Angel's Kiss

by Rosalie Lario

  This is where we’ll get the proof we need to fight them.

  She had to hold tight to that belief. It lent her strength.

  Jason dropped them to the edge of the forest directly northeast of the prison. They were so close she could see glimpses of the nondescript gray through the trees. When she also spotted a Consortium Guard marching back and forth, his identifying badge flashing clearly in the light of day, her heart almost stopped.

  Oh God, oh God, oh God.

  Brave as she might like to think of herself, she’d never been this close to discovery before.

  As if he sensed her momentary panic, Jason quickly absorbed his wings and tightened his hold on her waist, lending her strength.

  “Hurry, my love,” he murmured into her ear. “Sooner begun, sooner done.”

  He was right, of course.

  Swallowing hard, she fought back her fear and knelt to the ground. She slid the pack from her front and fumbled with the zipper.

  Damn these gloves.

  They made her job so much harder. But she couldn’t very well take them off. So she mentally spat out curses as she dug through the bag for the necessary equipment, then went about setting the camera up and positioning it just as they’d decided.

  Jason, for his part, stood there still as a statue, his gaze flitting back and forth across the horizon. Keeping tabs on everything and making sure she was safe, no doubt. It was scary how reassuring that felt.

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she finished setting up the first camera. Three more to go, damn it.

  I hope Samantha’s moving a lot faster than I am.

  After zipping her pack back up and sliding it on, she rose and nodded to Jason. With a grim nod in return, he wound his hands around her waist and grew his wings. He zipped through the forest, keeping low to the ground until they reached the middle of the facility, where the eastern entrance was located. After setting her down, he took in his wings and gave their surroundings a visual scan.

  “Two guards protecting the east entrance,” he whispered. “Move slowly and carefully.”

  With her heart in her throat, she obeyed.

  The second camera took even longer to set up, mostly because she was so scared of being spotted that her hands were visibly shaking, making it that much harder to line everything up in place. But finally, she accomplished her mission.

  “Done,” she whispered as she rose to her feet.

  They repeated their actions with the third camera, which she set up at the southeast corner of the prison, before moving on to her fourth and final camera set halfway into the southern side. Her heart thumped with apprehension when they arrived at the spot and Samantha and Aaron were nowhere to be seen. They’d agreed they would meet up here after setting up all the other cameras.

  “Do you think they might have finished already and left?” she asked.

  “Perhaps it’s taken them longer than they anticipated.” He shrugged, though the tightness of his lips indicated he wasn’t quite as nonchalant as he was trying to appear. “Set up the final camera and then we’ll try to locate them.”

  He was right. First she had to finish the job. Then she could worry about Aaron and Samantha.

  Her gut clenched and she fought back a burst of nervous nausea as she knelt and got to work on the last camera. It seemed to take forever to get the remaining one set. She stifled a curse as she fumbled with it.

  Ruby was almost done when she heard the rustling of the snow-covered trees from her left. She froze and glanced up at Jason, who’d visibly tensed. It sounded like someone was coming toward them…fast.

  Oh my God.

  Though she was quivering in fear, she rose, prepared to defend herself. Finally, just when she thought she’d go crazy from the suspense, Aaron emerged from a copse of trees, flying low to the ground. He saw them and dropped to his feet, quickly absorbing his wings.

  “Thank God,” Ruby whispered, her shoulders relaxing. But then she saw he was alone.

  His face grim, Aaron stalked toward them.

  “Where’s Samantha?” she asked when he was close enough to hear her whisper.

  “Still on the northern side. There’s been a development,” he said grimly.

  Anxiety rose from Aaron in waves.

  “What happened?” Jason asked, placing a gloved hand on Aaron’s shoulder in a comforting gesture.

  “An angel emerged from the northern entrance just as she was setting up the camera directly in front of it,” Aaron murmured. “He ordered the guards to the other side of the prison. A few minutes later, a large, unmarked land vehicle rolled up to the entrance.”

  Jason sucked in his breath. “That’s unusual.”

  “A miraculous stroke of luck, is what it was,” Aaron continued with urgency, drawing closer to them. “Samantha picked the camera up and started to record. What we saw…”

  “What,” Ruby asked, when he paused, his expression beyond grim. “What was it?”

  “Two other angels exited the vehicle. They were herding prisoners.” Aaron’s somber gaze met hers. “Well-known human officials.”

  Ruby let out a gasp. “It’s started? Now?”

  “Yes,” Aaron replied. “And by some herald of fate, we are here to record it.”

  A cacophony of emotions wound through Ruby. Fear and anger for the humans who’d been imprisoned. Heart-wrenching hope that they’d just recorded evidence of the angels’ true agenda. Worry for Samantha.

  “I reluctantly left her to record because I couldn’t draw any closer without fear of my essence being traced.” Aaron’s grim countenance rested on her. “But we could use another camera to ensure we capture their actions and words.”

  She didn’t hesitate. Even though numbing fear crushed her body, she bent and yanked the final camera from its resting position. Rising, she looked at Jason. “Let’s go.”

  Though his shadowed eyes clearly expressed his concern for her, he didn’t object. He merely nodded and stepped behind her, grabbing tight hold.

