Constance frantically fighting to paddle a rickety boat through a raging, storming sea, shouting at the top of her lungs over the peals of thunder and lightning. “Wake up, Titus! Please, please just wake up. We’re almost free!” As he lay on the seat, unresponsive to the waves that occasionally hammered into him. Blur.
I watched, transfixed, tears pouring down my cheeks at hearing them shift from their captor-captive dynamic to using first names – as partners. Begging the other to survive, but never conscious to see that their partner shared the feeling. I tried to burn the memories into my brain. This was the only time I had ever seen them. I had to remember this. No matter what.
The vision blurred again, revealing a wooden hut. Constance and Titus talking to each other over a rickety wooden table with a tiny, almost burnt out candle in the center. Both still looked hesitant, but something deep in their eyes told me they were smiling.
Titus seemed to come to a sudden decision, and reached up with his long, perfect fingers to tentatively touch my mother’s face. She gasped, flushed lips opening against her will, as she leaned into his touch, and…
Titus’ face lit up with joy, overcome with relief by her response, confirming to me that he hadn’t known if she would recoil in disgust or not. A desperate fear that what he felt for her would be unrequited. They slowly, hesitantly, leaned over the table, both licking their lips as they drew closer for their first kiss, and—
The fucking candle on the table burnt out.
Chapter 48
I found myself back in the warehouse, facing Eae, who was now smiling faintly at the outrage on my face. I felt as if the power had cut off during my favorite show’s season finale. He looked pleased with himself, shrugging mercilessly.
I let out a steadying sigh, my anger slowly fading. Titus and Constance had earned some privacy. To be honest, I’d never even hoped for a fraction of what I’d seen. Just a picture would have sufficed.
“How were you able to show me that, Eae?”
He lowered his eyes, staring down at the ground as he slowly let out a breath, understanding my lack of trust.
“I happened upon them killing a demon, one day. I’ll admit that I didn’t quite know what to do when they turned to look at me. They were obviously doing a good thing, killing that demon, but… it had been unsanctioned…” he said, recalling the memory. “So, I read their minds in order to understand. Which is when I saw that,” he said, waving his hand to indicate the memory reel he had shown me.
I shook my head as I watched him.
“But I knew all about Titus… Everyone did. He was to be taken to trial for his crimes. Still, seeing them there… I didn’t know what else to do.” My heart rate increased as I began shaking my head in denial. No. No. NO! He couldn’t have given them up. I’d kill him. No matter the cost. Right here.
He must have sensed something from me because he looked up, eyes widening as he held out his hands, speaking in a rush. “Something about them… the way they moved around each other was like a dance, or two parts of a whole. Their bond was eternal, magical. And I felt I could almost understand why they had traded their prior allegiances for what they found in each other.” He sounded uncomfortable as he said it, as if adding an unspoken caveat that he would deny ever saying it in a Godly lie detector test. “When I asked them why, they smiled at me sadly as they grasped hands, and in unison, said Non Serviam. And a moment later, they were gone,” Eae said, admitting his failure to capture them like he had been told.
Just like my father had failed to capture my mother.
My eyes widened in surprise, but I was smart enough not to laugh. They had Shadow Walked!
Then I thought about the Latin phrase. It was from Milton’s Paradise Lost. It had been written on Lucifer’s banner, meaning I will never serve. I remembered it from somewhere else, too, but I couldn’t place it at the moment, too overwhelmed from the memories that were now demanding new rooms in the limited headspace of my brain.
“I was punished for my failure, of course…” he said, not looking for pity, but stating a fact. “Even though it was an unintentional failure. Something about seeing them together made me hesitate, and in that hesitation, they escaped.” He looked up at me, his gaze introspective. “I don’t know if I would have let them go,” he admitted. But there wasn’t even a hint of anger on his face. Just stark truth.
