Wings of Darkness: Book 1 of The Immortal Sorrows Series (20 page)

     This hallway was like that, only
the predators here were angelic in nature.  I was stupid enough to look
down, of course. There were birds flying far beneath us, and they looked like
tiny little specks.  My stomach tied in several knots and did a few slow
flips. Asher had said that the Aerie’s whole purpose was to provide for the
needs of its occupants. Someone obviously felt the need for fear and
intimidation. Only someone without wings would fear such a drop. Unfortunately,
I was the only one here without wings.

     My grandma used to say, “God hates
a coward.”  I didn’t know if that was true, or not, but she got me to do a
whole lot of unpleasant things, just by saying it.  That phrase kept
playing, over and over in my head, as I took a deep breath and stepped out
farther into the diamond walkway.  It was just bearable if I forced myself
not to look down.  It was solid, but I knew it was all illusion.  At
any moment the bottom could drop out and send me for a very long tumble. The
way that Asher was acting, I wasn’t entirely sure that he would even try to
catch me if I fell.  He ran hot and cold faster than a faucet.

     Asher wouldn’t look at me, no
matter how hard I tried to catch his eye.  He just stepped back so I could
follow the ice queen down the hallway.  That was probably just as well,
because having her at my back seemed like a really bad idea. Halo seemed to
have taken an instant loathing to me, and she didn’t even try to conceal it.
 Asher stayed close behind me, always almost close enough to touch, but
not quite. He was like a silent, disapproving shadow, taking every step that I
took.  The other guard followed behind Asher, but at a more respectful
distance.  He didn’t seem to enjoy his duty in escorting us.  Halo,
on the other hand would have dearly loved to escort us to my execution, if the
look on her face were anything to go by.

     I didn’t dare look back at the
cabin, but I had the strangest feeling that it had disappeared, perhaps
forever.  The clear diamond walkway gave way to something far more sturdy
looking, finally. Rock appeared out of nowhere and formed a real, proper sort
of hallway. I sighed quietly in relief, and felt myself relax just a
little.  It may have been another illusion, but it was a solid illusion,
and very welcome at that point. 

     A large set of bronzed, intricately
carved doors loomed, well above our heads. Inside, the room was cavernous, and
slightly chilly. Elegant marble statues and oil paintings lined the stone walls
of the great hall we found ourselves in. A few pieces of the artwork, I thought
I recognized, but surely, they wouldn’t stoop to something as mundane as
collecting human art?

     A huge fireplace roared and
crackled along the left wall. Grown men could have easily stood inside the
thing; it looked like the mouth of Hell with tongues of red and orange flames
flickering inside, and licking up the walls.  The closer we got to it,
however, the warmer I felt. It was a nice change; I’d been chilled to the bone
since leaving the little cabin, but that might have been just a little
righteous fear making itself known.  Small wonder, really.

     At the far end of the room a huge,
oaken table sat up on a dais. Two men and a woman sat at the table and watched
us approach with critical, curious eyes.  If this were my trial, then this
must be the judge, juror, and executioner.  I desperately wanted to ask
Asher who they were, but one warning glance from him was enough to tell me that
I had better shut up. His brows were set in a permanent scowl as he glared at
the trio waiting for us.

     The woman who sat between the two
men was a masterpiece, as surely as the artwork we passed.  She was a
gorgeous creature with long, curling brown hair twisted into a shiny, vaguely
Grecian hairstyle on top of her head.  Several long curls trailing down
her back and across her one bare shoulder in an alluring manner. Rich bronzed
skin was on full display in a gossamer gown nearly the same shade.  If a
person were very far away, they might almost believe that she were nude. 

     I glanced down at my well-worn
hoodie and less-than-fresh blue jeans with a critical eye. There was a new hole
in the left knee of my jeans, and a few smudges of dirt on the sleeve of my
hoodie.  It wasn’t surprising after the day I’d had. Oh, well, nobody told me
that my trial required formal wear.

     Jade green eyes sparkled as she
watched us move closer. She reminded me of a snake, patient and venomous,
waiting on a fat little mouse to happen by.  She would be the executioner,
out of the three.  She licked her full lips, almost seeming to savor the
moment. “Ashrael, darling, you've been a very naughty boy.  You’ve been
keeping secrets from us.”  She pouted prettily.

