by A. J. Norris
Another loud crack resounded.
“Oh shiiiit!” A dark form dropped to the ground with a thud.
“That didn’t sound good,” Evita said, running at the shape she knew was an angel with black wings, because white wings would have glowed somewhat in the moonlight. Her first thought was of Amalya, though with her being due any minute now, this had to be someone else. She stopped a few feet from her. Virgil’s light illuminated the strawberry blonde angel’s features. Evita didn’t recognize her.
“Did you fall all the way from Arcadia?” Vigil said from behind.
The female on the ground moaned. “Ohhhh…”
“Julia, are you all right?” Virgil asked. Her arms were scratched and bloodied. She lay curled into a ball.
“Of course, she’s not all right. What happened?” Evita asked her then swallowed hard. Falling wasn’t the answer to any problem.
Virgil knelt next to Julia yet kept his hands at his sides. “Where’s Raz?”
“On task…” she said while he fished his phone out of his pocket. “Don’t call him, he…I wanted to make him p-proud,” Julia cried. Her bottom lip quivered. “I just can’t do this.”
“What can’t you do?” Evita said.
“I can’t angel.”
“What’d’ya mean you can’t angel?”
“Fly,” Julia whispered, tears streaking her cheeks.
“What?”
“I can’t fly.”
Evita couldn’t hold back her own tears. Here was this new angel and she couldn’t do one of the things that separated her from her past human existence. Virgil had explained how Amalya had acquired her black wings. He had also spoken of Julia.
A male appeared beside Evita. She recognized him as Ra’zael the Guardian. The dark-haired angel rushed toward Julia and knelt beside her. His wings glowed bluish in the moonlight.
“Oh, Deus. What’d you do?” He brushed the back of her hand with his. “Are you injured?”
“Y-yes,” she squeaked.
“Where does it hurt?”
“Everywhere.”
“Can you sit up?” He petted one of her wings. Julia’s feathers stood on end where he’d touched her. She purred and sat upright. “I thought everything hurt?”
“It does, now be quiet.”
The male laughed. He gathered her in his arms and cradled her body. She allowed her left arm to hang loosely. “I wanted you to be proud of me. I’m an angel who can’t fly. I’m petrified of heights. It’s like I freeze and I can’t unthaw.”
“I don’t care,” Raz said. “I am proud of you. Flying isn’t a requirement of an angel.” He smoothed the hair off her face.
“Oh yeah, says who?”
“Me. I love you.”
“Like I’m sure you really want to cart my ass around forever.”
“I will if I have to. You’re no trouble to me.”
“Aren’t females supposed to be the stronger of the sexes? And look at me. This is bullshit!”
“You don’t have anything to prove to me,” Raz told his female.
Evita glanced into the sky then at the tree Julia had fallen out of. Five feet in either direction, she may have missed the tree and Abaddon would have heard the fall. She wanted to yell at the girl. Call her an idiot. Tell her what could have happened to her if she’d smacked the Earth instead of that tall maple. A sob escaped her throat. Raz and Julia looked at her.
Virgil stepped closer and grasped her hand. “What is it, my love?”
“Sh-she could have fallen. She was so close.” Evita stared at the ground. The mate she still couldn’t remember pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“But I didn’t,” Julia said. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Raz made an exasperated noise.
“No. Tell her Raz.”
“Julia…” Raz cleared his throat.
“What?”
“She’s right. How far did you fall?”
“All the way. Well, I did manage to flap my wings a little…otherwise that would’ve really hurt. I’m just sorry about the tree.”
Raz chuckled. “Don’t worry about the damn tree. And don’t do that again please.” Raz kissed Julia’s forehead then stood up with her in his arms. He walked away as she gazed up at his face. They faded into the night, likely teleporting to wherever they lived.
Evita stared at the spot they’d been. “Virgil. I think I’d like to go back to the apartment.”
