Suddenly, Cam stopped dead in his tracks like someone had slapped him in the face. He sniffed the air before he took off running at a neck breaking pace. Abdiel cursed and followed him. What now?
“Cam, get your ass back here. You haven’t even scanned the area for danger.”
Cam completely ignored him and continued to tear down the road. Abdiel finally caught up with him and tackled him to the ground, giving both of them a nice case of road rash. Cam struggled to get out from underneath him. Abdiel cuffed him on the side of his head in an effort to snap him out of it, but Cam still fought him.
“Let me go, Abdiel I need to go to her.” Cam rasped out.
“No, you need to calm the hell down.”
“She’s calling to both of us, don’t you feel it?”
No, the only thing he felt was a growing annoyance with him. An unseen force threw him off the empath and sent him sprawling on the street. All righty then, it was obvious that Cam’s telekinesis was getting stronger.
As soon as he was free, Cam scrambled to his feet and started hauling ass again, Abdiel hot at his heels. All of a sudden Cam screeched to a dead stop with an “oh fuck” look plastered on his face. Abdiel skidded to a stop next to him and felt the vibe too. A demon was close. Damn close, and they had been caught with their pants down.
“Good going, boys,” Gabi growled from behind them. “While you two were playing alpha male you didn’t bother to scan for enemies.”
Okay point taken, they had been idiots. They made their way over to where the demon was, weapons drawn. The street appeared to be deserted. Abdiel let out a whistle.
“Here demon, demon,” he yelled out like he was calling in the family dog.
A tall, dusky demon walked out. He had a small female child in his arms. The little angel was unconscious. Her long, black hair hung down. She wore a white, tattered gown.
“Abdiel,” the demon rasped out. “It’s me, Bub.”
“Beezlebub?” Abdiel was shocked. His former best friend was unrecognizable. His once handsome face was twisted with long fangs and jutting cheekbones. His black hair was now matted and hung to his waist. His blue eyes had turned a burning red. They were filled with pain.
“Gabi,” the demon looked at her sadly. “You have grown up to be so beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes filled with tears.
“I need you to take her.” Bub held the girl out like she was some type of venomous snake ready to bite him.
Abdiel looked down at the child, and his heart lurched. It looked like Rachael but that was impossible. His sister should be a full grown female not still a child. The demon thrust the girl into his arms.
“She won’t shut up,” Bub wailed. It was obvious he had long ago gone mad. “She screams day and night.”
“What happened to her?” Abdiel asked harshly even as he clutched the female tight in his arms.
“What happened to her?” The demon snarled out. “She may look innocent, but she has tortured me day and night for centuries. The only reason I’m returning her is because I cannot stand her scrambling around in my head anymore. It’s not because I have any kindness left in my heart. That has long ago been drained out of me.”
“Oh gee, why does that not shock me?” Cam the Sarcasm King asked. “Could it be because you’re the top general of Satan’s armies?”
“I am going to enjoy bringing you to your knees and watching you grovel,” Beezlebub growled at him.
“Ditto.” Cam’s glare looked just as menacing as the demon’s.
“What about Appolion? What did you monsters do to him?” Abdiel asked, deliberately leaving out the fact that he had just recently seen him.
“Don’t ask any more questions from me.” Bub let out a snarl that sounded just like a jungle cats. “Remember what I am. We are no longer friends. In fact, I cannot wait for the day when I finally defeat you in battle. That will never change.”
His former friend then turned around and walked away. The three of them watched him go in shocked silence. Abdiel and Gabi turned when they heard Cam give a chuckle.
“She says she’s cold and that she would appreciate it if you got her inside.” He pointed to the female child in case they had any question as to whom he was talking about.
“Is it really Rachael?” Abdiel was almost afraid of getting his hopes up. He had already let Appolion slip from his grip.
“Yes, it is. She somehow put herself in some frozen state when she was taken down to Hell.” Cam slipped off his jacket and covered Abdiel’s sister with it. “There you go, Rachael, that should warm you up.”
Gabi walked over and peered down at the child. She leaned down and kissed the girl’s cheek. “Welcome home, little sister. Your brother has missed you something terrible.”
The way she talked to his sister made his heart melt. She was the kindest most caring soul he had ever known. He was so damned lucky to have her.
“I love you, Gabi,” he whispered for only her to hear.
“Of course you do,” she smiled at him. “Now let’s get Rachael home.”
They snuck her in the back door. Abdiel and Gabi had agreed that until they knew more, it would be best to keep the return of his sister a secret. Of course that was not going to be an easy thing to do with a house full of angel warriors.
“Take her to my room,” Cam whispered. “I’ll go find Ana. She can scan her.”
They made their way quietly up the stairs. Thankfully the upstairs are was pretty deserted and they didn’t run into anyone else. They made their way to Cam’s room, and Abdiel place her on the bed. Gabi tucked her in and ran her hands over her looking for any injuries. Abdiel raked his hands through his hair, frustrated.
“Do you think she’ll ever wake up?” he asked.
“I honestly don’t know.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “Whatever is causing this is not physical.”
