by Nina Bangs
“How do you know?” Suspicion oozed from Edge.
“It’s obvious. Why are you banging on doors? You must be looking for someone, someone big because otherwise you wouldn’t bother to do it yourself. And last night I felt a spike in power around here. Too big for anything Holgarth or Sparkle could create. So now I’m curious.” He smiled. “I think I’ll stay to see what shakes out.”
A growl started deep in Edge’s throat. Tension and power rolled off him. She wasn’t imagining the floor vibrating.
Frantically, Passion looked at Zane. “Go inside and shut the door.”
Zane studied her from narrowed eyes. He hesitated just long enough for her to think he intended to continue taunting Edge. Then he nodded. Without saying another word, he closed the door.
Passion went limp with relief.
Hope put her hand on Edge’s arm. He didn’t shrug her off. And then she began talking.
Just like last night, Passion could hear the words, but something in her brain refused to translate. Her mind allowed only the feel of the words to reach her, a tone and rhythm that soothed her, made her feel that everything would be okay when she knew it wouldn’t.
Finally, Hope stopped talking and silence settled around them. The blaze of anger had disappeared from Edge’s eyes.
“Is he the one?” Passion sounded shaky, not the way she wanted to sound in front of Edge. Ted had pounded into their heads that when they visited the mortal plane, they represented the Supreme Being. Passion assumed that meant she wasn’t supposed to be afraid. Fine, so she was a lousy rep.
Edge raked his fingers through his hair with a hand that shook. Passion didn’t like to see the proof of how close he’d come to attacking Zane. She wanted to reach over and clasp his hand, pass on to him…What? She didn’t have anything useful to pass on other than feelings he probably wouldn’t welcome.
“I don’t know. He’s the most powerful sorcerer I’ve ever seen. Last year he showed up in answer to a call Holgarth put out for a replacement. Holgarth is powerful, but Zane made him look like a rank beginner. The bastard lifted the freaking castle off its foundation. Then once he set it down, he wiped the minds of all the guests.”
“An illusion?” Hope was still staring at the closed door.
Edge shook his head. “No, I only wish it was. In the final battle, it was Ganymede, Dacian, and Bain along with a goddess and Dacian’s brother against Dacian’s maker, the rogue troublemaker, a bunch of vampires, and Zane. Sparkle almost died. Ganymede went ballistic. Luckily for Earth, the goddess revived her.”
“Zane called up a freaking blizzard during the fight. He was the only one of the enemy who survived. I don’t know how Ganymede will react to the news.” He took a breath. “Right now, he’s moved to the top of my suspect list.”
“But he’s human.” Passion knew how that sounded, but no one could argue that a human wouldn’t have the kind of power to control Edge’s mind.
Edge turned away from the door as though if he stood there one more moment, he’d be tempted to go in after the sorcerer. “You of all people should know the power of evil. If Zane’s weaving black magic, anything is possible.”
Passion and Hope followed him down the hall.
“I don’t think he looked that evil.” Hope seemed distracted. “All that dark hair and those ice blue eyes. I thought he looked…” She glanced away. “I know evil sometimes wears a beautiful face. Look at you and Ganymede.”
Surprisingly, Passion wanted to come to Edge’s defense. Only, she couldn’t. After all, he was Death. How did you defend that? The realization made her sad.
At the next door, Edge stepped in front of them. “I’ll be the one to knock from now on.”
Passion opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t need his protection, but then shut it. Why bother? It wasn’t worth arguing over right now. She held her breath as he knocked.
The man who answered wasn’t as big as Zane, but his intimidating expression made him seem larger. Brown hair in a buzz cut, hard brown eyes that looked almost black, and lips drawn into a thin line didn’t say, “Welcome, neighbor.”
“Kemp Hardiway?” Edge’s smile was cold and assessing.
The man simply nodded.
“I’m Edge, one of the hotel’s managers, and I’m doing a short survey. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your experience here.”
