Angelic Anarchy (Heaven on Earth Book 1) (4 page)

H
arper stood
against the wall to my right with a grin on his face while he stared at me. I turned toward Big Jack to avoid Harper’s spine-chilling expression. Unfortunately, that was just as discomforting, if not worse. Jack was whistling while he chose a torture device from the wall on my left. I shivered as he picked up a blade and turned my attention instead toward the row of concealed figures.

I thought about asking them to kill me quickly because I would never talk, but I knew that did not matter. They knew who I was. They knew I would never answer to a demon, which meant this was all for show and their only intention was to humiliate me, inflict pain, and kill me.

My heart was racing, my head was pounding, and I could feel time ticking by swiftly. I knew I was about to meet a very long, painful, and drawn-out death. I clenched my sweating palms into fists just in time to steady myself before the first slash of a whip tore into my back. Jack’s strength, along with my current state of weakness, allowed the whip to tear my flesh, but I did not let myself scream. That was only the first one, and it was worse than all the pain I felt from my stab wounds.

“Do you know where the boy is, Ms. Beauty?” asked Harper.

I didn’t reply.

“Very well. Carry on, Jack.”

The crack of the whip sounded once more, and this time I could not stifle a whimper. It was then that Jack laughed and again I recognized his voice as he whispered softly in my ear.

“That’s right, Beauty. You know me. You took someone from me and now I’ll make you pay. What you just tasted was a warning shot. Now you will feel the brute of my vengeance as I whip you until all that is left of your back is a shattered spine. I will have your screams.”

“Who did I take? Your lover or your friend? Wish I could say I was sorry, but they probably had it coming—”

True to his word, Jack proved that he had only been toying with me for the first two blows. What happened next was pain enough that I begged for death.

The whip came down repeatedly. I lost count at twenty-seven, and it seemed that he got stronger with each slash. Though I couldn’t see it, I knew my back was already nothing but meat. I could feel my warm blood pouring all the way down my body. Blood fell freely from my forehead, blinding me. He became reckless with his swings, hitting every inch of my backside. My legs were numb, and yet I knew the blood was enough to cover them and my feet. I felt like my sides, too, were nothing but meat. As his whip whirled around, dicing up my body, he even covered my face with slashes.

I tried to find something to focus on and found Harper.
Big mistake
. His blood-red eyes were glowing and they held such an animalistic hunger that even with all the pain I was in, I shivered at the mere thought of being alone with him.

“I ask again, Ms. Beauty. Do you know where the boy is?” Harper fixed me with a steely glare while Jack searched for his next weapon of choice.

I could no longer hold my head up high. I had no idea how I was still conscious, but I knew I wouldn’t be for much longer. To my dismay, Jack did not choose another weapon—he chose a clean whip. It was the exact replica of the whip I now knew so well.

My end is near. Death is finally coming….

I felt a slight breeze from the swiftness of the whip before it made contact with my back. I moaned, and Jack’s thunderous voice roared, “You will scream for me, Belleeza!” Then he swung that whip relentlessly until my knees buckled, and I knew the only thing holding me up were the pitiless chains around my wrists and ankles.

With a barely audible voice, I whispered, “You may have my life, Jack, you may have my death, you may even have my screams, but you will never have my soul or my faith.”

“I will have it all!” Jack sliced his weapon through the air with such force that it wrapped around my neck three times, before he tugged as if to tell me that my life was in his hands and he could take it at any moment. Although I could feel my life ebbing away, there was also a strength starting to build inside me.

I replied with a raspy but confident voice, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

With each word I spoke, I began to feel renewed. My body was still in severe pain and the poison of their demonic relics still ran through my blood. But where a moment ago I was ready to die, I now felt a new fire burning inside me and I was ready to keep fighting.

“Romans 8:38–39,” sneered Jack. “Very good, Belleeza, but do you know this one? ‘Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.’ I’m afraid you are nothing but a conceited whoremonger without a humble bone upon your body.”

“Proverbs 16:18–19,” I finished for him with a faint voice. “As black as your soul is, Jack, you do remember the word of the Lord well. I trust you also remember Romans 12:17?”

