Angel Warriors

by Stephani Hecht

  He released the blade in the tip of his boot and swung his leg up and tried to hit Batboy. Since he was being held in an awkward position, he missed by like a mile. The demons screeched a warning at him and tightened his grip. He yelped in pain as its claws dug deeper into his shoulders. The sharp talons punctured his flesh going almost to the bone. He could feel blood running down his back from his wounds, sticky and warm.

  “Let go of me,” he grunted out clenching his teeth to keep from crying like a girl. Damn it, those claws hurt.

  Sorry, Angel, the demon’s raspy voice filled his head. Douma and Forcas have demanded that you be brought to them.

  Great, thanks but no thanks. Tell them to send out an email just like anyone else if they want to talk, Cam sent back. Now put me down and go away, your claws are frigging hurting me.

  Quit moving around and it will hurt less. I have to hold on tight because you’re wiggling around like a worm. Besides, the pain you are feeling now will pale in comparison to what awaits you in Hell. The raspy voice was really beginning to irritate him.

  Deciding that the fall would beat being taken to the brothers Grimm, he started to fight the demon’s hold even more. The fall will only break every bone in my body and hurt like a mother scratcher. No biggie, it’s not like it will kill me or anything. I’m frigging immortal. Yeah, it’s official, my life sucks now. Why, oh why hadn’t I been a good little empath and gone with Abdiel when he asked me to?

  He struck the demon’s talons repeatedly with his tonfa. The demon tried to enter his mind once again, probably to tell him to knock it off, but this time he was ready. He put up a mental brick wall and added a strong telepathic shove. The demon screamed in pain and loosened its grip. Encouraged, Cam gave an even stronger mental push. Batboy immediately let go as the force in its mind caused it to spin backward. The angel went flying through the air, his arms and legs cart-wheeling as he tried in vain to find something to grab onto to break his fall.

  Fortunately for him, the demon had been carrying him quickly through the air before it had dropped him, the momentum from that caused him to fall at an angle rather than just straight down. Instead of slamming into the hard street below, he went towards a building. He had just enough time to curl up into a tight ball before he made contact. Crashing through a window, he rolled across a room and slammed into the wall.

  He could hear his leg snapping even as glass lacerated his body. Lucky me, the nice building broke my fall. Well, it was better than going splat on the hard concrete below. Nobody likes an angel pancake.

  He groaned with pain as he rolled to a sitting position. His left leg killed him and was disfigured. If he had been human he would not have been able to stand on it. He slammed it against the wall until it snapped back into place. Biting back the cry of pain, he stood up.

  He looked around at the room. It was an old, abandoned office building. Cockroaches skittered by, leaving little trails in the dust. The smell of urine and decay was strong. It was not exactly the Ritz, but it sure beat Hell.

  The demon came crashing through the window. Cam focused his mind at it and sent another mental, Back the fuck off! The demon screamed in agony as it shook its head. The angel smiled, happy to see that he was giving the demon one mother of a migraine.

  However, using his telepathy as a weapon was taking a lot out of him. His head started to get light and the stanky room spun a little. The demon was already coming back, and this time he was going to have to do hand-to-hand combat with it.

  Cam turned to face it, only to find that he had dropped his tonfa when he fell. He could see them across the room. Okay, I get it. I should not have been a jerk to Abdiel and disobeyed a direct order. Haven’t I been punished enough already? I mean, come on. This has got to be the crappiest day of my life.

  He stared hard at his weapons, giving them a filthy look, like it was their fault that he had lost them. He had the blade in his boot and a veritable armory of other weapons tucked in different areas of his clothes, but none would do as much damage as his tonfa. Damn, my weapons are so close. If only I could reach them. He continued to glare at them, wanting nothing more than to feel their reassuring weight in his hands. He was shocked when they shifted ever so slightly, scooting a few inches on the floor, moved by unseen hands.

  All of a sudden, memories came flashing back to him.

