by Sam Cheever
He turned to me, his eyes already looking dazed and incoherent.
“I said...” the thought I’d been trying to express drifted away and my legs and arms felt like lead as the fog saturated the interior of the Viper. The last thing I remember before I fell away from consciousness was Emo’s head hitting the view port as he passed out.
Then everything went black.
~SC~
Voices droned in the distance, tickling insistently at my ears like bees. I wove the sound into my dreams and slept on. I dreamed I was slime wrestling a purple slug monster and fell into the slime, taking the slug monster with me. I pushed as hard as I could against the squishy purple chest, but my hands just kept sinking into it and getting tangled. No that wasn’t right, you can’t get tangled in purple slug monster flesh. And why was it so silky? Before I could get my mind around that question, the slug opened its pincers and a long, warty tongue slid through to slither down my cheek.
It should have been disgusting but somehow it made me all tingly. And the monster smelled good too. Really good, like...
My eyes flew open and I was staring into Emo’s midnight eyes, my fingers tangled in his silky hair. Having already left a warm, tingly trail down my face, his tongue was stroking my neck, toward my ear. He closed his soft lips over my earlobe and nibbled before drawing it into his warm mouth and sucking it.
“Holy shit!” I tried to push him away and sit up but he just grabbed my hands and held them above my head, grinding his rigid lower regions against my most sensitive area. For the briefest moment in time I forgot the reason I needed to get out from under him and closed my eyes, moaning under the multiple, yummy assaults on my body. A throbbing pleasure radiated from the place where his hard length pressed against my body, drawing my thought processes into sensual oblivion along with my pleasure center. My stomach jumped in excitement. My lips were tingling where they’d met his and my nipples stood at rigid attention like good little galactic soldiers.
Then I remembered why the current situation was bad, bad, bad and my eyes flew open again. “Emo!”
He murmured an incomprehensible response and released my earlobe to kiss his way down my throat. Before I could stop myself I moaned and arched toward him. He growled low in his throat and took my breast into his hot mouth, sucking it gently through my soft sweater.
Sweater? My eyes flew open again and I looked down. Oh thank the Big Guy I was still fully dressed.
But not for long at the rate we were going.
I struggled to get my hands free and finally managed to pull one hand from his grasp. grabbing his ponytail, I yanked it hard.
His head came up and I looked into a pair of dazed and feverish eyes. I’d seen that look before.
Shit! “Emo! Snap out of it, you’re under a spell.”
He grinned lazily and jerked out of my grip. A strand of his beautiful hair came away with a tearing sound. I winced but Emo didn’t seem to notice.
He tugged my sweater up and initiated a warm, wet journey up my belly toward territory that was under the jurisdiction of the Astra Q Phelps sexual permissions committee of one—that would be me.
“Emo stop!” I tried to push him away again but with only one hand it was impossible. Deciding I didn’t have a choice I stopped struggling and concentrated on building my power to use against him.
The sound of chanting grew in intensity, cluing me in that we weren’t alone. A quick glance around told me we were on the altar in the clearing where I’d watched Raoul vanquish the fire demons. Although I could only see indistinct shapes just beyond the circle of light created by a huge, smoking fire in the center of the clearing, I had a clear perception that we were surrounded.
Visualizing the tiny flame at the core of my power, I concentrated on growing it. It doubled and then doubled again until it was a respectable blaze, but still not big enough to do anything with.
That was when Emo’s warm, insistent mouth made it into the more mountainous regions of Astra Q Phelps territory. His lips closed over a taut nipple through the silk cami that served as my only undergarment and I gasped, losing focus on the energy I’d managed to gather. I moaned helplessly, my head thrashing back and forth on the hard rock. Against my best intentions, I arched to give him better access to my breast.
The piddling power flame I’d managed to draw died a sudden death as another kind of heat consumed my body. I was wrapping my legs around his hips, welcoming his probing fingers under my skirt when a niggling memory broke through the sexual haze.
I saw again the back of a sleek, dark head and long, lean body lying over me, pleasuring me as I moaned and begged for more. I remembered the chanting voices surrounding us and...
Angel’s tears...
Then I recalled with a stomach lurching clarity what had happened in that prophetic dream when the current activities had been consummated.
Holy frunkin’ gargoyle toes!
Like ice water flung onto my overheated body, that thought cleared the sexual haze from my mind. I reached for my power and threw it outward. Emo’s body rose off mine a couple of inches. He was far too gone to react, except to clutch me harder, pulling me halfway off with him. I started pounding on his back in an effort to roust him from the spell but he was single minded in his sensual assault on my body.
Black magic coated the air and I realized the witches were using powerful magic to keep Emo enthralled. Briefly wondering why, I was distracted by a ripping sound and cool night air bathed my nether regions. I screamed in frustration and felt my daemon hickey pulse and sting.
Oh shit! Dialle!
The first pulse was a small one. But the next one threw sparks into the air and the third one blasted Emo off my chest.
The chanting around me stopped and the resulting silence was almost painful with expectancy.
