Fall into Darkness

by Skyler Andra

  “You’ll see I have nothing to do with this shipment,” Luc argued as she hauled him toward the vehicle. “I’ll have your badge for this.”

  Officer Pittman shoved him in the back. “If I had a dollar for every time I heard that.”

  She had balls. I’d give her that. Probably more than I did right now.

  Pain clawed down the insides of my skull as an angelic transmission—a dark one—thudded through it.

  I’ll see to it you pay for this. Luc’s voice.

  I glared at him. No, I replied, hissing, touching the sides of my aching head. We’ll see to it that you pay for it.

  Get in my way again, Luc snarled, and I will destroy this city by setting off one the bombs planted across Sterling City. In fact, once I call my lawyer, I might let one off to teach you a lesson.

  Fuck. This was a whole new low for Luc. For centuries his modus operandi had been manipulating others to the path of darkness by infecting those that resisted, turning human against human. It meant shrouding the world in a blanket of his filth to the point that it lost all hope, thereby forcing the Most High to send Archangels to resolve the problem. It would drain our powers slowly by forcing us onto side missions and drawing our focus away from the prize. Him.

  Bombs didn’t seem his style at all. I hoped he was bluffing. My insides curdled at the thought of innocents dying.

  Something new raged in his putrid grace. Fear. Desperation. Dread.

  Hah, would you look at that.

  I made an educated guess that Jophiel’s grace had changed him for the worse. He used to mock us, bragging about how he’d infected us with darkness, weaken the angels, and how his superiority grew across the planet. Not anymore. Now he faced a real threat—someone who could change the course of this long and arduous war. Someone who brought us all back together. Someone that made us see the light, renewed our strength and vision, slowly cleansing us of darkness. All this must have forced Luc to reevaluate his strategy and set up backup plans. Threats to prompt us to back off. Pretty dirty. But he didn’t fight fair. Never had. I couldn’t take the risk though, even if he was bluffing. No more retreating. This was a sign we were winning, and he was running scared.

  “Fucking asshole,” Zak growled, fighting me again, but losing out to coughing fits.

  While the cops were distracted, and the firemen busy assessing the truck, I yanked at Zak to get going.

  “Wait, sir,” the paramedic called.

  You’ve got to be kidding buddy.

  I lifted an arm and ejected a burst of grace that set fire to the truck.

  Alarmed, Luc’s employees screamed, and the firefighters dragged them back.

  Using the distraction to sneak away, I released more grace and teleported us back to our bikes.

  Zak slumped against me.

  “I don’t feel so good.”

  “I’ll get you back to Uri’s apartment,” I promised.

  “No.” Zak put a hand on my shoulder. “I need a fucking drink.”

  He didn’t look good. His skin pale and purple and there were circles forming beneath his eyes. A sheen of sweat glazed his pale forehead.

  “Is that wise?” I asked. “You’re not well.”

  “I’m on edge,” he countered, glancing across at the minimart across the street. “I just need to calm down, alright.”

  All I wanted was to get back to Uri’s apartment, get Zak in a detox bath, and hash out our next move. The cops weren’t going to keep Luc locked up for too long. A man like him, with all his wealth behind him, would be out by tomorrow at the latest.

  “You need The Dragon’s medicine,” I argued, stalking off to buy him some something stronger than paracetamol. “Not alcohol.”

  “Screw the herbs,” Zak growled. “Coronas numb the pain better.”

  When I returned, three packs of painkillers in a paper bag, Zak was gone.

  “Fuck,” I muttered, shaking my head as I marched into the minimart.

  I was getting a bit sick of picking up the pieces when Zak did nothing to help himself. It was like he’d given up on everything. Like he wanted to die and end his misery.

  Inside, I found him at the counter with a six pack of Coronas.

  A pair of dark eyes sized him up before soaking in every muscle and hair on my head.

  “Twelve dollars,” the young woman at the counter said, ringing up the price. A college student, by the look of her. She stroked her long blond hair and puckered her glossed lips at him.

