by Crymsyn Hart
“Everybody okay?” she asked. She was dressed in a new, red silk peasant blouse that showed off the top of her breasts and accentuated the mocha creaminess of her skin. The jeans he had gotten her clung to her hips, and he saw himself peeling the clothes off her body and making love to her right there. She had certainly bewitched him, and he would be her slave for eternity. He suppressed the desire and wondered if this is what humans felt with their infatuations when they first met a woman they wanted to be with.
Joe appeared to be studying the creature before him. Tris wondered why he had sent Lori looking into her lineage, but he was not about to ask. At least, not yet. It would be best to see what other questions the angel had.
“No. Not everything is okay, Daniella. Do you happen to know where Lori is?”
She glanced at him and back at Tris. Her gaze was filled with fear. “I—ahh—” She looked down at her hands.
Tris could not believe what he was hearing, or not hearing, in this case. Anger rolled through him. “What are you saying? You know where Lori is? Was Joe right? Did you see him sneak out, contact your Grigori master, and tell him our secrets? Fucking vampires. I knew this was all too good to be true.” He slammed his fist into the wall and left a dent in the concrete foundation. The anger rose up and overwhelmed him. The words came out, and all he could see was red.
“Tris, let Daniella speak before you accuse her of anything else. Or maybe all the things you said upstairs were for my benefit.”
He gritted his teeth and looked at the woman before him with the hurt painted on her face and the innocent and wide-eyed expression that he had let himself fall for. How could he have been so stupid? It’s all an act. I have to remember that. It has to be. She came in here and knew how to press all the right buttons. I couldn’t have really felt anything for her. Could I have?
She pulled her hand back and twisted it into her shirt. “I thought they were just dreams. They started three days ago. I saw Lori in a dark room with an abnormal and cold creature. I thought it was a bad dream. Sometimes they show things that come true. They’ve been that way since I was a kid. I can’t control them. It’s like I told Tris about feelings I get about people once I touch them. I can see inside see their soul, and.... I think it’s one reason I can’t kill people. Balthus holds out hope that I’ll get over it. That’s why I wasn’t at the feeding when you burst in and killed the nest. If I had known it was real, I would have said something.”
“I bet,” Tris muttered.
“I believe you, Daniella. And it makes sense from all the other information that I’ve gathered about you.”
Her eyebrows came together in a questioning look. “What do you mean?”
“What do you know about where your parents came from?” Joe asked.
She shrugged. “Not much. I was in foster care by the time I was two. My birth certificate says my mother was white and my father was black, but that’s about it. I’ve never really thought about it, except that Balthus said one of them had to be an incubus or a succubus. I knew I wasn’t full-blooded, just part, or maybe even that one of my grandparents was one; I don’t know.”
Joe stroked his chin. “What if I told you he was partially right?”
Daniella laughed. “Before I became a vampire, I would’ve told you that you were crazy. Now, I’m more inclined to believe in anything. Hell, a couple of weeks ago I didn’t know that angels existed, and here I am surrounded by Fallen ones who are supposed to be the evil ones of the lot.”
“We’re not evil, just misunderstood. Humans have been kept in the dark about our true nature,” Joe explained. “Besides, not everything in the good book is true.”
* * * *
Daniella was not sure what she was hearing was true. She doubted what the angel said was a lie. The past couple of weeks, she had been in Heaven, with Tris making love to her and feeding off him when she needed. But it was more than that. Each time they were together, he opened himself up more. The more that she could learn about him, the deeper she saw the hurt that marked his soul, a vein of the rage that split him in two. He was trying to overcome it, but it was challenging for him. Feelings were blossoming inside of her that she could not voice at the moment, but hearing Tris call her all those things hurt her heart more than she realized it would. Daniella would never do anything to hurt him or the other angels. She had made friends with Horatio and some of the others. She had not thought she could ever be friends with the ones who had killed her nest, but the longer she was away from them, the more she realized that she was different from them.
Although her dreams troubled her, she only thought they were dreams. The dreams had been with her since she was a child. It was the same way when she got the feelings she did when she touched people. She had wondered if the abilities had come from her past, but she had never thought about looking into it. Why would she, when she was abandoned by both of her parents and no relative claimed her? All that Daniella wanted was to curl up with Tris and maybe start a life with him. Studying him now, she could see that he did not want anything to do with her. The cold gulf that had opened between them screamed and turned her frigid. If she could cry, she would have.
Daniella smiled at Joe and thought about her dreams where she had seen Lori being tortured. What did it have to do with her, and why did they want him? Why was Joe having him look into where she had come from? “What do you mean that he was only partially right about me being an incubus or a succubus?”
“Balthus has been around for about nine hundred years, which is a long time to be in the service of the Grigori. He’s had to be resourceful or pretty damn lucky not to have been killed by either one of our hunters or by your Grigori master. Do you know what the Grigori are?”
“No.”
