Sins of Angels (The Complete Collection)

by Larkin, Matt

  “Anyone out here is like to be up to no good,” David said. “So let’s say hello.”

  Asteroids flashed by as the captain accelerated, weaving in and out of them. The ship on-screen took off, fleeing deeper into the field. It was agile, apparently able to easily change directions.

  “We’re going to lose them if they keep that up,” Rachel said.

  “Aye. Get their attention, Phoebe. MAGs only.”

  “Yup, yup. One slap in the face, coming up.”

  The MAG cannons retorted, blowing through asteroids and splitting them into thousands of smaller ones—ones too small to cause much damage to the hull as long as the kinetics held. Some of the shots caught the fleeing snake-ship and it vanished from the screen.

  “What was that?” David said. “I meant scare them.”

  “I, uh …” Phoebe said. “They just disappeared.”

  “No,” Rachel said. “I’ve got them off the stern, slinking away. They’ve got stealth tech similar to Raziel’s ship. That must have been a hologram you shot.”

  They could do that—create a hologram of an entire ship? Was that Asheran tech? If so, it would likely be a problem.

  “Cute,” David said. “Cut them off. Light pulse cannon fire.”

  The Sephirot came about. A few pulse blasts obliterated the asteroids separating the two ships. Pulses grazed the pirates, scorching their hull without breaching it. Phoebe was a damn fine shot.

  Apparently they got the message, because the ship turned about and held position.

  “Phoebe,” David said, “Lead a party. Take them alive if possible.”

  “Yup, yup. Come on, ninja boy,” she said. She tapped her comm and ordered several Sentinel assault units to the hangar.

  “Do we expect resistance?” Knight asked her, as they rode the lift.

  “Probably. Pirates don’t generally like being boarded. They prefer to do the boarding. And plundering. Not that we’ll be plundering, of course.”

  Knight fingered the hilt of his kyoketsu. David wanted these pirates alive. Best to do this without weapons, then.

  They met the other troops in the hangar and filed into shuttles and boarding pods.

  Knight strapped into a shuttle beside Phoebe. “Hey,” he said. “Be careful.”

  “Awww. That’s so sweet. Darling all looking out for me, pretending I’m not a total badass.”

  “Last time you got shot.”

  She snorted. “Yup, well, those were Sentinels. We were all badasses, all right?”

  And seeing her like that had been the scariest moment of his life. But she was a soldier, and she was right … He’d couldn’t go into this worrying about her.

  She winked at him, then formed her helmet. Knight did the same.

  The pirates opened the hangar for the shuttle. Convenient. Knight supposed they realized refusing would just result in them blowing out hull breaches.

  “Ready?” Phoebe asked.

  Knight nodded and they popped the hatch. He dove out and rushed forward.

  MAG shots retorted around the hangar in an instant. Knight rolled to the side, kicked off the floor, and jumped to the wall. From there he kicked again and landed in the midst of a trio of pirates. They tried to level their MAGs at him. Not fast enough.

  He swept a man’s legs and caught a woman in the jaw with an uppercut at the same time. Both went down. Before the third man could level his gun, Knight kicked it, pinning it to the wall. Then he leapt in the air and back-kicked the man with his other leg, sending him flying. Knight dropped down and punched the man he’d tripped.

  Three incapacitated. None dead.

  He turned to check on Phoebe. She rolled forward, evading fire, then came up shooting her pulse pistol. Blasts took out attackers, one in the shoulder, the other in the leg. She rose, running straight at another group. MAG rounds ricocheted off her armor.

  A pirate swung a pipe at her when she neared. She caught his arm and dropped him with a chop to the ribs, grabbed the falling pipe, and slammed it into another man’s knee. She continued her momentum, caught a man around the shoulder and flipped him, flinging him hard onto the ground.

  Knight nodded at her. Not bad.

  “See?” she said with a shrug. “Now which one of us is more badass?”

