by KD Jones
“Are you taking a taxi?”
“There’s a bus stop across the street. It drops off one block from campus.”
“I’ll see you tonight then.” She hugged Leeza but this time when she touched her cheek with a kiss, images filled her mind in a rush. Ari visiting Leeza. He was holding Leeza’s cheeks with his large hands and looking into her eyes. What the Hell?
“See ya tonight!” Leeza turned to cross the parking lot. Cass stood there watching her until she got on the bus.
She couldn’t understand what vision she saw meant. What was Ari doing to Leeza? She was about to go back inside to get Father Raphael and Michael when she heard a whimper. It was coming from the other side of the hospital. She quietly walked around the corner.
Two men in long black coats had a hospital employee cornered.
“She would’ve come here last night. Blonde hair.” One of the men in black said.
“We only had a brunette admitted to the psych ward. No blondes.”
One of the guys in black growled, and his eyes glowed. Oh crap! They were demons and it sounded like they were looking for her. The poor woman they had trapped against the building was no match for two demons. She wished she’d brought her bow and arrows. Well, she was the Child of Light, she couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.
She stepped out so they could see her. “Are you looking for me?”
The demons turned and glared at her. She motioned for the woman to slowly move away.
“This is the Child of Light? She doesn’t look like much.”
“Don’t let my looks fool you.” She turned to the woman. “Run inside and look for the priest. Tell him where I am. Go!”
The woman took off. The demons tried to chase after her but Cass blocked them, stepping in the way. “Now now, I thought you were looking for me.”
“Should we kill her or take her back alive?” the taller demon asked the shorter one.
“I say we have some fun with her first.”
She knew his kind of fun was not going to be actually fun for her. When the tall one approached her she punched him in the face.
“Oww, son of a bitch!” It hurt like hell.
She might have broken her thumb. The shorter demon took advantage of her pain and hit her in the face as well, knocking her down to her knees. She used her street fighting experience to swing upward hard, hitting the shorter demon right in the balls. He let out a loud cry.
“Motherfucker!” He fell down to his knees, clutching his crotch.
The taller demon’s eyes were glowing red. He pulled out a knife and raised his arm to swing down at her. She froze. She couldn’t seem to get her brain to function or her body to move. Just when the knife was close enough to strike her, it was blocked by a big ass sword.
Michael was there, wielding his sword. He kicked out, making the tall demon fall back. When he tried to cut Michael, the Arkangel turned and made the demon miss. From behind the demon Michael raised his sword and brought it down swiftly and cleanly across his neck. His head tilt off before the whole body turned to dust.
She heard shuffling behind her and turned to see that the other demon was making a run for it. She got to her feet and started to run after him, but Michael called after her to stop.
“He’s getting away.”
Michael came up to her. “You are untrained and have no weapon. All you would’ve done was give him another opportunity to kill you.”
He was right. She didn’t have complete control over her abilities, and she wasn’t a trained fighter to be able to take a demon on hand to hand. It really hit her.
“They know about me.”
“I don’t think these guys knew your name, just that there is a Child of Light.”
“How do you know that?”
“The woman you sent inside to find us. We asked her what they said, and she told us they just asked about a blonde woman who would have had injuries from last night. They didn’t give her a name.”
She felt relief. “Where’s Father Raphael?”
“He remained behind to calm the woman down and keep her from calling the police.”
Damn, she hadn’t thought about that. She looked over to where the other demon had turned to dust. “I guess it’s a good thing no evidence of him remains.”
“Except for the knife.” Michael bent down and picked the demon’s knife up. They heard police sirens in the distance.
“What are we going to tell the police?”
“Nothing.” He took her arm and led her away from the buildings and closer to some trees.
“Nothing?” She gasped when Michael wrapped his arm around her waist.
“What are you doing?”
“We need to leave the scene. Talking to the police will only cause more questions to be asked.”
“What about Father Raphael?”
“We’ll meet him back at the church.”
She wanted to ask him something else but the words left her when Michael’s wings came out. He lifted her up in his arms in a bridal carry.
“Hold on to me.” He bent his knees and jumped up, letting his wings catch the air and pull them aloft.
She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Have you flown many people with you before?”
He chuckled. “You’re my first.”
She opened one eye and looked down. Michael was flying them high above the buildings. Once she got used to the height, her death grip loosened up a little. She felt the breeze on her face and the sun warmed her. She could also feel the heat from Michael’s body.
She felt free, like she could do anything, go anywhere. Why couldn’t she have inherited this ability? “It’s amazing.” She looked at him to find him watching her intently.
“I guess I’ve taken it for granted. I was born an angel; I’m used to flying. I forgot what it was like for me in the beginning. I can see the wonder of it through your eyes. You have beautiful eyes.”