He only nodded. He must have read her mind; she wasn’t ready to see Arcadia.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Amalya
Every Tuesday evening after work, Hazel sat drinking coffee at a shop around the corner from Amalya and Elliott’s apartment. Amalya knew why her niece chose this café. The woman had discovered the vicinity where they lived.
Amalya parked herself in the shadows between two buildings across the street. She supported her enormous baby bump with her hands. One eye squeezed shut as Ian repositioned himself inside her. She studied her niece for a moment. Amalya, Hazel, and her mother Genevieve—Amalya’s sister, all shared similar facial features. All three of them could be mistaken for sisters. Even at forty-five, Hazel’s mother looked youthful enough.
Her mind wandered while Hazel sipped from a cup. She read a book or something and flipped a page. Were baby angels born with wings? And what color would Ian’s be? Black? White? Or maybe one of each? Would he have white hair?
Hazel pushed her chair back and rose from the table. Amalya emerged from the darkened alley only to be caught in her niece’s line of vision when she glanced out the window. She dropped her cup and ran for the door. Amalya remained at the mouth of the alley, leaning against the wall. Teleporting away was the best thing for her to do, but something told her to stay there. She took a deep breath and waited.
“Amalya!” Hazel called across the street, waving frantically. She darted over the two lanes and threw her arms wide open. A car slowed, allowing her safe passage. She waved a thank you at the driver. Amalya stepped into her embrace. “I prayed I’d see you again,” Hazel gushed. “Wow! You must be getting close to your due date.”
“Oh yeah, any day now.”
“Boy? Girl?”
“Boy. We’ve named him Killian. I’m not sure why I’m…I should go.”
Hazel’s face fell. “No. Just walk with me for a little bit.”
Well, Amalya had come this far, she’d already seen her, it seemed cruel to disappear right then. “All right.” They strolled down the block in silence.
“So how’ve you been? How’s Elliott?”
The blood drained out of Amalya’s head. Had she told Hazel her mate’s name? She couldn’t recall if she had or not so she shrugged it off. “He’s fine…no wait, take that back, he’s not fine. And neither am I.”
“What’s wrong?” Hazel put her hand on her arm, stopping her in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Elliott isn’t handling things well. On the outside, he’s keeping it together but we’re about to hand over our son to strangers.” Amalya sniffed and a tear rolled down her cheek and off her chin.
“That’s ridiculous! I’m sick for you. Can I help you?”
“Thanks, but at this point I’m more worried about Elliott and Killian than myself. And you can’t…” Someone or something rounded the corner and headed toward them. Amalya glimpsed the guy dressed in all leather over Hazel’s shoulder. He had a mohawk flopped over one side and ring through his nose. Amalya wasn’t certain, although if she had to guess, the man wasn’t a man at all but a demon. A woman was with him. She’d seen her before. At Eternity. Always drunk and hanging on some married dude.
Oh, nice, an Ephemeral Spirit.
She and the dude had been found dead in the alley next to the club. The demon and the ES halted when they saw Amalya. There wasn’t any doubt her wings were visible to the pair.
Wings flapped high above her and Hazel. A shadow passed over them and a dark golden feathe
r floated to the cement.
“Dahlia,” she hissed. When she looked up, the tip of a wing vanished from view as the bitter Warrior jumped down from the top ledge of a building onto the roof. She gripped Hazel’s arm. “We gotta go.”
She linked elbows with her niece and spun them in the opposite direction.
“It’s not safe here. Come on.” Amalya waddled as fast as she could, dragging Hazel toward the only safe place, Eternity. Hazel looked behind her.
“Is it those people?”
“Yeah, Mohawk and the chick. But that’s only half of it.”
“What’s going on?” Hazel demanded.
Amalya panted, she wasn’t going to make the three blocks to the club. She ducked into a restaurant and weaved them through the tables searching for the back door or a bathroom. Settling for a dark hallway, she texted Elliott, fumbling over the keys. Seconds later, he appeared.
Hazel gasped and jumped into the wall, her hands covering her mouth.
