Sins of Angels (The Complete Collection)

by Larkin, Matt

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN

  July 26th

  Caleb was right—this is my last, most desperate gambit. On it I gamble the very existence of humankind. God forgive my arrogance.

  Where are you?

  Caleb pulled the pillow over his head. It wouldn’t help, of course. Especially not out here in the Conduit. There was no escape. There was no release. His waking moments were filled with the voice of the Adversary.

  Open your mind to us. Show us their plans.

  His dreams were haunted by the constant torments Hell had planned for him. No respite.

  He could feel the walls of his mind begin to crumble under the pressure. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block visions that had nothing to do with sight. A million Angel ships, all covered with eyes, descending on universe after universe. Galaxies were swallowed by black holes the size of the Great Attractor. All the multiverse fell.

  There is no escape.

  How many are you?

  Caleb drove thoughts of the NER armada from his mind. He forced himself to think of anything else. But the horrors of the Great Attractor—of a thousand of them—would not flee. Holes in creation that could swallow reality. Suck it into the bowels of torment.

  It spiraled endlessly before him, on a scale beyond human comprehension.

  No matter how tightly he clenched his eyes, there was no way not to see it. Because the vision wasn’t from his eyes.

  His eyes.

  His first implants. Like a blind man stumbling in the dark, he had allowed Apollyon to make him khapiru. To implant cybernetic eyes in his head for the chance to get a leg up on his enemies. For the chance to look at girls naked. For nothing. Because he’d never considered the cost. Not really.

  Just like the chip in his head.

  And the closer they flew to the Great Attractor, the worse it would get. From the moment he’d first spied that abomination, he’d known no peace. And his heart knew the truth now. It would consume him. The threat was a promise. The end of his life. The fate he deserved for his sins.

  You are coming to us.

  Oh, void! It was breaking through his mental barriers.

  Lotan …

  Caleb shot bolt upright. They knew. Hell would bring the Azazel to destroy the Lotan.

  The visions of it ran again and again through his mind. Through the blasted eyes he never should have taken. Not bothering with a shirt, he ran from his quarters.

  Where was she? He knew her quarters were on the deck below. He stumbled into the lift, tapped it, then slumped against the wall. Call her? No. He’d left his comm in his room.

  Fire and ice shot through his veins. A torment from Hell. It knew what he planned.

  “Fuck you!” he screamed as he stumbled from the lift.

  Sentinels in the hall stared at him. Didn’t matter. He ran to Leah’s room and buzzed the door.

  When she finally opened it, clad in only a night shirt, he fell forward and she caught him.

  “Please! Please help me. Take them out. Take it all out.”

  She clutched his shoulders and forced him upright. Her hair was disheveled, and she blinked in the light of the hall. “Caleb? What happened?”

  “Take out my eyes, the chip, everything.”

  “That’s—you’d be blind.”

  He nodded, swallowing hard. To see nothing would be better than to see everything. He’d seen too much in his life already. “Do it, please. I beg you, Leah. I’m sorry for anything I ever said to you. Please help me.”

  All this time, he’d been helping her study implants. She had to know enough now to safely remove the chip from his brain. And the eyes—those should be nothing to her.

  She bit her lip, then nodded. “All right, Caleb. If that’s what you want. Let me just get dressed. I’ll meet you in the med bay.”

  No. No, he couldn’t make it on his own. “Don’t leave me.”

  “Fine. Just wait outside while I put on my uniform.”

  And miss his last chance to see a beautiful naked woman. Shame. But she probably wouldn’t see it that way. He stepped outside and braced himself against the wall.

  You cannot do this.

  Oh, he would.

  Minutes later, he lay on an operating table. Leah stood over him, hair tied in bun, mask over her mouth. “You’re certain?”

  “Yes.”

  She pressed something to his neck, and everything went dark.

  Then warm hands shook him awake. He just wanted more sleep. Peaceful sleep, deep and dreamless.

