Mercy for the Damned

by Lisa Olsen

  “Come and have a seat, the fireworks are about to begin,” Raum bade her, and the slight witch took a seat at his feet on the cold, stone steps.

  “More than you know,” she murmured, her eyes growing wide with surprise.

  “Perhaps I may be of assistance.” I heard a deep voice behind me, and my eyes closed in defeat. How many other ways could things go wrong?

  Raziel strode into the demon court, head held high, giving no sign he’d willingly entered dangerous surroundings.

  “Now we’ve got a party,” Raum clapped his hands together delightedly.

  “I offer myself in Adam’s stead. A year and a day of service, in exchange for his freedom. Mercy, of course, would be allowed to leave unhindered, as she is guaranteed amnesty as per the terms of the original agreement.”

  “That’s not what we agreed on,” I gasped at the offer. When we talked about using him as bait, it had been as a diversion. I’d never intended for him to even set foot in Midian, let alone offer himself up like that.

  “I think it sounds fair enough,” Adam met Raziel with a steely gaze. “It’s the least he can offer after everything he’s done. In fact, I think it has a kind of simple poetry to it,” he grinned.

  “Adam, you can’t mean that. Raziel has nothing to do with this. You can’t let him suffer because of us.” I lowered my voice. “Let’s just fight our way out. Together, the three of us stand a real chance.”

  “I’m sorry, how do you even know the guy?” Adam hissed. “You wanted me to leave with you, this gives us a perfect out. That prophecy doesn’t say anything about doom and gloom if Mr. Shiny Britches over there stays down here, does it?”

  “Well… no.” The prophecy mentioned a fallen angel triggering the evil, not a regular angel. We had to assume no bad would come from Raziel remaining in Midian, apart from the whole personal danger to him.

  “And you said his bosses sent him down here to fix the situation right? So, let him fix it, and we can be home in time for dinner.”

  “Mercy…” Raziel’s voice was gentle, and I pulled my gaze from Adam. “Adamiel speaks the truth. I was dispatched to keep the prophecy from coming to fruition, this is my fate. Let me take Adam’s place here, I am not afraid.”

  “No, you don’t have to do this!” I insisted, taking his hand and drawing him away, though I was reasonably sure they could have heard us if they wanted to. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but we’ll find another way. Take it from me, you don’t want to be Raum’s chew toy for the next year. This is my mess, I’m the one who should clean it up. I should stay and you can get Adam and Ben out of here safely.”

  Raziel’s lips curved into a sad smile. “So generous of spirit. This is what I’ve come to admire about you, my lady. If there was ever a doubt of your worthiness to carry the Grace, this would surely dispel it. No, this duty falls to me, you have others to accept that bear far greater importance.”

  “But…”

  “It is done,” he shook his head, and I shot a helpless look to Adam who looked far too pleased with the change in plans. “Will you accept my benediction?”

  “Your… okay…” my mouth snapped shut, not quite sure what to expect. In my younger days at church, a priest usually followed that up with a shaker thing of holy water and a few pretty words.

  I was wholly unprepared when Raziel placed a hand over my heart and I felt the surge of his Grace go through me. No… not go through me, his Grace coalesced within me, mingling with my own strange mix. I felt the power swell inside, radiating from my core down to the tips of my fingers and toes until my entire body thrummed with energy. In that moment I realized he’d shared a part of himself with me, but instead of the healing I’d received from Sam or the love I’d felt from Adam, I could only stare at him, wondering why he’d do such a thing when he would need every scrap of his Grace to deal with Raum?

  The crowd gave an audible gasp of longing over the display of Grace, but I was too stunned to worry overmuch about a stampede in their eagerness to get a taste for themselves. Thankfully, they seemed to be a little stunned themselves, watching to see what would transpire next.

  “Why did you do that?” I breathed, clinging to his arms when a wave of dizziness swept over me.

  “It wasn’t for you,” Raziel whispered for my ears only, kissing the air over my wrists a final time.

