by Laken Cane
“He doesn’t work for the CIA,” Luke said, his voice soft. “He works for people a hell of a lot more sinister than our council. And a lot more powerful.”
He had both Krista and Talon’s full attention. “Who does he work for?” Talon asked, at the same time Krista asked, “What is he?”
Luke shifted from foot to foot, then crossed his arms. Krista had never seen him hesitant or nervous, and it freaked her the hell out. It reminded her of the CIA aide and his nervousness around Rafael.
She and Talon traded wide-eyed glances. “Luke?” she said, finally.
He rubbed his chin. “It strangely hard to say,” he admitted. “I’m not sure why. He’s a fucking angel, Kris.”
She put her hands on her hips. “That’s not funny.”
But he wasn’t smiling.
“You’re serious?” she murmured, then cast a quick glance around, as though Rafael might be lingering. “An actual…angel?”
She’d never in her life seen an angel. She didn’t know anyone who had. And maybe she didn’t really believe they existed because it was hard to believe in something she’d never seen.
“Rafael,” Talon said. “That’s really his name?”
Luke shook his head. “You couldn’t pronounce his real name.”
“How do you know so much about him?” Krista asked, suspicious once again.
“I’ve been up against the angels before,” Luke said. Then he shrugged. “Once.” And that’s all he’d say about it.
“But why is he here now?” she asked.
“That,” Luke said, “I don’t know.”
“What can they do?” Talon asked. “Are the stories true?”
“Do the stories say they can do anything they want to do?” Luke asked. “If so, then yes. The stories are true.” He held up a hand as Krista opened her mouth. “I don’t know anything else. Ask him. Maybe he’ll tell you.”
“I will.” Why would a powerful angel be trailing her? She frowned. “Wouldn’t Trig have recognized him as an angel?”
“Not even a demon lord can see an angel who doesn’t want to be seen. If Rafael becomes his angel, then Triganoth will see his true self, just as everyone else will.”
“And they’ll fight,” Talon guessed.
But Luke snorted. “Not unless Triganoth has a death wish.”
“Then why doesn’t Rafael kill Vogdris and release the souls?” she asked, getting angry. “If he has the ability—”
“He can’t,” Luke said. “Don’t ask me about their rules and regulations and politics. I don’t know them. No one does. But if he wasn’t sent here to handle Vogdris, then he can’t touch him.”
“Won’t,” she said.
He shrugged. “Same thing.”
“Let’s go home,” she said, disgusted. “I need a bath, a meal, and some sleep.”
“We all do.” Luke held out his hand.
She placed her hand in his and the three of them walked silently through the field.
“I’ll call the council,” Luke said. “They’ll send some crews to clean up this mess.”
She nodded. “They’re going to want to talk to us.”
Luke squeezed her hand. “Tomorrow. You need to get some sleep.”
“Yes. But if Vogdris is spotted—”
“I’ll wake you up.”
“All right.” She couldn’t remember ever being so abruptly tired. She began to feel the aches, pains, and soreness of a body well used. She was hurt and exhausted, but she was satisfied. Content.
She couldn’t wait to close her eyes so she could really think about her time with Triganoth. She wanted to relive every touch, kiss, and whisper. She wanted to remember how it’d felt to have him inside her.
Maybe she’d think of how strange it was that an angel had watched her bond with a demon. Somehow, that seemed a little wrong.
And maybe a tiny bit thrilling.
9
They dropped Luke at his car. She got out to say goodbye to him, reluctant to let him go. “Come to the house,” she said. “Stay with me and Asa.”
“I will. I have some things to do, but I’ll be there soon.” He touched her face. “Remember when you came into my room and woke me up?”
She nodded, smiling. “You were sleeping naked and you were irresistible.”
“Yet you did resist me,” he said, dryly. “But I wanted to let you know that if you come to wake me up again, I won’t let you go.” There was no humor in his eyes, only calm, clear truth.
She shivered and darted out her tongue to wet suddenly dry lips. “No?”
He shook his head slowly. “No.” Then he pressed her palm against the front of his pants, his eyes darkening when she squeezed. “This is what you do to me. Every time I look at you I picture you in my bed. Smiling at me. Opening your legs for me.”
“Fuck,” she whispered.
“Exactly. So you come wake me up again, honey.”
She swallowed hard, then nodded.
He released her hand and stepped back. “See you soon.”
She stumbled back to the car, her heart pounding, her body wide awake and thrumming with desire.
And Talon was in the mood to talk.
“Rafael,” he said. “How insane is that shit?”
“I haven’t wrapped my mind around it yet. Wouldn’t you think we’d feel it, being in the presence of an angel?”
They were silent for a few moments, thinking about it. “I still think the council has something to do with why he’s here watching us,” she said, finally.
“I think the council is afraid of you.”
She frowned, studying his face in the darkness of the car. “Why? I’ve never been anything but loyal.”
He looked at her.
“I was loyal,” she said. “I just had to work out my possession. They’d have killed me, Talon.”
“I know. But they don’t trust you now. And they have to be wondering what else you can do.” He hesitated. “Maybe we’re all wondering that.”
