Immortal Alliance (IMMORTAL ALLIANCE SERIES Book 1) Page 13

  Heather

  IT WAS SURREAL WATCHING HIM pour me a glass of water.

  Every movement was smooth, precise and, dare I say, perfect. I kept waiting for a sound, the simple clink of cups against each other in the cupboard, or the subtle squeak of the cabinet as it closed.

  Or maybe even the familiar sloshing sound of the water pitcher as it was lifted from its regular place inside the fridge door. All human, normal noises that I once ignored, so mundane and natural, only now was I missing those sounds.

  Not one of them captured my ears while Gabriel, an angel, moved in my kitchen.

  Is that what it is to be human? Noisy, banal, clumsy?

  Even as I watched him, I hardly believed what I was seeing was real. Even though his feathered wings no longer protruded from his shoulder blades, the ghost of them remained. And even though his faint golden glow had diminished, the essence lingered.

  His very presence filled the room with warmth and gentleness. But it wasn’t just gentleness, no, he seemed strong and purposeful. And yet, not one movement he made, no matter how solid, made a sound. Was that the major differences between humans and whatever they were…angels.

  Surely, the energy he emitted was intended to be comforting, and in a way it was. But in another way it was fiercely intimidating.

  I knew before they had told me anything, before most of them left, that my modest human life was about to be disrupted forever. And I already missed it.

  I missed my ignorance.

  Gabriel extended the glass towards me, I took it. Allowing the chilled condensation dripping down the outside of the glass to soothe my wracking nerves.

  I was sitting cross-legged on my armchair. Kale lingered by the living room window, continuously peering into the street, watching for danger—or trying to make me feel less uncomfortable, I’ll never know.

  Gabriel chose to sit on the far end of the couch, keeping a safe distance from me. They both seemed to be trying to give me enough space to breathe, not wanting to push my nerves.

  Gabriel’s eyes remained on me until I at last took a sip from my glass. The cool water feeling foreign in my mouth. I forced myself to swallow and take a deep breath. Recounting what he had told me prior to getting me a drink.

  “So…you’re an angel. As in, halos, harps, white robes and of course wings?” I asked. My voice a little clearer thanks to the water.

  His expression was nothing short of wary. He allowed the corner of his mouth to twitch upwards. A mask of calm, no doubt he was nervous as well, given how long it took him to tell me that little shred of information.

  “That depiction of us is purely a subject of spiritual opinion. But in a sense, yes. You’ve studied many religions, correct?” he asked. I merely nodded.

  “Then you’re familiar with archangels.” It wasn’t a question. I thought back to basic Christian and Catholic religions, archangels being the top tiers of power next to God himself.

  And one of those archangels, had been named Gabriel… My eyes widened, snapping me from my thoughts and back to his face.

  “You’re the archangel Gabriel?”

  “I know, not as impressive in person, huh?” Kale joked.

  Gabriel sent a glare in his direction. If I was in my right mind, I would’ve allowed that attempt at lightening the mood to make me smile, but laughter was far away from me at the moment.

  “The other one…by the door, Duma? Is he an archangel too?” Gabriel looked back at me with surprise written on his face.

  “No, he’s a Spectral angel.”

  My brows narrowed in confusion. I’ve never heard of a Spectral before. Gabriel simply shook his head.

  “We’ll get into those details another time. But he is an angel.”

  I dared a glance at Kale, still gazing out the window. “The others aren’t though, they’re different.”

  “Demons,” Gabriel stated.

  Unnatural fear cramped my stomach. Demons…

  “We don’t bite, unless you’re into it.” Kale winked.

  He was amused, but I stared at him and he met my stare fully.

  He was a demon.

  But that didn’t feel right, not the way Lillith made me feel. With her and the other I could smell the brimstone and ash in their bones. Kale was something else…

  “What are you?” I asked. His eyes darkened and he tilted his head, curiosity playing across his eyes, with a hint of bewilderment.

  His response was swift and final, “He just told you.”

  My throat ached. I took another sip of my water, breaking eye contact. But I didn’t miss them exchange side glances. An unspoken message conveyed between them.

  “There are more of you?” I said.

  Gabriel responded first, “Four others. Three other angels and an additional demon.”

  “I didn’t know angels and demons spent time together.”

  Four demons and five angels made for a large group. And if my religious studies were correct, they weren’t supposed to get along.

  Kale replied, “They don’t. Angels are boring, not great for enjoyable company.”

  A low growl-like noise came from deep in Gabriel’s throat.

  “Our dispositions aren’t, shall we say, compatible.” Kale snorted at that. Gabriel only went on, “This unique situation calls for an aberrant alliance.”

  I peered between them. “What situation?”

  Gabriel sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. Hesitant to speak further. He looked towards Kale, who met his gaze.

