And she did.
Noemi Gastineau sat bolt upright in the empty bed, and she screamed until her voice was gone.
* * * *
“She’s gone.” Rion set the pink bakery box filled with dim sum on the flimsy table by the window. Rex stepped into the room after him, a cardboard drink carrier in his hands.
“Maybe she’s in the shower.” But as he spoke, he knew it wasn’t true. The water wasn’t running, and her clothing and purse were gone. The key card lay on the dresser next to the television.
The room held the scents of their mingled sweat and sex and Noemi’s fading perfume.
“Maybe she went out to get something to eat.” Rion’s voice was tight. Rex shut his eyes, trying his best to sense demon-kind, but without charms and wards to assist him, he had no tools.
“Look. Here.”
On the pillow where she’d slept, the amulet rested, looking lonely and abandoned. Rex picked it up and immediately the hum of power ran through his palm. He handed it to Rion.
“It feels different than when I held it yesterday. It’s pulsing.” He handed the carving back to Rex, who automatically slipped it over his neck.
“Rion. I need to tell you something.” He pulled out the chair and sat, watching the angel as he paced the room, looking for other signs of their missing lover. Finally Rion gave up, sitting on the edge of the bed. He looked soberly at Rex.
“Noemi… She said something. Something… Well…” He folded his hands and looked back up at Rion. “The night before we left to come here, Anahita visited.”
“Do you remember?”
Rion’s cheeks grew pink. He clearly remembered the visit.
“Yes.”
And in spite of his discomfort, Rex spied his crotch swelling with arousal. Things were making more and more sense by the moment.
“Were you aware enough to hear us talk?”
Rion shook his head.
“Anahita made you climax. I reached down and took your seed on my fingertips. I tasted it. She watched, and then she said that you tasted like clouds and rain.”
Rion looked at him in confusion. “Noemi said that. Twice.”
“She said I tasted of Earth and life.” Rex looked down at the floor. Fear had taken a spot in his heart. It felt like a cold, hard lump.
“Rex, how likely is it that Noemi would say the very same thing that Anahita did?” Rion’s blue eyes were bright. Fear was there again, along with suspicion, and knowledge.
“Noemi and Anahita…”
“Are the same person. Remember, we were discussing the possibility of Anahita having a body, but being divided from within?”
“Yes.”
“Well, she’s Anahita when she sleeps. So when Noemi was sleeping, I took a peek into her mind. We were right.”
“Oh God.” Rion looked bleak. “What’s happened then? Why did she run?”
Rex clasped the amulet around his neck, feeling the discordant vibration of power. “I don’t know. Maybe she remembered something. Maybe she’s afraid.”
“Of us?” Rion shook his head. “I spent decades being afraid of Anahita. Now all I know is that we need to get her back.”
Rex dropped the amulet, letting it dangle from its cord. “You’re willing to accept her, even with your history? Even with the history you don’t know?”
Rion rubbed a palm across his face in agitation. “I don’t know. I don’t know, Rex, but we can’t just let her run away.” He stood, pacing again. “What about you, Rex? She might have been my wife. That’s what she said when she slipped into that trance…maybe…”
“Maybe that’s the source of your fear. Maybe you saw her apparent death and your memory hasn’t let go of that horror.”
Rex stood, crossing the room to where the angel sat, and pulled Rion tightly against his body. Rion rested his head against the Sidhe’s chest, taking what comfort he could.
“We were perfect, Rex. I never needed anyone else.” He wrapped his arms around Rex’s waist.
“Till her,” Rex whispered. “You need her.”
“I’m so sorry. So sorry…”
Rex tightened his hold on the angel. “Do you think I’ve been unaffected by this? My need for her…” He swallowed hard. “My need for her is overwhelming. I love her, Rion, but that doesn’t diminish what I feel for you. And I know you love me no less for your love for Noemi.”
Rion nodded and sighed deeply.
“Anahita always seemed so needy. So pathetic. Noemi is strong and powerful. I can’t fit them together.”
