Beauty Awakened (Angels of the Dark)

by Gena Showalter

  Koldo had no desire to hear the rest. All Nefas could flash and he had to act quickly. In one fluid motion, he withdrew his double-edged short swords from the air pocket he used to store his weapons and struck, crossing his wrists to form a giant pair of scissors.

  “Cloud,” Axel said, as the man’s head detached from his body.

  The cloud was there in an instant, shielding the happenings as both pieces thudded to the ground and a pool of black blood formed.

  “Well, the pretzel’s ruined,” the warrior added conversationally. “So you weren’t curious about his message?”

  “No. I knew what he was going to say.” A hello from Koldo’s father, as well as a threat to Nicola, all in an attempt to draw out Koldo’s apprehension.

  “Mind sharing with the rest of the class?”

  “I do.”

  “Fair enough, since I wasn’t really interested. But I gotta say, I am so proud right now.” Axel flattened his hand over his heart. “You borrowed my patented move, proving I’m made of more than awesome. I’m awesalicious. Is that a word? It’s probably a girl word, but who cares! Seriously. Do you see a tear in my eye? Because I’m pretty sure I feel one.”

  Koldo didn’t understand the man’s humor, and yet, he realized he was coming to like Axel despite that. He was strong, courageous and never backed down from a fight. He never allowed Koldo’s moods to affect his own, and he was happy to do anything Koldo asked. Or demanded.

  What was the male’s history?

  “You’re very weird,” Koldo observed.

  “Nah. I’m mysterious. There’s a big difference.”

  “You’re definitely weird.”

  Koldo placed the body and the head in the air pocket with the trees and dirt, and searched for any other spiked footprints. He found none, but then, he hadn’t expected to. Had only hoped his father would have left a trail behind, thinking to lead him into a trap.

  A trap you knew about wasn’t actually a trap—but a weapon.

  “So, where do you want to go from here?” Axel asked.

  “I need to burn the air pocket and check on the females. Let’s meet tomorrow night and go hunting for the Nefas.”

  “Color me there.”

  * * *

  MORNING ARRIVED, sunlight seeping through the crack in the curtains covering Nicola’s bedroom window. She stretched muscles gone tight, and sat up. After she’d tucked Laila into bed, she’d reclaimed her spot on the couch and read. After a while, she’d closed her eyes, thinking to recharge, and then...nothing until now.

  She hadn’t made it to the bed, but she was there now. She hadn’t covered herself up, but she was wrapped in the comforter. There was no way Laila had carried her, so that could only mean Koldo had returned. He just hadn’t woken her up.

  Argh! He was too sweet for his own good. Now she couldn’t avoid him forever and pretend the kiss had never happened. Now she had to face him and thank him for his kindness.

  She grumbled as she lumbered out of bed, grumbled as she brushed her teeth and showered, being careful of her new tattoos, and even grumbled as she pulled on an adorable pink top and glittery jean shorts.

  The moment she looked at herself in the mirror, the grumbling stopped. She had worn hand-me-downs most of her life. Her parents had shopped at thrift stores, and then, when she had been in charge of her own finances, so had she. Now...look at her. It was... It was...amazing.

  A groan bubbled from her. Once again, Koldo was responsible for something wonderful in her life. And really, for a little while during the kiss, she’d made him feel this same sense of awe. She’d made him feel special. She knew it, would never forget the way he’d trembled.

  Maybe...maybe she wasn’t such a bad choice for him, after all. Yes, she’d passed out during their second intimate moment together. And yes, she could pass out next time, too. But cutting him from her life rather than facing the infirmity and the embarrassment that followed? How silly could she get?

  She might be weak—but she was stronger than that, she thought, anchoring her hair in a ponytail while the strands were still wet. It was her mother’s hair, and she’d almost cut it a thousand times. But every time she’d grabbed the scissors, she’d remembered the way her mother used to brush and braid it, the way her father used to call her Mini Kerry, after her mom, and the way her brother used to tug on the ends.

  Her brother. Her beautiful Robby.

