Thank you, Lucas. Your diversion worked better than we could have expected.
Even better, this room was undoubtedly some sort of meeting area. It more resembled a courtroom, with wooden benches lined up on either side of an aisle. They all faced a two-foot tall stage of sorts, which held a wooden, rectangular table that seated eight. The chairs all faced toward the audience.
Was this a place where they conducted some sort of trials, judging the human before sentencing? Or was it simply a place for discussion about which human officials were going to be captured next?
She didn’t know, but she did know one thing. In the center of the table sat a statue of an angel that was about two-feet tall. The clock would rest very comfortable right in front of it.
She pumped her legs fast, racing down the aisle toward the stage. Hopping up, she slid the clock out of its pouch. Now which way to set it? Facing the angels up on the stage? Something told her the Tribunal and other important angel officials generally sat up here, so it might be best to get video of them, but it would be difficult to capture more than one or two of them from this angle.
No, she’d face it outward, toward the audience. That way it would hopefully capture the processional of angels as they came in, along with videoing whatever they discussed.
Decision made, she carefully placed the clock down. A weight lifted off her chest. She’d done it.
Breathing in deep, she turned around...
Two tall, dark-haired men blocked the entranceway, casually observing her. They were both gorgeous with topaz eyes and tanned, bare chests.
Angels.
Her heart twisted as she realized none of their faces were familiar.
No. No!
These weren’t Fallen.
She’d been caught red-handed.
“This is unusual, Ezra,” said the angel whose dark hair hung straight to his shoulders.
“I’d say,” replied Ezra. “Not too often that we see a human wandering free throughout our building.”
“I...” she squeaked. Eyes searching out any possible escape route, Samantha clumsily hopped down off the stage. “I—I was just—”
“Save it.” The long-haired angel’s eyes flashed a fiery yellow. He lifted his hand and suddenly she was rooted to the ground, unable to lift her feet from the ground.
What? Fuck!
She recalled seeing Aaron do the very same thing to the guard at the museum, but having it done to her was more than a little unnerving. She willed her body to move, but it refused to obey the commands of her brain.
How could she possibly fight back against someone who could control her every movement?
She opened her mouth to let out a scream, hoping against hope that maybe Aaron would hear her.
The long-haired angel was before her in an instant, moving so quickly her eyes only registered him as a bright blur. His hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing the air from her lungs. “I don’t know how you got in here, human, or why, but you will surely regret it.”
Ezra spoke, his voice sounding closer than before. “Nathaniel, I could have sworn I felt the essence of another angel several minutes ago, or...something similar.”
“Nephilim,” the angel holding her—Nathaniel—growled. After a contemplative pause, he shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever it was, it’s gone now. There’s only this human.”
Samantha gasped for air and lifted her fingers to Nathaniel’s hand, trying to pry it from her throat. But his grip was solid as steel.
“Odd.” Ezra’s voice adopted a bored tone. “Whatever shall we do with it?”
“Good question.” For the first time Nathaniel’s left her face, glancing beyond her. His brow knitted and his fingers loosened just enough for her to take a shuddering breath. After a moment, an amused grin crept to his face. “Look, Ezra, it brought us a present.”
Oh no. No.
Her heart sunk in her chest. Eyes closing, she felt her shoulders bow at the devastating realization that they’d seen her setting the clock onto the desk.
Ezra brushed past them. She was able to twist her head just enough to see him lift the clock. He examined it and then let out a low laugh before smashing it on the ground. It shattered into pieces.
“No,” she gurgled, despite herself.
Nathaniel chuckled and turned his gaze back to her, eyes glittering with malice. “Now, human, we’re going to have a little talk. You’re going to tell us how you got here and what you were doing.”
No doubt they would try to torture it out of her, but she’d never tell. There was no point.
And now, there was no hope.
Oh God, Aaron...
Her heart ached for him. For what could have been between them. Because one thing seemed certain in this moment...
