When monsters rise, p.2
When Monsters Rise, page 2
I can tell he doesn’t trust me. Yet.
But I don’t need his trust if I have Shem’s and Rue’s.
We pass the pair and head toward the center of the mall. This place with its back corridors and its wide-open spaces filled with shuttered rooms and the scent of human occupation has a certain charm that’s absent from the clean, clinical corridors of the tower in the Golden City. And it’s not due to the environment, but due to the people—humans and watchers living side by side in harmony. A far contrast from the way the celestials choose to live alongside humans.
This place is truly something special. There’s no doubt that Shem has done good work here.
Work I plan to continue. “I want to help protect this place. I’ll be able to do that if you give me my sword.” Shem makes a noncommittal sound, and I staunch my irritation. “I won’t be able to wield it much longer. My celestial light is dying. I just…It would be nice to hold it one last time…”
“You’ll get it once we’re ready to go after the final piece of the relic,” Shem says.
We’ve waited a week for Gabriel to bring us the third piece. Waited because Rue has confidence in him, but she doesn’t know…She can’t know. “I don’t think Gabriel is coming. I think something must have gone wrong.”
“Yes. I believe you’re right. We’ve waited long enough.”
It’s taken three days of gently pushing and probing to get him to this point, to admit that we need to move forward on the relic hunt. I need to know where it lies, and I need my sword.
We climb a short flight of stairs and come out on a balcony looking down on an area of the mall that’s gloomy. It’s in the process of being cleaned to make room for the humans to spread out. A couple of humans look up at Shem and smile.
They smile at him, despite his monstrous visage yet give me nothing but wariness.
Indignation sits hot in my chest. I am a celestial. An Archangel. These people know nothing of who I once was or the power I wielded.
Let them look.
Let them be wary.
It won’t be long now until they understand the true magnitude of—
“Once we have three pieces, then we’ll have enough power to go after the one hidden in the Golden City,” Shem says. “It’s what we should have done in the first place.”
He’s annoyed with Rue, and for some reason, this gives me a stab of satisfaction. I could push him to sit more firmly in his doubts, but my instincts tell me that any word spoken against the female could be detrimental to the tenuous trust I’ve fostered with him.
Instead, I play the advocate. “Rue was saving your lives by coming with me.” There’s no denying that the woman has the heart of a lion. I wish that things could be different. That I didn’t have to betray her, but the world must come first. “She made the right decision at the time based on what she knew.”
Once again, Shem makes a non-committal sound, but this time, I sense a hint of approval.
We enter the corridor that will lead us to the central chamber of the mall, where the fountain with its bell is situated. Rue appears, striding toward us, her jaw set in that determined way of hers.
“Shem, we need to talk.” Her gaze settles on me for a beat, and even though I sense her tension, there is warmth in her eyes for me.
Guilt writhes in my belly, but I mask it with a smile.
“We need to call a meeting,” she says.
“Yes,” Shem replies. “I was coming to find you to suggest the same thing.”
There’s a special heat in the smile that she bestows on him, a private heat that makes me want to look away. “Great minds,” she says.
“Yes, Rue, great minds.” Her name is a caress on his lips, and something inside me twists painfully.
They are intimate. Of course, I know this. But the way he speaks to her. The way he looks at her…This is more than intimacy, and I know in that moment that I will use it against him when the time is right.
Chapter 4
RUE
Shem waited, arms crossed over his powerful chest, while the watchers settled into seats in the cinema room.
His skin, which had been a rose hue when I’d left him to go after the third relic piece, had darkened to a deeper red once more, and the golden highlights in his chestnut hair were gone. He was devolving again, just like the other watchers who were standing on the far side of the platform, farthest from the main exit.
Tumiel’s teeth were looking sharper, Sarq’s horns were thicker, and Zaq’s talons looked longer. How much would they have devolved without my intervention, without being able to feed off the residual energy seeping out from the gaps around that door that I kept closed between myself and the Morningstar’s power?
If they hadn’t found me in time…
I dreaded to think of them in the tunnels with Kabiel. These males had become my family, and I’d do whatever it took to keep them safe.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Bastian said from beside me.
I leaned against him and tipped my head so that it touched his shoulder. “I have a lot on my mind.”
“You can tell me all about it later on tonight.”
I closed my eyes briefly, reveling in the promise of our quality time together. It was more than sex. More than lovemaking. It was a time of shared memories and stories. A time when we remembered our past.
I loved my nights with Bastian, but the seed of dread inside me grew daily knowing that those nights were numbered unless I found a way to save him. I looked up at his strong profile, familiar and beloved to me. I would do it. I would save him.
My stomach dipped with despair.
No. I wouldn’t allow it to surface. Not yet.
His hand slipped into mine, and he squeezed gently as if he knew…as if he sensed my thoughts.
Michael caught my eye from across the room. He stood with the watchers, but a little apart from them. His golden hair was brushed back from his face and secured in a bun, and his sapphire eyes were dark with emotions I couldn’t define. He dropped me a nod and half a smile before turning his attention to Shem.
