Page 8
CHAPTER 8
A melia stared into her coffee cup like it might hold answers to the universe's biggest questions. The mansion's kitchen was quiet this early. Most of the angels were still doing their pre-dawn patrols or repair work in the French Quarter. Last night's victory over Lucifer's corruption should have left her feeling triumphant. Instead, her nerves were doing the supernatural equivalent of break dancing. Something was off, and she couldn't put her finger on it. It tickled at her magical senses like an itch she couldn't scratch.
"You're thinking too hard." Camael's deep voice rolled through the kitchen like thunder as he entered. The archangel moved with that lethal grace that did things to her concentration. His black t-shirt stretched across shoulders built for war. Those ice-blue eyes of his saw straight through her bullshit.
Her cheeks heated when she thought about what they’d done before falling asleep last night. The angel was a sexual powerhouse. "Maybe not hard enough," she muttered as she reached for the coffee pot to keep from diving too deep into those memories.
Her hand froze halfway there as power slammed through her magical awareness like a freight train. The Key around her neck went from room temperature to nuclear in two seconds flat. "Fuck me running." The curse slipped out as her senses crawled. The ley lines beneath the city were lighting up her supernatural radar like the Fourth of July. It wasn't the brute force Lucifer used last night. This was something subtler. Sneakier.
Camael's wings manifested as he reached for her. His phone rang at the same time. Amelia saw Izzy's face on the screen before he answered on speaker phone. "Talk to me."
"We've got problems all over town, but the concentration seems to be in the Quarter." The vampire princess's voice carried the kind of urgency that meant someone was about to have a really bad day. "The Dark Warriors are encountering demons left and right who are carrying relics. And they're scurrying underground."
Well, shit. That explained the weird vibes Amelia was getting. Her witch senses weren't just being paranoid. They were picking up Lucifer's newest attempt at fucking with her city.
Rami materialized in the doorway like he'd been summoned by Izzy’s presence. His expression said he'd caught enough of the conversation to know they were about to have an interesting morning. "I'll alert the others."
"Do it on the way out." Camael's voice dropped to that place that made windows rattle. And her insides sit up and beg. "We move now. Whatever this is, we need to keep it from spreading."
The Angels of Retribution moved like a well-oiled machine as they headed for the mansion's east wing launch point. Camael issued rapid-fire orders while they moved. His massive frame led the charge through marble hallways that had seen more battle prep than some military bases.
"Jo, get eyes in the sky before we land. I want to know what we're walking into." His wings rustled with barely contained energy. "Mal, coordinate with Izzy's crew. Make sure the Dark Warriors know where to cover."
Rami's fingers flew over his phone as he kept pace, firing off texts faster than demon lords running from holy water. "The Dark Warriors who are capable of being out during the day are already moving into position," he reported without breaking stride. "Zander sent more men through the portal from Seattle. Izzy's got teams staged around Jackson Square and along most of the streets. The Rowan sisters are out to help keep things hidden as well."
They burst through the mansion's rear doors into the pre-dawn air. Wings snapped out in a display that made Amelia’s breath catch. The angels launched skyward in perfect formation. Amelia was in awe of their ability to cloak themselves without more than a thought as they headed for the Quarter. She would kill to be that powerful.
They hit the French Quarter like Heaven's most elite strike force had a grudge against evil. The morning sun painted Jackson Square in shades of gold. The early hour didn’t stop the tourists. They were already out in force. They were snapping photos of the Cathedral while completely oblivious to the supernatural throwdown about to go down. Amelia began casting aversion spells so the humans didn’t pay the supernaturals any attention.
Izzy waited for them beneath the sheltering overhang of Cafe Envie. She was smart enough to keep her vampire ass out of the strengthening sunlight. The female was all lethal grace and royal bearing as she emerged from the shadows. Her father's sapphire eyes missed nothing as she took in their battle-ready crew .
"About time you showed up," she drawled. Her fangs flashed as she lifted one corner of her mouth in disgust and gestured to a nearby storm drain. "The energy coming from down there isn’t much right now. However, there is something making my vampire senses do the cha-cha."
Taking a position that kept her safely in the shade, she continued, "Luke tried mapping it magically, but something's cock-blocking his tracking spells. Whatever's down there doesn't want to be found."
