"What is that?" Lucas asked.
"Here," Kaia said, tossing one at him. "Read up on all this. We need to get familiar with this book."
Lucas looked down at the Bible in his hands. He had read it, most of it, at some point or another in his life. He was embarrassed to admit that he could remember very little of it. "Not a bad idea," he said.
"Where is everyone else?" Kaia asked. "I got a copy for everyone."
"I think Lacy is with Liam, Shelly is in Greed, don't know where Jake is, and I think Jamie is in his room, probably plotting an escape for himself and this witch." Lucas shook his head. "Can you believe she's his mate?"
"After everything I've seen lately," Kaia told him, "I believe just about anything."
***
Ash had immediately quarantined Jamie to what would be his private quarters almost immediately after the mate bomb had gone off. After giving him the short version of everything the witch had done, Ash disappeared and Jamie hadn’t heard from him since. He had better not touch her, Jamie thought to himself as he paced the room for the thousandth time. His heavy boots thumped against the concrete floor, echoing off the walls. It was good to hear properly again, although Jamie wasn’t entirely sure that this was any better than being stuck in Limbo.
His mate. Never had he imagined that he would find her, let alone recognize her on sight. What was he to do? She was the enemy, and Jamie had always been loyal to his team no matter what. Killing her was not an option, though. He couldn’t let anyone harm her. Ash was adamant that Laura was not going free—now or ever—and if he were honest with himself, Jamie couldn’t fault him for that. Ash’s logic was sound. The protective instinct of a mated vampire was not. Ash’s mate was a vampire, so Jamie knew that he understood and would respect that, for now.
Perhaps she wasn’t as evil as they thought she was. Maybe there was hope to rehabilitate her. What if there was a reason for the actions she had taken?
Oh, who was he kidding? Laura had dealt with not one, but two demons that had effectively unleashed Hell on Earth. The best prospect she could hope for was eternity in a box. The thought caused Jamie’s stomach to twist into a tight knot. Life in a cage was no life at all. Maybe she would be better off dead than confined within those iron bars.
No, Jamie shook his head against the thought. There had to be a way, but how? He needed to see her, to ask her why she had done the things she did. He needed to know why she had put a spell on him in Limbo and, moreover, how had she done it through the magic surrounding her prison?
“Hey, Squid,” a man’s voice said, startling Jamie.
He spun around and growled at the angel. How had he gotten in there? Ash had locked the door tight and Jamie knew it because opening it was the first thing he tried. And did he just call Jamie a squid? Only one kind of person used that term for SEALS. “Jarhead,” he grumbled. “How’d you get in here?”
“Ah, don’t be jealous,” the angel said. “I come in peace.”
Jamie remembered the angel from the caverns where he had first entered Hell, but hadn’t seen much of him since. What was his name? Larry, or Lisa … something with an L. “What do you want, Lisa?” yeah that seemed to fit.
The angel grinned. “Lucas,” he corrected Jamie. “And I brought you this.” He tossed a book at Jamie who caught it. “We are supposed to be brushing up on our Revelations. Kaia got them for us. Lacy wanted to bring it to you, but I thought it might be better to see a fellow military man for a minute.”
“Why would I ever want to see you instead of Ms. B?” Jamie asked absently, admiring the gold lettering on the front of the leather-bound Bible.
“Why do you call her that, anyway?” Lucas asked, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. He leaned back and crossed his ankle over his knee.
“How do you do that without sitting on your wings?” Jamie asked, studying the man. His wings were huge and the darkest brown they could be without being black.
“I don’t know,” Lucas told him. “They just move out of the way. I don’t even have to think about it. You’ll see when you get yours.”
“Mine?” Jamie asked. “When do we get to that part?”
Lucas shrugged. “Whenever Ash thinks you’re ready. There are a lot of things we need to get done. Ash gave everyone a tour and trained them. I didn’t need much training and I’m sure you won’t either, but things haven’t been real normal around here lately. Now, you didn’t answer the question. Why do you call Lacy Ms. B?”
