Story of Kings

Chapter 11

A fine layer of a frost coated the marble surface of the great city of Vloissa. Situated further north the cold bit into Zuan's city before the others, the air freezing into a white mist as if the god-king himself willed it to imitate marble. While most people detested the cold, Evelyn strode on down the street as comfortable as could be, the light of a waxing gibbous lighting her way. Most would also avoid walking down the center of the street in the dead of night, well past the sound curfew but Evelyn had found ways around the persecution of the angels a long time ago.

Striding down the street she wore a pristine white tunic trimmed in gold that tightly wrapped around her body, a golden sash tied around her waist to secure it along with multiple thick loops that anchored around elongated buttons. Snug white trousers fit easily tucked within gold-plated boots, her heels clicking against the stone without remorse. Her normally green eyes burned with a fierce azul, her golden hair flowing behind her but with a faint-blue sheen. Tonight, she was an angel.

It had been some time she had made the transition, so long she had forgotten how different she truly looked. Her body swelled with extra strength, her skin pulled tight against her defining jaw, cheekbones, and nose. Between these changes in her features, her eyes and hair, and her dramatically different outfit she would be completely unrecognizable to any in the Black Underground without close examination. And fitting in so well as she was literally one of them, no angel would question her. Not upon sighting her, anyways. She still had to play this smart; if she wanted to get Kane's wife she was going to need more than bravado, she would need command as well.

Turning down a new street Evelyn went over the details in her head again. The Archangel was Rahatiel Akriel with the potent ability of raw energy manipulation, leader over the one of the barracks and a senior angel in Zuan's service at nearly twenty-three hundred years of service, how Azmal obtained that information is beyond her, but he had a knack for secrets, and she couldn't see a reason for him to lie to her.

Rahatiel also commanded two other Archangels in this district of the city as well as four dozen lesser angels and a small army of enforcers. Directly confronting Rahatiel about Cas would be suicide so Evelyn was going to have to make sure to avoid him as much as she could and pursue the lesser angels under his command. Archangel Ridwad would be Evelyn's target; in the angel compound he was responsible for keeping census and assigning duties. Her only advantage was going to be her own status as an angel; Kane had been horribly wrong assuming she was lower-class. Fine by her, she had her own secrets to keep.

As she entered the center of the district, a large, open forum Evelyn laid her eyes on the barracks at the opposite end. The forum was a large square taking up four blocks on its own, a communal space where festivals could be held, announcements could be made, or where public executions were carried out. The latter was the more common. Holding her head high Evelyn began the long walk to the other end, a strut in her step and with as much indifference as she could muster. Nearing the compound Evelyn spotted two angels posted outside by the entry gates, even at a distance she could feel their eyes as they tracked her progress. She didn't look at them, didn't so much as lower her chin nor break her stride as she aimed right for the center of the gate. Neither angel moved to unlock the gate, nor did she order them to. It was common knowledge that Angel Gates opened at an angel's presence, but unknown to the public was that it wasn't just that. Angels did open the gates themselves; the masses were simply unequipped to even register it; they sent a wave of energy through the air to activate a crystal within the lock of the gate to open it.

Evelyn did no such thing. She needed to leave an impression, one that left even an angel thinking twice before approaching her.

A few feet from the gate Evelyn didn't send out a wave of power but rather an intense, precise beam, flashing through the air faster than the other two angels could sense, the gate swinging open in response. Evelyn could feel the two angels tense, even the divine could be nervous. They didn't stop her.