“I don’t know.”
“What?”
Lazarus spoke louder, “I. Don’t. Know. I don’t know things anymore, Eve.”
She stopped petting Anam and cautiously lifted her gaze to Lazarus. “You’re serious?”
He nodded.
“Shit,” that couldn’t be good. “Are we going to die? Is this the end? Is that why you can’t see the future? Is it because there isn’t one to see?”
His wings lifted and glowed a dim gold as he sighed. “I can only see what is set. Nothing – absolutely nothing – is set now. Nothing that offers any hope, at least.”
She would not freak out. She would not freak out. Damn, you really gotta be careful what you wish for, huh? All this time she wanted to die, now she was going to get her wish and it was the only time she didn’t want to fucking die. Damnit!
There was only one thing left to do in a situation like this: She would embrace her end when it came, but until then Eve was going to do everything in her power to enjoy the little bit of time she had left – and that included being with her pack.
All or none was the real deal for her. She couldn’t explain her desire for it, but it was an obsession. All or none. With Lucifer now able to leave Hell, she could be with each of her mates, even if it wasn’t all at the same time. Finally, Eve could have them all.
She just hoped they wanted her back.
Brushing the fur off her torn leggings, she stood and winced. “I’m exhausted,” she headed for the steps. “I’m going to take a shower and lay down. If one of them comes back, wake me, okay? And keep the place locked up tight because malanum are everywhere.”
“Yes, Flower.”
“Oh, and if you see a horse out back, let him in. His name is Risk.”
“You want me to let Risk in the house?”
“Gabriel can afford to replace whatever is damaged. The bastard’s loaded. And it’s too dangerous for Risk or any other animal to be out there right now.”
Lazarus laughed. “It’s too risky for Risk out there.” Hearing him laugh harder made Eve tear up. Laz sounded like how he used to be back when he was kept in a cage in the brotherhood – maniacal.
She closed her bedroom door and shut off the lights. Forgoing the shower, Eve curled onto the floor because there wasn’t a single piece of furniture in the house.
Empty. The room, the house, the whole place was fucking empty of any true comforts.
It made Eve feel right at home.
Gabriel decided to take a huge risk and switched duties with Uriel. He negotiated one night out of this prison called Hell and must return before dawn. Uriel was surprisingly easy to exchange powers with. He’d been a part of Hell for long enough to be a switch of sorts. Gabriel envied how easy Uriel took the pain that came with the transfer.
“Thanks to Michael,” Uriel said during the exchange, “I’ve had plenty of chances to build my pain tolerance.”
Yeah, now Gabriel was rethinking his whole envy thing. He wouldn’t wish what Uriel went through on his worst fucking enemy. But at least Uri was stronger now because of it. The Angel didn’t flinch, ever.
“I’m sorry,” Gabriel said. And he was. He was sorry for so much he wasn’t sure where to start with the long list of apologies.
“It’s all good,” Uri waved the words away. “Some things are stronger once they’ve been rebuilt anyway.”
“You’re the strongest male I’ve ever known,” shit, he hated how his voice dropped to a whisper.
“I’m also the prettiest,” Uriel winked playfully. “I mean, come on. I gotta jawline for days, brother.”
Gabe chuckled and shook his head, “Goddamn, man. How do you that?” Uriel always looked at the bright side of things. If there wasn’t a silver lining on something, Gabriel wouldn’t be surprised if Uriel busted out a can of spray paint and made his own silver lining. “How the fuck do you never hold grudges and always look on the bright side of shit?”
“Meh, holding grudges takes too much effort. I’m a lazy motherfucker like that. And the bright side is way better than the dark side. I spent the whole beginning of my existence trying to crawl out of my dark thoughts… now that I’m in a better headspace, everything’s clearer.”
Gabriel’s envy returned. “Good for you, brother.” As he left the main room and headed towards a door to get out of there, he was stopped by Reggie.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, Gabriel?”
