by Ella Summers
I nodded. “I understand.”
Not that I liked it. But Nero was right. We needed the people to love and fear us. Their love balanced their fear. Their fear checked their love. If they felt only fear, they would eventually rise up and strike back. If they felt only love, they would commit terrible acts, trusting in our magnanimousness to forgive them.
A part of me couldn’t believe how easily I had come to see the logic in angels’ ways since joining the Legion. The old Leda would have resisted the very notions I now had to uphold. Because I was an angel. And being an angel was about a lot more than glowing halos, pretty wings, and flaming swords.
Nero moved between me and Harker. He took my hand, kissing it. “You will get used to it,” he assured me again. “You might even come to appreciate the rewards.”
“Well, I suppose you can never have enough cat toys.”
Nero chuckled, low and deep. His hand stroked my cheek. I looked up, meeting his eyes. We stared at each other, our gazes locked.
Sweat beaded my brow. “This is some unseasonably hot weather we’re having, don’t you think?” I could have sworn I could hear the water bubbling beneath the dock.
“If you two don’t behave, I’m going to electrocute you both,” Harker warned us.
Sighing, I stepped away from Nero. “We weren’t doing anything,” I promised Harker, smiling.
“There was touching.”
“Not nearly enough of it,” I grumbled.
“You’re really terrible at following the rules, Leda.”
I snorted. “How long did it take you to figure that out?”
“About two seconds after I met you.”
“I knew it just by reading her Legion of Angels application form,” Nero told him.
The two angels looked mighty amused.
I folded my arms across my chest. “Well, I’m glad I’m such a great source of entertainment for you both.”
Drake walked up to us, his expression cautious. He looked from Nero, to Harker, to me. “Am I interrupting anything?”
“Yes,” I said. “Angel laughing hour.”
Drake’s face crinkled with confusion.
“What is it, Sergeant?” Nero asked Drake.
“We’ve found something suspicious.”
He pointed at four people dressed in long jackets and hoods. They were keeping to the shadows, trying to stay out of sight.
“Suspicious indeed,” I commented as the hooded figures slipped through a narrow gap between two buildings. “The way to the secret black market within the normal street market?”
“Let’s find out,” said Nero.
We took the narrow passage, emerging into a small paved lot. But we didn’t find any people back here, hooded or otherwise. And we didn’t find a market, though stacks of empty boxes and a torn tent hinted that someone had hastily cleared it away. And positioned in the middle of the discarded wood and canvas was a pack of monsters with shining magic collars, as though they’d been waiting for us.
19
Battle at the Black Market
The pack of monsters stalked forward, fifteen wolf-like beasts with black fur and red eyes. The small paved lot was feeling smaller with every step that they took.
“They look familiar,” I commented, my eyes panning across the spiky-furred ridges of their backs.
The beasts were the same kind of monster we’d found dead in Maxwell Plenteous’s backyard—and also tied dead to the cowboy witch’s front gate.
“The beasts’ accessories are familiar too,” Harker noted.
Each wolf in the pack—no, in the attack squad—was wearing a silver collar that looked identical to the one we’d recovered at the last house, that was currently heading back to the Legion for analysis.
Nero watched the pack advance on us. “There is no pack leader.”
“Because the beasts aren’t acting of their own accord,” I said. “Someone is controlling them with those collars.”
You could see it in the way the monsters were moving. Their movements were precise, their steps calculated—like they couldn’t breathe without someone commanding them to do so. So they were all breathing in unison. Their eyes moved in unison too. Each step they took was perfectly in sync. They were more like machines than monsters.
“Whoever is controlling them, he is very bold to attack angels right here in the city in broad daylight,” said Nero.
“They must fear we’re getting close to something,” I realized. “Something bigger than a few monster traders selling a few guard beasts.”
“It would have to be some massively big plot or some massively stupid person to risk taking on the Legion of Angels,” Harker commented.
The beasts moved toward us in perfect formation. Another ten beasts leapt over the rooftops behind us, leaving no room for escape. Flames blazed to life on my and the other angels’ swords.
A monster jumped at Harker. He slashed at it, and his sword went through it like a hot knife through a piece of New York cheesecake. As the beast fell dead to the ground, its collar exploded, blowing up itself and what was left of the beast.
“The collars explode if we kill the beast,” I stated the obvious.
Over the snarling wolves, I heard Nero’s phone chime.
“The cleanup crew just messaged me,” he said. “The team was ambushed on the way back to the office. Their attackers took the potion, as well as both sets of collar fragments.”
“And the cowboy witch?” I asked.
“They shot him. He’s dead. The Legion team was unable to save him.”
“That’s another check in the big fat conspiracy column,” I said.
Harker pointed at the beasts all around us. “We need one of those collars. Intact.”
He was right. If we could get an intact collar to Nerissa, she might be able to figure out how it worked. Then we might be able to track the parts and potions to their sources. We could find out who was behind the collared monsters. I hoped this whole thing wasn’t Meda’s latest experiment. I really didn’t want to fight a god.
