bedeviled & beyond 06 - bedeviled & befouled

by Sam Cheever

  “Get out of the way, angel. I’m going home to drown my sorrows in a hot shower and as much frozen milk sugar as I can stuff down.”

  She glared down at me. Funny, I would have thought contrition and apology would have looked a lot less hostile. “Astra, stop being such a baby. We’re going to find a way around this little problem, and until we do, we need you to stay positive.”

  “Good, because I’m positive there’s no way I’ll get my magic back.”

  Myra crossed her arms over her chest and her face pinkened with pique. I was pretty sure she grew an inch or two, as warrior angels tended to do when they were pissed off. “Despite your defeatist attitude, Aubrey and I have come to make you a proposition. Are you going to listen to us or not?”

  I groaned. “Not. I’m full up on propositions today, angel. How about we pick this up again tomorrow...or next millennia?”

  Queue the good cop-angel. Aubrey touched my arm. “Astra, I’m sorry. My remark was insensitive and—”

  “Insufferably snotty?”

  His frown slipped away and he actually smiled. It was one of Aubrey’s better things...his ability to laugh at himself. It was a trait Auntie Myra didn’t share. “Yes. That too. But none of us think of you as a human. You’re a magical creature of great power. You’re just currently a little low on voltage.” His smile widened.

  Despite my foul humor I couldn’t help smiling back. “Okay. Got it. You haven’t given up on me. I appreciate that. I really do. But you need to understand that this is really hard and I’m dealing with it as best I can.”

  “We do understand that,” Aubrey said. He even seemed sincere. “Which is why we’re offering you some help.”

  Uh oh. “What kind of help...exactly?”

  “We want you to come up for some celestial counseling.”

  My shocked gaze flew to my aunt. “You what?”

  “Our trainers have actually had considerable success helping magic users through their rough spots,” Aubrey assured me.

  “Hello. Earth to angels. This isn’t a rough spot folks, this is a dead zone.”

  “We don’t actually know what’s going on,” Myra informed me. “For all we know your magic is still in there, hidden behind some kind of wall—”

  “That would be a hell of a wall, Auntie.”

  “Yes. It would. But...” Her pretty face finally softened and she reached to touch my arm. I flinched, scarred from years of being force-shifted all over the place by my pushy guardians. She sighed, letting her hand drop without touching me. “We think it’s worth a try. Will you let us help you?”

  “Worst case is that we can help you figure out how to deal emotionally with this issue, Astra. That’s not all bad, is it?” Aubrey’s impossibly handsome face clearly showed his concern.

  My mind raced. Heaven. Ugh. I was pretty much allergic to white. Even the silver and gold of the higher angels’ wings couldn’t do much to take the sting out of a world that was almost entirely white. I wondered if I could smuggle some red or blue into the place. On the other hand... I had been considering going away for a while. The Celestial Realm was definitely away. “It’s worth thinking about,” I finally allowed.

  I was rewarded for this reasonableness by being the unlucky recipient of two wide, happy, angel smiles. “Good.” Myra nodded as if it was decided.

  “I said I’d think, Auntie.”

  Myra opened her mouth to argue but Aubrey reached out and gently clasped her arm. “We’ll give you time then, child.” He fixed my aunt with a look that took the militant starch right out of her wings.

  I wondered if he could bottle that look and sell me a case of it. I’d been trying to introduce my aunt to the concept of capitulation for almost two decades.

  She finally nodded. “We’ll check back tomorrow and get your response.”

  I was on the verge of asking for more time but then decided I’d pushed her enough. “Tomorrow works.”

  Aubrey nodded and stepped back. “Good. We’ll see you then, Astra.”

  Myra stared at me for a long moment and then, seemingly on impulse, stepped in and gave me a hug. I almost swallowed my tongue.

  First Darma was nice and now my acid-tongued aunt was going all mushy on me. I figured I only had a few hours to live.

  “Please let us do this, Astra. I think we can help.”

