“Just shut up, Uri,” Gabriel’s pace quickened. “If they can’t make it on their own in a ready-made shelter in an absolute paradise, then they’re too fucked for help.”
“I hate it when you get like this.”
“He’s right,” Con argued, “They have everything they need.”
Uriel trudged forward, “This place is awful.”
“To us,” Gabe said. “They don’t feel the same way as we do about it.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Con rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you see her smile when she saw the waterfalls?”
“And when she saw the cottage?” Uriel added.
“No,” Gabriel lied, “I was busy scanning the area for threats.”
“Nothing ever comes here and there are no threats.”
“You forget how far Michael’s reach is, Uri.” Gabriel ducked under a low hanging branch. “You of all people should know the lengths he’ll go to.”
“Gabriel,” Con warned.
Uriel’s stomach twisted. “No, he’s right. I forgot for a minute,” he smacked Gabriel’s back and in his happiest tone said, “Thanks for reminding me, brother.”
He picked up pace and took the lead.
Once Uri was out of earshot, Con seethed, “Stop being a dick, Gabriel. We’re all tense and stressed. You bringing up old times isn’t fucking helping.”
“It would do all of us some good to understand what we’re walking into,” he fired back. “This isn’t going to be a war that’s easily won. Uriel’s too quick to erase the past so he doesn’t have to deal with it.”
“Says the Angel who will not allow forgiveness.”
Gabriel’s hand thrust out and clutched Constantine’s neck. Backing that motherfucker up, he slammed Con’s back against a tree and leaned in, “It’s not up to you to decide what I deserve. Nor is it up to you to decide when to baby Uriel or not. The time has come, Con, for us to stand our ground. We cannot stand on weak fucking legs.”
Something hard hit the back of Gabriel’s head. Uriel had just thrown a rock at him. Mother. Fucker.
“Enough,” Uriel barked. “Enough!” he marched over and wretched Gabriel’s wings, forcing the Angel off of Constantine. “I know where I stand in the brotherhood, and I know where I want to stand when we return and fight.” His breaths heaved out of him and his face grew hot. “And when I can no longer hold myself up, I’ll fucking crawl and keep swinging. He’s not breaking me ever again.”
Gabriel cringed. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Gabe. I forgive you.” Uriel started walking towards the tunnel again. He didn’t have to look at Gabriel to know how much those words would hurt him.
Sometimes it didn’t take a blade to cut a male down.
Constantine’s anxiety went up a notch with every step he took closer to the brotherhood. The way home had been a silent journey, which only made him feel frenzied on the inside. He kept his expression guarded, hand on the hilt of his sword, and wings stiff and poised for flight.
It didn’t go unnoticed that they’d walked most of the way home. Even Gabriel was dragging his feet and that wasn’t a good sign.
“Let’s fly from here,” Con suggested. “We need to at least appear to be in a rush to report home.”
Home. That word felt like nails in his tongue. The brotherhood wasn’t a home. It was a camp. A way of life. Con never had a home before, but he sure as shit wouldn’t call the brotherhood a fucking home.
It was a damn prison.
As they each shot into the air, Con fanned his wings out and relished the cool air on his skin. Uriel soared next to him but Gabriel flew higher and disappeared above the clouds. A roar ripped from the sky that was so violent and painful, Con’s heart leapt out of his throat. If passion and fury were to be black and white, then Gabriel was one massive grey area.
With the next roar, Gabriel plummeted through the sky like a hawk that spied his prey. Wings back and tight, he nose-dived and another roar ripped out of his throat. The soundwaves alone popped Con’s ears.
They followed him down and landed on the grassy terrain just feet away from the brotherhood’s barrier. Gabriel looked wild – his hair wind-blown, feathers ragged, and his limbs shook with adrenaline.
Uriel, Constantine noticed, shook even worse. Like the flight had sucked the fight from him, Uri’s expression was straight up fear.
“Hey,” he snatched Uriel by the shoulder and squeezed, “We can handle this. We can handle anything so long as we’re together.”
