Angel of Darkness Books 1-5

by Mackenzie Morris

  Footsteps next to him snapped through the tiny twigs and leaves. "Yes, you are. You're fine. Don't yell at me. It was all for fun."

  Zeriel spun around to see a thin teenage boy with blond hair, grey eyes, and tattered wings. A crown of black roses rested on his head. "You. You're that kid who was in Jaylen's house. Nimiel, right? What kind of spells are you dealing with, boy? Why do you have wings?"

  "I have wings because I'm an angel. That boy was me, only I made you see me as a human because I was playing with your mind."

  "Who are you?" Zeriel asked.

  He held out his arms. "I am Nimiel, Herald of the Apocalypse, Guardian of Lost Souls, and Defender of Truth."

  "That's quite a lot of fancy titles, but I think Trickster Bastard fits you better. What do those titles mean?"

  Nimiel shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I have no idea."

  "Where did you get them?"

  "I don't remember."

  "Why have you been screwing around with my thoughts?" Zeriel asked.

  "I was lonely and bored. You're Fallen."

  Zeriel crossed his arms on his chest. "Yes . . . yes, I am. And you're what? What's wrong with your wings? Why are they all tattered and fuzzy?"

  "Some of it is my downy feathers."

  Zeriel's anger instantly vanished. He watched the young angel closely as the truth came out about the boy. "You're a fledgling."

  "Yes, I am. I'm young. Don't hurt me."

  "I would never harm a fledgling. Have you fully awakened yet? Do you even know? What is your level of self-awareness? If you're fourteen, you should be going through your awakening."

  Nimiel looked up at the sky. "I can't fly yet."

  "Then no. All right, fledgling, let's-"

  "I have a name."

  "Yes, but until you lose your down feathers and can fly, you haven't earned your name yet. Hey, at least you've grown old enough to not be called a cherub anymore. Now you get to wear clothes instead of running around naked in Heaven until you were ten. Nice, yeah?"

  The boy frowned. "Sure."

  "I'm trying to connect to you in some way, but I'm just not getting through, am I? Well, let's get a plan going then. Were you a human before?"

  "No."

  "Then who is your angelic father?" Zeriel asked. "We'll find a way to get you back up to Heaven to your father's palace."

  "I . . . I don't know."

  "You don't know?"

  "I can't remember." Nimiel said. "All I know is that I woke up on the roof of the temple in this city. The only things I could remember were my name and titles, and what city I was in."

  "What do those titles mean, anyway? Where are you from?"

  "I don't know. Please. I don't know anything else."

  "What about that magic you used?" Zeriel asked. "What was all that?"

  "I was just playing. I made it up. I don't know what it was or how I used it. I just don't know!"

  "Hey, hey . . . it's all right. I'm not going to yell at you anymore, okay? I'm going to take you back to Jaylen's house and get you calmed down. As a fledgling, you are very susceptible to emotional trauma. We don't want that, do we?"

  "No, sir."

  Zeriel couldn't help but smile. "Call me Zeriel. Come on. Hop on my back and I'll fly you across town." He waited until Nimiel was securely on his back with his legs wrapped around his waist before he flew up into the sky. "What is a fledgling doing down here in the human world alone? How did you even get here?"

  "I don't know. I'm sorry. But I've already told you everything. I don't know where I'm from or where I've been. I just want to go home."

  "We will get you home. I might not be able to go into Heaven because I'm Fallen, but I have friends. Do you happen to know an angel named Oviel?" Zeriel asked.

  "No."

  "He can take you home once we figure out who owns you in Heaven."

  Nimiel was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again, this time whispering into Zeriel's ear. "There's something you should know. I already tried going to Heaven, but they wouldn't let me in. I am not an angel of Sola."

  "Then what are you?"

  "I don't know. I've never known. They won't let me into Heaven or Hell. Yes, I tried going the other way too, but the demons turned me away. I don't remember where I came from or who my family was. I don't know."

  Zeriel glared at him. "Tell me what all that was back there."

  "I made that reality."

  "You made it? So I was basically like a doll in your pretend dollhouse of Heaven and Aldexa?"

