Summon Lyght (10 page)

Lyght turned a dazzling smile on her.
"In case you haven't noticed, you and Lesedi are intensely attracted to one another. Soon you will consummate that attraction and I will use the power generated by the union to bind the three of us into a powerful unit to combat evil. And at that point, Kassie will join the plan, becoming my mate." He crossed his arms, seeming relieved to have it out, unaware of the stunned consternation of his audience.

Miya barely regained the power of speech when she considered what he
'd just said. She shot to her feet. "You mean to tell me that you… created this attraction between Lesedi and me? That we wouldn't have even noticed one another if you hadn't interfered?" Anger rolled through her like a tank, crushing anything in its path. "It didn't occur to you—" Suddenly her vocal chords just froze!

"
Forgive me for silencing you." Lyght said. "But you were off on the wrong bloody path. You and Lesedi would have come together in any circumstances. The only thing that changes is that I will harvest the power of your consummation."

Lesedi rose and stood at Miya
's side, his arm going around her waist. "In case you have not noticed, the thought of you having anything to do with our… consummation sounds incredibly perverted.
If
it happens, it will be private, shared with no one."

Lyght
's brows drew together in anger. "Of course I'm not suggesting I gaze on at the two of you. And I understand you need time to become accustomed to the idea—"

"
It has nothing to do with becoming accustomed." Kassie's quiet voice silenced him immediately and he gave her a near devoted attention. "It's that you made all these decisions, plans, without considering how any of us might feel about it, without asking if we wanted to be part of your big mission."

Lyght shook his head, looking amazed that they could possibly question what he wanted.
"I apologize. However, it really isn't a matter of whether you
want
to be part of the mission. You already
are
." He lifted his hand. "Let me rephrase. I can't
force
you since you possess free will. I can direct the will that you have already chosen. I chose you based on who you already are, not on
if
you may be good. And I happen to know without a doubt that any one of you in this room who have the ability to save countless others from suffering unspeakable atrocities would do so."

Miya shook her head.
"I need some time to think about this." She turned to Lesedi. "You already knew?"

He nodded.
"Some of it."

Really.
"So what, you looked around and picked me out of the line-up? Why me? You wanted a little white or something? Or was I the only option? Because a guy like you sure as hell wouldn't just pick a small-town nothing like me out of the blue." The more she considered it all, the angrier she became. That two men planned her first sexual experience without consulting her put a burning knot in her belly

Lesedi shook his head.
"No, no. That is not what happened. I knew nothing about any of it until after we arrived here. My attraction to you was before all of this." His mouth softened to the verge of a smile. "I do not need anyone to tell me I want you and that will not change."

His words sent a little thrill of heat through her but she resolutely smothered it. She couldn
't afford the distraction. "I need some fresh air." Maybe she should talk with Lesedi, see how he felt about the whole thing.

Before she could ask if Lesedi would like to join her for a walk, Lyght interrupted.
"I'm sorry, I need you to stay within twenty feet of the house. I have reason to believe you are both in imminent danger. The enemy has learned our location, and will do whatever necessary to prevent our forming the Holy Warrior. You must not go out of the shield I've placed around your home or they will attack."

Chapter Nine

Lesedi watched Miya's eyes flash with emotion, perhaps fear. "So you let Tyler go out on his own?"

"
I've put a sort of leash on him to ensure he doesn't stray too far."

"
Like a dog?" Miya shook her head. "No offense, Kassie, I know he rescued you and all, but this
angel
is really… stretching things. He's making some…I mean, hello!" She threw out her arms. "Am I the only person here that finds him a tad unorthodox? No blasphemy intended but he's… Look at him. He's like a screaming Hollywood billboard, for crying out loud." Her lovely cheeks flushed dark and Lesedi could make out the flutter of her pulse at the base of her throat.

The angel
's eyes popped with the drop of his jaw. He suddenly pinned Lesedi with a silent plea for help along with perhaps utter shock at Miya's conclusions. Lesedi fought a grin, not wanting to incur the angel's wrath either, but God, this woman was a blast of fresh air.

