Demons Like It Hot (40 page)

“I can fly. I just choose not to.” She flashed a wry smile. “Everyone asks me the same question. I was just saving time.”

Rafe leaned toward him. “I take it she didn’t greet you your last visit?”

Matthias shook his head. “Leonidas did.”

Imagine that, one of the bravest warriors of ancient times, a Fore-Demon. Even for a demon it was still surreal.

“Did he regale you with all his war stories?” Rafe took a right turn down the candlelit corridor.

Astra grinned. “They are fascinating stories, though.”

Indeed, they were.

Astra stopped in front of double, silver doors. Ornate carvings bedecked the surface, and angel wings framed each side. He hadn’t paid much attention before. Being summoned by the all-knowing and all-powerful Fore-Demon Council had a tendency to do that. He was as nervous as hell the first time he met them. He reached out and ran a finger across a delicately carved vine of ivy. It was beautiful.

“The silver is blessed. It’s the most effective way to keep the Infernati from attacking the council.” Astra snapped a finger and the doors swung open.

He took cautious steps inside, Rafe and Astra following behind him. Astra flicked her wings and took flight, zipping to the empty seat on the dais.

Leonidas sat next to her. Gerard Butler he wasn’t. He’d been near sixty years old when he fought his last battle. His hair and beard had long since grayed. He pulled at the garment swimming around him, as if he longed to wear something else. Still a fighter, even after almost twenty-five hundred years.

“Welcome back, Deleon and Ambrose. I hear you have an interesting request.”

Matthias bowed. “We need to have some silver blessed.”

“Don’t you have weapons there already?”

Matthias nodded. “Yes, we do, but there will be humans where we expect to meet the Infernati. We need a way to separate the innocents from the demons.” He reached down into the box at Rafe’s and his feet and pulled out a bottle. “These bottles have liquid with silver particles in them. We plan to serve food infused with it tomorrow.”

“Interesting,” Astra said, flicking her dark hair from her shoulder. “Isn’t that a remedy humans take on earth? How is this going to work?”

“If too much is taken, human skin can turn blue or gray over time. When a demon ingests it, the results are a little more immediate.”

“And you’ve tested it?”

“Kalli did, my lord.” Rafe said. “Her tongue turned blue.”

“We expect the results on Infernati to be much more severe, after it has been blessed.”

“I have to admit, this is probably the most interesting request we’ve had in a while. I assume you need this right away?”

Both Matthias and Rafe nodded.

“I will send a request to have an angel join us posthaste.” Leonidas closed his eyes and threw his arms up in the air. He slowly opened his eyes again. “Hopefully the angel on call isn’t inept. Things can get pretty messy when done in haste.”

Astra harrumphed. “Tell me about it. Thank goodness we got that situation under control.”

A soft mist formed, swirling and spiraling around them. The mist solidified into a giant, glowing ball, which shattered. Sparkles of light burst into a million brilliant pieces.

“Did someone order an angel?” He scanned the room, flicking the bright white plumage behind him. He continued to scan the room, then locked gazes with Rafe.

“¡
Dios Mio
, Rafe! What are you doing here?”

Rafe’s mouth gaped open. “I could ask you the same.”

“You two know each other?” Matthias whispered.

“Gerardo.”

“Lucy’s guardian angel? I thought earthbound angels couldn’t do blessings.”

“They promoted me.”

“This quickly? Weren’t you at Lucy’s shop earlier?” Rafe asked.

“Guess so. And a good thing too. My first blessing is something for Serah?” He jumped up and down with giddy delight. “
¡Muy bueno!
” He glanced at the bottle in Matthias’s hand. “Is that holy water? Isn’t that already blessed?”

“Colloidal silver, actually.”

“Are you going to try to poison demons? You aren’t supposed to use the weapons in cold blood, you know.”

Of course they knew that. But Rafe gave kudos to Gerardo for keeping their best interests in mind. “No, we aren’t going to vanquish them with it.”

