Kassern (Archangels Creed) (17 page)

The human to his left stank with Karly's blood, so he took him first.

When Kassern spun him, the man pulled a gun from his waistband and fired. Kassern's shields dissolved the bullets before they could strike him. With one flick of a finger, he sent a probe into the man's head, and learned his identity and a long list of depravities in a millisecond.

So this was
Jake.

The first blow of
Kassern's
fist sent blood flying through the air. The second crushed bone. One of the other men chose that moment to attack him from behind, coming with a knife and trying to reach around his neck. Kassern kicked backward, the spur on his heel ripping into the man's thigh. Chaos e
rupted
, with Kassern at the center and blood running freely.

He took his time making them pay, making them bleed and scream while he covered their bodies with his seal, the holy cross. Every one of the judgments went tendon deep and came with the citing of every sin they were guilty.

Five minutes of mutilation left him heaving in the center of the bloody room, the four men moaning in debilitating pain. If they were lucky, they
'
d pass out before they bled to death. If they lived, they would wear his mark for all to see, forever.
Kassern
glanced at Karly, who stared at him
through narrow slits permitted by the grotesque swelling of her face
.
H
er limbs trembling uncontrollably
as h
e hurried to the bed and severed her bindings with a fingernail. He breathed a ruby mist over her body
that
formed a silk-like blanket cover
ing
her nudity and sooth
ing
her wounds
. He carefully
scooped her up.

Kassern
carried her out of the carnage and to the car.
He
tried not to feel the damage they
'
d done but having her so close to him brought it into his pores. His rage returned as he hurried, along with a bone-deep fatigue. He needed to get them all someplace safe so he could rest.

But first, he
'
d have to do something to ease Karly's pains. Especially the emotional and spiritual. She wouldn
'
t heal with her heart and will
this
broken.

Chapter Fifteen

Troy stayed silent, paying careful attention to the road. Anything to keep from focusing on the sounds and smells
behind him. Thinking about what Jake had done to Karly took him directly into a waking nightmare, and had already made him lose his cookies.

"
We need to stop,
"
Kassern muttered from the back seat where he still cradled Karly in his lap.

Troy eyed him in the mirror.
Stop?
"
You think it
'
s safe?
"

"
No.
"
Kassern met his gaze.
"
But s
he
must
be tended and cleansed of what they
'
ve done.
"

"
I
'
ll stop at the next exit.
"
They
'
d been driving for nearly two hours. Kassern
said he
wanted them as far from the city as possible.

"
We
'
ll rest for six hours and move.
"
Kassern
'
s tone lowered.

A glance in the rearview revealed Kassern studying Karly
'
s sleeping face.

"
Where are we going after?
"
Troy asked. Wherever it was, he should stop at an ATM. He didn't have a great deal in the bank, but they'd probably need every penny to finance their little vacation.

"
Uriel
hasn
'
t told me yet.
"

"
Who
'
s that?
"

"
My commander.
"

"
Well, when will you know?
"

Kassern
again
met his gaze in the mirror.
"
When my humans are strong enough.
"

Strong enough?
"
For what?
"

"
To enter the holy sanctuary.
"

"
The holy…what holy sanctuary?
"

Kassern leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes.
"
The only place on earth that you
'
ll be safe while my brothers finish the circle.
"

The circle. Had he mentioned that before?
"
And that would be…what circle?
"

Troy hated hitting him with twenty questions when it seemed the angel was exhausted. But he had to know.

"
The one we
'
ll need to defeat the army
of--”

Karly
’s sudden screams
cut off the angel’s tired words. It had to be the fifth time she’d done that, like her mind was set to detonate with the reoccurring nightmare. Troy
watched
once
more,
fascinated
as
Kassern
pull
ed
her face close to his and whispered foreign words softly to her. And like a drug, it seemed to knock her out.

Troy squeezed Devyn
'
s shoulder when she covered her face with her hands and cried. Again. When Kassern had got in the car with Karly, Devyn nearly lost it when she realized what they
'
d done to her.

Following the signs from the highway, Troy found a decent looking hotel off the main drag of the city the exit led them to. It only took a few moments to get them registered for the adjoining rooms Kassern insisted on while everyone else waited in the car.

Letting them into the first room, Troy opened the connecting door so Kassern could take Karly through and lay her down.

Devyn started toward the shower,
then
paused.
"
What about Karly? I
might need
help to get her cleaned up.
"

"
Don't worry about it. I've got her.
"
Kassern turned to the connecting door, Karly still cradled against his chest.

"
And how is that appropriate?
"
P
rotective belligerence
weighed
in Devyn's voice
and
the angel glance
d
over his shoulder.

Shaking his head, Kassern headed into the other room.
"
Because I
'
m an angel.
Stop worrying
.
"

Devyn didn
'
t say anything else, apparently satisfied with his answer. Or just unable to argue.

