He turned his cold eyes on her. “You’re not the one who has been waiting on him hand and foot for the last day.” He flashed a dark look at John, a look that made him squirm. “Every time he needs a tissue, every time he needs to go to the toilet, it’s always me who has to deal with it, like some sort of servant!” he snapped, spittle flying across the desk.
“You never do anything anyway besides waste your time reading books!” she replied, confronting him at his desk.
He lurched to his feet. “These books are old, very old. They contain information that could help us…”
“I don’t care!” she cut in, throwing a manicured hand up at him. “Stop complaining and go fetch his food.”
His eyes narrowed. “You get it!” he hissed, turning murderous eyes on John. “I for one would rather see him starve.”
“Now!” the woman shouted, getting his attention. “Or else I’ll be having words with Gabriel.”
What little colour there had been in the vampires features vanished. Casting John one last deadly glance, he pushed back his chair and stormed from the study. Once he was gone the woman turned her gaze back to the teenager. “You don’t have to be afraid of him, he wouldn’t dare touch you.”
John didn’t meet her gaze. “He raped my mother and killed her,” he said flatly.
Her expression stiffened and she gave a slow, embarrassed nod. “I do not condone his actions. He shouldn’t have done that,” she quietly admitted.
John looked up, as if seeing her for the first time. Tears brimmed in his eyes. “That makes it ok, then?” he asked, voice cracking.
“No. No, it doesn’t. But your mother may still live. She was alive when Falco left her.”
John laughed. He didn’t know why. Tears streamed from his eyes. “Don’t…just don’t…”
The woman allowed her hands to fall, slipping them into the pockets of her dark blue, tight jeans. She wore a revealing black top and a ton of golden jewellery and heavy make-up. If circumstances had been different John would have not been able to tear his eyes from her dark beauty. But as it was, he wanted nothing more than to see her as dead as the rest of the vampires. He secretly prayed that Alex would grant his wish.
Close your eyes, John, a familiar voice whispered in his ear. John froze in shock. Close them. He did. A piercing scream assaulted his ears and it was all John could do to clutch his head with his bruised and broken digits. A loud thump and a slick sound of metal slicing flesh made him wince ever more.
“John,” said a voice he knew all too well. He looked up. Alex stood where the vampire had been, his face, white shirt and feathers sprayed with blood. Drops of crimson fell from the point of his sword.
John staggered to his feet as the angel came to him, sheathing his blade in the process. Words caught in John’s throat. He flung his arms around Alex, breaking down.
“It’s all right, you’re safe,” Alex said. His ears pricked as his supernatural senses alerted him to six fallen angels speeding on silent feet towards the study. Wrapping a protective wing around John, he turned, unleashing a blinding bolt of blue lightning as they burst through the door. He fried the demons to ash. Only bits of charred bones and splintered floorboards remained where they had been when John opened his eyes again.
“Come on,” Alex said, grabbing the youth by the hand and dragging him.
John looked up and down the hall that the angel sped him down. He heard another sickening shriek of a vampire perishing far behind them. His skin crawled. “Why…why can’t you teleport us out of here?”
“Because Gabriel is stopping me,” Alex said, taking a sharp turn down the next corner of the hallway. “Your mum is still alive, don’t worry about her,” he added, hoping the news would calm the racing boy’s heart. Alex could feel it pounding like a drum through his fingers.
“Hayley?” John asked, peering back over his shoulder.
“She’s safe.” Alex suddenly stopped. Ahead of them a troop of fallen angels appeared, blocking their path. There must have been twenty of them. Alex glanced back over his shoulder. Another group emerged from behind, sealing off any escape. The two groups hung back, clearly tempered by the guardian’s earlier onslaught. Alex slipped his hand from John’s. “Stand with your back to the wall,” he whispered, slowly drawing his blade. The ancient sword with the white and black feathered cross guard slid silently from its sheath. One glance at the sword and John did as he was bid.
