The Complete Archangel Wars Series: A Shared Universe Series (The Archangel Wars)

by Jonathan Yanez

  “Oh, I’m fine here. I mean, if this thing goes down, or something happens, I’d better be prepared.”

  Jacob chuckled. “Our time is short, and we need to get in as much training as possible. Besides, Arther isn’t going to let anything happen to the plane.”

  “Yep,” Danielle added as she opened a laptop and started clicking away at the keyboard. “He’s technically not even physically touching the controls. He’s just moving the plane through the air with his mind.”

  “Great, Danielle,” Alan said as he started to unbuckle his harness. “That doesn’t help me at all, whatsoever. Not even a little bit.”

  Danielle shrugged. “Oh, sorry.”

  Alan stood up in the plane’s large cargo area and moved to follow Jacob to the rear of the aircraft. His mentor wore dark jeans, new tennis shoes, and a fitted shirt. “Alan, you did great during the confrontation with Infinity. The villains we’ll encounter now, however, are extremely powerful. I want to test your strength and also see whether there’s anything else we can learn of your gifts.”

  Alan suddenly realized why Jacob seemed less firm—he’d approved of Alan’s progress in training and the way he handled himself during the conflict at the bar. “Oh, thanks.”

  Jacob reached the rear of the cargo plane, where nothing but a dead-end made up of metal sides stopped their progress. “I don’t think I actually told you about my gift. You had a chance to see it during the confrontation with Infinity. Along with strength, I can change the molecular structure of my skin, ordering it to harden on command. When I’m in that form, I’m nearly invulnerable.”

  As Jacob spoke, his skin pigmentation and texture began to change. Grey spread across his body like a single drop of dye into a glass of water, beautiful and terrifying at the same time. When the alien color met Jacob’s face, even his eyes and hair turned the solid grey tint. “Now, let’s try this again, Alan. Hit me.”

  This time Alan didn’t hold back. The strength came when he called on it, and he sent a right punch into Jacob’s chest that forced the gargoyle-like man backwards, pushing him off his feet and flying into the plane’s rear doors.

  Alan stood, stunned. First, that he’d been able to strike so powerfully; and second, that the power had come at a moment’s notice. Jacob struggled to his feet and looked down at his chest. “That was impressive, Alan. Your powers are manifesting themselves at a high rate. I can’t wait to see what else you can do.”

  Alan looked down at his hand, expecting to feel pain. He’d hit Jacob’s stone chest as hard as he could, so he anticipated seeing broken skin on his knuckles and perhaps even blood. There was nothing.

  Jacob’s grey eyes traveled to Alan’s fist, as well. “It looks like speed and strength aren’t your only powers, Alan.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  “I will raise the Colossus,” Ardat instructed from her seat on the massive cargo ship. “When they come, you will be my line of defense. It is imperative that I am not disturbed until I can raise the entire statue and secure it safely on board. Are there any questions?” Headshakes sought to appease her dark eyes, while the water gently rocked the ship from side to side. Ardat looked at the sun blazing high overhead in the day’s clear sky. “This will be a great memory for our kind. We will remember it as part of our history when we reign supreme. And this could not have been accomplished without all of you. The Nephilim will come quickly. Angel must be dealt with first; her power over water could complicate our plan.”

  “I swear to you, my queen,” Dominic said, bowing on the cargo ship’s rusted metal floor, “I will deal with her.”

  Infinity also bowed low, and he spoke with a quivering voice, “And I will dispose of Arch and Guardian as commanded. I will not let you down again. Thank you for this chance to redeem myself. I will not fail you.”

  All eyes turned to Kyle, who immediately fell to his knees. “I can never thank you enough for being my friends and giving me these powers. I won’t let anyone get to you or hurt you.”

