Suddenly the angels grew silent when Zane walked onto the platform carrying a golden chapel monstrance in the shape of a circle with a clear crystal in the middle. The angels genuflect like a slave to its master. Zane bowed his head in return.
“Brothers and sisters, we gather here tonight to observe the punishment of those who betray us,” Zane spoke in a commanding tone as one angel guard and Dylan dragged another angel onto the platform. He was shirtless, battered, dirty, his wings withered. Like he’d been in confinement for a couple of days.
“We have among us traitors who rebel for the love of a human.” I heard the disgusted muffled voices of the angels, some calling out for his death. “When you joined the Legion of the Fallen, you pledged your allegiance to him in exchange for power and protection.”
I clenched my hands at my sides, sweat beading on my forehead.
“When you break your oath, you break our trust. Loyalty is paramount for our survival,” Zane continued. “The rules regarding traitors are clear. A fallen’s refusal to carry out the duties placed before them is death.”
Dylan kneed the angel in the gut causing him to fall on his knees in agonizing pain. Zane pulled out a dagger with the same obsidian blade. My eyes were glued on the traitor, thick, heavy knots forming in my stomach. Zane yanked the traitor’s hair back to show his face. The guard, Skye’s lover, who had been escorting us, smiled through bloodied teeth.
I cast a nervous glance at Skye who stood next to me. Her lip quivered, her eyes turned glossy, but she didn’t move. The angel guard spit on Zane’s face.
“All of you will burn for this!” he screamed. “The Archangels are out there! Watching! They know what you’re doing.”
Zane’s eyes grew darker. He wiped the spit off his face in disgust. Then he picked up the blade and began to slice off the angel’s hair. His long dark locks fell to the ground, and his body went ashen. An amber-colored electric charge swept out of his body like he was being drained of energy. The angel guard opened his mouth gasping for air. With a slight nod from Zane, Dylan and the other angel guard ripped the traitor’s wings off. A small cry rose from the traitor’s mouth. Black liquid oozed down his back. With the same knife, Zane stabbed him right in the heart. The traitor’s body hardened then crumbled over the platform into red, bloody dust. Angel’s Ash.
I let out a muffled gasp as I fought back tears. My knees threatened to go out on me, gut-wrenching fear tore at my chest. It felt like I was going to have a heart attack. My thoughts were shaken when Dylan walked toward me—a wicked smile on his face. He reached for my hand as I stood there, my jaw trembling, but instead, he grabbed Skye. Her terrified cries ripped through my ears.
Skye tried to fight Dylan off, but he was too strong. He dragged her center stage for the angels to see.
Zane took the monstrance and said, “Let us bow before our true god. The one who enlightens our path, our liberator, our teacher.” Zane raised the monstrance high into the air right as the sun rose. The angels watched in eager anticipation; their eyes inhumanly hungry. A ray of sunlight spilled through the trees flashing right through the crystal of the monstrance. The angels marveled at the sight behind me, reeling in the sunlight reflecting back to them, absorbing the energy from the light.
I cautiously looked back, wondering what they were staring at. Four points were radiating from the center, each with four waved lines. It was a symbol of the sun projected onto Stone Mountain.
“Master,” Zane began. “We offer you the girl. A sacrifice for your continued protection.”
At first, I was confused about why the angels worshipped the sun, then it suddenly dawned on me. The Morning Star.
“Lucifer,” I let out in rasping breaths.
When I turned my attention back to the angels, they were reacting to the light of the sun. Their eyes were quickly replaced by feline yellow eyes with a black slit that ran down the middle. Their faces contorted and twisted into monstrous creatures with fangs.
My blood turned to ice.
Zane tossed Skye into the hungry crowd; the guards jumped in after her. Skye cried out in agonizing pain as the angels devoured her alive, the sound of ripping flesh ringing in my ears. I tried to scream, but it felt as if something got caught inside my throat. My vision suddenly became blurry, I thought I was going to pass out, but I snapped out of it as panic overtook my body. I broke away from the girls and made a run for the woods.
