Dark Angel Box Set

by Hanna Peach

  It appeared that the Seraphim were not immune to gossip.

  “So there are only the two of us mortals here,” said Israel. There was no need to scare Xiang with the fact that he wasn’t fully human. Although after today, chances were good that she would find out anyway.

  “Yes,” said Xiang. “Although the FreeThinker Seraphim are accepting and friendly with the mortal population, they don’t usually provide refuge for them apart from exceptional circumstances.”

  “So what are your exceptional circumstances?”

  “I was once Darkened.” Israel felt his eyes widen and his mouth drop open at her admission. Xiang nodded her head. “And now I am not. I was saved by my true love, who is a Seraphim.”

  Could there be? Could there truly be a way to save Adere as Xiang just claimed she had been saved?

  “But how...?”

  “It is not my story to tell.”

  “I need to know. Please.”

  Xiang’s almond eyes narrowed slightly. “Why do you need to know this thing? It is a dangerous venture.”

  “There is someone. She...I have to save her.”

  Xiang’s eyes widened and she nodded in understanding. Xiang sprang up. “Come. I am supposed to meet with the one who can tell you. Perhaps we shall have answers for you.”

  Israel followed this bouncing Asian woman back towards the main Aradale buildings.

  But they didn’t go back to the main building. They veered off to the side gardens where a pond filled with colored dragonflies and pink lilies lay under a small wooden bridge. There was a familiar figure leaning against the bridge railing above.

  “Vix,” Xiang called out. The figure turned her head and gave them a small wave. The familiar blond-haired seraphelle flipped over the railing of the bridge and flew towards them.

  “There you are,” said Vix as she approached. “I was waiting. I thought maybe I had gotten the place wrong, but instead I can see you have been sidetracked by Israel here.” She nodded to Israel in acknowledgement.

  “Maybe sidetracked a little. Oh, but for such a good cause,” Xiang said.

  Vix didn’t answer. She slipped her arms around Xiang in a crushing embrace and planted her lips over Xiang’s.

  Israel disappeared to them. It was just a kiss but he could feel it was so much more. He felt as though his eyes were intruding, that this moment was too private for him to watch. He dropped his gaze to the floor until he heard Vix speak.

  “What is this good cause then?”

  “Israel wishes to hear the story of how you saved me.”

  When Israel looked up, they had both turned to face him, but they still had an arm around each other.

  “Why?”

  Xiang burrowed closer to Vix in the crook of her arm. “He wants to know how to un-turn a Darkened.”

  Vix frowned. “To save a Darkened is not a thing to take lightly. They don’t want to be saved. Are you sure you want to risk it?”

  Israel nodded. “I have to.”

  “Who is the Darkened you are desperate to save?”

  “Adere. She’s an old friend. I am responsible for her turning. I have to make it right.”

  Vix fixed her eyes on Israel but there was softness to her voice. “You are not responsible for her turning, despite what you think.”

  Israel thought of what Alyx had said to him. “For as long as this thing with Adere isn’t finished, you and I can never be together.”

  “Will you tell me or not?” Israel said.

  Vix chewed her lip, studying his face. Then she eyed the area around them. “Okay.” She lowered her voice. “A Darkened can be turned back only one way.”

  “Which is?” Israel tried to keep the impatience out of his voice.

  Xiang nudged Vix. “My hu, it would be best to tell him the whole story.”

  Vix leaned down to her and brushed the tip of her nose against Xiang’s. They shared a smile and Israel felt like something unspoken had been communicated, although he wasn’t sure what.

  Vix looked at him intensely. “This story is private. It stays between us.”

  Israel nodded. “I won’t tell anyone.”

  She stretched her hand out to a patch of grass. “Let us sit.”

  They seated themselves cross-legged on the soft grass. Vix kept one of Xiang’s hands clasped against one of her legs. “Long story short,” began Vix.

  “But not too short, my love,” interrupted Xiang with her bell-like voice.

