Red Angel (The Angels of Paris Chronicles Book 2)

by Anna Santos

  “Tell me where Aria is and I’ll let you live,” I said next to her face.

  “I’m not afraid of dying.”

  “There are far worse fates than dying,” I told her, making her lose her smile.

  “My master would kill me anyway.”

  “You could join your sister and get away from here,” Jo said.

  “I don’t believe Mara is alive,” she said, looking from me to Jo.

  “And if I can prove it?” I asked.

  “I’ll remove your curse, but I can’t tell you where the girl is. I don’t know where she is,” Margaret said.

  I frowned. “There’s no point in me living if Aria is dead,” I grumbled, showing my fangs.

  She bargained with me. “I can tell you who my master is.”

  “I’m not stupid. There’s only one specter powerful enough to do this. I know who he is. I know where I might find him. What I don’t know is where he has Aria or even if she’s been taken or not.”

  “If you know that, then you also know that you have a deal with him. He wouldn’t kill you. We went against his orders,” she said.

  With her words, I had the confirmation I needed about the identity of Aria’s abductor.

  “He’ll kill me if he finds out Gerard opened his big mouth to brag.”

  I was going to yell at her, but the doorbell distracted me. “Who could it be at this time of the day?” I asked out loud, looking at Jo, who shrugged.

  Moments after, I heard shouts. “Where’s Philippe? I know he took her. Where is the bastard? What have you done to Aria?”

  It was Cedric yelling downstairs. The butler must have opened the door, and Cedric had invaded my house. What worried me was the fact that my worst nightmare had come true. Something bad had happened to Aria. Cedric was assuming that I was the one who’d taken Aria. I needed to convince him otherwise.

  I got up to go downstairs and talk to him, but before I could, he was entering the bedroom and jumping on me. He dragged me against the wall and stared at me with murderous eyes.

  “Where is she? What have you done to her? You sick bastard! If you hurt her, I’ll kill you!” His eyes glowed silver like his extended wings. He looked scary enough. Before I could say anything, Jo grabbed him and pulled him away from me. I was feeling rather slow. I needed to break that damn curse.

  “Take your hands off of Philippe. He didn’t do whatever you think he did,” Jo said, using her body to prevent Cedric from coming at me again. He didn’t try to push her back, but he looked like an angry beast ready to attack me and rip me apart.

  “He kidnapped Aria and hurt her family! He’s a monster! I want to know where Aria is! Where’s my mate? Let me go or I’ll hurt you.”

  “I would like to see you try,” she challenged him, fearless, holding him by his shoulders and forcing him to stare at her rather than me. “Now, call off your angel, stop acting like a wild animal, and listen to me. Listen to me!” she snapped, stilling him with more force. “If you want Aria back, you need to start listening and controlling your urge to kill us.”

  It worked. He calmed down and the glow in his eyes faded.

  “Listen carefully. Philippe didn’t kidnap Aria, but we know who did.”

  Cedric looked at me, at Jo, and at the girl we had strapped to the chair.

  “I can explain that,” I said, knowing that it didn’t look good.

  “What the hell is happening here? What sort of twisted behavior do you two get up to?”

  “They want to hurt me, please help,” Margaret whined, using her innocent eyes and her scared voice to trick Cedric into believing we were the bad guys.

  “Oh, shut up!” Jo ordered, losing her calm and slapping her across the face. “Philippe, call Mara so Margaret ends your curse. You,” she said, pointing at Cedric, who was just staring at her with lost eyes, “follow me downstairs. You need to have some tea to calm yourself down, and I need to explain to you what’s going on and how we can help each other.”

  “And the girl, who is she?” Cedric asked before turning around to follow Jo.

  “A traitorous witch who tried to kill Philippe and who knows who’s taken Aria,” she said.

  Cedric followed her without hesitation, asking a bunch of questions that I was in no mood to answer. I did what Jo had asked me to; I tried to call Mara to show Margaret that her sister wasn’t dead.

  The phone kept ringing, but Mara wasn’t picking it up. She probably didn’t want to talk to me. I couldn’t blame her.

