Mercy for the Wicked Read online

  “And that Adam guy… he’s not your cousin, is he?”

  “It depends on your definition of…” Ben gave me a look and I felt a twist of guilt for having been caught in another lie. “No, he’s not,” I shook my head. “He’s another fallen angel.”

  “Another… how many of these guys are there?”

  “Enough to all know each other, not enough they need a secret handshake,” I stole Adam’s glib reply when I’d asked the same question.

  “And this has been going on for months? How…?” Ben covered his face with his hands, suddenly appearing very tired when he looked up again. “Why are you telling me all of this now? What did Sam tell you tonight that’s got you all mixed up?”

  “Yeah, about that…” I took a shaky breath as Sam’s warning bubbled up into the forefront of my thoughts. “Well, like I said, I’m not exactly an angel, and not strictly human anymore, but I’ve been making it work for me. You might have noticed things have settled down since Adam and Sam took off for parts unknown.”

  “I had noticed that, yes,” Ben propped his arm on the back of the couch, face resting in his hand.

  “The Big Guy hasn’t decided what to do with me yet, so I’ve been in kind of a holding pattern.” I pointed upwards in case my meaning wasn’t clear, and he seemed to be tracking with me. “Only he’s not the only one whose interest I’ve attracted. There’s a demon, Azazael, who was imprisoned for doing all sorts of terrible things. I’m a little fuzzy on what they were ‘cause Sam didn’t go into it all that much. Anyway, the scuttlebutt is, Azazael is looking for a way to break free from the prison he’s been kept in for the past few millennia and he thinks I’m the key to doing it.”

  “How? What does he want to do to you?”

  “I’m not sure, I was a little distracted by the idea that he’s evil and stalking me,” I swallowed. “There was something about a prophecy, and him being reborn to the world through the vessel, which is me. Sam said not to worry… but he also broke Adam’s cardinal rule by coming to warn me.”

  Ben digested that for long seconds, and God only knew what he thought about it all. “Well, okay then.” He slapped his hands on his knees with a decisive nod and I blinked, unsure if I’d missed his conclusion.

  “Okay then,” I repeated. “Then you believe me?”

  “Do I believe you’re an angel? Yeah, that’s not too much of a stretch.” He gave me a crooked smile that made my heart melt. It was his smile that first attracted me to him, it transformed his whole face and charmed the cynic right out of me. “The rest of it… it’s going to take a little time to absorb I think. But the big issue at stake here isn’t whether or not I believe you, it’s whether or not this Azazael poses a real threat to you, or if it’s a bunch of superstitious mumbo jumbo.”

  “Sam seemed to think it was a big enough deal to warn me about it. But he was also a little light on the details of how Azazael planned to get to me. He gets like that sometimes, it’s hard to get a straight answer out of him. Though to be fair, I was too surprised to see him to ask many questions.”

  “That settles it, you’re coming to stay with me again.” Ben had his resolved face on, but I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea.

  “I don’t know Ben, we don’t know when or even if this guy is gonna come after me. I can’t move in with you indefinitely.” Besides, it wasn’t like he could save me against a demon anyway, and I hated to put him in harm’s way.

  “Sure you can.” His eyes met mine, and I realized he was serious. We were having that conversation on top of everything else.

  “You want me to move in with you?”

  “Sure, why not? You have to admit we get along great, and I liked having you there the first time. Plus, there’s no safer place for you than living with a cop, right?”

  I could think of a safer place, but I quickly squashed the thought away. He wasn’t saying the L word either, but I got the impression it was mostly because he was afraid I wouldn’t say it back. Did I love Ben? It was hard to give him my heart when part of it was so far away and I never knew if I’d get it back again. I did care about him an awful lot, and it hurt to see the look in his eyes when he saw I wasn’t going to go for it. I found myself shaking my head, not wanting to make a bad decision just because I was scared. “I think I’d rather stay at my own place. For now.” I reached out for his hand to soften the blow, relieved when he didn’t pull away.

