Angelic Anarchy (Heaven on Earth Book 1)

by JP Epperson

  Colton broke our eye contact, looking away, his facial expression never changing once. He closed himself off to me, and I could not help but feel a sense of loss. Everyone else in the room was looking at each other curiously. They obviously knew we had just had what amounted to a conversation, but they had no clue what we had discussed and felt. I sat almost numb from all the feelings surging inside me. Liam looked at us expectantly, and I brought my attention back to the present.

  “Okay, Liam,” I said, ignoring the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach from the emotional rollercoaster I just rode. “You’re going to track him.”

  Liam’s face lit up with pure excitement. Even Olivia looked eager with anticipation knowing that where Liam went, she would follow. I smiled, despite myself, knowing that I had worn the same look of enthusiasm when I’d finally got my big chance to show everyone what I was made of.

  “It really is an excellent skill,” I went on. “Tracking is a rare gift and will certainly prove useful to you as warrior, but I need you to understand how dangerous this is.”

  Liam’s excitement seemed to dim slightly, but he was unable to lose the grin completely. Even Olivia had a hard time of toning down the light in her eyes. It would not be long, though, before they would be able to conceal their emotions completely. They would one day be able to watch someone they cared for or respected die and keep a straight face. A face free from anger or rage, despite the fact that their insides would burn for vengeance.

  An image flashed in my mind of Colton, lying bleeding, seconds from death. I wondered if my face had kept straight. The thought of their innocence being lost saddened me, but I knew it was both inevitable and necessary for their survival.

  “We know that every mission is a dangerous one and could be our last.” I spoke to the room. I stood up to ensure I had everyone’s attention, including Anselma and Evangelina. “This case is different, and I cannot shake the feeling that this is much bigger than any one of us can imagine. There has never been a time when I felt I was in over my head until now. So we are going to do this, but we are going strapped with every weapon we can carry. Also, there will be no splitting up whatsoever. I know that splitting up is usually the norm, but until this case is closed, the four of us stay together no matter what it takes. Understood?”

  Everyone nodded in agreement. That was good; it seemed we were all on the same page concerning the dangers of this case.

  “As for you two,” I said, directing my attention toward Anselma and Evangelina. “I’m not sure I can explain why I feel this way, but for some reason, I think it would be best if you go home until it’s over, Anselma.”

  Her eyebrows raised and her lips thinned before she nodded her head. Not only was Anselma too close to the case, but it also seemed like everyone searching for Theodore was in the dark about why he was so important. An Archangel of Destiny in constant communication with me would cause too many questions and too much attention altogether, and if anyone did know who she was to Theodore, she might be hunted for answers next.

  “Evangelina, I need you to stay away when you sense we are in trouble.” This time, I was the one to raise my hand in an effort to shush her before she tried to interrupt me. “I realize you will have a hard time agreeing to this, but you must heed my instructions. I also understand you believe it’s your job to appear when I’m in trouble, but it is not your job to put yourself in the middle of a battle. That is my job. If you had come by only a few minutes earlier the day Colton and I were attacked, you would not be here. If we are in trouble, I don’t want to be distracted by the fear that you might be there soon, and you know I will be. Do you understand, Evange? You must stay put until I call on you. Please.”

  I looked at Evangelina pleadingly, hoping she would understand things my way and not put up too much of a fight.

  “I do not like this one bit, Belleeza,” she finally replied. “It is my job to be prepared with anything you need, including help. If I had not shown up at exactly the right moment, neither you nor Colton would be here today. Nevertheless, I will agree to try to obey your request, but I hope you appreciate how difficult this will be for me. How long have we worked together? And I have never once sat idly by. I’m not certain I will be able to ignore you if you get into danger. But I give you my word that I will try.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I bent toward Evangelina and squeezed her shoulder. She looked at me, and we both shared the same look of reluctant understanding.

