Angeli: The Pirate, the Angel & the Irishman Read online

“Corrupt? How exactly, pray tell, does one feel corrupt? Do you mean do I feel the uncontrollable urge to accept a bribe? Are my edges turning brown?”

  Anne shook her head and dismissively waved her hand in Jeffrey’s general direction. He didn’t seem any different from usual. Hopefully, one of the signs of corruption by Seth wasn’t sarcasm; it could go undetected for years in Jeffrey.

  Jeffrey stared at Anne a moment longer and then turned to gaze out the window.

  “Corrupt,” he mumbled. “Funny talk coming from a zombie.”

  Back at the hotel, Anne found a semi-transparent Con waiting for them in their room. He had let Napoleon go back to being himself.

  “They let you out of the clinker?” he asked, as they entered.

  “They haven’t made a jail yet that can hold me,” Jeffrey said in a truly terrible Jimmy Cagney voice. He walked half way to his room before stopping and looking at Con from head to toe.

  “Hey,” Jeffrey said, pointing to Con’s transparent form. “That’s really you, isn’t it?”

  “In the almost-flesh,” said Con, bowing.

  “Huh,” said Jeffrey turning to continue to his room. “I thought you’d be taller.”

  “Nice to see you, too.”

  Jeffrey waved without turning and closed his door behind him.

  Con looked at Anne.

  “And how’s my little jailbird?”

  “Tired,” said Anne, sitting. “Tired with no end in sight. But at least we have Jeffrey back safe and sound.”

  “Yes, happy days,” muttered Con.

  Anne rubbed her face with her hands and tried to repress another yawn. It had been some time since she had gone an entire night without sleeping.

  “Ok, so where do we stand now? We’re no closer to finding Seth than we were before, and now he’s vandalizing the city for no apparent reason.”

  “It was actually pretty funny,” said Con, musing over the incident. “Throwing human skulls through a hundred window panes simultaneously? It’s brilliant.”

  “Where are the others? Michael, Meili, Frick and Frack?”

  “Don’t know. After they took you away, I popped over to the station to be sure nothing dodgy went on while you were there and that was the last I saw of the crew. When it was obvious the police had no intention of keeping you, I came back here and waited.”

  Anne shook her head slowly, unsure what to do next.

  “I could use some coffee,” she said.

  Con tilted his head. “You know, that reminds me. I met a girl who might know something about Seth. I should check in on her if you’d like to go and get your coffee there.”

  “Sure,” said Anne, wondering where Con might have met a girl who would know anything about a renegade monster. “We’ll have to bring Jeffrey. He isn’t safe here alone.”

  Anne rose from her chair and checked Jeffrey’s room, only to find him curled like a cat and snoring like a dog.

  “Asleep,” she said to Con, stepping away and closing Jeffrey’s door behind her.

  “He’ll be fine, let him sleep. If Seth wanted to do anything to him, he would have. Clearly, he’s a bit of prankster. I think taking Jeffrey was just another way to show us he can do whatever he wants.”

  After some consideration, Anne agreed. If Seth had any intention of keeping Jeffrey, he wouldn’t have left him to be found, unharmed, but for bruised pride. And he certainly wouldn’t have thrown skulls through all the windows on Main Street just to ensure they found him.

  Perhaps Seth felt like he’d killed the other two Sentinels too quickly, and like a cat, wanted to toy with her as long as possible.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Leo stood on wooden beach stairs, overlooking the Atlantic ocean, and waiting. Fishing in his jeans pocket he retrieved the scrap of paper he’d found on Michael’s desk.

  Meet me in Duck. Sound Sea Ave. On the beach. 5 a.m.

  Totally random, thought Leo. Why would Michael want to meet in Duck, North Carolina? He’d assumed Michael left the note, but as 5 a.m. turned to 5:20 a.m., he began to wonder. It wasn’t like Michael to be late.

  He had also assumed the note referred to Duck, North Carolina, but now Leo wondered if there were other Ducks. Maybe Michael was waiting for him on a park bench in Duck, Mexico or Duck, Belgium. He really hadn’t thought anything through.