“None of your business.” He didn’t answer to ex-Gladiator-turned-Gatekeeper.
“If it has to do with Lucifer, it is my business.” He held his ground. “You lied to me earlier. You said she was dead.”
“It wasn’t a lie.” Why was he defending himself with this guy? “She is dead…. To me.”
“Yeah, see, that kind of bullshit can get a motherfucker killed.”
Gabriel’s wings flared, “Are you threatening me, Gatekeeper?”
“I’m telling you like it is. Down here, betrayal is the worst form of treachery. Punishment could place you in the VIP section of the prison. I’m just making sure, as you are now one of our leaders, that you understand the rules down here and just how strict they are. No one is above punishment.”
“Fuck off,” Gabriel brushed past him. And failed. “Move.”
“Tell me where you’re going.”
“It’s none of your—” he swallowed his words. Rethought himself. If he was going to expect respect down here, he’d have to show some too. And if he wanted to rule Hell, he’d need to follow the rules Lucifer had spent most of his lifetime instilling. “I’m going to see her.”
“Why?”
“To make things right…. For Lucifer.”
“Is that all?”
“No,” he growled. “I’m going to make things right for all of us.”
Reggie moved out of his way, but stayed on his heels. “How you gonna get there? Lucifer hasn’t set a portal in the house you own. And you don’t have much time. I heard Uriel was only able to keep Hell till dawn.”
“You always eavesdrop?”
“When I think it’s necessary, yeah. Call me paranoid, but ever since that shit went down with Charlotte, I’ve amped up precautions. Trust no one until they’ve earned it. That includes you, sire.”
Gabriel was starting to like this guy, “Understood.”
“Leaving when you’ve only just gotten dipped in Luce’s power is risky. Uriel’s not amped up enough to hold this place down for more than a few hours and if you endanger Hell or spur its collapse, I’m not going to ask my maker for permission to kill you. I’ll just fucking do it. With. Pleasure.”
“Noted.” Gabriel crossed his arms and stared and the wall of doors that every Hell Hound and each of his brothers used to come in and out of Hell. He didn’t have a portal of his own. Never had. His hatred for Hell ran so deep, he’d never once tainted one of his own homes with a gateway to this forsaken place. If he needed to get to Hell, he found Uriel or Constantine and went with them.
Jesus, he was such a dick.
“You have any suggestions on how to speed this up?”
Reggie blasted him with a cocky smile. “Give me your hand.”
Reluctantly, Gabe held out his rough-palmed hand. Reggie held it firmly and pulled out a small dagger from his hip. Slicing quick, he cut a series of symbols in Gabe’s palm. “This my good fighting hand.”
“So use your other good fighting hand,” Reggie deadpanned. “Now press it on this wall and repeat after me.”
Gabriel spoke the words he trusted weren’t gibberish and a portal opened - complete with a lock, key and doorknob. “That’s convenient,” he grumbled.
“I’m a Gatekeeper, not just a hot guy in Hell. I can make new gates in a pinch. But they don’t last. You’ll need Lucifer for that.”
“Got it.” Gabriel opened the door and walked across the threshold. He was in an empty room that was dark. A low growl rippled from a lump in the center of the floor. Annnnd that fast, Gabriel kn
ew exactly where he was. “We’ve got a bad habit of meeting like this.”
Anam’s growl faded, but he wasn’t wagging his tail.
Eve lay on the floor, her wings curled protectively around her body, her hair was knotted and longer than it had been last time he saw her. Her wings were stunning. Four red feathers sliced through gray ones and Gabe smiled at the sight.
He gave her those red feathers.
While she continued to sleep, Gabe admired her. Eve’s shades were darker now – her skin tone, her hair, her wings. It all looked good on her. Anything looked good on her. And with that flare of red in her wings and hair – damn, she looked like a banked fire. Embers flickering beneath a lot of ash and coal.
Eve glowed.
