When Angels Fall

Chapter 23

When we arrive at Iathoth's location, slipping between the buildings that house the Jade Garden and the New Shanghai Eatery, we find ourselves in a large, trash-scattered back alley that's definitely not easily accessible. The other angels are already here, forming a loose circle around something on the ground.

"What is it?" I ask softly, reaching out for Kuzo's hand. He takes mine and firmly pulls me to his side, wrapping his arm across my shoulders.

"A demon portal," Azi says, huffing angrily. I now see the glowing circle and crisscrossed lines on the ground, about five feet in diameter. "They were here recently. It's still fresh."

"Are we summoning them now?" I hear Adriel speak for the first time, his voice a growl, like wind over gravestones. It makes me shiver.

"No," Iathoth states firmly. "We have no weapons with us. We will go back to the Nexis and gear up, come back once it's dark. We don't want any humans to witness this."

There's scattered talk as everyone inspects the portal again, and then we go back to the Nexis. The easy way, where Kuzo simply transports us directly inside the front door.

I watch as everyone goes to the library, but before I can head that way, Kuzo stops me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to be a part of this?" he asks me quietly. I sigh and nod. Kuzo surprises me by smiling. "Then I need to give you some training."

My eyes light up, and I grin, excited. "Really?!" I ask. Kuzo nods, even though he still doesn't seem happy with the fact that I'm coming with.

He leads me into the training room, which is currently empty, and points to the various weapons on the walls.

"Pick one," he orders gently. "You'll probably have a favored weapon." Even though I'm confused, I do as Kuzo says, walking slowly around the room and inspecting the weapons. Most seem relatively normal, if a bit elaborate, but some of them are strange, too. There's bladed tomfas, double-bladed Bo staffs, crossbows with two heads. But my eyes finally land on something I like. A gun. A pair of pistols, to be exact, large and silver.

I take my new-found weapons back to Kuzo, and he smiles. "Good. These aren't regular guns, they're angelic weapons. Once they're loaded, they don't run out of ammo, and the ammunition is demon-killing." I chuckle.

"Well, that's good. What's your weapon?" I ask, plainly out of curiosity. I try to picture Kuzo spinning a staff or firing a gun, but the image doesn't stay. It doesn't seem natural.

Kuzo points to the crossbow, the odd one. "That. It fires two arrows at once, and the heads can split sideways to shoot in different directions."

"Damn," I laugh. "That's awesome." Kuzo chuckles with a nod, setting the guns down on the table nearby and removing the cartridges, setting them down, also. Then he turns to me.

"I know you've never fired a gun before, so I'm going to teach you. For now, I want you to grab a gun as quickly as you can, and aim it at my head."

My eyes widen at his words. "I-I don't think I want to do that..." I say nervously. Kuzo smiles.

"It's okay. It's not loaded, it can't fire."

I sigh tightly, eying the guns, then whip my hand out to grab one, spinning back and leveling it between Kuzo's eyebrows. He blinks in apparent surprise.

"That was...really fast!" he exclaims. I raise an eyebrow, putting the gun down.

"How do you mean?" I question, confused. Kuzo grins, looking proud of me, and that makes me feel more confident.

"You were literally a blur. That action took less than a second." My eyes widen, and I grin.

"Well, I guess that's a good thing," I shrug. Kuzo laughs and nods.

"Very good. I bet that's your angelic skill, then. You were the fastest runner at school, anyway."

We spend the next hour going over different fighting techniques with the guns, either one or two, for either or both hands. I discover I'm ambidextrous when it comes to weapons, which is a surprise. When we're finally done, Kuzo pulls me into a hug, holding me tightly.

"I don't want you to be a part of this," he says softly, one hand in my hair. "And I'm going to continue trying to convince you not go with us."

I sigh, burying my face in his jacket and enjoying the scent. He smells like leather, coffee, and something sweet that I can't identify.

"You have to let me help," I say quietly, looking up at Kuzo. "I know it is partly my fault, and you need me for bait, anyway."

"I need you, period."

My cheeks go red at his words, and I smile. "I need you, too. But I'm still coming with. You'll be with me, so I'm not scared."

Kuzo sighs, and I now realize how worried he really is about me. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek, wrapping my arms around his neck. He lifts me off the ground and covers my face with kisses, which makes me laugh.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight," he whispers, smiling. I return it.

"Okay."

When he puts me down, which isn't for a good three minutes, we hold hands as we walk to the library once more. Everyone is gathered around the map, as before, and talking in hushed tones. We join them, and Abel comes over to explain the plan.

"Once it gets dark, Paris will summon the demon," he starts, but Kuzo shakes his head immediately. "Let me finish!" Abel snaps, surprising both of us. He looks like he hasn't slept at all, so he must be exhausted. "As I was saying, Paris will summon the demon. Kuzo, you'll hide the rest of us from sight so the demon can't tell it's a trap. Paris, you need to find a way to lure the demon away from the portal so he can't leave before we get Mara. Understood?"

I nod, even though I can feel that Kuzo is silently grumbling about the plan, his grip on my hand tightening. "So what now?" I ask. Abel sighs, tiredly running a hand through his hair.

"Now we wait for nightfall."