Children of the Fallen

  Contents

  Contents

  Always Dark Angel Series

  Dedication

  Blood Angels

  Future Echoes

  Always Remember

  Witches and Gateways

  The Old City

  Lost

  Slums

  Home from Home

  The Sorceress and the Child

  The Witching Hour

  Smoke and Mirrors

  To Save Souls

  Warlock and Angels

  Time, Dreams, and Concepts

  Illusions

  The Sorceress and the Demon

  My Friends

  Till Death

  The Siren’s Wail

  Your Beating Heart

  Author Notes

  Always Dark Angel Series

  Book Three

  Edition 1: 2018

  Copyright © 2018 JN Moon

  Edited by Deadra Krieger

  Cover art by Andrei Bat

  Licence Notes.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  Publisher’s Note.

  This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are either fictitious or the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  Thank you to my friends who support and encourage me to live my dream. Special Thanks to Trish Plummer for your constant encouragement and friendship.

  Thank You to my ARC readers and my Editor, Deadra Krieger for your help. And you- the reader. Without you this story is lost.

  I hope you enjoy it x

  Contact

  Sign up to keep informed, receive goodies, or join my ARC team or all of the above!

  jnmoon.com

  Blood Angels

  Anthony

  The veil between the living and the dead had been sealed, and I stood in the aftermath of demons and the wraiths of man’s hatred, now gone, and taken into the oblivion of Light by the Seraphim. Many had come together—vampires, nephilim, elementals and lycans—to fight the darkness that was destroying man, and with the divine help summoned by the nephilim, we succeeded.

  Sighing heavily, I looked on at my once human lover, Rachel. She’d fought in the battle and had changed beyond belief. Our eyes met, my heart trembled, and she gave me a small, friendly smile before darting her eyes away.

  A small tremor of dejection beat through me. My legs trembled as a wave of exhaustion swept over me from the battle that had just ended. The purebred nephilim were gone, and only our half-bred nephilim friends remained, which gave me solace. At least I wouldn’t be on my own without her. On my own and immortal. My worst fear.

  As I ran my fingers through my matted hair and wiped the bloody sweat from my face I heard murmurs and gasps behind me. I turned to glance at the new situation which caused confusion and shock, blinking rapidly at what I saw. My mouth fell open like a dummy and my heart sped as I gasped at the sight before me.

  In the distance I saw Marcus, my close nephilim-hybrid friend. But we had all watched him die and mourned his loss heavily. He stood with Emidius, a strange demi-God who took on human form when dealing with similar creatures, and next to her Jamie, my comrade from a war we had been caught up in two years past.

  My mouth dropped open as my mind registered Marcus, but my heart told me to be cautious in case it was a trick. I forgot to breathe for a few minutes and my body tensed, but as his eyes caught mine, he beamed the biggest smile I’d ever seen. My exhaustion turned to excitement in that instant, adrenalin coursing through me.

  “Marcus!” I called. I rushed towards him, tears streaming down my face. My face hurt, my smile was so wide. He looked different. Still dark, his wings like midnight and slate grey eyes but restored, vibrant, at ease. We hugged, and I held him fast with so much happiness.

  But before I could say anything else Emidius bellowed, “Jamie and I have saved your renegade friend Marcus.” Pausing now that she had our attention she added, “There is a price.”

  There always is...

  Raising her voice louder, she said, “You will establish yourselves and create order from this chaos. I helped you before, but this turmoil resulted from your actions. Sort yourselves out; Marcus will help. You will establish a Council of the Supernatural. Each race will have two representatives. Failure to do this will be your own demise. Frankly, I am sick of clearing up your messes—that includes you nephilim. See to it.”

  I couldn’t stop a smirk. I wondered how the nephilim felt to be told this by what they considered a pagan deity, but I didn’t ask them.

  As she turned to leave, her proud head held high, I caught Jamie’s glance, and took the opportunity to see him. She carried on without him. Good, I was glad he remained stubborn and stayed behind. We had been through Hell together and as I surveyed my friend, he held out his hand and we embraced.

  “Where have you been? Can you tell me? I’ve missed you,” I spluttered.

  “Everywhere! I’m not the same as I was. I’m not flesh and bone although I may seem it. I know I feel solid. I don’t quite understand it all myself. I’ve been to different parts of time and reality.” Whispering, he added, “I’m not even sure I’m allowed to say.”

  “You’re happy?” I asked.

  “Very. And you? I see no change in her.” He glanced at Rachel.

  “No, but I have my friends. I’m not alone.”

  “You’d never need to be, remember that. I have to go, but we’ll catch up soon.”

  “How do I contact you?”

  “I knew you’d ask that. Here, take this.” He handed me what looked like an oval shaped pewter disk with a strange creature and some ancient looking writing. The figure in the middle had a lion’s head, human body, and snakes for legs and held up a wand in its right hand. I had no idea what the writing said or where it came from, and didn’t have time to ask him.

