Saving Her Angel (Archangels)

by Missy Jane

  He slipped from her body and rolled onto his side, pulling her against his chest. She made a sound of protest and looked up at her hands. The shirt had twisted into a tight clasp. He grabbed it and ripped it in half, freeing her wrists. They had reddened but didn’t appear to be chafed. He pulled them to his lips and kissed them, using his angelic power to heal the slight abrasions. She remained silently watching until he released her and pulled her on top of him.

  She gasped. “Hey.”

  “What? You’re my new favorite blanket.”

  A smile graced her lips, and she relaxed against him. “Yeah? And what about me? My butt’s cold.”

  He chuckled and placed a palm over each cheek. “Can’t have that.”

  She hummed contentedly and snuggled against him.

  Holding her was such a divine pleasure, he didn’t want to move ever again. He squeezed her flesh gently before running his hands up her back. After a few minutes of silence her breathing evened out, and he knew she had fallen asleep. He rolled to his side so she slowly slipped off him. Then he wrapped the blankets around her and left the bed. It was the very last thing he wanted to do, but he had important tasks that shouldn’t wait.

  He jumped in the shower for a quick rinse then called out to his brothers as he dressed, and they met him in the map room. Mike had arrived while Cam showered, and he looked over the work his brother had done. Various marks covered the largest map of the United States that Cam had, completely blanketing the massive table in his room.

  “That’s a hell of a lot of dots,” Uri said.

  “Yeah, connecting them would almost black out the map,” Sel added.

  “Good thing we don’t need to do that,” Mike replied. “As it is, finding enough Watchers willing to help in any capacity for each of those dots has been…taxing.”

  His brothers smirked.

  “You mean it’s been a total bitch,” Cam said.

  Mike actually rolled his eyes. “Yes.”

  Uri patted him on the shoulder then turned away. “I’m hungry.”

  This time Cam rolled his eyes. “We just ate.”

  “Yeah, an hour ago.”

  “There’s plenty of food in the kitchen now. Help yourself.”

  “Where’s our resident secretary?” Sel asked. “That stew she made before was amazing.”

  Annoyance rose up in Cam before he could fully squash it, and all of his brothers raised their brows. “She’s not here to cook for us. Or clean, or do anything but rest and be protected.”

  “Apparently that’s not all she’s here for,” Uri mumbled.

  Sel choked out a laugh as Mike frowned.

  “Fuck you two, I’m not kidding,” Cam said.

  Mike raised his hands. “Just calm down and let’s continue going over what we’ve learned before she wakes. We need to discuss what Noah found as well.”

  Cam blew out a deep breath as Sel and Uri left the room. It was ridiculous for him to let them get to him, and completely out of character. Elle was tying him up in knots.

  “How serious is it?” Mike asked.

  For a moment, Cam didn’t know if he was referring to Elle and him or the map before them. Mike raised a brow at his silence.

  “Umm.”

  “Are you considering the fall for her?”

  “What? No, of course not.” He shook his head vehemently before really stopping to think about it. “Now would be the worst time for me to lose any of my powers. We have no idea what’s going on, and I can best protect her as an Archangel.”

  “But what about after we get this mess cleared up?”

  Cam sighed and ran both hands over his face. His chest ached at the thought of not being with Elle, but could he really abandon his brothers? Zerach and Rafe hadn’t really abandoned them. It just felt like that sometimes because he had to use human forms of communication with them now. No longer hearing the low hum of their thoughts in the back of his mind, feeling the calm reassurance of their emotions deep in his soul, was so unnerving at times it made him feel lost. They had already gone through that with Gabe, as well. What would it do to the others if he left, too?

  “No,” he finally said decisively. “I’m not going to fall for any woman. My duty is to be an Archangel, fully capable of fighting the evil in this world. I won’t abandon that duty.”

  A hint of disappointment shone in Mike’s eyes before he quickly masked it and gave a short nod. “The choice is yours, of course, but you have to know I would never judge you for it. Either way.”

