Death Angel (Death Angel Series Book 1) (4 page)

Chapter Six

“Kasen,” Markus, clapped his friend lightly on the shoulder as he came up behind him in their favorite local bar. It was a small place, with a quiet ambiance and dark atmosphere that kept most people from coming here. It was never crowded, but always had enough people to make the night fun. Coffee tables were scattered around the place, surrounded by comfortable overstuffed leather chairs.

Kasen buckled forward and coughed a little. A group of fighters passed by. They knew who the two Generals were, even though they had changed out of their General clothes and tried to hide their status. Their names were recognizable throughout the Death Angel Society, but so were their faces. Markus had hoped they wouldn’t stand out. Perhaps he could help his friend find the one woman in the Society who didn’t know who he was.

“Sorry,” Markus said, his face scrunching in concern as he took a seat across from him. Kasen waived off his concern.

“It’s…,” Kasen’s words were interrupted by a cough, “It’s nothing. This damn Sickness is acting up again.”

“Yeah,” Markus said, leaning back in the chair and considering his friend. Kasen could see the concern on his face. He could certainly understand. The Sickness was the main killer in the Society of Death Angels, actually it was the only killer, outside of Darklings.

“You shouldn’t worry,” Kasen said, putting a small smile on his lips. “I’ve been battling this thing for nearly a century. It’s inconvenient at times, but I don’t see it winning anytime soon.”

“I hope not,” Markus said, smiling back at his friend. “I don’t know who I’d talk to all day if you weren’t here.”

“There’s always Sebastian,” Kasen said, smirking at Markus as he finally got his coughing under control.

“Yeah,” Markus said with a laugh echoing his words. “Conversation would be a bit too one sided for my tastes.”

“He’s not so bad,” Kasen said with a shrug. “Not as bad as people like to think.”

“I think you’re the only one that thinks that,” Markus said, raising a brow. He motioned for the waiter to bring him a glass of his favorite whiskey.

Kasen took another sip of tea and Markus insisted that was what had given away their status. A bar that served tea was preposterous, but if a General demanded tea in a bar, that’s exactly what he got. A smiling girl in the distance behind Kasen suddenly caught Markus’ attention before he could make anything of the argument.

She was petite, just like he liked them, with brown hair that flowed just past her shoulders and striking green eyes. Her teeth were so white they stood out in the darkened room of the bar and lit up her smile. He could see her eyes fixed on him and he knew exactly what her smile was saying. She had recognized him and he had to admit that he was thankful for it. He knew that Kasen wanted to find a girl to settle down with that made him happy, that loved him for who he was on the inside, and not for his family status or position in the Society. But that didn’t mean it was what Markus wanted. He enjoyed the easy access to loose women that his status gave him. He wasn’t born into the noble class like Kasen, but being a General gave him just as much pull. Markus smiled back at the girl, giving her a flirtatious little wink. Her smile broadened and his expectations were confirmed.

“I see you’ve found some entertainment for the night,” Kasen said, seeing the flirty look that his friend was casting just over his shoulder.

“Oh come now, Kasen,” Markus said, his eyes still focused on the girl behind him. “You should be able to find yourself some company in this place.”

“I’m sure,” Kasen said, chuckling a little at Markus. They had been friends since they first entered the Death Angel Academy nearly three centuries ago. He knew exactly how the night would end before he even agreed to meet him.

“Go on,” Kasen said, sipping at his tea. “I’m sure she’s anxious to speak with you.”

“Don’t get lonely now,” Markus said, only have paying attention to Kasen as he stood up. “Find yourself some entertainment for the night, will ya?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Go, have fun,” Kasen said, raising his cup of tea to his friend. Markus wasted no time getting settled into the seat next to the woman that had beckoned him with her suggestive smile. He could hear his friend laughing and working the woman into a comfortable enough situation to go home with him. Kasen had come to look forward to the walk home alone, as so many of his nights ended that way. It gave him time to think through some of the stresses that his position brought him. Though he did regret that he couldn’t seem to make himself have fun in the same way that Markus could. The truth was, he was already lonely. He was always lonely. It was an almost comfortable loneliness. He had become accustomed to the idea that he likely wouldn’t meet the girl of his dreams. The woman that would love him for exactly who he was and not what he could offer her. In the end, he knew how it would end up. He would marry the woman that his parents had arranged for him to marry, long before they had died.

Kasen finished up his cup of tea, thankful that it had worked out some of the congestion in his chest. He left the bar, slipped quietly out the door without saying anything to Markus. He didn’t want to interrupt his progress.

