Angel Warriors

by Stephani Hecht

  The brothers went for their weapons. Gabi looked over at Michael and saw that he had simply crossed his arms. He leaned back against the table making no move to help Jehel. To the shock of everyone, it was Rachael who stopped the confrontation.

  “He’s not worth it,” she said placing her body between them and Jehel. “We need to concentrate on getting our brothers back.”

  “I think it’s time for you to go, Jehel,” Michael smiled as he spoke.

  Jehel finally noticed the brothers. Gone was their usual carefree manner. It had been replaced with cold, hard rage. No one every insulted one of their own. The five of them that were archangels lowered their weapons, but made no move to put them away. Derel was not as considerate. He kept his longbow armed and pointed at the elder angel.

  “I’ll make sure to inform the council of your wish to leave,” Jehel said tightly before he turned to Michael. “This whole thing just reeks of nepotism. We all know that if it were not for the fact that Cam is your nephew, this battle would not be taking place.”

  When he heard the surprised gasps coming from the Lehor’s, Jehel let out a satisfied grin. “So Uncle Mike never told you that he’s your mother’s brother, I gather.” He then stormed out of the tent.

  “Michael, is he telling the truth?” Barakiel asked in a small voice.

  “Yes.” Michael finally dared to look at his niece and nephews.

  “Are you that ashamed of us that you refused to claim us?” Ana snapped. “Or was it that you were so ashamed of our mother because of what happened to her?”

  “Ana, that’s not why,” Michael placated. “I just can’t afford to look like I’m favoring any of my warriors over the others. Honestly, I…”

  Ana just held up a hand, dismissing him, her blue eyes on fire. She turned her back on him and walked out. The brothers followed. Michael closed his eyes in sad resignation. Gabi almost felt bad for him, almost.

  As soon as they left, Gabi sank down into a nearby chair. “Most angels think the same way Jehel does. Nobody is going to come and help us get them back. They have always acted like Abdiel was no better than his family. They’re probably glad to get rid of him too.”

  “Gabi, go look outside the tent,” Michael ordered quietly.

  Gabi ignored him and continued to rant. “The only ones that are going to show up are Cam’s empath friends, and all they’ll do is barf all over the demons.”

  “Gabi!” Michael yelled in order to get her attention. Once he had it, he ordered again, “Go look outside the tent.”

  She obeyed him and went to the entrance. What she saw brought tears to her eyes. There were hundreds upon hundreds of angels getting ready for battle. More were flashing in every second. They went on for as far as the eye could see. Every type of angel was represented, archangels, healer, empaths, shifters, even some of the angel police force were present.

  “Every single one volunteered. I did not have to recruit anyone,” he told her. “Abdiel is one of the most respected and admired archangels.”

  Since she could not go out and thank each one of them individually, she ran and hugged Michael instead. “But everyone has always acted like they were afraid of him,” she sobbed.

  “That was before you tamed him and showed everybody that he had a heart.” Michael pulled her away so he could look her in the eye. “We will get him back for you, Gabi. I promise.”

  The angels were in formation ready for the demons to arrive. Rachael and Gabi stood side by side at the front. The Lehor’s stood right behind them, determined to protect them. The brothers were out for blood. The demons had taken one of their own and now there was going to be hell to pay. No pun intended. All seven of them were there, even Barakiel whom had never been in battle before. There had been no argument when he had insisted on coming, if you hurt one Lehor well, then you had the entire clan to deal with.

  Ana paced back and forth, spinning her skri so rapidly that they were a blur. A flurry of emotions were surging throughout her body, making it impossible to stand still. If she could only lay her eyes on Cam, she would feel better. No, she wanted more than that, she wanted him home, safe and in her arms. She needed to hear his one of smart ass remarks, to be able to yell at him for pulling some stupid stunt, to tease him about how scrawny he looked in his too-big jeans.

  Her brothers started to bicker again, and she listened to them in an attempt to calm her mind. As stupid as it sounded, it was reassuring to hear their familiar banter.

  “Why did they have to pick frigging Siberia?” asked Barakiel.

