The Protect Her Box Set: Parts 7-9 (17 page)

“So you knew that this is what I would become.” Riley’s face was dark. I knew that I was losing him. “You’ve known all along, and you’ve never said a word.”

“Joanna brought you to me when you first showed signs of supernatural abilities as I asked her to do. I had no idea that you would become a necromancer. I tried to show you and teach you to the best of my abilities. But your current situation does explain why the angels would have been after us that night too.”

“What is a dark angel?” He had finally gotten around to asking the right question. Everything that I had just explained so far was really nothing but filler for the real question. The one that ultimately mattered.

“There’s only ever been one before like you.”

There was a long pause. Riley’s face twisted in disbelief. “Lucifer.”

“The original dark angel,” I said. “The deep seeded root of darkness led to his betrayal of Heaven and eventual fall from grace” My chest felt tight. I hoped that Viho and I had made the right decision letting our son live. I knew Riley better than I think he knew himself, and he had been a good man. He was often conflicted and confused making questionable moral decisions, but I truly believed that he was ultimately a vessel of light.

Riley stood up. The cup of tea in his lap fell to the floor in his quick movement, and it shattered on the floor. I wasn’t sure that the noise even registered in his consciousness.

“I’m leaving,” he said. “Mom… I mean,
Joanna
and Gabrielle will be safe here with you. But I never want to see you again, Alice.”

His words pierced my heart. He was upset. But I didn’t think it would be forever. I was terrified to think about what he faced though in the meantime. Without my help and guidance, he could turn to the darkness forever. There would be no saving him. Riley left the room with Paige close on his heels.

CHAPTER ELEVEN –
RILEY

Lucifer. I was like Lucifer.

Those two things were on a playback loop in my mind. I couldn’t escape it. Whether I liked it or not, I had wings and a questionable moral code. Was it that crazy to think that there was truth to Alice’s words?

My father’s name was Viho. Not Frank.

There had been premonitions since before my birth that I would give myself over to the darkness that had always been part of me.

“Riley,” Paige’s voice cut through my dark thoughts. “Stop for a minute.”

“I need to leave,” I said. I threw open the door to the front step and moved outside. Immediately I felt better in the cool night air. Inside the convent, it had felt as if I was suffocating. Now I couldn’t help but wonder if that had something more to do with what I was then the topic of conversation.

“Stop,” Paige said. “I need to say something.”

I didn’t even know where I was going, and my feet seemed to know that as they slowed. I stopped, but I didn’t turn. She moved around me, and then she reached up and put her arms around me. I didn’t move. I didn’t want to be comforted. I wanted to hurt something. Break something. Punch somebody. Badly. There had to be a demon or two around close by. I wondered if I got the smiting ability too now that I had the angel wings to go with it. That would be a fun experiment to try.

Paige finally seemed to sense that I wasn’t going to return the embrace. She stepped back, but she scooped my hands into hers. “Riley, I know what it sounded like in there, but you have to remember that you had the Protector symbol. You and I were meant to meet for a reason, and you were…are…the one who keeps me safe. Call yourself a necromancer or a dark angel, or whatever you want. I call you the man that I love.”

I looked down at her then. “I’m not a man anymore, Paige.” I felt like the words were dragged across my lips. I didn’t understand how to cope with all of this. It was too big, and for the first time that I could remember I felt that I wasn’t strong enough to take it. The sadness was in her eyes along with another emotion that caused me to pull my hands away from her. It was pity. “I don’t need you to feel sorry for me. I won’t accept that from you or from anyone.”

As she tried to reach for my face again, I smelled something waft in the air to my nostrils. It was bitter and slightly foul. I grabbed her hand and lifted it to my nose. The smell definitely emanated there, and I realized with a start as I saw the bandage covering her palm what it had to be.

I remembered the angels had said that they were able to smell demons on me and Paige when we arrived in the cemetery. This was what they smelled. Paige’s deal with Proctor had technically been fulfilled though when she handed over the relic. The wound should have closed and ceased to exist anymore. That left only one conclusion for the smell. “You made another deal with Proctor,” I hissed.

