Crave (Tainted Angels Book 1) (18 page)

I blinked at him. “Okay, just a regular request then.”

He smiled and nodded. “Oh yeah, but of course, who was I to say no?”

“I bet.” I chuckled, imagining his face at the time.

“So, she became pregnant and gave birth to Strauss, my son. He lived both with me and The Alpha and it worked out fine. But unbeknown to us, God was furious, jealous that she had chosen me, so he severed ties with both of us and set up on his own, creating Empyrea, his own realm.”

“I missed him. He was my brother,” Diablo admitted but then his face saddened. “Many years later, Strauss came to me, telling me who he had fallen in love with.”

“Delilah,” I said.

“Yes,” he whispered sadly. “Of course, I also fell in love with Delilah. I mean, who couldn’t love the mouthy angel? And then it all went wrong.”

I nodded, knowing the rest of the story. “I’m so sorry.”

His smile was wide and he took my hand. “Don’t be sorry, precious. My son lives on in you. For that I could never be sorrowed.”

“But I still don’t understand.”

“You hold the blood of The Almighty, Willa. Your soul is created from The Almighty and a prime. God nor I possess her blood or a piece of her soul. You are the only blood relation to her. Well, apart from Strauss, but, of course, he is no longer with us. Not only are you created from her blood and soul but as mine and God’s granddaughter, you also possess the powers of the Miriam Stones. You have abilities that you could never dream of, powers that people crave. That
he
would sell his soul to both possess and obliterate.”

“So it’s just good old fashion jealousy?”

“I’m afraid so. He knows exactly what you are capable of, dear girl. You are the only living being that is a threat to him.”

“But look at me. I’m just a useless seraph. I can’t even fight against the dredgen.”

“You are way tougher than you think. You just need to trust yourself more, learn to control the thing in your veins, and listen to your heart more. It will never lead you astray.”

I couldn’t help but look at Rax. “It already did,” I whispered, wincing at the failure I felt deep down inside.

The shock and pain on Rax’s face hurt me as much as my words had hurt him. But I couldn’t help the way I felt. It wasn’t
me
Rax was attracted to, it was
who
I was. His
destined
mate, not his
chosen
mate. And I would be a fool to myself if I didn’t accept that.

“I need time alone.”

Diablo nodded. “I’m so sorry to dump this on you, but you need to be prepared for what your grandfather is capable of. We’ve managed to keep you hidden and I’ll be damned to the Ether if I allow him to get to you.”

Kissing me softly on the head, he gestured to Rax with his chin then left.

“And you,” I whispered when I could feel Rax still behind me by the door.

“You’re wrong, Seraph,” he said tightly when I turned to him. He was standing, one hand on the door but his eyes seeking out mine. “You look at me. You look deep down and tell me what I feel for you isn’t real.”

“It’s not, Rax. You heard Diablo. It’s anything but real.”

“You’re wrong,” he said furiously, shaking his head. “We were destined to be mated. But we weren’t destined to fall in love.”

I stared after him, my heart thumping wildly as he closed the door and left me alone. Alone with my tears, my anger, my hurt - and my hatch.

T
he horizon was a painted vista of raw beauty as I stepped on to the beach, my feet sinking in to the soft sand and pressing through the gap between my toes. My eyes were mesmerised by the blazing orange skyline, the break between the ocean and the beautifully lit night sky seamless.

Lincoln turned to me, removing his own gaze from the view. He was wearing white linen trousers and a flowing black shirt, the material rippling in the air. His hair was a jumbled mess of blonde strands and his eyes were a mirror image of the blaze in the distance as they softly slid down me. My white nightgown blew gently in the slight breeze and my hair was down, the tips falling over the unbuttoned neckline and tickling the swell of my breasts as the faint wind caused it to superficially dance with an invisible partner.

“Is this a dream?” I asked him when he lifted his hand to me and I confidently slipped my tiny fingers into his large outstretched palm.

His hold was firm as he turned back to the sunset and I stood beside him. “Yes and no.”

“Yes and no?”

He didn’t clarify as he kept his attention on the setting sun. I didn’t want it to disappear. I feared that when it slid behind the sea that Lincoln would go with it. “You aren’t safe here, Willa.”

“Here?”

“Where you are?”

He was talking in a strange language but for some reason I understood him. I saw the fluid motion of his tongue as he moulded each foreign syllable around it and his lips formed odd shapes as he spoke in the unique language I was able to translate.

“Where are we?”

He turned to me, blinking away the reflection of the sky in his deep eyes. Bringing my hand to his mouth, he kissed my knuckles. “Death.”

I frowned, the sudden rush in my veins making me dizzy. “What do you mean death?”

“This is death,” he whispered, my eyes hypnotised by the slithering of his tongue when it slicked across his lips.

“You’re not making sense, Linc.”

“You left me to die, Willa. You left me to die. He came and you left me ….”

“Linc?” I panicked as he repeated the words over and over again.

“You left me, Willa. You left me to die. You left me for him …”

“Lincoln!” I cried out, dropping his hand to spread my fingers over his firm chest. “I would never leave you! You’re my brother.”

“No,” he hissed. His eyes narrowed on me, a hatred I’d never witnessed in his beautiful eyes before bore straight through me and into the part of my soul that I kept only for my brother. I could practically feel it snap away from the lock I secured it with, the pain that it brought taking me to my knees before him.

