Avisha

by Vi Lily

  It's just seconds later that a naked dude comes out carrying my sister. He's completely naked. I'm staring, trying to figure out what the hell…and why are Avi and Bog back in human form and walking with him, like it's not totally weird some perv has my sister?

  But it's then that my brain registers that my sister is limp. Like unconscious. My heart stops, I swear. Nothing is more terrifying to me than losing her. I've fought so hard to keep her safe, keep her alive…losing her is not an option.

  I completely forget my fear of heights then and I start jumping down the tree, like some rabid squirrel. I'm slipping, sliding off branches, banging my shins and ripping my skin. I don't care. I need out of this tree and need to get to my sister now.

  >†<

  Avisha looked up and saw his woman crashing down through the tree he'd left her in. He knew she wasn't falling…not by accident, anyway. No, the crazy lass was taking the hard way down. He winced when she slammed down on a branch on her hindquarters.

  The verra hard way…

  He glanced at his brother, then launched himself straight up. By that time, Gwen was close enough that he didn't have to fly up to retrieve her.

  "Lass, are ye tryin' to kill yerself?" he growled at her as he looped one arm around the trunk and the other around her waist and pulled her into his side. His heart was pounding; if the lass were hurt again, he didn't think he'd survive the fright.

  He snorted to himself. Of course he would; he was immortal. He frowned slightly. It was a very real concern of his, that Gwen would one day return to the Creator, while he was forced to remain in the physical realm and grieve her loss for the rest of time.

  Avisha hoped the day she left him was a long, long time away. In the meantime, he would do everything he could to keep her safe.

  "I have to get to Carlie!" she yelled at him and squirmed in his arms, trying to look over his shoulder to see her wee sister. "What's wrong with her?"

  Avisha's heart clenched at the terror in the lass's voice. "I doonae ken, love. Osgar's healer said the lass has had two 'spells'. She thinks the lass has an evil spirit."

  Gwen stilled for a moment and Avisha wondered if she were thinking as he—both Gwen and her sister had an "evil spirit" for a father.

  But he would never judge either of the girls for their parentage. He had told Gwen as much one evening when she'd voiced her fears of what he thought of her now that they knew her "father" was a demon.

  Avisha told her the Creator did not judge the child by the parent, nor the parent by the child. Each stood on their own merit, and he knew for a fact that she and her wee sister were good. They hadn't inherited any evil from their da.

  He wondered, though, if they'd inherited any of the good that was left in Jonam—his gifts.

  Each angel had been given special gifts. Nearly all were given the same gifts—time travel, the ability to sense good and evil, and of course, the ability to change one's form. After falling from grace, however, they were relegated to allowed to shift to just one form, a form that was determined by the Creator.

  All had superior hearing and eyesight, speed and strength. But some were given extra gifts. Bogdan could hear thoughts and persuade others; Zebediah could climb like a lizard and Yehoash could communicate with the animal kingdom. Others were given gifts of camouflage, fire starting, time suspension. There were many other gifts as well.

  As the Creator was just in all ways, Moral and Immoral alike retained their gifts after their fall. In the beginning, each had been expected to use their gifts wisely for the betterment of creation. Of course, after their fall, the Immoral chose to use their gifts for their own evil purposes, which was the origin of the chaos that existed in the world.

  Some of the Immoral had gone above and beyond in using their gifts for evil. Jonam, in particular, had been a thorn in the Moral's side for several millennia. Matityah had been responsible for the fall of the Roman empire the century before, and Ionnes was behind the Christ's disciples persecution in the early part of the millennium.

  The fact that Carlie and Gwen's sire was a Fallen Immoral did explain why the lasses had special abilities. He wondered just how many of the angelic traits they had inherited, but Avisha wasn't even certain which gifts Jonam had.

  He could see the worry in the lass's face as he cradled her in his arms to drop the rest of the way down from the tree.

  "Doonae fash yerself, love. We'll set Carlie to rights, no matter what." Gwen smiled at his words, but he could tell it was forced.