Kemp didn’t smile in return. “I don’t do surveys.” He started to close the door.
Just before the door closed completely, he met Passion’s gaze. And something in his stare seemed…familiar. No, that was wrong. Passion was sure she’d never seen the man before.
“What did you think?” Edge was still staring at the closed door.
“He’s not human.” Passion’s intuition was pretty accurate. What was he? Violet clung to him. Pride. And he had a few streaks of red swirling around him. Anger. But that was probably because he was ticked about the survey. Only two colors was a huge improvement over Edge and Ganymede.
“I feel as though I’ve heard his voice somewhere before.” A line of concentration had formed between Hope’s eyes. “And yet I don’t recognize it.”
Edge nodded. “I don’t know what he is, but I didn’t get a feeling of great power from him. Let’s go. We have one more person on this list.”
Passion was feeling a little snarky. Hope and she hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to anyone. Ted would be angry with Hope’s report tonight. But what could they do?
They took the elevator up into one of the towers to check out their last suspect. They could hear loud music playing even before they got off the elevator.
“Someone likes Lady Gaga. I’ll have to tell him to dial it down before other guests start complaining.” He stopped in front of the door. “Or maybe I’ll have Holgarth do it. He’s such a diplomat.” Edge smiled at some mental picture.
“Who’s Lady Gaga?”
Hope never paid much attention to humanity’s pop culture. On the other hand, Passion loved all things human. So she was busy moving her feet to the rhythm when the door opened.
She stopped dancing and gasped. Holy angels in heaven.
Passion had an impression of tall and elegant—black boots, black pants, and black silk shirt open to expose a tempting vee of smooth flesh. He was a symphony in black, a perfect color contrast to straight, shining blond hair that fell halfway down his back. She didn’t have to access her intuition on this one, because no human would ever have that face. Thick lashes framed clear green eyes, and his mouth was a temptation few women could resist—she glanced at Edge’s mouth—but she could.
Beside her, Hope’s sigh said it all.
Edge tightened his lips at their reactions. “David Wittcomb?”
The man smiled, and the earth moved. Figuratively speaking. Passion glanced at Hope’s rapt expression. Not a good sign.
He didn’t answer the question. “I bet you’re Edge. Bain mentioned you. Death, right?” Behind him Gaga gave way to Muse.
Tall, blond, and gorgeous had a great voice, but in her opinion Edge’s was sexier.
Edge tensed.
Oh, no, here we went again. Passion spoke up before Edge could say something aggressive. “Who are you, really?”
“I don’t look like a David Wittcomb?” He answered his own question. “No, of course I don’t.”
“Then who?” The threat of violence colored the corners of Edge’s voice.
“I’m Murmur, a friend of Bain’s.”
“What a beautiful name.” Hope’s expression said she was willing to cancel her account with Facebook if it meant she could spend time with Murmur.
“Demon.” Edge said it with certainty.
He nodded. “I’m the Demon of Music.” His smile widened. “We’d make great partners. Music to kill by.”
Black. Passion had been so mesmerized by his packaging that she hadn’t even noticed the telltale color. This was getting ridiculous.
Edge wasn’t buying his smile. “Why a
re you here?”
Murmur stopped smiling. “I told you, I’m a friend of Bain’s. We have things to discuss. Check.”
“I will.”
Murmur transferred his attention to Passion and Hope. “Would you like to come in and dance with me?” Every word was soaked in erotic promises.
Hope started forward. Passion grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “Thanks for the offer, but we don’t have time today.”
“When you’re ready.” His tone said they would be ready.
Murmur closed his door. They remained silent as they walked away.
Finally, Edge spoke. “I don’t feel like staying inside. Want to go out and look at the view from the top of the castle’s wall for a while?”
Hope shook her head. “I think I’ll go down to the great hall to find some people to help. I have to make a report tonight, and we haven’t even started our work here.” She didn’t look happy. “You’ll have to come up with a summary of what we discovered today, Passion.” She bit her lip. “I thought this would be fun. I was even looking forward to getting rid of some of the really bad guys. Now…” Hope glanced away. “I mean, it’s different once you actually meet them. I like Murmur.” Her last admission was almost a whisper. She turned and walked toward the elevator at the end of the hall.
