Fallen Angel Reclaimed: The Complete Series by Lacey Carter Andersen

19

Caine staredat the angel kneeling before him who had failed him so badly. His fingers itched to destroy his soul, but with the coming war, he needed every warrior possible on his side.

“Bring me the Fate.”

The angel lifted his dark head, surprise widening his eyes. “Which one?”

Caine cocked his head and raised a hand. The angel went crashing back against the stone wall. He smashed the useless creature against the wall over and over again, relishing the sounds of his bones breaking. He drank in the cries of pain until his eventual silence. Then, he tossed the angel against the floor and stared at him for a long moment. The angel looked like a badly damaged bird. His white feathers littered the floor like snow, and his wings were bent in odd angles.

But what could he expect for asking such a foolish question? For wasting my precious time. There is only one Fate that matters. The one who knows the future. The past and present mean nothing to me.

Unclenching his fingers one at a time, Caine looked to the angel standing guard at his door. The smart fellow had remained standing perfectly still, his gaze locked ahead of him.

“Bring me the Fate.”

“Yes, Judge.” The angel exited through the solid stone doors of the throne room. The doors closed behind him with a satisfying boom that shook the entire room.

Caine remained sitting. The dark powers that floated around him concealed him from the sight of all, but also, just as importantly, hid the nine empty thrones that sat beside him.

Let no man, angel, or demon see their immortal lord. And let none have memories stirred within their minds, of a time when more than just Caine ruled.

A soul appeared in the center of the room for judgment, nothing more than a shaking wisp of light. In an instant, he determined that the human would add nothing to his army and with a flick of his wrist, he sent the man screaming into the demon-realm.

More wispy souls flooded the room. Their minds touched his, pouring their being into him for evaluation. It took only seconds to decide, and only seconds to send them to their rightful place.

A new soul entered the room. Only, it wasn’t a wisp. It was a woman. A stunning creature cloaked in white light. Eagerly, he leaned forward.

And what do I have here?

Reaching for her, he pried her secrets opened with careless fingers and plucked the parts of her that intrigued him. This woman was strong. Capable. But… his excitement dimmed. She could not be taught to obey. This he knew as surely as he knew that he wished he could keep her for his own. For his army.

With an angry flick of his wrist, he sent her to the demon-realm. The sound of her terrified scream hung in the air long after she was gone.

The massive doors to the throne room opened and the guard dragged the Fate into the room. She fought like a wild animal. But then, she always did. Wordlessly, the angel shoved her onto her knees.

Her hair had once been auburn but after many years without a bath, it lay tangled about her shoulders, dirtied to an off-putting brown. Her pale skin was smudged with more dirt, but when she looked at him, her green eyes still oozed contempt.

Will I never break her spirit?

“As always, your prophecy has come to pass. An angel and her three demon lovers have begun the first steps of the coming war. They have stolen a goddess from my protection.”

“You mean from your imprisonment,” she spat at him.

A smile curled Caine’s mouth. This was one of those rare times he wished the woman could see him. He wanted her to know how much her useless bravado amused him.

“Tell me what to do. How can I kill the angel and her demons?”

Stubbornly, she raised her chin.

He grasped at the wisps of souls that had been building up in the air above him and pulled them into the center of the room between him and the woman.

“Must we play this game every time?”

Her mouth pulled into a thin line.

He grasped the souls and dragged them to hover above the Soul Destroyer. “What have we here? A teacher. A sick child. A mother. A young father. And an elderly grandmother. All these innocent lives… it would be such a shame to destroy their eternity, all because of your stubbornness.”

When she didn’t speak, he slid the souls lower.

The humans felt their pending destruction like knives through their bodies. Their terrified wails filled the air. Their pain had an instant effect on the stubborn woman. “Stop.”

He raised a brow. “You’ll answer my question.”

Quickly, she nodded.

He tossed the souls into the demon-realm and stood. Licking his lips, he waited, His entire body a ball of tension.

The Fate stood. Her small frame made smaller by the massive angel standing guard over her. “I hate you,” she whispered.

“Do it,” he growled, impatiently.

She closed her eyes, her hands balling into fists. She glared at Caine a moment longer before her head shot back. Her eyes opened and pure golden light poured from them. Every muscle in her body held rigid as her mouth moved, speaking words he couldn’t hear.

He trembled. This was power. True power.

And as much as he hated allowing others such a thing, he gloried in the feel of her magic rolling over him in waves, like the rays of sunlight on a summer day.

A second later, she crumpled to the ground and hurled. He waited, annoyed, as she continued to dry heave onto his palace floor. When at last, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and pulled her knees up to her chin, he sat back down.

“What was the answer?”

The hatred in her eyes warmed his heart. “If you kill the angel and her demons, you will never gain the powers of The Immortal Ten.”

He bit his tongue until he tasted blood. Fuck this insufferable Fate and her inability to lie!

“Take her from my sight.”

The angel grasped her by the hair and dragged her from the room, while she shouted, swore, and threatened him. A waste of words from a prisoner.

Cain moved on. “Elias.”

The angel on the floor shifted and curl his broken wings around his body. His raspy breaths came in short and fast. “Yes, my lord.”

“Let the angels know. The traitors are not to be killed. But they must be stopped.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Soon they will learn that death would be a kindness compared to what I have planned for them.