  Ardat lifted her hands, instructing her men to rise, intentionally letting her eyes rest on Kyle for longer than the other two. He looked away with a blush. So easy, she thought. It’s too easy to manipulate and use the human race. They practically ask for it themselves. Their very nature is one of weakness and simplicity. Very soon, they’ll all bow their knee to me.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Alan woke with a start. He didn’t even know when he’d drifted off to sleep. After training sessions with Jacob and then Angelica on the plane, his body had apparently staged a rebellion and he’d slipped into a sleeping coma in his seat.

  Sunlight now streamed in through the plane’s windows, and the warm rays had woken him from his slumber.

  “Oh, you’re up,” Danielle said, motioning to the cockpit doors where Jacob stood over a seated Arther and Angelica conversing in low tones. “We’re nearly there. It’s battle plan time.”

  Alan stretched and made his way to the cockpit entrance with Danielle. “Good, you’re awake,” Jacob said. “Now that I have you all here, let’s go over our strategy. First and foremost, we cannot allow them to raise that statue from the ocean. We have to stop them at all costs. We can count on Dominic being there, and I’m sure there will be others. We’ll all be in radio contact with Danielle and each other the entire time through our earpieces. Arther, you and Alan—we really do need a chosen name for you, Alan.”

  Alan shrugged. “Why? Dominic already knows my identity, and I’m sure he’s passed on the information to Ardat. Besides, I have no one they could harm by knowing who I really am.”

  “Still,” Arther said with one of his smiles, “we can’t be running around shouting ‘Alan’ when we have cool names like Guardian and Valkyrie.”

  “He has a point,” Angelica said.

  “How about Spartan?” Danielle said. “You’re always reading those books on ancient Greece. I think you even had one in your hand when we first met.”

  Alan was about to protest to the name, when Jacob’s stern tone commanded everyone’s attention. “We’re nearing the coordinates Michael gave us. It should be a few miles off the coast of the Greek island of Rhodes. Somewhere in that direction.” He pointed with an outstretched hand to the plane‘s front window and toward the open sea. They were headed where the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas met, just off the coast of Rhodes where the Colossus stood several eons before.

  The bodies of water were massive, and at this altitude, it took Alan’s breath away. Growing up in the city, he’d never seen the open sea. Only a few years ago when his gift of speed allowed him the monetary ability to make a trip had Alan witnessed the true vastness of the ocean. Still, it was an awesome sight to witness as the immense body of water spread away from the coastline in every direction.

  The team stood in silence as each pair of eyes scanned the horizon for any indication they weren’t alone. After a few moments, Alan let tensed shoulders relax. Danielle let out a breath beside him. “Well, I guess they haven’t found the spot where the statue …” Her voice trailed off. Alan followed her line of sight out through the plane’s front window and had to make a strong effort to stop his jaw from dropping to the floor.

  In the middle of the ocean, a titanic container ship was anchored near an even bigger portion of bubbling, steaming water.

  “We’re too late,” Arther said.

  “No.” Jacob pointed to the ship’s empty deck. “Not yet. They haven't raised the statue. We can still stop them. Let’s go!”

  Angelica and Jacob motioned for Alan to follow as Danielle hit the rear door release button of their plane. Air burst in, first through the cracks and then the larger opening of the rear hatch. Alan felt goose bumps prickle his skin as the cool air hit him in gusts. “Remember,” Jacob yelled over the rushing air, “we need to find whoever is raising the statue and stop them. Alan, wait for Arther. When the plane lands, then go in.”

  Alan nodded. The state-of-the-art plane hovered a few yards above the mass
ive container ship, displaying its advanced technological capabilities. Jacob and Angelica jumped out before the wheels made contact with the boat. Alan was ready to go. He even felt antsy to be on the ship and alongside his friends. Fear was by no means absent, though; he was simply getting better at controlling the emotion.

  Within seconds of the wheels touching the ship’s metal deck, Arther was beside him. “Let’s go, my friend.”

  Alan followed Arther onto the large, rusted container ship, sneakers making contact with the ship’s hard steel frame in light taps. More than anything his feet wanted to run, but Alan refused them the right. He knew he needed to stay with Arther. Jacob and Angelica were already lost to sight. Arther must have noticed the same thing. His pace quickened as he made his way across the quiet expanse of ship.

