Surprise washed across her face for the merest of seconds, then she scowled. “No. No deal.”
I couldn’t see Quinn, but I hoped she was making some progress. “Which part? The surrender, or you coming with me, or both?”
“Both.”
“Well, that’s not being very reasonable, now is it?” I pressed my blade down into Alexander’s neck until he released a blood-gurgling gasp.
“Stop.” She raised her free hand, her eyes filming over with tears. “Don’t hurt him.”
“If you kill me, you kill her. We’re fully bonded. Remember?” Alexander rasped, blood spewing from his throat.
I wondered if she felt his pain now, or if she really loved him so much that it hurt her to see him in pain. “Well, the situation is simple then, isn’t it? If I kill Alexander, you both die. So, you’re not in much of a bargaining place. Agree to my terms, or you’ve sealed your fate.”
Anna smiled a rare smile. “You’re not going to kill me. And I think I’m going to call your bluff on your feelings for the angel.” With that she pulled her barb out of his heart and plunged it deep into his stomach.
Eli let out a strangled cry.
“I’ve just injected him with a poison that even an angel can’t survive. Unless you get him to a supernatural healer in the next ten minutes.” She tossed his body down on the ledge beside me.
I slowly got up off Alexander’s chest, feeling hatred surge inside me as he climbed to his feet. “Fine, you win. This time.”
Anna swooped down and grabbed him.
“There won’t be a next time,” Alexander called. He reached down and pressed his fingers to his demon mark. It flashed in the dim light of the volcano.
I felt two forces simultaneously. One was a flare of power from the portal. The other was a pulsating in the air around us as Lucifer burst up through the lava, fury rolling off him in palpable waves.
He landed on the ledge, took one look at Eli lying on the rocks, and threw a bolt of power at him. Eli’s eyes widened in horror. I leapt into the path of the magic, catching it square in the chest. It felt like a nuclear explosion through my body. First, a blossom of excruciating pain that knocked me off my feet. Then a shockwave as it coursed through my veins like fire, like a thousand fires, devouring my essence. It hit my heart and I felt it stop, turn to cold stone. It traveled to my limbs last, hitting my demon mark, which not only glowed, but burst forth a brilliant purple light that dazzled my eyes for just a moment before they closed.
Then another jolt of energy shot through me, this time starting at my mark and spiking back through my veins. My heart jolted back to life and I gasped, my lungs pulling in hot, dry air. My eyes flew open and I sat up.
Behind Lucifer, the portal had risen up through the lava and spun in the air like a cyclone. “Hey, Satan. Is that the same portal you breezed in on?”
His beautiful head spun and his eyes widened. He glared down at Quinn, who was visible now, all her power being consumed by the portal spell. Spinning, he advanced on me, murder in his eyes. But an invisible wind pulled at his back, and his steps brought him no closer to me. He clawed through the air, trying to pull himself forward, but he couldn’t get a good foothold.
“Sorry, but your passport has expired, and you’ll have to take the first flight back to Hell.” I shot a blast of magic at his chest, and with an enraged howl, he flew backwards and was sucked into the portal.
Anna and Alexander followed him in a ball of wings and claws, and then the disc of night above us was blotted out as a mass of demons came flying in, their screams bouncing off the volcano walls. A steady stream of them whooshed in for almost a minute. Quinn sunk lower and lower in the air as her power failed her. Finally the last of the demons vanished through the portal and it disappeared, blipping out of sight like it’d never existed.
With the last of her strength, Quinn floated up towards the ledge. I reached out and grabbed her as she approached. “You did it!” I exclaimed.
“You both did,” Eli murmured.
I crouched down by him. His skin had lost its usual faint glow, and a sheen of sweat covered him. “I think you had a bit to do with it, too,” I said, taking his hand. How many minutes had it been? Six or seven? “Let’s get you out of here.”
“It’s too late,” he moaned, and his eyes rolled back in his head.
“Eli!” I shook his shoulders, but his head just lolled to the side.
There was only one way to get him to a healer fast enough. Something I’d tried twice and failed at both times.
“Quinn, I’ll be right back, okay? I’ve got to get Eli to a healer or he’ll be dead in a couple minutes.” She nodded and helped me lift him up. I wrapped my arms around his back, holding him against me, and held the healing center at HR headquarters in my mind.
I felt the familiar feeling of getting squeezed into too tight a space, and we popped into the black paths of the interdimensional backroads. The white coral-like branches floated around us, their glow illuminating the darkness. I squeezed my eyes shut, continuing to see the healing center in my mind, feeling the hard floors beneath me, smelling the clean, sterilized scent of the rooms.
And then I did feel something beneath my feet. I opened my eyes.
