Angeli Trilogy: Angeli Books 1-3

by Amy Vansant

  “Once we’re sober, maybe we should get drunk all over again.”

  Con found it hard to wipe the smile from his face. “You know, you might turn out to be one of my favorite people ever. I didn’t see that comin’.”

  “Does that mean no more ginger sasquatch jokes?”

  “No. Sorry. Not by a longshot.”

  She smirked and shimmered into a network of blue light before reappearing.

  He cocked his head. “So? How’re you feelin’ now?”

  She kissed him, hard, on the lips, until he had to pull away to find his breath.

  “My lord woman! A man has to breathe!”

  “Your turn. Sober up.”

  Con grimaced.

  “Really?”

  She nodded.

  He closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened them, he found himself five feet away from where he’d been standing.

  “Shite. That’s even worse than the first time.”

  “But are you sober?”

  He thought for a second. “I am.”

  “And?”

  “I still want to see you naked.”

  “Splendid!”

  She walked to him and took his hand. “Let’s return to the Lass in the Limerick, enjoy some drinks and start this all over again knowing we’re headed in the same direction drunk or sober.”

  “Heh. Then I’ll show you what happened to that lass in the limerick.” She shocked him with a surprisingly girlish giggle that made him chuckle. “I think I might fancy you, Red.”

  “Naturally.”

  “Unless—”

  She stopped. “Unless what?”

  Con rubbed his head with his hand. “Well, in all fairness I should tell you that you remind me a lot of Annie.”

  “Annie? You mean Anne the Sentinel?”

  He nodded. “She’s sort of—my girl. Except for the whole she’s Michael’s girl thing.”

  “You can’t share? You’re that smitten or that possessive?”

  “That’s the thing. She isn’t asking me to be her one and only. I never planned on being her one and only. Nor her mine. I just can’t stand sharin’ her with him.”

  He spat and began to stroll once more. Boudica remained silent for several seconds and then offered her take on the situation.

  “You can’t stand it because Michael isn’t a fling. She loves him. It means you’re not the one special person above all others.”

  Con blanched and made a noise as if he’d been hit in the stomach. “Oh, ouch. Could you give a guy a warnin’ before you rip out his heart and call him a self-centered bastard all at once?”

  “Am I wrong?”

  “No.”

  She sighed. “You wanted to stand apart from any other; but she loves him.”

  He pounded his chest. “And me, too!”

  “And you, too, I’m sure. Why can’t she love you both? You and Michael are so different—it’s like dating different species.”

  Con scowled. “I think we are different species, literally.”

  “Oh. Good point. There you go.”

  “But what—”

  Con cut short and slowed as they approached the pub. He touched Boudica’s wrist and she stopped.

  The pub that had been rollicking with life twenty minutes earlier seemed deserted

  “Did they close?” asked Boudica.

  Several beer bottles and glasses lay smashed on the pavement. Chairs were overturned and two of the Irish signs they’d admired earlier in the evening had fallen from the wall.

  “If they’re closed, the cleaning crew should be fired.”

  Music still played inside. The lights were on.

  “Maybe they all moved inside?”

  They approached the entrance and Boudica cupped her hands on either side of her face to peer in the window.

  “Empty.”

  Con tested the door. “It’s open.”

  They stepped inside. Half-filled glasses littered the floor, as if they’d been dropped mid-sip and abandoned.

  Con held up his closed fist, fingers forward, signaling to Boudica behind him. “Hold back.”

  “Oh, piss off,” said Boudica, her wings flaming to life.

  Con spotted movement in the back corner. He thought something slithered from the gloom, but soon realized it was the gloom itself, gliding from the darkness, independent of whatever cast it.

  “Nyx.”

  He heard the crackling of Boudica’s energy behind him as her wings wrapped down her arm to create her fiery blue broadsword.

  Nyx held his hands straight out on either side. A sheet of darkness fell from his limbs to the floor, like a stage curtain signaling the end. In the inky blackness of that drape, faces appeared, blurred and fleeting, arms reaching out before slipping back into the murky deep like swimmers drowning in a midnight loch.

