Angel Unbound

by Sharon Saracino

  Mother of God, Calli thought semi-hysterically. I’ve been reduced to conversing with bones.

  Bones? Calli carefully avoided looking directly at her new found friend as she grimaced in distaste and tentatively plunged her hand into the tangled nest of his remains.

  “Do forgive me, George,” Calli apologized as her fingers curled triumphantly around a humerus that had been broken to a point near the epiphysis. “But at the moment, your arm is of far more use to me than it is to you.”

  She shifted again and laid her phone on the ground, freeing both hands. Using the pointed end of the bone, she laboriously began to scour a groove along the edges and between the stones of the makeshift wall. Up and down, back and forth, as far as she could reach, over and over, until her arms shook and her upper back burned. It might have been minutes, it might have been hours, but finally the grooves felt as though they were relatively deep. She set the bone carefully at her side and angled her body diagonally. Then she began to push. Every muscle in her body protested as she braced her shoulders and strained her legs against the stones. She paused to rest and dragged the back of her wrist across her eyes. It came away wet. She hadn’t even realized she was crying.

  “It’s no use, George,” she sniffed. “All the desire and determination in the world can’t take the place of sheer physical strength.” She would die here in this airless tomb with a silent pile of bones the solitary witness. She would never again feel Luca’s arms around her or feel his body moving against hers. She would never again see the light in his bright silver eyes or the smile that was hers alone. She had gained Luca’s heart only to lose him after such a brief time. Her chest ached with it, a dark, empty pit of nothingness. And weighing on top of it all was the knowledge that he would believe she’d left the house willingly and the fault had been hers. Again.

  “Damn, damn, damn!” She raged, pummeling her feet against the stone in impotent despair. And then she felt the rocks shift. She froze, breathing heavily. She flattened her feet upon the wall and gave another tentative push. The earth around her groaned and creaked, and the entire conglomeration crashed down into the tunnel outside with a roar and a choking cloud of dust.

  “Bloody hell!” Calli croaked right before fit of coughing overtook her.

  “I suppose that’s what I get for swearing, George,” Calli gasped. As the dust began to settle, she wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her sweater and leaned cautiously toward the gaping hole. She aimed the light from her phone down and peered over the edge. Relief swamped her when her inspection revealed she lay less than three or four feet up from the floor of the tunnel. She felt around until she found the fractured humerus. She stretched behind her and gently replaced it in the pitiful heap of bones.

  “Thanks for your help, George. I couldn’t have done it without you,” she whispered softly. A slave, a merchant, a politician, or a pope. Calli would never know the identity of her temporary cellmate, but in her heart, he would always be plain old George. She replaced her phone in her back pocket to ensure she wouldn’t drop it. She took a deep breath, swung her legs over the side, and dropped to the floor. She failed to accomplish the graceful landing she’d been hoping for. Her feet struck the uneven pile of rubble where it had come to rest. Thrown off balance, she tumbled head first into the tunnel wincing at the coarse scrape of stone and debris further abrading her already raw hands when she instinctively threw them forward to catch herself. She paused to regain her breath, and then climbed painfully to her feet.

  She shook out her sweater and started to dust off her backside when her phone vibrated against her buttock. She fished it out of her pocket and looked at the screen, startled to see Luca’s face. Tears blurred his image as she reached to stroke his cheek with a grubby finger as though she could actually touch him. To her further amazement, when she ran her finger along the screen, the image disappeared and a message took its place. Texting. Kat had called it texting.

  “Hold on. I’m coming. I will find u. I will always find u. I love u.”

  Calli used the back of her wrist to dash away the tears, leaving her eyes gritty and burning. She didn’t know how to text. In fact, using the phone for a light was the first time she’d found the device even remotely useful. How would Luca and the others ever find her if she couldn’t even tell them where she was? She squinted down at the little screen. REPLY? Well, yes of course she wanted to reply. She touched the screen. There was an empty space and below that, rows of letters and the word SEND. Obviously, she wanted to send a reply, otherwise what was the point? Really! Sometimes these modern contraptions were just plain silly. She poked her finger at the screen to confirm she wanted to send a message and then stared, dumbfounded, as the keyboard disappeared and the display returned to the home screen.

