Nightfall came quickly and I wasn’t even remotely tired. I had spent the rest of the day locked in Jeremiels room, thinking about everything and nothing at all. Jones and Nikolai went out and buried the bodies. I don’t know where, but I’d have to ask them later on. Angela stayed in the house with me but didn’t hover; she cleaned up downstairs and kept busy, checking in on me every so often. I thought I would have slept but I couldn’t. I feared that if I closed my eyes, not only would I see my mother, but I’d see Jeremiel and Samuel as well. Even if I only killed one of them, I still felt like their blood was on my hands. I was having a hard time handling one death, I didn’t think I could do three.
I went downstairs to the kitchen where everyone was congregated and the murmurs between them quieted. “Don’t shut up on my account,” I said and took a seat on top of the kitchen counter.
“Are you okay?” Angela asked.
I nodded. “I’m gonna go see Lady Mandisa again.”
“Now?”
“Yeah. It’s obvious that Abbadon and the Wanderer are working together,” I said. Nikolai shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I mean he attacked Niko, while Abbadon dumped his worthless demons on us. It was a distraction, obviously. And I know Samuel was about to tell me his name, I just know it! I need to ask the Seer what else he goes by, she said he has many names.”
“She also told you not to ask questions,” Nikolai said.
“I know but I have to try.”
“Well you’re not going alone. I’m coming with you again and this time, I’m actually going with you, not waiting out on the beach.”
“Fine,” I agreed and left it at that. I didn’t want to argue, we were all raw from today’s events. I turned to Jones, “Were you able to get ahold of my dad?”
His eyebrows scrunched in. “No, his phone is now off. I’m starting to get worried.” That didn’t sound like my father. He didn’t call me much—if at all—but to lose contact with Jones? Yeah, something was up.
Nikolai and I left for the public beach and I was surprised that the rental shack was still open. We both got an ATV, because there’s no way I’m sharing one with him, and went straight for the woods. It was dark, but the four wheelers head lights were good for navigation and I was glad I remembered to grab a flashlight from the house for our trek to the cave. Maybe it was because this was my second trip out here in just two days that it felt like the walk to the cave was much shorter.
With flashlights in hand, we entered and I pointed the light to the familiar cave drawings. It was definitely a little scary coming here at night. You can hear the critters talk into the quiet and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me a little paranoid.
“Because that’s not creepy,” Nikolai said from behind me and I jumped.
He didn’t notice, thank God. “Scared?” I asked.
“No,” he scoffed. “But who draws stick figures? That’s crazy people stuff.”
“Dude, these might be really old drawings that are sacred,” I said as we arrived to where I’d been just yesterday…where Lady Mandisa should have been. I ran the light around the ground and it was empty. Not even garbage was littered around like normally.
“Are you sure this is it?”
I turned around to Nikolai and beamed the light in his face. “Yes!” I all but yelled in frustration.
He squinted and put his hand up to cover his eyes. “Okay, okay, put that thing down before I go blind.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled and looked around, but I couldn’t find a thing to clue me in on where she’d gone. It was as if no one was ever here…I knew I wasn’t hallucinating the other day…was I?
“Uh…Max? You might want to look up at the ceiling,” Nikolai said and I raised my flashlight to the ceiling.
Oh crap. In crazy handwriting that confirmed it was Lady Mandisa who left the message, it said:
A flash went off beside me and I watched as Nikolai saved the picture he just took of the message Lady Mandisa left me. “We should probably go, Max,” he said. “I don’t think she’s your number one fan at this moment and she’s probably long gone by now.” He didn’t have to tell me twice, we hauled out of there like the cave was going to collapse.
My Guardians were waiting for us in the kitchen still when we arrived and I didn’t know I had turned my hearing on when I heard Jones say, “I’m happy for you two.” Angela and I hadn’t spoken yet, but I was glad she was clearing the air with him first, for whenever we got the chance to talk about moving forward. I didn’t know what the future held for us—I still had a lot of anger about my mother’s death—but only time would tell.
“Hey, how’d it go?” Jones said after clearing his throat. Nikolai and I exchanged a look and then he went on to tell them what we found in the cave. Seriously, it was just creepy. “You probably shouldn’t have gone so late at night, but either way, the message is a bit odd.” Nikolai pulled out his phone and showed the picture of the message she’d left on the ceiling of the cave.
I rolled my eyes. “Are you going to Instagram that now?” I laughed and he glared at me. “I just don’t understand, I didn’t ask any questions.”
Angela chuckled. “Max, did you forget she’s a Seer? She knew you were coming and would continue to look for her until you got the answers you needed. Of course she packed up and moved.” I hadn’t thought of that.
“But why would she blame her death on me?” My eyes widen. “Do you think I’m going to kill her?!” I knew it was probably farfetched, but she is a Seer, she most likely foresaw her death and it would be my fault even if I wouldn’t do it myself.
