Baylahn: A Supernatural Action Adventure Opera (War Of The Angels Book 3) Read online

  Baylahn

  War Of The Angels™ Book Three

  Michael Todd

  Michael Anderle

  Laurie Starkey

  Baylahn (this book) is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2019 Michael Todd, Michael Anderle, and Laurie Starkey

  Cover by Ryn Katryn Digital Art

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, January 2019

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Connect with Michael Todd

  Books by Michael Todd

  Books written as Michael Anderle

  Baylahn Team

  JIT Readers

  Daniel Weigert

  Angel LaVey

  Nicole Emens

  Misty Roa

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Jeff Eaton

  John Ashmore

  James Caplan

  Peter Manis

  Larry Omans

  If we missed anyone, please let us know!

  Weapons Consultant

  John Kern

  Proprietor

  Spurlock's - Henderson NV

  Editor

  Skyhunter Editing Team

  Dedication

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  Prologue

  The night was cold and blustery and the naval base in Virginia lay quiet. Those on watch bundled up in their coats and leather gloves, weapons close to their chests. Most of the personnel had just returned from their Christmas and New Year’s leave to visit family. The rest were enjoying their last bit of downtime before the work week started again. Although the air seemed still and the night uneventful, a plot was afoot.

  Slipping through the dark shadows of the base, five soldiers dressed in black moved swiftly, their silenced weapons firmly in hand. They stepped lightly around corners, through the side entrances of buildings, and across the open expanses between without anyone seeing them. It was obvious they were not only black ops but familiar with military bases as well.

  As the team neared a well-lit open-air room, they slowed, the man on point signaled with a raised fist. They carefully stepped out, one at a time, pulling their weapons up in front of them. A trio of guards on protection duty stood at ease, their backs to the quiet night as they swapped holiday stories. The soldiers slowly stepped forward close enough to ensure their shot. Three silenced weapons fired and the guards hit the ground with a dull thud. The soldiers immediately went to work, grabbing the fallen men by the legs and dragging them behind a stack of supply crates off to one side.

  To their right was a long corridor. The team lead nodded to the others and hurried to the end of the hallway, looking around. He counted to three with his fingers and all of them took off down the hallway, running as fast as possible. At the end was a pair of solid steel doors protected by an electronic locking system. The lead man carried a tactical bag, and when they reached the door, he pulled out a tablet and plugged a key card into the lock device. The rest of the team surrounded him, turning their backs to watch for approaching soldiers. The guards’ bodies might not be visible, but the blood was. It would only take a passing patrol one glance to realize something was going down.

  After he pressed a few buttons on the screen, the tablet began to run through possible combinations to open the lock. One by one the correct numbers stopped on the screen. The man working on the lock glanced up and down the hallway, hoping to get done before they were discovered.. He breathed heavily, tapping his foot. “Come on, come on.” The others kept their guns up as they scanned their surroundings.

  Finally, the last number popped up and the door clicked. The soldier pulled the card key out and shoved everything back in his bag before opening the door. The team moved in fast, squatting with their guns out and looking back and forth through the sights. Thin red lasers shot out from two of their weapons, moving over every corner of the room. There wasn’t anyone else there, which wasn’t surprising since the harbor room was usually only guarded from the inside during working hours.

  They could hear water outside the cement walls and splashing over the top. The smell of salt water stung their noses, and the waves cast dancing shadows on the walls of the room—a large hangar that stretched out over the water. It was reminiscent of a harbor, but was completely enclosed to keep the secrets inside hidden. The team lead nodded and pointed toward a docking space to the left. They hurried across, looking for cameras, knowing they were there but unsure where they were placed. After neutralizing them, they walked up to the submarine and looked back and forth at each other. It was the exact sub they’d been told to find, but it was slightly smaller than they had expected. Nonetheless, it was their ticket to following the map.

  The leader pulled his mask off and shoved it in his back pocket. Wilson inspected the vessel in front of them with keen eyes. “This is what we were looking for, an experimental Pearl submarine. It’ll get us where we need to go. We don’t have much time, though. It won’t be long until someone catches us on video sneaking in here.”

  At that, the operative beside him removed her mask as well. Red glanced through the top of the small submarine. “It’s only got two seats.”

  Wilson and Red exchanged glances, and with a wink of Wilson’s eye, Red was given permission to do what she had been planning to do from the start.

