How to Seduce an Angel in 10 Days (18 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Cuffed and Stuffed

H
e’d taken the cuff off, the stupid bastard.

Her intent had been to separate the beast from Emilian, but in the end, Tally couldn’t stop and she’d absorbed both life forces.

She’d knowingly killed a man.

Granted, he could have been the harbinger of the apocalypse, but he was still a man inside. A person with thoughts and feelings, dreams and hopes. Someone’s child. Someone’s brother. Someone’s lover. And all that he was, all that made him unique was now gone—swirling inside her like some kind of Samhain candy treat.

She slipped into the shower, knowing her hands, her body, her soul, would never be clean again.

Tally sat down as the hot water pummeled her skin and watched it run down the drain. It should have been bloody. She didn’t understand how she could take a life without any blood or gore to scar her memory. Not that she’d ever forget it, but there should have been red and instead it was all gray. She felt dirty and Tally didn’t think there was enough hot water in the world to wash the feeling away. She’d never be able to scrub his stench from her body or the memories of what she’d done from her mind.

Tally felt her chest tighten and tears burned like acid, but she didn’t want to cry again. She didn’t want to feel sorry for herself.

The world was still turning. She’d traded one life for many—Tally had made the hard choice.

The lamia tried to comfort her. It was a strange alliance, Tally thought. That alien presence inside her mind had once been so foreign, but knowing it was there now brought her an odd peace. Its voice was familiar to her, something she knew amid a sea of unknowns.

Finally, she knew what it felt like to sate that gnawing hunger. She’d thought the lamia could only feed on purity, but the beast had been anything but pure. He’d been a blight of malevolence on the warlockian and mortal world alike. She’d done a good thing. Perhaps it was the purity in the act that sated the hunger?

That’s what she kept telling herself.

All she wanted now was to sink into Falcon’s embrace and forget everything, but that was impossible now. He was an angel and she was . . . something else. Her heart burned more than her tears. It was full of him and empty at the same time.

“If I didn’t tell him that would be a lie. We don’t lie to people we love,” Tally said aloud.

After all Middy had sacrificed to separate her from the lamia, she’d invited the creature back in with open arms. She’d hoped her best friend would understand, but Middy had almost died, and so had Dred. All to save her and it was like she’d thrown that sacrifice back in their faces.

It
was
uncomfortable. Tally looked at her hands, and down her body at the expanse of seemingly clean skin, and bit her lip. She couldn’t stop thinking there should be blood. “I’d like to be alone, please.”

She felt its presence withdraw to a dark, private corner of her mind. It sent out waves of pleasure as it left to calm and soothe her. Tally could see why the women of yore would have been willing vessels. No matter what horrors they committed, if they surrendered to the lamia, it filled them with bliss.

If only she could surrender her conscience to that feeling, but she couldn’t. She knew what she’d done would have consequences.

Falcon. Oh, Merlin, Falcon. If she really loved him, could she be strong enough to let him go without explaining herself? Her explanations wouldn’t ease his pain, just her own. If he hated her, if he believed she’d betrayed him, he’d let her go easily.

The thought of never seeing him again was like poison, and she couldn’t stop the tears from falling. She sat under the spray until the hot water ran out. She waved her hand and used her magick to renew the hot water and cried a little bit more.

“Hey, kiddo. You’ve got to come out of that shower sometime.” Tristan’s voice startled Tally out of her thoughts.

Rather than screaming at him for coming into the bathroom uninvited, she said, “I don’t want to.”

“I know, but you need to. The Powers That Be need proof that Emilian Grey is no longer the eater of worlds. Before they vote again on his existence.”

“They’re the Powers That Be! Aren’t they supposed to know that stuff? Emilian is dead.”

“One would think,” Tristan agreed.

“I’d like to stay here for a little bit longer. I can’t seem to get clean,” Tally confessed in a small voice. The world waited outside the shower curtain. It was stupid to think a piece of plastic could be a veil between worlds and dimensions, but it seemed to Tally that it was. She was safe in the steam and the water. There were no mirrors there—either metaphorical or real.

