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Angel’s Quest
Copyright © 2009 Stephani Hecht
ISBN: 978-1-55487-255-8
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.
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Smashwords Edition
Angel’s Quest
Archangels Seven
By
Stephani Hecht
Dedication
Patti Shenberger, fellow black sheep and partner in crime.
Chapter One
“I never thought I would see the day that Michael, leader of the angel warriors and archangels, would be such a coward.” Lehor never even bothered to look up from her scrying pool as she delivered the scathing comment. A seraphim, by name only, she had chosen to show off her royal statues by wearing a Dopey sweatshirt and faded jeans. Her long, blonde hair was styled in a ponytail and she had yellow duckie slippers on.
Michael for his part, stood rooted in place, just inside the doorway, his mouth open in dumb shock. Not because of what she was wearing, he’d long grown accustomed to his sister’s informal wear. Heck, he didn’t blame her for not wearing the white, standardized attire of Heaven. What had stunned him was how easy she’d read his intentions. Fully intending to come in with the total take-charge-kickass attitude as Chief, the last thing he expected was Lehor to snatch all the wind from his sails and stomp on them.
Lehor finally tore herself away from her visions to point a finger at him, her light blue eyes nearly sparking fire. “You will go on that mission tomorrow and you will go with her.”
Michael gave his meanest look, usually it made angel warriors quake in fear. With Lehor, it appeared to merely bore her. That in turn pissed him off. True, Lehor was his sister, but that didn’t mean she had the right to fucking dismiss his authority. “No, I won’t. As Chief, I’ve made an executive decision. I’m switching the teams up. Joe goes with me and Cliona goes with Rachael.”
“Oh really?” She crossed her arms and gave him a sarcastic smile. “And just why is that?”
He smiled back, refusing to be baited. “Because if I let Joe go anywhere alone with Cliona, he will claim the fairy as his mate. That’s the last thing we need if we want to form an alliance with her people.”
“That’s only part of the problem and we both know it.”
Yes, they both did know it, but damn if he was going to give her the satisfaction of admitting that gem aloud. He let out a menacing growl instead and realized how wasted it was when she turned her back on him and looked into her stupid pool. He decided to leave her accusation untouched for now. Better to continue with Joe-Cliona angle. “I still don’t see why we can’t assign our own teams.”
“Because Nix, the oracle, consulted her runes and they told her it had to be specific pairs or else the mission will be a failure. It’s imperative we find the missing fairy child or else we will lose this war.”
“I think that you are putting way too much faith in one kid,” Michael grumbled. He tried to peek into the pool to see who Lehor had been watching, but she put her body deliberately in his way.
“By finding her and proving she is still alive, the fairies will owe us a great debt. Then they will have no choice but to ally themselves with us in our war against the justice council, demons and Powers. Without them, we will lose. As is, we are too vastly outnumbered.” She finally spun back around to face him, but still blocked his view.
He frowned, putting a child in the middle of a war didn’t sit good with him. He knew things were getting desperate for the angel warriors. Even since they had gone to war with the justice council, things had gone from crappy to crappier. First, they had to leave Heaven and hide out on Earth, then the council had aligned themselves with some demons and, even worse, the Powers. He barely suppressed a shudder as he thought about the Powers, neither demon nor angel, they were a species all their own. Demented and evil, they loved to kill and had no compassion, mercy or scruples.
Even though the angel warriors still had the elves and a few demons of their own on their side, they were quickly losing the war. Michael had already lost too many of his warriors and didn’t want to have to bury any more. So he was desperate to find a way to convince the fairies to help them.
Still, to use a child.
Lehor came up and fixed him with her familiar unyielding glare. “We can protect the child here. With your angel warriors guarding her, nothing will be able to get to her. How safe do you think she is now, out in there alone with only humans to watch over her?”
As always, she read him better than anyone ever could and knew just the right words to sway him. Before their rift, Lehor had been the closest sibling he had. His undying devotion for her had been his greatest strength. It had also been his greatest weakness.
He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Do you honestly think the fairies are going to let one of their children live with a bunch of angels? Especially one of royal birth? It won’t matter to them that her family was ousted centuries ago. They will still want to lay claim on her. Worse yet, what happens if the justice council or demons find her first? They’ll kidnap her just to keep the fairies away from our conflict.”
Lehor averted her gaze to the side and he could sense the guilt coming off her. “Which is why we have to find her faster. The other teams have already been out for months and they are no closer to finding her.”
“Lehor—”
She cut him off with a distressed cry. “She’s the only one who can heal Barakiel.”
Raising her eyes, he could see they were wet with unshed tears and his chest grew tight. Despite all their differences, he would never be able to stand the sight of her distressed.