  “What does this mean for us?” he asked, cradling my hand on his lap.

  “I have no idea.” A long sigh left my lips at the admission. “You can see now why I didn’t come out and tell you all of this before.”

  “No actually, I don’t. Why didn’t you tell me all of this from day one?”

  I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at that one. “Oh yeah, you would have run screaming for the hills.”

  Ben held tight to my hand, “I begged you, Mercy, to let me in. Don’t you remember? Does that seem like the kind of guy who’d run for the hills?”

  My mind cast back to the day he’d followed me to Sam’s apartment, convinced I was into something illegal. “You thought I was into drugs or something! How was I supposed to say ‘angel’?”

  “What was I supposed to think? You were sneaking around, hanging out in a bad part of town with lowlifes…”

  “Sam is not a lowlife, he’s an angel for chrissakes!” My cheeks burned hot as I working myself up into a good head of steam.

  “Excuse me for not thinking outside the box! I’m a cop, Mercy, not a psychic.”

  “I was gonna tell you everything that day before you started demanding answers,” I reminded him, and it was true. It was only after he jumped to asinine conclusions that I clamped up tight and threw him out.

  “I don’t want to fight with you!”

  “Then don’t yell at me!”

  “You stop yelling at me first!” he demanded.

  “I’m not yelling!” I yelled, my eyes falling shut as I tried to get ahold of my temper. “I’m sorry…”

  “No, I’m sorry, Mercy. I’m not trying to make this worse, I swear.” Ben rubbed at his temples, only then realizing he still wore the raggedy bandage around his head, the remnants of his Halloween costume.

  “Here, let me help you with that.” Leaning closer, I pulled the rest of the bandage off, sending healing energy to soothe the tension headache I could feel growing.

  “Thank you,” Ben covered my hand with his, his eyes closing with a drawn out sigh as the tension eased out of him. If only I could manage the same thing for myself, but I’ve never been able to do anything about my own headaches. Too hard to concentrate, I guess.

  “Will you stay tonight?” I asked, my voice soft and soothing, not wanting to break the tentative calm between us.

  “Of course, if you want me to.” He opened his eyes, pressing a kiss to the palm of my hand that lingered by his brow. “Do you really want to go back to that party?” His brows came up a fraction.

  “No, I was being polite. Parker went to all that trouble, but I don’t feel like being around anybody tonight. Except for you,” I added quickly.

  “Come here…” Ben pulled me into his lap, holding me close. “Try not to worry so much. Whatever it is that’s coming, I’ll keep you safe.”

  I nodded automatically, snuggling against his comforting warmth. But deep inside, I wasn’t so sure.

  Chapter Two

  I was floating.

  Great snowy wings teased the edges of my eyesight, offering a plausible explanation as to why I hovered so far above the ground - if you could accept the idea that I’d grown wings as plausible. The landscape floated past at a sedate pace, no sign of any city or civilization to give me a clue where on Earth I was. The world was a study in rich greens and clear blues of the countryside, with soft rolling hills below and vast snow capped mountains surrounding the valley. I knew I could reach those mountain tops in the blink of an eye and taste snow so pure it would be a shame to sully it with my human hands. No, not h
uman hands… I looked down and saw they emanated the same golden glow I saw around angels.

  A spot of color caught my eye, a rich swath of deep purple and gold, and I glided down to get a better look. On a field of verdant green, an open air boudoir was laid out, a four poster bed covered in rich, colorful fabrics on a sumptuous carpet. There were even lamps lit on the matching bedside tables, though I didn’t stop to puzzle through how that was possible at the time. Delicate white flower blossoms rode the breeze, perfuming the air in a fragrant snow and catching in my hair. It was paradise.

  On the bedside table stood a carafe of dark wine and two goblets, a pleasing array of exotic fruits beside it. Normally I’m more of a pretzels and beer girl, but I can appreciate the classics. It was a perfect setting and I had to wonder who’d gone through so much effort for little old me? Soft and romantic wasn’t exactly Adam’s style, but I had to admit I was sorta hoping he’d put in an appearance. Who else would go to so much trouble to create a dreamy, exquisite setting and plop such a great big bed in the middle of it as an obvious message?

