#archangel zanaya

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

Zanaya: My condolences to everyone in Aegaeon's life.

Alexander: Why? What happened to Aegaeon?

Zanaya: They found him alive in his fortress this morning.

[grumpygreenwitch]

Fanfiction 24-25

Come on, now, you didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?

Buy me a Ko-fi? And please remember that reblogs are about the only way my stories get out there.

1-2-3 + 4-5 + 6-7-8-9-10 + 11-12 + 13-14 + 15-16 + 17-18-19 + 20-21 + 22-23 + 24-25 + 26-27

24

Jean picked up his clothes and walked away, staggering into Lilah's arms. "Where's my bird?" he muttered, looking blindly about.

"About to go before the Cadre. We've been excused."

"No, wait. I. But -" Jean twisted around, frowning, but a kitten would've been able to sit on him and hold him in place after the talking he'd done. Lilah dragged him away as she followed Kliman out.

"You've done all you could, Jean," the older angel said. "And I have it on good authority that we want you in a safe place as quickly as possible. No matter what Zanaya has said, there's some people in this world I don't trust to abide by any law but their own."

"Did he tell you he punched him?"

"Well, don't sound so pleased about it!" Kliman grinned at the vampire without ever slowing down her stride.

Everyone was ushered out of the chamber, and once again Alyss found himself alone before the powers of his world.

"I wager Kili's not going to Sleep anytime soon," Raphael murmured, examining the papers in front of him.

"Let's get this over with. The boy's a criminal, I vote for his execution," Aegaeon declared. "His is dissension we cannot have seen. We rule on the strength of our power, yes, but also on the foundation of our knowledge, the expertise and wisdom of millennia."

"And I say that wisdom has failed us," Caliane retorned. "Perhaps not on purpose. Perhaps something was lost to time in between us Sleeping and a younger generation rising to power. Lost in translation, as the mortals say."

"Lost in habit, as well," Elijah mused. "I know that I strive to be fair to the vampires in my territory. I don't know when I started assuming other angels would do the same, but assume we have, with the expected results."

"I value my angels far above vampires or mortals," Aegaeon declared, "because they are as far above vampires or mortals as we are far above them. I vote for his death. He wants change that is neither needed nor desired."

"I desire this change," Zanaya countered.

"So do I," Titus countered.

"Of course you would," the Archangel of Central Europe muttered acidly.

Temper flared through Titus' eyes, but though one hand turned into a fist, the other remained flat and sprawled before him. "Yes, I would. I know the dangers of putting oneself too far above others. I have seen enough of it in mortals to know it never ends well. I thought we did not have this problem; that we were above, beyond it. It has been sobering and... perhaps a little heartbreaking to know my people can fall so far."

"I expect vampires to need help tempering their predators," Alexander mused. "I would have never expected it of angels. I am... disappointed. But I am also unwilling to be blind for the sake of comfort or tradition. Change is needed. The law as it is written is not enough. I vote that Alyss has committed no crime."

"I believe the law is wrong. I also believe Alyss has committed every crime he has acknowledged before this Council." Suyin's voice was calm and quiet.

"One would think it's either one or the other, Suyin," Elijah protested, though he sounded mildly amused.

"This situation is not a coin, Elijah. I think of it as something that has been built overtime, and maybe that is why I see many sides to it. I think there are crimes, and Alyss should atone for them. I also think the law must be rewritten." She turned her attention to the young angel before them. "Alyss," she asked gently, "do you believe you are innocent?"

"No, lady Suyin," he admitted without hesitation. "I've done exactly what you believe I've done."

"And you will keep on doing it, if we should let you go?"

He went so pale the shadows under his eyes looked like bruises, but he nodded. "Yes, lady."

"Hm." Suyin examined him a moment longer. "You are not a warrior, Alyss. Everyone here can see that lack in you. I asked for a report from your teachers." She leafed delicately through the folder before her. "One of them, I believe, sums it up best. 'He would not know a fight if it were a snake under his foot and it had already bit him.'"

"Oh, I heard that from Marsiel a lot," Alyss admitted quietly, his ears having gone very red.

"What will you do, if you find a vampire that needs help that can only be given through violence?"

