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Angel Warriors
Copyright © 2008 Stephani Hecht
ISBN: 978-1-55487-040-0
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books
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Smashwords Edition
Angel Warriors
Archangels One
By
Stephani Hecht
Dedication
To Ken, Cody, Joie, Jackie, Dad and Mom. Thank you for believing in me.
Prologue
“Just stay down,” Forcas yelled, then delivered a hard kick to his ribs. He stood back and brushed black hair out of his cold, dark eyes. “Don’t make me have to destroy you.”
Abdiel ignored the request and slowly staggered to his feet. Forcas growled in anger before he delivered a spinning, roundhouse kick. Abdiel’s head snapped sideways and blood spurted out of his mouth, but at least he remained standing. Straightening his head, he turned to the group of angels who watched the whole beating. Mixed among the proud warriors was everyone who ever meant anything to him—his parents, aunts, uncles and childhood friends—not caring that he was getting his ass royally handed to him. He decided to ignore all of them, leveling his gaze on the leader of their group.
Lucifer wore a half smile on his face that did not reach his hazel eyes. Surprisingly, he was the smallest one present. His head of thick brown hair barely reached Forcas’s shoulders—but he carried himself with so much authority that, despite his size, he demanded respect and fear from his followers.
Abdiel wiped blood away from his bottom lip and appealed to his leader. “It’s not too late to stop this, Lucifer. If you call your angels back now, He will forgive you. If you go forward with this rebellion, you and I both know, it’ll be the end of you and your followers.”
The evil angel turned to the crowd and held his arms up, mockingly. “Does anyone here agree with Abdiel? Are there any that wish to join him in his crusade?” When no one stepped forward, Lucifer laughed. “You haven’t seen what I have, Abdiel. He has grown soft and weak. Ever since the creation of the humans, He panders to them. He should remember that we were created first! We are the perfect creation. Those humans are nothing but pathetic sheep compared to us. Now is our time to show Him that we will not sit back and accept second place! If we act now, we can show Him that we are stronger than He ever thought. He will see we are now even more powerful than Him.”
“How can we be more powerful than Him?” Abdiel spat at Lucifer’s feet The group of angels unleashed a collective gasp at his blatant show of disrespect. “Do you forget He made us? Lucifer, you are an even bigger fool than I first thought.”
“How dare you speak to your master that way?” his oldest brother, Douma, interrupted. He looked almost identical to Forcas, right down to the dead, empty eyes. He stepped forward and went to strike again.
Abdiel lashed out and wrapped his hand around his brother’s throat. Not since he was a mere child could any of his brothers defeat or overpower him one on one. They always teamed up on him, just like moments earlier.
“Don’t you see, Abdiel? He could never value a great archangel like you as I could.” Lucifer’s voice soothed. “You will always be second to Michael or Raphael, always their lap boy. Join me, and you will be head archangel, as is your right.”
“Flattery from you, Lucifer?” Abdiel looked at him, his hand still wrapped around his brother’s throat. “I didn’t know you looked away from the mirror long enough to notice anyone else.”
Lucifer roared. Lifting his hand, he hurled a bolt of energy at Douma and sent him crashing to the ground.
Abdiel looked as his empty hand, then cocked his head at his brother. “You have so much love for your angels.” His words dripped with sarcasm. “It’s no wonder the other two thirds haven’t followed you as well.”
Lucifer responded with an energy bolt. The power painfully coursed through him an instant before his body slammed into the ground. Yeah, that’s going to leave a mark. Well, it looks like the time for words is over. Now, it’s time to play. With a low growl, he rolled up into a crouch, then launched himself at Lucifer. Rules be damned. I’m going to rip his throat out. As soon as he was close enough to throttle the lead angel, his two older brothers seized him by the arms. Although he fought against them, they effectively held him immobile.
“Now that…” Lucifer strode forth and backhanded Abdiel. “…was unwise. I will make you suffer as you have never thought possible.” He turned and crooked his finger.
In answer to his summons, a female angel immediately came forward. Her dark brown hair, long with an abundance of curls, framed her small, pixie-like face. Large brown eyes, surrounded by dark, heavy lashes, blinked. Perfect pink lips formed a sinister smile as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck.