“The Anahita I know has changed over the years, Rion. She’s bewildered and frightened because she’s fractured, but she’s not a woman to take lightly.” He lifted Rion’s face to his and framed it in his hands. “We are not to be taken lightly either. She did not run from us, Rion. Anahita was awash in joy when I touched her.”
“If I remembered my past we would know the answers. If only I remembered.”
“And I’m afraid that’s exactly what happened to Noemi. I believe she—they—remembered.” Rex stood back a little, wrapping his hand in Rion’s long braid. “And can you imagine the chaos in her mind?”
“Do you think someone did this to her?” Rion looked up, the pressure on his hair lifting his head slightly.
“I know someone did this to her. And I know what we have to do next.” He let go of Rion’s hair and stepped away, taking a cup of coffee from the carrier. He sipped and winced at the heat of the beverage.
“We’re going to talk to someone who knows all about memory. Someone who can make anyone forget.”
“Carly.”
“Yes. Nobody knows about forgetfulness the way she does.” Rion let out a deep breath, clearly relieved. They had a direction to follow. Not a lead, but a start.
“What about the demon at home?”
Rex shrugged. “It’ll still be there when we find Noemi.” He shut off the light, leaving the box of food behind.
Rex closed the door.
* * * *
There were nearly a dozen steamer baskets of dim sum on the table in front of her, but Noemi felt too nauseous to take a bite. Grease glistened at the corner of Cynthia’s mouth as she daintily bit into the tiny pork dumpling. As the nurse’s head turned, Noemi caught the slight red gleam that told of possession. How had she worked next to the woman all these years and not known?
Noemi stared at her hands and felt the glamour glide in and out. Anahita had never mastered her glamour, so a golden-red glow began to beam from her skin. She stared in fascination, wishing she could see herself in a mirror. Would there be two faces?
“Tone it down, Doc. You want to get us thrown out?” Cynthia speared a pork bun with a chopstick and started on that. Across the table, Carly the Sidhe sipped from her tea cup. The cup rattled in her hand.
Fucking traitor. She could forgive Cynthia because she was being ridden by the demon Kelet, but Carly? No forgiveness there.
Noemi’s brain was still overloaded with the convergence of two separate personalities slamming together, plus the return of memories long suppressed. She frowned, listening to the little drama playing out at their table. Right now, everyone was focused on the man at their table. The man who also was not human.
“So, the deal was that I get to ride the angel out of this host.” Cynthia sat back in her chair, her round face curiously serene, though Kelet glowed in her eyes. That’s why the demon never rode the reservation youth. Somehow, the real Cynthia had protected her people.
“That was your deal, Kelet,” he said.
The man made her want to cringe in abject fear. Tall and handsome, he looked like a gentleman to put one’s trust in. His clothing was impeccably designed, made of the finest fabrics on Earth. Of course, none of it had been made on Earth. His short brown hair was perfectly styled, and cheerful blue eyes twinkled in a smile.
Yet he was evil beyond measure. And he wasn’t a demon.
She closed her eyes on a vision, and in that vision his face
twisted in fury, a white-hot blade of steel in his hand.
Kokabiel’s scream of pain rose as they took his voice.
Rion. Rex. She held onto those two as her memories clamored in frenzy through her brain. Her lids drooped, and she slumped in her chair.
“Can’t you do something about her?” The angel’s voice was tense with annoyance.
Carly reached out and gently stroked her hair, easing the chaos in Noemi’s mind. A moment ago, she’d known the woman’s name, now it was gone.
The angel seemed only slightly pacified. “I have another plan for her now. Sorry, Kelet. Find another to ride. Just be glad she’s out of your hair.”
“This bitch killed my body!” Cynthia’s face was distorted by the demon’s fury.
“This angel had nothing to do with it. You called her from the ice, and her guardian locked you into her spot in the glacier. I wouldn’t have needed to drag the Sidhe into this if you’d not been so greedy.” He looked Cynthia over in contempt. “Besides, you fucked up royally. You had Anahita right under your nose all these years. And then you let the Sidhe and the angel slip through your fingers.”
