"I can smell her," Genevieve said quietly from somewhere behind her.
"Me too."
"Is she close?" Derek asked. He had one hand on the wall guiding himself. She'd almost forgotten he wouldn't be able to see in the dark down here.
"Sort of. We're headed in the right direction, but she's still a good distance away." She picked up her pace, wanting to get to the bottom before the others, just in case.
The stairs led down into a what looked like an old wine cellar. Old, wooden racks rotted with age stood empty on either side of the room like sentries. Cobwebs draped over the aged wood. Even those seemed to be covered in dust. The floor was carpeted in a layer of grime that had been recently disturbed. A trail led through the center of the room to a door. It was propped open with a chunk of wood.
A strange smell drifted from the doorway. There was a hint of decay, but also of magic, and something else. Blood.
"Do you smell that?" Genevieve asked nervously.
Amber lifted her hand and motioned for the others to stop. "Yes, be careful. Derek, did you bring a flashlight? You need to be able to see now."
There was a click and light flooded the room as he pulled his headlight onto his head. He swung the shotgun up to his shoulder and aimed it at the door. Leave it to her brother to be prepared even in a crisis.
The smell grew stronger and there was a strange clicking noise, like claws on stone. Pale fingers wrapped around the door. They weren't human, exactly. The claws of a wolf extended from bony, human fingers. Fur grew in mangy patches on the knuckles, extending up to the wrist.
With a groan, the door was pushed open, and a horrible sight met Amber's eyes. She recognized this creature, or at least who he used to be. It was her maker. Peter.
His eyes were all white and his sallow flesh was spotted with rotten, black holes. He was hunched over like he had been caught mid-shift. Teeth too big for his mouth dug into his gray lips. He wasn't breathing. His heart wasn't beating.
The door swung all the way open, rattling as it hit the wall. Peter stepped into the room, stretching up to his full height, and howled.
Chapter 65
GENEVIEVE
Genevieve's heart skipped a beat as the howl echoed around them, signaling their presence here. This thing wasn't alive but it was walking and howling. Using magic for something like this was sick.
"Peter," Amber said, her voice shifting into a growl.
"Who is Peter?" Derek demanded.
"The wolf that bit us and changed us against our will. He used to work for Lockhart." Amber was shaking with anger. She could feel it pulsing through the pack bond, filling her with strength.
"I bought silver bullets after the issue with those golem monsters," Derek said, keeping his shotgun pointed at Peter. "Will they help?"
"I hope so." Amber took a step back and glanced at her. "Don't let him get near Derek."
"No shit." She hoped Shane would get down here soon. He had to have heard the howl.
"I don't have time for this. I need to get to Ceri," Amber said in frustration.
"I'll try to distract him so you can get past," Genevieve said, pulling her shirt off over her head. She was faster as a wolf, and she had a feeling she'd need all the speed she could get.
Peter cocked his head at them and curled his lips up into a twisted version of a smile. His muscles twitched slightly, then he exploded into motion. Amber ducked under the first swipe of his claws without shifting.
Genevieve launched herself toward him, shifting mid-air and ripping her pants to pieces. She caught his arm in her jaws and yanked him away from her alpha. A gunshot blasted through the room and the bullet hit Peter with a dull thunk, punching a hole straight through his chest. Viscous blood seeped from the wound but he didn't even flinch.
Peter slashed at her with his other arm and she ducked under it, scampering back a few steps. The gunshot hadn't slowed him down at all. If anything, he was getting faster.
Amber raced for the door. Peter tried to follow but Genevieve grabbed his ankle and bit down hard enough to crack the bone.
There was a loud smack and a grunt. Amber flew back from the door just as she tried to cross the threshold. She hit the floor and slid toward the stairs, stunned. A woman with red hair that looked like it had been hacked off with an axe stepped out. Her lips were sewn shut and her eyes had been cut out, leaving bloody holes in her face. Like Peter, her body wasn't right. Magical symbols had been carved into her bare arms and magic drifted up from them like black smoke.
The woman shambled toward Amber, who shifted, her clothes tearing away. Shane finally appeared at the bottom of the stairs, already in wolf form. He was snowy white and his eyes glowed bright yellow. With a growl, he launched himself over Amber and collided with the zombie. She grabbed him by the ruff of his neck and threw him to the side.
Genevieve danced in and out of reach as Peter slashed at her with his clawed hands. Her ears rang painfully as another shot echoed through the small room. It hit Peter in the leg this time, almost severing the limb. She watched in horror as the wound began mending immediately. The hole in his chest was almost filled in as well. The silver wasn't having any effect on him at all.
A scream split the air, coming from the direction of the door. Genevieve's heart clenched in her chest. Ceri.
"CERI!" Derek yelled, desperation clear in his voice. He tried to run for the door, but the zombie woman caught him with a kick, crumpling him. He rolled onto his back on the floor and swung his gun toward her, pulling the trigger. The blast hit her straight in the face, blowing out the back of her head and reducing her features to bloody gore. She faltered, legs wobbling underneath her.
