The City of Flame and Shadow

by Kim Richardson

  “She’s a sorceress,” observed one of the Nephilim with long oily black hair. His eyes were traced with matching black kohl. “An enchantress sent to temp us?”

  “I don’t care what she is,” purred Anagar. “I’ll take her. Hell, I’ll take her now if no one else wants her.”

  Alexa made a vulgar gesture, but Anagar beamed and blew her a kiss.

  Baruk continued to observe her, shadows playing on the hard lines of his face. “She is no sorceress or witch. Can’t you see it, smell it off her, that foulness… that reek of mortal-loving fools?” He paused. “She’s an angel.”

  Alexa looked over to Milo. He was looking at her, but he still looked dazed, like someone sleepwalking in a never-ending nightmare. With his eyes unfocused, he kept frowning and shaking his head as though he was trying to remember something he’d forgotten.

  Anagar lost his smile. “I thought we got rid of the angels?” He turned to his brothers. “Didn’t we win the war? From what I recall, we won The Battle of Blood with the help of our brothers in the south. And after we won, we drank toasts with their angel blood and fed our hounds with their angel flesh. Why would the Legion send us a girl angel on her own? Surely not to frighten us? To tempt us, perhaps?” His smile returned as he looked at Alexa again. “Unless she is the new kind of angel Father was telling us about. The ones with the stronger human bodies, not that it would matter. What did he call it again? The human blankets—”

  “Mortal suits,” Alexa said sharply.

  “Mortal suits,” repeated Anagar, playing the words on his lips. “Sounds disgusting.”

  “It doesn’t matter what they call themselves… angels are angels, and they are no match for the Nephilim,” said the only Nephilim with the shaved head, who was covered in the runes of a demonic language. He pulled two small axes from his leather baldric. “They’re weak and soft. I can carve her up right now if you want, Baruk. She’ll made a nice addition to my wall.”

  Alexa felt a sharp, quick panic rise up in her, an aching pain that had her throat closing. She looked at Milo again. His eyes cautiously flickered from side to side and looked troubled.

  Alexa felt her bravado waver when he saw Milo looking at her as if he were seeing something fundamentally wrong, like a person with two heads.

  What was he doing? Why wasn’t he beside her, helping her? Why hadn’t he come to her the moment she appeared to them?

  Alexa had only heard stories of the Nephilim. But from what she’d read since she found out about Milo’s past, these beings had inhuman strength thanks to their archangel father—the most powerful archangel that ever was. She knew she could never defeat four on her own. She needed Milo’s help.

  Defeating the Nephilim was the second trial. She was sure of it. Surely Milo had figured it out as well, so why wasn’t he joining her? Together, they stood a chance, but on her own…

  “Only a mad angel would risk coming here alone,” said Baruk, raising his brows. “So why are you here, if not to die?”

  “Well, for starters,” said Alexa, turning her attention back to Baruk and the others, “we’re going to stop you from hurting or killing any more mortals.”

  Anagar looked over his shoulder. “We? Who’s we?”

  “Maybe the Legion sent their cavalry again?” said the Nephilim with the axes. “I’m up for a fight. It’s been a while since I sliced the throat of an angel. I’m a little rusty, but it’s nothing a good fight can’t cure.”

  “You’re always up for a fight, Hadaz,” said Anagar. “But if I recall our last encounter with the Legion, I skinned the most angels, not you. Fancy a wager, dear brother?”

  Hadaz growled, which made him look feral and more like a bear than a Nephilim. “Well see about that.”

  “Let them come,” said Baruk with a thin smile. “Plenty of angels have died trying to defeat us. Two archangels have fallen in this century alone trying to deal with the Nephilim. But hear me now, brothers, when I say the Nephilim are here to stay. Now and always. So, I say to you now, let them come. Because tonight, my dear brothers, tonight, we feast on angel flesh!”

  The Nephilim roared and stamped their feet, Anagar hooting loudest of all.

  “Milo?” said Alexa, feeling as though his charade had gone long enough, “a little help here?”

  Baruk’s smile faded. He turned around and said to Milo, “You know this angel, little brother?”