"Violence was never an option," Alyss replied. "It would have drawn too much attention. If we could have used violence, the lists I gave you would be much shorter. All we've achieved, it's all been done... Well, not peacefully, but without violence."

"And you would go on like that?"

"Yes, lady Suyin. If tomorrow I could just go back to my life it would be exactly like that."

She smiled a little at him. "I wish I could live in the world you wish for us, Alyss. It is a much kinder place than mine. Unfortunately, all I can do is suggest to my peers that we give you the tools you need to begin that reshaping."

"I beg your pardon?" Alyss stammered.

"I second that idea," Caliane said quickly.

"So do I," Raphael declared.

"I think it would be a fitting punishment," Suyin said. "You are a creature of a quiet life, Alyss. Your heartfelt wish is to help while remaining unseen. Your punishment is to step out into the light. All that you do, you must now do in the open. In all your work you must be accountable to an Archangel, and through that Archangel to us."

"But I can keep working? The pipeline will remain?" Alyss could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"If not you we would have to find someone else to maintain the work you've done. I don't want the aggravation. I cannot count on the same providence that brought you to Kili," Caliane declared.

"But I must answer to an Archangel? Couldn't I just answer to Kliman?"

There was a moment of silence punctuated by a short bark of laughter from Alexander.

"We Archangels do not eat unruly young angels for breakfast, Alyss," Elijah pointed out with mock solemnity. The flush in Alyss' ears spread to the rest of his face. "You must answer to an Archangel because you and your operation must also be under the protection of one."

Alyss immediately turned to look at Suyin. The Archangel of China lifted a hand to forestall him. "Much as I am touched by your trust, Alyss, I am still putting my territory to rights. I could not promise you the help you deserve; I suspect my land will actually be the source of much work for you in the centuries to come."

The young angel deflated minutely. "Well, I suppose since we're in Boston it'd be easier to stay there..." He glanced warily at Raphael; his previous encounter with the Archangel had not endeared him to Alyss.

"It would perhaps be beneficial if you and the Guild tried to work together, rather than being at odds, as they so often are with the VPA," the Archangel of North America diplomatically offered his Consort's suggestion as his own. "Proximity might help the process, even if not with Archangel Tower itself, and the Guild is capable of the violence you yourself do not wish to indulge. North America would be glad to have you, young angel."

Alyss went very red all over again. "I suppose I better get used to being wanted around important people," he said, then drew himself up as tall as his scarce height allowed. "I accept the terms of my punishment, and -"

"Punishment!" Aegaeon roared as he leapt to his feet. For a moment he simply stood there, seething, before he made to charge out of the chamber.

"If you leave, Aegaeon, you'll have no say in what changes we pass to the laws and the vampiric contract," Caliane’s voice lashed out.

"Go to the last layer of Erebus, Caliane. You would have never listened to me, and we both know it." With that last bit of venom, the Archangel was gone.

In the silence that followed, the oldest of the Ancient presents sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “There’s one that should really be Sleeping.” Alexander tapped on his screen and when the Archangels present in the chamber looked at him he pointed at Titus. “You made him angry," he declared with utmost, mock solemnly. Zanaya snorted, and for a moment the Queen of the Nile’s wing edge was visible behind Alexander’s screen.

Titus huffed. "Good. Someone give me a copy of that document the youngling handed out, I can't read mine under all I wrote on it."

"Perhaps we can do this fully remotely?" Caliane suggested. "Temper and preferences on this issue aside, his outburst might also hint that those of you in the Refuge have been physically close for too long."

"You may go, Alyss," Raphael told him while the others bickered amicably. "I think your vampire companion would be glad to see you safe. I will send someone to find you when I have a chance to formally accept your allegiance."

25

Jean fell face down on a bed in Kliman's apartment within Raphael's compound. It was a tiny barracks of sorts, with five beds and a sitting area, a reminder of times when Kliman had been more inclined to keeping a number of angelic retainers, rather than a minute and mostly human and vampiric staff. The night breeze coming from the open windows chilled him, the feverish heat he'd gathered while he faced the Council long gone. Against his spine he felt the flutter of the amber feather as it came down to rest against his skin.

His amber. His bird. His angel, forever. Who'd punched Moissani.

