The Seer's Lover (The Seven Archangels Series) (11 page)

“He’s mentioned in the Gospel of John. He prepared the body of Jesus for burial with Joseph of Arimathea. Nicodemus was a Pharisee and Sanhedrin, but he believed Jesus was the Son of God.”

“He was a what?” Lucas threw back another shot.

“A Pharisee was a fervent Jewish rule-follower and the Sanhedrin were basically the supreme court of Israel. He was
muy importante
.”

“What does this have to do with us?”

“Your distant ancestor Nicodemus, kept a few souvenirs from Christ’s crucifixion and burial…some are inside the glass in your necklaces.”

Lucas examined his parent’s matching set. A rectangular piece of glass housed a shard of wood that hung around his neck on black ropes.

“That wood is a piece of the cross.”

Lucas turned them over in his hands.

“All the earth—how can I say it—‘soaks up’ the good or evil done to it. Trees, rocks, anything natural or organic. You see? Our world is built around maintaining balance. The tree that hanged Christ was stained by the worst act ever perpetrated by humans. That evil will never be cancelled out, but the piece of wood seeks balance.”

“Angels,” Lucas whispered. “It summons angels for equilibrium.”

“Sí. Demons want anything and everything with that kind of power destroyed. Demons hunt one of three things—seers, artifacts, or young angels. They figure if angels don’t reach adulthood, and no one can see them and there’s nothing to fight them with, they’ll have absolute control on earth.”

“Mierda.” Shit. “I’ve been wearing this around my neck! I’m both a seer and an artifact holder, I’m a walking two-for-one special!”

“I’m sorry, but our family is responsible for keeping these artifacts out of demon hands,” Carmen said.

“Alejandro and I were supposed to move the artifacts this morning. If the demons have already found the park, then how do we protect them? Besides these necklaces, what artifacts do we have, Tía?”

“Don’t worry about that now. The demons already here need to be stopped. You and I both know there is only one way to do that.”

****

Isla de Cabuya, Costa Rica

Lucas returned yet again to Cabo Blanco, where Alejandro stood just inside the park’s perimeter. “I know they’ve been here. We have to hurry.” The angel held four ornately engraved but rather ordinary looking breadbox-sized wooden boxes. He handed two of them to Lucas.

Lucas followed Alejandro on foot two kilometers from Cabo Blanco toward the beach town of Cabuya. A few hundred meters off the coast stood Isla de Cabuya, an uninhabited island cemetery where local Ticos buried their dead. Candlelit burial processions only happened at low tide, when a sand bar appeared to rise out of the ocean, making the island accessible. The families could then return to the mainland after the burial and rest assured their dearly beloved would have several hours of peace until the next low tide.

Today, low tide was at six in the morning. Alejandro murmured a prayer which he said would consecrate the island. Lucas now understood “consecrated ground” and the benefits for his family’s possessions. Demons couldn’t trespass without dire consequences, like the reaction he’d witnessed when the demon tried to enter Cabo Blanco.

Lucas followed Alejandro along the sandbar to the island. “This is everything?” He shifted the weight of the wooden boxes.

“Yes, we have it all.”

Lucas struggled to keep up with him.

“Hurry. We don’t have much time before the tide comes in and the walkway is underwater,” Alejandro passed under a white stone archway that read “cementerio” in gold block letters.

A dense, palm-lined trail led to the desolate cemetery. Lucas noted the eerie, unnerving calm of the place. Wind rustled the palm trees, and the ocean lapped at the shores of the island and the mainland. His eyes strained to see Alejandro, who continued to lead him deeper and deeper into the cemetery.

Alejandro stopped at a newly dug, unmarked grave.

“Will they be safe here?” he asked.

The angel frowned. “Do you have any idea how long these artifacts have been my charge? I promise nothing will happen on my watch.”

They set the boxes in the wooden coffin, nailed it shut, and labored to lower the coffin into the grave. The effort of shoveling in the dirt left Lucas covered with sweat. The morning breeze cooled his skin, and he shivered.

After concealing the grave, they crossed back to the mainland and stayed to watch the rising tide swallow the passageway. The sun rose behind them, illuminating the island. “What’s in those boxes? I now know what’s around my neck. What other relics do we have that so desperately need to be protected?”

“Ask your aunt.” The angel vanished.

