Angel's Blade (9 page)

“No, I haven’t,” Nathaniel sighed,
watching as his father placed the broken glass onto a side-table. “Maion.”

His father nodded. “I suspected.”
He frowned, then reached out a hand. “But something else has happened.” He
traced the marks on Nathaniel’s left arm lightly, then looked up and smiled.

Hell. His father never missed a
thing. Nathaniel took a deep breath. “I was with Zeke, the weapons master.” The
blade in his right hand felt heavy. He kept it behind his back.

Orifiel’s eyebrows lifted. “What
happened?”

“I woke up. I didn’t feel right.
The next thing I knew, Zeke was standing over me. He asked me to come with him,
to talk.” Nathaniel laughed and ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I should’ve
known there’d be more than talking.”

“He’s your mate,” Orifiel said
calmly. “I suspected.”

Nathaniel stared at his father. “How
could you know that?”

“I saw the look you gave him when
we first arrived. It was the same look I gave your mother when I first met her.”

Nathaniel didn’t understand. “Mom
wasn’t an angel. You weren’t mates.”

Orifiel chuckled. “That doesn’t
matter.”

“This is crazy,” Nathaniel said, more
confused than ever. “I can’t fall in love with someone after only knowing him
for a day.”

“Our mates are chosen by God. We
always know, from the moment we meet. It’s as if something inside us isn’t
complete until we bond.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,”
Nathaniel said, frustrated. “Mom wasn’t an angel. You couldn’t bond with her.”

Orifiel shrugged. “True. But I
still knew she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. You
have something even rarer.” He gripped Nathaniel’s arm tightly. “Don’t let him
go.”

Nathaniel stared at his father’s
hand. “Zeke isn’t gay.”

“Did Zeke tell you that? Did he
react badly?” Orifiel asked.

Nathaniel had to shake his head. “No.”

His father turned his arm over. “Look.
Look at your arms. You’ve been blessed. You can’t repudiate the ability once
you’ve accepted it. And Zeke was the catalyst for you. He unlocked your
genetics, bringing you fully into your powers. I can see it on your skin and in
your eyes.”

“Dad, stop it,” Nathaniel said,
trying to pull away. His father wouldn’t let him.

“Isn’t this what you’ve always
wanted?”

Nathaniel went still. “It’s not
that easy,” he whispered. “We made weapons.” He slowly drew his right hand from
behind him and showed his father the dagger. “Look.”

Orifiel’s let go, eyes widening. “Oh,
thank God.”

“Thank God? Are you kidding me?
Dad, this is an angelic weapon. There haven’t been any new ones created in
decades. Don’t you get it?” His heart beat against his ribs as the mix of
frustration, fear, and longing swirled through him.

“Centuries,” his father
interrupted.

“What?” Nathaniel didn’t
understand.

“There have been no new weapons in
centuries. We lost the art, long ago.” Orifiel gripped Nathaniel’s wrist and
drew the blade closer. “You are a weapons master. The color of your marks is a
true rendering. This is a
good
thing,
Nathaniel.”

“I don’t know a damn thing about
blades, Dad.” He willed himself to calm down. “Or about fighting.”

Orifiel let go of his arm. “You don’t
need to. The ability to create the weapons is instinctive, as you’ve already
discovered. And the ability to fight is not as important as the ability to see
truth and cut out infection.” He looked Nathaniel right in the eyes. “Weapons
masters were always the most clear-sighted among us. Being a weapons master is
not all about the blade, Nathaniel. Seeing true is even more necessary.”

Nathaniel thought about what he’d
seen in Maion’s eyes just a few minutes ago. “I don’t know if I want that
power.”

Orifiel shook his head. “Would you
refuse a gift because of fear?”

“Dad—”

“No, Nathaniel, don’t let doubt
scare you into running the wrong way. You’ve always been a good person. A
wonderful son and a true friend to me as you grew up, and I value that. You are
a strong man and I’ve always been proud of you. But whatever happens, whatever
you choose to do, I’ll always love you.”

“Jesus,” Nathaniel laughed. “No
pressure or anything.” His father always managed to make him feel like he was
still five years old.

