“One of these days you’re going to admit I’m right,” he shouts, but I pay him no mind. “You’ll spend a lonely existence until then.”
“Good,” I call over my shoulder. “Alone is what I need. Alone is what’s best. Maybe you should ditch your human shields and use your power to its fullest.”
“I’m no fool, Tori. I take help where I can get it. They’re safer with me on their team.”
“You’ll get them killed,” I shoot back in frustration. “What will God think then?”
“Nobody is watching, Tori. We’re on our own where He’s concerned.” He doesn’t need to clarify who He is. “Move on with your life. Embrace Earth. It holds plenty of its own perks.”
I whip around, stalking back toward Zeke. “If that’s true, then why do you insist on hunting?” I ask, folding my arms over my chest when I’m mere inches from him. “Why not go about your life?” I raise a brow, waiting for his answer.
I’m tired of him constantly questioning me. His actions make less sense. He doesn’t want back in Heaven, but he can’t help but continue God’s work here. It doesn’t add up. It never has. Yet another reason to add to my growing list of why I need to stay far away from Zeke. If he’d allow it.
“I’m a hunter, Tori. A power angel. When evil presents itself, I’m called.”
“Tsk tsk,” I say, waving my fingers in front of his face. “You’re a forsaken power angel. According to your own words, you’re no longer needed. Nobody’s watching, so who are you trying to impress, Zeke?”
His hands are at either side of his temples, massaging out the headache I’ve certainly given him. This is our thing. Fight in circles, getting nowhere. “Maybe I don’t like to see God’s creation destroyed by those beasts,” he shrugs. “All of the perks of Earth depend on Earth’s existence. Someone has to save the humans from vampires.”
I sigh. “If it’s not the vampires, it’ll be another form of demon, Zeke. You can’t stop them from coming. Lucifer will send legion after legion until this world is destroyed.”
But not until he’s done toying with humanity—and other beings.
“If you truly have no intention of trying to get back to Heaven, then why not just throw in the towel and enjoy what time is left?” I ask, not understanding why he’s committed so much time fighting for a god he chose not to serve. I know little about why he fell, but he has admitted it was his choice. God did not cast him out.
“I’ve made it my mission to slow down his progress. Like I said, I kinda like Earth, and since I’m immortal and all, I might as well do something of significance.”
“You’re only immortal until Lucifer finds your weakness. None of us are truly immortal, Zeke. All of our existences can be ended.”
“If we work together, we’ll have a better chance of survival,” he says, leaning forward and taking a piece of my errant hair between his fingers. “We could both enjoy those perks.”
I inhale, breathing in the smell of sandalwood and wet earth, my eyes closing to hide the fact that it affects me. He affects me.
“Tori, look at me,” he commands, voice husky with want.
I do as he instructs, eyes roaming the six-foot-three warrior. He’s tanned and toned everywhere. The muscles in his arms bulge under his white Henley shirt. In the years I’ve been in this area, I’ve never seen him do a single thing aside from hunt, and it shows.
“Why did you fall, Zeke?” I whisper.
My hair falls from his grasp as he steps back, running his hands through his raven hair.
“You and I both know that’s not a conversation we want to have. When you’re ready to share, then I’ll consider doing the same.”
I sigh, knowing he’s right. I haven’t uttered a word of why I fell since the day it happened, and I have no intention to. Ever. The shame plagues me daily, and the nightmare of it all haunts my dreams.
“You have to open up to someone, Tori, and I’m all you’ve got. For reasons I don’t understand, we were brought together, and you can’t deny it.”
“It was a chance encounter,” I say, averting my eyes. “And I’ve been trying to escape you ever since.”
“I found you at your lowest point. It was fate.”
“You don’t believe in fate. It was a simple right place, right time scenario, Zeke.”
Completely ignoring my words, he goes on. “Once, I thought you’d share everything with me. You freaked out and I don’t understand why.”
