by Lydia Fane
It all began to make a sick kind of sense to Skye. The migraines that had surfaced soon after she’d met Lewis, which he’d blamed on the stresses of her job. But Aries hadn’t finished.
“When their victim is fully in their thrall, the demon often gets bored. The demon was likely looking forward to the reactions of your family when you disappeared. But you were different. You were never fully controlled.” He sighed, and Skye thought it sounded mournful. She looked up at him.
“I should have acted sooner, or realised sooner,” he said. “When you collapsed on the beach, I couldn’t help myself. I had to help you by purging the web.”
“So you’re responsible for me waking up with a clear head?” she asked. “It was as though my life had come into focus again.”
“I am. But when the demon arrived here, I couldn’t stop him snaring you again. And then it was too late. He had you so deep that it would have harmed you terribly were I to strike him.”
The sense of protectiveness radiating from him warmed and thrilled Skye in equal measure. This angel cared for her in a way that she hadn’t felt in years. Lewis had ruled and ruined her life. With clear eyes, wrapped in an angel’s wings, she could see just how he had twisted her.
“You saved me,” she said, only realising that she’d said it aloud when Aries chuckled.
“You were already saving yourself. I merely gave what aid I could. You are stronger than you know, Skye Metcalfe. You have fire and passion within you, hope and love. You are a gift to the world.”
Skye closed her eyes to try and prevent the tears from falling. Those words spoken in that voice by someone who was more than human touched her heart and began to heal some of the wounds Lewis had left behind. Demons lied, but angels wouldn’t. Aries seemed to truly believe the things he said, and Skye found herself believing them too.
As her mind started to quieten, she realised just how uncomfortable she was. Salt rimed her face and her clothes were still heavy with water. Her hair was snarled and tangled from the wind, and she felt generally dirty. Her body ached and she shifted uncomfortably in Aries lap.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Sore,” she said. “Just starting to realise now.”
He laid a hand on her shoulder. “With your permission?” he asked formally.
She nodded, and immediately soothing warmth flooded her tense muscles, smoothing out all the kinks and cramps.
“Nice trick,” she said admiringly. The sheer care in that gesture went straight to her head, making her giddy. She laughed aloud and stretched upwards as Aries opened his wings to accommodate her.
The bright sunlight shining down on her was like the dawning of a new day, banishing the darkness. She stood, marvelling at how clear the day seemed now. Colours seemed more intense – everything seemed more intense. She felt light, carefree. She turned around to take a proper look at Aries.
If everything in her new world was sharper and clearer, then Aries was the rock solid foundation. The golden glow that had lined his skin was fading away, leaving behind only a light tracing that could pass for sunlight. The flames of his eyes were paling into a mere amber hue. But his wings still declared him as something more than mortal, their wide grey expanse fluttering in the breeze. But even as she watched they seemed to fade away, becoming nothing more than outlines in the air.
No longer Aries-the-angel, still she couldn’t see him as Aries-the-man. He was far more than that to her.
“Will you be alright?” he asked, and even his voice was different. She gave his question the consideration it deserved.
“I think so,” she said eventually. “Everything still seems unreal.”
“If there is anything I can do, just ask,” he said, and Skye nodded.
“I will.”
***
With the remnants of the storm washed from her skin and feeling more relaxed than she thought she had any right to be, she left Aries’ cottage in search of company.
The ground around the lighthouse and buildings was littered with detritus, but little to no damage seemed to have been done. To her inexperienced eye, it looks like all the sheep were back in the pen where they belonged. The relief she felt was so intense that she had to hang onto the fence to steady herself. It was strange that she felt so strongly about animals that had nearly got her killed.
But that was the thing – they hadn’t. It was Lewis, once again, who had played with her mind and her emotions so that she would walk like a good little puppet onto the stage he had so carefully set.
“Well, you look thoughtful.” Jack sounded cheerful as he came up beside her, leaning on the fence.
“Are you an angel as well?” she asked him bluntly.
He laughed. “Nope, not me. Aries filled me in on what happened. I just wish I could have given that demon bastard a kicking,” His voice was filled with sympathy. “Sorry you had to go through all that. Aries’ll be kicking himself for a while.”
“Why?” she asked, surprised. “He saved me.”
“Still feels he could have acted sooner,” he said.
“From what he told me, he couldn’t have stepped in any quicker than he did.”
“That’s Aries for you. Has a bit of a saving people thing.”
Skye was starting to get curious now. “How long have you known Aries?”
Jack looked thoughtful. “Been stationed here with him about six years. If you mean how long have I know what he is? Found out about three months after I got here.” He studied her face a moment. “You seem to be taking the revelation well.”
“I think I may be still numb,” she said. “But apart from that, it’s a recent thing. Give me a day or two for it all to sink in.”
The smirk he gave her was almost far too knowing. The feelings that she had been having about Aries started to stir in the mental box she had stuffed them in.
“So it doesn’t bother you?” she asked, slipping into what she mentally termed her ‘television host role’ to distract her from thoughts of Aries.
“Doesn’t what bother me?”
