The Glittering Halo

by Liddie Cain

  Eziel hugged Felix as Conall brushed his lips across mine one more time. Felix cast a small fire on the ground in a pile of leaves. Conall called on his own power to enchant the smoke. It took a little longer to gather than a regular roving candle would, but soon the smoke thickened into a large cloud and obscured the three of them. Once they were gone, Felix extinguished the flame.

  I climbed behind the wheel of Mac’s truck. Felix reached over and took my hand as I pulled out onto the road. Neither of us said anything, just held onto each other tightly. We had no idea how much Devina knew now or what would happen when we got back home. Or if Azrael was safe now that he had been dragged to Hell.

  “I’m exhausted,” I admitted to Felix as I drove us back into town.

  “It’s been a long day,” he said, glancing back Emma in the back seat. “You doing okay?”

  “You have wings.”

  Emma blurted out, her eyes wide. Her blond hair was clean, but had been left to air dry so that it hung in haphazard waves around her makeup free face. She looked so young without the usual pageant worthy makeup she usually wore. Her green eyes were wide with shock that hadn’t started to fade yet. Felix shot me an apologetic glance, but honestly, so much had happened I hadn’t thought of concealing his wings either.

  “Why do you have wings?” Emma asked with a louder and more panic-stricken voice.

  “Emma. Sweetie,” I started, fumbling with how to explain. I really didn’t want to tell this teenager that Felix used to be an archangel but now he was an archdemon. Felix shook his head at me. He turned around and stared at her hard in the eye. Power surged through the interior of the truck before Emma slumped back against the seat, eyes closed and face slack with sleep.

  He settled back in his seat again. When I gave him a narrow eyed glare, he just shrugged. “She’ll think the wings were a dream now.” I only raised an eyebrow at him. A grin broke out across his mouth. “Did you have a better idea?”

  “No,” I admitted with a sigh, fighting not to smile back in return.

  “We need to drop the guys off at the house before we take her home. They are going to be violent when they wake up.”

  As if to prove his point, Mac was suddenly busting through the back window of the truck. I swerved in surprise and let out a little yelp. Felix quickly intercepted him, keeping him from getting to Emma and feeding on her. I watched Mac’s wild and snarling face suddenly soften in the rear-view mirror. Felix couldn’t put him all the way out since Mac had taken a blood oath to Meredith and hadn’t yet retaken an oath to him, but he got Mac in a more calm state.

  “Shit,” he muttered. “He has glass in his arms and in his scalp.”

  “It’s going to heal over it before we get back,” I said, my voice a little shaky.

  “Yeah. But I would rather get back where we can get them fed. Just get home as quickly as you can.”

  I nodded, speeding up. Song stuck her head in the back of the busted window. “The other two are still out, but I’m not sure how long Alec will last. Think he’s a pretty old one.”

  “I’m hurrying.”

  I punched the phone button on the steering wheel and called Rose over the bluetooth.

  “Mac?”

  “It’s Roz. We have Emma and we are going to need a few donors for Mac, Jason and Alec. Can Lear meet us on the road in case we need a hand? And can you call Sylvia and tell her to let the police know that we have Emma?”

  “Yes,” she said quickly. “Lear is on his way.”

  She hung up the phone. It was only a couple minutes later that Lear was suddenly running alongside the truck and vaulted himself up into the bed with Song without me slowing down. Felix relaxed slightly, concentrating on keeping Mac from attacking Emma. Lear wouldn’t be able to bring Alec or Jason out of a feral state, but he could hold them long enough with Song’s help to keep Emma safe.

  It turned out to be a good thing that I had gotten Lear to join us because right before I turned into the driveway, Alec came back to life and started fighting to get to the closest human he could find. It took both Lear and Song to keep him from getting into the backseat of the truck. I skidded to a stop in front of the house. Rose rushed out, two bottles of blood in her hands, and tossed them to Song who got Alec settled down enough to start drinking. I hopped out and got Emma unbuckled, planning on just shifting her to my car. Rose brushed me aside with a smile. “I’ll get her back home while you get things situated here.”