“And if he separates us?”
Damn, but Con hated the terror in Uriel’s tone, “I’ll find you. I’ll fix you.”
The fact that they were having this conversation right now spoke volumes for how Michael had conditioned them. Nothing in this sect was without a punishment. It built character. Solidified a warrior’s strength. Heightened up their pain tolerance. There were a thousand excuses Michael gave over the years and all of them seemed both accurate and terrifying at the same time.
They’d been gone days. Their punishment would most likely last double if not triple that.
How long should we stay away from Eve and Lucifer? Con thought. How long will they stay in Paradise and wait for them? Will they give up and leave, or will they try to come back to the brotherhood to save them? Fuuuuuck. Too many questions and none of them had a good answer.
Constantine wanted this over with. “The faster we do this, the faster we leave.”
“I have no intentions of leaving,” Gabriel’s jaw clenched along with his fists. “I belong here.”
“You belong with us,” Uriel hissed.
Gabriel ignored them both and crossed the threshold first. Constantine prayed for each of them to have the strength to endure what they were about to step into.
Chapter 28
“Rave, take the east,” Michael walked down the ranks with his hands clasped behind his back. “Peter, the west. Anthony, Elijah, close in the north and south ends. We’ll force them out of hiding.”
“What of the other sects? They’ll be caught in the crossfire.”
Michael slowly turned his deadly glare to Rave, “You think I give a flying fuck about the others?” He prowled over to the Angel, “We are the guardians, the protectors of the earth and all its realms. They know this.”
“That doesn’t mean they should suffer so we can—”
Michael back-handed him so fast, Rave didn’t have time to finish his pathetic sentence. “Our duty is to protect - however we need to do it. Think the other sects are safe with that beast running loose? They will fall upon our feet and praise the ground we walk on once we save them from that animal. Their territories can be rebuilt. Our worlds, however, cannot – especially if the evil that manifests in Lucifer spreads like disease.”
Rave’s gaze flicked past Michael’s shoulders, which pissed him off. “What the fuck would draw your attention away from your mast—” Michael turned to see Gabriel, Uriel, and Constantine approach the ranks.
They dropped down on one knee and bowed their heads, “Our humblest apologies we have not returned sooner,” Constantine said.
Michael’s fists clenched. It took a tremendous amount of control to not beat them to a pulp for their failures. “Of all the Angels to disgrace the brotherhood,” he seethed, “you three have surpassed my lowest level of expectations.”
Michael walked over to Gabriel and snatched the bastard by his hair. Ripping his head back, he spat in Gabriel’s face, “You fucking disgust me. Warrior indeed. You, Gabriel, should have known not to come back here without that beast’s head on a spike.” He released Gabriel and kicked Constantine in the chin, sending that fucker back on his ass.
Uriel, he saved for last. “You should have died out there hunting down the threat.” He watched Uriel’s chest heave with every ragged breath he took. “All we have is our honor, my brothers. And you three,” he tipped Uriel’s chin up so he could see the fear in his eyes, “you three have
lost all of yours.”
“Sire,” Rave stepped out of ranks.
Michael blasted him back with a new magic he’d perfected recently. All the other Angels gawked in their frozen fear. Good, Michael thought. Let that be a lesson to all of them. Step out of line, prepare to fucking fall.
“You have your orders,” Michael growled to his warriors. “Get to work and do not disappoint me. We all know what happens to the failures in this sect.”
The Angels broke away and Michael glared at the three on the ground. Pressing the tip of his blade to Constantine’s throat he arched his eyebrow, “Whip, chain, or cane.”
“Cane.”
Michael moved to Gabriel, who said, “Whip.”
With a sly smile, he moved to Uriel last. “Blade for you.” He loved how quickly Uriel paled. The bastard dared not speak a fucking word, because he knew he wouldn’t have a choice in punishment.
To make one suffer, you must direct pain where they are most vulnerable.
