Sheol had been in its current location for hundreds of years. A physical place that sheltered both the Fallen and their human wives, it could still be moved if Azazel deemed it necessary.
But there was no way to shield it from Uriels inimical gaze. He would find them, as the Nephilim would, and the uneasy détente would continue.
They had no choice. The Fallen lived precariously, doomed to eternal life, to watch their mates age and die while they stayed young. Cursed to become a feared and hated monstrosity.
By day they were free. And theyd learned to harness their blazing need, to control it and use it. No one outside the community would understand, and he didnt expect them to. Ignorance was safer. They would keep their secrets, whatever the price.
He rose, his wings spreading out behind him, and soared down to the rocky outcropping in front of the great house. By the time he landed, the others had gathered, Raphael and Michael, Gabriel and Sammael.
Where is he? Azazel demanded roughly. We cannot lose him.
We cant lose any of us, Gabriel said somberly. Hes been betrayed.
Michael snarled, his dangerous anger barely in check. Who the fuck betrayed him? Why hasnt Uriel looked out for him?
Tamlel was the last to join them in front of the dawn-struck sea. They were the oldest of the Fallen still left on earth, the guardians, the protectors. Only Sammael was newer. I dont know where he is, he said, his slow, deep voice leaden. I dont know if well be in time. He is very weak. If I could just get a fix on him . . .
Azazel hid his reaction behind a cold, unemotional exterior. If Tam couldnt find him, there was no hope. Tamlels gifts were specific but strong. If one of the Fallen was lost, he could find him, until the very last spark of life was extinguished. If the energy was too weak even for Tam, then Raziel was doomed.
Unless someone found him and called for help, he would die, countless millennia after hed first come into existence. The Fallen were not even given the comfort of death, but something far more terrifying.
Falling had made them close to human. The curses that accompanied that fall from grace might have finally caught up with Raziel. No hope of redemption, not even the dubious blessing of Uriels hell. Just an eternity of agonized nothingness.
Azazel shut his eyes, pain lancing through him. There had been so many losses, endless losses, so few of the original left. This might be one loss too many.
And then he lifted his head, and he could feel the light enter his body again. I think I hear her, he said softly.
CHAPTER FIVE
IT WAS ALMOST DAWN, AND THE MAN next to me was dying. His body felt as if it were on fire, and the coals had spread beneath his skin, emanating an unearthly red glow that lit the darkness after the fire had finally died out. He hadnt made a sound in hours; even his moans had been silenced. Sometime in the night hed released his hold on me, and the heat from his skin had become unbearable. I wondered why his clothes hadnt burst into flames.
Id done what I could to cool him downId managed to strip the leather jacket from him and put it beneath his head as a makeshift pillow, then unfastened his denim shirt and pulled it free from his jeans, opening it to the cool night air, feeling oddly guilty about it. The skin on his chest and stomach was smooth, with just a faint tracing of golden hair. Human , Id thought, and laughed at myself for thinking anything else. Id reached out a hand to touch him, unconsciously drawn, and yanked my hand back, burned.
His mouth was a grim line of pain. At least I was spared the disquieting view of those disturbing teeth. I must have been hallucinating, and no wonder. I didnt know where I was, when I was, or how Id even got here, and the night had been filled with the terrifying sounds of predators. No wonder I was imagining things.
Even now my brain wasnt working properly. One thing was clearI wouldnt have come here on my own. So it was only logical to assume this man had brought me here; and being a city girl, I wouldnt have come willingly. While I liked a pretty face as much as the next female, I was preternaturally wary.
So why was
I so determined to protect this man? This man who didnt seem to be quite human, teeth or not? The glow of fire beneath his skin was far from normal. Yet I knew that I had to keep him alive, I had to stay with him.
The first light of dawn was beginning to spread over the tall trees that guarded the clearing. Whatever foul things had lurked in the bushes were long gone, and there was nothing keeping me here. I could walk out of this forestit couldnt go on forever. The man was dying; there was nothing else I could do for him except see if I could find help. I should save myself, and if he survived, fine. It wasnt my business.
But it was. I moved closer to him, as close as I could get to the ferocious heat that burned deep inside his bones. It serves you right, I whispered, wishing I dared put my hand on him, to push the tangled hair away from his face without getting scorched.