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Cam pulled on his T-shirt, wondering what had come over him. His hands shook with adrenaline, thoughts of the intense moment with Alyssa sending a shiver through him.

Alyssa stood with her back to him, buttoning her blouse. She had been quiet since they started dressing. Cam watched her movements, fearing that she regretted being with him.

“I’m sorry,” he said as he clasped his belt.

She turned to face him. Her cheeks were still flushed.

“I shouldn’t have…” Cam went on. “I got carried away. I—”

“We got carried away,” she said, going over to him. Her heels tapped on the ground as she stepped, sounding louder in the quiet room. “I don’t regret anything. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

She pressed a hand on his chest, locking him in with her startling emerald eyes.

Cam’s heart raced as he gazed at her wet lips, remembering their vanilla taste. His eyes lowered to her deep cleavage. It was then that he noticed her necklace—a golden circle with a large ruby in its centre, studded gems lining the rounded edge.

He worked his fingers around it. “This is nice.” Something about the glistening ruby stirred a memory that he couldn’t quite place. Like he had seen the necklace before, or one like it. He never liked this feeling; thinking he’d come across something before and should remember it. After centuries in the mortal plane, it was a feeling that tended to occur.

“This?” Alyssa asked, holding the necklace and playing with Cam’s fingers. “It was my mother’s. Actually it’s been in my family for a long time.”

“Where did it come from?” he asked.

Alyssa’s eyes narrowed, her head tilting. “Well… no one knows. My mother told me that no one in the family remembered where it came from, but just that it had been with us for as long as anyone knew.”

“What’s your full name?” Cam asked.

She eyed him wearily. “Moreno. Alyssa Moreno.”

He continued studying the necklace.

“What is it?” she asked.

Cam blinked, shaking his head and smiling. “Nothing. I just didn’t notice it before.”

He lifted the ends of her shirt, seeing the last few buttons had been torn.

“At least you didn’t rip all the buttons,” she said with a crooked smile. “But…” she lifted a leg, revealing her torn skirt falling over her exposed thigh. “You could’ve gone easier on the skirt. Carried way in the moment, huh?”

Cam shook his head, giving her a weak smile.

At least there were no broken bones.

The thought sent a shiver through him. What was he thinking, having sex with a human?

He turned from her, checking the room and making sure they had everything. He put the necklace out of his mind, knowing that dwelling on it would not bring back any memories, if he even had come across it before.

“So are you going to tell me what you’re doing here?” Alyssa asked.

Cam faced her.

“All of you. You angels. And those things… those demons. I thought angels had wings, and halo’s around them.”

Cam smiled. “Once, maybe. But we’re not exactly what we once were.” He stepped closer to her. “Grounding an angel to the mortal plane requires some restrictions; some filtering. We had to become partly human, in appearance and in our essence. The same goes for the demons. And, over the years, we’ve adapted to civilization—a lot more than some of our kind would have liked.”

“That’s why you don’t sound like you’ve come out of a Bible. And certainly know what to do with a woman,” she added, raising her eyebrows. “Best fucking sex I’ve ever had.”

She perked up and looked at him. “Oh shit, am I allowed to swear in front of you? Oh, Jesus, I just did. Oh God! Oh—!”

Cam grabbed her arms and stopped her flustered movements. “It’s okay,” he said, chuckling. “Even though we’re angels, we’re not exactly saints.”

She regarded him, and eventually she smiled and sighed. He kissed her again. It was meant to be a light peck on the lips, but his mouth lingered, and he slowly pulled away.

He released her and started thinking ahead. His brethren would have begun planning today’s events by now, without him. But he would have a good excuse for being late when he showed up with Alyssa. Once he was at the hideout he would speak with Bath Kol, and she would hopefully be able to discover why the demons wanted Alyssa.

Suddenly remembering his phone, he brought it out of his pocket.

Several missed calls from Sablo and a message icon showed on the display. Cam frowned, reading Sablo’s text message.

Where are you? We are starting now.

“We should get going,” Cam told her. “They’ll still be looking for you, but they may have left this area by now.”

“They may have?” Alyssa asked. She paused while she put on her jacket and looked at him.

