by Evans, Misty
His voice was gravelly with sleep. The deep timbre raised the hairs on the back of my neck. My magic shuddered and I found myself arching toward him. The Mark burned hotter.
Sticking out a hand, I braced it against his chest to keep from succumbing to the desire sweeping through me. Dark, deep and dangerous, I longed to embrace it as much as I struggled to stay away.
An image of the woods in purgatory flashed across my mind. Dark, deep and just as dangerous as the fallen angel in my bed. Instinct told me I needed to get through those woods before Luc and I would be okay.
Before I could tell him about my dream, the phone on the bedside table blared. A modicum of relief swept through me. I didn’t want to tell him about the dream and the phone’s ring cooled the ardent desires swirling around us.
I glanced at the alarm clock and saw it was only a few minutes after ten. Apparently, time stopped while I was in purgatory.
Caller ID read Keisha.
Making an apologetic face to Luc and lifting Cain out of the way, I sat up and answered. “Hey. What’s up?”
Her African voodoo priestess voice was clear and angry. “Get over here right now.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t make it to the party, but something came up.” Something being Luc.
“Sorry? Sorry? You sent that angel here with Mikayla and now all Hell’s broken lose. Get your skinny white witch ass over here and put a stop to this or I’ll curse your ancestors and your first born.”
Curse my relatives was a regular threat from Keisha when she was really upset at me. Normally, I ignored it, knowing there was no real intent to harm me or my family members. Keisha was a lot of talk, especially when she was mad, and I couldn’t blame her for not liking the fact I’d let Zayfeer crash her party. But tonight, the unborn baby I’d seen in purgatory and the fluttering I’d felt in my abdomen made the threat feel serious even though I knew in my heart she was kidding.
“What did Z do?”
“He’s dancing and drinking and taking advantage of Liddy.”
I stood, ignoring Cain’s hiss at shifting him yet again. Liddy, my friend from Witches Anonymous and a rather innocent ex-witch, brought out my protective instincts. “Put him on the phone.”
“Put him on the phone? I can’t get him off the ceiling. I don’t care if Luc is raining fire and brimstone on the whole damn planet, get your butt over here. Now.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She’d already hung up.
Luc rose, ran a hand through this hair and tugged on a pair of tight leather motorcycle pants. “Trouble in paradise?”
I set down the phone, swallowed my very female reaction to the sight. Tan chest, tight pants, bare feet. I wanted to jump him. Again.
My mouth dry and fingers trembling, I forced myself to remember Liddy. I grabbed Luc’s sweater out of his hands before he could put it on and yanked it over my head.
A slow grin lifted one corner of his mouth and he touched my cheek. I was so gone.
I turned my head to kiss his fingers as they drifted past. “Trouble in paradise. Story of my life.”
Chapter Fifteen – Do A Little Dance, Make A Little Love…
Sell Your Soul Tonight
Keisha's house was jumping. Music blared. Champagne flowed. A disco ball in the shape of a skull hung from the living room ceiling and threw multicolored lights over the faces of the partiers. Most of them were people I recognized, but there were groups I didn’t. Probably neighbors or guests her friends had brought along.
Members of Keisha’s coven and members of Witches Anonymous mingled with each other in various corners. Couples danced in the center. My sister Emilia sat beside Mikayla at the breakfast bar, Em reading tarot cards.
As I cut through the crowd, I ran into Cephiel sharing a glass of champagne with Marcia. Their heads were tipped toward one another and they appeared to be sharing an intimate joke as well. When he saw me, the wide smile on Ceph’s face disappeared. Marcia’s smile turned into a grimace.
Whatevs. Ignoring them, I moved on. Gabriel, former archangel and present pain-in-my-ass, mixed drinks at the temporary bar along the far wall. Two people sat across from him and I recognized the brown hair and broad shoulders of my ex-boyfriend, Adam. Next to him was a redheaded female whose beauty could stop traffic.