All of the color drained from Paige’s face. She snatched her hand away from me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What was it for? Why would you do something so stupid?” I took a step toward her. She didn’t back away. If anything, she stood up straighter.

“I didn’t do anything,” she said. I searched her face. She had her bottom lip sucked slightly into her mouth. I wondered how hard she was biting it to keep up the pretense of her lie. She was lying, I had no doubt about it. The only question was why. But I didn’t have a chance to continue my line of questioning.

“Riley,” Alice’s voice rang out behind me. “I need to tell you something else.”

“I’ve heard enough, Alice,” I said through gritted teeth.

“You haven’t heard this.” I heard the scrape of her shoes on the cinderblock of the front steps. With Paige blocking my way forward, I couldn’t move, but I refused to look over my shoulder at Alice at all. Otherwise, there was a part of me that was afraid my first attempt at smiting might end up being at her expense.

“I think he needs some time and space right now, Alice,” Paige said. She looked around my shoulder at the other woman. “Can’t we do this later?”

“No,” Alice said. Her voice sounded as if had been pulled taut. “It can’t wait because they’re already here.”

My gaze darted over Paige’s head to the sidewalk on the other side of the gate, and I realized that I saw something there; several somethings, as a matter of fact. The shadows elongated into glowing forms. Paige whirled around, and I heard her gasp. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was what it had looked like when we arrived.

Three familiar faces stood on the other side of the gate. I wasn’t sure if I was surprised or not that Benjamin wasn’t among the archangels there. That was another ass that I was aching to kick as soon as I got my angel bearings straight.

The angel who stood in front of the others I had interacted with before. “I think you’ve gone a bit far afield of Calamata Island,” I said. “Samuel. I don’t think I’ve formally met your other brothers.”

“They are Josiah and Tobias,” Samuel said nodding to each archangel beside him in turn. “I wish this was a more casual visit. We need you to come with us. Now.”

“I just got here,” I said sarcastically. “I’ll have my assistant give you a call to setup an appointment on the fifth day of never and go fuck yourself.”

The strangled sigh behind me told Alice didn’t approve of my reply. I couldn’t care less.

Samuel’s mouth set in a frown. “There is much for us to discuss, and we can’t do that here. You are in danger.”

“How would you know that? How did you even know I was here?” I pushed around Paige and stalked to the gate. “What danger?”

Samuel shook his head. “Those are too many questions to address now, especially when the answers are complicated. We have to go before the truce is finalized.”

“What truce?”

“Between the angels and demons to bring back your head on a spike,” one of the other archangels said. I kept look furtively around us. He didn’t look happy to be there at all.

“Surely all of you have more important things to do than that, but I have to say it just warms my heart to see the way you are all getting along,” I said. “I don’t need any help. If somebody comes at me, I can take ‘em. I could before, and I will again.”

“You are nothing more than a newborn,” Samuel scoffed. “You don’t have any idea of what you are capable of. You could hurt people and not even mean to. That is why you need to come with us.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Alice said. My attention had been wholly focused on the archangels. I hadn’t noticed that she came to my side. “You should go with them. You need to learn, and you need to be protected.”

“I’m not going anywhere with these losers,” I said. I felt the anger building in my chest again. “Forget it.”

“All the archangels and all the demon officials, and even Lucifer himself will be looking for you,” Alice said. “You represent something that they never thought would be seen again.”

“What’s that?”

“A perfect hybrid between dark and light. A being that marries both halves to make it whole once again. That being would have the potential to become one who ruled them all,” Alice said quietly. “Which means that Lucifer himself would be more than willing to step into the fray to try to protect what is his. He would believe that you would come after it.”

I wasn’t sure that I processed her words at all. “What?”

“Those in charge will do everything they can to keep things as they are. They will stop at nothing to make sure that nothing changes. They fear you both. The Goddess has a foothold in the world, and she might be brought forward by a being that hasn’t been created in this form in thousands of years. Something is happening here and on the other side of the veil. Something that could mean the end to everything or the beginning of something else altogether. You and Paige are at the epicenter of it all.”

