Angel Seduced (6 page)

The snake squeezed tighter, making Kasabian's voice breathless when he said, “Why did you pose as my friend?”

“Your father asked me to check on you, make sure you were still blissfully ignorant of your days with him. Your memories have recently returned. How?”

Kasabian would never bring Kye into this. “I dropped some acid last night. It uprooted everything in my brain.”

Acid was a no-no for any Crescent. Kasabian had never touched a drug in his life.

“I don't believe you. We've been friends for a long time, and not once have you ever said a thing that would lead me to believe you'd do drugs.”

Why his deception should piss Kasabian off, with much more pressing matters at hand, he didn't know. “So you do my father's bidding.”

“I follow his orders because he has given me a life. He has been like a father to me. Because I see the value of loyalty in a world where the people who should care will toss you away or sell you for a few dollars.”

Silva and Treylon believed Kasabian had betrayed
them
. “And you think I should have allowed kids to die out of
loyalty
? You of all people should have fought for those kids. Instead, you aligned with my father!”

Silva shook his head, a soft laugh on his breath. “We always differed on our ideals, even as we are alike in other ways.”

“Are you kidding me? We are
nothing
alike.”

Silva threw out another net of those damned birds. They tore into Kasabian's wings and back, and he couldn't do a thing about it. His arms were pinned, body immobile. He bit back screams of pain because he wasn't going to give Silva the pleasure of hearing them. But Silva was getting pleasure all the same, given the smile on his face. In fact, he knelt close to Kasabian and watched. “What would you do to convince me to stop the pain? Beg? Suck me off? Maybe you'll understand me better if you're desperate to escape your circumstances.”

“Fuck you,” was all Kasabian could manage.

Hell, Silva's smile grew even bigger. When the birds were done, he released the snake with a snap. The snake and birds evaporated.

Kasabian arched in pain, the sensation of a thousand razor cuts on his back. Something wasn't right. He felt a gaping hole in his soul. “What did you do to me?”

“I Stripped away your angel essence.” Silva flexed his hands. “I haven't used the ability much, though it did come in handy not long ago. You are a mere Mundane. Well, mostly.” His blue eyes twinkled with some kind of secret glee.

That's what the hole was, the lack of his essence. No wings, no Light, and no ability to Leap. All he could do was sink his fingers into the grass as he tried to hold back the pain.

“We'll get reacquainted once you're settled in.” The weird gleam in his eyes disappeared, and he glanced around. “I don't want your father to find you here. He is not going to take a chance of anything jeopardizing our plan. We've had trouble recently, so he's even more on guard.”

Shouting made him turn toward the house, where Gren was waving him over. “Demis is checking in for a status report, and Treylon isn't here.”

Demis? Kasabian searched his pain-gutted brain for the name but nothing came to him. Hell, he could barely move.

Silva stood. “Now he'll have to talk to
me
.” He nodded toward Kasabian. “Take him to the room. He has no power, so you should be able to handle him now.”

Silva stalked off, and Gren turned his bitter smile on Kasabian. “Aw, been Stripped, eh? That's too bad.” He kicked Kasabian in the side. “Another bruise or two won't be noticeable.” His boot came at him again, and Kasabian felt his ribs crack. A sharp pain rocketed through his side. He tried to summon his healing power. Nothing happened.

He managed to reach out as Gren readied for another kick and grabbed his ankle, jerking him off balance. Gren fell, arms wheeling, landing hard on his back. Sure, it would piss him off even more than the asshole already seemed to be, but Kasabian had nothing to lose at this point.

Gren scrambled to his feet, his face red with fury. The last thing Kasabian saw was a fist coming at him.

S
arai gave Kye an agonized look from across the table at their favorite Italian restaurant. “So tell me, is it lust or love at first sight, o wise one? I need to know if I'm going off the deep end again with this guy or if it might, maybe, possibly be the real thing.”

