RiskingEternity (11 page)

“Take this!”
Ren
shouted, pressing the hilt of a bloody sword into his hand.

“I cannot take your weapon”

“Take it. Protect the human.”

Another demon came at him and he swung. With a yelp of pain it scurried out the door, no doubt looking for the first gateway to the safety of Hell. He tightened his wing, holding Maggie against him, shielding her. Her fingers tangled in the feathers at the base of his wing, gripped the hard muscles there and her face pressed against the bare skin of his back. Her hot breath fell against him in shuddering gasps as she clung desperately to him.

Moments later there was another form pressed to him as
Renatus
returned to stand back-to-back with him. White wings enfolded black as the seraph lent his body to protect the woman he’d sworn to see to Hell.

More vile, black bodies pummeled Dom, their nipping bites quickly draining the small bit of power stolen from
Meela
. One flew in from the side, catching him off guard, and sank its teeth into his throat. He wavered as it fed on him, his knees weakening as the beast gorged. Struggling, he managed to raise his sword again, but missed his target. The ghoul dug into his shoulder, tearing his flesh and sucking his strength.

“Oh God, oh God, please help us,” Maggie whimpered into his back as her tears ran down his skin to mingle with his feathers. “Please, please make them go away. Oh God, please.” Dizzy and nauseated, he added his own plea for deliverance.

A golden stream of light burst through the window, blinding in its suddenness and intensity. It sent the lesser demons scrambling for safety, escaping the Heavenly beam with yelps of pain and fear.

Dominicus
sent his thanks to Heaven. Their prayers had been heard.

The room stood quiet. Sunlight flooded through the window and open doorway and birds chirped happily, as if the battle had never happened.

Dominicus
swayed. His weapon dropped from numb fingers and exhaustion darkened his vision. Maggie’s weight was gone from his back and he groped behind him, searching for her.

“Dom, they are gone.”
Ren’s
strong arms surrounded him, held him upright as he stumbled to the couch.

“Maggie?”

Ren
stiffened. “I have placed her beside you. She has fainted, but is otherwise well.”

“And you,
Ren
?”

There was a heartbeat of a pause. “My injuries are minor.”

Dom blinked to clear his vision. “
Ren
…”

“No, do not say it.”
Renatus’s
pain was a palpable thing, hovering in the air between the two seraphim. The fragile emotions which had taken root between them had been irreparably damaged, the love which might have been withered before it could bloom.

He pushed Dom’s sword into his hand before turning to find his own. “You have done what you needed to do, Dom. Nothing else need be said.” He strode across the small room and bent to retrieve his weapon, his golden form casting an inky shadow on the wall.

The shadow moved, swelling to hover over
Renatus
. Claws rose from the wall, poised over
Ren’s
unprotected back.
Dominicus
fist tightened in the sword hilt.

“No!” He charged across the room and drove his sword through the shadow, until over half of its four foot length was embedded in the wall.

The dark form took shape and
Meela’s
stunned features appeared, his sword piercing her chest.

“Well, lover,” she gasped, “it seems I was wrong. You have bested me after all.”

With that she melted away, her power drained. She was nothing more than a black puddle of evil, sinking through the floor and oozing her way back to Hell.

Chapter Ten

Maggie woke in her bed. For a moment, she kept her eyes shut tight and let herself believe the past few days had all been a dream. There were no demons trying to kill her, and no angel trying to help them.

No
Dominicus
.

The pain of that alone was enough to change her thinking. She could deal with the idea of demons if it meant she had her guardian angel.

A hand brushed over her head, pushing the hair away from her face.

“You are awake, little one.”

Her eyes flew open and her breath caught as the sight of a golden angel leaning over her.
“
Ren
.”
She scrambled upright and backed against the headboard. “Where is
Dominicus
?”

“There, sleeping beside you.”

His dark head was on the pillow next to her. His whisker-rough cheeks looked gaunt and dark circles marred the skin under his sunken eyes.

