Imps & Angels

by Indra Frost

  I was a shaking mess, eyes still closed. I didn’t want to open them. I held onto the no very human arms wrapped around my waist, my feet not touching the ground even though I knew we had landed.

  “You can open your eyes now.” The voice came from over my shoulder, but still, I didn't move.

  I was a panting mess of nerves. The fear of hitting the ground was still very real, even if we had stopped moving. My fingers tightened against his arms, and I could feel my hands shaking.

  His arms tightened around me for a moment as he pulled me against his chest. Then, he lowered me to my feet, though he didn’t let me go.

  I heard him inhale my scent, and the thought sent a spiral of warmth through me that it shouldn't have.

  “Sorry, I was losing my grip and figured I should land sooner rather than later. You're safe now.”

  His voice more than his words soothed me, and I took my first full breath since we had taken off. Though I wasn't sure I believed him about being safe. I was never safe. Slowly my eyes peeled open, hands still not releasing him. Looking around I found that we were behind the house I had seen from above. We really had landed; I wasn’t going to be a crater in the ground.

  My legs were shaking, barely able to hold my weight.

  Shoving away my fear, I threw off the arms around me and stumbled away. Then, I turned to face the man standing behind me.

  He was just as beautiful in this form as his other one. His dark skin shown with gold lines and his eyes were still bright and shining. He was muscular, with wide shoulders and a trim waist.

  Another attractive man I couldn't have. My life sucked.

  I raised a finger at him, but when it wouldn’t stop shaking, I settled for placing my hands on my hips instead.

  “That wasn’t very nice.” My voice revealed my lingering fear and I worked on getting my breathing under control. "I didn’t appreciate it one bit."

  “Neither was running, or refusing to help us.”

  I narrowed my eyes, now angry for a whole new reason. I knew he was with the others. But that didn't mean I was happy to be right.

  “Like I told your friends earlier, I can’t help you. This little stunt isn’t going to change that.”

  He tilted his head at me, reminding me of the feline form he was wearing only moments ago.

  “But you want to.”

  He said it like it was a fact, like there was no doubt in his mind. Hearing his confidence in that answer made me pause.

  Did I? I didn’t want to stop them, but helping them would be suicide.

  Greg held my contract, and none of the men that had shown up to ask for my help were demons. If the person that killed Greg wasn’t a demon, the contract would end with him. Since it could only transfer to another demon, that meant I would die. Mine was the only contract that Greg owned right now, so there wasn’t anyone else that would be affected. But, did I want to end him badly enough that I would sacrifice myself to see it happen?

  My shoulder started to burn like someone was holding a branding iron to it, and I hissed as it started to spread. It was a warning that I was going against the terms of the contract. Since plotting the death of Greg was definitely intending him harm, I couldn’t disagree.

  I stopped my train of thought, instead thinking about the attractiveness of the men again. The burning lingered for a few moments longer, a warning not to continue on that train of thought.

  At the time the contract was initiated, a brand had burned its way onto my skin. It was a physical reminder of the agreement and would remain until one of us died, or the agreement was made null. It also made other Supes aware that an agreement had been made with a demon. I hated the brand almost as much as I hated Greg.

  I wore tank tops in the gym sometimes, and I always got disgusted looks and glares. It wasn't my fault, but they didn't care about that. They saw a half-breed with a demon’s mark. That was enough for them to hate me on sight. There wasn't a need for them to learn more.

  Those that made a deal with a demon didn’t usually do it for wholesome reasons. Not when there were other creatures like witches and angels that were happy to help people out.

  I glared at the man in front of me, not sure what he was, but positive he wasn’t an ordinary shifter. His shift had been fast and smooth. I hadn’t sensed any of the pain I associated with the other shifters’ changes.

  “What I want isn’t relevant. I can’t help you.”

  He nodded, before looking behind me. “Hear them out. If you still don’t want to help after, I will take you back to your…home.”

  The way he hesitated over the word home let me know he was aware of where I rested my head. But that didn’t matter; I knew it wasn’t a great place. What mattered was that he wasn’t listening. None of them were.

  “I don’t want to hear you out. I don’t want to know what you’re planning. I want you to leave me alone.”

  Again, he tilted his head, and it was like what I was saying didn’t make sense.

  The back of my neck started to burn; a different set of eyes on me.

  I whipped around as I scanned the tree line, looking for who, or what, had caused the sensation. I sent out my empathy, seeing if I could glean their intentions, but I didn’t feel anything.

  I knew someone was there, but it was like there was a void where emotion should have been. My brow furrowed at the odd sensation. I didn’t know of anything that could block my ability, but the feeling of eyes assured me whoever was watching was able to do just that.

  “What’s the matter?” The panther man came up behind me, so close I could feel his heat against my back.

  I grunted and stepped aside, not wanting to bask in the warmth of someone that wouldn’t listen to me. Even if he was attractive.

  He didn't seem nervous about the presence. Which meant he knew who it was that was watching. He didn't seem to be oblivious, and his senses would be better than mine. Even in his human form.

  “Nothing.” My voice was clipped and angry.

