by H. M. Ward
Natalia gasped when he appeared, “Eric? What happened to you?” She dropped the book and ran to him, kneeling at his side. She tried to pull his hands away to see his wound.
But he snapped at her, “No! Don’t touch me. The blood. There’s too much blood.”
She read his book, cover to cover, several times. Each time she found him more horrifying, and yet, she was kneeling at his side trying to help him. “Demon blood can’t hurt me. You already gave me some, remember? It did nothing. Let me help you, Eric.”
Eric couldn’t remember. He felt like his guts were on fire. He groaned, curling tighter around the wound. Natalia watched him for a moment. She sat on her heels, long hair pulled away from her face in a high pony tail. Her white tee shirt already had a smear of his blood on it.
He rasped, “How can you sit there offering to help me, when you know what I’ve done?”
She was finished waiting for him to comply. Natalia pushed Eric onto his back. A pair of shears appeared and she sliced open his shirt. Eric’s hands kept moving toward the wound, but she slapped them away. “Maybe I’m more sadistic than you think. Stop doing that, or I’ll tie you up.” Taking Eric’s shirt in her hands, she wiped away the blood. The gun shot was clean and went straight into his stomach. The skin was beginning to heal over the bullet hole.
Eric tried to sit up, “I’ll fix it. I don’t need you...”
Shoving him back down, she said, “Yeah, I know. You don’t need me. You’ll kill me. I got it.” She quickly ran around the room gathering the things she needed, and then sat down hard next to Eric. “Don’t move.” Her eyes met his. They were calm, like the sea after a storm. She moved quickly, cutting open the flesh that had healed, using the supplies she had to extract the bullet from his body. Eric winced, gritting his teeth as she worked. Natalia didn’t look at his face, but she could see his skin was glistening with sweat and his fingers turning white, gripping the carpet hard.
She spoke while she worked, not expecting him to be coherent enough to remember anything, “So, every woman you’ve loved has died, either by your hand or because of you. No wonder why you’re so fucked up. And alone.” She shook her head, as she worked the bullet to the surface of his skin. “Angels are loners to start with, but add in the stuff that happened to you and no wonder you’re the way you are.” She eased the bullet out, wiping away the blood with the hem of her shirt. The rag she’d torn from him was soaking wet, unable to hold another drop. His eyes closed when the metal was taken from his gut. His hands were still balled into fists, his muscles tense. Natalia, tore the hem of her shirt off, pressing it to his stomach as it healed. “And the Masterson family was always strict, like the Portelli family. Simone Portelli kind of looked like me. She had the same dark hair and blue eyes.”
Eric’s eyelids peeled open. He stared at her as she spoke. Continuing, she asked, “What do they do to angels when they fall?”
“They’re hunted down,” his gaze didn’t waiver. “Destroyed.”
Her heart was pounding. This was the information she wanted. After years of searching, she’d know why her mother was needlessly slaughtered. “Why?”
Memories plagued Eric, stinging him like a swarm of bees. He looked away, lips parted with his hand on his gut. “When an angel falls, they retain some of their power. They still have angel blood flowing through their veins, and that’s dangerous. Simone fell in love with a mortal. That kind of relationship was always forbidden and she knew it. It was only a matter of time.” Eric didn’t know why she was asking him this, but he recognized the need in her voice. It was more than a question to her, but he was too out of it to realize where this conversation was going.
Natalia nodded. “You’ve always been a bit of an assassin then?”
He arched an eyebrow at her, not speaking. His recent activities weren’t yet logged in his book and he wondered if she knew what he was up to.
She swallowed hard and said, “There were more assassinations tonight. More leaders killed. The President was among them. His men managed to fire a shot before the killer fled—a single shot to the stomach. A lethal shot.” Her eyes were soft, softer than they should have been. “Any other assassin would have died, but not you. So tell me, Eric—what are you doing killing off world leaders?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
He stared up at her, his mouth hanging open. She figured out what he was doing, at least in part. Natalia wiped the blood off her hands, but held onto the scissors. Her eyes narrowed when she looked up at him. Eric’s gut was still burning like it was on fire, but he recognized that something changed. Natalia wasn’t afraid of him. She never was. Whatever he had mistaken for fear was long gone.
