Fallen Angel of Mine (48 page)

"The fault is my own." He let that
simple statement hang in the air a moment before motioning me to
walk with him. "My daughter loves you. And she was right. I wanted
to control her. I wanted to control Jack and Michael, and everyone
else around me. I wanted everyone to see the evil I imagined was
there." He stopped and looked me up and down. "Do not mistake my
realization for total absolution. I still feel the anger and
betrayal I've harbored ever since that fateful day at Thunder Rock.
My feelings won't change overnight." He ran a hand through his dark
hair, eyes taking in the destruction. "You might be a mule in a
horse harness. Or you might be of genuine character. I am not yet
willing to concede the latter. But if I'm to prevent another
catastrophe like this from happening again, it appears I have no
choice but to accept you." His eyes hardened. "For now."

I could tell it took every fiber of his
being for him to say those words. Bad enough he couldn't keep his
daughter safe from boys. Even worse, the one she loved was demon
spawn. I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. Fighting against my own
dislike for this man, I held out a hand and kept my face neutral
despite the anger I still felt. Thomas Borathen had a lot to atone
for, but now wasn't the time to ask for reparations. The other
man's face stiffened. But he took my hand. Shook it. Walked away to
be with his mourning family.

An unmarked van pulled into the parking
lot and backed up to Vadaemos's unconscious form where Michael had
left him trussed with unbreakable straps. Two Templars hopped out,
wrapped him in a cocoon of diamond fiber, tossed him in the back of
the vehicle, and drove off. Fast, quick, and professional. Service
with a smile. I slumped to the ground, sitting cross-legged and
watching as more people showed up and set themselves to cleaning up
the incredible mess. I assumed these people were affiliated with
the Templars, though they didn't look quite as menacing or
well-trained in combat. Then again, Meghan was an arcane healer
with the Templars and I hadn't seen her wielding a sword in the
battle.

Because she used a staff,
dummy.

A light hand rested on my shoulder.
"You are okay, Justin?"

I looked up into Nightliss's
almond-shaped eyes. She smiled.

"I'm better." I stood and looked her
over. She seemed different somehow. Less innocent than the first
few times I'd met her. Of course it could have had to do with
knowing she was an angel of darkness and incredibly
powerful.

"I am not allowed to interfere. But
Daelissa did. I could not let it stand."

"I thought Kassallandra drove you
off."

"She reminded me of the old rules. But
the rules are changed."

"Your English is a lot
better."

A smile lit her face, making her seem
much younger, like a girl just going to college. "My mind is
healing. The damage from the Nexus almost killed me. It has taken a
long time to remember who I am and my purpose." She looked down,
almost shyly. "And I took some English classes."

An angel taking English classes? I
almost laughed. But my mind focused on something else. "Your
purpose? What is it? Do you know about Foreseeance forty-three
eleven?"

She took my hand and led me away from
the busy parking lot where a small army of people were cleaning up
by towing cars and sweeping the littered parking lot clean. Others
were recovering human bodies in a tall black van, and dumping
hellhounds and moggies in another. We sat on the open stairwell at
the end of the building.

"My purpose is to help you if you
choose to accept it."

This brought the dream, vision, or
whatever it was back to the forefront of my thoughts. "Was it
really you and Daelissa in the hallway in my house? Or was it a
dream?"

"We were there, drawn to you. I do not
know how, but I do know why."

"Well, spit it out."

She tilted her head, a bemused
expression on her face before opening her mouth in understanding.
"You must make a choice. Daelissa and I represent opposite sides to
this choice."

"What is it with all the dark and light
stuff? It seems like everything always boils down to black or
white."

"I do not mean to insult your
intelligence, Justin—"

"Go ahead. It's not like everyone else
doesn't already do it."

A laugh tinkled in her throat. "The
human mind cannot see some things the way we do, the same way we do
not see things the way humans do. This dark and light is how your
mind interprets what it cannot understand."

"So break it down for me."

"It is not good or evil. It is not
black or white. It is balance and choice. One choice will save this
world the way it is. The other will remake it, perhaps condemn it,
depending upon who you are."

"Is that all?" I breathed a mock sigh
of relief. "And here I thought it was something
serious."

"It
is
serious, Justin." Alarm filled her
dark eyes.

"That was a joke. Sarcasm."

The relief was evident on her face.
"Oh. Good. You frightened me."

"So the bottom line to this whole mess
is, you want me to choose your side, the side my mind says is the
dark." I thought back to the many dreams I'd had, especially the
one where Elyssa told me she'd be my light in the dark. My dark
light. But what if our dreams were being manipulated? What if
neither side was the right one? This whole mess might be some farce
dreamed up by a bunch of bored angels. A game to pass the
millennia.

"You must choose me, Justin. Daelissa
has powerful allies and I have none. She has had a very many lot of
years to prepare and I only started to remember not a lot of many
years ago."

"Oh jeez. I gotta teach you to
count."

Her eyes pinched in a hurt expression.
"I do know. Just not how to translate yet."

I mulled it over for a moment. Daelissa
had done some terrible stuff, no doubt. She'd incited the war
between the spawn and Templars, and certainly had something to do
with Maximus. The massacre at the arcane school in Dallas had her
stink on it as well. The blonde chick with the burning blue eyes
was bad news. The temples in El Dorado bore a permanent reminder of
that.

"Did your kind rule us once as
gods?"

She looked up and I could tell from the
strain on her face, she was trying desperately to remember. Or
pretending to. With a sigh, she gave up. "I cannot remember it all.
I do know I punched Daelissa in the face once."

