The Glittering Halo

by Liddie Cain

  “I was a little irritated for the first few minutes, but you made the right call,” I told her as I ran my fingers across her jaw. I let my hands fall to her neck and tugged her toward me. “Look at how he looks at us when I touch you,” I whispered.

  Song tilted her gaze to Jason. His face was relaxed, but his dark eyes were so intense. The heat was almost palpable in that gaze. It was like nothing else in the world had ever been worth watching except for me and Song. I could feel his anticipation, waiting to see what we would do.

  She looked back at me. “This will be fun.”

  “Yes,” Jason replied before I did, his voice a little strained. I laughed and let Song go so that I could lean across her and bring Jason in for a kiss. Song leaned her face in against ours while my lips toyed with Jason’s. He pulled his mouth from mine and turned to kiss Song next. I smiled, reaching out and caressing his shoulder with one hand while running my fingers through Song’s hair with the other one.

  Maeve and Meredith walked down the stairs a moment later. Jason and Song broke apart from their kiss, but Jason kept her cuddled close to him. I stood and walked back over to Mac and Conall. Meredith gave everyone an enchanted, dreamy smile. “My darling Maeve tells me that some of my vampires have come to visit and you need help to find them.”

  I felt Conall’s subtle power sweep across my senses as he reinforced the power that Maeve used to keep Meredith in this state of thrall. “Do you mind helping us, for Maeve?”

  “I’ll do anything for Maeve,” Meredith instantly responded. Then she frowned. “I can only take you to them, I can’t see where they are, but I can tell when I’m getting closer. Nina is shielding them too much.”

  Mac took my hand as he asked, “Is Nina their ring leader?”

  “Yes. Nina and Donald took the twins under their wing decades ago. Marcus and Alexander look to them as parents, almost. Nina is quite an old vampire.”

  So the librarian was the ring leader, which surprised me. We loaded up with me sitting between Mac and Jason and Meredith, Conall and Maeve in the back seat of Mac’s truck. Song climbed up into the bed of the truck, but she laid down flat where she couldn’t be seen from the road. I held tight to Jason’s hand and hoped that when we found them, Emma would be there, and alive.

  Meredith led us out of town and to a river cabin that actually belonged to Emma’s parents. She had been under her parent’s noses the whole time. They wouldn’t have thought to coming to their little weekend cabin while she was missing. It was on an isolated part of the river with few neighbors. The sun had started going down by the time we stopped on the side of the road, a short way away from the entrance to the driveway.

  I stepped out of the truck and concentrated on the small cabin, sensing only vampires on the inside. Maeve had convinced Meredith to mask the vampires from sensing our approach. I couldn’t tell if Emma was in there from the outside since I couldn’t pick up anything from a regular human. I just hoped she wasn’t one of the vampire signatures I was picking up on.

  “Conall, will you bring up the rear with Roz?” Mac asked him.

  “Of course,” the Unseelie King replied and stepped up closer to my side.

  Song also lingered near me as Jason and Mac opened the front door and went in with Meredith and Maeve right behind them. There were a few cries of surprise before Conall walked in the door in front of me and Song stepped in behind me. I had to wait until Conall stepped to the side before I could see what was happening in the single room cabin.

  Emma was there. Alive. Human. She had been bitten more than once and her eyes were empty from being entranced by one of the vampires, but that could be fixed. They had her sitting at the small table that had two chairs. Across from her, with a guarded expression and glowing eyes, sat Ryan. Anger swept across Mac. “What the fuck, Ryan?”

  Meredith gripped Maeve’s hand and admitted, “I brought Ryan here and hid his connection to me.”

  Damn. Ryan knew the whole time that Meredith had been under Maeve’s spell. “So he called Nina when Meredith was bespelled.”

  “And kidnapped the girl so the Imperium would show up and find out what you did,” Donald added, standing in front of the mousy looking Nina. Marcus and Alexander were both sitting on the bed in the center of the room, but they didn’t appear to be in any hurry to start a fight. Mac and Jason had both already proved they could handle them physically.