  “I know.”

  Mike turned his attention back to the map. “All right, then. Let’s get to work on a plan of attack. We need to close up each of the fissures before the minions find a way through. And figure out who opened them in the first place and how.”

  Cam cracked his knuckles. “And find the asshole responsible for attacking Elle.”

  Mike smirked. “There is that. But first we need to discuss the subject Noah touched on. I asked Sebastian about disappearances across Texas, and he agreed. They’ve been increasing at an alarming rate, only we hadn’t been aware of it. Some, unfortunately, have been victims of human trafficking. But others, and I fear the number may be quite high, have been kept as sacrificial lambs. Three other mass graves have been found in the hours since the assembly ended, and we’re now positive their deaths were supposed to open portals.”

  “Jesus,” Cam said in exasperation. He ran his hands over his face. “How could we have missed death on that scale?”

  Mike’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure. There is no precedent. One possibility is the earthquake disturbance kept us from feeling it. But I’m not certain that’s the case. I’m concerned there may be some new power the demons have discovered that enabled them to make a large sacrifice without us knowing.”

  “Shit.”

  “Pretty much.”

  …

  A sharp pain pierced Eleanor’s chest as she made her way back to her guest room. She rubbed at it in annoyance and gripped the bannister as she climbed the steps to the next floor. Over and over again, Cam’s rushed denial filled her head. He would never consider falling for her. Whatever that meant. But of course she had already known that, hadn’t she? She had already accused him of being able to coast through this, whatever they had going on, without worry for the future. And she had fallen into his bed anyway, with eyes wide open. So really, she had no right to get upset about it now. She would just have to suck it up and deal with it. At least he wouldn’t forget about her when they were still in the same damn room anymore.

  Her best course of action was to enjoy what she could for the time being and protect herself the best she could emotionally. She would stay in his house until the physical threat had been taken care of, and then she would say goodbye to him and his brothers…forever. She no longer worked for him, and he wasn’t promising anything for the future. It was time for her to find her own happiness wherever she could.

  She closed and locked the guest-bedroom door before heading to the shower. Waking to find Cam gone had prompted her to dress quickly and go in search of him in case some news had arrived. She had found her glasses on the table with the books then headed for the map room. Now she was glad she had followed her instincts to find him. Would he have ever told her the truth? She hadn’t outright asked him before if he was willing to be with her in the way his brothers were with their wives. She hadn’t known what it was called or that there was even something special about it, but obviously Zerach and Raphael held their women in much higher regard than how Cam felt about her.

  Knowing she had been waiting all these years for nothing made her angry, more at herself than him. She let the hot water sluice over her body and closed her eyes against tears. There was no point in them. It was time for her to consider her options and put herself first. He’d never given her false hope, so she had no one to blame but herself. Maybe it would be best to cut her losses now. In order to guard her heart, she would stick with Sel and Uri for the rest of her
stay. Cam would get the hint soon enough.

  …

  An hour later, Cam frowned down at his empty bed. Where the hell had Elle gone? A quick search with his senses placed her in the guest room, sound asleep. What the hell was that about? With a growl of annoyance, he headed that way, only to stop short when the knob wouldn’t turn in his hand.

  She locked me out?

  He raised his hand to knock but stopped himself. Why had she left his bed? Did she want no more than one night with him?

  Confusion warred with annoyance and anger as he stood in front of the closed door and barely reined in the urge to knock it down. He dropped his hand and went over every word shared between them in the moments leading up to his making love to her. She’d had her doubts, but he’d really thought he’d gotten through to her.

  His shoulders dropped as he realized he’d never find out by guessing, and he wasn’t willing to disturb her when she obviously didn’t want him around. Brushing his hand over her closed door, he felt for her one more time and sensed her deep sleep. At least she wasn’t crying or trying to sneak out the window. Above all, she was a brilliant and rational woman. They would settle everything in the morning. He conceded defeat for the moment and went to his own bed alone.

