Binding Fire: Paranormal Romance (Bad Boys of the Underworld Book 3) (20 page)

Teryn looked from Kier to the fighting behind him. Kier knew what was happening even though he didn’t look for himself. He could hear Muriel’s satisfied grunts every time she landed a blow. The sounds of metal against metal faded as fewer and fewer demons were left to fight.

Indecision flickered across his face. “You think your angel is really going to kill him?”

Kier did risk a glance behind him then. Muriel was splattered with demon blood as she gracefully dodged a blow and swung her sword with deadly efficiency. “I really think she is.”

For the first time since he heard the prophecy, he truly did believe that she could do it.

Teryn nodded his head. It was more of an acknowledgment than an agreement. In an instant, he was gone, leaving Kier staring at nothing but empty space.

~~~~~

The demon in front of Muriel fell to the ground. Her breath came in quick pants as she took stock of her comrades.

Her heart pounded on her chest as adrenaline rushed through her. Piles of dead demons littered the floor, their blood staining the old tile.

Samuel and Ava worked together to finish off a demon. The werewolves were crowded around one of their own. Muriel’s heart sank at the sight.

She slowly approached to see that it was Martin. He had been one of the older werewolves, always quick to smile. He never started any trouble with Samuel’s mortal friends and he got along with everyone.

He had been a strong fighter, but not strong enough. His throat was mostly torn out and a silver dagger stuck out obscenely from his chest. His brethren stood solemnly over him, hands folded and heads down.

Muriel’s upper lip quivered. She closed her eyes and focused her breathing. She would not cry. She refused to give Azazel the satisfaction.

She turned away from the tragic scene as she counted those still standing. One of the vampires was wounded to her left. His head was down as he fed from Antonio, the oldest vampire on the base with the exception of Jared.

She couldn’t see Jared anywhere. Had the fighting moved into another room?

Esmeralda knelt over one of Samuel’s friends, calling her magic to help him. She couldn’t do much in the way of healing because she practiced dark magic, but she could ease the pain and speed the process a bit.

Finally her gaze landed on Kier. He stood still in the back corner of the room, partially concealed by the shadows but not hiding. At the sight of him, a tear made it past her guards.

He had fought alongside her. She hadn’t asked him to stay, and he must have known how dangerous it would be. He was lucky none of Samuel’s men had taken him out.

Muriel took two steps toward him when Samuel took notice. Sword in hand, he turned to face Kier.

The last thing Muriel needed was the two of them getting into a pissing contest. “Back off, Samuel.”

Samuel focused his furious gaze on her. “He’s with you? You know he led the demons here!”

The werewolves took notice. Their eyes narrowed on Kier as they stood in unison, muscles tight and ready to pounce.

Kier said nothing to defend himself. He simply clenched his fists and squared his shoulders as though getting ready for a fight.

Muriel moved to stand between him and the slowly forming mob. “Maybe you were too busy to notice, but Kier was fighting on our side.”

“He doesn’t do anything without the promise of personal gain.” Esmeralda’s silky smooth voice dripped with disdain.

“Nice to see you, too, Esme,” said Kier with a sarcastic grin. “Did I ever send you a thank-you card for those handcuffs?”

Muriel shot Kier a death stare over her shoulder. “I’m trying to save your life here and you think now is a good time to bait the sorceress who hates you?”

“I’m not afraid of them.” As though there were not thirty highly trained killers who all had a bone to pick with demons staring angrily at him.

“You should be.” Samuel’s hands gripped his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

“Well, last I checked, it’s Muriel who is supposed to take out Azazel. I would think that as long as she’s under your protection, whatever Muriel wants, Muriel gets.”

“So this is the guy you’ve been banging!” Everyone jerked at Jared’s sudden entrance.

Muriel would’ve been embarrassed by the sudden announcement, but the sight of Jared’s injuries distracted her. “What happened to you?”

Jared shrugged an obviously dislocated shoulder and winced at the movement. A large gash from his forehead to his chin had covered his neck and shirt with his own blood. One eye appeared to be missing. Muriel could only guess what other injuries were hidden under his baggy training pants and t-shirt.

“Nothing major. Just got my ass handed to me by a five-foot-tall demoness bitch. By the way, I motion that we put a death notice out to all five-foot-tall demoness bitches.” Jared took in the wounded and dying around him. “How many did we lose?”

“Three,” said Samuel. “Martin, Derek, and Kyle.”

Muriel winced. The werewolf, a vampire, and a human. Kyle had only been thirty years old.

