Angel Eclipsed (The Louisiangel Series Book 2) (24 page)

“I can’t let you do that,” I told Terrence, my voice sounding much more confident than I actually felt.

“Shame you don’t have much say in that,” he told me. “If you both survive, maybe we’ll go for a beer together sometime.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Raphael, was telling me that the safest thing to do was to get myself and Joshua out of there, but I wasn’t going to listen to the more sane part of my brain. Not when Beelzebub was charging at me with a sword.

I raised mine and deflected the blow at the last minute, knowing as I did, this wasn’t a fight I was going to win easily. With the power behind that blow, delivered from a deceptively nimble body, the strike sent tremors shooting down my arm. It was all I could do to recover quick enough to block a blow from above.

This sent another jolt through me, but I recovered faster this time, and attempted my own attack. Terrence saw it coming, ducking and punching. The blow sent me tumbling to the floor.

Recalling everything Raphael had told me about falling, recovering and retaliating, I tucked into a ball, rolling over and out of the way. Using the momentum, I leaped to my feet and whirled around, ignoring my hair as it whipped my face, and swung my sword as hard as I could at Terrence. He blocked my attack, but not before my sword nicked at his side, a crimson mark appearing on his pale pink shirt.

Terrence took a step back and looked down at himself. Then he gave me an impressed look. “Okay, you’re better than I expected, but you’re never going to be good enough to win this fight.” He looked thoughtfully at Joshua before looking back to me. “Lucifer wants him alive… I guess it wouldn’t hurt to kill you a bit later, and I guess I do have a purpose for you both tonight.”

I didn’t allow myself the opportunity to think about what he was saying. From the corner of my eye, I could see movement from his entourage and Joshua was on the other side of the room. The choice was between protecting Joshua and attacking Terrence, and I knew which of the two I was picking. I ran towards Joshua, as Terrence darted back to his female bodyguards. There was a flurry of movement from Terrence as he swapped his sword for something else.

Before I could make it to Joshua, Terrence was back in front of me. “I wonder if your blood is the same color as your hair?” he asked me. I was so startled by his question, that my reaction was too slow. The thing he had swapped his sword for was a knife – I worked that out just as he stabbed it in my chest.

Behind me Joshua swore. I heard him start to move towards me. I brought my sword back – the action making my chest feel like it was being ripped open – and swung it at Terrence. Terrence seemed surprised that I was still standing, and barely moved out of the way. This time, my sword scorched a line across his chest, but I could tell it was nothing more than a cosmetic scratch. The exertion caused me to suck in a ragged breath which hurt so much I could barely keep a hold of my sword.

“Joshua, get out of here,” I forced myself to shout at him.

“The only way out is over the balcony,” Terrence told me. “Why don’t you get the door for him?” Before I could work out what he was insinuating, he had spun on the spot and delivered a powerful back-kick to my stomach, inches below the blade which was still protruding from my chest. The force was that strong I went flying backwards – past Joshua and straight through the large glass windows. I sailed over the balcony, watching as the ground came hurtling towards me.

The kick had winded me, the knife was making it impossible to get air into my chest, and I had gone head first through a pane of glass. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get my body to tuck up and protect itself from the impact.

I crash landed on the asphalt on my side, sliding across the ground. Along with every other injury, I could feel my skin shredding as the uneven ground tore at it. When I finally came to a stop, it was all I could do to try not to cry. I was immobilized from the pain.

“Angel!” I heard Veronica’s cry.

My eyes flickered in the direction of her voice, and I could just make out the ebony haired teen sprinting towards me, with no regard for who saw her. I opened my mouth, trying to get the words out for her to slow down: there was a minute possibility that no one had seen me flying out of a second story window, but the likelihood was that they had heard the commotion. Indeed, I could hear yells from behind me.

Then another jolt of pain shot through me: Joshua. With the last remaining strength I had, I pushed myself up from the ground. “Joshua!” I cried at Veronica, pointing to the window I had come out of.

Veronica stopped and looked up, seeing what I did at the same time: Joshua’s body flying through the air. Before I could stand, Veronica had turned and jumped.

I gasped as she caught Joshua. Veronica was tall, but was so slight, that the sight of her catching Joshua alone was unbelievable. But even more incredible were the two enormous wings which seemed to erupt from her back. They weren’t feathers, and they weren’t white, like I expected. Hers looked like they were made of electric blue bolts of lightning. They illuminated the street.

