Black Ops Fae

by C. N. Crawford

  Slowly, Adonis let go of Johnny’s hair.

  Then, like a wild beast, Johnny howled and whirled on Adonis.

  Midnight feathers scattered into the air, and I watched with horror as Johnny tore a brutal rip in the top of Adonis’s wing. The sound of a wing tearing is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget—the shredding of tendon and bones.

  Adonis roared, and the temperature around us plunged, shadows swallowing up the light. With a feral snarl, Adonis rushed at Johnny. It took only a few moments for Adonis to snap the punk angel’s neck, and the crack of bone echoed off the stone walls.

  Kratos looked down at Johnny’s crumpled, filthy body on the flagstones, his expression betraying nothing. “I’ve come to expect dramatic entrances from Johnny, but this one has surpassed my wildest dreams.”

  Adonis grimaced with pain. His hand hovered protectively near his wounded wing, but he didn’t seem to want to touch it. A bit of bone jutted from the top of it, and streams of crimson blood trailed down his dark feathers.

  I swallowed hard. “That looks like it hurts.”

  “I’ll live.”

  Kratos’s gaze slid from me to Adonis and back again. “Anyone care to tell me what the fuck is going on here?”

  Hazel stepped closer to him, blinking her dark eyes innocently. “Johnny was drinking again. He reeks of vodka. Must have been quite a bender, and he found himself—yourself—tangled in the forest’s brambles, unable to remember what got him there. When he tried to think back, it’s all a foggy mist of vodka, moss, and the elder roots that pulled you deep into the earth, deep until the secrets are forgotten and questions plague you no more.”

  Kratos cocked his head, mesmerized by Hazel’s rambling, as though she’d just uttered the wisest jumble of sentences in the history of the world. Fortunately for me, I seemed immune to her skills. And given the way Adonis was frowning at her, I had a feeling he was too.

  Another set of footsteps echoed down the hall as Elan approached, his arms full of pastries and an entire baked ham. Some sort of custard coated his cat sweater and was smeared over his cheeks.

  His eyes were on Johnny. “He returned! Is he all right?” Crumbs rained from his mouth as he spoke.

  Hazel rushed over to the lanky fae. She grasped for the baked ham, while Elan clung to it, dropping all of the other food in his arms.

  “Adonis,” Kratos said sharply. “Can you stifle Johnny’s magic? It’s still creating chaos in here.”

  Still shielding his wing protectively, Adonis whispered something under his breath. His dark magic swooped around Hazel and me, soothing some of our gnawing hunger.

  Kratos stared after him. “I’m going to find some stronger servants to drag Johnny back into his room until he recovers.” He glared at Elan. “Share your food with the succubi, and see that they get back to their room.” He stalked away, a golden glow in the gloom.

  With Adonis’s magic whispering over my body, some of the raw pain of famine began to bleed out of me, even if my stomach still rumbled.

  While Elan and Hazel scooped food from the floor, I raised my eyebrows at Adonis. “How long will that take to heal?”

  He looked positively murderous. “I won’t be flying anytime soon.”

  “Thanks for pulling Johnny off me. I thought of stabbing him, but…” I glanced at Elan, unwilling to continue the conversation about poison-tipped weapons in front of him.

  “Come.” Adonis nodded at my bedroom, then quietly slipped into the fire-lit room.

  While Elan and Hazel continued to gnaw on food in the hallway, I followed Adonis. He stood on the flagstones, and warm firelight wavered over his perfect features. The door closed softly behind me.

  “How long until Johnny blows my cover?” I asked quietly.

  “When Johnny wakes, his mind will be addled. He was already confused from being underground for days, and the poisons are probably still working their way through his brain. When I snapped his neck, I bought you more time. But he’s immortal, and he’ll recover eventually. You can’t stay here any longer.”

  I swallowed hard. How could I trust Adonis? Everything he did was self-serving. Not to mention that I’d seen him vaporize people.

  Kratos—for all his faults—had reunited me with my sister. He’d done it because he actually seemed to care for me on some level.

  But what would Kratos do once he learned that I’d been lying to him this whole time?

