“I wouldn’t say he’ll be happy,” I muttered, kind of under my breath, but also kind of not. Euriel and Hargreaves both shot me a look.
“I’m sure they’ll enjoy having such an esteemed member of the Heavenly Council to work with, my lord. Might encourage them to raise their standards a little. Don’t you agree, Cassiel?” Hargreaves shot me a commanding look, and I fought the urge to say exactly what the angel could raise and specifically where he could raise it.
“Sir.”
Hargreaves nodded and turned back to the new inconvenience. “Very well, it’s arranged. If you check down at logistics, they’ll sort you out some transport. Cassiel will meet you down there after we’ve had a few words about his current assignment.”
The angel nodded and left, and I collapsed into the chair opposite Hargreaves, shooting him an exacerbated look. “An angel? That angel? Really? There weren’t any other guardians you could have put him with?”
“He’s investigating the other guardians, Cassiel.”
I sat up straighter. “What? Why on earth would he be doing that?”
Hargreaves leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers together. “The Heavenly Council has received some information regarding one or possibly more of our guardians. He won’t tell me more than that, other than that person is suspected of committing a most heinous crime against both Heaven and Sheol.”
I leaned back, frowning. “That would explain why they sent that jumped-up prick, but it doesn’t explain why you stuck him with me. Come on, Hargreaves. An angel and a fallen angel working together? I’d rather be working with a sloth demon. At least you know you’ll get to chill out, have a beer, and watch Netflix. I doubt that guy’s taken a day off since time began.”
“Look, Cassiel, I know it’s not the best of situations, but I have the Heavenly Council breathing down my neck right now, and it’s only a matter of time until the Infernal Council gets wind of what’s happening and then they’re demanding an agent be involved. He’s investigating my guardians and won’t tell me why or who. If someone or someones have committed an act this important, I want to know who and what before he does.”
I grinned, finally catching on. “You want me to spy on him.”
Hargreaves looked mildly shocked. “Of course not, I would never suggest such a thing. But if you were to see or hear anything regarding the actions of my guardians, I would assume you’d feel it was your duty to inform me so I could take action accordingly.”
I stood up and stretched. “I completely understand, sir. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure Lord Euriel has a very enlightening experience earthside.”
“I trust you, Cassiel. The others too. This is a very delicate situation.”
I stopped smiling. “Sir, I have never let you down before, nor your predecessors. Your trust is well-placed.”
He stood up and shook my hand. “Thank you, Cassiel.”
Outside in the hallway, I paused for a moment and looked out of the window over the extensive garden below. If someone as high up in the Heavenly Council as Euriel had been sent to investigate instead of their regular agents, whatever the guardian in question had done had to be very serious indeed. I hadn’t heard of it happening before in all the time I had worked for the Concordia, and that had been a good couple of millennia. I couldn’t imagine what would be serious enough to merit it, nor what punishment would befall the perpetrator. I could only hope we discovered them before Euriel did.
Heading downstairs, I leaned into the doorway of the logistics office. Helena looked up as I did, her four pairs of eyes all swivelling to see me. Three pairs dropped back to her desk as she continued with her tasks, and one set of hands continued typing away at the computer while the other flicked through sheaves of paper. Euriel was seated on the low sofa by the windowsill, struggling to keep his ramrod straight posture as he sank into the squashy cushions.
Fighting not to laugh, I nodded a greeting to Helena. “Did you get him sorted?”
“I did indeed, though unfortunately it will be a few days before a vehicle that Lord Euriel can drive will be available.”
I grinned. “Museum took a bit of bribing, did they?”
She raised her eyebrows at me. “The Bentley garage was unable to provide that particular model immediately and begged that we give them forty-eight hours to remedy it.”
I looked over at Euriel who returned my gaze, saying nothing. “A Bentley, huh?”
“It’s what I was provided with last time and what I am most comfortable driving.”
“Hmm, I’ll bet. Well, this afternoon should be fun. If you’re all done here, we’ll get going. I’ll drop you at the house before I go off, and you can get settled.”