"While you guys tackle the streets, I'm going to head underground to do some recon," she continued as she checked her weapons. "There’s less chance of becoming an extra crispy vampire, and I can try to find what’s niggling at me. I'll keep in touch through Rami."
“Be careful, Cupcake,” Rami told her with a fond smile.
She rolled her eyes, but returned the smile. Her movements were pure predator as she adjusted her leather jacket. The thing probably cost more than some cars. From what was known about the princess, she was deadly gorgeous with a side of designer labels. Most assumed she got that from her mother and had been surprised to hear it came from her aunt.
After Izzy left, they swept through the French Quarter's historic streets. Amelia's boots clicked against centuries-old cobblestones while magic crackled around her hands. The Key at her throat pulsed with each step. The signal was scattered. It was like trying to find a radio station during a supernatural thunderstorm.
"Anything?" Camael's deep voice rolled through the air as they checked another block. The archangel moved like violence waiting for an excuse to happen. Those ice-blue eyes of his never stopped scanning for threats.
"It's like trying to track smoke," she muttered. She couldn't tamp down her frustration as they passed Lafitte's. The ancient bar's walls held more history than some countries. Right now, she didn't give a shit about the tourist attraction. "The energy's everywhere and nowhere."
After another half hour of grid searching that got them jack shit with a side of squat, Amelia had enough. She stopped dead in the middle of Governor Nicholls Street. Ignoring the curious looks from tourists nursing their go-cup hurricanes, she tugged the Key from beneath her top and cast another aversion spell.
"Screw this," she announced. The artifact hummed against her palm like it had been waiting for her to get with the program. "Time to do this the old-fashioned way."
Power gathered around her hands as she channeled both light and shadow through the ancient metal. The spell that followed would have made the Rowan sisters take notice. The Key blazed to life like someone had caught twilight in a bottle and told it to point them in the right direction.
"Son of a bitch," she breathed as the energy crystallized into a clear signal. It wasn't leading them to some fancy historic building or tourist trap. Instead, it pulled her toward a storm drain that looked older than sin. "He's using the old tunnels. The network runs beneath the entire Quarter. Some of them pre-date the city itself."
"It’s the perfect place to hide actions that you don't want to be discovered until it's too late," Rami observed as he checked his blade.
Amelia cut her eyes to the clueless humans strolling by, their civilian asses locked and loaded with smartphones, capturing bullshit tourist pics of old-as-dirt architecture while being straight-up blind to the shitstorm that was about to explode. True fact. The battle brewing in their midst was the kind of violent spectacle that would've made their fragile human brains short-circuit, but they just kept right on with their worthless photo op, completely deaf and dumb to the predators circling each other mere feet away.
"We're going to need some serious magical cover for this. Unless we want to end up as the French Quarter's newest viral TikTok sensation."
"I've got the humans," Camael rumbled as he moved closer. His massive frame radiated the kind of power that made her hormones sit up and take notice. "You focus on masking our entry point."
Their powers merged like they'd been doing this dance for centuries instead of days. His divine energy created a zone of supernatural don't-look-here while she wove light and shadow into a veil that would make most cloaking spells look like amateur hour.
The manhole cover didn't stand a chance against angelic strength once their own cover was secure. It came up with a screech of protesting metal that their spells muffled. The shaft below was darker than a demon's soul and promised to smell worse than Bourbon Street after Mardi Gras.
"Ladies first?" Rami offered with a warrior's grin as he held the heavy metal disk.
"Such a gentleman," Amelia drawled before she started down the ancient ladder. "Just remember to seal this shit up tight behind us. Last thing we need is some drunk tourist deciding to go urban exploring in Hell's favorite subway system."
"Ladies first?" Izzy's voice rang out as Amelia dropped into the darkness without hesitation.
Amelia's hand flew to her chest as she hit the tunnel floor. Her heart did the supernatural equivalent of a gymnastics routine. "Holy mother of magic!" She spun toward the vampire princess's voice. "Way to give a witch a heart attack. I didn't expect to encounter you so soon."
"Make some noise next time. Preferably before I accidentally turn you into supernatural confetti,” Amelia continued. Her magic crackled defensively around her fingers before she got it under control. The Key at her throat pulsed with answering power like it was equally startled by the vampire's sudden appearance.
"Please." Izzy's sapphire eyes glowed in the darkness as she flashed those perfect white fangs in a predator's smile. "Like you could catch me even if you tried. Vampire speed, remember?" She gestured to the tunnel she'd emerged from. "We heard you guys talking and decided to follow you so we could join the party."
