Broken Faith: Spiritual Discord, 1

by Brandy Nacole

  Kayson looks at my injured shoulder too, then meets Falon’s gaze. “That’s where you’re wrong, Falon. I will get my wings back, and when I do, no hollow space deep in Hell’s realm will keep me from seeking out and destroying you and all your kind.”

  Something that resembles a smile, crosses Falon’s face. “We will see about that.”

  Falon nods to his left. Evren opens the door wider and throws Sabrina to the floor. Kayson ignores his injuries, and jumps up when he sees Sabrina’s unmoving body sprawled before him.

  “What have you done?”

  “So my suspicions are true. You have shacked up with one of the creatures you were created to despise. I wonder what the angel’s think of this. Surely they’ll give you back your wings now.” Falon laughs.

  Kayson raises those electric blue eyes of his from Sabrina up to Falon. His rage-filled face is frightening, even to me. I can feel the energy coming off the fallen angel. Now I’m beginning to get what makes even angel’s scary. Righteous anger is powerful.

  “Let them go.” Each word is drawn out. “You have no business with them. This is between me and you.”

  “On the contrary. Everyone loves a good show, and this is the greatest show on earth, brother. Come one, come all, to hear the tale of a fallen angel who refuses to accept the path to power, but who has a secret passion for one created from that power’s source? How could I be so selfish and not allow them to witness this?”

  Falon continues to mock Kayson by throwing his hand over his heart. As if he even has one. Kayson’s rage is practically heating the air. His hands are tight at his sides.

  “I don’t know what kind of game you are playing, but it needs to stop.” The demand comes out as a growl.

  Falon laughs that creepy laugh again. “Hardly. I’m just getting started, brother. Now, will you join us, or are you ready to be turned to ash, along with your friends here?” Falon sweeps the room with his hand.

  “The only person suffering that fate today is you.” With speed I didn’t think Kayson had in him, he grabs a makeshift stake from under the quilt and jabs it at Falon. The stake tears into Falon’s shoulder, missing his heart as the hound jerks to the right. He growls from the pain.

  Kayson pulls his weapon out and thrusts a second time. But before he does, Emery growls and pushes Briston out of the way. Emery shifts into his hell hound form, tearing the boards off the walls and roof off their supports. The shed creaks and rocks from the sudden loss of support.

  No thoughts run through my mind as I take in Emery’s immense body. My parent’s shed is only a twenty by eighteen, and the hound’s body takes up almost every inch of space. His back bangs against the tin roof, causing it to shudder under the pressure. I can hear as nails tear through the thin metal.

  Briston crawls along the wall to get beside me. He would probably have had a better chance at survival if he’d crawled outside. It’s stupid of me to even think that. Briston would never leave me.

  Falon strokes the hound’s head as if he were some beloved pet.

  “This is your last chance, Kayson. Join the hounds or forever be lost.”

  Kayson raises his weapon, unwilling to surrender. “I would rather be lost than have a hole where my soul used to be.” Kayson jabs his stake at Emery, who grabs it with his jaws and snaps it in half.

  This is it. The moment when Heaven and Hell clash. But which unearthly being will win, the fallen angel or Hell’s hounds?

  Overtaken by fear, I close my eyes.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Emma

  I want to keep my eyes closed and write this off as a bad dream. Emery growls, followed by a heavy thud as something or someone hits the wall, shaking the shed to its foundation.

  Bad dream, bad dream, this has to be a bad dream.

  But I know this is no bad dream. The burn of Falon’s claws still stings my shoulder. The sound of the shed being torn apart from the inside is all too real. We’re one step away from becoming collateral damage as these supernatural beings try their best to destroy each other.

  My eyes go wide with fear when I feel Briston start to move away from me. I grab for his shirt to stop him, but it does no good. He jumps to his feet and advances on Falon to tackle him. I yell out for him to stop, but he can’t or won’t listen.

  Briston tackles Falon, but Falon throws Briston off his back without any effort. Emery is distracted by Briston’s actions, and goes after him. Emery grabs Briston’s leg in his jaws and throws him up against the wall by the door. The wood shudders from his impact, and the shed begins to tilt. This place is not going to hold up much longer.

