21
Feathers.
They cocooned me in the soft scent of safety and home.
Slam.
Coppery sweetness spun me to heaven.
I quivered, caught in the scent of angel blood.
Rebel’s blood.
Hell, if this was dying, it kicked living’s arse.
My eyes snapped open.
Rebel was holding me on the stone ledge of the roof terrace, before the furious glares of an army of the Pure. His mottled wings, which he’d wrapped around me, were as hard as steel, but his smile was fragile.
‘Hold on,’ Rebel yanked my arms around his waist, as his wings stretched out. Then he dove upwards into the cold night sky.
‘Guests may not leave the party early!’ Eden shrieked, bouncing on his toes.
I sniggered. But then caught Rebel’s flinch. ‘You’re… This is… You’re saving me?’ I blinked, gripping so hard to Rebel’s hips, I must’ve been leaving bruises.
He nodded. ‘I’m not the one who abandons people.’
Hollers, the whoosh of flames beneath my boots, and bang of gunshots.
Rebel swooped, dodging.
I gasped at the glorious buzz of soaring through the dark in the arms of an angel.
My heart thundered: I’d stood at the cliff edge of death — jumped — and flown.
‘Lazarus rises, bitches,’ I yelled down at Eden and his soldiers. Their eyes gleamed like hyenas’ in the night. ‘I bet you wish you weren’t wingless now?’
Whizz — a bullet grazed my ear.
Best not to read the fanatic jackasses until you’ve actually escaped. After all, your ride could break down. The punk’s wing is wrecked.
But he still risked saving me.
Why? Oh, that’s right, girl, because you bound yourself by blood. Say hello to your baby vampire.
I shifted in Rebel’s wings. The speckled violet feathers pulsed amongst a sea of grey.
Rebel clutched me closer.
The moon caught on the spear tips of the Thames, which curled far beneath us, criss-crossed with bridges. Cars and black cabs sped between blocks of skyscrapers and curving terraces. Cathedral spires and cupolas rose like illuminated spectres.
A human world, spread like a kid’s playset.
Violet and black seethed at the thought: to mould the world and make it mine.
When I shuddered, Rebel stroked my arm. Then suddenly, his bent wing spasmed.
I screamed, as we tumbled, spinning through the black.
Rebel beat his wings frantically, plunging us further towards Hackney.
We were about to get up and personal with London Fields.
I braced myself, as we crashed into the frozen green. We cracked over a bench, before barrelling into a wonky goal post.
My ankle twisted.
I scrubbed my face in the slushy snow, struggling to bring down the coursing adrenaline spike. My whole body shook, even my toes drummed on the grass. I touched my throbbing ankle and yelped; I slammed my fist into the ground with a growl. ‘I won’t be flying Rebel Airlines again. You’re lucky the army didn’t shoot us down.’
Rebel’s eyes flashed with hurt, before he smothered it with a smirk. ‘You after going back? That’s the first time I’ve flown since the gits hurt my wing.’
I started to shake my head, but then stopped.
Anarchy.
The kid Fallen who’d tried to save me was still trapped with Eden.
How the hell could I abandon him?
‘Yeah, we’re going back.’
Rebel gaped at me. Then he briskly snatched his leathers, which had been stashed behind the goal post.
Then it was my turn to gape. ‘You chose to crash here?’
Rebel avoided my gaze, slipping on his studded jacket. ‘Made a balls of the landing. But I’ve an important meeting.’
‘Whilst I had fire at my neck, you were plotting meetings?’
Rebel swallowed under his spiked collar. ‘Don’t get narky. I arranged it before the Pure killed my family.’
His grief flayed him raw, but I couldn’t allow it to reduce my fury. ‘When you snuck out at night? Another secret?’
He stalked towards me, dragging me up onto my swollen ankle. ‘What about your secrets, princess? Why are you after going back to terror hotel?’
Did I say baby vampire? Make that a fully-grown vampire bitch.
I bit back a groan. ‘No secret, you’re just not the only bloke in my screwed-up life.’
