I hear two different voices when I wake.
I don’t open my eyes. My head’s hurting like a bitch and my body’s aching. What happened?
“It’s just her?” one of the men says. His voice is velvety and smooth. “Where’s her brother?”
What do they want with Jared?
“She’s not a strong demon,” the other replies.
“Maybe her powers haven’t awakened yet.”
“She’s not that important. We just need the brother. He’s the cipher to the Orb of Jehovah.”
“She’s pretty.”
“Thought you said something about her tits earlier?”
“Whatever. This isn’t really the focus of our mission here.”
Orb of Jehovah? Sounds like some mumbo jumbo from a movie. And what about my tits?
My memory begins to return. I panic. My eyes snap open.
I’m in my living room, against a leg of my dining table. The sun has already risen but the curtains are drawn. Only a little bit of sunlight shines through the slit between the curtains.
Something coarse is rubbing against my wrists—rope? The rope’s digging into my wrists, chafing the skin there. My feet are bound, too. Oh shit. My vision clears. There are two Adonises standing in front of me—one of them is the insane psycho who assaulted me earlier, and the other, I’m sure, is Mr. Dark and Mysterious.
He’s better looking than I imagined him to be, and I have a vivid imagination. Striking blue eyes, a chiseled jaw, lined with stubble that only adds to his rocker look, and short hair the color of ash. He looks at me and runs his tongue over his teeth before smirking. I swallow a nervous gulp. Does he think I’m a piece of meat or something?
Heck. I feel like a piece of meat.
I’m thinking of ways to get out of this. “Wh-who the hell are you guys?” I don’t care how attractive they are. These two are dangerous, and perhaps certifiably insane. I want to get out of here and to somewhere safe, pronto.
“Xeres,” the psycho says, pointing to himself. He gestures at the man who was watching me at Club Sin. “He’s Vickal.”
Good, at least we’ve gotten introductions out of the way. But that wasn’t exactly my main concern. “Let me out of these,” I say.
Xeres lifts a brow. “Promise not to lunge at me if I do?” My gaze lowers to his arms. He’s carrying Porky? And my Jack Russell actually looks happy. Porky’s wagging his tail. He cranes his neck up and licks Xeres’s chin.
That can’t be right.
“I won’t,” I lie.
He’s not convinced. “I think I’ll leave you like that until you mellow out a bit.”
“I’m calling the cops.”
Xeres snorts. “Like that’s going to do anything.”
Vickal strides toward me. He bends down, so we’re face to face. He’s even more striking up close. I didn’t think guys could pull off funky hair colors, but Vickal does. He looks torn straight from a magazine. “You’re not what I expected.”
“And what did you expect?”
With him just inches from me, I can see just how perfect he is. Not a blemish on his tan skin.
He smiles. “Easy. I expected easy.” His eyes rake over my body, and it feels like he’s undressing me. I lick my lower lip. That was a mistake. He looks at my mouth. My breathing quickens. “But there’s a bite in you, isn’t there?” he says.
I want him to touch me. I’m imagining what the texture of his fingertips will feel like, the sensation of his body on mine. It’s my hormones acting up. I don’t let it distract me.
At least, I shouldn’t.
He’s close, so I knock my head against his to try once more at escape.
It’s futile.
I’m left with an even worse headache. It slices straight through me and makes my ears ache. I groan.
He laughs. It’s chilling and low, but a beautiful sound. I shouldn’t be this tempted by a dangerous stranger’s laughter. He stands, walks to my kitchen, and bends down to open the fridge. My fridge. Then he takes out a can of soda.
“What the hell do you guys want?” I ask.
To get in my pants? Probably not. I wouldn’t have my clothes on if that was what they wanted. Men like these two are primal. They act on instinct and rush into things. They wouldn’t be carrying a Jack Russell or sipping a soft drink by a counter while contemplating whether to rape a girl.
“Your brother,” Xeres says. He sits down and rests Porky on his lap. There’s a certain tenderness in the way he’s carrying my dog. Porky jumps off his lap.