Lucifer laughed evilly, then roughly pulled her into a deep kiss.
With an angry roar, Abdiel lunged. His brothers tightened their grips.
“I can see why you are so infatuated with Persephone,” the evil angel mocked as his hands ran over the female.
Abdiel had hoped to wed her one day.
“In fact, she was so delicious, after I took her, I shared her with several of my archangels. Do you know that after all that she still begged for more? You sure picked a feisty one.”
Anger surged through him and granted Abdiel the strength needed to break free of his brothers. Reaching behind him, he drew his sword from its scabbard. Before he could reach Lucifer, however, both of his brothers and his best friend, Beelzebub, pulled their own weapons and moved to protect their leader. Any one of them alone, Abdiel could have beaten—but together, that was a different story. It didn’t stop him though. He never backed down from a fight before, and he was not ready to start now.
“Beelzebub, you forget who helped you master that sword,” Abdiel goaded, trying to provoke them into a mistake. “As for you, my brothers, I am so going to enjoy tearing you two apart, bit by little bit.”
The three rushed him simultaneously. They wouldn’t attack him one at a time and give him half a chance. That would actually be honorable.
With a grunt of aggravation, Abdiel brought his sword up to parry their thrusts. They were fast, but he was faster. Moving with a speed no other angel matched, he met all three opponents, sword to sword.
Lucifer watched, his mouth twisted in a smile. After several minutes, he grew bored as the fight continued too long for his liking. “Mammon,” he said to his second in command.
A tall male with blond hair stepped forward.
“Finish this now before Abdiel hurts one of these fools.”
Mammon nodded, withdrew a dagger from his belt and flung at Abdiel. It buried itself deep in his chest.
The archangel yelped in pain and looked down. The lodged position of the dagger severed the muscle and clamped the nerve control of his blade arm. Dropping his sword, he crumbled to the ground. His brothers and Beelzebub fell upon him, slashing him again and again with their swords. When their arms tired of swinging, they switched to kicking his battered body without mercy.
Unlike humans, angels are immortal—but they can feel pain and bleed, both of which he currently suffered. The only way to kill an angel is to destroy totally, to injure so savagely and leave one in so many pieces no healer can make him whole again. Abdiel grimly realized his former friend and brothers tried to do that to him right now. Through all the pain and damage to his body, his heart felt ripped from his chest when he realized he’d been given a death sentence.
“Enough,” Lucifer bellowed. “We have work to do and this piece of nothing has wasted more time than he is worth already. Now everybody come and say goodbye to Abdiel.”
His brothers and Beelzebub each gave him another vicious kick before they walked away. His foggy mind brought up fantasies of someday ripping off their legs and beating them with them. When Persephone walked by, he turned his head for he didn’t want to look at the female angel. It wasn’t until his parents approached that reaction rose. They had the twins with them. With his last bit of strength, he pushed his broken body up to his knees.
“Please, Father, they are just children, leave them with me.” He looked at his little brother and sister. They looked so much like him, with their dark hair, although their eyes were a deep blue to his brown. Those blue eyes now wide with fear and filled with tears.
His father’s only response was to spit in his face before sister, Rachael, cried pitifully while his baby brother, Appolion, tried in vain to fight. Their father roughly grabbed the twins by the backs of their necks and dragged them away. The last thing Abdiel heard before unconsciousness stole him was his father smacking the twins.
* * * *
Abdiel lay wounded and unconscious all through the epic battle. It was not until days later, after Michael and his archangels finally defeated Lucifer and banished the evil angel and all his followers to Hell that they found him. He woke up only long enough to see Michael standing above him, his brown eyes filled with grief and concern.
Michael knelt and gently pushed the black hair back. “It is known that you were a hero, that you alone would not betray Him. Rest well, Abdiel. He is proud of you.”
Before he closed his eyes, the sound of a female weeping brushed his ears. Certain he must be losing his mind, he knew his lover, mother and entire family were all gone. There was no one left to weep for him, no one who cared for him. He truly was all alone.
Chapter One
Present Day
“Gabi, there’s someone here to see us.” Camael’s usual teasing banter was gone.