Amalya focused on her mate; she’d deal with Hazel’s shock later.
“Your text didn’t make sense. What’s going on?” he asked.
“The usual. A demon, an ES. Oh, and Dahlia.”
“What’s an E-S?” Hazel asked. They ignored her.
The demon, Amalya assumed it was Berus given what Evita had said, stood in the middle of the restaurant scanning the room. He sniffed the air then narrowed his eyes when he caught their scents.
Elliott grunted and crashed into the wall with his shoulder beside her.
What the…?
Amalya spun around.
Dahlia laughed. “I’ve always wanted to do that.” Elliott quickly recovered and launched at the Warrior. He grabbed her throat, squeezing while Dahlia beat his forearms with her fists.
“Poof…Amalya!” he yelled.
“What about Haz—”
“Go!”
Berus ripped at the crests of Elliott’s wings.
He jumped in the air, twisting out of the demon’s hold, and knocking into Dahlia. She rocked back onto her ass. The Warrior screamed, not in pain but surprise. Elliott swept the demon’s legs, who landed hard on the tile floor. The ES stood a few feet away with her mouth hung open.
Amalya cranked the knob of the door marked ‘Private’, snapping the locking mechanism inside. She pushed the door open and yanked Hazel in with her. After shutting them off from the melee, she hugged her niece.
“Elliott won’t leave you behind, stay in here.”
“The door doesn’t lock.”
“That wouldn’t matter anyway. Besides Dahlia isn’t after you.”
“Why not? I mean, isn’t she after you?”
“Uh uh, but she doesn’t like me.” Amalya put the back of her hand on Hazel’s cheek. They were the same age, although she’d come to think of herself as being much older. Well, maybe wiser. Something heavy banged into the door. Glass broke. More yelling. A police siren wailed.
Elliott flung open the door. Blood ran from his nose. His eyes widened when he realized she hadn’t left yet. “We gotta go!”
“We can’t leave her.”
“Go. I got her,” he said, waving Hazel toward him. “Put your arms around me.”
“Where are—oh wow…” Hazel watched in awe. The ceiling thinned until the moon’s rays filled the tiny office.
Amalya closed her eyes and imagined the men’s crapper at Eternity.
***
The dizzying trip through teleportation nothingness ended with Amalya sprawled on the rubberized floor inside a bathroom stall. She immediately rose to her hands and knees and puked. After wiping her mouth, she lumbered to her feet. Elliott and Hazel had taken the long way. She peeked out of the stall. Only one guy was at the urinal, so she scooted out of there.
The music blared the instant she opened the door. The thumping beat threatened to make her nauseous again. Amalya held her hands over her belly and chest near her throat. Blowing breaths from her mouth helped ease the queasy feeling.
Amalya stepped onto the elevator and sighed in relief. She leaned against the back and waited for the doors to slide shut. A hand stuck between them and the panels retracted. Elliott got into the elevator with Hazel.
“What’s she doing here? I thought you were taking her home?” she asked her mate.
“I thought—”
“They don’t want her.” Amalya tossed her hands up.
“Obviously, you don’t either,” Hazel whispered. She shrank against the wall.
“How do you know?” Elliott asked.
“Why would they want a human? You were choking Dahlia, of course he defended her. What I can’t figure out is what she’s doing with the demon.”
Elliott snorted. “Not that hard to figure out.”
“Oh,” Amalya furrowed her brow. “But she’s an angel. That’s…”
“Unthinkable,” the angels spoke at the same time.
“What’s unthinkable, that she could love a demon?” Hazel said looking back and forth between them.
Amalya chuckled. “She doesn’t love him, believe me.”
“I don’t understand.”
Ding! The elevator doors opened in the lobby of the angel hangout.
“Is she even allowed in?” Amalya asked.
Elliott shrugged. “Yeah, but we’ll have to wipe her mind later.”
“Wipe my what? Uh uh. No mind wiping.” Hazel patted the side of her head.
“It won’t hurt.”
