The Soul Thief Read online

  With her strength returning, Alexa pushed herself up and assumed a fighting stance, readying herself for another attack.

  Finally, the demon stilled.

  It turned towards Alexa. “Curse you, angel! Curse you!” it gurgled. “You will die! All of you! He is coming. He will destroy life. He will destroy you all! He—”

  The demon started to wither. Its body began to crack and peel into a pool of darkness. It turned its eyeless face toward her once more, and then it exploded into a cloud of ash.

  CHAPTER 4

  ALEXA ONLY LEFT THE TEEN once she knew he was safe and able to get home on his own. His skin was still pasty and pale, but it was a huge improvement. While the demon had ingested almost all the boy’s life force, once the demon had been vanquished, the small amount that was left quickly grew back and replenished his strength.

  Alexa had done her job and saved him. She had done her duty. Her chest swelled with pride. She couldn’t help it. If she hadn’t been good at anything in life, maybe she would shine in death.

  The demon had said things that made her uneasy, however. Who was this person or demon it kept referring to? A demon lord? An archfiend? The last she’d heard, all the archfiends had been permanently locked and sealed back in their cages. If it wasn’t them, who was He?

  Maybe it was just a trick to throw her off balance and make her easier to kill. But she had the unmistakable feeling it wasn’t.

  She’d discovered that the teen’s name was Brian, but he didn’t seem to remember much apart from walking into the park with his buddies. After that, he only remembered darkness. Alexa had quickly jumped in and convinced him that he’d passed out from exhaustion, that he’d caught a bug.

  “It’s probably best you go home and rest,” she had told him. Then she’d watched him wander off and disappear in the shadows of the park.

  Her mortal suit had repaired the gashes on her hands and forearms, stitching the skin together until it had healed completely. Alexa couldn’t help but feel impressed. She noticed a strange transparent liquid that had seeped from her deepest cut, and she figured it must be the artificial blood that sustained her M-suit and made it feel more like a mortal body.

  Even though she’d defeated the demon, she couldn’t defeat the smell. Even though she’d brushed off most of the demon ash from her jeans, jacket, and hair, it still left a sour taste in her mouth. It was as though the smell of rot had marked her like some cheap perfume. Fantastic.

  Feeling slightly self-conscious, she made her way back to the scene of the original crime. More people had gathered behind the yellow tape, and Alexa carefully picked her way through the crowd until the tape was at her waist. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but something at the back of her mind made her look.

  When she stepped around a tall man with short-cropped hair and cologne that made her eyes water, one of the CSI guys leaned away from the victim, and Alexa got a clear view of the girl’s face for the first time.

  The girl’s eyes were burned.

  Alexa could see that the empty black sockets had been scorched, and that black and red blisters extended from her eye area and into her brows. Red liquid oozed down the sides of her temples, as though she’d cried tears of blood before she died. It was as though someone had blasted flaming torches into the poor girl’s eyes.

  Now she understood why everyone was taking pictures. The scene was unusually gruesome and creepy. But the more she stared and thought about it, the more she realized the differences between the two incidents. The demon hadn’t affected Brian’s eyes or even cut him. It had only wanted his life force.

  The more Alexa thought about the way the girl had been killed, the more she felt it must have been the work of something else. Although the girl was covered in blood, her skin didn’t have the emaciated quality the boy had. If it had been the same demon, surely it would have eaten away at her in the same way. It didn’t make sense that the same demon would attack the two victims differently. Or did it? While Alexa didn’t know for sure, her instincts told her that it couldn’t have been the same demon.

  Something wasn’t adding up. Maybe she’d destroyed the demon before it had the chance to burn the boy. Still, she couldn’t suppress the feeling that something else entirely had killed the girl.

  A male voice beside her made her jump.

  “Pretty nasty sight,” he said.

