Tied With a Bow

by Lora Leigh

  A knee slammed into Nathaniel’s chin, jarring his body and causing a fresh wave of sharp pain that made him crumple into a heap. Blood gushed from his split lip. Kate shrieked in frustration. She wanted to cover Nathaniel’s body with hers, to protect him from any more abuse. She wanted to tear Gadreel to pieces.

  “Denounce him,” Gadreel hissed. “Kiss my ring and call me master. I will end your pain.”

  She felt Nathaniel’s soul recoil. There was no defiance left, only exhaustion and an unspoken prayer that he’d be strong enough to remain silent. She wanted to scream. She wanted to shove Gadreel away, but she had no body other than Nathaniel’s, which was too weak.

  Shards of light broke over the room. Gadreel went on talking, unaware. His men pulled Nathaniel’s body so that he knelt upright. Gadreel placed the ring, the one with the coin image of Nero against Nathaniel’s broken lip.

  “Kiss my ring and pledge your allegiance,” Gadreel screamed.

  Tears streamed over a shattered cheekbone and swollen skin. One eye bled and watered from having been poked with a dagger.

  Gadreel bent his head low. “Not ready yet?” he whispered, the malice in his voice so evil it sent an icy wave of fear through Nathaniel. “Well, men, this boy is anxious for more. Strip him, dip him in the pool to rinse away the filth, then bring him to me. Naked.”

  Their harsh laughter was more than Kate could bare. She wanted to kill them. She tried to shoot up and smash her fist into Gadreel’s face, but Nathaniel’s broken leg crumpled beneath her. She fell, striking her head, and darkness fell.

  “Kate,” a gorgeous voice said.

  Kate opened her eyes to the soft light of burning candles. Pine and vanilla scented the air, a warm comfort, and Alissa North leaned over her with concerned pale blue eyes.

  Kate put a hand to her aching head, finding a small knot on the back of her scalp. She grimaced, but then remembered the horrific pain that she’d endured in Nathaniel’s memory and the mild headache seemed insignificant.

  “Where am I?” Kate rasped.

  “My house. The ES duty guard at the Dome said you fainted. He said you’d mentioned that you’d missed lunch and down you went. He couldn’t get around his desk quick enough to catch you.”

  Kind lies. “How long was I out?”

  “Twenty-five minutes. A neurologist is on the way over.”

  A house call from a specialist. The muses do indeed have magical powers, Kate thought wryly.

  Kate sat up and took the glass of water Alissa offered. “I’m fine now, but I am having a very strange day.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Alissa said. “Grant called and said that the man who dropped you off was probably a fallen angel.”

  “He’s not fallen!” Kate blinked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just not sure he’s fallen. I don’t want to paint him with that brush yet.”

  “Not fallen, but you do think he’s an archangel?”

  Kate nodded, then shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

  “Kate,” Alissa said gently.

  “What?” Kate said. She’d felt the soothing, persuasive vibration in Alissa’s voice that pushed Kate to suspect the worst of Nathaniel. “Why does he have to be fallen?” Kate demanded, resisting.

  “The archangels of Heaven don’t mix with people. Legend allows that they might save a human being in the course of killing a demon, but they don’t join the community of man. Heaven’s real ranks are a thing apart.”

  “Well then, Nathaniel’s not an archangel because he lived and had a family.”

  “Why do you think he didn’t want to come into the Etherlin?”

  Kate shrugged.

  “Do you think he worried that his true nature would be revealed?”

  Kate thought about the overwhelming pain she’d felt for that brief time in Nathaniel’s terrible memory. What else had happened to him that she hadn’t seen? Had it been horrible enough for him to renounce God? Had he fallen or become damned? She shuddered. His intention had been so pure. If his will had been broken, it hadn’t been his fault. God could have shown him a little fucking mercy. She lurched from the sofa, feeling ill. She swallowed hard. “I’m gonna be sick. Bathroom?” She slapped a hand over her mouth.

  Alissa guided her to the bathroom, and then in a surreal turn of events, the most beautiful woman in the world who never had so much as a speck of dirt on her clothes held Kate’s hair back while she retched so violently it tore sobs from her.