Barakiel, or Bear as everyone called him, was Lehor’s youngest son. Several months ago, he’d become possessed by an evil entity. The best healers they had couldn’t get rid of it because it was so ancient that it predated any angel, Michael included. They had to send Bear away for the sake of all the other angels at the compound. It had been one of the hardest decisions Michael had ever made as the Chief. He loved all of his nephews and it had felt as if he’d abandoned Bear in his time of need. Even though the leader part of him knew it was the right decision, the uncle part of him stayed awake most nights, aching for the loss of Bear.
He looked over at the scrying pool, suddenly very aware of who Lehor had been watching. The pool made it possible for her to briefly glimpse her loved ones, no matter where they may be. He didn’t need the strong mental link he’d always shared with Lehor to know her heart was breaking over her son. The sadness in her face told him that. Crap, he was half-tempted to join her and snoop on Bear himself. But thanks to the prophetic dreams Michael had every night, he knew everything he already needed to know about his nephew’s status.
Bear was on borrowed time.
Too bad those damn dreams wouldn’t tell him exactly where the fairy was. It would save everyone a lot of searching and save a whole hell of a lot of time. But his visions always weren’t cooperative and, if it concerned family, they were even more sporadic. So they hadn’t give him shit about this situation, which meant, like it or not, they were going to have to use Nix’s plan. “How do we even know for sure that the child can heal Bear?” he asked, all bluster gone from his argument.
She sighed, suddenly looking very tired and defeated. “Because Nix promised me so.”
“Are we sure Nix is right this time?” In the past, that question wouldn’t have even come up. Nix may be a tramp who couldn’t keep her legs together whenever there was a male warrior anywhere near her, but she’d always been a damn good oracle. Until, for some reason that she still refused to divulge, the fates had cut her off.
Lehor nodded, her gaze drifting back to the pool. “Nix consulted her runes and she says they’ve never led her wrong.”
“Runes,” he scoffed with disgust. He was supposed to place the fate of his nephew and the angel warriors on a bunch of rocks? “I’m surprised at both of you. Nix with her ancient runes and you with your scrying pool, it’s so…witchy.”
Lehor rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”
“Double, double, toil in trouble…” he chanted from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
She threw a pillow at his head.
He caught it with a chuckle he really didn’t feel, before getting serious again. “I’ll get the child for you and Bear. I swear it to you, not just as his Chief, but as your brother.”
With a sob, she crossed the room and threw her arms around him.
Shocked by her unexpected show of affection, he stiffened. It wasn’t that he was offended by his sister’s touch, it was just he wasn’t used to anyone showing him warmth. He’d never gotten it from his guardians while he was a child and, as an adult, he’d always been alone.
As if sensing his thoughts, and as a psychic perhaps she did, Lehor pulled back and gave him a trembling frown. “I’m so sorry.”
“You just threw a pillow at me. You didn’t hurt me.” Maybe if he pretended not to understand, she would let the issue drop.
The sadness still lingered on her face. “Not that, stupid. After I cut you out of my life and forbade you from knowing my children, you had no one and it’s all my fault.”
“It was no big deal.” Time to change the topic and fast. He felt uncomfortable with the way this was going. He’d always been the last one to lay his feelings out in the open since past experience had always taught him that was the best way to get them stomped on. Not only that, Lehor might actually find out the main reason he had stayed away for so long. If the truth were to ever come out, it would not only destroy his status as Chief, thus throwing the angel warriors in even further disarray, but it would drag Lehor and her children down with him.
“It is a big deal,” she relented. “It must have been so hard to watch Ana and the boys while they were growing up, knowing they were your family and not being able to be a part of their lives.”
It had been hard, so hard it had nearly destroyed him, but he wasn’t about to admit that to Lehor. She felt guilty about enough things already, the last thing she needed was to add him to the list. So he pushed past his awkwardness and pulled her back into another hug. She held him tight and he found, to his surprise, that he was able to relax and take comfort in her arms. It had been so long since he’d let someone else take care of him and damned if it didn’t feel good.
“I’m fine, really,” he assured, after they had pulled away from each other. “I have them and you in my life now and that’s all that matters. I don’t want you to waste any more time having regrets about me.” Because I’m not worth it. It would be better if you and the kids didn’t have my blood running through your veins.
Lehor gave him a gentle smile and cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand.
To his own shock, he allowed himself to lean a little into her touch. The moment of weakness would have gotten him beat by his guardians when he was a child and he was amazed that part of his soul was still alive to allow it. He couldn’t begin to count the times he’d seen Ana give her own brothers the same gentle gesture. Michael hadn’t even known until now, how much he yearned to have the same loving relationship with his own sister.
