Legends of the Damned: A Collection of Edgy Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Lindsey R. Loucks

  The whole evening was a debacherous affair of earthly delights and indulgences. I have to say that the whorehouse wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, though the cocaine was a bit much to handle.

  Matias really got into the spirit of things, and found himself in a fist fight at one point, with a photographer who was upset that my angelic guardian was attracting all of the women in the room — including the photographer’s wife.

  Of course, Matias only had eyes for me, but that didn’t mean that the women didn’t flock to him like bees to a field of wild flowers. Matias was every bit the gentleman, and saved all of his naughtiness for me.

  I have to say, I felt absolutely glowing with his attention.

  Once our misadventures had been completed, we had managed to spend nearly all of the allowance that Eli had given us for our revelry. We were both trashed, and nearly found our way into the wrong room back at the hotel.

  As a matter of fact, I was convinced that we had gotten into the wrong room, but Matias was convinced otherwise. I was already rearing to get him naked and start another six hour fuck session, but there was a demeanor change within Matias that gave me pause.

  It was as though, suddenly, all of the intoxicants in his system left his body. He was some how miraculously purged from all delirium. The cloud of confusion which had settled over the two of us was now squarely centered around me.

  “Rest assured,” he said, “this is the right space.”

  Then, I found exactly what he was referring to, and vomited all of that cheap alcohol back up, onto the hotel’s thin carpet. Our room smelled like death and fresh blood, but I hadn’t noticed the scent before, as I was too focused on my own intoxication. The fact that we had been chain smoking all evening hadn’t done anything to sharpen my senses either.

  Eli was there waiting for us alright — but he was dead.

  Matias lowered his head, and walked over toward the body. There was nothing that could be done, of course, but he wanted to help. He got over to Eli, shut his eyes, and then gave him a blessing befitting the brother of a Friar.

  “I blame myself,” he said, after a moment of silence. “The idea was unique. I thought that Eli might have been correct. Now I can see he was wrong.

  “You didn’t kill him, Matias…” I offered, but Matias cut me off, viciously.

  “I let himself be corrupted!” he shouted.

  A long breath filled his lungs, and then he composed himself.

  “I shouldn’t have done that. The indulgence has made me weak.”

  I blanched, and thought about all that we had done together since we arrived here. We certainly had gone headfirst into the cess pool of sin. Nobody forced our hand. I would have pointed out that the only person who hadn’t indulged was Eli… but I didn’t feel the need to make things any worse. Even if he had ended up dead, we were still alive.

  These thoughts, and more were swimming around in my head, when I saw disc on the counter that wasn’t there when we left. After walking over, I picked up the DVD, and read the cover.

  It was a home made label with luxurious red ink which spelled “Watch me.”

  I knew that I should have been more careful, but I also knew that this DVD being here was no mistake. With as little hesitation as I could muster, I turned the television on, and inserted the DVD into the player.

  The first image I saw caused me to let out a scream.

  “What is it?” Matias asked.

  He had been focused on Eli, and was deep in thought. The two of us continued to watch the image on the screen. I, myself, watched in horrified silence, but Matias understood what was happening, and knew the reasons behind the horror.

  The DVD displayed Claire being held by a woman who looked just like my dead mother.

  “It’s Lara,” Matias explained. “She can take any form she chooses since she’s being powered by Hell energy. And she’s chosen a form that is both familiar and frightening for you.”

  The image of Lara held a knife to Claire’s throat. As Lara smiled at the camera, she pushed the tip of the weapon further into Claire’s neck. When a small trickle of blood escaped from within her skin, I was forced to look away.

  There was no way that I could watch if Claire was going to be killed before my eyes. Fortunately, no such atrocity occurred.

  “You have one day,” came a silken, sweet voice from the speakers of the television. “One day, to meet me at the spot of Matias’s fall, or your friend, Claire, will die.”

  I turned to see the face of the woman, as well as the defiant gaze of Claire. I knew that Claire was frightened, and I knew that she wouldn’t have wanted to be used as a point of leverage for a kidnapper or a sadist, but I had little choice.

  I knew what had to be done.

  44

  Roma

  “Running headlong into Lara’s trap is a fools errand!”

  I had to deal with all kinds of bullshit statements like that over the course of the next hour. We fought, of course, and I was being an obstinate little brat. Regardless, once more I was right, even if my methods were deplorable. Being drunk didn’t help one bit. I was more vicious then, than I had ever been toward him before.

  “You don’t have to turn into a damned coward, just because it’s not your friend we’re looking for.”

  “Roma, you’re being unreasonable. This is exactly what she wants you to think.”

  “You didn’t have to watch the video!” I cried, knowing even as I did so that it made no sense whatsoever.

  Of course, he had been there watching the video with me. Still, that didn’t mean that he had suffered from the video in the same way that I had suffered. The latter, was what I intended to share with him, but ended up choosing a more vicious method of expression. I have to say, the alcohol didn’t make things any easier.