  “Caleb, come on,” Leah said. “I’ll get you back to your quarters.”

  He tried to open his eyes. There was nothing. No feeling. Just darkness.

  No voices. No visions.

  Leah’s hand on his back pulled him to a sitting position.

  “It-it’s done?” He didn’t need an answer. He knew it was. Hell was gone.

  He was free.

  He threw his arms around her, falling from the table from his movement. His weight carried them both crashing into the ground.

  “Ow.”

  Caleb laughed.

  He was free.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-EIGHT

  July 27th

  I see no alternative than to make this final stand. Armageddon will be won or lost in the coming days.

  Ten thousand ships left the Local Group under David’s command. The largest armada humanity had ever brought together for a single purpose. The most important battle in human history. Days flying the Conduit had worn everyone down, and so they paused outside a Gate, recovering their strength for a few hours.

  It left him with one last chance. Rachel had to stay on the Ark. She had to command it. And David was needed on the Sephirot, leading the fleet. The harsh reality was they couldn’t face this final battle on the same ship. Phoebe was capable, but David had to lead this thing himself.

  So, for this brief respite, he docked a shuttle in the Ark’s hangar. One last moment alone together.

  When the hatch popped, Rachel already stood in the hangar, watching him with a coy smile. She said nothing, just extended a hand toward him. He took it and followed her as she led him back to her quarters.

  Leah had removed as many of his implants as she could. Still, some remained, and with every passing lightyear, the voice of the enemy grew stronger in his mind. But he knew that voice now, and he would never give in again.

  The door opened to Rachel’s room. She’d brought in a table and lit it with candles. A spread of fresh fruits and spiced chicken filled bowls across the table. Oranges, apples, strawberries. The sweet smells mixed with the spicy aroma of chili pepper on the chicken.

  “Did you make this yourself?”

  She snickered. “I can cook, Mac.”

  “I thought saving the universe was a full-time job.”

  “I’m versatile.” She sat at the table, swiped a strawberry, then fed it to him.

  Sweet juice tickled his tongue and he shut his eyes, hoping to drink in only that sensation. To block the screams and pain and temptations that endlessly banged through his mind.

  “Is it … bad?”

  “What? No, lass. Very fresh.”

  “Not that—the implants. I heard about Caleb.”

  David couldn’t blame Gavet. If it was an option, he’d do the same himself, accept the handicap and be glad of it. But even if Leah could remove the muscle grafts and metal on his bones, it would leave him an emaciated mess unable to rise from bed. And if this was the End of Days, he planned to face it on his feet. Armed and going down swinging—armed with the very enhanced strength they’d given him.

  “Aye, lass. It’s not the most fun I ever had, but I can handle it if I must. Helps when I’ve got such attractive distractions.”

  “Distractions? You mean the strawberries.”

  “Aye, could be.”

  She laughed. “Well, if you want distractions …” She ran a thumb down her jacket, unbinding the nanobots to open it. Eyes locked on h
is and filled with mischief, she lifted the bottom edge of her undershirt, pulling it up to just below her breasts. “I bet this is distracting.”

  “Wife, you’ve no idea.” He’d never get tired of looking at her. Rachel was beautiful—not just her body, but her amber eyes. The way they sparkled when she was like this. The way they lit when she was fighting for what she believed in. She was a creature of passion like no other in this universe.

  She laughed and fed him another strawberry.

  “Lass,” he said, after swallowing it, “you want any chance of getting to the chicken, best put the dessert out of sight.”

  “Okaaay. Just thought you wanted something to keep your mind off Hell.” She giggled—Rachel actually giggled, God help him—and pulled her shirt down.

  “Believe me. Hell’s completely out of my mind at the moment.”

  Still smiling, she served chicken onto two plates and handed one to him. David let the scents waft over him for a moment before taking a bite. Just enough burn, and awash in exotic flavor. Phoenix spice blend, if he wasn’t mistaken.

