Angel of Chaos (Imp Book 6) (13 page)

“Ernie, fancy meeting you here.”

Taking advantage of his confusion, I grabbed him and gated to the one place I always managed to appear, sometimes even when I didn’t want to — Aaru.

You’d think the angels would be used to my popping into their homeland uninvited and unannounced, since I seemed to do it pretty regularly. Nope. A flurry of noise and activity ensued, no doubt amplified by the fact that I had an angel in my arms, and a sword against his chest.

“Cockroach? What
are
you doing with that angel?”

I couldn’t help a shiver of delight at Gregory’s amused tone, although he probably would have been less entertained if he’d known I had an angel duct taped in my basement, too. Still, his presence, his interest, sent all kinds of naughty visions through my mind. But angel fucking would have to wait. I had a more pressing matter on my hands — or in my arms.

“As the Iblis, I am requesting an emergency Ruling Council meeting to discuss a violation of our contract on the part of Ernie here.”

Gregory raised his eyebrows. “Right now?”

“No, I was really hoping to stand here holding this guy for the next few decades. Yes, of course right now.” I shook my head. “Idiot,” I added, under my breath.

The steely look in Gregory’s eyes took my breath away. I’d pay for that little remark later, and oh how I’d enjoy it.

“Can you gate there, or do you need my assistance in transporting yourself and your new appendage?”

I hesitated. Normally I’d make them all wait while I spent half the day unintentionally gating to every place on the planet except the Marriott conference room where the angels held these meetings, but I worried that the extra time would give my captive plenty of opportunity to make an escape. There were enough rogue angels running around the planet without adding this guy into the equation.

“I’d appreciate a lift.”

I felt rather than heard the snickering from the other, non–corporeal angels that surrounded us. Not that it mattered. They’d considered me a fool from the first day I’d appeared here — a dangerous, rather frightening fool.

Normally Gregory wrapped his arms tightly around me for transport, but this time we just appeared in the conference room. I eyed him suspiciously, realizing that all those previous times, he’d used gating me somewhere as an excuse for physical contact. Before I could call him out about his un–angelic cuddling tendencies, the other members of the council arrived.

The identical look on their faces was worth a thousand words. Gabriel sputtered, pointing a finger at me. Or possibly at Eirnilius.

“So, Dopey, I hear this piece of shit belongs to your household?” I shoved the angel forward out of my arms, careful not to nick him with my sword.

“How dare you… .”

“Did he have your permission to be out of Aaru among the humans?”

Gabriel hesitated. Interesting. The stick–up–the–ass angel I’d grown to know and hate would never have considered lying, but that’s clearly what he was thinking of doing.

“No,” he grudgingly admitted.

“Then I’m assuming he also didn’t have your permission to be negotiating with a demon for the purposes of procreation. No?”

“No.” Gabriel’s tone was glacial, and I shivered with an involuntary spike of fear. I’d seen him angry before, but never like this. “You better have proof of this, demon. I’ll have your hide for this if you’re lying.”

The atmosphere shifted, heat warring against ice. I felt like the floor was tilting with the surge of power.

Mind your speech, brother.

Gregory’s communication was private, between him and Gabriel. Somehow I picked it up, and I wasn’t sure if that was intentional on Gregory’s part or not. The heat increased, and I felt Gabriel back down, shifting slightly in his seat.

“I apologize if in my shock of the situation I spoke out of turn. I meant no disrespect, Iblis.”

He did mean disrespect, and that had to have been the most grudging apology ever. I understood his embarrassment though. He was the master of control and one of his angels had fucked up. I’m sure he was wondering how many others were doing the same. Now the odd guilt I felt over what I was doing to this angel was combined with an equally odd sympathy for Gabriel.

“She’s lying,” Eirnilius snarled. “She threatened me with her sword, held me against my will and transported me without my consent, violating article twenty–nine, section four.” My guilt and sympathy vanished.

“Nope. He’s trying to get his groove on with a demon. They had their clandestine meetings at a Chuck E Cheese, too. Shameful. Absolutely shameful. Think of the children!”

“I did
not
consort with demons!” Eirnilius’ eyes flashed with indignation. “I was out of Aaru without permission — that I readily admit and I will accept my punishment, but I was not negotiating a breeding incidence with a demon. I was merely at the Chuck E Cheese to bless the human young.”

