Angel Kin

by Tricia Skinner

  “I’m not responsible.” He slammed his foot into Abel’s groin. “The Renegades turned you into a monster.” He reached for his brother’s neck.

  Abel kicked out, crushing Cain’s kneecap. Agony blindsided him. He toppled to the floor and clutched his broken leg. Before his brother struck again, Cain whipped his good leg around and scissored Abel’s waist, bringing him down.

  Cain wobbled until he stood on his good leg, chest heaving and vision blurry, and stared as his twin gasped for air and rolled slowly to his side. If he stopped now, his brother would kill him and then Katie. Grief would shatter the team. He summoned his power, collecting it within his mind. That could never play out.

  Abel had to die.

  Amidst the destruction of the penthouse, Cain pooled his strength and his resolve. He sent a wave of power over his prone brother. “Don’t move. Don’t even twitch a fucking finger.”

  Abel struggled against the invisible hold, writhing on the floor. Cain felt his heart turn to glass and shatter. Images from childhood flashed from his memories. They had loved each other as brothers should. This? This was the worst day of his life, and he knew he’d never live it down.

  But he could do something for his brother. He could make the end painless. “I believed I could convince you to come back with me. I was wrong.”

  Abel’s power battered against his, shaking Cain where he stood, but he held on. He drew a dangerous amount of his Grace to the surface, and his twin’s desperate movements stopped. Their gazes locked.

  “I never wanted this.” Sadness wedged in his throat. “I’m sorry, Abel. For everything.”

  “Maldan-orvus,” came a voice behind him.

  The unexpected visitor registered a split second before Cain was tossed across the living room. He slammed shoulder first into the wall and plopped to the floor. He groaned as agony stripped him of his energy.

  “Dravyn.” Abel sounded surprised.

  That made two of them. This was the son of a bitch who’d sent the attacker after Katie. Cain opened his swollen eyes. He blinked, unable to focus on the laughing dark elf.

  “Mastema is tired of waiting, half-breed,” Dravyn said and smirked. “And so am I.”

  “Fuck you,” Abel interjected. He spat and used an overturned chair to help himself stand. “And fuck Mastema.”

  Mastema? The Renegade leader?

  “I should have let your twin kill you.” The elf’s voice dripped icicles. “I still may.”

  Dravyn had to be the associate Abel had called earlier. As Cain squinted between the men, there was zero doubt the two had issues. His brother and the dark elf seemed to forget him, which would have rocked if Cain had a week of rest and his guns.

  “C-Cain?”

  Across the room, Katie regained consciousness, and her frightened gaze found him. She was wedged in a corner, her legs drawn close to her chest. He’d been so intent on the battle, he’d lost track of her. For the second time that day, fear for her safety streaked up his spine.

  “The girl’s still alive.” Dravyn gave her a disgusted glance and then shook his head with a heavy sigh. “Very sloppy.”

  Abel’s attention traveled from Katie to Cain before he settled on his associate. “I do this my way.”

  “No, asshole.” A blue-green globe of energy formed in Dravyn’s hands. “We do it my way.” A sphere shot from the dark elf.

  Cain jumped aside before it hit.

  Dravyn barked a quick laugh. “Oh, he’s agile.”

  The sorcerer began chanting. Mist swirled around Cain’s legs and crept up his thighs, darkening as it solidified over his body. A goddamned Globe of Darkness. Inside was pitch, but he’d seen this magic before. His Grace revved, illuminating the sphere in an eerie glow. He concentrated on the elf’s mind, seeking the pathways that would succumb to his control, but came up empty.

  “I feel you digging in my head, half-breed.”

  The fight with Abel had drained him more than he realized. Even his heightened vision had dimmed inside the globe. He squinted and made out shadows. Bad damn timing since he couldn’t see the second energy sphere before it crashed into his chest, lifting him off his feet. Cain hit a window, his body spider webbing the glass before he sank to the tile.

  “Cain!” Katie cried out.

  Another blast ripped him from the floor like a crash test dummy and sent him into a wall. On impact, all he could do was groan and cough. Blood rushed into his mouth. His trembling fingers found one dagger still in a thigh holster. Squinting through what was left of his right eye, he launched it at Dravyn. The bastard swatted it away as if it were an annoying fly.

