Chapter Four

Dante

Hours passed slowly since Dante had returned to the angelic plane. Without anything to distract him from his thoughts, his attention had been hyper-focused on Seth. Unease washed through him. The feeling which had been there prior to his ascension from earth continued to grow into pangs of anxiety. Fear that today would be the day that Seth would die refused to ease up. While he knew the final destination of Seth’s path, Dante didn’t know the specifics of the final act.

Descending to Earth, Dante returned to the neighborhood which Seth frequented. The same one that he lived in. Dread hit hard. Dante couldn’t feel Seth through the mystical connection he had with the young man. Sending tendrils of his angelic magic outward in all directions, Dante got back only cold nothingness.

Dante stood in the alleyway. Silence held heavy in the cold night air. Where there was once bright moonlight the night before, tonight seemed darker somehow—more ominous. The strands of magic he sent out hit dead ends.

Dante searched for Seth to no avail. Dread overwhelmed him. His palms were damp with dismay. Dante hoped it wasn’t too late. The mystical soul link that they shared felt as though it had been severed, or at least it was blocked. Through this soul link, he already had the suspicion that Seth’s mortal body was already dying.

In the beginning, when Seth was first made his charge, Dante needed the link to find him. Through this bond, he could not only feel what was going on with Seth but where he was and what was going on with him. Over the ten years that they had been together, that connection somehow changed. But now it felt as though there was a part of him that was missing. There was a feeling of loss without the firm attachment between them that the soul link had given.

Reaching out further, Dante strengthened his search- put every ounce of his energy into finding that link. He started to take the energy from other areas of his angelic nature to feed into it. The link now felt more smothered—less gone or absent. Almost as though something was covering it up—hiding Seth from him.

No! Not tonight! He couldn’t lose Seth tonight. Dante wanted one last night with him. He needed to find Seth—Save him!

Determined strides carried him from the grimy alleyway out to the streets. Dante’s wings folded beneath his back to be hidden. His attention was so focused on finding Seth, he hadn’t realized the unconscious act had happened at first. It wasn’t until Cal, one of the men who lived on the street, stopped him, that he became aware his wings were hidden.

“Have you seen Seth today?” Cal asked. Concern creased the older man’s face.

Dante had taken such care to stay away from everyone on the streets that he hadn’t realized the man had noticed him.

Giving a shake of his head, the fear for Seth’s wellbeing grew exponentially.

“You haven’t seen him today?” Dante asked, trying to keep his voice calm. So many questions started to rush out. He didn’t want to overwhelm the man with questions. More importantly, Dante didn’t want to worry him more than he already appeared to be.

“When was the last time you saw him?” he asked, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

“Last night. He gave me a cup of coffee and some food. He’s a good lad. Seth was going to stop by for a visit,” Cal said with a smile.

“When I see him, I’ll remind him for you,” Dante mumbled. He heard his voice crack with worry. Dante hoped Cal wouldn’t hear the panic in his voice. By the look on the homeless man’s face, Dante wasn’t as good at hiding it as he would have hoped.

“Thanks.” Cal frowned for a brief moment. Placing a hand on Dante’s shoulder, he nodded. “Find him soon.”

Dante’s lips parted to speak, only to be cut off when Cal dropped his hand then shuffled away.

Without a glance back at the man, Dante set out in the direction of Seth’s apartment. Feeling a bit of the younger man’s energy in that direction, Dante hoped that the dead air was because Seth was still asleep. Not that that was likely. It had never happened before while Seth was asleep.

In Seth’s case, it was when he was fifteen. Dante was there when Seth had witnessed the murder. Throughout the years that the young male had lived on the streets, Dante had been with him. Helping protect him from the terrors that could have attacked him.

There had never been a time that he couldn’t feel Seth through their connection. The metaphysical golden strands which tied the two together had always been there.

The need that had once been there had now become a want. Dante craved the link he had with Seth.

Seth wouldn’t have felt the mystical connection between them. There was no way he could have given he was human. It was virtually inconceivable for a charge to be aware of the bond. Most humans were quite unaware that supernatural creatures roamed the earth.

Finding Seth’s apartment building blocks away from where he had appeared in the alleyway, Dante took the steps to the second floor two at a time. Pounding on the door loudly enough to wake Seth if he had been asleep, Dante wasn’t thinking how he would explain to Seth how he knew where he lived. He didn’t have a viable answer for that without giving away everything about himself. He would figure that one out later if the question came up. For now, he needed to make sure Seth was alright.

Minutes passed. Dante’s hope that Seth was in that apartment asleep dwindled considerably. He was well aware that this was a long shot. It couldn’t have been this easy, but Dante prayed Seth was okay. He clung to that smidgeon of hope until there was no way he could convince himself that it would possibly be true.

Turning around, he stepped away from the door. Heading down the hallway, Dante stepped onto the first stair going down when he was stopped by an elderly lady poking her head out of the doorway next to Seth’s apartment.

“He left early this morning. Hasn’t been back since,” the elderly lady croaked out.

“When exactly did he leave? Did he say where he was going?” Dante’s blue gaze landed on her sweet old face. Brushing the hair from his face that had fallen across his forehead, he waited almost impatiently. Dante didn’t want to appear rude, yet his fears were growing overwhelming.

The woman shook her head. “He had his camera with him though. Said something about being back later after his job,” she said with a weak smile.

Thanking her, Dante ran back down the stairs. He cursed the fact that he couldn’t use his wings to fly over the city. Damn it all to fucking hell, having to keep who he was a secret. In his distraught frame of mind, he would have taken whatever punishments came his way as long as he found Seth alive and unharmed.