  “Glad you like it.”

  Sometimes, being with an empath had its advantages. She always knew when he really enjoyed something.

  “When this is all over,” she said, “what are we going to do?”

  “If we live—”

  “Don’t talk like that. We’ll make it.”

  “I guess I’ll need to help manage the new Sentinels. Lots of new recruits need training if we’re to put the galaxies back in order.”

  “So … You’d be staying near to Eden? I mean, when you make the new academy?”

  David shrugged. “Not sure. Why, what’s on your mind?”

  “Oh, just thought I might start a new university. The Republic could use some schools founded on modern thinking. Born of the new reality.”

  “Angels above us, you’re already planning the next way you can save mankind from itself, aren’t you, lass?”

  Rachel took her time chewing a bite of chicken before answering. “Is that a problem?”

  “No. One of the reasons I love you so much. One of a trillion.”

  His wife smiled, hiding the hint of a blush. But it was the truth.

  And she was right. They were going to get through this.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-NINE

  July 28th

  An energy fills the Ark. Anticipation. It’s not just the crew—though they are nearly overcome by it. The ship itself has fed on my anxiety and awakened to it. More alert than ever. It is one with me. And we are angry.

  Darkness was his world now. After so long with others in his mind, the quiet unnerved Caleb. To see nothing, to hear nothing, was peace. But lonely. So he spent most of his days in the med bay. If he was honest with himself, he knew he played for sympathy, just for the chance for some company. Because Leah Suzuki did take pity on him. She was just that kind of person who couldn’t stand to see others suffer. Probably why she became a doctor.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Hmmm?” Her voice came from somewhere to the left. Probably at her desk.

  She’d helped Caleb sit in one of the chairs. Most of the time, he didn’t go anywhere without Leah or one of her nurses. The computer’s voice could lead him to his quarters or the mess hall, of course. Sometimes, in his room, he had the computer talk to him. It really didn’t matter what it said. Just the sound of a human voice, artificial though it was.

  He had his personal Mazzaroth—her voice that of a sultry woman—read him news reports. He’d never liked reading to himself. Now he never would. Apparently the advance on the Sculptor Dwarf had diminished significantly. Since the Adversary found out where they were going. Since Caleb had let slip the secret plan. He prayed to God the Adversary ships were too far behind David’s fleet to stop them.

  “I was reviewing the data you gave me,” Leah said. “I’m still hoping to find a way to reverse what the Asherans did to David. The procedure does seem related to the experiments your company performed on the Gibborim. I spoke to a doctor on New Eden who actually managed to un-cyber one of the Gibborim Sentinel recruits.”

  “Which one? Do you know his call sign?”

  “Her. Xi, I think. And her name is Abigail. What was with the stupid call signs, anyway?”

  “It was to dehumanize them, I think.”

  “That’s barbaric.”

  “Not my idea.” The Shadow Council had used the call signs for Gibborim since they were created, long ago.

  Leah was silent for a moment. She said something over a comm he didn’t quite catch. Then she sighed and he heard her move closer. She put a hand under his arm and guided him to his feet. “Rebekah is asking for you. Repeatedly, they say.”

  “I don’t have anything to say to her.” Naamah had betrayed him and taken everything from him. She claimed to love him, yet she had done nothing to save all that mattered in the universe to him. Ayelet. James. Miriam.

  They were gone.

  She’d done nothing to warn him of Apollyon. She’d done nothing to stop Caleb from letting the other Angel put cybernetics in his head. Through lies and manipulation and lust, Naamah had helped Caleb down the road to Hell. And just because she’d given them information now didn’t absolve her of that. No. The truth was—some sins could never be absolved. Some mistakes could never be corrected.

  You just had to live with them.

  “She might have more information, Caleb.”

  Maybe. “I doubt it.”

  “Caleb … there are few things worse in life than unrequited love. Whatever she’s done, I promise you she suffers now.”

