The Candle (Haunted Series Book 23)

by Alexie Aaron

  “Two Others with an extermination squad attacked Audrey. They were trying to take her baby. She also had Brian and Varden with her. Mia arrived and led them away from the populace towards the graveyard. There is a man who is actually a gargoyle. Mark was dealing with him and hasn’t returned. With your permission, I would like to go looking for him. Gargoyles are tricky creatures.”

  “I can’t let you go alone. Chambers, escort the boy through the park. If you see anything unusual, return to your car, and we’ll try a different tactic.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Orion landed and morphed quickly into his human form. He ran over to Dieter and asked where his wife and child were.

  “She’s in the art store under the protection of a guardian angel named Esther. Brian took off towards the graveyard with the babies in a stroller. I think Murphy intercepted them and have them hidden in one of the mausoleums. They are being guarded by the dead. The Others who were hired were an extermination squad. They are here to kill your son, and there is a gargoyle here to collect Brian, maybe Varden. My mother and Murphy won’t be able to hold out much longer. The Others have an infinite supply of thugs.”

  “Yes, I know how they work,” Orion said. “First, my wife. Where is the art store?”

  “There. The place with the large window overlooking the street,” Dieter pointed out.

  Orion rushed to the place. He banged on the door, shouting, “I’m Audrey’s husband Orion. Let me in!”

  Grandma Z, who was now brandishing her umbrella, unlocked the door.

  Orion brushed past her and ran up the steps.

  Audrey was bruised and battered. She had her face pressed against the window. She turned her tearstained face to her husband and asked, “Why?”

  He took her in his arms and held her, whispering, “He’s a threat to those who want to see the angels disappear from the Earth. They tried to be humane at first and tried to stop us from meeting. But Mia righted time, so they are taking a more direct approach. We think there is a rogue gargoyle involved.”

  “He’s here,” Audrey said. “Brian saw him. Dieter and Mark were talking to him when the Others tried to take the children. Oh my god, Mark was left alone to deal with him. Would he kill Mark?”

  “I can’t answer that. Murphy has the children hidden away in the graveyard. Do you know where?” he asked.

  “Mia talked of a Countess. Mary Sue Deschamps is her real name. The graveyard is her kingdom. That is where Murphy would have taken the children. Take me there. I want to be with my son.”

  “It’s too dangerous. I can’t lose you too,” Orion told her.

  “I need to be with him,” Audrey insisted.

  “Very well.” Orion nodded to the angel who put a calming hand on the artist and his grandmother. Orion grew in size, produced his wings, wrapped them around his wife, and disappeared.

  Dieter found his friend lying unconscious on the ground. Chambers radioed for the EMTs while Dieter tried to rouse him.

  “Mark, wake up, dude. Come on. Hell of a time for a nap.”

  Mark’s eyelids fluttered.

  “I know you’re in there. I need you awake.”

  Mark groaned as he accepted that Dieter was not going to let him sleep. He opened one eye; the other was already swollen shut.

  “What happened to you?” Dieter asked.

  “Tried to tackle a piece of granite. I don’t recommend it. I think my shoulder is out of the socket.”

  The EMTs arrived, and Dieter was asked to give them room. He walked over and collected Mark and his books and bags. He knew Mark’s mother would be called, but he didn’t want his friend to be alone. “I’m riding with him to the hospital,” he insisted.

  The lead EMT objected, but Chambers vetoed him. “Let him ride to the hospital with Mark. He probably should be looked at too.”

  The EMT looked at the tall kid who was sporting large contusions on his face and knuckles. “What have you two been up to?”

  “Fighting crime, sir, fighting crime,” Dieter answered.

  Mia and Murphy arrived at the Deschamps mausoleum at the same time as Orion and Audrey.

  “Gather the kids, and let’s get out of here…” Orion ordered.

  A strange shriek, accompanied by the liquid batting of leather wings, echoed from the between.

