Dark Kings Read online

  Chapter Three

  Trinity

  “Frick!” I say out loud—which is very undignified and un-angelic of me, I’ll be the first to admit that.

  My head swivels quickly to the right, but I already know who I’m going to find standing there. It’s Anderson, because of course it is.

  “Trinity.” He’s dressed in an impeccable tan suit, a dark brown tie settled snugly at his throat, his salt and pepper hair carefully styled. He looks almost but not quite like Morgan Freeman, although when I told him that once, he had no idea what I was talking about. Most angels don’t watch as many movies as I do.

  “Sir.” I scramble to my feet and dip my head in greeting.

  I’m keenly aware that I’m in just my sleep shirt because I kicked my flannel jammy pants off a while ago when I got too warm, and there are boxes of messy Chinese takeout all around me on the couch and coffee table. And a dumpling on the floor.

  I look… well, not like a slob, exactly, but close.

  Oops?

  Trying to be subtle about it, I casually move my foot a few inches and nudge the dumpling under the couch. I’ll get it later. Shoot, I hope I don’t forget. Then I stand in parade rest, clearing my throat as I try to figure out what Anderson is doing here.

  My onetime boss looks amused. “At ease, Trinity. You’re not in trouble. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

  I blink. “I’m not?”

  Seriously? I was sure that my whole “getting fired for breaking rules” schtick was going to get me a slap on the wrist from Upstairs for sure.

  Anderson shakes his head. “No. In fact, I am here to offer you a chance to earn your ticket back home.”

  My eyebrows rise so fast they practically fly off my face.

  What? Home? Home!

  Ohhh, I want to go home. It doesn’t feel quite like my skin fits here. The other fallen at my support group say they feel the same. We’re full of angelic power, and it’s hard to confine all of that into one single mortal form.

  But there’s got to be a catch, right? He wouldn’t just offer me a way home for no reason. There’s always a catch with Upstairs. Do I need to follow all of the rules and nothing but that for a month? A decade? I can totally do that.

  I hope.

  “What do I need to do?” I ask.

  Anderson gives me a slow, pleased smile. “I like the way you think, Trinity.”

  No, you don’t. But I don’t dare say that out loud. In fact, maybe even thinking it is a bit of a risk. Anderson can’t read my mind, as far as I know, but what if he can and I just don’t know it? I’ll get busted even worse than the first time, and I don’t even want to imagine what my punishment would be this time.

  For someone who’s constantly breaking the rules, I do seem to lack the requisite backbone that should come with being a rebel.

  Anderson’s face grows serious again. “Your case is up for review, and the board would like to give you another chance. We like to be forgiving, after all. That is one of the things that separates us from the corrupted. But we cannot, of course, simply allow you back in if you have not learned your lesson. That’s what your banishment is all about, you know—learning your lesson. Becoming the angel and servant of Heaven that you were meant to be.”

  I blanch a little at the power in his words, a shiver running over my skin. Mostly, we use terms like Above and Below, corrupted and fallen. Words have power, so we try to use the real names only when we have to.

  But the fact that Anderson is invoking the name of Heaven means that this is serious. It’s real.

  This could actually be my chance to get back Upstairs.

  “We need all the help that we can get in our war against evil,” Anderson goes on. “Our side is not losing, of course. That would be impossible, since we are so clearly on the side of the right and the just. But Earth is neutral territory and that is making things… difficult. Humans are so finicky in their sins and their virtues.”

  I think humans are fascinating, but he probably doesn’t want to hear about that right now, so I keep my lips zipped.

  “We need to strike a decisive victory, but we cannot act so openly as we once did. It has become harder than ever to keep our existence hidden from humanity, but no less important. We have to be subtle.”

  “Are you asking me to, um, fight one of the corrupted? Or turn some souls toward redemption?” Those are the usual kinds of things angels get assigned to do.

  I don’t want to fight a demon though. No way.

  As much as I might dream of taking after my namesake who’s still kicking butt on screen, I was never trained as a battle angel. It’s not really my forte.

  Anderson looks at me like I’m an idiot for even suggesting it. “No. There are other creatures besides us and the corrupted, Trinity. We want you to work some of those creatures to our advantage. We want you to redeem the seven sins.”

  I choke on my next breath, certain I’ve heard him wrong. “Sorry, the what?”

  He can’t be serious.

  Anderson sighs. “I know you’ve been on Earth for some time, Trinity, but surely you have not forgotten what the sins are.”

  “No, I know what they are. I just thought maybe—are you sure? Are you serious?”

  Anderson’s face is as deadly serious as a kid in the final round of a spelling bee. “Most certainly. The sins have plagued us for far too long. Their very existence is abhorrent, but what’s done is done. We cannot undo their creation, so we must do the next best thing, which is redeem them. We did, of course, consider simply having you assassinate them—but you have always been better at administration work. And what good would it do to kill them? No, it would be far better to win them to our side. That way, we gain strong allies in our fight against the corrupted.”

  “But the sins aren’t corrupted,” I point out. Because it’s true, they aren’t. “They’re kind of… neutral entities. They like being among humans on Earth more than they like helping Hell. Indulging in the sins they represent. Unlike the corrupted, they have no stake in the war between the factions of good and evil.”

