Angel of Distrust

by Tabitha Barret

  “Haydn, this your last warning!” she yelled. Perhaps she was wrong about Haydn using his power instead of his weapons. It occurred to her that he looked more like Vadim, the Overseer of the Hall of Mercy, their most skilled torturer, when trying to get the truth from a prisoner other than a Predznak.

  Haydn ignored her and moved closer to Viktor. “Tell me, Viktor, why are you here? What truths are you hiding from Anjali? You have gained her trust through small acts of kindness to win her over, but it is meaningless. You want something from her and you are working very hard to gain her approval so you can get what you want. What do you want from her? Do you crave her power? Do you want her to kill someone for you? Why do you need her to believe in you?” Haydn asked. His face was filled with anticipation as his hand closed in on his knives.

  “You don’t have to answer him, Viktor,” Anjali said. She tapped her foot, annoyed that Haydn was making assumptions. “I see that you have forgotten how to tempt a mortal, Haydn,” she growled. This was the main reason for Haydn’s confused mind. He had stopped being an Angel of Temptation.

  Haydn looked at her from the corner of his eye. “I remember all too well,” he smirked. He pulled one of his knives from his holster and threw it at Viktor’s shoulder. Viktor tried to dodge the knife, but it grazed his arm. Viktor grunted and grabbed the wound to put pressure on it.

  “No!” she shouted. She wanted to check on Viktor, but first she needed to stop Haydn. She stepped in front of Haydn to block his view of Viktor, and held out her hands. “What is the matter with you? Even with the bonds on, I can tell that you aren’t using your power. Viktor should be sweating and shaking from the strain of the temptation on his soul, instead, he looks more worried about being stabbed. I’ve seen the others tempt, and this is not how it’s done. What happened to you, Haydn? Why have you failed me?” she asked, disappointed in him. Her frustration, exhaustion, and powerlessness merged until she was furious at her angel. She stood her ground so that he would understand that she would not back down. She was his master and it was time that he acknowledged that.

  Haydn chuckled darkly. “How could I fail you when you haven’t asked me to do anything? You haven’t been around long enough to be disappointed. Trust me; I remember how to do my job. I’ll show you how it’s done,” he said sinisterly. He looked around her to focus on Viktor again. “Did you tell her that you were here to rescue her? Did you tell her how you found her, because I’m sure what you said was a lie? No one else knows she’s here, so you must have crossed paths with her by accident, or you had some other means of finding her. What lie did you tell her to gain her trust? If you had told her the truth, she would have killed you by now. She’s more resourceful than you think. Better yet, why are you not afraid of her? How is it that you can stand next to the most feared creature the world has ever known and yet you look at her as if she is precious to you? Did you lie to her and tell her that you loved her? You certainly aren’t here because you love her. You couldn’t possibly love the Destroyer,” Haydn proclaimed.

  Anjali was upset with Haydn for making assumptions instead of looking inside Viktor’s heart for a way to tempt him, thought she was relieved that he wasn’t capable of tempting him. On top of that, she was hurt by his accusation that no one could ever love her. She had yet another reason to punch him.

  “I’ve seen enough, Haydn. I’m not impressed by your temptation. You claim to be doing your job, but you aren’t. You’re doing the job that was forced upon you. You only remember what you learned to do in my absence. Viktor isn’t a prisoner and you aren’t in charge of interrogating him to learn the truth,” she said, trying to get through to him. “I already know why Viktor is here. I got the truth out of him by holding a gun to his head and I did it a lot faster than you did. Look at him, Haydn. He’s unfazed by your temptation. If he were truly under your power, he would be ready to kill me because he didn’t trust me. Instead, you are interrogating him so that I will learn the truth and not trust him. You have things backwards.” She shook her head at how lost Haydn was that he actually believed this was a temptation.

  Haydn ignored her words and continued to stare at Viktor.

  Viktor edged closer to her. “Anjali, I don’t think you’re going to win this test of wills. I’ll tell him whatever he wants if he will leave you alone.”

