by Lexi Ostrow
Audrey dropped to the ground with a strangled cry as Seraphina hunched low and turned to see who had touched her. Layel wouldn’t dare spill Angel blood around an afflicted. Izazal stood, meters from her, Muriel was nowhere to be seen, and that gave Seraphina cause to smile. She could handle Izazal, and Layel would no doubt race to his human pet, leaving Izazal alone to deal with her.
He stared at her, his wings outstretched. He looked stunning, all strong muscles and hard body, as he stood in the midst of the death, the humans had caused with her ichor staining the longest feather tips of wings. That wasn’t all that marred his perfect white wings, though. Streaks of grey mottled through the feathers, some darker in areas than others.
Izazal was falling.
The knowledge put a smirk on her lips and a more than executable idea into her mind.
“Izazal, look at your dirty wings.” She winked and blew him a kiss. “Though I cannot thank you enough for showing them to me.”
Turning, she saw that Layel had indeed rushed to Audrey’s side and that Thomas was holding a gun at her for the second time, and they’d only had the pleasure of meeting twice. His eyes locked with hers, and she hardly avoided the purple light that flared from the barrel of the gun.
“As fun as all this is, I have found other ways to deal with you. Be careful, though, humans, I’ll always be coming for you.”
“We’re called the Alliance of Silver and Steam,” Thomas snarled at her, sending another beam of light that sizzled through her blood red hair.
She smirked, despite her annoyance at his accuracy. Layel wasn’t willing to spill her blood with so many around, and the human thought she cared about their silly names. “It is of little consequence to me. When I am through with you, you’ll be nothing more than a stain on history.”
Without another word, she flashed out, just in time to avoid the arc of Izazal’s seraph blade.
Twenty-One
Layel watched as Seraphina went, torn between his choice to let her live, and his decision to save Audrey. With her cradled in his arms, he knew he’d made the wrong choice. Audrey lived, but to a life condemned with secrets and dangers. Seraphina lived to make them all suffer. He looked down at the woman in his arms, and his breath stuck in his throat at her beauty. Her color had returned, and her eyes sparkled with life. He didn’t think as he dropped a quick kiss on her lips, chaste and yet, still wrong.
“Layel,” Thomas growled in warning as he helped Audrey to her feet.
He bowed his head. “My apologies. I forgot myself, it was a misunderstanding.” He wasn’t looking at Thomas, but at Audrey.
Thomas sighed. “Audrey, you must return inside. I, I almost lost you. This is becoming far too common of an occurrence, and one day, Layel might not be with us to save you. To bring you back to me.” Tenderly, he put his hand on her stomach.
Layel almost felt as if the private moment should not have been witnessed, let alone happening on a bloody street during a rainy night. He turned away from the scene, noticing that the pair spoke in hushed whispers while he looked at Izazal. He took in the greying feathers and felt as if someone had plunged a knife deep into him.
He had been so focused on the humans that he had not noticed that Izazal had taken a turn that could lead to falling. He shared blood with the Angel, had felt things strange a time or two, but had ignored it to help the Alliance. Shame rippled through him, and he reached a hand out as if to touch Izazal’s wings.
“Leave it,” the other man snapped and stepped out of Layel’s reach. “I know my sin. Though I would admit, it is a shame I will fall, and you remain.”
“Izazal—”
“I said leave it,” Izazal’s voice boomed, and he flashed away.
Layel’s heart pounded in his chest as he focused on the blood link he shared with Izazal. He could track his brethren, or he could focus on the work he’d started there and hope Izazal did not fall before morning. It’s not as if you know his sin, or when it happened.
With a growl at himself, Layel spoke, “We must clean this mess up. The sun will shine upon the city soon enough, and there is no explanation sound enough to cover this.”
“But how? Where can we throw so many ghastly bodies?” Jules asked as he eyed the mess around them.
Layel took his seraph sword and tossed it towards the man, who caught it skillfully. “With this. Begin with the Succubae. They appear human, and you do not need the chime of murder ringing through the streets.”
Realization dawned on the man, and he paled but walked towards a dead demon. Much to Layel’s shock, Jules set straight away at hacking limb from limb. Audrey gagged from beside him, and he lowered a stare at Thomas.
“Take her inside. This is no place for her. Return to clean up the mess. The bodies will do best if they are bagged and dumped into the Thames, or in rubbish heaps, it will be best to spread it out. I will be back to help, but for now, I must speak with your king.”
Thomas helped Audrey to stand and guided her past Layel. He felt the connection buzz between them as their skin nearly touched, and he sucked in a breath. Nothing would prepare him for a human lifetime of such a connection. But, they were tied together, linked until she left this world, and he would not abandon her. He would not abandon any of the fine humans that stood before him, dismantling demons as if they had been doing it all their life.
With a quick downward pull of his wings, Layel shot into the air, twirling like an ordinary bullet as he burst through the soggy cloud layer, up to where the sky was free from rain. He flew, not to scan the horizon, but to feel the bliss of the breeze through his wings, to glide far away from the hell and terrors that walked below.