Kasen walked through the halls of the Death Angel Society, slowly making his way back to his home. It was located rather far from the commercial areas, in the sector of the Society that was designated for the nobility. He thought about his situation as he walked, knowing that Edgar would be waiting up for him and expecting an explanation. He was good help, had been with his family since before Kasen was born, but sometimes he felt that Edgar overstepped his bounds. Over the past few years, Kasen had stopped trying to make excuses for his weekly outings with Markus. He was the master of the family, the master of his house, and he could do precisely as he pleased.

Finally, Kasen rounded the last turn in the hallway that lead to his home. It was a much wider and taller hallway than most the others in the Society. It was built that way to accommodate the much larger homes of the nobility. Kasen pulled open one side of the ten-foot tall double door that led to the entrance area of his home. There was a small, indoor garden planted around a marble tiled pathway leading to the entrance of the home. Edgar was sitting on the little stone bench in the garden, fighting sleep as he waited for his master to return. His dark hair was peppered with gray and his face was marked with wrinkles around the eyes and mouth.

“Evening Edgar,” Kasen said, closing the door behind him. “I trust you and the rest of the house fared well in my absence?”

“Yes, sir,” Edgar said, standing from the bench and stretching out his back. Kasen could immediately see there was something more on Edgar’s mind that he wanted to address. Kasen withheld his sigh. It had been much too long of a night for the tense discussion that he knew was about to follow.

“I was hoping we could have a word before you retire for bed, sir,” Edgar said, his nasally voice grating on Kasen’s nerves more than it usually did.

“I’m awfully tired tonight,” Kasen said, trying to be polite. “Perhaps it can wait until the morning?”

“It could, sir,” he said, shuffling his feet to keep up with his master as he made his way into the house. “Unfortunately, you have an emergency meeting in the morning. Word just came in. It is a rather important issue and needs to be resolved—“

“Very well,” Kasen said, sighing and turning to look at Edgar. “But please, make it quick. I’m very tired.”

“Of course, sir,” Edgar said. He followed Kasen into the main section of the house, where the study, office, kitchen, and dining and entertaining areas were. From there, the master suites branched off to one side, housing three large bedrooms, each with a separate bath, lounge room, and private study. Kasen was the only one currently inhabiting that space, but it was set up for the master and lady of the house and any children they may have. It was yet another reminder to Kasen that he was lonely. On the other side of the home, was a suite of four guest bedrooms each with a bathroom, and the servant quarters, large enough to comfortably house the fifteen servants that kept the house in order. It was one of the largest private homes in the Death Angel Society.

“I’ve been contacted by Miss York’s family,” Edgar said. Kasen knew this was coming. He thought he’d have a bit longer to put this off, but he could hear the immediacy in Edgar’s words. “They have demanded that you set a date for your nuptials.”

“I have no plans for that,” Kasen said simply. He knew that he would be starting an argument by stating it so simply, but he was really quite ready to get this over with.

“Sir,” Edgar said, the irritation already present in his voice, “Your parents felt this was a good match. You have been betrothed for nearly two centuries. Miss York’s family grows impatient.”

“I’m afraid they will need to get accustomed to the feeling,” Kasen said. “I have no intention of wedding Bella.”

“But sir,” Edgar said, his voice rising sharply. “Surely you can’t make such a rash decision. It has been promised, we cannot—“

“I can, and I just did,” Kasen said, his normally cordial voice turning just a bit harsh. He really was tired, and this was not what he wanted to do when he got home. He had a pile of work to get through in the morning and his bed was calling him. He could feel the congestion rebuilding in his chest.

“What will I tell the York family?” Edgar asked, his pale eyes narrowing on Kasen with anger. “I cannot simply tell them you don’t want to wed their only daughter. I’m afraid your family’s name could not survive such a slight, even as great as it is.”

“Tell them that I will save her,” Kasen said with a shrug. “I will save her from a life with someone likely to die of the sickness. She is free to marry from another noble family, someone better suited to her.”

“They will see that for what it is,” Edgar said, his voice tipped with acid, “a pathetic excuse.”

“They can see it however they want,” Kasen said with a shrug. “I don’t really care.”

With that, Kasen opened the door to what had become his private wing. He left Edgar to stew about something that really shouldn’t upset him so much. Kasen had banned the servants from this part of the house on the day that his parents died. He wanted his privacy, always had. Part of him wanted to get rid of the entire staff. But he knew he couldn’t do that. His family estate provided jobs and sustenance for fifteen families. He couldn’t take that away from them simply because he wanted his privacy. So instead, he barred them all from entering his quarters.

Kasen lay down on his bed but didn’t bother getting under the covers. He likely wouldn’t sleep much. He never did, though he tried so hard to. His body was exhausted. His eyes would barely stay up, but his mind ran. It always did.

