Angelic Deals (Realms Unleashed: Red Angel Book 2) Read online

  “Great Angel Gabriel,” I said cautiously. When addressing powerful immortal beings, especially the ones who could wipe the floor with either my normal or full Red Angel form, one could never go wrong with stacking honorifics.

  His expression remained unreadable, as if I hadn’t spoken.

  I never thought I’d say this, but I wished it was Zel instead of Gabriel standing in my room. At least Zel’s presence carried a certain amount of warmth and mischief. At least I knew he had a heart.

  Gabriel’s was rumored to have been ripped out of him, leaving behind nothing but a hole and a ragged scar.

  “Close the door,” he said.

  My shoulder blades itched at the cool command. The Red Angel wanted to come out and show him who was boss.

  Unfortunately, judging from how my last fight against demons and angels had gone, that would not be me.

  Silently, I closed my only escape route. The door met the frame with a soft, final thud. If this were a horror movie, the camera would now pan away from my room and the air would fill with muffled screams of pain and terror.

  I took off my beanie hat, more to give my hands something to do rather than out of respect—though I supposed that didn’t hurt—and faced him. “To what do I owe the honor?”

  His gaze roamed the room, as if now that I was caged, I was no longer important enough to hold his focus. “I wish to engage your help.”

  “Huh?”

  “What do you know of the demon Malthuk?”

  I went very still. Why was he asking me, of all people, about Malthuk? Had he somehow guessed I had killed him? Had whoever had taken that photo actually seen the whole fight, and Gabriel had somehow connected me, the half-angel Ana Calliope Holt, to the Red Angel? My fingers tightened around the beanie and I swallowed hard. Being caught in a lie by an angel was not going to go well for me. On the other hand, what if he was only fishing?

  I decided on something truthful. “He was Acker’s summon.”

  The moment the words were out of my mouth, I wanted to kick myself. Was instead of is.

  “You are aware he no longer is, then.”

  That stone-carved expression of his gave me no hint as to how deep of a hole I’d just dug for myself. But surely, it had been long enough for Acker’s disappearance to be noticed. Especially since he had been conducting deals in the black market. “I’ve heard things.”

  Generally speaking, the only way a summon of that magnitude could earn their freedom was through the death of their summoner. A summoner powerful enough to capture a powerful angel or demon could tie their natural longevity to the beings’ immortality, making their life endless. Until someone offed them.

  “No one among our ranks freed him,” Gabriel said. “And the Hunters had no part in his freedom, either. And yet, he has been seen free of his summoner. Have you any idea of who was responsible for this?”

  Boy, did I ever. “No.”

  “Find this information for me.”

  He said it so matter-of-factly that it took me a couple of seconds to process the words.

  “What?”

  “I want you to find whoever freed him.”

  I almost wanted to look over my shoulder to check he wasn’t talking to someone else. “Me? But you must have better contacts out there.”

  “I have heard rumors about you.”

  My eyes widened into an excellent example of a deer-in-the-headlights look. Hopefully, he’d attribute that to surprise and not the complete, utter panic it was. “What kind of rumors?”

  “You are known to both the non-Hunter humans and the demons. You are in the perfect position to find Malthuk or learn how he was freed.”

  I squeezed the beanie. “I assume someone killed Acker.”

  “If they did, it was in a way that did not harm Malthuk. Those who saw him reported no injuries or weakening of power. He was left untouched by his freedom.” He took a step closer, and I leaned back into the door. “You have worked for Zel, you can work for me.”

  “But why?”

  “I wish to free Iriel.”

  My mouth fell open. Iriel was a female angel currently trapped as Armand Cabot’s summon. I had seen her at the botanical gardens while I spied on their summoner get-together—an Art Nouveau painting come to life.

  “Find Malthuk, or find who freed him and how they did it,” Gabriel said in a commanding tone.

