Red Angel (The Angels of Paris Chronicles Book 2)

by Anna Santos

  With his hands in the air and his deranged speech igniting the boiling rage that was taking over me, I was ready to tear him to pieces. Yet, his allegations made me wait a bit longer. “What are you talking about?” I asked, unsure why he was bold enough to accuse me. He was probably insane if he thought he could say all those things and survive. He’d tried to kill Aria. That was unforgivable.

  “She’s a Red Angel. A fucking Red Angel! My master has warned me about them. They’re merciless and deadly. She’ll wipe us all out.”

  “She’s harmless,” I claimed, finding his words insane.

  “She may look harmless. She’s a cute little thing. You’ve been dying to fuck her.”

  I clenched my teeth. I was going to kill him, but I still needed to know what the hell he had done while he was away. The sole mention of a master other than me was enough to make me want to rip his head off again. The damn prick had sold his soul to someone, and he was ignoring the bond he had with me. I was the one who had found him dying in a corner and saved his miserable life. I was his creator, and I was going to be his executioner. He had betrayed me.

  “What did you do?” I asked, stepping closer and noticing his hands going to his back. He had something hidden behind him—probably a stake or a gun. The fool thought he could outsmart me and be faster than me.

  “I warned them about her. If you don’t have the guts to end her life, then someone else will.”

  “Who did you warn?” I sped to him, losing control and grabbing him by his neck. I held him up in the air, choking him. He put his hands around mine in a fruitless effort to stop me. “You haven’t thought about this clearly, have you? Do you think you’re stronger than me? Do you honestly think you can kill me?”

  “I would be doing you a fa-vor. You’ve been thin-king about taking your own life since you lost that little bitch to Cedric,” he managed to say.

  I threw him across the room, sending him crashing against the furniture and the wall.

  “And how would you manage to kill me? Since you’re clearly weaker than I am?”

  “I was hoping to find you weaker,” he said, getting up and stretching his muscles. I hadn’t hurt him much. He was a strong vampire, and he could take a blow like that one. “You spent your night drinking. That’s, what, your second bottle?”

  “Yes. But even if it were my third, it would take a lot more to let you win against me,” I explained as his eyes scrutinized the office for something to use against me. “Or did you think I would let you kill me without a fight?”

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t fight. But I do have a plan B for this,” he said, smirking darkly as he dusted off his jacket.

  “He brought me.” It was Margaret’s voice.

  I turned to the door and assessed the blonde girl in the black lace dress. Her chin was held high as a clear sign she was confident about her powers.

  I smirked, amused. She was a kid compared to the other witches I had fought before. She might be from a powerful line of dark magic, but she was clearly out of her league here. It was cute that she thought she could help her supposed mate kill me and take my place as king. It would make her the Queen—in her head, at least. I was sure that Gerard would kill her when he didn’t have any more use for her.

  “And how are you planning to do that?” I teased.

  She didn’t like my mocking tone and disdainful smile.

  “Like this,” she shouted, joining her hands together and sending a spiral of wind that slammed me against the wall and broke the window.

  I should have evaded her hit. The alcohol must have affected me more than I’d assumed.

  My back stung once my body hit the floor. When the light came in, it burned my face. I grunted in pain as I stepped over the debris and evaded the sunlight.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gerard fleeing the sunlight and recoiling against one of the bookcases on the far end of the room.

  “Are you trying to kill me, too?” he growled at her.

  “I can take him on my own. Leave if you want,” Margaret shouted at him.

  “He’s over two hundred years old. He can take a bit of direct sunlight!” Gerard informed the witch.

  I wiped the blood from the corner of my lip. He was right. I could still fight her long enough to not be severely hurt. If using sunlight to weaken me was her plan, she was going to be disappointed.

  “He’s mine. I waited too long for this,” Margaret said as she aimed her hands at me again. This time, I was too fast for her, and she kept failing every time she tried aiming at me while things around us burst into pieces of wood, glass, and paper.

  “You’re pathetic!” Gerard growled.

