RiskingEternity

by Voirey Linger

  “Dom, I’m trying to help you. Don’t you want to come home with me?” Hurt radiated from Renatus and tore at Dominicus.

  “Please, understand, I cannot let her be harmed.”

  “Cannot or will not?”

  “Please, Ren. Do not do this.” Dom held his hand out to his friend, silently pleading for understanding. Pain knifed through his chest when Ren simply looked at it.

  “Understand what? That after all these years, I finally…” He stopped, fluttering his snowy wings and stiffening his spine. “You turn your back on me for a human.”

  “Ren.” Dom took a step forward, only to stop short when Maggie stumbled against his back, still held protectively in the lee of his wing. It was enough to bring him in reach. He gripped Ren’s arm and urged the angel close. Close enough to slide his hand up the smooth arm, tangle his fingers in golden hair, pull the seraph to him.

  “Please, Ren. I need you to understand.”

  “I understand far more than you want, my friend,” he sneered. Jerking back he tried to break free, but Dom held him, fought him. His hand fisted in gold and his arm snaked around the other angel to hold him tight.

  “Do not leave, not like this, not in anger.” He bent and placed a hard kiss on Ren’s mouth, his lips rough with desperation. “Do not leave.” Renatus hesitated under his mouth. Maybe this time he would not be denied. The fantasy took shape, Renatus’s warm golden skin against Maggie’s creamy, freckled flesh. Could he keep them both? Dom was afraid to hope, but couldn’t stop the flutter of his heart.

  “Stop it.” Renatus pulled back again, this time breaking free and shattering the dream. “You cannot have it both ways. You cannot Fall and still hold Heaven. If you defy the Most High’s demands, you will be cast out. Choose, Dom. Do what is right. Take her to Hell before you damn the rest of creation.”

  Chapter Eight

  Maggie buried her face in Dominicus’ broad back, shielding her eyes from the burst of golden light which accompanied Renatus’s exit. Breathing deep, she tried to calm her nerves and figure out what was happening. Reality had just slammed her sideways.

  She had sex with an angel. Demons wanted to eat her. And, oh yeah, her new angel boyfriend had an angel boyfriend of his own. One who wanted to feed her to the demons.

  Calling her day fucked-up would be an understatement.

  She eased from behind Dominicus’ wing to drop onto the couch before her wobbly knees gave out. Her stomach rolled and she swallowed hard against the bile rising in her throat.

  “I think you forgot to mention a few details of what happened the other night, Dom.”

  “There was no reason for you to have to know…”

  “Bullshit! If half of what your lover boy said is true, then I have every reason.” He opened his mouth but no words came. Dammit she was right and he knew it.

  “I don’t even know where I want to start. The fact that you’re the Angel of Death, or that I’m supposed to have gone to Hell. Or maybe that you’re cheating on your boyfriend with me, which is pretty fucking unfair since I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”

  “Renatus is not my boyfriend.”

  “I guess we’re starting with you being a cheating pig.”

  He gave his wings an irritated flutter before flopping into the chair. His long legs stretched out in front of him and his arms and wings drooped over the sides. He wouldn’t look at her, choosing to focus on one wingtip as it traced small circles in her carpet.

  “I am not cheating on Renatus. We do not have that kind of relationship.”

  She snorted in disbelief. “Tell that to someone who wasn’t just in the room with the two of you. Sparks were flying everywhere and you two were most definitely playing some kissy-face there.”

  “Kissy-face?” He gave a reluctant chuckle. “Yes, I kissed him, but we are not lovers. What we are is far more complicated.”

  “He was jealous.”

  “Yes. I did not expect that.” Dom didn’t look unhappy about it either.

  He didn’t volunteer more and she wasn’t sure how much she should ask. Picking up her coffee, she sipped while the minutes stretched out. Thunder rolled outside and Dom continued to trace the carpet with a single feather tip.

  “He doesn’t want to want me. I’ve wanted him for a hundred years but he’s never felt the same way.”

  “It looked like there was some serious attraction to me.”