She felt heat rise in her cheeks. “Thanks.” She couldn’t help but lean her head on his shoulder. Why was he treating her so nicely? Up until this point, she thought he hated her just because of who her mother was. His sudden change in attitude was throwing her off.
“Would you like to go higher?”
She nodded and watched as he flew towards a high-rise. He landed on the rooftop and set her on her feet. She turned slowly around.
“You can see almost the whole city from here. Gorgeous.”
“I come here sometimes where I need to spread my wings. It’s even more beautiful at night. I could bring you sometime.”
“I would love to see it at night.” She moved closer to the edge of the building and wrapped her arms around her middle.
“They’re not going to stop, are they? The demons. They’re not going to stop coming after me.”
“No, they won’t. Now that they know the Child of Light is alive, they will send more demons to look for you.”
“I can’t run from this, can I?”
“Run? Why would you run from your destiny?”
She turned to glare at him. “You really don’t understand how scary all this is. A week ago my biggest problem was making enough money at the diner to buy food. Now, I’ll be looking over my shoulders expecting the worst and I’m not prepared at all for it.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “We will get you prepared. You are not alone in all this.” She could tell that he really meant it. For the first time since meeting Michael, she could see there was more to him than he projected.
“We better get to the church or Father Raphael will send out the rescue squad to find us.”
He frowned. “Rescue squad?”
“Just a saying.” When he bent down to pick her up, she stopped him. “Could we try this differently?”
“How?”
She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was really tall. The top of her head came up to his chin. He wrapped his arms around her wa
ist and pulled her against his body. She couldn’t help but respond to his warmth.
“Is this okay?”
His voice had deepened. “Yes, this is…fine.”
She watched his wings come out and spread. They were really a very pretty white. She reached out and lightly touched them, running her fingers through the feathers. “So soft. I like the way they feel.”
“Ready?” Michael asked, whispering in her ear.
“Yes.” She couldn’t stop the shiver that went through her whole body. Michael was sexy and he knew how to work it.
He held her and lifted her up a little higher against his body so he could bend his knees. He leaped off the building. She gasped, feeling the rush of the wind as they fell a little bit before his wings spread out and caught the current. Then they were sailing in the air, going from one current to the next.
“So freaking cool.”
Chapter 20
He chuckled, then leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips. She was so taken aback she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t pull back, which was what she should have done. She was curious. What would he kiss like? She was tempted to lean into him and find out, but he interrupted her thoughts.
“We’re at the church, and it looks like your half-demon is waiting for you.”
She turned her head and saw Ari leaning against his bike looking hot, sexy, and—pissed off.
Michael slowly lowered them to the ground and stroked her back with his hands before letting her go. She frowned at him making some kind of macho claim on her in front of Ari. Last time she looked, she didn’t belong to anyone.
“So you’ve been flying around with bird-boy all morning?” Ari asked with a hint of jealousy in his voice.
Michael came up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist. “She likes the way my wings feel.”
Oh man, that sounded so wrong. “I think flying is an amazing gift.”
“Where were you?” Ari reached for her hand, pulling her away from Michael.
“Father Raphael, Michael, and I went to check on Jerry and Leeza.”
He raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “Where’s the priest now?”
Just at that moment Father Raphael pulled up and parked his aging station wagon. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. “I have some questions for you, Ari.”
He shrugged leaning back against his bike. “I had some things to take care of.”
“Would one of those things have been doing something with Leeza’s mind?”
Ari had a tic in his jaw. She could tell he was surprised but trying to act like he wasn’t. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Oh, she hated that. He was going to stand there and lie to her. She was about to go off.
Father Raphael stepped up, sensing the tension. “What’s going on?”
“When I went to see Leeza this morning, she’d been released from the hospital. She was in Jerry’s hospital room visiting him. She was totally different today than she was last night.”
“Different in what way?” Father Raphael asked with concern.
“Last night she was a total mess. She was rambling about demons and angels, and how it wasn’t safe anymore. This morning she was her usual calm and collected self. I asked about what she said last night and she said she was embarrassed that she’d let her imagination get to her. She denies seeing demons or angels. She also said that the cops had a witness that saw the man who had kidnapped her being shot multiple times, and that he fell in the river. The cops believe he’s dead.”
“How is that possible? Who is this witness?” Father Raphael asked.
“She didn’t know more.”
“That’s good then. Less to have to deal with.” Ari brushed it off.
“I know, Ari. I touched Leeza and got a memory. Once she doesn’t consciously remember. Do you want to know what the memory was of?”
Ari looked away.
“It was of you. You were holding her head in your hands and looking into her eyes. She heard your voice talking to her, telling her there were no such things as demons or angels. It was her imagination. That the police believe the kidnapper is dead. I could hear all of that. How is that possible?”
“He’s a mind-walker demon.” Michael answered her question moving to stand next to her.