It was obvious the jarhead wanted to make nice and wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. Jamie went to the edge of his bed and sat down heavily. “She was my high school history teacher,” he answered. “She saved my ass. Made me want to be more than just some kid who made it through school. Because of her, I cleaned my ass up and went into the military. Mostly to make her proud. I always felt like if I walked the straight and narrow, that Ms. B would see me from Heaven and know that she didn’t give her life in vain.”
“Ah,” Lucas said, nodding. “She made a big impression on you. She does that to all of us. In fact, she is one of the only angels who can give Ash shit and get away with it. At first, I thought it was because she was female, but that’s not it. That tiny angel packs one hell of a punch. She has power that makes me kind of jealous.”
“Yeah, she was always good at keeping her cool. It’s what saved us all,” Jamie agreed.
“And your need to make her proud is what ultimately brought you here,” Lucas said.
“Maybe,” Jamie said.
“Or it could be that your mate is in an iron cage in Ash’s office,” Lucas told him. “Fate is funny that way. She has a strange sense of humor.”
Jamie growled at Lucas. “Never talk about her,” he warned.
“Hey, hold your horses there, fang banger. I will admit, Laura ain’t my favorite person, but I respect the mate thing. I wouldn’t dare cause her harm. But what to do about it? And while we are talking fang related issues, what made you into a vamp anyway?”
This guy. Wow. He sure did have a lot of questions. On the one hand, Jamie wanted to pummel him. On the other, he was glad for the company, even if the wolf was nosey as fuck. “It was a personal choice I made. The military offered, I accepted. I became a SEAL and was damn good at it.”
“Right,” Lucas agreed. “They like us more than they will openly admit. I was the only wolf in my platoon, but there are many of us out there, serving the country.”
Damn it, Jamie was starting to like this wolf-angel. “I don’t know what to do about Laura,” he admitted. He loved the way her name sounded on his tongue. He wanted to say it over and over again.
“Well, Ryver has a thought,” Lucas said. “She sees something, a spell or some kind of deep, dark magic surrounding her. It was well hidden and not even Ash could find it. But my girl did.” He grinned with absolute pride in his mate.
“What difference does that make?” Jamie asked hopelessly. “Ash wants her dead.”
“The difference is, maybe if Ryver removes the magic, then your girl might be a little more forthcoming with the information.” Lucas leaned back further in the chair and switched his legs to cross in the other direction.
“What information does he even think she has?” Jamie asked, defensive of the woman everyone hated. “What could there possibly be to tell that you haven’t already discovered?”
“Not sure,” Lucas said, leaning forward, “but if you want even the smallest chance of claiming your mate, that magic has to be removed, and we have to know what caused her to take the actions she took that led us here.”
Jamie sighed heavily. What happened to going to Heaven? He had always heard that finding his mate would be a wonderful, life-changing experience. Not this insane shitstorm he managed to stumble into. Actually, he hadn’t stumbled. That woman from Limbo had given him a violent shove into it. If he ever saw her again, he would have to thank her, if not somewhat sarcastically.
“So anyhow, whenever Ash gets back from
his mental day, we’re gonna see about getting you out of this room and in uniform so we can get to work.”
“Mental day?” Jamie asked. “Does the leader of Hell have mental days?”
“Not often.” Lucas smiled. “But there is a huge amount of shit going on. He didn’t exactly seek out his position, it was given to him by the Big Man Himself. Not the kind of offer you turn down, ya know?” Lucas stood and held his hand out to Jamie. He took it and shook. “Nice to have you on board,” Lucas continued. “I’ll be seeing you soon.” And then, the angel disappeared, leaving Jamie alone in his room with the Bible and more questions than answers.
Chapter Three
Ash flew over the Hengduan Mountains in China, enjoying the crisp, cold air in his face. It was easy to pretend from this altitude that the world wasn’t falling apart and that he had no idea what to do about it. He looked down at the snow-covered peaks below him, taking a moment to indulge in the beauty surrounding him. The snow untouched by human feet, was as white as Lacy’s wings and glittering in the sunlight. Being in Hell made it hard to remember that the Earth was full of beauty. It had been hard to remember when he was just a human, stumbling around his life with no direction or purpose. God had given him a purpose, though. Protect the world. Lead Hell in the way it had always been meant to be done.
