by Lexi Ostrow
His eyes flew open and landed on what appeared to be a human man slicing her head from her neck. Blood sprayed, and he couldn’t control the vomit that raced up his throat and onto the floor. He heaved and shook, knowing it wasn’t Odette hadn’t helped seeing her head cleaved off.
Thankfully, Kellan didn’t have an issue. He heard his partner’s voice and knew a gun was trained on the man. “Whilst I don’t appreciate that I’m going to have to ask, but who the fuck are you? I’m torn betwixt blowing your head off and racing to kiss you, which should make you an Angel.”
“Then why do you doubt it?”
The man’s voice was so smooth Philippe purposefully kept his eyes closed. The man was an Angel, wings or not, they knew of nothing else with such persuasion.
“You have no wings,” he answered for Kellan.
“Suffice it to say, the lovely Seraphina has found a way to make an Angel fall.” Disgust laced the man’s voice, but it didn’t make it any less provocative.
“She can make you fall?” Kellan asked.
“Yes. Angels can fall through sin or by removing their wings. Before you inquire, she left part of them there. I’m not Fallen. There is nothing I can do to prove this to you, except flash you both to where the Halfling, I believe she is called Odette, is held. I can communicate in her mind and tell her we are coming. She cannot respond, but she might like the comfort.”
Philippe opened his eyes. He looked down, ready for sickness to take him again, but what he saw wasn’t Odette. It was the brown, boiled skin of an Illusion Demon. So that was how she did it. How many demon mixtures were there? The idea was terrifying.
He lifted his eyes and leveled them on the bright silver eyes of the Angel. The man had jet-black hair down to his hips and enough blood on him to have been tortured. No marks indicated he had already healed himself, not that Philippe could blame him for healing himself. He held the aura of a Pure Angel, and even if it was deception, it was a way to Odette.
“No thanks, we will keep on the walking path.” Kellan’s eyes were fixed on their rescuer.
“She’s down to less than thirty hours.”
Both Philippe and Kellan snapped their heads to look at the Angel.
“My name is Rafe. I was held in the cell next to hers. I know of her Kappa bite, and that Seraphina plans to feed her enough blood to both command her and mentally connect to her.”
Philippe growled—Odette had been through enough. He ran a hand through his hair and turned to look at Kellan. He hated working with partners. It didn’t matter that Kellan had kept him safe and walking the better part of the evening, the young man was someone to save, someone to defer to, and Philippe frankly didn’t have time.
“Whilst I appreciate, and even respect your caution, you don’t have the time. Seraphina sent the Fallen that was trying to force my fall after you as well. She was searching for the one called Lucius, the demon traitor. She wants to get to know him better. She just wants the rest of you dead on the cave floor.”
Philippe had a feeling that ‘get to know’ was a euphemism for torturing Lucius for information.
“Aye, well let her try ta get me.” Kellan’s natural accent slipped out, and he cursed.
Rafe raised a brow but let it go when Kellan switched back.
“As you said, we are on a time restriction, and you are in the way. You saved us from whatever she would have done, but now we need to be off.”
“Kellan….” Philippe’s voice held all the tone of a warning.
Kellan stopped and walked back towards the stuff they had just abandoned.
“Kellan this is why I don’t hunt with a There is someone to defer to, and in this instance, the Angel is Odette’s best hope.”
“So you’re saying you want to let him? That you’ll trust him to do that thing they do, and that it won’t kill you?” Disbelief and anger colored Kellan’s voice.
“I don’t have a choice. I might not be looking at the Angel, but I know the minute I do, I’ll want to trust him. Baise!” he cursed in French.
“Call Lucius. If this bloke is on our side, he will wait for us to confer. This isn’t a twosome, Philippe. Three of us still have our lives and are putting them on the line for Odette.”
His hands wrapped around Kellan’s shirt collar, and he tackled the man to the floor. Kellan squirmed under his body weight as Philippe shook him, banging his head into the ground three times. Using his body weight to hold Kellan, he let go of his shirt and landed a blow to his partner’s nose, hearing the crunch of bone.
