Chapter Eleven
“Ray, what are you doing here?”
“Checking up on you, boss.” Ray grinned. “Making sure the lady got you home all right.”
Samuel yawned and opened the door wider to let his unwelcome guest into his brownstone. Turning around, he headed for his kitchen and noted the time, only a few minutes after noon, he could have used another hour of sleep. He hadn’t gotten much for the last two nights. By the time he got home after dropping Thalya off, the sun had risen above the horizon. “Want some coffee?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Sure, thanks. So, long night?”
Samuel swung around. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you left the meeting last night with a luscious babe on your arm.”
“You forget what she is?” Samuel asked.
Ray hopped up on one of the stools in the kitchen. “Yeah, but I thought she didn’t take blood, that she helped folks feel good. And isn’t she supposed to be an angel or something?”
“Or something.” He turned back around to get a couple of coffee mugs from his cabinet. Thank God, for coffeemakers on a timer and the French brew already made.
“Did you get any answers from the dude she was taking you to see?” Ray asked.
“Yes. We got confirmation last night that the soulless were once angels and from none other than the oldest among them. They’re all banished angels, who once had souls.”
Ray whistled. “So it’s true. Man, I wonder what they did to have their souls taken away from them.”
“Not exactly clear, but it has something to do with them being indifferent to the war in heaven that got a bunch of others banished to hell.”
“Ah, got ya.” Ray snorted. “Should we read our bibles now or something?”
Samuel shrugged.
“So, what else happened last night with the lady?”
“As far as Thalya, nothing, absolutely nothing.” Much to his regret.
“Too bad. She’s so hot smokin’, most cover models would have a ways to go to catch up with her. When she walked into the meeting last night, after I got over my shock, I thought the woman had a pair a man balls on her.” Ray chuckled at his own joke. “Either she was depending on you to make sure no one took a swipe at her or she knew she could take us all on.”
Samuel grinned in spite of himself, taking pride in the way she’d looked both sexy and deadly last night. “Or maybe she thought she’d come to no harm in a room of civilized men.”
“Yeah, right.” Ray grinned.
Samuel placed a mug of black coffee down in front of his young friend, knowing that’s the way he liked it.
“So, did you guys learn anything else?” Ray prodded, picking up the mug and taking a sip.
“Yeah, some. By the way this olden, his name is Adam.”
Ray frowned. “Adam? Like from the bible?”
Samuel grinned. He’d always liked Ray’s quick mind. “He didn’t confirm it, but yeah, I think exactly from the bible.”
“Wow! So where’s Eve?” Ray laughed.
“This isn’t funny, Ray and I didn’t ask.” But Samuel continued to grin.
“Well, damn! Maybe we should take a look at the bible.”
“Right now, we’ve got more important things to worry about. Adam also confirmed the soulless are becoming restless. Some might be banding together to cause some sort of mass havoc, so they can feed. What exactly that havoc is Adam didn’t say, only we need to stop it.”
“Is this dude going to help?”
“No. We’re on our own for now.”
Ray shrugged taking another drink from his mug. “Not a problem, so we just find out for ourselves and stop whatever is going on.”
“Or better yet, find the leader or leaders of this group and take ‘em out.” Samuel pulled out the stool next to Ray. “That should take care of disbanding the rest of them. For the most part, they’re loners or work together in twos. But according to Devlin and Chris, what’s been happening smacks a little too much of coordinated activity.”
Ray cleared his throat. “Listen man, about last night, I just want to say how sorry I am. Again. I was a jerk. I let my fear rule my common sense. We cool?”
“Yes. Now, forget about it.” He raised his mug and they clinked porcelain.
“What do you need me to do?” Ray asked.
“I need you to take a couple of our people. No one by themselves, two or threes would be better, and canvas the usual places. See if you all spot anything or anyone suspicious. If tempers are spiking, take a look around see who’s paying attention and really getting off on it. See which faces you find one too many times around that activity. You know the drill. But don’t challenge them, unless a life is at stake. Just listen and watch. Check in with me after midnight.”
“Cool. Well, let me go round up the boys and our three ladies, see who else is available for tonight. Our female hunters were not happy about being left out last night.”
“Why weren’t they called?” Samuel frowned. “Wait, don’t tell me. Chris?”
“Yeah, he’s got something against female hunters. By the way, Devlin’s been staying with me. Said to tell you he’ll be by later to talk to you. And Chris has disappeared. No one’s seen him or heard from him since he left the meeting.”
“He could have decided to head back to his home turf, or is off chasing other like minded hunters.”
“I think that’s what Devlin wants to talk to you about. Anyway, catch ya later, dude. Tell Thalya I said hi and she can be my angel anytime, whether I’m feeling depressed or not.”
Samuel crossed his arms over his chest. “Not if you want to live. And she’s not the one you need to worry about.”
Ray smiled. “Thanks for the coffee, boss.” He placed the empty mug on the counter and took off.
After he left, Samuel rinsed the mugs out, then headed back to his bedroom to jump in the shower. He’d just stepped out of the shower when his cell phone rang. Quickly grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist, he hurried into his bedroom and got the phone off his dresser. Even before he answered, he realized he’d been waiting for this call. “Hello.”