Great. Adam and Eve. I started to do an about-face and hunt down Keisha when I noticed the way they were hunched in a serious discussion with Gabriel. Gabe glanced up, saw me watching, and immediately pulled away from the other two and pretended to be busy drying a couple of martini glasses. Adam and Eve shared a look, and then, not so discreetly glanced over their shoulders at me. Adam's face was filled with guilt. Eve’s, with satisfaction.
What were they up to?
A new song came on and two women rushed by me to get to the center of the living room. “I love this song,” one of them said. “I love this guy,” her friend replied, pointing.
I didn't need to see Zayfeer to know they were talking about him. Forgetting about Adam and Eve and whatever they were cooking up with Gabriel, I found the angel in question doing a Travolta move center stage. A crowd gathered around him, clapping and cheering him on. The crowd included Liddy, her face rosy and flushed, her eyes sparkling with a mix of lust and happiness.
Watching her, I couldn't help but smile. Rare to see such carefree enjoyment on Liddy’s face. Had she ever been in lust before? Probably, but as I well knew, falling for a fallen angel took lust to a whole new level.
“Thank God you’re here.” Keisha, complete in a cheesy New Year’s Eve paper hat and laughing skull earrings, handed me a glass of bubbly. “Where's Luc?”
Accepting the glass, but not feeling any urge to drink, I watched Zayfeer’s performance. “He hates my hybrid. Refuses to ride in it. He'll shimmer in if he decides to come.”
“At least you can take care of that damned angel.” Keisha gave a toss of her head and looked down her nose at me. “And Luc better come. My parties are legendary.”
Especially when the Devil was her guest. Voodoo practitioners, witches (ex- or not) and humans got a rush from hanging around him.
I felt eyes on me and glanced over at Mikayla and Emilia. Mikayla lifted a hand and waved. I waved back, noticing for the first time how much she favored Emilia. Especially tonight with her hair down. Funny, that. “Yeah, well, John Travolta called. He wants his Saturday Night Fever disco ball back.”
Keisha rolled her eyes. “The disco ball was your angel's doing.”
Zayfeer wowed the crowd with more moves. Another cheer went up when he grabbed Liddy by the hand and twirled her around.
“Quite a show,” I said. “Liddy seems smitten.”
“You need to take out that trash. Gabriel says that angel is trouble.”
This from the archangel who'd tried to become a god by wiping out humanity. “All angels are trouble. Why did you invite Adam and Eve?”
The skeleton earrings swung as she turned her head to face me. “Gabriel invited them.”
“My point exactly. Gabe is up to something.”
Keisha shot him a glance. “Probably.”
I looked around for Lucifer, hoping he’d shimmered in by now. There were plenty of supernaturals, but none that made my pulse speed up or my legs go weak at the sight of them. Where was he? Was he really blowing off Keisha’s party? Or was he avoiding me for some reason?
The song wound down and Zayfeer started a conga line to keep the momentum going. Liddy fell in behind him and four others followed suit. “So what's the big deal with Z? You said he was taking advantage of Liddy, but outside of that fact he's no candidate for Dancing with the Stars, I don't see a problem.”
“Just watch.”
The conga line wove around the room, passing us before disappearing into Keisha’s formal dining room. On the way by, Z winked at me and Liddy waved. Keisha motioned me to follow.
While Keisha’s formal dining room had a large table and chairs and a buffet the size of my car, it was not
your typical household gathering space. She didn't host family dinners or holiday get-togethers here. She practiced voodoo and the space showed it.
The windows were draped with blood-red fabric. An ornate metal cross, a picture of Marie Laveau, a hexagram, and a Prayer for Atonement poster decorated the four walls. Skulls, chicken bones, half-melted candles and lighting sticks, feathers and coffin nails covered the buffet top. A basket of handmade voodoo dolls sat in one corner. A Book of Spells lay open on her raised altar.
Zayfeer’s group gathered at the large wooden table. All of them were smiling and laughing, but there was an anxiousness in their eyes. Like animals who sensed danger but were too stupid to run.
Liddy reassured them, going from one person to another and easing them into the chairs. Once they were all seated, they looked to Zayfeer.