  Raising her pistol, she fired before anyone had a chance to react. One, two, three, the rest of their team hit the ground, blood pooling around them. Red took a small step back as the blood trickled toward her and went over the edge of the platform into the water. Wilson didn’t flinch as he knelt next to the sub.

  Red smirked, putting her gun in the holster on her hip. “Thank you for your service.”

  Wilson chuckled. “That was a mighty fine memorial speech you gave those young men. Too bad we don’t have time for a twenty-one-gun salute.”


  Red took a deep breath. “You know me—I give reverence where it’s due. They were mighty fine soldiers, but that was the end of their journey. At some point you have to cut loose the excess baggage, so that’s what I did.”

  Wilson smirked. “Remind me not to become baggage to you anytime soon. I’d like to stay free of bullet holes.”

  1

  Snow was falling in New York City again. December had been cold and white, but the start of January was ten times worse. Snow drifted down the sidewalks and up the walkways into the different buildings. The owners tried, but twenty minutes after clearing, it was right back to being a mess again.

  None of that bothered Juntto and Angie, though. They were snuggled in and warm in their condo. Juntto walked out of the bathroom and tied the belt of his cashmere robe tightly around him. His large feet, covered in fleece socks, shuffled across the wood floors. Angie, who was dressed exactly the same, smiled and lifted the large fluffy blanket that covered her, inviting him back in.

  Juntto growled as he snuggled in, pulling the blanket over his shoulders. He wasn’t in his largest form, finding it easier to maneuver in human size in the human world. “You have discovered the key to happiness.”

  Angie chuckled. She was clasping her mug of hot cocoa tightly. “I swear, I read about Hygge, the Danish idea of basically being freaking comfortable, which sounds like ‘hug-a,’ and thought it was what we needed in our lives.”

  Juntto picked up his mug and took a sip, then looked at Angie with white foam on his upper lip. “You know the cold doesn’t bother me, but the feeling of having a soft sweater on my skin is pretty much the best thing ever. Better than video games, almost.”

  Angie giggled as she picked up a plate of peanut butter cookies and offered Juntto one. “I love these; they remind me of when I was a kid. In the wintertime, peanut butter cookies were a staple of my childhood.”

  Juntto selected one, took a bite, and leaned back. “We used to celebrate the darkest days of the year with festivals. We had giant bonfires that seemed to reach all the way to the heavens. There were feasts every night. Cooked meat, plates of breads, sweets, and more than enough mead for the entire dimension plus some. There was never a drop left over by the end. Then there were the battles. We fought to the death. It was a mighty honor.”

  Angie lifted an eyebrow. “Wow. We did stuff too, but it was more like sledding and ice skating, and when it was really cold, we stayed in and played video games. We didn’t do much battling to the death.”

  Juntto laughed. “Probably for the best in this dimension. I can see you ripping through a bunch of warriors.”

  Angie snorted. “Yeah, right. I would have gone down in the first round.”

  Juntto put his arm around Angie. “Well, no need to worry. I think we’ll stick with your idea of fun for now. No need to start any battles here in New York.”

  Angie smiled. “Thanks, I appreciate it. New York appreciates it.”

  The wind whipped wildly across the New York rooftops, blowing a wintery mix of rain and snow through the air. It was quiet on the roof of the condo complex, exactly what both Pandora and Katie needed at that moment.

  Katie sat on the edge of the building swinging her feet back and forth. She put her arms up and stretched, yawning loudly. This is the first time in forever that things feel back to normal. I really thought “rogue under the radar” was our new MO.

  Pandora laughed. I didn’t. I was letting you live in your little damaged pity party for a while, but eventually, I would have slapped the piss out of you.

  Katie wrinkled her nose. Either that’s complete bullshit, or you aren’t a very good friend.

  Pandora scoffed. I think that makes me a very good friend. I saw your issue and said, hey, she’s fucking whackin’ out, but it’s okay, I’ll let it run its course. And what do you know? It did. I didn’t have to be stuck with you in a mental ward.

  Katie chuckled. I just realized how good it is to be back in a working relationship with the general.

  Pandora sighed. I agree. Gives direction and purpose to our movements, I think. Also gives us hot military men to follow us around.

  Katie shook her head. I just have to make sure we don’t end up under the general’s thumb twenty-four/seven. We have a higher purpose, or at least I think we do. I want to be able to chase demons my way. I know it will take compromise, though.

