Fallen Angels Read online

  "Yes, of course she does," Kellan said.

  "But she didn’t want you to, did she?" There was enough of a pause before Kellan could formulate a response for Orion to pounce. "No, I didn't think so," he concluded.

  "That doesn’t matter," Kellan replied, shaking her head. It had taken some convincing to get Midnight to agree to include Orion in the run. but ultimately Kellan had won out.

  "I only go where I’m wanted, Kellan."

  "And I want you on this job. I convinced Midnight you had to come with us."

  "Because I’ll blend in?"

  "Because you’re the best one for the job," she said firmly. "And because I trust you to have my back." Orion regarded her steadily for a moment before his expression softened.

  "Okay," he said, "what’s the job?"

  "We go to Portland, do a datasteal, turn over the goods and get out. It’ll be for a few days, maybe longer."

  "Midnight tell you who it was for?"

  Kellan shook her head. "Of course not. I’m not even sure she knows."

  "Oh, I’ll bet she does. I don’t think she would be leaving town for a trip into the Tir without knowing."

  Kellan shrugged. "Hey, it’s a good opportunity and—"

  "And I need the work," Orion concluded.

  "Actually, I was going to say, ‘And I’ve always wanted to see Tir Tairngire,’ " Kellan replied, "but, yeah, that, too."

  "You might find out Tir Tairngire isn’t all it’s cracked up to be," Orion said.

  "Have you ever been there?"

  Orion shook his head. "No."

  "Have you ever wanted to go?"

  "I could have lived there if I wanted to. My mom applied for citizenship for me as soon as I was born, and they granted it for me, but they wouldn’t grant it for her."

  "Because she was human?" Kellan guessed. "Yeah."

  "But there are humans living in Tir Tairngire, aren’t there?"

  "Sure, as second-class citizens so the elven nobility have ‘peasants’ to push around, but they make sure to give priority to their own kind."

  "Okay, so I guess I won’t be retiring there," Kellan said. "But it’s still a good opportunity and . . ." She shrugged and looked away.

  "And what?"

  "And it’s a chance to get out of town for a few days."

  "Because of what happened last night?"

  "Yeah. I think I need to let things cool off for a while."

  "Who is this Akimura slag the Halloweeners were talking about? He must have some pull if he got them to jump."

  "I guess he does," Kellan said. "Jackie says he used to work for a dragon."

  "A dra—are you fragging serious?"

  Kellan nodded.

  "Wait, ‘worked’ for a dragon?" Orion asked. "What happened?"

  "It was Dunkelzahn."

  "Damn," the elf said. "So after the dragon got killed?"

  "I dunno. I guess he was still in the game, but who knows?"

  "And you really don’t know how you might have crossed him, why he’s after you?" Kellan just shrugged, and Orion arched his eyebrows.

  "It was just a job," she said defensively. "We erased some data about him at a cyberclinic."

  "We? As in Midnight?"

  Kellan nodded.

  "Great," Orion muttered.

  "It was a job," Kellan repeated, and he sighed. "Okay, you’re right, it’s probably a good idea for you to get out of town for a while. And if you’re going to go to Tir Tairngire with Midnight, you are going to need somebody watching your back. So I’m in."

  * * *

  Kellan called Midnight to let her know Orion was in, and they agreed to meet early the next morning. Midnight needed to make some arrangements, and Kellan needed to get more of her gear and some rest before they headed out on another run.

  Orion insisted on going home with her, and they rode in close formation down the highway.

  "Akimura might be having your place watched," he cautioned. "It’s the first place anyone would look for you."

  "Assuming they know where I live."

  "Kel, this Akimura slag knew you were at Dante’s last night. He gathered intel for a dragon. If he’s as hot a fixer as you say, there’s probably not a whole lot he doesn’t know about you."

  Kellan wondered if Orion was right. How much did Akimura know about her? Was it even safe to go back to her place? She carried most of her essential running gear with her at all times, but she wanted to get more clothes, a spare sidearm, and a few other essentials. That’s what she said to Orion, but secretly, she also wanted to find out if her home was still there. She’d worked hard to carve out her own small piece of success, to make a home for herself in Seattle, and the idea of it being violated made her angry.