Euriel stood up. “I believe I shall accompany you to your assignment. It will give me something to do and allow me to see the more recent generation of guardians in action.”
I shrugged as I led him out of the house. “Fine by me. Here.” I stopped by my bike and passed him the spare helmet.”
He didn’t take it and stared at it in horror. “What is that?”
“It’s a bike helmet.”
“I can see that. Why are you giving it to me?”
I slipped my own helmet on and climbed onto the bike. “Well, I know you’re all powerful and everything, but trust me, even as divine beings, it really fucking hurts coming off one of these at speed.” He stared at me. “It’s this or you get a taxi.” He exhaled strongly through his nose and snatched the helmet, sliding it on and getting behind me. I grinned as I felt his hands hesitantly grip my waist.
“You’ve been watching way too much TV, my lord. There’s a grip handle behind you. Unless you have a deep desire to put your arms around me.”
Euriel made a strangled noise in his throat as he immediately released me and reached behind him. “You disgust me, Cassiel, with your repulsive humour. And for your information, you are no longer a divine being. You gave up that honour when you turned against our father.”
I turned my head, though I couldn’t really see him. “Really? It’s been millennia. Are you still holding that against me?” I felt him exhale with righteous indignation, and I smiled under my visor.
“You committed the ultimate sin and betrayed our father, our creator! I shall hold that against you for eternity.”
I shook my head and started the bike, revving it slightly more than I needed to just for effect. I pulled away with a screech of my tyres, revelling in the yell that came from behind me. The next few weeks would certainly feel like an eternity, no doubt about that.
Chapter Ten
FAITH
I watched Sam’s broad shoulders disappear down the stairs into the cellar, and I shivered. Sam must have noticed my hesitation, because he paused and looked back at me.
“Everything okay?” I smiled at him. He really wasn’t that bad of a guy. Normally, I’d say he was a little too sweet for my taste, but in the current situation, it actually felt nice to have someone being nice to me all the time. Plus, he certainly wasn’t sweet when it came to the physical side of things. I was still aching slightly from the day before.
“I’m fine. Last time I came down here I got a hell of a shock, that’s all.”
He put his hand on my arm and squeezed gently. “Yeah, I can imagine it’s one hell of a surprise finding out your mother is a witch who keeps a secret ritual room below the house.”
I stared at him, then realised what he meant. “Oh no, I didn’t mean... I mean, yes, that was a shock. But when I came down here last, I walked through the door and got this huge electric shock. Knocked me off my feet and had me blacked out for a moment.”
Sam frowned, then pulled me back slightly so he could go first. He ran his hands over the doorframe, then paused when he noticed the inscription above the door. “There’s an enchantment on the door.”
“On the door?”
“Well, no, not technically on the door, more on the space between the two rooms. Hang on…” He pulled his phone out
of his pocket and poked at the screen.
“Hey, Cas, you far off? Ah, cool. No, it’s just there’s a spell on the door to the ritual room, and Faith got a nasty shock from it yesterday when she went through. Thought we’d be better off waiting to see if you could lift it before we went back inside.” He went quiet, then nodded. I grinned at the sight. At least I knew I wasn’t the only one daft enough to nod when the other person couldn’t see me. “Great, see you in a sec.” He hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. “They’ll only be a couple of minutes. We’ll just wait, I don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.”
I leaned back against the wall. “Who’s they? I thought we were just meeting Cas.”
Sam shrugged. “Apparently there’s been another person assigned to our little group of investigators.”
“Someone I’ve met?”
“No, I’ve not met him either. His name’s Euriel. Somehow, I don’t think Euriel and Cas are going to get on.”
“Why not?”
Sam opened his mouth to reply, but then we heard Cas’s voice at the top of the stairs. “Don’t worry, I don’t think it’s that dusty down there. But you know, there’s a great dry cleaner near my house just in case. Now, now, are you guys allowed to use that kind of language? Oh hey, guys.” He came into view, and for a moment, he seemed bigger than normal, his enormous frame practically filling the hallway as shadows branched out behind him. My breath caught in my throat as he squeezed past me to the door, his hard body pressing against mine. He avoided looking at me though, and I turned to see the newcomer.
