by Diem, J. C.
“Sounds awesome,” I said wistfully and reached for a cracker and some cheese. He copied me and we ate in silence for a while. Neither of us had any siblings, but at least he had cousins that were around his age to annoy him. With my mother dead, I had no relatives left that I knew of. Zach’s parents had divorced when he’d been small and his father had won custody of him. His mother had moved somewhere overseas and he hadn’t seen her in years. I had the feeling his father had high expectations and wanted him to follow in his footsteps. “Did you get many gifts?” I asked at last.
“Loads of them,” he replied with a laugh. His mirth faded and he looked at me intently. “Speaking of gifts, I have something for you.”
I groaned to hear that. “You’ve already spent way too much on me!” I pointed at the ring that had probably cost him a small fortune.
“Does it look like money is a problem for me?” he asked philosophically and waved a hand at the opulence that surrounded us.
“No. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to buy me things.”
“It’s too late for that,” he replied with a cheeky grin and reached into the back pocket of his trousers. “I love giving you gifts. Besides, what sort of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t get you a Christmas present?”
I took the small box reluctantly. It had been expertly wrapped by a professional and I was almost afraid to open it. Tearing the wrapping off, I opened the box and blinked when I saw the contents. Instead of the expensive piece of jewelry that I’d expected, a leather bracelet was nestled inside. Three strips of leather had been inexpertly plaited then the ends had been crudely tied together. It had clearly been homemade by someone with little experience with leatherwork.
Zach’s expression grew anxious when I picked it up. “I made it myself,” he said bashfully. “You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.”
It was far from pretty, but my eyes blurred with tears anyway. I slipped it over my left wrist to sit snugly beside my watch. The fact that he’d gone to the trouble to make something for me touched me deeply. “I love it,” I said and leaned forward to kiss him. I kept the contact brief so I couldn’t become overwhelmed with lust. “I have something for you, too.”
He looked surprised, but pleased. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t get you a combined birthday and Christmas present?” I said teasingly. I reached inside my pocket for a box that was similar to the one he’d given me. The wrapping that I’d used was cheap, just like the present that lay inside it. I was hoping that the thought would mean as much to him as his leather bracelet meant to me.
Zach took it from me and tore the wrapper off. He opened the box and stared down at the necklace that I’d bought him only a few days ago. I’d seen it while I’d been out on patrol with Sam. It was a fire opal on a leather chain that looked a lot like the bracelet that he’d made for me, but far better formed.
“Turn it over,” I urged.
He did and ran a finger over the engraving that was on the back. The metal was only silver, but it was the closest thing to a ruby set in platinum that I could afford. “What do these symbols mean?” he asked.
They were my initials in the equivalent of the demons’ alphabet. Entwined together, they looked a lot like a demon rune, but I couldn’t tell him that. “They don’t mean anything,” I shrugged. “I saw them in a dream.” That much was true. I’d had a conversation with my hellscribe and he’d described them to me. Looking around the room at the expensive things that surrounded us, I wouldn’t have blamed Zach for throwing the paltry gift back in my face. “I know it isn’t much,” I said, suddenly doubtful.
“Material things don’t mean a lot to me,” he said. “I’ve been showered with meaningless gifts my entire life. This is the first thing that anyone has given me that came from the heart.” He hesitated for a moment, turning bashful. “It did come from your heart, didn’t it?”
I melted at the vulnerability I saw in his dark eyes. “Of course it did.”
He grinned in relief at my admission. “Then this is the best gift that I’ve ever received.” He pulled me in for a kiss and my lust was instantly ignited. A small voice told me to be careful, but it was drowned out by the heat that was rapidly rising inside me.
₪₪₪
Chapter Eight
My hands slid into Zach’s hair and I deepened the kiss. Our tea was forgotten and so was my common sense. I crawled onto his lap and wrapped myself around him. His hands roamed up and down my back as our tongues became reacquainted. We were both breathing heavily and our pulses were racing.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a beeping sound finally intruded on our make-out session. Zach’s hands were beneath my shirt. He’d just unhooked my bra and his hands were sliding around my sides. In another second or two, he would have held my breasts in his palms.
Cold reason hit me and I jerked away at the thought of him discovering the ugly scar on my left breast. “What’s that noise?” I said, trying to hide my fear of him finding out about what I thought of as a deformity.
“Huh?” His expression was dazed and his eyes were glazed with passion. Then he heard the noise and his face went pale. He reached out to pick up his phone and looked at the screen. “My Dad’s home and he’s heading this way,” he said in a horrified whisper. The color fled from my face as well at that news. “Hide!” he said and I scrambled to my feet.
Turning in a circle, I spied the closet door standing open. Snatching up my boots from the mat, I darted inside just as a knock came at the door. Putting my boots down, I hiked my shirt up and reached behind me to do my bra up. I watched through a crack as Zach slid his new necklace into his pocket. He jabbed a button on his phone to shut the alarm off and smoothed his hair down. Seeing my cup sitting next to his on the coffee table, he hastily placed it behind the couch where it wouldn’t be seen. His body had reacted to rubbing up against mine and that wasn’t something he could easily hide. He crossed his legs and assumed an innocent expression. “Come in!” he said loudly.
