Chasing Angel (A Divisa Novel, Book 3)

by Weil, J. L.

  “Why don’t you tell me what it is you want with my girlfriend before I kill you?” Chase, he was always the voice of reason. Tell me or die!

  Alastair let out a haunting laugh that rang through the still night. From the cockiness in his face, the demon was going to underestimate us.

  “No douchebags to do your dirty work?” Chase seethed.

  “I thought this was what you wanted, son. Just you and me.” He crooked his long finger, jagged with a bluish nail, at Chase.

  “It will be my pleasure to kick your ass, pops.”

  My body was still throbbing from the hit I took as Alastair planted his little horror show in my head. “Your mother will die for your treachery, little Angel. Her blood will be on your hands,” he hissed.

  No sooner had the words left his mouth than my hands were dripping with blood—my mom’s blood. I gasped. Snapping my head to the altar, I saw it, too, was covered in blood. She was covered in blood, her face a deadly ivory.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this wasn’t real. It was an illusion, but in the moment I was having a very difficult time remembering. My breathing became labored, and I couldn’t scrub the dripping blood from my hands. Nothing I did worked.

  Not until I heard Chase whisper my name.

  “Angel Eyes.”

  Slamming my eyes shut, I closed off the image. A delusion, I reminded myself again and again until I believed it. Only then did I open my eyes. My mom wasn’t dead—yet. Clenching my fists at my side, I met Alastair’s shifty gaze head on. “Knock off the shitty tricks and tell me what it is you want with me.”

  He eyed me for a minute or two, and I didn’t think he was going to oblige. “Very well.” His voice echoed off the trees in a deep, godly grit. “You are the gateway that will allow us to stay on Earth, granting us the necessary anchor to live and thrive in mortals. You are the keystone.”

  Keystone?

  He was officially batshit crazy.

  My brain was reeling.

  If what he said was true, that I was some kind of key that allowed Hell to live on Earth, then we would all be in the worst crap-blizzard. Unleashing Hell was bad, but knowing that it was me and my freakish mutation that allowed it was sickening. It couldn’t happen. Spring Valley was no longer going to be a blip on the map if we did not stop Chase’s Daddy Dearest.

  Shit. And I thought I had daddy issues.

  I think I will take my father over Chase’s eight days of the week.

  “You are insane if you think for a second that I would help you. I am not going to be a puppet in your world domination show,” I yelled.

  Alastair shook his head. “Not ‘if’ but ‘when’.”

  Beside me everyone was tense, waiting for the signal.

  “Can I sink my arrow into him now?” Emma asked dryly.

  “I’m going to—”

  “Blah. Blah. Blah. I know,” Alastair said, cutting off what I was sure was going to be a very lively threat from Chase, definitely some severing of sensitive body parts. Alastair appeared bored. “You’re going to kill me. Save it.”

  I wanted to do more than kill him. I wanted to make him suffer.

  Jaw flexed, Chase put himself between Alastair and me. “This has been a long time coming, wouldn’t you say, pops?”

  He never wasted a moment to shield me from harm. It was sort of hot.

  Smiling coldly, Alastair goaded, “What are you waiting for?”

  Apparently Chase had given a signal, because he whizzed by me, barreling straight for the powerful demon. Alastair flicked his wrist in the air, expecting to put a halt to my boyfriend’s actions. I bit my lip and waited, praying that there was truth to our bond being able to break the one his sire had on him.

  When Chase kept on going and planted his fist right into the demon’s nose, I let out a whoosh. All his anger, every bit of his pent-up hatred toward this being was packed behind that one powerful punch. A big fat “Screw you. Alastair.” My relief didn’t last more than a few split seconds.

  Uh-oh. The mighty warrior from Hell was pissed off.

  Alastair let out a grunt of pain as he staggered. Chase sprung forward, and Alastair dodged his first swing, followed by his second. Chase growled.

  Nutter-butter.

  “How long do we let him have a go?” Travis asked, watching his cousin battle it out. He was itching to let the roaring demon inside him fly.

