by Knight, TW
"The One has had plenty of opportunities to intervene in the past and didn’t. If he did so now, I don’t know why. Hell, I still don’t understand how Lucifer pulled us down there. Our barriers are supposed to protect us from dark magic when we’re on the island." With a heavy sigh, Rail gathered her back into his arms. "Are you okay?"
Nodding wearily, Cassidy glanced around. Above her, giant palms swayed in the breeze, making blue shadows against the setting sun, but something was off. It didn’t feel like home. "Where are we?"
"An island I bought about five years ago. I thought we could use it as second base.”
“Why? Your place is huge. All those rooms upstairs—"
“I wanted to be prepared. If we find more Knights, we’ll need the space or we’re liable to splinter off again.” Grumbling as stiff muscles complained, Rail stood and helped Cassidy to her feet. "But since flashing is a team effort, and I wasn’t patient enough to take up sailing, I only finished the first set of living quarters last year. Haven’t been back since."
"What kind of condition is it going to be in?"
"There is an indigenous tribe living on the neighboring island. I hired them for security and to keep the place in good condition."
"What about food?" Cassidy covered her rumbling stomach with her hands. "I’m starving."
"There’s plenty of fruit available for the picking, and I’ll flash to the neighbors to see if anyone has fish to sell. But first things first." Snatching a tattered piece of fabric from the sand, Rail tied it around Cassidy’s breasts in a makeshift top.
Cassidy laughed. Rail bent toward her and she placed a kiss on his lips. She felt so connected to him; there was no telling where she ended and he began.
Without breaking the kiss, Rail scooped her up. Cassidy relaxed in his arms as they walked through the trees to a bungalow set off the beach. "All the comforts of home," Rail whispered against her cheek, carrying her inside.
"It’s beautiful." The caretakers had done a great job. The place smelled so fresh, no one would have known it had been vacant for a year.
The décor was light and airy. Everything shimmered in some shade of sand from pale pink to dark tan, including the walls and the golden wood floors. Even the giant sectional taking up most of the front room was a light cream. But rather than feeling buried in a sandbox, the space was warm and comforting. Splashes of darker color accented the room in the form of artwork, pillows, or bouquets of fresh flowers sitting in colored vases on just about every flat surface.
"The kitchen is over there." Rail nodded to the efficiency-style kitchenette to the left. "And the bedroom is this way." He set her down and led Cassidy past a wall of glass looking out onto the ocean and into a hairpin turn. To the right, a Japanese divider made of polished wood slats and rice paper created a privacy wall. Cassidy’s mouth dropped open. Inside the bedroom sat a bed twice as big as the one they shared at the compound. Only instead of dark silk sheets, this one was covered in fresh white cotton linens and positioned so there was an unobstructed view of the horizon.
Standing in such a bright and welcoming space made Cassidy feel refreshed.
"If there weren’t so many other people at the compound and so little privacy, I’d have done something like this at home."
Cassidy motioned to the rice paper walls. "Maybe we can take down the wall between our two rooms and put in a divider like that. It would keep things light and still give you some privacy when you wanted it."
Rail laughed. "I’m not one to be concerned with privacy, but we’ll add it to the list of remodeling ideas." Leading her to the bathroom, he asked, "Bath or shower?"
"Both?" Cassidy answered hopefully. "I need to wash my hair, but I want to take a long hot soak too."
"Sounds like a plan. It will only take a few minutes to get the water cistern heated." Rail turned a valve wheel on the bathroom wall, and the water heater ignited with a soft puff of gas. Satisfied, he stepped out of his torn jeans. Cassidy giggled as he turned his back to her. "What?"
"You have a bird feather on your back." Cassidy plucked a small black feather from where it stuck to one of Rail's wing tattoos and handed it to him.
"Must have picked it up on the beach," he answered, setting it on the vanity. With a few tugs, he helped Cassidy remove the remnants of her clothing.
Looking at the bloodstaining the scorched bits of fabric, Cassidy was again shocked they had not only survived Hell, but escaped from it. Escaped alive, whole, and healthy—save for some aches and pains.