“Relax, that message can be interpreted in many ways, let’s just wait this out. One problem at a time. And the first problem we need to tackle, is trying to get in contact with Xavier,” Jones said and I could see how worried he was. I hoped my father was okay, no matter how upset I was with him, I wouldn’t want him to get hurt or worse. “But I think we should start heading for bed and get some rest, we have a lot to figure out tomorrow.”
Nikolai and Jones filed out after they said goodnight and that left Angela and me alone.
“Are you okay?” I asked her. She was leaning against the counter with the same emotionless expression she always held. But I knew better. I was there when her father commanded the demons to kill everyone but me. He’d sent them to kill her too. That couldn’t be easy on anyone—even a tough as a rock, Angela.
“I’m good,” she said with a faux smile.
“Ang, you know what I mean…your dad—”
“Max, it’s no big deal. We knew what kind of person he was after…after Emily. You shouldn’t be surprised,” she said as she brushed the conversation off.
“Ang—”
“Enough, Max. I’m going to call it a night, you good?” she said and I narrowed my eyes at her. It was now or never, make your move, Max.
“Yeah,” I said and walked up to her. Her hair was picked up in a messy ponytail and I took a loose strand and tucked it behind her ear. “But I don’t want to be alone.” Her menacing green eyes stared at me and they shone in the light of the kitchen. Up close, I could see small speckles of gold, dust around her iris and I was entranced by her beauty.
“I don’t know, Max. We have a lot to talk about beforehand and I’m not sure you’ve completely forgiven me,” she said. Her body language was tough and rigid, but her eyes, they were of a scared little girl.
“Just spend the night with me, no funny business, just sleep and we’ll talk in the morning,” I said and I saw her answer in those dangerous green eyes.
31
When I woke, I almost didn’t believe I had slept a whole night through without a visit from my mother and I thanked the man upstairs that Jeremiel nor Samuel, came to haunt me either. Tucked away in the crook of my arm was a heap of midnight black hair that fell away in beautiful and precise curls. Even when she slept, she was the definition of perfection. I couldn’t believe she’d actually agreed to stay with me in my room and I wondere
d if her being here was why I was able to sleep soundly. I felt relaxed and unburdened, but deep down, I knew that was far from the truth.
I slowly—without waking her—pulled my arm from under her and quietly rolled out of bed. I grabbed a t-shirt from my duffle bag and slipped it on. I had a pair of sweat pants already on and headed downstairs. Jones was alone in the kitchen and was twirling his spoon around an untouched bowl of cereal—and I was willing to bet those Cheerios were soggy.
“Morning,” I said and his head snapped up.
“Hey, morning,” he said in a daze. “How’d you sleep?”
“Good,” I said and kept it vague. It wasn’t the time to mention anything about Angela just yet. “Are you okay, brother?”
He watched me for a moment and I don’t think he meant to, but he shook his head. He sighed. “We live in an F’d up world, man.” He continued to shake his head and his eyes dropped back to the bowl of cereal. “When did we learn you were Nephilim? Like six months ago? Yeah, and all this time we’ve been chasing demons, fallen angels and such, only to find out we’ve been going after the wrong monster that goes bump in the night. I wish we would have known this earlier on…we could have avoided a lot of this crap,” he said and I slumped down in the chair across from him. Without him telling me, I knew what was running through his mind and what he was feeling. Guilt. He was probably thinking there was something he could have done to save the people that needed saving and stop the bad guys. If only it were that simple.
“It would have been too easy, brother, and life’s everything but easy,” I said and laughed at my own thoughts. I should have been telling myself this two months ago. “At least we know who the enemy is now and we’ll be ready for him.” I hoped.
Angela came down the stairs in a pair of flannel pajama pants and an overstretched, ratty Rolling Stones t-shirt. She flipped her hair to the side and yawned loudly; I watched her with eyes—that I wouldn’t realize till later—filled with love. To me, she was perfect in all her messy glory.
“Morning, have you called Xavier?” she said to Jones and he shook his head.
“Hold on,” I said as Jones reached for his phone. I ran up the stairs, taking two at a time and went into Jeremiels room for my phone. When I came back down to the kitchen, Angela was just putting two bowls of cereal for us on the dining table. “Thanks,” I mumbled, feeling a little shy at how domestic that was in front of Jones. But it didn’t seem like he was paying it much attention anyways.
“Let me try calling from my phone. Since I never call him, he might think it’s an emergency,” I said as I looked for his number and pressed the call button. As soon as the speaker button was available, I pressed it and the ring of the phone vibrated through the room.
On the sixth ring, I was about to hang up when he finally picked up—well I thought it was him.
“Ah, finally, I thought you were never going to call,” Abbadon’s voice rang loud and clear through the phone. I stiffened and looked at my Guardians who were frozen in their seats as well. “I hope you didn’t hang up?” he questioned and I cleared my throat.
“Where’s my father?” Anger radiated through my body and, I thought that the next time I saw the Angel of Destruction, I wouldn’t let him get away. He crossed the line with my mother, but to go after my father also? He would come to the end of the line with me and from the look on Angela’s face, I wasn’t alone.