  “He’s too fast! Don’t just stand there. Do something!” Margaret ordered.

  The witch, probably worn down, lowered her hands. I witnessed the moment Gerard smirked as he realized that she was defenseless and believed that I was going to run at her and break her neck. He had something behind his back, holding it tight. His right foot turned to Margaret’s side, ready to rush me once my back was exposed to him.

  He was ready to sacrifice her to end my existence. Yet, I knew that I had a better chance of knowing what they were planning against Aria by questioning the witch than I did by questioning him. Thus, he was going to go down first.

  Glaring at Margaret, I feigned a movement as if I were going to pounce at her. Speeding, I grabbed a piece of wood from the floor and changed my direction, stabbing Gerard in his heart. He blinked several times as he grabbed at my hand, which was lodged in his chest. His mouth moved but made no sound, his eyes rolled, and, once I let him go and sped backwards, his body fell stiff on the floor with a loud crash.

  “You bastard! You killed him! He’s dead!”

  Margaret’s screams reached my ears and, soon enough, her new spells hit me as incantations poured out from her mouth, preventing me from moving fast enough to get to her. The pressure held me back, and I was hit by a wave of heat that burned me. She was more powerful than I’d thought, or she was extremely mad because I’d killed her lover. Rage was a good fuel to conjure magic—a different and more powerful magic that she had shown before.

  I closed my eyes, growling as I thought about Aria’s safety. She could be in danger. Getting to that witch was my only option to find out who Gerard’s new master was, and what they were planning against my better half.

  I began to move, step by step, ignoring the pain and the burning flesh. Until suddenly, the pressure and the heat stopped, and I opened my eyes to see why.

  “What the hell is going on in here?” Jo asked, a piece of a vase in her hand. She had knocked Margaret out and was looking at me with questioning eyes. She saved me. I had to love her for that and be glad she had slept in her old room that day.

  “Gerard wanted to be king,” I said, trying to be funny about it, but she was in no mood for laughing because she narrowed her eyes. “I’m glad you didn’t kill the girl. We’ll need her.”

  “We? I have nothing to do with this. I was trying to sleep.”

  “Well, I was trying to be left alone and look what happened.” I pointed at Gerard’s body.

  “Not funny, Philippe,” she muttered, dropping what was left of the porcelain to the floor. “I hope this vase wasn’t expensive,” she said, looking at the unconscious witch.

  I tried to smirk, but I coughed, and blood began pouring from my mouth. My stomach hurt, and I felt the need to throw up.

  Jo sped to my side, putting her hand on my back. “She hit you hard. Let’s get you to the corridor. We need to get you out of the sun. It prevents you from healing.”

  My feet felt heavy as I headed to the corridor with my hand in front of my mouth. Blood dripped between my fingers and onto my hardwood bamboo flooring. “I feel everything burning inside me.”

  “She’s cast a spell on you. I have no idea what it was, but it must have had consequences on your body.”

  I clenched my jaw and motioned my free hand at Jo. “I’ll be fine
. Don’t worry about me. Go tie her up before she wakes up.”

  “You need blood and a place to rest,” Jo said as she grabbed my arm.

  “No.” I gulped down the blood, only to cough and grab my chest with both hands. Pain pierced at my chest while weakness made my head light. I was only on my feet because I was stubborn. “We don’t have time to take care of me. We need to wake up the witch and question her about what’s going to happen to Aria.”

  Jo sighed deeply before asking, “What are you talking about?”

  I managed to turn around to watch my master. “Gerard spoke about following the orders of a new master from the graveyard.”

  Her face became paler than it normally was as her eyes grew bigger. “A specter?”

  I nodded and coughed.

  Jo grabbed a piece of fabric from her nightgown, shredded it, and folded it to put in front of my mouth and nose.

  “You’re bleeding from your nose now and your eyes are becoming red,” she said as she brushed my hair with her fingers. “You need to rest, sweetie. Did they drug you? It’s looking more and more like the effects of Clarity.”