  He had only been five at the time. Barakiel was three. They had been sitting on the floor in their mansion playing with little plastic horses. Ana, Ramiel, and Nathaniel were already teenagers at the time, and they were sitting at a nearby table doing homework. The others sibs were not there. They must have been outside playing.

  “Cammie, I want juice,” Barakiel had demanded.

  “Okay, Bear,” Cam replied, using the nickname they had all called their youngest brother by.

  Cam had just simply used his mind and the cup had floated through the air and come to his outstretched hand. Bear clapped his pudgy hands together while he let out slobbery giggles. Ana had immediately gotten up from the table and ran over to them.

  “Mom said you’re not supposed to do that anymore, Cammie.” Even as a young angel she still sounded bossy.

  “Why?” he asked in that way only a child of five could.

  “Because it’s our special secret, baby,” his mother said as she came into the room.

  God, his mother had been so beautiful. Her hair just wasn’t simply blonde—it was every shade of blonde. The different hues mixed together to form a long, soft mane that Cam had liked to rub into his face as he had gone to sleep. Her eyes were the same light blue as theirs, but hers were always filled with love and understanding.

  She knelt down to him and took both of his grimy hands into her clean, soft ones. “Listen Cammie, you must never, never move things around with your mind again. Only bad angels do that, and my little baby is not a bad angel. You must, also, stop talking to mommy in her head. Use words only.”

  Cam had tried not to cry. He had only been helping Bear out after all. He sniffled as big, fat tears finally won out and fell down his cheeks. “Yes mommy, I is sorry.”

  She kissed away his tears before she had left with his father on a mission. It was their final mission. That was the night they were captured and mentally tortured. He had cried for nights alone in his room. He thought that it had all been his fault because he had been a bad little angel. He never tried to move things with his mind again. In fact, he had forced himself to forget that he could do it.

  Until now. Well, isn’t that just a kick in the pants? I have telekinesis as well as telepathy. Damn my family. They lied to me again! I wonder what else they haven’t told me.

  He stared hard at his weapons and concentrated. He needed his tonfa so he could pay this demon back for his battered body. The pain put in a pissy mood.

  The weapons flew through the air right at him. Cam let out a whoop of victory. He reached out to grab them, but they went right by him and crashed onto the opposite wall.

  Great, a whole lot of good that did. Unless he was planning on making the demon laugh itself to death he was still up the creek without a paddle. He could almost feel Hayyel smacking him on the back of the head.

  The demon was now in the room and making its way toward him. He was totally defenseless. Yeah, his life most definitely sucked, there was no doubt about that anymore.

  As the demon lunged for him, he put his hand out to defend himself. To his shock, an arch of fire erupted from his hand. It shot forward and struck the demon.

  As the fire left his body, he felt his energy being drained from him. He tried to break off the contact but was unable to do so. The line of fire continued to branch between him and the demon.

  The demon let out an inhuman cry of agony. Its head started to spin around as its body pulsated. Flesh and blood sprayed him as the demon exploded. The only thing left was smoke, a charred spot on the floor, and itty-bitty demon pieces.

  That was unexpected. He looked down at his hand as if it held a
n explanation.

  “Sweet,” he muttered.

  As dizziness overwhelmed him, he started to sway unsteadily. His eyes rolled back into his head. With a loud thud, he hit the ground.

  His last thought was, Crap, not on the dirty floor.

  “Cam’s still not answering his phone,” Abdiel told Gabi.

  They had spent hours, scouring the city, looking for Cam, without any luck. Now it seemed that every demon in the area knew where they were and they were gunning for them. Right now, they were crouching down behind a dumpster. Every time they stuck their heads out, they drew a demon.

  He was already bloody from a nice dagger slash to his chest. Yeah, we’re super heroes all right, Captain Dumpster and Girl Garbage.

  “I’m really worried about him, Abdiel.” Gabi’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Don’t worry, princess. Cam’s changed. He can handle himself now.” He kissed her on the top of her hair and hugged her tight. I just hope that I’m right. I don’t think I could live with myself if something happened to Cam.