Darting through the city, he headed downtown. His next stop would be the building where the newspaper office was located. Perhaps they were still open. Dante could only hope anyway. Perhaps a straggler or another photographer could guide him to Seth. Better yet, maybe Seth was still there.

Dante was losing valuable time. His heart raced—his pulse pounded in his ears. Dread sunk into the depths of his soul, turning him cold when he rattled the door of the building. With an aggravated huff of frustration, Dante pulled the door once more. Using his angelic force, he popped the lock open at the same time he twisted the handle.

Stepping inside, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Very few lights were on in the building save for a few that came from different offices. Dante heard the elevator stop on the first floor. Slipping into the shadows, he pressed himself against the wall to hide from anyone exiting. Just as the doors swished open, out walked a man and a woman talking between themselves. The mention of Seth’s name caused Dante to keep himself hidden, while staying close in order to hear what they were saying.

“Lacey! Where the fuck is Seth? He should have been back here by now with those photos!” The man’s deep voice barked out.

“I don’t know, Robert. He ran out of the conference before Doctor Cook gave any real statement. It was weird.” Lacey had a look of confusion on her face. “He’s never done anything like this before.”

Robert growled deeply. “The hell has gotten into that boy? Now I’m out not only my best photographer, but my story is fucked too.”

Dante followed as close as he could, with Robert and Lacey walking toward the front door. While he had been careful in keeping himself hidden and quiet, the sound of an office door closing down the hall caused both Robert and Lacey to stop talking. They turned their attention toward the sound, only to spot Dante in the shadows.

“Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?” Robert snarled out. His irritation at the situation apparent not only in his voice, but written on his face.

Dante was even more worried now. It wasn’t like Seth to go missing. Anxiety rushed through him as Dante worried he was too late. He had no more information of Seth’s whereabouts than he had before. If anything, Dante was further away from finding Seth than when he’d stepped into the building.

“Sorry.” One word was all he uttered before dashing out of the building and onto the sidewalk.

Reaching up, he touched the single tear rolling down his cheek. Wiping it away, he shook his head. Not once since his creation had Dante ever cried. He refused to allow sadness to transpire now, as that was tantamount to admitting defeat.

No! Dante would not give up yet. Seth was going to be fine. Dante wouldn’t allow any other outcome. Especially seeing as Killian hadn’t told him that he would be collecting Seth’s soul tonight. His friend would have warned him, wouldn’t he? Killian had always told him in the past when he was due to collect the spirits of Dante’s charges. He had no reason to doubt that Seth would have been any different.

Heading downtown toward the subway, Dante remembered the first time he’d seen Seth after the murder. The beautiful young man was scared and timid. Seth had only his camera and the clothes on his back. Intervening, Dante had encouraged one of his other charges to give Seth some clothes and food. In doing so, he had helped the both of them.

Dante watched from a distance. He did everything he could to will the interaction to go smoothly. Seth was hesitant at first to accept the help that was offered to him. Dante had felt the fear and anxiety rush through their link. Those emotions weren’t unexpected, given what the young man had been through.

When Seth finally accepted the help, his smile had brightened up the darkness. Dante watched his green eyes sparkle in appreciation. He’d felt as though the sun had come out from behind dark thunderclouds. It was in that moment that Dante knew he wanted to see Seth smile more. Anything he could do to bring that warmth out would be done.

Dante had found himself spending more time concentrating on Seth than his other two charges—both of whom were on the right path to where they needed to go. After the first three years of which he had gotten Seth under his proverbial wing, Dante’s other charges found their way to where they were meant to be. With no others to tend to, the angel was able to focus solely on Seth.

Not that Dante was complaining. Hell, if anything, Dante was glad he could get closer to Seth. He had to be careful though. Dante couldn’t allow himself to fall in love with Seth, nor could he let anyone else know that his feelings ran deeper than they should have.

Dante had become so adept at hiding his feelings, he’d even convinced himself that he wasn’t feeling what he was for years.

Well, that was until two years ago, when Seth almost got hit by an oncoming truck. Saving Seth had made Dante come to grips with his deep feelings for his charge. He had to admit to himself that he not only loved Seth, but was in love with him as well, even though it went against the rules of being an angel.

If anyone else found out, Seth would be paired with another angel and Dante would be cast out of heaven; something Dante couldn’t handle. In refusing to lose Seth, he once more buried his feelings deep within; hidden from everyone.

Stopping quickly, Dante was pulled from his thoughts of the past. A sudden pang of familiarity hit him fast. While it was weak, he picked up a hint of his link with Seth. Somewhere off to the right, in the direction of the warehouse district.

Dante’s imagination went wild. He had to reach Seth before the worst happened. Looking around to ensure he was alone, Dante stepped into the darkness of another alleyway and shrugged off his jacket.

Spreading his wings, he took to the sky under the darkness of night. He gave no thought about humans recognizing his form. Dante didn’t care anymore if he got kicked out of heaven. If his feelings were revealed, and he was stripped of his angelic nature, he wasn’t worried about that either. Seth was all that mattered. While the link shouldn’t have been there, Dante had been able to pick it up. Although it was quite weak, Dante’s love for the young man had strengthened the bond between them. Grateful that he had this connection with Seth, Dante focused on that. He held onto the soul link as though it were a beacon guiding him to the man he loved. Not focusing on anything else, Dante’s only thought was to get to Seth before his soul was lost forever.