I promptly put out the fire on my blade and sheathed my sword. Neither fire nor swords were particularly useful for capturing monsters alive, which was the only way we could get ourselves a collar. The exploding collars were most likely a failsafe to keep the technology out of enemy hands.
We moved toward the monsters, trying to subdue them rather than kill them. But it was pretty damn difficult to capture a beast without the use of deadly force, especially when whoever was controlling them had no qualms about using deadly force against us.
Movement in the shadows between buildings drew my attention. The hooded figures we’d tracked to this alley were here—and they were escaping.
“These monsters are just a distraction to keep us busy while they get away,” I realized.
Nero’s eyes darted to the cloaked procession. “Take the rest of the team to head them off,” he told Harker. “Leda and I will hold off the monsters.”
“Alone?”
“We won’t be alone,” I said. “We have Angel.”
Harker glanced at my cat as she sprang into the air and thumped her hind paws against a monster, forcing it back with her strong kicks. That was my Angel: the kickboxing cat.
“A pet cat is not a proper escort, no matter how…eccentric she is,” Harker said. “Nyx assigned me the task of chaperoning Leda. I’m not supposed to leave her alone with you, Nero.”
“Look around, Harker.” I blasted a psychic spell at a monster, knocking it back. “This is hardly a romantic getaway. We are not having a picnic under the stars. We’re fighting monsters. And a lot of them too. Nero and I will have our hands full. Trust me, there won’t be any time to play footsie.”
“It’s not just about making sure you two behave,” Harker told me. “It’s about keeping you safe. And alive.”
“These monsters are a nuisance, not a threat,” I replied. “We’ll handle them. It will just take time. We’re not in any danger. The most c
hallenging part is not killing them by accident, so we can actually get a collar back to the lab for closer examination.”
Harker frowned. “Nyx won’t like it.”
“Nyx also won’t like it if you let suspects connected to the monster trade slip through your fingers,” said Nero.
Harker’s face was contemplative, but at last he turned and blasted the monsters behind him, clearing a path. “Very well. We’ll pursue them. But don’t make me regret this, Leda.” He waved at Ivy, Drake, and Alec, commanding them to follow him.
“Me?” I asked Nero as Harker and the others pushed through the remaining beasts that blocked their way to the fleeing hooded figures. “Why does everyone always think everything is my fault? It takes two to tango, you know.”
“But it takes only one very persuasive angel to incite her mate to madness and merriment.”
“When this is over, I want to hear more about this madness and merriment of which you speak.” I winked at him. “It sounds like my sort of scene.”
“I won’t just tell you. I’ll show you,” he said, promises burning in his eyes.
It was enough to almost make me forget the monsters all around us, closing in for the kill. But only almost.
Nero and I battled the beasts, trying to capture one. It was a lot harder than it sounded. Every time we trapped a wolf inside a magic field, the other beasts immediately changed direction and beelined for the barrier. They pounded, scratched, and kicked it until its magical bonds broke and their pack mate was once again free. I sighed. Killing monsters was so much easier than trying to subdue and capture them.
Excited voices from above drew my mind out of the battle. I looked up. Four kids were sitting on the rooftop of a nearby shed. They’d obviously come to watch the angels in action.
I pointed out our audience to Nero. “They don’t understand how dangerous this situation is.”
“I was the same when I was a boy,” he told me. “I used to sneak up to battles, hoping to catch an angel in action. We all did it. We trailed them as they fought, envisioning ourselves as angels.”
That was the love-and-fear angel dichotomy at work again. People idolized them. They wanted to be with them. To be in their halo, caught inside the pull of magic around them. Because they felt that being close to an angel put them one step closer to becoming one of them.
“Little Nero went chasing after angels?” I chuckled. “That was rather reckless of you.”
“I was being reckless long before we met, Pandora. You only took that recklessness to new heights.”
I smirked at him. “Don’t flirt with me, Nero. If Nyx finds out, she will put us both in timeout.”
I cast an elemental gale between my hands, spinning it, winding it tight. Then I released it, sending it whirling at a monster. I tried to capture the beast inside a whirlwind, but it darted away too fast.
The beasts’ formation was changing shape and direction. I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed our captive audience. The beasts turned toward the children. Two of the wolves broke off from the pack and jumped at the kids on the shed’s rooftop.
“Run!” I shouted at the children.
They stayed right where they were, smiling at me.
“Why aren’t they running away?” I demanded, sprinting toward the shed as fast as I could. I only hoped I got there before the pair of wolves did.
Nero ran beside me. “They are confident that we will save them.”
“They need to save themselves, not depend on others to do it for them.”
I tried to catch up to the beasts, but they were too far away. I wouldn’t make it to them before they made it to the kids. The beasts kicked the shed, and it fell apart. Children and broken wooden planks rained to the ground. The two beasts closed in on them. I couldn’t risk using magic. The beasts were too close to the kids. If I cast a spell at the wolves, it might hit the children too.
That left just one final option.
Tapping into my siren magic, I grabbed control of the minds of the two beasts circling around the kids. The monsters froze in place. Magic flickered across their collars, then the silver rings exploded, taking the wolves with them. The explosion splattered the children with monster guts, but at least they were still alive.