I looked at Zayfeer too. Gave him my death glare. Liddy sidled up next to me and threw her arms around my neck in a bear hug. Whatever Z was up to, it couldn't be too bad. I hugged her back and watched the fallen angel mount the altar.
He spread his arms and his blue eyes flashed. “My friends, on this last day of the year, before the stroke of midnight, I want you to imagine your greatest desire.”
I leaned over to Liddy and whispered, “What is he doing?”
Her eyes never left his face, her cheeks flushed. “Giving them what they want most.”
Trepidation snaked its way up my spine. I recognized the pitch. I'd given it, literally, a thousand times. Well, almost a thousand. Technically, when I’d left Lucifer, I was one deal away from hitting the one thousand mark.
One small deal. “In exchange for what?”
Liddy turned her shining face toward me. Her innocent smile chilled me to the bone. “Their souls, of course.”
Chapter Sixteen – When She Was Bad
In case you’ve ever wondered, free will is an illusion.
At least in my world. Once upon a time, I gave the Devil my soul. I didn't sell it, mind you. I gave it freely. A few months ago, I’d gotten it back after tangoing with God, Gabriel and Cephiel. I was currently making decisions about witchcraft and my love life without fate or any kind of universal control.
And yet it seemed nothing had changed. I was hopelessly in love with Lucifer and fighting for my right to live my life however I wanted while the universe, God, His angels, and all kinds of demons connived to take away my choices.
“Just a minute, Zayfeer.” I didn't know what he was after, but there was no way I was going to allow him to steal souls. “What do you think you’re doing?”
An eerie light burned in his eyes, turning the blue orbs golden. His power clawed over my skin and made the hair on the back of my neck stand at attention. “What does it look like, Broker?”
Like you’re a freak. “Stealing human souls isn’t the way to redeem yourself from purgatory.”
He slid closer, invading my personal space. His magic chafed against mine. “Of course not. But getting you to sell them to Lucifer is.”
“Why would I do that?”
The golden eyes burned brighter. “If you don’t…” He brushed his fingers across my throat; let his gaze roam over my face. His voice lowered so only I could hear. “I’ll be forced to take Liddy’s soul. And Keisha’s. Maybe your sisters’ souls as well. What would you do, Broker, to stop from losing Mikayla and Emilia? The only family you have left.”
Mikayla wasn’t my sister, but that was a technicality. Liddy, Keisha and Mikayla were all like sisters to me, and while Emilia and I had our differences, she was my big sister and I loved her. After her ordeal with Gabriel, we’d formed a new bond. She’d once again become a big sister I could look up to.
And I didn’t take kindly to someone, human or not, threatening those I loved. Ever.
Placing my face in front of Zayfeer’s, I gave him my best badass witch look. “Let me make this clear, Z. You so much as look in any of their directions and I’ll send you back to purgatory faster than you can say, ‘oh, hell.’”
He gave me that Cheshire grin. His face was so close to mine, I could feel his hot breath on my cheek. “And break your vow of no magic?”
There was something hopeful in his eyes now. In the tone of his voice, too. He was manipulating me, but I couldn’t fathom why. Or maybe I could. “You cut a deal with someone on high to redeem yourself, didn’t you? And it involves getting me to use magic again.”
“It involves getting Lucifer to do his damn job.” He ground his teeth, making the muscles in his jaw contract. “You’ve turned the Devil into a freaking pansy. His job is to temp mortals into sinning. Your job is to broker deals for their souls. Neither of you is living up to your potential.”
Behind us, the group at the table grew restless. Over Zayfeer’s shoulder, I saw Liddy frowning at me. “God should be happy about that.”
Zayfeer snorted. “Don’t you get it? In the new millennium, God is in, thanks to you and lover boy. The two of you working together caused earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, the downfall of governments and Oprah’s retirement. The more evil there is, the more people turn to God. With you and Lucifer on hiatus, there’s no need for God.”
“For the record, I had nothing to do with Oprah retiring from daytime television. I was just as bummed as everyone else. And secondly, sin didn’t disappear because Lucifer and I broke up. If God wants Luc and I working together again, all He has to do is deep six the Mark on my forehead.”