My heart raced along with the adrenaline pulsing through my veins. Sunlight streamed through the pine trees lighting my way. I ran as fast as I could, and wove through the trees, dodging fallen trunks, trying my best not to fall. I stopped when I reached the clearing where Savannah swore the oath. Black marks crisscrossed like a symbol. I backed away to get a better view, an upside-down pentagram had been burned into the dirt.
A high-pitched siren sounded in the distance forcing me to run. It didn’t take long before it alerted the angels. They were high in the sky flapping their wings searching for me. Behind me, the sound of dogs barking got closer.
I skidded to a halt when I reached a large warehouse. Frantic, I ran at full speed toward the building, edging along the wall until I found a door. I entered the dark warehouse warily watching out for angel guards, as I cautiously made my way down an empty hallway until I reached another door. Carefully pushing my way through, I stopped when I saw them. My knees almost buckled from the shock, my mind frantically raced, a nauseating wave of horror washed over me. Underneath the fluorescent lights of the warehouse, there were rows of cages, each cage contained a young girl inside.
The cages rattled softly as the girls sat up following my movement. I walked down the aisle trying to process the scene. They didn’t say anything, ask me who I was, or plead for help. Their faces were gaunt, their clothes stained and torn. They were lying in their own filth. Many of them with protruding bellies, probably caused by starvation.
“Who are you?” I asked one of the girls.
The girl stared at me confused for a moment. “I don’t remember,” she said in a faint whisper almost like it took all of her energy to say the words. She looked sick, and in desperate need of medical attention.
“I’m getting you out of here,” I said instinct taking over. I rushed over to a wall of lockers where I frantically searched for tools until I found a pair of scissors. I raced back to the young girl and pried the cage door open. But instead of rushing out, she closed the door and cornered herself.
“What’s wrong with you? Don’t you want to get out of here?”
“No one gets out of here alive,” she said in a chilling voice.
I was perplexed by her answer when the girl next to her groaned in pain. She held her belly tightly with one hand, with the other she held onto the cage for support.
“What’s happening to her?” I asked.
“She’s in labor.”
That’s when I realized the girls were pregnant. The sound of voices getting closer startled me. I ran to the lockers and hid inside one, closing the door just as the voices grew louder. Peeking through an opening, I saw Scarlet walk in with Dylan and two angel guards. They scanned the warehouse.
“Cover the back. We’ll check here.” Scarlet commanded the guards.
Scarlet walked toward the lockers when a low moan escaped the pregnant girl. In one blink, Scarlet was next to the girl.
“What do we have here?” She crouched at eye level with her. “Are you having contractions?” Scarlet asked in a high-pitched tone.
The girl shook her head afraid. She tried to suppress another moan, but it proved too hard. The girl gripped onto the metal cage even tighter. I kept my eyes glued to the girl, afraid for her.
“Bring the table,” she commanded Dylan. Dylan walked in my direction. I stiffened.
He rolled a surgeon’s table toward the girl. When Scarlet opened the cage, the girl remained crouched in the corner. Dylan didn’t struggle to get her; she had no energy left. He yanked her out of the cage forcefully. The young
girl, who looked about eighteen, pleaded for her life as she was dragged and propped onto the surgeon’s table. Dylan tied her hands and ankles down with the straps on the side. The girl’s moans grew louder as waves of contractions rolled in.
Scarlet grabbed a surgeon's knife admiring how the blade gleamed under the light before slicing open the girl. I covered my mouth trying to suppress a yelp. Tears dripped down my neck. The girl screamed in pain as blood poured out of her belly. Scarlet pulled out the baby then checked for a pulse.
With an angry scowl, Scarlet said, “It’s stillborn.”
“Zane will not be happy,” Dylan growled racking one hand through his hair.
Provoked by Dylan’s comment, Scarlet stomped to the sickly girl I tried to save and kicked her cage. “It’s your fault! You are all worthless!”
The girl wrapped her arms around her legs in fear. I silently sobbed as I watched the girl on the table slowly drain of life. How could the angels murder humans without an ounce of compassion? I clenched my fists until they went numb.
