by Missy Jane
They found Jake sitting in his living room with a porno playing on his large screen television. Uri waved a hand at the TV and it turned off.
Jake jerked out of his chair and faced them. “What the fuck is this?”
They had all pulled their wings in but still wore no shirts. Zerach stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest. “We’ve got questions for you.”
Jake set his hands on his hips. “I don’t fucking think so, Maxwell,” he said with a sneer. “You and your boys can just turn around and get the fuck out before I call the cops.”
Uri laughed and shook his head. “Not happening.”
With a snap of his fingers Jake’s cell phone exploded. It left a burn mark on the arm of his leather chair and smoke drifting from its lifeless carcass.
Jake turned his gaze to Uri with such naked hatred the temperature in the room seemed to drop. “Oh, you’re really going to fucking pay for that.”
Zerach noted the lack of surprise or fear on Jake’s face from Uri’s display of power. That didn’t bode well.
“You stink of demon, Jake. Want to tell us about it?” he asked.
Jake threw his head back and laughed. “I stink? I’m the one who stinks? Of demon? Have you smelled yourselves lately? Righteousness is such a potent stench. I nearly retch every time I get near you, Maxwell. I don’t know how Izzy stands it.”
“She doesn’t notice because she isn’t demon-tainted like you are. What did Armoros promise you? And what does it have to do with Isadora?”
Jake chuckled and paced away from them, closer to a large fireplace on one side of the room. Smoke began billowing from it, first as a plume of white and then quickly darkening to gray. Then it turned blue and finally bled into violet. It was blood red when a dark figure finally stepped from its depths.
“You called?”
All six angels tensed as Armoros stepped into the room, looking like a human businessman out for a day of golf.
It ran a hand through its dark blond hair and grinned at Mike. “Long time no see.”
Mike growled. “You shouldn’t be here, demon. This isn’t your realm.”
“No? Well, if we’re being picky, it isn’t your realm either. Is it?” It laughed at the careful blankness on Mike’s face. “Awww, poor little angels are all lost and forlorn. They’ve been cast aside by the great power for no good reason and now don’t know what to do with themselves.”
It threw its head back and chortled. Jake laughed with it but he had stepped out of Armoros’ line of sight. He might be in league with the demon but his fear was palpable.
“What’s in it for you, Jake?” Zerach asked. “What were you promised when you opened the portal to let this spawn through?”
Armoros lifted one imperial brow and looked at Jake as if it had found a rather interesting insect.
Jake stopped laughing and looked helplessly at the demon before turning to face Zerach again. “That’s none of your business, asshole.”
One of the most powerful higher-level demons they had ever encountered stood in the human realm as if welcome. The fury and chaos it inspired rolled off it in waves. The angels were immune but Jake certainly wasn’t. His hands curled into fists and his face flushed. He was ready to try something physical despite being seriously outnumbered.
“Have no fear of these busybodies, my boy,” Armoros said to him. “They’re all bluster. Why, I’ll bet all you have to do is threaten a woman and they’ll run off to protect her. After all, we all know how weak the fairer sex can be. Take that little girl, Isadora, for example. She is such a small, frail thing.”
Zerach knew he’d been baited. He needed to ignore the jibe and stand his ground. But rage burned through his veins at the mere mention of someone hurting Dora and he wanted nothing more than to kill Jake and demolish the demon.
Calm yourself. You’re playing right into his hands.
Mike’s words, as well as his presence in Zerach’s mind, served as a cooling anchor. Zerach calmed enough to think more clearly. Armoros thrived on violence. It wanted the angels to engage Jake and maybe even to turn on him. Zerach wouldn’t give it that satisfaction.
“Whatever you think you can gain by stepping into the human world this time, demon, you are mistaken,” Cam said. “Go back to your corner of hell and be content to rule your minions.”
As one, the angels unfurled their wings. Jake cried out and fell back onto his ass. Armoros merely laughed. “That’s how it is to be then? You showed me yours. I’ll show you mine.”
Suddenly Armoros wasn’t a twenty-something businessman in his finest golfing attire. An eight-foot monster stood in his place, its horned head scraping the ceiling as it looked down at them. Its leathery skin was the color of blood and its feet were cloven hooves; its eyes were the black of a moonless night without pupil or iris. The grinning mouth that took up the bottom half of its face was filled with razor-sharp teeth stained with blood. It was a nightmare made in flesh and Jake screamed in horror.
Armor instantly covered the brothers from shoulders to feet and blessed swords appeared in their hands. The demon laughed and gripped Jake by the back of the collar like a puppy.
It stepped to the fireplace and put one foot in the ashes of its arrival. “I grow tired of this party. There is still much to do before my final soiree.”
There was a flash of light, more billowing smoke, and it disappeared as if it had never been, taking Jake with it. Only scorch marks on the carpet near the fireplace told the story of what had been in that room moments before.
“Shit,” Rafe said.
The others nodded their agreement with that sentiment and they banished their armor and weapons.
“Now what?” Uri asked.
“It has other places to hide,” Cam said. “Jake’s office…”
“It would be a fool to take the demon there,” Rafe said.