Peter turned toward the sound of gunfire, distracted for a split second. Genevieve jumped and bit down on the back of his neck. His spine cracked between her jaws. She dug her claws into his back and ripped her head from side to side viciously, trying to tear his head off.
His hands grasped at her fur and ears. Sharp claws cut into her skin, but she didn't let go. They were hurting Ceri. They had to get to her now.
Chapter 66
CERI
The blast of gunfire shocked Ceri awake. A wave of pain hit her as her muscles protested the sudden movement. The light overhead made her head ache.
"They shouldn't be here yet," an unfamiliar male voice said, sounding very annoyed.
"I told you they might arrive early. It doesn't matter," another responded. This voice was familiar and unmistakable. It was the sorcerer. "They won't make it back here before we are ready considering the welcoming committee I left for them."
The sounds of fighting drifting down the hallway were faint. She craned her head trying to see the two men but they remained just out of sight. The other man was likely Zachariah Hudson, the half angel they'd seen on the news. She still didn't understand why he would be working with a sorcerer, even to kill a demon. Half angels tended to be somewhat rigid about black magic use.
"Ah, our sacrifice is awake." The sorcerer drew closer. His aura was oppressive, as though a black cloud of magic followed him wherever he went.
He came into view and grinned at her, revealing yellow teeth and a scarred face. The freshest of the scars was on his cheek and looked like he'd stitched the wound closed himself. As she stared into the face of evil, despair grew in her chest. Her pack had walked into his trap with her as bait.
"Ceridwen, you don't look pleased to see me," he cooed, stroking her cheek.
"Is anyone ever pleased to see you?" Her voice cracked as she forced the words out of her bone-dry throat. She'd almost lost her voice from screaming before she'd passed out.
He cackled, then backhanded her so hard she lost consciousness again for a moment. "This might be even more satisfying than my other kills. I was supposed to get Donovan after he failed to deliver me the alpha I paid him for, but Selena got to him first." He grabbed her cheeks. "Now that is an interesting woman. She's everything you could have been. It's almost sad to see your p
otential wasted, but your magic will only make my spells that much more powerful. Already your pain has provided enough to––"
"Will you shut up," Zachariah hissed. "You talk too much."
The sorcerer sneered at the other man, anger contorting his features. "Talk to me like that again and you'll regret it."
"I'm paying you to do a job, not fuck around with this bitch." He sighed, beginning to pace the room. Even in the midst of all this filth, the half angel was still beautiful. The darkness didn’t seem to touch him. "Can't you just kill her already so we can get on with this?"
Panic curled in Ceri’s gut. She didn’t want to die here like this, her magic warped and used for evil.
“I’ll kill her when I am ready.”
Zachariah huffed in annoyance. “I’m going back upstairs. This better be done when I get back.”
They kept sniping back and forth at each other, arguing about the timing of their plans.
Ceri looked around for Selena as she tested how tightly her arms were bound. Her earlier magic use had weakened them, but it would take another two or three attempts to break free considering how weak she was now. An offensive attack against the sorcerer was out of the question too. All she'd manage would be to piss him off. Selena’s absence gave her a little hope though. Maybe she had a chance if it was just him.
A gentle breeze brushed up against her hair and she jerked her head around but no one was there. Frowning, she looked around carefully. It happened again, tickling her foot and she felt a gentle touch against her mind.
The room drifted away and the pain lifted from her mind like a fog clearing. It remained dark, but it felt different. This was just the absence of light rather than the stifling feeling that came with black magic.
Ceridwen, the voice whispered.
Can you help me?
There was a sense of uncertainty followed by determination. I will try.
Pain jerked her back into the room and she couldn't hold back the scream that wrenched itself out of her throat. A knife was buried up to the hilt in her leg and the sorcerer looked furious.
"That's not going to work again," he sneered.
Selena walked into the room just then. “I see you’re getting started without me.”
Chapter 67
TOMMY
They landed silently a few feet away from the ruins of the old stone house. Tommy was grateful to have his feet on solid ground again. Despite the awesome views of the city, he never wanted to do that again.
Evangeline took a deep breath and her hair faded back to blonde as the horns simply disappeared. The fiery wings drifted into ash that she brushed off her shoulders. "Do you know where they are?"
He shook his head. "I can tell they're close, but I don't know exactly where they are. I think they must be underground though. If they weren't we'd be able to see them."
They walked quietly toward the stone house. He kept his ears peeled for any hint of movement as he sniffed the air, hoping to pick up their scents. As the wind shifted, he thought he could smell Amber but he couldn't tell exactly which direction it was coming from. She must have walked all around this area.
A few broken beer bottles were strewn around on this side of the house. This was probably the favorite spot for the local kids to come drink, smoke, and get laid. He stepped over the glass and walked around to the other side of the house. A doorway stood empty, the door having rotted away long ago.
The ground looked slightly disturbed here and there was the slightest hint of someone unfamiliar lingering on the stone wall, as though they had brushed against it as they walked through the opening. He stepped over the threshold and looked around. The roof was missing so the room was lit by the afternoon sunlight that made it through the thick clouds overhead.
"Do you see anything?" Evangeline asked in a whisper.
He shook his head. "I smelled something though. Maybe the entrance is hidden."
