Her Deadly Angels by Ginna Moran
Chapter 18
Demonic Bonding
RAVEN
MICAH BLOWS ANOTHER breath of fire, creating a second flaming wall between Elias and Lucian. Whipping his tail, Kase lassos it around Elias’s torso and drags him off his feet. Elias hits the grass and coughs, slumping on the ground. I rush forward, my heart thrashing in wild beats as panic over Elias’s health consumes me. He’d never admit it, but he’s not resilient. He’s weak, in pain, and absolutely no match against the rulers of Hell.
“Be careful with him!” I shout, huffing a breath, dodging past Dante.
I drop to my knees besides Elias and pull him onto my lap, combing his mess of hair from his forehead. He winces, his features twisted in pain. Seeing him hurt and in agony ignites annoyance through my very being. This is Lucian’s fucking fault.
“Get away from the traitor and come to me, Raven.” Lucian’s command echoes through the air, sending heat over me despite him being trapped in the summoning circle several feet away. “I need a word with you.”
I scowl and whip my head up, glowering at him. “Fuck off, Lucian. I’m not going anywhere near you. I know you want to go back on our contract. If you’re not here to help us with a mission I thought you were hell-bent on completing, then leave us alone. We’re trying to get shit in order.”
Kase and Dante stiffen at my tone and immediately form a muscular barrier between me and Lucian, adding even another layer of protection even though Micah’s fire barricade and the summoning circle still block Lucian’s way.
“Angel-girl, now isn’t the time to poke the beast,” Kase mutters, keeping his voice low. “Your ass is in so much trouble for coming out here.”
“Dressed in Elias’s shirt and—that better not be what I think it is in your hair, pretty soul.” Dante’s eyes flash green and he strolls closer, leaning down to get in my space. He growls under his breath, the rumble reverberating through my being. “That fucker better have just had bad aim and didn’t ask you—”
“Enough with your envy. It helps no one and fucking proves Lucian’s point about Raven’s role in your life if something like Elias ejaculating on her face sets you off,” Micah says, punching Dante in his ribs. Fuck. If death didn’t mean Hell servitude, I’d beg the universe to kill me now. Turning to me, Micah offers his hand. The sudden sensation of his presence prodding at my mind opens me up to him, and our thoughts intertwine. “Come on. Your attitude and disdain of Lucian doesn’t help anyone either. He embodies envy as much as Dante. Give in a little to his power and he might not be such a monster toward you.” His voice remains even in my head like he wants to be sure no one knows we’re communicating telepathically.
I flare my nostrils and lock my gaze to Micah’s. “You’re joking, right?” I think to him.
His steely eyes flicker with firelight, and he silently responds, “Trust me, Raven. I’ve been around him in Hell for a while. He craves control, and it enrages him that he gets none. At least pretend. Please. Do it for all of us.”
“Kase and Dante would never ask this of me,” I mutter under my breath, unable to concentrate to think to him.
“Because they don’t know what it’s like to have been alone.” Raising his hand toward the devils, he gets Kase and Dante to remain calm while he guides me closer to Lucian. “Now just follow my instructions and say what I tell you to.”
My soul and mind already scream inside me, wanting nothing more than to shout my protest. But I suck up my innate desire to disobey and finally nod.
Micah presses his palm to the small of my back and guides me to the summoning circle, stopping just outside of it. “Raven,” he says aloud, his stern voice lashing me like my name on his lips is my punishment alone. “You will obey Lucian as your soul keeper. If you do not speak to him and give him the moment he asked for, I will push you to him. Do you understand?”
He sounds so serious that I can’t help but wonder if his reasoning in my mind was all just a figment of my imagination.
I swallow my nerves, trying not to pray, and say, “Yes, Micah. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say it to me.” Pinching my chin, he eases my head to turn to Lucian, half transformed into his devil form. “Lucian is who you must ask for forgiveness from.”
