Veiled In Darkness

by Valerie Twombly

  Eli relaxed his grip. “What’s your story, anyway?” Anger made hard lines on Michael’s face, and he worked his jaw. Eli didn’t think he was going to speak.

  “I was a bounty hunter, in a sense much like you. I was out working for Lucifer when he began making advances toward my mate. She refused him and he killed her.” Michael shoved Eli’s hands off him, and the look in his dark eyes was something the angel understood.

  Hatred.

  “Then we have much in common, demon.” Eli stepped back. “I will trust my mate’s care to you until I can return.” Michael simply nodded, and Eli wrapped his wings around himself, going to where he was needed.

  Ashley stood in front of her grandmother feeling all kinds of jittery. “What do I call you anyway?”

  The woman smiled. “Sherease will do. I’m not partial to Grandma.”

  “Oh good, cuz you don’t look like a gran.” There was one burning question she simply had to ask. “Do you know what you did to my father?” She felt his loss of his mother as much as she felt her own. They’d both been robbed, but at least he might stand a second chance with Sherease.

  “I broke his heart and for that I am eternally sorry.” Sadness filled her eyes.

  “Then why? I mean, I guess I understand following your mate, but you never reached out to him after that incident.” Both women knew what incident she referred to.

  Sherease closed the space between them and took Ashley’s hands into her own. Warmth filled her yet she remained cold. It was going to take a little time for her to come around. She’d thought a relationship with her grandmother was something she wanted. She supposed it was, but there was anger bubbling to the surface.

  “I don’t expect either of you to understand or forgive me. I only need you to know I did what had to be done, and that’s all I can say right now.”

  “At least promise me you’ll make an effort to make things right with him once this mess is over.” Ashley sighed and shook her head. “God, I hope it’s over soon.”

  Michael stormed back in before anything else could be said. He looked to be in a worse mood than when he left.

  “So what’s next?” Ashley figured she might as well start becoming mentally prepared for the future.

  “You go back to Lucifer before he becomes suspicious,” Sherease stated then held her hand up as Ashley started to protest. “I know, but you need to keep a routine with him. Like it or not, your job is to send those condemned to Hell.”

  Ashley examined her tattoo again. Still sleeping. “I hate being anywhere near him.” She’d made that choice, however, so time to suck it up. “I guess you’re right, but what do you mean my job is to send the condemned to Hell?”

  “Didn’t anyone explain to you what the Angel of Death does?”

  She shook her head, ashamed she’d run off to make the deal with Lucifer before she’d learned much, but she would do it again. “No. Things happened so fast, and then I ended up here. There wasn’t time for discussions.”

  “I see. It’s your duty to oversee the reapers. You hold the final decision on whether a soul enters Heaven or Hell. When a human makes a deal with the devil then it’s you who must make Lucifer’s claim.”

  Every muscle in her body drew tight. “So even if I break this agreement with him, I will still serve him?” She held her breath.

  “You neither answer to him or the Maker. You are the balance between the two powers and because we’ve been so long without one, things have gone unchecked. I know it’s a lot to take in, but you need to hurry back.” Sherease looked to Michael. “The hunter knows where there are hidden gates so you don’t need to cross by foot. You can come and go at ease.”

  “Hidden gates? Damn, not even I knew about these,” Wraith vented.

  “Few do,” Michael responded. “Shall we?” He gestured toward the door, and Ashley gathered her wits.

  “Yes.” There was no sense in putting off the inevitable. It would only harm the others. Until she was strong enough and educated in her role, she had to take care. She stepped outside onto the grass with Wraith and Michael on her heels. “Tell me hunter, do you feel I stand a chance at defeating Lucifer and taking control of his army?” When he stepped up beside her, she moved her gaze over his chiseled features. She’d seen humanoid demons, but had to admit, this one was devastatingly handsome and could easily be mistaken for an angel. Thick locks of dark brown waves touched his shoulders. When he spoke, her gaze snapped up to a set of rich brown eyes.

