Chapter 32
Since I'd managed to stand on my own two feet in the corridor, Nick insisted I also learn to step through without assistance. Thankfully, that was easier. I'd already come close a few times on my own. Granted, it took a few hours of practice, but each time I tried, walking became easier. At first, Nick was right there, ready to grab me if I stumbled, but he eventually realized I had this figured out. The sun was setting outside when he declared me good enough to do it on my own, but only between the corridor and Earth.
"So, does that mean I can make it to the living room?" I begged.
He chuckled, well aware that's where the rest of the guys were hanging out. "You've done enough for one day. The guys will be just as excited tomorrow."
"Nick!" I whined. "I've been busting my ass to learn all of this as fast as I can so you'll let me out of Muse jail. C'mon, please?"
"Dove, no matter what, you still have a big arrow in the veils pointing out your every move. Being able to walk in the corridor isn't the only thing you need to learn. Unless we can get you into Daemin, you aren't safe outside the wards." His voice was sympathetic, but the set of his jaw said he wasn't about to budge on this.
"So how do we stop that? The veil bending?"
"We figure out why you're bending them." Then he shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. "But it's still not safe."
"I am not made of glass!" I snapped. "I get it, you want to protect and pamper me. It's sweet. Honestly, it really is. It's also going to make my puny little unevolved brain snap into a billion pieces, and your superweapon will be nothing more than a drooling moron. I can't sit here studying for years at a time!"
"Oh."
"Oh?" I had no idea what he meant. "Nick?"
With a groan, he leaned back in his chair. "You work so hard to learn everything I show you. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that you live faster than I do and a week is a big deal."
"It's almost been two. Half a month since I've stepped outside this house!"
He huffed around a wry smile. "Exactly my point. How about if we mix up your training a bit, and give you something besides aethersmithing all day, every day?"
"I still want to go out, see people, enjoy the sunshine, and do all those normal things that crazy artists kinda like."
"I can get Luke to help me shield the yard. I'd planned to teach you how to do it, but you're not quite that adept at working systematic patterns yet. If you're that desperate to just get outside, I'm sure he'll help. It won't be as safe as the house, and I don't want you out there alone, but at least it's a little more freedom."
I looked at him pointedly. "I hear Daemin's nice this time of year. If I can stand in the corridor..."
Nick lifted a hand in surrender. "That's the plan. The problem is that every spare second I've had has gone to teaching you. It hasn't given me the time to prepare the weaving that will key you in. Never mind that the second you step outside these wards, every angel in five realms will know and come running. Sia, not everything can be solved by simply bending aether. Sometimes we have to do a little more complicated stuff like find a way to trick the veils long enough to key you in or plan for a serious battle. Just a bit longer, little dove. I promise."
I knew he was trying, and I honestly felt a little guilty about pushing. Every day since Luke had flown me back from Angelis, Nick had worked non-stop, aware the angels wouldn't be kept out of this house forever. Not only did he need to train me, but he also had to manage the protections on the property. The confinement might be driving me crazy, but Nick was working twice as hard, and it showed. Between the constant worry and the lack of sleep, he had to be exhausted. And all of it was to keep me safe. If he was willing to give me a little longer leash, I'd take it and be grateful.
"I guess this means I should take Beelzebub up on his offer, huh?" I asked, showing I wasn't going to push anymore.
Nick's brow creased. "What offer?"
"He said he could teach me to fight."
For the first time in my life, I saw Satan himself truly and completely surprised. His eyes widened just a bit and his mouth softened. "Beelzebub said that?"
I nodded. "After you sealed me, he said I should learn because angels won't fight back like I'm used to."
"Beelzebub?"
"Yeah. Big guy, dark-skinned, bit of a pig, but not the fun type like Sam? Pretty sure you know him. He lives in the green room?"
Nick blinked a few times. "Yeah, no. Um, it's just that he doesn't train anyone. Not unless they have a lot of potential."
"So, is this combat training a big deal?"
Nick made a gesture, but I couldn't figure out if it meant yes or no. "Deflecting aether, avoiding physical touches, and quick defensive spells. Beelzebub trained me, and I'm pretty sure he trained Sam. He was formed beside a Chajin – big nasty beast with lots of teeth. It chewed on him a bit, he healed, it chewed, he healed, until he figured out how to stop it long enough to get away." Nick chuckled at that. "See, on Daemin, you can't just kill something. Everything regenerates and, well, we all heal pretty damned fast."
I tapped Nick's nose. "Then we need to figure out something to keep me from dying too soon. I mean, another car accident and your little Muse is toast."
"Bel and Sam can help with that." He reached out and caught my hand, holding it gently. "How to slip at the last minute is a big part of what they do. And if showing off will make you feel a little less trapped -" He smiled at me. "- then you can use the corridor to get to the living room. Ok?"
"Really?" I gasped, trying to imagine the surprise on the faces of my friends. "Thank you, Nick!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.
He chuckled and eased me back so he could stand. "Give me thirty seconds, then step through. If you're not there in five minutes, I'm hunting you down. If you get blown away, just grab that necklace and scream my real name – and I will find you." Then he walked out the door.