“What will it do?” the Latino angel asked.

“It will turn them blue when they ingest it. We plan on putting some in the tiramisu that Serah will serve to the guests on the show.”

“Wow! What a great idea. Serah always thinks on her toes.”

“Daniel’s.”

“The guy working for Salome?”

“Daniel’s had a change of heart. He’s helping us.”

Gerardo pursed his lips. “I’ll bless these, but they won’t work if the person using them doesn’t believe in the Paladins.”

“I understand. We haven’t any other options. Please help us?” Matthias asked.

Gerardo smiled, and the bright blue feathers on the shoulders of his shirt fluttered as he sashayed up to them. “You don’t know me, so I’ll let it slide this time. You never have to ask me for help. I’m always willing to help my friends.”

Matthias nodded. “I’ve heard good things about you.”

“Serah’s a sweetheart. She deserves to be happy.” Gerardo’s brown eyes sparkled mysteriously. “I can see it in your eyes, Matthias. You’d do anything to make that happen, right?”

With a soft gulp, Matthias nodded. “I would.”

“Good. Now stand back. I need some space to work my mojo.”

Matthias and Rafe stepped back. Gerardo knelt before the box of bottles and scratched the dark goatee grazing his chin. “
¡Dios!
What was that word?”

Matthias cringed. Gerardo was likable, but he was new. Would the angel get the words right? He couldn’t afford for the blessing not to take.

“Is everything okay, Gerardo?” Astra asked, her voice laced with worry. Her barbed wings flicked up and down.

“I’m fine.” Gerardo reached into the pocket of his aquamarine, pleather skinny jeans and pulled out a brown, leather-bound book. “When in doubt, read it out.”

He thumbed through a few pages and tapped his finger. “Ah, here we are.”

Wings spread wide, Gerardo cleared his throat. “By the power of all that his holy, I Gerardo, of the fifth order of Cherubs do humbly ask for your blessing on these weapons…” He counted the bottles. “Twelve bottles of colloidal silver for the Paladins Rafael Deleon and Matthias Ambrose.” With that, he drew his hand across the box. “This I ask.”

A warm breeze swept through the room, circling them. Just as quickly as it came, it evaporated. Was that all there was? He’d expected more—holy water, incense, and burning palms.

Fifth
Order
of
Cherubs? He’d been promoted that quickly?
Most angels that he knew of started out lower, around the twelfth order or so. To be promoted that much in a matter of a day meant he was one powerful angel. He had to admit, he didn’t look anything like what he imagined a cherub would look like.

“All blessed!” Gerardo said with a grin.

“That’s it?” Matthias asked, wonderment evident in his tone.

Gerardo nodded. “Beginner’s luck, I guess.”

“Don’t let Gerardo fool you. He’s an excellent angel. His disguise as a human fooled three Paladins.”

“Impressive.”

Gerardo’s cheeks reddened. Must be the cherub in him. “Rafe, you flatter me. And here I thought you didn’t like me when we first met.”

“Water under the bridge, friend.” Rafe reached down and grabbed the box. “We need to head back. Don’t be a stranger. You know how much Lucy cares about you.”

“
¡Si!
I will never abandon our friendship. Lucy will understand. She’s good like that. Frankie I worry about. He won’t have anyone to argue with.” Gerardo shook his head. “I’m sure Kalli can fill in.”

“She’s doing a smashing job so far.” Rafe smiled. “She’s got some great ideas to help Lucy with the shop too.”

“
¡Bueno!
I knew she would.” Gerardo waved his hand and wing. “But don’t let me keep you. You have some mean and nasty Infernati to take care of.” He turned to Matthias. “Serah is lucky to have such a dedicated Paladin watching over her. Keep her happy. A pleasure to meet you, Matthias.” With that, Gerardo whipped his wings around his body and vanished into the mists.

