Envy's Kindness (Seven Deadly Sins Book 2)

by R. A. Pollard

  Sera pressed herself against him, feeling wanton and sexy right then. The scent of his envy was a sinful temptation she didn’t want to ignore. She pressed her lips to his throat, his groan washing over her. She felt his hands move to her ass, pulling her against him. He was already rock hard. She guessed it didn’t take him long, considering the poor man had been cock teased by her twice now.

  “So, what would have happened if Abbadon had shown up instead of me?” His low rumble brought a smile to her lips. Sera stood on tiptoes, licking his throat. The tantalizing taste and unique, indescribable hint of jealousy oozing from him egged her on.

  Sera laughed softly, her lips against his throat. “I wouldn’t have missed the second shot if it had been anyone else.”

  He purred at the comment, fingers sinking into her hair. His mouth found hers, and he claimed her lips, devouring her. She melted against him, running her nails from his ribs to his waist, his moan of approval quickly reminding her they had a bed in this RV. Apparently, sex-drugged brains think alike, because his hands slid down to her ass, lifting her. She could feel him hard as a rock behind his jeans, and she gasped and tightened her legs around him. That enticed him to kiss her with increased desperation, his tongue sweeping deep, sending pulsing heat right to her clit.

  The distant sound of a truck pulling up barely registered, he had so captivated her. There was a knock at the RV door once, then twice, much louder.

  “You pair decent in there?” Phillip’s voice boomed. It might as well have been her father judging by how quickly she blanched and pulled her lips from the demon’s.

  From the almost feral growl uttered by Ze, he was tired of getting interrupted. Okay, his ‘are you kidding me?’ expression was a little funny. But she did feel bad for him. He dropped his head to her shoulder, kneading her ass with his hands.

  “When this is over, Pixie, I swear to every god alive that I’m going to steal you away to some island for at least…three months. Best make it four.” Sera laughed, unable to keep the smile from her face as he let her slide to the floor. He adjusted himself while Sera went to the door, opening it for Phillip.

  “Ah, so I didn’t disturb anything then?” Phillip smiled up at her. Sera pressed her hand to her flaming face. Why did he always have to be the one catching her in the act with Ze? Did he have a sixth sense or something?

  “Yes, you did, you old goat. Get in here already!” Ze shouted.

  Shocked at Ze’s tone, Sera moved out of the way as Phillip stepped up into the RV. She thought for a moment he might be insulted, but apparently, it was quite the opposite—he didn’t seem to care. He even had a small smile on his lips.

  Phillip shook his head. “You, kid, are due an ass whooping. That father of yours neglected his duty.” Sera had never heard Phillip talk like this before. It disturbed her to hear the pair of them acting like they had known each other for years.

  “I’ll be sure to tell him that, Gramps. You got that blanket or what?” She narrowed her eyes at Ze. She had never told Phillip about her gift, never even let on about it. Had Ze just come out and told Phillip about it? No, he wouldn’t have betrayed her like that, would he?

  This was going to stop now. She shoved her way between the two males, hands on hips, glaring. She was getting to the bottom of this; something was off. Phillip was not acting like the man she had known for the last two years. Come to think of it, he seemed to have lost his usual aches and pains, his eyes and skin brighter. Even his short beard was whiter than it had been before. Not to mention that he’d brought the blanket from the crime scene to Ze when no more than twenty-four hours ago he had been holding a shotgun up to Ze’s chest.

  “All right, one of you had better explain what’s going on or I’m kicking you both out. Ze, Phillip?” Sera studied the two men who were pretty much the most important people in her life.

  The demon shrugged and turned his gaze to Phillip. “I’m done lying for you, old man. I won’t do it anymore. Not to her. Never again.” Ze flopped down on the RV’s couch, his eyes remaining fixed on Phillip. Sera frowned at Ze. He’d been lying to her? For Phillip? What did Phillip have to hide? Phillip heaved a resigned sigh and placed the plastic-enclosed blanket on the table.

