Ruthless (The Seraphim Series Book 2) (18 page)

They drove for a few more miles before Iris spoke again. “Can I ask you something?”

Lilliah nodded, wondering when Iris would ask the question. She hadn’t once brought up being a psychic or her being an angel.

“If you’re an angel and your dad’s the Archangel Michael, which dad died?”

The question wasn’t exactly what Lilliah had been expecting, but it was going in the right direction. “My dad. I’ve been reincarnated over and over again.”

“That’s so cool.” Iris breathed in, her face tight with excitement.

“Not really. I can’t remember anything. I did this spell a while back and got a glimpse. None of my past lives were pretty.”

Iris still looked excited. “So you had different parents in each life? Has Sebastian always been there too?”

“No, just this one. Lucifer placed him on Earth to kill me.”

Iris’s eyebrows shot up, her cheeks losing a hint of colour.

“I know, right? It’s all so twisted. Anyway, Seb was pulled into the spell and instead of killing me, he became my brother.”

Iris sat in silence, either processing what she had just heard or thinking of another question.

“The voices in my head, or the hallucinations—”

“The angels,” Lilliah corrected. “They’re not made up.”

“Right. Sorry. It’s kind of a habit.” She looked bashful. “The angels. They used to talk about you all the time—nothing big, just mentioning your name and stuff. Then about two months ago, things went crazy. They were mad and shouting. It was horrible. I thought it was because I’d changed my medication.”

“That was when Lucifer first started showing up. It was also when I first met Azrael.”

“They don’t like Azrael.”

Lilliah didn’t doubt it for a second. “When Lucifer and Michael were at war, Azrael fought with Lucifer.”

“So he’s a devil worshiper?” Iris grabbed a handful of sweets and shoved them into her mouth.

“No.” Lilliah reached for her Pepsi again. “Azrael always said that back then, Lucifer was fighting for free will and for angels to have the right to do what they liked when they liked. I think it was Hell that made him crazy.”

“Ironic.” Iris pointed to a sign. “Turn off here. We’re not far.”

“Okie dokie.” Lilliah followed Iris’s instructions, her eyes flicking to the rear-view mirror. Rebecca and Sebastian were snuggled against each other.

“So, what’s Azrael like? They say he’s an animal. I once heard an angel call him unpredictable yet precise.”

The question caught Lilliah off guard. She thought of how to best answer her. Azrael was so many different things. She’d be here all day if she had to list them all. Plus, which Azrael did she describe? The Azrael he was with her? Loving, caring, and funny? Or the Azrael he was with everyone else? The fighting machine that took no prisoners. The guy who could snap your neck with the flick of his wrist. The killer.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” Iris said, obviously mistaking Lilliah’s silence.

“It’s fine, honestly. I’m just thinking. He’s really complex.” She stared out at the empty road. “If you don’t know him, he’s scary. Like petrifying scary. But once you get to know him, he’s romantic, sweet, and really funny.”

“He sounds perfect.”

Once Lilliah started to think and talk about Azrael, she couldn’t stop. She didn’t want to stop. “And he’s so good-looking—tall, dark, with these amazing blue eyes. They were like crystals.”

“Were like?” Iris cut in. “Why
were
they like crystals?”

The question was like a bucket of ice water.

“Lucifer did something to him. Made him go crazy. I don’t know what it was or what to call it, but he has red eyes now.”

She left out the part about Lucifer’s attack and how Azrael didn’t help her. She didn’t need another person looking at her with pity. She needed help getting him back.

“That sucks.” Iris looked straight ahead, biting the inside of her mouth. “So is that what you wanted me to look into? See if the angels know what happened to him?”

“That’s the one. Oh, and also see if they know how to kill Lucifer.”

Chapter 15

The house was nice and quite big, with a pool in the backyard. The woman who lived there, Marlene, loved colour. Every room was bright and photographs covered the walls. Lilliah loved it. The place was homey and lived-in.

“She’s a bit of an artist,” Iris said.

“Do you think she’d mind that we’re here?” Lilliah dropped her bag on the floor. Though it was early morning, she still wasn’t tired. Sebastian and Rebecca, however, had gone to bed.

Iris walked through the house, checking the controls on the wall and making sure there weren’t any alarms on. The last thing they needed was for the police to turn up.

“Are you tired?” Lilliah asked, stretching.

“No. Not sure I could turn my mind off.” She sat on the sofa and tipped her head back.

“I get that.” Lilliah sat beside her. “So, how does it happen?” She wasn’t sure whether this was the right time to ask, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“The visions?” Iris turned her head. “Sometimes they just come. I can’t control it. But mostly they happen at night. When I’m alone and just about to fall asleep, I see them so clearly, as if I’m standing right next to them, but they can’t see me.”

“So you don’t control them, it just happens? Sounds a lot like the fire stuff that comes out of my hands.” She lifted up her palms to show Iris.

“Have you tried practising?” Iris asked, staring down at Lilliah’s hands, as if they’d suddenly burst into flames.

Lilliah tucked her hands under legs. “A little. But I only recently found out I could do it. I mean, the first time it happened was a couple of months ago. But I just thought it was a fluke, you know? It had been during a spell and I was being attacked. There was magic flying everywhere and I thought that was the only reason I could do it.”