  I heaved a deep sigh, stuck in an impossible situation. “I’ll go with you. But I want to take my sister.”

  The door creaked as Hazel opened it, and she crossed to my side. She’d chomped halfway through the ham already. “I heard that. And I’m staying here,” she declared.

  Irritation sparked. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not leaving you here.”

  Adonis folded his arms, wincing just a bit at the movement. “She should stay here until Johnny shows the first signs of recovery.”

  “What are you talking about?” My voice came out a little too harshly.

  Adonis stared at me. “If Johnny recovers within days, your sister can keep him confused for as long as possible. She has a remarkable skill.”

  Grease smeared Hazel’s lips, and she wiped it off with the back of her hand. “Yeah. See? I have a purpose here.”

  I cocked my hip. “I really don’t see how that’s safe.”

  Hazel fixed her dark eyes on me. “I’m staying, Ruby. You go do what you can, and I have my own part to play here. You have to trust me. I survived the dragons, and I can survive the angels.”

  Adonis smirked. “See? She’ll be fine here. Useful, in fact.”

  I clenched my jaw, pointing at my sister. “At the first sign of danger, you need to flee, okay? I don’t care how hungry you are.”

  She nodded. “I’m going to keep a bag packed with food and clothing at all times, ready to go. Don’t forget that I can summon dragons if I need to, so like, it’s really not a big deal.”

  I frowned. “You can?”

  “I told you. I charmed them.” She pulled a gold dragon’s tooth pendant from her shirt. “Right before I left, Uthyr the Harvester of Souls gave me this. Says he’ll come for me when I need him. He’s actually quite nice once you get to know him.”

  Well. I didn’t see that coming.

  I turned to Adonis. “What are you going to tell Kratos? He doesn’t want me anywhere near you.”

  Adonis was already heading for the door. “You pack your things for tomorrow morning, and you leave the rest to me. Meet me outside the Tower of Wrath after the sun rises tomorrow morning.”

  The door closed with a final click, and his footsteps echoed off the hallway outside.

  The farther he moved from me, the more that gnawing hunger began to return, and I pulled the ham from my sister’s reluctant hands. “Tomorrow morning, I need you to make contact with Yasmin, from The Order of the Watchers. I told you the signal, right? She’ll let you know where to meet her. Tell her everything. Johnny came back, he could recover his memory, and Adonis is taking me—somewhere. Tell her that he plans to rule the celestial realm, I’m the Bringer of Light, and that’s all I know.”

  “And how will you and I communicate when you’re away?”

  “We won’t. That’s why I didn’t want to separate from you in the first place.”

  She crawled into the bed, pulling up the covers around her. “Such a worrier. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  My mouth dropped open. “The world could literally end and all living things could die?”

  She blinked. “I have faith in you, Ruby. You’ll figure something out.”

  A memory clawed at the recesses of my mind—a dark pool of glistening blood and gore on the pavement. If I couldn’t save Marcus… I slammed an iron door over the memory. No point dwelling on the past.

  A fae believed in beauty, in pleasure—dark thoughts were wasted moments.

  After a final bite of ham, I crawled into bed next to my sister, listening to her brea
ths as they grew heavier.

  Chapter 7

  With the morning rays streaming into our room, I shoved my meager, useless clothing into a backpack. My chest ached at the thought of leaving Hazel again—but maybe she was right. I had to trust that she was smart enough to survive. And considering she could apparently summon a dragon at will—as well as befuddle anyone around her—I had to admit she had her own set of protections in place.

  Dressed in my warmest clothes—my berry-blue wool coat from the night before, my leather leggings—I crossed to the bed. Rolling over, Hazel blinked sleep away. For just a moment, I caught a glimpse of my sister as she had been—the little twelve-year-old who’d cried when a boy at school dumped milk onto her backpack.

  She smiled sleepily. “Ruby. You’re dressed already.”

  “I have to go. I can’t tell you where I’m going, because I don’t know. Only that I’m going to Adonis’s castle, and that we’re looking for…something.”

  Hazel rubbed her eyes. “I’ll keep Johnny and Kratos off your case.”

