Angelic Anarchy (Heaven on Earth Book 1) (17 page)

The more she spoke, the angrier I grew. I could feel the rage inside me boiling just below the surface. It seemed to have taken up a permanent residence in my personality.

“Why should I bother doing any of this?” I was furious that I was being challenged by my enemies.

“Let’s not pretend that you’re not going through that door. It’s all for dramatic effect and only increases the amount of time your precious Evangelina spends with my sister. We both know you will do whatever it takes to get her back.”

A fury engulfed me as the words she said hit home. Instantly, my hands held crackling red fire in them. I called upon my gift without realizing it. It was unlike me to not have complete control, and I was losing control far too much lately. Nicholai looked excited, like he was ready to get on with this as much as I was. Colton placed a supportive hand on my back but his look was hard, as if considering me. He knew it was rare for my emotions to get the best of me, and he had seen it a few times lately. I saw a wariness in him. I wondered if he saw it as a sign the prophecy was beginning.

I let him know with my eyes that the same thoughts and questions crossed my mind too. He wrapped a strong arm around me.

“We’re in this together,” he whispered in my ear.

I squeezed his hand in gratitude. “Fine.” I was calm again when I answered Finders. “You’re right, so let’s do this.”

Finders said nothing as she opened the door. Whatever lay behind door number one, I had no idea. It was completely black. Not dark from a lack of light, but true black. A black so vivid it felt as though my eyes could not comprehend the darkness. If not for being able to see everything in the room we were in, I would have thought I had been blinded again.

Colton, Nicholai, and I looked hesitantly at one another for a moment. Then they each took one of my hands and led me out the door.

W
e marched silently
to whatever doom lay ahead of us. No longer clutching to one another, we were armed and ready to fight. I could not see what weapons they held, but I was certain one of Nich’s was the bladed staff given to him by Lori. I held Lori’s sword. For some reason, it made me feel safer. In my other hand, I held nothing. I intended to use my God-given gifts, especially my fire. All my relics were out, and I knew the same could probably have been said of Colton and Nicholai. We walked nearly back-to-back. Since we were blind, it was the only way to make sure we didn’t accidentally kill one another.

Gradually, shapes formed in the dark, and I knew the first phase was beginning. As the room lit up, a scene unfolded in front of our eyes. We were looking at an empty warehouse. The scene formed like it was on a screen and we were watching it. Only it wasn’t really a scene—it was a memory.
Our
memory.

It was a day none of us would ever forget.

The image grew around us until we were in the center. We were no longer watching the old memory; we were in it. It was as if we stepped through a time machine. We could actually walk around and touch the things in the warehouse. I shuddered as I felt the air blow against my skin from the hidden doorway. It was then I noticed I could no longer feel Colton or Nich’s shoulders against mine. I turned to find them staring in horror as it hit them that we were about to relive that horrible day.

The sound of voices approaching caught our attention. There was no sign of the demon we captured that day, so I assumed that the voices we heard were those of Colton, Nicholai, Lorileigh and I just before we found the demon.

I walked outside to the area we were when we caught up with him, but there was no sign of him or us. I looked toward the sun. Something was off. The sun was just rising but we caught up with the demon just before the sun went down. What were we doing here now?

I went back inside. The guys seemed to have reached the same theory as me. They stood behind me, still bearing the same look of horror. We were going to relive that day and what was worse, we were going to see it all go down. We were going to see Lori again, alive and joyful. Unaware that she would meet her death before the day was done.
We were going to have to watch it all unravel knowing what would happen and be powerless to prevent it once again.

The wrath within me was growing once more. I felt myself harden from the inside out. They’d given us a glimmer of false hope. Despite the fact we knew it was impossible, it had given us that tiny piece of wishful thinking that maybe we could change everything. That half-a-second of hope cost so very much as something shattered inside both Nicholai and me. There was no name for that level of cruelty.

