Angels Falling

by Harriet Carlton

  The green roof of Houska was meters below him. Imorean had no plans of slowing. Not yet. Houska was the only thing that mattered. Finding his family. A dark shape moved in his peripherals. He reached back for his sword. His left side was exposed. Crack! A sucking gasp leaped from his throat as the shape hit him. He heard, rather than felt the impact in his chest. He had been going too fast to pull up or change course. They were falling. He kicked and writhed, his wings tangled with his assailant’s. Impact. It racked his entire body. Imorean saw only white and stars. Everything stopped. Ground. He was on the ground. Stone ground, from the feel of it. A strange mixture of black, red and white swam in front of his vision. Nothing was clear. Shapes moved in the gloom. Desperation broke. He flailed on the ground. He needed to get up. To function. To move. But he couldn’t. No part of his body listened to him properly. Seven other shapes landed around him. Dimly, he sensed other angels. Raguel’s team. He pushed himself up to his hands and knees. One hand grappled for his sword, the other trembled as it supported him.

  “Stay still.”

  Imorean jumped as a hand settled on his shoulder. A kind of relief caught him. Raguel. He blinked again. Stars still clung to the corners of his vision.

  “What happened?” he asked, looking around. They seemed to be in an inner courtyard.

  “I stopped you. You were coming in too hot. Figuratively and literally,” replied Raguel, shifting a wing to gesture to twin scorch marks on the stone floor. “Relax, everyone.”

  “Why are we relaxing? Aren’t we in Houska?” asked Imorean, shaking his head. He stood, wiping a hand across his forehead and brow. Blood clung to his fingers. He could see a little better.

  “We are.”

  “Then what …?” Imorean turned as Tadhiel passed him a cloth. He wiped his face, dark puddles of blood clinging to the fabric. “Raguel, why did we stop?”

  Raguel heaved a breath. “Iriel, Akriel, Theliel, set up a perimeter. There are no demons here. Certainly, no Vortigern. We all felt it a moment ago. The presence isn’t dark enough. We’ve been tricked.”

  Chapter 61

  “Follow my finger left,” said Tadhiel.

  Imorean complied, following Tadhiel’s finger as it crossed his line of sight as far to the left as he could.

  “Look up.”

  Imorean flinched as Tadhiel shined a bright light into his eyes.

  “And down.”

  “Are we nearly done?” asked Imorean. He and Tadhiel had been sitting in the courtyard at Houska for almost an hour now. Tadhiel had wanted to check him for a concussion. The exam had given Imorean a chance to get to grips with Houska’s layout a little. It was a small, square castle. Really unremarkable. Why Vortigern had chosen this place as his hideaway was beyond him. Then again, the isolation must have been an attractive feature. He swallowed and blinked, trying to avoid the light that Tadhiel continued to shine into his eyes.

  “Almost,” replied Tadhiel, a smile pulling the corner of his mouth. “As far as I can tell, you should be just fine. No nausea?”

  “No,” replied Imorean. That wasn’t exactly true. He felt nauseous, but it wasn’t from the fall. This nausea gnawed away at both his stomach and his nerves.

  “Raguel wanted us to check the basement passage. He and the others have checked most everywhere else for anything important,” said Tadhiel, turning off his small light and tapping it against his palm. “Coming?”

  Imorean’s heart lurched in his chest. “Raguel only said there are no demons here, didn’t he?”

  Tadhiel nodded. “Human presences are harder for us to sense. There’s no dark supernatural energy.”

  Imorean leaped to his feet and stared at Tadhiel. His heart was thundering, his wings flared halfway. His family could still be here! Toddy could still be here! Tadhiel moved and led the way across the square courtyard to a small, wooden door set into the wall. Imorean pulled it open, ducking inside. He paused. The door had given way to a hall. The stone here was new, concrete. Unnatural. The floor was tile, not stone. He knew this place. He had seen it in his sleep. Tadhiel slipped in behind him. Darkness began to fall as the door swung shut. Electricity. This place had electricity. Light. A tiny flash of white illuminated one of the tunnel walls. Light switches. Imorean flicked them and fluorescent lights cracked on, running the length of the hall. There was something silent and clinical about it. He swallowed. A part of him wanted to go back to the courtyard, to go no further. But he had to keep going. Angels had a harder time sensing human presences. His family may yet be down here. Through some slim chance. His mother, his Rachel, his Isaac. Toddy. He took a deep breath and stepped off down the hall. It was narrow and he and Tadhiel weren’t able to walk next to each other. Claustrophobia tried to dig her claws into him. Imorean paused half a step. The hall widened a fraction. A cell occupied the wall to his left. It was closed. Windowless, glass-fronted. More like an experiment cage than a cell. God alive, this was like sinking into a waking nightmare. He forced himself onward, steps quicker. The first cell was empty, but he could see another further down. Empty, too. The hall seemed to stretch on forever. It looked endless.

