7even Circles: Moon Is Calling (7even Circles Series Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter 16

He bent and picked her up in his arms and ran off further into the woods. She was nibbling on his earlobe and he almost ran them into a tree.

Instead, he stopped and put her back to the tree and leaned in, kissing her again. He could have lost her tonight if the demons had killed her. When he looked down into the alley and saw them holding her, he knew he would kill them.

Then when she lost control of her powers he knew he could lose her in a completely different way. If she gave into the darkness of her powers, she could end up losing her soul and turning into a full demon. She would never want to be a demon, not his Cass. It would force him to do something he never dreamed of, but it would be necessary to save her soul—kill her.

He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He ground himself into her.
Damn it!
They had too many clothes on. His hands were on her, molding and teasing. Her nipples puckered through her thin t-shirt, and he wanted very badly to lean down and suckle her right through the material.

Instead, he ran his hand up her shirt and cupped her bra-covered breast. He squeezed and she responded by biting gently into his lower lip.
Yeah, she liked being touched.
Ari needed to make sure she knew what she was doing, though, while he still had control left. He pulled back from the kiss.

“What’s my name?”

“Huh?”

He pulled back slightly. “Honey, focus. What’s my name?”

“Ari.” She tried to kiss him again but he stopped her.

“What’s your name?”

She glared at him in frustration. “Cass.”

He kissed her again grinding against her. This was what he wanted, what he always wanted. So long he waited to be with her, to tell her the truth about himself, about them. He nuzzled her neck, taking in her scent.

“Cassandra!” Father Raphael’s voice, along with Michael’s, called out for her, getting closer and closer. It spoiled the mood completely.

She placed her hands on his chest, then pushed him away. “Ari, what the hell are we doing out here?”

He sighed as he pulled away. They would have to finish this another time.

*****

“Father Raphael? Michael?” She called out when she heard the others calling for her. She felt more confused than ever. The priest and Michael were suddenly there, and she felt relieved that they were okay.

Father Raphael gathered her into a tight hug. “Thank the Lord above you’re safe.”

“What’s going on? Where are we?”

All three men looked at her strangely. It was Ari that stepped forward.

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

She frowned. “We were in the park, you and Michael were fighting demons, and then Father Raphael showed up with my bow and arrows. Thanks again for that, Father.”

“You are most welcome, my dear.”

Ari rolled his eyes. “Then what?”

“I was behind some trees trying to help by shooting the demons from a distance. Father Raphael was trying to get to the portal to close it, but…”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to remember any more right now.” Father Raphael patted her back.

“I left the trees so that I could find out if you were okay, Father. Drey was going to kill Ari, and I…something in me took over. I killed them.” The last part she whispered as a tear trailed down her face.

Michael shrugged. “They were demons, your job is to kill them. It was either them or us.”

She couldn’t believe how nonchalant about killing Michael was. Talking about it was one thing but he slayed demons like they were nothing. Until tonight, she’d never killed anyone or even hurt anyone before. She couldn’t take what she’d done as nothing.

“Cass!” Ari yelled out. He lunged to catch her as she started to fall to the ground.

“How can this be a job? A job is nine-to-five and you get paid for it. No one dies from me serving them their lunch late. We don’t get severed heads as our tip.” She was shaking all over.

Father Raphael placed his hands on her shoulders and knelt down in front of her. He locked eyes with her.

“Cassandra Adira.”

“Knight.” Ari added for him.

“Cassandra Adira Knight, you are forgiven
all
sins,” Father Raphael told her.

She saw it this time: Raphael’s healing power as it flowed from his heart outward, going to his arms to his hands and then from his hands to her shoulders. She stilled all movement as a peace like she’d never known before filled her. She didn’t even know she was empty inside until
His
love touched her. Flashes of her life that she could remember ran through her mind, even the painful memories, and they were eased.

When Father Raphael let her go, she felt renewed and amazed. The weight she always carried on her shoulders about not knowing who she was, where she came from, who her parents were; all of it didn’t matter as much. She felt relief from that burden, truly forgiven.

“Thank you, Father.”

