Sins of Angels (The Complete Collection)

by Larkin, Matt

“We’re Gibborim. We do as we’re told.”

  But cybernetics? It was the first of the three rules mankind was never meant to break, never even question. Even Knight—who hated rules—wouldn’t have considered breaking it.

  Shirin had broken it.

  But it was different. Wasn’t it? She was Asheran.

  “What have you let them make you?”

  Hadrian glowered. “Stronger. Faster. Deadlier. Perfect.” He leapt forward, the jump carrying him too far, and thrust down.

  Knight dove to the side and Hadrian’s blade pierced the roof. A spinning roundhouse caught Hadrian in the face and sent him flying through the air. He landed in a crouch, barely fazed, and launched himself at Knight.

  Again and again Knight blocked blows that numbed his arms. Hadrian’s blade ripped right through his coat and tore open the flesh beneath. Nanomesh couldn’t stop a mono blade. Hadrian’s arm spikes sliced a gash on Knight’s face.

  Blood dripped into his eyes and he allowed himself to fall, kicking out both legs. He caught Hadrian’s knees, tripping him. Knight rolled away, jerking his kyoketsu free and extending it.

  Hadrian eyed the lethal chain.

  “You’re not leaving me any choice!” Knight shouted. Please. Just let him back off.

  “There are never choices,” Hadrian said, rising. He flung his hand toward Knight and a pair of knives flew forward.

  Knight leapt, flipping sideways over them and swinging the kyoketsu. Hadrian ducked under it and drove forward, trying to impale Knight.

  Instead, Knight turned, kicking Hadrian in the back of the knee and shoving him forward. Hadrian stumbled toward the edge of the roof. Knight whipped the kyoketsu down at his friend, slashing across his face.

  Hadrian screamed as the mono edge tore through one of his eyes. There was no choice. No pain. No fear. No hesitation.

  Knight continued his spin, leaping and whipping the kyoketsu down in an arc. Hadrian raised his arm to block on instinct. The kyoketsu carved right through arm and into his throat. Hadrian fell, stumbling backward over the rail, and tumbled off the building.

  His friend’s weight yanked the kyoketsu right out of Knight’s hand, and he let it fall. Everything fell with it, and Knight dropped to his knees, panting.

  His hands shook and he clawed fruitlessly at the ground. He screamed, roared at the dying sun above.

  All he had known had fallen.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  It’s impossible to say if any Race of Man is truly without a history of genetic engineering. All we know about our past following the Exodus, at least in the first years, is what the Angels told us. Still, one of the races, those without overt signs of genetic tampering, has always been called Norms—as if the rest of us were abnormal. They say Norms represent the first race, and yet, they are not terribly common.

  David burst through the door to the roof as one man drove another off the building. The chaos in the streets, the hundreds of dead, had made tracking Rachel here easy. She’d left a wake of destruction beyond even what he’d expected.

  And that was the man he’d seen with Rachel, a Gehennan, most likely. He knelt near the lip of the roof, screaming incomprehensibly. A rage, so intense even David’s psionic nerves felt it, seeped off. It was matched only by the man’s despair. And where was Rachel? Had this bugger lost her? If so, he’d soon learn what real pain was.

  “Take him alive,” he said to Phoebe.

  They needed to find out what he knew if they were going to locate Rachel. Given all the activity, she had to be nearby. The lass seemed to have gotten the entire damn planet riled up against her. She was like that sometimes.

  Phoebe drew her pulse pistol and advanced on the blond man, who rose from his knees and turned to them. She pointed the pistol at him, and he stared her down.

  “Hands behind your back and turn around,” she said, her voice slightly distorted by her breather.

  “How about you turn around and bend over.”

  David shook his head. Wrong line. Phoebe would rip him a new arse for that. She backhanded him. Or tried. He caught her wrist and spun, flipping her around and twisting the pulse pistol loose. He kicked her, sending her tumbling over the edge of the building.

  “Phoebe!”

  David ran at her attacker. He was cut up, bleeding from dozens of scrapes. David spared a glance at Phoebe, who had caught herself on the lip of the building.