  "Yes. I changed things. I can make realities in people's minds. Did I get Heaven right?" Nimiel asked. "I don't remember being there, but I could imagine it."

  "It was spot on. Very accurate. But answer me one thing. Why did you torture me?" Zeriel asked.

  "I was curious . . . but you're all better now."

  "And Liam, the thief I saw be executed?" Zeriel asked.

  "He's fine. I only wanted to play with you people. You seemed interesting."

  Once Zeriel landed next to Jaylen's house, he was shocked to see Oviel racing towards them angrily.

  "Stop there. Put the fledgling down on the ground and step back." Oviel ran forward and grabbed Nimiel, pulling him from Zeriel's back then securing the boy's wrists in golden shackles.

  Zeriel instinctively tried to shelter the young angel. "Oviel, what are you doing?"

  "Containing a threat."

  "He's an angel. And a fledgling at that."

  Oviel pulled on the shackles abruptly, causing Nimiel to trip forward. "That doesn't make a difference. He's going in the shed where we can keep an eye on him. I know what he did to you and Jaylen. I sensed it. Xair figured it out once there was what he called a disturbance in the arcane magic flow. This boy is dangerous. And until we figure out what exactly he is, we have to keep him secured so he won't harm anyone else."

  "He didn't harm me . . . permanently. I'm fine."

  "It's a safety risk and I won't have it around here."

  "Wait. You said he did this to Jaylen as well?" Zeriel asked.

  "Yes. It's the reason that Jaylen is currently on suicide watch in his private quarters in the castle with an entire squad of guards watching him. He had a panic attack that almost stopped his heart. So before you go defending your new little fledgling friend, why don't you think about what's best for the human boy who counts on you to be there for him? Jaylen should be your number one priority, whether he is still your paladin or not."

  "I wasn't aware." Zeriel followed them to the shed and watched as Oviel forcefully dragged Nimiel inside, threw him against the metal support pole in the middle of the shed, then secured his arms around it. The boy was trembling with fear and he remained silent, staring down at the floor.

  Oviel brutally grabbed Nimiel's hair and forced him to look up at him. "I'll be back later. We will get answers out of you."

  Zeriel left the shed then leaned against the closed door. "Are we actually going to keep an angel locked up in a shed?"

  "Uh, yeah. That's the plan."

  "No. I won't allow it. He's not a criminal."

  "Then what would you do with our fledgling friend in there?" Oviel asked, his face turning pink with anger. "He has the mysterious power to alter people's minds, he is a fledgling when there haven't been any new angels since your birth, he has tattered wings, and he has just reached the age that he can fly. Now tell me what is going on here. Oh, not to mention that he has a crazy obsession with those black roses that are used in druidic rituals."

  "Nimiel can't even fly yet. He's barely not a cherub anymore."

  "I don't care if he's a newborn. He's staying in chains. I know something is wrong with him. Think about all the weird things going on with him then tell me I'm not crazy!"

  Xair joined them outside the shed. "You're not crazy."

  "Xair, do you know anything about something like this?" Oviel asked. "We caught a fledgling angel who had been altering Zeriel's mind and creating false realities.
He's the reason you sensed that fluctuation in the arcane energies. I think our new friend was using Ka'taylin magic."

  "Then he's probably not actually an angel. Is he Ka'taylin? Black skin, purple eyes, white hair?" Xair asked.

  "No. Not at all."

  "I see. Fledgling is a very naughty boy, at least according to your precious scriptures. Let me talk to the kid."

  Zeriel locked eyes with Xair. "Don't hurt him."

  "Oh, me hurting him is the least you should be worried about." Xair stormed inside the shed then kicked Nimiel's side, making the young angel whimper. "So . . . you think it's fun to play around with arcane rituals and the sacred druidic powers of my people? You think it's okay to make a mockery of my religion?"

  Nimiel's tiny voice squeaked out. "No. I wasn't doing that."

  Zeriel stepped into the shed to see the fledgling on the floor with his arms still bound behind the metal pole by the enchanted shackles. The boy was breathing heavily and kept his eyes shut tightly as Xair continued to interrogate him. "Whoa now, Xair. Stop hurting him. Calm down."