It’s summer, and the air conditioning seems to be turned off. That might be why my throat’s becoming dry. “What do you want with Jared?”
“The Orb of Jehovah,” Vickal responds.
More of that strange mumbo jumbo.
Vickal catches the question in my expression. He sips on his soft drink and continues, “It’s an artifact. It lets whoever controls it decide who gets to go where between the three realms. We want to call the shots, because the angels calling the shots makes it a mighty pain in the ass for us.” He takes a big gulp and puckers his lips.
“What the hell are you talking about?” I search for something sharp to cut the ropes with, but these men know what they’re doing. The area around me is cleared, and as much as I want to be strong enough, I’m not. Heightened strength, yes. Hulk strength? Sadly, no.
I’m helpless and useless.
“Angels and demons have been endlessly warring over the orb,” Xeres says. “Your brother is connected to it. He gets visions that will lead us to the orb, and we need to pry those visions out of him. Vickal tells me Jared lives here, so he should be home any minute now. Hopefully, before the angels get to Jared. Vickal made a miscalculation about where Jared is, didn’t you, Vickal?”
Vickal scowls at Xeres. “I don’t make miscalculations. Based on the reports, he lives here. We’ve yet to find him, despite searching around town, but Valerie should know his whereabouts.”
“Do you know where he is?” Xeres says.
I stare at him coldly. “Okay, I’ve had enough of your weird role-play bullshit. Let me go. I promise to not attack. You can show me where your hidden cameras are now. I need to catch some rest, and you reality TV shows are getting way out of hand.” I don’t believe what I’m saying, but I don’t want to face the alternative, either—that this is all real. I bite my tongue. They’ll have to squeeze the information out of me. I won’t let them have Jared.
Porky fetches his tennis ball and offers it to Xeres. I balk. Porky’s supposed to hate strangers. He never plays fetch with anyone but me. Not even Jared.
Xeres picks up the ball and throws it across the living room. Porky runs straight past me to fetch it. The little traitor.
“We’re not playing around,” Vickal says. He crushes the can in his fist and hurls it into my trash can. The can falls straight into his target, even though Vickal didn’t look in the trash can’s direction. “Tell us where he is, or we’ll make this painful.”
“This must be another one of my nightmares,” I mutter. But it feels so real. My dreams are never vivid. But the ache in my head, arms, the sensation of my carpeted flooring against my legs… these can’t be made up. I doubt my imagination would be able to concoct how handsome these men are, either.
When Xeres plays with Porky, I almost forget how threatening he was before he knocked me out. A wide, charming grin splits his cheeks as he takes the ball from Porky. He gives my dog a pat on his head.
“Make this painful? Why should I believe what you’re saying?” I ask them.
Vickal is still leaning against my kitchen counter. “You don’t have to. We’re not here to convince you of anything. But… it’s easy to show you what we are.” He lifts a hand, and smoke swirls around it.
I’m left slack-jawed. Holy crap, this TV show must really have a high budget. The smoke gathers into the shape of a knife. Vickal throws the knife across the room.
It slices through the air and lands right in front of Porky. It misses the terrier by a hair. Porky shrieks and leaps backward. The ethereal knife disappears, but a huge gash is left in my carpet. It’s at least three feet long and deep enough to look like it might have sliced Porky in two. My heart leaps to my throat. So, not a TV show, then. That theory is becoming less plausible by the minute.
“Fuck—”
Before I finish, Xeres shouts, “Vickal!” Porky’s stunned. My terrier whimpers. Xeres scoops him up and cradles him. He tucks Porky into the crook of his neck.
Vickal chuckles. “It’s just a fucking dog. You eat angels for breakfast.”
“I happen to like dogs.”
“They’re ugly little things.”
“What has Porky ever done to you?” I say to Vickal.
Xeres crinkles his brow. “Porky? That’s what you named your dog?”
My mind’s still reeling from Vickal’s show. Despite how charming Xeres looks while playing with a dog, I’m reminded that these guys are dangerous, and they’re hunting down Jared.