  In that instant, the blond man was on him. David blocked the man’s attack, trying to turn each against his foe. The Sentinel Merkabah style was feared throughout the universe for its efficiency. Three times he countered, but the Gehennan was so fast it allowed him to overcome every slight flaw in his defenses.

  And then his foe had an arm around David’s neck and hurled him to the ground. A throwing knife spun at his face and David barely got his arm up to block it. It clattered off his suit.

  The man started to move in on him, then leapt to the side and attacked Phoebe. She must have recovered and tried to pull the electrolaser. Rachel’s friend kicked it out of her hand.

  She blocked his attacks, her form near perfect, but looking as overwhelmed by the man’s sheer speed as David had been. David rolled up and drew his pulse pistol. He needed this guy alive, but there was a limit to how far he’d risk his crew.

  The man caught Phoebe’s arm and spun her through the air, flinging her at David. He stepped aside to avoid her, and the Gehennan slammed into his chest, catching his wrist and spinning him around. In the tumult, David’s finger pressed the trigger. Plasma pulses shot off in rapid succession, blasting into the nearby shuttle, scoring the hull.

  The Gehennan stripped the gun from his hand, but David caught him with a tight hook in the ribs, making the man drop it, too. His uppercut came up fast and should have floored the bloody bugger, but the man bent back at an impossible angle and kicked out one of David’s legs.

  Phoebe rushed him, launching a barrage of blows, turning and countering his responses. Then she reeled back when his knuckles cracked over her jaw with a sound that made David wince.

  He roared, rising and charging the man. The Gehennan met David with both palms forward, shoving him back.

  Stay calm. The man’s defenses had weaknesses. He was fast as the void, but his training was not perfect. David took two steps back, feinting one way and another, drawing the Gehennan toward him. The man dropped for a spinning sweep, and David leapt up to kick him in the face.

  And then the Gehennan twisted to the side so fast David didn’t even see it. The man was up behind him, and a fist repeatedly slammed into David’s kidney. His suit absorbed enough of the blows to keep him from buckling. He jerked his elbow back, catching the man in the chest.

  He stumbled back a step, then rushed forward.

  A blast of lightning struck him in midair, hurling him into the shuttle. He bounced on impact, and landed hard.

  Phoebe knelt a few feet away, electrolaser clutched in her hands, blood streaming down her split lip.

  The man struggled to rise. David had to hand it to him. That shot should have downed just about anyone. An electrolaser didn’t usually kill, but against an unshielded target it delivered a large enough charge to leave a man twitching on the ground.

  The pain should have floored the blond man.

  As David advanced the Gehennan tried to fling a throwing knife at his head. David knocked it aside with his armor, then slammed his fist into the man’s face. The Gehennan fell, and David kicked him to make sure he stayed down.

  Phoebe stumbled over beside him. “Did that guy just take on two Sentinels?” Her mouth sounded thick, and worn. Blood spilled out when she spoke.

  “Aye, damn near took down two of us, I’d say.” And after fighting someone else, it appeared. Whoever this guy was, there was something unnatural about him. No one reacted that quickly, not even with Sentinel training. And he’d been good, too. If his training had been on the same level as David’s, Maybe they’d be the ones lying unconscious on the roo
f. Or worse.

  “Restrain him. And check him for cybers. He’s too damn fast.” He glanced at her. “On second thought, inject yourself with nanobots to work on that jaw. I’ll restrain him.”

  He clasped magnetic cuffs around the man’s hands, pinning them behind his back. A quick scan of the Gehennan revealed no cybernetics. No breather, so he must have been a Smogger.

  He yanked the man up and threw him over his shoulder.

  “You got a sedative on you?” he asked.

  Phoebe nodded, working her jaw.

  “Give it to him. Don’t want this bugger waking up until he’s secured in the brig.”

  She did, injecting the man. That would keep anyone out cold.