The Bitch of Utopia shanks again.
Rebel blanched. He steadied me against the goal post, before stepping back. His hands fluttered as if he didn’t know what to do with them. ‘Dry up, I never said…I didn’t think… Who is this bleeding muppet?’
‘Anarchy.’
Rebel snorted. ‘Even has a muppet name.’
‘You could create a punk duo.’
He tilted his head. ‘I don’t know any angels—’
I crossed my arms. ‘Because he’s a Fallen…was a Fallen Angel, until that bastard Eden chopped off his wings. Now the kid’s one of the Pure.’
Rebel slammed me against the goal post — bang — the goal trembled. ‘Mind yourself, princess. The Pure play with minds, until you’ll fly into the sun on Eden’s word.’
‘Anarchy helped me,’ I rested my forehead against Rebel’s. ‘He lost his wings for me.’ Rebel raised his pierced eyebrow. ‘I won’t leave the kid behind.’
Rebel’s grip loosened as his turned away. ‘Like you abandoned me?’
I blinked, confused. Then I remembered how I’d left him hidden under the bracken.
What the hell had he thought waking up alone?
I touched his cheek, remembering the bruise I’d marked him with. There was nothing left to show for it now, only pale perfection.
Unwilling, his gaze rose to meet mine.
I smiled. ‘I saved you, wallad.’
Surprise, followed by understanding and guilt, chased across Rebel’s face, before he grinned. ‘Fair play to you. I knew you wouldn’t leave me…not after…’ He reached round to the back of his jean’s waistband, slipping out Star. He held it out to me on his palms like an offering. ‘I found it in the cemetery. I hoped you hadn’t rejected my gift.’
I reached for Star with trembling hands, sheathing it. ‘Cheers. And I’d never do that. A gift’s too special, bro.’
He scuffed his foot backwards and forwards through the snow. ‘The meeting today? You might eat my head off.’
‘I’ll rein in the bitch, as long as we go back for Anarchy after.’
‘Here’s the thing of it with Anarchy, if they’ve taken his wings, he’s already lost.’
I blinked away furious tears. Then I slipped my hand under Rebel’s leathers, tracing his bent wing. ‘And what does that make you? Broken? Grey feathers?’
He flinched. ‘Don’t touch me.’
I froze, before carefully pulling away my hand.
Rebel’s gaze was flinty. ‘We can rescue your toy boy Pure, but not until it’s safe.’
‘It’s never going to be safe, don’t you get it yet?’ I snarled, stalking away across the field towards the line of London Plane trees. The cold bit my cheeks, and my fingers shook. ‘We can’t hide. The only way to survive is to be the scariest monster. If they burn down our house? We burn down theirs.’
Rebel drifted after me, his hands stuck in the pockets of his trousers. ‘A ball-bag like me never should’ve been your Custodian. Bad angels have no place…’ He hung his head. ‘In the name of Jesus, what made you think you could trust a Fallen?’
‘Fair question, Zachriel. Why do you trust us?’ A hard, sneering Irish voice called out, startling me. A tall vampire, in faded black denim jacket and emerald shirt, sauntered from the shadows of the trees. He had thick black eyebrows and eyelashes, with the shark-eyed hardness of a soldier. His short buzz of hair blazed as red as Rebel’s.
‘Briathos!’ Rebel breathed, stilling. Then before I could stop him, he bolted across the green towards the vampire, beaming with a joy that made him look younger than Anarchy. ‘I’ve fierce missed—’
The vampire clouted Rebel in the nose.
I growled.
Crimson spurted down Rebel’s chin.
‘My name’s Wings now,’ Wings brushed his hand through his auburn bristles.
‘And I’m Rebel,’ Rebel pinched his nose, although the wallad was still smiling.
‘You see, there’s the problem, git angel,’ Wings shoved Rebel’s shoulders, and Rebel stumbled backwards, ‘you can play at being one of the Fallen but you chose not to Fall.’
This was Rebel’s meeting?
