Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  Gritting my teeth again, this time to keep them from chattering, I placed my hand against my bloody should when a hand came over mine. My eyes jumped up to meet the dark blue eyes of Michael, his black wings outstretched as if he were about to take flight.

  A tiny demon crawled on four legs like a cat, winding its way around my body to the wound on my shoulder attempting to lap at my blood flicking with a long, thick forked tongue, lips drawn back over its tiny sharp teeth that tried to chew on the raw flesh of my shoulder. I groaned, trying to move away when Michael saw the creature. With only a wave of his hand the creature disappeared, screaming, it’s red, leathery form disintegrating with scraps of red leather falling to the wet ground hissing as wisps of steam as the leather connected with the damp earth.

  My eyes following Michael as he knelt beside me, the warmth of his hand as he laid it over my wound. His eyes closed as he lowered his head, his chin resting against his chest, chanting silently. The warmth from his hand transferred to the wound until the warmth became a painful burning heat.

  Crying out I arched my back trying to draw my shoulder away from the hard grip he held me in. Tears of excruciating pain slipped from the corners of my eyes; I could feel them tracing down my cheeks to drip off my jaw.

  The hand on my shoulder finally drew away and I inhaled my first breath. I turned my head in Michael’s direction, my breaths slowing down as the pain receded. He sat back on his heels his black wings still outstretched as if protecting us from view.

  A shout sounded and I recognized the voice. “Paige! Where are you?”

  Chuckling Michael brushed his hands over his jeans fastidiously trying to scrape every scrap of dirt or mud clinging to them. Sitting up I glanced at him questioningly.

  He waved a hand in the direction of the voice still calling but more anxious now. “Our Angel of Love has finally fallen in love. And hard.”

  Michael shook his head as he continued to chuckle.

  “And that’s funny why?” I cocked my head slightly to the side as I asked the question, gingerly placing my palms flat on the mud but they slid a little as I attempted to see if I could move without pain. Hey! No pain at all. Completely healed.

  “Our Angel of Love has taken the love to heart and broken many. And now he has fallen.” Michael’s hand lightly touched my elbow making sure I could stand without help.

  My cheeks turned hot enough for me to turn my head into my shoulder to escape Michael’s scrutiny. I wasn’t as sure as he was but I thought maybe it was true. Only time would tell.

  Caine’s voice called closer and louder, his voice carrying as he continued to search.

  “Go ahead. Call to him. I know you want to.” His smile was gentle as if he didn’t have a care in the world especially a war being fought as to who would lay claim to this world. Good or evil. Now that I didn’t feel like I was going to die that was on the top of my list of importance. Why wasn’t it on Michael’s.

  “The war is on the top of my list of importance but things have to play out the way they’re supposed to and Caine finding you here is necessary.” He shook his head at my confusion, his longish black hair brushed against his carved face.

  “Go ahead. Call to him.” He repeated waving his hand again and all sounds of the battle ended.

  Lifting my head back and slightly to the side I listened but could hear nothing. Nothing at all. “What did you do?”

  “I put them in stasis for now until you and Caine can talk.” Michael huffed a laugh. “Lu is going to be so pissed when I release him. He hates it when I do this.” A devilish smile made his lips twitch as his eyes sparkled with merriment at his brother’s expense.

  “But how did you do that? Does this mean you can just stop the war? Why haven’t you?” I threw one question after another at him in rapid succession.

  He sighed, raising his arms over his head and stretching backwards into a full body stretch. I heard the popping of a couple bones that made me wince at the sound.

  “Free will. They have free will including Lu.” Michael lowered his head and upper body to swipe at his jeans again with the palms of his hands.

  “Paige!” Caine stood beside me suddenly one hand outstretched, his other hand clenching and unclenching, his face tight, hazel eyes narrowed with the wild violence of his emotions as he glared at Michael standing beside me.

  “Caine, haven’t seen you for about…for oh…one thousand years? What have you been doing? Hmm?” Michael turned to Caine his hand out in a genial gesture to shake but Caine just stared at it, turning his back on Michael.

