With her own legs giving out from walking all day, she finally fell to her knees and tipped over into a fluffy patch of something green. Her eyes were too heavy to keep open and even the thought of laying on something poisonous wasn’t enough to make her move.
“Are you all right?” Viktor asked as he ran to her side.
“Exhausted,” she muttered, closing her eyes.
He sighed and tossed his pack on the ground. “I guess we will have to make camp here. I was hoping to get further away from the river to avoid any predators drinking from the river, but I can see that you aren’t going to move.”
“I’m done,” she yawned.
She felt the ground beneath her shift slightly indicating that Viktor was sitting down to rest. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to find him leaning against a boulder with his knees up. He was looking at her with a bemused expression.
“Are you ready to tell me why you are on this island and why you tire so easily? I know we have walked for most of the day, but you’ve needed to stop every hour to catch your breath. Are you really that out of shape?” he chuckled.
She rolled onto her back and raised her wrists. “I already told you why I’m here and I’m in better shape that you think. Be mad at these things. They are designed to make the wearer tired and it amplifies pain. In short, they are the reason for my misery,” she said, too tired to lie.
“I’m not sure how they can amplify pain, but I do remember you mentioning that your associate wants you to do something you don’t want to do. I’m not sure what that has to do with this island though. Why bring you here and put you in restraints designed to weaken and hurt you?” he asked.
“He chose this island because it’s remote and no one will find me. Of course, he had no idea that you would show up. Are you going to tell me how you knew I was here when no one else knows my location?”
His lips pressed together into a firm line and he looked up at the sky.
“Fine. Neither one of us is ready to talk and I’m too tired to argue. Can you at least tell me what country I’m in?” she sighed as she tried to get comfortable on the lumpy ground.
He stared at the ground for a moment before he finally threw his hands in the air. “Brazil. You’re in Brazil. This island is within their boundaries. Without the coordinates, no one would be able to find you anyway,” he shrugged.
Hearing that she was still in Brazil, her exhaustion abated and she was suddenly murderous. She popped to her feet and started pacing. “I can’t believe he was stupid enough to stay in Brazil. It’s probably the last place anyone would look for me considering who he is. He would be more likely to bring me to the ends of the earth to hide me. No one will think to look for me here,” she growled.
Viktor was on his feet and pacing with her. “Tell me who captured you and I will make sure he never hurts you again,” he vowed.
Surprised by his sudden interest in protecting her, she turned and shoved his chest. “What the hell is wrong with you? First, you’re tackling me, next you’re wiping away my tears, and now you want to fight my enemy. Who the fuck are you and why aren’t you rescuing me?” she shouted.
His mouth fell open and he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked like he was searching for an answer, but forgot how to speak.
Unwilling to deal with this farce any longer, she twisted around and let her shoulders sag as if she was about to cry. When he came to console her, she kicked out her leg and connected with his bad knee. He grunted and landed awkwardly on his side. She kicked him in the stomach and ran for his pack. She had noticed something interesting when he had pulled out the MREs. He was carrying a pocketknife and revolver. Reaching the pack before he could get up, she grabbed both the pocketknife and the gun. She pushed the knife into her pocket for later and popped open the cylinder of the revolver to make sure it was loaded before snapping it back into place.
Viktor immediately put his hands up when he saw her pointing the gun at him.
“Anjali, don’t shoot me, I can explain,” he pleaded.
“I find it interesting that all you needed was a gun pointed at your head to make you talk,” she sneered.
He fumbled around for the right words for a second before he finally spoke. “I didn’t want to tell you who I was because I didn’t think you would believe me,” he said hesitantly.
“Try me,” she stated.
“I’ve given you my name, but I’ve had so many of them. Viktor is a name I choose to have once I remember my previous lives. I find it comforting to be one person who has lived many lives instead of multiple people who have lived separate lives. Regardless of my name, I have only ever loved one woman, you. I can’t explain why I remember everything or why you have haunted me for centuries, but it’s the truth,” he said, his voice expressing the relief he felt in revealing his secret.