  I was too shocked even to say something snarky. So I just watched them blip away. I stood there for several moments before I found the energy to move again. Then I went in search of Bob and Ralph. Maybe Bob could do an empathic read on me and discover if I’d lost my mind or something. The Big Guy knew I must be in dire straits if my family was being nice to me.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Decisions, Decisions

  To the celestial shrink or no, young miss has not a clue,

  But if she should decide to go, with her tender mind he’ll screw.

  Slayer’s sword arm sliced downward, cleaving the air a breath away from my cheek. A ribbon of my long, auburn hair hit the ground at my feet. I danced backward, too late, and hit the wall hard. Slayer slammed up against me, his sword arm pressed against my throat. His other hand grabbed my wrist, halting my reflexive strike.

  I rested my head against the wall and lowered my sword, feeling tears prick the inside of my lids as I closed my eyes.

  “You’re not even trying, Astra.”

  Anger brought heat to my face...or embarrassment...I wasn’t sure which. I opened my eyes and glared at the other halfling. “I see you and my sister went to the same motivational seminar.”

  He frowned down at me. “My friend, this is life or death. If you don’t give this training everything you’ve got you’ll soon be an attractive but leaking pile of flesh on the floor. Can you at least try to fight with some enthusiasm?”

  I sniffed, and jerked my wrist from his grasp. “I am trying. I’m just a little—”

  “Distracted?” He lifted a perfect eyebrow, fixing me with a sexy golden gaze. “Really?”

  “Shut up.”

  He stepped back and I moved around him, grabbing a white towel from the top of my desk. I found the towel much more effective than drying spray during my training sessions with Slayer, because he always made me sweat copious amounts. The current session was no different. I apparently didn’t sweat any less when I sucked than when I was at the top of my game.

  “Tell me what’s going on, Astra.”

  I draped the towel around the back of my neck and grabbed the polish for my blade. Though I gave some thought to ignoring him, I knew it wouldn’t work. He was very stubborn and it hadn’t been a request.

  “Astra?”

  Glancing in his direction, I dabbed polishing paste on my sword blade. “I have a decision to make.” He leaned on his sword and waited. “Myra and Aubrey came by yesterday.”

  Two dark eyebrows arched skyward on that piece of information. “Yeah? What did they want?”

  I expelled a breath. Despite my expectation that they would be showing up at any moment, I still wasn’t sure how I was going to respond to their offer. “They want me to submit to celestial counseling.”

  Slayer didn’t say anything for so long that I stopped polishing and looked up at him. He was frowning, looking down at the floor. I realized he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea either. “What would you do?”

  He shook his head, his sexy, golden gaze finally sliding toward my face. “I’m not sure it will help, Astra. I think you need to start getting used to not having your powers...just in case.” His guilty gaze slipped away again, unable to meet my pain-filled one. It had been Slayer’s girlfriend—ex-girlfriend actually—who had magic-raped me. I didn’t blame him, he hadn’t seen her for months and he couldn’t control her actions, but he definitely still blamed himself.

  “That’s what I told them. But they said they could help me deal with not having my magic anymore. You know, emotionally.” I grabbed the sheath for my sword and slid it carefully inside, settling it onto the top of my cl
uttered desk. Turning away, I settled my butt on the edge of the desk and crossed my arms, watching Slayer until he looked up.

  His gaze was filled with such pain it made me want to hug him and tell him it was okay. But I’d learned that only made it worse. “Well, then I guess you should do it. If they can help you move beyond the loss so you can focus on getting your fighting skills back to the level they were before.” He sighed, knowing my non-magic fighting skills would never take the place of the ability to shift around at will and fling power at my enemies from a safe distance. My agility, brains and aptitude with martial and blade arts had been great assets to have along with my magic. But alone they were a poor substitute.

  “Good.” I nodded, forcing a smile I didn’t feel. I suddenly wanted to be alone. Slayer was depressing me. Lately he’d been a worse sourpuss than I was. “I’ll do it then. So...I guess you should leave. I need to get ready to go.”

  He nodded but made no move to leave. Instead he grabbed the metal polish and started cleaning his own blade. “Have you gotten any word on Emo yet?”