The voices we heard were getting closer, and I felt my eyes hood over as I recognized Sloan’s laughter. As it became easier to hear her, I realized they were coming up the staircase behind the secret door. Sloan came through first, talking excitedly to someone we couldn’t yet see. I made to take cover but it proved unnecessary. She couldn’t see or hear us. She was just a memory. Nothing more. I felt Nich start violently beside me. I held out an arm to calm him, but he leapt at the memory of Sloan, hacking and slashing at her in vain. There would be no changing of the past or altering the events of that horrible day.
We were merely spectators in the worst memory either of us possessed.
After a few moments, Nich fell to his knees and broke down in tears. I broke down with him. Colton wrapped his arms around us without a word. He put on a show of strength, but I could see the torment in his eyes.

The sound of another voice coming up the stairs silenced our sobs. I turned slowly as the blood running through my veins suddenly felt as though it turned to ice.

“My God,” was all I managed to get out as I stared into the eyes of Jove. My head was dizzy and the room was spinning. I heard the laughter of the man that whipped and tortured me to near death and recognition hit me like a kick to the gut. I
knew
I recognized the laughter and that voice. It was different—darker and evil—but it was definitely coming from the same person. I couldn’t wrap my head around anything I was seeing or hearing. Jove was Colton and Lori’s mentor . . . Big Jack was Jove, and Jove had been dead for years, otherwise I would have recognized that voice long ago.

“It cannot be,” I heard Nich cry out. The four of us spent so much time with this man. Memories of laughter and learning flooded my mind. How could this man that we mourned for so long have turned into the monster that laughed while he stabbed me incessantly?

“Jove is Big Jack,” I said without emotion.

“He was a part of this,” Nicholai said. “He was a part of Lori’s death. She was betrayed by the person she looked up to most in this world. The person she lived to make proud. And what he did to you . . .” Nicholai filled with such rage, I saw a gleam of fire in his eyes.

“Colton . . . ,” I started to say—but I didn’t know what to say.

“I’m sorry,” he pleaded, looking back and forth between Nich and me. The guilt in his eyes enraged me. “I’m so sorry.”

“You carried this alone—all these years?”

Nicholai and I went to him.

“I wanted to tell you. So many times I came so close, but I was forbidden. I’m so sorry.” This time, it was Colton who broke down. After all that he endured. How could anyone give him this burden to carry all alone?
How dare they?

“There is nothing to forgive, my friend,” Nicholai said.

“Jove was the one sent to kill Theodore’s father,” Colton said. “I didn’t know anything about Teddy at the time. I just knew that he was killed hunting a fallen archangel that was rumored to have been Anselma’s mate.”

“This is what you meant,” I said to Colton, “when you said I wouldn’t understand because you didn’t realize you were falling. How could you know when your mentor was the one leading you in the wrong direction? No one would ever have expected it. This is why you were forbidden to speak of it to anyone.”

“They couldn’t let this get out,” Nicholai said. “The fact that Theodore’s father fooled everyone, including the Angels of Decision, and that the warrior sent to hunt Teddy’s father was in on the whole thing. If word got out there was anarchy, an angelic anarchy, it would have been chaos.”

The sound of Jove’s voice turned our attention back to the memory.

“Well done, Sloan,” Jove said grimly. “Everything is right on schedule.”

“They’ll never know what hit them.” Sloan laughed.

“Do not be foolish, girl! Even a greedy mortal like you can see what a loss this will be for us. I introduced you to them. Surely as you’ve come to know them, you’ve seen their worth.”

“Forgive me, sir,” Sloan stammered with fearful eyes. “I spoke without thinking.”

“I’ve mentored two of these warriors myself. Given a few more years, they would claimed the honor of being some of the greatest warriors of all time. Colton especially could have been named archangel. For the sake of the prophecy, it is a sacrifice that must be made. But make no mistake–this is a sacrifice to our side as much as it is to theirs. I would have much preferred to bring them over to our side than to lose them this way. I was making headway with Colton. If only I could have had more time before I have to fake my death. If not for Belleeza, the boy would not be lost to our cause!” The man growled.

I jerked my head at the mention of Colton.
What did Jove mean?

“Sir?” Sloan said. “You’ve mentored many. Why does one, Colton, seem so much more important to you?”

