Revenant (10 page)

Shit. “You have a good memory.”

For some reason, that made him laugh. “If you only knew.” He eyed her as they traversed the busy hospital halls on the way to the Harrowgate. “Blaspheme?”

“Yes?”

He hesitated. And then, “Do you feel like you belong here?”

What a strange question. “You mean here? At the hospital?”

“I mean helping people. Your species isn’t known for its altruism.”

She did
not
like that he kept questioning her False Angelness. “I suppose you could say that I’ve never really fit in with my kind. I’m a bit of a square peg.”

On that, she didn’t have to lie. Being born a
vyrm
made her a product of two worlds, and she didn’t fit in either, which was probably why she preferred the human realm.

“Have you tried?”

“What, to fit in somewhere?” At his nod, she shrugged. “For a while, yes.”

Encouraged by her mother to blend in with other Sheoulic denizens, she’d attempted to connect with her evil side, but her angel half didn’t handle it well. Guilt ate at her like acid, and worse, she felt physically ill when forced into situations that required a measure of malevolence. But she’d always thought it was strange that the opposite didn’t happen. Good deeds didn’t disturb her sinister half.

Gods, she was messed up.

“Do you have a family?” he asked.

“My mother.” They entered the Harrowgate, and she touched the symbol that corresponded to her clinic. “You?”

“A brother.”

“Is he…” Okay, so how did one ask a fallen angel if his sibling was still in Heaven? Fortunately, Revenant spared her the awkwardness.

“He’s a fully halofied Heavenly angel. Total dick.”

Having no idea how to follow that up, she stepped out of the Harrowgate into the much more comfy reception area. “My office is just ahead.” She waved to Judie, the Sora demon receptionist on duty. “Any messages?”

Judie’s crimson tail swished behind her as she thrust a piece of paper at Blaspheme. “Just one. Eidolon wants to hear from you when you get the lab results.” She hit a Hold button on the phone. “He didn’t say what lab results.”

“It’s okay.” Blas held up the folder in her hand. “I have them right here.”

Once they were in her office, Revenant plopped down on the sofa across from her desk, kicking his feet up on the armrest and lying back with his hands tucked behind his head as if he belonged there.

“You have no problem making yourself at home, do you?”

His grin was a showstopper. “It’s your welcoming personality and your warm bedside manner.”

“My ass,” she said as she sank down in her office chair. “You like challenging authority.”

He winked, probably thinking he was being charming. Unfortunately for her, he was right. “You offering up your ass? Because I’ll take it.” Framing his hands together over his pelvis as if gripping an invisible lover’s waist, he thrust those magnificent hips upward. “Right here. Right now. You can straddle me. Just. Like. This.”

Oh, damn, now she was picturing exactly that, and her body reacted in a hot flush. Her False Angel libido, which she’d thought had gone dormant, spun up, making her breasts tingle and her sex ache. She hadn’t experienced a reaction this strong in months, and thank gods she wasn’t out in public, where she’d be driven to flirt and rub up against males like a cat in heat. No, better to be safely in her office with a desk between her and the nearest male.

She cursed her trembling hands as she threw down the folder and flipped it open. “If you’re through with your imaginary porn star, we can get down to business.”

“You know,” he said as he sat up and swung his feet to the floor, “I’m going to start suspecting that you’re anything but a False Angel if you don’t start flirting even a little.” Just as a panicked knot started to form in her gut, he inhaled. “But you’re aroused, so maybe my little tiger really is a carnivore.”

“You are
such
a pain in the ass.”

He beamed as if she’d just given him the greatest compliment ever. Huffing with annoyance, she looked down at the lab report.

As usual, the lab had provided data and comparisons from past fallen angel patient lab results, but in all of Underworld General’s years of operation, only one pregnant fallen angel had come through the hospital, and her blood work numbers had been substantially different. It was impossible to tell which set of numbers for each panel was more normal. She’d have to research the other pregnant fallen angel to see why she’d been admitted to the hospital.

“So,” Revenant prompted, “what does the report say?”

Jack shit, that’s what. “The results are basically meaningless, since we don’t have much to compare them with. Pregnant fallen angels don’t generally seek medical attention here, and we definitely don’t have records on any prior fallen angels pregnant with the spawn of Satan.”

She cursed in frustration. She’d gone with Revenant to see Gethel in hopes of learning something useful and to get stem cells, and she’d failed at both.

