by Azure Boone
She stared into his gaze a moment before releasing him and looking around. "I…I'm not sure, I just do." She wiped the tears from her face, seeming embarrassed.
"You just do?" Betrayal boiled Lucian's blood. He looked at Dorn. "Did you really think you had the right to tell her all of this?"
"He didn't Lucian—"
"You'd lie for him?" Lucian turned and glared at her, unable to believe it, pain smothering him.
"Lucian…" Kassern’s voice was low. "You really need to calm down."
Lucian turned his blurred vision to Kassern, panting on rage. "Calm down? Is that all you can say to me, calm down? Don't you have anything to say to that piece of shit right there?" He jabbed a finger in Dorn's direction.
"Lucian?" Jessie's voice sounded fragile and Lucian became aware that blue flames covered his body.
"You don't want to do that," Dorn warned.
"Still reading my thoughts out to everybody I see." Lucian slowly walked in his direction.
"Lucian, you could get hurt," Dorn said.
"Hurt?" Lucian's self-harm scars tingled and ached along his inner thighs where they'd gone far deeper than the surface cuts on his arms. "I'm no stranger to pain."
Lucian launched at the angel only to somehow get sucked into his embrace like a magnet, into arms of steel that wrapped him in a bear hug. The wave of peaceful calm slammed him and Lucian struggled against the feeling. He didn't want it, it didn't belong, it didn't fit with anything he possessed inside him. The only thing he could manage was a scream but as his breath left him, so did all his strength.
"You have to let it go, Lucian," Dorn whispered next to his ear.
I don't know how. Lucian could only think the words. I don’t fucking know how.
"I'll help you."
Tears swam in his eyes and sorrow pierced his heart. "Why didn't you help?" He let his head fall onto Dorn's shoulder. "I prayed so many times," he wailed.
"Lucian," Dorn began. "I chose your brother for this mission, but I was wrong. And when I met you, I knew that immediately, you were the one. And not just by chance, but by choice, you were prepared long ago for this moment, right now."
"To help save the world," Lucian cried.
"You, Lucian…" the words caressed him somehow, "you mean the world to God. And if there was only you left in all the world, He would still do what He is doing."
A sob tore from Lucian's chest and he clutched the angel tight. At the first crack in the steel cocoon around his heart, the angel's aqua power surged in and Lucian lost all his strength. He let it all go, wailing out all the anguish and grief. And the relief. God the relief that flooded him, lifted him, there was nothing like it. He was so light, so happy, so free.
The amazing moment shattered with a horrific scream.
****
Kassern jerked toward the sound coming from the hotel suite's bedroom and followed Jessie to it. When Dorn entered behind him, he explained, "We found Jessie with her in the cavern next to where we fought."
"We couldn't just leave her." Jessie seemed worried they'd blame her for something.
"What's wrong with her stomach?" Devyn went to stand on the other side of the bed, taking the girl's pale hand.
Jessie sat on the bed next to her and touched the huge bulge under the brown woolen garment that could have passed for a monk's robe. She looked up. "Babies."
"Babies? Plural?" Troy's face paled. "But she didn't look pregnant when we left."
Toren suddenly appeared in the room and without words gave Dorn his report. Operation Demon Crush was a success and he was on his way back to the Third Heaven to give report to Uriel. Toren's gaze narrowed and he strode to the bedside, his attention centered on the girl writhing in agony.
"Is it…growing? Her stomach?" Devyn frowned and stared as if trying to measure the change.
The girl opened her mouth and screamed again.
"I'm assuming you have a sound barrier around this place." It was more a statement than question as he reached down and touched the girl's forehead, no doubt using the mercury properties of his shield to learn something. But why the interest?
"Getting anything?" Kassern arched one brow.
Toren slowly sliced his mirror gaze to Kassern. "No, but Steve is…"
Judging by Toren's perplexity, he wasn't sure what was up with his pet, as some of the archangels referred to their adopted beings. Genderless, nameless pet, in Toren’s case. Toren had resorted to calling it Steve in hopes to provoke the thing to name itself. He was the only elite archangel whose pet behaved this way. Toren had informed Kassern he was tired of being wondered over as if it was something he was doing wrong. The pet wouldn’t assume a name? Then he'd assume it for him.
