The Angel Trials- The Complete Series

by Michelle Madow

  I gulped, not liking how that sounded. “I have a perfect sense of direction,” I said, since what harm would it do to be honest with him?

  “Interesting.” He tilted his head. “Is that all?” The wicked gleam in his eyes warned me to be truthful with him.

  “I always know where I am,” I said. “I know the location of other places, too, and how to get to them. Like a GPS inside my head.”

  “Where are we now?” he asked.

  “Hollywood Hills, California.” I continued on to give him the exact coordinates, in case he doubted me.

  “Fascinating.” He grinned and clapped a few times, the hollow sound echoing through the room. “And how far are we from… I don’t know. Las Vegas?”

  The answer popped into my head instantly, just like when typing it into Google Maps. “Las Vegas is 277 miles away from here,” I said. “You’d take I-15 north to get there.”

  His smile widened. “Impressive,” he said. “Now, can you tell me the location of an island called Avalon?”

  The island where the Earth Angel lived with her army. Azazel wanted to go there.

  He couldn’t go there. I had a dreadful feeling that if he did, all hope would be lost.

  I thought about Avalon, and a bunch of possible locations popped into my mind. Most weren’t islands. And I was positive that none of them were the Avalon he was looking for.

  The Avalon that had rejected me.

  “Do you mean the town on Santa Catalina Island in California?” I asked.

  “No.” His grin disappeared. “Avalon is the name of the island. Not a city on an island.”

  I searched again. Nothing. Even if I wanted to locate Avalon, I couldn’t do it.

  “There’s a test to try to get to Avalon,” I said the only thing that came to my mind. The only thing that might save us. “A simulation. You get on boats to take it. I can tell you where the start of the simulation is.”

  “I know all about King Arthur’s simulation.” Azazel’s eyes were scarily calm. “We all know I won’t pass it. No point in pretending I have a chance. I need the exact location of the island.”

  “I can’t find it.” Terror brewed in my stomach, since I knew it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “I’m trying. But I can’t find it.”

  “It’s hidden.” He snarled. “Apparently even from you. Well, it’s hidden from you while you’re still human.” He turned his focus to my brother, apparently not interested in me anymore. “What’s your gift?” he asked Keith.

  My brother trembled and stepped toward me. He looked at me with big, frightened brown eyes that I had a feeling matched my own, and I nodded at him to go on.

  I was scared of what Azazel might do to us if we didn’t tell him what he wanted.

  “I don’t need much sleep,” Keith said. “Maybe two hours a night, at most.”

  “Hmm,” Azazel said, his gaze traveling back to me. “How old are you?”

  “Twelve,” I answered. “We’re twins.”

  “Perfect.” The glint returned to his eyes, and he stood up, facing Derrick again. “Turn Harry and the boy. I’ll see how the boy fares, and then I’ll decide what to do with his sister.”

  “Here?” Derrick glanced at me and then around the fancy living room, his eyes wide in alarm.

  “Good point.” Azazel looked at Derrick in approval. “I like this room and don’t want to mess up the furniture. Do it in the pool house. No one lives there anymore. It’s the perfect place for our experiments.”

  Derrick and the other man grabbed Harry and my brother and dragged them out of the room.

  I screamed my brother’s name and tried to run after him, but the dark-haired lady held me back. I tried to fight her, but she was stronger than me. So I kept repeating my brother’s name, begging for him not to be taken away from me, tears streaming down my face as the doors slammed shut behind him.

  He was gone. All was silent except for my cries.

  And I was left in this awful room with the scary lady and Azazel.

  24

  Skylar

  I sat in the bed of my room in the Montgomery compound, watching reruns of an old show on television. I’d eventually drift off to sleep with the show still on and wake up at sunset when Lavinia knocked on the door with my breakfast of blood and complacent potion, like I did every morning.

  That was my life since getting here. Drinking blood to stay alive, getting dosed with complacent potion, and watching television. I’d tried practicing yoga—an activity I’d always loved—but it did nothing to calm my thoughts. Only mindless television was doing that, and barely.

  I’d also tried using what little tools were available to me—mainly ripped pages from books and bits of blood I was able to resist drinking from my meals—to create a tarot deck of my own. Then I could do a reading and see how Raven was doing. But the deck was worthless.

  My ability apparently only worked when handling a real deck. And I was only allowed access to one of those when Azazel needed a reading from me. Even then, he commanded what reading I’d do. And thanks to the complacent potion, I had to follow his orders.

  I was finally drifting to sleep when there was a knock on the door, startling me awake.

  A glance at the clock showed it was just past 1:00 pm. The middle of the night for supernaturals, because of their nocturnal schedule. No one ever came to my room at this time.

  I inhaled, breathing in the scent of sickly sweet syrup. Lavinia.

  I reached for the remote and turned off the TV. “Come in,” I said, sitting up in bed. I tried to look calm, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of knowing she’d startled me.

  She threw the door open and studied me, looking unimpressed as always. “Get up,” she said. “Azazel wants you in the main house.”

  My heart jumped into my throat. I’d been kept prisoner in this room since being brought to the Montgomery compound. Whatever Azazel needed me for was obviously important.