  “Demons just love the cold. It gives them a break from Hell,” Nathaniel replied as he shivered. He was sporting a nice shiner courtesy of Ramiel. They had gotten into it because Nathaniel had wanted to watch Court TV while Ramiel wanted to watch Animal Planet.

  “Are you sure about that?” Barakiel wrinkled his brow in confusion. “I thought that it wasn’t really hot in Hell.”

  “He’s just pulling you chain, dumb ass,” Derel drawled. He had refused to heal Nathaniel’s black eye because he’d been pissed off at him at the time too. He liked Animal Planet. “Don’t be so gullible.”

  “I think they just love to see us freeze our balls off,” Ramiel griped.

  Ana shot him a dirty look. “Can we at least pretend that we are a civilized family? There are other angels looking at us like we’re freaks.”

  “Come on Ana,” Rachael turned to smile at her. “That’s why I love you guys so much. I don’t think I could take it if you guys were normal.”

  “Ah guys.” Nathaniel beamed at her although the smile never reached his eyes. “She likes us. She really, really likes us.”

  “Time to look lively boys and girls,” Gabi called out.

  Demons had started to flash in. There were hundreds of them and they came in all shapes and sizes. There were even a pack of hounds from hell. They were the most vicious of demons. Fortunately they had the only thing that could beat them, Hayyel and his pack of wolves.

  Ana frantically scanned the opposite group, looking for Cam. She started to panic when she couldn’t spot him. What if they had already destroyed him? She didn’t think she could live with herself if they lost Cam. She should have told him sooner about his gifts. She shouldn’t have shielded him so much.

  The two groups stood silent facing each other. The only sound was the wind blowing across the field. It whipped through Gabi’s hair making stray strands blow into her face. She held hands with Rachael, the two of them looking every inch the powerful female warriors that they were.

  “You know the deal, Beelzebub,” Gabi called out loudly so he could hear her. “Show us Abdiel and Camael.”

  Ana was relieved when four demons dragged the two angels forward. They made a great show of forcing the two males to their knees. As soon as the demons released them, Cam fell forward on his face. Abdiel swayed but managed to stay upright.

  Ana’s heart lurched when she saw that Cam was not moving at all. She heard her brothers cursing loudly. Barakiel began to tremble. He grabbed his nanchukus so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

  “You see those chains around Cam?” Rachael whispered to Ramiel and Nathaniel. Both of them looked at their little brother with horror on their faces.

  “Yeah, what about them?” Ramiel asked.

  “They contain ancient dark, demon magic. It must be what they’re using to suppress his powers. The first thing you must do is get them off of him,” she spoke with complete authority leaving no doubt in Ana’s mind that she was right.

  “Consider it done,” Ramiel replied.

  “I hope you remember your end of the deal, Gabrielle,” Beelzebub called back. “If we win we get you and the female twin.”

  “Gabi, no don’t do this,” Abdiel cried out in an anguished voice. “Please, I’m begging you.”

  “Persephone,” Bub called behind him. “Show the angels what we do to those who do not keep their mouths shut.”

  Persephone walked up to Abdiel and uncoiled
her whip. She brought it down on his back with a loud crack. The blow propelled him forward. Since his hands were bound behind his back, he was unable to catch himself. He landed on the ground next to Cam.

  “I am so going to kick your ass for that one, witch,” Gabi yelled.

  She brought up her crossbow and aimed it at Persephone. As soon as she shot it, the demoness dove to the side. The arrow narrowly missed her and hit a demon that had been behind her.

  Once she struck the first blow, both sides charged. The two armies ran toward each other with an ear-deafening roar. The demons and angels met with a surge of violence and mutual hatred.

  Gabi, Rachael, and the Lehor’s fought side-by-side, trying to get to Abdiel and Cam. The two males were still on the ground and being trampled by the demons. Unfortunately, there were several demons between them and the two archangels.

  Abdiel was able to lift his head enough to see Gabi and Rachael fighting. He was proud to see that even though Rachael was the smallest angel, she fought better than any other angel. She was using one of his old swords and handled it like it had been custom made for her.

