Flawed Angel (The Fall Book 1)

by J. J. Dean

  "Flower… you okay?" Eli asks, making to move closer to where I'm standing, breathing heavily.

  A pounding on the door sounds out from behind me, Noah calling through the thick wall that separates us, "Open the door, Luna. Let me explain. Please."

  Then Devon's voice is filtering through the door after Noah’s soft plea. "Cut the shit, Luna. Enough with the tantrum. Let us in."

  Like a damn suddenly breaking, I lose the last retrains on my temper, my eyes flaring the brightest they've ever flashed. My body is visibly shaking, and all rational thoughts has fled my brain. A ridiculous sense of betrayal and sadness have taken the driver's seat in my muddled brain and now leads me.

  "Peaches, calm down so you can tell us what's wrong," Asher soothes, his voice the tender, gentle voice he uses in my nightmare. It only fuels the anger and hurt.

  "I've never seen her eyes that bright, bro," I vaguely hear Eli whisper, but I'm too far gone to think straight.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I let loose every emotion that's overfilling my body, screaming out my feelings that have suddenly been unleashed. The noise that pours from my mouth is a stream of fury, helplessness, and pain. Stupidity for allowing Asher and Eli close knowing damn well they were here to lure me to Hell. Frustration at myself for thinking Noah was a good guy, but realizing he's been on the opposite end of the spectrum, sent on a mission with Devon to bring me back to Heaven. And worse, yet, the sense that I'd had something good, albeit under false pretenses, and it's been ripped from underneath me. Every single feeling pours out of me in an anguished scream, so powerful that my body hunches in on itself, my arms wrapping around my stomach as it all falls away from me.

  Was any of it real? Asher and Eli's kisses, the playful flirting and cuddles? Was Noah's smile when he saw me as fake? Am I really that stupid? Centuries and centuries, I've lived alone and never felt as big a fool as I do now.

  Suddenly, the noise of things smashing fills my eardrums through the screaming, the glasses in the cupboards breaking, anything made of glass shattering around me, mimicking the feelings inside me. My hair takes on a mind of its own, purple strands floating all around my head as though a gust of wind is blowing it all around me.

  With the last of my scream, my beautiful round window shatters to a million pieces, glass skittering in every direction, an actual gust of wind rushing through the now large hole in my apartment building.

  My scream cuts off abruptly and I'm hit with immediate exhaustion, a tiredness I feel all the way down to my very bones. My knees cave in, and my body slumps to the floor, my back hitting the door I'm still standing in front of. The blinding light from my eyes has vanished, and I spot Asher and Eli crouched on the floor, hands over their heads to cover themselves from the combusting shards of glass.

  Everything grows quiet; the only sound in the room is my rasped breaths, heaving for the air I'd just expelled.

  Slowly, ever so slowly, Asher unfurls himself from his position to stand fully before facing me with wide eyes and a look of worry, whether genuine or not, I have no idea. I've depleted every ounce of energy I had left in me with my outburst and can't bring myself to care. But that also means I don’t have the energy to stop the pools of tears in my eyes from spilling over and trailing sadly down my cheeks.

  Eli lifts himself from the floor, next. He faces me and walks towards where I sit slouching on the floor and warily asks, "Luna?"

  Using the last of my energy, I tilt my head to look at him and watch him flinch when I give him an empty look, one last tear streaking down my face, and croak through my abused esophagus, "Stay away from me."

  The last thing I see is a flash of hurt in Eli's face before the lights go out and I'm falling into the black abyss that is unconsciousness, welcoming the nothingness with open arms and a heavy heart.

  ***

  I wake up with a brain splitting headache, my body aching as though I put it through an intense workout routine after not exercising for five years. I groan in pain when the ache in my head makes opening my eyes incredibly difficult.

  I realize I'm lying on my front, so I go to turn over but a low, rumbling voice makes me stop in my tracks, "Stay where you are, peaches."

  I feel like I'm suddenly awake when the deep baritone of Asher’s voice causes a rush of goosebumps to break out over my skin. The more I wake up, the more of my surroundings finally make themselves known.

