by Auryn Hadley
"It's fine," I assured them. "I'll just make sure I'm charged up before I go anywhere an angel could be. That way, if refueling takes longer, I'll have plenty of extra stockpiled and available. We can do this, guys."
"Yeah," Luke grumbled, "but how much slower will it be with a third or even fourth shield on you?"
"I'll learn. I haven't had this crazy ability long enough to take it for granted, so it won't even be hard. Besides, if there's ever a need, we probably won't have to worry about the shields, right? If I need that much aether that fast, then the angels will already know where I am."
Luke cocked his head at Nick. "She has a point. We should probably build in an emergency escape hatch for her, so she can remove our shields herself."
"Sure, we can do that, but she just wants out of the house," Nick reminded him, mostly joking. "I'm pretty sure she'd agree to just about anything if we'd let her do something normal for a few hours."
"Maybe if this works, we should." Leaning back, Luke kicked his feet up on the desk. "Maybe take her out and spoil her? Find someplace where there are enough people around that no angel would start anything, and, well... I bet she's a cute drunk."
Nick's smile was slowly growing. "Would also help to see if she can hold her shield while she's a little tipsy."
"I am so down with that," I agreed. "And y'all have all been so busy watching over me, you've missed out on the zillions of easy college girls. Kinda like a win for everyone." I paused. "Except you, Nick. You're all mine."
"I am," he agreed. "But I'm not sure the guys will have time to do much besides keep an eye on you. Some of us are working here, dove."
"I'm trying to say you don't have to! Nick, it's been weeks and all four of y'all have done nothing but take care of me. I'm starting to feel a little guilty here."
Slyly, Luke looked over. "We were hoping it felt more like pampered."
"Definitely pampered." I waved toward the kitchen. "I can't remember the last time I had to make coffee. I figure the only way y'all could spoil me any more would be to give me foot rubs after a hard day of doing, um, nothing."
"Learning to control aether," Nick corrected. "And for your information, most people struggle a bit more than you have."
"Muses, you mean?"
"And demons." He grabbed both arms of the chair and leaned in toward me. "Believe it or not, we have to actually learn this stuff, too. Every time someone comes up with a new way to do anything, the rest of us go back to school." Then he pressed a quick peck on my lips.
I couldn't help but smile. It was a natural reaction to him – and to knowing I wasn't doing as bad as I'd feared. "So do y'all live in shields like this all the time?"
Both of them shook their heads, but Nick answered, "Typically, we only throw on shields like these when we expect the worst. Even if you can't feel it, you'll start to itch after a while. Not literally, but no different than the urge to kick your shoes off when you get home. Your body will get tired of even the most comfortable constraints eventually."
"But it's like a second skin, right?" I looked down at my bare arm, which looked the exact same as it always had unless I focused really hard to see the magical shapes shimmering just over it. "I mean, I can take a piss in this thing and not make a mess, right?"
That made both of them laugh. "Yes," Luke groaned. "And eat, and pick your nose, and anything else disgusting you want to do..." He flashed me a devious little smile. "Like, Nick, for example."
He meant sex. "Really?" I asked. "So it's not like a full body condom or something?"
"It is not," Nick told me. "The only thing that shield blocks you from is aether or an aether-generated attack. Granted, if Michael decides to start throwing fancy magic bolts at you, you won't need to worry, but that's pretty much all it will keep out."
"Gotcha. And have I proven I'm stable enough for the next layer yet?"
They shared a look. For a moment, I half expected Nick to give me some remark about patience and making sure things were working the way they wanted, but then Luke shrugged. Nick tilted his head a bit, and in whatever silent conversation they were having, it clearly looked like I was winning. Nick's next words confirmed it.
"We might as well. I can't think of anything that would happen to her now that she wouldn't have felt when we first sealed her off. Beelzebub's just being paranoid."