Lesedi shook his head.
"Do not think I will help you. I do quite well enough on my own making females angry."

Miya glared at him as if just by speaking he offered aid to the enemy.

Lyght looked up to the heavens, arms spread wide. "Why the bloody hell can they not just be like our lovely sister Mary,
'do unto me according to thy will.'
" He looked at Miya. "It is just as my Brothers warned. Modern human females argue every minor point as if the fate of the world hinges upon the outcome of their debate."

Lesedi felt the sudden urge to dive for cover. The angel seemed to realize the folly of his remark as soon as he closed his mouth and sparkling tension filled the air. The next two minutes
should prove interesting as Lyght dealt with the fallout of his… What did Americans call it? Foot-in-mouth disease. Hopefully Miya would not cross the line. Lesedi did not want to risk whatever he might have with her, but he would have to find a way to get her to agree to do her part. Even though he didn't have many details beyond the most basic, he felt certain the Archangels' plan, as Lyght had explained it to him, was true and likely to be humankind's best chance. He felt unsure when it happened, but at some point, Lyght had gained his trust. He
needed
to do as Lyght bade and he
needed
Miya to be his partner.

Miya
's expression cleared, brows level, mouth thin. The only readable signal of her fury came from her eyes and the slight flaring of her delicate nostrils. "I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that because what I'd like to tell you right now would likely get me struck the hell down." She turned and marched out to her little glassed-in studio.

Lyght stared after her, mouth open, those fair cheeks flushed, partially folded wings
an ugly mud brown. He looked to Lesedi questioningly, waiting for an explanation.

Lesedi widened his eyes and shook his head, tapping his temple, hoping to direct the angel to tune in to his thoughts as he
'd done several times before. When the angel seemed to understand, Lesedi began speaking in careful thought-whispers,
If
we are key
players in this power struggle between good and evil as you say, and if this so-called mission's outcome depends on the success of my relationship with Miya, my wisest course is to separate myself from you at this point. Our romance is doomed if I so much as hint to aid you in any known way.
Lesedi placed emphasis on the word
known.

Judging by the slow concern morphing the angel
's face, Lyght received the message loud and clear. Lesedi turned and gave Kassie a courteous nod and raised a brow to Lyght. "I suggest you begin your fence mending here."

He followed after Miya, hoping to calm her. Entering the sun room, he closed the sliding glass door behind him.

She stood with her back to him, head bowed so the ebony silk of her hair cascaded temptingly into an exotic screen hiding her face.

His hands ached to touch, to sweep hair aside and stroke the column of her neck, but the anger that still stiffened her slim form would not welcome his touch. He could wait.

"Are you—"

Tyler ran through the back door with a scream of unmitigated terror bursting from his throat, a tiny bit of gray fluff clutched to his chest.

The young man's cries brought Lyght and Kassie in an instant. Miya and Kassie attempted to comfort him while Lyght placed himself between them and the door, head angled as though listening.

Lesedi looked around Miya
's little back yard. He found the brown tufts of an ornamental grass eerily still, in contrast to the plant's natural inclination to constantly sway and shift.

All clumsiness gone in favor of a deadly warrior, Lyght
's ominous announcement hit him like a punch. "They're here."

They who? Lesedi discerned some of the words Tyler spoke to the women, the panicked rambling was similar to monsters
under the bed or in the closet.

Sudden movement caught his attention. A dark form darted the few yards from one decorative shrub to another and disappeared.

"Bloody
Hell!
" Lyght grabbed Lesedi's arm and moved back to where Kassie and Miya still comforted Tyler. "All of you, touch me,
now!
" When they didn't respond quickly enough, the angel growled. "Seriously, people. I know I'm not your favorite angel right now, but we have to get out of here this instant. We're about to be attacked.
Please!
" He reached toward them with his arms outstretched.

Tyler grabbed onto the angel
's waist and tucking himself under his arm while still clutching the little wild-eyed cat to his chest. Lesedi shook his head and followed the boy's lead, danger prickling along his skin. Kassie was next, lacing her fingers into the angel's, a new kind of terror in her eyes.