Beside me, Bee shifted from foot to foot, impatient for the meeting to start. I’d dragged her in with me, wanting her to be a part of this. She’d already demanded to come on the next relic fragment hunt, so she needed to be a part of the decision-making process, even if it was just to listen.
“Settle down,” Shem ordered, and the room fell into silence. “We’ve waited a week for Gabriel to find us and bring the third piece of the relic to us. He hasn’t joined us, and we can only assume that something has gone wrong. We cannot wait any longer.”
A murmur of agreement skittered over the crowd, and Shem waited for it to die before continuing. “We’ll be moving forward with finding the location.” His gaze flitted my way, and my stomach tightened because I knew what we needed to do.
The quickest way to find the location of the relic piece was to help Kabiel with his visions, and that meant going into the tunnels to find him. It meant channeling Morningstar power into him. But the devolved watcher had made it clear how he wanted me to do that…what he wanted from me.
“Once we have the fourth piece,” Shem continued, “we’ll storm the city using the secret passage. Having that piece should increase the residual power that Rue can produce for us.”
“You know this for sure?” Baraqel asked.
“It makes sense,” Amaros replied for Shem. “The more pieces we have, the stronger the connection to the Morningstar power. Having another piece, be it the one in the Golden City or the one of unknown location, will provide us with an edge.”
“We’ll use the secret entrance into the city that bypasses their wards,” Shem said.
I looked over at Michael in time to see his jaw tense. My scalp prickled with unease. “Do you have a problem with that, Michael?”
The watchers looked from me to Michael, and I wanted to bite my tongue for speaking out. We needed to foster trust, not doubt.
If Michael was fazed by my question, he didn’t show it. He simply exhaled wearily. “Loss of life is always a problem. Many celestials will die simply because they’re following the orders of a corrupt power.” He took a fortifying breath. “But in the end, it will be worth it.”
His concerns made sense, and the others relaxed, accepting his words at face value, just as I wanted to, but my unease remained.
I trusted Michael. He’d protected me and saved my life once we got outside the Golden City. There was no reason to doubt him now.
“That’s all I had to say,” Shem said, “but Rue has something she needs to add.”
I’d told him about the ghost, my most recent sighting, and Mira’s concerns, but the others needed to be aware of it too. “We have a creature in our midst. Something that’s been stalking me ever since we got back. I thought it was a ghost, but last night, I saw its eyes. Orange eyes, glowing in the dark.”
“When?” Bastian asked.
“Just before I fell asleep. I was too tired to stay awake, and this morning, Mira told me someone’s been stealing food from a locked room to which only she has the key.”
“You saw orange eyes and you simply fell asleep?” Tumiel looked skeptical.
Now that he said it, it did sound odd. “You think I was made to fall asleep?”
“Mira thinks that this thing might be stealing food?” Zaq asked.
“It’s a possibility. No one else has access to the room, and this thing…I mean, for all we know, it could walk through walls.”
“And yet need to eat?” Baraqel gave a snort of disbelief. “I say we stop chasing shadows and focus on the real issue. The relic is all that matters.”
This watcher was a pain in my ass. “You’re right, we need to go after the fourth relic piece, but we also need to be sure we’re not leaving the people here in danger when we do.”
“You let us worry about that,” Penemue said. “If there is a presence here, then we will deal with it. Your focus must remain on the relics.” He raised his head slightly so that his dark hair parted to reveal brown eyes now ringed in crimson. “We’re running out of time.”
“If this thing is stalking you, then maybe it will leave with you,” Amaros pointed out.
Shem stepped in. “Penemue, you’ll focus on finding the food thief. Baraqel, you’re in charge of security in our absence.”
Baraqel stood taller. “I will do so with honor.”
“Everyone, get some rest,” Shem said. “I’ll have news of when we leave soon enough.”
“Zaq, may I have a word?” Penemue asked.
Zaq crossed the room to join him, and they left together, trailing after the others.
Michael, Sarq, Tumiel, and Bee stayed with Shem and me.
“You left Baraqel in charge?” Sarq said. “You trust him completely now?”
“No, but I trust that he’ll honor this position of power and do whatever it takes to keep the humans safe in our absence. Baraqel is a watcher who was created to lead, and we need to give him the opportunity to do so. I realize now that I may have stifled him.”
“You’re going to see Kabiel, aren’t you?” Bastian said.
“Yes,” Shem replied.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No. It’s better if Rue and I go alone. The devolved watchers are used to my scent, which I can use to mask Rue. Too many bodies and it becomes difficult to remain undetected. Tumiel, Sarq, you know what to do if we don’t return.”
They both nodded.
I wanted to ask what that was, but my gut told me I probably didn’t want to know. But there was something I needed to ask them. “You said the monsters get pulled back to Gehenna when the relic is put back together, and the celestials can return to heaven. What happens if they don’t leave?”
“Then we make them go,” Shem said. “This is not their home.”
“And you…” I scanned his face. “Is it your home?”
His jaw ticked. “Watchers belong in a place between heaven and earth.”