“Will I see you later?”
At the sound of her husky voice, he finally relaxed. “Hang on a sec.” He didn’t want to stand there naked but for the towel wrapped around his waist and talk to the woman he’d been thinking about through the early hours of the morning. Hell, more than just thinking. He could still remember the erotic dreams he’d had involving him, her and flat surfaces, both horizontal and vertical. Swiftly, he pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt from his dresser drawer. “Sorry about that,” Samuel stated. “Just stepped out of the shower.”
“Hmm.”
“How did you know my number?”
She laughed.
The sound of her laughter had him going hard.
“It was not hard to get.”
“Yeah. Ah, so yes, I thought we’d go see Wilhelmina again. So I’ll be around to your place before sunset.”
“I’ll be ready,” Thalya replied. “Pull up out front.”
“See you then.”
“Fine.”
Thalya pressed the disconnect button, harder than necessary. Even after all these ageless years, life still remained complicated. She abhorred the cell phone and could barely tolerate using a landline, but she had one in the condo. She thought it smart to keep up with the modern conveniences, whether she used them or not. Most of her kind wouldn’t use any sort of phone nor owned one. They were loners by nature; besides, there was no one to whom they wanted to speak. Personally, she thought since her kind pre-dated modern technology, it irritated them.
Since meeting this hunter, she had not been herself. She’d woken earlier than usual with Samuel on her mind and he wouldn’t leave her alone. Her phone had ended up in her hand before she realized what she’d done and her fingers dialing a phone number she should not have known, but did. At some point, she must
have pulled it from his thoughts.
Thalya took a deep breath. Her life in fact, had gotten even more complicated with age. Two nights ago, she’d stood at her balcony overlooking the city and did not feel any of the bitter cold causing other New Yorkers to seek heat or huddle in their coats for warmth. She’d stood there in a sleeveless blouse welcoming the cold in hundred degree weather welcoming the heat, yet feeling neither. Unlike those other nights, last night she’d felt heat when pressed against Samuel and she’d been feeling cold ever since he left her at dawn.
“What the hell is happening to me?” Thalya couldn’t hide from herself and suspected she knew. The fabled quickening. She was beginning to feel. Because of Samuel? Was he her redemption? Or did she only feed off his powerful emotions. His lust. Oh yes, very strong stuff, too strong for him to completely block from her. She’d been lapping it up like a starving kitten with a bowl of milk, yet it hadn’t diminished one bit. She readied herself to meet him later.
The distinctive roar reached her ears before she saw the cause, had to be Samuel. This man came with lots of toys. The deep blue Masarati Quattroporte stopped in front of her, its color so dark it looked black. Even with the tinted windows, when the door swung open she got in, already knowing the driver. “Showy much?” she said, by way of greeting.
“Hello to you, too.”
Today Samuel wore his hair loose, free and wild. The way she liked, but other than that first glance, she did not look at him again.
They drove in silence to the bookstore and had to drive past it. Not surprising in New York for there were no parking spots on the street. He drove down two more blocks without any luck, until he found an alley. He followed the road to the back door of the bookstore and parked an inch from its wall, trapping her on the passenger side. He left just enough room for another car to get past on his side.
She glanced around and noticed other cars parked in the alley the same way further down. “Hmm, you made me wear a helmet, so we wouldn’t get a ticket on your bike. So now, why aren’t you worried about getting a ticket by parking here?”
“That was different. I didn’t want to get pulled over or chased by some cop. It would have slowed us down. We’re parked and even if we get a ticket, I have people who can take care of that. Don’t worry about it.”
“Well, how do you suppose I get out?”
He grinned. “Just climb over the center console to my side.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Unless you want me to talk to Wilhelmina by myself.”
She raised one eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”
Laughing, he got out of the car. Not seeing any other way out she did as he suggested. Good thing she’d dressed in jeans and flat kick-ass boots.
He waited for her at the backdoor.
“Now what?” she asked, joining him. “Are we going to knock on the door or do we walk around to the front?”
“We could.” He tilted his head toward the door. “Or we could just ring that bell there and see what happens.” Putting action to words, he pressed the small round disk on the doorframe.
They could hear a buzzing in the interior, then the sound of footsteps heading in their direction.
“Yes.”
They recognized Wilhelmina’s voice. “It’s Samuel Glaus and Thalya. We have a few more questions for you.”
The clicks of several locks opening were the only sounds they heard for the next few seconds.
Then the door moved, and Wilhelmina stood before them dressed in a dark gray pants suit this time and like the last one it appeared custom fitted to suit her slender frame. “Well, can’t say I didn’t expect to see you again. Didn’t think it would be so soon.” She stepped back. “Come on in. I just put the closed sign up out front.”
They stepped into the workroom. This time there were open boxes filled with books all over the place.
“Sorry, got a new shipment of books which is why I closed early today. Haven’t finished cataloging them,” Wilhelmina explained as she led them back up to the apartment over the shop, as they’d done during their last visit. “I was going to fix myself a cup of tea. Would either of you like some, or can I get you something else?” The whistle from a teakettle filled the room.