“We can’t stay here all day,” Cam said. “I’ll keep you safe.”

She stepped to him and laid a hand on his arm. “You’ve kept me safe so far.”

Her closeness caused his heart to race. He wanted to grab her and tear her clothes off, to feel her skin on his again. He inched closer, thinking he would kiss her again, but didn’t trust himself to hold back this time.

She smiled at him as he turned back to the door.

Cam listened to the hallway outside, before opening the door and looking out.

At the far end of the corridor, a door had a sign over it that read Fire Exit.

He nodded in the door’s direction and led Alyssa down the corridor. The door opened to a metal stairwell, winding below and above them.

“Should take us to a side exit,” Cam said as he began descending the stairs.

A few levels down, a door creaked opened and slammed shut, echoing through the stairwell.

Two men poked their heads out from the ground level and looked up at them. Cam immediately knew that the thin, pale faces were demons. He grabbed Alyssa’s hand and turned up the stairs.

“Go, go,” he breathed, urging her on.

Echoing footsteps followed them as they ran up the stairs, finally reaching a door at the top.

A metal bar with a thick padlock ran across the door, a sign above it reading Roof Access. Cam threw his shoulder against the door, breaking it off its hinges and sending it crashing onto the roof beyond.

The sun bathed down on them, showing through a gap in the cloudy sky. The gravelled roof stretched out for several meters in all directions, glistening in places from the rain earlier. Building tops and larger towers surrounded the roof, reflecting the bright sun.

“What do we do?” Alyssa called out as they ran along the roof.

“Over there,” Cam said, pointing ahead. A grey tower block reached several feet higher than their position, with a gap of around twenty feet between buildings.

They stopped at a short wall by the edge of the roof.

“Over where?” Alyssa asked, panic straining her voice.

Footsteps thudded on the roof. The two demons had left the stairwell doorway and now ran towards them.

“Come here,” Cam said, lifting Alyssa and laying her across his arms.

“Wait,” Alyssa said. “What are you doing?”

Cam took a few steps back before he broke into a run towards the roof edge.

“What are you doing?” Alyssa cried, her words becoming a yell as Cam hopped onto the short wall.

With a great leap, they soared through the air, landing on the next roof. Cam stumbled before finding his footing, and lowered Alyssa to her feet.

She huffed and wheezed. “Next time, a warning would be nice.”

Cam took her by the arm and they both continued running.

Construction equipment and machinery covered most of the roof ahead. A crane tower stretched up into the sky, with several skips and metal beams around the area, along with a cement machine and a cabin to their left. Luckily, no one seemed to be around.

The rush of wind was audible as the two demons hurtled through the air behind them.

Cam turned to see them hit the roof and continue their pursuit. He looked around, knowing that he would have to confront them. He held a hand back to Alyssa, keeping her behind him.

“Stay back,” he said to her. “Find some place to hide. I’ll take care of them.”

He heard her heels thudding on the roof as she ran away, but his focus was on the demons ahead.

With writhing, twisting jerks, the two demons contorted and grew. Their upper bodies doubled in size, stretching their loose clothing, and large claws extended from their thick arms.

Cam called upon his power and the light sword extended from his fist. A buzzing sensation washed over him; the combination of the sun at its peak and his exposed Light. Spurred on by his heightened strength, and the thought of keeping Alyssa safe, he pushed himself forward.

He swung his sword in quick succession at both demons, who dodged and weaved around the blade of light. Cam ducked under a swiping claw, came up, and struck his sword out, but the demon jumped back into time to miss the attack.

The demon on his left side reached out. Cam twisted away and grabbed its thick arm as he stepped closer, raising his sword and plunging the light into the demon’s chest. The sword seared and smoked as black blood spewed from the demon. Jerking its head up, the large demon cried out in a thick, harsh gargle, its red eyes fading as Cam pushed his sword in deeper. He released the light and swung backwards, blocking the incoming attack from the other demon.

“Cam!” Alyssa cried out.

He spun towards her direction, and his heart sank when he could not see her anywhere.

Two more demons were running towards them from the other side of the roof, still in their human form.

He was about to call out for Alyssa when he caught movement on the tower of the crane. She was several feet off the ground, climbing the metal framework.