  “If only we could reach him.”

  Abdiel wanted nothing more than to continue searching for Cam, but he knew that they were in over their heads. They would have to wait until help arrived. The last thing he wanted was for Gabi to get hurt or captured too. So he made one of the hardest decisions ever in his immortal life. They would hole up and search for Cam later. “Are there any safe houses nearby?”

  All angel homes were protected from invasion. Ancient shielding chants were said over the dwellings making it impossible for demons to enter. It would be the only way that they could hold out until help arrived.

  “Yes,” she said, her eyes lighting up as she remembered. “There’s an apartment three blocks over. Michael uses it when he visits.”

  “Let’s go. We’re just demon bait sitting out here.”

  “How do you suggest we do that? The demons will be on us as soon as we show our faces. You’re already hurt.”

  “We run,” he said grimly. “Let’s just hope we can make it all the way without being taken. That safe house is our only hope.”

  Chapter Eleven

  They left the shelter of the dumpster before walking cautiously onto the street. A bright yellow demon immediately spotted them and gave out a hoarse battle cry. It ran towards them, joined by two demon buddies.

  “Run,” Abdiel told Gabi as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her down the street.

  She fought desperately to keep up. His legs were longer than hers, and she had to take two steps for every one of his. She could hear the pounding footsteps of the demons behind them as the monsters drew closer and closer. A sharp pain exploded from her leg. She tumbled forward, her cheek scraping on the hard cement.

  “I’m hit,” she gasped out as she looked at the small throwing dagger still lodged in her right calf.

  “Has it been poisoned?” Abdiel asked as he knelt down by her, his dark eyes full of concern and fury.

  “No, I don’t think so. It just hurts.” She let out a small cry of pain as she pulled it out. He took it from her and threw it aside with a look of disgust.

  The demons used her injury to their advantage and covered the distance between them. Gabi knew they were sitting ducks. Abdiel may be the greatest fighter out there, but there was no way he could defeat so many demons all alone. Maybe if Cam was still with them they would have had a half a chance, but the empath was God knows where. They could not even flash out of there. Thanks to the council blanketing the city, they were trapped.

  “Damn the council,” she said as she tenderly cupped his cheek.

  “It’s going to be okay, princess.”

  But, they both knew that was a lie. They were going to be destroyed right in front of each other. As an angel warrior Gabi had always prepared herself for this, but not now, she had just found true happiness. She only hoped that they finished her off first so she didn’t have to see him destroyed.

  She cupped her hand behind his head and brought him down to her lips. She needed to feel him against her one last time. She put all of her fear, sadness and regrets into the kiss. Her body pressed so tightly to his that she didn’t know where she ended and he began.

  All too soon he pulled away from her. With a sad smile, Abdiel sat her up against a building and turned to face the demons.

  Two more demons joined the original three. They circled the angels. It was hopeless odds, and they both knew it. Gabi loaded her crossbow, and dug a butterfly knife out of her boot. They may be toast, but she was going to inflict some damage before they took them down.

  A demon lunged at Abdiel and stabbed him in the shoulder. The archangel hissed with pain before he spun and elbowed the offender in the face. The demon staggered back with blood on his face.

  As soon as he got rid of that demon, two more jumped on him. They pinned him to the ground while a third jumped on his chest. The demon punched him repeatedly in the face. Blood poured out of his nose.

  Gabi let out a scream of protest at the sight of him being hurt. She fired her crossbow and managed to hit one of the demons in the back. Instead of going down, the injured demon ran at her with a roar of anger.

  The demon moved so fast she didn’t even have a chance to reload her weapon. It jumped on top of her and opened its mouth to let out a victorious cry.

  “I take it Satan doesn’t have a good dental plan for you guys,” she gagged out. Ew, that demon has … well, demon breath.

  “Why don’t you give me a kiss and see for yourself?” the demon suggested.

