“Get out! My wife is recovering from a terrible shock! Will you people just leave us the hell alone…” The man stopped and looked at him, clearing his throat as he must have realized Deus did not have a camera or an entourage of people trying to get an interview.
“Forgive me, sir, it has been a hell of a day since some stupid fool posted that video. They all come here expecting a miracle—hate to tell them my wife was just knocked out and woke up when that child touched her.”
Well that didn’t seem rehearsed at all. In fact, you could almost believe it was the truth, he managed to speak it so convincingly. Lies gave off a particular scent. Deus’ power to read the deepest hearts of those he saw told him this man was scared, scared for the child in the video, and terrified someone would come for his wife and use her as a lab rat.
“It is quite alright. I just moved to the area. I was coming for some supplies. I guess this is all about what happened down the street?” Deus kept his tone light as he faced the man.
The old man raised his eyebrows and nodded solemnly. “Many died that day. My wife’s bakery was a hub of the town. She made such wonderful cakes. But some people were spared. Miracles. God reached down and touched them that day. And I am thankful for it.” The man’s eyes glistened with tears as he turned quickly and waved at the store.
“Gather what you need, sir…” He stopped and turned around with a smile. “Oh, forgive me, I did not ask your name. If you are to be a local then we should introduce ourselves. I am Ira Kane. My wife, Carla, is upstairs sleeping.”
“Deus Aidoneus, it is a pleasure to meet you, Ira. Tell me, who does the photos? I find myself with a lack of wall art, and some of these would be perfect.” He turned back scanning the photos of nature in all her power and glory.
“That would be our Lexi, she’s a local girl. They’re all for sale. Just let me know which ones.”
“Aye, I will do that, thank you for your time, sir. I will do my best to avoid the rabble outside.” The fact he didn’t buy anything didn’t seem to faze the store owner at all. But Deus had gleaned all he needed to know. If that woman in the picture was the same one from the video, he had a direction now. Pulling open the door he lifted his phone and dialed Lucifer’s number. His brother answered on the second ring. Deus did not even give him time to speak.
“Buy me some property in Stillwater, Montana, and make it fast. Remote. I think we have something here.” He heard the spluttering on the other end of the line but hung up before Lucifer could say anything. He couldn’t help chuckling at that. He knew for a fact Lucifer would now be spitting mad, and that just made his day.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lucifer stared down at his phone, blinked a few times, and closed his gaping mouth. Deus, that asshole, was getting too fucking bold. Shaking his head, he walked out of his office and swore loudly as he caught the pocket of his Armani jacket on the door handle. The ripping sound might as well have been a battle cry. He closed his eyes, mumbled about remaining calm, and unhooked himself. Swearing again he entered the kitchen to the smell of cooking food. It smelled like Gluttony was on a binge—funny thing was he couldn’t eat a mouthful—he just loved to cook.
“Belor, I swear you cook enough for the Demon Legion for a month.” He walked to the counter, eyes wide at the amount of food that filled the space. Pastries, pancakes, waffles, cooked bacon, eggs, omelets, and potato scrambles. Hell, he even had fresh caramel going on the stove.
Lucifer watched his brother, Sin of Gluttony, as he looked down at the food and sighed. He loved to cook; he owned his own branch of restaurants. Lucifer wished he could help. The poor man had a curse that none of them could have survived. All the Sins had their issues, but Belor’s was one of the worst, next to Deus, who could not even touch physical objects half the time. At least when he was in a form he could eat.
Belor turned his almost flickering flame orange eyes to his brother and shook his head. “Yeah, I know, but I like the smell. It keeps me distracted.” It was clear to Lucifer that Belor was not about to tell his leader and older brother what it was his mind needed distracting from. The silence stretched, and he inwardly sighed. When had it become so hard to speak with his brothers?