  “True. But their nature is implicitly dark. It is only a matter of time until one of the corrupted wins them over to the side of Hell,” Anderson replies. “We cannot allow that to happen, Trinity. We must get to them first. You have to get to them first.”

  “Um… I think you might be overestimating me.” The words pour out before I can stop them.

  Anderson purses his lips, then sighs. “Well, that is a pity. I would hate for you to refuse this opportunity. We would have to give it to someone else, and your case wouldn’t come up for review again for…” He clucks his tongue. “Decades, I should imagine.”

  Decades.

  Decades.

  I’ve already been here for decades. Three of them. In that time, the face of the world has changed so much that I hardly even recognize it at times. How much more will it change in the next thirty years? And what about home, my real home? Has it changed too? Or is it still the same? How much longer will I have to be separated from it?

  I can’t let decades go by. I just can’t. I want to go back home. But am I really up to the task of redeeming the creatures that represent, encourage, and personify all of humanity’s vices?

  Nuts. It doesn’t really look like I have a choice, does it?

  “I’ll do it,” I blurt quickly. “I’ll redeem them.”

  Great. Somehow.

  My angel superior smiles. “Ah, wonderful! That’s the kind of attitude I like to see. I’m pleased to hear it. The board will be glad to know that you’re so excited about your new assignment. I’ll be your supervisor for the whole process, so don’t worry. I’ll give you a means to contact me, and you can reach out to me if you have questions or need assistance.”

  My brows pull together a little as I try to subtly study his expression. I can’t tell if he wants me to check in with him all the time so that he can hold my hand and micromanage me, or if he wants me to not ask any questions a
nd do everything perfectly, and would view my asking for help as a sign of failure and weakness.

  Maybe it’s silly of me, to be scared of the board and the higher-ups Above like this. But my chances of getting back home depend entirely on me pulling this off. So, yeah, I’m nervous as crap about this assignment, and I don’t want to blow it.

  I take a few deep breaths—I don’t need them really, but I’m in the habit of breathing to blend in with humans, and it actually does calm me down.

  “Great. I can’t wait to get started.” I force a cheerful smile onto my face. “I’m excited to get back home.”

  That part’s true, at least.

  Anderson nods. “Excellent.” He turns as if to step away, but then pauses and looks back at me. “You will need a little something, I think, to help you on your task. Consider it a taste of the rewards to come if you succeed, and a show of our good faith in you.”

  My back muscles clench in momentary pain as fire races up my spine. I arch, gasping, feeling like I truly can’t breathe, then—the pain is gone. A new weight, or rather an old weight that I haven’t felt since I fell, sits on my back. I have to adjust my stance and how I balance on my feet to make up for it.

  It can’t—oh my gosh, could it be? Did he…?

  I turn and race for the mirror that I have on the back of one of my apartment doors, and sure enough, they’re there.

  My wings.

  My beautiful, beautiful wings.

  I missed them so much; more than almost anything. I used to fly everywhere, but I’ve been bound by gravity for the past thirty years. When they took my wings before casting me out, it was like I lost two limbs—no, wait, I literally lost limbs.

  Angel wings, for the record, are not always big and white and fluffy. The color can vary a bit depending on an angel’s status and power, but since I was just a mid-level angel working in admin, mine are white just like you’d expect.

  Or at least, that’s what it looks like at first glance. But if you stare at them long enough, you start to see colors in them, like rainbows in slick oil, all kinds of shades—ones human eyes can see and ones they can’t.

  They’re beautiful. I’ve missed my wings so much. And now…

  I have them back.

  Over my shoulder in the mirror, I catch sight of Anderson smiling at me. “I thought you might be pleased to have those again.”

  Oh, more than I can possibly say. I want to scream into a pillow at the top of my lungs, but I’m trying to stay dignified, at least until he leaves. I turn away from the mirror to face him, although it’s hard—not to sound vain, but I want to just stare at my wings forever.

  “Thank you. So much.”

  He nods. “They’ll have the usual abilities, so be careful that humans don’t see them. We’ll have to take them away and set your case aside if you draw too much attention to yourself and make humans aware of the supernatural.”

  “I’ll be careful,” I promise.

  “I’m sure you will be. I know we can count on you.” Anderson gives me a final nod, then there’s a flash of light, and he’s gone.

  The flash of light is unnecessary. Angels of a certain rank can just appear Upstairs or on Earth simply by stepping from one plane of existence to another. He’s only doing that to be fancy. Showing off.

  But I’m too distracted to be overly awed or impressed by his display.

  I’ve got wings again!

  My feathers ruffle, and I grin, turning the large wings this way and that, getting used to having them again. It feels a bit like wiggling my fingers after I sleep on my arm too long and it goes numb. I stroke the feathers, relishing how soft they are. It’s like they never left. It’s like I’m whole again.

