Angel Seduced

by Jaime Rush

  “He wants the respect of all the Caidos,” Silva said. “Maybe even more than the angels’ gratitude.”

  “You have pledged your allegiance to a man who would allow children to die for their freedom. But does he care about you beyond what you can do for the cause? Or are you only rewarded with affection when you please him?”

  She had seen enough of their dynamic to feel comfortable with that guess. And by the way Silva’s expression crumbled she knew she was right. Suddenly he was the sad, needy boy in the dream who craved love and approval. Reaching Silva’s humanity was the key to gaining him as an ally. If that were even possible. “I took my value from what I could do for others. I’m only now realizing that I’m valuable just as I am. So are you.”

  Silva’s mouth tightened, and his chin trembled. As he started to say something, the guy outside banged on the door. “Are you finished? We need to move to the next room.”

  “In a minute,” Silva said, his voice hoarse.

  She thought maybe she was getting through, but then he said, “It’s easier to come to that conclusion when the person you most want in the world loves you back. The way Kasabian looked at you, the way he shifted his body to protect you, that’s why I wanted to kill you earlier.” He reached out, grazing her neck. “Why I want to kill you…”

  A thump sounded in the hallway, and the door flew open. Kasabian stood there, in all of his winged glory—and Wraithlord rage. As scary as he looked, relief and a whole range of emotions bombarded her. His eyes flashed black when he saw Silva’s hand at her neck, and the Dragon Shadow took him over. He threw Silva into the wall so hard the drywall cracked. Black ropes bound him before he could even try to extricate himself.

  “No!” Kye pulled herself from the bed and fell against Kasabian. “He wasn’t…”

  Kasabian wrapped his arm around her and held her up. He took in the sight of her, relief on his face. The rage returned though. “I heard him say he was going to kill you.”

  “Before,” Silva said, struggling to get free. “I wanted to kill her before.”

  “That isn’t helping your case,” Kasabian said, curling his fingers into fists that made the ropes pull tighter.

  “The vision,” Kye whispered. “That’s what Sarai saw, a Wraithlord about to kill me in a jealous rage. Only it was Silva who was jealous.” She wrapped her fingers over Kasabian’s arm, feeling the barely restrained rage pulsing through him. “Pull yourself back. Silva and I were coming to an understanding.”

  Movement made her turn to the hallway to find Lyle stepping over a Caido’s body and rushing in. He came to an abrupt stop at the scene before him.

  “Get the kids out,” Kasabian told him.

  Lyle nodded and urged the two kids to go with him. They would escape the channeling. She hadn’t failed them after all.

  While keeping Silva pinned, Kasabian asked, “What kind of understanding could you possibly come to with this man?”

  “We have something in common. We didn’t get the approval we needed. I found people who appreciated me because of it. Treylon used Silva’s needs to brainwash him into—”

  “A sadistic monster who kills children,” Kasabian finished.

  “Into what Treylon needed.”

  “I can’t just let him go, Kye. We have to get these kids out of here, and he’ll stop us. Like he would have stopped me before.”

  Lyle rushed back in. “I’ve got them all downstairs, but the Dragons and Deuces are fading fast.”

  Kye shook her head. “No. Not after getting this far.”

  Kasabian brushed his hand against her cheek. “You did everything you could. Don’t blame yourself.”

  “She was willing to sacrifice the last of herself to save them,” Silva said, admiration in his voice. “I thought what Treylon was doing was noble. Maybe…I was wrong.”

  Kye gained her balance, standing on her own. “Taking the kids out of here isn’t going to help. They’ve lost their essence, and there’s no essence transfusion.”

  Lyle looked as though he was about to cry. “So…there’s no hope?”

  “Yes. Yes, there is,” Kye said as an idea formed. “We reverse the essence channeling. The Caidos sent it up to the vessel. We get them to channel it back to the children.” She looked at Lyle. “Could you manage to do that? I know you’re exhausted—”

  “We could,” Lyle said. “We could try.”

  “Rally the Caidos,” she told him.

