The Seer's Lover (The Seven Archangels Series) (5 page)

“What?” Ron asked.

“It’s nothing. Just a scrape.” Lucas wrapped his hand with a towel.

Nicor laughed and mounted the horse without his assistance after all. His aura matched the horse’s black color, and the two melded into one.

When Lucas turned to walk away, the boy flicked a tree branch in his path knocking him flat on his face. Lucas pretended not to see the obstacle, which would have been invisible to the women and Ron.
I have to make them think I’m weak.
Without his weapons, tricking them into thinking he was helpless would work to his advantage. He got up and brushed himself off. The boy laughed harder—his pleasure inextricably connected to human pain.

The women were trained to focus on anything but the men. They ignored the proceedings. Clearly used to pain, blood, and suffering surrounding them at every turn, they might be grateful not to be the men’s horror recipients. Lucas allowed Nicor to think he’d bested him.
Not for long, asshole
.

“Geez, Lucas. Get it together. Too many mojito
s
last night?” Ron headed back to the house. “Have fun.” He waved over his shoulder.

Lucas meant the last horse, Bailey for Paymon. Usually sassy and temperamental, Bailey pawed at the ground and snorted in fear with the demon’s approach. The demon retrieved a spiked crop and fastened an Indiana Jones style whip to his hip. He mounted Bailey quickly then eyed Lucas as he raised the crop slowly for effect, as though he would hit Bailey.

Lucas approached him from the left. “You don’t want to hurt my horses or make this ride unpleasant for your family now, do you?” He stared right into the father’s glowing eyes.

Paymon leaned down to make his point clear. “Unpleasant, no. Unbearable, yes, you worthless little seer.” He flicked his hand and Lucas flew backwards, feeling as if a cement block had been thrown at his chest.

“What do you want?” He clutched at his chest to catch his breath.

“That’s an easy one. We want you, and all of your kind, dead.”

Chapter 3

After leisurely stretching in bed, Calise opened her eyes and absorbed her lush surroundings from the comfort of a king-sized, four-poster bed with white drapes hanging softly around her. Silky soft sheets and a cream blanket covered her. A seating area and mini-fridge rounded out the little bungalow’s accommodations. She shuffled to the bathroom where, to her delight, she found an open-air shower where the jungle served as walls.

Despite the beauty, Anna consumed her thoughts. The door she always sensed in the darkness now had a crack of light shining out from underneath it. She didn’t just
want
the truth—she needed it. Maybe, finally, Anna would be an answer.

Her mind skipped over the “Then what?”

She showered languorously with the jungle at her fingertips, the cool water sending waves of steam into the air. She turned off the water and explored her balcony. The view took her breath away. Nestled in the jungle canopy, her bungalow blended with the tree tops which stretched down the hill and met the ocean. The balcony’s teak floorboards and overhead bamboo beams led to a private, attached infinity pool. Calise couldn’t resist its rich blue water, so still dripping wet from her shower, she lowered herself into the pool water.

What the hell, right? If I’m going to spy on a demon, I might as well be refreshed.

She rested her elbows at the edge of the pool. Her legs floated behind her while she soaked up the environment. Strange colored squirrels jumped from tree to tree while dozens of foreign birds sang various tunes blending like magic into one harmonious song. The ocean roared far below her. A three foot green iguana sat a few feet off the edge of her pool, pretending to ignore her intrusion into its world. It reminded her of Anna.

C’mon girl. Snap out of it. You’re a pharmacist who lives in a world of logic.
No way demons secretly resided in the human world unnoticed. She brushed the idea aside and climbed out of her pool.

Calise found breakfast, as promised, outside her room—pancakes and scrambled eggs with fresh cut mango and bananas. After eating, she threw a sundress over a bikini, packed a bag with water, a book, and sunscreen, and headed for the main pool. She couldn’t help humming, “Welcome to the Jungle.”

A handholding, whispering couple occupied two of the six lounge chairs. Their eyes were locked on each other, and they shared hushed whispers and soft laughter. Calise spread one of the complementary blankets on the chair farthest from them. She’d begun to apply sunscreen when the momentum of the air changed directions, as if a huge vacuum was pulling at her.

Anna.