He started laughing soundlessly into the pillow, hearing Kliman and Lilah in the other room but not quite listening to what they were actually saying. Gevaun had left to tend to Maine once Kliman had realized that Alyss did have support within the Cadre. Maine couldn't be left alone when already one territory in New England lacked an overseer altogether.

"I won't lie, this has been invigorating," Kliman was saying. "Perhaps it is not my time to Sleep yet."

Good, he thought. The world is a better place with you in it.

Then he heard a strangled, unhappy little sound, and a terrible crash.

He was out of the bed and running before could think of it, even as his mind refused to believe something might be wrong. They were in the Refuge! More, they were in an Archangel's compound, the heart of his territory within that already sacred citadel. Some part of him wanted to believe Lilah or Kliman had dropped something, but he knew better; he was entirely too familiar with the sound of a body hitting the ground. Jean sprinted out of the room. He had a few seconds to see Kliman and Lilah, both sprawled on the ground, the indigo and violet wings twitching violently, before a familiar, deadly scent filled his lungs. The vampire held his breath and tried to step back, but it was too late, and he fell, boneless, cracking his head hard on the stone floor, his feet tangled up on a beautiful rug, his hands curled into claws.

For a few long minutes, nothing else happened.

Cool, heavy steam began to pour in from one of the doorways. It filled the entire room, beginning at the top and falling down, covering everything in a thin layer of dew. It smelled faintly of lemon, and it dried and dissipated at a prodigious speed. Behind the steam came an angel, wearing a gas mask that looked incredibly out of place over his face. He was carrying the purse-like contraction, with a hose attached, from which the steam was coming. He looked pointedly around. "Nice. What is that?"

Behind him came Moissani, carrying a slender, embroidered leather satchel that had obviously seen much love and use. "It's just a paralytic agent. Nothing strong enough to kill an angel, or an old vampire. They’ll be fine in a few minutes. Less, really, if she’s old enough." He was wearing no protective gear of any sort, only his rich, elegant robes. He stepped carelessly over Lilah and paused to look at Kliman. "Hm. Interesting. Some sort of autonomic response, I believe." He reached a hand to touch those twitching wings.

"Hey," the masked angel snapped at him. "The vampire. Only the vampire."

"Goodness, I'm not taking her." Moissani was shifting the weight of the wing back and forth. Jean, trapped in his own body, barely able to draw breath, heard a thin, whispering little whistle come from the older angel. "I'm just curious. She's too old to be of use."

He moved over to kneel by Jean. The vampire's body was working in rhythmic, frantic and faint little motions while its owner howled impotently inside it. "Oh, there you are, my treasure. I'm so glad to have found you again." He ran his fingers carefully over the vampire, as if checking him for injuries, before pulling two hypodermics from his satchel and pumping their contents into his prey. "So much time lost. So much research lost." Moissani smiled in cheerful resignation. "We'll have to purge your system, clear it out completely before we can get started, but still. I'm so excited just to have you again." Moissani picked up the vampire and effortlessly threw him over one of his shoulders, a wing cocked out of the way. He straightened up. "You can take off the mask, you know. Even without the water it would have broken down by now. It’s not really very effective, unless under very specific circumstances."

The angel yanked the mask off and stared at Kliman. He was a warrior, muscled and lightly armored in a modern fashion, his wings striated with shades of gray and dull green. "I almost didn't believe you, you know."

"Well, that would have been very inconvenient for you," Moissani replied, his tone distracted. "Now, you said you could also get us out undetected?"

The angel nodded. "This way." He jerked his head in one direction, and led the way. Moissani didn't ask how or why the angel was familiar with this particular, outermost section of Raphael's compound, and his guide did not volunteer that information. Rather than fly, they each grabbed one of Jean's arms and dropped directly down in a controlled glide, so close to the cliff face that they were nigh-impossible to detect in the dark, all the more so when Moissani's guide seemed to have a preternatural awareness of when the guards' attention had turned away, even for a second. They landed not too far from the bottom, setting Jean down carefully on the cold, bare stone. "You're sure you don't need help getting out?"

"What? No. No, no. You've been quite expensive to hire just for what you've done." Moissani sounded mildly scandalized, but he resettled his wings and gestured to what they could see of the Refuge above them. "The trick here isn't to go unseen, it's simply to look like I'm coming from somewhere else and going somewhere else."

The angel grunted. "Then we're quits. Hand it over."