  Cedric’s eyes were piercing through my skull. He had been debriefed and was as eager to know about Aria’s whereabouts as I was. I was hoping Mara could convince her sister to help us out.

  “Try to text her, telling what’s going on,” Jo suggested.

  I followed her suggestion. “And what’ll we do now?” I asked after sending the message and staring at Margaret. “We can’t just hope that Mara will call. We’re losing time.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” Cedric said. “Why don’t you compel her to tell you everything she knows?”

  “We tried that. She’s immune,” I told him.

  “Are you going to try to choke me, too?” Margaret asked Cedric with a wicked smile. She seemed to enjoy teasing people. Bouncing on the chair as she tried to free herself, she shouted at Cedric, “You were supposed to save me from them, not join the party! What sort of angel are you?”

  “Your master kidnapped my mate. Do you think I care about what will happen to you if you don’t talk?” Cedric said, as cold as ice.

  At least, we were on the same page.

  “They’re lying to you. I’m innocent. I don’t know anything about that. They were the ones who must have kidnapped the girl. You said it yourself when you came in. They’re playing you.”

  “Can you shut up or should I shut you up?” Jo asked, approaching Margaret to slap her again.

  “Don’t.” Cedric stopped Jo, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the witch. “She’s just trying to annoy us.”

  “Then kill me and get this over with! I’m not going to tell you anything! My master will find a way to bring us all to life again. You can kill me. I really don’t care.”

  “Shut up, you idiot,” Jo ordered.

  Cedric pulled her against his chest before she could slap the girl.

  Jo squirmed as she shouted, “Your sister is alive and whatever bullshit your master told you, it’s a lie. No one can come back from the dead.”

  “We need to find another way to make her talk,” I said, sitting on the chair in front of Margaret.

  She smirked as she whispered, “I hope you’ll take a long time to die and that you’ll die in agony.”

  Releasing Cedric’s hands from around her waist, Jo fixed her hair as her eyes narrowed at the witch. “She’s human. You can make her talk,” Jo said to Cedric.

  I had no idea what she was talking about, but Margaret’s head snapped to them, and I could see the horror in her expression.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “I don’t do that,” Cedric said.

  Jo folded her arms as she tapped her foot on the floor. “You have no choice. She’s the only one who can tell us where Aria might be.”

  “It’s dangerous,” he claimed.

  “Just do it already!” Jo put her hand on her waist. “And tell her to cure Philippe.”

  Cedric stepped back with a haunted expression. “Josephine…I can’t.”

  What can he do to the girl to make her talk? Is it some sort of angel power?

  “Do you want to save Aria or not? Do you want to save yourself? If Aria’s angel is killed, you die, too,” she said as she stepped closer and poked her finger against his chest.

  “No! No, you can’t do this! I won’t let you!” Margaret shouted as she tried to get loose, as if she knew what he was going to do to her. “Don’t touch me! Stay away from me! You can’t do this!”

  Josephine looked at Cedric. “What will you do?”

  He s
ighed and ran his fingers through his hair before breathing out, “Fine.”

  I watched as Jo walked to Margaret and put her hands on her shoulder to stop her from moving. Cedric stood in front of the witch and whispered softly, “Relax, it won’t hurt.” The moment he put his hand on her arm, she stopped squirming and her eyes lost their color.

  “What’s he doing to her?” I asked Jo.

  “An angel’s touch is soothing. It can also be an extreme aphrodisiac to human females. She’ll do whatever he wants and tell us what we need to know.”

  “Is that what you’re doing to Aria?” I asked, upset at the thought of him tricking Aria with his touch.

  Cedric glared at me. “Of course not. Don’t be stupid. Aria’s no longer a human. She’s an angel like myself. She’s immune to an angel’s powers. We’re mates.”

  I had to ask, though.

  “Stop your pissing contest already. Cedric, do your thing,” Jo commanded, as if she were the ruler of the room.