I nodded woodenly, accepting his honesty, but unable to meet his eyes. Because… he was an Angel. He didn’t have Free Will like us. Maybe he couldn’t have done anything else but obey. But he’d still had the courage to admit it to me out loud.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been searching for them for a long time and have never been able to learn a thing. And suddenly you show up with all this…” I said, wiping my nose. I was silent for a moment. “It seems a little too good to be true.”
Because every fiber of my being was screaming that Angels were manipulators. Whether against me or each other, I hadn’t yet confirmed.
When he didn’t respond, I looked up at him.
“I understand, Callie. Believe me when I say that a lot of parties have been looking into this in recent months. Looking into you.” I hid my surprise at that and merely watched him. “The records of the Nephilim have been scrutinized front to back without luck.”
I waited, frowning. “Then what changed?”.
He smiled grimly. “I told Nate that I had been unsuccessful, and in a fit of anger, he happened to toss out your mother’s name, trying to think of anything that might help me.” At the puzzled look on my face, he leaned closer. “The Nephilim records list everyone except those considered disgraced. Like Titus. We had literally been searching through every Nephilim except the right one. Hearing your mother’s name brought it all together for me.”
Eae shook his head, as if not believing it himself. As if the whole situation stood against everything he thought he knew. Maybe that was why he distrusted me so much.
Or he could be manipulating me. One sad story wasn’t enough to change my mind.
I leaned back, not knowing exactly what to make of it all. Nate had… accidentally helped me find my parents. I felt a tear fall, but I didn’t cry. I just sat there, not knowing what to do with myself. Was I happy? Mad? There was still so much missing.
But I had learned something. Seen the happy part of their lives. Well, relatively speaking. Eae was still an asshole, but he did have a hint of compassion inside him. It was just buried very deep. Nothing to brag about, but better than I had expected from our initial talks.
“No one ever mentioned anything about them having a child,” he said, breaking the silence. “Nephilim typically only mate with other Nephilim. It’s their duty.” Which made sense. They were bonded to the Angels, after all. “And they definitely do not mate with Freaks. It has happened before, of course, but the pregnancies never survived, so… no one even considered to look for a child. To look for you.”
I shivered. “Johnathan did,” I said in a very soft voice.
Eae nodded, grimacing.
“They had to know that you would be powerful,” he continued after a few moments. “A Nephilim father and a wizard stained by dark magic. Two beings of such diametrically opposed natures successfully producing a child…” He almost sounded as if he was speaking to himself. “They had to have known you would be dangerous. And that both sides would want you – or target you if they couldn’t have you for themselves. Heaven and Hell. Dark and Light. Because you were tainted by both. Your father’s light and your mother’s dark.”
I shivered, trying to imagine the surprise they must have felt.
“With their substantial list of enemies, and not having any allies, they must have warded you, knowing you would be a target. They would have had to hide you. To set something in place to keep you safe.” He shook his head, in amazement. “The level of planning it took to keep you secret… It’s almost unbelievable,” he murmured.
I suddenly realized that I was thankful for Nate le
aving the room. Not because I didn’t want to share this with him, but because his reasoning had been solid. This was crippling news, but being by myself, I could stumble, fall, and get back to my feet. But if he had been here, I might have been tempted to hide my true feelings, masking it behind a calm façade in order to look tough.
Only to be blindsided later as the information drove home at the worst possible moment. A stray comment that suddenly reminded me of what I had suppressed.
The bastard. But I wasn’t about to let him know that he’d been right. Well, he’d have to do a little encouraging to get it out of me…
“Did you tell Nate any of this?” I asked him.
Eae shook his head. “He wouldn’t let me.” I smiled at that. “I have told no one but you.”
I stood to my feet. “Thank you for telling me this.”
He studied me. “What are you going to do about the Seal of Solomon?” he asked.
I smirked at him. “This wasn’t an exchange, Angel. You’ll just have to wait and find out like everyone else.”
Eae pinned me with a thoughtful look, as if expecting my resolve to shatter.
But that wasn’t going to happen. He finally shook his head, as if unsure what to make of this strange, twisted creature before him. After all, I was an abomination.
