Rogue Angel

by Stephani Hecht

  Ana couldn’t believe it, but Rachael was braiding her hair. Gabi sat next to Ana, her own raven hair sporting a set because she was previously attacked by Rachael, the Braiding Machine. At least it was keeping Rachel busy. The longer her brothers were upstairs talking, the more nervous she acted.

  “You know what,” she said as she finished up Ana’s hair. “Tiffany was right. This is very therapeutic.”

  “Where’s Atar?” Ana asked Gabi.

  Gabi smiled at the mention of her son, her dark green eyes full of love. “Raphael is watching him. We thought that since Abdiel’s father was around it wouldn’t be safe for our little guy here.”

  “Our dad is a real piece of work, that’s for sure,” Rachael spat venomously. “Appolion got the worse from him. Most of the scars he carried around for all those years were courtesy of old daddy.”

  Ana felt a lump building up in the back of her throat. Just the mention of Appolion being hurt like that broke her heart. He was so little when it started, too.

  Gabi reached over and patted her hand reassuringly. “That’s all in the past now,” she soothed. “Now he has you and it sounds like he is really happy. Just think, we’re mated to brothers, that makes us sister now.”

  “That’s right.” Ana banished all the bad thoughts away, this was supposed to be a happy time. “After all these years of having nothing but brothers, I have two sisters, you and Rachael.”

  Appolion and Abdiel came down the stairs, their faces expressionless. All three females waited with baited breath. Rachael finally stepped forward and asked, “Well, is everything okay between you two?”

  Appolion nodded. “Yeah, we’re one big happy, dysfunctional family now.”

  With a squeal of delight, Rachael launched herself at her brothers and pulled them into a group hug. Ana’s eyes welled up at the sight of the three of them finally together. She looked over at Gabi and saw her crying tears of happiness, too.

  When they pulled apart Appolion gave the females an amused look. “What’s with the braids? You guys all look like Swiss milk maids.”

  Abdiel looked thoughtfully at the females. “No, I think they look like more like Catholic school girls.”

  Gabi crossed her arms as she gave a fake dirty look to her mate. “Do we really need to revisit that fantasy, Abdiel?”

  Uriel came into the kitchen. “Everything is all set. Cam is setting up camp in Bear’s room so you guys can take his, Abdiel. You know, I should start charging rent. Even Michael is staying until this is all cleared up.”

  Appolion gave his brother a confused look. “You’re staying here?”

  Abdiel nodded. “Of course we are. We heard what our father has been doing to humans and we’re going to help you hunt him down. From now on we work as a team.”

  Rachael smiled. “Dad is never going to know what hit him.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “It just isn’t making any sense,” Michael grumbled.

  He sat at a table, off to the side and surrounded by several old scrolls, in the gym while everyone else was training. After the third night of going out hunting for their father, Abdiel decided everyone needed a good training session to work out some of their tension. Ana bailed out, volunteering to help her uncle instead.

  “Well maybe if you would tell me what it is you are looking for I could help.” Ana picked up one of the parchments, saw it was another sappy poem about the Order and tossed it aside.

  “I’m trying to figure out how Bear works into the Order.”

  Ana snapped her head up. “What do you mean? Bear has nothing to do with the Order.”

  Michael gave her a sideways glance. “I’m not any happier about this than you are, but I think I’m on to something.”

  Ana felt punched in the gut. She shook her head. No, they already took Cam, they couldn’t take Bear, too. All of the sudden the cool, old Ana came forward. “You are Michael, Chief of all archangels,” she hissed. “If you never do anything else for our family, you will find a way to get Bear out of this.”

  “I’m trying, Ana.” He indicated the pile of papers. “But I’m not any closer to finding an answer. I’ve got to be honest. Things aren’t looking good.”

  She gripped her hands tightly together, fingernails digging into flesh. “Why not?”

  “Look at the other members of the Order now that they are around Bear. Every single one of them is haunted by their pasts. But when they’re with him, they’re able to relax and feel whole again. Since Cam had been here he is finally able to sleep. He hasn’t been able to that in years. Hell, he’s even smiling and that’s a vast improvement for him.”