  “I…” began Milo, his face screwed up in concentration, “I—no—no, I’ve never seen her before.”

  Alexa felt as though she’d been stabbed in the chest by her own blade. “Of course you know me,” she laughed softly. “It’s me, Alexa, remember? We work together. How about you stop pretending and help me. Help me defeat the Nephilim. I think it’s the second trial—”

  “Help defeat the Nephilim!” roared the Nephilim with the long dark hair. He pulled out a long sword with a black hilt and pointed it at Milo, slowly advancing. “What is she talking about, little brother? Are you in league with the angels? How did she know your name, eh? You traitorous little—”

  “I’m not a traitor!” shouted Milo. “I’m… I’m a Nephilim.” He blinked in confusion. “I don’t know what she’s talking about.” His voice was low and he didn’t sound very convinced.

  Alexa’s fear thumped in her body. “Milo, tell them. What’s the matter with you?” She stared at her partner in disbelief, but his eyes were strange and distant.

  “I knew it!” growled the Nephilim and kept his sword pointed at Milo menacingly. “He could never kill an angel. He could never kill anything!”

  “I’m not a traitor. I’m a Nephilim, just like you,” Milo started, but his brother was on him before he could finish. The Nephilim punched him across the jaw and seized him around the shoulders, forcing him to his knees as he pressed his sword to his throat.

  “I’ve seen females with more balls than you, traitor,” seethed the Nephilim. “Let’s see what color a traitor’s blood bleeds?”

  “Release him, Ruthus,” ordered Baruk. “If you kill him, you will suffer Father’s wrath. Nephilim don’t kill Nephilim, or have you forgotten our laws.”

  “Father’s law.”

  “Still our laws.”

  “But if he’s a traitor?” said Ruthus, his face twisted in disgust, “Father will forgive me, I’m sure.”

  Baruk watched Ruthus for a moment. “Not if you kill him. Not if you kill Father’s favorite.”

  Alexa saw Milo wince at the words, but she took their silence as truth—she remembered Hades mentioning that Milo was Lucifer’s favorite son.

  “So,” said Baruk breaking the silence, “before you shed the blood of our brother, let him explain. Perhaps this is all just a misunderstanding. I’m sure our little brother has a very good explanation.”

  Ruthus lowered his sword by an inch. “I’ve always said there was something different about you. You’re not like us.”

  “I am,” said Milo, shaking as he slapped Ruthus’ grip on his shoulder and stood up defiantly. Alexa always considered Milo a tall angel, but his brothers towered over him at least a head taller and much thicker.

  “I’m the same as you,” said Milo, “a Nephilim. The blood of our father runs through my veins just like you.”

  “That’s true, but I’m afraid Ruthus has a point.” Baruk moved closer to Milo, his face in a tight grimace, giving him a look of pain. “You always were soft, little brother. Too soft where the humans were concerned. You could never stomach what we did to them, could you? Always looked the other way, never wanted to join us, your own brothers. Maybe this frailty or love of humans comes from that whore of a mother you had. Maybe she made you weak.”

  “I’m not weak,” said Milo, clenching his jaw.

  “You are the youngest of all our brothers, the smallest and the one with the most human blood in his veins. It’s not your fault you were born different from us, so very unlike us, weaker—”

  “I’m not weak!” screamed Milo. His face was suddenly
demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the dead mortals had suffered at the hands of his brothers.

  Alexa stood stunned, staring at the face of the friend she thought she knew, but she was looking at a stranger.

  Baruk smiled. “Then prove it,” he said. “Prove to me, to us, your brothers, your flesh and blood, that you are one of us… that you are Nephilim.” He turned around, his dark eyes met Alexa’s and his smile widened as he said, “Kill her.”

  CHAPTER 24

  ALEXA WAS STILL STARING AT the Nephilim, her mind racing, when Milo walked towards her. There was such distance in his eyes, like he was staring at a stranger. She never thought of him as an actor, but his poker face was bang on. It was almost too real…almost too convincing…

  That tentative tenderness she’d seen in his face had hardened into a cold, grim resolve, and her soul cracked a bit at the sight of it.

