I knew their history, and I knew he’d never understand the friendship I’d forged with the Angel of Death who’d killed his wife and unborn child. “Of course I know, Adam. It doesn’t mean I’m happy about the idea of him spending a year down here because of me. I don’t wish that on
anyone,
not even my greatest enemy.”
“He
is
my greatest enemy,” Adam mumbled, and I squeezed his hand.
“Let’s focus on getting out of here and we can talk more about this later.” We weren’t out of the woods yet, I still wasn’t sure how we’d get past Naberios. Would he magically know that Raum set us free?
It turned out I worried for nothing, as Naberios didn’t seem to be his growly self at all when we reached the gate. In fact, he was almost friendly as he let us pass, reminding Adam that he still owed him for the favor I’d volunteered in his stead. I stood by while they haggled in a language I didn’t understand.
“Why do I feel like I’ve witnessed a really bad decision in the making?” I murmured as they shook hands over whatever accord they struck.
“Relax, I’ve got it all under control,” Adam winked, giving me the first real smile I’d seen from him since I arrived in Midian.
“Next time you will bring me more truffles,” Naberios nodded to me, and I gave him a wan smile in return. I never wanted to go back to Midian again, but I knew I’d have to, given Ben’s circumstances. Knowing the gate guard had a chocolate jones wasn’t a bad piece of intel to have.
“I will if you promise to eat them more slowly.”
“Why would I do that?” His head canted to one side in confusion.
“Now you have none left, right? If you’d eaten them slower, you’d still be able to enjoy them.”
“I enjoyed them enough,” he grunted, crossing his arms over his expansive chest.
“Okay, well, it was nice seeing you again. Maybe we can visit longer next time.” I backed towards the gate as both men stared at me as if I’d said something completely mental. “Adam, we should go, we have that, um, thing to get to, remember?” I wasn’t sure why, but I felt the sudden urge not to linger any longer. The sooner I got him back across the gate the better I’d feel.
“Naberios,” Adam nodded simply.
“Adamiel.”
Great, we all knew each other’s names. Without waiting for anything else, I linked my arm through Adam’s and grabbed Nelo’s hand, stepping back through the gate.
As soon as we got out of the strip club and into the open night air, Adam gave a whoop of joy, picking me up and swinging me around so that my head spun. “Holy shit, I can’t believe you did that!”
“Then you’re happy I came?” I clung to his arms to keep from losing my balance once he set me down, and he gave no sign of letting me go.
“No, I want to throttle you for risking it, but since you did…” His lips descended over mine hungrily as he walked me backwards, or rather dragged me backwards, since just the tips of my toes hit the pavement as his strong arms hauled me up against his body. Gasping as I felt the cold metal of my car press against my back, I kissed him back, not caring that we were in an iffy neighborhood late at night, making out like there was no tomorrow.
“God, I missed you,” he breathed between kisses, my Grace glowing faintly at being in his arms again. It was way better than any dream or even a visit in the Ether. Adam was really and truly safe, and there was nothing to keep us apart.
“I missed you too, so much. Don’t ever do that again…”
“I won’t. I’ll never leave you again, I promise. Only you have to promise not to do anything so stupid again either.”
“I saved you.” I pulled back to look at him, and found a somber look on his face again.
“You put yourself at risk. It makes everything I went through moot. When are you gonna get it through your head that I love you more than life itself?” Adam kissed me tenderly, and a rush of longing went through me. Didn’t he get that I felt the same way? Why else had I gone to hell and back to be with him again?
“Probably about the same time you get that I can’t accept you risking yourself for me either. What was I supposed to do, sit around and twiddle my thumbs while you suffered on my behalf?”
“Yes, if that’s what it took.”
“Well, I can’t accept that. So remember that the next time you go off making idiotic deals behind my back.” I chased after his lips with mine, unable to keep from kissing him when he was so near.
“Idiotic seems kinda strong…” he frowned.
“Reckless?”
“That implies a lack of thought or planning. I assure you, I planned this down to the last detail.”
“Boneheaded then?” I grinned, and he returned the smile, kissing my neck.
“I can accept that as long as you admit it was dangerously ill advised for you to come down there after me.”
