Redemption Ch. 09

Rowie ran a hand through his hair before kissing his cheek and settling herself to his other side with Remi.

"Smile, baby. You look like you want to kill someone," she muttered.

"He does," Remi snickered. "A couple of reapers."

Natanael, who'd colored his hair a glowing sky-blue, grinned at Lucien. Lucien grinned back, scratching the corner of his eye with his middle finger.

They all began to talk, discussing the day's finds and purchases.

Earlier, Lucien had gone back to the apartment with Zak and Seth. They'd tossed out the filthy mattresses, replacing them with new ones. Seth had bought paint and they'd all chipped in doing first one apartment then the other in a shade of light grey, reminiscent of Alpha 7.

After that, Lucien had busied himself thoroughly cleaning the tiny space until it gleamed.

Instead of dark bedding, Anniel had convinced him to buy white cotton sheets and a plump comforter to match. She had suggested tossing in a few bright pillows so he let her pick them out too. He would have rather Boy chose them, but his roommate apparently preferred the company of the damned reapers instead of staying and helping Lucien fix up their place.

Their place.

His eyes drifted back to Boy who sat up straighter in his chair. Big lavender eyes riveted to Lucien's.

Amidst the chatter, Boy cleared her throat and suddenly announced, "I've decided I'm going to be celibate."

Lucien was struck mute. Devon dropped his fork noisily on his plate. Next to Rowie, Remi choked on his Coke. Zak paused his twenty- inch sub halfway to his open mouth and gaped. As a matter of fact, all conversation ceased.

"Well, congratulations, Boy," Ashriel finally said breaking the charged silence. Lucien clenched his fists, but kept his face blank. "That's an admirable decision."

Lucien's eyes narrowed, his gaze going to Abdiel's guarded face.

The little shit. This was all his doing.

Lucien looked back at Boy and smiled. Well, he tried to smile, but judging from the way the two reapers to either side of Boy gulped loudly and leaned back in their chairs, he figured he didn't quite manage it properly.

Fuck it.

"And what, may I ask, prompted you to make such a big decision?" Lucien worded carefully.

Boy's face went scarlet, and she seemed to swallow first before answering, eyes still on Lucien's face. "I don't want to be used anymore. I want to wait and give myself to someone who cares for me."

Lucien was gutted. He wanted to jump across the table, grab her, shake her, and shout that he cared. God, he cared too much...but everyone was staring at him, and the words lodged in his throat.

Boy's eyes shimmered a bit before she blinked away the shine just as one of the waitresses handed her a menu.

She wanted to wait until someone cared about her.

He watched as she slipped back into conversation with the others—laughing at some stupid joke Abdiel said and rolling her eyes in amusement when Natanael said he was thinking of going celibate too. She didn't look at him anymore after that. He wondered if she'd even go back to the apartment with him.

Maybe he should also announce he was going celibate. Wait for someone to care about him.

His skin prickled with dejection. Like someone would.

Girl? She cared about him, didn't she?

He looked at Boy again, feeling a little twinge of hurt when she pecked Natanael on his cheek.

Girl deserved better, just like Boy. Whom was he kidding? Wasn't that why he'd decided to leave her on Alpha 7? So she'd be safe—from him?

And Boy? He really hadn't counted on this whatever-it-was that had suddenly developed between Boy and him. Yeah, he'd been attracted to the little Merulian mixed battle pet, but Boy's personality had suckered him in—totally knocked him on his stupid, half-Seraph ass.

Rowie smoothed her hand up his back gently, trying to reassure him. He didn't look at her, or anyone else for that matter. He stared down at his food, his appetite suddenly deserting him.

Getting up with the excuse to go to the restroom, he walked out of the restaurant through a back door, and headed toward a bar down the street.

That's where Zak, Remi, and Seth found him three hours later.

"Lucien," Seth snapped, pulling him out of his reverie.

"Lighten up, Seth," Remi hissed.

Zak nudged Lucien. "Hey. You want me to take you back to the apartment?"

Lucien lifted his head and gazed back at all three of them. "Nah. I'm good. Let's go to this new headquarters of ours."

*******

Rayne couldn't wait anymore. Garethiel had hired help to remove their equipment and belongings from the starcruiser to transport to his home in upstate New York. She waited for everyone to be distracted before she slipped away from them and darted out of the VIP section of the spaceport.

