Chapter 17

Abyss was a place out of time, a vestige of an era that had long since passed into oblivion. It looked very much like a town in the old west. A dusty road cut through the settlement. On each side of it was a row of two-story houses with false wood fronts that made the buildings look far more imposing than they actually were. There were a lot of places to hide under and along those metal rails that held up the house fronts.

"At precisely ten-forty-one this morning, a stablehand discovered two witches dead in his employer's barn," Colonel Fireswift told me.

The Frontier town of Abyss lay inside the Central Territory, his domain. That meant I'd be working with him on this one.

I could hardly contain the joy that I felt.

"It appears the witches died by poison," Colonel Fireswift continued as we walked down the dusty road.

I caught a whiff of something warm and sweet. I could have sworn it was those chocolate chip cookies again. But I didn't see any cookies anywhere. Maybe it really was all in my head.

"Are you listening to me?" Colonel Fireswift demanded.

"Yes." I tried to forget about the cookies that weren't really there. "What kind of poison killed the witches?"

"Noxious Mist."

"That's a potion."

"Very good." His words were patronizing, his smile sardonic. "You have been doing your homework."

I frowned, but the gesture wasn't meant for him alone. "The witches in Abyss died from a potion. Just like the vampires in Purgatory died from drinking blood and the elementals in Beyond died from cold exposure and by burning. And the witches at Desert Rose were knocked out by overloading machines. They only survived by luck; had that shock been a tad stronger, they'd be dead now too." I shook my head slowly. "Carver Spellsword has been very busy."

"There's no evidence Carver Spellsword is behind any of this."

"Come now, Colonel. Cut the crap. I know you've sent a team of Interrogators to look for Spellsword. And I also know they haven't had any luck whatsoever in finding him."

Agitation lit up his halo like lightning. "I liked things better before you were an angel."

I knew he wasn't pleased that I was here, that my authority over the Frontier meant I could interfere in Abyss, which he still considered part of his territory. And, actually, it really still kind of was his territory. The area along the wall just happened to be mine too. He probably hated sharing Abyss with me even more than if he'd simply lost it to me outright.

"Well, I am an angel now, so you're just going to have to get used to it," I told him.

"So it would seem," he replied coolly. "Though you cheated to become one of us."

"I didn't cheat. Athan the Everlasting slipped Nectar into my glass," I reminded him.

"So you claim."

"It's not a claim. It's the truth."

"Truth or lie, it matters not," he declared. "You became an angel without the gods' permission. That is a crime worthy of death. The only reason you were allowed to live is because of who your father is."

I looked at him in surprise. He knew Faris was my father. I saw it in the way he looked at me, in that uneven mixture of awe and disgust that flashed in his eyes.

"How did you figure it out?" I asked him quietly.

"That you are the child of Faris and Grace? I was there for the gods' trials. I saw the memories of Faris's affair. You were named the gods' emissary to hell immediately after Faris became king, and he summoned you to train with Heaven's Army."

"That's a fine piece of Master-Interrogator-ing," I told him.

"That's not a word."

I gave my hand a dismissive flick. "Don't be so inflexible, Colonel."

"I prefer order to chaos."

I smirked at him. "Is that why you're so much fun at parties?"

His eyes narrowed to slits. "You might be a deity, Leda Pandora, but I still consider you a dirty street urchin."

I chuckled. "I can live with that."

Colonel Fireswift might have appeared to be nothing more than a grade A asshole on the outside, but I knew there was more to him. He did love his children. I'd seen that in the pain that had consumed him when his daughter died. He was torn between his determination to make his children strong, to live up to their family legacy—and his personal feelings for them. I knew those feelings were there. He just needed to accept them if he was going to become a better person.

I was a firm believer that enlightenment was only possible if you learned to lighten up. So I decided to do Colonel Fireswift a favor by teasing him further.

"Colonel, I heard you were on the Black Plains a few days ago. Your mission even brought you close to Purgatory." I set my hand over my heart. "I'm hurt that you didn't stop by my office to say hello."

"Are you suggesting that I did not follow protocol?" he demanded.

"Well, protocol does state that when one angel is in another's territory, he should stop by to pay his respects."

Colonel Fireswift's nostrils flared at the notion of paying his respects to me. "I was busy."

I smiled at him. "A true angel is never too busy to respect protocol."

Colonel Fireswift looked a bit indignant—ok, a lot indignant.

"I'm just teasing," I chuckled.

"One does not tease an angel."

"I have been teasing angels for years."

He slanted a warning glare at me. "That attitude, Leda Pandora, is why you're always getting yourself into trouble."

"No, it's that attitude that empowers me to get others out of trouble."

We'd reached the barn at the edge of town. It was a large, red building with a bright blue rounded roof. Several rows of yellow tape blocked off the property, but that hadn't stopped people from gathering just beyond the border.

I recognized Nolan Ash in the crowd. Gemini and Sagittarius were there too. It seemed the bounty hunters were my new shadow.

"Some of your friends?" Colonel Fireswift said to me with a sneer.

"Angels!" several people shouted, dropping to their knees.

As he turned to them, his halo lit up with magic, Colonel Fireswift's sneer transformed into an expression of majestic superiority. At least I thought that was the look he was going for. Sometimes it was hard to tell with him. Many of his expressions looked much the same.

"This is how you captivate the masses," he said quietly to me as he waved at the adoring crowd. "Not by blowing up outhouses."

Heat rushed to my cheeks. "I didn't blow up the outhouse. That was the invisible monster."

But Colonel Fireswift wasn't listening. He was too busy basking in the crowd's reverence for him.

Until someone called out, "The Legion of Angels is supposed to be the Earth's protectors! How many more people are you going to let die before you start protecting us?"

I located the speaker. It was a woman dressed in a brown safari suit. Except the suit was made of fine silk, and she was wearing a pair of stylish stilettos that looked like the heels would snap off at the first sign of monsters. I bet she was a reporter, one of those who'd jumped on the incendiary reporter's bandwagon.

I subtly stepped in front of Colonel Fireswift before he made a move to blast the woman away. He wanted to. I could see the fury burning in his eyes.

"I guess not everyone can be captivated," I commented.

His response was spoken in a low snarl. "Move aside, Pandora."

"Not a chance, Fireswift. If you strike at the reporters now, the world will condemn us." I glanced at the cameras in the crowd. "But if we wait until they trespass, we can arrest them and charge them with obstructing justice."

Some of the tension melted off of him. "That's not a half-bad idea. I like it."

"I thought you might when I suggested it."

Nero had been the one to teach me how to use the rules to my advantage. I didn't tell Colonel Fireswift that. He got along with Nero even worse than he did with me.

"You know," he said as we fluttered our wings once to jump over the yellow tape. "You really would do better with my guidance. I could tame your wild tendencies, get you into line. I know Faris would approve."

"Honestly, I don't think Faris cares about how proper I am, only that I get the job done. I'm just the weapon he throws at problems."

Colonel Fireswift's blond brows furrowed. "That's not a very respectful way to speak of a god."

"As you've pointed out time and time again, I'm not a very respectable person. Besides, if I did act properly, I would rob Faris of the joy of complaining about my behavior later."

Colonel Fireswift took a step away from me.

"Relax, Colonel. Faris isn't going to smite me," I told him. "He needs me."

"Perhaps. But that won't stop him from smiting the next closest thing."

I turned my head up to the sky and said, "Don't smite Fireswift, Daddy. He's one of the few people who actually likes you."

"Be silent," Colonel Fireswift hissed. "Your impudence is going to get me killed."

I looked at the tranquil clouds, then I looked at Colonel Fireswift. "But not today." I pulled my buzzing phone out of my jacket and read the message on the screen. "There's been another incident. It's at Storm Castle. An attack by an unknown assailant."

"It could be the demons' Dark Force taking advantage of the unrest," said Colonel Fireswift.

"Leila needs my help."

"Colonel Starborn has been an angel for a very long time. She is perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

"When I see Leila, I'll tell her how perfectly capable you consider her to be."

His mouth drew into a hard, thin line. "Don't you dare leave now. This incident takes priority over a normal attack."

"You said yourself that you think it's the Dark Force taking advantage of the unrest. That hardly sounds like an irrelevant matter. And besides…" I winked at him. "…I thought you couldn't wait to get rid of me."

Hard, unyielding leather creaked as he folded his arms over his chest. "I don't like you, Leda Pandora."

I smiled. "Oh, you. Stop. I'm blushing."

Colonel Fireswift's scowl deepened. "I don't like you, but you do have an uncanny knack for sorting out chaos."

"Why, Xerxes, that just might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

He glowered at me.

I messaged Basanti and told her to bring Drake and Ivy to Storm Castle to check out this mysterious attack. I would have gone myself, Colonel Fireswift's protests notwithstanding, had I been certain it was related to the murders. But so far, the perpetrator had only targeted supernaturals, not Legion soldiers, so it seemed the incident at Storm Castle was indeed something different. Which meant I should stay here and check out the crime scene.

Sometimes being responsible really sucked. I'd much rather go help my friend Leila than stay here and trade insults with Colonel Fireswift.

We entered the barn and examined the two dead witches. Both were male, and they were young, neither older than twenty-five. They lay on the floor, close to each other. When I walked toward them, something crunched under my boot. I lifted up my foot and found a tiny glass sliver on the ground.

"It looks like the glass from a potion bottle," I commented.

Witches' bottles were made of a very special kind of glass, the kind that potions wouldn't dissolve, but that would still shatter on impact when thrown.

I walked a few loops inside the barn, then said, "There are a few more pieces of potion bottle glass scattered across the floor. And some herbs." I bent down and plucked a dried leaf off the floor. "Someone was mixing a potion in here." I sniffed the crusty leaf. "Dragon's breath, one of the ingredients in the Noxious Mist potion." I rubbed it between my fingers, and it crumbled to bits. "It looks like…" I frowned, then met Colonel Fireswift's eyes. "…it looks like someone tried to clean up in here but missed a few things. Especially the glass pieces."

As anyone who had ever dropped a glass could attest, you never found all the broken pieces.

"There was a fight," I said. "The witches tried to brew a potion."

"You're just speculating now."

"No, I'm not." A quick check of the witches' bodies showed marks on their skin. "Something attacked them in here. The witches didn't have any potions on them, so they tried to brew up something using common herbs. Dragon's breath and fireweed, the two ingredients in the Noxious Mist potion, can be found outside the barn." My gaze panned across the barn's floor. "Aha! There you are." I pointed at the dented metal bucket in a corner of the barn. "That's what they used to brew the potion."

Colonel Fireswift gave me a hard look. "A milk bucket."

"Beggars can't be choosers, Colonel. Look at the witches' tattered clothes. Have you ever seen a witch looking that shabby?"

"Their attire is generally more decent," he admitted.

"They were on the run from someone or something. They didn't have many supplies. Just a couple of empty potion vials, from the looks of the glass debris. So the witches had to think on their feet and make due with what they had available. They had to get creative and fight dirty."

"You would appreciate that," he said sternly.

"Of course."

His gaze panned over the two dead witches. "In the end, their dirty fighting didn't help them."

"Their attacker must have been too powerful."

"What attacked the witches?" Colonel Fireswift asked me.

"Not what. Who," I said. "I think your Interrogators need to have another chat with the guy who owns this barn."

"You think he attacked the witches."

"Probably not, but someone killed these witches with their own potion."

"Carver Spellsword."

"That's our working theory," I replied. "And then later the barn owner found the bodies and swept up the glass pieces from the witches' potion bottle. Because that wasn't Spellsword. He's made no effort thus far to hide how his victims died. On the contrary, he's made every effort to flaunt the fact that he killed them all with their own magic."

Colonel Fireswift was already typing on his phone. "I will instruct my team to speak with the barn owner, though I can't imagine why any citizen would knowingly conceal evidence from the Legion."

"People have their reasons. As you saw outside, not everyone worships us. Or wants us snooping around their barn."

He made a short, derisive noise. Clearly, he considered anyone who didn't worship angels to be heathens.

Just outside the barn's back door, a branch cracked softly, almost buried under the voices of the crowd gathered at the border. One look at Colonel Fireswift told me that he'd heard it too. He waved his hand, and a stream of telekinetic energy slithered past me and burst out the back. Before I could blink, his telekinetic hand had grabbed someone and dragged them inside. The back door rattled shut again.

Colonel Fireswift dismissed his spell, and a teenage girl tumbled to the floor. She was around sixteen, with a pair of blonde pigtails and bright green eyes. Those eyes trembled in terror when she looked up at us.

And Colonel Fireswift's scathing tone only agitated her fear. "What are you doing here?"

She rose shakily to her feet, and to her credit, she met our eyes. "Working."

"Your farm chores can wait. This is an official crime scene. Leave the area immediately."

I didn't point out that he'd been the one to pull her inside. Instead, I looked at the girl, noting her overalls and straw hat. She certainly looked like a farm girl. But she wasn't. The way her eyes were scanning the barn told me that. She'd never stepped foot inside of this building before.

"She's not a farmhand," I told Colonel Fireswift.

"Than what is she?" he demanded impatiently.

"A bounty hunter," the girl declared proudly.

Colonel Fireswift laughed. "She is a child."

"I was younger than she is now when Calli first brought me along on a hunt." I looked at the girl. "But this is your first job, isn't it?"

Her lower lip quivered. "How did you know?"

"An experienced bounty hunter knows to stay out of the Legion's way." I glanced briefly at Colonel Fireswift, then gave the girl a wink. "Or at least make it look like you are staying out of the Legion's way."

She giggled, and Fireswift glowered.

"What's your name?" I asked the girl.

"Faith."

"And why have you decided to be a bounty hunter, Faith?"

"The one million dollars."

Ah.

"You're Leda Pandora. The one who placed the bounty on Carver Spellsword."

Colonel Fireswift snapped his head around to me. Apparently, he hadn't heard about that.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later." I returned my attention to Faith. "And you think you're going to be the one to collect on the one million dollars?"

She stood a bit taller. "I know I am."

I laughed. This girl reminded me of a younger version of myself.

"This isn't just about the money, is it, Faith?"

She reminded me so much of myself, in fact, that I was certain of this.

"No," she admitted. "I mean, I do need the money, but it isn't only that."

"What happened?"

"You've heard about all these people who have gone missing lately? Well, one of those people is my big brother. He disappeared last weak, and I'm afraid Carver Spellsword might have gotten to him too. I'm afraid that he might be one of the dark angel's next victims." Faith's big emerald eyes glistened. "I have to find my brother. I have to save him. He's the only family I have left."

"I can understand that," I told her.

Her story hit close to home. Too close. When my brother Zane had gone missing two years ago, I'd joined the Legion to gain the magic I needed to find him.

"I knew you would understand." Faith clasped my hand. "You are the kindest of all the angels."

Colonel Fireswift humphed. He didn't consider kindness to be a heavenly virtue.

"You shouldn't buy every sob story that comes your way." He snatched Faith's hand and roughly pulled up her sleeve to reveal a sparkling gold chain on her wrist.

And dangling from that chain was a gigantic gold ring. The ring had been crafted into the shape of a male lion's head. Two big rubies were set in its eyes. This was the ring Dante Drummoyne's widow had mentioned to me. How the hell had it gotten here?

"Where did you get that ring?" I asked Faith.

"I found it outside in the bushes." There wasn't a hint of regret in her eyes. "The story I told you is true. I am looking for my brother. His name is Prosper Fawning, and he went missing last week. You can look him up yourself. My reason for being here is to save him, but I still have to find a way to fund my venture. Fuel and food aren't free, you know."

"You are a thief." Colonel Fireswift looked down at the ring. "And that ring you tried to steal is crime scene evidence."

"I didn't mean to…I just thought I could pawn it off for some supplies."

"Do you know what the Legion does to people who impede our investigations?" he barked at her.

She swallowed hard. "You give them to the Interrogators."

"That's right." A menacing smile curled his lips. "And I am the Master Interrogator."

"Leave her alone, Colonel," I snapped at him.

"How dare you—"

"You can scold me later," I cut in, then I turned to Faith and held out my hand. "Colonel Fireswift is right. That ring is evidence. I need you to give it to me."

She unwrapped the chain from her wrist, opened the clasp, popped off the ring, then slapped it into my open palm. And the whole time she scowled at me.

"Now go," I told her. "You need to stay away from this, Faith. Carver Spellsword is very dangerous. This whole investigation is very dangerous. I promise I will look for your brother, and I want you to promise me you will stay out of this."

She hit me with a sharp, angry glower. "I can't do that. I thought you understood."

"I do understand. I know you want to save your brother. But you have no experience. You've never worked a single, simple job as a bounty hunter, and now you're jumping off the deep end and going after a dark angel? You're going to get yourself killed."

She gave me a look of complete and total disappointment. "I guess everyone is right about you. You're just one of them now." Her gaze flickered to Colonel Fireswift, then back to me. "You're an angel now. You don't remember anymore what it's like to be human, to love, to care about others. And you always think that you know best."

"Go." I sank a lot of magic into the word. "And stay far away from this investigation."

Faith's eyes went blank. She pivoted around and walked out of the barn.

When she was gone, Colonel Fireswift turned to me and said, "Finally, you used your magic and commanded as an angel should: with force."

I didn't tell him how much it had pained me to usurp the girl's will in order to protect her.

"But you should not have told her she may go," said Colonel Fireswift. "She interfered in a Legion investigation."

I sighed. "She's just a child, Colonel."

But that child's words had cut me even deeper than all those protestors and reporters. She'd called me out for exactly the sort of behavior that had put a wedge between me and Nero.

"Child or not, she broke the law," said Colonel Fireswift. "And she did not deserve your kindness. You saved her life by compelling her."

"She'll be back."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because in her place, I wouldn't give up. I'd keep going until I found my brother. And until I'd taken down the person who took him from me."

"Then you are both fools who allow silly sentiment to override good judgment."

"Maybe we are," I agreed with a resigned laugh.

His eyes hardened. "It's not like you to give up so easily. You're usually so…prickly. Like a starving dog on the streets."

I made a soft, noncommittal noise. Compelling Faith had taken the fire right out of me.

Colonel Fireswift pulled out his phone, and his eyes panned down the screen. "My Interrogators just finished questioning the barn owner."

"And?"

He looked up from his phone, meeting my eyes. "When he discovered the two dead witches in his barn earlier today, he swept up the potion bottle glass. He was going to hide the bodies too, but one of his employees came into the barn before he could do that. The employee reported the crime to the local sheriff, who reported it to the Legion."

"Did the barn owner say why he was trying to cover up the crime?"

Colonel Fireswift frowned. "He didn't want anyone to know the supernatural-killer had struck again and killed two people here. Apparently, he believes death is bad for business."

"I was right."

"So it would seem." His frown deepened. He really didn't like it when I was right.

Colonel Fireswift squared his shoulders. "In any case, I will be taking that ring now," he said smoothly. "It's a magic artifact, and it belongs to me."

What a stellar subject change.

"No way, Colonel. This ring belonged to Dante Drummoyne, the rogue vampire, and I promised his widow that I would find it for her," I told him.

"Drummoyne stole it from me last year. Neither he nor his widow have any claim to it. It's mine." He extended his open palm to me. "So hand it over."

"Not a chance. This investigation spans several Frontier towns. It's mine." I closed my fist around the gold trinket. "And so is the evidence."

"This is outrageous."

"Wow, you really want this ring." I smirked at him. "Funny, I never took you for a gold-lion-ring kind of guy."

"I am a what-is-mine-is-mine kind of guy," he growled. "Now, return my property. Or suffer the consequences."

"Put your magic away, Fireswift. I'll check up on your claim. If it's valid, I'll give you the ring. After the investigation is over."

A gold-and-silver magic storm was building up inside his eyes.

"I'm perfectly within the rules, and you know it," I told him. "I can quote you the relevant Legion regulation if you want."

One of the wooden storage crates in the barn exploded.

I calmly brushed the wood shards off my clothes. "That's nice. Now if you're quite done blowing things up, let's collect the witches' bodies so I can bring them to Dr. Harding."