I chuckled. The two could be twins from
mirror universes. "Is she your sister?"

Nightliss nodded slowly. "I think so.
In some way."

I stood and took a step away. Stared
into the night. "It feels like your side is the right one,
Nightliss. But I need to know more. I need you to remember. I've
jumped into enough messes in my life, without plowing right into a
choice like this. Besides, the dark side is usually made up of the
bad guys, even if they do have cookies." Elyssa was right about my
decision-making skills. I tended to jump without looking. Not this
time. For all I knew, saying yes to Nightliss might start an
Armageddon none of us were ready to face. And in my limited
experience, the dark side was really good at manipulation. I
couldn't picture this petite cutie manipulating anyone for evil,
but what did I know?

"I understand," she said, her voice
sad. "I cannot promise you cookies. But I will be patient and try
to remember."

Down the building from me, I saw Bella
spot me and come my way. I looked back at Nightliss. "How do I stay
in touch with you?"

"I will try to stay close, but until
you commit to me, I cannot give you a gift."

"A gift?"

"Yes. It is like giving you a part of
my power."

"Is this like what Daelissa does for
the Templars?"

She nodded. "It is the
same."

It reminded me of something very
important. "Can you restore Elyssa's memories? Undo whatever
Daelissa did?"

"If she wishes it, I will see what I
can do."

"Please."

Nightliss stood on her tiptoes and
kissed me on the lips. Just a peck, but it made me wonder what sort
of customs angels had for greeting people. Were they like the
Colombian women I'd met who liked to kiss me on the cheeks every
chance they got? I didn't have a chance to ask. She left my side
and walked toward Elyssa, and Bella reached my side a second later.
She hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks.

"You were magnificent," she
said.

My ego inflated by about a hundred
pounds, but I was also a bit puzzled. "How so?"

"You are a true leader Justin. The
foreseeance spoke of it, but now I have seen you in action. You won
others to your cause and they fought for you."

"I never actually forced them
to."

"And yet they followed." Her complexion
had darkened a bit more, closer to her natural olive tone, but dark
rings underscored her eyes.

I thought back to how I'd blundered
along, somehow surviving, somehow making it through so many
challenges. Somewhere along the way, I'd picked up a little
confidence and added that to my determination. Had I become a
leader? I looked at what remained of the carnage, now mostly a few
bloodstains and shattered glass. This hadn't been my doing. Thomas
Borathen caused this destruction, at least in part. Daelissa had
helped things along. That woman had a gift for mayhem.

"Lina told me of her attempts to teach
you magic." Bella's raised eyebrow told me what she thought of
those efforts. "I think it is time to truly teach you. You have the
ability and you must have every skill available to you in the
battles to come."

"Magic is a lot harder than I thought
it would be."

"It is no easy skill to
learn."

I spotted a familiar figure in a
leather duster across the parking lot, staff in hand. An older
version of myself walked by his side. Next to him stood a woman
with flaming red hair.

Oh crap.

My father had shown up at the wrong
place at the wrong time. And Kassallandra was going to make him
pay.

It took me a moment to realize my
father and the redheaded Daemas hadn't come to blows just yet, nor
had hellhounds hauled him off by his scruff. My eyes widened even
further when I noticed Dad had an arm around her waist as she
limped along in obvious pain. Bella and I hurried over to meet
them.

"Almost missed the fun," Shelton said
with a smirk. "You were right, Justin."

"About what?"

"You are trouble."

He grinned and held out a hand. I
gripped it and shook. "Careful now, Shelton, or I might think
you're going mushy on me."

He chuckled.

Dad had a somewhat guilty look on his
face. Kassallandra looked exceedingly smug, her rosebud lips turned
up in a satisfied smile despite the long gash down her right leg
and the blood on her torn shirt. Dad let her balance on her
uninjured leg and took his arm away from her, embracing me in a
bear hug.

"I thought you were dead,
Son."

"I thought the same thing a few times
myself." We released each other and stood back. "When did you get
here?"

"Your father killed two hellhounds and
saved me from certain death after Vadaemos struck me," Kassallandra
said.

"Hey now, sweetheart, I helped too,"
Shelton said, sounding a bit injured.

She pursed her lips. "I suppose you
did."

"Wow, two hellhounds," I said, thinking
back to my own battle with the things. They were tough to take
down.

"My hellhounds fought bravely as well,"
she said, looking back at the monstrous Malkesh and one of his
smaller siblings.

"I thought Thomas Borathen locked you
up. Did he let you go?"

She shook her head. "A mysterious man
helped me escape."

"Mysterious?"

"Dressed in black. Sunglasses and a
mask. He looked very silly, but he freed me
nonetheless."

"Big guy?"

She nodded. "A beast."

A string of yarn connected two more
thumbtacks on the corkboard in my head. Not a lot, but the best I
could hope for considering my deductive reasoning skills weren't
the strongest in the world.

"Justin, I have something really
important to tell you," Dad said, his face going pale.

"Oh boy, this should be good," Shelton
said with a grin. I felt certain it took all his willpower not to
rub his hands together with delight at whatever the bad news
was.

Kassallandra folded her arms and looked
even smugger, if that was possible.

My stomach turned to stone. "Don't tell
me you're going to marry her."

"Your mother—"

"Is still your wife!" My
voice rose to a shout that echoed across the parking lot. "She's
obviously under the control of the Conroys and you're going through
with marrying
her
?"
I shot Kassallandra an accusing glare. She actually had the grace
to wilt a little under my stare.