  We’re sorry, Miss Lane, but your brother was thrown—

  Nope, not going there. Thinking about him opened wounds that had never really healed. So, she always removed him from her thoughts before they had time to form.

  Raising her chin, she marched out of her room and decided to check on her sister first. But Laila’s bedroom was empty, the bed unmade and clothes strewn across the floor.

  She moved through the living room—still no sign of her sister—and into the kitchen. Nicola breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Laila at the table, her head resting in her upraised palm. A cup of tea steamed in front of her.

  “Don’t talk,” her sister croaked. “Just...don’t.”

  “Hangover?”

  Laila groaned. “Co Co! Please.”

  “Sorry,” she whispered. Nicola fixed a cup of tea for herself, and sipped at the hot, sweetened liquid.

  “You should eat the fruit,” a male voice said, and Laila issued another groan.

  Nicola’s heart sped into a faster beat as she twisted to face Koldo. He wore the same flowing white shirt and pants he’d worn at the hospital. There were lines of tension branching from his eyes. A tension that matched what she’d heard in his voice last night.

  He paused to look her up and down, and his jaw dropped. He began a more leisurely perusal of her, his pupils expanding. “You...you...”

  “Yes?” she asked hopefully. Are beautiful? Stunning? Worth trying to kiss again?

  “Are wearing the clothing I picked for you.” A croak.

  “Yes.” She waited. He said nothing more.

  Seriously? That’s all she got? The obvious? “I’ll eat if you eat,” she grumbled.

  He thought for a moment, nodded stiffly and sat at the table. Nicola eased into the chair beside him. There was a plate piled high with oranges, strawberries, bananas and melon. She selected a strawberry and bit into the center, the juice running down her throat and making her moan.

  “Oh, that’s good.” Almost enough to make her forget Koldo’s lack of appreciation for her makeover. Almost.

  He reached out and swiped a droplet that had dribbled onto her chin. Her eyes widened as he brought the finger to his mouth, and tasted. “It is,” he agreed, a husky note to his voice.

  Her skin tingled where he’d touched her, burning in the most delectable way. And when his gaze lowered to where his finger had been, a gleam of satisfaction glowed in his eyes.

  Okay, so she finally forgot.

  “You’re in better spirits today,” he said.

  She liked that he was so attuned to her. “I am.”

  “Why?”

  Her unease with yesterday’s kiss was private, something between them, not something to be shared even with her beloved twin. “So,” she said, changing the subject. “Who decorated your house?”

  There was a pause before he shrugged, and said, “I did,” surprising her. What, no pushing for an answer? No deep concern for what had bothered her?

  You’re a mess. “Just so I’m clear, you decorated every room?”

  “Yes, every room.”

  “But...there’s so much pink in mine.”

  “And I can’t like pink?”

  Her eyes widened. “The room is yours?”

  “No. But when I was younger and foolish, I hoped my moth—” He pressed his lips together. “Never mind.”

  Hoped his...mother would stay with him? What had made him think such a hope was foolish?

  “Sorry, guys, but I’m in desperate need of a thousand profees.” Laila stood, pushing back her chair. “And maybe a total
body massage, a nap, an hour-long shower and a TV marathon of How I Met Your Mother.”

  “Profees?” Koldo asked.

  “Ibuprofen,” Nicola explained.

  “Once they kick in, I plan to get ready for my date. By the way, I’m sorry I busted into your room last night. It won’t happen again. Probably.” Laila shambled out of the kitchen.

  Koldo held Nicola’s gaze. “Why the change?” he asked, pouncing the moment they were alone.

  He’d known why she’d avoided the question. He’d cared. Melting... “I was embarrassed that I’d passed out.”

  A breath gushed from him, and she thought she caught threads of relief. “I never want you to be embarrassed with me, Nicola.”

  “Good, because I’m over it,” she said. Mostly.

  “So, you didn’t regret what we had done? Didn’t think I was too rough?”

  “Not at all. You were amazing.”

  “Then why did you dress this way for your date?” he asked softly. “As if you crave another man’s desire.”

