With an exasperated sigh, Noel cupped Jai’s pale cheek. “Jai? Jairus! Saints and sinners, the things I put up with.”
Noel dropped a hand to Jai’s injury, and their bodies glowed with ethereal light. A white ribbon sprang from his palm and coiled around Jai’s body; the light encasing their bodies pulsed in a steady beat. Noel paled, losing whatever semblance of color he’d retained. His full lips dried and cracked. The bags under his eyes darkened to bruising black as his hair seemed to shrivel.
As Noel weakened, Jai strengthened. His olive cheeks flushed, and the bleeding slowed. I couldn’t see the wound, but the puddle of blood on the pavement stopped growing. Noel was healing Jai, physically exchanging health. It was bizarre, and kind of beautiful.
It was over in a matter of moments. The ribbon snaking around Jai’s torso slithered back into Noel’s hand, and with no preamble, they both keeled over, unconscious.
“J-Jai? Noel?” I crept across the ground, my fingers skating over Jai’s leather jacket.
An ear-splitting shriek stole my attention, and I turned in time to watch the massive angel plunge both his swords into the demon’s chest. “Should you somehow crawl out of the bowels of Gehenna, I suggest you never come near my boys again.”
With a snarl, he yanked both blades from the demon’s body and promptly beheaded it. The head bounced across the cement, rolling like a soccer ball until it came to rest two yards from where I knelt on the ground. Both the head and body cracked and trembled, then exploded into dust. The breeze blew the ash away, like the demon had never existed in the first place.
I was dimly aware of the stranger’s approaching, his steps heavy. He lowered himself to a crouch before me. Even hunched as small as possible, he was huge. I met his gaze with my own as another tear tracked down my cheek.
His steady gaze held mine, and heady peppermint washed over me. Peppermint and sunshine. Something nudged the back of my brain, but I couldn’t quite grasp it.
The stranger—who wasn’t a stranger at all because some way, somehow, we’d met before—lifted my chin with the pad of his index finger. “Riley, are you all right?”
“I know you,” I muttered as my brain fogged. Then the blackness crept in, and I gladly surrendered to the peace of unconsciousness.
Chapter Eight
I woke to the terrible taste of artificial grape on the back of my tongue and the sound of voices, shouting in a language I didn’t recognize. I wasn’t groggy or confused. My mind immediately whirred to life as it replayed the events leading up to my bout of unconsciousness. Blaring music, sweaty bodies dancing, Kayla’s hand on the front of my jeans. Red eyes, black and white wings, swords clashing in the night, peppermint. I remembered it all.
My neck pulsed angrily from the ghost of the demon’s fangs piercing my skin, and my body ached. Like an elderly man, my bones creaked and my stiff muscles complained as I roused further. Finally locating my eyes, I blinked my lids open.
A dreamcatcher dangled over my head. The multicolored woven threads tangled in a complicated design as it twirled above me. The overwhelming scent of lilac hung heavy in the air, and I sneezed as I sat up in a bed that wasn’t mine, in a room I’d never seen before.
Drawings and paintings plastered the walls, and an easel stood in the corner by the window holding a half-finished scenic painting. An art bench was crammed into the remaining space against the far wall, and I balked at the chaos littering its surface. Tubes of paint lay strewn across the table; cups full of drawing pencils toppled, spilling their contents; and boxes of charcoal gaped open, their pieces dusting the wood beneath with black soot.
My neurotic need for order demanded I tidy the mayhem, but I fisted my hands at my sides and rose from the double bed that barely fit into the small room. Judging from the floral sweetness drifting from the sheets I’d crawled from, I was in Noel’s room. I carefully navigated the messy floor, ensuring I didn’t trip over the clothes scattered on the light carpet. Apparently, Noel was a Messy Bessy.
As I approached the door, the fabric on my hips slipped, nearly falling down my legs, and I gaped at the foreign clothes draping my body. White, too-big sweatpants clung to my hip bones for dear life, and a black T-shirt swamped my torso, the neckline falling off one shoulder to reveal a gauze bandage.