  “If we go much further and her mind breaks, I may not be able to repair it.”

  Kale didn’t speak for a moment, only watching him closely. Moments passed, and eventually Gabriel sighed again, turning back towards me.

  “You are going to learn a lot of things about the supernatural universe, things that no mortal is meant to know. We go to great lengths to make sure you never know. Mostly because mortals aren’t able to tap into enough of their brain function to comprehend it. Humans have lost their minds, broken from the intensity of the information.”

  He paused, still considering if he should continue.

  “You may be different, and I have reason to believe that you are. You may be able to withstand it. But as we tell you more, you need to let us know if you start to feel…odd. More than just nausea or nerves, but if your brain starts to boil, for lack of a better description. Do you understand?”

  If the impact of those terrifying words didn’t send my heart racing, his intense gaze certainly did the trick. Would my mind actually boil?

  “I- what makes you think I could withstand it?”

  “That will be explained, but for now I just need to know that you understand the risks,” Gabriel reaffirmed.

  Fear, insecurity, and foreboding clutched at my gut.

  But beneath it, there was an eagerness, a thirst for knowledge. Deep in that part of me that drove my studies, that drove my answer from my already parched mouth.

  “I... understand. Go ahead.”

  I took a bigger gulp of water, before setting down my glass on the coffee table. Gabriel still seemed wary, angling his head towards Kale, listening.

  Kale, however, was looking at me from underneath his lashes. Approval and intrigue sparkled across his eyes.

  Gabriel began, “Angels, among other supernatural beings, are considered immortal. Angels and humans alike are created from parts of God’s soul, but in different quantities. This is why humans live short lives. Lower class angels can have lifespans ranging from a few thousand years to many Kiḷai.”

  “Kiḷai?” I asked.

  “It’s a unit of time, one Kiḷai is equivalent to about a million years.”

  Woah. Yeah, I can see where that might stump a few people, I don’t even think I can do that kind of math.

  “So, in comparison to a human life of one hundred years, angels are ‘immortal’. And the higher the degree of angel, the greater amount of soul and the greater their life span. Demons are different. They
live long lives, but aren’t immortal, and can be killed.”

  “Though, we make it very hard to do so,” Kale muttered.

  Gabriel ignored him and went on, “The point is, it is near impossible to kill an angel. But recently…someone or something managed to do it.” He stopped.

  He watched me, waiting for something. I contemplated what he said. An image of blood, screaming, pain, and tears. A pure soul dying in my arms. His name emerging from an unknown place that I still didn’t understand.

  “Mason.”

  Kale’s head snapped up, his attention wholly on my face.

  “That was real?” I whispered.

  Gabriel dipped his chin once. Mason’s pain once again emerging, winding up my chest into a ball of rubber bands. I fought against it to focus back on Gabriel.

  “He was your assigned Guardian angel. His death was sudden, and his scream was heard by all supernatural entities. His death was unnatural, and it shook the universe. He was nowhere near the end of his life cycle, and the cause of his death still remains unknown.” Gabriel explained.

  The sheer terror I felt during that experience inched back into my body.

  “I saw him, felt him. I knew him, but afterwards I thought it was just a nightmare. But you’re saying it really happened?” I murmured.

  “We assumed it had nothing to do with you,” Gabriel responded. “So I was sent to be your Guardian temporarily until we figure it out. God and Lucifer both have no idea how it happened. They summoned us all to work together and weed out the culprit. Angel killings aren’t common, and their occurrences are taken very seriously. Something or someone having the ability to end the life of an angel poses a large threat to the Balance. Deeming it necessary for an abnormal and powerful coalition of two different realms.”

  Must be pretty serious then.

  My stomach churned, bile daring to rise up my throat.

  Kale jerked his chin at me. “Looking a little green there. You need a minute?” he asked.

  I didn’t find worth in acknowledging him, instead I cleared my throat to respond to Gabriel.

  “What was that thing in the street? The thing he killed.” Only nodding towards Kale.

  Gabriel looked to Kale, waiting for him to answer.

  “It was a vetala. An ancient primordial from the Ceyya period. It shouldn’t have been anywhere near here, especially where you were. Its presence among others suggests that Mason’s death was just the start, that maybe something bigger is happening. We aren’t entirely sure yet,” Kale explained.

  He sounded like a leader, like Gabriel. And from what I witnessed earlier; he probably was in charge of the demon side of their affiliation. Maybe that’s why he stayed, ensuring that Gabriel didn’t take full charge of the situation.

  They seemed to know each other well, a murky history perhaps.

  “As a human, I was supposed to stay in the dark of all this?”

  “Mortal’s knowledge of the supernatural is purposefully limited. Our intention was to simply monitor you while we did our investigation, but the events today changed that,” Gabriel answered.

