“Thank you.” She squeezed his hand. “Who is he?”
He turned his mesmeric eyes to her. “You know who he is.”
Yes, but that wasn’t what she meant. She didn’t even know why she was so certain there was more, only that there was. “What is the Archangel Zadkiel to you?”
For long moments she didn’t think he was going to answer. And then he let out a measured breath and focused on their joined hands.
“Zad was the first archangel to fall. Centuries before any other of us did. Zad and his beloved”—Gabe hesitated for a second, and a ghostly finger of presentiment trickled along her spine—“were Eleni’s distant ancestors. Eleni was almost the last of Zad’s direct bloodline. He adored her.”
* * *
Gabe
Gabe wound his arm around Aurora and teleported to Anzu, the largest planet in the Seventh System of Fornax, directly into the outer sanctum of Kala’s personal penthouse suite. It wasn’t strictly protocol, and only the fact he was an archangel allowed him to bypass the numerous security measures set up to block a multitude of lesser beings from entering the building. The female guard who gave him a piercing once-over was a high-grade half-blood demon and didn’t appear impressed by his arrival.
“The Primus is expecting me.” He tightened his grip on Aurora’s hand and hoped she’d do as he’d asked and keep her mouth shut. Demons weren’t the most benevolent of species.
“Wait here.” The guard flicked a disinterested glance at Aurora, and her lip curled in clear affront that he’d dared to bring a mere human, uninvited.
That made two of them. He’d had no intention of agreeing to her demands, but then Zad had turned up and he’d committed himself.
As soon as the door shut behind the guard, Aurora let out a ragged breath.
“This is nothing like I was expecting.” Her voice was scarcely above a whisper as he completed his third scan of the room since arriving. “I thought the pirates would live in a dodgy dive somewhere.”
“Under no circumstances refer to Kala as a pirate.” Gods, she’d incinerate Aurora on the spot and only ask questions later. “She’s third-generation pureblood demon and doesn’t let anyone forget it.”
“Oh.” For one misguided second, he thought she was going to leave it at that. No such luck. “I don’t really understand. What’s the connection between the demons and the pirates?”
He swallowed a groan of frustration. He really should have left her at home. But since she was here now, she needed to get a few facts straight.
“When the demons were banished from Earth, many of them ended up in the Fornax Galaxy. Along with a lot of their half-blood descendants—those that survived the initial banishment, that is. But over millennia the chasm between the demons and those they considered unworthy of acknowledging as their descendants widened. Remember I told you they breed indiscriminately? They only claim parentage if the offspring is exceptional. Most of the time demon spawn is left to its own devices.”
If demons, like archangels, were able to procreate only with the one they loved, would they also cherish every child? “The crème of the hierarchy spread throughout this Galaxy, conquering worlds populated by primitive mortals. Their abandoned descendants, for the most part, merged in the mortal populations. But a segment carved out lucrative careers in piracy.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened in comprehension, but before she could ask another inevitable question, the door to Kala’s inner sanctum opened, and the guard beckoned with an autocratic jerk of her head.
Gripping Aurora’s hand, he followed the guard inside. Twilight slanted through the glass wall that gave panoramic views over the impressive sky city, bathing the luxuriously appointed room in a surreal glow. Kala, tall, sleek, and demonically beautiful, stood in front of her desk, arms folded, pale gold wings partially extended. She always confronted him that way. Flaunting their haunting beauty, the cream highlights threading through the gold in a perfect inverse of his own long-lost wings.
“Primus Kala.” He inclined his head in a gesture of greeting, acknowledging her rank.
“Archangel Gabriel.” She glanced at Aurora. “I see the rumors are true. You are ensnared by a human female.” Chilly amusement tinged her words. “How quaint that you felt the need to bring it with you.”
Gabe refused to rise to the bait, despite the fact Kala had deliberately used the one language in the universe that Aurora could understand. He wanted answers from Kala, and he’d get nothing if he pissed her off.
“I’ve heard there’s a tribe based on Anzu who trade in minors from the Andromeda Galaxy. Heard any of those rumors?”
She didn’t rise to his bait, either.
“Those who specialize in minors have no need to raid Andromeda. We have plenty of our own ripe for harvesting in the lesser Sectors.”
Aurora sucked in a shocked breath and her nails dug into his hand. He tightened his grip, a silent warning. She was under his protection, but they were in Kala’s jurisdiction, and if Aurora annoyed the demon it was doubtful Kala would give a shit about protocol.
He hadn’t been giving a shit about it either, lately.
“My intel was clear.” At least, Eblis had been clear that the pirates from Fornax had been discussing a solar system located in Andromeda. His informant who’d named this planet had been virtually incoherent with terror and hadn’t categorically stated anything that made much sense.
Fortunately, Kala was unable to penetrate his mind, just as he was unable to penetrate hers.
“Your intel is faulty.”
“If the Higher Councils in the Andromeda Galaxy discover the trade, they’ll turn Fornax inside out.”
“There is no trade, Gabriel.” Kala rolled her shoulders and her wings expanded by a fraction. “The dickless wonders who rule Andromeda would stand no chance against Fornax. And they know it.”