  Nyx spoke. “I came for you, but I’ll take them.”

  With a flash of red light Nyx disappeared.

  “Go!” said Con, whirling to face Boudica.

  The Angelus had already shifted to her energy form in pursuit of the Cherub. Con waited, knowing his speed was no match.

  Boudica returned a few minutes later, blue light transforming into her human form.

  Con could tell by her expression that she’d returned empty-handed.

  “I lost him almost immediately.”

  “What about the people? There must have been a hundred people in this bar when we left.”

  “That was them—inside of him.”

  “He’ll make them Sentinels? All of them?”

  “There were a lot of Sentinels at the Victorian. He seems to make them in bulk. That would explain why they were so weak. He’s working in quantity, not quality.”

  “But a hundred?” Con’s voice faded.

  “We have to get out of here before someone sees us. We need to go to HQ. Get our bearings.”

  He nodded and she held him, hugging him close to her before whisking him away. He thought he felt a little squeeze of what he read as affection.

  He was often wrong about such things, but it felt good and he choose not to examine it too closely.

  Chapter Sixteen

  With the help of Angeli HQ, Anne and Leo tracked Alida’s energy signature to a barn behind a large, white farmhouse. She guessed their location to be somewhere in the American mid-west.

  “Let’s keep an eye on the barn, but sit tight until help arrives,” Anne suggested, clinging to Leo’s arm while she recovered from the flight. His bicep was too large to grasp with one hand so she kept her entire arm wrapped around it. “It’s like having a pig in a headlock.”

  He slid his arm from her grasp. “I’ll check if anyone is home at the big house.”

  “Fine.” She put a tractor between herself and the barn and sat, using an enormous tire as a backrest.

  She closed her eyes and an image of Michael appeared in the darkness, as if he’d been waiting for her. She smiled.

  “Go home,” he said.

  “What?”

  “Go home.” His voice was fading.

  “Go to New York? Why? Are you there?”

  The fading image of Michael turned, searching, as if he was lost. “Anne, where are you?”

  She reached out. “I’m here!”

  “I know, I’m looking right at you,” said Leo. He kicked her foot.

  Without opening her eyes, Anne punched his leg.

  “Ow! What are you doing?”

  “Shhh!”

  The vision of Michael dissipated.

  “Michael!”

  “Michael?”

  Anne opened her eyes with an exasperated grunt.

  Leo stared down at her. “There’s no one in the house. Are you losing your mind? Why did you say Michael?”

  “I see him when I close my eyes, like in a dream, but it’s real. I know it is. I think he’s trying to tell me something.”

  “That’s impossible. He’s in Chaos.”

  “He says he wants me
to go home. ”

  Leo pulled Anne to her feet and put his large hands on her shoulders. “Anne. He’s not here. He’s in Chaos. The only way we can get him back is to keep killing Cherubim and hope we hit the jackpot.”

  “I know what I saw.”

  “You know what you wanted to see.”

  “No I—”

  Leo’s attention snapped to something behind her. “Who’s that?”

  Anne turned and spotted a figure running through the field toward them. She recognized her new young roommate.

  “Tyannah!”

  Tyannah ran to them and stopped, out of breath and grinning. “I’m here!”

  “That was fast. Where were you? I called the house and Jeffrey said you were gone.”

  “I was shopping. Where’s Alida?”

  Leo scowled. “How did you know her name’s Alida?”

  “Uh, the Angelus who gave me a ride told me.”

  “Who?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t ask his name.”

  Anne grimaced. “Are you okay? Is something up?”

  “I’m fine,” Tyannah said, rolling her eyes like a child annoyed by her parents’ questions. “Now can we go kill this Cherub before she gets away?”

  Anne could tell by Leo’s expression that he wanted to interrogate the girl. She wanted to blame it on the Angelus’ suspicious nature, but she, too, felt as if Tyannah was hiding something.

