Blood and Feathers

by Lou Morgan

  “Really.”

  “Sorry.”

  A shadow dropped, landing just behind them. Gwyn was back.

  “There’s no way around this, I’m afraid,” said the Descended. He swayed slightly to avoid the swing a startled Vin took at him before realising who it was.

  Vin staggered, then shook his head. “That? The sneaking up? Not cool.”

  “Apologies. This way.” Gwyn pointed ahead of them, further into the shadows. Alice gulped back another cold rush of fear, unsure whether or not it was hers.

  There was no sign of the Fallen, not that that meant anything. Alice got the feeling that they were being guided (and none too gently) towards someone, and she wondered whether that was the same someone – or something – behind those horrible cracking sounds. The ones that were getting louder. She hoped Gwyn knew what he was doing.

  The path looped around the church and beneath the trees; funnily enough, to exactly the same spot where Vin had caught Lilith. And there, leaning against one of the tombs, was a huge, hulking man – not a man, judging by the scrappy wings that stuck out from his back; one of the Fallen. Alice could finally see what was making the cracking sounds, and immediately wished that she couldn’t.

  Piled up next to the Fallen on the tomb were long, thin bones, which she could only imagine had come from the graves around them. He was picking each up in turn, weighing them in his hands and snapping them neatly in two before lifting each section to his mouth and sucking furiously. Alice’s stomach flipped as she watched him chew on the end of a bone, then toss it aside and reach for another. She found herself drawing closer to Gwyn, and she wasn’t the only one. Vin had scuttled behind the taller angel and although his face was largely in shadow, she could see that he felt just as queasy as she did... in fact, she thought as another wave of nausea slapped into her, she could feel it too.

  The Fallen raised his head a little and sniffed, loudly. He threw the bone he was holding over his shoulder and turned to face them full-on, his hands on his hips.

  Gwyn stepped forward. “Batarel. I should have known by the smell. Are we interrupting your dinner?”

  “He wants to speak to you.”

  “Does he? I’m surprised he remembers how to string two words together.” Batarel’s head dropped forward, and when he raised it again, his eyes were the same whiteless, lidless glowing red that Alice remembered from the Fallen who had launched himself at them in the graveyard. Batarel rolled his shoulders and neck from side to side, and when he spoke, his voice had changed. It fizzed and crackled like static on a radio. Gwyn took a step back, and gestured for Alice to stand behind him. This wasn’t good, she thought, as she ducked between his wings.

  “Gwyn. My brother,” said the almost-Batarel, holding out his arms to Gwyn. Gwyn didn’t move, and Batarel sighed. “Still holding a grudge? Aren’t we a little old for that?”

  “A grudge? Lucifer, if it was just a grudge, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. And I am most certainly not your brother.”

  Alice peered over Gwyn’s shoulder. “Lucifer?” she whispered to him, “As in...?”

  She saw Gwyn nod gently. The red eyes suddenly fixed on her, the mouth below them breaking into a broad smile.

  “And there she is! Well? Come along, child. Step out where I can see you.”

  “The half-born is under my protection, Lucifer.” Gwyn’s voice was stern. “Our protection. You know what that means.”

  “Which is why there’s no harm in my seeing what all the fuss is about. So, hop to it.” Alice felt a pull at her feet, dragging her out from behind Gwyn, who glared at her. Completely exposed to the glow of those red eyes, she felt very small and alone.

  “You do look like your mother, don’t you? It’s really quite remarkable, the resemblance. Tell me, do you know who I am?”

  “Should I?” Alice’s voice managed to sound braver than she felt.

  Lucifer cocked his head on one side. “I would hope so. After all, the daughter of an angel and a priest? What kind of education did you have if you don’t know the Morningstar when you see him? Oh, yes. With a pedigree like that, you were theirs from the moment you were born, or that’s what they’ll tell you.” He caught her stare and grinned. “You’ll have to excuse my appearance,” he said, waving down at Batarel’s body. “I don’t get out much these days.”

  “You’re wrong about my father.”

  “Am I, now? And in what way am I wrong, precisely?”

  “He wasn’t a priest.”