Alex watched the ones in front of him, while his extraordinary senses allowed him to keep an eye on the ones at his back. None of them made a move. “Well, what are you waiting for?” he asked, coaxing them.
John gasped, nearly falling. His eyes bulged from their sockets.
“John?”
“It’s a trap! I’ve seen it in their minds! Gabriel’s here!” he shouted.
As one, both hoards charged. But the ceiling fell into them before they could reach their targets, rivers of water flooding downward from the floor above. In the seconds between the roof falling in and the tides that followed reaching them, Alex sheathed his sword and turned to John, wrapping the boy in his wings once more.
When he opened them again, John found himself standing in a completely different part of the building. He was soaked, confused and terrified, but he was alive.
“Are you ok?” Alex asked.
“Yeah…yeah,” he gasped, wobbling on his feet. Alex grabbed his shoulder to steady him. John’s gaze darted about. “What just happened?”
“Christopher,” Alex said, looking back over his shoulder. “My brother really does care about you. Come on!”
John gave chase, not knowing where they were going. Alex led him down another long hallway, turning this way and that. When the angel did come to a stop, John ran into the back of him. The teenager froze when he saw who was ahead of them.
Gabriel. He stood no more than twelve feet away in the centre of the hall, dressed in black attire, wearing a self-assuring smirk. John shook his head and backed off a few steps. Gabriel’s icy eyes followed him. “Oh don’t run or else I’ll have to chase you,” he taunted. Gabriel looked almost the mirror image of his brother when he smiled, but where Alex had love and laughter in his eyes the fallen angel had only darkness and ill intent.
Alex looked at John. “Easy,” he whispered and the youth stayed put.
Gabriel’s eyes flitted to his brother and he arched an eyebrow. “You need a shave, brother,” he said.
“And you need to go back to your cell, Gabriel,” Alex replied, as casually as if he’d seen him yesterday. Gabriel’s smile died.
John leaned closer to Alex. “Can you teleport now?” he whispered.
“No.”
Gabriel smiled again; something wicked. “And now you’re trapped in here with me.”
Alex stared at his brother, unflinching. “What happened to you, Gabriel?” he asked. “You used to be an archangel once. You could build worlds with just your imagination.”
Gabriel blinked and he faltered. “I can’t remember…”
“Then come quietly and we will get you the help you need,” Alex pleaded.
Gabriel’s gaze narrowed and he drew his ancient blade.
“Put it down Gabriel, this is your last warning!”
But the fallen angel charged, sword swinging high. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, unable to move. Unimaginable pain wracked through his body, every nerve and bone screaming as if they had been struck by lightning. Gabriel’s mind reeled and red spots exploded across his vision. But in the kaleidoscope of colours and confusion he saw Michael land…then the world went dark.
Chapter Eight
The screams from the top of Michael’s tower reached a new pitch. The ferocity made John flinch. He turned his eyes skyward, glancing at the window at the tower’s top. He used his hand as a shield against the glare of the sun.
“What are they doing up there?” John asked looking to his counterparts, who all sat scattered across the small flight of stone
steps that stretched to the tower’s locked door.
Alex stood by it, arms folded, his thoughts somewhere else. He didn’t seem to hear the teenager. Christopher - who sat a few feet away - spared the youngster a quick glance but said nothing. Hayley, who sat on the top step closest to Alex, just shook her head. Another scream went up - drawing the gaze of passersby. Some paused and stared at the tower for a moment, others at the angels on the steps, and some muttered between themselves before moving on. But no one had dared ask what was going on within the heights of those stone walls.
“Is this really the best place to be torturing him?” Hayley asked, pushing onto her feet. Alex looked at her as she turned to him. “Right in the middle of a market?”
“He’s not being tortured,” Alex said under his breath, lest unwanted ears heard him.
“Then what is he doing?” she asked, craning her head skyward.
“I don’t know,” Alex sighed, also looking up at the tower. “All he said was he was going to chain him until an escort came to take him back to his cell. Why he is screaming, I don’t know.”
“I hope he is torturing him,” John muttered.