  "Calm down? I will not calm down!" Xair slapped Nimiel across the face. "This fledgling is messing with powers far above his capacity to understand. He is a young, naive trickster."

  "You're right, Xair. Nimiel is young. He is a child. He doesn't understand what he has done." Zeriel picked a clump of tiny grey down feathers from between Nimiel's pinion feathers. "Look at this. He still has his baby downy feathers. I doubt he has reached puberty. He can't even fly yet."

  "I'm so sorry. Please don't hurt me."

  "What was that about you being a paladin's angel?" Zeriel asked. "I saw that in that alternate reality."

  "Fake. I'm only fourteen. I can't be anyone's paladin. I can't even fly. Please let me go. I won't cast any more spells."

  "How did you learn the rituals of my people?" Xair asked, slapping Nimiel across the face again. "Your skin is as white as snow and your eyes are grey, not purple. You're not Ka'taylin."

  A thin stripe of blood trickled from Nimiel's nose. "No, I'm not. I'm an angel."

  "You're a liar!" Zeriel yelled, getting angry now as he realized what that would mean. "There haven't been any new angels since I was born. I'm the youngest angel."

  "Well, apparently not anymore." Xair retrieved a thin metal rod from under his purple cloak then began furiously lashing it against Nimiel.

  Despite his anger, Zeriel couldn't listen to the wailing cries from the young angel. "Xair, stop. Please. There has to be another way. You're just taking out your frustrations on him. He already told us that he doesn't know anything. Let it go. We will come back later to see if he has remembered anything from before. Beating him won't get us anywhere. You know that."

  Xair wiped the blood from the metal rod before replacing it in his cloak. "Fine. You go check on Jaylen."

  * * *

  Nimiel sat silently on the cold wooden floor in the dim light. The mage-glow had faded down to nearly nothing and the wind from outside blew through the gaps between the wood boards of the walls. He pulled his legs up tight against his chest and shivered as his stomach grumbled and ached from hunger. It had been days since he last ate that half of a sandwich he stole from the tavern in Ilyan. Would Oviel and Zeriel even feed him? Did they know that unlike Holy Angels, he had to eat to survive? Nimiel rested his face against his knees and closed his eyes in an attempt to get at least a little sleep before that crazy Ka'taylin showed back up with his metal rod. He jumped when the door opened and a pale-skinned man with red hair, a white mask, a short shirt despite the cold, and glowing orange eyes stepped inside.

  "I know what you are." The demon sat down on the floor of the shed facing Nimiel and poured himself a glass of whiskey. "Yes, Nim. I know exactly what you are, and I must say that you are not exactly what I thought you would be. Remember, fledgling, demons can sense other demons."

  "I don't know why you're telling me this."

  "Yes, you do. Don't play holy idiot with me, boy. So? Which was it?" The demon asked. "Your mother or your father? Which one had the orange eyes and an ever-present hunger or lust that nothing could ever fill?"

  He had a point. "I don't know. I don't remember my parents, but I do think you're right."

  "I know I'm right. You are half angel and half demon. It doesn't take a genius to see that. The others are simply blinded by trying to see you as they want to see you. Zeriel sees you as an innocent fledgling caught up in something you shouldn't have been. Xair sees you as an immediate threat to his religion."

  "What do you see?" Nimiel asked, looking into the surprisingly welcoming demon eyes.

  "What do I see? I see a fledgling who needs to learn to accept who he is and not try to get involved with those spells and rituals. We need to focus instead on finding out who your parents were and talking one of our friendly angels into teaching you all you need to know, like flying." The demon put his hand behind Nimiel's head then tilted it back and placed the bottle of whiskey to the angel's lips. "Drink. It will help you feel better."

  Nimiel took a long drink then coughed a couple of times. The demon was right. He was feeling better. "You're nice for a demon."

  "I get that a lot. Don't get me wrong, Nim. I will take action to stop you if you try to harm any of my friends, but other than that, you will have a friend in me as long as you follow the rules. Stay on my good side, and I will make sure that the crazy Ka'taylin doesn't torture you anymore."