  “Phillip, why did you make him lie for you?” She would have words with Ze later about being untruthful. The most pressing matter right now, she needed to know why Phillip felt it necessary to lie in the first place.

  The old man turned to her, his blue eyes pinning her in place. She felt the power within them. “Sera, there’s no easy way to tell you this, my dear. I’m not Phillip Dunham. Well, I am, but I’m not only Phillip Dunham.”

  Sera stared at him, gesturing for him to go on. “Seriously, this can’t be any crazier than what’s happened to me in the last twenty-four-hours”

  Ze snorted from the corner, and she fixed him with a droll stare. He lifted his hands in surrender as Phillip continued.

  Phillip cleared his throat. “I know that you’re a Seer, Sera Holt. I know that he…” the old man pointed at Ze, “is a demon, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Envy, to be precise. I know you’re being hunted by Michael and his lap dogs. Envy told me. I knew before he arrived that you possessed a gift, possibly Hindsight, though I wasn’t sure. The reason I know these things is because I am Odin, All-Father.”

  Sera blinked. “Who?” The old man appeared ready to cry. He gazed at the ceiling. Ze tried and failed to hold back his burst of laughter. He reached out and touched her hand bringing her gaze to his.

  “Did you see the movie, Thor?” Ze’s broad smile and the quiet uttered curse word from Phillip just confused her more.

  “With Chris Hemsworth? Sure, I did.” Sera glanced at Phillip, who groaned as if he were in physical pain. She then turned to Ze, the fool was still grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, he was enjoying this far too much.

  “Well, he is the god Anthony Hopkins played. Odin.”

  Sera wasn’t convinced. “Seriously? He is the great god Odin from Asgard, and he lives in a small backwater nowhere town in Iowa? Bullshit.”

  “Well my father is Hades, and he lives in Alaska, so yeah.” Sera glared at him, then turned her ire on the god who literally looked like he was about to break into a sobbing fit.

  “Okay, ‘Odin,’ if you are who you say you are, how come you never told me? Not even a hint? Can’t you just wave your hands and bring the kids back? How about my house? You can rebuild it, right?” Panic started to settle in a little. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hold herself together.

  “It doesn’t work that way, Sera. I’m basically as mortal as you are these days. All my power is gone, used up over the centuries I have lived as a human. As soon as gods lose their worshippers, they begin to fade. Mine is just slower. Every time someone makes a film about me, even a bad one, I get a small energy boost, but I’m no longer the All-Father. I don’t have a glittering hall in the realm of Valhalla any longer. I’m sorry I kept it from you, but we have more pressing matters than my not telling you I’m an out-of-work god who has to claim a social security check.”

  Even though Sera felt regret over her words, she was still pissed as hell at him, but she understood. How would she have reacted if he had told her even seventy-two hours ago that he was the god Odin? She would have thought him senile and just accepted that he believed it. No way she would have believed it herself. Now everything had changed. She was falling hard for a demon, an angel had almost killed her, and she was one of seven legendary women destined to save the world. It kind of put her life into perspective. Phillip—no Odin—keeping the fact he was a god from her hardly ranked high on her list of impossible things anymore.

  “In the interest of disclosure, then, I did have the gift of Hindsight. When the angel was killed last night, my gift passed to Ze, and his to me.”

  Odin frowned and opened his mouth, no doubt to tell them that such was impossible.

  “We know—impossible, right?” Ze sighed. “So we’ve been to
ld. But here we are all Freaky Friday with her powers.”

  Odin glared at the demon, then turned to Sera and placed his hands on her arms. “One problem at a time, my dear. First, let’s see if we can find these kids. If Michael took them, as I suspect, then he is keeping them somewhere close. As for your powers, we’ll figure it out.”

  Odin reached for the bag and opened it. Ze leaned forward as Odin slid on a nitrile glove and removed the little pink blanket. He placed it on top of the evidence bag and waited.

