Awaken (Divine Hunter Series) (36 page)

They immediately left the room and closed the door behind them. Michael turned to Lacy. “NOW! Asshole.”

The demon leered at him. “Five minutes. That’s all you get.”

Before Michael could argue, Lacy closed her eyes and remained still for a couple of seconds. Michael leaned
into her and placed his hand on her knee. In the next instant her eyes flew open and she dragged air deep into her lungs as though she’d been struggling to breathe underwater and had just reached the surface. It startled him, but his hands flew to each side of her face. He held her head and looked into her eyes.

“Lacy?” The crimson was gone, replaced by her own wonderfully green colored irises.

“NO! Michael!” she gasped.

His arms flew around her back and he quickly freed her from the rope and then the cuffs with the key Alethia had given him. She flung her arms around
him and sobbed into his shoulder. He held her tightly, dragging her scent deep down into his lungs where he planned to keep it for as long as possible.

“Don’t do it. Please. . . Michael, don’t do this,” she begged. Her breath on his neck was like soft kisses on his bare skin. He fought back his anguish, locking his teeth together so hard he was in fear of them crumbling under the weight of his bite. “Please,” she repeated.

He kissed her on the mouth, her chin, her cheeks, holding her face in his hands and tasting her salty tears. How could he do this? How could he find the strength to leave her?

W
hen he pulled back and saw the tears that he’d just tasted trailing down her cheeks, his heart shattered into pieces. He wiped them with his thumbs and bit down on his jaw in an attempt to keep his own at bay.

“
We both knew this would happen. We knew that we’d be parted from each other. It’s just happened a lot sooner than I’m ready for.”

“
I’m not ready either.” Her voice trembled. Her eyes closed tightly.

“Lacy,
look at me.” When her eyes met his again he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. His face was close enough to hers that he could feel her warm breath. “I will find you, in this life or the next. I promise you that one day we’ll be together again.”

He leaned
in and kissed her on the lips−her warm, soft lips. The lips he would crave for the rest of his days, however he would spend them. He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. The pain in his chest was too intense to handle, a fire that burned deep into his very soul. The only solace he had through all of this would be the knowledge that she was safe. This was his way to make things right and even though she would hurt from losing him−grieve for him, as he would for her−in time she would heal. Then she would get to live the rest of her life. That was all that mattered.

As for him, he knew where he was going. He
’d been there before and survived it. This time it would probably be for eternity, but he knew his sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain: he was doing it to keep Lacy safe and at the same time he would find a way to free Evo. Then his best friend would continue on with his life too.

Evo
and Michael had fought together, saved each other numerous times. He owed a lot to his buddy. For the short time in which he’d known him, Evo had proved himself to be a true warrior, passionate in his beliefs, and though he worked for the enemy sometimes, he was honorable to his very core. But most of all he was a true friend. If. . . no,
when
Michael freed him, he would ask him to check in on Lacy from time to time. Then, at the very least, Michael could go to his grave−if ever he did−knowing that Evo would keep his word.

The time for stalling was over.

“I want you to promise me something,” he said to Lacy as he took both of her hands in his−cringing when he saw the scratches and dried blood on her forearms−while trying to stop the onslaught of emotions that were almost breaking him apart. His voice broke. “Promise me you won’t try to find me−to save me. Please.”

She
inhaled sharply, about to speak, but he placed his finger over her mouth to stop her. “Shhh. Just. . . give me that. I won’t survive down there if I thought there’d be a chance of you putting yourself at risk for me. Knowing you are safe is the only thing I need.”

He placed his hand on her racing heart.
“The pleasure of knowing your heart, no matter how brief, is what will make my memories of our time together stronger. I love you, Lacy, and until we are together,” he took a deep, shaky breath, “I will always be here.”

She choked back a sob and he felt her pain as his own, like acid stinging through his veins.

“I love you too,” she whispered and the last tears fell down her cheeks before her eyes widened and panic overtook her. “NO! Michae−” Her words were cut off and her eyes glazed over before closing. When they flicked back open he knew she was gone, replaced by the blood-red eyes of the cock-sucking demon that would one day pay for putting her through this.

They’d all pay.

He would do whatever it took to exert revenge on Varesh. Whatever the demon had planned for him, he would not make it easy. Knowing the power that Michael seemed to possess now, he would use it against Varesh, and his minions, again and again. And when he was through with them, and after he’d found Evo, he would return to Lacy. It was a promise that he intended to keep.