Taking a deep breath, I steel the roiling emotions waging a war inside me and give Lucian my undivided attention. Goosebumps prickle over my skin under his scrutiny, and he cracks his neck, completing his transformation into all his demonic glory like he wants to make everything about this situation even more unpleasant than it truly is.
I force my mouth to work. “Lucian, I owe you an apology. My attitude and purposeful disobedience is uncalled for. I’m really sorry. I just—”
“You need to bow before me and prove to me that you’re not saying all of this to appease me. If you are truly remorseful and want to fall in line, you must accept my punishment. Only then, will I reconsider ending our arrangement.” Lucian straightens his shoulders, flicking his attention behind me. Without having to look, I know Kase and Dante—possibly even Elias—are ready to put up a fight on my behalf.
I blink a few times and shudder at the thought of whatever kind of punishment Lucian could have in mind. I’ve seen him beat and whip both Kase and Dante. If even they broke under his sadistic actions, what does that mean for me?
I wish I could get myself to look Lucian in the eye and accept my fate.
I wish I were strong and had enough faith to survive that I could bow like he demands.
But in this moment? I’m utterly and cowardly human.
My bottom lip trembles at the thought of the pain, and my heart crashes against my ribcage. And then, I start bawling my eyes out like a child who knows they’ve done something wrong but doesn’t quite understand the consequences. I just know it’s going to be horrible. I feel it on a soul-deep level.
Damn it.
Fuck. My. Life.
I need to be brave.
“I knew you were unworthy of the power my brethren want to bestow on you,” Lucian mutters, sending the flames of the summoning circle reaching toward the sky. “Pathetic.”
Anger rises inside me at his words. He purposefully makes me feel unworthy and incapable, and it reminds me of Joel and all of the times he belittled me and twisted things to make me feel like I was worthless.
But I’m not worthless. I’m stronger than I ever realized. I can face Lucian and handle whatever he tries to do to break my will.
I won’t let him.
My will might be the only thing I have left that solely and irrevocably belongs to me.
Clenching my fingers into fists, I tighten my jaw and face Lucian, peering up at him since there is no way I could ever look at him straight on. “You can fuck off, Lucian. If it takes you punishing me—a supposedly worthless mortal—to feel powerful, then you’re the damn pathetic one. So go ahead. Torture me. Beat me. Whip me. Show me what a big, scary monster you are, because in the end, that’s all you’ll ever be.”
Lucian roars in anger, yanking out his whip made from the flames of Hell and lashes it at the barrier, sending fire crackling and popping through the night. “Micah, push her in now. She will bow!”
Kase and Dante growl in warning, and heat swells around me. Before Micah’s forced into proving his disloyalty to Lucian, I force my feet to work and step through the barrier, the heated air sending sweat prickling over my skin.
I heave a few breaths and turn my back on Lucian, meeting everyone’s gazes. Micah remains expressionless, though his thoughts seep into my mind, begging me to brace myself for the fight. He plans to launch himself at Lucian, as does Kase and Dante. It’s written all over their faces. And then there’s Elias, clutching his chest, his face grimacing in horror.
“You will accept a lash for every day you have failed me,” Lucian snaps, shoving his clawed hand into my back hard enough to force me to my knees. With a swipe of his nails, he rips open the back of my shirt, exposing my skin to him.
“You’re a monster,” I repeat, scratching my fingers into the concrete. “A coward. A dickhead who thinks he can push me around when I’m the one who will make Hell’s Kingdom rise.”
“If any of you try and intervene, you will face punishment far worse,” Lucian says, ignoring me. “I will take her head.”
I still at his threat.
My devils hesitate, their fury as palpable as the heat of the fire around me. It’s in this moment that I realize they take Lucian’s words utterly and completely seriously. They don’t trust him not to act and do the one thing that will end my life and eternity.
“God, help me,” I whisper under my breath. “Please.”
The Higher Power doesn’t answer my prayers.
But Andre does.