  “Attraction has never been the problem. Or perhaps that’s what started the problem. We were always friends. He was my support when…” He paused, his face contorted in remembered pain. “I had a lover, a long time ago. Philomela was a beautiful cherub, golden and bright like Renatus, she was my world. When Lucifer Fell and the Realm was torn in two, she went with him. She wanted me to go with them, to Fall. She said we would be powerful in the new Realm, more powerful than even the Most High.”

  She gulped and choked on a mouthful of coffee, sputtering, then croaked, “When Lucifer fell?”

  “Yes, when Hell was created.”

  “Just how old are you, Dom?”

  “Angels have no age.”

  “You’re immortal.” There was no such thing as a picket fence and happily ever after with an angel. There couldn’t be, could there? Her heart twisted at the reminder.

  “Not immortal. Those of the realms are infinite creatures. We have no real beginning, and we have no end.”

  That sounded even worse. Deep inside, she’d hoped she could keep him. Even knowing he wasn’t human, she wanted him to be hers. She took another sip of cold, bitter coffee and tried to distract herself from what couldn’t be.

  “So Philomela was what, your wife?”

  “I suppose that is the closest human equivalent. I loved her, but she loved Lucifer and his dream more.”

  His wife left him for the devil. That had to hurt.

  “What about you and Renatus?”

  The wingtip stopped, every muscle in Dom’s body froze for a split second before he visibly forced himself to move again.

  “I was barred from the Heavens.”

  “You mean you Fell, like your wife?”

  “No. Nothing like Meela. I did something most angels consider to be just as bad. I openly challenged the Most High.”

  Defying God on his home turf? “That sounds serious.”

  “Oh, it is. No one questions Him.”

  She snorted. No kidding. “So what was so important you thought you needed to challenge him?”

  “Human souls. Far too many were being sent to Hell to feed Lucifer and his demons. I didn’t, don’t, think this should be happening. I was sent to escort souls to Hell myself, to teach me a lesson. The only thing I’ve learned is that I don’t think creation has any place there.”

  She took a sip of her coffee and studied him over the cup’s rim. “You were supposed to take me there.”

  He swiped a hand over his eyes, as if trying to erase a memory. She set the cup down with a thunk. This was her life they were talking about. And her death. Why wouldn’t he tell her anything?

  “If I was supposed to die, why am I still here? Tell me what happened that night.”

  “Someone in the club gave you a date-rape drug. Enough to kill you. When you stumbled outside there was a scuffle in the line, someone pulled out a gun and you were shot, right in the heart.”

  Her hand slipped up to her chest to cover the small scar that didn’t belong there. “I don’t understand. I try to do the right thing. I don’t cheat on my taxes and try to keep my promises. I don’t steal or use drugs. I recycle, dammit! What am I doing wrong? What did I do that was so bad I was being sent to Hell?”

  “I don’t know. You have the purest soul I’ve ever seen. Ren had told me this assignment was important, that I needed to do the right thing, but your core was so pure and beautiful. It does not belong in the ugliness of Hell. The man who drugged you was there and he was tainted with the darkness of evil. I could see the hate and violence in him. I took his sou
l to Hell. I healed you and brought you home.”

  “You saved me.” He’d kept her alive, saved her body and her soul.

  “Yes. And in doing so, I angered all of Hell’s minions. They covet purity, delight in devouring it.”

  “Ren said demons would destroy the world because of me.”

  He shook his head slowly. “No. The Almighty will stop them. He will not allow such a thing to happen to his creation. I can’t imagine why Ren was so worried about that.” He frowned in confusion.

  “Can He really stop it?”

  Dom looked up in surprise. “Of course He can. He is still the Almighty. He is the one with power and dominion. The question is, will He?” Thunder rumbled again and Dominicus gave a visible shiver.

  “Are you scared of storms?” An angel scared of thunder. When she was little, thunder frightened her. Gram would tell her thunder was just angels bowling. It was a silly thing, but it helped calm her. She wondered what Dominicus would think of that bit of nonsense. The idea made her smile.