The spawn of an oath-breaking Nephilim giving up his duty for some dark-magic poontang.
He opened his mouth to press one last time, but froze, eyes shooting past me in the direction Nate had gone. Then he let out an annoyed growl. “It seems we are needed outside… Go on ahead. It’s probably best if I don’t appear first. People tend to be… frightened when I walk into a room.”
I climbed to my feet, frowning at the direction Nate had walked. I thought I could hear shouting, but it was faint, and sounded more like an argument than an attack.
This couldn’t be good.
Chapter 49
I found Nate holding a young, brown-haired woman by the throat in what looked like a cheap, but once clean, office space. I met her startled eyes for a moment, but didn’t speak, choosing to leave her hanging, so to speak. I studied the room casually. Blackened char and broken glass marked the floor in places, and part of the cheap carpet smoldered in the corner near an upturned desk. I sensed a familiar earthy smell to the air, but couldn’t tell if it was from outside through one of the broken windows behind Nate, or…
Gee, maybe it was the remnants of the potions that had been thrown around the room.
I had only caught brief glimpses of the woman up until now, but I’d seen enough to recognize her. The only question was, how had she found me? And where were her trackers? Claire, Paradise and Lost had been told to keep an eye out for her during my duel, because I knew she had to have heard about me offering to give up the Seal of Solomon.
Since she had stolen it in the first place.
Knowing Dorian Gray so well, I had specifically chosen him as my mouthpiece to announce my challenge for a duel against Commander Olin Fuentes – where the winner would receive a unique ring. And I had banked on Dorian blabbing his mouth. Especially to the Hellfire Club. Because Dorian loved to be the center of attention and would do anything for an upraised thumb – online or otherwise. Heh.
My plan had worked. So far.
But I hadn’t expected her to find me first. I continued to ignore her, noticing a monster standing in the corner of the room. Grimm, Nate’s Unicorn, did not look happy. Fog puffed from his nostrils as he stared at the witch. He was as black as midnight and sported a mane of long, almost peacock-like feathers – also black, but with red orbs at the tips rather than the peacock’s usual turquoise color. The feathers trailed down his back and into his tail.
A long, barbed horn coated with thorny protrusions extended from his forehead, and his eyes flickered with fire, sometimes orange, sometimes silver, sometimes white. His silver hooves glinted in the remaining fluorescent lighting of the office, because some of them had been knocked from the ceiling during Nate’s apprehension of the witch.
Grimm shot me a look out of the corner of his eyes as if to say I had nothing to do with this.
I dipped my head at him respectfully, because it was easier to be polite with a unicorn who liked to murder rainbows in his spare time. Much as one would beat up a punching bag – a stress reliever.
I finally turned my attention back to the witch, studying her thoughtfully. In the alley, she’d worn a hood. In the Hellfire Club, she had run away before I could see more than a youngish face and deep brown hair. She was older than me, but only by a few years. Closer to Nate’s age than mine. About my height, dressed casually in jeans and a dark jean jacket, and black flats. Nothing that screamed evil. No wart on her nose. Just a plain, vaguely-pretty, young woman.
Nate finally noticed that the woman he held by the throat was staring over his shoulder at me. He glanced over casually. “Do you know this crazy bitch? She broke through the window while I was napping in the chair over there and started tossing vials around like I had pinched her ass.”
I sighed. “Crazy witch, not bitch. Please put her down. She won’t attack you.” I gave her a stern look. “Will she?” I warned.
She lowered her head with a guilty sigh. “No,” she whispered.
“Something about that pregnant pause makes my detective penis tingle,” Nate said suspiciously. “You know her,” he said, lowering her to the ground, but keeping an eye on her as he took a few cautious steps back.
I nodded stiffly. “Nate, meet Rai… my dad’s current girlfriend.”
Although she looked entirely different, now.