"What, oh yes, your -"

"My cure," the angel snapped.

"You do realize, you're young. With time and proper training, this hypersensitivity of your senses is something you could -"

"I don't give a fuck," the angel hissed at him. "Proper training? No one wants to train me. No one wants to take me in after I got kicked out of Raphael's forces. I don't want to hear the same crap I've heard from everyone else. You said you had a cure, you could make me normal."

"Well, I'd say trying to spy on an Archangel for another is bound to have some hefty consequences, particularly when that other Archangel isn't around anymore to prot- " When the angel scowled at him, Moissani put his hands up. "Please, please, I'm not trying to be combative. I promised I'd help you if you helped me." He reached into his satchel. "We're simply both very lucky that I can." He brought out from the satchel a little glass bottle, and rattled lightly the plain white pills inside it before offering it to the angel. When he reached for it, Moissani twisted his hand and the tiny, glittering blade he'd secured between his fingers sliced right into the other angel's palm.

"I didn't say I could cure you." Moissani stepped smartly back to avoid an instinctive lunge that turned into a stumble. "I said I could make it so your senses wouldn't bother you again for a long time."

The angel struggled to get back up and lunged at him again, staggered halfway through the attack, and crashed down next to Jean, choking and wheezing.

Moissani drew a compact roll of fabric out of his satchel, threw it next to Jean, and paused then to get a small leather case. "And they won't." He showed his victim the tiny blade before stashing it safely away. "After this is through with you, my friend, you're going to spend a very long time growing back from soup everything inside you." He clicked his tongue and threw Jean over a shoulder again. "Really, now, when did you get so trusting? Surely my lord Charisemnon taught us all better."

The fabric unrolled into a hammock, and into it went Jean. Moissani secured the vampire and straightened up with his precious cargo. He'd have to walk a ways yet, and try to remain unseen. But Moissani knew he didn't have to go far, just far enough. He had to be airborne before the sentinels saw him, a matter of when, not if. Once he got far enough that they could see, but not make out ready details of his burden, then he could fly.

[bookloveravenue]

Guild Hunter series (book 15): Archangel’s Resurrection by Nalini Singh

New York Times Bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the dangerous, haunting world of archangels…and a love that is legend.

For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved. Locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak, it is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.

Eons later, it is the Cascade of Death that wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent…only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?

Only one thing is clear: this is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance.

The final song for Alexander and his Zani

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60279790-archangel-s-resurrection

********

My Review: 5/5 Stars

I love diving back into the Guild Hunter world and this one was just another great addition to the series! We follow the epic love story of Archangels, Alexander and Zanaya. Taking us back eons to when they were young and when they first met. We follow their lives as the centuries pass them by and watch the highs and lows of their relationship. A powerful and passionate love, but two angels stubborn in their own rights as they both find their way in the world. When they meet, the years between them are significant. And an imbalance when Alexander becomes an archangel. But the connection between them is instant and undeniable. Yet, patience must guide them in order to truly come together. We get many glimpses of their lives. We see younger versions of those older archangels and ancients and learn of new faces. Their story leads us to the Cascade and Zanaya's injury that forces her to Sleep once more. And then a surprising time jump. Not too bad when I think about it, but still leaves me curious to what could have happened. And when Zanaya rises, she feels something the archangel of death may have left behind. I read this story in a day. I couldn't put it down. It was so interesting to see Alexander's life and the bits and pieces that were mentioned in previous books, now we get more moments of that story. Like Alexander's brother, Osiris and how he changes and how that eventually leads to the creation of a certain chimera we know and love. This book had so much of the past to fill in those blanks of older beings while also giving us a new glimpse of the future about those we have come to love in this series. Such a great series and I cannot wait for the next book!

[weirdesplinder]

Archangel’s resurrection

In uscita ad ottobre 2022 in America il quindicesimo libro della serie Guild Hunter di Nalini Singh (per conoscere tutti i libri che la compongono vi rimando ad un altro post più approfondito: https://weirdesplinder.tumblr.com/post/666654409884876802/guild-hunter-serie-di-nalini-singh).

Stavolta protagonista è uno degli Arcangeli più antichi, Alexander.

