Angeli: The Pirate, the Angel & the Irishman Page 21

  Leo stared into the dark pits where Seth’s eyes had once been.

  “I think it is your turn to see,” Seth said, in a new echoing tone. His mouth was a ragged maw, and when he spoke, Leo could see flashes of the beach on the opposite side between his lips.

  Leo put his hand on his own chest. “Seth, I’m Leo. Your friend and fellow Arch, Leo.”

  “You helped them take me down. You knew I was different. Better. And instead of embracing me, you pretended I was corrupted. Perfidian,” Seth spat the word. “I wasn’t corrupted. I flew free. I had something none of you had; Free will. Bunch of sheep. Bunch of baaing sheep. Baaa. BAAAAA!”

  Seth stepped forward, bleating like a sheep as Leo instinctively moved back and away from the creature.

  “The twenty-one Archs will drop until perfect chaos has returned. Only this time, no new Archs and no new Angels will take over in their place. This time Chaos will rule.”

  Leo took a step forward and then paused. No one loved a good fight more than he did, but he didn’t know what to do with the mess that now stood before him.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I can promise you we only want this to work. We want you whole again.”

  “I have been chosen!” Seth screamed and threw his arms towards Leo, releasing jagged bolts of lightning at the Angelus. Again, Leo hit the beach hard. He tried to speak, instead, coughing. The shards of light within Seth’s form flashed until Leo wondered if Seth might explode into a million pieces of colored glass.

  Leo had never seen the powers that Seth displayed. He had never seen an Angelus go mad. These things added up to one obvious conclusion.

  Time to run. Time to signal Michael.

  Leo flipped to his feet and flew down the beach, finding his ability to travel hampered by whatever Seth had done to him. He made it as far as Virginia Beach before sputtering to a halt. Exhausted, he leaned forward, palms on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

  Staring at his feet, Leo spotted a clamshell sticking from the side of his left foot. He had materialized on top of the shell, which now remained embedded in his flesh. Leo danced back, phasing his foot to energy form. The shell dropped back to the beach.

  Accidentally phasing into an object was not a mistake a healthy Angelus made.

  “What did you do to me, Seth?” Leo whispered aloud.

  He scanned his surroundings. Nothing. The beach behind him remained quiet and empty, the only movement a few skittering plovers by the water’s edge. Seth had not followed.

  Leo tried to call for Michael by releasing a powerful electrical impulse, but he could tell the attempt had fizzled.

  “All my powers and I’d trade them for a damn cell phone,” he grumbled.

  Leo turned, planning where he should go next. He could be back to D.C. in less than an hour. First, he had to find Michael and let him know about the lunatic they had on their hands. But was Michael there? Or was he in Duck, perhaps already attacked by Seth? Was the note left by Michael? Or by Seth as a trick to draw Leo away from Michael?

  Leo stalled, unable to decide his first move.

  A familiar crackling noise behind him pulled him from his planning.

  Leo whirled and found himself face-to-face with Seth.

  “You can’t get away from me,” Seth said in a sing-song voice.

  Again, the lightning shot from the deranged Angelus, more green in hue than the first attack, and Leo felt a burning sensation as it tore through his flesh. The force and the pain sent him spinning to the ground. Leo found himself with a mouthful of sand, and bleeding heavily from his right shoulder.

  Even beyond his pain, Leo felt the fury building inside him. He didn’t want to run, but he had no backup and Seth had become something he’d never seen. Common sense told him retreat was the safest and most logical plan of action.

  But logic had never been Leo’s strong suit. Getting smacked around like a child was really starting to grate on his nerves.

  Leo flared with his own energy and tackled Seth, not sure what to expect. Would he absorb energy from Seth? Would Seth simply scatter himself, or Leo, into a million pieces?

  For a moment Leo held Seth pinned to the ground, but the second he freed one arm to punch the insane Angelus, Seth grabbed Leo by the jaw, his grip much stronger than anything Leo had ever felt. He could tell that any errant movement on his part would end with the lower half of his face lying somewhere on the beach beside him.

