“Jump. Are you shitting me?” If anyone saw me now, they’d think I’d lost my mind and they’d call the cops. I was standing by a window talking to myself and crying. There would be no mistake about what people would think.
“Come on. Trust me. I will catch you. Please. Balmora is using magic that’s stopping me from getting to you. Only you can break through it.”
“Magic, what?” I didn’t believe in anything like that.
“Alyssa, look past the barrier and you will see me.”
I looked but I couldn’t see anything. “I can’t see. Who are you?”
“Your guardian angel. You believe in those right. Remember Grandma Elma, she taught you to believe in angels. She gave you that necklace you’re wearing now. The necklace is a talisman, it’s helping you. She prepared you for this very moment. So, please don’t let her down. If you don’t believe me, I need you to believe in her.”
Telling me to believe in the woman who meant everything to me was enough of a trigger.
My grandmother was everything. I believed in her so much if she told me to jump off a cliff I would.
The screeching continued, getting louder, stronger, piercing through my body, my mind, my soul.
It propelled me to climb up on the window ledge. And, somehow, I knew, as crazy as it was, I had to trust what the voice was telling me. I had to if I wanted to survive. And, somehow, I knew I had to survive.
I had to.
“Now Alyssa!” the man’s voice cried.
As Balmora broke free of whatever barrier held her in place I jumped.
Oh God I jumped.
Out of the window...
My breath hitched in my throat making me swallow my scream. Just as I was certain I would hit the ground and die, die, die, strong, powerful hands grabbed hold of me, scooping me up and holding me against a steel chest.
I squeezed my eyes shut as I soared up and up into the sky.
Up and up I went and then a standstill.
I opened my eyes and met the piercing dark eyes of a man with striking features, so handsome, beautiful even, that I wanted to stare.
I couldn’t even begin to think of the craziness of this whole situation and here I was getting all weak kneed over a man.
A man with...wings?
Bright white wings flapped out on either side of us, brilliant in their illumination but darkened by black tips.
I was too stunned to think. Too stunned to do anything besides freak out.
But I wasn’t freaking out in the sense of screaming uncontrollably and bawling my eyes out. I was the other kind of freaked out. The kind where you were so shocked it rendered your body immobilized and useless.
“Give her to me, tainted one.” Balmora. That was her speaking now.
We were in the air, several thousand feet from the ground. So high in the sky the clouds surrounded us.
She was here, too. I looked over my shoulder and saw her. That dark mass engulfed her and her awful, demonic face was the only thing I could see against the darkness of her and the night.
“What kind of magic are you using these days Balmora.” The man asked.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Give the girl to me now.”
“No, I don’t think so. I’m keeping her for myself.”
Balmora hissed and the sound was everywhere.
“Hold on tight princess.” The man said to me.
Waves of sound came at us all at once, along with a blast. It pushed me closer to the man and I circled my arms around his neck.
When I did that something strange happened. It was like I knew him.
I knew him, but how.
How would I know him?
Energy filled me, consuming my body. Heating me up everywhere. It was so strong I had to let go.
My hands were on fire. Black and white flames leapt from my hand. It flickered from my hands the same way it did from the man’s wings.
It grew in radiance and power and suddenly it surrounded the both of us.
The energy balls that came from the two of us created a vibrant ball of fire the man threw at Balmora. The blast reminded me of the atomic bomb explosions I’d seen on documentaries.
Balmora screamed, then she wailed.
I tried to look past the blast to see what was happening, but then it was like I was sucked into something and everywhere was gray. Gray like a nightmare.
My head was spinning; spinning around and around like I was on one of those carnival rides.
The man flew down to the ground and set me down.
I however couldn’t stand up. My knees...
They just gave and suddenly I was falling.
He caught me in his arms and held me.
“How did you do that?” he demanded. Although the lighting that surrounded us was awful, my eyes took in the sharp outline of his features.
Features so sharp and perfect I had to reach out and touch his face.
When my fingers graced the edge of his jaw, his name came to my mind, as if I’d known him all my life.
“Dante,” I breathed.
His eyes narrowed.
Then I lost my mind and darkness surrounded me.
Chapter 3
Dante
“She knew my name,” I said to Aurora.
She was standing over by the long castle windows gazing out into the dark expanse of nothingness that surrounded Catharis.
I hated this place. The Mage’s Castle.
It was a place I rarely visited, and when I did visit, I’d always leave with something. Money for bringing a bounty, or just a good time given to me by the woman who stood in front of me.
Today it was a refuge. A much needed refuge for an unconscious Alyssa, who was out cold in the bedroom down the hall.
Out cold and starting to worry me because we’d been here for hours and she hadn’t stirred.
“What else did Malachi tell you?” she spoke without looking at me, still pissed from last time because I left her bed without a word.
The thing about her was she was always going to be about sex.
A physical attraction and indulgence between a fallen one and a dark blooded being.
