Immortal Alliance (IMMORTAL ALLIANCE SERIES Book 1)

by A. Catherine

  I swallowed down the heaviness gathering in my gut.

  “From what I remember, there’s at least one Nuckelavee in here, some Chenoo, a few Strixes I think. I don’t remember the others,” I explained.

  Seere eyed the space ahead of us, feeling that ancient energy I felt as well.

  “I definitely didn’t pay enough attention in this part of our history lessons,” I chuckled.

  “I reviewed some of the information before coming here, just to refamiliarize myself. Don’t worry, they aren’t hard to kill if we need to.”

  She was by my side as we walked towards that energy, until we came face to face with a massive wall made of black chain links. It rippled and flowed like it was affected by the smallest change of air.

  Beyond it, we could see nothing. But that didn’t mean nothing was there.

  Seere reached out and touched the chain and quickly retreated her hand while sucking in a quick breath.

  “Mmm, yeah don’t like that,” she said. “Felt like a white-hot needle shot through my spine,” Seere described as she shook out her hand.

  “The prison is sealed by archangels, so I’m guessing a demon trying to mess with it would do that,” I teased.

  She stuck her tongue out at me and crossed her arms.

  “Well, it looks like it’s still sealed to me. These beasts haven’t gone anywhere since they were put here,” she said.

  I nodded. “Not yet anyway.”

  I stared past the chains and could have sworn I saw a feathered tail slither just beyond sight. The images of the primordials that we had were limited and not incredibly detailed, but perhaps the tail belonged to the Nuckelavee.

  This place was eerie enough to make my stomach churn. I could only imagine what the other prisons were like if this one unnerved me so easily. It would certainly be interesting to have been around when these creatures walked the earth freely.

  Would they make hell look like a kids bouncy house?

  Who am I kidding, that’s terrifying too.

  I eyed the chain wall. The metal resembled some of the black rock that fell from other worlds. Perhaps the archangels needed something not of this world to hold them. No doubt every inch of the prison was spelled and warded to keep them from trying to escape.

  But some of them were opening, the seals of other prisons were being burst open. Who could accomplish it?

  Curiosity soaked my skin, and I lead with it as I knelt and pressed my hand on the ground just an inch from the chain barrier. I summoned inside myself to the deeper core of molten ore that churned without end.

  I speared into it just enough to pull out a thread of it and led it through my veins . It traveled up through my chest and down my shoulder and arm. I halted it at my wrist, the heat of it already started to sear the skin above it.

  “What are you doing?” Seere asked.

  I eyed the chain wall again, looking at the flawless black metal and every curve it made around each of its links.

  “I’m trying something, just to see.”

  I inched my fingers closer to the bottom links, and barely touched it. That one touch vibrated across the entire barrier and then rippled back to me. Through the connection, I saw every link, every bond that made it whole.

  I didn’t feel pain though, not the way Seere described it. It was almost like it was testing me, and somehow I had passed its test, and therefore was not to be harmed by it.

  Interesting.

  Seere’s voice said in my head, I hate it when you say that.

  Or she may have said it out loud, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t feel completely in my own body, part of me was now in the chain.

  The piece of molten core I threaded to my wrist was melting its way through my skin, so I loosened it once more—letting it split evenly across all my fingers until it rested against the tips in smaller orbs. The orbs then touched the chain links where my fingers connected to it.

  I heard a hiss come from the contact, but then the entire chain wall began to ripple continuously, getting faster the longer I held my hand there.

  Seere backed up a step from the wall.

  “Um, Kale, what are you doing?” she asked again.

  I didn’t answer her. I was too focused on the feeling of the chains as they responded to the fire by clicking open, one by one, downward. Slowly as the chains unlocked from top to bottom, the wall began to disappear into nothing.

  I was too busy watching and feeling the experience that I didn’t notice the swishing sound of something beyond moving. But I did hear the metal ring of Seere’s blade as she freed it from its sheath into her hand.

  Something pale blue flashed in my peripheral vision, I turned in time to see Seere swing her blade in time to stop the frozen bodied Chenoo that lunged for the opening. It fell back with a gurgle but didn’t lunge again.

  That’s when I saw it, the owner of the feathered tail I saw earlier moved forward to where we could see it.

  A Nuckelavee.

  With the body of an enormous bear, only instead of fur it was covered in a rainbow variety of feathers, and its muscles underneath bulged. Its head jutted out like a wolf’s and it had four large canines that were as large as an elephant’s tusks. Its feathered tail whipped back and forth as it eyed Seere at the largest point of the still-opening chain wall.

