Lost In Time: A Fallen Novel

by Palmer, Christie

  Celeste opened up the fridge and sure enough, there was a package of raw steak at least an inch thick. The Demon side of her really wanted to just pick it up and throw it in her mouth like a crazy person. But she was civilized, and she reached past it for the gallon of milk.

  “Is there cereal?” she asked turning back to the group.

  “You don’t want the meat?” Marcus asked, surprised.

  “I might like it for lunch, but not for breakfast.” Kyra pointed to a cupboard by the stove. Opening it up, she let out a little yelp of pleasure. They had Fruit Loops, her favorite. Grabbing the box she turned and searched for a bowl and spoon. Her inhabitations of the other people in the room temporarily forgotten. Once she had everything she went to the table and sat down. She was now as far away from the group as she could get.

  “You should ask Celeste. She became quiet friendly with Aiden last night,” Marcus accused. Celeste just rolled her eyes as she spooned some of the tasty flavored cereal into her mouth.

  “How do you know, Aiden?” Kyra asked. Celeste couldn’t help but notice the Element had a little irritation in her voice.

  “Met him at a bar last night. Had no idea who he was, until Marcus told me this morning,” she said around a mouth full. “You might want to ask Marcus how the hell he seems to know everyone ‘cause that’s just freaky.”

  “How exactly do we get in contact with him?” Ryder practically snarled.

  Kyra laughed. “It’s not going to kill you.”

  “Yes it is. Damn blood suckers think they are better than the rest of us, but they are just like as weird and freaky as us Others,” Ryder snapped

  “I will make some calls and should be able to get ahold of him by nightfall. But meanwhile Celeste, and I need to continue to look for the Touched.” Marcus pulled a phone out of his pocket.

  Celeste did the same she and pushed the saved number she had been given the night before and wasn’t surprised when Aiden picked up on the first ring.

  “Good morning my beautiful Demon. I hope you slept well,” he purred through the phone.

  “Like the dead, but you should know all about that,” she said, making Aiden laugh which had her smiling.

  “So who should I thank for having the pleasure of speaking with you this morning?” She loved the way he spoke so proper, enunciating each word perfectly.

  “Well, first I wanted to say thank you for making sure I made it home safe.” Celeste looked up at Marcus who glared at her. He put his phone down. “Second, Ryder is here, and he is way excited to speak with you.”

  Aiden laughed again. “First of all, it was my pleasure to ensure you made it home unharmed, although I am withholding judgment on your mood of transportation. And second, if Ryder is so very excited to speak with me, I would be happy to take his call.”

  “You want me to give him the phone?” Ryder started waving his hands around like a crazy person while Kyra nodded.

  “Hmm, interesting dilemma,” Aiden said and paused for a moment. “Why don’t you let him know when he is truly ready to speak with me, you are permitted to give him my number, but until it is his idea, then I shall keep my distance as well as my information?”

  “What exactly did he do?” Celeste asked looking at Ryder as she asked the question. He looked like a biker and acted like a Neanderthal half the time, but whenever he looked at Kyra everything about his visage changed and softened. Celeste wasn’t really surprised he had upset Aiden.

  “Ah, Little Red, that is a story for another time.”

  “Okay, but I’ll get it out of you,” Celeste promised.

  Aiden laughed again. “I’m sure you will, and we shall both enjoy the games, wins and losses, it takes to procure said information,” he said suggestively making Celeste smile.

  With that, he hung up, and Celeste put her phone down and shoved another spoonful of cereal in her mouth.

  “Well?” Marcus barked.

  Celeste looked up. “Ask the Tracker, he heard every single word. And it was regarding him, not you, so he can share or not.”

  Celeste turned to her breakfast with the intention of ignoring everyone else in the room no matter what.

  “You’re impossible,” Marcus growled.

  “Yes, you’ve said that before.”

  Marcus stormed from the room, which was fine with Celeste. She meant it when she had said they should stay away from each other. She had built someone up in her mind of the romantic Fallen Angel, and he was nothing like what she’d expected. That’s how fantasies worked. And the thing was, he had turned out to be more human than anything else. And she had no one to blame but herself.