  Cain wheezed in a breath, his lungs working overtime to keep oxygen flowing through his damaged body. Energy crushed him to the floor, and this time, he screamed.

  Chapter Twenty

  Cain’s agonized cry seized Katie’s heart mid beat. The pungent stench of vomit nearby threatened to release a fresh wave of nausea. She stared, disbelieving, as her lover’s body curled into a tight ball.

  He was going to die.

  The impossible thought slapped Katie out of her disbelief. Cain was special. She wanted to know more about him. Wanted to share endless talks and see if her gut was right—that she could give her trust to him, give him her heart. A jolt of comprehension hit. She already trusted him, and he already owned her heart.

  Katie searched for a weapon and spotted a bent chair. Ignoring the phantom spasms of imaginary snakes under her skin, she crawled over, picked up a piece of the black lacquer, and pulled until it snapped free. A crunch of breaking wood cracked behind her and she spun, the spindle in her steel grip—and she faced the swollen but curious eyes of Abel. Now free of Cain’s mental hold, he towered over her, battered but very much alive.

  Once, his proximity was enough to make her teeth rattle. Now…

  “Will you stop this?” She held his dark gaze.

  He stole a glance at Cain, his silver eyes glowing ominously.

  Katie stepped close enough for him to smell her funky breath. “If Dravyn kills Cain, I’ll kill you. If you kill Cain, I’ll kill you.”

  The Nephilim leaned back, surprise flashing across his face. He probably had enough strength left to rip out her tongue, but she didn’t care.

  “You hurt my brother,” she said, choking on the lump in her throat. “Some great men and women died when the station exploded.”

  Abel glanced away. “Tell that to the one who ordered the hit.”

  She followed his gaze to Dravyn. Her grip on the spindle tightened. The elf enjoyed causing pain. Cain lay crumpled on the floor in a pool of his own blood. He wouldn’t last much longer.

  “Please.” The plea broke free of her good sense. “Help him. He’s your brother. The last of your family.”

  Abel remained tight-lipped, his emotions curtained. She was an idiot pleading with a murderer.

  “Cain told me what happened when you were kids.” God, she was nuts. “You both lost so much.”

  Abel kept his face forward. “You want some Mozart to accompany your sentimental bullshit?”

  Heat crept up her neck. She brushed past the heartless bastard, but he grabbed her arm, rooting her in place.

  “Let go.” She struggled to free herself from his granite hold. “Cain was wrong to love you so much. You don’t feel anything but hate. You’re a soulless, uncaring, evil asshole.”

  Katie glanced at Cain and Dravyn. The dark elf’s eyes were as wild as his white hair. No hope for bargaining with that one. Her brain ticked off the seconds before she lost her lover forever. Her gaze drifted up to the man beside her. “If he dies, your whole reason for existing is gone.”

  Abel tilted his head, probably pondering how to kill her.

  She tried again. “You searched for him, right?”

  No reply, except for an increased rise and fall of his chest.

  “When Cain’s dead, you’ll have nothing. No family. No ties to your past. You’ll be left working as a lapdog for the R
enegades.” She faced him dead on. “Bravo, big man. You’re about to get your wish.”

  He went rigid, and Katie swore she heard his jaw crack. She gulped, waiting for a fist to knock her flat, but Abel released her arm and she resisted the urge to put a city block between them. Katie darted a look at his face and was stunned by the hurt, confusion, and pain she found.

  “When this ends, you’ll be utterly alone,” she added. “But you don’t have to be.”

  Abel’s hand moved in a blur, fingers wrapped around her neck.

  Katie sucked in a breath, scraping at his claw hold. Fear flooded her.

  “I can sever your spinal column with one good squeeze,” he told her.

  “Then do it,” Katie choked out. She forced her trembling hands to release his death grip.

  …

  Abel let the violence in the penthouse fade to white noise. Cain’s harsh breathing. Dravyn’s sinister laughter. His heartbeat thudding against his ribs. He held Katie immobile, her wide green eyes daring him to end her. He should snap her thin neck and toss her corpse to the floor.