Stepping into the spray, Cassidy let the memories wash away with the dried blood and filth. Closing her eyes, she sighed in bliss. The sigh built into a moan of pleasure as Rail worked a soapy sponge over her body.
Turning, Cassidy arched into him. Rail took her right nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, teasing her with his tongue. The sponge dropped to the tub floor with a wet plop.
"You are mine," Rail rumbled against her skin.
"Yes." Cassidy sank her fingers into his wet hair. "I’m yours." She gasped, surprised when Rail sunk two, then three, fingers deep inside her, continuing to suckle at her breasts. "More! Don’t stop." She rode his hand, her climax building like a storm. When the storm broke, stars exploded in her eyes. "Oh, God," she murmured falling limply against his hot, wet skin.
"Too much too soon?" Rail asked, his breath frantic pants against her neck.
"No. Just give me a second to catch my breath."
"Take all the time you need." Rail chuckled, using his heel to kick the stopper closed to fill the tub. With one last flick of his thumb against her swollen nub, Rail withdrew his fingers and lifted Cassidy’s chin until her mouth met his. After a deep kiss, he whispered, "We’ll take that soak you wanted." Carefully, he lowered them into the hot water. Water continued to rain down from the shower, caressing them.
Feeling curiously restored, Cassidy twisted and pushed Rail beneath her. Straddling his hips, she planted her hands on his chest. "I’ve never made love in the rain before."
Rail sat up, entering her in one stroke. "I’ll add that to my list." Slowly, his mouth worked along her collarbone, over her shoulder, and back before moving lower to take her left nipple between his lips.
Moaning softly, Cassidy slowly moved her hips. As the pressure in her grew, she increased her speed until another orgasm ripped through them.
Breathing heavily, Cassidy slipped to the side and curled up next to her lover, closing her eyes in blissful fatigue as the hot water washed over them.
* * *
Rail stretched casually and slid from the bed with care not to disturb Cassidy.
As much as he would have liked to hide away forever, as Cassidy had once asked, they needed to let the others know they were safe and find a way home.
He had a job to get back to.
Wrapping a sarong around his waist, Rail retrieved one of the satellite phones from the nightstand. With a glance at Cassidy, he padded quietly out on to the deck running the length of the glass wall overlooking the ocean.
Hacker answered before the first ring registered in Rail's ear.
"Where are you?"
"Safe," Rail answered, watching a flock of sea birds take flight.
"Is Cassidy…" The open-ended question relayed his brother's concern.
"With me and safe, as well. She’s sleeping right now." He looked over his shoulder and smiled at the figure curled around a pillow in the center of his bed. "I’ll tell you everything when we get back."
"I’ll see what I can do, but it may take a while. You’ll need to be ready the second I call you back."
The urgency in Hacker's voice gave Rail an uneasy feeling. "If the others are on patrol, we can wait."
"Dude, are you kidding? I need to get your ass back here as soon as I can find someone free to pick you up!"
"What’s the hurry?" The knot in his stomach turned to ice.
"Last night all hell broke loose—literally."
Chapter Forty-Eight
&nb
sp; "Damn. What happened?"
"Short version—about twenty hours ago, a shit load of demons exploded from every open portal. We’re talking worldwide chaos. It only lasted a minute or two," Hacker added, "but it was more than long enough for those bastards to break loose. Took us about an hour to realize what had happened…" There was a pause and all Rail heard were computer keys clacking. "Anyway, most of the demons appeared in war zones. Areas that are already hot-zones. Makes sense with all that blood and negative energy to feed off—especially in the Middle East. Nothing like 1906 when that cruzos demon popped up in San Francisco or anything, but it’s still bad."
"Hacker. Focus."
"Yeah, right. We’ve been running around killing any hell breed we come across for like the last eighteen hours. Bagged quite a few skratar too. The last just outside of Anchorage." Hacker took another deep breath.
"How do things stand now? Any more breeches?"