  I moved around my desk and sat down with a sigh. “Not yet. I’m hoping Myra will tell me when she comes back today.”

  “If you need someone to keep the business going while you’re gone...” He let the words trail away when I frowned. I hadn’t even thought about that.

  “Yeah. Actually that would be great. Thanks. But you’ll need to work with Darma. She’d eat my gizzard if I put you in charge over her.”

  He grinned. “We’ll be partners. Got it. Just stay safe, Astra. And come back happy.”

  “You don’t ask much do you?”

  He set the rag down on my desk and stood staring at me. I focused on the work before me, hoping he’d leave so I could be alone with my thoughts.

  A breath later I felt his heat at my back and his hands grasped my upper arms. Warm lips touched the top of my head. “Come back soon, Astra.”

  I nodded, unable to speak for fear I’d start bawling like a girl.

  The air behind me shifted softly and he was gone. My head hit my arms on top of the desk and I let myself cry for just a minute, quietly. Despite my assurance to Slayer, I was far from convinced that putting my poor mind into celestial training was a good idea. For about the hundredth time since Emo left me, I wished I had him to talk to. If anyone knew how effective angelic counseling was, it would be Emo. He’d been whisked skyward when his Settling started to take a turn for the dark side, in an effort to save him.

  I still didn’t know if it had worked. All I knew was that I’d been bargaining with the Big Guy for weeks to bring Emo home. We’d soon see how much good it did.

  A cool draft of air slipped over me and I looked up, panicked. It couldn’t be time already.

  I was both relieved and disgusted to see that it wasn’t Myra and Aubrey. Unfortunately for me it was someone worse. Much worse. “Brina. What are you doing here?”

  The royal looked leaner than the last time I’d seen her, when she, like me had been magic-raped in the Shadows by Slayer’s ex, Crisanne. Her thick black hair was longer, touching her slim shoulders and curling up slightly on the silver-tipped ends. The last time I’d seen her she’d had a short, spiky cap of hair touched in gold. One thing hadn’t changed though, she still glared at me through gorgeous, almond-shaped black eyes, fringed with thick arcs of midnight lashes. Her bow-shaped, cherry-tinted mouth twisted with disgust as she looked at me. I knew I was a little disheveled, but I hadn’t thought I looked that bad. “What’s wrong?”

  “Why are you here? The court needs you.”

  “I’m always here. This is where I work. Is there a specific problem I need to be aware of?”

  Her pretty lips twisted further, losing some of their appeal. “The king is fighting demons while you fight air and pretty friends in your safe little office.”

  I grabbed my sword. “Demons? Why didn’t you say so. I’ll need you to shift me.”

  She rolled her eyes, crossing slim, muscular arms over her chest. “No, you half-wit, the demons are his own. Have you paid any attention to him at all over the last weeks?”

  I frowned, dropping the sword back onto my desk. “What demons? He seems fine to me.” As soon as I said the words I realized they weren’t strictly true. Dialle had seemed different the last few times I’d seen him. More vulnerable and kind. But I’d appreciated those things so much that I hadn’t questioned them. “He was just here yesterday and he seemed fine.”

  The royal shafted a hip and glared at me. “Yesterday! Have you not spoken to him today?”

  Okay, her snotty attitude was starting to piss me off. “Maybe you’ve forgotten, Brina, but I no longer have powers. I can’t talk to Dialle telepathically any more. I can’t shift over to the court at a moment’s notice. I’ve tried to contact him the old-fashioned way...” I indicated my televisual. “But he hasn’t responded. What exactly do you want me to do?”

  “And you didn’t find it strange that he isn’t responding?”

  I blinked, my chest tightening with fear. She was right. I’d been so focused on my own issues I hadn’t even thought about it. “I’ll admit it is strange—”

  “Strange?” She dropped her arms to her sides, her hands fisting. “The king languishes, evil stains his soul, darkening his countenance, and his queen barely notices. You fail him, Astra. You fail the court. And you fail yourself.”

