by Maya Daniels
“Stay away from my mate, fucker,” Eric snarls, but I can tell he doesn’t mean it.
The tension leaves my body, and I almost slip through my mate’s arms when Leviathan hands me to him. Pressing my face to his neck, I breathe in his scent, swallowing the lump in my throat. Eric tightens his arms, squeezing me harder to his body as he follows the rest back to the only safe place.
The place where I was held prisoner.
Clutching Eric with all my might, I want to find a way to crawl under his skin so deep and irreversible that no one will ever be able to take him away from me. I’ve never considered myself clingy, or needy for that matter, but damn if I don’t feel all of that right now, and more. Obviously, I keep my mouth shut. The last thing I want is to come off like some psycho stalker. Let’s all pretend that I’m not sucking in lungfuls of air, sniffing his skin like it’s the only thing keeping me alive.
Eric doesn’t mind. I mean, the guy is possessive and has his own quirks when it comes to me, so I guess we do make a weird, creepy, perfect couple. He kisses the top of my head, rubbing his cheek on it like a cat, but I’m the one that almost purrs from the affection. The five-o-clock shadow on his face catches strands of my hair, pulling gently on my skull with his movements. Tears are still leaking from the corners of my eyes, and luckily, the wind pelting us dries them faster than they flow so no one can see them. Eric can feel them on his skin, however, and his arms tighten reassuringly. I can’t wait for us to get to the safe house so I can search everywhere on his body to make sure there is not a scratch on him. Only then will I be able to breathe again.
“Why are we headed this way…” Eric’s words are cut off by a blinding flash of light splitting the dark, night sky.
I’m blinded for a second, my fingers digging into Eric’s shoulders when his body jerks back and we go pirouetting down towards the ground. Shouts from above and a furious roar curdle the blood in my veins. Whatever that thing is, I hope it didn’t hit any of the other guys, but that concern is left for later because very soon the two of us will end up splattered on the ground. We keep falling from the sky.
My body is yanked to a stop when Eric finally finds his control, his wings flapping the air with powerful sweeps. Breathing through my nose, I push down the bile that rises in the back of my mouth, still keeping my eyes closed in hopes the dizziness will go away.
“Hel, you okay?” Eric’s deep voice vibrates through me, much more profound than his normal one, and that’s oddly reassuring.
Whatever is coming for us, they’ll have a pissed off double-horned demon to deal with at least. A very familiar roar makes me shiver. Well, a pissed off demon and a dragon from Hell too, it seems. There is no mistaking the sound Leviathan makes in his dragon form.
“I’m fine.” My words sound strained, but I finally blink my eyes open. “What the hell was that?”
“We’ve got company.” The muscles under my fingers are bunching up and jumping from Eric’s anger. I squeeze his shoulders reassuringly. It’s not like we haven’t dealt with messed up situations like this before.
I mean, how bad can it be, right?
The spots dancing in front of my eyes disappear, and I lift my face up to see what attacked us. Eric is still hovering in the same place where we stopped our downfall. I thought he was giving me time to gather my wits.
He wasn’t.
I tighten my grip on him when I see the night sky ripped open like someone has taken a knife and opened the belly of the beast. White light is pouring out of it, but it’s somehow centered just under the open slash. Me and Eric are hidden in the darkness, while the other four men are caught in the net of the light. Like black spots, the four of them are visible, Leviathan more than the rest since he is a fire-breathing dragon. His large head is lifted up while he belches flames at the gash in the sky. The light glitters and shimmers around them, and it takes a moment for me to accurately see what is happening.
That’s when I notice them.
Angels in golden, gleaming armor with all sorts of weapons are streaking through the light, slashing and hacking at our friends. Not just at the two fallen and at Eric’s brother, no. They are cutting at Raphael as well, even more so.
“Eric move!” Wincing when one large sword slices at Beelzebub’s arm, I wiggle in Eric’s arms. “We gotta help them. Don’t just stand there!”
“I’m looking for a way in,” he snaps through clenched teeth, and I see that he is not just hanging out here to stay out of it.