  I gasped at the rudeness there was no reason for. Getting as close to Caine’s face as I could, my face looking at his throat, my eyes raised up to his wide in shock attitude but I scolded him anyway, “What’s wrong with you? Huh? He healed me. Healed me! I would have died without him so you shake his hand and thank him right now.”

  I stood staring at Caine my hands on my hips foot tapping its own furious beat waiting for him. He stared down into mine, glancing back and forth between me and Michael. “Well?”

  He gave a great sigh that shook his whole body and held his hand out to Michael a disgruntled expression on his face even as the two large men made nice, their hands together in a tight, hard grasp. A tight grasp that got harder and tighter as they each tried to crush the others hand in that age-old dominance challenge that it looked like even male angels had. A grin threatened to escape Michael’s somber face as Caine’s frown dared him to smile but Caine finally released Michael’s hand, both men shaking them out as Caine grinned as well. Now it was my turn to frown.

  “Come on let’s get back to it now that you’ve found her.” Michael turned away as Caine wrapped me in a hard grasp and placed a quick peck on my lips that had me stunned. Every time he kissed me; I became speechless that such a handsome man would want anything to do with me.

  Caine with his black dreadlocks that hung to his waist, tied together in a braid to keep out of the way. His high sharp cheekbones, sharp enough to cut glass and a strong chin that had a tiny dimple right in the middle. And his hazel eyes. Swimming in his dark face. I could never forget those. They were soul searching and my soul had no idea why he wanted me.

  “Come on!” Michael called out again, impatiently this time.

  My hand was pulled in a tug and I glanced up from my self-induced dream to find those hazel eyes I had just been dreaming about sparkling at me, tiny wrinkles of amusement as if he could read my thoughts.

  “Come on.” He whispered tugging on my hand again finally making my feet and brain move out of their lust induced haze. We trudged around the fence instead of over and saw angels and demons in varying stages of frozen stasis.

  I couldn’t imagine what would happen next but before I could have another thought Michael waved his hands and everyone reanimated including as I happened to look up angels and demons in the sky immediately beginning their fighting again as if they had never stopped.

  The screams and yells along with the clashing and clanging of swords again filled the air. Everything else disappeared. No bird calls or sighing of wind could be heard over the racket being made.

  Glancing about me I saw Lucifer off to the side his hands on his hips waving his hands making angels disappear at will. Michael huffed a huge sigh of disappointment as he shook his head, flicking his fingers at Lucifer. Immediately nothing happened when he waved his hands.

  A snarl spread his lips as he waved his hands wider and faster, words on his lips as he whispered until he looked up and saw Michael standing off to the side. A dark expression crossed Lucifer’s face as he stalked to his brother shoving his face into Michael’s until they were nose to nose. Michael raised a black eyebrow as he waited for what he could see coming.

  “What are you doing? You’re breaking the free will covenant!” Lucifer shouted, his lips thin, face red in his blustery anger. He knew he had been caught out by the way his eyes shifted from side to side.

  “Really Lu? You’re going to
go there?” Michael lightly waved his fingers and the angels reappeared as if they had never disappeared. “I’m breaking what?”

  Lucifer’s narrowed eyes tracked the angels that suddenly appeared after their immediate disappearance. Eyes wide with surprise, their heads swiveling back and forth at popping back at someone else’s direction. One angel I could see so clear it was as if he were flying right in front of me. He had crystal blue eyes with long waist length auburn hair with auburn wings. He glanced at me with a slight crease between his eyes as he watched me and both other men.

  Michael’s wary eyes watched as he stood, feet spread side apart, hands clasped behind his back as he waited for Lucifer’s next move.

  “You can’t win Lu, so why do you keep trying. God knows every move you’re going to make and relays it to me. I’m his warrior and defender.” Michael spread his hands wide, palms up as he leaned forward, back straight, head canted to the side ready for Lucifer’s next move.

