THE WEIGHT OF his backpack slung over his shoulder gave the feeling it was filled with boulders, instead of his work scrubs and sneakers. His head was getting in on the action; playing a round of what-the-hells not even Excedrin was taming. His body wasn’t in any better shape, as he hissed from the pain lacing across his back. A gurgle from his stomach begged him for food, and at the same time his upper gums ached and his canines descended. The nightly war of his cravings began. Ashe was ready to devour any type of meat by the bucket-load. He had been going back for seconds, and thirds some nights. His hunger never seemed to abate. As he patted the noisemaker, he half-mused he should have gained well over twenty pounds with his recent eating habits, but he hadn’t. He had lost enough weight to worry Nurse Amy into running a blood panel on him. The only thing it showed was Ashe was anemic. No BFD.

The air carried a bitter bite to it, as he lumbered on toward the tram, and with any luck, it would numb him enough for a few minutes of relief. The only thing the cold wind couldn’t ease was his mind, as it continued racing with thoughts of Bels. She made up for the other half of the cravings he wanted to sate. It had been two weeks since she ran out of his apartment, leaving him confused, on his knees. Although there was something he could do about the former problem, it was the latter one he focused his concern on. Pulling his cell out, he checked it for the hundredth time, hoping she would call or at the very least send him a text saying she was all right. “Dammit, lass, would you let me know you’re fine? Is it so bloody hard?” A swelling storm raged in his heart, warring between concern and aggravation.

With a curt shove, he pushed the small device back into his coat pocket and whipped his head around at the sound of screaming. His heart kicked into high gear, as the metallic scent of blood punched up his nose, making his mouth salivate. Not sure if he should investigate it or call the CPD, he chose to listen to his instincts, not hesitating to follow the shrieking. Driven by an intense desire to tear apart whoever was causing tremendous pain, he pumped his arms and legs as though he were merely a puppet and something inside him was controlling him. The shouting echoed off the brick faced buildings, shooting escalating vibrations over his skin. Rounding the corner, he didn’t slow down, plunging deeper into the alleyway lit only by sparse moonlight. As his eyes quickly adjusted, his blood pulsed liquid fire through his veins. The aroma of blood made his lips peel back, but it was the scent of sulfur which nearly choked him.

Through the darkness, three males were bludgeoning two younger ones curled into fetal positions. A hellish roar escaped Ashe’s throat as he hauled after the males. A voracious need to destroy the males overwhelmed him, as he closed the distance in seconds, knocking the largest of the three assailants to the ground. His mouth stretched wide, and before he could call himself to heel, Ashe punched his teeth through the greasy flesh of the ringleader. The splash of oily liquid made him recoil, tearing the male’s flesh from his neck. The gaping wound was fatal, and if Ashe were in his right mind, he would’ve been horrified by his actions. But it didn’t stop him from taking down his next target. The consuming yearning to rip the male apart, limb from bloodied limb, charged him up as though someone had stuck a live wire in the back of his skull. His muscles bunched and coiled, readying for the strike. Lunging for the male, a guttural growl clawed out of him. He took down the second male, and received a hard right cross in the tumble. “You’re dead.” His voice dropped lower than he ever heard, nearly slurring his words through his elongated teeth and hunger.

The male fought back, hammering away at Ashe’s abdomen and face. Sneering at his prey, Ashe reared back, and slammed the male square in the nose with his forehead. The sound of bone crunching was almost as amusing as the sight of dark liquid spraying from busted nostrils. He didn’t wait another second. Slicing down into the male’s carotid artery, he latched on, punching his dental work through thick skin, and pulling back to reveal a mouth-sized hole of shredded muscle and sinews.

More screams echoed out into the night, but this time they were from Ashe’s victim, and not the pair of bodies lying in heaps on the ground. As the male beneath him struggled to kick him and dig his fingers into Ashe, Ashe spat out the meat between his teeth, and curled his lips into a twisted sneer. Seconds later, he was on the male once more, tearing apart the other side of his acidic tasting skin.

He barely registered someone calling out his name before his body hit the brick wall, slamming his skull off the hard surface. Ashe had no idea how long he was knocked out for, or why he had a putrid taste on his tongue, but the fuzzy face trying to clear up in his view was somewhat recognizable. “Ashe! Ashe, can you hear me? It’s Ferrian. Come on, buddy, you gotta wake up for me.”

Hey, mate, she’s talking to you. Listen to the lass. He blinked back the stars circling his head, trying to focus on the face above his. “I know you.” His throat felt raw, thick with gravel.

“Yeah, you do. Guys, a little help over here.”

“What about the humans? We can’t leave them here,” a male asked with a whiny tine to his voice. Ashe worked harder to get his sense back online.

“Haven’t they taught you guys about scrubbing minds yet? Isn’t it like the first class you take. Human memory wipe one-o-one?”

“Real funny coming from a half-breed,” the male shot back.

“I’d watch what you say, Jeu,” another female spoke up. “Clearly you weren’t paying attention to what Ferrian can do. I wouldn’t cross her.”