Holy hell... The man standing behind Cas was like no man I’d seen before. Taller than Sam, but still a good few inches shorter than Cas, he was slender and pale skinned. Even under the harsh fluorescent lights, his skin seemed to glow faintly with a light of its own. His hair was white-blond and long, falling in soft waves about his face, and when his gaze found mine, I felt any breath I had left leave me instantly. His eyes were insane. No words could do them justice. The pupils were black, but the irises were silver and gold and seemed to glitter and change as I stared at them, transfixed. He stared back, and he only averted his eyes when Cas moved next to me.
“This is Faith Matthews, the human daughter. Faith, this is Euriel. He’s going to be working with us for a while and help us find your mother.”
I nodded. “Sure, hi. Nice to meet you.”
Euriel stared at me a moment longer, then he turned away without replying. Moving to Cas’s side, he looked up at the inscription above the door. “A revelation spell. And a powerful one.”
Cas nodded. “Agreed. Whoever put this here had some help, and a shit ton of magical strength. Not just when it was cast either. It’s been added to over several years.”
I pushed forward to squeeze between them. “Okay, enough of the magical mumbo jumbo, what are you guys on about?”
Cas put his hand on my shoulder, pulling me back from the doorway. “A revelation spell is designed to reveal any and every truth. It breaks other spells and enchantments as soon as you pass through it. It’s almost foolproof.”
“Plus, knocking you out too. No wonder it says, ‘against enemy attacks,’” I scoffed. Cas stared at me, as did Euriel.
“You can read ancient Sumerian?” Euriel asked, his smooth voice sending a shiver down my spine as he fixed his glittery gaze on me once more.
“Yeah... my mother made me learn. Plus ancient Greek and Latin. I’m lucky, I find it quite easy to memorise words and phrases, but it wasn’t great fun spending my Saturday nights reading ancient texts. There’s only so much enjoyment to be had by reading about the kinks of the twelve Caesars.” Cas smiled, but Euriel remained stony-faced, so I ignored him and turned back to Cas. “So, it was a spell to protect the room then? Maybe that means there’s something in there my mother wanted to protect, something that might give us a clue as to why she was taken.”
“Well, not exactly. Revelation spells aren’t exactly known for knocking you out.” He glanced at the doorway, then back at me and sighed. “Okay, look. I’ll show you what it does, just don’t freak out on me. I’m not as cuddly as Sam.”
“Hey! I’m not cuddly! I’m terrifying and ferocious.” We both laughed as Sam stood on his tiptoes to peer over Euriel’s shoulder. Cas grinned, but it faded when he looked at me.
“The spell reveals what someone truly is, no matter what they are doing to conceal themselves. It’s almost impossible to conceal your true nature. You’d have to be an insanely strong supernatural being to do that.” He turned and stepped through the doorway and into the room beyond. The candles flared up all the way around the room, and the shadows seemed to grow and darken, flexing around Cas as he slowly turned towards us. My mouth fell open.
Standing a few feet back from the door, Cas seemed to grow in height. He towered above me, at least another foot taller than normal. His shoulders widened and his muscles, although already pretty impressive, swelled to bodybuilder proportions. As I watched, dark shapes formed at his back, spreading out and creating huge black wings, the ebony feathers gleaming like oil in the flickering candlelight. I raised my eyes to his, and they burned red. He held my gaze for a moment then looked away as though he was ashamed.
Forgetting about the doorway, I stepped forward. “Cas?”
He looked back at me. “Yes?”
I leaned closer. “I think you’re starting to take the whole Harley Davidson logo thing a bit far now. The wings are a bit of an overkill.”
He stared at me, his crimson eyes dancing, and behind us, I heard Euriel murmur to Sam, “Who’s Harley Davidson?” Cas laughed, his eyes meeting mine, full of humour. I grinned, and moved past him into the room, turning to look at the spectacular black wings that grew seamlessly from his powerful shoulder blades.