  After tossing and turning for a couple of hours, Cam rose and went back to his map room. It was no surprise to find Mike still there, since he rarely pretended to be human enough to need sleep.

  “Anything new?” Cam asked.

  Mike shook his head. “No new demonic activity, but Nathaniel has found twins who are former members of a cult very similar to Eleanor’s. They were both approached by Armoros as children as well.”

  “They remembered the demon?”

  “Not without a little help from Sebastian. But the twins were hard to find…dimmed, so as to be unremarkable, in the way Eleanor was until recently.”

  Cam’s head shot up from where he’d been studying the map. “You knew she was easily forgettable? And you never said anything.”

  Mike shrugged. “I didn’t think much of it and figured you noticed, too. She isn’t the first human I’ve encountered with that odd dimness around her, even with such a pure aura. I knew she didn’t have a demonic taint, but I didn’t realize it was a deliberate omission. Apparently, Armoros is choosing human children to call upon as adults and open portals for it, and it’s perfected a way to erase its scent from the children so we never suspect they’ve been around a demon. That dimness that caused Eleanor to be easily overlooked by some of us and quickly forgotten by others is nothing I’d considered before because I hadn’t realized a demon might have need of such a thing.”

  “But Eleanor didn’t even remember meeting the demon, much less know how to open a portal.”

  “From what I have seen of the others, the knowledge is buried deep in their memories. Many of them don’t recall being in a cult until something triggers the memory. My guess is, Armoros plans to have the victims all triggered at the same time to do whatever they’ve been trained to do so one large portal will open. I’m wondering if perhaps there were multiple generations, and the first generation caused the earthquakes but wasn’t strong enough to open the portals completely.”

  “Or perhaps some of them fought the compulsion to do their part or have even died since they were originally trained.”

  “Anything is possible. If the exact number of souls needed for the size of portal being opened wasn’t met, then it wouldn’t open.”

  Cam blew out a breath as he recalled fighting Armoros over and over. Forever. Banishing it repeatedly, only to have humans unknowingly give it a foothold into their world years later. Exhaustion hit him at the prospect of that never-ending scenario, and he scrubbed his palms over his face.

  Mike’s large hand covered his shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. “This is our purpose, frater. Alea iacta est.”

  Cam snorted a humorless laugh. “Quoting Caesar? The die might be cast, but faber est suae quisque fortunae.”

  Mike grinned. “Indeed, we are the artisans of our own fortunes. So what will your future be? We can quote Latin phrases until the sun rises, and it changes nothing. We were created with many purposes, and fighting demons is one we’ve always held to. If you tire of this life and wish to change it, I’ll not blame you.”

  “And if I blame myself?” He ignored his brother’s all-knowing gaze and paced around the room. “I’ll not abandon you and the others in a time of need. I wouldn’t abandon you in a time of perfect peace, either.”

  “That’s what you think of Rafe and Zerach? They’ve abandoned us?”

  “No, of course not.”

  One imperious brow rose, and Cam had to turn away from him. He squeezed the back of his neck and gathered his thoughts.

  “Maybe sometimes…a little. I’m not angry at them. Hell, I don’t even blame them. What they’ve found with Isadora and Asta is…”

  “Love. Perfection. And a peace we can be envious of but shouldn’t damn them for.”

  “I don’t.”

  Mike just stared.

  “I swear I don’t. But I also don’t feel its right to take that journey right now. Not while I need to be at my full power.”

  Mike stroked his short beard and looked over the map, though Cam knew his thoughts were still on their conversation. “Isadora nearly sliced her finger off yesterday while preparing dinner.”

  “What?”

  “Yes. While she was watching the news, a knife slipped off a potato or something. Blood went everywhere, and she cried out. Zerach felt her pain and rushed into the room. On instinct, he grabbed her hand and put all thought into healing her.”