Come on, Belleeza. Keep him going.

I was trying to buy time now I had finally gotten him to forget his whip. Time for what, I had no idea. Just time. Time to think. Time so I could have a break from the agony of Jack’s strength. My adrenaline was pumping with a fresh dose of hopefulness. I felt the Lord heard my pleas and answered. He filled me with strength and courage. More importantly, I felt that I was no longer all alone. Faith is a beautiful thing. I would somehow make it out of this.

“Oh yes,” answered Jack, “I do not care for it.”

Oh of course you don’t. Evil bastard.

“Enough Bible school, Belleeza,” he went on. “Your backside is unrecognizable and still you have not given me what I desire. I shall have to get more creative.”

Oh, crap.

“Jack,” Harper said with authority. “We do not have time for these niceties.”

Niceties! Right!

“Our needs must be met before your personal revenge is to occur. That was the deal, wasn’t it?” Neither the words Harper spoke nor the color of his glowing red eyes matched the respectful country accent.

“Go on then. Ask your questions, Harper,” Jack replied shortly.

“Very well. Ms. Beauty, do you know where the boy is?”

I did not reply.

“Do you know where he is headed?”

Again, I did not reply.

“Do you know why he is wanted?

At that question, I fought not to make even the smallest movement, but I could not help my eyes looking up. I could only hope he had not noticed. He had just admitted that they too had no idea who this kid was or why he was so very important. He, like me, had received orders to find this kid with no other information. That meant whoever this kid was, he was important enough to both sides, and it was a race to see who could find him first. Before now, I assumed that they knew who or what the kid was, but apparently only a few of the highest-ranked demons and angels knew the answer to that.

Evidently, Harper saw in my eyes what I saw in his. We had a moment of shared understanding before he said, “She knows nothing. Do with her what you will. Our discussion is over.” He paused before walking out and turned back toward us. “And Jack? Do make it fast. I do not delight in the long suffering of women, angel or not. You’ve received more than your pound of flesh.”

I was grateful for that small amount of decency but somehow I did not think Jack would be heeding his orders.

As if there was some sort of signal my cloaked audience heard that I did not, they all stood up. With silent synchronized movements, they walked out of the torture chamber behind Harper. They exited down the hall and through one of the doors. I couldn’t be sure which one because I could no longer hold my head up long enough to follow them with my eyes.

A haughty laugh brought me back to the present. Jack was very happy; that was not a good sign for me.

“I no longer have to keep you alive, Belleeza. It’s just you and me all alone in this big soundproof room.” Jack had a sense of calm about him that was anything but peaceful to me. His eyes sparkled with pure madness. “What to do, what to do now? You see, I had chosen the whip so I would not lose control and kill you, but now I need not be so cautious. Now, the options are endless.”

I could feel the hair on the back of what was left of my neck standing up. Whatever he did to me would be neither quick nor painless.

Jack was taking his time walking back and forth in front of the wall of torture devices. Occasionally he picked up a weapon to feel it out and then placed it back where it belonged. I knew he was only putting on this show for my benefit. He already knew what he was going to do to me, and whatever that was, it was going to be unbearable.

“Well, Beauty, it seems I do not find any weapon to my liking. So, I have something much more suited for a warrior, such as yourself. I have an ability that is most useful and highly guarded, but as you will soon be dead, I see no need for the continued secrecy.” He leered at me, showing yellowing teeth. He was obviously enjoying drawing this out.

“Well?” I snapped. “What is it?”

His grin widened. “I can turn off the powers of all angels and demons in close proximity to me.”

Impossible!
I stared at him, almost forgetting my pain for a moment. I’d never heard of such a thing before and my mind reeled.

“The downside is I also lose all of my abilities until I reverse it,” Jack continued. “But as you are already dying from the demon toxins that are poisoning your bloodstream, I have nothing to worry about, because you can neither summon your abilities nor your weapons.”