We’ve been moving slightly left and right while he is searching for an opening in the net of light. Instead of being an idiot and arguing like always, I start looking through it as well, trying to help him out. Colt gets kicked in the chest, and I watch his body fly back, passing through the light and disappearing in the darkness.
“We can pull them out!” Pointing frantically at the place I saw Colt last, I’m vibrating with the need to do something. “Colt just got kicked out of it!”
Eric doesn’t wait to be told twice. Pulling me closer to his body, he shoots in the air, aiming at the closest of them. I watch Beelzebub swing his tree-trunk arms, sending angels flying all around him. His shirt and pants are ripped wherever they’ve been cut with their weapons. We stop just before the light begins, waiting on the edges to get a chance to pull him out. Eric jostles me up his chest to free one of his arms and reaches for the light. As soon as his fingers touch it, it sends us flying backward, hard. Eric’s wings bow outward, and he manages to stop us not far from it.
Okay then, we can’t touch it. Well…my eyes roam around the light. It calls to something in me, and I can feel its warmth. Mind spinning with options, I can only think of one other thing to try.
“Eric, I’ll give it a go. Bring us closer.” He stiffens at my words, and it pisses me off straight away. “Unless you have a better idea, stop being an overprotective ass and let me attempt it. Do you want them to die in there?” I glare at him.
“She has a point.” Colt’s voice scares the shit out of me. I didn’t hear him come up next to us.
“You okay?” I crane my neck to see him. Eric grunts at my question and I see him looking at me with his eyebrow raised.
“I’ll be as good as new in an hour.” Colt chuckles in Eric’s face, and I want to punch him. “So, what are we doing?”
“I need to pull them out of there since you two can’t.” I sound so confident one might think this is something I’ve done a thousand times.
I have no idea what I’m doing. Or if it’ll work.
“Okay, let’s do it,” Colt agrees immediately, making Eric growl again.
I elbow him in the ribs.
“Let’s go!” Wiggling around, I press my back firmly to Eric’s chest, trusting that he won't drop me. “Bring me as close as you can.”
“I have your back,” Colt adds. He can be sweet like that sometimes.
Holding my breath, I wait for Eric to make up his mind. We are both stubborn as mules, and I know if I keep pushing him, he will resist it more. So, I stare at the battle happening in front of my eyes, not breathing. There is no time to waste, I can tell they won’t be able to hold on for much longer. Just when I’m about to scream in frustration, Eric moves.
Releasing the breath I was holding, as soon as we reach the border of the light, I close my eyes and jab both arms through it, reaching for Beelzebub.
While most things are piled up against me in life, there are a few that work in my favor. As soon as my fingers tangle in Beelzebub’s shirt, I can tell this thing is one of the good ones. I pull as hard as I can, the guy is as large as a truck, and Eric flaps his wings hard, aiding me. It’s like dragging someone out from a quicksand. My arms are shaking and sweat trickles down the sides of my face by the time the fallen pops out of the light trap. Beelzebub keeps swinging, so Eric yanks me away, just as Colt clocks him in the jaw to snap him out of it.
“Halt!” Colt roars in his face, and Beelzebub’s red eyes swing wildly between all of us.
“Chat later.” I nudge Eric with my elbow, again. “The other two are still trapped.”
Eric takes me around closer to Raphael. Smart on his part since Leviathan is a freaking dragon and, right now, I don’t even want to think about how I’m going to pull him out. At least the angels don’t pay any attention to what’s going on outside the light. I frown at the thought, but we are already hovering near Raphael. The Archangel is truly a sight. He flips and turns, his body moving gracefully through the air while he is using not just his limbs, but his wings as well, to send those attacking him flying through the air.
They keep coming back.
Now that Colt and Beelzebub are not there, the angels are swarming Raphael and Leviathan. The dragon is a lot larger and keeps breathing fire, so he is somewhat holding his own. Raphael, on the other hand, is not doing very well. And that’s when I notice what he is doing. While the angels are going for the kill, Raphael is only defending himself without doing much damage to any of them. The stupid Archangel will get himself killed because he doesn’t want to hurt his kind. I’m going to kick him when all of this is over.
