London sparkles in the darkness as my Harley purrs over London Bridge. This late at night the traffic is manageable. I don’t have far to go. Manoeuvring down some side streets I know like the back of my hand and I am almost there.

A familiar tingle slips over my skin as I roar down the tunnel. Crossing over into the Under is something I am used to. It’s a place where fractions come to meet. A bubble cut off from the rest of the planet for those who got themselves caught up in the war.

What war? The one for humanity. What the human world doesn’t know is we’re in a stalemate. One breath away from the end as we know it. Only thing holding back hell and the demonic forces waiting to rip all our arses to shreds is a rag tag group of misfits.

I would like to say we’re those types of heroes you read about in comic books. The ones with the amazing pecs who have no fear and honour in bucket loads. Truth is; drugs, sex and alcohol fuel us most days. Paranoia is an old friend.

Chances are when you play with life and death as many times as we do you might not always get to walk away. Honour doesn’t last long. Knowing a teammate has your back is a hell of a lot more important.

Coming to a stop outside the ‘Black Penny’ pub I climb off my ride. It’s the first building in the row that makes up the street. Cease Fire, the one place stopping everything from falling apart. It isn’t much to look at in a town in the middle of a dimension whose name no one can pronounce. A cluster of shops, restaurants, and bars where both sides get to mingle. A place supposed to build bridges. As far as that is going I really have no idea. Fights are bloody and often. Someone always has an argument or disagreement to start fists or claws flying. We have one rule here. No one kills.

Beat the fuck out of each other, maim, or anything else goes, but when you step away your opponent has to be breathing. The penalty for disobeying is death. It’s something never looked lightly on. With the flimsy treaty hanging by a thread, heaven and hell uphold this one law to maintain the fragile balance of this place.

Boisterous laughter emanating from the front door of the pub indicates the party is already in full swing.

Taking the steps up two at a time, I pause. Unzipping my leather jacket, I rake a hand through my lengthy red hair which falls to my shoulders. Jeans and a green t-shirt blend me right in.

“Mavi, you’re late! Where you been?” Caesar yells over the song being blasted from the speakers. From his perched position on a barstool he beckons at me through the throng. His coarse beard peppered with grey is so thick it swallows the features that lay beneath. Only his green eyes and straight nose are visible. Hair no better, it hangs in a shaggy limp mess around his face below a tartan cap.

The place is heaving. Seriously, everyone has turned up tonight and I’m surprised. We don’t have get togethers like this often. Funerals yes. Fun, not nearly enough.

Squeezing my way through jostling bodies I manage to find my way to the bar.

“I didn’t think you were going to turn up.”

Accepting the shot glass he slides towards me I can’t help but grin. “And miss my own birthday party? Never.”

“You’re fashionably late. I was starting to get worried.” The stool below him creaks as he shifts his heavy-set frame

“I got caught up in work, that’s all.”

This doo is the first one they’ve ever thrown me. It’s not every day a woman hits thirty. One big knees up and then it’s all downhill from there. Wrinkles, grey hairs, aches and pains. Everything that comes with getting that much older.

Maybe my Boss, Gabriel, didn’t think I would last this long. Fuck, I never thought I would still be standing here after four long years of battle. Maybe I’m still waiting for my luck to run out. I know I’m never going to live to a ripe old age. Most likely my death will either be something slow and painful or one I don’t see coming.

That’s why I enjoy life in the now. Ring out all the pleasure I can before I go blazing out in a hail of bullets and hellfire.

“Where’s Leo and Snatch?” Downing the alcohol, it burns the back of my throat. With the good mood I’m in we’re going to need a truck load more. Tonight, I am going to have a blast. Get drunk and find some cock, that’s my plan.

“Last time I saw Leo he was banging some guy in the men’s toilets.” Caesar tells me as he fiddles with the desert eagle next to his glass. “Snatch was having an episode out back, but the Boss was sorting him out.”

“A typical night out with the lads then.”

This isn’t shocking. My team are all fucked one way or another. Caesar is a high-tech weapons expert. One of the best in the business. The fact he doesn’t ever like to be touched doesn’t always go over well. Especially if he manages to get himself shot or electrocuted. Hard to give someone first aid when they scream at you that your touch burns. Is it true? To him it is and that’s all that matters. If we can help it, we avoid contact.

