Fallen Angel

by Meg Xuemei X

  Then my TimeFire slammed into the aircraft, incinerating it, with the other militants still inside, in a second.

  My darkness gripped the two surviving assassins in the air for all to see, as an example. Should anyone try to eliminate me or my family again, they should think twice.

  My darkness sent the assassins crashing through the window and tossed them at my feet.

  They couldn’t even struggle as my darkness bound them mercilessly, their eyes widening in fear.

  “Athena, we need them alive for interrogation,” the queen said.

  A fire storm swept me away.

  I was no longer with the queen in the white tower of the Royal Palace.

  Strong arms held me, my face nesting against a hard, warm chest. Wind whooshed by my ears, caused by a pair of massive black wings. Comforting, intoxicating, male musk mixed with the scent of sandalwood and flame. The flame didn’t belong to me.

  I blinked. I hadn’t really left Pandemonium but had been pulled back into a memory when my fire and the Archangel’s had mixed again.

  When I’d fallen from my Witch Tower, my darkness and wind had sustained me in the air.

  Gabriel flew me back to my chamber through the window and pulled the drape closed.

  Even in the dim light, his face was pale.

  I let the icy light illuminate the room and smiled at him. “You caught me.”

  “I’m sorry, baby,” Gabriel said, tucking me closer. “I lost control. It won’t happen again. No more playing with fire or any rough shit.”

  The Archangel was proposing a dull life without fire and passion, and I’d just had my fire back.

  I detached my face from his chest. “You’ll do no such thing.”

  “What if I hurt you next time and get to you too late?”

  “But you didn’t,” I said. “You can’t harm me even if you try. Haven’t you tried that?”

  He blinked, then snarled. “I’ve never tried to harm you, not even while you tried to kill me.”

  I widened my eyes. “You said we should always forgive each other and put the past behind us. You said no one and nothing can get between us and that we could get past everything.”

  “When you put it that way, it does sound like I’m a jerk,” he sighed. “I just don’t like to tap into an unknown field and get you hurt.”

  “Your angelic flame is useful,” I said. “It’s like my stimulation. Just now, when our fires combined, it opened a window and let me peek into a crucial fragment of my past. I now have a part of the picture why I was exiled.”

  Someone had tried to eliminate me while I’d been in my realm. I hadn’t been wrong when I’d insisted I had enemies back home, but before I could interrogate the assassins, I’d been thrown back to my Witch Tower.

  The Furies had recounted that I’d banished myself to protect the realm. I’d told my mother before I’d shut down the portal behind me, “I have to do this, so he won’t find me. I won’t endanger the kingdom.”

  All of my misery was because of ‘he’.

  Who could hunt and overpower me? The realm feared me, yet they seemed to fear that huntsman so much more. He didn’t come from the empire, but from a dominant alien race.

  Gabriel mentioned that his race was the most powerful in the universe. Could the hunter be one of the Archangels? I brushed off the dark idea. Gabriel would have known if one of his kinds had been crossing the universe to hunt me. But then his Angels had been fighting another group of Angels. Could the hunter be from the other side?

  Or had the senators brought in an outsider as a bounty hunter?

  “Mind sharing it with me, baby?” Gabriel asked. “I wanted to know your every friend and enemy.”

  I gazed up at him slyly. “What about lovers?”

  His green eyes flashed dark fury. “I’ll eliminate every one of them if any of them tries to come between us, along with your enemies.”

  He wasn’t joking.

  And he’d changed ever since he’d returned from the Vampire Tower. In the past, he would demand, “Lay bare before me, mate! There should be no secrets between us.”

  Maybe it was because he now had a secret—the pact between Daisy and him.

  He’d once said that secrets destroyed relationships. Would it tear us apart?

  Did it matter? My heart bled at the thought. We had to part our ways in the end. Maybe I shouldn’t get too attached to him while I still had the chance. It was easier for a man to forget about past passion. Right now, he couldn’t get his hands off me, but he would eventually get over me.