  Kale was again staring into the street. The sun was setting, a burnt orange sky dimming to a dark blue more and more every minute.

  I thought of my dream, of the liquid mist that crept along my skin, paralyzing me. I thought of the shadow figure that sat on rough black stone. The red eyes, like molten ore coursing. The fire and sparks that struck down the smoky creature into nothing with one blow.

  That figure was Kale, in a rawer form. His demon form, maybe. Dark, scorching, ignited in organic power.

  The Kale standing in my living room was reserved, polished, refined. But like the golden glow itching to escape the barriers of Gabriel’s skin, that smoldering power showed slightly. A curl of black smoke around his fingers, a flare of fire in his eyes.

  A brief whiff of cinnamon and something sweet touched my senses, as if answering my thoughts.

  He was there, inside my mind. He saved me from whatever lurked there. But he was in my mind.

  He hadn’t noticed me staring, but shifted slightly when I asked, “Was that creature in my dream real too? The one you disintegrated?”

  “What dream?” Gabriel asked.

  I clamped my lips tight. I guess he hadn’t told him about that.

  Kale ignored him, fiddling with the hilt of his dagger. “It was real. I merely banished it from your subconscious. You may see it again.”

  “You didn’t want to mention this to me? When did this happen?” Gabriel demanded.

  Kale rolled his eyes and looked back at the street. “I had it handled.”

  “Clearly you didn’t. Because you neglected to erase the memory from her mind afterwards,” Gabriel snapped.

  Kale shot a cold sneer his way. “Memory wiping isn’t my style, ass-feathers. She chocked it up to be a nightmare, there was no harm done. If it weren’t for the vetala, she wouldn’t have known.”

  “But…I did know. I asked you in the library if I had met you before. I recognized you.”

  Kale eyes filled with warning.

  Gabriel folded his arms, his skin pulsing slightly. “The library?” His tone turbulent and accusatory.

  Kale groaned, “Tattle-tale.”

  “I see the observing went all according to plan, then. You half-witted leech just couldn’t resist, could you?” Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose.

  Kale smirked. “We invented temptation, pegasus, why should we resist it.”

  They stayed quiet for a few minutes. Kale’s sly grin only grew larger, and shortly after Gabriel jumped to his feet and pointed a warning finger at him.

  “Enough. This is not the time for your perverted imagery.”

  My eyebrows shot up. What exactly just happened? As if hearing my thoughts Kale’s eyes flashed to me.

  “Supernatural beings have a mental connection to one another. And they can choose to open their minds or keep them shut to messages going in and out. Demons and angels rarely converse telepathically, but our unfortunate alliance forces us to. And I personally love driving this high-and-mighty featherbrain nuts, so I sometimes send things that aren’t for the pure of heart,” he said with a wink.

  “You mean you can read each other’s minds?” I asked.

  “We can send messages, and if a connection is accepted, depending on the strength of it, then we can hear or see each other’s thoughts, yes. But just as easily we can sever the connection, or only allow in limited messages,” Gabriel answered.

  Not lowering his glare from Kale’s amused figure.

  “It’s like a thread, connecting us all that we can sometimes tug on or tap on.”

  Kale leaned in towards me, as if to convey a secret.

  “Imagine a spider web, and a simple tap sends vibrations to our minds. Buzzing in the back of our heads letting us know someone wishes to get in, their vibrations unique to each messenger, so we know who it is contacting us without opening our minds,” he clarified.

  “Can you read my mind?” My face heated at the idea of either of them seeing any of my deepest darkest thoughts, let alone the dirtier ones…

  Kale gave me a knowing smile; My worry must’ve been written all over my face.

  “Not your conscious mind, your subconscious is more open and less guarded, and even then it takes great focus. Mortals have little power, and therefore little agency against a supernatural. For that reason, God added in certain…loopholes that keep mortals safe from our control. Blocks are set in place to protect the minds of humans. It would take a great deal of power, power only a few of us possess, to tug on and enter your conscious thread.”

  I released a sigh of relief. Kale smirking in response.

  They had already given me so much information, and yet I knew it wasn’t even close to the behemoth that awaited. But this small grain of rice worth of knowledge was making my stomach swirl, and my head feeling dizzy, but not boiling—thank god.

  I could see why humans are kept in th
e dark. Our very existence would fall apart in panic if everyone knew these things. Religious beliefs really only scraped the surface, but perhaps that was intentional.

  “I’m guessing I can’t just crawl into bed, wake up in the morning and all of this be nothing but a crazy dream?” I joked.

  Gabriel’s eyes warmed, comforted that I could find some humor in all of this.

  “I know it’s a lot, and there’s plenty more to come. But for now, I think we can stop. There’s time to learn more later on.”