  Disbelieving my own actions, I find my courage and take a chance on being crushed in the fray as I slip past Emery to get to Briston. Briston groans, cradling his forearm and upper arm. I can tell it’s broken. No, I can tell by the swelling that it’s more like shattered from shoulder to wrist. I take a look at his leg next, where Emery grabbed hold of him. Large gashes from the hound’s teeth run up his leg, tearing through the muscles down to the bone.

  “Hold your arm like this for support. Keep it cradled as close to your body as you can,” I say. I’m sure he’s in a lot of pain, but the less movement to his arm the better. I take off the t-shirt I have on, thankful I decided to double up today. I use it to bind his leg.

  We need to get out of here. Emery has Kayson backed into a corner on the bed but Kayson doesn’t give up the fight. Both of them are moving at a speed that’s very hard to follow. Kayson may not have any weapons, but he’s still landing a few blows. There’s no doubt in my mind, though, that Emery is playing with him.

  I take a glance at Sabrina, who is still lying on the floor, unmoving. Falon is just standing off to the side with his arms crossed, eagerly watching his hound toy with the fallen angel. What a freaking coward. All that talk about how strong and powerful the hounds were yet there he is, standing off to the side watching. I might almost think he’s afraid he’ll be further injured. Still, with his attention focused on the two fighting, I realize that Briston and I have been forgotten.

  I tug on Briston’s uninjured arm and whisper, “We have to leave, now.”

  I help Briston to his feet by supporting him on his uninjured side, and start toward the door. A moment later, Evren appears in the doorway. He smiles menacingly at us as he shakes his head.

  And in that moment, the moment when I think things can’t get any worse, they do. Evren staggers forward through the door, into the shed. Standing behind him are Braylee, Chase, Harper, and Gaige. My heart leaps as I see my friends standing there with wide-eyed expressions on their faces. It seems like the group shoved the hound forward without knowing what else was going on in here. Welcome to the party.

  Braylee, face as white as a sheet, says, “Emma, what’s going on?”

  Before I can answer her, Evren shoves me back to the side and lurches toward my friends. Chase steps up in front of the other three, holding the angel’s sword. To keep his hands from getting burned, Chase has wrapped the hilt of the sword with a shirt. Good thinking.

  Chase raises the sword, “Stay back, I know how to use this.”

  His show of bravery has no effect on Evren. Evren mocks Chase with a laugh and takes another step. Chase swipes out with the sword but Evren catches the blade in his hand. Evren’s hand begins to sizzle, but he yanks the sword out of Chase’s grasp and throws it behind him. It clatters on the edge of the shed’s floor, just in my reach. The shirt has fallen away from the hilt, which is glowing so brightly I have to shield my eyes.

  My foot knocks against something, and I look down. It’s the rock that was used to prop the door open. I lift it in both hands and throw it at Evren’s head. The rock impacts, but all it does is knock him forward. No wonder they’re so stupid, those heads of theirs are solid bone.

  Braylee steps up and kicks Evren in the face as he stumbles forward, but like my rock, it doesn’t do much good. Evren’s claws extend further and his muzzle lengthens, completely overwhe
lming his human traits. He jumps up with a growl and swipes out at Braylee. Chase pushes Braylee aside but can’t get out of the way in time himself. Evren’s claws tear through Chase’s shirt, leaving a line of gashes across his chest. Chase grits his teeth from the pain, but takes another swing at Evren. When he does, Evren grabs Chase’s arm, twisting it with a snap before shoving him head first into the shed. Chase falls to the ground, unmoving. Braylee lets out a scream and reaches out to Chase, but Evren catches her.

  “You want to play rough? I’ll give you rough.” Evren’s eyes turn from a burning hazel to a clouded grey. When Braylee’s eyes meet his, she buckles. Tears stream down her face as her gaze stays locked on Evren’s.