Samuel’s anger mixed with the grief of the others. The smell of blood and sweat still remaining from battle hung heavy in the air. Samuel broke the silence. “This shouldn’t have happened.” He pointed an accusing finger at Kier. “Demons shouldn’t be sneaking in here for a quick roll in the hay without anyone being alerted to the danger.”

Was this her fault?
Kier had all but admitted that he was working with Azazel.

She had never known a demon to suddenly grow a conscience. Never. She had been so willing to believe him. It made sense. She was changing because of him; it stood to reason that he was changing because of her. Was she truly the biggest fool in the galaxy?

“That demon just saved your life,” she pointed out softly.

That was all it took to push Samuel over the edge. He threw his sword down in anger. The clanking of the metal on wet tile was almost deafening in the silent room. “You’re going to stand there and defend him? He led those demons here and now three of my men—our friends—are lying dead at your feet! Can’t you see that he’s using you?”

Muriel held her head higher as Samuel approached her. He might be bigger than her, but she was stronger. She wouldn’t let him intimidate her. “You aren’t using me? What do you think my chances of survival are if I go into Hell to take on Azazel?

“The prophecy says I kill him. Then what? I’ll tell you. Every demon in Hell will make a move for his ring. Anyone who gets it will have all the power of Hell, and the first order of business is to make sure that the angel who took out the old king never makes it out alive. And who am I doing this for? If you don’t remember, I was fired from my old job. Dishonorably discharged, even though I had no other choice than to take out that human! So don’t tell me that I’m being used. I know damn well that I’m being used. If I’m going to die, can’t I at least spend my last few days with someone who makes me happy?”

Samuel opened his mouth to speak, but Muriel wasn’t done. “I was happy an hour ago when we were having sex up against the door to my room and I was happy fifteen minutes ago when I looked over and saw that demon save your life. So why don’t you tell me again how he’s the reason that three of our friends died? Because last I checked, they were protecting me.”

At least Samuel had the grace to look ashamed.

Kier gave her a short nod of appreciation. Satisfied that she’d gotten her point across, she continued, “I’m going to wash the blood off myself and we can continue this conversation later.” She walked away.

Well, it was good to know that Muriel didn’t blame him for her friends’ deaths, but he could tell by the accusatory looks of the soldiers surrounding him that not everyone felt the same way she did.

He could transport away, but he decided to hold his ground. If he planned to be with Muriel for an extended period, he might as well make a token effort to get along with them, even if that meant avoiding a few assassination attempts.

His old buddy Esmeralda broke the silence. “How did you make it past the wards?”

He almost forgot about those. The anti-demon wards that apparently had no effect on him. “Um, I may or may not be a full demon,” he said. Saying it out loud was a blow.

How could he not be a demon?
He still felt the same, with the exception of his conscience, feelings for Muriel, and distaste for the Hell realm.

Nope, definitely not a demon anymore. Which begged the question, what was he?

The confession that rocked him to his core was met with disbelieving stares. Esmeralda looked even more perplexed than the others. “How does a demon suddenly become something else?”

“How does a fallen angel suddenly have the ability to shoot hellfire?” he countered.
How could so many supernatural creatures be living together and still be so skeptical?

“You think that you’re both changing each other somehow?” asked the badly injured vampire in the back of the room.

Kier was getting sick of the interrogation. “I don’t know why any of this is happening. I know that I want to be with Muriel, even if it means putting up with the B Team.”

Esmeralda sneered. “Well, I guess the brokenhearted part of the prophecy makes sense now.”

“You know what? Your girlfriend was a bitch. She would sleep with anyone for power. You should be thanking me for pointing this out before you wasted any more of your life with her. Secondly, you are such a bunch of hypocrites. You claim to be friends with Muriel but none of you have even told her the entire prophecy that turned her life upside down.”

“Have you?” asked Samuel.

The barb hit home. “I’m not going to hurt her!” The force of his shout caused Ava to jump back. Even Esmeralda looked shocked.

Samuel didn’t flinch. “Why doesn’t everyone take a breather? Clean yourselves up and take care of our fallen. Tomorrow we’ll have to relocate.”

There were a few mumbles of agreement and one or two angry glares aimed at Kier as the mob turned away from him. Kier took a step forward, but Samuel stopped him.

“Not so fast. If you’re going to be sticking around, I think you and I should get to know each other better.”

Kier scowled at the thought. There was no chance this would go well.

