by Tegan Maher
I nodded. “Has his entire life, and he’s lived here for probably a decade. It’s not as bad when he’s just in the pasture with Bessie, but the slightest surprise does it to him.”
“Poor guy,” he muttered.
“Trust me, he doesn’t suffer any. He gets the best feed and all the love he can handle. Plus, look at his pasture.”
We walked in silence for a couple of minutes until we made it to the front yard.
“This is a great house,” he said as we approached the house that had been my home for my entire existence. I took a minute to try to see it through a stranger’s eyes and had to agree with him. It was a three-story Victorian complete with double turrets and second- and third-floor balconies. It could have appeared pretentious, but my aunts had gone out of their way to make it homey.
Pots of geraniums in several different colors hung from the oversized wraparound porch, and petunias brightened the beds in front. Cheerful curtains blew in the breeze drawn in by the open windows, and the rocking chairs and porch swing gave it a comfortable, lived-in feeling. Giant oaks draped with Spanish moss shaded the house and yard and added to the stateliness.
“I guess it is,” I replied. “It was a great place to grow up. My family was sentenced to live here several hundred years ago when we were charged with guarding the gate, but it sure doesn’t feel like punishment.”
He cast me a sideways glance as we approached the house, and I could see the question in his eyes.
“No, not even now. This place has always been my sanctuary, and it probably always will be.”
“Thank the gods!” A woman’s voice explained, and I glanced up to see my Aunt Nevvie rushing out the screen door and across the porch to greet us. She took the steps two at a time and took me by the shoulders, looking me up and down. “What did they do to you?” she asked, her blue eyes full of concern.
I shook my head. “I’ll explain inside. It’s hot out and I’d kill for a glass of your tea right now. I need to pack a couple of things, too.”
“Pack? Whatever for?” The color drained from her face and her hand fluttered to her chest. “Did they exile you?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“No, no, nothing like that,” I said, taking her wrists in my hands. “C’mon. Let’s get inside.”
“Of course,” she replied, her color returning.
I sighed and followed her up the steps and into the house, my heart heavy with dread as I thought about showing her my wings. I reminded myself it could be much worse and hoped my tender-hearted auntie would be able to see that, too.
5
“What do you mean, they shrunk your wings?” Nevvie shrieked as soon as I tacked that part onto the end of my story. “Show me!”
“Remember, it’s not permanent,” I said, trying to remind myself of the same thing as I stood up and tentatively stretched the hideous patch of feathers my glorious wings had become.
I tried not to cry as her eyes welled with tears and she pulled me into arms that had comforted me a thousand times over the years. This wasn’t just a skinned knee or hurt feelings, though, and for just a second, my tight grip on my emotions slipped.
After a moment, I pulled back and swiped the tear from my cheek, embarrassed that Callum had seen me cry. That didn’t suit my rebellious image at all, and when I saw that he’d glanced away to give me privacy, my pride sprang to the front, shouldering through the self-pity.
“Like I said, they’re temporary. I’ll have them back in no time.”
Nevvie sniffed and wiped her nose on a tissue she’d plucked from the bodice of her green day gown. “I could just wring your mother’s neck,” she growled. “Puttin’ you in this situation, then up and runnin’ of with that … that … being!”
She nearly spat the word, and as much as I’d seen her and my mother bicker, I’d never seen the blatant disgust she was exhibiting toward Mom right then.
I sighed. “They’re right, though. I knew what she was going to do. Or at least she told me. I didn’t actually believe she’d do it, but that’s my own fault.”
Nevvie slammed her arms across her ample chest. “And just what did they expect you to do?” she asked. “Report her?”
“With all due respect, Ma’am,” Callum started, and Nevvie whipped her head around to pin him with a glare.
“Anytime somebody says that, it’s a guarantee that whatever’s gonna come outta their mouths next has nothin’ to do with respect!”
Callum snapped his mouth shut. I had to give him points for having good survival instincts if nothing else.
Nevvie fussed over me for another moment or two before I gently stepped away from her and resumed my seat at the long plank kitchen table. She followed suit, but only after she’d replaced her glass of tea with a glass of fairy wine.
The stuff was brewed by a local troupe, and the queen had some of the highest standards in the celestial world. You just had to be careful, especially if you weren’t used to drinking. With the way my aunt slugged back half the glass, it was a good thing she was a pro.
“So what’s your next step?” she asked.
“I was hoping to flip through the index and check out the fear demons. Maybe get an idea of who we’re looking for. Hopefully, they’ll have previous connections in Abaddon’s Gate that we can track them through.”
“Oh, honey,” she said, regret scrawled across her features. “There are so many fear demons in that book that it’ll be like lookin’ for a needle in a haystack, and they all have the same basic profiles. Only one or two stand out, and if that’s who you’re up against, you’re gonna need more than just the two of you guys.”
At that moment, the screen door scraped open and a deep, rich voice called through. “Honey, I’m home!”
A lumberjack of a man with blond, curly hair popped his head around the corner.