Troy ran his hand over her arm.
"Why don't you get that shower? I saw a pizza sign in the gas station next door. By the time you're finished, I should have something for you to eat."

Devyn agreed and went into the bathroom. A couple minutes later, he heard the water come on. Troy tapped at the partially closed connecting door. When Kassern only grunted in reply, he pushed the door open and stepped through.

Karly lay on the double bed, mostly covered, while Kassern bent over her, cleaning wounds with a tenderness that seemed at odds with his somewhat abrasive personality. He spoke without glancing up. "I need you and Devyn to join again."

"Uh, excuse me?" Surely he hadn't heard correctly.

Kassern looked up finally. Troy's heart skipped a beat at how gaunt the angel's face had become. Dark smudges lay under sunken eyes. When Kassern straightened to stand, the fluid grace that normally marked his movement had been replaced by jerky fatigue.

"Are you okay?" Troy instinctively reached to steady Kassern.

"Not really. Karly needs more healing right away, but being in this realm is exhausting. Since I don't have time to rest first, I need you and Devyn to do your thing again and give me a little energy boost." He scrubbed one hand across his bare chest.

The absentminded motion brought Troy's attention to the cross glowing there. He was sure the glow wasn't as bright as before. "Uh, okay. Now?"

Kassern
gave a small
grin. "Don't sound so eager, Troy." Karly moaned softly and the grin disappeared. "You have time for that pizza first. As long as you make it quick. If you don't mind, make the pizza a double. Karly will need to eat as soon as she can."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes." Lost in thought, Troy crossed the parking lot to the gas station and bought the pizza. By the time he returned to their room, he still hadn't figured out how to tell Devyn they'd been ordered to perform again.

As he set the pizza on the table, the bathroom door opened. Clouds of steam wafted out, backlit from the bathroom, with only a dim lamp on in the main room. The air left Troy's lungs in a rush as
Devyn
stood there, silent and unmoving.

The combination of the lighting and steam accentuated every perfect curve, making his hands beg to trace the lines of her body. She stepped further into the room and turned on another lamp. The cotton boxer shorts and tank top she wore clung to her damp skin, the fabric so worn it was all but transparent. Sudden heat filled his groin and made his jeans excruciatingly uncomfortable. He managed to keep them on only by sheer will power.

"You brought pizza?" Devyn came all the way into the middle of the room, and broke the spell that had mesmerized Troy.

"I did. I think I'll have a slice with you,
then
get a shower myself."

By the time he seated himself and slid a piece of the greasy pizza onto a napkin, Devyn was already halfway through her first slice. All the while, she made those little near-orgasmic sounds of appreciation that had haunted him since the leftover Thanksgiving meal in his kitchen.

Suddenly aware of his gaze on her, she glanced up and smiled, and his cock twitched in response, making him shift to ease the pressure his jeans applied. "Sorry, I haven't had good pizza in a while." She took another bite,
then
spoke around it. "And it's been years since I've had it so loaded with toppings. Pepperoni is a luxury for me, and other meats and veggies are like… maybe one of those gourmet dishes? The ones that are only about two bites and all artistic on the plate, and cost more than my rent for six months?" The rest of the slice disappeared and she reached for another.

Troy's heart wrenched at the deprivation she'd survived, that things he regarded as substandard were extravagant indulgences to her. Out of habit, he thanked God for his good fortune, and for the first time, had a new appreciation for the blessings he often took for granted.

"Enjoy it. There's plenty, and we can get more. They make it twenty
-
four/seven. We'll make sure to get another as we leave, too." He finished his own slice. "I'm going to get that shower now. Enjoy your pizza." He grinned as she nodded and smiled around another mouthful.

Safely in the bathroom, he couldn't get his jeans opened fast enough. Relieved of the pressure, his hard-on surged to full erection, the head rising over the waistband of his briefs. He staggered as the reaction made him lightheaded. He would never have guessed sexual desire could cause such changes in his body. He'd had hard-ons before, especially when he was younger, but he had trained his body to resist sexual stimulation. Such drastic changes were more than a little disturbing.

He stepped into the shower, goose bumps crawling over his skin in response to the icy cold water. His damn dick stayed hard and throbbed with every beat of his heart, despite the frigid needles of water bouncing off his skin. He washed as fast as he could, refusing to touch the thing, knowing full well if he did, he wouldn't stop until he came.

How was he going to tell Devyn they'd been ordered to perform again? What if she didn't want to make love again so soon? He had no idea how often women could have sex and fully enjoy it. And even though he
'
d made love to Devyn once, he was like a nervous virgin all over again.

Troy shook his head as he dried himself off, not understanding why he trembled. Seems making love to her once would
'
ve removed the whole
I
'
m a virgin
syndrome from his body. When they made love and he
'
d…done all those things, he hadn
'
t had a worry. Never been more confident. Was she feeling the same?