  Just then Alastair landed a blow that sent Chase spiraling through the air. He slid across the floor, spitting up snow, and stopped near our feet. With one long, deep snarl Chase was crouched.

  “We have bigger problems,” I informed, feeling the darkness inside me coil and spring to life, flowing through my veins. Others were coming. I could sense them. “We have company.”

  A blue stream of lightning struck across the clearing, luminous and blinding. When the glow faded, the clearing was covered in…

  Holy baby Jesus.

  Demons.

  Travis made a showpiece out of F-bombs. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Back to back we stood in a circle at the heart of the glade, surrounded by trouble of the worse kind.

  “This is not how we are going down,” Chase rumbled.

  “What do you suggest then, cuz?” Travis asked, seeing as our options were limited.

  “The thing we do best—kick some demon butt. And, Angel…”

  I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, my heart in my throat.

  “This would be a good time to figure out how you did that trick, like last time.”

  I rolled my eyes. No pressure or anything.

  “You always have the best plans,” Lexi grumbled.

  And then the five of us were off, like a bra on prom night.

  Demons scurried the woods like rats, running in all directions, streaming out of the trees, shrubs, and generally from every dark corner. They flooded the glade in all kinds of shapes and sizes, pushing into one another in their rush to steal life. They needed the strength because without it they were really just bumbling idiots.

  There wasn’t going to be a rescue party this time. We were on our own. It all boiled down to survival—and I was damn determined to live.

  One of the black-eyed jerks bumped into me, and for an instant I stared at him. Then he licked his black lips and his hand shot out, grabbing me by my ponytail. My head snapped back. His horrible mouth opened as he moved in close. I thought the sicko was going to kiss me, until I felt that familiar sting on my chest.

  My eyes went wide. “Get off of me,” I roared and shoved at his chest with everything I had.

  Staggering, the demon gave me a slithering hiss through his teeth before taking off in the opposite direction. I dragged in a breath of air.

  “Suck on this, douchebags,” Emma said, letting an arrow sail over my head. It split off into two, implanting in the heart of two demons. She got all the cool toys.

  Turning to where I had last seen Chase, I watched as he zigzagged in and out of my sight, heading directly toward Alastair. He had a one-track mind, and they had unfinished business, but he wasn’t making progress. Each time he dispatched a demon in his path, there were three more of the dirty scoundrels to take its place.

  With a roar of frustration, he swiped the back of his hand across one, sending him soaring. The next one got the same treatment, swatting him backwards. Sadly this demon met an unfortunate demise with a tree. As I scanned the area, I noticed that the majority of the crowd was moving toward us—toward Chase.

  How much longer could he keep up at this pace?

  He must have come to the same conclusion, because my name bellowed from his lips. “Angel! Do something.”

  Right. I was supposed to have some kind of awesome power over these retched things. Not exactly the kind of superpowers I’d been wishing for.

  What, precisely, was I suppose to do? It was not like these powers came with an instruction manual. Inside my head was a holy mess.

  Chase took a step back and another,
seeing the ocean of demons advancing. A bit of his restlessness trickled inside me. Out of nowhere, a demon dropped from above, tackling Chase to the ground. Scrambling, Chase fought to get the upper hand, but all I could see was that thing’s grimy hand on his neck, squeezing. Something finally popped inside me.

  “Touch him,” I seethed, “and I will turn you into nothing but dust.” I wasn’t sure how I planned to carry out that threat, but…

  The demon snapped his jaw shut, goop dribbling down his chin. I cringed. Disgusting.

  Step right up. Let’s get this show on the road.

  “Now listen!” I screamed. “All of you. Harm my friends and I promise you won’t even see the pits of Hell again.” What was Alastair’s was mine, scary thought, but apparently it was true. I was part of the underworld whether I wanted it or not. All sacrifices come with a price, and this was mine.

  Hundreds of sooty eyes turned, gawking at me and waiting on my every word—literally. Umm. Now what? I never wanted to be a leader, definitely not to a pack of misbehaved outcasts from Hell.

