Desiring A Demon (Archangels) (5 page)

“My business is none of yours. I smell self-righteousness and the purity of angels on you. I should skin you alive for coming in as a spy.”

“I’m not a spy. I’m staying with someone good, okay. But he doesn’t know I’m here.”

She wanted to take the words back as soon as they left her mouth. A grin of satisfaction covered his face and he chuckled. “Oh, this just gets better and better. So, your angel boyfriend doesn’t know you’ve come to meet the Big Bad Wolf? Perfect.”

Her hand tensed on the bat as every self-preservation instinct cried out, but it was too late. Forge did no more than nod and everything went black.

…

Rafe paced across his living room floor while Mike and Zerach waited sympathetically. She was gone. It was nearing midnight
,
and Asta was nowhere to be found. Even the GPS tracking on her cell phone had gone out. He was ready to pull his hair out and tear his way through the city. Only the steady presence of his brothers kept him calm enough to think before such a drastic act.

“I have to go home, Rafe,” Zerach said.

Rafe nodded and hugged his brother once he stood. “Tell Isadora I’m sorry for keeping you out so late.”

“She understands. Asta’s her friend, you know. She wants to know where she is
,
too. I’ll keep my ears open and do what I can to help first thing in the morning.”

Rafe nodded and walked his brother to the door, then closed it slowly before heading back to face Mike. He still hadn’t confessed everything about the past twenty-four hours. He’d even purposely kept them from the kitchen
,
where the demon taint still lingered heavily. Mike would smell it though, even rooms away. He was the strongest of them in all ways. Now Rafe faced his brother and leader and dreaded what would happen next.

“By all accounts she left of her own accord,” Mike said.

Rafe nodded and ran his hands down his face. “Yeah, I know. But why? She gave no hint she was even thinking of moving on. Hell
,
she just baked cookies yesterday.”

“Any left?”

Rafe growled but Mike shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, brother. She hasn’t warmed up to me and rarely looks my way, much less talks to me. If Isadora doesn’t know anything then there’s nothing to know. Maybe it was a last
-
minute decision.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. And most of her stuff is still here. All that’s missing is the backpack she takes everywhere and her baseball bat.”

“Baseball bat?”

“Yeah…don’t ask.”

Mike shook his head and leaned his elbows on his knees. Rafe looked on as the urge to tell him about Asta’s condition ate at him.

“And you’re sure she doesn’t have friends or family in Houston? Maybe she went to visit someone and forgot to tell you.”

Rafe ached in frustration. They’d been over all the possibilities for the past few hours. “As far as I know, she has no one. Not in Houston, not anywhere. Her mother died
,
and her father’s a demon. The only friends she makes hate her within a few days because of her demon taint. There’s no one but us.”

Mike nodded and stood. “All right. Where do you want to look? I’ll take one part of the city and you take another. If we don’t find her in the next twenty-four hours I’ll call in everyone else.”

Everyone else consisted of the three brothers who lived outside of Houston city limits. Camael was the closest, only an hour north in Huntsville. But Selaphiel lived in Austin
,
and Uriel called San Antonio home. They could fly to Rafe’s house in around thirty minutes.

Then there was Gabriel. Last time Mike checked, their long-lost brother was residing in Madrid with a house full of women. They’d discreetly kept tabs on him but no one had approached him yet. Gabriel had been struck mute by the Source of All Creation and could no longer speak or communicate telepathically. The absence of his voice remained a gaping hole in each of them, a painful reminder of what was lost. With no end to his silence in sight, they had decided to leave him to his situation for the moment in the hopes he’d found happiness. But it was anyone’s guess if he had or not.

And had Rafe found happiness with Asta in his house? Normally he’d shrug off the question as unimportant, but with her missing he felt as if part of him was dying a slow, painful death. The urge to find her beat along with his heart in a frantic tempo he couldn’t seem to tame. He yanked off his shirt and all but ran to the back door with Mike close behind.

“I’ll head north,” Rafe said. “I’m going to start in Conroe and work my way downtown.”

Mike pulled his shirt off and tossed it onto a nearby counter. “All right. I’ll start in Galveston and work my way north from there. Meet me at city hall.”

“Will do.”

They left the house and jumped into the air without another word. Rafe kept the lights outside the back of his house off in case any of his brothers decided to fly in. Both his and his neighbors’ properties included large backyards, so it was less likely anyone would see them from the house. However, the angels had the ability to blend in with the night sky, blinding humans to their presence as they flew above them. It was second nature to use that power every time they took flight.