As a member of the nobility, it was inevitable that he attended the Death Angel Academy, and subsequently became a member of the Death Angels. He even knew  that he would one day become a General. All these things were great. They were things that Kasen had grown up wanting. However, as he went further up the ranks of the Death Angel Society, as his fame grew, he realized that people treated him differently. Having respect for a commanding officer was one thing, and that was something he expected, but true friendship was something that Kasen held very dear, and as the years passed, that was one thing that diminished. All his childhood friends, with the exception of Markus, had either been killed by a Darkling, or died of the Sickness. To others, it wouldn’t make a difference. Friends weren’t necessarily difficult to come by per se, but finding friends that wanted him for more than just his influence was nearly impossible. Finding a woman to love him for him was impossible. It was an unbearably lonely existence for Kasen.

He sighed and rolled over in the bed, tucking his hands under his head. It was the one thing in his life that he wanted most. A woman to share his bed, to hold in his arms, to protect. A woman that he could share his deepest darkest secrets and his strongest desires. A woman that would understand him, that would stand by him through all the good times as well as the bad. A woman that he could laugh with like he used to laugh when he was a carefree child. This was what Kasen wanted. And in nearly four centuries of life in the Death Angel Society, he hadn’t found anything remotely close. His heart ached at the thought. But somehow, he still found the ability to carry hope. Hope that one day, he would find what he was looking for.

Chapter Seven

They hated her. Gabrielle knew it. They didn’t try to hide it. Every last one of them wanted her gone from here. She hadn’t done anything to receive such hatred, at least not to her knowledge. She had spent nearly the entire night in this office, with these people that hated her. They hadn’t said a word to her since Ms. Blankenship had snapped at her earlier. She didn’t dare say a word to them. She was in a very unfamiliar place, in a very unfamiliar situation. She didn’t know the rules here, and though she caught on quickly to most things, this world was a complete conundrum to her.

“It’s been too long,” Kaia said, her brows scrunched up in concern as she continued to stare blankly at the computer screen in front of her. Gabrielle was rather amazed at their stamina. They hadn’t moved, hadn’t looked away, had barely even spoken to each other while they waited. Gabrielle still didn’t know what they were waiting for.

“It’s time to call it,” Nettie said, looking at a little watch on her wrist. Gabrielle could see the hurt on her face as she said it. She looked up at Ms. Blankenship, who had a stern expression etched onto her face as she looked back at her.

“I will say when it is time to call it,” she said. “There is still a little time. He’ll make it.”

Even Gabrielle could see the undeserved hope in the woman’s face and words.

“It’s never been this long,” Kaia said, not backing away from Ms. Blankenship’s harsh glare.

“I don’t care,” she shot back. “He will make it.”

As soon as she said the words, the computer in front of them gave a small beep. All their faces lit up with hope and their fingers went back to typing a mile a minute. The office had suddenly erupted into a chaotic mess of working towards something that still eluded Gabrielle.

“Get the Central Bureau on the line,” Ms. Blankenship snapped as her eyes shot to Gabrielle for just a moment. She hopped up off the chair and snatched up the phone. She was determined to show these women that she could hack it here. She wanted to show them that she was a fast learner.

“General Black, please standby,” she said into the phone, anticipating what was needed of her. It was what Ms. Blankenship had instructed her to say the last time, so it made sense to Gabrielle that it was what she would want this time.

“You stupid girl,” Ms. Blankenship snapped, stomping over to Gabrielle and snatching the phone out of her hand.

“Please disregard,” she hollered into the phone. “I repeat, disregard. We have the coordinates, we are requesting an immediate extraction.”

“Damnit,” Ms. Blankenship huffed as she slammed the phone down. “They have already begun the standby. We’ll have to manually override and do the extraction ourselves.”

“There’s no way,” Nettie said, shaking her head. “We don’t have the time. It’s already been too long.”

“Just shut up and do as you’re told,” Ms. Blankenship said harshly as she stormed back over to the computer screens. “We are going to get General Black out of there. He’s been fighting Darklings for nearly twelve hours and he’s counting on us.”

Gabrielle could do nothing but watch as the women worked like crazy. Their fingers flew across the keyboard as Ms. Blankenship watched and barked out orders at them. This went on for a few long moments before the computer began to beep again. A chirping little chime that brought a smile to Ms. Blankenship’s face. The other women relaxed back into their chairs a smile mirroring Ms. Blankenship’s.

“I can’t believe we did it,” Nettie said. She looked over at Kaia. “I’m celebrating tonight.”

“The night is already over,” Ms. Blankenship said, looking at her watch. “But I’ll be buying you girls a nice lunch tomorrow. You did good. Mr. Black will undoubtedly be proud. He should be here any moment, so straighten things up a bit. One little hiccup is hardly an excuse to let things get disorganized, especially not for Mr. Black.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kaia said, Nettie echoing her. They both began to clear away their desk of the papers that had been pulled out of files and scattered around the office.