“What are we going to do? None of them survive.”
“Now we have to find her,” she complained. Scarlet placed her hands on her hips.
“I don’t think she’s here,” Dylan told her. He grabbed Scarlet by the elbow and pulled her body into him. “Let the guards find her. She won’t get far.” Dylan leaned into Scarlet’s neck and kissed it. “How about we take a little break.”
Scarlet pushed him off. “No. We have to keep looking.”
“What’s up with your obsession with this stupid girl?” Dylan stood there annoyed reeling from her rejection. “Are you seriously pissed Milo won’t screw you anymore? Is that the reason we picked her up? To get her out of your way? So, you can have Milo to yourself?” Dylan took out a cigarette and was about to light it up when Scarlet snatched the lighter from his hands and tossed it across the warehouse. It bounced right off the locker where I was hiding with a metallic clink.
“Have you convinced the blonde yet? What was her name? Dumb?”
“Dawn,” Dylan corrected. The sound of Dawn’s name boiled my veins with anger.
“I’ve got her wrapped around my finger. She’ll do anything for me. All I have to do is ask,” Dylan said with confidence.
“Then focus your attention on the task instead of the little man downstairs,” Scarlet said eyeing the center of his pants. “We’re short-staffed. We need more girls to keep our clients happy.” She whirled around and walked away from him. “Let’s go. And have the guards clean up this mess.”
Dylan waited a moment, clearly furious, then once Scarlet was out of earshot he said in a cold, bitter voice, “Bitch.”
When he walked in my direction, I froze. Through the locker louver, I saw Dylan pick up the lighter off the floor. He stared into the locker with curiosity, his nostrils flared as if he caught the scent of something familiar. Reaching for the locker door, Dylan stopped when Scarlet called after him. He frowned then left the warehouse.
After a few minutes, I stepped out of my hideout with the plan to run into the woods to find an exit. I ran back to the girl I’d spoken to earlier and crouched next to her cage.
“I’m going to get you out of here, I promise.” With that, I walked away with an overwhelming sense of determination. I was getting out of Stone Mountain alive. And I was going to expose the angels for all the macabre things they were doing to humans.
That’s when I froze, sensing something. No, someone. Behind me I felt a presence, my vision went dark, a canvas bag was slipped over my head.
“Gotcha,” I heard Dylan’s voice.
I felt his strong arms drag me out of the warehouse. The image of the pregnant girl being cut open while she was conscious suddenly played over my memory followed by the sound of Skye’s flesh ripping apart.
“Please let me go,” I pleaded. Panic consumed me at the thought of being eaten like Skye. I didn’t want to die. I pulled back my body weight to resist Dylan’s strength, but he kept dragging me. I kicked, screamed, nothing seemed to work. My efforts were overpowered when Dylan punched me in the stomach sending the air out of my lungs. Gasping for air, my body went limp. I heard the sound of doors slide open; Dylan pushed me inside then I felt movement. I knew I was inside the elevator that led down to Stone Mountain.
I couldn’t die knowing I failed, not just the girls, but my sister Priscilla. Quick fragments of my life flashed before me. I hadn’t even lived. There were so many things I wanted to accomplish. I’d spent most of my life complaining about stupid pointless shit that didn’t matter, fighting with my mother—God, I wished I could see her smiling face one last time so I could tell her how much I loved her. Overwhelmed with regret, I thought of all the things I never did, the words I never said. If only I could turn back time. But it was too late now.
Please, God, if you’re really out there, save me.
Once we reached the bottom, Dylan dragged me until he flopped me into a chair. The bag was removed. I blinked several times to adapt to the bright light pointing directly above me. There was movement a few inches away from me, but I couldn’t tell who it was.
“You’ve disappointed me, Alexis,” a man’s voice said. A voice I’d heard many times before. “I wanted you to join us,” he continued. “Be a part of our family.”
“What you’re doing here disgusts me. I’d rather die than join your sick cult,” I spat.