  Knight snorted and continued down the hall. “Not even a question.”

  “Damn straight.” She trotted after him. “Hey, wait. You did mean me, right?”

  More pirates tried to hold them off. Knight kicked around the rails and walls, using the environment as a shield to close in. There was always a way in. He slammed a man’s head against the wall. Telekinetically he reached out and snatched two pirates’ guns.

  An Icie with an eye patch came up, MAG readied. Knight caught his arm and twisted, and the gun clattered away. He turned, pulling the man to his knees. The Icie screamed as his joint pressed the wrong way.

  “Ezra?” Phoebe said.

  What? Her brother? Her parents had mentioned the man had gone pirate. Damn. Knight shoved the Icie toward Phoebe.

  She caught him, looked him in the eye, and shook her head. Knight couldn’t see her face because of the helmet. Phoebe socked her brother across the jaw and the young man fell.

  “Knight, bring him back to the Sephirot.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll help secure the rest of the ship. Won’t take long.”

  Knight shifted his weight. Debating her was probably pointless. But letting her walk into danger without him … No. She was a highly trained spec ops Sentinel. He had to trust her.

  He slung the unconscious man over his shoulders and carried him back to the shuttle. He locked Ezra in the back.

  Ten minutes later, Phoebe returned.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  She tapped her suit to release the helmet and turned to look at him, her eyes red. Had she been crying? God, what should he say? He’d never had brothers or sisters. How was he supposed to manage for her?

  He removed his own helmet and took over control of the shuttle. He was no expert pilot, but he was learning, and she was clearly not in any shape to fly.

  “So … he was really out here, huh?”

  “I guess.”

  “I’m sorry, Phoebe. I know it must be hard to find him like this.”

  “I think that’s a cybernetic patch.”

  Knight had seen that too. “Yeah. You know … They’re not all bad. Asherans with implants, I mean. They’re just people who abandoned the Covenant. They can still be … They’re still people.”

  She rubbed her face and Knight flew the shuttle back toward the Sephirot.

  “Hey, Knight,” she said after a minute. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “Oh … everything.”

  “So I’m not an ass anymore?”

  She smiled. “I didn’t say that. But I love you. I was thinking maybe we … Maybe we should have some babies.” She turned away at that and ran her fingers through her pink hair, as if embarrassed.

  Knight felt a bit flush, too. He’d wanted children for so long. And then Rachel had made him question whether he wanted it just because he was told to. But it didn’t matter why he wanted it. What mattered was he did now, in each moment. And Phoebe was the One. He knew that now, without any doubt. Sometimes he’d thought about what he might have had with Shirin, had she lived. Maybe they would have escaped and raised a family together. But that was another lifetime, a distant memory. A sadness that might never completely fade, but had been filled with a warmth he’d never known.

  “You mean that?”

  “Yup, yup. I … um …” She turned back to him, and smiled, her teal eyes shining.

  “You mean now?”

  “Uh, think we’d better wait until we get back to one of our quarters, big guy.”

  “Right.” Of course. Obviously. Not like they’d never had sex on a shuttle before. Just not with her brother locked in the next room.

  He reached over t
o take her hand.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-EIGHT

  But if I can forgive Raziel now that he’s admitted the sin … maybe I deserve the same. If I have been arrogant, I have done so with the best intentions. I still have the best intentions.

  David had insisted Caleb be restrained in the brig. Rachel didn’t really blame him. Caleb Gavet had been their enemy a lot more often than he’d been their ally, if he even was now. The man was duplicitous, lecherous, and a prick. But he knew things, and if he was willing to share, she needed that information.

  They’d taken the entire crew of the Serpent prisoner, which apparently included Phoebe’s own brother. Leah was now seeing to injuries some of the pirates had sustained.

  Rachel opened the door to Caleb’s cell and moved to stand in front of him. She doubted she had anything to fear from this man. Not anymore. He had the look of one broken by the weight of too heavy a burden. Too much loss. He sat with his head in his hands.