The girl suddenly reached a hand out and grabbed Toren's. The angel's wings erupted behind him, mercury feathers trembling with whatever she'd done to him. Kassern rushed forward and Toren shot a hand out and knocked him on his ass with a blast of power.
"Father!" Toren gasped, dropping on one knee.
"What's happening?" Devyn stood and backed away from the bed as Toren's mercury energy leaked out everywhere.
"Yes, an update would be helpful," Dorn all but demanded.
Movement drew Kassern's attention to her bloated belly, which was appreciably larger and now heaving and rolling. Kassern went to the bed and with his fingernail, burned an incision in the garment blocking his view of what was happening there.
When her belly came into full view, sounds of shock and horror filled the room. The skin had taken on an odd, almost translucent quality. Combined with the movement from within, the translucence gave the impression of a flesh-colored bag of moving marbles. Even while Kassern watched, the belly grew larger and the skin thinner.
Jessie moved to the foot of the bed and lifted the girl's brown robe and screamed, jumping back. Kassern stepped back as well, and the human part of him wanted to retch as a wriggling blob of blood and mucus the size of a calf oozed out onto the bed.
"Jesus," Devyn grabbed Troy. "What the fuck is that?"
"Oh wicked hell, everybody get back," Toren whispered.
****
Toren strained to hold in Steve. He'd never felt the thing so eager for anything and Toren worried over what it might want so badly. And what in God's Holy Name had just come out of that poor girl's body? Moreover, why did he keep possession of her hand? But it wasn't like he could release it. Her gaze locked to his, like a holy war missile, and Toren couldn't break the connection.
He stared into her sky blue eyes, shiny and wide with more pain than any human should ever endure, especially a human woman. But what troubled Toren was the demanding urge to kill that cause. It roared through his mercury powers until he could see it swirling in the reflection of her eyes. Then he heard her whisper. Help me.
It was as if God himself had given him a direct order.
"God, it's those things!" Troy gagged and clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Kill them, they're growing!" Devyn backed up with Troy.
Toren could feel Kassern's eyes on him. He prayed Kassern didn't interfere; he could do nothing but hold the dying girl's gaze while Steve fought to come out. Toren formed a link of mercury chain and attached it to her soul through her chest. Stay with me, he whispered in her mind. Don't go. Hold on for me, I have you now, you're safe with me.
"Oh God, kill them!" Karly ducked behind Kassern.
"Toren, come on, what are you doing? I need to do something." Kassern backed away from the dozen now rapidly crawling larvae.
Toren felt her teetering on the edge of life and death and his soul link suddenly loosened, filling him with panic.
Her spirit sat up out of her body. Keeping her gaze locked to his, she raised up until they stared at one another, face to face. In a matter of five seconds, her sweet spirit gave up all its secrets to him. He stood frozen as each torment floated like strands of soft silk around his heart. Loneliness…self-loathing…depression… She stroked his cheek with her hand.
"Thank you," she whispered. Toren held his breath as she leaned in and placed the softest kiss on his lips.
She lay back down in her body and shut her eyes. The moment life returned to her, he gasped, and at that second, Steve shot out of the doorway on his chest with a scream of twenty banshees on fire.
Toren staggered back, watching in confusion as his creature came into contact with the larva and quickly underwent a series of evolutionary changes until it resembled a mother version of the now cockroach humanoid looking things.
Reminding him a lot of a centipede with arms, she purred, petted, and hissed over each infant that now burrowed into folds of her fat underbelly. Toren couldn't believe his eyes. Seemed the creature had figured out how to manipulate its own biological makeup in the same way Toren used it to fashion various weapons. Barks issued from its cookie monster mouth that housed as many teeth as its body did hands, sending a clear stay back message.
"Toren?" Kassern's what the hell is going on was barely audible.
Toren shook his head. "Looks like the thing has finally chosen a gender. And she wants to be…a mother."
