by Diem, J. C.
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Chapter Fourteen
Nathan caught up to me after I turned the corner and we sprinted side by side. He threw a look backwards and made a sound of annoyance. We were heading towards Central Park. It was only a couple of blocks away and it was the last place I wanted to go. My feathered nemesis had its lair somewhere in the park. We were lucky the raven hadn’t already tracked us down.
Taking my hand, Nathan urged me to run faster. The taint had been pushed back, but my health still wasn’t good enough to keep this up. He pulled me along, making sure I didn’t trip and fall. I could hear the demons behind us and it sounded like they were gaining.
Turning onto Madison Avenue, we headed south. Nathan seemed to know where he was going and I followed his lead. A few blocks later, he turned left into a side street. Seeing a steeple with a cross appear on a building ahead, I realized we were heading for the only place where demons couldn’t follow us.
Swinging me into his arms, Nathan vaulted over a low stone wall into a tiny graveyard. Even with over two hundred evil souls inside me, I wasn’t barred from entering a holy place. The legion wasn’t tethered to me like my own soul would have been. They were just squatting inside me until I could find a way to evict them.
Stopping at the border of the grounds, the pack of one captain and six soldiers glowered at us. The captain spoke into his radio, no doubt calling for backup.
Nathan put me down and ushered me along the path. Only one story high, the church was made of gray stone that had few embellishments. The door was made of sturdy hardwood and the hinges creaked when I pushed it open. Nathan stepped inside and closed the door.
I glanced around to see the church was small and almost plain. It didn’t have the opulence or fancy decorations of a cathedral. Plain wooden benches were lined up neatly in two rows to the left and right. An altar stood at the far end of the room. Stained glass windows depicted scenes from the bible.
Seeing a small side door to the left, Nathan strode towards it. A voice stopped us before we could use it to escape. “Can I help you, my son?”
We turned to see a white haired priest entering through a door that led to a small kitchen. He wore jeans and a dark blue button up shirt rather than a black robe. A gold cross dangled from a chain around his neck. “We are just passing through, Reverend,” Nathan said respectfully.
The priest’s kindly blue eyes viewed us both. “Are you in some sort of trouble?”
“Yes,” I replied honestly. “Some bad men are chasing us and we’re trying to get away from them.”
“Why don’t you call the police?”
“They are the police,” I said bleakly.
His eyes turned shrewd. “I know you,” he said suddenly. “You’re Violet Harper. You’re wanted for the murders of dozens of people.”
“She is not responsible for their deaths,” Nathan said and moved to my side protectively.
“Then who is responsible?” the priest asked. “You?”
“I ended some of their lives,” my guardian admitted. “It is regretful, but there are always casualties in a war.”
“Who are you at war with?”
“Demons,” I said
He blinked at my response. “You believe that you are being chased by demons who are dressed as police officers?” the priest said carefully, as if doubting my sanity.
“If they were human, they would have followed us inside,” I pointed out. “Hell spawn can’t tread on holy ground.”
Stepping past us, he quickly walked to the front door. Opening it, he peeked outside. I saw the cops milling around through the small gap. Sirens shrieked in the distance and were growing closer by the second. We’d soon be surrounded.
Closing the door, the priest surprised me by locking it. He crossed to us again and came to a stop right in front of me. He was only a few inches taller than me and was somewhere in his sixties. He had a paunch and looked like the least dangerous man I’d ever met. Then he peered into my eyes and I felt as if I was pinned beneath his stare.
When he switched his gaze to Nathan, I almost sagged in relief that the scrutiny was over. I felt a sense of power coming from him that hadn’t been apparent at first. He stared at my guardian and Nathan looked back at him coolly.
“What are you?” the priest asked at last.
“I am Nathanael, a soldier of God,” Nathan replied. “I was tasked with keeping Violet safe.”
Turning back to me, the priest looked disturbed. “What are you, young lady? Are you an angel as well?” His lips quirked, as if he was barely holding onto a laugh.
There was no easy way to say it, so I just blurted it out. “I’m Hellscourge.”
He shook his head in bafflement. “I’m not familiar with that name.”
“Violet is all that stands between the forces of evil breaking free from hell,” Nathan told him. “Demons have been escaping for thousands of years. They have spread throughout this city. Tens of thousands more are waiting at the gates, poised to invade. Violet’s fate is to destroy the leaders of the nine realms.”
The priest’s gaze went distant and he frowned. “I have felt that something was wrong in this city for months,” he said softly. “Evil is rising and I can sense it all around me. Those men standing outside almost seem to have dark auras surrounding them.”
“You don’t think we’re crazy?” I asked.
“That is always a possibility,” he said with a shrug. “But I am fairly good at knowing when I’m being lied to. You two appear to be telling me the truth.”
“Will you aid us?” Nathan asked. “We need to escape before we are surrounded.”
“I’m sure it’s already too late for that,” the reverend replied and I groaned at his response. “Never fear, Violet,” he said with a small smile. “There’s a secret passageway below the church.”