  “You’re here…”

  The voice that came from behind me wasn’t Adam’s or any one else I recognized. I whirled around to catch sight of a man wearing violet silk pajama pants, an open robe trimmed in gold revealed a smooth, well formed chest. He matched the bed, the boudoir must be his, I reasoned. His dark blonde hair was long, reaching the tops of his shoulders, and he wore a little moustache and goatee that reminded me of one of the more handsome pirates from that movie about the Caribbean. But I was staring… “I’m here,” I agreed, not quite sure what else to say.

  He stared back at me openly, as though feasting on the sight of me. “I’ve waited for you far too long, but it was well worth the wait,” he smiled, walking around me in a slow circle.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was on the clock.”

  He laughed, the sound oddly engaging, and I found myself smiling back before I remembered I had no idea who he was and what I was doing there. “It is of no moment. I would gladly wait a hundred years more… but I’m delighted you’re here now,” he added quickly, a momentary flare of panic sweeping across his brow as though maybe his words might give me permission to leave.

  “Where is here exactly?”

  “Come, have some wine.” He ignored my question, moving past me to fill the goblets and I took the opportunity to take a few steps away from the bed.

  “That’s okay, I’m not thirsty,” I replied warily. “You have me at a disadvantage. You seem to know exactly who I am, but I have no idea who you are.”

  He looked up with a glorious smile, “I am your destiny.”

  “I’m outta here.” I turned to leave and strong arms encircled my waist from behind, holding me fast. “Let me go…”

  “There’s no reason to leave, my love, you only just arrived.” His voice sounded soft and soothing at my ear, but I was too panicked about being held tight to be calmed.

  “I’m not your love, and unless you never want to use that bed again for anything other than sleeping, you’d better let me go right now,” I bluffed, fully knowing he was much stronger than I was. Laughter met my ears as he loosened his hold, and I shrugged off his arms completely.

  “Give it time, one day I will have your love as surely as you have mine.”

  “Yeah, and one day I’ll be the Queen of Sheba,” I muttered. “Now, who the hell are you and where is this place?” My patience was past its limits.

  “Your servant, my Queen,” he bowed low. “But you may call me Azazael. We are in the space between waking and dreaming.”

  “This is a dream?” My eyes widened, looking around with interest. That explained the wings that were no longer in sight, and the bed in the middle of nowhere. The knowledge that none of it was real relaxed me, and I lost some of the edge of fear that had been working itself up to a real panic in my chest.

  “Of sorts,” he nodded.

  “So you’re Azazael.” It was more of a statement than a question. He didn’t look like a demon. No pointy teeth or black eyes, but now that I thought about it, he didn’t have an aura like regular humans.

  “You know of me.” He seemed pleased, his chest puffing out slightly. “Then you know our destiny lies together.” Azazael started towards me again, but I held out a hand, as if that could stop him.

  “I know all about you, Buster, and you can hold it right there. I know exactly what you are, so you can knock it off with the bedroom eyes and all the destiny talk. Whatever warped idea is rattling around in that demony brain of yours is not gonna happen. The sooner you accept it and move on, the happier we’ll all be.”

  A furrow of confusion appeared on his brow. “You wound me, my love. I am no demon.”

  “You’re not?” I blinked. Looking closer, I could see a faint shimmer of an aura around him, barely visible in the sunlight. The color was the same warm gold of angels, but muted, and it was my turn to stare back in confusion. “I don’t get it. Sam said you were a demon.” At least I thought so. Had he said demon? It was hard to remember the exact words spoken, I’d been too bogged down by the threat of imminent danger. But to be honest, the guy didn’t look all that terrifying.

  “No, of course not.” His face lit up with another smile. “We are the same, you and I. Each straddling two different worlds, each desperate to break free of the constraints put upon us by the Powers That Be.” He took another step towards me and I mirrored it with a step backwards.

