“Apollyon, we need your help.”
CHAPTER 23
Erin paced the moonlit shore, finding it impossible to keep still. Taylor sat on the edge of the wooden deck of the villa. Amelia sat on the steps that led onto the beach and had told her several times to conserve her energy and that Apollyon would reach them soon. The two of them were wearing black jeans and t-shirts and it was hard to make them out in the low light from the moon. Erin wore similar gear, perfect for sneaking through such a dark grim environment as Hell.
She turned and paced back again, ignoring her sister’s irritated expression. She couldn’t help it. It had been hours since Taylor had called the angel and asked for his assistance. She had expected him to reach them quickly, but it seemed even angels had their limits. Apollyon had left Paris almost immediately, after ensuring that his wife, Serenity, was safe and sound with another angel named Lukas and his girlfriend, Annelie, but it had still taken him hours to cross the world to them. It was gone midnight now.
Veiron, Marcus and Einar would already be in Hell.
Amelia had expressed her concern that Serenity wasn’t accompanying her angel. In fact, she had mentioned it several times, so often that Erin had finally succumbed to her curiosity about the woman. It turned out that she was a witch and Apollyon’s current master. Erin had recently found an ability to deal with almost anything but the knowledge that there were witches in the world had still astounded her. Amelia had mentioned that she had once shared her surprise, but Serenity was a full-blooded witch. Her reason for not coming with Apollyon had surprised Erin even more.
Serenity and the other woman, Annelie, were undergoing some sort of trial that, if they passed it, would grant them immortality.
Erin liked the sound of that.
They were doing it so they could spend forever with their angels and that was something Erin wanted for her and Veiron too. Lukas had remained with the two women to help them through the trials and take care of them. They were highly dangerous and the success rate for those who entered into them was small, but Apollyon believe that with the assistance and guidance of an angel, they would both make it through.
If Erin took the trials so she could become immortal, would Veiron help her through them? Was his help as good as an angel of Heaven’s?
“Here he comes,” Taylor said and slipped down onto the sand.
Erin immediately spun on her heel and scoured the distance, looking for a sign of the angel.
She spotted him a good distance out over the ocean and heading directly for them. It was hard to see him. She had expected him to look like the one she had met on the rooftop in London but he was nothing like that. As he came closer, she could make out his dark hair and huge black wings, and the obsidian armour that barely left anything to the imagination.
The closer he came to her, the harder Erin’s heart beat against her chest.
It couldn’t be.
He righted himself as he reached the shoreline and glided down to land just a few metres in front of her. His keen gaze shifted from Taylor, to Amelia and finally to her, and Erin couldn’t breathe.
She caught a flashback of Hell, of a man with huge black wings, obsidian armour edged with gold covering his shins and hips, and wild black hair.
“Good to see you again,” Taylor said and added, “I wish it was under better circumstances. We all know you hate going down there.”
Apollyon growled low and fierce, “The Devil needs to learn when to stay down.”
“Really?” Erin piped in, her voice a high squeak, and trembled when he looked at her again. “You looked pretty pally with him in Hell... you were doing his work, right? Luring me into leaving with you for some reason so he could convince me to help him or something... just stay the fuck away from me. Got it?”
“Erin, what’s wrong?” Amelia wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders and turned on Apollyon. “What were you doing down there? Did you try to hurt my sister?”
Apollyon’s eyes widened and he held his hands up at his sides. “I have never met this woman and I have not been in Hell since I was there with Marcus over a year ago now.”
“I swear, if you go near my sister, I’ll kill you myself.” Amelia pushed Erin behind her and unleashed her wings, shielding her with them.
Erin looked over Amelia’s shoulder at Apollyon. He frowned, eyes dark and full of violence, and something else. He stepped back and furled his black wings. His hand came to rest on one of the golden swords hanging from his waist and he drew a slow deep breath, as though preparing himself for a fight.
“I have never set eyes on this woman you call your sister. Never.” He backed off another step and Erin caught the look in his eyes.
He wasn’t intending to attack. He was defending himself, and distancing himself too. She stared at him, gaze tracking over the armour that covered his lower legs, his hips, and his chest and forearms. It was the same as he had worn in Hell, only newer and well maintained.
He looked a little different now too.
While his physical features were the same, his hair was long and tied back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and his eyes were dark, faintly glowing blue in the low light from the moon.
It wasn’t the same man, but the look in his eyes and his reaction said that he knew the man she had accused him of being. Time to test that theory.
“I saw someone just like you down there... but he had shorter hair and eyes like a hawk. He flew up to my cell and offered to help me escape.” Erin stepped out from behind Amelia and his dark eyes followed her, his wary look not shifting.
His hand moved away from the hilt of one of his swords and he closed his eyes.
“What you saw was a copy of me,” he said, deep voice low and brimming with resignation edged with something dark. He opened his eyes and fixed them on her again.
“A copy?” That was a creepy thought. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a clone of her running around.
He nodded and heaved a sigh. “When the Devil defeated me the first time, he did not put me to my death immediately. He… tortured me… until I lost my mind and then he drew all that was dark out of me and used it to create the angel you saw. In effect, he is my doppelganger, and he is not a man to take lightly. He is dangerous and cruel, and would not think twice about using you for his own gain.”