And how was he doing at that? Not so well. Ash felt as if he were in the midst of an epic failure. Balthazar was out, three of the four horsemen were out, demons were still scattered among humans, and, basically, things were one giant clusterfuck. Ash knew that he had made some decisions that had led to this. Had he been so self-centered that he missed the big picture? And what the hell was he supposed to do now?
“Nice day for a flight,” Antonio said, appearing next to Ash. “Your nose is a bit red, though.”
“I’m not in the mood,” Ash grumbled at the uninvited angel before tilting his body and soaring to the left.
“You know something,” Antonio said without missing a beat and following Ash. “This whole situation sucks. I mean, I wish there was a way to just suck Balthazar and his minions into a tiny box, like Pandora’s Box, and bury them in the deepest, darkest corner of Hell. Like a giant Hoover.”
Ash shook his head, knowing there wasn’t going to be any getting rid of Antonio. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I was sent to help you and that is what I’m gonna do,” Antonio replied.
Ash let out a heavy sigh and angled his body upward, toward the Heavens. The air got colder, and Ash’s nose began to run, but he didn’t care. If he flew high enough, hard enough, maybe he would hear what it was that God wanted him to do. He had only met Him once—the day Ash had been given his job—and ever since then, he had been letting Him down.
“So, I hear that Kaia got everyone Bibles for studying,” Antonio continued. “But it’s hard to decipher what is truth and what is the opinion of a long-dead old man. Everyone, including the new guy, is brushing up on it, though. Speaking of the new guy, what are you gonna do about that traitor-mate thing?”
“I don’t know,” Ash told him without looking at him.
“And the horsemen! What are we gonna do about that?”
“I don’t know,” Ash repeated.
“And then there is all of this shit with people dying. There is soon going to be a waiting list in Heaven and in Hell if it keeps up at this rate. How are we gonna stop it?”
“I don’t fucking know!” Ash shouted at him. That angel knew exactly what buttons to push to piss him off. Ash knew the black fire had sparked on his wings, leaving a trail of black smoke in their wake. Ash wanted to kill him. No, that wasn’t true. At one point, Ash did want to kill Antonio, but if he were honest with himself, the damned angel had been more help than he ever imagined. The urge to kill was strong, though. Ash wanted to hunt, maim and torture, but not Antonio. He wanted Balthazar’s head on a pike. He wanted his innards on a plate with a garnish of his testicles that he could feed to the hellhounds. He wanted the bastard dead and then dead again.
“That’s the anger I was looking for,” Antonio said with a grin. “I think being around all of those women at home has made you soft. You are the fucking leader of Hell! A force not to be fucked with! You are unstoppable, not by me or anyone else, and certainly not by a demon whose ego is bigger than his brain!”
Ash stopped midair and growled at Antonio. His eyes blazed red and his wings burned with his fury.
“Yes!” Antonio told him. “Be angry. Be furious! Now, let’s go home and make a damned good plan and finally put this to bed.”
The angel disappeared and Ash followed him back to Hell.
They materialized in Ash’s office like a bomb explosion. “I want everyone in here,” Ash commanded in that twisted voice that sounded like several people at once. “Now!” his last word shook the walls and Lucas and Ryver backed up against the wall.
“What’s going on, sir?” Lucas asked, reverting to his military ways.
Ash just growled at him.
Lacy, Jake, Shelly, and Kaia all came running at Ash’s command. “Where is the vampire?” Ash commanded.
“You locked him in his room,” Lacy said softly. “Would you like me to go get him?”
“No,” Ash growled. Elizabeth came into the office and approached Ash, but he turned to her. “Not now,” he said and she backed up a few steps, worry etched into her face.
Ash waved his hand and Jamie appeared in the office. “What the hell?” he asked, looking at his new surroundings.