Quietly, Gabe walked around the room to flip the switch and turn on the small, dim light fixture in the center of the ceiling. When he did, the room illuminated and he was suddenly staring down the barrel of a handgun.
Chapter 13
"You've got some fucking nerve, Gabriel." Eve waited for the asshole to turn his back before she aimed her gun at his perfectly handsome face.
She'd love to still carry her broadsword, but adaptation was her middle name and she never went unprotected. Eve swapped weapons on the regular, and right now, a handgun was easiest to conceal. Along with her favorite blades.
"I need to talk with you," Gabriel’s deep voice sent shivers down her body. She hated how he had this effect on her.
"We've said all we needed to, long ago." She kept her gun aimed, "Get out."
"This is my house," his smirked.
Damnit she hated how good looking he was. Fucker. "Squatter’s rights. It's my house now."
"Consider yourself my guest," he clasped his hands behind his back. His wings were tucked in tight enough to almost be completely hidden behind his massive body. The only Angel who matched Lucifer's build was Gabriel. Lucifer was created beast-sized naturally, Gabriel spent lifetimes building up the body he rocked so well now.
Eve’s eyes coasted south to take him all in. Gabriel was tall, dark, and dangerous. Fuck, he was in leather pants too. Why did they always insist on wearing leather pants?
"You look good," he said quietly.
"You look awful."
He chuckled deeply, "Liar."
"You've got a little something," she tapped her temple, referring to the black spider webbing on Gabriel's face.
"I blame you for that," he licked his lips and stayed back. "You gave Lucifer no warning of your existence and seeing you for the first time didn't go as planned. He freaked, lost his control, and when he landed in Hell, he wiped out more malanum. That act cost him... and in turn it cost me too."
She didn't miss the resentment in his tone. "Not entirely my fault," she dropped the gun to her side and flipped the safety back. "I didn't realize Lazarus was leading me into a trap by bringing me here."
Gabriel's eyebrow arched. "Is that what you think this place is? A trap?"
"What else would you call it?"
"A safe space."
He took a step closer, and in turn she took one back. "It's no safer than the home I was forced to leave. There I had seclusion. And Holy Water. Here, I have nothing."
"You have us," he growled.
"I don't have a single one of you anymore."
"Yeah, you made sure of that," his wings started to unfurl, but she doubted he realized it. "You pushed us away. Not the other way around. Remember who’s really at fault here before you go throwing stones."
"Spare me, you fucking asshole. I told you I wouldn't stop until I got what I wanted."
Gabriel had the nerve to open his arms out wide, "And here it is. All of us. That's what you wanted." He tapped his temple, "And this shit here is residue that hit me because of the connection Lucifer and I now share."
She hoped like hell her face wasn't paling with that news. "If you're ruling Hell, how come you're here? That should be impossible." When he opened his mouth to say something, she put her hand in his face, "I don't want to hear it. It doesn’t matter. We're done, Gabriel. Have been since the moment you cursed me."
"Cursed you?" His face turned red and his wings expanded to their fullest extent. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
She poked him in the chest and broke a nail. Damnit. "Thanks for the feathers, you cocksucker. Like I wasn't already walking around like an overgrown bird, you made sure to curse me with marks of shame," she plucked a red feather and threw it in his face. Another one grew back immediately in its place.
Gabriel’s eyes flared. "Is that what you think I did, Eve?" His voice was controlled. Barely.
"I hate you," she whispered, so furious with herself that Gabriel could still have this much power over her emotions. "I. Hate. You."
He closed the gap between them. "Prove it," he said. "Take that gun and shoot me."
"You tempt?"
"I challenge," he growled. "You don't have the balls to do it. If you hated me as much as you say, you’d have killed me by now. You had your chance to see me dead. If you hate me that much, pull the trigger, Eve. Blow my goddamn head off. It'll be a small mercy, trust me."
She pointed the gun in his face again. Her hand didn't tremble. Her finger started to squeeze the trigger. Then she screamed and clocked him in the forehead with it because he knew she’d never do such a thing.
