Angry Tear: SLATE, #3

By Marianna Palmer

Caught between two lives, a choice has to be made
Toni Ransom has gotten the attention of the demons known as Tirade Angels. But there's a strange armistice, where something lurks beyond the shadows. A war between Tirade Angels and Archangels burns on the horizon, forcing Toni to make a choice. Even after all she has gained, Toni might still lose it all.
Helena's life was bad before she was turned into a Tirade Angel. Now, she's desperate to make a change. But what can a demon do for redemption?
Watch the story of two cursed sisters evolve until one of them has to make the ultimate sacrifice for love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marianna Palmer
• Release date: Jun 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227608437

Marianna Palmer

Marianna Palmer is a creative force who has been crafting captivating stories from the depths of her imagination since she first learned to dream. Encouraged by a dare from her sister, she bravely embarked on a journey into the world of writing, which became her sanctuary during years of solitude, personal challenges, and overcoming deep-rooted fears. With an unwavering passion for storytelling, Marianna pursued her education and proudly earned her BA degree. However, she didn't stop there. Preferring the enigmatic allure of privacy, she briefly disappeared from the public eye, resurfacing intermittently in the company of her sister before once again retreating into her world of words. Currently residing in the vibrant city of Tacoma, WA, Marianna draws inspiration from the beauty of her surroundings while reveling in the safety of her sister's presence. Determined to live life to the fullest, she fearlessly confronts the unknown, defying the daunting obstacles that once hindered her path.

Book preview

Angry Tear

Books by Marianna Palmer

YA

SLATE Series:

Savage Tear

Lonely Tear

Angry Tear

Tirade Tear Coming Soon

The Burner Series:

Burn the Same

Alternate Burn

Burnout

Moonlight Tales Series

Empty Beach

Ten Wishes

Echidna’s Darlings

No Trespassing

Watch for Falling Rocks

Do Not Disturb

Danger! Turn Back!

Left Turn Ahead

Children’s

Professor Zipwhit and the Dream Rider

The Long Haired Rat

Angry Tear

SLATE 3

Marianna Palmer

Chapter One

Helena

E

than was the most amazing guy I had ever seen, and he stared at me like I was precious gold. Jonathan had never looked at me like that, never. Was Ethan my imagination or my madness?

Toni’s gone, I said slowly as he perched on the edge of my bed. She just left. Off to Paris.

I know. Ethan gave me a heartrending smile. He reached out but didn’t touch me. He never touched me. Maybe I wasn’t appealing enough. She doesn’t love you. No one ever has, except me.

My mind exploded with images. Mom nodding as Dad offered a split between us two kids. He’d get me. Toni would go with Mom. Mom never looked back. Toni cried. She reached out for me. I thought that meant love.

More images came pouring in, sending me backwards against my pillow. Dad and his simple words, I need them. You won’t be a suspect.

Those dark corners where a child should never walk. The dead faces. The anger. I thought they had been angry at me. But as I grew I saw that they were angry at Dad. It stayed…

"They were angry at you. They hated you," Ethan whispered in my ear.

I whimpered but opened my eyes to see him. Dark stuff was entering his hands. He was gulping like he was eating.

What are you doing? I asked.

Ethan reached out now. He touched me! He actually grabbed my knee and shook it. Making it so we can be close, my dear. I love you. With all my heart and soul. Always.

My heart liked his words. My body didn’t like his touch. It felt wrong. Bad. No one else has ever loved me.

True, very true. They didn’t like your spirit. I see it. He knelt up my bed, lying beside me. Helena, I want to change you. I think like you. I am like you. You should be like me.

I nodded. More images came. Toni’s face had lit up when I walked in the door. Love.

Ethan made a rude noise. Not love. She wanted to own you. She was lonely. You’re just an object that makes her less lonely. But she has replaced you. Friends. A boyfriend. Paris. Ah, can you imagine flying to Paris? With me, you’d truly fly.

I looked towards the window, imagining the sky. By now Toni would already be exploring the Louvre, or the Arc de Triomphe. While I was in a dark room with someone no one else could see.

Would it hurt? I asked slowly.

He caressed my cheek. I saw his grimace. I felt mine. When we touched, it was death. Nothing else. Giving over your soul doesn’t hurt. Having it does.