I’ll skin them alive if they hurt Jared. He’s who I’ve been fighting for since we ran from home. I’ve always been the one trying to support us. The decision maker. So Jared doesn’t have to put up with shit. If these guys decide to blow a shitstorm in Jared’s face, I’ll kill them.
“Where’s your brother?” Vickal asks. He pads over and slumps on the small couch across from me. He rests his elbows on the armrest and presses his fingers together, adopting a typical villainous posture.
My jaw tenses. “He’s out of town.”
“No, he’s not,” Vickal says. “My sources don’t indicate that he’s bought any flights.”
This man is stalking our accounts now? Does he know how much debt I’m in?
I tighten my jaw. “He’s driving out of town.”
“Your car is in the parking lot, and you share one.”
How much does he know about our lives? “He’s traveling with a friend.”
Vickal narrows his beady eyes at me. “We can wait. My men are scouring the city as we speak. If you don’t tell us, it’s still a matter of time. Meanwhile, decide which finger you’d like to lose first in case we can’t find him and need to pry the information out of you.”
Gulp. I’d rather not lose any fingers. I try to act tough. “You can wait all you want, but can I not be tied up? I promise not to run.” They’ve left me in an awkward position. My arms are bent at an uncomfortable angle and there’s no way to rest my back against anything.
Xeres continues to comfort Porky, who seems to have recovered from the shock of Vickal’s assault.
Vickal waves a hand. “Beggars don’t get to—" He jolts up abruptly. Both of his eyes flash black, the whites completely gone. I squeak. The sight leaves me cold.
Demons. I recall that charming stranger in the elevator. Are these the guys he was looking for?
“They’re here,” Xeres says, his posture tense, and sets Porky aside. My dog runs to me. He has his ball in his mouth and wags his tail, as if asking me to throw the ball for him. Unfortunately, my hands are tied, quite literally.
“Who’s here?” I ask.
“Angels,” Xeres says.
I roll my eyes. “Angels exist, too? What are you going to tell me next? That Nessie’s real? Or that you’re Jesus?” Then again, Jesus can’t look this sinful.
A guy with white wings smashes through my window, wiping away all disbelief I had. The sound of shattered glass vibrates through the room. What the fucking hell! Those windows are expensive. If these crazy people—demons, angels, or whatever they are—are going to go around destroying things, they better pay me back. My landlord’s going to have my neck if he sees the carnage, and I don’t want any more debts to my name.
Vickal and Xeres are already on their feet. Porky cowers beside me. “You’ll be all right, boy,” I say. Porky isn’t convinced.
The two demons’ eyes have both filled with a threatening black. Power emanates from them.
The angel’s a sight to behold. He’s dressed in shining silver armor. Fabric drapes from his shoulder plates. His hair is long and reaches down to his chest. He reminds me of one of those elves in Lord of the Rings, but without the pointy ears. A circlet of gold curves around the top of his head, and he wields a blade in his left hand. He’s glorious, framed by the shattered pieces of my window lying around him. The brightness of the morning light rims his figure, giving the impression of a halo.
“Michael,” Xeres says, his voice hard. Michael? As in Archangel Michael? From the Bible?
It’s the angel’s wings that capture my attention the most. Each feather must be the size of my hand. They’re so white, pristine. The angel exudes beauty and perfection.
There’s no softness in Michael’s features. He’s here to kill. Menace cuts through his expression, marring his youthful beauty.
Michael wastes no time with introductions. He leaps toward Xeres with his sword. Xeres is fast, and he blurs into motion. He appears on the other side of the room and throws daggers at Michael. Fire, black in color, circles him. It pulsates like a ringed shield around Xeres. Vickal’s quick, too, and he attacks Michael with daggers made of fire.
Two more angels swoop in through the now-glassless window. My tiny apartment is way too small for all this action. One angel—her skin is a gorgeous caramel—comes at me. She raises her sword. At first, I think she’s going to cut me down, which makes me jolt. Instead, she slices the ropes around my wrists. I pull my hands to the front of my stomach and run my fingers over my chafed skin. It’s gone red there. The demon bastards had tied me up tight.