  “Thank you. Did you tell Joletta?”

  “She’s already at the police station to get Hugh.”

  We grinned at each other, figuring Joletta was giving out a lot of I-told-you-so speeches in there. I walked around the truck where Felix was getting Mac to step out. I had barely touched Mac’s arm to get him to go inside with me when he slammed me back against the truck. The back of my head hit hard as his fangs tore into the skin of my neck. He lifted my feet off of the ground as my blood rushed out into his mouth.

  “Fuck!” Felix yelled. It was the only warning I had before fangs sunk into my thigh and Jason roughly held my leg against his body, drinking deeply. They were going too fast, their minds too lost after Lucifer had drained their energy that completely. I whimpered when my head started to feel like it was floating and my hearing dimmed. I saw Mac jerk back, his mouth bright red and smeared with my blood. But he was home in that familiar green gaze.

  “Dove!” His eyes dropped to Jason, and I felt them struggle to get his fangs out of my leg. Too much blood gone. My vision blurred to gray. Before I even hit the ground, it all faded to black.

  ***

  “You’re safe, Roz, baby.” Mom’s voice guided me out of the darkness.

  “We are here with you,” my angelic mother said a moment later. I dragged my eyelids open to find both Evelyn and Hanna leaning the rails of the hospital bed to look down at me. They both smiled when I looked at them.

  “There you are,” Dad said, leaning in behind Mom where I could see him too.

  “Azrael?” I whispered.

  “Still gone,” Hanna answered, taking my hand in hers. She did it gently so she wouldn’t disturb the IV that was in the back of my hand. I squeezed her fingers, then held up my other hand to Mom and Dad. They both covered my hand with one of theirs.

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Just over night, honey,” Mom said. Tears sat in her eyes, unshed. But I knew it was only from seeing me here in the hospital. If something was really wrong, Dad wouldn’t look as relaxed as he did.

  “They kept you under sedation for a few hours because of the bump to your head,” he told me when I looked at him for answers.

  “Where is Mac?”

  “Mac and Jason stayed here with you for the night. How are you feeling?”

  “My head still hurts, but I feel okay.”

  “I’ll let the nurse know you are awake.” He stepped around mom so that he could lean down and lay a kiss on my forehead. I tilted my face back and kissed his cheek before he leaned back up and stepped out of the room. My life had given me two wonderful sets of parents, but Ellison Hunt was the one that I was the most like. I might have looked like Mom, had powers like Azrael and healing abilities like Hanna, but Dad was the one that my personality was the most similar to. He handled stress the same way I did, which was to figure out what needed to be done and focus on it.

  Both of my moms would have sat here and fretted over me without ever thinking of getting a nurse. Hanna reached over and laid her hand on my forehead. “Want me to help with your head?”

  “Yes.”

  She grew still as she silently prayed. I felt the sweet air descend across her aura and across mine. Warmth filled my body and swept back and forth within me. The throbbing in my head grew weaker with each surge of that caressing wave of power. When she finally lifted her hand, the pain left with it. I let out a relieved sigh.

  “Can’t heal you too quickly or it would get too much attention while you are here.”

  �
�I know, thank you.”

  She leaned down and kissed my cheek with Mom leaning down and kissing the other one right after. I let my eyes flutter closed and simply held their hands for a moment, letting myself soak in the love that radiated out to me from both of them. Dad returned a few minutes later with a doctor following him.

  “Hello Roz, I’m Dr. Knight. How are you feeling?” She lowered the bed rail after Mom stepped out of her way, pulling the covers off of my leg and checking the pulses in my ankles as she spoke. Her fingers were quick and cool to the touch.

  “I feel pretty normal right now,” I answered. She was a tall and middle aged black woman with a soft spoken way about her. After she tucked the covers back around my feet with care, she pulled her stethoscope out of her pocket. Everyone was quiet as she listened to my breathing and my heart, giving a firm nod and pulling off the stethoscope to go back in her pocket.