 The two hovered there for a moment, then, with a flap of her wings, Veronica sank to the ground with a speed which defied gravity. As soon as Veronica’s feet touched the ground,
her wings seemed to dissipate and
she set Joshua down. He stared at her wide-eyed, as disbelieving as I was. “Thank you,” he managed.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, giving him the once over.

I managed to stand while he nodded. My actions caught his attention and he turned, his face going ashen as he saw me. “Angel!” he cried, running to my side.

“Just a flesh wound,” I joked, before coughing.

“This isn’t something to joke about,” he scolded me.

“Actually, she’s right,” Veronica announced joining his side. “That’s a human weapon. There won’t be any lasting damage.” And then she reached forward and yanked the blade from me.

“Holy shit!” I bellowed, wanting to throw up. My legs wobbled and Joshua was steadying me before I could falter. “What the hell?” I demanded.

“Well that’s new,” Veronica said, staring at me in bewilderment.

“Are you insane?” Joshua demanded.

“What happened in there?” Veronica asked, ignoring Joshua’s question.

“Beelzebub kicked my ass,” I told her. The pain in my chest was already starting to subside. “Lucifer’s not the problem, Veronica. It’s Beelzebub.”

“Beelzebub?” she repeated, her eyes widening. “You need to get back in there.”

“We need to get out of here,” I corrected her. “We escaped that fight by being thrown through a window.”

Veronica looked to me and then nodded. “You need to get back to the convent and let Michael know,” she said, although she looked decidedly happy at that prospect. She glanced up to the roofs and, using two fingers, pointed at her eyes, before pointing at Bee’s. “The cherubim will keep watch.” She reached down behind me and plucked my sword from the ground, switching it back to its dagger form: I hadn’t even realized I had managed to keep hold of it.

Dissent

Joshua and I limped back to the convent in silence. I really wanted to get him to a doctor, but he had insisted that he was fine and refused to go anywhere other than to see Michael. According to Joshua, Terrence – Beelzebub – had punched him – his cheek was sporting a nasty red mark which was likely to turn into a bruise – before picking him up and throwing him out of the window after me.

As we drew onto Chartres Street, the tall walls of the convent in sight, the arm Joshua had around my waist, helping me walk, tightened slightly. I was still hurting, choosing, like Joshua, to return to the convent and let Michael know what had happened over seeing to my wounds. I wasn’t sure what was going on under my shirt but I knew it hurt like hell. The extra pressure made me stop, and I looked up at Joshua, to find his eyes already on me.

He stared at me for a long time, his eyes sweeping over my face, taking in what felt like a dozen scratches and a black eye. Finally, his eyes returned to mine. “You shouldn’t have been in Bee’s.”

Fighting back a wince, I stepped away from him and frowned at him. That action did make me wince so I relaxed my forehead before speaking. “Joshua,” I sighed. “If I were still alive, I would probably be in surgery while some doctor does his best to patch up whatever internal injury I’ve got going on. I may still be walking, but that doesn’t mean I’m not in pain, so can we not have this conversation right now?”

When Joshua looked away, raking a hand through his hair, I stepped around him, continuing on to the convent. I managed four paces before Joshua called, “Wait!”

I stopped, turning back to him. “I’m not having this conversation with you, Joshua. I get that I don’t look like I can kick ass, and sure, I was lucky to walk away from that fight, but I held my own. You may have been brought up to believe that men need to protect women, but you have to accept that I’m the one trying to protect you. Your job is dangerous enough, and before you say anything,” I said, holding my hands up as he tried to get a word in. “Before you say a word, I am not expecting you to give up your job, and I will do my hardest not to ask you to not get into dangerous situations. Being a cop and protecting others is one of the things I love about you, and asking you to change that would change who you are. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to stand around and listen to you tell me that I shouldn’t be doing the same thing.”

Joshua took a several steps forward, closing the gap between us. “You are stubborn and pig-headed.”

“Hi pot, I’m kettle,” I shot back at him.

Joshua’s hand shot forward and he gently held my lips together. “You’ve had your say, now it’s my turn.” A growl erupted from the back of my throat, causing him to smile, but I remained silent otherwise. “You are stubborn and pig-headed,” he repeated, ignoring my glares. “And you’re also right.”

I jerked my head back, freeing my mouth. “I am?” I asked, surprised.

“I don’t like you telling me what I can and cannot do, and I sure as hell can’t do the same thing to you. My lieutenant is a Prince of Darkness, Beelzebub owns a bar – lots of bars – here in New Orleans, and from everything I’ve heard tonight, it really does sound like Lucifer is back somewhere. We need to act as partners, and partners trust each other.”