A
sinister laugh crept out of Lacy’s mouth in a voice much deeper than her own. Michael shot to his feet. His fists were clenched at his sides as he fought to keep his ever present rage under control. It was something he’d gotten quite used to doing over the last hour.

The door opened and he saw Alethia’s head pop around for a minute, he assumed, to check that everything was ok
ay.

“She’s gone. Come in. Both of you.”

Alethia must have sensed the dejection in his voice because her brows pulled down and she looked upset as she walked over to him. Jaret followed.

“I don’t like this at all. Surely there’s another way.” She looked at Lacy and then back at Michael.

“No,” he shook his head. “It has to be like this.”

Michael turned to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. It was time for his final goodbyes. He knew the demon would be getting impatient and he didn’t want to risk anymore hurt for Lacy.

“Thank you, Alethia. I hope you know how grateful I am that you saved Lacy and me when you did. I’ll never forget that.” He saw her eyes begin to water and she threw her arms around his neck. He hugged her back and then she pulled away.

Looking down at the
floor, she said, “Ahh,” then shrugged her shoulder, “It was nothing.” She looked at him with a hint of a smile. “I’m glad we met, Michael. And I know I’ll see you again soon.”

Michael hoped so.

Alethia stepped back. “Oh, hey. . . one more thing,” she said as she stood twisting her fingers together, “Give Evo a nice kick in the balls for me when you see him, yeah?”

She was
smiling, but Michael knew she was putting it on to try and lighten the mood.

He nodded his head. “Sure.”

Michael turned towards Jaret, who stuck out his hand.

He felt sorry that he’d almost killed the
guy, but was impressed that Jaret hadn’t held it against him. Michael took hold of Jaret’s hand and they shook a firm, meaningful shake. “Thank you.”

Jaret smiled. “No worries mate. An’ if you need anythin’. . . ”

“Yeah.” Michael smiled back. He would hold him to that. The fact that Jaret could enter Hell whenever he liked might come in handy one day.

Finally, he walked over to Lacy and knelt down in front of her. The demon’s eyes looked at him with distaste and it was all he could do not to slap the thing. But instead, he leaned in and placed a kiss on Lacy’s cheek. He heard a low growl come from the
demon, but ignored it. He knew she was in there. Knew she could probably feel him.

His chest ached at the thought that this might be the last time he’d ever see her. He tried to ignore those blood-red eyes.

He reached up and ran the back of his fingers down the side of her face, then softly whispered, “I love you. . . ” only for her to hear as a single tear ran down his cheek.

“Time to go,” the demon said. Then all he heard was Lacy’s screaming voice before he blacked out.

M
ichael’s eyes opened slowly. His head pounded like he’d overdone it with the liquor the night before. Through his blurry vision he saw an orange glow and followed the light to the far corner of the room. He blinked a couple of times, trying to focus, and when his sight began to clear he noticed there was a silhouette of a man sat in an armchair across the way.

“
Finally, you’re awake. Thought I was gonna have to come and shake you,” a rich, husky voice said.

Michael sat up abruptly,
realizing he was in a. . . motel room? He tried to focus his groggy eyes on the large figure.

“
Who the hell are you?” he managed to say even though his throat was as dry as a bone. “And where am I?”

“Now. . .
is that any way to talk to someone whose just saved your ass? And not for the first time may I add.”

“
What. . ?” Michael cleared his throat, “what are you talking about?” As he moved to sit up, he gripped his head in his hands as it pounded.
Jeez!
He felt like he’d been hit round the head a few times.

All of a sudden the room came into view as a few candles that were mounted on the walls flared of their own accord, lighting up the
stranger and making it easier for his eyes to focus. Thick, blond, wavy hair was slicked back from a rugged face that had a strong, chiselled jaw shaded with stubble. He was dressed in leather trousers and a black turtleneck sweater that showed off the size of his wide shoulders. He looked huge from Michael’s vantage point, which he soon realized, was on the floor. The guy had his ankle propped on top of his knee; one arm hooked on the back of the chair and was staring down at him.

He waved his hand casually in Michael
’s direction. “Uh, Yeah. . . the head thing. That’s just temporary. It’ll clear soon enough.”

Michael shuffled himself back to sit agains
t the wall. With a huff, he said, “Never mind my damned headache. What the fuck’s going on?”

The stranger shifted himself forward and propped his arms on his knees.
“Relax buddy. And take a look around you before you fly off at me. You might just realize you’re not where you should be.”