She knew where they were. The Alpha Angels. The new city of New York had been built on a platform over the old city now submerged under seawater. The new city was round, concentric circles leading into the most important structure ever built...Zion. Headquarters of the One World Order.

The outer rings of the city, especially the side that faced the open ocean, was where the working class lived, but the demon-hunting headquarters, Where the Alpha Angels had gone, was located near Zion, in the commercial zone.

Rayne made her way through throngs of people, both Edenian and alien. The spaceport was gigantic—soaring beams of metal and glass allowing the golden Edenian sun to spill inside the glossy white corridors. The air was cool and everywhere she looked there were plants and fountains of foaming water. Shuttles moved groups of people to and fro, others had singular transports and traveled alone. There were cafes and kiosks selling object from all over the galaxy. There were glowing orbs announcing all the wonders of the planet and things you could experience and buy. It all made her eyes feel like they were about to fall out of their sockets from staring in awe.

Rayne felt excited and fearful at the same time. She'd never done anything on her own, and going off without anyone to find the Alpha Angels was probably the riskiest thing she'd ever done in her life. She felt compelled, drawn. Was it Lucien? Was it him her entire being needed to run to?

The thought only made her angrier. She needed to see this man, this mortal angel that had ripped his memory from her mind. Why? How dare he.

Realizing she'd just stopped to gawk at everything, she forced her mind to get back on track, effectively shutting down her emotions just as Cyneolle had told her to do

She needed to get outside and into one of those automatic taxi transports. The sooner she got away from the others, the faster she could reach the Alpha Angels.

She doubted her sole presence would jeopardize their precious mission...whatever it was.

Why were they here? What was so important they'd risk execution by returning to a solar system where they were outlaws—hated by all?

Rayne made it out to the transport carrousel. There was a crowd of people waiting their turn for a transport. Pulling her dark glasses over her eyes and yanking her long coat closed, she approached the front of the mob.

A blue-skinned girl was scanning people's palms.

Rayne's eyes widened. Why were they scanning palms?

She continued to watch and noticed that the children weren't scanned, only the adults.

She cursed under her breath and continued to watch, hanging back until someone knocked into her.

"Hay, watch where—oops." The orange-faced Chidadent alien gaped at her. He began looking around wild-eyed. "Look kid, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you. Please don't start screaming." The Chid looked down at her again, beginning to sweat profusely as he tugged at the high collar of his silver trench coat. "I've got a little half-human boy that looks just like you."

Rayne narrowed her eyes though he couldn't see them behind her big dark sun-blocking glasses. "That's a lie. Your genes are predominant. Any child you sire would definitely not look like me," she spat.

The Chid began to hyperventilate. "I'm half human too. My boy came out more human than Chid. Only his eyes are like mine. Please. Please don't report me. I'm not a child molester. Where's your mom and dad? I'll talk to them."

Rayne wasn't sure she understood what he was talking about, but she saw an opportunity to board one of those transports without having her palm scanned.

"Tell you what...you give me a lift on your transport to where I'm going and I won't shout my head off right now."

The Chid's eyes went round. "A-a lift?"

"That's right," Rayne answered with a nod, crossing her arms over her chest.

The Chid frowned, and looked at her strangely. "Uh...sure." He gave her a lop-sided grin then, and somehow Rayne got the feeling asking him for a ride might not have been the best idea. "A ride. No problem. Where are you headed to?"

"The commercial sector. I'm looking for a demon-hunting agency."

His brows arched. "Demon hunting?"

Rayne tipped her nose up. "That's right. My daddy is a demon hunter."

The Chid nodded. "Okay. Let's be on our way then."

Rayne stayed close to him as they approached the front again. One of the Gruesh attendants asked for his palm for scanning.

The Chid smiled and held out his hand. "Nice day isn't it?"

The Gruesh female smiled at him, and looked at Rayne as she moved a black disc over his palm.

"My son and I are going sightseeing before we stop at his momma's grave site.

The Gruesh woman looked politely concerned. "Oh, I am so sorry, but I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful stay in the city. Please remember to check into your sleeping tanks before curfew.

Sleeping tanks?

