CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Lexi didn’t know what to think or feel. She was angry, so fucking angry she could combust. How dare that vile demon made her feel that way? She could still feel his touch, still feel that energy from his “power” trickling through her veins.
Sneaking around the edge of the barn she peeked out, sliding inside only long enough to grab her old softball bat. Her mind instantly turned back to the demon she had left at the tree line. Bastard. When she was done beating Richard into a bloody pulp she was going back to finish him off. Her body was on edge, tingling all over, and that just annoyed the ever-loving shit out of her. He had done this. That damn demon had touched her and done things to her no man had done before, things she had not wanted any man to do to her. He would pay for every one of them, but first…
Striding forward bat ready, she shouted, “RICHARD!”
The man looked up from finishing his cigarette, his face draining of color. The swinging bat in Lexi’s hand served to make him shrink in size.
“Lexi? How good to see you. Been a long time.” He backed away from her, putting his hands up. “Come on, Lex, you didn’t mean that threat, did ya? I mean, I made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes!”
He managed to duck as she swung for his head. It took out the side mirror of Ian’s truck with a shattering of glass.
“Fuck! Jesus, woman! You’re out of your mind!” He scrambled on the ice and snow as she turned on him.
“I told you, Dick, if you showed your face here again I would take out your knee caps for what you did to my sister. And look, here you are. Funny thing, I don’t think you’re here for a nice chat and a family get-together!” She rounded up for another swing, bringing the bat around again, and he slid to the ground. The bat left a nice dent in the truck’s side. Richard got onto his hands and knees, trying to get to his feet.
“What the fuck, man? That’s my truck!” Ian stumbled down the steps from the cabin, tripping over his own feet and landing headfirst in the snow.
“Ian Ford, still can’t get your own feet under you. I suggest you get in your beat-ass truck and go home to Louise before I tell her you were sniffing around my house.” Lexi lowered the bat to his face. Ian looked up at her. He opened his mouth to answer, but his face went white, and it wasn’t anything to do with her. She knew that before she felt terror rush down her spine.
“My, my, you do have such a wicked streak, Lexi Thorne. I find that quite refreshing in a Seer.” She froze to the spot. That voice sucked all the joy and light from her soul. Ian whimpered, the stink of urine coming from his body.
Turning her head slowly, the baseball bat held with white knuckles, she faced the voice. He was terrifyingly magnificent—there was no other word for him. Eyes like beaten copper speared into her soul and laid her bare. A tear rolled down her cheek as she backed up a step.
“Nothing to say? Did I render you speechless? Well, I tend to have that effect on mortals.” The angel beat his huge wings once, sending the snow flying out in flurries. He landed gently upon the snow in absolute silence. “Allow me to introduce myself,” The angel swept low in a bow then slipped his hands into the pockets of an impeccable suit that put Richard’s to shame. “I am the Archangel Michael, I am sure you have heard of me.”
Lexi had thought Deus was a monster, she had been wrong, so terribly wrong. There was nothing good in this thing before her. Despite looking like he could give long nights of hot sin, he was evil—every nerve ending screamed evil in her brain. Ian scrambled to his feet behind her and bolted for the forest. Typical.
“Now where do you think you’re going, human?” The creature lifted his hand and Ian stopped, rising into the air as if strings held him. “Useless to me.” With a flick of the angel’s wrist, Ian’s neck twisted to an unnatural position and his body dropped to the ground. Lexi gasped, closing her eyes and turning her head away. Then the bastard spoke again. “Actually, I may still have use for at least one of you. Come out, Richard, was it? I know you’re there.”
Lexi lifted her head. What was he planning? She locked her eyes on the angel. She couldn’t move even if she tried. But she knew Richard had crawled like the dog he was from behind the truck. She had an overwhelming desire to just swing that bat in his perfect face right then. The sniveling bastard bowed and groveled before the beast.
“Yes, that’s my name, great one. What would you have of me?” Great one? What a fucking loser. Lexi looked down at him. What had Layla ever seen in this idiot?
At least the angel did not look the tiniest bit impressed with the groveling worm at his feet. “Lexi, my dear. Would you like me to remove this scum for you? I can do that. I could do anything you ask of me, you know.” What the hell was he trying to pull? Trying to get on her good side or something?
“I don’t want anything from you. I can deal with him by myself.” It helped to keep angry. If she thought too much about the fear in her blood, she knew she would break down. She couldn’t let that happen.