  Deciding to take the risk, I open the window of my apartment and remove the screens. I make—well, made—enough money that I can afford a fairly nice apartment, so I’m a good ten floors up, high enough that nobody should notice me if I’m careful. I slip out of the window onto the fire escape, then take the stairs up to the roof of the building. It’s just a few more flights anyway.

  My wings can appear or disappear into my back without bursting through my clothing—that’s what Anderson meant by “the usual powers.” All angel wings can do that. It’s a universal thing.

  Hopefully that means that my other power is back too. I lost it when I lost my wings, but if I have my wings now…

  My other power is the ability to turn invisible. I really hope Anderson gave me that back too, since it would definitely come in handy when I do recon on the sins.

  I get up to the roof where the wind is stronger. I shiver in the cold breeze as it whips around me, but then my wings wrap around me instinctively, protecting me from the cold and keeping me warm.

  Gah, I’ve missed them so much.

  Stepping back to the middle of the roof, I take a few steadying breaths. Okay. I haven’t done this in three decades, but it’s just like riding a bike, right? And everything else about having my wings back has returned pretty quickly.

  Flexing them behind my back, I let them spread wide, then I run for the edge of the roof.

  Once, I would have pushed myself off without a second thought, or even dived off the roof like an Olympic athlete. But I’m not quite so confident now.

  What if…?

  I reach the edge, and it’s too late for any doubts. My footsteps stutter only a little before I leap off, my wings arching up, catching the breeze.

  They spread wide, and I soar.

  Yes! It’s all I can do not to scream in joy and triumph. I laugh wildly instead, feeling the wind whip at my face, twisting and flipping around until I’m breathless and dizzy.

  I stay out far too late, swooping and soaring above the glowing lights of Seattle. But that’s okay. I don’t have a human job to go back to tomorrow anyway.

  Instead, I’ve got a new mission: to find and redeem the seven deadly sins.

  Chapter Four

  Trinity

  Right. So. The seven deadly sins.

  Just find them and redeem them, Trin. No big deal. It’s not like they’ve existed, unredeemed, for thousands of years.

  I don’t know much about them, to be honest. I don’t think most angels do. We just kind of let them do their thing, and they let us do ours. They aren’t interested in the whole “battle between Heaven and Hell” business, duking it out for the souls of humanity and overall control of the universe. From what I understand, the sins just like to indulge themselves and don’t really care if the people they’re convincing to join them end up in Heaven or in Hell.

  They’re all about living in the moment.

  I definitely am not going to ask my support group about them. The other fallen will want to know why I’m asking, and if they find out that I might get to go back home if I succeed, they might try to take my place and do the job first. Or, if they’re one of the fallen who resents Upstairs, they could try to sabotage me so I can’t go back, or so that at least Upstairs fails in its quest.

  Either way, it wouldn’t be good for me.

  So I have to rely on that classic human resource: the internet.

  Oh, internet. You’re so useful. I’m so glad you were invented.

  Not all of the sins like to make themselves known. I can barely find any information at all about a few of them. But there is one sin who likes to splash himself all over the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. He keeps popping up over and over in my searches, and even though he looks different depending on what decade I search for, I start to recognize the telltale signs that it’s the same man.

  The sins are immortal, just like angels and the corrupted. As long as the sins they personify exist and are embraced by humans, then these creatures will exist too. Or at least, I think so. Anderson didn’t exactly give me a handbook on the sins before he left, so I’m flying a bit blind here. Haha. Pun intended.

  This particular sin likes to re-invent himself every few decades. He pops up every so often in the history books when I look for him.<
br />
  Greed.

  He’s living in New York City, a place I’ve never visited.

  It’s not the distance that kept me away, it’s just… well, I came to Seattle when I fell, and I never really worked up the nerve to leave. I’ve moved to new neighborhoods a few times, and I keep to myself enough that no one’s ever noticed my distinct lack of aging.

  I’m filled with equal parts excitement and trepidation at the idea of traveling all the way across the country for this insane new mission Anderson’s given me.

  As much as I wish I could fly all the way to New York using the power of my own wings, it would take too long, so after spending a couple of hours doing research, I book a plane ticket. There’s no point in delaying this, as intimidating as the task before me might be. I can’t stall. Anderson’s going to be checking in, and if he thinks I’m not taking this seriously enough, he might give my chance to someone else.

  I can’t afford to let that happen.

  There isn’t much for me to pack. I mean, what do you even pack when you’re traveling across the country to convince a thousands-year-old personification of avarice that maybe he should try being generous and humble instead of a greedy tightwad? Is there anything I could possibly bring that would make the job less daunting?

  That thought doesn’t exactly give me a boost of confidence, so I shove it away as I slide off the bed and begin shoving a few changes of clothes into a small bag.

  “Future Trin” will be the one who has to face the seven sins.

  And I’m sure she’ll be up to the job, even if I don’t feel like I am.

  New York City is a big, loud place, but I think I’m prepared for it. It’s just going to be like a regular city, right?

  Wrong.

  So, so wrong.

  I can feel myself gaping as I stare out the window of the taxi. Oh… wow. This place is absolutely pulsing with life. So much variety, all of these tiny areas with their distinct personalities, and yet it’s still all New York City.

  I think I’m in love.