  "What's your name?" Nimiel asked.

  "Gavin. I'm an incubus."

  "Thank you, Gavin. Thank you." Nimiel frowned as the pangs in his stomach grew again then he let out a whimper.

  "What's wrong?"

  "I'm not a Holy Angel. I'm mortal, I think. I need food. I haven't eaten in days."

  Gavin stood up and patted Nimiel on the head. "I'll be right back. You like rabbit stew? I'll get you some cornbread to go with it."

  Chapter 11

  "Jaylen?" Zeriel stepped into the king's royal bedchamber where the mage-glow was down low and nothing moved except for the lump under the silk and wool blankets. After the guards shut the door and left him alone, he walked over to the bed and gently shook Jaylen's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

  Jaylen rolled over and smiled sleepily. "Hey, Zeriel. I'm much better now."

  "That's great. I see they let you have your clothes and blankets back after that scare."

  He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, yeah. Did they tell you what happened? Apparently, I had a very bad nightmare. It felt so real. I was taken by a demon and dragged down to Hell where I was tortured. It was awful. Then all of a sudden, it was over and I was back here. I don't have any wounds or anything. It's like it never even happened. Weird, isn't it? All they did was give me a potion for anxiety and I calmed down in a few hours."

  "That's good. Though, it wasn't a nightmare. I was in a familiar reality for a while as well. I found the culprit, a fledgling angel named Nimiel who has no idea who he is or where he is from. He can't go to Heaven or Hell. Neither place will take him. According to him, he woke up a few days ago on top of the temple in town then observed all of us and basically used me and you as dolls in his dream world."

  "A fledgling?" Jaylen asked, getting out of bed and going to the dresser. "What kind of fledgling has that much power, or any power at all for that matter? I thought they didn't even get their angelic magic until after their awakening."

  "That's true. Even Xair is confused. Oh, and angry . . . very angry. The magic Nimiel was using is a very important aspect of Xair's religion that he doesn't like anyone messing with. Oviel has the boy in enchanted shackles and chained up in the shed behind your house so he can't do this again to anyone. We voted this morning and decided that we should leave his fate up to you."

  "Oh."

  "So, do you want to come meet him?" Zeriel asked. "Maybe ask him some questions and try to figure out what is going on?"

  "I actually have a meeting with Paladin Commander Tyrin soon. He said he has some
important business that I need to tend to." Jaylen pulled his pants on then unfolded his silk tunic. "You know, because I'm king and all that now. Where is Carvael? He hasn't even tried to come speak with me. I thought for sure that after he forced me to bond with him that he would be pestering me at all hours of the day and night. So far? Nothing. Not a word."

  "I haven't heard from him or Doran since you left Carvael's underground palace with that dragon."

  "My father probably went back to him to work on whatever awful things they have planned next."

  Zeriel was watching him closely then his voice was softer and more concerned. "Are you okay with what happened between you and Liaxa?"

  Jaylen sighed as he combed through his frazzled blond hair. "Oh, Liaxa. I haven't even had the chance to come to terms with her helping Carvael. It just doesn't make sense, does it? I thought she . . . forget it. I was stupid to ever think that courting her was a good idea. I mean, what could have possibly come out of that arrangement? Only temptation and sin."

  Zeriel stepped up behind Jaylen and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You loved her, didn't you?"

  "I think I truly did."

  Someone knocked on the door. "Your Majesty?"

  Jaylen pulled on his shirt. "Enter."

  Paladin Commander Tyrin opened the door then bowed. "Seeing the events of the past day and your unstable mental state, I thought it would take a good amount of stress off of your shoulders if I simply came to you for this meeting."

  "That's thoughtful of you, Commander."

  Commander Tyrin went to the table on the other side of the large room then set his bag down. "The primary point of this meeting is to discuss how you are going to be running the military. I realize that you have no experience in dealing with these matters, so I am respectfully bringing a temporary solution to you. If you will agree, I gratefully accept the leadership of the Vilyron military on my shoulders."