Jack dramatically pressed his hands against his temples, rolling his fingers in a circular motion against the sides of his face. A gust of wind blew through the building and as quick as it happened, it was gone, but I knew it had worked. I could suddenly I feel my angel abilities but like Jack said, it was useless because even though I wasn’t as close to mortality as I thought the poison had weakened me too much to even call for help or vanish.

“Now, Belleeza,” he boomed in a triumphant voice, “the time has come for your big departure.”

“What did you have in mind?” I was barely able to choke out the words. I was dying and we both knew it. Whatever he had in mind for me would be excruciating, but it surely could not last long. I could feel the demon toxins working their magic against the last drops of pure blood I had left.

It worked like some kind of snake venom that spread until there was nowhere else to spread. Both my body and my mind were ready to let go, but my heart could not believe I did not have any more fight left in me.

“I hold the sun within me and it is time that you felt the full power of it. Goodbye, Belleeza.” Jack brought his palms up slowly, less than an inch away from my eyes.

I felt heat rising from his hands and as the seconds went by, the heat increased until it was scorching hot. The screams tore from my mouth as I felt my flesh begin to burn. My backside was in ruins and yet I bucked my body, thrashing in every direction, unable to escape the feel of what this demon did to me while he laughed. I begged the Lord to take me. I pleaded and I screamed.

A deafening crash boomed through the room, shaking the walls and with it my chains. I screeched and screamed as I tried to see what had happened. I could see nothing. I knew there was nothing more than a melted face in the spot where my eyes were just moments before. I could not stop the screams from climbing out of my throat. I shrieked and continued to try to scream even when sound of my screeches no longer could be heard. I screamed until my voice was gone. It was then that I heard him.

“Get the hell away from her Jack.”

It was Colton.

T
here was so much commotion
. The sounds of fighting echoed throughout the room. I could not see, but someone was touching me. I tried to scream but no sound came out. Nothing could describe the feeling of terror I felt at that moment as I hung by chains, poisoned, tortured, covered in my own blood, blind, and unable to scream. I was petrified and helpless as I had never been before.

“Dear God, stay with me, Beauty. I’m here now.” I heard a familiar voice and it felt like I should really recognize the hands releasing me from the chains that held me captive, but something in the back of my head was telling me that it couldn’t be.

Something was very wrong. I could not put any full thoughts together. My memory was beginning to fail. I could no longer remember where I was or what was happening, and all I could think of was how I would just like to go to sleep, but just before I was about to let go, a voice pulled me back.

“I’m here, my Beauty, I’m here. Don’t leave me, Belleeza, please don’t leave me. Don’t you dare leave me.” I felt my arms go limp as my rescuer liberated my wrists from their restraints. He touched me so tenderly and spoke so affectionately that despite the fact that death was calling, my heart filled with love for the one that had come to my rescue.

“Unbind her ankles, Liam. Carefully now, do not touch her backside whatsoever.”

“Yes, Colton,” a younger male voice said. “Oh my God! Colton, I don’t think I can do it without harming her more. Her back, it’s, it’s . . . I can see her spine.”

“You can do it, Liam. She’s counting on you. Just remove the shackles and I’ll take care of the rest.” Colton carefully held me against his chest with his arms stretched out beneath my underarms so as not to touch the open wounds on my back. With a start, I gasped as one ankle was freed, followed by the other. My body jerked involuntarily as I cried out. I felt a hand caress the back of my head as a soothing voice whispered words of comfort.

I recognized the gentle voice that calmed me and I knew the strength and protection of the arms that held me. Darkness was closing in on me once more as I reached my hand toward the face of my rescuer and whispered with a hoarse voice, “Colton.”

* * *

“
S
he still looks
on the verge of death, Colton. Are you sure you received your powers back at full strength?” The voice was worrisome and sounded like it came from a young man.

“Calm down, Liam. You need to practice controlling your panic. You’re a warrior. You will constantly be put into extreme situations. It’s essential that you learn to keep your head about you.”

Even though my thoughts swum, I clung to his voice. Could it really be him? Or was this death?

“Trust me, you cannot believe the amount of terror I felt finding Belleeza that way, but panicking only would have prolonged her pain. Now I’m healing her, but she’s been through a tremendous ordeal. Thank God her heart is pumping now.”

