The Fall (10 page)

Levi sobered. “Nothing good. By the sound of it he’s gathering some kind of … cult. I think he’s not quite sane.”

“Great, he’s an insane creep. I have exams coming up, and this is not what I need,” Addison mumbled.

Levi put his arm around her in comfort, not sexual in the least. “Nothing will happen to you,” he said with a smile. “Between the four of us, you are safer than the Queen.” He kept his arm around her and they all relaxed, the movie regaining their attention.

***

Archer pulled into the car park where Jake was standing waiting for him, hands in pockets. He got out of the car and walked over to his brother.

“Jake, someone better be dead, unlike that time you dragged me out of bed at four in the morning for advice on which blonde to choose,” Archer said, eliciting an offended look from Jake, “because I had to leave Addison with Jeremiah and Levi, and if they try anything, I’m gonna have to dismember one or both of our baby brothers.”

Jake let out a chuckle at the mention of the twins, before telling Archer about the three Nephilim inside. Apparently Malachi was gathering followers and bringing them all into the city. Jake had also heard the mention of a headquarters, but could not determine the location.

Archer and Jake were discussing options quietly when the three strangers emerged from the club. Archer walked over to confront them, and then used his talents to place a kind of force field around them, trapping them.
Damage control
. He didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention, and anyone outside the boundary would be unable to see what happened within it.

Archer became a predator, and Jake almost felt sorry for the Nephilim.
Almost.

Archer used his telekinesis to slam the three up against the force field.

“Talk,” Archer demanded. “If you tell me why Malachi wants the human girl, I may let you live.”

The tallest of the group, presumably the leader, looked at Archer and smirked.

“Malachi knows you have the girl. Left her though, have you? I wouldn’t mind a taste of the mortal who has interested Archius, son of Samyaza.”

Archer punched him in the face, once, twice, three times. He needed to get back to Addison. Using his powers, he knocked the trio unconscious. He didn’t know what line they were bred from, but it was clear they were no match for him. Archer needed answers and torture wasn’t beneath him. He had to protect Addison; she was an innocent and had nothing to do with this world. More importantly, she was his. Even if she didn’t know it yet.

“Jake, put these three in the car,” he ordered his brother. “Drop them off at Quinn’s place. I’m gonna run home and check on Addy.”

Quinn’s house was well equipped for any kind of incident. It held a lot of their weapons, and also had a basement with several cells specifically made for Nephilim. Quinn had been around a long time; he was prepared for everything. Archer picked up the phone and dialled Quinn’s number.

“Speak,” Quinn said by way of greeting when he answered after just two rings. Archer updated Quinn, and he seemed excited to host the hostages. Quinn was a scary-ass motherfucker. The son of Azazel, he was kind of crazy, but ridiculously genius with weaponry. Archer figured it was a trade-off.

Jake headed to Quinn’s while Archer ran home. They only lived a five minute drive away from the nightclub district and city centre, so Archer would be home faster on his feet than he would be if he were driving.
Being a Nephilim has its perks,
he said to himself.

***

Archer entered the room silently, speechless at the sight before him. He suddenly realised that he was getting surprised a lot in his own home lately.

Pasted between his twin brothers, Addison was watching
Superman III
. She was stroking Jeremiah’s hair while he slept with his head on her shoulder. Archer saw Levi was sleeping too, his mouth ajar, and his arm around Addison’s shoulders. Unable to stop himself, Archer let out a low growl.

Jeremiah and Levi jerked awake, immediately jumping into fighting stance, daggers in hand. They had moved so fast that Archer had barely seen them go for their weapons. Addison started at the sudden movement before turning to Archer.

“Archer, you woke them up,” she chided, her voice filled with affection.

Archer shot an angry glare at his brothers before he pulled Addison into his arms. She was a little surprised by his vehemence but gladly returned the passionate kiss he gave her. He released her from his embrace but kept an arm around her small waist.

“Great protecting, idiots. Both sleeping while Addison watched over you,” he growled. Levi merely yawned and stretched, revealing a small expanse of his ribbed stomach. Jeremiah, at least, had the grace to look ashamed.  