He led the way to the door that Nathan had wanted to escape through. The priest took some keys out of his pocket just as a knock came at the door. “This is the NYPD!” a male voice shouted. “We know you’re in there, Violet Harper! Come out with your hands up!”
I shook my head at the clichéd order. “So original,” I muttered sourly.
Opening the door, the priest ushered us through then closed and locked it again. We were in a short hallway that had two doors. There was one on the left and another straight ahead. He crossed to the one ahead and used another key to unlock it. A staircase waited on the other side. It was too dark to see how many steps there were.
Flicking on a light, he waited for us to begin descending before he shut and locked the second door. Nathan went first. I followed him down a dozen stairs into a damp, narrow passageway. It was cool down here. I half expected to see yellow lichen covering the walls and mist hanging around our ankles.
We turned sideways to let our rescuer slip past us. He hurried along the passageway that ran beneath his church. The dimness was occasionally broken by bare lightbulbs that only gave off a weak glow.
We travelled for a couple of hundred yards before we came to another set of stairs leading upwards. “This will take you to an alleyway,” the priest said. “I’ll let you out then return to my church and try to delay the police for as long as I can.”
“Won’t you get in trouble for aiding and abetting criminals?” I asked.
He laughed and shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”
I realized we hadn’t been properly introduced. “What do we call you?” I asked.
“My name is Elijah,” he replied and sorted through his keys. “You can call me ‘Reverend’ if using my name makes you uncomfortable.” He climbed the stairs and unlocked the door then stood aside to let us out.
“Thank you, Elijah,” Nathan said in deep gratitude. “We will not forget your kind assistance.”
“I am just doing my duty to protect mankind, as are you, Nathanael,” he replied.
I gave him a grateful smile and hoped he wouldn’t get thrown in jail for helping us. Nathan took my hand aga
in and we hurried down the alleyway. “Demons are still nearby,” he said. “They are blocking my ability to teleport.” They must have spread out to blanket the area to stop us from leaving. It took several of them banded together to pull that off. That meant there were dozens of them around the neighborhood.
We had to find somewhere safe to hide before they found us. If we didn’t, I’d end up shackled in Bob’s basement. I didn’t even want to think about what would happen to Nathan. Images of him being stripped of his grace and his vessel being murdered flooded into my mind. God had entwined his soul with the human body that he’d borrowed, but that wouldn’t save him. The Collectors used magic to siphon the angelic essence into their glass vials. Something told me that my guardian would be just as vulnerable to being harvested as any of his kin.
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Chapter Fifteen
Seeing a back exit to an apartment building, Nathan guided me over to it. He tried the handle and it was locked. Looking around to make sure no one was in sight, he concentrated and I heard a metallic click.
“Did you just use magic to pick the lock?” I asked.
“Yes. It is a talent that I am not proud of, yet it has come in handy right now.” Pulling the door open, he waited for me to enter then stepped in after me. He locked the door again and we hurried down the hallway.
Stopping at the end, we peeked around the corner towards the foyer. It wasn’t as grand as Zach’s building, but a doorman was standing guard. A uniformed officer was talking to him. He held a sheet of paper up and I didn’t have to see it to know my photo would be on it. The doorman shook his head. “He advised the officer that no one has entered the building in the past hour,” Nathan reported. The cop turned on his heel and stalked off.
While the doorman was busy looking outside, we crept out of the hallway. We crossed the thickly carpeted floor to a door that had a picture of a staircase on it. I opened the door as quietly as possible and we slipped inside without being discovered.
“What now?” I asked. “Do we hide out in the stairwell and wait for the demons to go away?”
“It is not safe here,” he said and headed up the stairs. “With luck, we will find an empty apartment to wait in.”
We climbed up to the second floor and I stared at Nathan’s butt the whole time. He caught me looking and sent me a sardonic look over his shoulder. “Try to remain focused,” he chided me.
“I am focused,” I muttered. I was focused on how gorgeous he was. As always, spending time alone with my guardian was bringing my longing for him to the forefront. He was an addiction that I could never get enough of.
Opening the door that led to the apartments on the second level, Nathan checked that the hallway was clear before stepping out. We moved to the first door and he listened for a few moments before continuing on. His hearing was so acute that he could tell when the rooms were occupied.
The fifth apartment was empty, so he used his magic to unlock the door. I walked past him into an empty room. Thick cream carpet covered the floor of what I suspected was a dining room. Beyond it was a living area that was equally devoid of furniture. I automatically took my boots off so I wouldn’t stain it. Nathan relocked the door then took his shoes off as well.
To our right was a kitchen and a hallway that led to other rooms. Uninterested in exploring, I crossed to the window that looked out on the street below. There were no curtains to hide me from view and I was careful not to expose much of my face as I peeked downwards. A police car was parked right across the street. Four demons stood near it. They were listening to their radio as someone gave them an order.
“They will not be going anywhere for a while,” Nathan said from right behind me. “Their Captain suspects that we are still in the area. They have been ordered to keep watch for us.”
“Bob just isn’t going to give up,” I said with a sigh. “I’m going to have to do something about him one of these days.”
“What will you do?” Nathan asked and drew me away from the window. “Will you evict him from his vessel and consume his soul?”
