Fallen Angel (7 page)

Nathaniel ran his hands
through his hair. Had
Lucifer
put Devlin up to this? No
matter what, he had to get him to leave before Eloise came out. No
way did he want Devlin gawping at her the way he was looking at her
mother, and if he saw how beautiful Eloise was, he’d try everything
to get her to her. Then it occurred to him that Devlin might have
already been spying on her, and if he had, he’d know what she
looked like. Nathaniel clenched his fists. That was it! He had to
force him to leave.

Chapter Five

Nathaniel thought his day
couldn’t get any worse, but when he saw the curtain move in
Eloise’s bedroom, he totally lost his patience. He couldn’t change
Devlin’s behaviour, but he didn’t have to put up with it here.
There was no point in asking him to leave. He seemed set on being
downright irritating, and he knew what he was doing. Clenching his
teeth, Nathaniel reached over and plucked a large feather from
Devlin’s right wing.

His mouth open, Devlin
spun around and frowned. “Hey, what’s the big idea? Are you
crazy?”

“
I’m not sure
about me, but I know you are. Why would you want to give up
eternity for a few years of physical pleasure on Earth?”

“
What are you
talking about?”

Nathaniel raised his eyes
to the sky. “You know very well what I’m talking about. You haven’t
taken your eyes of Madeline since she came outside.”

Devlin’s lips twitched
with amusement as he pointed at her. “But look at her. She’s
drop-to-Earth gorgeous. Are you telling me
you
haven’t had
wicked thoughts about her?”

Nathaniel glowered at
him. “No, I haven’t, and I think you’d better go.”

“
Oh, come on,
Nate, we’ve seen
everything
. Don’t you ever wonder
why
humans enjoy sex so much?”

“
No, Devlin,
I don’t. Angels don’t have hormones like men, so we shouldn’t be
tempted.”

“
Really?
Well, what about Eloise’s grandfather? He got tempted.”

“
Yes, and
look what happened to him. His wings were burned off. Is that what
you
want?”

“
No, but I am
curious about human pleasures and what they feel like.”

Nathaniel gripped his
friend’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Listen, Devlin. I’m
pleased you’re being honest with me, but you have to quit these
desires for human pleasures while you can. This sort of obsession
will only lead to your downfall, so
please
, just give it a
rest.” He shook him. “And yes, I’ve missed you terribly—more than
you’ll ever know, and I would
hate
to see something bad
happened to you. But you have to understand, I’ve had the
responsibility of keeping Eloise’s soul from Lucifer thrust upon me
for eighteen years, and I’ve had to make sacrifices. You could ease
my burden by going to rehab, then we could be friends again. So
Please
, Devlin, promise me you will?”

Devlin pulled him into a
bear hug. “I knew you missed me, Nate.”

“
Hang on a
minute.” Nathaniel pulled away. “What about your promise to book
into rehab?”

Devlin flashed a cheeky
grin. “Okay, I’ll go, but first I want to show you something. Just
watch Madeline’s face.”

Before Nathaniel could
stop him, Devlin flew up the garden and wrapped his arms around
Madeline’s waist. Although she couldn’t see him, she dropped her
pegs and froze on the spot.

Devlin laughed. “See,
Nate. She can actually feel me.”

Losing patience,
Nathaniel shot over to him. “No, she
can’t
, she can only
sense you.”

“
Okay, I’ll
prove it.” Devlin held his hands above Madeline’s head, then slowly
ran them over her breasts and down the sides of her body, stopping
at her bare legs.

Madeline shivered and
rubbed her knees, then she nervously glanced around before running
back into the house.

Slapping his thighs,
Devlin laughed. “See, I told you she could feel me. She quivered at
my touch.”

Mortified, Nathaniel
glanced at the house to see if Eloise was still there. Although
she’d moved from the window, he prayed she’d stay indoors until
Devlin had gone. Turning back to him, he sighed. “Listen, Devlin,
you’re playing with fire, and if you don’t stop, God will burn your
wings off.”

“
No he won’t.
It’s not as if I can
physically
do anything.” He grinned
wickedly. “Though if I could, I would.”

“
Enough,”
yelled Nathaniel, running a hand through his hair. He knew now,
Devlin had no intention of keeping his promise and he wanted him
out of there. “You’re being absurd and I think it’s time you
left.”

Devlin scoffed. “Aw,
don’t be such a killjoy, Nathaniel. Anyway I’m not going anywhere,
not until I’ve had more fun with the lovely Madeline, and I haven’t
seen Eloise yet.”

Nathaniel felt a rage
like he’d never known. He couldn’t believe Devlin would stoop so
low. He didn’t want him anywhere near Madeline or Eloise. Not now,
not ever. Clenching his fists, he glared at him. “If you don’t
leave right now, I’ll make you!”

Devlin’s eyes flashed
with obvious fury. “Is that right?”

“
What are you
really here for, to make a fool of me? Is that what this is all
about, revenge?”

“
No, but I’m
not having you dictating to me that I can’t have a bit of fun with
a human.”

Nathaniel squinted at
him. “What is wrong with you? Have you gone completely
mad?”

“
Oh, come on,
Nate, you saw how Madeline reacted. It’s fun, you’ll see. Just try
it.”

His fury building,
Nathaniel reached for his sword. “Don’t push me, Devlin. I’m
warning you, you’ll feel my wrath!”

