by Nina Bangs
“No. She can’t come near Ganymede. There’s nothing she can do to help.”
“I don’t know about that. Check it out.”
Edge just managed to turn his head. What the hell? Passion had Holgarth’s staff in her hand, and she was helping Sparkle to her feet.
Propping Sparkle up, Passion dragged her toward Ganymede. When Passion got as far as she could without being drawn into the vortex of Ganymede’s trapped power, she shoved the staff into Sparkle’s hand and gave her a push.
“What’s she doing?” Dacian leaned past Edge to get a better look.
“I’m not sure.” Edge decided that Passion really didn’t have an angel’s power, because she had to let Sparkle go on alone.
Edge watched as Sparkle immediately fell down. But that didn’t mean she was out. Slowly and painfully, she crawled toward Ganymede. It must be torture meeting Ganymede’s power head–on.
Passion joined Edge. She laid her hand on his arm, and all the pain from maintaining his hold on Ganymede disappeared. He glanced at her.
“Thanks.” He hoped she understood how much her touch meant to him, and not just because it took away his pain. Then he returned his attention to Sparkle.
She’d reached Ganymede. Gripping the staff in one hand, she used the other hand to reach up and grab Ganymede’s arm. She hauled herself to her feet. Then she swung the staff against the side of Ganymede’s head. The crack made Edge wince. Ganymede fell without a sound.
Relieved, he released his hold on Ganymede, and Murmur withdrew his power. Edge felt shaky and weak as he turned to Passion. “That was your plan?” He was amazed by the simplicity of it.
“Worked, didn’t it?” She sighed. “I don’t have the power that you guys have, so I had to think like a human. How could we put him down without anything supernatural involved? Now I’ve got to use my gentle power of persuasion. I’ll be back.”
She walked toward Hope, who’d climbed to her feet and was staring openmouthed at Passion. “Get your butt out there and help with Ganymede or I’ll tell Ted that you were dancing on the beach with a demon.” Passion didn’t seem to care if anyone heard her.
It took a moment for the threat to sink in, but once it did, Hope rushed out to Ganymede. She put her hand on his chest and began the talking thing she did. This time Edge wasn’t surprised when he couldn’t understand her words, and he welcomed the sense of peace and contentment flooding him.
“Not only can she dance, but she has serious talent.” Murmur sounded sincerely impressed.
Passion had rejoined them. “You will not lure her to her destruction with your demonic…skills.”
“Skills? Really? Afraid to call them what they are? They’re temptations, my innocent.” Murmur laughed softly. “And I wasn’t the one doing the luring, Passion. You have a dynamite name, by the way. Anyway, she came to my room and said she wanted to dance.” He shrugged. “I never turn down a woman ready to dance.”
Passion looked over at the other angel as though she’d never seen her before.
“We can all be tempted. Even you.” The demon looked from Passion to Edge, and then walked away to join Bain.
Passion refused to meet Edge’s gaze. “I have to help Sparkle.”
By the time they reached her, Hope had finished talking and was sitting on the grass next to Sparkle. But she still kept one hand on Ganymede. Hope’s thoughts seemed to be elsewhere, though, because she was staring at Murmur as he spoke with Bain. Sparkle was holding Ganymede’s hand. She looked up at them.
Edge had expected tears, or maybe panic in the cosmic troublemaker’s eyes. What he saw was fury.
“When I find out who’s doing this to us, I’ll take off my queen–of–sex-and-sin crown and borrow yours for a few minutes. I’m going to kill someone’s ass for this. No one hurts Mede.” She seemed to think of something. “What happened to the tsunami? It never showed.”
“Zane stopped it.” Passion raked her fingers through her hair. “He also wiped the minds of everyone except us who saw Ganymede in action.”
Edge followed the motion with his eyes before forcing his attention back to the conversation. “The sorcerer? Where did he get that kind of power? No, forget that. I saw him bring a snowstorm to Galveston a short time after he lifted the freaking castle into the air.” Was Zane really human? With that kind of crazy power, he could probably glamour them into thinking he was a turtle if he chose. “It’s looking more and more like the enemy is either Murmur or Zane.”
