Ashes of Angels

by Michele Hauf

  “Antonio del Gado. Vampire,” he offered by way of introduction. “And you are Cassandra Stevens. Muse.” He lifted a chain from around his neck and popped out the silver medallion from behind his shirt. “This was very clever.”

  It was one of her sigil necklaces. Her sigil. She’d only made one of them, and it had sold for a ridiculous amount, enough to pay her rent for a year.

  Sam’s sigil, too.

  The vampire could summon Sam here and—no, Sam would not shift to half form. He had sworn to her he would never shift again.

  Unless he was taunted with a Taser, which would steal his control.

  “I don’t need your Fallen,” the vampire purred wickedly, his voice softened by a Spanish accent. “I’ve the book and have summoned another Fallen, Kambriel, to earth. My men have located him already and soon he’ll be here. For you.”

  “You bastard. You have what you want.”

  Antonio glanced over the cage where the nephilim sat with its head smashed against the bars, quiet for now, tears rolling down its melted face.

  “That thing may not survive our initial run of experiments. Apparently it’s not so easy as drinking the blood. I don’t know what we are doing wrong. But we’ll figure it out, even if we have to tear the thing apart.”

  “What’s so important about being able to walk in the day? You’ve obviously survived for decades—”

  “Centuries,” he rolled off his tongue. “After centuries of darkness I want the light. And the strength that comes from the nephilim’s blood.”

  “You’re endangering innocents.”

  “You’re not innocent.”

  “I’m talking about the humans the nephilim may have harmed while it was walking free.”

  “But we’ve contained it now. No more danger. You should be pleased, Cassandra.”

  “Pleased you’re going to sic a Fallen on me and make me give birth to one of those? Pleased I’ll die after giving birth? Go screw yourself.”

  “There is a possibility you may survive the birth.”

  “Unlikely.”

  “If you were vampire, you would.”

  The suggestion, so out of the blue, struck at her as if he’d stabbed her in the heart with a stake. And when Cassandra looked up at Antonio del Gado, long ivory fangs slid over his lower lip and his devious grin widened.

  Chapter 19

  Sam wanted to use his ability to walk swiftly to get to the warehouse, but Zane strode alongside him, and he did need all the extra help he could get. He was one angel with the strength of twenty men, but that didn’t mean he’d the dexterity to fight off twenty vampires coming at him at once.

  They’d made Coco stay behind at the hotel. To bring her along would only put her in danger. The vampire had kissed her quickly and calmed her frantic gibbering, probably with his innate persuasion. An example of love, the duo gave Sam hope that he and Cassandra could have the same love.

  “You’ve got your halo, I’ve the demon blade,” Zane said as they walked swiftly across the bridge toward the warehouse. “You sure you won’t take this extra halo? I can’t use them both at once.”

  “I will not touch another Fallen’s halo. If you’ve wielded it against a Fallen one, you should be able to use it again.”

  “Right then. Sure wish we had an entire gang of vampires to help us. Or werewolves. Those hairy blokes would be great help in a pinch.”

  “Ivan Drake had none to offer?”

  “The vampire population in Berlin is nearly nil at the moment. Tribal wars have led them south where the vanguard lies. I don’t get vampire politics, so I didn’t ask. I’m glad to be unaligned.”

  “But you were Anakim. Did you not have designs to capture the Fallen?”

  “Me? None, whatsoever. I left as soon as Antonio suggested the devious plan. I’m not about hurting innocent women.”

  “You are not like most vampires, then.”

  “Apparently, you don’t know a lot of vampires. We come good, evil and somewhere in between. Just like your standard human. Don’t judge, bloke. You’ll notice I haven’t gone ninja on your evil Fallen arse.”

  “I am not like my brethren. Forgive me, Zane. You’ve made your point. I’m focused on freeing Cassandra.”

  “I know. She’s your girl. I understand completely. But while you’re charging in to her rescue, vampires are going to flank us. And if they have the book they may have summoned another bloody Fallen.”

  “I’ve got it under control,” Sam said harshly.

