The Fall (16 page)

He gave the Nephilim a right hook to the jaw, and he went down. Archer dropped with him. Holding the intruder down with a hand on his throat, Archer plunged the dagger into the Nephilim’s chest. Before he could pull it out, he was gripped in a headlock and pulled back. The other attacker was clearly feeling better. Archer’s hands instinctively went to the arms suffocating him, before he realised that it was futile. The iron grip was unmoving. Archer tried to reach for the dagger but it was just out of his reach. His breathing became laboured, and while he couldn’t die from suffocation, it would knock him out and leave him vulnerable. Leave Addison vulnerable. That was all the reminder he needed.

His elbow flew back, making contact with the Nephilim’s stomach, causing him to loosen his hold. Archer pulled away from him. Still on the ground, he let out a low-flying kick that put the attacker on his ass. Moving as quickly as he could, he reached for the dagger. He raised his shield again, going invisible. It was the advantage he needed, and Archer managed to get behind the Nephilim and run the blade across his throat. He fell lifelessly to the floor.

Archer ran over to where he had heard Jake scream. One Nephilim lay on the floor, a dagger poking from his chest. The other was on top of Jake, rusty sword raised. Archer moved forward, arm flying out and making contact with the Nephilim’s head just as he was bringing the sword down. As Jake let out a tortured cry, Archer shoved his dagger into the attacker’s back, driving it into his heart. The glow of the body lit up Jake, revealing his wounds. The sword was protruding from his chest. He shoved the Nephilim’s dead body aside, moving closer to his baby brother.

“No, no, no,” he chanted, his hands moving to the wound. Jake was bleeding profusely, and Archer knew he had to stop the flow. Archer jolted to his feet when he heard someone approach from behind, but relaxed when he saw it was Addison. Her face was a mask of worry, her hands shaking in panic.

“Addison,” he said, worried. “Get back in the house.” He wasn’t sure if there were any more Nephilim around or on their way.

“Shut up, Archer,” Addison said, causing him to raise his eyebrows in surprise. No one spoke to him like that. “Jake is my family, too.” She pulled off her cardigan and used it to cover the wound. “Archer, baby, he needs a doctor. You need to call someone. Call Lazarus, he has to be able to fix this!” Archer nodded, knowing Lazarus was their only chance. Pulling out his phone, he dialled his number. Lazarus answered after one ring.

“What do you want, Archius?” he said in greeting.

“Lazarus, I need you to come to my place. Now. Jake has been stabbed with a Heavenly sword. He’s bleeding out.”

“I’m not your personal nurse, Archius,” Lazarus said unsympathetically. “I’m getting tired of your belief that I am at your beck and call.” Archer did his best to calm his rising temper.

“I don’t have time to play games, Lazarus. Get here. Please.” He hung up.

“Is he coming?” Addison asked. Her eyes were filled with concern.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted, reaching over to clasp her hand before realising his own was covered in blood. He looked down and realised his entire body was splattered with that of both Jake’s and the Nephilim he’d killed. Trying to push that aside, he turned to Jake.

“Jake? Jake, man, stay with me,” he begged.

***

Addison’s heart broke as a tear slid down Archer’s face. She was trying her best to keep it together, but the blood and emotions were overwhelming. Still, she wanted to be there for Archer as best she could.

“Archer,” she said. He looked into her eyes. “It will be okay. He will be okay.” She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she just did. Maybe she just couldn’t imagine not having Jake in her life, in their life. She hadn’t known him long, but she loved him. He was like the brother she’d never had. Kind, thoughtful, and funny, Jake was a good man.
Nephilim.
Whatever.

A car pulled up in the driveway, and Archer immediately assumed a defensive position. When Lazarus climbed out of the vehicle, Addison felt her whole body relax, as if she’d released a deep breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in. Her spirits lifted further when Kitty emerged from the passenger side, running straight to her. They embraced in a tight hug, Addison clinging to her with desperation.

“I’m so happy you’re here, Kitty.”

“Addison, you look positively rotten,” Kitty responded with a smile. She gave her another quick hug before turning to Jake. “Well, I’ve seen him looking better.”