“All these results tell me is that if she were human, she’d be dead by tonight. Her cholesterol is off the charts, her red blood cell count is low, and she has so many tumor markers in her blood that her arteries should be clogged, but all of those things might be normal for Gethel. I’m sorry, but that’s all I can tell you.” She flipped the page, and handwritten notes in red caught her attention. “Hmm. Test results do indicate the presence of an unidentifiable substance in her blood, but again, that could be normal for her.” Still, it was something worth looking into. She definitely needed to hand over the information to Eidolon.

“How helpful,” he said flatly.

“Perhaps you can get better results with your own medical expertise,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have patients to tend to.” And a cold shower to take.

Shockingly, he stood without an argument. His good behavior was only temporary, however, because in an instant, he came over the top of the desk in a fluid, graceful leap and was standing in front of her, his big body blocking everything except him.

“Thank you, Blaspheme.” Lifting his hand to her face, he stroked his knuckles over the skin of her jaw. “I’ll be back later.”

Dipping his head with the self-confidence of a predator that had its prey in its sights, he captured her mouth in a dominating, punishing kiss. Her senses reeled as his tongue thrust past the barrier of her lips and teeth to clash with hers. Raw sex oozed from him, and despite her resolve to stay away from him, she gripped his biceps and dragged him closer.

It was what he’d expect from a False Angel.

At least, that was what she told herself as he framed her face in his big hands and held her steady for the deep penetration of his tongue. His pelvis slammed into hers, and either that was a gun in his pocket, or he was sporting one hell of a hard-on.

Then he was across the room, standing in the doorway. She hadn’t even seen him open the door. She stood there, dazed and weaving on unsteady legs.

“I would love to take you,” he said roughly. “Right there on your desk. But I’ve got something to do, and when we finally fuck, I don’t want any distractions.”

“It won’t happen.” She cleared her throat of the embarrassing lust that made her sound a lot more wanton than she’d like. “You aren’t my type.”

“All males are a False Angel’s type.”

“As you’ve made clear more than once, I’m not your typical False Angel.”

“And that,” he said, “is why I want you.”

With that, he spun around and disappeared around the corner, leaving her aching, confused, and in a whole lot of trouble.

Revenant stood atop Mount Megiddo once again, a sense of déjà vu zinging through his brain, and not because he’d tried to contact Metatron a day earlier. This was where he’d called out for his brother that first time, but the meeting hadn’t gone well. Reaver hadn’t known about Revenant, hadn’t known the truth about anything, and he’d gone ghastbat crazy. Hurt, rejected, and drowning in the lies he’d been fed all his life, Revenant had hopped right on that crazy train, and they’d both done enough damage to all the realms that their memories had been wiped.

Good times, man. Good. Fucking. Times.

“Yo. Archangels,” he shouted. “Metatron, get your holy ass down here.”

Like yesterday, nothing happened. Fucking assholes. He was frustrated as shit, his mind buzzing with another of Satan’s summons and his balls aching with unquenched desire for Blaspheme. Something was about to blow, and he doubted it would be his cock.

“
Metatron!
” He roared into the heavens, and all around, the earth shook as dark clouds roiled from out of nowhere, blocking out the sun and turning the land dark as night. “
Last chance. Get your holy ass down here now, or a lot of angels are going to be gracing Satan’s halo wall
.”

He wasn’t even sure why he was giving the archangels one last shot at giving him answers about who he was and what he was supposed to be doing with his life, not after what Reaver had said about Revenant defiling Heaven with his mere presence. Maybe Blaspheme’s nobility had rubbed off a little, or maybe he owed his mother the respect of trying one more time.

Whatever it was that had him standing on this ugly hilltop, being completely ignored, it was in the past. He was done. Satan had won. Time to deliver an angel on a platter.

Flaring his wings, he started to lift into the artificial darkness. No doubt the nearby humans were freaking out, praying to their deities, sure another apocalypse was about to break loose.

Suddenly, a soft whoosh preceded a sparkling shower of lights, and a split second later, the archangel Raphael was standing there, his body emitting a soft, golden glow like something straight out of a cheesy Christmas movie. Even his blond hair shone like polished gold. Angels could contain their glow in the human realm, which meant he was intentionally being an asshat.

Well, well. Right when Revenant decides he’s done with Heaven, Heaven gets a clue. Whether or not it was too little, too late, had yet to be seen.

“What is it?” Raphael asked in a glaringly bored voice.

“You aren’t Metatron.”

“Aren’t you observant.”

“Fuck off,” Rev said. “I want Metatron.”

“He’s in a meeting. You’re stuck with me.”

All archangels were dickbags, but Raphael seemed to be especially dick-tastic.

“In a meeting?” Revenant grinned. Nothing got someone’s attention like interrupting a meeting.

