Kaliya Sahni: Volume One (Kaliya Sahni Volumes Book 1)

by K. N. Banet

  While she seemed good-natured as we ran through the halls, I had to remember everything I knew about real angels, all of which I had read from books or been told about by unfortunate souls who happened to see the aftermath of an angel summoning.

  They could be overly good, so good, it was cruel. So perfect, they were malicious. Oftentimes, they were summoned and cast their own form of judgment on the fool who summoned them.

  And sometimes, they were just monsters in their own right. Much like demons, they were unkillable, something from another world too powerful for ours. The summoning of angels was strictly prohibited, just like demons, and for very good reason.

  But I couldn’t judge Gabrielle on any of that. She was trapped here just like the cambions, who were part demon. They would both face a reputation problem in the broader supernatural world. I had enough experience with Raphael to know their heritage didn’t make them the things we were all scared of. I had to believe in the human in her.

  “Are there others like you to find?” I asked, looking down at her. She wasn’t tall, probably only five foot four, and her wings seemed too big on her.

  “No,” she said softly. “I’ve always been alone. They tried to make others, but…”

  I didn’t need her to explain further and was grateful she didn’t try again after she trailed off.

  “How old are you?” I kept a watchful eye as we passed through an intersection of hallways. I was wary as I heard the gunfire in other areas of the lab, could smell the smoke of fires tearing their way through. We were far from that danger for now, but I had to remain vigilant.

  “Twenty-three. They made me celebrate my birthday a few weeks ago, actually.”

  “How long have you been here?”

  “I was born here.”

  I held up a hand at the sound of growls and rustling of cloth. She stayed quiet for me and didn’t move as I crept forward to another corner and peeked around.

  There was one of the cambions, its skin dark grey and covered in the black veins, beating up a dead body. Red tears streaked down its face as it continued to hit the dead man under it. I wished I could tell if it was one of the men or women, but the angle was bad. I couldn’t see much other than the cambion’s back.

  “Hey, are you okay?” I asked carefully, taking a step closer.

  It looked around, puzzled, then looked over its shoulder at me and snarled.

  “I’m one of the good guys,” I said softly, raising my hands. “Why aren’t you with the group?”

  A frown and the cambion looked around again, its eyes going wide as it realized it was alone.

  “Yeah, you got left behind. Come on. I’m looking for them, too.”

  It stood and turned to look at me for a long time before approaching me cautiously. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female at a distance, but as it came closer, I saw that the cambion was a she.

  “I’m Kaliya Sahni,” I introduced, holding out a hand, unafraid.

  She shifted back to her human form and looked at the hand. She was young, couldn’t have been more than fourteen, and her eyes were fearful as she stared at my hand. She didn’t trust touch, that much was clear. I let the hand drop, not taking it as an insult.

  “Look, I’m here to help you. You don’t need to shake my hand. What’s your name?”

  “M-m…” She shook her head, stepping back from me again, looking down in shame.

  “I’m not scared of you, kid,” I promised softly. “Let’s go. Let’s get you back to the group. You can join me and Gabrielle. Gabrielle, come out and meet one of the cambions.”

  “Hi,” she greeted softly, walking over slowly.

  The little cambion girl gave no response, except to shield her eyes from some sort of light. I looked at the wings and frowned. They were a bit bright in the dark hallways.

  “Okay, now I’m going to get both of you out, okay?” Now was absolutely not the time to consider it.

  They both nodded. I took that as a good sign. I was picking up the stragglers, which was perfect. Hopefully, everyone else was already outside, waiting for us. It was better than anyone running back into the labyrinth that was the laboratory to find us.

  I started walking, not wanting to run off without either of them. Gabrielle kept up easily, keeping pace. It was the little cambion who took a moment to follow along. She ran to catch up to me after I made it ten feet, grabbing my free arm tightly, putting herself between Gabrielle and myself.

  “You got separated, huh?” I asked the little cambion girl, keeping my sword up and ready. I felt her nod against my shoulder.