  I waited to see if he fell for it and thought with his dick like usual.

  “Thanks,” Zak said, not even looking at her when he jerked a note from his wallet to pay for the beer.

  Her eyes flashed with desire. “You heading to a party or something?” she asked a little too eagerly as she handed him his change. “I get off in five. Maybe I could come.”

  Pretty thing. Big lashes. Way too much makeup for my liking. Didn’t hold a candle to Jophiel. But still, Zak would fuck anything with nice legs and a good rack.

  Zak glanced over at her and sneered. Luc must have gotten him good for him to turn down a fuck. Didn’t blame him though. I felt pretty rotten after the encounter. Being in the vicinity of the prick always left us feeling shitty.

  Either that or Jojo had changed him. While I didn’t like the idea of them getting any more comfortable than they were with each other, I’d be happy if his condition improved.

  She grabbed a pen, wrote her cell phone number on a piece of paper, and slid it across the counter with a smile. “Call me if you wanna party.”

  “No thanks, darling.” Zak stumbled out of the minimart leaving her huffing and looking dejected.

  The times were definitely changing if Zak passed up an opportunity to party with a pretty lady. He’d tortured himself too long over losing Ariel.

  Outside, he leaned against the wall and snapped a beer off the plastic rings.

  I squinted up at the lone ray of sunlight peeking through the broken cloud formation, enjoying the warmth I missed for so long. A cool breeze fluttered through my hair as I leaned against the concrete wall beside him.

  Zak handed me a beer.

  “Not your type?” I asked curiously, accepting the beer. I turned it over in my hand, but didn’t drink it.

  “Nah.” He pulled the clasp and took a sip. “Turning over a new leaf, man.”

  I laughed and hooked an arm over his shoulder. With every fiber of my being I wanted him to find his way out of this slump. We might fight like a married couple, but I loved the guy. He was my closest friend, my brother, my ally; and I’d do anything to save him. Anything. That included ripping the beers from his hand and using them as bait to draw him back to the bike.

  “You can have these after you’ve detoxed.”

  21

  Jophiel

  Warm water sluiced down my skin, chasing away the cold that had settled in my bones. I welcomed the warmth of not only the shower, but of Uri beside me, his hands sliding along my shoulders and down the outside of my arms. Together we cleansed ourselves of the remnants of our love making.

  I didn’t know what to expect after Uri and I made love. The experience was incredible, beautiful, and I’d left the park satisfied in every way possible. I didn’t care that we were both soaked and shivering from the cold. My mind drifted, remembering how he’d given me three mind-blowing orgasms.

  All three angels simply weren’t capable of bad sex. Or maybe because they were the only men I had been with, I had a very small pool to compare them to.

  Pulling me tight to his chest, Uri leaned down to kiss me. The way he did me was different than before. Urgent. Not in the way where he needed sex, but in the grave way of a man drowning.

  I ached for him. My grace exploded with his pain. The archangels had been on Earth for years. They had been strong in dealing with their mission, but it had taken its toll on them despite this. And why wouldn’t it? It was understandable that they weren’t unscathed by the years they were lost and alone in a
world where darkness prevailed.

  His urgent kisses shifted from turbulent waters into calm and stable seas as if he perceived me to be a buoy that would keep him bobbing above the darkness.

  I wanted to be that safety for him—the person that could save him for just a little while. More than anything I wished that we would get out of here sooner rather than later. Life on this plane of energy, this planet, confused me. It left me feeling guilty of succumbing to humanity over staying divine. But the others had a lot more they were battling with.

  Moaning, I melted into his deep kiss, our bodies molding against each other, clinging onto that spark of divinity within. Things might have progressed beyond arousal if we kept going, but Uri pulled away and pressed his lips to my forehead.

  “You’re a light in this dark world,” he whispered, clutching the back of my neck. “Don’t lose that.”

  I didn’t intend to. Every part of me wanted to cling to his illumination as well.