“I’m ready,” I tell no one, in particular, not looking away from Raphael.
Eric grunts.
I mean, of course, he does. Why would he use words like an average person when he is sulking because I’m putting myself in danger, regardless of the fact that no matter what I do, or where I go, danger follows me like a bad smell. Ignoring him, I ready myself to grab hold of Raphael. He is not as lucky as Beelzebub. Maybe because he is not as thick as the fallen, the Archangel’s leaner body moves a little faster. I have to reach in and snatch my hands back quite a few times, as well as wait for him to come closer to the edge of the light, until I can get a hold on him. Eric is vibrating in tension, and I can feel his body twitching on my back. If I don’t grab Raphael soon, I just know Eric will move me away from here.
Telling myself I’ll apologize for it later, I grab hold of one of Raphael’s wings, twisting my fingers in as many feathers as I can, and I pull with everything in me. Eric yanks back with all his strength, sending all three of us flying back in the air. Raphael’s roar splits the sky and thunder cracks above our heads. His angry and pained golden gaze lands on me, and it makes me gulp.
“I had to get you out of there, Raphael.” He keeps glaring, and to my horror, I realize I’m holding handfuls of his feathers in my hands.
Not looking away from him, I unclench my stiff fingers, releasing the soft white feathers to drift slowly in the air. A few are sticking to my sweaty palms, so I peel them away slowly, flinging them wherever they fall. Hopefully, he won’t attack. Right?
Colt snorts.
Raphael swings his gaze on him, and I can finally take a breath. Damn, the Archangel is scarier than a demon when he is pissed. There was nothing human in his golden eyes while they were locked on me. It drove home the point that no matter how kind and sweet Raphael is, he is still not human. He is high in the food chain in Heaven.
Heaven!
“Why didn’t you leave the trap, Raphael?” Anger burns through me, replacing the fear from a second ago. “Since Eric can’t touch the light, I’m assuming it’s Heaven’s light. What the hell were you doing fighting there instead of getting them out?”
“I couldn’t leave, either.” A muscle jumps in his jaw, but at least he is not looking like he wants to kill me anymore. “I told you Heaven is in chaos as well. I’m not sure how many of those are real angels.”
Eric jerks like someone slapped him. Right, he doesn’t know yet everything that’s been going on while he was hurt and unconscious. We can explain later, after we figure out how to get Leviathan. My eyes go over Raphael’s shoulder to look at the dragon. I can barely see the black scales of his body from the golden armor surrounding him. I don’t think he has long. We need to get him out now.
“Umm…guys.” Pointing a finger, I show them what I’m looking at. “We need to get him out.”
“You can’t reach him.” Eric, always the helpful one, points out, and I put everything in me when I elbow him this time.
“Thanks, Mr. Obvious. Now tell me how it can be done.” Glaring at the other three, I make sure they all know how serious I am. “Because I’m not leaving here without him.”
“Hand her over, Eric.” Beelzebub comes closer, reaching for me, but Eric zips away.
“Stop for a second, monster boy.” We so don’t have time for Eric throwing a tantrum right now. “Let's hear his idea, and we will see if it’s good, okay?”
“I’m not handing you over.” His arms tighten, emphasizing his words.
“Okay, fine.” I snap at him. “You can hold me, but let’s hear what he has in mind.” I wave Beelzebub closer.
All three of them move around us again.
“Remember when we were going for the portal, and Narsi fell off of Colt’s back?” Beelzebub’s face looks impassive, but his red eyes are drilling holes in mine. “You caught him by sitting with your knees on my back.”
That is so not what happened that day. The Trowe didn’t fall; the Harpies snatched him off of Colt’s back. And I definitely did not catch him. It was Colt that grabbed him before he hit the ground. I was sitting on Beelzebub’s back on my knees so I could fight the Harpies off. My mind is whirling with what he is trying to say.