  “You have no choice. They will no doubt test your strength and resolve. One thing can be said about the Sitori, they will serve the strongest.”

  She stopped dead. “No way can I be stronger than them or Lucifer!”

  “Of course not in physical strength, but that’s not what they will be looking for.” He headed away from the small cottage toward one lone rock that looked out of place in the lush landscape. “No, they will be more impressed with your show of power. Once they see what you can do and who you are, they will follow you.”

  He stopped.

  “Well, why can’t I just enter their mind? I’ve done it to others and it seems to work.”

  “Here, the gate is hidden under the rock.”

  She looked at the Volkswagen Bug sized boulder. “Oookay.” What the heck a gate was doing under that thing she had to wonder, but this was Hell. Nothing was normal here.

  “Move it.”

  Ashley lifted her head. “Excuse me?”

  “Lesson one. Use your power to lift this and open the gate. First, you learn how to control objects then you control demons,” Michael responded.

  She looked around the area and studied it.

  “You might want to hurry. Night will be here soon and this isn’t a good place to be in the dark.”

  Wraith snorted and she shot him a death glare. “I don’t know how to levitate objects.”

  Michael closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. She had a sudden evil urge and touched his arm. When she slipped into his mind, she’d intended to find the information she needed to move the rock and to show him what she was capable of. What she found was heartache. Pure and raw.

  They both jumped back.

  “Don’t ever fucking touch me again,” he snarled.

  “I’m sorry. I-I only meant to––”

  “What?” His face reddened and Wraith slid in next to her. His large body provided some comfort.

  “I only meant to learn how to move the rock.”

  He stared at her for what seemed an eternity, but she refused to look away. Finally, he sighed. “You took me by surprise. That can work in your favor. The element of surprise is always a useful tool.”

  “She was able to grab the mind of a demon from a distance earlier,” Wraith spouted like a proud father.

  It must have impressed Michael because he raised a brow then smiled. “Focus on the rock, and do what you did earlier, except imagine it obeying your command.”

  She nodded then looked to the boulder. Closing her eyes, she found the black thread of power and followed it while she commanded the rock to rise. When she opened them again, it was floating a foot off the ground, and the grass beneath it appeared off kilter.

  “Why is the grass there out of focus?”

  “That’s our gate. Now you need to open it so we can get through,” Michael commanded.

  Cripes, he didn’t expect much from her. Balance a rock; open a gate. Should I stand on my head too? She shoved her sarcasm aside and issued her command, surprised at the ease with which the gate burst forth. Suddenly they were standing in the dark.

  “Umm…” Before she completed her thought, light filtered in and revealed a blur of jagged rock. Everything around them––which was nothing more than stone and dirt––appeared to be racing past at high speed. “Where are we and what’s going on?”

  “We are in the center of the Underworld. Impressive!” Wraith commented.

  “He’s correct, and we’re still within the gate. That
’s why everything appears to be moving.” Michael waved. “It’s how the thing works. Now you simply think of where you want to go and the gate will take you there.”

  Ashley quickly thought of the palace, and within seconds, they were standing on the perimeter of Lucifer’s gaudy home. “Wow, that was kinda cool.”

  “Soon you’ll learn how to find a hidden gate and travel at will. For the time being, I have to go before I’m spotted. Go home, angel.” He stepped back into the gate and vanished.

  9

  Eli faded into the background and folded his wings before he became visible.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Tegan growled.

  “I’m not sure you’d believe me, but Hell.” He surveyed his surroundings. Buildings a couple of stories tall stared back at him through their countless black windows. Death hung in the air, waiting to claim its next victim. “Why are we standing in an abandoned part of Chicago?” He had no idea why he’d been pulled to this place.

  Seph appeared next to him. “Every single reaper was drawn here. Death is thick in the air.”