  “Nephilim,” Mia said. “The Others could have one on retainer for just this kind of operation. We can’t bug out of here, and it could be what’s keeping our help from arriving. I’m afraid, folks, we have to intrude on the Countess’s magnanimous protection for a while longer.”

  The marble door pivoted open, and Audrey saw the Countess for the first time. She was skeletally thin, wearing a decaying expensive gown of faded rose-colored satin and lace. She wore a dead rose bloom in her hair. Her eyes were glowing. Behind her sat a jolly fellow dressed in a tux holding both babies on his knee.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Stavros, may I introduce the Countess and Maurice Deschamps.”

  Audrey was either going to cry or scream. She ended up curtsying. Orion bowed.

  “Mom!” Brian cried, running. He launched himself at Mia. She picked him up and hugged him. “You were so brave. My hero.”

  “Hero!” Varden agreed.

  “May I?” Audrey asked, approaching Maurice with her hands out.

  “Take him by all means. We were just trying to figure out these paper diapers when we heard you outside.”

  Audrey hugged Luke to her chest. “I was so scared.”

  Luke clung to his mother.

  Mia set Brian down, lifted Varden up, and sniffed his behind. “Hello, Mr. Stinkpants.”

  This caused the child to giggle. She turned to the Countess and said, “I owe you so much. You have my heart.”

  “Not yet, but if you put it in your will, I’ll be sure to collect,” she said in her reedy voice.

  “We can’t leave here yet,” Mia said and told the ghostly couple the situation with the gargoyle, the Others, and the Nephilim.

  “It’s time for me to take over this situation,” the Countess said. “First, we need a little cover.” She walked out of the crypt and knelt, putting her hand in the ground, and chanted, “Turn the ground cold in the warm evening air. Bring about a fog so thick, there’s no compare.”

  A thick swirling fog rolled into the cemetery blanketing the ground. It burbled and bubbled until it had risen ten feet. “Now quick, change those babies and get out there and do some damage. Stay off the paths. My minions are craving a snack.”

  Tom followed the trail of carnage to where the parkland bordered the graveyard. He held up his hand to his deputies. “We can’t go in there. The fog is rising. Let’s clear the park, and I’ll ask Andy to close the gates of the cemetery.”

  Chambers agreed. “Sir, how do I write this one up?”

  “How about: Dungeons & Dragons game gone horribly wrong,” Tom said. “I’m going to position a few cars at the gates just in case we’re needed. But I fear, tonight, the dead are going to seek out their own kind of justice, and we don’t need to get in the middle of it.”

  Quazar was waiting for the Others at the graveyard crossroads. “I don’t like this fog. Can’t tell who’s who. Have you killed Mia Martin?”

  “No,” the tall Other admitted. “She and her pet ghost took out my first partner and my squad. This is my new partner. He thought ahead and brought two squads. We’ll have them before the night is out. If they take flight, we have the Nephilim Daskalov hungry for a birdman supper. If they try to leave the graveyard, I have two hellhounds patrolling. Right now, no one gets in or out alive.”

  “Remember, I want the eldest child of Mia’s alive. I have a buyer for him. The rest, feed to the Nephilim or the dogs.”

  “Yes, Quazar.”

  “Don’t disturb the dead. We don’t need Dis Pater’s di inferi attacking us,” he warned. “His reach is far.”

  “Yes, Quazar. I have a question, sir,” the tall Other asked.

  “Yes?”

/>   “Mia and her ghost knew my squad’s moves before they did. How is this?”

  “Simple, she killed all of you before. Be careful, we are dealing with one of the most dangerous creatures ever made.”

  “She’s just a hybrid.”

  “No, she’s a mother protecting her young.”

  The new partner nodded, trying to rub the chill of death off his arms.

  Ted pulled the van over in the empty lot opposite the graveyard. Cid pulled the PEEPs vehicle in beside him. Ted jumped out and started across the street.

  “Ted, stop!” Cid said.

  Ted turned and looked at Cid who was frantically waving him back towards him.

  He didn’t want to obey Cid, but some inner voice told him that his life was at stake. He ran back.