Rafe headed north to Conroe, a small town that had grown substantially over the past decade. He stretched out his senses for that one presence: Asta. She was sex and sin, temptation in a sweet package of soft curves and attitude. She made him think of chocolate
-
covered strawberries with whipped cream on top. He wanted nothing more than to lick all the cream off and take a bite.

But she was also sweet and sassy, full of innocent concern and hidden empathy. She held a lot of good within her right alongside the bad. So far the good was stronger
,
and she showed it every day with small but meaningful gestures. The way she asked about Isadora and always made sure there were enough cookies for his brothers were only small samples of her thoughtfulness. He feared the day the demon side grew stronger.

With a shudder
,
he flew into The Woodlands. Yet another small town run amok. He followed the main highway south, stretching his senses west and east. The light hint of evil intentions and violence that always permeated a mass of human population spiked here and there. Normally he’d investigate but this time he flew on, Asta his only concern.

By the time he flew past the freeway that made a loop around the innermost part of Houston he was almost frantic. There had been no sign of her whatsoever, as if she’d left the city completely. He landed in front of city hall and found Mike waiting for him
,
empty-handed.

“There’s no sign of her,” Mike said.

Rafe couldn’t hold his emotions in. He threw his head back and hollered his frustration to the clouds and prayed the Source would help them once more. “She has to be somewhere,” he said. “She wouldn’t have just left.”

Mike simply watched him in silence as Rafe fought the urge to start ripping trees from the ground. The strength of his emotions gave him pause. When had Asta started to mean so damn much to him?

“I’ll call in the others and we’ll meet at my house. But it’s probably best if we leave Zerach out of this,” Mike said.

“Thank you.”

Mike nodded and took to the sky again. Rafe watched him fly away but had no idea what to do next. An unfamiliar numbness struck him from the neck down, as if his entire body was weighed down with lead. For the first time ever he simply had no clue which direction to step next, or even what to think. After a moment he realized he was feeling true fear for the first time.

“Asta, where are you?”

He shut his eyes and put all of his energy into his senses. He reached for her essence in the same way he’d find one of his brothers, hoping against hope it might work. Mike called him out of his ruminations.
Everyone has gathered.

On my way.

He flew back to Mike’s house and walked in to find his four brothers waiting. Mike and Cam each had a beer in their hands. Uri and Sel stood empty-handed. All gazes turned his way.

“Thank you for coming,” he said. “We need to search the city and the suburbs.”

“You’re certain she wouldn’t be any farther away?” Sel asked.

“Yes. I can almost…feel her. It’s odd, not like with you guys, but similar. I just can’t get a handle on the feeling to know exactly where she is.”

They all nodded in understanding even though Rafe wasn’t sure he made any sense.

“Eleanor is calling around to hospitals right now to make sure she wasn’t wheeled into an ER in the past couple of hours,” Cam said.

A pain pierced Rafe’s chest at the thought of Asta being hurt. He rubbed at it absently. “Good. But unless she was struck unconscious I doubt she’d allow anyone to take her into an ER. She hates hospitals.”

“I did a preliminary check, but since you know Galveston best why don’t you head that way,” Mike asked Sel
.

“I searched a bit on my way down from Huntsville,” Cam said. “Nothing.”

“Maybe you should—” Rafe froze as a familiar
,
unpleasant feeling struck him. His brothers grimaced as they felt it
,
too.

“A portal has been opened,” Mike said. “A large one.”

“Shit.”

They ran out the back door and took to the sky, heading toward the source of evil pouring into the human realm. Like a beacon
,
it called to them on a primal level. Soon they were back in the warehouse district, flying above the same building the police had found the night before.

The windows glowed with the orange of an open flame, the shadows wavering as it flickered. Dark shapes began to emerge from cracks in the doors and spread across the streets. The angels armed themselves and donned their angelic armor, then landed to intercept the minor demons pouring from the building. They were no larger than cats but had sharp teeth and blood-red eyes. Rafe tore through them with his flaming sword and made his way into the warehouse. The firelight was dying out but he clearly saw the silhouette of a large man watching the demons emerge.

“Hey!” Rafe yelled. “What are you doing?”

The man turned and grinned at him with straight white teeth in a nearly perfect face. “Just waiting on you, of course. I heard you’ve been looking for me.”