  Pandora groaned. You know how much I like to compromise, but for this, I suppose I can bend a bit. For now, we both need to continue working on our powers. You won’t be much good if we walk into a man-eating dimension, and I won’t do too well if I can’t get my wings to work.

  Katie shrugged. You could be that angel who walks out like an explosion scene from a movie—all slow motion and shit.

  Pandora sniffed. That actually might not be a bad idea, but where would I get the explosions? I guess I could rig something up.

  Katie rolled her eyes. Good Lord, please don’t. You’ll end up blowing up both of us. I don’t want to blow up. How about you learn how to fly again instead?

  Pandora jumped out of Katie, grabbing her by the shoulder. Katie gasped. “Dude, you have got to warn me about that shit. You almost knocked me off the fucking roof.”

  Pandora laughed. “You’re the amazing flyer. You’d just pop those suckers out. But that’s not why I am coming out in this frost hell you got going on. We need to work on your portals. They are getting better, but hopefully, we can get them even smoother.”

  Katie sighed and stood up on the roof. “I really don’t think this is the time.”

  Pandora put out her hands and looked at the falling snow. “What else are we going to do, go cuddle with the giant and his girlfriend? No, thank you. I don’t own a cashmere robe.”

  Katie chuckled. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  Pandora clapped her hands excitedly. “Okay, let’s get this shit rolling. Let’s see what you got. Open a portal for us. Maybe we can roll right into the islands or something.”

  Katie chuckled as she rubbed her palms together, taking a deep breath. She put her hands out, pulling on the energy she could feel surging through her chest, then swished one hand up and the other to the right, pulling open a portal right there on the roof of the building. Katie glanced at Pandora, who lifted her eyebrows. “Well, let’s see where you’re taking us this time.”

  The two of them stepped through into a vast, jungle-looking environment. The portal closed behind them, and they just stood there for a moment gazing around in awe. It looked like the jungles on Earth, only bigger and brighter. Everything seemed to move in sync, almost as if the plants were breathing. Vibrant colors were all over the place, and vines slithered along the branches of the trees as if they were snakes.

  Katie gasped slightly from the beauty of the place. “Look at those flowers. They’re gorgeous.”

  Pandora put her hand up, stopping Katie from walking forward. “Uh, I don’t think we want to go sticking our fingers out at any of these plants.”

  Katie furrowed her brow. “It’s just a flower.”

  Pandora chuckled, picked up a stone from the ground, and tossed it at the flower. The petals opened wide, revealing sharp teeth. Katie jumped back. “Fuck. Time to get the fuck out of here.”

  She opened another portal and basically pulled Pandora out of the jungle behind her. They stumbled back out onto the roof in New York City, letting the portal shut behind them. Katie put up her arms and smiled. “Success!”

  Pandora nodded. “I’m impressed. You are getting the hang of this.”

  Katie stared at Pandora for a moment. “How about you? Can you try to open a portal to hell?”

  Pandora pursed her lips. “I might as well give it a shot.”

  She put her feet shoulder width apart and concentrated, swishing her hands apart as she had done a thousand times. The first time there was barely a flash of sparks around what would be the edges of the portal. Pandora groaned and let go, furrowing her brow and trying aga
in. She grunted loudly and pulled harder, trying to hold onto the portal, but it was impossible. She let go, breathing heavily and bending forward, putting her hands on her knees.

  Pandora glanced at Katie and shook her head. “My demonic powers are definitely fading.”

  Katie stared at her for a moment and then grinned, putting her arm over her shoulders. “Come on, let’s go get some donuts.”

  Pandora smiled. “You know how to get to my heart.”

  Katie and Pandora headed down to the street. They didn’t really speak until they reached Krispy Kreme. It was the first time Pandora ordered from the counter separate from Katie. From the look on the workers’ faces, they knew who she was, but they weren’t going to say anything. In fact, Katie found it kind of comical how they quickly moved for her, faking smiles.

  They got their donuts and sat at their regular table. Katie took a bite of one of hers. “You know, your flying abilities still suck ass, so I better whip you into shape.”

  Pandora smirked as she bit into a chocolate cake donut. “I haven’t been whipped in a few thousand years, but I’m willing to give it a shot.”

  Katie chuckled, then felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. “This is Katie.”