by Nina Croft
Now darkness had fallen outside, and he was once again in the church. This time it was full of people, all here for the Christmas carol service. Devlin sprawled in the back pew, legs stretched out in front of him. He had it to himself. He’d gotten here early and, as the rest of the congregation had filed in, they’d glanced in his direction and then hurriedly found somewhere else to sit. He’d recognized the man from yesterday. John. He’d given Devlin a hard look, hesitated, but then moved on. Probably something to do with the snarl Devlin had directed his way
Candles glowed from the walls, giving the place a smoky scent that mingled with the pine from the huge Christmas tree. A choir was singing “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” Devlin shifted on the seat. This was day three, and despite the kiss, he felt no closer to her admitting her love for him. The thing was, he was sure she would, given time. She had loved him, and he believed she still did beneath the hurt and the anger. He had to believe she would forgive him his betrayal, but she was stubborn, and it would take time. And time was the one thing they didn’t have.
And if he pushed, she would just set her feet in and be more stubborn.
Where was she?
He was sure nothing had happened to her. He had people guarding her, and there had been no sign of anything untoward. He’d followed her home, watched until she got safely inside, then had a quick meeting with his guys, and headed over here.
Finally, the door at the back of the church opened, and she appeared. His gaze fixed on her hungrily as she made her way to the pulpit. Tonight, she was in full gear: a long white gown covered her clothes, a green and gold shawl over her shoulders. They probably had names for them, but he’d never taken much interest in the working of the church. Not his department,
The choir fell silent, and she started to speak. He let her words drift over him, not taking in the content but just listening to the soft lilt of her voice. Then everyone stood, blocking his view, and they were singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
The door behind him opened with a waft of icy air.
The singing faltered, and the organ stuttered. The place went silent as if a switch had been pressed. He slowly got to his feet and turned as his brothers entered. Torr, Cade, Finn, Killian, Bryce, and Rourke. They must have left the women behind, which meant they were expecting trouble.
But his brothers were here for him. It had always been that way. From the moment their small group had met—they had been a group of angels tasked with routing out demon activity on Earth—they had formed a bond, which had only grown stronger through all that had happened to them.
As they crossed the threshold, the candles flared, lighting the dark corners of the church.
People were turning with a shuffle of feet as though sensing something out of place.
Devlin shifted over to the end of the pew and the others filed in. Torr nodded to him as he passed but didn’t speak.
“Could we continue the service, now the latecomers have arrived,” Imogen said from the front of the church, casting a glare in his direction. “Sing,” she said as they remained silent.
The organ opened up and slowly the congregation joined in. The singing swelled to fill the church.
“What’s happening?” he asked Torr.
“No sign of Gabriel. I’ve left word that we want a meeting, but nothing yet.”
“Bastard,” he muttered. He knew there must be more. “What else?”
“It’s not good. We’ve had news of demon sightings. Out in the open. And they’re all focused around this area.”
“How many?”
“A lot. It’s as though they don’t care if they’re seen.”
“Can we take them?”
“Together, yes. Alone, you would have struggled.” His yellow eyes narrowed, and he stroked a finger along the scar that ran down his cheek. “I don’t understand it. It’s too blatant.”
“She’s getting ready for war. Maybe she doesn’t care who knows it anymore. She’s probably aware you’re trying to get me a meeting with Gabriel and presumes I’ll tell him about the army. So why hide any longer? Which means war is imminent.” He thought for a moment. “Do we know how they are coming through?” There were others with the ability to open the portals. Some of the higher demons. “Maybe she’s formed some sort of alliance.”
Usually, the higher demons wanted nothing to do with alliances—they were all for themselves, but if Lilith had promised them enough…
“Or maybe they’re just projections, so far,” Torr said. “We’ll no doubt find out soon.”
It wouldn’t matter; they could still destroy a human. Destroy Imogen, and inside, his fury rose. His wife. His woman. How dared they?
A clap of thunder sounded directly overhead, and the singing faltered, then started up again.
“Calm down,” Torr snapped. “It won’t help if you lose it.”
Devlin wrapped his control tightly around himself, but rage still churned in his gut. The song finished, everyone sat down, and he could see Imogen again. She was safe at the moment. The demons wouldn’t enter a church. But the moment she stepped outside she would be fair game.
So would the rest of the congregation. And he had a feeling it wouldn’t help his cause with Imogen if half her congregation got eaten by lesser demons just before Christmas.
At that moment, he felt them. Like a darkness pushing at the very walls. Christ, they were powerful.
And at his side, Torr sat up straighter, his nostrils flaring. “She means business.”
Right now, the humans around them couldn’t sense the presence of evil, but that wouldn’t last.
The man from that morning had taken up position in the pulpit and was talking. Devlin didn’t bother listening. Instead, he looked around for Imogen and found her walking up the outside aisle of the church toward them. Walking slowly as though not to alarm anyone, but her brows were drawn together as though she could sense something.