  “Release Meredith from this spell and we will release the girl.” Nina said loudly.

  Mac shook his head. “No. You either release the girl or you all die for violating our laws.”

  “What you have done to Meredith is a violation,” Nina said.

  “But you are not my judge or juror. Release the girl.”

  I felt Mac’s power before he moved. The mark on my side shivered into life as Mac tapped into Felix. Felix washed power back into Mac and gave me a glimpse of Felix standing in the great room of the Gloaming Court and explaining to Azrael and my uncle Raguel what was happening. Raguel was my mother’s brother and a general of the cherubim, the soldiers of the heavens. I also saw Mac’s intention for this power.

  Ryan would die. Mac had accepted him into his district, given him protection. He had sheltered him and fed him. And he would not tolerate this betrayal. He and Jason moved as one. Jason knocked Donald back into Nina, throwing them off balance and unable to offer Ryan protection. Mac plunged his fist straight into Ryan’s chest before the other vampire could even try to defend himself.

  He looked up at Mac with surprised eyes. He hadn’t thought it would end so quickly for him. Embers of flame began to lick over his skin as his body dissolved into ash and dust. The surprise still showed on his face as Mac jerked his arm out of his chest cavity and Ryan completely disappeared into a pile of ash.

  Mac took in a deep breath as that huge wave of power that he and Felix gathered still boiled around him. He turned glowing green eyes to Donald and Nina. “Release her, or pick who is next.” Emma’s eyes began to flutter. It had been Ryan that had held her entranced. She looked around at all of us with confusion.

  “Where am I?” she asked.

  Conall stiffened as Meredith began to fight against the enchantment she was being held under. Maeve grabbed Meredith’s hand, then reached back and took Conall’s. Meredith’s expression calmed again as Maeve got her back under control.

  “Wait, this is Dad’s cabin. Why am I here?” Emma asked, standing up and looking at the bite marks on her wrists. “What happened to me?”

  “Emma,” I said, holding out my hand for her. She looked at me with wild, frightened eyes, but I was the only familiar face in the room and she rushed to my side.

  Conall turned and motioned for me to get back outside.

  “Go back to your home. Meredith will be returned to you eventually,” Mac said, some of the power around him start to recede. Marcus and Alexander eased off of the bed with their hands raised. Maeve was talking to Meredith in a low and soothing voice, turning to lead her outside too. Donald started to walk toward Mac so that he was watching him.

  Song and Conall were both watching me wrap an arm around Emma to turn and head outside the door. So when Marcus moved, no one could react in time to stop the blow to Maeve’s jaw. He didn’t try to kill her, only stun her. But it was enough. The enchantment on Meredith broke as Maeve crumpled to the floor, mostly knocked unconscious.

  “Mac?” Meredith’s voice sounded lost in that first moment. Right before the enchantment, she had been obsessed with the two of them building an empire together. Nina stepped in between Meredith and Mac. “Master, they have bewitched you for weeks now.”

  Meredith looked down at where Maeve was on the ground, beginning to stir back awake. Rage swept over her face. I hugged Emma closer to him, calling on Felix, praying to Azrael, asking for help everywhere. She might have been under our control for weeks, but no other archdemon on the Earth had as much power as Meredith currently had. Devina had blessed her with these extra powers.

/>   “Macory, you will die for what you did to me.” She said in an angry voice. Alec, Jason’s maker, stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of Mac. But Meredith did not hesitate. Her power surged across the room toward both of them. Alec grabbed Mac’s arm and took the brunt of the blow with him so that it was spread out between them and they survived the attack together. Conall’s power thickened the air of the room as he made his own move.

  He concentrated on the four Vegas coven vampires. They staggered on their feet as Conall clouded their thoughts and kept them from joining in the fight against Mac. Felix’s aura suddenly filled the room. He appeared in front of me, his black wings spread to block me behind him. His brown skin had dissolved into the fire ember facade that was his true demonic form. Meredith’s own milky white complexion spilled away to reveal her ember glowing skin in response to his. “Stand down, Meredith.”

  She laughed darkly. “Thrasher, you have escaped your velvet bonds, I see. Devina will be most irritated.”

