Falling for Hope

by Anne Conley

  Tears pricked her eyes. "I want to go home."

  He threw his head back and laughed a harsh bark of laughter. "Hope, you are home." Damien lowered himself on the bed and crawled towards her, creeping over her body. "You are mine, now." He lowered his mouth to hers, slowly, and Hope held her breath against the burning stench and frigidity that emanated from his body.

  "Deceiver! No!"

  A smirk curled Damien's lip. "Your boyfriend has arrived." He didn't seem surprised or upset, which heightened the panic in Hope's gut. Was he expecting Gabe? Was it a trap?

  The room filled with hisses, and then a loud metallic crack filled the air. Damien's eyes widened at the sound, and he turned.

  "Did you think I would actually come alone?"

  Hope looked at Gabe's companion, a tall, rugged man with dark hair and silver eyes. He was undeniably handsome, but something about him screamed danger, and if he hadn't shown up with Gabe, Hope would have been left wondering who the good guys were.

  He wore a menacing scowl, and as she watched, he removed a cuff from his tattooed upper bicep. Without taking his eyes off of Damien, he used his hands to straighten the cuff, which immediately went limp and began writhing. Hope blinked, but continued to stare. The man held the serpent behind his head and whispered something to it, and then let it slide through his fingers until he was holding its tail. Hope watched with disbelief when the snake lengthened and thickened, changing into a long length of chain, each link larger than her fist.

  Damien's eyes narrowed, and he looked from the two men, to Hope, and back again. "Michael. I'm surprised to see you here."

  Michael swished the chain at his feet, drawing a circle with the end of it on the ground at his feet, stalking around Gabe to re-position himself. Damien saw what he was doing and warily edged himself away from Hope, so his back wasn't to anything.

  Gabe saw his opportunity and raced around Michael to get to Hope. Damien watched him, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  Gabe leapt on the bed and took her in his arms. "Are you okay?" He held her face in his hands, eyes searching hers for signs of something. She nodded and tears spilled. He hugged her close to his chest and she openly wept, feeling a little ashamed of the tears, but having no will to keep them at bay. She clutched at his shirt and let his strength and barely-controlled calm envelop her.

  "I'm so scared, Gabe. Where am I?"

  His calm evaporated, and she felt him tense. "Hell." He kissed her forehead fiercely. "Don't worry though. We'll get you out."

  Chapter 18

  Louise was on duty at the hospital tonight. She was working the coma patient in room three-oh-two. She had been in a foul mood when she got on shift and hadn't been able to conceal her annoyance at the number of visitors in the room. ICU rules clearly stated that there were to be no more than two visitors at a time, but there were four men in her room.

  Four of the most beautiful men she'd ever seen.

  Just because they were pretty did not give them the right to break rules. Some people just thought they were above everybody else, that rules didn't apply to them, and it made Louise mad. She sighed as she pushed her way into the room.

  Two of the men were sleeping, both looking very uncomfortable in chairs next to each other. They were holding hands, as if deriving comfort from one another. Her gaze traveled to the bed, where the lucky coma patient in question had the other two men hovering over her, in a deep trance, hands splayed on her body. Their eyes were closed, and they both mumbled under their breaths. Louise had worked ICU long enough to know what they were doing. They were praying, and it looked like they were desperate. Neither one stopped to look up at her as she stood at the foot of her bed, hands on hips.

  Leave us.

  The words rang clearly in her head, and she shook it to clear them. They reverbrated in her mind, along with a calm that settled itself deep in her bones. It was odd to say the least, but she suddenly wasn't of a mind to clear them out. Two of them were sleeping at least. They wouldn't be bothering the patient. And who was she to put a stop to a prayer vigil? She left after checking the patient's vitals, silently hoping that if she were ever sick like that girl, that she could have four handsome men at her bedside.

  As the evening progressed, Louise continued to go into the room to check the patient's vital signs. The men never moved, changed positions, or opened their eyes. When visiting hours were over, they were still keeping their silent vigil, and Louise made the decision to let them be.