  Sometimes, she was annoying like that, wanting to boss everybody around. I wasn’t going to complain, however, since I was extremely tired and I didn’t want to upset her. She had the tendency to sulk if people didn’t do what she wanted. She was also persuasive enough to make everybody do what she wanted in the first place.

  “Margaret, you’re safe now. Nothing can harm you. I’m here,” Cedric said, making the girl nod.

  “You’re so beautiful,” Margaret said. “Please don’t let them hurt me.”

  “I won’t. Just tell me what we need to know. Relax and trust me,” he demanded, caressing her hair. “Tell me where Aria is.”

  “No,” she replied.

  I felt like laughing. His power wasn’t working, either. Then I reminded myself that I needed his power to work.

  “Why not?” he asked in a patient tone.

  “Because she’s your mate. I don’t want to lose you. You’re mine now,” she said.

  I rolled my eyes. “Nice try.”

  “Shut up,” Jo said.

  I sulked in my chair. I didn’t know since when she’d been on his side, but I didn’t like it. I wanted my Jo back. She was my master and my friend. I didn’t want her to have a soft spot for Cedric. We were enemies, and he didn’t like me. She shouldn’t like him. I was acting like a spoiled child. I knew I was. My head was spinning, and I was weak.

  “Try harder. Kiss her,” Jo ordered Cedric, who looked at her and shook his head.

  “Release me. I want to touch you,” Margaret said out of breath, looking at him like he was some kind of god.

  “Release her and ask her again. Try harder,” Jo urged him.

  It was hilarious to witness her bossing him around. He didn’t complain, though. She was rather assertive.

  “I can’t kiss her,” he said, helping Margaret out of the ropes.

  “Aria will understand if you kiss Margaret to save her. Stop wasting time,” Jo said.

  “Don’t tell him what to do!” Margaret protested. “He’s mine, not yours!”

  I sighed while Margaret tried to escape to attack Jo, but Cedric held her firmly.

  “Look at me, Margaret,” he instructed her, his voice was like velvet but his face remained serious.

  She looked at him, apparently mesmerized by his presence. The girl’s breathing was fast and her gaze showed submission. “You will do whatever I want. You will tell me whatever I need to know. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where is Aria?”

  “I don’t know,” she whined. “Please, don’t get mad at me. I don’t know where the girl is.”

  “Do you know who took her?”

  “Yes. My master hired rogue werewolves to kidnap her. They were following her family. He asked the other woman to rip her angel from her. He simply wants the angel.”

  “What woman?”

  “The one who kills angels. The maker of Clarity.”

  “Clarity?” I asked.

  “How long until they take Aria’s angel?” Cedric asked.

  “Tonight. She’ll do it tonight.”

  “Where?”

  “I don’t know. I swear I don’t know. “

  “I’ll die if Aria’s angel dies,” he told her.

  Shivering, she grabbed his face.

  “I can find out where they took her,” she claimed.

  I breathed in relief. She wasn’t worthless after all.

  Margaret kept talking, “I don’t want you to die. I want you to stay with me forever.”

  “If we find Aria in time, nothing is going to happen to me.”

  “Then we can be together?”

  “Yes.”

  “Kiss her,” Jo said to Cedric. “If she leaves this place, the enchantment will run out soon enough. You need to kiss her to seal the deal.”

  “I know,” Cedric grumbled.

  “It troubles me how much you know about angels,” I said to Jo, who shrugged.

  “Margaret, I need you to go to your master and find out where they’re keeping Aria. Will you do that for me?” the prince asked sweetly, like a lover.

  She nodded promptly.

  “Don’t forget she needs to cure me before she goes,” I reminded him.

  “Yes, and you need to cure Philippe,” he said to the girl.

  “You don’t even like him,” she complained.

  “I know. But you need to undo the curse.”

  “I’ll do whatever you want,” she agreed, caressing his face.

  Cedric sighed and took one for the team. He placed his lips on hers. I don’t think he was expecting what happened next, but the girl grabbed him and kissed him hungrily as if there was no tomorrow. He was caught off guard and tried evading her, but she was like a serpent holding tightly to its prey.