  Vix smiled at her before continuing, “After I left Urielos, I wandered the Earth alone, aimless for several centuries. There was so much hate and anger in my heart... I found myself in China at the turn of the last century, lost somewhere in the Hengduan mountains. I came across this great monastery. The monks took me in.

  “Imagine my surprise when I discovered the oldest of their monks was a Seraphim. He told me that he had been an Elder but that he had left the society almost a thousand years prior. The Elder said that he had been at that monastery for hundreds of years. He taught me meditation and helped me calm my anger and let go of the past.

  “One day, about fourteen years ago, I was in the nearest village getting supplies for our monastery. I passed a house and halted when I heard the sounds of arguing. Soon a girl ran outside into her garden. It was Xiang. She was like a vision to me sitting outside under her cherry blossom tree, tears shining like diamonds in her eyes.”

  Vix paused to brush a lock of hair that fell across Xiang’s face. “She was only fourteen then. But she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.” Her eyes never left Xiang’s face. “She still is.”

  Xiang blushed.

  Turning back to Israel, Vix continued, “It turned out that Xiang had been banished from her home by her parents, kicked out with nothing and nowhere to go. Because of her anger and her hurt, the Darkened took over. I flew back to the temple and begged the Elder to tell me what I could do to bring her back, as I could not kill her even though I knew I should. He told me that an act of love would be the only thing that could bring her back.”

  “An act of love?” asked Israel.

  “Yes.”

  Israel frowned. “What does that mean?”

  “Exactly what it sounds like. You have to perform an act of love towards the Darkened in question.”

  “What, like sex?”

  Xiang giggled and Vix rolled her eyes. “Men,” Vix mumbled. “No, you mug. Sex and love are two different things.”

  “But I’m not in love with Adere.”

  Vix scoffed. “You don’t have to be in love to perform an act of love. An act of love comes in many forms.”

  “I still don’t understand,” Israel said, shaking his head.

  “Perhaps I should tell you the rest of the story. It may become clearer after you have heard it.” Vix seemed to relax a little. “I was also confused about the Elder’s advice. He told me that he could not elaborate any further than ‘an act of love’. He told me that it would be better if I just killed her, as her demon soul would start to need other human life to continue to survive in this world.

  “I found Xiang in the forest near her village. She was so confused. Tormented. I could feel her soul fighting with the demon inside her for control.”

  “That happens? I thought the human soul remains a prisoner.”

  “If the soul is strong enough, it can fight back.” She looked at Xiang with pride. “It helps if the mortal understands what is happening and who the demon is. This is why the demons don’t try to invade our bodies. It is more trouble than it is worth to occupy a Seraphim.”

  “That has happened?” asked Israel. “Seraphims have been turned before?”

  Vix’s eyes looked grim. “It has, I regret to say.”

  Israel felt tendrils of anger started to curl around his body when he thought of Michael. Was this what he had seen in Michael? Could Michael have tortured Alyx so brutally in the Hollows without a demon possession to direct his behavior? Was Michael possessed?

 
Israel was about to let a tirade burst from his mouth when Vix silenced him. “Don’t be so quick to judge, Israel. We all have our demons, our weaknesses, our own crosses to bear. Often, we are closer to the devil than we think.”

  Xiang clung tighter to Vix’s hand and arm, looking more like a child than ever. She began to hum a soft low tune under her breath. It was the same tune that he heard her sing before.

  “So Xiang knew the demon was trying to control her?” Israel said, trying to shift the issue.

  “The Chinese and most Eastern cultures have stronger beliefs in the supernatural than the West does. Xiang knew and I could sense she was trying to fight it.”

  “But if she had given the Darkened permission to take her body...?”

  “You don’t have to give actual verbal permission to allow the Darkened in.”

  Israel felt prickles across his skin as he let this sink in. How close had he been to giving his “permission”? How many times? He pushed these thoughts away. “How did you save her?”

  “I approached her, but she attacked me,” Vix explained. Xiang cringed at this announcement. “We fought but I had the upper hand.”