Bright ethereal light blasts through the sky above us, and Lucian jerks his attention toward the glow of Andre’s wings. I knew he was around. He’s been following me everywhere. Except the last thing I expected was for him to reveal himself.
“Raven, run!” Elias shouts, rushing toward the summoning circle.
Lucian roars and tries to whip me, slashing the ground inches away from my feet. Andre swoops closer with a ball of heavenly light glowing in his hands, his distraction enough to keep Lucian’s attention split between us. I scramble away on my hands and knees. Locking his fingers under my arms, Elias drags me the rest of the way from the flames.
Kase, Dante, and Micah shock the hell out of me, transforming into their devil forms to counter-attack Andre even though he saved me from unbearable agony at Lucian’s wrath. Dante launches into the air, chasing after Andre. Kase and Micah split up, abandoning me and Elias with Lucian trapped within the hellfire.
One look at the devil asshole sets me off.
I straighten my shoulders and glower into his fiery eyes. “If you ever put your supposed brethren in this position again—having to choose between two fucking horrid options—you will regret it, Lucian. You think you’re as powerful as the Almighty, but you’re weak. You’re a bastard and I know that you rely on me to give you the power you crave.”
“I don’t. You are not irreplaceable, Raven,” Lucian snaps.
“It doesn’t fucking matter. I’m not going to stand for this damn bullshit and all your threats. Micah thinks you act this way because you’re jealous of Kase and Dante and the bond we’ve grown, but I don’t think it’s that at all. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I swear to God that if you ever pull this again, I will give your brother Cassius what he wants. I’ll let him take my life as a sacrifice to ensure you never, and I mean, never-fucking-ever get the power you need. I will make sure he knows every damn detail of your plan, so you stay trapped in your miserable eternity.”
“You’re lying,” Lucian says, lowering his voice.
Cupping my mouth with my hands, I shout, “Cassius!”
Lucian snarls and stomps the ground hard enough to knock Elias and me off our feet. Without another word, Lucian ignites into flames, disappearing from the Mortal Realm along with the summoning circle. I kind of wish he’d have stuck around to beg me not to ruin his plan, but fuck it. The universe clearly doesn’t want to give me that kind of satisfaction.
Arms encircle me, and Elias hugs me from behind, spinning me back toward the house. “You’re fucking insane. I don’t know whether to scream at you or cuddle the hell out of you. What you did—fuck. I was about to throw myself to Lucian.”
I shiver, trying to push the thought from my mind. “Don’t you ever do anything that stupid, understand? He would have killed you.”
“No, he would’ve killed you,” Elias says, spinning me in his arms. “He’s far too proud to admit that he’s wrong. I know it.”
“Andre must’ve too.” I tilt my head back and look at the night sky. “I never expected him to grant me a miracle.”
“You can thank that sweet pussy of yours, angel-girl.” Kase strolls from the side of the house, dusting off his arms. “He will do anything for you. The fucker is falling.”
My chest tightens at his words. “You think so?” How the thought makes me feel? I have no idea.
“You’ll be boning him by next week. He won’t be able to resist you much longer.” Kase closes the space and slides right between me and Elias, acting like a wall to keep the two of us apart. “And neither can I.” He fingers a couple strands of my hair. “But the fucking mortal jizz has to go.”
I can’t stop laughing in exasperation. “Don’t even start. If you bring it up ever again—”
“No more threats. I’ve had enough of them tonight.” Kase scoops me into his arms and motions to Elias. “Let me take care of you instead. The jizz-master can join.”
“We’ll make it a party.” Dante lands in front of us, folding his wings. “A celebration of our badass soul.”
“Don’t you think we should all sit down and talk?” Micah comes from the other side of the house. “I don’t know how much longer I can manage until we do. All of this unnecessary drama could’ve been prevented.”
Kase and Dante glare, and Kase says, “Fucking fine. We’ll talk. But let’s get one thing straight. If you ever put Raven in danger like that again, I will hang you up by your tail and gut you.”
