Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) (9 page)

The desire to comfort her took Gideon by surprise. What was wrong with him? She was supposed to be frightened. He needed her to be afraid. This was why he had summoned her.

“Be still,” he commanded, and stepped up to catch her body as she slipped into unconsciousness.

“What are we going to do?” Gabriel’s customary composure had deserted him entirely. He was actually wringing his hands.

Gideon shifted Naomi higher against his chest. Her weight was insignificant to him but her softness and her scent were playing havoc with his senses. “I know many things I would like to do.”

Golden light flashed in warning. “You must convince her she had a vivid dream or that it was a trick of the moonlight,” Gabriel said. “Or erase the memory altogether. I know that is within your power.”

“Do you have any idea what I could do if I entered her mind?”

Gabriel began to pace like a caged animal and Gideon laughed. He had hoped for a more worthy opponent.

“Convince her it was a dream or—”

“You underestimate Naomi,” Gideon said. “She’ll never believe it was a dream. Any denial I might offer will only make her more determined to learn the truth.”

“I
cannot
lie, Gideon.” He came closer, frustration and fear radiating off him. “If she asks me to explain what she witnessed, I will have to tell her.”

“You cannot lie and, in this at least, I will not. I guess she is destined to learn the truth.”

“Give her to me. I will return her to the infirmary.” Gabriel held out his arms expectantly.

Gideon turned away. “I will return her to the infirmary when I am good and ready.”

“You are good and ready now!”

Gideon laughed again. He had accomplished more than enough for one night. Clasping Naomi’s warm body against his chest, Gideon walked beside his brother toward the infirmary. They said nothing. He could sense Gabriel’s anger and fear. He wasn’t afraid for himself, he was afraid for Naomi. Gideon didn’t care so long as Gabriel suffered.

After arranging her comfortably on a narrow cot, Gideon induced a sleep from which she would awaken naturally.

When they stepped out into the bailey, Gabriel grabbed his arm. “Did you take the memory from her?”

“I told you I would not.”

Glancing around quickly, Gabriel asked, “Why do you want her to know what we are?” He paused. “Did you
summon
her?”

Gideon grinned, giving his brother a glimpse of pointed fangs.

“You did! Why? How does her knowing advance your twisted scheme?”

“You will just have to wait—and watch.”

Gabriel stepped closer, the golden shards in his eyes glowing again. Did he even realize his control had slipped?

“This cannot go on forever. I begged Michael—”

“Do not speak that name to me!” he snarled then continued in a softer, if no less threatening tone. “And you answered your own question. I am interested in Naomi because I have not forgotten the part you played in the existence I now endure.”

“You’re enduring an existence of your own making. You’re an angel and yet you—”

“I am
not
an angel. Michael saw to that.”

“Nay,
you
saw to that. Michael did not create your thirst for blood. He just allowed it to become literal.” Gabriel took a deep breath and the intensity of his gaze began to lessen. “I ensured that your punishment would not be permanent. You can still find redemption if you try. But you must want redemption. You must learn from this, Gideon, or all is lost.”

He scoffed. “What makes you think all is not lost already? Would you have me believe that He will have me back after all I have seen—all I have done?”

“Not while this battle rages within you. You have been running in circles for a century. It’s time to take a stand. You must embrace the darkness or return to the light.”

“Perhaps I’m so comfortable in the darkness I’ve forgotten the light.”

Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t even know you when you speak like this. I can’t stop you if you’re bent on destroying yourself. But why take an innocent with you? Why must Naomi pay the price for your rebellion?”

“She isn’t paying the price for my rebellion, brother. She’s paying the price for your love.”

Gideon made his way silently though the darkness, his mind troubled and his heart torn. He should feel exalted that he had come so far so quickly. So why did he find no joy in his victory?

Naomi’s face appeared in vivid clarity. He pictured her as she had been moments before, angry and defiant, despite her fear. Then he saw her as Crispin had left her, vulnerable and terrified.

A potent combination of lust and rage shot through him again. It was staggering that just the memory of the incident could produce so powerful a reaction. He had wanted to kill Crispin for playing his part so well.

Be careful, my friend,
Crispin had said.
This girl may teach you a lesson you’re not prepared to learn.

Gideon hadn’t responded then, but the warning came back to him now. Why had he reacted so violently when he knew Naomi had been in no real danger? Why would her image not leave his mind? Why did her hesitant smile and easy laughter tear at a heart he most often ignored?

She was more dangerous than he ever imagined.

Closing his eyes, Gideon surrendered to the night, allowing his form to melt away into the darkness. He needed to feed. All of the emotional upheaval had left him depleted and weak.

He had fought his need for blood in the beginning, not fully understanding what he had become. Then hunger came upon him with violent spasms of pain and his body rejected everything except human blood. He had long since come to terms with the conditions of his survival. He was a predator who relished the hunt and he never forgot the reason for his transformation. An existence of his own making, Gabriel had called it.