  “Looks like your vitals are back to normal,” she told me as she pulled out a penlight and checked my eyes. “Feel like you’re ready to go home?”

  “Yes.”

  “You did need a transfusion after the vampire bites. Bump on the head and blood transfusion means you got to spend the night with us. But you were stable all night. I spoke with Mr. Jacobs this morning while you were still sedated. He mentioned that you are regular blood donor for him.”

  “He does take other donors, but yes, he feeds from me once or twice a week.”

  “I’m going to give you a prescription for iron and advise you to take over the counter B-12 if you don’t already. Even if you take a multivitamin, I want you to add an extra B-12 supplement. There were no abnormalities on your head CT. Just let us know if your head starts hurting worse or you have any vision changes.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Knight.”

  “You’re most welcome. I will get your discharge papers signed.”

  She smiled at me warmly before shaking hands with both of my moms and Dad and leaving the room.

  “Can we drive you home?” Mom asked.

  “That would be nice,” I replied.

  A nurse came through the door as Dad started gathering everyone’s things that were in the room.

  “Good morning! I’m Jessica. Just going to get your IV out so you can clean up and get dressed.”

  Dad sat one of my bags on the bed as she started undoing my IV. “Jason packed you a bag,” he told me.

  “Oh good. Mac never picks anything that matches if he grabs clothes for me.”

  “Jason pays better attention to detail,” Mom said offhandedly as she opened the bag and started laying out clothes. She took out the toiletry bag and handed it to Hanna, who went ahead and took it into the bathroom for me to get a shower before I left. Darby walked in as Jessica the nurse walked back out. I was already standing beside the bed in my hospital gown and simply opened my arms.

  Darby rushed across the room and hugged me tight. “Mac sent me to check on you,” she said as she pulled back.

  “Will you let him know I’m about to be discharged?”

  “Of course.”

  “Where is Felix?”

  “Back at the Gloaming Court. They are having a meeting there tonight with your uncle Raguel to decide how to invade Hell.” I blinked at that ridiculous sounding statement, but it was what we would eventually have to do to find Azrael.

  “Well, we can’t miss that,” I said.

  “Aurnia already sent us both outfits for it,” Darby responded with a grin. “She is meeting me at your parent’s house in a few hours to take all of us back to court. She imagined the men would try to leave us at home.”

  “Probably,” I said.

  “That’s why they aren’t here now,” Dad added, winking toward us.

  “Cowards,” I grumbled, then waved Darby to follow me into the bathroom. Hanna had the shower running by the time I got in there, and they helped me untie the gown in the back. I talked to Darby as I stepped in the shower and tried to wash my hair and body as quickly as possible.

  “Is Hugh at home?”

  “Yeah, they let him go as soon as Emma got home to her parents.”

  “Bet they are relieved,” I responded as I rinsed shampoo out of my hair.

  “Emma was sure singing your praises too.”

  “I was just along for the ride, I didn’t actually save her.”

  “I think she is praising how brave you are,” Darby said.

  I scrubbed the soap onto my body and scoffed. “I was not brave, I was terrified.”

  “Staying there to save her when you’re terrified is brave,” Hanna chided. “You have always been brave, Roz.”

  “And a little reckless,” Darby added.

  “Oh you’re one to talk,” I laughed as the water sprayed across my face while I rinsed everything off. “Which one of us broke an arm jumping off of the cliffs at the lake when we were twenty-two years old and should have known better?”

  “Are you not done showering yet?” Darby playfully asked with faked impatience. I laughed and rinsed my face one more time before shutting off the water. I got dried off and put some moose in my hair so it would air dry into curls. Hanna stood behind me and towel dried it a little while I put a bit of makeup on.

  “You’re going to need more makeup than that. Aurnia sent us floor length gowns.”