  I'm in the living room, lying on the couch with my upper body and head resting on something not as squishy as the cushions I should be sprawled over. Underneath me, is a set of wide, muscled thighs that I embarrassingly recognize as Asher. He's brushing his hand through my hair in soothing motions, massaging a particularly tender spot at the crown of my head. His other hand is resting low on my back, something my now very awake self gets caught up on, the pressure of his hand reassuring and the warmth seeping through my dress and into my skin has me perking to attention.

  "How're you feeling, Flower?" Eli asks, his face suddenly right in front of me. His eyes are wary, like he's talking to a wounded kitten and he's frightened of scaring it away.

  With that one look alone, everything comes rushing back to me: the betrayal, the anger, absolutely losing my shit and then... nothing. I've no idea what happened after I fell to the floor feeling completely drained. I do remember everything else, however, so I close my eyes to hide the frustrated tears welling up in my eyes.

  I'm not quick enough, it seems, when I feel his hand press into my cheek gently.

  "Let us explain, Luna," he whispers when he's close enough for me to hear him.

  My eyes open to see the pleading in his, and I cave, giving him a reluctant nod and whimper when another dull ache pounds in the confines of my skull. Slowly, I turn over on to my back, Asher helping me along so my head rests in his lap, his hand continuing his journey through my long waves.

  Another voice sounds out in the living room, and while my head is facing the ceiling, Noah's handsome face pops into my line of sight. He wears a cautious expression, his eyebrows pulled down into a troubled frown.

  "Hey, Luna. How's your head?" he asks gently, fidgeting with his hands.

  "It feels like I've had a one-man marching band playing the entire soundtrack to Grease repeatedly on max volume in my head for the last twenty four hours," my scratchy voice grumbles, still lacking the appropriate energy to be pissed at any of them, especially with the way Asher’s hands run through my hair. It's enough to send me back off to sleep.

  Eli, standing from where his ass had been perched on my coffee table, has me waking back up. Noah walks away and I can hear rummaging in the kitchen, cupboards opening and closing and water running from a tap.

  Noah's back in a flash holding two tablets in his hand while Eli holds out a glass of cool water, condensation dripping down the side. Where did he get an unbroken glass? Didn't I break every glass I owned?

  I clasp the glass in my hand and Asher gently lifts my pounding head to help me inhale half of the water. When my mouth doesn't feel as dry as the Sahara Desert, Noah hands over the tablets and I take them without question when I get a nod from Eli, as though I need his confirmation they're good to take. With the glass empty, I pass it over to whoever will take it and Asher lowers my head back down to his lap.

  "One of you start talking," I demand, closing my eyes against the light that isn't doing my headache any favors. It's silent in the room for a moment, the only sound is a clock ticking somewhere behind the couch.

  Noah goes first after a beat, and says, "I turned the mission down, Luna. I told you I wouldn't hurt you, and when I found out the reason for me being here, I refused. When you arrived at the library yesterday-"

  "Wait, yesterday? I've been out of it for that long?" my confused question cuts Noah off mid-sentence.

  "Yeah, peaches. Now shut up and listen," Asher commands with his gravelly voice that keeps doing annoyingly delicious things to my spent body. I’m still furious at each of them, but I can’t help snorting at hi
s command before quieting down to let Noah continue.

  "When you showed up, I was packing my things, getting ready to go home because they reassigned someone else to take over."

  My heart suddenly hurts at the thought of him leaving Earth. Leaving me. It's completely ridiculous because I've spent such little time with him but try telling the ache in my chest the same thing.

  "Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?" I ask in the most pitiful voice I've ever heard fall from my lips. I should be angry that he'd been here for a mission to get me to go back to Heaven, but I'm suddenly upset that he was going to leave. Seriously, there’s something wrong with me.