  “No, storms do not concern me, but this isn’t a normal storm.”

  Amusement vanished. “What kind of storm is it?”

  “It’s not a storm at all. It’s demons gathering.”

  Demons? Her gaze shot to the window, taking in the green cast to the rolling clouds. A noise almost like a siren broke through the moaning of the wind. It’s pure, crystal tone made her skin prickle and sent a bolt of anticipation through her. Dom jumped to his feet, his blue eyes shining and every feather standing on end.

  “The battle call,” he breathed.

  “The what?”

  “I have to go.” He bent down to wrap his arms around her and place a hard kiss on her mouth. “Do not let any being in until I return.”

  “Go where? What’s going on?” She grabbed at his arms, scared of what might happen to him.

  “The call to battle has sounded. The Most High is calling his angels to battle the demons. Whatever happens, do not let anyone in your apartment until I return. Evil cannot enter without invitation, so you will be safe as long as you stay in here.”

  “Safe?”

  “Yes, safe. I will return as soon as I am able.”

  Dominicus pulled her arms from him and backed away. His body began to radiate a golden light. It washed over him, bronzing his skin and making his dark feathers shimmer with a dusting of gilt. The light grew brighter, until it hurt her eyes and she had to look away. It seared through her eyelids, pure and golden. Then, just as quickly, it faded. For a moment she couldn’t see, the room seemed so dark after the blazing light. She blinked as her vision returned and her jaw dropped open at the sight of Dominicus.

  He was dressed for battle. Or undressed. His modern clothing had been replaced by a simple white loincloth and golden sandals which wound their way to his knees. A bronzed leather harness crisscrossed his chest, holding a huge sword on his back.

  His body, oh what a body, rippled with muscle and gleamed with a sheen of gold. The sheer masculine beauty of him left her stunned and staring. If she’d seen him like this before, pure glistening perfection, she would have known he was an angel, even without the wings.

  “I promise to return to you.” He cupped her jaw and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips. Then, he was simply gone.

  Chapter Nine

  Lightning split a tree in half and a scaled demon the size of a house cat scurried away from the charred trunk. It turned its glowing red eyes on her, fluttered its wings, then vanished into a crack in the earth. Maggie shivered and took a step back from the window. They all looked at her before they disappeared. The demons knew she was there, knew she could see them and they all made it a point to look at her before they crawled back to Hell.

  According to the clock, it was mid-morning, but her sense of time had stalled when Dom left. The darkness outside was oppressive, stretching the past forty hours into a terrifying endless night. The unusual storm had been the leading story on the news, baffled weathermen searched for answers from satellite images while religious extremists preached the end of the world.

  The psychos on the street corners didn’t look so crazy anymore.

  Something hit the window and she jumped back with a startled scream. A demon pressed its face against the glass and watched her, its evil grin revealing a line of wickedly sharp teeth. Larger than the creatures she’d seen scrambling to the safety of underground, this one was as big as a person and more human in form. The nude creature was obviously female. Its scaled breasts were tipped with blood-red nipples that tapped against the glass like pebbles.

  Its claws dragged over the glass and the screeching made Maggie’s insides quiver with dread. It called her by name, taunted her. They all had. Renatus hadn’t lied. The demons wanted her.

  But Dominicus had been right, too. They hadn’t been able get to her while she was inside. She jerked the window blinds shut and the thing outside screamed in frustration and anger.

  There was a loud thump at the door and a canine yelp of pain and fear. The puppy. The poor little thing was out there with those horrible creatures. She’d seen two of them with a cat the day before, tearing the poor helpless creature to shreds. The idea of them getting that poor puppy was too much for her to bear. She peeked though the blind and made sure the demon was gone before hurrying to the door and opening it a crack.

  “Puppy? Are you there?” She didn’t see any demons, so she opened the door wider and found the puppy pressed against the wall. It was shaking violently with fear and when it saw her it began to whimper and cry.

