HELLSPAWN HUNTER

Chapter 9

# HELLSPAWN HUNTER

## Chapter 9: The Angels' Gambit

The temperature in the Underground cavern had dropped ten degrees in the past hour, and no one could explain why.

Kael pulled his jacket tighter as he studied the crude map Mitchell had drawn of Peterson's facility. The layout was a maze of corridors, laboratories, and security checkpoints that would make infiltration nearly impossible for a normal human. Fortunately, he wasn't entirely human.

"The main lab is here," Mitchell said, tapping the paper with a scarred finger. "Sublevel 7. That's where Peterson conducts his primary experiments."

"What about the enhanced soldiers?" Nyx asked. "How many are we looking at?"

"At least fifty, maybe more. They're stationed throughout the facility in rotating shifts."

*Fifty enhanced soldiers,* Vex'thul mused. *This should be interesting.*

"Define 'interesting,'" Kael muttered under his breath.

*The kind where we discover whether demons can actually die permanently.*

"You're not helping."

Around them, the Underground community had transformed into something resembling a military camp. Humans and supernaturals worked together, checking weapons, reviewing intelligence, and preparing for what might be their final battle against the Council's forces.

Jake appeared at Kael's elbow, his amber eyes reflecting the torchlight. "The students from the school are asking questions. They want to know if they can help."

"Absolutely not," Kael said immediately. "They've been through enough."

"Emma's pretty insistent. Says she's not going to sit around while you risk your life."

"Emma's not enhanced. She's not supernatural. She's just—"

"Human?" Jake raised an eyebrow. "Like most of the people here?"

Kael looked around the cavern, noting the mix of humans and supernaturals preparing for war. Jake was right—humanity wasn't a disqualification for courage.

"She stays here," he said finally. "All of them do. This isn't their fight."

"Actually," a new voice said from the shadows, "it's everyone's fight."

The figure that emerged from the darkness was tall and lean, with pale skin that seemed to glow in the torchlight. His hair was white as fresh snow, and his eyes were the color of winter sky. When he moved, it was with a grace that suggested he wasn't entirely bound by gravity.

Every supernatural being in the cavern tensed. The humans looked confused, but the vampires, werewolves, and demons all took involuntary steps backward.

"Angel," Nyx breathed, her form already shifting into shadow.

"Raphael," the figure corrected with a slight smile. "Though I suppose the title will do."

*This is bad,* Vex'thul said, his mental voice tight with something that might have been fear. *Very, very bad.*

"Why?" Kael asked, though he kept his voice carefully neutral.

*Angels don't involve themselves in mortal affairs unless something catastrophic is about to happen.*

"Mr. Draven," Raphael said, his voice carrying the weight of centuries. "Or should I say, Mr. Draven and friend? I've been watching your progress with great interest."

"Friend?"

"The demon sharing your body. Vex'thul the Corruptor, if I'm not mistaken. We've met before."

*Don't say anything,* Vex'thul warned. *Angels and demons have a complicated history.*

"What do you want?" Kael asked.

"To prevent a war that will destroy both our kinds," Raphael replied. "Dr. Peterson's experiments aren't just about creating enhanced soldiers. They're about weaponizing the fundamental forces of creation and destruction."

"The angel blood," Mitchell said suddenly. "He's been using angel blood in the enhancement process."

"My blood," Raphael confirmed. "Along with the blood of several of my siblings. Peterson has been hunting us for months."

*That's impossible. Angels can't be killed by humans.*

"How?" Kael asked, echoing Vex'thul's thoughts.

"With weapons forged from the remains of the first war between Heaven and Hell. Weapons that should have been destroyed millennia ago." Raphael's expression darkened. "Someone has been supplying Peterson with artifacts from the original conflict."

"The Council," Nyx said. "They're behind this."

"Not the Council as a whole. A faction within it. Humans who believe that the only way to achieve peace is to eliminate all supernatural beings—including angels and demons."

*They're planning to commit genocide against the supernatural world,* Vex'thul realized. *And they're using our own weapons to do it.*

"Which brings us to the current situation," Raphael continued. "Peterson's latest batch of enhanced soldiers aren't just augmented with demon and angel blood. They're carriers."

"Carriers of what?" Kael asked, though he was beginning to suspect he didn't want to know the answer.

"A plague specifically designed to kill supernatural beings. Every enhanced soldier is a walking biological weapon, programmed to spread the plague through physical contact."

The cavern fell silent. Even the torches seemed to burn dimmer.

"How long do we have?" Nyx asked.

"The plague activates in seventy-two hours. Once it does, every supernatural being within a hundred-mile radius will begin to sicken and die."

"Including you?" Kael asked.

"Including me."

*This changes everything. We're not just fighting for revenge anymore. We're fighting for survival.*

"What do you propose?" Mitchell asked.

"An alliance," Raphael said simply. "Angels, demons, and humans working together to stop Peterson before he can activate the plague."

"Angels and demons don't work together," Nyx said. "It's against the natural order."

"The natural order is about to be exterminated," Raphael replied. "I think we can make an exception."

*He's right,* Vex'thul admitted reluctantly. *The enemy of my enemy is my friend.*

"What would this alliance look like?" Kael asked.

"You continue with your plan to assault Peterson's facility. I provide backup and intelligence. Together, we destroy the plague before it can be activated."

"And after that?"

"We go back to our respective corners and pretend this never happened."

*It's a reasonable proposal. And we need all the help we can get.*

"There's one problem," Mitchell said. "The facility is warded against supernatural intrusion. Angels and demons can't enter without triggering the security systems."