  One cell, far and away down the hall, one was open. Imorean’s heart thundered in his chest and he broke into a run. Next, empty. Next, empty. Next, empty. Bloodstain on the floor. Next, a cell closed off. Darkened glass. He slipped in a black ooze that had spread from under the door. He crashed onto his back. A few white hairs fell in front of his eyes as he scrambled to his feet. Oily sludge clung to white feathers. Then he was at the open cell. His boots skidded on the floor as he came to a halt. The cell was well lit. A television was mounted on the back wall. A small grate was settled in the middle of the floor, but none of that mattered. Imorean felt like he had been thrown from his own body. He was frozen. He couldn’t move. Just beyond the grate, lying as though dead, was Toddy. Pale and sunken, but Toddy. Toddy! Imorean heard Tadhiel shout something, felt the shout in the back of his mind. A mental communication with the rest of Raguel’s group. Imorean launched forward, sprinting to Toddy’s side. He paused, hands hovering over Toddy’s motionless shoulder. He wasn’t even sure if Toddy was breathing. Were they too late?

  “T – Toddy?” asked Imorean, unable to raise his voice above a whisper. “Toddy?”

  Toddy’s eyes flashed open. Gray. Imorean fell back. A toothy grin appeared on Toddy’s emaciated face.

  “Like my gift?” It wasn’t Toddy’s voice, but Vortigern’s. “Thought I’d leave him for you.”

  “Get out,” said Imorean. The command sounded breathier and more hesitant than he wanted. “Get out of him.”

  “Imorean?” asked Tadhiel.

  Imorean wanted to reply, wanted to turn, but didn’t dare take his eyes off the Vortigern-infected Toddy. Gray eyes shifted and Toddy’s fingers snapped, the glass door slamming down. Trapped. Imorean gathered himself. He was trapped in a small cell with only Vortigern, Vortigern who was possessing his friend. He could hear Tadhiel’s muffled cries from the other side. Muted pounding on the glass.

  Vortigern-Toddy smiled and sat halfway up. “I thought it was only a matter of time before you arrived. You brought company, I see. At least I know all of you Archangels are scattered. Well done. Once again, you’ve landed all those you love in trouble, haven’t you? Poor, little Imorean.”

  Cold. Imorean’s blood ran cold. This was the fear Michael had voiced. Vortigern knew where they were. He knew what they were doing. He had to. Imorean shivered. He had done exactly what Vortigern had wanted. Played right into his hand. Horror opened its hungry mouth. It felt as though it extinguished every last bit of hope Imorean had. The hammering on the other side of the glass continued.

  “Get out of him!” shouted Imorean.

  “What?” drawled Vortigern, the word and tone sounding horribly foreign on Toddy’s lips. “Don’t like what I’ve done with him? I think it’s an improvement.”

  Imorean reached back for his sword, fury mounting.

  “Ah, ah! I wouldn’t,�
� said Vortigern-Toddy. “You see, that’s the beauty of wearing one of you humans like a dress suit. You want to hurt me, you have to hurt him, too. With you holding a weapon like the one in your hands, I don’t think that’ll go so well for Mr. Toddy here. You’d kill him. How would you feel to be responsible for another friend’s death?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Rude. Toddy says you’re rude.”

  Imorean stood up, scrambling backward half a pace as Vortigern-Toddy stood as well. Lithe. Too fluid. There was no Toddy in the movement. He swallowed. This wasn’t Toddy. This was Vortigern. He had to treat him as such.

  “What do you want, Vortigern?”

  “To watch your reaction. Look at the television.”

  Imorean looked up as Vortigern-Toddy snapped his fingers again. The black screen flickered to life. Fresh cold seized Imorean’s body. A photo. Five people at a theme park. His mother, his Isaac, his Rachel. Bethany and Vortigern. A family photo. Bethany leaned on Vortigern’s shoulder, grinning at the camera. One of Vortigern’s hands rested on Rachel’s head. Isaac balanced on Amelia’s hip. Imorean couldn’t breathe. His mother’s mouth was parted in a laugh. Vortigern’s lips pressed to her cheek.