  We rounded a corner as I tried to figure out my way toward any sort of exit, and I saw guards down the hall. Pushing the cambion back, I ducked back as well. I heard the guards running in our direction. I grabbed Gabrielle, who appeared stunned, and yanked her toward me as well.

  “Stay back if you don’t know how to fight,” I ordered both of them. I didn’t need to accidentally hurt one of them.

  The moment I saw one of the guards come around the corner toward us, I struck, slashing across his chest downward, then again upward. He fell back, screaming. As he tried to get away, holding a hand over the injuries, I thrust my sword into the chest of the second guard. I yanked it out but didn’t get to the third in time. He slammed the butt of his gun into my jaw.

  A small growl made the guard pause, and I watched the little cambion girl tackle him to the ground, snarling as she sank her fingers in the man’s neck and ripped out everything, exposing bone. She hissed like a feral cat as a handful more guards entered the hallway.

  They looked at the three of us, and for the first time since this started, they ran.

  I took the opportunity, grabbing the cambion girl’s arm, and pulled her to her feet.

  “We can’t stop moving. It’s safer with the group. Okay? Gabrielle, you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” the nephilim replied from her safe position.

  “Let’s keep moving, then.”

  She nodded, and I guided my charges away from the guards we had just seen. I finally found an exit and started jogging to it. I heard others screaming for help in the halls but didn’t stop. These girls needed me to get them out, and I wasn’t going to fuck that up. Not this time, not ever.

  We burst out the door onto the grass. Outside was still a pitch-black night. I pulled the cambion away from the door first, then helped Gabrielle close it up.

  “Do not go anywhere,” I ordered. “There are werewolves out there who will hurt you. Okay? You will both stay right by my side, okay?”

  Again, they nodded silently.

  I heard footsteps running for us and turned to see Raphael running for us with Cassius. They were coming from farther down the building’s side. I lifted a hand to wave, not able to see them very well yet.

  “Kaliya! Maude!” Raphael called out. “GET DOWN!”

  Maude. This is Maude. An image of that list in my office flashed before my mind before the rest of Raphael’s words sank in.

  I started to shove Maude back to the side of the building, hoping to get her in the shadows. At the same time, I turned to see whatever threat Raphael was worried about. Gunfire lit up the night. It was like a war zone, something I had the unfortunate life experience to travel to only once. My shoulder burned in pain as I went to the ground, but I didn’t let the pain stop me as I reached out, trying to find my young charge, crawling as people kept running toward us. I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer, but my fingers found the attempt harder than they should have. She was slippery and lying face down.

  There’s too much blood.

  I worked to roll her over to check on her.

  “Maude? Maude, stay with me!” I screamed, patting her down to find the source of the bleeding. Gabrielle just screamed, a wordless sound of terror as she fell against the wall.

  I was greeted with lifeless red-and-black eyes.

  “Kaliya, is she okay?” Raphael asked, sliding to the ground next to me. I pulled away slowly,
trying to come to terms with my failure that cost this teen girl her life. I watched Raphael pick her up, cradling her to his chest.

  Raphael roared. I would never forget the inhuman sound of rage and pain.

  I closed my eyes against it, covering my ears as it took on a power that made me want to cower and beg for mercy. When the sound stopped, I dared to open my eyes, trying to find him again.

  The next thing I saw was a massive clawed paw-type foot land next to me.

  I looked up, horror sinking in as Raphael rose up to be nearly fifteen feet tall, a demon the likes of which I had never heard of. He had horns and spikes coming out of his joints. He had serrated teeth and black drool dripping from his mouth. His roar left me paralyzed.

  I had to roll out of the way as he started moving toward something I couldn’t see, his steps shaking the ground. I tried to get to my feet, but something grabbed me.

  “Hold your breath,” Cassius snapped, throwing a hand over my mouth.