  I felt the sting of her power against my skin and my hands came up, instinctively grasping for a magic I no longer had. By contrast, Brina brimmed with energy. And that was what put me over the edge.

  By all rights she should be as bereft of magic as I was. She’d been drained too. In exactly the same way I had, but she’d recovered her powers almost immediately. For that reason I could barely stand to be in the same room with her. And having her stand there, superior and sure of herself, and berate me for something I couldn’t control...suddenly it was all too much.

  Before I even realized what I was doing, my sword was at her throat and her hands were filled with spitting balls of bright orange fire. “Do you think I like being this way? Don’t you think I would help Dialle with the court if I could? I know he needs me. Of course I know I’m letting everybody down. You bitch! I can’t do anything about it.”

  Brina looked down at me, disgust shaping her features. “Stop sniveling Astra and do what you need to do.” The power disappeared from her palms with a whisper and she grasped my shoulders.

  I didn’t even have time to cry out before we entered a space-shift. I had no doubt where I was going. To the Royal Devil Court.

  ~SC~

  Sound returned as my feet touched the hard stone of the floor in Dialle’s throne room. The room appeared empty. I shivered, rubbing my arms against an unaccustomed cold. I also noticed the small cracks in the walls and floor. Brina caught my eye and jerked her head toward the far wall.

  A sense of déjà vu struck me as I followed her glance to where Dialle stood with his back to me, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked over the distant skyline of Angel City. He had his hands clasped behind him, his long, muscular legs spread wide. In that moment he reminded me so much of his father King Dialle the First, who was currently warming his sexy behind in the fiery environs of Hell. First had been standing just that way the day I’d been introduced to him.

  But there was a marked difference. Dialle’s father had stood with cocky assurance, broad shoulders squared, chin high. Dialle the son looked, in that moment, like a defeated man.

  Brina disappeared with a wisp of sound that I barely noticed.

  Debris crunched under my boots as I crossed the enormous room. Dust and chunks of rock from the decaying court lay in a ragged blanket over the once-pristine stone of Dialle’s throne room. It was a disparaging portent of what was to come if the court didn’t regain its strength . That vigor was tied to the health and happiness of its leaders.

  That would be Dialle and I. ’Nuff said?

  He didn’t even turn as
I approached, though he couldn’t have failed to hear me coming. When I reached him, I touched his back, softly saying his name. His head turned slowly. A gentle smile curved his lips when he saw me. “Hello, my love.”

  I looked beyond Dialle’s smile, to the dark pain in his black eyes. His eyes were his most changeable feature. When filled with vigor they swirled with gold and silver. When working for the celestial army they often changed to a clear, ocean blue. It was the feature prophesied for the great unifier. The royal who would eventually merge the dark and the light worlds to create a safe environment on Earth for non-magic humans and magic users alike. He’d realized that prophecy several times over, fighting at my side to beat back the forces of evil that would have destroyed us all. But looking at his handsome face in that moment, his black eyes swirling with a color that looked like blood, I wondered if the man I loved wasn’t facing the greatest evil of all.

  An evil that came from within.

  “How are you?”

  He nodded and turned back to the window. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

  Angel City spread across the horizon, glowing as if on fire under the burning sun that dipped below its ragged silhouette. Dusk hovered in the foreground, ready to mute the details of the skyline and embrace the lights that would paint its form once darkness fell. “Yes. I love this view. I always have.”

  “Me too.” He shuddered slightly and turned away, pulling me into his arms. For the first time since I’d entered the throne room, he really looked at me. I knew the moment he turned away from his painful thoughts and embraced more pleasant things. His eyes swirled with the purple of passion rather than pain and his sad smile turned heated. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed you.” He said the words as if he hadn’t seen me in weeks. My heart took a painful twist and I gave in to the impulse to wrap him close in a hug. “I’ve missed you too, bud.”

  The air shimmered and I was suddenly falling backward onto his soft, soft bed, a hot-eyed devil falling over me. I laughed. “You weren’t kidding.”