Angeli Trilogy: Angeli Books 1-3

by Amy Vansant

  “You won’t come back as a monster,” he said.

  Eris crumbled to her knees, overcome with emotion.

  “Thank you…” she said, reaching out to him.

  He took a step back, tucking himself behind Mallory.

  “You won’t come back at all,” he mumbled, pushing his Sentinels toward her.

  Eris’ eyes grew wide and darted between Mallory and Tyannah.

  “Wait—”

  Mallory kicked Eris in the face and knocked her to her back. She cried out, rolled to her stomach and began to scramble away on all fours. Mallory stepped on her back to stop her progress and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her to her knees.

  Eris grasped Mallory’s wrist and pulled energy from him, so he slapped her with his opposite hand and kicked her hard in the midsection. She doubled over and collapsed to the ground, only her head remaining perpendicular as Mallory continued to hold her hair. He dropped to his knees and spiked her skull to the concrete floor.

  Stunned, Eris went limp. Mallory spun her onto her back and straddled her stomach. He grabbed her throat with both hands and began to throttle the life from her, draining her as he pressed against her. She roused and clawed at him, her arms working wildly to dislodge him, until her arms fell limp to her sides.

  Mallory released her throat and Eris gasped for breath, coughing. When he felt she’d regained enough oxygen, he choked and drained her again. When she fell limp, he stopped and she again convulsed and began to gasp for air.

  “Stop it!” screamed Tyannah.

  Tyannah kicked Mallory in the side of his head and he rolled from his position on Eris, clutching at his ear. The girl grabbed Eris’ wrist and drained the last of her life as quickly as she could. Eris’ form burst into a shower of white light and disappeared.

  Rathe watched it all, pressed against the wall, stunned by the violence. He felt a tingling sensation when Eris vanished. It was as if her energy had rushed through him on its way to another place. Then that flush of pleasure deserted his body and he stood staring at the two Sentinels, trapped in a world much too real for his liking. Tyannah was on her knees, panting, Eris’ power flowing through her veins. Nearby, Mallory sat on the floor staring at the caramel-skinned girl, his eyes filled with murderous rage.

  He’d been worried for days that the two would fight and didn’t know what to do. He wanted to protect Tyannah; in the long run she would be easier to control. On the other hand, he was terrified of Mallory.

  “I’m going to kill you,” said the soldier, rocking to his knees.

  “You two are going to have to learn to get along,” said Rathe. Maybe a good scolding would work.

  “He didn’t need to do that,” said Tyannah. “She was weak. She came here for help. Why didn’t you just help her?”

  “I’m not here to help them. I’m here to kill them.”

  “Well, fine; but he didn’t have to torture her like that. He’s sick.”

  Rathe turned to Mallory and did his best to pretend he wasn’t as sickened by the soldier as she was.

  “Don’t do that again. Toying with them is the sort of thing that will get you killed. She was weak. The next Arch you meet won’t be so brittle.”

  Mallory stood, his glare never wavering from Tyannah.

  “You ever do that again, especially to a woman, and I’ll kill you,” she said, holding his gaze. “Try me.”

  Mallory spat and wiped blood from his mouth.

  “Whatever you say, Little Miss.”

  He spun on his boot heel and strode away.

  Rathe felt like he should be relieved, but he remained jumpy.

  That was too easy.

  Tyannah watched Mallory leave and then turned to Rathe.

  “He’s the devil.”

  He remained silent.

  “What is he? Ex-military?”

  “Worse. Lifetime military wannabe. He hired himself out as a mercenary for every job no self-respecting soldier would take.”

  “Why would you pick him?”

  “Sometimes you need people like Mallory.”

  “I thought you came to punish the bad people. He’s bad people.”

  Rathe stared at the doorway where Mallory had disappeared into another room.

  “I won’t always need him.”

  He stepped forward and put out his arms.

  “You look like you could use a hug.”

  Tyannah glared at him and then turned, leaving the room in the opposite direction Mallory had chosen to make his exit.

  Rathe stood in the middle of the largest room in the warehouse.

  He felt very alone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Con insisted on driving. It was his first chance to drive since before cars existed.

  “This is great,” he said, traveling ninety-five miles an hour down route 75 towards Columbus, Ohio. “I mean, it isn’t flying, but imagine how handy this would have been back in the day.”

  Anne smiled and touched his arm. Her mind was flooded with flashbacks of their times together before he’d lost his body. Times when they interacted like normal people. She’d missed it.

  “You have to slow down or we’re going to get pulled over.”

  “Pulled over? Who could catch us?”

  “There are police in fast cars of their own who keep people from going over the speed limit.”

  “I thought that was just in movies. I’m way under the limit anyway. The speedometer goes to three hundred.”

  “Not the car’s limits. The legal limit. You shouldn’t be going faster than seventy.”

  “Really? Well, that takes some of the fun out of it.”

  “It’s for safety. Not everyone has our reflexes or our ability to walk away from a crash.”

  “But I do.”

  “But they don’t and they’re driving around us.”

  Con sighed. “Fine.”

  A sign for Zanesville flew by and Anne checked the map on her phone to get a feeling for the surrounding area.