Leo is our telekinetic. He can move any object just by focusing his mind. A gift he was born with. One he struggled with during his youth along with his sexuality. It’s why he hit the bottle. When he’s inebriated it loosens him up. Problem is he doesn’t know when to stop. Drunk most of the time, he can be a danger to himself as well as those around him when he can’t control his powers. When he’s sober, which is not often, he works like a dream.

Then there’s Snatch. Cursed with being a sensitive he can see a supernatural for what they truly are. No disguise or glamour stops his sight. His life has been a never-ending visit to psychiatric hospitals. No one knew what he was seeing was real until Gabriel picked him up. By then it was already too late. Addicted to drugs, the highs and hallucination became his norm. He’s so fucked in the head he doesn’t even remember his real name. Now, it’s not easy for him to be sure what he sees is the truth. Most of the time we have to pick apart his reality from fantasy. Deal with his panic attacks.

Lastly there is me. Mavi StClair. Assassin extraordinaire. I was ten when my mother decided to abandon me at my uncle’s. He was the one who showed me his family business. Strangely, it didn’t give me nightmares. Blood had always drawn me. I was always getting into fights at school with bullies bigger than me, unlike my brother, who was the quiet one. I guess it wasn’t surprising. I was never the one left in a bloody mess. Expulsion was mostly how I was dealt with. A problem child. I’d taken my first life that same year. One I don’t regret even to this day, because I ended a monster who tore our family apart. Consequences we still live with.

Uncle Bane was the one who showed me the ropes. Honed my skills. Showed me how to keep my compulsions and urges in check. We’d do jobs with me as his apprentice. Off a nasty piece of work in the most imaginary way we could think of then head out for burger and fries. Once I hit eighteen I struck out on my own. Contract killings are more popular than you think. People like killers with imagination. If you can make it look like an accident they love you even more.

That’s how I met Gabriel. The Archangel had put a hit out on himself. Not that I had known that at the time. It was his way of luring me in and recruiting me. After getting my arse kicked by his angelic foot he explained my Uncle had trained me for something more than ending the lives of greedy businessmen.

Did I want in on saving the world? To be honest, it sounded good at the time. Now? It has its good days and its bad days.

Even though we’re broken in different ways, my team works. We have never rejected each other. Four years together have proven that. Yes, we have our ups and downs. Yet, through it all we have found a balance.

“Mavi, you fucked up tonight.”

Gabriel doesn’t look like an angel. Dressed like a biker in leather and studs he looks more like he belongs in the other direction. Tattoos of naked women snaked up his muscled arms adds to the deception. Don’t get me wrong, he’s attractive in a rough and ready way with blonde hair framing his face as rich as gold. Eyes so blue they remind me of a cloudless summer sky. When he bothers to smile you can actually see his charm.

“Yeah, well, you’re supposed to check my marks. You should have known he’d sold his soul.” I counter. “It’s not like they have it written across their foreheads.”

“You know this counts as another black mark.”

Yeah, this angel keeps score. Any time one of us makes a mistake, he writes it on his damn board.

“Sweet baby Jesus, will you give me a fucking break?”

Caesar smirks at the annoyance in my tone. He knows the trouble I have with our boss. If I was paranoid anymore than I already am I would think the winged bastard doesn’t like me.

“I’ll let you off this time, but don’t cock up again.”

Accepting another shot from my weapons guy, I swallow it quickly. Gabriel has a habit of side stepping blame. Maybe it’s because he answers to the big guy upstairs and it’s easier to blame us mortals. Whatever the reason, it gets on my nerves.

“That’s generous of you. Guess you do think I’m special after all.”

Snatching down a bottle of vodka, he pours the contents into a glass. “Expendable is the word that comes to mind when I think of you.” With one thick finger, he pushes it towards me. “Happy Birthday.”

“Wow, I feel the love so much right now.”

“You’re getting free drinks tonight that should tell you something.”

“That the stick you have up your arse might have loosened?” I reply.

Gabriel smirks. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

You would think angels would be beings of love and light. The reality is they’re just as fucked up as the rest of us.

“Mavi.”

Snatch is beside me and I’ve only just noticed. His pupils are so large I can’t even see the brown of his iris. Jacked up on God knows what, he’s so pallid the veins beneath his skin are like tiny ribbons of colour. A mop of light brown hair, with a natural wave, curls around his collar. Frame gaunt and tall, his oversized clothes look like he’s bought them from a thrift store.

