“Michael,” Constantine barked from the doorway.
“Silence, Con,” Michael kept his focus pinned on Eve as he slowly lowered her back down and let go of her throat. “If you can train the beast in our possession, then you may stay and train as a warrior.”
She hid her wince when she tried to swallow. Instead of speaking, Eve nodded once and backed away.
Constantine took a step closer to protest, “Michael, he’s too dangerous for her.”
“If I wanted your opinion, I’d have asked for it, Constantine,” Michael’s gaze flicked to him, “Did you do as I requested?”
Constantine handed over a small scroll. Crumpling it in his big fist, Michael turned his attention back to Eve. “You have one month to train that animal. If you succeed, you stay. If you fail, you die.”
Eve’s breath hitched.
“Michael!” Constantine hollered again, “You can’t be serious! You’d kill her for failing?”
“No,” Michael grinned. “I won’t get the chance. The beast will.”
Fine. In one month, she would have that beast to come to heel. There was no other acceptable option now. Thrusting her chin out, Eve stilled her nerves, “Bring me to him.”
She was escorted down to a dimly lit dungeon in the heart of the Brotherhood’s vast campus. It was just as sparse below ground as it had been in the common areas they’d gone through to get there.
The layout of this area was strange, maze-like, and difficult to navigate. She wondered who designed it and for what purpose.
A low growl echoed through the darkness and the temperature of the air spiked. Growls of all pitches vibrated in the air. Cages were lined up. Some empty, others filthy. A large cat was locked in one of the enclosures. His claws scraped the stone as it paced back and forth nervously.
Eve slowed her roll and stared at the beast. His fur was completely black and it stared at her with yellow-green eyes. Fangs bared, the beast panted and let loose a nasty hiss.
Eve’s heart fluttered in her throat. This beast was scared, angry, and had jaws big enough to swallow her whole if she wasn’t careful.
She could totally work with that.
“What are you doing?” Michael grumbled.
Eve’s hands were already wrapping around the bars of the beast’s cage. She kept eye contact with the creature and tried to let it understand she was a friend. I’m so sorry, she tried to convey with her gaze. No animal should be in a cage. This poor beast needed out. Once she tamed it, they’d free it.
“Let me in with him,” she said in level tone so she wouldn’t freak the cat out more.
“What the fuck for?”
She turned to the warrior, “You want me to tame the beast. I’m asking you to let me in with it. How else will I work with him?”
Michael’s eyebrows popped up. “That’s not the beast, you idiot. That’s lunch.”
He made her feel so stupid, she squirmed.
A roar of heat hit Eve’s back and her wings shuddered from the rise in temperature. Shouts erupted.
“This way,” Michael led her further down the hall.
Eve refused to show her fear. Michael was watching too closely. And he wasn’t the only one. Constantine walked several paces behind her. For whatever reason, Constantine’s presence was comforting. Perhaps it was because he was the only Angel she knew here and he’d been kind to her earlier. Or maybe it was just because he wasn’t Michael.
That asshole’s reputation had been lied about. Rumors said he was magnificent. Empowering. That Angels fell to their knees for a word of his praise.
The rumors were a load of shit.
Up ahead, the rattling of chains was loud and there was a terrible, deep roar. The hair on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end. As they approached the cage, Eve’s heart slammed into her chest and she gasped.
It wasn’t a beast in that cage. It was an Angel.
A massive, furious, growling Angel.
The male was so huge, he took up most of the space in his cell. Shackled to a bolt in the floor, he crouched on his hands and knees with his wings flapping wildly while he bucked and lurched against his restraints. There were three warrior Angels surrounding him, each pointing a spear through the bars, threatening the one in chains.
The Beast, she thought. But beast was not the word for him.
“Why are they threatening him with spears like that?” Eve asked.
She was answered with a sharp slap across her face. The pain stole the breath from her lungs and she stumbled back.
“Here, you do not speak until you are told to open your fucking mouth.” Michael cracked her across the face a second time and Eve flew back into Constantine.
The Angel shackled in chains froze, dipped down on his haunches, and began growling even louder. He was the only thing more fearsome than Michael in this space.
Eve pulled away from the hands that had braced her from falling on her ass and she snapped her wings against her back, tucking them tight and neat behind her. With a curt nod in thanks to Constantine for his aid, she turned to glare at Michael again. I’m ready, she wanted to say. I can do this. She didn’t open her busted mouth though. She now knew the rules and would not break them.
Yet.
“Good girl,” Michael smirked and opened the cell door. When she didn’t budge, Michael arched his brow triumphantly, “Having second thoughts?”
“Not at all.” Eve stepped up.
The shackled Angel let out a growl that vibrated the very stone they all stood upon.
“You can’t be serious,” another dark-haired warrior said. “Michael, he’ll eat her alive.”
“That is no concern of yours, Gabriel.” Michael jerked his head and the armed Angels followed orders and backed away from the cell. Gabriel glanced at Eve for a fraction of a second before shaking his head. Then he turned and left with the others.
Michael shoved Eve inside with the beast and slammed the door shut. “See that she is fed, Constantine.” He turned and marched away.