  She shook her head again. “You’re wrong, Michael. Cam’s always been happier when around Bear. It’s been that way since they were infants.”

  Michael gave Cam a sad look. “You don’t know about the nightmares, do you?”

  “Cam mentioned bad dreams from time to time.”

  “It’s more than that Ana. He has full blown night terrors every single night. Usually it took both me and Raphael to hold him down so he wouldn’t hurt himself or one of us.”

  Ana brought her hand to her mouth. “He never let on they were that bad.”

  “He hides a lot from you guys. Take Nathaniel. Cam would rather have him hating him rather than knowing what really went on in Hell.”

  Ana felt compelled to defend her archangel brother. “All of this has been hard on Nathaniel, too. He knows his mate is being held captive and there is nothing he can do about it.”

  “Well he needs to quit blaming Cam and treating him like shit or else I’m going to kick his ass.” Michael threw his hands up in disgust and shoved the papers away. “I’m not getting anywhere with this. I’m going to have to find out my answers another way.” He stood and went to the center of the gym. “Nix, I need to you to come to me. I have some questions.”

  Cam scanned the room looking for whomever Michael yelled for. When he saw no one, he gave his uncle an arched brow. “Are you talking to the voices in your head again, Chief?”

  “No, I’m calling an oracle. She’ll be able to give us some answers.”

  Ana was good and ticked off. “You mean to tell me you could have found out everything we needed to know all this time? Why didn’t you call the oracle sooner?”

  Michael let out a suffering sigh. “You’ll see soon enough. Nix! Damn it, you’re beginning to make me look like an idiot here.”

  A female shimmered onto the table. “Like you would need any help with that.”

  She sat there, long legs swinging over the edge of the table while she filed her nails. Ana could see a set of pointed ears poking out from her mass of curly, white-blonde hair. Her dark violet eyes fixed on Michael, shooting daggers, before she returned her attention to her nails. She wore the traditional white flowing dress of Heaven, although she had obviously added a few personal touches of her own to it. It was low cut it the front and there were long slits up both sides. She didn’t leaving anything for the imagination.

  Nix got down from the table and walked slowly around the males, tapping the nail file against the side of her hand. “Well, well, well. You didn’t say you had a room full of hunky, sweaty males. It looks like Christmas came early for Nix this year.”

  Michael’s hands worked, almost like he was imaging strangling the strange female. “That is not why I called you here.”

  She smacked Bear on the ass before she gave Michael an uninterested glance. “I know why you called me here, archangel leader, and if you want me to give you the answers you seek, you will be patient.”

  Ana went over and grabbed Appolion’s hand, just so the little witch knew he was taken. She gave Michael a questioning look. Surely he wasn’t going to put up with this tart’s antics.

  For once though, Michael didn’t seem in control of the situation. He ran his hand through his hair, “I knew you wouldn’t make this easy, Nix.”

  “Einey meanie miro moe.” Nix pointed at each of the males with her n
ail file. “Catch a demon by the toe…”

  Cam snickered. “I think I like Uncle Mike’s new friend.”

  Nix walked up and gave Cam a coy look. “You look a lot like your uncle did when he was your age. You are a little cocky snot like he was, too.”

  Cam curled his lip. “Is that so?”

  “Yes, you are similar to Michael in many ways.” Nix moved so fast she was just a blur and grabbed Cam with one hand, squeezing his cheeks together. She touched one of his exposed fangs. “Of course, there are some differences.”

  Ana moved forward to help her brother, but Appolion grabbed her by the arm and gave a silent shake of his head. All she could do was stand there and fume while the oracle molested her brother. Ana smile triumphantly when Cam snapped his fangs at Nix, making her jump back. Unfortunately, the female rebounded quickly. She leaned into Cam and, since he was being his usual stubborn self, he refused to back up. Soon her body was pressed very close to his until she seemed molded into him.

  “You shouldn’t try to bite me, Empath King,” she said huskily. “My blood would be very, very, bad for you. Now if you want to sink something else in me, that’s a whole different story.”