Before he could land another, he felt himself being lifted backwards by his hair. He turned to swing at Rafe and immediately stopped when his gaze fell on the Angel.
“I have no idea what he said to infuriate you, but you need to focus.”
Philippe heard the words and had no ability to stop his anger at Kellan from slipping away. He knew the words had been a mistake, but it was the wrong thing to say at the time.
“He is right. I’m here to help. I’m not certain how you can but call to your third member. Get his opinion.”
Philippe nodded and turned to look at Kellan, who was standing again, blood dripping onto the ground from his noise. “Sorry,” he muttered as he twisted two knobs and pushed the button associated with Lucius’s communicator.
“Where are you?”
The question took Philippe off guard. “I’m sorry?”
“Where are you? I’ve found it, Philippe. I’ve found the flower!”
Hope, joy, and determination bloomed in his chest, and he raced backwards, hugging Kellan so tight that he heard the man choke.
“We had a problem, Lucius.”
“Tell me about it later. I’m partially lost, so I’m making a break for the door. I can open it, and I will wait on the other side. Hurry, Philippe. We’re running low on time.”
“Lucius, every bad thing I ever said about you, I revoke it indefinitely.”
“Wonderful. Now let me get back to running. I’ve killed at least twenty demons, my energy is plentiful, and I don’t want to waste it talking.”
“Lucius, wait. Stay there. We will meet you. There’s an Angel here, without wings. He’s claiming they can be cut off to make a Fallen.”
“He’s correct. If they’re missing, don’t trust him.” Lucius’s tone left no room for argument. “
He felt his stomach drop out from under him. Two against one. How could he argue?
“Ok Lucius. See you on the other side. I have a female to save.” He pushed the knob in to end the transmission.
“See, don’t trust him. Let’s go, Philippe, we have to get her and get her out.” Kellan’s tone said everything they were thinking, it had taken them three days to get that far. How could they get out quicker?
Rafe had said nothing during their interaction. His silver eyes had just watched.
Philippe was lost. Kellan and Lucius were risking everything for someone they hardly knew. He owed it to them not to run off on his own. It wasn’t a solo hunt; it was a rescue mission. They’d had a distinct warning that no less than six would be a good number. They’d already blown it by going into the cave with five and were down to four.
Even if the creature was a Fallen, and it was a trap, it would take him to Odette. It would have too. His mind was made up. Kellan and Lucius were damn fine hunters, but he was the best, and he trusted his instincts. For the first time in his life, he wasn’t going to assume a demon was evil.
“Kellan, I’m sorry about this.” He truly was, but it needed to be done.
“Sorry about what? Let’s just—”
Philippe’s fist connected with the side of Kellan’s head, landing in his temple. His partner pitched backward, knocked out from the pressure of the contact.
“Sorry about that.” Philippe squatted and did the best he could to pick Kellan up. Pain tore through his stitched shoulder, and he cursed. The man weighed more than he looked—at least twenty more stones than Philippe could easily handle.
> Using the best momentum he could, he slung Kellan over his shoulder, flinching as the man’s head banged into his legs. He’d hit Kellan in the head five times in less than that many minutes, but he’d worry about that later.
He turned back to look at Rafe, who was completely unmiffed. “I’m trusting you, Angel. I just attacked my partner to follow you to Hell. Don’t let that be in vain, or I will personally be the one to slaughter you when I have Odette safely free.” The threat in his words was heeded as Rafe nodded.
“I am weak, and may not be able to safely flash us. Be prepared to land painfully.”
Philippe nodded.
“Grab hold of my arm.”
No sooner than his hand touched the Angel, the whole world shifted. He was dropped on his arse and barely managed to protect Kellan’s head from banging into the ground. Rafe hadn’t lied. It wasn’t pleasant.