  Alissa’s fingers soothed the back of Kate’s neck. “It’ll be all right. After the doctor sees you, you can take a hot shower and lie down.”

  Kate shook her head and banged Nathaniel’s—no, Gadreel’s—ring on the cold tile, hard enough to bruise her finger. She took a deep breath and said, “Absolutely not.” She exhaled, wincing at the rough condition of her throat. “I’ve been looking forward to this holiday party all year. I’m not going to sleep through the damn thing.” Besides, if Nathaniel wants to see me later, he may not be willing to enter the Etherlin, but he could come to the Clarity Hotel in the Sliver. She’d mentioned the name of the hotel to him on the drive to the Etherlin.

  Alissa’s crystalline blue eyes seemed to peer into her soul. “You hardly seem ready for a party.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes. “Pulitzer Prize–winners don’t let little things like concussions put them off their schedules.”

  Alissa smiled. “You don’t need to prove how tough you are, Kate.”

  “I don’t need to, but I like to.”

  Alissa’s smile widened. “And your determination to go to the party has nothing to do with the fact that Nathaniel expects to find you there?”

  “Of course not,” Kate said, but the corners of her mouth curved up guiltily. “You didn’t meet him. He’s somewhat—I don’t know. Sublime.”

  “Some men have impossibly strong charisma,” Alissa said wistfully.

  Kate inclined her head. “Speaking from experience?”

  Alissa blinked and shuttered her expression. “No, but I’m a great observer of human behavior, you know. It helps me be a better muse.”

  “Well, you’re certainly an amazing muse,” Kate said, fighting her investigative reporter’s instinct to dig. As friendly as Alissa was, she was also an enigma. She’d dated Grant for years, but theirs didn’t seem to be a particularly passionate relationship. That they’d never gotten married, or even engaged, caused some speculation, but Alissa had never been caught in an affair with anyone else or even seemed interested in anyone. It was odd, given how often men pursued her.

  “How are things between you and Grant?”

  Again, Alissa’s expression became carefully neutral. “Grant’s a wonderful man. I’m lucky to have him in my life.”

  Kate burned with curiosity. Was Alissa’s relationship a sham?

  “Are you sure you’re up to going tonight?” Alissa asked.

  “Yes, I feel all right now.” The aftereffects of that brutal memory have passed. Another stab of compassion rocked her body. Nathaniel had been through so much. And now Kate felt like she’d been through some of it with him. Deep wounds. The trauma, both physical and emotional, had been almost unbearable. She shuddered. Where was Nathaniel now? She regretted not going with him. The raw emotional connection they had was something she’d never experienced with anyone else. She shivered, missing his warmth. She needed to see him, to be sure he was all right.

  “Did you bring your dress with you? The party people will be here soon.”

  “Party people?”

  “The people who get me ready for important events.” Alissa rolled her eyes. “I think I could be trusted to manage on my own, but the Etherlin Council likes us to be picture perfect at our own parties. And at everyone else’s,” Alissa added with a wink. “If you don’t feel like doing your own hair and makeup, you can just sit next to me. They style everything in their paths, like a swarm of compact-carrying locusts.”

  “Since I don’t get the spa treatment every day, I don’t thi
nk I’d mind. Do you think they would be annoyed at having another woman to make up?”

  Alissa shook her head. “They’re artists, and nothing tempts an artist like a fresh canvas.”

  Nathaniel’s memories flooded his mind in torrents of bright visions that were hard to sort. He stood straight as Merrick’s tailor popped platinum cuff links into the shirt he wore, but Nathaniel was only half paying attention. His mind was full of the first time he’d seen Kate. He’d been looking for his ring, and he’d found it on the hand of a pretty girl. She’d been lying on a bench, the sunlight streaming over her as she highlighted the book she read. She’d muttered something and laughed, putting a yellow X over a passage. In that moment, he felt something tug his soul. A memory of himself using a dagger to cut a slash across Nero’s face on the coin. Defiance. Yes, he understood that. The girl’s animated expression, the life shining on her face—they drew him to her. He’d wanted to approach her, to hear her voice, to whisper to her soul. But he hadn’t spoken to her. Not that day or any other that he could remember. Why hadn’t he? He could feel how much he’d wanted to. Unleashed now, the desire roared through him. More than anything, he wanted Kate.