“Hey, Liam!” I said, grinning. He was the cherub Nevvie had fallen in love with. Though he still technically worked for Cassandra, he’d been given some leeway by the council when the evil old bat had worked him near to death out of sheer spite. He hadn’t earned his freedom, but he had been put in charge of her royal stables, which meant all he had to do was make sure her herd of winged horses was cared for. As long as that happened, he was free to come and go as he pleased.
That, of course, really got under Cassandra’s feathers and was likely another reason I was standing there with shriveled wings.
“Hey, yourself, Lass,” he replied, the Scottish burr warming his voice. “And who’s this handsome young man ye’ve brought along?”
He held his hand out to Callum, who took it and introduced himself.
“Are ye a suitor, then?” Liam asked, his warm brown gaze shifting from one of us to the other.
My cheeks warmed. “No, he’s a … business partner,” I replied. “He’s going to help me return the escaped souls.”
“And why has that burden been placed on you?” he asked. “That sounds to me like work for the Hunters.”
I sighed. “I guess technically I am a Hunter now. Since Mom let them out but they can’t find her, it sorta fell into my lap.”
“That’s not all, either,” Nevvie chimed in, her voice thick with consternation. “Wait ’til you see what they’ve done to her wings. Go on then, Kira. Show him.”
The last thing I wanted to do was pull the horrid things out again because my heart broke a little more each time, but I did as she asked.
“Oh, no, lass!” he exclaimed, his tone laced with the same horror that echoed through my soul.
“I can get my regular ones back,” I replied, tucking them away again. “As soon as I return all the souls, I guess. Adam didn’t really specify, but I assume that’s what it will take.”
Unlike Nevvie, Liam was observant. His gaze shifted to the dagger at my hip and he tilted his head and drew his brows together. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked, stepping closer.
“If you think it’s a divine dagger, then yes,” I replied.
>
“But where did it come from?” he asked.
“Adam said it would be useful to me,” I said, wondering at his fascination. As a cherub, he’d spent much of his long existence at court, so surely it wasn’t the first that he’d seen.
“And it bonded with you?” he asked, not taking his eyes off of it.
I nodded. “Yeah. When I touched it, it sort of melded with my magic. It was kinda weird, but I have no doubt it has powerful magic.”
His gaze shifted to my face. “Curious,” was all he said, his brows still drawn together, but this time in thought.
“Exactly what I thought,” Callum said, meeting his gaze. “Curious indeed.”
“I don’t see what’s so curious about it,” Nevvie cut in. “It’s a celestial weapon and she’s a celestial.”
Her voice snapped Liam out of whatever musing his mind was lost in, and a wide grin spread across his face.
“You’re right, of course,” he said, then kissed her on her cheek.
“Of course I’m right,” she replied, her blue eyes lighting with pleasure. “I’m always right.”
“Well,” Callum said, pushing to his feet. “If you don’t think the index will do us any good, then we should be on our way.”
He was right, and the sense of urgency I’d felt earlier overtook me once again.
“I’ll just grab my things,” I said. “I won’t be but a few minutes.”
Once in my room, I gathered a change of clothes, a couple sachets of healing herbs, and my cutlasses. The dagger was great, but I didn’t know it like I knew them. As a Keeper, I’d been trained in warfare because over the centuries, beings had been known to attack in an attempt to gain control of the valley. So far, I’d never used them in actual battle, but I’d trained under both my aunts’ and Adam’s grueling tutelage for countless hours. They were like extensions of myself. Until I came to know the dagger, I wouldn’t depend on it alone.
I clomped back down the stairs, where Callum stood waiting for me by the door. Nevvie shoved a muffin into each of our hands.
“Banana nut. I made them myself this morning. Both of you look like you could use the sustenance.” She turned to me and handed me a small, leather-bound book.
“What’s this?” I asked.
She curved her full lips into a half-smile. “It’s sort of a pared-down, searchable version of the index. Consider it a celestial Google. All you have to do is say what you’re looking for, then open the book, and you’ll find a list along with known accomplices and weaknesses if they have any. I’ll update the actual one as we find out what souls are missing. Since they’re linked, yours will update, too.”
I hadn’t expected that at all, mostly because we guarded the index with our lives. Literally. Nobody could ever know who was in the valley for security reasons. “But what if somebody steals it?”
She scowled at me. “I’m pretty sure we’ve taught you well enough what to do to anybody who tries to assault you. Don’t let anybody steal it.”
That didn’t make me feel better. After all, I’d never been in the human world and had only ventured to Abaddon’s Gate with family, mostly. She must have read what I was feeling.
“And if on the off chance somebody does get their hands on it, they’ll just think it’s a blank notebook. It only responds to your touch.”
“What about mine?” Callum asked. “If something happens—”
“Make sure nothin’ happens,” Liam growled from the kitchen doorway.
Callum raised both brows. “Yes, sir.”
I tucked the book into my satchel and slipped the strap over my head so that I was carrying it across my body. After a quick check to make sure my cutlasses and the dagger were secure, I stepped out onto the porch.
Nevvie pulled me into a final hug. “You’ve got this, baby girl. Do us proud and get your wings back. And in the meantime, I’m gonna do whatever I can to track your mama down and make her carry her share of the burden. Othelia is out gathering the herbs to summon her as we speak.”