  Leo froze.

  Seth remained still for some time, staring into Leo’s face. The flesh began to reappear around him, covering his horrific dark form. Brown, human eyes replaced his dark orbs.

  “Leo! How are you my old friend?”

  Though his tone had become gentler, Seth still held Leo’s jaw clamped tightly in his right hand. Leo could feel blood pouring freely from the wound in his right shoulder.

  “Seth,” Leo said as best he could with Seth’s hand on his jaw. “How are you?”

  Seth glanced side to side from his supine position on the beach as if he wasn’t sure how he had arrived there. He released his grip on Leo’s jaw and looked at his hand, as if it had been acting against his will.

  Free, Leo jumped to his feet and inspected his shoulder injury. Mixed with the blood, a green liquid oozed from the open wound, a sight unfamiliar to him.

  Seth seemed prepared to continue his earlier banter, until he noticed the flap of skin now hanging freely from Leo’s shoulder. Seth’s brow knit with concern. Leo scrambled to distract him.

  “Hey, Seth,” he said, pressing the torn flesh on his arm back into place. He tried returning to his energy form to heal, but when he regained his human form, the wound immediately bubbled back.

  “Seth, could I get back to you in a bit?” Leo said, beginning to feel woozy. “I have to run an errand really quickly, but I can’t tell you how good it is to see you.”

  Seth beamed. “Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes. Of course,” He dismissed Leo with a friendly wave. “No problem, Leo. I’m just taking a morning walk. I’ll catch up with you after I talk to Meili.”

  Leo twitched at the sound of Meili’s name.

  “Meili? When did you see...”

  Leo’s voice trailed as he saw Seth’s face begin to darken.

  “Ok, Seth, see you in a bit.”

  Leo flew away as quickly and for as long as dared, staying on the shortest path back to Washington D.C.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Michael and Meili sat in Michael’s D.C. office, plotting their next move. Michael found it difficult to keep his eyes and his attention off his watch. Morning had arrived. He imagined Anne would be back from the police station soon, if she wasn’t already. He resisted the urge to check on her. Con would be with her. Though what protection the loud-mouthed wraith could be against an unpredictable and powerful being like Seth, he wasn’t sure.

  “I don’t want to sit around and wait until Seth’s next attack,” said Michael. “So far everything he’s done has been almost childlike, but surely he intends to stop playing and cause some real damage soon.”

  Meili nodded.

  “The skulls were odd, indeed,” said Meili, scratching slowly at his cheek, deep in thought. “And giving Anne’s assistant back like that was very strange. Why would he give back the most powerful bargaining chip he had over us?”

  Michael looked at his closed office door. Where was Leo? He should have been back from New York with Anne’s photo hours ago. Michael didn’t like feeling as though all the people closest to him were scattered to the wind.

  “We should really get more of the council in on this,” said Michael. “I know as a rule we all handle our problems individually, but Seth is something different; something larger. If his plan is to attack the Angeli as a whole—”

  Meili cut Michael short with a gruff laugh. “Michael,” he said, as if addressing a child. “How could Seth attack the Angeli as a whole? Don’t be ridiculous.”

  Michael resented the tone. “Just because
you’ve chosen to look older, Meili, doesn’t mean you are my father.”

  “My apologies, that was not my intention. I only meant that this problem is not big enough to get others involved. Not yet. We can’t even say where he is or what he wants.”

  “I thought he wanted Anne,” mumbled Michael. He felt a pang of guilt for using Anne to draw out the fiend. He should have waited. He played his hand too early, endangering Anne before he knew the game. He should have suspected Seth when he saw the photo, but the idea of the Arch Angel returning in this strange new form was beyond what he had thought possible.

  “Since that earlier incident, he seems to have lost interest in the Sentinel,” said Meili. “He took her assistant out from under her nose and left him unscathed. Killing her doesn’t seem to be his plan. At least not anymore.”

