Sariel: Angels of the Triad, #1

By Raven Summers

Angels of the Triad—Sariel

The fate of the world is in the hands of a fallen angel.

With a declining birth rate threatening to end humanity, three fallen angels fight to save it. The Angels of the Triad, the disgraced former protectors of Eve, are fearless in battle. But as demons gather strength, a prophecy is revealed that changes everything.

Sariel is lethal, and he knows it. Now the bitter angel must, once again, become a Protector, risking everything to guard Jenica, a descendant of Eve. The fate of the world is tied to the life of a single woman: a petite blonde with a smile that could make angels fall.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raven Summers
• Release date: Oct 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223452089

Book preview

One

Sariel watched disinterestedly from the alleyway as the human ran across the road, her long hair flowing behind her like a white banner. Rain lashed down on him, splashing off the long leather trench coat he wore, ice cold needles of water ran down his face and mingled with the blood that saturated his shirt.

Demon blood. The stuff reeked like a sewer on a hot summer day. Even after thousands of years, smelling it still made his stomach roil. Brushing his hair from his face, he stepped off the ledge of the tall apartment block, landing on the concrete five hundred feet below with barely a whisper of air. Feeling eyes on him, he glanced to his right to see Malek and Zagan.

The pair were dressed similarly to him: dark pants, long leather jackets, and big, heavy shitkickers on their size nineteen feet. Malek was the talker of the group. If he could get close enough to someone, they’d do whatever he willed. But then, they all had that ability.

As angels from the dawn of existence, they held a power that few humans could comprehend. But Malek had a way of twisting the humans so that they did his bidding without realizing they’d been manipulated. His blond hair and blue eyes, coupled with an easy smile and hard body, made him seem approachable, especially to women.

It was a mistake people only made once. Malek was one of the triad, as was Sariel. A group of three fallen angels, banished to Earth and stripped of their status as archangels by God for their sins.

A sneer tipped his lips at the thought. He and his brothers had been walking this earth for millennia, watching as God’s children tore each other apart for lust and power while he, Malek, and Zagan were punished for much less. But they had been archangels, and so, the expectations placed on them were greater. They were to be beyond reproach, expected to act with pure hearts and selfless souls.

Flicking the deadly Carnwenna dagger in his hand, he approached his brothers, his stride long and sure.

Did you find the other two? he asked, knowing by their expressions that they hadn’t.

No, I told you the Shiwanna could not be trusted, growled the dark-haired Zagan.

Sariel ignored his angry outburst, watching the opening of the alleyway with a guarded expression. His senses were primed and tingling with the knowledge that demons were near. Gripping the dagger harder, his muscles tensed in readiness for the coming fight.

Demons! Zagan spat as Sariel felt his brothers move, flanking him as they had done since time began. Adrenaline spiked his blood, heightening his already supernaturally expanded senses.

A shadow fell over the exit, and he watched as five demons ambled into the alleyway, their distinct white-blond hair making them stand out in the stormy evening light. A growl reached his ears, and he suppressed the urge to smile. These demons were young, and the distinct stench of burned popcorn that followed them around was not as strong as older demons. They would be inept and inexperienced, but what they lacked in fighting proficiency, they would make up for with enthusiasm.

This was just what he needed—a good fight to take the edge off the fury that raged through him. Killing the demons night after night was accomplishing nothing. They had increased vastly over the last ten years.

Armed with the knowledge that the demons were spreading a disease to human women, the angels realized that the situation was more desperate than ever. Fighting them was not enough; they needed to drive them back into the fiery pits of Hell where they belonged.

The first demon launched himself at Sariel, their bodies colliding with the force of two Mack trucks traveling at high speeds. He felt the young demon’s wrist snap as he swung his arm up, blocking the blow from the knife his enemy carried. With an upward arc of his arm, he slashed the demon’s throat, severing his carotid artery. Blood spurted over him as he dropped the demon to the ground. Flipping the demon over, he grasped the back of his neck, ripping the spinal cord that contained the brain stem from his lifeless body. Throwing it to the wet, dank ground, he watched as the body shriveled up before turning to dust.

There was only one way to kill a demon, and that was to sever the spinal cord. Contrary to common beliefs, the heart was not where the soul resided. Instead, it was found in the tiny synapses that fired the brain, each thought, each memory locked into one small neuron.

Sariel glanced at his brothers. The remaining demons were turning to ash at their feet. He was disappointed that they hadn’t put up more of a challenge, finding himself becoming more bored of late. Roaming the earth and killing demons and evil spirits had lost its appeal, and he could feel himself becoming more jaded by the hour.

We need to follow the white-haired human, Zagan began.

Sariel stopped him, not wanting anyone else near her except him. No, I will follow her. You need to find the location of Sandalphon and Mihael. They are the key to having this disease eradicated from human women.

Zagan tilted his head, watching him intently, and Sariel met his hard gaze, unflinching. With a nod, Malek and Zagan took to the air, their mighty black wings briefly casting a shadow over the night sky before they disappeared.

It was a common misconception that Angels with black wings were servants of Lucifer, but that was only partly true. As on Earth, there was a hierarchy. True fallen angels who did terrible deeds were indeed banished to Hell and chosen by Lucifer to do the work of the Dark Lord—a final ‘fuck you’ to God from his disobedient children. But angels such as himself and his brothers, who had just not lived up to God’s high standards, were banished to Earth to protect his proudest creation. Although, in their case, they had been stripped of their archangel status and power as well.

