by Skyler Andra
I searched in my jacket. Fuck. Luc or his goon had taken my wallet. No cards. No cash. No membership to the casinos. Not that I was welcome anymore. We’d just have to get some cash from Uri or Zak when we got back.
“I guess you’re making a good fare today then,” I said.
The cab driver smirked and pulled out into traffic.
28
Uriel
“You feeling any better, bro?” I asked Zak. “Want me to make you something?”
He glanced up from the show we were watching. “I’d love a coffee and any roast leftovers if there’s some,” he said.
“Gimme a minute.” I got out of my seat and crossed into the kitchen, adding more water to the kettle and setting it to boil.
For the last three hours, we’d been watching an Australian series called Rake about a brilliant but dysfunctional lawyer. My kind of humor. Definitely not Zak’s dumbass slapstick humor. At first he’d whinged that it was boring, but by the end of episode one he was hooked, and we were in the middle of episode five.
Wanting to get back and finish the rest, I quickly made him the coffee and heated him up a plate of food and brought it back to the lounge room. While he’d been waiting for me, he flicked between the TV channels, stopping on the news.
“Mike’s taking his sweet ass time,” I said, noticing the time on the TV screen. 4PM. Both he and Jophiel had left at 9AM. Seven hours. Surely they’d have news by now.
“Mike does whatever he wants,” Zak retorted.
“Think they might have stopped off for a romantic retreat on the way back?” I asked, fishing for information as I delivered the goods to Zak and sat beside him on the three-seater sofa, holding my own coffee mug. “Work off some of that pent up tension.”
Zak laughed, almost spilling his coffee. “They have a lot work off!”
I grinned. “Maybe I should piss her off. Have some hot make up sex.”
Zak reclined in his chair and sipped at his drink. “Would make for a fantastic evening.”
Before he returned to the show, I asked casually, trying not to sound too interested, “So both of you are…”
“Sleeping with her?” Zak asked, shoving a potato in his mouth.
“Yeah.” I scratched the back of my head took a drink of my coffee.
“Go for it, bro. We’re just fucking,” replied Zak with a sharpness that I didn’t understand. Did he not want to talk about it? Or was he downplaying it? “I don’t know about her and Mike. I don’t think it’s serious.”
I squeezed the handle of my mug. “You’re cool with her sleeping with us all?”
“Perfectly.”
“But if she was yours? Like Ariel?”
Zak turned to look at me with a smirk. “Then I’d break yours and Mike’s faces.”
I smiled. The old Zak was back. “Until then.”
A news bulletin interrupted the show on the free to air station.
“In breaking news,” the reporter announced. “A catastrophic event in Sterling City square has shaken the city.”
Zak leaned forward, not even noticing the meal I’d prepared. “God, did you see this?”
“What?” My attention floated to the TV.
Dark smoke curled off what looked like a fountain that had been crushed. Scratch that. Exploded. Chunks of concrete were littered everywhere, and water from the fountain had leaked out. Sheets on the ground indicated dead bodies.
“God.” I rubbed my chin.
Zak pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. I presume Mike’s. It rang out and went to message bank. “He’s not answering. This is not like him not to report this or report back from a mission. Something’s wrong.”
“He might be stuck there as a witness,” I said, reminding Zak of what had happened to him and Mike at the stadium a few days ago. “They’re safe. The bombs wouldn’t have affected them.”
Zak gave me a sarcastic yeah right look full of eyebrow. “That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Asshole.” I stole a slice of his roast and ate it with a smile.
“This stinks of Luc’s hand.”
“If you’re worried, let’s go and investigate,” I suggested. “Find out what’s going on. The news aren’t exactly going to blame it on Luc.”
Zak stuffed a piece of meat in his mouth, got up and grabbed his jacket. “We’re going on my bike though. I hope your heavy ass doesn’t bust it.”
