‹ Prequel: Entanglement
Status: Active!
Engulfed
01.
An explosion rocked the still night, flames leaping up to lick at the darkness like hellish, over-eager puppies. The slender figure of a young girl walked, unharmed, through the smoke and flame, spreading glossy black and white wings and taking to the sky, leaving the old barn in red and orange ruins.
“Hey where’d you go last night?” Azlynn paused while towel-drying her hair to look at Dante. His hair was still mussed from sleep and he was watching her curiously.
“Just out for a night flight,” Azlynn said lightly, cringing inside. She didn’t know why she was keeping this a secret from Dante. He wasn’t likely to judge her; in fact he’s probably commend her. Having been recently appointed a Guardian Angel, it was Azlynn’s duty to protect the innocent. When she sensed someone in danger, she saved them. But Azlynn was more than just an angel; she was also half demon, and after defeating her father at the Festival of Souls, she had inherited his powers and rank. Her inner angel and demon were often warring with each other, and Azlynn had taken to adding vigilante justice to her angelic rescue missions.
Meaning she did things like tie rapists up in an abandoned barn and set it on fire.
Azlynn supposed she didn’t tell Dante because she was slightly ashamed of herself. She had always sworn to not give in to her demonic nature, but here she was killing people.
“Got a text from Drew this morning,” she went on, trying to take her mind off her brooding thoughts. “They found the last True Form Society headquarters. They have officially been declared disbanded.”
“Great,” Dante said, leaning back against his pillow. “Don’t suppose they found who we’ve been looking for though?”
“Sorry, no,” Azlynn said gently. “But you want to find them first anyway, don’t you?” she teased. Dante smiled wolfishly. She and Dante had been spending the last eight months tracking down wayward members of the True Form Society in search of the ones who had killed Dante’s parents when he was a child. Besides that, they were searching for Tedantrios; an ancient Blood Mage who was planning to destroy Heaven. After they had uncovered and foiled his initial plan, he had disappeared, and they hadn’t found a trace of him since.
“So how is Drew?” Dante asked. “Does he still sound like someone kicked his puppy in the face?”
Azlynn sighed. “He’s still pretty moody, yes. Can you blame him?”
“Nah. But I think he needs to stop moping around and get out more. He’s been throwing himself into his work way more than he should be. It’s not healthy. I wonder where Charlotte went, anyway?”
“Mmm,” Azlynn muttered, glamouring her body so that she looked vaguely more human; making her completely violet eyes have distinguishable irises and pupils, hiding her fangs, and pulling her wings in until they appeared as a giant tattoo on her back. The black snake and white rose markings that ran from her hairline to her wrists she left visible. Charlotte was a Skinwalker who had helped them bring down the True Form Society; and she was also Sergeant Andrew Miller’s soul mate. Charlotte, however, had lost all her memories of this when the demon Leviathan marked her and made her his familiar. She had freaked out when they returned to Earth and Drew tried to tell her that they were lovers, and she fled California without telling anyone where she was going.
Azlynn knew, though. Charlotte was in Canada with a werewolf pack. She had seen it through the Far-Sight that she had inherited from her father when she killed him. But she hadn’t told anyone where Charlotte was. She wanted to tell Drew, but decided that knowing would do him more harm than good, since he’d head straight there searching for Charlotte only to have his heart shattered a little more when she told him off and ran away again.
Charlotte’s life didn’t involve any of them anymore, and Azlynn didn’t think it her right to out Charlotte’s hiding place. Just then Dante’s phone started ringing. He snatched it up.
“What?” he said lazily. Azlynn shook her head, but froze when she saw the look on his face. Dante sat up with a start.
“Where?” He listened to the caller for a moment. “We’ll be there.”
“Will?” Azlynn asked as soon as he’d hung up. Dante nodded grimly. “Lawson needs us in New Mexico within the hour. A bunch of nuns were slaughtered in a convent. All their blood was taken, but not by vampires.”
“I think Tedantrios has finally decided to make his next move,” Azlynn said. “And this time he’s definitely playing to win.”
“Hey where’d you go last night?” Azlynn paused while towel-drying her hair to look at Dante. His hair was still mussed from sleep and he was watching her curiously.
“Just out for a night flight,” Azlynn said lightly, cringing inside. She didn’t know why she was keeping this a secret from Dante. He wasn’t likely to judge her; in fact he’s probably commend her. Having been recently appointed a Guardian Angel, it was Azlynn’s duty to protect the innocent. When she sensed someone in danger, she saved them. But Azlynn was more than just an angel; she was also half demon, and after defeating her father at the Festival of Souls, she had inherited his powers and rank. Her inner angel and demon were often warring with each other, and Azlynn had taken to adding vigilante justice to her angelic rescue missions.
Meaning she did things like tie rapists up in an abandoned barn and set it on fire.
Azlynn supposed she didn’t tell Dante because she was slightly ashamed of herself. She had always sworn to not give in to her demonic nature, but here she was killing people.
“Got a text from Drew this morning,” she went on, trying to take her mind off her brooding thoughts. “They found the last True Form Society headquarters. They have officially been declared disbanded.”
“Great,” Dante said, leaning back against his pillow. “Don’t suppose they found who we’ve been looking for though?”
“Sorry, no,” Azlynn said gently. “But you want to find them first anyway, don’t you?” she teased. Dante smiled wolfishly. She and Dante had been spending the last eight months tracking down wayward members of the True Form Society in search of the ones who had killed Dante’s parents when he was a child. Besides that, they were searching for Tedantrios; an ancient Blood Mage who was planning to destroy Heaven. After they had uncovered and foiled his initial plan, he had disappeared, and they hadn’t found a trace of him since.
“So how is Drew?” Dante asked. “Does he still sound like someone kicked his puppy in the face?”
Azlynn sighed. “He’s still pretty moody, yes. Can you blame him?”
“Nah. But I think he needs to stop moping around and get out more. He’s been throwing himself into his work way more than he should be. It’s not healthy. I wonder where Charlotte went, anyway?”
“Mmm,” Azlynn muttered, glamouring her body so that she looked vaguely more human; making her completely violet eyes have distinguishable irises and pupils, hiding her fangs, and pulling her wings in until they appeared as a giant tattoo on her back. The black snake and white rose markings that ran from her hairline to her wrists she left visible. Charlotte was a Skinwalker who had helped them bring down the True Form Society; and she was also Sergeant Andrew Miller’s soul mate. Charlotte, however, had lost all her memories of this when the demon Leviathan marked her and made her his familiar. She had freaked out when they returned to Earth and Drew tried to tell her that they were lovers, and she fled California without telling anyone where she was going.
Azlynn knew, though. Charlotte was in Canada with a werewolf pack. She had seen it through the Far-Sight that she had inherited from her father when she killed him. But she hadn’t told anyone where Charlotte was. She wanted to tell Drew, but decided that knowing would do him more harm than good, since he’d head straight there searching for Charlotte only to have his heart shattered a little more when she told him off and ran away again.
Charlotte’s life didn’t involve any of them anymore, and Azlynn didn’t think it her right to out Charlotte’s hiding place. Just then Dante’s phone started ringing. He snatched it up.
“What?” he said lazily. Azlynn shook her head, but froze when she saw the look on his face. Dante sat up with a start.
“Where?” He listened to the caller for a moment. “We’ll be there.”
“Will?” Azlynn asked as soon as he’d hung up. Dante nodded grimly. “Lawson needs us in New Mexico within the hour. A bunch of nuns were slaughtered in a convent. All their blood was taken, but not by vampires.”
“I think Tedantrios has finally decided to make his next move,” Azlynn said. “And this time he’s definitely playing to win.”