  As its tail swished closer past me, I saw that amongst the feathers there was also a sharpened barb at the end, with a bead of venom seeping from the tip.

  Shit.

  “Kale! Close the damn gate!” Seere yelled as she freed another blade to prepare for a potential attack.

  I turned my gaze back to the links I still held and focused on them.

  Close. I thought.

  Nothing happened.

  The Nuckelavee got closer, drool seeping from its mouth and its tail swishing faster. If it hit her, what would that venom to do her? Could we even heal it? I closed my eyes and shoved my consciousness into the braided chains.

  Seal. Lock. Fucking close, damn it!

  The chains only hummed in response, and then I realized, I used my molten core to open it, and the chain sucked it right up.

  I would need another thread to close it.

  I heard the ringing of Seere’s blade swishing in the air as the creature neared but I kept my eyes closed as I reached back into myself for another thread of my inner core.

  It took immense focus to draw from my core without accidentally unleashing too much of it. I wasn’t about to lose control now.

  As the thread worked its way to my arm, I heard Seere let out a small squeak as she lunged out of the way of the poison-tipped tail that whipped towards her.

  I felt the heat of the thread as it slid through my veins into my hand and up into my fingers. Seere shuffled again, grunting with the effort.

  “Fucking hell,” she muttered.

  I opened my eyes to press the core back into the chains when I saw more of the Chenoo and even a Strixe heading for the opening while Seere was busy with the Nuckelavee.

  I broke my focus just barely and used my hand to shove a wall of fire between them and Seere. They recoiled away from it. Enough that I could let it down and concentrate back on the chains. I felt the ripple and hum of the chains as the thread of core worked on them.

  Lock. I thought again, and this time the chains listened.

  I felt and heard every click as its motion reversed and the disappearing links reappeared upwards, sealing the opening as it went. The Nuckelavee was whipping its tail through the opening again, Seere ducking each blow.

  As the links formed, they touched its tail. It let out a rattling roar in pain and then backed away. Its tail now tucked closely underneath as it shrunk back into the darkness.

  Within a few seconds the chain wall completed its formation once more, sending one last shimmering ripple as it secured in place.

  I took my hand off of it and took in a deep breath. Seere was gawking at it, panting for air as well.

  She sheathed her blade
s and turned to glare at me.

  “You just had to open it, didn’t you?”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t actually think it would work.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I could have died!”

  “But you didn’t,” I chuckled.

  I rose onto my feet and brushed the icy ground from my pants. She trotted over to me at punched me in the shoulder.

  “Ugh, you’re such a—” she sighed and didn’t finish the sentence.

  I looked back at the chain barrier as it once again flowed in an invisible breeze.

  Seere bit her lip. “So, you can open the prisons, that’s new.”

  I snorted. “Yeah. Interesting, but not exactly helpful in our current investigation. I’m sure it’ll just put me higher on Gabriel’s private suspect list.”

  “I’m pretty sure you were already at the top of it, right below Lucifer,” she joked.

  I nodded in agreement. I had each of the archangels on my own suspect list as well, along with half of the Fallen. Better to prepare for the worst than to just assume they were all innocent.

  The primordials behind this prison have since returned back to the darkness beyond it, retreating into their eternal cell. Let’s hope whoever is opening them doesn’t get them all open.

  This was one of the milder prisons, and these particular monsters weren’t nearly as high on the lethal food chain. If these got out, what would the others be capable of?

  I knelt down again and began drawing lines, circles, and dots on the ground.

  Seere jolted. “Don’t you dare open it again,” she snarled.

  I laughed. “Relax, I’m just installing an alarm. If someone comes to unseal this one, the alarm will alert me, and hopefully if that happens, I can get back in time to reseal it and catch our guardian slayer,” I explained.

  Once the symbol was finished it glowed for a second and then faded. I stood and extended my hand to my best friend.

  “We should get back,” I said.

  She looked up towards where we slid in and her face crinkled in wonder and disgust.

  “And how do we do that exactly?” she asked.

  “Winnow, of course.”

  She glared. “I thought we couldn’t winnow in and out of here?”

  I grinned like a wildcat.

  “Don’t be absurd, of course we can. I just wanted to slide in.”

  I giggled when she began smacking me like the little spitfire she was.

  “You stupid, arrogant fire-hole!”

  She joined my laughter for a minute before we calmed down and clasped hands.

  “Ah, but you love me.”

  Seere snorted, tossing her braids behind her shoulder.

  “I hope you choke on your balls while I shove them down your throat.”

  I threw back my head and laughed whole heartedly as I shifted us into the Ethereal and bent air and space until we reached the warehouse floor.

  TWENTY-THREE

  HEAVEN WAS LIKE ALL THINGS—LAYERED.