“I never didn’t trust you,” I told him. “I just never trusted myself.”

“Well I guess I need to trust you enough for the both of us,” Joshua said softly, before wrapping his arms around me. He leaned down and kissed me, taking care with my split lip.

Eventually, I pulled away. Reluctant as I was, we were outside of the convent, and we still had to let Michael know about everything that had just happened. “We should go,” I told him.

* * *

I was about to open the doors to the main entrance when there was a commotion behind us. I whirled around, drawing the dagger. Before it was fully extended, I realized the commotion was caused by allies: Michael, Cupid, Raphael and Paddy.

“Leon!” Joshua exclaimed from beside me.

Leon, looking a little worse for wear, was in the center of the group. Behind him, using one hand to restrain him, the other to hold a sword – dark like mine – at his throat, was Michael. Flanking each side were the other two archangels, while Paddy was bringing up the rear.

“What’s Joshua doing-” Cupid started, but stopped as soon as he saw me. “What happened to you?”

“What are you doing to Leon?” Joshua demanded.

Leon, who had been quiet until then, spotted Joshua and started struggling. “Joshua, help me!” he pleaded.

“Enough,” Michael told him, pressing the blade against his throat. “Angel, get Joshua out of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Joshua told Michael, striding over. He was stopped by Raphael as he stepped out in front of Michael and Leon, holding his sword out.

I was beside Joshua in an instant, my own sword outstretched. “How about you stop pointing that at Joshua,” I requested.

“How about we all relax a little,” Paddy suggested, stepping between the two swords, her hands in the air. “Rafe, Joshua is not going to do anything stupid, and Angel, you need to stand down and let us handle this.”

I stared Raphael down. I’d fought him in training, and even if I wasn’t injured, he could still disarm me easily, but I was not putting my sword away until he did. There was a long pause where Raphael seemed to consider me, and then he lowered his sword, although it remained by his side. “It’s for him,” he said, indicating to Leon. “Not you or Joshua.”

I took a sideways glance at Joshua. He was tensed, but I didn’t think he was going to do anything. I lowered my own sword, allowing it to shrink to its dagger form, though I didn’t sheath it. “Joshua, Leon is being possessed by one of the Fallen,” I reminded him.

“Fallen?” Leon repeated. “Josh, you need to call for backup. These guys broke into my house and kidnapped me.”

“Angel, are you sure?” Joshua asked me.

I looked over, sensing his unease, and paused. Was I sure? I nodded. “Leon, or whoever is possessing him, confessed. I can’t think of a reason as to why Leon would make that up and change his mind about it now.”

“I said no such thing, Joshua!” Leon cried. “Your angel girlfriend has it in for me because I think she’s a bad influence. I can’t imagine why that would be.”

Joshua’s eyes narrowed. “How do you get it out?” he asked, directing the question at Michael.

“You should go home,” Michael responded. Leon’s face filled with horror.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Joshua retorted.

Michael looked at me. I was expecting his next words to be instructions that I get Joshua away from here. “You make sure he does not interfere.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked. “An exorcism?”

“You’re all crazy,” Leon cried, resuming in his struggles.

There was something wrong with this picture. I didn’t know much about police procedure, but I was willing to bet they were trained to negotiate. Struggling was surely going to rile someone up at best, and result in bloodshed at worst. As it was, Michael tightened his grip on the blade. The action drew a line of blood across Leon’s throat.

I blinked. The blood looked wrong. Thick, gloopy, and far too dark. I glanced up, catching Leon’s eyes. He must have realized that I knew, because his eyes flashed blue. Beside me, I heard Joshua gasp.

“We need to move,” Michael said, firmly. “Paddy, go get the infusorium from my room. Cupid, I will need the platinum bonds from the armory.” The two nodded, Cupid disappearing in a flash, Paddy hurrying into the convent through the main doors. Michael looked at me and Joshua. “If you two are coming, come now.” At that, he began dragging the still resisting Leon towards St. Mary’s Church. Joshua and I shared a look before hurrying after him.

Whatever doubt Joshua had was eradicated when we stepped into the church. Leon’s body had stopped resisting and now contorted in pain. His eyes had switched to that eerie pale blue and stayed that color. Worse still, his body was oozing tiny droplets of gloop. It almost looked like a layer of sweat, but it had that same dark consistency his blood had.

“You’re hurting him,” Joshua cried, taking a step towards his partner.

Raphael was between then again instantly. “This is hurting the fallen angel, not the vessel.”

