The Seer's Lover (The Seven Archangels Series) (3 page)

Not now.

“Hola, I am Anna, Ron’s wife.” She enunciated her name, pronouncing it
ah-na.
“This is Screech and this one, Big Greens.” She shook Calise’s hand with the one not occupied with the massive green iguana.

The skin seared Calise’s flesh like ice. She pulled away.

“Who might you be, darling?” Anna asked.

Calise wanted to run but forced herself to take deep breaths to quiet the pain on her hand and in her lungs. “I’m Calise Rowe. Your husband and my brother are old friends.”

Calise could not stop staring at Anna. Something was very wrong with this beautiful woman. The same old unexplainable feelings washed over her that had so many times before. Something icy, cold and dark like a cloudy, moonless night. Calise felt
despair.
Anna contaminated the air with wisps of guilt and self-doubt that seeped from her and cloaked Calise who felt like a rose plucked from the bush only to forget its own beauty and simply give up, wither, and die. Mr. Torres’ words echoed in her head…
demon.

She opened her mouth to speak when Ron reappeared with a mojito. She tried to shake off the feeling of panic. She couldn’t, only just managing to hide her fear behind a strained smile.

“Oh, yes,” Anna purred. “I remember your brother Dean…fondly. How long will you be staying with us?” Her thick, sultry accent blanketed the air.

“A week,” she answered, mesmerized. Anna captivated and disconcerted her at the same time.

“Where is your new husband?” Anna raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not married.”

“Pity.” Anna turned her attention back to the iguana, stroking the lizard. The lizard blinked, but the attention evoked no other reaction from the pet.

Ron sat beside Calise. “I see you’ve met my wife. So, I’ll have breakfast brought to your room in the morning, and if you decide to go horseback riding, let me know.”

Anna flicked her head in the direction of the stables.

Calise gasped. Waves of ice passed over her. She faked a smile. “I will.”

Anna whispered, “Someday I’ll let Lucas take
me
for a
ride
…” and shot a wink meant just for Calise.

Calise immediately thought of rushing to find Lucas and warn him to stay far away from Anna. Instead, she took a deep breath, uncrossed her legs, and willed herself to relax.

“I thought you hated the horses, babe,” Ron completely missed her point.

Anna’s sly gaze wandered over Calise.

“Anyway, you’re in the last bungalow on the path,” Ron said, stifling a yawn. “Anna, I’m sorry to leave you, but I remembered I have a volunteer fire department meeting yet tonight.” He stood and turned to Calise. “Your surf lesson is the day after tomorrow. If you need anything else, just ask.” With that, he took his wife’s hand, and they strolled up to the main house. Anna glanced over her shoulder, giving Calise a cold smile. For a split second Anna’s eyes turned…
red
?

Calise blinked. Her mind had surely played a trick.

She made her way back to the outdoor kitchen, rinsed and dried her glass and placed it back on the shelf. Small solar ground lights lit the walking path. She passed two other bungalows. From one, low moans of pleasure wafted into the evening air. Alone in the dark and not knowing her exact next step, Calise promised herself to find answers. Any truth would be an improvement from remaining in the dark lost to her anxiety and doubt.

She collapsed in the bed without even looking around the room. Thoughts of Anna swirled in her head. “I’m not crazy. Everyone else’s eyes are just closed.” Anna made her feel unworthy and dirty, the same as Ray from the pharmacy.
Is everyone in on a cruel joke except me and what in the hell does it all mean? If I find Carmen, will she even help me?
Mr. Torres’s words floated through her exhausted mind again and again—

Los demonios. Mal Pais.

Chapter 2

Carmen’s Restaurant

Mal Pais, Costa Rica

“Looks like a nasty storm is blowing in.” Carlos, the day cook, slapped Lucas on the back and untied his apron. “Have a good night, man.” Carlos mopped his brow with the apron and chugged a full glass of ice water before he motioned to the lightning out at sea that lit up in the night like strobe lights with moving talons of electricity.

“You, too.” Lucas tied his hair back and slipped his own apron on in preparation for taking over chef duties. He shifted the remaining pepperoni pizza in the wood-burning oven before adding a pineapple and ham pizza to the stove with gloved hands. The heat from the sweet-smelling wood radiated from the igloo shaped opening, making him start to sweat in a matter of minutes.