  She gulped, then answered honestly, “I—I didn’t.” I did it for you.

  A pause. Then, in a strained voice, “I don’t want you to go. I...need you here. With me.”

  Nicola’s stomach performed a series of flip-flops. The way he’d said the word need—he did care. And he’d issued a request this time, rather than a demand. Her own relief was palpable, her elation hard to tamp down. But... “I wish I could cancel. I really do.” Just then, more than anything. “But you heard Laila. She’s excited, and she won’t go without me. And she’s been so upset, and I’ve been so worried about the toxin inside her. I need her calm, peaceful and joyous.”

  “You can control your emotions, not hers.”

  “I know, but I have to try something.” Please understand.

  His hands were on the edge of the table, and his knuckles began to bleach of color. Finally, the side of the table snapped off, wood chips raining on the floor. Koldo jumped to his feet and stomped from the room.

  Leaving her alone.

  So heartbreakingly alone.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  THANE LANDED IN THE CENTER of Teaze, a salon and dance club on earth that catered to immortals. Eleven women of varying species bustled around the small building, each prettier and more scantily clad than the last. The only male on the premises was William of the Dark, aka the Ever Randy, aka the warrior who refused to reveal his origins, and he was currently sitting in a swivel chair with sheets of foil in his hair.

  “I know you’re here,” William said, sipping at a glass of what looked to be ambrosia-laced red wine.

  Tensing, Thane stepped into the natural realm to fully reveal himself to the warrior. Immediately he smelled the sweet scent of the wine, the sharp odor of hair products, the pungent aroma of nail polish and the familiar fragrance of sex. Lots and lots of sex.

  William must have bedded every single one of the stylists.

  “How did you know?” No one could sense him when he had no wish to be sensed.

  “He’s been saying that every two minutes for the last hour,” said the girl stepping up to William to remove the foil.

  Electric-blue eyes glittered as William handed his glass to a female strolling past him—electric-blue eyes that reminded Thane of Axel. But then, there was a reason for that. “Did you have to ruin it, Lakeysha?”

  The gorgeous black girl grinned widely. “Well, yeah. You ruined me for other men, so I thought I’d return the favor somehow.”

  Thane studied the building, halfway expecting their easy banter to be a trick, for an enemy to be waiting in the shadows, ready to attack him. He saw bricks and mortar, open indoor spaces with fifteen beauty chairs, or whatever they were called, and a row of round hair dryers and sinks. No menacing shadows. No swish of a weapon.

  In the back was a big red door. If he were to walk through it, he knew he would enter the club, where there were small cages hanging from the ceiling, and poles stretching from individual tiers. A thump, thump of rock music shook the very foundation of the building.

  “I should be offended,” William said, having noticed Thane’s darting gaze. “I’ve done nothing to earn your distrust.”

  “You live. You breathe. That’s enough.”

  William had shacked up with the Lords of the Underworld—immortal warriors fighting to free themselves from the dark urges of the demons that oppressed them. He had spent centuries locked inside the prison Tartarus, both for his philandering ways and his savage temper. He would kill anyone at any time for any reason.

  Without a doubt, he wasn’t the most trustworthy of males. But intel was intel, and Thane wanted to know what he knew.

  Thane had asked some of his shadier connections at the Downfall what they knew about the six demons responsible for the travesty in the skies, and while he had learned several interesting things, he hadn’t learned anything of value.

  “Clearly I got your message,” William said. “You wanted to meet, so here we are. What do you want?”

  Many things. They would start with information. “You are Lucifer’s brother.”

  For a moment, the affable mask William sometimes wore fell away, revealing the vicious warrior at his core. “He’s my adopted brother. Adopted. We’re not blood.”

  “You were both fostered by Hades, the keeper of Sheol.”

  A pop of his jaw. “Yeah. So?”

  So they both thought the same way. Surely. “Where are his minions? The six demons responsible for my king’s death?”

  “How should I know?”

  An evasion. One that wouldn’t be tolerated. “The demons are now living among the humans. You are now living among humans. They are evil. You are evil. They came from hell. You spent many centuries in hell. You should know where they went.”