He knows. I’ve told him several times a day. Because I want back into Heaven. God is love personified. In his presence, you don’t feel things like hate and anger. Here, you feel everything, and it can be painful. Why would anyone choose that? For something like human love? No, thank you.
“You know there are more fallen here on Earth,” I say, pumping as much exasperation as possible into my voice. “There have to be. Go find them.”
“There aren’t,” he says, sounding annoyed.
“Perhaps the other fallen are doing exactly what you suggested and enjoying all of Earth’s pleasures,” I mock, rolling my eyes as I say it.
He grins, moving forward and invading my personal space. I back up, caught off guard by his sudden movement. “There are a lot of pleasures, Tori. Let me remind you. Like old times,” he says seductively, leaning into me, inches from my mouth.
I trip backward slightly. “Knock it off, Zeke.”
He shoves his hands into his jean pockets and rocks back and forth on his feet. “Ah, come on, Tori, lighten up. It’s going to be a long life if you can’t have a little fun.”
“The only fun I need is slicing my sword into the heart of a vampire,” I growl.
I’m frustrated by how much power he has over me. I hate what he makes me want. Makes me crave. He doesn’t need to remind me of anything. I remember it all in great detail. The way his hands roamed over my body. His demanding tongue dancing with my own. The way he felt inside of me. I shiver at the thought.
Zeke’s phone rings, and he pulls it out from his back pocket. “What?” he barks. His eyes narrow. “Where? . . . I’ll be there,” he says, before disconnecting the call and placing his phone back into his jeans. “Vamps just outside of Jackson Square.”
They’re getting braver, coming out earlier and practically in the heart of New Orleans. Rage sweeps through me, the need to unleash the energy trapped inside coursing its way up my spine. It needs to be released.
“Are you coming?” Zeke asks, sounding far too hopeful.
I want to. I miss the days when we fought together, but falling back into our old routines is a recipe for disaster. Zeke doesn’t deserve to be my crutch. That’s what he was in the beginning, and that’s what he’d be now. There’s no sense in trying to deny it.
“No. Like I said, I don’t fight alongside humans.”
His eyes narrow. “If I ditch the humans, will you fight beside me?”
“Get rid of them first, and then we’ll talk.”
He grins, nodding in satisfaction. “I’ll be back,” he promises, before turning and jogging off to join the fight.
I have no intention of fighting with him. With or without the humans, my words still stand. I need to do this alone, and Zeke would only complicate things. Getting back to Heaven is my greatest goal, and staying the course is imperative. Angels aren’t supposed to enjoy the perks of Earth. They’re not meant to dabble in human emotions and pleasure.
Zeke surely does, and that can’t have him in God’s good graces. Battling demons or not, you don’t turn your back on God and get a pass. I’m hoping that atoning in more ways than one will convince Him to give me a second chance. The truth that nobody knows is that I fell to Earth for an angel—one who deceived me.
Monsters
My leather-clad leg kicks out as I twist in the air, slamming my steel-toed boot into the back of a demon’s head. It hardly registers the impact, shaking off the hit with a simple sneer in my direction. I land on my knees, fist to the ground, ready for the next attack.
/>
I’m outnumbered three to one, but this isn’t the worst position I’ve found myself in. On a typical Friday night, I’m lucky to not find myself smack in the middle of a dozen demons, frothing at the mouth to taste my blood. I might be immortal, but I bleed just like any human, and these creatures crave it.
Despite all the movies and books that romanticize vampires, they’re grotesque. Vile doesn’t even come close to describing the three disfigured demons in front of me. No two are alike, having been molded into a foul version of their former selves by the torture they earned in Hell. Closer to animal than human, they only slink around in the dark shadows, unable to go unnoticed in the streets of New Orleans.
The city itself breeds evil, but the residents and tourists have no idea how evil. Luckily for them, I have built-in demon radar. If I’m within ten miles of demons, I can track them. And I do. Nightly.
“I’m going to enjoy draining your blood,” he jeers, moving toward me with his two buddies flanking him on either side. “It smells”—he sniffs the air with his pig-like snout—“divine.”