“But it wasn’t?” Iris asked, listening as if Lilliah was telling her a fairy tale.

“Nope, because it happened again. Lucifer attacked me and it just came out of my hands.”

Iris bit her little finger and stared past Lilliah. “I could try to use my power too. I could try and hone it. Maybe I could use it and actually speak to the angels.”

Lilliah nodded. “We could try it now, if you wanted?”

All Iris did was nod and Lilliah was up. She turned out the lights and sat back down on the floor. She crossed her legs and nervously tapped her fingers on her knees.

Iris flopped on the floor, sitting opposite Lilliah. “This is kind of exciting. You know, trying to do this on purpose.” She closed her eyes and wet her lips.

Lilliah didn’t know what to do. She studied Iris for a while, and then her eyes drifted across the room as they sat in silence.

“This isn’t happening.” Iris opened her eyes, and they narrowed on Lilliah. “Sometimes I can just hear them, you know?”

Lilliah didn’t say anything. She wondered whether that was Iris’s way of telling her not to speak.

Iris’s body slouched. “Maybe I can’t control this.”

Defeat was a feeling Lilliah knew well. “I was once told that your powers are connected to your emotions. I hadn’t really thought about it like that, but over the last couple of days I’ve had a lot of time to think. And I think that’s true.”

Iris’s head tipped to the side, clearly waiting for Lilliah to continue.

“As I said, it happened twice. The first time was when my mother was stabbed. I thought she was going to die. I was chained to the floor and couldn’t do anything about it.” It had been the worst day of her life. Even talking about it months later was difficult. “The second time was a few days ago. Lucifer popped up in The Cure’s building. He was taunting me over Azrael, and I just got so mad that I grabbed his face. Both times I was either really upset, or so crazily mad I couldn’t see straight.”

“You grabbed Lucifer’s face?” Iris sounded astonished.

“Yeah. It was a stupid thing to do, but Lucifer saying his name had made me mad.” Lilliah stood and turned on the lights. “Maybe we should let it come naturally.”

Iris looked up from the floor. “Yeah, that’s fine. There are only two bedrooms and one of them doesn’t have a bed in it.”

Lilliah leaned down and picked up a pillow from the sofa. “You can sleep on the sofa. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Iris opened her mouth to protest, but Lilliah held up her hand. “Just sleep on the sofa. Please.”

Iris didn’t say anything as she got up and arranged her bed.

Lilliah did the same. It took only seconds for her to drift off to sleep, and just like the night before and the night before that, she saw Azrael’s face.

“I need to go shopping.” Lilliah opened another cupboard door and found there was nothing to eat. Azrael was sitting at the kitchen island, reading his newspaper.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked without looking up.

“I don’t know.” She sighed and jumped up to sit on the counter. “Have you ever been food shopping?”

He shook his head.

“Then who buys your food?”

Finally he put down his paper and crossed his arms. “I have a company deliver food every Monday. If you want something specific, let me know. I’ll add it to the list.”

Lilliah mentally added up the items in her head. Azrael’s choice of food was very rich and very healthy. She wanted chocolate, lots of cheese, and white bread. All these things, for some reason, Azrael seemed against. Then her eyes trailed around the kitchen and to the living room. Everything was always spotless, without a single cushion out of place.

“Who cleans?”

Azrael smirked. “I clean.”

Very sceptical, Lilliah turned to look at him. “What? You don’t clean.”

They had been back from New York for two weeks and she hadn’t seen him clean once.

“I knew you were going to say that.” He leaned forward. “I don’t like the thought of other people in my stuff, and I’m not a messy person. I just clean up after myself.”

Lilliah didn’t believe it for a second. This house wasn’t just
someone picking up after themselves
clean. This was someone who had pride in his home, someone who liked cleaning. She eyed him. On the outside, he was a warrior, but on the inside, he was a housewife. Lilliah smiled at her own joke. In the blink of an eye, Azrael was around the island and in front of her as if he knew what she’d been thinking.

“I didn’t say anything,” she squealed, turning and trying to run. Azrael’s arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back.

“You didn’t need to.” He leaned down and bit her neck.

“Ouch!” She laughed, kicking her feet and grabbing at the counter. He rounded the kitchen and carried her into the living room.

“Tell me what you were thinking.” He threw her on the couch, placing his knee between her legs.

“I wasn’t thinking anything,” she lied.

“Lilliah,” he mock-warned, putting on his best scary face, though he couldn’t help but smile.

“You know what? You’re losing your scary.” She trailed her fingers across his broad chest.

He arched an eyebrow. “Losing my what?”

“You know, your scary. That thing that makes you terrifying.” She sat up, resting on her elbows. “It’s okay, though. I like you all meek and—”

She didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence. All she had time to do was scream. Azrael had thrown her into the air. She didn’t know what was happening, but he caught her just before she hit the ground.

“I don’t know about losing my scary. You screamed pretty loudly.”

Lilliah stared at him, her heart hammering in her chest and her hands shaking. “What the hell was that?”