  “Having a family in my position is hard. So, I made my own. Beautiful, aren’t they? And entirely mine.”

  Imorean swung. His fist connected with Toddy’s chin and Vortigern-Toddy crashed to the floor, laughing. Vortigern’s laughter. Imorean tore his sword from its scabbard. His family, his family, alive, and with Vortigern. He levelled his sword at Toddy’s chest. Gray eyes taunted him from inside Toddy’s body.

  “They wanted me. I’m their safety net. I protected them where you failed,” hissed Vortigern, resting against the wall to sit up. “And Toddy? Please. He’ll never be the same after this. These memories. Houska. What he’s seen. It’ll eat him alive. You’d be doing him a favor. Do it. Plunge that sword through us. You know you want to.”

  Imorean bared his teeth. “Get out.”

  From the other side of the glass, he could still hear Raguel and the squad calling his name. Desperation. He could feel it. He didn’t pay it attention.

  Vortigern-Toddy grinned. “They won’t come back to you. They’re mine.”

  Imorean lunged forward, sword aimed for Toddy’s chest. He wouldn’t miss. Not this time. Toddy blinked. Gray faded. Brown resurfaced. The glass door rose. Toddy cringed, arms protecting his head. Toddy! Imorean shifted his weight. His sword dug deep into the concrete wall, just missing Toddy’s chest. Toddy. He had nearly stabbed Toddy. Behind him, Imorean could hear muffled chatter. The words didn’t matter. He paid them no attention. He stayed where he was, one hand on his sword pommel. The other braced him against the wall just above Toddy. He couldn’t move. He had fallen into Vortigern’s display. This was what Vortigern had wanted. He closed his eyes and looked away. Warmth made its way down his cheek. Losing. They were losing. There was no way to finish this without losing. Vortigern had all the aces. Vortigern still held power. Thanks to him. He had revealed them in Mexico, just as he had revealed them here. Bile rose in his throat. He had nearly killed Toddy. So, so nearly. And now he had cost them their cover. Playing to Vortigern’s hands. A sob snatched Imorean’s chest and air refused his lungs.

  Wings twitching, Imorean jumped as someone tugged on his sleeve. He looked up. Toddy, his eyes dull, but colored. A tiny smile formed on his face. Imorean tried to smile back, but the expression wouldn’t come. Months. It had taken him months to find Toddy. Toddy should have been the one to punch him, but here he was, smiling. Imorean stilled. Toddy. He had thought he would never see him again.

  Toddy’s lips moved, mouthing words in silence. “Thank you.”

  Another line of heat tracked its way down Imorean’s face. A thanks he didn’t deserve. He gave Toddy a shaky smile, a real smile, then a hand gripped his upper arm and he was turned away. In a kind of daze, he looked up to see who had grabbed him. He sensed the burgundy before he met Raguel’s eyes.

  Raguel blinked then jerked his head to the open cell door. Imorean stood upright and pulled his sword free of its concrete prison. He fell into step behind Raguel, but paused at the cell door to look back over his shoulder at Toddy. Even as Tadhiel stepped in to give first aid, Toddy’s eyes were still on him.

  Houska’s courtyard was almost pitch dark. A chill had settled in the night air. The cold hit Imorean like a hammer blow. A jolt of reality. He snapped his wings out and refolded them, the familiar movement helping him ground himself. He ran a hand over his face and glanced at Raguel. His expression was shadowed in the night.

  “He’s going to be okay, isn’t he?” asked Imorean. There was a pause. He turned to fully face Raguel. Normally humorous eyes had gone serious. “Raguel?”

  Raguel shook his head. “You’ve done it now. You should have killed him when you had the chance. It would have been a mercy to him and a safeguard to us.”

  “Killed my friend … I don’t understand.”

  “Oh, think, just think,” snapped Raguel. “He’s been possessed by Vortigern. He can be possessed again. And there’s no telling just how deeply his mind has been damaged. You’ve made a very dangerous decision by choosing to save him. You might have spelled the end for all of us.”

  Imorean flared his wings slightly and folded his arms. “I’m not going to let you kill my friend if that’s what you’re telling me to do. If you want to get to him, you’ll have to go through me.”

