His eyes were hopeful.
What game was he playing?
He held out his hand.
I took it, still frowning.
“Uh, sure. We’ll drive separate since we can’t all fit in Ethan’s car.”
“They’re all my cars,” Ethan said under his breath then sped past us with Genesis in tow.
I nodded toward the garage. Cassius followed, our hands still linked.
“Well, which one of Ethan’s toys do you want to take?” The lights flickered on as Ethan and the rest of the crew piled into his white Mercedes.
“That.” Cassius pointed at the red Hummer.
I sighed. “Of course. Big bad Dark One wants a big bad car.”
“It’s tall. I’m tall…” He shrugged, his smile flirtatious.
My heart skipped in my chest. “Fine, but you do realize we’re in Seattle, right? People are going to flip you off for just driving something that gets only eight miles per gallon.”
“Does it matter?” He was giddy. “When we can run them over anyway?”
“Good point.”
“I’d like to think so.”
“I’ll grab the keys.” I still hadn’t moved.
His eyes were penetrating as he held my gaze. “All right.”
“Keys,” I repeated.
“To drive the monstrosity.”
Slowly, I shook my head as I left his side and grabbed the keys then met him back at the car. He was already inside, strapped in and looking about as pumped as a ten-year-old at a carnival.
“Fast,” he commanded, and then cleared his throat. “I mean… please?”
I smiled and started the car. “Only because you said please.”
His eyes met mine. “I’ll have to remember that for future reference. Say please, and… she says yes.”
My body hummed with anticipation.
Or maybe it was irritation…
…that as a human he was completely wreaking havoc on my emotions—even more so than when he was immortal.
Cassius
Pompeii 79 AD
“SECRETS ARE THE REAL WAR,” I whispered into the darkness as Sariel made his way toward me through the mist, purple and blue feathers expanded separately from his body testing the purity of the air. He was searching for lies, yet again testing me—testing us.
“They are,” Ethan agreed, standing to my right while Alex held the sword against the King’s throat.
“Why do you disturb me?” Sariel asked calmly. With a tilt of his fingers Alex’s sword was pulled back and the human king was thrust to his knees in a bowing position. “I have more important things to focus on than the measly war between humans and immortals.”
“We’ve been at peace for the last hundred years,” I said through clenched teeth. “And we disturb you because there has been a… situation.”
Sariel’s eyes went white as ice as his wings spread out across the large room, the span of them reached fifty feet. The blue and purple feathers fluttered and then stuck straight out. The air shifted and the feathers turned black as Sariel sucked in a gasp. “You dare defy me!”
King Ebal began to weep. “I was told immortality was obtainable. And they were right!”
“Demons use your greatest desires against you, weaving small truths into great lies. They will justify anything.”
King Ebal moaned out a curse. “I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”
“How much did he have?” Sariel asked aloud.
I sighed. “The Demon showed him how to put each of us in an immortal sleep. There’s no way to tell how much he took unless we spill his blood. Ethan has already tried tasting.”
Sariel’s wings suddenly wrapped around his body and then disappeared. Damn, that meant he was staying a while. He towered over the King. “You may look at me now, human.”
King Ebal lifted his head, his eyes wide with fear. No human could be in an Archangel’s presence and not fear the end of his own life. I knew firsthand that Sariel was the cruelest of the Angels, sometimes choosing to show humans a reflection of their own demise the minute they locked eyes with him.
“You have consumed immortal blood—it is their essence. You know this.”
“My girl!” the King sobbed. “She is sick! And they refused to heal her!”
“Are they God?” Sariel asked with exaggerated wonder. “Do you truly think they have the power to snap their fingers and make someone well?”
“Angel blood.” The King ignored the question. “Mixed with the other immortals’ blood heals all! She was well this morning!”
“Word spread,” I interrupted dread filling my stomach. “And his wife started handing out small vials of the concoction to friends and family.”
“How many people?” Sariel’s voice shook the room.
“By now?” I sighed. “A hundred, maybe.”
“Shall I destroy one city for your sin?” Sariel addressed the king again.
“You don’t want us to be healthy! You want us to rely on you for everything! Have I not served you well?” The King challenged. “And yet you refuse to heal my little girl! But the Demon said he could!”
“Of course the Demon said he could!” Sariel yelled back at him. “Because the only way to save a life that’s already been claimed for death is to die you fool!”
“But—” The King sputtered. “She’s alive!”