Beautiful Revenge. J L Morris

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ work was better suited to smaller, more delicate hands. His eyes, balls of golden fire, flared briefly in frustration as the portal shimmered and closed for a fourth time. Most Angels would have been able to perform the weave on their first attempt but he had honed himself for battle rather than such mundane tasks.

      The sound of young Angels laughing and fooling around drifted in as the door opened behind Gabriel.

      ‘How is it going?’ asked Kaarl, dropping his bag on the coffee table.

      ‘I’ve moved my stuff in,’ replied Gabriel, ‘not that there was much to move. Now there is just this to sort out.’

      Gabriel pointed at the blank space in front of the sofas.

      The student accommodations were plain but comfortable enough. Like the campus they were carved from sandstone and they had a magnificent view of the ocean. Normally the students were mixed; taken from their old social groups and housed with strangers so new bonds could be formed and new experiences had. The trio had been kept together, again because of their unique past. The last bed in their apartment had remained empty for almost week.

      Verin and Vetis had hoped it would stay that way. They had assumed the Hall was waiting until another social outcast popped up to round out their quartet. Kaarl had taken offence at being put in that category; unlike the girls he was actually making a few friends. When the trio found it would be Gabriel taking the bed the twins relaxed. Not only did they know him but it would make things easier. He was their assigned observer in the Mortal realm so it saved time. Having to hunt him down whenever they needed to get to work would have been added hassle.

      ‘What’s it like being back here?’ asked Kaarl.

      ‘Strange,’ replied Gabriel. ‘It’s been centuries but the place hasn’t changed. It also makes me feel old, being around all these kids.’

      Gabriel tried the weave again and again it shimmered and closed.

      ‘Is that a viewing portal?’ asked Kaarl. ‘We’ve just started learning about those.’

      ‘Supposed to be, it’s been so long since I’ve made one.’

      Kaarl watched in silence as the massive Angel went through the motions. On the next attempt the portal held; a perfect rectangle. The image on the other side of it began to come into focus.

      ‘Hey, that’s our penthouse.’

      Gabriel said nothing in reply. He flicked his hand to the left and the image panned. When he had it positioned just right, the Angel made a fist and the portal zoomed in.

      ‘That’s great,’ said Kaarl. ‘Now we can watch TV from here. Can you put the news on?’

      ‘Later,’ replied Gabriel. ‘I didn’t spend an hour on this thing so you could watch the news. This is more important.’

      Gabriel vanished and reappeared in front of the TV in the Mortal realm.

      ‘I’ll have to do that each time we want to change the channel,’ he said when he returned, ‘but it’s better than nothing.’

      ‘The Arnold Schwarzenegger Marathon,’ said Kaarl as he read the screen.

      God’s Champion dropped onto the sofa.

      ‘Like I said, important.’

      The twins walked in and slammed the door behind them. Verin dumped her bag on the floor and Vetis made her way into the kitchen.

      ‘We found out what the hugging statues are for,’ said Verin. ‘It’s sensitivity training, as if we needed that. Worse still, Sasha is in that class. She’s in almost all of our classes.’

      ‘Hey, sweet,’ said Vetis as she walked back into the room. ‘We have TV.’

      ‘It’s our TV in the penthouse,’ Kaarl told them. ‘Gabriel set it up.’

      ‘He did set it up,’ the Angel said from the sofa. ‘He set it up so he could watch his action movies in peace. Your girly whinging is ruining said peace.’

      ‘Well why don’t you just go there and watch it?’ snapped Verin. ‘You’re not stuck here.’

      ‘That’s a good idea,’ Gabriel replied. ‘I’ll see you three when you’re ready for work.’

      ‘Seriously, Sasha is everywhere,’ Verin said once Gabriel had left. ‘Every time we turn around her and her little gang of sycophants are there.’

      ‘It’s annoying more than anything,’ added Vetis. ‘She makes some snide comment, which isn’t really that hurtful, then her stupid friends snigger and we just have to take it. It’s not like we can just punch them.’

      ‘No you can’t,’ replied Kaarl, ‘at least not without conforming to the “Demon” stereotype. You probably aren’t doing yourselves any favours though by coming across as hostile and not making friends.’

      ‘We are making friends.’ said Verin. ‘But they’re all guys so it just makes things worse. Sasha keeps spreading rumours that we steal people’s boyfriends so when we’re seen talking to them it’s like proof or something.’

      ‘You two do steal people’s boyfriends, you did it all the time in Perdition. You’re relationship looters; you take anything shiny that isn’t nailed down.’

      ‘You’re supposed to be on our side,’ said Vetis, jumping onto one of the sofas.

      ‘And I am,’ replied Kaarl, ‘but you can’t call something a rumour if it’s the truth.’

      ‘I just don’t know if I can take three years of this,’ said Verin, joining her sister in the lounge. ‘It’s only been a week and I’m already in massacre mode. I hate girls.’

      ‘You’ll just have to ignore them,’ Kaarl told the sisters. ‘Best thing for everyone.’

      The twins turned and glared at him.

      ‘I know that’s not what you want to hear but I don’t see another way around it.’

      Kaarl left the girls to their sulking and started unpacking his text books. Unlike Verin and Vetis he was thoroughly enjoying his time in the Halls. Kaarl had studied the Mortals in his own time in Perdition, much to the disappointment of his father. Like all Demons, Mastema had seen the humans as mere chips in the poker game between God and Lucifer; unworthy of understanding and almost below contempt.

      It had been their freedom that had initially intrigued Kaarl. Demons were expected to act a certain way, to be a certain way, and it just wasn’t in Kaarl’s nature to comply. The Mortals had no such restraints and it made them and their world diverse and interesting. It made it a place Kaarl wanted to live in. Lucifer had a stranglehold on Perdition and all were required to conform to his plan, to his way of thinking. The closest thing the Mortals had to those shackles were the expectations of their parents and society. By comparison they were easy enough to cast off.

      Kaarl’s classes in the Halls delved deeper into the Mortal’s and their history; further than he would ever have got with just the Internet and conversations with the Damned he had been forced to rely on СКАЧАТЬ