  He smacked a fist in a palm, feeling his muscles tense to a hardness that rivaled his silver wings. He’d like to shift to half form and take the vampires out with fierce wings, but he could not risk the peril he would introduce to Cassandra were he in that form. He’d made a promise to her; he would keep it at all costs.

  If the vampires had harmed one inch of her soft skin he would flail the flesh from their bodies before shoving his fingers into their chests and ripping out their beating hearts.

  “We have the advantage of daylight,” he said.

  “Del Gado has minions who can go out in daylight. Look at me. We all are affected by some level of sun exposure, but I’m good for half an hour in indirect light. And it’s cloudy, which doubles my exposure time. Besides, his men have special UV protection suits.”

  “Won’t matter. I’ll kill any vampire in my path.”

  “Then I’ll stay clear of your path. And what if they zap you with a Taser? Think about that. If they take you out, then I’m on my own. We gotta work together, bloke. Or you’ll never see your bird alive again.”

  Make that his bunny.

  “You offer a good argument. Let’s work on the plan of attack before we arrive.”

  Cassandra kicked Antonio del Gado in the gut. His fangs grazed her jaw before he stumbled backward and landed sprawled.

  In the cage, the nephilim stood and shook the bars. One bar, as thick as her arm and fashioned from iron, loosened at the bottom.

  Granny had not given her any advice or spells against a nephilim. The idea of such a creature walking the earth had always been an idea.

  “You’re frightening it!” she said, admonishing the vampire who stood and brushed off his suit sleeves.

  “Me? That thing is an abomination! It cannot be anything but monstrous.”

  “It’s just a baby. Leave it alone. Quit poking it with needles and just…”

  “Just what?” Del Gado leaned in, but not close enough for her to kick him again. The silver sigil necklace dangled close enough to grab. “Just let it go? Very well, I will do that. I will take great joy in watching the creature terrorize the city of Berlin. And while we’re enjoying the mayhem, I will slay your Fallen, and the other Fallen—”

  “Antonio!”

  He turned. A crew of four vampires dragged a naked man across the cement floor in the massive warehouse, and dropped him halfway.

  “The new Fallen,” one of them said. “Kambriel. The Taser knocked him out, but he should be coming to real soon.”

  “You couldn’t have offered him a pair of slacks?”

  The vampire winced. “It was kind of creepy carrying a naked dude here.”

  “Give him your clothes.”

  The vampire gaped.

  “Now!”

  The shaky underling pulled off his leather jacket, and stripped to his striped boxer shorts.

  Antonio twisted a wickedly gleeful look at Cassandra. She could imagine him rubbing a palm over a dastardly fist.

  “The party soon begins,” he said and winked at her. “Pity you wouldn’t allow me to transform you to vampire first.”

  “I’d rather be dead,” she said flatly, and knew that was the only other option.

  With the warehouse in sight, Sam charged, his feet leaving the ground and the superfast walk angels were capable of taking him to the door in seconds. The vampire followed at a distance, as they’d decided. Sam would reconnaissance, and by the time Zane arrived, he’d have the layout and details of how m
any were inside.

  Marching toward the two-story steel door, Sam was body-checked from the side by a massive form. He and his attacker soared through the air and ended up in a snowdrift higher than a car.

  A metal-armored fist punched Sam’s jaw. He shook off the bone-jarring pain and blinked. “A bloody Sinistari. I don’t need this now! Raphael, call off your troops!”

  A kick sent the demon stumbling backward. Sam raced after him, pummeling him to the ground before the door. The two exchanged punches, kicks and curses. He didn’t see the demon’s blade, which could be his end, yet Sam knew it must be on the demon somewhere.

  “You’ve got the wrong Fallen,” he barked, and smashed a fist into the demon’s chest. He wore armor, which was cheating, because in demonic form the Sinistari were already solid metal.

  The demon jumped to stand, surprisingly agile in the heavy armor. “All Fallen are wrong.”

  “Yeah? You come from Fallen stock, buddy.”

  The demon tilted its head in wonder. “Buddy?”