  I thought about my relationship with each angel. Mike held me steady with his unwavering determination and strength. Uri kept me from drowning in the darkness. And Zak encouraged me to be myself and not care what others thought. But he was like a double-edged sword; one moment fun, flirty, and protective with a slice of attentiveness. When he unleashed his pain, however, he could be cruel and hurtful. I needed the other two to balance that and keep me from falling victim to the same darkness that infected me.

  With a smile tainted by a drop of sadness, Uri pumped body wash onto his hands and cleaned me. I groaned from each glide of his warm hands over my skin. In my mind, I hadn’t quite returned to Earth since our encounter atop the vehicle’s hood. I still soared above the clouds, beyond the dark blanket over the world with the untainted air and gorgeous sunlight. I blamed it on the sensuality of his touch, which kept me floating as I leaned my head back, letting the water splash over me, his heat reigniting me.

  “Warmed up yet?” he asked with a smile that stole my breath.

  “Yes and no.” I missed sharing his inner heat, his passion, and the fire of his grace. I wanted more. So much more. “I’d like to do what we did on the car again.”

  He groaned and pressed up against me, an erection growing. “I want that too. But I also want to enjoy this first.”

  We finished showering and got out to towel dry our bodies.

  When we were done, Uri clasped my face and lifted it to meet his gaze. “I don’t want this world or darkness to destroy you. You understand?”

  I nodded, scrunching my hair with the towel to soak up the water. “All my attraction for you, Mike, and Zak feels right. But there are so many human emotions I’m dealing with, and I don’t always know if this is the right path for an angel on a mission to be caught up in.”

  He nodded and threaded his towel over a silver railing. “Fuck what’s right and wrong. Think about what is right for you.”

  I recoiled at his harsh words, but my hands found his chest, running across his shoulders, his arms.

  “Fuck, you make it hard for me not to want to take you again on the bathroom counter,” he growled, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me close.

  “Stop it.” I lightly shoved his chest to make him snap out of his lusty thoughts.

  He chuckled deeply as he slipped his underwear on and it resonated under my breastbone.

  I tipped my head and looked at his brown eyes growing suddenly serious, his light pink lips perfect.

  “Do you think we’ll find Raff?” I asked, sliding my own underwear on.

  Uri threw on a new shirt, this one titled, ‘sex god at work’. I could only disagree with the god part.

  “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” he retorted, running a finger along my neck, making the hairs spring to attention.

  Lust coiled in my stomach, pooling in my nether regions.

  “I hope so. He’s the fifth piece of our puzzle. We need all of us together again to end this all.”

  He kissed the tip of my nose lightly and a flutter chased across my chest.

  “Otherwise we’re going to be stuck in some shitty limbo where we’d fight hard and win, but it would never be enough,” he added, putting on his pants. “And if I have to be honest, that’s a hell of a lot worse than what we have had until now.”

  I didn’t like that outcome at all. It made my hope drain away. But I caught the last of it and held on tight. I couldn’t afford to let the darkness get to me. Then it would win.

  Shaken, I pondered his words for a moment as I finished dressing. When the archangels were split apart by Lucifer, they were weakened without enough power to win, and that meant they couldn’t make a difference. Such was the power of his darkness convincing them of that illusion. But to be so close to victory that we could almost taste it—to practically feel the warmth of the promise of going home in our skins—to potentially lose it was a new punishment that none of us were willing to bear.

  I turned my thoughts to Mike and Zak, and their errand to find Raphael. After our success today, I hoped they would bring good news with them.

  “It doesn’t matter what happens,” Uri said, his voice a rope that lifted me out of the despair. “We found each other, and we’ll stick together this time even if we don’t find Raff right away. We’ll figure it out.”

  I admired his optimism in these dark times.

  Fully clothed, he traced the length of my jaw. The way he gazed at me tugged at something deep inside. I wanted him to kiss me like I needed air to breath. To share our passion from in the park. To mingle our graces together and feed off his strength and resolute optimism and tenacity.

  “You hungry?” At his question, all my desire blew away like a leaf in the wind. “Want me to make you something? A meal? A coffee?”

