Elixxir (The Brethren Series) (21 page)

“What the hell’s wrong with me?” Ariana slowly sat up on the bed.

“You drank the Elixxir?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“Whatever was left in the flask.”

Emma sighed and rubbed her temples. “This isn’t good, I gotta tell you the truth. Not good at all.”

“Great. Am I gonna turn into one of those grotesque demons, like my uncle did, or something horrible like that?”

“No, nothing like that.” She shook her head and patted her arm. “And from what I’ve been told, your uncle’s soul was taken over by Satan, who craves power of any kind. The problem lies with the fact that the Elixxir is not meant for human consumption. It’s for immortals whose host bodies have incurred an injury that cannot be healed through human medicine or by a Savior’s hand. It’s long since been lost to us, until now. Since you’ve ingested it, along with gaining immortal powers, it’s behaving like an allergen or toxin in your system. I’m concerned that in a worst-case scenario, it could kill you.”

“Well then, how the hell do we get it out of me?”

“Good question. I don’t know. But what I think I can do is slow down your body’s reaction to it so that you can manage until we figure something out. Lie down again, and I’ll see what I can do.”

Emma rubbed her hands together and began a slow progression of touches and hovering of her hands over Ariana’s entire body, from her toes to her head. Once finished, she had to admit to feeling somewhat better. The ringing had faded and she couldn’t hear her inner workings as loudly as before. The crawling worm sensation provided only a faint distraction.

“Wow. You’re good. Thank you.” She sat up and hugged her. “I hope we can figure out what to do about me permanently, though. I’m not ready to die just yet. I’ll put up a helluva fight.”

“I would expect nothing less from Serena’s best friend.” She offered her a warm smile.

“You know, I’m concerned about Nathanael. I’d like to go see him.”

“Well, we’re all done here for now, so let’s go have a look.”

She put her arm around her shoulder and squeezed as she shepherded Ariana out of the bedroom. They entered the study together and all Brethren conversation ceased as one by one they stared at her. She took a deep breath and stared right back at them. Never one to let anything stew, she broke the silence.

“Listen guys, I know you don’t like me much. I know you blame me for Nathanael going off the deep end. But let me say that—”

“We don’t blame you. We actually would like to thank you.” Gabriel approached her and extended a hand. Her jaw dropped at the unexpected gratitude. “It’s customary to shake hands when one is extended.”

“Oh, right! Yes, well, you’re welcome, I guess?” She shook his hand.

“We thank you for saving Kemuel’s and Yofi’s lives earlier today. We haven’t seen such selflessness in a human in centuries. Some of us, not at all. So consider yourself an honorary member of the crew.”

“Oh, I’m no angel. I mean, uh, ha. Well.” Caught completely off guard, she shook her head and laughed. “Aw, hell. I appreciate the honor. So where is he?” She looked around the room, frowning, and then back at Gabriel.

“He stepped out for a few minutes.”

“What’s wrong? I know something’s wrong. I can see it in your faces. It wasn’t only blame I thought I saw when we came in. It was pity. What gives?”

“Our boss called. He wants to see you.”

“Oh, is that all?” She laughed. “No biggie. I’m a charmer. He may be angry with me for drinking the Elixxir, but when I walk out of his office we’ll be making plans for a family dinner together.”

The Brethren exchanged dubious looks.

“Oh, come on! What can be so bad?”

“It’s not so much the ‘who’ you’re going to see, as the ‘where’…along with the ‘who’.”

“All right, Gabriel, you’re making me dizzy here. I’m going to go look for Nathanael and find out what’s really going on.”

She turned to leave the study and stormed out the front door. “Nathanael! Where are you?”

“Over here, by the swings.”

She raced to the side of the house where a child’s swing set stood dwarfed by the mammoth angel leaning against it. “Hey, how are ya?”

“Just dandy. More importantly, how are you?” He offered her his hand. She took it.

“I’m fine, for now. Emma shared some scary stuff with me that I don’t even want to think about right now. So, stop deflecting, and tell me what’s bothering you. Does it have anything to do with this trip I gotta take to your boss?”