  I turned to the rest of them. “It’s time.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Once Anselma and Evangelina left, the rest of us loaded up with supplies. We each had an impressive showcase of weaponry lined up. All of us were trying to fit what we could on our person, as carrying a weapon bag was not an option for what we were preparing to do.

  There was an array of everything from pocket knives to machetes, swords, bows, expanding spears, batons, hatchets, throwing stars, tiny throwing blades, bows and arrows—basically, any weapon you could think of, we had laid out in front of us. There were even a few guns—actually Liam and Olivia each had two or three. I wasn’t surprised, though; the new angels tended to prefer the semi-automatic and automatic weapons over blades. I supposed it was the generation they were created in. But I had seen too many warriors fall because they thought their demon was down and they had failed to notice the bullet went straight through, allowing the demon to heal instantly.

  I turned round and bumped into Olivia.

  “Sorry!” she said, smiling at me.

  “It’s ok—” I broke off and felt as if my heart had stopped. I staggered slightly and she grabbed my arm with her free hand. In her other hand, she was holding a whip. An identical whip to the one Big Jack had used on me just days before.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, confused.

  I started to back away from her and then stopped, forcing myself to stand my ground. I had never backed away from anything or anyone in my life. I wasn’t about to start now. Olivia looked at the whip in her hand and her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry,” she started.

  Colton was beside me in a flash. He must have felt the stab of terror. He looked at us, spotting the problem immediately.

  “I’m so sorry, Belleeza. I wasn’t thinking . . .” Olivia stammered timidly. Her usually brazen tone was replaced with uncertainty. She was trying to subtly put the whip behind her back but accidentally dropped one side of it. Suddenly, Liam was at Olivia’s side, delicately taking the whip Olivia passed to him and putting it behind his back. Guilt swarmed through me as I could see Olivia’s face, fearful of how I might react. I didn’t intend to scare her. I never wanted to scare any of my fellow angels. I knew I had somehow developed a reputation that it was a regular occurrence.

  Many angels looked at me with the same fear they looked at demons. It didn’t bother me much usually. I refused to let it. As a warrior, it was good to possess such a feared reputation. For some reason, it did bother me with Olivia and Liam. Colton squeezed my shoulder in a display of both support and recognition that I did not need the back-up. He took a step back. He knew me well enough to know I could handle this. Anyway, I would resent the interference should he try to fix the problem for me.

  “No worries, Olivia,” I said, fixing my face to match my lighthearted tone. “You just startled me.”

  The look on both Olivia’s and Liam’s face told me they knew I was lying, but neither of them were about to confront me about it.

  “Okay, okay.” I grinned, appreciating their respect for me. “You got me—I didn’t expect to see a whip, and the memories were just a little too fresh for me.” I held out my hand for the whip as I said, “May I?”

  Fear flashed into their eyes before dissipating as they handed me the whip. I could not believe it. For a second, they actually thought I might use the whip on them. Just what kind of things were people spreading about me these days? I was torn between anger and amusement. Colton made a face, gritting his teeth as though he heard my thou
ghts. He shrugged, grimacing, telling me I probably did not want or need to know.

  “I’ve never used a whip before,” I said, inspecting it with my hands. “May I keep this today? If nothing else comes from tracking him, I’d like to get the chance to show Big Jack what it’s like to be on the other side of this thing.” The quality in the whip was extraordinary; the leather was some of the softest I had ever felt. It was clearly made of a beast not from Earth. Something from our realm, I supposed. I could feel it was infused with some kind of power. I heard of items like this but never had one. Only a few had the ability.

  “Of course, keep it!” Olivia answered quickly.

  “I can’t take this,” I said, shocked at her offer of such a prized piece of handmade workmanship. “If I could just borrow it until we find Jack. The quality is incredible.”

  “Of course you’ll keep it. I’d be honored.”

  I looked at Olivia; her face was neutral but for a small grin and smiling eyes. Liam was simply beaming at her with pride.

