“Damn you to Hell!” He threw himself to the floor of the tube and curled up in a fetal position as another wave of rapture pulled him under. “Ariana!”
Chapter Fifteen
Ariana had never felt more shitty in her life. Her impulsivity and lies had sent Nathanael off the deep end. She wanted to scream, wanted to rip her own heart out and smash it to pieces. She had to find him and beg forgiveness, or she’d go nuts herself. The Brethren had long since congregated and flown off blindly to seek him out. Because he blocked them, they could only scan the streets. But who knew where he’d really gone? He could have flown halfway around the world, and no one would know.
Standing by the window, she looked toward the sky and prayed he would find his way back to her. Suddenly, a deep voice called to her from behind, and she turned around sharply. No one was there. She turned again, and an image popped into her head out of nowhere. A deserted playground by her old elementary school. Her pulse quickened as she tried to put sense to the strange events.
The voice sounded familiar, deep and sensual, and desperate, yet no one but she remained in the room, so it couldn’t be one of the Brethren. And why would she be thinking about the old playground now? That voice….
“Oh, my God! It’s him! It’s Nate!”
She hurried to slip on her shoes and grabbed her bag while running out of the room. Nathanael had called to her and needed her help. She knew it now. If she could get a cab right away, it would take all of five minutes to get there. “I’m coming for you, Nate. Hold on.”
***
Ariana barely waited for the cab to come to a full stop before opening the door and running. The man could be a jungle gym in his own right given how enormous he is. He couldn’t be that hard to find. She ran around until she came to cement tubes she remembered playing in as a child. They were the only things she could think of that were large enough to contain the guy.
“Nathanael? Nate? Where are you?” There were five of these cement behemoths, and she raced from one to the next until she heard grunts of pain and found a curious, flickering glow emanating from the last one. She approached tentatively and looked inside. “Oh, my God.”
He lay curled up in a ball. Sandy grit had mixed with his sweat and caked on his wings and arms. Tremors wracked his entire body and she could hear him mumbling something unintelligible over and over.
“Nathanael,” she whispered, and crouched low in front of him. Afraid to touch him, she just continued to talk. “It’s me, Ariana. I heard you call to me. You called to me and I came. I’m here.”
“Ariana. I’m not evil. Ah!” He shook wildly.
“I know, Nate. I know. Let your shields down, baby, so your Brethren can come get you. They’ll help you get better.” She couldn’t stand to look at him anymore and not hold him. Taking a breath, she sat beside him and boldly encircled his body with her arms, tucking them between his back and his wings. He bucked and cried out. “Shhh. It’s okay. It’s okay. Let me hold you, Nate.”
He eased against her body and settled his head by her heart. She caressed his cheek and ran her fingers through his hair to cradle the nape of his neck. Kissing his forehead, she closed her eyes and did her best to keep it together for his sake. “You’re going to be all right, angel boy. I’ll see to it.” She did the only thing she could think of to soothe him. She sang him a childhood lullaby.
“Toora, loora, loora; Toora, loora, li; Toora, loora, loora; Hush, now, don’t you cry.” She rocked him and sang the tune over and over. His shivering body weighed heavy against her as he slowly quieted down. Breathing shallowly, she didn’t care if he crushed her, as long as he returned to well-being.
“Ariana, we’ll take it from here.” A hand shook her shoulder gently until she opened her eyes. “I said we’ve got it.” Looking up, she saw Raphael, Kemuel, a group of bare-chested, leather-clad angels, and Joe surrounding her and Nathanael. A couple of the angels she recognized. Others she didn’t know.
“Oh. I didn’t realize you’d all come already. He’s in bad shape, Raphael. Please help him. Heal him. Make this addiction of his go away.”
She moved to release him but he groaned and clutched onto her. “Nate, your team is here to help you. Let go, baby.” But he wouldn’t.
“No! You’re my safe place! They can’t help me. Only you. Only you!” He held on to her even tighter than before. She looked at the others, completely at a loss.