“Is he…”

“He is fine,”
Ren
quickly assured her. “His power is low, but it will return with rest. Soon he will be fully restored. How are you feeling?”

She eyed him warily. “Since when do you care? The last I heard you were ready to haul my ass to Hell. Feeding time at the demon zoo, remember?”

He dropped his gaze to his lap and a muscle in his jaw clenched. “I offer my deepest apology for that, Maggie. I believed… Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter what I believed. I was wrong. And I was jealous.”

Silence stretched out for a heartbeat too long.

“I never meant to take him from you. I didn’t even know…” She trailed off, uncertain just what to say to Dom’s almost-lover.

“There
was
no us to come between,” he said stiffly. “I’m one for the cherubs, so do not let it concern you.”

“Right.”
The flush of color on his face said otherwise, but she wasn’t going to call him on it. Not when his dignity was all he had left.

She shifted in the awkward silence, hugging the blanket to her naked breasts. They brushed the wicked scratches left by the
demoness
and she cringed as a blaze of pain swept over her.

“How did Philomela get in?”
Ren
asked,
his tone brisk, all business.

Heat flooded Maggie’s face and she looked out the glass balcony door. “I let her in.”

“That much is obvious,”
Ren
snorted. “Evil cannot enter without invitation.”

“I thought she was a puppy. There’s been a cute little stray hanging around for a few days, and I was worried about it being out in the storm. I got the puppy inside, where it was safe and it turned into that thing.” She hugged the blanket tighter at the memory.

Ren
cupped her face and forced her to look at him. His golden eyes glowed with compassion. “This is what demons do, Maggie. They make themselves look appealing, seduce you. Once you are deceived, once they are invited in, they can do anything, and you can’t stop them.” His hand brushed over her head, gently pushing the hair from her face before dropping to his lap.

“Am I safe now?”

“In this apartment?
No.
Dominicus
can show you how to make it safer, but as long as this location is your residence, your protection is compromised. You need to move.”

“What about the people who move in here?”

“Once you have no claim on this place, the invitation is broken. The new residents will be safe.”

She hissed as the blankets rubbed her ravaged nipple, sending another jolt of pain through her.

“You are hurting.”

“Yeah.
That thing’s claws were pretty nasty.”

She squeaked in surprise when
Renatus
jerked the blankets from her and traced one careful fingertip over her breast to the throbbing tip. Pain gave way to something more pleasant and she shifted, unsure if she should feel guilty or not. Was she being unfaithful if she let her lover’s almost-lover touch her?

“Demon claws excrete a mild poison. It’s not deadly, but the pain it causes sends more power into the bloodstream. The demon can drink the blood to consume the power.” He studied her face and held his arms out to her. “
Come,
let me heal it for you.”

Heat flooded her face as she remembered Dom healing her back, his lips brushing the wounds. The golden wave of healing he’d sent over her aroused as it repaired. Would
Ren’s
power do the same? “Dom…”

“Is resting and healing
himself
. He won’t have the strength to take care of you until at least tomorrow, but he will try. Let me heal you so he may heal himself.”

She looked uncertainly at the masculine beauty of her sleeping angel. He was so tired, so beaten down.
Renatus
grazed a fingertip over her injured nipple and her breath caught on the pain. She couldn’t live with this fire in her skin, and she didn’t want Dom to put her healing before his. She let go of the covers and eased toward
Renatus
.

Ren
curled his fingers into her hair and pulled her forward. Pulling her hair, he forced her to arch her back, to offer her wounds to him.

He placed his lips against her pulse, where a scratch began, and a smooth heat rippled down the length of the injury. A sigh of relief escaped her as the pain ebbed. With firm hands, he lifted her, dragging her into his lap so she straddled him. He licked the freckles dusting the swells of her breasts before taking her nipple in an open-mouthed kiss. He sucked her deep, flicking the tip of his tongue across the injured flesh. His power flowed over her injuries and sent a low hum of awareness through her. It wasn’t as powerful as the arousal she felt with Dom, but the angelic power still sent her nerve endings thrumming.