  All my life I had been pushed and pulled around. I was always under the control of one demon or another, and it was never pleasant. So, to have these men come in and blatantly ignore me was triggering all my defenses. I didn't like it, and instead of the old fear and panic trying to rise up, I was funneling it into anger. I was already under the control of one man, I didn't need any others to try and do the same.

  A door opening had me turning away from the forest, shaking off the remnants of everything that had just happened. I was still being watched, but I didn't need to take my anger out on a stranger.

  The man who stepped out of the house wasn't a stranger, though. It was the angel from the gym. Surprise crossed his face before it went blank.

  His steps as he walked towards us were confident, and I watched wearily as he came closer. I'd seen some of his moves, and while I was sure I could hold my own, I didn’t want to fight if I didn't have to. I was still covered in my own blood from the windows, though most of it had chipped off at this point.

  He stuck out his hand for me to shake as he approached us, “I’m glad you’re here. We could use your help.”

  I stared at his hand, not moving to shake it.

  My frustration was growing with every word these idiots spoke. Did none of them know the meaning of the word ‘no’? Was it so hard to understand? Dogs understood ‘no’. Why couldn’t these men?

  He slowly lowered his hand, looking to the man behind me for an explanation.

  I glared at them both, stepping back further to keep both of them in my sights. I made sure not to turn my back to the tree line, not removing a surprise attack from my list of things they would do. Stalking and kidnapping were things they had already done, so I couldn't put anything past them.

  “I don’t care. I don’t care that you want my help. I don't care that you think you need me for something. I just don't care. Why won't you guys leave me alone? I can’t help you. And now, I don’t want to.”

  Again, surprise crosse
d the angels face, quickly followed by confusion. He opened his mouth like he was going to respond, but the sound of a car pulling up stopped any words he may have spoken.

  Two doors slamming followed moments later.

  We waited a moment before we heard familiar male voices arguing as two men came around the building.

  “Sorry, Reed, we lost her. She’s-"

  “Standing right in front of you.” The vampire finished the wizard’s sentence.

  The angel, Reed, sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. “What did you do?”

  The wizard and vampire looked between each other, and the winged panther stepped up beside me. He was again standing close enough I felt his warmth along my arm. I glared at him, but he didn’t seem to mind the look.

  “We brought you the girl.” The panther man stated like it was obvious.

  The vampire and wizard looked a bit guilty, and I watched in confusion as Reed sent them a glare. They ducked their heads looking away, unable to hold his gaze. I was starting to suspect that the kidnapping wasn't sanctioned by the leader of this group. Reed sighed again before his gaze landed on me.

  Knowing that he hadn’t told them to come after me made me feel a bit better. But not much. It had still happened.

  “I apologize miss….” He paused, waiting for me to fill in my name.

  I didn’t. I let the silence grow awkward instead.

  “I didn’t mean for this to happen. Please, come inside and eat. It’s the least we can do, then I’ll have Walker take you home.” He gestured to the wizard and I snorted.

  Sure, go into the house of the men who had just abducted me. Then, I could have the same wizard who had already used his magic to track me, take me back to a warehouse that was no longer safe.

  “I’ll just head home on my own, thanks.” I said sarcastically as I turned toward the road the car had arrived on.

  Eyes burned into my back and I knew it wasn’t from the four men standing around me. I swung around, conjuring and throwing a dagger in one motion. I aimed near where the feeling was originating in the trees. I didn't want to hit whoever it was, as I was sure he was part of this group. But I wanted to let him know that his peeping wasn't appreciated.

  I didn’t know what it was about this group of men. Stalking, peeping, kidnapping. All these things were horrible on their own, but they seemed to think it was fine. Being attractive didn't excuse that kind of behavior.

  The guys jerked into action, preparing to defend themselves against an attack that wasn’t aimed at them.

  When my dagger flew past Reed, he turned to follow its trajectory. Cursing came from the bush where I felt the eyes, and a man darted to the side right as the blade would have past him. Rolling to the side and out of the way, the blade flew past him and disappeared before it could hit the tree it was aimed at.

  I raised a brow at Reed indicating I wasn’t impressed, but he was glaring at the man that was brushing himself off. He seemed to do that a lot. If he really was in charge, and his men were working behind his back, he wasn't a very good leader.

  I turned to the road, not intending to stick around any longer. These guys had done nothing but cause me problems, and I wasn’t going to wait for them to make my situation worse.

  “Have a nice night, and next time you decide to peep on me, I won’t miss.” I called out over my shoulder.

  “No, wait, please come in and eat with us.” Walker stepped in front of me, hands raised in surrender.

  “Yes, half-breed, why don’t you stay with your murderers for dinner?” The snarky voice came from behind me, the sound reminiscent of a crackling flame.

  I froze with fear. But, it wasn't fear of the voice, or of men around me; it was the fear of what the demon knew.

  Walker and the vampire stared at me with wide eyes. The wizard shaking his head no so fast I was worried it would fly off his neck. The vampire looked horrified by the demons’ words. But the demon was making a fool of both of us. He was making fun of the other’s actions, even as he strolled out of the woods.