“Guys, help. He’s latched on to me with a death grip.”
The Brethren moved forward and amidst threats and protests, they detached him from her. His painful sobs ripped the last vestiges of her control to shreds.
“I’m so sorry, Nathanael,” she sobbed. “Please forgive me and what I’ve done.”
As the angels draped him across their arms and lifted him away, he arched back and seared her soul with his tortured stare. His hand shot out toward her. She touched her fingers to her lips, kissed them, and extended her hand, doing her best not to fall to the ground under the weight of her grief.
All but one Brethren flew off into the night. Yofi had stayed behind. He stood silent as she did her best to compose herself.
“I’ll take you back to the hotel. Nothing more to be done here. Just have to wait. Link your arms around my neck, and we’ll be on our way.”
She wiped away the tears and put a hand on his arm. “I’m not very good at waiting, Yofi. We’ve got to go and get the Elixxir away from my uncle. I have to do this for Nathanael. I owe him so much.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve been keeping my senses locked on it since I located it. Come on.” He grabbed her arms and wrapped them around his neck. “Here we go.”
***
Cassiel prepared for the Brethren’s arrival. As he stood outside Michael and Emma’s house, he watched in awe as they brought their fallen brother, twisted and contorted in their arms, to finally rest on the daybed in the study. They stood vigil while he, Raphael, and Zadkiel knelt beside him to assess how to begin their healing. The tormented angel warrior trembled and sweated profusely. At odd intervals his muscles spasmed and forced him into painful-looking angles.
“This is downright horrible,” Kemuel muttered, and then raised his voice in frustration and disappointment. “I mean, we’re Warrior brothers. I never suspected something like this was going on right in front of me.” He shook his head and hung it low. “Why didn’t he tell me he was in trouble? We could have done something for him, you know?”
“It’s okay, Kemuel,” Urie said, nudging him. “None of us knew. Don’t beat yourself up over this. If someone wants to hide something from others, he finds ways of doing so.”
“And we’re here now,” Cassiel said, turning away from Nathanael for a moment to help ease Kemuel’s guilt. “Hopefully we can heal him up good.”
Usually certain about the outcome of a healing, Cassiel chose his words carefully. He honestly didn’t know how this would end. There were so many layers to cut through, as in a complicated surgery. So many intricate pathways to travel to get to the root of the problem. He knew Satan lay at the heart of it all. He’d be damned if he’d let another Brethren fall to him! Agremon had been a shining example of what happened when one fell under the influence of pure Evil. And now, with Agremon dead, he feared Nathanael’s vulnerability left him open for the final conquest of his soul.
“Cassiel, Zadkiel, wave your hands right over here and tell me what you see.” Raphael’s brows furrowed, not a very good indicator that things would go well.
“Sure.” Cassiel floated his right hand over Nathanael’s forehead, seeking to scan the cerebral cortex. “Shit.” Sitting back on his heels, he gave way for the third Savior to check him out. He looked at his teammates and acknowledged what each had found. Just as he figured.
“What? What’s wrong, Cass?” Kemuel nudged his arm.
“We’re gonna need our Great Savior Mother. Michael, can you get her now, please?” He nodded and ran out of the room. “He’s all but fried. Gabriel, Uri
e, we need protections on him immediately, before we even proceed with the healing. He is one step away from being lost to us.”
“Urie and I’ll give him the highest level we’ve got. When Michael gets back with Emma, he can layer his supreme protection on him, as well.”
“Perfect. That should hold Satan off.”
“What can I do?”
Poor Kemuel. He looked like a hermit crab out of its shell. But Cassiel could understand. This wasn’t new territory for him. Not too long ago, he’d lost a member of his team, Seraphiel. His surprising death hit them all hard. Now Kemuel stood to lose another so soon after getting a new recruit.
“I think you ought to go find Yofi and hook up with him. The Elixxir is still out there and must be brought back. Staying here is useless. There’s nothing for you to do. It’s all protections and healings. We need you out there, Kemuel. Finish the mission.”