  “Oh.” I frowned and dug out one of my smoky eye pallets, leaning in toward the mirror while Darby also started to help style my hair. By the time I had finished, the nurse came into the hospital room with my discharge papers. I had to let them take me out in a wheel chair where Dad was waiting to pick us up in mom’s SUV. Darby went and got in her car so she could go pick up the gowns that Aurnia had sent us and she would meet me at my parent’s house later. I was ready to get back home and hug Mac and Jason, knowing they would be upset over putting me in the hospital.

  I tried not to think about the risks we were all about to be taking as Mom and Dad chatted with me about normal things. Hanna sat in the back with me. I reached over and took her hand while she sat there silently, knowing she was worrying just like me. She gripped my hand tightly. We both prayed.

  “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m not going,” I said as Jason frowned at me.

  “Roz, you almost died.”

  “So did you,” I shot back. “I’m fine now.”

  “I would much rather die over and over than lose you,” he said firmly.

  “Jason. Mac,” I faced off against the both of them with my hands on my hips. “I’m going, with or without you. Not only do we have to do something about Devina without Azrael now, we also have to find him. I’m his daughter. I have to go.”

  Jason looked like he would continue the argument, but Mac sighed and shook his head at him.

  “Take off your clothes, then.”

  I sucked in a breath to debate, but what he actually side sunk in and I stopped, surprised. “Wait. What?”

  “If you insist on going, if we are all going to die, I want to at least die knowing we had one more time together,” Mac said, then looked at Jason and added, “All of us.”

  “No drinking Roz’s blood,” Jason said as he pulled his shirt off, knowing that the moment my eyes fell to the solid landscape of his abs and chest I would be no good for cognitive thought anymore.

  “Agreed.”

  “This is quite the effective way to win a fight,” I said, already running my fingers across Jason’s skin. “I want Felix. And Song.”

  Mac wasn’t a huge fan of group sex, but he didn’t hesitate as he nodded.

  “Are you sure?” I asked him.

  “Yes,” he replied, “I want us to all share this together.”

  I went up on tiptoe and kissed him. When our lips parted again, I looked at Jason. “I want to see you with Song again.”

  “I already texted her.”

  I smiled and grabbed the waist of Jason’s pants, sliding my fingers around to the front and opening the button of his jeans. His mouth found mine, and we kissed deeply
in between pulling each other’s clothes off and tossing them across the room. When a second pair of hands skimmed up my sides and over my breasts, I knew it was Felix. I moaned and leaned back against him. Jason wasn’t finished with me though, and he pressed himself against the front of me while Felix pressed himself against my back. I leaned my head back to kiss Felix while Jason kissed my neck. Then they switched. Jason’s lush lips caressed mine as Felix nibbled down my ear and ran his tongue across the skin of my neck.

  I heard the bedroom door open and leaned to the side enough to see Song standing there, her lips parted. Her blue eyes stood out against that shimmering cascade of black hair that fell around her face. “Who can I touch?” she asked in a strained voice.

  “All of them,” I replied, stroking my hands across Jason’s chest. “Help me love our men, Song.”

  Jason smiled, reaching up and squeezing my hands. Then he stepped away and walked over to Song. Felix wrapped those big black wings around my body as I watched Jason roughly jerk Song up against his body. She hissed out her pleasure. Felix tightened his wings on me, watching as I arched my body against the feathers. “You like seeing him be rough with her,” he said quietly.

  “Yes.”

  “Mac is waiting for you on the bed. I want to be inside of you at the same time he is.”

  My knees grew weak when he growled that in my ear. “You’re too big,” I responded.

  “I can change the size of myself,” he admitted. I raised my eyebrows, turning to look at him fully.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Would you like to try it? Mac deep inside of you while I do anal on you?”

  “Yes. Please,” I whispered. He smiled, letting his wings drop away from me and nudging me over to the bed where Mac was sitting on the edge. He had taken his clothes off, but he wasn’t ready for me yet. I walked up and threaded my fingers back through his hair. His eyes blatantly stayed on my breasts, and I laughed quietly when he wiggled his eyebrows at them.

  “Good morning ladies,” he said, sounding very proper. “Both of you are looking nice and healthy today.”

  “They respond better if talk with your mouth full,” I said.