Samuel’s expression was calm, but I could feel the energy radiating from him in waves. It was as if I were standing in direct sunlight, and my skin seemed to ripple in its presence.

“There are many who are eager for a change. We are tired of the old ways. We want to start anew. Now, we finally see our opportunity to put things right again. To emerge from our own darkness and be free.” Samuel put his hand through the slats of the gate. “Brother, please accept my help.”

Brother.
The word cut at me in a way I never expected. I was part of something far larger now, and I knew it. But even then, there was one thing that I wouldn’t lose sight of.

I looked at the woman next to me. Paige’s eyes found mine. I saw something there that could have been anxiousness or excitement. Or both, I couldn’t be sure. I reached out my hand to her, and she took it without hesitation. She and I still weren’t finished when it came to her new pact with Proctor, but it would have to wait. Then I took Samuel’s hand.

The world went light, and I felt the energy rip through me.

If this was what it felt like to be invincible, I wanted to know where to sign on the dotted line.

To be continued…

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Table of Contents
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Protect Her: Part Nine

By Ivy Sinclair

Copyright 2015 Smith Sinclair Books

ebook Edition

Cover Design by Mihaela Voicu

ebook Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the online retailer of your choice and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CHAPTER ONE –
RILEY

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when the halo of light finally evaporated, and my eyes had the chance to refocus on my surroundings. It sure as shit wasn’t the sticky, peanut shell covered floor that I immediately recognized. I had spent more than my fair share of time staring at that floor, and watching the bar staff clean up blood off of it numerous times. It was something akin to affectionate chagrin when I looked up and saw that I was indeed standing inside the dilapidated shell of Slinky Pete’s.

“Really?” I looked at the angel standing next to me. “What are we doing here?”

“Where exactly is here?” Paige’s nose wrinkled. I had to admit that I felt a small measure of relief that she was indeed with me even though I had held her hand tight throughout the magical shift to our current location. Slinky Pete’s smelled like stale beer and sweaty armpits on the best of days. It smelled like death warmed over and week old fish on the worst. It was a stench that you just grew accustomed to over time.

“I thought that Riley would be comfortable here.” Samuel seemed to think that this was a logical explanation that would satisfy both of our questions. It didn’t.

“Why?” I had an inkling that I might know why, but I wanted him to say it out loud for confirmation.

“Our sources tell us that you spend a fair amount of time here when you are not in the field working on cases,” Samuel said. I saw that he was trying to keep his expression even, but he was clearly as uncomfortable in the place as most civilians who dared to wander through the door. The smart ones wandered right back out again in short order.

“Well, all the details are right, except for a few major exceptions,” I said. I pointed at the bar stool at the far end of the bar. “Billy the Baller never leaves that spot. Seriously. I’ve been coming to Slinky Pete’s for years, that’s true, and Billy is a fixture. Literally.”

“This is Slinky Pete’s, no doubt about it. Such an interesting name,” Samuel said with a look of thoughtfulness. Then he cleared his throat. “We’re just on the other side of the veil in space. This Billy you mention doesn’t exist on this side. Not yet, anyway.”

“You said we were in danger, and that you’d take us somewhere safe,” Paige said. “Why on earth would you bring us to a dive bar on the other side of the veil? Wouldn’t somewhere in Heaven be a better alternative?”

“We’ve got safeguards in place,” Samuel said defensively. “Consider this a comfortable place to relax while we gather the rest of our group. Believe me when I say that Heaven is as dangerous as Hell for both of you. Our options are severely limited at this point in time.”

“The rest of the group?” I questioned. That didn’t sound good. I was rankled enough by having to depend on the archangels for answers the way it was. I didn’t give a rip about whatever protection they thought they were offering to me. I’d been living on the edge of life and death for the last ten years, and I was far more confident in my own abilities to protect myself and Paige.

“I have to tell you that if you say you’re inviting Benjamin here for some kind of peace chat and kumbaya speeches, I’ll pass. I’ll take my chances with the demon officials and Lucifer before I give that asshole the time of day. He tried to kill Paige. His handy knife work did a number on me. He’s officially on my shit list, and I’ll happily call payback on that now that I’ve got a set of wings of my own. He’s going to be very sorry for the game that he decided to play with her.”