  “No,” I mumbled against the cloth. “I just drank bourbon and… The effects would have shown up a lot faster if I’d been poisoned. It’s a spell, something to slow me down.”

  Jo’s expression grew darker. “I’m going to wake her and force her to undo what she did to you!”

  “What about the specter?” I grabbed her arm before she left to deal with the witch. “You’ve always told me they were dangerous, and I shouldn’t mess with or make deals with them.”

  Jo fixed her hair, which was falling loosely about her pretty face. “Gerard was a fool.”

  “Yes, but we still need to find out what his master wants with Aria.”

  “Damn it,” she growled and folded her arms. “A girl can’t catch a break in this city. Let’s get you to the kitchen. You need to feed and then I’ll tie up the girl and we’ll wake her.”

  Chapter NINETEEN

  PHILIPPE

  I had fallen asleep. I don’t know for how long. I dreamed of Aria, romantic dreams. Dreams where I could touch and kiss her, and she loved me. Dreams that became dark and eerie because I’d lost her and couldn’t find her. I needed to find her.

  Once I opened my eyes, I realized the hard truth. Aria didn’t love me, and she could be in danger. I hadn’t fallen asleep. I had passed out. Whatever spell that witch had cast on me, it was making me weaker and sick. I’d thrown up the blood that Jo had given me to feed. Everything around me swirled while Jo’s voice seemed to echo in my thoughts before I’d lost consciousness.

  “I’m so glad you’re awake,” Jo said next to me. I was lying on my bed. She sat beside me, looking pale and worried. “I called someone who can help us figure it out what kind of spell the witch cast on you, but they can’t get here until later in the evening.”

  “We need to know what they’re going to do to Aria.” My voice came out hoarse, and I was unable to move. I hadn’t felt this bad for ages. It was as if my energy had been drained from my body.

  “You killed her lover. I doubt she’s willing to tell you anything.”

  I knew she was right, but there were other ways to make her talk. “How long was I out?” I tried to sit up.

  “Just for ten minutes. You should rest.” Her hands held me down. “You don’t look good.”

  “I’ll rest when I’m sure that Aria is safe. Did you call her on her cell?” I asked, hoping to have Jo’s help. I knew I couldn’t do it alone.

  “It’s off.”

  “Something happened to her,” I said as my heart beat faster.

  “You don’t know that. It may have run out of batteries. Do you want me to try Cedric’s phone?”

  “He wouldn’t believe me if I told him that Aria was in danger. He blames me for everything that’s wrong in the world.”

  Jo arched an eyebrow at me. “What did you do to him?”

  “Nothing. He doesn’t like vampires. We’re wasting time. We need to interrogate the girl,” I said, moving from the bed and almost falling on the floor. I was weak beyond words. I’d never felt like this since I’d become a vampire.

  “You can barely walk,” she said, stating the obvious.

  I glared at her.

  Sighing, she helped me reach the place where our prisoner was kept. All the way there, she kept reminding me of how stubborn I was. Nothing I didn’t know already.

  Josephine had taken Margaret to a new bedroom, where light couldn’t hurt us. She had sat the girl in a chair and secured her with a rope and blindfolded her. She’d also gagged her mouth since we didn’t want a screaming lunatic in the house. Jo had brought Gerard’s lifeless body into the bedroom, placing him opposite to the girl. She would see him once we took off the blindfold. It was an intentional reminder of what would happen to her if she didn’t tell us the truth. It also reminded me that I had to kill my number one and my longtime friend because he wanted to take my place. After everything I had done for him, he’d betrayed me. Sean would become my new number one, even if I didn’t know where he was, and I had no idea of the full extent of Gerard’s betrayal. Gerard’s closest friends and men would have to be put to the test, and they would probably pay with their lives, too. He hadn’t acted alone. He must have had supporters among my ranks to pull off a stunt like this. My house needed cleaning. Above all, I needed to know who my new enemy was—the one who’d turned Gerard against me and made himself Gerard’s new master. I had an idea about who that might be, though.