“That’s good, right?” The anxious voice spoke again.

“That’s good. Now I have to heal her blood.” There was a pause and then a sigh. “A demon relic must have caused some of her wounds and the toxins poisoned her bloodstream almost completely. I have to get the poison out quickly, but since its spread so far I can’t do it too fast or it will put her body into shock.”

“What about her back? And her . . . her eyes . . .” the anxious voice whispered.

“We’ll take care of her back and eyes after I’ve removed the poison.”

I was gradually waking up and my memory was slowly beginning to piece itself together. I was lying on a sofa on my belly with my face pointed toward the cushions. I could not even summon the energy to speak. I felt a magnitude of pain and agony, yet I could tell that someone was siphoning the foreign toxins from my blood. At that thought, my body froze with fear. Still blind, I realized that I never saw the faces of my rescuers. My memory could not have come back completely after all. I’d thought Colton had rescued me and held me in his arms—but I’d watched him die.

Panic took over and I struggled to get away. I tried to demand answers to questions I was unable to ask, but I only got as far as “Who . . .” My voice was unrecognizable. It was so rough from all the screaming I’d done while I was tortured, that it sounded more animal-like than angelic.

As I flailed around trying to get away, I heard a voice yell, “Liam, grab her ankles before she hurts herself. Quickly now!”

“Silence!” I heard the commanding voice of a woman hush the voices of the men now holding me down. “She is blind, in pain, and has no idea what has happened the past few days. Evangelina, come quickly. Belleeza needs you.”

Suddenly a delicate hand touched my check affectionately, and I immediately stopped thrashing because I recognized that touch. I tried to say her name but Evangelina soothed my attempts as she squeezed my hand firmly but gently.

“Belleeza, I’m here and so are a few others. We have much to discuss, but first things first—you need to try to stop fighting us so we can get you healed. Can you do that for me, Belleeza?” She squeezed my palm once more and I nodded my head, but I could not let go of the question burning in the back of my throat.

“Colt . . .” I tried to force his name from my throat. “Col . . . Colt . . . Colton.” I finally was able to hear his name leave my lips. I heard some quick harsh whispering before I felt the sofa cushions shift as someone leaned against them.

He spoke before running his hand along the side of my face, as if waiting for me to pull away. Instead, I tried to reach for him. Despite everything he had done, despite the way he hurt me or the fact that he fell from grace, I could not imagine a world without him. None of that seemed to matter right now. He bent over me and whispered in my ear.

“Don’t move too much, Beauty. I’m here, my love, I’m here.”

At the sound of his voice and the realization that he truly was by my side, I began to sob uncontrollably.

Colton continued to hold me, vowing his love with tender kisses against my cheek and hands. When he felt me relax into him, he laid a kiss against my lips. “I will never leave you again, but you need to rest and let me heal you. I know you have many questions, and we will answer each of them, but first I must get the last of the poison out before it starts multiplying again. Do you understand, Belleeza?”

I squeezed his palm against my cheek to answer. I felt the cushions shift again and when Evangelina spoke, I knew she must be kneeling against the couch. The back of her hand touched my forehead as she said, “Sleep, Belleeza. Sleep and wake healed.”

I felt the power behind those words and passed out before she even finished the last word.

* * *

I
awoke
with a gasp and realized that I could see again. I was lying on my back in my bedroom. My hands instantly grabbed at my eyes. I couldn’t believe he’d been able to heal them completely. Of every wound I had ever had, having my eyes burned by sunlight was the worst and most painful thing I had ever experienced. Up until that moment, I had believed I would never see again. My sides, on the other hand, were not as lucky as my eyes. I could add those stab wounds to my long list of scars, but that’s not a complaint. Scars are something to be respected, not repulsed. Both my enemies and my fellow warriors view them as a symbol of strength. Surprisingly, there were not nearly as many on my sides as there should have been. Colton always had been a talented healer.

“Belleeza, you’re healed, but you and Colton are covered in the poison. You must shower right away before your skin starts to absorb it. He’s been healing you for hours.” Evangelina’s voice was urgent.