  “Why not make a deal with the Hunters if you wish to free her?” While the Hunters took a relaxed approach to hunting summoners, a little pressure would likely get them to put an end to Cabot.

  Disgust showed in Gabriel’s expression. “The Hunters care not for angels. If they are involved, they will have no qualms in injuring Iriel during their quest to get rid of the summoner.”

  He made an excellent point—Hunters considered angels and demons expendable. Since both were immortal, it was hard to blame them, really.

  “Why not kill Cabot yourself?” I asked.

  “He will use Iriel to defend himself, and I do not want her harmed.”

  “Use a gun? Or an arrow?” Or I could shut up before he decided I didn’t need a tongue to figure out who had freed Malthuk.

  He looked at me like I was a particularly dense piece of wood. “Summoners are not stupid. Those who control angels force them to keep up an air barrier around them. It renders flying projectiles useless.”

  That made sense. Still… “Whoever freed Malthuk didn’t have to contend with angels’ air magic. It might not work with Cabot.” In fact, I was sure it wouldn’t. “Cabot will have heard of Acker’s disappearance and Malthuk’s freedom. He’ll be extra cautious. Probably went underground once the news hit the undernet and the black market.”

  “I have watched humans for a long time. They like to think themselves more intelligent than their peers and rejoice in others’ failings, sure in the faulty knowledge that the same doom would never apply to them. What works once often works twice.”

  He wasn’t wrong about that. Current example: me assuming Zel would be the only angel to pop into my room. Yet here we were.

  I opened my mouth to tell him that I couldn’t help him, and respectfully suggest he go find someone else, when a thought came to mind, and I closed it with a snap. If he went to someone else, that person might dig where I didn’t want them to, and might come perilously close to linking Malthuk to the Red Angel and Acker’s death by association.

  But if I investigated it, I could control how much information Gabriel received and when. After all, I was the only one around who knew exactly how Malthuk had been freed. Besides…

  “What’s in it for me?”

  I had no qualms in helping Gabriel get rid of another summoner, but this was the second time in less than a week that an angel was asking me to go forth and find myself, and it was high time I got paid for it.

  Gabriel appeared momentarily baffled by my question. “You are a half-angel. You will do this without the need for payment. Have you no loyalty?”

  That was funny coming from the angel who had basically laughed in my face when I’d asked to join the angel ranks at fifteen. I lifted my chin in defiance. “If you want to deal with Malthuk or whoever freed him and learn how they did it, you can deal with me, too.”

  His tone grew downright ice-cold. “What is it that you desire in exchange for your help?”

  I rubbed my arms, unsure. I no longer wanted to join the angels, money seemed a little banal and short-sighted, and after the events of last week, I was fed up with magical weapons.

  Then inspiration struck. “A favor!” Yes, that felt right. I pointed at him, realized that was a bad idea, and lowered the offending digit. “In exchange for my help, you will owe me a favor.”

  For once, I’d be the one owed the favor. Dang, that felt so good I even grinned. An angel like Gabriel could come in handy in a myriad of ways. What’s more, an ancient angel like Gabriel might have information at his disposal I could only ever hope to dream about. He might even have some idea about
how to free the souls stuck in my wings.

  He considered this for a few seconds. “No. A favor is too big a prize for a simple name.”

  Wait till he found out what Zel had traded one of his feathers for. “Then we have no deal.”

  I braced myself for the explosion of pain in my head as he used his angel voice to put the fear of everything holy in me, as Zel liked to do whenever I pissed him off.

  He didn’t. Instead, his eyes took on a faraway look. “However, it might be fitting payment if your investigation rids the world of Iriel’s summoner.”

  I spoke slowly, wanting to make sure I had gotten it right. “You want me to kill her summoner?”

  “I want you to help me free Iriel. How you go about it is up to you. As long as she is not harmed.”

  My heart began to pound with excitement. Help him free Iriel in exchange for a favor? A favor with no attached limits? That, I could definitely do. “We have a deal.”

