He pushed his hand through his hair. He had to get far away from this place and that woman. No good would come from thinking about her. As he took inventory of his belongings, it dawned on him how few possessions he had. Granted, he needed to travel light in case someone came after him, but this was pathetic. He had nothing that he would miss if he left it all behind, except maybe his reclining chair. He was mad that he had been reduced to hiding in one dank hole after another without anything or anyone to comfort him.
Maraquette had been right. He was pathetic. Angry that he’d been reduced to living like this, he needed to stop cowering in the shadows. He needed to take a stand and fight. Why should he hide? He was the Angel of Death. If he ran from Anjali now, she would see it as a sign of weakness and hunt him till the end of days. He needed to show her that he wasn't afraid of her. He would make her fear him.
Alazar settled into his Barcalounger and took a deep breath. She was on his playing field so he had the advantage. Should he wait for her to make a move or attack her first? He debated the issue. She had at least one Celestial Warrior at her disposal. She could have more, or worse, she could have the other Predznak. He hadn’t considered that she might have found more of them. They would be completely under her command. He doubted that they would listen to him anymore, especially after the way he had walked out on them. In retrospect, it was probably not the ideal way to handle a vicious group of assassins. It might finally bite him in the ass.
He pondered Anjali’s confusion over the mention of Nathanael. Why had she lied about not knowing that he was in town? She had said that she didn’t know of the Council’s intentions. Was she afraid of the Council? He didn’t think it was possible for her to fear anything; she was meant to wield fear. It was profoundly obvious that he knew nothing about her.
He made a list of qualities to suit his soon-to-be-dead Master so that he could better understand her. She was a skilled liar. Deception certainly ran deep in her blood. She probably had Sacha in her back pocket. Dear Lord, it was probably Sacha in disguise and not Nathanael, though he doubted even Sacha was that good. She couldn’t fight worth a damn, so she didn’t have Aeries or Balthazar yet. Considering that he wasn’t peeing his pants, it was doubtful that she had Tristan. She had tried to draw him with her full lips and long lashes, so she certainly had Zacharael. That could pose a problem. He had almost accepted her outstretched hand to leave with her. He had almost felt safe with her. She most definitely had Elrick and she was using him and the other Predznak that she had captured against him. He needed to learn more about her before he openly attacked her.
Anjali would have to return to Hell to allow her wounds to heal after the thrashing he had given her. It would give him time to plan his next move and wait for his own injuries to mend.
He would let patience win out and take his time with Anjali. Maraquette had obviously failed to kill her, thus rendering their deal null and void. That meant he could kill Maraquette without remorse, or torture her for more information. Yes, that seemed like a winning proposition. With her network of spies she was more in tune with the goings-on in Heaven and Hell. He would find out what he could from Maraquette and watch Anjali from afar, waiting for his opportunity to confront her. Once he knew her weaknesses, he would destroy her.
∞
Derick tried in vain to pay attention to the road and ignore the woman sitting mere inches from him. He couldn’t figure out what the hell he was doing. He didn’t know this girl. It was completely out of character for him to offer a stranger a ride, even a beautiful stranger. Pete had looked like he was going to have a stroke and he was certain that Josilyn was freaking out about his rash decision and would lecture him on the rules of safety when dealing with a stranger. He was definitely going to hear about it when they got to the inn, if they got to the inn. Annie could easily kill him, or rob him, if that was her objective. He would never see it coming since his brain was temporarily dazed and other parts of him were in control.
The van was smaller than Annie had expected and she panicked when she noticed that she was practically sitting on Derick’s lap. Their arms were touching, which was a strange sensation. It had been a long time since she had dealt with a mortal, especially a good-looking one that had an unsettling effect on her.
She was startled by her fascination with Derick, though she told herself that she had no interest in pursuing him. Oddly, she couldn’t stop looking at his enthralling lips. She blamed her rampant hormones on the fact that Lucifer was currently consumed by his dark side and she was left to sleep alone. Still angry over their altercation, she dismissed the idea of returning home to Lucifer to work off her pent-up lust.
“You said that you were from New Jersey. What made you decide to travel throughout Europe?” Derick figured he would start with the easy questions and avoid the philosophical questions, for the time being.
She pried her eyes away from the warm leg that was brushing against hers and turned to look out the window. She tried to remember what it was like to have a normal conversation that didn’t start with, “a prisoner in the Realm of XYZ has broken free.” Drawing on her mortal experiences as Michelle Black, she decided it was easier to tell him a version of the truth so that she didn’t confuse her lies.
“I decided to take some time off after graduating high school to travel because I felt very sheltered at home. My uncle encouraged me to see the world by telling me stories about the places he had visited. I fell in love with the idea of traveling. I’ve been to Italy, France, England, and Germany. Romania sounded like an intriguing place to explore, so here I am.”
It’s not like I’m looking for my Angel of Death or anything, just passing through town, she grimaced to herself. She unconsciously brushed her fingers along the bruises on her neck.
