Instruments of the Angels (Hallows & Nephilim: Waters Dark and Deep #1)

by Monica Leonelle

  “I’ll be training with you every day in combat,” Sirena said. “Hand-and-fist fighting. I’ll teach you how to use weapons, too.”

  “And the three of us will teach you to focus your mind and hone your powers,” Thessa added.

  “I’ll have access to all of your lessons with them, whenever I want,” Sirena said. “I’ll have full oversight of everything they say to you and teach you.”

  “And in a few months, we’ll let the two of you go,” Clara said.

  Brie looked at Sirena. “What about Pilot?”

  Sirena nodded. “We’re going to come up with a plan to transition your whole family into hiding.”

  “I can’t go with you unless I know Pilot is safe,” Brie said.

  “We’ll figure it out,” Sirena agreed. “Pilot is my nephew. I won’t abandon him either.”

  “I don’t get it,” Brie said. “What changed your minds? How did you guys reach this truce?”

  Sirena shrugged. “Because of you, I guess. Because we all believe in you.”

  Cora cleared her throat. “Brie, there’s a war coming. You have to know that your path won’t be easy, no matter how large or small your role in it.”

  She nodded. “I know. That’s why I need all of you.”

  Sirena hugged her again. “And that’s why you’ll have us.”

  Chapter 26 - Pilot

  Pilot had driven around for hours before ending up on the beach. He sat on a rock formation, facing out to sea, watching the violent waves crawl nearer and nearer to him. The rain poured down on his head, soaking through his clothes, but he didn’t care. He would probably catch a cold from it. He didn’t care about that either.

  He felt like his entire world was collapsing all over again.

  His sister still hadn’t told him why she had flown to Los Angeles by herself. He’d asked her for an explanation several times, and she’d begged him to let it go. But he couldn’t; it was so out of character for her to just pick up and leave, and he knew there was something more at play. But she had completely shut him out, just like she had after their mother died.

  Something was wrong with her. She was skipping school again and barely eating. Just when he thought he was getting her back, she had left him overnight.

  The worst part of it all was that he knew it was killing her too. They needed each other, but she didn’t feel like she could talk to him. It hurt them both so much… and at the same time, he had no clue how to reach her.

  The dreams were gone, just as he’d suspected they would be. He had gone back to Trinitas only to find it completely abandoned. It was almost like the entire world had ganged up on him to make him believe he was dreaming when he visited it… but he knew in his gut that it had been real. He wasn’t crazy. His mother had led him there for a reason. He knew it.

  And then there was Kennedy, the only person who could provide him some answers. He hadn’t figured out how to contact her, and Justin didn’t even seem to remember her, much less have her number. He had checked around at other schools, but no one by that name attended.

  And then, he had ended up at the private beach where he first met Kennedy, just on a hunch. Somewhere along the way he realized that he didn’t get to contact her. If she wanted to reach him, though, she could. He only needed to give her an opportunity, and she would appear.

  He couldn’t even explain how he knew this, but he did. That had been happening alot lately, when facts and logic weren’t adding up for him. He turned to his gut and let it steer his actions.

  He sat there for over an hour in the rain, waiting for her to show up.

  Finally, she did.

  “Thought I’d find you here,” he heard her say behind him.

  He didn’t have to turn around to know it was her.

  She climbed up and sat next to him, even though he hadn’t invited her.

  “Are you here to answer my questions or drug me again?” he asked.

  “Neither,” she said. “I’m here to figure out who you are.”

  He sniffed. “A lot of other people have already done the research on that. All you have to do is open a magazine.”

  She laughed, though he wasn’t sure if it was at him or at his joke. He glanced over at her. She wore all black, like usual, and the raindrops stuck to her pale hair as if it couldn’t absorb the moisture. The droplets sparkled like tiny jewels surrounding her face.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “You don’t realize how special you are,” she said. “The fact that you remember me, to start. You shouldn’t. I’ve tried to wipe your memory twice now.”

  “Oh really,” he said, not fully understanding if she was serious or joking. “How did that work out for you?”

  She pressed her lips together. “I don’t think you’re an earthlie, but you’re not supernatural either. You don’t have powers, but you have the ability to block them.”

  He looked at her. “Okay, now you’re just making up words.”

  “Am I?” she asked. “Or is there a part of you that knows that there’s a world hidden a layer above the one that you’re familiar with?”

  He looked at her incredulously. “You’re serious.”

  She nodded. “Dead serious. It’s called the Archworld, and it exists on the surface of what earthlies can see. You only have to look harder to see it. Take, for example, Trinitas. You somehow saw it and were able to get inside, despite not having the blood credentials to do so.”

  Pilot considered this, thinking back to how the door was impossible to open for him, and easy to open for the others. He thought of the blood that his mother had given in his dreams to gain entrance.

  Kennedy couldn’t have known these pieces would add up.

  Was she telling the truth, then?

  Or was he really gone… to the point of hallucinating an entire person that no one else seemed to be able to remember?

  “If this is all true,” he asked, “why are you telling me? You wanted nothing to do with me at Trinitas.”