Uriel always was, and always would be, Gabriel and Constantine’s weakness.
Michael crouched down and got within inches of Uriel’s face, “Rise, Angel. And walk to your post.”
Poor bastard didn’t even try to hide his terror. Trembling, Uriel kept his gaze to the ground and walked over to the apple tree in the center of the courtyard.
“You two!” Michael barked, “If you take it easy on each other, I’ll make Uriel pay for your mercy. Get into position, now.”
Michael didn’t worry about them running off while he retrieved the box with the punishing instruments. They fucking knew the rules and they followed them to a T. When Michael returned to the courtyard, his smile was a mile wide.
Uriel was braced against the apple tree. Constantine was on his hands and knees, wings flared and back bare. Gabriel was standing rigid with his hand out, waiting for the cane.
“I’m glad you each know your fucking place,” Michael dropped the box and handed Gabriel the cane first. Then Michael fingered the various sized knives lined in a velvet case. “Oh, and Gabriel?” The Angel silently looked over at him. “Do make sure Constantine screams loud enough for that animal to hear. Who knows? Perhaps we can draw Lucifer back with the scent of fresh blood.”
Gabriel nodded once and turned away with the cane raised. He cracked Constantine’s back hard enough to split skin with the first strike.
And that tough bastard didn’t make a peep.
Good, Michael thought. He’d have been severely disappointed if Constantine was so easy to fucking break after all this time. Speaking of breakable—
Uriel trembled against the tree. Unlike Constantine and Gabriel, this Angel’s terror was warranted and had been crafted over time. The moment Michael pulled out the first blade, Uriel screamed in unholy fear. Michael didn’t throw the knife like he normally would. Fuck that. He wanted this to be slow and sweet.
Michael toyed with him for a bit. Carving into the motherfucker’s chest, he drew blood in a long line down Uriel’s chest and stopped just short of a vital organ… then he pushed that blade in nice and slow, burying it deep enough to break through the other side of Uriel’s body and pin him to the tree.
The Angel’s head shook violently as he screamed. The roar from his throat cracked and his wings fluttered.
“Is that painful, Uriel?”
“Y-y-y-yes… s-s-s-s-sire.”
“Not nearly painful enough if you can still answer me.” Michael made sure to move even slower with the next knife.
Chapter 29
Lucifer positioned his wings so he was shielded from the elements as he crawled on the forest ground. As stealthy and flexible as he was, moving like an animal felt natural. If his feathers snagged on a thorn bush, he didn’t stop. He barely even felt it.
His heart raced at the thought of hunting and providing for Eve. Stalking prey and capturing it with his bare hands would be exciting. And yet, even with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, an uneasy feeling rippled just below the surface of his skin. Every few minutes the prickly vibrations spiked and made it hard to maintain focus.
The sound of a twig snapping made him freeze. He turned to see Eve several paces behind him, smiling under the canopy of trees. These woods offered much shade and seclusion. Everything was dim and bright at the same time.
Eve held a handful of berries to her lips and ate them. “Do you want some?”
Yes. He wanted some. But not the berries. He wanted some more of her. Lucifer wanted to feel that elation he experienced when he’d kissed her. Kiss. Such a simple word for something so devastating and earth-moving.
Would she want another one? Lucifer would never force something Eve might be uncomfortable with.
“Here,” she sauntered over with her wings at half-mast. Damn her body moved with such fluid confidence, it made his mouth water. Holding his hand out, he accepted her offer and took six, small, red berries into his palm.
Lucifer popped the fruit in his mouth and stood to stretch his wings all the way out. Eve grabbed his arm and studied it. “Look. It’s faded.”
He didn’t need to look to know his darkness faded. Just like he wouldn’t have to look to know when it returned or spread.
“I’m infected with hate and evil,” he confessed. “If I let it consume me, I turn dark all over and my body will morph.” He kept his tone calm, studying her expression and body language. His confession should have frightened her. But it didn’t.
“It’s good that you know that about yourself, Lucy.”