My eyes felt wide, but I felt dark. I reached out and pulled his face towards me. I didn’t care that it was akin to grabbing rotting cotton. I wanted him. I pressed my lips to his, and he tried to tighten his grip. I felt his need, his desire, but he yanked away with anger. No. I don’t want it this way. I want you to be mine.

I laughed. He wanted me! No one ever said that. Not Dad. He just wanted a person to get his drugs. Not Mom. I could still remember her face when she came after I called her that night. She couldn’t be bothered to hug her crying daughter or take her ex-husband to the hospital. Toni had been the one who grabbed me into a hug and said, It’s just us now. We’ll fight everything together.

Not true, Ethan reminded. She abandoned you.

I nodded. The back of her blonde ponytail walking out our apartment door. Carl Frederickson had known how close we were, but he didn’t invite me. No one ever cared about me. It was always her.

Can you read my mind? I asked as I looked at him. He lounged beside me, keeping an inch away. His strong arm bigger than mine. His large shoulders and stature not even making a dent on my bed. I could almost imagine wings. An angel come to take me home.

No, I can read your emotions. I can tell when you think about Toni. You have this fierce loyalty. Too bad she doesn’t share it.

My mouth felt like it was turning itself out. Toni is the only one…

Not true. Ethan grinned at me. I am. I want you forever. Will you be mine? Give your soul to me?

I felt myself nodding. Toni didn’t truly love me. Mom hated me if she could even feel anything past her numb wall. Dad had used me. Yes. I give my soul over to you.

Then I screamed. Somewhere inside scissors cut off my heart, my lungs. My kidneys. Everything was being cut from me. I writhed and screamed for I don’t know how long. Light went away. Darkness set in.

My shoulder blades exploded, knives cutting through them, slithering like snakes eating through my skin. I screamed again and again, and I came aware to laughter.

I panted and moaned, turning to look at Ethan. I saw him. He did have wings. He was an angel. Black feathers grew from his shoulders. Darkness permeated them and him.

Hello, my sweet. Now we can have fun. But first… He stood to floating, flapping his wings. I joined him without thinking. I, uh, flew without thinking. Yay. I could fly. Nothing mattered.

I stared down at my body. Was that really me? How could I have worn that ugly pink nightgown? My face was terrible. That skin. Ugly hair, boring. There was nothing about this body that was beautiful. It should be buried under dirt. Torn apart.

What shall we do with that? You can still touch it you know.

I stared at him. Touch?

Long story. But shall we leave Toni a pleasant surprise?

I grinned. Yes. Make her pay. She should die too. Everyone should.

I gasped, horrified by my own mind. What have I become?

Ethan gripped my shoulders. I could feel him now, really feel him. But it still wasn’t like when I had been alive. Like, I don’t know, touching someone through surgical gloves. I could feel his warmth, the pressure. But it was half there.

Tear your own skin. Make Toni know how much you hate her.

My mind went away. All that mattered was Ethan’s command.

I woke up gasping, holding back my screams. I was very good at that by now. I looked around confused. The beige shag carpet. The scoop chair starkly red against it. A pink vanity with lights skirting the mirror. A green lamp shaped like a fish. My room? I was in my room in Mom’s house. It all came back. Ethan was dead. Vincent had killed him. My will was my own again.

I shuddered as I recalled that horrible moment where I had changed. But it was only a portion of my mind that was horrified. I felt the smile. The happiness. I wondered what Toni had come home to. I wished I had been there.

No! I didn’t. I had wanted Ethan far away from that place. I had demanded that he show me the ropes, that we fly to Paris. I grinned a real smile as his flabbergasted face came into mind. He had expected an easy conquest, someone who wasn’t so alive even after death. At first, he had loved my independent will.

He hadn’t ordered me about. I’d like to think now he had been intoxicated by me. What other reason could I use to explain why all his plans fell apart? He had more interest in showing me everything about being a Tirade Angel than what he had in mind for Toni.

He had loved me.

That had changed, of course. His love had gone away with every order until he demanded we head back.

Come on, Ethan, I had said. We haven’t seen the pyramids yet. I want to swoop in and out and check out the insides.

He had debated, watching me. Then I heard it.