No instruction. No mercy. No… nothing.
Eve’s eyes were wide and frightened and she tried to yank the door open. Constantine gawked from the other side of the cell. “What have you done, Eve?”
What had she done? She’d just gotten herself into big trouble, that’s what she’d done! Eve’s courage plummeted. She had no idea this was how the Brotherhood worked. No one had warned her. No one had said that Michael was so… cruel.
“Help me,” she whispered.
“You said you were the dangerous one,” He didn’t say it like it was funny, he said it like he hoped to fuck she was right.
She hated that her busted lip quivered. Hated how her fear fucked with her courage. Hated that Constantine was staring at her with pity.
“Michael shouldn’t have hit you,” Constantine reached between the bars and gently swiped his thumb across her mouth, healing her lip. Then he ran his fingers down her cheek and healed that too. Lastly, he wrapped his hand around her throat. His eyes darkened and lips parted as he applied a slight pressure to the fresh bruises around her neck.
The bruising and soreness of her throat vanished. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Stepping away, Constantine wiped his hand across his pant leg and whispered, “I’ll go get you some water.”
Eve watched him disappear and she wanted nothing more than to shout and scream for someone to let her the fuck out. Animals shouldn’t be caged. Angels shouldn’t either. This wasn’t training, it was torture.
But she’d made her bed and now she was to lie in it. The sound of chains clanking was a bitch slap from reality. Eve turned around slowly and pressed her back flush against the cage door. This was as far as she could get from him.
Him.
This Angel was a male. A huge male. His wings were so grand, he wouldn’t be able to stretch them to their fullest extent in here. His feathers were the color of shadows and even though he had them tucked in at the moment, they were still p
rotruding out wider than his broad shoulders and the tips of them bent and crunched on the floor. He remained crouched down, glaring at her with his teeth bared. Fire pooled by his feet, spreading slowly out to the sides of the cage in small rivulets.
She let out a shaky breath. Say something! Eve’s words caught in her throat. She didn’t know if this male could speak their tongue. He seemed more animal than Angel. And even though Eve had a knack with animals, this one was completely different. His energy was hot like the flames he could summon. His eyes blazed, dark and savage. His bulk was intimidating, as were his teeth. Thank goodness they weren’t pointy.
Eve let her gaze sail over the rest of him. His skin tone varied. His hands look dipped in black ink that crept up his forearm and twined around cut biceps. His torso had the same marbling – his neck was pitch black in color that seemed to drip down and fade to tan skin across his chest and abs. Was it magic? Had they poured some kind of Divine ink on him? Some kind of medicine?
Or was that his pattern?
Many creatures had patterns on their fur, feathers, and scales to keep them protected from predators… or hidden so they could catch their prey. But this wasn’t an animal. It was an Angel.
Being unique in Divinity wasn’t a good thing. Angels were judgy fuckers. Everything was black or white with them, there were no exceptions. You were either perfect or you were a disgrace.
Eve subconsciously tucked her grey wings back tighter on that note. She was hated for her wings. This Angel was probably hated for his entire body.
For the third time today, Eve felt inferior. Male Angels had far more muscle definition and body mass than the females. Why had Eve not noticed that until now?
She stammered, still gripping the bars of the cage and keeping herself at a distance.
The Angel let loose another low growl. His eyes flared and gaze dropped to her neck. All his pearly white teeth gleamed and he slunk closer, stretching the chains and causing them to clank when he reached his limit. He let loose another growl. His nostrils flared as he continued to stare at her neck.
Eve noticed he had a collar on. At least three inches wide and thick as the bars of his cage, that male was tied down and restrained in such a demeaning way. Why?
He’s dangerous, she thought. Or was he just assumed a threat because of his size and demeanor?
If so, who was he a threat to? Her, most assuredly, but he’d been restrained long before she got here. Was he a threat to Angels? To the beings in the other realm? To himself?
He was an Angel, no matter how terrifying he may be, so he had a purpose. And it sure as shit wasn’t to be locked away for all eternity in a dark and lonely dungeon.
Suddenly a wave of disgust took over Eve’s good sensibilities. How dare they.
How dare they lock this Angel up like a rabid dog. How dare they lock her in with him for that matter. How dare Michael strike her without any cause.
“I’m getting you out of here,” she said quietly. Then she figured she should assert a little dominance if she wanted him to listen, “Hey, look at me!” She snapped her fingers to catch his attention and used her sternest tone, “I’m going to get us both out of here.”
Chapter 2
It took forever for Constantine to return with water. When he shoved the goblet between the bars, Eve frowned, “Where is his water?”
Constantine bit back a growl and stepped away from the cage. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
“You should have warned me.” Eve cautiously placed the goblet on the ground between her and the Angel she was locked in with before adding, “It would have been nice to know what I was walking into here.”
“I did warn you, Eve. I told you that beast was too dangerous.”
“It’s not the beast that’s dangerous. It’s Michael.”
“And you still struck a deal with him?” Constantine’s jaw clenched as he glared at her. Jabbing a finger in the beast’s direction, he growled, “Even if you survive that thing in there, no Angel in their right mind would volunteer for this sect.” He stopped talking and backed away further. “Look, I’ll try to help, but I don’t know what I can do.”