“From the time of his creation, I saw something special about that one. I knew it the first time I trained with him. I was going to help that boy become a greater warrior than even me. I was going to help him reach his fullest potential and one day he would have taken my place. He was to be my successor.”

Colton and Nicholai’s fists were clenched as they watched. What could have made Jove switch sides? How did the crisp, no-nonsense man in front of me become the wild mask-wearing monster known as Big Jack?

“It is time, sir,” Sloan whispered. “The trap is set . . . they’ve taken the bait.” With that, they vanished.

We watched in horror as our past selves emerged. We were on alert, but the joy was evident in our younger, less jaded faces when we captured the demon we thought would close our case. The younger versions of Nicholai and I vanished, leaving Colton and Lori to tend to the torturing of the demon. My palms were sweating and my heart racing with fear. Not fear of what I knew was to come, but fear of the unknown. We would see the missing pieces from that night, and I felt certain that whatever would be revealed would rock us to the core.

W
e watched
Jove emerge while Colton and Lori tortured the demon. He told them he had received new information pertaining to the case. They killed the demon and then Jove led them down the hidden staircase as he explained he had got the information from another demon during torture. Colton and Lori followed obligingly, unsuspecting any foul play from the angel that had mentored them all their lives. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, it was visible that Colton and Lori sensed something was off, but it was clear they never suspected the man they loved could ever betray them.

I expected to find that Colton and Lori were ambushed and overtaken, but what happened was so much worse. The betrayal went so deep, and the pain cut even deeper.

Colton was on edge, sword out and on the ready. Lori, too, had her eyes open, awaiting attack. They reached a brick wall with no sign of anything or anyone, but still they did not lower their weapons. They tensed at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs but recognized Sloan’s voice and both visibly relaxed.

Jove sighed. Colton and Lori turned just in time to see him give a nod to Sloan. They looked confused. Sloan tilted her head and smiled awkwardly. “What’s happening?” Lori started.

Colton blinked slowly and when his eyes opened, I could see recognition in them—something wasn’t right and he seemed to know it. He stepped forward discreetly, pushing Lori behind him. She looked from Colton to Sloan and her eyes widened. She gripped her weapons.

“Lori, can you go up . . .” Colton started to say, when suddenly he and Lori were ambushed.

They struggled with the newcomers but the crushing weight of betrayal weighed them down. With a snap of his fingers, Jove signaled Sloan to use her magic. She whispered some words and with a flick of her fingers, the weapons fell from Colton and Lori’s hands. Lori made me proud. Her eyes filled with liquid but no tears fell as she stared directly at the man that had lured them into a trap. Rage filled Colton’s eyes and they bled to black. Defeat was in the air, but their defiance was unwavering. They would not bend; they would not break.

They didn’t even bother to ask why. Why didn’t matter. They were lured, trapped, and betrayed by a man they loved. That was what mattered.
That was all that mattered
.

Lori reached out. “Don’t bother to reach for your weapons,” Sloan said with an air of hostility. Lori ignored her and continued to reach out, but she wasn’t going for any weapon. Colton knew what she wanted, and he reached his hand out. Whatever spell Sloan used, they couldn’t move much. Their hands wriggled until finally their fingers met, and they clutched onto one another.

“Don’t toy with them, girl,” Jove barked. He waved a hand and nodded to Sloan. She smirked, and with another wave of her hand, Colton and Lorileigh were flung to the brick wall. Close enough to one another that their fingertips still touched. All pretense was gone. Jove revealed his true nature. He was not the warrior they believed him to be. He was a coward. A fake.
An enemy.

“Let Lori go,” Colton demanded as he squeezed Lori’s hand.

“Hush, Colton,” Lori soothed. “They won’t do it, and we both know I would never leave without you.”

“You’re a coward,” Colton spat in Jove’s face, repulsed by the pained look he received.

“I am sorry. Trust that your sacrifice is for the greater good of our kind.”

“Do your worst, demon,” Lori said, defiantly. “And trust that Belleeza and Nicholai will bring pain upon you the likes of which you have never seen. The sky will rain with your blood when she is finished with you.”

Colton turned toward to Sloan. “That goes for you as well. There won’t always be someone there to protect you. You will meet a nasty end when she gets her hands on you.”

