by S Lawrence
“Lillian, your ancestor was Michael, the most fierce of the Archangels. He was God’s favorite warrior. Any power coming from him will serve you well.” I hope my words can calm her fears a little.
“How will we know?” Her voice quivers.
“Like this time, I guess.” I know the answer leaves much to be desired, but it is the only one I can offer.
Eyes widening, she looks at Torryn, her cheeks pinkening. “I don’t think he meant the exact same way.” His voice is barely a whisper.
Evander and I look anywhere but at them.
She leans into him, her mouth right by his ear but we all can hear her words. “I mean we can try it that way. If you want.” A growl is his response, and a very feminine smile curves her lips.
“Should we go?” Evander grouses.
“Sorry.”
“Yes.”
A bark of laughter bursts from me at their simultaneous responses. Just as I’m rising to leave, Evander’s phone rings.
I hear Dagen on the other end start talking as soon as Evander picks up. We lock eyes for a moment then I run down the hall, taking the stairs two at a time to get to the office.
I hear their pounding steps behind me. The remote is on Torryn’s desk, and I grab it and push the power button. The screen flares to life. Pushing the channel button over and over, I search for a local channel. I’m still pushing it when Torryn pulls it from my hand, switching it to one.
Death and carnage fill the sixty-five inch screen in high definition. Lillian gasps and falls into a chair, one of her hands over her mouth and the other gripping Torryn’s hand tightly.
The reporter is saying that the police think a gang war has broken out, but we know differently. Those are no gang members lying dead in the streets. They are innocent people that were simply living their lives. Innocents.
“Oh, my God.” Lillian is pointing at the screen. “Seraphina.”
She’s right there in the background, the first Fallen, standing and smiling into the camera. The true war has begun. I watch as she turns and walks away, the others falling in behind her.
“I can’t sit here anymore.” Evander is out the door before I can stop him.
“Call Dagen and the others. Get them to the city, if they aren’t already there. If they are not within minutes, have them call me and I’ll get them here.” Spinning, I race out after my second in command, unwilling to let him get himself killed.
Reaching out with my power, I hold him frozen, half in his car. I climb in the passenger side and then let him go.
“Fuck you.” I don’t bother responding.
We are racing toward death in seconds.
Forty
LILLIAN
“Goddamnit.”
I almost fall out of the chair as my fucking wings pop out. Torryn tries not to laugh but fails. “It’s not funny.”
“It’s kinda funny.” But he does come and help me to my feet. “Maybe they are controlled by your emotions.”
It’s as good as any other idea we’ve had. The reporter is back on the television, and the death toll is climbing. Already it’s reached one hundred. One hundred innocent people -- men, women, and according to what the reporter just said, children.
Children. Tears stream down my cheeks as my anger grows. How dare they? Rage blossoms in my chest, years of their torture and my pain boiling over as I clench my fists.
I hear Torryn as if from a distance as I try to focus on his words. His eyes flare red, and his heat hits me like an inferno.
“Calm down, Lillian.” My name pulls me from the blinding emotions.
His eyes glance down and mine follow. Are you fucking kidding me? A huge flaming sword is in my right hand.
“Michael’s sword.” Shit. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
“A sword. How do I put it away?” He shrugs.
Flying helped me learn to fold the wings away, that is their purpose. Flying. Raising the sword, I look at it. What is a sword’s purpose? Killing. Justice. The flames flare brighter. Yes, justice.
“We need to get to Avalon.” He starts to argue, but I stop him. “It’s the sword’s purpose. My purpose.” No sooner than the words cross my lips, I know them as truth. “Trust me.”
“Always, Angel, but I will also always worry and try to protect you. “ He takes my hand. “Let’s get you there.”
He had already called the others. They should be in the city long before us. In minutes, we are on the highway, racing toward the fight. I lean over his back, my arms wrapped tightly around him. The sword had disappeared when the decision had been made.
I can feel it there, just waiting for me to call it. The power is there waiting to be used, to protect me, to protect us all.
To save us all.
Smoke billows from the tire as we stop. The others are all here standing outside the house. Dagen steps up beside me and helps me off.
I waste no time, marching straight up the walk, bracing for the barrier but finding none. Pushing open the door, I stand in the threshold, the others crowded behind me. Nothing. This is not Avalon.
“They’re gone.” I feel defeated.
“How do you know?” I look back at Dagen, noticing the others, taking them all in.
“I’ve lived inside the barrier all my life, felt it lick against my skin everyday. It’s gone. The is just the Brown Mansion.” I sit on the step and look up at them all.
Eight Princes of Hell and Lucifer, all gorgeous and brooding and all waiting for me to do something spectacular. I feel decidedly unspectacular.
“Back at fucking square one.” Dagen paces away.
“Not square one.” Lucifer smiles down at me. “We have our first descendant, and she’s amazing.”
I straighten from my slouched position. He’s right, I am. Wings, sword, and who knows what else.
“Even without all that, you’re amazing.” I look at Torryn beside me.
Did he just read my mind? “No, I didn’t.” Did it again. “It’s all over your face, Angel.” He leans in, kissing me quick and hard.