  “I made it,” she said proudly. “It’s infused with essence of angel and holy water. The whip will basically poison the demon, and the holy water will not allow the wounds to heal. The accuracy should be unmatchable as well, compared to any other whip.”

  I was more than impressed. Colton joined my side once more, sharing my fascination as we both inspected every detail of her work. “Belleeza is right,” Colton said before looking up. “This is some kind of remarkable—not just the infusion with power either. The whip itself is designed to a tee. Flawless.”

  “Thanks,” Olivia said humbly. “When we have more time, I’ll show you the rest of my collection. So you’ll keep it then, Belleeza?”

  “Most definitely,” I answered. “I’ll carry it proudly.” I was every bit sincere; this is something she would be proud of. “I will be honored to wield a weapon made by you. I had no idea you were an infuser. It’s a rare ability, and you’re beyond gifted.”

  We were all packed and ready to go. Liam gave us a brief explanation of his tracking ability.

  “So how does it work?” I asked, suspiciously. “Will you have to take us individually?”

  Liam shook his head proudly. “No, we’ll emerge as a group. I can track angels and demons by scent, but only to where they emerged or vanished.”

  “And we can’t tell in advance where we’ll end up, right?” I didn’t like that part of the plan so much.

  “Afraid not,” he said, shrugging apologetically.

  At last, we were ready start tracking Big Jack. I wanted to be hopeful that this would lead us somewhere useful—that tracking Jack would get us closer to someone with information on Theodore—but the truth was, this would probably just put us in danger, and all for another dead end. We stood side by side in case we ran into trouble right away. We positioned ourselves so that if we needed to fight immediately, no one would be in anyone else’s line of fire.

  “So, what now?” I asked impatiently, waiting for something to happen.

  Colton laughed. “Always so impatient, Beauty.”

  I held my hands up, my lips quirking into a small smile.

  Liam looked at us seriously. “I have to open up the part of me that controls my tracking ability. Kind of like how our emotions connect. You all have to focus on me, utterly and completely. If you don’t, the timing will be off and—”

  “You’ll arrive before us,” I finished. We couldn’t let that happen.

  He nodded, grimly. “Well, here goes nothing.”

  I closed off everyone except for Liam. I blocked out everything. I could no longer feel Colton’s emotions, I could no longer hear anything. I could not even feel the blade in my hand, though I knew it was there. There was only Liam.

  I felt it—whatever it was that Liam did to track a scent—and suddenly we were in a dark corridor. It felt like I was floating, then suddenly 0I was on Willy Wonka’s boat. The air around me was flashing as lights sped by in a blur, and suddenly we came to a screeching halt. It took my eyes only a second to adjust, and I saw we had arrived at precisely the same moment.

  There was a little light from wall torches scattered sparingly along the walls. It seemed to be a secret passageway of a very old mansion or building. In the movies, the actors and actresses always take a torch from the wall and use it to light their way. In reality, that is just a good way to alert your enemies of your presence and keep you from being armed. So we stayed silent, armed, and ready to act.

  We had no idea which direction to go, and I was torn. We didn’t know where we were, who was there, or how many. Part of me wanted to go stealth so I could scope out both directions first and keep my team safe. At the same time, I didn’t want to leave them like sitting ducks in the hall, waiting to be ambushed.

  Colton signaled me to listen carefully and pointed ahead. I heard it then—the barely audible sounds of muffled, whispering voices. I nodded my head, indicating that I heard it too, and I began to move forward. Colton stood at my side, while Liam and Olivia followed side by side behind us. We moved as one, staying hidden in the shadows and avoiding the light of the torches. We walked on without any sign of movement. It seemed to be some sort of secret meeting place or hideout for the demons, so the lack of security unnerved me.

  Colton grabbed my wrist and pushed me slightly behind him. I reached my hand up and touched my racing heart as if I could force it to slow down. I didn’t like being shoved back like a damsel in distress and definitely didn’t like the idea of Colton putting himself out there as a shield, but if he was feeling uneasy, I wasn’t going to distract him. I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and let him pass me.