  The only noise they heard was the bubbling and frothing of a huge pocket of water right next to the boat. Everything else was too quiet. Alan knew, even before he heard the explosion, that they were walking into a trap.

  The explosion rocked the ship, sending vibrations from stern to bow, the force of it throwing Arther and Alan from their feet. At the same moment, Jacob and Angelica’s bodies appeared, catapulted from a level of the ship somewhere below.

  Alan struggled to his feet, trying to make sense of the situation, when all sense of structure and planning evaporated. An army of Infinites, led by Dominic, poured out from every hatch and door until they surrounded Alan and his friends.

  Alan ignored this and instead turned to help Angelica and Jacob. Thanks to his stone skin, Jacob was not wounded. Angelica, on the other hand, was a mess of bruises and cuts as she fought to stand on her own.

  “My, my, my,” Dominic said. “So you did come, and you thought you could stop us. No more words. I’ve been waiting much too long for this, precious Nephilim. Now you die.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Dominic extended his hands to unleash a series of explosions at the group. As the red energy pockets formed near his hands then shot toward them, Alan found himself thinking, Great. He can form explosions with his hands. Perfect, and nobody took the time to tell me.

  As the thought came and went, Alan called on his speed to dodge the multiple energy beams directed at him. Each beam shot forward with the speed of a bullet, and exploded with a sizzling crack.

  Every old war movie Alan had ever seen where fighter planes avoided ground fire popped into his head, while plumes of smoke and the acrid smell of the explosions permeated the air.

  Alan’s speed was saving him for the moment, but not every member of his team could call on the same ability for assistance. A glance in their direction proved him right. Arther stood over Angelica, protecting her with some kind of invisible mental barrier—the grey-skinned Nephilim leader stood with feet shoulder width apart and his hands extended.

  Dominic sneered as he sent volley after volley of explosive energy slamming into his invisible barrier.

  Jacob sprinted forward into the mass of Infinity clones who rushed to meet him. “Get her to Valkyrie,” he shouted as he ran across the ship’s deck.

  There was no time to think; Alan just reacted. In a flash, he’d scooped up a wounded Angelica, and in the next second, he’d raced to their airship at the opposite end of the cargo deck.

  Danielle must have seen the events transpiring from her view in the cockpit, because she was just reaching the plane’s rear hatch as Alan approached.

  “Here.” Danielle motioned with a pointed finger. “Lay her here.”

  Alan gently laid Angelica down at Danielle’s feet. Inspecting his human cargo for the first time made Alan wince with sympathy. Angelica was not only bruised and bloodied, but a large portion of her torso was also burned. She coughed as Danielle cradled a mess of blonde curls in her arms. “I need to get back in this fight. I can’t go out like this. Not like this. Danielle.” Angelica turned her head so she could look up into Danielle’s eyes. “You have to get me back in there, you—”

  “Shh …” Danielle placed both of her hands onto her friend’s temples. “I will. Be calm.”

  More than anything, Alan wanted to stay. He wanted to make sure his combat instructor would make a full recovery and shield both of them from anyone who’d approach during their time of vulnerability. A deafening boom that rocked the entire ship made him remember he had friends who were still fighting, friends who very desperately needed him now.

  “Go,” Danielle said. She closed her eyes as she slowly took in deep breaths and released them through her mouth at an even tempo. “They need you. I can take care of her. Go.”

  Alan hesitated only a second longer before he sped into motion. Rounding the rear of their plane, he took in how much the events of the conflict had changed. To the left, Arther was throwing copies of Infinities left and right with his mind. Clones flew through the air either to land roughly on the ship's metal frame or to plummet into the frothing water below.

  Jacob was still approaching Dominic. Head lowered, the stone man put one foot in front of the other as Dominic threw everything he had at his enemy. Massive beams of energy exploded on and around Jacob. Still, the Nephilim leader moved forward, foot by foot, closing the distance.