  As soon as they touched the ground, he released her and she ran over to Sinon. Avisha noticed then that the man was naked. He understood the reason why—shifting from man to mouse and back was hardly conducive to keeping oneself clothed. But he didn't like his mate being so near to another man, much less one who was…flying free.

  Avisha followed behind Gwen and tried once again to shift into human form, but for some reason, he couldn't. Bogdan had said he, too, was not able to do so. Avisha assumed it had to do with the Creator's edict during this time period that the Fallen could only shift as a reward for doing good. Apparently, Sinon had been given the boon for staying with Carlie.

  Gwen tried to pull Carlie from Sinon's arms, but the man snarled at her. Avisha saw red then and he rushed forward.

  "Do no' be barin' yer teeth at my mate, brother, or ye will find yerself without those teeth." He heard Gwen suck in a breath at his words, and he cringed.

  He hadn't told the lass that she was his mate; not yet. He had asked for her hand in marriage, but she was putting him off. He would be patient. Being immortal taught him that. But, even though she was still young, the lass was aging every day. Avisha didn't want to waste an eye blink of time with her.

  Sinon wasn't impressed with Avisha's threat. He gazed at the wee lass in his arms. "This one is my mate," he whispered.

  "Oh, hell no!" Gwen screeched and Avisha had to grab her, because he knew she was going to jump on his brother and poke his eyeballs out of the sockets. Sinon apparently came to his senses then, and he stepped back.

  Avisha realized by his next words that Sinon thought Gwen to be the wee lass's mother, much as he himself had done months before.

  "I cannae help it!" he yelled as he took another step back. "The moment yer babe spoke, I was lost."

  Behind Gwen, Avisha nodded in understanding; he knew that feeling all too well, remembering when he'd first held Gwen in the forest and she'd asked him who he was. Her voice had drawn him in, like a beacon calling a sailor to shore.

  Sinon continued to defend himself as Carlie snarled and tried to yank herself out of Avisha's grip. "It's no' like that, I swear! I ken the wee lassie is just a bairn. But I cannae help this…this need to protect her. I would give my life for her."

  He said the last as he gazed down into Carlie's slack face once again. His words seemed to calm Gwen just a bit.

  "Open yer senses, lass," Avisha whispered in her ear. "See that the mon is tellin' ye the truth o' the matter."

  Apparently, she did as he suggested, because she relaxed further. Avisha cautiously loosened his grip and let her go. She moved forward then, but he stayed right behind her, just in case.

  Gwen didn't try to take Carlie from Sinon again, but she picked up one of the wee lassie's hands and ran her fingers over it. Avisha stepped to the side and watched as Gwen's eyes filled with tears. She looked at Sinon.

  "What happened?" she asked in a watery voice.

  >†<

  Sinon sighs and turned to gaze down at Carlie. I'm still pissed that he thinks my baby—my freaking baby—sister is his "mate," but when I did as Avi said and read his feelings, the dude has nothing but love and care for her. Despite being naked.

  "As I said, twice now the lass has had a spell. The healer doesnae ken what tae do fer the lass." He sounds forlorn. I know the feeling.

  "What kind of 'spell'?" I ask. "I mean, what exactly are you talking about?"

  A woman walks up to us then and gives Sinon a strange look, like
she's never seen him before. I realize that she probably hasn't, since he's been disguised as a mouse until now.

  "She's had the fits," the woman explains, like that's so freaking helpful. I raise an eyebrow at her and she sighs.

  "Jerkin' and shakin', eyes rollin' back. And then the girl sleeps fer a long time. She has a demon, tae be sure."

  I growl at that. I'm not letting these medieval "burn the witch" types diagnose my sister with their fears. I cringe then. "Having a demon" in our case might not be too far from the truth.

  I think back over four years ago to that day at DEE when Smythe told my mother that her unborn child would likely develop seizures as a result of a chromosomal defect. There's a cure, but not one that's available here in this time.

  Avi runs a hand up my back, as if he senses my thoughts. I'm so thankful that he and Bog aren't judging us for our parentage.