  Even though three demons surrounded her, Rachael showed no fear. One of the demons grabbed her from behind. She lifted her legs up and kicked the second demon in the chest hard enough to send it flying backwards, then head-butted the first demon with the back of her head. The third demon tried to run, but she sent a lightning bolt and zapped him in the back. That dropped it like a ton of bricks.

  Gabi was just as impressive. She had her crossbow slung on her back and was opting to use a short sword for hand-to-hand combat. A demon charged her. Releasing a blade in the tip of her boot, she kicked it in the heart. The demon vanished as it retreated to Hell.

  They were finally able to get to him and Cam. Abdiel could tell by the horror on their faces how bad he and Cam must look. He knew it was going to be ten times worse when they got a better look at Cam’s altered appearance.

  Gabi moved to untie his hands but stopped and gave a cry of protest when she saw their mangled condition. She used her sword and gently sawed through the bindings. He could feel her hot tears falling on them.

  “What did they do to you?” she sobbed. As soon as he was free, she brought his hands to her lips.

  “Forget about me.” His voice was ragged with emotion. He thought he’d never feel her gentle touch ever again. “Whatever possessed you to make such a stupid bargain?”

  “I promised never to leave you alone again.” She brushed back his hair. “I will go with you anywhere, even Hell.”

  She kissed him ever so softly. Even though there was a battle of epic proportions going on around them, he felt like he had come home. When she pulled back, there was a small smudge of his blood on her cheek.

  “Now I have a little score to settle with a certain female demon.” She stood up, her expression lethal. “She dared to touch something that is mine.”

  There was nothing he could do but watch her fight. There was no way that he could hold a sword much less engage in a battle. But after seeing the way that she handled herself so far, Abdiel knew that he didn’t have to worry about his wife. She was in Cat Woman mode. Instead he turned to see how Cam was doing.

  Gabi scanned the crowd looking for Persephone. All of a sudden the demon came out of nowhere and backhanded her across the face. She barely dodged the blow from her whip that followed.

  Gabi responded with a roundhouse kick that caught Persephone on the head. The demoness staggered back, dropping her whip. Gabi dove and grabbed it. Rolling to her feet, she turned to face her former rival.

  She lashed out and struck Persephone with her own weapon. “Doesn’t feel too good, does it?” she asked the demon.

  Persephone’s black eyes widened with fear when she saw what Gabi was capable of. “Have mercy on me Gabi. Think of how long we’ve known one another.”

  “Have mercy on you?” Gabi asked incredulously as she lashed out with the whip again. “Like you had mercy on my mate?”

  Persephone didn’t answer. She simply rolled into a ball on the ground and tried to shield herself from any further attack. Gabi struck her a few more times before she tossed the whip aside with disgust. Pulling out her short sword, she straddled the demoness.

  “If you so much as even think of Abdiel again I will hunt you down and make you regret the day that you were born,” Gabi vowed to her. “My only regret is that you’re immortal, so this won’t kill you.”

  With those words, Gabi buried her sword deep in the demon’s black, shriveled heart. Persephone let out of shriek of pain before she was banished back to Hell. Gabi felt her lips curve into a cruel smile of satisfaction.

  Ana kept running her hands over Cam, just to reassure herself that he was really there. When he finally moaned in response, it was the best sound that she had ever heard in her immortal life. She watched Ramiel and Derel struggle to get the chains off Cam. Rachael came over and touched them. The locks clicked as they unlocked. Ramiel ripped them off and threw them aside. As soon as Cam was free, he grabbed Derel.

  “You need to heal me now,” he begged his brother.

  Derel ran his hands over him. The healer let out an anguished sob. “I just can’t heal you that quick Cam. Your injuries are too severe. I’ve never seen anyone hurt this bad.”

  “In that case then, I’m sorry,” Cam told him as he bent his head toward Derel’s arm.

  “Ouch, Cam you just frigging bit me.” Derel was indignant. “Ana, you want to lend a hand here? Cam is sucking on me like some kind of leech.”

