“Be quiet!” Cas hissed.
Um no, I don’t think so. “Cas, I want you and your friend out of my house right now before the police get here.” I added the last bit as an afterthought.
“You called the police?” Sam’s voice came from my right, but I could see Cas’s outline as he moved close to the window.
“I... er... yes, just before I ran into you.” I was lying, of course, but they didn’t know that. I started to move back towards the door. Both guys were acting really odd, and it struck me that while Sam had seemed lovely, I didn’t really know the guy, but I did know Cas, and I didn’t trust him one jot. As though he read my mind, Cas’s hand shot out and latched onto my arm.
“Hey—” My voice cut off as he clapped his other hand over my mouth and pulled me closer to the window.
“Somehow I’m not that bothered about the police right now, Faith,” he whispered. I froze as I looked out of the window. Outside on the lawn was the biggest dog I’d ever seen. With three fucking heads. It was sniffing around the flowerbeds. Cas lifted his hand from my mouth, and it fell open as I gaped at the creature not six metres away from me. From where I stood, I could see that its heads would easily reach my shoulder, and the body was long and powerful, with bulging muscles and leathery skin. I couldn’t tear my eyes away, yet I knew if it caught our scent, there was no way we could fight that thing off.
Sam silently stepped up to Cas and murmured something in his ear. Cas looked at me briefly then nodded. I watched as Sam slowly backed out of the room. Cas tugged on my jacket and lowered his head to mine.
“Sam is going to distract it. When I tell you, make for your bike. Mine’s at the back. Wait for me to come around the front then follow me.”
I wondered briefly whether I should trust him. I mean, there was no way I trusted him, but if it came down to him or facing the hulking beast on my mother’s lawn, I guessed he was the slightly better option. I nodded, and he sighed—probably with relief. Even in our current situation, a small sense of satisfaction that I wasn’t predictable made me smile.
A streak of movement outside caught my eye as something large and grey blurred past the window. I held my breath as the giant dog came leaping out of the bushes towards the window, then turned and bounded after the blur and into the woods at the back of the house.
“Come on.” Cas grabbed my arm and pulled me to the door. I wrenched it out of his grip. He glared at me. “Fine. I’ll see you at the front.” He swung himself over the window ledge, landing with a crunch on the gravelled path below before looking back up at me. I held my middle finger up at him.
“Bite me.” I moved quickly to the front door, opened it slightly, and checked the driveway to see if that thing was somewhere about. It seemed quiet, so I hurried over to my bike. I was just about to grip the handlebars and start her up when Cas pulled up with a roar.
He lifted his visor and looked over at me. “Are you armed?”
I nodded, pulling my jacket open to show the hilt of my knife. Cas stared at me, raised his eyebrows, and then glanced back down at the knife with silent sarcasm. I only considered stabbing him with it for a second, I swear. He grinned as if reading my thoughts and pushed something into my hand. Looking down, my eyes widened. What the fuck was Cas doing with a gun?
“Fuck, Cas, what the hell?”
He pushed it into my hand. “In case they catch up. Send the sorry fuckers back to Hell. Safety is—” Cas was cut off as the brush around us exploded with movement. Large black shapes burst out of the shadows from which they’d been stalking us, armed with very sharp teeth and claws.
“Faith!”
I was already swinging my leg over the bike and starting her up with a roar of her own. He swung his bike around, and we took off down the driveway. I looked back to see more shapes pouring out of the trees as the first wave came level with my back tyre. They were horrific creatures. Their eyes gleamed red in the darkness, and I saw glints of white teeth as they snarled and snapped at my legs. I felt a sense of dread and fear creep over me, nausea rose in my throat, and I had a desire to freeze in place. Fuck that shit. Gripping the bike tightly with my legs, I pulled my arm back and clicked off the safety.
“Faith, hold on!” At Cas’s shout, I looked up and past him. We were nearing the end of the driveway where it joined with the main road. He showed no intention of slowing down. I tightened my hold on the bike and leaned into the sharp turn, pulling out onto the road and praying to the universe that there were no late-night taxis hurtling towards us. Thankfully there wasn’t, and as I came side on with my attackers, I heard another gun go off. I opened fire too, taking out the hounds closest to me. I was a little rusty though, having not fired a gun in over six years, and one got close enough that it managed to leap forward and rake its claws over my leg.
“Fucking bastard!” I yelled, feeling a sharp jolt of pain across my thigh and hearing the rip of my rather expensive leather trousers. As I straightened the bike, I planted a bullet between the eyes of the middle head, and the thing dropped back, whining.
“Clear!” I heard Cas yell from his position in front, his voice tinny on the wind that whistled past me. With an expanse of open road, he opened the throttle, and after glancing behind me to check that none of the bastards were closing in, I flicked the safety back on and stuffed the gun into the top of my zipped-up jacket. I took a deep breath, looking behind me again to watch the dark shapes fade into the distance. It took a mile or so for my breathing to return to normal and the sick fear inside to ease slightly. Trying not to think about what had just happened, I ignored the warnings in my head and followed Cas as he pulled onto the motorway and headed north.
Chapter Five
FAITH
As we flew along the deserted motorway, I tried to get what was going on straight in my head. I felt sick and shaky, and my mind was spinning. Rose had gone missing. Possibly kidnapped by someone. She had worked with Sam and Cas. They knew her. She’d met Cas... Oh God, did she know about him and me? That would be... icky. I’d dated him right after leaving home, during the period where my only contact with my mother ended in me screaming at her for trying to control me my entire life. We hadn’t exactly grabbed a cuppa and chatted about boys, and she probably wouldn’t have approved of Cas as boyfriend material either. But now, it was starting to look more and more as if she’d been taken against her will, and in one night, I regretted every moment I had spent hating her. I just wanted her back.
What are you mixed up in, Rose?
I shifted my grip slightly, squeezing my thighs together over the bike in an attempt to stop the shaking. I felt the hard metal of the gun down the front of my jacket and closed my eyes, picturing those creatures that had pursued us. They’d looked like Dobermans, but maybe crossed with something. Something huge. Had it really had three heads, or was I just fucking losing it? They were stockier than Dobermans too, massive and muscular. Someone really went for the freaky, fucked up guard dog angle. I loved dogs, and shooting them had really upset me. I had tried aiming over their heads, but they hadn’t been fazed by the gunshots at all, and I was convinced they would have ripped us apart if I hadn’t started shooting for real.
As I squeezed my thighs again, I felt a flash of pain across one of my legs. Glancing down, I saw that the dog had clearly torn through the leathers to my skin beneath. The leathers were ripped, and I could see the slickness of blood underneath, though it didn’t hurt too much, so I doubted the wound was deep. To be honest, I was more pissed because these were my favourite leathers. Any guilt I harboured for shooting the fucker disappeared.
Looking up, I noticed Cas was signalling to leave the motorway, so I followed suit. We pulled up at some lights, but as they changed, we veered to the left. The famous green bridge was ahead of me, and the River Tyne was below us, and within a few minutes we’d passed into Newcastle. The roads were practically empty at this time of night, except for the occasional taxi, and it wasn’t long before we were pulling into a small s
ide road somewhere in a rather well-to-do suburb. Cas rode his bike up in front of a beautiful stone townhouse, and I did the same. As I pulled off my helmet and bandana and fluffed out my hair, I noticed the polished brass sign next to the door.
Church of the Concordia, Northeast Regional Office.
“A church? Really?” I looked back at Cas, one eyebrow arched.
“Don’t make assumptions. And don’t... talk too much.” He turned to put his helmet on top of his bike and unzipped his jacket.
My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”
“These are important people, Faith, and your mouth has a habit of getting you into trouble.”
I didn’t know whether it was the make out session with Sam in the alley or having my crotch pressed against a vibrating bike for the last twenty minutes, but instead of slapping him for being such a patronising tosser, I licked my lips and stared pointedly below his belt. “That never seemed to bother you before.”
He stared at me for a moment, dropping his gaze to my mouth briefly before looking away.