“It has everything to do with it.” He grabbed her to him and held on as though he’d fall through the earth without her there to anchor him. She rubbed his back and leaned into the embrace.

“Why? Tell me. If I know, I can work through it, but ignorance will only make me very afraid.”

“I have to bring you to the Beyond within twenty-four hours. E.L wants to see you.”

“Okay, so where is this Beyond place? Should we be going now? Is it far from here?”

“Nope. It’ll only take a few minutes to get there.”

“Uh huh. And are we taking your bike or do we need to borrow someone’s car?”

“No, we don’t need the bike or a car.”

She shrugged away from his warmth and glared. “Nate, enough already. I’m through with playing twenty questions and you don’t usually beat around the bush.”

“The Beyond is where we, the Brethren, come from. It’s not a place for mortals. I know you drank the Elixxir and you’re nearly immortal now, but you are still very much a human in most ways. I’m concerned that going there could prove to be too much for you.”

“And? What’s the worst that can happen?”

“I don’t know. No one knows. That’s the problem. No one but Brethren and other angels have been there.”

She stepped back into his arms. “Oh, Nate. If you want, I’ll wear sunglasses, or you can blindfold me if you think it will be too much for me to take in.”

“This isn’t funny, Red.”

“Nothing has been funny for a while. Let’s go already and get this over with. Maybe your boss can help me get this stuff out of me. Apparently, I’m not meant to ingest the Elixxir, and I’m having an allergic reaction to it. It’s becoming toxic in my body.” She looked up at him. “At least that’s what Emma thinks.”

“Shit.” He kissed her forehead and let his lips linger, then worked his way to her temple. “Are you in any pain?”

“No, only a nagging headache on the fringe and a vague crawling sensation under my skin.”

He caressed her cheeks with the backs of his hands. His eyes spoke of fear and desire as he lowered his lips to plunder hers, searing their souls together. The urgency brought tears to her eyes and caused her breath to hitch. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on for dear life, not wanting the magic to end, not wanting to meet the next inevitable moment. But being a realist, she knew what had to be done. Tearing herself away from him, she steadied herself by holding on to his arms and looked up at his beautiful, hardened face pinched with dread.

“As much as I would like to take you to a room right now and have my dirty little way with you, I think we need to go. We need to do this first. Why delay? Huh?”

He closed his eyes, as though he could shut out the world. When he looked back at her, a new resolve appeared. “You’re right. The sooner we get this over with, the better. I just don’t have a clue how E.L. is going to deal with you. That makes me nervous. But I promise I won’t leave your side.”

“That makes everything a whole lot better. Come on, let’s say our goodbyes and head out to Neverland.”

***

Returning to Nathanael’s apartment in Sedona afforded the two the privacy needed for their journey to the Beyond. Having flown all the way from Las Vegas in his arms, she proclaimed herself a veteran angel flyer and didn’t mind the few minutes it would take to get home. While she showered, he popped her clothes into the wash for a quick refresh. They swapped places and she fought to keep her nerves from taking over while waiting for them to dry.

She sat down to read. Motorcycle magazines weren’t cutting it, but his library of books proved fascinating. True crimes, mysteries, and suspense novels lined his bookshelves from top to bottom. Nope, a novel wouldn’t take her mind off the impending meeting, either. She wandered over to his desk littered with files upon files of bounty cases. Some were stamped with a huge red “Closed” on them. Just as her finger slid under the opening of one of the files, the buzzer for the dryer went off. She cut her finger on the edge, winced, and watched in amazement as it healed right before her eyes. Would she ever get used to that? Would she have to?

Her clothes smelled rain-fresh as she pulled them from the dryer. The scent coaxed a smile from her lips. She dropped the towel and bent over to step into her panties. Warm, soft hands suddenly rested just above the cleft of her butt and lightly massaged up her back. They were followed by seductive, feather-light kisses along her spine. Her eyes instinctively closed, and her head spun from the tender touches. She straightened up and turned into the waiting arms of a gloriously naked angel.

“We shouldn’t.” She sighed, betraying her own words by adjusting so every possible inch of her body touched his.

