Angel's Power (5 page)

“If there is a portal there, we
must be cautious,” he said.

Gabriel gave him a hard look, then
nodded. “Agreed.” His ebon wings beat slowly, keeping him aloft. Raphael
hovered near his mate, the white of his wings a beacon in the night.

Suriel frowned. “Raphael, you
should not come in with us.” He did not want his brother injured.

Raphael glared at him. “Are you
crazy?”

Suriel shook his head. “You’re too
bright.” Raphael glared harder and he tried to explain. “Literally. You’re too
visible. If there is a demon in there, she will go first after you. You’re like
a shining star.”

Raphael opened his mouth to
protest, but then Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder. He closed his mouth with
a snap. Suriel flew closer to Ariel so his brother wouldn’t see his relief.
Ariel looked at him consideringly.

“You won’t get me to stay behind,”
she said, tapping a finger on her lips.

Suriel’s eyes went straight to her
mouth. Mother of God… At least she’d put her blade away. Her ferocity only made
him want her more. He gathered the tattered remnants of his control even as his
cock strained against his jeans. “I wish you would.”

She snorted. “My wings are not
white.”

His eyes trailed down her
primaries. She was so beautiful and she had no idea. “No, they are not,” he
said, wanting to grab her and lock her away so she would be safe. Impossible.

She looked away, down into the evil
hole. “We need to hurry.”

Suriel sensed her discomfort with
herself. “Your wings are not damaged,” he offered.

She whipped her head around. “No?”
She flicked a finger at one. “What are they then? I am diseased.”

“Can’t you feel the energy?” he
murmured. He touched a fingertip to her hair. It was soft, like silk.

She jerked away. “Don’t touch me.”

He hovered closer, syncing his wing
beats to hers. “You didn’t mind me grabbing you earlier.”

“I did. I just didn’t want to make
a stink out of it,” she retorted. “I didn’t want you to feel the cold from the
portal.” She shrugged, suddenly vulnerable. “I have no idea why I could feel it
and no one else can.”

He reached out and grasped her chin
lightly. “I can feel it.”

She stared at him, blue eyes black
in the dark. “You said it was female. How can you feel it?” She didn’t move
away.

Cold flowed from her into him.
Suriel took power from his bones and used it to ground the miasma that
connected Ariel to the portal. “When you touched me, my power recognized it. I
could sense it because you translated it for me.”

She frowned and pulled away. “That
makes no sense.”

He shrugged, letting his hand fall.
“It is what it is.”

“I don’t even know why I’m sensing
these things,” she muttered, turning once again to the hole below them.

Suriel didn’t have the heart to
explain. “We can’t stay here much longer.” He glanced at the horizon. “The darker
it gets, the more power the demon gains. We must go down.”

“This is insane,” she said quietly,
staring at the mountain.

Before Suriel could respond, she
shook her head and flew over to her brother, interrupting the furious argument
he was having with his mate. “Gabriel, we can’t wait any longer,” she said, loud
enough for Suriel to hear.

He glanced down involuntarily,
hoping no one saw them up here, hanging in the sky like perfect targets.

Gabriel looked at her, then cupped
his mate’s face in his hands. “Raphael, please.”

Suriel bit back the words clawing
at his throat. His brother would obey his Alpha. He had no right to interfere
in their relationship. His brother was an adult and he had to remember to treat
him like one. When Raphael finally nodded, Suriel sighed. This was going to be
enough of a disaster without their only healer getting caught in the crossfire.
Thank you God,
he said into the silence of his mind.

“Raphael, you should hide,” Ariel
said, pointing to a cluster of trees down the ridgeline.

Raphael nodded. “Good luck. I’ll be
waiting.” He kissed Gabriel and shot Suriel a look. “Do
not
let them die.”

Suriel put his fist over his heart.
“My life before theirs,” he said quietly, knowing his brother would read the
words on his lips. Raphael nodded and shot down, disappearing behind the trees.