  “Take this, keep it safe. If you need me, focus on me, my face, myself whilst clasping it in your right hand. Do not let this get into the wrong hands, it’s very old and irreplaceable. It’s so good to see you.” His face animated as he headed off for another adventure. Jamie was always so lucky.

  But that wasn’t the end of our astonishment. Damien, Rachel’s strange vampire friend, arrived with some children. Children born from vampire and nephilim—dark nephilim. Those who had turned away from their celestial heritage and taken to drinking blood from vampires, as Marcus had. Those nephilim and vampires were now dead, the purebred nephilim killed them as an abomination against nature. But the children had escaped? I didn’t know how and though I feared those devilish infants, I was too overcome with joy to see my friend to question anything much.

  One of the children had grown at a dramatic rate since I’d spied her along with others, and their appearance startled me. Black feathered wings that were much too big for them, large eyes with crimson pupils, and hands so claw-like they barely resembled that of their paranormal parents. They were disturbingly quiet and the vampire, Damien, obviously had some sway over them.

  My estranged lover, Rachel, looked on at Damien, their eyes met and my heart crumbled in that moment. All was lost, he, whoever he was, had stolen her love from me. Anger and loss compounded me and I turned away.

  Nathaniel, forward and brash as ever, shaking his head, stared in absolute horror at the children, blurting out, “Who in Hell are these? What are these?”

  I turned away because I couldn’t help but chuckle at his complete incompetence in
the situation and I wanted to hide my smirk. He always knew how to put his foot in his mouth. Sad for the kids for sure, but he had now made an enemy of them no doubt! As I glanced to see who would answer, I noticed the children looked at him with loathing.

  Damien remained calm, compassionate even. “These, my friend, are the cambion, though not true cambion. A new species, hybrids from vampire and nephilim with all the strengths of both and none, let me assure you, none of their weaknesses.”

  Everyone remained silent, except Acacius who had kept his knowledge about them a secret, as I had.

  Nicolas stepped forward, a huge smile spread across his face. “Well, well.” He walked over to them having lost all his fear in the battle just fought, and placed his hand on the smaller of the two boys. The two boys were holding joining hands while the girl held Damien’s other hand.

  Nicolas was a natural and not condescending. Being turned vampire at an older age than most, his plump frame, receding hairline, and plain features made him the picture of a supernatural uncle. Everyone needed an uncle like him. It amazed me that one could live so long as a vampire, having seen so much death and having forcibly been a part of genocide, and yet he had maintained empathy.

  Smiling, he spoke to them. “A new species? How fascinating! We will help as much as we can, but we cannot do anything unless you help us to understand you.”

  The children’s faces grinned back at him and I saw their tightened postures relax a little.

  Me, I wasn’t so sure. Having spied one before, I knew their appetite for death and they would indeed need guidance. They were growing at an astonishing rate. The girl I’d seen a few weeks prior had grown already in human terms of many years. They would become formidable. And my intuition told me, if we didn’t gain some control, they could indeed be a threat to all species.

  Damien spoke, “We will need a place to stay.” As he said this he looked at Nathaniel who had the largest place, a beautiful Georgian town house in the centre of the city.

  Nathaniel’s brow furrowed, his jaw dropping open before adding quickly, “I think the place that the nephilim reside in would be more suitable. I am not a child person. Acacius, you’re from the divine, I think you and your nephilim friends would be aptly suited to help these children. But how in the hell are we to get them there without being seen?”

  Acacius dismissed Nathaniel’s words with a flick of the wrist. “Easy, don’t worry about that.” He strode towards Marcus. “What happened? We thought you were dead.”

  “I don’t know, everything went black and cold. The next time I became aware, Emidius and Jamie were standing over me. It is truly a gift to see you brother!” And they embraced, smiles filling their faces.

  Aaron and Halina waited for their turn to hug Marcus. Few words could express our happiness at having our friend back. And I knew instinctively that Emidius would not reveal what magic she had conjured to bring him back. I, for one, didn’t care. He was back and that was the main thing.

  “Well, let’s get these children home.” Acacius bent a little to address these cambion. Then straightening up he asked, “Damien, I believe? I need to speak to you since you are the one looking after these young creatures,” Acacius added.

  Damien answered the questions before they were asked. “As with their parents, these children appear to mortals as human children. Humans only see what they want to believe.”

  Watching them discuss the future of these hybrids, I grew fascinated with the power shift. Nicolas used to be a weak and frightened character, but had now stepped up to helping these souls, and Nathaniel was clearly doing his best to shirk all responsibility. I grinned. I’d never seen him as a father figure.

  Rachel remained silent and weighed up the situation as I did, it being much bigger than it seemed. At their rate of growth, I guessed it would be less than a year until they reached adulthood. What then? Who knew? But whatever was between her and this Damien, I was glad he and Acacius had assumed responsibility and seemed to have control over them.

  Me, I wasn’t the father type either...

  These children could potentially wreak havoc, but I stopped my thoughts racing ahead. They, like their nephilim parents, could probably hear thoughts, and I didn’t want to express my fears into something that they could manifest.