  Damien threw back his head and laughed an evil laugh that filled the room. The sound raced through Hope leaving her chilled and nauseated. She shuddered. Gabe squeezed her tightly.

  "Just be strong Hope." He closed his eyes and whispered, "Uri, can you get her something to cover herself?"

  An instant later, Hope was wearing a long flowing gown of the softest silk in a bright yellow color. If she hadn't been in this mess, she would have twirled around like a little girl to see it flare out around her. It was absolutely beautiful. Instead, she mumbled a thanks, grateful to not be on display any longer.

  "Uri?" Hope enquired.

  "Not now, love." He kissed her forehead again. "I promise to get you out of here, Hope. We have a life to live together. Don't forget that." He looked into her eyes, and Hope could see his desperation, along with his determination. She nodded. "I love you," Gabe whispered in her ear before getting off the bed to join his companion.

  Michael and Damien were circling each other. Michael flicking his chain and Damien clenching and unclenching his fists, readying himself for an attack.

  Damien broke the tension silence. "Why are you even here, Mike? She's not your woman."

  Michael's silver eyes flashed in the darkness, and Hope felt a sudden rush of gratitude that he was on her side.

  "You've been picking on my brothers, Deceiver. It takes a lot less than that for me to feel compelled to kick your ass." He flicked the chain a little closer to Damien, who deftly jumped back a foot. "For instance…" Flick. "Calling me Mike." The chain whipped around and would have landed around Damien's neck, except he'd disappeared.

  He'd gone.

  "Wh-where did he go?" Hope asked, when she saw Gabe and Michael looking around the room.

  "Use the horn, Gabe." Michael grumbled.

  Gabe nodded, and muttered some sort of incantation under his breath. A strange horn, which looked like the cornucopias Hope had drawn in grade school at Thanksgiving appeared in his hands. Only this one was made of some sort of metal that glowed brightly in the dim room. Gabe raised it to his lips and blew. No sound came out, but Hope screamed anyway.

  The dragon was back. At the instant Gabe began blowing, the dragon materialized at the foot of her bed, in all its stinking glory.

  Its skin peeled off in chunks, revealing charred flesh underneath. Its demonic face was truly mad, she could see it in the red eyes, blinking at her through sideways closing lids. It seemed agitated, flapping its wings, and pacing around the foot of her bed, watching Hope at the same time it watched her protectors.

  A hissing filled the room, and the damned came spilling out of the shadows, some on misshapen feet, others flying around in the air. Hope screamed again, as they descended on Gabe and Michael.

  Hope watched in horror as Gabe and Michael transformed into something out of this world. The transformation wasn’t as painful sounding as Damien’s change from dragon to human, with bones cracking and such, but it wasn’t any less dramatic. They grew taller, sprouted enormous wings, and an iridescent glow seemed to rise to the surface of their skin. It was like the glow came from within, seeping though their pores and emanating from their insides. Hope almost couldn't look straight at them, they were so bright, but she was unable to look away. She was transfixed at the sight of them in their heavenly bodies.

  Michael's chain elongated, and as he swung it around, it cut through the damned, leaving broken demon pieces everywhere. Gabe blew his horn, which made some of them turn to dust. Both Michael and Gabe took fligh
t, avoiding the ground, as they swooped around.

  Damien the dragon also took flight, flying straight at Gabe, who was still, bracing himself for impact. Damien hit him head on, in the air, and they grappled, tumbling to the floor. Michael continued to use his chain, whipping it around in wide arcs, cutting the damned to shreds. For every one he cut down, five more came spilling out of the shadows, shrieking and hissing. The room filled with keening, wailing and hissing, as the battle raged on.

  Gabe and Damien rolled on the floor, until Gabe came out on top, his wings fluttering in the air above them, holding the dragon by the neck.

  "Call them off, Deceiver. This is between you and me."

  "Nope." His demeanor was calm, despite the noise around them, and the precarious situation he appeared to be in.

  "You know she's mine, Deceiver. She was chosen for me."