  I sucked in what I could, which was not much, and closed my eyes. The next moment, everything was cold, then we were back in the night air. He didn’t drop me to the ground, helping me find my feet. I groped wildly for something to hold on to and held his shirt as I opened my eyes.

  “What?” I asked, dazed. “What’s happening?”

  “Look,” Cassius said, the word shaking just like he was. He forced me to turn around, and I saw it. I saw him.

  Raphael picked up one of the lab’s employees and ripped him in half, roaring monstrously. He was a bipedal demon, able to use his hands better than Saleem had. He stomped on another of the men with guns, crushing the enemy—literally. Gabrielle was cowering in fear where she had been left.

  “Cassius, go get her!” I ordered, pointing at her. He nodded and disappeared in a step. I watched as he grabbed her, dodging a body Raphael threw without any sort of intent to hit them. Once I saw Cassius get his hands onto Gabrielle’s shirt, I felt better. He disappeared and came back, holding her, his hand tight over her mouth.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, touching her face and shoulders, desperate to make sure she hadn’t been hurt like Maude. I couldn’t stand losing another one. We were nearly out, nearly done.

  “I’m okay!”

  “Okay…” I didn’t finish the thought. I turned to see the others in the group, all the cambions who had also just gotten out of the building. They were all looking at Raphael in horror. “What’s wrong?” I asked them. “You’re not scared of him, are you? Isn’t he your leader?”

  A woman with dirty blonde hair looked at me, her skin like porcelain, a stark contrast to the red-and-black eyes and the black veins spreading from them.

  “No one comes back from this,” she whispered. “We’re put down once we lose control.” She looked back to him, the fear very real. “And he’s more powerful than all of us. I don’t know if we can stop him. He could kill us all.”

  I didn’t accept that. I couldn’t accept that. There had to be some way to stop him, some way to bring him back.

  “Fine, I’ll deal with him,” I said, spinning Gabrielle to look at them. “You are going to protect this girl as if she’s one of your own. Do you understand me?”

  “I know who Gabrielle is,” the dirty blonde snapped. “Come here. We’ve got you now, okay? No more whispering through the walls, yeah?”

  I was stunned to see the nephilim run for the cambions, and they fell in ranks around her. I met the dirty blonde in the eye, unflinching at the eyes I was so accustomed to.

  “She said she didn’t know you,” I said evenly.

  “The lab beat her and us whenever we tried to interact, but sometimes, we would whisper through the walls,” the woman said stiffly. “She wasn’t going to tell anyone she knew us.”

  “I’m sorry,” Gabrielle said, looking down. “I don’t like lying—”

  “Don’t be. If you lie to keep yourself alive, it’s worth the lie,” I said. Beyond us, Raphael roared again. “I need to go handle this. Go, take cover.”

  28

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I watched them run off. I touched my shoulder gingerly once only Cassius was left near me, wincing at the pain. I hated being shot.

  “It went through,” Cassius said. It was then I realized he was still helping me stay on my feet. “You’re bleeding fast, but it shouldn’t be fatal if I get a bandage on it.”

  “Then get a fucking bandage,” I hissed. “Hurry. I need to get to him.”

  Something crashed, and I looked back at the scene. Raphael was waging war, completely out of control. He had shoved an arm through the building’s wall. When he pulled his hand back out, it was dripping with blood. He roared again, making everyone duck, and some of the cambions started to run for the cover of the trees.

  “Don’t go too far!” Sorcha yelled. “The werewolves will kill you! Please!” Sorcha was still holding onto a small child, sending a horrified look back at me and Cassius. “Cassius, bandage her up! I’m going to stay with them.”

  “You heard her,” Cassius said. He kicked the back of my right knee, and the leg folded, sending me to the thankfully soft dirt. I didn’t know where he had gotten the bandages and wrap he used but knew we had medical supplies somewhere, and thankfully, had thought ahead to keep some with him. He worked efficiently, making the patch job tight. “That should stop the bleeding for now,” he said, grabbing my jaw to force me to look at him.

  “If you get killed, I will find a necromancer to summon you back, so I can berate you. Do you understand? You will never know rest.”