  “Hey, what the hell is this? Mercy, are you alright?” Adam tore me from his grasp, hauling me up against his side.

  “I’m fine, I’m just a little woozy.” I knew I should try and ground myself, but somehow the idea of centering myself in Midian creeped me out. More unsettling was the idea that I now had a third angel’s Grace inside of me. Did I have an invisible sign around my neck that said ‘deposit Grace here’?

  “I simply thought it a better use for my Grace than to have it languish here.”

  “You know that’s forbidden,” Adam frowned, his arm still wrapped tightly around me.

  “It didn’t stop you though, did it?” Raziel gave him a crooked grin. “Take care of her, she has a long road ahead, and it will get more difficult to traverse from here on.”

  “I know how to protect what’s mine…”

  “Okay, guys…?” I interrupted before the testosterone fest got so cloying one of us might choke. “We’re not out of the woods yet. Demon court, crazy demon lord who wants to eat us all for dinner… ringing a bell?”

  Right on cue, Raum cleared his throat, drawing our attention. “A very interesting turn of events, but I have not given my sanction to this plan.” He was right, nothing was set in stone, not yet. There was time still to maybe renegotiate, or fight our way out. Only I stood a lousy chance of changing anything with both Adam and Raziel on board with the proposed switch.

  “Decisions, decisions, what am I to do, my pet?” Raum bent his head as Oriana leaned up to whisper in his ear. “Indeed?” his eyes widened in surprise and he looked far too smug as he returned his attention to our little group. “Very well, you find me in a generous mood. I accept the exchange, take the girl and go,” he waved us off.

  “Then I accept,” Adam nodded curtly. “Come on, Mercy, let’s get out of here before his changes his mind.” The arm wrapped around me tugged, but I dug in my heels.

  “Wait, what about Ben?”

  “Your friend was not discussed when you renegotiated the terms,” Raum smiled wolfishly, and my heart sank.

  “Adam, we can’t leave without him, he’s half the reason I came down here in the first place.” Maybe a less urgent half, given the prophecy, but an important half nonetheless.

  “We need to keep him here for our own safety, remember? It’s the only way to keep Azazael safely bound.”

  “No, we really don’t,” I whispered, refusing to let myself be led away, and a pucker of worry appeared on his brow.

  “What are you up to?”

  “This isn’t the time or place to get into it, but we’ve got it covered. We need to get Ben topside.” I turned back to Raum, raising my voice. “Look, as I understand it, you agreed to keep Ben here as a favor, right? That wasn’t part of the agreement for Adam to stay here in order to keep me safe. Well, we don’t need you to do that anymore, so we’ll just be taking him, okay?” I nodded encouragingly, but Raum shook his head with a mournful sigh.

  “I’m afraid it’s not that simple m’lovely. You’re right, it wasn’t a part of the original deal, otherwise I’d let him go now that your guardian angel has offered himself in Adamiel’s place. Now then, if you’d like to offer yourself in his place for say… two years?”

  “The hell she will,” Adam growled, and I reached for his hand out of habit, sending him a small pulse of calming Grace. It was easier to manage, Raziel’s strength giving me added control.

  “Well then, travel safe, you’re always welcome to come for a visit any time you like,” he waved dismissively, and that time I let Adam drag me backwards, not knowing what else I could possibly offer Raum in exchange.
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br />   It felt like everything was falling apart. Sure, I had Adam back by my side, but now both Ben and Raziel were left behind… How could I be expected to leave under those circumstances? The decision was taken out of my hands though, as Adam tugged me towards the shadows where Nelo waited, immediately popping us to a different part of the palace.

  “We have to get him out,” I whispered once we had left the formidable structure. “Is he being held in the dungeon?”

  Nelo opened his mouth to reply, but Adam cut him off. “Absolutely not. We’re leaving before you end up landing us in the dungeon right beside him.”

  “But Adam…”

  “No buts, I’m not having this conversation with you here. Now we’re either doing this the easy way or the hard way.”

