Book two of the Dark Angel trilogy. The battle between angels and demons is scaled up, the battle is no longer for souls, now it is for the planet.
Two years have passed and Rachael once more walks the streets of London. She can sense demons present in greater numbers than ever before. Led by a flame-haired girl, the demons have no interest in the dark angel, they create mayhem for the sake of it until the demon Xaphan is summoned from the pit. The Hound of Hell lights fires that burn through to Hell and it becomes apparent, there is a motive for their actions. reunited with the angel Leo, Rachael meets the archangel Michael. A deal is struck between the Host of angels and Rachael's own dark angels. A council is formed and with none in agreement who may command, it is a lowly priest that accepts the responsibility of becoming the commander of the armies of light. Old faces return for the battle for London but this time it is not simply the Spawn against the Host, this time both sides have mortal aid. Should the armies of light fail, Lucifer shall rise and London will be the beginning of a Hell on Earth.
Excerpt
Jade sat on the roughly worked piece of wood that served as a rudimentary table and stared down at the hole that had been dug through the floor into the disused cellar of the old property. When she'd first found the Thames-side building she'd worried he wouldn't approve but as it transpired, his delight had been evident.
It was run-down, squalid and damp but it was hard to find anywhere in the city that was both vacant and of no interest to the ubiquitous estate agents. Knowing his previous accommodation had been the ultimate in luxury, she had almost wept with apology to him when she'd brought him to it. The girl with the flame hair needn't have concerned herself. He had limped toward the squashed and crooked building and forced his way through the broken timbers that had boarded the hole in the wall.
The interior of the building was deteriorating and likely had been for the hundred years it had been empty. Half rotted sacks had spilled mouldy goods across the splintered, bare floorboards and the low ceiling forced any inside to duck their heads constantly. The only people who had ever found this forgotten storage beside the disused dock had been runaways and tramps. It was one of these that had greeted the demon's first entry into the building.
From his clothing, he was a runaway. He didn't have the look of a vagrant. He was dressed in casual clothes with a small burgundy rucksack beside him. His hair was slightly untidy but recently cut and he was only as dirty as his recent surroundings had caused him to become. He was in all likelihood just over sixteen and would grow no older. The girl had slit his throat and left him there for the demon, as a cat might leave a mouse for his owner. The demon had smiled and assured his apprentice the chamber was fine. He knew she thought him insincere but the reality was, the decay and rot that permeated the small two room building was sweet to his senses.
Months had passed and though the demon was still clearly regaining his former strength, he seemed to spend his energies as fast as he acquired them. Jade watched him now from her perch as he continued to clear the cellar beneath the main room. He was shifting decades of sludge and silt that had seeped in when the flood barrier had set a new level for the waters of the Thames. In history, this building would have alternately flooded and dried a hundred times but its forgotten state meant precautions and preventions that would have been in place in years gone by had been left untended. The detritus of a century sat and mouldered in the stagnant waters and mud that filled the cellar.
Jade knew the demon's true name was Mastema but she called him Master. It wasn't a requirement he had set upon her, she merely saw it as a respect for the knowledge he often imparted to her. Much of what he told her or attempted to instruct her in was beyond her ability as he seemed often to forget she was mortal. He never grew angry with her at her inability to use powers he knew she had but had not been able to tap into. He assured her that one day she would break through the wall that her mind built up to reach in and find those regions that could accomplish great things with thought alone. For herself, she doubted he was right and accepted it was likely those doubts that foiled her.
There was no envy of his skills as she watched him remove the contents of the cellar to the river that flowed past on the other side of the wall. It fascinated her to watch the level of water drop with no more than wishful thinking on his part. She had wondered why he even bothered expending his energy when all it would gain was an extra room. It was his choice though. She was satisfied to simply watch. He would tire soon and then he would sit with her and tell her more about the eternal fires. His words were so vivid that she was able, with a slight lending of his ability, to create a miniature version of hell around them both. The image was nothing more than an illusion but it delighted her.
Professional Reviews
Sally - Amazon.co.uk
I loved the first book in the series so much so I couldn't wait to read the second and boy was it brilliant. Darker than the first, fast paced and brilliantly written. The characters were fascinating and the research the author has put in to the details is truly wonderful. As I read I found myself completely drawn in and I devoured this story in one sitting as I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this series and can not wait for the third book.
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