The Daughter of Zion

by Elicia Hyder

  “Great,” Fury said, completely unamused.

  Sloan’s eyes narrowed, and her finger slowly moved between me and Fury. “What happened down in that pit?”

  I reached for Fury, and she stared at my hand a second before reluctantly accepting it. She had never been one for public displays of affection. Still, I pulled her to my side and slid my arm around her waist.

  “Really?” Sloan’s jaw dropped slightly.

  “You and Fury?” Nathan blinked a few times. “You and Fury are together, and Cassiel is back at the hotel waiting for you?” His head fell back, and he laughed—howled, really—toward the sky.

  I was confused. Nothing about this was funny.

  Sloan nudged his ribs. “What’s the matter with you?”

  He laughed even harder and pointed at me. “Holy shit! He’s finally in a love triangle I’m not part of!”

  At that, I chuckled. “Fair enough, asshole.”

  Fury rolled her eyes.

  “Nathan,” Sloan scolded.

  “This is amazing.” He put his arm around my neck. “Warren, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m so damn glad you’re back.”

  “Me too, you jerk.” I pushed him away.

  His laughter died on a melodic wane. Then he touched his finger behind his earlobe. “This is Nathan,” he said, taking a step away from us.

  My head snapped back. I pointed at him and looked at Sloan. “Is he talking to someone?”

  “Huh?” Sloan seemed confused. “Oh yeah. He’s on the phone.” She reached into her own ear, then showed us her finger. On it was a tiny chip about the size of a pencil eraser. It was flesh colored and had a small clear wire about an eighth of an inch long.

  Fury and Anya came closer. “That’s your phone?” Anya asked.

  “Yeah. Part of it, anyway. It has a screen too, but you don’t have to carry it. I never do, but Nathan wouldn’t be able to go to the bathroom without funny cat videos or basketball recaps.”

  Hands-free devices were nothing new, even before I left the planet, but Nathan appeared to be talking to himself. It reminded me of how angels looked when we communicated with each other.

  “Uh oh,” I said.

  “What’s wrong?” Fury asked.

  I touched my own ear. “I won’t be able to communicate with Eden anymore.”

  Iliana shook her head. “You can communicate with those of us on Earth though.”

  No more Eden. The prospect of the separation being permanent was almost too much to process. And I’m sure I’d only considered a tiny portion of the consequences. I really couldn’t wait to talk to Cassiel—as awkward as that was bound to be.

  Nathan walked back to our group. “We’ve got to go.”

  “What’s up?” Iliana asked.

  “That was Cassiel. Azrael got in touch. He knows Warren is back.”

  “How?” The question came from everyone.

  Nathan shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”

  Sloan’s eyes bugged out. “Nathan!”

  “Sorry. I’ve had a lot of information to process today!”

  “What did Azrael say?” I asked calmly.

  “He wants to see you.”

  Chapter Three

  For the eleven months they’d been on the island, Iliana had made the team leave an extra ATV at the gate in anticipation of our return. Kane had even started it every week to keep the battery alive.

  I drove Fury. Anya rode with Cruz.

  The terrain out of the jungle was almost as we’d left it, except the trail was wider and worn with tire tracks. And this time, Fury’s arms were around me.

  And my daughter was in front of me, riding with Jett.

  My brain needed to catch up to speed on so much.

  I slowed the four-wheeler as we passed Cambugahay Falls. Unlike the last time we’d visited, the parking lot and trailhead were nearly deserted. The welcome sign was faded and dangling from one corner.

  If the fever had wrecked this remote island, where hadn’t it touched? La Isla del Fuego was as far off the beaten path as one could go. It wasn’t even accessible by air travel.

  Shit. Air travel.

  Without the spirit line, I’d be limited to my wings and human forms of transportation. The only way back to the States would be by airplane—which had proven problematic—or by boat, which might take another seventeen years.

  And where would we go? Asheville, I’d guess, but did they even live at Wolf Gap anymore with its vulnerabilities? And no matter where we went, neither Fury, Anya, nor I had anything left on the Earth.