“My ass. He was meeting the demon there. Liar.”

Gabriel’s eyes flashed. “You may be the Iblis. You may have wings, but demons lie. Why should we take your word over that of an angel with an unblemished record? What proof do you have to substantiate your claims?”

“This.” I pulled the parchment from under my shirt and handed it to Gregory. The silence in the room was broken only by the sound of my angel unfolding and reading the contract.

“In exchange for one breeding occurrence, the demon known as Dregvant Era will receive a domicile of his choosing in southern France, furnished as he specifies, as well as the services of a magic–user to cloak said domicile against detection by angels and to protect it from theft… .”

Damn. I thought of Harper, bred without her consent and with no promise of a cozy house along the Mediterranean. This guy had broken the treaty, but aside from wanting to put Gabriel’s nose out of joint, I had no beef with him. Shit, not like I wasn’t doing almost the same thing, angel fucking with Gregory. That surge of guilt returned and dove through me. Would this guy face death over this? I’d thought they would just stuff him in jail, but now I wondered. I was beginning to regret my hasty actions. That asshole who’d done Harper wrong would suffer only the loss of his child and ‘rehabilitation’. Angel justice was very lopsided, but that wasn’t any of my concern. I wasn’t the one who made the rules.

Gregory continued reading the contract. The angels sat in stunned silence, glancing back and forth between the accused and the parchment in Gregory’s hands. My head whirled with the details of the transaction. Fuck, this was better than any breeding proposal I’d ever received, even Ahriman’s. No wonder Dregvant had put his life on the line for this. I would have too.

Finished, Gregory handed the contract to Gabriel. “He is in your choir.”

“This is your sigil, Eirnilius,” Gabriel said. “Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

The angel shook his head angrily, blond curls bouncing. “Don’t think I’m the only one. Do you know how many angels are walking outside of Aaru, associating with demons? You can’t stop us, especially when one of your own is setting such a great example. Are joinings and the possibility of offspring to be only the privilege of the Ruling Council? If so, you won’t be in those seats for long.”

I’d underestimated Ernie. That was a gutsy, although rather suicidal speech.

“You are violating the terms of our separation treaty!” Gabriel snarled.

“At least I’m not sinning with humans. How many angels over the last ten–thousand years have? Even after the fall of the tenth choir, angels are still at it. Nephilim walk the earth right under your noses, hidden and protected by a group of angels so desperate that they’ll risk their vibration levels to sin with humans. At least I’m keeping it within my own species.”

Gabriel’s face turned an alarming shade of red. “Your vibration levels still suffer in joining with demons. Where is your willpower? Your sense of centered rightness?”

Ernie snorted. “Who’s to say your idea of center is correct? A bunch of snobby hypocrites, all of you.”

I cast a quick glance at the other angels, silent as they watched the interchange. None of them seemed particularly outraged. I’d hoped to cause more of a ruckus than this. Yeah, I’d put Gabriel’s nose out of joint, but no one else seemed bothered. Now shame joined the guilt. An angel might die just because I didn’t like one of Gregory’s brothers — an angel that seemed like a rather cool guy. And it would be my fault.

“Maybe I was mistaken.”

Gregory turned a stern gaze toward me. “But you have the breeding contract with Eirnilius’ sigil on it. There is no mistake.”

“Umm, identity theft? It happens all the time with humans. Some angel assumed his name and copied his sigil?”

From the awkward silence greeting my suggestion, I knew they all thought me an idiot. I was an idiot for even suggesting such a thing. Sigil’s carried energy — they could be copied by magic users for spell and binding purposes, and each one clearly carried the mark of their maker. A forgery would be easily detected. My mind whirled, trying to figure some way out of this mess I’d created.

“I did it.” Eirnilius stood straight, his chin at a defiant, upward angle. “I negotiated with a demon for purposes of breeding. I assisted his travel through the gates, and I bribed him to form an offspring to my specifications.”

We all turned to face the angel. I held my breath. If he died for this, it would be on my head. I wondered if I could jump in and gate him away before the execution, if Gregory would help me save him somehow. Probably not.

