Stranger at the Hell Gate (6 page)

When he let the fire take over, she welcomed him, welcomed all of him. She knew there was more than one way to heal a man, and she was eager to counter his fire with a cool touch of her own.

Their longing could be denied no longer. Together, angel-born and demon-born found their common ground and, together, they burned.

DEMONS

"You think you could stay a while?" He stretched alongside her, watching the lazy turns of the ceiling fan and the slow sway of the curtains. They were faded but he could see they had been blue once, with tiny stitched flowers along the bottom. It made him wonder what kind of people had lived here and what had happened to them.

He never cared before. Being with her made him curious, if not exactly caring.

"Why?" Her voice muffled by the pillow, Sonya lay on her stomach, her back sloping in a creamy curve of bare flesh, disappearing under the sheets bunched around her waist.

Jagger never lay on his stomach. He was too cautious. But looking at her laying that way made him respect her more for it. She was braver than she looked.

It also meant she trusted him. Nobody ever trusted him like that before.

"I dunno," he said at last. It was hard to put such strange feelings into words. "I just don't seem as pissed off when you're around."

"Small wonder." Her hair flopped over one eye as she pushed up on her elbows to look at him. He wanted to seize her and kiss her all over again, just for looking like that. "I must be getting your rotten moods in exchange. I feel like—shooting something."

"What!" Jagger rolled over and pinned her, seeking the soft skin between her ear and shoulder and nipping.

"Heh. I'm just teasing—ow! You're squashing me!"

He pushed up on his arms to look down at her. "It's called tough love, baby."

"More love, less tough. You're ruffling my feathers."

"I can handle it if you can." And he grinned, realizing he meant a lot of things when he uttered those few words.

"Tell me." She rolled under him onto her back and placed her hand over the scar above his heart. "Why won't you let me heal this scar?"

He covered her hand with his. "I didn't get this fighting anything."

"No?"

Jagger settled down to lie beside her. "I got it when my mother was killed."

"Oh," she said in a tiny voice. "I'm sorry."

He didn't seem to hear her. "Me and Acheron were born demon. Our hearts run backwards. It's what makes us demon. My mom—"

"You don't have to," she whispered.

"Yes, I do. If we're gonna—you need to know what's under this skin." He swallowed. "My mom was on the run. She didn't want Tallon to know about us. I was born in an alley because she kept running, even after she went into labor. I was born, and she held me upside and spanked me, but I didn't cry. I was a demon, Sunny. My father's son. She did the only thing she could. She prayed, and she jammed her finger into my chest, and she willed me to breathe. She stopped my heart. Her prayer restarted it and made it beat the right way.

“She thought the worst was over. But then the contractions got worse. Acheron was breech. He hurt her bad when he was born. She tried to restart his heart, too. But it was too late. They found us. The legion took Acheron and they killed her."

"No, Jagger—you don't have to say anymore."

He gritted his teeth. “The angelic host that came for my mom's soul protected me and put me in a safe home. Eranil raised me."

She nodded at the sound of the name but remained silent.

"When I was old enough to know the truth, they told me. I can't figure that out. Why do that to a kid? I was a baby when all that shit happened. I didn't have to know.”

“You can't hide from a legacy like that," she said. "Even if they didn’t tell you, you'd have found out. You have a twin. You are connected.”

“Don't I know it. He found me. And he was a bastard about it. I knew one thing—I'd kill him one day for killing our mother."

Sonya bit her lips. It was hard to reconcile the two versions of Jagger: the man he claimed to be and the man she wanted to believe he truly was.

He rolled his head on the pillow and avoided her eyes. "He was never meant to be anything but demon. My humanity makes me weak. I had to work harder at everything because I only have one foot in the world. I'll hunt demons until I die and then I'll die knowing I did everything I could to stop them."

She traced her fingers over the lines above his heart. "That's quite a story for the scar. I knew there would be one, but I didn't expect that. Well."

She leaned down to kiss his chest.

Alarmed, he pushed her shoulders back up. "I told you. I don't want you to erase it."