Rebel wiped the blood away with the back of his sleeve. The hesitant way he still smiled, his kohl darkened eyes warily hopeful, made my stomach flip. ‘I’m sorry—’
Oomph — Wings booted Rebel in the balls.
Rebel folded to the frozen earth, groaning.
Wings shrugged. ‘Git angel.’
Wings turned, but before he could stroll back into the shadows, I sprang towards him. I snatched his denim sleeve and smashed him against a London Plane.
‘Bastard Fang.’ The knee to Wings’ balls to punctuate each word sated the anger bleeding the park purple because he’d attacked Rebel.
My angel.
When Wings tried to curl around the pain, I pinned him to the tree by the throat.
A feathered tattoo, which reminded me of the one on the face of the vampire who’d attacked me on the day Rebel had first fallen into my lap, wove round Wings’ neck like barbed wire.
Mesmerised, I stroked over the feathers.
The way Wings raised his pierced eyebrow, however, caught me off guard. How uncomfortably familiar it was. ‘I’d heard you were a ball buster, princess, but you know just how to touch a bloke.’
Rebel struggled to his knees. ‘You keep your hands to yourself, Briathos.’
‘I’m not the one caressing her neck,’ Wings purred. When I backed away quickly, he laughed. ‘I don’t blame you for wanting to pull a real fella, not if you’ve been stuck with this banjaxed idiot. He already has you fighting his battles.’ He glanced at Rebel, assessing where to stick the shank next. ‘Can Zachriel even get it up with a broken wing?’
Rebel surged to his feet. But I’d already spun Wings round and unsheathed Star.
Power surged through me, spiralling me higher, after a night of powerlessness trapped in Perfection Hotel.
I ached to slice and slash, until I’d reclaimed every shred of dignity stolen from me by Eden. Repaid terror with terror, starting with Wings…who was staring at Star with horrified shock.
‘You’re no warrior,’ when Rebel hugged his arms tightly around himself, I knew Wings’ taunt was meant for him. ‘Star’s not yours. How could you give it to…?’
‘She has more right than me,’ Rebel whispered.
‘A swill munching sow has more right—’
I swung Star in a bright arc, and Wings danced backwards, steel claws springing from his nails. ‘I’m not one for quipping during fights to the death.’
Wings smiled: brilliant and dangerous. ‘You should try it.’
‘Know something else I should try?’ I hacked the dagger as if towards Wings’ right hand, before shooting flames towards his left.
In a blur of black and red, Rebel dived in front of the blast, howling as it hit his back.
I threw myself over Rebel, rolling him across the ground, until the smouldering fire died. I pinned him down by his wrists, our bodies pressed together. I didn’t want to stop touching him because if I did, I was certain I’d have burnt him to ash.
‘Not with Star,’ Rebel pleaded, his body quivering with pain, ‘don’t hurt him with my father’s dagger.’
‘Why?’
Wings’ shadow caught us both in its dark; his gaze was guarded. ‘I’m this git angel’s brother.’
My hands tightened around Rebel’s wrists. He hissed.
I warned you about trusting the killer angel.
The Fall divided families, friends, and lovers: a wall between worlds. The question is whether your pretty boy, who tastes like heaven, is leading your sweet ass to hell.
I crawled off Rebel, backing away.
Rebel twisted his head to the side, unable to meet my eye. ‘You knew my true da was one of the Fallen.’
‘Your bro too? And how many others? What is this meeting? Your attempt to wheedle your way back with them? Am I the slave to pay off your debt?’
Rebel pushed himself onto his elbows. ‘How can you…?’
I crouched and spun, catching Wings in a spinning heel kick. He bellowed, as I swept him onto his back next to Rebel. But when I slashed Star towards his throat, Rebel lunged forward.
The tip of Eclipse pressed against my neck.
‘Don’t make me choose,’ Rebel’s whisper shook with despair, ‘fam is fam.’
Slam.
Rebel’s sweet scent washed over me. Yet this time there was no safety.
It was an illusion.
Rebel had saved me, only to betray me to the vampires.