“Can it, kids. Help him up. I need to call his Guardian,” Ferrian snapped, while cupping his face, studying him. For what reason, he had no idea. “How ya doing, Ashe? Hanging in there? Listen, you hit your head pretty hard. I’m thinking it’s best if we get you home.”

“Home? Sure, okay.” He tried to listen carefully, as she rose and two sets of hands pulled him off the ground. “Who are you?” he tried to ask, but it came out sounding more garbled with each syllable.

“Yeah, he’s all right. I’ll bring him back to his place. … No, don’t worry about it. I’ll stay there until she’s available. … Yeah, but ah … .look there’s something strange going on with him. I don’t know Remi. … Baby, listen I’ll try to explain it better when I get back.”

Ashe rolled his head around to triangulate Ferrian’s whereabouts. The more his vision cleared up, the more he thought he was losing his damned mind. One female, taller than Ferrian, glowed with an odd aura, radiating a spectrum of colors, like she was made from pure light. The males on either side of him, which Ashe quickly assessed to be twins, held him up by propping his arms around their necks, as he dangled between their meaty bodies.

“Yes. Geez, baby, this isn’t my first rodeo. … Okay, should I wait for Cass to get here first? … No, I’m not leaving trainees behind to guard the bodies! … Oh you’re gonna get it, buddy. Make no mistake, you’re in for a world of hurt when I get back.” A small laugh littered the air as she said her good-bye and pocketed the phone. “Love you, too, babe.”

“So? What’s the deal? Are we waiting or taking him home?” the other female asked.

“Sparks, I want you to watch the entrance, do you know how to put up a veil?”

“Sparks? Your name is Sparks?” Staring down the female, Ashe tried to hold on to the light. When he entered the alley, he could see things clear as day. The darkness masked everywhere he looked. Squinting his eyes, he barely found where the alley met the road.

“Yeah, you gotta a problem with it, batboy? And to answer your question, I do. It’s a natural gift.”

“Good, get going. You two, who’s who again?”

“I’m Jeu, this is Dai.” Ashe swiveled his head back and forth to take inventory of who was who.

“How the hell can anyone tell you apart?”

“Dai has green eyes, I have blue.”

“Good to know. I need you guys to hang on to him a little longer. Once Cassiel get here’s I’ll take you to his house. Then it’s sitting duty until Bels arrives.”

The mention of her name had Ashe flipping his eyes over to Ferrian; his heart thrumming and his pulse kicked back up again. Finally, he was going to see his silver-haired goddess.

“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.

“Bels is coming here?” He forced out, as his teeth slowly descended back into his upper jaw. Glancing down at his shirt, he snarled, sniffing the acrid scent soaked on his shirt. “I need to clean up. She can’t see me like this.”

“No worries, bro. We’ll getcha back to your place before she shows up. I heard she’s pretty hot, too,” Jeu chuffed.

Ashe whipped his hardened stare on the male’s face, biting back the immediate eruption of rage; he pulled out of the twins’ hold and rounded on the pair of them. “Don’t you ever speak of her like that.” His laser gaze pinned each brother with deadly intent if either were to cross the line again. “Are we clear?”

“Whoa, buddy, chillax all right. My dumbass brother didn’t mean any disrespect. He’s got the intellect of a dung beetle,” Dai offered, raising his hands in surrender.

Ashe didn’t back down. His chest swelled at the idea of either one of the dimwit frat-boys thinking about his Bels, let alone getting close enough to her to mentally undress her. She’s not yours either, mate. “How did you find me anyway? Were you following me?”

“Yes.” Ferrian stepped up beside him and dismissed the twins away. “Bels has been tied up with work. So I was sent to keep an eye on you.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean watch over me?” His mind was racing, wondering what the hell was going on. He turned his sardonic glare to Ferrian and cautiously gauged the current circumstances. “Are you with the CIA, FBI, IRA, or something?”

“Can ya think of anymore government agencies with three-letter acronyms? Didn’t she tell you?

“Tell me what, exactly?”

“Man, with as much time as you two have spent together I would’ve thought …”

“No, she hasn’t told me anything. Nothing about what she does for work, or where she lives.”

“She’s your guardian. She was sent to watch over you after the incident, you know.”

His hands shook, recalling he had noticed the stinging sensation run down his spine before. It was always whenever Bels was near him. He sensed her. There was no mistaking it, but this, saying Bels was his guardian, it didn’t make sense. “No! What the feck are you saying? Please, I don’t understand.” I must be losing my feckin’ mind!

“Oh shit. You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” He was getting more than pissed off with the lack of sensible information. Scrubbing his face, he lowered down on his haunches, blowing out a stream of curses.

“Listen, Ashe, Bels is special,” Ferrian offered, lowering herself down to face him.

“I know this. She’s the most amazing woman I’ve ever known.” His heart was beating as loudly as thunderclaps. The small smile hedging on Ferrian’s lips gave him some hope she understood exactly what he was feeling.

