1 Chapter 1

The lights of the city blazed in the night like a never-ending fire, seemingly harmless but just as dangerous. The air was filled with music, the buzz of cars, and the constant chatter of people. Samuel saw little appeal in the City that Never Sleeps, the scar on the desert something like an abomination to him, and yet there he was ready to seek out one of its offerings. He remembered what the place was like in its infancy, how he used to lead charges against those who wished to see it prosper. But over time the battles stopped, at least here, when it became apparent that the strong will of the human species could not be broken. Of course, they’d had a little help along the way

The city had grown in leaps and bounds, sometimes proving to be a hostile place, eventually finding its balance. All the while, Samuel had watched, observed, though he had been expressly forbidden from the place. He could not help but find it fascinating; this place where people flocked to indulge in desires they otherwise would not have the courage to fulfill. For so long he had watched them gamble and down mass quantities of booze, seek out pleasures of the flesh, and perhaps even get a bit of blood on their hands. Always he observed from high above, never once setting foot in the Land of the Forsaken, or so his brothers had dubbed it.

Until one fateful night.

It had been like any other battle, fought in a desert much like this one but on the other side of the world. Samuel had led his brothers into battle as he had so many times before. They trusted him, looked to him for guidance, for he was their general, and he had failed them miserably. He had gone in, rushing forth to chase away the darkness before it gained another foothold on the world. They never saw their mistake until it was too late. Somehow they had managed to come out the victors, the light refusing to fade from the desert.

But the desert sands lay littered with broken wings, and feathers once pristine white were now tainted crimson. He had lost many and something inside of him had broken. He felt responsible, unable to get the blood off his hands, and so he went searching, desperate to elude the guilt. He’d wound up hovering above Sin City and finally saw what drew people to its bright lights:

The blessing of anonymity.

Ignoring everything he had been told, he had joined them that night, walked amongst them, and in the shadows he’d found the release for which he’d been searching.

Samuel glanced back over his shoulder into the darkness of the surrounding desert. He feared one of these times someone might follow him, find out what he was doing when he left them behind. The sky was barren of all but the stars, so he slowed his wings and began the slow descent to the streets below. Human eyes could not see him, not in a place such as this, where the darkness had so tight a grip. When his feet alighted on the cracked sidewalk, he folded his wings and became like any other man looking for a bit of mischief. Hands in his pockets, he strolled along, catching wisps of conversation under the hypnotic beats of music pumping out of this place and that, lights flashing to entice him to venture within and try his luck or to see a show.

He ignored them all. Samuel knew what he wanted, knew it was only a matter of time before it found him.

Some of the people on the streets shied away, giving him a wide berth. A few stared in his direction, drawn to his presence, yet feeling as though someone had walked over their graves. Yet others were stirred to tears as they came into contact with his aura, the light surrounding him touching the darkness in their souls. Scattered throughout, Samuel noticed, were those unlucky souls with black masses clinging to their backs or wrapped around their feet. When those people drew close enough, the masses flashed red eyes and bared glistening fangs to warn him away. This was their city, their home, not his, so Samuel let them go.

He stopped at an intersection with a group of people. After a few seconds one of the women began to cry and shake. All attempts by her friends to calm her down failed. She began to wail about how she had lost her way. Strangers looked on in curiosity. Samuel stepped back.

Promptly into a hard form.

“You know,” the dark, delicious voice whispered in his ear, “this is why it is forbidden for angels to be here. You break some of them.” A heated hand snaked under his shirt, running along the bare skin of his hip. Fingertips dipped playfully into his pants. “They’re no fun when the light breaks them.”

For a moment Samuel allowed himself the pleasure of the body at his back, the hot touch on his flesh, the tickle of breath on his ear. He closed his eyes, shutting out the world. Nearly every fiber of his being told him it was wrong, that he crossed a line every time he came here for this, but deep inside, there was a black spot on his soul, a taint that drew him back to this pair of strong arms.