Once more Zayfeer’s jaw tightened and his eyes glowed. His nose nearly touched mine as he spoke. “The Mark is nonnegotiable. Take the souls at the table to Lucifer or I’ll use my Friends and Family Plan to take Liddy and the others to purgatory. Where they’ll spend eternity with me,” he added.
The magic in my chest reared, ready to strike him down. The beginnings of a spell sparked in my brain.
I clamped down on both. No magic here. Whatever bizarre game he was playing, I wasn’t about to give Zayfeer the satisfaction of goading me into using it here. “I used magic in my purgatory. Why didn’t that do the trick to redeem you?”
The corner of his mouth made a disappointed noise. “You’re not as quick as I thought.”
I wanted to smack that smugness off his face. “Just tell me why.”
“You answered your own question. You were in purgatory, not on Earth. Your magic affected no one but yourself.”
The rules of Heaven, Hell and purgatory were far too convoluted for me. I needed an expert. One who wasn’t intent on making me screw up.
But Luc wasn’t here and Gabriel had his own scheme going. The souls of people I cared about were on the line. I couldn’t afford to be reckless or stupid. There was only one person on hand who could help me sort out this mess.
“All right, I’ll do the deed, but I need five minutes to prepare.”
Z’s brows shot up and he made a rough noise in the back of his throat. “Prepare yourself? You’ve done this hundreds of times. What do you have to prepare for?”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve been out of the soul harvesting biz for over a year. It’s not like riding a bike. There are preparations I have to make or I could screw up everything. You don’t want that, do you? Your one chance at redemption?”
His eyes narrowed as he searched my face for subterfuge. Then he sighed. “Fine. Five minutes. Not a second more, or I’ll…”
I cut him off. “I got it. You’re big, you’re bad, you’ll do whatever it takes to get back to Heaven. But if you want me to do my job” —I made air quotes around the word— “back off for a measly five minutes and let me focus.”
He took the bait, stepped out of my personal space and grinned. “Knew I could count on you, Amo. If there’s one thing you can’t resist, it’s being the hero.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the hex forming on my tongue from spilling out. “Why in Satan’s name do you angels keep calling me Amo? It’s Amy.”
“Ask Lucifer. Ask him about your mom, too. There’s a lot he’s not tell
ing you.”
A queasy knot formed in my stomach. I ignored it and went to find my guardian angel.
Chapter Seventeen – Where For Art Thou, Mark?
I didn’t get far. Just outside the dining room, in fact, where Adam and Eve lay in wait to ambush me.
“We need to talk,” Adam said.
His long, chestnut-colored hair brushed his shoulders. Haunted brown eyes met mine with urgency. The soft cotton of his T-shirt outlined every one of his fireman muscles.
Gorgeous. Plain and simple, he was one gorgeous human male specimen. The father of all mankind. Yes, I loved Lucifer and now understood I’d never love anyone the way I did him, but the female inside me still responded to Adam. We had shared an uncommon, but righteously intense bond.
Until Eve came along. His beautiful counterpart in the whole In The Beginning thing.
They belonged together, much like Lucifer and I did. Any fool could see that. It still stung, though, to see them together and so…happy with each other.
“Not now.” I brushed past him, gave Eve my usual stink eye glare. “I have to find Cephiel.”
Eve, in all her mother-of-humankind splendor stepped in my path. “This is important.”
“Not as important as what I’m dealing with.”
Keisha walked out of the dining room, a frown on her face and a question in her eyes. She gave me the what now lift of her hands. I shook my head. There was no time to explain. The music was louder out here, the bass keeping rhythm with the pounding in my head. I scanned the crowd for Cephiel.
“He’s gone,” Eve said. “Left a few minutes ago with that witch friend of yours.”
Marcia was no friend and I was definitely ripping up her Evie’s Buy-10-Get-1-Free ice cream card. It just figured she had whisked Cephiel off to the land of sin right when I finally needed his angelic advice. “Did they say where they were going?”
“Amy.” Adam grabbed my wrist. “You need to come with us.”