  Evren starts to speak in a calm yet forceful tone. “They’ve hurt you haven’t they, Braylee? They’ve ignored your pain. They only think about themselves. No one cares for you, no one knows the pain you’re in. Why should you care about these so-called friends when all they’ve done is turn their backs on you? Take revenge, Braylee, show them that—”

  Evren shudders once, as I hear a loud, dull thud from behind him. His eyes lose focus, and he falls forward on his face. Standing behind him is Gaige, holding the cement gnome I used to break into the shed the other day.

  Braylee’s eyes refocus as the trance is broke. She shakes her head and looks up at Gaige. Gaige shrugs his shoulders.

  “What? Someone had to shut him up?”

  I hear Kayson cry out behind me. I spin around to see what’s going on. Emery has Kayson by the leg, dangling him in the air like some toy. Falon just laughs, but warns Emery to finish the fight.

  A movement I see out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. It’s Sabrina. She starts to move, rolling her head from side to side. When she sees the hound on top of her, her eyes go wide. Falon sees her move too, and grabs her by her hair. With her awake, could we have a chance at coming out of this alive? I’d sure like to wipe that smile off of Falon’s face.

  I turn back to my friends. “Go! Take Chase and get as far away as possible.” Braylee is kneeling down beside Chase, cradling his head in her hands. Harper has her hand over her mouth from shock. Tears stream down her face as she continues to stare at the scene in the shed. Gaige wraps his arms around Braylee, urging her to move. Evren starts moving on the ground and I know their window of opportunity to escape is closing.

  “Guys, go! Now!”

  Gaige and Braylee hesitate but nod at me, then grab Chase and drag him away from the shed. Gaige screams at Harper, who is still standing in the yard in shock. She shakes her fear and stumbles behind Gaige and Braylee. Evren is getting to his feet just as they reach the back of the house, and seems focused on going after the guy who just laid him out. Gaige sees the hound headed toward him and urges Braylee and Harper inside, slamming the back door shut behind them. I can only hope they are able to make it to safety.

  Briston slips and falls to the floor behind me, grimacing and holding his leg with his uninjured hand. I hear Falon growl and see that Sabrina has elbowed him in the gut, and is now back under Emery. With Falon distracted by the vampire, I decide to risk a grab at Kayson’s sword. Kayson cries out as the hound continues to dangle him in the air, shaking him from side to side. Falon demands his Beta to finish his kill. It’s now or never. I steel myself and take hold of the angel sword. Excruciating pain shoots up my arm. It’s like I’m grabbing a roaring log right out of a fireplace. I hear a scream, then realize it’s me. But I have to get the sword to Kayson. None of us are getting out of this alive if I fail.

  I shout Kayson’s name and throw the sword hilt-first toward him. Falon turns to see what I’m doing. The sword leaves my hand, and I see Falon’s expression change from cruelly amused to astonished and terrified. He tries to reach for the sword but he’s a moment too late.

  Kayson snatches the sword from midair and strikes Emery in the face with the pommel. He reels back. Sabrina takes advantage of Falon’s distraction to pick up the sharp end of the stake Kayson used earlier.

  As if they’d planned to strike simultaneously, Kayson strikes Emery through the head with the blade, as Sabrina thrusts her stake into his chest. Emery is stopped in his tracks. He begins to howl but stops, whimpers once as he drops Kayson, then stumbles back a few steps, before falling to the floor, twitching.

  Falon stares at Emery’s dying body with disbelief. Evren howls from behind us and I turn to see him shift into his hound form. Without a word, Falon shifts into his hound form as well. The shed collapses out as he transforms. Two walls fall outward, taking most of the roof with them.

  Falon tries to shove the roof off his back as he rises. Evren helps by yanking at part of a wall. I take the opportunity to rush over to Sabrina, whose legs are pinned under Emery’s body. As I grab one of Emery’s legs, I feel a twinge of guilt and look back at Briston to make sure he’s all right. He’s sitting at the edge of the shed’s floor, back against some remaining boards. He looks at me, questioning me with his eyes. I nod that I’m okay, and point at the hole next to him, pleading for him to leave. He knows he can’t be of any more help, so I’m glad he makes the smart decision to drag himself out.

