“A deal?” Einar couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
He took a step towards the demon where he stood on the dance floor. The demon disappeared with Taylor and reappeared on the empty black stage.
He glared at Einar and bit out, “Stay there, like a good boy, or I make your bitch into my marionette. I haven’t tested it, but I think the combination of my blood and toxin would be enough to control another demon. Let’s keep this civilised, just as it was with that other angel.”
“Amaer,” Einar spat the name out with disgust.
The demon nodded. “He was quick to sign his name when I offered him power and money, and a chance to play.”
“In exchange for what?” Einar couldn’t let the chance slip him by.
He had to know what had tempted Commander Amaer to join the demons and work with them against the mortals.
“Something only an angel can do.” The demon ghosted his claws down Taylor’s throat, his gaze dropping to her and wrenching a growl from Einar’s lips.
The male looked up at him and grinned, flashing fangs again. The bastard liked having power over him. Well it wasn’t going to last. He was going to find a way to get Taylor out of his hands and then he was going to deal with him and show him who had the real power.
He frowned at the demon, playing along. “I will need a little more information than that. Your offer isn’t very tempting... Taylor said this club dealt in Euphoria.”
He glanced at her again, checking her vitals. The poison was taking effect. He had to get her away and to safety. Duty warred with love inside him. He couldn’t surrender this chance to capture the demon and get information on why Amaer had been working with them, but he couldn’t risk Taylor’s life either.
“Euphoria isn’t illegal.” The demon tilted Taylor’s head up and she squeaked and stiffened when his claw nicked her throat. “Didn’t she tell you that?”
Taylor hadn’t mentioned it but it didn’t matter. This demon was involved in something that was illegal and Einar was going to find out what it was. He couldn’t question the demon directly about Amaer. It was better that he went along with the demon and got him to talk. He didn’t have much time though. It wouldn’t be long before the toxin started to take hold in Taylor.
“I don’t care what’s legal and what isn’t.” He risked another step towards the demon and straightened to his full height, looking down at the male. “I thought you were offering me a deal?”
“Money, power, anything you want... I’ll even throw her in to sweeten it.” The demon let Taylor’s head fall forwards again.
Einar forced himself to remain rooted to the spot. He couldn’t attack. He had to wait until the right moment. Taylor was doing well and keeping calm. As long as she didn’t try anything, she would be safe for now.
“All I ask is that you cut me some slack and help out occasionally.” The male smiled charmingly. “After all, it’s just a few humans. Demons need entertainment too but sometimes they go a little too far.”
Einar frowned again. Just a few humans? There had been at least a hundred in the warehouse and no one knew how many had died in the years since that night. Even one mortal life was too many.
“I try to keep them in check and run a clean business but sometimes there’s... accidental possessions.” The demon shrugged.
Fury blazed through Einar again, burning in his blood.
Possession.
That was why the demons had needed an angel. If a human died whilst possessed, a record appeared in the list of the dead stating such and Heaven sent an investigation team to the location.
There was a treaty between Heaven and Hell that forbade possessions.
Amaer had been exorcising the humans before they died, so none of them registered as unusual deaths. He had been protecting the sick business these demons were running, letting them get away with breaking the law.
And for what?
Money, power, and the chance to twist a mortal to his control and treat them as a slave.
Einar had heard enough.
He shifted his grip on his sword, stared the demon down and coldly said, “No deal.”
Before the demon could move, Einar was beside him, gripping the hand the demon had at Taylor’s throat. He twisted the demon’s arm and pushed Taylor forwards.
She stumbled and fell off the stage, landing in a heap on the dance floor.
He didn’t have time to check on her. He ducked when the demon swiped at him with his other hand and brought his knee up hard into the wretch’s stomach. The demon snarled and Einar grabbed him, twisted and hurled him across the room. He slammed into the dark bar near the entrance of the club, landing on his side on the black floor.
Einar leaped down off the stage and grabbed Taylor, pulling her up into his arms and cradling her close to him. He scanned the room for the demon, coiled tight and ready for the male to attack him.
He was gone.
Not good.
Einar turned with Taylor held tight against him, shielding her with his left wing as she gripped his breastplate. His focus kept switching between her and the room. He tried to keep it on the room but it was impossible when Taylor was beginning to feel weak on his senses. The toxin was spreading through her, killing her. He had to get her to somewhere he could heal her.
He spun on the spot, bringing his sword up at the same time, and blocked the demon. The male grinned and leaped back. He had changed again, shedding his human skin to reveal the dark scaly demon he truly was. Thin lips peeled back to reveal equally dark sharp teeth and his black wings stretched out, making the room look small.
He beat them and shot towards Einar.
It was easy to dodge the attack in such a confined space.
Einar unfurled his tawny feathered wings and flew across the dance floor towards the exit. He landed when he reached the cluttered chairs and tables, swiftly carrying Taylor towards the other end of the room. He set her down behind the dark wooden bar and checked her over.