Lazarus walked over to Jake, kneeling beside him. He threaded his fingers together, putting his hands over Jake’s wound. It glowed. Lazarus’s body shook, sweat beading and dripping down his face. Kitty moved to him, but Archer put a hand on her arm.

“Lazarus will be fine, Kitty. Let him heal Jake, please.” Addison was curious about Kitty’s concern, but left that for a later discussion. Jake was the priority right now.

Colour began returning to his face just as Lazarus collapsed beside him. Kitty rushed to him, sliding her hand under his head to hold him up.

“He will be unconscious for a little while,” Archer told them. “It takes a great amount of energy to heal such a severe wound. After a few hours of rest he should awaken.” Kitty nodded without looking up, all her attention focused on Lazarus.

Jake’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked around in confusion.

“You’re fine, Jake,” Addison told him, her hand brushing his hair back. “Lazarus healed you.” Jake looked over to where Lazarus was lying, understanding dawning. He sat up with a groan, his hand going to his chest.

“That’s going to hurt a bit, little brother,” Archer said as he gently pushed him back down. “Jeremiah and Levi are on their way. Be patient and wait for your strength to return.”

“You know I’m not patient, Arch,” Jake said with a smile.

“Humour me.”

It wasn’t long before the twins arrived, their expressions grim.

“You alright, man?” Levi asked Jake.

“Yeah, I’ll live,” Jake said with a small smile. “Help Lazarus first. He saved me.”

Levi and Jeremiah pulled Lazarus to his feet, holding his significant weight with not even a grunt.   Addison and Kitty went with them, telling them to put him in Addison’s room. The boys lay him down gently before going back out to help Archer bring Jake inside. Kitty grabbed a chair and pulled it to Lazarus’s bedside, worry colouring her face.

“So,” Addison began, “You gonna tell me what’s going on between you and Lazarus?” Kitty looked up at her, her nose scrunched in confusion.

“What do you mean?” she asked before understanding hit her, and she let out a bark of laughter. “Oh God, Addy, it’s nothing like that. He’s just been a really good friend to me, believe it or not. Once you get under the brooding, depressing qualities, he’s actually a somewhat decent person.”

“So you’re not …” Addison insinuated.

“Fuck no,” Kitty said bluntly. “Heck, he’s asexual, for all I know. We’ve just spent a lot of time together and stuff. He keeps me safe and all that, you know?”

Addison nodded. “I’m gonna go check on Jake, okay?”

“No worries, I’ll just hang out here and wait for Laz to wake up.”

***

Archer helped Jake seat himself on a chair in the kitchen, Jeremiah on the other side. Jake whacked their hands away half-heartedly.

“I’m not an invalid, boys,” he complained. “I’m alright.”

“You just got shish-kabobbed,” Levi pointed out.

“And thanks to Lazarus’s angel juice, I’m fine, so can it.” Levi shook his head in resignation before turning to Addison, who had just walked into the room.

“Any food in here, Addy?” he asked hopefully. She gave him a big smile.

“Of course. Take a seat, and I’ll whip something up.” Archer grabbed her hand as she passed him. “You don’t have to do that, Addy. It’s been a rough night, you should try to grab some sleep.”

“The sun is out, hon. I’m fine and happy to do it.” Her determined expression told him he wouldn’t be able to convince her otherwise, so he gave her a nod and let go of her hand. He watched her as she retrieved items from the pantry and fridge, wondering how he could be so lucky to find such an amazing, strong, and caring woman. It made him puff out his chest in pride.

“Well I think we can safely say that Malachi has grown tired of waiting,” Jake said sarcastically.

“It would have been handy if you’d kept one of the attackers alive, Archer,” Levi pointed out. Jeremiah nodded his head in agreement. Archer sighed. “I know, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Now, you all shush,” Addison interjected. “We’re all safe, and that’s what’s important. We just need to figure out our next move.” The boys looked at her in surprise.

“I like her,” Levi announced. Jeremiah and Jake nodded, while Archer grinned.

“You’re right,” Archer said. “So what’s the plan?”

“Well, we try to find out where he is. Other than that, we just have to wait and see what he throws at us next,” Jake suggested. Everyone agreed.

