Fallen: Celeste (2 page)

"That's mine," Celeste muttered as she reached for her
phone.

Adam groaned.

"Yeah ... what is it?" Celeste threw a smile at Adam.
She had heard the frustration in his groan. "Ok, where was it found?"

Adam glanced at her. He slowed and pulled into an empty parking
lot. Putting the truck in park, he watched her.

"We'll be right there ... yeah, Montgomery's with me."
Celeste hung up.

"Where?" he asked. He had a feeling another body had
been found somewhere.

"A vacant lot
just off Grand River Avenue. Al says the body's been there a while. So this
isn't a fresh kill."

"This makes it the fourth one though."

"Unfortunately it looks like he's been killing for longer
than we thought. What's worse is he's starting to kill more often."

They were silent,
letting the hockey game on the radio fill the quiet.

CHAPTER TWO

Celeste reached deep inside her well of power as they pulled up to
the lot. Even though the body had been there for a while, she might still be
able to get some trace on Tomas. A death this violent would always leave some
sort of mark on the energy around it for weeks afterwards.

Celeste moved towards the crowd of police officers. She knew the
body hadn't been moved yet; the stench of decay filled the air. She swallowed
hard, trying to beat down the overwhelming feeling of fear clinging to the air
in the lot. She was at full strength and she was getting the residue from the
victim's last moments. The burning sensation in her chest warned her that she was
going to find a message here.

The officers parted for her. Most of them had at some point worked
with Celeste on various cases. She nodded to the ones she knew, but she kept
her eyes on the corpse on the ground. The marks still visible in the flesh told
her this was the work of the same serial killer. The cross burned into the
woman's chest ensured that Celeste would recognize the killer. She waved to the
coroner to come and bag the body. She had seen all she needed.

"Who could do this?" Adam's face was contorted with
disgust. He was breathing though his mouth, trying not to get sick from the
smell.

"His name is Tomas. I've been following him for years now.
I've always known he was capable of this, but until now, he's never killed.
What made him decide to start now?"

Celeste stared into
the shadows surrounding them.

Surprise tainted
Adam's voice. "You know him?"

Celeste nodded. She was tuning into an angry feeling coming from
the farthest corner of the lot. She headed in that direction. "Tomas has
been moving about the country for years now, never stopping anywhere for very
long. I've been keeping tabs on him for a while now. He came to Detroit about
ten years ago and seemed to make it a permanent stop. I came here, set up shop
and kept an eye on him. Now, he's starting to kill and it will only get worse
from here on."

Holding up her hand, she stopped Adam's next question. She closed
her eyes and connected with the tendrils of anger she felt vibrating in the
air. The vision taking over her mind made her chest feel like it was going to
burst into flame.

A woman knelt in front of Celeste. She was naked and begging for
mercy. Celeste felt fierce pleasure swamping the man whose eyes she looked out
of. He was enjoying the woman's fear. Like a rabid dog, he fell upon the woman.
While the blood flowed, the woman's cries became weaker and Tomas' pleasure
soared into ecstasy. Celeste wanted to pull out of the vision, but she knew she
had to see it to the end. There might be some clue to Tomas' whereabouts
visible in the event.

As Tomas burned the brand into the woman's chest, Celeste felt him
focusing inside himself. There was the lightest touch on her mind. Tomas had
known she would try to use the emotion around the woman's death to connect with
him. She felt his triumph and his taunting of her. For some reason, Tomas had
always felt she was the only Enforcer who could compete with him. In the end,
that was all this was to Tomas—a competition to see who was smarter. Celeste
heard his voice say
That's the first
.

A touch on her shoulder pulled her out of the vision. She turned
to see Adam staring at her, worry shading his green eyes. He started to say
something. She shook her head. She didn't want to talk here where the woman's
fear still threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn't take the chance of being
pulled under by the pain. It could destroy her.

"Where do we go now?" Adam asked as they climbed into
his truck.

"Take me home. There isn't anything we can do tonight. She's
been dead a while. The body won't give the police a lot of clues. We just have
to hope that the people she was last with will know something."

"But you doubt it. Who is this Tomas?"

"A killer you don't want to tangle with, Adam. He is highly
intelligent and he has abilities no one here has ever seen." Celeste
didn't think Adam was ready to hear the truth about Tomas.

"What about our talk? You wanted to discuss something with me
tonight." The gleam in Adam's eyes told Celeste he had figured out what
she wanted.

She looked out her window. Focusing on the homeless people dotting
the sidewalk, she managed to get her lust under control. "Yes, we do have
something to discuss, but not tonight. Things have changed. I need to rethink
my plans."

His disappointment filled his eyes for a moment before he wiped
them blank. She knew he didn't want her to know just how much he lusted after
her. It would give her an unfair advantage. She chuckled quietly. She had more
advantages than just knowing he was lusting after her.

* * * *

She shut her door as Adam drove off. Sighing, Celeste walked
through the darkness to her bedroom. She stripped her clothes off and started
the water for a bath, lighting the candles lining every space in her bathroom
with a wave of her hand. The cleansing scent of cinnamon filled the air as she
tried to forget about the vision, but she knew it wouldn't leave her mind
anytime soon. Once she had a vision, she would be haunted by it until she
caught the person who caused them. She wouldn't be getting much sleep until the
case was solved.

Sliding into the warm water, she leaned her head back. The
flickering flames of the candles teased her mind. She saw shapes in the
shadows. But were they the shades of the victims or the hints of ghosts to
come? The only one who could have answered had been lost to her.