~~~~~

Muriel was toweling off her hair when she heard the door open.

Kier softly walked into the room, probably trying to judge her mood.
Well, that one was easy.
She was still pissed, but not at him. “Sorry for storming out like that. I couldn’t take another second of their bullshit. Were you okay?”

He looked tense but otherwise uninjured. “I’m not dead yet, though I don’t think we’ll be going on any double dates with Samuel and Ava anytime soon. How about you?”

“Well, three of my friends died protecting me today and I was blamed for it, so I’m not doing amazing right now.” No matter how much she dabbed her hair with the towel, it didn’t seem to be getting any drier. She threw down the towel in frustration.

Kier stood out of her way as she stalked past him to pull on an oversized t-shirt and panties. “Not to defend them or anything, but I think they were blaming me more than you.”

“I didn’t have to deal with any of this shit as an angel. You just did what you were told, no questions asked.”

She regretted the words almost as soon as she said them. She hated reminding Kier about what she had been. About what he took from her.

“Do you miss it?” he asked.

That was the million-dollar question. “It was a very big part of my life. Over ninety-nine percent if you want to get mathematical.”

“I don’t want to trivialize what I did, but I just can’t imagine how being a robot soldier with no emotions can possibly be better than what you are now.”

“It wasn’t my choice,” she said softly. “I should have had a choice. I should have never been cast out of Heaven in the first place. Then to have a demon’s actions keep me from ever being able to enter again was too much. Not to sound cliché, but it wasn’t fair.”

Kier looked at the ground. She didn’t want to hurt him, but if he was going to stick around, this conversation was inevitable. “And you still want to be with me?”

Muriel sat on the bed and cradled her head in her hands as she tried to think of the right words to say.

One month ago, she had been furious with Kier. Determined to destroy him, no matter the cost to herself. She was ready to throw away her job, let him destroy her house and very possibly hurt someone she knew just to hurt her. She was willing to give all this for vengeance.

How had it all changed so quickly?

“You were supposed to be evil,” she said weakly. She thought back to that first morning in her kitchen. He had complimented her cooking. What demon did that? “I keep trying to convince myself that I can do this. That I can kill Azazel and make it out alive. I have this crazy idea that, if I manage to pull it off, you’re my reward.”

Kier sat next to her on the small bed. One of his large hands intertwined with hers. It was shocking how such a small touch could be so comforting. She laughed. “This is what I’m talking about. Evil demons don’t hold hands with someone to comfort them.”

“I hate to tell you this, but I’m not a great catch. I’m unemployed and currently in the middle of an existential crisis. I have no friends, and more people want me dead than don’t. But I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.” His eyes were bottomless black pools as they stared into hers. “I still stand by what I said in the desert. We can go away tonight. Run so far no one will ever find us. This prophecy is self-fulfilling. If you’d never heard it, it would never happen. You’re being ordered to put yourself at risk for the same people who abandoned you. You don’t need to do anything you don’t want to do. That is the beauty of free will.”

“This is my will. This is my choice. If I can help people, I will. It’s what I was born to do and it’s what makes me happy.”

Kier stood from the bed and removed his hand from hers. He ran his hands through his hair in agitation.

Muriel waited for the arguing. For him to order her to stay.

Instead, he turned away from her. He walked into the bathroom and started running the water.

“You’re showering?”

“I would rather take you to bed, but I’m a bit dirty at the moment. As much as I know you would love to fuck in the blood of your enemies, I’m a bit too civilized for your tastes.” He threw her a small smile over his shoulder.

Muriel smiled back, but she was far from amused. She knew he wanted to say more.

For reasons she couldn’t wrap her head around, it bothered her when he said “fuck.” It felt as if they were doing so much more than just fucking.

Maybe not making love, but something much more spiritual than just “having sex.” Whatever they were doing, it definitely wasn’t fucking.

She had lived her entire existence for the most part alone.
How could she become so dependent on him so quickly?

Muriel climbed under the covers and closed her eyes as the steam from the bathroom filled the room.

She tried to focus her mind enough to relax and drift into sleep, but all she could think of was Kier naked in the next room. She rolled onto her side and faced the wall. She tried to close her eyes and count sheep, but nothing worked.

The water shut off and she forced herself to remain staring at the wall. He laughed to himself. “Are you not looking at me now?”