  Anne patted Leo’s arm. “Let’s go do this.”

  He pressed his lips together, as if considering. “Fine. Let’s go. I’ll catch her, you finish her off.”

  Tyannah clapped with excitement and then gasped. “Oh! Be careful! She—” The girl’s expression froze and she cut short.

  “She what?” asked Anne.

  Tyannah shook her head. “Nothing. I don’t know. I, nevermind, it wasn’t important.”

  Anne put her arm around the girl and walked her toward the barn and away from Leo with some urgency. “You’re very mysterious today.”

  Tyannah chuckled.

  “Cut it out before Leo decides to break you open and see what you’re hiding.”

  The girl’s eyes grew wide. “Sorry. It’s nothing, really.”

  “I hope not. I’m putting a lot of trust in you here.”

  She nodded.

  They stopped in front of the barn door and waited for Leo to catch up. He arrived, took a moment to eyeball Tyannah, and then assumed his energy form to rise above the structure, preparing to tackle Alida if she tried to escape.

  Anne put her hand on the handle of the barn door. “Ready?”

  Tyannah’s lips curved to form her answer, but Anne never heard the response. The barn doors exploded outward, sending both women flying in opposite directions as horses pounded toward them. Anne landed hard on her back as the first hoof landed on her shin, snapping it. She screamed in pain and covered her head as a horse ran past and another hoof clipped her shoulder. She rolled as fast and far as she could from the stampede, but another horse adjusted direction to pursue and barreled towards her.

  “She turned the horses!” she heard Leo’s voice roar. His declaration didn’t make any sense.

  She waited until the last second and then rolled out of the path of the second horse.

  Safe, she hollered back at Leo, hoping he could hear over the thundering of hooves.

  “Help Tyannah!”

  Anne scrambled away from the beasts, her leg swinging below her knee like a clock pendulum. The pain was exquisite.

  Leo’s words rolled in her mind. She turned the horses?

  A brown mare appeared in front of her and reared. In her haste to parry, Anne put weight on her broken leg and collapsed to the ground. She rolled on her back as the mare stomped her hoof toward the center of her chest. She grabbed the horse’s ankle in time to prevent the full force from crashing down on her lungs.

  As she wrestled with the hoof, she felt a tingle of energy where her hand met horseflesh. Leo’s words again rang in her head.

  She turned the horses.

  Alida had turned the horses into unwitting Sentinels, bent on killing her foes.

  That was a new one.

  Anne pushed herself from under the hoof and let it stamp to the ground beside her head. Again she rolled to keep weight off her broken shin and the horse, once so determined to crush her, shied and ran off.

  Note to self: Horses don’t make the most reliable Sentinels.

  For the first time since her hand touched the barn door, Anne found herself free from attack. She hobbled to her foot, right leg still useless to support her. She needed to find a quiet spot where she could hold it in place and allow it to heal, but first, she had to ensure Tyannah’s safety.

  Anne spotted Leo surrounded by three horses, kicking and biting at him. He grabbed one by the neck and syphoned it, his massive body withstanding the blows of the other horses as he filled himself on the energy of his equine enemy.

  The drained pony squealed, jerked away and bolted, inspiring the other two to follow.

  Leo had his situation in hand.

  Anne heard a scream, and her attention snapped to the barn.

  Tyannah.

  The bone in her leg partially healed, she hobbled toward the sound and entered. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light, but she recognized the young girl they’d chased through the mall straddling Tyannah, hands pinning her arms, draining. Tyannah was alive and struggling, but it was clear to Anne that the Cherub had the upper hand.

  Anne leapt forward and felt her leg buckle. As she stumbled to the ground, Alida’s attention turned to her. The Cherub glowed with Tyannah’s stolen energy.

  Anne roared with frustration and clawed forward, the pain in her leg threatening to steal her consciousness with every movement.

  Alida laughed, her smile making her black eyes seem all the more malevolent. Seemingly unconcerned that Anne could reach her in time, she returned her attention to Tyannah, who now lay unmoving beneath her.