“That’s an unexpected complication.” Passion was worried. If Hope, who’d been all despise-the-evildoers at the beginning, was being drawn over to the dark side, what chance did Passion have?
Edge smiled. “Hope is learning that not everything is black or white. Shades of gray, sweetheart, shades of gray.” He said nothing more as he led her out to the walkway atop the wall.
Passion forced herself not to stare at Edge as they stood with their backs to the parapet looking down into the courtyard.
“We have three suspects: Zane, Kemp, and Murmur. I’m going with the sorcerer or the demon.” He shifted a little closer.
Passion was only half listening. After an eternity of nothing to look at except a world done in neutrals, she was having a tough time with this plane of existence. Everything here was colored in such depth, such intensity. She had to squint against the brilliant blue of the sky, and the grass in the courtyard looked almost too green to be real. When she first saw her room, Passion had gasped at the deep richness of the wood, the jewel tones of rugs and paintings.
And the emotions, God, the emotions.
All those feelings seemed centered on this man. It wasn’t just his looks, because heaven was filled with beautiful males. But over time Ted had molded their personalities into a bland sameness. No spiked hair, no tattoos, no strong opinions about anything. Boring. They disappeared into the background for her.
But Edge was like the world around him—vivid, exciting, a feast for the senses. Dangerous. It frightened her to realize how drawn she was to him. If she were a mouse, she’d be dancing on the mousetrap about now. And no matter how many times she reminded herself that he was evil, she still wanted him.
She closed her eyes to keep from staring at him. The scariest part was the more time she spent with him, the less she thought about what he did, the more willing she was to make excuses. He killed people. She couldn’t lust after someone who would never seek redemption. Too late.
Passion was in the middle of an inner treatise on the nature of evil when he spoke.
“So what do you think? The sorcerer or the demon?”
She opened her eyes. “I don’t have a clue. But don’t dismiss Kemp. He could be cloaking his power.”
“Not from me.”
She sighed. He wouldn’t like hearing this. “Whoever is messing with you and Ganymede is more powerful than you guys. So, yes, he could be hiding his power from you.”
Passion expected him to deny what she was saying. Instead, he nodded. “You’re right. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m not the biggest and baddest in the universe.” He grinned at her. “Don’t tell Ganymede what I said. He definitely thinks he’s all that. I don’t need to be giving him any more fuel for his personal bonfire.”
Passion stared, mesmerized. He had a beautiful smile, with a mouth so sensual she hurt with her need to touch it. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and slide her tongue across his full lower lip. The problem was, she wouldn’t want to stop there.
And his amber eyes framed by those thick lashes. Since she’d met him, this was the first time his smile had reached those incredible eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. She had the feeling this wasn’t a man who smiled often with his whole heart. Good thing. If he aimed that smile at her even a few times, he’d bring down the wall she’d built to protect her against too much of everything.
Ted warned them at least once a day about the dangers of excessive emotion. It made you weak, unable to fight against evil. Desire and all unchecked hungers were only for the Fallen, not for the Supreme Being’s children of light. Well, she was a burned-out bulb right now.
She never found out what he might have said next because suddenly the whole castle shook.
Edge made the connection first. “Oh, shit. Ganymede.” He turned to stare at the Gulf. She followed his gaze. What she saw puzzled her. There was only beach where the Gulf of Mexico had been. No water. Stranded sea life writhed and fought death on the sand as far as the eye could see.
Edge grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. “We have to get out of here fast. The tide has rushed out. First sign of a big wave coming. The shaking, the tide—this has Ganymede’s fingerprints all over it. Someone has to stop him or else everyone on Galveston Island is dead.”
“How do you know it’s Ganymede?” Fear tugged at her.