“Forge.”

“One and the same. I’d ask your name but I don’t care. I want you to know I have something of yours. If you want her back you’ll have to negotiate.” He dropped Asta’s bat on the ground and took a step back, walking directly into the flames spitting up from the quickly closing portal. Rafe ran forward
,
but too soon the portal, the flame, and Forge were gone.

“Shit.”

Rafe dropped to one knee and picked up the baseball bat. There were small drops of blood on it, but he didn’t want to think they might be hers. He gripped the bat in both hands and shut his eyes as he held it against his forehead. The sound of running steps echoed loudly in the empty warehouse as his brothers dashed to his side
.

“That was Forge?” Mike asked.

“Yes,” Rafe said. “And he has Asta. We have to get her back.”

His brothers remained silent as he opened his eyes and stood. The burned remains of a recently closed portal stood before them like a gaping hole in the concrete floor. Animal blood tinted the outer rim.

“Back to my house,” Mike said. “We’re going to call in reinforcements.”

Chapter Five

It had been almost a century since another clan of angels had chosen Texas as their human home ground as well. The brothers rarely interacted with them, but from time to time one of the Kehath clan sought them out or aided them. They were a group of five brothers and two sisters who lived all across the lands covering San Antonio, Austin, and most of the Hill Country. Sebastian was their chosen leader
,
and he was as strong and stubborn as Michael.

“Explain again why we’re even looking for this demon?” he asked.

“
Half
demon,” Rafe growled.

Sebastian frowned at him, and Rafe spun on his heel to pace away from the table where his brothers sat.

After Mike explained their relationship to Asta, Sebastian snorted in disbelief. “Okay, so she’s a half-demon, half-human woman. And she’s missing but you don’t think it’s by choice?”

“Correct,” Mike said. “Plus this guy Forge opened a large portal and let a couple hundred minions through. He’s really strong in ways he shouldn’t be and has been able to hide his presence from us. We find her, we find him.”

“Ah, okay, now it makes sense.”

Rafe had to leave the room before he started throwing punches. Usually he was the one who kept his head when everyone else’s tempers were flaring, but with Asta still missing, his fuse had shortened dramatically. He understood on some level why Sebastian was confused. If he didn’t feel the way he did about Asta, it probably wouldn’t make sense to him either. Since their creation they had been battling demons, not learning to accept them…to care for them.

He dropped onto his sofa and covered his face with both hands. Did he really care for her that much? Could he? The emotions rolling through him were too chaotic to pinpoint. A heavy dose of fear confused everything else. But he did know one thing—once he had her back he wasn’t letting her out of his sight.

Mike walked into the room. “We’re splitting up again and venturing farther out. But you need to figure out what that asshole wants from you.”

Rafe sighed and rubbed his hands down his face. “I still have no idea.”

“Let’s go over what you know of him,” Sebastian said as he walked in. He sat on the sofa and kicked his feet onto the coffee table. “He seems to have the powers of a mid to high level demon, but he’s human, right?”

“I think we would know by now if he wasn’t,” Mike said.

“Would you?” Sebastian asked. “All you know of him is from rumors and hearsay. But you’re getting that information from humans. Most, if not all, who have no real experience with demons. What would they know?”

“True,” Rafe said. “What if this asshole is a demon?”

“Then what does a demon want from us?” Mike asked.

“Maybe to be left alone
,
” Sebastian said. “After all, you’ve been searching for him for how long?”

“Too long.”

Rafe nodded his agreement on that score. Forge had been an elusive pain in their asses for a couple of years.

“But he said something about a trade,” Mike said.

“No,” Rafe replied. “He said we had to negotiate. That doesn’t necessarily mean trade. But I don’t know how to even get in touch with him again in order to negotiate. And in the meantime he has Asta.” He dropped his head into his hands. “She’s probably terrified.”

Mike snorted. “Asta? More likely she’s already tried to cut off Forge’s balls. We should probably just wait. Another day and he might be begging to give her back.”

That almost made Rafe smile…almost.

“Maybe calling in more angels is the wrong tactic,” he said. “Maybe that will only make Forge angrier and more willing to hurt her.”

“Or maybe it will show him you can’t be threatened,” Sebastian said.

“Too late now. They’re here and they’re helping,” Mike chimed in.

Rafe nodded his reluctant agreement and stood. They would scour the city and surrounding areas again and pray she could be found.