  “You were always such a strong warrior, my hu,” Xiang said, stroking Vix’s arm.

  “It is no match to fight against someone who is also warring with themselves, my love,” Vix responded. Turning back to Israel, she continued, “Finally I disarmed her and had her pinned down. I should have killed her. But I couldn’t. God, she looked so glorious. Her black hair fanning around her face like a dark halo. One minute she was growling at me, the next she was begging me to kill her. Even with the jade-colored skin and fire-red eyes flickering underneath, she was still beautiful. I don’t know what came over me...”

  “What?” Israel said. “What happened?”

  “I...” Vix lowered her eyelashes with a shyness that Israel hadn’t seen before on her usually strong face. It suits her, he thought. Makes her look younger. “I kissed her.”

  “And that expelled the demon?”

  “Yes, but understand, Israel, that ridding the body of the demon does not completely sever the ties between the host and the demon. Once the demon has consumed you, it is easier to return to that dark place. It is likened to being a recovering alcoholic. Every day you must resist the temptation toward anger, rage, bitterness, hate…all these things can actually feel good. Every day is another victory.”

  Israel watched Vix and Xiang as they lapsed into silence. Israel felt that there was more to their story, both of their stories, but he didn’t dare ask them about it.

  “So I must kiss Adere?”

  This time it was Xiang who spoke, “I do not think that it was the kiss exactly but the whole of Vix’s actions towards me. Most people, when faced with someone filled with hate and anger and violence, will usually react in kind. Except Vix. She sought instead not to condemn me, but to continue to see the beauty in me, the truth of who I really was. She fought for a way to bring me back to myself instead of just killing me. This was her act of love, the greatest act of love I have ever had the blessing to receive. And I fell in love with her for it. I still love her for it and will do so until I die.”

  Israel jolted. As he watched this mortal and this Seraphim together, Israel was filled with the greatest sadness. Their love story would one day end. This was something that he and Alyx would have to face one day also.

  “So you will still die,” he exclaimed at Xiang, then immediately regretted his outburst. “I’m sorry, I did not mean to…”

  Xiang waved a hand to him. “Pray, no need to apologize. It is something that Vix and I know is inevitable for us. But we live in the present. Today, we have each other. We are lucky. Some on this Earth never find what we have.” Xiang’s voice became quieter. “After I die, I know that Vix will never forget me. But she will find another love after I pass and she will be happy again. She knows this is what I wish for her.”

  But the look in Vix’s eyes told Israel differently. He felt the pain that he saw in Vix’s eyes sharp in his own heart. Israel understood. If he and Alyx were ever granted a lifetime together and Alyx were to die, he wouldn’t be far behind her. He would follow her to Hell if he had to.

  “Will you help me save Adere?” Israel spoke quietly.

  “Why do you wish so badly to do this?” Vix apparently wasn’t going to consent to help him without knowing his reasons.

  “If I can save Adere, if I can finish this unresolved thing with her, then maybe…maybe I will deserve to be with the one I love.”

  Xiang’s face became animated. “Oh, love. Oh yes, it makes sense now. Love. Vix, we have to help him.”

  Vix gazed at Israel. “Deserve? That is an interesting word you use.”

  Israel shrugged. “I suppose I could have easily chosen another.”

  Xiang’s mouth circled in an “o” and she began to nod in agreement at Vix. Israel began to think that there was something he was missing.

  “After you vanquish this demon, then what?” Vix asked. “Will that be enough to prove you are worthy? Or will there be another dragon to slay?”

  Israel opened his mouth to retort but froze. Would it really be enough?

  Alyx will still be an angel, an inner voice said to him. You’ll still be just a demon-mortal half-breed.

  “Everybody deserves love, Israel,” said Vix. “You do not need to do anything to deserve it.”

  Israel stiffened. The anger that was simmering under his skin spilled out as the bitterness in his voice. “Easy for you to say. You’ve had a worthy and meaningful life as a warrior.”

