Seducing the Succubus (23 page)

The leader looked like a linebacker, and he stepped forward, his hands out in front of him. “Look, man. Put her down and we can work this out.”

Jez still clawed at the hand constricting around her throat, her feet kicking uselessly in the air. Noah tried again to force his body to move, but a slow numbness had set in as his body began to distance itself from the constant pain.

The demon’s head snapped around to glare at the man who had stepped forward. “Stay clear of this, human. This one is mine.”

“Human?” The man stopped, his brow furrowed as he stared at the demon. “Nice eyes there, sunshine. Borrowed a body, did ya?” He pointed a threatening finger at the demon. “I’ve seen this kind of thing on that show,
Supernatural
. Let the girl go.”

Apparently the burly leader was sensitive. Noah wondered if the man had known that fact before now or not.

The demon’s eyes narrowed. “This is your last warning before I kill you all.” He shook Jezebeth like a rag doll. “So stand clear.”

“Joe,” the leader called over his shoulder. “Get salt and lots of—” His words were cut off when the demon’s arm shot out to slam against the man’s chest, tossing him backward as if he weighed nearly nothing.

The man’s body slammed into the side of a semitruck parked near the car Noah lay in front of before he crumpled to the ground, totally still.

The sounds of the fight in progress reached Noah before his fuzzy brain could register that the rest of the men had attacked the demon.

One man crouched near the leader and rolled him over to lay his fingers against the large man’s throat. He sighed with what Noah thought was relief.

Tiny granules of white flew everywhere like a sudden snowstorm, which only increased the sounds of the ongoing battle. Noah blew the tiny granules out of his face and tasted salt.

“Kosher salt,” Noah forced out. “It has to be kosher.”

Another man flew by to land in the dirt near Noah. His body bounced a few times before he groaned and pushed himself back up to stumble back into the fight.

The friend who crouched near the leader shuffled over to Noah. “Are you all right, man?”

Jezebeth slid next to him as if she’d crouched in midrun; dirt and gravel sprayed against Noah’s legs as she slid to a stop. Relief coursed through him that she was still alive. “Jezebeth . . .”

“Your phone. I need your phone.” She laid a gentle hand against his cheek as she shoved her other hand into his front jeans pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

Noah tried to make sense of what she was doing, but his vision had slowly turned gray and he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

Movement and the sound of Jezebeth’s surprised cry made Noah force his eyes open in time to see the demon leaning over him, black eyes boring into his until he could no longer feel the hard-packed dirt underneath him.

Jezebeth
completed the incantation to summon Raphael, dry pain scratching up her throat with each word. She swallowed hard, her throat still raw and aching from the death grip the demon had had on her.

Movement in front of her made her snap her head up, just in time to be batted to the side by the oncoming demon. Pain lanced along her side and Noah’s phone flew from her hand as she landed hard on her back. Dust puffed up around her to choke her as she tried to suck in a breath.

She rolled over in time to see the demon loom over Noah a split second before they both disappeared.

“Noah!” She scurried on all fours over to the spot Noah had just been as panic clawed up her throat.

A small glimmer began in the air in front of her and she swallowed a sob. She would have time for reaction later, right now was about finding Noah and getting them both safely to Lilith’s lair.

The glimmer in the air reminded her of a diamond catching the light, but then it grew and morphed into a blazing glow until Jez had to shield her eyes and turn away.

She huddled over the empty spot where Noah had lain, waiting for Raphael to materialize—too late to save Noah. Hot tears welled and spilled down her cheeks at the unfairness of the situation even though she tried to keep them at bay.

“Damn it. I don’t have time to cry.”

Noah had been taken because he’d been here to help her. She would gladly give herself up in his place, even if it meant an eternity at Semiazas’s mercy.

A sudden silence fell as the oppressive presence of an Archangel buzzed against Jezebeth’s senses.

Jez glanced up, careful not to meet Raphael’s gaze, to find the entire scene frozen. All around them in a wide circle men lay broken and bleeding from the fight with the demon.

Raphael walked forward, his black steel-toed boots filling Jezebeth’s teary vision. “Please . . . the demon took Noah.” She heard the desperate edge to her voice and fisted both hands to try to gain control of her galloping emotions.

“We meet again, little succubus. You do seem to attract trouble.” He walked toward her and knelt.

Jez resisted the urge to look up at him as memories of their last meeting filled her mind sending a shudder through her.

He chuckled. “Still haven’t forgiven me for that accidental soul gaze, I see. I give you my word that I will warn you before that ever happens again.”

“You can’t just promise me it won’t?” she bit out; the words scratched along her throat and were out before she could think about what she was saying. After all, she was hoping for his help. Irritating him probably wasn’t the best plan.

Raphael laughed, a good-natured sound that clashed both with Jezebeth’s raw emotions and with the scene of badly injured men strewn around him like broken matchsticks. “I sometimes need to look inside souls for what I do, so I can’t promise it will never happen again. But I
can
promise to warn you first.” He spread his hands wide. “That’s all I can offer.”

Jez slowly raised her gaze to look at the dark, clean-cut Archangel with the smiling hazel eyes. “I suppose I’ll take what I can get. Can you help rescue Noah?”

Raphael smiled, turning him from handsome to devastating. “Is that why you summoned me?”

Jez swallowed hard and nodded once. The time to pay up had come. “I had summoned you to save him. He was injured and close to dying . . . but then . . .” Her throat closed up as a sob escaped.

Raphael slowly reached out and placed his fingers around her neck as the demon had done, the scent of musky night deep inside a forest surrounded her as warmth tickled along her skin pushing back the raw pain. Tension slowly left her body and her emotions slowly calmed—an effect of proximity to one of the heavenly host.