She tried to push against his chest, but he didn’t move.

“That was me proving you wrong.” He smirked.

She was still shaking. “How far up did you throw me? I could have hit the ceiling.”

The ceiling in Azrael’s apartment was extremely high, but with the way he’d thrown her, she could have hit it.

“I’d never hurt you.” He was still holding her close. “But sometimes, a little scary is good.”

“I was scared just then, but that was because you threw me in the air, but I don’t find you scary, not at all.”

Finally, Azrael let go and sat her on the floor. She had been close to the floor, so close her head must have missed it by inches.

“I don’t want you to be afraid of me. I might throw you in the air now and then, but I’ll always catch you.” He winked and Lilliah melted.

“Do you care what everyone else thinks?” She tipped her head to the side. He didn’t seem like the type of guy who cared what others thought.

“No,” he answered immediately, confirming her thoughts. “They can think what they want. I’ll do what I do regardless.”

Lilliah leaned up and kissed him. Azrael grabbed her head and kissed her back.

A scream shook her, jolting her out of her dream. She squinted in the dark and patted around the floor, remembering where she was. Iris’s body was twisting on the sofa, her legs kicking and her arms lashing out. She sounded as if she were in pain. Lilliah got up on her knees.

“Iris.” She grabbed the girl’s shoulder and shook her. “Iris, wake up.”

Iris’s eyes shot open. She grabbed Lilliah’s wrist and gasped for air. Lilliah was about to scream—she had no idea what to do or say—but then Iris’s eyes changed. Lilliah watched in fear and a little in amazement as Iris’s eyes turned green. Bright green. She couldn’t look away. Even when the lights were turned on, she couldn’t look away. Her body was getting warmer. She felt safe.

“What the hell happened?” Rebecca shrieked and fell to her knees next to Lilliah.

“Is she okay?” Sebastian asked from behind.

Lilliah still couldn’t speak or move. Iris’s eyes were pulling her in, paralysing her, but in the best way. The feeling was euphoric. For the first time in days, she wasn’t afraid of anything.

Sebastian grabbed Lilliah by the arms and pulled her back, away from Iris’s eyes and out of the daze.

Her body turned cold instantly. Lilliah couldn’t focus on her brother’s face as he sat in front of her. She could see his mouth moving, but she couldn’t hear him. All she could focus on was the painful sensation of fear consuming her body. Wanting to get it out, not to feel it anymore, she screamed as loudly as she could. Her body shook and her muscles hurt. Then it was gone.

“What do we do? Should we call Benedict?” Rebecca was on the verge of tears.

Sebastian grabbed Lilliah’s head. “Snap out of it, Lilliah. Please.”

She grabbed his hands. “I’m okay.”

Her voice didn’t sound okay. It sounded faint and weak. She pointed to Iris. Her eyes were still green, and she hadn’t moved. Lilliah crawled on the floor as soon as she could, and she grabbed Iris’s hand.

“Wake up, Iris!” She shook her shoulder. “Iris, wake up!”

Iris blinked, her eyes no longer green but back to their normal brown colour. Sweat was dripping off her face and her breathing sounded laboured, but she was awake. Lilliah squeezed her eyes shut. Was that one of Iris’s visions? Was that what she went through every time she had a vision?

Slowly, Iris sat up and scanned the room. “What are you all doing?”

“You were having a dream, and you were screaming.” Lilliah’s heart was still pounding in her chest, and her hands were clammy. Did Iris not remember any of it?

“Did I scream?” Iris almost looked apologetic.

Lilliah sat back, shocked. “Was that a vision?”

Iris smiled.

“Oh.” Lilliah pulled her into a tight hug.

“That wasn’t like any psychic I’ve ever seen,” Rebecca mumbled.

Lilliah released Iris and turned, arching her eyebrow. “And how many psychics have you seen?”

“I’ve seen a few. They do the whole tarot card thing.” She shrugged it off with her hand. Iris laughed. “What they didn’t do is have a fit, and their eyes definitely didn’t turn green.”

Iris’s face fell, and she started fidgeting in her seat.

“No, it was cool,” Rebecca said, backtracking. “It was mysterious and a little scary.”

“It was scary.” Lilliah moved to look at Iris, before Rebecca upset her further. “When I touched you, I felt it.”

She didn’t have to say what
it
was. Iris knew what she was talking about.

“You felt that?” Iris asked.

“Yeah. It was …” Her hand went to her throat. She didn’t know how to describe the bleakness she’d felt, a bleakness that Iris lived in. “It was horrible.”

“You’re okay now, right?” Sebastian slumped on the sofa, looking exhausted.

Iris nodded.

“Does that happen all the time?” Rebecca sat back down on the floor and rubbed her eyes. 

Again, Iris nodded, then looked at Lilliah. “I saw something. People.” She stopped and giggled. “I mean angels. They were talking. I heard it all. I think if I try again, I could get some answers.”

Lilliah shot up and said adamantly, “No. I can’t ask you to do that.”

“What?” Rebecca’s voice raised and she laughed at the same time. She looked at Lilliah as if she had lost her mind. “This is why we’re here, to speak with angels and get answers.”