Fallen Angel: Mythic Series, Book 2 (7 page)

Jax’s familiar and affectionate greeting was most welcome when Ryssa collapsed on the couch. What was it about David Corrigan that sapped the last of her strength?  Whenever she was around him, her heart pounded and blood fired in her veins. The man was insufferable!  And then afterward, she felt cold, empty, drained.

The last thing she needed was for him to go all white-knight on her because of some misplaced sense of chivalry. She didn’t want to endure another night of Karthik’s focused attention because David Corrigan decided she needed saving. She was quite possibly the only immortal who could match the demon lord in power, which meant he didn’t have to hold back in exacting “payment” for fear of breaking her. Her pain, given willingly, was the purest, most potent form of demon “food” there was, and Karthik would exploit any and all opportunities for more.

“Hey, Jax,” she murmured in response, closing her eyes before her head even hit the back of the sofa.

“Tough night?”

“Yeah.”

“Want some sugar?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

He placed a box of chocolate glazed donuts in her lap. She opened one eye and looked at him suspiciously. “Chocolate glazed?  Okay, what’s going on?”

Jax looked away, avoiding her stare. He fixed her a glass of cherry Kool Aid, adding three heaping spoons of sugar and stirring. “What makes you think anything is going on?”

Both of her eyes were open now, her weariness temporarily forgotten. “Because chocolate glazed donuts and cherry Kool-Aid for me are the equivalent of wine and roses for other women. The only time you willingly shovel sugar into my mouth is when you’re trying to soften the blow of something awful.”

“You wound me,” he said, placing his hands over his still heart, but he couldn’t hide the truth in his eyes.

Her voice softened. “Just tell me, Jax. You know it’s better that way.”

All traces of his smile faded away as he sank down onto the sofa beside her. “Vlane Masterson wants to buy my contract from Karthik,” he said bluntly. “Now that Vlane’s married, he’s looking to bring in some new blood, and Kristoff recommended me.”

“That’s wonderful!” Ryssa exclaimed, genuinely happy for her friend. Vlane Masterson was the vamp coven leader in the nearby town of Mythic. He was known for being strict but fair, and extremely generous to those he called his own. A vampire couldn’t ask for anything better until he was old and skilled enough to become a Master himself.

“I said no,” Jax said quietly. “But I’m not sure I have much of a choice.”

“Why would you say no?” Ryssa asked, bemused. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime.” When Jax wouldn’t look at her, realization dawned. “It’s because of me, isn’t it?”

“I want to take you with me, Ryss,” Jax said. “I talked to Masterson about it, told him about you. Not the specifics, of course. He said he’d buy out your contract, too, but Karthik’s being a possessive asshole. He said he wouldn’t hear of it. You’re too valuable, baby.”

Something painful welled in her chest and made moisture pool behind her eyes. It meant the world to her that Jax cared enough to want to take her with him, even if it wasn’t possible. Karthik would never willingly release her, but that didn’t mean Jax should suffer.

“You have to do this, Jax,” she said quietly.

“I won’t leave you, Ryss.”

“It’s not like you have a choice.” If Karthik sold his contract, there was nothing Jax could do about it. He had been transferred to Karthik along with her, won in some ridiculous game the lords and masters liked to play. Not all indie vamps were under contract, but rogues usually didn’t last long on their own until they were much older and much stronger. Jax had been turned less than a century earlier. He was a lot stronger than his human counterparts, but was no match for those who had had hundreds, even thousands of years to develop their strengths and skills. For many years, he had stuck by Ryssa’s side, but this was a chance for something better.

She smiled, forcing a courage into her voice she didn’t feel. “And you can still come see me, right?  Mythic is what, like five minutes from
Seven Circles
at vamp speed.”

Jax pulled her into his arms. “Yeah, I guess. But who’ll take care of you, Ryss?  Who’ll watch over you, keep the wolves away?” It was a private joke since so many shifters seemed to find her particularly yummy.   

She tried to offer him a reassuring smile and hoped her voice sounded more confident than she felt. As youthful as she looked, she’d been around a long time and knew there was no hope, not for her. Jax was too young to fully understand and accept that, which was one of the things she loved about him. Despite everything that had happened to him, Jax kept his kind, compassionate heart. She wanted him to hold on to that for as long as he could.