"Steve wants to be a mother?" Devyn whispered.
"Her new name is Peggy." Toren didn't bother hiding his awe and confusion.
What are we saying here?" Dorn asked. "That we're supposed to let those things live?"
The now female cockroach slash centipede roared directly at Dorn, and Toren looked at him. "I think you have your answer."
Kassern's eyes widened. "Wait…that's right, these things are pure at birth. Well, sort of. Though evil is inherent in them, they can be taught."
"Like a human?" The question nearly squeaked out of Toren, an odd sound even to his own ears. But it was certainly shock-worthy.
"Remember I'd learned that bit during my little trip through the adult one's past?" Kassern eased his wife from behind him and pulled her body against his, wrapping both arms lovingly around her. "Though they are inherently evil, it still had to be trained or cemented into them. Which means they must also have the potential to be good."
Silence reigned as that info was considered.
"Wow," Kassern's human male mumbled. "So you're saying…we can teach them how to be holy instead of evil?"
Toren nodded absently. "She seems to damn well think so." He watched as the adopted pet purred and licked over the now Neanderthal looking infants. "Look at how she's morphing with them." It was rather disgusting, really. His pet had become like a huge female human slash ape but with a long torso and…nine breasts. One for each infant.
Dorn looked at Toren. "I guess we know which of our brothers is coming next."
Toren looked down at the girl in the bed, sleeping peacefully now. "Yes," he said. He slid a finger gently over her brow, knowing she'd have one hell of a time getting over this otherworldly trauma. Maybe she wouldn't remember it. He took a deep breath and sighed. Maybe he could see to it that she forgot it, in fact.
But then…that would mean forgetting him.
****
"What is this place?" Sally didn't really care, but she needed to speak just to breathe with Dorn approaching the bed completely nude and all.
He stopped next to it and just stared at her. She stared back, wondering if he could see the tremble in her body. "You're nervous." Guess he could then.
"Little bit."
Her eyes felt permanently attached to his, she couldn't avoid his look if she'd tried. He slowly lowered his gaze and the blue gown he'd dressed her in after their quickie in the sphere, disappeared. All that remained was the dainty aquamarine ring on her wedding finger. Instinctively she drew her legs up and brought her hands under her chin, covering her breasts with her forearms. She couldn’t help hide her shortcomings from his perfect, predatory gaze.
A purring growl filled the room and Sally wondered if maybe it belonged to that dragon animal that occasionally burst from him. His head slowly tilted as he took in all her visible parts before his brilliant pale gaze slid up to hers. He barely shook his head, his seductive stare burning her. "I have to see you." He swallowed hard. "All of you."
Her heart dropped to her lower belly and she gasped when his intimidating arousal jumped with his words. And his tone. Like he'd die the worst angelic death if he didn't look at every single inch of her.
The air around her gradually transformed and became misted with aqua and Sally instinctively resisted the warm gravitational pull it placed on her arms. The tug became stronger and she let it move her arms down and away from her breasts.
Heat flared in Dorn's eyes as her breasts were revealed.
The air encased her wrist and drew her fingers to graze over her hardened nipples. Her flesh began to tremble with anticipation.
Dorn angled his head, watching, that growling vibration filling the air again. "I liked seeing you do that."
The aqua air caressed over her body and along her legs, exerting warm pressure to pull apart her ankles. "Oh God." The now hot tendrils lifted her knees and opened them to his view.
Dorn knelt at the foot of the bed, his face filled with a tortured erotic anticipation that sent Sally's pulse sky-rocketing. He slid that liquid blue gaze up to her breasts and that hot pressure at her wrists eased her arms above her head, all the while caressing the sensitive skin on the insides of her arms.
Dorn's eyelids lowered, the look of one mesmerized. He moved fluidly toward her until his face stopped inches from her breasts. Sally closed her eyes in dread. Why did he have to scrutinize her biggest imperfection? She drew a deep breath and concentrated on minimizing her reactions.
He sighed with a groan and her nipple tightened under his warm breath. He did the same to the other. "They're so beautiful when they do that."
Sally moaned and shrank back a little.