“I know, but I promise, it will pass.” He was silent for a long moment, but when he spoke again, his words didn’t comfort her. They were knives. “Falcon loves you.”

“That just makes it worse.”

“Why?” Tristan asked.

“That’s going to make it so much harder to walk away,” Tally said through the curtain, using it like a confessional.

“Why do you have to walk away? He’s the one, girl. He’s it for you, in case you didn’t know.”

“No, I know all right.” Tally felt miserable. “He’s always been the one. I’ve loved him since I was a witchling.”

“So, why the big good-bye? He loves you, you love him—sounds like simple math to me.” Of course, it would, he was male.

“I can’t ask him to give up so much for me.”

“What would he be giving up?” He sounded confused.

“Sex.”

“Why? Don’t you like it? Because if that’s the case, you know I’m still single. I won’t pass out between your thighs.” He rustled the shower curtain playfully.

“No, damn it. You know the lamia is like a succubus. I could end him just from a single touch.”

“He’s an angel. He has regenerative powers. I’m sure you guys could find a way around that. I mean, it’s True Love. You can’t let a little thing like death ruin your Happily Ever After. Or, you know,
Death
.” He laughed at his own joke. “Just like I told him at The Banshee’s Bawl, he’s not on the docket to be reaped. Any reaping of someone with Crown Prince status requires my personal appearance. He’s not scheduled. It’s going to be fine. Really.”

“That’s because I’m not going to be weak. I will never see him again if that’s what it takes. I don’t think I’m one of those. I’m not the kind of girl who gets a Happily Ever After.” Tally was resigned to her fate.

“If you don’t believe you’ll get it, then you won’t. Everything you’ve ever wanted is there for the taking. All you have to do is reach out with both hands and hold on.”

“Tristan, not that I don’t appreciate your help, but why do you always manifest when I’m naked?”

“Because Death is a pervert?”

She laughed. “Don’t make me laugh right now. Everything is still so raw. I failed, Tristan. Emilian is dead.”

“No, he’s not. I brought a friend to help. If you still have Emilian’s life force, if you can convince the lamia to give it up, she can put it back in his body.”

“That easy, huh?”

“I never said it was easy, but come on. Get out of the shower and mope later. There’s still work to do.”

Tally sniffed. “Is Ethelred okay? What happened to Luminista?”

“He made a side deal with Emilian and you’re asking if he’s okay?”

“He’s wormed his way under my skin. Like a tick. I know Ethelred was hurting, and sometimes people do stupid things when they hurt.”

“Interesting observation. He’s a demon, though, not a people,” Tristan said with a smile.

“I think he’s more a people than he’d want anyone to know. These demons and angels, the ones who didn’t start out being one of us, their emotions and thought processes seem to be like ours, only exaggerated. Like they don’t know how to process what we do every day.”

“Another astute observation. It takes them time to learn, but eventually they do,” Tristan said. “Eventually, we all do.”

“I think that’s a gift for us, for humans. It’s so ugly and messy, but beautiful and perfect all at once.”

“Perhaps that’s why the lamia wanted to come back to this plane. Why it wanted to stay with you.”

“How did you know that?” Tally stuck her head out from around the curtain.

“I’m Death, dummy. You had to pass through my realm to get to the Abyss. I see all, hear all, and know all.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely still a know-it-all. Death hasn’t changed that any.”

“And look, you’re still Tally.” He swiped his finger down the tip of her nose.

“After all of this, huh?” She sagged back in the shower. Tally switched subjects.

“The lamia said Falcon made it warm for her.”

“Perhaps you’ll change her as much as she’s changed you.”

Tally didn’t say anything.

“Now, are you coming out or what? We have a gypsy prince to bring back to life.”

“Depends. Are you getting out of my bathroom?”