Kye didn't want to tell Sarai that she'd lost her Zensu abilities, so she bluffed. “You know I don't believe in love at first sight.”

“Not love, per se, but the way your soul is drawn to another soul. That
wow
factor that's deeper than infatuation or lust. You've never experienced it yourself, but I know you've felt it in others.”

Kye had felt it. Was feeling it. Being apart from Kasabian wasn't helping one damned bit.

“Come on, Kye, tell me if it's real. Don't let me make a big mistake.”

Sarai could sense trouble for others, but not for herself. Sadly, this was true of many Deuces. Their personal stake in the matter muddled their clarity or, like Kye, their ability altogether.

Shoot. Kye didn't want to be pressed, but she'd been giving Sarai advice on her roller-coaster love life for years. “All right.” She held out her hands, and Sarai clasped them over the table. Kye closed her eyes and picked up…nothing. Just like she'd picked up nothing with the clients she'd met with earlier that morning.

“I think it's infatuation,” Kye said, and just to be safe, added, “But don't discount that it's not the real thing. Let it develop slowly and see where it goes.”

When she opened her eyes, Sarai was scowling at her. “You are so full of shit.”

“What?”

“I have
nada
interest in any guy right now. I was testing you, because I suspect that you have not taken my advice about Kasabian and gotten yourself into a snarl.”

“Bitch.” Kye flopped back into her chair, giving her the same kind of scowl. “I didn't
not
take your advice.”

“You should have seen your eyes get all misty when I talked about the
wow
.”

Kye picked up her fork and forced herself to draw lines in her spaghetti sauce instead of throwing it at Sarai. “It's not quite that simple.”

“Please tell me you haven't fulfilled the sex forecast I got. Tell me you haven't gone there.” Something good and hot and sexy, Sarai had said it would be. Then something bad.

“I am not having sex with Kasabian.” But Kye wanted to. Every cell in her body wanted to.

“You sound like President Clinton, and we know what happened there.”

Kye rolled her eyes, but she was trying really hard not to think about Kasabian's mouth on hers, his hands…

Sarai obviously took her silence as confirmation. “Kye, that's how the bad part starts!”

“You'll be happy to know that we are not romantically involved. In fact, we've agreed that it would be a bad idea.”

“But? I sense a ‘but' in there somewhere.”

“We're bonded.”

“Whaaaa?”

It felt good to share this with someone. “He and I did magick to help him retrieve lost memories, very important ones. We ended up being bonded, and, yes, I've lost my abilities. For now. I'm so angry I could tear his hair out.”

The image that popped into her mind, though, had nothing to do with fury and everything to do with her hands gripping his hair as he thrust into her. Kye blinked the image away.

“Wouldn't it be best to stay away from him?” Sarai asked.

“Oh, believe me, I am staying completely away from that man.” The memory of his big bed popped into her mind.

Sarai was shaking her head, a grim expression on her face. “You won't. You're going to get sucked in so deep, you won't know where you end and he begins.” She reached out and grabbed Kye's hand. “And you're going to get ripped to shreds.”

“Uh…literally?”

“No, your soul. Your heart.” Sarai sank into her thoughts. “What I get are words, ideas about what's to come. And the feelings to go with them. All I know is that if you stay with him, you're going to suffer terribly. I'll keep working on getting more.”

“And I'm going to work on breaking our bond. It's the last thing I need.”

Sarai was studying her with narrowed eyes. “But there's a part of you that likes it.”

“No way. It's unnerving. Annoying. Disturbing.” Did it count as a lie if she was telling it to herself, too?

Twenty minutes later, when Kye was back in her office going through her patient files, she got the first hint of the pain to come. Real pain, along with a spear of panic. Kasabian. She got to her feet and grabbed her phone from the credenza. But she didn't have his number. If he were involved in some kind of altercation, he couldn't answer anyway.

