Redeemed In Shadows (3 page)

“Let him know I’m on my way, gotta swing up to Jes and Draven’s, drop off some coffee cake for the mom-to-be.”

Jesminda was pregnant and although she was happy and glowing, Gabe knew he wouldn’t be able to help her on this leg of her journey. Grey had made that painfully clear, and now that he only had a couple of weeks left on his sentence, his angelic powers were swiftly returning. His visions were back, and what he saw in her future wasn’t good. Her journey in this life was on a temporary pause. So he splurged on the once human now Elder Angel and got her and her belly whatever they desired. Gabe hit the stairs instead of the elevators hoping his erection would be under control by the time he made it up the four flights to the living quarters. The units’ building was now a living and breathing entity. Lycans, Vampiri, Angels, Ferals, and Demons, but a very select few lived here, himself included. Gabe walked down the hall and tried his hardest not to cringe.

Jes and Draven’s door burst open and out ran Faith with another little girl. It was Sam’s niece, Reece. Sam had recently joined the team and was second in command in Draven’s pack. Draven and his father, Alexander had a huge falling out which resulted in the pack splitting. Sam followed Draven along with several other pack members who now resided here at the units building.

“Stay on this floor you two, common area only. Got me?” Jes said on the other side of the door.

“Yes,” they both yelled over their shoulders, sprinting toward the television room. Jes spotted him and her golden eyes lit up when she smiled.

“Gabe.”

“Hey pretty lady.”

“Hey there yourself,” Jes looked amazing and she was glowing so brightly he almost had to look away. Pregnancy sat well with her. Gabe held the bag up for her to see.

“I almost lost my life trying to nab this for you, but you’re worth it.”

Jes snatched the bag eagerly and moaned. There was an audible growl from inside her room making Gabe chuckle under his breath.

“That better be food Petal that’s making you moan.”

“Oh hush.”

Nodding in Jes’ direction Gabe turned making his way back towards the staircase to meet up with Dravaggio in the War Room. Seconds before he hit the stairs, he heard Jes’ high-pitched laughter.

Gabe reflected on his time. What was left of it and how he’d gotten to be where he is. This precise moment, theses seconds were all a reminder of what little time he had left. He’d made friends, he’d made enemies, and he’d bedded his fair share of women over the last two hundred years. Now, he only had a couple of weeks to say his goodbyes and make lasting memories before he was in another place, another time. Time on his plane worked differently than on Earth’s plane. It was unending. A place folding in on itself repeatedly where one could live infinitely beyond millennia because time was never kept. There were no clocks, no moon and sun phases to signal the end or start of the day. There was just existence and the push to carry out one’s purpose. His purpose was death. He’d gone by many names, had been called many things. All of them fit aptly.

Gibril.

Jibrīl.

Jibrāʾīl.

Gavri'el.

Gaḇrîʼēl.

All were names he’d been called throughout his long life.

Heralder of Death.

Angel of Death.

Harbinger of Death.
That one was his favorite.

Tenth Plague.

Angel of Death over Kings.

Man in Linen.

Agent of Death.

Hired Assassin.

All were titles that were given to him. In fact, it was the last one that exiled him to Earth’s realm for two hundred years. Here on Earth, time dragged by its rotation around the Sun. Eight point six four, plus thirteen nanoseconds equaled twenty-four hours, which equaled one day, which in turn, equaled point nine nine seven two eight three four four ninth’s of a year. Which one could easily round to one. However, that small slice of time added up to seventy-three thousand, forty-eight days. Gabe wasn’t worried about the four after the decimal because that was small in comparison. Out of time served, he had twenty thousand, one hundred and sixty minutes left to go on his sentence and then he could come and go between realms as his pleased. As long as he didn’t interfere with the threads of time, as he’d done in the past, and remained unseen to the souls of the living.

Two fucking weeks. Then he’d be invisible to Earth’s realm, oh he could come and go as he pleased as long as he was unseen. Invisible. Non-existent.