  Jo sat me on a chair in front of the girl, probably so she wouldn’t notice how weak I was. I just had to enthrall her so she would tell me what they were planning to do to Aria and reverse the spell she’d cast on me.

  I motioned Jo to remove the gag and the blindfold.

  To my surprise, Margaret’s face was calm. She didn’t even blink at the sight of Gerard’s body.

  “Glad to see that the spell is working,” she said with a wicked smile.

  “I’m not going to waste my time talking to you,” I said, preparing myself to compel her.

  “Don’t bother. It won’t work in me,” she informed me. “Witches, powerful witches, can’t be enthralled by vampires,” she explained. “And I’m not going to tell you where your precious angel is.” Her lips stretched into a smug grin. “They must have taken her by now. When night falls, she’ll be gone.”

  “What are you talking about? Who wants her? What will they do to her?” I asked, putting my hand on her neck and squeezing hard enough to make her understand that I wasn’t playing around.

  “My mas-ter wants her,” she stammered without losing the smile. It seemed she liked being hurt.

  I lessened the pressure. “Why?”

  “I won’t tell you anything else. I told you enough to make you suffer more. Once she’s dead, remorse will finish you off. It’s already killing you. I can see it in your eyes and face. You look pale and weak. Tell me, have all your ghosts come back to haunt you yet?”

  “Stop saying nonsense! Just tell me where Aria is and who took her!” I yelled at her as I choked her.

  Jo stopped me before I could kill her. At least, Margaret wasn’t smiling anymore.

  “Tell me, where is Aria?” I asked, looking deep into her eyes.

  She stared at me blankly.

  “Do you want me to kill you like I did your lover?”

  “I couldn’t care less about that idiot. It was his arrogance that killed him. I told him that he wasn’t ready to finish you off. That was my intention all along. I wanted to find someone strong enough to kill you, someone close to you. Someone whom my master could use to rule and control the vampires in Paris. I guess that Gerard was a poor choice.”

  “What did Philippe do to you to make you hate him so much?” Jo asked.

  Margaret shrugged and shifted her eyes to the floor, evading our gaze.

  “Philippe, did you sleep with her and never call?”

  “Not th
at I remember.”

  “My sister,” she growled as she glared at me. “You killed my sister!”

  “You must be mistaken. I don’t kill women,” I said, trying to remember if I’d killed some witch lately. The answer was no. I hadn’t killed a woman unprovoked for a long time—not since I’d learned to control my bloodlust.

  “Gerard said you did,” she claimed.

  “Because he’s such a trustworthy source of information,” I said sarcastically.

  “I don’t need his word to confirm it. I know you killed her. You seduced her, you gave her expensive gifts, and you made her leave our coven and cut ties with her family. You must have murdered her. You told her you would make her your queen. I don’t see a queen here. I see you sleeping around with any whore who’s willing to share a bed with you.”

  “Who are you talking about?” I was in no mood to hear her accusations. “I have no idea who your sister is, but she sounds delusional.”

  “What’s your sister’s name?” Jo asked, seemingly more curious than I.

  “Mara,” she answered. “Her name was Mara, you worthless prick!”

  “Isn’t the girl who looks just like Sophie named Mara?” Jo asked me.

  “Yes,” I said as memories flooded my mind. “But I didn’t kill her. She lives in London. We dated for a couple of years, then she decided she wanted to leave here to get away from her family and live a normal life. If she doesn’t contact you, it’s because she doesn’t want anything to do with your dark magic. But I can assure you that she’s very much alive.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “I don’t need to lie. I can call her right now if you want,” I said, showing her my phone. “You don’t look like sisters, though. Mara is red-haired and has an oval face.”

  “We have different fathers,” she claimed. “And you’re lying. Mara would never leave without telling me.”

  “Well, she did. Your revenge is pointless, so tell me where my mate is!” I ordered, losing my temper. I was sick and my eyes wanted to shut down.

  “Do you care for the girl?” she asked with venom in her velvet voice. “Would you do anything to save her?”