She covered her face with her pillow in embarrassment. “I think I should be able to go a whole five minutes without looking.”

“What’s the fun in that?” At the sound of a glass being removed from her small kitchenette, she turned to see what he was up to but was met with the sight of an empty room. He had moved beyond her line of vision into the bathroom.

“What are you up to?”

“I would tell you, but you aren’t going to like it.”

Muriel rolled her eyes at his vague response. “Are you seriously going to keep it a secret?”

Kier emerged from the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. A stray drop of water dripped down his well-defined abs, and for a moment Muriel forgot what she was asking about.

Then she saw the red liquid in the glass he held. Before she could protest, he held up a halting hand. “I know. I know. Just hear me out. Things got heavy today. You need to keep up your strength.”

Muriel sat up on the bed and pushed the covers away. “Why would you want me to drink that stuff again? The first time royally screwed me over and the last time I drank it I practically raped you!”

Kier grinned at that last part. “Well, that seems too strong. You were just a bit more frisky than usual.”

Muriel raised an eyebrow. “Frisky?”

“You heard me. It healed you when you needed it and you’ve been stronger ever since. I dare you to deny it.” Her silence said everything. “I know that I never should have forced you to drink my blood when we first met, but we both were different back then. Not to sound like a drug pusher, but since you are already ruined and have drunk my blood voluntarily since then, what’s the harm in drinking it a few more times? Just to keep your strength up.”

Muriel wished she had a quick comeback to shut him down. She wished she could feel outrage and throw the blood right back in his face, but she couldn’t see any flaws in his logic. “I feel like I’m in some after-school special,” she muttered. “I can’t drink it.”

“You’ve lived your entire life being told that an angel can’t drink demon blood, but I’m not really a demon anymore and you are not really an angel. The prophecy screwed you over enough by singling you out for this job. The least you can do is even out the playing field.”

“Even if I drink it now, who’s to say when I will actually get a chance to kill Azazel? It could be years from now. I don’t want to become dependent on your blood or you.”

She’d been told the reasons to stay away from demonic blood her whole existence, but her distaste for it went further than the stories told to scare angels. She had heard about the fallen angels with a blood addiction. The once mighty could focus only on that magic elixir that temporarily gave them the strength and power that they had taken for granted.

They would forget to eat or bathe. All their time and energy would be focused on finding another demon, willing or not, to provide them a fix. Free will was a hell of a thing to deal with if an angel had lived centuries only doing what they were told.

The sudden freedom to choose often led to bad decisions. Looking back, Muriel now realized that her drive for vengeance had been the one thing that kept her from excess. As mind-blowing and body-numbing as the sex with Kier was, she had learned self-control in her time living as a mortal. It was the only thing that kept her sane whenever he was so close to her, and she needed all the sanity she could get at this point.

“You drank it on your own before,” he said.

“That was different. I was freaked out about the prophecy, not to mention in excruciating pain. I thought I would never see you again. My one chance to see what would happen. Now that you’re here, I can tap a vein whenever I need to. I don’t want to make this a habit.”

“Just do me a favor and drink it this once. If it seems like you start to crave it or act irrationally, we can rethink our plan. I mean it when I say I want you as strong as possible. I’m here to protect you, and if sharing my blood will do that, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Muriel bit her lip as she contemplated his words. He had a point. She did need her strength.

She had held her own against the demons earlier, but none of the ones she fought had been particularly high level. They had been stronger than her. It was only her training and years of experience on a battlefield that allowed her to take down so many of the low-level demons.

Azazel was no low-level demon.

Muriel took the glass from Kier. “You sure you aren’t just getting me to drink this so you’ll get laid?”

One of Kier’s big hands rested on her bare knee and slowly inched higher. “Do I need to get you drunk?”

“Cocky much?” Before he responded, Muriel drank the entire glass in two large gulps.

Immediately she felt the warmth spread from her throat to the tips of her fingers and toes.

“Does it feel the same?” asked Kier softly.

Muriel closed her eyes as she focused on the warmth that shot through her. She didn’t want to enjoy the seduction of his blood, but the euphoria that came with it was undeniable.

She remembered that he asked a question. “It’s different from the first time.” She leaned back until her back touched the sheets. Her skin felt too sensitive, the fabric of her shirt much too irritating. “It’s not as dark. More giggly.” Her words were emphasized with a snort of laughter.