  “No! Look at me! Look at me you little—!” On her belly, Anne screamed and launched herself forward like a seal, her swords flaring to life, praying she could reach the Cherub in time.

  She collapsed, her sword inches from touching Alida’s leg.

  Horrified by her failing, Anne scrambled to rise as the wall of the barn splintered into a thousand pieces. An invisible force blasted into Alida, sweeping her away from Tyannah and slamming the Cherub against the stalls on the opposite side.

  Anne felt a rush of relief. Leo had come to save the day. She saw a shadow lengthen beside her and turned toward where the now obliterated barn doors once stood.

  Leo stood in the entry way, his massive body covered in dirt, blood and horseshoe-shaped bruises.

  A bolt of fear and confusion ripped through Anne.

  If Leo is at the door—

  Leo stared where she’d seen Alida thrown. She followed his gaze to a young, blond man holding the struggling Alida in his arms. The man seemed oblivious to Leo’s stare.

  His gaze focused on Anne.

  “Hi.” he grunted, straining with the effort it took to keep Alida in check.

  Anne recognized him.

  Rathe.

  He appeared older than the last time she’d seen him, but there was no mistaking him. It was Rathe; the Cherub who had orchestrated Michael’s death.

  Consumed by a flash of rage, Anne stood on one leg and limped forward.

  Alida released a burst of energy that blew Anne back on her rump. Rathe managed to hold the Cherub, weathering the force by clinging to Alida herself. Anne felt a rush of energy fill her body, giving her injured leg a much-needed healing boost. Leo stumbled back before catching himself on what remained of the doorjamb.

  Rathe broke out in a sweat; it was apparent he couldn’t hold Alida much longer. The girl screamed and barked obscenities, desperately clawing at her mentor’s arms. Blood dripped to the dirt floor of the barn.

  Alida’s black eyes rolled and rimmed wi
th white. “Let me go!”

  “They’re both Cherubs,” said Leo, sounding confused.

  “He’s the one who had Michael killed,” said Anne.

  From the corner of her eye, Anne saw Leo start forward.

  Rathe’s eyes grew wild. “Wait, wait! You don’t understand. I’m on your side now! I’m holding her for you! Kill her!” He was beginning to glow, preparing to escape.

  “If they run, hold him,” said Anne, hobbling like a gunfighter toward Rathe, whose words bounced off her fury as if it were a shield. She could feel the energy beneath her skin quivering to absorb his. She longed for the ecstasy of draining a foe combined with the satisfaction of revenging Michael’s earthly death.

  Something brushed her shoulder and suddenly Tyannah stood between her and the Cherubim, her face pale.

  “No!” The girl threw out her arms, blocking both Anne and Leo.

  “Get out of the way,” said Anne.

  “Rathe is trying to help us. He is. He’s switching sides.”

  “Not possible,” said Leo.

  Tyannah held her hands together, begging. “It’s true! Please! His heart’s never really been with the Cherubim. I swear, Anne. You know.”

  “I know? His heart was in it enough to sic Mallory on Michael.”

  “But you know. I know you can tell he isn’t cut out to be a bad guy. If you don’t believe it, then don’t kill him because it might kill me, too. He made me on his own, alone. What if his death means I die?”

  Anne’s gritted jaw unclenched and she looked to Leo for confirmation. The tall Angelus shrugged.

  “It’s possible their lives are linked. But for me, Michael’s a little more important than some bastard Cherub spawn.”

  Tyannah’s lip curled. “Tell me how you really feel about me.”

  Anne turned her attention to Rathe, still struggling to hold Alida. She could see his prisoner building the energy to emit another repelling blast.

  Now was the time to make a decision.

  Anne limped forward and placed her hand on Alida’s throat. The girl spat at her and she gripped harder.

  The only fear she felt radiated from Rathe.

  She met his eyes. “You’re safe for a moment. Don’t release her.”

  Rathe nodded.

  She looked at Tyannah. “First things first. You need energy. Come here and take some.”