Then, to Gabrielle’s horror, Ms. Blankenship turned and squared directly off with her. The frightening woman had a determined look on her face as she stomped over to her and stopped but a mere inch from her face.

“You are beyond lucky, little girl,” Ms. Blankenship said as she narrowed her eyes and dropped her voice. “Because of your stupidity and amateur mistakes, we almost lost not only Ms. Black, but Sebastian as well.”

Gabrielle could hear an odd amount of affection in the woman’s voice when she said his first name like that. The other women in the office stopped for just a moment and cast her an odd look. Gabrielle didn’t have time to ponder what it meant, because the strong, deep voice of the man they were talking about interrupted them.”

“I don’t remember giving you the liberty of addressing me by my first name,” Sebastian said. His hair and suit were impeccably in place, but Gabrielle could see the exhaustion in his eyes. He was covered in blood and small wounds. It was obvious he had been fighting for a long time.

“Mr. Black,” Ms. Blankenship’s face went white as she stared up at him. Gabrielle could see the conflicting emotions racing through her. There was happiness at seeing him, but fright at the apparent anger that she had aroused in him. “I apologize, sir. I was simply trying to correct the girl, she has no idea what she is doing here, I—“

“Are you trying to say that my decision was incorrect?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on her. Gabrielle wasn’t even on the receiving end of his hardened glare and yet she found herself frightened. She couldn’t imagine how terrifying it must be for Ms. Blankenship.

“No, sir,” Ms. Blankenship said, shaking her head. “I just…I don’t…I think perhaps—“

“Would you like to know what I think?” Sebastian said, taking a slow step closer to her, intimidating her with his stature.

“Sir…I,” Ms. Blankenship cleared her throat, trying to form an excuse fast enough. “I always want to know what—“

“I think you’ve been doing this job for a little too long,” he said. His voice was low and he spoke deliberately. Gabrielle could have sworn she heard Ms. Blankenship’s heart fall to the ground and shatter into little pieces. She knew she heard the small gasp of Kaia and Nettie as the other women watched the drama play out in front of them.

“Sir, no, I—“

“You are relieved of your duties, Sarah,” Sebastian said. Gabrielle could have sworn that she heard a hint of sadistic pleasure in his voice as he said the words. She could see Ms. Blankenship begin to shake.

“Please, sir,” she pleaded with him, reaching out for him but stopping before she actually touched him. “Please, I have been with you for nearly a century—“

“Then it is definitely time for a change,” he said as he took another step toward her. “I don’t want to see your face around this office again. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Ms. Blankenship said, the words barely making it past her ghost white lips. She swallowed heavily and dropped her eyes to the floor as Sebastian stepped past her and came face to face with Gabrielle.

“Today must have been a bit overwhelming for you,” he said, his voice softening considerably. “You need some rest. Go home. Rest. You may return the following morning.”

“I…thank you, sir,” Gabrielle said, unable to think of anything else to say. His presence clogged her mind and made her knees weak. She could feel her cheeks heating up as he continued to look at her with a strange gleam in his eyes. Just before it became unbearably uncomfortable, he looked away to the other women that worked for him.

“I expect you ladies to get her up to speed,” he said, his voice turning harsh again. “And I better not find my orders disobeyed, or you will find I can do far worse than relieve you of your responsibilities in my office.”

The women had mirrored shocked expressions on their faces as they both voiced their understanding of his orders. Gabrielle began to walk towards the doorway, ready to get out of this office and go to her new home and her new bath and her new bed. But a thought crossed her mind and she just couldn’t leave yet.

“Sir,” she said, whirling around before her nerves could stop her. She could feel the heat of nervousness engulfing her. She didn’t know how inappropriate it was for her to question him, but she didn’t care. “I was wondering…is…is Aracella alright?”

Sebastian was silent, watching her out of the corner of his eyes from over his shoulder. For a moment she feared that he would turn around, his kindness towards her all gone, and give her an equal tongue-lashing as he had given to Ms. Blankenship.

“She will be fine,” he said finally, his voice hiding any trace of emotion. “I was able to find her in time.”

Gabrielle was relieved, and she almost, for just a moment, thought she saw something in his face that told her he was happy she asked. It was his sister after all, so it would make sense. Though he just seemed so emotionless it was difficult to read him. Still, she was glad that Aracella was alright. She was the only person so far that had shown her even an ounce of kindness, except for Mr. Black and she still couldn’t understand why he was so nice to her. She smiled at him and walked out of the office, ready to get home and get some much needed rest.