Age of Angels, page 8
“That’s the other reason we came,” Naomi explained. “You see, one of the others sent the demon. They both left, meaning I’m the only one still here. One vanished, and the other one, well, she sent this.”
With those words spoken, Naomi thrust out her hand, causing a bolt of golden light to flash over Luke. The result was like he had hit a wall, although maybe a rubber wall because it didn’t hurt too much although it was quite abrupt. He glanced behind them and noticed the demon lying on the floor. She had her legs spread, hand between her thighs. Her forked tongue ran along her lips as she eyed the old man.
“But the flesh is tempting, isn’t it?” the demon purred.
Luke glared. “Is there a way to make her not speak?”
The demon hissed at him, then moaned as she caressed herself even more vigorously, as she continued to address the old man. “Come, show me that magnificent sword of yours.”
The old man scoffed. “The day I show you my sword is the day you die.”
In an instant, the demon was up, no longer sexual in the least, claws bared as she attacked. The old man waved one of his hands and the ropes came up, binding her so that she fell to the floor and knocked her head against the stone wall. She lay there, bound and moaning in pain, and then tried to break free, writhing around with the rope cutting into her flesh. Luke almost felt bad for her.
“Enough.” Luke stepped over to her, unsure how to help, but badly wanting to. “They’re too tight. Can’t you see they’re hurting her?”
The old man stared at him, then turned back to Naomi. He made no move to undo the ropes, or even loosen them. “He has feelings for the demon?”
Naomi shook her head. “Of course not.”
“Luke let me jack him off, though,” the demon said amid her struggles, grunting in pain, and then adding, “I stroked him hard and good, and boy, did he cum. He loved it.” She grunted again. “Luke, undo these ropes and take me right here. Together, we can kill these two. All you need is that sword. Your sword inside me, that sword cutting them in half.”
Luke stared at her, unsure what to do. He looked from the demon to Naomi, then to the old man. “Let me ask one thing. If I had three guardian angels, and one of them went evil as you say this demon lady here is, how would you know?”
“I don’t follow.” Naomi frowned in confusion.
“I’m saying, we can’t treat her like this. If angels now have free will, then doesn’t it stand to reason that the same could be true for demons? That maybe, while she’s acting very sexy, that doesn’t necessarily make her evil? Or, maybe we can talk to her. Figure this out. Convince her not to be evil.”
The demon had stopped moving around. The way she looked up at him with hope, curiosity, and still a little sexual tension was a big turn-on. Even more so considering the way her ass stuck out between the ropes, and one of her nipples, the same. The other two started laughing.
“Your boy wants to be friends with the demon,” the old man said. Another laugh. “Is he mad?”
Naomi’s laughter stopped and she shook her head, staring at the Oracle. “He’s a young man. He sees a sexy-looking creature that resembles a human female, and he no doubt loses control.” She stepped forward to Luke, hand on his shoulder. “Listen, she’s a demon. There is no gray line here. Evil, not evil. Get it?”
“Actually, no.” Luke went to the ropes to try and loosen them. “Look at her, she might prove you wrong. Give her a chance.”
“Yeah? Come on, give her a chance,” the demon parroted him. When he shot her an annoyed glance, she smiled sheepishly. “I’m with you, buddy. I say maybe I can turn over a new leaf.” She looked back up at the angel. “What’s this you’re talking about with free will? There was a change, but I don’t quite understand. It was like I was chained on a metaphysical level, and now I’m not. Is this what you’re talking about?”
“Shut your demon hole, or I’ll do it for you.” the old man said.
“Don’t talk to her like that!” Luke demanded.
The old man’s eyes went wide. He stepped toward his broadsword, hand going to the hilt.
“Everyone, calm down.” Naomi turned to the old man. “Whatever happens with this, can be decided later. First, can we all agree that we need to figure out what to do about the other two angels?”
