Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One (4 page)

             
Some were her friend because they feared
her
and others because she always managed to find something fun for them to do
but
all the kids knew
it was
unwise
to cross her
. She was extremely vindictive
.
Phoenix
and Brian
had been frien
ds for so long Jessica hadn’
t be
en able to end it
but
that didn’
t mean she
stopped trying
.

             
“You know we have to be here
,
Jess,” he said as if he was talking to a small child.

             
“You need to
live a little Brian
,
and I’
m just the one to help you do that,” she purred at him, making Phoenix
even more nauseous
.

             
“We can go later.
Y
ou want to join us
,
kid?” he asked Phoenix. She wanted to
glare at him for the kid remark
but his arm was still wrapped arou
nd her, making her feel relaxed
and happy
,
especially
knowing Jessica would be
irritated
about it.

             
“That s
ounds perfect,” she
answered
before glancing
at Jessica, who was glaring dagg
ers at her. She gave her a full-
fledged smile and could practically see fire darting from
the other girl’s
eyes.

             
“Good, I’
ll
let a few others know what we’
re doing
and we can meet at the south tunnel fifteen minutes after the meeti
ng ends,” he said to both girls
,
then jumped up.

             
“I’
ll come with you,” Jessica said
and followed him off like a puppy dog. She turn
ed
around to give Phoenix one more glare
before disappearing.

             
Phoenix felt a familiar nose on her leg and smiled as Patches settled beside her with his head on her lap. She ran her hand over his soft fur, really glad to see him. He was so popular in the cave, being the only pet allowed, that his visits to people were greatly appreciated. She sometimes thought he could read their minds because he seemed to show up when he was needed most.

             
Patches was a beautiful, huge dog that she and Sadie found. He’d barely been alive and only survived because of her mother’s amazing veterinarian abilities. Patches spent a lot of time with her mom, Janet.  

             
There was a commoti
on in the main entrance hall
and Phoenix turned to see what was
happening
. Someone was yelling out
in
extreme
pain. She sat frozen
as some of the
elders
carried in two stretchers with people lying on them. There was so much
blood. S
he
didn’t want to
even try to
imagine what had happened.

             
“We need Dr. Light right away.
G
e
t these people to the infirmary
and get him down
there,” one of the men shouted
as
they passed through the
room
. By then the
cavern
was filled wit
h most of the community members
and everyone looked around in question at each other.

             
Phoenix listened as voices
rose
while
people tried to get any information they could. Both
of
the
victims
looked
extremely
messed up,
much
worse
than
what
a bullet
normally did. It looked as if they’
d been ripped i
n pieces
and she didn’t know how they were still alive.

             
After about a half hour
,
a couple council members came out and the room instantly
quieted when they stepped
to the podium. Phoenix wished Brian was still next to her
,
with his arm
offering comfort
. She could use his
reassuring
touch
right then
.

             
“Thank you for your silence
and
patience. I know you’
re wondering about the people on the stretchers. We don’t
kno
w yet
what
happened to them
but
they’
re
badly injured
and it will be a miracle if they make it through th
e night. We’
ve medicated them
and gotten their pain to a manageable level
and we’
re hopeful to get some information
soon
. We do pray for their survival
but
their informati
on is even more important. We’
ll keep you
updated
on
their condition
. In lig
ht of the current situation we’
re going to
cancel the meeting tonight
and have it in the morning
,
instea
d. Please do your normal duties
as if nothing
’
s happened,” Greg said to the group.

             
He
and Jeff walked off the stage and disappeared down the tunnel
,
towards the infirmary. Phoenix
remained motionless
, wondering what was going on
. She prayed the enemy wasn’
t coming closer
because even though the cav
e seemed like a prison at times
she knew from
the
stories of people they’d taken in
,
it could be so much worse outside.

             
“Phoenix
, come on. W
e’
re going to get
out of here for a while. There’
s no use dwelling on
what
we have no control over,” Brian called to her. She was relieved to see her brother standing next to him. She c
limbed to her feet
,
join
ing
them
and decided to shake off her fears.