  Sera chewed on her lip. Watching this all from the outside was surreal. She could see the emotions playing out over Ze’s face. He stared at the blanket like it was going to bite him, and guilt burned her stomach. He shouldn’t be the one doing this. This was her power, for all the pain that came with it. It was her burden to bear. His eyes met hers, then without a second of hesitation, he reached out and closed his fist around the blanket. His body went taut as if he had been struck by lightning, pain etched on his face.

  Sera reached for him, covering his hand that held the blanket with her own. She wanted to help him get through this, no one should have to face that hell alone. A sudden shock rushed through her body. Her back arched, then her mind pulled away from her body as she was yanked into the vision along with him.

  Years of experiencing this backwash of memories allowed her to float through it. She easily found Ze where he knelt, covering his head. The visions rushed around them like a million TV screens all going at once. Sera could feel the pain crashing over him like a wave. Her fingers sank into his silver hair as his body shook almost uncontrollably. Slowly he lifted his head and she met his eye, they swirled in pain.

  “How are you here?” Pain etched his voice.

  “I don’t know. I guess I got dragged in, though I feel none of the usual pain.” She looked around at the scene that was so familiar to her it might as well have been a second home. The voices rushing past, flashes of pictures and bursts of unknown emotions served to make this hell for anyone trying to filter out one scene, certainly a special kind of hell for someone with no experience. Sera watched him shake his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind.

  “I can’t stop the images. I’m trying to lock one down.” He gasped suddenly, gripping his head in his hands. Flames of glittering silver erupted from his skin, flickering over his body. He gritted his teeth. She felt it beating against her, but dulled, nowhere near as bad as it had once been. She knelt before him, maintaining skin contact, the flames tickling her hand.

  “Don’t try grabbing one. It’s more a case of going with the flow. Then the most recent memory will find you. If you keep trying to stop the echoes, it will just cause more pain. Let them flow around you, then they will settle.”

  His eyes were half closed in agony, but he still managed to give her a small smile. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and reaching for her hands, bringing them to his lips. She watched in awe as all around them the world began to stop spinning, the voices fading into whispered tones, finally slowing. Usually, she was so caught up in the swirling maelstrom that she didn’t get a chance to see the whole effect actually occurring. A few moments later, the images began to stabilize and focus on one instance of memory, like a moving snapshot. If her powers weren’t gone permanently, she would have him teach her how to control the scenes like this.

  “Okay, now what?”

  “We need something. It would seem small, very fuzzy. If Marie woke up while being picked up, maybe she saw who took her. We need a face, a scent, anything.” Sera scanned the static scenes trying to discern which one held the knowledge they were seeking.

  She felt the familiar falling sensation in her stomach as she was pulled into the last memory of the little girl, Marie. This time, however, she was not alone. She could feel the strong enduring presence of the demon behind her. He was stepping back, letting her read the memory while he remained the conduit for the power. It was a surreal feeling, being in a memory and not being pounded constantly with the pain. It made reading the scene so much easier. He gave her a small smile. Although he seemed to be adapting easily, it was clear he was hurting, despite his refusal to let it show.

  Marie was playing in her room, all ice blue and bits of pink. In her hands, she had a My Little Pony figure which was about to marry her favorite bear. It was a very important day.

  “Marie, young lady, it’s time for bed. Don’t make me tell you again.” Her mother’s voice filled the room, sounding distant and too close, all at the same time. Marie sighed. There were important things to be done. Pony needed her hair and makeup done before the wedding.

  “But Mommy, Pony and Bear are getting married!”

  “Marie Rose Stokes, don’t make me come up there. Bed now, missy, and brush your teeth.”

  With a huff, she put down her toys. She would have to finish the wedding tomorrow. It would be a shame because Bear might forget and not love Pony by tomorrow. That was what happened with her parents. Daddy stopped loving Mommy and left. She didn’t want the same to happen to Pony and Bear.

  Totally forgetting to brush her teeth, she climbed into bed, the toys in her arms. She snuggled down under her favorite My Little Pony blanket just as her mother came in.

  “Did you brush your teeth?”

