7even Circles: Moon Is Calling (7even Circles Series Book 1) (5 page)

Chapter 7

Cass thought twice about opening her eyes. She winced listening to three men in the room argue about whether they should take her to a doctor. She wasn’t sure if she needed a doctor, but a psychiatrist was starting to sound real good right about now. She’d been kidnapped by a demon and saved by an angel. 

“The bleeding’s stopped, there’s no reason to take her to a hospital now,” Ari argued.

Father Raphael’s voice growled out, “She was cut and God know what else. She needs to be seen by a professional.”

A stranger’s voice spoke up. His voice was pleasing and husky. “Why don’t we ask her, she’s awake now.”

Busted.
She opened her eyes and slowly raised herself to lean against the headboard. “Where am I?”

“An attic apartment over the church. It used to be the caretaker’s apartment, but we haven’t had one since the economy went down. We’ve had many of our parishioners move away. I had to take over much of the caretaker’s responsibilities,” Father Raphael rambled as he offered her a glass of water.

“What happened?” She looked down and saw the bandages around her wrists. So she hadn’t dreamed it. She felt strange, maybe that was from the blood loss. She knew what had happened, but somehow she needed someone else to be the one to say it out loud.

Father Raphael sat down on the bed next to her. “You were kidnapped—”

“By a full demon.” The handsome man named Michael spoke up.

“His name is Drey.” Ari offered.

“Drey, a
full demon,
as opposed to…”

“Half-demon—but we prefer the term demi-demon.” Ari stood at the foot of her bed, looking his usual devil-may-care self. He had a bruise on his cheek, but nothing could detract from his dark good looks. Seeing him always made her feel…safe.

“Demon. Right.”

This was all too much. She just wanted to go home and get back to her normal, boring life. She went to get off the bed but all three men moved forward to stop her. She frowned at them.

“Look, I appreciate you all coming to my aid. Everything that happened—it’s too much. I need time to process it all.”

“We need to hunt this demon, Drey, down, before he can contact someone from one of the inner circles.” Ari paced over to the door.

Michael glared at him. “You shouldn’t have interfered.”

“You should have killed him instead of playing with your sword and showing off. I did what needed to be done to keep him from returning to his circle.”

“What are you two arguing over? The demon is probably dead by now. I stabbed him pretty deep, and he was bleeding a lot.” Cass got to her feet with Father Raphael’s help.

“A demon can only be fully killed if he is decapitated or struck through the heart with a pure silver sword dipped in holy water. The bracelet I slapped on him has a special spell on it that will keep him from returning to his circle. He won’t be able to open a portal door, and if his master calls him all portals will block him.”

“You know this guy?” Cass asked, still trying to wrap her mind around there being demons.

“Yes, Drey is from the third outer circle. The bracelet will also prevent him from healing, so he will be bleeding and growing weaker.”

“That’s good, then. He’ll be too weak to cause any more harm.” Cass looked for the positive in all this.

Michael snorted. “Your half-demon here just made things a lot worse for everyone.”

“How?”

“A weak and desperate demon is the most deadly kind you could face.” Father Raphael was the one to answer her.

She turned to look at the priest with new eyes. “You sound like you’ve dealt with demons before.”

“Once, a long, long time ago, I was a young, strong Arkangel like my friend Michael. I wielded my sword against many a demon and served my Lord with honor.”

“What happened?”

Raphael looked over at Michael first before answering. “I failed in my duties to protect an innocent. My wings were taken, and I was left to remain on the Earthly circle, or Earthly plane, as my punishment.”

“How is being on Earth a punishment?” Cass wasn’t sure if she should be insulted.

“The longer an angel remains here, the more their powers fade, until they are basically as human as the next person. Angels must return to their own circle—the Heavenly plane—in order to replenish their power.”

She got the feeling there was more to the story than Raphael just remaining behind, but she had other questions she needed answered first.