Passion seemed unsure. “I don’t know. Murmur gave his power to you a few minutes ago, and Zane saved the whole island. Would they do that if they were guilty?”
Sparkle offered her own solution. “I’ll kill both of them.”
Edge was still thinking about what Passion had said. “Maybe the goal isn’t to kill.”
“What other purpose could there be?” Passion sounded frustrated.
Just then Ganymede groaned and Sparkle leaned over him. “Don’t try to move, sugartart.”
Sugartart? Edge would never get it with those two. He watched as Passion moved over to touch Ganymede, and his groan faded. Ganymede opened his eyes.
Edge tensed, ready to jump into action if Ganymede was still crazy. Okay, so he didn’t have enough energy to jump anywhere. Luckily, the old Ganymede looked out from those cat eyes.
Ganymede didn’t say anything for a moment. He looked around him, and Edge could see the realization sinking in.
“I checked out, didn’t I?” He stared at his clawed hands.
“Completely.” Sparkle leaned over to smooth his hair from his forehead.
Ganymede rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Anything major happen?”
Edge suspected that Sparkle would try to ease into the disclosure, but if he were Ganymede, he’d like to be told the truth straight up. So Edge told him. “A minor earthquake and a big-ass tsunami, but the sorcerer shut the wave down before it reached shore.”
Passion added what she knew. “The news is reporting an earthquake along the Texas and Louisiana coast. Not much damage. We probably lucked out, though. Edge got to you before you could do any more major stuff. And scientists are already trying to figure out what happened to the tsunami.”
Ganymede closed his eyes and muttered a long string of “shits.” Then he opened his eyes. “The Big Boss will notice this.”
“I suspect.” Edge figured their boss had also taken note of his performance last night.
“What will happen?” Passion’s question was almost a whisper.
Ganymede answered. “He’ll probably show up any time now to take names and kick butts.”
Sparkle sighed. “I’ll have Bill reserve his room.”
Passion looked suspicious. “Is that it? Nothing else you have to tell me.”
Edge hesitated. “He might decide to destroy us.”
9
She wondered what Hope would tell Ted tonight. Passion sat cross-legged on the mattress watching the other angel. The nightly lie–to–Ted ritual had turned into practically Passion’s only entertainment.
She sneaked a glance at Edge. He lay on the mattress beside her, his eyes closed, waiting for Ganymede to finish his shower next door so that he could take his turn. Watching Edge wasn’t fun anymore; it was torture.
A week had passed since Ganymede took his swan dive off Mount Sanity, and still nothing. No visit from the Big Boss, no more mental meltdowns by anyone, and no progress finding who was messing with their minds. Sure, they had suspects, but no proof.
During that long, long, long week, Passion had learned the nature of temptation. She’d had no problem resisting when there’d been nothing to resist. Heaven had been pretty much temptation-free. All she did was sit in her cubicle with her eyes closed—no windows in the room, so nothing to see anyway—and reach into human minds. Their worlds were filled with colors and emotions, and she lived vicariously through them.
No, she didn’t have to worry about crossing any lines in heaven. And when she’d
first met Edge, she’d still had her feet firmly planted on the rules–of–heaven ground. Resistance had been a little tougher, but she’d still had some perspective. He was gorgeous but irredeemable. His lean-muscled body had made her want to touch, to taste, to do all sorts of interesting things to it, but she’d understood that what she was experiencing was lust. And lust alone wasn’t enough to make her forget what he was.
Now? Lines were blurred and perspectives muddied.
With the fear that at any moment Edge or Ganymede could go on a mindless rampage, Passion and Hope had stuck close to them all week. After all, it was their duty as angels to protect the general population if they could. The sticking-close thing had been her downfall.
She’d had to talk to him. A lot. He was interesting. He made her laugh sometimes. He made her restless and hungry in ways she’d never imagined. He’d introduced her to junk food and Star Trek. She liked him. And she’d found herself skittering away from thoughts of his job. Plus, the lust thing? It grew with each minute, each breath she took.