“Free us. That would be a good start.”
“I can’t,” he hissed. Constantine’s eyes darted to the door. “He’ll know it was me. I’m the only Cager this evening.”
“Cager?”
“I guard the cages.”
Eve pressed her face against the bars and tried to look beyond her cell. She couldn’t see a damned thing. “Is there more than us here?” If she only had to worry about the Angel in the chains, she’d feel a little better.
“The only other is Lazarus. He’s a nut, but harmless.”
She’d heard of the lunatic called Lazarus. Apparently, Laz drinking from the Cup of Knowledge had caused him to go a little soft in the head. Why he would be locked up in the Brotherhood made no sense to her, but she had bigger issues to figure out right now.
“I’ll return with food for you soon,” Constantine murmured.
Eve nodded and watched him walk away again. When the doors to this prison area closed, she could still see his shadow move around from the gap under the door. He was guarding the whole room from the outside.
She turned her attention back to the male in chains. Flicking her gaze to the goblet of water, she carefully nudged it across the floor to get it closer to him, “Here. Drink some.”
With another low growl, the Angel kicked the goblet away. The damned thing sailed across the cage and the contents splashed out all over the place. Her heart hammered in her chest and she felt dizzy with sudden fear.
One act of kindness and this male went ballistic.
So rude.
Normally she would walk away from a situation like this. But she was stuck. Trapped. This wasn't going to get any better either.
Sliding down onto her ass, Eve kept her back against the bars and stared at the Angel. He was still crouched, his wings curled over him and covering most of his body. His black hair was filthy and long and curtained so much of his face, she couldn’t see more than a tip of a nose and a bit of his forehead. The collar around his neck had rubbed his skin raw. Blood crusted his throat. There were bruises all over him, along with red slash marks. Hard to say if they were a result from him yanking his chains or if those Angels with the spears earlier had done it to him.
Eve rubbed her cheek and was all too grateful Constantine healed her. Truthfully, if she'd been trapped in this cell with her face hurting too, she probably would have cried.
"I'm Eve," she said to the ground. The spilled water was already drying. Of course, now would be the perfect time for her to be thirsty.
Exasperated, she slammed her head against bars and sighed.
The chained one growled.
"Is that all you know how to do? Growl and kick?"
He growled again.
This was going nowhere.
If she could get a good look at his face, maybe she could read his expressions. No way was she going to get closer to him right now though. No matter how badly she wanted to pull his hair back and see his face, there wasn't enough courage in the world to attempt that today.
"Soooo, you've been here a while I guess, huh?" She looked around the cell. There was a bucket for him to piss and shit in. Next to that was a silver bowl on the floor with something fetid smelling in it. The realization of that being his dinner made her sick. "Did you know you are Angel number six hundred and sixty-six?"
He didn't respond.
"I'm number two hundred and twenty-seven." She wiggled her arm at him to show the number that would stay on her skin until she'd found her true purpose. Apparently, that was a thing - the numbers. Angels were created and dropped to this world with a number inscribed into their skin. The mark faded once they found their purpose.
Names were given freely and randomly. For instance, someone named her Eve because she'd arrived in the evening. Not creative really, but she liked the name and kept it.
The only answer he gave was in the form of heavy breathing.
"I can name you," she shrugged like it was no biggie. "I will name you.... Lucy." It meant Light in angelic. It felt fitting since he was stuck in such a dark and dismal place right now. If Eve had learned anything lately, it was that if you didn’t project goodness, goodness wouldn’t find you. Or, well, that was her theory.
Naming him a word for Light would hopefully mean he would see the light soon. Well, now that sounded dumb.
"No,” she said smoothly. “Lucy feels good, but you might do better with something that has more ummph." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Lucifer. I shall call you Lucifer." Eve tucked her deep red hair behind her ears. "Do you like your name, Lucifer?"
No response.
Well this was going to get boring quickly. How was she supposed to train someone who had zero communication skills? She was going to fail at this and Michael might have her killed. She wasn't going to let that happen. She needed to do better. Be stronger. If this male didn't respond to kindness, perhaps he would answer to commands.
"Look at me."
Nothing.
"Hey!" she snapped her fingers. "Look at me!"
Lucifer shook his head and his hair moved away to reveal more of his face. His gaze snapped to hers and she felt the air rush out of her body. Eyes bluer than the sky, they were like aquamarines caught in sunlight. His long black hair had a wave to it and when he bristled again, she was able to see the slope of his nose and the—
Gracious! He had a muzzle and something shoved into his mouth!
Blowing out a long, shaky exhale, Eve decided to operate on good faith and prayed to their creator she didn't die with her next move.
Keeping eye contact the entire time, Eve crawled across the cell and stopped mere inches from Lucifer. He let out a warning growl. She decided to ignore it. If he tried something harmful, she could scream and Constantine would hear her. He'd save her. Heal her at the very least if Lucifer did too much damage.
I'm going to have to sacrifice myself to save myself. This is fucked up.
Raise Hell Page 2