He gently laid Kellan down on the ground, and looked around, expecting to see cells. Instead, all he saw was an open wrought iron gate and a small patch of yellow flowers growing next to it. What he didn’t see was Lucius.
“You lied. This isn’t Odette.” He wanted to attack Rafe, but every other part of him simply longed to embrace him.
Damn compulsion.
“I did not. I took you to the flowers. Did you actually believe I would take us straight inside? I’m an Angel, not a rumored immortal.”
The words made sense. Rather than apologize, Philippe ran over, grabbed a handful of the yellow flowers, and crushed them into his pocket.
“Philippe.” Lucius walked out from the gate, a somber smile on his face.
“Lucius!”
“Had I known you had a personal transport, I would have stayed with you lot, to begin with.” He eyed Rafe but said nothing about why Philippe had ignored his warning. “Where is Agaradawes?”
“He didn’t make it, Lucius.” Tears pricked his eyes again as he balled his fists and dug his nails into his hand to try to stop them.
“Whatever happened, I’m sorry I gave you a foreshadowing of it that day. You’re a good hunter, the best, and you know it. If he died in an attack, there is nothing anyone could have done about it.”
“Yes, Kellan has been repeating that mantra religiously.” his voice was bitter. He felt bad lashing out at Lucius, but he was tired of hearing it. “If there are flowers here, why did you pass by them?
Lucius said nothing. Rafe however, did.
“He wouldn’t have seen these. Only Angels can make the ones outside the gate grow. Do not waste time on one and another right now. We need to get to her, and you’re wasting precious minutes.”
“All right, rouse Kellan, and we’ll get going.” Lucius started walking back to the gate.
“I, ah, hit him a few times, Lucius. He’s not waking up. You’ll need to stay here and protect him.”
“No dice. You need me against Seraphina. You know it.”
He was right. Lucius was the only one able to attack her, and if she were messing with Odette, he would be needed.
“Rafe, I’ve trusted you once, and you’ve already helped when you could have run. How far is it to Odette, and will you guard our friend? If there is a Fallen after him, I cannot leave him alone.”
“It will be about an hour or two. You must be careful, the first realm to Hell is only home to the Imps, but they can be dangerous. They are all betwixt you and the dungeons.”
He almost commented on the realms of Hell thing but let it go. It was not the time for a lesson.
“All right.” He looked at Lucius. “We have a little over a day and plenty of time to get there, but let’s not squander it.”
“Time to show you how the demons live, Clemis.” Lucius clapped him on the back and started walking again.
Philippe let his eyes drift to Kellan and gave Rafe a firm nod. He could only hope he wasn’t mistaken in trusting him. All that mattered was saving Odette. His feet began to run, forcing the demon to speed up his pace.
Twenty
She felt as if she was going to retch. Odette’s stomach churned, and what it was craving made her sicker than the idea of lack of food. Blood. Ever since she’d tasted the smallest trace of the Fallen’s blood, she had wanted more. Not because she was addicted to the Fallen, but because her transformation was so close to being finished, she needed blood to survive. The fangs protruding from her gums throbbed in time with the beat of her heart and were so painful that she wanted a knife to slice them from her mouth. The worst was her hearing.
She had known she was not alone before, but the severity of her transformation meant she could hear their hearts. Every beat, thump, and lub-dub; she heard them all, and it made her whole body quicken with the need for blood.
“Just a little longer, Odette. A little longer, and you will find a way to take your own life.” Whilst she couldn’t be certain, she had a dangerous feeling she was on the final day of the cycle. There was no telling what was going to happen to her, but she would find a way to kill herself. Blood slaves weren’t under constant control. She would find a moment when she could end herself if Philippe didn’t arrive soon.
Rafe, the Pure Angel she wasn’t certain she could trust, had awakened her. He’d been inside her head again, telling her that he had found her friends and she would be safely reunited with them shortly. Less than an hour ago, he had spoken to her again, telling her that they had found the flower she sought and two were on their way to her.
