Angel Kin (4 page)

grow.

While Dex didn’t know the full story of Yuri’s rejection, he did  know that it involved one of the archangels and a crush that was  denied at a very young age. Since then, Yuri had been a sort of loose  cannon. He was extremely smart, extremely loyal, and an extremely  good warrior, but he was also unpredictable in a lot of ways and had  his own ideas about the way tasks should get done that ran to the  unconventional.

Among Uriel’s choir, he’d always stood out from the crowd. Yuri fit with them so cohesively that Dex wasn’t even sure if Yuri realized how well he suited them. For a man used to rubbing everyone wrong, when he rubbed someone right, Dex wasn’t sure if he got it. Dex had taken it upon himself to make sure that Yuri knew he was loved and even though he came into the fold later than the rest of them, he was wanted and had a spot that was irreplaceable in all of their hearts. Dex would kick anyone’s ass who said otherwise.

He knocked softly before entering the room Yuri had been staying in. At the beginning of his injury, Dex had thought this was a good idea. Madigan’s old room was quiet, there was enough room to keep someone injured without a problem, and it was isolated enough that  Yuri could rest but not so isolated that he couldn’t yell and be heard by all of them. Right now, he thought he might’ve miscalculated the benefits of the separate room.

Yuri sobbed into his pillow, screaming his frustrations into the cotton as his hips moved restlessly against the mattress beneath him.  His hand reached over one shoulder and tore at some of those

amazing champagne-colored feathers.

“Yuri, stop!” Dex shouted, hurrying to the side of Yuri’s bed. He  reached out and took Yuri’s hands and forced them away from his  feathers. “What are you doing?” he demanded, pressing his body  against Yuri’s as his lover continued his pitiful sobbing.

“It hurts, Dex. Hurts so bad.” Yuri stammered out the sentence

with a wild look in his eyes. “Just take them off, please, just take them

off.”

Dex’s heart broke. “No, baby. No. We can’t do that. Come on.  You’ve got to be strong for us. Just a little bit longer.”

“Can’t. Dex, please…”

Dex felt completely helpless right then. He was an angel of death.  The best he could do was put Yuri out of his misery. He had no powers of healing. All things considered, Yuri’s injuries shouldn’t have required that much healing. In a week, most angels could regrow body parts. Something just wasn’t right.

He glanced at the ceiling and began shifting through all the mental signatures he knew until he came across the right one.

“
Yes
?”

“
My Lord Gabriel, I need your advice
.”

Chapter Four

Madigan was drawn from his comfortable tangle by a feeling of deep unease in his chest. It tugged him out of the mountain of man flesh that beckoned him to stay, relax, and bask in the pleasure that they’d enjoyed with one another. Like a moth, he was drawn to the light that was emitting from Yuri’s bedroom. He shuffled down the hallway and paused at the door. The sound of murmuring voices on the other side of the door made him pause. A shot of fear went through him. What if it was the hunters? How had they gotten into sanctuary?

“They must’ve poisoned the spear with something, most likely a spell.” That voice rose above the others. It sounded really familiar, like something he’d heard in a dream. He pushed the door open and his eyes immediately went to Dex.

The big angel’s eyes widened. “Madigan, no!”

Madigan’s brow furrowed in confusion. Why was Dex shouting?  His eyes went to the two blinding figures that stood on either side of  Yuri’s bed. Something in his brain short-circuited, unable to comprehend, process, or even see the beings that seemed to be made entirely of light. His world went from blinding red to black as he flushed hot to cold. Distantly, he realized he was on the floor, with no recollection of falling. He pressed his hands hard against his eyes, screaming as the light seemed to sear a path along his retinas and right

into his brain.

“I should’ve been more careful. I knew better than to stand around

in my celestial form,” that familiar voice murmured from somewhere  in the bedroom beyond. The air stirred as footsteps approached him.

Madigan whimpered and tried to scuttle backward. He didn’t want them to touch him. He was so dirty, and they were so very clean.

“It’s your human side reacting to the angelic energy, Madigan.  Push it aside, claim your angelic heritage. You are not unworthy to see what mortal eyes have trouble processing.” The voice was closer

now.

“My Lord—”

“No, Dexirus. He has to learn to see. You’ve all coddled his

human side far too much if he can’t even look at me. If he can’t do

that much, how is he ever going to look on his father? You all haven’t  been teaching him.”

“We’ve been busy trying to protect him!”

“The weeks inside haven’t presented a single opportunity?” The  voice sounded incredulous. “Not a single solitary moment to teach  him to use his gifts?”

“They are sporadic at best.”

“He was drawn here because his power is pushing him to heal. He  sensed Yuri’s pain. Why else would he have left your bed? He must  be taught and taught well.”

“It will be done, My Lord.”

“See that it is. I do not want Raphael on my case for not providing  him an adequate enough teacher about heavenly duties. You are my  favored, Dex. Do not disappoint me.” The being paused, and a gust of  wind rushed over Madigan like a cooling breeze. “You may look now,  young nephilim. My sight will not harm you now.”

Madigan was not so sure that it was a good idea, but he managed  to force his eyes open nonetheless. The face that hovered above his  was almost too beautiful to be real. The coloring was similar to Dex,  brown hair and unreal apple-green eyes, but the shape of each feature  had an ethereal quality that was almost too symmetrical.

“There. Now Dexirus can stop having a heart attack over whether  or not you are hurt. How do you feel?”

“Um, okay I guess. Who are you? And where’s Yuri?” Madigan’s  headache was dimming slowly and went from a piercing pain to a dull  ache.

“I’m still here, baby,” a weak voice called from the bed.