The door opened inwards, blocking his father from my view when he poked his head inside. “My meeting ended early,” he said in a deep baritone. “I thought you might like to go out for dinner tonight. Clarice Weller and her daughter, Candice, will be joining us.” He said this as if it was incentive for his son to accompany him.
“Sure,” Zach said with a pleasant smile. “What time will we be leaving?”
“Eight. I have business to attend to first. Make sure you wear a suit.” With that order, he closed the door.
I waited until his footsteps had faded before leaving the closet. “Who are Clarice and Candice Weller?” I asked.
Zach flushed and ran a hand through his hair. “Clarice is one of my father’s clients. I think they’re trying to fix me up with her daughter, Candice.”
“Is she pretty?” I kept my tone neutral, but jealousy was wrapping its ugly claws around me.
“Yeah. She’s beautiful and she knows it,” he said morosely. “She’s exactly the type of girl I try to avoid at all costs; shallow, spoiled and fake.”
His answer reassured me and I smiled in relief. “So, I guess you won’t be cheating on me with her then?”
He was shocked by that. “I would never cheat on you.” He came to his feet and walked over to take my hand. “You’re the only one for me, Violet,” he said earnestly. “No other girl has ever made me feel the way you do.”
We became lost in each other’s eyes until I realized that too much time had passed. Someone would come looking for me if I didn’t head back to Sophia’s store soon. “I have to go,” I said reluctantly.
“Wait here, I’ll make sure the way is clear.” He left his room to check on his father and returned a couple of minutes later. “He’s busy in his office,” he told me. “It should be safe for you to sneak out.”
I grabbed my coat from the closet and followed him to the front door. “Take
the stairs down to the eighteenth floor before you use the elevator,” he advised me quietly as I put my boots back on. “Get out on the second floor and take the stairs to the ground floor. Do you think you can find the service entrance again?”
I nodded and tried to hide how nervous I was feeling. It was strange, but I felt more intimidated at the thought of running into the doorman than I did at encountering a demon. The hell spawn wouldn’t even notice me, thanks to my bracelet, but the doorman would toss me out in a heartbeat. Worst case scenario, he might try to detain me and call the cops. The last thing I needed was to come to the notice of the police. They’d arrest me as soon as they learned who I was.
“Thank you for the bracelet and for letting me see your home,” I said and gave him a last, lingering kiss.
“Thank you for the necklace. Maybe one day, I’ll be able to visit you wherever you live.”
That wasn’t likely to happen, so I merely smiled and didn’t say anything. Sam was the only one who knew I was dating Zach. I doubted the others would be very happy if they found out that I was seeing someone.
He watched me until I reached the corner then blew me a kiss before stepping back inside and closing the door. Retracing my route, I followed his instructions. To my horror, a familiar person was waiting on the second floor when the elevator door slid open. The white blond hair and frosty blue eyes belonged to Zach’s bodyguard and chauffeur, Giles. At first, I thought I’d been busted, but he merely waited for me to step out. He gave me a cold look, but he didn’t seem to recognize me. Luckily, he hadn’t gotten a very good look at my face the first time I’d spoken to Zach outside his building.
With my heart beating hard and fast, I stepped around him and didn’t look back as I headed down the hallway. Once I was around the corner, I ran to the stairs. I took them two at a time, silently praying that I wouldn’t trip and draw unwanted attention. I slowed down at the bottom and opened the door a crack to peer outside. The hallway was empty, so I stepped out and scurried to the exit, donning my coat in the process.
Only when I’d left the safety of the building did I remember the feathered spy that had been watching me from the balcony across from Zach’s bedroom. I tilted my head back, but I couldn’t see all the way to the top of the building.
A bony hand came down on my shoulder and I yelped in surprise. Reaching for the dagger that was stashed inside a sheath in my pocket, I spun around to see Sam watching me in amusement. “I did not mean to startle you,” he said contritely at my glare.
“Have you seen the raven? It was watching me from that building.” I pointed up at the structure.
Alarmed, he searched for the bird, but couldn’t spot it. “I do not see it, but that does not mean it is not watching us right now. We should head back to the store. It would appear that the storm has finally arrived.”
I hadn’t even noticed that the snow was falling much harder now. The sidewalk was completely covered and had become slippery and dangerous. It was going to be even more difficult to spot the skeletal bird if it was trailing us in this weather.
Linking arms in an attempt not to slip and fall in the ice, we hurried back towards Midtown. We only made it a couple of blocks before Nathan appeared in front of us. He hadn’t bothered with a coat and his black sweater rapidly became dotted with white flakes. They settled in his hair, making him even more magically handsome. I felt guilty that I had such strong emotions for someone else when I was dating Zach. I wished I could drive the feelings that I had for Nathan away, but I couldn’t control my heart. The only thing I could do was to try not to let it control me.
“Did you encounter any demons during your patrol?” he asked.