  “Right. You probably just arrived. Haven’t had a chance to walk the world and learn slang, phrases and facts. You were once like me.” He unhooked the halo from his hip and slashed it in the air.

  The demon reached behind one shoulder and drew out a two-foot-long blade.

  “Seriously? Doesn’t look like a standard-issue Sinistari blade.”

  “I’ve modified it,” the demon said with a hematite grin. “A millennia spent Beneath grants one time to develop a hobby. Say your prayers, Fallen one. I’m sending you home to daddy.”

  Sam dodged the swinging blade. “He’s your father, too!”

  “You lie!”

  Sam released the halo, which cut around the demon’s neck, through the armor, and circled back to Sam’s hand.

  The demon’s helmet broke away and he shook it off to reveal a black, horned skull. The tips of its horns, curled along its head, glowed red. No damage to his metallic flesh. It charged, catching Sam at the shoulders and pushing them against the steel door. The entire door shook and clattered.

  The Sinistari’s blade, aimed downward at Sam, paused. The demon tilted its head, listening. It sniffed. “There’s another Fallen?”

  Sam’s hard glass heart expanded a beat and dropped. In the moment of silence, enemy clutching enemy, he sensed… Cassandra. She called to him from inside his heart because that was where she lived. But he also sensed what the demon sensed.

  “Another Fallen? That means—” He shoved at the Sinistari. “He’s going to hurt her! You’ve got the wrong angel. The muse is inside!”

  The demon redirected the blade toward the door, wedging it in the crease between both doors, and popped it open. A dozen vampires rushed them.

  Zane arrived, huffing, and dashed in behind the demon and Sam. “You go after Cassandra,” he directed at Sam. He eyed the demon, who took in the situation with a seething hiss.

  “Wanna kill some vampires?” Sam said to the Sinistari, not expecting an answer. “Hold them off, while I get the girl!”

  “You will not attempt her!” the demon roared.

  “He won’t,” Zane said to the demon as they met the oncoming vampires. “He’s in love with her, see.” First slash of the demon blade Zane owned took out one vampire, but didn’t reduce it to dust. “Gonna have to cut off some heads, I see. Help me!”

  The Sinistari, who considered the crazed vampire beating with futile result against his armor, glanced at Sam, who raced toward the dais where a muse had been chained and another Fallen stood. The running Fallen repelled all approaching vampires with a gesture of his hand.

  A thin chain wrapped about the Sinistari’s wrist and tugged. The vampire, who appeared to be Samandiriel’s cohort, nodded and released the chain from his wrist with a flick. “You helping?”

  “Fine.” The Sinistari grabbed the vampire beating his chest and snapped off its head. “This won’t take long.”

  Chapter 20

  The Fallen angel standing above her brandished wings of startlingly beautiful binary code. The green, digital code was ordered in the shape of wings, and moved as if wind dusting through the feathers. Across his chest a sigil flashed blue, though why it did baffled her. His sigil shouldn’t glow unless he was near his muse. And she was most definitely not his muse.

  Then another idea occurred to Cassandra. She prayed that none of the muses Coco had put on flights away from Berlin had changed their minds about leaving.

  None of that mattered. What did was the angel who approached her with a lascivious grin and lust in his multi colored eyes. He was focused on one goal: to mate with her.

  Cassandra screamed as a wing of seemingly intangible substance swept forward and brushed her cheek. It felt like fire and she smelled burned hair. The coded feathers slipped around behind her neck, burning a trail in her flesh. He leaned in, sticking out his tongue to stroke across her face—and then the creature was gone.

  The Fallen was flung up and away from her. And in his place stood Sam. Unwinged. Shirt torn away and muscles flexing as tensely as his jaw. He reached for her, but the other Fallen— Kambriel—collided with him, and the twosome flew across the warehouse.

  In the cage, the nephilim yowled and worked at the bar, which had become even looser.

  At the far end of the warehouse, vampires battled with what looked like a Sinistari and Zane.

  “Coco? The vamp better not have brought her along.”

  Standing and straining against the manacles, Cassandra searched the upper catwalk where she’d seen Antonio enter and leave the warehouse. The key to unlock the manacles was in his trouser pocket. She bet he wasn’t going to stick around with all Hell scattered loose below.