  Far from offended by the description, William puffed up. “They could be anywhere. Everywhere. You’ll have to draw them out.”

  “How?”

  “Do I really need to do your job for you?” William shrugged wide shoulders. “Fine. I will. There might be a whole pack of you guys on their tails, but that doesn’t mean you’ll find them. So, put a bounty on their heads. Even their mothers would turn them in—if they had mothers, of course.”

  Every warrior instinct he possessed rebelled. “And take the kill out of my own hands?”

  “But the job will be done, so I don’t really see the problem.”

  Of course William saw no problem. He thought only of the goal, not the collateral damage. “The job may be done—but it may not. I wouldn’t know for sure, since I had no part of it. And demons lie. They are never to be trusted.”

  The girl finished with the foil, and William waved her away.

  “If I fail to destroy their forces,” Thane added, “someone else will step into their role. Their plans must be stopped at the root.”

  William snickered like a teenage boy. “You said root.”

  This is one of the many reasons I kill demons. This right here. No, William wasn’t actually a demon. He’d even fought and escaped hell, allowing light to shine in the darkness of his soul. But he’d since begun to race down the road that led back into the darkness. So, he qualified.

  “Look. I have a feeling you’ll be a little too busy shopping for bras to set a trap for the demons you want killed,” William said. “You’re a what? Forty-two C? Lakeysha over there will give you hers, I bet, freeing up your time and allowing you to do as I suggested.”

  Thane had to admire his courage. “As I said, demons lie. Demons cheat. I will never trust them to do the job for me. I or someone I trust will make the kill. What can you do to aid me?”

  “Nothing.”

  Perhaps the warrior would reconsider. “I know you have always desired to know who your real parents are.”

  William stilled, and for a moment, he appeared to stop breathing.

  “I can help you with that,” Thane said. “Aid for aid.”

  A sharp inhalation of breath, proving t
he action hadn’t malfunctioned permanently. “Fine. I’ll set a meeting with Maleah. You’ve heard of her, I’m guessing?”

  Maleah. Who hadn’t heard of her?

  Once a Sent One, she had been the most decorated soldier in their realm of the skies. She had been so decorated, in fact, that scheduling a meeting with her had been harder than scheduling a meeting with the king. Then, one day, she was gone, fallen, and no one had known why or what had happened.

  “Set the meeting,” Thane said. “As for the information I owe, check with the Sent One named Axel. I think you’ll discover something very interesting during your first conversation.”

  * * *

  THANE, BJORN AND XERXES armed themselves for war.

  The meeting with Maleah was scheduled to happen in half an hour. William had worked fast—and the childish male would have snickered had he heard Thane’s thoughts on the matter.

  Thane had returned home with just enough time to bed a new female in an effort to clear his mind and ease the growing pressure to succeed. Afterward, he had alerted his boys. At least Kendra wouldn’t be bothering him again. Yesterday, he’d done the unthinkable.

  He’d given her to her people.

  The number of Phoenix had severely declined over the centuries, since very few of their women were able to conceive. That was why the males continually hunted the females. If one was ever found, she was immediately whisked to a Phoenix camp—and kept there forevermore.

  By now, Kendra had been wedded to a warrior. By now, she was once again a slave.

  Thane should feel guilty.

  He didn’t feel guilty.

  He probably never would.

  “I’ve felt the tension in this realm of the heavens, as well as the earth, and knew it was a prelude to the coming war,” Bjorn said. “I knew an enemy was planning some kind of attack, but I assumed that enemy would spring from the Titans trying to overtake and rule the world.”

  “Titans...demons...what’s the difference?” Xerxes said.

  Not much. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find out they’re working together.”

  Thane finished snapping the metal on his arms, each etched with number after number to represent the Most High’s promise for strength, then tugged on his gloves and smacked his friends on the shoulder. He preferred this armor over that formed by his robe. “No one comes to our territory and hurts our people. The demons wanted a war, and so we will give them a war.”