  No love lasted, and lust faded sooner.

  It’s the way of things.

  He couldn’t have intercourse with me, yet the Furies suggested that he could have others, just not me. Maybe she’d offered while she had the leash on him?

  I wanted to kill her for that, but there was no time. If I focused on her and let my jealousy get in the way, I would fail everyone and destroy their chance of survival.

  I swallowed my pride and hurt.

  I peeked into Gabriel’s eyes that filled the promise of stars and galaxies. Daisy had picked him, seeing the same I was seeing now.

  How soon would he leave me? Right after we flew through the portal or a little longer?

  “My people fear me,” I said. “They’re terrified of my power. They think I’ll destroy the empire. Even my mother—the queen—thinks it’s possible.”

  “That’s why you left?”

  “No. I was actually being hunted. That’s why I ran.”

  He snarled. “Who?”

  “I don’t know yet. I had only a glimpse into the past.”

  What if I would never regain my full memories?

  I was still the heir to the throne.

  Would my people accept me? Would my parents welcome me back with open arms? What if they rejected me? I shoved down my anxiety. No matter what, I was going home. Wanting me or not, I’d reclaim what was my birthright.

  “Will the one who hunts you be there when you return?” he asked.

  “If he’s there,” I said, eyes burning, “he’ll be very sorry.”

  “He’ll be very sorry, because I—” He stopped, a pained look shadowing his eyes.

  That was when I knew he wouldn’t go to the Lithuaria Empire with me.

  PART II

  16

  The Witch

  The Archangel flew ahead of us to scout the jungle and the surrounding area.

  He returned soon and gave us the go-ahead. We quickened our pace.

  Marrok led the army. All the capable fighters were positioned at the outer layers of the formation, the logistic and medic teams stayed in the middle, and Antonio, Bella, and a few wolves brought the rear.

  Gabriel landed on my left side, his wings brushing my shoulder with affection before they tucked back. Kaara strode at my right, an angelblade tight in her hand.

  “You think we can do this, baby?” Gabriel asked. It wasn’t a real question. He just wanted to converse with me casually to reduce the tension in the air.

  Marrok glanced back at Gabriel, unhappy that the Archangel hadn’t reported to him after the scout, but Gabriel wasn’t one who was used to briefing anyone who wasn’t his superior in his race. And there was only one above him—the High Prince of All Angels. And the High Prince was far away in another timeline.

  “What?” Gabriel frowned at Marrok, but he swallowed back “What are you looking at?” as a courtesy to Kaara.

  Kaara shook her head. I shared her sentiment. The good thing was that the two Alphas weren’t in a room alone.

  “Any ambush ahead?” Marrok asked with irritation.

  “If there were one, I’d have told you,” Gabriel said. “But the Furies are nowhere around, which is strange. The vampires, cannibals, or other clans aren’t in the neighborhood for now, but I can’t be sure if any will be inside the jungle. The forest is quieter than usual, which isn’t a positive sign. We need to be prepared for any nasty surprises, but I saw nothing we can
’t handle, right?”

  Marrok turned back before grinning at Kaara, and she smiled back.

  We marched on.

  When we reached the jungle, there were no Furies, just as Gabriel had reported. The army was thrilled at the absence of the creatures of nightmare, but I had a bad feeling about it.

  Our army entered the forest in a tight formation.

  This time, I led them, with Gabriel beside me. His half-spread wings turned steel-hard. Marrok and Kaara, who flanked us, had to take care not to get in the range of the Angel’s wings.

  Marrok asked him to tuck his wings in so that others could have more space, but Gabriel refused. “I need to shield my mate,” he said, kind enough to give them a reason.

  “We’re protecting her as well,” Marrok said.

  “Not as good as I,” Gabriel said dismissively.

  Kaara looked at me, hoping I would put on my Wickedest Witch’s face and chide him, but I ignored her silent plead. I’d been cruel to my lover, and now all I wanted was to make up to him, especially when our time together was short.

