Fallen (19 page)

“That's because I hold the angel's halo.”

“You do not.”

“Does not the halo glow blue when in the presence of its rightful owner?”

“You have a halo that glows? But if you've not been near the angel…”

“This halo was found in the vicinity of the angel's home.”

“Well, if you know where he lives—”

Antonio grabbed her by the throat, pressing his thumb in deep. “Do not argue with me. You want freedom? You bring the angel to me.” He released her roughly, and stood. “Don't think you can run from me, Venezia. You know that would be a mistake.”

He left her to consider her alliances.

C
ooper paced the quiet rooms of his apartment. The high ceilings gave the rooms a vast, spacious atmosphere without closing him in as he'd been accustomed to while imprisoned in the Ninth Void. This was different. This was real.

Humanity. It was a delicious tease, but only that.

He would miss it.

Weird, but in little over a fortnight he'd already put down roots in this city. He liked this home. He liked this realm. It felt comfortable. It offered everything he'd never had Above, most especially, love.

She does love you. Don't give that up
.

Cooper punched a fist into his open palm with a smack. “I love her.”

And that was why he had to leave. It wasn't right to expect Pyx to ignore her Sinistari calling over something the demon would be punished severely for. But if he was
nowhere near the muse, then Pyx wouldn't have to ignore a thing.

Flicking off the light switch, he trundled toward the front door, combat boots beating the hardwood floor. He needn't carry belongings with him; there was nothing he valued that was tangible and clothing he could assume with ease.

According to research on the internet, the frozen wasteland of northwestern Siberia boasted a small population, and was not welcoming. Nor did it provide optimum living conditions to the few who did live there. Cooper figured no sane muse would live there. He would get used to the cold.

He'd set up in an apartment—maybe an igloo—and then focus on locating his halo. It wouldn't be an easy quest, as it had been for Pyx.

Her halo had glowed.
Not his
. And as far as Cooper knew she couldn't use it. A demon had to make a kill to gain a soul, didn't they?

“Pyx.” He stopped at the front door and tilted his head back, closing his eyes. She was the one tangible thing he would miss. Much as he hated leaving her without a word, he knew Siberia wouldn't keep the Sinistari away.

“She'll find me. And when that happens, at least there won't be a muse in the vicinity.”

Which could prove good for their relationship. If they hadn't the interference of the muse they could focus on each other.

No, as much as he and the demon got along, and they enjoyed sex together, Cooper suspected Pyx wasn't in it for the long run.

Was he?

He did like the demon, despite, well, that she was a
demon. Hell, he could go there. It wasn't just
like
. He loved her. How crazy was that?

Love was a bright and vast feeling that exploded in his chest every time he saw Pyx. And maybe, just maybe, a part of her really did love him.

It was too great to hope for. But he did.

A knock on the door pulled Cooper from his thoughts of the sexy demon. The door opened as he turned the knob. Michael Donovan and his girlfriend Vinny walked through.

“They've got the muse,” Donovan said, striding on into the kitchen as if Cooper had invited him.

The vampiress hung back, following Cooper, but he was bothered by her presence. He noticed she didn't look at him and when he arrived in the kitchen Cooper bowed to look at her face. “What happened to you, little one?”

A green-and-violet bruise angered the skin below her left eye.

Michael hugged her about the shoulders. “Antonio and his tribe worked her over. Wanted her to bring a message to you.”

“Me? Why?” He eyed Vinny cautiously. “I thought vampires healed fast?”

“Just gives you an idea how badly they hurt her,” Michael said.

Vinny glanced toward the window but remained quiet. Something was off with her.

Seriously? She'd taken such an awful beating that she still had not healed. That was remarkable for a vampire. Her kind normally regenerated surface wounds within an hour. Even a mortal wound took less than a day to heal over. Unless it was a holy wound. If baptized, the vampire never healed from a holy wound.

The bruise on Vinny's face did not appear cross-shaped.

“So what's the message?” Cooper asked, folding his arms high over his chest.

The door opened and Pyx barged in, looking fierce and ready for—hell, she always looked ready to kick ass. Cooper smiled broadly, despite the disturbing company. That was his girl.