“What are you? Other than... well... stunning.”
Cas looked at me over his shoulder, that familiar arrogant grin of his reassuring the large part of me that was completely freaking out quietly inside. “You think I’m stunning?”
I smacked him on the ass. “Oww!” His body was as hard as stone. A devilish memory fluttered through my head as I recalled my fingers digging into those solid muscles as I pulled him towards me.
“He’s an angel,” Sam said, stepping through the doorway. I blinked, dragging myself away from my indecent thoughts.
“An angel? Shit. Hang on, how come you didn’t change?”
“Because I was born human. Shifters can be born either as human or as their animal counterpart. It really depends on what form the mother takes for her pregnancy. My mother was human throughout, so I show up as human in this room. And it means that in here, I can’t shift to my wolf form. Cas, however, was created as an angel, so he will always appear in his angelic form rather than his human form.”
I looked back at him, my eyes drinking in the sheer size and power of him in this form. “I can’t believe you’re an angel,” I whispered. “All that time…”
“Fallen angel.” I turned back to the doorway at the sound of Euriel’s voice.
“I’m sorry?”
“He’s a fallen angel. One who betrayed his creator, who committed evil and unforgivable treason against Him who brought us all life. He was thrown down from Heaven and condemned to spend his life on Earth and eternity in Hell.” Euriel’s eyes glittered darkly, and he stepped through the doorway. As he advanced towards us, he also grew in height, and his skin glowed fiercely. Behind him, great wings unfurled, not black or white, but a soft dove grey that seemed to shine, and the two of them stood facing each other. Cas was breathing hard, and I could tell from previous experience he was really trying not to punch Euriel in the face.
“That’s one side of the story anyway,” Sam muttered.
Euriel turned and glared at him. “There is only one side of the story. His story.”
Cas stepped forward, but I moved in front of him. ”Okay, guys? Let’s calm it down a little. Kind of getting off topic here. You obviously have your whole
good and evil thing going on, and that’s cool, but can we focus please? Cas?”
He glanced down at me and his breathing slowed. “Yeah, no problem. Some things are more important than arguing with brainwashed idiots.”
I glared at him, then swung around to face Euriel. “And you? This is your job, right? Think you can maybe do it instead of arguing like little kids over who broke Daddy’s cup?” His eyes narrowed, and my insides quaked a little. The guy was pretty intimidating, but he was also arrogant as fuck, and there was no way I was letting him know that he unnerved me. He gave me a sharp nod and folded his wings behind him. A rustle at my back told me Cas was doing the same. With their wings folded, they were slightly less formidable. I stuffed my shaking hands into my pocket and turned to Sam. “Okay, surfer wolf, if this spell reveals truths, what the hell happened to me when I walked through the door? I mean, the damn thing knocked me out, and I felt like I’d been zapped at the mains. But this time, nothing.” I rolled my shoulders in irritation, my skin itching against my bra straps.
Sam frowned, then leaned forward and nuzzled my neck. It tickled slightly, but also sent a shiver of delight down to my belly as his nose and lips brushed against the sensitive skin.
“Um, what are you doing?”
“Smelling you.”
“Uh... why? I had a shower this morning, sniffer wolf!”
He drew back and grimaced at me. “Don’t call me that! And, baby girl, you smell amazing. Like jasmine and sandalwood.” I didn’t know what to say to that. “But I was seeing if you still had any residual magic on you.”
“What do you mean?”
Cas stepped forward. “He means that for the revelation spell to have had that effect on you yesterday, there must have been a very powerful enchantment on you. The enchantments on us that hide our true natures are small mind glamours to fool humans, nothing more. But the spell on you must have been extremely powerful.” He took my face in his huge hands and bent down to gaze deep into my eyes. The burning red pupils definitely disconcerted me, and I tried to pull away, but he held me fast. “Wait, I’m just looking.” I stood still, uncomfortably aware of all three men staring at me. Eventually he pulled back, looking confused.
Nephilim the Awakening (Wrath of the Fallen Book 1) Page 9
