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“No. No. Alyssa…” Cam’s words were barely a whisper.

He knelt beside Alyssa, looking over her tranquil, peaceful expression. He lifted her head, feeling the wetness of blood at the back of her skull, and rested her on his knees. Anger roiled up within him, and his grief gave strength to his voice as he cried out. His shout echoed around the buildings.

She can’t be dead.

He shook her, hoping to somehow wake her from a deep sleep. But Cam knew about the frailty of humans; how quickly their light could be extinguished. He knew better than anyone. And he knew Alyssa was no longer with him on the mortal plane.

A well of emotion broke within him, and he cried. Cam looked up at the cloudy sky between the buildings, tears streaming down his face. A dark figure—one of the demons—jumped from one building to the other. Other sounds told Cam that more of them were around, but they were moving away from him. Escaping. If they wanted Alyssa dead, they had succeeded in their goal.

The sun came out from behind a cloud, shining beams of light down on the alleyway. Cam kept his eyes firmly on the sun; its light had never troubled him. He had known a brighter light once before.

Out there, Alyssa’s soul was transitioning to Heaven, he knew. But the thought did not ease his mind. He was still locked to the mortal plane. Still without her.

He choked back the tears, his eyes falling on her ruby necklace. Reaching down behind her neck, he unclasped her necklace and collected the chain, placing it in his pocket. Something to remember her by. His fingers played around her hair, traced the line of her soft cheek. So soft.

Bending closer, he brought his face to hers and lightly kissed her lips. Sorrow roiled within him.

He became aware of the sounds of police sirens, growing louder as they neared.

Cam laid Alyssa’s head gently back onto the ground. He hesitated before he let go, wanting to hold on to her. To hold her in his arms forever.

A distant, harmonious voice somehow came to him in that moment, echoing through his mind. The song they had listened to together in the car.

Into my arms, O Lord.

Into my arms.

As the sirens increased, Cam rose onto weak legs. He cast one last look to Alyssa, saying a silent prayer, and turned away, running down the alley.

The urgency of the moment returned to him as he rounded the building and entered a side street away from the sirens. A few people walked about, although none seemed to pay attention to him, or notice the tears drying on his face.

In a numb haze, he was vaguely aware of eventually entering a nearby underground tube station, moving without focus. He journeyed to the tube stop he had meant to arrive at with Sablo that morning. That morning coffee with Sablo seemed like a lifetime ago.

Cam left the tube station with troubled thoughts running through him. He still couldn’t say what had drawn him to Alyssa so much. It had been decades—centuries—since he last fell for a human woman. But there was just something about Alyssa…

He shook his head. Angels were not meant to be attracted to humans. That was just how it was. They weren’t even meant to have any sexual drive, but after millennia of living in the mortal plane, there was a certain influence that had affected the angels. Some saw it as the humans affecting the angels, like how the combined strength of the angels affected the flow of humankind.

A warm breeze blew over him as he walked down a housing street. Cam had usually seen a breeze as a nudge from above. An indication that he and his brethren were being looked over; a reminder of their otherworldly origins. For the first time in a long time, Cam wished that he could return home—if it meant feeling a connection to Alyssa again.

He knew there were ways of contacting the heavenly bodies back home. Bath Kol could help him with that.

A row of red-bricked houses ran down the street on Cam’s right, all of a similar design—four floors high with a pointed roof. As he walked up to the house where his brethren were gathered, Cam told himself to put thoughts of Alyssa out of his mind. For now. He had to focus on the events of the day, and of striking a major blow to the demon stronghold in London. If they were going to make a difference to the planet, it would be today, on the Summer Solstice.

But first, Cam had to explain to Balthiour why he was so late.

He brought his keys out and went through the front door, making his way up the stairs at the end of the hallway. His brethren had bought the entire house, and only used the two flats on the top floor, which meant there were several empty rooms in the building. Better to conduct secret meetings without people nearby, and better to hide out in the open rather than an out-of-the-way location.

When Cam reached the stairs that led to the top floor, he saw a person standing at the end of the staircase.

At over seven feet tall, with shoulder-length blond hair and broad shoulders that tapered to a trim waist, Cam could have recognised Leo a mile away.

Leo’s piercing grey-green eyes widened at Cam’s approach. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Ooh, cursing,” Cam said lightly as he reached the top of the stairs.

Leo tutted and followed him around the landing. “Come on, Cam. What’s going on? Why are you so late? We started without you.”

“I know, I know,” Cam said, sighing. He stopped by a door at the end of the landing and turned to Leo.

Leo must have sensed the severity of Cam’s look, and he leaned back, frowning. “What happened?”

Cam looked away, swallowing, before meeting Leo’s concerned look. “Another time, brother. Now we need to focus.” He gripped Leo’s shoulder and gave him a weak smile, then turned to the door and opened it.

The familiar smell of incense wafted in the stuffy air as Cam walked into the room. Several sofa chairs were laid around the outer edges, along with old glass cabinets and various side-tables. The centre of the room contained a very large antique table, which several brethren stood over. All eyes were on Cam as he entered.

Balthiour stood by the central table, his dark expression twisting his long face into a deep frown. He stood with his arms folded across his broad chest, his narrow waist and long legs giving him a distinct V frame. His dark shirt and trousers accentuated his silhouette and gave him an almost menacing appearance, given the circumstances.

“Glad to see you, brother,” Balthiour said, although there was no mirth in his heavy tone.

“Bal,” Cam said, holding a hand up. “I wouldn’t have delayed unless it was out of my control.”

Balthiour’s green eyes narrowed. “Others?”

Cam nodded. “Six of them. I killed four though. Maybe five.”

“Six? In the same place?” Balthiour asked.

“Two places,” Cam said, shaking his head. “Well, around a few places. Two and four together.” Cam hesitated in mentioning their intentions, not wanting to bring up Alyssa. He wasn’t quite ready to talk about her with everyone.

Balthiour stepped towards Cam. He stood over him for a moment, before placing a hand on Cam’s shoulder. “You did well, brother. It’s good to see you unharmed.” He turned and went back to the large table. “We will catch you up with the plan. And then we must be on our way.”

Cam caught Sablo’s eye. His friend stood by the far end of the table with an expression that was full of questions. Cam shook his head and frowned, unable to say anything to Sablo at that moment.

Along with Sablo, Zophiel and Suriel stood around the large table. Zophiel’s large, powerful frame and bald head were a stark contrast to Suriel’s long blonde hair and toned athletic body. In the far corner on Cam’s right, Bath Kol and Lahabiel sat by a small table, looking over a book laid out between them. Both women held grave expressions, the lines around their eyes showing their sleep deprivation. It had been a long few days, for all of them.

Cam shook his head, attempting to clear Alyssa’s dead body from his mind. He looked over the documents on the table, trying to focus. Among the papers, he saw building plans, police profiles and news clippings.

A display board stood beside the table on an easel, various photos, and clippings pinned onto it. On the wall next to the board, a map of London was studded with coloured pins, with post-it notes and photos stuck over several locations. Cam noticed a red pin was stuck next to Bank Underground station, where he had first seen Alyssa. Had that pin been there earlier? And what purpose did it serve?

“Camael?” Balthiour said.

Cam blinked and looked up, pushing his thoughts away.

“The plan?” he asked, stepping to the table.

He willed himself to focus. The fate of the world depended on them.