  Now he just had to find Rachel.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Most of the rest of the universe fears Sentinels. Of course, citizens of Mizraim depend on them a great deal, as protectors and keepers of order, but the Sentinels are more than that. Mankind was driven to the brink of extinction, and after the Angels saved us, a few became dedicated to ensuring no alien force could ever threaten our survival again. They became the first Sentinels, a force later co-opted by the Shekhinah.

  The storeroom had no security camera, so Rachel was probably safe there for a moment. But only a moment. Security was everywhere in here, and the government must have sent damn near every Gibborim on the planet after them. How many could Knight really fight?

  A lump built in her throat. Somewhere along the line, the thought of him being killed had become sickening. Part of her couldn’t stand him—his arrogance, his feigned indifference. And yet, he was there, protecting her. Maybe dying for her. And whatever he claimed, deep down, she knew there was a real man under that armor.

  And he’d been gone too long. Far, far too long. She cracked open the door, peering out. Another squad of soldiers rushed by, holding those vicious lancerods. The moment they passed around the corner she ran out.

  Knight must have gone to the roof to secure it. She had to get up there and find him. She flung open the door to the stairwell and ran out into it. A shout went up from a few floors down.

  A squad of soldiers pointed up at her and started running. Damn. Today sucked.

  She dashed up the stairs, taking them two, sometimes three at a time. She had several floors’ head start on her pursuers. Enough to get to the roof. Her breath came in gasps. She needed rest or she’d pass out. But there was no rest.

  A grunt echoed from below, then she spotted one of the Gibborim jumping from rail to rail. In seconds he landed ahead of her and pulled a mono sword.

  Rachel threw herself forward in a roll, coming up past him and making a mad scramble for the door. She ducked as she ran and a throwing knife whizzed past her ear.

  The door flew open and a cold-worlder in a Sentinel uniform stepped through. Rachel stumbled to a stop and fell on her ass. She rolled away, then under the guardrail and fell down to the next level.

  She tried to catch herself, but hit the rail too hard. A sting ran through her hands and she fell, barely grabbing the ledge with one hand. Her arm was going to rip out of socket. God! She swung, tried to bring her other hand up, and missed it.

  “Rachel!”

  That was David’s voice. What was he doing here?

  She tried to look up at him, and her hand slipped. She screamed and fell, then caught the next rail. It slapped her arms, felt like a break, but she couldn’t let go. More than seventy stories down from here. The thought made her clench her eyes shut. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.

  She had to pull herself under the rail.

  “Rachel, we’ve got your friend,” David shouted from above.

  Knight? He had Knight? It was almost hard to believe even David could pull that off. On the other hand, they said Sentinels had the finest combat training in the universe.

  Hands roughly grabbed her and pulled her up. A Gehennan soldier flung her against the wall, and she stumbled down.

  “Secure the bitch,” one said.

  A sizzle from above, then a torrent of plasma pulses ripped into two of the soldiers. Flung them into the wall above her, and burned right through their armor and skin. The acrid stink of singed flesh reached her and she almost vomited.

  No time. She shoved a Gehennan returning fire at the Sentinels, and he tumbled over the rail. “The bitch is secure!” she shouted after him.

  She paused to grab a fallen soldier’s MAG, then raced toward the stairs. She had to get to Knight. She couldn’t leave him on this planet. And David was certainly better than the Gehennans.

  A Gibborim leapt over the rail in front of her, this one marked Beta. Son of a… Rachel spun on her heel. A moment later, David leapt down the flight of stairs and landed in front of the Gibborim. The assassin rushed David, weaving a sword in and out of an intricate dance.

  David fired his pulse pistol and at least a dozen rounds slammed into the charging man, hurling him away. Apparently the atmosphere didn’t interfere with the electromagnetic rails in those guns. Rachel scowled. Shame civilians weren’t allowed to buy pulse pistols. QI had an exclusive contract with the Sentinels for the technology.

  “Mac?” He was here. Why was he here? She resisted the sudden urge to embrace him, unsure if it had come from his emotions or her own. How had he found her?

  “Come with me.”