“That’s awesome. I always wanted to travel, but I never had the chance before now. This seemed like a good opportunity to experience something new, or at least it did,” Derick was still pissed at Cassie. He would definitely tell her off if there were any more problems with their trip. He had no trouble getting on a plane and going home without anything to show for it.
The thought of going home suddenly made his chest ache. Apparently, this project meant more to him than he thought. This documentary could be the beginning of something big; he just needed to stay focused. He told himself that the feeling had nothing to do with missing a girl whom he’d just met.
“Josilyn said that you guys were from Tulsa, yet you don’t sound like you’re from Oklahoma,” she watched him drive the car, thankful that her night vision allowed her to see his handsome face clearly.
“I’m from New York, but I go to college in Tulsa. I liked that Tulsa was far away from home. It gave me a fresh start. Pete was my roommate freshman year and, thankfully, we hit it off right away,” Derick shrugged. He hated talking about his life, so he quickly changed the subject. “Why are you traveling by yourself, if you don’t mind me asking?” Derick wasn’t sure if he had pulled off the unspoken question of whether or not she had a boyfriend, but he hoped that she didn’t see through his pitiful attempt to find out if she was single. He prayed that she had a boyfriend, so that he could think about filming and not about her silky hair and how it would feel rubbing against his chest.
Annie sighed. Of course, Derick had to bring up the fact that she was alone. She couldn’t understand why it was a problem. The mortals were always afraid for her, concerned that she shouldn’t be by herself so far from home. They should be more concerned about their own safety. If they only knew how dangerous she was, they would run away instead of offering to help her. Derick would definitely fear her, if he knew who she was.
“I was supposed to travel with someone, but it didn’t work out,” she shrugged, not knowing what else to say. She tried not to think about how CJ was supposed to travel with her and Uncle Bob before she killed herself.
“Do you enjoy the freedom, or do you miss being at home?” Derick noticed the sadness in her voice, so he
didn’t push the issue of her traveling alone.
“I miss being at home,” she replied bluntly, surprised that the admission had slipped out. “I mean, I like traveling. It’s just that I miss my family sometimes. It’s hard being away for so long. Don’t get me wrong, I like being a part of the world, or at least, seeing the world. I don’t know if I’m really a part of it,” she grimaced at her confession. She needed to stop being so blatantly honest before she told him everything. “So, how did you end up in Romania making a film about the afterlife and what exactly makes you an expert on spirits?” she was having a hard time sitting still as she listened to him speak. His voice was soft and inviting, causing her breath to speed up.
“Luck,” he replied simply as he smiled at her.
Regardless of what happened during his trip, he felt lucky to have met this girl. He laughed off the thought and quickly focused on finding a place to park in the rear parking lot of the inn. Unfortunately, they had arrived at their destination. He quickly thought of a reason to keep her talking in the van, or if he were completely insane, a way to invite her to his room. Sex would be tempting, but he would be content just getting to know more about her.
“I doubt it was all luck,” Annie shrugged, planning her exit strategy. She needed to get away from him.
One simple word and a perfect smile from Derick made Annie desperate to get out of the tight quarters. While she normally wasn’t claustrophobic, sitting so close to this boy was making her skin melt from the heat. Derick kept turning to look at her and she could feel his breath against her cheek. At one point, she had to stop herself from leaning toward him. Her heart rate should have killed her by now, if she were mortal. It was racing so fast that she should have combusted.
Derick parked and turned off the lights, but kept the van running, hoping to use the less than adequate heater as a reason to stay huddled in the van. He turned to her and kept talking so that she wouldn’t leave him.
“Josilyn came up with the name for our show. I don’t think we’re experts, but we definitely have an interest in finding spirits. Pete and I have always been fascinated with the afterlife. We’ve both had experiences with death and seen unexplainable things. One night we were doing a pub-crawl with some frat guys and stumbled upon a walking tour of the campus around Halloween. The tour guide was talking about how some of the houses were haunted and reportedly had spirits roaming the grounds. The guys we were with made fun of the tour guide, but Pete and I were curious. At the end of the tour, we talked to the guide. He was a history major, but he liked the paranormal, so he created his own club for people like him. We joined them for a while, but they were more interested in the history of the people who had died and their houses while we wanted to make contact with spirits. So, we grabbed some video recorders and spent the night in one supposedly haunted place after another. We met Josilyn at a party and she convinced us to make a show. She has aspirations of becoming a journalist. She told us that she would write the content for the show and host it. We found Doug, who was looking for editing work on a video project. Morgan was hired though an ad in the school newspaper. Once we were ready, we filmed a couple of test shows and Josilyn convinced a guy she used to date to get us on the public access station. From there, Cassie saw our show and offered us a deal. The network she works for wants a Halloween Special. They weren’t interested in a couple of kids from Tulsa running around people’s attics, so Cassie came up with the idea of a haunted castle. She said that if we can put on a big enough production, they might be interested in supporting a primetime show where we travel to different locations,” Derick told Annie his whole life story at lightning speed hoping to keep her attention.
Guilt rushed through Annie. She was about to set his plans on fire. Though she had just met Derick, she didn’t want to ruin his chances for success. It was stupid to worry about one mortal when so many were in danger, but she felt bad nonetheless.
