Apollo, youthful Apollo, had stars in his eyes as he rapidly fired questions about Adonis and his training. I’ll admit it wasn’t normal for an Enticer to know how to fight so well. Which begged the question…
Why?
And then I heard it, the Heavenly Horn. It shook the room. Everyone fell silent. The Horn sounded seven times.
I quickly took my position, kneeling on the floor as the angels appeared.
My curiosity peaked as I raised my eyes to not one, not two, but all three archangels of old.
In that moment, on my knees, shaken by absolute fear, I realized we were in big trouble.
Chapter Seven
My vision was blurred by the radiant burning light in front of me. I silently wondered if I was the only one brave enough to try to make eye contact.
It was a complicated enough feat with only Michael standing before me, but with all three of the angels? Crap, good luck with that, most people figured it out after they lost their ability to see.
The echo of the trumpet reverberated through the marble-floored room, and then complete silence fell over the room. The only thing audible was the sound of my own breathing. A tiny bead of sweat rolled down my cheek. I watched as it splashed onto the floor, appearing to drop in slow motion.
“Rise.” Michael’s voice rang crisp in the air.
In unison we got to our feet. All of the Seekers were gathered in one place. It’s the only time of day this would happen, since we work at night.
Never in my existence has Michael stepped foot inside our training arena. He had his own area he used for special purposes, but he didn’t join us. That was another reason I knew they’d brought bad news.
My eyes flickered to Gabriel and Raphael, both were figures I had only seen in battle when absolutely necessary.
Gabriel brought messages to and from the heavenly courts. He didn’t fight often, but when he did, let’s just say he caused a ruckus. He wasn’t exactly a rule follower when it came to combat. He’d level an entire city to kill one Phantom if that’s what it took.
Raphael, on the other hand, was the Healer. He carried vials of medicine with him, not that many of us ever needed it, but in the rare case of humans working with us, he had, at times, had to use his powers to heal others.
El had given him the ability to heal anything, but with that power came a responsibility I would never want. It’s too easy to become corrupt with that kind of power.
Michael himself dealt with spiritual beings who’d become corrupted by power. The same beings that fought on the side of the Phantoms. The Fallen, was how they were known, though many humans just called them demons.
Gabriel’s white eyes pierced through me. He nodded and then gave a sad smile that I knew wasn’t just reserved for the situation, but for what we would have to do later. His long, white hair cascaded in waves down his back, free of the ties that Michael’s had. His heavily muscled body was clad in golden armor. Again, not a good sign.
Michael, too, was in full armor. Everything shone with gold and bronze. All three of them were carrying swords that came up past my waist.
“We have confirmation.” Gabriel spoke first, stepping forward. “The Watchers have been freed from the Abyss.”
“Why?” My bluntness shocked me. I closed my eyes, hoping nobody heard. Instead Gabriel approached me. I gulped. We’ve never actually had a conversation before.
“Athena.” The way he said my name made me believe it was the most beautiful thing to ever cross his lips. “Your questions will be answered soon, but I, for one, am curious.” His head tilted to the side. “Why so much fear?”
I wanted to yell at him that I wasn’t afraid, but I was. I was terrified, and I couldn’t explain why. Ever since I’d awakened, I’d had this sickening feeling that my dream, the Phantom, the Watchers — it’s all connected, and I couldn’t help but feel I was somehow the missing piece.
“I see…” He stepped back. Shoot, I’d forgotten they could read what I’m feeling and thinking. “I wondered the same thing, Athena. We shall talk later, you and I. Agreed?”
I nodded my head, because really, what else was I supposed to do? Say no to one of the Originals? No way. No, thank you.
“The information we’ve received has been given to us at great cost.” Michael reached out and patted Raphael on the shoulder. A single diamond-shaped tear fell from Raphael’s face. “We have lost many good humans in retrieving this information. May they rest in peace with El.”
“May they find El,” we said softly in unison.
Out of the corner of my eye, Adonis made a gesture toward Michael. I wasn’t quick enough to see Michael’s response, but he immediately looked to me, alarm in his eyes. He then whispered something to Gabriel, who nodded his head and looked down.
Awesome. So great to be left out of the loop.
“Within the next few hours we will brief each of you on your assignments. Please stay as close to Headquarters as possible. Each of you will work in teams. If you still have a partner, then you will work with your partner. If not, then we will assign you someone.” Michael took a deep breath, the brightness of his body starting to fade. “One final thing.” His eyes flickered to mine. “The leader of the Phantoms has elected a right-hand man.”
I waited in absolute dread and torture.
For my sake, they didn’t often mention my father’s name. And for years he’d been the sole leader. Again, not good information, considering he’d worked solo for as long as I could remember.
Raphael finally spoke. “The catch is that we know nothing of his origin or his name. We only know that he is unlike anything we have fought before, and, Athena, forgive me, but I hear your mind working. It’s remarkably fast.” He flashed me a warm smile “So to answer your question, what we do know about him is this. He’s a Dreamwalker, a siren of sorts. He can get into your psyche and make you believe things that aren’t real. The biggest problem we have seen is that he will play to your human emotions. He will make you believe the lie your forefathers so easily fell into. That you can be a god.”
