by S Lawrence
Zeph crosses from where he stood looking out the door to look down at the baby, and she immediately quiets.
The women look at each other then back at the baby, who is now reaching for Zeph. He shakes his head and steps back, and I watch as the child’s chin begins to quiver.
Torryn and I both go to Zeph’s side, and she grins up at us.
“Just stay right there while I get her changed,” Lillian orders. “Don’t take a single step.”
The baby keeps her eyes on us as Lillian strips off the bloody clothes, uses some type of wipe to clean her pale skin, and Charlie changes the diaper quickly. I’m surprised by the efficiency.
“Foster brothers and sisters,” she answers without me asking as she slides tiny feet into the legs of the clean clothes. After getting arms in and it pulled completely up, she zips it. Lifting the baby up, she holds her out.
The three of us glance at each other and then back at her. “Well, one of you take her. She doesn’t want us; she wants you guys.”
In unison, we shake our heads. “Yes,” she and Lillian reply.
“I suspect she really wants Luc, but any of you will work for right now,” Charlie murmurs, her lips close to the shocking copper hair.
“Luc is taking care of Evander,” I state and draw looks from my brothers. “He’s losing control.”
“Losing Grace is killing him,” Torryn says, and I notice Lillian is suddenly busy cleaning up the bloody clothes and the dirty diaper.
She straightens and starts to move away to the kitchen. I follow just as Torryn reaches out to take the baby.
“Drayce, have you found anything?” Torryn yells down the hallway. “We need to call her something.”
Glancing back over my shoulder, I say, “Luc called her Chana.”
“Chana,” Torryn whispers, smiling down at the child.
I think she just got her very own guardian demon.
I’m going to find out Lillian’s secret, one way or another.
Chapter 33
LILLIAN
This secret is killing me. Eating me from the inside.
Every time I see Evander or just hear about how bad he’s doing, I feel like claws are tearing up my soul. I want to scream.
I want to shout from the rooftop, ‘Grace is alive.’
But I keep Luc’s secret.
Gripping the edge of the counter, I try to calm my pounding heart.
“So, what’s going on?” I whirl at Dagen’s question.
“You scared me,” I accuse. My brain is racing to come up with something to tell him.
“Don’t bother lying, Lill. I know Luc has got you mixed up into something.” He ain’t wrong. And ‘something’ is an understatement. “Maybe I can help.”
Not likely. He reaches out and covers my curled fingers with his hand. I look back over my shoulder, watching the others through the arched doorway. Charlie is grinning as Torryn bounces the baby in his arms.
My heart tightens as I picture another child in his arms.
Dagen turns his head following my gaze. “Do you think it’s possible?” I keep my voice as low as I can.
“I don’t know, Lill.” I can hear a hint of wistfulness in his voice.
“I suppose there will be lots of babies in need of homes, if the Fallen have their way.” He nods. “I hate them.”
“You have the right, for sure.” He looks me in the eye. “But don’t think I’ve been distracted.”
I sigh, debating, arguing, and reasoning, all in an instant. Then I decide as I hear a roar from outside. Evander.
Grabbing Dagen’s arm, I pull him behind me as I stride quickly to the back door. Once we get outside, I let my wings extend, looking back to make sure he is following. Lifting into the air, I fly far out into desert, listening as his wings flap behind me.
I land beside a small lake, and he remains quiet, waiting for me to spill my secret.
How do I even start?
“Grace is alive.” I don’t know which of us is more surprised by my blurted words.
I wait as he processes it.
“No. I saw her. Dead.” He shakes his head. “Evander saw her. It’s killing him.”
“Luc pulled her from the darkness.” His eyes widen.
“Fuck.” He draws the word out until it’s at least ten syllables. I watch as he realizes exactly what that means. “She’s a demon.”
I nod. “She’s not handling it well.” That is the understatement of all time. “She hasn’t changed from her demon side yet.”
I watch as he counts the days, which turn to weeks and then months.
“That’s not good.” I nod. “Demons with no control stay in Hell. Forever.”
I nod again. “I’ve been visiting. She is calmer when I’m there, but it’s helping less and less.”
“Evander has no idea, does he?”
“No.” I kick at a rock at the water’s edge. “Just in case.”
“In case what?” He grumbles, glaring at me.
“Luc won’t leave her in the state she’s in.” I turn to look at his profile. “She has an expiration date.”
He’s shocked by my words but says nothing.
“It’s why we haven’t said anything. She refuses to see him.” I don’t say ‘and if she doesn’t come around, Luc is going to basically kill her mercifully.’
I push his hair back from his face. His face looks peaceful as he sleeps. The worry that has been present since I first saw him, gone.
I saw him first, then the others while I followed him. I knew him the moment I saw him, knew him for what he was and what he is now.
Soren chose his side while I hid. Now it’s my turn to help. To make a difference. I have waited too long in the shadows.
Hidden from the death and war. I let myself wallow in self pity and despair, lost and confused by His choices.