She was about to die for nothing.
Chapter Fourteen
She’d been gone far too long.
Aaron crouched low on the flat-top roof of the concrete building, splitting his time between watching the group of angels flying around the smoking mountain in the horizon, keeping an eye on the Consortium Guards searching the woods to the east of the prison, and scanning the western entrance directly below. A dull ache constricted his chest, right around the vicinity of his heart.
Why the hell had she been gone so long? He counted at least seven minutes since she’d mouthed her heart-shattering words of love to him and then disappeared from sight. The angels wouldn’t waste much more time at the mountain. Soon enough they would begin to suspect the entire thing had been a distraction.
A prickle along the back of his neck alerted him that another angel was approaching. He snapped to attention, glancing first toward the mountain, where all the angels still seemed occupied, then behind him.
Ah, there were the culprits.
Jason and Zach approached from the west, zipping toward him on their quick-flapping wings.
Conflicting feelings of relief and irritation wound through him. They were supposed to be back at the cabin with the remaining members of their group. After discussing their plan, the group had decided that no other angels besides him, Michael, and Lucas would risk their lives coming here. Yet it appeared Jason and Zach had taken matters into their own hands.
He waited until they touched down beside him to say, “What are you two doing here?”
Jason shook his head and mimicked Aaron’s crouching posture. “We couldn’t stand idly by. We want to help.”
“And Michael?” he asked.
“Is pissed,” Zach replied with a careless grin as he knelt on one knee.
“I’d lecture you for going against the wishes of the group, but...” Aaron took a breath. “Damn, I’m happy to see you two.”
“Where’s Samantha?” Jason asked as he moved his gaze toward the mountain. Now only a thin stream of smoke floated up from its top.
“She’s been inside for too long. I’m worried for her,” Aaron admitted.
“So go get her, the both of you,” Jason said easily. “I’ll keep watch up here. If they start back this way, I’ll fly down and pop inside to warn you. Just listen out for a shrill whistle.”
Aaron glanced at Zach, who nodded. The weight constricting Aaron’s chest eased just a fraction. He clapped Jason on the back. “Thank you, brother.”
He didn’t waste any more time, just distended his wings and used them to slow his descent as he dropped off the side of the building. Zach plopped beside him with a soft thump.
Ears attuned for any noise, Aaron absorbed his wings and stepped toward the door. It barely made a squeak as he opened it up and took a peek inside. Nothing but empty corridors. He slid into the building, Zach right on his tail, and the door closed behind him.
The silence, the ominous solitude of this place, set his teeth on edge.
Aaron focused his hearing in an attempt to determine which corridor Samantha might have turned down, when a muffled croak sounded out from straight ahead. His heart gave a furious thump in his chest.
Sa
mantha!
He didn’t bother with walking. Simply snapped his wings out and beat them furiously to propel his body down the corridor. It ended with an open doorway, and he zoomed inside without slowing his speed. Yeah, stupid thing to do when there might be an ambush waiting for him, but right now he didn’t care. His mate was in trouble, and he would do anything to save her.
Sure enough, Samantha was inside the room he entered, and she wasn’t alone.
Nathaniel—a smug bastard he’d always hated—stood in front of her with his right hand wrapped around her throat. And Ezra, a man he once considered a friend, stood beside them, the crushed remains of the clock at his booted feet.
Neither angel noted him at first. Nathaniel was too busy threatening Samantha.
“You’ll tell us what we need to know,” he snarled before Aaron could intercept him. With his grip tight on Samantha’s throat, he lifted his left hand and slapped her across the face.
“No!” Fury like Aaron had never known before pulsed through his veins, setting his body ablaze with the need to murder this man for daring to lay a hand on his mate.
Both Nathaniel and Ezra looked his way, startled expressions transforming their faces.
Aaron launched himself at Nathaniel, who released Samantha in an effort to protect himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ezra take two stumbling steps backward then whirl around while simultaneously growing his wings. He was gone in a flash.