  Cid opened up the back of the command center. “Get in,” he ordered.

  “What the hell?”

  “Yes exactly. Listen,” he ordered, handing Ted the earphones connected to a parabolic dish.

  Ted heard the panting of two dogs. “What are they?”

  “Jake says, according to his mole on the Dark Web, that two hellhounds were purchased ten minutes ago. I heard them when I parked.”

  “God bless your super ears,” Ted said.

  “Ahem!” Marvin the Martian said from the main console.

  “And God bless Jake,” Ted added. “How do we let Mia know?”

  “The dead will tell her,” Cid said. “They are as frightened of the hellhounds as they are of Mia.”

  “The dogs are trained to keep all within the iron fence. They can’t climb the fence or venture thirteen feet from the fence. These are Dis Pater’s rules, according to the Dark Web,” Jake announced.

  “Can we contact Dis Pater?”

  “Not and live,” Jake said. “Mia and Murphy barely got Tom out of his kingdom alive.”

  “What do I do?” Ted asked.

  “What you do best,” Cid said. “Wait.”

  Acalan watched the sun dip into the trees in the west. “I feel so helpless. I should be helping the deputies find the children.”

  Esther put a gentle hand on his back. “You stopped the Others from taking the children. You’ve done enough. Now, you have to think of keeping yourself alive. Heaven will want to speak with you as soon as this crisis is over.”

  “What is this crisis?” Zarita asked.

  “The first angel to be born is being hunted. They aim to kill him.”

  “Why?” Zarita asked.

  “Because there is a group of people who don’t believe angels should be on Earth. They believe that the planet is theirs to plunder. They are the Cynosura. They intend to use up all the resources here and then move on to the stars. Only the richest of their group will make the journey. They will do this on the backs of the poor and the middle class,” Esther told them.

  “Why does Heaven want to speak with me?” Acalan asked.

  Esther put her hand on the painting. “Because of this.”

  “Because of Mia?”

  “No, because you can see her wings. If you can see Mia’s wings, then you can see other wings.”

  “Like the two babies in the stroller, one had black wings and the other white,” Acalan told her.

  “One is an angel. The other is a birdman. A birdman like the man who took his wife to their son.”

  “But their son isn’t the birdman?” Zarita asked, confused.

  “No, he’s the angel. Mia’s son is the birdman.”

  “She has two other sons,” Acalan said.

  “One is an Attrpeur-âme, a catcher of souls. The other could be the chosen one, but that is only speculation.”

  “I don’t understand, what is the chosen one?” Acalan asked.

  “He is prophesized to be a great sage. A man of wisdom who grows up as a mortal and learns your faults and your strengths. He will guide your race into the next millennium.”

  “But that is so far from now. Brian will be too old.”

  “Mia’s children are special. They will live a long time.”

  “Unless those creeps get to them. I really must go and help,” Acalan insisted.

  “Alas, we cannot interfere. They have released hellhounds. You won’t be able to get near the fence, let alone cross over it.”

  “You could fly me in.”

  A well-timed shriek filled the town.

  “Hear that? That’s a monster called a Nephilim. I can’t even leave this building without being devoured by it. I’m afraid we’ll have to sit and wait.”

  “Why are you here?” Zarita asked.

  “Mia told Saint Michael about Acalan, and he sent me to protect him. And I’m very good at my job.”

  Zarita crossed herself.

  “How does Heaven know about the little angel baby?” Acalan asked.

  “Because another seer identified the child as an angel. You see, this was an impossibility until now. We can’t reproduce with each other. If we try reproducing with humans or other beings, we get hybrids and Nephilim. Angels are made by God’s own hand, not born. But this miracle happened. And Mark Leighton saw this miracle in time for Michael to silence the child’s voice. He could hear our Heavenly chorus and had joined it.”

  “Why silence the child?”

  “To keep him hidden. Also, it’s too soon to join the chorus.”

  “How did the bad guys find out about the angel child?”