She felt so useless. She was a healer yet she could not give him back something that was so important to him. There was nothing she could do to heal his sister. She felt a tear slip down her cheek.
Cam came in dragging Ana with him. “You cannot tell anyone, promise,” he whispered to her.
The blonde female stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the child lying there. “Like anyone would ever believe me,” she stammered out.
Ana sat down on the bed next to Rachael. “You could have scanned her just as easy as me, Cam. Actually, you would do a better job. You are the telepath.”
“I thought of that,” Cam admitted as he tugged on his hair. “But I can’t be impartial. I like her too much already.”
“So is that why you freaked out on us back there, bud?” Abdiel snapped out.
Cam gave him a sheepish look. “I’m sorry. I was just drawn to her. It’s like she’s a missing piece of me. It’s nothing sexual, like with a mate or anything. It’s just like we need to be together, like we’re linked somehow. It’s the same thing I felt when I first met you.”
“You felt some freaky physic connection to me? Why didn’t you say anything about it before now?”
Cam blushed before he stammered out, “I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea and think I was getting all Broke Back Mountain.”
Gabi and Ana both coughed as they tried to hold back their laughter. Cam gave them a nasty look.
“I am not gay,” he said hotly. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not my thing. Oh screw you guys, I’m just gonna shut my trap before I dig myself in deeper.”
He snapped his head over to Rachael’s direction. “You can stop laughing at me too, little one. It’s partly your fault that I went running off half cocked. You were calling me after all.”
“She’s been talking to him,” Abdiel supplied for a confused looking Ana.
“She’s got a real great sense of humor too,” Cam slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He gave out a tired yawn. “If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to sleep here on the floor tonight just i
n case she needs me.”
Gabi smiled at his consideration. She knew then that his fears of turning demon were unfounded. He still had his caring nature. It was just buried a little deeper than before.
Ana closed her eyes and scanned Rachael. After several minutes she opened her eyes and gave them a relieved smile. “She’s been around terrible evil. But she protected herself by shutting her body down. That’s why she’s still young. It’s really quite impressive. I’ve never known an angel to do it before.”
“Is there? I mean did you feel any…” Abdiel stopped short, showing that he was afraid to vocalize his fears.
“There is not an ounce of evil in her heart,” Ana soothed out. “She is still an angel.”
He let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Ana.”
“I would stay but I have three other brothers here besides Cam.” Ana got up “I don’t trust them not to start up another fight.”
Abdiel curled up on the foot of the bed. The earlier battle must have totally exhausted him because he was quickly out of it. Cam followed suit and soon Gabi was the only one awake.
“You really need to wake up for your brother,” she whispered to her sister-in-law.
I’m not ready to yet.
Gabi looked around for the source of the voice. She looked down at Rachael even as she shook her head in disbelief. Yet, the voice had most defiantly been that of a young female child.
“I must be losing it,” she muttered. Yeah that was it. She was working too hard. She needed a vacation.
No, you are not losing it, silly, the voice was stronger now. Although a vacation would be nice.
“I thought you could only talk with Cam,” Gabi felt a little stupid talking to a comatose person, but she had seen stranger things these past few weeks.
I can talk to whomever I want. Cam is just the easiest to connect with. But you seemed nice so I made the extra effort to talk to you.
“You should talk to Abdiel. He’s so worried about you,” Gabi kept her voice low so that she didn’t wake up the others. If she was losing her mind, she didn’t need an audience.
No, I’m mad at him, the voice in her head turned into that of a petulant child’s.
“Why? He’s been so worried about you all these long years.”
I waited and waited and he never came for me, the voice was now crying.
“No, he was so sad that he lost you. Please, he can never be truly happy until he had you back,” even as the words tumbled out of her mouth Gabi knew how true it was. They could never be truly happy together until he had his life back.
Reacting purely on instinct, Gabi grabbed the girl and held her tight in her arms. She started reciting ancient chants. Nobody had ever taught her these chants. They came from her heart. She poured all of her energy into the little girl. She didn’t care if it completely drained her and made her a cationic shell. She would give this to Abdiel.
She was shocked to feel a heat buildup in her chest. She had thought that she wouldn’t be able to help Rachael and yet she was. Even as she continued, she knew how dangerous her actions were. No healer had ever attempted what she was doing. Check that, no healer was even capable of doing what she was, not even Raphael. Only she had the gifts needed to complete this task.
A great white ball of energy surged between the two of them. Even though Gabi felt her vision dimming, she didn’t pull back. She needed to do this. If she ever wanted to have a life with Abdiel, she had to help him overcome his past.
Please, please, she thought franticly. This has to work. For him it must work.
Her head started to spin, and a buzzing filled her head. In the distance, she heard a scream that was not her own. She felt Rachael grab her back right before the darkness overcame her.
Chapter Fourteen
It was the scream that woke them up, the ear-splitting, heart-rending scream. Abdiel looked over and saw several small arches of light spinning around the two females. Bright blue in color, the arches moved in different directions and at varied speeds. They grew brighter and brighter until he was unable to see either Gabi or Rachael.
