by A. J. Norris
Without a sound, she slipped out of the bedroom after manifesting a new emerald colored dress. If she lost the fight, she wanted to look good doing it. Gregory looked up from a book opened on the podium. He nodded as she strode toward him with a sober expression. He had a secret few understood.
“I need a favor,” Evita said. She needed to protect Virgil.
“Oh?”
She whispered in his ear.
“This will not go over well with him,” Gregory warned.
“Do your best. Please. That’s all I ask.”
The elevator ride took forever. She crossed her arms and tapped her fingers at the elbows. Eternity was closed during the day, so teleporting was acceptable without using the room marked ‘Private’ or a stall in the men’s bathroom.
“Dahlia,” she said concentrating on the female. She traced imaginary letters in her mind. Darkness swallowed Evita, spinning and disorienting her. The air changed, and when her eyes opened, she was back in the apartment Virgil shared with Elliott and Amalya.
Dahlia slammed the bedroom door at the end of the hallway. The Warrior’s hair blew off her face and she lifted her head.
“Shall we?” Evita drawled. Her fingernails dug into the palms of her balled hands.
“I’m surprised. You’re not a coward after all.”
Evita cocked her head. “Oh really? You know me, I love a good fight.” The door opened behind Dahlia, and Berus stood in the door frame. “What’s that matter, you too afraid to face me alone?”
“Oh, no, they’re leaving. The demon has a date. And the ES, well, you know…”
Berus and the human female skirted past Dahlia. Evita stepped aside, making room for them. When the apartment door clicked shut behind her, she rushed the other Warrior.
CHAPTER FORTY
Berus
Berus left the apartment and charged toward the elevator, grabbing Lilyana’s arm on the way. He yanked her inside the car and repeatedly stabbed the button with the ‘Close Door’ symbol.
“They’ll close on their own, you don’t have to do that,” she said. He glared at her. “Where are we going, anyway?”
“Home.”
“We can’t go home. My roommate…oh, your home.” Berus jammed a finger into her shoulder. “Ow,” she said, rubbing the place he’d poked. “I’m not going home with you. I’m not going to Hell or wherever it is you come from.”
He snorted. The elevator stopped and before the doors slid open Berus pried at the panels. He got off and waited for Lilyana. When she didn’t come immediately he reached in and pulled her out. He’d carry her if she insisted on being difficult.
“All right! I’m coming. But I’m not going home with you.”
“You-you d-don’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
“Not for y-you.”
His guide was always destined for Netherworld. He hadn’t known it when he first saw her, but the Shadow-demons wanted her and they would take her soon. The serum from him she ingested wouldn’t last forever. Getting to the portal in the woods would be the last thing he required of her and after that he wouldn’t protect her any longer.
Out on the street, they ran for her car parked at the curb. Berus slid over the hood to the passenger side. Lilyana had the engine revving. He slammed the door shut as the car sped away.
“Go north,” he barked.
“Why didn’t you tell me—never mind, hold on.” She made a U-turn, nearly running over a human crossing the street. The man dodged the car, yelling curses at them. Berus clutched the dashboard. In the side mirror, he caught sight of the human shaking his fists. They flew through a yellow light then a red one. Berus had learned what the different colored lights meant and some of the signs with symbols. He spoke English, yet still couldn’t read the language. Several other motorists honked their horns. He longed for Netherworld, although this realm was more interesting than his own. So many places to get lost in and never be found, something his home lacked. There was never any peace to be had. Here, he could be anonymous. No one knew he was a demon.
The buildings thinned and Lilyana slowed the car.
“Don’t stop,” he directed.
She stopped on the side of the road with a squeal of the brakes. “Where are we going?”
“P-P-Pine Meadow.”
“The campgrounds? That’s, like, twenty miles.”
Dammit!
They didn’t have time for a discussion. Berus moved his foot over the center console and smashed her foot and the pedal to the floorboards.
“Hey!” she protested. The car swerved back onto the road. “Get your foot off mine!”