Archangel’s resurrection

Trama: Per migliaia di anni, la passione tra Alexander, Arcangelo di Persia, e Zanaya, Regina del Nilo, ha divampato furiosa e luminosa. Ma essere un arcangelo significa essere vincolato a un potere violento ed esigente. Alexander e Zanaya litigavano tanto ferocemente quanto si amavano, bloccati in un ciclo infinito di devozione e crepacuore, finchè solo la decisione di Zanaya di dormire pose fine alla loro storia d'amore. Eoni dopo, è la Cascata della Morte che li sveglia entrambi. La passione tra di loro è una fiamma che ancora brucia, Alexander e Zanaya combattono insieme un'ultima battaglia contro l'oscurità assoluta. Ma anche un arcangelo guerriero non può vincere tutte le guerre. L'urlo di Alexander frantuma il mondo mentre Zanaya cade ... solo per risorgere in un miracolo che potrebbe essere una maledizione devastante. Perché è davvero la regina del Nilo che è risorta? Solo una cosa è chiara: questo è l'ultimo battito della loro danza appassionata. L'ultima canzone per Alexander e la sua Zani...

Il libro naturalmente uscirà in inglese e non si sa se sarà mai pubblicato in italiano in quanto la serie da noi è interrotta da anni.

Io la seguo ancora, ma non mi appassiona più come una volta devo ammettere.

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

"Do you think we're trapped, Alexander?" she murmured. "Bound to repeat patterns of mistakes?"

"No, of course not."

Such a blunt answer. Such an Alexander answer. "So you believe immortality makes us wiser?"

"Not all of us. Some are imbeciles no matter how long they live. Case in point: Aegaeon."

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

Zani, why are you antagonizing Aegaeon?

It's a hobby.

A snort of mental laughter. My apologies. Carry on.

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

"You're the most handsome man I've ever known."

He felt his face go hot. He, Archangel Alexander, was blushing.

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

Nalini gets me

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

Zani: While I disrespectfully disagree-

Alexander: Don't you mean respectfully disagree?

Zani, staring him dead in the eyes: No.

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

Zanaya: heres some advice

Auri: i didn't ask for any

Zanaya: too bad. I'm stuck here with my thoughts and you're the only one who talks to me

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

Hello, Lover

[grumpygreenwitch]

Fanfiction 24-25

Originally posted 10/24/23. Please remember that reblogs are about the only way my stories get out there.

Come on, now, you didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?

Buy me a Ko-fi?

1-2-3 + 4-5 + 6-7-8-9-10 + 11-12 + 13-14 + 15-16 + 17-18-19 + 20-21 + 22-23 + 24-25 + 26-27

24

Jean picked up his clothes and walked away, staggering into Lilah's arms. "Where's my bird?" he muttered, looking blindly about.

"About to go before the Cadre. We've been excused."

"No, wait. I. But -" Jean twisted around, frowning, but a kitten would've been able to sit on him and hold him in place after the talking he'd done. Lilah dragged him away as she followed Kliman out.

"You've done all you could, Jean," the older angel said. "And I have it on good authority that we want you in a safe place as quickly as possible. No matter what Zanaya has said, there's some people in this world I don't trust to abide by any law but their own."

"Did he tell you he punched him?"

"Well, don't sound so pleased about it!" Kliman grinned at the vampire without ever slowing down her stride.

Everyone was ushered out of the chamber, and once again Alyss found himself alone before the powers of his world.

"I wager Kili's not going to Sleep anytime soon," Raphael murmured, examining the papers in front of him.

"Let's get this over with. The boy's a criminal, I vote for his execution," Aegaeon declared. "His is dissension we cannot have seen. We rule on the strength of our power, yes, but also on the foundation of our knowledge, the expertise and wisdom of millennia."

"And I say that wisdom has failed us," Caliane retorned. "Perhaps not on purpose. Perhaps something was lost to time in between us Sleeping and a younger generation rising to power. Lost in translation, as the mortals say."

"Lost in habit, as well," Elijah mused. "I know that I strive to be fair to the vampires in my territory. I don't know when I started assuming other angels would do the same, but assume we have, with the expected results."

"I value my angels far above vampires or mortals," Aegaeon declared, "because they are as far above vampires or mortals as we are far above them. I vote for his death. He wants change that is neither needed nor desired."

"I desire this change," Zanaya countered.