  “Just keep yourself safe. And check in with Yasmin to tell her what we know. Remember—use the candle to summon her. She’ll want to meet you by the cave at the northern edge of the forest, near the mulberry grove. Find it as soon as you can.”

  She nodded. “Got it.”

  It was no wonder Adonis was keeping me in the dark. I took all the information I had straight to The Order.

  I pushed through the door into the frigid hallway. Every step away from my sister felt like a growling hollow in my chest, and I blinked away my tears.

  Still, I had to do this. We couldn’t stay here. There was only one way out of this situation alive, and that involved stopping the apocalypse itself. Unfortunately for me, I had to rely on one of the angels of death himself to get what I wanted.

  I traced my fingertips down the cold stones as I descended the stairs. What made me a Bringer of Light? Yasmin had said something like “you can be our beacon, but first you must descend into the shadows.” Maybe she meant it literally.

  At the bottom of the stairs, I used my gloved hands to pull the iron bar from the door. I pushed outside into the frigid February air, and the sunlight dazzled my eyes for a moment. When they adjusted, I gaped at the slightly terrifying sight of two angels on horseback, their wings on full display.

  Kratos sat on top of his powerful white horse. Sunlight streamed over his copper wings, blazing off his head like a crown of light. He wore his battle gear, and given the rigid set of his shoulders, he looked as if he were about to rip Adonis’s heart out.

  Adonis didn’t look any more approachable. His midnight wings swooped out from a dark cloak, and he and his pale eyes blazed from within a dark cowl. His left wing hung at an awkward angle. I winced at the sight. I guess now I knew where to attack an angel. An angel could rise from the dead in just a few days, but a wing injury seemed like it could lay them out for weeks.

  A sheathed sword glinted on his back, the hilt studded with red gems. His horse was a color I’d never seen before—a sort of purple-gray, like a fading bruise, with eyes of pure white and a silver mane. A large, black satchel hung off his saddle.

  Another saddled stallion stood to Adonis’s side, his fur a murky blue-green, like seawater. A gleaming, silver star shone from his forehead, and his mane flowed over his shoulders, the creamy color of seafoam. Clearly, these were not ordinary horses. In fact, they were creepy as hell.

  As I drank in the scene, it took me a moment to realize both angels were glaring down at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  Kratos’s hands gripped his horse’s reins rigidly, looking like he was about to snap the leather through sheer force of will. “Adonis tells me that you’re not safe here. He tells me that Johnny is coming for you. Something about his drunken escapades, a fixation on you.”

  “Is it any wonder?” A half smile curled Adonis’s lips. “Succubi were created to tempt. Johnny is fighting his urge to fall, and Ruby is making it hard for him.”

  Kratos’s golden eyes studied me. “Is this true, Ruby? Has Johnny been coming after you?”

  I shot him my most innocent, baleful expression. “Yes. You saw him last night, pointing at me. He seems to blame me for something. Whatever got him into that state he was in. But I think Adonis is right. He’s scared that I’ll tempt him to fall, and he hates me for it.”

  Kratos’s jaw tensed. “I should be the one to take her from here. You can’t even fly.”

  I wished that Kratos had been the one to discover my secret, and that he and I were the ones going off together. He might be a monster, but he was a monster who’d returned my sister to me. That was worth something.

  “I don’t need to fly.” Adonis’s voice was pure ice.

  Kratos grimaced, stroking his chest. He clearly hadn’t been hunting enough to keep the pain away. “With that crippled wing of yours, you won’t be able to disguise yourself. An angel traveling through the countryside will attract every vengeful demon in the country.”

  “Since when have I let a hostile demon get anywhere near me?” asked Adonis. “In any case, you won’t be able to take her anywhere, Kratos. You’re as tempted as Johnny is. I saw you with her, ripping her clothes off. If I leave the two of you alone for ten minutes, the Heavenly Host will tear the rest of the world to shreds. And besides. You need to hunt.”

  Kratos’s wings spread out behind him, and for just a moment, hot fury glinted in his eyes. After a heavy silence, he asked, “Where are you taking her?”

  “I have to return to my castle. A shadow demon rebellion has been brewing nearby. It will give you and Johnny enough time to get control of yourselves, and if you still want her, I’ll return her.”