  “Take the next exit,” she said. “There are some woods where we can take a rest and figure out what to do next.”

  Con closed his eyes and was slow to open them. Too slow for a guy driving a car. She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair.

  “Are you okay?”

  He smiled. “I’m fine, Luv. It’s just funny you should mention resting. I’m tired. I haven’t slept in over a century and I think I could use a nap.”

  Con pulled off the interstate and they drove through an industrial area until they reached the outskirts of town. They followed a one-lane stretch until it intersected with a dirt road leading into a forest. They followed that until they reached a clearing near the top of a small bluff. Con took his foot off the gas and tried to throw the car into park as they rolled forward. The car lurched, and Anne threw up her hands just in time to stop her head from plowing into the dash.

  “Nice,” she said.

  He turned to her, grinning.

  “Thanks. You want to make out?”

  She laughed.

  “Making out in cars wasn’t part of our youth.”

  “You can pretend we’re making out in the hold of a pirate ship. That’s what you people did, right?”

  “Very funny.”

  “Does this thing go back?”

  Con fiddled with the seat until he found how to lay down the seat.

  “I’m going to walk around a bit and have a think,” said Anne, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. “You take a nap.”

  “Okay,” he muttered, eyes already closing. “Wait, do that again.”

  She pecked him again on the forehead and he smiled.

  “Nice.”

  Anne slipped out of the car and surveyed the surrounding area. A deer trail led through the trees and she walked it until she found herself overlooking a small valley. Below, a warehouse nestled in a small clearing, looking square and nondescript like the others they’d passed on their way to the summit. She found a large s
itting rock and perched on it to enjoy the view. She had so much to think about that she found herself unable to concentrate on any one thing. Instead, she enjoyed staring at the world below like a bird in flight. Sitting on a rock was much better than dangling from the arms of a psychotic Angelus. At least she knew she wouldn’t fling herself from the edge.

  She felt a presence and turned, a smile on her face, expecting to find Con awake from his nap.

  “That was fast—”

  A girl stood at the foot of a second deer path that led down the side of the hill. She wore shorts and a tank top and looked like any other teenager, but everything about her aura belied her existence as a Sentinel. Anne recognized her as Tyannah, the girl they’d been sent to find.

  The Cherub had found her first.

  Anne stood.

  “Hello Tyannah,” she said, reaching out with her own aura to identify any possible difference between an Angeli-born Sentinel and one made by the Cherubim.

  “You know my name?”

  “I came here looking for you.”

  “You did? Hey!” The girl fluttered her hands in front of her. “What are you doin’?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I feel you messin’ with me. I ain’t stupid. What are you doin’?”

  “Fair enough. I’m checking you out. I’m touching your aura with mine. Do you know how to do that? I’m wondering if you’re different than I am.”

  Tyannah’s mouth twisted into a knot. She seemed wistful. Anne guessed that she didn’t know how to scan others and she didn’t want to admit it.

  “Are you tryin’ to hurt me?”

  “No. I’m just curious. I’ll stop.”

  The girl kept her eyes locked on Anne.

  “Am I different?” she asked after a moment.

  “Not that I noticed.”

  “So you and I are the same thing? You know Rathe?”

  “Rathe? Is that the Cherub’s name? Little guy? Blond?”

  The girl nodded.

  “No. Well, we met. It didn’t go well.”

  “You’re the lady from New York?”

  “Yes. Rathe attacked me and I fought back.”

  “You beat him up?”

  “I suppose. For what it was worth. He got away in the end.”

  She chuckled. “He’s not a very good fighter. That’s why he needs us.”

  “Us?”

  The girl’s expression darkened. “Me and Mallory.”

  “So he’s made two Sentinels. Any more?”

  “No. I—” Tyannah crossed her hands over her chest. “I don’t know if I should be talkin’ to you. You protect the people he’s fightin’.”

  Anne looked around. Something didn’t feel right to her, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. She wished Con would wake up and join her. With his powers he could drain the girl if need be.

  “Tyannah, look, you should come with me. Stay with me. The Angeli are the good guys. They’re here to save the world, not to kill everyone.”

  “He says he’s only here to kill the bad ones. Like in the bible.”

  “He’s come too early. It isn’t time for Armageddon. You can help us send him back where he needs to be and then you can work with us. You can work with me.”

  “With you? Like as your partner?”

  “Sure. I can request to be the one who trains you. I can teach you how to scan people and all sorts of things.”

  “I’d like workin’ with another woman…”

  The girl reached up and pulled at her hair. Anne felt she was making good progress. If she could take Rathe’s Sentinels, he’d be powerless to fight the Angeli.

  “Maybe the other girl would like to join us too? Mallory?”

  Tyannah laughed. “Mallory’s a guy. You don’t want him. He’s awful.”

  Anne smiled. Tyannah looked like a different person when she laughed. She looked like the happy young person she should be at her age. The girl was confused and needed her help. She’d taken the word of the Angeli as gospel when she became a Sentinel. She’d had to. She couldn’t blame Tyannah for believing everything Rathe said.

  A movement in the trees behind the girl caught Anne’s eye.