  Calli growled in frustration. Apparently, she was supposed to use the little keyboard to spell out a message before confirming she wanted to send it. She swiped her finger along the screen and poked angrily at the icons but failed to bring up Luca’s message again. She slumped against the wall and sighed wondering if she would ever get the hang of technology. She blew a tendril of hair out of her eyes and then decided if she didn’t find a way out of the catacombs, it would be a moot point. She stuck the phone in her pocket and combed her fingers through her tangled hair. She pulled it over her shoulder and quickly began to plait it into her signature braid to keep it out of her way, thankful she hadn’t given in to the stylist’s suggestion to cut even more of the length than she had. She wrapped a strand of hair around the end to hold it in place. It wasn’t perfect but it would have to do. The phone vibrated again. Calli quickly yanked it free and touched the screen.

  “Touch REPLY. Type a message with the letters. Then touch SEND. R U ok? Can U tell us where U R?”

  Calli groaned in relief. She took her time and carefully followed Luca’s directions hoping she could send an actual message this time. After tapping reply, she began touching each letter in turn, delighted to see the message appearing in the space above. She frowned when she couldn’t see a way to keep the letters from all running together, but hoped Luca would be able to decipher her meaning.

  Calli thought the message looked like unintelligible gibberish but she’d done what she could. She touched send and hoped for the best. Calli closed her eyes, held her breath, and concentrated intently. She faintly discerned a hint of active thought coming from somewhere to her left. She couldn’t make out the specific thoughts, but someone was definitely out there. The light on her phone started to dim and she realized the battery could give out completely before too long leaving her completely alone in the endless darkness. She started moving carefully in a direction where she sensed life, praying whoever was waiting was friend and not foe.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kat moved away from Luca to return to her husband’s side. She’d barely taken a step when she spun on her heels like a top and regarded her brother with an incredulous expression.

  “Was that your phone?” she gasped.

  Luca’s eyes opened impossibly wide. He fumbled in his pocket, feeling like he was all thumbs, hardly daring to believe it. He stared at the display. The message frame was blank but the reply had come from Calli. It brought them no closer to finding her, but at least he had proof she had gotten his message and was still alive. At the moment, he’d take whatever he could get.

  “What does she say?” Mac strode across the room holding out his hand for the phone. A look of tentative relief had replaced the stony grief he’d been sporting since returning to find Calli gone.

  “It’s blank,” Luca answered. “But the fact that she responded at all means she’s alive, right?”

  “She doesn’t understand how to text,” Kat deduced quickly. “She probably just hit whatever the screen prompted. Give it to me.”

  Luca barely resisted as his sister snatched the phone from his nerveless fingers and began to type away. She sent the message, took a deep breath, and handed it back.

  “Let’
s see if that helps,” she said.

  Luca gripped the phone and stared at the screen as though he could will something to appear, afraid if he looked away for even a second he would lose this tenuous connection. The minutes ticked by, and Luca’s gut clenched. He swore he could hear the Jeopardy theme playing in the background. And then, miraculously, there was a response.

  “amokburiedintombdugoutwithbonethinkiamincatacombitwaselleiloveutoo”

  “What in the hell is that?” Luca exploded in frustration. He held the phone out to Kat. The message looked like alphabet soup. How was he supposed to find her before the demon decided to finish his work if this was all they had to go on? Luca blamed himself. He should have taken the time to make sure Calli knew how to use the phone, how to text. Just because it was second nature to anyone who’d lived through the birth of the internet and digital communication did not mean it came naturally to someone to whom light bulbs bordered on miraculous.

  “Let me see it,” Kat coaxed patiently while prying his reluctant fingers away. She looked at the screen for a minute and smiled. “No spacing and no punctuation. It all runs together, but if you take a deep breath and go slowly, it makes perfect sense.”