“Stay here. I will be right back.” He touched her cheek and grimaced.
It was blazing beneath his fingers.
Beads of sweat dotted her brow and she looked up at him with dull eyes that had him lingering, unable to leave her. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He didn’t want to leave her, even when he knew that he had to in order to save her. He needed to deal with the demon.
His heart whispered that he needed to stay with her. His touch alone would ease her pain and slow the spread of toxin, and he could use his power to draw it out of her.
She weakly lifted her hand, slapped it against his chest and pushed him backwards, a silent order that threatened to break his heart.
He didn’t want to leave her, but she was right and he had to go. She was strong. She wouldn’t give up. She would keep fighting the poison until he returned and healed her.
He gripped his sword as he drew back, lingered a moment to steal one more look at her, and stepped out into the room again, coming to face the demon.
The creature snarled and shifted towards him, his talons flexing at his sides. The lights above the stage illuminated his black wings as he stretched them, turning them blue.
Einar held his ground.
The demon wouldn’t attack that way again. He was clever enough to know that he didn’t stand a chance if he flew at him.
The bar and tables crowded where Einar stood, leaving only a narrow strip of floor open. Not enough room to fly into or out of without colliding with the furniture and being slowed down by it.
He raised his hand, calling what little energy he could afford to expend without draining himself. He needed to conserve his power so he had enough to heal Taylor.
He flung his hand forwards, sending thin spears of light at the shadowy demon as it shrieked at him. They flew in a stream, one after the other, and the demon disappeared and reappeared, dodging and snarling all the while.
He didn’t relent. He sent hundreds of them at the demon, filli
ng the room with white light. The bastard couldn’t evade them all. One or two would hit him eventually, and even if he did manage to avoid them, he was using up his energy by disappearing. He would be tiring.
Einar dodged when the demon appeared right in front of him and he threw his hand out towards him. A single shaft of light grazed the demon’s cheek, sliced through the dark membrane of his wing and embedded itself in the far wall.
The demon shrieked again, the sound hurting Einar’s ears, and his lizard-like yellow eyes narrowed as he hissed. He disappeared and reappeared right behind Einar, leaving him no chance to evade the male’s attack.
Talons raked down his left wing, ripping a bellow from his lips as he arched forwards and pain blazed through his bones.
“Einar,” Taylor called out to him and the demon’s head snapped around towards her.
Einar shook off the pounding in his skull and focused in an attempt to contain the toxin entering his bloodstream. It would be slower to act now that he had been exposed to it and had survived, his body building some immunity, but it would still kill him far quicker than it would Taylor.
The demon lumbered towards her.
Einar sprinted after him as he finally shut down the pain and reached the male just in time to grab his arm as he swiped at her. The demon’s talons stopped close to her face and she curled up into a ball with her hands over her head.
“Keep down.” Einar gritted his teeth as a fresh wave of pain washed through him.
His senses dulled as it receded and he battled to keep his focus.
He yanked the demon back and wrapped his hand around the male’s throat. Sharp scales grated against his palm but he tightened his grip, ignoring the pain it caused him to do so. He growled and threw the demon across the room.
The male hit the stage, bending backwards over it, and slumped to the floor.
Einar shot across the room, using his power to speed him towards the demon before he could get back onto his feet. He grabbed the male’s throat again, hauled him into the air, choking him, and slammed him down onto the stage. He pinned him there, throttling him.
The demon’s yellow eyes shone up from his black scaly face as he snarled and struggled, kicking and scratching at Einar but catching only his armour.
Einar clenched his jaw and punched the demon, and then hit him again. The sound of Taylor’s shallow breathing and racing heart drove him on. He beat the wretched male, striking him until his face was as damaged as hers was.
It wasn’t enough.
Anger ripped through him, violence demanding satisfaction, and he obeyed. He closed both hands around the demon’s throat, tightened his grip on it and bashed the back of his skull against the stage until the black painted wood split beneath him.
The demon snarled, a line of dark blood trickling down his cheek and coating his sharp teeth as a glistening patch formed on the wood.
Einar didn’t relent.
Was so caught up in dealing payback to the demon, satisfying his lust for violence, that he didn’t see the male move.
Fire seared his bare stomach, the scent of his own blood joining that of the demon’s in the air as the male’s talons raked over his flesh.
The effect of the toxin was instantaneous.
His head spun, his heart hammering hard against his chest and his body weakening as it seized hold of him.
The demon kicked him backwards and he fell onto the floor of the club, his wings bent painfully beneath him.
He tried to block and defend himself, but his limbs refused to cooperate, his head spinning so fast he felt sick as the world pitched and turned. The demon leaped on him, digging his claws into Einar’s throat and choking him. Awareness trickled through him, a sensation he should do something.
But he didn’t have the strength to break free.
It bled from him as the demon grinned maliciously, his yellow eyes narrowing with it, and tore at his wings.
He roared in agony, pain radiating through him, stealing his senses and remaining strength as the demon ripped at them, claws slashing and tearing feathers away, scattering them around him.