“I can’t help you there.” The old man lifted the sword, holding it with one hand as the blade lit up in flames. Holding it should’ve been impossible considering his size and stature compared to that of the blade. “If the other angels were his guardian angels, you’ll be able to find them. All you need is to use the beacon, but in reverse. Right now, I’m not so sure you should find them. I’m not so sure that this boy deserves to be the one.”
“Hold on.” Luke held his hands up in surrender. “First of all, put down the sword. Second, the one? The one what?”
“We don’t even know what he was destined for.” Naomi stepped in front of him, standing up to the old man despite the flaming sword. “Nobody’s told us anything, so how would we even prepare him for whatever it is he’s supposed to do?”
“Step aside, guardian angel. The demon is tempting him, and we must not allow it. I will enter now, before it’s too late.” Naomi glanced back at Luke, clearly worried about what he would do. Or maybe there was a hint of doubt in her eyes. As if she wasn’t sure about the demon, either, and was possibly considering that the demon might be capable of change.
“I won’t allow it.” Luke stepped forward to stand next to Naomi. He folded his arms, hoping she would stick with him on this. “The demon was sent from one of my guardian angels, right? Maybe she can be useful in this whole process of finding her.”
The old man gritted his teeth and nodded. As Luke was about to let down his guard, the old man charged. That damn flaming sword hissed through the air as the old man swung it up. He prepared to bring it down to sever the demon’s head from her body. The demon shrieked, and Luke lunged. He hit the old man with his shoulder in the man’s ribs, knocking him to the wall. The sword fell with a clatter, and then Luke was out of control, hitting the man, punching and elbowing, even connecting with a knee to the face.
As before, that XP screen popped up.
And then, as the man turned to fight back, Luke connected with a kick to the stomach that sent the old man stumbling. With a grunt, the old man lost his footing and fell right onto the flaming sword. Screaming, he writhed around, trying to get the sword out again, but it was too late. The demon had managed to get out of her ropes and grab the sword before him. With her two hands gripping the hilt, she swung up and cut right through the old man.
Golden blood spilled out onto the floor. Naomi was screaming, “What have you done?”
Luke stumbled back, grabbed Naomi around the waist and pulled her with him as he exited the room. They ran into the main room, then turned as the demon ran out after them, flaming sword still held high.
“Demon, I warn you…” Naomi threatened as she stepped forward. As she did, claws of white light formed at the end of each of her arms. It reminded Luke of his favorite comic character Wolverine, except there were two instead of three.
The demon simply shook her head and lowered the sword. “I’m with Luke. If you’ll have me, I want to help.”
Luke had started to doubt himself the moment she had cut open the old man. But now, watching her and the rope burns visible on her icy skin, he had a change of heart. She looked at him hopefully as the fire on the sword died. He hoped she was serious. If she was going to help them, they had a much better shot of finding this rogue guardian angel, he imagined. A glance at Naomi showed that she was much less certain but wasn’t fighting it.
“You killed the old man, kinda. Or were part of it, at least.” He gestured back to the room. “How do we know you won’t do the same to us?”
“First of all, he was an angelic Oracle. He’s not dead.”
Luke looked at Naomi, who nodded.
“The flesh he occupied is no longer usable,” Naomi explained. “But, she’s right. On the downside, if she comes with us, I imagine that would put us in the Oracle’s bad books. I mean, he’s likely to come after her. He might come after us as well, at that point.”
“I see.” Luke licked his lips, trying to make this judgment one hundred percent about the actual situation, not the sexy as hell ice demon who might as well have been a goddess, holding that huge broadsword in such a provocative way. Dammit, why did his libido have so much influence on his thinking? He turned to Naomi, waiting.
“What?” she asked. “Her coming or not.”
“It’s your call.”
Naomi stared at him, drew a deep breath, and finally turned back to the demon. “If he’s right about you being able to change, if there’s a chance… it’s worth a try.”
The demon grinned. “Goody-goody. Let’s get moving, then, because we have a long way to go.”
