He sounded like he had the phone halfway in his mouth, breathing directly into it. “I’m just…you never…” he trailed off, sounding frustrated as he struggled for the right words. “I care about you, Callie, and Roland was very—”
There was another scuffle and I heard the phone fall to the ground, accompanied by a growl that definitely belonged to Roland. “I didn’t tell you a thing! You opened this nightmare box all on your own.”
“Roland!” I snapped, pursing my lips. “You’re supposed to be collecting vampires, not gossiping. What did you tell him?” Of course, he couldn’t hear me.
“Then why did you tell me anything in the first place?” Fabrizio snapped at Roland, followed by more wrestling and a few slaps and punches, grunts and curses.
“I am leaving!” Roland shouted in the background. “Remember, you did this to yourself!”
“This is your church!” Fabrizio argued. “You can’t leave! I will leave!” I heard a heavy slam, a long silence, and then muttered cursing. Someone picked up the phone, grumbling unhappily. “Okay, I’m back. Sorry,” Fabrizio said.
“What the hell is going on over there? Roland is supposed to be on a job! What did he tell you?”
Fabrizio hesitated. “We were heading to his church for a coffee when we found…the ashes he told you about. After he called you, he mentioned being…concerned about you. That you might be making ill-advised decisions and that he couldn’t help you since you sent him off to collect vampires.”
I let out a sigh of relief to hear no mention of Lucky. I unclenched my fist, waving off Ryuu’s concern. “Oh. Don’t worry about me. I’m in great hands with Ryuu. He works me hard, leaving me feeling like I’ve been wrung out to dry, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Ryuu nodded with smug pride at my accolades of his training abilities.
“Ryuu,” Fabrizio said in a fatherly tone that made me grin. He really was treating me like his daughter!
“Ryuu is even better than Roland, but I’ll kill you if you tell him that.”
The phone dropped again and I heard something shatter. “Roland?” Fabrizio wheezed. “We need to talk. Soon.”
I shrugged. “Sure. Like I said, Ryuu and I are just wrapping up a few things and then we can meet. I’ll call you when I’m finished?”
“Y-yes. We should meet in private. Sensitive topics being what they are.”
I frowned, masking my phone from Ryuu, knowing he wouldn’t like that aspect one bit. “What are you working on?” I asked, hoping it didn’t have anything to do with the Seven Sins, which might lead him to questions about Lucky.
“Just…staying busy. You know me,” he said, cagily.
“I heard about new management. Father Ignatius. Is that what has you acting so strangely, old man? Paranoia?”
He laughed, a forced sound, but at least it was closer to his usual self. “Yes. We definitely need to talk about that. Hence the privacy.”
I considered his request and then shook my head. “I won’t go anywhere without Ryuu. I trust him and he needs to know what’s going on.”
My ninja beamed proudly, dipping his chin. I shrugged back. With so many people wanting to kill me, and him being the only Halo Breaker I knew, it was a simple equation. I noticed that Phix was trying to get our attention from thirty yards away, pointing through the trees where I assumed the angel fountain was. I hadn’t realized we’d walked so far.
“Ah. Well. About that…” Fabrizio said, sounding anxious again. “It’s probably best if it’s just you and me.”
“Why?” I frowned. “Wait. Is this because he can…” I trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud. “His nickname. The rumors about him being able to do something that no other man can do?”
Fabrizio choked and coughed on the other end of the line. “What?”
I hesitated. How the hell did I say it without saying it? He could kill Archangels and Archdemons. They called him the Halo Breaker. “Um. I’m trying to beat around the bush, Fabrizio, because I don’t know how secure this line is. I’m talking about his very unique…sword. He has a reputation that makes some men very…uncomfortable.” I waited, listening to Fabrizio continue to choke and sputter. In that moment, I wondered if the rumor of Ryuu being known as the Halo Breaker was not common knowledge. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said anything at all. “You know what? Never mind. Who listens to rumors, right? As long as it’s brief, I’m sure Ryuu wouldn’t mind giving us some privacy. He has a few errands to run for me this morning.”
Fabrizio let out a gasp of relief. “Okay. Perfect. Call me as soon as you can. We have so much to discuss.”