“Drey said he wanted to kill me because he thought I was the ‘Child of Light.’ He gave me his version of what that was, but I want to hear it from someone who’s not trying to kill me. What is the Child of Light?”

When neither Raphael nor Michael answered her, Ari spoke up with anger in his voice. “It’s the Arkangels’ attempt at trying to play creator and make themselves a weapon against demons in the form of an innocent child.”

Michael was immediately in Ari’s face. “You need to shut up and leave. You’re not welcome here.”

“How about both of you go outside to the garden and calm down.” Father Raphael pointed to the door.

Ari gave her a quick look. “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

She watched them both leave and heard their heavy boots on the staircase. Cass went over to the window and a few minutes later watched as Ari and Michael emerged into a private garden surrounded by a tall stone wall.

Both of the men looked ready to fight one another. They were a contrast: Michael the white knight, and Ari the dark one. Both of them were physically perfect and sexy as hell. She imagined herself kissing both of them, and the thought was appealing. She just didn’t know either of them that well. She’d known Ari longer, but she had no idea that he was part demon. It made her question everything she did know about him.

“How close are you to the half-demon?” Raphael asked from behind her.

“We’re—friends. Don’t change the subject. Tell me about the Child of Light.”

Raphael walked over and took a seat in a nearby rocking chair. “Many many years ago, the Arkangels and demons were fighting on the Earthly plane. Angels and demons have had many battles throughout history, but this one was particularly bad for the angels. We lost many of our number. A prophet had predicted that a child born of light, raised in the darkness, would rise up and lead us to victory in the next big battle. It was hoped that she would tip the scales.”

He paused as he looked out the window, up at the clouds. “A few of the lead Arkangels took from the prophecy that an Arkangel would father a child, but they also wanted to stack the deck.”

“Stack the deck how?”

“Angels can fight demons easily enough on the Earthly plane, but if the fight is taken to the demon’s circle, it is almost impossible to defeat the demon. In fact, no Arkangel has been able to get past the fourth circle to reach the inner circles. Angels are too pure, they would be outnumbered, and the longer they are in the circles of Hell, the more their powers fail them. They become weakened.

“In turn, the demons can come to the Earthly circle to fight angels, but they’re on a time table. They’ll be called back within forty-eight to seventy-two hours. When they are called back it’s like a vacuum that sucks them back through the portal to their circle.

“However, a half-demon can travel back and forth with no time restraint.”

“Why are they different?”

“Half-demons are born with their souls intact. They are neither inherently good nor inherently evil, neutral until they decide. If they choose to be evil, they give up their soul and become a full demon.”

“Okay, so what does all this have to do with the Child of Light?” She settled on the window seat, trying to take it all in.

“The Arkangel commanders believed that if an Arkangel bred with a half-demon, a child born of that union would have all the strengths of both and none of the limitations.”

“You guys wanted to create a child you would make into a weapon, a super-soldier, to hunt the demons in a way that the Arkangels couldn’t—by going to the inner circles.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the priest. He wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Is that right?” she demanded.

“Yes.”

“I’m the Child of Light?” She wasn’t sure what answer she was hoping for.

“Yes.”

She nodded her head and looked back out the window. “So what happened to training me? Why is it I didn’t know anything about this until now? In fact, I don’t remember the first eight years of my life at all.”

“Your mother disappeared right before she was to give birth. The half-demon woman chosen for the breeding was furious that she was being used to breed the Child of Light and escaped the safe house we had set up for her. I was supposed to be guarding her, but I failed. I turned my back on her for just a moment and she managed to knock me out from behind. When I came to, she was gone. I searched, but couldn’t find any trace of her. Angels were called down to help track her. The body was of a pregnant female was found, matching the description of the half-demon. Before we could get there to identify the body, the morgue burned down. There was nothing left but ashes. We believed it was her and thought that you were dead—killed. For my failing, I was sentenced to remain on the Earthly plane for the rest of my days, to die as a human.”