“Not if he plans to feed it,” Mike replied.
That silenced all of them. A hungry demon loose in the city would be a nightmare. However, it would be easier to find. All they had to do was watch the news and follow the trail of death.
“I need to check on Dora,” Zerach said, unable to mask his fear any longer. “For some reason Jake wants her and that demon might too.”
“She’s pure goodness. It shouldn’t be able to touch her,” Rafe said.
“I’m not willing to take that chance.”
“Both of you go,” Mike said. “The rest of us will disperse to Jake’s known properties and family. We need to find them.”
They all nodded and left the house.
Zerach was almost in a state of panic by the time he landed in the parking lot of Dora’s apartment complex. He saw her car in its usual spot. The lights were on in her living room.
He would have rushed right up the steps to her door if Rafe hadn’t grabbed him. “She’s going to want to know why you’re not wearing a shirt.”
Zerach glanced down at his bare chest with a growl. “I’ll think of something.”
Rafe released his arm and Zerach hurried up the stairs to her door. He paused just outside and scanned the interior. No evil or demon taint permeated the air. As far as he could tell all was well. He knocked on the door and waited the interminable seconds before it finally opened.
Dora faced him with a look of surprise that quickly turned into a smile. She opened the door wide and revealed she was already dressed for bed. “I didn’t realize you’d be back tonight.”
He couldn’t stop himself from closing the distance and taking her into his arms. The fear of losing her was so potent it froze the breath in his lungs. He simply held her a moment as his heart slowed its racing.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “You’re trembling.”
She didn’t try to pull away, which was a blessing. He honestly didn’t know if he could let her go.
He looked down into her open, trusting gaze. He needed to tell her the truth. “I have something very important to tell you.”
; Her smile slipped away, and she gave a slow nod. She let him into the apartment and shut and locked her front door. He walked to the sofa and eased her down beside him. Her hands looked so small in his. So fragile. Was he doing the right thing pulling her headfirst into his world of demons and danger?
Jake’s already sucked her in. She just doesn’t know it yet.
Rafe’s voice of wisdom in his head reminded Zerach of the night’s events. He faced Dora and took a deep breath. It was time to reveal everything.
…
He was so obviously nervous it scared her. She had seen Zerach Maxwell display many different emotions over the past couple of years. Nervousness had never been one of them. For a fleeting second she wondered if he was going to propose and her heart skipped a beat. But then reality intruded. He had just shown up shirtless at her front door late at night. He was obviously in some kind of trouble. She waited patiently for him to start talking, but keeping her fear and concern inside grew increasingly difficult.
“Dora, from what I’ve noticed you don’t seem to be very religious.”
She laughed at the odd observation. Sure she didn’t attend church regularly and rarely prayed, but she certainly believed in God. “Um…yeah I guess I’m not. I would consider myself Christian though if anyone asked.”
He didn’t look very surprised. “So you believe in God, and Jesus and the Apostles?”
She shrugged. “I was raised Catholic. I don’t practice but those lessons ran deep. I can’t say I don’t believe in any of it.”
He grinned. “I see. What if I could tell you that a lot of what you know is true? What if I could say I can prove it to you beyond any doubt?”
She slipped her hands from his and stood. The conversation had definitely taken an unexpected turn, and she had no clue what to make of it. “What do you mean?”
He stood too, and paced. For a second the tattoo on his back seemed to shimmer. Her breath caught, and she blinked her eyes hard. By the time she opened them he had turned to face her, his back once again hidden.
“I mean, what if I could show you proof there is a God, and he created creatures to protect mankind from the evils that were accidentally created in the midst of everything else.”
Her heartbeat sped up and a twinge in her spine warned her of panic seeping into her veins. She didn’t know what Zerach was talking about but she didn’t think she liked it.
“I see you’re starting to get scared, honey. There’s no need. I would never, ever hurt you. Can you trust me on that? Can you trust I’d never hurt you?”
Just hours ago she would have nodded without reservation. Now she really had to think about it. She twisted her hands together before crossing them over her breasts. “Okay.”
“Isadora, I’m not what I seem to be. I’m much more. Once I reveal all to you I need you to remember nothing has changed between us. I’m still the man you know.”
Her heartbeat pounded, the blood rushing in her ears. She couldn’t even nod. She simply stared, waiting for whatever he had to shock her with.
It started so slowly, it took a couple of seconds to register what she was seeing. Then once she saw it, she couldn’t not see it. Wings. Zerach had wings slowly unfurling from his back and spreading across the span of her apartment. Her jaw dropped and all the blood drained from her head. Her knees gave out, and she dropped to the carpet. Zerach watched her with obvious concern, but he didn’t try to approach her.
“Baby, are you all right?”
She laughed, sounding half-crazed. Then unexpected tears fell down her cheeks as she realized fully what she was seeing. Proof for certain there was a God in Heaven, and one of his angels stood in her living room. “Oh. My. God.”
Awe filled her, followed by an overwhelming joy that had the tears flowing faster. She covered her mouth with both trembling hands and continued to stare. A sob left her throat as she tried to catch her breath. Her gaze flowed over him as she tried to take in every nuance.