“Can you fight?” Ash demanded of him.
“Of course I can fight,” Jamie answered. What the hell was going on with Ash’s eyes? And those wings? Were they on fire? Yes, he decided, they were. Holy shit a brick, Ash was pissed.
“Good,” Ash continued. “And you have agreed to stay with us?” he asked.
“Yes,” Jamie answered.
“No matter what happens with the witch?” Ash asked him.
Jamie pressed his lips together, unsure of his answer. The witch was his mate. He couldn’t and wouldn’t leave her, but would not allow any harm to come to her either.
“I’m not going to kill her,” Ash growled.
“Then yes,” Jamie said without hesitation.
“Good,” Ash growled. “Get dressed, now.”
“Uh,” Jamie started, not knowing what he was supposed to do.
Ash took the question out of him. “God, if you’re listening, we are running out of time. We need Jamie to be ready and fast. If it isn’t too much trouble, could you go ahead and send him those wings?”
Everyone looked at Ash in confusion. That was not the usual prayer ceremony to ask for wings. In fact, it wasn’t much of a prayer at all. Something big was happening, they just didn’t know what.
Jamie waited a moment but nothing happened. “You have to want them,” Lacy whispered to him.
“Oh,” Jamie said and then bowed his head. If Ash wasn’t going to pray, maybe he should. Father, I am yours to command. I will protect these angels and their families with my own soul. I will protect not only Hell, but the Heavens and Earth too. I am ready to become one of your guards, if you will have me.
There was no need to say the prayer aloud, because Jamie knew that all prayers were heard.
A few seconds later, pain exploded in his back between his shoulder blades. Jamie tried to remain upright, but the pain was too much to bear. He dropped to his knees and tried to just breathe through the pain. He thought turning into a vampire had been bad, but this was much worse. His entire body felt charged, as if there was an electric current racing through his veins. When he thought it would end, his body was jerked upright by some unseen force, lifting him from the ground. His back bowed, and Jamie cried out, unable to hold it in any longer. And then, something changed. The pain began to recede and was replaced with something that felt like an embrace. His whole body felt as if an invisible pair of arms had wrapped around him, surrounding him in warmth and love. Yes, love. Tha
t’s what it felt like.
Jamie grinned as his body lowered until his feet touched the floor. The feeling was gone, but not the memory of it. That was something Jamie knew he would never forget in a thousand lifetimes. He looked to the faces of the others in the room and found they were all smiling. “Well?” he asked.
“Not too bad, Squid,” Lucas said, nodding his head. He pointed to a mirror in the corner of the office.
Jamie walked over to it, unsure of what he expected to see. His image filled the glass, his already large body seeming bigger than ever. Above each shoulder, the joints of two massive black wings were visible. He thought for them to move, and they did. They stretched out from his back, black as night, longer than his arm span by about two feet. “Like Ash’s,” he said. He also noticed that his fatigues had been replaced with black cargo pants, a snug black long-sleeve t-shirt, and black boots that were meaner and tougher than the ones he had before. He was in full mission gear, plus some bad ass wings.
“Very nice,” Ash commented, his earlier fury somewhat diminished. His eyes were still ablaze, though. “Now, back to the reason we are all here.”
Jamie glanced over at the witch before falling into line with the others. She was eyeing him with blatant disdain, as if she were completely disappointed in him, but there was something else. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she desired him. Jamie gave her a wink before facing his new CO. He didn’t miss the way she rolled her eyes at him and that turned him on. Man, he was a piece of work.
“I am sick of being one step behind,” Ash started, pacing the floor in front of them. “I brought you all here to help me protect the world from this kind of situation and we are failing, miserably. Not anymore. I want real ideas, people. I want everyone to take twelve hours and twelve hours only to find a real solution to this shit. We have a demon to stop and a few horsemen to put back in their boxes. I don’t care if you go topside, down below, I don’t care who you have to question or torture. I want a solution and I want it now.”
The Keepers of Hell Box Set Page 66