I threw myself off the altar and into a defensive stance. “Okay, you people have pissed me off in a big way.” Flinging out my hands, I threw a power blanket toward the shadows where I knew the witches stood. I spread the power thin and wide so that it covered a large area but wouldn’t cause too much damage to any one person. The energy blasted away from me with a very satisfying sizzling sound, followed by a single yelp of pain. It appeared that all but one curious soul had skedaddled before I flung my anger-filled energy at them.
Several air vehicles zoomed past over my head as they made a quick getaway.
Emo was sitting on the altar looking dazed.
Dialle was standing next to him and he didn’t look happy. “You are lucky I recognized the spell, pretender, or I’d have extinguished you on the spot.
Emo jumped to his feet and sneered, “Afraid I’ll accomplish what you haven’t been able to do, false Prince? You might have forced your mark on her, but you certainly haven’t won her heart.”
The two devils stood nose to nose, power and anger wafting off of them in waves.
I gave a moment’s thought to jumping in the Viper and running away. But being an extremely brave halfling— or possibly a bit stupid—I confronted them instead.
“Okay, okay break it up boys. I stepped in between them, facing Dialle. Emo jumped away from me as if I were a jolt of electricity. “This was not Emo’s fault, Dialle and you know it. We need to work together if we’re going to figure out what’s going on.”
Dialle’s eyes roiled with colors as a virtual storm of rage flowed through him. The air around him was so hot beads of sweat formed between my breasts. My instincts told me to step away, but I knew I had to stand up to him or there would be hell to pay later. Literally.
With my own storm brewing, I waited for Dialle to cool down. Finally he glanced away from me and the temperature began to drop. I kept my sigh of relief as small and undetectable as possible. “Good. Now here’s what we’re gonna do...”
Dialle reached out a hand and grabbed my wrist. I managed to yell, “No!” before we were locked in time and space.
We landed in Dialle’s quarters at the Royal Court.
He turned and stalked away. “You stink of him.”
Now that just pissed me off. “How dare you, Dialle? Where the hell were you when they snatched us? Why didn’t you do something to help instead of getting all pissed off once the damage was done?”
He turned back to me, the storm still raging in his eyes, “I did help, Astra! That’s why you’re standing here now instead of lying naked and plundered on that altar!”
“Plundered!” I didn’t know my voice could reach that octave.
I’m coming, Astra. Hang on.
I jumped at the voice in my head and then tried to look normal. Which at that exact moment meant I needed to look outraged and pissed off. Not hard to pull off since those are two of my more natural things.
“And don’t forget you shut me out,” he added. You masked your movements from me for two days. You’re lucky I found you at all.”
Well, that was technically true. My face gained a slightly pink color. But I wasn’t going to take the whole blame for it. “If you hadn’t tried to do violence to me I wouldn’t have had to go into hiding!” I shrieked back.
He threw his dark head back and roared, shaking the walls and breaking small objects around the room.
I stepped into a defensive stance and pulled a power bubble around myself.
Dialle stalked away from me and started pacing the room.
I waited silently.
Finally he stopped pacing and looked at me. “Did you find my father?”
I couldn’t help it. As usual my smart mouth beat back my good sense and took the lead. “You mean after I helped my parents kidnap him?”
He strode toward me looking like he would kill me the old fashioned way, with his hands around my neck. I threw my hands up in preparation for battle.
He halted suddenly, swiping an elegant, golden hand over his face, and blew out a frustrated breath. “Damn it, Astra, you try my patience at every turn.”
A commotion sounded outside the door. There was an explosion, followed by the sound of someone getting thrown into the door.
Dialle started forward but I grabbed his arm. He looked at me.
“It’s Emo.”
Dialle jerked his arm from my grasp, swearing inventively. Intrigued, I mentally catalogued some of the words, figuring they might come in handy later.
The door blasted into the room and skidded across the floor. Leaping out of its way with a yelp, I watched it splinter against the far wall.
Emo followed the door’s skid marks into the room. He did not look happy.
When he spoke his voice had that booming quality that told me he’d drenched himself in power. “She’d better be all right, false Prince or I’ll rip your intestines out through your arrogant nose...” He stopped when he saw me standing there, eyes agog and mouth, as usual, hanging open.
“You okay, Astra?” Somehow the question didn’t sound as endearing when it was all boomy.
I tried to speak but my throat seemed to have closed. Finally I just nodded.
Dialle was suddenly standing in front of Emo, his hand wrapped around my partner’s throat. The temperature in the room rose to boiling point in the blink of an eye.
I screamed Dialle’s name as Emo’s face turned purple and his beautiful eyes started to bug out. Though I sprinted toward them to intervene, Dialle flung a hand in my direction and I was suddenly encased in hard, uncompromising air. Unable to move in any direction.
Emo placed a hand on Dialle’s chest, fingers bent, and dug in. Blood spurted from beneath his energy-drenched fingers. The maneuver apparently bought my partner some air and Emo suddenly looked like he could breathe again. He coughed and gagged but kept a deadly grip on Dialle’s chest. Terror gripped me as Emo’s fingers ripped through muscle and bone.
Dialle fought to stay upright against the pain. Suddenly my daemon hickey sparked and I could feel his energies rebuilding. Horrified, I realized he’d tapped into my power.
