Greed (Sins of the Fallen Book 2)

by Karina Espinosa

  “Do not speak to me yet, old friend.” Jeremiel looked to me again. “Did you see her?”

  I knew he was talking about Lady Mandisa “Yes.”

  He nodded. “Good,” he said and came down the stairs, shaking his head to Angela, letting her know he could walk on his own. He didn’t come too close to me, my fire blazed all around me. “Do not trust anyone, my boy. Even the people you think you should, it is not safe.” He held up a cupped hand and stretched it out between us. The air swirled around inside his palm like a small tornado. “I will not take this journey with you, like I wanted to, but I will be watching and doing what I can from afar. Like Lady Mandisa said, do not fear your future, Maximillion. You have nothing to fear, son,” he said and blew the air in his cupped hand in my direction. A white powder encompassed my body and sunk into my pores—even as my fire was lit like a beam. “I leave you everything and may he always be with you, Maximillion, son of Xavier—Nephilim of Wrath.”

  “NO!” Samuel yelled and with an outstretched hand he grabbed the air in a tight fist and Jeremiel started to convulse. His eyes were so peaceful and he tried to smile as his face twisted in pain. Jones and Angela were immediately at Jeremiels’ side, keeping him from crumbling to the ground.

  With a scream, Samuel pulled his hand back and a gaping hole emerged from Jeremiels chest. His heart on the ground, Jeremiels face froze in time and I felt the room start to spin. No, not again.

  A gurgled scream ripped out of my mouth as I grabbed Samuel by the neck and flung him to the wall. His body partially lit on fire.

  Abbadon had to jump out of the way or he would have been hit by either Samuel or my fire. At lightning speed, I was by a limp archangel and just has he did Jeremiel, I reached into his chest and held on to the vital organ that beat in tune with his shallow breaths.

  “You bastard! I hope you rot in hell,” I said through blurry, tear filled eyes.

  With his heart in my hand, still inside his chest, he chuckled. “I will, but it’ll be worth it,” Samuel gurgled and started to cough up blood. “I die and another will take my place until you meet Ca—” he started to cough uncontrollably and forgetting that I had a firm grip on his heart, I shook him.

  “Who?! Tell me!” As I shook to get him to tell me the name he was about to say, I pulled out his heart and he flopped to the ground in a dead heap.

  With wide eyes, I looked at the burnt organ in my hand. I killed him.

  There was yelling behind me, but I couldn’t look away from the dead angel at my feet. I knew I had said I would, I even said I’d kill Angela out of anger, but I never thought I actually would. A darkness filled me and I knew I’d made a mistake. Taking someone’s life, shouldn’t be done by any mortal’s hands—much less mine. And Jeremiel had tried to tell me, that’s what he meant about keeping my fire blue—he didn’t want me to be tainted with evil.

  “Step away, girl, you stand by your father, not this boy,” Abbadon said from behind me. I turned around to find Angela standing in front of me—protecting me, while Jones was kneeling by Jeremiels body.

  “I don’t even know who you are,” Angela’s voice cracked. “And I will not let you harm him.”

  “You’ve lived with the angels for far too long, my dear Angela,” Abbadon said. His hands were engulfed in red and orange flames—the yin to my yang.

  “I’ve been with them just fine. Why are you doing this?” she said and I could slightly hear the innocence of a girl who pleaded with her father. She didn’t want to hurt him, but I think she would if it meant doing what was right. Jones had been correct, I don’t think she meant to get my mother killed. She just never thought her own father would be capable of doing it.

  “Because it is what is meant to be. I am the Angel of Destruction and it has been written, so it shall be done,” he said. He clapped his hands in front of him and the flames rose around him as they licked the ceiling.

  Angela raised her hand to her face to cover herself from the heat and glare of the fire. “Why? What does the Wanderer want with Max?” she screamed against the loudness of the flames. They whooshed around Abbadon and a slow grin crossed his face.

  “Fire, love, he wants the fire.”