“Don’t worry, boy, he’s right here. Say hi to Maximillion, Xavier,” Abbadon said and there was a ruffled sound through the phone before I heard him.
“Mmmmm! Mmmmm!” he was gaged as he tried to say my name. My hands clenched into fits on top of the table and I shook with rage.
“You son of a—”
“None of that, boy,” he tsk’d. “I didn’t tell him to come snooping around, but since I found him, I thought what the heck? Might as well use him as a bargaining chip. Await my call, Maximillion…when I’m ready for a trade,” he said and the line went dead. I raced for the phone and my fingers fumbled as they tried to redial, but the phone was already shut off.
“Damnit!” I slammed my fists on the table, splitting it in two and sending our breakfast, crashing to the ground.
“We need to find him, we need to go get him, now!” Angela said through clenched teeth. Jones had his back to us and palms flat on the wall. He was trying to hold himself up and stay calm, but he was breaking. And as I’d predicted, he rammed his fist into the wall, just as Nikolai came into the kitchen.
“Uh…what did I miss?” he asked as he stood stock still under the door frame. I was shaking so hard, I probably looked like a crack head. And before I could even tell him what had happened, the doorbell rang.
The four of us exchanged looks. “I bet that’s him, that sick son of a bitch!” I said and ran to the door with everyone on my tail, trying to stop me, but I was fueled by anger at this point. I flung the door wide open. “You—” I said with a pointed finger but stumbled backwards and bumped into someone as I watched with wide eyes, jaw slacked, at who was on Jeremiels doorstep. And I’ll give you a hint, it wasn’t Abbadon.
“Hey lover, missed me?” she said as she gripped my t-shirt and pulled me in for a kiss. I heard Angela growl from behind me and it was like I needed a reminder to push her away. In all her flaming red hair glory, she stood before me with the biggest face-eating grin I’d ever seen as she wiped her lipstick from my lips.
“Sienna?” And again, it wasn’t even me who called her name! I couldn’t take any more surprises today, it wasn’t even noon!
“Nikolai?” she said stunned. She looked around me and I wanted to crawl away from the shit storm that was my life. Niko was now beside me and his eyes were throwing daggers at her. But it didn’t faze Sienna; she straightened her back, and squeezed her breast tighter together.
“Well, isn’t this quite the surprise? I might as well properly introduce myself,” she said and stretched out a hand for me to shake, before she purred, “I’m Sienna, daughter of Asmodeus. I am Nephilim, I am Lust.”
Welcome to the club, Max.
Acknowledgments
Wow, where to begin? First and foremost, a big thank you to my mother who plays such a big part in me being able to finish this book. If it weren’t for her patience and understanding, she’d probably have kicked me to the curb.
To my sister Adriana and my sister-in-law Lakenya, “Spread love, it's the Brooklyn way.” Thanks for always listening to me when I need a lending ear, and for not making fun of all my big and crazy dreams. Love you guys!
My nieces, Tatiana and Victoria, you were my first young adult readers, and your excitement for this series has given me the motivation to continue. I love you both with all my heart and can you both please stop fighting? (lol)
To Daniella Brooks, you’ve pretty much become my best friend. Thanks for being such an awesome person and hearing me out with all my plot changes and encouraging me to kill off almost all of my characters (yeah right, ha!). The first half of this book could not have been completed if it wasn’t for our late night karaoke sessions at Starbucks. You rock!
Gloria Rote, my editor and writing partner. You have taken me out of the comfort of my own home and pulled me away from every distraction that was holding me back from finishing Greed. Thank you for all your help and words of wisdom. You’re not just my editor and writing partner anymore, you’ve become my friend.
Laura Hidalgo, thank you so much for putting up with my pickiness when it comes to the covers and all my other graphic design needs. You have been a God send when it comes to my cover art and I LOVE THEM!!
To my family in the states, Colombia, and Europe, thank you for being so supportive and constantly cheering me on! I love you all so much, words aren’t enough to describe it.
Finally, my readers. Thank you for taking a chance with a newbie author like me. In the short period that Sins of the Fallen has been out, I have met some of the coolest fans ever and I am so grateful for you guys! Your reviews and
messages are worth more than anything a writer could ever ask for. Even the simplest of comments has brightened up my day and encouraged me to keep writing whenever I fell into a slump. Thank you my sinners!
About the Author
Karina Espinosa is the Urban Fantasy author of the Sins of the Fallen series and the Mackenzie Grey novels. She is a blogger at HollywoodNewsSource.com & DirtyandThirty.com. Infatuated with travel, pop culture and the need to write everything down, she spends much of her days in front of a computer working on her next book, shopping online, and listening music. With nomadic tendencies, she is currently resting her head in South Florida until the itch to move strikes again. You can usually catch her on Facebook, Instagram, and live-tweeting during episodes of The Walking Dead and Orphan Black. Follow her on social media!
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Check out the next book in the
Sins of the Fallen series.
Lust
Coming January 28th, 2016
Sins of the Fallen Series
Can you tell the difference between
GoodandEvil?
Greed (Sins of the Fallen Book 2) Page 20