Suddenly the breath left her lungs, and she stumbled to her knees. Gasping, she dialed the number all Crescents had on hand—the number for the Guard. She could barely ask for Hayden.

“I'm sorry, he's not here right now. May I leave him a message?”

“No. Emergency.”

“We can send someone else—”

“Need Hayden,” she managed to utter. “Please, get me in touch with him.”

“Give me your name and number, ma'am, and I'll do my best.”

She'd no sooner given the information when excruciating pain dropped her completely to the floor. Her legs were jelly, her back on fire. What the hell was happening to Kasabian? She wasn't sure where his fear stopped and hers began.

Her phone rang a minute later, and she could barely grasp it. She didn't recognize the number, assumed it was Hayden, and answered with a gasp.

“Kye? What's going on?”

“Kasabian…in trouble. Pain.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Bad.”

“I'll Leap to him and try to take him to his place. Can you meet us there?”

She clutched the chair to help her to her feet. “I'm on my way.”

Hayden Invoked his angelic essence, enduring the pain of his wings tearing through his flesh. Since he and Kasabian had been friends since their abduction, he should be able to Leap to him without his express permission. It took a few minutes to get a lock on him. He felt his body transport and prepared for whatever would be at his destination.

Which turned out to be a gated entrance in a high-end neighborhood. The property had several buildings set way back from the road, hidden by vegetation. Hayden stayed to the side of the ornate gate, out of view of the camera and passersby. He assessed the borders of the property, figuring out the best way to get inside. The yard, with banyans and oaks, was surrounded by a fence camouflaged by hedges. In the distance, a man kicked something on the ground. Vicious kicks.

Hayden Leaped into the yard but bounced off a barrier. He felt along the edge of it, which went to the property line, sneaking closer to the Caido who was outside the barrier. What Hayden saw tightened his lungs. Lying on the ground was a bloodied Kasabian being pummeled by a Caido who had been on the receiving end of a similar beating, judging by the blood and torn clothing.

Hayden quickly assessed the situation. No other enemies in sight. The attacking Caido was too preoccupied to notice his presence. Yet. Hayden wasn't about to let him have that chance before he got the upper hand.

He shot him with a Light beam that threw him several yards away. Hayden Leaped to that location before the guy could gain his footing. He was fast, though, rolling with Hayden's punch and landing on his feet again. Hayden used his Light to slice across the Caido's chest, but it only caused a flesh wound. The Caido sent a concussive beam at Hayden, throwing him back. He landed hard on the ground, twigs scratching his back. The Caido jumped, ready to obliterate him.

Hayden took the brunt of the man's weight, but grabbed hold of him and shot him with Light. The Caido kicked as his body convulsed, breaking contact. He fell to the ground, still convulsing.

Hayden jumped to his feet and ran to Kasabian's still form. He was in bad shape, unconscious, a gash above his eye, his mouth a wreck. And blood on the ground around him. Hell. Why wasn't he in angel form? Hayden ducked as a beam of Light shot toward him, searing the tree to his right. He didn't have time to deal with this moron. He had to get Kasabian out of here now. Hayden put his hand on Kasabian's chest and Leaped them back to his apartment.

K
ye held herself back from pounding on Kasabian's door. No need to attract attention, but the desperation to see if he was all right screamed through her. The worst of the pain had subsided, but she knew something was terribly wrong. The door opened, and a tense-looking Hayden stepped aside so she could come in.

Kasabian lay on the floor, curled up on his side. The sight of him sank her stomach. She took inventory as she rushed to him. He was bruised, his lip torn and bloody, face swollen.

She looked into his eyes. They were open, but he stared at nothing. His body trembled. “Kasabian, talk to me.” His nonresponsiveness scared her. She was afraid to touch him. “Kasabian, please. Say something.”

“Children there,” he said on a hoarse whisper. “Have to…go back.”