****

More puzzled than ever, Lucas made his way back to Carmen’s restaurant. Apples from the kitchen made a quick snack for Gotzone who’d found respite in the cool dirt under a palm tree on the road. He wanted answers to all his family’s secrets, and Carmen was the key.

“How did it go?” Carmen wiped down tables in preparation for the breakfast crowd.

Stogey padded into the restaurant behind him and plopped down at his feet. “Fine, I guess. Did you ever talk to Calise?”

“She’s not a seer. A little psychic maybe, but not one of us.”

He told himself he had no right to be disappointed she wasn’t part of his world. He needed to forget her and let her remain in blissful ignorance of the world he knew. But his heart sank anyway. “Are you absolutely sure?”

Carmen nodded. “The artifacts are safe then?”

He buried his emotions for Cali. Back to business. “Yes. But I don’t understand,
Tía.
What do we have that’s more important than the necklaces?”

Carmen tucked the rag in her apron and motioned for Lucas to sit down with her. “We have other, more powerful weapons to use against the demons, should it become necessary. Remember I said we are descendants of Nicodemus? Well, when all his disciples were hiding in fear after Jesus was crucified, two men came forward. Two incredibly brave men history has conveniently forgotten. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus cleaned Jesus’ body of the pieces of the cross still stuck to it. They removed the crown of thorns imbedded in His skull. Nicodemus brought a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloe to use with linen to prepare the body for burial.

“They left the tomb with an arsenal of weapons to use against demons. Low level artifacts, like the pieces of the cross, can summon angels when demons are in the act of committing evil. Medium level artifacts—a thorn from Jesus’ crown, for example, are much more powerful. But what the demons really want are the two most important artifacts the men came away with. Joseph possessed the cup Jesus drank from on the cross and Nicodemus kept a fraction of the spices that dripped from the body. These most powerful weapons can—”

Stogey, who had been asleep on Lucas's feet, started growling and raced around the back of the restaurant barking an alarm.

“Do you smell smoke?” Lucas bolted out of his chair. They found Stogey snarling at some movement in the trees. Lucas saw three sets of demon eyes back away and a fourth figure with hollow white circles for eyes—the transitor. “Hey!” he yelled, reaching for his necklace to summon Alejandro.

“Don’t.” Carmen warned. “They want you to summon Alejandro. They want him out of Cabo, remember? Quickly, help me. We can handle this.”

Flames licked up the back of his aunt’s restaurant. The demons had set the garbage cans on fire, and he noticed a trail of gasoline going out in both directions around the building.

“We need the fire extinguisher from the kitchen,” she barked. She turned on the hose and directed the nozzle at the flames.

The fire extinguisher combined with the hose didn’t work fast enough. Some Ticos appeared, drawn by the commotion, and began to help.

“The phone is dead. Lucas, we can hold it. Go and get Ron! He can contact the local firemen…”

“No, Carmen. What about Anna? She
must
know what’s happening here.”

“You can handle her. Hurry.
Please
,” Carmen begged.

Lucas scanned the woods where Stogey stood watching. “Stogey, stay!” The dog wagged his tail and plopped down facing the woods.

Lucas whistled for Gotzone, still lingering nearby. He grabbed a handful of her mane and jumped on. The flames licked the roof of the restaurant.

Once Lucas reached the resort, he burst into Ron’s and Anna’s place realizing at once his terrible mistake. No Ron in sight and Anna looked as if she had been anticipating his arrival.

A trick.

“What can
I
do for
you
?” Anna purred. She was lying on the couch looking stunning as always. She gently brushed away the wisps from her long mane of hair that fell across her cheek. Her lean, bronzed legs glistened, and Lucas couldn’t help but trace their path to the bottom of her string bikini.

He pulled himself out of her hypnotic spell. “Where’s Ron?” No time to waste. Anna appeared nonplussed; she wouldn’t help. He needed to get back to the restaurant.

“I can call him for you. Bring me my walkie-talkie from the table. Ron will answer if he’s within a two mile range.” She smiled coolly.

Lucas grabbed the two-way radio and handed it to her. She put her hand on top of his and pulled him close. The heat from Anna’s hand radiated up his arm as if he’d plunged the right side of his body in a pot of boiling water. The reflex to jerk his hand away seemed temporarily disabled. His brain screamed “
danger!
” but his body didn’t respond. His heart rate sped up, and he closed his eyes to avoid the sight of her. That made matters worse, much worse. His other senses roared into overdrive. What was that perfume? He inhaled deeply and let the scent fill his lungs.

