every night to make sure she didn’t sneak out and no one else sneaked in,” Nathan said.
I looked across Sloan at him. “So you’ve noticed it too?”
“We’re not blind.” Sloan smiled. “Jett’s a nice boy though. He really cares about her.”
“He’s not a boy at all,” I said.
Nathan pointed at me. “See? Warren agrees it’s messed up.”
I nodded.
“I know, but it feels like he’s a kid. We’ve known him since he was born,” Sloan said.
“We’ve known him since he was reincarnated,” Nathan insisted.
She stopped walking and crossed her arms. “Would it really matter if he were a human instead?”
Nathan looked caught. His wide eyes searched for an answer. “Yes.”
I laughed.
She smirked. “No.”
“Are they together?” I asked.
“They both say they are not,” Nathan said as we started walking again.
“So you’ve talked to him?”
“Yeah, but you should give him a good old Angel of Death scare like you used to give me.”
“Jett’s an angel too. Warren can’t hurt him,” Sloan said.
Nathan held his hand toward me. “He has the sword.”
“I do have the sword,” I agreed.
Sloan shrugged. “Remember, she is an adult now.”
“The hell she is,” Nathan and I both said in unison.
He reached across her to give me a high five.
Sloan laughed and shook her head. “She says there’s nothing going on. If you push the subject, or if you forbid it, you’re only going to make her want him even more.”
“She can’t want him if he’s dead,” Nathan muttered.
“Nathan!” She backhanded his chest.
I laughed and stopped near the steps that led to the front door of my villa. “Nate, are you and Samael going to meet Azrael’s ferry?”
“Yeah. You wanna go? We’re leaving in about fifteen minutes.”
“Yes. Grab me on your way?”
“Will do!”
When I reached the villa, the hair dryer was on in the bathroom. I put the food on the bedside table and walked to the bathroom door. Fury gasped when she saw me in the mirror.
I laughed.
She turned off the dryer. “Don’t do that!”
“Breakfast is here. Did your sister find you?”
“Yeah, she came and stole my socks.” She put the dryer down and followed me to the bedroom.
I picked up the bag of food. “Wanna eat on the porch?”
“Sure.” She opened the glass door and slipped on her new sunglasses. “Did you talk to Cassiel?”
“I did.”
“How’d it go?”
“Not well.” I opened the bag and the medley of smells hit me in the face again. “What’s in here?” I opened the first cardboard clamshell take-out container. Strips of saucy meat, fried rice, and eggs, sunny-side-up, were inside. “This is probably yours.” I handed it to her.
“What’s that smell?” she asked, sitting down.
I opened the second container and flinched. “Oh.” Fish eyes stared up at me. “Oh no.” Frowning, I picked one up by the tail and turned its face toward me. “It’s crispy.”
Fury gagged. “What is it?”
“An anchovy? I’m not sure.” I shuddered and dropped it back on the pile. “Why does it have to have eyes?”
“Looks like you’re eating rice for breakfast.”
“I should have asked for pork.”
She skewered a piece and held it toward me.
I bent and ate it. “Thank you.”
“What happened with Cassiel?” She ate a wedge of mango.
I handed her a coffee before taking my own. Then I shoveled the fish into the bag and sat down with the rice that was left. “It’s over. Whatever it was.”
“How’d she take it?”
“She’s pissed at me.”
“Pissed? That’s a strong reaction for an angel.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“All right.” She offered me another bite of pork.
A lot of significant others would have insisted on the details of how the other relationship had been ended. Hell, I probably would’ve wanted to know if the situation were reversed. But not Fury. Unless I was reading her wrong again—something I was prone to do—she honestly didn’t care.
I ate the pork. “Thank you. Guess who joined me at breakfast?”
“Ili
ana.”
“Yes. And Jett.”
She tensed at the mention of his name. He was going to be a sensitive subject for a while. Maybe forever.
“So?”
I scooped up a forkful of rice. “Iliana says nothing’s going on, but those two are inseparable. Nate and Sloan agree. What are your thoughts?”
Her expression soured. “I think it’s going to be really awkward if we have to explain to people that we’re together and our kids are together.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “I’d hate to have to kick your kid’s ass if he hurts my daughter.”