***
A twenty minute ride carried us into the city square, taped off and guarded by a shit ton of cops and barricaded by police cars and fire trucks with flashing lights. People crowded round trying to get a glimpse of the aftermath. Zak parked a half a block away and we walked the rest of the distance.
Two woman hurried past us, one wiping her eyes with a tissue. “Just awful.”
Her friend hugged her close. “Who would do such a thing? With children playing near the fountain.”
Fuck. Not the children. Muscles in my neck strained, shooting pain down the back of my head.
“What’s become of this world?” the weeping woman asked.
Struck by their words, I stopped and turned around, watching them disappear around the corner. I wanted to offer a comforting word. A hug. Anything to strip away their despair.
Zak grabbed me by the arm, dragging me along with him. “Luc sure knows how to make an impact.” He was a bit insensitive like that. But I didn’t blame him when the darkness was so entrenched in his grace.
This didn’t seem like Luc’s M.O. He’d never resorted to such low methods. He was a sneaky, behind the scenes, corrupt everyone and get them to do his dirty work kind of guy. But it reeked of his decaying touch…
I bowed my head. My time of keeping my brother at bay from Sterling City had finally ended. I clenched my fists. Guess I’d gotten too cocky in thinking I could repel him forever. First lesson of wisdom: never get ahead of yourself. I was foolish to not listen to my own motto. No point in beating myself up about it thought. We all had our own demons to battle. Mine was pride.
This had gone too far. I had to stop him for good. Before he hurt anyone else. Least of all the children with so much promise to turn the epidemic of darkness around.
We negotiated the crowds to get closer to the scene. Cops yelled at people to get back, but they all wanted to know what was going on. The smell of chemical fumes and smoke were strong in the air. Tainted by something else entirely. Fear, paranoia, panic and chaos. The scent of Luc’s darkness. Zak pushed his way to the front of the crowd, earning glares, grunts and muttered complaints. I followed behind him, offering a friendly thanks and smile to calm the people, but it didn’t work. They were all too dismayed and caught in the mania of the moment.
“What happened?” Zak asked the cop guarding the barricaded area.
“A bomb exploded,” he replied, casting a glance at Zak, then going back to his duty of watching the entire line.
“Any witnesses or injured people?” Zak leaned on his tip toes to look past the scene not blocked out by fire trucks, police vehicles and paramedic vans.
“Over there.” The cop pointed straight ahead to about twenty people getting treated in the back of the vehicles or on the ground.
Zak glanced at me. No sign of Mike or Jophiel. He pulled out his cell phone and called Mike again. It went to his message bank.
“Dammit,” Zak cursed. “Where the hell are they? It’s not like Mike to not make contact.”
“Maybe they found something and they’re investigating it.” Please let it be true. A sickening feeling started to worm its way into my gut.
Zak rubbed his stomach under his shirt. “I have a bad feeling in my gut.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “What do we do then? Go looking for them?”
Zak glanced around, his brows pinched. I felt a ping of his grace, a weak signal, go out in waves, searching for them. “I can’t sense a damn thing anymore.”
His grace was so muddied with darkness he couldn’t tell dark from light.
>
“Let me try.” I released a burst of energy and it came back showing nothing either. Fuck. That wasn’t a good sign. I refused to believe they were dead. Maybe they’d gone completely off grid somehow.
“Find anything?” Zak asked.
“Not a thing.”
He rubbed his chin.
“They must have concealed their grace somehow,” I said. “Maybe Gabe taught Mike her secret.” The alternative was just too painful to consider. I pushed it away to the back of my mind. Old Uri didn’t dwell in dark thoughts.
“Get your head out of the clouds, Uri,” Zak snapped. “They went to the city square and didn’t return. We can’t find a trace of them. They’re either dead or Luc has got them.”
My fists curled. I might avoid dark thoughts but that didn’t mean I didn’t get angry and frustrated, especially with Zak’s tendency to be negative.
“They’re not dead,” I growled. “Neither is Raff.”