Hayden knelt down beside him, and it was only then that she saw him. Really saw him. He was in full wing, the beautiful silver essence spread out majestically from his shoulder blades. She had never seen a Caido in wing before, and it should have mesmerized her. But her gaze returned to Kasabian, bloody and broken on the floor. And all he cared about, even now, were the children.

“Are you crazy? You can't go back,” she said. “You have to heal.”

Hayden's hand glowed as he waved it over Kasabian's face. The bruises and gashes miraculously healed, leaving only blood and dirt.

“I felt his pain here, too,” she said, pointing to her ribs. “I felt…everything.”

Hayden moved his hand over them, and Kasabian exhaled as the Light pulsed along his skin. “Three broken ribs.”

“Oh, gods,” she said. “What happened?”

Kasabian's breathing eased, and his fisted hands relaxed.

“A Caido was kicking the hell out of him,” Hayden said. “Kasabian had put a hurting on the other Caido, but for some reason he wasn't angel. Which doesn't make sense, because you always go angel in a fight.”

“Check his back.” She started to turn him. “That's where I felt the worst pain.” She sucked in a breath at the sight of his raw skin. It was as though someone had branded angel wings on his back.

Hayden waved his hand over the bloodied, broken skin, but it didn't heal. He tried again, and still, nothing. “I can't heal it. Kasabian, can you Invoke?”

Kasabian managed to shake his head. “Gone. Stripped.”

“Your angel essence?” Hayden asked, disbelief in his voice.

Kasabian nodded.

“What does that mean?” Kye asked.

Hayden stared, shock and outrage in his eyes. “It's the Essex on steroids. The Caido sucks all of another Caido's essence in at once. I've heard rumors of Caidos with dark powers who can do that, but I've never encountered one. Who did this to you?”

Kasabian managed to sit up, and his gaze locked onto her. His eyes were no longer empty, but they were filled with a soul pain. He turned to Hayden. “The other Caido who was in captivity with us, the one who sucked up to my father. Silva.”

“Is that who was beating the crap out of you?” Hayden asked.

“No.” Kasabian got to his feet, using a chair even though Kye held out her hands. He braced himself on the back of it. “Silva is Daniel. He's been posing as my friend at Harbor, keeping an eye on me. For my father.” Kye could feel his sense of betrayal.

“Son of a bitch,” Hayden said. “And he's one of these dark Caidos?”

“He could use his Light in ways I've never seen. Snakes. Birds.” Just when Kye thought Kasabian had suffered some mental damage, he elaborated. “He created a coil of energy that bound me like a damned python. Then he threw a net of bird-like things that attacked my back.” He tried to turn and look but swayed slightly and gripped the chair again. “After that, I could feel the absence of my essence.”

“There has to be a way to get it back,” Kye said.

“I don't know enough about being Stripped to know how to undo it,” Hayden said. “But from what I've heard, it sounds like Silva is a Wraithlord.”

“Wraithlord,” Kasabian repeated slowly, as though he were trying out the word. “Why haven't I heard of them?”

“Because they're a mystery. They stay hidden even in the Hidden, and, fortunately, there don't seem to be many of them. They're some kind of Caido aberration. No one knows exactly what they are or how they came to be. They were dubbed Wraithlords because they can control wraiths.”

“Ghosts, you mean?” Kye asked.

Kasabian turned to her with a grim expression. “Ghosts in a way, but they're vicious. And they have fangs. It's what Caidos become if they die and aren't interred properly.”

Hayden rolled up his sleeve, revealing a V tattoo on his arm. “What I do know is that Wraithlords can use their Light in crazy-ass ways. I've heard stories about it becoming anything from a spear to a monster. I've never fought one, but I heard a retired Vega talk about encountering one. He barely escaped, but his partner did not. There was a brief mention in our class manual of a Vega being Stripped by a Wraithlord.”

“What happened to the Vega?” Kasabian asked.

Hayden glanced away as he rolled up his other sleeve. “Every situation is different.”