A guard was dozing on a secluded section of the parapets. Gideon materialized in front of him and kicked the man’s sword out of reach. “Your captain would be displeased to find you so,” he said in a rough whisper.

Snatched from his sleep by the scraping of metal across stone, the guard jerked to attention and looked up at Gideon with both anger and confusion in his blurry eyes.

“Who are you?” the guard asked.

“Rise,” Gideon directed, allowing the radiance of his golden gaze to enthrall the guard. The man wore no chain mail or metal helm. Obviously he didn’t take his assignment seriously. Gideon grasped his hair and jerked his head to one side, exposing his throat.

Deepening his mental control, Gideon ensured the guard’s silence as he sank his fangs into the human’s neck. Rich, warm blood filled his mouth and soothed his ravaged composure. He drank deeply but halted before any real harm was done to the mortal. He never killed to feed, though he often fed from the victims of his sword. Finding fresh blood on a battlefield was never difficult. Protecting his ultra-sensitive skin from the sunlight had always been more of a challenge.

A creature of light, forced to hide from the sun—it was despicable.

He sealed the wound with the careful sweep of his tongue and dematerialized before releasing his hold on the guard’s mind. The human would remember nothing and would attribute his weakness to lack of sleep or something he had eaten.

Gideon chuckled as he passed through the darkness, becoming part of the night. As Gabriel had said, it would have been simple for him to rid Naomi’s mind of what she had seen. With each passing year, his ability to control humans grew. He could erase or manipulate memories with little effort.

He didn’t consciously choose his destination but suddenly he floated above Naomi’s narrow cot. She lay on her side, curled like a child. He sank toward her and gently penetrated her mind. Instead of taking the memory as Gabriel suggested, Gideon infused her dreams with sensual images and burning desire. She moaned, rolling onto her back.

Gideon burned with the need to materialize and touch her. He shifted restlessly, pulling back from her mind before the desire to take her overwhelmed him completely.

He was playing with fire.

Passing through the thatched roof, Gideon soared straight up and joined with the sky.

Soon!

The word was whispered on the wind before it dissipated into the darkness.

* * * * *

Gideon’s mouth descended along her throat, across her shoulder, onto her breast. Why was she naked? She never slept without a modest garment. His eager lips closed around her nipple, drawing firmly on the sensitive peak. She moaned, arching her back, pushing herself more deeply into his mouth. He caught her nipple between his teeth and flicked it with his tongue. Tingling heat swirled through her chest, spiraling deep into her body, igniting her woman’s core.

This was wrong. He should not be taking such liberties and she should not be enjoying his carnality!

Her body melted, liquid heat easing the way for his penetration. She spread her legs, accepting his presence between them shamelessly. She wanted him, needed him, burned for him.

Caressing her legs, her hips, his hands never stopped moving, all the while his mouth adored her breasts, suckling firmly.

He took her hand and guided it downward, closing her fingers around his thick shaft. She trembled. He would thrust this inside her. This would fill her and complete her. She tried to guide him closer, to move him to her entrance, but the image wavered, fading…

Naomi sprang up in bed, barely managing to stifle a moan. She pressed her hand to her chest and felt the frantic pounding of her heart. Where was she? Distorted images and fragments of memory combined, melding until she wasn’t sure what was real and what she had only imagined.

Shifting on the narrow cot, she took several deep breaths and looked around. The first rays of dawn colored the room in pinks and gold. She was back in the infirmary yet had no idea how she had gotten here.

Her mind was muddled. Sensual images shifted and rolled, confusing and disturbing her. Gideon’s face loomed, his eyes bright with desire. His body tangled with hers, pressing and sliding, his hands stroking, moving—always moving… That much couldn’t be real. Regardless of how tempting she found him, Gideon had never shared her bed.

The last thing she clearly remembered was sensing that something was wrong. She had slipped from the infirmary to investigate.

Thinking back on it now, even that seemed odd. Why had she gone wandering around in the dark? Why did she leave the safety of the infirmary? And how had she known just where to go?

Naomi threw back the covers and began to dress. She wanted to believe the rest had been some bizarre dream, but unlike the other images, she knew what followed had been real. She’d heard their angry voices. Golden light had flown from Brother Gabriel’s eyes and Gideon had flung him about without actually touching him.

She paused, shaking as possibilities inundated her mind.

Forces are at work here that you don’t understand.

Brother Gabriel had tried to warn her. She’d had no idea he meant the words literally. Were they sorcerers? Practitioners of the Dark Arts? Did the Holy Order of St. John realize they harbored…harbored what? What were they?

She paused and drew a long, calming breath into her lungs. She was loath to bring danger to Zarrah’s door, but Naomi had nowhere else to go. She had no intention of remaining at the Krak to see what they intended now that she knew they were not human.