“The whole angel thing.”
Jack shook his head. “Why should it? Aries is the same guy now as he was when you first met him, and he was the same guy when I first met him. So he glows gold, controls fire and sprouts wings once in a while. Everyone has their little quirks.”
As Jack had probably intended, Skye couldn’t help but burst out laughing at his comment. Little quirks indeed. Being an angel instead of a human was what she’d call a rather large quirk.
But it felt good to laugh, and she felt a little more of the darkness lift.
She still got the sense that there was something he was not telling her, but she could understand that. She was still an unknown, and she was incidentally responsible, if not directly responsible for bringing a demon into their quiet lighthouse.
Jack, seeming happy that he had cheered her up, nodded politely, and headed off.
The sun was starting to warm her now, and she felt her eyes growing heavy. She slid down to the grass and leaned back against the fence. She breathed deeply, her lungs filling with cool clear air, tinged with the peculiar scent of sheep.
Skye hadn’t though she was ready for sleep, but almost of their own accord, her eyes closed and she drifted off.
***
It was bitingly, blisteringly cold. She hovered in a white wasteland, vision obscured by the thickly falling flakes of snow. Everything seemed muffled, and whichever way she turned, the world was lifeless.
A blaring horn shattered the silence as the falling snow was abruptly swept aside by a massive truck. It careened over a rise, skewing dangerously over the slippery ground. Ice cracked.
Behind the truck came two motorbikes and a jeep, engines roaring into the red as they tried to keep up with the behemoth. Shots whined and crackled through the air, pinging off the metal of the truck. Ice creaked.
Time seemed to slow. The truck slid from the marked path, and a loud crack boomed over the w
asteland. Almost immediately, the truck tipped over onto its side as water gushed over it. Glistening viscous fluid oozed from holes in the tank, mixing with the water, before a bright flash of flame erupted.
The explosion blasted Skye awake and onto her feet, swaying dangerously. All she could see was that surging ball of flame, annihilating anything and anyone caught within. A name caught on her tongue.
“Taurus!”
Strong arms pulled her in tight, warmth driving away the memory of the ice. The explosion behind her eyes was dying now, fading away along with the dream. For something that had felt so real, it was now quickly turning insubstantial and barely remembered.
“You’re safe,” Aries whispered in her ear, and she felt something unravel inside her.
She leaned into his strength, taking comfort in his protection. She didn’t know what it was about Aries, but he made her feel safe, and cherished. Perhaps it was only because he was an angel and cared for all humanity, but his eyes were filled with care every time he looked at her. It was a care that she had never seen in the eyes of Lewis, a depth of feeling that she had never felt in any of her few ex-boyfriends.
“Why did you call that name?” he asked.
Wrapped in protection, Skye thought back, trying to remember.
“I was dreaming,” she said. “There was an accident – an explosion. And somehow I knew that someone called Taurus was right in the middle.”
She looked up as the arms around her tensed.
“Taurus?” he whispered.
Skye felt a little uncomfortable. “Maybe I just drew the name out of my subconscious, with you being Aries.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But perhaps not. With everything that has happened, I am not inclined to trust coincidence.”
“You realise you talk more formally when you’re talking about your angel life,” Skye noted.
Aries blinked, and Skye could see him running their conversation through his head.
“So I do.” he laughed, and Skye felt the mood shift. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“I like it,” Skye said almost shyly, before drawing the subject back to where it was. “Can you tell me why that name means so much to you?”
“I said that I’d answer all your questions with honesty,” Aries said, but Skye didn’t think he was annoyed. “Come with me.”
Aries led her towards the lighthouse. It was not a graceful or elegant building, but its form suited its function. There was not much to the interior, single large rooms around the rising staircase. As she followed him up the stairs, she peeked into the rooms she could see. They looked to be storage rooms, and possibly an office.
As her calves began to burn, the staircase came to an end. A ladder reached upwards, and Aries was already halfway up it, reaching up to push open the trapdoor in the ceiling. Under his casual clothing, Skye could see his muscles shifting and admired the way that the jeans clung to his ass. She wondered what it would feel like to cup her hands over those perfect curves, and wondered what Aries would think about it. And as she grabbed hold of the ladder, she wondered at herself. Lusting after an angel – an immortal being – was one thing, but expecting him to feel the same way was another entirely.
Aries was waiting and offered her a hand as she emerged at the top of the ladder. She took it and felt herself wobble on the top rung, and his hand clamped down on her own. She couldn’t have fallen even if she had wanted to.
“Thank you,” she said gratefully.
He smiled, but it had tension in it that hadn’t been there before. He released her hand and then moved forwards to the glass window, staring seaward. She stepped around the polished metal bowl that sat in the centre of the room, and hovered uncertainly behind him.
The air in front of her shimmered as if heat was being applied, rippling with distortion. It spread and darkened, colour bleeding from nowhere to form his huge wings. Golden light spread over his clothes like liquid honey.
“Taurus is my brother,” he said softly. “I’ve not seen him, or any of my family in more centuries than I care to remember.”
“Why?” asked Skye softly.
