Copyright © Mary Ting 2016
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Licensing Notes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
The Angel Knights
(Prequel to The Chosen Knights)
Lucia
Chapter 1
“Shhh,” my father whispered. With his sword by his side, he held out his hand to gesture for us to stay behind him.
My team listened, mimicking the way he held his weapon, as we allowed him to take the lead. Fear had taken me over and my heart pounded against my chest. This terror was easier to conquer during training than in real life. Our team had scouted around the world with our mentor, Uncle Davin, many times before, but Father’s presence meant we were about to face very powerful demons.
For the first time since I’d been born, a disturbance had awakened at a place in between Heaven and Earth called Insula. Knowing such a marvelous place had evil lurking about gave me the creeps. The grand mountain and its soft waterfalls, with the blanket of vast flowers spreading, rolling foothills as far as I could see, radiated an enchanting sight in Insula—a place of splendor, the vividness of the colors and the stillness, almost like a painting.
“What are we waiting for?” Uncle Davin asked from Father’s side.
“To see where these demons are hiding. Something isn’t right. I can’t seem to pinpoint its direction, yet I can feel them so close.”
“I feel the same way, Michael.” Uncle Davin glanced around, sniffing. “That pleasant scent is throwing me off. I want to drown myself in these flowers.”
Father’s words sent goose bumps running up my spine. If he couldn’t detect them, how were we supposed to? But I knew what he meant; the same sensation flooded through me. My brother, Zachary, looked baffled too. The other three members of my team glanced around erratically with huge, terrified eyes, I understood. We had to conquer our fears, remember the strategies we’d learned, and pray we came out alive. Unfortunately, danger followed us because of who we were—demon hunters. Venators. Gripping my sword tighter, I prepared for what may come.
Father gazed down at the colorful flowers surrounding us, reaching about knee high. They resembled the California poppy in the human world, but in such magical places, flowers were large in size, and difficult to move through.
“Something is coming. Can you feel it, Michael?” Uncle Davin asked.
“Yes.” Father turned to Zachary and me. “No matter what, stay behind me.” Then he gazed at Victoria, Jude, and Isaac. “Stay behind Davin.”
“It smells nasty.” Victoria turned in a complete circle. “The sweet fragrance is gone.”
Victoria was right, but Father’s wings slowly expanding distracted me. Each feather moved into place, layering one on top of the other, fanning out to its fullest. His heart-shaped wings were sharp as knives in battle form, towering over us, making me feel so small.
Father had a warrior’s body, but his wings alone made a statement. They were deadly enough to scare anyone away, and yet they were the most magnificent things I’d ever seen.
“Swords up!” Father ordered, and raised his own. Then he looked down at the flowers and his eyes grew in recognition. “I should have known. They’re in the—”
Before he finished, the demons sprang out from the flowers like ghosts, resembling the color of the flower at first, then transforming into the white, translucent form we’d studied. They looked harmless until they showed their true faces. With hideous, skeletal heads and bony hands, they each held a sword in front of them.
“White mist!” Jude shouted, hands trembling hard enough to shake the sword.
“Great. My favorite.” Uncle Davin sounded annoyed. “Out of all the demons, why does it have to be them?”
Before my mind registered the situation, a demon swung its sword at me. Father jumped in front of me and struck the demon. Stunned to see them in real life, I’d frozen in place.
“On your guard, Lucia.” Father snapped me out of my stupor.
Pushing aside the fear, I blocked a hit meant for me. As my confidence grew, I strategized my next move. Flashing my wings open, I used them as a shield and fought off the demons surrounding me.
Uncle Davin wrestled the hilt away and stabbed the creature through the left side of its chest. “Aim for the heart. That’s the only way you can defeat it!” he screamed.
Uncle Davin had told us about them. He’d once fought these evil beings in a high school gymnasium when they were after my mother.
“Jude!” Victoria shouted.
Several demons had raised Jude by his wings. Swinging his weapon in every direction, he struggled to free himself. Putting away my sword, I willed my bow to appear and shot radiant orb, which shone brightly enough to blind a demon. It hit one dead-on just before the creature struck Jude, allowing him enough time to slash at it with his sword. Uncle Davin caught him in midair and brought him down safely.
We did not have ordinary bows. They were thick and long, without any strings or arrows. When we needed to use them, we pulled back our arm as if there were an arrow and string attached to the bow, and then let go. What came out of the bow was magical—silver lights, like lightning bolts, sizzled and zapped to the target. The force and direction were pretty accurate. The bow also lit up on command in dark places.
I’d made the mistake of being too concerned about Jude when I should’ve been concentrating on my own safety. It had been ingrained in me from training, but I had failed to learn thus far. One of the demons knocked me to the ground, and just as its sword dropped down toward me, I rolled over. It missed, but I had another problem: I now faced three demons at once. Holding my bow in front of me, I struck one in the gut. Then the other two vanished.
“Don’t touch my daughter,” my father growled, effortlessly lifting me off the ground. Father looked at me with loving eyes. “Stay close.”