The black-haired angel doctor stood right before me. “What happened?” she gasped.
“D-demon poison,” I stammered, by words tumbling out. “He was stabbed and injected with something, I don’t know.”
She laid him on the floor and ran to a supply cabinet, pulling out a huge needle and drawing up a large amount of bright blue liquid. Running forward, she jabbed it into his heart. He didn’t move.
“Why isn’t he waking up?” I yelled.
The doctor didn’t answer, but picked up his wrist and felt for a pulse. “It may be too—”
Eli sat up, gasping and flicking the needle away. His eyes found mine. “Zy…”
I blinked back moisture in the corners of my eyes. Not tears or anything. I clearly just had something stuck in there.
“You dumb angel, don’t you know you’re not supposed to die?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Who wants a pixie dust martini?”
A chorus of affirmatives echoed throughout Noir, and I got busy shaking and pouring. It was the night after the battle, and I’d shut down the bar to have a private “we-saved-the-world-and-kicked-Satan’s-ass-to-the-curb” party.
“You know, considering you saved all of us and were instrumental in sending Lucifer back where he belonged, you’d think you’d sit down for a minute and relax,” Eli said, coming up behind me.
“I like bartending.” I turned the top on my silver shaker and poured the vodka into four glasses shimmering with golden dust. “And remember, I’m the selfish one who doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to. Don’t worry about me.”
“Well, at least let me help, then.”
I laughed. “Yeah right. Since when did you… ” I trailed off as he expertly flipped a bottle in his hands and started concocting something that looked like a White Russian. “Um, never mind.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” Eli said with a grin.
Like what a good kisser an angel can be...“Apparently so.” I returned the smile, feeling a weird flutter in my stomach. Probably all those olives I’d chowed down on earlier.
“Oooh, are you making me a drink?” Commander Hunter, er, Marissa came up behind Eli and wrapped her arm around his waist.
Eli had told me she’d sworn up and down she had no idea the jets were going to drop the bombs while we were down there. I guess he believed her. Whether I did was another story…
Feeling a bit like a third wheel, I turned and sauntered off to deliver the martinis to my waiting guests. I waded into the crowd, comprised of all the supes that had stood against the hordes of Hell with us. A lot of them I knew, but there were some new faces, too. Whether I knew them or not, we all shared a common bond now. I passed a drink each to Will, Dan, Riley, an
d a vamp whose name I didn’t know. “Drink up! It’s not every day you save the world.”
The night before after I’d made sure Eli was alright, I’d zipped back to the scene of the battle and gotten a couple angels to help me pick up Quinn. Riley had filled us in on what happened while we were in the volcano. Luckily, the good guys had been able to fend off the demons with few casualties. Those that had fallen were receiving a special funeral service led by the HR.
Which had caused a bit of a stir when he’d announced it on TV earlier in the day, especially given the fact that the government had taken a very harsh stance against us supes. The riot, combined with the kidnapping and the portal breaches, had caused exactly the societal uproar Lucifer had planned. Now the Feds were locking up supes left and right, and there was a great deal of talk on the news all day about microchipping and all sorts of other bullshit. Nobody talked about how the supes were the ones that saved the day. Another reason we all needed a good, stiff drink tonight.
“This is delicious,” Will cooed after taking a sip. “You sure do make a mean martini.”
“So do I.” Quinn stepped up behind me, pressing a purple martini into my hand. “Passionflower with amethyst essence,” she elaborated as everyone ooed and ahhed at the color.
“Cheers!” Riley called, and we all lifted our glasses.
“I think you’re forgetting someone.” Donovan’s Irish brogue drifted over my shoulder and he draped his arm around me. We touched our glasses together, and the air filled with chimes and clinks and laughter.
I saw some people approaching the bar and turned to go make more drinks. “I’ve got it,” Will said with his usual casual smile. “Why don’t you take a breather?”
“Oh, sure,” I laughed.
“I’ll help. Can’t leave the people thirsty.” Donovan followed Will up to the bar.
Someone tapped on my shoulder. Eli. “Hey, can I speak to you alone for a second?”
“Um, sure.” We stepped back into a small alcove. “What’s up?”
“Well, last night I never got a chance to say thank you.” He met my eyes and smiled faintly.
“For what?”
“For saving my life, obviously.” He rolled his eyes, then his smile faded. “You know, when your—when Anna had me, and you said we were just business partners, I thought for a second there you were really going to let her kill me. I know how long you’ve wanted revenge on Alexander. But then you jumped in front of Lucifer’s spell.” He paused and an awkward silence stretched between us for a moment. Eli cleared his throat and continued. “But how did you survive?”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “I—I think something happened with my demon mark.” We both looked down at the pink scar on my arm. “Something Lucifer didn’t mean to happen. Apparently it’s not supposed to be used for healing. But it’s healed me from demon attacks three times now.”
