"Oh, I have no doubt. It's a mean little bastard."
Toren's grin broadened and he gave a soft chuckle before going serious. "You didn't have any trouble getting Kassie out?"
Lyght sighed inwardly. Should he tell Toren what had happened to Kassie so maybe her friends could help her deal with it? Or was that strictly hers to share? "No, Brother. I walked in, she asked me to bring Tyler and I did. Walked them out in the Blink, just as I'd planned."
"Glad to hear it went so well. I'm learning that few things with this mission do."
Lyght gave several solemn nods. "Given my humans, I'm learning that rather quickly myself."
Toren went serious again, but before he could ask Lyght to betray any of Kassie's secrets, Kassern stood and interrupted.
"Okay, everyone." Immediate silence fell and all turned their undivided attention to him.
Lyght leaned closer to Kassie. The ingrained habit to avoid that which might weaken him fell before the power of her fragrance, and his insatiable need to inhale her into his being at every opportunity. He breathed her in deeply, not concerned whether his Brothers noticed or not, anticipating the dizzying effect it always had on him.
Kassern continued. "I suspect the luxury of having everyone in the same place at the same time will be rare from here on, but for now, we're going to take advantage and figure out our next moves." Several nodded agreement but most sat in watchful silence. "We know a couple pieces of the Enemy's endgame. We need a few more."
Dorn spoke up. "And toward that goal, some of you have already begun to work, anticipating what we might encounter next. Searches for out-of-the-ordinary news stories and paying attention to old contacts led us to Kassie. We want to refine that process and be more efficient with it."
Jessie, the female half of Dorn's human couple hesitantly raised her hand. Dorn nodded permission for her to speak and she cleared her throat. "We know part of the Enemy's plan is to try and corrupt the Pope. During the forming of Dorn's warrior, I received part of his angelic powers in a way that has…allowed me to know things…about people and stuff." She seemed the type to not speak publicly and yet smart enough to not be controlled by her inadequacies.
She went on. "I've been seeking an audience with the Pope to find out if he's been turned. At this stage, with a new Pope, they could pretty well win in one move if they manage to overcome his innate goodness and they're no doubt giving it an all-out effort. If he's still free of demonic influence, we should maybe find a way to protect him. So far, I'm getting the run-around at each level and I've identified a few corrupted clerics." She pushed hair behind her ear and hurried on. "They're being dealt with. But Sallie and I and Karly have been talking. We think we've hit on something."
The entire room waited in suspense.
Jessie shrugged a little at the sudden undivided attention. "We could be wrong of course, but it makes sense, given what we've seen so far. But it seems like the Enemy might focus his efforts on the things that hold human society together, the things that set us above beasts. Religion, we know, but what else sets us apart? Government that protects its citizens. Parents that protect and nurture children." Jessie darted her gaze around the table, but she avoided making eye contact with anybody.
Apparently sensing her sister's distress, Sallie took over with a confidence and authority that could only come from being the wife of the Aquamarine Warrior. "If we're right, we're going to see concentrated demon activity in areas that undermine human society and drive us further from God. Increases in church corruption, government corruption, which are generally rampant everywhere, but we need to determine where and how the demons are exploiting that corruption."
Sallie paused to meet each pair of eyes for a second, then continued. "Adultery and prostitution, again, something we know is on the rise, but where and how are the demons playing it? Child abuse. Preventable disease. We need to look at statistics and crime rates related to those things and find a pattern. If demons are involved more heavily than normal, we target them." She paused to look around the silent room, gauging reactions. "Of course if you guys don't think—"
"That's brilliant." Dorn exchanged glances with the other archangels as though his prized pupil had made him damn proud. Lyght shared his pride, as did their other Brothers with eager nods. "That's a simple plan," Dorn said. "So simple, and so brazen, Socerith and the other demons would think we might not see the patterns and figure out what they're doing before the enemy is so far entrenched in human hearts and souls that we'd have no hope of turning it around."