  This drive to be with her is significant. By instinct, I’m more drawn to her than to anything else. There must be a reason.

  “You like it?” the tailor asked, nodding at Nathaniel’s reflection in the mirror.

  “It’s formal. I don’t believe I normally dress this way.”

  “If you don’t want to get bounced, you need the right camouflage,” Merrick said, slipping money to the tailor who nodded and left.

  “It’s generous of you to help with this,” Nathaniel said.

  “One hand washing the other. Here’s your invitation.”

  “It’s forged?”

  “It is, but it’s a very good forgery, right down to the bar code and the invisible stamp.”

  “If you can create an invitation of this quality, why can’t you deliver your gift in person?”

  Merrick grinned. “I’m infamous. If there’s an ES officer who doesn’t recognize me on sight, he needs to be fired.”

  “Ah.”

  Merrick handed him a wrapped package.

  “If there’s no note, and I’m not allowed to tell anyone—even her—who sent this, how will she know it’s from you?”

  Instead of answering, Merrick handed Nathaniel the card key for the hotel suite they currently occupied. “I’ll be here until eleven. After that, the room’s yours.”

  Nathaniel nodded, understanding that by their arrangement Merrick was willing to answer questions that had to do with Nathaniel but not about himself.

  “I still can’t remember how I was called to become an archangel,” Nathaniel said. “Shouldn’t that have come back by now?”

  “Seems like it,” Merrick said.

  “It’s like seeing a picture where part of the image has been blacked out. And it’s right in the center of the frame. I can’t ignore what’s missing, but no matter how long I stare at that spot, I can’t restore what’s gone. The image is stubbornly marred.”

  “And you don’t remember the demons you’ve killed?”

  “I remember some battles but not all of them.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I feel it. I have an enemy. I don’t know his name or his face, but there’s an anger that burns through me.” Nathaniel clamped his fist closed. “Rage isn’t born of nothing.”

  “No,” Merrick agreed.

  Nathaniel let his fist relax, staring at his hand where the ring should have been. He needed to retrieve it.

  A warning slithered through him, a feeling that duty and desire were converging. From the stillness, he felt the kiss of darkness. Of pain.

  Danger has risen. He comes to destroy.

  Nathaniel stiffened.

  Kate wears your ring, and you left her unprotected.

  Adrenaline poured into his veins. “I have to leave now,” he said, striding to the door. He yanked it open as his instincts suddenly drove him in a single direction. Toward the party. Toward Kate.

  Chapter Six

  The city blocks that hugged the Etherlin’s outer wall were called the Sliver, and the area courted Etherlin society. The Sliver couldn’t legally ban ventala from driving down its streets, but it did its best to make them unwelcome.

  In honor of the muses holding their holiday party within, the Sliver’s opulent boutique hotel, Clarity, was strung with lavender and white lights and huge silver bows and wreaths. A deep purple carpet stretched from the front doors to the curb where white limousines delivered tuxedo-clad men escorting women adorned with jewels to rival a queen’s.

  Waiters in white gloves served onlookers coffee, hot chocolate, and eggnog, courtesy of the muses who wanted their fans and admirers to feel like part of the celebration. Each time a famous Etherlin resident emerged from a car, they were greeted by cheers and applause.

  Kate glanced at Alissa, who looked like royalty in her white velvet cloak. Tiny crystals clung to Alissa’s eyelashes like sparkling dewdrops, emphasizing her otherworldly beauty. Alissa’s stylists had worked their magic on Kate, too. She barely recognized herself in the gown of gold and bronze taffeta that she’d chosen because its colors reminded her of Nathaniel.

  Nathaniel. Again. Her preoccupation with him filled every corner of her mind.

  “You’re lovely in that dress, Kate,” Alissa said.