“Go!”
“I am! God dammit, you’re an asshole.”
“F-F-Faster.” If only he could talk that way. The engine roared louder and the little car shuddered like it might break apart. They passed vehicles on their left and right. Lilyana zipped the car between massive trucks threatening to close in on them. She turned left onto a dirt road, passing by a wooden sign he assumed read, ‘Pine Meadow Campgrounds’. Rocks pinged off the metal undercarriage. The road narrowed and two ruts had been carved into the ground, creating a two track. The bumpy road tossed them around and Berus braced a hand on the ceiling and one on the door. In a less turbulent section, he rolled down the window and breathed deeply. They were near the portal and a water source. Dahlia instructed him to meet her at the gateway to Netherworld. She would hand over the amulet and the angel, Evita. He questioned for a minute if the angel would be alive. Did angels die? Immortals like himself didn’t completely die. Even if turned to ash, energy couldn’t cease to exist. The state of existence was, however, questionable.
“Stop!” he yelled, opening the door. Berus leaped from the car while it was still moving. His feet hit the ground and he tumbled through the grass, landing up against a tree. The branches shook and birds flew out from the cover of leaves, squawking. He grunted and lay holding his side. “Oh,” he groaned. That had not been a smart move. When he opened his eyes, Lilyana was gaping at him.
“Why didn’t you wait for me to stop?” she asked, giggling.
I. Don’t. Know.
He labored to his full height, his vertebrae popping. Berus looked to the sky, stretching his back side to side. He took off in the direction Dahlia explained, searching for the landmark marking the portal; a boulder surrounded by a cluster of white barked trees. The opening to his home was raised ten feet in the air near the large rock.
“What…are…you…looking for?” Lilyana panted behind him.
Berus buzzed his lips. “White trees. Big rock.”
“White? Oh, you mean birch trees.” She raced ahead, leaving him wondering if she was exactly human. The thought had occurred to him that she was something more. A race of demons was rumored to have lived on Earth, perhaps their ancestral blood lived on after all. The concept would explain her ambivalence to murder. Although she delighted in killing, Berus did not. It was a matter of survival. He did what he had to do if someone got in his way or annoyed him. Mostly.
She stood in front of the boulder. “Is this it?”
He glanced around. His insides vibrated when he stepped closer to a circular patch of dirt amid the tall grass. He stared up at the warped edges not visible to the human eye. Lilyana had found the doorway. His passage home. A sense of calm fell over him. But without the amulet or the angel, he was stuck on this side. His excitement drained.
“What are you staring at?”
He glared sideways at her then sat on the rock with his chin resting on his hand.
“Now what?” she asked.
“We wait.”
She sighed and plopped down on the other side of the rock with her back to his. “How long is this going to take? How come you don’t just go home, we’re here aren’t we?”
Berus cursed under his breath. “Sh-sh-sh-shut up.”
“Why do you stutter?”
Why do you breathe?
He got
up and paced, shrugging out of the leather coat and flinging it to the ground. He thought about stomping up and down on it like a child. He’d go naked if there wasn’t a chill in the air. Lilyana didn’t seem cold though, dressed in a short sleeved shirt. He found this curious. Of course, Netherworld’s temperatures stayed at a stifling range, much hotter than Earth. Why did he stutter? Abaddon was weak and had changed him when he didn’t possess enough strength. His master had screwed up and the Empress allowed his continued rule. As far as rulers went Abaddon had been fair. The last one made thousands suffer out of his own fear. He introduced judgement where none belonged. The native demons accepted and obeyed the current ruler because no one wanted to take a risk on another.
“You don’t have to tell me why, that’s fine. So what were you doing in the bedroom at that crappy apartment when we first got there? I thought I heard voices.”