  Nothing.

  Even my Challenger, if it still existed, would be a thing of the past. Vintage. Antique. That depressed me more than the thought of not having a bed to sleep in.

  The ATVs in front of us turned off the road sooner than I’d expected. I followed them up a steep and winding rough-gravel road until we reached the top of a ridge. A sign at the end of the drive said, “High Vista Resort and Villas.”

  A bamboo privacy fence enclosed the property. Our group, seven ATVs total, rolled through the gate and up to a building surrounded by thatch-roof huts built into the ridgeline. There was a large infinity pool with a view of the distant ocean.

  I killed the engine when we parked next to Iliana and Jett. “Wow. This place is nice.”

  Sloan and Nathan had parked on our other side. “And it’s a steal. Less than twenty dollars a night for an entire villa,” Nathan said. “We’ve been here for the past six months, and we’ve only seen one tourist.”

  “I knew the island was empty when we passed the falls. That place was packed when we were here a couple of days—” I stopped myself.

  Nathan sadly shook his head. “I’m sorry, man.”

  “I still don’t believe it.”

  “I can’t imagine.”

  Jett and Rogan led a handcuffed and gagged Torman toward the huts. The rest of our group moved to the main building, but I hung back and watched Torman being led away. Nathan stayed with me.

  “Where are they taking him?” I asked.

  “They’ll keep him locked up in one of the villas until he’s been thoroughly questioned by Iliana and Cassiel. Then they’ll probably kill him before we leave. That’s always been the plan if they ever found him.”

  “Why kill him?”

  “To cripple Chimera. If Torman is dead, her Angel of Knowledge side will die with him. It might even kill her too, which Rogan would love after what she did to him. She’s Azrael’s top advisor and the chief lackey of the Morning Star.”

  “How did she fool all of us?”

  He shrugged. “We’ve been asking that question for seventeen years. There’s no good answer except she’s smart, and she’d been planning this for a long time.”

  “No doubt with help from her father.” I watched Rogan drag Torman through one of the far villa’s front doors. “If Iliana needs help killing him, I’ll be happy to oblige.”

  Nathan smiled like a proud dad. “Iliana doesn’t need much help with anything.”

  I gripped his shoulder. “Thank you, Nathan.”

  He shook his head. “The gratitude is mine, man. I really hate you had to miss so much.”

  “Me too.”

  “Come on. You’ll feel better after you’ve had a good meal and some rest. Looks like you went through hell or something.” He grinned as we walked to the building.

  I was exhausted. I’d dozed off a couple of times the night before, but Fury had been in my bed, so sleep hadn’t been a priority. Not that I was complaining.

  Inside was a restaurant. One whole wall was sliding doors open to the view. A small Filipino woman walked in from the kitchen. “You’re back!” she said with a bright smile. “And you brought friends.” Her smile faded when she saw me. A reaction I expected as the Archangel of Death.

  Humans didn’t need to know what I was to fear me.

  “Angel, these are the friends we’ve been waiting for,” Sloan told the woman.

  I leaned toward N
athan and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Her name’s Angel? Seriously?”

  He snickered.

  Sloan continued her introduction. “This is Anya and Fury.” She pointed at me. “And this is Warren.”

  The woman’s brow tightened with confusion. “But I thought Warren was Iliana’s father.”

  Oh, this is going to be fun. It was going to be like telling people Azrael and I were brothers all over again.

  “He is,” Nathan announced with a smile as he plucked a banana from a fruit basket. “Sloan liked ’em young.”

  Sloan put a hand on her hip. “So I guess I settled for an old man like you.”

  Nathan paused with the banana halfway to his mouth and laughed. “My dear, I do believe your wit is getting quicker with age.”

  She ignored him. “Angel, can we get a couple more rooms made up?”

  “Of course. Are you hungry?”

  Fury and I answered yes in unison. “Starving,” she added.

  “Dinner should be ready in a half hour, but I can have the kitchen prepare you a snack,” Angel said.

  “Half an hour is fine.” Fury turned to me. “I’d like to get cleaned up. I certainly feel like I haven’t showered in seventeen years.”