He drew away enough to see her face. "They're perfect."
It should have made her feel better, but somehow it only embarrassed her more that he knew her insecurity. She looked away and bit her lip. How could an archangel want a woman who was less than perfect? That made no sense to her.
He leaned and licked with flawless precision around the hard tip of her nipple before hungrily covering half her breast with his entire mouth. Sally cried out and arched into the succulent heat. "Mmm. Impeccable." His growl vibrated through her skin, making her womb clench with the memory of him making love to her for the first time. "Do you trust me Sally?"
Trembling, she nodded.
"Your body is exquisite." He kissed the valley between her breasts. "It was made to be exactly as I need it. And my needs were made to be exactly what you provide. If you were made like some other man's idea of perfect, you wouldn't be you. And you wouldn't be who I need." He nuzzled along her collar bone. "And I definitely need you."
He slid his hands over her sides then hips, making Sally feel like a prized creation under the hand of a master sculptor. He moved to her other breast and lavished it with adoration until Sally's moans came with every breath.
His fingers found her folds with a teasing touch and her breath hitched. "Oh God!"
His lips left her breast and he suddenly stared down into her face while tracing intricate patterns over her sensitive flesh, his growling returned. Her mouth flew open when he glided his finger in slow, very slow circles over the erect little nub hidden within her folds.
"Oh God," she cried again, the pressure at her knees pulling her wider.
His beautiful dark and perfect brows were drawn hard with concentrated rapture as he studied her face, watching what his touch did to her.
His hot length pressed against her hip and he stroked soft fingers over her face. "I wasn't supposed to need you like this." He slid his finger inside her. "I wasn't supposed to want you so badly."
"Dorn," she gasped.
He captured the word with his lips before driving his finger and tongue in deep, hungrily latching his other hand to the back of her head. There was nothing to do but take the pleasure he skewered her entire body with and wait her turn to
give it back.
"I'm going to taste you here." He drew his finger out and teased along her folds, not missing an inch. "Especially this." He flicked softly over her clit. "Until you sink your fingers into my hair and pull hard." He angled his head and deepened his kiss before nibbling at her lips. "I like when you do that."
"Please, God, yes."
He tightened his fingers in her hair and growled, pressing his cock into her leg. "I especially like when you say that." His kisses roamed her cheek now and Sally turned like a hungry babe wanting to suckle.
He kindly returned to her mouth, his breathing ragged as he moved his erection against her leg and worked his finger back inside her with an urgency that set her bones on fire.
"Jesus," she gasped under the assault.
Another growl rolled through him as he plunged his finger rapidly and drew loud moans from her.
She was suddenly being pulled into another position. Her hands were still above her head, pressed into the bed now, her legs freed. Dorn hovered his body over hers and Sally arched toward him, needing to feel his skin. She opened her legs when he settled between them. She went to capture his hips between her thighs but that restraint was back, pulling her knees up and open. He moved his body along hers, hard enough that every hot contour pressed against her. Sally writhed and arched into the amazing feeling.
"Please, do it." She hated the plea, she really wanted him to have his perfect way, but she was desperate for something.
He let his hard length press into her ache, groaning as he continued to undulate his body all over hers. God, it felt like her pores would orgasm from it. "Look at me love."
Sally's heart fluttered at the endearing word spoken on a silky tone. She met his gaze as he continued driving her crazy with barely a touch. "I need you Dorn."
His eyes glowed until it seemed the blue was boiling. "I have to taste you first." He leaned and kissed her chin. "Have to make you crazy with pleasure." He trailed kisses down her neck, between her breasts. "Make you cry out in abandon… begging… pleading…that is what I have to have."
God then have it, please have it.
****
Dorn tried to recall at any point in his existence where he'd ever wanted something so badly. He couldn't. Stopping at her breast, he teased the perfect tip with his teeth before sliding his tongue all over it, loving and learning the various texture with every turn of his head and lick. He opened wide and filled his mouth with her soft perfection, having to feel her breast all at once and entirely. He groaned and pulled up, sliding his lips back and forth over the nipple, especially loving the feel of it that way.