Angels of the Knights (3 page)
Read Angels of the Knights Online
Authors: Valerie Zambito
“How many Knights are there?” Blane asked.
“Very few are chosen. Very few develop the skills necessary to defeat the Kjin. It remains to be seen whether the four of you will become Knights.”
“My guide mentioned that if I become a Knight, my wings will be clipped and I will be earthbound,” Nikki commented with a shudder.
Darius nodded. “It is not a very pleasant experience I am afraid as the sacrifice of your wings cannot be made lightly. But, it is the only way. You must have a corporeal form to wield the Aventi. The pain of wing removal also serves as a reminder of the commitment you wish to undertake. Mortals are completely defenseless against the Kjin and their only protection is the Knights of this caste. If you succeed in your goal of Knighthood, you will not return back here to Emperica again until every Kjin is destroyed or you are killed. If a Kjin does manage to kill you, you will return to Emperica and the Patrit Caste.”
“A Patie! But, I don’t want to be a Patie!” exclaimed Julian.
Darius patted him on the shoulder. “Then I suggest that you do not die again, young angel.”
Fallon felt a sense of pride fill her at the thought of returning to earth and saving humans from the Kjin. She was even thinking of seeing her old friends again. “How long does the training take, Elder?”
“Thirty years.”
“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been four days since my last confession.”
Fallon could not see the Emissier’s face beyond the screened window, but did hear him chuckle softly. “You are forgiven, child, although I doubt very much you have anything to be forgiven for.”
She smiled in the dark of the small confessional. “No.”
“Thank you for coming, Fallon. Darius tells me that you have proven yourself to be one of the best Knights we have.”
“I do what I can, Father.”
“That is good to hear, because we have a particularly dangerous Kjin in this area. Two children have gone missing within the past month, but before that, the Kjin was killing college-aged girls. A total of six over the past fifteen years that I can with almost certainty attribute to him.”
“Are you sure it’s the same Kjin? It would be unusual for a serial killer of women to suddenly resort to crimes against children.”
The dark silhouette nodded. “It is the same one. He is now leaving a calling card.”
“He’s taunting the police?”
“No. Me.”
The news shocked Fallon. “You? What does he leave?”
“Flowers. A lily dipped in fresh blood was placed on the rectory steps after each child disappeared.”
Fallon’s blood raged at the thought of this Kjin killing innocent women and children. “Luck may be with us, Father. I killed a Kjin just before I came here and it could have been the one you are looking for.”
The priest paused.
“It was a young man,” she continued, “and he attempted to abduct a girl right off the street.”
“No. This Kjin is quite a few years older. But, it is highly unusual to have another one in the immediate area. The Kjin have never come together as an organized faction which means these animals are very territorial about their dens of destruction.”
“How do you know how old he is?”
Again, he paused. “I know who he is, Fallon. He is the President and a professor at Alden University with a wife and four children. I have personally known him for over twenty years and never once suspected him of being Kjin until three weeks ago when he carelessly walked too close to the font and a splash of holy water sizzled on his hand from the contact. He tried to quickly cover his mistake, but not before I saw it happen.”
“What is his name?”
“Marc Ellis, and for this particular assignment, you will pose as a college student to get closer to him. He is very intelligent, Fallon, and I will not give you a false impression regarding how difficult this will be.” The shadow leaned in close to the screen. “He has already killed another Knight, Fallon. A man named Gabe Mackey.”
Fallon sucked in her breath. “A Ha’Basin?” The Ha’Basin was a ritual of dark magic that required ten Kjin working in concert to invoke the power necessary to cast a Knight back to Emperica. It was an almost impossible feat to get a Knight into a weakened position to allow that to happen and even more rare for that many Kjin to be working together.
“No, not a Ha’Basin. He was drugged and killed.”
Again, her anger flared. “I will handle this, Father.”
The priest’s voice turned urgent. “Please be careful, Fallon, I do not wish to lose another Knight.”
She nodded but did not respond, already planning the Kjin’s demise in her mind.
“Go to AU, get close to the man, and choose your opportunity carefully. Your registration is complete and you simply need to go to the Registrar’s Office tomorrow morning to pick up your schedule.”
“Do you have a place for me to stay?”
A white paper appeared under the screen. “Here is the address. Just two blocks from here, it is an old, yellow Victorian. It is quite large for one person, but all I could arrange with the notice I had. It is very hard to find housing at this time of year.” An envelope slid toward her. “Here is the key and money.”
“Thank you, Father,” she said, standing. “I will be back in touch in a few days.”
“Wait! I need you to do one other thing for me if you would.”
She sat back down. “Of course.”
“It is a personal favor. There is a young former police officer at the jailhouse named Kade Royce. He is being released today after spending the past year in jail. His parents are out of the country and I promised to deliver the key to his new apartment which just happens to be next door to yours.” The Emissier passed another envelope to her. “He is also attending AU this fall.”
“What did he do to end up in jail?”
“He was too good at his job. He had an uncanny ability to ferret out the criminals in this county. Unfortunately, the top Kjin took notice and set him up on fake drug charges.”
“This Marc Ellis?”
“Yes. Gabe Mackey was posing as a police officer alongside Kade, and the two made quite a pair before the set up. An undercover police officer got to Kade and arrested him before he could be killed. Gabe was not so lucky.”
“Things are a lot more complicated than I thought.”
“That they are, Fallon. Thank you for doing this and, again, please be careful.”
She nodded and then stood, pulled back the black curtain of the confessional stall and stepped out. The church was silent at this hour, but a sudden movement caught her eye. An altar boy dressed in a white cassock was taking a seat in the last pew to pray. Fallon left him to his private moment and pushed out of the wide double doors of the church.
She looked at the small paper in her hand.