  I didn’t need three guesses to figure out what the hard way was, so I gave him a single nod, my lips compressed into a thin line. He seemed like he was in a surly mood, not glad to see me at all, and my mood was no better for having to leave Ben behind, so there was little conversation on the way back to the tunnels.

  When Adam did speak, I almost wished he’d decided to keep giving me the silent treatment. “What the hell is up with you and Raziel anyway?”

  “What?” I blinked, not tracking what he meant right away, since my thoughts were a zillion miles away, trying to plot how we were going to break Ben out once we got Adam to safety.

  “I didn’t even know you knew him and now he’s gifting you with his Grace? Just what the hell happened since I left?”

  He made it sound like I’d been carrying on with Raziel while he’d been gone, and I didn’t appreciate the accusatory tone in his voice. “Nothing, I promise. I have no idea why he did that.”

  “A piece of his Grace… that’s not like a goodbye hug, Mercy. That’s a part of himself. He’ll never be as powerful as he once was.”

  “I’m telling you, I have no idea. He said it wasn’t for me. And you heard him, maybe he didn’t want Raum to get such a big high out of feeding from him while he’s down in Midian? For all I know he’ll ask for it back when his year is up,” I shrugged and I could see Adam hadn’t made peace with the idea.

  “You know who he is, what he took from me.”

  I knew their history, and I knew he’d never understand the friendship I’d forged with the Angel of Death who’d killed his wife and unborn child. “Of course I know, Adam. It doesn’t mean I’m happy about the idea of him spending a year down here because of me. I don’t wish that on anyone, not even my greatest enemy.”

  “He is my greatest enemy,” Adam mumbled, and I squeezed his hand.

  “Let’s focus on getting out of here and we can talk more about this later.” We weren’t out of the woods yet, I still wasn’t sure how we’d get past Naberios. Would he magically know that Raum set us free?

  It turned out I worried for nothing, as Naberios didn’t seem to be his growly self at all when we reached the gate. In fact, he was almost friendly as he let us pass, reminding Adam that he still owed him for the favor I’d volunteered in his stead. I stood by while they haggled in a language I didn’t understand.

  “Why do I feel like I’ve witnessed a really bad decision in the making?” I murmured as they shook hands over whatever accord they struck.

  “Relax, I’ve got it all under control,” Adam winked, giving me the first real smile I’d seen from him since I arrived in Midian.

  “Next time you will bring me more truffles,” Naberios nodded to me, and I gave him a wan smile in return. I never wanted to go back to Midian again, but I knew I’d have to, given Ben’s circumstances. Knowing the gate guard had a chocolate jones wasn’t a bad piece of intel to have.

  “I will if you promise to eat them more slowly.”

  “Why would I do that?” His head canted to one side in confusion.

  “Now you have none left, right? If you’d eaten them slower, you’d still be able to enjoy them.”

  “I enjoyed them enough,” he grunted, crossing his arms over his expansive chest.

  “Okay, well, it was nice seeing you again. Maybe we can visit longer next time.” I backed towards the gate as both men stared at me as if I’d said something completely mental. “Adam, we should go, we have that, um, thing to get to, remember?” I wasn’t sure why, but I felt the sudden urge not to linger any longer. The sooner I got him back across the gate the better I’d feel.

  “Naberios,” Adam nodded simply.

  “Adamiel.”

  Great, we all knew each other’s names. Without waiting for anything else, I linked my arm through Adam’s and grabbed Nelo’s hand, stepping back through the gate.

  As soon as we got out of the strip club and into the open night air, Adam gave a whoop of joy, picking me up and swinging me around so that my head spun. “Holy shit, I can’t believe you did that!”

  “Then you’re happy I came?” I clung to his arms to keep from losing my balance once he set me down, and he gave no sign of letting me go.

  “No, I want to throttle you for risking it, but since you did…” His lips descended over mine hungrily as he walked me backwards, or rather dragged me backwards, since just the tips of my toes hit the pavement as his strong arms hauled me up against his body. Gasping as I felt the cold metal of my car press against my back, I kissed him back, not caring that we were in an iffy neighborhood late at night, making out like there was no tomorrow.