***
Ariana quickly changed into a pair of skinny jeans she’d managed to purchase along with the dreadfully frumpy ones, and the last clean top she had. She fixed her hair and made a private oath to succeed in retrieving the Elixxir and deliver it into Nathanael’s hands. She headed out of the bathroom only to slam right into Yofi.
“Jesus! You could kill someone with that chest of yours.”
“Sorry, I was about to knock on the door. We gotta go. I sense the Elixxir on the move.” He traipsed over to the sliding glass door and opened it, continuing on to the balcony. She quickly followed.
“Shit. Okay, so how are we tracking it? By air, I’m assuming?”
“If you don’t mind. Much quicker. Come on.” He opened his arms and she wrapped hers around his neck like before. “No funny business, now. You do what I say, no question. We’re dealing with satanic possession and immortality here. There’s no telling what Murati is capable of doing.”
“Okay. I get it.”
Yofi shielded and flew them above the towering casinos of the Strip to an outlying area. Artificial day turned instantly into night. Having left Las Vegas at such a young age, she wasn’t familiar with much beyond her childhood haunts. What lay beneath their flying bodies besides the blackness, she hadn’t a clue.
“He’s stopping. I’m bringing us lower to get a visual.” She nodded. To know no one could see the two of them flying through the night sky gave her a false sense of security, as though she were impervious to any danger. “I believe its location to be around there.” He pointed to an expansive mansion, heavily fortified with thick cement walls topped by barbed wire. Palm trees dotted the landscape within, along with a waterfall pool, a putting green, and a tennis court.
“He actually lives there? How can he afford the place?”
“Gabriel mentioned something to me about drug dealing.”
“Well, that would explain a lot. God, I can’t wait to see him go down in flames.”
“Oh, he’ll go down all right, Ariana. Once we have the Elixxir, there’s Brethren justice to be served.”
“What’ll happen?”
“He’ll be sent back to Hell. Murati’s so far gone and has committed countless brutal crimes that he made the perfect vessel for Satan. The two will be great Hell buddies, I’m sure. Okay, let’s head down, shall we?”
“Hey, Yofi, wait up!”
Ariana whipped her head around to see Kemuel fly up next to them. She closed her eyes, groaned, and leaned her forehead against Yofi’s chest. What next?
“Hey, Kemuel. What are you doing here?”
“Nothing I can do for Nathanael at Michael’s house, so I’m helping you finish his mission. Hey, Callie.”
She picked her head up and mustered a smile. If he was here to help him Nathanael, she could live with that.
“Her name’s Ariana.”
“That’s okay. He knew me in another life. Hi, Kemuel.”
“Ariana, is it? You’ve been holding out on me.”
“Yeah, well we both had our reasons for being secretive, now didn’t we?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you kidding me, Brethren Warrior? I know what you’ve been doing. If you’d have had a little faith in my character, you’d have known that I’d protect that secret with my life.”
“I’m sorry, Cal…Ariana. You’re right. Can you forgive me? Can we move on as friends? For Nathanael’s sake?” His sincerity struck a chord within her, and she caved.
“For Nathanael.”
“We’re heading into the mansion to secure the Elixxir.”
“I’m all over that, Yofi. You wanna take lead on this?”
“That’s my plan, if you don’t mind.”
“She’s all yours.”
Kemuel hung back and shielded, disappearing behind her and Yofi. They made their way down to the terrace, where a vast sliding-glass door had been opened. Inside, she took a sweeping glance around at what looked like a great room and kitchen area.
“Wow. This is unreal!” Her hand involuntarily rose in awe to her lips at the crystal chandeliers and gold-embossed mirrors flanking the cavernous room. This place laughed at opulence.
“Make sure you’re holding on to me at all times to stay shielded.”
“Don’t worry. My left hand is permanently glued to you.”
“I sense the Elixxir very strongly, and it’s headed this way. Kemuel, we’ll play it cool, and when he takes it out of his pocket, we’ll make our move.”