Ariel drew her hands together for a
moment, lips moving silently. When she finished her prayer, she looked at her
brother. “You ready?”

Gabriel nodded, his face closed
down tightly. Only his eyes gave away his agitation. “Let’s do this.”

Chapter Four

Ariel folded her wings and dove for
the hole in the mountain. She prayed that she was imagining things. She prayed
that no one would get hurt. Most of all, she prayed that her brother would
forgive her for what she was about to do.

He’s the Alpha. He must survive,
she told herself again.
He was more important than her. Their People needed him. She was expendable.
She landed lightly on the thin ledge just outside the darkened hole. The cold
was stronger now, enough to make her shudder. She didn’t want to go in there,
but she had no choice. Suriel landed next to her.

“Let me go first,” he murmured,
easing past.

She had no time to argue. He
shifted back to human and began sliding down the dark passage. She sighed and
shifted too, then followed him. Gabriel brought up the rear, a short blade in
his hands. She nodded and took hers from the sheath at her ankle, careful to
keep the edge away from Suriel.

“Are you certain this is the right
place?” Gabriel whispered to her.

She nodded. “Yes. I can feel it.”
She shivered as she trailed fingers along the cold cave wall. Wickedness seeped
up through the stones like water from a spring. “It’s just ahead. I think.”

Suriel stopped, hands outstretched.
Ariel strained to see past him, but the dark was absolute. “Where is it?” she
asked harshly, heart pounding in the silence. “Do you see the portal?”

“God help us,” Suriel murmured, and
then a flash of crimson bathed the three of them.

Ariel cried out as a searing pain
hit her between her breasts, but she had her blade up. She would meet this evil
fighting. Scales moved past her, too fast to see properly and she slashed outward,
sinking the sharp metal into hide. The creature squealed, a sound so desperate
that Ariel clapped her hands over her ears, losing her grip on her knife.
Suriel pushed her back against the cool stone of the cave and raised his arms.
Light danced along his skin, silver-white, like stars on the tips of his
fingers. He threw pieces of energy at the demon, but it didn’t seem to do any
good.

“Ariel!” Gabriel yelled, slashing
at the demon with his blade.

“I’m okay,” she said, weakly,
staring at Suriel. The energy in her body rose and she tried to do what he did,
but she couldn’t. She was too weak. He’d shifted again and his wings brushed
along her body like static electricity. It felt good. Almost too good. The
energy welled up within her again, even stronger now. Instinctively, she
slipped her hands around Suriel’s waist. He gasped, hissing when Ariel’s power
slammed into him. She didn’t let go. The energy had glued her hands to his
waist.

“God, Ariel,” he muttered, but he
didn’t lower his hands. He took the energy and shoved it at the demon. Sparks
danced along the black scales, like fireworks over darkened water. Gabriel
slashed again and again, seemingly inexhaustible.

“We need water,” Suriel said,
oddly.

Ariel had no idea what he was
talking about.

“There’s a spring, just behind us,”
Gabriel said, backing up.

The demon hissed and for the first
time, Ariel could see its face. A serpent’s tongue, glowing with heat and ash
slipped out from a face so wrong, she couldn’t believe the creature was even
alive, let alone functional. Just as suddenly as she saw it, the demon twisted
and disappeared. Ariel looked around frantically. Where did it go?

“Come on,” Suriel said, grabbing
her arm. She stumbled, but he caught her. Her wings dragged against the cave
walls. It hurt.

When did my wings come out?
she wondered,
half-dazed. Everything was blurry.

“Come on,” Suriel urged, dragging
her faster.

Ariel curled her fingers into the
waistband of his jeans and hung on. When he stopped abruptly, she lurched into
him. He caught her, cradling her against his bare chest. His heart thundered
against her cheek.

“What’s wrong with her?” Gabriel
asked.

Ariel couldn’t even focus on her
brother’s face.