All too soon, the spires of the castle shone in the distance, peeking through the grey clouds and reminding Layel that the world was not what it once was. Seraphina had seen to that, and he could not spend his time amongst the clouds, urging the evil to disappear.
The sun stretched in front of him, its warm hand a soothing caress over his tired body. Closing his eyes, he pictured King George’s chambers and flashed inside. The king slept soundly in his bed, and the sight set Layel’s nerves on edge. The man had no clue what truly lived outside in this world, and because of that, he was sleeping like a babe.
More annoyed than he had any right to be, he crossed his arms and spoke louder than he needed to. “Your Majesty, it is time to speak. I will not wait.”
A strange sound, a mixture of a snore and a word came from under the covers. Layel sighed and closed his eyes, reminding himself that royalty would always behave as such. After a few more sordid sounds, King George sat upright in bed. His pupils grew round the moment he laid eyes on Layel, and Layel shook his head.
He went to the impressive oak nightstand beside the king’s bed and pulled the goggles from it, tossing them carelessly onto the plush linen. “Put these on.”
The compulsion worked wonders, despite the sleepy state of the king. “Layel, what is the meaning of this?”
“I have come to tell you that the Alliance—the sect that has been created to help in the fight—is as prepared as I can help them be. This night, they fought enormous odds and came out on top. However, that is only because I was present, and I can no longer be present.”
The king bolted upright. “That is utterly preposterous. Of course, you can, I demand it.”
Layel allowed his fangs to slip out and his eyes to flash their soulless black. “I do nothing that I do not wish to. My brethren have suffered with my attention split betwixt two worlds, and it is time I return to my duties.”
The king sounded flabbergasted, “How will my men survive? How will we all survive?”
“By growing and expanding. Four men, two of which hide in the confines of the laboratories all day, is not an army. You will need to recruit more. Thomas will need to recruit more. You will triumph. I’ve seen the skill with which your personal guard fight—”
“But those are my personal guard!” King George shouted like a petulant
child.
Layel expected him to leap out of bed and throw a tantrum next. He did not blame the man, though. A king was only as strong as his armies, and Layel was asking him to set his army aside to serve the world.
“You will make the proper decision. Your choice in Thomas could not have been more perfect. Should you need me, that crystal will always work. But I must warn you, I have my own fight with the demons, with Seraphina, and I may not rush to your aid any longer. That is what the Alliance is for.”
King George looked as if he were going to argue, but shut his mouth. “You have done more than your share, Layel of the Angels. Had you not woken me from my sleep, I might have been left daft and shortsighted in this conversation.” He bowed his head. “I bow to you and all you have done for us, and I promise you, we will not let you down.”
“That is all I need to know. You will have a powerful force on your side, you will have a chance should there ever be a day when the Pure do not come.”
He wasn’t certain where the words came from, but they did not feel wrong. His brethren were falling because of human interaction, perhaps it was time they considered retreating for a time.
King George sat, looking rather perplexed amongst his lavish things, as Layel flashed back to the Clockworker’s Guild. He had to help them clean, and he had to let them all know they were officially on their own.
Layel felt the heavy ache of sadness as he flashed inside Thomas’ office. The Guildmaster was not present, nor were any Alliance members. So, he sat in the crystal lit room, stared off into the distance and waited for something to draw the man down to his quarters.
Images flashed through Layel’s mind, one after the other, moving in a slow, comforting pace. Demetrious was alive, Seraphina smiling at his side as they toasted another victory against other demons. Seraphina helping young girls to catch chickens one summer cycle so many ages ago. Laughter, not just his, but all those around him. The laughter turned harsh, a hissed cackle, and Seraphina crouched on the ground, blades slicing the root feather from her back in the alley after she’d lost Demetrious. Her eyes flashed as soulless as he’d ever seen them, and she tore off into the sky.
He closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath as the images shifted to Audrey. Her dark curling hair matted with blood, then to her eyes opening, to her writhing in pleasure on his lap as they came in a shattered union of bliss, to the way she’d stared at him as the onset of the blood craze had taken hold of her.
“I’ve failed them all,” he said to no one at all.
Only someone responded.
“You didn’t fail us,” Thomas said as he pushed open the door to his office fully open and stepped inside. “Without you, we would have lain dead, bloody in the streets, and Audrey would forever be stuck in a cycle of madness. Whatever thoughts were occurring in your head, banish them.”
Layel looked at Thomas and was shocked to see that all of the bitterness he typically looked at him with was absent from his gaze behind the goggles. Admiration shone from the crystal blue depths, and Layel swore there was a peace in there. A peace he never thought they could reach.
“I reworked the crystal system to trigger to your blood. You’re stealthy. I thought it might be best if someone knew when you were sneaking around us.” He gave a short laugh, amused that he’d thought of something Layel hadn’t. “Don’t think this means I have forgotten about Audrey and the life she must lead. But, you are not a failure, and it is only because of your willingness to save us that we might stand a chance. We need you here, Layel. On our side, fighting in our front line. Even if we were to find a hundred more men fit for the mission, they would never posses the skills and magic that you do.
For the second time, Layel inhaled deeply, stunned by Thomas’ words. Not because they were the absolute truth, but because he’d never thought the man would admit to something of that nature.