  “Because you intrigue me, Pilot van Rossum. You aren’t supposed to. I shouldn’t be distracted by you, attracted to you…”

  “Attracted to me,” he repeated. “You didn’t seem interested in that kiss a few nights ago.”

  “I didn’t want to be interested,” Kennedy said.

  “So you’re interested in me, and that’s why you’re telling me all of this?” he asked. “This isn’t anywhere near good enough for me. I need answers, to all of my questions, or this is all over before it even begins.”

  “I know,” she said. “I need something from you first.”

  “I’m not up for doing favors,” Pilot said.

  “It’s not a hard one. I need a taste of your blood, to tell what you are.”

  He made a face. “If this is some sort of joke, it’s a sick one.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not a joke.”

  “You’re insane,” he said.

  She moved toward him slowly, touching his arm with the tips of her fingers. Electricity shot through his veins; however disturbed he was by her actions, he couldn’t deny his attraction to her. He didn’t know if he had ever felt so strongly attracted to anyone in his life.

  But he didn’t need any more bad decisions, and Kennedy was a really, really bad decision. He knew that.

  And he couldn’t stop.

  His lips met hers and he kissed her so softly that if it were anybody else, he probably wouldn’t have even felt her lips against his. She didn’t push him away this time.

  “Tell me one thing,” he whispered across her skin. “You were the little girl in the story, weren’t you? With the twin sister, the silver bow in your hair?”

  Kennedy face twitched with a split-second of exquisite, tender pain before she recovered. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Everything around them dimmed—the sound of the ocean, the saltiness of the air, the rain dropping on them, the ragged edges of the rock they were sitting on. A chill ran down his back, all the way
through to his bones.

  His lips parted her mouth and they were kissing again, harder and more desperately, like they couldn’t physically be close enough together. His fingers wove their way through her hair and he yanked the strands down, leaving her neckline exposed. She gasped as he kissed her, every inch of her face, her ears, the angled edges of her jaw, her collarbone, her shoulders, her chin. He couldn’t get enough of her. Her fingers dug into his back, ripping through his shirt, breaking his skin.

  Her hands found his chest and suddenly, she was shoving him backward.

  The rain trickled down from his hair to his jawline; it had slowed so suddenly, he had barely noticed. “Do you not want this?”

  She looked down at her hands; one had trickles of his blood dripping from the tips of her fingers, from when she dug them into his back. “I do. But I need to know more about you first.”

  Kennedy turned away from him and took off running through the sand. He ran after her, as fast as he could, but she was much faster than him. In fact, she was one of the fastest runners he’d ever seen.

  “Kennedy, wait!” He wasn’t going to give up. He would chase her until he couldn’t see her anymore.

  They reached cover near the parking lot of the beach, where Kennedy ducked around a corner, out of his sight. He turned the corner and ran into the women’s restroom, but by the time he got there, Kennedy was gone.

  Epilogue - Kennedy

  Kennedy breathed in and out slowly, as she watched a confused Pilot make his way back to his car in the rain. She licked his blood from her fingers, surprised at what she tasted. Learning about a person from their blood was Kennedy’s specialty, her gift, but she couldn’t tell much from the small bit of blood she had drawn when she had broken Pilot’s skin.

  She patted her silver-white strands of hair that matched her eyes, and shook her shoulders back and forth, trying to shake him off. Her lips still burned where he had touched them, and she cursed herself for her own stupidity in letting him kiss her again.

  She had only met him the first time out of curiosity, when she had been so sure that she could toy with him without getting attached. But she had been wrong. There was something powerful about him that drew her in, even when she knew that he could never love what she really was. Still, she could feel the magic coursing through his veins, could taste it in his blood, and she knew he could not be a common earthlie. She would need more of his blood to be sure, but could it be possible? Could that be why she was so attracted to him, because he was supernatural, like her?

  He would have changed by now, she reminded herself. All archangel and archdemon offspring changed around the age of puberty, and Pilot was several years beyond that already.

  Besides, she couldn’t fall in love with him, not when she still had a mission to complete. Not when she still had a murder to complete. He would never understand that she had to take away someone he loved, or die instead. And once Pilot found out why she was really in Honolulu, he would never forgive her.

  She felt her sister’s presence and begrudgingly touched her ear, letting her sister’s voice shriek through.

  “Are you still in Honolulu?” she asked in the saccharine, shrill tone she had adopted in recent years.

  “Hello, Bristol,” Kennedy replied.

  “There was a man coming from Honolulu with a very important object in his possession that he planned to present to me in exchange for his life.”

  “And?”

  “His soulless body was recently found in Los Angeles, and whatever object he had with him was taken.”

  “If you’re asking whether I have it, the answer is no,” Kennedy said, still not understanding what Bristol wanted from her. Her sister had a habit of speaking in codes and half-truths.

  Bristol cackled. “I do not think you are stupid enough to steal from me. I want you to find the thief and recover the object.”

  “And take his soul,” Kennedy added, hating her sister more with every word.

  “Do you not enjoy our arrangement anymore?” Bristol asked, in a tone that told Kennedy she was about to blow up with fury. “The only reason I pardoned you all those years ago is because you agreed to be my head assassin until your debt was paid.”

