7even Circles: Moon Is Calling (7even Circles Series Book 1)

by KD Jones

  Stopping at an opening in the woods, she froze at seeing not two demons but five. Evidently Drey had called more of his buddies. There was a big swirly red-and-white circle of light wavering in the air. That must be the portal, and it was active.

  Chapter 15

  She couldn’t just stand there doing nothing, watching Michael and Ari fight when they were outnumbered. She looked around the ground for something she could use for a weapon and found a big stick, which she picked up. As she turned back to the fight, a demon charged her way.

  “Oh fuck!” She raised the stick up, and it went through his stomach. The gushy sound was nauseating. The worst part was that it didn’t kill him. The demon moved backward slowly, and the stick was stuck there. He ripped it from his flesh.

  “I’m going to throw up.”

  “You will die, bitch!” The demon was pissed, to say the least. He took two steps, and then froze, looking down at his chest.

  She followed his line of sight and saw a steel point poking through his chest where his heart was located. Then the blade retreated. The demon clutched at his chest as he fell to his knees. Right before her eyes the demon disintegrated into nothing. After the small cloud of demon dust faded she saw Father Raphael standing there looking at her.

  “Father, what are you doing here?”

  “I can still kick demon ass.”

  She gasped in shock. “Father!”

  He just shrugged, brandishing his sword. She tilted her head. “Did you bring something I could use?”

  He gave her a wink and pulled something off his shoulder. She smiled at him. “My bow and arrow! I could kiss you!”

  “Please, my dear—even an old priest can be tempted.”

  She took the bow and nocked an arrow. It felt right in her hands, like putting on a pair of gloves.

  “Now, just keep your distance and aim for the heart. A demon can only be killed two ways: silver through the heart or decapitation.”

  She shivered at the thought. “I don’t plan to get that close.” She looked up to see another demon coming their way. “Look out, Father!” She raised the bow without thinking twice and let off an arrow. It struck the demon dead-center in the heart. He was ash before he hit the ground.

  “Well done, Cassandra,” Father Raphael praised her.

  She smiled for a moment, then frowned. “Congratulate me later. We’ve got demon ass to kick.”

  They both turned to face the fight. There were four more demons coming through the portal. Cass planted her feet and took aim. One demon went down but she missed his heart. She had to scramble to get another arrow ready. The demon moved closer to her, and she let the arrow fly true. He turned to dust, but another demon was right behind him, almost on top of her.

  “Not today, demon!” Father Raphael yelled out, swinging his sword at the demon’s legs and making him fall. She took the opportunity to move back far enough to aim an arrow and shoot him in the heart.

  She looked up just in time to jump out of the way of a fireball that was thrown her way. She glared over at Father Raphael. “You didn’t say they could throw fucking fireballs! I get a bow and arrow and run real fast while glowing, and they get to throw massive balls of fire? How is that even fair?”

  Father Raphael helped her up and they moved to stand partially behind a few trees to give them cover. “Stay here and fire your arrows.” He turned to leave, but she reached for his arm and halted him.

  “Wait, where are you going?”

  “To help my fellow Arkangel defeat these monsters.”

  “But—”

  “You can help more by staying covered here and shooting the demons from a distance.”

  “Father, more demons are coming through the portal!” She pointed to the swirling circle.

  “We need to close it.”

  “How?”

  “A demon’s blood opens the portal, an angel’s blood can close it.”

  “You don’t mean that you’re going to get close to that thing?”

  “I have to. You’re not trained, and we’re not sure if your blood is strong enough to close it anyway. Michael is battling several demons, and your half-demon is busy too. I’m the only one that can do it.”

  Cass knew he was right, but she hated sending him by himself. She looked down at her bow. “I’ll give you as much coverage as I can.”

  He squeezed her shoulder, and she felt calm and reassured. “You will do fine, my dear. Let your inner self take over a little, but always maintain control. You have demon blood coursing through your veins and if your power goes unchecked, it would be very bad.”

  How much worse could it be? She watched as Father Raphael made his way slowly across the field. There was less cover the closer he got to the fight. He would be vulnerable to an open attack. She saw a demon raise his hand and a fireball slowly formed.

  “Oh no you don’t, you bastard,” she whispered as she raised her bow. She drew the bowstring with the arrow to her cheek, then released the arrow along with her breath. It struck true, and the demon literally went up in flames, screaming and screeching. She didn't have time to think as another demon was running toward Ari with a knife aimed at his back. She fired off another arrow, and another.

  She lost sight of Father Raphael, she couldn’t see him through the trees. Where was he?

  She couldn’t stay there and help if she couldn’t see. Cass moved slowly out of the crops of trees. She shot a few more arrows grateful, she had the endless supply. Thank you, God, for these babies.

  She looked around and spotted Father Raphael. He was on the ground, looking winded but still trying to crawl his way to the portal. He was flanked by two more demons. He’d cut his hand but the demons wouldn’t let him near the portal.

  She ran toward him, shooting arrows in quick succession as she went. Golden light radiated from her body as her speed picked up. The faster she ran, the slower things around her seemed to be moving.