  “It will not help you to fight on her side, Meredith.”

  “I disagree. I have picked Devina because you stand no chance against her. She owns your soul, Felix. She can strip your powers as soon as I tell her what you know.”

  Her power snapped around the room and I was suddenly caught up in it. I was levitated off of the floor and flew through the air to hover above her. Frightened, my halo blinked into appearance above me. Meredith gasped as she looked at that glittering ring. “Oh my. Devina will be most interested in this bit of news as well. Earning back your angel wings, Roz?”

  Alec held Mac as he tried to shove forward and get to me. She looked back and forth between Mac, Felix, Jason and Conall. “You’ll do nothing to me or I’ll split her heart up for all of you with my bare hands.”

  “What do you want, Meredith?” Felix asked.

  “Just stand there and look pretty, Thrasher. I need to talk to Devina about what you’ve done.”

  We all felt Azrael then. A column of fire broke through the roof of the room, hitting the floor. Four great white wings spread out of it as the fire dissipated and Father stood there, sword and shield in hand. Eziel appeared right behind him. Meredith was stunned enough that she let me drop to the floor. Jason was quick enough to grab me before I hit and he pulled me back with him, holding me in his arms. Song had spoke quietly to Emma, and they had made their escape. Jason saw me glance where they had been standing. “Song is taking her home and letting the police know to release Hugh.”

  I nodded. Meredith was shaking her head. “No, there is no way for you to break free.”

  “Felix and Roz freed us,” Azrael replied, pointing his sword at her face.

  “She will capture you again,” Meredith sneered.

  “Not if she doesn’t know we are free,” he responded. Then he quietly ordered, “Eziel.”

  Eziel became a blur of movement that didn’t hesitate. He cut through Donald and Nina. Alexander tried to get out of the room but Felix intercepted him, his black wings swinging out in a wide arc as his power cut through the young vampire and sent him hurtling backwards. Marcus didn’t try to escape. He tried to grab me. He managed to break Jason away from me enough to jerk me up against his body. Alec went to help Jason stand, his face showing concern. The two of them nodded at each other, then started circling me and Marcus. He gripped me harder and snarled at them.

  Azrael met my gaze and tipped his head forward, his own burning halo flaring brighter. I understood. I felt my powers swirl up inside of me and out through the halo above my head. It struck Marcus with a bright flash. Tiny specs of light raced over his skin and he screamed in pain and threw me away from him. I landed on the floor at Meredith’s feet as Azrael shoved his sword through Marcus’ chest and watched the vampire dissolve into ash.

  Eziel and Felix moved in unison to destroy the other three. Eziel’s sword stabbed through Donald’s chest as Alexander exploded into dust from Felix’s power. They turned on Nina together and soon all the Vegas vampires were piles of ash on the floor. Meredith was breathing heavily and glaring at Mac. “We could have ruled the Earth together.”

  Azrael turned on her with his sword flashing. “She will tell Devina. This is the only way.”

  Eziel turned to look at him, then panic shot across his face. “No! Azrael!”

  Light glistened down onto my father’s face from his halo and from above. A heavenly wash of power that swept across him and left a taste of warm summer breezes on the tongue. Peace. It was so peaceful even as he offered her death. Meredith’s face glowed with joy as Azrael’s four wings spread wide and power shined off of him in waves of light. The sword bisected her head from her body without hesitation. Her body took a moment to fall over and then burst into flame as it was reabsorbed into the Earth.

  Felix and Eziel stood there with shocked faces.The light suddenly began to drain out of the room. Hopelessness took a cold grip on my heart and squeezed. Jason, Alec and Mac dropped to their knees and screamed in agony. Eziel tried to grab for Azrael, but Azrael swept him back away from him with a toss of his arm. “I made my choice.”

  The light continued to grow dimmer. Felix looked at Azrael with alarm. “Is it…?”

  “Yes.”

  Fear thundered across my skin and tears streamed down across my cheeks. Jason kept trying to force himself to his feet to get to me, but he was thrown back on the ground over and over. Felix was suddenly there, wrapping me into his arms and wrapping his wings around us. I could feel his heart thudding rapidly in his chest.