“Kase,” I say, trying to get him to focus.
“I mean it. This goes for all of you.” Kase points toward the sky. “Do you hear me?” he shouts as if he speaks to the universe. “Don’t fuck with our soul. She’s ours.”
Dante slides his arm over Kase’s shoulder. “And it will always stay that way.”
If only the universe didn’t feel as if it will send me to Hell.
Or that Lucian will eventually win.
***
“Do you all agree to our house rules?” Dante says, leaning on his elbows with a contract in front of him.
I stare at Kase and Micah as they each nod their heads and sign their names where Dante points. It’s the strangest thing to see, but as soon as I sat down to eat with Elias, the three devils joined us and insisted that the only way this was all going to work was to ensure a new agreement involving me was put into place.
“What about you, jizz-master?” Dante asks, using Kase’s new nickname for Elias as if they’ve been calling him that for all of eternity. “Do you agree to the terms? One dedicated day to Raven, protecting her above all else even if she doesn’t want it, and accepting all punishment on her behalf from now on?”
Elias drops his fork and opens and closes his mouth in surprise. “This bullshit is for me too?”
“Yeah, dickhole. You’re on the verge of getting murdered by that sexy soul, and upon your descent and resurrection, we need shit in place—especially with your greedy ass. I can already tell you’ll be worse than Micah, shouting that she’s all yours because you’re soulmates.” Kase tosses the pen to Elias. “Sign it, or I’ll guarantee you don’t die with a bang. I thought she could fuck you while choking your ass to death.”
Dante chuckles. “Damn. That’s one helluva way to go.”
It’s my turn to drop my fork. “Seriously?”
“What about sitting on his face until he suffocates?” Kase smirks as his tail finds its way to my lap. “I can join you and fuck you with my tail. It’s been a while.”
Linking my fingers to his weird-ass appendage that I’ve grown to like, I stroke the smooth skin until he tugs it away from me. “And it still will be. We are not going to sit here and plan Elias’s death. He might have a particular way he wants to go.” This is fucking morbid. It goes against every last mortal fiber of my being to think about killing him, even if it serves a purpose—shit, even if he agrees. The fear of not knowing for certain what happens to him after makes me want to prolong his life as long as I can. There are three other angels who must fall anyway. Elias can live as long as his body allows.
“Which isn’t much longer,” Micah’s voice murmurs in my mind.
Elias bumps me with his shoulder, drawing my attention back to him. “Come on, darlin’. Don’t let it get to you. His ideas are exactly how I’d love to go.”
I sigh and laugh, shaking my head. “You’re a bunch of pervs. What else is in your damn contract anyway?”
I snatch the thin stack of papers away from Elias the second he scribbles his name. Kase lunges at me, trying to grab me. He locks his hand around my wrist, but I yank away and tumble backward out of the chair. Instead of falling on top of me, he stabilizes himself with his tail. The papers scatter across the floor and I rush to gather as many as I can. Dante and Micah stand from their seats, wicked smiles lighting their faces. They stalk me like the cocky-bastards they are, knowing that I can’t get far.
“Dante, get some restraints. Our naughty soul needs to be tied up for trying to get involved in something that doesn’t involve her,” Kase says, sliding off the table.
“Doesn’t involve me? I live here too. The house rules are my concern,” I say, turning my back to flit my gaze over one of the middle pages. “Especially rule number twelve. I mean, what the actual fuck? You can’t decide on shit like joining in to fuck me when it’s my first time with Micah or Elias or anyone else for that matter.”
Dante’s eyes flash green. “You’re not reading it correctly. It’s only stating that they can’t expect to have your sole attention when and if you choose to bang them.”
I groan. “And what about this? My ass is exclusive to you and Kase?”
“You knew that,” Kase says, wagging his eyebrows.
I throw the contract into the air. “This is ridiculous and will not hold up in the court of Raven, you assholes. I’m going to write the damn contract and you will sign it without complaint.”