  Bog walks over then. The others back off when they see the gargoyle coming our way. With two gargoyles behind me now, I'm not so worried that Osgar's group is going to try to exorcise any demons.

  "I think she's starting to have seizures," I tell Bog. Avi won't know what that is, but Bog will. He nods.

  "I think so too, after talkin' with some o' the others," he says and nods toward a group of people near the cave entrance. I notice Osgar standing with them and I swear the big, scruffy, scary guy looks like he's crying.

  "What is this 'seizure' ye speak o', love?" Avi asks me as he reaches out to run a paw over my sister's head. It's such a tender caress that it brings tears to my own eyes.

  I sniff back my tears. "It's a, um, it's like wires have gotten crossed in her head." I cringe, knowing that's a sucky explanation to a sixth century man. "Wires" doesn't compute.

  "Think o' it like an arrow that misses its target," Bog adds. "It's like her brain is firin' arrows that aren't hittin' what they're supposed to. They're hittin' all the wrong things."

  That's a better description, but honestly, I can understand why these people would think that an epileptic person had a demon. If you don't understand brain chemistry and anatomy, then yeah, shaking, jerking, muscle contractions, eyes rolling, and passing out would seem like demon possession.

  And there's not a darned thing we can do to help Carlie. Not in this time anyway. Pretty sure there aren't any neurosurgeons in the Dark Ages. But I also know that we don't need a brain specialist. I already know what the cure is, and it's also not something we can find here.

  I sigh heavily and look up at Avi. "I have to go back," I tell him. He frowns, but nods.

  "Aye, I ken that, love." He glances at Bog, who nods too. Sinon also nods. Guess we've got another Moral tagging along. Guess that's cool.

  But I shake my head. "I don't mean we have to go back," I say with emphasis as I lean my head toward the unnamed lady still hovering…and listening.

  "I mean, yeah, I have to go back, but what I'm saying is that I have to go back…to DEE."

  It's the absolute last freaking place in the world—and time—that I want to be. I've spent nearly four years trying to stay away from the place, and especially to keep Carlie away at all costs. But now all that effort is thrown out the window, because DEE is the only place I'm going to find help for my sister.

  At least I'm not alone. I have three fallen angels on my side—on our side—and I know they'll do everything in their power to get us in, and back out, safely. I might be terrified, scared out of my mind, at the thought of returning, of risking being captured and imprisoned, and especially of what Smythe might do to me. To us. The thought of what he might do to my baby sister makes me want to be violently ill.

  But I have no choice. The decision has been taken away from me, thanks to a neurological misfiring that isn't caused by anything "normal," so a regular doctor—or even a specialist—won't be able to help her. Only Smythe can, since he created the problem to start with. I wonder if he did it on purpose.

  With the choice taken away, I steel myself for the trip back to the lion's den. Or I guess it's the dragon's lair.

  And with any luck, the dragon will still be sleeping when we get there.

  The story continues with Bogdan, Book 2 of The Fallen Moral Guardians Series!

  IT WAS dark when they arrived at Diversified Engineered Environments, the fancy name for "Fallen Immoral Headquarters." Bogdan had immediately sensed they were walking into enemy territory the second they had stepped off the plane at the airport in Bodø, Norway.

  It wasn't that Norway was evil, or that its people were bad; in fact, just the opposite was true. The Norwegians were very accommodating, caring and inviting people. The problem was, they had unknowingly welcomed evil into their domain.

  Diversified Engineered Environments, otherwise known as DEE, had parked its headquarters in the beautiful mountains outside of Bodø. It was the premier genetic modification laboratory in the mortal's world. Their hyped-up advertising claimed that they were devoted to "bettering mankind through genetic manipulation," but Bogdan knew that for the lie it was. DEE was run by the Fallen Immoral. Satan's minions.

  His enemy.

  He'd never had anything to do with DEE, not until his brother, Avisha and Gwen, his mate, had entered his nicely compartmented life and had upheaved it.