  The young man hadn’t been there a second ago, and she didn’t recognize him as one of the dead girl’s friends. He was almost a head taller than she was, and she was five eight. His dark hair brushed the shoulders of his black leather motorcycle jacket. The lamplight illuminated his handsome face. There was something unsettling about his fierce, dark eyes, as if they hid some inner sadness.

  Alexa ignored him. She wasn’t here for small talk. Besides, he probably wouldn’t stay too close to her once her demon stench hit him. It was starting to give her a buzz.

  “What do you think…demon, or just a case of werewolf or vampire?” said the stranger. “Although, I don’t see any bite marks anywhere near her jugular. Maybe a rogue werewolf? Nah, not enough blood. Definitely a demon.”

  “Excuse me?” Alexa’s voice rose.

  Several heads had turned toward them now.

  “My money’s on a lesser demon, like a Morax,” said the stranger. His dark eyes didn’t leave the crime scene. “It’s too messy for a Higher demon. What do you think…angel?”

  Alexa flinched in a very unattractive way. She was still not used to being in a mortal suit. It would definitely take some getting used to. She whirled around in a panic. “How did you know I was an—” she looked around and then added in a whisper “—an angel?” The word still felt strange coming from her lips, even though she knew she had been dead for over a year. Saying it out loud made it true. Almost. An elderly couple were eavesdropping on their conversation. Alexa glared at them until they turned away.

  The stranger laughed. “Are you kidding? You practically glow in the dark. What? You didn’t think that the supernatural couldn’t spot you from a mile away? You angels are all the same.”

  Alexa frowned at his tone. “You must be one of the Sensitives. I’ve read about young operatives like you.”

  The stranger raised his brows. “Oh really? I didn’t know I was such a hot commodity in the Legion.”

  “Not you specifically,” said Alexa. “But I do know that the archangels created Sensitives who can see angels, who can see through the Veil and can see the supernatural. They say you are primarily human, but you have angel essence flowing in your veins.”

  The stranger’s jaw clenched. “And you think that gives you the right to rule over us, to make us your slaves? You think that makes you superior?”

  “What?” Alexa was shocked at the hatred and pain in his tone. Clearly there was some bad history between the angels and this young man. “I never said that,” said Alexa more gently although she wasn’t sure why she bothered. He had attacked first.

  The Sensitive operative’s eyes narrowed to frowning slits as he looked back at the girl’s body. “You didn’t have to.” For a moment he was silent, but when he turned to face her again, his face was devoid of emotion. “Go back to where you belong, stiff. We don’t need your kind here.”

  He turned on his heel without another glance in her direction and made his way towards a group of mortals who were speaking to one of the police officers.

  Alexa stood there for a moment, half in shock at being called a stiff, and half in boiling fury, the demon forgotten.

  The Sensitives were supposed to be allies with the Legion and the guardian angels. They were supposed to be the eyes and ears of the Legion on Earth. They were supposed to work together. What the hell was his problem?

  Reluctantly, and with a combination of fury and a little hurt pride, Alexa balled her hands into fists and made her way slowly towards him. Back in life she would have shied away from someone who’d slighted her, but it seemed that in death she was blessed with
confidence and defiance. Death had changed her.

  She began to smile.

  The archangel Ariel had instructed her to meet up with the Sensitives, specifically the one called Santo. She had been told that he was the one in charge and would guide her. The archangel had been sorely mistaken.

  Ariel must have felt that this Sensitive would have been a good match for her because he was closer to her in age. Maybe he thought the Sensitives could help ease her transition into her new job. She had been instructed to find out if they knew anything about what had happened to the girl. Maybe they had leads. Maybe they didn’t. Either way, they were supposed to work together, not throw insults. Or was there more to them than Ariel had let on?

  There were five of them, including the rude one. They looked different up close, older and somewhat more intimidating. The men all wore long black trench coats over dark clothes. Their outfits screamed mysterious and daunting. The woman was equally imposing in a long leather coat that brushed the heels of her knee-high boots. Her hair was cut short so it showed off her strong features and coffee-colored skin. The man speaking to the officer wore a black fedora, and Alexa singled him out as their leader.

