by Gina Kincade
Thomas slammed into the ground, his nose shattering with a crack as he smacked his face into it. Blood seeped out and dripped into his mouth as he pushed himself off the floor and turned to look for Layel. He stood, meters away, as if he had merely sidestepped, not flashed out of the way.
He swung out with his right arm, and Layel caught his fist as if it were nothing. Thomas could feel the pressure as Layel squeezed, breaking at least one of his carpal bones, as his knees buckled from the pain and he hit the floor.
The Angel’s eyes were a soulless black, and Thomas wished he had thought before he’d attacked. If he yelled, his men couldn’t even hear him.
Layel’s grip did not loosen, but he spoke. “Do not attack me again, Thomas. Even on the best of days, fully trained, you do not stand much of a chance against me.” Slowly, his grip loosened. “I did not mean to harm you. If you would like, I will fix your hand and nose.”
Thomas scowled at the man. Pain throbbed in his hand, and his nose was still dripping a little blood. It was not what he wanted, but not taking the help would be foolish. “Do it, and then talk.” He narrowed his eyes at Layel.
Layel loosened his grip on his hand more, and Thomas felt the same strange tingly sensation he had felt outside the palace. Just like that, his hand bore no pain. When Layel moved to cover his nose, Thomas flinched backwards, not trusting the Angel completely. He didn’t strike him, though, just healed his nose. The blood still lingered, staining his upper lip and the front of his tunic, but the pain was gone.
Thomas wanted the rage he felt to simmer as Layel helped him, but it didn’t. All he saw when he looked at the man was a monster, someone who’d attacked his wife. Someone he would kill if he could.
Layel took a step back and raised his hands in front of him in surrender. “I am sorry for letting you injure yourself, but you attacked me. With cause, but I have self-defense instincts that override my need to see humans safe. If you promise not to make a go at me again, I will tell you what has happened to Audrey because, yes, I do know.”
Thomas ground his teeth together so hard, he could hear the smallest sound of it in his ears. His breathing was rapid, and his brain was shouting at him to attack Layel for whatever he had done. Yet, somehow, he realized that he might need Layel to undo it.
“Tell me what you’ve done, and then I’ll decide.”
Layel sighed and folded his wings away. “What happened to Audrey, it was a mistake. As you know, Angel blood— Fallen or Pure—is very powerful. It can create a bond, a dependence even, like that of your opiates. When I was saving her, I was injured. The demon, A Thrasher, sunk its claws into me. Some dripped into her mouth as I healed her. It was such a small amount that I did not think anything would come of it.”
His eyes shifted to the ground, and when he lifted them, Thomas saw anger.
“I was wrong. When I came to you at your home, after you left, she came out to me. She struck me, and I bled. She moved quicker than I could comprehend and licked at the small trail of ichor on my cheek.”
Thomas sucked in a deep breath. “Are you telling me, that my wife is addicted to your blood?”
“Fatally so.” The words held no emotion, but Layel’s eyes held so much.
The room was spinning around him, he could feel himself perspiring, and he grabbed for the nearest wingback chair. Crashing into it, he felt nausea bubbling its way up his throat. The acidic burn was nothing like the tearing he felt over his heart. His wife was tied to Layel, in a way that would likely drive her to her death.
He could feel the tears shimmering in his eyes and did not bother to hide them. Audrey had become his reason for living, his true reason for agreeing to lead the Alliance. She was in danger, and there wasn’t a bloody thing he could do about it.
“What will happen to her?” his voice shook.
“She had very little. If she does not take more, there is a strong possibility she will pass through this unmarred. However, her behavior has indicated that even a small amount was enough to link her to me. I can sense her sometimes, it’s a weak link, but I can feel some of her emotions. I know how hard she has been struggling, and I have done my best to stay away from her.”
Thomas could hardly process the words. Layel was linked to Audrey. “I want you to get away from her. Get away from me. I will take my lessons from the men. We will never interact, and should you come within a single meter of Audrey, I will make it my mission to hunt you down.”
