Angel of Chaos (Imp Book 6) (36 page)

Hurry. Get out of here!

I’d barely thought the words to him before he was gone, safely away in his own circle. I could feel them — feel the angels coming toward me, angry and suspicious. One by one they manifested physical form, eyeing the box behind me and the smooth rod I held. Rubbing a thumb over the maple, I had a moment of regret. This was an expensive prank, but it would be soooo worth the money I’d have to spend to get a new one for Nyalla.

Grasping the wand in both hands, I brought it down over my knee and snapped it in half.

Bad things happen when magical devices break — especially ones with a large number of unused charges left in them. A wave of energy hit me, sending me skidding across the floor and into the cage of pissed–off durfts. It felt like a delivery truck doing ninety on the highway had plowed into me. Thankfully, every angel in this circle of Aaru was feeling the same way.

Screams filled the air. Real screams. Angels who’d been non–corporeal suddenly manifested a naked human form. They surrounded me, and I couldn’t give them time to recover. They might be rendered powerless by the wand’s magic, but I had been too, and a thousand naked people punching me wasn’t going to feel good.

I reached backward, scooting sideways, and opened the cage door. Durfts raced out, frantic to bury their claws and teeth into the first angel they saw. I’d cowered behind the cage door, trying to wedge myself between it and the cage wall for protection. A few durfts were smart enough to jump over the top and tear into my head.

Jumping up, I pried them off and threw them toward the angels, only to have another latch onto my ankle.

Hurry up, before they tear me to shreds
, I called out to Rafi, uncertain if he could hear my mind–speech between circles.

He appeared in a flash, grabbing me and kicking the durft away from my leg before gating me back into my living room. We took a second to breathe then caught one look at each other and burst into hysterical laughter.

“I think one of them tore half your hair out.” The angel gasped. “You’re going to have to get a wig or something.”

Shit. I’d put a change of clothing and some makeup on the dining–room table to try and make myself presentable before the Ruling Council meeting, but there wasn’t much I could do about my hair. One week I’d be stuck in this form, unable to use any of my demon abilities. I’d planned for that, but not for having half my scalp torn off. Damn it, I’d need to go find a hat, and quick. Gregory was due to pick me up any moment.

“Ready to go, Cockroach?”

Double shit. Gregory was due to pick me up right now. I wasn’t ready. And I was still pressed against Rafael like we were conjoined at the pelvis.

Instinct made me start to pull away from the angel, but he held me tight for a good bit longer than necessary. Then he gave my ass a two–handed squeeze and moved to the side, his arm sliding down my waist before he let go. I glanced at Gregory, half hoping to see that dangerous glint of anger in his eyes.

“I see my Cockroach is dragging you into the abyss by your wings, my brother.” Gregory crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his eyebrows at the younger angel.

“Nope.” Rafi grinned. “I’m totally going willingly on this one. She’s fun.”

My angel nodded. “I agree, but we have a Ruling Council meeting and must not be late.”

Damn! I turned my back on the angels and yanked off torn, bloody clothing. The jeans and t–shirt on the table should hide the worst of my bite marks, but what to do about my fucking hair?

“Yeah, well I might be a bit late,” Rafi drawled. “I have a premonition I’ll need to transport an angel.”

I tied my torn shirt around my head to staunch the blood flow and carefully pulled the clean one on. Gauze and duct tape covered the leg injury, and on went the pair of jeans.

“Rafi.” There, finally, was that note of danger, of warning in Gregory’s voice. I shivered, my heart skipping to hear it. “I’d advise you to take care. There are some angels you do not want to cross. Understand?”

“Ah, brother, I am an Angel of Order.” I could hear the light, teasing tone of Rafi’s words and wondered again what idiot had thought to classify him as such. “You can rest assured that I will be true to my nature.”

I felt him leave, felt Gregory’s intense gaze on me as I hopped around buttoning my jeans. “Do you see a baseball hat somewhere? I won’t be able to heal myself for a week, and I don’t want to show up at the meeting looking like someone tried to scalp me. Plausible deniability, you know.”

“Come here.”

I froze, slowly pivoting to face him, my jeans gaping open at the waist. He had that intent look, that shimmer about his form that sent every bit of remaining blood right between my legs. I walked to him, standing still as he untied the t–shirt and examined the top of my head.

