I stared at him, my face hot with outrage. “Instead, you use the information I send you to throw Templar hit squads my way. How very noble of you. Well, it looks like you have new friends to watch your back.” I pointed at the dead Templars behind me that Phix was still munching on. “Practically Saints, back there. Good judges of character. Hunting down evil monsters while working for one!”
Beckett grimaced in disgust at Phix’s meal. Another thought hit me like a kick to the gut. Judging by Olin’s parting comment, I was pretty sure Beckett had been in charge of the Hellfire Club operation, which hadn’t turned out well for him.
I shook my head at him. “You were there, at the Hellfire Club, weren’t you?” The sudden look on his face confirmed it. “Hiding in the shadows, calling us after you failed, pretending to be concerned.” I spat more blood on the ground. “You’re beyond saving. You’ve been doing this for a while now, using me… Your actions literally kept me busy enough to not help you,” I said in disbelief, shaking my head.
He blinked, as if the thought had only just hit him. Then he gritted his teeth. “They helped me when no one else would,” he said. “Their ways may be extreme, but they’ve all suffered at the hands of Freaks. Now, they fight against the Freaks. We fight against the Freaks.”
“You work for one, you idiot!” I shouted. Then I took a breath. “What if your wife had been murdered by a human? Would you then turn around and become a serial killer, murdering anyone who shared some of his traits? Perhaps he had dark hair, so all people with dark hair must now be put to the torch. Is that your rationality? One bad person changes the course of your life?” I snapped.
“We should not be enemies, Callie. We both hunt—”
I interrupted him with a harsh laugh. “We…” I said, shaking my head. “Looks like they’ve got their claws sunk deep, which means they’ve been brain-washing you for a while, now. Should have known since you already have a scarf.”
He nodded. “Few weeks after you left town with Nate Temple for your… vacation,” he said it in a tone that let me know just how much my choice in men had bothered him.
Which meant Beckett had been working with the Templars for months. He hadn’t waited long at all. Or maybe they hadn’t waited long in recruiting him. Perhaps I was blaming the wrong person. Beckett was still at fault for being conned, but perhaps the Templars – Olin – had targeted Beckett specifically, wanting to convert one of my allies to his cause to get to me.
That didn’t diminish my anger right now, but it was something to consider. It meant that Beckett might be intended as a distraction, something to keep my focus off what the Templars were really doing here – the Ring.
“No matter how justified you think they are, we are not the same. I don’t kill indiscriminately. I hunt bad Freaks, not all Freaks.”
“They helped me avenge her. Tracked down her killer,” he said, eyes trailing off.
I studied him. “And did you taste your sweet, sweet revenge?” I asked harshly, already knowing the answer from the look on his face.
He averted his eyes.
I let the silence fall between us. I wasn’t horrified to hear he had killed. He had taken out a murderer. Unless… the Templars had led Beckett to the wrong guy. Some innocent Freak…
“I’m sure they gave you all sorts of proof. Things you’re familiar with as a detective.” He kept his eyes down, and I grimaced in disgust. “Do you feel better now?” I asked, deadpan. Then I pointed at his scarf. “That’s a trophy, isn’t it? For killing your first Freak.”
Instead of answering, he set his shoulders. “I didn’t expect the world to turn to rainbows and sunshine, after. Just a job that needed doing. I saw enough to know he was the right man.”
“I think they get that tattooed on their lower backs after their first kill. I got the right man. Then they just add tally marks for every alleged monster they kill after. So their righteous bros can get a good look at it in the sauna. A Temp stamp instead of a tramp stamp.”
Beckett’s eyes narrowed. “They only kill Freaks,” he said, as if it was an answer.
I arched a brow at him. “Oh?” I leaned forward in a mock whisper as if imparting a secret. “What about Olin?”