Lyght nodded. "And that's exactly the kind of plan Socerith would use. He likes to win before his opponent even knows there's a war. So what's the best way to go about examining these leads? Surely we can send our informants--"
"No," Toren said. "The fewer that know what we do, the better. It means less chance we can be traced and lets us freely move without being followed. There are far too many demons with the power to derive knowledge from lesser angels for us to risk it. Unless it's absolutely necessary, all work is performed by us in our new forms, and our Quads. And the less angelic powers we use, the better. We need to exploit our weaker natures for now. They won't expect that from the Brotherhood."
Troy, the human preacher, raised his hand. "We can do a lot." He gestured to Lucian, Dorn's male human. "He and I are good with computers." He nodded again at Toren's male human. "With Ezekiel's help, he could lean on his old contacts and we should have some information pretty quickly."
Kassern nodded, as if deep in thought while he trailed an absent finger up and down his wife's forearm. "That takes care of some longer range things." He sat silent for a moment, then continued. "We can start at deciding what to do about the human animals who were holding Kassie and Tyler. Lyght, can you give us details?"
Bloody hell. Those blighters were his to exact justice on. Maybe he still could if he played his cards right. "The place is a sort of warehouse. They have crates, filled with electronics and such, stored on the first level, and there were a couple of those big shipping containers too."
Ezekiel raised a hand. "Did you see where the containers were from, or anything on the goods coming out of the truck?"
Lyght paused to be sure before answering. "I'm not entirely certain. I sort of neglected my study of human written communication—I know, Uriel will kick my ass—but it seemed more important to be perfectly fluent in the language and culture I would be using as a cover. Anyway, there were labels and printed information on the sides of the crates and containers, but none of them were in the Western alphabet. If I saw them again, I could identify the characters, or perhaps even copy them from memory, if that helps." Shit, he hated to admit he'd not studied everything he was supposed to. Especially in front of Dorn. Even now, Lyght could feel the hairsplitter's eyes on him, no doubt biting his tongue on a lecture about the meaning of the ARCH part of his angelic title.
Lyght met his Brother's gaze, ready to be done with at least the silent part of the accusation. The blue warrior merely nodded. "Without question reproduce the letters. I'm sure I'll be able to identify the language of origin at a minimum, or perhaps even translate."
Dorn's generous offer shocked Lyght, and the lack of the usual acidic reprimand left him puzzled. He noted Dorn's wife's smile and couldn't suppress his own. The almighty aquamarine warrior was on a little sugar leash.
Lyght remembered the task at hand and glanced around. "There were seventeen men on the ground level, all armed. According to the little sign inside the door, the workers are armed to protect the freight from theft and vandalism. There's a second level, with twelve females, all in different areas, and nearly that many males. Might be an office area or something."
"Or something?" Devyn's words bit. "They're running a whorehouse, I'd say. The men you saw on the ground level, were they white, black, Asian? What?"
Lyght had to think on that for a moment. He wasn't accustomed to such superficial categorizations. "The two in charge were white, but weren't speaki
ng English. The rest were Asian."
Devyn scribbled notes on a pad she'd pulled from somewhere.
Expectant eyes all trained on him, indicating he should continue. "The access to the basement stairs was hidden behind a big metal cabinet in an office." He paused for a glance at Kassie. This was going to get uncomfortably graphic with details and he didn't want to trigger some fear reaction or bad memories for her.
Kassie seemed to sense the reason for his hesitation. "It's okay. Go ahead and tell them. Everything. They need to know it all."
Lyght reached for her hand under the table, his heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation of her touch and fear she might pull away. "Anytime you need me to stop, just squeeze my hand."
Kassie gave a determined nod, but Lyght recognized the unnatural flush high on her cheeks. She would need careful watching through the whole thing.