I couldn't believe he was really going to let me do this. Waiting, I counted down the seconds in my head. This would be my first spacewalk – well, corridor walk – without a babysitter hovering over me. I was a little nervous, but it was the excitement kind, not fear. After living with three demons and an angel, my priorities had already started to shift. Everything I'd spent my life working for didn't matter. Now, walking between worlds was something to brag about.
I didn't push. That's what they called it when they traveled quickly across space. I just walked, looking at the grey of dead materials along the walls as I made my way toward the brilliant colors of the live bodies. Going for the most impact, I moved right in front of the TV then stepped back across to Earth, seeming to appear right in front of them.
Beelzebub wrinkled his forehead briefly, then his face lit into a massive grin. Sam just stared. Nick leaned over the back of the sofa, a beer in his hand, looking very proud of me, but Luke? He surged to his feet, his mouth open, then looked at Nick before whipping his head back to me.
"Sia?" he gasped. "How far?"
"Just from the study." I shrugged it away.
That didn't seem to dim Luke's shock at all. He looked back to Nick. "You just let a human walk from one end of the house to the other in the corridor?"
"Yeah," Nick said, letting the smile show. "She's been at it all afternoon. I even pushed her once – lightly – and she didn't fall."
Luke whooped excitedly and took the two steps between us, wrapping me in a tight embrace. "I'm so proud of you!" He lifted my feet off the ground, rocking me back and forth. "Do you know what this means? I finally get to buy you a drink!"
Nick let out a long grunt. "Not quite. She's still got a target pointing at her from the heavens, so can't leave the house."
"But..."
Nick shook his head. "Sorry, Luke. On the upside, I'm going to let her start working with Sam and Bel in the yard. If you want, you can take over her aether lessons while I try to find a way to shield her?"
Luke tossed a proud smile my way. "Definitely. I want to see if we can teach our little Muse how to mind-fuck people."
"Yeah?" I asked, thrilled to have something new and different to look forward to. "Does it work on demons?"
"I'll volunteer," Sam said. "Angels can't compel us like they can inworlders, but we're not completely immune to them either."
"And you're helping me teach her to block," Bel told Sam, then jerked his chin at me. "Go put on something you can move in. I believe they are called yoga pants?"
"I like yoga pants," Sam agreed.
Nick groaned. "Everyone likes yoga pants. Dove, Bel just wants to check out your ass."
"Wait." I looked at each of them, one after the other. "You mean now? I can actually go outside?"
"Yes!" Nick agreed. "Don't rush, but go change. It'll give Luke and me time to throw an aether net over the yard."
With a squeal of excitement, I turned, scurrying for the stairs, intending to jog up them. The guys grinned at me, but they didn't understand. They'd all made at least one trip out of the house since I'd been locked in – even Beelzebub – and I was so ready for a change of pace. Even if that meant getting tossed around for self-defense.
I wasn't even halfway up the stairs before I heard Bel speak up, but it wasn't to me. "Nice necklace," he said.
Luke chuckled right after. "Hers too. Strong bindings."
"Happy for ya, man. About time you found a girl like that." That was Sam, and it sounded like someone was slapping someone else's shoulder.
Damned demons noticed everything but, this time, I honestly didn't mind.
∞∞∞
Wearing yoga pants – as requested – and a tight fitting shirt, I made my way back downstairs to find the house empty. The silence was a bit eerie after the constant movement for so long, but I wasn't worried. The guys were outside. I turned for the front door they always used but didn't make it more than a handful of steps before I heard someone's voice. It was coming from the opposite direction.
The problem with living in a gorgeous Victorian mansion was that it did not have an open layout. Nope, every room had been designed for a purpose and organized for privacy. In other words, I had to weave through half the house before I made it to the back door. The one that was standing wide open to reveal a lush green yard surrounded by a very tall cedar privacy fence. In the waning light, it looked like my own personal utopia.
"My kennel?" I asked, leaning against the door frame.
Sam waved for me to come closer. "It is safe to cross the threshold," he announced proudly.
Or it was about to be, at any rate. The moment I was on the back porch, I saw Luke and Nick standing in the middle of the yard, hands clasped, with their foreheads touching. The translucent wafts of aether moving around them proved they were still working. It also meant I got a chance to just enjoy the view.
Nick was the taller of the two, but not by much. Mostly, he just looked bigger because of his bulk. He probably had a good thirty pounds on Luke, and it was nothing but muscle. That didn't mean Luke was a weakling. Not by any stretch of the imagination. In all honesty, they looked like the kind of perfect couple that belonged on the front of some gay or ménage romance novel. Nick's dark against Luke's light, and both were sexy as hell.
Literally.
"You're drooling," Sam said softly as he moved to stand beside me.
I smacked at his arm. "Do you blame me?"
"Nope. They're both rather impressive specimens."
I scoffed. "All of y'all are. It's kinda not fair. We humans spend all our lives trying to eat right, stay in shape, choose the right clothes, and everything else to impress the opposite sex, but you?" I let my eyes rake over him, trying not to show how much I enjoyed the view. "You eat anything you want and play video games all day."