Shaded by day with thick palm trees that shimmered with Christmas lights at dust, Carmen’s open air restaurant sported wooden tables, a pool table, and an afternoon hammock. Tonight’s specials on the white board near the kitchen read “roasted whole lobster with lemon-garlic butter, tuna with peanut sauce, and mango sorbet.”

Jody Sanchez, the cutest of the waitresses, flashed him a smile and winked as she clipped another order on Lucas's wheel. Her warm, brown eyes twinkled. “You staying to dance after work? I’ll buy you a drink. Or two. Maybe tonight, you’ll come and see my place afterwards?” An incessant flirt, even though her attentions went completely unrequited, Jody never gave up no matter how many times he turned her down.

“Maybe another time.” Lucas couldn’t help but smile. Strands of loose black hair escaped the loose knot at the nape of her neck and fell softly around her bronze face. She pushed her shimmering lips into a mock pout and blew him a kiss before she shrugged her shoulders and headed back to her tables.

Lucas watched her hips swing side to side in her fitted white tank top and snug jean shorts. He would love to have a girlfriend, but dating was one pleasure he couldn’t allow himself. He’d vowed to remain celibate until the end of his days because he knew that he could pass the
sight
to his partner.

He’d transferred his ability once already—to his high school girlfriend, Becca. After her suicide, he’d vowed never to chance bringing a non-seer into his world again. Occasional salsa dancing with the girls after hours was as close as he got to getting laid. The sparkle in Jody’s eyes tonight said even
that
wasn’t a good idea.

Without conscious thought, his mind strayed to the girl he and Ron picked up earlier in Paquera. Her fair, flawless skin, penetrating look, and airy confidence left him unsettled and wondering why she would vacation alone in Mal Pais, of all places. And why had she asked about Lucas’s Aunt Carmen? Plus she had mentioned their distant cousin, Juan Torres, who lived in the States.

She wasn’t safe at Ron’s resort because of Anna, the demon temptress who got her kicks from sleeping with newlywed men. Until Anna started maiming, raping, or killing the guests, Lucas and his aunt allowed her human torture domain to be squared in by the confines of her resort. If they killed her, more demons might come to investigate. And Lucas and his aunt couldn’t risk that.

Lucas vowed to check on the girl in the morning. At his next break, he grabbed a handful of contraband pepperoni and snuck around the back of the restaurant. Stogey and Harley, stray mutts and his best friends, normally napped there. But tonight, they paced and whined as if something was wrong. The fur stood straight up on both dogs’ backs, and they growled, low pitched and menacing, their usual reaction to the only local demon, Anna.

The canine duo were his best friends for a good reason. Demon’s illusions and powers had no effect on animals, only humans. Animals see life at its simplest. A tree is a tree. A rock is a rock. Instinct dictated threat from non-threat.

Lucas shot a look behind him in case a fiend had materialized there without his knowledge, but he saw only the steady rain and sudden flash of lightning in the storm. Still, the dogs remained low to the ground as they slunk, still growling, into the restaurant. Only one thing would cause them to go where they knew they weren’t allowed.

He followed them. The rain came down steady and hard. Thunder and lightning rocked the air periodically. A demonic black aura pulsed from a family of four near the front of the restaurant. He zigzagged around tables of patrons to stay behind the dogs, but before he could get any closer to the family, the sketchy electricity gave out, with a clap of thunder.

Aside from Anna, Lucas Rojas hadn’t seen a demon since he’d run away to Costa Rica in high school, and that’s exactly how he liked it. Demons were what he was trying to escape. From an undiluted bloodline of
seers
, Lucas and his aunt knew for sure what others could never even guess—that among humans, walked angels, demons, and
transitors.
Transitors were either fallen angels or risen demons—in limbo, dangerous and unpredictable.

He froze. The dogs pushed up against either side of his legs. The complete darkness prevented him from even seeing his hands in front of his face. He waited with his heart pounding out of his chest, doing a quick check for the knives he always carried on him. The waitresses went from table to table lighting the requisite candles and kerosene lamps. Most tourists found this kind of situation enchanting.

