2. Chapter 2
University of Memphis
Two Weeks Earlier
Shuffling down the apartment building’s corridor, Izzy cursed her tired mortal shell as her heels dragged along the carpet.
Her laptop bag strap dug into her shoulder as her restless mind cataloged how she would finish the research project that had taken long into the evening.
A chime had her digging her phone from her jeans pocket.
The text came from her only other Fallen acquaintance she kept in contact with, Thea. I’m at the cave, and it’s a gold mine.
Izzy sighed. She’d forgotten that she’d made plans to hunt demons to gain more feathers. Although acquiring over forty thousand feathers to return to Heaven within one human lifetime was impossible, Izzy needed more feathers to continue her research in making that quota a possibility.
Her phone vibrated with another text. The petroglyph is still here, and it gives me the creeps.
From the tourist images of the carving in the cave, the feather-like characters were unlike anything Izzy had seen before. They didn’t belong to local tribes or known languages. Not even Angelic or Demonic. Local tribal folklore spoke of an immortal creature populating their land.
The writing was a mystery that might help her extend her life.
At the sensation of a smile taking her lips, she suppressed the excitement bubbling within her and quickened her pace. She reached her apartment door and fumbled to unlock it. Inside, the scent of garlic and marinara wafted over her.
“Late night again? I made pasta if you want any.” Simon’s British accent carried from their small kitchen table as he tucked his curly brown hair behind his ear. The unruly coil just sprung back over his eyes.
“I’m in a rush.” She headed for her bedroom.
“Too much of a rush to help me with the latest Bubblegum Bandit heist? I need your Sherlockian expertise.”
Her feet tilted toward her bedroom, but she paused, unable to help herself.
She wasn’t nearly as interested in the notorious thief eluding the police as Simon, but figures that made history were like a new specimen for her to analyze.
Biting her lower lip, she crossed the room and peered around Simon’s lanky form to view his laptop screen.
He grabbed a breadstick from the plate in front of him and handed it to her.
As she ate, garlic and butter were an afterthought compared to the mysterious figure in the news.
“What’s the latest?” she asked.
From Simon’s side profile, she could just make out the upward tilt of his mouth, and she wanted to sigh.
He knew her too well, from her curiosity to the fact that he could get her to take in much-needed nutrients if he baited her with it.
But as her Coheart, or human butler, taking care of her was part of his job. Nothing more.
“The bandit left her lip-print note on this football player’s Super Bowl ring to mark her next heist,” he said, leaving out details he knew she wouldn’t care for. “Security footage caught her like it did at all the other scenes, but I caught an odd detail on this one.”
He pulled up a black-and-white video from a camera angled downward at an entryway.
One of the wrought iron double doors was propped open as a figure with a bob hairstyle and baggy clothing stood there for an extended moment before entering.
Her movements almost felt ritualistic, but the image cut off around the figure’s waist, so Izzy could only guess what had caused her to stop.
“No one was at the residence, and she was pretty brazen to use the front door, but why the pause?” Simon asked.
“She could be removing her shoes or changing them.”
He leaned forward as if to catch the movement as he played the video again. “I didn’t think of that. But she’s never cared about leaving traces of herself before, so why change shoes?”
“If she’s from an Asian culture, it could have just been habit.”
“That makes sense especially given this is the first residence she’s broken into. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“You were too excited about catching the anomaly, and that emotion disrupted your logical reasoning.”
He swiveled toward her with narrowed brown eyes, as if he wanted to argue the point. But he sighed instead. “Speaking of excitement, I’m going on a date tomorrow morning.”
“Why do you even bother?” she asked, heading toward her bedroom as a deep-rooted tightness filled her chest, nearly threatening her ability to walk. You should save yourself from that devastation. “This fantasy of love is a weakness.”
“Just because you extend my life doesn’t mean that I can’t live it. Love is more powerful than you think.” He winked. “You’re looking into that cave with Thea tonight, right? Please be careful.”
Of course, he’d remember. “Always am.”
Simon cleared his throat. “Don’t forget your—”
She dropped her keys into the basket next to her bedroom door. Simon had spent over a century with her and knew her habits, especially her tendency to lose items when she was rushing.