  Why was this drekhead making this into a vendetta anyway? Anyone working the shadows knew you didn’t make business personal. She didn’t have anything against him. Hell, she didn’t even know who he was, even after the run, until G-Dogg told her. She would have been just as happy working for him protecting that data, if he’d been willing to pay. It wasn’t personal until someone made it that way.

  They pulled up outside Kellan’s place in Puyallup. It was getting dark, so the streets were rapidly emptying, the daytime inhabitants of the area retreating behind locked doors as the nighttime populace of the Barrens stirred. Soon there would be fires burning on street corners to illuminate the night, and shouts, laughter and gunfire interrupting the residents’ sleep. Even the edge of the Barrens, where Kellan lived, was mostly lawless. The police weren’t paid to patrol or respond to calls in the area, so nothing short of a full-scale riot would get any official response.

  They stowed and locked up their bikes before heading upstairs. Orion wore his sword and pistol openly, and Kellan found her hand straying close to her own gun as they entered the lobby of the run-down building and she keyed open the cheap maglock with her credstick. Her apartment was a third-floor walk-up, as the elevator in the building had long since broken down and nobody bothered to fix it.

  The ork couple on the second floor was having dinner, or arguing, or both. One of their several children was wailing loudly, and Kellan winced at the deep voice yelling for the kid to shut up. She wondered for a moment if it was the mother or the father. Probably the mother, but she had a hard time telling the deep, accented voices apart.

  She and Orion kept their eyes peeled for any signs of trouble, but there were none in the stairway, or in the hall outside her apartment. A quick glance showed no signs of entry: the door and its sturdy maglock were both intact. Kellan keyed it open, noting that the lock hadn’t been scrambled. She turned the handle softly and pushed the door open as she drew her gun. Orion did the same behind her.

  They went in high-low, covering the inside of the main room of the apartment. There was no one there, and everything looked exactly as Kellan had left it. She stepped inside quickly, and Orion followed, closing the door behind him. A quick check of the bathroom and bedroom revealed nothing, and Kellan allowed herself to breath a sigh of relief, holstering her gun.

  "Okay," Orion said. "Get what you need and let’s go-"

  "Go where?" Kellan asked.

  "Back to my place. You can crash there for the night."

  "I . . . thanks," Kellan said. She’d been going to object, then realized there was no good reason for her to refuse Orion’s offer. Staying at her own place any longer than necessary when somebody was looking for her was foolish, and she didn’t want to crash at Lothan’s place again and further pique the troll’s curiosity.

  It didn’t take long for Kellan to gather up what she needed, stowing it in a carryall slung over her shoulder. As she reached for the doorknob, a loud bang made her jump and reach for her gun instead. Orion grabbed her arm to steady her.

  "It’s okay!" he said. "It came from downstairs, probably just something thrown against the wall." They paused and listened and, sure enough, a fresh bout of yelling came from the apartment a floor below. Kellan dropped her han
d to her side, letting out a sigh.

  "Sorry, I’m feeling kind of jumpy."

  "No wonder," the elf replied. "C’mon, let’s get out of here."

  It was fully dark by the time they got back to Orion’s place, having stopped off along the way to pick up some food. Soon they were sitting on the floor of the loft sharing Chinese food out of folded paper cartons and covered tins. Orion was very proficient with chopsticks, but Kellan used a plastic fork to spear another piece of soy-based "chicken" covered in orange sauce.

  "Not exactly what I figured life in Seattle would be like," Kellan said abruptly, her voice glum. Orion gave a short, humorless laugh.

  "Why, what did you think it would be like? Glamorous?"

  She shrugged, chewing before she answered. "I don’t know. The shadow-biz in Kansas was strictly small-time, so I figured Seattle would be . . . it, you know? The big time."

  "You haven’t done so bad," Orion said, scooping up a mouthful of lo mein. Kellan shrugged again, picking at her food.

  "Yeah, I guess. I just wish . . ."

  "What?" the elf asked, cocking his head in a way that reminded Kellan of a curious cat.