  Maybe purgatory was making him sick? She had to get Milo out of here… but she couldn’t… not before they finished the trials.

  Alexa felt as though she was hurtling through space, like she’d just stepped into water and was on her way home to Horizon.

  This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real.

  When Milo had finally reached her, she looked up into those light eyes that she had grown to know and care for, and whispered, “Milo, stop this, please. You’re scaring me.”

  Milo’s face darkened. “How do you know my name? Who told you to come here?”

  “What?” sputtered Alexa, still holding on to her soul blade as though it was keeping her from crashing to her knees. “What’s the matter with you? Stop playing games. You know why we’re here.” She lowered her voice. “The Inferno Trials? The bone sword?”

  Milo stared at her blankly. “You shouldn’t have come here. It will not end well for you.”

  “Milo,” Alexa pleaded. “Please, stop. It’s not funny anymore. We don’t have much time left. We’ve already wasted too much time with your family reunion. I don’t want to leave without the sword—”

  Milo’s face was puzzled. “Leave? This is my home. I’d never leave my home… my brothers.”

  “Maybe it was your home once,” said Alexa carefully, aware that the Nephilim were quietly watching, “but that was a long time ago. Those dark days are over. You’re confused. I get it. I get why this place is making you a little weird. It probably feels very real to you right now, and if it were me, I’d probably be freaking out a little too. But this is a test—it’s part of the trials—the Legion is playing mind games with us. I don’t know why they thought this would be a good idea for a trial because it’s not. I don’t understand it, but the show’s over. It’s time to…” she hesitated, not sure how to say the next words, “time to join me and finish the trials.”

  But Milo only stared at Alexa, so quietly, and yet his eyes moved everywhere at once. He seemed lost. His handsome face was entirely blank.

  “Get on with it, little brother,” commanded Baruk. “There are more pets to play with. We have women to hunt, remember? Our promised gifts think they can hide from us, but we will discover them. They’ll give us good sport, anyway. Kill the angel.”

  Milo seem to shake out of his reverie, and Alexa could still feel his relentless focus pinned on her.

  “Milo would never harm me,” said Alexa, loudly enough for all the Nephilim to hear though she backed away from him. “You don’t have to do this,” she said to him.

  “You’re wrong about that,” said Milo and reached for her again, but she took another step back.

  Milo blinked. His eyes flicked down, and then, with uncertainty, back up to her face. “This is your fault,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

  “My fault?” said Alexa incredulously. “If you mean my fault because I’ve brought you here, then yes, it’s my fault. It’s all my bloody fault. I’m sorry, okay? But what choice did I have?”

  “You shouldn’t have come here. I’ll—I’ll have to do it. Don’t you understand? I don’t want to do this, but it’s your fault. You’re making me do this.”

  “Do what?” Alexa studied his face and then lowered her voice. “Is this part of some plan? Am I supposed to play along with this?”

  “I have to kill you,” he said with cold certainty.

  “Milo,” said Alexa, as fear swept over her in a cold rush. “This has gone far enough. This is crazy.”

  “What’s taking so long?” barked Hadaz. “Get on with it, will ya? Or do I need to persuade you?”

  Ruthus frowned, his long greasy hair like curtains around his face. “It’s just like before. He can’t do it. A true Nephilim would never hesitate to kill an angel, or anything really.”

  “I don’t know why Father allows that,” said Hadaz as he spun his axes skillfully in his hands. “Why does Father protect him all the time?”

  “Yeah,” agreed Ruthus. “What’s he got that we don’t have?”

  “Maybe it’s because he’s prettier than most of the girls you’ve been with, that’s what,” said Anagar and winked at Alexa when he caught her staring.

  She focused on Milo. He was handsome, to be sure. And she couldn’t disagree that there was something fundamentally different about him. He looked the same, had the same voice, but it sounded different, like a younger version of him—the version she’d never met, the version of him before he died.

  Why had the Inferno Trials affected him and not her? Why did it choose to torment Milo?

  Milo gazed at Alexa. His features softened a bit, and the harsh lines loosened. She felt as though his internal struggle was coming to an end.

