by Rose Wulf
The symbol burned onto his forearm was identical to the one from the demon’s paper. It was circular, like most demonic spell symbols, with smaller, intricate lines carefully placed within the circle. Belle didn’t recognize it, which only meant it wasn’t a common curse for injury or disease. Being careful to keep his head resting on her lap, Belle reached over and curled her palm over the mark. It stung at first contact, indicating that it was still rather full of demonic energy. And that, in turn, meant that Kai’s body was likely fighting off an onslaught of interior demonic energy. All alone.
Taking a deep, slow breath, Belle closed her eyes and threaded the fingers of her other hand into Kai’s hair. She would heal this curse from his system even if doing so left her exposed should another demon come for Gwen.
****
“What the hell happened?” Creed demanded as Knox stalked into the room. The younger, slightly shorter demon had a dark scowl on his face. “I gave you everything you needed to grab that bitch.”
“Except backup,” Knox returned shortly. “And this isn’t the first time you’ve sent me off without adequate backup.”
Creed met Knox’s glare with one of his own. “I never promised you backup, shithead. You had a job to do. I gave you that curse, and I know you used it.”
“Yeah, the curse worked fine,” Knox said, “and I could’ve handled the Nephilim, but you didn’t want me to. That complicates shit. Besides, the woman’s half-dead already.”
With a snarl, Creed reached out and backhanded the punk so hard Knox stumbled into the crumbling pillar behind him. “I didn’t ask for your fucking opinion. I gave you an order!”
Wiping the bit of blood from his jaw, Knox found his footing and said, “But you forgot, Creed, I don’t take orders. You want that human so badly? You can go fucking get her yourself.”
As Knox turned to leave, his message apparently delivered, Creed growled, “You turn your back on me, boy, and my next mission will involve your bleeding heart in my hand.”
Knox stopped but didn’t turn around. Fists clenched at his sides, he called over his shoulder, “Try me, bastard. I’m not the pushover you think I am.” Without waiting for Creed’s response, he continued forward and disappeared around the corner.
Creed growled low in his throat and rolled his neck. Fine, if Knox wanted out so bad, he’d find someone who thought taking on an angel and his bitch was worth the cred. And once Manning had been bled dry, he’d take his new power and filet the little punk like a cheap sirloin. In the meantime, though, if the angel was out for the count then now was the perfect time to strike.
****
“Why isn’t he waking up?” Gwen asked again, continuing to pace the floor. She’d changed into day clothes, packed both hers and Belle’s bags, and made both beds. Apparently she wasn’t good at sitting still.
Belle frowned, only barely aware that she was massaging Kai’s scalp with the hand not pressed firmly over the mark of the demon curse. “Curses are tricky,” she replied. “They have to be undone, not just countered. I could wake him up prematurely, but he could have a heart attack. I have to find what’s being affected and work backward.” That was a rough, short explanation but it would do.
The problem with this curse, from what Belle could tell so far, was that it seemed to have short-circuited Kai’s soul. The source of his power. In truth, they were damned lucky it hadn’t killed him. Undoing a curse of this magnitude was difficult, not merely because the curse itself was strong, but because Belle was essentially trying to restore powers to someone whose power naturally outclassed her own. And it was pretty hard to pull that off.
But I have to. She couldn’t lose him.
The last thing she needed right then was an interruption.
“Wow.” The voice belonged to Serafina. Gwen started, jumping sideways to see their unexpected companion, but Serafina paid her no mind. She stood, hands planted on her hips, eyes narrowed into a glare aimed straight at Belle. “Isabella’s going to be pissed if you let her Second die.”
Grinding her teeth in an effort to curb her temper, Belle met the glare for a brief moment before replying, “I’m not going to let him die. But this will go faster if you get over here and help me.”
Serafina crossed her arms over her chest. “Help you? Aren’t you the Master?” She made a scoffing sound. “I tell you what, I’ll ‘help’ you on one condition. You resign from Angel Clinic and accept whatever punishment is deemed fit for the Nephy, who tried to taint one of the armada’s best.”