“What the fuck are you on tonight?” I ask him as he tries to focus on my face.

“LSD. Thought it was the best one with this crowd.”

“And you think hallucinating, along with seeing things that are really there, make everything better?”

“The shit I see with all these freaks together is already terrifying enough. I can pretend it’s what I’m high on and not reality.”

“Watch your mouth, druggie.”

Green skinned and red eyed, the demon at a table across the way thinks he can cut in on our conversation. In Cease Fire the other side don’t mind letting all their ugly hang out. In the human world they hide what they are, so they must find it nice to let their horns out once in a while. Not that I care. He should know better. There may be a truce here, but we won’t hesitate in kicking his arse.

Twisting around on my stool, I pin him with a glare. “Leave my friend alone, douche.”

He doesn’t get the message.

Rising from his chair, his lips curl up with a look of disgust. “Whore.”

“Douche sounds way better, but if your mother named you whore I feel sorry for any siblings you have.”

“You think you’re so bad arse, don’t you, bitch?”

“Colin move along.” Gabriel suggests, as he cracks his knuckles behind me. “There’s a good boy, we don’t want trouble tonight.”

Colin stiffens a weary expression dancing over his ugly face.

Oh, that scares him? Not the feisty human assassin, no. It has to be the angel who runs the pub. Everyone knows if you cross Gabriel you get banned for life and that can be a very long time if you happen to be immortal.

With an unpleasant sneer in my direction, green skin and his friends slink out of the main door, vacating their table.

Caesar is the first to move. Snatching up the duffel bag at his feet, he liberates the bottle of vodka left out by our boss, then makes a dash for it before anyone else has a chance to. Most know he doesn’t like physical contact so they steer clear. They’d rather not have him screaming.

Snatch moves next.

Collecting four glasses, I join them.

“Leo better get done fucking or he’s going to miss the whole night.” I complain, shrugging out of my leather jacket and hanging it on the back of the chair.

“We have alcohol. He’ll be here soon,” Snatch assures me.

I’m not so sure. Our telekinetic has been known to go on weeklong benders. If he is still coherent I’m going to be surprised.

“Puddin! It’s sooo good to see ya.”

Hearing his familiar voice, I turn to survey him. The drink has robbed him of his youth, making him look older than his thirty-five years. Cheeks flush with pink, his eyes are blood shot and puffy. Stubble shadows his jaw. Short, dark blonde hair a mess, it’s sticking up at odd angles. Bright pink jeans hug his skinny legs. It clashes with the flower shirt he’s wearing.

Zipping up the fly of his jeans, he gives me a cheeky grin. “Come here and give me a birthday smooch.”

“You started celebrating without me.” Offering my cheek, I accept the sloppy kiss.

“Yeah, well, them bottles were calling and I was thirsty.” Dropping into the last free seat, he makes a grab for the bottle. “Plus, I couldn’t resist a cute guy.”

Caesar is faster. With a steady hand, he pours the liquid into the four glasses.

“We got you presents.” Snatch tells me from where he’s twitching. The guy can never keep still. Hands twisting in his lap, his gaze is centred on his drink.

“You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“We wanted to. We’ve always missed your birthdays because you kept quiet. This party is only happening because Gabriel insisted.”

Glancing up, I see our Boss still at the bar. Raising his full glass, he inclines his head before downing it.

I return the action with a grin. Guess he does like me after all.

“Here we go.” Caesar places three brightly wrapped packages in front of me.

I don’t know what to say. No one has bought me something in years. My family are no longer big on events like these.

Ripping the paper on the first gift, I shake open the small long box. A tube of lipstick is nestled inside.

“Lipstick?”

I’ve never imagined these three shopping for women’s make-up. Scratch that, Leo would. When he’s not flirting or drunk, he loves to shop. Not that I always know what they get up to on their free time. Everyone has secrets, not just me. Their lives away from Cease Fire are mostly a mystery.

“A special kind.” Caesar murmurs.

Slipping off the lid, I can’t stop my gasp. Metal glints back at me in the overhead lights. The blade is small, but deadly sharp.

“I think I’m in love.”