  “God, I missed you,” he breathed between kisses, my Grace glowing faintly at being in his arms again. It was way better than any dream or even a visit in the Ether. Adam was really and truly safe, and there was nothing to keep us apart.

  “I missed you too, so much. Don’t ever do that again…”

  “I won’t. I’ll never leave you again, I promise. Only you have to promise not to do anything so stupid again either.”

  “I saved you.” I pulled back to look at him, and found a somber look on his face again.

  “You put yourself at risk. It makes everything I went through moot. When are you gonna get it through your head that I love you more than life itself?” Adam kissed me tenderly, and a rush of longing went through me. Didn’t he get that I felt the same way? Why else had I gone to hell and back to be with him again?

  “Probably about the same time you get that I can’t accept you risking yourself for me either. What was I supposed to do, sit around and twiddle my thumbs while you suffered on my behalf?”

  “Yes, if that’s what it took.”

  “Well, I can’t accept that. So remember that the next time you go off making idiotic deals behind my back.” I chased after his lips with mine, unable to keep from kissing him when he was so near.

  “Idiotic seems kinda strong…” he frowned.

  “Reckless?”

  “That implies a lack of thought or planning. I assure you, I planned this down to the last detail.”

  “Boneheaded then?” I grinned, and he returned the smile, kissing my neck.

  “I can accept that as long as you admit it was dangerously ill advised for you to come down there after me.”

  “I can agree to that, but it was worth it,” I sighed, holding onto him tightly, tears threatening to spill as some of the adrenaline wore off and I realized how close I’d come to being stuck down there with him if Raziel hadn’t come along.

  “Hey, it’s okay, we made it out together, that’s all that matters.” Keying in to my distress, Adam held me close until some of the tension went out of my body.

  “I’d forgotten what the sky smelled like.” A soft voice sounded in the darkness, and my eyes popped open to see Oriana standing there in her thin dress and bare feet, her pale face turned up to the stars.

  Chapter Ten

  “Oriana? What are you doing here?” I gasped, letting go of Adam in my shock.

  “I decided to take a holiday, I wanted to see the miracle.”

  “What miracle? Does Raum know you left?” It seemed unlikely, but maybe he had some crazy scheme she was a part of?


  “What delightful thing did you say?” she paused, trying to find the right words. “Raum isn’t the boss of me,” she smiled sunnily, in direct proportion to the scowl that set on Adam’s face.

  “Only he absolutely is the boss of you, Oriana. Damn it, he’s going to think we stole her away.”

  “That’s actually one of the plans we tossed around, only we didn’t know how to pull it off,” I admitted. “Maybe this is a stroke of genuine luck?” It was about time something went our way.

  “You’re right, we can make this work for us,” Adam agreed, rapping on the roof of the car. “We’d better get her out of sight before someone out here spots her. You know Raum will send demons after her once he realizes she’s missing.”

  “We’re going on a journey?” Oriana brightened at that, and I took hold of her elbow, gently guiding her to the back seat of my car where Nelo waited patiently.

  “Yes, that’s right. I’m going to show you where I live. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I replied with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

  “Oh yes, I should like to see that very much,” she smiled, allowing herself to be easily led. I had no idea how long she’d been in Midian or if she’d freak out at the prospect of travel by automobile like Sam did, but she didn’t balk at all at being shoved into the back of my car with a demon. Actually, maybe Nelo made her feel more at home.

  “Adam, do you think you could…?” I tossed my car keys, and he snatched them deftly out of the air without a second thought. Adam wanted to take her to a cheap motel in the middle of nowhere to keep her out of sight, but I wanted to keep a closer eye on her. Since he didn’t want to separate, I won out on that argument, and we headed to my place. Oriana didn’t mind the drive at all, her attention fixed out the window for the entire ride.

  “Now, it’s late so we’ll have to be quiet going up to my apartment.” I reminded her gently. I had no idea what time it actually was, given the time difference between Midian and the real world. It was still dark out as we parked in front of my building.