No. You will obey me. I have had enough flitting around the world. Feeding only on little bits of misery. I am hungry. We will go back. We will feed off of Toni. I have plans. I think I want to kill the mommy next. But what if we set up a murderer?

I blanched but kept a grin on my face. Nah. Mom hates Toni. Hated me. Toni will hardly mourn her death.

Ethan had leaned forward and placed his forehead on mine. I think we can break her. We just need to focus. It might take some time, but slowly we’ll make Anita love her daughter. We’ll spill happy moments into her head, and then when Anita says I love you to Toni, and the little girl is filled with happiness, she’ll come home to find her mother’s body mutilated beyond recognition.

He licked his lips. Oh, if only I could do the actual damage.

That’s when I had first hated him. Hated him. I didn’t know how it was possible to hate someone who controlled my thoughts and emotions so utterly. After all, I was just like him now. But I realized no matter how dark I had become, I had my limits. Ethan was beyond a Tirade Angel. He had been evil even before.

My stomach screamed in hunger. I held it as I folded my wings around me. I slept standing on my bed. Mom thought I slept in it. But being in a bed with wings was hard. I didn’t know why I stayed here.

My ears perked up at the sound of Mom making noise in her sleep. She was having a nightmare. A tasty, tasty nightmare.

My hands clawed. Just a little twist, and she’d have more than a nightmare, and I’d feed. No, better yet, I’d walk downstairs, punch Toni around, make her feel that horror again. That yummy, yummy horror. The feeling of skin beneath my hands.

I slapped myself in the face hard. No! Those perverted thoughts weren’t mine! They were the demon’s. The same one that changed me. I had almost ruined everything. I could feel how much Toni loved me now. Ethan had been lying to me, manipulating my emotions. She was the only… No.

I wasn’t going to think like Ethan had wanted me to.

Mom loved me too. I felt that. Toni loved me.

I had so much love. Pity I didn’t realize that when I was alive.

I fluttered through the roof and looked at the stars. I couldn’t feel like I used to when I gazed at that expanse. I had loved the night sky, the stars so beautiful and shiny. Making you feel like you were a part of something bigger—more amazing. Now, I was part of something all right.

Evil. Death. Toni’s end. Mom’s.

I knew where Toni was going. I saw it in every caress she gave Vincent, every look. They were going down the same dark path I had chosen. I had tried to hate Vincent for it, even tried killing him all to protect Toni’s future. But as usual I was a failure. I knew now that Toni would fall apart. I felt it on her after she tried to give up on Vincent. Her heart was tied with his. If he died, so did she.

By keeping him alive, I protected Toni’s heart and condemned her soul. It was only a matter of time. I had been so thrilled when the Guardian Angel had been assigned to Toni, but now the cute little piece of fluff was too busy enacting an Archangel’s vengeance. No chaperone, except me.

And damn it! I wanted Toni to join me! A huge part of my mind looked forward to seeing her eyes go black, wings shooting out of her shoulder blades. For her to experience that pain. Part of me even wanted to watch as Vincent changed her.

Dark thoughts spun through my mind. I couldn’t stop her. Not if I wanted it. Who could? What can I do? I demanded the stars. How can I even survive? I’m a monster.

I pulled my wings around me and cried.

Chapter Two

Toni

T

he church was a fitting backdrop for how I always saw Helena and Vincent. Their glorious dark wings splayed nicely against the dark wall paneling. The roof soared high enough for the two of them to fly. Above the mourners, they showed a sight that would make anyone weep from the sheer beauty of it. I didn’t want to point out to Vincent that he flew under a high hanging lamp which gave him a halo over his shiny black hair. The light made him as holy an angel as he continued to remind me he wasn’t.

He hovered over the crowd unseen, but I wished all the people here could see him. As usual my heart filled—overflowing at the sight of this magnificent body in front of me. I truly and utterly loved him—down to every strand of black on his head. The light specks on his wings numbered in the hundreds, and I knew each one. I could recognize any spot even if someone snapped his picture—assuming they could—and zoomed up very closely on those stars (what I always called them).

He flashed me a quick grin as if he could tell what I was thinking. I knew he could tell what I was feeling, but mind reading wasn’t part of his skills. Helena, next to him, complemented the pure and almost unbearable beauty that my life was now.