Emo’s hand flew away from Dialle’s chest and his face turned purple as he choked under the pressure.
“You’re dead,” Dialle told my best friend.
“No!” I did the only thing I could think to do. I called in backup. Quick as a thought my angel blinked into the room, bringing an added surprise along with her.
“You will stop!” My father’s power circled the two devils and yanked them apart, sizzling against their skin where it touched.
Fueled by rage and a rabid sense of survival, both devils turned on my father and, for a brief, horrifying moment it looked as if they’d attack. Then Myra’s power joined my father’s, creating a shimmering wall of energy between the two angry devils and us.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt my air prison dissolving. “Thanks, Pop.”
My father smiled at me and then returned his attention to my devils. “Now, you will both take a deep breath and we will all sit down and discuss this like rational creatures.”
I held my breath, not certain how much power my father and Myra would have in the heart of the dark world.
Apparently they had enough. Dialle and Emo both made visible attempts to draw back their anger and stand down. Once they looked as if they’d regained their senses, the two angels dropped their power shields.
Dialle looked at my father and gave a slight bow. “Welcome to the Royal Court of Dialle the First, Seraphim James.”
I did a double take. My eyes flew toward my father and I gave a yelp of surprise. He saw me looking and lifted the gorgeous, silver wings away from his body to give them one, gentle flap.
“You went back.” My voice came out in a hoarse, shocked whisper.
He smiled. “I never really left, Astra.” He had the good grace to look a bit sheepish, “In my heart anyway. I decided it was time to make it official. It appears you need my help.”
“So that’s what he meant.” I murmured to myself. The Big Guy hadn’t actually expected me to do anything to bring my father back. He knew that the current kerfuffle would be enough to draw him in.
Myra said, “Stop mumbling, Astra. It makes you look demented.”
I grinned, so relieved to see my father happy again that even her crankiness was a welcome thing. “I love you too, angel.”
Myra rolled her eyes and shook her head. But I thought I saw a sparkle in her eye that hadn’t been there for a while.
“Will somebody please tell me what the hell’s going on?” Emo looked from one to the other of us with a perplexed expression on his beautiful face.
“I’ll fill you in later, partner.” I looked at Dialle. “For now, I think Seraphim James might have some ’splainin’ to do.”
My father wrapped an arm around my shoulders. The arm was draped in shimmering silver with sparks of gold that whispered against my skin like a distant memory. I realized with a start that my father had often donned his angelic robes when I was a child. A sign that, had I been older, I would have seen for what it was. A longing to return.
Dialle motioned toward the long divan where he and I had spent some truly delicious moments exploring our options, in a manner of speaking. Crushing that totally inappropriate thought ruthlessly from my mind, I dropped my butt onto a nearby chair.
My father sat on the end of the divan closest to me and Myra hovered protectively in the background.
Dialle sat on the opposite end of the divan and Emo sat in the chair across from me. When we were all settled my father turned to Dialle and said, “I helped Danika take your father from his rooms.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Alarming News Abounds
The Angel looked him in the eye and told him of his part,
But will the devil prince be led, by his anger or his heart?
The only sign that my father’s statement disturbed Dialle was a slight rise in the temperature of the room. He focused midnight black eyes at my father and said, “Go on.”
My father didn’t look at me and I felt he was d
eliberately avoiding my stunned gaze. I could only assume he was trying to distance me from his actions and, since I’d had no part in what he and my mother had done, I forced my mouth shut and sat quietly, albeit with a pounding heart.
“First let me say, I did it to protect your father.”
Dialle’s response was a derisive snort. “I find that hard to believe, but do continue.”
My father started twisting his hands, a sure sign that he was feeling torn about something. “I understand how it looks to you and I don’t blame you for being angry. But I can assure you that, although your father may suffer some...uncomfortable...moments, he will not be truly harmed.”
“Bring him back immediately.”
Seraphim James shook his red-gold head. “I’m sorry, I cannot.”
Dialle surged to his feet, his golden face mottled with angry red splotches. I wiped a sheen of sweat from my face with my sleeve and looked around, expecting at any moment to see a chair or divan burst into flames.
Myra was standing between my father and Dialle. I hadn’t even seen her move. She stood taller than normal, with legs spread wide and hands on hips, her lovely face hardened into a cold, supernaturally beautiful shell. She pulsed with power and purpose. “Stand down, Dialle, Prince of the Royal Devil Court of Dialle the First. Or meet thy maker and be judged.”
Dialle glared at my warrior angel, narrowing his gaze. I figured, knowing him, that he was trying to decide if he could best her. But since he suddenly relaxed his shoulders and stepped away to pace back and forth behind the long divan, I figured he’d decided on utilizing the better part of valor.
Myra relaxed down to normal size but otherwise remained where she was, only stepping to the side a bit so that my father could retain eye contact with Dialle.
“Prince Dialle, believe me, I understand your concern and I’m doing everything in my power to protect your father. His...abduction was necessary for his protection or I would never have allowed Danika’s plan to move forward.”
Dialle stopped pacing and turned to glare at my father. “And what exactly is Mx. Phelps’ plan?”