“Wait, you know where we’re going?” Luke asked.
“Of course, I do, silly.” The demon walked over to him while running her hands along her breasts. “We need to find a hotel so we can all consider our next steps. And after that…”
“Hold on.” Naomi waved a hand in the air so that angelic light hit the demon, putting a dress on her. “First, no one ever said anything about you joining us to talk. Second, if you’re going to be with us, you must be clothed. Sorry, my rule. Your nudity causes a slight distraction for our dear friend, here.”
As much as he preferred her nude, Luke couldn’t argue.
The demon moved uncomfortably inside the dress, and then tore the hem. When she was done, what had started out as an ankle-length warm summer’s gown was minus several inches of fabric. It now looked more like a minidress. If she bent over, Luke was certain he would have a nice view of her ass again. She grimaced. “I don’t like it, but this can work.” With a sigh, she glanced down at Luke’s crotch. “And maybe you’ll all change your minds about the other thing.”
Finally, Naomi dismissed the sword. At his curious glance, she explained, “It’ll be yours now. Whenever you need it, just… summon the blade.”
“Summon?”
“Hold out your hand and… yes. Summon. Try it.”
He eyed them, then tried, hand out and willed the sword to be there. To his surprise, the blade appeared as easy as that. It was heavy for a split second, but then it seemed to adjust to his muscles. It still held enough weight to maintain balance, but he could move it with relative ease.
As quickly as it had come, he held out the sword and wished it to leave. So it did.
“There you go.” Naomi led the way out of the church.
Luke followed. He had no idea how they would fit on the motorcycle, or where they were going, but was excited to see what adventures they’d have along the way. As they stepped out of the church, Luke looked between his angel and the demon, then laughed out loud.
“What’s so funny?” Naomi asked.
“I just realized that I have an angel and a demon. You know, like the ‘one on each shoulder’ type of thing.” He shrugged. “Did you feel that?”
“I don’t think that’s funny.” Naomi glanced at the demon. “Do you think it’s funny?”
“Not at all,” the demon replied.
“Yeah, whatever.” Luke looked at the demon. “Do you have a name?”
“Of course, I have a name.”
“Well?”
She grinned wide and turned to Naomi. “Want to tell him how this works?”
Naomi hesitated. “There’s one way of thinking, regarding demons… that once you know their name, you basically control them.”
“Control them?” Luke asked. He kind of liked the sound of that, as wrong as it seemed to control anyone.
“That’s right.” The demon slowly shook her head. “And it’s not going to happen.”
“What do I call you, then?” he asked.
“I can think of a few things,” Naomi said.
The demon chuckled at that. “Your Royal Sexiness, perhaps? Or how about simply, my Queen.”
“That’s not happening.” Luke looked her up and down, thought about it, and finally said, “Until you tell me, or I guess, your name will be Gertrude.”
“No, don’t do that,” Naomi said. “It’s too easy. Plus, don’t you have a relative named Gertrude?”
“Yes, you’re right.” Luke thought about it, rubbing his chin, then said, “Ariel.”
“As in, the little mermaid?” the demon asked.
“She’s hardly the little mermaid.” Naomi gave him a skeptical look but didn’t argue past that.
“Something about you reminds me of her,” Luke admitted. “You know, I saw that movie when I was, like, ten. And there’s that scene where she’s just transformed into human form, she starts to swim up to the shore and you see her kind of naked…”
“You did pause that scene quite a lot,” Naomi said.
“Exactly. And since most of what I’ve known of this Ariel so far has been her being naked, the two images kinda go together.” He turned back to the demon. “So, you’re my little mermaid. Ariel.”
The demon glared at him for a second, then shrugged. “Fine. Ariel, it is. Better than you being my master and getting to say or make me do whatever you want. Not that you’d have too much of a problem with that, but some masters have been known to get out of hand.”
“Well, maybe when I’ve proven myself, you can make me your master by telling me your name.”