“Alyssa!” Cam called back.

He took a step towards her but the demon next to him came to his side. He quickly ducked under the swiping claw, stepping back and readying his sword. The ferocious demon growled and shot an arm towards him. Cam dodged to the side and brought his sword down, severing the demon’s hand in a gushy extraction of black blood and blazing light.

The demon reeled back, bearing pointed teeth.

Cam turned and broke into a run towards the crane. He had no time to battle these creatures. Keeping Alyssa safe was his only priority.

The two human-formed demons on the other side of the roof continued their approach. One of them jumped onto a skip and pushed off, soaring into the air. It grabbed onto the crane’s tower several feet below Alyssa, and began climbing the framework with a great speed.

As Cam rushed towards the crane, he heard the one-handed demon coming up behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the demon leap into the air. Cam turned and jumped backwards, meeting the demon in the air. As they both flew, Cam raised his light sword and ran it along the demons torso. With a shower of pulpy black blood the demon was severed in two, both parts flailing on either side as Cam hit the ground and rolled to his feet, continuing to run without pausing.

Alyssa was mounting the turntable at the top of the crane, lifting herself onto the long jib that stretched out away from the roof.

The nearest demon was almost at the top. The second one had begun climbing the tower but was still a good distance away.

Launching himself off the ground, Cam extinguished his light sword and grabbed onto the crane tower. Climbing the framework, pushing off the metal beams, hand over hand, he urged himself to reach Alyssa.

He came closer to the demon that was ascending the tower, and he shifted his position to intercept it. As he neared the demon, Cam saw that it was the red-haired man he had battled in the underground car park. He grabbed hold of its foot and pulled. The demon held on, locking its arms around the framework. It kicked out, hitting Cam on the head. He faltered as his head shot back, but managed to hold on to the framework. He reached up and grabbed the demon’s foot again, this time stepping off the tower and pulling with all his weight. The demon jerked down, holding onto the framework with both outstretched hands. Cam yanked harder on the foot. Finally losing its grip, the demon was flung from the tower as he also lurched back. He grabbed hold of the framework with one hand, spinning and hitting the tower as the demon sailed through the air, hitting the roof below.

Alyssa’s screams rang through the air. Cam shot his head up, seeing the final demon approaching her on the top of the crane.

He pushed himself further up the tower, his heart racing with fear and adrenaline. He jumped the last few feet and grabbed onto the crane, swinging himself onto the top. A strong breeze whipped at his clothes as he rushed towards the demon. He kept his focus ahead, knowing that looking down from this dizzying height would only distract him.

“Alyssa! I’m coming,” Cam shouted as he ran.

The demon reached for Alyssa, stepping between the metal beams of the crane. Alyssa stumbled back and stepped into a gap between the beams. She stumbled back, slipping through the gap and grabbing onto a metal beam. Cam’s heart jumped at seeing her dangling form.

“Cam!” she screamed.

The demon turned as Cam bounded towards it. Igniting his light sword, he leapt into the air, twisting his body over the demon and slicing its arm. The attack knocked the demon sideways and sent it hurtling down to a nearby roof.

Cam landed and continued sprinting towards Alyssa.

As he neared, she lost her grip and jerked away, falling through the air.

“No!” Cam cried.

He dove off the crane and fell after her.

He straightened his body, arms by his sides as he cut through the air and soared down towards Alyssa’s flailing body. She screamed as she dropped between the buildings and continued towards the ground below.

Cam just had to reach her in time. In his arms, he could absorb the impact of the fall and hope that he didn’t injure Alyssa in the process. There was nothing left to do but catch her and land.

He called out, willing himself to fall faster, but could not close the distance enough. Alyssa’s eyes locked on to his, her arms and legs stretched out to him.

He reached out with everything he had. But he was still several feet away from her.

“Alyssa!!” he cried desperately.

The ground reached up to them.

He could only watch as Alyssa, her eyes still on him, hit the ground and splayed onto the hard concrete.

A second later Cam landed, planting his feet by her sides. He stared at Alyssa’s still body, unable to do anything else. His breath caught in his throat. The realisation that he had failed to save her crushed him to the core.