Storm Boys

by Davis Lavender

  Startled, Devin felt Bren’s face disappear from above him, and his eyes snapped open. Hurtling into his line of vision was an ominous shadow. Zaz flew within inches of them, so close the wind from his leathery wings stirred Devin’s hair.

  “Rael. I almost didn’t recognise you with your human handbag. I have to say, he’s not your usual style.” Zaz’s bottomless black eyes shone with merriment, his mouth twitching with barely contained malice. “I’d say he suits me better. Hand him over.”

  “I’m sorry Zaz, you’re too late. I’ve claimed him,” Bren said calmly.

  “You say that.” Zaz smirked. “Yet you haven’t harvested his soul. Until you do, he’s fair game.” Head cocked, he considered Bren, his sardonic grin widening. “You can’t do it, can you?”

  Bren’s arms tightened, holding Devin closer. “I’m taking him to the angel realm. If you have a problem with that, take it up with Gabriel.”

  The usual spiders crawled up Devin’s arms with Zaz’s answering snicker. “I already have. And if you don’t want to be the one to unleash Armageddon, then you need to let him go. Quietly.”

  “I don’t believe you. But if you want him, you’ll have to fight me. The one left standing claims him. That’s the law.” Bren’s voice was steady, his answering smile full of contempt. Only Devin could feel the shaking in Bren’s fingertips as he held him in a desperate grip.

  Zaz huffed impatiently. “Very well. Put him down. Let’s get this over with.”

  Without another word Bren flew to the cliffs, landing so lightly that Devin hardly felt the impact. As always, he was struck by the strangeness of this otherwise familiar place. It was eerily peaceful without the howling wind and the crowds, the landscape heightened and more colourful, enhanced by some special immortal world filter. As breathtaking as it was, to Devin it seemed haunted and desolate compared to the one he knew.

  He tried to imagine how his usual audience would react to a sparring match between two supernatural beings. Maybe they should consider adding it to the programme if they ever returned to the mortal world. Though that was looking less likely by the minute.

  Bren took up a chunk of rock and with one deft movement, he scoured a circle into the surrounding stone. Gently he placed Devin into it and stepped away. The circle ignited, trapping Devin in a wall of blue flame up to his waist.

  “The circle can only be broken by me, or by my destruction,” Bren announced.

  “I know how circles of protection work.” Zaz examined the nails of his left hand, looking decidedly bored. “Ready to proceed?”

  “To kick the shit out of you? I think so.” Bren leapt up and forward, his feet aiming for Zaz’s head. Zaz dodged him easily, and Bren flapped his wings harder to avoid slamming into the earth. He kept flying, climbing rapidly higher. Devin craned his neck to follow his progress.

  “Aerial combat? Seriously?” Zaz raised a sardonic eyebrow and sighed. Bounding forward, he took off with a flourish, following Bren upwards. They climbed for an impossibly long time. All Devin could see were two black dots, indiscernible from each other, silhouetted against the whorled pink and orange sunset. As he squinted at them, they blurred together, becoming one.

  With a loud whine, Bren and Zaz came sliding out of the sky, their wings intertwined in a deadly embrace as they dived. At the last minute, they let go, narrowly avoiding colliding with the unforgiving ground, spinning through the air in opposite directions only inches above the rock. Zaz recovered first and leapt at Bren, missing him by a hair’s breadth as he tumbled forward.

  Devin had spent seven years witnessing Bren’s fighting skills, or lack of them. The Bren he knew usually avoided conflict at all costs. He might have levelled up massively when he’d reclaimed his wings. But even so, he hadn’t fought in a long time, and Zaz, as leader of the Sluagh, was basically a professional killer.

  Bren made another jump for Zaz, who spun around and caught him with the tip of one wing, sending Bren reeling and making up Devin’s mind.

  “Okay, one question. Do I have to be in this circle? Is it part of your angel and demon fight club law? Or is it an optional extra?”

  “By all means, come out of the circle. It only stops me entering, not you leaving.” Zaz paused in his assault on Bren to give Devin a devilish grin.

  “Don’t. You. Dare,” Bren fumed. “It’s open season on you if you do.” He launched himself vertically just in time to stop a wingtip sweeping his feet out from under him.

