Bonded Page 2

  It was a large circle with intricate designs carved into stone placed around the perimeter. Some were writings in many of the old languages. The angels and demons could read them, but most were not legible to Kaiden. He knew some were ancient Egyptian and Chinese, but they weren’t the only languages here.

  In the center of the circle was the Tree of Life. Kaiden highly doubted it was the actual tree from the Bible. It had been here for as long as any of them could remember. All the angels and demons treated it as the actual tree, with both of them giving the tree respect and fearing it. That was always strange to see, the angel hissing at the tree one second and the next talking about it in high regard.

  Part of Kaiden understood the dislike for the tree but thought an angel should be above it, should be better than the humans and their downfall. Though, now the angels depended on the humans.

  They were barred from Heaven and couldn’t remember why. That was why they fought so much with the demons. They didn’t want to be like them, didn’t want to be sent to Hell or purgatory. The limbo they were in was bad enough, and angels desired to regain their place at God’s side.

  Kaiden didn’t know if that was possible or what that would mean for the humans since they relied on the angels to live past level nineteen. All of them counted on each other, and that was the reality of the world now. Kaiden didn’t like it as much as the some of the others.

  Standing on the edge of the site and watching the crowd arrive, Kaiden was terrified. All he could see was a demon stepping from the tree, gripping his hand, forming the bond with him, and tying them together until Kaiden died.

  Lindsey appeared with Adriel at her side. The angel only really showed up in the neutral zone for this. It was a big deal to the angel. A friend might be back to join them or an enemy. Either way, it was a big deal. Adriel was going to be the one who carried the message to the highest angel on Earth currently, Raphael.

  Next to Kaiden was Lincoln. “I’ll be seeing you around,” Lincoln said.

  Kaiden gulped. “Yeah.”

  They hugged, and Kaiden walked to the center and joined Lindsey.

  She grinned. “Glad you could arrive.”

  Kaiden’s body was stiff. He barely got the nod in. “I’m ready.”

  Adriel hovered in the air, his wings flapping. They were a bright white, and the morning sun glistened off them. The angel made a sound, a scuff or snort. “This will be interesting,” Adriel said.

  Kaiden wasn’t sure what to make of that. Did the angel think he would be paired with a demon or maybe a powerful angel? That would be nice, as they tended to reach higher levels. Much like Lindsey had done.

  “It will,” Lindsey agreed.

  Kaiden gulped and remained silent. Lindsey beamed and turned to face the bulk of the people here to watch the ceremony.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Kaiden saw Lincoln, George, and Mark. Lincoln winked at him, and Kaiden held back a smile.

  “Young Kaiden has reached manhood,” Lindsey said. “Today, he starts the real journey, one we all must do, one that will shape the future.”

  This was a speech he’d heard her say at all the previous joinings.

  She continued, “The day of the bonding. The day we gain our true power. Learn who we will be. Our hearts are revealed to us, and we join the fray to save or destroy the Earth.”

  A snort sounded at the edge of the circle. Charlie was there, and he stepped forward as if that was his cue. This happened pretty much every time as well.

  “The time we learn of the true nature,” Charlie said, “of the righteous.”

  Kaiden gulped. Clearly, with angels and demons here on Earth, he was sure that God was real. With that in mind, Kaiden said a silent prayer. Dear Lord, please let me be bonded with an angel. Let me join the good and help end this war. God, I want to stop the fighting. I want the world to be happy again.

  With his prayer done, Kaiden walked to the Tree of Life and placed his hand on it. Then Charlie and Lindsey did the same. Both used magic Kaiden couldn’t see, but he felt it. The magic pulsed through the tree and into him.

  His body tingled, and the world spun around him. All Kaiden saw was blackness and blurs. He wasn’t sure what was going on, and he closed his eyes to stop the spinning and the nausea. When Kaiden opened them, he was down on one knee. He looked up at the tree. It was a bright green and shimmering. Around Kaiden, the temperature rose, and he sweated. Beads ran down his head and back as he knelt there, waiting for the one he would bond with.