“Einar never mentioned you had a twin,” Taylor said and Apollyon’s gaze snapped to her, brightening at the same time, a warning not to call this man his twin as though they were siblings. A strange sensation washed over Erin, pressing down on her and making her tremble, and her stomach twisted. Whoever Apollyon was, he was extremely powerful and it probably wasn’t wise to piss him off.
“I do not desire the creature’s existence to become public knowledge, just as his master hoped it would.” Apollyon glared at them all and Erin got the message loud and clear. She wouldn’t say a word about Apollyon’s evil twin to anyone. “I will deal with him if he ever tries to leave Hell, but so far he has shown no indication that he will. He seems content down there, wreaking havoc for his master.”
So, he had been working for the Devil when he had offered to free her. He had wanted to torment her by making her believe she would soon be free and then watch her hope die as she realised she was still his prisoner.
The bastard.
Erin wanted to kill him for that.
“Now that I have proven I am not a subject of the Devil, we should move quickly. What gate were they using?” Apollyon turned his attention to Taylor and Erin held her tongue as the half-demon filled him in on the details. She could tell that this was his way of stopping them from asking any more questions about his clone and she could understand why he needed to talk about something else. She couldn’t imagine what he had been through when the Devil had tortured him, or how it would feel to have an evil doppelganger, especially if you were an angel.
Erin continued to stare at him. He was impressive. Tall, well built, handsome in
a dark and glowering sort of way, and his black wings were huge even when furled against his back. His armour reminded her of Veiron’s, only Apollyon’s had gold edging around the obsidian and rampant lions on the cuffs protecting his forearms.
His gaze shifted to her again. “Any idea why the Devil has set his sights on you?”
She shook her head and then hesitated. He had been trusting enough to tell her something he had kept secret for God only knew how long. He deserved a little honesty from her in return. “I do have some sort of power, and I am Amelia’s sister. He gave me a choice between playing bait and killing her.”
Amelia turned on her. “I think you might have mentioned that to me earlier.”
“I said no, so what’s the problem? And Veiron’s convinced that the Devil wants me more than he wants you now.”
“If he wants you rather than Amelia, then your power must be of value to him, which means that it is strong enough to prove a threat to Heaven.” Apollyon’s dark look didn’t make any of what he had said easier to digest.
Was he saying that the Devil thought that her power made her a great weapon against his enemies? Just what was this power that she had and did the Devil really want her so he could use her against Heaven in this twisted game of theirs? Her stomach turned again and bile burned up her throat. She covered her mouth with her hand and breathed slowly to settle her stomach. Losing it now would do her no good. She had to stay strong so she could stop her vision from happening and could save Veiron and everyone else. Amelia gave her a concerned look. Erin set her jaw, straightened, and sucked in a deep breath to fortify herself.
“What are we waiting for?” she said, her determination rising.
Apollyon smiled, as though she had impressed him, and then looked down at his feet and unfurled his black wings. He beat them hard, sending sand swirling in all directions, and lifted off the moonlit beach.
“Step back,” he said and Erin, Taylor and Amelia moved as one, hopping up onto the deck of the villa.
Apollyon held his hand out towards the sand and Erin held her breath. A tiny orange spot appeared and then a jagged line cut across the sand in both directions, forming a glowing crack that stretched like a barrier between them and Apollyon. That crack grew, flickering brighter and spreading like lava. It widened and then the middle collapsed, leaving molten fire spilling down into a black chasm.
“It will lead us down to the bottomless pit. The gate the others used is close to there.” Apollyon spread his wings and glided down to land on the deck.
“And how do we get down there?” Erin eyed the fault line that stretched over forty feet across the shore and was close to twenty feet wide. Waves rolled up the shore and hissed when they touched the edges of the opening Apollyon had created, steam rising and filling the air with the scent of the sea.
“We fly.” Amelia flapped her wings. “Apollyon can carry Taylor and I’ll carry you.”
Erin could deal with that, as long as Amelia kept away from the edges. She didn’t want to burn herself on the way down because her sister couldn’t handle her weight. Erin doubted she was as strong as Veiron and could carry her as easily.
“Let’s go,” Erin said and then froze when heat flashed over her and a sense that she was in danger followed it.
She looked around, the others leaving her behind as she searched for a reason for her bad feeling, and her eyes widened.
“Incoming!” Erin shouted and threw herself at Amelia, tackling her to the ground at the same time as Apollyon grabbed Taylor and shielded her in his arms.
The man who had claimed to be her guardian angel slammed into Apollyon’s back, sending him and Taylor flying. They landed hard in a tangle with the angel but Apollyon came out fighting, his formidable height and power an advantage over the shorter pale-haired angel.
Erin was on her feet in an instant. Taylor shot to hers and growled a ripe curse as she held her arm. Amelia muttered something equally as black under her breath.
Apollyon drew one of his swords and clashed with the guardian angel.
“Go,” he shouted over his shoulder. “I will handle this.”