  Hopefully nothing bad had happened to Raven.

  “Did you hear me?” Lavinia glared at me like I was an imbecile. “Azazel needs you. Now. So get out of bed and follow me. His Grace doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

  Lavinia led me from my room to the main house across the lawn. She’d brought me an umbrella, so the mid-day sun wouldn’t burn me.

  Heaven forbid anything might hurt their treasured prophetess.

  It was my first time being outside since… well, I’d lost track of how many days it had been since Azazel had taken me from the apartment. It felt like it had been weeks.

  Looking around, the Montgomery compound seemed to be a grouping of luxury houses at the top of the Hollywood Hills. It would have been pretty, if the people who lived there weren’t monsters. No one milled about right now except for us, since they were all asleep.

  Once in the main house, Lavinia pushed open double doors leading to a huge living room. There were three other people inside. Azazel, a male vampire who looked around my age, and a young girl who was curled into ball on the couch crying. I immediately recognized her from the bunker. And thankfully, from the smell of her, she was still human.

  “Kara.” I hurried toward her and wrapped her into a hug. The strong scent of her blood hit me with my first breath in, and my fangs ached inside my gums. A carnal part of me wanted to sink them into her neck and taste her young blood fresh from the vein. But I controlled myself. Kara needed me right now. And despite what I was now, I’d never hurt her—or anyone. “What happened to you?” I asked.

  She shook her head and stared straight ahead, her eyes empty.

  Whatever had happened to her since the last time I’d seen her had clearly traumatized her.

  Seeing her like this only made me hate Azazel more. I kept one arm around her and let her burrow into my side, wanting her to know she wasn’t alone.

  “Skylar,” Azazel said, stepping in front of where I sat with Kara. He had his annoying trademark grin that I always wanted to rip off his face. “Welcome to the m
ain house. Would you like a cookie?” He motioned to a plate of them on the coffee table. Chocolate chip.

  “I’m a vampire…” I reminded him, looking at him like he’d lost his mind.

  “So what?”

  “I survive on blood.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “You mean you don’t know?” he asked once he’d gotten control of himself. “Don’t answer that—I can tell by your expression that you don’t. Let me enlighten you. Vampires don’t have to survive only on blood. You can eat food, too. So have a cookie. They’re delicious.” He reached for one and took a huge bite, smiling to prove his point.

  I eyed up the cookies in question. After surviving only on liquid since being turned into a vampire, solid food did sound good. “Are they vegan?” I asked.

  Sure, now I had to drink blood, which technically didn’t make me a vegan anymore. But the reasons I became a vegan—to not support animal cruelty, and to protect the environment—still existed. And I’d continue to be the best vegan I could be, despite my condition.

  “What is it with the strange diet requirements of people on Earth?” Azazel laughed again. “I see it everywhere here in LA. Vegan, gluten-free, keto, dairy-free, paleo, juicing. What ever happened to just enjoying plain old food?”

  I didn’t answer, since it seemed like he was only speaking to hear himself talk. I also didn’t take a cookie.

  “Why did you need to see me?” I asked.

  “Skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point,” he said, sitting in the armchair across from Kara and me. “I like it.” He popped the rest of the cookie in his mouth, finishing it off and wiping the crumbs from the stubbly beard on his chin.

  I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. The others in the room—Lavinia and the vampire—stood along the wall, not saying a word.

  “I just tried to have Kara’s brother turned into a vampire,” Azazel started. “Tried being the key word. He rejected the venom and didn’t survive the change.”

  Kara trembled at the mention of her brother, and I could smell the salty tears that streamed down her face. Poor Keith. I hadn’t known him well, but he seemed like a sweet, innocent boy. My heart went out to him and his grieving sister. I pulled Kara closer to comfort her, even though nothing but time was going to dull her pain.

  “Derrick over there says it’s because the boy was too young to be turned.” Azazel glanced at the other vampire in the room, who I assumed was Derrick. “I need Kara turned, and I need her to survive the transition. So it’s time you do another tarot reading for me to find out when I’ll be able to do that.”

  Lavinia walked over and dropped my tarot deck onto the coffee table in front of me. Thanks to the complacent potion I was being dosed with, I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to do as Azazel asked or not. So I reached for the cards, shuffled, and pulled one from the deck.

  The Empress.

  A woman in a red gown stood in a blooming garden, her hands cradling her pregnant stomach. I knew this card well. It represented femininity, harmony, and fertility, amongst other things.

  As had started happening with my heightened vampire gift, the image on the card disappeared, replaced by a scene playing out in front of me.

  It was Kara, and she didn’t appear to be much older than she was now. Maybe only a few months. She was holding her stomach as if in pain and running to a bathroom. The vision adjusted my view to protect her privacy, but I was able to see that once inside, there was blood spotting the inside of her underwear. As she looked around the bathroom to figure out what to do, the panic in her eyes made it clear what was happening. Her first period.

  Once I understood what was going on, the vision disintegrated and I was once again staring at the regular Empress card.

  “Well?” Azazel leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “What did you see?”