“No thank you, I’m fine,” Thalya said.
“Nothing for me either,” Samuel stated.
Wilhelmina excused herself to go turn her kettle off.
Thalya took the time to glance around the apartment, at least what she could see of it from their vantage point. She’d let Samuel do the exploring the last time they were there. The entire apartment would fit into her front rooms but it appeared neat and tidy like the owner, and expensively furnished for all of its homey feel. Original artwork adorned the wall beside the windows, and the matching vases on the stands on either side of the chair were antiques. If those weren’t original Cloisonne vases then she hadn’t walked the earth for over a thousand years.
Wilhelmina returned and joined them in her sitting area. “Now then, what may I do for you?”
“We’ve had a talk with Adam,” Thalya began.
Wilhelmina blinked, her entire body stilled, the cup of tea halfway to her mouth.
Thalya sensed such loss of her control over her emotions foreign to her. So, Wilhelmina’s reaction seemed genuine. Interesting. She had to know Adam quite well, or at least his reputation as a recluse.
“Oh. How did you manage that?” Wilhelmina asked, continuing the motion of drinking from her teacup. “He’s such a hermit even among his own kind. While we have volumes on some of you, what we have on Adam the soulless one takes up less than a page. That’s how often he’s seen and what we know of him. What did he tell you?” She put the cup down on the side table and clasped her hands together on her lap.
Hmm, again Thalya found her response interesting. Clearly, she knew Adam because if not much information existed on him why would she seem so surprised they’d seen him. “He confirmed what you said,” Thalya told her. “That we are banished angels. Why do you seem so surprised that he’d see us? I am of his kind.”
“Yes. It’s just that he never seems to allow anyone, soulless or otherwise near him much. He was one of the first to be sent here you know. But why does he know your origins and the other soulless not know your circumstances?” Her entire frame relaxed and she picked up her teacup again.
“Because he took our memories,” Thalya said, still pissed about that. “He thought it best for the sanity of the soulless that we not remember our beginnings. Apparently, not everyone could adjust to the new status quo, and lost themselves entirely to the other side.”
“Ah, I see.” Wilhelmina nodded. “Back then, he may have still had the ability to do that.”
“Well, I don’t see,” Thalya stated. “I understand his need to do something to stop the killing, but not this. He stole a part of me that I will never get back.”
“But you know now,” Wilhelmina countered.
Thalya exhaled hard. “For all the good it does me. I still don’t remember. Those memories are gone for good and my wings have been bound.”
“Yes, I am aware of the bindings.”
“Do you know what’s going on now?” Samuel asked, leaning forward.
Thalya noticed Samuel attempted to redirect the subject away from her anger and misgivings to the real purpose of their visit.
“We’re not sure,” Wilhelmina admitted.
“But there has been an increase in activity in certain areas that we’ve seen before. At least the same patterns,” Samuel pressed.
“And that would be?” Wilhelmina asked.
“A gathering of the soulless for a concentrated strike on a massive scale. It’s like gorging at an all you can eat buffet for a week. I’ve seen this kind of thing happening just before man-made catastrophes, acts of terrorism, civil unrest, war. Things that incite fear in a wide area and in greater numbers of people,” Samuel finished.
Wilhelmina nodded. “You have a point.
”
“Have you any idea what they might be up to this time?” Thalya asked Wilhelmina.
“All I can do is point you in the direction of the books and you can read them yourselves. They may or may not hold the answers you seek.”
“A lot of good those would do,” Thalya said. She got up to take a closer look at one of paintings on the wall of a girl in a yellow raincoat. “What good is knowing they’re following a pattern? We already know they’re up to something. The question is what?” She turned back around to face their hostess.
Wilhelmina shrugged. “You’re right. We usually record the event after the fact.”
“Exactly. We need to find out what’s going on before it gets to that point,” Samuel argued.
Thalya moved to stand beside the couch near Samuel.
“Wilhelmina,” Samuel urged, “You obviously are in contact with or know how to find other soulless.”
Wilhelmina raised one finely painted on brown eyebrow and took a sip of her tea. “And your point?”
“I have an idea, if you’ll help us. You won’t have to break your rule about neutrality.”
She seemed to pause as though considering Samuel’s words. “What do you have in mind?”
“We need to make contact with one of the soulless that may be involved in whatever is being planned.”
“That I don’t know. I can’t be sure of who’s involved or not.”
“But you’ve spent your life chronicling the soulless. I bet you can make an educated guess,” he persisted.
“Perhaps. I can tell you where some of the soulless congregate, but I suspect Thalya can tell you that much. But none are going to talk to you, Samuel.”
He turned to look at Thalya. “It’s not me who’s going to do the talking.”
Then they were both staring at her.
Thalya looked back and forth between them. “You all lost me—oh. Oh! You want me to find these soulless and see if I can find out what’s going on?”
“Yes.”
“There’s only one problem. They’d never believe I’m just seeking them out to say what’s up, when I’ve never really associated with those who prey before.”
Angel Rising: Redemption Book 1 Page 12
