"What are you doing?" he asked.
"The test," Christine said proudly. "You said one must bleed out, but we are sisters. We are one."
In a flash of fury and rage, the Reaper revealed his true form. Hades!
"So you came for the soul of Christine?"
"Yes," they said in unison.
"You stand together? Even though she murdered your mother? You still stand with Danielle?"
"Yes," they repeated.
"Even though she loves your husband?"
"Yes! We are Amazon. We are sisters."
"Well, I guess there's nothing for me to do except give you what you want, right? Wrong! You come here, demanding something that isn't yours to ask for. It's mine." He laughed. "None of you will leave this place."
Christine lunged toward him with Aaliyah and Danielle following close behind. The battle ensued, but it was a short one. Hades easily stopped their advances. They were weak from the blood loss and their journey had been great.
He now stood over them and asked, "Which one of you wants to die first?"
They joined hands and prepared for their last breath when a punch from the sky sent Hades flying.
"I came for my wife’s soul," came a growl before a hard thud was heard. It was Hybrid!
Hades smiled. "So you to choose to die?"
"No, I came to live."
He lifted Christine up to her feet and looked into her hollow eyes as she coughed blood again. She was dying.
Hades smirked. "Without her soul, she's an empty shell."
"You’re right," Hybrid responded. "Only you don't hold her soul. I do!"
Hybrid had realized that he had held his love's spirit. He had been so absorbed in his grief and then his shame that he had denied his love her spirit. As soon as Hybrid realized it, he came for Christine.
When Hybrid kissed his Christine, he let his love for her consume him and a light appeared around them. It suddenly became clear. Their bond! That's where her soul was. They were connected eternally. Hybrid and Christine needed each other like air. That's what was missing. She knew all! Her past, her present, and her future. The kiss engulfed them and they began floating.
Hades attempted to hit them, but they were completely protected by Diana, the true queen of the Amazons and daughter of Zeus.
Diana grabbed Aaliyah’s and Danielle's hands. They all flew from the cave. Diana closed the gate and locked it, and then began to fade away into the darkness. She told her girls that she loved them. Danielle apologized to her mother and with a nod and smile she was gone.
Hybrid held his Christine tightly in his arms as they looked over the mountain. They each nodded in agreement. As they returned to their homes, Christine, Danielle, and Aaliyah took their rightful places as the queens of the Amazons. They ruled with love, peace, and prosperity. Once again the land was filled with happiness and good times
As for the hybrids, they fulfilled their destinies. They stopped the evil forces that tried to arise against them and their home. Aurora, the youngest of the hybrid clan, became a seer. She was able to predict the future and watched over the future of the realms. She helped protect them from danger.
Aaliyah's daughter, Ellie, became a great warrior in her own right, with wings of a dragon and the strength of a hybrid. She was nearly unmatched by all who opposed her. Legends were wrote of her glory.
As for the twins of Queen Aaliyah, the story took a turn. Alexander left to rule the north and Apollo to conquer the south. The brothers were not close, but if the need arose, they would be there for their mother. Aaliyah found love in the arms of a fisherman. They lived happy, long lives, and no matter what the situation, her warrior spirit lived on.
Danielle found happiness between her queenly duties and watching over her sisters. She stayed quite busy.
This left Hybrid, who stood by the side of his beloved always. He always knew Christine was destined for greatness and now he had gotten to see everything full circle. He watched her when she slept as if she would never wake, and when she awoke, he watched as if she would never sleep. Their love had stood the test of time!
The legend stated that the birth of the hybrid would bring peace to the realms. It spoke of how powerful the hybrid would be. She, Aaliyah, would ride in the clouds on the wings of a dragon, but it didn't tell the story of who would teach and raise her, of an Amazon woman who would fight heartache, demons, and death. She was the reason the stories were written and without her, the hybrids would not have saved the world.
"I know because I'm her hybrid and I was there," he said with a secretive smile.
The End.
Angel of Deception
D.A. Stein
The Angels of Angel Falls
Book 1
Angel of Deception © 2019 D.A. Stein
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Created with Vellum
Angel of Deception
Don’t Tell Demons Love Is Real.
Paige Sullivan just discovered angels and demons were real. Paige Sullivan just found out who the father she never knew was. Paige Sullivan just discovered she is the Angel of Deception.
Being chased by demons who have been ordered by Lucifer to kidnap her has ruined her day. Now she must learn how to use her new powers of deception and illusion to fight him and his demon horde. And find love along the way.
1
A hum of electricity came from the creature.
I didn’t know if it was male or female or if that distinction even applied. But it had dark, leathery skin as if it had been baking in the sun for years.
The eyes were black, but they appeared to glow with inner light and were also lidless like a shark.