I inhale. I’m not given much time to settle down and enjoy freedom. The female angel makes to grab me. She wants to take me captive, too, and I’m having none of that. I grab her arm and summon my power.
She hisses. I let her go and see a black patch around her forearm, where I sent my static. It only causes temporary pain to humans. I glance at my hand, slightly in awe at what I just did.
My mind snaps back to the action. The angel is wincing, but she’s recovering quickly. I snatch the moment and back away, raising my hands as a warning—I burned her once, and I can do it again.
Vickal and Xeres are still fighting. I can see them in my peripheral vision. My whole apartment is chaos, but I’m too afraid for my life to care.
“Atia!” Michael yells, looking at the female who cut me free.
Vickal and Xeres have Michael cornered. The other angel who accompanied Atia is now on the floor… with his head rolling beside his body.
I retch and pry my eyes from the ghastly sight. Atia curses and rushes to Michael’s rescue. I grab Porky and make for the exit.
Vickal and Xeres are cold, heartless killers.
I don’t care how beautiful they are. I don’t want to be anywhere near these men. Or are they demons? Can demons be considered “men?” Since that’s a human term. Whatever they are, I’m getting my ass out of here.
I swing the door open, hugging Porky tightly to my chest.
Jared stands in front of me with his keys in his hand. His blue eyes search me. He’s wearing a flannel shirt and has a head full of messy auburn hair, like he just woke up. He frowns. “What’s wrong?”
The sight of Jared brings up questions in me, but we have more urgent things to think about. “We need to run.” I grab my brother’s arm and drag him aside. As I step away, he sees the scene behind me.
A sound like a half shriek, half whimper escapes him. “Holy shi—”
I tug at him hard, forcing him to move. I start running as fast as I can. I hear Jared’s footsteps behind. The rhythm of Porky’s heartbeat is intense. It syncs with mine.
“Why are you here?” I ask Jared. “You’re supposed to be at the hospital.” My legs can’t seem to move fast enough.
We stop in front of the elevator. I hit the down arrow button. I slam my palm against it multiple times, but the elevator takes too long. We’ll be demon bait by the time it arrives.
“It’s boring there,” he says. “There’s no Wi-Fi, and they said I was good to go. You hadn’t showed, so I called one of my buddies from the college to give me a lift. But never mind that. Why are there a bunch of people in costumes role-playing in our living room?”
Screw it. I abandon the elevator and make for the stairwell. I kick the door open with my sneakered foot and pull my brother through. Porky’s heavy in my other arm. I hope I can keep up while carrying him. The dog has recovered from his initial fear and is now wearing his usual bright-eyed look.
“They’re not role-playing,” I say. “They’re here for us.”
“Fantastic. I always wanted to be in an action movie,” Jared deadpans. “Why are they chasing after us again?”
“You’re the cipher to the Orb of Jehovah, apparently.” My feet are frantically moving down the stairs.
“The orb of hovah-what-now?”
“I don’t even know.”
We reach the end of the stairwell. I turn the doorknob and step out into the morning sun. I look left and right. The car park is right in front of us.
Shit.
I left my keys in my purse. My phone, too. And my wallet. Where the hell am I supposed to go after I escape? I hope Jared has his credit card with him. Sometimes he forgets.
I wave at Jared and sprint onward. “Come on.”
Shattered glass falls from a few feet ahead.
I’m dreaming. Just dreaming.
It’s about time I wake up.
Atia is carrying Michael. Her wings are shadowed by the sunlight. Michael looks battered and injured, with blood staining his feathers red.
If the angels are fleeing, that means…
The blond stranger from the elevator walks out from the corner of the building. He has in hands in his pockets. “Oh, hey!” His eyes light up. He takes a hand out and waves. “There you are.”
I whip my head around. Xeres and Vickal are already on the first floor, right behind us.
I halt, and Jared pauses beside me.
Porky has no idea what’s going on. He flashes me a round-eyed look and has his tongue out.
Xeres strides toward us. His smoky eyes exude power and authority, and fear springs through my belly. “You can either come with us obediently, or we tie you up and take you forcefully. Your choice.” He’s exuding so much cockiness that it makes me want to punch him. But the side of him that emanates danger makes me second-guess myself.