I nodded absently. “Yeah. Sure,” I murmured, speaking low as we neared Phix. She was motioning for us to be silent as she pointed her paw through the thick foliage to reveal a fountain and what looked like fire. “Hey. I need to go. Things are really…heating up here, and I need to get my head in the game. Ryuu is glaring at me because I’m being a bad student right now.”
Ryuu rolled his eyes. “Get off the phone,” he whispered, harshly. “It’s time for you to show me what you can do.”
I nodded, eyeing the fountain as I ignored Fabrizio’s muttered cursing. Ryuu was giving me a test. On top of dealing with Lucky and the unpredictable Divines, there was a high likelihood that an angel or Nephilim had seen the trio and was keeping a curious eye on them. Entering the open might spring a reaction. The Divines were playing in the pool on the other side of the statue, so all I could clearly see was a lot of fire and splashing from two large creatures. Lucky was sitting on the statue’s shoulder, singing raucously as if he’d been sidetracked stumbling home from the bar after last call.
I gripped the phone, staring at Lucky as I made my goodbyes to Fabrizio. “Head back to Abundant Angel and make sure you have towels and a blow dryer.”
“What?” Fabrizio demanded.
“Because I’m going to be filthy and wet. Oh, and warm up the confessional booth. I’m about to start sinning all over this man,” I said, glaring at Lucky. I knew he was going to make things difficult. I just knew it. From what I’d seen, he had retained more of Pride’s incorrigible traits than those of the responsible Michael.
The only way to control Lucky was overwhelming force. I hung up and pocketed the phone.
15
The statue looked at least ten-feet-high; a beautiful angel statue with outstretched wings standing over a wide pool of shallow water, looking like she was singing a hymn. The pool stood in the center of a clearing with only two jogging trails coming near it—one on the far side of the pool and one between me and my targets.
The scene reminded me of the fountain and pool where I had first encountered Last Breath, the protector of Solomon’s Temple. He had a reputation as a legendary, supernatural assassin, able to shift at will but most often resembling an overly muscled Asian man or a bipedal white tiger with glowing blue eyes. He could summon up a fog to conceal his movements, and I had never seen anyone move as fast as he could.
Then again, I hadn’t known Ryuu back then. I found myself smiling, imagining the two competing in an obstacle course for baddest, fastest badass. I scanned the tree line, searching for Heavenly or Hellish threats.
Phix rolled her eyes. “You think I didn’t already do that? Twice?”
I ignored her, pointedly. Lucky was still naked, still singing, but was now standing on the angel’s shoulders, balancing on one foot in a precarious wobble. He held an impossibly long, gaudy, bedazzled leash in each hand, wielding them like reins for the two unruly Divines splashing around in the pool.
Zoe, the giant Vermillion Bird, was currently on fire, even though she was standing in the pool of water. The water was boiling and steaming all around her, transformed into a hot spring by her flames. The splashing water only momentarily doused her fiery form; it crackled back to life immediately after the water landed.
Bai, the White Tiger, was pouncing about in the water, swiping at imaginary prey. Her sleek white fur seemed to glow as if under a bl
ack light, emphasizing the pitch-black stripes that served to break up her form and distort the eye.
“Xuanwu and Qinglong will be livid,” Ryuu growled.
“Goddamn it, Lucky,” I whispered. Ryuu looked like he’d been kicked in the nuts while hearing factual evidence that Buddha was actually a genocidal maniac.
“I told you,” Phix said, matter-of-factly. “They look like they are having fun, at least. Those must be retractable leashes, or he would have already fallen.” She was staring at Lucky, appraising this supposedly dangerous being with a look of mild disappointment.
I grunted, stepping out of the trees, and making my way towards the fountain with a forced smile. “Technically, you’re partially right,” I told Phix from over my shoulder. Because Lucky was one third Lucifer, a fallen angel.
Lucky finally noticed our approach and grinned toothily as he gave Bai’s leash a playful tug. “I’m the Tiger King, bitches!”
Ryuu growled at Lucky’s disrespectful joke. I groaned, snatching at Ryuu’s wrist right as he prepared to draw his dark blade. He closed his eyes and visibly relaxed under my grip. I gave him an uneasy smile and released him.
