Angel in Crisis

by C. L. Coffey

  I forced my eyes open, blinking rapidly as I tried to both wake myself up fully, and get my eyes to adjust to the dim light. I was slumped on the ground of soaking wet dirt and stone. I was aware that I was lying at an angle, my head higher than my feet. I groaned, it quickly turning into a cough. I doubled over, trying to catch my breath, when my arms caught, stopping me from moving too far, but the movement also pressed something down on my burning wrists.

  A scream of pain escaped me, which quickly turned into another coughing fit. I did my best to lie still until the cough had died away, leaving me panting for breath and tears streaming down my face.

  My jacket and boots were missing. I still had on my jeans, but my arms were now bare, the vest top giving me no protection to anything. Resisting the urge to wrap my arms around myself, my eyes followed my arms to my wrists. The handcuffs had been replaced with thick bands, the metal digging into inflamed skin. The cuffs were attached to a long chain, disappearing down past my legs into water. That explained why I couldn’t feel my feet.

  I raised my head, looking behind me. I was maybe half a meter from a wall. Gritting my teeth, I sat upright, shuffling back so my feet were clear of the icy water. The chain gave only enough to allow me to sit back against a wall. I tucked my feet up underneath me, allowing my arms to rest in my lap, unable to move them closer to me. The effort had sent a haze washing over me as my wrists protested the movement.

  When it passed, my attention turned to Garret. He was shivering too, but he was also sitting in the middle of the water, his elbows resting on his folded legs as his hands lay submerged below the water. “Where the hell are we?” I asked him.

  “I don’t know.” His voice was raspy, like he had been smoking non-stop for a decade.

  I continued my sweep of the room. A cave seemed more accurate. The ground was dirt. Some of the walls were dirt, other parts seemed to have been boarded over with planks of wood. In several spots around the room, the ceiling seemed to be being supported by big, thick beams of wood that looked soaked through. There was electricity though. Low-watt lightbulbs were strung around the room emitting a dull glow that gave a yellow tint to everything. There was one door in the corner. It looked like it had been cobbled together with plywood than anything strong and durable, but we were chained down in place, out of reach.

  The small amount of light allowed me to notice that it wasn’t just Garret and I here. My eyes fell on a body: Afriel. She was lying on her back, just beside Garret. Her eyes were open, staring at the ceiling, but her chest was unmoving. “Is she…?”

  Garret shook his head. He nodded to something to my right. “You need to check on her though.”

  I looked to the corner, my heart leaping into my throat as I found Veronica lying on her side. My pain was forgotten about. I launched myself over to her, but stumbled, crashing flat on my face as the chain refused to give me enough length to reach her. The tears were back in my eyes – a combination of agony and worry.

  I got to my feet and wrapped my hands around the chain, but dropped it straight away. It felt like I had picked up a glowing piece of coal. I swore loudly, dropping to a crouch to dunk my hands in the water. The burn eased, but only slightly.

  “They’ve done something to the metal,” Garret informed me.

  I didn’t pay him much attention, instead using the fabric of my vest top to protect my hands against the chain. It hurt, but it didn’t hurt quite as much. With all the effort I could muster, I pulled, holding on until it felt like the fabric between had disintegrated. I let go, collapsing to the floor to soak my hands back in the cold water. That chain wasn’t moving.

  I looked back at Veronica. It was hard to tell if she was breathing from this angle. She seemed to be in a similar state as me, her shoes and jacket missing. She was damp – I wasn’t sure if that was from being in here, or from being out in the rain earlier.

  “What the hell happened?” I asked Garret.

  Garret’s expression darkened, giving me a look of pure venom. “You led us into a trap.”

  “Clearly my plan was to also be trapped with you,” I said, not holding back on the sarcasm.

  The venomous glower remained. “You’re the one that brought that nephilim,” he said, spitting the word like it had left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “I didn’t…” I shut up when Veronica started groaning. “Veronica?”

  Instead of words, she screamed in pain. I couldn’t blame her for that. The pain she was experiencing was not a pleasant thing to wake up to. “Are you alright?” I shuffled over, as far as the chain would allow, waiting for her to stop screaming.