But not in it.
He would leave.
Leave this earth and leave me.
A pit of nothingness yawned inside me at the prospect of the absence of him, and my instinct was to challenge him, to push. But now wasn’t the time or place for this conversation, so I dropped my gaze, not wanting him to see how much that hurt.
“Get some rest, Rue,” Shem said. “We’ll leave at dawn.”
“Why do you have to wait?” Bee asked.
“Because the devolved watchers are nocturnal. Most will be asleep during the day.”
Like the monsters. “What if Kabiel is…What if he’s gone?”
“Then we’ll deal with him, and we’ll find another way.”
The other way would mean making ourselves vulnerable to detection opening the channel and hoping that it could guide me.
We had to hope that Kabiel was still himself. Our fates depended on it.
Chapter 5
GABRIEL
My cell is sparse, designed not only to hold a prisoner but to mentally torture him too. With nothing to stimulate the mind, a captive could spiral into madness quickly, but I have a playground in my mind. A space where I can retreat. A garden filled with sunshine and the sweet scent of honeysuckle. A brook bubbles and babbles not far from my perch on a flat rock. From here, I watch the bees fly from flower to flower. Music plays somewhere—an upbeat melody.
I’m content here with my thoughts and beauty all around.
The Dominion cannot reach this part of my mind. They cannot find me here. I doubt they’ll have need to come looking for me, though. They have what they need.
Michael betrayed me. Betrayed Rue.
I’ve exhausted my memory running over every interaction with him over and over, searching for a missed moment of deception. A word, a look, but the only conversation that springs to mind is our interaction on the security floor when Paiter hacked into Dominion security. There’d been a moment when Michael questioned our return to heaven and wondered if we would fit. He’d mentioned how it would be wonderful to be powerful once more. This was the moment I should have had doubts.
Michael the Archangel. Michael with his sword blazing with light. Worshipped by all. I should have known, that given the choice, he would choose power. To be revered. To have status once more. The threat of living on half rations had been too much for him.
But when had he spoken to the Dominion? Had they come to him? No…he would have gone to them. Made a deal at our expense.
I should never have trusted him.
The world is in danger and all I can think about is the human, Rue. The dark-haired vixen with a smart mouth and eyes that pierce my soul. I’d be lying if I said my eagerness to bond with her was purely strategic. I want her in a way I haven’t wanted anything in a long time. I’m not sure why, but she’s awakened a longing inside me that’s been absent for millennia.
I’ve obviously been trapped in this damn city for too long.
Once my celestial energy dies, they’ll come for me. They’ll kill me.
I’ll die a mortal, and all my planning, all my efforts, will have been for nothing. If Michael gave them my name, he would have given them Erelim’s also.
The reaper is probably in the cell beside me along with his team, and it won’t be long before they’ve rooted out the others.
Erelim was supposed to be the back-up plan. The one to take over if I was caught. If they have him, then the movement is over.
How many days have passed?
The vista around me shimmers and melts away, and I’m back in my gray cell, its walls smooth and unmarred without a crack or a stain to provide me with visual stimulation.
But something has changed. Something is different. I sit up, bracing my hands on the narrow cot, eyes on the door.
There’s someone out there. My scalp prickles, body tensing, ready for a fight.
The door swings open a moment later, and Erelim fills the frame dressed in his black armor, arcane symbols glowing softly. “I think you’ve had a little too much down time, don’t you?” Erelim says.
The sounds of fighting drift into the room, and my relief is quickly overtaken by urgency. “You can tell me all about how you evaded the Powers once we get out of here.”
He nods, his expression solemn. “Take this. You’re going to need it. I have more.”
It’s a vial, one I recognize as the serum we used to give to the sweeper humans. I don’t ask any more questions. I know why he’s giving this to me. It contains trace amounts of celestial light. Not perfect, but enough to slow down devolution once we escape this place.
I uncap it and drain the liquid before following Erelim out of the door and into a much-needed, bloody fight.
Turns out there’s no need for my skills. Two sentinels lay prone on the ground, knocked out by Erelim’s reapers. Five strong, they’re a force to be reckoned with.
“Hurry!” A Power stands guard outside the prison block, ushering us to move. “We don’t have long before systems come back online. Once that happens, the Dominion will be alerted and there will be no escape.”
This Power is helping us?
“You’re not the only one who can recruit, Gabriel,” Erelim says. “Jayren broke us out as soon as it was safe to do so.”
“The main troop has left the city,” Jayren says. “They’re tracking something important and left me in charge. I managed to pull some files off their systems and shut down tower security for half an hour so we can move unseen, but we must leave now.”
But how do we get out? “The passageway will be locked. Michael will have told them about it.”
“He did,” the Power says. “And it is. Three sentinels are guarding it.”
“But we can get through.” Erelim’s eyes gleam with wicked intention. “Celestials may not have souls like humans, but a scythe is built to separate energy from a physical form.”
He is going to tear the celestials out of their bodies. My lips curve in response. “Now this I have to see.”