"I wasn't erasing it." She smiled at him with a radiance to rival she sun. "I was blessing it. That scar is a sign of true love. I hope you always have it."

ANGELS

Nearly a month passed.

The calls came in more frequently, sending him out night after night.

When he returned at dawn, she healed him before allowing him to topple her into bed. He loved her savagely, seeming to try to put distance between the horrors of the battle he waged each night.

He sought sanctuary with her, and sought it whenever he could.

Whenever their flesh met, a current passed between them, a spark jumping between their polarities. Opposites attracted, all right. They attracted and singed each other with their hunger.

His lovemaking left her exhausted, a lazy kind of languor she was beginning to relish. If only she could get him to lie with her a bit longer before dressing and going back downstairs.

Jagger hunched over the side of the bed, dragging his boots closer and shoving his feet inside. She watched him from her recline on the pillows, still buzzing with the contentment that lying with him brought.

His boots strapped, he slapped his thighs. "Well, babe, Time to work. Sun's going down and the creepies will be coming out to play."

"You have a job tonight?" She hadn't remembered Enzo mentioning one. Then again, Enzo didn't speak about work when she was around. He didn't speak much, period. Despite having accepted her into their space, he never dropped his guard.

"Not yet, I don't. I have a feeling I'm gonna get lucky, though." Jagger stooped to hook his jacket from where it lay in a heap on the floor. "There's been a job or an event every night for the past three weeks."

"Maybe not," she said. She drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. "Maybe you can stay in tonight."

"You okay?" He turned at the door, peering intently at her. "Your voice sounds funny."

Her body had changed quite a bit recently, she mused, but she doubted it would show in her voice. "I'm fine. Just—wanted to talk, is all."

"Don't worry, Sunny, I'll be fine." He came back to sit on the bed, pressing his forehead against hers. "I've been doing this a long time."

"It's not that. I need to tell you something."

"Then tell me," he said with a laugh, sitting back. "What's all the drama about?"

"Jag." She reached for his hand. "I'm—"

The phone rang downstairs.

His arm tensed beneath her touch and he turned to glance at the door.

A moment later, Enzo called up the stairs. "Hey, buddy. Time to work!"

"Sunny." He shook his head, looking almost apologetic. "I have to go."

She swallowed hard and looked away. "I know."

"Hey. We'll talk as soon as I get back. 'kay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Later, babe." His boots made a hollow sound as he clumped down the narrow staircase.

Sonya swung her feet over the edge of the bed and crossed the room to where a floor-length mirror was bolted to the wall. She regarded her nude body, smoothing back her tousled hair and running her hands down her arms, across her breasts. The movement came to a halt when her hands reached her abdomen.

She sighed.

Heavy tears slid down her cheeks and she wiped them away with her fingers. "Just wanted to let you know… I figured out what my mission is."

DEMONS

One evening, the air in town felt—charged, for lack of a better word. Jagger sensed an energy on the wind, a silent vibe that made every vein in his body quiver. His demon blood detected it. He did his best to ignore it.

It'd be easier to ignore it if Sonya hadn't felt it, too.

"Something is coming." Sonya paced the floor again, sidestepping a squeaky board she'd discovered on an earlier pass.

"I can feel it. A storm?"

"No." She looked out the window at the gathering dusk. Sunset's warmth washed the sides of the buildings outside. "A person. He's looking for you."

Jagger scowled and yanked a strap tighter around his chest. His holster fit better now that he didn't have to baby that shoulder tendon. If one could actually call it babying; he never gave it any rest, despite its stiffness.

Wearing the holster this way felt better. His shoulder felt better.

He stole a glance at Sonya, who'd paused in front of the windows to peer out. His gaze traced the familiar curves of her body, her creamy skin awash with the glow of the sunset.

Everything felt better now.

"Someone is always looking for me." Jagger smirked and pulled the rune sword out of the scabbard. "I seem to be on a lot of shit lists in this town."