“Blood loss,” Suriel said in a
clipped voice.

Blood loss?
Ariel looked down. Just
along her ribs was a cut, oozing blood and other things. She swayed. When had
that happened?

“Dear God,” Gabriel said, shoving
closer.

Suriel blocked him. “The demon’s
coming. If we live, we’ll take care of her.”

Ariel curled her fingers into
fists, still hanging onto him. The strange energy roiled through her, strong
even through her daze. “Put me behind you,” she said thickly.
Why didn’t the
cut hurt?

“Here,” Suriel said, propping her
against the wall. She almost fell, but then Suriel put her hands on his ass.
She fought the urge to giggle hysterically and hunted for the waistband of his
pants.
Now is definitely not the time to grope his gorgeous backside,
she told herself fuzzily. When she found his pants, she grabbed on again, dimly
hoping she didn’t pull them off. The last thing he needed was for his junk to
be swinging in the air in front of a demon. This time the urge to laugh was too
much and a gurgle slipped through her lips.

Suriel shot her a worried look.

She shook her head at him. “I’m
fine. Fine.” Just beyond him, something moved in the dark. “Behind you!”

He whirled around. Gabriel was
already battling the thing, with just his small knife.

“We need a sword,” she muttered,
feeding Suriel more energy. He slashed at the demon with the energy, but it
didn’t seem to help. “A sword,” she said louder.

Suriel didn’t pause, so Ariel began
to form the shape of it in her mind. When she was sure she had all the details
done properly, she dragged Suriel back and pulled energy from him, using it and
hers to form a blade out of nothing. White light coalesced in front of them.
Suriel sucked in a harsh breath, face shocked. The silver energy flashed so
bright she couldn’t look at it. Suriel grunted, then shoved his hand into the
energy, closing his fist around it.

“Whatever you’re doing, hurry up!”
Gabriel yelled.

Ariel slid down the cave wall,
energy dancing around her body. Suriel had the sword in his hands. It was
silver. The metal gleamed so pure it looked like water. He stared at her, face
shocked, then whirled around and tossed the sword at Gabriel. Her brother
caught it one-handed, then deliberately stepped into the small pool of water
just behind him. The sword flared like a tongue of silver fire.

The demon, lit now with the light
of Ariel and Suriel’s power, surged forward. Gabriel yelled and slashed with
the sword. It sliced through the demon’s thick neck, scales shearing to pieces
like glass. Blood fountained up, lava-hot. Gabriel leaped back even as he
slashed again. A black horn fell to the cave floor. The demon pushed forward and
Gabriel shoved the sword deep into its heart. Suriel raised his arms, touching
the water on the walls. The sword flared as electricity danced from his hands
to Gabriel’s. The demon shrieked. Gabriel grunted, twisting the blade as energy
poured through him into the creature. He let go, staggering back, and the sword
flared again, sizzling.

Ariel clasped her hands over her injury
as she struggled to see what was happening. She tried to send more energy to
her brother, but it sputtered and she realized the sword had vanished. Her body
was too weak to sustain it and Suriel couldn’t do it alone. She sighed, fingers
sticky as they slid across her waist. Her blood didn’t feel hot anymore.
This
is not how I imagined I’d die,
she thought sluggishly. As the demon gave a
last, low moan, her head fell to the side and darkness closed over her like a
blanket.

****

Suriel
dropped down beside
Ariel. “God, please let her be alive. Please,” he begged, sliding a hand under
her neck. A slow, thin pulse steadied him. She lay broken and bleeding, just
like in his vision. Just as he’d foreseen. Guilt stabbed him in the gut. Even
as he tried to keep away from her, his power drew her into danger. He began to
try and feed her energy, but every time he pushed a spark into her body it
fizzled out. He tried again and again, bowing over her small frame. “God, no.”
Behind him, light flared as the demon finally died. Anger rose in him. Ariel
should not have to die for one useless demon. Her life was worth so much more.