     Asher barely inclined his
head. His mouth was set in a hard line, and his ice looked like chips of
ice. “No, Clotho, I have not.”

     “But of course you have. 
Introduce us to your little friend.”  She waved an elegant hand in my
general direction.  I had a sneaking suspicion that most everything she
did was elegant. 

     Asher didn’t even turn in my
direction, just remained calmly at my side.  I sneaked a glance at him
from the corner of my eye.  He looked faintly bored.  I, on the
contrary, was just about to the end of my rope.  I felt like the guest of
honor at an old-fashioned witch trial.  I wondered when they’d bring out
the thumb screws and the water board, and get down to business.

     “Isabel, may I present Clotho?” He
sounded faintly bored, too. “She is Fate.  To her right you will find
Cronus, but you will know him as Father Time.” He smiled slightly at the young
man with the short, curly brown hair.  He must be the jury. “And to her
left, you will find The Archangel Suriel, the Angel of Wisdom and Death.” 
And there would be the Judge, I thought as Suriel turned sharp, unfriendly eyes
on me.  Well, at least he wasn’t prematurely biased against me.

     Cronus didn’t seem to be a total
loss; he wasn’t eyeing me with distaste like nearly everyone else is this
strange place.  Maybe one of the three would give me a fair trial? Then I
remembered something Asher had told me about being friends with him.  Sort
of.  It might help.

     He watched me with curious, brown
eyes. He seemed vaguely familiar to me, but for the life of me, I couldn't
place where I’d seen him before.  Maybe he just had one of those
faces that seem familiar.  It was probably just another illusion, but he
looked far too young to be Father Time.  On the other hand, he looked sane
and relaxed, too, but according to Asher he was supposed to be looney as hell. 

     I nodded politely to all three of
them, but felt it wise if I spoke only if spoken to.  This game they
played was dangerous, and since I was the only human here, I knew who would
come out on the worst end of things.

     Clotho clasped her hands together
and smiled brightly.  “She is a lovely girl, Ashrael, but by all accounts,
no longer quite human.  Would you care to explain why you suddenly felt
the need to meddle in human affairs?  It hardly seems like something you
would do.  You’ve always held yourself above such things.”

     Halo, standing next to me, decided
to put her two cents worth in.  “She stinks of Nephilim.”  Her voice
was hard, and ugly.  She spat the word Nephilim out like it had left a
nasty taste in her mouth.

     I sniffed at my armpit
delicately.  “That’s odd, because I had a shower just this morning. 
I shouldn’t smell that bad.”  Ok, so I’d tried to remain silent. I just
didn’t try hard enough.  The three at the table may have scared the hell
out of me, but I’d had just about as much of Halo’s shit as I was willing to
take.  Cronus snickered at my little joke.  From the corner of my eye
I saw a muscle jump in Asher’s jaw.  Well, if he didn’t like it, he was
more than welcome to jump in at any time with a brilliant solution that would
get us out of this mess.

     “Shut up, monkey.”  Halo’s
upper lip curled back into a sneer and her eyes glowed red as she glared down
at me.  That’s never a good sign in a Reaper.

     I turned on her, wanting to kick
her ass, even though she could step on me like a nasty little bug. “Just what
is your damned problem with me, anyway?”

     Halo got right in my face. 
“You are an abomination, Nephilim.”

     “The Nephilim were a race of giants
bred from angels and humans.  Do I look like I came from a freaking race
of giants?”  I barely came up to the witch’s nose.  Years of reading
the dictionary for fun had finally paid off.  I was about to get killed
for my smart mouth, but I had the satisfaction of watching Halo totally lose it.
Her mouth dropped open in a sharp-toothed sneer.

     Asher shoved me back just as she
started to lunge for me.  I tripped on my own feet and landed hard enough
to bruise my hip on the stone floor.  I watched, open mouthed, as Asher
grabbed Halo by the throat and threw her into the nearest wall.  She
landed with a bone-crushing thud.  Pieces of the rock wall shattered and
broke away.  A marble bust crashed to the floor and exploded into tiny
pieces. Halo lay in a broken heap, and for a second, I thought he might’ve really
hurt her.  She was dazed, for sure, but not out cold, like I’d
hoped.  She shook bits of rock and other debris out of her hair as she got
to her feet.  “You will pay for that, Ashrael,” she hissed.