Lesedi reached for Miya but she shook her head.
"Not happening."

Glass shattered at the side of the studio and a fur-covered monkey/man/monster thing with hellacious teeth and mis-matched features stepped through the window frame.
"Waiting for me?" The voice sounded garbled, as if speech were not natural for the thing.

Miya froze for half an instant then slapped her hand onto the angel
's arm. "Get us
out—"

Everything tilted sideways for an instant and a heavy wind buffeted them. Hit by a wave of motion sickness, Lesedi clenched his eyes closed until Miya stumbled hard against him as their feet hit solid ground again.

Chapter Ten

  Lesedi braced with Miya pressed tight to him as the world tilted off its axis. The instant the universe stopped spinning, he opened his eyes to life in motion, as though an invisible stage crew had rushed in and changed worlds while he was stuck in psychedelic blinders.

Miya's plea to vacate the premises had hardly left her lips, before she voiced further exclamations. "What the fuck was that thing?" Colorful exclamations. "Oh my God! Are you really an angel, oh my God, what did you just do? Shit! This is really happening?"

"
Ouch!" Lyght fought a losing battle to un-embed the cat's claws from the flesh of his inner forearm. "Bloody creature! It scratched me!"

Miya assisted, unintentionally no doubt, and grasped the cat
's scruff and lifted it away to hang the way a mother cat carries her kittens. Miya quickly examined the creature then set it on the floor where it hissed and darted under a chair. "Of course she scratched you, you just zapped her through the universe!"

Lesedi noticed Kassie looked quite dizzy and the boy still had his face buried in the angel
's shoulder eyes clenched tight. The two of them apparently needed to acclimate to angelic modes of travel. Nausea struck him before he could be grateful he had not been affected.

"
Think I'm going to vomit," Kassie whispered, pressing her fingers tight across her mouth while she took slow careful breaths.

The angel froze, as he looked straight ahead.
"Oh bloody hell." His wings turned instantaneously bright neon orange that left flashes of light on the backs of the observer's eyelids.

Lesedi followed Lyght
's dismayed gaze. Not twenty feet away, a dozen or so people sat at a long table strewn with a jumble of books, papers and water bottles. A man with a sea blue shirt shook his lowered head with a hand on his brow while another man in red laughed boisterously. Perplexity filled the remaining faces, except for a large bald man's. He was clearly amused.

All at once, it occurred to Lesedi how their little group must appear to the strangers. A bizarre angel carting a flying circus while being mauled by a cat and cursed by a shrew.   

A flicker of movement caught his attention and Lesedi suddenly took note of the bank of monitors beyond the table, six wide and three high, displayed what looked like footage from the CCTV cameras some American cities were installing to deter crime. Next to the monitors, a long media cabinet held a confusing array of electronic equipment and a half dozen desktop computers.

Miya turned a slow circle, taking in their surroundings as well. A massive weapons rack occupied one wall and contained everything from slings and arrows to hi-tech firearms. 

"Looks like you have your hands full, Brother." The big man with the bald head and silvery looking eyes wore a good-natured grin.

Lyght scowled, then his brow smoothed abruptly as he stepped out of the little cluster of awkwardness.
"Sorry for dropping in unannounced. Some rather annoying guests arrived at Miya's house unexpectedly and leaving was the best option."

He held a hand back toward Kassie and she stepped forward with Tyler close by. The boy peered around, pale and wide-eyed. Kassie hesitated a moment, then slid her fingers into Lyght
's grasp. The Archangel breathed deep and closed his eyes for a brief instant as if in thanksgiving.

Lesedi moved close to Miya with the sudden urge to guard her.

Lyght looked at Kassie for a moment then lifted her hand and touched his lips to her knuckles in what looked like reassurance before drawing her closer to the table. "This is Kassie, and Tyler. Lesedi. And the harpy is Miya."

Miya
's body tensed, putting Lesedi more on guard as a door beyond the table opened to crash against the wall. "Kassie!" A diminutive woman shrieked from the opening and launched herself across the table to drag Kassie into her arms. "Thank God you're safe! I was so worried."

