Free Fallen Angel of Mine by John Corwin Page B

stomach and cold sweat
burst from every pore on my body. The creature's face met the
ground with a sick wet thud. I backed away, wondering if I could
kill it with a sure-footed stomp. It jerked back to its feet with
an ease that belied its disproportionate body. Shrieking, hands
spread to its sides, fingers crooked like little claws, it came at
me. Smoky wings flickered over its shoulders and I could almost see
a crazed, maniacal face trapped behind the smooth oily surface if
its head.
    The sound echoed. A chorus of shrieks
answered. I backed away in wide-eyed horror at the sight of dozens
more of the creatures shambling through the rows of arches. My own
shriek of terror joined with the cherubs' and I streaked away, not
stopping until I nearly collided with an arch in the far back of
the room. I pressed my thumb to the silver circuit and willed it
closed. After a couple of tries, a crackle in the air and the
pressure of an immense amount of magic welling around me told me
I'd done it.
    My body felt as though it was in the
middle of a cloud of static electricity. Apparently, the power here
was extremely concentrated. I had no idea what a ley line looked
like but I pictured giant glowing conduits of magical power humming
beneath the ground.
    The symbol in the floor next to this
arch looked like a circle with multiple lines crisscrossing it,
crossing the edges. Nothing matched it on the huge map. In other
words, I had no idea where it went, if anywhere.
    The first glistening cherub reached the
circle. I jumped back, cursing. The creature bounced off and fell
on its back, squealing and shrieking in a miserable voice, sending
needles racing up my spine.
    "Dah nah!" it wailed.
    The others answered in the same
words.
    I shivered violently, gasping deep
breaths to calm myself. The little freaks couldn't get me in here,
but I had to find a way to activate this thing. If this arch really
didn't go anywhere, I was screwed. There was another possibility to
the odd symbol, though. Maybe these arches weren't connected to the
map for a reason. If this place really was a transport hub where
beings came from all over, maybe they had to build something that
was easy for the average Joe to use. The other rows might be for
newbies while these arches were for advanced users. Maybe the lines
on the circle meant these could go anywhere. Or maybe I was wrong
and these arches weren't finished. Maybe a void of death waited at
their terminus.
    For all I knew, this row of arches was
where they disposed of trash, and the circle was a garbage
compactor, like the one on the Death Star. "This isn't Return of
the Jedi," I hissed, hoping to the Force I was right.
    I slapped my cheek to snap myself from
the daze of indecisiveness.
    More cherubs crowded the circle while
newcomers threaded through the arches. The place was crawling with
them. I had to face facts. There was no escaping this circle. Not
without using the arch. I turned back to it, forcing myself to
ignore the shrieks and wails and the possibility the circle might
collapse from the weight of bodies pressing against it.
    Unfortunately, there were no big green
buttons or easy-to-follow instructions mounted on a placard nearby,
so I did the next best thing by pointing a finger at the arch and
saying, "Activate!" When that didn't work, I tried a few other
words, some of them very descriptive of my situation and not at all
suited for mixed company. Shelton had told me several times intent
and will were important in making something work right. Perhaps I
just had to focus on somewhere specific I needed to go. Doing that
while panic streaked through my veins and fear twined a cold coil
around my guts seemed impossible.
    Standing halfway between the arch and
the silver ring, I concentrated on the arch again and said, "Take
me home."
    An azure string of power lanced from
one side of the arch to the other, running up the black stone like
something in a mad-scientist's lab. I jumped up and whooped as the
air