“You’re welcome, my child.”

Michael helped the priest stand while Ari helped her get to her feet.

“What happened to all the demons that came through the portal?” she asked, the first concern that came to her mind.

“Dead, all except for two who managed to go back through the portal,” Ari told her, taking her hand and leading her back through the woods. They were going in the direction of the overturned SUV.

“Why are we going this way?”

“My bike is next to the SUV,” Ari told her.

“I left the church station wagon there, too,” Father Raphael added.

They came up to the clearing in the park and she froze in place. She looked cautiously around the opening where the portal was located. She felt Ari’s hand on her shoulder.

“They’re gone, honey.”

“What if they come back through?”

Father Raphael stepped up beside her. “For now, the portal is closed.”

“How many portals are in the city?”

“There is only one in this city. Other, more populated cities have multiple portals.” Ari kept her moving further away from the portal.

“Can it be re-opened?”

“Yes, but it will take a while for the demons to realize that the portal was shut on this side,” Michael said from behind them.

“What does it take to re-open a portal?”

“Demon’s blood to open. It remains open, that’s the way that the demons prefer it. They know they only have forty-eight to seventy-two hours before they are called back to their circle and leaving the portal open helps them return much easier.”

“Wouldn’t humans notice the portal?”

“Not unless a demon has them and reveals it. It’s only visible to those with demon blood. It’s also why the angels can’t shut them all down because most portals are visible to angels if they are recently activated.”

“Okay, so angel blood shuts the portal down, but only temporarily and it has to be visible to them?”

“Correct.”

“Why will it take a while for the other demons to know the portal is down?”

“There are thousands of portals in the world. When a demon tries to return here to this city he will be sent to a different location automatically. They’ll try several times before they realize that the portal is closed.”

They made it to the where the SUV was crashed. It looked really bad. It amazed her that she’d made it out of there alive. How were they going to explain that to the cops?

“Hey guys, what do we do with—this?” She waved her hand at the van.

Michael strutted forward. “I’ll take care of this.” He bent at his knees, getting a grip on the passenger’s door. He began lift the van up to sit on all four wheels.

Ari muttered under his breath, but she heard it. “Show off.”

“Now what do we do with it? We can’t just leave it here, it will draw too much attention.”

“I’ll drive it and leave it in an abandoned street.” Michael offered.

“One problem, bird-boy. Do you actually know how to drive?” Ari questioned him.

“Well…no. How hard could it be?”

Cass shook her head. The two guys were trying to one-up each other still. “I’ll drive the SUV, Ari will follow me, and we’ll leave it somewhere no one will find it.”

“That is a good plan. Then you can have the half—Ari drive you to the hospital.” Father Raphael motioned for Michael to follow him to his own car.

“I’m healing, so there’s no need to go to the hospital.” Cass didn’t like hospitals; also, they asked for insurance, which she never had.

“It’s not about treating your injuries. We need to check on your friends, who are both at St. Francis Memorial.”

Jerry and Leeza; she’d forgotten about them. “Are they okay?”

“When I left the hospital, the man was resting peacefully, but I’m concerned about the girl.”

“Leeza, her name is Leeza. Tell me what’s wrong with her.”

“Her physical injuries were treated, but I’m more concerned with her mental state.”

“Mental state?”

“She was rambling about demons coming for her and angels flying her over the city. She wouldn’t lie down, and several nurses had to hold her while the doctor sedated her. They were moving her to the psychiatric ward.”

“Oh God, poor Leeza. She must think she’s losing her mind. I mean, for her everything has to have an order, and it has to make complete sense. She doesn’t know about supernatural stuff and she won’t know how to handle things.”

“You didn’t know about supernatural stuff before a few days ago, and you seem fine,” Michael commented, not concerned in the least. It only infuriated her.

“I had a tough time accepting that I could be some kind of super-soldier for the angel army, but I had Ari and Father Raphael there to reassure me that it was all real and that it was okay. Leeza has no one there helping her, only people telling her she’s crazy. I can just imagine how scared and alone she must feel. But you don’t care about that, do you Michael? You must be the most uncaring angel—besides my birth father—ever created.”