They were also given black wings, but they were always tipped in the color of their previous wings. His were a beautiful gold, Zagan’s a peacock blue, and Malek’s a vibrant purple. They were easily recognizable, and vastly known throughout the universe as God’s Protectors on Earth. This made them targets, with only their fierce skill and feared reputation holding back all but the bravest or most stupid demons or evil from attacking them.

Sariel kept his wings closed, hidden from the view of humans, and instead followed the sweet scent from the white-haired human. She was a scientist who had inherited a relic from her ancestors that could be the key to saving the humans from extinction—something the great man himself was determined would not be allowed to happen.

He caught her scent as he crossed the crowded street, heading toward Grand Park and the Cathedral of Our Ladies of the Angels. It was where the sweetly scented human went every night to provide assistance to the homeless.

He watched from the shadows of a derelict building as she moved about the kitchen, her movements light and smooth, as if floating. Something about her drew him in, and he knew that he didn’t want Zagan or, God forbid, Malek anywhere near her. Sariel had never felt love—not in the same way humans did. He felt compassion and protection, but never the soul-crushing feeling that humans described.

It wasn’t that his kind were incapable of love. It was more that he chose to lock that part of himself away. Another component of the triad’s punishment was that they were forbidden to act on feelings of love. The penalty meant giving up their immortal status to become human. If they chose to walk away from a relationship, then the human’s mind would be wiped, and they would not remember a second of what had been shared. Love and lust were what had placed his brethren and himself into this mess. By not controlling and watching Eve, she had broken the rules, allowing lust and sexual desire to taint what God had created. He didn’t agree with it personally. Why allow those feelings if they were not to be acted upon? But he was nothing to the Almighty. His opinion was unwarranted and irrelevant.

Sariel had never even come close to feeling what he felt was a human emotion. Angels were superior beings and didn’t need love. Power was their drug. But now here he was, entranced by his very own Eve, a direct descendant of the first female human.

His body flowed with a heightened sense of need and desire for this woman—this inferior human—whose help they needed if they had any hope of stopping the demons from obliterating the race that God loved so much.

That was the thing—fallen angels such as himself were allowed to feel desire… even allowed to act on it. He had fucked more humans than he cared to think about, but Sariel was not permitted to fall in love without making the ultimate sacrifice. One he was not prepared to make for such a species.

God saw love as the purest emotion and while he accepted baser needs from his fallen, he would not allow them to indulge in the beauty of a love match, which was why Sariel protected himself at all times. He would never allow himself to spend time with the women he slept with, and he would never go back for seconds. Not like Zagan, who had fallen and suffered the consequences when he had to make the hard choice.

And yet, as Sariel watched the woman move to the back door and exit the building, he had the strongest feeling that she would be his undoing.

The sensation rocked him, making him gasp for breath, an unknown pain squeezing his heart. He rubbed his chest trying to eradicate it, and the feeling eased before disappearing completely. He had been so surprised by the sudden feeling that he realized he had missed her leaving the building.

Quickly, he hurried toward the street, catching a glimpse of her as she rounded the corner by the Coffee Kart. Sariel weaved in and out of the humans who rushed about their business without a care. They had no idea that the declining birth rates were due to demons. Every one of the politicians and leaders blamed it on global warming and pollution and, while those things didn’t help the situation, they weren’t the main cause. No, they were just other fuck ups by the humans he protected.

He wondered what the humans would do if they ever realized angels walked among them.

He bumped shoulders with a young man, who turned and swore at him, shoving him hard. The kid had wild eyes, his system pumping full of the drugs he had just scored, making him feel invincible. Sariel didn’t even rock back on his feet, such was his size and power. He wanted to teach this young asshole some manners, but he didn’t have the time, and what would be the point? He could tell by the smell of the drugs that he was already lost. Breaking every bone in his body would not teach this man anything, as he probably wouldn’t even feel it given how hyped up he was.

Growling and flashing his eyes the deepest gold, the same color as his wings, seemed to do the trick. The man was a coward and would probably fall into the clutches of the demons soon. They preyed on people like him. Young or old, it didn’t matter as long as they had a weakness that could be exploited.

Sariel moved quickly, using his supernatural hearing to listen for her heartbeat. It had a rhythm that matched his own, he realized with a start. He saw her at the same time as he spotted the demons moving toward her from the Coffee Kart.

Fuck, he would need to fight them without being seen, or do a mind wipe on hundreds of people. Moving in behind the unsuspecting human woman, he turned to face the demons. They were outside her home now, and he prayed she would go inside.

Instead, she stopped about six feet away from him, so close he could almost taste her skin, the scent of jasmine tickling his nose. He heard her heartbeat increase from fear, and the beast in him roared with anger. Fury such as he had never felt before ripped through him at the thought of any harm befalling her. The white tattoo-like mark on his chest began to tingle, and he fought against the inner light trying to burst forth from him, threatening to obliterate everything within a ten-mile radius.

The feeling shocked him. He had not felt such passion for over a thousand years. Having dealt with the humans for so long, his control was normally much more contained.