  “We aren’t the only ones who listen to the chorus,” Esther said. “This is why you are so important to us. You can see them and hopefully tell us so we can get to the babies in time to protect them. The more angels and people like Mia we have, the greater the chance to defeat the Cynosura and the demons they have at their beck and call.”

  “This sounds like the antichrist,” Zarita said.

  “Who’s to say he’s not already here,” Esther said. “There are three I can tell you that seem to fit the prophesies. But fear not. It has happened before, the rise of evil, and we have squelched it. But our numbers are dwindling, and we can’t be everywhere. In the beginning, there was an angel to watch over every child. Now the children far outnumber us. We are lucky if we can hear their prayers. We befriended the birdmen, and they watch over the children too. But the world has too many people, and we can’t be everywhere. It is very frustrating.”

  “But you are here for Acalan?” Zarita asked.

  “Yes. So please settle down. I’m exhausted,” Esther said, housing her sword in her wing. “Finish that painting. Although, from what I see, you have the wrong wings. These,” she tapped the sketch, “are mighty birdman wings. Mia has archangel wings now.”

  The Countess listened to the scratches of the dead and reported, “There are twelve assassins, two Others, and a cat-faced gargoyle in the graveyard. There are two hellhounds patrolling the perimeter.”

  “Hellhounds?” Audrey squeaked. “How?”

  “You can rent them from the crossroad demons,” Maurice said matter-of-factly.

  “It’s really kind of you to protect us,” Audrey said.

  “Anything for my daughter,” the Countess said. “What are they calling her these days?”

  “Mia.”

  “Still? Shame. She should have an exotic name like Philomena or Serilda.”

  “I like Serilda,” Audrey said. “It means a maiden in battle armor.”

  “Don’t you think that’s fitting?” the Countess asked.

  “I think that one is right on the nose,” Audrey said. She got up and walked over to peek at the three boys who were sharing a coffin for a nap.

  “You’ve got a lot of pluck for an Irish lass,” Maurice said.

  “I thought it was just assumed we Orish had pluck,” Audrey said.

  “But why did you marry an older man?” the Countess pointed out.

  “He doesn’t act his age,” Audrey shared.

  “And you have a beautiful son,” the Countess said.

  “Yes, he is a dear boy,” Audrey said. “I fear his life will be a h
ard one.”

  “He’s got a mom with pluck. He’ll get through it fine,” the Countess proclaimed.

  Mia stood on guard with the men outside. She took out her sword and looked at it under the eternal light burning on the crypt. She stared at it and then asked Murphy, “Can you read this? It’s some kind of inscription.”

  He looked and shook his head. “It’s written in gibberish.”

  Orion walked over, took the sword in his hand, and turned it this way and that. “It’s written in Enochian. You read it right to left. It says, ‘Merry Christmas, Mia, from Santa.’”

  Mia started laughing and explained, “Sariel told me how there are all these pockets in the archangel wings for things like swords, knives, daggers, and so forth. I complained mine was empty. He said he’d put it on Santa’s list.”

  “I admit I was surprised to see you with those wings,” Orion said. “Ted didn’t mention them.”

  “He doesn’t know. I never intended on turning in my last set. It was my husband’s brilliant idea for me to go through Sariel to talk with Michael about finding another angel seer.”

  “I don’t think he thought you were going to be punished,” Murphy said, taking Ted’s side.

  “I don’t really want to get into this, but I was subjected to an Old Testament test. I ended up with a crushed spine and dumped on our hillside without explanation. Turns out, I brought a demon back with me. She attacked Sariel and Michael during my operation. Sariel separated the two of us and took her back to the lair where she attacked both of them. Michael killed her, and I was needed to patch them up. Me, barely able to function, thanks to the no-Burt’s-medication rules,” Mia complained. “Long story short, I woke up with these wings. I haven’t even seen them in the mirror yet.”

  “Mia, those wings could only have been obtained by an archangel donating a feather. It’s a big deal,” Orion stressed.