"Don't joke, Jagger." She cast a stern glance over her shoulder at him. "This is different."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." The word sounded odd the moment he said it, hanging awkwardly in the air. Jagger wasn't used to apologizing. "Hey. I'll go down and grab us something from the cooler. Mango pop?"

He nodded when he saw her sudden smile. "Right. I'll be right back."

Jagger grabbed his gloves and tugged them on while trotting down the steps. Crossing the office, he walked over to an ice box in the corner. He'd only opened the chest when he noticed the smell.

It wasn't coming from the freezer.

"
Son of the betrayer
." The voice was little more than a gurgle. "
I've come for you."

Jagger spun, gun in hand, eye-blink fast, spying the demon.

It heaved and glistened. And dripped.

Great
, Jagger thought.
A wet demon
. "You slimy bastard, you ruined my chair. Let's see how much you like being in pieces."

"
I will end the rebellion.
" A chorus of voices moaned as one. "
And I will take my reward.
"

Seventh ring of hell, at least,
thought Jagger. Anything lesser couldn't group together like that.

His suspicion didn't last long, because the demon split into a group of smaller demons that circled him. Jagger bounced from foot to foot, watching as they converged.

There was no way out.

They closed, rejoined into a sold mass, trapping Jagger in its center. It was like being swallowed by a compost heap. Its surface was a sticky glob of stink and it oozed around him, pulling him in, trapping him.

Devoured by a blob. Just great.

"Ugh!" Inside, he could vaguely see out of the gelatinous prison. The walls were rubbery, resisting his attacks. His punches bounced off, and he slid down the side when he tried to shoulder-ram it. Where were his weapons?

Still upstairs in Sunny's room. Aw, shit. Of all days to parade around naked.
Jagger spun in place, looking for a weak spot in the trap but not finding any. "Lemmee out!"

The floor trembled and the door rocked open as Ionis charged through, yelling his partner's name.

"No use!" Jagger rammed into the side of the demon and bounced back. It was like running into a gelatin mold. "It's charmed! Find my sword!"

"
Sword?
" The demon chortled. "
You jest, half-breed. You cannot breech me. Only the blood of Tallon can enter my prison; no one can escape.
"

"Oh, will you shut up, already. Ionis! It's upstairs!"

ANGELS

The sudden sound of gunfire made Sonya look up. Without thinking, she grabbed Jagger's sword and raced for the door.

"Jagger?" Sonya ran down the steps. "Where are you?"

"Sunny! No! Get out!" His voice was muffled by the thickness of the demon.

"Stay back, little lady." Ionis spread his arms, forming an effective wall. If she were human, that was.

She had to stand on her toes to see Jagger deep in the eerie green bowels of the demon. "He said
the blood of Tallon
."

"That doesn't mean it won't kill you." Ionis herded her back toward the staircase.

She ducked under his arm and ran toward the demon. It heaved and turned, watching her, grunting with exertion. Sonya remained out of reach, careful not to get too close to the tendrils that anchored it to the floor and, subsequently, this plane. "I have your sword!"

Sonya looked over at the mountainous Ionis, a subtle golden glow starting under her skin. "I'm sorry, but you have to move now, Ionis."

He backed up, one step, two. Faint alarm lifted his brows. "You shouldn't."

She closed her eyes. The glow seeped out, engulfing her. "Now, Ionis."

The big man backed away another step as the glow extended around her, giving the impression of folded wings. Her eyes took on the same golden sheen. The light built to a painful intensity. She stood a moment, amping up her Seraph power.

Her wings unfurled and, with it, a pulse of divine power.

Ionis dove toward the desk but he wasn't quick enough to avoid getting caught in the blast. Sonya's energy snapped out like a super nova, stunning the demon and paralyzing its tentacles. Ionis took the blast from the back. The force knocked him off his feet and shoved him clear to the wall.

Deftly, she slid the sword free from its scabbard and plunged her other hand deep into the demon's mass. It cracked like a thick gel.

Sonya shoved harder, sliding in up to her shoulder, and ripped downward. Using her foot she widened the breech, standing half-in, half-out of the demon's belly.