  "I would have found you to say goodbye, Luna. I wouldn't have just left with no explanation," he replies softly, a little hesitant at first when he realizes I'm not even pissed off at the situation I should be pissed off about. I look over at him and see the genuine honesty of his words, and for some reason, it makes me feel a little better. I give him a slow nod and watch his body visibly relax, hearing a swift exhale of air come from him.

  "Alright. I'll accept that," I tell him before I turn my face towards Eli and then Asher. "So, when were you guys going to tell me you were working for good ol' Satan?"

  Asher turns to stone underneath me and I watch realization dawn on his features. He looks down at me, observing my expressionless features, and asks slowly, "How long have you known?"

  I look away from him before he sees the hurt on my face, and mumble, "Your power told me you were working for Lucifer. I lied when I said I didn’t know how you hopped into my dream. Dream Jumping is one of the ten greatest gifts, you know. I didn't know for sure until you just confirmed it for me, though. Only makes sense that Noah and Devon work for Him while you and your brother sit at the opposite end of the table."

  My voice is detached and monotone, but it's as though the two brothers can still hear the pain in the words. Eli slides off the table to kneel in front of his brothers’ legs, cupping my face in his large hand and moving it so I'm facing him but I close my eyes before his stunning chocolate brown eyes connect with mine.

  "Flower, please look at me."

  I don't. I shake my head slowly and carefully, still intensely aware of the pain in my skull. I can still feel the simmering anger burning under my skin, and I know looking at that dimpled face will ruin all of the fury I’m harboring.

  "Well, fine. Be your usual stubborn self. That won't stop me," he responds ominously, causing my eyebrows to scrunch down in confusion.

  Before I can ask him what the hell he's talking about, however, I feel a light pressure on my mouth and quickly realize he's kissing me, and I immediately turn to mush.

  Asher

  Luna doesn't push Eli away. When he moves away from her, she follows. If the situation wasn't so serious, I'd find it funny.

  "Do I have your attention now?" he asks her with a small smirk. I feel her head move with a nod, and when she settles again, I resume stroking her hair. She’s still wearing a frown and her eyes still hold the same anger as before, but it looks like she has a better hold on it for now.

  Eli gives me a look and I take my cue to explain. "Yes, we were sent here by Lucifer. We knew who you were and where to find you." Luna's head turns to face me and I watch her as I speak. "We were sent to convince you to change your mind and side with Lucifer."

  I quickly understand why Eli is always telling me I need to work on my words. The more shit I seem to be spewing, the angrier Luna seems to be getting, ruining her progress to keep it contained.

  "What he's trying to say," Eli cuts off whatever else I was going to say that would have resulted in the opposite reaction we were hoping for, side eyeing me like he thinks I'm an idiot, "is that we realized we couldn't. Lucifer is a dick on the best of the days, so there's not a chance we were going to lead you right to him. Plus, we were both pretty quick to catch on to the fact that you'd string Lucifer up by his balls, and us next, if we actually attempted it. Not to mention we like you, and like being here, so we weren’t going to risk blowing that. I mean, I still have cookies to bake you."

  He cracks a smile in her direction, which causes her lips to twitch with a restrained smile.

  I carry on where Eli left off. "You've probably already heard there's a war brewing, peaches. We were sent to convince you to choose the side of Hell. Lucifer needs you and he needs you desperately, enough that he asked Eli and me to do what we can to convince you. I've no idea why he needs you, but I don't like it."

  "I can probably answer that," the dick with the white hair pipes up from where he's been standing by the front door like a silent guard.

  I feel Luna's entire body tense and she moves her head to see where the voice came from, straining her neck to get a good view. Sure enough, when she spots the Angel, a string of choice words stream from her lips before she settles back down on my lap, the barely contained anger flashing across her features.

  "Who the fuck let the asshole in?"

  Eli has the good grace to look chagrined, shooting an apologetic smile to Luna before sheepishly confessing, "They kept knocking, so I gave up pretending we weren't home after you smashed the place up and let them in."

  "Great. Fantastic. Also, what happened to the glass? I'm pretty sure I blew any glass in the vicinity to smithereens." Luna slowly turns her head to look around the now pristine looking room.

