The Demon of Angels (Bk. 2)

★MY EYES FLEW open, a gasp parting my lips as the contents in my stomach rolled. I dry heaved at the floor below the metal surface I laid on, my heart in my throat. I greedily heaved in oxygen, righting myself with my hands pressed firmly against my chest as sweat dripped from my heated forehead, and drizzled down my back.

The air that flew through my lungs was ragged and horse. Blinking back tears, I clutched at my throat. I whimpered as my heart pounded in my ears. There was a sharp pinch around my soul, a deep ache that followed. A whimper managed to escape my dry lips, head falling back against the cold concrete wall. My eyelids fluttered, exhaustion pulling me back before I could stop the darkness from descending.

★★

THE SHARP CLASH of metal jolted my body awake. My eyes slowly fluttered open as I stirred from the depths of unconsciousness. Silver bars stared back at me, taunting me as I rose to an upright position. My chest was throbbing. My hand flew to the tender skin, gasping as my blood pulsed. Dazed and confused, I took note of my surroundings.

I was sitting on a metal bed, severely lacking a mattress or sheets of any kind, that was bolted to a grey cement wall at my back. The walls on either side of the bed and the barred door in front told me I was in some sort of imprisonment cell. The coolness seeping into my bones and the concrete surrounding every inch around me gave me the indication I was underground.

Groaning, I stood, trying to stretch out my limbs, but stumbled from the sudden movement. White flashed against my vision, and I tumbled back onto the metal bed with a hard thud against my ass. My head bashed against the cold bricks, and I cried out, clutching my head.

A sharp ache in my chest pulsed through my soul, alerting me to the bonds I had previously created with my family. My eyes flew open, and I was suddenly sitting up and on high alert. All three of the bonds were tugging at my soul, requiring my attention. They were all pulsating with anger, grief, and guilt. I prayed to Gramps that Zeke could feel me through the bond and through this damned cage I was forced to reside in.

If he somehow couldn’t, then to them, I was dead.

My own grief came in waves, hitting me in all the wrong places. Wrapping my arms around my knees, I laid my head down. The boys were my rock, and I couldn’t stand to see them suffer. It made me want to wallow in a deep black hole and hide.

A high-pitched feminine voice started to whisper, jerking me out of my ball of guilt. “Poor child.” Scanning the little area that I could see, there were no green orbs to go with the familiar voice.

“Shh,” another voice interrupted. It was deep and throaty. “She’ll hear you.” I rolled my eyes. A sharp sound of a smack against a skull cracked against the cement walls. I winced, knowing full well someone just got backhanded.

“She heard both of you,” a voice groveled with obvious displeasure.

I smirked, knowing who all came to visit. “You can come out now,” I called, loud enough for them to hear but not enough for my voice to echo.

“We don’t have time for this,” Beelzebub hissed. “We should leave before our presence is suspected. He has Hellhounds bordering the place, high alert for any intruders.”

Levi snickered, then cooed at the High Demon Prince of Gluttony. “Awe, poor baby. Scared of a few demon puppies?”

Silence descended, then Beelzebub’s voice sounded but was muffled. “You’re a sick, bitch.”

Asmodeus and two hovering pairs of glowing orbs came into view. I raised my eyebrow at the Prince, glancing between him and the orbs.”What, they didn’t want to show up for the party?” I motioned to my surroundings, switching on my sarcasm charm. “It’s a fucking blast in here. Can’t you tell?”

The Prince frowned at my poor attempt at humor. “You’re not supposed to be here,” he murmured. He was studying me, but his eyes were distant, the gears in his head turning.

“And last time I checked, neither were you.”

Beelzebub’s eyes bobbed up and down as if he was nodding his head and agreeing with me. Levi eyed Asmodeus, hesitant to make any visible agreement or disagreement. Watching them, it was clear Asmodeus was in change. The big dog– or rather, demon– so to speak.

“Yes, well,” Asmodeus cleared his throat. “Certain circumstances have arisen and must be dealt with properly.”

My eyebrow lifted, unamused. “So, what are you doing here?”

“To get you-” The distinct sound of a door opening echoed through the area, bouncing off the cement walls. Asmodeus shrunk back and morphed his body into the wall behind him, disappearing from view. My eyes widened as I watched, utterly dumbfounded and completely jealous.