  Demons came out from the darkness and corners of the house, they circled around us. Jones carried Jeremiel to a safe place and came closer to us. I looked for Nikolai but couldn’t find him in what was becoming a very small space with too many people, including demons. Had he left?

  “Kill them all—except the boy,” Abbadon said and as his body was consumed with fire, it went out like it was hit by water and he disappeared with it.

  The demons swarmed us in bulks and Angela went in swinging as Jones got them from behind. I lit my hands up again and formed a whip in both hands—delicately gripping them like Nikolai had taught me. I slashed at the demons on either side of us. Some of them ducked, others weren’t so lucky. My guardians teamed up together and Angela froze some demons while Jones took them out. Ash floated around us as they started to drop like flies. We worked well together.

  I cleared the area by the back porch where Nikolai and I had entered and I saw him on the beach, hunched over. I turned to Jones and Angela who seemed to be doing fine without me. I approached the closed sliding door and watched as Nikolai, who was on his knees, and gasping for air as he clutched his throat. In front of him stood a man or a boy clad in all black. He wore jeans and a wool coat over a hoodie that concealed his face. He stood there with his hands tucked in his pocket and he squatted down to meet Nikolai’s eyes. He said something and I turned my hearing on to be able to catch what he was saying. “Greed,” was all I heard as the person slightly turned his head in my direction and I caught a glimpse of the stranger. He grinned at me with sharp blue eyes and blonde hair that fell across his forehead. His look was sinister, as if he knew who I was and could do unimaginable evil, in which I wouldn’t even stand a chance.

  Waking from my stupor, I shook my head and pulled the sliding door open and ran toward Nikolai, who had sucked in a deep breath as if he was finally able to breathe. By the time I reached him, a gust of wind blew the sand up, covering my view up ahead. When it cleared, the stranger was gone and we were alone on the beach. He clutched the sand as he tried to take in as much oxygen to his lungs.

  “Max!” Jones yelled from the back porch and I turned to him. He gave me a thumbs up and I knew the house was cleared. I looked back down at a weak Greed and put my hand on his shoulder. He flinched under my touch and I wondered what the hell had happened. Nikolai wasn’t scared of anyone—well, unless it was…

  “Was that the Wanderer, Niko?” He shivered, but I saw the slight nod he gave me, that confirmed who the stranger had been.

  29

  Nikolai

  I watched Samuel and Max duke it out and I itched to help him. In less than two weeks, this child was able to get me to care for him in a way I hadn’t since Tomas. And I wanted to protect him from the evil I was sure was coming his way. He didn’t know what the Wanderer was capable of like I did, and I didn’t want him to ever find out. I didn’t care what the prophecy said, I would do everything in my power to make sure their paths never crossed. Because if they did, Max wouldn’t stand a chance, none of us would.

  I took a step forward, ready to ensnare the archangel when I saw Jones from the corner of my eye. He shook his head and I knew he was telling me to stay where I was. No matter how much I despised the guardian, I knew he was right. Max needed to do this on his own until he couldn’t. He was stronger than almost all of us combined and we needed to give him the chance to discover it for himself. He talked a good talk when we joked around, but I didn’t think he really believed or understood the lengths of his abilities. He is destined for much greatness.

  “Come to me.” A voice whispered and I looked around at who could be speaking to me in my head. Max told me Angela could but she was paying too much attention to Maximillion to bother with me. Actually, no one was even looking my way. I turned around
to see if someone was behind me, but all I saw was the calm beach.

  “Come to me.” It said again and I walked closer to the sliding door. There by the shore, was a figure I couldn’t see clearly, his back was to me. I opened the door and stepped onto the back porch. It was odd seeing someone with a wool coat, it was winter time in the states and while there may be a slight breeze, the Bahamas was still warm enough that a coat and a hoodie is overkill.

  “Closer,” he said and I walked onto the beach and approached the mystery person that was trespassing on a private beach.

  “Who are you?” I asked as I stopped a few feet away. I froze as he turned around and I was met with the piercing blue eyes I feared the most. It was him. His snide smile sent shivers down my spine and I shook from an invisible coldness. The last time I saw those eyes was many centuries ago.