“Evalyne isn’t an ordinary child, though,” Aurora said.
Fuck, she just couldn’t help herself, could she? Fortunately, Kala took as much notice of her as she would a pet cat stretching.
“If you have any solid evidence, then share it. Otherwise you know what you can do with your intel.”
He wouldn’t give her Eblis’ name, but he could tell her about the pirate leader he’d interrogated. It was a long shot that Kala would know of him, but her connections in this Galaxy were legion.
If there was a tribe specializing in such abductions, he needed Kala on side if he had any hope of hunting them down. No matter how much she despised the people of the Andromeda Galaxy, she wouldn’t go to war over something in which she had no personal involvement.
Unless the order had come from her direct. He wouldn’t put it past her, but his gut feeling was she was as completely in the dark as he was. And beneath that icy exterior she was furious that something of this magnitude might be happening in the Seventh System without her spies having discovered it.
“This child,” Aurora said, not even wincing when he gripped her hand tight in warning, “was taken because she has archangelic blood.”
Fucking great. She’d now blown to hell any hope of Kala’s cooperation. It didn’t matter what tenuous suspicions they had. It had been millennia since any mortal had possessed a trace of archangelic blood, and only then on Earth. Kala would conclude he was wasting her time.
If he didn’t appease the demon right now, she’d likely liquify Aurora’s brain.
“Kala.” He didn’t get the chance to say anything more. She raised one hand in an imperial gesture, her gaze fixed on Aurora’s face.
“The Andromeda minor has archangelic blood?”
At least she hadn’t thrown them from her domain. “It’s one theory we’re considering,” he said.
“Yes.” The conviction in Aurora’s voice rang through the room. “She does.”
“The Nephilim were obliterated in the Great Cleansing.” There was a gleam of malice in Kala’s eyes. Most demons considered the genocide of archangelic offspring was something t
o be celebrated. “They haven’t existed for millennia before my time.” She paused, and her wings undulated in a sensual play of power. And then she gave a deadly smile. “Officially.”
Chapter 29
Gabe
Officially? Shock ricocheted through him.
“What do you know?” he demanded.
Kala shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing has ever been proved. But there’s an underground cult that are obsessed by the notion that Nephilim still survive. Fuck knows why. This cult goes back generations and we’ve never taken much notice of them. They don’t cause us trouble, so we let them wallow in their fantasy world.”
Why the fuck hadn’t he ever heard of this cult?
“If your minor really does possess archangelic blood and they found out”—Kala paused and exchanged a significant glance with the guard who’d accompanied them—“then it’s possible they risked abducting her. And if they have, I’ll personally hang them with their own entrails. No filthy pirate tribe goes behind my back.”
Rage, and a crazy hope that against all the odds Nephilim might have survived the ages, crashed through him. “Not before I’ve interrogated them. We need the girl back.”
* * *
Aurora
After Kala gave orders for the cult leaders to be rounded up, Aurora stood beside Gabe as an ear-numbing silence descended. It didn’t appear to affect either Gabe or the demon, but it screeched along her nerve endings in a never-ending loop.
Kala stood by the windows and regarded the view, although who knew what she was doing in reality? And as for Gabe, he appeared lost in his own world.
Stop fidgeting. Time had a different meaning for immortals. Just because she wasn’t used to standing still for hours was no reason to draw attention to the fact.
Especially when Gabe had been so against bringing her here in the first place.
Through the windows the light shifted, and shadows rose in the spectacular sky city. And finally, after what seemed like eternity, the guard reentered the room.
“Primus. The accused have been located.” Oddly, she spoke in English, just as Kala had. It appeared the demon wanted Aurora to understand exactly what was going on.
Kala gave Gabe a laser sharp glance. “My jurisdiction, Gabriel. Don’t interfere.”
She then gave a brief nod to the guard, who handed Gabe what looked like a glittering earpiece.
“For your pet,” the guard said with a hint of derision.
Gabe’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything as he took the earpiece before handing it to her.
“It’s a translator.”
Awed, she held it between finger and thumb before carefully inserting it into her ear. She had the surreal sensation of delicate tendrils connecting inside her head. If this worked, imagine the difference it could make to the people on Earth.
She highly doubted the demons would ever willingly share their technology, though.
“Bring them in,” Kala told the guard.
Ten warriors, male and female, marched in, herding a motley group of six, and arranged themselves between the prisoners and the doors.
Kala strolled towards the one who appeared to be the leader. He sank to his knees and the others followed. Without a word, she kicked him in the face, and blood spurted from his shattered nose.
Aurora sucked in a shocked breath and glanced at Gabe. He appeared unmoved by the demon’s methods of interrogation and she swallowed, unnerved.
I’m not on Earth, anymore. As Kala had reminded Gabe, this was her jurisdiction.
“Found any Nephilim lately?” Kala tapped her bloodied boot on the floor.
The man babbled in an unintelligible language and Aurora tapped her earpiece. Wasn’t it working?
Kala kicked him again, and Aurora heard the sickening crunch as his cheekbone splintered, and her stomach churned. Somehow, she’d imagined such a technologically advanced race wouldn’t need to resort to this kind of torture to gain information.