  Waiting felt like a waste of time, but at least he’d already been to Anne’s New York apartment. As soon as he pulled the photo from her desk drawer, he’d recognized the Angelus in the photo. Leo needed to tell Michael that the monster was Seth.

  The sun rose over the horizon, bathing the beach in an orange glow. Leo scanned the shoreline from his spot on the steps. A person on the beach walked toward him and then stopped to stand by the water’s edge. The figure appeared male, and rather than staring at the sea, he gazed in Leo’s direction.

  Leo squinted at the backlit figure of the man. He wore a white bathrobe, which ruled out the possibility of it being the always impeccably dressed Michael.

  The man waved at Leo, holding both hands high and slowly passing them from left to right.

  Assuming the slow-waver was a case of mistaken identity, Leo resisted zipping to the water’s edge at superhuman speed. He trotted down the wooden stairs to the cool morning sand and walked briskly toward the man, eager to get the mystery of his identity and his strange morning resolved.

  Leo slowed as he drew close. The man’s features became clearer.

  “Hello, Leo,” the man said in a joyous, almost sing-song voice.

  Leo stopped ten feet from the stranger, whom Leo realized, was no stranger at all.

  “Hello, Seth.”

  Seth’s face appeared made of worn leather, deep crags radiating from his eyes and across his forehead. His hair stood out in all directions, as if he had just woken up. He had only one sideburn. The flesh below his sharp cheekbones sagged loosely, and Leo couldn’t shake the feeling that Seth’s skin was nothing more than an ill-fitting suit he had thrown on for the occasion. Appearing human was like breathing to the Angeli, they didn’t forget how to do it, and yet Seth’s attempt this morning appeared more a mockery of the human condition.

  Seth offered Leo a broad smile of stunningly white teeth and moved towards him, arms open wide.

  Leo held his ground as Seth embraced him. Seth patted the large Angelus on the back and rocked back and forth with great affection. After a full minute, he seemed satisfied, and stepped back, his hands still lingering on Leo’s shoulders.

  “How are you, Leo?”

  Seth’s voice was low and hollow.

  “Good.”

  Leo slipped his hand in his pocket, feeling for his phone. It wasn’t there. Without a cell, the only way to notify Michael about Seth would be to send an emergency pulse. Michael would know something was wrong and have an idea where to find Leo, but he wouldn’t know the specifics. Unfortunately, Seth would also feel the pulse and know Leo feared him.

  Leo sighed. Better to play it cool for now.

  Seth stared at Leo. His smile projected warmth and kindness, but his unblinking orbs scribbled away any chance of putting Leo at ease. Seth’s eyes glowed with dark, iridescent colors, much like a beetle’s wing, possessing only a hint of a dark green pupil at the center. Leo was pretty sure pupils weren’t usually green.

  Leo swallowed and rocked back on his heels to make his step away from Seth appear casual. Seth’s hand slid from Leo’s shoulders and fell to his sides, his smile never wavering.

  Tall and reedy, Seth no longer possessed the twitchy, shy demeanor Leo remembered from eons ago. In the past, the gangly Arch Angel had punctuated every sentence with a nervous laugh. He’d had a facial tic that rippled from his left cheek to his chin, a tic that jealously jerked his eyes away from whatever threatened to hold his gaze too long.

  Now any hint of insecurity or humanity would have been a welcome addition to his empty stare.

  Leo forced a smile. He hadn’t been there at the battle with Seth
, but he’d heard about it. He’d heard it took two tries. And two had not been enough. Unsure of Seth’s abilities in his twisted new form, Leo decided not to upset the corrupted Arch while doing his best to escape and warn Michael.

  “How are you, Seth? Been up to anything lately?”

  “Oh you know, little of this, little of that,” Seth said, smile still frozen to his face. “You never know what you’re going to get.”

  As Seth spoke, Leo noticed his lips and the words spilling from them didn’t quite synch. The skin beneath Seth’s left cheekbone suddenly slipped, sagging farther from his dead eyes.

  “You, uh...” Leo pointed to Seth’s face and then his own cheekbone. “You got a thing going on there.”

  Seth raised his hand to his face and felt the loose skin. In an instant, his face tightened and he appeared more human.

  “Sorry,” he said, chuckling. “Out of practice.”