  “Yes, Mommy.” Fibbing a little was okay. Mommy fibbed all the time when she told her Daddy would be right back.

  Her mother tucked her in and kissed her forehead. Marie knew Mommy was going to her second job. She knew because she could hear the music her babysitter liked to listen to. She hated it when Mommy left for her night job. She wanted Mommy here when she woke up.

  “Be a good girl for Samantha. I should be home early tonight, so I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  Marie grinned and slid down further into bed. The quicker she fell asleep, the quicker she could have breakfast with Mommy.

  “Love you, Sweet Pea.” Her mother kissed her again and headed to the door, stopping to switch on the pony nightlight. With one last look, she exited the room, leaving the door cracked.

  Sera felt the strong body of the demon behind her. He was watching the scene carefully, his silver eyes scanning for anything that might offer a clue as to whether Michael or some fall guy took the children.

  “We need to move forward slowly. If she picked anything up, it would be from now until the end of the memory.” The demon nodded. He was concentrating so hard that he was getting a frown mark between his eyes. He was cute when he was trying this hard to help her.

  The scene went black, sleep had taken over the child. On the edge of the echo, Sera could hear a voice, low and rhythmic. Was that her mother? No, it was distantly male, but the tone was so low that it sounded feminine. Marie had no fear of him. He shone like one of the angels her mother often talked about.

  He was pretty, but she must have been dreaming because angels weren’t real. It didn’t matter what Mommy said. She had asked God many times to bring daddy home, and he hadn’t.

  “We’re going to go on a little trip, Marie. It is a special place, only for special little boys and girls. Would you like that?” Why did his voice sound funny? She yawned wide; she was getting tired again. “You’re so lucky, Marie. You are going to become a sweet little angel. You are going to help me fight the darkness. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

  No, Mommy comes home soon. Need to stay.

  “Time to go.”

  Marie felt herself being lifted, but she couldn’t cry out, she couldn’t even move. She didn’t want to leave her mommy, not like Daddy did. She wanted to stay. She wanted to tell the angel she could be an angel later, but Mommy needed her now. She tried to wake up, but something kept her asleep. The angel smelled so nice. Mommy always said they would smell nice. Maybe they were real after all. Then there was nothing, just black.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The memory ended and Sera swore, feeling the memories fade from the blanket. That had been no help, other than knowing that Michael had indeed taken the childr
en. They had no clue where the child was. She wanted to scream, but she was used to this feeling. Ze, however, was glowering. Heat seemed to rise from his flesh while he stared at the blanket as if it could impart more memories to him. Sera felt a moment of trepidation at his expression. Michael was going to pay for what he had done, she could see it in the demon’s eyes.

  Everyone sat in silence. The blanket hadn’t been much help at all, but she was used to this outcome. More than once she’d been trying to find a murderer or kidnapper, but the object just didn’t have enough of an echo remaining to help the investigation. She accepted this and knew more needed to be found, but Phillip—damn it, no, it was Odin now—seemed despondent, his eyes downcast. She had no doubt he was feeling his lack of power right now. It must be hard for him, having once been a great god, and now unable to find four children who’d been kidnapped. The demon looked defeated as well. Plus, she suspected he had a headache from the visions, and she knew just how he felt.

  “This happens. We just need something else, from one of the others. Maybe we can find something dropped by one of the kids during the event. The problem with my gift is it only works on an object recently touched by the person. If it didn’t get touched during the event, then the memories stop at the end. I have dealt with this before, but don’t worry, we’ll find them.” Sera was trying to bolster their mood.

  Odin sighed and rubbed his fingers over his white beard. “There has to be something, other than knowing Michael took them, which we already guessed. We have nothing else to go on. I feel useless.”

  “We’re all useless, old man. I’m trying to think how we can use the tools at our disposal to find the kids. Michael won’t be looking after those children. He will have a fall guy, someone who will take the blame if this all goes south. So let’s think it through logically. Who would be most influenced by the Archangel Michael?” Ze seemed determined not to let this setback affect them.