She halted beside him. “What’s—”
At that moment a wave of evil almost shook the church. The candles dimmed, and the electric lights blinked out, leaving the place in semi-darkness. At the front, the speaker fell silent as though he, too, could now sense the approaching darkness.
A ripple shivered through the air, and a mutter of unease ran through the crowd. They could all sense it now. A few rose to their feet, turning to glance at the door.
Imogen touched him lightly on the arm. “What’s happening, Devlin? Tell me.”
He could hear the tremor in her voice, and he longed to take the fear from her. But how could he? He had brought her to this. Over the centuries, his evil deeds had followed him. Starting with the theft of the Elixir, but so much more. All the deaths. He took a deep breath; there would be time to wallow in self-pity once he had gotten rid of the immediate threat.
He stood up, grasped her by the shoulders, and gave her a little shake. “Listen to me. You need to get everyone to sit down. To stay in here.”
“Why?”
“Can’t you feel it?”
Fear flashed in her eyes, but she swallowed and nodded
His fingers tightened. “They’ll be safe in here. You need to be strong. For them.”
She nodded again, took a deep breath, then turned around to face the congregation. “Could everyone just stay in their seats, please?”
There were murmurs and mumblings, and a couple more people stood up.
“Sit down,” Torr roared.
They sat.
“Let’s go,” Torr said.
Devlin looked down at her. “You need to stay here.”
She gritted her teeth. “No, I don’t. This is my church. My congregation. I need to see what’s out there.”
Grim determination filled her eyes. He didn’t have the time to argue. And maybe she was right. She needed to see what they were up against. Perhaps it would help keep her safe in the future—she might even listen to what he said. “Then stay behind us.”
As Torr opened the big wooden d
oor, a wave of force almost pushed them back. Behind him, Imogen gasped, but she pressed closer to him, and he felt her at his back as he stepped out of the door and into the darkness.
CHAPTER 11
The church door banged shut behind them, and suddenly Imogen wished she was back inside.
She was cold, so cold. Even three layers of clothes weren’t enough to keep out the icy chill. The streetlights had gone out. The sky was thick with clouds; not a star peeked through, and the darkness was impenetrable. A little light leaked out of the stained-glass windows, and she could make out the yew trees that edged the churchyard. As she stared into the dense blackness between the trees, something shifted in the shadows, dark on dark. The night had gone silent, and she strained to hear something. Anything.
Devlin swore viciously. All around her, the air crackled with energy and crimson lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the tree line.
She blinked.
It seemed as though the shadows were creeping forward, edging toward where their small group stood in front of the church.
A prickle ran across her skin. Her flesh crawled, and she instinctively inched closer to Devlin.
His back was rigid, and he was focused on the tree line. Imogen shifted her gaze to the others. They were all still. Another flash of crimson lit up the sky, and in the brief flare of light should could make out forms among the shadows. Devlin swore again.
A cold wind blew against her, carrying with it the stench of rotten eggs. Her heart thumped, and her legs went weak. She stiffened them, forcing herself to stand upright. Reaching out, she touched Devlin’s arm. “What is it?”
He turned and gave her what she presumed was supposed to be a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. Just stay behind me.”
She wasn’t reassured. The problem was, she believed in God. And if God existed, then it stood to reason that evil existed as well. And she was pretty sure that’s what was edging toward her out of the darkness. She murmured a quiet prayer. But somewhere in the time since she had discovered her past lives, and her past deaths, she had lost her belief that God would save her. Maybe he didn’t think she deserved to be saved.
And while she wanted to believe Devlin would keep her safe, he hadn’t managed to save her last time.
She forced herself to stare into the night. The shadows were detaching themselves from the darkness. But as they drew closer, they became more distinct until she could make out individual figures, almost human, but stretched unnaturally thin, and here and there in the midst, crimson eyes gleamed.
Fear was a big, solid lump in her throat, but she swallowed it down.
“Stay calm,” Devlin murmured. “As long as you’re behind me, they can’t reach you.”
Did they want to? Devlin had said she was in danger. Is this what he’d meant? She was filled with a certainty that they were here for her. They wanted her. And if she listened hard, she could almost hear them whisper her name.
Why? What had she done?
“What the hell are those things?” John’s voice sounded from behind her, and she jumped. She hadn’t even noticed him come out of the church. “What’s going on, Imogen?”
She turned slightly so she could see him—his gaze was fixed beyond her on the shadowy figures surrounding them.
“Go back inside,” she murmured. “The people need to see you. Go tell them everything is fine.”
“Is it?”
“No. But it will be. We have God on our side.”
John nodded and backed away, disappearing inside the church, and she blew out her breath.
Was God on their side? She really wasn’t sure.
Those things, whatever they were, were spreading out now, circling. Soon, the church would be surrounded. The stench was growing stronger, permeating her nostrils, clogging her throat. She recognized it now—sulfur. She could sense them reaching out to her, calling her. They wanted to smother her with their putrid flesh, devour her. A scream rose inside her, filling her mind.