Nate grunted, impressed. “Go, Terry,” he said, openly eyeing the young woman up and down. Her eyes flickered with surprise at my knowledge, but she didn’t bother denying it. “This should be good…” Nate said.
“That’s to be seen,” I said, shrugging my shoulders as I stared at her.
Chapter 50
Nate stepped back from her, folding his arms.
“How did you know?” she asked, sounding both impressed and concerned.
“Your awkward hug after our double-date. You fumbled the handoff. Although I didn’t realize it until the next day,” I admitted.
Nate raised a hand. “I think I need to hear more about this date in order to understand the full extent of the danger.” We both shot him dark looks until he sighed, muttering to himself as he wandered over to Grimm.
“It was nothing,” I said, but Rai chose that same moment to be super helpful by saying, “I never thought I would have the privilege of meeting Cain.”
Nate swore. “Fucking Cain?”
Grimm chuckled, snorting as he stamped a hoof, somehow emitting sparks on the carpet.
I snapped my fingers, cutting Nate off. “Not important, Nate,” I said, clenching my teeth.
He scowled at the world in general before leaning against Grimm, folding his arms. The billionaire pouted against his pet unicorn.
Inwardly, I grinned. So, Nate was jealous, was he?
Rai watched us thoughtfully. “If you knew, why didn’t you hunt me down? Why haven’t your friends hunted me down?” she asked, frowning.
“I didn’t tell anyone.”
The silence was deafening.
“I’m keeping my trust on a short leash these days,” I said, not wanting to go into details. In fact, I currently had about as tight a grip on my thoughts as I had ever consciously maintained. I was mentally exhausted, but it was necessary.
I studied her, frowning thoughtfully. “You’re not a dark witch, are you?”
She glanced at Nate as if seeking the best way to answer. Then she turned back to me, shrugging uncomfortably. “Maybe just a little bit?” she said with a hesitant smile, holding up her thumb and forefinger enough for a few pieces of paper to slide between.
Nate roared with laughter. I shot him a murderous look.
“You’re just a little dark?” I asked, wondering if we were really having this conversation.
S
he sagged her shoulders. “I’m trying to be honest. I’ve done some dark things, yes, but only when I had to. Crossed lines, that sort of thing.”
“Haven’t we all?” Grimm added with another stomp of his hoof.
Rai practically jumped out of her flats, bumping into the door behind her. That sent Nate into another round of giggles. “He can talk!” she gasped, pointing in case we had missed it.
“You should hear my cat,” Nate managed between laughs. Then he patted his unicorn’s mane in a familiar gesture, as one would thank their pet dog when it barked at an intruder. He swore absently, pausing to glance down at his palm – that was now covered in fresh blood. Because the red orbs on Grimm’s feathers actually oozed blood – a weird facet of the feathers. Nate let out a resigned sigh, and resumed petting Grimm, not bothering to wipe it off.
I turned to see Rai staring at the bloody hand in horror, likely assuming that Grimm’s feathers were made of razors or something to cut up his hand so easily. She tensed as Grimm suddenly looked up at her, stared at her territorially for a moment, and then nuzzled his face into Nate’s chest, careful not to impale his rider with his horn.
Technically, Grimm was an Alicorn – a unicorn with wings – but he currently had his wings hidden from view. He could do that, since they were literally made of shadows. I decided it wouldn’t ease Rai’s alarm to share that.
“He has a cat?” Rai asked, sounding as if that had been the most important thing he’d said.
“Who’s the witch now?” Nate muttered back at her, folding his arms. “I’ve got a cat, a unicorn, a magic satchel,” he said, patting the satchel I had given him, “and a long, black staff.”
She blinked at him, and then turned to me with a frown, hoping for a more serious response than the juvenile delinquent stroking his bloody unicorn while trying to out-witch the only real witch in the room. I pointed at his satchel. “Like Mary Poppins,” I explained to Rai, pretending not to notice the resulting dark look on his face.
Angel's Roar: Feathers and Fire Book 4 Page 23