  I placed a hand on my hip, covering up the way the fear from before made me react. I needed to get myself under control, and like most times when I was scared, I turned it to anger. Getting sarcastic to cover my uncertainty.

  “And I should trust the word of a hellhound why?” The sarcasm in my voice was palpable.

  He smirked at me, and an odd sensation hit me in the stomach. He was too cocky, too confident in himself, yet he was still handsome.

  “Because I come bearing information that will help you gain your freedom.”

  The words hit me like a fist to the stomach and all the air left my lungs in a rush.

  “What does he mean? What are you talking about Blayze?”

  The angel had called him by name, which meant that I was right, and they all knew each other. What they could be doing made me curious, but it wasn’t my concern, and I was going to keep it that way.

  I ignored the angel’s questions, my whole focus on the demon in front of me.

  The demons' eyes glowed, orange and red reflecting the beast he held inside of himself. Most demons could recognize their own kind. It also explained why I couldn't sense his emotions before. While not impossible, it was harder to use my angelic ability on the denizens of Hell.

  His hair was a dark color with orange and red streaks that matched his eyes. The color was beautiful and completely natural to him.

  A strange sort of humor was dancing in his eyes, but I didn’t see a hint that he was lying, which meant that he knew something. Whether the information would be helpful would be debatable, however.

  I wasn’t sure what was so funny, but he could have been laughing at my situation. Demons took a particular amount of pleasure in seeing the suffering of dirty half-breeds, especially when those half-breeds were half demon.

  “What do you know?” I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral.

  He waved his finger back and forth, a smirk crossing his face. “You don’t get information for free; I want something in return.”

  His words were saying something, and he was smirking at me, but for some reason it was clashing inside my head. It was like this whole situation was a lie. It made me curious, and cautious.

  It was like he both did and didn't know something at the same time. Like he had some information, enough that he wasn't lying, but didn't have much else.

  I glared at him, my magic building inside of me. The brief flare of hope was so overwhelming that I had forgotten I was dealing with a demon.

  Of course, the information wouldn’t be free, and the cost was probably too steep. Especially when I didn’t have anything to barter with. Not even my soul.

  “Will someone explain what’s happening?” Reed asked, looking between us.

  The others were watching us like it was a movie and they wanted popcorn.

  “It’s nothing.” I turned, intending to walk away.

  Whatever the demon wanted; I couldn’t afford to let him have it. I walked past the others, and this time they didn’t try to stop me.

  “Wait,” the demon called out followed by cursing. “Just, wait. Dammit.”

  I paused, but I didn’t turn around. I heard more cursing as he got closer, stopping just outside of my reach. Or so he thought.

  “I was sent to make sure you help these guys. That’s what I want in exchange for the information, I want you to help them bring down Greg.”

  I slowly turned around to face him, stunned and unable to do anything else as I tried to grasp what he said.

  He was asking me to go against the contract, to kill myself. All for a chance at freedom. A freedom that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy.

  At the same time, if I could make him, a demon, promise to break the contract, I could ensure that my soul would be free. It didn't really feel like a good alternative, dying to make sure my soul was free. Though, to be honest, I was pretty sure it was the only thing that might work. I was pretty sure that if I were
to die before the allotted time was up, Greg would own my soul.

  There were instances that I thought the minor demon was trying to kill me, and he probably was. He just couldn't do it himself without voiding the contract. Though, he wasn't bound from talking about it, so he could get help if he truly wanted to.

  The others kept quiet, but that’s what I would do if I was them, too. Collect all the information that they could, and see what they could use against me. This would be what they wanted, and from where they were sitting, it might even be a good deal.

  I met the hellhound’s eyes and stared him down as he looked back at me.

  “You understand what you’re asking?”

  An odd flash went through his gaze, before he pasted that smirk back on his face. “Yes.”

  I continued our odd stare off, wanting to make sure that he wasn’t lying. The sense that he wasn't telling the whole truth was still there, but I had to hope. He stared right back, something serious in his eyes, despite the mocking twist to his lips.

  I wasn't suicidal; despite everything I had been through, I wanted to live. But, what I was doing now wasn't living. If he could find a way to free me, even if it was only my soul, I would take it.

  If my soul was free, then I may be able to make something of my afterlife. I could hang around for a few years, see what the world was really like before going back to Hell. I was half demon, I wouldn't get into heaven, even if that was what made up the other half of me. I was half-breed scum. I wouldn't ever get to see anything but Hell.

  I sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. I had known something like this would happen, that I would be forced into a choice that would mean pain for freedom. I had hoped I would survive it, but Greg would have killed me before the contract ended. I knew it and he knew it. He didn’t hide his intent.

  This way, I had a chance of freedom, slim as it was. I would get to go out on my own terms.

  I shouldn’t have even been entertaining this deal, so eager to give up my life on such a slim chance and a demon’s word. But the truth was that I was tired. Tired of fighting, of being forced into the ring to be a punching bag. I was done with the threats, and the torture, and false promises.