"None. The portals appear to be shut tighter than the Vatican’s Archives," a long sigh came from the phone, "but there’s still a lot of damage control to do—"
"And you can’t spare anyone to pick us up," Rail grumbled in frustration at the situation. His hand tightened around the phone until the plastic complained with a crack.
"Kaz is due to check in, uh, in about an hour. If he and Bass are done, they can come straight from Belize to wherever you are."
"Belize?"
"Yeah. We picked up repeat sightings of the Feathered Serpent God Quetzalcoatal—couldn’t take the risk. Could you imagine if some of those Demon-Gods got a foothold in the human world again? Jesus help us."
"Speaking of…"
"Nope, haven’t seen a sign of Him so this isn’t the big bang yet. Anyway, I’ll give Kaz your report and call you back when I can."
"Hey. What’s the rotation like?" With only six Knights available, and one needed to stay behind and monitor the equipment, it meant Kaz, being the strongest, would be taking extra duty.
"We get a couple hours sleep when we can. I should be relieving Tam on this next round. He’s been out three times with only six hours sleep. Kaz is taking up the slack. Hold on." The line went quiet again.
Rail bit back the urge to remind Hacker that if the Aktura had access to the computer lab, it would free up one more warrior. But then was not the time.
"Tam just called. He got a minion and two skratar in Afghanistan. Says Zach wants to bring the bodies back for examination or something."
"That would be Kaz’s call." Rail grasped the deck railing. The wood creaked in protest. His brothers were out there fighting and here he was taking a vacation.
"Can’t reach him."
Running a hand through his hair, Rail weighed the options. "If he wants them, he can have them, but he can’t bring them to the island. If we still have that place in the mountains near Romania, he can take them there."
"He’ll bitch about not having his research equipment there." The warning was halfhearted.
"Tough shit. I’m not allowing one of the truly fallen in the compound. We’ve never decided if they could come back to life like we do, and I’m not taking the risk."
"Boomer took his head," Hacker responded flatly, his fatigue clearly showing.
"You asked my opinion and I gave it. If Kaz sees differently, that’s on him."
"Roger that. I’ll call you after I talk with him. Be ready. You may only get a minute's notice."
"Understood." Rail disconnected and set the satphone aside. He had no proof, but it was too coincidental. The explosion of activity started roughly around the time he and Cassidy escaped Hell.
Deep in thought, he jumped when a warm body pressed against his back. Soft fabric rubbed against his skin. Arms slid around his waist. Smiling, he turned within the embrace and whispered, "Good morning," against Cassidy’s waiting mouth.
"I was very disappointed to wake up without you," she whispered against his lips and gave him a nip.
Rail frowned. "Sorry. I had to check in."
Cassidy stepped back to look him. "Something’s wrong. What? What’s wrong?" Anxiety raised the pitch of her voice.
"Nothing, sweetheart. Nothing you need to worry about."
With a frustrated snarl, Cassidy punched his arm. "Don’t lie to me. We’ve been to Hell and back together, literally, so don’t lie to me."
Pulling her close, Rail let out a long breath. "You know I can’t lie to you."
"No, but you twist the words so it’s not really a lie. You said I didn’t have to worry, so it’s something that you’re worried about. Tell me."
"Fine. Let’s get some coffee and I’ll tell you." Tucking her under his arm, Rail escorted Cassidy back to the bedroom. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled lowly.
Rail held Cassidy tight, a sense of impending doom filling the air.
* * *
Cassidy stared at her coffee until it went cold. "Did we do something?"
"No. I think it had something to do with Lucifer releasing the spell holding us."
"Same difference," Cassidy mumbled and took a sip from her coffee. Brusquely, she set the mug down with a thunk. "Wait. Do you think Lucifer did it on purpose?"
Rail shook his head. "Despite rumors to the contrary, although Lucifer is just pissy enough to do something like that, he doesn’t have the kind of power required. Oh, he can open a portal here and there where the barriers are thin to begin with. Think about it. If he could drop the barriers anytime he wanted, why screw around with these hit and run attacks?"
"Is he the only one who can do that?" Cassidy shivered at the prospect of demons flooding out of Hell unchecked. "Open the portals?"
