by Lynn Hagen
They vanished, making the backyard feel more empty than ever. Gavril stared down at the enormous paw prints she’d left behind. The glass door slid open, and Ari poked his head out.
“Is the coast clear?”
Rocky bounded forward, sniffing and whimpering as he made his way down the steps. His paw pressed into the dire wolf’s, showing everyone just how monstrous she’d been.
“It’s clear.” Gavril made his swords vanish then held his arms out. Ari ran to him, clinging to Gavril as they both took shuddering breaths.
Once again Panahasi had saved Gavril’s sorry ass.
Chapter Ten
“Are you sure?” Ari asked as he pressed his cell phone to his ear.
“I’ve been a nurse for forty-two years,” Betty Norse said. “While I enjoyed my career tremendously, it’s time I retired and enjoyed life. That bout of the flu I just recovered from showed me that.”
Ari hadn’t gotten to know her that well, but she was always kind and in good spirits whenever she was at the clinic. “I’m gonna miss you.”
“I hear you’ve already replaced me with quite the stud,” she said with humor in her voice. “I hope he works out for you, in more ways than one.”
Ari’s cheeks burned as she gave a small laugh. They talked for a bit longer before ending their call. He would’ve been shorthanded if it weren’t for Gavril. It looked as though his mate would be taking Betty’s place on a more permanent basis.
That would save Ari from having to hire another nurse who wouldn’t have the heavenly skills Gavril had. He just wished his mate was here now. But Gavril had said he needed to take care of something important.
With no patients to treat, Ari left his office and walked up front. Tessa sat there looking bored as he approached. Now would be a good time to talk to her about the key.
Ari grabbed a plastic chair from the waiting area and set it next to her desk before taking a seat. “Long day.”
She smiled at him. Tessa really was a beautiful woman. If he wasn’t gay…no, he still wouldn’t have flirted with her. Ari believed in keeping things professional in the workplace.
“I’m used to things dragging sometimes,” she said. “Comes with the job.”
Ari wasn’t sure how to brooch the subject of Tessa not being human. The best way would be to come right out and ask. He sucked in a breath and blew it out.
Here goes nothing.
“Are you human?”
Her red brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”
Okay, maybe that hadn’t been the best way to put it, but Ari couldn’t think of any other way. “Are you human?”
She gave a nervous laugh. “What kind of question is that? Of course I’m human.”
Ari caught the quick look of panic before she’d masked it. She was flat-out lying to him. The problem was, Ari had no way of making her tell the truth. He didn’t have any magical capabilities like a shifter who could scent a lie. He couldn’t read minds or use some hocus pocus to make her reveal what she was.
Too bad Gavril wasn’t there. He was probably better at interrogating, because Ari sucked at it. Speaking of Gavril, his mate had been gone a while. Where was he, and what was he doing that was so important?
Already Ari missed his mate. He was so used to having Gavril at his side that the angel not being there made him feel…empty.
And worried.
“Do you miss traveling?”
“Huh?” Ari turned to Tessa.
She asked her question again. “It’s got to be hard to stay in one place when you’ve seen the world.”
At first it had been. But Ari had met Olin on a visit home to see his parents. That had been two years ago and the worst mistake Ari had ever made. He’d considered leaving again, going abroad, but Moose had called him, and Ari had agreed to meet with his friend.
“Sometimes,” Ari admitted. He’d liked the anonymity the large cities provided him, although there had been times he’d had to travel to small villages for his patients. But he’d been doing what he loved, and learning about the preternatural beings along the way.
“Why’d you settle down in Maple Grove?” There was genuine curiosity in her green eyes.
He wasn’t about to tell her he’d been running from an abusive relationship, that he’d met an angel who changed his entire world. Not when she was keeping her own secrets.
With a weak smile, he patted her hand before he got up and went to his office. Ari had no right to pry into Tessa’s life. She might not be human, but she had never been a threat to him or the clinic, so she could keep her secrets.
He wasn’t seated behind his desk for five minutes before he felt immense power flow through the room. Ari snapped his head up. “Gavril? Are you in here?”