“Well, I guess there’s a silver lining to everything.”
I snorted. “Yeah, I guess. But I have a feeling there’s still a lot to learn about the effects of the mark. Anyways, you’re welcome for the whole life-saving thing. What are friends for, right?”
The room suddenly got quiet and we turned to see what the absence of noise was all about. Someone had just joined the party, escorted by two angels. Eli stepped forward and bowed. “Representative. How nice of you to join us.”
The HR bowed his head in return. “Tonight I bow to all of you.” His voice carried around the room. “Each of you showed immense bravery and dedication to the realm of Earth. You put aside your differences as supernatural races and fought together for the sovereignty of our planet. For this I owe you my deepest gratitude.” He waved his hands and smiled. “Now please, continue your party.”
The volume in the room slowly climbed back to its original levels, and the HR turned to me and Eli. “The two of you did an excellent job, both in keeping me alive and spoiling Lucifer’s plot.”
“I’m sure he’ll be back. Madder and more devious than ever,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.
“No doubt,” the HR agreed. “Which is why I want you to be a permanent member of my team.”
I choked. “What? But I’m a bartender,” I gasped stupidly.
Eli hid a smirk.
“Think of it as being a consultant. I know you have a successful business to run, and other personal endeavors you enjoy. But, from time to time, I’d like to call on you for assistance. A special agent of sorts.” He made a gesture with his hands, like he’d just come up with the title.
“Special Agent Star. That sounds nice, don’t you think?” Eli asked, jabbing me in the ribs.
“Uh, sure. I mean, I’d be honored. Thank you,” I finished lamely.
The HR smiled. “No, thank you, Zyan. Now, I think I’d like to try one of your special concoctions.”
I tried to hide my astonishment. “Oh, yes, I’ll go get you one.”
“No need. I can find the bar,” he said with a smile. He turned and walked off, his guards flanking him.
I turned to Eli with a grin. “Well, I sure didn’t see that coming.”
“See, that’s your problem. You might as well just admit you have a heart and you’re on the good side. And that maybe you’re not as selfish as you think you are.”
I sighed deeply, one hand on my hip. “Clearly you haven’t learned much about me. Are you sure you’re ready to have an eternally damned soul thief/maybe demon as a partner?”
“Don’t forget bartender,” Eli added, his eyes serious. “I suppose I could be ready, if you’re ready to have an arrogant, stuck-up, temperamental angel as yours.”
“Yeah, it could be hard…” I trailed off, then smiled. “Because who knows what Lucifer’ll throw at us next.”
He shrugged. “Zombie army, maybe? That way he wouldn’t have to mess with portals again.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Well, whatever it is, I guess we’re in it together now.” Eli caught me with his lavender eyes.
“Partners?”
“Partners,” he agreed.
“What’s all this about partners?” Riley asked as he and Quinn walked up.
“Zyan’s a permanent Special Agent for the HR now,” Eli explained.
“What exactly does that entail?” Quinn asked, her brow furrowed.
“Well, you know. Killing demons, fighting evil, keeping Hell in its place, and general kick-assery.”
“Is that all?” Riley raised a brow as Eli and I grinned at each other.
I sighed and blew a strand of hair out of my face. “I forgot one thing: drinking martinis.”
“Cheers to that,” Quinn said.
We raised our glasses again for a toast. I knew Lucifer and Alexander would be back. And there was still the matter of freeing my sister. And the unknown attributes of my demon mark. But tonight I could let evil take a break.
There was always tomorrow.
Also forthcoming in 2016
Whiskey and Angelfire — Zyan Star Book Two
Zyan and Eli head to Ireland to find a missing angel. They soon discover other supernaturals are missing, too, and tensions are running high in the supe community. The horse and dragon shifters are battling it out, and Archangel Michael will stop at nothing to find his missing warrior… even if it means war.
Vengeance and Vermouth — Zyan Star Book Three
Too secret to reveal… let’s just say book two ends on a cliffhanger!!
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A little teaser for Whiskey and Angelfire, Zyan Star Book Two
I took in
a deep breath, a deep breath heavy with the scent of Eli’s soul. Pure and vibrant, like a glacier spring, the roots of a mountain, the forever of the sky. It rocked into me and a brutal longing flashed from my lips to my groin. I wanted to drink him, to possess him, to have all of him. I’d never wanted anything more in my entire two-hundred-plus year life.
Without conscious thought, I stepped forward into the curve of his body, tilting my face up, leaning in…
Martinis with the Devil, Part Two Page 13