Footsteps tapped against the cold floor, inching their way closer to my cell. I set my head back down on my arms, tensing up, and listened for voices. There were none, and to no surprise, the footsteps stopped in front of the bars of the cage they held me captive in. Refusing to lift my head, I kept still until they made the first move, said the first word, or preferable, left. I would not look weak or desperate in front of my captors.

“Celeste,” a voice murmured. My stomach dropped to my toes, the familiar voice turning the blood in my veins to ice. Squeezing my eyes shut, I didn’t reply. Instead, I waited. To my utter dismay and disbelief, he spoke again.

“Look at me, Celeste. Please.” The voice was pleading with me, begging me to look at him. I shook my head, wishing beyond all hope that the people I grew to like would stop turning up to be someone different than they claimed to be.

The boys had warned me, but something still told me that it wasn’t true– begging. Sometimes I hated when they were right. I guess it hadn’t been the boys I had to worry about but the sweet boy who sat next to me in class every day.

“Celeste,” Josh urged. Biting my lip, I lifted my head with a dead expression on my face. Josh’s freckled face frowned down at me, his brown eyes full of regret. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, reading my expression like a damned opened book. It seemed genuine, but that didn’t mean I was going to believe it. Running a hand through his already messy hair, he sighed and bowed his head. “Your father made me do it,” he muttered, his chin to his chest. “I had no choice.”

My eyebrows scrunched together, confused as to what he meant. Josh didn’t see my expression; swallowed up in his own guilt and regret to notice. But he didn’t stop talking, so I didn’t stop him as he further explained himself. As if searching for forgiveness, forgiveness that I refused to give.

“I was out on a job for my mother, something about a new guy in town she didn’t trust,” Josh sighed, kicking the floor with his shoe. “Your father found me while I was scoping the new guy out, told me he had a new job for me to do. Not knowing who he was, I told him to get lost.” He shook his head, his lips pinching together. “He told me who he was, and when I didn’t believe him, he went straight up to the new guy and pulled his heart straight from his chest. It disintegrated in his hands, and I saw a soul leave that man’s body.”

My eyes widened; the air in my lungs seized. Josh refused to meet my eyes and kept telling me his story. A story that I had no idea where it would lead, let alone where it could end where he wound up here, standing in front of me.

After a deep breath, Josh licked his lips and continued. “He threatened to harm my baby sister and tear my mom’s heart out like he did the man’s. All the while I was made to watch. Helpless to do anything. I submitted and told him I’d do whatever job he asked of me. Problem was, I didn’t know I’d be going all the way to California to complete it–”

Any air left in my body ceased to exist at that moment, flying from my lungs and taking my heart with it.

“–I watched her for a few days, a man named Dylan arriving the night after I did. We discussed her schedule: What time she went to work, came home, went to bed, and highlighted each moment she was alone. On the fifth day and the sixth night, Dylan and I attacked.” Josh paused, running a hand over his face. “I can still hear her screams to this day. They haunt my dreams every night,” he finished.

Josh looked up at me finally. Guilt poured from his eyes while heartache crashed through mine like a tsunami. “I saw you,” he whispered. “I watched as you screamed for your mother upstairs, and I bolted right as you flew down to her corpse. The look on your face that night was something I’ll never forget. Your face drained was of color, just as hers was. It was like a part of you died as her soul left her body.”

Josh helped kill my mother.

“I howled that night as that Archangel took off with you. But not for victory, your mother, or even Death, but for you and me. A piece of us will forever rest at that house, and it’s something we’ll never get back.”

A bullet tore through my heart. The world around me slowly blurred as tears started to flow down my cheeks. I choked back a sob. A dark cloud hovered over my head, blackening, while its shadow cast itself over my soul. It was reliving that day, but through my mother’s murderer instead. My mother’s death would always hurt, and I tried not to think about it often. But to have, who you thought was a friend, stand there and tell you that they killed your mother? Well, that was a whole other world of pain and misery. My mother’s killer smiled at me, laughed with me, and touched me– even went as far as asking me out.

I felt disgusted, dirty, and ashamed.