  His expression didn’t change. He didn’t touch me to cement the agreement or snarl his disgust at finding himself having to depend on a lowbie part-angel like me. “If she is harmed, the pain will be repeated a hundredfold on your person.”

  My blood chilled at his tone. I had to force my mouth to form my answer. “I understand.”

  “You will start this duty right away.”

  “Of course,” I agreed, glad his tone had returned to its normal commanding self.

  He retrieved something from inside a pocket and tossed it my way. I caught it in the nick of time—a small rock with a crystal embedded inside.

  “Use that when you have something to report. Do not dwell.”

  Having said that, he disappeared.

  I stared at my room, suddenly so mundane and un-angelic: a bed, a desk, a night-table crate, and a shelf. The rock he’d given me didn’t fare any better. It wasn’t especially beautiful or colorful, although I sure hoped the crystal part wasn’t someone’s crystallized fingertip, because when you talked about magical stuff, you never knew. Just in case, I left the rock on the desk and wiped my hands with my beanie.

  What the heck had I agreed to?

  Dropping onto my bed, I buried my face in my hands. Sure, finding out an angel needed your help was a boost to one’s ego, and saying no hadn’t even entered my mind. Didn’t I already have enough problems with the photo and Zel and well, pretty much my entire life? Did I need to add promising to help kill more summoners or else incur the wrath of angels to the mix?

  My thoughts went down that particular spiral of doom for a few minutes before I remembered it was for a good cause. Malthuk and all the other souls would no doubt be extra glad once I figured out how to get them out of hell. And if Gabriel couldn’t help with that, I was sure I could find another way to put the favor to good use.

  Maybe I’d ask for money, anyway. I had an inkling the retirement age for someone in my situation was on the low side. And by retirement, I meant demise by way of luck running out.

  The spiral of doom beckoned.

  No. What I needed was a plan. Things always turned out better with well-thought plans and lists.

  First thing—find where Cabot lived and what his weak spot was.

  Without this basic information, I had nothing. I’d worry about the whole murdering a summoner—again—later. If I played my cards right, I might only need to point at Cabot and have Gabriel be the one to rain fury on the man.

  Cheered by the thought, I left the bed, put my beanie on, and dialed Sol. Normally, I would text her, but I didn’t want to leave incriminating evidence behind.

  She answered on the second ring. “Ana! What’s up?”

  Her voice chased the remaining gloom away. “Nothing much. Can we meet later? I need to do some research, and I could use your help.”

  “Did you get a new job?” she asked, all excited. We had brainstormed how to get more income during our downtimes, and she had floated the idea of us becoming some kind of investigators. I couldn’t wait to hear her response when I told her my future was apparently more in the hitman lane.

  “Kind of. I’ll tell you later. When do you finish your shift?”

  Sol worked at her mother’s shop, Keys & Bits, specializing in all things magical from simple good luck charm souvenirs to pieces of magic-filled crystallized human parts.

  “Not until the evening,” she answered mournfully.

  “That boring, huh?”

  “The opposite,” Sol said with a sigh. “People keep coming to peek at the shop like they’re going to find bits of Malthuk on the floor. And none of them buys anything.”

  “Rude.”

  “Mom already had words with Ramón about telling Hunters to stop coming to gawk, but I don’t think he did anything about it. I think he thinks if I’m busy dealing with people, I won’t have the time to meet up with you.”

  I laughed at that. Breaking our friendship was one of Ramón’s top goals in life.

  He was going to have to do much better than this.

  “You could drop by,” she suggested. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

  I pondered this but decided against it. I didn’t want random people hearing parts of our conversation. “Better we meet after you’re done.”

  “What are you looking for?” she asked eagerly. “I could get started.”

  I opened the door of my room and went toward the common area. My stomach twisted to remind me I still had to feed it something other than anxiety and panic. “I’d rather not talk about it over the phone.” I still wasn’t completely sure Ramón hadn’t somehow bugged it. “Tell you la—”

  I froze.