“He died, didn't he?” Kasabian's voice was low. “Because we can't survive for long without our essence.”

Kye's heart tightened into a hard ball. “There has to be a way.”

“Exactly,” Hayden said. “We can't make assumptions.”

Kasabian didn't look at all hopeful. “I will get weaker and weaker until I fade completely. And without my essence, I can't Leap to my father. And you don't have a connection with him to use as a touchstone. I didn't see enough of the neighborhood to recognize it. Did you?”

“I was too busy looking for you to notice any landmarks or street signs.” Hayden pulled his phone from the holster at his hip and read the screen. “I've been summoned to headquarters. Kye, can you stay?”

“I just want to take a shower, and crash for a few hours,” Kasabian said. “Alone.”

Kye felt rooted to the spot, watching him. Hayden mouthed,
Stay
. She knew she should leave, but human decency dictated that she not leave a man in pain alone. She nodded.

Kasabian gripped Hayden's shoulder, his eyes wide. “As Daniel, Silva is involved with the Harbor. He has access to the kids.”

“I'll swing by on the way to headquarters and let them know to ban Daniel from the premises.”

“He's been hanging around me, biding his time for…what? Preying on the kids?” Kasabian's face went red at his words.

Hayden said, “Harbor keeps a constant guard over the children in their custody. I can't think of one who's gone missing. If they return to their homes, or go to a new one, Harbor's involved in the process from beginning to follow-up visits for a year afterward.”

Relief calmed Kasabian's visible rage. “Yeah, you're right. Okay, go now, warn them.”

Hayden closed the door, and she locked it. Not that it mattered. Caidos could friggin' Leap.

Kasabian stared at nothing. “I can't even wrap my head around it. Someone I trusted, thought was my friend, has been spying on me. Working with the man I consider my worst enemy.” Kasabian looked shell-shocked. Distraught. She had no idea how to comfort him.

She came close, afraid to touch him like she wanted to. “You've gone through a lot. You should rest.”

“I need a shower. You should go. I'm not the best of company right now.” He headed toward the hallway with careful steps.

She checked the shadows in the corners of his living room, then the kitchen. The sound of the shower propelled her toward the hallway. He shouldn't be alone in there, not as off balance as he seemed.

“Kasabian,” she called out softly, warning him she was coming.

She followed the hum of water to his bedroom, a tropical oasis of palms, the moss-green walls and dark mahogany furniture he seemed to prefer. It felt strangely intimate being in here. Unlike the first time when she'd been so focused on breaking their bond.

The bathroom door was partially open, and steam wafted out. She walked to the side of the opening and tried not to look inside. But her gaze went right to the reflection of his back in the mirror.

She wished the sight of his back was the reason for her sudden intake of breath, but her eyes followed the lines of his hips, his ass, and the muscles of his thighs. He bore no tan lines, just the same tone of golden skin all the way down his muscled legs.

A rush of both desire and compassion overtook her, and she turned her face toward the wall. “Kasabian,” she pushed out. “Are you all right?”

“You really need to leave.”

“You shouldn't take a shower alone. You're off balance.”

“And that's why you should go.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Yes, she should go. Just as he'd warned from the beginning. “I can't leave you alone like this. Since Hayden couldn't stay, I am. Just…” She swallowed hard. “Just to make sure you're okay.”

“I don't think that's a good idea right now, Kye.”

She curled her fingers against the wall, her nails grazing the paint. “I know.” Her heart was thrumming like a rabbit that had just darted across the road in front of a car. She knew it was from being alone with him. Did she like it…or fear it? Maybe a little of both. “I'm staying until you're done and settled in bed. Then I'll go.”

She heard him step into the shower, the way the sound changed as the water hit his body. And she now could visualize that body very well, thank you. Of course, she knew he'd be gorgeous, perfection, other than his back. How was he going to wash those wounds? They needed to be cleaned and treated.