“Just fucking keep it shut,” he growled. I unzipped my jacket and passed him the gun he’d lent me earlier.
“Fine.” I glared at him, but he ignored me, pushing past me to the entrance. Sliding a key into the lock, he tapped in a numerical code on a small box next to the door, and I heard a soft whoosh. The door swung open, and Cas gestured for me to enter, bowing mockingly as I did. The urge to grab his hair and slam my knee into his face was overwhelming, but I managed to resist. Just.
My grin faded as I stepped into the entrance hall. A polished black and white marble floor stretched deep into the house. High ceilings and grey walls surrounded me, with several closed doors leading off the hallway. A white, marble-topped console table to the right held a vase of red roses. I immediately felt out of place. Cas started up the stairs and beckoned for me to follow. I had a strange urge to take my boots off in case I muddied the soft cream carpet, but I saw nowhere to leave them, and Cas seemed impatient. At the top of the staircase, he ushered me along another hallway.
“Cas, where the hell are you taking me? What is this place?”
“Miss Matthews, I presume?” The door ahead of Cas opened, and a man stepped out into the hallway. Despite the fact that it was a little past four o’clock in the morning, he was immaculately dressed in a grey suit and tie, complete with waistcoat. He was clean-shaven, and his white hair was on the long side but combed back neatly. He held out his hand in greeting.
I glanced at Cas, who opened his mouth as if to say something but then shut it again. Turning back to the older man, I placed my hand in his. “Who are you? And how do you know my name?”
He grasped my hand firmly. “My name is Sir Phillip Hargreaves. I am the Head of the Northeast Division of the Church of the Concordia. As for your name, one of my officers called ahead to say Cassiel would be returning shortly with a young lady by the name of Faith Matthews. Daughter of Rose Matthews.”
I nodded. “An officer... you mean—”
“Samuel Hedworth. I believe you made his acquaintance tonight?”
“She did. How’s he doing, sir? There were several hellhounds pursuing us when we left, and I think he was under the impression there was only one.” Cas tried to sound nonchalant, but I noted that there was genuine concern in his voice. Clearly, he and Sam were close.
Hargreaves cracked a smile. “He called asking for backup and was waiting for the team to arrive before he headed over here. The team leader checked in a little while ago, so I don’t think he’ll be long.”
“A team? What kind of team?” I asked.
Sir Phillip looked at me. “Oh, I’m sorry. The creatures that pursued you, they were hellhounds. Creatures summoned by a magical practitioner from Sheol to Earth for a purpose. Usually the practitioner dispatches them back to Sheol after they perform their purpose, but this does not seem to have happened, so we’ve sent a team along to do it instead. Can’t have them roaming the Earth unchecked, now can we? Shall we go in and sit down? I imagine you’ll have some questions, Miss Matthews.”
He stood back and gestured for me to enter. Feeling a bit out of place, I didn’t say anything as I moved past him and into the room beyond. The cream carpet continued into this area, and tall mahogany bookshelves covered two of the walls with another taken up by floor-to-ceiling windows. A mahogany desk stood in front of one of the bookcases, and a small two-seater sofa and two velvet covered chairs took up the rest of the space. He gestured for me to sit, and I took the sofa, secretly amused as I watched Cas perch on one of the chairs. He was a big guy, and it looked like a child’s seat under him. Sir Phillip took the other chair.
“Now, Miss Matthews, we need to have a little chat about your mother. I need you to tell me what you know about her disappearance.” He leaned back, tapping his fingertips together, clearly waiting for me to speak.
Oh, hell no. I leaned forward, my elbows propped on my knees. “You know what? You might be a sir, and Cas here might bow and scrape around you, but I don’t know or care who you are, so maybe this conversation should go more like... who the hell are you people? Does my mother work for you? If so, for how long, and why doesn’t she work for the university anymore? What’s with the weird room under my house, and, oh yeah... where the hell is she?” To my right, I saw Cas roll his eyes dramatically, and I vaguely remembered something he’d said about these being important people and my mouth getting me into trouble. What the fuck? Since when did Cas give a shit about how he acted around anybody? Bugger that, I wanted to know what had happened to my mother, and this Sir Whatsit knew something. I leaned back, pressing my fingertips together as he had, clearly taking the piss. Sir Phillip stared at me for a moment, then smiled. It wasn’t a warm smile, but there was no way he was intimidating me.