  “You don’t know me as well as you think brother. I always win in my way. It doesn’t matter which of you are standing at God’s right hand at the moment. You, Gabriel or Raphael or anyone else. I can wait until one of you makes a mistake. And that one there is your soft spot. Your mistake.” I turned to follow the jerk of Lucifer’s head and observed the Angel Michael had brought. She flinched at Lucifer’s words, her eyes on Michael and now I saw what Lucifer had. Her soft, yearning gaze wandering to Michael. That he had no idea of.

  “Lucifer go back to your kingdom of torture and fire. I still hope someday you will find redemption. You are still so full of yourself after all this time.” Michael turned his back to his brother walking away with his head drooped as he shook it from side to side. Just as he began walking Devlin popped into my view as Lucifer mumbled to himself but loud enough for me to hear, “if I can’t have her no one can.”

  As he finished those words a fiery red sword that had flames shooting from it appeared in his hand and thrust the sword at me.

  14

  As if in slow motion the fiery sword with the red and orange flames flickering along it came at me as I stared unable to move fast enough. Suddenly Devlin materialized to hover in front of me his blue sword out but was unable to move it fast enough to prevent Lucifer’s from piercing his chest, slicing into it as smoothly as cutting a slice of warm butter.

  My heart stopped as my father’s eyes widened as he stared into mine, a warm glow replacing the shock that had been there a moment ago. And then he collapsed with a hard thud upon the drying carpet of grass.

  The spell that had taken over my senses broke and I rushed over to kneel beside him, my chest constricted as I rocked back and forth, my hands covering the hole in his chest, blood pouring from the wound to soak into the ground, his head sideways with his eyes open. A hand gripped my shoulder and I turned to the side slightly, as a shuddering sigh overtook my body, to see Michael standing beside me.

  “Do something. He’s an angel he can’t die! Don’t you live forever or something?” I stared into Michael’s face searching his eyes and expression for agreement. But the agreement I was looking for wasn’t there. Only sorrow. Tears at the corners of those eyes.

  He shook his head his eyes dark with his deep emotions as he stared down at Devlin. “He’s a fallen angel Paige. He has powers but not the same ones he used to when he was an Angel of the Lord. He lost those, like living forever. Yes, he has lived for millennia but he never took a wound to the heart. That would kill him just like it would a human. And you.” Michael turned his hard gaze on Lucifer as he spoke who stared at Devlin in shock.

  “Go back to your hellish prison. Go back to your internal scheming and tortures. Stay there.” Michael ordered, his arm outstretched, finger pointed at his brother, who opened his mouth to protest with hands raised in front of him palms out until with a flicking wave of his hand Lucifer and all his demons disappeared.

  Hands reached for me but I had no idea whose. My head and my heart couldn’t handle this. I could feel something on my cheeks and reaching up felt wetness. Tears. I was crying. There was so much I hadn’t told him. I hadn’t had enough time with him. To feel love for him.

  Soft words I couldn’t understand were whispered in my ear, as I whimpered at the brain numbing pain in my heart, arms holding me close and carrying me away. My heart breaking at this moment of regrets.

  * * *

  Curling around the pillow barely under my head my arm tucked under the pillow, another one pulled into my stomach, my knees and back curled into the pillow. Rubbing my cheek into the softness under my head I moaned not wanting to fully wake up. I placed my other arm over my ears and head as if I could hold off what I was sure was something I needed to remember. Something important, but something I was trying to hold off on remembering. I buried my face more into the pillow half covering my mouth and nose as I struggled to remain asleep.

  The murmuring of voices reached my ears and I groaned blinking my eyes awake to see Caine sitting in my lone chair turned sideways facing away from my childhood desk toward my direction looking incongruous in the small chair his bulky body seeping around the small seat and back as they creaked as he shifted his butt from side to side as if trying to get comfortable and failing.

  Lying on my back, my arm flung itself over my eyes hiding the sight of Caine in my childhood bedroom with its posters of young rockers of ten, eleven years ago and my frilly pink canopy bed.

