Fallen Souls

by Linda Foster

  Except for Adrian. Him, she’d kill.

  A cruel smile spread across his lips, and he laughed. He likely knew she was bluffing. She could stop this right now, though, and envisioned plunging an arrow into his chest, then shuddered at the thought. With no leader, the others would never attack. But did she truly have it in her to kill him? She wasn’t sure. She had killed so many before, but those had been demons. They were uncaring creatures with no sense of right and wrong …

  Then again, how was Adrian any different? He was willing to commit genocide, allow his own people to die, just so he could rule Heaven.

  Her eyes flitted to the crowd behind him. She had to stop them, whatever the cost. Even if it meant taking things into her own hands. Seraphine and Michael would just have to deal with the aftermath when they got there.

  With that thought, she released the hold on her arrow. It zipped through the air, heading straight for Adrian’s chest. But the arrow merely grazed his cheek as he flung himself out of the way.

  Kali’s mouth popped open in disbelief. She didn’t have much time to be surprised, though. His followers began to run toward him, drawing their own weapons, and forcing her to go back to her quiver for another arrow. There were so many of them. How was she going to be able to stand against such a number?

  Suddenly Adrian recovered, squaring his shoulders and raising a hand to stop the other angels. “No!” he roared. “This is my fight.” She didn’t have time to line up another shot before he attacked. He knocked the arrow away and grabbed the bow, snapping it in half. Kali crouched and kicked out, catching him swiftly behind the knees. He stumbled but turned on her again, landing a hit to her gut and knocking the wind out of her lungs.

  He was stronger than she’d anticipated, and faster, but she had something he didn’t: years of practice in fighting demons, while he’d been stuck in Heaven. She was able to redirect his next punch, grabbing his fist and launching him toward the ground as she brought her knee up to collide with his nose. Lightning streaked above them, illuminating the cold look of fury that overtook his face as he got up off the ground. The crowd rooted him on, but their screams were lost in the boom of thunder.

  And their cheers didn’t matter to her. She attacked him again, lashing out with a right hook, and he stumbled. When he recovered, he shoved her backwards with so much forced that she flew toward the edge of the cliffs. She stood slowly, the effects of the fight starting to weigh on her, and Adrian landed a kick to her ribs that sent a whole new wave of pain shooting through her torso. She coughed and tried to catch her breath, but he didn’t give her much time, rushing forward and grabbing her by the neck to cut off her air. Kali clawed at his hands, but he only tightened his grip. She was out of time, she realized with dread.

  “Seraphine will not make it to Michel,” he hissed, shaking her violently. She strangled on a laugh, not wanting him to see her fear that he was right. “You will die here, and it will be for nothing. We will still invade Heaven, we will kill all of the humans, and the Creator will bow to me.”

  “You’re wrong,” she choked out with the little air she had left, not sure if she believed it herself. He gave her a condescending smile and shook his head.

  Then his smile faltered. A sudden wash of bright lights had filled the field, shattering the dark and illuminating the host of angels. Adrian’s eyes widened, and she could see horror in them. At first she thought it was her vision wavering due to lack of air, but then she realized that the light was real. And it was angel light. She managed to turn toward it, her heart lifting.

  Michael emerged from the glow in the sky, and if Kali could have breathed she would have screamed with joy. Seraphine had done it, she’d gotten to him in time! And now he was here. To save her, and to stop Adrian.

  And not a moment too soon, a voice in her head whispered wryly.

  A moment later, Michael was standing next to them, his golden hair glowing in the illumination from his angel light. His blue eyes were filled with sorrow, a deep frown on his face.

  Behind him, Adrian’s followers were being slowly surrounded by the angels who had come with Michael. The rebels looked franticly for an escape route, pushing against one another, and trying to run, but more angels appeared in every direction to cut them off.

  Michael came toward Adrian, his gaze turning cold and hard, and Seraphine followed behind, a look of relief and triumph on her face. Kali tried to smile at the girl, but with Adrian still strangling her, all she could muster was a twitch of her upper lip. Then a white light coming from Michael drew her gaze, and made her freeze. No, she thought it amazement. It couldn’t be.

