Death Angel (Death Angel Series Book 1) (21 page)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Wilfred knocked once on the door to Kasen's bedroom. There was no answer, as he expected, so he slowly pushed the door open. The smell of sickness permeated the room and made Wilfred want to shrink back. He knew that the sickness wasn't contagious, but it still frightened him the way he could always smell it on his master.

He held the small silver necklace in his hands that Kasen had mistakenly given to Gabrielle. He was going to send it to the York family, as Kasen should have done years ago. He didn't understand what his master had against the young Miss York. She was beautiful, kind, and noble. The match between them was a no brainer. That was why their parents had negotiated the marriage so long ago. Wilfred just couldn't let Kasen throw away his family's honor by breaking with tradition and ignoring his parent's promises.

As he drew closer to the bed, Kasen's eyelids fluttered open. His pupils were dilated and his eyes were glazed over, unable to focus on anything. Wilfred could hear his breaths, each one labored and raspy. His hair was matted to his head over a thick layer of sweat.

“Gabrielle,” he whispered, using all the strength he had to utter her name. Wilfred wanted to frown at him. Even in his current state, all he could think about was that silly little girl. He didn't know what his master saw in her. She was a crossover, and a rather plain one at that. There was nothing that she could offer General Kasen. Wilfred was glad that he had intercepted the girl. He would put things right in this household, and one day his master would look back and thank him.

“She was here,” Wilfred said quietly, sitting on the bed. At those words, Kasen's eyes opened a little more, his face lit up with hope. He was trying to speak, but Wilfred silenced him. There was no use wasting what little strength he had right now. “She wanted to return this.”

Wilfred held up the necklace so that Kasen could see it. His face scrunched in pain. Again he tried to speak, but again Wilfred stopped him.

“I'm sorry sir,” he said, “I know she meant a lot to you. But she wants nothing more to do with you.”

Kasen tried again to speak, but instead started to cough uncontrollably, and Wilfred knew that there would be no more talking for now. He called for the healer to tend to his master, pleased that he had successfully avoided a catastrophe for his noble family. By the time Kasen was well again and discovered the truth, Gabrielle would be married to General Black.

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Kabel made himself comfortable in his favorite chair. Maldar sat at his side, licking his wounds from the fight he had gotten himself into while spying in the mortal world. He was a dumb beast, but he was strong and resilient so Kabel kept him around.

He hadn't wanted to run into two Generals from the Death Angel Society, but things played out the way they did and there wasn't much that Kabel could do about it now. They were going to meet one day anyway, Maldar had just sped up the inevitable.

Outside, Kabel could hear the beasts of his world begin to fight amongst themselves. He pushed back the urge to sigh. These creatures that surrounded him were of such little value. They only became useful when they reached the size of Maldar, which wasn't often. Unfortunately, their bigger size typically made them incredibly stupid, and so their usefulness was extremely limited.

Kabel lived in the Between, as the Death Angels were fond of calling his world. It was a realm filled with sorrow, death, and Darklings. The Dark Fighters rarely came here, and those that did, often did so by mistake. Not many of them made it out alive. It was a hostile world. A world that was built on blood and death, and Kabel was carving out a kingdom.

He picked up the file that rested on the table beside him. He thumbed through the pages of information, looked at the picture that was attached to the other documents. It was the fourth time he had read over the packet of information, but he wanted to be absolutely sure before he brought this to the others. He heard a door slam open, followed by the heavy footsteps that he knew belonged to Dacian. It was only a few moments before he came into the room, his arms and face covered in Darkling blood.

“You do know that eating more of them won't make you any stronger,” Kabel said, not bothering to glance up from the papers in his lap.

“Yeah, but they're still fun to eat,” Dacian said, his thin lips curling back into a smirk that revealed his fanged teeth, a holdover from the times when he himself was nothing more than a slobbering Darkling.

“Whatever,” Kabel brushed him off. Dacian irritated him at times, but there were so few in this world like them. They all had to stick together, even though they generally hated each other. It was better than being alone.

“So, you think they have any idea what's coming?” Dacian asked, plopping down in the chair next to Kabel. He pointed to the stack of papers in Kabel's lap.

“They shouldn't,” Kabel said, “If our General friends have done their job right.”

Dacian scoffed at the mention of the Death Angels. Kabel shared his feelings. He didn't like having to work with them, but they were a means to an end.

“What's his name then?” Dacian asked, leaning over a little to look at the papers Kabel was reading through.

“Her,” Kabel said, lifting up the picture of the brown haired girl. “Gabrielle.”

“It's a woman?” Dacian asked, his eyebrows pulling down over his red eyes. “Are you sure this is the right person? She wouldn't last a day here.”

“I'm fairly certain,” Kabel said, setting the picture back in the file. “Maldar hit her pretty hard and she didn't even sustain a single scratch.”

“Huh,” Dacian grunted and flopped back in his chair. “Well, I guess that's something.”

The End