“Taunting someone,” he answered.
Natalia’s stance was different. She held the scissors like she was thinking about something, like she wanted to act but was containing herself. Eric had been suspicious of her since he’d seen her in Carina’s. Her presence there didn’t make any sense. Her hostility now left him baffled.
Tapping the sheers in her palm, she tilted her head. “Who?” Natalia wanted to take her chance, but she needed to know what Eric set into motion. It wasn’t just maneuvering one piece of a chess board. His actions tonight set off a string of events, each one spurring another. The assassinations weren’t the heart of this and she wondered what was.
There was something that she said that Eric’s mind wouldn’t gloss over. It was a thought that didn’t belong, mixed in amongst the rest. Eric didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked, “You said that angels are loners.” She nodded, not thinking anything of it. His brow arched, surprised. He expected her to deny it or create some reason for saying something so random, but she didn’t. That was the problem. That was the part that didn’t mesh.
Eric maintained his cool façade, “That’s true. Angels are loners, and I’m wondering how you could possibly know that because there was no mention of that little detail in my book.” His words fell out of the air like stones. Natalia’s icy eyes rested on his, the scissor gripped tightly in her palm.
She smiled coyly, “No, it wasn’t, was it? That book contained almost everything I wanted, but there were parts missing. It was very nice for you to give it to me, like we’re friends or something more. Trying to warn me away from you,” she laughed coldly, “as if that could help.”
The tension in Eric’s body increased. His eyes locked on hers, his heart forcing more blood into his body like he was ready to fight. She played him. All this time he was trying to protect her and she played him. Anger flashed through him, but he hid it from her. He didn’t want her to know the effect she had on him, how much he grew to adore her.
Eric breathed, “Who are you?”
She shrugged in a girly way, “Someone that you hunted down, and missed.” Her lips pulled into a deadly smile. Natalia was confident now; her eyes flashing with an emotion Eric knew too well—vengeance.
There were so many memories, so many people he destroyed over so many years. His life was such a mess of killings that he didn’t know why he would have hunted her or when. “Tell me what you are, or I’ll… ”
“Or you’ll what?” she demanded. “You think you can overpower me? You think you know what I’m capable of? Poor sweet little Natalia,” she mocked. “I’m not what I seem.” Her voice was cold. As she spoke she rose and pointed the silver sheers directly at Eric’s heart.
He knew better than to smile at her, “So you’ve said. Over and over again.”
“And so you’ve failed to listen. Over and over again.”
Eric was on his feet, standing opposite her. “That can’t kill me.” What was she doing? If she knew who he was, what he was, she knew that those scissors couldn’t kill him. His eyes were turning to pools of gold, heating, watching her. Knowing that she wanted to hurt him made something come to life inside of him. Her body moved the way Eric taught her, the way a predator moves to kill.
“But I can sure have fun trying.” She arched a dark b
row at him and grinned. “The scissor is to pin you to the wall while I drain your life away. Will the curse let you die? Or will I just have an eternity of fun tormenting you for what you did to me? Nobody knows, Eric. And according to your little notes, you can be killed. That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it? You’re taunting the blue ghost, hoping she’ll destroy what cannot be destroyed.”
Natalia’s sex appeal just shot through the roof. He couldn’t help it. This side of her, this part of her that was dormant for the past few years excited him—as stupid as that was, he couldn’t deny it. The two stood opposite each other, arms outstretched, ready to fight. He moved slowly, carefully, waiting and watching for an opening, knowing she was doing the same. Her body was corded tightly, her thin frame ready to pounce as soon as she saw where to strike.
Eric grinned, taunting her, “As sexy as that is, I’d like to know why you want to kill me.”
