“I have no way of talking with Josselyn. She has gone back to be with Kendra and her family. She left as soon as Abigail had to leave the room and I couldn’t see Murry anymore. We knew he would heal soon enough and she didn’t want to chance him going straight for Kendra.”
I sighed. “I hope she knows how grateful I am for all she is doing to help me. I appreciate both of you, immensely.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Rhyan. We need to get you out of there before Lucifer finds a way around that contract. He wasn’t at all happy with Abigail for her rebellion.”
“I totally agree, so what do you suggest? One of the occupants described the syde to mimic a planet. It just keeps revolving back around to the starting point. He said there is no way to physically go into another syde unless you have an ability, but I’m sure if you managed to give me the ability to do that, Lucifer would know I was being helped and I would be disqualified for cheating. We both know what will take place if that happens. Yeah, I would suggest we think very carefully about what you should help me with. I can’t afford to lose Abbi again.”
“You can’t afford to lose your soul, Rhyan,” Malcolm snapped.
“If I lose Abbi again, my soul is as good as gone anyway, Malcolm. Don’t pretend to think otherwise.”
“You’re right. I forgot who I was talking to for a second there,” Malcolm responded sarcastically.
I huffed, then stood, wincing at the pain in my feet. The boots were about two sizes too small, and that only added to the discomfort of the burns, but I had to admit that it was better than treading through the dusting of ash on the ground barefooted. Luckily, it soaked into the dirt fairly quickly, or there would be inches of the stuff piled up like snow drifts everywhere.
“Which direction should I go?” I said to both Pogo and Malcolm.
“North,” Pogo replied.
“South,” Malcolm said.
“West it is, then,” I said, and stepped out into the acid blizzard.
Chapter 27
Thoros
Thoros stretched his long legs along the thick oak branch and allowed his back to relax against the trunk of the massive tree outside Kendra Chamberlain’s home. He’d been wondering what was so damn important about the female since Murry’d burst in on him and Velan in conference.
Now he was really curious.
Apparently, the guardian angel that had ruined Murry’s career as a guardian demon was the same angel that was attempting to win Abigail’s soul from Lucifer. The angel had balls, he had to give him that much.
He leaned forward to peer through the kitchen window only a few yards away from his perched position in the tree.
The weak angel was still there, and she had listened to him. Good girl, he thought, but wrinkled his nose as he sized up her back-up. They looked a little green, too. He had no doubts he could take them all hostage within seconds of them knowing he was even there.
His attention focused back on the female angel. She couldn’t sense him because he hadn’t wanted her to, yet. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to know at all. He’d hoped he could find the answers he needed by just examining the female human from the window, but he’d been rubbing his chin ever since he had arrived. There was nothing obviously special about the young woman.
Why would Murry want a different guardian demon’s charge?
Thoros growled in frustration and the female angel jumped to her feet, staring hard at the dark window, all the while looking like she was ready to bolt out of the house and tackle the intruder to the ground.
He felt like she was staring straight into his eyes, but he knew it to be impossible. He’d placed a mask over his physical body and aura to keep from being detected by anyone, much less a fallible angel like herself, he thought, and then smiled.
Just to be on the safe side, Thoros didn’t move from the limb he was crouched on. She only stood there a moment longer at full alert before she relaxed her stance, then turned to her very nervous company, assuring them all that it must have only been a squirrel. He heard her volunteer to check the locks on the windows again and then she vanished from the room.
Josselyn
Josselyn left the dining room and faked going to check the bedrooms for intruders. She knew there wasn’t anything evil in the house with them, and she’d checked the windows four times already. They were locked. Unless someone from inside the house had unlocked them, they were still secure.
She did, however, know that there was an intruder in a tree outside the kitchen window. And from the expression on the demon’s face she knew he didn’t have a clue how visible he was to her.
Guess you aren’t the only one with fancy tricks up your sleeve, fiend.
She carefully opened the front door and slipped out into the cool night air. Autumn was almost over on Earth and she could feel the cool bite of winter nipping at her heels. Heaven’s temperature was always perfect, never too hot or too cold, so she’d regretted not borrowing a jacket from Kendra earlier for patrolling the perimeter of the house after the warmth of the sun had been replaced by the cool light of a half moon.
She placed her footing quietly at the edge of the house so as to not make even the slightest of noises and alert him to her presence.
The tree came into her view as she peeked around the corner. The leaves, dead and brown, but still heavily blanketing every limb, obstructed her view of the exact place where the demon sat waiting for the right time to make his move.
She groaned in her mind, then ducked her head lower to try seeing from a different angle. No good. She rose up on the tips of her toes, straining to see him in the tree, but no amount of height was going to move the leaves out of her way.
A quiet whisper came from behind her. “What are we looking for?”
Josselyn put her hand up to silence the new-comer. “A demon…” She froze, her body going completely rigid as the whisper - that voice - floated through her mind once again.
As soon as she collected herself, she turned and about jumped out of her skin. The demon’s face was only a breath away from her own. She tried to scream, but his hand quickly covered her mouth and his firm body pressed her in between him and the vinyl siding of the house.
