CHAPTER FORTY
Michael hissed as Zadkeil strapped the neck brace around him, tightening the Velcro. He growled low, his copper eyes smoldering as the angel backed up a step and adjusted the front.
“Looks real good on you, Michael. Might make the sexiest man of the week,” came a voice from the far side of the room.
“Fuck off, Raphael.” His voice was hoarse and broken, he could barely make a sound. Unfortunately, that was making Raphael bold. The light in the room dimmed and the angel laughed, pushing off the wall.
“Sorry, illustrious leader. I am just glad it wasn’t me getting my ass handed to me by a woman this time. I was getting tired of it.” Michael narrowed his eyes at his subordinate. Raphael suddenly gasped for air, his hands gripping at his throat, eyes wide, staring at his captain.
“Do not mistake my lack of voice for weakness, Raphael. I assure you I am in no mood.” He managed to wheeze out the words, sucking in air and letting it out.
“Michael, you need to stop speaking. You will have more trouble healing if you keep this up.” Zadkeil tried to be stern with his leader but Michael just growled at him. Or attempted to anyway.
“How is Chamuel? The fool let that demon Lust get too damn close.” Yeah, like he did any better. He touched the neck brace with a scowl.
Zadkeil looked at Raphael, who was still trying to get air in his lungs, then back to Michael. “He is… I don’t think he is quite all there anymore. He won’t let me remove his severed wing. He sewed it back on, the thing is going to rot. It’s like he can’t accept that he has lost it.”
“Would any of us? Take that dead thing away from him before he kills himself with infection. I don’t care if he screams this place down. Get Uriel to help you—about time he stopped sulking. It has been months since I punished him. What of the mark Chamuel placed? Is it active?” He could taste blood as he spoke, his throat protesting his continued speech.
“Yes, although with him losing his mind, I don’t know how much longer he will keep control over it. I will ensure Chamuel is taken care of, Michael. Now you need to rest your throat.” That earned Zadkeil nothing but a cold glare.
“I need no rest, and where in the seven hells is Gabriel? Bastard has been gone for a week. I won’t have my second gone for this long!” Michael began to pace, wincing as his neck twitched.
Raphael, still gasping in the corner, now on his knees, tried to speak. Michael looked at him and curled his lip, gesturing with his hand. Raphael was released from the power that held him. He sucked in a huge breath, coughing until he was no longer turning a funky shade of blue.
“He is. With his. Daughter.”
The silence in the room was palpable. Michael moved, his body turning to face Raphael slowly. His gaze pinned the kiss-ass member of his team.
“What did you say?” It can’t be true. Gabriel would not have left him for something like this, would he? Had the last job with the children been too much? Had he driven his men too hard? If he could have growled he would have. Gabriel, how could he have left? Traitorous bastard!
“He has a daughter, a half-breed. With a human Seer. He is with th—” The lights in the room exploded, showering the occupants with glass and sparks.
“Get out. Get out NOW!” His voice failed him on his roar. His throat filling with blood, he coughed, gripping his desk as his men vacated the room. Michael spat his blood on his desk as the coughing fit continued. This could not be true. How could his second have betrayed him in such a way? With a human no less. The idea sickened him to his core. A child? He had begotten a child upon a human woman, allowed it to live? Nephilim. It had to die, it could not be allowed to live in this world. It was an abomination to all the gods, to nature herself.
Leaning against his desk, he took slow breaths. His head was pounding. His neck would take a month to fully heal after that bastard Wrath broke it. He was done with trying to recruit or take a Seer. He already had one, Eviee. He would break her soon, and when he did he would make her his slave. If she proved to be too stubborn, however, he had found a rather interesting manuscript on ways to summon the souls of the dead. He knew of one Seer spirit with more than enough residual power to complete the task. All he needed was a suitable body for her to reside in.