  “So, you’re finally awake I see. Ready to face the world again?” He rumbled the words as they reached my ears.

  Why would I be hiding? I shook my head from side to side under my arm.

  “You need to wake up Paige and adult it. Comfort your mother. Amy can’t do it alone and your mother needs you now.” Censure heavy coloring his words.

  Coming awake my mind still clouded with sleep that was becoming clearer as seconds passed. The demon and angel war. Michael, the Arch Angel the twin brother of Lucifer. I gulped as I remembered the last time I saw Lucifer. My father with a sword through his chest. The snap picture of him with wide eyes staring at me as he died, a bloody hole in his chest. Another snap picture of Lucifer, his face dark and furious as Michael sent him back to hell to fume his punishment.

  I turned back to my stomach, my arms around the back of my head, tears streaming from my eyes as I now remembered everything I had been trying to block that Caine wouldn’t let me. I wept for what could never be now. My newly born relationship with my father that could never continue. Him walking me down a possible isle. Him holding a possible grandchild in his arms.

  My bed lurched down as Caine sat uncomfortable on the edge gathering me into his arms and I plopped my head onto his shoulder nuzzling my cheek my tears wetting his shirt. He patted my back with awkwardness, his other arm around my waist.

  Rubbing my cheeks against his shirt, I rested my eyes against his shoulder for a moment gathering in his strength.

  “Did you just rub your snot on my shirt?” He asked, shock in his voice.

  “N…n…no.” I stammered on his shoulder.

  “I know you didn’t. I shouldn’t have said that Paige. I’m sorry. You know I’m not good around people.” His shoulder lifted my head as he rumbled the words under my cheek. It was so comfortable and reassuring here. I could stay like this forever but like he said I needed to adult it.

  Extricating myself from his arms I settled my legs crossed facing him on my bed. Us together alone on my bed. Glancing down at myself I was glad I was at least dressed in pajamas. Cute kitten pajamas.

  Caine nudged me with his hand to my shoulder. “Come on. Take your shower, get dressed and come downstairs.” He encouraged.

  I rolled my eyes imagining my mother hating me for getting my father killed.

  “She doesn’t blame you Paige.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you reading my mind? Can you?”

  He guffawed a laugh that he cut off abruptly slapping a hand over his own mouth at the in appropriateness of his laughter. �
��No. No I can’t. But I can read the expressions flying over your face. You have a very expressive face my dear.”

  My face warmed at the words my dear. Did he feel that way?

  “Do you want me to stay up here while you get ready? Your diary interesting reading.” He teased trying to make me more comfortable I was sure but still the idea of him reading my teenage hopes and dreams make my face burn with flames. Marching over to the journal now sitting open on my desk I clutched the book to my chest, “how dare you read my private thoughts.”

  He raised a black eyebrow at my censure. “I’ve been sitting there for hours. I needed something to do and that was all I could find. Don’t you read anything besides Little Women and Wuthering Heights?” He chided.

  “”My books are eBooks. They’re easier nowadays.”

  “So that was all I had. It was like reading a young adult story. Nothing like you now. Badass girl that you are now.” Praise coloring his voice.

  Heat raised in my cheeks again. I was beginning to think I would be red faced in his presence forever. He had me on my toes.

  He threw the covers off me smirking at my kitten pajamas and I shrugged, my head held high as I drew my legs off the bed and padded over to my closet where my clothes were ensconced. I stalked to the bathroom and with complete firmness closed the door clicking the lock behind me to his unrestrained guffaws this time.

  * * *

  Opening the bathroom door again steam escaped from behind me. My wet hair still dripped even though I had wrapped and brushed it my gray shirt showing darker wet spots. Caine sat again at my desk overflowing my small chair with his bulk bent over reading my journal like he said he would.

  I know he must have heard me but he hadn’t moved from his position. I cleared my throat.

  He still didn’t move but waved his hand at me to come into my own bedroom. “Am I disturbing you? I can leave my own bedroom you know.”