  If he was an angel, he definitely was one of the Fallen. “I don’t know why you keep talking like you know me, you don’t know anything about me.”

  “I know you, Merceline.” He said my name like a prayer. “I know you fear you have lost your humanity, you have not,” Azazael replied earnestly, holding me captive with his gaze. “Don’t let those sanctimonious prigs up there make you think you’re any less than they are when you are clearly so much more. You wield far more power than they could ever hope to have, the power of creation itself.” He edged closer, his voice mesmerizing. “Together we will…”

  For a moment there he almost had me caught up in the fervor of his speech, but as he kept beating the horse to death it got easier to pull away from those hypnotic eyes. “For the love of… will you knock it off with all this ‘together’ stuff?” I shoved against his chest, gratified by his look of utter astonishment. “Look, I don’t know where you’re getting your ideas from, but I’m not here to be your… destiny, or anything else. This is a dream, nothing more, so forget it.”

  Instead of being deterred, a speculative smile curved his lips. “If this is only a dream, then what are you frightened of?”

  “Who said I’m afraid?”

  “If you are not afraid, then why won’t you let me touch you, my love?” The look behind his eyes spoke of pleasures to be had at that touch, but I was already over my quota for sexy angels, it wasn’t that hard to turn him down.

  “Because I’m not yours to touch, I belong to someone else.”

  “Ah yes, to Adamiel.” A look of chagrin crossed his features.

  “Adamiel…” My mouth opened to disagree, intending to say I was Ben’s girl, but I thought better of it. Belonging to a regular human wouldn’t mean anything to him, but Adam might scare him off. “Oh, so you know him.”

  “Indeed I do, we were brothers once. But where is Adamiel now? Why don’t you lie dreaming beside him?”

  How did he know who I was lying next to? My eyes narrowed, wondering how he managed to stay so well informed in his imprisoned state. Deciding it wasn’t important, I changed tacks. The last thing I wanted to do was get into a discussion with him about how complicated things were between Adam and me. “What do you really want? Behind all this fancy talk about destiny and what you think I want.”

  “I want to be free.” His eyes blazed with an intensity that made me swallow past a lump of anxiety that rose in my throat.

  “And how exactly do I enter into that scenario?”

  �
�I need your love to re-enter the world.”

  “My love…”

  “Yes, if you accept me I will be reborn.”

  “And by accept you, you mean…”

  “In every way.” He sat on the bed and patted the space beside him

  “You expect me to have sex with you? No friggin’ way.” My voice squeaked to a higher octave.

  Azazael looked unperturbed by my protest. “You will come to love me, it has been foretold.”

  “I don’t care if it’s spray painted on the side of the Space Needle, I’m not sleeping with you.”

  His brows drew together in puzzlement. “You refuse me?”

  Was he for real? Did he seriously expect me to just… shades of Adam came back to mind and it occurred to me this guy had probably never been turned down before. It must be part of the angel allure that didn’t seem to work on me. “Hell yeah, I refuse you,” I laughed at the look on his face, as though I’d told him there was no Santa Claus. “Aw, don’t take it so bad, I’m not human anymore, remember? You can’t expect me to go all swoony because you crook your little finger. Even Adam didn’t get me to jump in the sack with him on the first day, and trust me, he was hard to resist.”

  “And here I thought I was irresistible.”

  I looked up as Adam’s voice interrupted from above. Dark wings unfurled, he glided down with elegant grace, wearing a pair of black jeans and nothing else. “What are you doing here?” slipped out before I thought better of it. It was better than the first impulse that came to mind, which was to throw my arms around him before he could disappear again. But I retained a shred of pride, and remained content to devour him with my eyes. Finer than any sculpture crafted by the masters, his well muscled form was beautifully framed by the expanse of wings. Bright blue eyes, the mark of angelic Grace flashed mischievously, his dark hair artfully mussed in a way I was sure was meant to make me think he’d just risen from bed. Good God, even his bare toes were sexy…