“We thought you might like it.” He chuckles, cradling his drink to his chest. “Something I came up with myself.”

“Thank you!”

I want to hug him, but I refrain. Instead, I pour him some more vodka.

“My turn.” Snatch nudges one of the other boxes towards me.

Stripping the covering, I discover a bag. It’s the hip sort. Made of real leather, there’s a belt that goes around my waist, another to buckle at thigh level. Fingers dancing over the black smooth surface, I examine the zippers. There’s enough space inside for anything I might need to carry from money to a knife.

“It’s perfect. Thank you, Snatch.”

Grinning like a loon, he reaches over the table to grab my hand tightly. “Shopping for you is not easy.”

That makes me giggle. “I know. Trust me, I find it hard myself.”

The last package Leo shoves into my hands. “Here you are, Puddin. Something I know you’ll like.”

Opening it slowly, heat surges into my cheeks as I find what awaits. The monster dildo is bright pink and long. Its girth is a frightening width.

“It has five speeds!” He enthuses, his excitement gushing over. “The moment I saw it, I knew it was for you. I even got it in hot pink!”

“You bought her a sex toy?” Snatch looks stunned.

“Yeah. Our girl obviously needs something when she isn’t getting shagged. If I was into women I would be all over her, but with her rule of not sleeping with co-workers neither of you are going to get the job done.”

Warmth still reddening my face, I crash the lid back down on the box. People have taken notice of our table.

“How thoughtful, Leo...really I don’t know what to say.”

“You can think of me every time you use it.”

Caesar’s outburst of laughter is loud as he tries not to choke on the alcohol he’s just swallowed. “Of course Mavi wants to imagine you between her legs every time she has an orgasm.”

Covering my face with a hand, I close my eyes in embarrassment. The heat of several gazes crawl over me. Now we have everyone’s attention in the pub. Fuck.

Raising my glass, I down my drink.

“You seem a little tense tonight? What’s up?”

Flashing Leo a smile, I shake my head. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

“She doesn’t like being centre of attention, you know that.” Caesar cuts in. “She’s probably dying inside, but we can’t see it through her tough, emotionless exterior.”

It’s true. This makes me uncomfortable. The only reason I turned up was because Leo talked me into it. He sprung the whole guilt trip speech.

“Mavi, loosen up. We’ve been working together for four years. A booze up once a month does not count as getting to know each other better even if you are a cute drunk.” Leo sighs. “Do you know when you’re inebriated it’s the only time we see the real you?”

That’s why I don’t get drunk often. I’m a mess of emotions that leak all over the place. Things I would rather keep in check. But I know keeping them bottled up inside doesn’t do me good. It’s why I need nights like this.

Without being asked Caesar tops my glass.

“Keep them coming. I think I’m going to need plenty tonight.”

Raising his arm, Leo motions toward the bar. “Hey Gabriel, bring us some shots. Mavi wants to get smashed.”

With one blonde eyebrow raised our boss scowls back. “Do I look like a fucking barmaid? Come get them yourself, you lazy bastard.”

“I’ll go.” Caesar is up before any of us can move.

As soon as the tray of booze slips onto the table I grab one. I don’t care what it is. Throwing it back the sweetness hits my taste buds. It gives me a warm buzz I know is going to grow.

“How’s your buttery nipple?”

Slapping the empty glass back down I frown Snatch’s way. “Excuse me?”

Flicking some brown curls out of his face, he nudges his chin at the drink. “Your shot. That’s its name. We also have Redheaded Slut, Cowboy Cocksucker, Leg Spreader, and Screw Me Sideways.”

Taking another one, I swirl the contents at the bottom. “Let me guess, Leo’s choice.”

Holding out his shaking palm, one of the glasses shoots off across the surface to Leo so quickly it almost spills. “These two don’t know jack shit about what to have for a good time. Also, I thought these were named appropriately for our special girl.”

Bastard. He’s always making jabs at my sex life. Just because he’s off banging guys left, right, and centre he thinks he has it all figured out. I’m picky when it comes to men. If they don’t stir my lust I’m not about to do them.

Carefully, Caesar lines them up in a mix of colours. “Come on, Mavi, get drinking. Gabriel’s generosity on the booze might run out and we only have tomorrow off work.”

The alcohol keeps flowing. There’s a pleasant hum running through my veins, relaxing me.

