21 Shades of Night, page 81
She moved faster than I did, and the hard ground met my back with the force of her tackle. I stared up into her wild eyes and grabbed a fistful of her hair, keeping her teeth away from my throat with brute strength. They snapped together in a click, followed by a growl so fierce it struck fear in me.
“Naomi!” I yelled and rolled, pinning her below me.
She struggled, snarling like a wild cat caught in a snare and I held fast, knowing the effects would wear off in a matter of minutes, but I was exposed with my hands wrapped around her wrists and my knees squeezing her hips.
She lunged, her teeth scratching my arm and I shifted, widening her span.
“Naomi.” This time I whispered, soft and seductive, hoping my charm would calm her.
Her eyes locked with mine and her struggling ceased. The fangs retracted and she blinked up at me before her gaze turned to the meadow surrounding us in confusion.
I released her wrists and sat back on my heels, mopping my face with my palm.
“What happened?”
Chuckling, I swung to the side and took a seat on the grass next to her, pointing at the massive antlers peeking out of the long grass.
She sat up and stared, her eyebrows arching before her head swung in my direction.
“I did that?” she asked, her graceful finger pointed toward the dead buck.
“Yes.”
Silence settled.
“I don’t remember anything beyond you kissing me,” she whispered.
I stretched out on the grass and stared up at the stars, trying to remember those first days and nights and I came up blank as well. In two thousand years, I never got through more than a couple days with a fledgling before disaster struck in some form, so I never had a chance to really talk to those I cursed with this existence.
“I don’t remember much about those first few days either,” I said and she turned her beautiful brown eyes in my direction. When she stretched out next to me, I continued, “Of course I was locked in a pit and when I came to my senses, every last vampire was in pieces.”
She reached over and pulled my hand off my chest, lacing her fingers through mine, the gesture silenced me and I stared at her. I realized in that moment that I really didn’t want anything bad to happen to this girl and I swallowed the lump in my throat. Being associated with me seemed to be bad luck and I pulled my hand out of her grasp, getting to my feet without meeting her gaze.
I crossed to the buck and stared at the carcass.
“Do you want the head mounted?” I asked when she joined me and she flinched. “You don’t want a trophy of your first kill?”
“God, no,” she gasped and disappointment flushed my skin. “My father asked me the same thing when I shot my first deer a few years ago. I said no to him, too.” She met my gaze.
It was nice to know it wasn’t just this situation and I nodded. I glanced around the meadow and sighed. “I’m not going to be able to bring you and the buck back in one trip.”
Her eyebrows rose.
“Deerskin and venison,” I said and glanced at the buck. “Although I think it’ll take me the rest of the night to skin these and pack the freezer.”
“Damian?”
I turned to her. “Hmm?”
“When are we going after Luc…”
I clamped my hand over her mouth and shook my head. “Not here,” I whispered and her eyebrows creased. “When I think you’re ready,” I answered and waved her back, “Until then,” I closed my eyes and the transformation took hold.
Chapter 15
Naomi
ONE MOMENT HE was in human form and the next, the giant hawk spread his wings and with the buck in his claw, he took off, leaving me alone in the quiet meadow. I glanced up at the unobstructed view of the stars and sighed. I had never seen them so clear and crisp and I stretched on the grass waiting for him to return.
My thoughts wandered back to the prior evening. The last thing I remembered was sitting at dinner with Mark and sipping the wine he ordered. A black rage gripped me and I sat up, my fists clenching and my skin tingling with the power of the vengeance filling my soul.
The bastard drugged me and the walk from the restaurant to the apartment building across the street was a haze. I don’t remember the elevator ride or much of the conversation Mark had, but I do remember his unfeeling gaze when he handed me over to that crazy demon.
His words pulled a growl from my throat.
“I don’t know why you want her, she’s nothing but a tease anyway,” he had said and then the door closed behind them.
Mark had me completely snowed.
My foolish belief in him burned in the pit of my stomach and I tightened my jaw. The flap of his wings fell over the clearing and the grass swayed under the breeze he created. Instead of gripping me in his talons like I expected, his hand landed on my shoulder and he took a seat next to me.
He didn’t speak. Instead, his hands fidgeted until he finally sighed. “Your ex is a supreme asshole.”
I burst out laughing, giving Damian a sideways glance. “Right now I think all men are assholes.” The fallen expression and quiet “oh” amused me and he looked away. I took the opportunity to study him without the flush of hunger roiling in my blood. He had a handsome profile and when his lips formed a smirk, I knew he was hearing my thoughts, but this time I continued staring, trying to figure this creature out.
“Have you been alone all this time?”
He twitched and picked a blade of grass, twirling it around his finger slowly, not answering right away. “Yes and no,” he said and stood. “Come on.” He reached a hand out to me and I took it, surprised when he led me into the thick woods by foot.
“You must have been very lonely,” I said as the forest swallowed us.
His light laugh filled the air. “You have no idea.”
“So no vamp mistresses in all this time?” I teased.
