Next to the crater, a communications tower, poorly designed to look like a pine tree, loomed over the property. It was about ten stories tall, twice the height of the building, and it only had pine branches covering the top half. Someday it might blend in with the normal-sized trees that were planted around it, but it wouldn’t be in anyone’s lifetime that I knew.
Tonight, the compound was dark and silent. Another good sign. Because with Ahab’s alarms going off on my phone, I was sure the sirens were even louder inside the building. Still, there was only silence from out here.
I hoped the windows had been completely sealed off prior to the breach between worlds. Surely it had been sealed before everyone went to bed. It was after two in the morning, after all.
The only thing worrisome was the complete lack of light outside. Our arrival in the yard should have triggered the motion-sensor perimeter lights. And at the very least, the parking lot lights should be on. Instead, it was a total blackout.
I swiped open my screen and checked Ahab’s status again. Ahab secure.
I texted Nathan. I’m here, hoping you’re all locked up inside. Don’t come out until I tell you it’s clear.
He didn’t answer.
“Reuel, could the guardians have breached here and set off Ahab?” I asked as I limped toward the building.
Reuel commanded the team of guardians that guarded Echo-5 from the auranos, a ripple of the spirit line through space. They literally kept watch over my daughter from the stars.
He answered me in Katavukai, saying no, the alarm went off before the guardians arrived. Maybe I’d made him self-conscious of his English skills.
“It was Moloch. I know it,” Cassiel said, following behind me.
“Maybe so, but where is he now? There are more angels here than the four of them and the three of us. Don’t you agree?”
“I do, but I don’t know where he could be.”
“Reuel, talk to the guardians. See if they know what happened,” I said.
He nodded and started toward the building.
Cassiel followed him. “I’ll come with you.”
My eyes carefully scanned the area. “We’re missing something.”
The sound of an engine and gravel shifting under tires was coming from behind us. I turned as two SUVs screamed to a stop. The doors opened and several bodies climbed out with guns raised in our direction.
“I swear I’ll kill you, Warren, if I get shot one more time,” Cassiel called out.
“Nobody told you to come,” I reminded her over my shoulder.
“Warren?” a man called out.
I waved. “Point those barrels away from us, Enzo.”
“Yes, sir. Good to see you here, sir.”
“Quit calling me sir, Enzo.”
“Yes, sir.”
I rolled my eyes. Enzo was the Special Operations Director of SF-12. Three men and one woman were with him. All of them were armed with military-grade firepower. I knew none of them.
Considering I’d gotten there within seconds of the alarm, their response time was impressive—for humans.
“What happened here?” I asked.
“Not sure. Got a notification that Ahab detected a breach nearby. I was hoping it was you again.”
“Not this time.” I’d shown up unannounced a few months before and scared the bejeezus out of everyone. “I came here when I got the alarm. Have you heard from Nathan?”
“Had him on the radio just now. Everyone’s safe inside, but he said something hit the building.”
“Or someone.”
Enzo looked at the crew with him. “Search the perimeter.”
“Can we trust your people?” I asked.
He looked at me like I had two heads. “Can we trust SF-12?”
I blinked. “Those were SF-12 members?” A sharp pain seared in my skull. I winced and pressed my eyes closed.
“Do you need me to call Doc?” Enzo asked.
As the pain subsided, I opened my eyes. “Probably not a bad idea.” I arched my shoulders forward to relieve the pressure in my aching spine. Perhaps damage to my spinal cord was causing the headache.
I pointed my finger at all the dead light posts. “Who killed the lights?”
“They’re down all the way to the guardhouse. Looks like a transformer was blown,” he said.
“Is it this dark inside?”
“No. Echo-5 is on a separate transformer. And if that was taken out, it has a backup generator that can power the emergency lights, the cameras, and the air-filtration system. As long as nothing got in, they’re fine in there.”
“Do you think anything got in?”
He smiled. “No, sir. They’ve been on Security Level Bravo since the solar year passed. All the shutters stay closed and the doors locked.” He pointed to Reuel and Cassiel near the building. “Is that our boy?”
“Yeah. The female is with us too.”
Like they’d heard us talking about them—maybe they had—Reuel and Cassiel turned and came back toward us. Hopefully, with news.
Enzo shined his flashlight on my shirt. “What the hell happened to you, Warren?”
“Long story.”
Before Reuel and Cassiel reached us, the beam of the headlights behind me snagged on something in the woods. All my senses focused on the flicker beyond the parking lot, and I dialed my vision in on the spot.
Two glowing green eyes stared back at me.
Then four.
Then six.
Then eight.
“Bingo,” I whispered.
Reuel stepped close beside me and looked in the direction I was staring. “What is it?” he asked, this time in English.
In my peripheral vision, I saw Enzo’s face whip toward him. He’d only ever heard Reuel speak in Katavukai before.
“It’s weird, right?” Reuel asked him.
I held up a finger to silence them. “Shh.”
Cupping my hands together, I let my power pool in my palms. Then I curled my hands around it and held a tiny break between my thumbs to my lips. I blew into my hands—as one might do in the cold—and the heat of my breath mixed with my power, creating a bright orb of light. I hurled it toward the tree line, and it landed in front of the group of demons like a bonfire.
