Curse of the Fallen by Eve Archer
Chapter Fifteen
Dominick
“You’re sure this is a good idea?” I asked Rami, craning my neck to look at one of the black follow cars in our motorcade. My second-in-command sat next to me in the back seat of the sizable SUV, the two cars in front of us leading the way through the city and driven by our fellow Fallen who’d assembled with us at the airport.
We drove in a familiar tactical formation with the lead cars swinging out to the sides of the two-lane road so no other cars could flank us. Despite our overabundance of caution, the route had been uncrowded with no indication that anyone was aware of our arrival.
“If we left her in the plane, we’d have to leave a fleet of Fallen to keep her from making a run for it or trying to fly to plane away.”
I couldn’t see Sara through the tinted windows of the SUV behind us, but I knew she was there, sitting snugly, if reluctantly, between two of the Fallen. “She can fly a jet?”
“No,” Rami said with begrudging admiration. “But I wouldn’t put it past her to try.”
Even though he was complaining about Sara, I could tell he liked her. I only hoped it was a fleeting fancy, since he’d never spent more than a few days with one woman, and I didn’t want to deal with a furious Ella when my friend’s attentions faded.
“Besides,” Rami added. “We need all our Fallen with us, and Sara refused to be left behind when we located Ella.”
“As long as she doesn’t get in the way,” I growled. Even though she’d provided us with the location of Ella, Sara had already cost me precious time and considerable patience.
We wound our way through the outskirts of the Moroccan city, the buildings low and the roads dusty. The sun glowed a fiery shade of red as it sank to the horizon, bathing the brown stone and mud-brick houses in gold light. In the distance, undulating sounds of the call to prayer rang out.
Signs were small and dusty, the familiar swirls of Arabic indicating street names that meant nothing to me. The city had changed dramatically since I’d last visited. The roads were no longer dirt paths, and I spotted as many people walking in Western clothes as in the traditional white robes and red flat-topped hats.
I rolled down the car window, breathing in the hot, dry air and the aroma of dust and livestock that mingled with a faint whiff of braising meat dripping in spices. It was a sticky, resinous smell that reminded me of the souks that populated the ancient city, and for a moment, it transported me back in time. There were some things that didn’t change, I thought as I rolled the window back up and focused on the impending battle.
“And we are sure we have the right location?” I asked, grasping the hand grip overhead as the car swung wide to take a turn.
“Once we had the city, it wasn’t hard to track down a villa that had been procured by the Solano organization,” Rami said. “Or, I should say, one of the Solano’s shell companies.”
I gritted my teeth. “So, the Solanos are behind this.”
“But not the one we originally suspected.”
I grunted an acknowledgment that I’d been wrong about Mateo Solano and had underestimated the younger son, Anthony, although I was somewhat vindicated by the fact that I hadn’t liked the man from the moment I’d laid eyes on him. But to be honest, that was more jealousy than instinct into his character. I blamed myself for not seeing his potential as a legitimate threat. A mistake I would not make again.
I tightened my grip as I thought about Ella in the possession of the handsome young Italian, and what I would do to Anthony if he’d so much as breathed on her.
The cars in front of me careened down a narrower road and then barreled through steel gates without slowing. Our car followed, swerving to a stop in from of an impressive villa with wide arched front doors and windows shaped like minarets. My heart pounded at the possibility that Ella was inside.
Before the car had come to a complete stop, I was out the door, with Rami close at my heels. We ran toward the front doors, throwing our shoulders into them so that they flew open. Before I could take in much of the open foyer, a blade whizzed by my head.
Ducking, I ran forward toward the demon warriors who were leaping down from the curved staircase and pouring in from French doors leading outside. My fellow Fallen were by my side as we fended off the demon attack, wings unfurling as we fought the dark demons who seemed to multiply from thin air.
A flash of glossy, black hair drew my attention, and my heart raced as Jaya leapt over my head from above and landed in a crouch on the marble floor.
“Nice of you to visit,” she purred, holding curves blades in her hands as she faced off against me.
“You have something that belongs to me.” I unfurled my wings and spun on my heel, slashing my massive wingspan through the air and taking out several demons in the process.
Jaya dodged, diving across the floor and coming up with a grin on her face. “I always liked it when you brought out your wings, Dom. Of course, I prefer to see you in nothing but.”
I didn’t return her grin, unwanted memories of nights spent with the seductive succubus haunting my mind and making my gut churn with regret. What had seemed like an amusing distraction at the time had come back to torment me. Like always, I was paying for my fall from grace.
“Where is she?” I bellowed, running at Jaya.
Her eyes flickered with fear as I lifted her and slammed her to the wall, pinning her in place with one arm across her neck and my wings curled around us to keep any of her fellow demons from coming to her rescue.
“Gone.” The fear in Jaya’s eyes hardened to malice then to amusement. “He took her with him when he heard you were coming.”
Disappointment washed over me, and I squeezed my arm against her neck. I saw no deception in her eyes, but I couldn’t trust her words. I could never trust a demon. “You lie.”
“Why would I lie?” Her voice was choked and high. “I got what I wanted. You and your Fallen are here, aren’t you?”
“Another trap?” I watched her face redden as I pressed harder.
“You used to love our games,” she gasped. “Has the human made you dull, Dominick?”
Strong hands gripped my shoulders, wrenching me off Jaya. I twisted to attack the demon, but he anticipated my move and dodged it, slipping around my wings and grabbing Jaya by the hand. As he wrenched her away from me, I spotted a burly demon lunging at Rami with a pair of menacing knives. Rami was already on the floor, blood smeared across his cheek, and his suit jacket in tatters. I ignored Jaya being pulled away and ran to help Rami, lifting the broad-chested demon into the air before he could strike and tossing him across the room.
“Thanks.” Rami let me hoist him up and gave me a weary smile. “Are we having fun yet?”
“Jaya said that Ella’s gone,” I told him.
Rami gave me a look that told me what he thought of the demon’s word, but he nodded. “I’ve seen no sign of her, or of anyone other than demons.”
We both ducked as a demon flew over our heads and crashed into the stone bannister of the arched staircase. I jerked my head toward the stairs. “The bedrooms.”
Bursting into the air, we flew to the second level of the villa, landing and rushing down one hallway and then another, bursting into room after room.
“Nothing,” I said when I rejoined Rami in the hallway. “She’s gone.”
From the screams and crashes downstairs, it was apparent that the battle raged on.
“We need to leave,” Rami said. “If Ella’s gone, and the demons knew we were coming, this can’t end well for us.”
“Or the demons.” There hadn’t been a demon uprising against us like this in centuries. I didn’t want to think what this would mean for the tenuous truce between demons and the Fallen, and what all-out war would look like. Thoughts of Mastema, the demon prince, sent a trickle of fear down my spine.
“Let’s go.” I ran to the top of the stairs and flew down through the foyer and out the front door, calling out to my fellow Fallen to join me. When Rami and I touched down outside the villa, Sara jumped from the car before either of us could tuck in our wings. I hadn’t realistically expected to keep the truth of who we were hidden during open demon warfare—and in my eagerness to save Ella, I hadn’t cared--but tucking in our wings would have been a good idea.
Her mouth dangled open as she gaped at us. “What the actual fuck?”