  She still couldn’t read his emotions. By the look of him, she was probably lucky for that.

  “Gavet.”

  He looked up at her. “I didn’t know you’d come.”

  “Twice you tried to tell me things, and twice you got cut off. So tell me.”

  He chewed his thumb a moment before leaning back against his cell wall. “Did you … did you capture a woman with orange hair?”

  Rachel nodded. She had seen someone like that. She pulled out a tablet and glanced through a prisoner manifest. “Yeah. Rebekah Norris. Your assistant, she claimed.”

  “She was. She’s … God, she’s an Angel.”

  Wow. That little girl? Rachel had been right—other Angels were hiding in plain sight. Raziel had said they could retract their wings … between that and telepathy they could disguise their nature.

  “Whose side is she on?”

  Caleb sighed and shook his head. “There’s this scientist working for Jericho—running it now, really. I thought he was an Asheran. He knew all about cybernetics. Now I think he must be like her. She was helping him.”

  Well, shit. How many of these hidden Angels were out there? So now an Angel was running Jericho Corp. Not much chance of finding allies there.

  “So Rebekah is a foe, then. We’ll have her moved to the isolation wing.”

  “Apollo murdered my family, Rachel.”

  God. Rachel was glad she didn’t have to feel his emotions. That chip Leah found in his head blocked her, and for once, that might be a boon to her. She sat down on the cot beside him and put her arm around his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Caleb.”

  No wonder the man had given up on life.

  Apollo. That name sounded familiar.

  “Apollo …?”

  “The Angel running Jericho.”

  Angel. Apollo … “Apollyon …”

  “What?”

  “Raziel said that a fallen Angel named Apollyon betrayed them. Caused the Vanishing. An Angel serving the Adversary.”

  “Fuck me. And I helped him.”

  Which must mean Rebekah was also one of the fallen. If Raziel was here now … No. She couldn’t afford to depend on the Angel. She was always preaching for humanity to stand on its own. Well, here they were. Her and David and Knight and the others. And Caleb? Could she trust him? She couldn’t read his emotions, but if he wasn’t sincere, he was the best actor she’d ever met.

  “Look, we’re heading back to the Milky Way, Caleb. The Angels are trying to take out the NER.”

  “The what?”

  “New Eden Republic. We’ve been trying to start an independent government.”

  Caleb shrugged out from her arm and turned directly to face her. “Rachel, listen to me. What I’ve been trying to tell you … None of this political shit matters anymore. The Angels built space stations, okay. One of them was out at the Great Attractor. I went there.”

  She scoffed. That was too far and there were no known routes beyond the Local Group.

  He shook his head as if reading her mind. “He told me the way. And I found an Angel station there. I thought … I thought they were trying to harness the power of the black hole. God, Rachel, I was so wrong. The stations weren’t created to harness anything. They were created to lock it away from this universe.”

  She leaned forward. “To lock what away, Caleb?”

  “The Adversary.”

  It wasn’t in this universe? “So … the Adversary lives in another universe.”

  “No, Rachel.” Caleb rubbed his forehead. “The Adversary is another universe. A sentient universe of hatred, bent on the utter destruction of the Angels.”

  Rachel sat speechless, unable to get her mouth to work. A sentient universe. That was impossible. Nothing on that kind of scale could be alive. It was off rotation nonsense. Caleb was traumatized. His mind had created delusions …

  But Rachel had seen it. It had touched her mind. Terrible, alien hatred. Unfathomably ancient and vast. She had touched it when they breached the Conduit.

  Man Shall Adhere to the Bounds of the Conduit.

  And they had violated the Second Commandment. They had seen another universe. Had she borne witness to the Adversary itself? The ultimate foe of the Angels?

  “Rachel … These Angel stations were created as seals to lock away the Adversary, you understand? Dimensional barriers to keep the universes apart. Apollo had me destroying them, four so far. And I think he’s brought down others on his own. I think … I don’t think many of these seals are left.”