“Food’s ready,” Addison told them, moving plates of sandwiches and wraps to the table. Conversation ceased as they all ate. The food was gone quickly.

“Everyone get some sleep,” Archer said, pulling Addison to his side. “We’ll see what we can do in the morning. Or afternoon,” he added. They went to Archer’s room, and Addison climbed into bed without a word. Archer had a quick shower and by the time he was out, Addison was already fast asleep.

Chapter 19

Being babysat was seriously getting old. Addison hadn’t had a minute to herself, and she was going insane.

They were unable to find any information on Malachi. Archer had explained about teleporters, and the only saving grace was that Malachi could teleport himself, and only himself. At least he couldn’t just come in and snatch Addison away any second he chose, which was probably why he’d sent the group of kidnappers to their house. Her bodyguard for today was Jake, who seemed surprisingly cheerful to be the one to take Addison to her classes. Jake loved going to her university and socialising—probably because he was treated like God’s gift to women.
Like Jake needs a bigger head
, Addison thought with a roll of her eyes.

Addison stepped out of her class. She needed to get to the library to do some research. She looked around for Jake, who was in the corner talking to possibly the most beautiful woman Addy had ever seen. She slowly slipped away, enjoying the freedom.

***

Jake raised his eyebrows and eyed the woman. She was amazingly beautiful. Long red hair, pale-blue eyes, and a figure that made him want to pant. He was not, however, going to touch this woman with a ten foot pole. Not that she could feed off him, but still. Jake had to draw the line somewhere, and a beautiful seductress who stole life from human males was that line.

“You chose a school as your new hunting grounds?” Jake was pissed. These poor youths; they’d think they were getting the best sex of their lives from this stunning morsel but would be paying for it with years of their life. “What is your name, succubus?”

“Jayla,” she answered, her voice low. “And no, I don’t hunt on these grounds. I actually go to school here. You know, knowledge is power, etcetera, etcetera.”

Jake needed to call Archer ASAP. Succubi were little more than leeches. It was okay for a lone succubus doing what she had to do, but a succubus’s demon master would never be too far away. And that would mean that the demon, along with all of those under his control, would be moving into their territory. Jake fumed; like they didn’t have enough problems at the moment. Jake grabbed Jayla’s arm and gently marked her. This way, he would be able to track her, if need be. He released the succubus with a last warning about her feeding on these grounds.

Jake needed to grab Addy and get out of here. He looked around and tensed when he couldn’t see her. He’d been preoccupied for what? Three minutes? He rang her cell phone; no answer. Oh shit. Archer was going to kill him. He went off to look for her.

***

Addison was on her way to the library when she saw James. He brightened and smiled when he saw her. He waved as he made his way towards her.

“Hi, James. Looks like we can finally have our study session.”

James looked at Addison O’Donnell, his dream girl. She was intelligent, beautiful, and kind-hearted, yet she had a fiery edge to her.

James hadn’t been able to talk to her in days. She was always with one of those huge guys. James smiled, knowing he would do anything to possess her.

They walked together to the library and went through an empty corridor. He pulled out the syringe he was given and injected it into Addison’s arm. She looked up at him accusingly before collapsing, unconscious. James caught her, loving the feel of her in his arms. She would forgive him. He had made a deal.

The man wanted Addison, just to question her. He promised he wouldn’t harm her. And then the man was going to give James a payment. Enough for him to take care of Addy. But not only that, the man said he could make Addison want him, love him.
They will be together for the rest of their lives
, James thought. He carried her and put her in his car.

***

After looking for Addison everywhere to no avail, Jake rang Archer, stomach tightening in tension at the conversation that was coming.

“Archer, Addy is gone, I turned around for like two seconds, and she’s disappeared. I’ve searched the whole campus, and I can’t find her.”

Archer let out a harsh curse, making Jake wince at the power in his voice.

For maybe the first time in his extremely endless life, Archer was terrified. He had to find her.

Archer rang the twins, Chance, Quinn, and even Lazarus. Everyone was coming to the apartment to plan action against Malachi. Archer began arming himself.

Malachi had fucked with the wrong man. Archer knew he had no limits as to what he would do to get Addison back. If Malachi wanted Addison, he had better realise that he was starting a war.

***