  Kasabian used that strange black magick to lasso Silva and pull him away from the wall. “You’re coming with us.” He shot Kye a look that clearly said, Though I’d rather kill him.

  Hayden started when an alarm squawked once. Enough to warn the Caidos that there was trouble, but not enough to bring outside attention. Damn, their element of surprise was gone.

  As he swept the grounds, he’d dropped four minions, only one fatally. He understood Kasabian’s directive to leave as many unharmed as possible. But it went against Hayden’s instincts and training not to whack some asshole who was trying to whack you. They were no doubt being told that they were part of some grand plan, and the intruders were threatening that plan.

  Movement in the sky caught his eye. He could see the angels trying to pull free of what looked like ropes that were binding them. The vessel was almost full.

  An ungodly sound rent the air. Then a roar. A Dragon roar. He raced toward its source, searching the lush grounds as he went. A flash of deep, verdant green didn’t fit in with the rest of the foliage. It moved too fast for something shifting in a breeze. He came up on a scene that twisted his heart. A deep green Dragon, scales shimmering the way the sun did as it streamed down into the water, and two black creatures attacking her.

  What the hell were they? Not demons. Not Elementals. Wraiths. Roughly the size and shape of gorillas, they moved with speed and agility. They looked shadowy, but their talons and teeth were very real, given the bleeding cuts on the Dragon. Hayden tried to remember what the old textbook had said about how to fight them as he inched forward. The Dragon spun around to fend off another attack, and he saw a nasty gash on her side.

  Cecily. He could see her in those cat-like irises, in the delicate jawline. It was the first time he’d seen her in Dragon form, and she took his breath away. Especially since she was under attack.

  Her deep green eyes locked onto him, fear and gratitude in them. “Hayden,” she said, and the growly word reflected both emotions as well.

  She turned back to her attackers and blew a torrent of steam at the two wraiths. She was a water Dragon, using her breath to steam or drown her victims. Neither would work on the wraiths beyond holding them back until they found a way around her defenses. As they’d obviously done before.

  It was also difficult to kill them with Light. He reached back to the electric energy of his wings and pulled one of the feathers. Like tearing out a lock of his hair and a bit of scalp, it hurt like a bitch. The feather solidified into a dhagger as he raced up behind one of the wraiths.

  The wraith turned just as Hayden reached it, slashing at him with its talons. Hayden punctured the wraith’s chest, but it moved out of reach before his knife could do any damage. Damn, they were as fast as cockroaches.

  The other wraith took advantage of Cecily’s diverted attention as she watched him and Leaped onto her tail, scrambling along the thick spines of her back. She smashed at it—and herself—with her tail to knock it off, but it skirted her. It reached her graceful neck and wrapped its lanky arms around it. The wraith readied its talons, about to drive one right up into her kill spot beneath her chin.

  No.

  He Leaped onto her back next to the wraith, grabbing her neck to keep from falling on the other side. He settled between the deep grooves of spines that reminded him of shark fins. He’d barely gotten his balance when the wraith grabbed his wrist with its spindly fingers. He had to struggle to hold on as the wraith’s teeth speared right through bone and flesh.

  The wraith’s gaping eye sock
ets seemed to stare him down. Hayden was losing his grip on her. Pain radiated down his arm and numbed his fingers. The slippery blood made it even harder to hold on. Cecily wasn’t making it any easier, thrashing as she fought the other entity in front of her. He could use some of Kasabian’s freaky magick about now.

  Hayden sent a blast of Light from his good hand, punching holes in the wraith’s arm. It loosened its grip just enough for Hayden to plunge the dhagger into the wraith’s indistinct face. It squealed and tried to wrestle the knife from Hayden’s control. He held on with a death grip, and finally the wraith disintegrated. He had to wrap his good arm around the base of Cecily’s neck, flattening himself to the right of the hard spikes.

  The second wraith skittered around behind them and lashed at the wound Cecily had already sustained. She screamed in pain and stumbled. His thighs tightened against her smooth scales, but not fast enough. He slid to the side and, without two operable hands, fell to the ground.