“Don’t address me in your barbaric lexicon.”
The man spat blood onto the floor and Aurora glanced away. Clearly, demons didn’t believe in being innocent until proven guilty. And if he’d really kidnapped a small child, then he deserved everything Kala dished out.
She just didn’t want to witness it.
Hypocrite, much?
“Nuh-nuh Nephilim,” the male spluttered between broken teeth and bone. “Leh-legend.” The words were muffled but perfectly understandable, even though she’d never before heard the language.
Kala strolled to the next quivering pirate and gripped the female’s hair, lifting her almost off her knees in the process.
“We can do this the easy way,” she said, sounding deceptively friendly. “Or I can hand you over to the archangel. If he gets inside your mind there won’t be anything left to salvage afterwards.”
All the prisoners turned toward Gabe and terror gleamed in their eyes. A shudder inched along her spine. What kind of reputation did an archangel have to cause such a reaction?
“My Lady Primus,” gasped the captured female. “It’s our life’s work to seek out those descended from the cursed Usurpers of our forebears. To ensure justice for the wrongs against our ancestors. To stand up for—”
“If I wanted your manifesto, I’d read your fucking literature.” Kala pulled a glinting stiletto from her ankle boot and casually drew the tip across the prisoner’s exposed throat. A line of crimson appeared.
Involuntarily, Aurora gripped Gabe’s hand and he squeezed her fingers, probably to reassure her that she was safe. But that wasn’t her main concern right now. Why couldn’t he just slip into their minds and find out what information they had?
Because it’s not his jurisdiction.
The prisoner slapped her hand across her throat, eyes bulging with fear, and blood seeped between her fingers. Kala wiped her blade on the woman’s worn leather tunic.
“Where’s the Andromeda minor?” She released the woman’s hair and examined the tip of her stiletto.
“We don’t have her, Lady Primus.” A third pirate shuffled forward on his knees and held onto the bleeding female. “For seven generations our lineages have searched for a Nephilim descendant. But it was never our intention to keep the creature. We searched by order of another.”
“Another?” Kala’s blade came within an inch of the male’s left eye. “Explain.”
He shuddered but didn’t back off. “The Guardians.”
Gabe, still gripping her hand, was by Kala’s side before Aurora had time to take a horrified breath.
“You gave a child of archangelic descend to the Guardians?” Incandescent fury burned each word. “You fucking piece of—”
Kala held up her hand. Incredibly, Gabe shut up. Aurora unclenched her free hand, her chest tight, and it hurt to breathe. How could anyone hand over a child to those terrifying creatures?
“Let me get this straight.” Kala sounded perfectly reasonable, but her eyes glowed crimson. “For seven generations your cult has been spewing the word of retribution for our demonic Fall from Grace. Right?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “But all the time it was a cover while you searched on behalf of the Guardians?”
“No. We’ve always believed in our Word. But the blood search, yes, Lady Primus. That was for the Guardians.”
Kala turned to Gabe.
“They’re yours,” she said. “Destroy them now or take them back to Andromeda. I’ll issue a hunt. Not one of their followers will remain alive in any of my Sectors. You have my word. Ensure it’s conveyed to the Andromeda Higher Councils.”
Gabe released her hand. He didn’t say a word, but the male who had just spoken collapsed onto his back, writhing in agony and clutching his head. Foam bubbled from between his clenched teeth, and blood trickled from his eyes and ears.
She backed off, arms wrapped around her stomach. The other prisoners appeared frozen, the warriors watched with avid interest, and Kala appeared utterly unmoved by proceedings.
>
And she’d thought his methods of extracting information would be less brutal than Kala’s? More civilized?
He’s not human. He was an archangel, and he was seeking vengeance for the abduction of one of his own.
She couldn’t watch and turned away. Didn’t these pirates deserve all this and more for taking a small, frightened child and handing her over to those monsters?
“I’ll contact the premier of Andromeda,” Gabe said, his voice grim. “Can you keep these prisoners secure in the interim?”
“If I must.” Kala didn’t sound thrilled by the prospect. “There’s not a lot left of their brains for the Higher Councils to interrogate.”
“There’s enough. I made sure of that.”
Aurora released a ragged breath. His methods were ruthless but hadn’t killed them.
A flash of violet split the room in half. She stumbled back as the jagged scar wrenched open and a familiar silvery arm slid through, enlarging the gap.
Her lungs forgot how to work, and her throat closed in terror as its body appeared, its arm extended. Waves of unadulterated loathing smashed into her, and she staggered at the physical impact.
And then the creature began to retreat.
Instinctively, she darted forward, but there was no mistake. The creature recoiled, spitting mental venom, its language a horrific screech across her psyche.
Adrenaline pumped through her, banishing the last remnants of terror. Something had changed. The Guardians could no longer touch her.
“No.” Gabe’s roar thundered around the room, and he gripped her arm and pulled her back. She had less than a second before he teleported her to safety and she tugged free, panting as if she’d just run the four-minute mile in full combat gear.
“They backed off.” She chanced a glance over her shoulder. The rift had vanished. “They could have got me, Gabe, but it’s like they changed their minds at the last moment.”
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