Samuel’s frown deepened. “Benjamin would not listen even if we tried to reach out to him. He has lost his way. That has been apparent for a long time, but no one knew what to do about it. This most recent situation has put us at odds with him, but we won’t harm him. He is our brother. It is up to us to help him find his way back to his true calling.”

“I’m not helping him find his way back to a goddamn thing,” I said. I saw the other two archangels off to the side scowled at my words. If I remembered correctly, Samuel had introduced them as Josiah and Tobias. I glared at the lot of them. It was kind of nice to know that we were on somewhat equal footing at this point. They couldn’t just dismiss me the way that they might have a few days ago. “Let’s get one thing straight. The only reason I am here is because I want answers, and it better be the goddamn truth for once. Then I’m done with whatever it is you are planning to do to bring your beloved brother back. I also have no interest in hearing any speeches about taking the Lord’s name in vain either. He hasn’t done anything for me lately, so he pretty much deserves it.”

Then the archangels turned away and were whispering together in a tight knit circle while throwing dark looks over their shoulder at me. I couldn’t hear a word even though they were standing no more than three feet away from me. I was definitely going to need to find out how to do that trick.

“You certainly do have a way with people,” Paige said with a low chuckle. “I don’t think that’s how you go about winning friends and influencing people, Riley.”

“I just want answers,” I said, glaring again at the trio. “They have them, and I want them. They will tell me.” I wasn’t exactly sure how I’d fulfill that threat, but planning wasn’t always my strong suit anyway. I was much better in action and with spur of the moment ideas. I was starting to feel more like myself with each passing moment, and there was a sense of profound relief in that. Whatever had happened to me, whatever transformation I had gone through, I was still me.

Samuel paused in what he was saying long enough to give me a pained expression. I could tell that he was trying to keep everyone together and on the same page, and I wasn’t helping his case with my comments. It almost made me want to cut the guy a break. Almost.

The trio broke apart, and Samuel stepped forward again. It was funny. I wouldn’t have pegged him as being a natural born leader, but the others seemed to be taking their marching orders from him. He was the only tolerable archangel I had met so far in my travels. I decided to take Paige’s advice and back off a bit. I didn’t have to go out guns, or wings, blazing. Not yet.

“You will get answers, Riley. I promise you. But first, we need reinforcements. The three of us are strong together, but if a horde of demon officials show up with our brothers, we’ll be outnumbered and easily overwhelmed. I think if you listen to what I have to say, you will find we are all on the same side. Right now, it’s too dangerous for you to be on the other side where you are more easily locatable. Here, for the moment, you are safe. I need to ask you to be patient with us just a little bit longer.”

He wasn’t going to tell me a thing yet. That seemed to be the archangel way. One step forward for every two steps backward. Doling out information only when it served their purposes, which ensured that they always had the upper hand. Was this what I would become?

I shook that thought from my mind.

“We can wait a little longer,” Paige said, answering for me. She put her hand on my arm. “We’ve been through a lot the last several days. I, for one, am tired of running. I want answers as badly as Riley does, but I want to be safe. If that means we have to take a break in the meantime, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I could use a break from all the excitement and drama.”

I looked down at her, and for the first time saw the creases of the shadowed bags underneath her eyes. Her skin was pale, and I wondered when she last ate. I couldn’t remember even feeling hungry in ages, and I wondered if angels ate or drank anything at all. I had so many questions, but as I put my arm around her and drew her closer to me, I realized that she was right. The answers could wait. We needed to recharge. And I needed to start paying attention to what she needed as much as what I did. This whole situation wasn’t just about me anymore.

“All right,” I said. I felt Paige’s body relax against mine. She thought that I was going to protest further, and that made me feel bad. I knew that sometimes I came across like a bull in a china shop when I made up my mind about something. “Who are these reinforcements, and when are they going to be here? If it’s not going to be in the next ten minutes or so, then I think I’m ready for a drink.”