“I have to find Asmodeus a house in Montana of all places. Sounds like we may have found another Seer—which is perfect, except that housing prices in Montana are exorbitant.” Belor did not even look up from the stove. Grabbing a cinnamon roll from one of the many plates, Lucifer paused, looking at Belor before he headed off, biting into the sweet sticky mound of perfection. Damn, his brother could cook.
If Lucifer had to get a house sorted today that was going to cost a lot of money and a few favors. He headed out of the apartment. One trip to the realtors and he would have what he needed. If Asmodeus required a cover, then a cover he would have. But it was a challenge, one he accepted. It meant he could do nothing more than complete it in the time allotted. He felt the rush of energy at the issues he faced. It didn’t matter if it was a major battle or a drive across town that needed to be completed in record time. He would do it. His curse, Pride, would allow him nothing else but perfection and success.
Belor watched his brother leave with a shake of his head. He had recently cut his dirty blond hair, and he was still getting used to it hanging a little in his eyes. With a sigh, he ran his hand through it, only to have it flick back into his eyes again. Damn it. Isabelle, the Seer of Empathy, said it looked good on him. At this rate, he was going to shave it all off.
Looking down at the food he’d made he licked his lips. It smelled so good and his stomach craved the taste. Yet no matter how much his stomach cramped and his mouth watered he knew if he took a bite it would turn to ash in his mouth, and he would be throwing up for a day. Still, the craving was too much. Reaching out he plucked a fresh blueberry from the top of the pancakes and rolled the glistening fruit in his fingers. He lifted it to his nose and breathed in the sweet scent. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth, popping the berry onto his tongue. Biting down he felt the flood of juice, but what should have been an explosion of sweet tangy taste was more like vomit. He spit it out quickly into the stink, then grabbed a glass of water and rinsed his mouth out.
With a roar, he threw the glass across the room. It hit the wall and shattered into sparkling shards that rained down to the floor. He leaned over the sink, feeling his stomach start to roll and his mouth start to water. Even though he had not swallowed the berry his stomach rebelled; dry heaves instantly began to wrack his body. There was nothing but bile in his stomach and it burned as he vomited into the sink and coughed hard.
It took a few minutes before he could take a breath. God he hated this shit. Turning around he came face to face with his brother Abbadon. His pitch-black eyes looked on his sibling with pity. Belor didn’t know how long he had been watching. He grabbed a towel and wiped his mouth.
“You okay?” He hated seeing that look of fucking pity in his brother’s eyes.
“Do I fucking look okay? Just once, I fucking swear, just once I want to taste something!” With a roar, he swept his hand over the counter, sending all the food he had prepared flying and crashing to the floor.
“Feel better?” Abbadon raised an eyebrow at him. Belor knew he was being a damn child—it wasn’t like he hadn’t lived with this curse his whole life. But recently he wanted more. Since Mammon and Ze had found love, he craved more than this hollow semblance of life.
“A little. Look, I have to get out of here. Luci was talking about buying a house in Montana or some shit for Deus. Go find him.” Belor pushed away from the counter, stepping over the pile of food and plates.
He needed a release, he needed something that could sate the endless clawing hunger in his gut. He knew of only one place where he could find that. He had sworn to himself after what happened in Iowa with the Seer of Hindsight he would not return to Club Hex. He had been so high on energy he had completely forgotten about his family fighting in that town. He had needed, craved t
he fix, and given in. He had been feeding so deeply on the energy that days had passed before he realized and managed to pull himself out of his high. As a result, he had been absent for the whole event, and now Lucifer watched him just a little too carefully.
That had been weeks ago, but now he craved again. He could not go another day and feel this crippling pain in his stomach. He would only be there a while, just to make the pain stop—a quick trip. His mind was already focused in anticipation of the club, and he did not hear his brother shouting his name. He grabbed his jacket and threw open the door, pushing past Mammon and his wife, Isabelle.