She lowered the gun as the reality of the situation hit her. Viktor was one of her soul mates, just like Calin, Derick, and Liam. It took a moment to process the fact that he remembered her since she couldn’t recall a single moment in his presence before yesterday.
“You said that you weren’t here to rescue me. Why else would you be here if you know who I am?” she said, trying to figure out why he was really here.
He hung his head and shrugged.
She couldn’t breathe when the answer came to her. He was going to deliver her to someone else either as a trade or because he was being forced to.
“Who wants me, Viktor? You came all the way out here to grab me, so someone must really want me. What did they offer you? What did they promise you?” she asked, angry that one of her lovers was willing to sell her off to the highest bidder.
He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. “He offered to take away my memories of you,” he whispered.
She felt like she had been punched in the gut. Not only was he betraying her, he wanted to forget that she ever existed. Even though she couldn’t remember their lives together, she couldn’t understand why he would hate her so much.
“What did I do to you? What was so horrible between us that you want to forget our shared past?” she said as tears blurred her vision. She imagined what it would feel like for Calin or Derick to tell her that they wanted to leave her and forget about everything they had been through. She wanted to believe that her past lives with her soul mates had been happy and filled with love, though she knew from Gabriel that tragedy often befell her and her lover at the time. It seemed that Viktor would rather forget her than remember any of the good times they had. Her heart broke at the thought of being forgotten forever by someone she had loved for centuries. It was silly to mourn a lover she couldn’t remember, yet she was still devastated.
She dropped the gun and backed away from him. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to punch him or leave him to die on the deserted island. Unable to look at him any longer, she ran off into the jungle.
“Anjali, wait!” he yelled.
Tripping through the darkening jungle, Anjali ran as fast as her tired body would go. She didn’t want to stop; otherwise, she would break down into tears. How could someone who had spent centuries as her lover betray her? There were a thousand reasons for him to hate her, but she didn’t want to think about any of them. Love wasn’t perfect, she understood that very well. There were days when her Nachtghuls did something to upset her, though it usually had to do with fighting among themselves or a disagreement about Lucifer.
What would drive someone to go to such lengths to forget about their past? She had always believed that the Bringer of the Apocalypse would be difficult to love, especially after seeing herself through the Council’s eyes. Yet, something terrible must have happened between her and Viktor. Maybe she didn’t want to know why he hated her. It was possible that she had done something horrible to him. If she had killed him with her power as she had Farouk, it would certainly give him cause to despise her.
With her lungs burning and her ankles scraped up from stepping on the sharp rocks and plants in the dim
light, she finally slowed down and tried to breathe. Her heart felt like it had been stabbed and her stomach was in knots. Her mind may not remember Viktor, but her body did. It felt as if a loved one had died and she was left to mourn him.
She threw herself against a tree and slid down until she hit the ground. Tears tumbled down her cheeks and she let out a sob. Haydn wanted to kill her, Viktor wanted to trade her for a clean slate, and she was stuck on an island with both of them. How she longed for a fight with Hades or a false god. At least she could take her anger out on either of them. Both Haydn and Viktor had their reasons for wanting to be rid of her and she was responsible for letting them both down.
She wept and wept for the loss of her angel and a man she must have loved very much based on how much her heart ached until she finally cried herself to sleep.
∞
“There,” Alazar shouted above the wind in his ears, “That looks promising.” He banked left through the night sky toward a large fire consuming a farmhouse.
Tristan nodded and dipped lower to follow him.
Alazar gracefully landed on the fire-scorched ground and pulled his black wings into his back. “Liam, I summon you,” he shouted.
Tristan looked around the area, but waited for Liam to arrive before exploring, not wanting to contaminate any scents. “What the hell happened here?” Tristan muttered.
