Prologue

The Night of the Angel's Kiss

Azazel

December 12, 1912

I looked at the male Guardian standing before me, the one who was rude enough to interrupt my fun. I happened to be dealing with a miserable lot of humans who thought it would be smart to double-cross me on a transaction for guns. I didn't appreciate this Guardian's intrusion. I swiftly broke the neck of the worthless human I'd been holding to give my full attention to the pest.

Like all other Guardians I'd faced in the past, he was bonded with his angelic Champion and donned the celestial armor the Champion provided. This was white and gold and stronger than any steel, I was sure, based on my experience. Oh yes, he would get my undivided attention.

"You must want to die tonight," I said as I let the corpse fall to the ground. I stepped over his remains like the trash he was.

"Is there anything you filthy demons won't steal? That's my line," the Guardian said, then smiled.

He was holding a revolver with a fancy handle and a sword with a curved blade. The hilt's handguard was intricate in its design. Both weapons glowed a soft blue light. Yes, celestial weapons indeed. Of course, I'd never seen one that glowed before. Was he what his kind called the "Divine Weapon"? If so, then the Guardian who threatened my life was stronger than the other two I'd faced in the past. They had been easy to kill.

"The last of your kind I killed warned me that a Divine Weapon would come for me. Are you he?" I asked. I had no idea what made a Divine Weapon, nor did I care.

He smiled and nodded.

I welcomed this challenge.

I looked up at the sky to see the moon undergoing an eclipse. Ahhh, what a fitting setting in which I would kill my third Guardian. I let my gaze zero in on my target and smirked. "What is your name?"

"Why should I tell you?" he snarled. His blue eyes remained steady on me, which was smart.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked.

"Azazel, The Demon of War and the most powerful Knight of the Round Court," he replied, and the disgust in his expression gave me a bit of satisfaction to know that I was so loathed by these pompous assholes.

"You say that with such disdain." I snorted.

"Evil is disdainful," he replied.

I sighed. Humans—because that was what he was—were so hypocritical and self-righteous. "I've killed two of your kind already. It was so disappointingly effortless. Aren't you Guardians supposed to be God's last defense?" I taunted.

"Azazel, I, Guardian Jean Dubois of the Celestial Guardian Guild, will end your existence for all of your heinous crimes against mankind. Demon, your horrible reign ends now," he declared.

Well, at least now I knew the name of the Guardian I'd be killing.

"If not for the evil of humans, my kind would not be here," I told him.

"Your kind's only purpose is to breed discontent and hatred. You feed on the weakness of humans like parasites. Your kind—"

I rolled my eyes and waved my hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, I've heard it all before," I interjected. "Let's dance, shall we?" I beckoned for him to come at me.

He charged at me, swinging his sword with a skill that outmatched the other Guardians I'd faced off with. He was fast and powerful and it took some effort for me to dodge his attacks. I conjured my own armor and sword, the blade was black, the silver hilt had an intricate design with pointed edges, and it glowed red as it was infused with my power. My armor was just as impressive, black with glowing red razor-sharp edges to each layer of metal. But what was most impressive were the spikes on my pauldron, couter, and gauntlets. My armor was wicked enough to bring demons to their knees in fear, and it was metal not found on Earth. No, my armor and sword were forged in the deepest levels of Hell using metals created with damned souls.

The Guardian's gaze took in my full form, my face morphing into something hideous, my true demonic form. My tanned skin turned black and thicker like leather. My eyes glowed bright indigo, the pupils slitting to mimic a reptile's. My fangs elongated, and my nails extended to claws as the tips of my ears grew pointed. The Guardian braced himself as he held his defensive stance, waiting for me to attack. I came at him, our blades clashing against each other. The look of sheer determination in his fierce expression excited me. I knew our battle would be an epic one. Those other Guardians I faced paled in comparison to this one. My heart raced in my chest as our swords clashed. I could not hold back, not with him.

He shot his gun, and the glowing blue bullet whizzed past me, just grazing my cheek. That tiny cut seared my flesh so painfully, I could only imagine what it would have done to me had it hit a vital area. He shot again, and I leaped back and he followed, not allowing any time or space to separate us. I needed to use my other abilities to counter him. I teleported behind him and sliced his armor, my blade splitting his celestial steel, but I wasn't able to reach his skin. My blow wasn't deep enough. I blocked one of his moves, but he countered quickly, slashing me in my arm. His blade did penetrate my arm and the wound in my arm stung even worse than the cut his bullet had inflicted. I spun to dodge another slash and release my fire from the palm of my hand that he blocked with his blade, the fire split as the blade parted it.

Impressive!

He fired his gun at me and I had to move quickly, using my demonic teleportation to dodge the bullets as they hissed through the air past me. This Guardian was making me work for my victory. My state of arousal had peaked and I felt wild with the sense of exhilaration that pumped through my veins. I would have to push myself past my limits if I wanted to defeat this Guardian. His thirst for my blood seemed to match mine for his.