  A light shot up from the tree, and a man stepped out. He was tall and had bright white wings on his back. He was an angel.

  Kaiden was happy but only for a moment because a second later, he noticed that many of the feathers on the wings were turning black. The angel didn’t shine or glow the way all the others did, but he didn’t have the stench of death the demons did when they stepped out of the tree.

  Both Charlie and Lindsey stepped back in shock. The whole crowd stood in stunned silence, unsure what to make of the man in front of them. Kaiden looked up to his bond, his angel, but it wasn’t a regular angel.

  Adriel landed on the ground next to the other angel. “Zaphkiel,” Adriel hissed. “What are you playing at?”

  Zaphkiel. That was not an angel name that Kaiden was familiar with. Not one that had been covered in the history books and not one he had heard about being bonded before. Not that he would remember every angel that had been bonded. There were way more than in the Bible. The ones that had made it into the Bible were the big hitters and the ones people talked about the most, but they were just a small fraction of the true number that inhabited Earth and Heaven.

  “I was pulled out of the limbo,” Zaphkiel said. “I didn’t try. It just happened.”

  “You aren’t supposed to here.” Adriel appeared to be upset and ready to kill the angel but refrained. If he did so, all that would accomplish would be to kill Kaiden and send Zaphkiel back to the limbo they were in when not on Earth.

  “Aren’t I?”

  Adriel glared at Zaphkiel. “Just go.”

  Kaiden was lost, and so were the others. None of the people around here appeared to know what was going on.

  Zaphkiel turned to the people and spoke. “I am Zaphkiel. I am an angel. Or I was. I have fallen.”

  The crowd gasped. A fallen angel. He was on his way to becoming a demon. What in the world was going on?

  Chapter Four

  Hours later, Kaiden walked in the wasteland that was the demon country. It was just as bad as he had thought it would be, maybe worse. It didn’t help that usually when one was sent here, they had some sort of escort. Charlie would go with them, and his demon would join them. That much was seen from the wall if one knew where to look. What happened after that, Kaiden didn’t know.

  Now, he walked with his angel with black and white feathers, scarred skin, and fiery red hair. In many ways, Zaphkiel reminded Kaiden of a demon and not an angel.

  “You ever going to talk?” Zaphkiel asked.

  Kaiden sighed. “Why?”

  “We are stuck with each other,” Zaphkiel said. “Might as well make the best of it.”

  Kaiden rolled his eyes and threw his arms up in the air. This wasn’t what he wanted, and now, he wished he had never gone on the quest. It would have been better to have Lindsey berating him for days. At least, then he wouldn’t be hated by both the demons and the angels.

  “Why did Adriel react that way?” Kaiden asked.

  “I’m a bad boy and in limbo.” Zaphkiel talked more, but it was too fast and hard for Kaiden to hear. That was the case since they had left Kathill. Zaphkiel talked a hundred miles an hour. He must love to hear his own voice. “You know. I’ve been stuck in that limbo since the angels and demons appeared here on earth.”

  Kaiden wasn’t sure what to make of that and almost felt bad for him, though he was confident that Zaphkiel wasn’t the only one. “What about Lucifer?”

  Zaphkiel shrugged. “He fell before me. He
is more like God than a demon. No way he could even bond with a human.”

  That made some sense, and Kaiden thought that was a good thing. If Lucifer joined the demons, there was a good chance they might win the war.

  Not that once this war was over, there would be much left of Earth. The more he walked into the demon county, the less he liked it. The land was scorched from the many battles. Not much remained of the time before the awakening or the arrival. Kaiden wasn’t sure what to call it anymore.

  He looked at Zaphkiel. “So what magic do I get from you?”

  That was part of the bonding and a perk. Kaiden needed to know if he was to survive.

  “I wish I knew,” Zaphkiel said. “I’ve never been here.”

  “Great,” Kaiden replied.

  “Look, when you level up to twenty-one,” Zaphkiel said, “you’ll learn. The powers you gained will be upgradeable.”

  Kaiden didn’t want to wait that long, and he didn’t even know if he would survive that long.