  Cam got a real dangerous look in his eyes. “I’m not in the market to mark a female angel.”

  She fingered her pointed ear. “Who said I’m an angel and who said you could mark me? I’m a bit of this, a bit of that.” She slowly traced Cam’s eyes and fangs, and this time, he didn’t snap. “But then you know all about being a half breed, don’t you?”

  “Nix,” Michael drew her name out slowly. “Leave him alone. You’re too old for him.”

  She wiggled her shoulders and ran her hand over Cam’s arms. “Mmmm, he feels old enough to me.”

  Gabi snorted and said in a low voice to Ana, “She should cover up some. I’m really worried she’s about to get a chest cold.”

  Nix turned and smirked. “Jealous your highness? By the way your mother sends her greetings. At least I think she did. She so rarely speaks of you so it’s hard to remember.”

  “Nix!” Michael thundered.

  “Michael,” she shot back sarcastically with a flip of her beautiful hair.

  Ana was torn, part of her really wanted to scratch the whore’s violet eyes out, but the other part was enjoying seeing Michael at his wits ends. Heck, she was even giving Cam a run for his money. She was half tempted to sell tickets to this event. That was until Nix focused her attention on Appolion.

  The oracle licked her lips as she devoured him with her eyes. “So the Destroyer has finally been found. You are the spitting image of your daddy. Or at least Daddy before he got all ugly and scaly.”

  Ana saw a hurt look pass over Appolion’s face and that spurred her to action. “I don’t think you know anything, Nix,” she said coolly. “I think you’re just blowing hot air.”

  Nix pinched Ana’s cheek. It might have passed as an affectionate gesture if it had not hurt so much. Ana winced in pain and let Appolion drag her closer to him. She leaned into him and rubbed away the ouchie.

  Nix smirked at them before she turned back to Michael. “I will entertain your questions now, archangel Michael.”

  He just pointed a questioning finger at Bear. If Bear seemed uncomfortable with the scrutiny, he became very nervous when Nix walked a slow circle around him. She reminded Ana of a shark circling its prey before it attacked.

  “This one is real special all right.” She smacked Bear on his butt again and laughed at his annoyed, embarrassed, get me the hell outa here look.

  Tiffany let out an outraged gasp.

  Uriel grabbed her and slapped his hand over her mouth before her inner bitch came out.

  Nix noticed the byplay and it seemed to amuse her to no end. She gave Tiffany a snide laugh. “Don’t worry, Gazardiel, oops, I mean Tiffany.” She covered her mouth with her small white hand in mock terror. “Oh no, I gave away the big secret, so sorry. Don’t worry about me taking your little teddy Bear from you. You are each other’s destiny.”

  “That’s so sweet,” Michael said with Cam patented sarcasm. “But that’s not what I brought you down to tell me and you know it.”

  “What is the magic word Chief of archangels?”

  Michael swallowed his pride and, judging by the look on his face it was bitter tasting, said tightly, “Please, Nix, will you help me?”

  “After the way the original Order fell apart, they decided some changes needed to be put in place with the prophesy. One of them, was they added another angel into the mix. A buffer to help soothe the other’s ill feelings. They hoped this would help the others not give into the evil like before. Little Bear here is that make ya real happy angel.”

  “How is it that he is amplifying other’s emotions, too?”

  Nix rolled her eyes. “Bear is doing more than just amplifying emotions. He is able to channel anything that is around him and, for a moment, almost become what he is channeling. It truly is a wonderful gift.”

  Her cheek stopped throbbing so Ana decided it would be safe to add her own two cents. “How can you call that a gift? Because of this new quirk Bear had gone into seizures and attacked Tiffany?”

  “Once he is able to control his powers he could use them for the greater good. He could walk right into the mist of your enemies and they would be none the wiser because he would appear to be one of them.”

  Michael gave her a dubious look. “So could he mimic Cam or any other member of the Order?”

  “No, they made sure that could never happen. Could you imagine the power Bear would hold if he could reproduce all the gifts of the Order? One angel that could control the fire, the earth and the sky?” She gave a delicate shudder. “Lucifer would stop at nothing to control such an angel.”