Laughing ruefully, she admitted her rebellion had been the worst
idea in her entire life. What had possessed her to turn her back on the very
person who had created her? Lucifer's voice had been so tempting and she had
been so gullible. It was only after her banishment that she had realized what
he had cost her. Others had figured it out as well. They had begged God to let
them come back, but He had turned away as surely as they had turned from Him.

The water cooled as she tried to remember what Heaven looked like.
It wouldn't appear in her mind anymore, the memory having been wiped clean by
her turning away. Being a fallen angel wasn't what Lucifer had claimed it would
be. She had powers beyond mortal reckoning, but she was alone in the world. For
an angel, being banished from the mind of God was a horrible thing. It felt
like death, even though it took a lot for angels to die. It was even worse now
that she was an Enforcer. She had to hunt down those fallen that preyed upon
the mortals.

She stood in front of the mirror. Wiping the mist from the glass,
she stared at the scar on her chest above her left breast. It was a cross. The
fallen called it the mark of Cain. Every Enforcer wore one. Mika'il, the
Captain of the Host, had burned it into her flesh when she'd chosen to hunt her
own kind.

Tomas was one of the fallen whose mind had slipped into the black
abyss where his madness had taken control. He would kill until she stopped him.
Since she wouldn't be getting help from Heaven or the Host, she would have to
look to the mortal world. Adam Montgomery was her only choice. He had the power
and the men to search the city, street by street if need be.

She remembered how quickly the lust had overcome her. That lust
would be a useful thing for her. Unlike Tomas, who gained his power from fear
and pain, Celeste and the other Enforcers gained their power from sex. Maybe
God had given
that
power to the Enforcers to make up for their bleak existence.

Her heart had reacted to Adam as well. She was afraid she was only
a few steps away from love. If she spent time with him, she could lose her
heart. It wouldn't be the first time. Over the centuries, she had loved many
mortals and she had cried each time one died. She could still feel the pain
each death had caused her and she wasn't sure she could deal with it again.

Each day she felt herself crawling closer to the abyss. She didn't
want to turn into one of the creatures she hunted. She had vowed to herself to
end her existence before that happened. One more lover's death might just be
too much for her.

The last victim's face flashed in the mirror. She saw the horror
and the fear. How many more would die if she didn't use Adam? She was afraid
she knew the answer. Tomas would never stop on his own, so it was up to her to
end his reign of terror. The risk to her heart and sanity were unimportant in
view of the number of women Tomas could kill.

Her decision having been made, Celeste climbed into bed and
whispered a quiet prayer. Old habits died hard.

CHAPTER THREE

Adam studied the group of men gathered around the table. They were
his top lieutenants in the Demons. These were some of the most feared men on
the streets, ruling with an iron fist and swift judgment. The only thing these
men respected was strength. Adam had proven his ruthlessness. His punishments
were severe when his rules weren't followed; because of this his men respected
and feared him.

Adam had created his own mythology. He made sure his background
stayed a mystery. He had appeared on the streets at the age of twelve. Not even
the best investigators could find anything out about him. He spread the rumors
that he would kill anyone who asked about his past. Whether he really would or
not, after one look in his green eyes, the rumors were believed. If there were
any compassion or love in Adam's heart, he had hidden it deep. To be in control
of everything around him, he knew he had to be cruel.

"Thanks for coming, gentlemen. I'm sure you have all heard about
the killer hunting in our streets."

The grumbling among his men made it clear they weren't happy with
the deaths. One of the first rules Adam imposed when he became leader was no
women or children were to be harmed. He remembered how helpless he had been as
a child and he never wanted to cause such feelings in any child. So this Tomas
had signed his own death warrant when he'd started killing women on Adam's
territory.

"They've found a fourth body. She looks to be the first one
he killed. Now, I need you to talk to your men. Get them out on the street.
They need to find out anything they can on this guy. Find the places the
homeless people are avoiding. It's usually the street people who know things
before we do. Jakar will get you the information about where the bodies were
found and who they were. We need witnesses who are willing to actually talk to
the police." Adam gripped his fists tight. "If something isn't done
soon, we'll be seeing more dead women. I don't like dead women on my turf. It
upsets me."

They nodded. They had seen what happened when Adam got upset. He
brought the meeting to an end. As he walked into his office, he saw Jakar
standing next to his desk. Adam could never remember if he had found Jakar or
if the strange man had found him. His right hand man was tall and thin with
amber colored eyes that seemed to glow red at times. Jakar had an answer for
any question Adam might ask. Or if he didn't have the answer, he would find it.
Adam had never asked Jakar where he got the information; he wasn't sure he
wanted to know.

"What have you got, Jakar?" Adam asked as he sat down.
There were papers piled in neat stacks everywhere on his desk.

"The Russians have called. They would like to meet with you
as soon as possible. They have been approached by an outside source trying to
get them to deal with him. He seems to think he can get them better
rates."

"It's good to know the Russians are willing to talk to me
first before going with this guy."

Jakar shrugged. "After saving his son, the Russian boss is
willing to repay you with this courtesy. Also, I'm sure he knows you own the
whole city. Nothing coming or going escapes your attention. So, it pays to be
on your good side."

"True. Set up an appointment with them as soon as possible. I
don't want this to get out of hand. What else?"

"Celeste Young has called for you." Disapproval dripped
from Jakar's voice.

"You don't approve of the lady, Jakar. Why not?" Adam
was amused. Jakar had never made his feelings known about any of the other
women Adam had dated.

"She's a distraction you don't need right now, Montgomery.
She will take your attention away from your business."