Lyght drew another deep lungful of her scent, and went on. "When I pulled the cabinet back to open the stair door, there was an odor, strong, of a great deal of unpleasantness. The whole level is filled with tiny little cells built of sheets of wood. Reminiscent of the slums of a medieval city, crowded, filthy and full of misery."
"How many of these cells are there?" Ezekiel held a pen over his own notepad.
"Five hundred at least. Nearly all occupied."
Silence settled as the Quads absorbed the magnitude of Lyght's statement. Abrupt realization jolted through Lyght with near physical force. This was roughly five hundred humans taken from family and home, carted from one underground auction to another and offered to the highest bidder. The number wasn't huge in comparison to the number of people missing at any one time. But so many in any one location was gargantuan.
Kassern leaned forward. "So we know these people are being auctioned off for any terrible purpose the buyer wishes. They're probably bought and taken wherever the buyer needs them to become prostitutes or whatever. We know from Toren's and Sam's battle at the ranch there is definite demon activity in the operation." Kassern paused and met Lyght's gaze, then that of every person in the room, except Tyler.
"I think it's safe to assume a couple of things. First, we have demon collusion in human trafficking, probably international. Second, the possible and even likely connection with prostitution brings the demon influence into that realm as well. That, to me, means our earlier conclusions from the ladies' ideas about the Enemy's big plan are probably correct. An exploitation of exploitations." Another look around the room. "Now we have to decide what we're going to do about it."
Chapter Twelve
Kassie stood immobile until her legs told her she was going to turn into a scarecrow if she didn't move. But it was hard when you stood in the center of a room of diamonds. The white walls and abstractly arched ceilings glistened as though painted with diamond dust. And the floor! It reminded her of the Mr. Clean commercials with that seamless wet floor of blue, only this was a light blue, like a pastel blue sky frozen in rock beneath her feet. The chandelier hanging above her head could easily be the eighth Wonder of the World. The thing was the size of…a spaceship.
My lord, she thought, turning in small circles while looking up at the contraption holding layers and layers of diamonds. The base where it attached to the ceiling looked like the roots of a tree buried into the surface. Like if you could see on the other side, you'd find giant fingers clutching the thing tight to the roof, which seemed suspiciously diamond-like as well.
She raised a trembling hand to her mouth and gasped finally. She looked around then, noticing something odd. All around it was so bright but…she couldn't find any source of light. Like the diamonds were lit from within.
Just. Fascinating. And impossible. All of it. Every damn bit of it. She was dreaming. She knew it with all her heart. Just a dream. Every ridiculous bit of it. Either that or she'd died. And was in…not Heaven. Some kind of limbo maybe.
She stared at the wall of white sheers before her and made her way to it. She paused just next to them, stroking them softly. Diamond fabric? She gasped a light laugh and moved them aside. And gasped again. "My God.". She couldn't resist the smile of awe and joy that filled her face as she stared out at what could be considered a miniature Garden of Eden. A vegetable garden! An irreverent giggle burst out before she could stop it.
A closer look at the window revealed a huge door. Unable to resist, she took hold of the diamond-looking handle and the door sort of shimmered for half a heartbeat and vanished. Hysterical joy escaped her in odd sounding giggles at the sheer delight of such a discovery.
Hurrying out into the garden, the cook in her glimpsed maturing vegetables and fragrant herbs, already planning meals to take advantage. After a few seconds just absorbing it all, she looked closer at the strange dome covering the garden all around. The sky was clearly visible beyond what appeared to be glitter-filled air. It took her breath away. She turned her full attention to the garden and began to explore.
Whoever planned this little Eden had been a master. She chuckled a little. Of course he was. Vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers grew in natural-looking groupings that allowed each plant to flourish. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides in this garden, or she missed her guess.
Sudden emotion threatened to overwhelm Kassie and she let out a sob.
"Why are you crying?"
Startled, she spun to find Lyght right behind her. Feeling like a fool, she wiped her eyes quickly.
He caught her hand and drew her knuckles to his lips. "Don't hide it. Your tears are precious to me." He stroked her wet cheeks with a soft thumb.