Layla watched the flames roaring in the hearth. She had a sleeping Annabelle in her arms, refusing to let her go for a second. Tanus and his brother, Deus, had been outside cleaning up for the last few hours. Lexi had vanished to her room. Every so often she would come downstairs with an armful of her clothes and burn them. She said she didn’t know what that pervert James had touched, so she was just burning it all. Tanus had apparently seen their bedroom, and refused to allow her anywhere near it. She didn’t ask why, but trusted his judgment. So here she was watching the fire, hoping against hope that her daughter would not have nightmares after the horrors she had seen today.
Another wave of sorrow hit her, tears welling up in her eyes. Richard hadn’t been a good man, he had not even been a nice man, but no one deserved to die that way. The things Michael had done to him, the things he had been about to make Richard do to Lexi. Even if those desires had been in Richard’s soul before, it didn’t make it right to drive the man to madness by ripping his soul open like that.
She didn’t even want to think about what happened to her—the Source. The woman she had become, what had that been? Was that someone, or something? She had seen it all, like watching a movie from the couch. What had that woman turned her demon into? Some kind of spirit hound? All because of the sorrow she felt at the idea her daughter might die. Layla tightened her hold on Annabelle and lowered her head, breathing her scent in deeply. It soothed her soul a little. What scared her most was the idea she could become that woman again. Was it possible?
Tanus patted down the last shovel of earth and leaned on the handle, looking down at the mass grave he’d just filled with three human bodies. There had been a time he would have just ignored them and left them for the animals somewhere in the woods. He hated to admit it, but before Michael fucked with his head his concern of what happened to mortals after death had been less than stellar.
Deus stopped beside him, smacking him on the shoulder. “Not going to pray, are you?”
“No, still… no one, not even Richard, deserved that. I don’t know about the other two. Maybe their souls were salvageable.” He pushed off the shovel and turned to leave.
Deus stared after him, a smile spreading on his lips. “Shit, Tanus, I don’t think I have heard you call a human soul salvageable in… hell, I don’t know how long. She has really done it, hasn’t she? She healed you? Not just from what Michael did, but deeper.”
Tanus stopped and looked at his twin. Lifting his hand, he rubbed over his heart. Asmodeus didn’t know, did he? Hell, as far as he knew, he was the only one that remembered the day of his creation. Why was that? Did Hades remove that memory from them for a reason? One vision had stuck with him—Lucifer, with wings. He had never, not once in their long lives, seen Lucifer with wings. They all believed their illustrious leader didn’t possess wings. Not all of them did, so no one found it odd that Lucifer, Sin of Pride, didn’t have any.
“Feeling all sentimental on me, Satanus? We going to swap throw pillows in a minute or something?” Deus fluttered his eyelashes and Tanus glared, punching his twin in the gut.
Deus stumbled back, air rushing from his lungs. “Okay, not so different.”
“Dumbass. So, you and Lexi?” He was not sure what he thought about that one. Lexi was effectively his sister now. As such he didn’t know if he wanted his wayward horn-dog of a brother sniffing around her.
Deus coughed and straightened. “I don’t know, I think I fucked that one up. She ties me in knots something chronic. I have never been around a woman like her who does that to me. Usually it’s the other way around, I’m always in control, and they’re the ones ripping their clothes off. She seems painfully unaware of the effect she has on me—it’s rather annoying.”
“Well, now you know how all those men and woman have felt throughout history. The sophisticated and dashing Marquis de Sade, makes woman wet and men hard from across the ro—”
“Oh god! Don’t bring that up!” Deus groaned, rubbing his eyes.
“Oh yes, let’s not forget Giacomo Casanova. What was it? Sexual escapades notorious across Europe?”
“Shut it, if Lexi finds out all those men were me she is never going to speak to me again. She is already pissed at me. The woman has already tried to kill me twice.”
“Only twice? You must be off your game.” Deus just gave him a droll stare and walked past him. Tanus chuckled, following behind him. “Regarding Lexi. She is prickly with men. Doesn’t trust easily. You were passed out earlier; you didn’t see what Michael was going to have that human do to her. Give her space and time. If she is like her sister, she will come around. Just, you know, keep Little Lust in your pants for a while.”