  “Oh, no? Don’t tell me: he didn’t believe in any of it?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Perhaps that’s what you remember, but it wasn’t always so. I see more than you might imagine,” he tapped his nose and crouched down, scooping up a handful of soil and rubbing it between his fingers. “Tell me child, if that were true, did it never occur to you to ask why he had so many books about faith on his shelves?”

  “They were my mother’s...”

  “Were they? And, knowing what you know now, I might wonder what your mother would need to know of God that she couldn’t learn by simply asking.” He brushed the dirt from his hands, all the while smiling that awful smile, and stood up, looking at Gwyn. “The rules have changed, brother. The balance is tipping. And you think this scared little girl, this half-born, is the one to save you?”

  “I think I’ve heard enough.”

  Gwyn raised one of his arms, opening his hand as he pointed at Lucifer. The smell of ozone filled the air and sparks raced down Gwyn’s fingers, and, with an ear-splitting crack, a bolt of lightning shot from his hand and struck the Fallen angel, throwing him sideways. Alice jumped back behind Gwyn as Batarel shook his head to clear it. His eyes were no longer red: Lucifer had gone.

  Batarel shook himself down. “Nice trick. Stings a bit. You got anything else?”

  “Have I got anything else?” Gwyn smiled. “For you? I’ll do my very best.”

  A rush of wind blew dust into Alice’s eyes, and she blinked, rubbing her hand across her face. When she looked up again, Gwyn was striding towards Batarel... but he looked different. His suit had disappeared, and in its place was armour: a breastplate strapped over shining mail, and his wings out wide, sparks coursing across the feathers. It only took him a few steps to reach Batarel, whom he knocked off his feet with a single blow to his chin.

  She would have stood there, rooted to the spot with her mouth open, staring at him forever, if Vin hadn’t pulled at her. “Alice! The others – they’re here. Move!”

  So rapt had she been watching Gwyn that she had not noticed the three Fallen sliding into the shadow of the tree behind them. Vin, however, had, and he wasn’t prepared to let them gain any kind of advantage. He hauled her away from the path and among the graves, feet catching in the long tufts of grass as they ran.

  The churchyard was larger than Alice had first thought; it opened into a whole cemetery to the side of the church, and Vin obviously hoped to lose the Fallen in the maze of tombs. Alice’s heart pounded so hard she was sure it would break through her ribs. Finally, Vin stopped.

  “Thank god!” she gasped, but he held up a hand, motioning her to be quiet.

  “They’re still there, somewhere,” he whispered.

  The sound of footsteps rustling through grass and leaves to their left made them both jump, but the steps kept going, passing them by.

  “That was close. Come on, we should get inside.”

  He peered around the side of a tomb and looked back at Alice, but didn’t get any further. A large pair of hands snaked around the stone and clamped around his head, yanking him back. Alice bit down on a scream and pressed herself back against a gravestone. She could hear the sounds of a struggle from the other side: fists connecting with flesh – and what she fervently hoped was not a tearing sound – and she gradually became aware of a cold sensation in the small of her back, an almost-ache that she couldn’t quite place. Her back spasmed, and somewhere in the dark Vin cried out.

&
nbsp; Alice held up her hands. If what Gwyn had said was true, all of it, she should be able to do... well, something. She had no idea what, exactly, but that didn’t seem to be the point. There was another thump, this time accompanied by a low snarling sound, and Vin yelped again. The cold spot on her spine grew, and at last, she could feel the fire inside her fingers. Taking a deep breath, she jumped up and shouted, “Hey!”

  It did the trick. Not far away, she could see Vin being held (or possibly held up) by one of the Fallen while another threw punches into his side and ribs. Grey feathers lay scattered around their feet, and the Fallen holding Vin had blood on his hands. Vin himself was pale, his head lolling to one side. She wasn’t even sure if he was still conscious, and for a second, she wondered whether that might scupper her plan, such as it was. But she had other things to worry about: both the Fallen had stopped their attack on him, and were staring at her. Their stares gradually turned to smiles, and the one who was holding Vin released him – he promptly crumpled and hit the ground, hard. Everything Alice had been feeling vanished. The pain in her back was gone, her hands appallingly normal. Vin was out cold, which meant she was too. Aware the Fallen were moving towards her with expressions she didn’t want to see, she smiled and gave them a feeble wave.