Sloan didn’t look so sure of herself then. She looked as though she hadn’t thought things out that far ahead.

“The sky will rain with blood today,” Jove remarked. “But I’m afraid it will not be my blood splattered against the walls. Your sacrifices will be gruesome and violent. Your deaths alone will not be enough to ensure the correct path is taken. It must involve betrayal, it must be brutal, and it must be bloody.”

“Where would you like me to begin, sir?” Sloan asked. She was giddy and I knew what she was after now. Blood . . . angel blood. It was said that angel blood was the purest of all—an element unlike any other. Its power was said to be unmatched by any, and thus it was sought by the darkest of witches. But even dark witches tended to be wary of using angel blood in their dark magic spells and potions. It was as dangerous as it was powerful. Only the most powerful attempted that sort of dark magic.

“No, Sloan,” he replied. “It must be me.”

Colton and Lorileigh were shoved against the brick wall. Paralyzed from Sloan’s magic, neither of them flinched as one blade after another was driven through their flesh. I gagged, watching the vulgar attack. I could hear the tearing of the skin, and I could smell the blood that oozed from each wound. I was grateful at least that Sloan’s spell kept them from feeling the pain until Jove said, “They must be able to feel it, Sloan, for it to have the full effect.”

I turned to the real Colton beside me, anguish written on his face. I wrapped his hand in mine to show him he didn’t have to go through this alone. He kissed my hand with tears in his eyes and then released it, turning his attention back to the memory unfolding in front of us.

With a wave of Sloan’s hand, the room was filled with the sound of Colton and Lori’s screams. Their pain nearly brought me to my knees. It was nearly unbearable to stand there powerless to do anything while my loved ones were writhing in pain. The helplessness was agonizing. My fists were clenched as tightly as possible, knuckles white. I felt wetness on my wrists. When I looked down, I saw little half-moon shapes in palms, blood seeping from all of them.

The ever-present rage inside me was pulsing to uncontrollable levels. I could no longer put it away—and I no longer wanted to. The demons wanted to see my rage, well, I was going to let them. I would let it consume me, use me, take me, and then I would take them all down.

They will all pay for this.

Nich was at my side, taking my hand. “Yes,” he said. “If you cannot fight it, take it in and use it against them. They want it to consume you, so let it. You can fear it or you can turn it into a weapon. Do not fear the darkness anymore, Belleeza. Become it and we will keep you grounded. We fight together until the very end.”

Colton nodded.

I knew they were right. The demons wanted my rage to consume me, and we weren’t getting out of this room until they saw that it had. I grabbed one of each of their hands and I let go of all my control—let go of all my fear. For the first time ever, I felt completely free and it felt so good. My head flew back with a rush. It was a high unlike anything I had ever felt before. I wanted to do something reckless. I never wanted to be in control again.
I was liberated
. I felt a physical change come over me.

“How do you feel, Beauty?” Colton asked. “Your eyes are different, almost like there is glow behind them.” It was like an out-of-body experience. I felt my head turn, snakelike, toward his direction. He didn’t take a step back, but his eyes
did
widen. Nicholai stepped around me, watching me. I had the sudden urge to strike him down and without a moment’s hesitation, my fists were suddenly filled with fire. Something woke inside of me then, something distant. I felt slightly disoriented and I was confused about what I was doing. I felt more animal than angel. They must have seen the struggle within me because Nicholai took one slow step backward and Colton slowly placed his palms in the air.

“Belleeza,” Nich said. “Do not fear your rage. It is a part of you—not a curse but a gift. It is your gift. Remember who the enemy is. Remember who did this to them.” He threw his right hand out and gestured toward the memory of our loved ones, who were at that moment being tortured by those they trusted.

We looked just in time to see Lori’s flayed body revealing her viscera to the world. She turned her head weakly to Colton. “I love you, sweet Lori,” Colton whispered softly, with tears pouring down his face.

Her eyes went wide as Jove’s hand gripped her still-beating heart. Tears fell freely down her face as she whispered back to him. “I love you too, Colt—” and then Jove crushed her heart in his hand.