  "Uh, that was me," the other Angel, Noah, comments. "Every piece of glass that was broken I recreated and replaced. Creation Magic, and all that,” he says, pointing a thumb at himself. “If there's anything I missed, just, uh, let me know and I'll... I'll make some more."

  Luna's chest rises visibly with a deep inhale and lowers quickly when she blows the air back out. I'm only distracted for a few minutes before I snap out of my careful watch of her chest, shaking my head for feeling like an ass for checking her out when I should be doing anything but.

  "Are we just going to forget about the conversation that was in motion or are you all going to continue fawning all over the princess lying in your lap?" the white haired Angel, Devon, gripes. I don't much care for his tone, and my hand clenches next to Luna's thigh. Ever perceptive, Luna catches the motion, and picks my hand up in hers, dropping it on her flat stomach. She doesn't let go so I leave it there, flattening my large hand out with hers resting on top. Her face doesn’t change from the frown she’s wearing, still seeming to be mad, but my chest does something funny with the action.

  "Are you going to keep standing there or are you going to bless us all with your absence?" Luna retorts, her voice still a little hoarse from yesterday's events. Eli snickers under his breath, shaking his head before looking down at the floor.

  "Like it or not, Princess, we've suddenly found ourselves on the same side. Or as much of the same side as possible, given your circumstances. Unfortunately, that means I have to put up with this shit until it's resolved, so if we could get back on topic, that would great," the dick says snidely.

  Luna pats my hand absently and then gives me a subtle shake of her head, and when I spot the faintest smirk, one that doesn’t look overly friendly, I relax in my chair immediately. That look is the same look she had yesterday morning when Eli had the surprise of his life; the gift of the bluest of balls. I had to listen to the fucker gripe about it for an hour straight before he realized I didn't give a shit.

  "I like the fawning. I'm officially declaring this a free-for-all fawn zone, so if you don't like it, get the fuck out of my apartment," the little spitfire volleys back.

  "I can't, or else I would have already. Have you already forgotten the attack that had Noah, you and I in danger not even twenty-four hours ago?" he questions, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

  "What attack?" she deadpans, a picture of innocence on the surface, minus the little gleam in her eye that tells me she's enjoying herself a little too much.

  I cut into the verbal sparring match, deciding that I want to know what this jackass knows about w
hy Lucifer needs Luna, considering he came from Heaven and shouldn't know shit about what happens down below. "What do you know about Lucifer and why he wants Luna?"

  Devon turns his attention to me and pauses before seeming to decide he's better telling me what I need to know. "Like you said, we're on the verge of war. Heaven against Hell. There's only one thing stopping the scales from tilting to favor one side or the other, and she's lying in your lap being pampered when we should be working out what the fuck we're doing here."

  I ignore his smart mouth and focus on what he said about Luna. "What do you mean, Luna is the thing to tilt the scale?"

  "Luna isn't the only one who has a knack for research. There was an Angel blessed with two of the strongest powers He'd ever gifted. Eight more gifts were given in rapid succession, all powerful, but no more than the first Angel's. No one knows what happened to that Angel... or they didn't. The moment I heard Luna sing, I knew who she was and what Lucifer wanted with her. She has the power of Divine Melody, meaning she can create emotions and sensations in anyone when she infuses her singing, humming, instruments, whatever form of music she chooses, with her power. With just a couple of lyrics, she can make someone feel on top of the world, or on the brink of despair. Imagine that power, to be able to influence the emotions of others with nothing but your voice."

  Devon looks at each of us with a grave look on his face before settling his gaze on Luna. She slowly sits up from my lap with the help of Noah behind her. The asshole moves from the door and stands behind the coffee table, still staring intently at Luna.

  "But that's not the only gift she has. The second gift she has is the one he wants most. Divine Touch."

  Luna goes impossibly still next to me. I look over to her and see her hands gripping the cushions of the couch tightly in her small fists. She's staring at Devon with wide eyes, her gaze never leaving his.