  As bright as he was in his celestial form, Hope studied Gabe, squinting her eyes against the glow. His hair was longer, and he looked more feminine, still beautiful. His wings were enormous feathered things, and his body exuded strength. She could see the tension in his muscles as he held down the dragon that was easily twice his size. She was amazed the room was big enough for all of them. It was as if it had grown to accommodate everybody.

  She was vaguely aware of Michael in the background shouting curses, as he flung his chain around, whipping it around demon heads and snapping them off, cutting through torsos, yelling triumphantly with each demon he killed. He was obviously in his element, and didn't seem to be struggling at all. His movements were precise, effortless.

  Gabe on the other hand, seemed to be struggling. His beautiful face contorted in a mask of effort to keep the dragon subdued. Hope could see, through the blinding glow around him, his biceps trembling with effort. Soft grunts accompanied his struggles with the dragon, but his taut body managed to hold the dragon at bay, although he wasn’t gaining any ground. Could the devil even be killed?

  Damien's voice, the butterfly's voice came out of the dragon's mouth, and it sent chills through Hope's bones. "God's strength. The messenger angel. You're the popular one. The one everybody loves." His demonic mouth twisted into a sneer and Hope had to look away. She focused on Gabe.

  "Why? I know you enjoy messing up plans, but why do you toy with them? Why not just kill them?"

  Hope watched with disbelief as the dragon’s sneer slowly disappeared as his body went limp. "Isn't it obvious?" Gabe looked at him with surprise, obviously suspecting a trick. "I want someone, too." Effortlessly, he threw Gabe off his body as if he’d been toying with him the whole time, and flew back up to the ceiling.

  The damned retreated to the shadows, and Michael looked around, swinging his chain in readiness for a regrouping, another attack. Gabe rose, hovering above the ground, looking around for something. Hope felt herself tense, ready for a different tactic, but she didn't have a clue what to expect.

  "Take her." Damien's voice was barely a whisper, yet it reverberated throughout the room.

  "What's the catch, asshole?" Michael gritted out the words through clenched teeth, silvery eyes darting around the room, looking for anything to come at him again.

  "No catch." He sounded almost sad. "I'm tired too, you know." Damien's dragon wings carried him over to the corner, where he was hidden in shadows, but his voice still carried. A soft voice, filled with pain. "I want what my brothers have. I always have. I've spent my entire existence looking for His love, but now I just want what He's giving you. The opportunity to love a woman, to live." His voice was sinking to the floor in the shadows where Hope had initially seen him. "Take her, before I change my mind."

  Gabe didn't need any more prodding. In an instant, he was at Hope's side, and had her gathered in his arms, smothering her face with kisses. Michael appeared at his side, hand on Gabe's shoulder.

  "Ready to wake up, dear?" Gabe whispered. Hope nodded, clutching Gabe’s shoulders, unwilling to let go. She allowed herself to be gathered in his arms, but a small sound stopped her. She wriggled out of his grasp, looking around for the source of the sound.

  In the corner, partially hidden by shadows, was a familiar form seeping through the wall.

  “No Hope. It’s a trick.” An insistent whisper broke through her thoughts, but she paid no attention.

  “Melissa?”

  The figure flew closer, and Hope saw it was indeed, remnants of her sister. Her face was barely recognizable, mangled and without a jawbone, but the keening sounds emanating from her punched Hope in the gut. Her eyes were the same, blue and sparkling, as well as her graceful fingers, wearing her college ring, reaching out to Hope. Her body was the same as the others, burnt nearly beyond recognition, but all Hope needed to see were the eyes, and the ring on her finger, to know it was her sister.

  “Not your sister, Hope.” Gabe’s fingers clutched her arm tightly, and she realized she was moving toward the apparition in front of her.

  “Stay with me, Hope.” Damien had taken his human form again, and Hope saw he was standing next to Melissa, or what was left of her, his arm around her possessively. “Stay with me and your sister.” Hope noticed Michael work his way around Damien, coiling his chain around his arm, watching the proceedings. Gabe still clutched her arm, trying to get her to go with him. But she had to be sure.