The only thing that marred this wonderful picture was the black energy slipping from each head and wiggling upwards into both Vincent and Helena’s hands. And, of course, the look on their faces. Black eyes, grins that weren’t nice.

As much as they were angels, they were both demons.

And I wished I was up there with them.

Everyone is going to wonder what you’re staring at, Helena said, her voice clear as a bell across the silent crowd.

I cringed, but I quickly reminded myself no one except me could hear her. I was the earthbound one, seen and noticed as I sat among the people wearing black.

And she was right—people were starting to wonder why I was staring upwards instead of at the man at the front who was going on and on about how the dead one was in the hands of the angels now. Little did he know that everyone here was in the hands of the angels—and I was sure they wouldn’t like it if they knew.

I snapped my eyes back to the front, trying to look sad. It wasn’t hard. I had thought this would be a wonderful idea. Eating a lot of sad people’s energy would give my sister and my true love enough food. Both had been looking terrible, refusing to eat. Especially Helena. Vincent was bad enough, but he had the recent pleasure of killing a whole lot of Tirade Angels to sustain him for a while. But Helena hadn’t fed since she had come home.

It was starting to worry me. She wouldn’t leave her room, wouldn’t talk to Mom. I finally suggested they feed, and I had wanted to share it with them. My mouth turned downwards as I tuned into what the man at the front was saying.

Souls can’t be trapped by matter. No. The body is the vessel, and the soul is now free.

I shot a quick glance upwards again. My own soul whimpered. The duo above me didn’t look right. I thought I’d be thrilled to share in this. I had accepted who they were, demons who fed on pain in order to survive.

But the Savage Tear in me, the one who hated all things Tirade Angel, growled. She didn’t want to watch. I felt sick, and I looked around at the innocents losing their energy.

The dead person had been well loved. Many people were crying. At the same time as Savage grew angry, a hidden thrill hit—my sister and Vincent would be full. What was happening to me? People were miserable here. I remembered Helena’s little funeral. Mom wasn’t religious, but she still had someone say a few words over Helena’s grave.

I had been out of this world upset. Imagine if that jerk Ethan had been floating over me, gloating?

But I did smile as I saw Vincent’s stomach plump up. Helena’s sunken eyes disappeared. That was the life of a Savage Tear in love with a Tirade Angel. I knew they had to eat! It hadn’t been that long since the battle with the Tirade Angels atop The Ransom’s bell tower, but Helena was drawn tight—bones sticking out—skin stretched over sharp planes.

That hurt me way more than random mourners losing energy, and it filled my soul to see Vincent and Helena greedily eating.

Maybe I should have a heart that could feel sorry for both, but… that was part of my darkness. I was selfish. Oh well.

Vincent suddenly flew near and gave me a quick upside-down kiss and flew back to drink in more tears. He had sensed my mood and its many changes. According to him, it was one of the things he loved about me.

I smiled, but I knew he wouldn’t have left my side at all if he hadn’t been starving.

As I watched them, I reflected on what was happening and my destiny.

I loved that angel above me more than my own life. Even now, I watched his body. Attractive, off-limits, and totally and utterly desired.

This… grasping for tears, slowly turning skeletal if not fed, was my future. If Vincent and I got any closer—if we weren’t insanely careful at every moment of the day, I’d have to haunt funerals. Or worse.

I might not even be me anymore. Vincent had claimed I’d be changed so utterly, he’d hate me. Love reduced to burning hatred. Even as happy as I was that my love and sister were eating, I still shuddered at that thought. There were benefits of course—being with Vincent and Helena, living forever as an Immortal if I killed a million people. I didn’t want to only subsist on people’s pain. I didn’t want to become a Tirade Angel. In fact, being a Savage Tear, I despised the idea with every ounce of my energy.

But I wasn’t sure I had much of a choice. Being intimate with Vincent would take my life and soul right away. Even Luna, the empress of the Tirade Angels, had thought so. She had left me alone, sure I’d be changed any day now. And with my sister being one, and Ned, my adopted father being an Immortal and previously a Tirade Angel, I had little to no hopes I wouldn’t join them.

Maybe it was my destiny.

Did you know her well? a voice came from my right.