  A pain pierced Cam’s chest at the thought of his brother’s disappointment. “Is she going to be all right?”

  Mike grinned. “She’s perfectly fine. It worked.”

  “What? He healed her?”

  “Yes. Completely. There isn’t even a scratch to show where the knife touched her skin. I believe the Source has chosen not to cut our brothers off from their abilities completely despite their fall. And it should tell you choosing a woman doesn’t mean an end to your existence as you’ve come to know it.”

  Cam stared at a painting on the wall without seeing it. Being an Archangel was all he’d ever known, for more years than he cared to acknowledge. He’d never considered any other option, even after his brothers had chosen their women. Why? Was he really so blind to the possibility of loving Elle that much? Was he really so vain to think the humans in his midst needed him so much? And what of Elle and her needs?

  Cam had a feeling he’d been too quick to dismiss a full future with Elle. Should he wake her and talk it out? That she’d left his bed and locked him out of her room still disturbed him, but Sebastian’s voice in his mind interrupted his thoughts.

  “Another fissure has opened in Texas, and this portal feels stronger.”

  Mike spoke aloud as his words carried to Sebastian. “Meet us at Cam’s so you can show us where on the map this is, and we’ll go over our options.”

  “On my way.”

  Uri made coffee, and they settled in the map room to wait. There were already so many marks on the map, Cam couldn’t imagine where another fissure would even fit. But Texas had a lot of open land and too many pockets where no Watcher kept vigil.

  Sebastian arrived with a human woman close behind.

  “This is Lúthien Summers. She and her twin sister have met Armoros in its human guise.”

  “Lúthien?” Sel asked. “Tinúviel?”

  One corner of her mouth quirked up. “My mother was a huge Tolkien fan and gave us both Elvish names.”

  Uri choked out a laugh and slapped Sel’s shoulder. “Way to let your geek flag fly, bro.”

  They all had the unique experience of seeing Sel blush before he cleared his throat and shrugged Uri’s hand off his shoulder. “Yeah, well, I read more than you do.”

  “So is your sister Arwen?” Uri asked.

  “No. Irimë. But we ch
oose to go by Lily and Iris to keep it simple.”

  “Probably a good idea.”

  All of them gathered around the map. Sebastian traced Interstate 10, moving west to the center of a large open space with no markings. “Here.”

  “There’s nothing,” Cam said. “No town for miles.”

  “No town, just a deep fissure about a quarter of a mile wide that runs along a new encampment of humans who worship Saint Abaskhiron the Soldier.”

  “The Egyptian?” Mike asked.

  “Yes. Only, it was Armoros that appeared to the leaders claiming to be Abaskhiron a few years ago. It performed some minor miracles to convince them of its saintly status. They’ve been falling all over themselves to accommodate the demon, including giving it full access to their children.”

  “How did we miss this?” Cam asked in exasperation.

  Mike gave him a sympathetic look. “We aren’t omnipotent. There’s no population close enough to warrant Watchers. Armoros worked very hard to keep this one from us and succeeded. Now we will make up for it by flushing out the most stalwart worshippers and shutting the operation down.”

  “We must be very careful with this cult,” Sebastian replied.

  Lily appeared beside him. “They’re zealots and psychos. At least those who aren’t out of their minds on drugs.”

  The pain in her voice reached all of them, and Sel rubbed her back to soothe her. She looked at him in surprise but didn’t move away.

  “Are you certain there are no innocents in that encampment?” Mike asked.

  She took a deep breath and seemed to think it over. “There are a few small children. Maybe five. The others, especially the teenagers, are fully vested in the cult. They absolutely believe in this saint and would do anything to keep their way of life.” She stepped away from Sel, letting his arm drop to his side. “Anything to anyone at all.”

  Sebastian gave her a sad smile then turned back to them. “Lily and her sister make regular trips to Van Horn, but we plan to get them out of there before the cult leaders decide to make them return to the compound. For now, they’re using them to get supplies and information.”