“Thanks for the advice, oh wise and mystic one. When did you turn into Mr. Fucking Miyagi?” Yes, his brother was sulking.
Tanus grinned. “When I got my brain blended into pudding by an Archangel, turned into an animal for three months, lost my memory, nearly killed a Seer, fell in love, got a daughter, mated my female—oh, and found out I’m about to be a father—that’s fucking when, you ass. So suck it.” Tanus whacked Deus on the back of the head as he walked past. Maybe his brother was right, maybe he was a changed man.
The door to the cabin opened and Layla turned her head to look back. Tanus and Deus walked in. They were so different to look at, Deus more boyish with his glittering purple eyes, and her demon much more rugged and rough. He definitely looked like he belonged here in the wilds. Since his memories returned his face was a lot sterner, but he had not lost that warmth to his eyes when he looked at her.
“Is it done?”
Tanus looked over to her and nodded. Now all they needed to do was come up with some way of explaining the disappearances of James and Ian. As for Richard, someone was going to notice he didn’t come back to Denver eventually. Layla felt a weight in her stomach thinking about Ian’s wife, Louise, and her kids. Ian might have been an alcoholic loser, but she didn’t deserve this. As for James, his family was long gone—as sad as that was, at least no one was relying on that asshole.
“I want to give Louise some money for the kids, or something. Shit, I don’t know.” She pressed her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. This was all too much. How had it all become fucked up so fast? God, now she was starting to sound like her sister.
Tanus knelt in front of her and pulled her hand down. “We will figure it out, Layla. You should sleep.”
“I can’t sleep. Are you leaving?” Where the hell did that come from? She just blurted it out—maybe that’s what she was afraid of. Now that his memory was back and his brother was here, what’s to say he wanted to stay? He remained quiet for what seemed like a long time, long enough in her head that she was starting to get antsy.
“Woman, if I have to lug your ass back up to that cave to prove to you I’m not going anywhere, I will do just that. Understand me? Besides the fact you’re carrying my sons. You think you’re ever getting rid of me?” He stared her down and she felt her skin flushed bright red. Then she narrowed her eyes at him.
“What makes you think we’re having babies? Plural?” Her hand moved to her stomach. Michael had mentioned she was carrying, hadn’t he? What if he had just been messing with her head? “He could have just been trying to mess with me.”
“Layla, I would know if he’d been lying. Your scent has changed.” He leaned in and brushed his nose against the side of her head, kissing her temple. “Much deeper, richer. And trust me when I say, it does a few things to me best left for privacy.” He lowered his tone, making goosebumps rush over her skin and her tummy flutter with butterflies. “I had wanted you to myself a while longer but we have plenty of babysitters.” She looked over his head at his brother who had half a sandwich hanging out of his mouth. Deus blinked, totally oblivious, and pointed at himself, on second thought.
“You’re really okay with this? It wasn’t that long ago you were a free man. Now with your memories back, I ju—” He silenced her running mouth with a kiss. When she whimpered, pushing into the kiss, he smiled and pulled back.
“I love you, Layla. I have never said those words to another person. You’re mine, Annabelle is mine, and these babies are mine. I might mess this up—actually, I am pretty sure I will—but I have you to help me, and Annabelle to teach me how to be a good father by the time the new ones arrive. If you will have me?”
Layla nodded, tears burning her eyes. “I love you, too. Of course I will have you, you thick-headed dolt. I have wanted you in my life since the second you decided to take advantage and feel me up when I was cutting your hair.” She lifted her hand and ran it through his locks. God, had it been only five days?
“Me take advantage? I do recall I was a fragile, recovering amnesiac, and my nurse was taking far too many liberties.” He flashed her a grin. Her mouth opened in indignation.
“See, I knew it wasn’t all him.” Lexi appeared from upstairs, more clothes in her arms, and dumped them by the fire. “More to burn.”
“Lexi, I’m sure James didn’t touch everything.”
“I don’t care. He was in my room. I’m sorry he is dead, I really am. But just, no. I am going to borrow your clothes until I get new ones, Layla.”