But so far, she and Hope had managed to keep the nightly reports to Ted secret. That all might end in a few minutes if she couldn’t get Edge to leave the dungeon.
“Ganymede is probably almost done. Why don’t you go over and wait for him?”
Edge opened one eye. “Trying to get rid of me?”
“No.” Yes.
Edge closed his eye. “I’m in no hurry. Sparkle’s over there in case Ganymede blows again.”
Fat lot of good that would do. But Passion understood that it was impossible for Hope to spend every second of every day with both Ganymede and Edge.
Passion looked at Hope again to see if she was getting nervous. But Hope was busy on the laptop that had pretty much taken over her life. Except when she went dancing with Murmur. Passion didn’t even want to think about that complication.
Her final hope that Edge might leave the room before Ted checked in evaporated as the familiar cold wash of power hit. At least Ted only seemed to have audio, so as long as Edge kept quiet, everything should be okay on the archangel end. But Hope had to answer him out loud. Passion refused to look at Edge.
“What did you do today, Hope, to turn those in the castle away from evil?” Archangel Ted sounded distracted for some reason.
Hope sighed as she pulled up her list of lies on the computer. Passion felt sorry for her. There was no way Hope had time to do any soul saving when she was trotting around behind either Edge or Ganymede all day and dancing with the demon at night. None of which she could reveal to Ted.
Some of this was Passion’s fault. She’d started Hope down this path when she’d blackmailed her into helping Ganymede. Hope had told Ted that yes, there’d been a little Earth shaking, but it didn’t have anything to do with the cosmic troublemakers. That was the first time Hope had lied to Ted. Now it had become a habit.
Passion held her breath as she looked at Edge. His eyes were still closed. She relaxed a little. At least he didn’t seem to be able to hear Ted’s side of the conversation.
“I spoke with Pink and convinced her that her so–what attitude wouldn’t open heaven’s gates for her. Next, I suggested to Lady Gaga that she walk away from her bad romance if she wanted to save her soul. She laughed at me, so I’ll probably have to do a follow–up on that one. Then I told Britney Spears that saying, ‘Oops! I did it again,’ will not convince the Supreme Being she’s ready to renounce sin. After that, I—”
Ted exhaled deeply. “Enough. I’m not in the mood to listen to your endless list of petty sinners.”
Surprise. Passion thought Ted wanted them to concentrate on the petty sinners. He’d made it clear he didn’t want them to go after the big guns. She glanced again at Edge. His eyes were open. Oh, crap. She put her finger over his lips.
And lost herself for a moment in the feel of them—the warmth, the softness, probably the only softness in his whole hard body.
“Have you kept an eye on the cosmic troublemakers?”
“Umm, yes.” Hope sounded nervous for the first time.
“Have they shown any hints of violence? Have you heard them say anything that might make you think I should send down the avenging angels?” Ted sounded hopeful.
Passion widened her eyes even as she shook her head at Hope.
But Hope didn’t need any coaching from the sidelines. “It’s been peaceful here. And they really don’t talk in front of me.”
Even as Passion went weak with relief, she wondered about Hope. What had happened to Ted’s model of the perfect angel? Hope had been the dedicated one. Now? She lied like a human and didn’t seem to think that going out with a demon was a biggie. Worse than that, blue had begun to swirl around her. Lust. Murmur had a lot to answer for.
“What about you, Passion?”
“Well…”
“I have confidence you’ll tell me what I want to know. After all, you do want to return home sometime before you die of old age. And make no mistake, if you stay in human form long enough, you will die.”
Passion narrowed her eyes. Jerk. She hated being threatened. “I saw nothing. I heard nothing.” Besides, even with all the bad stuff happening, she’d never felt so alive in her life. She was in no hurry to return to her home on the corner of Dull and Boring.
The air practically vibrated with his displeasure. “Continue doing your works of mercy, but keep your eyes on the cosmic troublemakers. In fact, I give you permission to become friendly with them. Of course, you can’t turn them from their wickedness, but if you hear any plans involving violence, I’ll need to know. We have to stop them before they harm the human population.”