  There was the part of heaven specifically designed for the mortal souls—paradise. Then there was the layer where the angels grew and trained, from there they would descend into the other realms for assignment. Other layers included the Eternal Depository, the Creation Suite, and the Empyrean Manor.

  The layers were like rooms, separated only by doors that the almighty had fashioned out of pure energy. The rooms, along with all the realms of the universe, were held together by the careful threading of the almighty Eternal and the Balance. Constantly working in sync to allow for life to thrive.

  Before, the universe was unchecked and chaotic. Energy buzzed about with no real direction or purpose. But God found a purpose in his creations, and now his creations were in danger.

  He spent most of his time in the Empyrean Manor these days, monitoring the situation as best he could while still keeping everything intact. Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as it could be. A few attacks here and there, but nothing that his angels couldn’t handle.

  The flap of wings signaled Michael’s arrival on the terrace. The almighty remained inside, swiping past the screen he was watching. Michael walked in through the open doors and found him. His wings already tucked in tight.

  “I see you’ve made some improvements. Upgrading?” he asked.

  God swiped again, smiling. “Even heaven needs to keep up with the times. How is the rest of the universe fairing, Michael?”

  “No immediate conflicts to be found. Seems to be centered on earth,” Michael explained.

  The almighty nodded and swiped his screen again. Human populations weren’t slowing down, and his angels were keeping the attacks from becoming public, masquerading them as other disasters to keep the panic at bay.

  Fangelsi and Nessus prison were open, that much they knew. The creatures that came from those prisons were smaller, but dangerous, nonetheless.

  “Are you sure I can’t be of more assistance here?” Michael asked, he still stood close to the terrace doors. His arms folded and back straight.

  God shook his head. “Gabriel and Jophiel have it covered.”

  “Even with the attacks?”

  He lifted his gaze from the screen to lock with Michael’s.

  “We have some angels at our disposal to keep the primordials at bay. Only a couple prisons have been opened. We’ll manage. Though, it would be helpful if you could go to Fangelsi and Nessus and get those seals back up, I can instruct the others to try to capture the primordials and get them back.”

  “I suppose I could do that,” Michael replied.

  “Michael,” Gabriel said as he and Jophiel walked into the room from the hallway. “What are you doing here?” he asked.

  Jophiel was already pulling out a chair and adjusting her pantsuit to sit in it. Michael straightened further upon facing his youngest brother. Gabriel couldn’t help but feel that all-too-familiar sense of smallness.

  In the alliance, even alongside a being like Kaleus, Gabriel felt equal and important. But in the presence of his more revered and far more experienced brother, Gabriel was next to nothing.

  “Checking in, reporting the status of the universe. Offering help where I can,” Michael said simply.

  The almighty flicked his eyes between the two and then to his screen again.

  “I was just suggesting to Michael that he try to reinstate the seals on the open prisons. Maybe we can contain the primordials before it gets too hectic,” the almighty explained.

  “Containment didn’t seem to work the last time. Those prisons were meant to be permanent,” Jophiel said.

  Michael nodded. “I’ll look into some stronger wards and barriers, maybe we can increase their efficiency this time.”

  Michael shifted on his feet a bit before turning back towards the terrace doors, his wings beginning to unfold once more.

  “I’ll take my leave. Notify me if you should need my assistance,” he said to Gabriel.

  Gabriel felt a subtle jab from that comment. Although he knew Michael didn’t intend it, in his eyes Gabriel was nothing more than a boy. Compared to his battle experience, Gabriel had yet to leave the training ring.

  Gabriel nodded instead of replying. And then with one flap of his wings, Michael was gone. When Gabriel gazed back at the almighty, he was staring at him. “You have news of the Guardian’s killer?” he asked.

  “Only an idea. Perhaps a tool they are using to aid their violence.” Gabriel answered.

  The almighty’s brow rose. “Oh?”

  “We have a few questions for you. Lucifer mentioned that there are relics, Eternal relics that had great power. And that anyone with these relics could enhance their own abilities. Could you tell us what you know of them?” Jophiel asked.

  God’s eyes reflected instant recognition. “The Eternal relics? I haven’t thought of those objects in some time.”

  “You think our adversary could have found one? Used it to kill Mason?” Gabriel pegged.

  God nodded. He scratched his chin, lost in th
ought.

  “The relics were remnants of the universe’s energy, what was used before any of the Eternals, angels or archangels existed to keep the Balance.

  During the earliest Creation, we split them into fragments and scattered them across the realms to as a foundation for the Balance,” he explained.

  Gabriel sat down in an open chaise, processing this new information.