  “No, Viktor, if he actually uses his power to tempt you, you’ll never be the same. You’ll always doubt yourself or doubt others. That is what he’s supposed to do. He is meant to turn you against everyone you know and love until you are completely alone,” she said over her shoulder.

  Viktor sighed. “I’m already alone, Anjali. I have no one else,” he replied. “He can’t do anything to me.”

  Anjali doubted that were true, but she didn’t want to put Viktor to the test. She was sad to hear that Viktor had no one in his life to care for him, but it was for the best in the event that she couldn’t get Haydn under control.

  Closing her eyes, she needed to break through his madness without her power. He was angry and hurt because she hadn’t been there for him. He felt abandoned, which she understood, but there was more to his anger. He wanted to save the other Predznak, even though he hated most of them. Why? Why would he want to save them? That’s when it dawned on her. She understood the reason for his confusion.

  “Haydn, tell me why I should release the Predznak, and don’t tell it’s because you owe them or you are generous enough to want them to be happy,” she demanded.

  He huffed and appeared annoyed that she was interrupting him.

  Taking a bold step forward, she stared into his eyes. “You want me to free the Predznak so that you aren’t alone anymore. You don’t trust me, I get that, but when push comes to shove, you trust the other Predznak because they are your family. Your power is keeping you apart from them because you believe they are conspiring against you, yet on some level, you know the truth. You want them on your side to stand against me. You want them to be free to make their own decisions so that I won’t command them to hurt you. Isn’t that right? You miss them and you feel that if they are under my control, you will never have your friends back,” she said softly.

  Haydn was still focused on Viktor, but the muscle in his jaw clenched, which meant he was listening to her.

  “Anjali, step away from him,” Viktor warned.

  She ignored Viktor and took another small step forward. “You know I’m right, which is why you can’t refute what I’m saying. You don’t have to admit it, but I know that we are in agreement,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. He looked down and frowned at her hand, but didn’t pull away. Happy that she was making progress, she continued. “Please, tell me why you stopped tempting the mortals. Tell my why you gave up on being a Predznak. Was your power too much to control, like Tristan’s or was there another reason? Did you enjoy it too much, like Alazar? Tell me the truth. Why aren’t you fulfilling your duties?” she asked softly, trying to coax the answer out of him. Threats and commands were lost on him because he didn’t want to accept her as his master, so she hoped that kindness and compassion would win him over.

  Haydn’s eyes shifted to hers and his hands trembled. “No. I won’t relive it again,” he said shakily.

  Taking a breath, she locked her knees and stared at him. “I know it’s painful to relive the past, Haydn, but you need to tell me what happened,” she said encouragingly.

  He looked down at her for a moment, as he contemplated the answer. He finally nodded slightly and looked off into the jungle. “She died because I did my job. An innocent woman died as I watched the village burn,” he said, his voice nearly giving out.

  “What happened? Who was this woman? Go on,” she asked, relieved to hear him open up.

  “I was in a small fishing village near Shanghai in the 15th century. I found a young woman named Lu Zhi sitting near the river. She had a beautiful smile and I couldn’t help but speak with her. She told me all about her family that she loved dearly. She fished s
o that she could earn money to help them. She mentioned a betrothal that she wasn’t happy about so I asked her what was wrong with him. Her betrothed lived far away from the river and planned to take her to his home. She didn’t want to leave her family but her betrothed offered to help them financially. I listened to her story and consoled her. I’m not sure why I felt bad for her since I rarely interacted with the mortals during that time, but something about her kind heart struck a chord with me. I hated doing it but I tempted her, just as I was supposed to. Thankfully, she resisted my temptation and went back home that afternoon with a clear conscience. Two days later, I returned to her village, unable to get her out of my mind. It had been a long time since I had found someone as gentle and sweet as her. For a week straight, we sat by the river and talked about whatever came to mind. On the last day, I arrived to find that Lu Zhi had been taken during the night by pirates. The area was known to have issues with rebellions and rival factions of religious sects. Pirates often preyed on the instability of the land. I should have walked away and let it be because bad things happen to mortals all the time, but I was mad that she had been taken.