The corner of her mouth lifted. It wasn’t a smile. It wasn’t a smirk. It was the face of a woman with a secret. Natalia knew something Eric didn’t. “You missed a few things, Eric.”
“Obviously,” he replied far too light-hearted for the situation he was in.
The tension was building, each of them moving slowly, turning in deliberate circles. Natalia wanted to thrust the metal through his shoulder and pin him to the wall. A single kiss would have killed him, if he wasn’t cursed. Now she didn’t know what would happen. But she had to find out. This was the moment she waited for.
When Eric materialized and fell on the floor of her room, she faltered. She wanted more information, as was her nature, but she should have done it then—when he was weak. She patched him up to confirm what she already knew, what her heart wanted to deny. She wasn’t like him. Natalia would never be like him. Her kills were revenge. There was always a reason, and Eric had more reasons for her to destroy him than he realized.
Eric was growing stronger. She could sense it as they circled each other. Though Natalia didn’t think he could overpower her, she was concerned. All this time, she played the helpless victim, but not anymore. Her blood made her strong. Her abilities made her deadly. It took her too many years to find him. For most of her life, she’d been searching for an angel, but Eric was far from angelic now. Being condemned to this fate confused her at first. But in the past few weeks things came together. And the book strung his story together like a row of pearls ready to be crushed.
“Tell me,” she asked, “was your sadistic need for pain always there?” Her eyes were like ice and her voice was even colder.
“No,” he whispered. Eric didn’t elaborate. Watching her feet, her hands, he evaluated the way she moved. Eric needed to strike first and pull those damn scissors out of her hands. While he didn’t think she could kill him, getting stabbed and tormented would severely fuck-up the rest of his plans. And whatever was going on with Natalia, he didn’t want her around when it happened. Every time he thought he saw an opening, she closed it.
Eric tried talking, hoping to push her mind off balance. “So, do you always lie when people ask you if you’re mortal? Does telling people that you’re a real girl get you off or something?”
She snorted a rush of air through her nose, “I am a real girl.”
“But you’re not mortal. There’s something else… something more.” Her eyes flashed, widening slightly, telling him that he was right. “You’re a half-breed. An abomination. A perversion of something once good. Oh my God,” he breathed looking at her, watching her dark hair fall over her shoulder. Her stance, those incredible pale blue eyes, the shape of her face, the way her curves flowed and melted together… it was all familiar. He’d done this before, a very long time ago, but that fight ended and Eric was the only one who walked away. “I know who you are.”
Natalia nearly choked. He was lying. She retorted, “Impossible. No one knew about me. I was unknown and I intend to keep things that way.” Her throat was tight as she stepped one foot over the other. Eric’s left hand was dropping lower and lower. His stance was becoming more closed, but that spot was nearly open. It would be a vulnerable point that she could stab, if his arm dropped a fraction more. Natalia wondered if he realized it, if he was luring her to strike at that spot.
“No you weren’t,” Eric said with a smirk on his lips. “Who do you think hid you?”
Natalia snapped. Time froze and she heard nothing. Her eyes locked onto Eric’s face, as he spewed lies meant to throw her off-kilter. She saw the opening and she took it. Launching her body toward him, she moved the scissor at his left flank. It connected and she slammed him into the wall. It would only take a second to trap him. Then she could see if her powers extinguished his life or if she’d only get to torture him for eternity. She hoped he could die. She wanted to feel his body die beneath hers. After all the years of searching, she’d finally have her revenge.
Eric screamed when the sheers pierced his side. Natalia was strong. He couldn’t believe he didn’t see it before now, but she was a creature that wasn’t supposed to exist. He knew nothing of her power, of her capabilities. He felt the metal twist in his side as Natalia shoved the handle deeper into him. He called shadows quickly, saying incantations to throw her off, but they didn’t work.
She laughed in his face, “It’s funny how things work. I cancel you out. You’re magic is dead, Masterson, just like you’ll be in a moment.” She leaned in close to him, about to press her lips to his. Blood flowed down Eric’s side, the muscles screaming, protesting the steel that was lodged in his gut.