  “Hello, Nikolai,” he said with extra emphasis on my name. “Oh, don’t act shocked, friend. I’ve known where you were hiding for a very long time, I just chose leave you alone. There hasn’t been anything you could do for me—at least I thought there wasn’t—until a mutual friend of ours sought you out.” His smile grew. “That is when you became a very valuable pawn.”

  “What do you want?” I couldn’t keep the fear from my voice. The last time I’d seen him, I’d left running for the hills and as far away from him as I could get. I’d heard plenty about him, but it wasn’t until I met him for the first time, did I learn how dangerous this man was. And my illusions would do nothing to affect him, if anything they would come back to me sevenfold and possibly drive me insane. I thought about the last time I saw him.

  He held a firm grip around Alistair’s neck and the veins on his forearms were popping out with fury. “Do you think this is a game, Nikolai? Do you think I need you or your Shomera?” he said as he shook Alistair violently. “I could end you both without a second thought.” He contemplated the idea and looked down at my Shomera with a mischievous glint in his eyes. As if the answer was simple, he flicked his wrist and snapped Alistair’s neck clean. “It seems all the people you love, die in similar ways, my lovely Greed.”

  The scream that wanted to escape me was stuck in my throat. The man who had watched over me from such a young age and helped me conceal my strength, my abilities—was now laying before me, lifeless. My eyes wide, I tried to make myself speak but couldn’t. The tears rolled down my face and I didn’t even have the power to wipe them clean.

  “You did this. You. If you’d have just done what I told you, it wouldn’t have cost you your Shomera. His blood is on your hands, Nikolai—the Nephilim of Greed.” His cold blue eyes were wild as he stared me down, unblinking. “Should you disobey me again, I will kill your father next, understood?”

  I didn’t know what else to do then to nod my head. He owned me and no one could save me from him.

  “Many things, Nikolai, I want many things. To begin, I’d like a double bacon cheeseburger and fries, a vacation to Aruba and maybe even a girlfriend—but mostly, I want Heaven’s Fire,” he grinned and I scowled back unintentionally. He wanted Max and his power—and if he continued to pursue him—I’m sure he’d accomplish it. He would do to him what he did to Tomas. I couldn’t stop him before, but I would try with Max.

  “You can’t have him,” I said through clenched teeth. I wouldn’t let him.

  “Oh?” he raised an eyebrow.

  “I won’t let you near him and neither will his Guardians. He’s protected by many and you’ll have one hell of a battle ahead of you to get to him, mark my words,” I said and I knew it was foolish and an empty threat. To talk the way I did, knowing very well that he could breeze through us like an afternoon stroll in the park. We were no match for him. And he knew this.

  He looked down at his open palmed hand that was down by his side and after a moment, he closed it into a tight fist. He grinned at me as he slipped his fisted hand into his coat pocket and all the air in my lungs evaporated. I fell knees first, into the sand and clutched at my neck. I couldn’t breathe, I sucked in deep breaths as I panicked and my eyes got watery.

  He walked closer to me. “You see, Nikolai that is where you’re wrong. There will be no battle because you will help me. Yes, yes, I know, ‘you don’t want to’, blah, blah, blah.” He made a talking gesture with his free hand. “But you will, because you’re Greed. And no matter how you feel about the boy, you have lived almost as long as I have and survival matters a great deal to you. You’re a greedy little bugger and you will always do what you want for yourself. Understand? Oh wait, I forgot you can’t answer.” He laughed and the corners of my vision were darkening. I was going to pass out or die. He squatted in front of me and looked directly into my eyes. “But don’t worry, friend, I don’t need you just yet. When the time is right, you’ll know, so just continue being Greed,” he said and after a second his eyebrows furrowed.

  He straightened his features and turned his head to the side. I could only see part of his face, but it beamed with delight. I sucked in my last breaths just as I was about to shut my eyes when I swallowed a gush of air that raced down my throat and my lungs opened up to the sudden burn.

  “Seems like I’ve been caught,” he said as he turned to look at me again and he appeared confused. “We’ll be in touch,” he said and then he was gone.