In front of her Torr moved suddenly. Reaching behind him, he drew a sword seemingly out of nowhere. It glowed bright. And she saw the beings clearly, pure darkness. Cowering away from the light. “Be gone,” he roared.
At the same time, Devlin raised his right arm, the rest of them mirrored the action, and white lightning filled the sky. A hiss and a scream, and the shadows fled. Backing away and becoming part of the darkness once more. Then the lights vanished, a wind came from nowhere, chasing the clouds away, and the moon shone down.
The strength went from her legs, and they gave way beneath. Devlin turned and scooped her up before she hit the ground.
CHAPTER 12
Imogen closed her eyes and pushed herself closer against the hard, masculine body that was the only thing holding her up.
There were times when you had to be brave and face your fears.
And then there were other times, like this one, when it was best just to screw your eyes shut and wait until things got better.
But the fear that had held her tight was loosening its grip. Whatever those things had been, they were gone now. She became aware of Devlin’s big hand stroking her shoulder in soothing circles. There was talking and movement, and finally she forced her eyes open just as Devlin started walking away from the church with her still in his arms. She punched him on the shoulder. “Hey.”
He didn’t slow, but he did look down. “What?”
“What about the carol service?”
He did stop then and cast her an incredulous glance. “The town nearly got overtaken by lesser demons, whose sole purpose, by the way, was to bring you to a nasty end, and you want to go back and finish the carol service?”
Put like that it did sound a little stupid. “What about all the people?”
“Torr and the others will sort it out.”
She thought about that. She was going to have a whole lot of questions to answer. But she supposed they would wait until tomorrow. Because she was going all weak and wobbly again. Lesser demons? “They were lesser?”
“Yeah. But actually, they look a lot scarier than higher demons, who can usually pass for human.”
“Oh.” He seemed to know a lot about demons. Maybe it came from being an angel. Was that hopeful thinking?
He started walking again. She wasn’t small by any means, but he appeared to have no trouble carrying her. The streets were empty—which was lucky as she didn’t think her congregation would appreciate their vicar being carried through the streets by a leather-clad bad boy. She relaxed against him. He was so hard. She burrowed her nose against his chest, breathing in the familiar scent of him, hot and spicy. A wave of heat washed through her.
She had to stop sniffing him.
Raising her head, she realized they were still moving, and if he was taking her home, then they should have gotten there by now. In fact, they were heading in the opposite direction. She wriggled, but he just held her tighter and kept moving.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“I can’t go anywhere. I have an early service in the morning.”
“I’ll bring you back.”
She opened her mouth to argue some more. Except maybe she didn’t want to. She closed her eyes and an image of those...things flashed in her mind. So she opened them again. A sound from overhead made her glance up as a beam of light lit up the street in front of her. A helicopter hovered overhead, and she had a really horrible feeling.
No way.
They were approaching the car park, which was empty at this time of night. Devlin came to a halt at the entrance. His hands tightened around her as though he could feel her tension and was keeping a tight hold of her so she couldn’t bolt.
The helicopter lowered to the ground, landing lightly in the center of the car park, and Devlin started moving again.
She’d rather stay and face a hoard of lesser demons.
Except he wasn’t exactly asking her.
She wriggled some more,
freed her hand, and reached up, tugging his beard as hard as she could.
“Ouch.” But he kept right on going.
They were almost there. A door opened in the side, and he handed her up to someone. Who placed her on the floor, then moved aside.
No. No. No.
But she couldn’t seem to get the words out. Her mouth was opening and closing, but nothing emerged. They wouldn’t have heard anyway—the noise of the blades was too loud. She was leaving this awfully late. She made to jump out, but Devlin climbed in beside her and there was no room, and she didn’t want to do this. Really, she didn’t. And then they were lifting, and she was going to be sick. Pomegranates and figs. All over Devlin. So she swallowed, clamping her mouth closed.
They banked, and she had a view through the window, right down to the ground. The beam of light was illuminating the town, which already seemed far away. Her knees wobbled, and she collapsed to the floor, huddled, her arms wrapped around her knees, her eyes tightly closed as she muttered a prayer and tried to slow her breathing.
A hand touched her shoulder and she almost jumped out of her skin. Fingers pried one of her hands from around her knee and squeezed it gently.
He leaned in close. “You’re safe now,” he shouted over the roar.
Was he out of his freaking mind?
CHAPTER 13
As the door to the apartment closed behind them, Devlin let go of her hand—he was pretty sure he’d lost the use of his, she had held on so tight—and stepped back so he could get a good look at her.
Her face was pale, her eyes blank, and she hadn’t said a word since they’d gotten into the helicopter.
Struck dumb was a good description.
Had it all caught up with her? The demons must have given her more of a fright than he’d realized. She’d appeared so cool. He’d been proud of her.