  Sabian, the alpha leader of the lycans, had already run to his human lover, Lauren, and they watched in fascination as the future of this new species played out in front of them. I wondered who the man was that stood in the group of lycans. He looked strikingly different from them, and yet had a semblance of lycan about him. I noticed that he kept glancing at me, but he avoided eye contact and seemed anxious that I might catch his gaze.

  I made my way over to him and asked gently, “Do I know you? I have the feeling we’ve met.”

  At first, he averted his gaze, then changed his mind. “My name is Jason, we haven’t met, but I was held captive as you were in the Elite’s war. I was one of the unfortunate ones changed into an experimental when the gene therapy went wrong.” He paused to breathe, then his words spilled out. “I was taken in by Sabian and turned into a lycan. That’s why I look different. I’d heard about you. I’d wanted to meet you. And Marcus.”

  I smiled. “It’s a pleasure, Jason.” I shook my head in disbelief at his sheer strength and determination to survive. “After all you’ve been through, it should be me wanting to meet you! That’s an incredible feat.” Turning away I called, “Marcus, come meet Jason!”

  Rachel still avoided eye contact. Weakness and pain gripped my stomach. I wanted to hold her, to kiss her, but she made it clear with her dismissive body language that my feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated. But she was interested in Damien for sure, so to save myself from humiliation, I walked over to Acacius and the children.

  “Who are you?” the youngest boy asked me. He had such an air of innocence about him that would serve him well.

  “I’m Anthony. Who are you?”

  “Orion. My parents are dead. You, all of you, hate us, you fear us.” Pain came from him and his voice sounded strained. The mind and body of a child, confused, vulnerable and scared, and surrounded by beings that did indeed see his very existence as a threat. I wasn’t about to lie to him. In the future he would trust me more for being honest.

  “Not hate,” I argued. “We’re afraid of what you could become. There’s a balance, an order to each existence in this world and every time,” I emphasised this after all I’d gone through. “Every single time some creature or other tries to upset that, all Hell breaks loose, and let me tell you, even as an immortal, fear and chaos follow. We—including yourselves—nearly died tonight when this happened. But death is too light a word, to be trapped for all time in a realm of demons, of screeching wraiths without escape, an eternity of torment and pain. That is why we fear your existence. Do you understand?”

  I know it was a lot, like the Grimm Fairy Tales used to scare children into not walking off with strangers, but these children were like the monsters of Grimm. Teach them now or pay later.

  “I think so,” the boy said. “My father despised me, though he didn’t say it. Our parents feared us.” Turning to Damien and Nicolas, he said, “But you don’t? Damien, you’re similar to us? You’re part demon, I smell it, just like her.” He pointed to Rachel.

  Kids, how I love when they point out everyone’s secrets. So Damien is part demon.

  “No, I’m not afraid of you, but I’ve seen more than most,” Nicolas added. “And I don’t fear death. I see your potential, a dream realised. What are your names?”

  “Orion. And that’s Gabriel and Michael. We already know we are powerful, we felt that fear in our parents.”

  My curiosity filled for the time being, I wandered over to Marcus. He sighed, then grinned at me and as we walked away, put his arm around my shoulder, like an older, wiser brother. Being so much larger than me I felt dwarfed by his size, but it was good to hear his voice again, reverberating, and low like some mythic
al creature from a tale.

  “I’m sorry about you and her, I truly am. After all you went through, but look now we’re both free to do as we please, let’s go hunt. And not with the app, the old-fashioned way.” He winked.

  My spirits lifted having him there. God knew the relief, the happiness that my friend lived. But a chasm of emptiness still sat in my core and I couldn’t bear to look at Rachel staring so intently at Damien. So I left with Marcus.

  Future Echoes

  Anthony

  My eyes flickered as I adjusted to the shock wave, and at first neither of us spoke.

  “I cannot sense him.” Marcus’s words were full of panic. “What’s that noise?”

  A buzzing sound, like a huge wasp persisted around us. Tilting our heads back, we saw a flock of drones hovering over and around us.

  “What the fuck is that? Where did all those come from? Why are they bothering us?” But I had no time to continue as red lasers flashed onto us, and instinctively we both fled back into the square and through a tunnelled walkway alongside a shop. We didn’t speak with words but expressions, our eyes, and mouths wide with horror and confusion.

  It made no difference; the drones simply tracked us, and were now firing at us. Without needing to say anything else, we flew out of there as fast as our preternatural legs would go. At the exit, Marcus grabbed me, his huge wings opening up and swooped us so high and so fast that I instinctively closed my eyes. My head spun. Luckily, we didn’t fly into any other immortals. After about ten minutes, we lost them and found ourselves on the outskirts of the city and rushed to get into Rachel’s home. But it was different.

  The beautiful old front door had been replaced with some kind of metallic atrocity and the whole street contained high security and cameras. It looked like something from a nightmare.

  Without words, we turned on our heels and fled, not wanting to attract the drones, and headed further off out of the city until we came to a derelict building. Though it was not entirely abandoned as I sensed others around, a scattering of both mortals and immortals were hidden there-about.