  She was shooting at the demons as they came through the portal, but her concentration was interrupted when she heard Ari yell out. She came out of her run and stumbled to a stop. Ari was on the ground; a demon had stabbed him in the shoulder, pinning him. Michael left him to go help Father Raphael.

  Drey was about to cut off Ari’s head. No...no… “No!” She shot her arrows at Drey but he was turned sideways, keeping her from hitting him in the heart. She would not let him kill Ari.

  She let out a war cry as something powerful and dark inside of her came forward. She leaped on Drey’s back and pulled him away. He gripped her hair and threw her over his head onto the ground.

  “You think you’re a match for me physically? You’re wrong, little girl.” Drey kicked out, and his foot connected with her jaw.

  She fell back to the ground, furious. She didn’t see anything or anyone around her except for the demon. He would die. She didn’t have time to raise her bow, but she did have an arrow clutched in her hand.

  Ari was getting back to his feet and coming for her. “Run, Cass!”

  “No. No more running.” She stood up and jumped at the demon with all the speed and strength she had. The impact felt like hitting a brick wall, but she did make the demon fall backward to the ground, with her on top of him. She sat up while he was still dazed. He wrapped his hand around her throat and tried to choke her.

  “Go to hell, bitch!”

  She pulled on her strength and fury. “Save me a seat!” She raised her arrow, her power coming forth with an electric glow, and struck him through the heart. Drey didn’t slowly disintegrate; he burst outward into tiny dust particles immediately.

  Power surged inside of her, giving her strength, speed, and energy. She’d never felt so strong before. All her life, she’d suffered from being smaller than everyone else. Cass had been an insignificant nothing that no one wanted. Not now—now she felt the power coursing through her veins, and she loved it. She got to her feet, ignoring Ari, her full concentration on the hunt.

  She sent another electrifi
ed arrow through another demon, and then another. She was running out of demons. On the other side of the portal were plenty of demons for her to kill.

  *****

  Ari watched in awe and horror as Cass tapped into her hidden powers and began to demolish every demon in her way. This was the weapon the Arkangels had created, but where was his Cass? She was lost somewhere in that killing machine.

  The demons that had come through were dead or had retreated back through the portal, but Cass kept trying to kill them. She had a strange gleam in her eyes that he didn’t like at all, and knew she planned to go through the portal too. He couldn’t let that happen. She wasn’t ready for the other side yet.

  He glanced over at the priest and Michael. “Get that portal closed before she goes through after the demons!”

  Michael was helping the priest stand up. “Good, she should go through and get rid of as many demons as possible.”

  Father Raphael shook his head. “No, Michael, she’s not ready for that yet.” He walked over to the portal and lifted his bloody hand. Drops of his blood fell to the ground, and the portal began to close.

  “No!” Cass screamed out, running in a blaze toward the portal. When the doorway had been completely shut down, she turned her anger toward Michael and the priest.

  “How dare you! Open it back up!”

  “Child, it cannot be opened right now.” Father Raphael tried to calm her down.

  Michael stepped in front of the smaller man. “Calm down..”

  “Back off!” She leaped forward, using speeds that Ari had never seen before. She was a whirl of golden lightning. She struck out at Michael, who was surprised by the attack and fell backward.

  “Stop, Cassandra! You must stop!” Father Raphael stumbled toward her.

  Ari couldn’t let Cass hurt the priest, she would never forgive herself. “Stay back, Father. I’ll help her.”

  Raphael looked at him, shaking his head. “I don’t see how. She’s lost control.”

  “Cass, look at me.” Ari approached her, holding up his empty hands.

  She looked at him, but her eyes were glowing. That couldn’t be good. “Come on babe, let’s calm down, maybe grab a beer.” He moved his body between her and the priest.

  She hissed at him.

  Okay, words weren’t getting through to her. Maybe actions would. He slowly moved toward her and gave her a sexy smile.

  “You’re kind of hot right now with those glowing eyes of yours. I wonder what else is glowing.”

  She blinked at him, a small sign that he was getting to her. He moved closer and closer. “I bet I could make you glow even more if I licked you all over.”

  She licked her lips. “Open the portal.”

  “You don’t need the portal, you need something else, don’t you?” Her eyes were now her normal blue, his favorite color. More than her eyes being normal again, there was a spark of desire in them.

  “Ari?” She groaned with need.

  He reached for her, pulling her to him and kissing her. He felt the sizzle of electricity racing through his body and knew it was coming from her. He didn’t let go, but held on and helped her channel her powers through a different outlet.

  “Not this again.” Michael’s voice broke through his consciousness, reminding him that they weren’t alone. This time, though, he didn’t want to stop.

  Chapter 16

  He bent and picked her up in his arms and ran off further into the woods. She was nibbling on his earlobe and he almost ran them into a tree.

  Instead, he stopped and put her back to the tree and leaned in, kissing her again. He could have lost her tonight if the demons had killed her. When he looked down into the alley and saw them holding her, he knew he would kill them.