Anger snapped through her, and she bit it back. She felt like she was betraying Noah by letting those emotions lessen, but she knew that wasn’t logical. After all, just a few minutes ago she was cursing because the emotions hadn’t stayed buried. Damn, she was losing it.

When Raphael dropped his hands, she swallowed experimentally and sighed as no pain knifed through her.

“Thanks.” She rubbed her neck. “Can you find Noah?” She craned her head back to meet his gaze. “I’ll pay whatever price you ask. Please.”

“And if I do find him and retrieve him from the demon, then what?” His words weren’t mocking, but only held a calm request for information.

“We have to get to Yuma as soon as possible.”

Raphael’s brows slowly rose. “Interesting. I don’t recall any portals in that area of Arizona.”

Jez closed her mouth and rolled her lips between her teeth as she tried to figure out how to respond. Obviously Uriel hadn’t shared the “pass to his place” information with Raphael. Jez hoped she hadn’t screwed up by sharing too much with the Archangel. Not that she would be able to lie to him anyway—Archangels could sense lies. Besides, if he agreed to help Noah, she’d tell him anything he wanted.

Way to open your mouth, Jezebeth
.

Raphael stepped forward into her personal space and smiled. “When did Uriel visit you?” He held up his hands in front of him. “Wait, don’t tell me. Better if I don’t know.”

Jez wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or still worried by Raphael’s cryptic remark, but they were running out of time for small talk. The current scene might be frozen, but somehow Jez doubted time for the entire planet was frozen. “So can you help us?”

“I’ve been ordered to not interfere in any manner with you and your three sisters.”

A heavy weight settled firmly in the pit of Jez’s stomach, and she opened her mouth to beg him to help her anyway.

“But there was no mention of my helping your companion.” He pursed his lips as he studied her. “Do you trust me, little one?”

She boldly met his dark hazel gaze, looking inside herself for the truth since she knew any lie, even one to herself, would be detected by the Archangel. Finally she slowly nodded.

“You and your sisters are tangled in something larger than you know. Watch your backs—on all sides.”

When she frowned, he laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I can only promise to do my best to locate him.”

Hope filled Jezebeth’s chest like a warm burst of helium, making her feel suddenly lighter. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“In the meantime I think you need to head toward your rendezvous point as quickly as you can.” He laid his index finger under her chin and smiled. “Stay low, stay safe, and I’ll do the best I can on this side.”

“What’s my payment for summoning you?”

He grinned, a playful nearly wolfish smile. “You said you’d pay whatever price I asked.”

She nodded once, dislodging his finger from under her chin. “I will. Name it.”

“Even if it’s forbidden?” His tone was teasing.

“Yes,” she immediately answered, meeting his gaze boldly, but only hazel eyes filled with amusement stared back at her.

He cocked his head to the side as he studied her. “You would risk everything for this human you’ve only known a few days, little one?”

“Noah. His name is Noah, not human. And why does everyone always call me ‘little one’?” She huffed out a breath, fluttering her bangs, and held the Archangel’s gaze, daring him to refute her. “And, yes. I told you to name your price, and I meant it.”

Raphael’s soft laughter confused her, and she frowned and stepped back, only then realizing she was back in her comfortable nonhunting form. Probably an effect of Raphael’s healing. “I have some cleanup left to do here before I can look for Noah. You’d better go.”

Jez frowned. “What about payment?”

Raphael turned back from examining the fallen leader. “I’ll find you when I require payment.”

After a long moment of digesting the surprise that surged through her system at the Archangel’s sudden dismissal, Jez turned and ran.

Noah opened his
eyes as he was suddenly slammed down hard against something cold and metal. He found himself strapped to some type of rack, spread-eagled and naked. Shackles bit into the skin at his wrists and ankles holding him tight against the unforgiving circular frame.

Pain still surged through him with every labored breath and he held on to consciousness by a thin thread.

He tried to glance around despite the searing pain but found he couldn’t move.

Anger snapped through him. He needed information, and he needed it now. “Where is Jezebeth? Did she escape?”

“I think ‘escaped’ is too hasty a term at this point. Let’s just say I haven’t acquired her . . . yet.” The cultured, male voice was almost conversational, and slow footsteps echoed around Noah as he waited to see who the voice came from.

A tall man with a medium build, dark hair, and calculating blue eyes edged into Noah’s line of sight, and Noah couldn’t miss the dark power pouring off the man in waves.

“What are you?” Noah clenched his teeth against the pain as his vision grayed and vertigo swirled through him.

The man chuckled, sending a shudder of pure revulsion through Noah.

“What indeed. I think you know me better as ‘who’ for this discussion.” His eyes glittered with evil amusement. “I am Semiazas.”

Noah clenched his jaw as he studied the demon in front of him. Semiazas was rumored to have been Lucifer’s right-hand man, so to speak, for the rebellion against God. Maybe that’s why he’d been given enough freedom to start the Black Plague even though it was against his new master’s best interests.

“I see by your reaction that you know of me.” Semiazas smiled and bowed with a flourish as if they stood inside a seventeenth-century ballroom. “I’m glad. That will make our time together so much more enjoyable.” He stopped and cocked his head to the side. “At least for me.”

Noah’s first reaction was relief that the demon didn’t know how to find Jezebeth; just behind that was cold, hard fear. Not of the torture itself—he was absolutely terrified about that. After all, he’d never been big on pain, and didn’t think of himself as the He-Man, Rambo type. He was more scared of not being able to withstand the torture and ending up betraying Jezebeth.