7even Circles: Moon Is Calling (7even Circles Series Book 1) (7 page)

She looked up at Raphael. “You have the touch thing, don’t you? You’ve touched me several times and both times I’ve felt better afterward.”

Raphael smiled at her. “Yes, that’s right. My touch abilities allow me to heal those who are injured, both of physical wounds and spiritual ones.”

“What am I supposed to get?”

“The only way we’ll know is to start your training.”

Chapter 10

“When you said—start my training—I thought—it—would be—tomorrow!” Cass complained as she blocked Michael’s punches and kicks. They had gone outside, to the back of the church were the church garden was. It was private and gated, so no one could see them or interrupt.

Father Raphael sat on the cement bench with a cup of hot tea in his hands. “No time like the present.”

Cass took a hit in the face when she turned back to glare at the priest. Ari yelled from behind her, taking the position of her personal coach.

“Keep your hands up, Cass!”

She gave him a heated look. “What do you think I’m trying to do!”

While she was distracted by Ari, Michael came up and kicked her in the back of the leg, making her fall to her knees. Her anger was now focused solely on the Arkangel.

“That’s not fair! We need a time-out or something so I can catch my breath.”

“Nothing's fair in a fight, and you shouldn’t let yourself get distracted. Demons aren’t going to give you time-outs. How much training have you had?”

She got to her feet and rolled her shoulders. “None, actually.”

Michael stopped to stare at her in shock. “None? How is that possible? What do you remember of your mother?”

“I can’t remember my early childhood. I was found wandering the streets when I was about eight years old, and they placed me in foster care.”

Michael shook his head in frustration. “We’re going to have to start from scratch and build up your stamina. Your human side is way too weak.”

She leaned back, moving her hands over her head and then twisting from side to side to stretch out her back. “What do you mean by build up my stamina?”

“You will train eight hours a day, starting with running in the morning and ending with running in the evening. You will study from the Book of Knowledge for two hours, then have two hours of hand-to-hand and two hours of weapons training. A few hours a night you will walk the streets with me and Raphael to look for signs of demons.”

“Whoa there, buddy. I have a job that I work, and as far as I know being this Child of Light isn’t a paying gig.”

Michael looked confused. “You will do as you are told. As the highest-ranking Arkangel here on the Earthly plane, I am your commander-in-chief.”

“I’m not some damn soldier!” She crossed her arms over her chest and she could hear Ari snort at Michael. Those two really did not like each other.

Father Raphael stood up and moved forward to stand between them. “How about a compromise. Cassandra, would you be willing to train in the morning until it’s time for your shift?”

“I need some downtime too. I’m not doing it every day.”

“You must—” Michael started to complain, but the priest cut him off.

“Five days a week?” Raphael asked.

“Yeah, I could do that.” Cass nodded.

“Very good.”

Michael punched his fist into his hand. “That’s not acceptable. Time is crucial here.”

“Why?” Cass wasn’t sure why he was in such a hurry to train her.

“You can thank your demon friend there for putting us on a deadline. Demons are only able to stay the Earthly plane about seventy-two hours before they are called back to their circle. They have no choice in that. Your buddy over there slapped a magical bracelet on the demon, keeping him here. That bracelet will also keep him from healing from his wounds.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” She looked from Raphael to Michael.

“He’s going to be like a wild injured animal in a hunter’s trap. Anyone who comes near him is going to be in danger. He could go on a killing spree,” Father Raphael explained.

She turned to Ari accusingly. “Did you think of that before you put that bracelet thingy on him?”

Ari shrugged. “I had to keep him from going back to his circle. If he told them about you, others would be coming after you and you are clearly not ready to handle any of them yet.”

“I can’t—I need space!” She stormed away, needing a breather from all the crazy shit that was going on in her life. Just a day or two ago she was a normal girl working a normal job, nothing dangerous and nothing special. Now she was expected to be some kind of super-soldier for the Arkangels, hunting down demons. It was too much.