  “It does?” He twisted his body to look over her shoulder at the screen.

  “Well, yeah. Look.” Kat ran her finger across the line a few letters at a time. “She says she’s okay, was buried in a tomb, used a bone to dig her way out, and is in a catacomb. Says, it was Elle. Oh, and she also says she loves you, too.” Kat handed the phone back with a smirk.

  “Well, okay so we know she’s alive and the demon seems to have taken a powder, at least for now,” Mac said with a frown. “But there must be at least forty known catacombs in and around the city. She could be in any one of them. How in the hell do we figure out which one?”

  “If I may?” Monte pushed back from the table and approached them. “You say she used a bone? There is only one catacomb I am aware of that is open to the public and known to still contain bones.” He squinted at the computer as a beep sounded and turned back to them with a smile. “The Catacombs of Domitilla.”

  “Merde! They’re the most extensive in the city. Four levels of burial chambers alone and the tunnels go on for miles. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” Luca groaned.

  “That’s where you’re wrong, brother. Forty catacombs are like looking for a needle in haystack. Monte has narrowed it down to maybe a needle in a shoebox. Totally do-able.” Mac whacked Luca on the shoulder. “Now let’s go get my sister. That sickly look on your face is starting to get on my nerves.”

  “You aren’t looking all that healthy yourself.” Luca grumbled in return.

  “Perhaps we should split up,” Monte injected. “After all, we still need to locate Azakriel, do we not?”

  Luca shook his head. “No, we stay together. If we find Azakriel, we need Kat and the ring to control him and we need you and your body to destroy him.”

  “Ah, certo,” Monte nodded in agreement. “I was not thinking.”

  Luca narrowed his eyes in Monte’s direction. He still wasn’t completely convinced that the Fallen was on the up and up and didn’t have some ulterior motive. It simply went against everything he believed to put any trust in a dark one. Whatever. His concern for Calli overrode any devotion to duty at the moment. If the Fallen was playing them, Luca would deal with both him and the demon later, once Calli was safe.

  “Okay, then,” Luca glanced at his wrist. “The catacombs will be closed to the public by now, but there could still be stragglers milling around. Best if we fade inside the wall using the trees as cover. Agreed?” Luca asked.

  The others nodded.

  “The entrance to the tombs is through the basilica. Once we’re sure the coast is clear, we’ll get inside and head down into the tunnels.”

  In a heartbeat, all four peered out from a stand of olive trees within the wall of the complex. After making sure they were unobserved, they sprinted across the courtyard with its well-tended shrubs and stone benches, to the sunken fourth century church that served as the entrance to the vast network of underground tombs. They clambered down the relatively modern staircase until it combined with the more ancient one to reach the floor of the basilica.

  The entrance to the tunnels was at the far end, beyond the nave and to the right, and Luca wasted no time in heading straight for it. The others followed closely behind. It didn’t escape Luca’s notice that Mac carefully kept Kat between the two of them and let Monte bring up the rear. Maybe his old friend wasn’t quite as trusting of the Fallen as he initially appeared.

  As they reached the first stone column, a woman stepped out from behind the forth, effectively blocking the entrance to the tunnels.

  “Elle!” Kat gasped on a sob, starting forward.

  Luca’s hand shot out and grasped her upper arm.

  “Get back, Katrina. That isn’t Elle,” Luca growled.

  “She’s in there, Luca. I can feel her,” Kat replied in a strained voice. “She’s fighting. She’s fighting so hard. And she’s scared.”

  “Yeah, well until she’s alone in there, there’s nothing you can do for her, so get behind us and be ready to use that ring,” Luca ordered. As Kat stepped back with obvious reluctance, he drew a dagger from the intricate tattoo on his forearm and knew by the hiss of steel behind him that Mac had drawn his Claymore from the ink on his back.

  Monte and Kassian stepped around Kat to Luca’s side, forming a wall between her and her possessed friend.