  “Damn. I can sense it.” It still didn’t explain his great need to leave Ashley, with people he didn’t know if he should trust, and come here. Death was a reaper’s gig not a hunter’s.

  Curious eyes stared at him. “How the fuck did you get into Hell?” Seph questioned.

  “Yeah. Start talking, cuz I’ve been summoning your ass for hours.” Tegan twirled his dagger between his fingers, a sign he was highly agitated. Eli launched into the story from the elevator ride––which reminded him, he still had unfinished business––to what he’d learned about the Angel of Death, his mate.

  “You saw Sherease?” Tegan whispered.

  “I did and she’s not the evil we feared. At least, I didn’t sense she was. Which reminds me, how powerful are you?”

  Tegan’s brows dipped down. “Why?”

  Damn the angel was cranky. “Because apparently, your daughter has gained your power. At least according to your mother.”

  Tegan showed no emotion. He simply touched Eli on the shoulder, and they both vanished, ending up in Eli’s remote cabin.

  “Okay then, what are we doing here?” he asked, a little perturbed at being jerked here and there.

  “No one knows my family history.” Tegan moved to look out the window.

  “I’m guessing you brought us here so you can tell me?” All the damn secrets were wearing thin on his nerves. He was ready for everything to finally be laid out on the table. The simple fact Tegan had taken them someplace private told him this was big.

  “Yes but only because you are mated to my daughter. I’m surprised Sherease didn’t tell her—or you.” He looked over his shoulder and flashed a lethal glare. “Reveal this to anyone other than Ashley, and I will kill you.”

  “Motherfuck, Tegan.” Worry for his mate climbed several more notches.

  “Did Sherease mention demon ancestors?” His commander held his gaze.

  “Yes, she said Ashley had demons in her ancestry and something about your mother’s angel history was powerful.” He strode across the room until he was within inches of his commander. “Fucking spill because I’m done playing games.”

  “My mother is a daughter of the Maker herself. My father was a son of Lucifer.”

  Eli stepped back in utter shock. “Holy shit,” he whispered. His mind whirled with trying to put all the pieces together. “I guess that would explain why your mother hasn’t given in to the evil, but your father…” He let the words drift off.

  “Yes, he couldn’t control his lust for evil. It was a battle he fought his entire life, until he finally succumbed and forced me to kill him.” Tegan cast his gaze to the floor. “It’s also been my battle since I lost Ashley’s mother. The urge to give into the darkness at times has been suffocating. Only knowing my daughter was out there kept me going.”

  Eli scrubbed his hand down his face. “Shit. Don’t make me take your head.”

  Tegan lifted his chin, green eyes flashing with anger as he pulled his shoulders back. “My father was a coward and took the easy way out. I have a duty to humanity, the Maker, and most of all, Ashley.”

  Eli’s own anger grew. “If you feel such a sense of duty to your daughter, why the hell haven’t you helped her? I’m sure being a grandson of the fucking King of Hell grants you access to his world.” He rolled his fingers into tight fists but managed to keep them pinned to his side. His temple throbbed.

  “It’s not my destiny to help her. It’s yours.”

  Anger boiled over and before his brain comprehended what he was doing, his fist connected with Tegan’s jaw and sent the Archangel flying into the wall. In a split second, he was there with fistfuls of Tegan’s shirt in his grip.

  “You son of a bitch! How long?” he yelled.

  “What?”

  “How long have you known about all of this?” He had to throttle back his anger before he totally lost all reason.

  “I had no idea my daughter’s fate.”

  Eli pushed Tegan harder into the wall until it creaked under the strain. A storm brewed overhead, indicating he was losing his grip on his emotions. “You fucking lie. You’re the one who knew what she was. Here, in this very cabin, when you saw her wings.” Thankfully, Tegan remained calm, because two overcharged angels in the same area could cause a major catastrophe. Eli might want to beat the shit out of his commander, but hurting innocent humans wasn’t part of his plan.