Berus grabbed to the top of his head. Why had she brought that up? He had worked hard at putting Jeremiah out of his thoughts. Images of the angel swirled around. He listed into a tree from the dizzying array of sensory memories. Berus’s lips parted and he groaned. His hand went to the front of his leather pants. He remembered the softness of the angel’s wings as they brushed his skin. The male had swelled in his hand. They both wanted each other even though they shouldn’t.
Lilyana’s eyes widened. “What is wrong with you? I asked one simple ques—”
He came at her with one thing on his mind. Well, two things, and one of them wasn’t her. By the way she gaped at him, she wanted what was in his head too. She stood and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Her hands ran down his front. He kept his eyes open, letting his head fall back as she kissed his chest. Lower and lower she used her lips on him until she was on her knees.
She undid his pants and released his cock. Lilyana put her lips around the tip, teasing him with her tongue. He gasped and patted her head. A vulnerable feeling crept along his spine. This was too much of her in control, making him uneasy. He pulled away.
She looked up. “Would you rather just fuck me?”
“Uh huh.”
She rose and spun. He turned her back around, helped with her pants. After getting one leg free, he grabbed her ass, lifting her off the ground. He walked over to where his coat was and laid her bottom on it. Sticks littered the area and although he was a dastard, impaling her seemed cruel. He plunged himself inside her slick channel.
CHAPTER
FORTY-ONE
Berus
Berus piqued to the faint squealing. He picked his head up from where it rested in the crook of Lilyana’s neck and shoulder. Cocking his head to the side, he listened. The Shadow-demons slithered like snakes over the forest floor, pushing dry leaves and other debris out of their path. They approached from behind him. For once they kept quiet, creeping slowly, so their attack would surprise the prey. Without injuring himself, he backed away from Lilyana and jumped to his feet. He adjusted his pants.
Lilyana sat upright. “How come you—”
“Shhhh.” Berus put his finger up to his lips.
She plugged her foot through the leg of her shorts. “Do you hear something?”
He nodded once. The demons made themselves flat to the ground, swirling around his boots. An inky tendril glided up the inside of his leather pant leg, stinging him. He winced and curled his hands into fists. Surprisingly, he thought about telling her to run, but knew the Shadows wouldn’t let her get away this time.
“Are you all righ—Noooo!” Like a tidal wave, the Shadow-demons surged forward, parting around Berus as one viscous pitch black wall, screeching loudly enough that bark peeled from nearby trees. Lilyana spun, her hair flying and whipping her in the face. She ran two strides and tripped. “Ohmygod! Help!”
Berus couldn’t help her; he’d never seen the demons this aggressive. They were pissed. Before being yanked to the ground by the mass, a few wisps lingered, stinging his arms and whacking him across the face. He fell to his knees with a grunt.
The human fled. First on all fours then sprinting on foot. She screamed when a tendril lashed out, curling around her wrist. Lilyana jerked free, running faster.
Berus sat back on his heels. He dragged his palms over his features and sighed. He wasn’t in the mood for dealing with this shit. Grumbling under his breath he chased after the black tangled web of Shadow-demons and its target.
He couldn’t see what was happening through the dense thicket, but Lilyana’s screams became muffled. When he reached her, the only visible part was her wide eyes, nose, and one hand rising toward the sky. A warped ring with a darkened center opened and the Shadows slipped through the portal with their prey. Berus dove for the opening, hoping to skate inside. Screw Abaddon, the angel, and the amulet; he wanted to go home. He slammed into a tree on the other side of the doorway as it closed, his shoulder taking the brunt. Writhing on the forest floor, broken twigs on the ground stabbing his chest, he plucked the sticks out of his flesh. Blood flowed from the wounds. He held a hand over the deepest puncture. Berus checked it after a minute and the bleeding had stopped. After lumbering to his feet, he rubbed his shoulder and neck. “F-f-f-f-uck me…”
He retraced his steps back to the rock and birch trees. He sat on the boulder, staring up at the portal. Berus thought about his sleeping den in Netherworld. Aza’zel had been the only goat-demon he allowed in there with him. He had respected the fallen angel, Berus now understood the male’s fascination with Earth. Berus had enjoyed some things the realm offered. Clean water, cooler temperatures, a variety of scenery. And…Jeremiah.