She had no idea if Kemuel responded or not because she couldn’t see or hear him. Being human had its limitations. He could have been right in front of her face and she wouldn’t have known. Unsettling for her, but she realized what a great stealth tool it made in times such as these.
Murati sauntered into the great room and over to the bar. He poured himself a double shot of scotch over ice. Picking up a remote that sat on the counter, he pushed a button and flames came to life in a fireplace that took up a wall of its own. She watched with curiosity as he traversed the mantle of photographs, stopping for a few moments in front of two in particular. He took a long sip of scotch and formed his right hand into a gun while pointing it at the pictures. He laughed and raised his glass.
Who’s in those photos?
“Here’s to you, dear old friend. May you and your family rot in Hell for all the years of crap you put me through. If we ever meet up in another life, I’ll make sure to enjoy killing you all over again. But wait, we won’t. I forgot, I’m immortal now and you’re good and dead! Ha ha!” He slapped his hand to his thigh and continued laughing all the way to the opening onto the terrace.
Ariana pulled Yofi over to get a look at the photos. One was of her parents, and another of just her. Son-of-a-bitch psycho! Her heart pounded out of her chest and her hands clenched into fists.
“Easy there, girl. Easy. You’re gonna tear my shirt. I’m assuming these are your parents and you?”
“Yes.” She loosened her grip and took a deep breath. “And if there’s a way to kill the bastard, I’m gonna see to it he dies a slow and painful death. Right after he gets to know some lovely men in Cell Block C. If you know what I mean.”
“Come on. Let’s see what he does next.”
Only a few moments passed before Murati moved to a chaise longue and set his glass down on a mosaic table beside it. He reached into his breast pocket, brought out a small brass box, and began fiddling with the closure.
“This is it, Kemuel. Be ready to pounce.”
“Hey! You got a human attached to you.” She tugged on Yofi’s sleeve. “What do you expect me to do? Hold on while you wrestle the box away from him? This isn’t gonna work.”
“Damn, I hadn’t thought about that. Freakin’ rookie mistake. You’re right. Okay, let me think. All right, as we move in, let go of me and run like hell to find cover. I’ll pick you up when we’re through. Shit, he’s taking something out. Go!”
She let go of her lifeline and watched the new Brethren fade to invisible before her eyes. She quickly spotted a circular retaining wall with a raised b
ed of plants and made a run for it. She dared not look over at her uncle. As much as she wanted to see him die, as much as she put up a brave front, she feared him and couldn’t chance being frozen in place should their eyes meet. Only a couple more steps and she’d be covered.
Suddenly, a tether surrounded her mid-section and stopped her in her tracks. Reaching down with both hands, she feverishly fought to escape its unshakable grasp. It yanked her back a few steps, and when she yelped and turned around to see what had gotten hold of her, she saw something she knew had not come from the mortal world. I’m in deep shit.
A reddish radiance surrounded her waist and trailed across the back yard straight to her Uncle Eddie’s right hand. Above him, dangling in the air by another red, glowing lasso, were Yofi and Kemuel, arms and wings secured to their bodies. He made twisting gestures with his left hand and the angels grimaced. She didn’t know how he’d bested them when they’d gone in shielded, but there was no denying he had the advantage at the moment. Without thinking, she pulled on the strangely lit rope around her.
“Hey! Leave them alone, you son-of-a-bitch!”
Murati turned with fire in his eyes and Evil in his grin. He raised his left hand higher and tightened it slowly into a fist. The two Brethren spun around and she could hear them groaning.
Her heart broke at their painful grunts. “I said leave them alone! It’s me you want. Let them go and you can have me.”
“Oh, our meeting is long overdue, and I will have you all right, my dear. But I’m not releasing these two. Seems everyone around here wants something, and the only one going to get anything is me. Ha! I win!”
He tossed his left hand about wildly, which in turn further wrapped and trapped the angels within the supernatural binding’s choking grip. He then guided the hulking package over to the fire pit, where with a pointed glare, he started a bonfire.
Elixxir (The Brethren Series) Page 14