Cynthia glowered, and the angel glared. Noemi sat up again, staring at the golden vision in front of her.
“Carly…”
The Sidhe’s blue eyes filled with tears, and she looked away. She’d done this out of jealousy. Obviously, her feelings for the men were greater than they realized.
“Carly, I thought to keep her for myself, but I don’t care for these dark looks. She used to be blonde and fair.” The man’s gaze raked Noemi from head to toe. “I want you to give her to Patrick.”
“Azrael… Not Patrick.” Why did she know that?
“That’s correct, Anahita.” His voice was smug. He turned back to Carly. “Azrael has been charged with hunting this one. He’s failed repeatedly. I believe it is time for our avenging angel to prove his loyalty. You will deliver her to him immediately.”
“No, that will destroy him…” Carly’s voice held an edge of panic. “You promised, Michael! You told me that if I helped you, Patrick would be safe.”
“I lied. Now, Carly dear, take Anahita to your precious portal, and deliver her to Patrick. He will know what to do with her. And if he doesn’t do it this time…”
“No.”
Carly’s blue eyes blazed with fury, and Noemi felt power rolling from the woman. Her vision hazed, and Noemi shook her head, trying to recover her scrambled thoughts.
“Your memory tricks don’t work on me, remember? Now, Carly, Cynthia has readied an entire flock of little demons all poised to flood your precious Other Place as soon as that portal opens again. They will bring more with them once they enter. So what will it be—your entire world, or one recalcitrant angel?”
Carly bit her plush lip, looking at Noemi with a measuring eye. “If he kills her, it will destroy his soul.”
“Aberrations like Patrick are without souls. Besides, you can simply make him forget.”
Noemi felt her head grow heavy with pain and fatigue. Anahita was a frantic presence in her mind, keeping her on the edge of blind panic. Anahita remembered… She remembered so much that Noemi simply didn’t understand.
Suddenly, the succubus struck out with her power—their power—and Michael went rigid in his chair, his breath coming fast. He bucked in a devastating climax, and he landed a vicious blow, knocking Noemi to the floor.
“Take her now!”
From her spot on the dirty floor, she could see a stain spreading down the front of his immaculate slacks. She gathered her power and struck again, and grinned as he roared, his body gone rigid. And once again his fist made contact with her face. Obviously, a forced climax could be a powerful weapon.
Carly dragged Noemi to her feet, pulling her bodily to the back door of the restaurant. Every inch of the way, Noemi watched the angel’s face and knew it hovered just on the edge of memory. Anahita hated that face.
“You will sleep, Michael. And when you sleep, I’ll find you!”
Anahita struck again and his back arched, and this time, even Cynthia felt her power. And why not? The demon was a male, even though he inhabited a female body.
A hand wrapped in her hair and Carly dragged her, half running as they rushed through the back door into a filthy alley. They’d run only a few steps when the Sidhe slammed her into a stucco wall—a wall that vanished as soon as she touched it.
Noemi stumbled and fell onto a damp floor, smelling mold and rotten vegetation. Rolling to her hands and knees, she watched as Carly uttered a brief incantation. The illuminated door was suddenly gone, nothing but a solid wall remained in its place.
“It’s sealed. No one shall enter or leave this gateway again.”
And the Sidhe collapsed on a rock, tears bright in her eyes. She covered her beautiful face and her shoulders hunched as she cried.
“I am sorry, Noemi. I am so very sorry.” She looked up at Noemi, and her grief was very real. “I’m sorry.”
She vanished, leaving Noemi alone in the dark.
Also available from Pride Publishing:
Bad Angels: Falling
Belinda McBride
Excerpt
Chapter One
Falling from Grace.
How does one describe the sensation? How does an angel process the horror of being cast out, thrown from the gates of Paradise to plummet through the heavens? How can a fragile body survive the horrific, bone-shattering cold, the agony of fire, burning and reaving the flesh from bone?
Kokabiel, the Star of God, was now a fallen star, blazing through the heavens, his soundless screams ripping through the fabric of the universe. Through the void of time and space, his cries echoed by the screams of others who were as unfortunate as he.