Mammon and Isabelle stepped aside, watching Belor leave before entering the room. Seeing the mess right away, Isabelle’s eyes went to his back as he walked toward the elevator. He was getting worse, more irritable, and he was hiding something. She could feel guilt flowing from him, guilt and no small amount of overwhelming eagerness.
“You’re just going to leave me to clean this up?” Abbadon shouted from the kitchen. His loud swearing made her smile. He was not the Sin of Sloth for nothing. The idea of having to do actual work was no doubt giving him heart palpitations.
She turned back to the closing elevator door and frowned. She had a gnawing feeling in the back of her mind that something was terribly wrong. They had all been under stress recently, and Belor more so then the rest. The mix of emotions confused her a little, but she put it down to his issue with the food. She went to help Abbadon clean up the mess, dragging her husband behind her.
Abbadon was on his knees growling, swearing, and picking up some of the broken shards, but was hardly making a good job of it. Isabelle shook her head and touched him on the back. He looked up and let out a sigh of relief.
“Excellent, someone who can clean this with way more efficiency than me.” He made a move to stand, and came face to face with his brother Mammon, Sin of Greed.
“If we’re cleaning this up you are helping, lazy ass.” Abbadon opened his mouth to argue, but at the look on her loving husband’s face, he quickly reconsidered. In silence, he went back to work with the soft chuckling of the Seer of Empathy clearly mocking his pain.
She shook her head and grabbed a cloth to help with the cleanup. A sudden drop in the air pressure caused all three of them to stand and face the living room. Her husband was beside her in an instant. Mammon pulled her behind him, his body shielding her from the imminent attack, his low growl making the room shake.
Abbadon dropped into a fighting stance. The shadows in the room came alive at his command, the darkness blotting out the light from the windows. It was only at times like this when Isabelle saw the Sin of Sloth lose his air of lighthearted fun. His ebony skin seemed to flicker with almost invisible flame as he prepared to summon the shadows to his aid.
The air before them literally ripped apart in a wash of energy that sent the furniture flying across the room. A hole of rippling, sparking energy like lightning formed. A figure emerged and the opening closed behind the man with a pop of crackling air, leaving behind the smell of ozone.
All three stared in awe at Gabriel. The angel was panting hard, his body wracked with tremors. A girl was in his arms, her blood dripping to the floor. His eyes flicked back and forth between them, stopping on Isabelle. He implored her in a way he could not voice in words. His pain hit her square in the heart. She gasped and stepped from behind her mate as the angel attempted to move. His wings were drooping at his sides and sweat glistened all over his skin. The girl was limp in his arms, and he was barely managing to stand. The words that came from his mouth were filled with anguish.
“Help me. Please.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“The house is on Silver Pine Drive. It’s the only one on the street. You can’t miss it. I swear, Deus, you owe me big time—I got the place with all the furniture included. It cost me more than renovating the apartment.” Lucifer was talking rapidly over the phone.
Deus had a huge smile on his face the whole time. Damn, he loved messing with his brother like this. “That’s great. Hey, transfer me some extra money, would you? I need a car, I am not shadow hopping all over town.”
The cursing on the other end of the phone almost made him laugh. The Sin of Pride had managed to close on a house in a little under three hours. That meant he had paid the seller in cash, and more than likely paid off a few other people not to make a fuss over the sale.
“I swear you are going to kill me one of these days.” The sound of typing on a keyboard came over the phone, and then the rather hard hitting of a key before Lucifer sighed loudly. “There, transfer done. Don’t make a mess up there; I intend to get rid of that house as soon as you’re finished. Keep me in the loop on what you find.”
“Cheers, bro, you’re a shining star.”
“Bite me.”
Deus laughed and hung up the phone. Time to get himself situated in this town. If he had any hope of earning the trust of this Lexi woman he needed to be pristine. The fact he was eager, excited even, didn’t faze him. It had been so long since he desired anything or anyone. He felt like he had been trapped in a cage, and all of a sudden he was free—he could see the sun, feel the air.