  “What in the holy universe are you doing here? What, did you come for the tablet yourself? Seriously? I thought I could count on you, Mac! You would barely help me before, and instead you’ve come here to steal my treasure for—”

  “Your treasure? What happened to it belonging to humanity?”

  The other Sentinel hurried down the stairs, carrying Knight over her shoulder. “Not that I mind lugging a heavy… lug around,” she said, “but do you think we could get on with it? I have an appointment.”

  “Phoebe’s right, Rach.” David grabbed Rachel and pulled her close, then lifted her in his arms. “Hold on tight, lass.”

  What choice did she have? Her heart raced, and she felt herself flushed. Being in his arms again left her woozy and more comfortable than she’d like.

  David climbed the rail and jumped. Rachel murmured, clutching his chest, as wind ripped past her and they fell so fast she couldn’t make anything out. Then David shifted her and pressed something on his forearm. Their descent suddenly slowed as a grav-net formed around them. He landed hard in a crouch, and rose almost immediately, barely slowed by the seventy-story fall.

  David deposited her on her feet, and Rachel rushed out the doorway. A moment later, the cold-worlder landed where Rachel and David had just stood.

  “Oomph,” she said. “You got the way better passenger.”

  “Aye,” David said, and pushed Rachel back behind him. “We’ve got a ways to go to reach the shuttle, lass. Stay close.”

  She had no choice. At this point, any chance to get off Gehenna was worth it. But she had no intention of giving the Sentinels her work, either.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  The Sentinels became the most feared fighting force in the history of man. Their training, mindset, and technology set them light years above any opposition. In modern times, Asherah may pose a technological threat to Mizraim, but the Sentinels retain finer training, discipline, and likely psionics.

  David was glad to be back on the Logos. His Smogger lungs let him breathe on Gehenna, but it still stank. The chase from the city had been a bit more intense than he’d like, and they’d had to call in support from the Logos. After a couple of drones had shot down a hover cruiser, the Gehennans had changed their minds about pursuing them.

  Waller had been all too pleased to get the Sefer. He’d ordered Rachel and Knight held in separate cells in the brig, and had secluded himself in his quarters to pour over the Sefer. It was only moments before he’d summoned David in.

  “It’s in code, McGregor.”

  “Sir?”

  “The Sefer—I can’t read it. Even the computer isn’t sure
how to crack this, and I don’t dare feed it into the Mazzaroth.”

  No. The Mazzaroth was a quantum computer, it could undoubtedly crack any code. But then, that information would be out there in the ether, for anyone who knew where to look.

  “Your friend must know how to read the damn thing,” the captain snapped. “Find out. This book is the key to saving the empire. They passed me over for promotion, McGregor. Thought I hadn’t done enough for Mizraim lately? Now we will. Get that information, or I will.”

  David saluted, restraining the urge to sigh. This was turning into a very long day. What he wouldn’t give for a nice hot soak in a New Rome bathhouse. Instead, he found himself taking the lift down to the brig.

  The Logos brig supported twenty cells on two different levels, each cell visible through a wall of half-meter thick glass. Few prisoners occupied these cells now. Rachel, her friend Knight, and a couple of smugglers they’d caught a while back and not had time to transfer.

  Rachel sat on the cot. The smart glass could become one-way so prisoners couldn’t see out, but that was usually reserved as a punishment. David watched her, and she stared at him blankly. Her expression was painfully empty, as if she didn’t even know him.

  And why not? He’d come here and crushed her dreams.

  He entered his access code into the panel, and a section of the glass slid into the floor. When the door was closed, the seam was so small you couldn’t even feel it by running your finger over it.

  “Rach.” God, part of him had always known she’d wind up in a situation like this. Locked away because of that she just would not conform. People feared that, and they’d do anything to keep things the way they knew them. Even lock away a lass whose only crime was seeing the universe differently.

  “Mac… How could you even do this? To me? Oh, I know damn well how you did it! Just following orders, sir.” She offered a mock salute. “Sir, yes sir. Betray my lover? Yes sir, would you like your shoes shined, too?”