“Karthik won’t let anything happen to me. Like you said, I’m too valuable.”

Jax ran a long, cool finger over her lingering bruises. “He hurt you.”

“Only because I allowed him to.”

Jax’s beautiful face clouded even more and he scowled. “Because of that rich douche who looks at you as if you’re shit on his shoe. You should have let Karthik have him.”

Ryssa sighed. This wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. “I didn’t do it just for him, Jax. His mother is dying. She’s a really nice lady, and she shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of ugly stuff in her last remaining days.”

“That’s the only reason?” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“What other reason could there possibly be?” she asked, exasperated, hoping he wouldn’t look too deeply to reveal things she wouldn’t even admit to herself. “Like you said, the guy thinks I’m shit. Every time I’m over there he watches me like a hawk, trying to catch me slipping the silverware into my pocket or something. I bet he has the hired help count the spoons the minute I’m out the door.”

Ryssa didn’t really believe that, but it wouldn’t have shocked her to find out he did, either. For some inexplicable reason, that hurt. David Corrigan was an arrogant, self-serving mortal. She had encountered scores of them over her time in this plane. Why should she care one way or the other what he thought of her?  Just because she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him didn’t mean he had the same problem.

Jax frowned, but she could sense his relief. There was no way she was going to tell Jax about David’s offer of a temporary room at the Corrigan mansion. Ryssa was quite sure he hadn’t really meant to say that anyway; the look of horror she’d seen on his face the moment after he suggested it was more telling than his spoken words.

“And when the mother crosses over, you’re done with him, right?”

“Of course. The only reason he hasn’t gotten a restraining order on me is because she wants me there. He’s a dick, but he’s a dick who loves his mother.”

“Okay,” Jax said grudgingly. “But if he comes into the club again...”

“He won’t,” Ryssa assured him. “I told Gunther not to let him in again.”

Jax nodded, slightly appeased. “Fair enough, baby. Now hork some of those donuts, will you?  My fangs are aching here.”

* * *

“D
avid.” His stomach dropped at the sound of his name, spoken so softly in Ryssa’s voice. Not Gilligan. Not dickhead. Not even Corrigan. But
David
.

He lifted his gaze from where he sat outside his mother’s room. Wishing. Hoping. Praying.

If Ryssa’s voice hadn’t clued him in, her face would have. There was no trace of the rebellious badass now. The sympathy in her eyes was almost more than he could bear.

“It’s time. Would you like to be with her?”

No!
  It was too soon. It couldn’t be time already. So what if Ryssa had warned him when he’d opened the door earlier, spouting some bullshit about it not taking long now?  How the hell could she possibly know?
He
was the one who had sat by his mother’s side all day, feeling his heart stop each time she seemed to stop breathing.
He
was the one who had begged to take her to the hospital, only to have her stubbornly decline.

But instead of ranting and raving like he wanted to, he simply looked at her blankly and asked, “It’s time?”

“Almost. She wants to say goodbye.”

He nodded, pushing back the pain scoring his heart at those words. His mother had had bad spells before, and she’d always pulled through. This was just another bump. Yesterday, she’d been laughing and smiling, telling Ryssa embarrassing stories about him when he was little. Yeah, he’d been a real handful.

When he walked into the room, he was sure he was right. Already his mother was looking better, more peaceful than she had all day. The oxygen mask was off. Ryssa had dressed her in a lovely pale blue silk dressing gown that showed off her eyes; she had brushed her snowy white hair until it shone.

“Hey, Mama,” he said, reverting to his boyhood address. “You look so pretty.”

“Ryssa helped,” she said, beaming at the young woman who had followed David in but now stood in the far corner of the room. “I want to look nice for your father.”

David didn’t know what to say to that. He sat down carefully on the bed and took her hand in his, shocked at how cold it was. “I’m not ready.”

“I know. But I am.” She patted his hand. “I can’t help you any more, David. The rest you have to figure out on your own.”

He shook his head in denial, but she wasn’t finished. “It is time for both of us to move on.”

“They’re coming,” Ryssa said quietly.