God, he just wanted to fall into Gavril’s arms and find comfort in them. But the power faded, and Ari knew he was alone once again.
Tessa knocked on his open door.
“Come in.”
She took a seat and sighed. “He heard me, didn’t he?” She looked completely vexed. “I knew I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”
Gavril’s brief presence was momentarily forgotten. Ari sat forward and rested his arms on his desk. “So, what are you?”
“Very rare,” Tessa answered. “And highly sought after. That’s why I moved to this small town. Now I’m gonna have to leave since you know about me.”
Ari arched his brows. “You think I’d say anything to anyone?”
“Do you think I can take that chance?” she countered.
“I’m actually offended.” Ari sat back. “Unless you’re some kind of soul-sucking demon or other dark entity, your secret is safe with me.”
A smile played at her lips as she tucked stray hairs behind her ear. “And if I was a dark entity, what would you do?”
Ari chuckled. “I highly doubt you are. There’s a brightness to you that seems to make you shine. Not literally. But I can tell by the way you interact with the patients, especially children. No one with a dark soul could pull that off.”
Not that Ari knew of. Then again Hadad was an angel, and he had a wicked soul. In Ari’s opinion, anyway.
“So, are you gonna keep me in suspense?” he asked.
She stared at him, apprehension in her eyes as the tips of her ears changed in shape. They were now pointy.
“I’m a pixie,” she said. “That’s different from elves and fairies. They rely on spells and potions while my gifts come naturally. Many people would love to get their hands on me because I’m magical.”
Ari gasped when she shrank so small that she could stand on the palm of his hand. She flew back toward the couch and then enlarged back to her normal size. Or was the small version of her the normal one?
There was one question burning in Ari’s mind. “How did you get the key from Hadad?”
She blushed as she shrugged. “I sensed him close by. I shrank, grabbed the key from his pocket, and flew away. And by the way, I’m the one who sent you to help Gavril in that ratty old house. I’ve been keeping an eye on him since he hit Maple Grove. A certain demon leader asked me to keep watch over him.”
“But how did you know Gavril had the necklace on?”
Her blush deepened. “I can see him even when he’s invisible. In fact, he just walked out of the clinic ten minutes ago.”
Ari shot from his seat. If Gavril wasn’t at home or inside the clinic, Hadad would be able to get to him. What on earth was his mate up to?
As if reading his mind, Tessa said, “I think he plans on taking Hadad on so he can finally end this.”
“But that’s suicide,” Ari said as he rushed toward his office door, determined to save his mate from his foolish self.
* * * *
“It’s one thing to come after me, but he raised a dire wolf from the grave to kill my mate.” Gavril paced back and forth in Christian’s office as the members of the Ultionem watched him in silence. “That’s interfering in a mating. But not only that, I want his head on a pike.
”
“Are you really an angel?” Maverick asked as he studied Gavril with a curious expression in his gray eyes.
“Does that matter?” Gavril curled his lip. “The only reason I’m coming to you leaders is because I can’t find Hadad myself. I want him found before he tries for Ari again.”
And Gavril hated that he’d left his mate at the clinic, but Panahasi’s protection spells should keep him safe until he returned. Already Gavril felt edgy, ready to get back to his human, but damn it, not until he knew every effort was given in locating Hadad.
His heart couldn’t take another attack. Just the thought of any harm coming to his mate made Gavril want to kill everything that moved and breathed.
“The only problem in finding him is the fact that he has some pretty powerful magic that keeps him invisible to us,” Christian said.
“Give me a drop of his blood and I’ll track him down,” Rakeym said with a deadly smirk.
“If I could get to his blood, then I wouldn’t need any help,” Gavril said. “I’d have him in my clutches.”
He was starting to feel that he’d made a mistake coming here. Christian was right. Angels could mask their presence even if they were standing in front of you. Until Hadad reappeared, there really wasn’t anything anyone could do.