He leaned back so I could get a better look. In his workout clothes, it wasn't hard to imagine each and every muscle on his body. Not even the baggy pants could hide the lean lines of his hips or the flatness of his waist. Reminding myself that he'd invented the idea of seduction, I blinked my eyes away.
"And burn it all weaving magic, fighting off angels, and flying." He grinned and mimicked me, letting his eyes roam down my body. "I mean, doesn't look like it's been hurting you any, either."
"Quit," I hissed.
He ducked his head a little to see my face. "Are you blushing?"
"Sam!" I pressed both hands to my cheeks and turned my back on him. "I said quit."
The problem was that my great evasion technique pointed me right at Beelzebub. He took one look at me, bobbed his head, and glanced over my shoulder at Sam. "She's blushing."
From the middle of the yard, Nick called over, "She doesn't like it when you point it out."
Evidently, they were done with whatever protections they'd put up because both Nick and Luke were making their way back to the porch. Naturally, that just made my face turn even warmer. Yep, the joys of being fair-skinned. It didn't take much and everyone could see my face light up.
"You done?" Bel asked.
Nick nodded. "It's not impenetrable, but there's a layer of aether netting about twenty feet up and all the way around. Should be enough to keep them from grabbing her."
"And low enough they won't look," Sam added, smiling like he approved. "So if one tries to slip in from above, he'll get a real nasty surprise."
"Exactly," Luke agreed. "Put a few confusion wards and distractions on it as well."
"Sia," Nick said, climbing the stairs to stand before me. "If the guys say to get inside, don't ask. Do it. Questions can always come later, do you understand?"
"Promise," I swore. "Inside, right to the study, then wait."
"That's my girl." He bent and kissed me. When he pulled back, he looked at Sam. "Don't let Bel hurt her. She won't complain, but she's still human. If one of you breaks her, even a little, I will tear your wings off myself."
Sam lifted his hands. "Can't promise she won't bruise, but nothing bad."
"No bruises," Nick insisted.
Sam thrust a hand toward me. "Redhead. Hello? I look at her wrong and she might."
"Bruises are fine," I insisted.
Nick sighed. "No hurting. I will not debate semantics before leaving you flightless."
"Understood," Sam mumbled.
Then Nick turned his attention to Beelzebub. "And you?"
"I understand, Satan."
"Good. Have fun, little dove."
I watched him head inside and close the door with my mouth hanging open. "He just threatened you two?"
"Uh, yeah." Sam gestured for me to head onto the grass. "Sia, he's kinda a big deal. I mean, he's a great guy and all, but there's a reason Nick calls the shots."
"He's the strongest of all the demons," Bel added, sounding awed. "Satan is the only one of us that has never been defeated by the angels."
"Never taken a nap," Sam clarified. "And it's Nick, Bel. Can't use the other name in this day and age. It fell out of favor."
"He hates Nick."
I shook my head. "He said he likes it."
"He used to hate it," the big guy insisted.
"Until she liked it," Sam pointed out. "Trust me, man. He'd prefer you called him Nick."
"I'll try. I'm just used to the other." Then Beelzebub gestured for me to come closer. "Why does he use an angel phrase to adore you, Muse?"
I stepped before him as directed. "Huh?"
He used his foot to kick mine apart, correcting my stance. "He calls you his dove. It's from the Song of Songs. The Bible. Why did he pick that?"
"I don't know," I admitted as Bel made his way around me. "Luke wanted me to look it up, but I refused to take his deal."
"Hips back and bend your knees slightly." Then he looked at Sam. "Why does he use it?"
"Do not hand over your dove to beasts. Do not forget the life of the afflicted," Sam quoted. "Not quite right, but Nick saw her and thought it fit. If the angels are the beasts and we're the afflicted? He's called her that since he first saw her because he didn't know her name."
I turned. "Really?"
Bel groaned in frustration. "I almost had you ready. Back the way you were!"
"Sorry," I yelped, trying to return to how he'd been posing me. "Like this?"
"Bent knees!"
Sam just chuckled under his breath. "Really, Sia. Now focus, or Bel will send you back inside."
He chuckled. "I prefer spankings."
"Uh..."
Sam cleared his throat, but I could tell he was struggling not to laugh. "At her age, it's not typically used for punishment, you know."
Bel just grinned, white teeth hard to miss against his dark skin. "Yeah. I know."
Yep, that was a very good way to get me to pay attention. For the next half hour, I learned exactly how I was supposed to stand to defend myself properly. That was it, but it wasn't exactly easy. Bel insisted I pose the exact same way, then he pushed me off balance, growling when I stepped back to keep from staggering. Each time my foot moved, he told me I'd just been pulled into the corridor and was lost. Then he made me do it all over again.
I complained. Of course I did, but I didn't honestly mind. For the first time in almost two weeks, I was finally getting to do something besides pull out my life and push it around. My brain needed the break, my body needed the exercise, and my spirit needed the challenge. By the time we were done, I could feel it in every muscle I still had left.
Even better, Bel wanted to make this a regular thing.