If she protested, he could remind her of their bargain. For however long he deemed necessary, she was to do what he said, when he said it, with no argument. But...
He wanted her agreement.
Sit down. Ill make tea.
Youre staying? she squeaked.
Was the squeak a sign of relief? Or disappointment?
Im staying. Just try to get rid of me. See what happens.
She gulped, nodded.
He didnt like how pale and shaky she was, and though he hated to walk away from her, even for a second, he did just that. In the kitchen, he searched until he found the required items. She had one pot, one pan and two of everything else. There were a few boxed dinners, a few cans of soup, but very little else. How long had she been living like this?
Too long, he decided.
He had to fix the pilot light in order to boil the water, but soon had a steaming cup of chamomile tea in her hands. She rested on the couch, her legs tucked under her and a blanket draped around her shoulders. Some of the color had already returned to her cheeks, and the more forceful of her trembles had subsided.
Thank you, she said, proper and polite and so adorable his chest ached.
Youre welcome. Drink while I check on Laila.
I checked on her before I sat down, she admitted.
He should have guessed. And how is she?
Well. Shes sleeping. After blowing on the surface of the liquid, Nicola sipped from the cup. In fact, thats all shes been doing lately. Is that normal?
Yes. Her body was playing catch-up with her spirit. Dont worry. She wont spend all of her remaining time in bed.
Nicola flinched at the reference to the ever-ticking clock. But if shes better now, why cant she stay that way?
He heard the longing in her tone and knew this was the perfect time to introduce her to the spirit world around her.
Koldo crouched in front of her. Several curling locks of hair had escaped the confinement of her ponytail and now tumbled at her temples, framing her face. Dark bruises marred the tender flesh under her eyes, and her lips were swollen. Had she chewed them in fear? Or had she been struck?
Calm. Youll cease working for the grocery store. Understand? It wasnt what hed planned to say, but the words escaped anyway.
Well, duh. I already quit. The waspish statement failed to hide the flood of vulnerability and humiliation suddenly consuming her features. Ill need to find another job as soon as possible, though.
No. He wanted the first fruits of her time and energy, not what was leftover.
But, Koldo, I have to
He cut her off, saying, Recover. Yes.
Nicolas gaze lowered. I shouldnt have to recover. I knew better than to go back there with him. I had a feeling I should run.
Her spirit had picked up on things the mind could not and had tried to warn her. Why did you disregard the feeling?
I convinced myself he only meant to fire me, and I wanted a chance to talk him out of it.
A mistake so many made.
A mistake Koldo had often made.
Why did this happen to me? she asked softly.
Because shed gotten a taste of hope and happiness, the demons had sought to squash the beautiful emotions before they could bloom into spiritual weapons. The world is populated by beings with free will, and free will allows for absolute good...and absolute evil.
She nodded as he spoke. Evil. Yes. There was a demon in the room. The other warrior said so.
Yes. Demons seek the destruction of mankind.
Why?
Because they despise the Most High, and He loves you. They cannot strike at Him any other way, so they destroy what He wants kept safe.
Why? she asked again, then blushed. Sorry. I sound like a four-year-old child. Who is the Most High? Why does He want meuskept safe?
Rather than answer her just yet, he said, Have you figured out what I am?
She peeked at him through the thick shield of her lashes. Well, I know your friend is an angel.
But not me?
You dont have wings.
She had meant no insult. He knew that. She had merely stated a fact. He knew that, too. And yet still a razor seemed to scrape against his chest. Im going to remove the top portion of my robe. Not to harm you, or tempt you if such a thing were even possible but to prove what I am. All right?
A-all right.
He stood and, suddenly trembling, tugged the robe from his shoulders, then turned to reveal the scars and tattoos on his back.
She gasped with...disgust?
Oh, Koldo. Youre so beautiful.
No, not disgust. Wonder.
How could that be? Wings were prized, not pale imitations. Yet still hed spent six days having the back of his body inked, all but his spine colored by images of feathers and down.
By the time hed had it done, his regenerative powers had been activated, and ambrosia had had to be added to the ink to ensure the colors remained vibrant. Ambrosia, what his mother used to add to her wine. Ambrosia, the flowers hed picked for her.
Ambrosia, a drug for immortals.
Cornelia had hated her life with her unwanted son so much shed drugged herself to endure it.
You were injured, Nicola said, seeing the scars beneath the tattoos. How?
Torture.
Oh, Koldo. Im so sorry.
He wasnt sure how to reply. He only knew he longed for her to stand, to reach out, to ghost her fingertips over the raised tissue.
But she didnt. And that was probably for the best.
Probably? No. Definitely. He was unsure of his reaction.
She said, Youre an angel, too, then?
He shrugged back into his robe and slowly turned to face her. Shed set the teacup on the table beside her, the steam rising, curling around her, creating a dreamlike haze.
Must be near her.
Any other time, he might have fought the urge. But after what shed just been through, he allowed himself to return to the couch and crouch between her legs. Im like the angels in many ways, yes, but Im not an angel. Im a Sent One.
A Sent One, she parroted. What does that mean?
Ill explain as best I can, but I must start from the beginning.
She nodded, eager. Please do.
Here goes. He hoped she was ready. Long ago, the most beautiful of all the cherubim was Lucifer, and he was given charge over one-third of the Most Highs angels. One day, he entertained a glimmer of pride...then another...and another and another, until he was nursing his self-importance as a babe at a mothers breast.
I know that word. Cherubim, she said, her brow furrowed. Cherub is the singular version, right? An actual kind of angel. And the Most High is your leader, Im guessing.
Right on both counts.
But I thought cherubs were small, like toddlers. And okay, Im just going to say itdont they wear diapers?