  Damn. Why did Leah have to be so understanding of everyone? Even him. “Fine. Okay, take me to her.”

  Leah did, guiding him down the hall. Her touch was gentle—the only comfort he had left in life. Still, if he lived long enough to see Rachel and McGregor win, he’d be glad of it. If he saw Apollyon fall, he would dance with joy.

  And then they stopped, pausing outside what he assumed was her cell.

  “Caleb?” Naamah’s voice. “Dear God, what have you done to yourself?”

  He stared blindly at her. There was nothing to see. So little was left of himself, and he needed nothing more from her.

  “Please, Caleb. I’m … sorry. I’m so sorry. Please, I love you. I know you can love me too. You always loved me.”

  Caleb clutched Leah’s hand on his arm, saying nothing.

  “I …” Naamah said. “I’m not one of the oldest ones, you know. I really was only around twenty when the war … when it turned. It turned on us. I didn’t know what it was, when it started speaking in my head. I didn’t understand, Caleb. I didn’t know how to fight against it—I didn’t know I needed to.”

  “Fine. That doesn’t explain why it took you five billion years to wake up.”

  “I was just a kid when it took me!”

  Maybe she was. But Caleb would never look on Ayelet’s smile again. He would never hold Miriam in his arms. He would never see James go to university.

  He pulled away from Leah to step toward the cell. “If you want forgiveness, Angel … I suggest you ask God. I’m just a man, and I have nothing left to offer you.” He pressed his palm against the smart glass, feeling its chill.

  In the darkness, he heard her soft sobs.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY

  August 5th

  The Ark and I are the wrath of God, descending upon the wicked. Whatever happens, the fallen will hear our voice. And they will know despair.

  The Great Attractor stretched across the infinite horizon. Though David had seen it in his mind, seeing it in person was all the more horrible. A black hole unfathomably larger than the one that had swallowed the Balthazar. A monstrous hole in the universe—and now he knew the truth his heart had always felt. This was a gateway to Hell.

  The Sephirot drew closer to the mass of Lotan—visible only because of the modifications Phoebe had made to the scanners. The Adversary fleet, o
n the other hand, was all too apparent. They descended on the Lotan in an immeasurable horde. The Lotan jellyfish tore the Asheran ships to pieces with their tentacles, but they fared much poorer against the fallen Angels.

  So close to the singularity, time dilated. David’s allies and enemies seemed to move in slow motion, but began to speed up as the Sephirot closed into firing range. Of course, the reality was, he was actually entering the field of time dilation.

  “How many are they?”

  “Hard to get exact readings,” Phoebe said. “Maybe two thousand Lotan, and I’m guessing ten thousand in the enemy armada.”

  Ten thousand. The same as the ships under David’s command.

  JOIN US.

  David recoiled as the voice echoed through his mind like a trumpet. This close to the Attractor, it was a cacophony that nearly blinded him with pain from the sound.

  “Bring us in,” he said. “Prep all weapons.”

  “Already done,” Phoebe said. “Gonna unleash Hell. On Hell.”

  “Focus fire on the Adversary ships—use drones and defense batteries to manage the Asherans.” He tapped the console to address the fleet. “Alpha and beta groups take defensive positions around the Lotan. Gamma and delta groups engage the Adversary. Epsilon group, harry the Asherans and try to drive them off.”

  “And me?” Rachel said over the comm.

  “The Ark is going with us.” Going in deep.

  A cluster of ten Adversary ships pummeled Lotans trying to erect a seal. The jellyfish creatures didn’t implode on destruction—they shriveled into nothing and vanished from the scanners. One by one, the Lotan dropped off his screens.

  David steered the Sephirot closer. “Full missile barrage, all tubes.” Time to soften them up.

  Two hundred missile tubes launched their antimatter warheads among the Adversary. Many missiles were shot down, but others impacted the ship’s skins, doing minimal damage. It was fine. Just enough to weaken those kinetic shields.