"So do I," Titus countered.

"Of course you would," the Archangel of Central Europe muttered acidly.

Temper flared through Titus' eyes, but though one hand turned into a fist, the other remained flat and sprawled before him. "Yes, I would. I know the dangers of putting oneself too far above others. I have seen enough of it in mortals to know it never ends well. I thought we did not have this problem; that we were above, beyond it. It has been sobering and... perhaps a little heartbreaking to know my people can fall so far."

"I expect vampires to need help tempering their predators," Alexander mused. "I would have never expected it of angels. I am... disappointed. But I am also unwilling to be blind for the sake of comfort or tradition. Change is needed. The law as it is written is not enough. I vote that Alyss has committed no crime."

"I believe the law is wrong. I also believe Alyss has committed every crime he has acknowledged before this Council." Suyin's voice was calm and quiet.

"One would think it's either one or the other, Suyin," Elijah protested, though he sounded mildly amused.

"This situation is not a coin, Elijah. I think of it as something that has been built overtime, and maybe that is why I see many sides to it. I think there are crimes, and Alyss should atone for them. I also think the law must be rewritten." She turned her attention to the young angel before them. "Alyss," she asked gently, "do you believe you are innocent?"

"No, lady Suyin," he admitted without hesitation. "I've done exactly what you believe I've done."

"And you will keep on doing it, if we should let you go?"

He went so pale the shadows under his eyes looked like bruises, but he nodded. "Yes, lady."

"Hm." Suyin examined him a moment longer. "You are not a warrior, Alyss. Everyone here can see that lack in you. I asked for a report from your teachers." She leafed delicately through the folder before her. "One of them, I believe, sums it up best. 'He would not know a fight if it were a snake under his foot and it had already bit him.'"

"Oh, I heard that from Marsiel a lot," Alyss admitted quietly, his ears having gone very red.

"What will you do, if you find a vampire that needs help that can only be given through violence?"

"Violence was never an option," Alyss replied. "It would have drawn too much attention. If we could have used violence, the lists I gave you would be much shorter. All we've achieved, it's all been done... Well, not peacefully, but without violence."

"And you would go on like that?"

"Yes, lady Suyin. If tomorrow I could just go back to my life it would be exactly like that."

She smiled a little at him. "I wish I could live in the world you wish for us, Alyss. It is a much kinder place than mine. Unfortunately, all I can do is suggest to my peers that we give you the tools you need to begin that reshaping."

"I beg your pardon?" Alyss stammered.

"I second that idea," Caliane said quickly.

"So do I," Raphael declared.

"I think it would be a fitting punishment," Suyin said. "You are a creature of a quiet life, Alyss. Your heartfelt wish is to help while remaining unseen. Your punishment is to step out into the light. All that you do, you must now do in the open. In all your work you must be accountable to an Archangel, and through that Archangel to us."

"But I can keep working? The pipeline will remain?" Alyss could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"If not you we would have to find someone else to maintain the work you've done. I don't want the aggravation. I cannot count on the same providence that brought you to Kili," Caliane declared.

"But I must answer to an Archangel? Couldn't I just answer to Kliman?"

There was a moment of silence punctuated by a short bark of laughter from Alexander.

"We Archangels do not eat unruly young angels for breakfast, Alyss," Elijah pointed out with mock solemnity. The flush in Alyss' ears spread to the rest of his face. "You must answer to an Archangel because you and your operation must also be under the protection of one."

Alyss immediately turned to look at Suyin. The Archangel of China lifted a hand to forestall him. "Much as I am touched by your trust, Alyss, I am still putting my territory to rights. I could not promise you the help you deserve; I suspect my land will actually be the source of much work for you in the centuries to come."

The young angel deflated minutely. "Well, I suppose since we're in Boston it'd be easier to stay there..." He glanced warily at Raphael; his previous encounter with the Archangel had not endeared him to Alyss.

"It would perhaps be beneficial if you and the Guild tried to work together, rather than being at odds, as they so often are with the VPA," the Archangel of North America diplomatically offered his Consort's suggestion as his own. "Proximity might help the process, even if not with Archangel Tower itself, and the Guild is capable of the violence you yourself do not wish to indulge. North America would be glad to have you, young angel."

