Page 21 of Give a Devil his Due
He goes down like timber, the ground quaking from the impact.
“It is done, Helena.” Satanael turns with his puffed-out chest.
Why did I think it was a great idea to call him from Hell again?
Eric huffs a disgusted breath at my father and steps closer before shifting back to his normal self. His very naked, very aroused self, I might add. My eyes lock on his thick erection pointing accusingly at me and not my father. In that moment, they could bring my mother and half of my family line here, but there would still be no way I could tear my gaze away from it.
George nudges me with his shoulder.
“So,”—My gaze snaps to Eric’s grinning face, and I clear my throat—“lots of creepy crawleys around here, huh?”
If they are still staring at me like they were before, I was going to slap myself across the forehead for sounding dumb.
“Only two trolls on the other side of the tunnel.” Beelzebub takes pity on my miserable ass and changes the subject. “I think you stumbled on the gold mine.”
My brain finally logs back online. “Which brings one question to the front of my mind: why?” They are looking at me like I have another head growing, so I frown at them. “As dumb as they are, I’m sure the trolls know they can barely fight in a tight place like this tunnel. Even without any common sense, their survival instincts alone will tell them that much.”
“We are cleaning out the city,” Raphael mumbles, baring his teeth while shaking his hands to clean the bloody particles sticking to his fingers. “It could’ve been the safest hole for them to hide in.” He grunts a “thank you” when George pulls out a t-shirt from his backpack and hands it to him.
“You have a change of clothes in that thing?” The hunter just shrugs nonchalantly while avoiding my inquiring gaze. “I still think something feels off.” Before they start with their macho displays, I rush to explain my perspective. “Yes, it could be the safest place they thought they could hide, but can they do wards?” One look around tells me no. “So maybe they were here because of the protection the jinn already had around it. Which bares the question: what did they find here? And is it still alive?”
“Down south is clear.” Beelzebub rolls his shoulders like tension is weighing them down. “If there is anything left, it’s up north.”
“The trolls could’ve eaten it,” Colt chirps, but he snaps his mouth shut when I scowl at him. “It is possible.” Raising both hands in the air in front of him, he takes a few teetering steps back. “That’s all I’m saying.”
Satanael, who has thankfully kept his trap shut, closes his eyes and takes a lungful of air in through his nose. I expect him to tell us we are all idiots and beneath him before stepping away and back to Hell. Instead, his peepers snap open and lock on me. “There is something else in this tunnel.” My breath hitches at the intensity of his stare. “It is not from Hell.”
“My mother?” I have no idea why I think it’ll be so easy to find her if she is indeed alive. Maybe because we found him in Atlanta so it makes me think she might be here too.
Satanael shakes his head, and a sorrowful look haunts his eyes. “It is too weak to be your mother’s energy. An object perhaps? A lesser angel?” He glances at Raphael, who is resembling a statue while staring at my father.
“We shall find it.” The Archangel nods sharply, throwing the blood-drenched t-shirt at his feet. “Whatever it is.”
“Are you hurt, Hel?” Eric mumbles close to my ear, and I shiver from his nearness. He is naked, for fuck’s sake, and my father is standing a couple of feet in front of us.
“Put pants on,” I hiss at him, and the jerk chuckles. I wedge my elbow in his gut. The grunt that rips from him is music to my ears.
“Turn around so my mate can change her shirt,” Eric barks at the rest of them, and they all snap around in some orchestrated, creepy dance. His backpack dangles between two fingers as he hands it to me.
With clenched teeth, I rummage through it and replace my blood-covered top. He finally covers his nakedness when I shove a pair of pants at his chest, too. Urgency churns inside me, but I’m too scared to hope. So, I say nothing until we are ready to move forward. Raphael once again repeats the same thing he said earlier as if reassuring himself.
“We will find it, whatever it is.”
Or whoever it is,I thought to myself as I followed behind the rest of them with Eric by my side.
Raphael
It is foolish to hope.
Not for the first time, I tell myself the same thing, yet I cannot help it. It prickles inside me, spreading faster than I can stop it. The blood sticks to my skin as a reminder that no matter how hard I try to do things right, someone has to pay dearly for it. Helena’s words from not long ago haunt me even in my waking hours, her eyes glinting as she tilts her head up to lock them on me as if she could see to the core of my essence.“You may be made of light, angel, but good you are not. Heaven’s hands are washed in too much blood to be able to claim it just for themselves.”Her voice rings in my head like an accusation.
Darkness stretches in front of our progression, an open maw of a hungry beast that hides whatever heavenly light Satanael sensed not long ago. And here I am, a starving male pulled by its lure, my skin itching with the need to go near it so I can feel whatever little part of my home I can. Pathetic and utterly undeserved after the insanity overtaking my senses when I plunged myself in Purgatory to find Helena.
I didn’t tell her what that means for me.
What it does to an Archangel.
Purgatory is the in-between of Heaven and Hell, the only place forbidden for both angels and demons alike. What Lucifer’s son and I did against all odds cost both of us a lot. He doesn’t show any indication that it has changed him, nor that he feels any different.