  Devin considered his options. There were only two. Stay in the circle and watch Bren die. And then get taken by the Sluagh. Or leave the circle and try to help Bren. Maybe failing and getting taken by the Sluagh. With Bren watching and probably bitching to him about leaving the circle. They weren’t great choices, but they were his to make.

  Fighting to clear the fog from his tired mind, Devin waited, watching closely. When Zaz grabbed Bren in a headlock, he saw his chance and approached the blue flame, cautiously making his way through it. He felt a slight sting before he was standing on the other side. Not wasting any more time, he forced his sluggish legs to carry him forward. He crept up behind the battling immortals, Zaz’s outstretched wings concealing him from view.

  Quietly he hummed the refrain of Bren’s favourite song, concentrating hard.

  “Harp.” Devin’s command was low and urgent. Bren’s harp appeared beside him, and he felt a pang at the familiar sight of it. But he didn’t have the luxury of time to wallow in sentimentality. Seizing the instrument, he rocked back to gain some momentum, the effort clouding his vision. He swung it with as much force as he could summon, straight at Zaz’s head. The demon dropped like a stone, and Devin stumbled on top of him. For a heartbeat, Bren stood motionless, temporarily stunned. Recovering his wits, he put one foot on each of Zaz’s wings, pinning him like a butterfly in a display case.

  Devin lay heaving in a crumpled heap, each breath torturing him. At first, he thought the pounding in his ears was his own jittery pulse. He felt himself sliding into the pit of despair when Bren glanced upwards, obviously hearing it too. The drumming grew more intense, shaking the sky.

  “The Sluagh!” Devin cried helplessly.

  Bren tilted his head to one side, listening intently. He flashed a reassuring grin.

  “Don’t worry. Different sort of wings. It’s the celestial cavalry. The angels. We’ll be fine now.”

  “We did it.” Devin’s head spun with giddy relief.

  “Actually, you did,” Bren said. “I’m still getting used to being an angel again.”

  “Don’t get too used to it, Rael.” The voice reverberated in the air around them and ice slid down Devin’s spine. Slowly, majestically, an angel with long dark hair, golden wings and a stunningly handsome face glided to the clifftop.

  Chapter 34

  Devin

  “Gabriel,” Bren said in an undertone.

  The heavenly host streamed out of the sky, each angel more breath-taking than the last, though none quite as eye-catching as Gabriel. They gathered in a semi-circle behind their leader. The archangel strode over to Zaz and touched his forehead lightly. Zaz’s eyes fluttered open, and seeing Gabriel, he began to smirk. He shifted his wings and Bren sprang off them, snatching Devin up as he went.

  “Hand over the human, Rael,” Gabriel commanded. “Or lose your wings again. Forever.”

  “But I don’t understand. You gave me your word. He belongs with me!” Bren held Devin so tightly he thought one of his ribs might crack.

  “Azazel and I have come to an arrangement. He can have this prize, and in return, the Sluagh will make no further claims on the souls meant for us. Think of it, Rael. All those innocent souls. Saved.”

  Bren face burned a feverish red, his eyes shooting blue sparks. Devin took one of his hands and crushed it in a reassuring grip.

  “Come on now, dear one. Your human purgatory is over.” Gabriel’s voice softened, becoming as warm as melted chocolate, cloying and sweet. “He’s going to an afterlife, does it m
atter which one? Can you honestly face losing everything? And for what? Some grudging affection from this broken mortal? He’s not worthy of your love. He will never love you. Not truly. How many centuries have I adored you?”

  Devin felt Bren stiffen and heard his sharp intake of breath. A rasping sob vibrated deep in Bren’s chest. Yanking his hand away from Devin, he swiped roughly at the tear sliding down his cheek. His eyes sought out Gabriel’s, and he gave him a brief nod.

  “His memories need to be harvested first.” Bren’s voice rang out over the ancient stones, making Devin’s heart contract.

  With a rustling of wings, he brought them soaring up above the cliffs, coming to a stop so abruptly that Devin’s head banged against Bren’s chin.

  “Bren, what are you doing?”

  Without responding, Bren lifted a hand behind Devin and began weaving his fingers into Devin’s hair. He used the knots to hold Devin’s head securely in place, tilting it slightly. Leaning forward so their faces were inches apart, he locked his blue eyes on Devin’s smoky ones.