"Ok, then I'll add a few extra protections and see if that does anything," Luke said as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
Luke's shield felt nothing like Nick's. It was lighter, for one thing. I hadn't realized that binding aether had a weight, just like I didn't really notice my shirt did, until I experienced something new to compare it to, and Luke's shield was definitely new. It clung to me, pushing the inner two shields a little closer and, for a brief moment, there was a feeling of shivering all across my body. The only thing I could think was that the shields inside were contracting to fit beneath it. Then it sealed and, like before, my ears popped.
Immediately, both guys jerked their heads up. The feel of the atmosphere around me was different. Subtle, but not the same as it had been before, and it seemed I wasn't the only one who'd noticed. Then, Luke bent to check the aether map on Nick's desk. The problem was he didn't say anything.
"Well?" I asked.
"It's gone," Luke breathed. "At least I think it's gone, and if it's not, it's so small I can't really see it. Nick, come look."
But before Nick even made it across the room, the study's door burst open and Bel was there. His eyes immediately went to me. "Sia? Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," I assured him. "Completely ok, even if I'm encased in strange demon magic. Why?"
His lips curled slightly. "Because we felt that."
Nick chuckled, sounding almost relieved. "Well, come tell me if you can see it." And he gestured to the map.
Bel moved that way, bent, and just stared for a little while too long. "It's like she's gone," he finally breathed.
"Yeah..." Nick agreed. "Like she just vanished off the face of the map." He tossed a smile over his shoulder at me. "Evidently, three really is the magic number for you."
"So I can leave the house?" I asked.
Luke was nodding. Bel looked confused. Nick? He just looked at me for way too long before he couldn't keep his face calm anymore. A grin took over his face.
"Yes, dove. Give it a little time, but if you're still fine and not devouring the shields for their aether, then yes, we'll take you to Mac's tonight. How's that?"
"Yes!" I hissed, jumping up from the chair. "I love y'all to death, but I'm so sick of this house. I just want to put on some makeup, find something cute to wear, and go somewhere that other girls will be checking out my man, so I can hang all over him in public without needing to worry about seeing those nasty fairy trees again."
"Nothing wrong with fairy trees," Nick assured me.
I just lifted a finger up between us. "I'm sure that's true for you, but I can still die, and I'm not really interested in something that wants to eat me, thank you very much."
Sam chuckled from the doorway. "And that sounds like it's working. So she's off the map?"
"Yep," Luke said.
"Good because..." Sam jerked his thumb toward the back door. "Seems we have some angels sitting in the corridor watching the yard."
I groaned – and it wasn't playful. Hearing that hit me harder than it should've. If there were angels watching the house, then I wasn't really free. I was trapped, and so long as those green-eyed creeps kept me locked away, I couldn't fight back. I couldn't really do anything until I learned how to control these abilities more, and to do that, I needed to figure out a way around them.
"Let them look," Nick said. "Luke's protections prevent them from looking inside the house – even on that side of the corridor – and we can just slip from here. They'll never even know we're gone."
Wait. Did that mean what I think it did? "So we're still going out? Even with angels so close?"
"Angels are
always close," Nick told me. "The trick is to take a path they don't expect."
"Besides," Luke added, "if they're here watching for you, then they won't be there watching us."
Sam flashed me a devious smile. "Which means we all need to fill up, because it sounds like Sia's finally being released from jail."
Chapter 36
It didn't take me too long to get dressed. I managed to shower, shave, put on makeup, dry my hair, and style it, all in less than an hour. Deciding what to wear, that was harder. First, because I'd never lived with the man I wanted to pick up before, and second, my perfect outfit exposed the top of the seal. Pulling that off, I went for option number two, a cute little white dress. It showed off my assets, made my hair look that much brighter, yet was still comfortable. With the massive diamond at my throat, even my eyes stood out. From the way Nick kept smiling at me, he clearly approved.
Once we were all dressed to impress – which took the guys a lot less time than me – we gathered in the living room. The moment I walked in, all four of them shot to their feet. Nick looked proud, Sam's eyes went right to my cleavage, Luke refused to look at anything but my face, and then there was Bel. His lips were parted slightly and his eyes kept moving up and down, over and over like he couldn't believe my transformation. I took that as a sign I really did clean up well, which was exactly what I'd been going for.