“This is going to be a raging mass of infection by the end of the week,” he commented.

I winced as he touched the torn skin. “I know, but I
can’t
heal myself for a bit. I’ll explain later. I know we’re in a hurry, and, for once, I don’t want to be late either. Can you just help me find a hat?”

“No.”

With that one word, he grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me. The feel of his lips on mine, of his energy singing through me — it knocked the breath out of me. My chest ached then caught fire, so hot that I shivered and burned at the same time. It was just a kiss, a simple kiss, and yet it burned through me like a branding iron. I wrapped myself around him, diving my hands down the collar of his shirt and winding my legs around his hips. The angel’s hands slid down under my rear to hold me up and press me against him. I felt fingers digging into my ass through my jeans, erasing the feel of Rafi’s and overlaying them with his own mark. Not that he needed to — I was his, and only his. No one, human, demon, or angel, had ever brought me so far beyond myself. I trusted him with every part of me. With him, I was more than just an imp.

He gently broke our kiss, nibbling along my cheek to my ear before pulling back to meet my eyes. Even as he set me back to the ground, easing his body from mine, I felt him. I’d always feel him — his mouth on mine, his spirit–self joining with mine, his skin against mine. Always.

My scalp tingled. I raised a hand to feel a full head of hair covering a completely intact scalp. He’d healed me. No need for a hat, or that bloody shirt draped across one of my dining–room chairs.

I smiled up at him, rubbing the top of my head. “I didn’t think to have Rafael heal me. I wonder why he didn’t suggest it?”

“If Rafi had healed you, I would have nailed his wings together and tossed him off a cliff.”

That dangerous glint was back. I felt my blood bubble, wanting him against me once more, but we had a meeting to attend.

“Shall we go?” Gregory opened his arms, and I fell into him. “I have a premonition this will be a very unconventional meeting.”

As I suspected, we weren’t the last to arrive at the Marriott. Sleazy and Gabriel had already taken their places. Gabe’s face looked like storm clouds on the ocean.

“Rafael will be right back,” he huffed. “It seems Chabriel is having some problems in his circle of Aaru and is unable to transport without assistance.”

I snickered, quickly covering it up by coughing and thumping my chest. The angels sat like statues, paging through some report. I got a cup of coffee and plopped down in my chair, slurping the beverage noisily. Ten minutes later, there was a flash, and the other two angels appeared. Rafi was his usual gorgeous self. Chabriel was not.

Once again, I had to fake a cough. The angel looked like someone had run over him with a lawn mower — repeatedly. His clothing hung in shreds from his body, and circular bites on his face and arms slowly bled onto the table and paperwork. Deep diagonal scratches scored the angel’s forehead, flanked on either side by inflamed, puffy skin.

Gabriel and Sleazy raised their eyebrows as they took in Chabriel’s appearance.

Gregory cleared his throat. “Shall we begin?”

No. I had some additional smackdown to deliver. “What the fuck happened to you? I didn’t realize things had gotten so contentious in Aaru that someone would have the balls to beat the shit out of a member of the Ruling Council.”

“You did this,”Chabriel hissed. “We’re stuck in corporeal form, unable to repair our injuries, and there is a pack of wild, vicious animals running around my circle.”

“Wow, how unfortunate.” I couldn’t keep the grin from my face. “You might want to put some Neosporin on that forehead, otherwise you’ll have a nasty infection going on by the end of the week. Or not. I’m thinking that pus–filled wounds would only improve your appearance.”

Finally. Chabriel launched himself across the table at me with a roar. Clearly he wasn’t used to being confined entirely to a human form, because he only made it halfway across. It was totally comical to watch him face down on the table, flailing his arms and legs as he attempted to scoot the remaining distance towards me. The other angels tried to pull him back into his seat. I watched him struggle, and then threw my coffee in his face.

His screams of rage were gratifying, but that was it. With only a human’s strength, the other angels managed to pry him off the table and slam him back into his chair.

“She did this to me! She was in my circle. This is an assault upon my person and the angels in my choir.”

“Nonsense.” Gregory frowned at the other angel. “The Iblis was in her earthly home. I arrived there to transport her to the meeting and saw her myself.”