  Devin tried to pull away but his blond locks were twisted too tightly in Bren’s grasp, the angel’s wiry arm holding him effortlessly as he struggled.

  “That’s it Rael, my beautiful angel,” Gabriel crowed. “Harvest them. Erase his mind and give him to Azazel.”

  Zaz rolled his eyes. “Yes, hurry it up. This is getting tiresome.”

  Bren’s gaze pulled Devin into its ocean blue depths through the open window of his soul, leaving him vulnerable to Bren’s assault. He tried to shut his eyes and found his lids refused to obey him under Bren’s relentless stare.

  “Stop stalling, Dev. In five minutes, it’ll all be over,” Bren whispered.

  Despair and regret leached through to Devin’s bones. He had to admit that in some ways, that menacing angel, Gabriel, was right. He’d never treated Bren the way he deserved. And yes, he was broken—maybe too withdrawn, probably too moody and definitely a miserable bastard sometimes. But someone had believed in him, despite all that. Make that, someones. Bren, and Fintan, and Airech and Cap. And Gabriel couldn’t have been more wrong about one thing, the most important thing.

  Dizzy with the effort of fighting Bren off, Devin felt himself growing weaker, his resistance flagging. With a tearing sensation, his mind gave, opening a crack. He groaned from the superhuman effort of pulling his scattered senses together.

  “You’re going to find out in a second, when you start picking through my brain, but I want you to hear it from me,” he said faintly. “That life-sized Christmas decoration couldn’t be more wrong. No one will ever love you as much as I do.”

  A stabbing pain shook his skull, and he heard Bren’s voice, soft inside his head.

  I love you more.

  He was bombarded with jumbled images, like a roll of film spliced and randomly taped back together. He glimpsed fragments here and there as they slid back into the empty places of his mind. And then it dawned on him. They were memories. All the ones he’d lost. Bren wasn’t taking them—he was giving them back. He gave a fluttering sigh as Bren loosened his grip on Devin’s hair.

  Devin heard Gabriel shout behind them as Bren broke away, but they were already gone, arcing up through the air, Devin’s breath robbed by their rapid climb.

  “Okay, what just happened?” he gasped out.

  “While Gabe was busy with his villain monologuing, I sensed something. Or someone.” Bren gave a sudden wry grin. “Cap. He’s on Aill na Searrach, in this realm. Time for a pony ride, Dev.”

  His aching mind jumbled, Devin tried to absorb the meaning of Bren’s words. “Then why are we flying as fast as we can in the opposite direction?”

  “Patience. I’m trying to shake Evil and Eviler down there. Not to mention a whole choir of angels who aren’t exactly singing our song.”

  Devin clung to Bren, clutching at his shoulders, the effort wringing the last drop of resolve from his weakening body.

  “Bren, I’m not feeling so hot,” he murmured.

  “Don’t give up now! It’s nearly over! Hang on!”

  Devin’s ears buzzed with the high pitched whine of exhaustion. He felt blurry around the edges, like he was being rubbed away.

  “I don’t think I can.”

  And then Bren was leaning into him again, their mouths finding each other, their kiss long and deep. Devin reeled from the flash of burning energy pouring through him, tracing every nerve. Bren’s essence zipped through the rivers of his veins, roaring into each cell, sweeping all traces of death before it.

  Bren’s breathing became laboured and harsh, his arms around Devin loosening. They lost speed and height, slipping out of the wispy clouds.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Giving you some of my essence knocks it out of me,” Bren rasped. “But don’t worry. Cap’s right below us.”

  Devin’s heart cavorted like an excited puppy before a sudden frightening thought sent it cowering.

  “What about you?” Devin asked.

  “I’m finished, Dev. Soon I won’t be an angel or a mortal.”

  “Airech could make you immortal, too. At Tech Duinn.”

  “It doesn’t work like that,” Bren said sadly. “I won’t have a soul to tie to my body.”

  “You have the best soul there is.” Devin gave an unsteady smile. “Mine. And if the window of my soul is open right now, yours has to be too.”

  Bren shook his head. “I can’t keep it. I don’t know what will happen if Airech tries to make you immortal without a complete soul. You have to take it back.” Devin felt Bren’s eyes rake him, trying to enter his mind, and he frantically twisted his head away, using all of his new-found strength to fight him off.