  “What the hell has gotten into you?” Ana asked him even as her heart started to pound hard with fear.

  When Cam finally released Derel and looked at her, she let out a gasp of horror. Dear sweet Lord, he had fangs. Sharp, hard, fully functioning fangs and he just used them to drink his own brother’s blood. Cam licked the remaining blood off his bottom lip and she actually began to shake. She reached out to touch his teeth, just to reassure herself that what she was seeing was actually real, but he pulled back from her.

  When Cam’s wounds started to heal right before her eyes, she felt her knees go weak. This wasn’t regular angel healing. This was something dark and evil. She looked into his eyes and what she saw there made her let out a small cry of distress. They were filled with anger, hate, and the need for vengeance.

  She knew then that her little Cammie was gone forever. She had gotten her brother back, but he was damaged, forever. Her skinny, dorky, little brother was now a mixture of archangel and demon.

  “Shit, what happened to your scrawny ass?” Ramiel gaped at him. “Did they pump you full of angel steroids or something?”

  “No, they did much worse,” Derel answered for him. “They poisoned him with demon’s blood and tried to turn him.”

  “That’s not what caused all those fucking injuries.” Ramiel snapped out. It was obvious that he was just as upset as the rest of them. “You scanned him Derel. Tell me what them fuckers did to our brother.”

  Derel only looked down at the bite mark on his wrist and refused to answer. His shoulders were shaking in silent sobs. Cam slowly got up to his feet. Ramiel grabbed him by the arm and gave him a questioning look.

  “No, I’m not telling you,” Cam said darkly. “Don’t ever ask me again about what happened there.”

  She heard someone chanting, “Not my Cam. Not my Cam.” She dimly realized that it was her.

  “I should have protected you better,” she rasped out. She wanted to cry so badly that her throat ached from holding it back.

  “I’m sorry Ana Bana,” Cam whispered. “We can talk more about this later. Right now I have to fight. I need to make them pay for turning me into one of them.”

  Ana had worn his backpack into the battle. They had always teased him about that ratty, old backpack. He had carried it everywhere. They’d called it his Linus blanket. She took it off and handed him his tonfa. He silently took them and ran toward the fight. He left the backpack behi
nd.

  A demon had little Barakiel pinned to the ground. Cam picked it up with one hand and yelled something in its face in the demon language right before he ripped its throat out. As soon as it vanished back to Hell, Cam helped Barakiel up to his feet before joining the battle.

  “What the hell did he just say to that demon?” Ramiel asked.

  Ana knew because she had heard him say the words in English in her head. “He sent a warning, any demon that dares to harm one of us will be sent back to Hell in pieces.”

  Unable to take anymore, Ana wrapped her arms around herself. Letting out a keening cry, she fell to her knees. Derel hugged her trying to give her some comfort, however she was too far-gone for that. She threw back her head and let out a loud scream of agony. The last little bit of innocence that her family had managed to hold on to was gone forever. It had died in Hell.

  Abdiel looked over and saw Cam and Rachael standing back to back. Cam was throwing off his flame destroying everything in sight. He was letting his anger rule him and it was spilling over to Rachael making her powers erratic as well. If they kept going, the demons were not going to be the only ones in trouble. With a curse, he ran toward them.

  “Cam it’s over; we won,” he shouted. It was true. The demons were flashing away left and right, retreating.

  Rachael immediately obeyed and lowered her hand. However, Cam kept firing. Finally Abdiel had to throw up a shield in order to stop him. Cam slowly dropped his hand and closed his eyes with a sigh.

  “What’s going to become of me?” he asked in a hoarse voice. “There is no place for me to go.”

  “You belong with us Cam.” Rachael threw her arms around him. “Gabi, Abdiel and I will always take care of you and love you.”

  Abdiel let out a sigh of relief when Cam put his arms around Rachael and returned the hug. He could kiss his sister. She had known exactly what the young angel needed to hear.

  He turned to where the Lehors were gathered. Their grief and worry was almost palatable. Rachael tugged Cam by the arm and led him to Ana and his brothers. Gabi walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm.