7. Rhys

There was a reason I'd brought Kiera to this building and not landed on a city street, and that was the CCTV cameras. They were in such common use these days that I wasn't sure I'd be able to avoid them entirely. So far, landing on this building near the International Financial Services Centre had served me well enough.

We took the stairwell down to the ground floor, and while there were cameras and security personnel on the way out, they never seemed to pay attention to who was leaving – only who was arriving through the front doors.

When we'd left the building, it felt like any other day in a big city, only better because Kiera was there with me. We walked down by the river, which wasn't far away, and Kiera followed me over the footbridge. It felt like sightseeing when she was by my side.

Kiera's red hair stood out radiantly against the blue sky. She glanced at me with love in her eyes, and I mirrored the gesture, but I knew I would need to focus because today we would hunt.

"We should be on our guard. He only lives a few blocks from here in a basement apartment."

"I didn't get a good look at his face, so I'm not going to recognise him, Rhys. I'm sure that he'd identify me though."

"That's a safe bet," I replied. "Just follow me. I'll show you the way."

There were a few cars about and people on foot, but it was quiet for late morning. The lunchtime rush was approaching, but we'd have an hour or so before the streets became far busier. It should give us time to do what we'd come here for.

I led Kiera to a building several doors down from the assassin's apartment. He went by a number of names, each one as fake as the last. He often chose typical Irish names, though he liked to use colours for surnames too. Padraig Black. Cillian Grey. Liam Brown. Conor Murphy. Eoin Green, and so forth.

"That's his place, just down there," I told her. "It's warded against magic."

"Of course, it is. What about angels?" Kiera asked, as she studied his apartment from the outside.

"No, I already know it isn't," I replied, with a hint of a smile.

Was I being reckless? Could it be some kind of trap? I already knew it could be.

It was an unassuming brick building – an apartment block in between two office buildings. There was no sign of greenery or gardens. It was up against the footpath, and a small set of stairs led down to the apartment that I knew belonged to our target.

"We can keep watch here, but if we do, we might be noticed by non-humans – if there are any," Kiera said. "We can't use magic to look in there because of the warding. What did you do when you were waiting for him before?"

"I perched on the roof and waited for him to come out."

"I'm not opposed to some perching with you, but we could just go down there and knock," she suggested.

"He tried to kill you, Kiera. I'll be damned if I'm going to give him an easy way to try again."

"I hate to tell you this, but you are damned, Rhys. You've been exiled from heaven."

"That's not the point," I said, replying in a tone of annoyance. "I don't want you to put yourself stupidly in danger."

"Then you do it," she suggested. "Not stupidly, of course. He's unlikely to have anything to hand that can kill a fallen angel, though I would take off the crystal in case he aims right for it. After all, he knows what it is."

"I see your point," I replied, and took off the crystal pendant. I'd had an odd connection with it ever since it had almost killed me. I couldn't say why exactly, but I preferred to keep it with me.

I slipped it into my pocket, and assumed the chances were slim the assassin would opt to shoot me there.

My pistol was in a holster beside it. My black shirt hung loosely over it, but it was easily within reach – just the way I liked it.

"Stay close," I told her, resisting the urge to steal a kiss from her angelic lips. "You'll need to, otherwise Kelibon will be able to detect our location."

It all felt so easy and natural – crossing that short distance to the assassin's apartment, and walking down those concrete stairs.

I knocked several times but no one answered. Placing my hand over the lock, I exerted my will and the lock snapped open. I might not have the sheer divine power that Kiera did, but I still had plenty of tricks up my sleeve.

I pushed the door inward, and it creaked as it opened on to a small living room. It was packed to the brim with stuff – duplicate pieces of furniture, books piled up high, electronics, bric-a-brac, movie figurines and a piano dominated the room. It seemed our assassin was the musical type. His apartment was more overcrowded than a stylish lair. Good real estate was hard to find in Dublin these days at a fair price.

I scanned the room for any threats – traps, angelic wards, magic of any kind, and aside from the generic wards outside, I found none. I was careful where I stepped as I made my way into the room, and ventured down the hallway to see if the assassin was home.

A small, dirty kitchen to the left was empty. I continued along the corridor, and drew my pistol. Its cold metal felt reassuring in my hand. I'd once known myself to be stronger without it, but now I wasn't so sure. It might not kill a supernatural being easily, but it was bound to help. If only I'd had it with me the day before, I might not have needed to be here now.

Why hadn't I taken it with me? What was it – pride? Arrogance? Or just trust in my own abilities? In reality, it was simpler than that. I'd had no intention of confronting the assassin, and didn't believe he could kill me if I had. I'd underestimated him. I just might have been doing the same thing again.

I heard a noise up ahead and stepped into the bathroom. A few seconds later, I heard footsteps in the corridor. He must've come from the bedroom. I was ready for this situation to be over, so the moment he reached the doorway, I slammed him forward against the wall and pressed my gun to the back of his head.

It was him, alright – the same man who'd come after us the day before. He seemed surprisingly calm given the situation. He was probably already trying to figure out how to kill me. I know I'd have been in his situation.

My voice was firm. "Turn around slowly and keep your hands away from your pockets."

I wondered if I sounded like I'd watched one too many cop dramas.

He looked so normal up close, like any other man. I knew he had to be more than that. He wouldn't be working for Kelibon as an assassin, otherwise.

"Take a seat."

I walked with him to his small kitchen table, and sat him down in one of the seats. "You and I are going to have a talk about Kelibon."

"I can't tell you about him," he said, as he glanced around the room, familiarity in his gaze.

Was he looking for a knife? More than likely, he was carrying one already.

"Right now it isn't Kelibon you need to worry about. It's me," I said, gesturing with the pistol.