  “For once, let me be the one to protect you,” Devin said fiercely. Looking up, he held Bren with steely eyes. “My soul is yours now. You’re keeping it, and you’re coming with us.”

  A glimmer of something like hope lit Bren’s face in the instant before pain brutally extinguished it. His chilling cry curdled Devin’s blood as a golden blur zoomed past them.

  It came around to circle them as Zaz reared up from underneath. Devin caught a glimpse of Gabriel behind Bren’s wings, a stained knife in his hand. Zaz took a fistful of feathers and Gabriel slashed again, Bren’s heart-rending shout ripping through Devin.

  Bren tried to move, to shake Zaz off and swerve away, but Devin could see how much each movement cost him. The sweat sprang to his face and his eyes turned dark with pain, as Gabriel hacked at his wing, carving into the sinew and bone. Devin, numb with horror, watched Gabriel take the top and pull. He felt the devastating snap vibrate through his arms where they clung to Bren’s neck and saw the bloodied wing spiral into the sea.

  Then they were spinning down to the clifftop, corkscrewing towards the hard rock. With an agonised groan, Bren stretched out his remaining wing to its full size, slowing their descent. He tried to speak, coughing and choking, nodding his head at the ground.

  Dev looked down and his breath caught. There was Cap directly below them, standing on Aill na Searrach, scanning the sky. Above him, a hawk circled. Bren gave one last shout, calling Cap’s name, the effort of it tearing through him, leaving him writhing. He let his arms fall, loosening his grip and sending Devin flying.

  Cap threw out his powerful arms in time for Devin to crash into them. Bren hit the cliff at high speed, skidding along the surface, his remaining wing dragging in the dirt behind him. It wasn’t enough to stop him from rocketing off the edge and plummeting to the rocks below.

  Devin howled, calling for Bren, his cry of anguish bouncing off the surrounding crags. But there was no time to mourn—Gabriel and Zaz were barrelling out of the sky straight towards them.

  Cap swung Devin onto his back, taking Devin’s hands in his huge ones and guiding his fingers, burying them deep in his red-black hair. He began running towards the edge of Foal’s Leap, his feet pounding on the rock, his thighs pumping.

  “Trust me,” he roared.
r />   Devin froze. “Cap, you spoke.”

  Cap shifted under him in the time it took to blink, and then he was leaping over the edge, into the crashing waves below, Devin holding on tight to his flowing mane.

  Chapter 35

  Cap

  Cap ploughed through the waves, Devin’s weight slight but comforting on his back. He loved the feeling of Devin’s fingers woven into his mane as if he owned him. Possessed him. He tested his impulses, but they were firmly in check. His desire to drag Devin to the sea bed and devour him was about as strong as his interest in smiling. That is, non-existent. It showed how much he cared for Devin. And maybe, how little he cared to smile.

  He eyed the sky warily, on the look-out for the Sluagh and that demonic angel, Gabriel. Fintan was soaring above him, also keeping watch. Cap had cloaked them both in a féth fíada and their presence was all but impossible to detect. Bren was the only being outside of their band who’d ever seen through it, but that no longer mattered. Bren wouldn’t be seeing anything. Not anymore.

  Watching Bren fall had left Cap with the sour tang of bitter sorrow. He knew how Devin felt about that angel. He didn’t like angels himself, but then, he didn’t really like anyone. Except for his fellow foal brothers, when they’d been alive, and of course Rón. He was only beginning to realise how his feelings for Fintan had grown. And even for Airech, as unlikely as that seemed. But with Devin, it was something different altogether. And Bren had sacrificed everything to deliver him into Cap’s arms.

  It wasn’t much further now. He was glad they’d sent Airech ahead, even though he’d badly wanted to stay and help them rescue Devin. But Airech couldn’t shift or travel quickly in the water, and that made him a potential liability. Cap could have carried him on his back along with Devin, but the temptation would have been even harder to bear. Airech was simply asking to be eaten sometimes.

  He and Airech had always been uneasy allies, and becoming lovers didn’t necessarily change that. It had taken Cap one hundred years to warm to being his friend; being more than that might take an even longer period of adjustment.