  “What have you done to Marcus?” Kyra asked as she moved to sit across from Celeste. She brought a bowl and poured herself some cereal.

  “What do you mean?” Celeste asked

  “I mean, in all the time I have known Marcus he has never stormed out of a room.” Kyra spooned some cereal into her mouth and raised an eyebrow in question.

  “Really? Hmm, have you ever known him to choke a woman into unconsciousness? Shake a person until their teeth rattled?” Kyra’s eyes bulged in surprise.

  “Of course not, he is a Fallen Angel. He is kindness personified.” Kyra’s words actually made Celeste choke on her cereal.

  Kyra jumped up and patted her on the back until she could breathe again.

  Celeste pushed her bowl away, losing her appetite. “Personification of kindness,” she said with sarcasm and complete shock. “Not really the Fallen I know.”

  Ryder laughed. “I knew it.”

  Kyra glared at her mate. “Knew what?”

  “That Marcus would become a frustrated jackass. Five hundred years without a woman, now he is partnered with you.” Celeste didn’t miss the disgust in his voice when he mentioned her. “He’s bound to just combust at some point.” He laughed again.

  “I don’t understand,” Celeste said. Leaning back in her chair she regarded Ryder. “What is wrong with being partnered with me, and why is his pain so funny?”

  “You, because you’re freak’n beautiful. No offense,” Ryder said to Kyra who shrugged.

  “I know where you sleep at night so if you see a beautiful woman, she is beautiful. You’re the more jealous one in the relationship,” she explained.

  “And it’s damn funny because his frustration was bound to catch up with him one day,” Ryder said.

  “You think its funny someone you consider a brother is in pain?” Sometimes Celeste just didn’t understand men.

  Ryder glared at her. “No, what I think is funny is that he is too stupid to figure it out.”

  “Who is stupid?” Marcus asked coming back into the kitchen.

  “You are,” Ryder said.

  “Yes, well you think everyone is an idiot,” Marcus said and looked at Celeste. “Are you ready to go?”

  “And just where are we headed to?” Celeste asked.

  “I think a slow cruise through the city is in order. I can feel Guardians in the area.”

  “So the two of us are just going to go out and drive around until you feel a Guardian?” The thought of spending the day trapped in a car with Marcus made her want to crawl up the wall and howl.

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  Kyra interrupted them. “Marcus, why are you so angry?”

  “Because he’s a dumbass,” Ryder answered.

  Kyra glared at her mate. “Since you are in such a wonderful mood, I think I will take Celeste’s place and go for a drive with Marcus.”

  “The hell you will,” Ryder snapped.

  “See the jealous one? He calls you beautiful I don’t blink. But I want to go for a ride with a friend, and the caveman comes out pounding on his chest.” She rolled her eyes and turned back to Ryder. “Oh so you’re going to call Aiden and apologize?”

  “Hell no!”

  She smiled, rising from the table, she kissed Ryder on the cheek. “Then I will enjoy a ride with Marcus.”

  Marcus growled
causing shivers to spread up Celeste’s spine. “And just what are you going to do today?” he demanded of her.

  A countless number of sarcastic answers clawed at the back of Celeste’s throat, but she clenched her teeth together and thought for a moment. “I think I am going to the Infernos, to question George. He may have more information than he was prepared or able to give us.”

  Marcus looked surprised. “That’s a good idea. But don’t be gone too long. Let’s get this taken care of.”

  Celeste glared at him. “Oh I’m sorry. What’s my curfew, Daddy?”

  Marcus threw his hands in the air. “That viper’s tongue of yours is going to get you into a lot trouble one day.”

  “And let me guess, you can only hope to be there when it happens?” He looked so frustrated she thought his head might explode.

  Marcus leaned down so they were nose to nose. “Just one conversation. Just one, that doesn’t involve your viper jaded tongue.”

  She smiled and leaned forward so her forehead actually leaned against his. “But if my vipers tongue wasn’t involved, I wouldn’t be able to speak.” She licked her lips after she said it. His eyes glued to the action.