  The divine sword materialized at Michael’s side, glowing brightly with its immense power, and covered in heavenly flames. The sight of it was breathtaking, and terrifying at the same time. Kali had never seen the divine blade before, but she’d heard stories of it. It was the Creator’s own weapon, and whoever possessed it was endowed with their lord’s power, in order to execute His will. The sword’s powers were limitless, and as far as Kali knew, He’d never entrusted anyone with it before. He’d never needed to.

  Michael grasped the sword in his hand, and every angel grew quiet in that instant. All eyes turned on him, and the blade he now possessed. Even Adrian’s eyes focused on the weapon, growing wide with disbelief and fear.

  Michael there, holding the Creator’s sword, was a statement to everyone that he had been given orders, directly from their father, and the power to enforce them. Not even Adrian would be able to stand against him now. It was over. Adrian’s plans were thwarted. He would never see his war, and no one was going to have to die for his narcissistic scheme. He had lost.

  “Adrian!” Michael roared. Adrian’s eyes narrowed, but he refused to let go of Kali, who dangled from his hand, thrashing. Breathing was getting more difficult, now, and her eyes shot to Michael, pleading for help. “Let her go!” Michael thundered. “This is over.”

  “No,” Adrian hissed. He waved his free arm toward the crowd and backed away from Michael, his voice cracking with distress. “It hasn’t even begun.”

  “Wrong, Adrian,” Michael said quietly, ignoring Kali’s pleas. “You could never have won. And you will never again see the light of Heaven. The Creator sent me here to banish you.” As he said the words, he pointed his sword at Adrian and charged.

  Adrian was momentarily distracted, his eyes growing wide, and for a second his grip let up on Kali’s throat. She took the opportunity, grabbing his wrist and wrenching herself free of his grasp just as Michael’s sword lit up, brighter than the sun. She dropped to the ground and rushed to get away, to put as much distance as possible between herself and Adrian.

  Finally she came to a crouch, and glanced up in time to see Michael raise his sword, and another bolt of lightning streak across the sky. The rebel angels began screaming, no doubt realizing that Michael was about to kill their leader, and Michael’s angels did their best to keep them contained, though they thrashed against them, struggling to get free. Adrian’s mouth opened, his chest rising and falling rapidly, and his eyebrows drawing together. Michael’s eyes looked sad, but Kali could see his grip tighten on the sword. He and Adrian had been allies once, but now his orders were clear, and he was going to follow through on them.

  Her heart dropped in her chest as he brought the sword down on Adrian, his face twisting in pain as the blade sliced through angel flesh and plunged through Adrian’s heart.

  In that instant, a white bolt of light shot across the field like a comet, blowing Kali’s hair back from her face and blinding her. She blinked when it receded and saw Adrian on his knees, his eyes still wide with shock and fear. She immediately looked to his chest, expecting a large hole. But there was no wound, she realized in confusion. No blood.

  Instead, the light that had been in the sword was now illuminating Adrian’s chest.

  “You cannot banish me!” he screamed. The light began to spread, though, up into his chest and then through his body. That power
enveloped him, until his wings caught fire and singed, becoming dead and black. His flesh melted away, leaving him scorched and disfigured. The scent of his burning skin and wings wafted through the air, a black cloud of smoke rising from his crumpled body, and Kali gagged. Was he … dead?

  “By the orders of the Creator!” Michael roared once more. “I banish you from both Heaven and Earth! You are to spend eternity in Hell with your followers, for the sins you have committed upon Heaven.” Adrian’s wings had charred off now, leaving almost no trace behind, and he writhed on the ground, the pain plain on his face. Kali tore her gaze away from the gory sight of Adrian burning alive and took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart. His followers were roaring in disbelief, and her attention went to them; their eyes were wide with fear, and they were backing away from the angels who encircled them. They already knew, she realized. They’d seen what awaited them in Hell.

  And now Adrian was taking them there with him. As they deserved.

  The land began to shake, and suddenly the soil beneath Adrian crumbled. It was going to swallow him whole, she realized with horror. He was actually going to go to Hell. He screamed, then, his charred face drawn up with shock as the ground fell away. He spread his still-burning wings, attempting to gain leverage as he clawed at the ground to keep from falling, but those once-glorious extensions were now nothing more than bone and a few feathers. And the land underneath him was collapsing faster the more he struggled against it, like quicksand. His struggle was in vain.

  After several painful moments of struggle, he slipped out of sight, and Kali turned away from the gruesome scene, cringing.