I teleported and, this time, I used the shadows surrounding us, wrapping them around me to conceal myself. He felt me, I was sure, but could he see me? I moved slowly, taking careful steps toward him as he looked around. I played with the shadows, controlling them to throw him off. When he turned to slash at one, I clawed his face, ripping into the skin. He cried out, blood gushing from his wound as shredded flesh dangled from bloody strands.

"You beast!" he yelled as he covered his wound with his hand. He had to dissolve his gun to do that. Good, one of his weapons out of the way was an advantage. His sword grew brighter, which I found peculiar.

"I was trying to cut your throat, but you moved in the nick of time," I taunted.

"You will die!" he snarled.

I moved in again, and at the same time, played with the shadows. Once I was close, I swung my sword, but he rolled, dodging out of the way.

"That trick won't work on me, you scum!" he yelled and he looked directly at me, which let me know that he could see me.

How? No matter.

I discarded the shadows and revealed myself, then laughed. "Oh! You're magnificent! Truly worthy of the death I will give you."

He released a yell that I felt vibrate through my body and ran toward me, faster than any Guardian before him. I used one of my most powerful abilities to freeze him, but it had no effect. He continued to race toward me.

Interesting and concerning. The longer I fought him, the less my powers worked on him. It was going to come down to skill.

We fought again with swords, feet, and fists. I dodged his sword and punched him so hard, he spun but came back with a kick that caught me in the chest, sending me crashing into the car of the gangster I'd killed. The thick steel was dented from the impact of my body. My armor had protected me from most of it, but it still hurt. I had no time to gather myself before he was on me again. I blasted my fire, forcing him to leap back. The heat of my flames was lethal to demons and angels alike. Hellfire. The Guardian knew it and it gave me time to climb to my feet.

"Argh!' I growled, my indigo eyes glowing brighter in my fury. My chest heaved as he growled. Never had any being given me this much trouble.

We stared at each other, murder in our eyes. I would have his blood on my hands. I charged at him, a flurry of blows and slashes, some landing, as he did the same. The cut he gave me burned like ice-cold fire. It was the best way I could describe it.

The sky began to darken above us as we fought, the eclipse becoming fuller. I attacked the Guardian, punching and kicking him, both moves landing. He countered with a kick of his own and caught my jaw, forcing me to stagger back. When he came in, thinking I was dropping my guard, I ducked and slashed, my blade slicing through his abdomen. Finally, an attack I could capitalize on!

He cried out and fell to his knees, insides spilling out. In his weakened state, he collapsed to the ground, hands holding his abdomen. I knew better than to give him any time to heal. The wound on his face was almost mended, so I had an idea of how fast it would take him. I sent a blaze of Hellfire at him. The bright red flames engulfed his body, devouring him. He screamed words, which I didn't recognize. I also had no interest in them, only his death. He thrashed about, arms flailing as he wailed, and that was when I teleported to him, swinging my sword with all of my might and taking his head. I watched in satisfaction as his head catapulted in the air, then landed in a thud as it rolled to a stop. His body, still gushing blood, fell as it continued to burn.

I was breathing hard, so exhausted after our battle as I looked at what remained of the Guardian. "I'll give it to you, Jean Dubois... you made me work for it." My human features returned as I absorbed my armor and sword back into my body and turned... or at least I tried to. My body was immobile and no matter how hard I tried to move, I couldn't. I couldn't even speak. There was a rumble as the ground shook beneath my feet. I could see the eclipsed moon in the sky and it began to turn red. What the hell was going on?

The body of the fallen Guardian floated in the air, which had never happened before when I'd faced other Guardians. In the past, I'd fatally wound one, and their Archangel Champion would die, leaving only the Guardian. And without that power from the archangel, the Guardian was all but dead in my presence. I noticed that wasn't the case with this Divine Weapon. Was this happening because I killed him?

I watched in awe as two souls separated from the corpse and ascended to the sky. Yes, this was very different from before. And the moment they disappeared, I felt the most excruciating pain I'd ever experienced grip my entire body. I couldn't even scream or breathe. It felt like liquid pain—debilitating pain—replaced my blood and was now pumping to and from my heart. The red glow of the eclipse grew brighter and then something shot down from the sky into me. My body jerked about from the powerful force of whatever it was as it invaded me.

The pain I'd been experiencing all but doubled and I was finally able to scream. The windows of the empty factories were all shattered by the powerful roar of my voice, the ground continued to shake as my body was assaulted by the presence that had been sent from above. Was it from the heavens? It felt like it was corrupting me, torturing me. Tears flowed from my eyes and I couldn't even remember the last time I ever cried... if the occasion even occurred.

Finally, the pain just vanished and I fell to the ground, panting hard, my body buzzing with an energy I didn't recognize. Everything hurt and I was too weak to move. There was something cold on my inner forearm and I lifted my sleeve to see a mark glowing white at first. As it seared itself into my flesh, more pain gripped me and I gritted my teeth as I growled in agony. I watched as the mark of a sword burned into my skin and once it was done, that pain faded.

I rolled onto my back, and the cold air from the nighttime breeze washed over my sweat-soaked body. I shivered a little from the entire ordeal. My chest heaved and the fatigue took over; I had just enough strength to teleport home and into my bed. The last thought that plagued me before sleep took me was: What just happened to me?