  On hands and knees I gasped to control my breathing when a hand came down on my shoulder. I flinched in fear that it was still him, but then I heard Maximillion’s innocent voice.

  “Was that the Wanderer, Niko?” he said and my body was racked with a sudden coldness. Not wanting to admit it out loud, I nodded and hoped he understood.

  30

  Maximillion

  I picked Nikolai off the sand and pretty much carried him inside the house. The floor was littered with ash everywhere from the disintegrated demons and Angela was trying to move the two dead bodies that were left intact, while Jones was trying to get my father on the phone.

  Angela was the first to notice us and came rushing to help me bring him to the sofa. He was wrapped in a cold sweat and I was scared for him. This couldn’t be good.

  “What happened?” Angela asked as she adjusted him so he’d be comfortable.

  “The Wanderer…he was here,” I said out of breath, and I almost didn’t believe it myself.

  “What?” she shrieked and that got Jones’ attention. “He was here? As in just outside the house?” I nodded and stared at a shocked, Nikolai. He wasn’t blinking or moving, and it worried me. This wasn’t the Greed I was used to, he didn’t fear anything.

  “How?” Jones asked from behind the sofa.

  “I don’t know. He had Niko out on the beach, and he couldn’t breathe. But he wasn’t touching him, it was weird, but I know he was choking him,” I said. “Were you able to get ahold of my dad?”

  Jones shook his head. “He’s probably somewhere that has no service. He’ll call once he sees the million messages I left him.”

  “Okay,” I nodded, robotically. Everything came rushing through me, every emotion consumed me from the inside out and I needed something, anything to tell me or show me that things would be fine, that it’ll all work out in the end.

  It’ll be okay, Max. We’ll get through this together.

  I looked over at Angela as soon as I heard her voice in my head. I must have opened up our link again. She gave me a sad smile and without being able to read minds, I knew she wasn’t too sure of what she said, but I understood. I can’t afford to be upset like I did when my mother passed. At that time, I was able to because we were on the run and I had nothing but time. And now? I didn’t even know how much time I had.

  I walked to Jeremiels body that was still on the floor and knelt beside him, ignoring the bile that rose in my throat when I looked at Samuel. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered as I placed Jeremiels cold hand in mine.

  “He’s not really dead you know,” Nikolai said hoarsely, from behind me. “Archangels can’t die.” I whirled around to see him wince as he
tried to stand up. I moved to help him, but he waved me off. “I’m okay, just a little shocked from that encounter,” he said tightly and I knew better than to believe he was a ‘little’ shocked. More like he was crapping his pants.

  “What do you mean archangels can’t die?” Jones asked. The three of us were waiting for Nikolai to answer; holding our breaths.

  “He’s not going to come back alive, right now, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he said as he leaned on the sofa. “His human form has died, that’s gone forever, but the angel is still alive and kicking. They go back to where they belong, because remember, Earth isn’t made for them. It won’t be for at least another century or so that he’ll be able to come back here in human form.” I expelled the breath I’d been holding and saw my Guardians do the same. So he wasn’t technically gone, but he wasn’t here either.

  “Will I be able to communicate with him?” I asked.

  Nikolai, sadly shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, Max…he’s gone until he can come back.” I nodded and looked back at his dead body. That’s what he meant about not being with me during this journey, he knew Samuel was going to kill him.

  “What was that white stuff he blew on me?” I asked as I remembered what he did while he told me he wouldn’t be with me.

  This time, it was Jones who answered. “That,” he grinned, “was the coolest thing ever. Jeremiel gave you the last bit of his strength to be able to fight Samuel and Abbadon. It’s the only reason you were able to puncture skin and kill the archangel—though I don’t think he meant for you to do that, exactly,” Jones grimaced.

  Angela glared at him. “No, that wasn’t what he intended you to do, but what is done is done.” She came to my side and put a gentle hand on my arm. “We just need to be careful. I’ve heard things, about people who take the life of an angelic. If you feel funny or something doesn’t seem right with you, you need to let us know, Max.” What had I done?