There was no hair, only the same kind of dark red leathery skin over the scalp. The sharp needle-like teeth would have been horrifying if I believed it was real.
Nothing like that could exist in real life, so of course, it was a figment of my very vivid imagination. Even the thing being three feet tall was part of my hallucination.
I held the hot cardboard container filled with caffeine; in my case, a caramel latte with two extra shots of espresso but now my hand shook so much I was afraid some of my caffeine addiction would slosh onto my hand, my breath catching in my throat.
As I watched, the...demon? gave me a two fingered salute from his forehead, his face split by a wide sharp toothed grin and disappeared.
Spinning in a slow circle for me to study the whole inside of the coffee shop, I tried to observe each person to see if any of the people around me had seen what I thought I had. But everyone was busy with their own lives, having a bite to eat or drink before rushing off to work or run the kids to school, so no one was paying attention.
I closed my eyes for a moment, shaking my head worried about my hallucination as the rich scent of strong coffee and vanilla took over my senses as well as the scent of cinnamon and honey from some fresh honey buns that must have just come out of the ovens. Yum.
Convincing myself I only had a vivid imagination and did not have a hallucination I reopened to eyes to check out the corner again. See? Nothing there.
I gripped the coffee tight between my trembling hands. It was the only thing ke
eping my hands warm.
I sat again, slumping deeper into the wooden chair, the cardboard coffee cup clutched tighter in one hand, as I studied the tablet before me, I swiped through, trying to concentrate on my work before I had to leave. What I had observed kept running like a reel through my head but I needed to focus on work. My client was supposed to meet me a half hour ago, but it looked like he wasn’t coming at all. I felt a flare of frustration bubble inside of me before trying to quench it with a long gulp of coffee.
I worked as a graphics designer so I could stay home some of the time, but I still had classes that I had to go to, at the nearby community college. And like today, meeting people who didn’t show.
My phone rang out so loud with the Joker crazy laugh, the people around me turned their heads with irritation, frowns marring their faces to see where the noise that had disturbed them came from.
My feet tangled with the legs of my chair as I lurched to my feet and stumbled until I was outside my phone to my ear. “Yes?”
“I’m almost ready to leave, honey. Are you coming home soon?” My mom’s voice garbled through the cell phone reception.
I scrunched my hair at the back of my head and pulled, enjoying the intense pain. It helped to settle me sometimes, let me focus, letting my hair fall over my shoulder down along my chest, after the pain lessened.
I was twenty-five years old and still had to explain everything to my mother. Since I still lived with her, she worried about me.
I could only concentrate on one thing at a time. Multitasking was an issue for me. And the phone ringing, tripping, getting my bag…yeah. Multitasking was not for me.
With a deep sigh that I knew my mother could hear, I said, “I’ll be home soon. Leaving the coffee shop now. If you leave, Ben will only be alone for a few minutes.”
I heard a worried tone to her voice and the swooshing sound of her jacket being put on as she replied, “I worry about you, Paige. You’re only twenty-five. You should be going out on dates and having fun not taking care of Ben and me. I feel so guilty.”
The last sentence was groaned out in despair for our situation. Yeah. Mom being a single mother with an older daughter and a ten-year-old boy that had a learning disorder issue. He rarely talks, even to us and throws screaming tantrums daily.
I wasn’t going to let Mom handle this all on her own now that I was an adult. She needed a life too. She spent her whole life taking care of us and now it was her turn. The only problem was she never wanted to go out with her single friends and get guys. She was still young enough to find her one and only, being only forty-four. Obviously, my father had been a dead beat.
As I hurried to my car, I glanced up at the gray sky with the sun barely peeking through the heavy concentration of clouds and nearly stumbled on the gravel coating the parking lot. Stumbling on the gravel coating the parking lot to practically fall on the hood of my car, where I pushed myself back up.
Standing in front of my old clunker of a car but it was reasonably reliable, I patted the hood lightly letting my hand smooth along the rough length, as I passed to open the door and get inside. I didn’t want to pat too hard and have something important fall off. One day, I would have a better car but right now little Sadie was good for me.
The gold of the car had faded to an almost sickly yellow slash sand color. I tried starting the car again, turning the key with a prayer of hope, but she barely gave a hiccup of protest, only a slight ah, ahh.
Leaning my forehead against the steering wheel hard, I tried to think about what to do. Of course I didn’t have any kind of car service. We couldn’t afford anything like that. With both my mother’s and my paychecks, we barely got by.
The back of my head leaned against the headrest as I considered what to do. I studied the faded material drooping down from the ceiling of the car. This was my life. Drooping and sad.