Kassie sobbed and clutched the other woman to her, offering up prayers of thanks in between joyous laughter. Family? 

While the two women dissolved into tears, the big guy with the shaven head and goatee came around the table and approached Lyght's little group. The air of danger that accompanied the man put Lesedi on immediate alert and he shifted a little, detecting a direct threat. 

The man moved like a predatory beast circling a wounded animal, moving in for the kill. Despite the tangible threat, he wore a wide grin as he halted before their diamond… savior? Captor? Employer? Something else entirely?

"Thank you, Brother." The threatening aura faded a bit as the guy drew Lyght near for a quick almost-embrace. "My mate and I are grateful to you for bringing Kassie to her safely."

Lesedi felt like a voyeur, intruding on the private moment between the two men. He shuffled his feet a bit and turned a little, and in the process his gaze dropped down to Miya.  His stomach jerked a little. Her intent stare upon him pried at his nature as if seeking out all his secrets.

Something, maybe instinct, pulled Lesedi into the dark liquid depths of her gaze and his surroundings fell away to nothingness in comparison to his need for her. He recognized Miya's initial reaction to avert her eyes but she resisted; perhaps she was held by his own hungry gaze, transfixed and utterly incapable of resistance, a mirror of her effect on him. He liked seeing her become helpless by his proximity. He wanted her helpless. Beneath him.

Lyght chuckled and slapped the guy
's shoulder, the sound returning Lesedi's attention to those around him. The bald guy grinned, silvery eyes sparkling. Was this one an angel too? It seemed likely. Obviously he held a far higher opinion of Lyght than his sweet Miya did. Although, judging by her countenance now, her estimation of the angel currently approached genuine awe.

Kassie turned a little with the smaller woman in her arms, toward the guy who
'd approached Lyght. "Toren, thank you for taking care of my girl. But I wish you'd told me everything. I wouldn't have worried so much."

The man stepped in and drew both Kassie and his wife into his arms.
"It's good to see you safe, Kassie."

Miya watched the petite woman in Kassie
's embrace closely, as if reminded of someone. "Sam?" Miya angled her head at the woman. "Is that you?" Her tone announced clear doubt and determination to prove her eyesight faulty.

The woman raised her head and turned.
"Miya? Oh my God! Miya!" She smiled through her tears of joy and relief. "Wow, I can't believe it, this is perfect. You're going to love it here."

The guy with all the red on cleared his throat, suddenly near enough to touch, startling Lesedi. How had the man—angel?—come so close without him seeing? Normally Lesedi sensed nearby movement right away, a kind of sixth sense, and being caught unaware that way proved to be disconcerting.

He met the man's stare—were his eyes really red?—as directly as possible. He moved around Lesedi and Miya, looking them over like a jungle king considering whether a prey animal was worthy to kill and eat, or useful only to hike his leg and urinate on. Something awful about the man suggested being pissed on was the preferable choice. A ruthless and incomprehensible power emanated from him and encompassed Lesedi until a dire urge to pray took hold of him. Pray they be spared and passed over.

Lesedi followed the man
's movement, turning to continue facing him. His deepening scowl seemed to suggest his preliminary decision involved hiking his leg. The red man came closer, towering over them, and Miya clutched Lesedi's hand in what felt like a plea for protection. Lesedi knew unequivocally that any request for assistance from proud Miya came from her subconscious mind. Regardless, he closed his hand around Miya's and put himself between her and the threat. As strong and independent though she was, her body automatically accepted the shelter and protection he offered, evident only in a subtle shift of her position. 

The red man paused, broke into a smile and turned away.
"Lyght, you haven't bonded with your humans yet?"

The guy
's tone rubbed Lesedi the wrong way but rather than voice his annoyance he merely squeezed Miya's fingers gently in suspicion she might feel the same way. The subject of
bonding
of any sort was liable to be a sore point with her, given her earlier anger. Although the fantastic nature of the situation seemed to have taken a little salt out of that wound.