Christopher regarded the youngster for a long moment. “Maybe he has gone mad,” he offered, his tone bleak.
Another scream erupted from the tower. John and Hayley flinched; Gabriel sounded like a wounded animal. “Are you sure about that?” Hayley asked, turning on Christopher. The angel looked away.
“Whatever is happening in that tower, it is not our place to get involved,” Alex said, getting her attention. “We have to trust Michael.”
Another harrowing scream went up. John jumped to his feet. “Can we at least fucking go home, then?” he shouted. “Why do we have to sit here and listen to it?” He burst into tears. “I just want to see my mum!” Lurching to his feet, he took off down the steps and through the crowds.
“John!” Christopher shouted, running after him.
Hayley was about to follow but Alex said, “No, let him go.” She looked at him worriedly. “Christopher will make sure that he’s all right.”
Hayley glanced back to the busy market square. She could no longer see either of them. “He had a point though. Why are we still here? John doesn’t need to listen to whatever’s happening up there.”
“I know,” Alex sighed, his gaze drifting to four locals who stared at them suspiciously from several yards away. “But Michael told us to wait.”
Hayley folded her arms. “He could have talked to us before he started torturing Gabriel.” Another scream from the tower set a flock of nearby starlings to flight. “That would have made much more sense than making us sit here and listen to it.”
“Michael said it was important.”
Hayley was about to speak but another scream interrupted her. Once Gabriel’s howls subsided, she said, “It clearly isn’t that important if the torturing has come first though, let’s be honest.”
The door to the tower suddenly swung open, creaking on protesting hinges. Hayley leapt back in surprise. Michael stared at her with his piercing green eyes. She thought he had heard. But at the last, he turned to Alexander. “Gabriel has something he wants to say to you.”
Alex’s eyes widened, stunned. “What?”
“Please,” he said gently, raising a hand. “I know the hatred you harbour him but I implore you to speak to him. It may be the last chance you get depending on the outcome of his trial.”
Alex looked at Hayley, who looked set to bolt.
“It is ok, he cannot hurt you now. He is safely chained,” Michael assured her.
Hayley looked between the two angels. Reluctantly, after a long minute she drew a deep breath to steady her frayed nerves and stepped inside the door.
They found Gabriel chained in the room beneath Michael’s top-floor study. The room was bare save the black heavy duty chains and metal block that held him. Gabriel sat on the floor - his hands bound together by one thick metal band. A bar at its base travelled the six inches to the single one that bound his feet. The shackles left no room for movement. The metal collar around his neck was also attached to them. Two fat, short chains, one from his collar and one from his shackles, held him at the mercy of the block. The block itself was inky in colour but metallic. It was a short, squat, square affair, but regardless of its small and light appearance, it was clearly heavier and much more powerful than it looked.
Gabriel peered up at them from beneath his dishevelled black locks; his dark eyes following Hayley as she walked a short distance from the door. She took several steps and then went no further, keeping a healthy space between her and Gabriel. It was a few moments before she realised his right eye was shut, the socket swollen to the size of an orange. His right cheek was also bruised. A glance at his bloodied hands and torn feathers told the rest of the story.
“Do I frighten you?” Gabriel asked, clocking the look of fear on her face.
Alex gripped the hilt of his blade and stepped forward. Michael stopped him with an arm. Alex looked to the archangel.
“Do not let him provoke you,” he warned.
Alex stared at him for a long moment then realised his grip. The archangel lowered his hand. Alex nodded at Gabriel. “Michael said you had something to say to me,” he said flatly.
The corner of Gabriel’s lip curled. “You really do not care what happens to me, do you, brother?” he asked casually, tossing his hair back to reveal the full extent of his injuries. “Does it not upset you what one of your generals has done to me?”
Alex betrayed no reaction. “Michael is an archangel, he can do as he sees fit. He always acts in the best interests.”
“Well I’m obviously missing something here because I don’t get what beating him to a pulp has achieved,” Hayley asked.
“Hayley,” Alex hissed, eyes flashing.