I jumped to realize the service had ended, and people were starting to walk up to the coffin to pay respects. A sweet little old puff of a lady with snow white hair and warm brown eyes was tugging on my shoulder. She wore a black dress on her frail body. She wiped a tear away, and as it fell, a line of black energy soared upwards and into Helena’s waiting palms.

I bit my lip. What? I asked.

Brenda Jennings, did you know her well?

I was still distracted by the bit of energy that was stolen.

Who? I queried.

The deceased, she said with a sniffle.

No. Not a name. I didn’t need a name. Oh! No… I didn’t.

It’s not surprising, she said and patted my arm. Miss Jennings had so many friends. She touched so many lives.

I nodded wanly, hoping she’d leave me alone soon. Weren’t they done with their meal yet? I wondered, glancing at Vincent and Helena and then checking my watch. Mom was still at The Ransom, but I didn’t want her coming home to my empty room. She’d ask where I had been. Every minute of every day had to be accounted for now. The only reason I had gotten out of work was to study for school.

I had claimed I needed to brush up on all the stuff I had learned so I’d be ready to ace exams when school came back. A flimsy but accepted excuse. Mom wanted me to be successful. She thought hard work would keep me from my destiny as a Savage Tear. She had no idea that my destiny was to become a Tirade Angel.

If Mom found that fact out… well, she was scary enough without knowing that the only daughter she had left might become what her other daughter had already. I saw every day that Mom was losing Helena. I didn’t want to press my luck, and I needed to get out of here. My earlier relief was turning into anger.

I hated that Vincent had to eat like this—that Helena who had been such a sweetheart when she was alive had become a demon who stripped away people’s energy.

I was angry that this sweet old woman was just a meal.

I hated that I was a pretender, a gatecrasher at a funeral. More… I hated that if I didn’t be extremely careful, it’d be me feeding off people’s souls.

Everyone was so surprised that she ended her own life, the lady continued.

My brain froze. Everything fell apart.

Suddenly, my sister’s white face forever silenced in that coffin roared into my head.

Then the image changed to my own.

With a strangled cry, I jumped up, stumbling over my legs and falling over in my escape. Pulling myself up, I ran down the aisle and out into the sunny day.

I collapsed on a stone wall that bordered the church. Behind the wall was a little bit of ground that gave way to a sheer cliff that brought the ocean’s noise into my ears. It roared beneath me. I stared out towards the unending blue, wishing I could be like that. Enduring. But I wasn’t an ocean no matter how often I was compared to one with my emotional changes. Like the tides.

I wasn’t as steadfast.

It didn’t take long for Helena and Vincent to come up behind me. I wasn’t a Tirade Angel, but I could feel their concern.

I’m fine! I gasped. Get back in there. You still need to eat.

We’ve had enough, Helena said. I turned to see the diamond beam of worry in her eyes.

I almost fell apart again with that face. I wished Cecil was here. I’d ask him to cover up my emotions. There was no reason to let Helena and Vincent know how distraught I was. I lied anyway. I’m fine, really. Go on, try to eat a little more.

Helena laughed and perched on the wall, her wings folding behind her. The blue an amazing background to her black wings. You sound like me. Remember, when I tried to make sure you ate regularly?

I laughed, sobbed. Yeah. When you were alive. None of us spoke for a few minutes. The ocean’s majesty wasn’t that much of a draw. We were all thinking about the same thing. The inevitable.

But, I finally shuddered out, if you recall your argument I don’t need to. Healthy bodies. Healthy fuel. You too, Vincent. You both told me to eat when I didn’t want to. Don’t be hypocrites now.

We don’t have to… Vincent started.

Damn it, you two, get back in there. Don’t you see how much it hurts when I look at you? You’ll both waste away. Don’t fight your nature. Feed your bodies.

Vincent groused. You know how to get me. Okay. Who knows when such an outpouring of emotion will happen again. I’ll eat fast. Why don’t you stay out here, though? There’s no reason for you to see this.

I nodded. I couldn’t argue. I had thought I wanted this. To see how they eat. I wouldn’t judge them. But I was. It was unnatural. Evil. Theft of the highest order. Both went back in, but I stayed—my mind torturing me with the image of me in that coffin. Of me flittering around, living off pain.

