The Seraphim: Setheus

by Rene Lyons

  Sabrina screamed as she experienced her first orgasm. The rush of sensations brought her to heights she never knew a person could go. Seth was right there with her, following her as he pumped his climax into her. As she floated back to reality, she became of aware of his weight bearing down on her. She liked it—liked the feel of his hammering heartbeats. She liked the sound of his rasping breaths. She could have stayed like that with him forever.

  As odd as it seemed, Sabrina was comforted by Seth’s heat on her back and his breath against her skin. The sense of loss cut through her sharply as he slipped out.

  She straightened and tried not to feel self-conscious as Seth retrieved his clothes from the floor and got dressed. Since most of her clothes were still on, all Sabrina had to do was yank her skirt down and fix her shirt. After running her hands through her hair to smooth it down, she spotted her torn panties and nylons lying on the floor. She quickly gathered them up and stuffed them in her pocketbook.

  Sabrina looked back at Seth, who was watching her with a hint of a smile as he zipped his pants. She tried her best to retain as much dignity as she could, but now that the spell of passion was broken, she wished the floor would open and swallow her whole.

  Never had she been more mortified than she was right then. Nor had she ever experienced the overwhelming sensation of what could only be called “afterburn”. Not afterglow—which was something she’d often heard about but never experienced for herself.

  No. This was afterburn—a fiery sense of shame that burned deep within and had her wanting to run out of there as fast as she could.

  “I have to go,” she announced, keenly aware of his gaze fixed on her—studying her every move.

  “I’d rather you stay.”

  His offer sent a flutter of butterflies throughout her stomach. Unfortunately, she couldn’t. “No, I don’t think that would be a good idea. I have to get back to the museum.” She gripped her pocketbook as if it were a shield. “I’m going to tell Bryce that you don’t have the stone, but he’s not going to stop. He believes you have it and he’s determined to get it.”

  Sabrina also needed some distance between her and Seth. More than just a sharing of their bodies had happened and she needed to get the hell away from him in order to think clearly and make sense of what had passed between them.

  The predatory way Seth walked toward her had Sabrina wanting to take a step back. After what they’d just done, now was a bit too late for her self-preservation to kick in. “Is that a warning, Sabrina?”

  Knowing Bryce, it was. “Yes, and if you knew Bryce you’d understand why. He’s obsessed and he’ll make your life a living hell until he gets what he wants.”

  He brushed his knuckles down her cheek. “Is that what he’s done to you? Has he made your life hell to get you to come here for the stone?”

  She shook her head curtly. Seth’s hand fell away. “No. I’m here for my own reasons.”

  Seth cocked a brow at that. “At least you’re honest.”

  No, she wasn’t. If she were honest, she’d tell him the real reason she was here and they both knew it. Sabrina saw the truth of that reflected in the guarded way he stared at her.

  “Now, I have a warning for you.”

  “Do you?” Sabrina asked breathlessly.

  He nodded, that ghost of a smile on his lips again. “I do.” He brought his head down to her ear. Gently, he moved aside her hair. His tongue tickled the upper curve of her ear and a shiver raced through her clear down to her soul. “I’ll be seeing you again. Very soon.”

  And so she was warned.

  Chapter Three

  Seth stood at the window and watched Sabrina climb into her black Malibu. An odd sense of loss came over him as she drove off. He still felt her body pulsating around him as she climaxed. Her cries of ecstasy still rang in his ears. He still tasted her and it was driving him insane.

  He’d known eventually their paths would cross. What he hadn’t anticipated was his reaction to her.

  Since last night, Seth had sensed Sabrina. He’d been expecting her, yet was unprepared for the sensations that had run through him as her very being moved through his. It had thrown him off center and made him take a foolish risk in giving in to the need to have her.

  From Sabrina’s beauty to the strength of her spirit, everything about her drew him in. He’d been compelled to touch her, to taste her. He’d had to know what it was like to be inside her. And now that he’d had her, he swore he would have her again.

  His years here on Earth had been empty. Sabrina had given him the one breath of life he’d been missing—and needing—since he’d come.