Forget the betraying bastard.
Refocusing on Nathaniel, Aaron lifted his right fist to strike, but the angel intercepted him with his left hand. His lips curled into a sneer. “I should have known that you were responsible for the human and that pitiful attempt at bugging us.”
“Go to hell.” Aaron struggled against Nathaniel’s grip.
Zach finally appeared beside Aaron. He blindsided Nathaniel with a wicked blow to his right cheek. Nathaniel let go of Aaron’s hand, and he responded by dealing Nathaniel a second blow. Nathaniel fell backward onto the ground and Aaron followed him down.
Zach wasted no time in jumping onto Nathaniel’s chest. “I’ve got him. Tend to your mate!”
Aaron wasn’t about to turn that offer down. He jumped up and whirled toward Samantha. She’d scooted herself back to the isle separating rows of wooden benches, and she was lodged halfway under one of the benches.
“I—I’m ok—okay,” she croaked, trying to sit up.
He was in front of her before she had time to complete her movement, grabbing hold of her shoulders to help her to sit up. Already black and blue bruises in the shapes of fingertips marred her throat. No doubt her flesh would be swollen and tender come tomorrow.
Rage gnarled and twisted in his gut, urging him to seek out Nathaniel and destroy him—slowly and very, very painfully—but he resisted the urge, especially since Nathaniel was still pinned below Zach.
Aaron rested his fingers under her chin and gingerly turned her neck from left to right, examining her bruised flesh. “Samantha, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she rasped, closing her fingers over his. She gazed into his eyes, the steadiness in her expression reassuring him. “Promise.”
The fear that had constricted his chest upon the sight of her in Nathaniel’s arms eased. Samantha began to smile at him, but then her gaze focused on something beyond his right shoulder, and her eyes went wide with horror.
“No!” she screamed.
Aaron tensed and shifted his upper body toward the direction in which she looked. To his horror, he saw that Ezra had returned, and he held in his hand what appeared to be a flaming torch. Aaron had never seen its like before, but it seemed beyond dangerous. And it was aimed directly at him.
“No,” he yelled, preparing to leap.
Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron saw Zach glance up toward Ezra. Zach noticed the flaming torch and half-stood, most likely in an instinctive urge to stop him.
“Ezra!” Nathaniel screamed.
Before Aaron could react, Ezra shifted the torch toward Zach. He shook it slightly, and a flaming fireball shot out of the weapon, engulfing Zach in flames so quickly that, for one moment, Aaron thought his eyes deceived him.
There must have been magic in the torch, because in the span of an instant Zach’s entire body flamed out, turning him to ash.
“No!”
No!
Zach had been one of his closest friends. Aaron couldn’t believe it. That couldn’t just have happened!
It couldn’t.
Shaking with pain and fury, Aaron flew toward Ezra. The other angel tried to lift the torch toward him, but Aaron was on him before Ezra could get it more than a few inches up. He grasped hold of Ezra’s wrist, keeping the torch far from his body, and wrestled with the other angel for the upper hand.
A glimmer of something that looked like sorrow shone in Ezra’s eyes. “Aaron...”
How could he ever have called this man a friend? How could he have trusted him? Now all he saw was the evil lighting the angel’s eyes. He enjoyed causing pain to humans.
He’d killed Zach.
No!
Heart pounding with rage, Aaron twisted Ezra’s hand backward and finally succeeded in touching it to the other angel’s shoulder. Quicker than he could believe it, his former friend’s body lit up. Aaron had to tuck and roll in order to avoid the deadly flames.
Within seconds, Ezra too was nothing more than a pile of ash.
Aaron whirled to the spot where Nathaniel had just been, but he caught nothing more than a glimpse of wings as the angel disappeared through a secret exit high in the ceiling.
“Aaron, he’s escaping,” Samantha screamed.