  “You keep saying they, who exactly are you talking about?” Ana asked as her head spun. Not Bear, too, please. Couldn’t any of her family be safe?

  “They are just that, they. The powers that be, the fates, the everything. They are controlled by Him and He is the one that rules the universe.”

  Ana growled. “You can go back and tell Him that he can’t have Bear. Tell Him to find some another angel from a different family. Haven’t they hurt us enough already with their damn prophesy?”

  Nix looked at her with pity in her eyes. “You must be brave Anachele for it will get worse for you and your brothers. I speak with your mother often and she weeps over the future.”

  Ana brought a trembling hand up to her chest. “Why my family? Why does it always have to be one of us?”

  “Because your family has been blessed with wonderful gifts and with that comes terrible curses. You cannot have one without having the other. That is the balance of the universe. It is just not your family either.” Nix gave a pointed look at Abdiel, Appolion and Rachael. “Your two families have always been connected. They were very pleased to hear that you and the Destroyer were mated. They have long wanted a union between the two families.”

  Ana felt the famous Lehor temper reach a boiling point within her. “Well it’s good to know that the fates are happy that I’m scrumping the Destroyer.” She stormed out of the gym, making sure she slammed the door loudly behind her.

  * * * *

  Appolion watched her go and resisted the overwhelming urge to run after her. He didn’t want to risk angering Nix. He wasn’t quite sure what a pissed off oracle was capable of. He realized Nix was staring at him and struggled to keep his composure under the scrutiny.

  After several awkward moments, she finally spoke, “I sense your love for her. It is good you have finally been able to accept your destiny. It’s because of her you have accepted that you are of worth. Protect her, Appolion, the Destroyer. She will need you. You alone can bring her through all that is to come.”

  Michael looked worried, and even though Appolion had only known him a few days he knew that was not a good thing.

  Michael asked, “What are these trials you speak of, Nix?”

  She sighed sadl
y. “I am not allowed to divulge anymore. They are calling me back now.” She grabbed an ink pen off the table and sauntered over to Cam. She grabbed his hand and wrote some numbers down on it, a sly smile on her face.

  Cam spent the entire time looking down the front of her dress.

  “If you ever get sick of having to wash the demon whore stench off you, give me a call. You can either call me this way,” she caressed the numbers on his hand, “or use the way your Uncle Mike did. I’ll come to you either way.”

  “Damn it, Nix, I told you to leave him alone,” Michael barked.

  Nix gave a sultry laugh. “Don’t worry about you nephew, Michael. I know I can’t keep him. His destiny belongs to another. I just want to borrow him a bit.” Her face suddenly got troubled and she fingered her ear again. “You need to be on guard, Michael. There is unrest among my clan. Someone is getting ready to call them and they sense it.”

  Appolion was shocked at the wave of fear that went through the room. He felt it emanating from every angel in there, save for Rachael. Shit, even Cam and Michael were putting it out and that scared the hell out of him. Cam and Michael feared nothing.

  Nix stood on tiptoe and kissed Cam.

  Appolion wasn’t surprised when his buddy didn’t pull away. In fact, good old Cam wrapped his arms around her and took over control, tilting the oracle back so he could really lay one on her. Appolion looked down at his feet because he really didn’t feel like watching Cam get his rocks off. He heard Gabi snort as she expressed her own disgust.

  He finally dared himself to look up just in time to see Nix pull away from Cam. She gave Michael a saucy little wave and flashed out of the room. Appolion glanced at the others and saw they all still looked as scared as shit. “What exactly is Nix? I know she’s not all angel and I didn’t sense any demon in her?”

  Michael answered, “She’s part angel and part Power.”

  Rachael frowned. “What’s a Power?”

  Appolion was glad he wasn’t the only one in the room who was clueless.

  Cam got a dark look in his eyes. “They are the meanest, baddest fuckers out there. They are cold, efficient killing machines with no remorse, empathy or soul. They’re your worst nightmare come alive.”