She loved him too much.
He was right, if she wanted to see him dead, her chance came long ago...
Eve was at the forefront of battle. This one was like all the others, a pointless, barbaric means of burning her rage off. Eve ran towards her target with her mouth wide open in a glorious scream and sword raised. Behind her, other warriors gained traction and the ground rumbled beneath her boots.
She had long since lost her desire to survive. She was in fuck it mode. Entering any war that popped up, starting as many fights as possible, Eve was the craziest bitch in armor this age had ever seen.
Charging at the front lines, she sliced, cut and stabbed anyone within reach. Maybe dying a war hero would land her where she wanted to be. Or maybe it wouldn’t. It never had before, but she still kept trying.
Over the crest of the hill, the sun was blindingly bright. It annoyed the shit out of her. Battles should be fought under the moon. All the best acts of life should be done under the moon.
With a triumphant howl, she impaled her enemy and stepped on his chest to free her sword.
Someone yelled to her left. She spun and severed the arm off the man about to slice her wings.
Yeah, her wings were out and prominent – a rarity and a reason she’d have to go into hiding after this battle. They called her the Angel of Death. So dumb, but if it put faith in their hearts and righteousness in their veins, these soldiers could call her anything they wanted so long as they let her lead them into war.
A wind blasted from the East, carrying with it the faint scent of divinity and salty sea.
Squinting against the sun, she tried to see if there was an Angel up there. Lately, she'd heard that a fleet of guardians had been circling humans - watching and protecting certain ones.
A loud roar brought her attention back to ground-level. Blood splattered across her face. Someone slammed into her from behind and she lost her footing. Tumbling forward, she rolled to the right and hopped up on her feet just in time to block another sword.
In moments of chaos, it was hard to distinguish friend from foe. Eve had no friends. Even as she fought in this war, she still had no friends. They were colors. Sides. She chose one and killed on their behalf.
This time she chose the red side.
And Red. Was. Everywhere. Both cloth and blood. Shields and rage. Red coated the ground and saturated her gloves and braids. She licked her lips and it tasted like metal and dirt. More screams. A horse ran by. Something sharp hit her right wing and stars burst in her vision.
She spun around in time to see a man with no helmet gawk as he held several of her feathers in his hand. "You're
from the devil," he hissed. He raised his sword to strike her down and someone else hacked her wing from behind. "Be gone, demon!"
Eve swung out and cut right through the second guy’s lower thigh, severing his leg.
The first man roared as he ran to attack her again and stopped dead in his tracks. The tip of a broadsword jutted out form his belly. The blade jerked upwards. The man grunted. Blood and guts poured.
"Get away!" yelled the vicious warrior as he pulled his blade free. "Eve, run!"
No one called her Eve. No one knew her true name.
Eve couldn’t move. She gawked at the male standing before her.
Gabriel, dressed in the colors of the other side - blue - glared at her from under his armor. Pulling off his helmet, his angelic blue eyes rendered her speechless. She wanted to run into his arms. And she wanted to run for the hills. Seeing him after all this time had her heart shattering and wrecking her carefully constructed cage she called a body.
"RUN!" he bellowed.
That voice. That presence. That look on his face. Eve took off and tried to kill as many as she could on her way to the other side of the hill.
The battle was over soon after.
And he found her in no time.
Gabriel opened the cloth flaps and marched inside her tent without an invitation. A soldier drew his sword to stop Gabriel from coming closer and Eve's first reaction was the worst to date. She killed the poor guy.
The instant she thought Gabriel's life was in danger, she slaughtered the human who posed as a threat. He was only doing his job. He was stationed to protect her.
And she'd killed him for it.
Choosing between good and evil, right and wrong, didn’t apply with her mates. She only chose them. Nothing else mattered to her. “Oh god,” she dropped to her knees and gasped for breath.
"I didn't know you were part of this," Gabriel said, completely ignoring the dead man in the tent.
Raise the Dead Page 11