Gabe pushed through the double doors and walked into the War Room where Dravaggio waited. The other man sat relaxed at the head of the table, arms folded and resting on the glass as his fingers tapped out some beat only he could hear. His purple eyes fixated on something past Gabe’s shoulder.

“Sir?”

The Captain’s eyes focused and nodded toward one of the empty chairs in the room. He cleared his throat.

“Glad you’re back. The last candidate will be here in a few minutes. I wanted to go over what I know of her.”

Her? All the possible replacements had been male thus far, not that he really cared about gender, but in the end, Gabe didn’t have time for entanglements. He’d seen it happen so many times when two people of the opposite gender worked in close quarters together. Lines were crossed and feelings began to bleed into the project.
Not a chance. Leaving in a matter of weeks.
That was the only security he had. He could explain up front should she secure the job, that he was leaving and there was no use in either of them developing any sort of feelings for the other. Hopefully she’d work out. All the other candidates had failed.

“Who is she?”

Dravaggio relaxed his shoulders and stopped drumming his fingers on the table.

“Kapua Hale.”

Hawaiian, that was definitely different.

“Tell me what you know about Hosts.”

“They host the Para-housed. Typically, they can be human but most of the time there is something more about them. Humans view hosts as possessed. Most of the time the unfortunates end up in institutions or suffer mental damage depending on the type of Para housed inside of them. They’re loners and to someone like me, can be extremely vulnerable as it’s in my nature to take the soul and place it where it belongs.”

“Kapua Hale is all of the above. She was institutionalized as a child. She’s been out for four years and from what Degas Deadcrest tells me, she’s a technical genius.”

Gabe would be the judge of that. Degas didn’t know the difference between what was considered a tech genius, or a walking textbook. There was a difference. The only question he needed answered when it came to Ms. Hale was, was she was any good?

“Sounds promising.”

Dravaggio nodded as the intercom alerted them to an incoming call.

“Go ahead.”

“Miss Hale to see you sir.”

“Please have one of the team bring her down.”

“Yes sir.”

Dravaggio looked up, a tight smile across his face.

“You talk, I’ll observe. If we get her to sign with us, then I’ll speak.”

“You gonna have her sign the new documents?”

The Captain nodded. There was a glint in his eyes. He could filter energy from anyone, but humans were more susceptible to his voice than immortals. Unless he turned his voice up a notch, which the man was prone to do without even realizing it and it affected everyone. Now that Jes was part of the team, they’d had new contracts drawn up that they all signed in blood. It bound not only Dravaggio but also the signer. There would be no energy exchange unless it was mutual. But until she signed a contract, which was still up in the air, she’d would likely strip off her clothes at Dravaggio’s first opening sentence. It would obviously pose a problem.

Chapter 2

“If we’re late Micah, I swear I’m never going to speak to you again.” Xee said making her way to the address she’d written down. She’d woken up disoriented again and in a strange place. She did not know how she ended up three blocks away from her apartment in a bar. It made her angry, but most notably, scared. When she’d asked the bartender how she’d gotten there, he’d shrugged and continued wiping down the bar.
Stupid fuck.
Micah said he’d been sleeping and was just as discombobulated as she was. Whatever. Maybe she was sleep walking again. It had happened before when she was younger.

“I promise we will make it on time.”

They had better.

Xee turned the corner and noticed the building right away. It was tall and non-descript, but she could see the words inscribed on the door and windows pulsing with a white glow.

“It’s warded, makes people hesitant to approach.”
Micah explained. He was a good resource for all sorts of immortal information. The guy on the phone told her to dress comfortably and she did. Dark distressed skinny jeans, holes on her knees and thighs and a black ribbed tank top that exposed not only her sleeve of Hawaiian tattoos but also her bare midriff with the yellow diamond hanging from her belly. She hadn’t taken out any of the hardware either. Lip, nose, eyebrows, and her entire left ear were adorned in jewelry. If she was truly meant to be comfortable, she was going to dress the part. To the T. The sleeve was from shoulder to elbow on her left arm and on her right side peeking from beneath her tank were her Rotheca Myricoides that trailed from underneath her armpit down to her hip. She knew the rest of her ink would show, but those two were the boldest. She did pin her hair up. The sides were shaved bald and it made her pompadour for her Mohawk ponytail perfect. She was make-up free, but she did opt for clear gloss on her lips. It was humid in the summers in Texas and it made her skin sticky. Regardless of it being said humidity was good for the skin, it didn’t mean she wanted to feel like she had to shower multiple times a day because her clothes stuck to her body.