And he hated feeling so damn helpless. Gavril was used to it, though. He’d spent thousands of years being tortured, but this was different. Ari had now been dragged into their fight, and he felt sick to his stomach thinking about Hadad turning his sights on the human.
If only Gavril could find him. He’d choke the life right out of Hadad for what he’d done.
Nazaryth rose from the table. The winged beast looked Gavril right in his eyes. “As soon as we have him, he’ll spend eternity in the underworld. I give you my word.”
“You have to find him first,” Gavril replied. “But until then, I have to get back to Ari.”
Gavril didn’t feel hopeful as he flashed to the clinic, keeping himself invisible just in case there were patients there. The only way he would draw Hadad out was if he left the protection spells.
He had to use himself as bait, but Gavril wasn’t fully confident that he could beat Hadad. What if he lost and the angel took Gavril back to his cell, leaving Ari vulnerable? Could he take that chance?
But Gavril didn’t see any other way of ending this. He would somehow get the collar on Hadad then…Gavril closed his eyes. He had nothing but death in his heart for Hadad. Every cell in his body wanted to return the favor of torture. He couldn’t kill the angel, but Gavril could make Hadad wish he were dead.
He looked at Ari, who was seated behind his desk. He wanted to return to his mate with clean hands, but Gavril wasn’t sure he had that in him. Before Ari, he hadn’t known a kind word, hadn’t known what being loved felt like. Gavril had been bitter and filled with hate. But Ari had changed that. He’d changed a lot of things about Gavril.
Ari looked up and furrowed his dark brows. “Gavril? Are you in here?”
The need to reveal himself was overwhelming. He wanted to pull Ari into his arms and never let him go. But Gavril had to do this. He had to stop Hadad from his sick and twisted games if only to keep Ari safe.
With one last longing look at his mate, Gavril walked out of the clinic and waited for Hadad to show himself.
It hadn’t taken long. Gavril barely made it a block before he felt the immense power in a nearby alley. But Hadad wasn’t alone, which made Gavril’s stomach shrink. He had two other angels with him, and Gavril remembered them from his torture. They might not have come around a lot, but they’d had a hand in hurting Gavril.
“What’s wrong?” Gavril entered the alley. “Afraid to face me on your own?”
Now how was he supposed to get the necklace around Hadad’s neck? Bashar and Sven weren’t going to let Gavril get that close.
“I do enjoy a good show,” Hadad said.
“Fuck. You.” Gavril hadn’t changed that damn much. He manifested a cigarette and lit it and then leaned against the building behind him as he blew out a plume of smoke.
Hadad narrowed his eyes. “You’re not worthy to wear those wings.”
“Clearly I am, because they grew back.” Gavril wanted to kick Hadad in the balls for the agony he’d suffered through when his wings had come back. He never wanted to feel that level of pain again.
Bashar glared at Gavril as he walked forward, his expression full of rage. With a roll of his shoulders, Gavril tossed his cigarette and manifested his swords.
With a few well-placed swings, Bashar vanished, but not before crying out in pain and clutching his arm.
“You need better lapdogs,” Gavril said. “Send Sven over so I can spank him, too.”
Gavril was talking shit, but he wasn’t foolish enough to be overconfident. He couldn’t be sure if Hadad had more angels waiting close by. That would be Gavril’s luck, a legion of angels descending on him.
“You’re a filthy traitor,” Sven snarled. “Humans are to be observed only. Your love and loyalty belongs to your pantheon, and no one else.”
If that were true, then Gavril wouldn’t have been given a human mate. For ages he’d wavered on whether he was truly being sinful. He’d been conflicted for so long, nearly renouncing his love for the human race once or twice.
But not since discovering that Ari was his mate. That knowledge had only solidified Gavril’s belief that Hadad and his groupies were just hateful sorry sacks of shit.
Gavril knew he couldn’t be the only angel who loved humanity. Was he? Out of the millions of angels in existence, could he be the only one who saw humans as the unique, loving creatures that they were? Of course not all were that way, but the majority was, and that knowledge helped whenever he’d been punished.