  “I didn’t realize your appetite for blood at the time,” Kennedy mumbled.

  “Do your job,” Bristol commanded. “Or I’ll send an assassin after you. You know I will, blood of mine or not.”

  Kennedy rolled her eyes and let go of her ear, severing the connection. Her sister ran the gamut between deranged and hysterical most of the time, and she was clearly in one of her fits.

  She looked over at the parking lot again, but Pilot had left. “Goodbye,” she whispered to him. Bristol’s request would give Kennedy an excuse to put off the murder she had been assigned for just a little longer. Perhaps even long enough to learn the truth about Pilot…

  Waters Dark and Deeper

  Wow, I can’t believe we’ve made it here!

  You see, the story of how this book finally came into being is a long one that goes all the way back to 2008.

  But you don’t want to hear some long history about this world and where it comes from, do you?

  That’s why I’m not going to give you that particular history lesson at the moment, and instead suggest we talk about a certain someone you most certainly want to know more about…

  “What’s the deal with Rykken?!”

  Am I right?

  Well, for the answers to all the mysteries of Rykken, you’ll probably have to keep reading. All I know is that a) he’s my favorite character b) as best friend to one of our protagonists and… undefined? to another… he plays a much larger role as the series goes on… ;)

  You may have also noticed that there are links in every. single. chapter in the second section of this book. (Turn the page to see.)

  “What’s up with that, Monica?” you might ask.

  I’m a huge fan of Easter eggs, so I’ll be hosting lots of hunts over the course of this series and across my other books, too. You can assume the clues are everywhere, because they are. (Yes, even in this note.)

  Each of these Easter eggs go to alternate scenes, bonus scenes, deleted scenes, interviews with the characters, fan casts, author Q&As, and random behind-the-scenes surprises. They are probably best enjoyed upon second reading.

  Since you’ve made it this far, I hope that means you enjoyed the Hallow and Nephilim world, and the mysterious but lovable characters that inhabit it—Brie, Pilot, Thessa, Sirena, Rykken, Kennedy, and more. I plan to write in this world for awhile, and I would love to have you stick around to enjoy it with me!

  Thank you for trying this book. Thank you for reading to the end. Thank you for accepting that I’m a bit quirkier and more experimental than most authors.

  I really hope you’ll do a few things next:

  Start reading book #2 here: http://monicaleonelle.com/wdad2 It starts shortly after book #1 left off, so you’ll get lots of answers to your questions in this one!

  You can also get an EXCLUSIVE short story (found nowhere else) called Milena’s Last Hours here: http://monicaleonelle.com/milena Warning: This contains lots of clues to the overall storyline, some of which will eventually be revealed in later books. It’s not necessary to read this short story to get the gist, but it will definitely put you “in the know.”

  Join the Easter egg hunt: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hallowsandnephilim/ (request to join and I’ll approve you!)

  Consider leaving a review for Instrument of the Angels here: http://monicaleonelle.com/wdad1review Don’t worry, there’s nothing scary about it. To leave a review, you only need to answer two questions. What did you like about the book? What did you NOT like about the book? It’s really simple and we personally handpick our launch team (which gets early access signed paperbacks of our books) in part based on who reviews the books!

  Check out the linked version of the book and go even deeper with the series—just turn the page to get started
!

  I’m really excited to go deeper into this world with you.

  With Theos,

  Monica Leonelle

  The Linked Version

  Chapter 1 - Thessa

  She couldn’t say how President Vega had finally found her; she only knew it would be worse to keep him waiting.

  Pulling a silk wrap over her lips and nose, Thessa Torres covered her face from the crowds of tourists clotting the narrow, cobbled streets. Hallows weren’t supposed to be able to transport 8,000 miles at once, but she was an exceptionally old Hallow. Still, the trip from Hawaii to Spain had taken most of her energy, and recognition was the last thing she wanted.

  She hadn’t traversed the Barri Gotic in years, but even now, she could navigate the dark, twisting alleyways with her eyes shut. The Roman-influenced quarter of Barcelona hadn’t changed much—it was still a labyrinth of concrete, peppered with small European restaurants and shops filled with visitors and locals alike. There were still pockets of gardens with street dancers performing on the hour, places to sit and drink while soaking up sun, and candle-lit, arched churches on every corner.

  The only thing that had changed since she’d been there last was her.

  The buildings mixed with old and new stone towered over her as she moderated her pace, trying to blend in. Below, the forgotten medieval crypts and tunnels far beneath the streets housed a smorgasbord of archangels’ children, all ages and cultures, living and working together under the New Order’s firm fist. She wouldn’t have visited the city on her own volition, but two days earlier she’d been summoned by none other than Mateo Vega himself. For what, she still wasn’t sure. She only knew it couldn’t be anything good.

  She saw a flash of a couple laughing and whispering to each other, and it reminded her of him. A familiar ache shot through her chest, like a hand tightening around her heart, squeezing it until it no longer beat. She could not let her pain control her, not now. She needed her wits to navigate New Order politics.