Whiskey and Angelfire

by A. A. Chamberlynn

  WHISKEY

  and ANGELFIRE

  Zyan Star Book Two

  ___________________________

  A.A. Chamberlynn

  The Zyan Star Series

  Reading Order

  Martinis with the Devil (Book 1)

  Whiskey and Angelfire (Book 2)

  Vengeance and Vermouth (Book 3)

  Black Magic and Mojitos (Prequel Novelette) (Book 4)

  Sorcery and Sidecars (Origin Story Novella) (Book 5)

  The Quinn Chronicles (A Zyan Star Spin-off Series)

  Death and Dating (Book 1)

  Death and Promises (Book 2)

  Death and Eternity (Book 3)

  Zyan Star Book 6 Coming Soon!

  www.AlexiaChamberlynn.com

  Other Books by A.A. Chamberlynn

  Of Blood, Earth, and Magic

  The Timekeeper’s War Series

  Huntress Found (Book 1)

  Huntress Lost (Book 2)

  Huntress at War (Book 3)

  www.AlexiaChamberlynn.com

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  Copyright © 2016 by A.A. Chamberlynn

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For information contact A.A. Chamberlynn at www.alexiachamberlynn.com

  Cover design by Novak Illustration.

  For Gareth, again

  And for Brad, for the name

  CHAPTER ONE

  Angels can be total assholes sometimes. Especially when you’re trying to question a suspect, and they don’t approve of your interrogation techniques. Real sticklers for rules and appropriate behavior. It gets in the way of me doing my job.

  I turned to look at my partner Eli (the asshole angel) after his ten millionth sigh, all the time keeping my boot wedged firmly against the jugular of our suspect. We stood in a dingy alley somewhere in south L.A., the last rays of a nuclear orange sunset illuminating Eli from behind. Which would have looked really badass with his wings and all, if it weren’t for him crossing his arms over his chest and wearing such a pouty scowl. It was ruining my mood, and I usually loved a good interrogation.

  “Would you please not kick the suspect in the face,” Eli said, his tone heavy with exasperation.

  “Yeah, lady!” squeaked the creature lying face down in sticky asphalt at my feet. “I don’t know anything about those missing kids!”

  “Shut up,” I hissed, grinding the heel of my boot into his throat. I turned my gaze to Eli. “You think I like getting this scumbag’s snot on my new boots? I swear, I can’t keep a pair in decent shape since I met you.”

  “I hardly think your Gucci is a priority at the moment.” Eli rolled his eyes. I used to think I had an impressive eye roll until I started hanging with Heaven’s finest.

  “Ah, you’re getting better with your brand recognition. We’ll make a fashionista out of you yet.” I flashed him a smile, brushing a strand of burgundy hair behind my ear.

  “Excuse me!” gasped the garden gnome.

  It’s true what they say, by the way—garden gnomes really will try to plant an axe in your back. Or at the least, steal your children and sell them to demons for sacrificial rituals. Which is what I was ninety-nine percent sure this charming fellow had been up to.

  I kicked him in the face again. “What did you do with those kids?”

  Eli sighed deeply as the gnome howled.

  “I told you! It wasn’t me!” The gnome flailed wildly. They’re pretty damn strong for their size—like a fat baby hippopotamus.

  “Then who was it?”

  “I don’t know! I swear…”

  My temper flared. Maybe it was because L.A. wasn’t my favorite place, or maybe it was the fact that I hadn’t found a soul to eat in more than a week, or maybe because Eli was being a stiff while kids were getting sacrificed to demons. Whatever the case, my last shred of patience abruptly snapped.

  “Listen, you dirt-shoveling, frolicky shit. You have exactly three seconds to spill every ounce of information you know, or I’m going to carve you up.” The air shivered and my katana shone in my hand, cold and hungry.

  “No! I swear! No!”

  Heat blazed through my body, and the gnome’s eyes widened. His mouth kept moving, but the sound abruptly cut off. Only small strangling sounds came from his throat, wet and panicked.

  “Zyan,” Eli said, his voice sharp.

  The gnome’s face grew red, and his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of his shriveled, warty head. I knew he was holding something back, and I wasn’t going to let these kids keep getting taken…

  “Zy!” Eli shouted, grabbing me by the shoulders.

  I startled, my concentration broken. My vision dipped to my hands, which glowed a vivid red. A shiver ran through my body. Had I been casting a spell without even realizing it? Eli’s lavender eyes burned into mine, and I could see my surprised expression reflected in them.

  “I’ll take you!” shrieked the gnome. “The kids! I’ll take you there now!”

  I drew in a shaky breath and pasted a smile on my lips. “See? Turns out the little guy can talk after all, given the proper encouragement.”

  My partner just turned and stalked out of the alley as I dragged the mini criminal to his feet. Fine, Eli could be grumpy if he wanted. We’d gotten what we needed, and if the little wretch of a gnome was telling the truth, we might get those kids home alive after all.