  “Without a direct order allowing permission, angels cannot harm humans. Were it any other way, he would be dead by now, I assure you. Your friend is safe for now, but believe me, he won’t be the friend you remember.”

  Imorean sighed and looked away. “What do we do?”

  “I asked Michael to come. He’s finished in Egypt anyway. Their mission was very straightforward. He’ll finalize Toddy’s verdict tomorrow.”

  Imorean closed his eyes. If Michael had been called back … it didn’t bode well for him or for Toddy. Michael had sent him on this mission at his request and he had single-handedly butchered it.

  He swallowed and looked up, feeling Raguel’s eyes on him. “What?”

  Raguel shook his head. “Michael warned me a few days ago that something like this might happen. Humans show mercy more than Archangels. I just hadn’t realized to what extreme human mercy reaches. It’s dangerous.”

  “You call deciding not to murder my friend dangerous?” snorted Imorean. “That’s disgusting.”

  “I would have done it. It would have meant keeping my team safe. Now, thanks to you and your mercy, we’re in danger. There’s no way for us to know how closely connected Vortigern is to Toddy. So, thank you, Imorean.”

  Imorean’s blood seared hot in his veins. His wings shot out, every feather flared. “I’m being human! If my mercy is the last bit of humanity I have left, I’ll hold to it with everything I have in me.”

  Raguel looked him up and down, and for the first time, Imorean felt disdain in his gaze. He took a deep breath and stood his ground.

  “Then let your mercy be your weakness until you can learn to check it. I should never have brought you with me on this mission. As you are now, you are a danger to everyone around you.” Raguel elevated his chin. Imorean opened his mouth, but Raguel cut him off. “I don’t think this is what Michael had in mind when he made an Archangel-human hybrid.”

  Imorean took half a step backward, the words cutting him like a knife. Raguel, one of the Archangels he had liked from the moment he met him, seemed to have turned on him. On account of sparing someone’s life. But it wasn’t just a life. It was the mission as well. His wings closed and he stood at the bottom of Houska’s courtyard. He felt paralyzed. He heard Raguel’s boots turn on the stone, starting to move off, then there was a pause. He flinched hard as a hand settled on his shoulder.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean that,” sighed Raguel. “I’m worried about what consequences your actions will bring us.”

  “What do you want me to do
?” asked Imorean. He swallowed, stopping the tremble in his voice before it could rise. “Go down there? Kill him in cold blood?”

  “No. What you can do is settle on guard duty for him. I’ll watch for Michael.”

  Imorean nodded and started back toward Toddy’s cell, but stopped at the narrow doorway. “I’m sorry, Raguel.”

  Raguel laughed drily, no humor in the sound. “No, don’t apologize. It’s done. We’ll figure this out in the morning.”

  Imorean swallowed and turned back into the tunnel, flattening himself against the wall as the rest of Raguel’s team filed out into the courtyard. Someone tugged his sleeve.

  “You’re watching Toddy for tonight?”

  Imorean looked up and breathed a quiet sigh of something like relief. Tadhiel. He gave a half smile. “Yeah.”

  “I’ll stay down here with you then. It’s not nice down here alone.”

  “Thanks, Tadhiel.”

  Imorean stepped off and moved down the corridor. He tucked his hands into his pockets and bit the inside of his cheek. Would Raguel’s reaction to his sparing of a life have been the same if his mother had been here? What was he supposed to have done in that situation? He shook his head. No. It didn’t bear thinking about. Toddy was his immediate concern. Toddy was the one who needed looking after now.

  Chapter 62

  It was the silence that unnerved Imorean the most. The incessant ticking of his watch was almost maddening, but it was noise. Something to break this awful quiet. He adjusted his position. Next to him, Tadhiel was either sleeping or roaming the astral plane. In either case, his breathing was low and even. Imorean looked up. Toddy lay in the far corner of his cell. Cell. Imorean looked to his right, to the last cell on the row. His mother. Had she been there? Had Rachel or Isaac been there? He swallowed. Alive. They were all alive. He took a shuddering breath. It should have been an absolution – hope. But it wasn’t. Alive. Still under Vortigern’s grasp. Not simply prisoners, but actively with him. Bring them home. He had to bring them home. How much had he missed them by? Days? Weeks? He played Vortigern’s words over in his head. Vortigern knew he would arrive – that his drive to save his family would outweigh any sense of duty. Maybe he should have gone to Peru with his friends. It would have stopped Vortigern from knowing the scattered status of the Archangels.