“Not likely.”
Naomi cleared her throat. “Now that we’ve settled the name question, I think we should figure out how best to go about this. You can help us find the rogue angel, correct?”
Ariel scratched her nose and nodded. “Maybe.”
“What do you mean, maybe?” Luke asked. “We kind of kicked ass back there against that oracle thing… I guess I’m assuming that you’re going to help.”
“I’m not saying that I won’t help.” Ariel grimaced. “I know where to go, but the memories surrounding why I know that, and others… are a little hazy. You know?”
“Actually, I do,” Naomi replied.
“But if you do that beacon thing… Or reversed. I think we can direct it through me in a way, use my energy to get a bead on her location, use that to create a trail.”
“It’s our best shot, right?” Luke asked Naomi.
She nodded. “Let’s try it, then.”
With that, she put her hands together as if praying, and then that heavenly light appeared upon her. This time, though, she pushed it out so that the light spread around them in a big circle.
Naomi held out one hand to Ariel, the other to Luke, and then said, “Find her.”
With a flash, the light swirled around them, entered Ariel’s body, then shot back out of her to form a sort of trail that hovered in the sky at chest level.
Ariel stared at it in fascination while Naomi motioned to the bike. “We have our path. Let’s follow it.”
“About that.” Luke gestured to the bike. “How are we all going to fit?”
“You want me inside you?” Ariel asked with a mischievous grin.
“That can be taken a couple of ways, but yes.”
“Yes to…?”
“For now, I guess as you were… existing inside me.”
Ariel chuckled, then stepped forward and into him. It was like a cold shower, and then it was over.
Naomi looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “You done flirting over there?”
“Jealous?” he asked while stepping over to mount the bike. He handed her a helmet.
Naomi climbed on behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She leaned her head against his. “Yes.”
“There’s no need to be.”
10
Luke continued to follow the gold light. He drove through the mountains, but at one point veered right. Soon after that he stopped, looked around, and removed his helmet.
“I can’t drive the bike over there,” he said, eyeing the point where the golden light led into a tree line. Beyond the trees, the hills rose, their peaks shrouded in fog.
“Then we walk,” Naomi replied.
Luke blinked, followed her line of sight again, and then shook his head. “Are you serious? Do you see how far back that goes? We’ll be walking for hours.”
“Think of it as a nice hike. Like going on a date.”
Luke laughed at that, shaking his head. He knew exactly what she was referring to. A time when a girl had taken him on such a hike, and the whole time he had bitched about it. He was all for the outdoors, loved camping and all that. But when it came to simply walking around for no reason? Nowhere to go? He was a little less than enthusiastic. At least in this case, they had a destination.
“What about my bike? Am I supposed to leave it here?” He shook his head. “Someone will steal it.”
She gestured around. “Have you seen anyone for miles? Drive it up to the nearest trees and do your best to hide it.”
“Out of sight, yeah, sure…”
“You do realize we might find Layla, your other guardian angel, back there… the second one, anyway. And if she is, which we should assume, you’re kind of weighing your bike above saving the world.”
“Fine.” Luke took the helmets and put them on the bike, then walked it over to the nearest trees and parked it. A look around showed that there wasn’t anywhere he could really stash it aside from in the trees. She was right, though. There were no signs of anyone else in the vicinity.
They moved through the trees and up along the hills, and Luke found the experience quite enjoyable. Now that they were walking, Ariel was able to exit his body to stroll along with them. Whenever she was inside him, something about her nature made him irritable. He wondered if his hesitancy to walk out there had been caused by some sort of laziness on her part. Or her effect on him, anyway.
Now, he could take the time to enjoy the cool night air on his skin, the gentle breeze that ruffled his hair from time to time and sent ripples through the cloth Naomi wore. After walking for a little while, he glanced over to see Naomi frowning at him. It was only then that he caught himself. He had been watching Ariel more than was probably necessary.
