Taken (9 page)

Asmode
us was filled with anger. H
is claw began glowing
red to match his eyes
.
He slammed the door and
began dragging me to the nearest concrete table. I kicked and screamed with every step he took toward
finalizing
my
fate.
He threw
me
on the hard, cold surface as I struggled against his strength.
As he secured
the first leather strap around my wrist, I thrashed my body with all my might. As he leaned over me to catch my other wrist, I wrapped my legs around his neck and squeezed as I tightly as I could.

The door crashed off its hinges and flew
in
to the blue-green opening. Sparks
rose
into the air as the wood instantly
dissolved.
Athen stood in the doorway, the fury controlling his every movement. His
green
eyes flashed with a
n
intensity
that would destroy anything
in his way
.
Gliding over to the table, he unfastened the leather strap around my wrist.
The veins in his forearms were throbbing with every move he made.
I had never seen him this angry. Then again, I’d never been in this precarious a situation before.

Asmodeus
shrieked
and
grabbed at Athen who dodged his grasp.
My thigh muscles were weakening, but I knew I couldn’t release him, not yet. Athen gripped Asmodeus’ wrist
and twisted his arm behind him.
Asmodeus
cried out in agony, but his clawed hand was still active and found its way into my side, burning my flesh. I hollered in pain as Athen ripped Asmodeus off of me and slammed him into the dirt wall.

Athen’s eyes caught mine briefly, and I followed his gaze to the opening. Asmodeus began charging Athen and I jumped on
Asmodeus’
back as Athen rammed into his front, crashing us to the ground.
I tumbled off
Asmodeus’
back as Athen’s force continued to drive
Asmodeus
toward the gaping hole. Sweat rolled off me as I
waited near
the hole, preparing to help plunge Asmodeus back into the underworld.
He was grinding his heels into the earth, but Athen’s strength continued to push him toward the hole.
As I watched Athen’s strength drive one of the strongest immortals back to the underworld, I realized just how strong love can be. It can work miracles.

Asmodeus arms reached for us as the blue
-green flames swallowed his legs, inch by inch
as Athen continued pushing
. His yells and screams shattered the cement table
s while his body sucked
back into the underworld
, closing up the gate to hell.

Athen ran over to me and grabbed me, lifting me up into his arms.

“You came for me,” I cried, looking into his eyes.

“I would never leave you, baby. No matter how many family members are
tackling me,” his eyes sparkling
and
filled with love
, as he held me tight. I pressed my cheek into his chest, taking a deep breath in, cherishing everything about this moment
.
For once I was grateful that he didn’t listen to me. I was thankful I wasn’t
Taken
, but instead cradled
in Athen’s arms to fight another day.

“What did you do with Cyril and Arie?” I asked, afraid to find out how he got around them.

He was silent. Maybe it was better if I didn’t know for now.

The ground began shaking
and the dirt walls
began
crumbling piece by piece.

“Come on, my angel. I’ve got to get you out of here,” he whispered, as he ducked through the first doorway.

The ground began shaking more violently with every passing minute while he ran through the empty room
and through the tunnel, gripping me tightly.

I looked behind us and saw the dirt walls collapsing in every direction as Athen
soared through the last tunnel. He busted us through the last doorway, dumping us into the park where Cyril and Arie were waiting.
They
were
both
kneeling on the ground just outside of the entrance. She was beaming from ear to ear as she watched her brother emer
ge from the ground, holding me tightly.

“You got her out!” Arie exclaimed, jumping up.

“Way
to keep him contained,” I joked, as tears streamed down Arie’s face.

“There was no stopping him,” Cyril boomed. “Just how I’d be with my girl.” He hugged Arie tightly.

Athen set me down on the ground
that was no
w
covered in snow
,
but held onto my hand while
I attempted to dust myself off
with the other
, but I was covered in far too much dirt.

“
Ana
closed up the
opening an
d ensured Asmodeus went with it.
”
Athen was beaming.

I smiled at him and shook my head.

“Is that what all the rumbling was about?” Arie asked.

I nodded.
“Yes, but it was Athen who did it.”

“
Well, whatever
. This place can start functioning
as a place to help people again,
”
Athen replied, not letting me go.

“What a concept.” I rolled my eyes.
“You know there’s still a chance that Charlotte and everyone that was still in the hospital might make it.
”

“
Only time will tell
,” Arie whispered.

Silence and snowflakes filled the air. I looked around at my family
and was grateful for their love and for still being here with them.

“Well, thank you for letting him go in after me. I think I sometimes underestimate what all he can handle.” I smiled, looking into Athen’s green eyes.

“Hey now,” h
e laughed, squeezing me.

“Besides, that’s why we were out here. To clean up whatever mess he might have left inside there.” Cyril couldn’t miss the opportunity to take a jab. “He was just lucky we didn’t have to do an Awakening on
both of you
.”