“You are the only one that can go in and out of the trap,” Beelzebub continues, his eyes saying something totally different from his words. “You can sit on Eric’s shoulders, and you’ll be able to push more than just your arms through the light barrier. When you have a good hold, we will all pull the two of you out.”
“No!” Eric’s shout slices the air.
I pray for patience with Eric. No matter how much I miss him, I swear it only takes an hour to want to knock him out unconscious again. He can be so frustrating at times. But I’m done playing games, and the dragon is moving much slower with each passing second.
“Here is the deal, Eric.” Looking over my shoulder, I lock gazes with him. “You’ll either be the one to hold me, or you can hand me over to Beelzebub. Either way, I’m going after Leviathan, and unless you are planning to fight me, you need to make up your mind right now. He doesn’t have much longer, and I will not let him die after bringing him here while he was protecting both of us.” And because I can, as well as because I’m pissed off at him, I have to make a jab. “All that while you were hurt, unconscious, and unable to fight by my side.”
A low blow, I know.
Eric’s arms stiffen around me, and I see the shutters dropping behind his eyes. My heart hurts for saying that to him like it was his fault, but I see no other option if Leviathan is to stay alive. I’ll have to find a way to make him understand why I said it after we all get out of here. My stomach flip flops, knowing things will get worse between us before they get better. I just hope we are stronger than this and get through it.
Eric doesn’t say a word, but he doesn’t hand me to Beelzebub either. I see that as a good thing and push the worry to the back of my mind. Holding my body stiff, I allow him to move me around before lifting me over his head. Grabbing hold of his larger horns, I swing my legs around, straddling his neck. He shudders but doesn’t say anything. Wrapping my shins around his torso, I hold myself stiff while he flies as gently as he can towards the trap. As soon as he gets on the side where Leviathan is still fighting off the horde of angels, I realize I can’t overthink this. If he suspects what I’m planning, he will get me out of here before I have time to blink.
With that in mind, I watch the dragon flip his tail, his head sending angels flying away from him. This is going to hurt like a bitch, but there is no time like now to go ahead with Beelzebub’s plan. I just hope Eric doesn’t kill him in the meantime. My legs go limp around Eric a second before I hear Beelzebub’s shout.
“Now!”
I fling myself away from Eric with my feet
on his chest, sail through the light, and land in the middle of the back of a pissed off dragon.
Leviathan roars. Fire bursts from his wide, open jaws, sharp teeth as long as my forearm glinting in the light. My heart jumps in my throat and lodges itself there. The dragon starts bucking, doing his best to get me off him. He has no idea what landed on his back. As far as he knows, it could be one of the angels. One thing I’m grateful for is that you can’t hear any sound from outside the light barrier. I’m sure Eric has Atlanta shaking from his fury right now. I almost topple over when the dragon jerks to the side, so I leave all thoughts of a pissed off mate for now. I need to survive first if I want to deal with him later.
Scrambling on Leviathan’s back, I push my way up by grabbing hold of his scales. I think his fire will burn me, the ones flickering in short bursts on his spine, but to my relief, they don’t. They lick at my skin every time my hand nears them, but thankfully, I only feel slight heat. The angels haven’t noticed me yet either, so that’s a big plus. When I reach his long, snaking neck, I pause. How the hell am I planning to get him to listen to me? As far as I know, Leviathan in his dragon form doesn’t like me much. Not after I sliced his nose open. I tighten my hold on his scales when he drops a few feet down all of a sudden. Shit, he is getting tired, and I can see where swords and blades have sliced him open. Black blood is trickling from his wounds.
“Here goes nothing.”
Without overthinking it, mumbling under my breath about the stupid jinn and that idiot Mammon, I inch up the dragon’s weaving neck, using my arms and my thighs. As bad as it sounds, I’m kind of glad he is occupied with fighting off the angels, or I have no doubt he would be picking me out of by now. When I get as high as I’m comfortable with, I cling as tight as I can and start yelling at him.