  “What is happening?” I gasped, barely able to get the words out.”

  “Lucifer.”

  “As in, Satan?”

  He nodded, holding me up against the solid warmth of his body. It blocked out some of the agony that had flooded through me a few moments ago. Mac and Jason finally grew still and just lay on the ground, forced into repose after their energy had been depleted. Meredith’s body had disappeared. Maeve crawled on her stomach, trying to get out of the cabin and the presence of the Devil.

  “Brother…” A whisper came across the darkness of the room. Azrael met my gaze.

  “I love you and your mother more than anything, my daughter.”

  Fire licked up from the floor and up across Azrael’s body. It was a deep crimson flame crack with gold embers that poured out from the very depths below. Azrael didn’t even wince as he was engulfed. He turned to look at Eziel. “Take my family as your own if I do not return.”

  Eziel dropped to his knees in front of Azrael, but nodded his head. “It is done.”

  Azrael looked at me again before the crimson flames roared higher and took his entire form. The fire flared too bright to look at and then snuffed out. Azrael was gone.

  ***

  Felix held me tightly in his wings and arms as I screamed my father’s name. Eziel came and knelt down in front of us where we sat on the floor. He cupped my face in his hands. “Roz, Roz. Have faith that he will be fine.”

  Conall frowned at Eziel. “She just watched Lucifer capture her father in flames. She can be upset.”

  Felix soothed my hair back from my face as I started to calm down. “Lucifer is Azrael’s brother though.”

  Conall paused for a moment. He leaned to the side so he could look over Eziel’s shoulder and meet my gaze. “So the Devil is your uncle?”

  A laugh broke through my dwindling tears. “Technically, yes. But it’s not like he ever showed up for a family reunion or anything.”

  “Why did he take your angelic father?”

  “He knew it would get Lucifer’s attention. Azrael is one of the Seraphim, he cannot just fall from committing that kind of sin. But if I had killed Meredith, I would have lost my wings,” Eziel replied.

  “Do you know why he wanted to?”

  “He didn’t tell me his reasons. Azrael has never met Lucifer. He was born long after Lucifer left heaven. I wasn’t sure how he would react.”

  “So he may just imprison Father again for killing
one of his archdemons and we have no way to save him.”

  “That was my objection, yes.”

  I sighed, resting my head on Felix’s chest and looking at the still forms of Mac, Alec and Jason. “We need to get them back home and make sure the police have released Hugh. Then we need to get to the Gloaming Court. All of us. In case Devina knows by now.”

  “Yes. It would be a good idea.” Conall reached down and took both mine and Felix’s hands and helped us to our feet. Eziel lifted Jason over his shoulder with Felix doing the same to Mac.

  “They’re okay, aren’t they?” I asked Felix.

  “Yes. They are just in repose. The Devil drained their energy to use it to capture Azrael.”

  Conall lifted Alec into his arms. “This Imperium officer, will he be a problem?”

  Felix shrugged as he held Mac. “I don’t know him.”

  “He is Jason’s maker,” I said.

  Felix nodded. “Perhaps that will help us gain his loyalty. I’m not sure yet.”

  “He seemed worried about Jason’s safety.”

  “That’s a good sign.”

  When we got outside, Song and Emma were sitting in the truck with Maeve standing outside waiting on us. She looked shaken, but appeared unharmed. Emma had obviously been crying, but Song was holding her hand. They laid Alec, Jason and Mac in the bed of the truck. Song climbed into the back with them to watch over them while we traveled.

  Eziel touched my shoulder. “Your halo,” he said softly, then smiled as I made it disappear with less effort than it had been taking me. “You used it well,” he told me as he hugged me.

  “I will take Eziel and Maeve back to Fairy. With Meredith gone, I need to rejoin my Court,” Conall said. I released Eziel and stepped into Conall’s arms, letting him tip my face up and kiss me. “See you soon?” he asked.

  “Yes. As soon as we make sure Emma gets home and Hugh is free.”