…

Asta sat up slowly and looked around the empty room. She was in a seedy motel somewhere close enough to the beach to smell salt on the air. She looked down at the bed and jumped off in disgust once she noted the stained sheets.

“What the fuck?”

Stiffness in her joints led her to believe it had been more than a few hours since she’d lost consciousness. Her empty stomach told her it may have been more than a day. Weak daylight streamed in through the cracked blinds. She limped over to the window and looked out at an empty, weed-filled parking lot. The whole place looked abandoned. After patting down her pockets she realized her cell phone was missing. She also couldn’t find her backpack or her bat. There was no phone in the room and when she tried the door it wouldn’t budge. The deadbolt was rusted shut.

“Shit.”

She yanked the blinds all the way up
,
grabbed the lone chair in the room, and threw it with all her strength against the window. It bounced off, nearly hitting her as she jumped out of the way.

“Shit, shit, shit.”

The sky darkened and a distant rumble of thunder echoed through the air. Of course her escape couldn’t be easy.

A quick check proved she was relatively unscathed, though she was sore from head to foot and there were bruises on both arms. She searched the room a second time, but the chair was the only piece of furniture not bolted to the floor. Using every ounce of strength she could summon, she slammed it against the window again, and it still did nothing but throw her off balance. She fell on her ass with the chair landing heavily on top of her.

“Fuck.”

The thunder sounded closer and a gust of wind kicked up, sending a chill down her spine as small pebbles and debris hit the stubborn window.

Fat droplets hit the window
,
and she pushed the chair up so she could stand and gaze out. The sky had blackened until all she could see was the empty parking spaces directly in front of her prison. The voices in her head laughed at her and made crude suggestions of what she should be doing on the disgusting bed. She ignored them and fought for calm. Would Rafe hear her if she put all of her will into calling out to him? Not likely, but what else was there for her to try?

Closing her eyes, she fought for the calm she felt whenever Rafe was near. She mentally reached out, using thoughts of his scent, voice, and the awareness she always felt in his presence. It seemed as if she stood that way for hours before fatigue finally had her opening her eyes with a sigh. She dropped her head and tried not to give in to the urge to give up. Then something moved outside.

Asta squinted at the driving rain until the figure of a man formed clearly. He walked toward her, copper-colored wings out and completely untouched by the rain. An angel, but not one she knew. What the hell? He moved closer and surveyed the large window before looking directly at her.

“Hey, are you Asta?”

Despite the glass between them, she heard him clearly. She straightened and nodded even as she was trying to decide if she should answer. He set his hands on his hips and studied her much as she did him. He was tall and muscularly lean, like Rafe and his brothers. The angel’s brown hair ran past his shoulders, almost to his waist.

“I’m Sebastian. Everyone’s been looking for you. I was nearby when I…sensed you. You’re telepathic, huh?”

“Yeah, a little. Rafe? Where is he?”

“He’s been looking
,
too. I’ve already alerted them. He’s on his way.”

Equal parts dread and relief hit her at the thought of facing Rafe. What would she say to him? He’d want to know why she took off, but what could she tell him about why she’d been searching for Forge?

Sebastian drew closer until only a couple of inches separated him from the glass. He held his palms out and frowned. An arc of blue light shot from his palms
,
and he cursed before stepping back and shaking out his hands.

“It’s warded. Did you do this?”

“No. I don’t even know how
.
”

His skeptical look pissed her off
,
but she checked the response trying to leap off her tongue. He was here to help her. She’d wait until she was free of the smelly motel room before cussing him out.

“All right. I’ll do what I can but you should probably move back a bit.”

She went all the way to the bathroom door, the farthest she could get and still see him. An irrational fear that he might leave if she couldn’t watch him filled her. She didn’t know this angel or his motivations. The fact that he seemed to know Rafe helped, but maybe he was lying about that. Not all angels would care to help a half-demon after all.

He lifted his hands, palms out, and white light glowed all around them. It inched toward the window until stopping about an inch away where a blue haze seemed to take over. The two forces held each other in check for long moments as Asta’s pulse raced in anticipation. Sweat beaded on the angel’s upper lip as he frowned in concentration. His fingers curled into claws and a vein pulsed in his temple. His jaw locked and his shoulders bunched as if he was putting supreme physical force into the effort.

Asta held her breath as she watched and hoped with everything in her he could get past the wards. Then two more angels appeared at his back. Rafe and Mike.