She chuckled. “OK.”
“I don’t know why that’s funny.” I leaned over and skewered another piece of her pork. “Who puts sugar on pork for breakfast? Ham for Christmas, sure, but not breakfast.”
“What are we doing today?” Fury asked.
“I told Nathan I’d go with him and Samael to meet—” A distant whomp whomp whomp caught my sensitive ears. I searched the sky.
“What is it?”
“A helicopter.”
She started looking. “I don’t see anything.”
“It’s coming.” A speck dotted the sky. I stood and pointed. “There.”
“I guess the airspace isn’t closed after all.”
“Or Az just doesn’t care,” I said.
Fury stood beside me. “But he does care. About helicopters, anyway.”
“You’re right. The flight would be unavoidable, but he’d never willingly choose a chartered helo with an unknown pilot over a ferry. Even if it has been seventeen years.”
I watched the helicopter coming closer. It hummed with supernatural energy.
“Unless…” The thought sickened me.
“Unless that fear faded with his supernatural memories?” Fury asked.
“Unless he’s not on the helicopter by choice.”
She swore and turned toward me. “The Morning Star is an Angel of Life. You think he’s controlling your father?”
“Azrael is mortal now, and no matter what memories he’s lost, there’s no way he’d be involved in the things they suspect Claymore of.”
“True, and he’d never let anybody else call the shots at Claymore. Not as long as there’s breath in his lungs. Hell, he didn’t even let you stay in control when he put you in charge of Claymore.”
The helicopter was so close now I could see it was a big one. A big army-green one.
Fury took off her sunglasses. “Is that military?”
“If it’s not, the charter company has done a really shitty job of branding.”
Something else was more worrisome than the paint color.
Fury touched my arm. She sensed it too. “Azrael isn’t alone.”
“No, he’s not.”
The Morning Star was with him.
Chapter Eight
The helicopter didn’t slow as it neared us. It flew over the resort and kept on going. Fury and I had walked outside and up the hill to meet it.
So had everyone else. Nathan and Sloan came over beside us.
“Where’s it going?” Sloan asked, shielding her eyes with her hand as she looked up at the sky.
“To check out the gate would be my guess,” I said.
“Did you see a flag on it?” Fury asked.
“No. Did you?”
“I got a glimpse of one when it turned.” She looked at me. “I think it was American.”
I shook my head. “America hasn’t had a base in the Philippines since the nineties.”
“You know them all?” Nathan asked skeptically.
“No, but I did some research before we headed here, in case we got in trouble.”
Sloan grimaced. “That was seventeen years ago.”
“True.”
I looked around for Kane. He, Cruz, and Nash were all carrying assault rifles across the lawn. I waved him over. “Did you see that helicopter?”
“Not well, sir.”
“Was it American?”
“There’s a good chance.”
“How? We didn’t have a base here when I left.”
“The US opened a small installation on the island of Palawan about ten years ago,” Kane answered.
“Damn.” I rubbed a hand down my mouth. “They have a military escort.”
“You think it’s Azrael?” Nathan asked.
“Probably.” I turned toward him and Sloan. “I think it’s the Morning Star too.”
Nathan closed his eyes. “I was afraid of that.” He put an arm around Sloan.
“What’s the matter?” Iliana asked, joining us with Jett right behind her.
“You getting any vibes off that helo?” I asked her.
“I was about to ask you the same question. It’s him, isn’t it?” Iliana looked worried.
I nodded.
“You got your sword?” Nathan asked, leaning to see if it was strapped to my back.
It was.
He lifted an eyebrow. “You ever learn how to fight with that thing?”
No. “I can hold my own.”
“Don’t you dare use it,” Cassiel said, a few feet behind us with Sandalphon and Samael.
“If he’s got a clear swing, why the hell not?” Nathan asked.
“Because the Morning Star isn’t stupid,” Kane said.
Sandalphon leaned on his cane. “They’re right. The Morning Star knows what he’s walking into. Chimera would have told him Warren had a sword. He’ll be protected, one way or another.”
“How many people were on that helicopter?” Sloan asked.