Raphael’s eyes shot wide. “No —”

Too late. Revenant flashed smack into the middle of the Archangel complex. A few angels were scurrying through the halls, but none of them gave him more than a passing glance. Why would they? They had no idea who he was, and the idea that an angel from hell could simply pop into one of the most important structures in the universe was ludicrous.

He looked around, wasting no time in determining where the meeting might be. Reaver would right now be sensing his presence in Heaven, and it would probably only be a matter of seconds before his twin showed up to play bouncer.

Swiftly, he moved toward the mass of offices down a hall to the right, where the signs on the doors indicated that the rooms had been set aside for groups. He bypassed the lamely named Chamber of Eternity, the Genesis Room, and Babel Hall, and went straight for Babylon Auditorium.

Bingo.

A group of ten archangels were sitting around a giant marble table on the stage, the empty theater-style seats watching over them in silence.

“Well, well,” he said as he strode down the center aisle toward them. “Looks like I’m late to the party.”

Several of the angels glared at him, clearly outraged that someone had the gall to interrupt. But four of them, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, and Haniel, knew exactly who he was, and they came to their feet so fast that their chairs tumbled backward.

“Revenant,” Uriel gasped. Suddenly, the others leaped up, too, weapons in their fool hands.

A heartbeat later, Raphael popped onto the stage, his face a mask of fury. “You don’t belong here,” he growled, and yeah, that was exactly the problem.

He didn’t belong in the exact place he
should
belong.

“And you lied to me,” Revenant said. “Metatron isn’t here.”

“Wrong meeting, asshole,” Raphael said.

Revenant frowned. “Disappointing.” He threw himself down in one of the theater seats. “But since I’m here, let’s chat.”

A tingle spreading over his scalp indicated the arrival of his twin.

“Reaver,” Raphael snapped. “It’s about time. Get that piece of offal out of here.”

Revenant laughed. “In a room full of stinking shitheads, how will he know who you’re talking about?”

Eleven archangels looked ready to explode.
Go ahead and paint the walls, boys. Your blood, guts, and brains could only make the gaudy decor less horrifying
.

Raphael roared. “Get. Him. Out!”

“Yes, Reaver,” Rev said, “get me out before my
taint
defiles the place.”

Reaver, for all his high-and-mightiness, didn’t move other than to fold his arms over his chest and stare at Revenant. “Why are you here?”

“Because I’m an angel, same as you.” He looked over at the horde of archangels, each of whom was charged up with power, ready to blast him. He was far stronger than any of them, save Reaver, but he wondered how he’d stack up against all eleven of them. “Same as
all
of you.”

“You’re nothing like us,” one of the strangers spat.

He kicked his booted feet up on the back of the chair in front of him. “What’s your name?”

The blond angel looked down his nose at Revenant. “I’m Khamael.”

“Well, Khamael,” he drawled. “Suck my balls.” With a wave of his hand, he made the bastard disappear.

Instantly, Reaver was right there, hand on Revenant’s throat. “Where is he?”

“Chill, bro.” Rev grinned, flashing fangs. “He’ll be back in a minute. As soon as he figures out how to free himself from Sheoul-gra. Of course, if he landed in an acid pool or a lava pit, he won’t be looking so great when he gets back.”

Reaver’s fingers tightened. “What. Do. You. Want.”

I want what you have, you bastard
.

Revenant exploded to his feet, the shock wave sending Reaver tumbling over a dozen auditorium chairs. Rev kept his power close to the surface, ready to decimate these assholes if they tried anything.

“What do I
want
?” he asked. “What I want is answers. I want to know why you sons of bitches left me, as a
baby
, to rot in Sheoul. I want to know why
I
was left behind when you took Reaver. And I really want to know why you didn’t rescue my mother.”

A couple of the angels looked confused. A few others glanced away, their expressions tight with shame. But it was clear which of them had been involved in the happenings of so long ago.

Michael stepped forward. “We didn’t know where she was —”

“Bullshit,” Revenant roared. “Reaver, on his own, without any help from you bumbling idiots, managed to sneak into Satan’s most secure prison and rescue Harvester. So don’t blow smoke up my ass.”

“Reaver’s special.” Gabriel spread his hands imploringly. “And he had prophecy and fate on his side. At the time of your birth we didn’t have the capability to mount a rescue operation like that.”

Oh, good, more with the
Reaver’s special
shit.

“Liar,” Revenant spat. “You didn’t have the balls, is what you didn’t have.”

Raphael snarled. “Reaver, if I have to tell you one more time to get him out of here —”

“You’ll what,” Reaver asked. “Speak harshly to me? Glare at me? No, wait, you’ll send one of my friends into a forced mating just to punish me?”