  Fuck, his hand was useless until it healed. He raced around to the side. Cecily’s fangs snapped at the wraith, sinking into its shadowy body. It was staying too close for her to steam it.

  Hayden came up beneath her, sliding against her belly, and plunged his knife into the wraith from below. He twisted it as the wraith struggled, and then it disintegrated. Cecily staggered, and Hayden moved out of the way a second before she collapsed to the ground. Dragons could heal themselves if they remained in their form, but that could take time. And time was one thing they didn’t have a lot of.

  He searched the surroundings and spotted a Caido who’d been watching the whole thing. He started to run off, and Hayden held out his good hand and shot him down with a lethal dose of Light. With a gasp, he fell.

  He turned back to Cecily, who’d Catalyzed to human. She didn’t even have the strength to maintain her Dragon form. Not good. The gaping wound along her side looked even worse now that it contrasted her human skin. The wraith had cut through the muscle, and blood poured out with her every gasping breath. He dropped down beside her and drew the Light to heal her.

  She was shivering, her eyes wide and unfocused, hands curling into the grass. He pulled her into his arms with his good hand, settled her across his lap, and held that hand over her wound.

  “Hold on, Cecily. I’m healing you, but you have to do your part and stay with me.” He bent over her and cradled her, breathing through the gut-searing pain that now manifested in his side. His other hand throbbed in pain. He couldn’t heal her and himself at the same time, and her wound was life-threatening.

  Her breathing evened out, and her shivering lessened. He watched the torn flesh mend without leaving so much as a scar. She should sleep, continue to heal, but there wasn’t time for either.

  She met his gaze and smiled, the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Her gaze went just beyond him where she could no doubt see his wings. Or a semblance of them, since she didn’t have her glasses. “My angel,” she whispered, reaching up to touch his cheek. Her pupils were dilated.

  He took her hand. “You gave me a hell of a scare.”

  “You’ve never seen me as Dragon before.”

  He chuckled. “Not your Dragon, silly girl. The wraiths attacking you.”

  She blinked, coming more fully back. “Is that what those things were? They were horrible.”

  “Wraiths are rare, so there’s not a lot about them in the training manuals.”

  Her gaze locked onto his hand holding hers. “I can feel your heartbeat. I guess you were scared.”

  Caidos tried to keep their emotions neutral, but he’d come to care about Cecily. Especially since he and Kasabian had put her in danger. “I have to heal my other hand.” He raised it, and she gasped.

  “Oh, my gods. You must be in terrible pain.”

  “It’s just a scrape.” He pulled the Light and focused on the splintered bones, shredded tendons, and ripped skin. Now she watched in fascination as it healed before her eyes.

  “You’re amazing,” she said, awe in her soft voice.

  “Ditto.” And now he became aware of her nudity as she lay in his lap. Her light straight blond hair fell over her breasts, not thick enough to conceal the curves. “We need to get you some clothes and find the others.”

  “Always the pain-in-the-ass thing about Catalyzing when you’re not prepared.”

  He helped her to her feet, and he pulled the shirt and pants from the Caido he’d just killed. When she shrank back at the clothing, he told her, “Standard operating procedure for Dragon Vegas and Arguses in these kinds of situations.”

  She slid into them, an expression of disgust on her face, and they ran down the pathways. He searched for any sign of minions. A woman with long brown hair shifted into view up ahead, just before she ducked out of sight. Mallory.

  He made a soft sound that had her peering around the bush. Her expression softened in relief as she ran toward them. “I haven’t seen Kasabian.”

  “We’re going to Leap to him.” He nodded toward the angels that were beginning to pull free of their bonds. “We’re just about out of time.”

  Chapter 25

  Kasabian knew the only reason the Caido kids were willing to put their exhausted little bodies through more was because Kye had done the same to protect them. Lyle, holding Jonathan’s hand tight in his, had made them very aware of what she’d gone through.

  Kasabian felt every bit of her fear that they wouldn’t succeed. They’d gathered the children in a courtyard, directly beneath the nearly full vessel that held their essences.