“You’re a succubus?” he whispered, no longer fighting her. If she could destroy him, he wanted her to try. The heat in his eyes began to waiver, making Natalia’s rage falter.
“Something like that. A creature that shouldn’t exist—like you.” She spit the words at him. “Tell me,” she said, twisting the sheers in his side. Eric gritted his teeth as she did it, his eyes shut tight. Natalia could feel his blood on her hand, but she didn’t care. Demon blood didn’t affect her the way it did other immortals. “How have you avoided the angelic assassins so long? How is that they killed my mother, but they left you alone?”
It was the only explanation. Eric had to be evading them somehow. They both knew that fallen angels were executed, and technically Eric had fallen. She didn’t understand how he survived so long. No one knew that she existed, but she still lived in fear of the assassins finding her. She had to know how he did it. Desperation filled every inch of her body, making her shake.
For the first twenty years of her life, she had no idea what she was. She aged until she was about nineteen years old, and then stopped. Her body didn’t grow taller, her hips didn’t fill out, and wrinkles didn’t mar her smooth skin. While her family aged and died, she remained young and vibrant. She was nearly as old as Eric was, and alone just as long.
Sweat coated Eric’s brow. His voice was raspy, breathless, “I slaughtered them. To protect you.” Sweat clung to his brow, his golden eyes downcast.
“What?” Natalia’s grip on the scissor loosened. She gripped Eric’s face, smearing blood on his cheek, making him look at her. Before she could speak, Eric shocked her.
“Kiss me. See if you can take my life and end this,” his eyes were intense, searching her face.
“Don’t play with me, Eric. Where are the rest of the assassins?” Grabbing his throat, she shook him once, hard.
Pain shot through his body when he slammed back into the wall. He groaned loudly, biting back the pain through gritted teeth. While she removed her hand from the metal, she hadn’t taken it out. The blade pushed through his back, cutting inside him.
“Dead,” he growled. “I don’t play games, and neither should you. Finish your threat. Forget everything else. I won’t fight back.” He tipped his head back, looking up at the dark ceiling in her room. “Destroy me. Do what I haven’t been able to.” His chest swelled as he breathed, and Eric groaned, pressing his eyes closed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Natalia di
dn’t know what to do. She wasn’t sure if she believed him. She spent her entire life hiding from beings that didn’t exist? He killed them? For her? That just pissed her off more. She shook him once, lightly, to get him to open his eyes. A pool of blood had formed under his hips.
“Why?” she snapped, “Why hide Simone’s baby? Why would you possibly kill your own kind?”
His golden gaze was soft, like he knew he was damned from the beginning. “You were innocent. Your mother’s death, her assassination, is the only one that I regret. It was the best I could do at the time. I wasn’t old enough or strong enough to fight them off. I couldn’t save Simone, but I could save her daughter.”
Natalia’s insides were churning, her hands shaking as she held him in place, but he didn’t fight back. She remained rigid, ready for his attack, but it didn’t come. “Why is that missing from the book?”
Eric’s head was spinning. The girl was doing something to him. Just touching him seemed to drain him. His legs felt like lead. They gave out and the only thing holding him up was Natalia—the weight of her body leaning against him, and the scissor in his side.
Eric breathed, “Because it’s not something that I’d forget.”
She felt his legs give way. Eric wouldn’t heal as long as she continued to use her power to prevent his demon blood from working. Eric should die slowly, painfully. She could strip away his soul piece by piece, but the more he spoke the more she saw the boy who saved her. The center of her body felt like it was being torn in half. Part of her wanted to save him and the other part needed vengeance. It was a craving that she’d had for so long. How could she stop? How could she come this far and let him live? Her body shook as she stepped back, allowing him to slide to the floor—Eric’s back leaving a bloody smear on the wall. She reached for the wound and extracted the sheers. Eric screamed and she smiled, not able to hide what his pain did to her.