by KD Jones
“Me, too, and I’m part demon.”
“What I don’t understand the most is that I truly believe deep down that he loves you.”
Cass snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“I’m serious. I’ve watched him over the years, and the way he has looked at you...it was like he worshipped you. I envied that. I’ve always wished I had someone who looked at me that way.”
“Well, I’ve sworn off demi-demons and arkangels.”
“That leaves us regular humans for you to pick. Are you considering dating West?”
“He keeps coming by my classes to ask me out.
Leeza shook her head. “It must be nice to be wanted by three men.”
Cass lay down on her back and covered her eyes with her arm. “Your count includes Ari, but he’s taken, remember?”
“Still, you have West and Michael, who would just love to help unlock more of your powers.”
“I’ve sworn off Michael and I’m not sure that I can be with West. Dating me would put him in danger and he might not be able to handle the whole demon hunter lifestyle I lead.”
“No one says you have to marry him and have his red-haired babies. Just go out with the guy and have a good time. You lead such a serious life, having a little fun will do you a world of good.”
“Maybe I’ll say yes if he asks me out again.”
“Or you can ask him out.”
“Why are you pushing me to date?”
“I love you like a sister and want to see you happy. You always take care of other people and it’s about time someone else took care of you. Go out, have fun, and maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll fall in love.”
“I would say ‘physician, heal thyself.’ I haven’t seen you date anyone in over six months. Not since Todd broke your heart.”
Leeza studied her freshly painted pink nails. “I’ll have you know that I have a hot date with a med student this weekend.” She blew on her nails to dry them.
Cass perked up at hearing this news. “Really?”
“Yes. Rob isn’t an arkangel or demi-demon, but he is just as adorable as West and he makes me laugh.”
“Laughing is good. West is pretty funny, too.”
“Hey, let’s double date.”
“I don’t know…”
“Please.”
“I might have to work this weekend.”
“Nice try, little HADD. I know that the new part-time girl is working this weekend.”
“Fine, I’ll ask West. What does HADD mean?”
“Human Angel Demi-Demon.”
“That’s awful.” Cass shook her head.
“You got something better that fits?”
“How about DDAH, Demi-demon Angel Human.”
“DN...Demon Nephilim,” Leeza offered.
“N2.0 for Nephilim 2.0?” Cass was enjoying their word game.
“COL...Child of Light?”
“Enough! It’s time to go to bed. I have to be at the church at the crack of dawn for training. Yay, me!”
*****
Ari threw his cigarette down on the ground and used his boot to stomp it out. He’d been watching the window of Cass and Leeza’s apartment for hours. He was trying to give Cass space and hoped that she would one day forgive him.
He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. This wasn’t how he had wanted Cass to find out about Tara. Hell, he’d honestly hoped she would never find out at all. He had been telling the truth when he said their families had arranged the marriage. However, he had hoped that Abraham would be able to help him fix this. He really should have known better than to depend on Abraham.
Chapter 3
The next morning
When Cass arrived at the Church for her early morning training with Michael and Father Raphael, she knew something was wrong as soon as she opened the door to the church. The lights were out and she got goose bumps all up her arms.
“Father Raphael?” she called out.
As she went further inside she could hear groaning. Then the sunlight coming through the stained glass windows illuminated something on the floor of the aisle—a body. She rushed forward and knelt down. She felt her heart stop at recognizing Father Raphael’s still form.
With trembling fingers, she checked for a pulse. He was still alive. Thank God! “Father? Can you hear me?”
He struggled to wake. She checked for signs of blood but found nothing. She needed help. “Michael!” There was no answer. She reached for her cell phone and dialed Michael’s number. It went straight to voicemail. She had no healing powers that allowed her to heal others, so her only choice was to call 911.
“911. State your emergency.”
“My friend is unconscious. I don’t know what’s wrong. Help me!”
“Stay calm. Is your friend breathing?”
“Yes.”
“Does he respond to you?”
“No.”
“What’s your address?”
She gave them the church’s address. The 911 operator stayed on the line with her until she heard the paramedics arrive. She hung up and moved out of the way so that they could get to Father Raphael.
“How long has he been unconscious?”
“I don’t know. I just got here about ten minutes ago and found him like this. What’s wrong with him?”
“His blood pressure is low. We need to take him to the hospital. Does he have any next of kin to contact?”
“I...I’m his next of kin.” Oh God, was he dying?
“You can ride with him in the ambulance then.”
“Thank you.” She followed the paramedics as they wheeled him out of the church on the gurney. She tried calling Michael again, but still only got his voicemail. Climbing up into the ambulance, she sat next to Father Raphael and held his hand.
“It’s going to be fine. They’re going to fix you right up.” He didn’t respond to her voice. Something was really wrong.
The ambulance started going down the street with the sirens going. “Can we go any faster?”