  Alexa took a chance. “Milo, we need to finish this trial. Snap out of this! Come on! We’ll never make it out if we keep playing this stupid game.”

  Milo narrowed his eyes. “I wish you would stop using my name so intimately. I would never befriend our enemy. I don’t know who you are, and I have never seen you before.”

  “Are you mad?” Alexa said angrily. “You do know me. Stop kidding around. I’m not playing this game with you anymore—”

  Milo’s backhand caught her in the face, and her cheekbone shattered with a sickening crunch beneath the hard blow. She dropped her soul blade as the world vanished in a white roar of pain. She heard laughter through the ringing in her ears.

  She couldn’t help the tears that flowed out of her eyes, primarily at the pain, but also at the shock of what had just happened. Milo had hit her, had hit her hard, a blow that could have sent a mortal man to the hospital or to an early grave.

  Milo had hit her.

  Blinking through tears, Alexa lifted her head and winced at the hatred she now saw in Milo’s eyes. He looked wild, feral, a stranger. He looked like his brothers.

  Milo drew a short sword from his belt and kicked Alexa’s blade away. “I don’t want to do this, but you are giving me no choice,” he said as he stood over her.

  Alexa spat the blood in her mouth and tried to focus on one of the two Milos she was seeing. “You hit me,” she said, her voice wavering. “You, you of all people… you hit me? You’re my petty officer, for god’s sake. You’re supposed to protect me, not hit me. Milo—”

  Milo’s boot caught Alexa square in the chest and she crumpled to the ground, dazed and angry. Wincing, she straightened, and when she looked into his eyes, she knew at that moment he was gone. The Milo she knew had been replaced by this cruel stranger.

  He wanted to kill her.

  “Maybe I can speed this along,” said Anagar as he picked up Alexa’s soul blade, admiring it. “I can cut her, make her bleed, that way it’ll be easier for him.”

  “No,” growled Baruk. He crossed his arms over his great chest. “No one touches the angel. He needs to do this. It’s about time he had his first kill.” He looked at Milo. “A true Nephilim must take a life. Only then is he a true child of Lucifer. If he truly is one of us, he will do it. Are you one of us, little brother? Or does your human side take control of you?”

  Milo
nodded his head mechanically. “I am. I am Nephilim.”

  “Good. Now, kill her.”

  But Alexa knew Milo had never taken a life. He had never killed anyone. And if this version of Milo was anything like the one she knew, he wouldn’t do it… would he?

  Milo circled around her. “This is your fault, angel,” he said in a voice that sounded as though he was trying to convince himself rather than her.

  His brothers watched with excited pleasure as they stood in a semicircle around them.

  “All your fault,” continued Milo. He stopped suddenly and said, “You shouldn’t have come here. You should have stayed in your Horizon. I—I have to kill you now, you know. You’re making me do this.”

  Alexa wiped her mouth. “I’m not just going to let you kill me. And who said that you can, anyway? Nephilim are part human and angel. I’m angel. Immortal. You’re not, if you believe in this reality.”

  “Archangel,” corrected Milo.

  “What?”

  “I have archangel blood in my veins, and archangels are a thousand times more powerful than angels. Which makes me stronger than you. It’s why my brothers killed all of you angels.”

  “Here we go again with the killing part,” said Alexa, searching the ground for the arrow she’d seen earlier sticking out of one of the dead mortals. “You might be a little confused right now, but I know the real Milo is in there somewhere. You’re going to hate yourself when you wake up from this. I promise you.”

  “I am the real Milo,” he laughed.

  Alexa stood, fists at her side, glaring at the warrior angel with a green collar. “Wake up, you idiot! Wake up! This isn’t real. These beasts you think are your brothers… they are not real. This place isn’t real. I’m real. Me. This whole thing is a trick to play with your mind. It’s a trick!”

  The Nephilim all roared with laughter at that. Milo grinned, pleased that he brought such pleasure to his brothers.

  “I like her,” said Anagar, who bit off some dry meat and chewed while he spoke. “She’s really entertaining. I like to be entertained. Do we really need to kill her? Maybe we could keep her? She could be our entertainment… it does get really dreary after we’ve killed all the females.”