At least she had not yet resorted to haranguing Lyght again.
Angel or not, Lesedi suspected Miya would relish scolding the red man about the lack of manners he displayed by publicly delving into their sex lives.

Lesedi supposed he knew Lyght after a fashion, but he didn
't know these people, or how easily offended they might be. Judging by the vast array of weapons on display, going with the flow would probably be the smart choice.

Lyght glanced at Miya and Lesedi, then turned back.
"They haven't quite had a chance to become accustomed to the idea yet, Kassern. In fact, I haven't had time to fill everyone in on the whole picture." He grinned. "Lesedi and I were busy getting scolded for making plans without consulting the ladies, even though Lesedi was blameless in that. I was still explaining things when some of those beasties came along."

Lesedi was grateful Lyght did not incriminate him or pretend he had taken part in any of the ignorant tactics he attempted to use with the ladies. Nor did he try to make himself look innocent or heroic.  A good sign.

Lyght finished detailing how much of the grand plan he'd managed to reveal to them before being rushed off from Miya's. The red guy scowled and sat in a big chair behind the table and a tiny blonde woman glided to his side. He immediately drew her into his lap with the kind of smile that said she was his entire world.

Lesedi could not prevent the foreign flash of envy that washed through him at the little display. What would it feel like to look at a woman like that? And have her return it? Well, not just
a
woman.
The
woman, the one he wholeheartedly believed had been put somewhere on earth to be his perfect match. Unbidden, an image of Miya inserted itself in his mind and Lesedi looked at
her
with that exact expression. Right. A woman like Miya would not truly fall for an African as black as the ace of spades, let alone a man with a dubious past. Her current attraction was nothing more than curiosity about the unknown.

The red man laughed a little, drawing Lesedi back to the matter at hand.
"Karly tells me introductions should be the first order of business. Then we can move on to more serious matters and fill Lyght's Quad in on the dirty details of our mission and their part in it. That work for everyone?" He scanned the occupants of the room, most of whom either nodded or lifted a hand in agreement.

The next ten minutes were a flurry of introductions and trying to figure out the complex relationships and associations. And to think someone said there would be eight more groups of four by the time it was finished!

Lesedi forced himself to concentrate as the guy called Troy spoke, going over the details of the
mission.
It seemed utterly delusional to consider demons and other evil beings stalking the earth in search of human souls to harvest. That was the stuff of Biblical fairy tales and fiction, not reality. Yet Troy, and all the others, behaved as though it were incontrovertible truth.

When Troy reached the end of his explanation, Sam rose, the wife of that bald guy, Toren? Mercury warrior if he remembered correctly.
"Troy covered it all, but I think everyone would be more convinced to see some of the creatures and the attacks they've launched." She looked at the red angel—Kassern? "Show them the footage that one scout angel gave us. Of the girl in the bed."

Kassern raised a hand and just like that, the bank of monitors on the wall transformed to a single screen. The seats Lesedi and the others had been given came alive under them with a hum and turned automatically to face the screen.

A beast like the one who had come to Miya's house slunk along the side of another home, rising to peer in windows, then lowering itself to sneak further. Finally it leapt through one, ignoring the shattering glass.

The camera followed it inside and a small dark room filled the screen with a new creature accompanying the first. The second being
's slim figure approached the hospital bed across the room. Its face suddenly filled the screen and Miya's gasp of horror seemed unnaturally loud in the momentary silence.

A round, disc-like mouth with row upon row of serrated teeth, all moving side to side like saw blades, contorted into what might have been intended as a smile. Red slitted eyes oozed with blood and a festering wound occupied the space the nose should have filled. Pale skin covered with blackened and crisped strips of flesh stretched over the naked bony chest. Holy Mother of
God, what was that thing?

"
It's a demon," someone said as if in reply to a question asked aloud.

The demon continued to move toward the hospital bed and the camera turned again to show the bed
's lone occupant. An emaciated woman lay there, hollow eyes dark and glistening with fever. Her breath rattled in a constant groan of agony.