  I pull Sabrina loose from Emery and help her to her feet.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, realizing how dumb that sounds.

  She ignores my question as she looks around.

  “I need a weapon!” Sabrina barks, like I can pull something out of the sky.

  Falon and Evren have backed Kayson up as far as he can go. Trapped as he is in the last corner of the shed left standing, he has almost no room to use his sword. Evren snaps his jaws, no doubt waiting for his Alpha to give a command. I can tell he is ready to tear Kayson apart.

  Sabrina picks up a board with a sharp, tapered tip. She lunges onto Falon’s back and tries to jab the board through his back, but it’s too big. About all it seems to do is tear a gash in his skin. Kayson jabs his sword at Evren, leaving a nice gash wound above his eye. Evren growls and lunges for Kayson, who moves left. Evren smashes snout-first into the wall. Kayson then tries to drive his sword down into Evren’s head but the hound turns and snaps at Kayson, sinking his teeth into the angel’s skin. His hold isn’t a good one, though and Evren lets go after Kayson bashes him in the head.

  Someone grabs me from behind and I spin, about to scream. It’s Briston. He’s standing, but barely. He puts his finger to his mouth for me to be quiet, and gestures for me to follow him.

  I know the smart thing to do is to leave while we have the chance. But while my mind and body are screaming “Run!” my heart tells me to help. I don’t know what I can do. I have no weapons or special powers, but I just can’t stand the thought of running away to leave Kayson and Sabrina on their own.

  Briston tugs on my hand, almost losing his balance when he does. I shake my head. Before our disagreement can go any further, a tremendous light appears all around us. Briston covers me with his good arm. The light that fills the night air is blinding. It takes a few moments to realize I am looking at shadowy figures of people pacing toward our group with swords held high.

  A deep, booming voice fills the air. “Hounds of Hell! You now meet your doom!”

  What I can only assume are fallen angels advance on the hounds. Falon throws off Sabrina and launches himself at the nearest tree, while Evren starts spinning, biting, and clawing at every angel who comes near.

  Briston and I stumble back away from the fight until we are against the fence. With all that’s going on here in my backyard, someone’s bound to call the police. What am I going to tell Officer Beckett? Oh, ya know how it is with hell hounds and fallen angels, what can you do?

  I notice Falon and Evren are working strategically, herding angels to one side of the yard as they back around in the other direction. Soon, all the angels are on one side and the two Hounds are on the other, staring one another down while each comes up with a new strategy. Sabrina is left between the two sides, stuck right in the middle. Falon shifts back into his human form. He sta
nds there, buck naked, as he assesses the angels.

  “You may have won today, but know that this is not over. Lucifer will rule Heaven and Hell and the humans will know the superior power. No longer will they cry out to a God that is weak. They will cry out in pain and mercy for real salvation, not with tears and pleas for help and guidance. Lucifer will guide them into strength. Beings that know mercy learn nothing but weakness.”

  Kayson, supported by one of his new comrades, limps forward. “That is not the right way Falon, and you know it. Why do you subject yourself to this unfulfilling existence? Compassion and sorrow are essential in maintaining life, true life. Without it, everyone would crumple from despair, much like you have.”

  Falon laughs, a cruel sound that fills the night air. “You will see the truth of things in time, Kayson. We will be back to take down the angels. Our force is much stronger than yours.”

  Sabrina has been lying motionless since Falon threw her to the ground. She gets to her feet and stumbles forward. Before anyone else can react, she dives at Falon with the sharp-ended board. Sabrina is fighting to the death. But clearly she’s still unsteady, and she misses, badly. Falon snatches her by the hair, pulling her to him.

  “Allow me to leave you all a farewell gift. Until next time, brother, let us see where your compassion leads you.”

  Falon thrusts Sabrina at Evren, whose jaws snap. He bites down on Sabrina’s neck, shakes her, and tosses her to the side. Kayson screams and pushes away from the others to make his way to Sabrina.

  Falon laughs. “Until next time brother.” Falon lays his hand on Evren’s shoulder, and together they shimmer through the darkness and vanish out of sight.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Kayson