The muscles in my legs tense. My hands are clammy. I’m ready to run. But Xeres appears right before me, not even giving me time to start. I blink. I didn’t even see him move.
How did he do that?
His eyes narrow. “I’d reconsider if I were you.”
Jared fidgets. His eyes constantly flick between the three of them. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
Xeres is so close that I can almost taste his power.
I swallow. “I’ll come quietly.”
Xeres nods. “Good. But I don’t need you, pretty. It’s your brother we’re interested in.” He turns from me to Jared. “So this is the cipher, huh? Doesn’t look like much. You sure you have this right, Vickal?”
Vickal squints. “Are you doubting me?”
“No, just making sure.”
Xeres brushes me aside and hooks his fingers under Jared’s chin. He glares at Jared.
“What are you doing?” I say. “Don’t hurt him.” I taste ash in my mouth. I’m muttering prayers in my head, to no one in particular, hoping Xeres won’t take Jared away. I can’t imagine life without my twin.
The man from the elevator grabs me. “Keep calm and relax, pretty thing.” His voice is husky. He presses me against him, not letting me move. My stomach turns.
“You will stay within a hundred feet,” Xeres says.
“What is he doing?” I ask.
“You will obey to everything I say.” He’s looking into Jared’s eyes. It’s weird, but it looks dangerous, and my heart’s racing so hard that I’m dizzy.
“Huh?” Jared asks.
Xeres reels back like he’s being repelled. He presses his palms to his head and sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth. He recovers quickly, and then looks at Jared, wearing a confused expression. “That’s not supposed to happen.”
Jared takes a step back. “What’s not supposed to happen? Dude, you’re freaking me out. And why the hell did those guys flying out the window have wings?”
“It doesn’t work on him,” Vickal says. “I’ve heard of powers being less effective on ciphers.”
Xeres snorts. “Great.” He turns to me.
“What do you want?” I ask.
“Hold her down, Sylver.” He steps to me, then repeats the same words he said to Jared.
Stay within a hundred feet.
Obey—this command doesn’t seep in.
The first command clicks in my mind. It forces itself through my brain and locks itself in. I don’t feel any different after that, yet everything is.
Xeres grunts, almost like he’s in pain. Sweat beads around him, and he looks confused. Once that confusion falls away, he smiles. He redirects his attention to Jared, and the pain that was on his face fades completely. “Now, precious cipher, let me ask you a question.”
Jared stiffens, and I do, too.
Xeres wears a smug grin. “Do you care for your sister?”
Jared nods.
“And you don’t want to see her dead or tortured, do you?”
My brother shakes his head. “Please, don’t. I’ll—”
“Good.” Xeres pats Jared on the face, as if he’s talking to a toddler. “Then stay close to us. To your sister. Or I’ll spill her entrails on the ground should you dare to leave. Or maybe I’ll break her hands, finger by finger, joint by joint, if you escape or even try to. Understand?”
A thick gulp travels down Jared’s throat. “I understand.”
“Great. Now that we’ve gotten that sorted out…” Xeres turns to me and, going against everything he just said, gestures with two fingers and says, “You’re free to go now.”
“Free to go?” I don’t trust anyone, and Xeres isn’t making any sense. I tug at the collar of my shirt. “I’m not leaving without Jared.”
“You can take him.”
Why is he being so indecisive? “Okay…” I say. I grab Jared’s hand and drag him away. I count my steps. The gazes of the three men are hot on my back. My muscles are freezing even as I try to force myself to leave.
Then, after I reach a certain threshold—the stop sign on my street, apparently—pain explodes through my vision. It gets worse the further I walk. I clutch my stomach and fall to the ground.
“Val!” Jared screams. He falls beside me and clutches my arm. He attempts to help me up, but that only makes it worse.
Xeres appears in front of me, and my pain fizzles away.
I’m gasping for air and sweating profusely as I crane my head up to meet his eyes.
He looks pleased. “The compulsion works.”
Bastard.