  At first glance, any normal person would have thought them to be FBI agents. But the gleaming silver swords beneath their coats gave them away.

  Alexa stood close enough to hear them.

  “…I’ll let you know if I hear anything,” said the policeman.

  The one who’d called her a stiff turned around and glared at her, but she focused her attention on the man in the hat. Nonetheless, her nails dug into the flesh of her palms, and the stinging pain surprised her.

  “Thanks, Frank,” said the Sensitive with the fedora as the policeman walked away. He looked at Alexa with a clear, intelligent gaze, but she saw a hint of confusion before he gave her a warm smile.

  “You must be Alexa,” he said, surprising her a little.

  She knew the Legion communicated with the Sensitives on occasion, she just had no idea how it was done.

  “I’m Santo,” he continued and gestured towards the others. “This is Haru, Denton, and Evelyn. And I think you’ve already met Erik.”

  Erik. Although she felt his gaze on her, she avoided him completely. She went to shake Santo’s hand, but he did not raise his. Feeling like an idiot, she let her hand drop. She blushed slightly. Was this a rookie mistake? Or did they really not want to touch her?

  Santo’s dark eyes gleamed under his black fedora. An angry-looking scar marred the left side of his otherwise very handsome face and made him look gruesome. “What’s the Legion’s take on this?” inquired Santo. His voice was raspy and commanding, the voice of someone who was used to getting answers. “Any leads to what killed the girl? How did something like that slip under your radar?”

  Was that an accusation? Just by the way he was looking at her, Alexa knew he was hiding something. Was this a test?

  Alexa shifted uncomfortably under his intent stare, but she didn’t look away. “We do our best,” she said. The conviction in her voice surprised her. It was obvious he thought she had some experience in the demon-slaying business, and she wasn’t about to tell him otherwise. “But there are always a handful of demons that slip through the cracks, no matter what we do,” she tried to sound like a seasoned guardian.

  “Thought as much,” he answered, nodding. “Which demon is responsible for this mess?”

  “I’m pretty sure it was a lesser demon.” Alexa’s fingers still felt cold and alien. “But as to which one, I would need more time. Could be a Morax demon, or maybe a Val’dor demon. Hard to tell.” She tried to remember all the different lesser demons she’d studied, but her mind was going blank under pressure.

  Santo leaned closer to her, and he frowned. “You don’t sound convinced,” he said dryly. “What else do you know…or what else do you think you know?”

  For the first time, a hint of doubt, even fatherly condescension, had crept into his voice, as if Alexa’s youth somehow undermined the respect due to her as a guardian angel.

  Alexa wasn’t sure about how much information she wanted to relay. She didn’t know them, and she had the impression they didn’t trust her. But if she were to solve this and get ahead in the Legion, she knew she needed help.

  “All I know for sure is that whatever killed her took her soul.”

  Erik’s attention snapped back to her, as did the others’. They were clearly taken aback that she actually had some useful information.

  “What do you mean took her soul?” Erik appeared genuinely interested in her now. “I thought that’s what demons did. Eat people’s souls.”

  “They do. But this is different.” Alexa glanced at Erik and kept her face blank even though she was still positively fuming about his snide comment. But she almost smiled at him now because she knew something that he didn’t. Stiff or not, she was privy to the Legion’s inside information. He wasn’t.

  “How is it different?” asked Santo, a calculating look on his face.

  “There seems to be a discrepancy between the time when the victims were killed and when the souls were killed. It’s like they happened at two different times. The victims died, and then a few minutes later the souls died. That’s why the Legion felt this matter needed further investigation. It’s very unusual. Where do the souls go during that short time? And for what purpose? It’s not common behavior in lesser demons, or in any demon for that matter.”

