Runes of Mortality_A Reverse Harem Urban Fantasy Read online

  Runes of Mortality

  A Demon’s Fall Series

  G. Bailey

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Links

  Also by G. Bailey

  Excerpt from Winter’s Guardian

  -W-

  Runes of Mortality Copyright © 2018 by G. Bailey

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  Cover Design by Andreaa Elena Vraciu.

  Cover treatment by Daqri Combs.

  Created with Vellum

  Death should have been the end, but instead, it’s the start of my revenge...and they won’t even see me coming.

  Evie survived a trip to Hell, literally, to find herself somewhere even more dangerous—with the angels. Angels who do not want to let her leave, not without paying a price for the life they saved.

  Angels. Demons. Protectors and more secrets than one world should hold. Who can Evie trust when everything is a lie? When it’s time for the assassin to return and claim what is hers, who will be on her side?

  18+ Reverse Harem romance.

  For the brilliant, inspiring man who brought me up. I miss you every day.

  Azi

  The portal burns into existence, the pressure of going to the one place I knew was impossible to ever travel to without a great cost burning through my thoughts. The cost doesn’t cross my mind, not even for a second, as I make the portal larger and feel the massive drain on my power. I growl low as sweat drips down my head, and finally, the portal breaks the barrier to a place I never thought I would go to. I jump through the portal, landing on top of a white brick house as I take in everything. A screaming angel draws my attention behind me where a white-haired angel is running away from an army of souls, screaming her head off. My heart catches in my throat as Evie runs around a wall, a stone in her hand as the army of souls is just behind her. What the hell is she doing? The blonde angel trips, falling flat on her face in the grass. Evie picks up a fallen branch, spinning around and swinging it at a soul as I jump off the house and start running towards her. I run around a house just in time to see small black wings appear on her back, and she flies into the air, only to be caught around the foot by a soul. The souls slowly pull her down as I run, jumping over walls to get to her in time.

  "Evie!" I shout as more souls get hold of her, and I call my fire into my hands. I run and jump right into the middle of the souls where Evie disappeared, praying that she will survive this. I can’t exist without her.

  Evie

  “Come up off the ground. The outside is not safe for our kind. Let us go to my home,” the angel says smoothly as I stare at my wings. My wings. I have freakin’ wings. I repeat the same things in my mind as I reach over and smooth a hand down my left wing. I can feel the soft feathers under my fingers, and my wings flutter gently. Can I fly? I wonder about it for only a second before I realise I have bigger problems. Like where the hell I am, for one.

  “Child, we must leave,” the angel demands. I turn to look at him and stand myself up, only to nearly trip at the new weight of the wings on my back. They aren’t that big and stop at my hips, but they weigh a lot. The angel holds his hands on his hips as he waits for me to say anything.

  “I am not a child, and I want to know where the hell I am. I need to know how quickly I can get back to earth,” I snap, and I look at my wings once more. “And who the hell gave me wings? I am no angel, so someone made a big mistake there.”

  “That is a complicated answer, one I cannot tell you here. It is not safe. The souls are leaking into the third layer of Hell, and every night, we get attacked,” he explains, and I almost laugh at his lie.

  “That’s impossible. The three guards of the third layer would never let souls in. They can’t even get to the second layer!” I exclaim, calling the angel out on his bullshit and wrapping my arms around me as I suddenly notice I’m naked as I chat to the strange, older angel. I think he is old anyway, I’m not that sure. His long white hair makes him look aged, as well as those white eyes. The white clothes aren’t helping him look younger, that’s for sure. I stare at the angel for a second, wondering how it is even possible an angel is alive. They are all meant to be dead. The ones I’ve heard about were crazy enough to try and destroy earth and paid for their mistake. I should be on guard with this angel and find a weapon as soon as possible. And some damn clothes before my butt freezes off.

  “They do not know about what truly happens in the layer they are meant to protect. No one truly knows what happens in Hell anymore because there are no royals,” he says, his tone clearly frustrated. When I just stare at him, not believing one word of his crap, he points a finger at a small building in the distance. “That is my house. I am going there, and you can come if you wish. I won’t force you but only suggest that being out here isn’t a good idea.” With that lovely statement, he walks off, and I’m stood alone, watching him go. I don’t know the angel or anything about angels in general other than they are crazy. I literally don’t have a clue what powers he could have.