That was what had started the hunger—the knowledge that blood was coming toward her. Pain shot through her, and she groaned as she doubled over. The action crippled her balance, and she hit the floor. Pain should have shot up her body, but she was so dull from all the healing she had done, it simply didn’t hurt.
“There’s nothing to believe he’s your ally.” She’d begun talking to herself about twelve hours before, and she didn’t care if her captors could hear here. “Except the row you heard.”
Shortly before Rafe had said he was with her friends, she had heard a clamor from somewhere in the cells. No names had been mentioned at that point in time, and she had assumed someone had been killed. Then Seraphina had started screaming Rafe’s name. Odette had taken it to mean he had escaped and nothing was a lie. Because at the moment, that small grain of hope was all that was left.
The pounding in her head was quickly sharpening. She had not been able to shake the pain, and it intensified with every moment she heard blood but did not have access to it. The gut wrenching cramp sliced through her stomach again. Her hand balled into a fist, and she winced. Right, the other issue in tandem with her headaches and blurry vision - cramping
“It’s clear. Even Seraphina takes a break,” Lucius’s voice was suddenly close by.
Her heart sped up.
“Do you think they’re looking for Rafe? I have to believe we can trust him, given all he has done,” Philippe’s voice came next.
Tears sprang to her eyes. They had found her. They hadn’t abandoned her. “Philippe!” she cried out, and her voice hadn’t sounded so desperate since she’d screamed for Shawn.
“Odette!” Philippe’s voice grew louder.
She heard steps coming towards the center of the main hall.
“Odette where are you? Ma belle falle, please, please be you this time.”
She pulled herself off the floor, determination coursing through her body. Pulling upright seemed to take forever, and she could hardly hold her head up until his heartbeat set in and her body pulsed with need.
“Philippe, I’m in here.” She forced her feet to walk up to the small window. Her eyes landed on the back of his head, and suddenly a picture flashed in her mind of her fangs in his neck, his blood filling her mouth and dripping down her throat. An animalistic growl echoed around her, and until Philippe turned around to look at her, she’d had no idea it had come from her.
He ran the small space betwixt them and stopped at the door. “I never thought we’d find you.”
Philippe’s words wer
e lost in the pounding of his heart in her ears. She growled again as Lucius stepped up next to Philippe. She snapped her teeth at him, and his eyes went soulless.
“Mon Dieu!”
“We might be too late. You need to be careful.”
Lucius’s warning would have worried her if she could process anything beyond the need to tear their veins open. Her vision was slowly fading as her desire pulsed stronger.
“How do I get in? I need to give her the flower. I don’t care what she looks like.”
That line got through, and for a moment worried clouded over her hunger. What did she look like?
“I’m a pickpocket of course.” Lucius didn’t smirk as he normally would.
His dark eyes were level with hers, and she growled softly in her throat, suddenly uncomfortable around him.
“Of course you fucking are,” Philippe muttered, and his eyes traveled up and down her face.
She wished she knew what he saw, hoped he never found out all she saw was the pulse of life under the skin in his neck. She could focus on nothing else, and the image of feeding from him sprang back into her mind. Her whole body trembled, knowing he would taste delicious. She was going to hurt him if he came in. She simply knew it. Whatever Seraphina had done to her had forced the turn. She knew it.
It took everything she had to force herself to step back from the door. Every instinct told her to wait, knees bent and ready to spring once the door opened. She was not a demon.
Well, not a bad one.
She was huffing from the exertion of moving just six steps away when she heard Lucius.
“I’m going to go back to the others, make sure the path is clear for you. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m looking forward to running into Seraphina, though. Do what you need to do to subdue her, then pick her arse up and carry her out if you have too.”
“Be safe, demon. And I will. Odette gets the flower before we leave, though. If there are no guards here, we are safe for the moment.”
“Do not get cocky, hunter. This isn’t a hunt, and you don’t know Hell. The longer you’re here, the worse it will be. Fallen can flash, and if one of her henchmen figures out you are here, she will come before you blink.”