Shock transformed Layel’s face, but he didn’t shout back. With a curt nod, the Angel flashed out. Thomas was alone in the small room. Alone save for the fear that was climbing up him, wrapping its black hands over him, and suffocating him.
Chapter Sixteen
Layel smiled at Antonio, genuinely proud. They’d been down in the labs for so many weeks that Layel had been starting to doubt that they would succeed with the communicator. It had been three weeks since they had begun, and while they had been successful, Layel’s utter removal by Thomas had unnerved him. He’d wanted to check on Audrey.
None of that mattered. Not now that they had the final device up their sleeves. Layel had never intended to remain a part of the group once his gifts had been given. The sooner they finished, the sooner he would be on his. Audrey would forever be safe from him, and he from her. Every moment, he could feel his body beckoning him to find her. He’d bedded many sorts of demon—men and women—trying to banish her from his thoughts, and he was unsuccessful.
Every attempt at creating a device had failed until that evening. Prior, they had easily made the crystals heat up and travel along the naturally occurring magnetic fields in the air. What they hadn’t seemed to be able to accomplish had been any way to direct the signal at something.
“Ichor,” he had whispered, not knowing if blood would help.
The two inventors had wasted no time, though. The crystals responded to human blood as rapidly as they did demon blood. In a manner of hours, they had completely setup and created working communication devices for all four Alliance members. His job was done.
It left him with an empty feeling. He had hardly spoken to his own kind since the venture had begun, and knowing that his part to play had reached its end saddened him. He had done more than he should have for the humans, though. His wings held the faintest traces of grey striping. It would cede and vanish if he returned to his proper days. Yet, he did not want to. He would not allow himself to fall, though, he’d seen what happened to those that fell, and it was not the way he wanted to spend century upon century. Sin and temptation got Fallen killed, sometimes rather quickly.
“Layel, how can all this be?” Louis asked, astonished still at the devices they had created.
“I can assure you that, even when humans create similar things, they will not work the same the way. Only yours will be powered by demon crystals,” he gave a hard bark of a laugh. “Unless you share my secret.”
Louis paled, not realizing Layel didn’t believe he would do such a thing. Layel smirked and patted the elder man on the back.
“Do not fret, my human friend. I was merely joking.”
Louis gave a pathetic smile and held up a pocket watch. “Do you think it might be possible to tune a simple watch to alert us to demons. Like with the tracker?”
Layel guffed, astounded at what the human had asked. It was bloody brilliant. “Louis, I think that is outstanding.”
He turned to the workbench and pulled out a crystal from under the workstation they were kept in. Holding it in his hands, he closed his grip and felt the stone shatter, his blood sinking into the facets of the stone pieces as it did. He did not worry about his blood around the men; they had no clue what dangers it held.
“I do think it is time for me to take my leave. I will return, periodically to check on you, but it is time for you to take your lives into your own hands. Place these behind the faces of the watches to keep them in place, and you will have your alarms.”
A shiver passed over him as if there
was something in the world that knew he had just given the humans something more that they should not have—Angel blood. He started to flash from the room, but he realized that, like it or not, he needed to speak to Thomas and say his goodbyes. A nice walk in the cool air seemed much more appealing than a rushed flash. Layel wasn’t ready to face Thomas yet.
“AUDREY, WE NEED TO talk,” Thomas said as casually as he could upon sitting at the table for evening meal. It had been nearly a fortnight since he had been able to sit with her and eat. That didn’t mean the conversation did not need to happen. She lifted her eyes from her plate, smiling brightly at him. It was so dazzling that he thought she was worthy of being with an Angel, if anyone was.
“I have been eagerly awaiting you wishing to share Alliance business with me,” she sounded like a child, excited to open her Christmas gifts.
“That is not quite what this is about, my love.” He cleared his throat. His cravat was suddenly rather itchy, and he placed his fingers between the fabric and his neck, giving it a little tug.
“Master Agardawes, there is someone at the door to see you,” Chauncly, their butler, announced out of nowhere.