  The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. “What happens when the last seal breaks?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess … the Adversary will have access to this universe again.”

  Holy. Shit.

  Rachel rose. She had to get this information to David. She had to … to face the terrible truth.

  She had no idea what to do.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-NINE

  May 8th

  Seals are all that keep the Adversary from this universe. Seals that bind the Angel’s enemies in another reality. I find the concept a little hard to wrap my mind around.

  Caleb didn’t mind being back in the brig. At least in here he could do no more harm. Except that, in here, he could do nothing but think. He paced the cell. There was no escape. Not from here. Not from the visions that seeped into his mind the instant he let down his guard. The sights mankind was never meant to see. The hostile universe, bent on consuming his very soul. The hatred stretching down through the ages, reaching back to before the human race even existed.

  The vile sickness that had consumed his heart and devoured that which he held most precious. Ayelet. James. Miriam.

  Taken because of Apollo and the Adversary. Lost because of Caleb’s own selfish arrogance and ambition.

  And still the voices spoke in his mind. They called to him. Demanded he obey—promised him solace. An end to his suffering if only he submitted. Not in words—not exactly. Rather it was like a serpent, slithering through his mind, constricting his lungs. Hissing at him of his only chance at peace.

  Be silent.

  Caleb shrieked and beat his fists against the wall.

  Ayelet.

  James.

  Miriam.

  He pounded until his hands bled. No one would hear. The cell was soundproof unless the smart glass was switched to be permeable. Exhausted, he slumped to the floor, dragging a streak of blood along the wall.

  Rachel came most days. His only solace.

  “I can’t release you,” she’d said.

  “I don’t deserve release …”

  But she brought him news. David McGregor had become a leader in this New Eden Republic, jaunting around the galaxies, trying to recruit more member systems. The man’s fame spread almost as fast as that Nephilim who worked for him. Thousands flocked to his banner …

  It might have seemed a new hope for humanity.

  If the Angels weren’t running around behind his back destroying or conquering half the worlds
he enlisted. If Asherah wasn’t sweeping up vast swathes of territory Sentinels could no longer defend.

  Well, Caleb wished McGregor all the luck in the universe. The man didn’t understand what was really out there. Rachel had told him, Caleb knew, but still … No one could understand until they had felt it.

  The smart glass opened, and he turned to see that Amphie doctor entering. What was her name? Leah Suzuki?

  Caleb should have had a charming witticism to throw at her. Nothing came. He just stared at her numbly.

  She sighed and knelt beside him. “They told me you injured yourself. You didn’t think you’d claw your way out of the cell, right?”

  Caleb shook his head, slowly.

  The doctor took his hands in hers and injected something into them. A rush of air against his skin, then he felt the nanobot regenerators begin to knit his split flesh back together. It itched, tingled.

  A few seconds later Suzuki pulled a cloth from a compartment in her suit and wiped away the blood. “Don’t do that again, Mr. Gavet.”

  His hands were good as new. If only the rest of him were so easy to repair. If only his heart and mind and soul could be treated with a simple injection.

  The Amphie sighed and rose. “I’d say you got what you deserved … But Rachel told me what happened to your family. No one deserves that. I can give you something to help you sleep, if you need.”

  “No!” Dear God. In sleep he was defenseless. The Adversary crept into his mind whispering its promises and threats and illusions. Wrapping them around his fragile psyche until all he could do was weep like a child. “No. No sleep. No sleep, Suzuki. A stimulant … Can you give me a stim?”

  “I … don’t think that would be a very good idea.”

  Caleb chuckled, or tried to. It came out as a pathetic wheeze. The doctor only saw the medical angle. There was no cure for the human soul.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  She nodded. “I’ll, uh … I’ll have them send you some tea, then.”

  Tea. Great. That should definitely save his soul.