Arkyn moans and I glance down. His wounds are slowly healing but there were so many. I let more of my magic flow into him, a slow steady stream. Through the link, I can feel him getting stronger.
It will be time to move him soon. My decision is made. I’ve chosen sides.
Closing my eyes, I focus on her and smile. I’ve watched her for years, as soon as I figured out what Soren had been doing. When I realized it was my magic he was tracking.
I was leading the Fallen to Charlie, as I had led them to Lillian. The reality of that forced me to change the magic to hide them better, but I can’t hide from him for ever. I’ll have to move again now that I’ve unlocked my powers.
It’s a risk I had to take though, for his sadness was breaking my heart. That and the fact that more and more angels are falling.
The Fallen’s numbers are exploding with those that can sense the final battle is drawing near.
It is the end of days.
Chapter 34
DAGEN
I think my brain short circuited.
Luc is going to kill Grace. Those words play on a loop in my head.
I don’t know what I thought the secret was, but it wasn’t that for sure. I try to think of something to say, but nothing comes to mind.
“Does Torryn know?” That’s the best I can come up with. Lillian shakes her head. “What does he think you’re doing with Luc?”
“Trying to find the other women.” She shrugs. “I hate lying to him, but there’s no way he could keep it from Evander.”
True. I don’t like it though. And now I’m a part of it.
“I don’t know what else to do.” She sounds broken.
I can’t imagine how hard this is for her.
“I’m sorry, Lillian. We’ll figure something out.” I won’t let her lose Grace twice. I pull her to me as a tear runs down her cheek.
I hate to make a promise I can’t keep, but she nods against my chest and I know she believes me less than I do. She steps back after squeezing me hard.
“We should get back.” I nod but stay on the ground even as she turns and leaps into the air.
“I’
ll be right behind you,” I call out to her, and she waves her hand.
I’m not right behind her. She’s been gone for at least twenty minutes. I know it’s Charlie before she speaks.
“You okay?” I smile before letting it fade away.
“Yeah, just needed some air and quiet.” I hear the lie, just like she does.
Her arms come around me and her cheek presses against my back. “If you need help with...whatever it is... I’m here.” I cover her hands with my own.
“I would tell you, if it was my secret,” I whisper.
“I know.” I hear the truth in her words and her faith in me.
“I love you.” I don’t deserve her.
She slips around me, turning her face up to mine. “I love you.” Rising up, she kisses along my collar bone, and I grin when I hear her inhale deeply.
Bending, I take her mouth, plunging my tongue in as she opens to me. I kiss her until we both are breathless. She swallows my frustrations. Raising my head, I drop the tenderest kiss I can on her forehead.
“We should head back.” She nods. “Is Luc still with Evander?”
“No, he took Evander back to New Orleans.” She chews at her lower lip.
“What is it?” I ask as I use the pad of my finger to pull that lip from between her teeth.
“Does that happen to all of you or will it?” I would be scared of that too if it was me.
“No, moll.” I sigh though. “I mean yes, it can. The demon side of us always craves freedom, longs for destruction. I’d be lying if I said it never gets out, takes control. What is going on with Evander is different.”
“How?” She leans against me as I try to figure out how to explain.
“Let’s sit. This will take a little while.” She steps back and moves to a flat boulder, sitting and pulling her legs up. I join her, pulling her back against me, loving that she just relaxes into me.
“It started in Heaven…” I tell her the entire story, and she listens quietly.
When I finish, she’s crying. “He lost her twice. No wonder he’s devastated.”
I nod, not even willing to imagine losing her. Soul mates. It seems strange that she is the most important thing in my life after only days.
“As beautiful as it is, you should probably calm down.” I blink at her words then notice the huge fluffy snowflakes falling all around us.
“Sorry, I tried to imagine myself in his place.” She snuggles closer. “I can’t lose you.”
“Not going anywhere. I promise,” she whispers before she kisses me softly.
Turning, she shifts until she’s in my lap. Her hand slides down my chest to the waistband of my pants.
“I thought we were going back.” I let my eyes fall closed as her hand skims over my already hardening dick.
“We will, but I need you first.” I flick my fingers and we are both naked, a thick blanket beneath us on the rock. The snow continues to fall as I take her.
This time, I make love to her slow and easy. Her body is silhouetted against the night sky, snowflakes landing and melting on her hot skin. She throws her head back in abandon. Her orgasm explodes as her body clenches around me. Her cries fill the night, and in seconds, I’m howling my pleasure along with her.
When the waves of pleasure finally stop, she raises her head and leans forward, taking my mouth and kissing me. The kiss holds all her love, a declaration of her dedication to us.
I kiss her back, making my own promise.
We hold each other as our passion cools.
“We could just stay,” I offer and she smiles. My God, it is the most beautiful thing in Heaven and on Earth.
As the thought runs through my mind, a star shoots across the sky.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone was agreeing with me.
Chapter 35
CHARLIE
Are you listening, God?