  I run my hands over my scars without thinking about them, and suddenly, I’m remembering Erica’s victory face as I died and feeling nothing but overwhelming anger. I am going to kill that bitch when I get to her. I also remember the Protectors shouting for me as I died, and that Hali is now alone. Azi is captured, but I doubt even his brothers can keep him long, and when he escapes, he will go for Hali. At least I hope so. I can’t stand the thought of her being alone with Erica, who will no doubt kill her or send her to the witches to spite me. I need answers and to get the hell out of here quickly, and it looks like the old angel is all I have for now. Let’s hope I don’t have to kill him if he is as crazy as his relatives must have been.

  I run after the angel, looking down at the ground, which I think is actually a white cloud and feels so soft as I run on it. Everywhere just looks white, full of clouds, and there isn’t anything other than the small white house I get to. What the hell is this place? If it is Heaven, then someone made a big mistake. I slow down as I get to the house, which looks extremely old, made of white stone and has an ancient Greek feel to it. The angel has left the white door open for me, but I don’t go in straight away as I hear a loud unrecognisable noise. I sharply turn around and see a massive group of so
uls in the distance, running towards something I can’t see. The angel was telling the damn truth. I carefully walk through the door, not trusting the angel. He might be leading me into a trap, but I know he is right about being outside. That is way too many souls to kill.

  “Shut the door, won’t you, child? We don’t want to get the souls’ attention. They never come this way, but let’s not test it tonight,” the angel asks with a long huff. I look over to where he is sitting on a chair, in front of a white fire which is inside a white stone fireplace. The fire burns pure white, and there is no wood, stones or anything holding the fire. It is just floating in there like a creepy ghost. I pull my eyes away when the angel clears his throat, and I shut the door behind me quietly. He is right, but I’m not admitting that to him.

  “There are clothes over there. They belonged to a friend, and she is smaller than you. They may be tight,” the angel says as he points to a small table next to a wooden, clearly unused, bed on the other side of the room. I ignore his comment as I go over, picking up the white dress that is designed to be held up by your boobs I think. I pull it up, and it rests nicely, not bothering my wings which knock into the bed, causing a slight bit of pain. Great, this is not what I need right now. I glance around the room, searching for any weapons and finding nothing. There are no plates, glass or anything other than a chair that I could use to make damage if this angel attacks me.

  “Shit,” I say, nearly tripping again as I attempt to turn around. The wings spread out, and I just stare at them in exasperation. I did not want them to do that.

  “You can put the wings away until you’ve learnt how to control them,” the angel says, sighing loudly like I am an annoying child or something to him.

  “How?” I ask.

  “Say ‘alis abierunt’ while thinking of your wings disappearing,” he informs me, and I close my eyes, repeating his words and thinking of myself with no wings. I don’t expect the wings to be gone when I open my eyes, but they are, only a little black dust left on the floor behind me even suggests they were ever there.

  “How do I get them back?”

  “You simply think of them, and they will appear. I will help you learn how to fly and balance in time, and you eventually will not even need to think or speak words. Your mind and wings will connect to protect you,” he clarifies, his white hair hiding his face from me as he rests back.

  “In time? I’m not staying here long, buddy,” I reply, and he laughs low.

  “If you find a way out that none of us have ever done, that will be impressive. Whoever you are, you are stuck here and lucky I was here to help. No angels leave the town, and I only came to check what the noise was,” he tells me, and I pause, panicking a little. I need to leave. Hali needs me, and that bitch of a sister needs to know why she can’t kill me and get away with it. Honestly, I’d rather be dead than stuck here, at least I could haunt her ass.

  “Where are we?” I ask quietly, not really wanting the answer. I have a feeling it isn’t good or escapable. The angel turns his head, so our eyes meet, and entwines his fingers together on his lap as he sits back. He looks strange to me. His features are almost perfectly aligned, and his skin seems to glow constantly.

  “You might want to sit down,” he replies smoothly, his voice is commanding and somehow nice at the same time. The angel still freaks me out, but I doubt he wants to kill me. He would have attacked me by now, and he clearly thinks I’m like him. I slide into the wooden chair opposite him, still keeping myself on guard just in case. I don’t trust the motives of any stranger that just helps random people without wanting something in return. I know there are good people out there, but it’s like finding a needle in a haystack.

  “We are stuck in the stars on the third layer of Hell. Angels cannot die in Hell, it is impossible to die in a place that has no connection to the place we come from. A demon figured out killing us here would trap us, so there was a great war. I am too young to know all the details as I have only been trapped here twenty-six years, but the other angels talk,” he says.