  Seth remembered what it had been like to feel God’s love all around him. He’d never feel such a thing again. He’d made his choice to fall from grace and hadn’t regretted it since. Such an emotion was beyond him. He was an angel. Angels didn’t suffer regret. Yet, slowly, over the years, human emotions had begun to infect him. Sorrow crept into his heart the longer he was away from God. Loneliness tore him apart as the nights grew longer and quieter with each passing year.

  Turning away from the window, Seth stalked from his office. He knew where Sabrina was going and an uneasy feeling slithered up his spine. Every instinct he possessed told him to go after her. Out in the waiting area, he noticed Mary was gone. Her perfume lingered, as it always did. One of these days, Seth was going to ask her to wear less of it, since the strong scent played havoc on his senses.

  A glance at one of the chairs told him that’s where Sabrina had sat while she’d waited for him. He’d hated having to keep her waiting, but it had been unavoidable. Being trapped in the dark was one of the drawbacks of his existence. Yet, it was a small price to pay for the honor he’d volunteered for so long ago.

  Quitting the wing he used for his office, Seth strode through the enormous mansion. Passing the locked door that led down to the basement, a strong sense of apprehension overcame him. That Bryce Mathers had learned he possessed at least one of the stones didn’t bode well. The man was a thorn in all of the Seraphim’s sides and though he hadn’t made a move to take the stones, Bryce was a headache Seth could ill afford. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he was forced to put an end to Bryce. He just prayed Sabrina didn’t get caught in the crossfire when that time came.

  Hakion’s Stone.

  Seth didn’t just possess it. He was its guardian.

  He was one of three angels who’d willingly fallen from Heaven to protect humanity. They were the Seraphim, the guardians of the imprisoned hearts of the children of Balian, one of the angels who’d fought with Lucifer and was thrown down from Heaven.

  Kael and Bath-Kol guarded the other two stones. It was Kael who’d first warned Seth that Bryce had taken up the torch of finding the stones after his father’s death. He was less zealous, but just as dangerous. Knowing Sabrina worked for him had worried Seth to no end, yet he’d been powerless to intervene. No Seraphim could interfere in human affairs unless it brought about a direct attack on them or the stones. As long as Bryce made no move to take the stones, he couldn’t strike the bastard down.

  Like a lightning strike, Seth had the unpleasant sensation of foreboding creep over him. He realized his mistake in allowing Sabrina to leave. The urgency of getting to her before she reached Bryce had Seth grabbing the keys to his car as he hastened out of the mansion. After climbing into the driver’s seat of the black Jaguar, Seth made a call to Kael to alert him about Bryce.

  God help them all if the stones were ever to fall into the hands of someone like Mathers.

  Speeding out into the night, Seth drove down the winding country roads that led from his house to the converted warehouse where Mathers had set up his museum. Seth used the term museum loosely, since the place was more like a hole-in-the-wall Bryce used to legitimize the relics he’d sought for the last few years.

  By the time he pulled into the lot across from the museum, Seth had already spotted Sabrina’s car parked next to Bryce’s. Pa
rking his car next to hers, Seth got out and stood there for a moment. He reached out with his senses and felt Sabrina’s anxiety wash through him as she faced Bryce. He then heard Sabrina’s voice and focused in on it, listening to her conversation with her boss.

  “He doesn’t have it.”

  There was a thud, like a fist hitting a desk. “Did he tell you that?”

  Seth would know Bryce’s annoyingly whiny voice anywhere.

  “Yes, he did.”

  “And you believed him?” Bryce questioned incredulously.

  “Why wouldn’t I?” Sabrina countered. Seth was impressed with how calm she sounded, especiallygiven how turbulent her emotions were. She was obviously terrified of Bryce. “I told him you’d pay him whatever he wanted for it. He outright told me he didn’t have it. Who in their right mind would turn down an offer like that for a stone?”

  “Someone who knows what the stone is worth!” he thundered back.

  “Look, I did what you wanted. I went there and asked him about the stone. You can stop threatening me now.”