That was all.
“I told you everything.” I told her what she needed to know. The part about Alyssa being my soul mate was something I kept for me. No one else needed to know that.
It was irrelevant to them. Everything else though was significant, and now I was seeing there was a lot more to this story than what Malachi said.
That something I’d suspected off the bat. That Alyssa was no mere witch. She was something else.
Something brewed within my mind. I had an idea, and I hoped like hell I was wrong.
Alyssa didn’t just know my name; she copied my powers.
There weren’t many with the talent to do that.
Balmora was sporting some serious magic; magic I wasn’t sure we could counter without causing some damage to the human world. And us.
I was sure she could have hurt me. With Alyssa there it was like there was two of me.
Much as I hated to accept that I didn’t fully get us out of danger I had to.
“The Elders are on the way.”
“Good, because they need to start talking. You people did something, don’t even lie to me.”
I’d come here first to speak to her and do some research in the Book of Light.
These mages were the keepers of the book which contained the truth about every living soul in the human realm. Mages were the witch equivalent of what sentinels were to normal angels.
They had untold powers, and they had secrets.
When I looked up Alyssa Forrester, I not only saw that her grandma Elma was the one and only Great Elder of the Northern Mages Clan, but there were parts of Alyssa’s history that had been erased.
That was impossible.
“Do not look at me like I could have known about this.” Aurora argued looking offended.
“You guys are
always so secretive. What would make me think otherwise?”
“I don’t keep secrets from you. You, of all people should know that.”
“I don’t trust anyone, Aurora. Whatever you feel for me has no bearing on that.”
“Whatever, I feel for you? So, it’s confirmed you feel nothing for me.”
She sat on the large wooden chair and eyed me dangerously.
I smiled at the sternness of her demeanor.
“Do you want me to upset you?”
“No, and not especially since you seem to have a new toy.” Accusing eyes bore into me. She pushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder and pressed her lips together.
“Not sure what you mean.” My smile widened.
“If you were a normal angel you wouldn’t be thinking of all the ways you could get her naked.”
I laughed, I wasn’t thinking that this very moment, but maybe about five minutes ago. I wasn’t fucking blind. The second I saw the body on Alyssa I wanted her straight away.
She had the kind of body that was made to drive men wild, and an angel in service either clip his wings or fall.
Despite the craziness going on with Balmora on her heels I saw honey gold skin, flawless and perfect against the moonlight. Curves in all the right places, voluptuous breasts, full and round, ripe and tempting. Then that mass of dark brown hair billowing against the wind, making her bright blue eyes look all the more striking.
I was definitely thankful I was no normal angel because I would be in some kind of trouble right about now, that I wouldn’t want to get myself out of.
“I don’t plan to ever be normal,” I informed her. She of all people should have known that. “I think whatever the hell I want. So, you can stop reading my mind now.”
She was reading me, and she was more pissed off than what she was showing. More pissed, and hurt.
I’d never wanted to hurt her. Not ever. I may have acted like an ass ninety percent of the time, but I had a heart. The assholish ways were more down to my bitterness over my situation. Nothing more.
“Do you have to be thinking about her now, right in front of me?” There. I would have been an idiot not to notice the hint of hurt that echoed in her tone.
I moved closer to her and leaned in real close to her ear. She turned her face, so she could look right at me.
“Aurora, you can do better than me, so do it. Now is not the time to be discussing my thoughts. Serious things are happening, and I have more questions than I had before.”
She held my gaze, staring at me like she was considering what I was saying, then nodded. “Okay.”
“Good, first up. The magic. Balmora was more powerful than I could have imagined. She put up a barrier I couldn’t get through. The only savior was the talisman Alyssa was wearing.” That was the only way I was able to reach her. From the outside I could feel the pulsing light of good magic, and tapped into it. “Then the sentinels. The curse on them. How is that possible and why isn’t God able to do something about it?”
That was a stupid question.
I knew that was a very stupid question. One I shouldn’t have been asking her.
God would only get involved when it was absolutely necessary. That meant whatever was going on was something we could handle.
Everyone who was involved just had to find a way. I might have been a fallen angel, but I knew facts and that was fact. No matter how disastrous the situation was.
Or fucked up, like this one.
Aurora looked even more tense.
“Dante, only very powerful dark magic can do something so drastic. And... to my knowledge there’s only one source that I know of that can create magic like that.”
“One source?” I narrowed my eyes. “Lucifer?”
Could be him, but he was in the height of his own success. Still, I could see him joining forces with whatever was going on.
Razul rising would be for the benefit of every dark soul and fallen angel.
Anyone on the side of pure evil.
“No, this is not that type of magic. It’s different in essence.”
“Aurora, don’t keep me in suspense here.”