He didn’t rise to the bait. “Maybe you’re the misguided one, Callie. Ever thought about that? You’re so busy protecting them that maybe you aren’t seeing them clearly. They are monsters. They literally hunt humans! Maybe that’s why you haven’t helped me. Because you choose to protect a fellow Freak rather than aid a weak human!” He grunted, jerking his chin at me as he curled his lip. “You don’t even look the same anymore. You look harsher, angrier, darker,” he muttered. “Seems like proof to me.”
I scowled at him. “That has nothing to do with this!” He grunted dismissively. I shook my head in disbelief, wincing at the pain that flashed through my ribs. “Unbelievable, Beckett. Your oath was to protect and serve, not to threaten and kill. Easy to mix up, I guess.”
He snarled instinctively at my mockery of his oath as a police officer, but then seemed to distantly consider my words. He didn’t let that doubt show for long, but I noticed it.
“You’re blind with hatred,” I finally said.
“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
I scoffed. “Don’t do this, Beckett. They’re lying to you. Or not telling you the whole truth.”
“They hunt the bad guys, Callie. What’s wrong with that? Someone needs to help this city.”
“And what do you think I’m trying to do?”
“You’ve been hunting the bad guys… as long as they’re not your friends. Then they get a pass.” He held out his hands, indicating my hidden allies and their rifles.
I took an aggressive step closer. “They’re using you to try and get to me. They don’t care about good or bad. They want us all gone.”
Beckett met my eyes. “Maybe that’s not so bad.”
“I’m working with a fucking Angel. And Nephilim! How can you accuse me of being evil?”
“And you think the Angels have clean hands? Do you have any idea how many have tried to take that ring from us lately?” he snapped. “As soon as we found it, we’ve been under attack. They all want it, and they want it for themselves. The Angels don’t care about us. Never have. They have their own agendas and will crush anyone who stands in their way.” He stared at me for a long while, his breathing ragged. Then he just shook his head and left.
I turned to share a look with Phix. She was cleaning her blood-stained paws with her tongue.
“That is a riddle I do not pretend to understand,” she said softly. I sighed, agreeing with her. At least now I knew for certain how the Templars had been tracking the Freaks. Because I had led them right to each target. “Let’s get you patched up. Those wounds aren’t life threatening, but I see a hospital in your future unless you know a healer.”
Before I could answer, gunfire rang out, peppering the building to my right. I flinched instinctively, spotting a feathered blur swooping down from an adjacent building.
It struck me like a giant fucking pillow and I heard Phix yowling in protest. Rather than carrying me away, the world simply winked out of view like I had fallen asleep.
Chapter 44
I opened my eyes, subconsciously holding my side. But my pain was… gone. I stared down at my fingers in disbelief. They tingled, but I could bend them, even though I had been sure I had fractured or sprained them. I took a deep breath, but my ribs didn’t hurt either. I felt tired, but I had been healed, apparently. That was a good sign, right?
With a deep breath, I slowly spun to study my surroundings. I was standing in a white circle drawn on polished concrete, a ring of candles just outside of it to bathe me in soft light. Shadows stretched on into the distance, and there was an emptiness to the air that let me know I was standing in a big empty building.
It was much too big to be located in a residential area, so I was guessing a commercial storage building or warehouse. I
tried reaching out to my magic and came up against the wall of thrumming energy. I snarled. The circle was blocking my power.
I noticed a hulking, feathered figure standing in the shadows and instinctively locked down my mind. I was surprised to find that the protective circle around me didn’t prevent this. Then again, circles trapped energy within their boundaries, so it kind of made sense.
“Who the fuck are you?” I growled.
Nameless and his Nephilim would have taken me to their brownstone, not this… garage.
“He, the fuck, is Eae,” a familiar voice said, stepping out from the shadows to my right. I hadn’t noticed his presence. He looked beaten down. Tired. He hid it behind an easy smile, but I knew him well enough to pierce that façade.
“Nate?” I asked, feeling as if the ground had been taken from under my feet. What was he doing here?
He nodded with a grin. Then his face froze and he leaned closer, studying me intently. “Jesus, Callie. What happened to you?”