“Earthquakes and tsunamis don’t happen in the Gulf. And after last night…What’re the chances it isn’t Ganymede? Not many beings have that kind of power.”
She didn’t have time to say anything before awareness winked out. It winked back on in the great hall. Passion blinked and looked up at Edge. He released her. “Did you—”
“Yes.” The smiling man from a few minutes ago was gone. “I have to find Ganymede.”
“No.” The thought of him facing a mindless destroyer terrified her. Surprised, she realized her own mortality wasn’t the issue here. And sad to say, she hadn’t yet grasped the enormity of thousands of people being swept away by a giant wave. “If he’s like you were last night, he’ll destroy you.”
Edge turned and grabbed her shoulders in both hands. He stared into her eyes. “No one else is strong enough to battle him.”
“Hope—”
“I don’t see Hope. Do you?”
Frantically, Passion searched the screaming people pushing and shoving, fighting to escape the castle, thinking that if they could reach their cars they could escape death. She didn’t see the other angel in the seething mob. “They can’t outrun the tsunami, can they?”
“No. The wave will take out the causeway and maybe wipe away everything for miles inland.” He gripped her tighter. “I don’t have the power to send you far enough away to escape this. But if I can’t stop Ganymede, I’ll leave you with Bain. He can keep you alive.”
A second shudder shook the castle. A life-size suit of armor on display toppled and added its clatter to the rising hysteria.
“There has to be another way.” She tried to elude him, but he grabbed her hand.
“I have to find Bain. He’ll protect you if I can’t.” He stood still as the crowd broke around him.
He must be reaching for Bain’s mind. She looked around frantically, searching for a familiar face. Where was Hope? She couldn’t go with Bain. What if Ganymede killed Edge? She needed to be there to put her hands on him. Passion still wasn’t sure if she had any kind of power, but she had to be there to try.
She didn’t have to guess where Ganymede was. Suddenly, deep thunderous roars mingled with the wild screams of a jungle cat. The sounds almost drowned out the terrified cries of the crowd. The people that had been trying to squeeze through the great hall door leading in
to the courtyard turned and stampeded in the opposite direction.
Edge wrapped one arm around her waist and pushed his way through the crowd rushing past them toward the exit at the other end of the great hall. She and Edge ran toward the courtyard door. “I don’t want to take you out there, but that’s where the others will be, trying to stop Ganymede.”
Finally, they reached the door. Passion took a deep breath and looked outside.
Hell had come to Galveston.
8
Nightmares were born from reality, and Edge knew this one would stick with him a long time.
Two huge gargoyles stood sentinel outside the door leading from the great hall to the courtyard. Similar gargoyles were placed at intervals along the top of the wall surrounding Live the Fantasy. Usually, they slept.
But now their roars of rage filled the park, and their huge eyes glowed yellow. Someone had wakened them. That was supposed to be Holgarth’s job. He used a spell, but a massive burst of energy might have the same effect.
They’d obviously wakened in a rotten mood. And once they stopped roaring, they’d rain destruction on anyone trying to enter or leave the park. Just freaking great.
Edge figured Ganymede was the one who’d given them their wake–up call, because right now Holgarth stood with his staff held in front of him chanting as he tried to put the gargoyles back to sleep. He bore little resemblance to the Holgarth Edge loved to hate. His conical hat was gone, and his robe was ripped and stained with blood. A cut on his forehead dripped blood.
Edge didn’t have to look far for Bain. The demon stood about twenty feet from Ganymede, his arms flung across his eyes. Whatever he was trying to do to Ganymede wasn’t working. Swirling wind tipped with Ganymede’s fire whirled around him.
A few feet away, Sparkle lay on the grass. She didn’t move. God, he hoped she was still alive. Ganymede wouldn’t survive losing her like this. But then, they wouldn’t survive Ganymede either.
And then there was the main attraction. It normally took Ganymede at least a half hour to regain his human form. The compulsion’s onslaught must have flung him out of his cat form, but not completely.