“Laura.” She turned to glare at him.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“My mother’s name was Laura Knight. The demon told me that. So, I have only one more question for you: who the hell is my father?”

Chapter 8

Ari rushed inside and up the stairs when he heard something crash against the wall of the room over the church. He slid to a halt at what he saw. The priest was half hiding behind the door and Cass was holding a vase in her hand, ready to throw it.

“What’s going on?” Ari asked, keeping out of her range.

Cass put her other hand on her hip and glared at the priest. “You were right about everything, Ari. They created me to be their weapon. They expect me to hunt demons for them while they hide out on their cloud above. Yet the only thing I ask for they would deny me!”

Ari looked at the priest. “What did you ask for?”

“I want the name of my father, the studly angel who impregnated an innocent woman and left her here.”

“She wasn’t innocent, she was a demon.” Michael said from behind her. He quickly grabbed the vase from her and tossed it to the side.

Cass glared at Michael now. “Half-demon.”

“Demi-demon actually, but that’s not important right now.” Ari held up his hands in a sign of peace as he slowly made his way back inside the bedroom.

*****

Cass was furious. Her whole life she’d imagined different stories about what had happened to her parents. Her favorite fantasy was that she was kidnapped and that her wonderful loving parents had been searching for her the whole time.

Now, she was crushed to find out that no one had searched for her, that she wasn’t born of love but out of some Arkangel military strategy to get the upper hand over their enemy. It was too much, all of it. She never liked being angry, but right now she would hit anyone who got too close to her.

“I want to go home.”

“You can’t; the demon is still out there, and who knows what kind of damage he will do next. You are safe here.” Father Raphael finally stepped back inside.

“I don’t care! This is your responsibility, not mine. I didn’t sign up for any of it!”

“Regardless of whether you got a choice, it is your destiny. You should be honored to do your duty.” Michael folded his arms over his chest, which served to piss Cass off even more.

“You know what, Michael, you’re just a bigoted asshole who can shove your righteous destiny up your shiny white ass!”

“Why don’t we all take time to calm down? We can check in to see if there have been any other disturbances. I know someone with the police who can find out for us.” Ari, demi-demon, was the voice of reason in the room.

“I want to call Leeza and Jerry to let them know I’m alive and okay, not dead like—Tim.” The thought of Tim cut up in those garbage bags had her reaching for a waste bin. Luckily, she didn’t have anything left in her stomach to lose.

Father Raphael waved Ari and Michael out of the room. “Go check in on what the police know. I’ll stay here with Cassandra and she can let her friends know she’s safe.”

Cass looked up at Ari. “Be careful.” Then she glanced at Michael. “Both of you.”

Ari winked at her. “I’m earning that kiss I’ve been asking for, babe.”

She snorted. “You have a long ways to go to get a kiss from me!” She turned to Father Raphael. “Where’s your phone?”

“Down in my office. Come, I’ll make you some soup while you talk to your friends.”

“I don’t want anything to eat.” Her stomach growled, proving her a liar. “Maybe a little something.” She followed him down the circular staircase, then down the hallway to the office.

“I’ll go get you some soup heated up while you talk to your friends. I warn you not to let them know where you’re staying, just in case the demon tries to get that information from them.”

Shit
. She hadn’t thought about the demon seeking out her friends. She rushed over to the phone and dialed Leeza’s apartment. It went to voicemail.

“Hi Leeza, it’s Cass. I’m safe and wanted to let you know. They sent a…a SWAT team to rescue me. I’ll call you back later.” She dialed Leeza’s cell phone but also got voicemail. She left another message. Next she called the diner.

“Hello?”

She felt instantly relieved. “Jerry, it’s me.”

“Cass! Thank God. Are you okay? What happened? Leeza, it’s Cass!”

She heard Leeza’s voice come on the line. “Where are you? Are you okay?”

