The Faithful

by Wylde, Nora

  Chapter 5

  Sam

  “I can’t believe you were so careless!” Sam barked. Daren shook his head, sputtering his denial.

  “I wasn’t! I know my shield was up. She saw through it. She can see us!” Daren insisted.

  Sam bit back his reply and struggled to control his rising anger. The last thing he needed right now was for Abby to interfere with his task. There was precious little time left for Lee, something he knew it would be difficult for Abby to recover from. Since he had been forced into human form, he was bombarded with urges and demands that deities simply were not accustomed to. In his world there was no regret or longing. One simply took what one desired without consequence. So when he was advised by God that his task was to escort to human man called Lee to the afterlife, Sam gladly accepted, believing it to be the most simple of chores. After all, in his angel form he had devoted his existence to sending mortals to the other side.

  Yet, as a human, things were never that easy. Looking into the eyes of the daughter of his charge, Sam felt something disturbing.

  Guilt.

  He did not know how to control it, to make it go away. Like that pesky adolescent urge he had to share everything with Abby, the screaming hormones that caused him to follow her around like a puppy. Surely guilt was just another human emotion he could bury.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. She can’t see us if you don’t let her. She’s just a human, for Christ’s sake!” Sam said.

  “If you two ladies are finished, we have a deal to make here. Get your game faces on,” Alex interrupted.

  Alex appeared next to them, grinding his clenched fist into his opposite hand. The Archangel looked exceedingly calm for one about to enter a fight. Unfortunately for Sam and Daren, part of their penance was to assist the leader of The Faithful, who in Sam’s absence happened to be Alex. They must answer his call without question or risk permanent expulsion from heaven.

  Alexandros was a different breed entirely. He violated the rules whenever he saw fit to do so. His bloodline surged close to that of God himself, so close in fact that God often overlooked Alex’s breach of the rules. Alex was a loose cannon, always had been, left to run rampant like a spoiled child through the ages. It was up to the Almighty to put a stop to it, which was not something that had happened in more than a millennia. God didn’t seem to care what the Faithful were up to on earth, as long as everything was maintained in balance. And since Sam was no longer the leader of The Faithful, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t get an audience with God even if he offed himself.

  When group of cloaked figures entered the back alley, Sam let his shield slide. Among the stink of the debris littering the ground and the scent of otherworldly stench filling his lungs it seemed sacrilegious to release into his true form. Although he had fallen, he was still an archangel, and he was loathe to release his true form in such surroundings.

  As he had done on many occasions in Alex’s presence, he forced himself to envision he was on an eternal battlefield. The beauty of the afterworld surrounded him, swallowing him inside as he glimpsed a slice of that heaven long denied to him.

  Yes, he thought. I will spread my wings amongst my brethren and we will wipe the scum of demons from this place. As he sighed he could feel the strength of his brothers at his side, those members of The Faithful he missed so much.

  “I shall give you once chance,” Alex announced. “You will stop your activities in this town immediately. You will send a messenger to report to me each day. That is all the consideration I am prepared to give your kind.”

  The three men stopped a few paces away. The Demon leader Zane lowered his hood to reveal his face. There was no effort to cloak his true form, only the distorted hollowed face staring back at them. Zane was like a virus to the community, one who lurked in the shadows and used every opportunity to cause trouble in the human realm. Usually Zane responded to a warning from Alex, and everyone returned to business as usual. Yet with the wicked gleam in Zane’s rotted skull, Sam had the uneasy sensation that this meeting would be anything but routine.

  Surrounding the leader was a group of minions, lowly beings who had little standing in the Demon community. Great, Sam thought. Zane’s gathered an army of Minions. Things were going to get ugly real fast.