“You’ve fallen in love with her, haven’t you?” Her voice was low, as she leaned in.

He sucked in a sharp breath and shook his head. He didn’t need to say it, the truth was written all over him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that tweedle-dee and dumb stood as sentries over Ferrian, yet gave them privacy with their backs facing him.

“Look, Ashe, I get it. As in, I understand what you’re going through. But she has a job to do, and you’re as much a part of this as I am.”

“So you’re saying she’s my guardian angel? I must be off my rocker.”

“Bingo! She is. And those things,” she twisted her head over her shoulder, and he begrudgingly followed her to the tore up remains of two males, “were demons. You’re caught in the middle of a war. Ashe, I need to ask you something.”

He held his breath, as fear seized his lungs. What had he done? Patting his shirt once again, the memories of sinking his teeth into their flesh, and the putrid taste of their blood coating his tongue, set his stomach on course to regurgitate his chicken caccatori. “I did—” It wasn’t a question, but the quake in his voice made it sound so. Annnnnnnnd dinner decided to make a reappearance.

“Yeah. Hey, man, it’s going to be okay.” Ferrian rubbed his back, as he finished heaving out the last bits of partially digested food and whiskey. His skin was overheated. Sweat trickled down his neck, back, and chest, as he ass planted on the cold ground and wiped his face. “Ashe, have you ever done anything like this before?”

His throat was on fire, and a scratchy, “No,” crawled out. “Never.”

“Ferrian, what’s going on?” a deep, authoritative voice cut through. All Ashe could do was suck in a few breaths in hope his lungs would start working properly.

“Hey, Cass, I’d like you to meet Ashe.” He couldn’t bring himself to look up at the new arrival. Shaking his head, the nightmarish images from the past assaulted him with vengeance.

“What the hell have I done?” Hysterics were coiling in his gut, as he climbed to his feet and paced the length of the alleyway. It took everything in him not to look upon the bodies lying on the ground. “What have I done?”

 

 

“CASS, I THINK we need to get him out of here.” Ferrian stared warily at Ashe. Her stomach twisted into a hard knot, wishing Bels were here to calm him down instead of her.

“Yeah, I agree. How about give me a quick rundown of what happened.”

“We caught him right before he tore the third Hellistic apart.”

“How long ago?”

“About ten minutes or so. I don’t understand why they haven’t disintegrated yet.”

“Odd. Ten minutes you say?” Nodding her head, she read the concern in Cassiel’s eyes as he stepped away from her. “Let me take a look. Why don’t you get Ashe back to his place, he’s not looking too hot. Take your trainees with you. I’ll figure out what’s going on. Have you called Bels yet?”

“Of course. She said she’d be down within the hour.” Glancing back at Ashe, and seeing that his hands covered his face as he continued his rote chant, Ferrian knew the deep sense of desperation seeping from every pore on his body. It hadn’t been but a handful of months since she teetered on the verge of a full-on breakdown. “Boys, get him up.” Even in the dim light, she saw how thin he was. His body twisted in pain, and dear God, how she’d love to forget the feeling. “Cass, one more thing …”

“What’s up?”

“I sort of let it slip … you know, about Bels.”

“You what? Christ’s sake! Did anyone scrub his memory?” He spun on her, leveling her with dread in his eyes. The sinking feeling in her gut was all she needed to know she had screwed up.

“No. I don’t have the capability, remember?”

“How could you be so reckless, Ferrian?” Cassiel circled her and cupped Ashe’s head. A golden glow haloed above Ashe. Within seconds, his hands fell away from his face, and two sets of arms caught him from falling. “I pray he doesn’t remember any of this.”

“First of all, I thought he knew already. In any case, he has the right to know why he’s being followed by us,” she shot back. Jutting out her jaw, she folded her arms tightly across her chest, meeting his angry stare head on.

Cassiel didn’t argue any further. He let out a frustrated breath, and shook his head. Oh yeah, she had screwed up royally. “Get him home. I’ll take care of this.”

“Fine.” She motioned the twins to follow her, as they made their way out to the entrance of the alley. “How are we looking, Sparks?”

“All clear. Hey, what’s going on with him?” Ferrian looked over her shoulder, to find Ashe slumped down, while the twins held him up by his arms again. “I thought he came to.”

“He did. Ashe? Ashe, you okay?” When no answer came, Ferrian searched for a pulse, and listened and listened for any sign of breathing. “I think he passed out. Come on, kids, let’s get him home before he wakes up again.” She didn’t have to wonder how Bels was going to react once she saw him. If she was anything like Remi, Ferrian already knew the answer. Any chance of Amitiel or anyone else pulling Bels away from Ashe after this was in the range of never-going-to-happen. She pulled out her cell, scrolled up to Bels’ number. ‘FYI, your boy is out cold. We’ll be back at his place in 5m.’ A sense of knowing skated down her spine as she sent Bels the text. Ashe was close to transitioning, but into what remained to be seen.