             
“
Why do we do nothing but sit here and watch as they destroy each other
?” Jayden
asked
, as he walked through the war ravaged streets
with his leader, Vyco
. He looked around him in contempt for what the human world was so willing to create.
He was unlike the rest of the Dark Angels and Demons. He didn’t thrive on chaos or feed off of human pain. He did what he had to do to survive in the dark world, but he didn’t enjoy it like
the
others.

             
He was sick of being in hiding, while the world around him was allowed to do whatever they pleased. He’d learned how to
hold
his temper hundreds of years ago
but at times like this
it was still hard for him.
He hated he was the one who must reside in the darkest corners, while gun toting heathens were free to walk the streets.

             
“We’
ll sit back and watch. Let them destroy themselves,”
Vyco
said. Jayden didn’t want to listen to him
and didn’t understand his lack of interest
.
Vyco normally would’ve been in the middle of the violence, leading the troops.

             
Vyco hadn’t
shared
the binding
agreement he’d made with any of his followers
, but he was sure
when he did,
it would be Jayden.
The Dark Angel was more loyal than many
of his minions.
Vyco
was waiting for the right moment before making his final
decision
. He
would
make sure to choose to his best interest.

             
Jayden kicked a huge rock in his path and watched it fly across the street and straight through a window. Vyco
was
his
leader, and
he couldn’t cross him
. He was the oldest known
Demon
in existence
having
seen more in his
millions
of years than
Jayden could comprehend
. He
was
ruler
of the dark world
and when he c
ommanded something
,
it was done without question
.

             
Their numbers had dwindled through the years
as Josiah and his Angels had battled them
.
Even
as
Demons and the few Dark Angels left
died
, t
he world would be in terror if they knew the power
the darkness
still
wielded
over them
.
Vyco never had problems creating new Demons,
to easily dispose of whenever he felt the need
.

             
Vyco loved bringing evil humans to his side. He promised them immortality and power in exchange for their soul. They didn’t realize they were coming out on the losing end. Dark Angels were fewer in numbers on the mortal planet. When there’d been war between Vyco and Josiah in the stars, Vyco had tricked many into following him to the earth. The Dark Angels had far more power than the demons, which caused battles. When many of the Dark Angels found out how wrong Vyco had been, they’d chosen to destroy themselves, rather than follow him. Jayden’s heart had hardened so much by that
point - he
simply went along
,
following orders. What difference did it make if humans lived or died? He did what he needed to for his own survival.

             
Neither Dark Angels nor Demons were easy to destroy. The human’s certainly couldn’t take them out. Only another creature with
at least comparable
powers could destroy them. The Demons would quake in when Josiah sent his Angels after them.  

             
The humans
loved their
supersti
ti
ons
but if they
were truly aware of the evil around them
,
they would behave differently.
Monsters hid
around every corner.
The longer
Jayden
was on earth the more he forgot the light from above.

             
Jayden had been one of the
first
Angels to
support
Vyco and follow him
,
forever leaving behind the
Light. He’d believed Vyco, at the time. He’d wanted to take free will from humans because they made the wrong choices. After a few hundred years he’d discovered Vyco really just wanted to control the world. It was too late for Jayden, though. He’d made his choice and he
lived with it. His heart had certainly blackened the longer he walked at Vyco’s side.
He laughed to himself, somewhat mockingly.

             
“What do you find so amusing
,
Jayden?”
Vyco
asked.
Vyco could
read
minds but to his frustration he never knew what Jayden was thinking
.
Jayden would’ve never been able to stay with Vyco if that were
n’t
the case. He had too many negative thoughts about his mentor
.
He
was
protective of
his
thoughts, as
they were
the
only
thing
s
he
could truly call
his
own.

             
“
The human world amuses me. I can’t believe there was ever a time I thought they were worth protecting. They kill each other without a second thought. They have no comprehension how weak they are. We could destroy them without a second thought. Sometimes, I think that would be the more humane thing to do
,” he replied.

             
“Yes, they are not the smartest beings in existence. I don’t know why I got so attached to earth. There
are much wiser places to live. I do like how easy they are to control, though. They so easily do my bidding,
”
Vyco
said.