  “I tempted the entire village to turn on one another because they failed to protect her and showed no interest in rescuing her. There was such bedlam that the fires raged for over a week. To my surprise, Lu Zhi returned to the village, having been saved by her betrothed and his men. When the villagers saw that she was still alive, they were enraged. They blamed her for the destruction of her village, unable to accept that they had caused their own destruction because they hadn’t fought to save her and had allowed their guilt and anger to create rifts in their friendships and loyalties to one another. They grabbed her, threw her into the fire and killed her betrothed and his men. She never came out of the fire. Because I did my job and tempted the village to blame each other and doubt one another, they no longer trusted the very woman they should have protected. The innocent woman who was so pure of heart, that she had resisted my temptation, died because I did my job,” he said as tears rolled down his face.

  Anjali covered her mouth, horrified by the tragic tale. She felt bad for Haydn and understood his guilt, even though it wasn’t his fault. “Many innocents will die when I end the world, Haydn. Take solace that they will go to Heaven, just as Lu Zhi did. I’m sorry that she died, Haydn, but that is why we were created. You said that the area was known for rebellions and pirates. It wasn’t a safe haven to begin with. It’s possible that Lu Zhi would have lived a happy life, but there are no guarantees that would have happened. The villagers failed to resist your temptation, just as they failed to protect that woman. They are to blame for their demise and for the death of Lu Zhi, not you,” she said sympathetically.

  Haydn hung his head and wept silently for his friend. “I couldn’t bring myself to tempt anyone else after that. I failed because I didn’t know how to carry on. I had distanced myself from the other Predznak and you were gone. I shut down because I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want any more innocent people to die because of me,” he sniffled.

  “We’ve all made mistakes, Haydn. It’s time to put things right,” she said. She patted his cheek and wiped away his tears with her thumb.

  He looked at her with a mix of sorrow and confusion.

  “It’s going to be okay, Haydn. I promise that I will make amends if you give me a chance. I will help you find a way to deal with the past so that you can sort out the future,” she smiled.

  Bewildered, he nodded and shrugged.

  Anjali turned to let Viktor know that he was safe when she saw him flinch and fall to the ground. She ran to him and found a cut on the side of his neck, but she couldn’t find a reason for it.

  “Are you okay?” she asked as she searched the rest of his body for signs of trauma. The cut on his shoulder was minor and had stopped bleeding, but she couldn’t understand why his neck was injured.

  “I’m okay,” he said, giving her a small smile. “It must have been an insect. Some of them are as large as birds around here.” He held his hand over his neck and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to cover the wound.

  Happy that he was safe from Haydn’s temptation, she looked into his bluish-purple eyes and smiled. Her emotions were all over the place after facing Haydn and fearing for Viktor’s safety. She felt cold and nervous and yet excited and happy. Viktor’s expression was as confused as hers. He didn’t seem to know what to make of things either. Her hand begged to touch him and make sure he was okay, but they were far from okay. He reached out to touch her, but stopped his hand in midair as confusion won out.

  Staring at his inviting lips, she gave in and closed the distance between them. She leaned in and touched her frigid lips to his warm mouth. Her cold skin ignited when they touched. She took control of the kiss, moving her lips against his and sliding her tongue into his mouth. She moaned at the sensation and dug her fingers into his stubbled cheeks to ground herself.

  Viktor seemed hesitant at first despite his intense gaze. His ongoing internal debate seemed to be the reason for his reluctance. He kissed her tentatively, but didn’t lose himself to her touch. She was impatient for him to give in and do what he clearly wanted to do.

  Though her skin felt like it would melt from the burning desire inside of her, she forced herself to stop. She would never forgive herself if she forced herself upon someone, since she knew what it felt like to be kissed by someone she hated.