  Con. I’d better stop him before he startles the girl.

  “Don’t be scared, but I need to tell my friend that you’re a friend,” she said, holding out her hands toward the girl. “I think he’s on his way here.”

  “What?”

  “It’s okay. I’m going to call out to him and let him know.”

  Anne looked to where she last saw movement.

  “Con!” she called. “It’s okay! This is Tyann—”

  She heard the crack of a gunshot a moment before the bullet pierced her brain and she crumpled to the ground.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Mallory sat up and watched Tyannah slip out of the warehouse.

  “Where you off to girly?” he muttered.

  He stood, felt for the knife strapped to his leg, picked up his rifle, and followed her.

  He stood outside the warehouse, allowing her to reach the forest before pursuing. The girl was learning fast. She glanced behind her several times to be sure she wasn’t followed, but once she hit the tree line he could easily close the gap between them without being seen.

  She was jogging. He was glad because she was less likely to notice him if she was running. He followed at a good distance and she was easy to track as she pushed her way past tree branches, unaware that every twig snap was like a neon light pointing to her progress. He’d pursued foes more like ghosts than men through the jungles of Colombia; tracking a girl through the forests of Ohio was no challenge at all. He kept her in his sights until he heard voices.

  He stopped and listened. The girl was speaking to someone.

  Who is she meeting out in the middle of nowhere?

  Crouching low, he strained to hear the conversation. He was unable to put eyes on the other speaker, but it sounded like a woman. Just another granola-munching trail walker, more than likely. He shifted left and moved forward until he spotted a buxom young woman with strawberry hair pulled into a ponytail. She stood on the edge of the bluff.

  He licked his lips.

  Maybe I’ll wait until Ty leaves and then put this new body of mine to work on that.

  He was so caught up in his fantasy he almost didn’t notice that both Tyannah and the woman felt the same. The new girl wasn’t human.

  Had Rathe made another?

  No. The Cherub had mentioned that making a third Sentinel would be ill-advised. And when would he have had the time? He’d been training with them since they arrived.

  That means she’s on the other team.

  Mallory slid a blade out of his holster. He took the knife and slid it across the top of his forearm. It hurt. The blood flowed and then just as quickly stopped. He wiped away the red to find the wound healed.

  If the woman was a Sentinel, it meant she healed as well.

  He felt his manhood stir.

  She could recover from anything he did to her. She felt pain, but she could survive it. He wanted to cut her. Make her scream. He scratched at the back of his arm again with his knife, relishing the pain, imagining it was hers.

  He’d spent his whole life looking for a mate like this. The glorious truth had never presented itself to him during his time with Tyannah. She was nothing but an annoyance to him. A child. But this new woman…

  His eyes swept over her body.

  Mine.

  He readied his rifle and stood, resting the barrel against the side of a tree to steady his shot.

  Rathe had warned him that blows to the head could knock a Sentinel unconscious. It was time to see if the Angeli’s children suffered that same Achilles heel.

  He exhaled and pulled the trigger.

  The redhead fell as he ran forward to collect his trophy.

  “Get behind me,” he said to Tyannah as he burst from the tree line.

  “Mallory, no! Wait! You should talk to
her.”

  Tyannah grabbed at his arm as he passed her and he yanked it away.

  “Let go of me!”

  “Mallory! Wait! She said—”

  “Shut up!” he roared.

  Tyannah stopped short but her focus wasn’t on him. She looked past him. He turned and saw Rathe standing on the edge of the bluff, standing beside the fallen Sentinel. His gaze traveled from the Cherub to the woman on the ground.

  No. No, No! She’s mine.

  “She said what?” asked Rathe. “What are you two doing up here? What is she doing here?”

  “I found her,” said Tyannah.

  “I shot her,” said Mallory. She’s mine, he added in his head, but he stopped in time to keep the thought to himself. He couldn’t let Rathe see his interest in the woman. He couldn’t tip his hand so soon.

  “Is she alone?”

  Mallory looked at Tyannah.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I didn’t think to ask…”

  “You two, come close. Mallory, grab the Sentinel.”

  Mallory scooped the woman into his arms and Rathe grabbed his shoulder. A moment later, they were in the warehouse.

  Rathe stumbled toward a chair and collapsed into it.

  “Give her to me,” he said, panting.

  “What?” Mallory held her tighter to his chest.

  “Give her to me. I need the energy.”

  “No!”

  “What do you mean no?”

  “No! We need her.”

  “For what? She’s a soldier on the enemy’s team. The forest up there could be crawling with Angeli and more Sentinels! I have to be ready for them!”

  Tyannah looked back toward the bluff.

  “You think there are Angeli up there?”

  “That’s just it, I don’t know!” screamed Rathe. He was beginning to sound panicked. “I need her energy. I’ll drain her and we’ll prepare for attack.”

  “You’re missing the point,” said Mallory. “They won’t attack if we have a hostage.”

  “A hostage?”

  Rathe looked at the woman, hanging like a ragdoll in Mallory’s arms.

  “If she wakes up she’ll kill me. She nearly did it once before. I need her gone. I can’t keep her here…”