Belle froze. Slowly, she lifted her gaze back to Serafina, her mind all but numb. “What did you say?”
Serafina smirked. “You heard me.”
Releasing a long breath, Belle finally gathered herself. “You know what? Fine. Turn me in, take over the clinic, I don’t care. At least my priority is to help the injured. And I’ll be sure to tell Isabella that, too, when she confronts me for tainting one of her people.”
“Hey, excuse me,” Gwen interrupted, looking at Serafina. “Aren’t you an angel, too? Aren’t you supposed to be one of the good guys?”
Serafina lifted a brow at the question. “I am,” she replied. “But this is personal business, human. Kindly leave the room.”
“Uh, no, not happening,” Gwen declared. “Kai was trying to protect me when he got hurt. Belle’s tried to protect me. I’m not abandoning them.”
Serafina shook her head. “I really don’t understand what you’re playing at, Belle. But honestly, I don’t want to have to answer to a Second, who falls for your tricks.”
“Then you’re in luck,” Belle returned, her temper snapping. “This trick is Isabella’s. Take it up with her.” If she weren’t busy doing something far more important, Belle suspected she’d have added a satisfying door-in-face to that statement. As it was, she kept the majority of her focus on Kai. She could feel the flickering of his spark somewhere inside, finally.
“Ugh,” Serafina said. “Why does it reek of sulfur in here, anyway?”
“That was probably the demon that tried to kidnap me,” Gwen offered smugly. “The one Belle talked into defeat.”
Belle couldn’t help but grin at the pointed pride in Gwen’s voice. If I could hug you right now, I would.
Serafina opened her mouth to respond, her disbelief obvious, but all that came out was a startled, wet gurgle. Her expression shifted, flawlessly becoming one of surprise and pain, as all eyes focused in on her chest where a bloodied hand protruded. The darkness behind Serafina solidified and lightened until it had morphed into the pale, leering form of Creed.
“Oops,” he said with a feral grin, “looks like I got one.”
“Ohmigod,” Gwen said with a gasp before she snatched Kai’s sword from the bed and ran to Belle’s side. “Ohmigod!”
No! Everything about his arrival was bad. Regardless of her dislike for Serafina, she’d never have wished for the angel’s death. And she certainly wasn’t wishing for any of theirs.
Serafina’s eyes finally rolled up in her head, and her body went limp moments before bursting apart in a soundless, yellow-white shower of light eerily reminiscent of a human’s fireworks display. The lights sizzled on the hotel carpet like sparks but left no trace of themselves once they dimmed.
Knowing it was their best shot of survival, Belle squeezed her eyes shut, poured everything she had into Kai, and prayed.
“Belle,” Gwen called, panic filling her voice. “I really don’t know how to use a sword!”
“I wouldn’t worry ’bout that,” Creed said as he stepped through the spot Serafina had previously occupied. “A powerless angel sword isn’t gonna do you much good.”
Come on, Kai. Wake up!
Chapter Ten
“—ake up!”
The voice was faint, and female. Her desperation apparent, even in the pieces he was fairly certain he’d heard.
“Please!”
Belle. That voice was Belle. But he wasn’t hearing it with his ears, he was hearing it with hi
s soul. She was praying to him.
Everything came flooding back so quickly he could barely keep it straight. His night with Belle, the knock at the door, his confession of love, and that curse. That woman had been armed with a curse, but why? Wait. There was more. The familiar prickling of a demon poked at the edges of his slowly wakening senses. Something was still wrong. He’d lost consciousness; frankly, that was bad enough. But he knew in the next moment that his collapse meant he’d left not only his charge, Gwen, but also Belle vulnerable to attack. And no doubt the demon responsible for that curse had been nearby.
Anger fueled the spark inside him as his eyes snapped open.
“Stay away!” Gwen cried simultaneously. He was sure she was talking to Creed; he recognized that particular bastard’s stench now.
Kai rolled smoothly from Belle’s embrace, using the strength in his forearms to swing a leg up and into Creed’s jaw, successfully forcing him backward. Nothing cracked beneath his foot, indicating that he still wasn’t at full strength, but that was all right. He could take Creed with less than his full power.