  The thing looked like her sister. But if this was Hell, what was she doing here? She was the epitome of altruism. This wasn’t right.

  As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Michael sprang into action. He dropped one end of the chain and whipped it in the air, wrapping one end around Damien’s neck and jerking hard. Damien sprawled backwards, and Gabe grabbed Hope around her waist, pulling her in a different direction. Light spilled behind her eyes, and then everything went black.

  Chapter 19

  Louise was finishing up paperwork for her shift when an alarm went off in the coma patient's room. She rushed in to find the woman awake, while one of the sleeping men was covering her face with kisses. They both wore beaming smiles that warmed Louise's heart.

  Lucky girl.

  The two men who had been praying, were now standing in the corner, looking at the scene with happy faces, and the fourth man still sat in the chair he'd been sleeping in, adjusting something on his massive bicep, not looking at anything.

  "Please let me through, gentlemen." She checked the patient's vitals, congratulating her on waking up. "The doctor will be pleased. I'll let him know, and he'll probably be in soon." She turned to the men. "You guys will need to draw straws or something, because when he gets here, two of you will have to be gone. I bent the rules last night, and I'm glad I did. Something you guys did worked for her, but if I get caught bending them, I'm out of a job, so…"

  The blond man in the corner spoke. "We appreciate you looking the other way last night. We won't be underfoot long. Thank you." His genuine appreciation made Louise's gut tighten, or maybe it was the crystalline blue gaze that settled on her when he spoke. At any rate, she nodded before leaving the room.

  A few minutes later, a doctor wearing ducky scrubs of all things strode into the room. Louise didn't have the desire to question him. Undeniable peace and the certainty that everything was right in the world flowed in his wake. Louise knew that to question his authority would bring about dire consequences. He was her boss, even if she'd no idea who he was, she'd never seen him before. She bent over her paperwork again.

  Hope was surprised to find herself surrounded by Gabe when she awoke in the hospital. When she opened her eyes, he was sitting on the side of her bed, leaning over her, covering her face in hot wet kisses and tears. He pulled back when he felt her shift, and held her face between his hands.

  "I thought I'd lost you." He kissed her mouth, a hard ferocious kiss, filled with desperation, sending her toes curling.

  She lifted her hand to his face and stroked his cheek. "Gabe…" The nurse came in and lectured everybody half-heartedly, then poked at Hope a little before leaving.

  It was th
en that Hope noticed the others in the room. Gabe motioned everyone forward, and Hope's bed was surrounded by God's four winds. It was certainly a little humbling, to say the least.

  "Hope, these are my brothers, Uriel," he gestured to the incredible blond on her left, "Rafael," the tall auburn haired man next to him, "and Michael, but you know him already." She nodded to the enormous silver-eyed man, who stood off to the side looking at all of them as if they had some disease he didn't want to catch. He returned her nod, curtly, then took a step back, further distancing himself from the group.

  A bustle at the door had everyone's eyes turning in that direction as a doctor walked in. Not that Hope had ever seen a doctor quite like him before. He was tall and large, reminding Hope a little of Santa Claus, not in the bearded sort of way, but in the jolly sort of way. His eyes crinkled at the edges in obvious pleasure. What made her giggle though, was that he wore bright blue scrubs with little yellow duckies on them. Hope suddenly felt that all was right in the world, and she felt an insane desire to throw her arms around the man and hug him.

  As if he read her mind, the big guy leaned down and embraced her, filling her with joy and peace. He squeezed her gently before letting go, then took her arm and gently removed her IV. He pulled the oxygen tube out of her nose.

  "Discharge paperwork is in order. You are free to leave any time." He said calmly.

  "Really? I just woke up. I don't have to stay for observation or anything?"

  He spread his hands and shrugged. "It's a miracle." He looked around the room, and Hope remembered the nurse's admonishment to the guys. Suddenly afraid he was going to fire her for letting so many people in, she started to say something.

  "You boys going to take her for breakfast?" He spoke before she could get any words out.

  Rafael looked eager. "I could go for a tall stack of pancakes." He nudged Uriel. "You?" Uriel nodded.