  “That’s enough,” Jo said, pulling the girl away from Cedric. It was rather hilarious to see his worried face and troubling to understand that Jo didn’t look pleased when she turned around to look at the prince. “Were you enjoying that?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Then tell her to cure Philippe and to go and look for your mate,” she said in an angry voice.

  “She grabbed me!”

  “He’s mine,” Margaret hissed at Jo.

  “You can have him again after you find where Aria is,” Jo told her.

  Margaret hissed like a wild beast.

  “Margaret,” Cedric said, holding on to her hand and pulling her closer. “Cure Philippe. Go find where they have Aria and then call me with your report.”

  “No, she’ll report to us. We’re in this together. I’ll help get Aria. You’ll need my help. Besides, her master is producing Clarity. Finding Aria and catching the woman who wants to take her angel are essential to us both,” I reasoned with him.

  “My master won’t be suspicious if I come back to Philippe’s house. My former lover lived here,” Margaret said to Cedric. “I don’t want my master to hurt you.”

  “He won’t. Report here. I’ll be here waiting for you,” Cedric said, brushing her cheek and evading her mouth.

  She wanted more. I could almost laugh if I weren’t so damn sick, and Aria weren’t missing.

  “Come cure Philippe,” Jo urged the witch, pulling her away from Cedric.

  Chapter TWENTY

  CEDRIC

  Philippe had left for the hospital the moment Margaret had cured him. He was worried about Aria’s mother. Her dad had some broken bones, but her mom was seriously wounded and in a coma. Aria’s uncle was also in a bad shape, and Philippe’s friend was dating Aria’s cousin. They were all in the hospital waiting for news, full of anxiety. As much as I wanted to go back to the hospital to reassure Aria’s father that we were doing everything in our power to find his daughter, I had to stay here and wait for Margaret to return. The moment I found out what had happened, I had gone to the hospital and talked to Aria’s dad. I’d been to the place of the accident and ordered trackers to try to find the jeep that had provoked the accident. I knew the kidnappe
rs were wolves. However, I couldn’t neglect the fact that Philippe could be behind the whole thing, and that he’d hired them to get Aria.

  It turned out that he wasn’t behind the kidnapping and it would probably be thanks to him that I could get Aria back before they could harm her.

  The last thing I wanted was to lose someone else I loved. I didn’t want to feel helpless when it came to protecting the people I care about. Everything was rushing to my head—all my bad memories, my parents’ death, my sister’s disappearance, the explosion, and the destruction. I wouldn’t forgive myself if Aria got hurt because I wasn’t able to keep her safe. I shouldn’t have let her go alone with her parents. I had angels following them. I wasn’t irresponsible. But someone—the person or thing behind the kidnapping—was powerful enough to knock out my angels and kidnap my mate. There was something more than werewolves behind that abduction, something strong enough to fight angels and win.

  “Stop blaming yourself,” Josephine said, sitting next to me on the couch.

  She’d gone to her bedroom to change her clothes. She wanted to be ready to leave as soon as there was any news about where Aria could be. I wasn’t going to refuse her help. I would work with Philippe to find Aria and punish the ones playing with fire and inciting angels to war. Whoever had done that to Aria, whoever wanted to take her angel and harm her, was going to pay dearly. No one harms my mate and lives to brag about it.

  “I’m not blaming myself,” I lied. “I should be doing something more productive than sitting here and waiting.”

  “Margaret is under your spell. She’ll talk to you and no one else. Be glad we had a witch who could help us find Aria.”

  “What happened here? Why did Philippe kill his number one?”

  “Gerard tried to kill him with the help of the witch. I guess he didn’t like the way Philippe was ruling.” She smiled, like she was trying to make a joke. Then her face became serious. “I believe there’s someone trying to manipulate the vampires into starting a war with the angels and the gargoyles.”

  “Why do you think that?”

  She was a smart woman. That possibility had also crossed my mind when the vampires had been poisoned with Clarity at Jean-Paul’s party. However, I had no idea who would want to make us go to war and why.