I titter. “You could even say it’s celestial.”
He growls at the confirmation of what I am. His two friends remain quiet, taking their orders from him. He’s in charge and because of this, I know he’s going to be the hardest to take out. They’ll protect him at all costs.
There’s a vampire hierarchy, and in this particular group, he’s king. That’s not saying much, as from the looks of their clothes and abilities, they’re on the bottom of the totem pole of vampires. The higher up the rungs, the more powerful and better dressed you’ll find them. The top of the top are swathed in gaudy jewels and designer wear, showcasing one of their greatest sins—greed. I can see them for the monsters they are, but the top echelon have the ability to cloak themselves to humans.
You’ll rarely see a top-rung vampire on the streets. Those spineless swine choose to let the others do their dirty work, while they enjoy the spoils—much like their savior.
I stand to my feet, motioning for them to bring it.
The vampire in charge nods his head, giving the others clearance to attack.
“Aww, isn’t that sweet,” I mock. “You two need permission. Must suck being the weakest links.”
The one closest to me bares his teeth, showcasing his elongated canines. Pretty pathetic compared to others I’ve seen. Tonight alone, I’ve gone up against scarier.
I quirk a brow at his pathetic attempt to frighten me.
“Honey, I’ve seen scarier things roaming Jackson Square in the daytime. You really need to practice your fear factor,” I goad, trying to get a rise out of him. The angrier they get, the sloppier they fight. Demons are too proud for their own good. Injure their pride and you’re already ahead.
“Bitch,” he spits, and I cackle, throwing my head back, and that’s when the two goons rush me, but I expected as much. They fight dirty, because otherwise they’d never stand a chance, and they know it.
I wait until they’re near enough for me to kick out into what can only be described as the splits, knocking both of their heads back so hard that they each fly backward, giving me time to slam back to the ground, unsheathing the sword at my back.
Not giving them a chance to retreat, I step forward, swinging the blade through the air, and slice the closest vampire’s head clean off his shoulders. It drops heavily to the ground, rolling to the feet of his king of the night. He kicks the head away, motioning for the other to attack. There’s no love amongst monsters. They simply run in packs in order to wreak havoc on the city they infest.
I roll my eyes. “Have you learned nothing? You’re both dying tonight.”
His head tips back and he shrieks into the night once more. I shrug at the approaching demon.
“Guess you choose death.”
I inhale, concentrating on moving the stored electricity through every synapse. It rushes over me like waves on a shoreline. My body tingles and every hair stands on end as I push the energy out of me and into the sword in my hands.
“Patet via lux et tenebrae,” I whisper into the night.
Light the way and clear the darkness.
My eyes open in time to see the weaker vampire running toward me. I lift the sword and, without preamble, run it straight through. The demon disintegrates into thin air, allowing me to swing around just in time to lop off the head of the one who was supposed to be the leader.
Pathetic.
Sheathing Solis—my trusty sword—I huff out a frustrated laugh.
“That wasn’t even fun.”
Slow clapping begins behind me, and I don’t need to turn to know Zeke’s found me. It’s not hard when we both are drawn to the demons’ presence. It’s like my own personal beacon, and Zeke never fails to follow it.
“Impressive, Tori.”
“Very valiant of you to watch without offering help,” I say tersely, annoyed at his presence.
“Didn’t look like you needed help. I was enjoying the view,” he says, looking me up and down. “You look good in leather.”
“Good deity. Do those lines really work with the human girls?”
He barks out a laugh. “Always with them, never with you.”
“And they never will.”
“I like the chase.”
“You should stop. You’re wasting your time,” I say, moving past him. “Why are you here, anyway?”
“We cleared an alley north of here. Five vamps had a girl trapped.”
“Is she okay?” I ask, spinning toward Zeke.
“She will be. I compelled her to forget and sent her on her way.”
I nod my head, pleased that the girl wasn’t hurt.
“Any other sightings?”