Not what a girl wanted to hear from a man who had jumped into her dreams only to leave her high and dry before the dream concluded. I still felt the dream’s sensation of his fingers clutching my jaw, wrapping around my neck as he cupped me like a goblet. “Werewolf Templar,” I told him, assuming the look on his face meant I was still splattered with blood.
He blinked at me. “No, I meant you. You look… older. Only by a few years, but…”
I narrowed my eyes dangerously. “You might want to work on your delivery, Nate.”
He cracked a faint smile, but I could tell he was troubled by what he saw. From my deal with Phix. It hadn’t seemed alarmingly noticeable to me when I had looked in the mirror, but Nate was pretty perceptive. And he knew subtle changes could have big meanings.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I said, glancing pointedly at the circle trapping me and then arching an eyebrow at him.
He nodded, continuing to study me like a piece of art he was considering purchasing. “This might sound like a feeble attempt at a recovery,” he admitted, “but I think I like the new look. Less innocent church girl, more devil may care chic.” A slow grin began to replace my momentary anger. “Are the glowing white eyes new?” he asked.
My smile cracked. “What?”
“Maybe just when you’re angry. Like when you first plopped down here. It’s gone now.”
I furrowed my brows at him, trying to quell my sudden unease. Was it something to do with Phix? “Girls do not plop down in places, Nate.” He chuckled and I turned back to the winged figure watching us. I scowled at him. Because I recog—
“Asterion mentioned something about a date,” Nate said, too casually.
Surprised at the interruption, then all over again for the statement itself, I slowly turned to stare back at Nate for a good five seconds. “How about we save the reunion until after I kill this Angel?” I said. Because I had seen enough of him to realize he was the cowboy Angel I had fought in the Templar Vaults. Nate had said his name was Eae.
And together, they had trapped me inside a circle.
Eae growled at my comment. Well, maybe a not-so-friendly warning grumble.
“What is the meaning of this?” I demanded, losing any semblance of patience.
“We needed to check on a few things… Precautions,” Nate said, pointing down at the circle.
“You two really shouldn’t have healed me,” I laughed darkly. “Because now I feel strong enough to break this pretty little circle,” I said, gritting my teeth.
Eae scoffed in disbelief, but seeing the confident look on my face, his eyes narrowed.
“It’s actually for our protection,” Nate said, pointing behind me on the floor. I turned to see a juice box. I slowly swiveled back, arching a brow at him. He shrugged. “Thought it might cheer you up. A peace offering.”
With nothing else to do in my circle, I stabbed the straw into the juice box and took a big sip. They watched me entirely too attentively. I froze, and then threw the juice box to the ground. “What did you do to it?” I hissed, staring down as it leaked juice onto the concrete floor.
They watched me warily. Then they shared a long look with each other. “Well, that pretty much answers that bit,” Nate told Eae matter-of-factly. “I told you we could trust her. You can take her out of the circle now.” But he sounded relieved, as if a small part of him had feared a different outcome. And I suddenly realized that my change in looks might have made him more nervous than he had initially let on.
Eae shook his head. “Not yet.”
“What did you put in my juice box?!” I yelled.
Nate shrugged. “We mixed Holy Water inside it.”
I opened my mouth. Then closed it. “Why?” I finally asked. “I’m not a demon.”
“Maybe because you attacked an Angel the other day?” Nate said, smirking to take away the sting as he pointed at Eae. “Thought I was the only one stupid enough to try that.”
“You thought I was possessed?” I asked incredulously.
He shrugged as he began ticking off fingers. “Shutting down the Vatican. Fighting Templars. Fighting an Angel. I might have done those things, but you and I have different… genes.” He shrugged, alluding to my Nephilim blood. “Those events taken into combination, though, I thought it was at least plausible that someone might try to get to you this way. It would be a clever way to take you down.” He brushed his hands together symbolically, turning to Eae. “Callie is rock solid. I trust her. Now that we know she isn’t possessed, I can’t think of anything else, so she likely has a very good reason for attacking you.”