“I don’t know. Let’s find out,” Alazar smirked.
Liam appeared a moment later and put his hand up to block the bright glow of the flames lighting up the darkness. “Yep. That’s what I smelled in Santa Blanca, except now it’s mixed with burning flesh,” he said in disgust, pointing to a number of bodies still ablaze on the porch.
Shaking his head, Alazar was surprised by the gruesome scene before him. Bodies were sprawled across the area, all the way out to a barn. Whoever had killed these men didn’t have any morals and showed their victims no mercy. Anjali had undoubtedly lit the Hell Fire, but she wasn’t responsible for the carnage. She had more respect for life than whoever caused this massacre.
Alazar watched Liam shift into his wolf form and slowly sniff the dirt to determine who had created each footprint by their scent. Alazar had been impressed by Liam’s investigation in Santa Blanca. It had taken some time, but Liam had picked up Anjali’s scent only to lose her in the middle of an intersection. The trail had been faint and sparse, but Liam’s nose had proven to be a valuable asset. None of them could understand why Anjali’s trail had disappeared until Liam located multiple scents grouped together around Anjali’s on the sidewalk. They assumed she had somehow been jumped in the street and taken somewhere by vehicle. Finding the source of the Hell Fire wafting through the town had been their next logical step.
Shifting back to two legs, Liam jogged over to Alazar. “I recognize the scents of the guys who grabbed Anjali, but there are a lot more that I don’t recognize. They must have worked here in the compound. The ones in the black uniforms weren’t in the city, so they must have joined the party later. I have no idea what was going on here, but the military guys are seriously armed,” Liam said pointing to an MP5 on the ground. “The weird part is how they died. Obviously, they didn’t die from the Hell Fire. A bunch of them were shot or stabbed, but a couple of them were eaten.” The look on his face conveyed his disgust.
Alazar’s head snapped up. “Eaten?” he asked, confused by the word.
Tristan stepped forward to examine the mortal that Liam was pointing to who resembled a Shade. He glanced at the body and quickly stepped back with his eyebrows lodged in his hairline. “Something definitely ate most of that one,” he said, disturbed by what he saw.
Rubbing his hand across his face, Alazar tapped his foot. “Death by teeth is a terrible way to die, though I feel no pity for them if they brought Anjali here to hurt her,” he remarked.
Liam shook his head. “They aren’t teeth marks. It looks like birds pecked them to death. It could have been vultures taking advantage of the injured men, or some other bird of prey, but I think most birds wait until something is dead to eat it.”
Tristan’s eyes met Alazar’s and conveyed the same shock he felt. Both of them turned in unison to scan the dark sky and the fields opposite the farmhouse.
“Do you think Celaeno is still here?” Tristan gulped.
“I’m hoping she’s dead, but my luck hasn’t been that good in a long while,” Alazar replied as he summoned his favorite dagger to his hand.
Tristan daringly walked out into the darkness to explore what looked like grazing fields that hadn’t been tended to in years. By Alazar’s estimation, the farm hadn’t been in working condition for a long time. It must have been taken over by the men at some point. He wanted to know the purpose of the compound but was afraid to learn too much about it. If these men had harmed his master, he would find their souls in Hell and torture them for answers.
“I found something,” Liam shouted. “There’s a throwing knife with Anjali’s blood on it and there’s a few drops of blood next to it. Someone either stabbed her or threw the knife at her.” He carefully picked up the knife by the end and held it to his nose.
Alazar glanced over his shoulder to watch Liam examine the knife. “I doubt you’ll know who it is. Half of these guys have throwing knives. One of them must have gotten in a lucky shot. I’m betting it was one of the guys that was set on fire,” he smirked. His was proud of his master for fighting back. These men tangled with the wrong woman and lived long enough to see the full wrath of the Destroyer.