The Chid thanked the woman and gestured for Rayne to go into the waiting transport.

She climbed in and settled herself at the far end of the transport.

The Chid male slid in front of her.

The sounds of the busy spaceport were muted once the door closed with a soft hiss.

"Destination please?" a friendly disembodied voice asked.

The Chid nodded at her to proceed first.

Rayne recited the coordinates of her destination, uncaring that the Chid heard. Just let him try something. She was sure she could handle him.

"Uh, I have a second destination, please," he said once she'd finished."

"Please specify second destination," the disembodied voice asked pleasantly

The Chid stated his own point of destination.

Rayne frowned. She'd memorized the map of New York City, and he'd just told the taxi to take him to the outskirts of the most crime-infested part of the city. Although crimes were rarely committed on Earth anymore, Sector Eighteen of the Triad quadrant was practically no man's land, overrun by vigilante demon hunters and bounty hunters.

Using the wireless capacitor Cyneolle had implanted in her brain, Rayne connected with the taxi and realized that the transport would most likely drop him off first and then cut across the city to take her to her destination not that far away.

The Chid smiled at her.

"What was your name again?" he asked with a grin when the transport began moving.

Rayne leaned back further in her seat. "I never told you my name."

"No, you didn't," he said showing his straight white teeth now. "My name is Bumaan. I'm a scientist."

Rayne arched a brow. "Really. What kind of science?"

Bumaan's grin grew. "Many kinds, but my specialty is cloning."

Rayne blinked. He chuckled throatily. "I'd explain, but such a young boy like you wouldn't understand such things."

Rayne shrugged and his eyes narrowed. She didn't know the first thing about how young boys were supposed to act, so she just remained silent and stared out the window.

She watched from the corner of her eye when he stuck his hand in the pocket of his sleek silver coat and pulled out a small box. Opening it, he took out a shiny little pink ball and popped it into his mouth. "Would you like some gum?"

First thing Cyneolle had drilled into her was not to accept anything from strangers.

"No, thank you, sir," she replied primly.

Bumaan grinned wider and shrugged. He chewed his gum for a while just staring at her. She was really beginning to grow annoyed with his constant, almost unblinking stare.

Bumaan crossed his left foot over his right knee and fiddled with the heel. Leaning back to rest his arms on the back of the seat to either side of him, his gaze grew serious and intense.

Rayne tapped her boot impatiently on the carpeted interior of the transport before frowning at him.

He gave her a half grin before stroking his upper lip, his eyes still watching her...waiting almost.

"Why are you staring at me so much? It's really creepy," she snapped finally unable to contain her irritation.

Bumaan frowned, and checked the heel of his left shoe again. "Oh," he began nervously now, "It's just that you have such delicate bone structure. You're probably not a boy at all. Where are you from? Certainly not from Earth. No child would board a transport with a complete stranger in this solar system." His expression changed as his eyes narrowed. "Why won't you tell me your name?"

Rayne thought deeply. Her real name. "I'm..." she began, "I'm Rayanalideepadoonamalakeinayane Nalapeedoona."

Bumaan's mouth dropped open. "Really? You're a long lost Princess of a planet that no longer exists?"

Rayne stared at him in surprise. "You know of me?"

Bumaan just looked at her, and then his lips pulled into a tight line. "You know what I really think? I think that you're part machine, because no living organism can inhale Gruesh Binroz essence without its antidote" he shook the little gum ball tin at her "and stay conscious."

Rayne's face fell. She swallowed hard, her body tensing..

His eyes traveled over her before he smiled. "You're a woman obviously, trying to pass for a young boy, though looking at you closely, you're too pretty for that disguise to work for long. By the same token, even if you had been a boy, you're still too pretty to be overlooked. Have you any idea what happens to pretty little things like you?"

Panic made her pulse race. She was sure she could overtake him if he tried to attack her—if he attacked her. He was such a small thin male. Would he risk engaging her physically?

Bumaan licked his lips, leering at her now. It made Rayne's skin crawl. No. This Chid would definitely stoop to underhanded methods at trapping her.

Using her wireless again, she activated the crystal-vid recorder in the transporter so that it could record and later replay everything that was about to happen within the transporter. She preset it to replay the holographic image when it reached her destination as soon as the door opened. Just in case, she also activated the alarm system so that the Angels would come out to investigate.