He sent a silent grin in my direction but as we walked, his smile faded and his expression turned contemplative. “No,” he said and ran a hand through the loose waves of his thick hair. “I’ve destroyed every vampire that has crossed my path and anyone I turned only lasted a couple days before something bad happened.”
The admission stunned me. “Have you ever been in love?”
His gait slowed and he turned toward me. “Once, when I was human,” he said and shrugged. “I vaguely remember the feeling but the crushing devastation of losing her can still drop me to my knees if I let it.”
Truth rang in his words and the emptiness in the center of my body grew along with a profound sadness. I crossed the distance and wrapped my arms around him. Damian stiffened under the warm hug.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered in his ear and his arms encircled me, holding me tight.
“I haven’t felt any deep emotion except rage since she died,” he whispered with a trembling voice and his hands dropped to my waist, pushing me away. “Until you bit me.” He offered up a crooked smile. “And since then, I’ve pretty much been scared senseless.”
“You afraid of dying?”
He laughed and his shoulders relaxed. “No. I’m not afraid to die.”
I believed him. “Then why are you scared?”
His smile slowly faded and he took a deep breath. “Because you are someone I don’t want to lose.”
My mouth popped open and I stared into the bright blue of his irises. Something deep within me stirred and I reached up, running my hand over his smooth cheek. His eyes closed and he leaned his forehead against mine.
“Well, well, well,” a voice boomed and Damian reacted, spinning around to face the owner of the voice.
I stood on my tiptoes to get a glimpse over Damian’s shoulder and he blocked part of my view, but what I saw chilled me to the core. Pristine white wings fluttered and I had a good idea who interrupted the tender moment.
The sudden shift in Damian’s stance along with the tightening of the muscles in his back conveyed the growing tension.
“What in the name of heaven do you think you’re doing?” the angel growled, his voice rippling through the trees like a hurricane gale.
“Michael, I, uh,” Damian stuttered but stood his ground.
He trembled under my hand and I moved to his side, jutting my chin out in defiance at the angry angel.
The angel was as glorious as Damian was, and his dark eyes snapped to mine. For a moment, the angry features softened but then the hardness returned and he glared at Damian.
“I should have ground you to dust years ago,” he growled.
The sudden wave of heat hit and I stepped in front of Damian blocking whatever punishment this angel was hell bent on delivering. “Don’t!”
Michael blinked, and his hands dropped to his side. Chilly air settled between the three of us.
“Why not?”
“Because he didn’t intend to turn me.”
“I know. He intended to kill you,” the angel said. “And that goes against every rule I set down when I pulled him out of that dark pit.”
“No matter what his original intent was, he saved me from Lucifer,” I said. “If he hadn’t been blinded by his hatred, he wouldn’t have been there to pluck me out of the sky.” I could tell my argument was softening the mighty archangel. “I am still alive.” I spread my arms.
“You are a shadow,” he spit.
“Damian says I still contain the light.”
Michael studied me, his eyes narrowing. “He would have been there to save you if he hadn’t lost sight of my bloodline.”
I couldn’t find a strong argument for that except that Damian couldn’t be everywhere at once and I wondered how many distant relatives I had. “How can you expect one man to be everywhere, overseeing all of us at once?” I asked voicing the thought as it popped in my head.
“I gave him wings to oversee my lineage.”
That’s why he can shape shift into a hawk. I glanced over my shoulder at Damian. His gaze was glued to the forest floor at his feet, and shame heated his cheeks. I turned back toward Michael.
“Why aren’t you protecting your lineage?”
Anger transitioned back into his features. “Watch your tone, child.”
“Naomi, don’t,” Damian whispered and his hand settled on my shoulder at the same time Michael spoke. I shook it off, sending a glare at him before turning back to my distant kin.
“Damian may be immortal in some respects, but you can’t expect him to be everywhere like you can be. After all, he still is human.” A raw anger bubbled up inside me at the audacity of this being.
“I am not God. I can’t be everywhere, either,” Michael growled.
“Why weren’t you there to protect me?”
His jaw tightened and he leveled his intimidating stare at me. “I think it’s time to send you back to hell.” His gaze transitioned to Damian.
I reacted before either of them could. When my fangs sank into Michael’s throat, both Damian and the angel gasped. Knowledge flowed with the archangel’s blood, overwhelming me. Snapshots of information danced on my eyelids.
The promise of heaven.
Michael’s love for humankind.
His hatred for Lucifer and every last nocturnal creatures the demon created.
His joy and love of Athena’s mother.
The creation of my bloodline.
His devastation at his daughter’s death.
His fury when he pulled Damian from the pit of slaughtered vampires.
The covenant Damian made to protect Zoe and the bloodline.
Pure light fused with my shadow cells and I moaned. Arms grasped me around the waist, yanking me away. Stunned, I stared at Michael, while Damian whispered softly in my ear, begging for me to stop before Michael lost his temper and reduced me to ashes.
“You were Athena’s father?” I asked when I found my voice. I realized how stupid that question was considering the amount of information his blood infused in me.