Lucifer is taller than I am, but I do like the image of him in a diaper.
Her jaw dropped, but she managed to breathe out, Wow. Anyone taller than you must be... I mean...uh, I like your height. Its just right.
A wonderful recovery, he thought as he continued his story. Ultimately, Lucifer became so convinced of his own power that he decided to exalt his throne above the Most Highs. He gathered the angels under his charge, convincing them they would have a better life under his reign. Together, they attacked. The Most High defeated and denounced the treacherous angels, tossing them out of the heavens.
She reached out, as if she meant to toy with the beads in his beard. Just before contact, she froze. Her hand dropped to her lap. Were you part of the battle, helping the Most High?
He hated that shed changed her mind about touching himand hated that he hated. No. I wasnt yet born.
Wait. Angels are born?
No. They were created.
But... Oh, I remember, she said with the half grin he so admired. You arent an angel.
She was beginning to understand.
So, what happened after the bad guys got spanked?
Back then, the earth was different than the place you know it to be, and home to another race of beings. And no, they werent human. Lucifer was so angry with the Most High, he infected these beings with his evil. They became so vile, the earth was destroyedbut the beings survived in the core, in hell, because nothing of the spirit can die. Not in the sense you know the word, at least.
Her eyes widened as he spoke.
Time passed. The Most High re-created and repopulated the world, this time with humans, and it was a veritable paradise. And to answer your earlier question, He loves your people and wants you kept safe because He created you. He created you because He longed for fellowship. You were to be His beloved children, to rule the earth as kings.
He paused, waiting for her reaction.
She nodded to encourage him to continue.
Lucifer decided there was no better time for a counterattack and, through trickery and deceit, stole the reins of control of the earth. The humans began to seek fellowship with him, cutting the Most High from their lives. Hope had seemed lost.
Once again she reached out. This time, she was so distracted by his story that she failed to catch herself. Her fingertips glided over his jaw.
At the moment of contact, he sucked in a breath. It felt so right. So perfect. No wonder humans touched each other whenever they had the chance. A handshake. A pat on the shoulder. A hug. Each action offered comfort. He leaned into her, seeking something deeper, more intimate.
How many years had he yearned for something like this? Dreamed of it? Once, as a child, hed even cried for it. And now, here it was. Offered freely.
Never stop, he thought.
Im so sorry, she gasped out, and dropped her arm. I didnt mean to maul you.
That gentle caress was considered mauling? What did she think hed done to her? he wondered, a bit sick to his stomach.
I liked it. Koldo took her hand in his as tenderly as possible and brought it back to his face. Bit by bit, Nicola relaxedand so did he. Soon, she was stroking his beard of her own accord, mesmerized by her actions. He had to swallow a purr of approval.
What happened next? she asked.
Lucifer and his fallen angels introduced sickness, suffering, poverty and even physical death to the world. As for the beings living in the earths core, they were disembodied, desperately seeking a host. Some came to the surface, searching. They are the creatures you know as demons.
A shudder of revulsion rocked her. They all sound terrible.
They are. More so than she realized. For a while, the fallen angels lived among the humans, called themselves gods, stalked the land at their leisure and tormented whomever they desired. Some even mated with your females, and the offspring became known as the Nephilim. They were horrible creatures filled with hate and driven by greed. They were giants, savages, brutal and... How to explain? Different cultures have given them different names.
In mythology, she said, her eyes widening.
Exactly. Greek, Titan. Egyptian. Norse. Any, all. The fallen angels were punished for contaminating the human race, and chained beneath hell, where they couldnt be freed by their comrades. The Nephilim were wiped outat least for a little while.
Her arms wrapped around her middle, severing contact, and her tremors intensified again. Not to the same degree as at the grocery store, but enough to hurry him along.
As he tucked the blanket more firmly around her shoulders, he said, There are also demons in hell, there to torment the spirits cast there. They refer to themselves as high lords and minions, but they have many different names, many different ranks. Some prefer to stay here.
Seeking a host, you said.
He nodded. And someone to torment, to feed from.
Is that what they want with me?
Yes. They want to pump you full of their poison, weakening your defenses against them, allowing them to slip past your skin and into your body. Once there, they fight to control your thoughts, your actions, all the while feeding off your negative emotions, infecting you with sickness.
Sickness, she echoed.
Yes, but there is a cure. To obtain it, the Most High fought and defeated Lucifer all over again. Thats when the first of Koldos kind was created, tasked with escorting humans out of Lucifers darkness and into the Most Highs light.
Over the centuries, Sent Ones like Koldo had lost sight of their goal. But not anymore, he decided. He would help Nicola.
Whats the cure? And why am I still sick? Nicola asked.
Every cure comes with instructions. You have yet to follow the right ones.
A long while passed as she absorbed his words. Finally she said, Well, tell me the instructions. Im ready to follow them. Honest.
Koldo was pleased by Nicolas words. He might not wield the ring of truth as other Sent Ones, but even still, she heard the certainty of his claims. She believed. She accepted.
She wanted to act, and action was power.
I gave you some of the instructions already, he said. The demons breathed their poison into your ear, sparking fear. You embraced that fear, and it strengthened the poison, and all too soon your emotions were feeding the demons. Calm, peace and joy cause the poison to weaken.
Hence the reason you want me to feel them. She nodded as she spoke. So...the poison is like a parasite. Or a virus. Like influenza or E. coli. It can grow, but it can also die.
Yes. If the demons cannot feed, theyll flee. Thats why guarding your thoughts and words is so important. Koldo lifted slightly and twisted, making room for his big body on the couch.
Nicola snuggled against him, surprising himthrilling him. Her cheek rested against the quickening beat of his heart. He breathed her in, all that cinnamon and vanilla and honey.