No, he wouldn’t get away that quickly.
Torch in hand, Aaron started for Nathaniel, but before he could fly up there, Jason came zooming in from the entranceway.
“They’re coming! I whistled but you didn’t hea—”
Jason caught sight of the ashes and stopped cold, his eyes going wide with confusion.
“Nathaniel killed Zach,” Aaron yelled at him. He motioned toward the exit on the ceiling. “I’m going after him.”
“No!” Jason’s face crumpled in pain. He started toward Aaron, but froze when he saw the torch in his hand. “No, Aaron. We may not have enough time to escape as it is, and surely he’s headed straight for the other angels. There are too many of them. If we don’t leave now, we’ll die!”
Aaron paused, halfway crazed with the desire to avenge his friend’s death.
“Aaron, think,” Jason pleaded, holding one placating hand up in the air. “Your mate needs you now. We need you. Flee and live to fight another die.”
His words penetrated through the bloodlust just enough for Aaron to sneak a look at Samantha. She held a hand to her throat, fear and horror etched onto her face as she stared at him.
Damnation, Jason was right. If he only had himself to worry about, Aaron would get his revenge and fuck the consequences. But he wasn’t about to risk his mate’s life.
Never.
“Here, take this. Careful, the flames will instantly turn you to ash.”
Bitter tears leaked from Aaron’s eyes as he handed the strange flaming torch to Jason then lifted Samantha into his arms.
“Let’s go. Quickly,” Jason yelled as he led the way out of the prison, cautiously wielding the torch in front of him.
Aaron followed, half-blinded by the tears of anger and sorrow that slid down his cheeks like raindrops.
Damn Nathaniel. Damn him to hell. Aaron didn’t know when, and he didn’t know how, but someday he would get Nathaniel for this.
The angel’s days were numbered.
Heart heavy, Aaron followed Jason outside and whipped through the air, keeping low to the ground as Jason did.
They’d failed in their mission today. Abysmally. But at least he still had his mate.
He still had Samantha.
Chapter Fifteen
Back at the cabin, the mood was heavy and somber. Sama
ntha let her gaze travel the room, taking in the sorrowful, dejected faces around her.
After Samantha, Aaron, and Jason had arrived to inform everyone that they’d not only failed in their mission, but had also lost Zach, everyone had been silent and contemplative. Aaron had disappeared into the woods for some time, ignoring her pleas to take her with him. When he’d returned his eyes had been swollen and bloodshot. She understood his reluctance to let her see him crying, but she wished she could have given him just a bit more comfort.
Lucas had taken the flaming torch that Jason had somehow managed to fly back, and was even now studying it to see exactly how it worked and if they could recreate it. This could be a powerful weapon against the angels, and if the Tribunal had this weapon but the Fallen didn’t...well then, they had no chance.
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Jason repeated woodenly for like the tenth time.
“Nathaniel will pay,” Aaron responded from where he sat on the couch, right next to Samantha. Even though he absently rubbed her back, he sat stiffly on the edge of his seat, as if ready to seek out and pounce on the man who’d helped to take his friend’s life.
“I just can’t believe we failed,” Samantha rasped out. Her throat ached beyond belief, and she’d all but given up on wiping the tears that insisted on rolling down her face. “All that for nothing.”
“We did the best we could,” Aaron said grimly.
But it wasn’t good enough. Not nearly.
Sudden resolve firmed her spine. Yes, they’d failed today, but she wasn’t about to give up. Not now that she knew just how important it was to reveal to the rest of the world what the angels truly had at stake for them.
“I’m going back in.”
“What?”Aaron, along with several other sets of eyes, looked at her like she was crazy.
“It still needs to be done, doesn’t it?” She absently rubbed her throat. “We still need the proof about the angels’ covert plans. If we don’t get it, what chance do we have in convincing the humans that angels want to kill them?”
Aaron’s hand tightened on her back. “No way. You’re not going back in there.”
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