  Sometimes, like right now, I seriously questioned my decision to pair up with an angel. Not just an angel, but all the forces of Heaven. We reported directly to the HR (holy representative) of Northwest America, and he reported directly to God for all I knew. So yeah, I was pretty much entrenched. It’d been a little over two months since Eli and I worked our first case together, and we’d gotten fairly close during that time. One would never think a soul thief and an angel could get along, but stopping an invasion from Hell was a pretty excellent team building exercise. The last few weeks though, it seemed we’d backslid. Eli was back to being his stuck-up, judgmental self. I figured it was the demon mark Lucifer had placed on me, not like that was my fault. A sigh escaped my lips. Bartending was probably a better choice. Just thinking of Noir, and imagining Quinn and Riley slinging drinks without me, gave me a pang of homesickness.

  I didn’t have time to dwell on it further, however, as Eli and I had to take down a couple demons, return five children to their homes, slam the gnome in a jail cell, and answer questions for some reporters about the rescue. Well, Eli answered questions for reporters. I wasn’t exactly the kind of character Heaven wanted to associate with. They didn’t like to advertise that they had a bartender/bounty hunter, part witch part demon soul thief in their employ. Not so good for publicity.

  When Eli finished with the news team, he joined me where I stood off to the side of a police station. Darkness now claimed the sky, though smog dulled the velvety black. The professional, neutral face he’d worn for the camera tightened into a scowl as he approached me.

  “Do you realize how much you preen in front of cameras?” I asked, to delay the inevitable lecture. Plus, as not-nice as it was, I still liked to push his buttons. Just a little.

  “I do not preen.” Eli
frowned. Such pretty lips put to such dismal behavior. “Listen, we need to talk about what happened.”

  “Oh, so you’re ready to apologize for jumping my shit?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  He ignored my question. “What was that? Do you even know?”

  “Just my witch powers flaring up. You know I’ve been learning how to use them again.”

  “And that’s all?” His eyes darted to the mark on my left arm. The partial demon mark that Lucifer had carved into my skin trying to bond me to him.

  I knew it.

  “Are we really going to go there again?” I snarled. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans and rocked back on the heels of my boots.

  “If we have to. Yes.” He took a step closer to me, and his body heat washed up against mine. “I believed you Zy, that your mark wasn’t affecting you, but today…”

  I stared up at him. My eyes blazed like the Hollywood stars and my lips parted in a growl. “Clearly all that stuff you said a couple months ago about trusting me was total bullshit if one little power flare has you so scared.”

  “I’m not scared,” he hissed with a shake of his head, making locks of golden hair swing back and forth. “Just worried. You didn’t seem yourself.”

  “Not myself?” I laughed, short and mirthless. “You guys hired me because I don’t follow the rules. What I do is get the job done. Just because I joined on doesn’t mean I’m going to become a good little angel groupie and drink your heavenly Kool-Aid.”

  Eli’s jaw rolled, a sign that he was super pissed. “Why do you have to be so damn difficult all the time? Just admit that something happened tonight and you aren’t sure what it was!”

  I opened my mouth to retort and as I did, I took in a deep breath, a breath heavy with the scent of Eli’s soul. Pure and vibrant as a glacier spring, the roots of a mountain, the forever of the sky. It rocked into me and a brutal longing flashed from my lips to my groin. I wanted to drink him, to possess him, to have all of him. I’d never wanted anything more in my entire two-hundred-plus-year life.

  Without conscious thought, I stepped forward into the curve of his body, tilting my face up, leaning in…

  Eli’s comm device rang, the one that only HR headquarters used. Reality slammed into me. I spun and stalked off, seeing a flash of Eli’s confused face as he answered.

  “Eli Whitesong.” A pause. “Yes. Okay. We’ll be right there.”

  I heard him disconnect the call and take two steps in my direction. Well, not so much heard it as felt it. As if a line of energy connected us. This was royally fucked.

  “Zy?” He sounded unsure for once.

  I didn’t speak, but turned around slowly.

  A long pause hung in the chill air between us. “The HR needs us right away. One of the special agents has gone missing and he wants us on the case.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  The HR didn’t meet us in his personal quarters, amidst the pagodas and water lilies. A shame, because I really could have used the twilight and incense and overall serenity of that place. It’d been a pretty crap day. I was starving. And now Eli was treating me like a plague victim.

  We were back in Seattle, at HR headquarters in South Lake Union, but not in the public area of the building. No, we sat around a sleek metallic conference table in a stark white room, surrounded by a bunch of tense angels. Let me say what a barrel of fun that isn’t. Even the HR himself seemed slightly on edge. The dude could stay calm through threats to his own life, but this seemed to have him rattled. If someone is dead, you know the facts, as somber as they are. But if they’re missing? Well, there are any number of unpleasant possibilities involved.

  “What do we know?” Eli asked the room after everyone had taken their seats.

  It was all top level Heaven’s helpers on hand—higher-ups with fancy titles. Eli actually ranked lowest in the room, as Commander of Special Security. It surprised me to see all these big-wigs. Who exactly had gone missing? Were they high up on the chain of command, or was it merely the possibility of leaking vital information under interrogation that they were so worried about?

  “Ambriel Lightwing, cavalry soldier,” intoned a tall, thin angel whose sex was indeterminate. The angel’s hair and skin were so light and monochrome as to give an almost albino impression, except for coal dark eyes, startling in contrast.