I sat up, slightly dazed and confused. Evangelina was standing above me with a hand on my forehead, while Colton stood next to her. He bent toward me, pulling my left arm around his shoulders and sliding his right arm behind my back. My clothes must have been shredded—either by the beating or by Colton for the healing. Someone wrapped a sheet around me in hopes of preserving my modesty.

“Come, Belleeza. We just have to scrub this filth off and you can get back to resting,” Colton said, standing me up.

“I’ll take my bathroom and you can take the guest bathroom,” I said. He looked at me, surprise on his face, as if he hadn’t expected me to be so . . . petty. And I knew it was petty after what we had just gone through . . . after I thought I’d lost him . . . but now I was feeling myself again and all the old doubts and memories had come flooding back. He might have saved my life, and I thanked
God
he was alive, but he had still betrayed me.

“Both Olivia and Liam are covered in the toxins as well,” Evangelina said. “They are scrubbing in the guest bathroom. You and Colton will have to use the master bathroom.”

Before I could object, Evangelina hushed me, raising her hand. “There is no time to argue, Belleeza. It took much longer to heal you than expected. If Colton and the others didn’t get to you when they did, the poison would have consumed you completely and killed you within the hour. Time is running out and you will both start absorbing the poison soon. Colton needs rest before he can heal anything more than a superficial wound.”

I looked down at my body, and though I couldn’t see the demon poison, I could feel it. I felt like I was covered in a suffocating sap. It was then that I realized how stiff Colton’s movements were. He had stayed by my side clearing my blood of the toxins and risking his own.

We reached the bathroom. And I didn’t fight it. Evangelina turned on the shower and set out clean towels. She risked a quick glance at me then turned away quickly without a word. She and Colton seemed to be walking on eggshells, as if they feared they would scare me off and I’d start putting up a fight against a shared shower. None of us said anything or made eye contact with one another.

She left quietly, closing the bathroom door behind her. Colton turned his back to me and took off his shirt, revealing an impressive tanned back. I turned away quickly so as not to watch him undress completely. There is something so intimate and intrusive about watching someone undress. I heard his jeans hit the floor and the opening and closing of the glass shower doors. I let out a breath of air I hadn’t realized I was holding. I knew I was stalling the inevitable . . . so I let the sheet fall down my body.

I lifted my chin and climbed into the shower. Colton respectfully kept his back to me, never turning to even sneak a peek. Thankfully I had several showerheads, and we were able to shower without touching or looking at one another.

I scrubbed and scrubbed. It was liberating to feel the poison loosen its attachment to my skin. After I finished scrubbing, I started washing my hair. What I feared would be an awkward shower was somehow strangely peaceful and comfortable.

Colton’s movements were strained, and I knew he was trying his best not to look at me. I appreciated his consideration for my feelings. I was not as strong. I turned toward him. There he stood in nude perfection, his muscled tan back giving way to a firm tight behind. I studied him, studied every muscular line, every tiny freckle, every perfect scar. I watched him try to scrub his mid-back but miss a wide area.

Grinning, I walked to him slowly without saying a word. I don’t know what made me do it, but with his muscled back to me, I grabbed the bath sponge from his hand. His body stiffened. He was so still I could no longer see him breathing, but I could feel it. I lathered his back in soapy water from the sponge. I started at his neck, gently massaging, working my way toward his shoulders. I took my time, silently ensuring that every part of his upper back was cleaned. I made my way toward his mid-back, softly caressing every inch of him. I reached his firm ass and didn’t stop. I lathered him and, with a nudge of the sponge, he spread his legs just a touch wider. I cleaned every part of his chiseled body, stroking him with the sponge. I held him in my hands as I took my time thoroughly washing his most intimate parts, and he allowed me to do so without a word. He accepted my touch without the need to ruin the moment with words or expectations of more. I washed him tenderly, listening as his breathing got heavier and he leaned his head back with a sigh. I slowly pulled my hands back and wrapped my arms around his neck so as to scrub his chest. His breathing deepened even more at the feel of my breasts against his back.