I blinked. “What just happened?”
“When you seized control of the beasts’ minds, it must have overloaded the collars already controlling them,” Nero said. “And they exploded.”
Ok, I couldn’t use that trick again, not if we wanted to capture a beast alive. The explosion had pushed back the remaining wolves. I moved in front of the kids, shielding them.
But the beasts weren’t moving at all. They were just standing there.
I heard a tiny click. One of the wolves exploded. Then another.
Nero looked at me.
“I didn’t do it this time,” I said, watching helplessly as the monsters continued to explode one by one.
I hadn’t even so much as touched their minds, let alone tried to seize control over them from the collars. And yet the collars were self-destructing en masse.
Nero and I grabbed the kids, two in each arm. We ran, carrying them out of the path of explosions. The final beast blew up, leaving us with twenty-five dead beasts and a graveyard of metallic debris. What remained of the wolves and collars was scattered all across the cobblestone ground—in tiny little pieces.
We set down the kids we’d rescued. They gazed up at us, mesmerized.
“Nero Windstriker,” a boy gasped, his eyes wide as he gaped at Nero.
A girl looked at me, her eyes just as wide as the boy’s. “And the Pandora,” she said with reverence.
Their enamored eyes fell on the monster bits, and reality finally clicked in. They ran off screaming at the top of their lungs.
I looked down at the monsters and collars, asking Nero, “Do you think there’s enough left of them to salvage anything?”
20
The Pandora
Back in Nerissa’s lab, I looked through a box of broken parts, the remains of the monster collars that we’d managed to collect from the back lot after all the beasts had blown up.
Following the Battle at the Black Market, we’d returned to the Legion office to clean up. Angel and I had been a complete mess. Bathing my cat had been the highlight of my day. I’d enjoyed it even less than finding the dead monster tied to the gate—or all those monsters blowing up around me.
Angel ate things no other cat would, but she unfortunately didn’t diverge from her feline brethren on the topic of baths. She hated them, and she’d made damn sure I knew that every step of the way.
Right now, Angel sat in front of one of Nerissa’s ovens, which she used to keep her samples warm. My kitten was playing with the cat toy she’d gotten from the market, her back turned pointedly to me. I hoped she’d soon forgive me for daring to give her a bath.
“There’s nothing I can do with these broken bits.” Nerissa sifted through the box of collar parts. “You need to bring me an intact collar.”
“Easier said than done, Doc,” I replied. “Whoever is controlling these beasts has their finger planted permanently on the self-destruct button. If we kill a beast, the collar blows up. And if I try to seize control over any of the beasts, they all blow up.”
A contemplative crinkle formed between Nerissa’s eyes. “Someone really doesn’t want you to get to the bottom of this.”
“They should be scared of me. They sent their attack beasts after kids, Nerissa. Kids. When I find out who is behind this, they are going to rue the day they crossed paths with the Pandora.”
“It’s the Pandora now, is it?”
I shrugged. “Apparently.” I glanced down at my jacket, where the name Pandora was stitched in silver threads. “I might need to modify my uniforms.”
“You’d have to completely redo all the stitching to make room for the ‘the’ before Pandora.”
“It might be worth it.” I glanced at Colonel Fireswift, who was seated
across the small round table from me. He was my current chaperone on duty. “What do you think, Colonel? Which name is better: Pandora or the Pandora?”
“What do I think?” he said with gruff indignation. “I think you are making a mockery of the Legion. I think you never should have been allowed to be an angel. And that you should most definitely not be allowed to walk around and embarrass the Legion, an angel without dignity or reserve.”
“You really are a sourpuss, Colonel.”
My kitten meowed in agreement.
“Ah, are we speaking again, darling?” I asked her.
She began licking her paw. I didn’t know what to make of that, so I chose to be optimistic.
Colonel Fireswift’s gaze slid from my kitten to me. “It is not dignified for an angel to speak to a cat.”
“But since I’m just a dirty, usurping angel, it doesn’t matter, right? In fact, everyone would be better off if I just disappeared?”
He scowled at me. “If you attempt to flee, I will nail your feet to the ground.”
“Nyx wouldn’t like that,” I told him. “She wants me in top form for my wedding. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want me trailing blood down the aisle.”
“Your injuries would heal before then. And in the meantime, they might just teach you a valuable lesson.”
I glowered at him. “I’m really glad Nyx didn’t order me to marry you.”
“For once, we are in complete agreement.” He watched me very closely, like if he blinked for a moment, I’d find a way to disappear.
“I’m not going to run away, Colonel. It was a joke.”
“So you claim.”
“I’m going to marry Nero in four days. Do you really think I would miss that?”
He remained thoroughly unconvinced, and I knew there was nothing I could do to change his mind. Admittedly, I had been thinking about running away, but that was before Nero had come back. That was before Nyx had declared that he would be my husband, not some random stranger—or worse yet, someone I couldn’t stand.
I didn’t like the way Colonel Fireswift was glaring at me, so I changed the subject, hoping to get his mind off his suspicions. “What have you learned from the hooded people we saw fleeing the market this afternoon?”