  Leo shuffled in the sand, staring at the muddy hem of Seth’s terry wrap.

  “Nice robe.”

  Seth beamed. “Thank you!”

  “Are you vacationing here?” Leo asked, looking around in the hopes of seeing Michael arriving.

  “No. Just visiting.”

  “Hm.”

  It occurred to Leo that perhaps Michael had arrived on time and Seth had already harmed him.

  “Have you seen Michael, by any chance?”

  Seth’s grin faded and a shudder ripped through him. He closed his eyes and smoothed his robe lapel, regaining his composure.

  “Leo,” he whispered. “Let’s not beat around the bush. Things are happening. Things are hap-pen-ning.” He reached forward and grasped Leo’s biceps with his long fingers.

  “You don’t say?” Leo pulled his arm free of Seth’s over-enthusiastic grip, and chuckled to ease any tension the movement might have inspired. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

  In response, Seth dropped like a stone to a cross-legged sitting position on the sand, motioning Leo to join him. Leo peered down as Seth’s gesturing grew increasingly emphatic. The large Angel lowered himself to squat, hovering over the damp sand to keep his pants dry.

  “Shall we take it from the top?”

  Leo shrugged. “Sure.”

  Seth held up his hands and frenetically waggled his long fingers. He separated them and then loosely weaved them together over and over, inches from Leo’s face, as if he were demonstrating a loom in action.

  “In the beginning there was chaos,” he whispered.

  Seth continued to wiggle his fingers until Leo finally grabbed his hands to still them.

  “Gotcha. Chaos. Go on.”

  Seth cleared his throat and placed his hands in his lap.

  “In the beginning there was chaos, but the twenty-one Archs organized the world. They keep the balance.”

  Seth fell quiet again, his face frozen in a close-lipped smile. Leo stared, waiting for him to continue. Finally, Seth presented two upturned palms and shrugged.

  “Done.”

  Leo leaned forward. “And?”

  “And what?”

  “That’s the whole story?”

  Seth slapped the sand on either side of him.

  “Twenty-one keeps the balance and keeps chaos at bay. Really, you should work on your listening skills.”

  “I heard what you said, Seth. What’s your point?”

  “My point is you sent me away. Do the math. Twenty-one minus one is...”

  Leo cocked his head.

  “Twenty?”

  Seth leapt to his feet, triumphant.

  “Bingo! Winner winner, chicken dinner, give the man a prize!” he said, and then danced an impromptu jig, his long arms flapping.

  Leo scrambled back and then stood to avoid a trampling.

  “So you’re saying because you were reaped, chaos...uh...wasn’t at bay?”

  “Isn’t at bay,” Seth stopped his dance and nodded. “I am impressed. You are getting very good at this.”

  “So what does that mean?” asked Leo.

  “What do you mean what does it mean?”

  “I mean I’m an Arch and I have no idea what you’re saying.”

  “Because we know not what we do. We know not the secrets of the universe.” Seth stretched out his arms and faced the sun, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

  Leo rubbed his face. “This is exhausting.”

  Seth opened his eyes and turned to Leo. “You have no idea.”

  “Ok,” said Leo, starting over. “Let’s keep it simple. Because we reaped you, the balance is off. Chaos isn’t at bay. Now what does that mean, that chaos is free?”

  Seth grinned and pointed at Leo.

  “Possibilities, Leo. Possibilities!”

  “Seth...” Leo carefully delivered every word as if the slightest change in pitch would break his sentence like an egg. “Did you attack Anne Bonny? Anne the Sentinel?”

  “Anne,” Seth said, calm again, staring into the heavens as if suddenly deep in thought. “I did, yes. Couple of times, actually.”

  “Why?”

  “I thought she had a part of me.”

  “Had part of you?”

  “Mmm.”

  “Did she?”

  “Yes. A little. Why do you think she can make those magnificent swords? She took my energy, mixed it with her energy, and created something new and unique. There is something special about her.”

  “So Michael says,” says Leo. “So she kept some of your energy after reaping you?”

  “She didn’t reap me. She tried. She thought she did. She did take a bit of me, though.”

  “And that’s why she can make those energy swords.”