Gwen called his name in relief at the same time as Kai stood, his glare locked on their enemy.
“So you’re awake,” Creed said, rubbing his jaw, as he straightened again. “Guess that’s what happens when you trust a woman to do a demon’s job.”
“Is that your excuse?” Kai challenged, flexing his hands at his sides. His body was responding to him, but his power needed more time to build. It wouldn’t be the smartest, let alone safest, thing he’d ever done to take on a powerful demon with maybe half his usual purification. It was going to have to do. “Blaming a human woman? Somehow I expected better.”
Creed spat to the side and grinned, letting his jagged, sharpened teeth show. “And I never took you for chatty. Guess we were both wrong.”
“Here,” Gwen said, sticking her arms—and his sword—into his peripheral vision.
Kai wrapped his hand around the hilt and let the familiar warmth from his weapon empower him. “Stay back,” he instructed as Creed tensed.
“I’ll tear your arms off, angel boy,” Creed taunted. “Then I’ll have me a taste of Nephy ass before I eat her heart.”
Somewhere behind him Belle made a sound of disgust, but Kai barely heard it over the roar of blood in his ears.
Creed lunged forward, and Kai lunged to meet him, enraged beyond reason. Creed had fashioned himself another set of spike-like energy claws, but Kai didn’t bother trying to block them. He swung straight for the demon’s chest, hoping to tear him in half with the raw strength of blessed steel.
Kai’s sword sank into Creed’s chest at the same time as one set of Creed’s claws tore into Kai’s upper arm. Kai grit his teeth and shoved his blade in deeper, feeling it tear through something undoubtedly vital, and Creed roared. In the next instant, the few remaining shadows in the room wrapped around him and pulled him free of Kai’s bloodied blade, taking him back to whatever hole he’d crawled out of. Which meant he’d survive. Dammit.
“Kai!” Belle exclaimed, relief and exasperation mixed with exhaustion in her voice.
Releasing a breath as the adrenaline drained from his system, Kai lowered his sword and turned to face them. Gwen was slumped against the wall beside the door to the bathroom, looking relieved and a little pale. Belle stepped up to him, grabbed his jaw in both hands, and tugged his lips to hers. He could feel the relief and the bubbling emotion in her kiss and the way her fingers curled behind his neck, digging into his skin.
“Uh, guys,” Gwen interrupted awkwardly, “he’s still bleeding…”
Belle pulled back, and they both looked down at his wounded arm. He had four gashes, of varying depth but all several inches long and bleeding. As they watched the blood rolled down his bicep, curved around his elbow, and dripped steadily to the floor.
“I don’t know if I can do much for those right now,” Belle warned, grabbing his wrist and leading him to the bed. “But I’ll try.”
Kai frowned, allowing her to pull him to sit beside her, and lowered his sword to the mattress at his other side. “You’re exhausted. How bad was I?”
Belle didn’t meet his gaze, but he suspected he glimpsed tears in her eyes before she replied, “I wasn’t sure I could bring you back. You were so far out of it, your powers felt like they were completely extinguished.” She placed both palms over his injured arm, her touch not as warm as it was supposed to be. “I had to put everything I could into jolting you awake. I’m drained.”
Kai covered her hands with his. “Then take a break. I’m not going to bleed out from this.”
“I’m not going to leave you bleeding,” Belle argued. She could be as stubborn as he was when she wanted to be.
“When my powers come back I can heal myself,” Kai said. It was only a partial truth; sometimes he could, sometimes he couldn’t. Self-healing was a common angel trait, one he had the potential for but had never put a lot of effort into mastering. He generally just used his powers to shield himself, which made it twice as hard for him to be wounded in battle.
At his suggestion, Belle finally looked up and laughed. “I wish I could believe you, but I know you better.” She looked down at her work and pulled her lip between her teeth. But what she said next surprised him. “Kai … Serafina was here. Creed killed her.”
Kai closed his eyes on a sigh. “I’ll have to report that to Isabella. What was she doing here this time?”
“Being a bitch,” Gwen offered before Belle could find the words.