  Bogdan had been happy with his life. Well, content anyway. Okay, maybe he had been settled. Or resigned.

  Bored. He'd been bored.

  But then Avisha, his angelic brother and fellow gargoyle shifter who had been punished by the Creator by being turned to stone for fifteen centuries, had awakened and re-entered his life, bringing along his human mate, Gwen, and her little sister, Carlie.

  Bogdan's simple, compartmentalized, boring life had been turned upside down.

  Watching Avisha and Gwen together had made him long for something he never thought to have: A mate, a family. Contentment.

  He knew that the Creator had decided to allow the Fallen Moral to take mates in order to increase their numbers, but Bogdan honestly had never thought that he would find his own.

  But then Gwen had come into his life.

  She was perfect—sassy, intelligent, loyal to a fault. The problem was, she belonged to his brother.

  And Avisha wasn't about to share.

  So now Bogdan was following along with them in their quest to help Gwen's little sister—a three-year-old who was surprisingly mated herself, to his brother, Sinon, even though the wee lass wouldn't have a clue about that mating until she was of an age to understand such things. Until then, she would have a "big brother" in the form of a wee mouse.

  He snorted to himself; Sinon's shifter abilities were of wee furry creatures. Nothing terribly scary there. But his human half was more than capable of protecting the lass if need be. Unless and until then, Sinon would remain as a mouse in Carlie's pocket.

  Bogdan felt like the third wheel. Or fifth wheel, actually, since Sinon had insisted on accompanying them. Everyone he knew was mated, or so it seemed.

  The loneliness was starting to eat at him, but he forced the self pitying thoughts aside.

  Gwen had grown up at the labs, having been an "experiment" that had apparently failed, at least in DEE's eyes. She had taken flight with her little sister, Carlie, the moment the babe had been born, as Carlie was the "UniGen" DEE had hoped for—the perfect genetically modified specimen. She was going to be used to further the genetic experiments. Gwen told them that the plan was for the creation of an entire “army” of modified humans.

  Carlie—and Gwen, too, for that matter—were endowed with angelic "gifts," thanks to Jonam, their Fallen Immoral "DNA donor," as Gwen referred to him, who went by Dr. Jonathan Smythe in the current time period.

  But Carlie had started having seizures, something Jonam had warned Gwen might happen before Carlie had even been born. To stop the lass's seizures—and ultimately save her life—they'd had to return to the twenty-first century, after having spent a short time in the sixth, to travel to DEE labs for the medication the wee lass needed.

/>   They wasted no time in getting to the DEE laboratory. Gwen had wanted Avisha to take them directly to the lab after leaving the sixth century, but he and Bogdan had convinced the lass that they needed to get warm clothing for the trek, as Norway’s clime was even harsher than the Highlands and it was December. She had only relented after Carlie had awakened from her post-seizure sleep and had seemed fine.

  For the moment.

  Thankfully, Jonam was…incapacitated, at least for a few more weeks. Avisha had ripped the man's heart out of his chest during a fight when Avisha and Bogdan had been in their gargoyle form and Jonam had been in his impressive dragon form. While the Fallen were immortal, they weren't impervious to injury, and the graver the injury, the longer the recuperation.

  Bogdan had told his brother he should have taken the bloody dragon’s head off.

  The laboratory loomed ahead of them, their rental car lights shining on the building as they climbed the hill leading to the gates. Bogdan wondered how they would get in, but Gwen suggested letting Carlie "handle it." They had just discovered that the wee lass had the gift of influence. She could talk anyone into anything.

  The armed guard came out of the gate at their approach. He spoke in Norwegian, and Bogdan easily answered him, being fluent in more than a dozen languages. It was a perk of being immortal.

  "We're here for medication," he told the guard, who smirked at him and informed them that the labs were not an apothecary. He started to use his persuasion on the man, but Carlie climbed into the front then, into Bogdan's lap. Before he could say a word, she reached out and touched the guard's hand, where it had rested on the door frame.

  "I need to go into the lab," she told the man, who had blinked a few times, then robotically opened the gate and motioned them on in.