I made a face at the thought of being subjected to any of Bob’s memories. “Probably. I don’t see any other way to get him off my back.”
Staring down at me, he brushed a finger over my cheek. “You were injured during your battle with Candy.”
“I’d hardly call it a battle,” I said dryly. “Slapping and hair pulling doesn’t really count.”
“She scratched you with her fake fingernails.”
“Did she?” I hadn’t even noticed. My cheeks still stung from being slapped repeatedly. I’d assumed that was the reason for my pain.
“Yes. One of the scratches looks nasty.” His gaze grew intense. “It could become infected if it is left untreated.”
“I’ll take some aspirin when we return to the store.”
Knowing we were in danger, I backed away. He followed me and stepped up close when my back hit the wall. His hands came to rest on either side of me, trapping me in place. “Your system has already been compromised by the toxin,” he said. “You cannot afford to become ill.” It sounded like a perfectly reasonable excuse for him to heal me, but I saw the longing in his eyes. He needed me just like I needed him and my resistance was rapidly seeping away.
My gaze dropped to his mouth. It was only inches away from mine. I swayed towards him and it was all the invitation he needed. The instant his lips touched mine, I was lost. Bliss swept through me as he infused me with his essence. He had enough presence of mind to only give me a small amount of grace before he switched it off. I wrapped my arms around his neck before he could pull away. Now he was the one who was trapped. I pressed myself against him and deepened our kiss. He groaned with the same need that I felt and triumph surged through me. He was mine and I could do with him as I pleased. Some part of me knew that it was wrong and that my demonic side was taking over. The rest of me was desperate to ease our longing.
Nathan kissed me with the same desperation that I felt as I slid my hands down his chest. Hard muscle flexed beneath my fingers. Reaching the hem of his t-shirt, I slid my hands beneath it. Splaying my palms on his abdomen, I moved them upwards, taking his shirt with it.
Knowing what I wanted, he stripped his shirt off and let it drop to the floor. Half naked now, he was perfect. I ran my hands over his chest, marveling that someone so beautiful wanted me as much as I wanted him.
His hands went to the bottom of my shirt. I lifted my arms up without hesitation. He pulled my shirt off and his breath caught in his throat. Standing only in my bra and jeans, I didn’t feel the awkward shyness that I’d expected. I was with the man I loved and this felt right.
Seeing the ugly red scar that wasn’t quite hidden beneath my bra on my left breast, he didn’t draw away in disgust. He bent down and placed a soft kiss on it. Bliss changed to lust and it was my turn to groan. I longed to give into the desires that had been plaguing me ever since I’d first seen him in the flesh.
Drawing him down to the thick carpet, I straddled his legs and pushed him backwards until he was lying down. Seeing the black scar on my stomach, he gently ran a finger across it. Thankfully, nothing moved inside me this time. His breath caught when I leaned down and kissed him. He pulled me down until we were chest to chest and groin to groin. Rolling us over until he was on top, he started kissing his way down my neck. His lips brushed against my breast again. Everything inside me tightened in anticipation of him removing my bra.
My cell phone rang, bringing us back to reality and completely ruining the moment. Groaning in anguish, my heart thudded at how close we’d just come to losing control. The promise I’d made to myself not to defile Nathan’s angelic purity faded every time we kissed.
With a rueful look, Nathan took my phone out of my pocket and handed it to me. Seeing Sophia’s name on display, I mentally thanked her for her timing and answered it. “Hi, Sophia.”
“Are you alright?”
“Sure. Why do you ask?”
“You and Nathan have been gone for a long time. We were getting worried about you.”
“We’re hiding out from some demons in an empty apartment at the moment. Once they leave, we’ll head straight back to the store.”
“Where are you?”
“We’re on the Upper East Side.”
Nathan stood and walked over to the window. “It appears that they are leaving,” he told me.
“It looks like we’ll be able to leave in a minute,” I said to Sophia. “We’ll tell you everything when we return.”
“I will have tea waiting for you,” she said.
“Are you certain we should tell Sophia everything that transpired here?” Nathan asked after I hung up. Still shirtless, he had one eyebrow raised in enquiry. It took everything I had in me not to tackle him to the ground again.
“Yeah. I’m going to tell her that we were rolling around kissing and groping each other,” I said snarkily. Suddenly realizing I was half naked as well, I blushed bright red and scrambled for my shirt. I’d been dating Zach for months and not even he had seen me in this state of undress. If we ever got to that stage, I could only hope he would react to my scars as well as Nathan had. It would break my heart if he was repulsed by them.
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Chapter Sixteen
Nathan was still smiling smugly when we returned to our base. Leo took one look at us and rolled his eyes. “Is it possible for you two to be alone together for five minutes without succumbing to your physical urges?”
“If we’d succumbed to them, we wouldn’t be here right now,” I said crankily and plonked down on my seat.
“How close did you come this time?” the teen asked.
“Let’s just say that Sophia’s phone call came at a very good time.”
She entered the room carrying a tray with Sam on her heels. He looked better after taking a nap. Yawning, he sat next to me. “What did I miss?” he asked.