“I’m sor-”

My hand shot out, pointing in the direction he came from. “Get out,” I croaked.

Josh stepped forward, his palms out in front of him. “Celeste, I-”

“I said get out!” I screamed, my voice cracking at the end. It was nothing compared to the gaping hole in my chest– literally and metaphorically. Something clicked in my head, like a switch, and I found myself falling deeper into the blackened abyss that threatened to swallow me whole.

“Your father is on his way,” he murmured as he slowly backed away, leaving me alone as he turned and went back the way he came.

My forehead dropped to my arms as I folded in on myself, refusing to watch as Josh walked away. I never wanted to see his face again. Not only was he working for my father, but he had killed one of the most important people in my life. Because of him, she was gone.

The past four years of my life had been hell without my mom. I had to watch mothers in the store, shopping with their daughters with bright and smiling faces. Buying dresses for their first dance– first date. I never had that, and I never would because of Josh. My gaze would always shift to the mother’s reaction when her child stepped out, unable to help the crack in my heart when their eyes glowed in adoration.

While the mother’s heart swelled in her chest, mine shattered at my feet.

At one point, I refused to go grocery shopping with Michael after seeing a full family happily laughing and shopping together. Perfectly normal and perfectly at peace. The smile on the kid’s faces as their mother made fun of her husband was priceless and an image that would forever keep me up at night. Jealous of their family relationships.

I missed my mother more than ever, especially at times like these. There was no one to hold my hand and tell me that everything would be okay. No one to wipe my tears whenever I cried over a boy and no one to show me how to keep my head above water, even when it felt like I was already drowning.

There was a deep sigh from outside my cell, silence following, and it hammered hard on my head. It throbbed, pulsing immensely as someone started to talk. Their voice couldn’t be heard over the pounding in my skull, and I refused to try.

While the numbing of my heart set me at ease, it did nothing for the pinching at my chest and the battering in my head. My thoughts trailed to back the boys, and the ache started to recede as the ache in my chest came back full force. When a sob parted my lips, a loud crack sounded somewhere in front of me, someone yelling my name. It was ignored as the boys’ faces flashed through my mind. All of them thought I was dead. Yet here I was, alive and stuck in a cell, useless to the world and unable to protect them from my father and his ruthless plans to destroy everyone and everything.

Arms circled around my body, lifting me from the cement floor, but I paid them no mind. Whether it was Death or one of his pets, I couldn’t have cared less. Wherever they took me, I would go without a fight. I knew my father would use the boys against me if I didn’t. Even hanging by a thread, my heart still beat for them.

Behind my eyelids, the nightmare from last night started to play like a movie. I watched without hesitation, replaying it each time I saw their cold, dead faces. “This is all your fault.” Morgan’s voice echoed in the back of my mind.

I shut the movie off, aching to feel nothing at all and the back of my eyelids staring back at me.

As if I had stepped outside, cool fresh air whipped my hair around, grazing my face. I shuddered from the wind chill, burying myself into the arms that held me. Thin fingers brushed the hair from my face, tucking the chocolate strands behind my ear. The arms lifted me, and a voice spoke close to my ear.

“It is time to decide, child.”

Decide what? I wanted to ask, but my lips and eyes felt like they were glued shut. As if the man behind the voice knew, he spoke again. “It is your free will to decide,” he murmured. “Fight for him, or fight for them.”

Zeke’s shimmering silver eyes found the forefront of my mind, gluing themselves behind my eyelids. They were reminding me, daring me to remember who I was fighting for. What I was fighting for. As I stared back into those thundering grey eyes, the shadow that descended upon my being was scorched, retreating slowly from the depths of my soul.

There was no room to be selfish now. What Death wanted was cruel, horrifying, and deadly. And it wasn’t what I wanted, despite recent events. I wasn’t alone. I had a shoulder to cry on; someone to hold my hand and tell me that everything would be okay; someone to hold my head above water. I scolded myself, knowing I just didn’t have one– I had three. My three alive, breathing, and stubborn asshole reason to keep pushing– to keep fighting.

A switch in the back of my mind snapped open, dragging me away from the darkness I had almost given into.