  “You said victims,” said Santo. His gaze rested on the body that was now covered with a white blanket. “So there’s more than one of these cases.”

  “Yes,” said Alexa.

  Santo shared a look with the man called Haru. He looked to be in his late thirties, like Santo, and had gleaming short black hair and matching clever eyes. A longsword hung at his hip, and he looked as lean as an alley cat. Alexa guessed he would be equally quick and graceful in his motions.

  “Are they sure about that? About the souls?” asked Santo after a long pause. His expression was unreadable.

  “Yes,” answered Alexa, finally feeling important and useful. “It’s why I’m here. To find out what happens in that small window of time after the mortal body dies and before the soul disappears.”

  Santo paced on the spot and then paused in mid-stride. His eyes once again grazed over the body before returning to Alexa. “I’ve never heard of a demon who preferred to collect souls and consume them later, when each soul would grant him more power and longevity here in our world.” With his hand on the hilt of his sword, he looked at Alexa in such a way that he implied Alexa knew more than she was willing to tell them, that she was withholding information. “What about your other cases? In your experience, have you ever seen anything that might shed some light here? It could help us narrow down the list of demons.”

  Alexa shook her head, unable to form the lie on her lips. “I don’t have much experience in these kinds of cases.” Immediately, she knew she had said the wrong thing. It was too late to take it back now. Why hadn’t she just lied?

  The Sensitives all looked at her with incredulity and frustration.

  Santo frowned deeply, and his scar twisted grotesquely. “Why would the Legion send a rookie on a case such as this?”

  “She’s a rookie?” Evelyn spoke for the first time. Her gaze went from Alexa’s boots to the top of her head, rolling over every inch of her as though trying to find the word rookie written on her skin or hidden beneath her clothes. A strange smile formed on her lush lips. “I’ll never understand angels.”

  Evelyn turned around and shared a laugh with the one called Denton. He was built like a gladiator with strong shoulders and skin the color of midnight. He towered over everyone and watched her with a mixture of cruelty and amusement in his small black eyes.

  “I can help,” said Alexa. Her voice cracked, and she cursed herself for revealing too much emotion to these strangers. “I’ve been trained for this, you know. I’m not an idiot.”

  Santo’s
eyes rooted her to the spot. “How many assignments have you done?”

  Crap. Alexa strained not to look away. She would not show him the fear that wanted to break loose from inside her. “This is my first—”

  “Great!” said Haru as he threw up his hands. “And this is what the Legion means by cooperation? We asked for help and they send us a kid? An angel kid with zero experience. Fantastic. I told you they weren’t going to tell us what was really going on. It’s time you open your eyes, Santo.”

  Although she was annoyed, Alexa didn’t correct him. It was the truth. Perhaps the Legion had made a mistake sending her.

  “Show’s over, guys,” said Santo. His voice and eyes were cold. “Go back to Horizon, Alexa. You’re no use to us here. And ask them to send us an angel with real experience next time.”

  The words stung. Whether he had meant to or not, he had make Alexa feel like a total failure and a fraud.

  But she had not failed. Not yet. Alexa struggled to get the next words out.

  “I can help,” she said again. She was determined not to be pushed aside. “I already did.” She gestured towards the park where she’d rescued the teenage boy.

  “What?” Santo hesitated and then he added, “what did you do?” His expression was as immobile as a stone, but he sounded genuinely interested.

  “We don’t need the stiff’s help,” growled Erik before she could reply. He moved next to Santo, his square shoulders nearly as wide as his leader’s. “We can do this without them.” His glare made her wince, but he was wrong if he thought it was enough to shut her up. She had to wait a moment to compose herself.

  “I vanquished a demon just before you arrived,” she said finally. She hoped they’d start to take her seriously now that she had a real demon-vanquishing experience under her belt.

  “Sure you did,” said Erik, a mock smile on his face. “And I’m Santa Claus.”