She wore a black topless bikini. A thin string like a necklace wound around her neck and collected at the center of her perfect breasts, which peeked out through her shiny black hair. A trail of fabric led down to the thong bikini bottom.

Can’t compete with that
.

Relieved she wasn’t the man’s new wife having to compete with Anna, Calise eased on her sunglasses and felt compelled to toss her sundress over her own many imperfections.

Anna approached and handed the couple fruity drinks.

“Thanks.” The woman’s voice dripped with sarcasm. She shrank back into her chair, and a slurp escaped her mouth with the first sip. Her partner released his lover’s hand to take the drink. He openly gawked at their Brazilian hostess.

“Calise, dear, I didn’t know you would be here. Can I bring you something to drink?” Anna purred.

Calise shook her head, transfixed by the woman’s wretched beauty as she felt an unattractive bead of sweat run down her cheek. Anna’s dark skin glistened in the mid-morning sun.

The other woman cleared her throat. “Um, we’re on our honeymoon here, Anna. You could—I wish you would—”

Anna arched a demeaning eyebrow at the woman. “Oh, sweetie. No worries. I know your new husband only has eyes for you. Isn’t that right?” She leaned down and touched the man’s cheek.

Calise watched, likening his reaction to being hit with a bolt of electricity. A bolt of electricity no one could see. Anna whispered something in the man’s ear. He blinked slowly like a deer in headlights.

“
Adios
. Have a great day everyone.”

Calise swore an evil smile lived on the corners of the woman’s lips. She exhaled, realizing she’d been holding her breath. “Isn’t there something odd—”

“Babe, I forgot something in the room, I’ll be right back.” The man sprung to his feet and fled.

“That fucking bitch.”

“Excuse me?” Calise asked.

“That whore has been hitting on my husband since the moment we got here. I swear, without her around, I would have said this was the most perfect honeymoon ever.”

Calise nodded and wondered why the man hurried off. Time to investigate. Maybe Anna just enjoyed bewitching men to cause friction and ruin otherwise pleasurable honeymoons. Not very nice, but nowhere close to demonic. “I forgot my book in the room. I’m Calise, by the way.”

“I’m Erin.” The woman returned to sunbathing as if nothing had transpired.

She crept up the path. Cries of pleasure assaulted her ears before she was fifty feet from the newlywed’s bungalow. The front door stood wide open with the couple’s bed visible. Anna straddled the man who kept repeating her name.

“Anna—Anna—Anna—”

“Damn, she is a fucking bitch,” she said under her breath.

Faster than a head could turn, Anna’s spun around. Eyes the color of amethysts speared Calise. A voice whispered in her ear, as if the person was standing right next to her, “I heard that.”

She turned and ran. With her heart pounding, she headed for the stables and found Ron waving good-bye to a five-person riding party heading off the property.

“Take care of them for me, Lucas! Remember, they’re Anna’s friends!” He yelled through cupped hands.

Even from a distance, the people leaving hit her with a wall of ice-like pure evil. Every ounce of her being screamed, “Danger!” She grabbed Ron to turn him around, half expecting his eyes to be glowing, too.

“What’s the matter? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

She had to warn Lucas.
Like Anna, whatever
things
rode out with him embraced pure evil. “Ron, I―”

“Sweetie, you look awful.” Anna’s voice said from behind her. “Let me give you a hand.” Calise swung around and with one touch from Anna, Calise’s world went black from the outside in.

****

Kill the men. Save the women.
With his heart pounding, Lucas headed out for what might be his last trail ride. Two demons to one seer. But on his turf.

Lucas repositioned his parent’s amulets that hung around his neck. His backup plan. The necklaces had been passed through generations of his family and were plan B for a seer in a mess. Summoning necklaces. Angelic backing so to speak. He’d never used them and didn’t know if any angels lived close enough to respond. In the time he’d lived in Costa Rica, he’d never seen an angel. Who knew if they even worked?

He remembered the plaque in his childhood home about remembering to show hospitality to strangers, because some might be angels in disguise. Demons outnumbered angels on earth by the thousands. Why would anyone help him? Always alone and taught to fend for himself, it seemed doubtful today would be any different.