I asked for a sign; was that star it? They would all say I’m crazy talking to the one that left us with this mess.
I can’t help it, though I don’t know why. I’ve never been religious. I went to church some as a kid, forced there by foster parents, but I wouldn’t say I ever had faith.
Now, though, I find it hard to believe that someone isn’t guiding this whole situation. Of course, it could be someone or something else. If angels, demons, and God are real, then it stands to reason so are other things that we thought were myths.
“Charlie?” My name, spoken so softly, pulls me from my musings. “You ready?”
Not really, but I smile and nod. Clothes appear on my body and his. I smile at his massive wings as they rise high above his shoulders. Black as the night, they are the complete opposite of my snowy ones. Yin and yang, hot and cold.
He rises gracefully into the air and I follow. He has a melancholy undertone now.
It takes just minutes for us to get back to the house. As we walk through the patio doors, we are greeted by baby giggles and I smile. Dagen simply shakes his head.
Luc is standing in front of a huge fireplace, the baby held gently in his arms as he sways from side to side, singing softly to her. I’m transfixed by his voice. Lillian is leaning on Torryn on the couch.
The other Princes are milling about.
“Can we talk about how we find Arkyn?” Victor still sounds angry. “Just in case your friend doesn’t tell us.”
He glares my way; apparently the joy of finding me has worn off.
“She will tell us.” I straighten as I face off with him. “Even if she didn’t, I could possibly track his song.”
They all look at me with interest. “I mean, I haven’t ever done anything like it, but you guys have them for a reason, and I’m the only one that can hear them, so?”
“Lillian heard music that led us to you,” Drayce says, looking between us.
“It only got me in the general area though.” Lillian pushes up off Torryn to look at me.
Luc stops bouncing and turns to look at both of us. “Let’s just get some rest, eat, and then tomorrow, we can figure out what to do.”
It’s a command, but the under current of it is for Victor to back off. I nod my head once in thanks.
The men move into the kitchen, but I stay by the door. Luc starts down the hall with the baby.
“I’m going to lay her down. Torryn and Drayce got the cradle put together.” His words drift back to us as we watch him.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Lillian is smiling as she watches.
“Yes,” I answer.
She stands and walks toward me then continues out onto the patio. I follow her. She is at the very edge, where the desert sand touches the landscaping. We both stand silent staring out into the night.
“It’s fucking mind-blowing, isn’t it?” I don’t know why but hearing the curse word coming from her is shocking. A chuckle forms and then bursts out of my throat. She turns her head and grins at me. “I have years of unsaid cuss words just waiting to be said.”
“I guess so. You’re right, though. It is a mind fuck. All of this.” I spread my arms and spin around. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she answers before I even stop talking.
“Do you…” This is going to sound so stupid. “Do you talk to God?”
Her expression says I’ve shocked her. She takes a while to answer.
“I used to believe He was dead. Grace had told me about Him but I couldn’t believe He would let the Fallen walk the Earth killing people if He was. But now, I wonder if maybe He’s at least alive but I still don’t understand why He’s letting all of this happen.” She moves facing me. “I don’t talk to Him though. I’m not sure what I’d even say. Do you?”
“Sometimes.” She nods.
“What do you say?” I sigh and glance at the house.
“I ask for help.” She nods again.
“Have you gotten any?” Have I?
“I got you guys and the medicine woman. So maybe.”
“Either way, I don’t thin
k it hurts.” She shrugs. “Talking or asking for help.”
Stepping close to her side, I reach out and she meets me halfway, pulling me in for a tight hug.
As soon as our bodies connect, music fills the air. She gasps and I feel my mouth fall open. It is trumpet music and it is clear. Loud and something I’ve never heard before.
“It’s like what led us to you.” Her voice is filled with amazement. “But louder and clearer.”
I step back from her and the music dies away. She reaches out and takes my hand, and it flares loud again.
“Torryn,” she yells, and the sound of footsteps thunder through the house as they all run to us.
“What is it?” Dagen asks, and his eyes dart around the surrounding desert. Drayce and Victor move to the edge of the patio, standing guard. Ready to kill for us.
“We are more powerful together,” Lillian squeals happily.
“What?” Torryn shakes his head, not understanding.
“I hugged her.” I start and then stop before starting again. “When we connect, the music is beautiful.”
“Our music?” Drayce calls back over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off the desert.
“No.” Lillian is practically vibrating with excitement. “The music I heard for Charlie.”
“You hear it now?” I look down at our joined hands and then nod at Dagen.
“It’s a little different but the same.” Lillian turns and I let go of her hand. “It’s coming from that way.” She points south.
“The city?” Torryn asks, his voice disbelieving.
“No, not the city. Some place much further south.” I focus the direction Lilian’s hand is still pointing.
“Drayce.” Luc’s voice has us all turning back to the house. “Did you find her family?”
“The people you found her with have no children. So I can’t track her.” I smile at the King of Hell.
“I told you, she has a family. She needs you.” He shakes his head.