"All right," Nick said. "Sam, Bel, you two go first. If there's a problem, one comes back and the other deals with it. If we don't see you in sixty seconds, we'll meet you there."
"Deal," Sam agreed, then they both stepped out of sight.
Sixty seconds later, we followed. Nick held my hand, but he let me direct the trip – and I almost got it. We showed up about four feet away from my intended "landing spot," so to speak. Not bad for my first try. As a group, we walked around to the entrance just like any other cluster of typical college kids, but I felt on top of the world.
Inside, it was early enough that some of the chairs were still empty, as were two of the pool tables. Beelzebub grabbed one and begged Nick to teach him the rules. That, of course, was right up Nick's alley, since it involved so much math. Sam and I headed to the bar to grab drinks. By the time we made it back, they'd already started drawing a crowd.
Two pretty girls leaned against the wall. Cocktails in hand, their faces were pressed close to hide their words, but their eyes were on the two demons. Sam noticed too. Tapping my arm, he tilted his head at the pair.
"Didn't I hear something about you wanting to show off a bit? Looks like the perfect time to go hang on your man."
"Oh yeah," I agreed.
Holding both my glass and Nick's bottle of beer, I made my way over and set them on the edge of the pool table beside Nick. One on either side, which gave me an excuse to wrap my arms around him. With a deep chuckle, he stole his drink from my hand and turned to face me.
"Well hello, beautiful."
"Hey, yourself. You trying to draw a crowd?" I flicked my eyes toward the girls.
Nick didn't bother looking. "I was trying to catch the eye of the most beautiful woman in all five realms." His free hand pressed against my back, encouraging me to come just a little closer. "Because that dress is perfectly sinful."
"Punny," I teased. "But I guess that means you approve, huh?"
"Mhm. Trust me, I can't wait to take you out of it." He leaned closer and kissed my neck. "So are you enjoying being let off your leash for a bit?"
"Yeah." I giggled when he kissed me again. "And you are not going to convince me to rush home, as tempting as it may be right now."
"Busted," he admitted, pulling back. "Just promise me that if anything goes wrong, you'll jump there. No waiting for the rest of us, ok?"
"I promise!" To prove my point, I poked my finger into his side. "Now stop being paranoid and enjoy yourself. Hell, if nothing else, show Bel some of the more exciting changes he missed over the last few years."
"Like miniskirts?" Nick teased. "Yep, he's already noticed. He likes bras, too, it seems."
"What?" Bel asked. "I heard that."
Which he clearly hadn't if he was asking what we'd said, so I called back, "Nick was just saying that you're an embarrassment at pool!"
"Then you play him. It's not exactly a fair match."
I flapped a hand at him then turned back to Nick. "So I think Sam's on the prowl. Where'd Luke take off to?"
He tilted his head toward the other side of the bar. "Looking around. He doesn't tend to draw as much attention from Mike's friends. And Sam's asking about Delta Phi."
"Gotcha. In other words, they're still working, huh?"
"Always. But you, my dear, are here to have fun." Stepping around me, he gestured at the balls scattered across the table. "How do you feel about pool?"
The next thing I knew, Nick had talked me into playing against Bel. I was horrible, but so was the newly awoken demon, so it worked out. The guys returned only to vanish again when something caught their eye. More people showed up, pushing us all closer together, but none of them set off my angel alarm bells. Then again, my glass was never empty, although the drink often changed, and I probably wouldn't have noticed if an angel bumped right into me. By the second game, I was definitely smiling way too much. That's when Luke appeared, handing me yet one more.
"Drunk yet?" he asked.
"Tipsy!" I giggled, passing him my pool cue. "But, I need the one room you boys can't use. Can you win this game for me? I'm solids."
"Sure." Luke lined up a shot and I somehow managed to stagger to the ladies room.