If it was a war my father wanted, it was a war he would get. I’d play his game, but what I said would go. He was no longer in control of me or my destiny. I made the rules, and it was about time I reminded him of that.

The arms around me unraveled from my body, setting my feet firmly on the ground. Grass brushed against my bare feet, the soft blades peaking between my toes. My eyes snapped open; an empty field surrounded my vision. Gone was Asmodeus– the one who carried me from the depths of my cell and reminded me who I was fighting for.

A howl resonated behind me; the sharp snapping of a jaw followed. I slowly turned around, facing the multitude of Hellhounds surrounding me. Their heads were all bent low, each releasing a growl of warning.

My head cocked to the side, fear no longer an emotion I carried. Curious, I took a step back, keeping my full attention on the hounds in front of me. Once my toe touched the dirt behind me, the largest of the group placed a paw out in front of them.

I didn’t bother hiding the feral smile as it shaped my lips. Dropping my shoulders, I called upon the energy I knew was buried deep within the depths of my soul. It filled me, pooling through my body from my core. Igniting my veins like liquid fire. A sense of calm washed over me.

The power hummed at my fingertips, waiting for me to give it a command. It wanted chaos, and I felt no hesitation to provide just that.

The lead hound snarled and leaped forward, bolting straight for me. I inhaled slowly, patiently, then exhaled, feeling my Hybrid surge through my veins. Building like a thunderstorm, it only took one moment for it to crack against the sky.

All of Hell was about to break loose from the tips of my fingers.

When the hound was a few feet from me, I pulled the power from my core and thrust it out. Time seemed to stop as my power crackled and spat around my fingers, flying through the open air and connecting with its intended targets. The Hellhound’s blood-red eyes widened, yelping and whining as my power singed a few of their bodies until they were nothing but crispy puppy bacon.

Facing the remaining few, my grin widened as their growls grew louder. Their slow, steady steps grew a semi-circle around me. I spun around and looked over my shoulders at the forest that lay before me. Grinning wildly and giving my neck a satisfying crack, I turned and bolted in their opposing direction.

They yipped in surprise, the thundering of paws beating against the ground as they pursued me. I smiled, heading toward a dark patch of trees, and prepared for what was to come next.

Leaves, sticks, and dead branches crunched beneath my feet as I soared through the familiar-looking forest. The Hellhound’s growls were growing quieter, the distance between us growing exponentially. Once I was sure I was in the clear, running as fast as my feet could carry me for a few more outstretched minutes, I slowed my pace.

As much as I wanted to fly, I couldn’t risk being seen.

As I began to walk, trekking through the forest and following the pull I felt once I entered the forest, my footsteps faltered. Movement echoed in the distance; I was being followed.

Whipping around, I tried to listen for the intruder but couldn’t pick up anything other than rustling leaves under the soft wind. With narrowed eyes, I turned back around, continuing onward.

When the faint sound of crunching leaves snapped from behind me, I breathed in a lungful of air and stopped again.

I rolled my eyes, annoyed at my overall situation. “Show yourself,” I growled. At first, there was silence that met my command, but then I heard a twig snap to my right. Seconds later, a male body in the distance appeared around a tree.

Josh had dared to show his face.

Growling, I whipped around and stormed off. I thought I heard him sigh, but I didn’t care to pay attention. Anger flared in my veins as I stomped off, following the pull at my naval.

“Celeste,” he called, dragging out my name in an exhausted groan.

“Go away,” I snapped.

“Dammit, Celeste. We don’t have time for this.” His footsteps quickened behind me, trying to catch up or keep up.

Without turning around, I spat back at him. “What do you want?”

“I’m trying to help your sorry ass,” he grumbled.

First of all, you have no right to use that tone with me, mutt.

Snarling with a roll of my eyes, I halted my feet and looked over my shoulder. He was a few feet behind me now.

“Why?” I blurted.

“As I said earlier, we don’t have time for this.” Josh reached forward, his hand aiming for my forearm, but I snatched it away before he could come within grabbing distance.

“Don’t touch me,” I snapped.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine,” he mumbled. Without a word, Josh charged forward, in the exact same direction I was already heading.

I huffed and continued on my walk. I wasn’t following him, I was just going where I wanted. Which just so happened to be where he was going. I think.