  “What would you have me say? I’m the grandson of the fucking devil? You know how this shit works. How would I lead an army of men who always questioned me? Not even I knew Ashley’s destiny until you repeated it. I was raised with both my parents telling me what I was, and that I was never to reveal it until it was time.” He sighed. “They said I would know when that was. I figured this must be it.”

  Eli relaxed and finally released Tegan. “Have you ever tried? To enter Hell, I mean?”

  “No. It was forbidden and followed by a harsh threat from both of my parents. Something about Lucifer having no idea I or my father existed. I dare not go there now for fear what he would do to Ashley if he discovered me.”

  Eli appreciated that. “What the hell are we to do then?” He stormed away, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

  “For now, we round up as many Nephilim as possible and make sure they’re protected. It’s our duty.”

  Eli laughed. “Duty be damned, some days. What was going on back there at those abandoned buildings?” He suddenly remembered all the reapers, and the death that blanketed the area.

  Tegan ground his jaw. “A mass suicide. I’m not even sure how many people, but I’d bet my life on who was behind it.”

  “Shit.” How much worse could things get? Eli didn’t want to find out.

  Ashley had managed to make it back to her room without notice. She lay on her bed and stared at the tattoo on her wrist. The eye was open and mocked her. She hated the damn thing.

  She recalled something about controlling it… Or was it more of a deception? She wasn’t sure, but she was willing to try anything. She stared at the black orb that covered her wrist until the pupil actually began to pulse. The room grew fuzzy and out of focus before it narrowed into a black tunnel. At the end was a pinprick of light that steadily grew brighter until she found herself standing in another room. She looked down at her hands to discover they were transparent. She felt odd, as if she weren’t whole. A moan caught her attention.

  When she focused in the direction of the noise, her hand instinctively flew to her mouth. Lucifer lay in bed with two demons and the things they were doing… Oh, please make this nightmare stop!

  “You! What are you doing here?” Lucifer sat up, his glare full of anger.

  “I don’t know.” Cripes, she’d only stared at the damn marking.

  Lucifer raised his hand and a blast of power shot from his palm and sent her careening backward. Pain radiated through her lungs as she tried to breathe, and she reali
zed she was back in her room. She curled into the fetal position on the floor and gasped. Ashley was sure several minutes passed before the pain finally eased and she caught her breath. Rolling to her stomach, she pushed to her knees and slowly rose to her feet. Her body ached as if she’d been run over by a speeding train, and she made her way to the bed where she flopped on her back. Lucifer had zapped her ass good, and she still shook from the burst of power he’d sent through her.

  Holy hell, I’m playing with fire if I think I can beat him. Tears stung her eyes as she lost total control. Everything came crashing down on her with a weight so heavy it pinned her to the bed. The racking sobs she’d been hiding deep inside came in a violent rush.

  “Sweetheart,” the mattress dipped with the sound of the most peaceful voice ever. She opened her eyes.

  “Eli. Oh my god, what are you doing here,” she choked out.

  He pulled her into his lap. “I felt your pain followed by such desperation, I had to come.”

  “You have to leave. It’s not safe for you here,” she sobbed into his chest, clutching him tightly because in reality she didn’t want him to go. She was desperate to cling to the one thing that was normal to her.

  “I cannot leave you like this.” He stroked her hair and even though it seemed like a small gesture, it soothed her. She pulled back to look up at him. “Tell me what happened,” he whispered.

  It wasn’t long before the entire story spilled from her lips in between more sobbing. Eli simply held her tight, kissing the top of her head. When she finally finished, she took in a deep breath. “How am I supposed to do this? I’m one tiny female who hasn’t a clue to what I’m doing.”

  He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles before he turned her wrist over. “Look.”

  She blinked once, twice, but the image hadn’t changed. The eye on her wrist was gone. “How? What kind of trick is he playing now?”

  Eli shrugged. “My guess is your little stunt showed him not only could he track you, but you were powerful enough to do the same. He doesn’t want his secrets discovered.”