  Yes—anything warm to chase away the chill that had settled in the pit of my stomach. That niggling fear that we might have already lost Raphael. Well, if he was, then there was no point dwelling on it if I couldn’t change things.

  “Please,” I replied.

  He lifted me to his chest, securing me with an arm around my back, and carried me out of the bathroom. I locked my legs around his hips.

  His hand brushed through my hair and I closed my eyes, my lips lightly touching the skin of his neck. His heartbeat sped up, the vein pulsing against my mouth. Heat from his breaths grazed my ear. So close. So warm. So tempting. In his arms I felt so safe. Like nothing could reach me. I sunk into his embrace, my body curving into his to perfectly fit against his sculpted flawlessness.

  His tender lips trailed across my cheek, burning my skin. The small amount of stubble on his chin grazed my flesh and I sighed, tilting my head to let his inviting warmth trail across my earlobes and down my neck. Each scorching stroke of his lips left me melting.

  Everything about him was pure perfection. The glinting ache in his beautiful brown eyes. The precision of his jaw. The slight curl in his sandy hair. His long, steady frame and arms holding me so close.

  He leaned in and kissed me. Tender. Sweet. Fiery. The tension between us grew into a heightened arousal. Heat gathered below in my core in a familiar tug of desire. His eyes hooded with need when he pulled back for a moment. My body raged out of control, and if we didn’t kiss again I’d explode into my pure angelic form. Passion thrust aside the fear in my grace, as it did in his.

  Aching for him more powerfully than I had before, I tightened my arms around his neck. When he kissed me this time it was different. Deeper, demanding, and urgent. This time we both desired rescuing by each other.

  “I need you,” he croaked. “Now.”

  When our lips next met, his erection formed in his pants. Hard, eager. My body reacted to the feel of his tongue in my mouth and the promise of what was to come, causing my muscles to clench again.

  This wasn’t only about our physical needs; it was about what our souls needed too. We were in a dream world. Stuck in it together, we escaped from Earth and all its ugliness, darkness, and violence.


  Uri’s hands moved down my neck. He thumbed my collarbone with one hand, the other moving further down to cup my breast. I gasped, a thrill traveling through me. My nipples strained through the fabric of my bra as he worked them. No matter how close we were emotionally, the way he touched me reminded me how carnal I could be.

  His hands drifted south, rubbing, grabbing my behind, and I moaned into his mouth. He was in charge, calling the shots.

  His hands slid lower, fingers finding the hem of my blouse before pulling it up. I lifted my arms so he could yank it over my head and drop it on the floor next to the sofa. When he removed my bra, we were tangled together, our bodies inseparable.

  Uri placed a chaste peck on my lips before he leaned back and slid his eyes down my body, stopping on my breasts. His chest rose and fell in time to his labored breathing.

  I mimicked his earlier action and pulled up his shirt, removing it, so that my skin could press against his without anything between us. I spread my hands against his bare chest, quickly becoming addicted to the feeling of my bare skin on that of another.

  “Your breasts are fantastic,” he breathed, and my stomach tightened, my heart singing to the compliment. I smiled as he reached for them, one hand on each, massaging.

  He then sucked on my lower lip, scraping it gently with his teeth. I breathed in his smell. Something I hadn’t been able to identify last time because of the rain and stench of the city. Earthy and warm, like cinnamon, but masculine like sandalwood, and with a hint of rosemary.

  “No,” he rasped. “Not here.”

  I didn’t protest as he carried me to the table, setting me on the edge.

  “Wait there,” he ordered while walking backwards, grinning as he entered the kitchen.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, letting my disappointment show. I didn’t want to wait. My body was bursting at the seams to have him.

  I watched as he removed a plate from the cupboard, a fork from the drawer, and left-over roast vegetables from the fridge.

  “Hungry?” I asked, my voice husky with arousal.

  “No,” he replied, smiling in a way that told me he had something planned. He peeled back the foil on the plate of vegetables to reveal carrots and pumpkin. Well if he wasn’t hungry, what did he plan to do with the food?