  “You think we can get into the angel area?” Kaiden asked. “I don’t like this land.”

  “I don’t either.” Zaphkiel looked around. “We might, and they might not kill me.”

  That wasn’t what Kaiden wanted to hear. If they killed Zaphkiel, Kaiden would die. That was his fear here with the demons in the first place, that they would kill him. Or kill Zaphkiel since he was still technically an angel.

  “What could we do?” Kaiden didn’t want to die and was going to try his best to live. He wanted to learn his new powers and maybe, just maybe, find a way to bond to a different angel. He wasn’t sure if that was possible, but he had to. This wasn’t going to end the war, and that was what he had prayed for.

  “Lay low,” Zaphkiel said. “That is what I want to do to. Not draw attention.”

  “I don’t think that will be possible. I’m sure both Raphael and Lilith already know we are here in the demon land.”

  Zaphkiel groaned. “Lilith is in charge?”

  “She is, and I know.”

  All the low level people in Kathill learned about Lilith and her powers. She was the first demon to have been summoned and the reason for much of this, if not all of it. The human who was bonded to her now hadn’t been seen in years. She kept him safe and hidden as she ran the lands. Each time her human died, she was the next demon out. How she did it no one knew.

  It was a scary thing for people.

  “Lilith,” Zaphkiel said. “She is a nasty one. It’s no wonder the world is in bad shape. I don’t know much. Being in limbo, I don’t get to see everything.”

  Kaiden hadn’t thought about that before. “You really don’t know what has been going on?”

  Zaphkiel shook his head. “No. Other than angels and demons bonding with humans and a war, nope.”

  That was crazy to think about. “What did you do in limbo?”

  “It’s like a sleep but not a sleep. I’m awake, and I can see angels come and go around me. Nothing else.”

  “Ouch,” Kaiden said.

  Zaphkiel shrugged. “Do not worry about me. I’m just pleased to be here. Did you see the look on the faces of the people at that ritual?”

  Kaiden had, and he had been making the same stunned face. “I did.”

  “Great. I loved it.”

  Kaiden wasn’t sure what to make of Zaphkiel. In many ways, the fallen angel reminded him of his friend Lincoln. Kaiden already missed Lincoln and wondered if he would see him again.

  “What do you know of the land?” Zaphkiel asked.

  “Not much,” Kaiden admitted. The two leaders hadn’t really taught them about either the demon or the angel land. They were too worried about the ones who joined the other side. The last thing they wanted to do was give the other an advantage.

  “A shame,” the fallen angel said.

  It was since right now, they needed to find shelter at some point. Kaiden was sweating from head to toe, and the pack on his back didn’t help. His few possessions were weighing him down, and suddenly, they didn’t seem as important.

  “Heads up,” Zaphkiel said.

  A second later, they were surrounded by a half-dozen demons. They could travel in a way that humans couldn’t. Kaiden thought it was almost like teleportation, but only the demons knew and wouldn’t tell. It wasn’t too long before a group of people arrived on a truck.

  Kaiden couldn’t believe his eyes. Back in Kathill, he had been told that no cars or trucks remained in working order. Seeing a vehicle left Kaiden in shock. The people and demons surrounded them.

  Zaphkiel tensed next to Kaiden and had the look of a man ready to fight. With so many demons here, there was no chance of fighting and walking away. Six demons and humans.

  The monsters that surrounded them were all different in nature. They took the form of the vice they represented. One was in human shape and stood next to a stunningly beautiful woman.

  She was about the same level as Kaiden and had long black hair. It was nearly down to her ass. Her clothes were skin tight and showed off her amazing breasts and flat stomach. Kaiden couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Who are you?” she asked.

  “Uh,” Kaiden said.

  Zaphkiel snorted. “He is Kaiden, and I’m Zaphkiel.”

  “Well, Zaphkiel,” she said. “I’m Desiree, and this is Orlas.” She gestured to the demon next to her.

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Zaphkiel said. “We left Kathill today and are looking for a place to stay.”