Michael shrugged. “She’s human, insanity is common for them.”

“Michael, watch yourself,” Father Raphael warned him.

“Fuck you, Michael! Sometimes people have problems that overwhelm them. They need someone there who will listen to them and make them feel like it’s going to be okay. What if you were thrown down here on Earth with no powers and had no one to help you assimilate to the world around you? You wouldn’t last a day.” She went to the driver’s side and climbed in. Thank God the demon left the keys in the ignition. Ari was at the window.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

She nodded her head and put the SUV in motion.

Father Raphael glared at Michael. “You have a lot to learn. Until then, you might want to keep your mouth shut.”

*****

An hour later she walked through the door at the hospital. Father Raphael and Michael were in the waiting room. A nurse came up to them.

“I’m sorry, but visiting hours are ending in about ten minutes.”

“I have two friends I want to check on. I won’t stay long, I just need to know they’re okay.”

“You’ll need to come back tomorrow.”

Ari came up and gave the nurse a sexy smile. “Come on beautiful, give us twenty minutes. You can do that, can’t you? Rules are meant to be bent a little bit.” He winked, making the nurse blush.

Cass fought her instinct to reach out and scratch the woman. She also wanted to slap Ari for being such a damn horn-dog. An hour ago he had his tongue down her throat and now he was undressing this nurse right in front of her. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. She was shocked when his charm worked and the nurse gave in.

“Twenty minutes, that’s it. Security will be escorting people out after that.”

“Perfect, sweetness. What rooms are they in?”

She walked over to her desk and sat down, typing something into the computer. “What are their names?”

Cass leaned on the counter. “Jerry Mitchell and Leeza Maine.”

“Mr. Mitchell is on the third floor, room 310. Miss Maine is—she has been moved to the psych floor and is scheduled for evaluation in the morning.”

“What’s her room number?”

“You won’t be able to see her, the patients have been secured for the night.”

Cass was about to argue, but Ari pulled her away and spoke up. “Thanks, beautiful. Let’s visit Jerry and then head home.”

“But—”

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I have her room number, we’ll see her before we leave.”

“Okay.”

Chapter 17

The four of them got on the elevator and went up to the third floor. She opened the door to Jerry’s room and entered while the guys stood out in the hallway. She checked Jerry’s vitals, not really knowing what she was looking for. His heartbeat monitor was steady, so that was good. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully. She didn’t want to disturb him, so she kissed him on the forehead.

“Get better soon, Jerry.” She left Jerry’s hospital room and looked at Ari. “Do you know where the psych ward is?”

“Why are you asking me? I’m not crazy.”

“Well, I’ve never been to this hospital before, so I have no idea where it would be located.”

Ari ran his fingers through his hair “The room number on the computer downstairs said 610. I would assume it’s on the sixth floor of the hospital.”

All four of them walked over to the elevator and got in, hitting the six. The door opened, and she started to walk off, but stopped and backed them all back inside the elevator, letting the doors close.

“What’s going on?” Ari asked, confused.

“There’s a male nurse sitting at the nurse’s station. Visitor’s hours are ending, so he’s not going to let us see Leeza.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Michael said.

She put her hand on his chest to keep him in place. “Don’t hurt him. He’s just doing his job.”

“I’ll go, I’m less threatening.” Father Raphael told her. She liked that idea better.

“Yes, you go, Father. Tell him that a patient had requested a priest to come by to pray over them, but you’re lost.”

“Who should I say?”

“Tell him it was room 645. That room should be on the corner, far enough away from your friend’s room.”

“Got it.” Father Raphael took a deep breath, pushed the ‘open’ button, and stepped off.

“You’ve got three minutes to get him to take you. Then we’re opening the doors.”

He nodded his understanding. The doors closed behind him. She felt weird having Raphael do this alone, but he shouldn’t be in any real danger. The worst that would happen is that they would be found out they were there after hours and make them leave the hospital. After what she faced earlier that night, that would be nothing.