  I tried pressing my lips together to fight against the complacent potion. I didn’t want to answer his question. Everything I told him worked directly against Raven.

  Rage coursed through my veins as I stared back at him. But as always, the potion won, forcing the words out of my mouth without my consent.

  “You have to wait until Kara gets her first period to turn her,” I said. “If you try before then, she’ll reject the venom and die.”

  “Period?” Azazel’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.

  “Monthly menstrual cycle,” I clarified.

  “Ah.” Understanding flashed in his eyes. “Her first moon bleed. When will that occur?”

  Kara pulled away from me and stared up at me, her watery eyes frightened and betrayed.

  I didn’t blame her. I’d hate myself if I were her, too.

  I needed to get free from here. I didn’t know how to do it, but I refused to be Azazel’s slave forever.

  “I can’t be sure,” I answered honestly. “But she didn’t look much older than she does now. It could be a few months. Maybe a year. I don’t think it’ll be longer than that.”

  “Fantastic.” Azazel brought his hands together, smiling again. “Lavinia—bring Kara to the guest house and get her settled into a room there. She’ll be staying with us until her first moon bleed. And once she’s turned…” He focused on Kara, his eyes narrowing in greed. “I can’t wait to see how her gift heightens when she’s a vampire.”

  25

  Skylar

  Lavinia left with Kara, leaving me alone with Azazel and Derrick.

  “The tarot reading you gave me the other day allowed me to capture Kara, Keith, and Harry,” Azazel said to me. “You’ve earned the privilege of being able to move freely around the compound. But if you purposefully keep anything from me again, that privilege will be revoked. Understand?”

  “I understand.” I nodded. “If we’re finished, I’d like to return to my room now.”

  The less time I had to spend in Azazel’s presence, the better. I was also disgusted at myself for what I’d just done. Right now, I needed sleep. I’d start exploring the compound at nightfall.

  Derrick smiled at me in a way I could have sworn was flirtatious. “Would you like me to walk you back?” he asked.

  “I can get back myself.” I squared my shoulders, not meeting his eyes. Because yes, Derrick was attractive. And he was my age—or at least he’d been my age when he was turned into a vampire. But I had no intention of getting involved with any of Azazel’s supporters, no matter how good-looking they might be.

  Azazel looked back and forth between Derrick and me, grinning. That stupid, arrogant grin. The one that immediately let me know he was amused or planning something. Probably both.

  Finally, he focused on Derrick. “I’d try to hit that too, if I didn’t find younger women the most appealing,” he said, which made me bristle. Because sure, I wasn’t in my twenties anymore, but I took care of my health. I hardly looked old. “Skylar,” he continued, looking at me. “I command you to allow Derrick to walk you back to your room.”

  I pressed my lips together and dug my nails into my palms.

  I needed this complacent potion out of my system. Unfortunately, that was going to be difficult, since I was being dosed twice a day by needle.

  “You two have fun together,” Azazel said, still grinning. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to find someone to clean up the mess in the pool house.”

  He flashed out, leaving Derrick and me alone together.

  Derrick picked up the umbrella Lavinia had left behind and handed it to me. “You coming?” he asked, grabbing an umbrella of his own that he must have left by the entrance.

  “I don’t have much of a choice.” I opened the door and stormed out of it before he could do it for me.

  He walked beside me on the way out of the main house, not saying a word. Then, once we were halfway between the main house and the guest house, he stopped in his tracks.

  “What are you doing?” I glared at him, since even though we were under umbrellas, the afternoon sun was still oppressive again
st my now sensitive skin.

  “I wanted to talk to you,” he said. “The demons could have been listening to us in the main house, and there are spells cast in the rooms of the guest house to listen in and make sure we’re all behaving ourselves.”

  “We’re?” I raised an eyebrow at his interesting choice of words. “You make yourself sound like a prisoner, too.”

  “You think I want to be here?” He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. His eyes were a startlingly beautiful shade of ice blue… and I immediately chided myself for staring into his eyes. “I’m on your side,” he continued. “We’re both vampires. We stick together.”

  “The only other vampires I’ve met are the ones who turned me,” I said. “Dmitri and Natasha. I didn’t see much of them, but they were definitely on the side of the demons.”

  “They’re from the Carpathian Kingdom,” he muttered, shaking his head. “They promised they’d given up their Foster witch connection. I guess they lied.” He focused on me, his gaze intense. “But that’s not important right now. What’s important is that you know I’m under complacent potion, just like you. I was one of their test subjects to get the complacent potion working on vampires.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  He glanced around, as if paranoid someone might be listening in. But since it was the middle of the night for those on nocturnal schedules, the yard was empty. “Complacent potion is illegal,” he said quickly. “Any witch caught brewing it will have her powers stripped. So most witches don’t know how to make it anymore. The knowledge has been lost to most circles. But even when it used to be used millennia ago, it only worked on humans. This complacent potion that works on supernaturals is new. It was created by Lavinia and the other Foster witches.” His eyes darkened, and he continued, “To create it, they experimented. On me and my coven.”

  “Wow.” I didn’t expect to be rendered speechless on this walk back to my room, but now I was. “I’m sorry.”