Both inspired hope at her getting out but only one made her breath catch. Rafe’s gaze ran over her head to toe, like a physical caress that warmed her blood. Mike didn’t even look her way as he raised his hands and mimicked the other angel. Once Rafe was done examining her, he did the same.

“Asta,” Mike called. “Get in the bathroom. Now.”

She didn’t hesitate, and jumped in the tub. As soon as she crouched down in the porcelain shield a loud blast echoed through the room. She threw her arms over her head as debris rained down on her. Rafe shouted her name as other voices cursed loudly.

“Asta, don’t move,” Rafe hollered.

She couldn’t. Tile, drywall
,
plaster, and who knew what else covered her. She fought to breathe through the mess as she waited for Rafe to find her.

…

“I’ve found her
.
”

Sebastian’s shout pulled Rafe up short. He worked his way through the destruction of the motel room to find Mike and Sebastian crouched over a still figure in what was left of the bathtub. Rafe would have shoved Mike out of the way if he hadn’t moved quickly. The sight of Asta with blood dripping from her ears and nose nearly made him howl in rage. But he held it in and dropped to his knees at her side.

“The damn wall fell on her,” Sebastian said. “I tried to stop it but something still hit her on the head.”

“She’s breathing,” Mike said. “But she won’t wake. I tried reading her thoughts but they’re as blocked as ever.”

Rafe ran his hands lightly over her from head to toe, searching for injuries by touch even as he used his senses to check internally. No broken bones, no internal bleeding. She had a slight concussion and bruised knuckles, as well as small cuts and scrapes on her arms and elbows. She was also hot to the touch like she’d been the night before.

He looked around. “How the fuck did she get here?”

Mike shrugged. “No telling. We better get her out of here before the rest of the building caves in
.
The others are going to search the area.”

Rafe gently lifted her into his arms and made his way out of the destruction. Then he jumped into the sky with Mike and Sebastian right behind him. Soon they were home and he placed her on her bed. Mike gathered medical supplies while Rafe pulled off her shoes and socks. The soles of her feet were deep crimson. Sebastian watched silently.

“What’s happening to her?” Mike asked as he walked back into the room. He glanced at her feet and looked her over again, then handed Rafe a wet washcloth.

“I’m not sure. She was burning up the other night but told me she felt fine. I didn’t believe her but figured she’d tell me when she was ready.”

Mike scowled at him and Rafe prepared for an argument that never came. Instead, their leader simply shrugged and turned away.

“I’m going to put my shirt back on.” Sebastian followed him out of the room.

Rafe watched them leave and
,
for the first time
,
wished he could read his brother’s thoughts. He’d followed Mike for so long it was second nature to always defer to him. But when Rafe looked back down at Asta, he knew she was the one person who might change everything. He washed the blood from her face and hair and prayed to an entity that had ignored them for far too long.

…

Pain engulfed Asta as she struggled for consciousness. The voices of the damned filled her mind
,
and she gripped the sides of her head while silently begging for peace. It was slow in coming, but eventually the voices dissipated and the pain receded. She noticed a warm weight against her back and relaxed into the soothing embrace. She didn’t question it, didn’t worry about who or what or how. For the moment
,
she was pain free and listening to blissful silence. That’s all that mattered. Then she noticed the hand high on her abdomen, palm flat just under her breasts. She stiffened and would have jumped up if not for Rafe’s voice.

“Shh, it’s okay. I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe now.”

Tears clogged the back of her throat and burned her nose. Of course she was safe, now that she rested in the arms of an angel. Though it was a bad idea, she rolled over and buried her face against his neck. His grip tightened
,
and he ran one hand through her short hair.

“I’ve got you.”

She held him just as tightly
,
and he rubbed her back. Finally her emotions calmed and she took a deep shuddering breath.

“Rafe. You found me.”

“Yes. But you scared the shit out of me, girl. What the hell happened?” he asked.

Her breath froze as she remembered the terror coursing through her, but she couldn’t remember much else. She’d been searching for answers, that much she knew. The vague impression of a decrepit warehouse danced through her head but was too fleeting to fully grasp. She sighed, letting her warm breath run across his skin. Small bumps rose in its wake but he showed no other reaction. She was tempted to kiss that pebbled skin, to take full advantage of his closeness and fulfill the fantasies she’d had since meeting him, but she feared he’d simply push her away.