Darker Angels

Sorry, gang. Totally brain dead because work is trying diligently to kill me. I'll try to say something intelligent later.



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Cain sat eyeing one of his subordinates as though he wanted to make them explode on the spot where they were standing.



“Do you mean to tell me that they were taken? Again? By whom?”



“It . . . it isn’t certain, Sire. B . . . but the energy signatures and the lingering names can only belong to two people.”



“I swear if that wretched little bitch has thieved them again . . .” Cain snarled.



“It wasn’t a female, Sire,” the man stammered. “It was two men.”



Cain’s attention fully snapped to his minion. “Who might those two men be?”



“I . . . I’ve been trying to tell you, Sire. It seems to have been . . . Bradley Crawford . . . a . . . and Isakk Reicher,” the man stammered. Even saying their names sent a jolt of fear racing down his spine.



“Oracle and Mastermind?!” Cain asked disbelievingly. “Well, that’s . . . unexpected. Anything else?”



“No, Sire.”



“Fine. Out!” he said, waving the bowing, simpering idiot back out of his office. The other man scurried to do his bidding and Cain shook his head. “I’m surrounded by incompetents. So, the Vision and the Vice have come out to play along with Violence. Interesting. I wonder what they have planned for my pets,” he mused thoughtfully.





Reicher smirked as he shoved both men into one of the spare bedrooms. “I wouldn’t try to magick my way out if I were you. The Mistress does excellent warding spells so if you did manage to get out, you’d be nice and toasty before you got anywhere near freedom. Now, I’ll go find *your* Mistress and see what she wants done with the two of you,” he said, blowing them a kiss then shutting the door.



He wandered down the hallway to where he felt the most people gathered and paused for a moment, sorting through the tangle of emotions and thoughts. Then groaned and rolled his eyes as he managed to lock onto one energy signature in particular. He gritted his teeth and opened the door. Let the games begin, he thought. And they did. Instantly.



“Hmmm. Red hair, obnoxious, totally brain dead, must be Schuldig,” Skye’s husband said, glaring at him.



“It's Reicher. I haven’t been Schuldig for centuries,” he corrected. “And if you want an accurate picture of someone who fits that description, go look in a mirror.”



“Round one, everybody, place your bets,” Star said cheerfully. The Red Shaman team, who were completely used to Skye’s husband, Sunny and Reicher trying to kill eachother again, rolled their eyes and ignored them. Everyone else stared in horrified fascination as the fight went from intelligent verbal sparring to “Fuck you!” and “Gods, I hate your guts!” in a matter of minutes. That was just the English, there was also a barrage of German, Dutch, Japanese, Romanian, Russian, Thai and a few other languages not readily identifiable though everyone there knew what was being said had to be bad.



Oracle came over to stand beside Skye. They gave one another a long suffering look, knowing their respective spouses would be nearly impossible to live with for the next few hours. When it looked like they were about to come to blows almost everyone vacated the room.



“Bradley,” Skye said, leaning her head against her longtime friend’s chest.



“Yes, Skye?”



“If they kill eachother again, will you marry me just so we can both get some peace and quiet in a relationship?”



Oracle’s lips twitched a little but he looked as though he was seriously contemplating the offer. “Proposal accepted. We’re leaving now,” he called to the two men snarling at one another.



“I doubt they heard you.”



“I doubt they care at the moment.”



“Too true,” Skye said, shaking her head and leading the way out the door. “Remind me again why I married that man.”



“I was going to ask you to do the same thing in reference to my situation.”





Gun and Abel were once again walking in the gardens. Abel sat down hard on one of the benches and put his head in his hands. Gun sat down and Abel leaned into him putting his head on the other man’s shoulder.



“Gun, I have to go back. I can’t just leave her there in the ruins.”



Gun knew instantly what he was talking about. “Abel, I think it might be better to let one of us go. Just in case something . . . untoward has happened. I’m sorry but I have a very *bad* feeling about this. I wouldn’t want you to be any more upset than you have to be.”



“I’ll live, Gun.”



“I know that. But I’d spare you the pain that Taka went through if I could.”



“I know you would. I know you all love Takara very much. What exactly happened with her? I know she lost her husband during the wars but other than that . . .”



“It isn’t something she widely broadcasts. Taka is my sister by choice rather than chance. She found Hunt and I when we were wandering the world not knowing who or what we were. She brought us to a safe place, protected us, made sure we found our parents. Fortunately, our parents were together when we found them all. She was my mother as well as my sister in so many ways. She was the first person I ever really loved aside from Hunt, Circe and Uri. But to answer your question, when Christopher died and then his body disappeared she just . . . fell apart. Cut off all of her beautiful hair in mourning, wouldn’t eat or sleep and refused to speak to anyone for weeks. Even Watari couldn’t get her to come out of the Pyx chamber in Westminster Abbey. Blaze’s father finally went and dragged her literally kicking and screaming out of there. I think a lot of it was due to a massive case of survivor’s guilt. He’d died while she lived and she couldn’t protect him.”



Abel nodded solemnly. “I understand exactly what she felt.”



“I thought you might.”





Cain smiled and stroked her long red hair almost affectionately. “So lovely, even after everything that made you what you were is many centuries gone. But you still have your uses, my dear. You will be my ultimate Queen against Abel’s Knight.”