Alyss went very red all over again. "I suppose I better get used to being wanted around important people," he said, then drew himself up as tall as his scarce height allowed. "I accept the terms of my punishment, and -"

"Punishment!" Aegaeon roared as he leapt to his feet. For a moment he simply stood there, seething, before he made to charge out of the chamber.

"If you leave, Aegaeon, you'll have no say in what changes we pass to the laws and the vampiric contract," Caliane’s voice lashed out.

"Go to the last layer of Erebus, Caliane. You would have never listened to me, and we both know it." With that last bit of venom, the Archangel was gone.

In the silence that followed, the oldest of the Ancient presents sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “There’s one that should really be Sleeping.” Alexander tapped on his screen and when the Archangels present in the chamber looked at him he pointed at Titus. “You made him angry," he declared with utmost, mock solemnly. Zanaya snorted, and for a moment the Queen of the Nile’s wing edge was visible behind Alexander’s screen.

Titus huffed. "Good. Someone give me a copy of that document the youngling handed out, I can't read mine under all I wrote on it."

"Perhaps we can do this fully remotely?" Caliane suggested. "Temper and preferences on this issue aside, his outburst might also hint that those of you in the Refuge have been physically close for too long."

"You may go, Alyss," Raphael told him while the others bickered amicably. "I think your vampire companion would be glad to see you safe. I will send someone to find you when I have a chance to formally accept your allegiance."

25

Jean fell face down on a bed in Kliman's apartment within Raphael's compound. It was a tiny barracks of sorts, with five beds and a sitting area, a reminder of times when Kliman had been more inclined to keeping a number of angelic retainers, rather than a minute and mostly human and vampiric staff. The night breeze coming from the open windows chilled him, the feverish heat he'd gathered while he faced the Council long gone. Against his spine he felt the flutter of the amber feather as it came down to rest against his skin.

His amber. His bird. His angel, forever. Who'd punched Moissani.

He started laughing soundlessly into the pillow, hearing Kliman and Lilah in the other room but not quite listening to what they were actually saying. Gevaun had left to tend to Maine once Kliman had realized that Alyss did have support within the Cadre. Maine couldn't be left alone when already one territory in New England lacked an overseer altogether.

"I won't lie, this has been invigorating," Kliman was saying. "Perhaps it is not my time to Sleep yet."

Good, he thought. The world is a better place with you in it.

Then he heard a strangled, unhappy little sound, and a terrible crash.

He was out of the bed and running before could think of it, even as his mind refused to believe something might be wrong. They were in the Refuge! More, they were in an Archangel's compound, the heart of his territory within that already sacred citadel. Some part of him wanted to believe Lilah or Kliman had dropped something, but he knew better; he was entirely too familiar with the sound of a body hitting the ground. Jean sprinted out of the room. He had a few seconds to see Kliman and Lilah, both sprawled on the ground, the indigo and violet wings twitching violently, before a familiar, deadly scent filled his lungs. The vampire held his breath and tried to step back, but it was too late, and he fell, boneless, cracking his head hard on the stone floor, his feet tangled up on a beautiful rug, his hands curled into claws.

For a few long minutes, nothing else happened.

Cool, heavy steam began to pour in from one of the doorways. It filled the entire room, beginning at the top and falling down, covering everything in a thin layer of dew. It smelled faintly of lemon, and it dried and dissipated at a prodigious speed. Behind the steam came an angel, wearing a gas mask that looked incredibly out of place over his face. He was carrying the purse-like contraction, with a hose attached, from which the steam was coming. He looked pointedly around. "Nice. What is that?"

Behind him came Moissani, carrying a slender, embroidered leather satchel that had obviously seen much love and use. "It's just a paralytic agent. Nothing strong enough to kill an angel, or an old vampire. They’ll be fine in a few minutes. Less, really, if she’s old enough." He was wearing no protective gear of any sort, only his rich, elegant robes. He stepped carelessly over Lilah and paused to look at Kliman. "Hm. Interesting. Some sort of autonomic response, I believe." He reached a hand to touch those twitching wings.

"Hey," the masked angel snapped at him. "The vampire. Only the vampire."

"Goodness, I'm not taking her." Moissani was shifting the weight of the wing back and forth. Jean, trapped in his own body, barely able to draw breath, heard a thin, whispering little whistle come from the older angel. "I'm just curious. She's too old to be of use."