“Lincoln?” My voice was cloaked in agony, my hand pressing to my chest in attempt to ease the pain. “You’re hurting me. Stop it!”

“You could have saved me, Willa. You
should
have saved me, but instead you chose to give your allegiance to … to
him
!”

“To who?” My question was barely audible under the deep rasp of pain. “To who!” I shouted when he turned back to stare at the ocean.

“Willa …”

I looked around for Rax when I heard his voice but I was still alone with Lincoln. The torture was taking my breath, tightening my throat with its potency. “Lincoln, please …”

A deep bitter laugh tore from him as he turned back to me, his eyes piercing. “Would you save me, Willa? Would you?”

“You know I would, Lincoln. I would give you my last breath!”

“Then prove it.”

“Willa …”

I shook my head, crying out at the agony that made my head swim. “How? HOW?”

He held out his hand to me again. “Follow me. Stay with me, impudent child.”

“Willa … don’t!”

“Lincoln!” The ache on his face pierced my heart with a thousand blades, his grief at my neglect giving my own grief substance. “I’ll … I’m sorry. I won’t ever leave you, brother.”

I fell backwards into the sand, my mouth falling open in disbelief when Rax suddenly materialised beside Lincoln, the shimmer from his hatch still warping the air around him. But it wasn’t Rax. Yet it was.

I gawped at the large demon that possessed Rax’s eyes but exhibited
the most magnificent body. The towering wraith stood almost three times as high as Lincoln, its solid body showcasing muscles and sinew I never knew existed. It bared its razor sharp teeth at Lincoln, its lips curled into a sinister malevolent grin. Its fingers curled into talons as it shook its grotesquely mutated body and tipped its head back, its long black hair falling the length of its spindly back. My skin shrank back in terror when it released a devastating roar, spit flying from its mouth as its arm flew for Lincoln and it encased his throat in its long claws.

“No!” I cried out as I scrambled over the sand to get to Lincoln.

“Show yourself!” the demon demanded.

“NO!” I cried out.

The demon lifted its free hand and delicately but steadfastly, I was immobilised, my body not belonging to myself as the demon held me in some sort of spell. It wasn’t painful, far from it. A warmth tickled my skin and a tender touch caressed me within the stronghold. Where was bloody Delilah when you needed her? Oh, yeah, stupidly I’d left her with Diablo in Gehenna.

“Show yourself!” it demanded again.

“Fuck you!” Lincoln spat.

The demon roared again but this time it was accompanied with something a lot fouler, a wave of scorching heat bursting from it. Lincoln screamed then something unbelievable happened. His skin peeled away from his body.

My eyes widened in fright
when another vile creature emerged from Lincoln. Like Rax, it was huge and terrifyingly tall. It wasn’t as muscular as its opponent but more wraithlike, its body seemingly made from a deep green vapour.

Lincoln struck out, hitting Rax square in the face, the splinter of bone loud to my ears.

“No!” I screamed when Lincoln jumped at a stunned Rax, knocking him to the ground before curving its long fingers around the base of Rax’s throat. As he went down the shield he had secured me in disappeared and I fell back to the sand.

Rax roared, the sound hitting me in the gut with the strength of the agony it bore. But, unperturbed, Rax gained strength and Lincoln sailed through the air as if an invisible force had struck him.

Rax was upon him in mere milliseconds his claws tearing into Lincoln’s throat. Blood spurted like a generous fountain onto the paleness of the moonlit sand, the deep crimson painting the beach like a modern art canvas.

But Lincoln fought back, the deep gash in his throat not hindering his own strength.

I couldn’t move, my body in shock lockdown as I watched the two creatures tear chunks out of each other. They were unrelenting, blood from both of them splattering not only the sand but me, their ruthless engage causing my blood to freeze with their determination to rip each other to pieces.

“It seems almost sad for you to lose your life for the whore!” Lincoln hissed.

As if the name he called me physically pained Rax, he released a thunderous snarl
and struck Lincoln with a formed fist.

Lincoln soared through the air – straight into me. Both our bodies entwined as we met the earth with an almighty thud. My lungs squealed with the air that left me in a sudden rush, a pain piercing through my breastbone as I rolled with Lincoln.

But before I could react, Lincoln was up on his feet with me in his agonising grip, his long talons pressing against my jugular. “Come get her, you filthy cunt!”

I hated that word. Have I told you that once? Well I did. It was vulgar, and somewhat degrading.

“Hey,” I hissed through the restriction he forced on my throat. “That’s a female body part you’re fucking slating.” As if shocked by my outburst, Lincoln/foulmouthed demon gawped down at me. “And it’s not filthy when your dick is in said cunt and its pleasuring you, you fucking green prick!”

Amazed by my outburst both Rax and Lincoln/foulmouthed demon froze. I didn’t feel right, my skin burned all over. A fierce pain sliced through my back and a violent scream erupted from me, scorching my throat on its fight for freedom.

I stared at Rax as he stared at me, his eyes widening on something behind me.

Looking over my shoulder when Lincoln’s hold disappeared, my breath froze and my eyes rolled into the back of my head when the most magnificent, majestic scarlet
red wings spanned out behind me.