Kai felt his eyebrow arch, and he glanced at Gwen before looking back to Belle.
Releasing a breath and sitting back, Kai’s arm no longer bleeding—but not by much—she said, “Gwen’s mostly right. Serafina always hated me. She was trying to threaten me into giving up my title.”
Kai frowned and opted not to voice his first thought. Instead, he stood and gestured to the bed, saying, “Gwen, come sit down. You’re too pale.” He didn’t suggest Belle work on healing her right then because Belle was drained. There wasn’t anything she could do for Gwen other than to offer comfort.
Gwen must have felt as weak as she looked because for once she didn’t offer any argument. She did, however, have a question to ask. “Does this mean we’re teleporting again?”
Kai frowned. Under slightly altered circumstances that was exactly what it would mean. But he hadn’t regained nearly enough energy for that big a stunt. “Not yet,” he replied.
Belle rested a hand on Gwen’s shoulder. “You’re too worked up, and I’m not in the condition necessary to help you now, let alone after a teleport. We’ll have to wait.”
Gwen nodded and looked between them, finally settling on Kai. “Doesn’t that mean Creed could come back?”
“He could,” Kai said. “But I’m betting he won’t.” He shifted his gaze to Belle and added, “I’ll be right outside. I’m going to call Isabella.”
Belle inclined her head and sucked in a breath. “Crap. Give me a minute to put something else on.” She pushed to her feet and rushed into the adjoining room without another word. And for as much as Kai understood her point, he couldn’t help but reflect that such a necessity was a shame. She looked damn good in his shirt, which hung barely below the curve of her ass when she stood.
Shaking his head, he turned and sheathed his sword, but before he could slip it through his belt loops, he decided to leave it instead. In case Creed thought him leaving the room was an opening. Belle had her own weapon, which he had no doubt she’d grab while she dressed, but Gwen didn’t. Even without any experience, she’d fare better with a sword in her hand than with nothing.
“Here,” he said, laying the sword beside her on the bed. “Keep it in arms’ reach while I’m outside.”
Gwen blinked at it, looked up at him, and finally looked toward the other room. Her voice lowered respectfully, she asked, “What happened to the whole ‘forbidden’ thing?” Her implication was obvious, and he didn’t have the strength to deal
with it.
Straightening, Kai replied, “It’s still forbidden.” He didn’t want to get into it more than that, especially—or perhaps only—because he didn’t know where he and Belle stood now. She’d said she wanted more time, but she could just have meant to think. He doubted very much she meant with him. “I’ll be in the hall. Don’t open the door.” He snagged the nearest keycard from the dresser, slipped it into his pocket, and let himself out before Gwen could think of another question he’d feel somehow obligated to answer.
Now came the hard part. Isabella, popularly referred to as simply The Commander, wasn’t going to like his report. Part of him even feared she’d pull him off the mission. She would if she had any idea… But, in case she didn’t, he intended to keep his cool.
Inhaling a deep, cleansing breath, Kai closed his eyes and leaned against the wall directly beside the door. It was a little scratchy against his bare skin, but he ignored the sensation. He summoned a mental visual of his superior and thought her name to the skies.
“Isabella.”
Seconds ticked by while he waited for her response, but he was patient. He of all people knew how busy she usually was.
“What is it?” Isabella’s familiar, firm voice asked. Her tone was calm, merely curious with a bit of concern. She didn’t know.
Biting back the interior sigh, Kai said, “There was an incident. We lost Serafina.”
More seconds passed and Kai straightened as the hairs on his neck stood at attention. He pulled his arms from his pockets and bowed his head at the neck for a prolonged moment.
“What do you mean, ‘we lost Serafina’?” Isabella demanded as he straightened, standing before him in her complete battle garb.
While most of the armada fought in sacred battle leathers, the hides provided from sacrifices of old and woven with thin, blessed steel, Isabella was more of a traditionalist. When she dressed for battle, she donned shining battle armor the likes of which were most commonly associated with the Archangels. Of course, Isabella was as powerful as any Archangel—credible rumor had it that she’d actually turned down the position some time ago.