My team seems to be hell bent on getting me drunk. They’re on a mission to make sure I have a good time and it’s kinda sweet.

Caesar falls into his stories of the good old days when he sold his hand-crafted weapons before everything became high tech. We’ve heard these a million times before, but we let him reminisce. It’s cozy. A ritual we have at the end of each month. A time for us to unwind. God knows we need it with what we are sometimes forced to do.

A vibration in my jeans pocket distracts me. Fishing it out, I check the number.

It’s the care home. My good mood takes a nose dive. They only phone if it’s urgent. This had to happen tonight. Fuck.

Glancing at the drained glasses I know I’ve had way too much.

“I’ll be back in a minute.”

They barely acknowledge my words.

Staggering to my feet, I grab my jacket and head for the exit. Cold, fresh air fills my lungs, sobering me a little. It’s exactly what I need to clear my head.

Swallowing my panic, I accept the call.

“Nurse Carter, is Nathan ok?” I ask the second I hear a female voice, hoping my words aren’t slurred.

“Mavi, I hope I’m not disturbing you?”

Finding the brick wall of the pub behind me with my free hand, I slide down it until my arse hits the floor. “No, not at all. Is anything wrong?”

“Your brother had an episode this evening. We’ve had to restrain him, but he’s sedated now, and we’ve made him comfortable in his room.”

She’s been assigned to him the last two years and she’s been a God send. His outbursts are rare. I know, though, when they come it’s never easy to deal with.

“What set him off?”

“We don’t know. He didn’t hurt himself or anyone this time.” Carter assures me before I can ask. “I wanted to let you know.”

She knows I worry. Not getting to see him more than once a week isn’t easy. Being his only visitor and responsible for paying all of his hospital bills is why I work so hard at my job.

“I’ll come in tomorrow and talk to him.” I’m due for a visit. I’ve been putting it off. Guilt niggles through me.

“I’ll see you same time as usual then. Good night.”

“Thank you. Good night” Not waiting for a reply, I cut the call.

Why tonight? Nathan has been trapped in his own world since he was twelve.

Memories stir. Unwanted and buried, I don’t want to face them. Closing my eyes, senses dulled, I can’t stop them from pouring out.

Nathan, my brother. Two years older than me and always with his nose in a book. Where I was outspoken even at ten, he was a quiet, mousy, twelve year old who rarely had friends. We never knew our father. He’d been gone by the time I was born. Mum never spoke about him, not even to this day. He was some bum she had met at a bar who she kept around. I think it hurt her that the same thing happened to her own mother. The women in my family could never keep men.

The Autumn after his twelfth year, Nathan was more withdrawn than usual. It was as if he were walking around frightened to be seen.

I remember it was a few days before Halloween. It was a big deal in our house. Mum had always made us dress up. The house would be bright with colour and spooky décor. Back then, she actually cared whether I was breathing or not. Before everything went to shit.

Nathan had been late out of school. As always, we walked home together. I’d been mad at him for making me wait after class. Looking for him had not been easy. Something, though, had drawn me to those stairs. The ones that lead down into the basement of the school.

The dark had never frightened me. Darkness and shadows had been intimate friends even that young. Instead, I got a kick out of venturing into the unknown.

Quiet as a mouse, I’d followed where instinct had led. It was a moment that had changed Nathan’s and my life, forever.

The crying had been quiet at first. A sound in the blackness until I’d seen the soft light.

Naked, shivering, my brother had been laying on a filthy mattress. Face down, he’d been gripping the material so tightly his knuckles were white. Kneeling behind him, the school janitor had been grunting like a fat pig in heat. Hips moving back and forth as his cock worked its way in and out of Nathan’s arse.

“Please, it hurts.” My Brother had begged. “I promise to be good, please stop.”

Lips curling back in a sneer, the man raped him harder. “You’ll take it and like it. If you ever tell anyone about this, I’ll come to your house when you’re sleeping and have that bitch you call a sister in her tight, virgin hole right before I fuck your mother’s mouth.”

A red haze. It washed over my vision, blinding me to nothing but the rage. After that, things were hazy. The next thing I became aware of was blood sticky on my hands.

Nathan screaming in the corner.

Eyes open, lifeless, and staring, the monster who hurt my brother was now dead on the floor with a pocket knife sticking out of his chest.