Only one thing could make him that somber—Michael came to give them both the news they dreaded. Michael was the most supreme archangel as he was one the first angels ever born and the most powerful. Because of that, he was the Chief of all the other angel warriors. That is, the angels who lived as humans on Earth in order to protect mankind from Lucifer and his demons. He handpicked his warriors from infancy, sorting through each newborn angel, looking for the specific skills he needed. Once he found the ones meeting his criteria, he made sure they were properly trained.
At adulthood, they each made a sacred vow to protect their mortal brothers from demonic intrusion. Giving up all the luxuries and comforts of their former lives, they lived as humans in regular homes on Earth, ate human food and dressed in current fashions. Aside from a few short visits here and there, they no longer called Heaven home.
At the moment, only two angels were in their household—Gabi, the healer, and Camael, the empath. They needed a new archangel, and Michael was there to tell them who it was.
“Well, should we go see what big bad Mike has to say?” She hoped to lighten the mood.
“Come on, Gabi, we both know he’s sending us a new archangel.”
“Well, it has been a month, Cam. I’m surprised he waited this long.”
“Who do you think it will be?” Camael tried for a casual tone, but the nervous fingering of the buttons on his shirt betrayed him.
“Just so long as it’s not one of your brothers, I don’t care.”
“Hey,” he protested with a laugh. “You know the council doesn’t let family members serve in the same household.”
“Don’t worry.” She reached out and ruffled the younger angel’s hair in a motherly fashion. “He won’t send another one like Charoum.”
Their previous archangel, Charoum, made Cam’s life miserable. The stuffy, older angel could not abide the way the younger angel embraced the human world and how he lived life like a human just out of high school. The fact Cam tended to shoot his mouth off before he took the time to think first, did not help matters either.
Instead of training Cam like he was supposed to, Charoum let him go out unprepared. Cam really tried, bless his heart, but all his instruction was as an empath. He possessed very little combat knowledge and tended to wing it whenever in battle. The empath suffered injuries more times than Gabi could count. It was totally humiliating to the young angel.
The few times Gabi managed to get Charoum to take Cam to the gym to train were terrible. The archangel used the opportunity to slap the empath down on the mat time and time again. She healed just as many injuries from his so-called training sessions as from demon attacks.
What Cam did not know was Gabrielle went to Michael and asked him to transfer Charoum. She loved Cam as if he were a younger brother and would do anything for him. It tore her up inside to see Cam wince whenever the archangel yelled at him.
Gabi was more worried than she let on. She mentally sorted through all the available archangels in her head and could not think of one that would be able to tolerate Cam. It was like the empath was trying to make a career out of being an oddball.
Cam’s wardrobe consisted of ratty old jeans and rock tee -shirts. He wore his blond hair in a messy, spiked fashion and his left ear boasted a small gold hoop earring. The empath did not crave manna, the food of angels, but pizza and burgers. His idea of an evening off was loafing in front of the television watching reality shows, sports or some bad movie on the sci-fi channel. He actually asked to be assigned to Detroit because it was the home of his favorite hockey team, the Red Wings.
He was defiantly unique.
They walked into the living room where Michael sat on the couch, watching the TV, a look of horror on his face. “What is this?” He pointed to the set.
“Night of the Living Dead,” Cam muttered, ducking his head. He started to pull at his hair.
It was a nervous habit of his that really annoyed Gabi. She groaned at his behavior. How could Cam have forgotten to turn off the TV? At least he didn’t have a CD blaring. The last thing they needed was for Michael to hear the empath loved alternative rock.
“It’s about zombies who attack humans and eat their brains.” Cam hoped to get himself out of his mess, but only dug himself in deeper. “It’s a classic horror movie.”
“Why would they eat brains?” Michael frowned.
Gabi caught the teasing glint in his eye.
“I dunno.” Cam’s gaze was still on his shuffling feet.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, Michael.” Gabi decided to bail out her poor empath. “Didn’t you and I see this at the theater when it first came out?”
“Now Gabrielle,” Michael chided. “If you give away all my secrets, how will I keep Camael afraid of me?”