“Whatever, man.” Zak glanced away. “Tomorrow we have a concert to stop and we have no idea where our fearless leader is and we’ve lost our new party trick.”
I thumped him on the chest. “Don’t call her that.”
“What?” he growled. “She’s the one who’s going to take Luc on, isn’t she? Our ace up our sleeve.”
I released him. “Call her that again and I’ll break your face.”
***
“Mike will shit a brick when he finds out about this,” Zak said.
“Well, he’s not here,” I retorted, glancing across the sea of people at the stadium.
This place was packed. Hordes of sweaty bodies, Goth youths, painted faces and lots of perky breasts on display. From what Mike had said, the concert wasn’t sold out, and Luc had put the pressure on his rats to sell them. But by the amount of occupied seats, crowds pouring into the venue, and queues lining up to purchase merchandise, he must have discounted the tickets to get them all sold.
“We haven’t heard from them in over a day,” I added. “So we’ll have to assume they’re occupied. In the meantime, we’ll save the day and steal the glory, and earn the hero sex with Jophiel.”
“Me first.” Zak thumped me on the chest.
“I don’t think so, asshole.” I stepped forward into the throng, trying to get my bearings to find the stage.
We’d managed to sneak our way in by using our angelic powers of persuasion on the security at the venue. Personally, I didn’t like to use them. Powers like that interfered in a person’s free will and I considered them an abuse of power. But they were necessary in emergencies like this when we didn’t have tickets and the guards had told us the event was sold out.
Some Goth band played on stage, music filled with whiny guitars, thumping beats and a lead singer moaning about bullies at school. Really cliché and I rolled my eyes. The next hour or so was going to be a drag, I could tell. I hummed eighties rock ballads to take my mind off the shitty harmonies assaulting my eardrums.
“Where’s Jemima?” one guy asked his buddy.
“Her mom flipped,” the other guy said. “Wouldn’t let her come after the bomb went off in the city square.”
“Damn,” said the first guy. “She’ll miss out on a good time them.”
I glanced at Zak and his lower lip puckered. We couldn’t be too careful with Luc. He might have planted more bombs here too.
“Let’s find the band and get out of here,” Zak said. “This place is crawling with rats.”
Well, Zak kind of fit in didn’t he?
“When are they playing on stage?” I asked, more to myself as I removed the pamphlet I’d taken from the entrance and shoved in my jacket pocket.
I wasn’t watching where I was going and bumped into a young girl, and she bounced right off me, falling on her ass, spilling her drink all over her midriff baring shirt.
“Shit, sorry,” I said, offering my hand, and lifting her to her feet.
“That’s ok,” she said, adjusting her boobs, sticking them out, her nipples on full alert after the cold splash of liquid.
“Here.” I produced a five dollar note from my wallet and gave it to her for. “The next drink’s on me, okay. See ya.”
Zak had marched on up ahead and I hurried to catch up to him. When I caught up, I snuck another look at the schedule, finding Angel’s Blood slated to play in five minutes.
“Shit,” I groaned. “They’re up next. I five minutes.”
“Get a move on.” Zak advanced through the crowd with a faster pace and I kept up with him.
“We need to cut the power to the speaker,” I said to Zak and he nodded.
One hundred yards ahead I spotted a door titled security.
“Up ahead,” I said. “To the right. Take that door.”
“You got it,” replied Zak.
When we reached the door, I glanced over my shoulder, observing crowds of people, but no security or staff.
Zak ushered me in and shut the door behind this. “Let’s shut this fucker down.”
29
Jophiel
I stared at my hands, the dried blood stains. A man’s blood. A human I’d killed. A man who’d violated my body in the most unforgiving way. My nails dug into my palms as I squeezed my hands tight, knowing there was no going back from that. I couldn’t erase what I’d done. The Most High had sent me to free people of their darkness, not end their life.
“It’s not your fault,” Mike said, reaching out for me, but I pulled my hands away.