             
“I’
ve never been to any of the other worlds
but from your stories
they do sound
incredible
,” Jayden said, a bit enviou
sly. He could never return home
but there were other worlds they could explore.
He wouldn’t mind leaving earth, especially since they were so set on destroying each other.
“What happens when they all destroy each other?”
he
asked.

             
“They will never fully destroy each other. Humans are resilient, and there w
ill always be survivors.
For thousands of years t
hey’
ve tried
to destroy
those
they consider lesser than them
. They
eventually g
ive up. The strong will survive
and they
will be
those
who are so much better to rule over. They’
ll start from scratch again, as
they’ve done hundreds of times. It’
s funny
for me to hear their stories. I’
ve been there to see it all
and know what’s real
and
what
i
s
fantasy
.
They’d never believe how controllable they really are
.
That’s why they come up with fables and fantasies. T
hey can’t imagine the realities, that monsters really do exist,
” he said with
glee
.

             
The humans would be surprised by the reality of the many worlds out there and the many types of species in existence. They so ea
sily pass
off
unexplainable ships as fake, when they travel
regularly between the planets.

             
“How much longer are we hanging out up here
?”
one of the demons
asked
,
approaching
with an orange in her hand. She was eating it, skin and all, and sighing as it squirted into her mouth.

             
“I don’t see why you eat that garbage,” Jayden grumbled.

             
“Don’t knock it till you try it,” she
snarled
.
Jayden wanted to swat her but knew she was one of Vyco’s favorite play things.

             
“Would you two stop
bickering
?”
Vyco
said.
He loved fighting and anger but he was too busy to deal with the two of them at that moment. “You need to run along for now, I need to speak with Jayden, privately,” Vyco dismissed her, causing her eyes to glow red before she disappeared in a pillar of smoke.

             
“There
’
s
a rebel camp causing me trouble
. I can’t outright destroy them or I risk going before the council,” Vyco said with a shudder. The council was enough to make the strongest immortal tremor.

             
“What do you need me to do?” Jayden asked.

             
“I need you to infiltrate this camp and guide them to destroy themselves. You can’t tell them who you are. You can’t destroy them yourself
,
but you can make them trust and follow you.
When you succeed, t
hey will quickly destroy themselves,” Vyco said, smiling at the thought. He loved nothing more than
corrupting
good humans. That gave him more power than anything else.

             
“
Of course, I’
ll do it,” Jayden said without hesitation. He was there to serve.

             
Jayden heard a noise, and looked down in annoyance at the hole in his clothe
s. He loved the shirt he had on
and wasn’t happy someone had ruined it with their bullet hole. He looked around and quickly spotted the group of rebel soldiers down the street. There were about fifty of them.

             
He looked pleadingly at
Vyco. They’
d ruined his favorite shirt
,
after all. He deserved to get revenge
. He normally didn’t go around hunting humans but when they pissed him off
,
then
it was a whole other matter.

             
Jayden knew he was what human girls consider
ed
good-looking
.
All immortal beings were perfectly created. His skin was a light olive color, never changing in any way. His body was strong and he carried himself with confidence. His eyes were black with a light shining in them still from his time in the heavens. All of the other Angels who’d fallen had lost their light. Their eyes had turned red with
a
bloodlust in them Jayden hoped he’d never get.  
 

             
“
Wait a few moments, Jayden. I want to see what they’ll do. Their antics amuse me. Jayden wasn’t known for his patience but soon he’d
get his revenge for his favorite shirt
being ruined
.

             
The men shot off several
more
rounds at
him
and Vyco,
doing
nothing more than destroy
ing their clothes
. Jayden could see
Vyco
was starting to get a bit irritated
. He could’ve easily dodged the bullets
but he was standing
still,
watching the men.
He wanted to toy with the men who thought they were so strong.

             
“I’
ll give you one last chance to stop shooting at us and
turn around and
leave,”
Vyco
shouted to the men. Jayden rarely ever heard him raise his voice, as there was simply no need for him to do so. He was always awed by the
power
of it when he did.

             
“Dream on
,
old man,” one of the men yelled
,
then shots were fired in earnest.
Vyco
smiled, pleased they hadn’t backed down.
He
then nodded his head.
Jayden immediately charged forward
and in a matter of minutes all the men lay dead at
his
feet.