“I think you’re the traitors,” he said to Sven and Hadad. “Since when have we gone from being humanity’s protectors to loathing them? Since when have we gone from answering their prayers to making them the enemy? Our Father made them in His image, and you lock me in a cell and beat me for caring about His creations?”
“Silence!” Hadad looked as if he would kill Gavril on the spot if he could.
“You brainwashed your followers into believing the lies that you spread,” Gavril said, gripping the hilts of his swords tightly. “You’re just pissed that you couldn’t brainwash me.”
Sven looked hesitantly at Gavril and then gazed at Hadad. He swallowed, took a step back, then vanished.
Gavril smirked. “Looks like it’s just you and me.”
Hadad flashed closer to Gavril and grabbed him by his shirtfront. His lip curled as he spoke. “I’m going to bury you in the center of the earth where you’ll never escape.”
Before Gavril could strike, Hadad swung out of the way, his weapon appearing in his hand. He struck so fast that Gavril hadn’t had time to see the blow coming. His right shoulder exploded in pain, and blood dripped from the wound. Gavril stumbled backward, forcing the agony down.
But a drop of his blood had hit the concrete, and a rose bush instantly bloomed. Gavril stretched his arms wide, and his wings shot out as power flowed through him.
“We end this, right here, right now,” he said to Hadad. “No more running. Winner takes all.”
A glint of fear entered Hadad’s eyes for a fraction of a second before it was gone. He snarled as he charged Gavril and struck him in the side then moved to a safe distance.
Maybe challenging him to winner-take-all battle wasn’t the wisest idea, but Gavril was tired of Ari being in danger. No matter how afraid he was, he had to take Hadad down.
He also had to stop letting Hadad land blows. Now Gavril’s side was killing him, along with his shoulder. That wasn’t an ordinary weapon Hadad held. It, too, had also been dipped in holy water, which meant Gavril would have even more scars.
Gritting his teeth, Gavril flew at Hadad, landing a blow with his swords before they were knocked out of his hands. Gavril dove for them, but Hadad got the
re first, kicking them out of the way. He swung his ball of spikes at Gavril, narrowly missing his head.
As Gavril rolled away, he pulled the thin metal necklace from his pocket and curled it in his hand. He had to get close enough to snap it around Hadad’s neck, but without his swords, he was asking to be captured.
Hadad came at him again, a growl ripping from his throat as he swung his weapon with expertise, a glancing blow in the left arm making Gavril nearly drop the necklace.
Hadad was slowly crippling him. If he didn’t immobilize Hadad, and soon, he wouldn’t have the strength to keep fighting.
Hadad once again rushed him, landing so many shots that Gavril felt as though his entire body was on fire. He stumbled and grabbed for the brick wall, gasping for breath.
“You’ll never win against me.” Hadad stood right behind Gavril. “I’m going to lock you in your cell for the rest of eternity.”
Gavril sucked in a breath, wincing, then spun and shoved at Hadad. He grabbed the angel around his throat and slapped the necklace in place before he rushed backward, out of the way of Hadad’s weapon.
Hadad stared wide-eyed at him. He touched his neck and gasped. Then rage exploded on his face. “You dare put this on me!”
Gavril smirked, although all he wanted to do was lie down and rest. He could barely stay on his feet. “It seems the true traitor is finally going to be punished.” Gavril held out his hands, and his swords flew into them.
He took a step closer, his eyes narrowed, ready to thrust his blades into Hadad’s black heart.
“Gavril!”
He turned at the sound of Ari’s voice. His mate stood at the mouth of the alley, staring wide-eyed at him.
“I have to,” Gavril said, almost in a pleading voice. “He sent a dire wolf after you, and I can’t let that go. I…I can’t.”
Ari moved cautiously toward Gavril and placed his trembling hand on Gavril’s arm. “Then you’ll be no better than Hadad.”
Gavril smashed his eyes closed as a war waged inside him. All the years of being beaten, of being taunted, of being threatened came to the surface. The worthlessness Hadad had instilled in him, because when someone told you something for thousands of years, eventually you began to believe the lies.