  He jerked back. “That would be the point.”

  Celeste just shook her head and Flashed to the Infernos.

  ****

  “Why are you letting her get under your skin?” Ryder asked, as soon as Celeste disappeared. Marcus felt as if he was going to combust from the sexual frustration clawing at him.

  “She snaps sarcastically at me every time I open my mouth.” Marcus shoved a hand through his hair. He would dearly love to know the answer to that question himself. That way at least he wouldn’t feel so helpless or out of sorts when it came to Celeste.

  “Look, brother, I’m not the best person to give out advice on the issue, but maybe, just maybe, you are frustrated because she is a beautiful woman, and you’re celibate,” Ryder quipped. “Sex can be a dangerous powder keg. The situation between the two of you is bound to strike a match and blow up at some point.”

  Marcus sighed. “I have been celibate for five hundred years and have been around beautiful woman before. Your mate and I have worked together in the past. But Celeste—there is just something about her that rubs me the wrong way.”

  Ryder shook his head. “Rubs you the wrong or right way? There is a fine line, my brother. You should figure out where it is before you trip and land into something you aren’t prepared to defend yourself against.”

  Marcus again sighed. Ryder was right, and if he was right then there was something really wrong with the world, which only frustrated him more.

  He felt terrible admitting it. He typically liked everyone, and that emotion usually went both ways. He had never been with someone who acted as if they truly disliked him. And if he had to admit it, his feelings were just a little hurt on the matter. So he lashed out at her, and each time he did it, he promised he would be nice next time. But she evoked such strong emotions in him he didn’t seem to have control sometimes.

  “You know she is a Sex Demon?” Marcus asked Ryder, who whistled and shook his head.

  “Son of a bitch.” Ryder laughed. “That would explain some things.”

  “That’s all you have to say about it?” Marcus asked, incredulous. “They have been banned from this plane because of what they are and what they can do, and you say it explains some things?”

  Ryder slapped Marcus on the shoulder. “She fits the bill of a Sex Demon. The only question is how are you going to handle that? After all, she is your partner, and Dante entrusted her into your hands.”

  “She was having some issues—” Marcus could feel the blood rush to his face, and he wanted to turn and walk away but he had to get this out. “So I did some research on the Sex Demons. They need contact, not necessarily sexual contact, but contact with a hot blooded species. I offered to help her out by holding her.”

  Kyra snorted once before bursting out in laughter, which, of course, only fueled Marcus’s irritation.

  “She was in pain, Kyra. What was I supposed to do?” he snapped.

  “Maybe you could have slept with her,” Ryder threw the words out.

  “I don’t have sex, or did you miss that part?” Marcus snapped and turned to Kyra. “And why the hell is this so funny?”

  Kyra pulled herself together enough to speak. “Marcus, she is a Sex Demon. She is a physical being one of the most physical beings in all of creation, and all you did was offer to hold her?” she held up her hands as he started to interrupt. “Not that it didn’t help because it obviously did or she wouldn’t have been able to come down this morning. However, from what I know of the Sex Demons they feel things very differently then you or I. You might have put her off for a while, but eventually she is going to need sex. Just like the Trackers must share their pheromone with their chosen, she needs to have sex in order to survive.”

  “I understand all that.”

  “Yes, I know you understand it intellectually, but she is a Sex Demon. She needs sex, and holding her will only help for so long. Eventually it will only make it worse,” Kyra said.

  Marcus thought about it for a minute. “I think I have more studying to do.”

  “And why can’t you just let her have sex with someone else?” Ryder asked.

  Marcus felt like someone had pulled the rug out from beneath him. “Because we are partners.”

  Ryder shrugged. “Marlee and I are partners, and I wouldn’t sleep with her for any reason.” He actually shivered.

  “That, and she has bigger balls than you do,” Kyra said, laughing. “But that is a thought, Marcus. Just let her have sex with someone. She seems to have made a connection with Aiden.”