“Yes, some special-forces type people helped me to escape from the killer. He killed Tim. It was so awful.” She choked up.

“Come here to the diner, I’m staying at Jerry’s for now. I forgot to charge my cell, but it’s charging now. Come home.”

“I—can’t. I have to meet with the police again about what happened. The guy got away, so they’re going to have to hunt him down.” That was a lie. She couldn’t tell a bunch of cops that a demon chopped up Tim and wanted to sacrifice her on a rock altar so that he could earn a spot next to the Devil. There was no one she could tell this to.

“I’m safe, I’m at a friend’s place right now.”

“What’s the number there?”

Cass looked at the phone but it was an out-of-date one and the number wasn’t written down. “I don’t know. I called your cell phone so it, should have the call-back number on it.”

“I’ll check in with you later. The police are going to let Jerry open the diner tomorrow night.”

“That’s fast.”

“Jerry and I both had alibis. The police were questioning about you, though. I told them there was no way you would kill anyone. Just be prepared, you may want to get a public defender before speaking with them.”

“Thanks, Leeza. I’ll call you later.” She hung up feeling a little better now that she knew her friends were okay. She headed in the direction that Raphael had gone and found him in the kitchen by the stove.

“Are your friends okay?”

“Yes, I’ll call and check on them again later. They’re opening the diner back up tomorrow.”

“That’s kind of fast.”

“The police cleared Jerry and Leeza and I’m sure Jerry pressured them to let him open. It’s his only means of support. He’s letting Leeza stay with him for now to keep her safe.”

“He sounds like a good man.”

“He is. He gave me a job and agreed to pay me under the table so that I didn’t have to take out insurance and taxes. It let me earn more.”

“Which you stashed away in the floor of your apartment.”

“How did you know that?”

“Ari. He knew where you lived and took me and Michael there when the demon kidnapped you. The demon needs something personal of yours in order to hold a proper ceremony, and we thought he would take you to your apartment.”

She wasn’t sure if she was more embarrassed that others had seen how she had to live, or upset over the fact that Ari knew where she lived and where she stashed her extra money. How long had he been watching her? Did she have two stalkers now?

“The soup is ready. Come and sit down. There’s more we need to talk about.”

She sat down at the table and Raphael brought over two bowls of steaming soup. She wasn’t sure she could take any more revelations at that point.

“What do we need to talk about, unless you’re going to tell me the name of my father?”

“I’m sorry, I cannot reveal his identity. I swore an oath.”

She grumbled as she took a sip of her soup. “What then?”

“Your powers, when did they start to come out?”

She hadn’t thought about that; she’d kind of pushed it to the back. “I think when the demon cut me. Instead of getting weaker, I felt sort of a release.”

He nodded his head. “What freed you from the ropes?”

“I felt this electric current running up my arm. Then all of a sudden the rope holding me burned off.”

“Can you do it again?” Raphael reached for a dishtowel and placed it in front of her.

She focused on it, but nothing happened. She took it in her hands and closed her eyes.
Come on, electric current, do your magic!
Nothing.

“I can’t get it to work.”

“We need to find your trigger.”

“My what?”

“A trigger is what lights up your powers. It could be anger, sadness, pain, or even love. We need to find it and learn how to work your powers, so you can have control over it.”

“Why? So I can fulfill your stupid prophecy?”

“It’s not my prophecy, it’s your destiny.”

“My destiny is to grow old and die.”

“If you don’t control your powers, you may not reach old age before you die. Demons will be drawn to you because of that untapped power; they will want it for themselves, or to sacrifice you to gain a place in the inner circle. Everyone around you will also be in danger. They will be seen as your weaknesses.”

“I can’t let my friends suffer because of me. I could always leave here.”

“There are portals everywhere in the world. Some places have multiple portals. There is no hiding from this.”

“Well fuck it. Sorry, Father. I guess we’ll have to find this trigger then.” Whatever the hell it was.