I didn’t want to be touched by anyone. It reminded me of what the man had done to me. Made me feel even dirtier. I rubbed my arms, unable to rid myself of the cold that had settled inside of my heart and grace. The darkness that had claimed me when I took a life.
And so began my descent into darkness. Lucifer had spoiled my beauty forever. Changed me. That terrified and disgusted me.
“You did what you had to under the circumstances.” Mike shifted to look at Raff on the couch opposite us. “We’ve all had to do it.”
We were all killers. Our grace stained with that mark forever, giving access for the darkness to creep in and takes its hold. Uriel punished himself for the life he’d taken. Now I couldn’t put it out of my mind. Forget the man’s face as his life abandoned him. Forgive myself for what I’d done. Even if it was to save my own life.
Mike got up and grabbed two of the blankets from the sofa which we’d been using for sleeping. He rested one over my shoulders and a second over Raphael’s sleeping body.
When he sat beside me again, Mike brushed the side of my arm and I jumped off the seat. I just couldn’t handle being near him when my chest ached, a constant reminder of my ordeal. That he was unable to help me. That I was all alone. The blanket slumped to the floor as I stood up, clutching one arm as I hurried into the bathroom. I wanted to wash away the stink clinging to my body.
The water came out of the showerhead strong and hard when I turned it on. Slowly I undressed, confronted with the bruises on my neck, arms and chest in the mirror’s reflection. I traced the black mark on my neck where he’d choked me. But that wasn’t the only affect on me physically.
The darkness stretched inside of me, taking over my grace and my body in the form of shadows beneath my eyes, pale and drawn skin, dulled eyes and downturned lips. I bit my fingernails, releasing my wings, closing my eyes when I saw the grey blemishes on the rose gold feathers.
Tears streaked down my cheeks as I stepped inside the shower. Hot water washed away the grime of the man’s touch, his foul breath, his blood. But it did nothing to warm me. Chase away the cold of the darkness slowly taking hold of me. Sooth the ache below where he’d violated my sacred parts. I still felt dirty, raw and burning. No matter how much I cleansed myself with soap, scrubbed, scratched with my fingernails, drawing my own blood this time, it would never purify me of those feelings. The memory, the horror of what’d he done to me and what I’d done to him. I pressed against the wall, leaning my head on the tiles, letting more tears fall, until th
ere was no more left.
Mike knocked on the door. “Jophiel?” he said.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I rasped, turning off the shower, dragging myself out. But I stood there, examining my pink skin, the haunted look in my expression, the pain crammed behind my eyes.
I needed Uri to take away my darkness and fill me with light. Why wasn’t he here? For him to give me strength to fight it.
When I emerged from the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around my waist, I encountered Mike crouched in front of the sofa accommodating Raphael’s long body. The angel had opened his eyes and glanced around the room blinking.
“Hey, buddy,” Mike said, taking his hand and squeezing it. “How you feeling?”
Raphael sat up partially and rubbed his forehead, giving me a better look at him. Hair the color of healthy soil, a broad build similar to Mike’s, grey-green eyes, but carrying the anguish of his torment.
“Like a train wreck,” he replied.
“I bet.” Mike rubbed his shoulder.
“Where am I?” Raphael glanced around the room. “You're not in my dreams are you?”
Mike laughed, low and grave. “No. This is all real. You're in Uriel's apartment. We rescued you from Luc.”
Muscles in Raphael's hollow cheeks tightened. “Luc.” A shiver ran through him and he hunched over, clutching his stomach.
“You all right?” Mike asked.
“Withdrawals,” Raphael groaned.
“Is there something I can get you?”
“No!”
“Ok.” Mike pushed Raphael back down. “Just rest then.”
He glanced at me, lines etched into his forehead.
I moved to the back of the room, grabbing a change of clothes and taking them back to the bathroom to put on. All freshened up, I returned, finding them talking once more.
“You’ve been gone three years,” Mike told him gently, leaning against the foot of the sofa Raphael reclined in. Neither of them noticed me.