  Kratos glared down at me. “Fine. Go with him. You’ll be back here as soon as I get control of Johnny.”

  He didn’t give me any choice in the matter. I was his to command, apparently. I no longer felt quite as guilty about plotting against him.

  Adonis nodded at the seafoam horse. “I hope you can ride.”

  I nodded. One of the many fae gifts my parents had given to me—not that I was particularly practiced at it. “Kind of.”

  Kratos met my gaze evenly. “If you need me, write my name on a piece of paper and burn it. I will hear the summons and come for you.”

  Like a magical text message. “Thanks, Kratos.”

  Without another word, Kratos reared his horse and galloped off into the forest. I had a disturbing feeling he’d be exceptionally savage on his hunt tonight.

  Adonis peered down at me. “Do you need any help mounting Nuckelavee?”

  I frowned. That name seemed somehow familiar. “Nuckelavee? Isn’t that…a demonic horse monster?”

  Adonis shrugged. “He’s not as bad as people make him out to be.”

  Wonderful. “No, I can mount him fine.” I think.

  I crossed to the horse. I knew this was insane, but I could have sworn the thing narrowed his dark eyes at me as I approached. I stroked his mane, and the creature snorted, steam rising from his nostrils. He jerked his head away, not wanting anything to do with me.

  Shit. Well, charming a horse couldn’t be any harder than charming humans, could it?

  I stroked his mane again, trying to conjure my inner horse-whisperer. “We’re going to be friends,” I whispered.

  He snorted again, then reared on his hind legs.

  “Nuckelavee!” Adonis barked. “Stop it.”

  I grabbed the stallion’s reins, trying to gain control of the situation. Clearly I wasn’t getting anywhere with charm. I scrambled to slide my left foot into the stirrup, clutching the saddle as if my life depended on it. With a loud, ungraceful grunt, I swung my right leg over the saddle.

  Nuckelavee took off in a gallop.

  As the stallion carried me away from Hotemet Castle—away from my sister—I felt more alone than ever before. I’d only just reunited with Hazel, and maybe she wasn’t even quite the sister I remembered.


  Still, she was all I had left at this point. Since the Great Nightmare had begun, every separation had the overwhelming potential to be permanent.

  Chapter 8

  Three hours into our journey, I wanted to die. The word uncle rang in my head like a curse. My thighs were not coping so well with the situation. In fact, they’d been trembling and screaming for the past hour, and I’d started to look forward to Nuckelavee’s little grass-eating detours.

  Still, my pride stopped me from calling out to Adonis. When I used to play Mercy as a kid, grappling with older boys who twisted my arms behind my back, I was never the first to cry uncle. I wasn’t about to start giving in now.

  Leaning into the wind as he rode, Adonis seemed completely impervious to exertion, silver-flecked wings sparking with sunlight. He was supposed to be the one who was injured. Why did this seem so easy for him?

  He hadn’t been one for conversation so far, which gave me nothing to think about but my shrieking thighs. I clenched tighter onto the reins, willing myself not to fall off.

  “What’s your horse’s name?” I called up to him as we rode through yet another windswept, grassy field.

  Adonis slowed his pace, turning back to look at me. “Thanatos.”

  I frowned, pulling on Nuckelavee’s reins until he slowed to a trot. Good. I’d stalled our pace. “Thanatos. Doesn’t that mean death? Like, a Greek god of death?”

  “Yes.” He slowed his horse to a trot by my side.

  Circling above us, Adonis’s pet, Drakon, screeched, piercing the quiet countryside. The black-scaled dragonile’s cries slid through my bones, and I shuddered. Given that Drakon’s larger, dragon-shifter counterparts had killed my parents and my boyfriend, I didn’t have particularly warm feelings about demonic, reptilian creatures.

  I blocked out the dragonile’s cries and heaved a sigh of relief at our slowed pace. Maybe I could keep Adonis talking about his favorite topic, which I imagined to be himself.

  I nudged Nuckelavee onto a patch of clover, and he wandered to the right. “Can’t control this thing,” I said. “I think he needs a snack, and we can just have a little chitchat for a minute.”