If she had been strong enough to carry him, she could have run him to the hospital faster they were driving. She had been building her strength, but it was nowhere near that of a full arkangel or full demon. Michael said that she still had powers she hadn’t tapped into yet, but a fat lot of good it did her now. She was beginning to suspect she might never know what those untapped powers were, and at the moment she didn’t care. All that mattered was that Raphael got the help he needed.
The ambulance finally arrived at the hospital emergency entrance. It felt like it took hours but probably only taken about five minutes. She quickly got out so the paramedics had room to lift Father Raphael out on the gurney. They wheeled him inside, but the triage nurse kept her from following them.
“Miss, are you a relative of the patient?”
“Yes, I’m his...niece.”
“I need you to fill out some paperwork for him.”
“Where are they taking him?
“To have the doctor do an initial exam and possibly get some x-rays. Take this clipboard and pen over to the waiting room and fill it out. Bring it back to the front desk when you’re done.”
Cass felt dazed as she walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. She stared at the papers on the clipboard, not really seeing the words on them. Her phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her back pocket.
“Cass? Why aren’t you here at the church for practice?”
“Michael? Where the hell have you been? I came by and found Father Raphael passed out and alone!”
“Where are you?”
“At the emergency room. He’s still unconscious.”
“I’m on my way,” Michael told her before hanging up.
Cass put her phone back in her pocket and filled the forms out the best she could. She wasn’t sure if Father Raphael had insurance or not so she left that part blank. She walked back to the front desk and set the paperwork down.
She leaned over to ask the
nurse behind the desk, “Do you know if the doctor has seen...my uncle yet?”
“Is your uncle the priest?”
“Yes, Father Raphael.”
“The doctor is with him now and he’s being sent for scans.”
“Is he awake?”
“I don’t know. I’ll let you know when you can see him.”
Cass went back to the waiting room. About ten minutes later, Michael walked in. Several nurses rushed to see if they could help him and it certainly wasn’t because he was injured, but he spotted her and walked right by them. He sat down next to her. She had to fight to control her anger at him for not being there when Father Raphael needed him the most.
“What happened? What demon attacked him?”
“No demon could be on the church grounds and I don’t think he was attacked. There was no blood or any signs of a struggle.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Maybe it was a demi-demon...like your Ari.”
“First, he’s not mine. Second, Ari would never attack Father Raphael.”
“Why, because he’s so good and kind?”
“No, because he knows it would hurt me if he did.” Even as she said it, she knew it was true. Ari wouldn’t purposely hurt her if he could help it, and anyone important to her would be important to him, too. She ached to call him. He would have taken her in his arms and comforted her. Michael, despite being an angel, seemed to lack compassion or empathy.
“Michael, where were you? I tried calling you multiple times.”
“I was in the angel’s Sanctuary recharging my powers. While there, I can’t receive any messages or contact those outside of Sanctuary.”
From what she had learned about the angels’ Sanctuary, if an angel like Michael continued to go there regularly, he would never age. Father Raphael had been banished from Sanctuary because he had lost her mother when she was pregnant. Without being able to recharge his powers, he would slowly age and die like a human. What kind of people made up these rules and punishments?
“Miss…”
“Knight,” Cass offered her last name as the nurse approached her.
“The doctor would like to talk to you before you go in to see your uncle.”
When Cass rose to follow her, Michael did, too. The nurse looked him up and down twice before putting up a hand.
“I’m sorry, only family members are allowed into the ICU.”
Cass stepped forward, “He’s my...fiancé.”
Michael put his arm around her shoulder. She bit her lip and reminded herself not to shove him off. She played the loving fiancée and wrapped her arm around his waist. They walked like that as they followed the nurse down the hall until she gestured at them to enter a patient counsel room.
The doctor was already there. He stood and shook their hands. “I’m Doctor Rodriguez.”
“I’m Cass Knight, and this is my fiancé Michael.”
“How are you related to the priest?”
“He’s my uncle.”
Cass took a seat across from the doctor, Michael next to her. She clasped her hands together in her lap nervously and waited for the doctor to tell her something, trying not to let her impatience show.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“Your uncle arrived with a BP of 100/60, P 110, R 24A. When he regained consciousness, I was able to question him. He said that he experienced a sudden onset of severe back and abdominal pain. He passed out due to lack of oxygen to his brain. After I did an initial physical examination, I found him to be pale, perspiring profusely, with a tender pulsatile abdominal mass.”
“Mass? Like cancer?”
“No, it’s when a blood vessel becomes abnormally large or balloons outward.”
“Is it life-threatening?”
“It can indicate a ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, which is serious. In this case, though, he does not have an AAA.”
“Will he be able to go home?”
“I would like to keep him for 24-hour observation in the ICU. If he shows no other symptoms, I’ll release him tomorrow. He’ll need to have someone with him all the time until he is 100%.”
Both she and Michael spoke up. “I can do it.”
“Can we see him now?”