  “Ana? You cut off.”

  Zel lounged on the sofa.

  THREE

  Zel’s arms extended over the sofa’s back, leaving the wall of his chest and abs a resplendent beacon of muscles. His black, tousled hair contrasted with his tan skin. A placid smile stretched his lips.

  “Uhm,” I said.

  “Ana?” Sol repeated, slightly alarmed.

  “What did Gabriel want?” Zel asked in a silky-smooth voice.

  Hell. “Sol? The KFC is here. Gotta go.”

  I ended the call and pointed at him with my phone. “Why are you here?”

  He picked at a loose thread on the sofa’s fabric. If this were any other angel, I’d drop to sit on the floor, so I’d be lower than him as a sign of respect, but Zel and I had a history now. A history of him giving no damns about respecting me.

  “I thought I’d drop in to see how you were doing with the Red Angel investigation.” His smile amped up until I was tempted to cover my eyes to stop the brightness from permanently damaging my sight. “I didn’t expect to stand in a waiting line.”

  “You’re sitting.” Oh, no. No. Words, please come back into my mouth.

  His brows arched, then his smile turned wicked as he unfolded himself from the sofa and came to stand in front of me.

  “Better?” he asked, mischief dancing in his red eyes.

  Why had I thought, even for a second, that I had missed him? “Much, thanks.”

  “I aim to please. What did Gabriel want?”

  Zel was like a curious cat. He’d prod and prod until he learned what was in the cup by way of pushing it off the table. Infallible method, but kind of sucky when you were the cup in question.

  I studied his expression intently. “How much did you hear?”

  He tilted his head, studying me back. “Nothing. I sensed his presence, but he made an air barrier around you two. No sound escaped.”

  Interesting. I hadn’t sensed Gabriel or Zel because they’d kept their power leashed, but I supposed it was different for full angels.

  Zel took a step closer and poked my belly. My breath caught.

  “Are you going to answer? Hmm?”

  I was going to have to, because there was no getting rid of him now that his curiosity had been aroused. Besides, he might prove to be useful down the road.

  “He asked me to find someone,” I sa
id. Why did he have to be so beautiful? A few days away from him, and his face dazzled me all over again.

  “The Red Angel?”

  Good news—no longer dazed. More like chilled after a bucket of cold water. I had forgotten for a while there that he wanted to find the Red Angel. “Someone else.”

  He tested the solidity of my midsection by poking it some more. “Who?” His tone insinuated he was surprised there was anyone else worth looking for. Why in all realms did he have to be obsessed with the Red Angel, of all things? Why did life enjoy laughing at me like this?

  “Cabot. The summoner.” I slapped his hand away. “Can you take on Iriel in a fight?”

  Ana, come now was written all over his expression as he answered, “She is not more powerful than I am.”

  Which told me nothing, but since he had a knack for disappearing when things got tough, it didn’t matter, anyway. “Gabriel wants me to find Cabot and Iriel.”

  “You’re going to be a busy bee.”

  That snagged all my attention. What did he know that I didn’t? “Why?”

  “My favor comes first. What have you found about the Red Angel?”

  Oh, right, that. “I’m waiting for some of my contacts to find whoever took that photo.” Not entirely a lie.

  He gave me a knowing look. “Surely, there must be other ways to figure out who she is.” His hand came up to tug at the zipper of my jacket. Up, down. Up, down. “Have you forgotten about me, half-angel?”

  I winced and stepped away, covering my ears. “Stop that.” His angel voice bounced painfully inside my skull for a few more heartbeats before fading. Once it was gone, I glowered at him. “Whoever it was might be gone, anyway. She was probably just passing by. Why don’t you look in Air for her?”

  You might wonder why I wasn’t worried he’d link me to the Red Angel right away, but part-angels like me weren’t supposed to have full forms. It was also the reason nobody in the undernet had considered any of the very few part-angels currently living in the surroundings.