With all my dark thoughts, and Savage’s evil glee, would I be any better than Ethan? It was wonderful to hate him now. I had a right. But would I be able to as a Tirade Angel? And then there was Mom. She accepted Helena. But it was hard when she couldn’t touch her. Could I really rob her of me as well?

Another thought hurt me, and I jumped off the wall. I didn’t know how close I had to be for Helena and Vincent to feel my emotions. But this new one washed away all my feelings into only one. Pain.

Cecil, my Guardian Angel. He had changed. He had also warned me. If I were a Tirade Angel, he’d kill me. As simple as that. But what was my future if I didn’t change? I had no clue.

The uncertainty made me wrap my arms around my body as I walked down a trail towards the beach.

Chapter Three

Toni

A

s the sun went behind a cloud, an angry surge hit me. There was another choice. I wouldn’t have to become a Tirade Angel or die. It was a choice Cecil had posited. I could become a Savage Tear. Fight alongside the Archangels in a war against Tirade Angels.

Maybe it’d work. If I kept Helena and Vincent hidden. I would love that. Making Tirade Angels’ skin break under my hands. Kill the demons.

But would I be able stop seeing Helena and Vincent in my victims?

The whole thing was impossible!

I would prefer to fight. It would be bad enough that I would suffer if I became a Tirade Angel. But Vincent would suffer. He didn’t want me to become what he was. Fighting… I could win it all, but the risk was unbelievable. What if Helena and Vincent weren’t ignored? What if Cecil and the Archangels made a point to end every Tirade Angel’s life?

I would say penny for your thoughts, but pennies aren’t worth much these days, are they?

I knew that voice well. I spun around to see a metallic angel flying above the wall I had vacated. Cecil! I said, honestly happy to see him. Even though him now was a silver warrior. Metal on his arms, blades as feathers. His face was normal enough, and I remembered that grin. But he was a far cry from the Guardian Angel who had been assigned to me.

Cecil flapped his wings to land and walked alongside me. The crunch of the tiny rocks underfoot reminded me I was walking with an angel. It was only my feet that made any noise. I felt that you were here… Why I don’t even want to know. Cecil looked back at the church above us now.

I swung my arms. I think you already know.

Cecil snorted in disgust.

I stopped, scattering the gravel beneath my shoes. Come on! You know every being has to eat. It’s better this way than the other, I pleaded, wishing he’d understand. As a Guardian Angel, he might have, but as this new Archangel he had one goal. Justice.

It’s better if they starve, he said harshly. I blinked, taken aback. I knew he had changed, but this went beyond what Cecil was known for. A believer in love conquering all. A happy-go-lucky friend who would fight the world with a smile.

What’s wrong?

He rubbed his eyes. I am battle weary. The Tirade Angels have been more active than normal.

Battle? I demanded. I pushed and prodded him, trying to find out wounds that he might be hiding from me. He may have changed, but he was still my best friend.

Okay! he said, grabbing my hands and finally smiling. I use the term battle loosely. I mean surveillance. I had been flying all night until I decided to come around here and saw you. The Tirade Angels have been preparing for war. It takes a lot of time and energy to keep tabs on them.

So, no battle?

Not yet, he said. It’s inevitable, though. They are more actively gathering forces. I figured I’d find some here and prevent a new recruit.

My eyes felt tight. This funeral. The woman was driven towards it by a Tirade Angel.

Cecil nodded. And the status quo is to feed on the pain of their own funeral. And usually the Ruiner comes with them.

The what? A new word. Another one.

"The Tirade Angel who changed them. I thought it’d… well, others thought it’d be a good idea to wipe out new ones before they got strong. Oh, but I know, all beings must eat." His sarcasm wasn’t lost on me.

My mouth fell open. You think it’s the same? What Helena and Vincent are doing?

Cecil crossed his arms, his eyes serious. It is.

I shook my head, but arguing with Cecil about my love and sister’s eating habits was pointless right now. So you are here to end a life?

Put her out of her misery, don’t you mean. She has no life. Neither do Helena and Vincent. If she shows up, they might give her backup. I know you can’t take down your sister and love. That’s for me. But can I count on your Savage to end her life?

You mean Brenda Jennings? I asked, giving a name to the