    It was sanctuary, he’d said.  I
couldn’t be attacked, he’d said.  I wondered if anybody had bothered to
tell Halo that.

     “That is quite enough!” 
Suriel came to his feet looking properly outraged. He banged his fists against
the table and set every cup on it to dancing.  Things had gotten quickly
out of control.

     Cronus watched everything with a
look of amazement on his face.  I would’ve loved to know what was going through
his mind at that moment. If Asher was right, he should have been expecting
something like this to happen.

    Two guards stepped up and tried to help Halo to her
feet, but she snarled at them and got up by herself. They both watched Asher
with wary expressions, and hovered close to her side. It was pretty obvious
that they were there for her protection, and not to keep the peace. 

      Asher somehow managed to
still look mildly bored.  He reached down and offered me a hand up, but he
barely glanced at me.  I took it, gratefully, and let him pull me to my
feet.  He squeezed my hand before letting it go.  Tiny though it was,
it was the only sign of affection he’d shown me since the cabin.  Still,
he wouldn’t look at me.

     “Well, this is getting off to a
fine start.” Clotho sighed dramatically, and placed a slender hand against her
temple. It was as if all of this were just too upsetting to her fine
sensibilities.  “Halo, you may be excused.  We will deal with your
issue, later.”  From the chilly tone of her voice, I almost felt sorry for
Halo.  Almost.

     I had to bite my lip to keep from
saying that Halo had lots of issues.  Whatever her problem was would have
to wait.  Antagonizing her more would be pointless, and probably wouldn’t
end well for me.  Halo was removed from the great hall, not quite
forcibly, but the guards went with her, standing on either side of her. The
look she gave me as she passed by promised violent and painful retribution. I
refrained from sticking my tongue out at her. 

     “Now, Ashrael, if we are done with
all of this childish business, back to the issue at hand…you tampered with this
human, and now we have a dead Reaper on our hands.  Would you care to
explain to us what you were doing?”  Clotho leaned forward, her entire
attention focused on Asher, like a bloodhound on a scent trail.

     To his credit, Asher didn’t appear
even slightly ruffled after his skirmish with Halo.  Not a hair was out of
place.  He was, as always, cool and collected. “There is nothing to
explain.”

     Suriel looked like he’d just
swallowed something sour, or perhaps, a bug. Beady dark eyes glared at Asher,
then at me.  I fought the urge to take a step back. “You had better do
better than that, Ashrael.”

     “Where would you like me to start,
Suriel?”  Was he deliberately trying to provoke an Archangel?  Even I
knew that was a bad idea.

     Cronus sat up on the edge of his
chair, eyes bright.  “Start with ‘once upon a time.’ I love that story.”
He clapped his hands lightly. “It always has a happy ending.”  So, maybe
he was a little off his rocker?

     Suriel was not amused, but then, I
bet not much amused him.  “You may start with Mairya.  How did this,”
he looked down his pointy nose at me and made an impatient gesture in my
direction, “human, manage to fight off, much less destroy an immortal?” 

     Asher actually started
laughing.  “You seriously think this girl fought off a Reaper, all by
herself?  Of course, she did nothing of the sort.” 

     “Well, if this girl didn’t kill
Mairya, then who did?”  Suriel snapped.

     “I did it, of course.”  Asher
was lying through his perfect, white teeth, trying to protect me.  “Mairya
led an unprovoked attack against a group of humans.  Someone had to stop
her.”

     Clotho shook her perfect head of
curls disbelievingly.  “Immortal cannot kill immortal.  It has ever
been so.”  She leaned in closer, cleavage on full display. I had a painful
urge to slap her.  She narrowed her eyes at him shrewdly. “Unless you have
developed a new talent, Ashrael, we must believe that this hybrid of yours is
the guilty party.”

     Asher smiled coldly up at
her.  “You will have to take my word for it, Clotho.  It was as much
of a surprise to me as it is to you, but in the heat of battle many things can
happen.  Unfortunately, the only way to prove it to you, is if I repeat
it.  Unless you have a volunteer who would not mind dying to prove my
point?”  He arched a perfect blonde brow and waited for that to sink in.