Large yellow Victorian at 47 Oak Street
She already knew where Oak Street was from her earlier walk through the small town, but headed in the opposite direction toward the county jailhouse.
Navigating once again through the teenaged mob, Fallon could feel their excitement in the air. For most of these kids, this was their first time being out on their own. Not yet bogged down with the deluge of work that would keep many of them confined to their dorms or apartments for long hours after the term started, tonight was a night for celebration.
Soon, she would be among them, but she was not looking forward to it. She had little in common with young adults her age and was not comfortable in social situations the same way she used to be. After thirty years away, she was still trying to wrap her mind around that fact that you could talk on a phone without wires and that parachute pants and platform shoes had gone out of style. Whenever she made an attempt at conversation, it was inevitable that she would make a comment that would cause them to look at her funny. The problem was, she was never quite sure which one was the offending comment so that she could correct it for the next time.
Julian tried to help as he was having no such trouble. Apparently, it was much easier for him to assimilate back into this society. He was smooth and polished, and acted as if he had been born in the 1990’s instead of the 1960’s.
With a smile, she shook away her thoughts of her friend.
The jailhouse was easy to find, a nineteenth century red brick building with huge white pillars. She pushed her way in.
The young deputy behind the desk immediately straightened. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here for Kade Royce.”
His face registered shock, but he tried to hide it. He directed her to a bench along the wall. “Have a seat. He will be out in a few minutes.”
She turned from the desk and sat down, but noticed the guard glancing her way every few seconds, clearly curious as to who she was. Alden was a very small town and the deputy not only must have worked with this Kade guy, but probably knew him personally.
Well, he would have to keep guessing.
The door behind the deputy buzzed open and a young man in faded jeans and white tee shirt strode out. He was about six foot, muscular throughout the shoulders and chest, but with narrow hips and legs. His dark hair was too long, and he needed a shave, but it did not hide the obvious—he was drop dead gorgeous. He walked with a primal and authoritative grace that belied his young age, which if she had to guess was about twenty-two.
He threw some papers down on the desk. “Everything is there, Dave. I’m out,” and he walked toward the door without waiting for a response.
“Um…Kade.”
He turned back impatiently. “What is it?”
Dave the deputy nodded his head toward Fallon. “She’s here for you.”
Kade turned and looked at her and then shrugged. “For whatever reason you’re here, let’s talk about it outside. I need fresh air.”
Fallon walked over to him and he held the door open for her. She felt her face flush when she passed by him. His presence was so raw and masculine.
When they were out on the street, he looked up at the sky and breathed a sigh of relief and she could see the tension visibly go out of his body. Then, he turned to her. “So, who are you?”
His eyes were a remarkable, pale blue. “I…I’m Fallon Angell. Father Tomas sent me to deliver this.” She handed him the envelope. “Keys and the address to your new apartment.”
Their fingers brushed when he took the envelope from her, and the electricity generated by their touch surprised them both.
Kade recovered first. “He shouldn’t have worried about it. I already know where I’m going. My friends visited me last week. I’ll be rooming with them.”
“I guess your parents wanted him to make sure you got settled in after being…,” she hesitated.
“Incarcerated. You can say it. Never be afraid of the truth, Fallon,” he admonished with a playful grin.
Were those dimples?
“Are you a college student?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, nice to meet you, Fallon. Thanks for bringing this,” he said, holding up the envelope.
“My house is actually right next to yours, so I’ll just walk with you if you don’t mind.” Did that really just come out of her mouth?
“A pretty girl walking me home after a year in jail? Yeah, I can deal with that.”
She blushed again. Why did she keep doing that?
In silence, they made their way through Main Street and then turned onto Second Street.
“Where are you from?” he finally asked.
“Buffalo.”
“How old are you?”
“Nineteen.”
“You don’t talk much, do you?”
Now, she grinned. “Not really.”
He nodded and then turned onto Oak Street. “What number are you?”
“Forty-seven.”
Pointing, he said, “It’s the yellow one up on the left. Mine is the white one next door.”
“Thanks.” She moved to walk past him again, and he grabbed her arm.
“Hey, my buddies are having a little get together tonight if you’re interested. Grab your roommates and come over.”
“I don’t have any roommates.”
“No? Come on over anyway.”
“I…I can’t, but thanks.”
“So, you’re going to be stuck up and not hang out with your new neighbors?” he teased.
“Are you going to let me go?” she asked, glancing pointedly at his hand on her arm.
“Not unless you agree to come.”
“Okay, maybe. Can I leave now?”
He let go of her and stepped aside. “By the way, remember my name, Fallon Angell, because I’m a pretty special guy and I’m going to be the one that brings you back down to earth.”
Her head whipped around, but he was already moving away, laughing softly.
Fallon pulled out the key provided by Father Tomas and unlocked the door to the next on her long list of temporary housing. The old Victorian opened into a foyer with a narrow staircase, scuffed hard wood floors, and decorative crown molding on the walls. And—just like all of the other places she had lived in the past three years—it was deafeningly quiet.
She took time to explore the downstairs that consisted of a large old kitchen, living room and formal dining room, and then went up the steep stairs to the second floor. There were four bedrooms, and Fallon chose the smallest for herself. She was not sure how long she would be living here, but the smaller room had a fireplace that would make the room cozy if the weather turned chilly before she moved on.
She dropped her backpack and fell back onto the oldfashioned canopy bed, her body sinking into its pillowy depths. As always when she entered a new, empty house, her thoughts turned to her family and the night they were all murdered.
It was thirty-four years ago now and it had been a balmy fall evening, just like today, and the front door was left wide open. It was the seventies. Nobody locked their doors and everybody was welcome to enter. It was not as if there had been less crime, she had come to realize, it was just that the people were more innocent to the evils of the world back then.