“Wings. You have wings. You’re an angel…oh my god.”
She bent at the waist and pressed her forehead to the carpet. Closing her eyes helped little as Zerach’s image was burned into her memory. Her mind worked furiously, going back over every instance with him. She never in a million years would have guessed this secret. And she instantly realized, from his reputation no one else would either.
She sat up slowly to find he hadn’t moved an inch. “You’re not a womanizing jerk.”
He barked out a laugh then set his hands on his hips and held her gaze. “Some of the reports on the women have been sensationalized, but not all of them, Dora.”
She knew what he was saying. He might be an angel but apparently he wasn’t a saint. It didn’t matter. He had never sought to hurt anyone, least of all her. She’d known that from the beginning. “That’s not what I meant. I meant you donate to those charities out of a sense of duty, not to help your reputation.”
“It’s more than just duty.”
She understood now. He was inherently good. He couldn’t help it. She stood on shaky legs and slowly walked across the room to him. He stayed perfectly still, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
When only a foot of space separated them she held out her hand. “Can I touch you?”
“Always.”
There was so much relief in his agreement she almost laughed. Instead she ran her fingers lightly over the feathers of one large, glorious wing. At first she’d thought them a shade of gray, but on closer inspection she realized they were silver. The shimmer she had noticed earlier was inherent in the almost metallic sheen of the delicate feathers. Each one was so small she couldn’t imagine how many he had total. They were also softer than anything she had ever felt in her life. Touching them was almost orgasmic. She gasped and pulled her hand back quickly.
“You’re feeling my pleasure at your touch,” he whispered. “It feels really good when you touch them. Like I’m being petted in the most sensual way.”
Heat filled her face, and she fought the urge to touch him again. After all they’d done together, this still felt forbidden. Here stood an angel, a sacred being of God. Surely she shouldn’t be doing this.
“What are you thinking?” he asked. “Please, tell me.”
“I probably shouldn’t touch you. Or think the thoughts I’m thinking about you.”
He grinned and opened his arms. She hesitated but in the end simply couldn’t resist. She stepped into them and sank against his warm chest.
“I swear, Dora, any thought you have about me pales in comparison to what I’ve thought about you the past few days.”
“It’s obvious you aren’t expected to be chaste.”
He clutched her tighter. “Not in the least. Many angels enjoy the company of humans.”
“Really?”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “It’s been happening almost since humans were created. I fear our insatiable curiosity got the better of us. Luckily we weren’t punished for it.”
Slowly his wings folded into his back until no trace of them remained. She pulled away from him and walked around to look at his back. Only the tattoo remained. She ran her hands over his skin, and he shivered. A light tingle went through her fingertips, almost as if she’d touched a livewire.
“Amazing. Does it hurt?” she asked.
“No. Will you sit with me so I can explain everything?”
“There’s more?”
He turned to her with a serious expression. “Unfortunately, yes.”
She let him take her hand and lead her back to the sofa. They sat side by side like they’d done many times now. No fear held her back. He had been right. He was still Zerach and she knew and trusted him. Now there was just more to him, and she wanted to know about all of it.
“I’m the archangel Zerachiel. I’ve been alive since the beginning of time. I have no true age and neither do my brothers.”
Her head snapped up. “All of you are angels?”
“Yes.”<
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“Oh, right. Of course. I just thought…I don’t know what I thought.”
He smiled patiently. “It’s all right, Dora. I don’t expect you to absorb everything tonight. I probably won’t even be able to answer all of your questions tonight. But there is something really important I have to tell you that prompted me to come here.”
She waved one hand for him to continue.
He took a deep breath and took a moment to order his thoughts. “There is a God, obviously. We refer to it as The Source of All Creation, or The Source, since there truly is no gender that applies. We’re archangels, just a few in the hierarchy of all angels. We have different powers and different jobs. I’m a healer and a protector of children.”
“Oh,” she said with wonder. “The charities.”
He nodded. “I do what I can outside of those, but those make it easier for my human persona to help. Of course, I have to do more than that so I have the other businesses as well. Once we realized we were going to make our home in the human realm we each took on a persona and made a life for ourselves. I chose the businessman role so I can control the finances my brothers and I need to live comfortably. We do have powers, but prefer not to manipulate humans unless we have no choice. It very rarely happens.”
That made her wary. “What do you mean manipulate humans?”
“That means I can read your thoughts and control your actions if need be. I could have you do anything I want and you’d be helpless to stop me.”
Panic settled in her bones again, along with unwanted suspicion. “Have you ever done that to me?”
“No. Never. I would never do that to you.”
She thought that over. He could be lying, of course. But somehow she doubted it. Why tell her about the powers at all if he was going to lie about using them? “All right. I believe you. So, why are you telling me all this now?”
He grinned. “There are a few reasons. One is because you mean a lot to me, Dora. I hope you realize that.”
Emotion swelled and all she could do was nod. That seemed to be enough. But then his grin faded, and he took her hands between his again.