  “What is this?” she cried, first attempting to claw the shackles from her limbs, quickly recoiling with more agonized screams. “What nightmare have I woken up in?”

  “The only one where I don’t feel great about saying ‘I told you so’,” Garret muttered.

  “For goodness sake, this is not Ty’s fault,” I snapped. I turned back to Veronica. “It helps if you don’t move too much.”

  Veronica’s chain grew slack as she crumbled down beside me. She stared at her wrist, inspecting the inflamed skin. “What is this? It looks like a chemical burn – a serious one at that.”

  “They’ve done something to the metal to make it affect us,” Garret supplied. “Holding it under the water helps.”

  “The Fallen have found something to hurt angels.” I gave Veronica what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “After a while you can’t feel it as much,” I lied. “But Garret is right: being in the water does help.” I watched as Veronica struggled to move over to the water. She let out a gasp of relief when her hands plunged into the murkiness. “Cupid?” Nothing. “Cupid, I know you’re pissed at me, but I’m in trouble.” Still nothing. “Do either of you two have any kind of connection to the other cherubim?”

  “It’s not working,” Garret said, glumly. “I’ve been trying since I came to.”

  “Where do you think we are?”

  “We’re still in New Orleans, or at least close by,” Garret said, sounding confident. “I wasn’t out long and the Fallen don’t have the ability to transport themselves anywhere seeing as they lost their wings.”

  “We can’t be. This city barely has any basements in it, much less a cave,” I disagreed, shaking my head. Because the city sits below sea level, it has a high water line, which means there is no point in basements. A lot of houses were built raised above the street, and some even had above ground basements – that was why so many houses has staircases up to the front door.

  “This place looks custom built to hold a few angels, don’t you think?” Garret snapped.

  I closed my eyes and counted to ten. If we were going to get out of this place, we needed to work together. “What happened?”

  “Liam and Charmeine went into the bus. By the time I got in, they were dead,” Garret explained, his voice hollow, despite the rasp. Beside me, Veronica sucked in a ragged gasp. “I climbed in after Liam, calling out that help was on the way. I didn't realize at first that it was Liam and Charmeine that were mortally injured. I thought they were helping the passengers, but it was the Fallen who were hovering over them. I was trying to assure them that help was coming. When I realized what was happening, it was too late. Someone clamped these things over my wrists. I blacked out almost straight away.”

  “Did anyone see what happened to Joshua and Ty?” I asked, praying they were both unharmed.

  “Joshua was seeing to someone on the other side of the road. I’m not sure what was going on over there, but he wasn’t close by,” Veronica said.

  I allowed myself a breath of relief. “And Ty?”

  Veronica looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes dark. “The ambulance turned up. He was helping carry Garret onto it.”

  “He was helping?” Again, there was a sigh of relief.

  “Helping the Fallen,” she said with disgust.

  “You just said he was helping Garret!”

  Veronica turned
sharply, sending waves rushing away from her. “When I went over to check on Garret, Ty put these things on me.”

  I gaped at her, refusing to believe what she was saying. She had to be mistaken somehow. Right?

  I was sitting there, mutely, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation as to how she could have misunderstood the situation, when there was a rattle of the door unlocking. Garret, Veronica and I shared a look, before quickly getting to our feet. They, like myself, were ignoring the pain they were feeling, doing their best to mask it, as we brought our fists up, ready for…

  “Ty?” I blurted out, dropping my hands. I took the couple of steps towards him my chains would allow. “I am glad to see you!”

  I waited, expecting him to come over and take the shackles off me, but he stood in the doorway. “You can’t still be expecting to find some good in him?” Veronica muttered in disgust.

  I shrugged, wincing as the cuffs moved across aggravated skin. “Well, yes, because we’re friends, aren’t we, Ty?”

  Ty’s eyes flicked to meet mine, but they seemed empty. “Do you really think it’s possible for a nephilim and an angel to be friends?” Like his eyes, his tone was flat.