“I can agree to that, but it was worth it,” I sighed, holding onto him tightly, tears threatening to spill as some of the adrenaline wore off and I realized how close I’d come to being stuck down there with him if Raziel hadn’t come along.
“Hey, it’s okay, we made it out together, that’s all that matters.” Keying in to my distress, Adam held me close until some of the tension went out of my body.
“I’d forgotten what the sky smelled like.” A soft voice sounded in the darkness, and my eyes popped open to see Oriana standing there in her thin dress and bare feet, her pale face turned up to the stars.
Chapter Ten
“Oriana? What are you doing here?” I gasped, letting go of Adam in my shock.
“I decided to take a holiday, I wanted to see the miracle.”
“What miracle? Does Raum know you left?” It seemed unlikely, but maybe he had some crazy scheme she was a part of?
“What delightful thing did you say?” she paused, trying to find the right words. “Raum isn’t the boss of me,” she smiled sunnily, in direct proportion to the scowl that set on Adam’s face.
“Only he
absolutely
is the boss of you, Oriana. Damn it, he’s going to think we stole her away.”
“That’s actually one of the plans we tossed around, only we didn’t know how to pull it off,” I admitted. “Maybe this is a stroke of genuine luck?” It was about time something went our way.
“You’re right, we can make this work for us,” Adam agreed, rapping on the roof of the car. “We’d better get her out of sight before someone out here spots her. You know Raum will send demons after her once he realizes she’s missing.”
“We’re going on a journey?” Oriana brightened at that, and I took hold of her elbow, gently guiding her to the back seat of my car where Nelo waited patiently.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m going to show you where I live. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I replied with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.
“Oh yes, I should like to see that very much,” she smiled, allowing herself to be easily led. I had no idea how long she’d been in Midian or if she’d freak out at the prospect of travel by automobile like Sam did, but she didn’t balk at all at being shoved into the back of my car with a demon. Actually, maybe Nelo made her feel more at home.
“Adam, do you think you could…?” I tossed my car keys, and he snatched them deftly out of the air without a second thought. Adam wanted to take her to a cheap motel in the middle of nowhere to keep her out of sight, but I wanted to keep a closer eye on her. Since he didn’t want to separate, I won out on that argument, and we headed to my place. Oriana didn’t mind the drive at all, her attention fixed out the window for the entire ride.
“Now, it’s late so we’ll have to be quiet going up to my apartment.” I reminded her gently. I had no idea what time it actually was, given the time difference between Midian and the real world. It was still dark out as we parked in front of my building.
“Will the sun rise in the morning?” she asked gravely, as though there might be more than one answer to the question.
“Uh yeah, of course it will. You can get up early and watch if you want to.”
“Mummy says you mustn’t stare into the sun, it will burn you up if you’re not careful,” she nodded earnestly.
“That’s probably good advice,” I nodded back, nudging her towards the door. “Don’t stare at anything bright for too long, it’ll hurt your eyes. And you could probably stand to use some sunscreen too.” Her skin was much paler than mine, as though she hadn’t set foot under the sun for years and years, and she probably hadn’t.
“Come on, ladies, up the stairs, here we go.” Adam herded us up to my apartment on the third floor, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow as if he expected an attack at any time, but Nelo didn’t act like he found anything strange lurking in wait. “Hold up a sec…” He paused outside the door, approaching it very, very slowly, a finger to his lips.
“What is it? Is someone inside?” I whispered, placing myself between Oriana and the door. For the moment she was our biggest bargaining chip and I wasn’t prepared to let go of her without a fight.
Before Adam could reply, the door was snatched open by Sam, a thunderous look on his face. “There you are!”
“Mercy’s here?” Daphne rushed out to pull me into a hug. “Oh, thank God, we thought we were going to have to mount a rescue!”
“I’m fine, we’re all fine,” I choked out under her overenthusiastic greeting, while Adam did his best to move the reunion out of the hallway.
“Come on, let’s take this party inside.”
“A party, how lovely,” Oriana beamed, smoothing her long hair back as she followed us in. Parker and Matty rose to greet us, and I couldn’t meet Parker’s eyes after the way I’d left him.