  “It’s quite a departure from the camos and khakis I wear on field assignment. And there’s no layer of salt and dirt on my skin; my editor will be shocked,” Kate said, smirking. “I hope someone gets a picture.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about that.” As the door opened and hundreds of flashbulbs popped, Alissa gave the crowd a picture perfect view of her wide blue eyes and slightly parted lips.

  Kate slid from the car and glanced at the onlookers. ES bodyguards flanked Alissa who paused, smiled, and waved. The muse moved very slowly toward the door, allowing people to capture her with their cameras as well as their eyes.

  “I’ll meet you inside,” Kate said with a smile.

  Alissa nodded and smiled apologetically. “They’ve waited in the cold for hours.”

  “Of course, take your time. You know me, the intrepid reporter. I can take care of myself.” Kate edged toward the door, her gaze following a bright spotlight that wasn’t trained on the carpet. It highlighted an enormous seven-and-a-half-foot-tall angel ice sculpture standing near the door. The arches of frosty white wings rose above the crest of broad shoulders. He wore an armored breastplate, and the edges of his sword’s blade glinted like the facets of a jewel. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as she approached, and then he moved. Her breath caught, and she slowed. The clustered people had left space for him but didn’t register his presence. Could they see him?

  She stared up when she reached him. He didn’t step over the velvet rope, standing sentry instead, face impassive.

  His breath was wind rustling her bangs, chilling her skin.

  “It does not belong to you,” he said with a slight incline of his head. She looked at the ring circling her thumb.

  “He asked me to keep the ring for him,” she said. People glanced at her curiously, bestowing polite smiles since she was an aspirant.

  “Do not hold what does not belong to you.”

  The urge to tell him to mind his own business spiked through her, but she held her tongue. As she passed, a phantom wing beat the air directly in front of her and she strode through an icy mist that dampened her skin. She gasped for breath and pushed her way inside.

  The ES security officer blinked. “Is it raining?” he asked.

  She shook her head, handing him her invitation before she hurried to the bathroom to dab the moisture off her skin. Fortunately, her makeup wasn’t terribly smeared and the damp evaporated quickly as she stood beneath the vents blowing heat.

  Who—and what—the hell was that?

  She looked at the
ring, bending her thumb against her palm, pressing the ring tight to her skin. She wondered if the ice angel had meant something other than the ring when he’d told her to let go of what didn’t belong to her. She scowled. It wasn’t as if she’d tried to sink claws into Nathaniel. On the other hand, she didn’t intend to just pass him his ring and walk away. She wanted to help him, and if she was being honest, she wanted to be near him again. At moments, the way she craved him overwhelmed her.

  Kate took a deep breath, pulled her shoulders back, and exited the bathroom, wishing she had a way to reach Nathaniel. What if he didn’t return for days? Nothing drove her crazier than waiting.

  Crossing the prism-patterned sapphire and periwinkle carpet, she’d nearly reached the ballroom doors when she heard birds chirping. She turned, and a pair of lime-colored lovebirds with salmon pink faces flew into the stairwell just before its door whooshed closed. Impossibly, she still heard tweeting.

  Frosted angels at the door and chirping lovebirds in the lobby that no one seems to see except me? Surreptitiously, she pinched her arm. The sharp pain sobered her. Okay then, Alice, go down the rabbit hole. Or up, as the case may be.

  Kate strode to the stairs, dragged the heavy door open, and ascended.

  On the roof, snow-dusted wire topiary skeletons of mythical creatures stood next to planters filled with rock crystal and alabaster. A winter garden, she mused. She pulled her wrap tighter, her breath smoky on the cold air.

  “One of these things doesn’t belong. Which one?” she whispered the childhood singsong, spotting another enormous angel. Formed from golden light that shone outward, he wore a buff-colored loincloth and a gold ring around his neck. Skill had apparently not been spared when forming the angels, but despite the aggressive musculature, he carried no armor or weapons and his tousled hair flowed carelessly.

  “Hello, Kate,” he said as the lovebirds flew past and landed on the head of a bear topiary.

  She approached him. “If you’re about to bark out some orders or recriminations, you can save your breath.”