I shook my head and huddled deeper into my coat. The snow was now coming down so hard that I could barely see him even though he was standing only a few feet away. “We saw the raven, though. It hasn’t attacked us yet, but it could be gathering a flock right now.”
Taking my hint, he took our hands and zapped us all back to our lair.
It was far too warm inside to wear my coat. I shucked it off and stomped the snow off my boots on the mat next to the door. Sam copied me then we toed our boots off and left them there to dry. We hung our coats up on hooks that had been added to the door. The heat would dry them soon enough.
“How did your patrol go?” Leo asked.
My face tried to flame bright red, but I managed to control it. The only patrolling I’d done had been related to running my hands all over Zach’s body. I wasn’t sure when he found the time to work out, but he had nicely defined muscles in his arms, chest, back and thighs. “It went fine,” I replied. I took my seat at the table where a cup of tea and plate of cookies waited. Sophia nodded in acknowledgement of the grateful smile that I gave her.
Brie sat stiffly with her arms crossed. “Did you see the raven?”
“Yeah. It showed up, but it just watched us this time.”
Sophia had a theory about that. “Animals can sense it when the weather is about to take a turn for the worse. I imagine most birds have found somewhere safe to roost. Perhaps it was not able to force them out of their nests to attack you this time.”
I didn’t think it had even tried to rally the troops, but I just shrugged. It had wanted me to know that it could find me whenever I wasn’t in the store. Brie’s spells kept the evil out and prevented demons from finding us, but her magic didn’t seem to work against animals. I wondered how long it would be before the Hellmaster’s pet bird narrowed down our location. This was the only safe haven we had in the city. If it was compromised, we’d have to find somewhere else to hide.
₪₪₪
Chapter Nine
Being stuck in limbo waiting to find the next portal to hell was boring beyond words. I had little to do in between my training sessions with Leo. There was only so much time I could spend in front of the TV before I’d go insane. Sophia had cable TV, so there were plenty of shows for Sam to choose from. I just couldn’t seem to become invested in any of the programs that he favored. They seemed petty and unimportant to me now that I was aware of the reality that few humans knew about.
A war had been raging between heaven and hell for thousands of years. It had all begun when Lucifer had rebelled and had risen up against God. The angel had managed to sway his followers into joining him. I wasn’t sure how long their battle had lasted before God had kicked the rebels out.
They’d fallen from heaven and had entered hell. The demons weren’t alone in the dismal dimension that acted as their prison. Human souls from unrepentant sinners had been waiting for them. Hell wasn’t just a storage place for evil doers. It gave the demons something to do and a way for them to blow off steam from their confinement. Torturing the former humans was the main source of enjoyment they had. Gossiping was their second favorite form of entertainment.
Sitting on my bed, I was trying to read a book, but my eyes kept glazing over. Hearing soft footsteps approach, I looked up to see Sophia appear in the doorway. She was carrying a tray with a plate of sandwiches and the inevitable cup of tea. “I thought you might like some lunch,” she offered.
Normally, I ate downstairs at the table. It was unusual for her to deliver my food to me and my eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What’s going on?”
Placing the tray on the nightstand, she glanced at the doorway to make sure no one was in sight. “Nathanael and Briathos are arguing again.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let me guess. They’re talking about me.” All arguments seemed to revolve around me these days.
Sighing heavily, she took a seat on the bed beside me. “They are just feeling restless. I am sure their altercation will blow over soon.” The storm was so bad that not even the angels wanted to go out on patrol.
She showed no signs of wanting to return downstairs to listen to their nitpicking, so I asked her a question. “I read in one of your books that angels spend a lot of time honing their battle skills.”
She inclined her head in agreement. “Tha
t is true.”
“I guess they’re gearing up for an all-out war with the demons.”
“They were, but since the gates of heaven are now locked, it would seem that they will not be able to participate in the battles ahead.”
“That really sucks,” I said morosely. “I feel bad for them spending all that time becoming warriors for nothing. It seems like such a waste, since they’ve only fought with Lucifer and his minions when he tried to stage a hostile takeover.” Most people called him Satan now, but either name seemed to apply to the Devil.
“That is not the only occasion when my brethren were called into battle,” she said.
This was news to me. “Really? Who else have they fought?”
Contemplating whether to tell me or not, she reached her decision and leaned in close. I unconsciously leaned in as well as she spoke softly. “It is not widely known, but humans are not the only intelligent lifeforms in the universe.”
I blinked at that, ready to smile at her joke. “Are you saying that aliens exist?”
“Yes.”
Her blunt answer drove my smile away. “You mean there really are little gray men with gigantic heads and big black eyes ready to invade our planet and probe us into submission?”
Her expression darkened. “The beings that we have encountered do not look the same way as humans imagine them to be,” she said. “Some of these beings are benign, but others are very different. One species who discovered this world believed that they could use it for their entertainment. The other species was far more dangerous. Their intention was not to experiment, but to enslave. They were the first alien beings that we drove away.”
“Who were they and when was this?”
“They called themselves Viltarans,” she said and shuddered. “It was tens of thousands of years ago, when mankind had still been in its infancy.”