“Told you she’d make it back okay,” Matty grinned. “Who’s this?”
“This… is Oriana,” I waved in her direction, deciding to let them introduce themselves. Suddenly, I was bone tired and the couch looked awfully comfy.
“No shit? You broke her out too? Wait, where’s Ben?” Matt’s brow crumpled in confusion, but I didn’t have the heart to get into it yet.
“Adam, can you fill in the troops?” I gave him a wan smile, and he launched into a brief account of the trip while I rested with my eyes closed. That was, until I felt someone sit beside me.
“Are you okay, Merce? You look… different.”
I opened my eyes at the concern in Parker’s voice, though I still felt guilty looking at him. “I’m fine. It took a lot out of me, that’s all.” Taking a deep breath, I launched into an apology. “Look, about earlier…”
“I get it,” Parker shook his head. “I still think you should have taken my help, but I get the whole protective thing. That’s why it drove me so crazy to find you gone like that. Do you know what it’s like to wake up and find someone you care about making a crazy move that could end up getting her killed, and there’s nothing you can do about it?”
“It’s all too familiar,” Adam smirked. Sitting on the other side of me, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “You must be the infamous Parker,” he offered a hand.
“And you must be the infamous Adam,” Parker matched the tilt of his smile, shaking his hand, and I remembered that most of them hadn’t met Adam before either.
“I’m sorry, guys, I forgot to mention, this is Adam. Adam, that’s Matty, Parker and Daphne.”
“I know, I’ve been around, remember?” he reminded me he probably knew more about my friends and family than I did, with his ability to skulk about. Daphne gave him a shy smile, and Adam appeared vaguely amused to see her take her place at Sam’s side, picking up his hand by habit. Sam caught sight of Adam’s knowing look and proceeded to look everywhere else but at Adam after that. Matty barely gave Adam a second glance, much more interested in Oriana. He followed her to the rear sliding door to watch her breathe on the cool glass and trace patterns in the steam. Parker rose from the couch, pacing slowly once Adam pulled me to relax against his warmth.
Adam picked up the thread once the introductions were over. “We made it back from Midian with an unexpected guest. But we’ve been thinking this is the break we need to get Ben out of there.”
“We need to keep her under wraps until we figure out how best to handle it,” I nodded. “Sam, I thought maybe you could keep her at your place? Raum doesn’t know where you live, and you’re strong enough to look out for her.”
“I think that’s a great idea,” Daphne nodded for him, “There’s more room there than here or at my place, and they won’t know where to start looking for her.”
“I’ll come too,” Matty volunteered by Oriana’s side, and she flashed him a radiant smile.
“My champion,” she beamed. “Will we have cakes and tea?”
“Ah, sure, cakes and tea sounds cool,” he replied with a bewildered smile. “Only we call it donuts and coffee here. I happen to be a connoisseur of donuts, as a matter of fact.”
“Sam, does that sound like a plan?” I asked again, not wanting him to get steamrolled into doing something he didn’t want to.
“No harm shall come to her in my care,” he agreed with a wary eye on the witch, and I could tell he wasn’t a hundred percent on board with the plan. But I also knew I could take him at his word, he’d do his best to keep her safe, she was too valuable to lose.
“I hate to meet you all and show you the door, but it’s been a long night for us, and Mercy needs her rest,” Adam said with a note of finality.
Parker’s eyes swept over my face as he rose, something unreadable in his expression. “I’ll see you at work.” I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but I knew something was up with him. I was too tired to try and figure it out that night, so I let him go without another word. The others shambled out after him, even Nelo went to rest in his closet, and finally we were all alone.
I felt Adam’s arms wrap around me from behind, and I closed my eyes, resting against his solid chest, trusting him to keep me upright as I leaned on his strength. “You’re the one who’s been trapped in a demon realm. Are you really alright?”
“It looks like I should be asking you that, you look wiped out.” Adam spun me around to get a better look.
“That’s not exactly what a girl dreams of hearing,” I pouted, remembering Parker’s words as well. “Do you think I look different?” I wondered if it had anything to do with Raziel’s Grace. At the time it had given me such a rush of power, but I felt drained.