“No, it is quite all right, Alexander,” Michael said, silencing him. He inclined his head, his large wings flexing behind him. “I needed answers about how he escaped and where he has been hiding. He was shielding his mind from me.” He looked sad. “It pains me to say but this was the only way to get the answers I needed.”
Gabriel burst out laughing. It was a sharp, rattling sound that was not easy on the ear.
“You had something to say to me, spit it out!” Alex shouted, silencing him.
Gabriel stared at him. Then his dark gaze drifted to Hayley. “I wanted to tell you to say goodbye to her.”
Hayley drew back.
“If you say one more thing to her…” Alex warned but Gabriel burst out laughing again.
“You really are a fool, Alexander! You’re not the only one who can rent himself in two!” he roared through laughter and broken teeth.
Alex twisted on his heels, reaching out for Hayley. But before he could reach her the ground went from beneath his feet and he saw the fires burning at the edge of his vision. All the while Hayley Foster stared at him and his heart bled - he knew he would never reach her in time. Then something quite remarkable happened - he did. With Hayley in his arms, he looked around the frozen world that they stood in. A wall of fire stood above their heads - unwavering, the crumbling stonework suspended in its descent, the falling floorboards hovering against gravity.
“Run, Alexander!” Michael shouted from afar.
Alex’s eyes snapped his way. The archangel stood with his arms outstretched, straining with sweat running down his face. Alex teleported away. But the angel felt something clip him while he raced through the ether and he crash landed. His shoulder burst into agony as it hit the flagstones. Alex rolled several times before he came to a stop, bumping and bashing himself with every tumble. His wings swept back the moment he stopped rolling, allowing Hayley to let go of him. She stumbled onto dizzy feet. Alex was up an instant later, tearing his blade from its scabbard. Someone caught his elbow as they ran past but didn’t stop. Dozens hurried by, shouting and screaming as fireballs rained from the sky. No one paid the two of them who had just appeared out of thin
air any mind - their usual reverence for angels forgotten in favour of self-preservation.
Hayley grabbed Alex’s arm. “Get us out of here!”
A nearby explosion set the ground rumbling beneath their feet. Alex pulled Hayley to him, wrapping a wing about her. The fleeing crowds surged passed them with new urgency. “I can’t, he’s blocking me!” Alex shouted over the din or screams as he joined the running human tide.
“What about John and Christopher?” Hayley shouted as another fireball struck a nearby rooftop.
Alex pulled her into a narrow side street which was all but deserted. Pressing his back to the wall of a white-washed home he held her against him for protection. “I can’t sense them or Michael, Gabriel’s hindering my senses.”
Hayley’s right hand itched furiously. She rubbed it against Alex’s chest, desperately trying to soothe it. “Something’s coming, my hand’s itching again!” she warned him.
Reaching over her shoulder, Alex pulled her sword free. He pressed it into Hayley’s hand, his eyes boring deep into hers. “Stay close to me.”
Hayley nodded, tightening her grip on the winged sword hilt. The cool kiss of the mysterious metal soothed her burning palm.
Spurring Hayley on down the alley, Alex followed close behind - sword at the ready. A whistle and a bang and the world rocked again. Hayley caught a nearby wall with her free hand. Pushing away from it, she ran on. “Wouldn’t we be safer following the crowd?” she shouted back to Alex.
“He probably knows where we are! It would not make any difference!” Alex yelled, looking frantically about for any sign of danger. “Less will die the further we are away from them!” A scream burst from Alex’s lungs and he fell.
Hayley skidded to a stop and turned. “Alex!” she screamed, running back to him. But she hesitated when she caught a glimpse of the black-winged angel at the top of the road.
Alex twisted round onto his backside, wincing from the effort. A quick glance to his right wing revealed two black shuriken embedded within its length. Blood poured from the wounds, soiling his pure white feathers. His half-unfolded wing quivered as he staggered to his feet. Spreading his other one, Alex blocked the narrow alley - keeping Hayley firmly behind him as she ran up.