He grabbed the entry card for the motel room he had way overpaid for, and literally skipped out of the room. He had a house, now all he needed was a car, and to meet the woman that had opened the door to his soul-numbing prison.
Layla watched Lexi view the online video for the hundredth time. “You know that is only making you more upset. Just stop watching it and come over here and eat.” Layla placed a plate of fresh-cut sandwiches on the table and handed the one with cheese to Annabelle.
The little girl seemed totally oblivious to the situation she had caused. Her little hands grabbed the crustless sandwich and took a bite, her feet swinging back and forth under the chair. She hummed softly to herself as she ate. Layla envied her lack of worry. Here she was worrying about people showing up in town looking for the miracle from God, while Annabelle was thinking more about watching the pegasus fly away this afternoon.
She turned her head as the demon entered the room. His eyes always went to her. He looked upon her like she was his light, which caused a blush to creep over her cheeks. His eyes moved to Lexi and he frowned. Growling softly, he walked over to her and closed the laptop to prevent Lexi starting the video over yet again.
“Hey!” She scowled at him as he grabbed the laptop from her lap and carried it with him to the kitchen. “Give it back!” Lexi turned on the couch and huffed, refusing to move. Layla chuckled. Even though he had helped her sister earlier, and regardless of her being thankful, he was still someone new in her house, someone who was changing the dynamic of her family. It would take Lexi a while before she fully accepted him.
Tan moved to the table. Reaching over Layla he grabbed one of the sandwiches. The scent of pine and his innate energy surrounded her. He moved slowly, lowering his nose to her neck. Layla smiled and tilted her head to the side—every time he touched her or came close her body came alive.
She found she was enjoying this, his closeness, his presence in her life. Even Annabelle liked him; her little ice colored eyes watched the adults with a smile. Layla pushed back against the demon and he retreated, sandwich in hand.
Annabelle grinned and patted the seat beside her. “You can sit here, Wolfie.” Layla smiled, watching him. It looked like he was already wrapped around Annabelle’s little finger.
Layla chuckled and moved around the table to lean down over her daughter. Annabelle tilted her head back so her mother could kiss her forehead. She grinned and went back to her lunch as Layla walked over to her sulking sister.
“You need to eat, Lex.” God, sometimes she felt like their mother.
“I’m not hungry.”
Layla sighed. She knew her sister was lying. Whenever Lexi felt cornered or anxious she always went on the defensive and snapped at everyone. Not only would she want to be alone, it was at times like these that she would vanish into
the forest for days. “I’m heading out—good opportunity to catch some animals today, and that winged sarcastic beast is leaving, so I need some pictures.”
With that she pushed herself from the couch. Layla understood her sister’s need to get out of her own head and into the quiet of nature. She just wished Lexi wouldn’t seal herself off like this every time things got difficult.
“Yeah, Stanley is leaving today! I get to watch, right?” Annabelle’s excited voice came from the table.
“Only if you finish your lunch.” Layla stared down at her daughter, causing her to scarf down her sandwich and guzzle her milk like a starving child.
“I’m going to say goodbye to Stanley, Mommy.” Annabelle jumped from her chair and ran to the door. She shoved her feet into her little pink snow boots and ran out the door, leaving it wide open. Sighing, Layla walked to the door and closed it behind her before turning her eyes to the demon.
“Stanley?” His head tilted to the side and then watched as Layla rolled her eyes and sighed.
“It’s what Annabelle called him, just like she named those two bobcats that like to call this place home.”
“You mean Fluffy and—what’s the other one? The big one that keeps trying to scratch me all to hell?”
Layla let out a pained groan. “Buttcheek. That’s what Belle calls him.”
Layla glared at him as he very clearly tried to stop himself from laughing, and that earned him a smack on the shoulder.
“Hey! I didn’t laugh, I just thought about it. See, look, I am growing, learning.”
Wrath's Patience (Seven Deadly Sins Book 3) Page 14