  The demon grinned and a glimpse of his skull flashed beneath his skin, a smiling skeleton merely encased in the trappings of once human flesh. The stink of rot littered the air. Minions were a special sort of demon, spawn of the Underworld Gods, cursed to walk the Earth in their human form even after the death of that mortal body. Just as archangels were created from God’s own bloodline, the Minions sprouted from the Lords of the Underworld. They were stronger than humans, however, and some had the ability to shift between Earth and the Underworld, but generally they were assigned to a place and stayed there. Over the last few months a pocket of Minions had surfaced in town, dirtying their hands in human activities and growing increasingly large in number. Sam wondered if this pack was in league with the group across the street from his house.

  “I think we need to negotiate terms, Angel,” Zane answered. “We have as much right to be here as you do.”

  Sam rolled his eyes skyward. Great. Not the answer Alex was looking for, an answer sure to send them into a nasty fight. He shook his head a bit to clear it as he prepared to let loose.

  “This is not a negotiation. You’ve disrupted the balance with your numbers. I won’t allow your kind to cause any chaos here,” Alex responded, taking a step toward them. Zane did not move, but his accomplices retreated a few paces. Sam saw Daren circle to flank the group, putting himself between the demons and the only escape from the alley.

  “We don’t answer to you anymore,” one of the minions shot back. Alex raised a brow. With his motions disguised in the blink of a moment, Alex had the minion’s neck in his grasp before anyone could move.

  “Oh, is that so?” Alex asked.

  Zane stumbled back into the fold of his companions, his hollowed eyes widening as he stared at the Archangel leader.

  “You have no right!” Zane whispered, pointing one spindly finger at Alex. When the minion leader turned his gaze to Sam, Sam shrugged.

  “We. Have. Every. Right!” Alex replied, lifting the minion into the air.

  “You’ll let your leader start this?” Zane asked in a hoarse whisper. “You’ll just let him –”

  Sam nodded with a grin stretched thinly across his face as he heard Alex snap the Minion’s neck.

  “Yup. He’s a jackass like that,” Sam muttered.

  The acknowledgment was all they needed as they exploded into battle. Obviously, Alex had not come to negotiate, and neither had the minions. Sam was tackled by one, which he quickly pinned to the ground. The man stank of decay and pestilence, his very breath singing Sam’s skin. He hated to even touch such things, but since being forced into service as one of Alex’s lackeys it was a common occurrence. Alex had a talent for pissing off otherworldly creatures, and he had no reason to curb his antics with Daren and Sam at his beck and call.

  Sam freed his hands and thrust them into the demon’s face, his knee pinning his foe to the ground. As Sam let his light flow into his fingers the beast began to simmer, smoke wafting up out of his ears and from his broken nose.

  The demon burst into flames just as Sam stood up, wiping his hands. He saw the backside of Zane’s coat whipping like a tail as the leader ran out of the alley, deserting his companions.

  And then Sam froze when he saw her standing in the alley.

  “Abby?” he said. One of the last Minions twisted away from Daren and circled toward her, a grin spreading over his distorted face as he fixated on Abby.

  “It’s her,” the demon growled. His unnaturally long tongue swept out over his lips, slithering across his chin before he swallowed it back up with a sickening slurp.

  “Abby, run!” he shouted. He had no idea how the human could see them, but it was quite obvious sh
e had witnessed the entire scuffle. Worse yet, the demon knew she could see them—and it knew her. Since her eyes were locked on his she did not notice the minion coming straight for her. When the fiend snatched her wrist she stumbled backward, her mouth locked in a soundless scream of pure panic.

  Sam was instantly at her side, his wings slapping into place against his back as he caught the demon. As he snapped the Minion’s neck, Abby fainted. He was close enough to catch her by the shoulders before she hit the ground, and as he stared down into her face Alex joined him.

  “What the hell is she doing out here?” Alex demanded while Daren sent another demon up in flames. Before Alex tried to play hero, Sam scooped her up in his arms.

  “I guess you didn’t get through to her,” Daren commented. Sam met his gaze.

  “I don’t make mistakes. She should be enthralled,” he replied. Despite the pain that seared him to the bone each and every time he used his heavenly powers, Sam had enthralled her. It was the only way to salvage the sanity of a mortal who had been privy to otherworldly beings, and it should have wiped her memory. Unease surged through his veins, settling cold in his belly.