  Then when she lost control of her powers he knew he could lose her in a completely different way. If she gave into the darkness of her powers, she could end up losing her soul and turning into a full demon. She would never want to be a demon, not his Cass. It would force him to do something he never dreamed of, but it would be necessary to save her soul—kill her.

  He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He ground himself into her. Damn it! They had too many clothes on. His hands were on her, molding and teasing. Her nipples puckered through her thin t-shirt, and he wanted very badly to lean down and suckle her right through the material.

  Instead, he ran his hand up her shirt and cupped her bra-covered breast. He squeezed and she responded by biting gently into his lower lip. Yeah, she liked being touched. Ari needed to make sure she knew what she was doing, though, while he still had control left. He pulled back from the kiss.

  “What’s my name?”

  “Huh?”

  He pulled back slightly. “Honey, focus. What’s my name?”

  “Ari.” She tried to kiss him again but he stopped her.

  “What’s your name?”

  She glared at him in frustration. “Cass.”

  He kissed her again grinding against her. This was what he wanted, what he always wanted. So long he waited to be with her, to tell her the truth about himself, about them. He nuzzled her neck, taking in her scent.

  “Cassandra!” Father Raphael’s voice, along with Michael’s, called out for her, getting closer and closer. It spoiled the mood completely.

  She placed her hands on his chest, then pushed him away. “Ari, what the hell are we doing out here?”

  He sighed as he pulled away. They would have to finish this another time.

  *****

  “Father Raphael? Michael?” She called out when she heard the others calling for her. She felt more confused than ever. The priest and Michael were suddenly there, and she felt relieved that they were okay.

  Father Raphael gathered her into a tight hug. “Thank the Lord above you’re safe.”

  “What’s going on? Where are we?”

  All three men looked at her strangely. It was Ari that stepped forward.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  She frowned. “We were in the park, you and Michael were fighting demons, and then Father Raphael showed up with my bow and arrows. Thanks again for that, Father.”

  “You are most welcome, my dear.”

  Ari rolled his eyes. “Then what?”

  “I was behind some trees trying to help by shooting the demons from a distance. Father Raphael was trying to get to the portal to close it, but…”

  “It’s okay, you don’t have to remember any more right now.” Father Raphael patted her back.

  “I left the trees so that I could find out if you were okay, Father. Drey was going to kill Ari, and I…something in me took over. I killed them.” The last part she whispered as a tear trailed down her face.

  Michael shrugged. “They were demons, your job is to kill them. It was either them or us.”

  She couldn’t believe how nonchalant about killing Michael was. Talking about it was one thing but he slayed demons like they were nothing. Until tonight, she’d never killed anyone or even hurt anyone before. She couldn’t take what she’d done as nothing.

  “Cass!” Ari yelled out. He lunged to catch her as she started to fall to the ground.

  “How can this be a job? A job is nine-to-five and you get paid for it. No one dies from me serving them their lunch late. We don’t get severed heads as our tip.” She was shaking all over.

  Father Raphael placed his hands on her shoulders and knelt down in front of her. He locked eyes with her.

  “Cassandra Adira.”

  “Knight.” Ari added for him.

  “Cassandra Adira Knight, you are forgiven all sins,” Father Raphael told her.

  She saw it this time: Raphael’s healing power as it flowed from his heart outward, going to his arms to his hands and then from his hands to her shoulders. She stilled all movement as a peace like she’d never known before filled her. She didn’t even know she was empty inside until His love touched her. Flashes of her life that she could remember ran thr
ough her mind, even the painful memories, and they were eased.

  When Father Raphael let her go, she felt renewed and amazed. The weight she always carried on her shoulders about not knowing who she was, where she came from, who her parents were; all of it didn’t matter as much. She felt relief from that burden, truly forgiven.

  “Thank you, Father.”

  “You’re welcome, my child.”

  Michael helped the priest stand while Ari helped her get to her feet.

  “What happened to all the demons that came through the portal?” she asked, the first concern that came to her mind.

  “Dead, all except for two who managed to go back through the portal,” Ari told her, taking her hand and leading her back through the woods. They were going in the direction of the overturned SUV.

  “Why are we going this way?”

  “My bike is next to the SUV,” Ari told her.

  “I left the church station wagon there, too,” Father Raphael added.

  They came up to the clearing in the park and she froze in place. She looked cautiously around the opening where the portal was located. She felt Ari’s hand on her shoulder.

  “They’re gone, honey.”

  “What if they come back through?”

  Father Raphael stepped up beside her. “For now, the portal is closed.”

  “How many portals are in the city?”

  “There is only one in this city. Other, more populated cities have multiple portals.” Ari kept her moving further away from the portal.

  “Can it be re-opened?”

  “Yes, but it will take a while for the demons to realize that the portal was shut on this side,” Michael said from behind them.

  “What does it take to re-open a portal?”

  “Demon’s blood to open. It remains open, that’s the way that the demons prefer it. They know they only have forty-eight to seventy-two hours before they are called back to their circle and leaving the portal open helps them return much easier.”