  “What if it never was?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Michael pulled the top off a brightly painted Russian nesting doll that sat on his desk, revealing a smaller version of the outer shell within. He put it down and then removed the next layer as he spoke.

  “Con regained some of his form after his interaction with Seth. What if Seth attacked and siphoned Anne in an attempt to retrieve his own energy.”

  “You mean she may have held his specific energy all this time? Since she first reaped him?”

  “Maybe. Maybe that is what he was attempting to retrieve in Mexico City as well, but Con interrupted him. The first time Anne demonstrated her ability to create her energy swords was not long after she reaped Seth. I never drew any correlation at the time of course, but now the timing seems suspicious.”

  Meili shook his head. “None of this makes sense. Energy isn’t specific to individuals.”

  “Then explain Con’s sudden reversal.”

  Meili opened his mouth to answer, but was cut short by a knock on the office door.

  Leo. It’s about time.

  “Come in,” said Michael, pleased his hulking brother had decided to use the door for once. He briskly restacked the nesting doll.

  The door opened to reveal Keira. Michael felt his heart sink.

  “What is it, child?” asked Meili.

  “I’ve just been informed by another Sentinel that Seth has been spotted,” she said. “I’ve been given coordinates.”

  Keira held aloft a scrap of paper and then handed the coordinates to Michael.

  Michael stood and knocked on the desk with his knuckles.

  “Very good,” he said, looking at Meili.

  Meili nodded. “Why don’t we investigate first and then we’ll attack in a more thoughtful manner?”

  Michael considered the logic of Meili’s comment, and agreed it made sense to keep everyone out of danger until they had a solid plan for Seth’s capture. The last thing he wanted to do was drag Anne into yet another trap.

  “Fair enough,” said Michael.

  “Napoleon!” Meili called for his other assistant and the large man appeared behind Keira in the doorway.

  “Come here you two, we’re going to do a bit of traveling.”

  Keira and Napoleon moved in close to Meili.

  The four of them disappeared from the office, the rush of air as they left causing the coordinates to flutter to the ground.

  Michael and Meili arrived at Seth’s last known location at approximately the same time. As soon as he had fully materialized, Michael felt the hairs on his arm stand. He heard the buzz of electricity. He stepped forward, only to find his path blocked by bars. He touched them and their energy seared his fingertips. His eyes adjusted to the dim light of a dying forty-watt bulb, the only source of light in the dreary, windowless room in which they found themselves.

  “What is this?” Michael demanded to know.

  Meili and his companions stood outside Michael’s prison. Michael knew if there were several people in a room, and only one of them was in a cage, the one in the cage was in trouble. Being the one in the cage was a new experience.

  “I apologize, but I knew you’d require some time to come on board,” said Meili. Behind Meili’s right shoulder, Keira stared at Michael, her eyes wide and excited.

  Napoleon turned his back to Michael and moved to a far corner of the room. When he again turned to face the others, his lips twisted with anxiety.

  There’s the weak link, thought Michael. He let his eyes wander the confines of his approximately ten-foot by ten-foot cage. There was no door. He recognized the design. It was his own. He and several of the other Angeli had worked together to create a cage that could keep Perfidia contained. The same energy that could house a Perfidian, could also be used to cage an Angelus; even an Arch like Michael. Having been involved in the creation of the cage, Michael knew there would be no escape.

  “Release me immediately,” said Michael, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Always so cool, Michael.” said Meili, chuckling. “But your presence doesn’t frighten me the way it does your sycophantic gaggle of Sentinels and Angels.”

  “It should.”

  Meili turned to Napoleon.

  “Napoleon, could you go upstairs and keep an eye on the door?”

  Napoleon moved to the exit, avoiding Michael’s gaze as he retreated.

  Meili turned his attention back to Michael.

  “I have a proposition for you. Are you open minded?”

  “Sure. Being tricked into a cage always makes me receptive to new things.”