  The jungle was short of the usual birds’ creeping chirps and beasts’ unnerving yowls. The wind didn’t stir. Only an ominous feel crackled the air, along with pungent scent of blossom and thick sulfur.

  The army and the wolf pack couldn’t see Akem, but everyone evidently felt his oppressive presence. They trod quieter. And anyone who stumbled on twigs would receive glares. The tension would break any coward’s nerves.

  We all knew Akem was watching us, his monsters eager for carnage.

  The soldiers gripped their weapons. The wolves bared their teeth but restrained from howling.

  Someone yelped, caught by the extended vines of the cannibal plants that came out of nowhere, and others rushed to help him, only to be trapped as well. I sighed and let my ice magic shield the whole army. I was hoping to reserve my magic for the portal, or the final showdown with Akem if things went sour.

  The cannibal plants retreated.

  “Try your best to handle things yourselves,” Kaara said. “Do not make Lady Fiammetta consume any more of her energy before she opens the portal.”

  The guards who were caught by the plants looked ashamed.

  Kaara had brought her witch light—my gift to her, and the others had lit the oil lamps. Tiny fires leaped, shadows dancing all round them.

  The army prowled on, huddling as closer together as they could.

  Gabriel was the only one who wasn’t affected by the jungle’s menace, but he darted his eyes wildly around to search for any threat.

  Then the jungle spun, and everything blurred in front of us.

  “Halt!” Gabriel ordered. “The jungle is shifting. We wait until it fucking stills.”

  The army stopped marching, staying on high alert for an attack. The soldiers and the wolf pack were disciplined—Marrok and Kaara had trained them well.

  When the jungle stopped wheeling, we were no longer where we had been before.

  The wolves howled furiously, and my guards shouted their horrified discovery.

  The rear half of our force was gone. A few seconds later, alarmed shouts and howls rose from the distance. The missing party had been transported to another part of the rainforest.

  Gabriel cursed, as did Marrok.

  Then the jungle shifted again.

  “Hold the hand of the one next to you!” Gabriel and the Wolf King shouted at the same time.

  Gabriel wrapped me in his arms tightly, and I clung to him. Akem had torn us apart once. We wouldn’t let him separate us again.

  Marrok grabbed Kaara to him, and Kaara seized Gabriel.

  Everyone held onto the one next to them.

  There was nothing we could do to stop Akem from toying with us but wait it out.

  We were in his realm, at his mercy.

  I called out icily, “Akem, I came to fulfill my part of the agreement. Now do yours. And return the other half of our party.”

  The second shift stopped instantly, and we stood right before the powered ship, the Red Dragon.

  Gabriel stared at it, as if he didn’t believe his eyes.

  I freed myself from the cocoon of his wings. “I told you he could power it.”

  “He powers it, but he won’t pilot it,” Gabriel said. “I’m flying my ship.”

  I didn’t think the entity knew how to fly a space cruiser anyway, but I didn’t say it out aloud so as not to offend him.

  Our remaining army looked relieved to see the humming ship. They would have cheered if not for the thought of the missing soldiers.

  Gabriel, Marrok, Kaara, and I traded a look.

  “We’ll wait for the other team to reach us,” I said. “As long as the ship has power, we’ll have transportation to fly through the portal.”

  Marrok nodded. He shifted to his warrior wolf form and howled, giving his missing pack—his general among them—instructions. His howling would lead them back to us.

  A series of howls rose from the distance in response.

  “It’s Antonio’s signature howling,” Gabriel said beside me. “They’re running back to us.”

  I hoped Akem stopped being a nuisance, but I couldn’t scold him. We had to tread on eggshells when working with a temperamental elemental entity.

  “I’ll go check the ship,” Gabriel said, then looked at me with uncertainty. He hated to leave me even for a second, but then he didn’t want to take me with him, should there be a trap.

  “I go with you,” Marrok said.

  “We’ll watch Fia,” Kaara said.

  “No, you all stay with my mate,” Gabriel said, brushing a kiss over my lips before jogging toward his shuttle.