He did not know the nature of his crime, only that he’d been cruelly betrayed, abandoned by those he loved and trusted. He had been powerful in the celestial realm, but was now helpless here in the thin, frigid air of the blue planet below.
He hurtled and tumbled, his magnificent wings unable to gain purchase in the insubstantial atmosphere. He blazed with a glorious white light as he streaked through the sky. Again he screamed in agony of the body, anguish of the soul and deathly fear of his fate. Then he slammed into the Earth in an explosion of fire and steam and soil, his skin and flesh seared away, every bone in his body ground to powder.
* * * *
Kokabiel lay deep under the surface of the Earth, where he remained for hours and days and years until one morning he emerged, whole in body, but damaged and tainted in mind and soul. He burrowed his way through the mud and ice of the Earth’s crust, emerging from the rich black soil in an unwitting parody of birth.
Naked and filthy, he sprawled on the new spring grass, chest heaving, bewildered by the colors and shapes he saw, confused by sounds that filtered past the mud in his ears. Strange animals surrounded Kokabiel, ignoring him as they grazed in the field. Creatures wheeled through the sky overhead, borne on feathered wings, much like his…
He twisted, eyes wide in horror. They were gone. Burned away. Only charred stumps remained where his wings belonged. Panic gripped his heart and he lurched to unsteady feet, once again searching for the wings that he felt, yet were not to be seen. He opened his mouth to cry out, but only a coarse sound emerged from his throat, bursting past his mud-coated tongue.
Kokabiel started to flee in panic, but clumsy legs betrayed him, spilling him to the muddy ground where he lay panting, the crippling fear too much to fight.
“They’re still there, lad. The wings’ll grow back soon enough, now that you’re back in the light.”
Kokabiel rolled over and located the voice. He scrambled on his backside, trying to distance himself from the threat. The creature looked familiar—two legs, two arms, a good-natured face under a mop of dirt-brown curls that glistened with silver. He couldn’t understand the words the man spoke, but the meaning registered in his brain.
“Ah… It’s all right. Y
ou laddies are always near daft once you wake up. Don’t know if it’s the fall”—he glanced at the heavens, then looked down at the soil—”or if it’s the landing. Either way, you angels got it rough. Took you longer than most. You must have fallen farther.” He grinned, exposing a roguish smile. “I’m Reux. That means headache.” He chuckled at his own words. “Needless to say, I don’t use it often. You can call me Rex. That means king. Better name, if you ask me. Now, what do I call you?”
He moved a little closer, and Kokabiel eyed the creature nervously, for this was no human nor was it an angel. Rex looked like a man, but through eyes blurred with fatigue, Kokabiel saw something else entirely. Something manlike and charming. Something magical. Surely this was no demon?
Rex moved closer, squatting down on his haunches, resting his arms on his knees, long, slender hands hanging loose. His legs were clad in worn fabric breeches. A woven cloth shirt hung loose to his mid-thigh. Scuffed leather boots rose to his knees. The creature’s eyes were no color Kokabiel had ever seen, brown mixed with green and gold, harmonizing with his richly colored curls and warm brown skin. The forest green of his eyes echoed the rich green of his shirt.
An ornate amulet dangled from a worn leather cord around his neck. Magic resonated from the object.
“You’re a pretty one, aren’t you? That’s going to be a problem right quick. I’ll have to keep you hidden from the lassies till you’re on your feet. Can you tell me your name?”
Rex’s voice was mesmerizing, lyrical. Kokabiel felt his heart settle, his fear beginning to recede. Panic rose once more with the realization that knowledge was flooding into his brain. Colors had names. Words had meaning.
Kokabiel moved his lips experimentally, and a harsh sound came out. Before falling, his voice had been music, pure and crystalline. Now it was hoarse and husky. He’d lost his wings and now his voice. Tears stung his eyes.
“Koka—” He broke off, unable to bear the sound.
“Kokabiel?”
He nodded.
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