  “Oh, you poor baby.” She opened the door and called it. “Come here, pup, come in here. Good puppy, come in here and I’ll keep you safe from those scary monsters.” It moved slowly, looking around it in fear and slinking along the ground so low its belly rubbed the ground. She crooned some more, soothing it, urging the poor baby along until it wriggled through her barely open doorway and into her home, where it sat, wet and shivering, dripping on her carpet.

  “Okay, pup, stay there. Just stay where you are and I’ll get some towels and warm you up.” Maggie ran to the bathroom and grabbed a stack of clean towels from her linen closet, then to the kitchen where she tossed half of them in the dryer to warm them up. The rest she took back to where the puppy sat, huddled by the door in a quivering, whining heap.

  “There you go, pup,” she crooned, wrapping it up in terrycloth. “We’ll get you warm and dry in no time. The dog’s whimpering eased a little, but it was still cold. It gave a happy sigh when Maggie retrieved the warmed towels and wrapped them around it. It cuddled into them and its eyes soon began to drift closed.

  By the time the pup fell asleep, Maggie was exhausted. She curled up on the couch. As she was dozing off her tired brain played tricks on her, darkening the room’s shadows to an inky black and stretching them across the walls.

  The puppy rose and smiled at her, its eyes glowing red.

  “Hello, Maggie.”

  Maggie’s heart stuttered and she screamed.

  * * * * *

  Dominicus chased the retreating demon through the once-manicured courtyard. Only two days of battling the creatures and they were beginning to retreat, a short battle for creatures of the realms. Hardly surprising given the lack of arch demons in the battle. As fallen angels, the highest of the demon classes had the ability to regenerate power. The small creature scurrying away from him now did not have that ability. Once struck, it would need to feed off the power from another being or return to Hell to consume power from a damned human soul. The lack of arch demons suggested this was not a true battle, but instead a small skirmish.

  He shot a weak bolt at the demon’s back as it slipped into a gash in the carefully sodded lawn. The lightning strike missed the Hellspawn, instead taking out a nearby crepe myrtle.

  Movement to one side caught his attention and he spun in time to see a shadowy shape slinking up a set of stairs. He realized with a start that he was in the courtyard of Maggie’s apartment comp
lex and the demon was headed toward her door.

  “No.” It was a breath of a prayer. He’d warned her to keep the door closed, to not let anyone in. She should be safe. But the doorway was open, with golden flickers of firelight breaking the darkness within.

  The creature slipped into the dark doorway and Dom moved. With a thought, he was in the apartment. The lights were off and the small coffee table had been pushed against one wall. It was covered in candles and token offerings to Hell.

  His stomach clenched in anger and revulsion. The fiends had made an altar to Lucifer in Maggie’s home.

  A small noise pulled his attention away from the desecrate altar. Bile rose in his throat at the sight of Maggie lying bound and gagged in the center of floor. She was dazed and stared at him with confused fear in her eyes. Stripped of her clothing, smears of blood stood out against her pale skin. The demons had clawed at her, leaving venom-filled cuts in her delicate human skin and bite marks marred her inner thighs.

  “Hello, lover. I see our little distraction couldn’t keep you away for long. No matter. You were gone long enough for us to gain entrance. We now have the prize we were promised.”

  Meela sat on the couch surrounded by sexless lesser ghouls. Her legs were spread wide. Juices smeared her thighs like blood and some of the evil creatures licked at them while she worked one clawed hand in her crotch.

  “I knew you would come to check on your pet sooner or later,” she purred. She pulled her fingers from her cunt and licked them clean with her serpentine tongue. “Don’t worry, I took good care of her for you.”

  A blast of Hellfire knocked him to the floor. His sword spun away from him to be snatched up by one of the smaller ghouls. There was an entire clutch of demons in the apartment, and he’d stupidly put himself right in the middle of them.

  He’d been apart from Heaven’s power far too long to be able to battle them all, and though he’d reassured Maggie he couldn’t be killed, an angel dragged unwillingly into Hell faced an eternity of having his soul and power consumed. Respite was only available when they paused to allow their victim to recover enough power to feed their unending hunger once more.