“We do not talk about him. It is almost forbidden.” She seemed hesitant, scared even. “The necromancer of the old world. It sounds like him. I think... I think if he’s involved, he’s doing Razul’s bidding. The necromancer must be the person doing his bidding while he’s stuck in hades. Balmora was his biggest supporter before we banished him to the netherworld. It was the only place strong enough to hold his magic. I think she must have found a way to set him free. That is the best answer I can come up with.”
Fuck. This all just kept on getting better and better.
“And the girl? Aurora, she knew my name.” And she copied my powers. I hadn’t talked about that and like now, I knew Aurora was reading my thoughts.
In these times I didn’t know who could be listening, so I dare not voice the thought that had crossed my mind.
It was a serious thought and if I was right, then this problem of ours just got a whole lot worse. It was already bad.
I hate trusting people.
“I know.” She smiled and leaned forward. The hem of her dress swished over the marble floor. “I hate you right now, but you can trust me.”
I returned the smile. “Somehow, I kind of know that.”
“She must be a powerful witch if she’s related to Elma. I don’t think she’s what you think she is however.” She shook her head.
“I know what I saw Aurora. I know what I felt.”
“Other than the stir of your cock?” She cooed with seduction and looked at my pants. She always knew how to shock me, and when to as well.
“Yes, other than that.”
“Well, Dante, your new toy is trying to escape. Why don’t you go test your theories out?” She motioned toward the large Oakwood doors which opened at her will. “Quickly. If you’re wrong, she’ll slip into the abyss. I don’t think she’ll know just yet how to walk the void. She’s kind of heading that way. Poor girl. Great hair though.”
I frowned, already moving through the door before she could finish her last sentence.
This was going to be the death of me.
Figuratively.
***
Alyssa
***
Oh my God.
Where was I?
Where the hell was I?
Just like everything else, this place looked like something from a nightmare. Like Castle Dracula or worse.
My cousin Bobby loved to play games when we were younger. Games with dragons and knights, medieval sorts but not the adventurous type for you to enjoy. His games had ghouls in the castle, ghosts and other shit designed to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Devil’s May Cry. That was the game I was trying to remember.
And this damn corner I’d taken was like Dante’s Inferno. Those two games rolled into one was this place. Except that this was real.
I think...
Part of me still expected to wake up in a mental institution, dressed in that dreadful hospital gown with a straight jacket wrapped around me.
I didn’t know what I’d do if that happened. It was one of my biggest fears.
Losing my mind.
Losing my mind would definitely top losing my heart because if I lost my mind, I knew it would be a struggle to get it back.
Grandma Jessica, my father’s mom lost her mind. But she had dementia. By the time she died she couldn’t remember who any of us were. That was hard for me to get over because I had fond memories of her.
By the time Grandma Elma died I really did think I would lose my mind, because she was my everything and she’d taught me everything I knew. Above all she taught me to believe in myself.
I stopped running and rested my hand on the floral shaped pendant on my necklace.
She gave that to me for my sixteenth birthday. I treasured it.
I gasped and winced when the thing started to feel hot
around my neck, and it started glowing white.
What the hell?
I tried to get it off me but the latch wouldn’t budge and the chain couldn’t break free either. Then to my horror it started moving by itself and tried to pull me back the way I’d come.
Then the surroundings around me changed. They changed like I was watching the scene change in a movie.
Instead of the corridor I was in a large hall with mirrors for walls, but...
God, why was the floor moving?
Was the floor moving?
“You’re supposed to be able to walk across that easy,” said a voice. A man.
It was the man’s voice from earlier, but he wasn’t inside my head.
“Don’t need to be inside your head now, but it’s useful, don’t you think?” He spoke in my mind and laughed.
A tear ran down my cheek. I must have definitely lost my mind.
“Don’t think that way Princess, it spoils the fun.” He taunted. His voice sounded everywhere all at once. In my head and outside me, all around me.
Then suddenly he appeared in front of me, frightening me so badly my hands flung up. And, as my hands flung up a blast of black and white light shot from my hands.
It hit him right in his chest, blazing like fire. It should have burnt him, but it didn’t. Instead I watched the flames flicker over his long-sleeved white shirt and fade away.
My eyes met his, his golden eyes.
His golden eyes, which complimented his handsome, handsome face.
His eyes weren’t that color earlier.
“They turn that color when I’m turned on.” He confessed, again reading my mind.
He smiled a wicked sinful smile that did sinful things to my body. Then I felt appalled at myself.
The man was an angel. Literally an angel.
“I really am not.” He laughed.
“Jesus Christ, I have to get out of here!” I turned to run where I’d come but froze. There should have been a door just behind me, but what I was looking at now was a solid wall of steel. It came into my focus as if it had always been there.
I gasped, horrified, and tried to run to the left.
He didn’t come after me, he just watched with an amused expression on his face.
Maybe because the floor I was running on had just faded away and yet I could feel something solid under my feet. To my right the floor moved, but there was a door there.
Wings of The Wraith Page 3