“Yeah, yeah. Best nap I’ve had in ages.” Archer wanted to slap the big grin of Levi’s face. “We’ll be off, then.” Levi walked over to Addison and kissed her on the cheek, ignoring Archer’s murderous expression. “Addison, it was an absolute pleasure,” he told her with a genuine smile, before turning to Archer. “Archer, if you don’t marry her, I will.”

Addison’s lips quirked when Levi shot her a sneaky wink, making Archer want to smack his brother upside the head for being the one to make her smile.

“Goodbye Addison, it was nice to meet you,” Jeremiah said quietly.
Geez
, Archer thought. That was practically a speech for Jeremiah, whom Archer hadn’t heard speak so much in years. He wasn’t surprised that Addison had made such an impression on his brothers; there was little doubt as to what a remarkable woman she was. She must also have infinite patience if she were able to look at them with fondness and not exasperation, Archer mused.

Jeremiah and Levi let themselves out, and Archer turned to Addison.

“You are amazing, you know,” he told her with no small amount of awe in his voice. “My brothers love you already.”

She smiled brilliantly before saying, “I don’t know about that, but they are wonderful. You’re lucky to have such a close family.”

Archer pulled her into his arms and put his hands on each side of her beautiful face.

“Yes, I am, but right now I am very happy that none of them are here,” he told her before kissing her softly. He used just his lips against hers until the door slammed shut.

“Honey, I’m home!” Jake yelled. Archer wanted to bang his head against something. Hard.

“It’s late,” he reluctantly said to Addison, his arms still around her. “You should get some sleep, love.”

“Hmm, you’re right. But wait, how did the thing go tonight?” Her eyes were bright with worry.

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” he said. She was about to argue, but the yawn she let out stopped her. Archer used that moment to sweep her into his arms, carrying her to her room.

“That wasn’t necessary, you know,” she told him with an amused smile.

“Oh, I know. But I still wanted to do it.” Archer couldn’t help the grin that sprung to his face. Addison touched his cheeks.

“God, you are gorgeous.”

“My name is Archer, but thanks,” he joked, laying her in her bed. He kissed her forehead. “Good night, Addison.”

“Good night, Archius,” she said with a sly smile. Letting out a groan before shaking his head ruefully, Archer shut the door on his way out.

***

Chapter 11

Addison finally forced herself out of bed, knowing she couldn’t afford to miss another class. Her sleep had been troubled. She couldn’t stop her brain from formulating crazy ideas that all ended with the same thing: her jumping into bed with Archer. Her pride had finally won because she’d stayed put in her bed, miserable, but dignity still intact.

Addison had a quick shower before putting on a yellow baby-doll dress and black knee-high boots. She left out her jacket to take, because even though it was warm inside, it would definitely be cold out. She applied black eyeliner, mascara, some peach blush, and lip-gloss. After attempting to tame her curls, she gave up, putting them up in a high, messy bun. She walked into the kitchen.

Archer stood there, shirtless, making breakfast. She only hoped he was on the menu, before mentally reprimanding herself. Jake was in the kitchen as well. Addison did a double-take.

“Were you just lifting that entire table with one hand, Jake?” she said in disbelief. He seemed to pull back in shock, as though he hadn’t realised she was there. His face changed quickly, becoming amused, and she wondered if she’d imagined the shock in the first place.

“Well, I have been working out,” he said with a sleazy wiggle of his eyebrows. “But no, I was just using those cool levers you see on TV.”

“You buy stuff from infomercials?” she asked sceptically.

“Of course not,” he replied in mock disgust. “Archer did. He loooooves them infomercials.” Addy didn’t miss the look of annoyance that Archer aimed at Jake. She smiled.

“Ha,” she said in amusement. “How cute.”

“Good morning, Addison. I hope you slept well.”

Addison walked around the kitchen counter and took a good look at him. He was wearing nothing but jeans, top button undone, and his hair was still damp from a shower. He smelled so damn good, and looked even better.
Wow
, she thought,
a girl could get used to this view every morning
. Archer pulled her into his arms and hugged her. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. She felt her heart melt. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jake slowly leave the room.