  Angels and Demons in true form could not be seen by humans. There was no way she could have seen them fight, yet every sign pointed to the obvious.

  Abby was different than other humans.

  “I didn’t make a mistake, either. I know my shield was up in the bar,” Daren answered.

  Alex looked at them as if they had rocks for brains.

  “Mind telling me what the fuck is going on?” he bellowed, his fists gripped tightly at his sides. “Why is your human pet out here? Did I not hear you order her to remain inside?”

  “Yeah,” Sam muttered. “I did. Get the car, Daren. I need to take her home.”

  “You need to account for this,” Alex warned, putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder. Sam tightened his jaw, glanced down at the archangel’s hand, and watched as Alex slowly removed it.

  “Later. This comes first.”

  Alex uttered a doubtful growl but did not move to stop him as he left. Daren led the way to the car, kicking at random piles of minion ash, which scattered into clouds of dust in their path.

  Sam covered her face the best he could so she would not smell the stench of the dead.

  Chapter 6

  Abby

  She woke to the sound of angry voices. Her vision was still swimming when she cracked open her eyes, and she could see she was lying on a plush couch next to a warm fire. The voices emanated from the opposite side of the couch, two male voices that she eventually recognized as Sam and Daren.

  “I don’t know who she is!” Sam said.

  “She’s not human. Maybe she’s a spy? He’s been known to play tricks like that before, right?” Daren answered.

  Instead of sitting up, she opened her eyes just enough to see them. The events of the evening came rushing back in a jumbled blur, from the strange lecture Sam gave her about forgetting what Daren had done to the impossible scene she had witnessed in the alley. With those images burned into her mind, she was afraid to reveal she was awake.

  “No, she’s human. I remember Lee bringing her home from the hospital with his wife when she was born. Besides,” Sam added with a glance at the sky, “He doesn’t have any reason to spy on us. We’ve followed his rules. There must be some other explanation.”

  “A human who can see us without going stir-crazy?” Daren said with an unamused laugh. “Not possible. If she’s human, then I’m the tooth fairy.”

  “It doesn’t matter. When she wakes up, I’ll fix this, and everything will be fine.”

  “You already tried to enthrall her. What makes you think it will work now?”

  Sam paused before he spoke and she closed her eyes. She sensed his presence over her, the weight of his shadow casting a heaviness over her even though her eyes were squeezed shut.

  “It has to work. And if it doesn’t, then I’ll have to take care of her…permanently.”

  The declaration sent her senses firing off in all directions, the urge to flee from danger suddenly screaming in her ears. Had he really just issued a threat toward her, or was this all some sick twist of her obviously overwrought imagination? She was not willing to stick around to find out.

  When she heard Sam and Daren retreat to the kitchen she found her chance. She peered out through narrowed eyelids to get her bearings, noting that the front door as only a few feet away. In a fluid motion she jumped to her feet and darted toward the door, uttering a sigh of relief when she pulled it open and got a view of the front yard.

  As she stuck one foot out she was suddenly snatched backward, the door was slammed, and her body was flung up against the wall.

  “Wait just a second now!” Sam growled. The wind rushed from her lungs at the impact making it impossible to speak. All she could manage was to let out a startled squeak as Sam stared down at her. How had he moved so fast?

  She jerked her knee upwards, ready to slam him where it would hurt the most, but he anticipated her motion and grabbed her by the chin. He twisted her face upwards while he deflected her blow with his knee.

  “Knock it off! I’m not gonna hurt you, damn it!” Sam snapped.

  “Let go of me,” she replied. His eyes were doing that bizarre thing again that she had witnessed in the alley, where the dark pupils slowly spread outward to consume all the whiteness of his eyes. Surely she was only having a nightmare, she reasoned. Maybe she had hit her head?

  “I will if you promise to sit down,” he replied. She shook her head.

  “I – I want to go home,” she insisted.