Their faces lit up.
Saleos, the Sorceress.
Uko, the Torturer.
Nybria, the Goddess of Confusion—her self-given title.
And Elek, the fallen Angel of Life who once commanded the weather for all the universe.
“Reuel, I think it’s time for the wings,” I said, spreading mine behind me. Their energy lit up the whole property almost as bright as daylight.
“Yes,” he whispered, clenching a victorious fist.
With a powerful thrust that tweaked my back, I sailed into the air. Reuel and Cassiel followed me across the property. All the demons withdrew into the woods.
As we neared, Elek’s arm extended toward the sky, then sliced sideways through the air. A powerful wind from the east howled, pitching us across the sky.
I tightened my wingspan behind me, went headfirst into the wind, and turned back toward them. When I was near enough, I dropped my wings and came down so hard that the ground shook and my boots left deep impressions in the soil.
Inside, I was screaming in pain, but I refused to let my bad knee buckle again.
Using all my force, I blasted Elek backward. He landed hard on his ass, and the wind ceased as quickly has it had come. I was panting hard, and I was pissed. “Shall it be war tonight then?” I growled.
Their whispers sounded like a pit of snakes from where I stood. Appropriate.
“Your time will come soon enough, Archangel,” Nybria hissed.
Reuel and Cassiel joined me.
I looked at my watch. “Well, if that’s not happening in the next few minutes, can you please move along? I have a very busy night ahead of me.”
“You have no idea,” Uko said, brandishing a silver sword from a sheath
on his back.
As I was trying to figure out what he might have meant by that, a ball of light like a meteor slammed into the building. The ground vibrated so hard with the impact that I had to lift off the ground to stay upright. The building shook but didn’t falter as the light fizzled to a faint ripple.
Moloch.
The giant spotlights on top of the building switched on. A deafening siren wailed through the mountains. And all our phones chimed.
Moloch’s light burned bright again, then shot straight up through the sky. Taking that as some kind of cue, the demons all disappeared at once with loud cracks of thunder through the atmosphere.
Reuel looked up at me from where he stood on the ground below, ready to pounce. “They’re running?”
“I guess so.” I settled beside him and lowered my wings. They darkened and disappeared as I searched the atmosphere for activity. All was still and quiet again. This time, lacking the buzz of nearby spirits.
“Was Uko carrying a sword?” Cassiel asked.
“Yeah.” I looked between her and Reuel. “That’s weird, right?”
Reuel nodded and scratched his head.
“Come on. Let’s get back to Enzo and the others.”
The members of SF-12 had shouldered their weapons and had come back together between the two Claymore SUVs.
“They’ve gone,” I shouted over the siren as we neared them.
“What was that?” the only female in their group asked.
Enzo held up his hand, then pulled out his phone. He swiped the screen, tapped it several times, and the siren stopped.
“I said the demons left,” I repeated as I settled on the ground. I looked around at all their faces. God, who were they? I knew that I knew them, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember their names.
“Who was it?” the largest male asked.
Cassiel landed next to me. “Saleos, Uko, Nybria, and Elek. They were here with the Archangel—”
All their weapons immediately locked on Cassiel’s face. She ducked behind Reuel.
The woman’s mismatched eyes narrowed. “Who are you? And why the hell are you speaking English?”
I held up my hands. “Weapons down! Don’t make me lower them for you.”
The operatives were reluctant, but they slowly lowered their barrels toward the ground. “Who is she, Warren?” the woman asked again.
“Her name is Cassiel. She came with me from Eden,” I said.
One of the other guys looked ready to lean on the trigger of his gun again. “And why is she not speaking Katavukai? You know what that means.”
Cassiel stepped around me. “I’m the head of the Council that made that law. Therefore, I have the authority to disregard it.”
“How convenient for you,” the youngest guy said with a smirk.
“It is quite convenient. I know.” Her angry blue eyes dared him to say something else.
He didn’t.
“Moloch was here?” Enzo asked, pointing at the ground.
“Yeah, and unfortunately, I think that’s my fault. I blew up his body about ten minutes ago on the other side of the planet.” I sighed and rested my hands on my hips.
The big guy nodded toward my chest. “Is that what happened to your shirt?”
I tugged at the hem. “Those were caused by a one-sided shootout with the prime minister of Malab’s security detail. You’ll probably hear about it on the news.”
“Why?” Enzo asked.
“Because Warren killed the prime minister,” Cassiel said.
They all reacted. Dropped jaws, flinching heads, wide eyes.
The young man gave an impressed nod. “Damn.”
I touched my throbbing head. “Guys, I’m going to level with you. I took some spinal damage during the shootout, and I’m having an impossible time remembering your names.”
They all exchanged a confused glance.
“Just tell me your names again.”
The big guy spoke first. “Kane.”
“Lex.”
“Cruz.”
“NAG,” the woman said.
“NAG?” Cassiel asked.
“It stands for Not A Guy,” Enzo explained. “Her real name’s Mandi.”