She went up to the room that she’d woken up in. Father Raphael had told her this would be her room. Evidently they were expecting her to live under their roof—or steeple—too, so every minute of her day would be controlled and consumed by them.

She sat on the bed and winced. Every part of her hurt. She eased down and laid her head on her pillow. Closing her eyes, she breathed out a sigh of relief. A few minutes of rest, that’s all she needed.

*****

“You can leave, half-demon.” Michael crossed his arms over his chest.

Ari shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere, bird-boy. Not until she sends me away.”

“I don’t get it. Why do you care about this? It’s not your business.”

“She’s my business.” Ari shrugged.

Michael laughed. “Do you really think she would want your tainted blood mixing with hers?”

Ari moved forward slowly, rolling his shoulders. He winked. “She didn’t have problems sharing other body fluids.”

Michael growled. “You’re a disgusting creature.”

“You think you’re so much better than me? I didn’t leave a defenseless child in the hands of demons and forget about it for over twenty years.”

Michael rushed forward and punched Ari in the face. Ari shook it off. “You want to fight?”

“Yes, I do.” Michael answered, circling him.

Ari looked over at the priest, who was sitting back down on the bench. “You okay with this?”

Father Raphael smiled. “You two have some issues to work out.” He took a sip of his tea.

Okay then. Ari faced Michael. He’d been watching the male exert his strength with Cass. He knew she didn’t have access to her powers or her strength; he just was trying to show her how much better he was than her. Cass might not see it, but it was blaringly clear to him that the Arkangel Michael was prejudiced against his kind, and he even put Cass in the same category.

Michael tried to punch him again, but this time Ari was ready for him. He blocked the throw and kicked him in the gut, shoving Michael a few feet away. Michael was furious and his wings popped out.

Ari snorted. “You can’t control your wings, little bird-boy?”

Michael roared and let his wings lift him up in the air. “Let’s see how you like to fly, half-demon.” He launched himself at Ari, grabbing him by the back of his jacket and lifting him into the air.

Ari could hear Father Raphael call out, “Don’t kill him, Michael!”

Michael just laughed. “As much as I would love to, I won’t.”

Ari didn’t call out or struggle to break free. Hell, he wasn’t stupid. Michael might not plan to kill him but it wouldn’t bother him if he dropped him from a short distance so that Ari broke his legs. He would heal, but it would hurt like a son of a bitch.

“What are you trying to prove, fly-boy?”

“You don’t belong here, she doesn’t need your kind around her.”

“‘She’ has a name, and it’s Cass. She’s more like me than you.”

“Cassandra hasn’t seen your true face yet, has she?”

“She knows me. Are you jealous? Did you see something you wanted being touched by a dirty half-demon?”

Michael growled out. “She will never be with you, demon!” He tossed Ari up on top of the roof of the church.

Ari started to slide, but he managed to catch himself on one of the shingles. “Damn birdman.” He peered over the edge and frowned at the steeply pitched roof. It was going to take some effort, but he would make it down. And when he did, he would pluck some fucking feathers.

*****

Cass was scared. It was dark and cold, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
Where am I?

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

It was her voice, but her voice as a child. She looked at her hands, noticing how small they were. She wore a ragged grey dress and it itched something fierce.

A tall man stood in the corner of the room. “Pick it up and try again.”

“What?”

“Pick it up and try again.” He pointed to the ground.

She looked down and frowned.

“I said, pick it up!” The man yelled at her, making her shake.

She bent down and picked the items up: a bow and arrow. Her little hands fumbled to string the arrow to the bow, but she did. Then she turned around and took aim. As she let her breath release, she released the arrow. It hit the target dead center.

“Very good, I knew you could do it. I will allow you to eat now,” the man’s voice told her.

Chapter 11

Cass woke with a start. Her heart was racing, and she shivered. There were times she had dreams or nightmares like that, but this time she woke with a compulsion she didn’t understand. She stood up and realized briefly that all her bruises and aches were gone. She’d healed fully in a short amount of time. She’d also healed quickly earlier from being cut by the demon, but she somehow got side-tracked and dismissed it.