Revenant had no idea what Reaver was talking about, but he got a kick out of the way Raphael’s face went the color of a baboon’s ass. “Lilliana and Azagoth are a good match.”

“Lucky for you,” Reaver murmured. He propped his jeans-clad hip on the back of one of the chairs. “Now, since Revenant hasn’t done anything other than send Khamael for a visit with Azagoth and Hades, I think we should hear him out. He wants answers, and frankly, I’d like to hear what you have to say.” Before Rev could start growing a bunch of lovey-dovey warm fuzzies, Reaver pegged him with serious eyes. “But I’m warning you. One wrong move, and I’ll use your blood to paint these gaudy-ass walls.”

“Brother,” Revenant said, “how alike we are in our thinking. Mom would be proud.”

Something flashed in Reaver’s eyes, gone before Revenant could tell what it was. But it looked suspiciously like anger. Because, yeah, how horrible to think that the two of them, fucking
twins
, could be alike.

Khamael flashed in, his clothing charred and in tatters, blood streaking his face and arms. His blue eyes were wild, and Rev was pretty sure the archangel’s eyebrows and eyelashes had been singed off.

That was some funny shit.

“So,” Revenant said as he walked slowly toward the stage. “You said that at the time of our birth you didn’t have the ability to rescue us. But what about later?”

Gabriel scrubbed his hand over his face. “Look, Revenant. Our hands were tied from the beginning. Satan held all the cards. We were lucky we were able to work out a deal for
one
baby, and it was Reaver they brought to us. We had to accept that.”

“Luck of the draw,” Raphael said, but the way he said it conveyed his displeasure at the hand Heaven had been dealt. Clearly, he had a real burr up his ass when it came to Reaver.

Revenant knew the feeling, and he hated that he had that in common with Raphael.

“So you gave up.” He was halfway to the stage now, and the archangels were starting to sweat. “Left me to grow up in hell and my mother to suffer. You just forgot us.”

“We didn’t forget,” Michael said. “And we did try to convince your mother to leave.” Several heads swiveled around to stare at him, and wasn’t that interesting. They hadn’t known about whatever it was Michael was blabbing about.

“What do you mean?” Revenant asked. “How could she have left?”

Gabriel swiped a pewter chalice from the table and knocked back the contents before fixing his steady gaze on Reaver.

“Are you aware that your mother could have left Sheoul with you?” Gabriel asked. “But that she chose to remain behind, even knowing that an opportunity to leave would never be presented again?”

“Metatron told me that,” Reaver said, and for the first time ever, Revenant heard an emotional tremor in his brother’s voice. “Most of it.”

Rev could only swallow over and over as his salivary glands futilely worked to moisten his parched mouth. He didn’t know any of this.

Finally, he managed a raspy “Why? Why would she stay behind?”

“To protect you,” Gabriel said, his tone making clear that he thought her choice was the wrong one. “She knew that Reaver would be safe and would have a good life even if she couldn’t be the one to raise him. But you were doomed to a living hell. She wanted to protect you as much as she could. She made a deal with Satan that would allow you to remain with her until you were ten mortal years old. I’m assuming the bargain was kept?”

Revenant nodded numbly. He’d assumed she’d been held against her will after his birth. Guilt turned his marrow to pudding, and he suddenly couldn’t walk anymore. He halted on the crimson carpet, his knees trembling, his insides quivering. Dear… fuck. She’d sacrificed everything for him. She’d known she would suffer for all eternity, but she’d chosen to stay with him anyway.
He
was the reason she’d suffered.

“She…” He cleared his throat of the humiliating hoarseness. “She stayed with me. What did Satan get out of the deal?”

Gabriel’s gaze cast downward. “We don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Revenant began to shake so hard he could barely stay upright. Distantly, he heard shouts and things crashing, and he realized he wasn’t the one shaking. The building was. He looked down, and beneath his boot soles, black veins began to sprout in the floor, spreading through the auditorium like millions of invasive, poisonous roots.

“Get him out of here!”

“Reaver, hurry!”

“He’s fouling the area!”

“We warned you! He’s poison.”

None of the voices made sense, even though he heard the exact words. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and as if a spell had broken, he snapped, shooting lightning from his body in a three hundred and sixty degree spread. He heard screams, more shouts, calls for Reaver to —

Arms wrapped around him in a tackle, and suddenly he was in some kind of crazy free fall through space and clouds and fire. An eternity later, the plummeting sensation came to an abrupt end as he hit something hard as shit, with Reaver on top of him. Rage and pain and shame spun up in a massive vortex of misery.