  “Hi!” She edged her foot behind her, feeling out the ground and getting ready to run. “So. This whole ‘Fallen’ thing. How’s that working out for you?”

  She shifted her weight and was starting to back away when the pain in her back returned with a cold flare, her fingers suddenly prickling. She looked past the Fallen and saw Vin, still flat on his back but with his arms outstretched. A fine grey mist was seeping from his palms, sliding across the grass towards the Fallen, who had stopped.

  The mist wound itself about their feet and twisted around their ankles, spiraling its way further and further up their legs. They picked up their feet and tried to step out of it, doing their best to shake it off, but if anything it clung to them more closely, winding tighter and tighter with every movement they made. And then they began to scream.

  Alice couldn’t see what had changed at first, not until she looked down. As the mist worked its way up their bodies, it left their feet free... and their feet had been turned to stone. In fact, their whole bodies were changing beneath the mist, and by the time it had reached their necks, everything below their waists was solid rock. She watched as the grey cloud swallowed their faces, and a moment later, the screaming stopped. Vin dropped his hands, the mist vanishing. He rubbed his forehead, and Alice was dimly aware of a slight ache there too. Her fingers itched uncomfortably, but, so far, no fire. Perhaps Gwyn had been wrong; perhaps this gift wasn’t what he’d thought after all.

  “Alice!” Vin’s shout snapped her out of her thoughts. He had propped himself up on an elbow and was struggling to get to his feet. He pointed to a spot behind her left shoulder. “Duck!”

  She dropped, and felt a breeze pass over her head. Scrambling towards Vin, she could hear the footsteps closing in on her. The last of the Fallen. She had forgotten all about him. Vin was on his feet and in the air with a leap, landing behind her; she caught her foot on something and fell forward, turning over in time to see Vin knocked aside like a toy. But the Fallen wasn’t moving. He was waiting.

  Shaking, she stood up. She didn’t run. What was the point? Between her and safety, there was at least one of the Fallen – and who knew how many more – not counting Batarel, who might have given Gwyn the slip. And he was someone she did not want to get any closer to than she already had.

  “You looking for me?” she said, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.

  The Fallen nodded and licked his lips. He was holding a very large and very shiny knife. A very sharp knife. Alice remembered the sensation of something narrowly missing her head and gulped.

  And without warning, something clicked inside her head, and – not knowing what she was doing, or why she was doing it – she raised her arm, holding her palm out towards the Fallen. Her hand ached, deep inside the bone. It was just like stretching a tired muscle. A plume of flame erupted from her palm, wrapping around the Fallen in a breath. He shrieked and flailed wildly, his arms burning like torches in the dark – and with a ripping sound, he was gone.

  Alice stood frozen to the spot, staring at the place where he had been. Somewhere behind her, she heard the rustle of feathers and uneven footsteps. Vin was on his feet. He leaned on a stone next to her. His face was bruised, his mouth bloodied, and it looked like he’d have a beautiful black eye in the morning, but Alice was more concerned by what she could see of his wings. Clumps of feathers had been ripped out, leaving holes in his wings, which shuffled sadly against his shoulders. He followed her gaze and shrugged. “This? I’ve had way worse than this in my time. It’s never as bad as it looks. Bugger, though: like I haven’t had my wings clipped enough, right?”

  Alice didn’t have any words. Instead, she held out her hand as though it were a bomb that might go off. He nodded. “I saw. And to think you did that all on your own. I don’t think you’ll be needing me hanging around to protect you much longer, will you?”

  “Don’t go. Please. I don’t...”

  “Oh, I’m not going anywhere. Who said I don’t need you to protect me?”

  “Reluctant as I am to break up this little party of yours,” said Gwyn’s voice from the shadows, “we should leave.”

  He strode towards them, past the two Fallen whom Vin had turned to stone, pausing briefly to lay a hand on each of them. His fingers sparked and the statues shook, shining a hot blue as cracks raced across them, finally collapsing in a cloud of dust. “The Fallen have been in Mallory’s room: they turned it upside down. Not that you could tell, apart from the scent they left over everything.”