He moved over to kneel by Jean. The vampire's body was working in rhythmic, frantic and faint little motions while its owner howled impotently inside it. "Oh, there you are, my treasure. I'm so glad to have found you again." He ran his fingers carefully over the vampire, as if checking him for injuries, before pulling two hypodermics from his satchel and pumping their contents into his prey. "So much time lost. So much research lost." Moissani smiled in cheerful resignation. "We'll have to purge your system, clear it out completely before we can get started, but still. I'm so excited just to have you again." Moissani picked up the vampire and effortlessly threw him over one of his shoulders, a wing cocked out of the way. He straightened up. "You can take off the mask, you know. Even without the water it would have broken down by now. It’s not really very effective, unless under very specific circumstances."

The angel yanked the mask off and stared at Kliman. He was a warrior, muscled and lightly armored in a modern fashion, his wings striated with shades of gray and dull green. "I almost didn't believe you, you know."

"Well, that would have been very inconvenient for you," Moissani replied, his tone distracted. "Now, you said you could also get us out undetected?"

The angel nodded. "This way." He jerked his head in one direction, and led the way. Moissani didn't ask how or why the angel was familiar with this particular, outermost section of Raphael's compound, and his guide did not volunteer that information. Rather than fly, they each grabbed one of Jean's arms and dropped directly down in a controlled glide, so close to the cliff face that they were nigh-impossible to detect in the dark, all the more so when Moissani's guide seemed to have a preternatural awareness of when the guards' attention had turned away, even for a second. They landed not too far from the bottom, setting Jean down carefully on the cold, bare stone. "You're sure you don't need help getting out?"

"What? No. No, no. You've been quite expensive to hire just for what you've done." Moissani sounded mildly scandalized, but he resettled his wings and gestured to what they could see of the Refuge above them. "The trick here isn't to go unseen, it's simply to look like I'm coming from somewhere else and going somewhere else."

The angel grunted. "Then we're quits. Hand it over."

"What, oh yes, your -"

"My cure," the angel snapped.

"You do realize, you're young. With time and proper training, this hypersensitivity of your senses is something you could -"

"I don't give a fuck," the angel hissed at him. "Proper training? No one wants to train me. No one wants to take me in after I got kicked out of Raphael's forces. I don't want to hear the same crap I've heard from everyone else. You said you had a cure, you could make me normal."

"Well, I'd say trying to spy on an Archangel for another is bound to have some hefty consequences, particularly when that other Archangel isn't around anymore to prot- " When the angel scowled at him, Moissani put his hands up. "Please, please, I'm not trying to be combative. I promised I'd help you if you helped me." He reached into his satchel. "We're simply both very lucky that I can." He brought out from the satchel a little glass bottle, and rattled lightly the plain white pills inside it before offering it to the angel. When he reached for it, Moissani twisted his hand and the tiny, glittering blade he'd secured between his fingers sliced right into the other angel's palm.

"I didn't say I could cure you." Moissani stepped smartly back to avoid an instinctive lunge that turned into a stumble. "I said I could make it so your senses wouldn't bother you again for a long time."

The angel struggled to get back up and lunged at him again, staggered halfway through the attack, and crashed down next to Jean, choking and wheezing.

Moissani drew a compact roll of fabric out of his satchel, threw it next to Jean, and paused then to get a small leather case. "And they won't." He showed his victim the tiny blade before stashing it safely away. "After this is through with you, my friend, you're going to spend a very long time growing back from soup everything inside you." He clicked his tongue and threw Jean over a shoulder again. "Really, now, when did you get so trusting? Surely my lord Charisemnon taught us all better."

The fabric unrolled into a hammock, and into it went Jean. Moissani secured the vampire and straightened up with his precious cargo. He'd have to walk a ways yet, and try to remain unseen. But Moissani knew he didn't have to go far, just far enough. He had to be airborne before the sentinels saw him, a matter of when, not if. Once he got far enough that they could see, but not make out ready details of his burden, then he could fly.

[dmitrigivesgoodblood]

We have a blurb!!!!!

"For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved. Locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak, it is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.

Eons later, it is the Cascade of Death that wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent…only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?

Only one thing is clear: this is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani…"