Shit! That
’s right. This wasn’t Hell. His eyes scanned the room, which could have been a motel room but, no. . . the beige carpet was far too clean, and so was the rest of the room by the looks of things. There were a few sconces on the walls, which made Michael wonder about the candles, and dark framed pictures hung randomly from a picture rail. Next to him was a dark wood vanity and across from that was a double bed, also made from heavy dark wood. Now that he thought about it, the furniture looked expensive, antique even.

“
I knew the lights would be too bright for you when you finally came to.”

Michael looked over at the stranger who used his finger to tap his temple.

“Your head.” He used the same finger to point around the room. “That’s why the candles,” he explained.

Michael lifted his chin in acknowledgement.
“Well, what is this place? It doesn’t look like Hell, but this could just be one of those damn hallucinations. Yeah. . . that’s exactly what this is, isn’t it? I’m imagining all of this, aren’t I?”

“
Nope. All real.”

“
Right.” Michael wasn’t convinced. He’d seen how real things could appear in that shit hole of a place so why couldn’t this just be the same thing. “Okay. And you are?”

“Here to help,” w
as all he got for a reply from the guy.

“
Wait. . . Okay, I get it. . . I
am
hallucinating. I’m in some freaky game show where I have to guess the answers to what happens to me next. Right? ‘Cos why else would I be sitting here still waiting for answers?” Michael said sarcastically. “Are you gonna start talking?”

The candles flared brighter all of a sudden and
Michael looked around the place again.
Definitely not a motel room.
The walls were painted in deep yellow and a small, glass chandelier, which matched the sconces, hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Okay, so the candle trick meant that this guy was clearly not human.

“You’re still in Garrett, and this house belongs to a friend of mine.”

Okay, not quite what Michael meant. “About what the hell’s going on here not whose goddamn house this is?”

The stranger sat back in his chair.
“I am Raziel, and this is the second time I’ve pulled you from damnation.” He must have seen Michael’s surprised expression because he quickly continued. “Yes. I’m the reason you got out the first time, only I wasn’t expecting you’d liked it so much to go straight back in there of your own accord.”

Michael
’s eyes widened with shock and confusion. Why did he have no idea? “What
are
you?”

“
I suppose you could say I’m your guardian angel.”

Silence.

There were times when Michael questioned his own sanity; questioned whether or not his recent experiences had been some sort of distorted reality that only existed inside a troubled mind of a version of himself that was locked up in a padded room. It was easy to think that, given how he’d spent his past year. The many unexplainable things he’d witnessed could all be put down to a misinterpreted reality.

He
’d fought demons a plenty, encountered spirits, wraiths−both good and evil, had been to Hell and back. Literally. But this was the first time he’d ever encountered an angel.

Angel.
He repeated it to himself, as if that would somehow make it easier to swallow.

Even after everything he
’d been through, he was having a hard time processing the fact that the guy sitting across the room from him, a guy who looked like he was out of some TV show about renegades who ride around on souped up, classic motorcycles, was an actual angel.

All of a sudden an uncontrollable roar of laughter erupted from Michael; the kind of laughter that had you gripping
hold of your stomach and wiping tears from your eyes. He noticed a bemused look on the face of the stranger who seemed to be waiting patiently for Michael to compose himself.

“
Care to share what you find so funny?”

He
finally managed to swallow his amusement and explain his sudden outburst. “It’s. . . of all the ways I expected an angel would look, you are not one of them.”

The a
ngel huffed. “Glad I amuse you.”

“
I’m sorry. I mean nothing by it. It’s just,” Michael shook his head, “if someone had said to me that I would meet a real life angel one day, I’d be expecting long, flowing, white gowns and fluffy wings or something, not a celestial version of Jax Teller.”

“Who?”

Michael shook his head. “Never mind.”

Raziel
seemed to relax a little. “I think I would honestly end things for myself if that was required attire.”

Both men, for want of a better word, sat in silence for a few moments. Thankfully Michael
’s headache had started to ease a little and he was feeling much better. But he needed answers. Why had this angel saved him? Twice?

“You saved me? Why
?”

“Because I was ordered to,
” Raziel replied without hesitation.

“Ordered by
whom?”

Raziel just looked at Michael without saying a word. He let out a long sigh and shifted forward
in his chair.

“You might want to brace yourself for what I’m about to tell you.”