  “Roma, I know you’re hurt, but rushing into this…”

  “No!” I screamed. “No more words! You need me for the prophecy, which means you’re going to take me and we’re going to go to Lara. That is all that you need to be aware of. Everything else is bullshit!”

  Not my finest hour, really. I also certainly wasn’t as eloquent as I should have been, but the message was effective and within the next half hour I had already made plans to leave. I was intoxicated as hell, and was in no condition to leave anywhere. If I was going to go somewhere, then Matias was going to have to take me; that much was certain. Still, pretending like you’re going somewhere, even if it is to dive headlong into the Vegas strip —horny, intoxicated, and furious, is better than doing nothing.

  The argument was passed, and now I was jeopardizing myself in the name of getting what I wanted. Not my best moment, but an effective one, if I were to be honest with myself.

  “You know I can see though all of your motives,” Matias said.

  “Is that some kind of angelic superpower that I’m not aware of?” I asked, and then belched in his direction.

  “Time, and wisdom from accumulated experience,” he replied. “You’d be surprised how long you can live when you don’t throw your self headfirst into whatever problem comes your way.”

  His statement gave me pause. I had a moment where hopelessness overtook me. Then I realized that what he said was actually true, but that he would go along with my plans regardless. He was busy cleaning up the place, and gathering the materials necessary to leave.

  “It’s miles away from here, but we obviously can’t use the car,” he reasoned. “Not until you’ve sobered up at least.”

  He was right, but the fact that he was headed in my direction of the argument made me give pause. I began to feel sorry that I had pushed so hard on him, but then I remembered the video. The sight of Claire came back into my mind’s eye, and I realized that I had to figure out some way to get to the landing site, and fast. I had to save Claire.

  “Where is the fall, exactly?” I asked.

  “Temescal Canyon, just off of the edge of the Pacific. I intuited the location before I
fell, even though I wasn’t conscious between the landing and my stay at your clinic. “

  “Temescal Canyon…”

  “From what I remember, it was beautiful, though I was hurtling toward the earth at unspeakable speeds.”

  He brought up the place on a tablet that was made available to the room, and zoomed in on the landscape.

  “There,” he offered with certainty.

  “How can you tell,” I asked.

  “It’s the aerial view of the fall site,” he replied. “That’s the image that I saw right before impact. I actually landed in an old building, but the canyon was the general location.”

  “That must have been more than nine months ago,” I reasoned, putting together the time that he was in his coma.

  He shrugged.

  “Well, that’s more than a few miles,” I offered, growing more pessimistic about the entire arrangement.

  Our prospects of getting there in any reasonable amount of time were so low, it was demoralizing. I was absolutely blasted still, which meant that there was no way I could drive. Matias was right. In addition to that, there was no public transportation that made itself available to us either. Our options were basically to hitchhike, which would undoubtedly open us up to more unnecessary demonic encounters, or to wait until morning. Either way, time passed, and innocent people had an increased chance of getting hurt.

  “It’s only three hundred miles from here,” Matias offered, looking at a larger picture between the strip and Los Angeles. “We’ll get there soon enough. I don’t think Lara will want to waste her only asset. She needs you.”

  Then I remembered what Eli had said before we had gone out on the town.

  “He was going to try and teach me how to channel my energy,” I said. “Remember? The prophecy said that I needed to be able to channel the energy of heaven in order to overcome the rebellious angel.”

  My eyes fell downcast, and I realized that I didn’t have the tools necessary to take care of Claire.

  “I don’t know how to do it…”

  I watched as Matias bit his lip, and then opened his hand up for me to join him.

  “Come here,” he said, leading me out to the balcony. “I have an idea. Maybe you don’t have to learn…”

  I followed him out, feeling like I had given him enough shit for that evening. Perhaps, it would be worth enough to give him a shot. Otherwise, it was clear to me that we would be sleeping off the booze in a disappointing stay in a room with a corpse.

  I took his hand, and looked up at him.

  “Focus on our love,” he offered. “I know how powerful your passion is, and I know how deeply you care for those that you love. I suspect that this is the same power that Eli was talking about. What’s more, is that I suspect that you are already more in touch with this power than you give yourself credit for.”

  I closed my eyes, and focused on the love that I felt for Matias.

  In the end, all of my tantrums were only superficial. There was no reason for me to take my negative emotions out on him. My only motivations were fear based, and out of concern for my loved ones. Focusing my love on Matias was easy enough. He had been there for me more times than I cared to count. Besides, I believed in him, regardless of how much of a brat I could be.

  “I was wrong…” he confessed. “Earlier, when I said that I didn’t want our relationship to end up like Lara. I was wrong about being corrupted by our love. That passion was the pure expression of the divine. Your love didn’t weaken me — it made me stronger.”

  My heart swelled with heat and joy, and I felt the energy of my love fill up my body without restraint. My love poured into Matias, and the two of us became overflowing with the power of heaven. I looked up at my lover with eyes full of gratitude, and discovered his transformation.