Someone, most likely the blond stranger, had changed my clothes and dressed my wound. Anxiety tightened in my chest at the thought of him undressing me while I was unconscious, and I sighed in relief when I checked beneath the sweatpants and found my boxer-briefs still on my hips. Not that I believed the male would harm me, but it was disconcerting all the same. No one had seen me without my clothes except for a few foster parents and Ms. Janet… and now, the Greek god who beheaded demons as a hobby.
The memory of the head bouncing along the ground like a volleyball made me shudder in revulsion. I had to be dreaming. Either that, or I’d officially lost my marbles. It wouldn’t be the first time, of course, but I prayed that wasn’t the case. I didn’t want to go back to the hospital.
Maybe I was hallucinating. Trauma tended to do that, and the fiasco with Kayla was nothing if not traumatic!
Voices rose in volume, drawing my attention back to the door standing slightly ajar. I tied the sweatpants as tight as possible, then gripped the waistband in my fist for good measure. Cautiously, I widened the gap in the doorway and peeked out of the room into a narrow hallway.
I recognized Noel’s lyrical tone and Jai’s rasped baritone, but I couldn’t see them. I assumed they were in the common area at one end of the hallway, and I straddled the threshold of Noel’s room as I contemplated my next course of action.
A door stood open opposite me, a third closed to my right at the other end of the hall. As the bass timber of the male with golden wings rumbled through the apartment, I utilized their distraction and crept to the third door and jiggled the knob. Locked.
Okay, that probably wasn’t the exit. Fleeing into the night barefoot while dressed in too-large clothing was not an intelligent plan. Yet logic dictated I run from the strange men at the end of the corridor.
To be honest, there was nothing in me that felt unsafe in their presence, but the voice in my head that sounded oddly like Ms. Janet told me to get the heck out of there. They were virtual strangers, and I was trapped inside their apartment.
If they wanted to hurt you, they would have already. The thought burrowed into my brain and refused to be dislodged. I allowed it to soothe the fear cinching my chest as I tiptoed over the carpet.
Pausing at the open door across from Noel’s room, I couldn’t fight my curiosity and poked my head inside. This room was slightly smaller than Noel’s but tidier. Without a window to illuminate the space, I couldn’t make out many details besides rumpled bedding and the shadow of a tall dresser opposite the bed. An electronic keyboard stood at one wall flanked by two guitar cases, one hard, one soft. The smell of Jai’s Middle Eastern tobacco filled the atmosphere.
Ashamed at my blatant snooping, I backed out of Jai’s bedroom and gathered my measly courage as I faced the mouth of the hallway. Shadows drifted over the walls as bodies moved, and the voices, while flustered, sounded more subdued than before. If I was going to make a grand entrance, there was no time like the present.
I wasn’t sure what I would find at the end of the hallway, but hiding in the shadows wasn’t really an option. Plus, I was still on the fence about whether this was a dream or reality. If this was a dream, I could do what I wanted, right?
With this in mind, I shuffled down the hall, clutching the sweatpants in my fist to ensure they didn’t slip down my legs. I imagined I looked quite the sight, swimming in fabric too big for my frame, bandaged and bruised with my hair in disarray as I tentatively hovered in the mouth of the hallway.
Releasing a shaky breath, I stepped into the main living area of the apartment. It was sparsely furnished with a large L-shaped couch, a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, and a vast, square coffee table. Bar stools stood
tucked under the breakfast bar separating the kitchen from the living room. Glass patio doors opened into a small backyard bathed in darkness. It was still night or very early in the morning.
I observed all of this within the first few seconds before I turned my attention to the three males occupying the room.
Noel stood closest to me, his white hair free from its braid and flowing over his shoulders in wispy strands. He wore a pair of white sweatpants to match mine, a pink T-shirt, and, much to my amusement, rainbow-colored toe socks. With his hip cocked, he crossed his arms over his chest and scowled as the third, nameless male continued speaking a foreign, melodic language.
With his back to me, I had a perfect view of the Greek god’s broad shoulders and heavily muscled back. The material of his long-sleeved, blue shirt stretched over his bulky torso, bunching slightly where the hem met his cargo pants. As he shifted his weight, I caught a flash of golden skin.