  Above and Beneath, she corrected. The demon and the angels had come to heads. Toss in a few earthly bloodsuckers and—

  An ear-shattering screech felled her to her knees. The nephilim banged the bar it had wrenched free from the cage against the other bars.

  The space was yet too small for it to fit through. But that didn’t stop it from jamming a shoulder between the bars and pushing. It wouldn’t take long for it to bend the other bars.

  Zane dodged to avoid the Sinistari’s arm as it slashed around the long demon blade and cut off the heads of two vampires. One Anakim minion left standing.

  The Sinistari could handle it.

  Zane leaped over the piles of ash, only a little disturbed that he could have ended up the same. Ahead, the Fallen ones went at it up by the caged creature—and Cassandra.

  His first objective was to keep Coco’s sister safe. But those cage bars were beginning to bend. Bloody hell, that creature was ugly.

  The two Fallen clashed and their momentum sent them soaring to the top of the cage. The new Fallen used its odd, glowing wings as weapons, cutting deftly across Sam’s body, and using them to trip him or punch as if a multitude of extra arms. Sam appeared to be tiring, losing the battle as he teetered at the edge of the cage—until he was not.

  Growling and thrusting his shoulders back and forth, Sam shifted, shaking out wings of silver.

  “Not bloody good. No wings! You forgot, no wings!”

  Zane raced for the cage. In his peripheral vision he sighted Cassandra. She was safe for now.

  It seemed the Fallen could go at it forever, sweeping wings and tearing at muscles. They were an equal match. Yet Sam’s halo, dropped during the fight, lay on the ground near the muse. He had no means to destroy his opponent.

  “This better work.” Swinging the chain out wide and in a circle, Zane aimed high. “Sam! Catch!” He released the chain and said a prayer to any God who would listen.

  Kambriel’s wings of code swept across Sam’s thigh, burning deep into his mortal flesh. Damned wings were like laser beams. He folded a wing forward and cut across the Fallen’s throat, but the gaping line of blue didn’t slow down his opponent.

  Below, he heard Zane call out to catch. Sam saw the glint of blade soar high. Yes, the demon blade. Just what he neede
d.

  Clutching, he leaped out from the cage top and grabbed the blade. As he began to free-fall, the Fallen grabbed Sam by the neck with a wing and squeezed. The vise grip cut through his mortal flesh and muscle. He could cry out, but he didn’t need to.

  Using his last bit of strength, Sam swung an arm backward and embedded the Sinistari blade into the Fallen’s chest.

  Sam had slain the Fallen intent on mating with her.

  Sam had shifted to half form during the battle. Which meant only one thing—she was not safe from him now.

  But Cassandra couldn’t reason beyond what she witnessed. As Sam held the blade deep inside his brethren Fallen, the few standing below gathered. The Sinistari stomped across the floor, seething but apparently content to wait and see which Fallen remained whole for him to slay next.

  Zane, head back and jaw gaping in wonder, let out a cry as the first crystals of angel ash began to fall.

  Like winter snow, the crystal remains of Kambriel fluttered from above the cage where Sam stood, silver wings outstretched magnificently. The ash caught the harsh fluorescent light and glinted in all colors, much like the Fallen’s eyes. So beautiful.

  The nephilim had noticed, too. Cage bar held in one stubby pink hand, it opened its mouth to wonder at the substance falling directly above it.

  “No,” Cassandra whispered, and caught her fist against her chest. “Don’t stand under it. It’ll…”

  But she could not stop what had already begun.

  Angel ash fluttered onto the nephilim’s bare, distorted head and spilled over its sloggy eyelids. The creature lapped at the substance, gulping at it as if starved. Its entire body seemed to soak in the crystal, drawing it into the pores.

  And when it was completely covered with angel ash, a brilliant light spread over the entire creature, and a flash beamed out from the nephilim, as if from divinity. Cassandra had to shield her eyes. Zane bent and twisted away from the brilliance as if it were sunlight.