He released her healing breast and took her mouth with his. His tongue plunged past her teeth and he sucked hard, hollowing her cheeks. The faint tingling burn of the demon marks throbbed and a bitter taste coated her tongue. A sizzling heat filled her mouth and she could taste the poison burning as
Renatus
purged it from her body. The kiss eased, becoming sensual. He continued to tease long after the smoky flavor was gone, not stopping until she pulled away.

“I think it’s all better now,” she whispered breathlessly.

“Yes, it is.”

She got the feeling
Renatus
wasn’t talking about the marks the demons left on her.

“You sleep now, let your body rest. I’ll keep guard until
Dominicus
wakes.”

There must have been some kind of suggestion planted in his words, because when he spoke, she became too tired to keep her eyes open.
Renatus
lifted her, placing her back into the bed and tucking her in as carefully as Gram used to, back when Maggie was still a child.

“
Ren
?” she called, her voice thick with exhaustion.

“Yes, Maggie?”

“Thank you.”
For everything.

* * * * *

Dominicus
waited while
Renatus
tucked the blankets around Maggie.
Ren
crossed to the balcony door to slip into the night and
Dominicus
rose to follow. Leaning heavily on the doorframe, he watched the other angel as he stood by the railing. The muscles of
Ren’s
arms quivered and his hands braced on the painted wood. His golden head hung and Dom thought he saw his shoulders shaking.

“
Ren
?” he called quietly.

“You should be resting with your woman.”

“But I’m with my friend instead.” He moved behind
Ren
and cupped his shoulders and
Ren
tuned into his arms. Tears clung to his golden lashes, catching the moonlight, and a heavy ache settled in Dom’s chest.

“You were right, Dom.”

“About what?”

“About Maggie.
She was never intended for Hell.”

Dominicus
sucked in a sharp breath. All the fighting, all of the battle and she had never been in true danger to begin with. “Then why was I sent to her?”

Renatus’s
Adam’s apple bobbed hard before he answered. “Why didn’t you take her? What was different about this one?”

“Her soul glowed with purity. It was the only one in two hundred years which had that light. I understand now. The Most High was not sacrificing souls to the
demons,
He was simply allowing them to take those who had already chosen evil.”

“The lesson has been learned. Your punishment is over. There will be no more souls for you to take. You are free to return to Heaven with me, but you won’t, will you?”

“Ah,
Ren
.”
He brushed his lips against
Renatus’s
once, light as a feather, and for the first time,
Renatus
responded without fighting, letting his mouth cling. His hands moved to Dom’s waist and he held him, kissing tentatively before
Dominicus
pulled away. He pressed his forehead against
Ren’s
and hurt for what would never be.

“I’ve lost you, haven’t I?”
Renatus
asked,
his voice full of pain. “Even without a
Fall
, I’ve lost you.”

“I was never yours,
Ren
.” Neither mentioned it was
Renatus’s
own fears that had kept them apart. It was too late to lay blame.
Dominicus
’ heart had moved on.

“What will you do, Dom? The prohibition stands.”

“Only against fathering a child with her.
I have no need to procreate.”

“Angels don’t. Humans do not feel the same. What happens when she wants a child?”

Dom straightened to look
Ren
in the eye and was touched by the concern he saw there. “We will discuss our options.”

“Options?”

“Much has changed over the centuries.”

Ren
pulled away and visibly gathered his dignity. “I will not interfere any more. I owe you at least that much, my friend. But please, I beg you, stay strong. I could not bear knowing you were forever lost.”

“I will not Fall. I promise. Maggie keeps me strong.” Stretching a wing around, he reached up and plucked a feather from it. “You will forever be in my affections,
Ren
.” He held it up and waited.