She was acutely mindful of where his mid-section touched her body, and her own female defense system kicked in. Her knee came up hard between his legs. Immortal demon or not, he was not immune to having his testicles thrust up into his pelvis. Immediately, he covered his groin and fell to his knees.
Turning as quickly as she could, and almost falling on her face in the struggle to get away, Josselyn ran back toward the front door.
I’m so stupid. Why didn’t I have one of the other angels come outside with me?
“Wa…” the demon squeaked, then gave a huge gasp as he finally managed to draw breath.
Running up the porch steps, Josselyn stumbled and almost fell as she glanced at the demon still where she had left him.
His body collapsed the rest of the way to the dying pre-winter grass and he laid there, softly moaning, seemingly harmless and looking just as beautiful as when she’d seen him last.
She had the sudden impulse to apologize, say she was sorry and attempt to comfort him, then she reminded herself of what he was and what he had been attempting to do to her. She turned from him and took another step.
“Wait…please, wait. I mean you no harm. I swear it.”
Eyes wide, Josselyn turned on him once more. “You mean me no harm? But you just—”
“Covered your mouth to keep you from screaming.”
She shook her head as she looked down at him. He still hadn’t moved. “No, you—”
“Pressed your body up against the house and thought about ripping your clothes off? Yeah.” He moved to sit up, then groaned again in obvious discomfort. He made it back to his knees and then just sat back on his heels to rest. “I admit that I may have been overstepping boundaries, but there was no real harm done, right?”
Josselyn crossed her arms
over her chest and glared at him through narrowed eyes. “Why are you here?”
After a quick shrug of the shoulders, he smiled that perfect smile that had her flustered the last time they’d met. “Would you rather I were Murry?”
“I’d rather you all go away and leave Kendra and her family alone!” Josselyn shouted, her voice wavering a little at the end.
“I’ve already told you, skirt, I’m not here for Kendra or anyone else with mortal blood.”
Josselyn’s expression sobered, and as much as she tried to hide it, she knew he could see the curiosity flare in her eyes as they dilated. “So, what do you want?”
His eyebrows came up and his smile was full of amusement. “What do I want? Now, there’s a loaded question.” The demon stood and took a step toward her, then chuckled lightly when she tensed. “You can relax, you know. If I wanted to hurt you, or those two inexperienced angels in the house, I would have done that already.”
Ignoring the evil nipping at her skin, Josselyn looked him in the eyes. “How do you know they are angels?”
He leaned in and made an obvious gesture to sniff of her. “The smell is…heavenly.”
She took a step back, obviously uncomfortable with his closeness, and the Cheshire cat grin she found she was beginning to enjoy looking at. “I just bet it is. Tell me why you are here.”
“I was hoping you could give me some answers. You see, if you help me—”
“I don’t make deals with the devil.”
The short burst of laughter from him made her jump, and he shook his head. “It seems your friend doesn’t have a problem doing that.”
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it with a clap. Man, he was good, she thought. She’d almost told him that she would never do something as stupid as Rhyan had done, but then he would know they had been in touch with him somehow. Maybe she could get answers from him as well. It wasn’t like she had to tell him something she didn’t want to. “You’ve met Rhyan?”
“No, but I was present in the meeting with Lucifer after he met the bloke with balls made of steel. I don’t think he’ll be able to get out of one syde, much less seven, but I admire him for fighting for what he wants. I guess I would do the same if ever I had someone worth fighting for.”
“So, what would I benefit from telling you anything, and what could I possibly tell you that you don’t already know? Rhyan is there, not here. You know more than we do.”
“Murry is busy, and I can make sure he stays that way—at least, until you stop giving me what I need.”
He’d smiled at the end, leaving her wondering if answers were all he desired. She pulled herself together just before embarrassment flushed through her.
“My soul is not up for grabs,” she stated firmly.
“‘Tis not your soul I crave from you—”
“My body is not, either!”
He snickered lightly. “We shall see,” he whispered to himself, then sobered and changed the subject before she had a chance to verbally thrash him again. “My first question, how is it that you can see me? I am well masked, even my aura is covered. I was sure nothing short of Lucifer could detect me.”
“Demons aren’t the only ones with tricks up their sleeves. We are capable of taking care of ourselves.”
“I’ve been around your kind before and have never been detected.”
“We are all different. I’d imagine not all demons possess the ability to make others physically want them against their will.”
The corner of his lip twitched and he nodded in agreement. “It was Hell’s gift to me when I was dubbed a prince. Can you guess which syde I oversee?”
Recognition flickered in her eyes, but she glanced away, clearing her throat in the process. She’d heard Malcolm mention to Rhyan which prince was over the Syde of Lust. He had to be Thoros. Of course, she thought, there would be no other explanation for my attraction to the demon.