  Aaron flexed his back and his wings popped out. She felt rather than saw Jason do the same beside her, and a moment later they were gliding through the forest, keeping low to the ground as they zigged and zagged to avoid snow-covered trees. The scenery flew by at a nauseating pace. Closing her eyes, she clutched the camera tight in her hand.

  After several minutes, Jason abruptly set them down on the ground. Ruby swallowed hard as her stomach did a somersault then opened her eyes.

  They were about a hundred feet from the edge of the forest. Samantha stood directly ahead, her back to them as she held a camera in her hands and peeked through a thicket of snow-blanketed, spiny bushes.

  Ruby turned to face Jason, laying a gloved hand on his mail-covered cheek. “You have to stay back here,” she whispered. “It’s not safe for you to go further.”

  His eyes blazed with emotion before they shut tight. “I know.”

  “I…” Her mouth snapped shut when she realized she’d inadvertently been about to say something she hadn’t meant to. Something she couldn’t recover from. She gave him a tremulous smile instead. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Okay.” Even under the hood, she could see his throat work as he nodded. “Be safe.”

  She took a fortifying breath as she turned and made sure the camera was on and recording. Then she tiptoed through the snowy forest floor, leaving Jason and Aaron behind as she approached Samantha. Snow crunched lightly under her feet, but it wasn’t until she was just a few feet from Samantha that the other nephilim stirred and glanced behind her. She met Ruby’s gaze and motioned toward a break in the other end of the bushes about twenty feet away. Though she didn’t speak, there was a wealth of emotion in her eyes. Something serious was clearly going down.

  Ruby’s pulse jack-hammered in her throat as she lifted the camera to eye level and stopped just beside the break in the thick bushes. Her mail-clad arms felt heavy as bricks, especially after doing all that work to set the cameras up, but sh
e forced herself to ignore it. Now was not the time to wuss out.

  She gulped as she looked through the viewfinder and located the vehicle Aaron had mentioned, less than twenty feet from where she now stood. It was basically a large snowmobile, close to half the size of a bus, and through the vehicle’s windows she could clearly see the frightened faces of several men and a couple of women. Some of their faces were familiar.

  Oh my God.

  A man stood within the vehicle, striding back and forth along what appeared to be an aisle. Based on his looks and his expression of unconcern, she guessed he was an angel, though the mail that protected her from being discovered also muted her sensory detection of him.

  The doors to the northern entrance of the prison suddenly burst open and two men strode out of it. One wore a short-sleeved shirt and the other was bare-chested, but from the way they laughed and smiled, they were clearly both angels.

  Okay so, three angels, ten humans.

  Hell, what fucking odds. These poor humans didn’t have a chance of escape, not that any of them appeared brave enough to even try.

  While the bare-chested angel retreated by the still-open door, looking bored, the shirt-clad angel boarded the vehicle and exchanged some words with the other angel inside, who nodded. He strode to the back, standing guard while the first angel nudged the two humans in the first row into standing and pointed his finger toward the exit.

  They’re taking them in.

  Heart in her throat, she zoomed in on the scene and prayed the ultra-sensitive microphone would carry any sound.

  God, I want to help them. She wanted to help them so badly. Once they went inside that prison, they were as good as dead. But she wasn’t stupid. There was no way she could stand again three angels. Not even if Samantha, Aaron, and Jason joined in. Her mission here was as an observer, no matter how much that truth might break her heart.

  A gasp escaped her throat when the first two prisoners were shoved out of the vehicle. One of them, an older man with an expensive suit and a head full of white hair, fell to his knees, and the other rushed to help him.

  Is that…the president and vice-president?

  Though their roles were largely ceremonial now, as were all roles in the human governmental system, they were still among the most respected members of mankind.

  The younger vice-president helped the president to his feet then turned on the angel who’d shoved them from the vehicle, his eyes blazing with anger and his shoulders steeling for the first time since she’d started recording them.

  “How could you do this?” he spat, and Ruby thanked her blessings that his voice carried loud and clear. “You’re supposed to help us. Be our saviors.”

  “Saviors?” Even though the angel’s back was to her, she could hear him laugh in the vice-president’s face. “Your kind is nothing but vermin. A pestilence upon this land. Once you’re exterminated, this world will be a better place.”

  Oh fuck. He said that. He said it.

  Please, please, let the microphone have picked that up.

  The vice-president’s face hardened. He said something, but his voice was too low to hear it. Whatever it was, it must have angered the angel, because he suddenly lifted his hand and closed it around the vice-president’s throat. Shock transformed the human’s face and he tried to pry the angel off him, his face beginning to redden from the pressure of the angel’s grip.

  Damn it. That fucker! He was going to kill him!

  The president let out a shaky, “No!” To his credit, even though he looked like he was about to shit himself, he lunged for the angel, but all it took was one flick of the angel’s free hand and the president was frozen in place.

  Her heart hammering in her chest, Ruby nestled deeper into the bushes while craning her neck in an effort to get a better angle with the camera. She froze when she heard a rip.

  What was that?