  Three people materialized next to him. Kasabian held out his hands, until he saw that it was Hayden, Cecily, and Mallory. They all jumped at the sight of Silva, now bound to a tree with Wraithlord magick.

  Hayden met Kasabian’s gaze. “I’m beginning to appreciate that dark magick of yours.” He looked at the group of children, and his expression fell. “We got this far. Now what?” He could probably feel their life force ebbing, just as Kasabian could.

  Kasabian stroked Kye’s arm. “All of the Caidos are going to draw the kids’ essence back into them.”

  Cecily stepped forward, wearing ridiculously oversized clothing. “How can I help?”

  “Catch the kids when they fall,” Kasabian said. This was going to take everything out of the few who were still standing or sitting.

  “I can help,” Silva said.

  “I’m not releasing you.” Or trusting him. Kasabian gathered the kids in a semicircle. “You’re going to do what you did earlier, only this time you’re pulling it from up there.” He pointed to the sky. “Are you ready?”

  As fatigued as they looked, they nodded eagerly and went to work. It was the Essex times a thousand, not a coaxing but a tug-of-war. The angels fought to pull it back, selfish bastards, making the vessel tremble.

  Kye was kneeling down next to some of the children who were barely hanging on, encouraging them. She was also watching Silva, who was trying to free himself. The Caido kids were grimacing in their efforts, their eyes squeezed shut, hands physically pulling at the air. Kasabian could see when they’d get the upper hand; a trickle of blue would start streaming down to earth. Then the angels would get a surge of strength and gain control again.

  “Come on, one big pull.” Kasabian could see the essence in the vessel coming down, like a tornado beginning to descend from the clouds. “Yes,” he gritted out. “We’re doing it.”

  Movement out of the corner of his eye drew his gaze to Treylon, who was stepping into the courtyard. “No.” The man’s eyes glittered with anger as he glared at Kasabian. “You will not do this to me again!” He shot a beam of Light at Kasabian, who dodged it.

  Kasabian’s lost concentration made the streams pause, but he focused on it again. “Look at the cost to free a bunch of fallen angels!” He pointed toward the children on the ground.

  “I’m also freeing Caidos from the curse!”

  “Are you sure that will happen?” Kasabian asked. “Or is that what the ang
els told you?”

  “I trust them more than anyone else.”

  “You trust angels who approve the sacrifice of children?” Kasabian looked at the downward flowing stream, now back to a trickle. Damn. He spun around to see that Silva had escaped his magick bindings.

  Treylon pulled his Light in the shape of a sword, swinging it back and forth. He looked at Silva, his mouth twisted with cruel taunting. “Do you have the guts to kill Kasabian, or will your feelings get in the way?”

  Silva seemed to wrestle with the answer. He looked at the children, then back to Treylon. “The question that plagues me more is do I trust angels who sanction the death of children to live up to their promises? More importantly, do I trust a man who would kill his own son, especially when that man has shown me little regard? You threatened to kill me just for using my power in front of others without your permission.”

  “I don’t care about the questions that reflect your insecurity,” Treylon bit out. “I only care that you do the right thing.”

  “I have the guts to do the right thing, yes.” Silva stepped up next to Kasabian and added his efforts to their cause, bringing the blue light down in a steady stream.

  Treylon’s eyes bulged in anger. Silva gave Kasabian a meaningful look. He didn’t see Treylon’s anger. Or the sword that he threw at Silva. Kasabian tried to shove Silva to the side, but the sword pierced him anyway. He gasped, staring at the glistening red blade of Light protruding from his chest, and fell to the ground.

  No! Not when they were this close. Kasabian felt the Wraithlord rise, and he let it take over. In a blur, he flew at Treylon and dragged him out of sight of the children. He heard Kye’s voice call out, “Keep going, keep going!”

  Kasabian shoved the man to the ground, seeing the shadow of a Dragon’s hand over his own as it plunged into Treylon’s chest. It took everything in Kasabian to muster the energy, drained as he was from drawing the essence down. Treylon reached a shaking arm out and clamped his hand on Kasabian’s shoulder. Pain rocketed through him as the Light charged through flesh and bone.