Chabriel stuttered a few words before clamping his lips shut as he glared at Gregory. Clearly he didn’t want to accuse the powerful angel of lying to protect his lover. “Then she was in my circle directly beforehand. She must have gated back to her house after releasing the spell and the animals.”

“Right. Did this happen yesterday? Because you know how long it takes me to gate anywhere I want to go. If it was, as you say, ‘directly beforehand’ then I’d still be in Tanzania or Romania.”

“Someone helped you.”

“Enough!” Gabriel slammed a fist on the table. I swear the temperature in the room dropped twenty degrees. “I have no time for bickering, or for Chabriel’s ridiculous accusations. If there is a complaint to be made, follow proper channels. Now shut up so we can complete this meeting.”

Wow. Maybe I did like Gabriel after all.

“The Iblis has laid claim to the Nephilim and their descendants, currently called werewolves, stating that as they are the product of sinful angels, they are her responsibility to punish and rehabilitate.”

“No! They’re ours. Next thing you know, she’ll be demanding the sires of these Nephilim, too.” Sleazy looked quite distraught at the prospect.

Rafael lifted one shoulder. “Maybe she should. Our punishment clearly hasn’t been enough of a deterrent. Don’t you think the threat of eternity under the very creative thumb of the Iblis would frighten the most rebellious of angels?”

Gabriel cut him off with a wave of his hand. “If the Iblis wants to put forth that claim, we’ll need to add it to a future agenda. Today we need to discuss the issue on the table. I met with her, and I do believe that in our current state, we should welcome her assistance. The Nephilim have long been an embarrassing problem. We have difficulty finding them and delivering justice. The Iblis is better suited to these things.”

“I don’t like it,” Chabriel commented. Sleazy nodded.

“Are one of you proposing to assume responsibility for the Nephilim and their descendants?” Gregory asked, looking at each angel in turn.

“No!” Sleazy squeaked.

“That’s always been the responsibility of the Grigori,” Chabriel sneered. “Are you saying you can’t handle it?”

Ouch. I winced and waited for Gregory to finish the job the durfts had started. Instead he just sighed and shook his head. “When the first Grigori came to assist the humans, there were one million of them. There are now over six billion. The priority of this group has always been the humans. Let’s keep it so.”

“Fine.” Chabriel crumpled up the paper before him and threw it onto the floor. “I don’t trust her, though. Who is going to keep an eye on her and make sure she is truly punishing and rehabilitating as she’s supposed to?”

The room became eerily silent. Angels cast furtive glances at each other then pointedly examined the ceiling. Again Gregory sighed. “Fine. I’m down there anyway, managing the Gregori. I’ll keep an eye on her. But someone else has to head up these meetings and take the lead in keeping Aaru on the correct path. I can be in two places at once, but not at my optimal power.”

Everyone squirmed in their chairs and continued to find the ceiling particularly fascinating.

“Don’t all volunteer at once, now,” Gregory drawled.

Silence.

“Gabriel. You’re the next eldest in Uriel’s absence. I’m appointing you.”

Gabe’s eyes widened in shock, but he couldn’t hide the quick smile, or the flush that briefly stained his pale cheeks. “I’m honored you consider me capable, my brother.”

Wow. One quick meeting and Gregory had his puppet dictator, I had the Nephilim and werewolves, and I’d watched Chabriel humiliated in front of his peers. Best. Day. Ever.

“Meeting adjourned.” Gregory rose as the other angels vanished, Raphael escorting Chabriel back to Aaru. “Need a lift, Cockroach?”

“Damned straight I do.” I launched myself into his arms and shamelessly felt him up.

“Ready?” He smiled down at me, rubbing a lock of my hair between his fingers.

I was ready. Ready for a crazy future with my angel by my side.

–Epilogue–

T
o the Most Noble Iblis, from the Freeman, Gareth the Sorcerer

Sam — Your five demons returned and immediately began projectile vomiting all over my shop. I still can’t get the smell out. They also stole three explosive beetles, a mirror of fate, and an endless rope. I’ve added these plus a damages and cleaning fee to your account. Please see me upon your return to Hel to settle up.

P.S. I am calling in one of your favors. Just a little project I’ll need you to undertake for me. After bringing Hel and a sizable chunk of the angels’ territory under your wing, this should be child’s play.