"Actually," Raphael smiled, "that's where our young friend comes in. Kael isn't fully demon or fully human. He's something new. Something the wards won't recognize."

"What about Vex'thul?"

"As long as he remains bonded to Kael, he registers as part of Kael's life force. The wards will read him as human."

*Convenient. Almost too convenient.*

"You're suspicious," Raphael observed. "Good. You should be. This alliance is temporary, and once Peterson is dealt with, we'll return to our traditional roles."

"Which are?"

"Angels protect. Demons corrupt. Humans choose which side they want to be on."

*He's oversimplifying, but the basic premise is sound.*

"What aren't you telling us?" Kael asked.

Raphael's smile faded. "Peterson isn't working alone. He has a partner. Someone who's been feeding him information about supernatural weaknesses, someone who knows how to kill angels and demons alike."

"Who?"

"Another angel. One who believes that the only way to save humanity is to eliminate all supernatural influences, including his own kind."

*A fallen angel. That's why Peterson has been so successful.*

"His name is Azrael," Raphael continued. "And he's been posing as a human for the past twenty years, working his way up through the Hunter Council hierarchy."

"He's in the Council?" Mitchell asked.

"He is the Council. Or at least, he controls the faction that's been pushing for supernatural extermination."

The implications hit Kael like a physical blow. "My father. He was investigating angel sightings before he died."

"He was investigating Azrael. And Azrael had him killed before he could expose the truth."

*Your father died because he got too close to the truth. And now you're walking the same path.*

"Why are you telling us this?" Nyx asked. "Why help us?"

"Because if Azrael succeeds, he won't stop with supernatural beings. He'll move on to humans who've been 'corrupted' by supernatural contact. Eventually, he'll decide that humanity itself is too flawed to continue existing."

"Genocide," Kael said quietly.

"Total annihilation. He calls it the Great Cleansing."

*We need to stop him. All of us.*

"The facility assault," Kael said. "It's a trap, isn't it?"

"Almost certainly. Azrael knows you're coming. He's been planning for it."

"Then we don't go."

"If you don't go, the plague activates in seventy-two hours and everyone dies anyway."

*Checkmate.*

"So what do we do?"

"We spring the trap," Raphael said. "But we spring it on our terms."

"How?"

"By giving Azrael exactly what he wants. A chance to kill a demon, an angel, and the hybrid who represents everything he despises."

*I don't like where this is going.*

"You want to use us as bait."

"I want to use us as bait," Raphael corrected. "All of us. Together."

"That's insane."

"That's survival."

Kael looked around the cavern, at the humans and supernaturals who were preparing to fight a war they probably couldn't win. At Mitchell, who'd given up everything to serve a cause that had betrayed her. At Nyx, who'd spent decades protecting people who feared her. At Jake, who was barely eighteen and already carrying the weight of adult responsibilities.

"What do you need us to do?" he asked.

*Are you sure about this?*

"No. But I'm sure about what happens if we don't try."

"The assault begins at dawn," Raphael said. "We hit the facility hard and fast, before they can fully prepare. The goal is to reach Peterson and destroy the plague before it can be activated."

"And if we can't?"

"Then we make sure Azrael goes down with us."

*Noble sentiment. Probably futile, but noble.*

"There's something else," Raphael said. "Something you need to know before we begin."

"What now?"

"The bonding process between you and Vex'thul. It's not permanent. The angel blood in Peterson's enhanced soldiers is designed to sever the connection between demons and their human hosts."

*That's impossible. Our bond is forged at the soul level.*

"Angel blood is the antithesis of demon blood. In sufficient quantities, it can undo even the deepest supernatural bonds."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that if you're exposed to too much angel blood, Vex'thul will be forcibly expelled from your body. And without the demon's power to sustain you, the injuries you've accumulated over the past weeks will catch up with you all at once."

*In other words, you'll die.*

"How much is 'too much'?"

"Unknown. But Peterson's enhanced soldiers are saturated with it. A few minor wounds might be manageable. Serious injuries..." Raphael shrugged. "We'll find out."

*This keeps getting better and better.*

"Any other surprises?"

"Just one. Azrael isn't just another angel. He's one of the Seraphim. The highest rank of Heaven's warriors. Even with all of us working together, we might not be strong enough to defeat him."

*Seraphim. Of course. Why settle for a regular angel when you can have one of the cosmic super-weapons?*

"How do we kill something that powerful?"

"We don't," Raphael said simply. "We contain him. Trap him. And hope that's enough."

The cavern fell silent again. In the distance, Kael could hear the sound of water dripping, the whisper of wind through the tunnels, and the quiet conversations of people preparing for what might be their final battle.

"Seventy-two hours," he said finally.

"Seventy-two hours," Raphael confirmed.

"Then we better get started."

*Last chance to back out.*

"And let everyone die? Not happening."

*I was hoping you'd say that.*

As the group began to disperse, preparing for the assault on Peterson's facility, Kael noticed something that made his blood run cold. In the shadows at the edge of the cavern, barely visible in the torchlight, stood a figure in a long coat.

The figure was tall and lean, with dark hair and eyes that seemed to reflect light like mirrors. When it saw Kael looking, it smiled and raised one hand in a casual wave.

Then it vanished.

*Azrael,* Vex'thul breathed. *He's been watching us the entire time.*

"He knows our plan."

*He knows everything.*

"Then we change the plan."

*To what?*

"Something he won't expect."

*Such as?*

"I'll think of something."

*You better think fast. Because if that was really Azrael, we're all already dead.*