  The thought of her sleeping with another man made Marcus want to commit homicide. “She is my partner, and we don’t have time for her to go out and find a man to have sex with. She is my partner, and I will find a way to work around this.”

  “Stop studying. Try being nice, even if she snaps at you. Just be yourself.” Kyra patted him on the back and reached out for Ryder’s hand. “If you won’t sleep with her then you have a great deal of studying to do.”

  “I thought you were going to go with me?” Marcus asked as she pulled Ryder to his feet.

  Kyra smiled. “I think that maybe you should spend some time thinking about what we’ve discussed. Time alone always helps. Enjoy your recon. Besides, Ryder has some questions to answer.”

  Ryder gave her a confused look. “What?”

  “I’m curious how you know so much about female Sex Demons.”

  Ryder cursed. “You know just as much as I do,” he snapped.

  Kyra glared at him “But my information came from years of study. Where did yours come from?”

  “Dammit, Kyra.” He grunted as she pulled him from the room.

  Marcus did smile at that point. Finally someone else was getting their ass handed to them. It helped to assuage some of his tension.

  Grabbing a set of keys, he headed toward the garage. Kyra was right. Time alone to think was probably the best answer for everyone concerned.

  ****

  Celeste rushed up to Victor. He had a gash in his side and was bleeding from a wound in his head.

  “Why didn’t you send for me?” she asked

  “Never really had the time, little one.” He leaned against her and put one arm around her neck as she led him to a bench.

  “Is it really that bad?” If she had known how dire the situation had become, she would have come back immediately. “And you damn well know I am one word away.”

  Victor laughed, and then cringed with pain. “We’ve got most of the levels contained now. It’s basically clean up, but we are shorthanded.”

  “I will do whatever needs to be done,” she promised.

  Victor pulled her close and hugged her. “You need to make sure Calliope doesn’t make it back into the Infernos. How are things going?”

  “I am not enjoying myself,” C
eleste said honestly. “Not that this was a vacation or anything, but I am my mother’s daughter, and the time changing has been difficult to adjust to.”

  Victor gave her a hard look. “And Dante placed you with the one person in any plane of existence that wouldn’t sleep with you.”

  Celeste laughed. “Is that why he put me with him?”

  Victor raised one blond brow. “You tell me.”

  Celeste sobered. “Are you and the others going to be okay?” She worried about them.

  Victor cupped her cheek. “We will be fine and always there for you if needed, but this is a fight only you can fight. The Black Sword would turn any of us into what Calliope was born into.”

  Celeste lowered herself to the bench next to her brother and leaned on his good side. “I understand all of that, but I don’t understand the workings of the mortal plane, and Marcus is making me want to kill him.”

  Victor shook his head. “Men will do that. And you being a Sex Demon doesn’t help. You reek of sex, baby girl.”

  “But it’s not my fault,” she wailed and then pulled herself together.

  “Of course it’s not. But it is different on the mortal plane for you.” Victor patted her on the shoulder. “Take it one day at a time, and if the Fallen touches you, his ass will be burned in the pits of Hell.”

  Celeste wished he had been joking, but she knew he wasn’t, and the thought of Marcus being hurt like that made her want to cry.

  So she decided to change the subject. “Where is the Guardian you took? It was George, wasn’t it? “

  “He had the most pussy ass name. How can you be a Guardian if you’re named George?” he asked shaking his head. “Anyway, we were short two Reapers, Dante gave him the choice of going back into Limbo, and seeing if the Arch would take him back, but honestly if they had really wanted him, wouldn’t they have fought for him? George isn’t stupid and placed the question to Dante. Who, of course, answered by offering him a deal: become a Reaper by drinking Dante’s blood, which is how it was done in the old days, or Dante could put him to eternal rest?”

  Celeste was shocked. “And what did he choose?”

  “Reaper, actually.” Celeste had to pick her jaw up off the floor in her shock. This just wasn’t done. Hadn’t been done since the First, and they were fighting Calliope now because of it. How would George react? Would he become evil like Calliope was now? “Would you like to see him?” Victor asked.