When Jody reached the last table, the teenage boy looked right at Lucas. His red eyes blazed, and his black aura pulsed. Small black scorpions crawled out from under his sleeves and fanned out around him toward the adjacent tables.

Lucas closed his eyes, centered himself, and concentrated on the scorpions. Demons had hunted and eradicated pure seers to near extinction for centuries, precisely because of their ability to break illusions. Taunting, terrifying, and tormenting God’s human creations on earth gave demons the one thing they desired most—power. Compared with the planet’s almost seven billion humans, the few million demons roaming the earth at any given time derived great pleasure from playing schoolyard bully. The effects of their illusions were very real whether demons chose to let humans see the illusion right away or when it was too late. Seers however, missed nothing.

When Lucas opened his eyes, the scorpions were gone.

The demon nudged his father, who glared at Lucas. The dad was a badass mother. His easy smile oozed tiny leafcutter ants that fell from his mouth and burrowed under his food. His black aura seemed to sizzle and pulse, the candle’s vibrations magnifying his size. A green viper slithered out from under his dinner plate. No one noticed. The demon picked it up and lobbed it toward Lucas.

Time stopped.

In one small movement, no more than a tiny reflex, Lucas betrayed himself. As the snake flew toward him, his body responded before his mind could control his actions. He flinched.

The father’s eyes widened. Only a seer would have moved. A human would have seen nothing until the viper was latched onto his neck.

In one involuntary movement, Lucas had exposed himself.

Now the hunt would begin. He needed to kill them before they brought in reinforcements. This one fatal mistake might cost him and his aunt their lives. In one split second, his peaceful years of hiding ended. Good thing he’d never stopped training.

The fight would be in private. Demons loved their anonymity, so they seldom exposed themselves to humans outright unless they wanted to drive them insane. Or they were willing to kill every person in the restaurant right here and right now. Which they might do.

Lucas’s Aunt Carmen walked out of the kitchen and untied her apron. She smoothed back her gray-streaked hair. Although not quite fifty, her toned body from tireless manual labor provided a stark contrast to her drawn and tired face.

She passed by Lucas and never looked at the family in question. “Without electricity, I can’t stay open. I’m sorry, but we’re closing for the night.” The local Ticos, or natives, eyed her suspiciously. Carmen’s restaurant had operated for years without electricity and she never closed the restaurant under any circumstances. “Plus, we’re already out of one of tonight’s specials. But we hope to see you again.
Buenas noches.
”

She lied.

Carmen made a hasty retreat to the kitchen before anyone could question her. Next to Lucas, Harley and Stogey resumed growling.

The man and his son pushed back their chairs, swearing. The demon duo oozed wealth, wearing tailored clothes and polished Italian shoes. Both sported thick, gelled back hair. The son must have recently turned eighteen and had the awakening to who and what he was—which turned out to be a mirror image of his demon daddy.

They held their confident heads high as if already victorious. Returning his level gaze with their gleaming blood red eyes, they smirked at Lucas with razor sharp teeth.

It wasn’t until then, Lucas noticed the two women—
human.
Polar opposite from the men, dressed plainly in faded clothes. Dead silent, they clung to each. Their faces hidden by stringy, unkempt hair. Hunched over, they tried to appear invisible. The wife wore sunglasses, which only partially masked her orbital bruises.

“Move it!” The man barked.

When the mother peeled away from the girl and stood up, her bruised body couldn’t be disguised. The teenager boy pushed her from behind. “Hurry up, bitch!” then turned to see if he got his demon daddy’s approval.

The father nodded proudly, as if his son had hit a double in little league.

She scurried to the exit as if familiar with being ordered around by her own child.

The daughter lagged behind, clutching the table like a tow rope. She began to sway. The thought of what she endured made Lucas’s blood boil. She couldn’t have been more than fourteen years old to her brother’s powerful eighteen. She likely lived hell on earth with her father and brother—oft the way in demon/human families. Demons relished in the marriage and procreation gig—legal rights to torment others in unspeakable ways.

Lucas learned that firsthand in high school with Becca and her charming demon parents who loved torturing their human daughter. He’d wanted to protect Becca but instead, after he’d slept with her, he’d passed on the sight. And if he’d known what would’ve happened—and the fatal consequences—he’d have given her money and convinced her to run away instead.