“He’ll be fine.” Ari reassured her caressing her cheek. She couldn’t help but feel a sizzle where he touched her. If they hadn’t been interrupted by Michael and Raphael, she and Ari would’ve had sex, really hot sex. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that yet, but she couldn’t deny her feelings for him.

Michael growled. “It’s been three minutes.”

She moved away from Ari to the elevator door and hit the button. Thank goodness no one else seemed to be needing the elevators, otherwise they would’ve been moving up and down. The doors opened and she peered outside of them. There was no sign of anyone.

“They’re gone.”

Ari moved forward. “Let’s go. We don’t know how long Father Raphael can keep the nurse distracted.” She followed him because he seemed to know where he was going. Michael was behind her.

She passed room after room. Some of the patients were sitting up in their beds watching T.V. It looked like the rooms were all similar to the rooms in the rest of the hospital. It was nice and quiet. The difference was there were bars on the windows here, and she was sure that the doors to the stairwells were badge-access only.

“Leeza must have been scared and almost hysterical from what the demon did. She doesn’t belong here. She’s a medical student, the smartest person I know.”

“Here it is.” Ari paused outside a room.

She took a deep breath and turned the handle, grateful it wasn’t locked. The room was dark, so she turned on the light switch. She saw someone in the bed but the covers were pulled up over their head.

“Leeza?” She moved forward quietly. Once she was next to the bed she pulled the sheets down. She was expecting her friend to be asleep, but what she saw broke her heart. Leeza was awake and shivering in fear.

“Leeza, it’s me, Cass.”

Leeza looked at her and blinked. “Cass?”

“Yeah honey, it’s me. Talk to me, tell me how you’re doing.”

“It’s not safe out there anymore, Cass. Demons are everywhere...and angels. An angel took me from the demon but he just dropped me off and left. I didn’t believe the crazy guy until—he was bleeding everywhere and his blood burns. Look at my hand.” Leeza held out her hand and Cass cringed at seeing the red burn mark on her palm.

Cass gulped, not sure what she should say. If she denied it, that would make Leeza think she’d lost her mind, which was what the people at the hospital obviously thought. If she agreed with Leeza and she wasn’t ready to accept it, it could cause even more damage. She just didn’t know what the right thing to do was. Now she wished she’d brought Father Raphael with her instead of Michael. She couldn’t let Leeza see Michael; it would probably cause irreparable damage to her psyche.

“I’m here for you, Leeza. I’ll protect you. You believe that don’t you?”

Leeza nodded her head like a trusting child. “You always look out for me. You’re my best friend.”

“I am. I promise I’ll take care of you.”

“You won’t let the demons get me?”

“No, I won’t. I’ll beat them up if they try.” She wanted to make Leeza laugh, but it didn’t work.

Leeza clutched her hand. “You can’t fight them! They’re evil and dangerous! I think they killed Jerry. Poor Jerry!” She started sobbing.

Cass sat on the bed and took Leeza in her arms. Her powers of touch were still working, and images of Drey hurting Leeza played through her mind. He’d threatened her and hit her, and all the while he kept telling her what would happen to her if he didn’t find Cass. She’d been terrified for Cass, praying that she wouldn’t show up. The scenes were jumbled, and it was hard to focus on just one. Cass had to push the images out of her head but she wasn’t sure how. She imagined a window like the one in her apartment; when the street sounds were too loud she would shut it so the sounds would be muted. She imagined that window, closing it on Leeza’s memories. Once it was shut, the images faded and she breathed a sigh of relief. Now she needed to calm Leeza.

“Shhh...Jerry is going to be fine. He’s here in the hospital, on the third floor, sleeping.”

“He is? I want to see him.”

“Tomorrow morning, I promise. I’ll come back and ask the doctors to let us go down and see Jerry.”

“I don’t want to stay here, but I don’t want to be alone either. Can’t I come home with you?”

“Leeza.” The image of her apartment blowing up appeared in her mind and she suddenly realized she didn’t have anywhere to go. “My apartment is the last place either of us would want to be.”

“Right, the demon might still be there.”