Besides, summoning was a last ditch effort for a seer
because
of the improbability of an angel responding. Their interference depended on how they viewed the danger of the situation. He’d witnessed his parents summon a few times, but he’d never done it himself. His dad said, “It’s tricky, son. Timing is everything. The demon must have truly ill intent and be initiating an act of evil or an angel can’t intercede.” Lucas’s mother made a vital error, and the moment’s hesitation had cost her her life.

The jittery horses trudged behind Gotzone on the familiar trail. The dogs, Harley and Stogey, tagged along behind the riding party. The jungle overhang on the path grew denser, and the nearly palpable humidity pressed in around them. The only light making its way to the ground filtered through slits in the forest canopy.

“The heat makes it hard to breathe out here, doesn’t it, babe?” Paymon said to his wife.

Lucas pulled back on his reins and circled around.

Her eyes bulged, and she clutched her throat gasping for air.

“Daddy, please stop!” Marla begged. “You promised me, Daddy. Please don’t hurt Mommy.” The teenager seemed accustomed to petitioning for reprieve.

“When have I ever kept a promise?” But he released the wife, who gulped in air.

Nicor chuckled.

Lucas froze. How would this nightmare end? He’d been trained to anticipate a demon’s next physical move and counter it—in a fight. To see where a demon would hit him next was his strong suit, so this psychological torture proved problematic. He wanted to jump off Gotzone and beat the crap out of the demons, but then the advantage would be theirs.

Fifteen tortuous minutes passed. Lucas cut his usual route short to head down to the beach and get the women to the relative safety of Carmen’s restaurant. No way to end this without a fight, but the women…

All at once, daylight disappeared and everything turned midnight dark. The horses fidgeted and Gotzone stopped altogether. Marla screamed. Lucas jumped off his horse and felt his way back up the trail toward the women on foot. Groping with outstretched hands, he followed the green, bioluminescent mushrooms lighting the edge of the path.

Deep barking and growling echoed from both sides of the jungle. The darkness lifted in a flash. The sudden light stung his eyes. Lucas found all four riders dismounted. The trail horses, with the exception of Gotzone, galloped back the way they’d come. Paymon held his wife’s head back by the hair to expose her throat. Nicor’s hand turned into a knife with clear intent, and he allowed his mother to see his
demon-strated
form while he advanced on her with a smile of jagged black teeth. Marla lay curled in a ball with her eyes covered while Harley and Stogey circled the demons.

Without a second thought, Lucas immediately reached for his necklace, screaming, “No!” and rushed toward the mother. Just before his hand could clasp the necklace, Harley leapt to attack Nicor and accidentally bumped into Lucas, throwing him off balance. The dogs pinned both demons to the ground within seconds.

“Call off these varmints or everyone is dead,” Paymon ordered.

Lucas held his ground. Animals sensed danger and ill will, but illusions were useless. Demons had to physically overpower animals not trick them or cloud their mind with false realities. It was only malleable human minds that opened themselves up as easy prey for a demon’s mind tricks.

With the men in the dirt and the mother safe, the moment of ill intent had passed. Now, Lucas had to wait before he could try the necklace again.

Screw that.

“Harley. Stogey. Attack!” The dogs ripped into the demons, and Lucas yelled to the women, “Run!” Snarling, Harley ripped into Nicor’s cheek. The demon let out of squeal of pain which shattered the illusion of his hand being a knife. He wrestled with Harley.

Lucas focused on Paymon, who’d already managed to kick Stogey off. The dog released a strangled yelp and rolled several times before regaining his footing. Then he resumed snarling and showing his teeth.

Paymon’s unleashed his whip. Lucas anticipated and intercepted the lash mid-flick before it hit the dog. With a roar, the father’s body exploded with tentacles of barbed wire that lashed viciously at Stogey and Lucas. Gashes ripped at Lucas’s arms, and the barbs encircled his body.

Stogey leapt at Paymon who connected with a firm kick. Stogey landed in the ditch, whining.

Paymon cocked his head and cracked his neck. “Hmm, hmm, hmm. Who exactly are you? My boss might be interested in you after all, seer.”

The barbs cut deeper into Lucas’s flesh when he attempted to move. With his arms snug to his body, he had no hope of reaching the necklace. His racing heart prevented him from calming himself enough to dissolve the illusion. So until he could focus, the barbed wire encasing him and the pain it caused jabbing into his flesh, was very real.