  Matias had sprouted wings.

  45

  Roma

  The lift up from the balcony was the most remarkable part of the journey. I had never flown before like that, so it was an entirely new experience. I remember the sudden rush in my stomach while we were pulled upward into the air. There was a brief loss in altitude, but then Matias’s powerful wings took over, and we ended up moving toward a greater level of safety.

  Each beat of his wings reassured me that I was in the hands of an angel — a true angel. The two of us soared upward, gaining in elevation until we steadied out high above the city. I had to pop my jaw to adjust to the altitude, but it wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as I would have imagined. The saving grace for our flight was a blue fire that seemed to surround our bodies like an aura. The flames allowed us to travel through the cold, thin air without feeling a sense of discomfort or pain.

  I actually felt like I was aloft within a fiery womb of divine love. Of course, I was still drunk, so some of that could have been the alcohol, but I’d wager that most of it came from the fire. Matias didn’t say anything during the entire trip. He was focused on the transport of our two bodies, safely from one state to the next. He did, however shift me upward in a roll so that I could ride on top of his back as he continued forward.

  Still feeling a bit naughty, I wondered what it would be like to have sex with him while moving around like this. The thoughts spilled out from my mind and fueled the fire which grew around us. As it turned out, the flames were a very real byproduct of our passion for one another; in truth; my love for Matias.

  Somewhere along the way, I fell asleep. I wasn’t out for that long, but I was out long enough for the regenerative effects of that womb to sap out all of the toxins from within my body. I had been given a chance to show my love and devotion, while retaining a clean state of mind. Actually, it seemed to me like the purity of my life was acting as a detoxification agent. I smiled to myself, gratefully, and allowed my body to be carried upon the broad shoulders of Matias.

  I felt it was important to savor the moment — It’s not every day you get a chance to travel by angel.

  Soon, I knew that our little peaceful transition would be over. The trip to Los Angeles was but an intermediary stage. We had demons that waited for us to arrive. There was every reason for me to be afraid, but I refused. I allowed myself a deep breath, and fell into that restorative calm once more.

  There would be enough time for fear. Now, was a time to be lost in the arms of sleep and love.

  46

  Roma

  The landing was what woke me up from my aerial cocoon. I’m not sure if you’ve ever gone hang gliding, but the sensation was somewhere between that and a free fall. When I asked Matias about it later, he confided that he didn’t understand exactly where we were going to go unless he could replicate the fall which lead to his unconscious state. For reasons which are more clear to me now, his wings were able to function to break his fall this time. As a result, we found ourselves outside of an abandoned ranger warehouse, somewhere on the upper end of Temescal Canyon.

  After landing, Matias turned to me.

  “You know that they know we have arrived already. There can be no room to delay. I fear that if we…”

  He was busy preparing me for the traumas to follow, but I had no interest in hearing him. I knew what we were going to be involved in was dangerous, but I had complete faith in our abilities. After all, I had just taken flight on the wings of an angel — after a high like that, you’d think fulfilling a bit of prophecy would be an easy enough task.

  I brought him closer to me by grabbing a hold of his collar. I pulled him to my lips and gave him a kiss with all of my heart. Even as our tongues graced one another, I could hear the hounds prepare for the onslaught. The demons were ready, but now, more than ever, I was certain that Matias and I were ready as well.

  Reveling in the swell of power afforded to him by our love, Matias broke free, and sprinted inward toward the warehouse. As he arrived, two hounds on guard targeted him on his right and left side. He dispatched the two beasts with a single movement, dodging between them, and then burying his fist into their skulls in a single strik
e toward the earth. I watched with fascination as the man I loved had been inspired to become a death machine at my cause. The display of power only made me love him more.

  Quicker than I could register the movement of them, four more Hellhounds appeared at the scene. I watched a veritable ballet of destruction while Matias cracked the spines and skulls of the beasts as they all dove toward my position. A fifth one appeared within the door frame, and let out a low growl. That familiar sound, which I had last heard in the confines of my own apartment registered as a threat. However, this time, the threat was less predatory, and more protective. The posture of the animal, if you could call it that, was also different. The demon hound retreated back to within the confines of the warehouse.

  Matias turned, to verify that I was alright, and then followed.

  I heard more sounds of violence coming from inside of the building as soon as he entered. I realized that the Hellhounds were everywhere. While Matias was busy dispatching them, I opted to take a chance and look for Claire. I gathered the courage that I could find, and then moved into the building myself. While I may not have had the prowess of Matias, I did have something that Lara wanted — I figured that there was a good chance that this asset itself might be enough to protect me if need arose.

  I was greeted by blood stains and a hallway clouded with the same sort of smoke that had appeared when demons were killed. Matias must have dispatched a dozen or so of the creatures. Given that he had gone down the one corridor that led toward the entrance, I followed. My reasoning was that the path of least resistance, and the path of greatest security were likely one in the same. I followed through after Matias, keeping my eyes peeled for anything that brought Claire to mind.