"That's not it. He uses magic to ensure our compliance. I literally cannot talk about him."

The assassin's gaze snapped to the door, and that was when I realised Kiera was there.

Her presence seemed to make the assassin nervous, though I wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he knew she was an angel, whereas he had no idea what I was.

"Kiera, how are you at lifting spells?" I asked, with a subtle glance in her direction.

"You can't be serious," the assassin replied, his anxiety plain to see.

"This is him?" she asked, her expression perplexed in a way he might've found condescending. "I can lift most spells. If it was cast by an archangel, that might be another matter, but a fae – I'd say that's no problem."

Kiera approached the assassin, looking him over until she stood about ten feet in front of us.

"He's wrapped in spells. Some of them are protective, but this one… it's like a gag. I wonder what would happen if I remove it."

She reached out her hand, and as if grasping empty air, she pulled… and a light glow wound around her fingers as she did.

The assassin looked horrified. "I'm not telling you anything."

"How do you take on your jobs? And where did you learn about her?" I asked, glancing at Kiera, who was removing the last of the spell's energy from her fingers.

"I can't tell you that. Kelibon would know, and I'm not going to help you. Just do what you came here to do," he said.

Did he expect to be killed? Perhaps it was no surprise that he felt that way.

"Why did you try to kill me?" Kiera asked, taking a step closer to the assassin.

I didn't like her that close, in case she was in danger, but I knew she could defend herself. She'd proven as much already.

"Kiera can ensure your afterlife is less than salubrious."

"It was nothing personal," he replied. "I was just doing my job. Kelibon…"

The assassin gasped and grabbed his throat. "No, NO," he screamed, as he scrambled to get something away from his neck – only there was nothing there that I could see.

Kiera focused her magical gaze on him, and I did the same. There was no sign of any magic in effect, other than the passive wards, unless it was inside his body… or some manner of device was.

He gasped as though he was choking, and he fell from the chair on to the floor. I stayed back with my pistol aimed at him in case it was some kind of trick, but I didn't think it was.

The assassin's face turned an ashen grey, and he wasn't looking good. In fact, I was sure he was dying, though I couldn't have said why. Kelibon was almost certainly responsible.

Kiera reached out to the assassin and laid a hand on his shoulder, as he slumped on the ground. I knew what she'd be doing – trying to heal him with angelic energy. It had done wonders for me, so I waited to see what would happen.

Eventually the colour came back into the assassin's face, and he started coughing and spluttering.

"Someone just tried to kill him. There was a spell inside him that unfurled. I had to let it run its course before I could fix the damage. It's gone so he should be alright now."

"Do you understand what just happened?" I asked the assassin. "Kelibon just tried to murder you, and you still want to be loyal to him?"

"My phone. Look at my phone," he said between racking coughs. "He sends me jobs on there."

Kiera gave me a vacant look, and I took that to mean she was less than expert in human technology.

I reached for his mobile phone and handed it to the assassin. "Show me."

The last thing I wanted to do was get distracted with a device when I had a gun trained on the guy.

I watched as he opened one of the apps. He reluctantly handed it over to Kiera, who read through it and looked at the picture, before showing it to me.

"That's me on there," she said, taking a step closer. "I don't know how they got that picture of me, though. I've never seen it before."

It had been taken up close, and it looked more like a natural shot than a portrait. Someone must have got close to her in the city to photograph her like that. I found it unlikely the picture had been taken in heaven.

"My profile doesn't have an address, because I don't have one yet, but it has some strange, personal information on me. How do they know my waist measurement? Why does that matter?"

I put my hand on her back, comfortingly.

"They're wrong about some of my magic," she added after a few moments.

"I'd be careful how much you say in present company," I reminded her.

Was I really going to let the assassin live? That hadn't been the plan, but I voiced a sigh.

Turning to the assassin, I looked him over. He was a career killer. Why should I spare his life?

"What was your motivation for going after Kiera?" I asked him.

"Money. Kelibon sends me jobs and I know better than to ask questions," the assassin explained.

"How do we find him?" I had so many questions, but after the first, that was at the forefront of my mind.

"If I tell you, he'll find me."

"He won't live long enough to hunt you down. Now where is he?" I asked, my patience growing short.

"I'll point to it on a map of Ballsbridge. After that, I want you both gone and I don't want to see either of you again."

"You're not in a position to set the terms here." That said, he was willing to give me the information I wanted, and I wasn't going to overlook the chance of finding the fae behind all this.

When he had his phone back, he loaded up a map and gave it a tap on the screen.

"It's around there. You have what you need. Please, just go."

I kept my gun trained on him as Kiera and I moved toward the door. "You come after either of us again, and your life is forfeit. In fact, you hurt Kiera in the slightest, and no one will find what's left of you."

Kiera and I left the apartment, and only stopped to talk when we were several blocks away.

"I must be getting soft in my old age. I didn't even shoot him once."

Judging by Kiera's expression, I wasn't sure I should've voiced that aloud.

"Um, alright. Do you think he'll let Kelibon know that we're coming?" she asked with obvious concern in her voice.

"If he was honest about the address – which I can tell he was – then absolutely not. More than likely he's going to run, unless he holds out and plays dumb. Kelibon might've noticed his spell firing off, or if the assassin drops off the grid, that could raise some questions. We're better off going after him sooner than later."

Kiera nodded. "I'm ready to go. I just don't understand why he attacked me."

I was sure Kelibon must've learned about her plans, because he wouldn't have targeted her otherwise. If he was attacking all angels, he'd have come for me years ago. It was ironic he hadn't found me yet, given that I'd knocked off a number of his people – and would continue to do so, given the chance. The assassin we'd just left was luckier than he realised.