“Cold up there?” Phix asked, grinning.
Lucky cocked his head and placed his hands on his hips before granting us a proud thrust and wiggle that made Ryuu curse and me groan. “How unoriginal. A cat being catty.” Then he grinned at her.
The two Divines seemed unconcerned about our arrival, but they were eyeing Phix curiously, sniffing at the air and keeping her in their peripheral vision. The sphinx casually prowled closer, not making eye contact, allowing them to feed their curiosity without making them defensive.
“You’re not wearing any pants, Lucky,” I finally said, checking that no one was nearby to see his current state of undress.
He smiled. “She isn’t wearing a shirt,” he said, pointing at Phix.
I folded my arms and began tapping my foot. I saw a pile of clothes lying in the grass. “Get down and get dressed. You’re supposed to be behind Xuanwu’s ward. Everyone is looking for you, and everyone wants those two dead.” I frowned, shaking my head. “No, everyone thinks those two are already dead. They need to heal from their ordeal before you put them in serious danger, and I would feel better if Xuanwu made that final decision. Or Qinglong.”
Lucky frowned. “No one can sense what or who I am, and everyone will think these two are just your everyday magical creatures,” he complained. “We are anonymous.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “Except you’re naked, and Regulars don’t know magical creatures exist!” I hissed.
He blinked and then gave me a slow nod. “I forgot about that part. That could complicate things.” He scratched at his jaw. “Couldn’t we just kill any Regular witnesses?” he mused, thinking out loud. Then he snapped his fingers. “No. Wait. Don’t tell me. That’s…wrong?” he finally said, emphasizing the last word in a higher-pitched, questioning tone as if he was guessing on a pop quiz in school.
I closed my eyes and counted to three. “Yes, Lucky. Killing innocent people is wrong.”
“Ah!” he shouted, snapping his fingers and then pointing at me excitedly. “But do we know they are innocent? Better to be safe than sorry, right?”
Ryuu slowly shook his head in stunned disbelief. “Is he serious right now?” he murmured to me.
I nodded. “Pride drives the bus as far as I can tell. Maybe Michael is inside somewhere, rattling the cage like an imprisoned conscience.” I scanned the park, silently praying no joggers rounded the curving trails on a morning run. I gave Lucky a warm smile. “You’re standing a dozen feet in the air, naked, and you want to talk about safety?” I asked in a syrupy sweet tone. “Come on down and get dressed. I’ve already had unexpected visitors this morning, and two of my men have been murdered because I wouldn’t turn you in. Both sides of your family,” I said, meaningfully.
Lucky narrowed his eyes. “Well. We should probably do something about that,” he said, and I caught faint flickers of ephemeral silhouettes looming over each of his shoulders. One was red and one was yellow, and the easiest way to describe them was to say they looked like Incredible Hulks in full suits of armor. Thankfully, they flickered away again as Lucky took a calming breath.
I let out my own sigh of relief, echoed by Ryuu. Phix was speaking softly with the two Divines, spinning in slow circles to show off her form—and her tattoo. Great. One day out of Purgatory and Phix was trying to indoctrinate them into Grimm’s Rainbownatti secret society. Lucky cleared his throat, sounding strained. He gave me a guilty shrug. “Okay. I’m better. Anxiety is not good for me.” He shifted his attention to Ryuu. “Does your sister have any Xanax? That has to be the best multivitamin I’ve tried since I rose up from Hell.”
“That would be a drug, not a vitamin,” Ryuu said. Then he turned to me, speaking in a softer tone so as not to be overheard. “How does he not know these things? I’ve heard him make a dozen pop culture references.”
Lucky frowned, and there was something sinister about it. Violent and deadly. I felt a shiver of fear run down my spine. “Tell me something, Halo Breaker,” Lucky said in a decidedly darker tone. I set my hand on the hilt of my katana as Lucky’s specters crackled to life over his shoulders, all three glaring directly at Ryuu. Their eyes began to glow with golden light, mirroring Lucky’s own eyes. The Anghellian spread his arms and the two specters did the same.