  “Me too,” Anya said.

  “We can find you all something to wear,” Sloan offered.

  Nathan nodded. “And we can go into town later to get whatever supplies you need.”

  “Sounds good,” I said.

  Nathan leaned against the counter. “Hey, Angel, can we get a round of beers to celebrate?”

  “Coming right up.”

  Angel disappeared into the kitchen, and I walked over to Kane and Cruz. I still didn’t know the third man with them. “Thank you, guys, for looking after my family.”

  “We’ve always known what we were protecting. Welcome home, brother,” Kane said with a smile. “It’s sure as hell good to have you back though. To have all of you back.” He looked over my shoulder.

  I turned as Fury and Anya joined us. They’d been part of Claymore and SF-12 before I ever knew it existed. That history was reflected in the reunion; Kane hugged Anya so tight I thought her head might pop off.

  I turned toward the third man and offered my hand. “Hi, I’m Warren.”

  “We’ve met,” he said.

  He was younger than Kane and Cruz. Closer to my age; maybe a little older. His eyes were both brown, but something in them felt familiar.

  “Nash,” he said. “Nash Wright.”

  I took a full step back. “Damn.”

  “The kid from Azrael’s beach house?” Fury asked.

  He chuckled. “That was a long time ago, ma’am.”

  Not for me and Fury.

  The last time I’d seen Nash, the day I’d met him, he couldn’t have been more than twenty. Now, in less than a week on my time, he was older than me. I shouldn’t have been so shocked, considering the changes in everyone else, but I still hadn’t adjusted to this new reality.

  Part of me wondered if I ever would.

  “You’re part of SF-12 now?” I asked.

  “More like SF-4. We’re a little understaffed,” Kane said.

  I frowned. “I heard about Cooper and Wings. I’m sorry.”

  Kane and Cruz both nodded sadly.

  “What happened to the others?” Fury asked.

  Kane crossed his arm. “Well, you heard about Enzo.”

  “You ever hear from him?” Anya asked.

  “Not ever, but I’m sure he stays busy, especially since the military fell apart.”

  “Doc?” I asked.

  “Doc retired. NAG got married and moved to Boston. Lex is still with us, back at Echo-5, keeping watch there. The rest of the team sought out other employment when we were cut off from Claymore,” Kane said.

  I crossed my arms. “I can’t wrap my head around it.”

  “Honestly, neither can we,” Kane admitted. “Az completely checked out. Nothing helped. Not even Iliana. Eventually, he didn’t remember her at all, except for what he’d been told.”

  “I wonder how much of that was the Morning Star’s doing,” Fury said.

  “Probably a lot,” Cruz said.

  “And then there’s Chimera. She’s had more influence on him than anyone except the Morning Star,” Kane added.

  Fury made a low growling sound. “I can’t wait to get my hands on that bitch.”

  “Get in line,” Kane said. “Unfortunately, she’s very well protected. Since Claymore was the only military, private or otherwise, completely left untouched by the virus, their size has doubled. They’ve taken over most of North Carolina’s east coast, all the way down to Camp Lejeune.”

  “The government even gave them Cherry Point and the Croatan National Forest,” Cruz said.

  “Geez. How much land is that?” Anya asked.

  “About a hundred and eighty thousand acres,” Kane said.

  I gave a long low whistle. “Do we have anyone left on the inside?”

  “Huffman still runs the armory.” Kane tilted his head toward Nash. “But he’s kept pretty silent since Nash got booted out.”

  “Booted out?” Fury asked.

  Nash’s shoulders went rigid. “Chimera found out I was communicating with Nate and Kane. Michael—sorry, the Morning Star—questioned me about it and knew I was lying, of course. I’m lucky I wasn’t killed.”

  “Lucky indeed.” Kane looked at me. “We’ve got to get that necklace back to Azrael.”

  “God, I wish I’d refused to take it.”

  “You couldn’t have known. None of us had any idea,” Kane said.

  Cruz nodded. “We’re just glad you’re alive.”