Such a display of vulnerability left her feeling awkward and self-conscious. Until she allowed herself to look into his eyes, and marveled at the reflection of the diamond wonder surrounding them.
He stroked his thumb along her chin. "Do you like it?" His husky tone thickened with worry as though her approval meant everything to him.
How could he ask such a thing? Surely he must know? She swallowed down her emotions. "Like it? Is it possible for someone to not like it?"
His perfect face broke into a smile that demanded she look away or kiss him where he stood.
Kassie could barely contain the ecstatic giggles that threatened to overcome her awe. "Look at it. It's what I imagined the Garden of Eden to look like."
"Perfect." His breath stirred her hair a little. "I told them to make sure it had everything you love."
Kassie's heart ached hard in her chest. She looked at him. Looked at this…being that stole her breath and made her feel like the brightest star in the universe. She wanted to know so many things but worried the questions might dispel the dream.
He suddenly took her face between his hands and turned it up to him. Her heart beat madly as she stared into his intense gaze.
"You're not dreaming, sweetheart." He placed a soft kiss at the edge of her mouth. "I'm real. And I…" he paused and straightened. "…need to talk to you."
Kassie felt a dark cloud of fear slowly encroach on the wonder of it all.
Lyght swiped the air with his hand and shook his head. "Don't. You must trust me, love."
The dark feeling dissipated and she couldn't stop the burst of laughter that took its place. If the situation got any crazier, she would start searching out the hidden cameras. Then there would be no denying the whole thing was some sort of cruel game.
She looked around, her gaze landing on the herbs and vegetables. The bubbly joy from when she first entered the garden flooded her. "I want to cook for you!" The words came on an excited gasp.
Lyght's deep laughter sent a thrill through her. He scooped her up in his arms and spun around, making her squeal. "Cook for me! Like a…" His face slowly grew serious and he set her down. "We need to talk."
"Okay. Inside?" Kassie forced herself to keep her cool, relying on years of ranch life practice. He must really need to talk.
He held his hand out for her to go first. "I'll brew tea for you. I had a special blend prepared."
"You? Fi
x tea? For me?" The very incredulity of the idea made her stop in her tracks.
He stared down at her, his perfectly smooth forehead puckered with dismay. "You think I can't?"
She laughed and shook her head. "No, I just…" She lowered her eyes, not wanting to get all goofy emotional. "I'm just not sure why you would, I mean I'm…"
Lyght took her face between his hands, startling a small squeal loose, and kissed her like he'd devour her.
A little moan slowly worked its way up her throat and right into his mouth. He answered with a deep rumbling sound, nearly a growl, and his tongue plundered her mouth with a hunger that made her helpless and dizzy. And his scent! How could she have gone without noticing it earlier? A potent combination of spices and citrus and wood, everything she liked and associated with masculinity.
He pulled up and she panted with desperation while staring into his hooded gaze. The things she saw in his eyes only made the universe spin harder. His brows were drawn hard as if whatever emotion filled him caused him great pain.
And there was something else, but she wasn't sure what, only that it stole her breath and left her unbalanced. Power. That's as close as she could come to identifying it. Raw, magical, power. Right in his tongue along hers, in the hungry grip of his hands on her waist. He suddenly took her hand and led her back toward the door she'd come out.
Kassie marveled at the exterior of their little…home? Calling it that seemed like the understatement of the century. But no matter what she called it, there was nothing pretty about it. The surface was a vast chunk of weathered stone, relieved only by the gigantic cut diamond framing the opening they walked through. She gawked when she discovered the delicately faceted wall was nearly two feet thick.
Once inside he led her through another intricately cut doorway. When Kassie froze, Lyght paused and turned to her with a soft smile. She looked around, a single gasp escaping her for every marvel.
At first glance, the appliances looked like black enamel but the surface had an odd depth which, on closer examination, turned out to be translucent stone that darkened progressively to a black center.
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