He wiped at the corner of his mouth and saw Audrey do the same as they stood simultaneously.
“Who would come calling at this hour?” she asked as she looped her hand inside his elbow.
The smallest touch was enough to distract him. All he could think about was her blood craving, of Layel’s use of the word fatal.
As they entered the parlour, a strange man stood at the door. He was impeccably dressed, a nobleman no doubt, with eyes so black they sent a chill through him.
“You’re one of them.”
The man, demon, nodded. “I would speak to you outside. I know of what you do. I am the last of my kind and am in need of your assistance.”
Thomas did not move for a moment until Audrey nudged him forwards.
“How can we help?” she tried to step closer to the demon.
“How dare you call upon me at my home?”
The demon took a step backwards, out the door, and Thomas followed. A whoosh of wind drew his attention, and a breathtakingly beautiful woman, with wings as black as coal, stood in front of his door.
“You poor sod. I am sorry for this, but you weren’t asleep. It was the only way. I have to,” the well-dressed demon said before all but leaping away from him and Audrey.
“Close your eyes!” he shouted as he slammed his shut.
“It’s going to be a touch hard to fight us like that,” whispered a male’s voice, another Fallen.
He hadn’t been prepared, and now, out in the open like they were, with no protection, they were both doomed. Especially if one of the Angels was cut.
“Thomas—”Audrey broke off with a cry.
Thomas whirled, opening his eyes regardless of the consequences, and saw Layel holding her up—cradling her like a one would cradle their tiny child. A chill broke out over his skin as he felt the almost immediate compulsion to caress the nearest Fallen, a woman with golden blonde locks and deep black eyes.
“I will return,” Layel said.
“No, protect her. Protect my wife!” Thomas shouted and closed his eyes once more. He was fighting blind, and he would surely die this night. A moment later, he felt something slammed into his stomach, too quickly for him to have even processed that time had passed as he gripped the object.
He opened his eyes and saw goggles in his hands. Securing them, he opened his eyes just as a Fallen darted forwards, daggers drawn and pointed at Thomas’ chest. To his right, Layel was engaged in combat with the male. There were only two. And you are not even enough to take on one.
He remembered the gun, the crystal one that he and the other Alliance men carried around their belt. His fingers wrapped around it clumsily, and he tore it free. The eerie shrill of the heated crystal sliced through the air around him as he pushed in on the trigger and the purple beam exploded out.
“Go back to my wife! Protect my wife!” he shouted as he turned his shoddy aim towards the male Fallen Layel had wrestled to the ground.
The demon howled, an inhuman shriek sure to call more attention to them than the noises of a brawl already were. Layel’s eyes met Thomas’ and he flashed out. Thomas did not let up on the trigger. Moment, after moment, after moment he let the purple beam slice and burn into the creature. He moved it, tracing a pattern back and forth over the demon’s chest. Smoke rose, and the smell of burning flesh made him gag.
He felt a slash across his neck, felt the ooze of blood as it dripped from the wound. It was a small nick, he’d never know how the other demon missed, and he wouldn’t fucking care if he survived the rest of the attack. He didn’t feel any pain, and he whirled on the female Fallen. She looked so angelic, so beautiful, even with the oily black wings. Pure, feral rage radiated out over her as she brought her blade, the same type Layel fought with, up into the air.
Panicked, he pushed the trigger so far down on the gun that he felt his finger bend backwards. The purple glow slammed directly into the creature’s forehead. Seraphina didn’t make a sound as she crashed to the ground. Her eyes were open, staring perpetually in unbridled fury.
Thomas was still standing, and by some miracle, he was still alive. He reached a hand behind his neck and wiped at the blood, it truly was only a surface level cut. Against all the odds, he’d survived. Even if it was only because Layel had not only given him the goggles but the Alliance as well. He looked down at the smoking weapon in his hand and nearly vomited. He’d never killed before, even the last time he’d fought beside Layel. He nearly hadn’t this time.