“Lucia!” Zach called.
“Right here. I’m fine,” I said. Being minutes older than me, he’d always felt the need to protect me. He always had one eye on me and the other on his opponent.
As the clanking of swords continued, our blows sent flower bits flying into the air. The demons flew in every direction, trying to confuse us. Stabbing their hearts when they moved like the wind proved to be harder than it looked. Several of the demons came at me at once, so I ducked and curled inward to block their blows, bringing my wings around to cover me completely. Then I flashed my wings open to knock them down.
“Great job!” Father said, finishing the rest of the demons on my tail. “Tunnel formation,” he ordered. “We need to draw them to one place.”
“Run!” Uncle Davin commanded.
Knowing what he meant, we ran at the speed with which only angels moved. The demons were confused, trying to attack but unable to focus. When they had been surrounded by the tunnel of wind we had created, Father flew up high and dove down in the middle, spinning rapidly with his sword extended and using his wings as weapons as well. While Father continued, we joined in. Before I could count to ten, the demons were all destroyed, and my heart became steady again. The demons had turned to white ashes floating around us. It looked like snow, or even feathers, but they were far from beautiful. I grimaced and tried to avoid letting them fall on me.
“Great teamwork.” Uncle Davin smiled, looking proud. Then he turned to Father. “You’re awesome. Your wings are th
e bomb.” Uncle Davin patted Father’s back so hard, he faltered several steps ahead.
Father glared and then gave him the playful evil eye. “The bomb?”
“Yeah, you know. Never mind.” Uncle Davin arched his brows. “You need to get with the humans.” He patted Father again and walked away with a smirk.
“What did he mean ‘the bomb’?” Father muttered under his breath.
I giggled. Father had told me Uncle Davin went out of his way to blend in with the humans and learn all the slang words. At times, Uncle Davin would travel to Earth alone and tell us what he’d observed when he came back. We’d learned so much about humans from Uncle Davin.
“The bomb?” Victoria’s long, neatly-braided hair was disheveled. Her bangs covered one side of her furrowed eyebrows. “I’ve never heard that phrase before.”
“We didn’t do too badly, so I say we were the bomb, too.” Isaac waggled his brows, his blue eyes twinkling.
“I’m just glad your father came with us. I’m not sure what we would have done.” Jude’s mouth pinched together in worry. He seemed traumatized by what he’d been through. “By the way, thank you for looking after me. I could’ve….”
I smiled. “You would have done the same for me. We are a team, after all.”
Zachary draped his arm around Jude to give him comfort. “It would have taken us longer to have Insula back under control, but we would’ve been just fine. Uncle Davin would have still come to guide us.”
I didn’t know if Jude believed Zachary, but his shoulders eased and his wings relaxed.
“Zachary is right,” Father stated firmly. “Don’t ever underestimate yourself and your team. If you allow fear and doubt to take you over, you’ll not only hurt yourself, but your team, too.”
The damage done by the demons was horrendous. A massive space, which was once covered in flowers, lay flowerless and covered in white ashes. As if Father knew my thoughts, he rested his arm around my shoulder and his wings covered me protectively.
“They’ll grow back.” He kissed my forehead. “But you won’t. So always be careful.” He paused. “Let’s go home.”
One by one we soared in a straight-line formation behind Father. The area where we’d battled held much evidence of demon presence. Eventually, like Father said, the flowers would grow back. To me, it symbolized that good would conquer evil in the long run.
Chapter 2
I resided in Crossroads, a place between Heaven and Earth. My mother had traveled through her dreams and met my father there. Due to her special soul, the Fallen wanted her, so my father and other Nephilim—half-human and half-angel—were sent to Earth to protect her. Little did they know my mother’s soul was the key for the Fallen to enter Crossroads.
My parents fell in love, which our handbook declared a big fat no-no. But even the Divine laws couldn’t stop their undeniable love, and thus, my brother Zachary and I were born.
At seventeen, I’d been training three quarters of my life—since I was old enough to hold a sword. My training included instruction in physical combat and various types of weapons: swords, crossbows, and daggers. In addition, I’d learned how to spot a demon, how to home in on conversations with my super hearing, and how to block out unnecessary noises. We also delved into human mannerisms and their history, since there were occasions when we had to interact with them.
When flying to Crossroads, one first saw the white, fluffy clouds, layered like a thick blanket, next to the castle in Halo City. Around the crystal castle glowed a ring, illuminated like the sun. It shielded the realm against all evil. Darkness could not exist in Halo City, because light ruled between Heaven and Earth.
As soon as we walked through the thick double doors, Mother greeted us with hugs and a smile of relief. She looked angelic and elegant in her long white dress, and not a strand peeped out of place on her braided hair. I knew she was worried, but knowing Father had gone with us seemed to have eased her concern.
“You’re all back safe.” Mother clasped her hands together. “Great teamwork, as always.” Mother’s eyes locked with Father’s.
“They were the bomb.” Father winked.
I heard the chuckles behind me from the others, and I couldn’t help laughing with them.