No, don't do it.

“Where do you keep your first aid supplies?” she called.

“Kye, you don't have to—”

“Just tell me. I know I shouldn't, that I don't have to. The only way I'm going to get any peace is if you are not in pain. So consider it selfish. Where are your damned supplies?”

“In the hall bathroom.”

She made quick work of finding disinfectant and antibiotic cream, returning to Kasabian's room. She caught a glimpse of him inside the glass enclosure, his hands braced on the stone wall and water sluicing down his back.

She made herself move away and waited. The shower cut off a few minutes later, and she heard the door open. Then the sound of him drying off. A few minutes later, he stepped out into the hallway, a towel wrapped around his waist. His eyes looked more green than hazel. “So you staying with me is about you then?”

“Yes. Go lie down. I'll treat you and leave.”

His pain was evident as he stiffly laid down and spread his arms to the sides. The towel molded to the curve of his ass, and she thought how terrible she was to notice that when he was in such bad shape.

“Did you find a way to break our bond?” he asked, his voice muffled by the mattress.

She laid out the supplies on the bed and gingerly sat next to him. The mattress sank invitingly. “I have a call in to the medium who allows me to talk to my Babs. She might have an answer.”

“Your Babs?”

“My grandmother, Ekaterina. My mother's family is from Russia, so she is—was—my babushka. She's the one I inherited my abilities from, much to my parents' chagrin. She was a master of fertility but could also diagnose a sex problem at thirty yards. She called herself a sex witch, which I could tell made my mother bristle. Babs did it on purpose. I loved her spunk and wish I had it where my parents are concerned. She died before I learned I had her ability. My mother is a medium, so in theory I could talk to Babs through her. But I don't want to get into our situation with my mother.” It was times like this when she needed her Babs. “In fact, I never talk to Babs through her.”

“It sucks to be alone in the world, doesn't it? Even when you've got people around.”

Not only was he picking up her isolation, but he also felt the same. “Hayden doesn't know about your Shadow, does he?”

“No one but you knows.”

Great. Something else that bonded them. Kye opened the disinfectant, then decided not to put him through that pain. “I'm going to put on the cream.” She shuddered at the thought of touching that raw skin on his back.
Please don't let me hurt him much.
“Did the Shadow leave with your angel?”

“No.” He dropped that word as though it were a heavy weight.

She put a thick layer of cream on her fingers and very gently left a trail of it across those terrible lines. His hands tensed, gripping the wrinkled sheets. “I'm sorry. I'm trying to be as gentle as possible.”

“I live with pain all the time,” he said. “So don't sweat it.”

“And there's a part of you that likes it.” She sat back, capping the tube.

He came up on his hands and knees, facing her. “The Shadow part of me likes pain but it craves sex.” Like a cat, he prowled closer, until his face was only inches from hers. In his eyes, the Shadow flashed, dark and seductive. “Bloodshed.” He moved even closer, forcing her to lean back. “And you, Kye. It craves you.”

Her heart pulsed at his nearness, his words. “Is the Shadow in me, too? Because of the bond? Ever since we did the Cobra, I feel…different.”

“Hungry? Horny? Afraid? Afraid is good. You should be pushing me away, heading to the door. But you're not.”

She knew she should be, but the Shadow in his eyes held her. “No. I'm not.”

His mouth came down over hers, crushing hers. She lost her balance and fell back on the bed, and he followed. He plunged his tongue inside, sucking at her. The power of him enveloped her. He captured her—mouth, body, and soul. Because even as her logical brain screamed in warning, her mouth melted beneath his, and her tongue sparred with his.

She clutched at his biceps, kneading the hard muscles that held him hovering over her. Her heart hammered in her chest. He drew one hand down the side of her neck, her collarbone, and over her breast. She arched into his touch, needing his hand to squeeze her. Oh, gods, what was happening to her? She'd never wanted like this before. No,
craved
, his word.