Michael stood up; his head still throbbed a little, but it was almost back to normal. He walked over to the side of the bed near the angel and sat down, feeling a little apprehensive at Raziel’s words. “Go on.”

What the angel said next, he could never have been prepared for.

“You’ve never been fully human, Michael.” Raziel looked up when he heard Michael’s gasp. “Your father was one of us, a warrior of the Creator, or an
angel
. You are a Nephilim: half human/half angel.”

Well, that was enough to make a guy want to lose his stomach right here on the nice beige carpet. Michael sat stock still as though someone had hit pause on his remote control. He had no choice but to listen to Raziel as the guy continued.

“There was a war, a long time ago, between Heaven and Hell and some decisions were made by the Creator−the one you call God−that some of my fellow warriors didn’t agree with. It caused a division amongst us, eventually leading to a rebellion. Those rebels were due to be cast out for their behavior, but before the Creator could do it, the rebel warriors came to earth and decided to punish him in the worst way possible: by hurting his humans. They raped and murdered, and all because they’d been
branded
. When one of us is about to be punished, and in most cases cast out, we are
branded,
stripped of our powers, though not our strength, before being put on trial before a jury of our leaders.

“A team of elite warriors were sent to retrieve the rebels from
here on earth and return them to the Creator who would make them
fall
for their crimes. One of these elite warriors was your father, Samael.”

“Shit!” Michael managed to say before swallowing the saliva that was quickly filling his mouth. The news should have been implausible, so why was he not finding it harder to accept what Raziel was saying? “Was my mother raped?”

Raziel shook his head. “No. Your mother helped Samael and he fell in love with her. Some of the women who
were
raped went on to have children. Those Nephilim had defects: they grew to be monsters. Some raped, some murdered and some just simply went insane, but all are dead now.

“But you, Michael. . . you were born out of love. Because of that, your heart is pure.”

Michael was stunned beyond all comprehension. Not sure how to process the atomic bombshell that had just been dropped on him. How could this be true? An angel? He was half angel? How is that even possible?

For some strange reason his thoughts went back to that day in t
he hospital when Jake had shown his face. After he’d gone to get coffee and he’d stopped to check if the lady was okay.

“
Are you here for him?”
she’d said.
“Please, take good care of him. Look after him until I get there.”

Suddenly, the penny dr
opped. Her son. . . He’d been close to death. She’d thought Michael had come to take him. He scrubbed his hand over his stubble. Jesus. Had she really thought he was an angel? And how did she know that he—?

“Some people can just sense these things.” Raziel answered the question that Michael had only asked in his mind.

Michael straightened. “Can you—?”

“See what’s in your mind? Yes.”

“Good to know.” A pain shot through Michael’s left temple and he winced. “Damn. I thought you said this would ease?”

“It will.”

Michael pinched the skin at the top of his nose in the hope that it would help. It did a little. Well, it helped with the head pain. He still had that horrible tightness in his chest which seemed to be getting worse.

He thought about his parents. “What happened to them?”

Raziel sat back in his chair and ran his hand through his wavy hair, keeping it off his face. “Your father was punished for his crime, cast out, made to fall. I don’t know what happened to him after that, no one does. Your mother never got over losing Samael, and after giving birth to you she killed herself.”

Even though he never knew his real parents, Michael couldn’t help but feel the loss of them. Growing
up, he was always led to believe that he wasn’t wanted, and made to live with more people that hadn’t wanted him. But he couldn’t be too angry about it. After all, he’d lived a life to be proud of. That was until. . .

“So, if I’m half angel, how did I end up like this?” It didn’t make any sense.

“After you were born you were protected. We knew, as the only surviving Nephilim and one of pure heart, that you would be hunted,” Raziel explained.

“Hunted, why?”

“It has always been said that if you create a life by mixing the DNA of a human with that of an angel then that child, or
Nephilim
, would grow to be extremely powerful. So we took steps to ensure your safety. Your mother named you Gazriel, which is the name your father wanted to give you, but we changed your identity and let you live on earth as a normal human with protection from us. We watched over you.”

“And Varesh? Where does he come into this? And do you know he’s building an army?”

“Yes. All we know is that he’s up to something. We’re watching him. Closely.”

Michael stood up from the bed and began to pace the length of the room. “Then how did that bitch kill me?” he snapped. It was because of her that he
was in this mess; that Lacy and Evo were. . .
Oh shit!
Evo. How was he supposed to find Evo?