“No!” David nearly shouted, shooting a desperate glance back toward Ryssa. In that moment, he didn’t care how crazy she was, or what kind of horseshit voodoo mumbo jumbo she believed. “Tell them not yet!”

“She can’t stop them, David,” Elizabeth said calmly. “But maybe she can ease your mind a little. Ryssa, will you help him?”

Help him? What the hell could Ryssa possibly do?

Ryssa looked uncomfortably at Elizabeth, biting her bottom lip.

“Please, Ryssa. David, you’ll be good, won’t you?”

Confused, David nonetheless nodded. In that moment, he would do anything his mother asked.

* * *

I
t was against the rules. Only the one making the journey was supposed to see the other side. But Elizabeth was such a kind woman, and her eyes were pleading...

Oh, hell. It wouldn’t be the first time she broke the rules, Ryssa thought. And what more could they do to her? 

She took a step toward the bed, but David stood in her way. Rather than look angry or try to get around him, she took his hand in hers. Elizabeth would be able to see because this was her journey, but David wouldn’t unless Ryssa helped him.

* * *

H
e tried to shake her off, but she held on stubbornly. Despite her size, her grip was far stronger than his. “Don’t say a word,” Ryssa warned. “Not one word. Do not meet their eyes. Just focus on your mother, got it?”

David fixed her with a glare but then her eyes began to emit some kind of weird, unearthly glow. Surprised, he clamped his mouth shut tightly and nodded once.

“David,” Elizabeth whispered reverently. “Look.”

He did - already forgetting Ryssa’s warning - and had to blink several times. The walls were gone, and a man stood where the bathroom should be, a beautiful man with golden hair and eyes and big white wings. Behind him, waiting in the distance were familiar faces. Faces David hadn’t seen in years. His father. His grandparents. His great Uncle Lou. Waiting. Smiling.

A warning squeeze from Ryssa reminded him to lower his gaze, but he still saw them out of his peripheral vision.

“Hello, Elizabeth,” the golden angel said warmly. “I see Ryssa has been taking good care of you.”

“She has,” Elizabeth agreed. “You must be Zach.”

The angel smiled, and it was as if the sun had just broken through the clouds. Even concentrating on his mother as he was, David had to close his eyes when he felt his retinas burning.

“Talks about me, does she?”

David stiffened and flicked a glance toward Ryssa, but she had her head bowed and her eyes cast downward.

“She says you are the best.”

“She is biased,” the angel said with affection, winking. “Will you not look at me, Ryssariel?”

“No,” she whispered quietly.

David heard the angel sigh heavily before addressing Elizabeth once more. “Are you ready to continue your journey, Elizabeth?”

David opened his mouth to say something, but Ryssa squeezed his hand.
Hard
. David caught her eyes, could almost hear her voice in his mind, pleading with him to let his mother go, for her sake. He clamped his mouth shut again and nodded at his mother.

“Yes,” Elizabeth said, beaming, relief etching her features. “I’m ready.”

“Then come. Your husband is anxiously awaiting your arrival.”

“Thank you, Ryssa,” Elizabeth said. “Goodbye, David. I’ll always be with you. I love you.”

David watched through a sheen of teary moisture as Elizabeth rose from the bed, the years falling away. He saw her take the angel’s hand and walk into the mist. She looked over her shoulder and gave one last wave, the smile on her face so beautiful he wanted to cry.

Ryssa dropped David’s hand and the bedroom wall suddenly reappeared, looking as solid as it ever had. He turned back to the bed to see the frail form of his mother, eyes closed, features serene. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard a door close.

His mother was gone. And so was Ryssa.

J
ax was gone.

Ryssa knew that the moment she entered the little apartment. It was just as dark as it always was. Just as cool and quiet. His scent – sandalwood and leather – still hung faintly in the air. But the subtle, low-level thrum of his magick was absent.

There was no need to go into the kitchen and eat right away, because there was no one waiting on her.

Was he hungry, she wondered vaguely, the urge to care for him still strong. Probably not. Vlane Masterson was known for taking care of his own, and if the rumors were true, there were hand-picked live-in donors right there on the estate. She hoped whoever it was would be considerate enough to stay away from dairy products.