“Not tonight. It seems abnormally quiet for this time of year.”
He’s not wrong. Typically, springtime in New Orleans is crawling with vampires. Add mayhem like Mardi Gras, and the evil descends. I don’t know what to make of the change. It has been unusually quiet for months, and nothing good can come from that.
“Where are your human pets?” I jab, truly only caring about one.
I’ve never met the human hunters, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t run into them many times. There’s a particular redhead that has it bad for Zeke, and based on the way she looks at him, they’ve been together.
“I fought alone tonight,” he says, staring at me a little too intently.
“You took on five vampires alone?”
He shrugs like it’s no big deal. I’ve taken on more, but despite Zeke’s insistence that he’s the toughest hunter out there, we both know that I am. I fell to Earth as one of the strongest virtue angels. In angel hierarchy, I was several rungs above where Zeke had ever been.
“Good for you,” I say, lifting my hand and breaking the veil I’d placed on the alley to keep innocent bystanders from happening across my run-in with the demons.
It’s imperative that humans remain in the dark about the evil that walks alongside them in the shadows. Humans aren’t capable of handling such news. Widespread hysteria would ensue, giving the demons no reason to hide. They’d revel in the fear and feed on the souls of the damned still living.
It’s the only reason I can imagine that God allowed us to carry any of our powers to Earth. We don’t have them all, but we do retain the necessities: strength, speed, energy absorption, elemental control, mind control—compulsion—and glamour. Add to that impressive list the innate ability to track down ethereal objects—not ethereal beings—and now I have Solis at my back.
“I’m sorry about earlier, Tori. I shouldn’t push you into something you clearly don’t want. I’ll stop.”
Lies. He’s said this so many times I’ve lost count.
“What’s the draw, Zeke? I don’t get why of all the women on Earth, you keep coming back here. I’ve done nothing but push you away since the day you saved me. Why would you do that to yourself?” I ask, but I already know the answer.
Because we were goo
d together.
When I gave in to my need for Zeke, it was like two stars crashing together. Two celestial beings with energy coursing through us made for one hell of a climax. I can’t imagine he has the same experience with any of his human conquests. The thought sours my already dire mood, but I smash it down, unwilling to go there.
“Maybe I like a challenge,” he drawls lazily, that roguish smirk almost doing me in. I know that as long as I’m on Earth, he won’t stop tracking me. Why? Because despite my insistence otherwise, we’re drawn to each other. Call it spiritually connected if you want.
We’re the only two—from what we’ve uncovered—who’ve experienced Heaven and are stuck here on Earth due to our own choices. Zeke claims he doesn’t want back in, but I know the truth. He doesn’t believe it’s possible. If he can’t achieve it, he thinks it better to delude himself into believing Earth is the best choice. If he tells himself enough times that this place is great, it just might become great. It won’t.
“It’s not a challenge; it’s a flat-out refusal,” I shoot back, hoping he’ll take the hint and leave me alone.
I’m tired of this dance we’re doing. A part of me wants to give in, but I know it’s not in either of our best interests. Why can’t he allow me to do the right thing?
“I could never have an honest relationship with anyone else, Tori. Even if I did try to share my past with someone, I couldn’t tell them everything. There will always be that divide, and it’s not what I want in a relationship.”
“We want different things. Where I’m going, a relationship isn’t possible.”
“When are you going to realize that’s impossible?”
He doesn’t attempt to hide his loneliness, and it’s a feeling I know well. I utilize hunting as a way to pretend I don’t need anyone. His vulnerability cracks a layer of ice around my heart, because no matter what, I do care about what happens to Zeke. What he did for me at the beginning I can never repay.
“I know your opinion on the matter, Zeke, but I disagree. It would be unfair for me to tell you otherwise.” I puff out my cheeks. “I need you to stop. Maybe we can hunt together,” I offer, hoping this gives him motivation to lay off, “but nothing more can happen.”
Fear The Fall: Fallen Hunters Series Page 2