I shrugged. “Looked like it could hold six or seven—”
“There were five humans and two angels,” Iliana said.
I turned and looked at my daughter. “Impressive.”
“Thanks. Who would he have brought?”
“Beats me. I’ve been gone seventeen years.”
“It’s coming back,” Samael said.
He was right. The whirr of the helicopter blades were getting louder again. I looked back at Kane. “Is there enough room here for them to land that thing?” The helicopter was huge.
“If they’ve got a good pilot,” he said.
“Everybody!” Nathan shouted as the helicopter neared the property. “Move up by the dining hall!”
Our group huddled around the restaurant’s entrance, scattered among the breakfast tables. Fury stood in front me, stretching on her toes to search the group.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Where’s my sister?”
I looked and didn’t see Anya anywhere. “Reuel’s not here either.”
“Hey! What’s going on out here?” Angel, the resort hostess, called from one of the restaurant’s open windows.
“Nash!” Nathan yelled. “Go make sure Angel and the rest of the staff are safe inside!”
“Roger that, sir.” Nash left Kane and Cruz to go inside.
The massive helicopter spun up near tornado-speed winds as it slowly lowered above us. Its skids eased onto the ground. Two pilots were up front. Beyond them, I couldn’t see the other passengers, but I knew an angel was on the right side closest to us. Behind a door clearly marked with an American flag.
The helicopter’s engine died, and the back side doors opened. Two fully armed soldiers got out—guards wearing Claymore black with American flags on their shoulders.
Fury’s face turned slightly toward me. “They weren’t kidding. They’ve taken over the military.”
An angel I didn’t recognize got out next. He was about my size with dark skin and long hair tied back in a thick ponytail. In his hand was a helkrymite sword.
Orin.
His eyes carefully scanned the group before he stepped to the side of the door.
Behind him, a brown dress shoe lowered to the ground beneath a khaki pant leg. The angel stepped out in a navy button-up, tucked in with a tan belt. The outfit alone screamed this was no seventeen-year-old kid. He wore dark sunglasses and had light-brown ivy-league haircut
whipping around in the wind. The boy was tall—really tall—just like Adrianne.
Fury’s shoulders pulled back, and I felt her draw in a shaky breath against me. I flexed my fingers behind her, ready for war.
Standing beneath the slowing helicopter blades, the Morning Star removed his glasses. Even from our distance I could see his gleaming hazel eyes as they drifted over our group. They were unnatural. Unearthly. And they took a close inventory of us all.
He lingered the longest on the angels, particularly on Sandalphon, as he was almost as powerful as the Morning Star himself. Then he moved on to Cassiel and then Samael before finally seeing Iliana. His gaze fixed on her like he was calculating her position in the crosshairs of his sights.
She was a few feet in front of me, to my left. I stepped around Fury and reached for Iliana’s hand, then pulled her behind me. His eyes rose to mine, and an eerie smile spread across his lips.
He looked back over his shoulder. “Come on out.”
My father’s head leaned out the doorway, and my breath caught in my chest. We no longer looked like brothers. The creases around his eyes had deepened, and there were faint lines across his forehead. His hair was short and black, though it was nearly white around his sideburns.
He stepped out onto the grass. Still tall. Still broad shouldered with a powerful physique. Unlike his “son,” Azrael was in his standard tactical attire: dark cargo pants, a black Claymore shirt, and combat boots.
How anyone would ever believe the two of them were related, much less father and son, was beyond me.
They were light. And dark.
Life. And death.
“You were right,” Fury whispered. “The Morning Star has his hooks in Az.”
“You can see his power?”
“It’s like a leash.”
“Fury, show me,” Iliana said.
I glanced back as Iliana and Fury locked hands.
When I looked toward my father again, our eyes connected. His face pinged with recognition when he saw me, but there was no joy or even familiarity in his reaction. Sloan had been right. He identified me from pictures, from stories, and from the memories of others, but I was a stranger.
Azrael didn’t know me at all.
When he turned to face me, something strange caught my attention. In the center of his torso, deep inside his chest, was a dense blemish, unseen to all the humans—and probably the other angels—around me.
It was death.