I nodded. If anybody could find her, Nevvie could.
“Tell Aunt Othelia I love her. I’ll see all of you as soon as I can.”
“Ready?” Callum asked, reaching for my hand. “I’ll drive this time if you don’t mind.”
I was just about to take his hand when a raven swept in from seemingly out of nowhere.
“Lonan,” I exclaimed as he settled on my shoulder. “I was starting to think you’d gone with Mom!”
He drew back his head with the disdain only a millennias-old bird could. “Hardly. I tried to follow her and that soul she fled with, but I lost them somewhere outside Abaddon’s Gate. I have no idea which way they went.”
Callum looked at the bird, one brow raised. “Is he coming or going? We can’t dally any longer.”
Lonan turned a vicious glare in his direction. “I don’t know who you think you are, boy, but you’ll not take that tone with her.”
Angels didn’t have familiars like other magical beings, but if we did, Lonan would be mine. We’d been friends for as long as I could remember, and I’d been worried when he’d disappeared. He was a force to be reckoned with, though, and unlike me, he’d seen his share of battles. He’d be a good ally.
“I’ll tell you when we get to Abaddon’s Gate,” I said. “The short version is that I have to track down the souls Mom let out. The first one is a fear demon and has already killed two people.”
“That’s good enough for me, then,” he replied with a sharp nod at Callum. “Let’s go.”
6
Callum teleported us to an alley a couple streets away from the center of the city.
“I figured we’d be better off not making a grand entrance where everybody would see us,” he said. “I have a friend here who might have information, and I’d like to talk to him. Not much goes on here without his knowledge.”
“That sounds like just the type of guy we need to talk to, then,” I said, taking a bite of my aunt’s muffin. I grimaced a little. She was a wonderful cook but a terrible baker.
Callum grinned. “You can toss that if you want. The guy we’re going to see works at a bar that serves the best burgers I’ve ever tasted.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I tossed it into the nearest trash can. It wasn’t two minutes later as we walked into the more populated area of town that the smell of cooking meat filled my nostrils and made my empty stomach growl.
The farther we walked, the stronger the luscious smell became, and I spotted a sign hanging from a swinging arm above a semi-shady-looking storefront that had “The Cracked Cauldron” written in Old English script wrapped around a picture of exactly that.
He pulled open one of the double doors and I followed him inside, squinting to get my eyes to adjust to the dim interior.
“Callum!” A big, burly man with a beard called from behind the bar. “Long time, no see, lad! How ya been?”
“Been good, Shane. Busy. How’s business?”
“You’re lookin’ at it,” Shane replied, waving to a mostly empty space. The long polished wooden bar had a brass railing running down it and red vinyl booths lined the opposite wall. Tables dotted the area in between, and there was an area in the back with wooden floors and a shiny ball hanging over it. I had no idea what that was for, but it was cool looking.
Callum pulled up a stool toward the end of the bar, and I climbed onto the one beside him. Lonan shifted so that he was watching the handful of people behind me. Though they were playing pool and didn’t seem to be paying attention to us, you never knew. Abaddon’s Gate was full of all types of beings, and just like everywhere else, there were good people and bad.
Shane slid a couple coasters in front of us. “I don’t see you around much, at least not since—”
Callum cut him off. “Like I said, I’ve been busy. We’re starving, but we’re also looking for some information. I figured this might be a good place to stop for both. This I Kira. We’re working together.”
/> “Well,” Shane said, slinging a bar towel over his shoulder, “I can guarantee we can feed ya, but I’m not so sure about the information. What is it you need to know?”
I took the time they were talking to sense his soul. That was a gift that came with being a Keeper, and I was glad they hadn’t taken it from me. He was one of the good guys, and I sensed that he was also good at keeping his mouth shut. Lest he think Callum was running the show, I cut in.
“We’re looking for a fear demon.” I reached into my knapsack and pulled out the file Adam had given me. “Before you open that, the pictures aren’t pretty.”
He gave a brusque nod. “I’ve seen a lot of stuff that ain’t pretty. Lemme see what you got. But first, lemme put your food order in. What’ll it be?”
“Burger, well done, the works, add bacon,” Callum said, “and a pint of Summer Souls if you still have it on tap.”
“Two,” I added, “but make my burger medium, please.”
Shane turned and yelled the order back to the cook, a scrawny twenty-something guy wearing a black tee-shirt with big red lips painted on the front.
After he poured our beers and slid them in front of us, he reached for the file. “Let’s see what you got there.”
He cringed a little when he opened it, but otherwise didn’t let on like he was too shocked. “I knew the man,” he said, shaking his head. “Good guy. His name was Bernie Moore. He was a bird shifter of some sort.”
“What about the woman?” Callum asked, but Shane shook his head. “I don’t think so. Of course, I’m sure she didn’t walk through life lookin’ like that, so it’s possible she was in here and I just don’t recognize her.”
“But not with Moore?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, Bernie had a type, and she ain’t it.”
“What does that mean?” Callum asked. “Anything might help at this point.”
“Bernie was gay,” he replied. “He wasn’t seeing anybody that I know of, though, and I would have known. He was in here most days after work for happy hour.”