She smiled. “Your charm is lacking, so I can only assume you oversee the Syde of Sloth.” He lost his smile and she continued, “No, wait—it must be Envy, because you obviously have that trait. I mean, why else would you keep Murry from coming here?” His brow crinkled in confusion and she almost laughed. “Then there is Greed—”
Her words were cut off as the demon took hold of her, and before she could catch her next breath her back was slammed up against the face of the house. An involuntary moan escaped her throat as he thrust his pelvis against hers. Obvious sexual hunger radiated from his body and she didn’t mistake the rock hard bulge pressed between her legs for anything except what it was. And, damn him, she wanted it in her. She had to get away from this witchery before he fogged her mind so much with his ability that she did the unthinkable. She could not have sex with a demon.
Fingers fisting in her blond locks, he tugged her head back to reveal her neck to the light of the moon.
The door was jerked open and two male angels ran onto the porch. They stopped suddenly and stared wide-eyed at Josselyn. Her back was to the house, eyes dazed, one leg lifted slightly and her hair was a tousled mess.
“Josselyn, what happened?”
Thoros snickered lightly into her ear. “They do not need to know I am here.” He removed his hand from her thigh, letting her foot lower its way back to the porch beside the other, but he rotated his hips into hers, smiling slightly and biting his lower lip as desire filled her eyes once again. “Tell them you are fine. I’d hate for this night to go in any other direction than where it’s headed now.”
Josselyn blinked a few times and cleared her throat. “Yeah, uh…everything is fine.” She laughed nervously. “I just freaked myself out a little, thought I saw something. Go back in the house with Kendra and her family. I’ll be in as soon as I finish the perimeter check.”
“Are you—”
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “Just go.”
The other male angels were eyeing her suspiciously and were just about to object again when her eyes met their troubled stares.
“I said there is nothing out here and I am fine. I can take care of myself.”
One of the angels nodded and motioned for the other male to go inside, then he followed suit and closed the door behind him.
Thoros backed away and casually leaned up against a porch post.
Josselyn’s hands found her knees and the rush of oxygen in through her nostrils and out of her mouth was bringing on a whole new meaning to hyperventilating.
“You gonna make it or do I need to give you mouth to mouth? I’ve never heard of an angel passing out before, but I think I may get to witness it tonight.”
His words calmed her enough to slow her breathing, and she lifted her head to glare at him through her lashes. “And I’ve never heard of an angel being able to lie, either. What have you done to me? Stop messing with my mind, Thoros.”
He pushed himself away from the post and stood upright. “So, you do know who I am.”
“Are you kidding me? I just lied, more than once, to two angels and you think the topic of the day should still be all about you? Just how narcissistic are you?”
“No, actually I think the topic of the day should be about what was happening before we were so rudely interrupted. Now, that’s something to talk about.”
“You are absolutely ridiculous.”
“Why? Because I was enjoying myself and noticed that you were, too. I swear there is nothing hotter than watching a woman as she loses herself in a moment of pure, undiluted lust.”
Her sharp inhale and wide eyes had Thoros grinning.
“Oh—oh no,” he said, “don’t tell me you thought I was mind-fucking you again, because I wasn’t, skirt. That was all you, sweetness.” He puckered his lips and kissed the air in front of her face.
She shook her head, her vision unfocused as she stared down at the porch floor, and then his boots. She couldn’t accept that. He had to be lying to her, she thought. There was no possible way that she’d want him without her mind being tampered wi
th. “I have to get out of here. Something is terribly wrong.”
“You’re not going anywhere. I still need answers.”
“Screw your answers!”
Thoros shrugged and turned to step off the porch. “Maybe I’ll watch over Murry’s syde for a while so he can have his reunion with Kendra—”
“Wait—” Josselyn growled under her breath. “What do you want to know? I’ll, um…I’ll answer what I can.”
“I thought you’d see things my way.” When she only crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow, he continued. “Why is Rhyan in Hell?”
She glanced away, not knowing how much she should say. What if he uses the information against me?
“Look, I don’t like Murry, and if I can find evidence to get him kicked out of his position, then you won’t have to worry about him showing up here and harming your charge. Honestly, if you can trust me enough so we can work together, we may both end up getting what we want. Then you can flutter back up to Heaven and the human can carry on with her life in peace and harmony.”
Josselyn didn’t know what to believe, but she could tell there was honesty in his voice, or she prayed that was what it was. Malcolm wasn’t going to like her working with a demon, she thought. She wasn’t sure that it was such a great idea, either, but what choice did she have? She knew she couldn’t defeat Murry on her own.
Her brow furrowed. “Kendra used to be Rhyan’s charge. He passed the link to me right before he fell to Hell.”
“So, he’s really in Hell? He is a fallen angel?”
“Sort of—he still has his soul. He was in love with Kendra her whole life, and when he couldn’t have her he became really dispirited. The guardians felt that if he met his soulmate again, it would pull him out of his depression. So they let him fall, because his soulmate is in Hell. He can return to Heaven if she comes with him.”
“Abigail…” he whispered, and let the rest of that thought go unsaid. “You said he was in love with his charge.” Josselyn nodded and he went back to thinking out loud. “If something happened to the human, it might possibly distract him or throw him back into a bout of depression.”
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