“You probably don’t want to do that either.” Tanus pushed himself to his feet, the pair of woman looking at him. “Just trust me on this, ladies. Don’t touch any clothes in those rooms. We will have new things delivered.”
“Oh, and how are you going to pay for that?” Lexi stared at him, hands on her hips.
“My memory happens to be back, Miss Priss. As such, I now know I happen to be loaded, so hush up your sass.” Tanus turned and headed to the kitchen.
Lexi gaped at him, looked at her sister, pointed at him, dropped her hand, huffed, stamped her foot, spluttered a few times, and huffed again. Then unceremoniously sat down hard on the couch, crossing her arms over her chest, clearly in a hissy. Layla watched in fascination. Lexi was speechless, wow. Clearly Tanus regaining his memories had given him some insight into how to speak “Lexi.” She was insanely impressed.
“You need to teach me how to do that, dude,” Deus mumbled as his brother passed him, grabbing the steaming coffee pot and filling a mug. Of course the scathing glare Lexi shot Deus had him wincing. Maybe, just maybe, this demon and her sister might work. Tanus shook his head and headed back to Layla, handing the coffee to Lexi. She looked at it like it was poison before taking the peace offering, mumbling something about him being a muscle-brained moron. Then she sipped her “medicine.” Layla grinned and hugged her daughter close.
“I don’t know if I’m ready to meet your family, Tanus.” Layla paced outside the large house, the huge bank of windows lit up against the darkness. In one corner, a massive Christmas tree glittered with lights.
Lexi stood off to the side with Annabelle in her arms, pointing out the stars in the Alaskan sky. Annabelle was so excited to see the Aurora Borealis, she had spent the last day looking at as many pictures as she could online. Layla figured anything that got her mind off what had happened only a few days ago was worth the trip. So Deus had used his shadow transportation to move them all to Alaska for what was intended to be the first and apparently last Christmas dinner for Hades.
Tanus rubbed her upper arms, and she tilted her head back. “To be honest, I don’t know if I am ready to meet my family either. Not everything has come back. I don’t think it ever will. What I do remember is bits and pieces—they mostly revolve around Asmodeus.” He turned and looked at the house. “I get a vague sense I have been here before; I remember a dinner. Isabelle, I remember her, she is Mammon’s Seer. And, of course, Hades. I fear I do not remember nearly enough to make any judgment on the man. He is my father yet I feel no attachment to him. You are my family, and Deus, damn stupid name.”
Layla chuckled and rested her head against his chest. “I’m sorry to put this on you, I know this must be hard. When we get back, maybe we can have our own Christmas, just us four?” Her eyes moved to Deus who was kicking at a snow drift like a scorned child. “Five, maybe five.” He nodded slowly, pressing his lips to her hair. His hands moved to her belly, spanning her little waist, a silly grin spreading on his lips.
“Soon to be seven. My sons.” The pride in his voice made her smile, then she frowned.
“What makes you think we’re having boys? We could have girls you know.”
His face drained of color. “No, hell no. I have one girl, one is enough. That’s one I have to follow around when she starts dating boys.” His lips curled, flames dancing in his eyes. “Not to mention prom, we’re not even going there, and clothes. She is going to be covered from head to toe all year round, if I have anything to say about it. So, clearly, we need boys—I need back-up to look after Annabelle. Spies, many spies. Maybe we need some more boys. Perhaps no dating, at least until she is thirty. That’s a good age.”
Layla laughed. “Hey now! Let’s get these two born first before you start building a damn football team, okay? And I would like another girl, you know.”
He grumbled under his breath. “I’ll consider it, but only when boys are chemically castrated until they are twenty-five.” Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around him. He might complain that he didn’t believe he would be a good father, yet he had slipped into the role perfectly.
“Okay you two lovebirds, I will go in first. Make sure everyone is fully dressed you know. We demons can be a scandalous lot!” Deus pronounced. Clearly, he just wanted to get away from the blistering silence between him and Lexi. Turning to Layla he slid his hand into hers squeezing it, maybe more for his strength than hers.