  The demon lowered its head and started to nuzzle her neck. Gabi tried to fight it, but it was strong and had her pinned down. She bit back a scream as she lay there helpless. That thing was going to rape her. Dear God, anything but that was the ultimate humiliation, the biggest fear of all female angel warriors. She had heard of rumors of some females that carried black market grenades with them, so that if they found themselves in this position, they could destroy themselves before the demons violated them. Gabi had never understood this reasoning before. Now she did. She’d rather be blown into bits than have to endure what was coming.

  Gunshots rang out, and the demon fell off of her with a growl. Opening up her eyes, she looked over and saw a male with a gun. She breathed a sigh of relief. The cavalry had finally arrived. She looked around for more angles, but saw only the male. She was a little surprised, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  Gabi studied the male, trying to place him. However, she had never seen him before. He had dark hair that was short in the back and just long enough in the front to brush back. He had piercing blue eyes that seemed to look right into her soul. They swept over her as he appeared to be searching for injuries, almost like a healer would do, but his build and stance screamed archangel. In addition to the gun, he held a kris she could have sworn was of demon make.

  The male ran over to the group of demons that had Abdiel pinned down. He pulled off the one that was punching the archangel and threw him to the ground. When the demon saw the newcomer, its black eyes widened in fear.

  “What are you doing here?” it asked him.

  “I was just minding my own business,” the stranger spoke casually. Gabi gasped when she heard how much he sounded like Abdiel. “And poof, it’s a big, old family reunion.”

  “Our fight is not with you.” The demon was obviously trying to placate him.

  “Now, now Belair,” the male whispered as he crouched down to look the demon in the eyes. “We both know better than that. I remember, all too well, how well you wield a whip.”

  Gabi let out a muffled squeak when she saw the male’s eyes turn a glowing red. The demon let out a gasp as he clutched his throat. Fighting for breath, it fell onto its back. The stranger let out an evil laugh. Gabi pulled her crossbow closer to her, suddenly unsure of this male. No angel that she knew could do what he had just done, not even Michael. Who in Sam’s hell is he?

  “Say hello to my brothers for me, yo
u sick perverted bastard.” The male spit on the demon before he turned to help Abdiel.

  It wasn’t until he looked at her again that she knew. Even though his eyes were blue and not dark like Abdiel’s, they were familiar. Damn, he even had a lock of hair that fell across his eyes like Abdiel. Holy moly, their savior was Appolion, Abdiel’s long-lost brother.

  Abdiel and Appolion fought well together. They stood back to back, wielding their swords with deadly accuracy. Appolion did not have the discipline that Abdiel did, but he fought with a passion and anger that Gabi had never seen before. It only took a few moments to injure the demons badly enough so that they couldn’t get up again.

  “Thank you, we owe you our lives.” Abdiel told him. “I’m Abdiel. This is Gabrielle.”

  “You need to get your female to safety.” The other angel didn’t offer his name. “Carry her, and I will shield us from the demons.”

  “You can do that?” Gabi asked as Abdiel lifted her into his arms.

  Appolion just nodded his head. Gabi could see that he was wearing dark blue cargo pants and a jacket with Paramedic written on it. She resisted the urge to tell Abdiel that this stranger was his brother, just in case she was wrong. But, deep down, she knew she was right. There was something different about Abdiel’s brother, something dangerous. She really needed Cam there. He would be able to scan Appolion and tell her everything she needed to know.

  But Cam wasn’t there. He’d been taken from them. Gabi buried her face in Abdiel’s shoulder and mourned for the empath. Her sweet, innocent Cam was in the hands of some evil demon, and there was nothing that she could do to save him. She thought about the despair that Ana was going to feel when she found out and started to feel even sadder.

  They sprinted the remaining way to the apartment building. Appolion had been right. They walked right by the demons and they were not noticed at all. First he had choked a demon simply by using his mind, and now this. It seemed like Appolion could do anything. She wondered dimly if he did windows too.