  “What…are you…waiting…for?” Her throat moved despite his hand pressed against her windpipe.

  A good question. Abel watched color brighten Katie’s skin in deep tones of pink and red. Strangling her would spare him her ceaseless chattering. His twin grunted, and her gaze turned toward the sound. Her body sagged like a doll abandoned on a toy shelf. He stared into her tear-streaked face and understanding dawned.

  This woman didn’t give a rat’s ass that he would kill her. The tears were for his brother.

  “Why do you care about him?” Abel loosened the grip around her throat a fraction.

  She filled her lungs, coughed, and then returned her gaze to his twin. “He’s a victim, same as you.”

  The flat response resonated in Abel’s mind. He looked away from Katie to Cain. His brother inched his broken body toward a dagger lying across the room. Streaks of blood painted the marble floor as red as the woman’s hair. A slow smirk distorted Dravyn’s features, making him appear demonic.

  If he dies, your whole reason for existing is gone. Katie’s words pounded in Abel’s brain. When Cain’s dead, you’ll have nothing. No family. No ties to your past.

  He stared at his twin. They were mirror images. Shared the same blood. Loved the same mother and father. A family torn apart by Heaven. Victims. Abel released Katie’s neck and listened to her deep gulps of air, his eyes on his brother and the elf.

  She was correct. He’d spent centuries working for the Renegades, always forbidden to find his brother. What if he had disobeyed? What if he had revealed himself sooner? The Renegades had whispered one goal in his ear. Revenge.

  They promised payback for all he—they—had lost. He’d believed their version of events. He never thought to question.

  A memory of Cain intruded. I will never forgive myself for what happened, or for what you must have gone through with those lying bastards.

  Abel’s palms turned clammy. He clenched his hands, opened them. His gaze darted around the penthouse, tracking shadows of the past. Cain should not have run off. Father should have protected them. Mother should have squeezed into the root cellar. They left him. All of them.

  Fresher memories surfaced. Cain in the hospital, claiming the story untrue. Claiming his loyalty never wavered. He looked up. His twin slumped against the wall. The elf raised his hands.

  When this ends, you’ll be utterly alone.

  Abel sparked his power.

  His Grace slammed into Dravyn.

  “You will not harm him.” The command came out on a growl.

  Orange eyes flared in surprise and the sorcerer’s sphere disappeared. Katie let go of a gasp and ran to Cain. He peeked away from the elf in a momentary lapse of judgment—and it cost him.

  “Traitorous motherfucker,” Dravyn yelled, a blue-green sphere spiraling from his hands.

  The goddamned angle was perfect, and the sphere nailed Abel in the chest before he could dodge. The energy ball lifted him off his feet. He hit the wall with a sickening crunch, echoing what his brother had experienced.

  “I told those fools you couldn’t be trusted.” The elf launched another sphere. “If you’d wanted your brother dead, no one could have stopped you.”

  Airborne once again, Abel sailed into the shattered remains of his flat-screen television. Blood sputtered out of his lungs and fell like raindrops on the floor.

  “What did you think? You’d shake up his life, then disappear?” the sorcerer asked. “Oh no. Taking this bastard out permanently was always on the agenda.”

  Abel sent another wave at the elf, felt it latch on, and held it like a buoy. Inside, his Grace shuddered. Too many injuries, too much blood loss. His ribs crunched like corn flakes, but he bit back his groan, pulled himself up, and sent a pulsed command. “Don’t resist me.”

  The smirk drained from Dravyn’s face.

  “Don’t resist me.” Abel struggled to remain standing. His gaze adjusted like an unfocused camera lens.

  The elf’s hand rose, small jolts of energy dancing on his fingertips. Dravyn leveled a glare coated in hatred. “I’m going to—”

  Abel shut him up with another pulse. Though his Grace was strong, his weakened body mutinied. Black spots dotted his vision, and his hearing was muffled. The trails of energy thickened in Dravyn’s hands.

  Abel braced against the wall. A drop of blood fell from his nose and splattered on his shredded T-shirt. As often as he’d imagined killing the bastard, the elf proved to be a tough son of a bitch. As he shifted his stance, he caught sight of red hair on the periphery.