“Morning,” she mumbled as she buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around his lean waist. “I gotta go to uni, and then afterwards you are going to give me several explanations.” Archer smiled, but this time it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Okay, give me ten minutes. I’ll get ready, then we’ll go to class. In the meantime, eat,” he said, gesturing towards to food.

Addison frowned.

“What do you mean
we
will go to class? That’s not necessary, Archer. Nothing will happen to me while I’m in a lecture. You could just drop me off and pick me up. Hell, even that’s paranoid.”

He grinned.

“You won’t even notice I’m there. I’ll use my stealth card.” Archer’s phone rang; he looked at the number and cursed. “Yeah?” he answered. He listened intently for a little while then nodded, even though the person on the other end obviously couldn’t see him. “Thanks, Quinn. I’ll be over in ten minutes.”

Archer looked at Addison apologetically. “Sorry beauty, I got some business to take care of. Looks like Jake is gonna be your study partner today. Jake! Get your butt back here,” Archer yelled.

Archer put his arms out for Addison. She walked to him, moulding against him as he grabbed her. He gave her a kiss that made her knees weak.

“I’ll be home by the time you get back from class. We’ll talk then.” Archer kissed her again, this time pushing her against the wall, hands fisted in her hair. Addison groaned as he lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around him.

She was about to motion him to the bedroom when she heard footsteps.

“Breakfast and free porn. What a lovely morning.” Archer froze without turning to face Jake, and carried Addison off to his bedroom. He shut the door and pressed her against it, giving her a final lingering kiss before he continued to get dressed. He gave her a seductive look that promised this would be continued at a later time.

“Gotta go, Addy.”  He grabbed her face in both hands, rubbing his thumb along her bottom lip while staring at it regretfully, and then left without another word.

***

Archer followed Quinn downstairs to the basement. There was very little light, only a dim glow, but with Archer’s superior eyesight, seeing in the dark wasn’t difficult. The staircase was wide enough that descending took a little time. When they came to a steel door, Quinn punched in a long code and scanned his hand. The door opened soundlessly.

“Damn,” Archer exclaimed admiringly upon entering. The hall was at least twenty metres long, with about ten rooms along it. Each had one-way glass, cop-style.

“Where the hell do you get this shit?” Archer asked.

“Ah, my man. I have my ways,” Quinn answered mysteriously. Right in the middle of the hallway, the three Nephilim were contained in separate cells. Each cell had plain white walls, no furniture, and was about the size of a small bathroom. The man on the left was pacing in a circle as large as the room allowed. He had short black hair and a goatee. The leader was in the centre. He had red hair and was lying on the floor, staring motionlessly at the ceiling. He looked calm as hell. The last Nephilim had long black hair and was standing facing the wall, hands and forehead pressed against it. Bingo; he was first.

Archer nodded his head to the cell, and Quinn obligingly opened it, using his fingerprints to gain access. Archer slid in alone, and the Nephilim pushed away from the wall and moved to the other side of the cell, despite the fact that Archer could still reach out and grab him if he really wanted to.

“Do you know who I am?” Archer asked. The Nephilim said nothing. “Guess you want to do this the hard way.” The man went flying, crashing into the wall. Archer mentally cut off his air supply. It wouldn’t kill him, but it hurt like hell. He started choking, his mouth moving wordlessly. Archer kept it up for a few more moments before allowing the Nephilim to drop to the floor.

“Ready now?” he asked patiently, but not without menace.

“Yes,” the Nephilim wheezed, clutching his chest.

“Again, do you know who I am?”

“Yes. You are Archius, the firstborn Nephilim, son of Samyaza. One of the Vertalur,” he rasped, still recovering.

“See, now I feel like I’m at a disadvantage, because I don’t know who the fuck you are.” Archer made sure his eye contact didn’t waver. “So, tell me. Who are you and your buddies, and why are you in my city?”

“I am Crux. The redhead is Silver, and the one with the goatee is my brother, Sin. We’re here visiting. We didn’t know you lived here.” Archer didn’t need powers to know he was lying.

“Vacation?” he inquired, raising a brow. “I thought we had an arrangement, Crux. I don’t want to have to use more creative ways to make you cooperate. I assure you, I have some gifts that the rest of you could only dream of.” Archer was pleased to see Crux shiver.