“Especially now that I’ve joined with the demon lord?”
He nodded but didn’t look at her. “I saw you with Asa. And Triganoth. And Luke…” He cleared his throat. “I don’t understand.”
He wanted to. She could hear it in his voice. “I love them,” she said, simply. “Each one of them is special to me. And they love me. Asa knew me from the beginning. Better than I knew myself. He knew Michael didn’t love me, and he knew that he did. And Asa has become someone I absolutely can’t imagine my life without.”
He nodded. “And Triganoth has forced the issue with his mark. It’s not your fault if you love him. Although his love might not be love at all.”
She clenched her fists and glared at him. “You don’t have to understand it, Talon, but it’s real. Trig and I are—”
“I’m sorry,” he interrupted swiftly. “I don’t know what I’m talking about.” Then he stared straight ahead and fell into silence.
“And there’s Luke,” she said, as though things hadn’t gotten a little awkward. “I’ve had feelings for Luke forever. But I was married and…” She shrugged. “Michael isn’t like you all. And I’ve discovered I’m done with that shit. I’m going to love who I love and be with them all because to do otherwise would rip my heart out. Life is too short to deprive myself.”
“One happy little family,” he murmured, and again, there was that subtle longing in his voice.
“Yes,” she said. And suddenly, her exhaustion got the better of her. The high she’d gotten from sharing magic and sex with Triganoth and slaying demons trickled away and left her so tired she could barely move. She needed to sleep for a month, but there was a demon lord on the loose. She’d be lucky to get a couple of hours.
The quiet hum of the car and the warmth of the interior lulled her to sleep, and the next thing she knew, she was home. Asa opened her car door and released her seatbelt, but before he pulled her from the car, Talon reached over to squeeze her arm. “Goodnight, Bloodspeller,”
he said.
“Goodnight, Moonspeller,” she replied, smiling, and then Asa took her hand, pulled her from the car, and wrapped his arms around her.
“I can feel your exhaustion,” he murmured.
“There’s a lot to feel.” And she yawned hard enough to crack her jaw. “I need my bed.”
“It’s turned down and waiting for you. You’ll clean up first.”
She nodded. “Though I’m tempted to forget it and fall into bed.”
“You’re covered with blood.”
“I know.”
“I’ll get you a tray while you’re having your bath. Eat, then sleep.”
She laughed at the mundane conversation. “Normal things. You’re so good for me, Asa. Maggie?”
“I took her to your parents’ before I went to work. They’ll bring her back tomorrow.”
“Thanks for…” She tightened her arm around his waist. “For everything. I don’t know how I’d deal with life without you.”
“You’d deal with it fine, just as you always have.”
“Something happened,” she said.
He waited until they were inside before he spoke. “Tell me.”
She took a deep breath. “Triganoth was…dying, I think. My face was on fire, it was agonizing. I knew he was in danger, and I knew I could find him through the mark.”
“You bonded.”
She nodded. “I think I marked him, in a way. But while we were…bonding, demons found a broken spot in the veil and came through.”
“That’s not unusual.”
“They came through in their own bodies.”
He frowned. “What?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” he said. “That is unusual, but not unheard of. It happens.”
“There were a bunch of them. We killed them, but I think Trig and I made this happen.”
“Maybe it’s just a one-time thing.”
“Maybe it’ll happen every time we have sex. Maybe worse things will happen. It was powerful. Magical. More like a spiritual connection than regular sex. And killing those demons felt so good, Asa.”
“Lift your arms.” He pulled Trig’s shirt over her head, then knelt to take off her boots. “You can only be the best you can be, Krista. Do good, because doing otherwise will hurt you. Put everything you have into making the world a better place.” He pushed her pants over her hips and tossed them away when she stepped out of them. “That’s who you are and what you do every day. Don’t change that. The rest isn’t up to you.”
He stood and took her face in his hands. “Whether you made the demons come through or changed something or might fuck something up if you have sex…you can’t worry about that. Just be you.”
She grinned but her heart was mush, and she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
He patted her ass. “Go get in the tub before your water cools.”
She glanced back at him before she walked through the bathroom doorway and found him staring at her with a look so hot she wouldn’t have been too surprised had her skin started smoking.
She couldn’t help but grin.
He gave her a strained smile in return, then strode from the room to get her dinner.
“I am an extremely lucky woman,” she murmured, as she sank down into a tub full of melting bubbles and warm water.
Then she closed her eyes, concentrated on the soreness between her thighs, and let a sweet image of Triganoth’s face—and the rest of him—drift into her sleepy mind.
10
Before she woke up the next afternoon, her parents brought an impatient Maggie home. It was Saturday, so Maggie had no school, but she had plans to spend the day with her best friend Sara.
With the arrival of Asa and the other slayers, Maggie felt freer to be a regular kid. She didn’t worry so much about her mother. Just one more reason to be thankful for Asa Flynn.
Krista found her parents, Asa, Maggie, and Luke in the kitchen when she finally woke up, got dressed, and went downstairs.
“There she is,” her dad yelled. He didn’t mean to yell, but he was automatically and boisterously loud.
Her mother patted the table. “Come sit, honey. Have some lunch.”
