Prologue 2

His attention shifted to the other people hiding behind a vehicle in the compound courtyard, and he squinted hard to see the men’s faces, wondering if he’d seen them back in Denver too. But no… these three were new to him. One was a gigantic blond Scandinavian type with icy-blue eyes that were visible even from this distance, terrifying in his size and demeanor as he surveyed the front of the building; the other two were both dark-haired and they were – wait a minute – they were identical.

Twins? Twin motorcycle club pricks?

The one twin was face-down in a van and he was clearly hurt; Michael rejoiced to see a large pool of blood staining the back of the man’s jeaned thigh. The other twin was talking to the viking holding Iris, and he looked tense. Michael hoped hard that his brother had massive internal injuries and died a slow and agonizing death.

There was another woman there too, a tiny brunette. She had a blanket around her shoulders and she was sitting on the van floor next to the bloody twin. She looked shaken and shocked, and Michael jolted when he realized that it was Violet, yet another one of Master Gideon’s woman-servants. Clearly, these motorcycle thugs and Iris were on some kind of lunatic rescue mission – and  they’d managed to not only wreak havoc and chaos and destruction, they’d also taken yet another of Master’s flowers from the Garden.

Goddamn these motherfuckers.

The blond giant was moving now, looking at something in the yard. Michael followed that piercing Arctic gaze and blinked when he spotted the woman holding a gun like she meant it – and suddenly he saw so clearly just who had wreaked this devastation upon his life.

Briley Cross.

He’d always hated and distrusted the woman, even as she’d invaded his dreams and he’d lusted after her fiercely. The woman was a curvy, gorgeous blonde who was also a local cop that Master Gideon had kept firmly in her place, which had mostly been on her knees in front of him.

Well. She’d stayed in her place until now.

Now she was pointing her weapon at Master Gideon who was standing large and commanding in the doorway of the main building. Briley was talking to him, just as wanton and brazen as you please. Like she had some goddamn right to do everything that she was doing, like that dirty slut had a right to even speak to Master like an equal, and Gideon looked – well, he looked…

Scared?

Michael had only just recognized the fear on his Master’s face when the shot rang out. He watched, horrified and sickened, as Gideon’s chest exploded and then he fell backwards, just fell straight back into the building. His feet were splayed and motionless – and Michael knew as surely as he knew that the sun would rise the next morning that his Master was dead.

That meant that Michael was dead too, in all the ways that mattered.

The sudden silence was deafening and eerie: Michael was certain that everyone in the Garden was stunned into paralysis right now. Nobody would yet have the ability to shoot back at the intruders – they were all probably barely breathing, staring down at Master and hoping hard for a miracle that would never come.

In the lull, Briley spun and ran to the van, leapt into the back with Iris, Violet, the red-headed beast and the bleeding dark-haired man; the uninjured twin slammed the door shut and then bolted around to the passenger side. The blond monster revved the engine, backed out of the compound yard and hit the gas. They drove straight past Michael as he stood hidden in the woods and headed towards Walton, the small town about ten miles away.

Then they were gone.

And Michael was left standing under a tree, listening to the wails of the Guardians and women-servants in the Garden. He knew that he’d be expected to return there now, to lead the survivors in his new role of Right-Guardian. They’d be looking to him to pick up the pieces and make all kinds of decisions, starting with planning the ceremony for sending Master Gideon to the glory of the Ethereal Side.

Michael had no desire to contemplate any of those things, though. There was only one thing in this universe worthy of his attention: his whole world narrowed and contracted and all he saw was Briley shooting Master Gideon in the chest, over and over and over.

His mind was totally calm and focused now, and he knew precisely what he had to do. He turned and started hiking towards Walton, not feeling the biting cold or the pain in his head, not hearing the cries of his former brothers and sisters as he just walked away from and out of his old life.

He had a single thought and it was pounding in his head on a constant loop, becoming a dark, twisted obsession and his new divine purpose:

I’m going to kill that fucking bitch.