Like all bars, inside the women's restroom was a social club, and a line. Dozens of single women vied for space at the mirrors, all trying to make sure they looked good enough to find a friend before the end of the night. Most of them were giggling about guys. I'd finally gotten my turn in one of the stalls when I heard a pair talking about my friends.
"Oh my god, there's four of them, and each one is better than the last!" one squealed. "And did you see the guy with the pink hair? He's so hot!"
"I am definitely going home with one of them," the other girl declared.
"First, you have to actually talk to them."
I stepped out in time to see a pair of backs retreating. I knew exactly how I'd felt the first time I saw Nick, so couldn't blame them at all. That didn't mean I was honestly thrilled about it. Sure, I knew the guys deserved a little attention, but I'd kinda gotten used to it just being the five of us against the world. Unconsciously, my mind tried to make those girls into villains, dreaming up ways the angels could've mind-fucked them just to cause problems, but I knew better. The feeling twisting my gut was a whole lot more mundane.
And the boys really were hotties. Of course women were going to hit on them. Trying to remind myself they deserved this, I washed my hands thinking about Bel's possible reactions. If I hurried, I might even get to see him blush. If I didn't, I wouldn't have to see them kissing someone.
Ugh! Taking a deep breath, I forced my stupid jealousy back down and left the bathroom. Tonight was going to be fun. I finally had the chance to seduce Nick properly, and I'd been dreaming about making Death drool for far too long. I was almost over it when I wove my way through the last line of people and reached my friends. The first thing I saw was Sam's magenta hair. The second? Well, she was tall, curvy, and bent over to give him a perfect view right down her dress.
Just as I forced my eyes away, a breath tickled the side of my neck. "You should go save him." It was Nick, and he sounded amused.
"Oh?" I glanced back to see his eyes sparkling. "And how would I do that?"
His gaze dropped to my lips. "I wouldn't want to pressure you, but I'm sure if his 'girlfriend' appeared, he'd be appreciative."
"Nick," I hissed. "Maybe he's into her?"
"Nope." He smiled. "Trust me, Sia. She's not his type. Just go bail him out so this doesn't get ugly. We're trying to blend in, remember?"
"Then you remember," I told him, "that this was your i
dea."
"Mm, and it's not like you haven't made out with him before. This time, I get to watch." With his smile growing even bigger, he grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward the demon of seduction, then gave a little push.
I staggered forward, mostly because that was the very last thing I'd ever expected to come out of Nick's mouth. Granted, he had a point, but still! It also made it clear exactly how he expected me to make this happen. So, doing my best to make the stagger look intoxicated instead of just stupefied, I brushed past the girl and threw my arms around Sam's neck.
"Hey, baby!" I drawled, aware that my drunk impersonation was a little too good. I wasn't wasted, but it wouldn't take much more before I was.
Sam's hands immediately closed on my waist. "Whoa, there. You ok, sweetie?"
"Mhm." I leaned closer, pressing my mouth beside his ear. "Nick said you might need your girlfriend for a few minutes."
He ducked his head and chuckled. "You have no idea." Then he pulled away just enough to gesture to the girl beside us. "Sia, this is Alison. And this is my girlfriend, Sia."
"Your..." Alison's mouth paused, still open. "Oh." Then she looked at me. "Sorry."
"All good. He is pretty cute, so I don't blame you at all."
She sighed. "That obvious, huh? So, any of your friends single?"
"Nope," Sam answered before I could offer a name. "Sorry."
She slowly nodded her head, clearly trying to come up with a good excuse to get out of there. "Yeah. I'll, um, go try my luck elsewhere, I guess. Nice to meet you, Sam and Sia."
The moment she was far enough away, both Bel and Luke snorted out their laughter like they'd only barely held it in. Sam, however, just groaned and shot Nick a dirty look. Me? I was a little confused. Clearly, there was a joke I'd missed.
"Someone wanna fill me in?"
"Nope," Luke said, suddenly a little too interested in his pool game. The one that used to be mine.
"But I thought..." I let that trail off when Nick tried to smother a laugh. "Ok, what's so damned funny?"