“Gabi. Rachael,” Abdiel cried as he tried to grab them. As soon as he tried to touch the blue light, he was thrown away from it.
Finally, after what had seemed forever, the light began to slowly fade. When it dissipated, Rachael was a full-grown female. She let out a scream as she held Gabi, limp in her arms. Rachel dropped the other female and shook her head back and forth as she started hyperventilating in fear.
“Gabi, no!” Abdiel protested as he took his wife in his arms. Her eyes were half opened and completely unfocused. She was catatonic.
Rachael launched herself from the bed. Crawling to the corner, she wrapped herself up in a tight ball. She whimpered and started to rock back and forth, her dark hair acting as a shield and hiding her face.
“Come on, baby, wake up,” Abdiel urged Gabi as tears started to form in his eyes. “Please, don’t leave me.”
He was so upset that he didn’t even pay attention to the others. All he could think about was that his love was gone forever. He held her close and started to weep.
Cam went over and grabbed Rachael by the shoulders. “What did you do to her?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” Rachel insisted. “I’m a good, little angel.”
“No you’re not,” Cam snarled at her. “You’re a bad, bad little angel.”
Rachael let out a shout of anger that sounded half demon and half angel. Her eyes grew a shade darker, just like Cam’s did whenever he was about to lose his temper. Sure enough, she shot off a bolt of energy hitting Cam square in the chest. He went flying across the room and slammed into the wall. Grabbing her head savagely between both her hands she let out another bloodcurdling scream. Every window in the room rattled before they each shattered one by one.
“You know.” Cam rolled off the ground and started towards her. “I really hate it when someone zaps me.”
“You’re not being very nice,” she spat out at him. She held up her hand and several books fell off their shelves and tumbled to the ground. “I don’t think I like you anymore.”
A picture flew off the wall and shot towards his head. Cam dove sideways to avoid being hit, slamming his right shoulder into his dresser in the process. He shook off the hurt and directed a hardcover book at her. It hit her in the back knocking her to the ground.
“You’re not the only one that can do magic tricks.” Cam’s eyes were turning that dark blue too. “I think it’s time to teach you a lesson in manners, little chickadee.”
He shot off an arch of flames at her. Moving with cat-like agility, she jumped out of the way. She yelled something at him in demon talk before she released another energy bolt. He moved but not quite fast enough. It hit him in the arm, spinning him around as he was thrown into the air.
The combined energy was building up to a dangerous level. The sky outside turned dark and lightning streaked through the sky. The entire house shook violently. The only one that could have stopped the two was Abdiel, and he still didn’t seem to notice that all hell was breaking loose. He was completely lost in his grief.
Cam stood up and lifted his hand and flames started to build up in it again. Abdiel was only vaguely aware that Armageddon was going down right there in Cam’s bedroom. The door blasted open and Michael strode in with fire in his eyes. With a simple wave of his hand, the two angels’ powers dissipated.
“That is enough you two,” he didn’t yell, but his voice carried enough anger to scare both of them into obeying. “Gabi did this to herself.”
That alone succeeded in shaking Abdiel out of his stupor. He looked shocked. “Why?”
It was Rachael who answered. She twisted her hands together nervously. “She wanted to give me back to you. She said that you would never be truly happy until you had us back. I tried to stop her, but she was too strong. It’s all my fault.”
She walked over to the bed and kneeled on the ground. Bowing her head, she
laced her fingers behind her head and waited. As soon as he saw the position, he let out a ragged curse.
He remembered that position well. He had done it countless time himself as a youth. It was the way their father had made them take their beatings. His own baby sister actually thought that he was going to hurt her.
How many times had she felt the sting of their father’s whip against her back? He reached out to touch her on the head. She shivered with fear and kept her eyes tightly shut.
“I will never hurt you, Rachael,” he vowed.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “I told her I was angry at you.”
“You were angry with me?” This time when he went to stroke her hair, she didn’t flinch.
“Every day when they first took us there.” She laid her head in his lap as tears spilled from her eyes. “I prayed that you would come and get us. When you didn’t, I hated you. I know it was stupid. That there was no way you could have entered Hell, but I still blamed you.”
“I would have come for you if I could have. I swear it.” He gently wiped the tears off her cheeks.
“I know that now. I’m sorry about Gabi.” She snuggled against his hand as if she craved a loving touch. “I really did try to stop her, but she wouldn’t let me.”
“Abdiel,” Michael interrupted softly. “Take Gabi to your bedroom. Raphael is here, and he knows about the situation. Cam, you watch over Rachel and for crying out loud, try not to destroy each other.”
“How do you know who I am?” Rachael asked him with a small frown on her face.
“Let’s just say that you and your brother are not the only ones who have weird dreams.” He turned and looked at her. “By the way, there was nothing you could have done to stop Gabi. Her heart was set on making you well.”
Michael walked over to Abdiel. “Don’t give up hope yet.”
Abdiel picked Gabi up in his arms, holding her gently as if he was afraid of breaking her even more. When he walked by Rachael, she reached up and gave him a shy kiss on his cheek. She still acted timid about touching him.
Angel Warriors Page 19
