Page 50 of Camael
Amelia gathered power for her nastiest spell yet. The Key blazed at her throat as she wove it into javelins that phased as they were thrown. When they hit, they erased minions. Fiveexperiments vanished mid-scream. Their essence was reduced to piles of viscera.
"The east wing is clear." Remi's voice carried raw grief and rage. "There are no survivors here. Just... remains. It looks like his failures ended up as raw materials."
"The bell tower!" Jo pointed to where a handful of minions were banging on the metal. Jo's wings carried her through shattered stained glass. "They're signaling something. The bell has been turned into some kind of beacon!"
Amelia realized what they were doing too late. The air rippled and screamed as Jeremiel materialized among them. His midnight wings filled the space with toxic dust that ate away at the blessed stone. His laugh scraped across her senses like sandpaper over crystal.
"You finally found me, brother." Jeremiel pranced around as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He was taunting Camael while his minions fought. "You’re just in time to witness the end of everything you hold dear."
"It's over." Camael's Sword of Light cut through a minion while he spoke. "Surrender or die. Those are your only options now."
Jeremiel's smile twisted into something inhuman. Those teeth were razor sharp now. His eyes were swirling with a void. "This was just one node in a much larger web. Lucifer's power spreads while you play hero. When the barriers shatter?" His laugh was like breaking bones. "That's when existence learns what true chaos feels like."
Camael launched himself at his brother. His wings blazed white against Jeremiel’s corrupted darkness. His blade sang for blood as he pressed forward. Each strike was meant to disable rather than kill. He was still trying to save what was already lost. Amelia felt for her archangel. She couldn’t imagine how hard this was for Camael.
The fight went vertical as Jeremiel took to the air. Camaelfollowed. Their wings carried them through the roof in an explosion of timber and slate. The clash of metals echoed like thunder while centuries of shared training turned lethal. Every move they'd practiced together was now aimed at destroying the other. Amelia raced outside to watch what was happening. The Rowan sisters followed suit while the AORs stayed and fought the minions.
"Still following the rules, brother?" Jeremiel shouted. It was clear to Amelia that his words cut Camael deeper than blades. "Can't you feel it? The pure freedom when you stop letting ancient laws chain you?"
"All I feel is what's left of my brother drowning in madness." Camael's voice cracked with grief even as his blade left trails of holy fire. Each strike was precise as it searched for a way through defenses he'd helped create. "Let me end this clean. Before corruption burns away everything you were."
Hoping to help Camael, Amelia channeled her hybrid power through the Key. She channeled it into binding chains. She wanted to give Camael the chance to save his brother. For one perfect moment, it worked. Jeremiel's wings became tangled in twilight bonds.
His laugh carried echoes of the void between stars. "Impressive, little witch. But did you really think you could bind me with the very energies I'm learning to corrupt? Your parlor tricks are nothing compared to what's coming. The old barriers are already starting to crack."
His wings flared wide, and he shattered her bonds. The backlash sent her stumbling. Power recoiled through her system like a snapped rubber band. Before anyone could react, Jeremiel vanished in a burst of toxic energy. He left traces of evil in the air like a bad perfume.
"Son of a bitch." Camael cursed as he landed next to her. He helped her up and looked her over. “Are you alright?”
Amelia nodded and placed a hand over his heart. “I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt.”
Camael nodded and cursed. "We almost had him. The fucker escaped. AGAIN!"
Amelia wanted to comfort him but her expanded senses were locked onto something else. It was something the Key was showing her. It was an artifact that hummed with recognition as she traced Jeremiel's retreat through the city's spiritual foundation. His corrupted grace left a signature she could track now that she knew what to look for.
"I can find him," she told Camael. "The Key shows me exactly how he's twisting the energies. And more importantly, it's showing me where that corruption leads."
Camael smiled as his ice-blue eyes blazed. "He’s going back to Lucifer, isn’t he?"
"After he retrieves an artifact, he will be." Her smile was pure predator as power gathered around her hands. Jeremiel couldn’t get away from them this time. She had a lock on this asshole and was ready to teach him a lesson.
CHAPTER 19
Camael's wings cut through pre-dawn as they raced back toward the French Quarter. Each beat of those massive white pinions left trails of divine fire that painted the darkness with holy light. It was a beautiful sight. Not that anyone except other angels could see it.
His witch's discovery of Jeremiel's trail had energized his battle-weary warriors. Fury still burned in his chest like a sacred flame. The memory of those tortured fledglings would haunt him for centuries to come. Their twisted bodies and broken wings were a testament to his brother's madness. Jeremiel had much to answer for, and Camael intended to collect. He no longer hoped there was anything left to save in Jeremiel. He was lost to them completely.
Amelia directed him deep into bayou country. Thick cypress trees dripped with Spanish moss and something vile. It looked like shit they’d pulled out of the La Brea tar pits long ago. Everything felt wrong to Camael’s senses. It was heavy with power that made his magical core recoil.
"He's channeling through something ancient," Amelia toldhim as her hands moved through fetid air. "There was some kind of artifact buried out here before the city was built."
Camael's wings cut through the darkness that was as thick as sin. "The indigenous tribes knew about the Oldest Ones. They often left warnings in places like this."
Camael followed her instructions as he prepared himself to do what was needed when they found Jeremiel. Their strike force moved in formation over murky waters. His Angels of Retribution and their midnight wings blazed hot while the Rowan sisters maintained shields against whatever lurked below. Not all those ripples were from gators and they didn’t want to be taken out before they reached their destination.
"There." Amelia pointed toward a mound rising from black water. Old oaks grew thick around it. Their branches were twisted into unnatural shapes. "That's no natural formation. The whole thing's saturated with evil."
"Formation Delta," Camael ordered. His voice carried over the swamp's strange silence. No frogs were singing. No birds were calling. Even the insects knew better than to make noise. "Jo, Az. Clear the perimeter. Mal, Rami. You're with me. The rest of you coordinate with the Dark Warriors as they arrive. No one gets in or out."