“It doesn’t disgust you?”
“Why should it? We all have hate and evil in us, Lucifer. That you wear your colors doesn’t make you any different than anyone else. You’re just more honest than the rest.”
I don’t want to wear these colors, he wished to say, I don’t want people to see my hate and evil. Instead, he bit his lip and stared at the ground. “I would banish all the darkness from the worlds if I could. Instead, I struggle to stop it from eating me alive some days.”
Eve cupped his face in her hands. “You are the perfect Angel,” she whispered.
“Not hardly.” He jerked out of her embrace and moved back.
“Lazarus said you will be the most infamous Angel in all the worlds one day.”
Lucifer’s heart hammered. “I do not wish for fame. I desire peace and kindness. This world needs a lesson in acceptance of that which is different from the rest of their kind.”
“This world – the one of Angels – is not the only one who needs a lesson like that, I fear.” Eve gathered her hair and began twisting it into a knot on the top of her head. Where Lucifer’s chest was raised slightly, she had two round globes, that swayed and jiggled as she moved. They were soft and perky with pretty pink tips that hardened when she was cold. How had he not paid attention to that until recently?
During the journey to this realm, Lazarus gave Lucifer what was apparently called “Sex Education.” Lucifer was happy to learn anything and everything he could about Eve and her body was no exception. The difference between male and female had become blindingly obvious to him after that one kiss.
Fuck, his body tensed and hardened as he stared at her.
Look away. Look away! Clearing his throat, he turned and resumed his hunt again. “Stay here,” he ordered. “You make too much noise when you walk.”
He rushed down a path and tracked the scent of something foreign. Moments later, he successfully captured a small fury creature with long ears. Carrying it back to where he’d left Eve, Lucifer panicked when he couldn’t find her. “Eve?”
He looked around, his heart beating faster and faster. Scenting the air, he followed her trail towards a hill. The forest thinned out and the ground sloped downward. From this vantage point, he could see a large fall of water that fell from a high cliff. Mist hazed the bottom of the large pool that was a lovely shade of blue-green.
Inhaling deeply, he found her scent and continued following it towards the water. There she is. Lucifer fro
ze and dropped his prey. The air whooshed out of him.
Eve was halfway into the water. Her gray wings were fanned out, the sunlight peeking through some of the finer feathers. Her hands glided across the water. Her head was cast down. That glorious deep auburn hair of hers was beginning to fall out of its knot and bunch onto her nape. The slope of her back, the dip of her spine, the crack of her round ass…
Lucifer slammed down onto his knees and prayed for strength.
Every inch of his body screamed to touch her.
As if she heard his hungry growl, Eve turned slowly and gave him a perfect view of her front.
He. Could. Not. Breathe.
“Lucy!” she called out, waving at him. “Come in here with me! This water feels so lovely!”
Did she not understand what she was asking? Who she was asking?
Eve said he was a Devil. Devils are males who are good, even if no one else believes it. Devils are bold and strong and protective. Perhaps Devils were actually savage animals with a thirst for something wicked that would never be slaked. Maybe Devils were males who desperately wanted to be good, but were better at being bad.
Eve splashed the water and yelled, “What are you waiting for! Help me catch one of these fish!”
Picking up the small creature he’d killed, Lucifer prayed the entire way to her. He needed to behave. He needed to keep his distance. He needed to be good and righteous and worthy.
Dropping his prey onto a rock, he stepped into the water and his body sizzled. Steam rose around him with a spicy, heady scent. He had no idea what it was, but as he approached Eve, he saw her eyes widen and mouth part. The blacks of her angelic eyes expanded and her chest rose with each breath she drew in.
“Are you ill?” he asked. Grabbing her arm, he carefully brought her in close to his chest.
“I’m… I’m dizzy.”
He scooped Eve into his arms and carried her out of the water, cradling her. “We should go. Maybe there is something wrong with the water. Don’t go into it again until we ask Lazarus about it.”
Raise Hell Page 19