“Eirnilius, you will suffer the consequences for your violation of the treaty.” Gabriel’s voice was sober as he looked at the angel. Then he stood and met the accused’s eyes. “Eirnilius, you are stripped of your halo and condemned to never enter Aaru again. You are Fallen and now subject to the leader of Hel. Your existence is at her whim.”

There was a flash, and Eirnilius dropped to the floor in a fetal position. I was more surprised by Gabriel’s pronouncement than its effect on the other angel. What the fuck had he meant? Leader of Hel? Wasn’t that me? I remembered something about being in charge of those with low FICO scores and the fallen, but I’d assumed that only meant humans. Fallen angels too?

“Umm, I don’t want him.” I stepped over the angel to approach the seated Ruling Council members. “What the fuck would
I
do with an angel? Can we just make him do the naked and restrained thing for a few years? Make him do community service? Send him to bed without dinner?”

I really, really did not want responsibility for this angel. Besides, I already had one duct taped in my basement. Where would this one stay? That addition Nyalla had proposed wouldn’t happen overnight. And what the fuck was I supposed to do with him, anyway? Some angel following me around for all eternity? It didn’t sound like he had any chance of reinstatement.

Gabriel shrugged. “Do whatever you want with him. Per our last meeting, Fallen angels are now your responsibility.”

“Fallen humans are my responsibility. Not angels. I don’t have anything to do with angels.” I didn’t vote for that. Or did I?

Gregory choked back something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “Yes, Cockroach. The Iblis handles the Fallen of any species as well as those whose vibration levels have descended to unacceptable levels.”

What a crock of shit. I stared at Eirnilius, who had risen shakily to his feet and was accepting his fate with a placid face.

“If there are no other matters to discuss, then I suggest we adjourn the meeting.” Gregory still had that note of amusement in his voice. The other angels nodded as one and vanished, leaving me, the big guy, and my new blond accessory.

“So … what are you going to do now?”

Eirnilius frowned in confusion. “Go with you. Unless you want me to go elsewhere.”

I waved a hand. “Just gate off somewhere. I don’t care where you stay.”

There was a moment of awkward silence. “I can no longer teleport myself. My skills are severely restricted without my halo.”

I looked at the space just above his head, and then looked at the same space above Gregory’s. They looked the same to me. No glowing lights, no circles of shining gold floating above their hair. Whatever. This angel shit was incomprehensible most of the time. Who was I kidding: it was incomprehensible all of the time.

“Fine. I’ll take you home, but I have to warn you that we’ll make a few side trips before I get it right. Teleportation is a pretty new skill to me.”

He nodded. “Am I assigned a specific task? My life belongs to you now.”

“Stay out of my way? My house is a bit high–traffic right now, so you’ll be running into humans, werewolves, angels, and demons on a pretty regular basis. I’ll put up a cot in the nursery until I can figure out a long–term spot for you.”

“I’ll give you both a lift back.”

I turned in surprise to Gregory, and he grinned at me. “What? Maybe I’d like to see this nursery your new angel is going to be living in?”

Yeah, right. Still, this was better than fifteen out–of–the–way trips before I finally wound up in my living room. I took a step toward him and hesitated.

“Do we do a big group hug? How do you want to do this?”

His lips twitched. “You, I will embrace. The Fallen one can just stand where he is.”

I’d figured as much. I closed the distance between us, and he crushed me tight in his arms. My face pressed against the angel’s chest, and I felt his lips at the top of my head. With a jolt, the world tilted, and I pulled away to see my living room. Eirnilius was a few feet away, gawking at his surroundings like he’d never seen a human home before.

“Go wait outside while I speak with the Iblis,” my angel commanded.

The Fallen turned to stare at Gregory boldly. “I don’t take orders from you anymore.”

That ratcheted up the tension in the room one–hundred fold. Shit. I didn’t need Gregory getting into a fight with my new angel. I had enough to worry about.

“Go outside.” I pointed toward the French doors. “There’s a pool out there. Swim if you want, or just admire the flowers. I’ll be out in a bit.”

It took him a few tries to figure out how to use the doorknob, which made me wonder how often he had gotten out of Aaru prior to his encounters with Dregvant. Hopefully he wouldn’t drown in the pool. I watched him manage to close the door behind him before I turned to Gregory.