Erin couldn’t move. Apollyon was no doubt strong enough to deal with her guardian angel but this wasn’t his fight and he shouldn’t have to deal with it for her. Her hands heated and the angel broke past Apollyon, heading straight for her. He didn’t get far.
Amelia yelled and barrelled into him, taking him down. Erin had never seen her sister fight but as she watched her unleash hell on the angel she held pinned beneath her, she could understand why Heaven and Hell feared her. Amelia’s hands glowed blue and she kicked off the angel, leaving him lying in the sand, and beat her silvery wings. An orb formed between her palms and the angel came to his senses just as her sister released it and it shot towards him. Sand exploded upwards from the spot where he had been.
He let out a frustrated growl from high above them. His silver-blue wings shone in the moonlight and his pale hair glowed like a halo, but Erin felt nothing good in this angel. His expression was blacker than midnight and promised violence and pain.
“I cannot hold the gate open and fight. Get out of here.” Apollyon shoved Amelia and she tumbled through the air and hit the sand close to the deck, spraying it everywhere.
“Bastard,” Amelia mumbled, righted herself and checked her wings over.
The guardian angel shot towards Apollyon and the dark angel grinned as he beat his broad black wings and rose to meet him.
“Whatever you do, don’t let go.” Amelia grabbed Erin around the waist with one arm and Taylor with the other, beat her wings and dropped into the black crevasse.
Erin held onto her sister for dear life as they sped downwards. It was far from a controlled descent. They plummeted towards a growing fiery line far below them and she had the terrible feeling that their landing was going to be bumpy at best.
At worst, they were going to crash into what looked like it might be a lake of lava.
Erin closed her eyes and hoped for the best.
CHAPTER 24
No problems so far, but Veiron wasn’t going to delude himself into thinking that things would be smooth sailing all the way to the Devil’s cosy little home just beyond the bottomless pit. He trudged along a wide black path that wound down from the gate towards the plains they needed to traverse to reach the fortress. The right side of the path dropped straight down to the plain and one of the major rivers of Hell and a tall black cliff rose up on his left. At the top of that cliff was a plateau that stretched for miles and was home to Heaven’s only contingent of angels in Hell. They guarded the bottomless pit and the pool that recorded the events of Earth and Hell.
His happy trio had only left the gate behind an hour ago and already they weren’t speaking to each other. It wasn’t as though they had argued and fallen out. There was a general air of melancholy hanging over them that had one root cause.
Women.
Fuck, he missed Erin.
He wasn’t about to voice those words for the other two men to hear but they beat in his heart and his blood, a visceral ache to see her again even though he had only just left her.
What was she doing?
Was she sitting on the deck of their villa waiting for him to return?
Not likely. That didn’t fit with her personality. She might be sitting there staring out at a moonlit ocean but she wouldn’t be alone, and she would probably be nursing a cocktail and have snacks on hand. The women were probably talking about them, griping about their heroics and not being allowed to participate. Taylor would send her to sleep soon together with Amelia, if she hadn’t already.
Was Erin worried about him? He knew the answer to that. Erin always worried about him, and it touched him more than she would ever know. He loved her for her concern and how she placed importance on his feelings and understood him so well. He had never known a woman like her.
He frowned.
Taylor had better be treating her well. He hadn’t failed to
notice the half-demon’s attitude around his little nymph or the look she had given Erin when they had shared that ‘I love you’ swap on the jetty.
Veiron grinned, unable to stop it from curving his lips.
Erin loved him.
He hadn’t realised how much he had needed to hear her tell him that until she had said the words. It had overwhelmed him then, hitting him with the force of a tidal wave, leaving him aching to kiss her and pour out all of his feelings for her so she knew that he felt the same way about her. She was his Erin. His willowy wicked woman now and forever. Yeah, he had reasoned that tacking on forever wasn’t a good idea, but a series of bad ones had led him to find the love of his immortal life and since he was on a roll, he figured that he would go with it. Forever.
“Am I the only one who finds that look on Veiron’s face disturbing?” Marcus said from beside him, the tall dark-haired warrior frowning across at him and then looking over his shoulder at Einar.
“Why do you think I decided to walk back here?” Einar practically chuckled the words.
Veiron scowled at both of them. “You want me to accidentally lose you in some of the less friendly parts of Hell?”
They shook their heads.
“Shut the fuck up then,” he said on a snarl and resumed his grinning.
“It is actually an improvement on his usual expression,” Einar said, clearly wanting to be dropped off the tall sheer cliff that edged one side of the path and into the bubbling river of lava hundreds of feet below.
“Listen, I’ve had just about enough of your shit—” A loud crack echoed around them, cutting Veiron off.
It bounced between the jagged spires of black rock that punctuated the boiling river and rolled like thunder across the plain.
Light suddenly broke through the constant dimness of Hell. Veiron’s head snapped up. A huge split had opened in the vault of Hell above them. Above the plateau.
Were angels coming down?
He wanted to call his spear to him but he couldn’t risk alerting the Devil to his presence. He stared up at the wide crooked gap in the black ceiling, seeing a streak of inky sky beyond. Part of that streak stuttered, a sure sign that someone was descending, and they were coming down fast.
Her Angel: Eternal Warriors Romance Series Complete Series Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 57