"A few higher level demons can. Of course, when they punch through, they’ve always got a few lesser demons hanging on and following. Even a human dabbling in the dark arts could get lucky and bring a demon across. That happened a lot in the past, but the demons were usually sent back or trapped here by some priest or shaman, but no one other that the Great Darkness can summon the power to totally dispel the barriers."
"Then why doesn’t it? He? Whatever. Can we just say Satan and God when we have these conversations?"
Rail chuckled. "I know, it’s confusing even for us at times. The reason Satan doesn’t drop the barriers is that there are consequences. Universal rules, you might say. Personally, I don’t understand it, but it’s one of those 'it’s just the way things are' things."
"So, what do you think happened? It’s too coincidental that this happened right around the time we escaped."
"I know," taking a sip of his now-cold coffee, Rail frowned, "and that’s what scares me."
Visibly shaken, Cassidy pushed her mug aside and hugged herself.
Seeing her that way set off all of Rail's protective instincts. Unfortunately, things were just going to get worse. "I have a theory, but I don’t think you’ll like it."
Sitting forward, Cassidy reached across the table and took his hands. "Okay. Talk it out. Remember this is what I do—solve problems."
Releasing a long breath, Rail followed the trail of his thoughts. "There was whatever happened between us when you pulled me back from death."
Cassidy nodded.
"And then whatever happened to make Lucifer scared enough to send us back without argument. Plus, I was able to direct us here."
Cassidy nodded again.
"What if all that energy interacted with the spell Lucifer used to seal the chamber? And that did something to the portal nearest to where we were, causing a chain reaction through the whole barrier? Like dominos."
"And we were the first domino."
"Not intentionally," Rail snapped. Frustrated, he stood and moved around the kitchen like a restless beast. "I’m grasping at straws here. I don’t have a clue how we were summoned to Hell. There are too many variables." He stopped to stare at Cassidy. “Like how did you pull me back from the Void? Where did from the power come from?”
“I don’t know, but it worked.” Cassidy lowered her eyes, rem
aining quiet for several minutes. Rail leaned back against the counter and watched the mixture of emotions change her features from pensive to guilty—but in the end, her lips settled into a half smile.
"What?" he asked eagerly.
"Silver lining," she responded, her smile widening.
"Huh?"
"At least part of my search program must have worked for the guys to have gotten all those reports of strange happenings," she made air quotes for emphasis, "in such a short span of time."
Rail shook his head with a laugh. "You’re right. Hadn’t thought of that."
"You know what else you’ve neglected to think about?"
"What?" he asked warily.
"Food. I’m starving."
A thunderclap drowned out his boisterous laughter. Rail turned toward the glass wall. Dark clouds were already advancing on their little paradise like weary soldiers. “The villagers on the neighboring island will have supplies. I can get there and back in twenty minutes. The satphone is by the deck door." With that, he gave Cassidy a quick kiss and sped off in a blur.
Shaking her head, Cassidy returned to the bedroom to dig up something to wear other than the robe she’d found on the back of the bathroom door.
Eventually, she settled on a bright blue print sarong. It took her longer than anticipated to get the thing tied. Three times it fell off, leaving her naked and frustrated. She was just about to give up when Rail burst into the kitchen with a basket of food.
Before the door shut, the storm broke with the force of an erupting volcano.
Chapter Forty-Nine
The storm continued raging. Rain whipped against the windows, shaking the glass. The ferocity reminded Cassidy of something her brother told her when she was little—terrible storms meant God was really pissed. She couldn’t help but wonder if the storm battering the bungalow was a Heavenly comment on the demon attacks.
Cassidy popped another piece of banana in her mouth and finished chopping the rest of the assorted fruits. On the stove, fish happily sizzled in the skillet. Behind her, Rail's voice mixed with the rumbling storm. He’d been stalking around the living room for fifteen minutes with the satphone, making arrangements with Hacker. She looked at the fish. Dinner would be ready any minute, and they may not get a bite if her suspicions were correct.