  “Do you feel more receptive to my ideas with a Sentinel in the room? If you don’t think so, I could have her reach into that cage and drain you until you’re feeling more amenable.”

  Keira stepped forward to stand beside Meili. She visibly shuddered as Meili’s hand brushed her leg.

  Michael’s lip curled in disgust. “Are you sure you want to share your pet?”

  Meili’s face lit with amusement. “My, what a hypocrite we are! Or are you just jealous to discover you’re not the only Angelus with a pet Sentinel?”

  “My relationship with Anne is completely different to...whatever this is, I assure you.”

  “Is it? She does things for you, goes out and kills your Perfidia, and in return you do things for her.”

  Meili turned towards Keira, cupping her jaw line with his hand and sliding his fingers down the girl’s neck. Keira’s eyes rolled back in her head. She moved greedily towards his touch as he removed his hand.

  “I do things for Keira. Even my older appearance is for her. She likes me this way.”

  “Fascinating.”

  Meili stared down at Keira, his eyes soft. Her neck craned towards him, like a flower seeking out the sun.

  “See how I love her? How is that different from your relationship with Anne?”

  “For one, Anne is a proper Sentinel. She has a job to do and she does it well.”

  Meili tilted his head. “Do you think she dotes on you because she’s a Sentinel, or because you could give her an orgasm by looking at her from across the room?”

  Michael looked away. “This is ridiculous. What do you want that you dare trap me like this? I’m sure it wasn’t to discuss our love lives.”

  Meili rubbed his hands together, his gaze never leaving Michael.

  “You may have already sensed it. You do quite a bit of Perfidia work, dealing with Guardians and Sentinels more often than the other Archs. You, of all people, should know they’re an abomination.” Meili looked at Keira. “Present company excluded, of course,” he added.

  “The creation of the Sentinels was necessary when the Angels began falling to Perfidia,” said Michael. “How can you call our own people abominations?”

  Meili clenched both fists. “They’re weak! We don’t need them. We spend more time now reaping and restarting them than they spend doing their duties.”

  Michael shook his head with disbelief. “That’s simply mathematically incorrect, Meili. Why should you have such hate for our fellow Angels? That’s like humans hating other humans for perceived weaknesses.” />
  “We made the Sentinels. We, who had no natural predator, created a creature that could kill us. If that isn’t the ultimate folly, what is?”

  “They can’t kill us.”

  “What’s happened to Seth should make it clear to you that the Sentinels were a mistake. We shouldn’t be rebooting our infected Angels, we should be collecting them and keeping them away from the others. We should be finding ways to absorb their energy once and for all.”

  “Put them in prisons and forget about them?” said Michael, his voice growing sharp with agitation. “Find a way to kill them? The Perfidia are sick, not evil.”

  “Is anything really evil?”

  “I’m not St. Augustine. I’m not going to debate evil with you. But I do know right and wrong.”

  “It was you who helped create the very prison you’re in now. Surely you had some idea we could use it to house Perfidia on a more permanent basis.”

  “Temporarily! For observation or to await the services of a Sentinel.”

  “Who’s to say that recycling the Perfidia isn’t spreading the disease? Some of us realize our mistake. We shouldn’t be creating new beings. We should be refining our ranks until only the most powerful remain.”

  “You’re ridiculous. With the growing human population it’s difficult enough to keep an eye on things at our current number.”

  “And now you’ve touched on the other issue,” said Meili, taking a step toward Michael. “We don’t all care about the humans anymore. We don’t all want to protect them anymore. We want to be done with them and live our own lives. Reach our own potential.”

  Michael raised an eyebrow. “Are you insane? What’s your plan? Kill all the humans?”

  Meili laughed. “We don’t need to kill all the humans. They can do that themselves. I just don’t want to spend any of my time serving them. I’m going to serve my interests from now on.” Meili trailed off, appearing enraptured by his own thoughts.

  “And what are your interests? Going to take up line dancing? A little gardening? Maybe start a blog?”