  The passage rounded toward the left to an empty corner and then turned again—this time, to the right. The deeper into the passage we went, the thicker the air seemed to become. My heart sped up with each step I took. Fear crept up my back. I looked at the others and was met with wide eyes that I was sure matched my own.

  I have to be strong for them. Show no fear, Belleeza.

  We stopped before rounding the second corner. The air was getting colder, and the large, worn-down bricks looked worse for wear. I could hear the steady of drip of water as it trailed down from walls and landed in a small puddle.

  We slowed our pace as the air suddenly got thicker, making it difficult to breathe. I had a bad feeling about why this place was so unguarded. Things were about to go from bad to horrible in about two point seven seconds.

  This was the part of my job that I hated. Even I get scared in the dark. Anyone would if they knew the things that thrived there. The hair on my arms and neck stood up. I looked at the others and saw them experience the same thing. We knew it was coming before the pungent odor of evil forced its way through our noses.

  Heavy steps at a steady pace were headed toward us. The smell intensified with each step. I said a quick prayer that we would all make it out alive and there was only one beast. I shook my head as the sounds we had thought were whispers became louder and louder; I realized it was not whispers at all, but the sound of horns scratching against the ceiling. I felt stupid.

  “Brace yourselves,” I warned the others, not bothering to whisper as it already knew we were there. I was unaware if Olivia and Liam had even faced one of the beasts of Hell before. I risked a glance, and their wide fearful eyes suggested they had not. They were newer, and even if they had some experience with a beast, it couldn’t have been much.

  The steps grew heavier and louder, causing loose mortar to fall from the brick walls. The smell intensified. It was repulsive. I backed up, taking the others with me until we were against the wall. I wanted us to have more room so we kept backing up until we were out of the corner. I had no idea how big this one was going to be. From the footsteps I would have guessed big . . . very, very big. Hell creatures come in all different forms of atrocious and various sizes. To look upon them is to know the face of evil. Many mortals have seen them and it does not end well for most. If they don’t g
et ripped apart or literally scared to death, they usually go cuckoo for cocoa puffs and end up in some sort of asylum.

  My palms were sweaty, my heart was racing, and my head was spinning with a mix of both fear and courage. Courage won out—as it always did. No matter what was going on in my head, my body and hands maintained their steady offensive stance.

  Out of the darkness came a monster made from the same stuff as nightmares. I was staring at an unnatural beast that came from the depths of Hell. I heard Olivia inhale loudly as her eyes began to try to make sense of what she was seeing.

  Every human act of evil comes with a price. Every wicked deed falls to the pits of Hell.

  As the evil accumulates, it creates the horrific beasts of Hell. Only there is no life in the creatures, no emotions, no feelings—they are the very definition of true evil. Demons—my fallen brothers and sisters—even they have feelings and emotions, darkness and light. The beasts of Hell know no mercy, no fear; they know nothing but evil. Even the demons avoid them when possible, for the creatures do not recognize sides. My grip tightened on my weapons. I looked at Liam and Olivia and saw that their grips on their weapons were so tight, their knuckles were white.

  “My, you’re a pretty one,” Colton taunted.

  Getting mouthy is not something I would recommend to others when preparing for battle, but it worked for me and Colton. It helped to get my adrenaline pumping. Talking shit amped me up, kind of like revving up a big diesel engine.

  As far as the beasts of Hell go, this one wasn’t that bad. Don’t get me wrong he—or rather it—was simply horrifying. But I had seen some that kept even me up at night for weeks. It stood over nine-feet tall with two horns about a foot in length that scraped along the ceiling. They were not the kind of horns one would see on a bull; these horns were black and twisted, ominously reminding me of an ancient dead tree. Its snout, on the other hand, did resemble that of a bull or hog. The rest of its facial features were difficult to see, let alone to describe.