Michael added. “They’re not angels, but the council still controls them. If they need to have a threat eliminated that the justice angels or the angel warriors cannot handle, they call on the Powers. The Powers exist only to destroy, they have no other redeeming quality. They make demon assassins look like puppy dogs.”
Uriel moved closer to Bear and Tiffany in a protective gesture. “If the council is getting ready to call them, then we’re even closer to war than we thought before.”
Cam shot Bear a worried look. He took a deep breath and said, “Bear, we have to find some place to hide you. I agree with Ana, I don’t want you to get sucked up in this whole mess.”
Bear shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Cam gave him a demon like snarl. “Damn it, Bear, this is not the time to play macho. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“You need to stop thinking like a brother and start thinking like a leader. From the sounds of it, I don’t have any more of a say in all of this than you, Rachael, Appolion or Abdiel.”
“Fine, then. As your leader I forbid you to take have anything to do with the Order.”
Bear shook his head again. “We both know it doesn’t work that way. I’m a warrior, just as much as you are. You know if I were to go off and hide, it would not only dishonor me, but would dishonor our family. I won’t do that, I don’t care what you say.”
Appolion couldn’t help but admire the kid, but he knew it was going to break Ana’s heart. Cam cursed loudly before he slammed his way out of the room. Rachael hesitated a second before she ran out after him. She would go and try and talk him through this. Appolion left the room, too, because he knew Ana needed him. He found her in the bedroom. She was sitting at the vanity pulling her hair back in a tight bun. Her face was cold, her lips tightly pressed together and she was holding her head at a haughty angle. In short, she was putting up her emotional shields.
Her voice was tight when she finally spoke, “Let me guess how it went after I left. Cam wanted Bear to hide and Bear refused.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much how things happened.”
She picked up a pin and jabbed it in her hair. “Fine, then I’ll just tell Bear he has to do it. He always listens to me.”
Appolion put his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t think that’s going to work this time, hon. Bear is not a child anymore. He is a full grown warrior. This is a matter of pride for him.”
She shrugged his hands away. “Well, he will just have to get over it. I’m so sick of warriors and their damned pride. It’s the root cause for all of my family’s problems. Cam just had to go help another angel and that led to his capture. My parents just had to go on that final mission and they were mentally destroyed. No more, I won’t let it bring Bear down, too.”
“You can’t run away from who you are,” he said gently. “You taught me that.”
“This is different. You’re strong and Bear is just a kid.”
“Not anymore he’s not.”
She snapped her head around, her blue eyes burning with anger. “I said, no!”
The mirror on the vanity suddenly shattered, the jagged shards catching the light and rebounding it a various angels. He gave a slight shake of his head. He never knew Ana could do that and he didn’t think she knew it either. Her knuckles went white as she clenched her hands together. That was the only indication she gave of surprise.
She stood and tried to leave the room. He grabbed her on either side of the arms and forced her look at him. “You are just like me and we both know it. While I hid behind alias and different lives, you hid behind a cold mask. You told yourself it was for your brothers and your duties of being a justice angel, but you and I know better. You did it so you wouldn’t have to feel.”
She struggled against his hold.
He refused to let her go. “You don’t know anything about who I really am.” He gave her a slight shake and it made her hair come loose and tumble down her back. “I know everything about you, Ana. Damn it, female, I love you and I’m not going to let you draw away from me like you did with everyone else in the past.”
She started to fight like a hellcat.
She pounded on his chest with her tiny fists as she finally gave in to her tears. He let her go because he knew she needed a good cry. After several minutes, she sagged against his chest and, this time, she let him pull her into his arms. “We will all do everything we can to protect Bear,” he promised as he rubbed her back. Her entire body shook and he held her even tighter wishing he was an empath just so he could take some of her worries away.
Her voice quavered, “I don’t think it’s going to be enough. Your heard what that oracle said. My family is in for hard times.”
“And I will be with you no matter what they are.” He kissed her eyelids. “Even when you get all cold and mean with me.”
Someone rapped on their door. Appolion gave Ana one last kiss before he went to answer it. Cam and Abdiel were on the other side and the expression on their faces was far from pleasant. “Sorry, kids, we already bought our Girl Scout Cookies,” he teased to lighten the mood. It didn’t work, if anything Cam and Abdiel looked even more grim. Appolion almost asked them if they had a puppy die on them, but decided that would be a comment best kept to one’s self.
“Don’t freak out,” Cam started.
Okay, him just saying that freaked him out alone. Appolion franticly tried to think of something snappy to say back and failed miserably. All that came out was a lame, “What?”
Cam came in the room and immediately started to pace. “I have a demon friend named Mangus.”
Appolion shrugged. “Why would the fact you have a demon buddy freak me out? I’m tight with several demons. Not all of them are bad.”
Cam stopped pacing and gave him an annoyed look. “Don’t be a smartass. What I’m trying to tell you is that Mangus just called me. He owns a neutral bar in Detroit and a demon called him and wanted to set up a meeting with you, Rachael and Abdiel.”
“Who would want to talk to us?”
Abdiel answered, “It’s our mother. She wants to talk to the three of us.”
That was the last thing that Appolion expected to hear. He always thought their mother didn’t give a Yankee Dime about any one of them. “You told her to fuck off right?”
“I was about ready to, but then she said she could help us find our father.”
Appolion gave a short harsh laugh. “That shouldn’t be too hard for her to do, they live together.
Abdiel shook his head. “She was exiled a couple of years ago.”
“For what?”
Abdiel’s dark eyes grabbed his and locked. “Dad found out she was the one that helped you leave Hell.”
“What do you mean? I was exiled.”
Abdiel shook his head. “No, Mom just told you that. The truth is, she sneaked behind our father’s back and released you.”
“Is this some sick joke?” Appolion was relieved when Ana came up and took his hand. He needed her support more than anything right then.
Abdiel took a deep breath. “Appolion, the only reason you ever got out of Hell was because Mom risked everything to let you go.”
About the Author
Stephani Hecht is a happily married mother of two. You can usually find her snuggled up to her laptop, creating her next book.
Rogue Angel Page 18