“I don’t doubt that.” The look he gave her, those copper eyes running down her body, made her back up a step. Oh Deus, I’m so sorry. She hoped wherever her sister was that the demon with her kept her safe, kept her away from this vile creature before her.
“Hey guys! What the hell is…” James stopped dead at the door to the cabin. It took Lexi all of ten seconds to see her underwear sticking out of his pockets. Who was worse in that second was debatable, the evil winged creature beside her, or James? He looked like he was about to bolt, or die from a heart attack on the spot.
“The plot thickens. Humans are so perverted. Would you like to know what else was going on in your home, Lexi?” The angel’s voice seemed to throb inside her head, tempting her to just let him have an inch of trust—just one. “You could end him, I could help you. Of course, all he did was take your underwear. What Richard did was so much worse.” What else did Richard do? It was on the tip of her tongue, the temptation to ask the angel what else Richard had done. What the hell? It was as if she could feel his dark hand reaching into her soul and manipulating her, clouding her judgment. Just for an insane second, she almost gave into him.
Turning quickly, she stumbled back. When had he gotten so close? He had been whispering in her ear and she had not even realized it. His low chuckle as he straightened and slid his hands around her back made her skin crawl. She had almost fallen for it, almost let him in. Oh god, Layla, help me.
“Stronger than I expected. I’m impressed. I did expect you to be more receptive, given how angry you are at Lust. Poor demon, and I assure you I don’t say that often.” Michael gave her a slow smile. With a lift of his hand, the sneaking form of James rose into the air and moved to hang before her. His eyes were wide, moving about madly, but he couldn’t seem to speak. “A present for you, my dear. Can’t allow such nasty souls to persevere now, can we?”
Michael brought his fingers together and James’ body began to bend backward. Pain was clear on his face as his spine was broken in half with an echoing crack. Lexi sobbed. Her power screamed inside her head, ripping at her to get out and heal the man before her. She locked it down with as many barriers as she could muster. She couldn’t heal him, not now. Michael would just harm him over and over again, not to mention what he had planned for her. Lexi watched the life go out in James’ eyes; even if the sick pervert had been stealing her underwear he didn’t deserve that. She narrowed her eyes on the Archangel. She would not let him get away with what he had done—humans were not play things for his amusement.
“I have to admit though, you did a number on Lust, Seer. It was quite enjoyable to watch. I’m not one for defending those damned creatures, far from it. Just thought you should know, before I break you…” He walked toward her slowly, one step at a time. His footsteps made no sound on the snow. The silence made her ears ache almost worse than his repulsive voice. He leaned down so his eyes were level with hers. Terror had her frozen to the spot. “He didn’t force anything on you, sweet Lexi, that was allllll you. Every. Little. Lustful. Craving. All your own desires.” He lifted his finger and pressed it to her lips.
“You’re lying.” The cold from his touch chilled her blood. She tried to lift her arms, anything to stop him touching her. She couldn’t believe him, she just couldn’t.
“Am I? I find it delightful you’re so fucked up you would think that. To think he didn’t even fight back, he just sat there when Chamuel hit him.” Michael lifted his hand and clicked his fingers.
The air shifted and changed, the wind rising from behind him, emerging from within the shifting air and snow. Another winged being appeared, dragging behind him an unconscious demon. A trail of bright red blood marred the pristine snow. The angel dropped the demon beside Michael’s feet. Lexi looked from the demon to the angel that brought him, her head aching. Why did he look familiar? Her eyes moved back to Deus. Was he even alive? The slow rise and fall of his chest gave some comfort, but she wept inside. She had done this to him.
Deus. Oh god. Was he right? Was she so messed up that she had mistaken her own desire for something this demon had forced on her? Pushing that to the back of her mind, she refused to let it cloud her. Right now she looked the bastard in the eye.
“You can do what you want to me. I will never help you.”
Michael laughed at her and straightened, his wings shaking with his mirth. The angel beside him, Chamuel he had called him, had his eyes locked on her so intensely she could feel her skin heating on the back of her neck. She wished he would stop looking at her.
“Dear girl, as fun as you are, you’re not the one I want.”
Oh god, Layla… Annabelle. The dark light in the angel’s eyes made any hope in her soul stutter out.
“See, you’re catching on, and people say humans are slow…” Michael reached out, grabbing her face in his hand, the cold seeping into her skin, and his touch making the healthy pink skin turn blue. She gritted her teeth at the pain, refusing to make a sound as the cold bit deep. Michael’s smile was sadistic as he leaned in. “You, Lexi, are the bait.”