“Grigori are the true fallen angels. They’ve been twisted by Lucifer’s minions or Lucifer himself into one of his legion. Balthus has been in service for a long time, and he has seen a lot. I had contact with him when he was younger and I was in a different position. However, you’re different, which I’m sure you figured out, because you can’t kill people. It takes a while for you to truly feel the hunger, and you can resist it, unlike the others of your line.”
“It doesn’t make her special.”
“Quiet, Tris,” Joe commanded.
Daniella jumped at the sudden bark, but she was intrigued to learn more about what the other man said. “What does that mean about where I’ve come from?”
“Your grandfather on your mother’s side was an incubus. So your mother was half succubus, and you inherited part of that: the unnatural allure and knowing instinctively who will advance your position in life. Does that sound familiar?”
Daniella nodded. She had dreamed about the men in her life and when she did, her position always changed. “So when I get a taste of them, I figure out if they’re going to be the next step on my road to success?”
“Yes. I think that you have to touch them first, since your powers are not as strong as a normal succubus. Can you take control in your dreams?”
“No. I pop up in their dreams and when I wake up, the dreams come back as flashes, so I’m never really conscious of them until the man says something. Normally if I have one, I wake up feeling sated.”
“That sounds about right, but there’s another reason why you’ve been having these dreams and can see into people’s souls when you touch them. Do you know why that is?” Joe asked.
She shrugged. “Because I’m some sort of twisted, hybrid vampire?”
“Get on with it. Just have her tell us where Lori is so we can go in and get him. I’m tired of burning daylight.”
Joe turned to him. “Tris, so help me if you say another thing, I’m going to rip your wings off right now and leave you for human. Be quiet or get out!”
Daniella waited for him to leave, but Tris clenched his fists by his side and quieted. Hearing the rage and sensing it in him broke her heart. There was nothing she could do to calm him. Would he want her in his
arms once more now that he had passed judgment on her? Feeling that awareness, she tried not to think about it and focus on what Joe was saying, but inside it felt like everything had shattered.
“Sorry, Daniella. Sometimes he doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. Did you ever wonder why your abilities lasted when you were turned into a vampire? If you were a human psychic who was turned, you would’ve lost your gifts. Besides being one-quarter succubus, you are also one-half angel. You were never meant to be a vampire. Your grandmother was an angel, and she fell in love with a man who was a quarter angel. That is why you’re so special. You were supposed to be a servant of Heaven and not the darkness. I sent Lori to try and find your grandmother, if we could, because it would help to figure out what kind of an angel you are related to.”
“Why does that matter?” Daniella was intrigued. It was odd to think that she was both good and evil in the same body.
“Different angels have different strengths and different powers. Some control the elements, some are warriors, and others are muses. Sometimes they’re a little bit of something else. If we knew what your grandmother was, then we could figure out what kind of other inherent powers you had and if they were completely suppressed with the succubus. Because you are a vampire, your angelic lineage is troublesome to pinpoint. If the Grigori figured out your true pedigree, he could use it against you and completely twist you into an angel of evil. Because of what you are, it also puts a question on your soul.”
“What do you mean? I don’t have a soul. That was made clear when I was turned the same way with me being undead.”
Joe sighed. “That’s not entirely true either. You see, because you’re half angel and the way fate was moving your life, you were meant to be working for Heaven. Because the darkness got to you first, it put your soul in a perfect balance, so you’re in purgatory. I think it’s one of the reasons why you can’t kill people. Because you are here, you have the choice of your own destiny.”
“But I’m still undead and I’m still a vampire. Whatever I am can’t bring me back to life.” Daniella tried to take in all the information.
She glanced at Tris and wondered if he believed any of it. His face was blank, but his gaze was murderous. Daniella figured that if he had had his sword, then her head would have been severed from her body. That hurt her even more. Why is this bothering me so much? Why do I even care about him after such a short time? Daniella felt the emotions welling up inside of her throat. Her head hurt assimilating what Joe had told her. Tris wanted to kill her. Joe was looking at her as though she was some sort of...well, she did not know what. Her heart twisted from what she saw looking into Tris’s eyes. With all the info, all she wanted was to be in his protective embrace with his wings around her. Were they going to throw her to the wolves now that they had discovered her true nature? Certainly they would use her to find Lori. He had been nice to her in the beginning.
“Yes. You’re still a vampire. Nothing can change that. Your unique situation puts you in a place where some of your angelic abilities might counteract more of your vampiric ones. Maybe walk in the sun for a little while, or maybe even have your heart beat. All you need to awaken your angelic ones is the right jolt.”
“Really?” Doubt was the first thing that gripped her, then a little bit of hope.
“Maybe. I can’t promise anything. Of course, that won’t happen without your help in finding Lori.” Joe glanced at her, and she knew that he was serious.
“Of course, I’d have helped him regardless. He was nice to me when you guys captured me, and he’s Tris’s best friend. I have no loyalty to Balthus or my Grigori master.”
“Aren’t you compelled to go to him and do whatever he says?” Tris asked.
“Only if he orders it,” Daniella responded.
“So he could’ve ordered you to come here, make friends with me, and seduce me so you could learn our secrets. I bet you were the one who tipped off the rest of your nest we were coming and waited around to see us.”