  Jacob’s instructions played through Alan’s mind. They needed to stop the statue from being raised, at all costs. It was clear that no Nephilim here was raising the Colossus. There had to be someone else hidden on board making the ocean release its claim on the monolithic sculpture.

  Alan took off at a sprint. A voice in his head told him to stop and assist his friends, but neither of them was in any immediate harm. Alan’s eyes raced across the frame of the container ship. Ninety percent of the boat was a flat surface intended for storage space. Only one structure on the boat stood towering over the deck: a two-story building that sat at the rear of the ship. Alan guessed he’d find there whoever was raising the statue.

  The world blurred around him as he crossed the deck and took the stairs two at a time to what he hoped was the control room. Alan burst through the rusting door to find a tall woman waiting for him. Perspiration dotted her classically beautiful face. Her fair skin contrasted against her raven hair and long dark cloak. “Hello, Alan Price,” she said. “I thought you would be coming. My name is Ardat.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Alan wasn’t sure what to do. The rules of the treaty between angels and demons would not allow the Fallen to physically harm either angels or their chosen Nephilim. Still, Alan couldn’t be sure what the woman would do if he tried to stop her.

  Finally finding his voice, Alan took a tentative step forward. “You have to stop. I can’t let you do this.”

  Ardat raised a dark eyebrow. “Let me? You are incapable of allowing or not allowing me to do anything. You are a child, playing at war.”

  Alan took another step, closing the distance between them. She was only yards away now. “That is far enough,” she said. Despite Alan’s arrival, Ardat had not lowered her hands or taken her eyes from the large glass windows that provided her a view of the ocean.

  Alan paused. It wasn’t her words that stopped him; it was the sureness of her tone. Something else was happening. An instant later, Alan felt the hairs on the back of his neck tingle with anticipation. He could hear someone enter through the door behind him.

  Alan was unwilling to remove his stare from Ardat, not knowing what she had planned. He felt someone brush by his left arm as the person came into view. Kyle Brown moved to stand between Alan and Ardat.

  There was no doubt it was Kyle. His image was still fresh in Alan’s mind from their brief run-in the previous day. Still, there was something different about him. He stood a little taller, and his shoulders extended a little wider.

  Ardat broke the uncomfortable silence with a grunt of exertion. “There,” she breathed. Both Alan and Kyle glanced out the control room’s windows.

  The ocean was a mess of waves and foam as the water bubbled and churned in every direction. Despite the chaos in the sea on
ly yards away from the container ship, Alan saw what had made Ardat’s lips twinge with delight. A mound of rusted metal was beginning to emerge from the deep, just breaking the surface.

  The sight was mesmerizing. The amount of mental strength it took to bring the entire statue to the surface was boggling. Alan tore his eyes away from the scene. “Stop, you have to stop now! This will cause a war.”

  “I know,” Ardat said through clenched teeth.

  Alan turned to Kyle. “You have to let me stop her. You don’t know what they’re going to do.”

  Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I do. They’re going to use my knowledge from the Chronicle and this metal to forge weapons to defeat both angels and the Nephilim who stand with them.”

  Alan took a step back as though Kyle’s words were a physical blow. “You know? They told you all of this, and you’re still going to side with them?”

  Kyle nodded, jaw set. “They gave me powers, Alan. They turned me from a nobody into a somebody I can live with. You don’t know what’s like every day, wondering if you’d be better off dead, dealing with the depression and the bullying.”

  Alan’s heart tore in his chest. Even though Kyle was only a few years younger than he was, Alan could see in the young man the person he used to be, like looking into a mirror of his not-so-distant past. “Kyle, I know what you’re going through.”

  Kyle’s face brightened for a moment. “You do? Then you must understand, this is my ticket out. This is my calling.”

  “No,” Alan said, and before he could say anything else, another large explosion rocked the ship. Alan and Kyle both fell to their knees. Ardat still stood as solid as the statue she was levitating, beads of sweat snaking their way down from her hairline.