They were not safe alone. Demons knew where Thomas lived, who he was even. They would be safest inside the Guild walls, and he knew, deep in his soul, two fighters was not going to be enough. They needed to be many, and they needed to hunt the demons down before they struck. The Alliance of Silver and Steam did not need soldiers; it needed hunters.
SERAPHINA SNARLED FROM her place in the darkness of the next home over. She had not wanted to engage the leader and had even approved of the team Neal had picked, complete with Lucius. They had all failed, and it seemed it was due to Layel’s inference. The human would have been dead, yet the blasted Pure Angel had been coming up the walk mere seconds after her demons had arrived. He’d vanished with one and had returned with something to shield the man, Thomas, from the compulsion. And that bloody gun, it had to be something of Layel’s doing. Humans could scarcely fire bullets with any accuracy, and that gun had shot off a brilliant beam of light.
Her blood boiled and bubbled in her veins. She could see nothing, just the bodies of the two Fallen that the human was foolishly trying to tug up the front steps to his grandiose home. He was a fool for trying, but she could not deny her interest in the situation, it almost outweighed her anger.
Not one human had appeared in their windows, and there had been quite a ruckus. The men and women of this time were content hiding away, counting their extravagant trinkets and not daring to question what lay outside. It was something she could use to her advantage.
If she could stop Layel’s little group from progressing.
She flashed in front of the human, her lips peeled back to reveal her fangs.
“It’s so wonderful to meet you, Thomas,” her voice was sweet as ever, and the laughter that followed was like twinkling bells, despite her Fallen nature.
He dropped the poor dead Fallen, and she almost snickered as the body rolled down the steps.
“Such a pity we are meeting this way, but I cannot have you spoiling all I’ve worked for. You and your group, you shouldn’t exist.”
“Seraphina,” Thomas shouted. His gun was poised and fired before he’d finished screaming her name.
She cried out as she felt the searing singe of her flesh. The moment the beam touched her, blood seeped out of the wound, and she panicked. Demon’s lurked in London, especially so close to the clock affectionately called Big Ben. If any fou
nd it, they would know the ichor for what it truly was, and she was creating unruly warriors.
“This isn’t over!” she hissed as she covered the wound and flashed away, beaten, if only that once.
Chapter Seventeen
She felt as if her entire being was caught in flames and burning from the inside out as Layel held her in the small alley. Her thoughts were a hazy mix. Audrey knew that there had been an attack. A part of her mind was screaming for her to find Thomas. Unfortunately, that part was by far smaller than the section of her brain that was hungrily staring at Layel when he set her down.
Ichor pulsed loudly in his veins. She could practically see his pulse in his neck and wrists. Her mouth went wet, as the craving she’d been fighting off for weeks grew so strong, she could already taste his blood as she took a step towards him.
“Layel,” she breathed out in an airy whisper.
Then he was gone, vanished into nothingness. Her head pounded as a scream of agony tore from her throat. When she was done, her throat was raw from it, and her body had collapsed to the ground. Shakes wracked through her, and tears tracked down her face from the pain. She heaved, gulping in deep breaths of air as she tried to steady her body. She could hear her thoughts, louder than ever, as they screamed for her to find him.
With Layel gone, the craving was still terrible, but she could not smell or taste his blood in her mind. There were no phantom sensations, just the very real pangs of cramps and dryness in her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut, and finally, a memory of Thomas, pinned between two Fallen Angels became crystal clear. He’d looked at her, just as Layel had scooped her up, with so much love and pain in his eyes that she’d nearly clawed at Layel to put her down.
He’d picked her up, and until he’d left her, she’d been nearly unable to remember Thomas at all. Yet, the image slammed into her so hard now, she thought she might be sick from it. She was a horrible human, and she did not deserve Thomas. She would not quit him, though, what was occurring with Layel was not her choice. Being bedded by an Angel could not bring out such a desire in everyone. People would surely be running mad in the streets if it did because, if she knew one thing, it was that the demons played closer to home than any could ever realize.