Well, that was a plus. She was going to need super-healing for all this training Michael was going to have her do. Eight fucking hours a day—he’d lost his damn mind.

She made her way downstairs and opened the door leading to the back garden. Standing on the stoop, she spotted Michael a few feet away swinging a sword. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and sweat glistened as it rolled down his muscular chest. He was moving in slow deliberate movements and she couldn’t help but admire him. If the Arkangel that impregnated her mother was as hot as Michael, she could understand why her mother fell for the seduction.

She was startled when Ari jumped down from the roof and landed in front of her. “What the hell!”

“You look like you’re feeling better.” He moved toward her and she couldn’t help but step back. He’d taken off his leather jacket and his t-shirt was tight against his body, molding to his muscles.
Holy shit!
Ari was just as muscular as Michael, but in a leaner, tighter, bad-boy way. She shook her head to clear her mind of the naughty things Ari had done to her earlier.

“What were you doing on the roof?”

He stretched his arms over his head, letting his t-shirt ride up. She couldn’t help but stare at the exposed skin. “I liked the view from up there. Did you dream of me?”

She shook her head, finally remembering what she had dreamed of. She pushed past Ari and continued down the steps. “Father Raphael, Michael!”

Michael stopped the move he was doing and glanced her way. Raphael stood up. “What is it, dear?”

“Michael mentioned I would need weapons training. Do you have weapons here?”

“Of course. Down in the basement there’s a locked vault with weapons that I kept over the years.”

“If you want to start the weapons training, I can teach you the basics of sword fighting.” Michael offered, brandishing his sword.

“I need to see the weapons.”

Father Raphael narrowed his eyes at her. “Why?”

“I—don’t know. I just need to see them.”

Ari seemed to think it was a power play, so he stepped up to side with her. “You got a problem showing her the weapons?” He glared at Michael as he spoke.

Father Raphael sighed. “Of course not. Come with me.”

Ari passed her, following the priest, and whispered, “To the bat cave!”

She half-snorted, half-growled at him. He was being an ass, but she had to admit he was funny.

“You need to send the half-demon away. He doesn’t belong here.” Michael came up behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder, glad and at the same time disappointed that he’d put his shirt back on. She thought about it; she’d known Ari now for a while. He was always kind and flirty. She watched him pay for homeless people’s dinners all the time when no one was looking. For some reason, she trusted him.

“Ari’s my friend, and I believe he prefers demi-demon.”

Michael growled in disgust and grabbed her arm to stop her from walking. “He’s got demon blood. How could you be friends with such an evil and disgusting creature, much less let him touch you so intimately?”

She heard the hatred in his voice. “Have you forgotten? I have demon blood in me as well. Do you consider me an evil, disgusting creature, too?” The fact that he didn’t try to deny it made his feelings glaringly obvious. She jerked her arm from his grip and stormed the rest of the way down the dingy basement stairs.

Ari was waiting for her at the bottom and looked at her with concern. “What’s wrong?”

She held up her hand, telling him she didn’t want to talk about it. She moved toward Father Raphael, who was opening a heavy metal door.

“When the vault was first built, we didn’t have electricity.” He pulled a candle off a shelf and lit it with his lighter. The candle was really old, and the wick had a lot of dust on it. It flickered out. “Let me get another match.”

“Don’t worry about it, Father. I’ve got this.” Ari held up his iPhone and switched the flashlight feature on. He pointed it toward the inside of the vault and whistled. “Man, this is some really old stuff. Where are the handguns and semi-automatics?”

Michael growled. “Most of your modern weaponry is made out of plastic or some impure metal. These weapons all have tips or edges of pure silver that can be dipped in holy water, which is the only type of metal that will kill a demon.”

“You could get silver bullets dipped in holy water,” Ari told him smugly.