  His tone didn’t faze Vix or Xiang. In a calm voice Vix replied, “I am far from perfect. Believe it or not, I have a darker past and more blood on my hands than water in the Namsto Lake of China. My sins trail back like blackened breadcrumbs far longer than you or even your grandparents have been alive.

  “It would be easy for me to feel like I had much to repent for. It would be easy to just say that I didn’t deserve love. It would be easy for me to just give up on it and Xiang. But Xiang accepts me and loves me regardless. Through her love, I strive to be a better person, but it is a daily task and one that is never complete, for there is always something. Even after all these years, there is always something. But isn’t that the point?”

  Israel stared at this blond-haired warrior and the lithe Asian woman beside her. From them, he had a sense of speaking to eons of wisdom, to the collective knowledge of a faraway people. Looking at them, he could begin to sense that they were all a part of something bigger.

  This glacier of unworthiness that he carried around was still there, deep in his soul, but a piece, a small piece of it, melted away in that moment. Just a piece, but a piece was enough to start with.

  “So,” said Vix, finally, “do you have a plan?”

  Chapter 19

  “Alyx.”

  She jumped. “Jesus,” Alyx let out in a whisper. She closed Israel’s door and placed her hands on the smooth surface as if in surrender, trying to calm her beating heart. He still hadn’t returned.

  “It’s generally not a good idea to go around scaring people, Dianne,” Alyx hissed. She turned around to face the taller woman.

  “I didn’t intend to scare you. Or perhaps there is a reason you are so jumpy at the moment?”

  It was then that Alyx noticed the sly tint to Dianne’s eyes. She didn’t like it one bit.

  Alyx sighed, trying to rein in her dislike for this seraphelle. “What the hell do you want, Dianne? Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble for one day?”

  “Don’t you think you’ve lied enough for one day?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Tell me, did you find out that your boyfriend was a demon before or after you slept with him?”

  Alyx’s heart leapt into her throat, almost causing her to choke. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Dianne smiled. “I think you do. Tell me, was it fun slummin
g it? Do you think Jordan will still want you after he finds out about your shameful little secret? Do you think you will still be welcome here?”

  Alyx had to restrain herself from punching Dianne in the face. Her hands ached to crack that snub nose of hers in two. “You’re wrong about everything.”

  “Really? Because I saw something interesting when I shifted through your boyfriend’s memories of the Darkened earlier.”

  No, she couldn’t possibly have seen...how could their night of passion be connected in any way to the Darkened?

  Dianne continued, “Israel, it appears, has an ex-girlfriend who went Darkened. Adere. Did you know about her? It appears that she visited him in a DreamScape...did he tell you about that? Did Israel tell you that he all but admitted to Adere about being in love with you? Did he also tell you that in that DreamScape, when Adere asked him about you, Israel thought of you? Did he tell you that in that moment he remembered calling you his dark angel?”

  Dark angel. Israel had whispered those words to her on that night. Alyx didn’t move, she didn’t dare breathe. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t possibly be happening.

  “I copied that whole memory of Israel’s and now hold it in my memory.” Dianne tapped the side of her head with two fingers of her left hand. “Think it may be something that Jordan would be interested in watching?”

  Alyx was rattled to her bones, but she couldn’t let Dianne see just how shaken she was. There was no other way than to play her game. Alyx forced her voice low. “What do you want, Dianne?”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere. What do I want? Hmmm, let me see.” Dianne tapped a finger at her lip. Then her face screwed up in contempt. “I want you and those two disgusting half-demon creatures out of here. Leave Aradale and never come back.”

  “But the Black Stone...”

  “All I care about is keeping Aradale safe, and it was perfectly safe until you,” Dianne shoved an accusing finger in Alyx’s face, “you and that ignorant demon-boy came and caused us all this trouble.” Dianne’s voice dropped low, and Alyx was startled to see what looked like tears in her eyes. “Zia died because of you and him. I want you both gone. Now. And take your demon-girl with you.”