  "I just wish I had the kind of confidence Midnight has, or Lothan."

  "If you ask me, you pick the wrong role models," Orion said, wrangling another bite of noodles.

  Kellan gave him a hard look. "What do you mean?"

  "You know what I mean," Orion mumbled with his mouth full. He stabbed the chopsticks into the carton and put it down next to him, chewing and swallowing as he did so. "What Midnight and Lothan have isn’t confidence, it’s arrogance. They’re so full of themselves they can hardly get out of their own way." There was a moment of silence as Kellan and Orion looked at each other across the short space separating them. Then Kellan burst out laughing. She leaned back against the side of the couch, holding her sides and laughing so hard tears started streaming down her cheeks. Orion looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What’s so fraggin’ funny?" he demanded.

  "Arrogant?" Kellan said, gasping for breath. "Midnight and Lothan are arrogant? Have you looked in a mirror lately, elf-boy?"

  "Wait," Orion said, eyes narrowing, "are you saying . . . ? I am not arrogant!" As he said it, Orion drew up to his full height, proudly raising his chin. It was too much for Kellan and she collapsed into a fresh gale of laughter.

  "Oh, oh, my God," she gasped, her sides starting to ache.

  "I’m not," Orion repeated, less forcefully. "I mean . . . it’s not arrogance, when, well"—his scowl began to twitch and split into a smile—"not when you’re as good as I am."

  He almost managed to keep a straight face, but Kellan’s laugh was infectious, and a guffaw escaped Orion’s lips. Then his haughty composure cracked completely and he started laughing right along with her. He lunged forward on his knees, covering the distance between them, and brushed his fingers along Kellan’s sides.

  "Arrogant, am I?" he said. "Who’s the greatest swordsman you know?"

  "No!" Kellan shrieked as the elf tickled her sides, doubling over as she squirmed and tried to escape. She was still pressed against the couch, and there was no room to maneuver.

  "Say it!" Orion demanded. "Say, ‘You are the greatest warrior in the world, Orion.’ "

  "Frag you!" Kellan gasped defiantly, then she shrieked again with laughter as he renewed his onslaught. She tried to fight back, but she couldn’t catch her breath.

  "Okay, okay!" she yelled. "You are—you’re the greatest, most amazing warrior in the world." Orion let up on her and sat up with a triumphant grin.

  "See? Now was that so—oof." Kellan bowled the elf over as she surged up from the floor. In an instant, Orion was flat on his back, with Kellan sitting on top of him, straddling his hips to pin him down. She grinned maniacally.

  "The ‘great warrior’ should do a better job watching his back," she jibed. But Orion just lay there, looking up at her with an odd expression of surprise and wonder. Kellan’s breath came in gasps after their struggle. He was suddenly aware of Kellan’s closeness, her scent, the flattering flush the sudden exertion gave to her cheeks and lips.

  "You always told me to watch out for the unexpected," she said to him, leaning down into his face.

  "You’re right," he replied quietly. "I did. You’re a good student."

  "You’re a pretty good teacher." She slid her hands off his shoulders and onto the floor next to his head, bringing her face even closer. He could feel her chest brush against his with every breath.

  "You’re teaching me a few things yourself."

  Their lips touched gently, then Kellan’s hand slid along his neck, fingers tangled in his long, silky hair. She felt Orion’s strong hands sliding up her back, pressing her to him, and she sank to meet him in a fierce and passionate kiss.

  Chapter 9

  The woods where Kellan wandered were dark, lit solely by the waning moon and the few stars visible through the tattered clouds overhead. A mournful wind moaned among the trees, making them sway and whisper all around her. She was lost, with no idea where she was or how she got there.

  "Hello?" she called out, her voice swallowed up by the darkness. "Is anyone there? Anyone?" The wind was cold, and she hugged her jacket close, shivering. The cold of the wind was nothing compared to the chill that ran down her spine when a familiar voice howled out of the wilderness.

  "Kellaaaaaaaaan," came the bloodcurdling cry, carried on the wind.

  "Orion," she whispered. Then she bolted toward the source of the voice. Branches whipped her face in the darkness, and she threw one arm over her eyes as she clawed her way forward. She staggered up a slope, weaving in and around the dark trunks looming up all around.