Xee walked up to the doors and pushed. Damn, it was a pull.
“Relax; you have this interview in your pocket. I know Degas gave you a glowing recommendation.”
Micah whispered in her ear. She tried to picture Micah from time to time, and what he must look like. To her he was just a soul. But she could picture him giving her a mental push towards the door, giving her that shot of confidence she needed in order to land the job.

She stepped into the reception area eyeing the secretary who looked like a 1920’s pinup poster girl. When she smiled, she saw the secretary for what she really was. She was a Siren with scaly pearlescent skin, wide lips, and a sharp row of teeth. Normally it didn’t take her long to identify human from immortal, but that was not the case here. Living in a mental institution had given her plenty of time to research her so-called ailment. She could classify almost all demon and mythical immortals. She could even classify them according to original parentage if she tried hard enough.

“I’m here to meet with Stefan Dravaggio.”

The Siren nodded and pushed a button.

“Go ahead.” The deep voice over the intercom purred. His voice was potent almost like a physical touch to her body. Shivering, Xee rubbed her arms.

“Miss Hale to see you sir.”

“Have one of the team bring her down.”

“Yes sir.”

The siren disconnected the call and met Xee’s eyes; her voice so annoying even Micah mentally cringed.

Game face. Game face. We’ll get the job
. She repeated to herself. Not for Micah’s benefit, but for her own.

“Someone will be here to get you.”

Xee nodded and sat down on a bench against the wall and waited as the siren called for someone to escort her to her meeting. She wasn’t nervous about the job, but more about her approach to people. She lacked the social skills that everyone else would have been introduced to. She could do the job, technical support and schematics were her things, computers were her haven. It was the greetings and meeting her team that was the issue. Normally, when she would close down, Micah the ever-talkative Para-housed would speak on her behalf. Most of the time it was hit or miss, as he was an epic asshole.

An elevator dinged to her left and out stepped an animal of a man. He was tall with silver eyes and long fangs, dressed in fatigues and a gray shirt. His eyes assessed her with keen intelligence.

“Follow me.”

Game face.

The man grunted but otherwise said nothing else.

“Damn, he’s a tall hulking male. Wonder what his job is?”
Micah said into her mind. She wondered as well, but she’d been too busy trying to peg his kind. He looked more animal than man, and it wasn’t because of what he projected to her either. He was tall, she’d give him that, and he was bulky. Straight out of Marvel Comics, minus the green skin. Everything on him was more pronounced, bulging. It was the air of savagery he projected and the two front canine’s helped as well with them protruding out against his lower lip. They did not want to get on his bad side.

“Speak for yourself. I’m not afraid of him.”

“That could be because you wouldn’t feel anything and I would.”
Xee responded.

“I like to blow shit up, but interrogation is my specialty.” The man responded turning in Xee’s direction. Liquid silver penetrated what little calm she had left. He stared as if he could read her mind. “I can read minds among other things. But your parasite is mouthy, makes me want to slap the shit out of him, but then again it would do me no good.” The hulk said to her.

“Not my fault you’re manstrating and Micah’s not a parasite.” Xee countered. Normally she would not have said anything at all to the tall male, but if she intended to work for them, she couldn’t let them think they could walk all over her.

The male grunted but said nothing else. As they made their descent, the elevator finally stopped. She followed him down a hall that stopped at a double glass door.

“In there.”

He waited as she shouldered pass him into the room gaining the attention of the men that waited.

Micah growled inside her head and Xee let out an audible curse. At the same time, the golden giant from the coffee shop cursed, while the other man looked between the two of them. It was the douche that took the last of the coffee cake at the shop.