“Mind-walker?”
“Telepath. He can read minds and influence others, persuading them to think a certain way or act in a certain way,” Father Raphael clarified for her.
She took a step back. “You can read my mind?”
“Only if I touch you. I’m a half-demon, so my powers are limited by having to touch the person I want to influence,” Ari admitted.
“You did this to Leeza, took away her memories?”
“No, I dampened her memories of what happened. I made some things fuzzy and other things clearer. I calmed her down so that she could be released and live her life.”
“You implanted a memory about the cops!” She couldn’t get past him changing Leeza’s memories. Messing with people’s minds was dangerous.
He took a step closer to her but Michael moved forward, blocking him. “I did it for you! You were torn up about what happened to her, and she was starting to go mad from everything she’d experienced. I calmed her down and told her about the cops believing the demon was dead so that she wouldn’t have to worry about him coming back for her. Everything I did was to protect you. You would be devastated to lose her as a friend. If she got locked away it would eat at you. I couldn’t let that happen.”
She turned her back on him and paced back and forth. So many thoughts came to her, but first she had a question that need to be answered. She stopped and looked at him. “Have you ever used your abilities to influence me, or to…dampen a memory?”
His silence was all the answer she needed. Her powers suddenly surged and she sped toward him, punching him in the stomach and knocking him back five feet back, to the ground.
“You son of a bitch! What did you do to me? When?”
He was on his knees about to stand up. “It was only to help you, to protect you.”
She raised her knee and hit him in the jaw, knocking him back down. “Tell me what you did!”
He ran a hand over his face, then raised it up to block her from kicking him again. “This wasn’t the first time a demon found you. There have been other times that they stumbled upon you. You were in no way ready to face them. If one approached you, I took care of him and helped you…forget.”
“How many times? How many times have you taken my memories? How many?!” she screamed at him.
“I don’t know how many times, just that I’ve known you for years, much longer than you even know.”
She went to punch him again, but Father Raphael caught her fist. She burst into tears. “Let me go! I want to kill him for what he did!”
Raphael took her into his embrace and held her as she cried. “Shhh, child. You don’t really want to kill him. You’re just angry right now. Let me take you inside and get you some tea.”
She let Raphael lead her into the church. Her thoughts were all over the place. She was trying to remember things that she’d forgotten, but how was she supposed to know what she forgot? “I don’t want to see him right now.”
Raphael patted her on the back, looking over his shoulder at Ari. “You won’t have to, child. Let’s get you something to eat as well.”
*****
Ari felt like his heart had been ripped out. This was not how he wanted Cass to find out about his abilities. He needed to go to her, to explain everything. He took a step toward the church entrance, but Michael stood in front of the door.
“Move out of my way, bird-boy.”
“You heard her. She doesn’t want to see you right now, maybe never.”
Ari glared at him. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Well, it doesn’t matter what you want, I have answers for her.”
“Which she is not ready to hear right now.
”
Damn it! As much as it pained him to admit it, Michael was right. Whatever he said to Cass at that moment, she would distrust.
“You know what I did was necessary. Her friend was losing it and I couldn’t let attention be drawn to Cass.”
Michael didn’t say anything, but he nodded. They might not ever like each other, but they were both on the side of protecting Cass.
“I’ll go for now, but I’ll be back.” Ari looked once more at the church before he turned to leave.
*****
Cass glanced out the window and watched as Ari got on his bike. How could she have been so fooled by someone? How deep did his betrayal go?
“Are you okay?” Father Raphael brought her a hot cup of tea.
“About as good as I could be, considering someone I trusted has been lying to me all this time.”
“I know that must hurt you. Let me ask you this: did it help? What Ari did to your friend, did it help her?”
She bit her lip, hating to admit it. “It did. Leeza was losing her mind, rambling, and probably would have gone to a home for the mentally insane.”
“Then look at it that way. Whether Ari’s intentions were pure or not, what he did helped your friend and protected you.”
“I can forgive him for what he did to Leeza, but how do I overlook what he did to me? I don’t know what memories he took—dampened—from me.”
“My experience with mind-walker demons is that once a person knows their memories have been tampered with, they will slowly start to recover them.”
“That scares me too. Ari believed he was protecting me from those memories. What kind of memories could they be, and do I really want them back?”
“I don’t know the answer to that. All I can say is that we are here to help you deal with them. Until then, we have a lot of work to do to get you ready for your next demon fight.”
“Work, right. By the way, I kind of volunteered you and Michael to help me and Leeza run the diner.”
“You what?”
“It’s just for three days, until Jerry is recovered enough to come back.”
“I don’t know anything about running a diner.”
“Well, you’ll be in the kitchen for breakfast and lunch shift. Leeza is off from class for a few days and can take over cooking for dinner shift. Michael and I will wait tables.”