“I am Gabriel, a good friend of your father. Your Dex called me to  look at Yuriel’s wings.” He pushed himself to his feet and offered him  a hand up. Madigan took it and allowed Gabriel to pull him to his  feet. It struck him then, this was the freaking Archangel Gabriel, the  left hand of God, who was pulling him to his feet. “I may not be a  healer, but I am very familiar with spells and poisons. Whatever has  broken Yuriel’s wings had both.”

Madigan bit into his bottom lip. At least they knew why Yuri  wasn’t healing properly. He circled around Gabriel and beelined for  the bed. Yuri’s eyes were red rimmed like he’d been crying, and a  look of pure misery was pasted on his face. He looked away, shame  skittering across his expression as Madigan drew closer.

“This isn’t your fault, Yuri. We’ll fix it, baby. I promise.”  Madigan sat beside him on the bed and wrapped his arm around his  waist. He pressed kisses to Yuri’s lower back, willing him to get  better. It was then he felt the warmth that’d he’d experienced with  Cross a week ago when he and Bren had been trying to save his life.  The warmth stretched down his hands and outward into the muscles

of his lover’s back.

“The spell affects constitution and mood. Whatever you all have  been doing to him has been acting as a balance to the negative energy  invading his mind, but it’s steadily building inside him.” Gabriel  seemed to be talking to the both Dex and Madigan, but Madigan  ignored him. He wanted his lover to be better. He needed Yuri to have  some relief. Yuri let out a sigh of reprieve, and the tension began  seeping out of the muscles in his lower back, his broken wings  sagged, and a shudder worked down his spine.

“We need to find a healer,” Dex said. “Do you know any in the  area, My Lord? Even a Fallen healer will do.”

“Hush, Dexirus. Look.”

Madigan continued to push the heat into his lover’s body, kissing his spine as he did so as if by that slight touch alone he could make a difference. He was so lost in what he was doing he almost forgot the other two men in the room. The warmth began to fade and with it, so did his strength until he felt just near the edge of unconsciousness. He was just so bloody tired.

A firm male hand caressed his back, massaging his neck. It was  Dex. “You did good, baby. You did good.”

“Until he can be fully healed, tuck his wings into the glyphs on his back,” Gabriel instructed.

“This may hurt, Yuri,” Dex murmured, reaching his hands over  Madigan and putting them on Yuri’s back.

“Can’t hurt as bad as what it feels like right now,” Yuri said  through gritted teeth. Madigan’s hands clenched. He hated hearing  Yuri was in pain. A strangled yelp sounded as light poured from  Dex’s fingers and onto Yuri’s wings. Madigan watched in fascination  as Dex’s hands seemed for force Yuri’s wings into his back as the  tattooed glyphs there glowed the same white light that was coming  out of Dex’s hand. Yuri let out another scream of pain and then went  still.

“Is he okay?” he asked, tears in his eyes.

“Yes. He won’t heal anymore with his wings put away like that,  but he won’t get any worse, either,” Dex explained, pressing a kiss to  first Yuri’s face and then Madigan’s lips. “He’ll be able to move  around now and not be crippled by pain because he won’t be aware of  his wings.”

“Good. I hate when he hurts.”

Gabriel’s voice sounded from somewhere behind them, but

Madigan couldn’t see him because of Dex’s wide shoulders. “You’ll need to find a healer in the sanctuary town. I’ll talk to Raphael and see who he recommends.”

Dex turned his head and looked over his shoulders. “Can’t

Archangel Raphael come heal him?”

“No. It would be direct interference and as such is forbidden

because Yuriel is the guardian of Madigan. You’ll have to find a  healer that is not of the heavens to take care of your lover.” A brief  pause stretched on and a soft muttering sounded, much the same way  Dex did sometimes. “I’ve got to go. The hunters are calling for new  measures to enable sanctioned hunts inside places of sanctuary.  Raphael thinks they are readying an attack against this house and  want formal permission. Bold bastards. I don’t know what Azrael is  thinking.” More muttering sounded and then silence.

“Is he gone?” Madigan asked, barely able to keep his eyes open.

“Yeah, baby.”

“I’m going to stay with Yuri.”

“I figured you would.”

“Night, Dex.”

“Good night, Madigan.”

Madigan meant to say more but gave up as the effort felt like too  much for him to attempt. He snuggled deeper into Yuri’s side,  wrapped his arms around his waist, and fell into a deep, dreamless  sleep.

* * * *

Madigan was getting stronger. Dex was amazed that he’d managed to both heal Yuri and stay conscious. He was happy that his lover’s skills were improving, but he’d be happier if everyone was healed up and they were somewhere safe. The fact that Madigan had been so focused on his task that he’d all but forgotten both his nudity and the archangel standing in his bedroom had been a shock in itself.  Madigan was the most modest out of the bunch and as such, tended to be the most aware that he didn’t have any clothing on.

Dex took out a spare blanket and put it over the two sleeping men, his heart constricting as he watched them snuggle closer together despite the added warmth. Life had been a mess for the past week.  Michel had been in a constant state of anger, the warrior in him unable to let go of the fact that Yuri and Cross had been injured and  Madigan had been traumatized. The event had turned Michel into a man who flew off the handle at the least provocation and who stalked around the house in a temper. He wanted vengeance for the injuries inflicted on their family, and nothing but the death of the hunters would satisfy it.

Dex sighed and left the room, leaving the door open slightly as he did so. His men seemed to be on the verge of breaking under the pressure, though they all showed it in vastly different ways. Michel was angry, Cross was more serious about their protection than ever,  Bren was clingy, unable to let any of them out of his sight for fear something would happen. He’d only recently stopped tensing every time Michel stormed out the door. Yuri, of course, had been stuck in