  “Yes,” I said, simply.

  “Now isn’t that sweet?” a new voice said. A figure emerged from the shadows of the corridor sending unwelcome shivers down my spine. Wearing a well-tailored suit, complete with a bold purple shirt and a waistcoat, a tall, handsome black man stepped into the room. It was Ty’s father, Terrance Hamilton, owner of Bee’s bar off Bourbon Street (and several hundred more bars across the state of Louisiana). Or, as I preferred to use his other name to acknowledge him, Beelzebub. “Almost too sweet; like eating several boxes of pralines. I think I’m going to have to cut you from my son’s diet.”

  “Maybe that sweetness is needed to cancel out all that vinegar you put in it,” I shot back at him.

  Beelzebub’s mouth slowly formed a wide grin, revealing a golden tooth. “I have a present for you,” he said, far too slyly for my liking. I tensed. “Ty, why don’t you bring it in?”

  Ty disappeared from the room. The sounds of scuffling, resistance and cries of pain echoed from outside. Moments later, Ty reappeared. Behind him, being dragged by shackles similar to the ones restraining us, came Eugene. He looked like he had endured no end of torture since the moment he had gone missing. His bare torso was covered in unhealed wounds which were leaking thick, gloopy blood. Bruises covered most of his skin and his frame, normally slim but toned, looked like it was wasting away.

  I gaped in horror as Beelzebub reached over, jerked the cuffs from Ty’s hands, and used them to fling Eugene into the water. Garret charged at the fallen angel with a roar of rage but Beelzebub stepped back out of the way. The chains cracked then pulled Garret back. “Now that’s not very nice, considering I brought you a present and all,” he tutted whilst shaking his head. Without warning, Beelzebub punched him. The blow hit the side of Garret’s head and he fell to the ground.

  “What do you want with us?” I demanded.

  Beelzebub folded his arms looking down his nose at me. “Nothing.” His lips twisted up into a cruel smile. “Lucifer wants to speak to you, but he needs to get here quickly, or you’ll be dead and it will be too late.”

  “I’m going to kill you,” Veronica said, her tone deadly as she took a couple of steps towards Beelzebub.

  Beelzebub laughed. “No, my dear… I’m going to kill you, in the most painful way possible.” The evil grin returned to his face. “I’ve been planning this for a long time: I know the three of you were instrumental in Asmodeus’ death. I also know you’re responsible for the death of several of my devoted legion. This city has an angel problem, and I’m going to eliminate it.” He paused, feigning surprise. “Oh, my, you might not know this, considering you have been a little out of touch with your fellow angels,” he looked directly at Veronica and Garret. “You’re the last of the cherubim in New Orleans.”

  “You’re lying,” Veronica whispered, the little color that had been in her face disappearing.

  “I like lying, but right now, the truth is so much more fun. After making sure the other two cherubs were dead at the crash site, we headed on over the Plaza Tower, up to the penthouse suite, and took out the remaining eleven. I like what you had done with the place.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and gave Veronica a smug grin.

  The two of us charged at him, the rage taking over, but the chains didn’t have enough give. “I’m going to kill you,” Veronica snarled at him, repeating her earlier words.

  Beelzebub chuckled. “No, my pet. I’m the one that is going to kill you. Have you not noticed that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach?”

  I had. I had felt queasy since I had woken up but considering every time I moved it sent a wave of nausea and pain through me, I had assumed that was associated with the shackles on my wrists. “What have you done?” I couldn’t stop myself from shooting a look at Ty. He turned away, looking at the ground in front of me.

  “I should be mean and let you die never knowing, but I think telling you will cause you more distress.” The golden tooth flashed at me again. “We found out how to hurt angels just like you can hurt us. We just reversed everything.”

  I looked to Veronica who shrugged. “You reversed platinum?”

  Beelzebub turned, giving Ty a look of disappointment. “Really? You couldn’t find me an intelligent one.” With a harassed sigh, he turned back to me. “Platinum is pure. We found the most impure metal we could: steel.”

  “I handle steel all the time,” I snorted.