When he pulls back, I notice every Prince is watching us with envy. Longing. Letting my eyes turn to Lucifer, I see sadness and worry about those he cares for.
“The latest report is three hundred dead.” One that I haven’t met is speaking as he looks down at his phone. His voice reminds me of midnight. Torryn leans close again, his lips against my ear.
“Drayce.”
“Where are my manners?” Evander steps forward. “Let me introduce the others.” He crooks his finger, and they all step forward into a line.
Impressive. Knowing he’s their leader is different than understanding his quiet control. It hints at his true power and their respect for him. The first of them all.
“As Torryn said, this is Drayce.” The one in question nods his head once. “Arkyn.” Another polite nod. “Zeph.” A smile and a wink. “And last is Victor.” No response.
I smile at all of them, wishing I could do more than that. They found me by luck. How will we ever find the others? What good will the sword do me if we can’t find the Fallen or the descendants?
No sooner has the thought formed than the air is filled with the sound of music. A trumpet to be exact. Frowning, I look around trying to determine where it is coming from.
“What’s the matter, Lillian?” Lucifer’s question breaks the spell.
“Just trying to figure out where the music is coming from.” Continuing to look around, I don’t notice their faces for a minute. “What?”
“There is no music, Angel.” Torryn’s voice is filled with concern, and I look at him then the others.
“You can’t hear that beautiful song?” Raised brows and head shakes all around. “I don’t understand.”
“What does it sound like?” Lucifer moves in front of me, face close as he watches me closely.
What does it sound like? I don’t know. “It’s… I… beautiful. The most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.”
&n
bsp; He shares a look with Evander. “Could it be, my lord?” The voice is like rolling thunder, and I look to see who had spoken. Victor is looking at Lucifer, who is looking embarrassed.
“For two thousand years, I’ve told you not to call me that. Just call me Luc.” Looking back at me, he continues. “Yes, Victor, I think it just might be.”
“Be what?” Frustration at their inside conversation sharpening my tone.
“Gabriel had a trumpet. He often used it to call the others to battle. What were you thinking before you heard it? Torryn said the sword appeared when you were angry about the killing. Maybe your new skills are attached to your emotions. The wings…”
He doesn’t finish, thankfully. “Well, yes, I was very angry. Anyway, just now…” I stop and glance around not wanting to embarrass them. “I just didn’t know how we would ever find the others.”
Torryn hugs me from behind, and Luc smiles, letting me get away with the half truth. Only Dagen might suspect I’m not saying everything. He stops pacing and turns to lock his topaz eyes on my face.
“Maybe the prophecy is trying to help us or God.” I shrug when they all huff. “Okay, maybe not. Maybe it’s the Archangels.”
More grumbling but it sounds less disbelieving. It could be God, couldn’t it? Maybe he’s not as indifferent as they all believe. If he is as they all say, wouldn’t he have seen this all happening just as it is?
Of course, if that’s true, then he could’ve stopped this all before it happened. I don’t know which is the worst scenario.
“Lillian?” Refocusing, I see them all staring at me. “I asked if you still hear it.”
“I’m sorry, Luc.” I stop myself from finishing his name just barely when Torryn squeezes me a little harder. “Um, yes, it isn’t as loud but it’s still there. Almost like background noise.”
“Maybe if she flies,” Victor murmurs.
“Fly?” I practically screech. “I’d be seen.”
I step out of Torryn’s arms and walk a short distance away. The music flares for a moment as I moved across the yard. I wonder. Turning on my heel, I pace the other way, the music quiets. Holy shit. I repeat my movements, same outcome.
I look to Torryn, who’s watching me closely as the others talk among themselves. He starts my way, stopping when he’s directly in front of me and taking my hands.
“What is it?” He leans close.
Sliding my hands up over his shoulders, I pull him down to me and press my lips against his. He deepens it instantly, and for a moment, I lose myself. Everything happening fades away, the prophecy, the Fallen, even the demons that surround us. There’s only us, him and me.
He finally pulls back then kisses me quick once more. “Are you trying to distract me?”
“No. I just needed you.”
“You always have me, Angel.” Pulling me tight against him he puts his lips to my ear. “Now, what’s wrong?”
I shake my head, letting the wings unfold. “Victor was right.”
He steps back as I begin to beat them and start my assent, calling out to Luc. “I hope you can hide me somehow. It’s coming from that way.”
I point West, the sun is getting low in the sky as I rise higher and higher, waving down at Torryn’s shocked face.
Forty-One
TORRYN
The sunlight is shining on those wings, making them glitter like the crystal encrusted things women love so much, like that song that was so popular a few years ago.
Like diamonds in the sky.
She is breathtaking and has stolen my heart. The organ stutters in my chest as the thought comes into my mind. It’s true I love her. She swoops away just as Luc joins her in the sky. I feel the touch of his magic wash over me.
I know he will keep her safe, but it makes no difference to me or my demon. Running to my bike, I get on and race away, keeping my eyes on both the road and the sky.
They fly for hours before finally landing somewhere just outside Houston. We had been going steadily West, and it is almost morning. I’m standing in a clearing waiting for them when they land. Her legs go out from under her, and I barely manage to catch her before she face plants into the ground.