Did curiosity ever really kill the cat? If so, did it work on dogs too?

As we walked, my icy glare never left the back of Josh’s head.

The hound in front of me rustled, feeling the hole I was burning in the back of his head. “Stop that,” Josh called.

“Stop what?” I grumbled, hardly paying attention to what he was saying.

“Glaring at me,” he hissed. I rolled my eyes but continued to glare anyway. Josh stopped suddenly, whipping around with a determined look in his eyes.

“Look,” he starts. “I’m sorry about your moth-”

Josh’s words were cut short as my palm cracked against his cheek, his head whipping to the side. “Don’t,” I hissed. “You do not get to talk about her.” My hand pulsed at my side while his face burned bright red.

He clenched his jaw and slowly brought his head back around. His eyes were squeezed shut, and his breathing intensified. He was trying to keep his demon at bay, and I almost wished he wasn’t. His nostrils flared as his eyes flew open, his brown eyes glowed with Hellhound red. “Fine,” he growled. “But stop glaring at me. It’s annoying.”

“You’re annoying,” I bit back.

Running his hands over his face, Josh sighed. “Let’s go.” He turned back around, and I considered going in the opposite direction just to spite him. But the tug at my naval suggested otherwise.

Josh called back over his shoulder. “Let’s go, Celeste.” Scowling, I continued following the Hellhound, keeping my glare pinned to the back of his head, but he didn’t bring it up again.

I think curiosity actually did kill the cat.

The longer we walked, the stronger the pull became. Soon, I began to recognize the flow of the trees, their outlining, and their pattern. The soft crash of water rang in the distance and the air in my lungs hitched. The pull was like an arrow pointing in a single direction.

All three of my bonds guided me forward, directly to my boys. To Zeke.

Josh stopped moving a few feet in front of me. I walked to his side and then matched his halt. I glanced sideways at him, waiting patiently. Turning his head, Josh gave me a hard look, but there were no negative emotions behind it. He jerked his chin in the direction we had been walking. “Go,” he said. My brows furrowed, so he cleared his throat and clarified. “At the other end of this forest is your home.”

Home.

My heart warmed at his sentence, knowing it was more than just a word now. It was a place and several pairs of arms. Slowly, I nodded as my eyes weld with tears.

Once more, Josh jerked his chin in the direction of my home. “Go,” he repeated. Even if I tried, I couldn’t stop the smile that started to form on my face. Without a second thought, I took off, speeding through the trees and past the waterfall.

Home, I sang the word to myself in pure bliss.

I wasn’t sure what I expected to happen or feel when I saw Zeke and the boys. Even Hannah, Hardin, or Morgan. I only knew that I would most likely be an emotional mess.

The bond was beginning to pulse inside of me, and I’d never experienced such an overwhelming and desperate need to see someone. My heart thundered in my chest as I made it to the edge of the forest. I scanned over the remains of my house, aiming straight for the crumpled front side of the two-story building.

My feet slowed and slowly made their way to the driveway, even when everything inside of me was screaming to bolt forward. I wasn’t sure what was waiting for me behind that glass slider. Would it be reckless if I stormed through? I bit my lip, deciding against it. But that didn’t stop someone else from doing something reckless.

His middle name was practically reckless, so it was no surprise that he reached me before I even touched the driveway.

I felt him before I saw him, though I wasn’t sure I even saw him. But the large black blur shot from the large opening. One minute I was walking up the road, and the next, I was being engulfed by his body. I was crushed against his chest, swallowed by his embrace, and not complaining.

I buried my face into his neck, breathing him in. His heart was racing, matching the pace of my own.

Zeke let out a shaky breath of air, and I squeezed him for dear life. “Don’t ever let me go,” I whimpered, not ashamed of the tears pricking at my eyes.

“Never,” he vowed. “Never again.” Winding his fingers through my hair, I sighed in contentment. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” The sound of his shattered and defeated voice pricked at my heart. Gone was the asshole I was used to, and in his place was a broken boy who watched his mate get stabbed in the heart directly in front of him. Helpless to do anything but watch.

“Never,” I repeated his vow, and he brushed his lips against my forehead. Breathing him in, feeling our radical hearts beat in sync, I knew I had made it home.