  “Ignazio!” squealed the demon in Elle’s voice. “A trio of Earthbound. What a lovely gift you bring. And here I thought you would still be angry with me after that unfortunate business with Daniela. It’s good to know you still remember what side you fight for.”

  Monte stepped forward, fists clenched at his sides. Mac’s free hand closed around the back of the Fallen’s neck and he leaned into him until his lips nearly touched the other man’s ear.

  “If you’ve betrayed us, Monte, there is no place in Heaven or Hell you’ll be able to hide,” he hissed.

  “Don’t be a fool, McAllister,” Monte growled back. “Discord is how this demon operates. He’s trying to divide in the hopes of being able to conquer.”

  “I hoped you’d see it that way, Azakriel,” Monte called out across the basilica stepping forward and away from Kassian’s grip. “I have a proposition for you. Leave the woman. She is weak and it’s only a matter of time before your presence kills the body. Join me. Combined, our strength will be tremendous.”

  “What in the hell are you doing, Monte?” Luca hissed quietly. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”

  “One final effort to avoid a dagger to your friend,” Monte muttered. Elle cocked her head at an impossible angle and regarded the Fallen with a puzzled look. Then her features twisted into a demonic sneer.

  “Tempting, my dark friend, but I see your intent. You reek with despair, old man. By all means, join your dead ones if you wish, but you won’t take me with you. True, this body weakens, but an Earthbound would give me strength equal to yours. I’ve already taken your woman, Fiorelli, perhaps McAllister’s should be next?”

  “Aim well, Fiorelli. Azakriel won’t leave the body unless he fears the woman is dying,” Monte said in a low, tense voice. “As soon as he emerges your sister must snare him with the ring, direct him into me, and hold him there while McAllister runs me through.”

  Luca heard Kat’s audible gasp behind him. His jaw clenched painfully. He and Mac may have conveniently forgotten to mention the part about possibly killing Elle to force the demon to release her.

  He slammed his shields into place. He couldn’t afford to let himself dwell on how difficult this would be for his sister. It would affect his ability to do what had to be done and the additional emotion swirling about the confined space would only be more of a distraction for Kat. Luca hoped his skills were up to inflicting a wound that appeared mortal enough to fool a demon while actually being
benign enough to save Elle when it was all over.

  Otherwise, he wasn’t sure his sister would ever be able to forgive him. In fact, he’d be struggling to forgive himself. Sometimes he thought there was nothing in Elle’s head but squirrels playing with knives, but she was an innocent and Kat loved her.

  “Can you do this, cara?” Luca sent the thought to his sister on the common pathway which allowed Mac to hear.

  “Yes,” came the faint, pained reply.

  “As soon as Elle goes down, the demon will rise and head straight for you, Kat,” Mac directed his wife. His fear for her was apparent in the strained tone of his thoughts. You need to gain control of him before he can reach you. Are you ready?”

  “Hell no, but I will be. Let’s do it.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Luca saw his sister twist the Ring of Aandalena into place with the stones facing her palm. She tightened her fist around it.

  He flexed his own fingers nervously and then balanced the dagger in his hand. His vision focused on Elle Gate’s chest and the pinpoint area that would seat his dagger a hair’s breadth from taking her life, but close enough to convince the demon her body was doomed. There was no room for error. He had one chance to get this right, and he hoped to hell his sister could keep it together long enough to control the demon.

  Then he would find Calli. He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. His world contracted to a spot less than the size of a dime. With a lightning quick flick of his wrist, he released the dagger. Kat brought her hand up simultaneously as though they were participants in some well-rehearsed dance instead of two desperate people flying by the seat of their pants.

  Elle’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes widened in pain as the dagger pierced her flesh. She dropped heavily to her knees on the cold, stone floor.

  A writhing black shadow rose from the top of her head as the demon left her, and she slumped to the ground. Her face wore a mask of agony as she reached out and gasped Kat’s name. Then her eyes closed, and she went motionless except for the still quivering dagger buried in her chest.