  “Is Mallory...?” Alice began, but Gwyn shook his head.

  “He wasn’t there. I doubt he’ll be pleased at the mess, but other than that I’m sure he’ll be fine. But it does prove my point. They came here, looking for you, and there was nothing to stop them. We need to find somewhere else to keep you.”

  “Keep me? What am I: a gerbil?”

  “You, Alice, are a weapon. And like all weapons, we need to make sure that you don’t fall into the wrong hands.” He ignored Alice’s open-mouthed fury and turned to Vin. “Take her to the twins. They’re expecting you.”

  As he turned away, Alice almost called out to him. She wanted to ask him what right he had, who he thought he was... and then she remembered the angel in his armour, and she was silent. She already knew the answer.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Marked

  AFTER THE FIGHT at the graveyard, Gwyn had done one of his regular disappearing acts, leaving Vin to lead Alice to ‘the twins.’ Shivering, and beginning to feel aches which she suspected were entirely her own, Alice followed. Vin was unusually quiet, not at all himself, and Alice wondered whether he was simply tired and a little shaken up (not to mention beaten up) or whether Mallory had had a point. Even the Fallen had been angels once, and even the Earthbounds remembered their brothers. They didn’t speak much, not until they finally reached a block of flats with plate-glass windows and tall security gates. It looked expensive: arm-and-a-leg expensive.

  Vin stopped in front of the gates and sized them up, his eyes narrowing. “Alice?”

  “Aren’t you going to buzz them?” Alice pointed to the security call-box fixed to the wall beside the gate.

  Vin cracked a lopsided grin, suddenly looking like himself again. “Are you kidding?” He gestured for her to come closer, and shook out his wings. “Let’s hope I didn’t lose too many feathers.” He slung an arm around her shoulder and Alice was suddenly lifted off the ground and over the gates. “Uh, Vin?”

  “Don’t worry. They’re only on the ninth floor.”

  “Which one’s that?”

  “The top one.” His breathing grew a little more laboured as they rose, and by the time he had dropped them both onto a large glass-fronted bal
cony on the ninth floor, small beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. He leaned forward, resting his head on the balcony rail. “Clipped wings. Can’t fly so much.”

  “When you’re an Earthbound?”

  “You get them back when your time’s done. But in the meantime...” He fluttered his wings sadly.

  “Does it hurt when they...?”

  “Yes.” His eyes darkened. “More than you can believe.”

  There was a click from the other side of the balcony door, and it slid back along its rails. A head of dark hair stuck out, shouted something Alice couldn’t quite make out, and then vanished back inside. A moment later, two bodies came barreling out and launched themselves at Vin, who raised his arms slightly and staggered back. “Take it easy, guys. It’s been a big night. Alice, meet the Twins.”

  The bodies detached themselves, and two heads swiveled to look at Alice. She found herself staring at two almost-identical faces: childlike, with large green eyes, one male, one female. They were exactly the same height, and stood in precisely the same way, with their heads tipped slightly to one side. The man, slightly more heavily built with broad shoulders and wide arms, had black hair slashed across with white, while his sister’s was bright white with a black streak that fell across her eyes. She smiled and held out her hand to Alice.

  “Florence. Come on in.”

  “Alice.”

  “We know. We were told you’d be coming.” Florence stepped inside, and Alice was ambushed by the other twin, who threw his arms around her in a bear hug that knocked the breath from her body. Just as she thought she was going to pass out, he released her and she gasped, choking as quietly as she could. He beamed at her. “I’m Jester,” he said, then turned on his heel and vanished through the doorway. Vin made an amused face, and ushered her inside.

  They even gave Alice a room – a room with an honest-to-goodness bed, not a sagging couch full of woodlice and other unmentionables. And Alice fell into it and slept for a day and a night, waking to early morning sunshine pouring through the curtains and the smell of toast. Her bag, which she had given up for lost at Mallory’s, was at the end of the bed; she pulled on clean clothes, feeling more human than she had since this all began. She opened the door, and a steaming cup was thrust at her. Blinking in surprise, she took it, and realised it was attached to Vin, who was leaning on the wall.