I gasped as power immediately crackled through the air, causing my nose and fingers to tingle with sharp pain as loose strands of my hair rose up off my head. The clouds above began to thicken and darken like iron filings drawn to a magnet, shutting out the sunlight within moments. This was exactly the kind of thing I’d wanted to avoid. A fucking spectacle.
“Lucky. Dial it back!” I shouted, trying to be heard over the whipping wind that was now creating slapping waves in the pool below. Oblivious to the stormy water, Zoe’s tail fanned out in an arc of fire. Phix and Bai hunkered lower as if preparing to pounce, their tails twitching and their eyes dilating like Lucky had just cracked open a kilo of catnip.
The Anghellian did not hear me, or chose to ignore me, and chaos reigned supreme.
16
A golden hologram of a full-sized man suddenly sprang to life, hovering over the water. Lucky’s voice was cold and ancient, sounding like a harmony of three voices rather than one—a dying whisper, a bestial roar, and a raging shout. “Have you ever had your entire existence ripped into thirds so fiercely that you felt it on the full spectrum of time itself, Halo Breaker? The nightmarish, panic-inducing anticipation of what the pain might feel like before it happens, the excruciating savagery of being skinned alive in the moment it actually happens, and the bone-deep, eternal, full-body ache of pain that you know will never fade from that old, unhealed wound long after it happened?” The golden silhouette tore into three separate men with a screech that made my teeth ache and my skin crawl. They were all hunched over and had changed colors. One was still gold, sporting a halo and feathered wings. One was a sickly figure of pale, purple mist. The last was red with horns, sharper bat-like wings, and a tail.
Ryuu stared back, spending a moment to focus on each apparition as he gritted his teeth. The wind whipped his hair back and forth across his face. He did not blink, and he did not show fear. He looked respectful. “I have not.”
Lucky nodded. “Each piece of me had its mind raped and wiped of all memory, and then each of us was sent to different foster homes to be raised with a false confidence and origin story,” he continued in his hauntingly powerful trinity harmony of a voice. “Those pieces have now been slammed back together—all the physical pain, all the mental horrors, and all the lies that represented the bedrock of our separate existences. Three worlds have collided in a spiritual force the equivalent of the Big Bang. Right. Here.” He tapped his chest and then clapped his hands together with a deafening crack, like lightning. The three silhouettes slammed together in an explosion of light that momentari
ly blinded me. “Let there be light!” Lucky laughed—a harsh, cynical sound.
“Lucky!” I begged. “Stop. Please.”
“Cut me a little slack, Halo Breaker,” Lucky continued, ignoring me entirely. “And when I ask for a Xanax, maybe skip the judgment and show a little empathy.”
My vision was slowly returning, and the winds were dying down. Ryuu’s Shadow Skin whipped around him, crackling and snapping like a cape, and the Halo Breaker met Lucky’s gaze with steadfast resolve. His pulse was slower than I’d felt at any point so far today. “Diva.”
His single word response went off like a stick of dynamite.
Bai let out a spitting roar that I felt in my chest. Her tail began twitching back and forth as she hunkered low. Metal spines rose up from the depths of her almost glowing white fur, resembling an angry, albino porcupine. And then she lunged for the lip of the pool, closer to Ryuu…
Which sent a wave of water directly at Zoe, soaking her and dousing her flames in a hissing explosion of steam.
Zoe screamed and spread her dripping wings with a crisp snapping sound, like a wet towel whipping an unprotected ass in a high school gym class shower. The wings erupted with flaming light as her peacock-like tail snapped out like a metallic fan—the weapon—except coated in hungry fire fed by napalm.
My eyes bulged at the sudden escalation Ryuu had ignited. “Let’s all calm down,” I urged, jerking my attention between Ryuu, Lucky, and the Divines. “Help me out, Phix!”
Phix was already pacing back and forth, keeping her violet eyes locked onto the two Divines, but not doing anything to prevent an attack.
Lucky stared back at Ryuu, and I let out a breath of relief when I saw that he was no longer flanked by his specters or looking like he was one hiccup away from destroying the Omegaverse.
He finally burst out laughing, doubling over and slapping his knees. “Diva!” he crowed, unable to catch his breath.
Trinity: Feathers and Fire Book 9 Page 9