  A 3D holographic image of the missing angel popped up in the middle of the table. Dark hair and skin, sky blue eyes, the ubiquitous serious expression of all the angels.

  “Lightwing was stationed in Dublin. Didn’t report to duty forty-six hours ago. A search of his living quarters revealed no signs of struggle and no clues as to his whereabouts. A further search of the city has revealed no information to aid in the search.”

  “Nothing?” Eli’s tone held a mix of surprise and outrage. “You’re saying not a single clue has been found?”

  The albino angel clasped its hands together on the tabletop. “No, Commander Whitesong. Ambriel seems to have disappeared without a trace.”

  I suppressed a snort at the cliché statement. “So why are you calling us in? Out of all the soldiers at your disposal?”

  Everyone turned to stare at me, as if they’d previously thought me a mute or something. I stared calmly back.

  The HR cleared his throat and I turned in his direction. It still surprised me how young he was, with his jet black hair and smooth cinnamon skin. He couldn’t be much past forty. “My understanding, Zyan, is that you hail from Dublin?”

  My stomach tightened. “Not Dublin itself, but a small town close by, yes.”

  “I suppose we—I—hoped that your knowledge of the area and connections could provide insight we might have overlooked.” The HR’s eyes held mine, his expression hopeful.

  I really did like the HR, something I hadn’t expected going into all this a couple months ago. “I don’t exactly have fond memories of my homeland,” I said, swallowing against a throat gone dry. “So I can’t say I’ve visited much in the past couple centuries. My connections are somewhat slim.”

  The HR’s face fell, his hope dimmed. “Nonetheless, even a slight advantage is better than what we have now—nothing.” He paused. “Of course, if it’s too painful for you to go—”

  He was a smart man. I took a deep breath and turned on one of my dagger-sharp grins. “There’s nowhere in this dimension or any other I won’t travel. And earth is my particular playground.” I darted a glance over to Eli. “We’ll see what we can do.”

  The other angels cast glances at each other. Clearly they didn’t like trusting a soul thief with the life of one of their own. Well, if they could handle their own shit, I wouldn’t have to.

  The HR looked relieved. “How soon can you be ready?”

  “I need to grab a bite to eat. And some clothes. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  My mouth tasted of dirty soul when I stepped into my apartment in Belltown half an hour later. Like cigarettes that had been seeped in rancid storm water runoff or something. Cancerous and rotten and foul. I was getting really tired of being such a martyr and eating only the bad souls, the scumbags. Especially when Eli’s soul smelled so damn mouthwatering all the time.

  “I need a cocktail,” I groaned to Riley.

  “Nice to see you too, princess,” he responded drily, but good man that he is, he grabbed out the Grey Goose anyway.

  “Tough night?” Quinn asked from her perch on the sofa, twisting a blonde curl around her finger.

  “Yeah, you could say that.” I flopped down on the sofa and closed my eyes for a moment as the beautiful sound of Riley shaking my martini filled the room. “And we’ve got to head to Dublin now. Missing angel.”

  Riley and Quinn were my best friends, roommates, and also fellow bartenders and bounty hunters. They’d helped me and Eli track down the would-be assassin of the HR. Alexander, my first and most-hated of exes, as it turned out. The vamp who’d broken my heart over two hundred years ago and left me at the hands of my make
r Olga, who turned me into an immortal Anam Gatai, a soul thief. Which wasn’t even the worst thing Alexander did—no, that would be turning my sister into a vampire, something I hadn’t found out until he walked back into my life a couple months ago. Just a tad bit dramatic. So yeah, Ri and Quinn were my emotional cheerleaders, too.

  Riley walked around from behind the bar in the kitchen and handed me my drink. “You’re the best,” I said with true gratitude.

  “Yes, he is,” said Riley’s boyfriend Dan, emerging from the back hallway. Dan had all but moved in the last couple months. I should’ve started charging the dude rent, but he was cool and made Ri happy so I let it slide.

  “Hey, Dan,” I called, taking a sip of my drink. We all piled around the coffee table in the living room.

  “So, Dublin?” Quinn chewed on her lip. “That’s not exactly your favorite place.”

  I downed the martini in one big gulp and sighed in relief to have the taste of icky soul out of my mouth. “Well, I can’t help where the dumb little angels get themselves abducted. But no, not totally thrilled about it.”

  “What’s wrong with Dublin?” Dan asked, looking back and forth at the three of us.

  “It’s where I was born,” I responded. “And turned immortal. Bad memories.”

  “Oh, sorry,” he said, looking sheepish.

  “No worries.”

  “We can go with you,” Riley suggested.

  “Yeah,” Quinn piped in.

  “And leave Tony to watch Noir again? He’s going to get sick of us always running off and leaving him to run things,” I said.

  “Are you kidding?” Riley laughed. “Tony loves being left in charge. Plus, this would be the second time. I hardly think that qualifies as always.”

  “Plus, I happen to miss Ireland,” Quinn added.

  I got up to make myself another martini. “It’s tempting, but I’ll be working guys. It’s not going to be a fun vacay.”