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.” He wagged his eyebrows suggestively. Tally narrowed her eyes at him and he held up his hands in mock surrender. “Fine, I’m going. But hurry up. His soul may decide it doesn’t want to come back. We have to catch him while he’s still confused. Or so my source says. Move it!”

The door closed and Tally swallowed hard. Tristan was right, she couldn’t stay in the shower forever, couldn’t hide from what she’d done and what she’d become. For better or worse, this was the path she’d chosen. It was just like what she’d told Falcon. She had to make do with what she had—not only make do, but make the best of it. A life.

That started by facing the corpse in the living room.

Resolved, she turned off the shower and slipped into the filmy pink maxi dress she had hanging on the back of the door. Tally caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and she stopped to look.

She almost didn’t recognize the woman looking back at her. She was a hundred million miles away from how she thought she’d turn out and even further away from who she wanted to be.

Then she smiled because that was wrong. Drusilla Tallow was exactly who she wanted to be. It had been a shit-ugly journey to get there, but she was there and that’s what mattered. She’d loved someone else more than herself, put him before her own needs, and she’d been brave enough to face her fears—all of them to do the right thing. That was a woman worthy of her Second Chance and maybe even redemption.

“Tally, move your ass or I’m going to spank it!” Tristan demanded.

“Damn it, I’m having a moment, Tristan.”

“Have it later.” He popped the door open and she threw the mouthwash at him.

“Tristan,” a sultry female voice interrupted, “I think you can let the woman have her moment after what she’s been through.”

Okay, so maybe Tally wasn’t as evolved as she thought. She hated the owner of that voice with a singular burning intensity simply based on the fact that she had a voice that screamed fuck me now. Her jealousy doubled when she saw that the woman was insanely beautiful
and
had bigger breasts that she wasn’t afraid to display in a tight T-shirt. She was everything that Tally always wished she was.

Thanks, Universe. Why is it every time I think I’m getting somewhere you
—oh, right. She was tired of being tested. Life was just one big pop quiz and Tally always felt like she hadn’t studied the material.

“Is this your friend?” Tally asked.
Duh, who else would she be?
She needed something to say and the obvious seemed the only thing available. Tally pushed all those feelings down. This woman had come to help her; so what if Falcon looked at her rack? Did it really matter? He was going to be doing a lot more with other women besides looking because she couldn’t be with him.

“Hi, I’m Ghislaine. I’ll be your Zombie Master today. Buckle up and keep all hands and feet inside the ride.” The woman laughed.

“Thank you for doing this,” Tally managed.

“Sure, anything to get Death off my ass. Is he always so bossy?”

“Afraid so. Comes from being an ex–war hero and Academy football star. Thinks he’s entitled.”

“Uh, no,” Tristan interrupted. “What makes me feel entitled is that part where you killed me. Horribly. Remember that?”

“Yeah, but you love me anyway.” Tally smiled.

“I do.” He nodded with a sigh. “But you and The Diapered One have Happily Ever After on the horizon. So I’ll just have to suffer without you.”

Tally snorted and Ghislaine rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how you stand him,” the Zombie Master said.

“Mostly, I don’t. We broke up a hundred years ago, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, because I’m an asshole. I know the song and dance.”

“Wait, wait. I need to record this for posterity. Death admitted he was an asshole?” Ghislaine fake gasped.

And suddenly, Tally smiled. Death and a Zombie Master. What better couple? She supposed it was a leftover impression from Falcon’s cupidity that let her see it, but she knew they belonged together.

“I thought this corpse reanimation was time sensitive, Hissy Ghissy. Can we get on with it?”

“Call me that again.” Her eyes narrowed.

A look came over Tristan’s face and Tally knew he’d accepted her challenge. “Hissy. Gh—”

Tally popped up and slammed her hand over his mouth. “Do this later. Like you said,
Time sensitive
. Right?”

“Right. And if Death were all that, he’d be able to do this himself, wouldn’t he? We’ll have to excuse him since he’s got a raging case of scythe envy.” Ghislaine turned on her heel and sauntered back to Tally’s living room.