  “Probably not steel that has been tainted with the spilled blood of the innocent,” Beelzebub announced, smug.

  My eyes widened. That was why Henry had found several blood samples on that bullet. “What do you mean innocent?” Beelzebub just grinned at me. My stomach churned – I didn’t want to give that any more thought. Instead, I glowered at Ty. “And you just watched? Helped? You make me sick.”

  “It’s you who’s going to be feeling sick,” Ty responded. The words carried spite, but that didn’t match his eyes.

  “Really, Tyrone?” Beelzebub sighed impatiently. “Fine, if my boy wants to give my secrets away, what the hell. That water is slowly becoming more tainted by the chains sitting in it. You might want to make the most of it helping you with those injuries.” He waved at the water, smiling. “Think of it as our unholy water.” With that, he turned and strode out of the room.

  Ty lingered in the doorway and I arched an eyebrow. “You have anything else you want to add?” I demanded. Ty hesitated, and then followed after his father, locking the door behind him.

  With them gone, I splashed through the water to pick Eugene up. Or at least I tried. I couldn’t lift him. Any strength that I had as an angel seemed to have disappeared. Maybe that was why I couldn't break my restraints earlier? “Veronica, help me out here.” She had been checking Garret over, but joined me. Her unimpressed look was quickly replaced with concern when she couldn’t lift Eugene either.

  “My strength is gone!”

  “Maybe we can both move him,” I suggested. We each took him under his shoulders taking care not to touch any of his wounds, then dragged him up out of the water, as far as our chains would allow. “Is Garret okay?” I asked, though my focus was on Eugene. He needed medical attention that I wasn't going to be able to give him.

  “I think so. I think Beelzebub just knocked him out. What about Eugene?”

  “I don’t know what they’ve done to him, but he needs to see a doctor, or something.” With considerable effort, I rolled him onto his side to inspect his back, and swore. There was a giant pentagram carved into his back. I looked up at Veronica. “It’s bad.”

  “We need to get out of here,” Veronica said, quietly.

  “Maybe when Eugene wakes up, he can try the door. They’ve not chained him down like they have us,” I suggested.

  Veronica looked at Eugene’s back and chewed at her lip
. “I think there’s a reason for that.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Ah, Ah, Ah, Ah, Buried Alive

  The hours passed. At least, I think the hours passed. The sense of time had disappeared with strength. Things were also becoming more unpleasant in our prison. The water was doing exactly what Beelzebub had told us it would, and becoming more and more toxic. It was no longer helping with the burning sensation on our wrists and we were doing our best to stay out of it. Not an easy task when it was starting to rise.

  To top it off, the rain outside was causing the conditions inside to become more dangerous. New Orleans was not built in a location to properly support underground activities. Sure, there were some places which did have manmade vaults and rooms beneath, but they were few and far between. They were also reinforced far better than our current location, and even then, they didn’t always stay that way. There were two tunnels under New Orleans that I was aware of: one, technically in Kenner, underneath one of the runways at the Louis Armstrong International airport, and the other under a section of Canal Street by the Harrah’s Casino. There’s a reason why people only heard about it when the runway and street both collapsed. This room, with much less concrete and support, was not holding up too well. Part of the wall at the back had already started to crumble away.

  From behind me, the sound of a small sigh escaping caught my attention. I sat back, locating its source: Veronica. She didn’t look good. She was slumped against a pile of dirt, staring at her hands with barely blinking eyes. Eyes that had gone red for all the crying she’d done. She’d just lost all her friends – her family.

  Garret let out a frustrated grunt, the weight from his chain being thrown back in the water sending it splashing everywhere.

  “Be careful!” I snapped at him, trying to wipe the water from Eugene’s body. “You’re getting that everywhere!”

  Not long after he had regained consciousness, Garret had pulled his t-shirt off and wrapped his hands in it, so he could try to pull the chain loose. Sadly, he, like Veronica and I, no longer had any strength. As far as I could tell, all he was doing was wearing himself out and periodically sending waves of toxic water rushing over us. “I’m trying to do something, which is more than I can say for you.”