“I hope everything goes well for you,” she replied.
Derick smiled brightly at her, making the thought of leaving the van seem like a stupid idea.
“Thanks,” Derick was having a hard time keeping his sense of decorum as he tried not to stare at her breasts. He broke out into a sweat at the thought of actually touching them.
He told himself that there was no way he was going to touch her even if his damned hands were twitching and begging him to reach out to whatever part of her he found first. He’d never reacted like this to anyone. The girls he dated always complained that he was distant with them because he rarely hugged or kissed them, aside from when they were intimate. Now, he was more than willing to touch this girl, regardless of where they were or what they were doing.
“What are your plans tomorrow?” Derick was so tongue-tied that he almost said, “I plan on having you tomorrow,” but thankfully caught himself.
She planned to have a long overdue therapy session with her angel tomorrow, or beat him into submission, whichever came first.
“Aside from touring the castle and the city, I have no plans,” she needed to get a grip. Her responsibilities were numerous and important, yet she couldn’t force herself out of the van.
“Take the tour with us. Mrs. Pavel is supposed to give us access to the entire castle, not just the parts where the typical tourists are allowed,” Derick said quickly. Why was he so desperate to secure more time with her? He knew it was his way of wussing out of kissing her. He would still have more time to wuss out tomorrow if she agreed to come with them.
If Annie couldn’t control Alazar by morning, then she was going to have to keep watch over the Spirit Experts. Cassie seemed determined to keep their tour of the castle on schedule.
“Okay. That sounds like fun,” she replied, securing her invitation. It would be easier to keep an eye on the mortals if she joined their group.
Annie’s heart faltered when she felt Derick’s hand on her arm. His touch was soft but couldn’t be ignored. She turned to face him and nearly collided with his face.
“Hi,” Derick breathed the single syllable as his original thought evaporated into smoke. She was less than three inches from his face and he was reduced to a babbling moron.
Annie couldn’t breathe. She’d never been more dumbfounded or rendered incapable of movement or speech. He was stunning. His soft lips were parted and his eyes said more than “Hi.” They were filled with longing.
Without another thought, he leaned in to kiss Annie. He was compelled to taste her lips and see if they were as sweet as he expected.
Annie watched in slow motion as Derick filled the gap between them, intent on kissing her. Frozen by fear and anticipation, she was captivated by his easily readable expression. He seemed confused and hesitant, but determined to kiss her, regardless of his fears.
Annie closed her eyes, hoping that he would kiss her or that the ground would open up and swallow her to avoid making a huge mistake. Instead, the spell was broken when Morgan playfully knocked on the hood and yelled for Derick to hurry up because he had the room keys.
Derick pulled away quickly and shook his head. He hefted out a breath and laughed at the horrible timing of his friend. He would get even with Morgan later. He awkwardly looked down at the floorboards and tried to think of something to say to apologize for the interruption or for the missed opportunity. He wasn’t sure which apology would surface first.
Annie regained her senses and her composure. She needed to escape. Scolding herself for her poor judgment, she fled from the van before Derick could follow her. She didn’t need to be responsible for a rampaging devil and the loss of an innocent life.
The cool air was a relief and dispelled some of the heat that had practically singed her. Forget the Realm of Fire; Derick should be classified as a torture.
Derick was out of the van and by her side before she could get far enough away.
“We should get inside,” he blurted out, having nothing clever to say. He was relieved that he was able to get the words out since he could b
arely breathe after their near kiss.
Annie panicked when she remembered her lie about having a room. It would certainly make him suspicious of her and cause him to uninvite her from the tour. She turned to walk away, run, or vanish before his eyes when motion caught her attention. It was Radek, and he was standing in the shadows of the building next to her twirling a key and winking at her. It seemed that she did indeed have a room at the inn.
Good servant, she chuckled to herself. She was glad that Radek had ignored her orders to return to Hell. She definitely owed him a hot pretzel or a cookie.
She nodded her head to Derick and waited as he locked the van. Quickly holding out her hand, she used her power to pull the keys into her palm and put them in her pocket.
Derick led her into the inn and tried not to reach out to take hold of her arm. He was shaking as he decided what he should say or do. He didn’t want to scare the poor girl or come on too strong. He wasn’t even sure if she would have kissed him back.
By the grace of God, her newly acquired room key had a door number on it. She tried not to giggle as they walked up the stairs and down the hall to Room 5. Never had she wanted to be a normal girl more than she did in that moment. Had she been a normal girl, she wasn’t sure if she would have invited him to stay in her room. Regardless, it didn’t matter since she was far from normal.
Derick stopped when he saw Annie waiting in front of Room 5. He awkwardly turned and smiled. “Guess this is you. If you’re not tired, maybe we could talk some more.”
“Actually, umm, I forgot, I have to call home. I didn’t think I would be out this late. I’d hoped to get information about the castle and then call my family when I got back. If I don’t check in they worry,” Annie lied ungracefully. She needed to get away from this breathtakingly handsome man and his enticing mouth before she made a huge mistake.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 14