Asa got up to get her a cup of coffee, and Luke pulled out her chair. Krista’s mother beamed. “Such nice boyfriends you have,” she told Krista.
“Friends, Beth,” Krista’s dad yelled. “You don’t need to call them boyfriends.”
“Oh, John,” Beth said. “You’re too young to act like such a grumpy old man.” She winked at Krista.
Maggie laughed, then leaned over to kiss Krista’s cheek. “You okay?”
“I’m good, hon.” She pushed back the girl’s hair. “You look happy. Where are you off to today?”
“Mall with Sara.”
“Boy watching,” John said.
“You’re silly, Grandpa,” Maggie said, but she grinned.
“You’re not old enough to see boys yet,” John said. “And when you are, I expect they’ll have to be approved by me.”
Maggie lifted her eyebrows. “I may not want to see boys. I may want to see girls. Will they have to be approved by you?”
“Hell yes,” he boomed. “Even more so. Girls are mean as snakes.”
Asa laughed—he laughed at all of John’s attempts to be funny, which automatically made him John’s favorite.
But Krista’s mom preferred Luke.
When Krista and Maggie walked them out to their car half an hour later, Beth patted her arm. “I like Luke, honey. He’s such a gentleman.”
“He kills people, Beth,” John said, irritated.
“Maybe so,” Beth said, “but he’s good to Krista and Maggie, and that’s what matters.”
“Asa is good to them.” John’s voice was loud enough for half the block to hear.
“Dad, what makes you think Luke kills people?”
For a second, he wasn’t her bland, loud father—he was the ex-Marine who’d taken a medical retirement after a bullet had shattered his knee. His eyes blanked. “Just a feeling.”
Krista sighed. “Well, they’re both good to us.”
Beth nodded. “Told you so,” she said to John.
John grumbled something and got into the car, and when they drove away, Krista could still hear them arguing about whether Luke or Asa was the better guy.
“Wait until they meet Triganoth,” Maggie said.
Krista widened her eyes. “Don’t even joke.” She wrapped her arms around Maggie. “You’re happy, aren’t you?”
“I’m happy, Ma. You?”
“Yeah. There’s this awful stuff going on with the soul-stealing demon, but all things considered, I’m very happy. Your bhorn is gone. That’s the most important thing.”
“Thanks to the demon lord who did that to your face.” Maggie tugged Krista back toward the house. “I want to meet him.”
Krista shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, hon.”
“He saved my life. I want to look him in the eye and see what sort of man he is. He’s going to be part of your life, isn’t he?”
They walked into the house. “Yes,” Krista murmured. “I guess he is.”
“Then bring him to meet me,” Maggie told her, as they reentered the kitchen.
“All right, Mags. I’ll bring him when I can.” She hesitated. “If he’ll come.”
“Where is Vogdris right now?” Asa asked. “When he goes quiet, during the day. Sleeping?”
She nodded. “I think so. I think he has to recharge even with that awful power. The file on the case said that he disappears for big chunks of time during the day. Imagine if he never stopped.”
“Yeah,” Luke said. “It could be worse.”
Maggie glanced at her phone. “Sara’s here. Her mom’s dropping us off at the mall.”
Krista nodded. “Have a good day, Mags. And check in every hour.”
“I have to go to work,” Asa said, after Maggie left.
Luke stood as well. �
�I have some things to do, too. What are you doing today, Kris?”
“I’m going to visit Stella.”
“Beware the hellhound,” Asa joked.
She shuddered. “I’ll pick up some hamburgers.” She frowned. “Why did Talon stop staying here?”
“Maybe he thinks it’s too crowded,” Luke said, following her out the doorway.
“It is crowded,” she said. “Maybe I should think of moving. Fresh start and all.” She didn’t like living in the house she’d bought with Michael. There were too many reminders, too much of him in every room. And she really didn’t want to think about him.
As though she’d summoned him, Michael drove up and parked at the side of the street. A few seconds later, Talon drove down the street and pulled in behind Luke’s car.
“Why the fuck,” Asa said, “does he keep showing up?”
“You’d think he’d be a little less inclined to visit after you kicked his ass,” she said.
Talon joined them, and the four of them watched as Michael left the car and walked across the yard toward them. His girlfriend Amy opened her door and got out, then followed him. Michael didn’t wait for her.
“Asshole,” Luke muttered.
Krista left the porch to stand in the yard. She didn’t have to look to know the three men followed her down the steps. “What do you want, Michael?” She kept her voice calm, but just seeing him made rage and pain tighten her stomach. He’d betrayed Maggie, and that was way worse than his betrayal of her. If Triganoth hadn’t sent the white demon, Maggie would have been taken, her life would have been hell, and then she would have died—if Krista or Luke hadn’t been forced to kill her first.
Yet there he stood, as though he simply couldn’t grasp what he’d done. The terrible things he’d done. Her anger grew.
Tears stung her eyes and she forced them back with everything she had. She would not cry in front of him. Or his girlfriend.
Talon, standing on her right, surprised her by putting his hand on her shoulder. But then she remembered his sensitivity. He was something of an empath, and he would feel her pain.