  Katie ran at Dravyn, her shriek of fury filling the penthouse. Cain called after her, but she didn’t stop. Gripping the chair spindle like a bat, she swung as hard as a rookie on the Detroit Tigers, bases loaded.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Cain was living a nightmare. First, his brother had pulverized him like hamburger. Then Sauron had shown up and rung his bell up and down Mount Doom. Through all the pain and broken bones, his heart kept beating for Katie. He was supposed to protect her, but now his beautiful burglar was exposed, vulnerable, and injured.

  Annnd…she’d just screeched like one pissed-off Valkyrie.

  Cain’s eyelids felt like boiled eggs, but he cracked them open anyway. They widened instantly.

  “Katie!” He choked out the words.

  She swung a stick at Dravyn’s head as if it were a piñata. Nice hit, too. The elf took the blow across his face; it sheared his nose half off.

  “You bitch!” Dravyn’s arm flashed out, his fist connecting with Katie’s jawline.

  Cain tensed as she dropped to the floor. She didn’t move.

  His Grace rumbled to life, but the damn thing felt like a sparkler, not a grenade. He touched his chest, surprised his heart still beat. With what little power he had left, he scrabbled for leverage on the blood-slicked floor, not caring about his broken leg, broken ribs, broken almost everything. One thing mattered: getting to Katie.

  The elf stood over her prone form, cursing as green rivulets poured from his shattered nose. Then Dravyn’s hands crackled with an energy sphere.

  Cain’s racing heart double-timed.

  Dravyn glared down at Katie. “Okay, skank, you get to die first.”

  Like hell she would. Cain pushed an ember of power forward into Dravyn’s mind—and tethered to an open nerve pathway. Surprise nearly knocked him senseless, but he sent more of his Grace into the fissure.

  The elf craned a cold look his way. “Wait your turn, half-breed.”

  “Why wait?” Abel limped into Cain’s sight line and a chasm yawned in his gut.

  Taking on the elf and his twin was a no-win scenario, but Cain didn’t give a shit. The elf had KO’d his woman. He’d die before he let that go unpunished.

  A second wave joined the layer Cain had laid inside Dravyn’s head. The elf went stiff, his eyes blazing hatred at Abel. “You…fucking…coward.”r />
  Dravyn cursed and shook, but the sphere in his hands didn’t disappear. Sweat coated his black skin so it shined like an eight ball.

  “Your organs are shutting down,” Abel said, teeth clenched.

  Cain didn’t have time to marvel at his brother’s apparent change of heart. He clamped another layer onto the elf’s mind. Dravyn cried out but flicked his hands. The sphere flew at his twin, who dodged out of the way.

  “Holes in your lungs.” He secured his command on top of Abel’s, weaving them like rope.

  Dravyn fought the combination, screaming and squashing his head between his hands. Wheezing through his swiss-cheese lungs, the elf remained defiant. The three were locked in a battle of wills. Cain’s eyes clouded as the strain on his soul intensified. If the Act of Contrition struck now, he’d end up a turnip.

  Katie stirred and groaned. Cain sent a quick thanks to his deity, but his relief was short-lived. The sorcerer lowered his hands, another energy sphere glowing and ready.

  “Dravyn,” Cain yelled, drawing the elf’s haggard glance. He summoned every drop of his Grace for one desperate pulse.

  All his love. For The Bound Ones. For the memory of his father and mother. For the ounce of hope rekindled for Abel. For Katie.

  Especially Katie.

  She had earned a place in his heart the moment she’d given him her trust. Now, he would keep his vow, even if it meant his life.

  The Act of Contrition consumed him. Molten pain flowed into Cain, greater than any he’d ever experienced. He screamed until his throat stripped raw. He spared one blurred glance at Abel, received a nod, and then prayed. This was it.

  “Die!” The word exploded from Cain and Abel in unison like a command from the God of All.

  Dravyn threw his head back, mouth opened in a soundless scream. Green blood shot from his throat, ran out his ears, drained from his broken nose. With arms spread wide like a scarecrow, he flung his limbs wildly.