  “Not here,” one of the demons hissed.

  A demon shaped like a dog with horns lunged at Kaiden and Zaphkiel. Without even thinking, Kaiden attacked the demon. He created a sword of fire out of thin air and sliced its leg, hurting but not killing it. The demon howled.

  “I’m sorry,” Kaiden said.

  Zaphkiel laughed. “Don’t be sorry. The mutt knows better than to attack.”

  The human next to it winced in pain. She was feeling the pain her demon felt, just not in the same way. That was what they had all been told in Kathill.

  The others demons around him hissed and readied for a fight.

  “Look,” Kaiden said, “I don’t know where we fit in.”

  “You don’t belong here,” one said.

  “Enough,” Desiree said. “You aren’t one of us, but I doubt the angels will take you. Zaphkiel, you need to either redeem or fall completely, and then, you will belong to one side.”

  “Never,” Zaphkiel said.

  The demon next to Desiree sneered and turned a bright red, if that was even possible as it was already red. That was the most common color of skin for demons, though some had purple, blue, and green. Actually, any color a person could think of a demon could be, but the most common was red.

  “You must,” Orlas hissed. His tongue was sharp and snake-like. It made Kaiden’s skin crawl.

  “I can’t,” Zaphkiel said. “Just can’t. You don’t think I tried?”

  “Fine. Go,” Desiree said. “You don’t really belong here, but you aren’t going to fight us.”

  Zaphkiel looked at Kaiden. “I’m not going to fight any demons. You?”

  Kaiden shrugged. Right now, he had no hatred toward them, but he didn’t feel bonded with them either. Strange. His dislike of them was gone, but he didn’t fear them either.

  “Nope.”

  “Good,” Desiree said. “Go. I’ll tell my boss.”

  Kaiden nodded. “I guess it would be too much to ask for help to find a place to sleep.”

  “Don’t push your luck,” Desiree said. “You’re some freakish hybrid, and not many will want to be around you.”

  Kaiden didn’t like the tone or what she had said. A hybrid. Not what he wanted. So much for blending in and not being noticed.

  The demons vanished into a cloud of dust, and the humans jumped into the bed of the pickup, each them doing their best I’m a badass pose. Kaiden was sure that many of them actually were badasses. They could probably kill angels.

  The w
ar was going on for as long as it was because both sides were strong and hated each other.

  They continued to walk, and for a bit, Zaphkiel was silent. He peered in the direction of the angel land. “That went well,” he said.

  Kaiden’s eyebrow shot up. That was the last word he would have used. While they hadn’t killed them, they sure hadn’t approved of them. “Uh, they attacked us.”

  “One did, and you defeated it without killing it. That showed a restraint they aren’t used to seeing.”

  “Uh, I guess.”

  “Plus, you used magic. That fire sword was cool. I’ve seen angels and demons use that.”

  It was true. Both sides had fire magic. No surprise that he could, too. Kaiden wasn’t sure what type of magic he would have preferred, but fire and swords were pretty epic and easily upgraded.

  Runes that could add to magic were abundant and for fire even more so. Kaiden should be happy that he had a common magic, yet he didn’t feel thrilled by the idea. Right now, all he wanted was to find a place to sleep that wasn’t exposed.

  While Desiree said the demons wouldn’t attack, Kaiden still didn’t feel safe. Kaiden hated that they had been forced to come to the demon land. Zaphkiel was an angel, fallen or not, and they should be allowed to go to the angel land.

  “We can head north and then back to the east. Hit the wall,” Kaiden said. “Find a way over it.”

  Zaphkiel laughed. “Yes. If only I knew a way to get over a wall.”

  Kaiden rolled his eyes. “Your wings don’t look like they can hold even your weight.”

  “They are fine, and I don’t weigh anything to me. Just to others.”

  Kaiden tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

  “Magic. How else do you think we can fly? Magic makes it all possible. The wings work, sure, but a lot of them are for show.”

  Kaiden hadn’t thought of that. He had never heard any of the others say much about it. Not that he had any contact with any angels outside of Adriel.