“Okay, together then?” They were done stalling. He nodded and they turned to Lexi and Annabelle. “Let’s go.”
“Deus, you are so talking BS. No way could Tanus put up with a kid, let al… wow,” Lucifer stopped talking as Tanus stopped at the doorway, Annabelle gripping his hand tightly. Beside him stood Layla, and beside her Lexi glared at everyone, saving her harshest stare for Deus. Everyone was silent, the only ones who moved were Isabelle and Sera. They headed straight toward the twins.
“Welcome, we’re your Sister Seers. I’m Isabelle, this is Sera. We’re so pleased to finally meet you.” Isabelle kept her hands gripped in front of her, the women looking each other over. Layla and Lexi reached out, their hands joining. They could feel it, a bond with these two women.
“I’m Layla, and this is Lexi. And that little one hiding behind Tanus is Annabelle, my daughter. I’m sorry, this is very new to us.”
“You can say that again.” Layla squeezed her sister’s hand and Lexi blushed a little. She was so not used to holding her tongue.
Isabelle smiled wide. “Please don’t worry—and feel free to speak your mind. We do, drives our demons nuts.”
“We never said that!” A voice came from behind her and she turned her head to the side. A demon walked up beside her, his black hair in a mess of curls on his head, his green eyes warming.
“This is Ammon, my husband.”
“Mammon, Mammon, woman. Geez.” He rolled his eyes but his tone was one of love. Layla liked him right away, but she could tell Lexi withheld judgment. Yeah, her sister was going to do that with all of them.
“Mine is the silver-haired bottomless pit stuffing shrimp in his mouth. You would think they were about to have a global shortage the way he eats them.” Sera grinned and tugged at a stray flame red curl that had left the bun on top of her head. She winked at Annabelle who gave her a little wave from behind Tanus.
The demon in question lifted his head and looked at her, biting the tail off a shrimp. He sauntered over and twirled her expertly in for a kiss. Which didn’t work because Sera covered his mouth with her hands.
“Not a chance in hell, Ze. No shrimp breath! No, stop it!” He preceded to lean in and pepper bites along her throat in the midst of giggles. He released her with a twirl and stood straight, locking his eyes with Tanus.
“Brother, it’s good to see you.”
“Envy, Ze. Sorry, I get names backward. Things are still a bit fuzzy in places. I remember you, though.” He rubbed the back of his neck and Layla reached for his hand. He must feel so out of place here—she knew how he felt, so at least they were in the same boat.
“Don’t sweat it, Tanus. You’re family. It doesn’t matter what you remember and what you don’t. You belong here.”
“Does that mean the ten grand I owe you is forgotten?” He knew that voice, Abbadon, a smile pulled at his lips.
“No, you fu…” Tanus looked down at Annabelle who just stared up at him like he hung the moon. “Hell no, I remember that, thank you.”
“Holy god! He didn’t curse—that is not my Wrath. Someone tell me where my brother is, so we can leave him there! We will keep the pod person!” Abbadon jumped on Ze’s back, and Ze rolled him off with a grin.
“Shut it. Young ears. We already have one problem child with a loud mouth she is learning from,” Tanus protested.
Lexi glared at him. “I swear to god, Hound, I am going to wax you in the night.”
“Remember, Lexi, if you accidentally get bitten, you will turn hairy once a month.” He said it with such a deadpan voice she huffed and turned her head away.
Annabelle pulled on his pants and he leaned down. “Daddy, will Auntie Lexi really turn into a wolf if you bite her?”
“No, honey. I just tell her that so she behaves in public.” He winked at her and she grinned wide. As he straightened his brothers stared at him, mouths agape. The females were all dreamy eyed, looking at him like he was some kind of dreamboat.
Ze leaned in to Mammon, frowning. “I’m getting this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Please tell me it’s not just me?”
Mammon shook his head quickly. “I think it’s called Nesting or something. Run, run away.” Ze and Mammon made a break for the bar at the other side of the room.