"I'd heard rumors that the Alpha Angels had kidnapped you and turned you into some sort of sex-bot."

Rayne stared at him in shock. "What?"

He leaned forward, hands on his knees as his dark orange eyes bore into hers. "Is it true? Do they all fuck you in their orgies? The demon, the dragons, the vampire and the she-wolf?" Bumaan was literally drooling. "They're all so beautiful. Sinfully beautiful. Is it true they've sacrificed their babies to Lucifer and ate their flesh?"

Rayne's jaw dropped. "No. That's disgusting. And I'm not their sex-bot, you perv."

Bumaan laughed. "Relax. I never believe what the media says. Everything is always twisted." His eyes narrowed again. "But those fuckers do have something that belongs to me. Quinn fucked me over when he took over caring for the demon, Devon. Of course, at the time I didn't care. I was in possession of two of his father's primal feathers. I was using them to clone Davariel."

Rayne's eyes grew wider. She'd heard of the angel of destruction. "Why do you want to clone him?"

The temperature in the cabin of the transporter dropped, making her shiver.

Bumaan gulped, his eyes darting about the interior of the dimly lit transport. "It is being demanded of me."

Rayne swallowed. "By whom?"

Bumaan scowled at her now. "That, little girl, is none of your business. Besides, I assure you, it is something you would rather not want to know anything about. That type of knowledge could get you killed in the most horrific way."

"Arriving at destination in...three minutes," the transporters interactive computer chirped.

Bumaan lifted his arm to check his time device, tapping the crystal three times before grinning at her again.

That was the last she knew.

*******

Lucien stood with Zak, Remi, Seth, and Rowie in front of the building that would be their headquarters for Demon hunting. It was run and owned by one of Seth's acquaintances, whom Lucien still hadn't met yet. The others had already gone inside, unwilling to let passersby see Devon.

The building looked like an old warehouse. Its weather-worn exterior might have been painted green at some point during its existence, but time had not been kind to the building and, at most, the green had faded to expose the grey concrete underneath. Along the bottom of the two-story building was colorful graffiti all around what Lucien could see of the structure. The buildings in that sector of the city were all in a similar state of neglect.

Heavy, metal screens covered the dusty windows, streaked with grime and the titanium doors leading into the building looked as if they had been used for target practice by a horde of rabid dragons. It was all dented, scratched, and burned black.

Lucien's eyes narrowed as he recognized the same signs of abuse the narrow double doors to his apartment had suffered the night before.

A cold breeze blew strands of his hair across his face as they began walking to the entrance of the building. It was mostly a deserted area, the closest building being half a block away. Between that and this building was a patch of blackened ruins, remnants of something that had been burned down, and left behind like a bare-boned carcass. Across the street was an open field before another warehouse could be seen on the other side of that street. Tall yellowed weeds grew there and a few straggly trees.

As they approached the entrance, a transport pulled up and remained idling at the curb. Lucien turned to look over his shoulder and was about to continue toward the building when the transport began blaring its horn and blinking its lights, its alarm noisily activated.

The others frowned and stopped, turning around too.

"What the hell," Rowie murmured.

Remi began striding purposefully toward the transport, with Zak and Rowie following.

Seth and Lucien looked at each other before they jogged to catch up to them. He reached the spaceport transport just as Remi palmed open the door. Remi and Zak peered inside, with Rowie trying to look over their shoulders.

Lucien just waited, ready for anything despite having a buzz.

Lucien could hear voices when suddenly the weredragons began to curse.

Both Zak and Remi yanked him forward, practically throwing him head-first into the transport.

About to ream them out, Lucien choked on his own words as he witnessed the scene unfolding before him.

The Chid that accompanied Girl Rayne released some sort of electrical current from the device on his wrist. A bubble of blue energy crackled across the entire cabin and his sweet girl tumbled forward, unconscious.

"No. Oh-god-no," he whispered, before throwing his head back and roaring, "No." His fist made a dent in the side of the transport, before he scrambled inside. He had to find out where she was.

Zak, Remi, Rowie, and Seth piled in after him.

Outside he could see the reapers, Boy, Devon , and Angel rushing up to the transport.

"What the hell is going on?" Ashriel demanded in the doorway.