“He’s not a vessel,” Joshua snapped. “He’s a human, and he’s my friend.”

“Maybe it would be better if you were not here,” Raphael suggested, looking pointedly at me.

I didn’t need to look at Joshua. I just shook my head. “We’re staying,” I told him, firmly.

“Then stay back,” Raphael commanded. “If you interfere, we run the risk of hurting your friend.”

I nodded taking Joshua’s hand and gently tugged him to one side, putting a few pews between us and Leon. “It will be fine,” I assured Joshua as his hand tightened around mine.

As Michael continued dragging Leon towards the alter, Cupid appeared in the church clutching several feet of silvery chains which tinkled as he moved. I couldn’t help but be a little skeptical of the chains. They looked about as thick as my finger: if Michael was struggling to keep Leon still, I seriously doubted that the chains were going to help much.

Without any warning, Michael flipped Leon over his shoulder, sending him crashing to the marble floor. In the seconds that Leon lay there, stunned, Michael and Raphael pounced, pinning his arms and legs down. Just as quickly, Cupid laid the thin chains over each limb. Where the metal touched bare skin, the skin bubbled and smoked. Leon bellowed in pain.

I could feel Joshua’s nails digging into me, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away. The three archangels stepped back. Michael and Raphael’s swords remained drawn. Cupid hurried over to join us. “You’re hurting him,” Joshua said, his voice strained.

From my other side Cupid shook his head. “Whichever fallen angel is possessing him is the one who is hurting,” Cupid told him. “The bonds are made of platinum. It’s one of the purest metals on the planet: it won’t hurt humans, but the Fallen can’t stand the purity.”

“What’s happening,” I asked Cupid, partly for my own benefit, but also for Joshua, who seemed like the only reason he was still standing beside me and not interfering was because he was holding onto me.

Cupid glanced past me and eyed Joshua. He looked back at me and frowned. “Judging from this reaction, the fallen angel hasn’t been possessing Leon for long: a couple of weeks at the most? The longer they’re in a human, the harder it is to remove them.”

“How do you do that?” Joshua asked him, finally tearing his gaze away from his writhing friend.

“The Fallen cannot cross a light sigil,” Cupid started to explain.

“This church is a sigil,” I quickly added.

Cupid nodded. “The Fallen, in its own skin, cannot enter a light sigil at all. In a human they have a limited amount of time, dependant on how long they have been in that vessel, but after that, they will do everything to get the vessel they are using to leave the light sigil. It’s one of the few things that can really cause the Fallen pain. The trick is to keep them over the sigil for as long as possible. Eventually, the pain becomes so great that they need to leave, or they explode.”

“What?” both Joshua and I demanded; horrified.

“If we can create an opening, the Fallen will be forced out that way. The longer it’s in the sigil, and the lower its rank, the greater the chance it won’t survive,” Cupid explained.

“What the hell do you mean ‘create an opening’?” I asked, envisioning Michael stabbing Leon.

Cupid looked at me in surprise. “I…” he shook his head. “It’s not what you think. Look,” he pointed up at the altar.

Paddy had arrived. In her hands was what I guessed was the infusorium. It was a very simple, silver – or, likely platinum – funnel. She handed it over to Michael and he thrust it at Leon. I still thought he was going to stab it in him. Instead, Michael took advantage of Leon’s cries, and thrust it in his mouth.

There was a moment of silence, in which Michael, Raphael and Paddy stepped back. After a few more tense moments, Leon’s back arched away from the floor. There was a final roar from Leon, and then a glowing, silver stream of light rose out into the air above him. Leon’s body finally sank to the floor, motionless. The ball of light hovered there for a moment, and then it exploded, sending a shockwave through the church.

The force sent me and Joshua slamming back into the pew. I lay there, staring up at the ceiling. The force of the blast wasn’t enough to seriously hurt – Joshua was already getting back up – but I was already injured and the explosion was enough to feel like I had taken a direct hit to where I had been stabbed. “Are you okay?” Joshua asked, his face suddenly hovering over mine.

I nodded. “Go check on Leon. I’m fine,” I assured him.

He paused for a moment, and then disappeared. His face was replaced with Cupid’s. “I’ve seen bugs splattered on a windshield which look better than you do right now,” he told me. “What happened to you tonight?”

I sucked in a deep breath and forced myself upright. “Is Leon okay?”

“I’m a little more concerned about you,” Cupid told me, crouching down beside me. “Angel, you really do look like you went through a windshield.”