  “I can see you did a little bit more than just what I asked.” Seth didn’t like the snide implication in Bryce’s tone.

  “What I did or didn’t do is none of your damned business, Bryce.”

  Seth heard heavy footsteps and assumed they belonged to Bryce.

  “I see how it is with you, Sabrina. A rich pretty boy with a bad rep crooks his finger and you spread those legs of yours, huh?”

  There was no mistaking the sound of flesh striking flesh. Pride shot through Seth that Sabrina had obviously slapped some part of Bryce’s person.

  What he heard next had Seth running toward the steel back door of the building. The second slap, followed by Sabrina’s gasp, had him furious enough to kill. As he pulled open the door, snapping the lock in the process, he heard her fall. There was a shuffle of movement that had Seth bounding up to the second story he knew Bryce used for his office.

  He burst in like a raging storm, taking Sabrina and Bryce by surprise. His keen gaze took in the situation in the span of one heartbeat. Sabrina lay on the floor with her hand thrown up as if to protect her face and Bryce stood over her with his hand poised ready to strike. Seth went blind with rage—something he hadn’t thought possible given that he was a warrior of God. He wasn’t supposed to feel such fury, yet it ran through him hot and hard, bringing him across the room in a movement almost too fast for human eyes to see.

  Seth clamped a hand around Bryce’s arm, nearly breaking the bone when he bent the wrist back. A perverse part of him wanted to snap his arm just to hear Bryce scream with pain. How he refrained from doing so, only God knew.

  “You will not touch her again.”

  Bryce tried to wrest his arm free but Seth held fast. “Who the hell are you?”

  Seth cocked a brow and twisted Bryce’s wrist just a little more. When Bryce whimpered, Seth smiled coldly. “Don’t you think we’re beyond introductions, Bryce?”

  “Raleigh.” Bryce spat out his name as if it were poison on his tongue.

  Movement from Sabrina had Seth glancing at her as she pushed herself from the floor. He saw a bruise the size of a man’s fist already turning her left cheek purple.

  It took all of Seth’s self-control not to tear Bryce’s arm from his body. Instead, he shoved the bastard back and let go of his arm. Bryce stumbled, cradling his wrist against his chest. “Are you going to continue to hide behind others, or are you going to be a man about this and ask me about the stones yourself?”

  Bryce had the audacity to curl his lips in a sneer. “Hide? I don’t think so. She,” he stabbed a finger at Sabrina, who still seemed dazed after being hit, “has her own reasons for wanting the stones. Don’t you, Sabrina? Did you tell him why you came to work for me and how you want the stones just as much as I do?”

  Sabrina paled. Seth realized that she had no idea Bryce knew more about her than she’d thought. That only went to show how vulnerable she was. If she couldn’t see through Bryce, she’d never see greater danger coming at her until it was too late.

  She was breathing laboriously as she tugged down her skirt. Instead of going to him when Seth put his hand out to her, she stepped around him. With an impressive show of dignity, she walked right up to Bryce and spat on the floor at his feet.

  “You fucking bastard,” she ground out before marching out of the office with all the grace of a queen. Seth’s heart damn near shattered when he heard the soft weeping she’d held in until she was halfway down the stairs.

  Seth positioned himself in front of the door and glared Bryce down. All the while, the wrenching sound of Sabrina’s sobs cut through him. “If you go near Sabrina again, I swear on God, I’ll kill you with my bare hands.”

  Bryce stepped back until he collided with his desk. “I know what you are. You can’t hide those stones forever.”

  Seth strode up to Bryce and grabbed him around the neck with one hand, digging his thumb into the hollow of Bryce’s throat. Bryce’s eyes bugged out and he tried to gasp for a breath that wouldn’t come.

  “Then you know what I’m capable of.” That threat finally seemed to get through to Bryce, though Seth knew he’d not stop until he either had what he was after—which would never happen—or Seth put an end to him. “I’ve been around thousands of years before the time of Christ. I took the stone from the hand of God Himself. What makes you think you can take it from me?”