“Of course, my dear. I do apologise. Naturally you are shaken and confused and worried about your mother. Let me see if I can illuminate you. Your mother does work for me, and she still works for the university. She is a consultant. I contact her when I need help acquiring artefacts or documents, and also for validating them. She is the top of her field in this country, and it is a rather specialised field.”
I frowned. “I thought she specialised in biblical archaeology and theology. Surely there are loads of people who do that?”
Sir Phillip nodded. “There are, but your mother has a distinct advantage in that she has unique sources to work from, like various documents and artefacts that belong to the Church of the Concordia. We have an extensive archive that the wider world knows nothing about.”
“What, even the Catholics? Or are you Catholics? I don’t really know how this stuff works, not really a churchy person.” And what the hell did this have to do with her disappearance? Last I checked, biblical archaeologists weren’t in high demand. She wasn’t exactly Indiana Jones.
Sir Phillip laughed. “No, we’re not Catholics, dear. We are an organisation that exists to maintain a balance on Earth between Heaven and Hell. You might see it as policing a no-man’s-land between two sides at war.”
“Heaven and Hell? Really?” I didn’t try hard to keep the scepticism out of my voice, but I let him get away with calling me dear. For now.
Sir Phillip opened his mouth to answer, but there was a knock at the door, and he glanced over as it swung open. “Ah, Samuel, come in.”
Sam walked in and dropped onto the sofa next to me. He grinned. “Hello again, come here often?” I let out a small amount of the frustration I was feeling by punching him hard in the arm. He recoiled, rubbing the spot with his other hand. “Not the time for flirting, got it.”
“Mr Hedworth, if you could possibly restrain yourself…” Sir Philip shot him a firm look, and Sam immediately went quiet. I looked at him, raising my eyebrows.
What was it about this guy that had everyone on their best behaviour? He was like a posh headteacher. Mind, I never was very popular at school, so this could be interesting. I looked back at Sir Phillip to find him watch
ing me appraisingly. He glanced over at Sam, then back to me as if considering something.
As I opened my mouth to ask about my mother again, he held his hand up to silence me. I bristled at the patronising gesture, and it was shock that kept me quiet rather than me doing as I was told. He seemed to sense my mood, because he hastily tried to explain himself.
“I realise you have questions, but this will go faster if I finish what I was trying to explain before. Our organisation exists to maintain a buffer zone on Earth between Heaven and Hell, both of which are real and exist. I am not going to insult your intelligence by telling you everything in the Bible is true. As a daughter of a biblical archaeologist and theologian, you will know that is not the case. However, Heaven and Hell do exist. Heaven is populated by angels, and Hell by demons and fallen angels and other creatures. On Earth, there exists several other supernatural species created in various ways, but mainly by angels and demons interbreeding with humans. With me so far?”
“Um, no, not really. You’re insane, and I’m leaving.”
I went to stand up, but Sam caught my hand. “Stay, Faith, this is important. Please.”
I sat back down, though I pulled my hand away from Sam, ignoring the hurt expression on his face. I was still pissed about the whole showing up at my house thing, and he wasn’t getting away with it that easily.
Sir Phillip continued, “I realise this is a lot to take in, and I won’t bore you with the details, just so far as to say Heaven and Hell have been at war since time began. A cold war as such, with a ceasefire that has lasted millennia. Entities from both also live on Earth, and the Church of the Concordia is tasked with keeping the peace and ensuring that humans do not find out about any of this.”
“Why not? If they already know all the stuff in the Bible, why shouldn’t they know it’s real?” I was still finding it hard to link all this with a quiet, middle-aged woman who liked to dress in dungarees and binge watch documentaries in her spare time.
Nephilim the Awakening (Wrath of the Fallen Book 1) Page 5