Piles of books created a maze within her white-themed room. She set her bag on her nightstand, brimming with notebooks, and collapsed on her unmade bed.
Her heart thumped with the excitement of discovery, but nervousness shook her fingers.
Each time she left her mortal shell, she was taking a risk of permanent death, especially with her limited abilities.
Forcing the anxiety aside with a few focused breaths, as it would do her no good, she concentrated on transporting herself away from flesh, bone, and emotion to become energy.
Weightlessness rushed over her as she floated into her Fallen spirit form’s most basic structure as a small orb of light.
She pictured the cave she’d researched, and a heavy force pushed against her as she raced at near-light speed from Tennessee toward Acadia National Park halfway across the USA.
A tall figure stood at the mouth of the cave.
In her spirit form, Thea dressed like a character from one of Simon’s favorite comics.
Her long trench coat split to show boots, tight pants, and a corset.
Her blond hair hung in a braid down one side, and she’d shaved the other side.
The perpetual smile adorning her lips appeared fierce and intimidating—a shield.
It was a facade, Izzy discerned, barely concealing the fragile state of the woman within.
This revelation sparked a sinking dread within her, the unsettling thought that her Fallen friend could one day evolve into an Archfiend.
Izzy scrutinized her closely, searching for any trace of the telltale foul energy.
The surrounding air remained untainted, devoid of any malevolent aura.
Fear still lingered, gnawing at the edges of her mind, a silent forewarning of the possible terror that lay ahead if Thea couldn’t let go of her past. But that was something Izzy understood all too well.
Next to Thea, Izzy morphed her spirit into her dressed human appearance. Pulling energy from her human body, she strengthened her form to interact with her surroundings. Her nearly featherless wings graced her back, a weighted reminder to collect the feathers stripped from her when she fell.
The exciting hum of discovery that had laced her human skin fell away to numbness.
As she strode toward Thea, she couldn’t distinguish the muted terrain beneath her.
The connection to her human body strained so much over the long distance that the rocky cliff edge appeared in muted textures and colors, as if a gray haze covered her eyes.
“I almost thought you were going to stand me up again, Bookworm,” Thea said. Wind whipped her coat back to show the short sword and pistol hung at her hips.
Izzy’s jaw stiffened. The nickname chafed at her nerves, but Thea liked to believe using nicknames distanced herself from people.
Izzy couldn’t blame her. The Fallen suffered centuries of loss when loved ones died, even Cohearts.
Pain throbbed through her chest, but she stifled the memories clawing at her mind.
“I got held up,” Izzy said.
“It’s a small raid of them, at least.” Thea slung out her pistol and held it out to Izzy.
Izzy shook her head. “We can split this catch.”
Thea’s smile tightened, and she pressed the heavy metal into Izzy’s dense hand.
“You’ll find a way to expand our longevity.
But I couldn’t care less about retrieving my feathers and returning to Heaven.
I’m just helping you kill demons to aid your research.
Besides, I like to hear those evil little bastards scream. ”
Once upon a time, Izzy would have argued that her friend also deserved to return to that glorious existence of no emotions. But Izzy knew that no matter how hard she tried to convince Thea, her friend would remain an obstinate rock as unchanging as her smile.
“Fine.” Izzy accepted the heavy weapon and pulled the chamber open to reveal bullets glowing with blue spirit energy.
“I’m going to need more FPP’s soon,” Thea said, nodding toward the bullets as Izzy snapped the chamber closed.
The Fallen Plasma Projectiles were an invention Izzy had created using lead and magnetism. The casing trapped radiation, so Thea could harness her spirit energy in bullet form.
“They’re only green demons, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” Thea said.
Green, meaning they’d stomp all over Izzy’s yellow spirit energy but would fall victim to Thea’s blue. Blue power was strong enough to allow Thea to hide her wings with a blanket of Influence while Izzy’s were out in the open. Having weaker powers meant hunting with Thea was necessary.
“Let’s get this over with,” Izzy said.
A breeze whisked by like a tickle as she entered the small cave with Thea. Izzy’s energy stiffened from the cooler temperature. Thousands of miles away, her body might shiver, but Izzy didn’t feel it. A few steps further, a sulfuric presence blasted into her.
Demons.