Michael stared, just as dumfounded as Damian was when I bit him that first time. He blinked, swiping the remnants of blood still speckling his neck. Michael stared at his hand and then his gaze snapped to mine.
Damian still held me in his grasp and the tremors of fear flowing through him were palpable in the air. I wrapped my arms over his to calm him while keeping Michael’s gaze.
“Damian has done your bidding for over two thousand years,” I said. “What makes you think he won’t continue for another two thousand years?”
“He made a fatal mistake,” Michael said.
“Yes. He made a mistake, but I wouldn’t categorize it as fatal. If you make the decision to destroy him, you’ll have to go through me.” I took a breath wondering whether that would put a stay of execution in play or not. I shifted my weight, waiting for Michael’s judgment.
Chapter 16
Damian
HER BLATANT DISREGARD for how dangerous an archangel was astounded me, and her ultimatum left every muscle in my body trembling, expecting the flash and then the nothingness of death that followed.
I unwrapped my arms from around her and pushed her to the side. “I can’t let you do that,” I said despite the scream of every cell in my body fighting for self-preservation. If I had to make the sacrifice for her, I would.
I met Michael’s glare, straightening my posture against the urge to cower. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, the pace much higher than its normal dormant beat, announcing my unease like a tribal drum.
“I need him,” Naomi shouted as Michael’s gaze narrowed.
Her declaration snapped my head in her direction and I arched my eyebrows. She needs me?
“Why?” Michael asked.
“Because he is going to help me take down Lucifer.”
Michael’s laugh filled the woods. “Darling, child. You cannot take down Lucifer.”
“Why not?” she asked, her tone incredulous and I stifled a smile at the sweet cluelessness of her innocence. My gaze found Michael’s and I offered a partial shrug to the question in his eyes.
“Do you not know who Lucifer is?” he asked and his arms fell to his sides, his posture relaxing and more quizzical than the deadly coil it was a moment ago.
“He’s the king of hell. A fallen angel and all that hoopla,” she said waving her hand like it was just a trifle myth. “Can he not be destroyed, just like the rest of us?”
“Only I can destroy Lucifer,” he started and Naomi interrupted him.
“What about a descendent that has your blood pumping through her?”
She tilted her head and I couldn’t help the chill that layered over me, turning my skin into a relief map of gooseflesh.
Was that your real purpose in biting him?
She glanced in my direction and then back to Michael. “I’m not talking by birthright either,” she added softly and licked her lips before flashing that heart-stopping smile.
Maybe she wasn’t so innocent after all.
Michael crossed his arms studying her. The seeds of possibility bloomed in his eyes and for the first time since I spotted his angry glare, hope found its way into my heart.
Maybe we would make it through the night after all.
“What makes you so sure you can kill Lucifer?” he asked, his voice filled with a level of sarcasm I have never heard from him, and the hope I embraced moments ago evaporated.
She stepped closer to him, positioning herself between us. “I got to you didn’t I?” When she stepped into a familiar ready pose, I nearly laughed aloud.
Was she really challenging the archangel Michael to a fight?
Michael’s expression mirrored mine for a fleeting instance and then it hardened.
“Come on, gramps, let’s see what you’ve got,” she said, waving him in with her fingers.
Before her words sank in, Michael was in motion, his fists meant to inflict a lesson on this smart-ass child, but she parried, blocking his swings with a grace and speed that left me breathless. Instead of retreating, she stepped close, using the natural flow of her body and a sweep of her foot, to knock Michael’s feet out from under him. The angel fell to the ground with a thud that sent a tremor through the earth.
Naomi stood over him with a smug smile on her lips.
A moment later she was on her back, the smile wiped from her lips, replaced by a shocked ‘o’ and Michael stood over her with a stern finger pointed in her direction. His lips pressed together and he waved the finger at her before he stepped back, his face a mask of fury and frustration. But even he couldn’t deny the talent she just displayed.
In two thousand years, I hadn’t seen anyone, angel, demon, or human, take Michael down.
Silence blanketed the woods and then he turned on me with that fierce glare. “Make sure she goes for the kill when she does that, otherwise Lucifer will have her heart in his hand and that will be the end.”
With that, he disappeared.
I stared at the spot he had occupied and swallowed, turning my gaze to her and reaching my hand out in silence. She stared at me for a moment and then accepted my hand, letting me help her to her feet.
“Gramps?” I asked after she brushed herself clean.
She chuckled and shrugged. “It was the first thing that came to mind,” she admitted.
“You are insane,” I said and joined her with a nervous chuckle.
I took her hand and resumed our journey back to the house. The walk would take us another hour and I considered flying, but I needed the calm and quiet to digest what just happened.
“Why did you try to protect me?” I asked after we covered half the distance.
She didn’t answer right away.
“I don’t know,” she said just when I thought she wasn’t going to give me an answer.
I stopped and swung her to face me. “How do you not know your place in the universe?” I asked, the simmering anger surfacing. “He could have killed you like that.” I snapped my fingers, voicing the fear that had shaken the very foundations of my soul.