“I cannot remain. My wings dislike the confines of tunics,” his said, a weak attempt at humor.
“Will we be alright without you?” Thomas asked, his tone gravely serious.
“You will be far more alright than had I ever interfered. You will learn to grow in your roles—the inventors with the crystals, the hunters with their fighting and you, as leader of them all. You will see, there will come a time when you will not need me. When I will be nothing more than a memory of the creature that thrust you into Hell.”
“Minus the whole my wife needs your bloody ichor part, right?”
This time, Layel did laugh. A deep, warm sound that shook through his body, and for the first time since he’d learned what he had done to Audrey, he felt as if he wasn’t destined to fall.
“Minus that of course.”
“How will we do this? This sneaking around my wife?”
Layel wasn’t certain, but he spoke despite himself. “I am connected to her. When the cravings grow to the point of madness, I will be certain you have my blood. She will not go without, the price to pay for that could one day be her life.”
A tense, but almost comfortable, silence fell around them, and just as he was getting up to leave, he realized they had never fully discussed Seraphina, and how important it was Thomas’ men did not hunt her down.
“Thomas, about Seraphina?”
The man’s eyes narrowed, and the blue became as dark as storm. “I will kill her, for everything she’s done.”
“None but us can know of her.”
“That’s bloody madness,” Thomas clenched his fist as he spoke.
“It is for their safety. Think upon what you just said in regards to her. You want to hunt her down and kill her. She did not get to be the ruler of Hell by losing battles, Thomas. She is thousands of years old and has the experience to match. It would be suicidal for them to know of her.”
Thomas sat across from him, eyes narrow as he thought about Layel’s words. If Thomas didn’t agree, Layel had no way to stop him. His days leading warriors were done, but he did wish the human would listen.
“I don’t like it. Hell, I don’t fucking approve of it, but I understand. Like giving Audrey your blood without her knowledge, my men must fight an unknown enemy to spare their lives. I fought her and only escaped because of the gun you helped us create took her off guard.”
He paused as he looked at his desk as if reading a paper. When he lifted his head, there was a slight sadness in his eyes.
“They can never know about you, Layel. If you will not stay to fight, they cannot know you ever existed. They will be angry with you for abandoning us when you could do so much good in our fight. Your life will be hunted, and my men will be on the wrong side of your finesse. I cannot allow that.”
Thomas surprised him each and every time they spoke. His mind might not have the keen intellect of an inventor, or the quick battle sense of a warrior, but he had the wit and wisdom of a ruler.
“You are correct. This union betwixt our kind, as far as anyone else can know, it never happened. You stumbled upon the crystals, your inventors thought of how to utilize them. You can say you compiled knowledge on demons as you encountered them. I fear for you that Seraphina will not hesitate to send them after you now. There will be plenty to keep this tale we weave as ironclad as possible.”
Thomas nodded. “I cannot thank you enough. You may have damned my life in a sense, but you also saved it. Without you, I would have lost Audrey and my reason to live. Instead, you have given me a reason so much bigger than myself, and I promise you, Layel, I will not let you down.”
He smiled at Thomas. “To be fair, King George selected your guild for what it held within, you were just a piece of that.”
Thomas chortled, and the smile that played across his lips was genuine.
A soft knock sounded on the large metal door, and Audrey pushed it open.
There was no sign of the attack on her life. Her stomach was healed and perfect. He’d given her his blood as he’d treated her, slipped it into her mouth during her panic, but the look in her eyes told him she
knew. There was no hunger or madness, but there was an understanding.
“Thomas, it grows late into the day, and I fear I have become quite accustomed to sleeping during the bright hours of it.” A yawn escaped as if emphasizing her point. “Layel, I cannot begin to tell you how many times you have saved me. You will forever be a Guardian Angel to me, even if you find the title annoying.”
He smiled, perhaps the first true smile he’d ever given her and wrapped her in his arms. The feel of her heartbeat was doubled, and he realized he felt the pulse of the young child developing in her, of the life she was carrying. When he unwrapped his arms, she smiled and stepped back to Thomas. Her husband slipped an arm around her, and Layel could not mistake how perfectly in place they fit. How perfectly in place Thomas fit with everything.
“One day, we will have a time of peace and perhaps even a reconnection betwixt our kind. But for now, all I can leave you with is good luck.”
A sense of hope washed over him as the last thing he saw before he flashed out was their smiles. Thomas and Audrey were not who they’d been three moon cycles prior, but they were better now. And he would see to it that they stayed that way. He would see to it that the Alliance survived all odds, even if they did not always know he was watching over them.
Thomas stared after Layel. His entire body felt as if one wrong step would send him into some sort of internal combustion—something he thought might very well be possible after the months he had just lived through. The arrangement they had made felt wrong, but he could not deny the Angel’s reasoning and seeing Jules lying in a pool of his own blood had shaken him. Even if the man had come out of it alive. If he was to lead, he had to do everything he could, control everything he could. Death would claim some, it was inevitable in war, but he would do his best to keep them all alive.
That was something he shared with Layel, aside from a genuine love for Audrey.