“Yes, yes we should.” His voice and manhood had thickened with desire, while strong hands caressed her shoulders and back. “I’ve rethought this hasty trip, and decided that without knowing what will happen, this is very much called for right now. I need you, Ariana, forever by my side. If it happens I can’t have that, at least I can have now.” Wings came from around his back, encircling her and teasing her already sensitized skin.

He needs me. But is he in love with me
?
If I live through this, can his need be enough for me
?
It will have to be, because for the love of God, I’m in love with him, and can’t live without him by my side
.

She peered up at him through misty eyes and spoke despite the lumps in her throat. “Then let’s make now last forever. Kiss me. Touch me. Make love to me, angel of mine.”

He tightened his wings about her and gentled a kiss upon her lips that transformed into an all- out assault, removing all thought. Hoisting her onto the washing machine, he spread his wings and her legs, and touched her. And she him.

His skin vibrated beneath her fingers, and his aura cast a reddish glow about the small laundry room. As he entered her inch by painstaking inch, he sucked in a breath and she moaned, delirious with the sense of completeness their coming together always gave her. Keeping inside her, Nathanael brought them to his bedroom, where a king-size, raised bed stood centered against the far wall.

“Oh, my….” she murmured, staring wide-eyed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I might get lost on that monstrosity!” She gave him a worried look at first and then burst out laughing.

“Ooh, don’t stop laughing. You feel so good.”

He laid her upon the bed and tickled her ribs. She giggled and tickled him back. They rolled and tussled across the great expanse of bed until abruptly, he stopped them, becoming quite serious with his piercing gaze. Not uttering a word, he began a slow, torturous rhythm that she quickly met with a pulse of her own. As the fire in her belly grew, she quickened their pace and stroked his wings until they were both shouting and grabbing at each other. Sweat collected between her breasts, and he bent down to lick and tease each peak until she could stand it no longer and climaxed, with him following right behind. Tucking his wings away, he collapsed beside her with a groan and collected her into his arms. She could have sworn she heard him whisper, “Mine.”

She closed her eyes and reveled in his latent power. It amazed her how at ease she became with him surrounding her completely, as though his very presence wiped away all the horrors from her past. After today, she knew she could finally put it all to rest. With that realization came a quiet confidence she hadn’t known before. She’d withstood so much in her life. This meeting in the Beyond, it would not break her. It was that plain, that simple. At peace with her inner strength and resolve, she rose up on an elbow and tapped him on his cheek.

“Another quick shower and we should go.” She crawled off the bed despite his protests and narrowly escaped being drawn back into his arms.

***

Nathanael let the shower beat upon his skull as his heart pounded in his chest.
This is so not like me at all. I’m a pretty calm, cool, collected kinda guy, except for when I’m on a hunt. Why is my slow heart racing now
? Ariana. Her predicament worried him. What if she couldn’t handle it in the Beyond? What if she could, but E.L. wiped all memories of him and the Brethren from her mind? What if he had to spend eternity knowing the woman he’d fallen in love with was out of reach?

Love
? He’d fallen in love? Oh, yeah. He’d fallen hard. But he couldn’t tell her. What good would it do either of them? It needed to remain a secret at least until after the meeting with E.L. If all things worked out, if she returned healthy and unharmed, even if her mortality was returned, he would ask to stay with her until the end of her days.

After putting on his jeans, he shoved a hand into his pants pocket and grabbed the delicate silver chain and charm he’d bought from Murati’s Oddities shop. He hadn’t meant to buy anything when he’d been there, but the charm had caught his eye and wouldn’t let go. He knew immediately that it should be hers. Angel wings curved downward into the shape of a heart, encircling a sword with a diamond on its hilt. He hoped it would serve as a reminder of their connection to each other. Even if she didn’t remember him once the meeting was over, at the very least, it would look beautiful around her neck.

“Hey, Red, come here.” She’d been standing and staring out the window at the red rocks. Smiling, she did as he bade her.

“Yes, what is it?”

“I have something for you. I’ve had it for a little while, but I think now is the perfect time to give it to you.”

“A present? You bought me a present?” She looked incredulous.

“Yes, I did. I saw it at the curiosity shop and couldn’t resist.” He snuck behind her and whispered in her ear. “Close your eyes and lift your hair.”