by SJ Himes
Shovels digging into cold earth came to his ears, but Angel pushed aside distractions. He had seconds before his traps were set off. The zombies below him finally zeroed in on his location, growling and moaning as they shuffled forward, and Angel threw off caution and reached for the veil, opening a direct line to the maelstrom of infinite energy past the dimensional wall, and sent his will out.
The two sorcerers sensed him at the same time he opened the veil, shouts and deep growls from the other zombies coming just at the moment a shovel triggered his trap. A boom reverberated through the cemetery, the ground rolling and lifting in a wave as the earth beneath one of the sorcerers opened up, and the man fell into a gaping void beneath him. The other sorcerer pointed and yelled something, and the zombies all lost their disjointed pondering walk and raced over the distance between them and Angel’s perch.
Angel gained control of the two zombies closest just as the others came scrambling over, and Angel sent them after the sorcerer who hadn’t fallen into his trap. Eroch launched himself from his perch, screeching, and Angel tried to grab the tiny dragon before his familiar dive-bombed the nearest undead.
Angel dropped the illusion, and stood, throwing up a shield between himself and the other sorcerer, just in time to catch a red fireball flung his way. It splattered and hissed when it hit his shields, tails of fire whipping through the air as its remnants fell to the ground. Fingers, crooked into claws tried to find something to grab as the zombies clustered around the base of the stone mausoleum, and Angel cursed his lack of foresight in not taking a higher perch. He’d wanted something he could jump down from, but any minute now that would be his undoing once the zombies figured out how to get up there with him. He could keep them out with a shield, but even with the veil powering him he couldn’t maintain it forever and deal with his opponents.
A roar and a wave of flame arched up from the ground, and Angel stumbled back on the roof, hands up, holding his shields in place as another roar and burst of flame cascaded up and over the gutter. The zombies that had been trying to crawl up the mausoleum disappeared in the fire, and Angel gaped, confused. He heard a shout, and Angel looked up to see the two zombies he’d sent after their former master chasing the sorcerer across the cemetery, the fool screaming, and tossing fireballs at the zombies, but they kept after him.
Angel crept to the edge of the roof, and looked down, but the beast that stood up…and up….and up made him jump and swear. Eroch huffed, a puff of smoke escaping his nostrils, and he tilted his head to the side, staring at Angel from one melon-sized eye. Eroch was huge, no longer his wee beastie, but a dangerous and devastatingly beautiful dragon of ancient lore. Crunching came from beneath Eroch, and Angel looked down to the ground, to see his familiar standing on the crushed and charred remains of a handful of zombies.
“You’re sneaky, little beastie,” Angel murmured with a smile, and he chuckled when Eroch grumbled and shoved his massive head into Angel’s chest, demanding scratches. “You have any more secrets I should be knowing?”
Eroch just sighed and let Angel scratch his scales; the dark emerald green lit up by the moon. And the red and blue of police car lights.
The cops screamed into the cemetery, and Eroch pulled away, hunkering down, and Angel laughed in delight as his familiar shrank rapidly, becoming once again his wee beastie dragon. Eroch chirped and flew up to Angel, who caught him in his arms and hugged him tightly. “I won’t be leaving you behind again, my friend.”
“Angel!”
Simeon ran into the cemetery, blurring as he came, following Angel’s scent. Angel had a second to prepare himself before he was whisked off his feet and swept into Simeon’s arms. Simeon jumped, carrying Angel and Eroch to the ground and away, past the cop cars and out to the street. Simeon put them down, hands running over Angel, looking for injuries.
“I’m fine! Simeon, I swear I’m fine,” Angel said, trying to reassure his lover. “No one touched me, and the zombies never got to me.”
“I had faith you could handle yourself a ghra, but I worried none the less,” Simeon said, cupping his face and kissing him deeply, as if he would only believe Angel was unharmed if he examined every minute inch of him, including his tonsils.
Finally, Simeon let him go and hugged him again. Angel snuggled back, watching as the cops swarmed the cemetery. “You got here quickly.”
“I called Detective O’Malley immediately and told him what was going on,” Simeon said, voice rumbling under Angel’s ear. “I wasn’t that far away.”
“Heaven’s Gate Cemetery isn’t on the way home from the Tower,” Angel said, thinking. “What were you doing out this way?”
“Stopping at the 24-hour bakery nearby,” Simeon said, and Angel looked up at him, confused.
“A bakery? But you don’t eat.”
“No, I do not, but you do,” Simeon said with a wicked grin, making Angel peer at him in suspicion.
“What did you do?”
Simeon backed up and blurred away. Angel grumbled, but Simeon returned in less than 15 seconds, a small box in his hands. Angel groaned, and rubbed his face, flushing in embarrassment. “No, please tell me you didn’t…”
“Of course, I did. Turning thirty is a grand occasion, and should be celebrated,” Simeon said with a grin, peeling back the cardboard box’s lid to reveal a giant cupcake. It was a chocolate monstrosity that was covered with a mountain of frosting, sprinkles, and a single unlit candle.
“Says the undead man who’s over 400 years old.” Angel rolled his eyes. “That’s not a cupcake. That’s death by chocolate.”
Eroch chirped in agreement, eyeing the giant cupcake hungrily.
Simeon looked at his watch, and walked over to Angel, kissing him on his cheek. “It’s after midnight. Happy birthday, my love.”
Simeon pulled out a lighter and lit the candle, holding the box up toward Angel. He tried to glare, but the love and joy on Simeon’s face were impossible to resist. Angel bent down and blew out the candle, making a wish.
“Now I am a little bit lax on human custom. I should not ask you what you wished for, correct?”
“Well,” Angel said, dipping a finger in the decadent frosting and sucking it off his finger, Simeon’s eyes heating with lust as they tracked his movements. “You can, but you already know what I wished for.”
“I do?” Simeon’s voice was husky and deep, and made Angel shiver.
“It’s something I already have,” Angel teased, going for another lick of frosting.
“What’s that, a ghra?”
“You.”
Simeon blinked, and bit his lip. The old vampire was usually smooth and sophisticated, always in control, but Angel saw beneath that hard veneer to the real man.
“I love you, Simeon, and you in my life is the best present I could ever ask for,” Angel said, and leaned in, kissing his lover.
Simeon broke the kiss after a moment, and said, “I love you, too.”
“I want another cupcake, though,” Angel said, frowning.
“Why? What’s wrong with…Eroch!”
Angel laughed as the tiny dragon chirped from the box, covered in frosting, his belly fat from eating half the cupcake.
The End, Again
To Be Continued
Book Three Coming in Winter of 2016
Other Books by SJ Himes
Stand Alone Books
Saving Silas
The Wolfkin Saga
Wolves of Black Pine
Books as Revella Hawthorne
Bred For Love Series
The Prince’s Consort
The King’s Command
A Royal Rebellion
SJ Himes Official Website
www.sjhimes.com