  Bryce answered with a choked gasp. Seth threw him aside. Bryce fell to the ground and sucked in great gulps of much-needed air.

  “If you think you can take the stone, Bryce, come and get it. Don’t send a woman to do your dirty work. For once in your miserable life, be a man.”

  With the arrogance of someone who knew he was invulnerable, Seth turned his back on Bryce and calmly walked out of the office. Once he was out of the museum, he saw Sabrina sitting in her car. Her hands were curled around the steering wheel. Even from a distance Seth saw she trembled. He also noticed she was still crying.

  When he rapped lightly on the window, Sabrina jumped. She looked up and Seth let out a violent curse at the sight of her cheek. She turned on the car in order to lower the window.

  “Thank you, Seth,” she whispered.

  It killed him to see a woman like Sabrina broken by a man such as Bryce. He’d watched her over the years, had witnessed her going through hardships she’d faced with dignity and pride. To see her crying now had Seth wanting to cast off the laws of God and tear Bryce to pieces.

  “There’s nothing to thank me for.” It was an effort for Seth to keep his anger and frustration out of his tone.

  She wiped the tears from her cheeks, wincing when she ran her fingers over the bruise Bryce left her with. “He’s not going to stop. He’s obsessed with the stones. He’ll try to get at you when you least expect it.”

  “That’s where he’s going to make his last mistake. My guard is never down.”

  “I hope you’re right,” she replied solemnly. “I can tell you now, he’s not above murder.”

  Seth bent down so that his face was level with hers. “I’m not that easy to kill. But if I were to die, Sabrina, would you weep for me?”

  Sabrina tilted her head to the side and regarded him with a sad smile. “Yes, I would.”

  “Then I’ll be careful with my life, since it’s a sin to see such a beautiful woman cry.” He reached in and ran a finger down her wet cheek.

  She looked away and licked her lips. Seth remembered her taste and what it had felt like to be lost in her. If he weren’t still furious, he’d give in to his raging lust and take her back to the mansion and have her again.

  When she looked back at him, he saw uncertainty reflected in her eyes. In five thousand years of life, never had a woman’s eyes affected Seth more. “About what Bryce said…about me having my own reasons for wanting the stones…”

  Seth cut her off. “It’s of no importance. Keep your secrets for tonight, Sabrina. We’ll have plenty of t
ime to discuss this. I clearly remember telling you we’ve only just begun. Do I need to remind you of that fact again?”

  She shook her head. “I just don’t want you to think I’m like Bryce.”

  Seth cupped her chin. “Go home, Sabrina. You’ll be safe for the rest of the night.” He released her chin and she let out a small sigh. “Come back to me tomorrow.”

  “I will. Good night, Seth.”

  His name rolling off her tongue reminded him of how she’d cried out his name when he was inside her. “Good night, sweet Sabrina.”

  He stood and moved away from the car. She turned on the radio and drove off. The pounding music of Fuel echoed on the quiet night. He looked up at the warehouse. He saw Bryce staring down from the window in his office.

  It would be so easy to end the bastard right now.

  But Bryce hadn’t made a move to take the stone yet. He would. And Seth would be there to take him out when he did.

  He’d make sure it was something very slow and extremely painful.

  As he walked to his car, Seth wondered where people got the notion that all angels were sweet little cherubs. If humans had the slightest idea of what an angel truly was, they’d never look up at the sky the same again.

  He’d been among the first angels. He was a true warrior of Heaven. He’d fought alongside of the archangels when Lucifer and his followers were thrown down to Hell. He was the first one God had asked to fall from grace in order to protect His children from Balian’s children when the angels thought to raise their fallen father from Hell. Seth had been there when God ripped out their hearts and imprisoned them in the stones. Their bodies had been flung down to Earth, to be buried in consecrated ground and guarded by Azazeel.

  Seth, along with the other Seraphim, would bring down the wrath of Heaven itself in order to stop Balian’s children. And he’d do it with a smile, since a warrior liked nothing better than a good fight.