"The more the merrier,” Amelia agreed as the Dark Warriors emerged from the darkness like they'd been born from it.
Aison's massive form rippled with barely contained shifter energy as he took point. His muscles bunched beneath a shirt that was as tight as Camael’s. The Pacific Islander moved like a predator despite his size. Every step promised violence to anything stupid enough to get in their way.
Slate was darkness given form as he slid closer to Izzy. His movements were so fluid they barely registered to human eyes. Behind him, Luke's sorcerer magic crackled blue-white around his hands and provided additional illumination that painted the ancient walls.
Her eyes went to the ladder as the angels descended the ladder one by one. Their wings were still hidden. Amelia craned her neck and looked up right as Camael dropped through the opening. He tucked his arms tight to his sides in the confined space. He gave her a smoldering look that made her wish they were alone. There was something seriously wrong with her. She’d become a mindless fool over a male.
Rather than think about that, she gestured to one of the dark tunnels. “Follow me." She held up the still-glowing Key. The artifact pulsed with twilight energy that made the tunnel walls dance with shadows. "The tracking spell's got a lock on whatever Lucifer's cooking up down here."
Camael was right next to her as she moved forward with purpose. She let the Key guide her through the labyrinth. Its power lit their path like someone had captured faded starlight in a bottle. She was able to use it as a supernatural flashlight. The light caught movement in the shadows.
The combined presence of Heaven's elite and the Dark Warriors should have been enough to make any demon think twice. Should have been. The first ugly bastard emerged from a side tunnel like it had been waiting for them. The thing looked like someone had tried to mate an alligator with a scorpion, and then given it anger management issues. Its multiple eyes gleamed with hellfire as it launched itself at their group.
It wasn’t going to be easy to fight in the confined space. Rami's blade sang through the air and separated its head from its shoulders before it could reach them. Black ichor splattered across century-old brick like the world's worst abstract art installation.
"Lucifer's got the tunnels guarded," he observed as he flicked demon goo off his blade.
"Ya think?" Amelia's sarcasm was automatic as she channeled power through the Key. Light and shadow combined into something that turned two more demons into supernatural chum. The display of power had Slate whistling low while Aison's approving growl echoed through the tunnel.
"Save some for the rest of us," Izzy called out as she moved deeper into the darkness. "Some of us need the workout."
Amelia chuckled as they pushed deeper into the maze. Each junction brought new challenges as Lucifer's power spread through the ley lines like cancer. The energy was different from last night's assault. It was subtler and harder to track. Instead of trying to overwhelm the city's spiritual foundation all at once, he was trying to change it from within. Their progress was slow going because Amelia and Luke removed the seeds as they went so it couldn’t spread.
After what seemed like hours, Camael stopped and said, "We need to split up. We can cover more ground before this shit gets too deep to clean out." He waved to the various spokes of the intersection.
Amelia wanted to protest, but he was right. The corruption was spreading faster than they could track it. "I can sense the affected areas," she said as she pulled out her phone and mapped what she was feeling. "There are three major concentrations. One beneath Jackson Square, another under Bourbon Street, and the third beneath the river side of the Quarter."
"Izzy, take your crew and handle Bourbon," Camael ordered. "Rami, you're with them. Jo, Az, Remi, and Malachi can tackle the riverside. Samil and Zach will go with Amelia and me to Jackson Square."
The teams split off like the well-oiled machine they were. Amelia followed Camael through tunnels that got progressively older and creepier. The brick walls pre-dated the Louisiana Purchase. Her heartbeat kicked up the further they went. She jumped at every movement waiting for the next attack.
She didn't have to wait long. The demons that emerged from the depths were walking evidence that Hell had an R&D department with a serious imagination. The first one looked like it had been carved from volcanic glass. Its form caught and distorted light. Each step it took left smoking footprints of molten stone. The air around it wavered with heat that could melt steel. But the worst part? The damn thing sang. It had a deep resonating tone that made her bones vibrate and her brain rattle in her skull.
Behind it came something that had apparently decided organic matter was for amateurs. Its body was made up of impossible angles and intersecting planes. It shouldn’t have even been able to move. Looking at it was like trying to solve a quantum physics equation while drunk. Amelia threw a spell at it, but it managed to dodge it.