“Everything will be all right,” Anna said, but not in her voice, in Cali’s.

When he started to say something, she placed her pinkie inside his mouth, causing it to instantly water—she tasted like cool strawberries and fresh whipped cream, his favorite dessert. On his knees in front of her, she drew him still closer to her face. He kept his eyes squeezed shut and tried to back away, but couldn’t. Compelled to open his eyes, severe vertigo impeded his vision, and he swayed back and forth, intoxicated.
Why am I here again?
He’d forgotten. Sensory overload told him one thing:
Take her. Here. Now.
Fear became thrill, danger became seduction, with Anna as the ultimate prize.

“I’ve got him, the young seer. Why is he
here
? He’s supposed to be at the fire,” Anna said into the receiver. Lucas heard the words, but they didn’t register as anything significant.

“Keep him there. The angel is still here at Cabo, so we can’t get in. Do whatever you need to do to figure out how they summon then stall for time with the angel.” The crisp words over the walkie-talkie pulled Lucas out of his trance.

“I’ll see what I can do.” Anna turned the receiver off, crawled off the couch, and knelt in front of Lucas.

He edged away from her, his mind reeling and unable to focus. Anna grabbed his arm, and his body shook. The whole room faded to black except Anna. He melted under her spell, unable to fight her. The warnings in his brain dimmed to a hazy morning fog.

Eyes half-closed, Lucas moaned.

Anna looked happy to reciprocate. “Remember I told you, never say never.” She tugged the strings that held her bikini closed. Lucas shook violently now, every time she so much as brushed against him. She ran his fingers through her hair. The fine black strands passed through his fingers like the softest grains of beach sand.

Lucas’s mind was mush. Something hot needed his attention right away. Anna…
No!
A shadow of doubt nagged the fringes of his mind. A fire.

She paused, reaching for his two intertwining necklaces. “Well, what do we have here?”

Lucas inadvertently followed her hand and touched the necklace. The effect was immediate. Snapping out of his daze, his mind cleared, and he pushed Anna away.

Alejandro appeared next to them.

She lunged for the walkie-talkie, screaming, “The angel! HE’S HERE! GO!” as Alejandro lunged and grabbed Anna then tossed her through the front window. Lucas stumbled over the debris after them, cursing himself for letting her control him and see the necklaces. Alejandro had to kill her, or their secret was out.

Lucas rushed outside to witness their violent fight. When angels fought demons in earnest, the battle, messy with blood, appeared as a blur. Anna charged Alejandro, who stood like a wall of steel. He palmed a tangle of her hair and slid her against the ground, then dragged her toward the barn. She flipped up and slammed Alejandro in the jaw with her feet. He staggered a moment and released her hair. She screamed at him in a language Lucas had never heard. Her eyes burned with hatred. She ran at him to attack. Alejandro’s face went blank. She punched. He blocked. Between their lightning speed and intensity, Lucas felt as if he watched shooting stars play on the ground. Then in a blinding flash, they disappeared.

Chapter 8

Outside the entrance to Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve, Costa Rica

Nara played a key role in the family business: she ruined angels, and she was damn good at her job. Her parents rarely requested her assistance on other projects, but when they did, they commanded her full respect and dutiful obedience. How lucky could two demons be to have a demon baby? Great luck of the draw. However, she had a bad feeling about Abaddon’s latest plan. After setting fire to Carmen’s, they hung around the entrance to Cabo Blanco and waited for the guardian angel to leave. If the seers summoned him to the fire, they could enter and search the place for artifacts.

She fidgeted with her hoodie string while she waited, watching Shane out of the corner of her eye. He stared straight ahead not even acknowledging her. Of course, he must have realized by now that the pain Calise left in his heart had not been erased, and he’d never forget her. Nara would have to beat her own name into his head to make him forget his human lover. She could do that. Unlike the others angel’s she destroyed, she wanted Shane. And what Nara wanted…

She’d forced dozens of angels to fall, so why she gave a crap about him she didn’t understand. Yeah, he was stellar in the bedroom with a rock hard body and musical talent, but she wanted him for other reasons she couldn’t put her finger on.