Silence responds to my demands as the four of them stare at me with a mixture of emotions. Elias stares at the wall, his lips smashed together like it’s taking everything in him not to laugh at me trying to put the devils in their places. Rubbing his palms together, Dante looks like he’s warming his hands to give me a spanking hard enough for the universe to hear. I can feel the heat of Kase’s annoyance, so I don’t meet his red-glowing gaze. Micah rests his arms on the table and winks at me.
“I’ll accept whatever you have in mind, heathen. Write it up, and I’ll sign it. You already know where I stand in regards to our eternity.” He twirls his finger at my hand, drawing everyone’s attention to the ring he gave me. Like he still controls the soul he placed inside, it lights up with an ethereal glow, sparkling like a beautiful rainbow prism.
“Don’t think we didn’t notice your attempt to steal all her attention from us,” Dante says, glancing at Kase.
Kase subtly nods at him and they each summon glass boxes in their palms. Inwardly groaning, I slump into my chair, already sensing that Micah’s gesture might have started some sort of competition between the devils.
“Which is why we have our own gifts to give you, Raven,” Dante says, setting his box in front of me. “Open it.”
“How original,” Micah mutters under his breath. “A soul stored in jewelry. I wonder who came up with that first?”
Ah, hell.
“At least we didn’t make Raven acquire it herself,” Kase says, popping the lid open on his box, revealing what is definitely not a ring, bracelet, necklace, or even damn earrings.
“Uh, Kase?” I ask, tapping my glittering nail on the table. “How am I supposed to wear that? I’m not pierced anywhere besides my ears.”
Kase’s smile widens. “We had a deal that you would wear a ring from me, remember? You never stated what kind, so I took creative liberty. One of my contracts is coming to help get you ready. You’re not pierced yet, but come tomorrow...your pussy is going to look even more—”
I whack him, cutting off his words. “Seriously?”
“Dead serious.”
I groan and close my eyes. “This was all unnecessary. You don’t need to give me anything, and you don’t have to worry about each other. I like being around all your psycho asses. We’re going to be ruling Hell together. I’m pretty damn sure I can handle all of you, okay? I’m not going to choose or be forced to deny the attention each one of you craves from me.”
“So if we all asked to fuck you right now, you’d—”
“Be fucking stuffed,” I say, laughing. “But don’t you dare ask. That’s one of my rules. Only I can.” Picking up the pen, I turn one of the papers over and scrawl the words ‘House Rules’ across the top. “As for how everything else is going to work...” I add the number one beneath it and write the only thing I can think of in the moment. I hold it up for the four of them to see. “I’m making all the rules. The first one being that you need to get your shit together and go on a demon hunt since Lucian is acting like an ass.”
“I don’t like it when you tell me what to do, pretty soul,” Dante teases, flicking his tongue. “Your naughty ass hasn’t even opened my gift.” He lifts the lid and shows me the cylindrical metal rod on a chain with a ruby on the top. “So we can have extra fun anywhere.” He presses the ruby, sending the necklace vibrating.
I flush. “You’re too much, Dante. And...thoughtful. So you better hurry and bring me a demon.”
He narrows his eyes. “Then we expect you to have an angel tied up and begging to bone you when we return.”
“I’ll help her ensure it,” Kase says, hugging me from behind. “Isn’t that right, angel-girl?”
Warmth continues to blossom across my chest and through the rest of me. “You guys are crazy. You know I like chocolate, trash TV, and cuddling as gifts too.”
“Wet dreams as well,” Kase teases.
“Orgasms,” Dante adds.
I groan and wave my hands. “That’s enough. Let’s just get shit done, so we can really celebrate or new arrangements. I expect you to protect Elias as if he were me.”
Micah gets to his feet. “You have my word.”
“And if he fails, I got you, pretty soul,” Dante says, draping his arm over Micah’s shoulders. “Who fucking knew I’d ever be okay with this bastard on our team.”
Our team.
Fuck. The saviors have no idea what’s coming.