Slowly, they paced the inner perimeter of the room, pressing on random stones and scuffing up the dirt on the stone floor to check for seams. Just as he was about to give up and look elsewhere, he heard a scraping noise and jerked around, motioning for Evangeline to be quiet.
The wall swung open, revealing a hidden door, and Zachariah stopped in his tracks, looking as surprised to see them as they were to see him.
"You bastard!" Evangeline shouted, flames bursting to life around her as she drew on the demonic power that coursed through her. Her hair turned black and the horns returned as her fiery wings flared behind her. The mark on his chest twitched and he felt the magic moving under his skin as if she were drawing strength from him.
Flames streaked from her hands. They crashed into Zachariah like waves breaking against the shore, rolling over and around him without harming him.
He sneered at her. "Your disgusting magic cannot touch me, demon."
"I bet my teeth can." Tommy shifted and charged the pretentious asshole that had tried to ruin all their lives out of blind hatred. Zachariah's eyes widened in fear as he frantically scrambled backward, hands grasping at thin air.
Just as he was about to collide with Zachariah, a flash of light blinded him. He hit something solid and searingly cold that threw him back with a wave of magic.
Shaking off the blow, Tommy looked up to see the half angel now held a shield that seemed to be made of pure magic and a strange sword that crackled with energy.
Zachariah shifted his feet into a fighting stance and turned his cold eyes to Evangeline. "I'll probably get a commendation for killing you myself."
"I'm going to rip you apart for hurting my mother."
A malicious grin spread across his face. "Your adoptive mother is nothing more than collateral damage. Killing your actual mother was a pleasure though."
Evangeline shrieked with rage as she launched herself at him, her wings propelling her up above the walls into the space the roof should be before angling down. Tommy forced himself back to his feet and raced toward the half angel as well. Zachariah moved his left foot back and held his shield up at an angle, his sword concealed behind it. He was going to skewer her.
Howling in warning, Tommy leapt as she sped down at him. His teeth closed around Zachariah's arm, wrenching the sword to the side just in time. Evangeline collided with him and they went down in a tangle of limbs.
Zachariah threw her back with a well-placed kick, then struck him with the shield. The magic flared painfully against his skin and knocked him off Zachariah’s arm. He skittered back just far enough to avoid a swipe of the sword, but his skin went numb from the close proximity to the insanely cold magic.
He couldn't let it hit him or he wouldn't be able to walk. Flattening his ears against his head, he growled at Zachariah. The wolf was furious but also exhilarated by this opponent.
Flames rushed toward Zachariah again, but just like before, they washed over him ineffectively. If they were going to stop this guy, Tommy was going to have to do it himself. The half angel looked away for a split second and Tommy darted in, running behind Zachariah out of range of that sword. He nipped at his heels, his teeth tearing at the back of his ankle and drawing blood.
Zachariah shouted in pain and jerked around, swinging wildly in an attempt to hit him. The first two strikes missed, but the third came worryingly close as Tommy found himself backed into a corner. Tommy could smell the blood seeping into the fabric of his pants. He’d wounded him more than he’d realized.
Bunching his legs underneath him, he prepared to charge straight in, sword be damned. But then the air around them twitched and his legs faltered underneath him as gravity suddenly doubled. All three of them were knocked to the ground.
Zachariah looked up, straining against the overwhelming pressure, with a satisfied grin. "You're too late."
As abruptly as it had started, the pressure vanished. Zachariah jumped to his feet and ran. Evangeline turned to follow and he ran after her, but only made it two steps.
The ground split wide open right unde
rneath Tommy's feet. Evangeline screamed but she was too far away to stop him from falling. A terrible feeling washed over him, stealing his strength. The wolf went silent in his head and he felt suddenly very empty. A shout tore from his throat as he fell into the gaping chasm.
Chapter 68
EVANGELINE
Evangeline watched Tommy fall in horror. A massive shockwave of magic lifted her from her feet and threw her back. She caught herself with her wings and shot up above the destruction. A chasm three feet wide and twenty feet long had rent the earth open.
As she drew closer to it, she felt the wrongness of it. It was the exact same feeling she'd noticed when she'd secretly visited the no magic zone near her school. She couldn't enter it even if she wanted to. She'd tried that day, but it had repelled her like a physical barrier.
Gritting her teeth together, she pounded her fists against the invisible wall. Tommy wasn't dead, but he was probably hurt, and there was no telling what effect it was having on him. Furious, she turned around, searching the forest for the angel. Tommy had taken the mark so that they could stop Zachariah and the sorcerer. She couldn't let him escape.
He still had his shield and sword which lit him up like a beacon even in the daylight. She dropped to the ground just outside of the house and grabbed a stone about the size of a softball. Her magic may not be able to touch him, but as Tommy had proved, he wasn’t invincible. It was time to see if she still remembered how to throw that fastball that had been her signature when she'd played softball in junior high school.
She launched herself back up into the air and flew toward him as fast as she could. Her speed surprised her, she barely remembered fleeing with her mother, just racing against the sunrise. She didn't have to worry about the sun now.
Misfit Angel Page 26