  “I can stand here all day, Abby. Either you sit back down on that couch or I’ll make you do it. You won’t like it,” he promised.

  Daren appeared at Sam’s side and held out his hand. Abby tore her gaze away from Sam and briefly weighed her options. Whatever trouble these two were in, she didn’t want to be involved in it. So far Daren had been the calmer of the two, and when she placed her hand in Daren’s and let him pull her away from Sam she was glad for her choice.

  Sam’s eyes were entirely black, his veins standing out as cords across his neck, his sinews tight as he clenched his fists.

  Sam looked downright dangerous. Daren, not so much.

  “Calm down, brother,” Daren said. Abby let him guide her away from Sam to the couch, where she sat and continued to stare at her old friend.

  “I – I’m trying,” Sam replied through gritted teeth. It seemed that every muscle in his body vibrated as he leaned against the door. He bowed his head between his outstretched hands, closing his eyes. A strangled groan came from deep within him, causing her to shudder in fear. Who – or more appropriately, what – was he?

  “Try harder. We have enough to wipe from her memory as it is,” Daren said.

  “Wipe what from me?” she interrupted, turning to Daren. He plunked down beside her on the couch as if they were two friends getting ready to watch a movie. She almost expected him to break out some popcorn.

  “Hang on a sec, Abby. He needs a minute. He’s kinda a loose cannon with all that pent-up power. Most of us can control ourselves a little better,” Daren quipped.

  Sam continued to take deep breaths as if to steady himself, and eventually he came to the point where he turned around to face them.

  “Most of us?” Abby echoed.

  “Yeah. Most of us Archangels have better control. But Samael here, you see, is not very good at keeping cool.”

  “Shut up, Daren,” Sam growled. Daren smirked.

  “See what I mean? He’s been a hothead since the beginning of time. I knew one puny human life wouldn’t be enough to change him, but the Man Upstairs,” Daren said, rolling his eyes upward, “well, He still has hope for ‘em. I guess that’s His job, keeping the faith.”

  “That’s enough!” Sam shouted. He left his perch by the door and stalked over to Daren, picking his friend up by the collar with an inhuman burst of strength. When she got up fr
om the couch with intent to make another break for it, Sam dropped Daren but did not take a step toward her. He merely glared at her with those dark eyes, as if his very stare should make her tremble and obey.

  “God help me if you get off that couch again, human. Sit!” he demanded.

  “You two have obviously been smoking something. I really think we’d be all be better off if I just went home –”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” Sam answered. His voice dipped to a near menacing tone, a purring undercurrent amongst the rough edges.

  “What the hell are you?” she whispered. She looked at Daren, who was rubbing his neck with one hand, and then to Sam, who stood cross-armed in front of her.

  “Mortals call us angels, Abby. And we’re stuck here on earth until we’ve paid for our crimes,” Sam said quietly. “Daren and I are both members of The Faithful, an elite group of archangels. We’re here on earth until we fulfill our assigned tasks. We want to go home again. If you run around screaming nonsense about us, you’ll get locked up, and you’ll draw attention to us. I can’t let that happen.”

  She swallowed. She was not sure what to believe, but it would be an enormous leap of faith on anyone’s part to believe what he was saying. Angels were simply not real. In fact, she was fairly certain that God wasn’t real, either.

  The only explanation to make sense was that both men were insane. Or on drugs. Maybe both.

  “We’re not insane. Or on drugs,” Sam said softly.

  “I didn’t say that!”

  “I heard you. You shout when you’re upset. You always have. I can hear you blocks away,” he replied.

  “I want to go home. Right now,” she stammered. She closed her arms protectively around herself and looked away from Sam, the weight of his insane proclamation like a tether holding her down. She had known Sam forever; to find out he was a degenerate liar with a flair for fantasy made her completely unsettled.

  He had always seemed so normal. Yeah, he could be moody and withdrawn, but overall he had always treated her with respect. Perhaps if she played along with his sick game for a while he would let her leave.