Keep
her
happy? What did the effeminate angel mean by that?
He didn’t think he’d ever get used to all this cryptic stuff. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

“Let’s head back. Serah has some kick-ass tiramisu to make—and hopefully it will help us kick some Infernati ass as well.”

***

“I’m getting nervous.” Serah gnawed on a fingertip as she swished the remaining coffee in her mug. “It’s been way longer than an hour now.”

“Maybe they stopped for a beer afterward,” Kalli said over her second cup of coffee.

“Not now, Kalli.”

“Just trying to lighten your mood. Sorry.” She set her mug on the counter. “I’m sure everything’s fine.”

The door to the office flew open, the gust rattling the pots and pans.

Kalli grinned. “See?”

Matthias and Rafe stepped back into the kitchen. Swiping snow and ice from his shoulders, Matthias allowed a wide grin to spread across his face. It was amazing. He was amazing.

“The silver is blessed,” he said, his voice as smooth as butter. Serah didn’t need this now, when they needed to concentrate on Gerardo and the tiramisu.

“Something happened to Gerardo,” Lucy said, rushing to Rafe. “Frankie called me. Some angels came and took him with them.”

Rafe nodded. “I know.”

“What happened?” Serah asked. “We’re worried about him.”

“He was promoted. He’s no longer earthbound.”

“What does that mean?”

“He’s a cherub now,” Matthias said, setting the box on the counter.

Serah scrunched her brows. “Aren’t they pudgy little babies?”

“Stupid human painters,” Matthias mumbled. “They always misrepresent what they do not know.”

Kalli snickered. “My fault. I was a muse for a while. It was better to keep our secrets by misleading the artists.”

“A cherub? Really?” Bemusement flooded Lucy’s face.

Rafe nodded. “In the fifth order too, which means he’s strong.”

“I always knew he had it in him.” There was no mistaking the pride in Lucy’s voice. “Was he the one who blessed the silver?”

Matthias nodded. “He was.”

“Good. That means we’re well protected.” Serah grabbed one of the bottles. “Looks like we’ve got some tiramisu to make.”

“Let’s get crackin’,” Kalli said, popping open the egg carton.

“I never pegged you for the domestic type,” Serah said. “But nothing surprises me anymore.”

“Don’t let the lace and fishnets fool you. I’ve done my fair share of baking and cooking, enough to last a millennium or two.” Her ruby-red lips spread into a wide smile. “Besides, we’re cooking up trouble for the Infernati. That’s an opportunity I can’t afford to miss.”

“I’m so lucky to have friends like you.” Serah grabbed Lucy and Kalli in her arms and hugged them both.

“How many bottles do you think we need?” Matthias asked.

Serah pulled out of the friendly group hug and shrugged. She turned to Daniel. “How many people are going to be there?”

Matthias let out a sharp breath. He clenched his fists. Did he still not trust Daniel? After all the information he gave him?

“Is something the matter?”

Matthias gave a slight shrug. “No.”

“Whatever.”

Lucy wrapped her arms around Serah’s shoulders. “Can you put aside the animosity for now?”

“Fine.” She angled a glance back to Daniel. “How many?”

“Fifty people.”

Serah did the math. “Let’s make three, nine-by-thirteen pans.” She shook her head. “No. Four. We need to show the final product for the show. Let’s do half Kahlúa and the other half silver. If we quadruple, we’d need exactly a cup of Kahlúa. So one half cup each.” She pulled open a drawer, pulled out two half-cup measures, and set them on the counter.

“Sounds good,” Daniel said.

“Let’s get busy,” Kalli said, throwing the cupboard door open. She pulled out a bowl and spun it around on the counter, where it glistened as light reflected off it. “Silver mixing bowl? Can you actually cook with it too?”

Serah nodded. “I guess once something’s blessed by an angel, it becomes usable in all applications.”

“Bonus. A weapon of mass destruction and a utensil of mass enjoyment in one.” She gave the bowl one final spin.

Rafe turned to Lucy and zipped up his leather jacket. “It looks like everything here is fine for now. Let’s head home.”