  “Warren?” a woman said behind me.

  I knew it was Cassiel before I even turned around. I felt her presence as clearly as I saw my friends standing in front of me. I turned and saw her silhouetted in the doorway, the sunlight sparkling through her golden hair. “Cassiel.”

  She met me halfway across the dining room and threw her arms around my neck. “You’re alive,” she breathed over my shoulder.

  “Thanks to you.” I stepped back. “You got us out of Nulterra.”

  Cassiel had sent a memory stone with Flint into Nulterra. She and Theta, the Archangel of Prophecy, had figured out that in order for us to destroy Nulterra, we had to destroy the three sanctonite stones that held it together. The largest stone gave Nulterra its power. A second stone powered the gateway to the spirit line. The third powered the gate to Earth.

  Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I thought you’d have to stay behind to destroy the last stone.”

  “Someone did.”

  “Flint.” Cassiel’s eyes drifted past me. “Fury, I’m so sorry.”

  Fury walked up beside me.

  “He was one of the bravest humans I’ve ever met,” Cassiel added.

  “He was. Thank you.” Fury offered a weak smile. “And thanks for your help. I would have died without the crystal water.”

  Cassiel straightened, obviously surprised. “You drank the crystal water.”

  “It saved my life.”

  In her eyes, it was clear this was new information for Cassiel. When she’d given me the crystal water, she’d done so under strict instructions that it be used under life-or-death peril only. She’d said it was forbidden to use outside Eden. That her disobedience could cost her everything.

  As it turned out, neither of us had any idea what it would actually cost us all.

  Using the crystal water—the life water of Eden—in Nulterra was not only powerful enough to destroy the veil that kept Nulterra hidden from Eden’s watchful eye…it was also powerful enough to destroy the veil that kept the spirit line hidden from the Morning Star.

  She hadn’t anticipated that so much time would have passed on Earth that he would be old enough, mature enough, to take advantage of his sudden ability to use it—and destroy it.

  It suddenly occurred to me, Cassiel had meant the crystal water for me. To save
my life if there’d been a need. She’d never considered that it might be used to save Fury.

  Now the spirit line was gone, and it had cost Cassiel everything. Everything, including me.

  I was truly sorry for her.

  Cassiel’s eyes blinked furiously as they fought back more tears.

  “Here you are!” Angel announced, returning with a tray of bottled beers.

  “Celebration time,” Fury said with a tired smile as she walked backward to rejoin our group.

  I caught Cassiel’s lifeless gaze. “We’ll talk later, OK?”

  “Of course. We need to talk about your father, but for now, go celebrate. You deserve it.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. We’d survived, but at what price? I started toward the group, and when I looked back to see if Cassiel was coming, she was gone.

  Nathan thrust a frosty beer into my hand, and I rejoined the group.

  Iliana raised her bottle of soda into the air. “I’d like to make my very first toast.”

  The room fell silent as everyone else gathered close. Fury put her arm around my waist, holding her own beer to her chest.

  “Everyone told me to give up hope. That they couldn’t have survived. That they had to be dead. That they would never return.” Iliana looked at me. “But my father swore he’d always come back for me, and I knew, no matter what happened, he’d keep his word.”

  My eyes teared up.

  She tilted her soda toward me. “So this is for Warren. My promise-keeper. My appa. My angel. Welcome home.” Everyone cheered, and heat rushed to my cheeks. “And to everyone else!” Iliana shouted over the applause. They quieted back down. “I told you so!”

  The room erupted into laughter. I stepped away from Fury to hug Iliana. I kissed the side of her head. “I’ll always keep my word.”

  She rested her head against my chest. “I know.”

  Then I took a long slow drink of ice-cold beer.

  When we finished, everyone dispersed to get ready for dinner. Fury and Anya went to the first villa available, and I walked outside to try to find Cassiel.

  As I stood on the grass, I closed my eyes until I sensed the pull of the supernatural to my left. I followed the feeling to a garden past the pool. There was a small gate. I opened it and walked inside, inhaling sweet jasmine.