  Whatever it was, it made the angel instantly go alert. His body tensed and his shoulders rose as he turned and scanned his surroundings as if searching for something.

  When the angel on the vehicle hopped off and joined in the visual scan and the shirtless angel leaning against the door stood to attention, she realized what had happened. What she’d just done.

  Oh no. God, no. Oh, fuck.

  Her gut wrenched when she glanced down and saw the long, thin tear in her chain mail shirt where one of the spiny branches of the bush had ripped through. Not enough for her to feel any difference in temperature, but apparently more than enough to reveal at least some of her essence.

  Oh shit. I fucked up, big time.

  She turned her head toward Jason, having just enough time to drink in his frozen form and stricken expression before she heard one of the angels yell.

  “There! Someone’s in the bushes.”

  Her mindless fighting instinct kicked in, and Ruby turned back to the scene. Both the angels from the vehicle rushed in her direction, while the shirtless one disappeared inside, the door to the prison slamming shut behind him. She had just enough time to drop the camera out of sight and reach into her pack for the dagger she’d packed. Then, before the angel could lunge for her, she dove through the break in the bushes, catching the surprise on his face as he zoomed right past her, clearly not expecting that she’d rush toward rather than away from him. She rolled and, despite the heavy weight of the chain mail, managed to hop to her feet before he could turn back around.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the second angel disappear into the forest, dangerously close to where Samantha had just been standing. Fear for her new friend propelled her into action. With a banshee yell, she stabbed the dagger into the back of the angel standing before her, right at the spot where his right wing would grow from. Just like Jason had shown her.

  The angel howled in agony, yet managed to whirl around easily, dislodging her grip as if she were no more substantial than a rag doll. She retreated backward several feet, instinctively putting some space between her and the furious angel.

  Strong. Too damn strong. And she didn’t kid herself. She might be able to briefly hurt him, but she couldn’t kill him. Only fire could do that, and even if she had a flamethrower, he’d be able to yank it from her hands and heal himself before she could ever do him any sort of long-term damage.

  His face contorted into an ugly expression of anger, the angel lifted his hand. Just like that, her vocal chords seized up and her muscles froze. She couldn’t move, couldn’t scream, couldn’t do anything other than helplessly watch as he started for her, murder intent on his face.

  Damn him for being so strong, for his abilities. If only she’d been able to at least get a few more hits in…

  Before the angel could touch her, a black-winged form flew from the bushes, grabbed the angel by the waist, and lifted him up and away from her. Her muscles released and she gasped, whirling to see Jason and the angel locked in battle in mid-air. Her dagger still protruded from the angel’s back, and though he’d managed to grow both wings, the one on the right was partially pinned beneath the dagger, affecting his ability to fight back.

  “Jason,” she couldn’t help but cry out. Instinct propelled her to it, even though she knew better than to distract him.

  “Go,” Jason growled, his forearms bulging with the effort to hold the other angel back. But where would she go? They were miles from anywhere. Besides, she wasn’t leaving. Not without him. Not without the man she’d just realized she loved.

  I love him, damn it. Her heart filled with regret. And I was too stupid to tell him when it might have actually mattered.

  When she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye, she turned to see that Aaron had engaged the second angel. They now zoomed through the air, locked together in a similar manner as Jason and the angel he fought. Samantha had emerged from the forest and now stared at them. As if she sensed Ruby’s gaze, she met her eyes. The horror and fear in them matched what Ruby felt.

  They were in danger, because of her stupid mist
ake. They might very well die.

  Just then the door to the prison burst open again. Two shirtless angels stepped outside, the one who’d initially vanished and a second angel who carried a flaming torch. When he aimed it toward Jason and the angel he fought, Ruby realized what it was. Jason had told her about it a few days ago.

  Apparently the white-wings had created a weapon with the ability to instantly incinerate an angel. The Fallen had been trying to duplicate it but hadn’t managed to do so yet.

  “No,” she screamed as the angel lifted the torch with seeming disregard for the angel who fought Jason. A flaming fireball shot out of the weapon, but Jason and the other angel managed to move to the side and avoid it.

  Undeterred, the angel with the torch lifted it again. God, he was going to kill Jason.

  No.

  She couldn’t let that happen. No matter what.

  Ruby started toward the distracted angel, fully aware that this was a suicide mission. But she didn’t care. She would stop him from hurting the man she loved…even if it cost her own life.

  Before she got more than halfway across the space separating her from the angel with the torch, several other figures dropped unexpectedly from the sky. Figures with dark wings, not white.

  Hardly daring to hope, she looked up to see several Fallen swooping down: Michael, Nate, Lucas, and Gabriel.

  “Thank God,” she half-sobbed. They weren’t alone anymore.

  The white-wing with the torch noticed the Fallen too. His shirtless partner zoomed up to engage the Fallen, but the white-wing merely turned his torch in their direction. Another fireball shot from it, just as the shirtless angel grabbed Lucas…and shoved him directly in the path.

  She screamed when the fireball caught Lucas’s shoulder, instantly engulfing Lucas in flame.

  “No.” She raced toward the flying group of men, mindful that there wasn’t anything she could do, but still unable to hold herself back.