  “Think you can hold them while I take care of something?” Chase asked, arching a brow.

  I gave him a dry look. “What do you think?”

  He flashed me a grin and then disappeared from sight.

  “You’re handy to have around, Morgan,” Travis said, bumping me with his shoulder.

  “She has her moments,” Emma added, coming to stand at Travis’s side.

  “I am definitely not getting on her bad side; that’s for sure,” Lexi said, zapping to the other side of me. “No way do I want her to sic her dogs on me.”

  “You guys are funny,” I replied sarcastically, gaping at the agitated demons in front of me.

  I spun on my heel, seeking out Chase. It had become far too quiet. Not more than a few feet where Mom still lay, he had Alastair in his clutches. From where I stood, I could feel a fierce power open up in Chase—a rage so intense, it reached deep inside me. He wanted to release all that pent up anger on the man who had brought this life upon him, but there was just a sliver of reason that held him at bay.

  It wasn’t just enough to send Alastair back to where he’d come from. He needed to be exiled—forever. He needed to be locked away, where he could never hurt Chase or anyone I loved again.

  Slamming Alastair to the ground with rocketing force, Chase stood over him. I don’t where he found the restraint, especially now that his demon was almost in complete control. His amber eyes blazed. His fisted knuckles turned white. Chase ground his foot against Alastair’s neck. “Would you like to do the honor?” he asked me, angling his head.

  I stepped forward with an army of demons at my back, ready to defend me if I willed it. I didn’t want to overthink the darkness that thrived inside me. All I could think about was getting my mom out of here. There was nothing Alastair could do now. I had taken the control out of his hands and turned the tables on him, stripped him of his devious plan.

  Crouching, he glowered up at me, disdain radiating from his blackened eyes. “You will never be able to stop the darkness inside. It will consume you.”

  True, but I was going to stop him. I could only conquer one lunatic demon at a time. “I might be the keystone to Hell, but I won’t let you use me to live here. Go back to where you belong and stay there. You, Alastair, are banned from Earth, never to step foot here again in any shape or form.” I could feel the influence of my claim punctuate each word. It buzzed inside me.

  His body trembled on the cold, hard ground once, and then again. A red light started to shimmer inside his chest, burning brighter and brighter until he burst into flames, leaving behind nothing but grey ashes.

  I turned, and with a will I wasn’t aware I had, I sent Hell’s army packing. “Leave this place.” With the same iridescent blue spark as when they had appeared, the demons returned to their domain—a realm I hoped to not see any time in the distant future.

  “Okay, that was some weird shit,” Travis said, coming up from behind me.

  I shook my head. “You’re part demon, and you think I’m the weirdo?”

  He gave me a one-shoulder shrug. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Emma’s the oddball here.”

  “Hey,” Emma chimed in. “I am actually the only normal one.”

  Snickers and snorts erupted all around. There was definitely nothing normal about any of us. Who were we kidding?

  From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of my mom sitting up with a cranberry blanket wrapped around her shoulders, staring wide-eyed at us. I had no time to wonder what was running through her head, or if she thought she was dreaming. Or worse dead. I had not a clue what she had seen, but surely she was struggling to find some kind of rational explanation to what her eyes had witnessed.

  It was just another bullet point on my list of shit to tell my mom.

  I was looking forward to that conversation as much as I was looking forward to dealing with Chase and my decision to rescue my mom on my own.

  Ugh.

  If only I could hit the fast forward button and skip to the part where we kissed and made up. And kissed a whole bunch more.

  Chapter 28

  Getting my distraught and fuzzy mom home was a trip. It was a good thing she was still in shock, but by the time I pulled into our driveway her eyes had cleared. Killing the engine, I sat for a moment, unsure what to say or where to start.

  Chase of course had to make an awkward situation that much more uncomfortable. “Do you want me to…?” He waggled his dark brows.