Pyx wore a long black leather dress that was split hip-high and beneath that wore thigh-high leather boots. Black fingerless gloves glinted with a few rivets and her red hair was pulled into a sleek tight ponytail. She was either in angel-slaying mode or fashion-model meltdown.

Either way, she
owned
that outfit. And Cooper could think only of removing it from her body.

“Pyx,” he said on a breath. “Good to see you. That dress is…hot.”

“It's actually pretty cool. I'm told leather is what all the fashionable people wear.” She crossed her arms, feet squared and chin up. Yeah, she was in angel-hunting mode, Cooper could feel her stealthy focus and it tensed his muscles. She flicked a nod toward the couple. “What do they want?”

“The Anakim tribe has Cooper's muse,” Michael said. “They sent the message through Vinny.”

Pyx observed the vampiress with a narrow glare. “Why would they send a message via another vampire? Why didn't Stellan tell me? Or heck, Cooper has his own vamp shadow. And so what if they have the muse? Angel boy here isn't interested.”

“That's not what I heard,” Michael said. He turned a look over his shoulder at Cooper. “Heard you had a go at the muse last night.”

“It couldn't be helped,” he answered, flexing his fingers
in and out of fists. The halo hunter pressed the bounds of respect. He had no right to infer that Cooper was in the wrong. “But it will be. I'm leaving town as soon as I shuffle you sorts out of here.”

“Leaving?” Pyx tilted a look at him. It asked “What's the deal? First you leave me in bed, now you're leaving the country?”

“They've got your halo, too,” Vinny shot out. “I saw it.”

“My—” Cooper stopped himself from clutching hope. Instead he chuckled as a defensive reply to the wily vampiress.

“They have dozens of halos,” Pyx argued. “You have no proof the one you saw is Cooper's.”

“It glowed,” Vinny said. “Just like yours did, Sinistari.”

Cooper caught Pyx's raise of brow. They exchanged silent looks for a tense moment.

Finally Pyx said, “I'll go and check things out. There could be another Fallen in the city we're not aware of. Which would explain why the one in the hotel glowed. It was
not
mine.”

Cooper shook his head. “I'm not letting you barge into a lair of vampires by yourself.”

“Oh, yeah? You want to go muse hunting, big boy?”

He didn't like her tone. It was as if they'd never shared a night of passion, or whispered things like they could do this forever and wouldn't it be awesome if they both had their souls and could live happily ever after. Pyx was hard today.

Was it because he'd told her about her origins? The news should have endeared him to her. They were two alike. But it could have had an opposite effect. If she hated angels then knowing she had been one would be the ultimate blow.

“They'll kill the muse,” Vinny warned.

Pyx approached the vampiress and towered over her, arms still crossed. “Why would the vampires kill a perfectly good muse? If they don't snag Cooper they can use her to catch another Fallen. That's how it works. You, vampire bitch, are lying.”

“No, I'm not,” Vinny rushed out. “I made a guess about them killing her. I'm sorry. They've got her chained to a wall. She's bleeding.”

“Bleeding?” Cooper winced. What had they done to her?

Siberia would have to wait. Sophia was an innocent in all of this, and he would not suffer the bloody vamp who had harmed her.

“Doesn't matter,” he said. “We need to get her out of there. Bunch of bloodthirsty animals, is what they are.”

He paused to notice Vinny cringe as her boyfriend hugged her. Weird pair.

“Take us there,” he commanded Vinny. “Once inside, I can track the muse by the angelkiss I gave her.” He avoided looking at Pyx but could feel her disappointment burn through the back of his skull. “And you, Donovan, are going in with me. While I'm looking for the muse, you'll be retrieving my halo.”

“What do I get out of it?” Donovan countered.

“You get to live.”

“I'm going in, too,” Pyx said. “If you get too close to the muse the rescue mission will go cockeyed, and you know that.”

Cooper nodded. “You two, meet us outside.” The halo hunter nodded and led the vampire out.

Cooper grabbed Pyx and kissed her. She struggled from him and stepped back.

“What's wrong?”

“We are,” she said. “We can't do…this.”

“Is it because you were once an angel? You do believe me, Pyx.”

“I do. I can. I know you wouldn't lie to me. But it doesn't matter what I was, only what I am now. And what I am is a slayer. And I haven't been doing a bang-up job with it lately.”