The room buzzed with the new information. How many of us have been compared to gods? Yet you don’t see us walking around demanding people worship us. No, because in our hearts we know the truth. We are the spawn of the Fall. We are the living product of what happened when perfect beings were given the choice between pride and service. It was easy to laugh when humans worshiped us, because we seemed so pitiful next to how incredible even the angels are. Why would they worship us next to them?
Yet it made sense. For the biggest battle has never been physical, but spiritual. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is who has ownership over your heart and soul.
“We shall meet later.” Michael nodded at all of us and motioned for me and Adonis to follow him.
Awkwardly, because I was still a bit sore from the fight, I fell into step behind the three archangels as they led us across the training rooms and into the conservatory. I didn’t visit the area often, because to be honest, it kind of creeped me out. Trees and flowers lined the walls. It had the appearance of a greenhouse — if it were possible to have a greenhouse this far below sea level at the bottom of the ocean — which it’s not, by the way.
The vegetation was kept alive by, well, I guess humans would call it magic. But really it’s just one of the great many mysteries of El. He thought it would be nice for us to have, so… poof! We have it, and it doesn’t really make sense to us how we have it or how it works. It just… does. Kind of like all of his creations.
I grasped Adonis’s large hand as we walked to the closest bench and sat. He gave me one of his serious looks. The kind that immediately made me want to crack a joke to ease the tension.
Probably not good timing, since I have three menacing archangels staring at me as if I’ve committed some sort of crime.
“The dream? Why did you say nothing until now?” Raphael demanded.
Easy, killer.
“It happened le
ss than a few hours ago. I wasn’t sure if I was just…”
“Did he say his name?” Gabriel wanted to know. All of the angels paced as Adonis squeezed my hand in encouragement.
“Yes, I remember, I…”
“What?” Adonis asked. “Tell them his name.”
“I can’t,” I said as a tear escaped down my cheek.
“Why?” Michael ‘s face furrowed with concern.
“Because I don’t remember. All I remember is… the song.”
Adonis released my hand and grabbed my shoulders to face him. “He sang to you?”
I nodded. “It was a short song. I — I remembered it earlier today when we were fighting, but seeing all of you seemed to nudge it out of my memory. I know I sound crazy but—”
“Not crazy, Athena.” Michael sat on the other side of me. “He’s a Siren. You’ll only remember when you’re not in our presence. Promise me you’ll tell Adonis everything you know as soon as you can?”
“I don’t understand…”
“We are perfect,” Gabriel said, though his voice held no conceit, just pure honesty. “Evil cannot get close. His powers are not strong enough to break through the hold we three have on you. In our presence, his evil is not strong enough to cause you to remember.”
Simple answer, I guess.
I suddenly felt like I’d been battling all day. My head drooped then snapped up. “Where did Adonis learn to fight? I thought he was only my partner for…” I knew it wasn’t important, but I couldn’t help but be curious.
“For enticement?” Michael offered lamely. And I would have said he was lame to his face if I hadn’t been so worried of being obliterated.
I licked my lips and nodded as Adonis grinned next to me.
“I was wondering when you would discover his abilities.”
“His abilities?” I echoed.
Michael smiled the first smile I’d seen since his arrival. “He’s been training with me since the Beginning.”
“Of?” I prompted.
“The Beginning,” he repeated, and then I knew. Well, crap. I’ve been giving Adonis a hard time for our entire partnership, and here he’s an angel-trained fighter. Wonders never cease.
“Your assignment.” Michael changed the subject and handed Gabriel a piece of parchment.
Gabriel opened up the parchment, and his eyes flickered across the page. His head suddenly jerked to mine, then Michael’s. It almost looked as if he didn’t want to read what it said.
“Read it, Brother.” Raphael put his arm on Gabriel’s.
“Athena and Adonis, you are hereby assigned a Black Mission. Communication will not be possible. You may not return to Headquarters for anything. We will not help you. Nobody will know your location or progress. Rendezvous will take place a week from today in Gasworks Park at midnight.”
I felt alone and confused. It’s not normal to go out alone, to go without any aid from Headquarters. “Where are we going?”
Michael motioned for his brothers to exit with him, then turned to me. “Into the Fire, sweet Athena, into the Fire.”
Chapter Eight
Two hours later
“So we’re supposed to just sit here until someone walks up to us and offers us a tourist map? Seriously?” I kicked another can and crossed my arms. “And how cryptic can a person get? Into the Fire, Athena. What does that mean? Literal fire? I hate fire.”
Adonis rolled his eyes for the twelfth time and took a swig of water from his pack. “Thena, I swear, if you complain one more time…”
I mimicked his words then took a seat on the cold cement bench next to him. We’d been waiting by the Seattle Monterail for what seemed like forever. A person was supposed to deliver a map. That’s all we knew, and then he was going to take us into a hidden club of some sort. Sounded like a bad TV show to me, but that’s the only intel we’d received. So there we sat. Bored and alone. I didn’t want to count the rat that ran by my foot a few minutes before; it was too depressing.