Daniella was tired of his remarks, no matter how much she felt for him. She walked up to him and slapped him across the face with all of her strength. It forced his head to the side. “How dare you! I can take the snide comments, but you should know that I have no loyalty to them. I should be furious with you for killing my nestmates, but I’m not. After these past couple of weeks, I’ve given you everything. Did you think I spread my legs for anyone? Maybe I’m also sleeping with Horatio.” Daniella did not care that it was daylight; she needed to get away from Tris.
She bolted up the basement stairs and was hit with the full rays of sun. She dashed into the nearest patch of shadows that she could find, which happened to be under the stairs in the hallway. She was cramped sitting on top of a pile of coats, boots, and other things that poked into her butt. Daniella really wanted to cry at what Tris thought of her. He basically called her a whore. Even when she was stripping, she did not sleep with just any of her customers. The emotions choked her, and she needed to cry or shout. Something to express how she felt, but there was nowhere she could go that would get her far enough away from Tris right now.
“Are you okay?” Horatio asked.
She glanced up at him and shook her head. Of the three other angels in the house, he was the one who had taken more of an interest in her than the others. He treated her like she was a woman and not a vampire. “Not really.”
“Tris?”
“Yes. He started going off about me and being an ass. I get he’s insecure about love, and he hates vampires. I’m not like them. I’m not. I’ve tried to make him see that. He won’t understand, and I don’t know what else to do. He thinks that I’m trying to sabotage you all. Or that I’m reporting back to Balthus. I’m not. I just want to be with the man I love.”
“So the information that Joe gave you didn’t upset you? This is all about Tris?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Joe told me some stuff about my heritage. I couldn’t believe it. Why are you asking?”
“No reason. It’s odd to see someone so worked up about Tris. He doesn’t normally let himself get involved emotionally. Considering you’re a vampire, it’s difficult to see him with you. But I’m sure he’ll come around once you talk to him. He’s always been harsh. These past couple of weeks, he’s blossomed into something that I’ve never seen before. I was hoping you might crack him.”
“Yeah, well, he’s an ass, and it doesn’t matter. Whatever I cracked, I think tonight it all sealed back up. I just want to get out of here. Can you help me with that?”
Horatio glanced at the shaft of sunlight and back at her. “The sun is going to burn you, but if you can stand to be with me, I think I might have the place to bring you. Would you be willing to come?”
Daniella shrugged. The footsteps of the other angels were coming up the stairs. Anything to get out of the house and away from them. “Could we go shopping, maybe? I mean, I’d need you guys to lend me money.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Horatio snapped his fingers, and a long, black cloak appeared. He opened it for her. Daniella slipped her arms into the cloth and slid it down over her head so she was cocooned within the soft material. Once the darkness descended over her, she felt Horatio’s arm encircle her. She felt the wind whisk around her the way it had done with Tris. And even though she was being carried away, she wished it was his arms that she were in. When they stopped, Daniella sensed they were in a dark place that felt safe. Taking out her stress on clothes, and dressing rooms, made her feel good. The idea made her giddy, and being away from Tris was the best thing of all.
Chapter Six
“Tris, you have to learn not to be an ass. She might have been our only chance in finding Lori. What is it with you? One minute you’re going all googly eyed over her, and the next you want to rip her head off. I’m tired of your behavior. If I didn’t need you to go find her, I would tear your wings off right now.”
Tris felt a whoosh of air go by his face and heard a distinctive thu
nk right next to his ear. When he glanced toward the sound, he saw Joe’s dagger deeply embedded into the concrete of the foundation. A few strands of his hair were wrapped around the blade, and he realized how close he had come to having Joe wound him. He turned his gaze to the senior angel whose eyes were alight with fury. The butterflies that normally were on his chest appeared on his face, and they were black, darkening his skin. The light in the basement was eclipsed by his wings that were several colors of feathers he could not make out because they changed every time he flapped them.
“What did you expect me to do, get over my hatred of vampires in two weeks? So what if she’s a mishmash of different beings? At the base, she’s still a vampire.”
“And you’re an idiot.”
“You keep saying that, but expect me to get over what happened to me. I’ve done everything you’ve ever wanted. You knew that by me taking on this assignment, it would go against everything I’ve believed in.”
“And you were making progress. Daniella was knocking down your walls. I saw it when I first spoke with you upstairs. I don’t care if you’re sleeping with her. And you can’t even see it.”
“See what?” Tris asked.
Joe walked over and pulled the dagger from the wall. Tris didn’t dare move in case he enflamed his boss’s anger even more. Joe was millimeters from his face. “If I have to tell you, then you’re not worthy to be an angel. Consider this your last rodeo. I don’t have to pull your wings off. You’ll do that yourself and become one of the Grigori. She was your last chance, and you blew it.”
Tris felt the blood drain from his face. “My last chance for what?”
Joe shook his head, turned, and walked away. He went up the stairs and turned back around. “Goodbye, Tris. Find Lori, and your duties will be concluded. That is my final order.” He continued to walk up the stairs and winked out.