Orifiel smiled. “I trust you to do
the right thing.” He slung an arm around Nathaniel’s shoulders. “Dawn will be
upon us soon. Let’s get some sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning, I
promise. And maybe your guy will be able to persuade you into sense once you’re
no longer stupid with sleep-deprivation.” His eyes twinkled as he drew
Nathaniel into their suite.

Chapter Six

The next morning, Nathaniel sat in
the kitchen sipping his coffee and trying really hard not to think about what
Zeke’s face looked like when he orgasmed. He failed. With every swallow, he
remembered what it felt like to be that close to another person. With every
blink he could feel Zeke’s hands on his arms, tightening so that he couldn’t
get away, not that he’d wanted to at the time.
God, I have it bad.

“Good morning,” Ariel said, walking
into the room. Suriel was right behind her.

“Morning,” Nathaniel said,
straightening up in his chair. “It’s a lovely day outside.” He tugged at his
long-sleeved shirt, making sure no one could see his newly formed legacy marks.

“It is,” Suriel said, smiling. “Sunny
and cold. It may still be winter, but spring is just around the corner.”

Nathaniel nodded, not sure what to
say.
Oh, by the way, I fucked your cousin
last night. It was awesome. Yeah, that would go over real well. Not.

“I hope you had a restful night?”
Ariel asked him.

Nathaniel lied between his teeth. “It
was lovely, thank you.”

She smiled at him, but he could
tell by her expression that she wasn’t buying his answer. The dark circles
under his eyes probably gave him away.

“Good.” She poured herself some
coffee and snagged a bagel from the counter. “Oh, by the way. I ran into Zeke
in the corridor. He said he needed a word with you.”

Shit,
Nathaniel thought as Ariel’s gaze
bored into his skull. She knew something was happening, but she was clearly too
polite to pursue it openly. “Okay,” he said, getting up. “I’ll go talk to him
now.” He walked over and put his cup in the sink.

On the way to the door, Ariel
snagged his sleeve. Nathaniel froze as the corner of one of his marks lay exposed.
Luckily, Ariel didn’t look down. Instead she stared at his face. “I hope you
know how much Zeke means to us.”

Nathaniel swallowed and nodded. “I
do.”

“Don’t break his heart,” she said,
somehow divining his attraction to the weapons master from thin air. Jesus, she
was scary.

“Uh,” Nathaniel replied, not sure
what to say. “I thought Zeke was straight?” he muttered, playing stupid. He
hated himself in that moment.

Ariel let go of him and laughed. “Yeah,
that’s what he’d probably say, too, but remember, still waters run deep.”

Nathaniel tugged down his sleeve
and backed away, staring at the tips of her feet in their fuzzy pink slippers.
How could a woman who looked so tiny and innocuous scare the shit out of him so
badly?

“Um, sure,” he said. When he looked
up, he realized Suriel, the sorcerer, had his eyes on Nathaniel’s arm.
Shit
times two,
he thought, almost panicking. He didn’t want to deal with this
right now. Hilariously, talking to Zeke suddenly felt like the safer option. He
almost ran to the door, wanting to get out of the range of Ariel and her mate’s
too-perceptive instincts. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to remember that,” he said, as
he fled to the hallway.

****

Zeke stood at the top of his
stairs, debating whether he should go to the suite and see if Nathaniel was
there, or head to the kitchen. He’d already eaten, but it wouldn’t hurt to
check and see if Nathaniel was hungry.
Or maybe you should just leave him
alone, Zeke,
he told himself. He’d already seen Ariel and asked her to let
Nathaniel knew he was looking for him, if she saw him.

He rolled his shoulders, trying to
work out the tension. It didn’t work. Every time he thought about Nathaniel, he
remembered what it had been like to hold him in his arms. He had no idea he’d
enjoy another man’s body so much. He thought he’d be upset when he woke up to
find that he’d suddenly turned gay, but instead, he felt nothing but relief.
Finally, he understood that he’d been looking in all the wrong places for
family. Far from being freaked out, he felt more at peace than he had in years.
He had a mate. He had his gift. All he had to do was be patient and have faith
that Nathaniel would come around.
After all, it isn’t every day that a man
suddenly develops the ability to fly,
he thought, smiling as he leaned back
against the wall. He closed his eyes, remembering how Nathaniel had moved
beneath him, both of them nude and desperate. A twitch of his cock told him he’d
better be careful if he didn’t want to stand in the hallway with a hard-on pressing
against his jeans.