Cass tried to hide her smile. Ari had him on that one. She moved past them into the vault and lightly touched the different weapons. There was weird stuff she’d never seen before, as well as spears, things with spikes that looked like they’d be used by gladiators, and a saw—she cringed to imagine how that was used.

She’d almost forgotten what she was looking for, when her eyes caught something. There it was, laying against the wall, almost hidden. She reached down and picked up a beautiful white recurve bow.

“What is it made out of?” She caressed it in awe.

“Yew wood.”

“Are there arrows?”

She bent down and moved some swords out of the way. She found a quiver, and inside were six silver-tipped arrows. She lifted it up and carried the bow and arrows out of the vault.

Michael frowned. “A bow and arrow? It’s going to take a lot of practice for you to be able to hit a target from a distance.”

Cass fingered each arrowhead and found the silver tips to be quite sharp. “I only found six arrows. Where can I get more if I need more?”

Father Raphael smiled at her. “That is a special bow and arrow set. For Arkangel Gabriel’s first battle on the Earthly plane, he was gifted an unbreakable bow and a set of endless arrows.”

“For real? That’s Gabriel’s endless quiver?” Michael was suddenly very interested in what Cass was holding.

Cass ignored him. “So, what does it mean to be endless?”

Raphael gently laid his hands on the quiver. “These six arrows will be all you need. If you use all six, they will return to your quiver automatically.”

“Really? I have got to check that out.” Cass bounded up the stairs, feeling a spark of excitement she hadn’t felt in a long long time. Magic arrows that returned to the quiver—that was simply unbelievable.

She could hear the others following behind her as she went back outside to the private garden. “I need a target.”

“You could shoot the half-demon,” Michael offered.

Ari growled at him before walking up to a large, wide tree. He pulled out a small can from his coat pocket, shook it, and then sprayed three circles on the bark, forming a makeshift target.

“That’s one of the oldest oak trees in the state.” Father Raphael rubbed his balding head.

“She needs a target,” Ari answered bowing for Cass.

Cass looked at Ari and the spray can he still held. “Do I even want to know why you have a spray can in your pocket? Never mind.”

She turned her back on them and moved away, then took one of the arrows and nocked it on the bow.

Michael stepped up to her with his eyes on the bow and arrow. “Perhaps I should show you first, since you’ve had no experience.”

She glared at him. “I never said I didn’t have experience.” She didn’t even think about it. She raised the bow, looked at the target, and released her breath with the arrow. It hit dead center.

Michael was shocked to silence. Ari smiled at her widely. Raphael came up to her. “How did you learn to do that?”

“I remembered something from my childhood. I was dreaming that I was somewhere dark and scary. There was a man there and he was demanding that I practice this. He made me do it over and over again until I hit the mark. Then and only then was I allowed to eat.”

All three men turned to try to hide their expressions, but she saw them anyway: shock, horror, and worse, pity.

Ari stepped closer to her but didn’t touch her. “Do you remember anything else?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve dreamed stuff before but this was the first time that I actually could remember anything clearly. It felt so real. The smells were horrible, I had terrible hunger pains.” She touched her stomach, frowning. “The worst were the sounds. I could hear screams and crying, people begging for mercy.”

She felt a comforting hand on her arm and her remembered pain faded. She knew it was Father Raphael. She nodded her thanks to him. “I’m fine. If it was real, it’s the past and can’t hurt me now. I really need to unlock my past. How can I do that?”

Father Raphael patted her on her back. “I’m not sure. If I was still at full power, I could heal your mind, which may have helped you with your memories.”

“Why did I lose my memories? Was what happened to me so traumatic that I blocked it out?”

“All these questions will be answered slowly as you tap more into your own abilities. It’s just going to take time and patience.”

“Father, I’m not the most patient person.” She glanced over at the sunset. “I need to call my friends to see how they’re doing.

Michael sighed. “You need to get your priorities straight.”

She glared at Michael. “My friends are my only family; they are my priority, not you or your damn crusade!”

“You can use my cell phone,” Ari offered. She took it and stormed away.