Across the room, Jai reclined on the couch in a pair of dark pajama pants and, much to my embarrassment, nothing else. A white bandage wrapped around his bare midsection where he’d been stabbed. Black ink curled over the tops of his shoulders and the side of his neck, hinting at a tattoo on his back.
For some strange reason, my throat went dry as I examined his intricately muscled chest. A thin smattering of dark hair spread over his pectorals, disappearing beneath the bandage only to reappear in a darker and thicker happy trail in the space between the gauze and his pants. My heart did a weird somersault, and I jerked my gaze away from his naked skin.
It wasn’t like I had never seen shirtless men before. Yet my chest tightened as goose bumps broke over my arms. Oh, fudgsicles. Was I sick? Had the vampire infected me with some rare disease?
My inner worries faded as Hercules’ voice drifted off, and I refocused on the three males in the room. Jai and Noel stared right at me, and Mr. Big and Broad turned to follow their gazes. His somber green eyes met mine, and I stiffened. His gaze was piercing and intrusive, like he could see into my soul like an x-ray, and I dropped my stare to the carpet. He was an imposing presence, intimidating and powerful. Though I knew instinctively he was on my side, I curled into myself to appear small and nonthreatening.
“Riley?” Noel angled his lithe body in my direction as his colorless gaze explored every inch of me. “I’m sorry, did we wake you?”
Suddenly speechless, I shrugged and swallowed the ball of sand in my throat.
Jai rose from his seat with a grimace, and his pants drooped lower on his hips, showcasing the band of his black boxers. “How you feeling, shortstack?”
“I, uh, I” —I raised my head, making eye contact for a split second before darting my gaze away— “I snooped in your room. I’m sorry.”
With a bark-like laugh, Jai rested his hands on his hips and grinned. “You can snoop in my room anytime, Riles.”
“My room is always open for snooping as well.” Noel snickered, tucking a chunk of hair behind his ear. “And though Gideon’s a big sourpuss, I’m sure he’d make an exception for you.”
The blond demigod—Gideon apparently—tried to hide his amusement, but his mouth tilted in the corners. The ghost of his dimple graced his cheek for a brief moment, and his lopsided grin loosened the harsh lines of his features. He appeared years younger, less scary, but the expression vanished quickly.
“Believe it or not, I don’t appreciate being called a big sourpuss.” Gideon cocked a reprimanding eyebrow at Noel before looking at me. “It’s nice to see you again, Riley.”
His deep voice vibrated through my body, doing funny things to my tummy when he said my name. Unable to form a coherent thought, I nodded with a strangled grunt of acknowledgment.
“You feeling okay, sweetie?” Noel gestured to the bandage on my neck, and I automatically flinched away from his waving hand. His face fell, and he tucked his hands behind his back. “We’re not going to hurt you. We’d never hurt you.”
Deep down, I knew this. I felt it in my bones. But old habits died hard.
“S-sorry,” I whispered, fisting my hands to thwart their desire to fiddle with what I guessed to be Jai’s shirt.
Gideon stepped toward me, his movements slow but deliberate. “May I?” He pointed at the gauze taped to my neck, and my stomach twisted into knots.
Bolstering my bravery, I nodded, and Noel rushed across the room to retrieve a stool as Gideon stopped before me. “Here.” He accepted the stool from Noel and set it at my side. “You should sit. You’re a bit pale.”
Now that he mentioned it, I felt lightheaded, and I gratefully climbed onto the stool provided. My knuckles whitened as I gripped the edge of the stool, forcing myself not to flee as Gideon loomed over me. He offered a tight but reassuring smile as he gently peeled the medical tape from my skin.
To distract myself, I looked to Jai. “Are you all right?”
He glanced down at his bandaged torso and snorted. “Just a flesh wound.” He waved off my concern like it was an everyday occurrence for him to be stabbed in the gut by a vampire. For all I knew, maybe it was.
Be that as it may, I wasn’t convinced, but I kept my misgivings to myself as Gideon removed my bandage and handed it off to Noel. Thick, scalding fingers landed on my neck, and I jumped, nearly tumbling from my seat. Gideon caught me with two massive hands on my arms.
“I-I’m sorry.” I blushed as I allowed him to center me on the stool.