“Yes, for a little while. I gave him something for the pain, so he’ll probably be pretty groggy. I’ll send in a nurse to take you to his room.”
“Thank you, doctor.”
The doctor left and a few minutes later a nurse came to take them to Father Raphael. Upon entering the ICU, Cass reached for Michael’s hand. She needed the comfort and he didn’t object.
The nurse warned them, “He’s going to be really groggy. Sleep is the best thing for him, so don’t stay long.”
“We won’t,” Michael assured her.
Cass ignored them as she entered the room, looking worriedly at the wires, monitors, and IV fluid pump. She hated hospitals. She’d never had the money to go to a regular doctor and counted herself lucky to not have been injured very often to the point she had to come to the hospital. The times she had to come in, it had fortunately never been anything too serious, but the very idea of being in the hospital remained stressful.
She walked to the side of the bed to look at Father Raphael. He was so pale and fragile, nothing like the sword-wielding man she had met a few months ago. He had been the closest thing to a father she’d ever had. It seemed stupid to hold on to her anger at him.
Yes, Father Raphael had ordered Michael to seduce her to keep her from getting close to Ari. It was wrong of them and she had let them know she wouldn’t put up with that type of manipulation ever again. Maybe she should focus on moving forward with them now.
He started to open his eyes. She gave him a reassuring smile. “Hi.”
“Cassandra,” he whispered.
“You gave me quite the scare.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay, just don’t do that again.”
“I need to get up…”
“You stay right here. The doctor is keeping you overnight. Tomorrow you should be able to be released. I’ll be back then to bring you home.”
“You’re a good girl, Cassandra,” Father Raphael managed to say before he fell asleep again.
Michael was waiting for her at the door. She gestured for him to follow her out of the room. “Let’s go practice for a while to get my mind off of things.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I think kicking your ass is just the thing I need.”
Chapter 4
Later that afternoon
Cass was done with classes for the day. She was supposed to meet West at the outside picnic area under the trees. West, the guy she was supposed to be dating, since she had decided to give him a chance. She had been reluctant to date him for several reasons: a big one was that she wasn’t sure if he really liked her or if her demon and angel blood made her irresistible to him. The more she used her powers, the more active her pheromones became, making her more appealing. The second reason was that she would have to lie to him all the time to keep her demon hunting a secret. Any relationship that started out with one person keeping secrets from the other, even to protect them, had to be doomed.
West was sweet and funny, always asking if there was anything he could do for her. Everything about him made her feel comfortable and good inside. Right after she had found out about Ari and Michael’s deceit, she didn’t plan on dating anyone, she had been too hurt. West had been there happily as just her friend, but he had always shown interest in her, kind of wearing her down until she finally agreed to go on that first date. It had taken him weeks to convince her to give him a shot, and she guessed she admired the persistence.
She spotted West waving for her to come over to a nice shady spot under a big tree. He had a blanket spread out and a real picnic basket sitting on it. It was a nice sunny day to have a picnic.
“Wow, you went all out, didn’t you?” she asked, giving him a quick hug.
“Only the
best for you, Cass,” he said as he helped her take a seat on the blanket.
“What do you have in there?”
“The usual picnic foods.” He began to pull items out of the basket. “We have fried chicken, potato salad, cubes of watermelon, lemonade, and for dessert...chocolate chip cookies.”
“That sounds so good.” Her stomach growled in agreement with her. She hadn’t eaten anything all day. Usually after morning practice, she ate breakfast, but with Father Raphael in the hospital, food had been the last thing on her mind.
West spread all the food out on the blanket and pulled out paper plates, plastic silverware, and plastic cups. She watched him, admiring him as he filled up a plate of food, then handed it to her. No one had ever waited on her before. It was new and thrilling. She smiled at him.
“Thanks for doing all this.”
“Hey, I’m your boyfriend! I’m supposed to do romantic stuff like this.”
Boyfriend? She supposed they were girlfriend and boyfriend. She wasn’t dating anyone else, so… For some reason, Ari’s face popped into her head and she had a really hard time getting it to leave. Had he done something to her mind to make her think of him all the time? Even in her dreams, she couldn’t escape Ari. Here she was dating a wonderful guy like West and she was having sex dreams about another man. It wasn’t right.
“You have a frown on your face. Is something wrong?” West asked.
She hadn’t realized she was frowning. She smiled at him, “Everything is perfect.” She picked up the chicken leg and took a bite. “This is so good.”
“I found a new southern-style restaurant just off campus. It’s really popular around here.”
“I know that place. My roommate and I were talking about going there for lunch sometime.”
“Well, now you can tell your friend how good the food is. We can go eat there too. They have a Brunswick stew that is amazing.”
They ate and talked about their classes. It was the best picnic she’d ever had; granted, it was the first one she’d ever had. Her foster parents hadn’t been big on doing fun things like going to parks.
“I was hoping I could convince you to go dancing with me tonight.”