She had to bite her lip to keep from telling Leeza the demon who kidnapped her was dead. That wouldn’t make the situation any better.

“The best thing is for you and Jerry to stay here and heal. You’ll both be safe. Then in the morning, I’ll come back to see you.”

“Promise you’ll be back.”

“I promise.” She kissed Leeza’s forehead.

“Wait, sing to me,” Leeza pleaded.

“Okay, honey.” She had to think back; none of her foster parents sung her to sleep, but there was a song that always seemed familiar. It wasn’t a lullaby but it made her feel better when she sang it. She hummed the Mama Cass version of the song, letting the words come slowly and softly:

Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"

Birds singing in a sycamore tree

Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty night and kiss me

Just hold me tight and tell me you miss me

While I'm alone and blue as can be

Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on dear

Still craving your kiss

I'm longing to linger till dawn dear

Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you

Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you

But in your dreams whatever they be

Dream a little dream of me

Cass quietly got up off the bed, careful not to wake Leeza. She spotted Ari in the doorway, watching her with an expression she didn’t understand. He turned to go out into the hallway and she followed him out, closing the door behind her. Ari watched her with concern.

“How’s Leeza?”

She didn’t answer him right away. “Where’s Father Raphael?”

Michael came toward them. “Raphael and the nurse are coming this way.”

“Cass?” Ari grabbed her arm.

She shook her head. “Let’s get to the elevator. I don’t want all Father Raphael’s hard work go to waste.”

They didn’t say anything else as the three of them went to the elevator and pushed the button to open the door. They stepped inside and waited. A few minutes later the doors opened and Father Raphael stepped inside.

“Whew, I’m glad that is over with. I dragged out that prayer longer than one of my sermons.”

“Thank you, Father.” Cass patted his shoulder.

“How is your friend, dear?”

“She’s not doing good.” She waited until they got to the lobby and left the hospital. Once outside she told them what was going on.

“She’s talking about demons and angels and how it’s not safe. I didn’t know what to say to her. Even if I tell her the truth, she obviously can’t handle it, since she had a breakdown. It’s my fault. None of this would’ve happened if not for me.” She was fighting her tears. Father Raphael gave her a comforting hug.

“That’s bullshit.” Ari shook his head. “You didn’t ask to be created. If anyone is to blame it’s the angels. They had this mad scheme to make a weapon but forgot that you were just an innocent child. They left you unprotected and untrained to handle this.”

Michael shoved Ari’s shoulder. “We were trying to protect lives and save souls. You can’t blame all this on us angels. No one had any idea that the child would be lost. All of us thought she was dead. Raphael lost his wings because of that, and has dedicated his life to serving the Lord and earning redemption. Every day on Earth ages him and every time he uses his healing powers it drains him. If anyone is to be blamed it’s you and your demon buddies!”

Ari shoved him back. “Cass was safe, innocent from all of this, and you brought her into it and endangered her friends. One of whom got his head chopped off!”

She’d just about had it with the two of them going at each other and was about to tell both of them where they could shove their attitudes. At the mention of her friend with his head rolling out of the dumpster, she paled. “I’m going to be sick.”

No sooner had she said it, than she turned to stumble to the side of the hospital and threw up. She took deep breaths and was glad she hadn’t had much but a bowl of soup. As soon as her stomach was empty, she started trembling and couldn’t stop. She wrapped her arms around her middle.

“Cass, baby, are you okay?” Ari was there, moving her hair out of her face. She felt Raphael put his hand on her upper back and the tension and fear left her. Leeza needed his touch more than she did.

“Father, do you think you could come back with me tomorrow morning to speak with Leeza. She could really use your comforting touch.” She hadn’t realized until Michael said something that Father Raphael was suffering, losing his powers to heal the longer he remained on Earth and aging like humans. The angels really had given him death sentence, just a long and dragged-out one. She felt guilty for asking for his help.

“Absolutely, you needn’t ask. I think we all have been through so much today. Let’s all go to our homes and get some rest. Things will be better in the morning.”

Another problem came up. “Um—I don’t have a home anymore. My apartment kind of blew up.”