“I missed you so much.” The damning words slipped past his lips before he had time to censor them. Shamed at his lapse in control, he waited for Lehor to spit in his face like she had so many times in the past when they had been fighting. Instead, she smiled at him and there was so much love in her blue eyes, he felt a burning lump develop in his throat.
“I missed you, too, brother.”
God, how long had he waited to hear those words? Self-conscious and more than embarrassed by his sudden desire to go all wussy and cry, he pulled away and went to the other side of the room. Not that the distance would do any good. As an empath, she would be able to read his emotions. While he could block most others from getting into his feelings, there was no guarantee with Lehor. Taking a steadying breath, he shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to rein in his emotions. “I’m sorry I was such a whiner earlier. I’ll be a good and follow Nix’s rules, even if they do suck.”
“The only reason you think they suck is because Rachael is your partner and you’re going to have to be alone with her in a car for days, possibly weeks.” There was bleak understanding in her eye and a slight frown on her face. “Why don’t you just give it up and admit that you want her?”
He let out a frustrated sigh. Damned, he should have known she wouldn’t let it drop. Lehor was part of a very small handful of angels who thought they had the right to stick their noses in his business. So much for moving onto topics that didn’t make him feel uncomfortable. “Let it go.”
“Why are you so afraid of loving her?” Lehor tiled her head to the side as she seemed to gaze into his soul.
“I’m not afraid of anything.” The lie tasted bitter to his tongue, but the first thing he’d learned as a leader was sometimes untruths were necessary. “It just couldn’t work between Rachael and me is all.”
Lehor’s brow creased thoughtfully as she gave a slow nod. “You’re probably right. She’s way too impulsive.”
He felt offended on Rachael’s account. “She’s just not predictable like every other female.”
“Oh, and the way she dresses, way too provocative.”
“She’s not afraid to be different.”
Lehor tapped her chin with an index finger thoughtfully. “She always talks without censoring herself, it’s like she has no inner monologue.”
“She’s not afraid to stand up for her beliefs.”
“She’s a disaster.”
“She’s not boring,” he almost snarled out the last argument.
“So in your eyes, she’s perfect?”
“Yes.” Michael closed his eyes and let out a silent curse, well aware that he’d just stumbled into her little trap. It was so simple only a cartoon character would have fallen for it and yet his lame ass had marched right in. “You didn’t need to do that. You know how I feel about, Ray.”
“Ray?” Lehor echoed. “I’ve heard the boys and her friends call her by that nickname, but I didn’t know you did.”
“Save it, Lehor,” he drawled. “You know everything. Nothing gets by your radar.”
“You need to claim her before some other male does,” Lehor said softly. “Would it be so bad to have some happiness? Why do you think all you deserve in life is to serve us and not take anything for yourself?”
Before Michael could give her the thousand or so reasons that were churning around in his head, a hard knock on the door interrupted them. One of Lehor’s twins poked his head in and smiled. As usual, his blue eyes were nearly obscured by his blond hair. While always cut collar length in the back, both the twins always insisted on letting it grow longer in the front. To the females, it made the two look rakish and attractive. To Michael it made them look like male models more than archangels. The twin wasn’t on duty since he was leaving tomorrow, too, so he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked Lehor as he nodded respectively toward Michael.
“Yes, Joe,” she replied briskly, the tilt of her chin showing she was all business. “I know what you twins have planned and you better not even think about it.”
“How did you know about that?” Joe eyed the scrying pool suspiciously. “Have you been snooping on us again?”
Lehor didn’t look one bit guilty at being caught. “You twins better not pull a switch-a-roo. You’re going with your assigned partners and that’s final.”
Joe held his hands up innocently. “It wasn’t even my idea, it was Case’s. I’m perfectly fine with my partner.”
“I bet you are,” Michael drawled, not fooled for one instant. “You’re with Cliona and you’ve been after that fairy since the day she came to live at the compound.”
“Hey, I didn’t ask Nix to pair us up. I’m just being a good warrior and following orders.” A wicked gleam came to his eyes that wasn’t lost on the Chief.
Lehor smiled. “See, Michael, Joe isn’t complaining about this. You could learn a thing or two from him.”
Michael crossed his arms over his chest. So Joe wanted to play the cooperative son, did he? This could be fun. “If that really is Joe. How do you know they haven’t already made the switch and this is Case?”
Lehor’s eyes narrowed as she looked over her son speculatively. “You have a point there. I never could tell them apart and I’m their mother. The only way to know for sure is to see if he has a mole on his tush. Joe has one, but Case doesn’t.”
Joe’s mouth dropped open, his face incredulous. He shot Michael a murderous look before he seemed to catch himself. A tick developed in the twin’s jaw as he averted his gaze respectively. “I’m not showing you my butt, Mom.”