  Kaara grabbed my hand. “No matter what happens, we stick together.”

  I smiled at her. But I knew she would leave me soon. It would break my heart to see her go, but she was the Wolf Queen now. She had a new future with her mate and his pack, and they’d return to Marrok’s former planet to take back his throne.

  They would start a war.

  Marrok had talked to Gabriel, and the Archangel had agreed to loan them a ship when we reached the ThunderSong. My subjects would go with Kaara as well. They loved her but feared me.

  The only one who would go with me as my forever companion was Akem.

  Holding his angelblade, Gabriel stepped into the Red Dragon.

  And he roared, “What the fuck?”

  My heart sank into ice. I thought Akem was done with his pranks, but it seemed trouble just kept coming.

  I summoned my ice spear and sprang toward the ship, Kaara and Marrok racing beside me.

  The army formed a battle configuration.

  I entered the ship just before Gabriel raised his sword, ready to charge and strike down Akem’s force.

  On the ship’s deck, Akem’s creatures had taken residency.

  17

  The Witch

  I placed my fingers on Gabriel’s sword hand.

  “Not yet,” I said. “We negotiate with him first.”

  His eyes burned. “I thought you were done with that.”

  “He’s Akem. What do you expect?”

  “I need to evict those things from my ship first.” He pulled his lips back in a snarl, his wings remaining steel-hard and shielding me.

  “They’re going nowhere without a pilot,” I said softly.

  He lowered his sword, but I knew how deceptive this act was. The Archangel could cut a wall of flesh before he even drew a blade.

  His stare never left the beasts and monsters twenty feet in front of us. “Just let me know when I can cut them all down,” he said flatly. “My sword is hungrier than those freaks.”

  Marrok, Kaara, and Rocky had followed me into the ship, weapons drawn. I raised a hand to stop our side from initiating the assault.

  Akem’s creatures that regarded us—even the Angel—as fresh meat also held their ground, restraining from charging us.

  Both sides would crash into each other the moment either Ake
m or I gave the order.

  The two-headed hellhound at the front dripped a string of saliva, his yellow eyes flashing hunger. Oddly, the Furies weren’t among them. In fact, I hadn’t seen her all the way here, which was unusual.

  Wasn’t the dragon shifter one of Akem’s most prized pets? He wouldn’t want to leave her behind if he intended to bring an army of beasts with him.

  “Let’s step out,” I said. “Akem obviously wants to chat and warm up first.”

  Marrok, Kaara, and Rocky stepped backwards from the ship first, then Gabriel wrapped me in his arms and flew out.

  Marrok barked an order, and two-thirds of the soldiers took battle positions around the door, ready to cut through the beasts when they charged out.

  None of the monsters followed us out.

  Akem was near.

  My magic stretched out, probing. The entity’s essence was strongest at nine o’clock, south. I needed to turn on my TimeFire to see through him.

  My eyes glowed, as flames leaped in them.

  Gabriel stared at me. “Fia, baby?”

  Everyone else gasped and stepped back.

  As soon as my blazing gaze trained on an undulating shape of darkness, the mass rolled forward. The next, it perched atop the Red Dragon.

  A living black hole pulsed in the center of the mass. The shape shifted between the most terrifying beast, a demon, and a child of evil force.

  This time, everyone could see him, because my TimeFire had revealed him. They gawked and gagged. The air reeked of the stench of fear. Even Marrok sucked in a breath. He stepped back to stay close to Kaara and shield her.

  Gabriel had moved before me, glaring at the dark mass. He was the only one who wasn’t afraid of Akem. But I sensed another kind of raw fear from him. He was terrified that Akem would get past him and hurt me.

  I stepped up and stood by Gabriel, my gaze gluing to the entity.

  “What is this, Akem?” I asked. “Why are your beasts in my ship?”

  “My children are going with me,” Akem said, his voice chilly and inhuman.

  Shivers of fears from flesh and blood rolled through the jungle.