  "Orion!" she called out, but there was no response, nothing but the cry of the wind.

  The trees thinned and Kellan could see a rocky crag looming ahead, deep shadows in the creases and cracks of the stone. Nestled at its base, in a narrow crack in the dark stone, came a fiery golden glow, like a false sunrise. Kellan put her head down and charged up the ridge toward the light. She paused for a moment at the entrance, resting a hand against the cold rock wall, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

  "Orion? Tam?" she called out again, but there was no answer. The glow within the cave flickered, like a dancing flame.

  Kellan ducked her head and went inside, then bolted to the side of the figure lying on the dark stone floor of the narrow cave.

  "Tam!" she cried. Blood was pooling around him, glistening wet against the thirsty black stone. She felt it, hot and sticky on her hands, but ignored it as she tried to turn him over. He was still warm, but when she pressed a hand against his neck she felt no pulse, and his head lolled limp, his long hair matted with blood.

  "No . . ." Kellan whispered, "please, no. . . . Tam . . ." She brushed aside some damp locks of hair, hoping for him to stir, for some sign of life. There was nothing. Light spilled out across the motionless face, relaxed, as if he were only asleep.

  "Kellan," a voice whispered, and she turned to see the light glowing brightly behind her, so bright she had to throw up a hand to shield her eyes. Squinting into the light, she thought she could almost see someone, or something, there.

  "Kellan," the voice called again, stronger this time, like someone welcoming a long-lost friend or loved one.

  "Who is it?" she asked. "Who’s there? I need help, he’s hurt!"

  "He’s dead, Kellan, you can’t help him."

  "No!"

  "You can’t help him, Kellan. Let go . . ."

  The light grew brighter and Kellan bowed her head over Orion, holding his body close.

  "Kellan . . . Kellaaaaan," the voice called. A hand reached out to her, glowing like the sun. "Kellan!" She started awake with a gasp, shaking off the hand on her shoulder and fumbling for the gun that should be holstered under her arm.

  "Easy, easy!" Orion said quietly. "It’s frosty. You were just having a dream."

  Kellan took a deep breath, looking up into Orion
’s deep green eyes, wide with concern, his brow furrowed.

  "Oh, God, just a dream . . ." she breathed. "What time is it?"

  "Almost time to get going," Orion replied.

  * * *

  The abandoned car dealership was full of shadows and the smell of dust, ash and old grease. The windows were long since covered with panels of wood and plastic, the cracked glass alternately taped up or left hanging, with fragments of glass scattered and crushed on the floor. Since the building was dry inside and structurally sound, it likely had served as shelter for others before them, but it was empty when the shadowrunners arrived.

  Kellan brushed dirt off her fatigue pants and shook out her jacket before pulling it on, trying to get rid of the dust it had picked up when she’d used it as a pillow in an effort to catch a little sleep on the floor. There was no knowing when they would get the chance to sleep again, and she hadn’t felt well-rested since the run on the clinic. She nodded gratefully as Orion handed her a self-heating meal pack. Steam rose from it as she unzipped the metalized plastic. She snapped off the spoon and scooped out a mouthful of the flavored soy. It was fairly bland, but at least it was hot. As she ate, she glanced around the room.

  "Where’s Midnight?" she asked.

  "Said she needed to get things ready," Orion said with a shrug. He was sitting on a discarded barrel, one booted foot raised, the other dangling near the floor, idly stirring his food. It was the first time they’d been alone since the previous night. Midnight had arrived at Orion’s place early to make preparations for their departure, and they’d been working hard all day.

  "Hey," he said hesitantly, "about last night . . ."

  "It’s fine," Kellan said quickly. "I mean . . . it’s fine."

  "I didn’t mean—" he began again, but Kellan cut him off.

  "Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal. You’re not looking for anything serious, and gods know I’m not looking for anything serious. I mean, look at how we live," she nodded to the dingy surroundings, sighing and stabbing her spoon into the meal pack. "What happened, happened, but it doesn’t have to be a thing. It doesn’t have to affect our professional relationship, right?"