“Nice one,” I replied, grinning.

“I can see why it is so difficult for mortals to distinguish right from wrong sometimes. I had no idea that Bethany was actually a demon when I was a mortal. I totally missed it.” I shook my head.

“Yeah
,
that’s pretty telling,” Arie agreed. “It just goes to show why it is so vital that we do what we do. Someone’s gotta help the mortals make the right decisions.”

“Well
,
at least we try,” Athen replied. “They always have the final say.”

“
Still
we gotta do what we can do before we get old.” Arie laughed, squeezing Cyril.

“
True. W
e’re
only young once,” Cyril teased.

“Yeah
,
that lasts for like eternity.” I rolled my eyes and couldn’t help
but feel the same way. This win was parti
cularly invigorating.

“It feels nice to crush the wicked,” I replied. “Now let’s celebrate Christmas!”

C
hapter 8

T
hree Months Later

“See? If we were mortals we couldn’t have a picnic in the dead of winter in
the mountains!” Athen laughed, tossing more logs on the fire.
He had just come in from splitting a s
tack to last while we were here and I was trying to warm up from our late lunch out in the middle of a snowstorm —me and my infatuation with snow!

“Or ice
skate on a lake in the middle of nowhere,” I chimed in.

I looked around the rustic, log cabin that we had rented.
We had a few lanterns scattered along the
dining table and end tables.
The sun was setting spilling a
deep,
blue light onto the wooden floors.
T
he
glow
from the fire produced
enough light for us to see, even in the evening hours
, which was quite nice
.
The quilts draped above us in the loft area created a very cozy feeling
, but nothing was as restful as being in Athen’s presence.
He was my safe
haven and with everything we had been through, I was thankful we were able to escape to a place like this.

He turned and winked at me, creating a
stir deep within.
His grin was dazzling
, as he walked over to the couch that I was sitting on. I was sipping a wonderful cup of hot chocolate and couldn’t imagine another place I’d want to be.
Athen sat next to me and I pulled a
blanket around us, feeling
his body
move with every breath.
This was perfection — right here.

“Have I made your winter dreams come true?” he murmured, brin
g
ing me in close.

I placed my mug on the table, and
I snuggled into his chest
, enjoying the strength
of
his arms, as the rhythm of his breath
ing
steadied
.

“Like always,” I whispered.
I
felt
the magnificent pull between us
and never wanted this moment to end
. He reached his hand
up and slid out my hair clip, letting his fingers run through my hair.
A charge ran through me, and he cocked his head to the side with a mischievous grin spreading across his lips.

I blink
ed
up at him and wrap
ped
my fingers around his
neck. He leaned
over me,
and
his eyes turn
ed
a darker shade of
green, delighting me b
eyond belief. His finger circled
my
neck, sending another shot through me.
His lips parted
, but he didn’t move. He hovered over me and
just waited as the desire continued to build deep in my belly.
He knew what he was up to.

“Your touch is quite powerful,” I murmured.

“Oh my
beautiful, Ana,” he whispered.

“As long as you’re here with me on earth, I’m already in heaven,” Athen murmured, his words caressing my soul.
“I’ve surrendered everything I have to you and always will.”

The blood
rushed
through my body with a thirst only Athen
could
quench.
My surroundings slowly began to fade. The fire crackled softly in the background, but all I could think about was being with Athen.

I could take no more and climbed onto him
, linking his hands with mine.
Athen’s green eyes burned into me as
I pressed my lips to his.
He slid his hand down my spine
creating
a
sensation I wanted more of.

He trailed
kisses down my chin and neck
, slowing with each one
. Reaching my shoulders, his movements slow
ed
as he
gently
placed
me
back
down on the couch
under him
. As his fingers slid
up my body,
I shudder
ed
with anticipation
, feeling all of my strength leave as I allow
ed
my
self to be fully joined with him
.

***

We snuggled under mounds of blankets all night
,
and
once the morning light finally
woke us
up
, I was excited to start the day with Athen by my side.
He was
making breakfast in the kitchen, and I had changed into a wool sweater and pants. The cabin smelled
of
a wonderful mixture of wood smoke and maple syrup.

Cyril and Arie were set to join us today
,
and I looked forward to their
company.

“Well
,
you look beautiful,
”
Athen replied, as I
walked
down the stairs.

I blushed and became completely bemused at how no matter how long we spent together his words always made me feel stronger.

“Not so bad yourself,” I murmured, walking into the kitchen.

He was dressed in a grey flannel
shirt
and jeans and looked pretty incredible. It didn’t hurt that his hair always managed to fall into
a
perfect
ly
disheveled
mound no matter what.

“Arie channeled that they’d be here early, so I bet they’ll be here any moment,” Athen replied,
placing the last pancake onto the
platter.

Matilda waddled over to the kitchen, hoping to clean up anything that may have found its way to the floor. Noticing no crumbs had actually landed below I tore off a piece of pancake and dropped it for her anyway.