Shut up! He will never be yours.
As if the angel was someone he could claim.
CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO
Virgil
Virgil rolled over and blindly felt the bed next to him for Evie. His hand met with her silky feathers. He smiled and patted around for her arm. The bed jostled, then a weight straddled him. His eyes popped open. She grinned down at him, her curtain of bright red hair surrounding them, creating a private world, a place only they were invited.
She brought her mouth close to his and whispered, “I’m sorry.” She smashed their lips together in a fevered kiss. Her tongue snaked inside his mouth, delivering saliva drenched kisses. Her lips grew hot. He pushed his head into the mattress and held her shoulders back.
“Evie?” He swallowed hard and blinked. One moment he saw her, and in the next, Gregory. “What the fuck! Did you spit in my mouth?”
His wings burst into flames, heat warping the air above him. “I’m sorry. She asked me to.”
Virgil bucked beneath Gregory. He shoved at his shoulders except he was forced to let go when the heat rolling off the other angel’s body became too painful to the touch. “Ouch! Fucker! Where is Evie?”
“She asked me to stop you.”
“Get off me at once!”
“I command you to stay away from Evita the Warrior until Dahlia is defeated.”
“What are you talking about? Why are you doing this?”
“Evita asked me.”
“I’m her mate and I’m un-asking you.”
Gregory’s wings extinguished when he lifted off Virgil. He flew away, landing on his feet. “It doesn’t work that way.”
Virgil sprung off the bed and lunged at the angel. He shoved him into the wall, pinning Gregory’s shoulders. Light shot out of Virgil’s mouth and he growled from deep within his chest. “You can still undo it, can you not!”
Gregory curled his upper lip. His canines lengthened. “No,” he said. “It’s done.”
Narrowing his eyes, Virgil asked, “Where did she go?”
“You’ll have to ask—”
Virgil head butted the other male. Gregory grunted and dropped to his knees, holding his nose. Blood gushed onto the floor. He spat bodily fluid out.
Virgil flung the door open, leaving the knob stuck into the drywall. Even though he knew it was futile, he tried teleporting. His chest ached with dread. Dahlia was da
ngerous enough without Berus, and most likely Abaddon on her side. Instead of finding Evie, after a dizzying journey through nothingness, he ended back in the lobby.
Sonofabitch.
Gregory had prevented him from locking onto his mate’s signature. Most angels were unaware the sentry possessed demon blood. He’d pledged his life to the angel side of himself. Virgil pitched his head back and roared. The overhead florescent lights dimmed, the bamboo stalks shook, and the host’s podium crashed onto the tile.
Several angels rushed out of the lounging area, including Jeremiah.
One of them said, “What’s going on?”
Gregory attacked Virgil from the side, tackling him to the floor. “Quit it, you’re breaking my shit!”
Ignoring the half-angel, Virgil grappled for control, but Gregory ignited his wings again, forcing him to push away. “This isn’t helping your mate. Find a way to get to her, you idiot.”
Virgil sneered, concentrated on Berus and Dahlia, then vanished. He arrived in the middle of a wooded area, not knowing whether an angel or a demon awaited him. With certainty, he knew this was a trap and his Evie intended to fight his ex-lover in a death match. Even if she resented him forever, she needed his help.
Disoriented from teleporting, he neither saw nor heard the demon rushing toward him.
CHAPTER
FORTY-THREE
Evita
The angels collided mid-hallway. Evita swung first.
Sticking her arm out straight, Dahlia countered the punch, and sidestepped her. Evita’s head pitched back when her sister smacked her nose with her forearm. Dahlia came around behind her and pulled her head down, throwing her to the floor. All the air forced out of Evita’s lungs and the edges of her vision fuzzed for a second. Surprise registered on her face when she landed on her back, blood flowing from her nose. The other angel had clotheslined her.