“It’s okay. There’s no need to apologize.”
As if he understood my leeriness of touch, he withdrew and continued his check-up, hands-free. Mortified at my reaction, I ducked my head and picked at the drawstrings of Noel’s sweatpants. A few seconds later, Gideon stepped back, and I released the breath I’d been holding through quivering lips.
“You’re healing well. Are you in pain?” Gideon tilted his head to capture my wandering gaze, and I shook my head. My body ached, but the pain wasn’t severe.
I probed at my neck where the demon had bitten but was shocked to find no evidence of my injury. Two pinpricks of raised skin were the only indication of a wound. How was that possible?
“Gid healed you to stop the bleeding,” Jai answered my unvoiced question.
“Oh.” I sent Gideon a wan smile. “Th-thank you.”
He dipped his head in wordless reply.
An awkward silence descended over the room, and the weight of their eyes crushed my shoulders as I chewed the inside of my cheek. Noel leaned toward me as if he wanted nothing more than to bundle me in a tight embrace. Blowing a raspberry between his thin lips, Jai drummed his thumbs against his thighs in a catchy rhythm. Gideon watched me with an expectant air.
“So, uh” —I cleared my throat— “you have wings, huh?”
Jai and Noel chuckled as Gideon nodded. “Yes, we do.”
“And you fight vampires?”
With a scoff, Jai shook his head. “Vampires aren’t real. That was a demon.”
My exasperated eye roll humored him, and he chuckled as I shot a questioning look at Gideon. “I-it was a demon?”
Gideon nodded. “Yes. I apologize on behalf of my useless Secondaries. They should have been able to deal with the demon properly.” His obvious disappointment had Jai swelling in indignation as Noel pouted.
“We could’ve taken him if Noel hadn’t gone all batshit crazy on his ass!” Jai growled, and Noel’s pout turned into a scandalized cry of offense.
“Well, excusez-moi for getting the teensiest bit offended by his threat to use me as his own little personal pet!” He rounded on Jai as the lights in the room flickered. “It’s not like you were much help either, Mr. Hole-In-My-Gut!”
“I wouldn’t have a hole in my gut if you had just stuck to the plan. And maybe demons wouldn’t be panting after your ass if you’d cut your damn hair, you hippie!”
“Hippie? I like my hair.” Noel flipped his head to punctuate his words. “And long hair or not, no one has an excuse to slobber all over me without my consent, you chauvinistic pig.”
Jai growled and rolled his eyes. “Well, of course not. I didn’t mean—”
As the light on the ceiling crackled and whined, I shot a panicked look at Gideon, but he merely sighed in exhaustion, pinching the bridge of his nose. He muttered under his breath, “Maker, give me strength.”
I turned back to the argument at hand as Jai poked at Noel, wicked amusement shining in his dark eyes as Noel grew increasingly red in the face. “You do realize consent is not important to evil demons from the bowels of Tartarus, right? There’s gonna be sexual harassment, especially if you insist on looking like a female.”
“I’m all male, baby. Or do I need to prove it to you?” Noel’s offer came with a rather impolite gesture centered around his genitals.
Jai threw his head back with a sarcastic guffaw. “I’ve seen your dick enough to know it ain’t that impressive, darlin’.”
“Size isn’t everything as long as you know how to use it!”
As if Noel’s furious retort was exactly what Jai was hoping for, his lips spread into a menacing grin. “Aw, it’s too bad you fall short in both categories, isn’t it?”
A wordless screech breached Noel’s lips, but Gideon intervened before they resorted to physical blows. “Enough! Saints and sinners, do I have to send you to your rooms?”
“He started it!” Noel attempted to lunge around Gideon as Jai dodged his flailing limbs.
“And I’m gonna finish it here in a second.” Jai chortled wickedly, thoroughly enjoying riling Noel up. “I’m gonna cut off your hair and use it to string a new violin bow!”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“With the Holy Trinity as my witness, I will ground you both!” Gideon shoved the two males apart. “Jairus, sit down before you reopen your wound, and Noel, stop rising to his bait. I swear, sometimes you’re more children than Guardians!”
Revelations: Fire & Brimstone Scroll 1 Page 9