  Seth nodded. “I came to take back my energy but...I like what she’s done with it. I took her human friend and then gave him back to show her I’m finished attacking her. I hope she got that. I suppose I could have just left her a note... I do need to talk to her. Maybe swap some more energy with her. I’m not sure yet. She has a part, but I haven’t seen the whole play, if you know what I mean.”

  Leo shook his head. “Honestly, I have no idea.”

  “Her other friend,” Seth continued, ignoring Leo’s comment. “Con. Turns out I had quite a bit of him in me. Ironic, huh?”

  Leo shrugged.

  Seth nodded. “It’s ok, Leo. Irony is sometimes a difficult concept to define. I’m not even entirely sure I used that right.”

  “What about Ariel? Did you send Ariel after Anne?”

  “Hm? No. Well, yes. Yes and no. Ariel was just an experiment.”

  “An experiment?”

  Seth clapped his hands together as a flash of color rippled across the surface of his eyes before they returned to their dark, iridescent appearance. The effect gave Leo pause.

  “Well, you give some of my energy to Anne, and she makes swords. Random, but not random. She likes swords. So what happens if I give some energy to Ariel? To an Angel?”

  “She turns into a bear?”

  “Yes!” Seth made two fists and punched forward, lightly striking Leo in the chest. “A bear. Who saw that coming?”

  “So you told her to attack Anne? And she did it by becoming a bear?”

  “Nope. I just gave her free will. Loosened her up a bit from all the Angeli rules and regulations. The bear was her idea.”

  “What?”

  “Fly! Be free little bird!” Seth mimed releasing a bird from his hands. “She saw a natural enemy and she protected herself. So primal. The bear thing was interesting though. Never saw that coming.”

  Leo ran his hand through his hair. “Are you saying you infect Angeli with some sort of unpredictable chaos?”

  “Is there any other kind? And infecting? I don’t know if I’d use the word infecting. Freeing? Inspiring? Ooh, inspiring. I like that.”

  “Did you inspire all the people in the Brice House grave, too?”

  Seth snorted a laugh. “Inspired? Uh, no Leo, I killed them. Ate them. Took their energy and made better use of i
t, if I don’t say so myself.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why did you kill them?”

  Seth shook his head. “Why not? I was hungry, they were food.”

  “Because it is wrong. You’re supposed to protect people.”

  “Am I? Who says?”

  “Who...” Leo trailed off.

  “Ah ha!” Seth pointed at Leo. “Gotcha!”

  “It’s just what we do,” said Leo. “And I don’t remember any chaos ‘in the beginning.’ I just remember taking care of the humans.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.”

  “Wouldn’t what?”

  “Remember.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ve been recycled since then. Chaos comes and goes. Always a new 144 comes and things start over. New Archs. New Angels. Who knows how many came before us, but our days are numbered.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Leo, I don’t have time to write all this down for you. What year is your oldest memory?”

  “Uh...” Leo looked skyward, searching his memory. “Um...”

  “Exactly, see? Things get fuzzy, don’t they? You can’t remember how long you’ve been aware. We have no idea who we are. Why we are.”

  “Seth—”

  “Leo, stop.” Seth hung his head as Leo stared at him. He was mumbling, but his voice grew louder until Leo could finally make out the sentence: “You. Just. Don’t. Listen.”

  Seth repeated the phrase, volume increasing until he roared. His head shot back at the loudest point, a blast of crackling white light burst from his chest towards Leo. The unexpected jolt threw the blond Arch back on the sand with a loud oomph of expelling breath.

  Leo scrambled to his feet, the smell of burning hair and flesh filling his nostrils. He should have been immune to the power of another Angelus and the attack left him disoriented. Seth knocked him down as if he was a common Sentinel.

  Lightning crackled around Seth as he stood, his head tilted down and eyes peering up at Leo from beneath his brow.

  Leo stood frozen, mesmerized. Seth’s skin began cracking and peeling away, chunks of him falling to the ground and disappearing. Beneath his flesh, utter darkness mimicked his features; tiny jagged flashes of light in red, yellow, blue and green swirling throughout his visage. Leo could only compare it to a hurricane of colorful, electrified dust particles swirling in a human-shaped black hole.