  It was over. Her heart broke for the angels that would be cast out with him, and even ached for Adrian. Thousands were going to pay the price for his greed, and yet she felt sorry for him. Not for the monster he had become, but for the angel she’d once thought of as her friend. The angel that would never again be able to return to Heaven. He thought he was superior to the humans, but in the end he would burn for all eternity alongside them. And what would become of him?

  She had seen the human souls that escaped from Hell, and what they changed into after being locked away down there. Would Adrian turn into one of those mindless demons she had hunted down? Or something … worse? She closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath as a tear slid down her cheek. Suddenly the Heavens opened, and rain poured down on them, as if the Heavens were weeping with her. For a moment she wondered if they were. She opened her eyes and lifted her gaze, letting the cold rain wash away her tears.

  Then, the moment she began to walk away, she felt something grab a hold of her leg, and a searing hot pain shot through her. She cried out in agony, the skin on her ankle feeling as if it was melting away. Whatever had grabbed her dug further into her flesh, tightening its grasp, and she didn’t have time to react before it jerked her backwards, wrenching her toward the hole that had opened up around Adrian. She screamed, but it was cut off by the terror swelling in her chest as she dug her nails into the ground. Her eyes shot up in time to see Michael’s own widen with fear.

  “No!” he shouted. He ran for her, desperately trying to reach her, and Kali’s arms went out, tearing at the dirt, and trying to grab hold of anything. But the unknown weight continued to yank her backwards, toward the hole in the Earth. Michael was too far away to reach her in time, she knew without looking again. That knowledge shot chills up her spine, and sent her heart into overdrive.

  She looked down into the hole at her feet, and saw to her horror that the object wrapped around her ankle was Adrian’s still-burning hand. He stared up at her from below, leering with what was left of his face. No! she screamed in her mind, stricken with panic. He had grabbed her, she realized in dull shock, and was trying to take her with him. She was going to be trapped in Hell with him, his followers, and all the souls she’d sent back there. She was being ripped away from the Earth, but worse, she was being torn from her true home forever. After everything she had done to save Heaven … if he took her down into the ground, she would suffer the same fate as he and his followers.

  Her gaze flew back to Michael’s outstretched hand, but it was too far for her to reach. He couldn’t save her, but watched with pain and sorrow as she slipped down, down, and finally let go of the earth.

  As she fell, spiraling toward the flames of Hell, her wings began to smoke and turn the darkest shade of black. She hadn’t earned this punishment, her mind protested. She had done everything, risked everything, to save Heaven. She’d followed Michael’s orders and stopped a war, at the risk of her own life! And now she was being cast to Hell with Adrian, and there was nothing Michael could do about it. She tried to think of a way to stop her descent, but the closer she got to Hell, the worse the sensation of being burned alive grew, and it started to block out her ability to think straight. Her anger became muted by the anguish shuddering through her body.

  Finally, certain that she was about to catch fire, she screamed out in agony, and her vision turned black.

  Ash laughed — an evil, hollow sound — and grasped his knife more firmly. Kali blinked slowly, her heart breaking. This wasn’t her Ash, she reminded herself. This wasn’t the boy who’d sold his soul to save his sister, or fought by her side. This wasn’t the boy who had changed everything she thought she knew about life, love, and herself.

  “I’ll die before hurting you,” Kali repeated, lifting her chin. He possessed the greater strength now, she knew, and would beat her even if she fought. At least, in the end, she would die at his hand rather than someone else’s. Maybe he would still win his soul back that way.

  A boy who sold his soul to save his sister’s life.

  A fallen angel turned demon, seeking her redemption.

  And a surprising love story that could save them both … or destroy the world.

  Join Ash and Kali, and a cast of dark characters, as they fight for the fallen angels of the world, the right to choose their own path, and the one thing they never thought they’d find – true love.

  COMING SPIRNG 2015

  Linda Foster was born and raised in Colorado, where she still lives with her (very patient) husband and four (very spoiled) ferrets. Linda became an avid reading enthusiast the moment she picked up her first book, and has grown steadily worse. By the time she was 15 years old, her library had become too big for her shelves, and she was forced to donate all her books to the local school, just to make room for new ones. She started writing short novellas for her friends in middle school, and expanded into full-length novels several years later. Fallen Souls is her first published work.

  Visit Linda at www.linda-foster.com to connect with her personally, or follow her on Facebook and Twitter.