“You pushed her too hard.” She moans quietly already asleep.
“Watch your tone, Torryn. I didn’t push her at all. I asked her to stop hours ago.” His hand brushes over her forehead and an ugly anger rushes through me. “Really, demon, I would never. She is dear to me, but I am happy for you. You know why she pushed so hard.”
I have no fucking clue, and apparently it shows on my face.
“Your brothers; she saw them watching you with her. She wants them to find some of the happiness you have, that she has.”
Looking down at her, I am again thankful for whatever or whoever brought her to me.
“She’s a fucking miracle.” Hugging her closer, I look at him. “Do you think it will be like this for all of them?”
“I hope so.” I don’t miss the longing in his voice.
As far as I know, there is nothing in the prophecy about the devil himself. It would take a miracle indeed to find a woman to look beyond the propaganda and see the man he is.
Even before his fall, he had been mostly alone, for favored by God often meant feared or shunned by others. I wonder if anyone truly knows Lucifer, the man?
He sees something on my face, and I watch as he shuts down. “I’ll take you both to a hotel so she can rest.”
Before I can answer or even nod, we are in a suite with the Houston skyline well below us.
We are alone. Placing her gently on the bed, I go into the bathroom and start a bath. Picking up the bottles on the edge, I open them, smelling them. Shrugging, I pour the entire thing in the water. In seconds, bubbles are almost flowing over the edge. The air is thick with steam when I go back to her, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Wake up, Angel,” I whisper near her ear. “Come on. I ran a bath. You should soak or you’ll be sore.”
She grumbles and pushes at me. “I’m sleeping.”
“Come on.” Pulling her up, I slide the shirt up over her head. This wakes her up. Her lids are half closed, but her eyes are filled with desire. “No, darling, you need to get in the bath.”
Those beautiful emeralds glitter as they narrow. Oh man, trouble. She reaches for the waist of her jeans, unbuttoning them and sliding them over her butt and down her legs. She walks around me, hips swaying, completely naked. Fuck.
Closing my eyes, I force myself to stay where I’m at. She needs to relax, not be jumped on. The sound of her sinking into the water has my feet moving before my brain can catch up.
I catch myself in the doorway, trying and failing to lean casually against the jam. She’s laying almost flat, the bubbles covering everything but her neck and head. She’s watching me as she swirls the water with her fingers. After a minute. she raises one leg out of the water. Bubbles slide down her pink skin as she places her heel on the side of the tub. Soon after, the other leg does the same on the other side.
She smiles at me, just a small knowing smile, and I grit my teeth.
“Dammit, Angel, I’m trying to let you relax.”
“Who says I want to relax?”
She raises her right leg, running a hand over it before crooking her finger at me. Who am I to deny her? Pulling my shirt over my head, I enjoy the heat that flares in her eyes. Stripping off my pants, I walk to the side of the tub and stand there as her gaze travels over every bared inch. Stepping in the water, I sink to my knees in between her legs.
The water sloshes over the side, and small waves lap up her neck and then recede, baring the top mounds of her breast before covering them once more. I brace myself on my arms as I lean down and capture her lips, swallowing her sigh.
She thrusts her tongue in, tasting me, pouring herself into me. Legs slick with water and soap slide around my waist, pulling me down to her. I’m happy to oblige, anything she needs. She moans as I let my length rub over her.
> We break apart, both gulping air. I move my lips and teeth to her neck, licking over the vein that is pulsing, then biting it. I apply more pressure with my canines when her hips roll.
Part of me wants to break the skin, taste her very life force, and the need gives me pause. Releasing the flesh, I move back slightly and stare at her.
“What have you done to me?” Confusion mars her face even as her hand comes to my face. One finger reaching out, she rubs the soft pad over one of my teeth.
“I haven’t noticed it before.” She sounds both fascinated and worried.
Running my tongue over the other, I find it longer and sharper. “Ow.” She yelps as that which I so want drips onto my tongue.
Heaven. Power. Her. All course through me, those tiny drops hitting me like a hit of heroin. Addictive. Fuck. I push further back, suddenly worried, not for myself but for her.
“They’ve never been this long or sharp.” I know she hears the fear in my voice. “I won’t hurt you.”
“You would never.” She follows me, sitting on my thighs. I grit my teeth at the feel of her there. Her heat grazing over me.
“Lillian.” I want to warn her. “I want to bite into your neck, drink you down.”
Her eyebrow raises. “Kill me?”
The denial is out of my mouth before she can finish her question. “Never.”
A smile curves her lips as she nods. “We’ll go slow then.” Normally that aggressive tone would have me falling on her like the demon I am. I shake my head.
“We should call Luc or at least Evander.” Catching her under her arms, I rise as she lets her hot skin glide over mine. “Fucking hell, Angel, stop.”
“Never.” Her head drops forward, her tongue licking over my skin. “You and I, we are something new, never before. They don’t have answers. We need to find our own.” A finger presses into my lips preventing my response, my argument. “Take me to bed.”
A demand. My control and my resolve is failing. “Now.” She smiles.
Looking away from her upturned face, I find myself by the bed. Traitorous body.