The coldness retreated. He was gone. And what was up with his obsession with the cosmic troublemakers? It sounded as though he was looking for an excuse to attack them. She sighed. And if she were a good angel, she’d give it to him. But she wasn’t a good angel. So she was keeping her mouth shut.
Edge sat up. He was smiling. “Pink? Lady Gaga? Britney Spears? You’ve been spending too much time with Murmur.” His smile faded. “Who were you speaking to?”
Hope looked uncertain, so Passion stepped into the silence. No use trying to keep Ted’s visits secret. “Archangel Ted checks in each night to find out what we’ve done during the day.”
Edge shook his head. “I can’t believe he bought your list, Hope.”
Hope offered him a small smile. “Archangel Ted isn’t into pop culture or music, so I was pretty safe.”
His expression turned thoughtful as he looked at Hope. “Who are the ‘they’ you mentioned?”
“You and the other cosmic troublemakers. He wants to make sure you’re not becoming too dangerous.” Hope returned to the pleasures of Facebook.
Passion winced. So now Hope decided to be honest.
“Look, it’s no big deal.” Passion pasted on a fake smile. “Ted is a busybody. He wants to know everything, but it doesn’t mean anything.” Unless busybody Ted decided to send the avenging angels.
He didn’t have a chance to comment because just then the dungeon door swung open and Ganymede, in his cat form, padded in. Sparkle trailed behind him carrying a hairdryer.
Ganymede’s hair was wet and slicked back except where it stuck up all around his fuzzy face. Passion couldn’t stop her grin. He didn’t look like Mr. Destroyer of the Universe now. “You stayed in cat form for the shower?”
He glared at her. “It takes too long to change forms. Besides, if I decide to misplace my brain again, you guys might have a better shot at subduing me in cat form. Of course, it would take all of you working together. I’m that powerful.”
“O mighty chaos bringer, if you reprise your role as deranged dude, I’ll take up Holgarth’s staff and bash you in the head again.” Sparkle seemed to be enjoying the possibility.
Ganymede chose not to comment on that.
“I didn’t think cats liked water.” Passion tried not to laugh at his drowned-kitty look.
“I’m in cat form, babe. The
real me enjoys a great shower. And Sparkle scrubbed my back.” His cat eyes narrowed to slits at the remembered pleasure.
Passion thought of something she’d been meaning to ask. “Why do you stay in cat form at all? I mean, you make a great human.” That hadn’t come out exactly as she’d planned.
She caught the corner of Edge’s frown. What was his problem?
“Cats do a better job of sneaking. No one notices a cat, so people don’t filter what they say in front of me. It’s more fun being a cat.” He glanced at Sparkle. “Most of the time.”
Sparkle snorted her opinion of that. “What he means is that he doesn’t have any responsibilities as a cat. He can sit around all day watching TV and eating.” Her expression softened. “When we make love, though, he’d better be in his golden-god form.”
Ganymede leaped onto the table with the restraints attached to it, and Sparkle plugged in the hairdryer. This whole living space was just weird. Hey, how many angels ever got to wake in the morning to an iron maiden staring them in the face?
“Time for my shower.” Edge rose in one lithe motion. He glanced at Passion. “Want to keep me company?”
The question caught her by surprise. She bit back her automatic yes. “I don’t do backs.”
Something in his expression promised that scrubbing his back would be one of life’s highlights. “Not in the shower. You can stand outside to make sure I’m me when I come out.”
“Fine.” She grabbed her nightgown, robe, and slippers. She’d shower when he was finished.
Luckily, Dacian was still up in the great hall playing the big bad vampire in the last few fantasies. He wasn’t irredeemable, so technically she should be trying to turn him away from evil. Right now, though, she didn’t feel qualified to talk to anyone about making it through the pearly gates.
She settled onto a chair as Edge went into the bathroom. He didn’t close the door, and she forced her gaze away from it. Too bad she couldn’t do the same with her imagination.
Passion did some mental humming to drown out the sounds of him undressing and sighed her relief when she heard the shower door close. She looked around for a magazine to keep her thoughts busy.