A homeless man pushed his cart past us, an all-time low for a Seeker, by the way, and then stopped in front of Adonis. His shaking hand held out a tourist map of Seattle. As Adonis reached for it, the man flipped the book. On the back, in scratchy black writing, was one word.
Cell.
Great! A word that rhymed with hell! That should get us far.
“Go down…” The man shook his head back and forth, back and forth. “…down, down, down,” he said. And then I realized… the man was possessed. He had to be. Every instinct told me he was human, but his eyes were red, blood red. His skin was so papery thin it looked like it was merely a mask for something else, something creepier than his battered face.
“You go down…” he repeated, pointing to the ground. His eyes suddenly rolled back, and he laughed. Wow! Even better. Just like a horror movie, only worse.
“Listen,” I said getting closer, “give us the information or¯”
His head turned as his crazed eyes took in my face. “He is waiting. Now you must go down.”
I was ready to ask where. No, that’s a lie. I was ready to kill the man, even though we didn’t kill humans unless absolutely necessary, when he suddenly opened the map. His movements sped up, almost as if he’d been overwound and released. His hands pulled at the different pages, flipping them one at a time, giving the appearance of a fan being unfolded in front of us. And that’s when I saw it.
The word cell was written several times, but when the pages fanned out, they worked almost like a comic strip. Pointing down the street, under the tunnel, and into a side exit.
“The key…” He laughed then threw it into the air. Adonis swiped it out of the sky, and with the same motion, hit the man across the face.
A hiss escaped the man’s mouth as black ooze dripped from the side of his ear. A blood-curdling scream erupted from his mouth, and he disappeared down the street, shopping cart in front of him, like a bat out of hell.
“That was…”
“Weird,” I finished.
“Well, at least we know where we have to go.” Adonis grabbed his pack and led the way.
I laughed. “Yes, we go down… got that part solid in my memory.”
Adonis ignored my sarcasm. No small feat, considering I could feel him tense next to me. He was usually in better humor.
“There.” He pointed to the overpass.
We walked up to the door located beneath the overpass.
“So, what? Do we just use the key to unlock it and go… down?” I asked.
He shrugged and pulled out the key from his pocket. “Might as well try.”
The minute the key connected with the lock, it was sucked in. Adonis released it as the key twisted on its own, emitting a nerve-racking sound of metal-on-metal that made my skin crawl.
The door slowly opened. A man at least seven feet tall was waiting on the other side. He looked like he should have been playing for Seattle’s pro-football team instead of guarding some sort of club as a bouncer. He was almost as wide as the door and looked to be just as crazed as the homeless man.
“The name’s Styx, and you are?”
“I’m Adonis, and this is Athena. I believe someone is expecting us.”
The man’s eyes turned red then back to a rusty yellow. “Ah yes. Seekers. Follow me, but first pay the toll.”
Seekers don’t usually travel with cash — who needs cash these days? I looked helplessly to Adonis, who, in turn, looked helplessly toward our fellow Styx.
“Seekers,” he grumbled then pulled the key out of the door. “This will do. Now, don’t fall behind.”
We followed him down a stairway that lacked any sort of railing. If I was afraid of heights, this would be my worst nightmare. When the homeless man said down, he meant down. By the looks of it, we were traveling at least sixty-six stories down into the earth. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but still.
My stomach fluttered with every level we traveled. The walls were rocky and black. In fact, everything was bla
ck. I heard nothing but my own footsteps as we continued down.
Adonis kept his hand on my lower back. The only comfort I had was that he hadn’t somehow been stabbed or fallen to his death.
The stairs ended at a large red door that was at least twenty feet tall. Above it, in neon lights, was the word River.
I wanted to ask if that was the name of the club, but bit my tongue instead. The guy leading us didn’t look like he was up to any joking remarks.
Styx opened the door and closed it behind us. The entire room we entered was covered in red and black velvet, from the panels on the walls to the tables and chairs. Pure-blood Fallen were lying casually around on couches. The entire ambiance felt… drugged. There were also humans participating in whatever the entertainment was, which meant it was only a matter of time before they would die. Some party.
The music sounded familiar, but I couldn’t really put my finger on it.
A beautiful woman appeared in front of us.
“Follow me,” she ordered. Her tight black leather jumpsuit looked like it was painted on. I tried to keep my mouth shut as people stared at us. Men and women alike were sprawled across any open space, many of them had glazed looks on their faces.
“What’s wrong with them?” I whispered to Adonis.
“They are in a relaxed state.” The woman in front of us turned and pointed at a couple next to my feet. They looked completely wasted. Both were conscious and still drinking from some sort of red cup. I’d seen the same red cup in others’ hands.
“Would you like a sample?” the woman asked, motioning to the bartender in the middle.
“Um, no, we’re here on business,” I said lamely.
“As you wish.” Her smile was tight as she led us farther into the club. The inner circle was clad with dark black couches in twelve rows, all circling one another. In the middle stood a man.
“Athena,” he said. His lips did not move, yet I knew it was him speaking.