  I glanced in the rearview mirror at Mom curled up in the back seat. “No. I’ve got to do this. It’s been a long time coming.”

  He nodded in understanding. We couldn’t keep screwing with her memories. There was bound to be some form of long-term side effect someone failed to mention. “Do you want me to help?”

  It was so tempting to let him take the lead, explain the crazy world we lived in, but if she did freak out or didn’t believe me, I didn’t want him there. Who knew what kind of reaction she would have, especially after whatever Alastair had put her through. “No. This is something I need to do alone.”

  He gave me one long apologetic look and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “If you need me…”

  “Trust me I’ll call.”

  Then he opened the door and zoomed out of sight. I heard Mom gasp behind me, and I let out a heavy sigh. Here went nothing. Or everything. Depending on how you looked at it. I turned in my seat. “We need to talk, but let’s get you inside and warmed up first.”

  Her lips were still tinged blue. She didn’t argue or shrink from me when I opened her door and helped her from the car. Her large eyes reminded me of a deer caught in headlights. She hadn’t really said more than two words since she woke up.

  I waited until she was situated on the couch, surrounded by a mountain of pillows and blankets. I felt like I was nursing my mother back from a traumatic experience, which I guess this probably qualified as.

  “Am I sleepwalking?” she asked as I tucked my legs underneath me.

  “I wish. Sadly everything that happened was very real.”

  “Was he a…” She struggled to finish the sentence.

  “A demon,” I supplied. “In the flesh.”

  She couldn’t hide the shiver that assailed her. “And to think, I used to be worried about you doing drugs or hanging out with a bad crowd. Do demons count as a bad crowd?”

  I let out a strangled laugh. I should have known that even in the grimmest circumstances, Mom still would be my crazy mom. “I’m sorry.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I could have been there for you, helped you,” she insisted.

  Twiddling my fingers, I wondered if it would have made a difference if I hadn’t tried so hard to keep this world from touching her. “Would you have believed me if I had?”

  She let a small laugh escape, shaking her head. “Probably not, but we’ll never know. What’s important is that you tell me now. No more secrets.”

 
; “Are you sure you are up for this? If you want to rest, we can talk in the morning.”

  She grabbed my hand. “Angel, I’m not going to fall to pieces.”

  I could see that now. Taking a gulp of air, I braced myself. “I don’t know where to start really. Shortly after we moved here, I realized that there was something goofy about our neighbors. It seemed utterly insane, but I couldn’t shake the feeling. So I followed Chase one night and got the shock of my life. He told me that he was half demon.”

  She sucked in a breath, which had been my reaction exactly.

  “I know,” I continued. “It was hard to wrap my brain around it.”

  The soft glow of a lonely lamp caught glints of dark blonde in her hair. “How is it possible?”

  “Apparently demons have been walking Earth for centuries, impregnating females. Nine months later, presto; they are giving birth to a glowing-eyed bundle of joy. The kicker is that the mothers die during childbirth.”

  “They grow up motherless and fatherless.” The horror and sadness in her voice was so like her. I just told her that demons knock up our race and then throw them away, and she felt compassion.

  “Except in Lexi and Travis’s situation.”

  She swallowed. “All three of them are—”

  “Divisa. That is what they call themselves. It means divided.”

  A range of emotions flickered across her face as she realized that Devin, her boyfriend, had dealings with a demon. “Oh wow. If you tell me that Devin gave birth to them, I am going to ask you what planet I’ve landed on.”

  I snickered, getting a very ugly visual. “No quite. The demon actually gave birth to Travis and Lexi, I think, and then dropped them off for Devin to raise. He wanted to tell you, but I wasn’t ready.”

  “I see. My boyfriend is into demons.”

  My lips curled. All our mother-daughter conversations end up being flippant and usually inappropriate. It was why she was the best mom. “It is not like that. They use deception and seduction as weapons,” I explained in Devin’s defense.

  She leaned an elbow on the couch, combing her fingers through her hair. The blanket was still wrapped around her shoulders. “Just like a slut.”