“I cannot find them.”
“That sounds like more than just a location problem.”
“It is. We were cursed, a long time ago. We refused to aid a demon-tainted warlord in ages past. We underestimated his power and his strength. He could not kill us or destroy us, but he could tear us apart.”
His language was formal, his tone stilted, but Skye could hear the pain within.
“And so, your mention of Taurus was the first time I have heard his name mentioned by anyone else. I would know if any of them were dead, but...” He shrugged.
Her heart ached from the pain in his voice. In that moment, she realised that this was the true Aries, the angel at his vulnerable core. He trusted her enough to show her his heart, he trusted her enough with his secrets. For all that he was immortal, beyond her, he trusted her.
Skye gathered her courage, mixed with desire, and stepped close, moving around his wings, and wrapped her arms around him. He stood stiff and statue still for a moment, then a wave of heat passed through her and he relaxed.
“Tell me about your family?” Skye requested. She looked up at Aries, still staring out into the distance, and saw a soft smirk grace his face.
“They’re my family,” he said. “Not by the same ties of blood that mortals use, but we are linked in our souls. They resonate; sing in harmony with each other, most of the time. We’re like any other family. Leo is the eldest, strong-willed, and always believes that he knows best for all of us. Libra is the only one of us who can talk him ‘round or make him change his mind. Taurus, he doesn’t let anything get in the way of doing what he thinks is right. Jack thinks I have a saviour complex? I’ve nothing on my brother.”
“You named yourselves after the signs of the Zodiac?” Skye asked, quite amused.
“They were named after us,” Aries said, finally looking down at her. “We were chosen to be sent down as humanity’s helpers and protectors. To be a direct force of good where others cannot. Our Lord shaped our forms and took our souls, sundering them. One third stayed within our bodies. One third was cast into the stars as a tangible and physical reminder. And the final third was sent down into the world.”
“And then what?”
“It melded with another soul. Somewhere in the world it waits, in the form of my perfect partner.”
Skye felt a blush heat her cheeks. “Perfect partner?”
“My best friend, the person who will know me and care for me. The person I can cherish and protect. Out here, I do not believe I will ever find them. But every time I see my star, I remember, and I hope.”
The golden glow faded, and in the light of the setting sun, Skye could almost see the weight settling on his shoulders. She felt for him, and that decided her. She turned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
His mouth was warm and dry against hers. For a split second time seemed to stand still, and Skye began to worry that she had made a terrible mistake. But then he was returning the kiss softly, gently, as his arms came up to rest on her curvy hips. Heat raced through her, a gentle warmth that seemed to penetrate her whole being. On the edge of her hearing, she could hear music – crystal chiming, wind whispering through feathers, and the roar and crackle of a hot burning fire. A pain that she hadn’t even realised she was carrying was lifted, and she felt complete. On instinct, she deepened the kiss, pulling herself closer, her clothes rubbing against her skin in delicious, erotic ways. She could feel Aries’ erection pressed against her, growing larger as she ground herself against him. Everything felt right.
With a shudder, Aries pulled himself back and away from her. All trace of the human was gone now, and only the angel remained, wreathed in liquid fire. Hurt blossomed in her chest at the rejection, but strangely, Aries’ face was filled with love.
“My soul,” he murmured. “My heart, my soul!”
He stepped f
orward again, scooping Skye from her feet as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. Golden fire flowed over her again, burning away the hurt. He spun on the spot, holding her in tight. She looked up at him, and saw his perfect face smiling down at her. Like a key turning in a lock, the knowledge clicked in her mind, even though it was hard to believe. She was the third part of his soul. She was his best friend, his perfect partner. She was his one and his only. Joy bubbled up within her, and the music swelled audibly. All that had been bothering her; all the lingering darkness that she felt had tainted her was gone now.
Cradled tightly in his arms, Skye smiled. Aries smiled back at her, still looking a trifle stunned over the revelation. As if he thought she would disappear or break, he bent his head and kissed her again. It was gentle, it was tender, and Skye returned it, sinking into the fire of arousal that was slowly consuming her.
When they parted for breath, Skye knew what she wanted. “Make love to me, Aries,” she said, and her voice was quiet and husky.
In response, fire sprang up all around her, answering the call of its golden-eyed master. It blocked the windows with light, and sealed the trap door. It coated the floor, but only gently warmed the air. Tenderly, Aries lowered her to the ground. The fire licked at her skin, but it did not burn her. It was soft, cushioning the stone beneath her, and she stretched, luxuriating in the unexpected comfort. She reached for the waistband of her trousers, but Aries knelt beside her and caught her wrist.
“Let me,” he said. She nodded and lowered her hands, letting the flames play with her fingers. He started from the bottom, pulling off her socks and shoes. His warm fingers caressed the sole of her foot and curved around her heel. He pressed a light kiss to her toes which made her shudder, both in pleasure and from the tickling sensation. He moved upwards, taking hold of her trousers. There he hesitated, until she arched her hips upwards in unspoken invitation. With her permission, he slid her trousers down and set them off to the side.