“Zeke.”

He jerked, eyes flying open. The
hall was empty. For a minute he thought his imagination had conjured up an
aural hallucination, but then he caught sight of the angel walking down the
corridor toward him. “Nathaniel. I was looking for you,” he said smiling.

Nathaniel tugged at his
shirtsleeves. The soft cream sweater looked good on him. Zeke’s eyes dropped to
Nathaniel’s tight black jeans and bare feet.
Damn, he’s gorgeous.
He
clenched his fists, willing his libido to calm down.

“Yeah, I ran into Ariel and her
mate in the kitchen,” Nathaniel replied, a strange look on his face. “I hope
you don’t mind me saying this, but she scares me. Like, a lot.”

Zeke laughed. “She’s a
strong-willed female, that’s for sure.” His shoulders unknotted. It seemed like
Nathaniel had indeed calmed down a bit from their last encounter. Maybe if he
played it cool, didn’t mention anything about bonding, Nathaniel would come
around.

“What did you need me for?”
Nathaniel asked, fidgeting.

“I was hoping you would help me
make some more weapons,” Zeke said. He resisted the urge to grab Nathaniel and
kiss him until he agreed.

Nathaniel’s face went tense. “I don’t
know anything about blade work, you know that.”

Zeke licked his lips.
Patience,
he told himself again. “You don’t need to know. Instinct will guide us.” He
took a chance. “I know you feel like you’re being forced into something, and
please believe me, that’s the last thing I want to do. But we need blades. The
survival of our species depends on us having good weapons. Angelic weapons. And
that will take both of us.”

Nathaniel sighed. “Everyone will
know about us if I help you. I don’t know if I’m ready for that. If I’ll ever
be ready.” He looked away.

Zeke shook his head. “No they won’t.
I won’t tell them.”

“What happens when you present them
with these amazing new blades?” Nathaniel asked skeptically. “They’ll want to
know where you got them.”

Zeke shrugged. “I’ll tell them I
finally learned how to forge them. It’s not a lie. It’s just not the entire
truth.” He leaned forward, his sense of urgency overriding his patience. “We
need the weapons. There are demons among us.”

His last words seemed to spark
something in Nathaniel, thank God, because Zeke was running out of excuses. He
squared his shoulders and nodded. “You’re right. I know you are. If I can help
fight that evil in any way, I will. I have to. No matter what it takes.” He
glanced down the hallway, looking at something Zeke couldn’t see. “The truth is
staring me in the face. It’s my duty to face it,” he whispered.

****

Nathaniel stood behind Zeke again,
in front of the forge. The leather apron was more comfortable this time with
his sweater on, providing some insulation. Slowly, carefully, he placed his
hand on Zeke’s neck, bare skin to bare skin. The heat between them flared
immediately, energy dancing back and forth over their skin and through their
bones.

“God,” Zeke gasped, breathing hard.

“Yeah,” Nathaniel agreed, hoarse
with his sudden arousal. Everything about Zeke appealed to him: his private
nature, his dedication to his work, his honor.
Not to mention his amazing
physical attributes,
he mused, thumb slowly circling over Zeke’s skin.

“If you keep stroking me, I’m going
to grab you and have you up against the wall, Nathaniel,” Zeke told him.

Nathaniel grunted as the image of
Zeke pinning him to the wall flooded his brain. “Shit,” he muttered, forcing
his thumb to lie still.

“Okay,” Zeke said, taking a deep
breath. He grabbed the blank with the tongs and flipped on the switch to the
induction heater. Nathaniel moved with him, keeping his hand against his lover’s
skin. This blank was a little longer than the daggers they’d made last night,
but still thin enough to fit through the coils.