“This isn’t a cult,” his face came into view. “It’s a brotherhood. Something humans know nothing about.” There was a flicker of red light that flashed across his feline eyes. My eyes widened in complete shock at the familiar face eerily smiling back at me. How could I have been so blind?
“You,” I whispered.
CHAPTER
29
I stared into the familiar eyes—soft, gentle eyes I’d seen many times before only this time they were cold and merciless. The halos around the irises glowed blood red. He was one of them. A fallen angel. A smirk crossed his lips satiated by my stunned expression. His graying hair looked pale under the light, but I recognized him the moment he stepped into view.
“Pastor Luke,” I whispered trying to control my trembling voice.
The man standing before me, the only person I admired and respected in Dixon, fooled me. He fooled everyone in Dixon. Pastor Luke Hayle hid behind the podium at our church, while he pimped girls for money.
I glanced around the nearly empty room that was guarded by two angels standing quietly by the door. There was a poker table in front of me with a bowl full of ripe peaches. Luke grabbed one and sliced a piece off with a pocketknife.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“Because the fruit between your legs has turned me into a millionaire”—Luke continued to slice the peach apart— “Business is booming,” he added with a devilish grin.
I took deep breaths to contain my rage. “And the girls inside the warehouse?”
“They’re part of a little experiment. A breeding program that is going to create a master race long extinct thousands of years ago.” Luke continued to eat the peach savoring every bite. “Do you believe in monsters, Alexis?”
“I’m staring at one right now,” I glowered at Luke.
Luke smiled. “No, real monsters. The Nephilim.” The words sent a cold chill zip down my back.
“You’re bringing the Nephilim back,” I stated. “Why?”
“There is a war brewing on Earth between the fallen and the angels of Eden. I must be prepared.”
“So far you’ve been unsuccessful,” I said. “The girls in the warehouse are dying along with their babies!” I screamed, anger sparking inside me.
“That’s where you come in.” Luke’s expression was that of a madman as he smiled wickedly at me.
I eyed Luke as he placed the knife on the table. Then I looked into his eyes and frowned with confusion. Luke noticed, then proceeded to pull out the coin he’d given to me the day I went inside his office. It shined brilliantly right
under the light. I shifted in my seat, anxiety weighing heavily on my chest. He pushed the angel in the middle of the coin like a button. My mother’s voice played back like a record player, “no one can know about Isaac. If they find out, they’ll take him. I’m sure of it!”
“That doesn’t mean anything—” I took another quick look down at the knife and contemplated my next move.
“I suspected about Isaac for a while now, waiting until I was certain. It’s the reason I moved to that terrible excuse of a town. He’s grown up to be quite a handsome and charismatic little guy, don’t you think? He’s going to be a great leader someday,” Luke said as he looked away in a dreamy state.
I grabbed the knife off the counter and stabbed Luke right in the eye. “You stay away from my brother!” I cried.
Luke didn’t groan in pain or scream. He jerked his head back and laughed as blood spilled down his cheek.
“Right in the bull’s eye!” He roared in laughter and clapped his hands. “Bravo.”
I could barely breathe when he pulled the knife out. A clear gelatinous substance stuck to the blade like butter and a black liquid oozed out of his eye. Then suddenly, the liquid sucked right back into the eye socket to form an eye.
My hand went numb at the grisly sight, I dropped the knife on the floor.
“Who are you?” I asked dryly.
Luke placed both hands on the edge of the poker table then leaned under the light where his eyes changed to black coals. “I am the ruler of this Earth, darling.” My face paled, my blood ran cold.
“You’re Lucifer,” I said, the hairs in my body rising like they’d been rubbed with a balloon.
“In the flesh!” he smiled wickedly.
Savannah’s voice crept into my mind; He makes everything better. It all made sense now. Savannah pledged her allegiance to Lucifer. “You’re the presence I felt at my house the night I snuck in,” I realized. “The figure in my front yard, the demons, the snake.”
“I had to be close.”
THE TRAGIC + DIVINE, Book 1 Page 25