“The bomb?” Mother giggled. “Why, Michael, I didn’t know you knew such a word.”
“Of course I do.” Father tilted his head back, trying to act cool. On the way to Crossroads, I’d explained what “the bomb” meant and when to use it.
Mother shook her head with a smile. “Children, why don’t you head to the discussion room with Davin? The other Venators are waiting for your arrival.” Mother shifted her attention to Father. “Michael, come with me. The Divine Elders will be holding a meeting regarding the recent missions. Some were not successful.”
The Divine Elders consisted of twelve angels who oversaw humanity and assigned missions. My parents had been asked to join when spaces became available due to betrayal and death of other council members. They didn’t have much choice, since the Divine Elders needed their guidance.
When we arrived at the Venators’ meeting room, everyone eagerly waited in their seats. Some of them came from Nubilus City, a place hidden among the clouds. It was also a training facility, but we had been trained solely in Crossroads. My parents wouldn’t have allowed us to be separated.
“Welcome,” Uncle Davin greeted the room filled with demon hunters while we took our seats. There must have been a thousand of us. He waited for the noise to settle, then continued. “As you already know, there have been more demon appearances lately. This only means the Fallen are possibly regrouping. Today, a small group of us went to Insula, and sure enough, they were present. Why, we don’t know. Usually they are in search of a hideout. I believe this is just the beginning, and we must intensify our training. Would anyone like to share where your team has traveled and if you found anything? Yes,” Uncle Davin said when one of the Venators raised his hand. “What is your name?”
“My name is Dominic. I have been training at Nubilus City with Austin, our mentor. We were investigating a place called Specus just before we were told to come here for a brief meeting. We encountered the Fallen, but they left without a word or a fight.”
Uncle Davin rubbed his jaw with a nod. “I see. Again, I believe they’re scouting for places to make their home. Specus was theirs at one point. They’ll most likely go to a familiar location first and test it out, and then seek elsewhere if we show up. They’re probably looking for somewhere their presence can be undetected. Anyone else who would like to share?”
A girl at the back of the room raised her hand.
“Bethel, you may speak,” Uncle Davin announced.
She cleared her throat and began. “We failed our mission.” Her tone sounded shaky and nervous.
“What do you mean?” Uncle Davin furrowed his brows.
“About twenty of us went to an abandoned warehouse in New York City. The Fallen were there and…and…more than half of us didn’t make it back home.”
Sharp gasps echoed throughout the room, and then…dead silence.
“That’s very unfortunate,” Uncle Davin consoled. “I’m sorry to tell you it won’t be the last time. It’s the exact reason you are trained to harden your hearts. Yes, we are a family, but we are also demon-hunting angels. We mourn our loss, but we can’t allow it to hold us back.”
I didn’t know Bethel, but I sensed her pain. We were taught to protect our hearts from emotions, but being half-human, it was challenging. Victoria and I exchanged glances. I assumed we had the same thoughts. We could have lost Jude that day. I could only imagine how Bethel must have felt to see so many die right before her eyes.
“Who was your leader?” Uncle Davin broke me out of my thoughts.
“Gregory,” she whimpered, still overcome by her emotions. “He…he gave up his life so we could escape.”
Uncle Davin looked shocked at first, and then he composed his expression to neutral. “I d
idn’t know,” he said softly. “I would have found out after this meeting, when I’m supposed to meet up with other leaders. This is….” He bowed his head for a second, and then looked up. “He was a great leader. He will be greatly missed.”
The ache in my heart deepened to see Uncle Davin hurting. He hid his emotions well, but I saw he cared about this angel. Uncle Davin was one of the most unique angels I’d ever known. His jovial personality made him lovable, a friend to all, and at times, more like a human than an angel.
“We were sent to Los Angeles, and other groups were sent to other US cities,” one spoke up. “Some of us didn’t make it back home.”
Uncle Davin’s shoulders tensed and his jaw tightened. “This only means you need more intense training, and we also need to send a larger number of you. No more investigating. We go in as if we are at war. There is power in numbers. You are dismissed. Take the rest of the day to rest. We start training tomorrow. I want my group to stay behind.”
As I wondered why Uncle Davin wanted us to stay, Zach’s voice spoke in my mind.
Do you think it was a trap?
My brother and I had had a special link ever since we were born. My father had this gift as well, but he could only project thoughts into our minds and not vice versa.
What do you mean? I replied.
Maybe the Fallen purposely divided themselves to different areas, in between and on Earth, to separate us. Like Uncle Davin said, there is power in numbers.
I don’t know. But I’m heartbroken. We have lost so many today.
Stop your emotion, Lucia. Turn it off. I feel loss, too, but you can’t let it take you over.
Zach handled his feelings far better than I did. He had it down pat; as for me, I needed more work. But I wasn’t sure if I ever could control them. I believed having emotions made me a better angel, more understanding. But what did I know, anyway?
When the last Venators left the room, Uncle Davin addressed us. “So, I thought I’d start with you five and see how this helps. I need to find a way to build your confidence and teach you to think faster on your feet.”