  She pulled back and searched his eyes for some clue as to what this man wanted. Had she misread his kindness or his intense glances? Was he really willing to walk away from her after centuries of being together? His breathing was as labored as hers was, so he certainly felt something when they kissed, but he was unwilling to allow his feelings to take over.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. She wasn’t sure if he was sorry for kissing her for not embracing the kiss. Perhaps, he was sorry for wanting to leave her.

  She was about to ask him what he meant when she heard Haydn make a strange noise. She was afraid that he had once again lost himself to his power so she spun around to engage him, but stopped when she saw the reason for his garbled sound.

  His eyes were wide and he was gasping for air. She stared down at Haydn’s chest where she saw a blue glowing light that was far worse than the Celestial Bonds. It was the blue flame of the Celestial Sword. The flame was protruding through Haydn’s chest. When she looked up at Haydn’s face, she found the face that she had seen over and over again in her dreams of killing Farouk. Demyan was standing behind Haydn, who was falling to the ground. Demyan had the same expression he wore in Portland when he had been ordered to kill Lucifer, whom she had just freed from the hold of the Syankas. His stern face and dead eyes showed no compassion for his victim. Instead, they were proof that this was not a rescue attempt. This was to be an execution, her execution.

  She slowly backed away as she tried to keep Viktor behind her. She watched Haydn’s body twitch when the sword was removed from his chest, but she refused to accept that Haydn might be dead. Instead, she focused on the immediate threat. A Celestial Warrior was forbidden to kill a mortal, but this warrior didn’t seem to be working within the normal rules of engagement.

  “Run!” she shouted to Viktor, who was already trying to grab her arm.

  “We need to leave!” he shouted when she pulled her arm away from him.

  “No, he’s here for me and he’s not allowed to hurt you,” she said, until it dawned on her that the cut on Viktor’s neck had been a distraction. Demyan had injured Viktor so that he could move in on a distraught Haydn.

  While she was arguing with Viktor, she saw movement to her left, but was too slow to register what was happening. Demyan had taken to the air and was flying straight toward Viktor. Demyan’s left wing scooped Viktor off the ground and sent him flying through the air until he landed against a thick tree trunk. His head snapped back and hit the tree with tremendous force. She thought for sure that he would die from the impact.


  She screamed half in horror, half in rage. If Viktor and Haydn somehow survived this, she would allow Demyan to live. If they were both dead, Michael himself wouldn’t be able to keep her from seeking vengeance upon Demyan.

  A sharp pain in the back of her neck turned the world black and her rage drifted away into the dark oblivion.

  ∞

  Anjali cracked open her dry eyelids and found that she was high off the ground and oddly angled. Her arms and legs were trapped beneath something tight. Getting her bearings, she figured out that she was tied to the bottom of a tree limb, hovering over the jungle at least two stories up in the air. She struggled to get free but the vines tied around her were too constricting.

  The sun was down, which meant she had been unconscious for a few hours.

  She tried to sort through what had happened, but parts were a little fuzzy. She remembered fighting with Haydn and kissing Viktor, but Demyan’s attack had been so fast that it was hard to recall every detail. All she knew was that Haydn and Viktor were in serious trouble, if they were still alive. She had to free herself and get back to them, wherever they were.

  She had no idea what was wrong with Demyan. She had only seen him a few times that she could recall. Aside from Portland, he had been in Romania during Maraquette’s capture. It was doubtful that he was upset about Maraquette’s death.

  Though the Celestial Warriors weren’t under the command of Hell, she was certainly allowed to order Demyan to release her…as long as she wasn’t under arrest. She quickly thought back to her recent encounter with the white clad warriors but couldn’t remember having any trouble with them in New York. Michael hadn’t demanded her head for almost blowing up the city or for politely suggesting that Fenris’ son be allowed to return to his people in the Australian Outback. She assumed that if the Council had sent Demyan to capture or kill her, she would be missing her head, or standing before Raphael, Michael and Adrian and not tied to a tree. No, it was more likely that Demyan was angry about Portland or her attack on Farouk, though she wasn’t sure why he had waited so long to confront her.