“
You’re
warning
me
?” Devlin held his belly and
laughed. “Ha-ha, you don’t know the meaning of wrath, my friend.”
His face suddenly hardened into something quite ominous. “But if
you don’t give Eloise back to me, you’ll surely find
out.”

Tightening his jaw to
keep his anger in check, Nathaniel stared at him for a long moment.
He’d seen Devlin intimidate angels before, but he’d never seen him
look so sinister. Devlin might be slightly taller than him at
six-foot-one, but they both had similar powerful physiques and he
had no qualms about challenging him to a duel.

A malicious grin spread
across Devlin’s face as he stalked around him. “Cat got your
tongue?” he said, his eyes bright with excitement.

Nathaniel held his stare.
He had no fears about using his sword if he had to, and he was sure
he could beat him.

“
Well?”
Devlin pointed at the house. “I’ve changed my mind about rehab.
I’ll have Eloise back instead.”

“
I might have
guessed you would go back on your promise. Well, I’m not interested
in your childish threats. I won’t be giving Eloise back to you, not
now, not ever!”

Devlin grabbed
Nathaniel’s shirt, yanking him towards him until their faces were
only inches apart. “Understand this, my friend. I’ll watch over
Eloise, with or without your permission.”

“
Is that
right?” Nathaniel shoved him hard, sending him stumbling backwards.
“Don’t mess with me, Devlin. You know what I’m capable of.” He
strode towards him and shook his fist. “If you go anywhere near
Eloise, I’ll personally burn your wings off.”

Devlin scrambled to his
feet and leapt in front of him. “What
you’re
capable of?
You’re no challenge to me, Nathaniel. You’re nothing but an
underhanded, gutless hypocrite. And you’d never have the nerve to
burn my wings off.”

As Nathaniel gripped the
handle of his sword, a whirlwind of mist swirled around him. “Go
ahead, try me and see.”

Whipping out his blade,
Devlin danced backwards. “You can hide behind you stupid aura all
you want,
‘Angel of Frigging Fire’
, but believe me, I will
cut you into a million little pieces.”

Orange flames erupted
around Nathaniel’s feet as his aura exploded with his fury. There
was no turning back now.

Leaping forward, Devlin
gritted his teeth as he thrust his rapier through the
flames.

Nathaniel summersaulted
into the air, landing at the other side of him. “Not if I chop you
up first.”

Smirking maliciously,
Devlin circled him. “Don’t have your flames to protect you now, do
you, Golden Boy?”

“
Don’t need
them,” said Nathaniel, slashing the silver buttons from Devlin’s
shirt.

After glancing down at
his bare chest, Devlin threw his head back and laughed. “Is magic
all you’ve got?”

Taking the opportunity,
Nathaniel snatched Devlin’s weapon and held it above his wings. “I
don’t want to hurt you, Devlin, but if you don’t get out of here
and leave Eloise and her mother alone, I
will
destroy
you.”

Devlin raised a defiant
brow. “So, are you going to chop my wings off with my own
blade?”

“
Stay much
longer, and you’ll find out.” Nathaniel pressed his own sword
against Devlin’s chest.

His eyes gleaming with
defiance, Devlin grinned. “You don’t have the guts, Nathaniel, and
if you don’t give Eloise back to me, I’ll wait my opportunity, and
then I’ll kidnap her.”

In a flash, Nathaniel
pointed the swords to the sky, turning the clouds dark and ominous
and sending a lightning bolt zigzagging downwards. As it shot
through the air, it suddenly turned and headed straight for
Devlin.

With fear in his eyes,
Devlin opened his wings to their full width and shot off in the
opposite direction, creating a whoosh of wind as he jetted upwards.
As he disappeared into the clouds, he wrote a message in the
sky.

OK,
Nathaniel. Gloves are off. Let our battle begin!

Nathaniel turned away and
paced the garden, his fury building inside of him. He’d have to
guard Eloise every second from now on, even when she was asleep.
Devlin had turned vile and there was no way on Earth he would
ever
trusted him again, not now he’d threatened to kidnap
Eloise. Hopefully, Michael would pick up on what had just happened
and either force Devlin into Rehab or burn his wings
off.

Zooming back into the
house, Nathaniel made a mental note to find out where Devlin’s ward
lived. Surely Michael would tell him after what just happened.
Making sure Devlin hadn’t come back, Nathaniel dashed through all
the rooms and peered out the windows, but there was no sign of him
anywhere. It was hard to believe his best friend was now his
archenemy. He missed the
old
Devlin, the
kind
one,
the one that made him laugh. They had been friends for so long, it
was hard to let go, but he had to accept it now. There was no
turning back, not ever, not unless he wanted to risk the safety of
Eloise, and the safety of her mother. He had to face it, Devlin was
doomed and he was obviously planning to drag him along with him.
Then the same horrible thought crossed his mind. Lucifer must have
put him up to it.

Chapter Six

Nathaniel wandered into
the kitchen to see if Madeline was all right after her encounter
with Devlin. She was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop
on and a cup of coffee in her hand. Leaning over her shoulder, he
peered down to see what she was reading. His eyes went wide when he
saw she was doing a search on ghosts. He rubbed his chin. Oh, so
she really did feel Devlin near her. He couldn’t believe Devlin had
done that to her, and he certainly hadn’t expected him to threaten
to kidnap Eloise. Sure, he’d always said he wanted her back as a
ward, but to kidnap her was downright evil.