  “You’re saying I’m an angel?” I ask, trying not to smile. You have to be kidding me.

  "You're a half angel, of course," he tells me, and I just burst into laughter. That is the funniest thing I've heard in years.

  “That’s…well, there are no angels on earth anymore,” I say once I’ve calmed down, and he is staring at me like I’m an idiot or something. “Therefore, my father couldn’t have been an angel,” I counter, though my argument is weak and stinks of denial. Shit, I’m a half angel. What kind of messed up crap is this?

  “There were a few left on earth years ago. Angels who did not want to fight and had not lost their minds in war. There were three of us, and one of us must be your father,” he says, looking away from me.

  “Are they all here?” I ask, not knowing if I want to meet my father. Everything is too much at the moment. My mother was queen of the Protectors, and I was a child never meant to exist. I always knew that my parentage wasn’t going to be a big happy answer, but it is still more than I could have ever expected. The way Erica talked of our mother, it’s clear she hates her for having me. If I don’t kill Erica the moment I see her, maybe I can get some more answers.

  “No. I am the only one alive, and I never had a child who lived, before you even think to ask.” He doesn’t look my way as he speaks, so I have no idea if he is telling me the truth or not. “Who is your mother? I may know more then.”

  “I do not want to talk about that,” I snap because it’s not something I can cope with saying out loud yet. The angel finally stares at me for a second and nods in understanding.

  “Fine. I have a gift, an ability to see into the past. I can search your mind and find the answer if you wish? I would very much like to know who you are. The angels left on earth, well they were like brothers to me,” he explains to me. I go to say no when I pause, looking at my blue hair as I twirl it in my finger. This angel could show me what happened to my mother, what happened to make my hair turn blue…I could learn everything I have always wanted the answers to. I might need to know my past to challenge my sister when I get out of here, because there is no way she is telling me the truth about everything.

  “Can I see the memories with you?” I ask.

  “Yes, that is possible,” he agrees.

  “Fine, we have an agreement. What is your name?” I ask, knowing if I’m going to work with the angel, I might as well get to know some details.

  “Danike, yours?” he replies smoothly. Weird ass name, but then angel names might all be like that.

  “Evie. Now where can I get a weapon and a bacon sandwich?” I ask, needing my favourite things urgently.

  “We do not have weapons here, and we are vegetarians,” he answers. Oh god, people that don’t eat bacon.

  “You have to be kidding me,” I groan and rest back in my seat. Heaven, Hell or whatever this place is, it sucks.

  Evie

  “Are we leaving yet?” I ask, feeling like the human kid from that movie that asks if we’re there yet a million times over. Danike just raises a bushy white eyebrow at me before turning his head and he goes back to looking through a gap in the curtain. I’ve come to notice that angels do not sleep, or at least this one doesn’t. Also, there is no meat to be seen anywhere, just lots of strange white fruits and vegetables that Danike tried to force feed me last night.

  “You could do with learning a little patience, did your mother not teach you that?” he asks, his tone ringing with sarcasm.

  “She is dead, and I was brought up on the streets. So, no,” I dryly respond. Danike gives me a slightly sad-filled look, before looking back at the gap, and I’m glad he does. I don’t need his sympathy, and he is going to see my past soon anyway. He suddenly straightens up and walks to the door, swinging it open and walking out. I follow him out, keeping a close eye on my surroundings and not seeing anything but clouds for miles. No souls to be seen, thank god.

  “We must fly to get w
here we need,” Danike says, looking me over, “which is going to be troublesome for a new one like you.”

  “Where are we going? You never explained anything,” I ask, putting my hands on my hips and ignoring the “new one” comment.

  “There is a safe haven for angels in the sky above us that the souls have not managed to get to. We need another angel’s help to use my powers here. On earth, angel powers are boosted, but down here…it is not the same,” he explains, clearing his throat. “Now, wings.”

  “Wings?”

  “Yes. Get them out,” he demands.

  “I really don’t feel like that’s a bright idea. I cannot fly.”

  “Evie…you can’t run from who you are and deny it. You are a half angel, half of one of the most powerful species in existence. If you learn how to control that side, you can get revenge on whoever killed you in Hell,” he says.

  “Fine,” I reply, knowing he is right, and I can’t avoid ever using the wings again. Closing my eyes for a second, I imagine my wings. I feel the weight of them on my back before I even open my eyes to see them spread out behind me. The feathers on them are black and soft looking, and it is really strange.