  “You sound like you’re in love with me, and it’s a bit weird,” I retorted, trying to brush off his threats and the feeling behind them.

  “We’re terrible for each other, and we always will be. We’re happier with other people, certainly. I love my wife more than I love living. That doesn’t mean I never loved you or lost that love,” he whispered. “You are important to me, Kaliya Sahni. You will not die on me. You will not die on her. You will not die on him.” He chuckled ruefully as he pointed with his free hand in the direction of Raphael’s destruction. “But if all of that makes you uncomfortable, let me just remind you that if you die, you’ll leave that blasted Board of yours unfinished, and I’ll set the damn thing on fire.”

  I shoved him for that, but there were tears in my eyes. It did make me uncomfortable. Sorcha was right. I still meant something to him, more than I knew, more than I wanted to know.

  “I hate when people get emotional,” I hissed, glaring at him but not really angry. Cassius was unsurprised, almost amused.

  “Go stop him,” Cassius said, shaking me a little. “Go help him. I’m going to help Sorcha protect the other cambions.”

  “I don’t know if I can,” I said, swallowing. “Protect them well. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I get his attention.”

  Cassius nodded as he got to his feet. I watched him wrap the shadows around himself and shadow-step to the group hiding in the trees.

  I got to my feet slowly, trying to work the now injured shoulder. My body ached from the tossing I got from the witches in the hallway. I looked for my target, though he was hard to miss.

  Raphael had an arm in his mouth. He was sniffing the air and snarling, everyone around him dead. That didn’t last long. More survivors of the carnage inside were running out and falling onto the grass, coughing as they fought the smoke inhalation.

  He noticed them immediately and roared, making them scream in terror.

  It took me longer than it should have, but I got my legs moving, racing for the demon that was my mate, my Raphael. If he still had any of the man I had gotten to know in him, he would hate himself for this, and I had to stop him. I didn’t care about the awful people who worked in this lab, but I had to stop him for him.

  “Raphael!” I yelled, waving my hands. “Look at me!”

  He started running for the people he was focused on. I turned, trying to cut him off.

  “Raphael, you Cath
olic son of a bitch!” I drew a throwing dagger and sent it flying into his thigh. It hit, burying itself into my lover’s deep fur. He ignored it, charging for the people screaming.

  I couldn’t get between them in time. I almost had, but Raphael batted me aside like a rag doll, sending me rolling in the dirt. The air was knocked out of me, making it hard to get off the ground, but I could see him. He was unholy destruction. He crushed them, tore them in half, removed limbs, and threw them aside like they were playthings. I watched in horror as I got back on my feet and started hobbling to him again. It took several steps for me to feel comfortable jogging again.

  He crashed into the building again as if he was looking for more people. And I realized I wasn’t the only one running toward him now. That dirty blonde cambion was also on her way.

  “No!” I screamed. “Go back!”

  She shifted, her skin turning dark grey and the black veins covering her body as she ran. I kept trying to wave her off, but Raphael saw her before me. He roared as she charged him. Her leap was impressive, but she didn’t slow to reach him. With a single swipe of his hand, he sent her flying. That elicited more screams from the cambions as a handful of them ran for the woman.

  I watched them drag her out of the way as her body returned to mostly human.

  Did he kill her? Oh, gods, did he kill her?

  I was able to catch up this time as Raphael advanced on them slowly, snarling. I jumped, able to grab hold of the fur on his back. He reached back for me, but I struggled to climb as fast as I could, evading his attempts.

  I made for the top of his head, knowing I was in a dangerous place. I grabbed his horns and held on as I tried to get myself in his face.

  “Raphael, listen to me!” I screamed.

  He glared at me. I let go of his horns as he grabbed me and threw me to the side. It was only years of training that taught me how to land the right way, but it still fucking hurt. I didn’t get up in time. He stomped over and landed both of his hands on either side of me, roaring down at me, that black drool going everywhere.