Eae shook his head stubbornly, unconvinced.
Nate narrowed his eyes at the Angel. “Well, this is about to get awkward,” he said when it became apparent Eae wouldn’t budge. And with a flick of his hand, a small jet of fire torched part of the paint on the ground, breaking the circle. I felt the wall blocking me from my magic evaporate as Eae spluttered angrily at Nate.
Nate just folded his arms, smirking absently as the Angel’s tirade rolled over him. I shot him a grateful smile that he smugly pretended not to notice.
Eae finally threw up his hands in defeat. “Greta didn’t have a high opinion of her,” he said.
Nate snorted dismissively, sounding amused. “She doesn’t have a high opinion of anyone.” He shot me a look. “Eae sent her to convince you something was up.”
I sniffed. “Well, she did a shitty job.”
Nate burst out laughing.
Eae, on the other hand, looked personally offended. “Greta has impeccable judgment.”
I shook my head in disbelief at how arrogant Eae was. “Your Good Samaritan detector seemed to love Cain and Dorian Gray, but not me,” I told him, enjoying his reaction. Greta really had been one of the good guys. I hated it when the ones I disliked were good guys.
Nate’s eyes shot wide open. “Cain? As in, Cain and Abel?” he hissed.
I nodded smugly. “Cool guy if you forgive him his trespasses.”
Nate muttered something under his breath about Cain not being able to take a joke, but that couldn’t have been right. I remembered Cain saying something about wanting to stay away from St. Louis. The two must have had a disagreement at one point, but Cain was definitely into jokes. I shrugged, turning back to Eae.
He had stepped fully into the light while chastising Nate and I finally took a moment to get a good look at him. He wore jeans and a tee, no shoes. His skin was tanned, and he was very tall. Large wings hung from his shoulder blades, made of what seemed to be dry ice with bits of stone hovering amongst the feathers. They radiated power, since he wasn’t bothering to conceal them.
Eae studied me critically. “You have changed. Even since I last saw you underground.”
I shrugged but didn’t offer an explanation.
As I stared into those eyes, I could tell he had spotted Phix in the alley, was curious about it, but had chosen not to bring it up in front of Nate. Which was… strange, since he hadn’t seemed to t
rust me enough to let me out of the circle. An odd way to interrogate someone.
This angry Angel had secrets.
“You tried stealing the Seal of Solomon,” I pressed. “Why am I the one under suspicion?”
His feathers ruffled agitatedly. “And you lost the Seal of Solomon. It doesn’t belong in the hands of man. It belongs with the Angels!” he snapped, chest heaving angrily.
Nate was watching the two of us glare at each other, frowning. “I wonder what it’s like to make a mistake,” he mused absently. “I seem to remember an Angel getting his wings clip—”
Eae rounded on Nate, face livid. “That was entirely different!” he snapped.
Nate shrugged. “Bad judgment call, if I recall.”
Listening to them, I began to have doubts about Nate’s Angel friend. He had tried to steal the Seal of Solomon, and Alyksandre – the most incorruptible Nephilim I had met so far – had seemed confident he was a Fallen Angel. Rather than approaching me – or Nameless – he remained hidden, only showing up again when the Seal of Solomon appeared. When he didn’t get it, he kidnapped me, using Nate’s friendship to sway me. And rather than releasing me from the circle himself, Nate had had to intervene – which had pissed Eae off. Then, the next real comment directed my way was an accusation… about losing the Seal he seemed so intent upon acquiring.
And now Nate had brought up a blemish in his record.
I decided that these Angels in my life were high maintenance, and I didn’t trust a single feather on their wings. They were playing their own game on us. On me. I could play games, too.
I checked my grip on my mental block, making sure it was impenetrable, and I prepared to start throwing wrenches into plans.
Chapter 45
Angel's Roar: Feathers and Fire Book 4 Page 21