I dropped my forehead back to the steering wheel with a thud while mushing it as hard as I could, still trying to think of what I was going to do. Maybe try and start it again. This time when I turned the key, absolutely nothing happened.
Even with my living at home and working and going to school part time we hardly had enough for my brother’s doctor appointments. And they were numerous. Although lately they had been getting paid on time. I asked Mom but she brushed my question off.
After lifting my head from the cracked, leather steering wheel I slapped my hand against it in anger a few times, putting my frustration into the hit. She groaned at me in protest and I immediately apologized, guilt making me bite my lip.
Turning to open the broken door lever, I noticed a man standing on the other side with his hand raised to knock on the window. I jumped so high, I almost hit my head on the underside of the roof.
“Do you need any help, miss?” he asked loudly. He was so tall he had to almost bend himself in half to talk to me.
As I studied him, I had another hallucination; wings, the guy had wings. Tattered, but white, hanging to the ground wings. Shaking my head, I closed my eyes for a moment, I reopened them to see...no wings. What the heck?
His blue eyes crinkled at the corners, with his head slightly tilted as he waited for my decision.
It was morning, and I wasn’t sure if I needed to worry. I did martial arts after all the regular customers had left the business. The master was an old friend and knew people and I didn’t match.
I cranked the window down manually . As he waited, I studied his profile out of the corner of my eye. He was handsome in a classical, masculine sense. Straight nose, strong jaw, short golden blond hair, penetrating blue eyes. Yup. Typical movie star handsome. What was he doing over here with me?
There was something about him that didn’t make me nervous. I didn’t know what it was but I had grudging optimism.
“Hi. Do you need some help? You looked upset banging your hand against the steering wheel and all.” There was an inquiring half smile on his face as he placed a hand on the half rolled down window.
Something felt off. It took a minute and then I realized what that was. He wasn’t questioning my eyes. My hood was down and he could see my hair and eyes and he wasn’t asking about them. Why didn’t he question them? Other people would. Is your hair dyed? It’s such a combination of turquoise and black. Who’s your hairdresser?
“It’s nothing, really.” My lips twisted as I thought about my predicament. “My car won’t start. I’ll call someone. Thank you for the offer of help.”
The tips of my fingers stroked the screen of my phone trying to figure out who to call. My fingers were ready to hit 9-1-1 if needed.
Couldn’t call Mom, I didn’t want to worry her even more. I didn’t really have any friends to call and help me. No tow service because we couldn’t afford it. How much would it cost to have her towed home? I thought about how much money I had in my purse and thought it was one twenty, a couple ones and loose change rustling around in the bottom of my bag.
Glancing at him again out of the corner of my eyes, I wondered again if he wasn’t a serial killer out to slice me into tiny pieces. But, for some reason, there was something about him I trusted.
“Come on,” he said. “Pull the hood release inside the car. You don’t have to get out and I’ll take a look.”
His motorcycle boots scratched against the gravel as he adjusted his weight from one foot to the other in his impatience.
Growling, he waited to see what my indecision would reveal.
I gave my phone a quick glance to get a look at the time and my heart stopped, that was what made me decide on what to do. I leaned down and after fumbling around with my fingers under the steering column I finally felt the release and pulled.
He gave me a sexy half smile through the blurry, smeared windshield , before tucking his head behind the hood and then the top half of his body joined the disappearing head.
I tapped my fingers nervously against the wheel and every few seconds glanced at the time on my phone. Did I make the wrong choice? Once or twice, I glanced in the direction of the coffee shop not that far away, still seeing people entering and exiting. I still felt slightly safe. If I screamed loud enough, I hoped someone would come running, but in this neighborhood, I wasn’t sure of that.
People kept to themselves, not bothering with other people's problems. They had enough of their own.
Occasionally, I heard a bang and then nothing. I would have to try and call someone in a bit if he couldn’t fix it.
With a deep sigh, I opened my door and slipped out as ungracefully as I always did.
Stomping my motorcycle boots to make as much noise as possible, I circled to where he stood at the front of the car.
Sweeping his arms wide, he leaned back onto his heels, a light smile twitching his lips. I glared in the engine compartment, the multitude of unfamiliar parts, not knowing what everything was and what it did.
“So, did you find out what the problem is?”
A smile played about his lips. “I’m sorry to say it’s your starter.”
My lips parted in dismay as thoughts of how I would pay for this swirled around. Tears burned, threatening to erupt at any second.
It must have showed on my face, because he touched me lightly on my forearm. “Hey. Don’t worry. I think I can help you. No charge.”
My eyebrows almost raised to my hairline as my mouth thinned to a straight line. “Who are you?”
“Who am I?” he asked, his thumb stroking his chin thoughtfully. “I’m a…friend…of your mother. My name is…Devlin.”
Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 170