She switched gears and used her hybrid magic. She carved paths through their ranks while the angels’ blades sang songs of destruction. Her power covered their blind spots. It should have been easy to see everything in the tunnels, but it wasn’t.
For every demon they put down, another appeared. It was like trying to bail out the Titanic with a teacup. And Lucifer’s power was spreading. The nature of magic in the city was changing. Where there had been balance, there was now malevolence.
"I don't know how to find all the infected areas in time," she admitted as they reached yet another junction. "There could be hundreds of minor contact points we can't detect until they've spread enough to merge."
"Like cancer," Camael growled as he separated a demon's head from its shoulders. "It only takes a few cells to start, but once they multiply..."
"Game over." The words tasted like ash in her mouth as understanding hit her. "We're playing whack-a-demon while Lucifer's poison spreads through the city's spiritual DNA."
Abraxos landed on Crescent City Arcane's roof like violence given form. The bookstore's wards hummed beneath his feet as he scanned the streets. Something was wrong with the magical currents that ran beneath the Quarter. They felt sick when they shouldn't. Amelia had stopped Lucifer from infecting the nexus points last night.
Movement caught his eye as Sarah emerged from the shop's back door. The female moved with purpose. Her dark hair was pulled back as she took a bag of trash to the dumpster. The intelligence in those gorgeous eyes of hers hit him harder than celestial steel as she spotted him.
"Your timing's perfect," she called up. "Something's trying to corrupt the ley line beneath the store. It’s different from last night."
He dropped to street level with practiced grace. His red wings filled the narrow alley before he tucked them away. "How long ago did it start?"
"About ten minutes ago." She led him inside, where books lined shelves in organized chaos. "The wards are holding, but whatever this is, it's not normal demon activity."
Abraxos pulled out his phone, wondering if he shouldn’t have ignored the last messages. A curse lingered on his lips as he looked up at Sarah. "Lucifer's trying a new approach," he explained as he followed her through the stacks. His senses were already mapping the power flows beneath their feet. "He's going subtle instead of using brute force."
A crash from the street made them both spin toward the front windows. Three demons that looked like overgrown lizards were approaching the store. Their bodies jerked as they tested the wards.
"Friends of yours?" Sarah asked. Her voice carried an edge of steel as she moved to reinforce her protections.
"More like distant relatives I try not to claim at family reunions." His blade materialized in his grip as the first demon breached the store's threshold. "Get behind me and run to safety when you get the chance."
Sarah backed away, but her chin lifted with that stubborn pride that drew him like a moth to flame. "This is my store. I'm not abandoning it."
The fight that followed would have made excellent footage for supernatural security cameras. Abraxos moved like the warrior he was. His blade carved paths through demon flesh while Sarah remained safe behind a shelf of ancient texts.
"On your left!" Her warning cut through the chaos just as one of those bastards tried to flank him. Her voice was a balm to his ragged nerves.
His blade found its mark. He was too distracted by Sarah because a demon slipped past his guard. The thing moved with impossible speed and headed straight for Sarah. Abraxos felt his heart stop as those claws reached for her.
"Sarah!" He moved faster than he ever had. His red wings propelled him across the space. His blade took the demon's head clean off, but not before those claws had torn through the sleeve of her shirt. It left furrows in her arm. The sight of her blood, even just that small amount, made his vision go red. He took out the remaining demons in less time than it took for her to suck in a pained breath.
The demon's remains hadn't finished dissolving before he had her in his arms. He checked the scratch. It was shallow, thank the heavens. The fact that they'd drawn her blood at all made his warrior's soul howl for vengeance.
"I'm fine," she insisted, though he could feel her trembling slightly. "It’s just a scratch."
"That's it." His voice dropped low as he kept her pressed against him. "You're coming back to the mansion with me. Now."
"But the store-"
"Will still be here," he cut her off. "But you won't be if one of those things gets lucky. I can’t be here all the time. We have to stop Lucifer. The mansion has the strongest wards in the city. I'm not asking, Sarah. It’s my job to keep you safe."
She must have seen something in his eyes because she didn't argue further. "At least let me grab my stuff first."
His answering smile was pure predator. "Two minutes. Then we're gone, whether you've got your favorite book or not."
The moment stretched between them. It was heavy with possibilities and things unsaid. The scent of her blood kept him focused. He'd lost too many people he cared about to demon claws. He wasn't about to add her to that list.