My memory flared to life along with another surge of pain. I immediately remembered all of them. “Of course. I remember now. God, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” I felt stupid.
Cassiel touched my arm. She looked genuinely concerned.
“We’ve got bigger worries than a headache.” I massaged my temples. “Have any of you ever seen a swirling purple fog around any humans?”
Enzo exchanged confused glances with the rest of the team. Most of them could see the supernatural the way Umar in Africa could see us. “Like a smoke bomb?” Lex asked.
That wasn’t a terrible description. “Sort of. A spiritual one, but yeah.”
“I haven’t,” Enzo said.
The others shook their heads.
My phone rang. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. “Nathan.” I tapped the answer button and put it to my ear. “Everybody whole?”
“Everybody’s fine. What’s going on out there? Looks like you guys are about to have a picnic on my front lawn.”
I turned toward the building and waved to the security cameras.
“I see you. What happened?”
“You were just dive-bombed by an Archangel demon.”
Nathan swore. “Well, we’re still here. Ahab did what it was supposed to do.” There was commotion on his end of the line. “Hey, Warren, looks like we’re about to have more company. Az just pulled through the gate.”
“OK. Where’s Iliana?”
“She’s with Sloan in the safe room.”
Headlights appeared down the road. “Az is here. Let me call you back.”
“Warren, is it safe to come out?” he asked.
“Give me a minute. I’ll have Reuel send a guardian to cover your exit.”
“I’ll watch for the all clear on the camera.”
“OK. See you in a minute.” I ended the call as my father pulled up in front of us. I gripped Reuel’s shoulder. “Can you have someone cover the Echo-5 door? Nathan wants to come out, but we need to know it’s secure.”
“Akai viru cerah,” he said with a nod.
“Thanks, man.” I squeezed his arm.
Azrael opened the driver’s side door and got out. “What happened?” His black hair was standing on end, and his sweatshirt was inside out.
“There was an atmospheric breach at two oh nine a.m.” Enzo gestured toward me. “These guys were here when we arrived.”
“We came as soon as I received the alarm on my phone. I just talked to Nate. He said Iliana is fine. Nothing happened inside the building.”
Azrael sighed with relief. “Thank the Father for that.”
“We believe it was Moloch. There were others here as well,” I said.
“What others?” Azreal asked.
I thought for a second. “Saleos, Elek, Nybria…”
“And Uko,” Cassiel added.
Azrael’s eyes narrowed. “Hello, Cassiel.”
She waved but otherwise didn’t greet him.
“No Morning Star?” he asked.
I shook my head.
He looked up at the moonless sky. “Why now? Why tonight?” he asked no one in particular.
Cassiel raised her arm toward Echo-5. “Because you’re harboring a devastating weapon here.”
I lowered my voice. “You’re not helping.”
“I believe this was planned,” she said.
My brow crumpled. “You believe Moloch knew I would be in Malab to kill him today, when I just decided to come last night?” I shook my head. “He’s smart, but he’s not a mind reader.”
“No, but he clearly knew what he was doing tonight.” She stepped closer. “He wanted you to separate him from his body so he could move as a spirit again. Maybe we surprised him, and because it happened unexpectedly, his plan fell
apart once he got here.”
I shrugged. “It’s possible I guess, but has he been waiting in the Capitol building all these months for an Angel of Death to happen by? That’s a little ridiculous.”
“He had to have known the Father was in the area. And he was keeping the Angels of Death busy there with the famine.”
“That’s true.”
Everyone looked past me. When I turned, Nathan was crossing the yard with Reuel and another SF-12 member, Justice. Nathan wore blue plaid pajama pants and his black SWAT hoodie, which brought back memories like a tidal wave.
My eyes drifted over their heads to the building, and for the first time since we’d arrived, I had a chance to consider that my daughter and Sloan were right there.
“This many angels in my front yard is never a good sign,” he said as they approached. Lines from his pillow creased the right side of his face. “What happened?”
“It looks like this was the first major attempt to take Iliana,” Azrael said.
Nathan shook his head. “Definitely not the first.”
Az rolled his eyes. “OK. The first since she’s been here, where she’s supposed to be safe.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “She was safe. Nothing happened. This is why you built this place, remember. Everything functioned the way you designed it to.”
“But it was a close call, and certainly not the last attempt,” Cassiel said.
Nathan turned toward her, his eyes wide with worry. “And who are you?”
“Sorry,” I said. “Nathan this is Cassiel. She’s from Eden and she can speak English, so don’t freak out. Also, Reuel can too now.”
Reuel waved. “Hello.”
Nathan took a step back. “Whoa.”
“It’s crazy, I know.” I crossed my arms. “Now I need to know what happened inside.”
“The internal alarm sounded, just like the time you showed up unannounced around Christmas. I checked the video feed on my phone’s app and didn’t see anything, so I put Sloan and Iliana in the safe room with Pirez and went to the control room downstairs.
“That must have been when you got here because you were on the screen when I walked in. Justice was already going over all the cameras. Neither of us saw anything out of place except you jokers stalking the yard.
The Soul Destroyer: The Soul Summoner Series Book 7 Page 13