He whipped his head around and surveyed the damage more closely. Why had Anjali only used Hell Fire to defend herself? His master’s temper was a tangible force when provoked. If they had snatched her from the street and abused her in any way, her power would have leveled the place. Why were the buildings still standing? Why had so many men died from mortal weapons instead of being electrocuted or torn apart by tornados? She had restrained herself for some reason.
“She came here willingly,” Alazar shouted to Tristan, who was halfway across the field.
Tristan turned around to ponder his statement. “How do you know that?”
Alazar raised his arms and motioned to the entire area. “No tornados, flooding, or wind damage. You haven’t spent much time with Anjali, but when she’s pissed, the entire town knows it. She must have allowed herself to be brought here, but I have no idea why.”
Liam approached him with the knife still in his hand. “The barn door is chained up, and I can’t hear any heartbeats inside. I smell blood, but there’s also a strong feminine scent coming from inside. I overheard a few people in town talking about how upset they were that some of their women were disappearing. If Anjali figured out that the women were being kept here, she could have come to help them. It would explain why she kept her rage under control. If there were hostages, she would have tried to keep them safe,” Liam said logically.
Letting out a long breath, Alazar tried to figure out how the Harpy played into all of this. “We agree that Celaeno was here at some point. Nothing else could consume this many men in such a short time. I have no idea if she was in the area and took advantage of the situation or if she is somehow connected to all of this, but we have to find Celaeno. It’s doubtful that Celaeno just happened to be in the same place as the Destroyer given her primary object of killing Anjali. I suggest we split up. You and Tristan will continue to search for Anjali. I’ll stay behind to see if Celaeno is using this place as her base of operations. Hopefully, I can kill Celaeno quickly and rejoin the two of you,” Alazar said, formulating his plan. He looked down at the bloody knife in Liam’s hand and suppressed the urge to punch something. “Any ideas about the knife?”
Liam scowled pensively at the sharp metal object in his hand. “Sort of, but you’ll think I’m crazy for suggesting it,” he said rubbing his chin.
Alazar shrugged. “Go on, just say it. We’re short on time.”
Biting his lip, Liam held up the knife to show Alazar. “It wasn’
t a mortal who threw this. To me it smells like an angel, either Rogue, Forgotten, or perhaps a Predznak,” he said hesitantly.
Alazar chuckled at the outrageous accusation. “You were right. I think you’re crazy. How could you possibly know that?”
Liam squirmed slightly under his scrutiny. Alazar was beginning to think he had brought the wrong Nachtghul on their trip. Depending on the next words out of Liam’s mouth, he would either kiss his cheek or summon Calin to take his place.
Twisting the knife this way and that, Liam searched for the words to explain his wild theory. “When the Celestial Warriors showed up in New York, I immediately smelled something strange. I couldn’t identify it right away, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. They smelled like fresh rain mixed with honeysuckles and primrose. One of them even had the scent of lilies clinging to his clothing, which I hate by the way. Men don’t smell like that even when wearing the most expensive colognes. The scent of the Heavenly Angels is what I imagine Heaven to smell like, which makes sense since they spend most of their time there. Fallen Angels, on the contrary, smell like cinder because they work in Hell, just like you and Tristan, though right now you smell more like fish water,” he said, wriggling his nose. “The scent on this knife doesn’t smell like rain or cinder, but there is another scent that’s just as strong—one that all the angels share, once you get past the other smells….warm sunlight. Ask me to explain what sunlight smells like and I can’t, I only know it when I smell it. The handle of this blade smells like warm sunlight, but it also smells like seawater. This angel doesn’t live in Heaven or Hell.” He winked as he handed over the blade.
Alazar stared at the werewolf in disbelief. Everything he said about the honeysuckles and primrose was true. The Heavenly Gardens were filled with them. Even the lilies made sense. God kept ponds of lilies in his Dome where he held court. He smiled when he remembered how fragrant and inviting Heaven smelled, making him long for the scent of warm sunlight. He almost teared up when the image of home permeated his mind.
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