Gregory came out of the lounging area, which was partially shielded by bamboo poles growing out of planters. He smiled at Amalya. “How’s the little angel?” He never resisted asking.
She sighed. “Still cooking.”
“Elliott,” he said, dipping his head once.
Had Gregory not noticed a human? Amalya walked past, hoping he wouldn’t realize what Hazel was.
“The human can’t be in here,” Gregory said.
“There’s an extraneous circumstance,” Elliott said.
“My apologies, but she has to go.”
“Why? We’ll wipe her memory,” Amalya said.
“I don’t care if you give her a whole memory extraction.”
Amalya had never heard the term. An image of Evita surfaced in her brain. “How does someone do an extraction?”
“Amalya,” Elliott said, making a cut-it-out gesture.
“I was thinking of Evita.”
“Dammit! I never called Virgil to warn him.” Elliott shoved his hand into his jeans pockets, then patted the seat of his pants. “Shit! I think I lost my phone.”
“Here, use mine.” Gregory handed a phone to him. Elliott dialed and bit his nail while he waited. “Pickuppickup. Dammit! Voice mail.” He left a message instructing Virgil not to go home and come to Eternity ASAP.
Amalya took Hazel’s hand and led her through the stands of bamboo. They stopped short when Gregory appeared in front of them. “She can’t go in there. Consider this your last warning. Please.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Gregory growled deeply. His pale blue eyes turned black and the iris’ spread until there were no more white parts left.
What was happening to his eyes?
“Oh. My. God. Elliott!” The girls stepped back. This was something new. Fangs elongated on his upper and lower jaws. His wings snapped open and the white feathers ignited.
Elliott gathered her and Hazel in his arms, shielding them from Gregory. “What is—”
A blast of heat blew over them.
“I said the human goes!” Gregory boomed. Another hot wave bombarded them. This time Amalya crouched lower behind Elliott’s wings. She smelled burnt feathers. Her stomach churned. Tremendous force pulled the three of them across the floor as the fire sucked oxygen from the air. They skated in their shoes toward Gregory. Elliott’s wings stretched out behind him. His face reddened and the veins in his neck popped.
“Stop!” Hazel screeched. “I’ll go!”
The flames at Gregory’s bac
k ceased. “Thank you,” he said. When Elliott moved aside, the once docile angel appeared looking like his regular self.
What in the Netherworld was that shit?
Amalya had wondered how someone as easygoing as Gregory guarded anything. Now she knew. He walked back to his post, pausing to apologize for his outburst.
Jeremiah rushed up to them, concern on his face. “Is everyone all right?” He plugged his nose and waved his hand at the lingering smoke with the other. “I forgot how awful fried feathers smelled.”
“We’re fine,” Amalya said. “I need to take Hazel home though.” Jere shook his head. She turned; Hazel was gone. “Well, that’s not good.”
“Why was she here anyway?”
“Good question. Ask your pater.”
Elliott groaned under his breath. “I’m sorry.”
“Never mind that, we need to find Virgil. He isn’t answering his phone,” Amalya said.
Jere shrugged. “I’ll go find him. What’s the deal?”
“We had a situation with a demon and Dahlia. Oh, and some poor ES is with them,” Elliott told his son.
Jere’s eyes widened. “What demon?”
“Berus. We think.”
His eyes widened. “What’s he look like now?”
“An asshole.”
“Just describe him so I know what to keep an eye out for.”
“Tall, dark, and mohawked,” Amalya said. “Dahlia’s—”
“A Warrior. I know, everyone does.”
Amalya pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why does everyone know who this psycho wench is?”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Berus
Humans are a pain in the ass, Berus thought as he allowed two men dressed in the same type of uniformed clothing to shackle him and slam his face onto a table. Lilyana told him not to resist before she took off. He’d hunt her down later. A benefit of the toxin he’d fed her was she wouldn’t go far. Dahlia teleported somewhere; he didn’t care where. She’d be back.