“I thought you were falling on the side of staying here on earth. If that's your halo—”

“You don't know that.”

“Kadesch.”

“Don't call me that. Wait. I'm sorry, I do believe you, Cooper. What were we like? It wasn't like a boyfriend and girlfriend thing, was it?”

“Not at all. We were friends. We trusted one another. You, Kadesch, gave me hope.”

“I wish I could do that for you now.”

Cooper sighed. “Let's go.”

“I got your back.”

He led her out of the apartment. She'd been granted a renewed need to do her job. He wanted Pyx to win a soul. And he wanted the muse safe. Could he manage both tonight?

 

Vinny and Michael Donovan walked ahead down the narrow alleyway deep in the heart of the Parisian right bank. Pyx sensed Cooper's pace slowed as they neared the vampire lair set up in the old church. He wasn't eager to get near his muse.

She knew Cooper. He was too kind. A gentle warrior. He didn't want to make some woman pregnant with a monster child. The guy simply wanted to live without having to worry about vampires or Sinistari chasing after him.

And she loved that he was that guy.
Liked
.

No, you went there before. Own it now
.

Okay, she
loved
him.

Cooper was the one angel who had fallen away from the rest.
An angel who had originally fallen with her.
She couldn't remember her time from Above. But she did believe it.

Kadesch. Yes, she could claim that name.

The halo in Michael's pack had glowed. Could it really be hers? And could she get her mortal soul from the halo and still leave Cooper alive?

Suddenly her shoulders hit the wall. Cooper pressed his palms to her shoulders. The intensity of his nearness shivered through her system. His breaths huffed across her mouth.

Pyx glanced down the alley. Michael and Vinny wandered ahead.

“We'll catch up to them,” Cooper said. “I have something I need to say before we do whatever it is we're going to do tonight.”

“We're going to kick vampire butt and save the muse.”

“Sounds like the perfect ending to a popcorn night. But you know exactly what will happen when I get near my muse.”

Yep, and it wouldn't be pretty. “Then don't go inside. I can handle this, Cooper.”

“I have to. I want to. Because—” He dropped his forehead onto her shoulder. “Pyx, I need you to be able to do your job tonight. And that's only going to happen if I go after the muse. Don't let me do it, Pyx. When I shift and go after the muse…”

She shook her head, knowing what he was going to say.

“You gotta kill me, Pyx.”

She shook her head more vigorously, but didn't speak.

“I know you can do it. You're strong. You're determined. And, blessed Above, you're so gorgeous when you try to deny your feelings.”

He gripped her head and kissed her. Hard and determined, he dashed his tongue into her mouth to taste her. The taste of him was warm, urgent and needy. She wanted to give him what he needed. But then she tasted his regret and the subtle warning as he gently bit the edge of her lip.

It was a kiss that should have brought her to her knees in a blissful surrender, but instead it made her straighter, more determined, more…committed to him.

“Promise me?” he whispered breathlessly.

“I won't. No!”

“You have to. I love you, Pyx. I want you to get your mortal soul.”

“No, don't say that.” She pushed his chest, but he was like a stone statue she couldn't move. Didn't want to move.

Another kiss silenced her protests. He clung to her. His fingers curved against her back, clutching and keeping her. If he pulled her against him, she would stay there, her hard demon heart clanking against his glass angel heart.

Her heart had once been like his; cold, solid, red glass. Now it was black steel. Neither beat.

Yes, they were two alike, in ways she could never have imagined. They wanted freedom from the immense and unforgiving realm of which they'd been born. They desired mortality. Cooper desired humanity.

She desired him.

“I love you so much,” he whispered aside her cheek. “But I will not conceive of allowing you to walk this earth one moment longer carrying the burden of the Sinistari. Take your soul tonight, Pyx. If you love me, you must take it.”

“I…”

He pressed his mouth to hers again. No movement, just the heat of their lips sealing them together, endlessly. Forever. And yet only for one last night.

Cooper pulled away and pressed his fingers over her mouth to ask for her silence. “I know you can't say it. But I have to know if you feel the same for me.”

“If I say it now, the Sinistari could take me— Wait.”

Pyx shoved her hand in a pocket and palmed the small metal iPod. She turned it on and clicked to the video section to select the one video she had watched.