Layla leaned in against him, sliding her arm around his back and giggling at the demons. His brothers clearly loved their women, but were so not ready for kids. Tanus straightened as a tall blond demon walked up to them. This was the one Deus had told them was Lucifer, the leader of the Seven Sins.
“I am pleased to see you are well, Tanus. We were very worried about you. Welcome home. You should see Father before… well, before. Anyway, you look good.” He nodded and turned around, heading back across the room.
Lucifer. Tanus had spent so long wrapped up in his own anger and rage that he had never considered what his brothers were really feeling. Right now, he could see that Lucifer was holding himself so much in control that he refused to allow even the most basic of emotions to show through.
Lexi leaned in. “He’s just a ray of fucking sunshine.”
“Lexi!” Layla scowled at her sister. Tanus rolled his eyes at Lexi’s cussing in front of Annabelle—well, like he could talk.
“That’s Lucifer, Pride. He is… different.” Tanus could no more explain why Lucifer was an emotionless stone then he could explain his own lack of huge pieces of memory. Watching his brother walk away, the image came to him again—Lucifer, graced with white feathers powdered in red. Where were his wings?
“Where’s Belor?” Tanus’ eyes skimmed the room—he appeared to be the only one missing.
Deus snorted from the bar, knocking back another bourbon. “Apparently he said something about closing up his restaurant in Vegas late tonight. He will be along, or something like that. Hey Lil Bit!” He grinned and gave Annabelle a wave and she bolted from behind Tanus. Well, that was one demon his daughter had taken to like a house on fire.
“Uncle De!” He grabbed her, swinging her up into his arms.
“Hey! I was starting to think you were going to turn into an ice princess waiting outside. Your Auntie Lexi is the Ice Queen after all! Come on, let’s get you some hot cocoa, warm you up.” He carried the giggling child toward the kitchen, tickling her the whole time.
“I heard that, you arrogant, philandering asshat.” Lexi walked in the opposite direction away from Deus. Layla sighed and shook her head, Tanus looked over at his brother as he watched Lexi walk from him with forlorn eyes. Stubborn idiot.
“Well, that appears to be going well.” A soft voice reached his ears. Tanus remembered it strongly. Persephone, as close to a mother as any of them had. Turning around, he sucked in a breath. The last time he had seen her she had been so vibrant, youthful, and full of life.
Now she looked drained, tired, and filled with sorrow. Her eyes were sunken, her hair limp and tied back. Although her beauty was still apparent, she was clearly ravaged by anguish so deep she would not last long once Hades passed. He felt a stab in his heart. What if he had been faster that day in Tartarus? Could he have prevented Hades’ fate?
He walked to her and moved to his knees. “Persephone, it was my job to protect him, and I failed in my duty.” He kept his head down the whole time. “I don’t deserve your forgi—” Her small arms came around him and he closed his eyes.
“Hush, Satanus. It is no more your causing than it was Mammon’s. Hades knew the risks going to fight Michael. Sometimes his own pride gets the better of him. When you were taken from us, we felt your loss doubled, for we also knew we would lose your father. This is both a day of celebration and sorrow. You came back to us with a new family. As all things must, Hades will pass into shadow. Knowing you are alive has eased his burden a great deal. He wishes to see you and your Seer, if you will allow it?”
To feel humbled by such a woman—he nodded, leaning in and kissing her cheek. Persephone brushed a tear from her eye and walked to Layla. Taking her hands, she kissed them gently.
“You brought him back to us. For that I can never repay the gift you have given this family, Seer of Nature.”
“How did you know?”
“Oh child, I can see it. The Source spirit may have left you, but she left her mark. Have no fear. She won’t try that little trick again. She once tried with my mother, and she got her butt kicked. You and Tanus fought her off, and came through stronger. Now where is Lexi? I should like to meet her.” Layla pointed to where her sister was drinking beer and staring at the fire. They watched the ethereal woman walk to Lexi.
Tanus tightened his hand in hers and looked down to where their fingers were entwined. The sound of Layla’s voice brought his head up. “You ready?”
“No,” he replied.
“Don’t worry, Wolfman, I will be right beside you.”