A new fire burned inside him, a need to survive. He had to protect Taylor. If he failed here, she would be next. The demon would torture her and kill her too.
He couldn’t let that happen.
He gritted his teeth and called on all of his power, mustering the last of his strength.
The demon snarled and bit Einar’s shoulder, razor-sharp teeth slicing through the leather straps of his chest armour, and he cried out again. He raised his hands, fighting against the weakness invading his body, and pressed them against the demon’s chest.
The demon froze and looked down at them, a flicker of fear entering his eyes.
Grinned when nothing happened.
No use.
Einar didn’t even have the energy to blast the demon off him.
The bastard knew it.
His sharp grin widened.
And then his face went slack and his eyes widened, the thin line of his pupils stretching until black drowned out the yellow. Blood bubbled from his black lips and dripped onto Einar’s breastplate, and he followed the trail of it, his own eyes widening as he saw the tip of the blade protruding from the demon’s chest.
His gaze snapped to Taylor where she stood over both him and the demon, her hands clutching his sword as it speared the demon’s back.
“That’s for calling me bitch,” she bit out and then twisted the sword, ripping a pained grunt from the demon.
Her eyes slipped shut but she opened them again. Her heartbeat was off the scale, thundering in his ears as he struggled to focus on her, sending a cold wave through him that left him feeling hollow inside.
The poison was killing her.
She shouldn’t have moved.
Einar wanted to tell her that but before he could utter a word, a bright white light engulfed them all.
He fought against it and reached out towards Taylor, fear pounding through him for a different reason now.
He wouldn’t let Heaven have her. He wouldn’t let them take her from him.
It didn’t matter that it was forbidden.
It only mattered that he loved her and she loved him.
The beam of light lifted them into the air.
Taylor reached for him too, fighting the restrictive force of the light as her face twisted in agony. Her fingers touched his and he smiled at her, desperate to reassure her.
Nothing would happen to her.
He would see to that.
He would fight Heaven itself to protect her.
CHAPTER 15
Taylor wrapped her arms around herself to keep the chill off. Her fingertips brushed the scars on her thick leather jacket and she stroked the badly sewn ridges. A smile touched her lips but disappeared a moment later when thoughts of how she had met Einar all those weeks ago made her heart ache.
It hurt whenever she thought about him, which was all the damned time.
Would she ever see him again?
She lowered her head and continued through the cemetery, losing focus as she thought about Einar. The big oaf. She smiled and gave a short but melancholy laugh.
She missed him.
She hadn’t seen him since the light had taken them to Heaven along with the last of the demons that Einar had been hunting.
He had tried to stay with her but angels with long blue spears and blue armour had separated them and dragged her away through the bright white corridors.
They had taken Einar the other way.
She had asked about him, begged the medical staff tending to her to tell her whether he was alright and that he wasn’t going to die from the toxin the demon had infected them with.
No one had spoken a word to her.
They had healed her and then she had fallen asleep and awoken in the hotel suite.
Alone.
Taylor shivered at the memory and the ceaseless pain she had felt since that night. She wanted to
see him again. She needed to know if he was alright even if they couldn’t be together anymore, even if Heaven forbid it and they had to let their love go.
She just needed to see him one last time.
Even if it broke her heart.
She silently berated herself for being so weak and for latching on to such a hopeless dream.
Einar was gone.
Her heart was already broken.
She sighed and frowned at the wet grass. Cold fingers of wind caressed her face, freezing it. Autumn was turning towards winter and soon she would have to give up waiting for him.
She couldn’t ignore her duty as a hunter anymore.
There were bills to pay, a city to protect, and her life was a mess.
Everyone was talking about her. She had gone to Cloud Nine when Einar had disappeared and the regulars had met her with distrust. Even Villandry wasn’t speaking to her.
Taylor looked at her dark hilly surroundings, at the tombstones that swept out in all directions on the bleak landscape, and held herself a little tighter.
The city stretched into the distance before her, yellow lights twinkling like stars.
Before she had met Einar, this had been her favourite view of London. Now she could only think of how magical the city had looked from his strong arms as they had flown above it.
Damn it.
He wasn’t coming back and nursing her broken heart wasn’t getting her anywhere.
She was stronger than this and she had a job to do.
Several demons had come and gone, terrorising lesser demons in her city, and she hadn’t intervened. It was time she picked herself up, pulled her shit together, and started taking care of business again.
It was time that she showed everyone that she was the same fearless and dangerous woman she had been before she had fallen in love with an angel.
In fact, she was stronger because of it.
She clenched her fists and straightened her back, feeling the resolve as it flowed through her. She was going to protect this city. She was going to keep moving forwards in life, and maybe one day she would meet Einar again.
And she would give him hell for leaving her.
The city lights blinked and flickered. Her city. It was safe from Euphoria for now, but there was still so much work for her to do. She would protect the mortals, and watch over them. She would carry on, unafraid of what the future held because she was strong enough to face anything now.
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