Just as we sat down at the table Cyril and Arie bu
rst
through the doorway, grinning wide as they carried bags of groceries with them.

“We’re here,” Arie squealed, dumping off the bags in the kitchen and running over to hug me and her brother.

“Did Athen tell you what he had planned for you?” Arie asked, clapping her hands together.

“No,” I smiled, looking over at Athen whose eyes were filled with mischief.

He just started laughing
and pulled me into him.

“Arie can’t keep a surprise to save her life!” Cyril couldn’t stop laughing
.

“Oops,” she smiled.

“Are you for once turning red instead of me?” I challenged.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked Athen, looking into his green eyes.

“Snow angel time,” he whispered for only me to hear.

“Oooh. What does that involve?”
I giggled as he hugged me tightly.
Anything he had plann
ed would be phenomenal.
It always was.

“We’ll put the groceries away and meet you outside,” Cyril said, winking at Athen.

Athen bundled up and helped
me
put
on my coat, hat, and scarf
.

“Sounds great,” Athen said, picking me up and
carrying me over the threshold to the great outdoors.

“Hey, what are you doing with me?” I squirmed in his arms, pretending I didn’t want to be there.

“You’ll see,” he murmured.

B
efore I could catch my breath, he shot us into the air
. The wind soared
over the only small portion of skin that was exposed
,
and the beautiful snow covered trees
became our equal.
He held me tightly as we glided over the Douglas Firs that looked as if a fresh coat of flocking had been sprayed on them.

“Oh, Athen. This is beautiful.”

“Wait until you see where we’re going.”

Our bodies fit as one as he flew me higher and higher, leavin
g the tips of the trees behind in our wake.

“This is heaven on earth,” I gushed.

“
You
are heaven on earth.” I felt the smile spread across his lips and couldn’
t imagine my life any other way, with any other person.

The jagged, snow-packed mountains were coming into view as
we climbed higher and higher
,
and the trees became sparser.
His speed decreased as he flew us into a bowl, surrounded by mountains.

“Where is this?” I asked.

“A
mountain top
glacier,” he replied, landing.

“It’s beautiful
. The blues are like none I’ve ever seen before.”

“Nature’s hard to beat when it comes to beauty. That’s why you’re as close to perfection as
it
come
s
.”

“Very funny. Considering the wind speeds we just encountered I can’t imagine how I look anything
like your implying.” I grinned, but feeling extremely happy to hear those words.

He grabbed my hand and started pulling me to the turquoise
mounds.

“Okay, stay here,” he said.

He walked over to the closest
glacier
mound and shoved his fist into the ice, splintering the turquoise into many
beautiful pieces. Scooping up the pieces, he piled them
in front of me and went back again
. Driving his fist into the ice, fracturing the pieces once more.

“What are you doing?” I laughed.

“You’ll see.”

He dumped the other pile of pieces next to me and began sorting them out by size.

“Want me to help?” I asked.

“Sure.” He glanced over at me and smiled.

Once all of the ice was sorted by size and I was left completely baffled, he began grabbing the large ones and staking them deep into the ground
as if it were nothing
.

“You know the glass pieces you make us?” He grinned
, looking over at me
.

I nodded.

“Well, I’ve never been very good at
glasswork,
so I
thought I’d give you something
special that I’d make for you, my angel.”

Searching
for the perfect pieces of
ice to perfect his masterpiece,
h
e constructed
a snow angel twice my size. It was beautiful. As the sun hit it, the
wings sparkled and created prisms I never knew possible.

“Words can’t even express,” I started.

Placing the halo
on top, he dusted his hands and came over to me.

“I
wanted to make a snow angel that would last.”

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

“Thanks.”

“This makes my glasswork look like child’s play.” I laughed.

“Do you wanna try?” he asked.

“Totally.”

Walking toward the statue,
I let out a scream as
Arie and Cyril
lurched at me from behind the angel, scaring me to death.
“You guys are in so much trouble,” I yelled, but a
ll I could think of to d
o was throw snow in their faces
,
and Athen was quick to join in disrupting any possibility of me creating my own angel.

A full-blown snowball fight had been instigated and there was no way Athen or I would
ever
lose.
We ran back up the bowl to look for cover and
a
place to stockpile as many snow bullets
as
we could make.
Athen was already on the task, creating one snowball after the other in mere seconds.

“They don’t even know what they’ve got coming to them.” I laughed.

“No. They don’t.”

I peered my head over the
snow
hump and Cyril and Arie were nowhere in sight
. They were stockpiling as well or hiding — cowards!

“I’ll go do a recon mission,” I said, laughing.

“Okay. Take a few of these.”
Athen
tossed me some ammo
to hold on
to.

“Geez. Thes
e are pretty compact.” I smiled, gripping the snowballs.