Fallen Angels (18 page)

“It is my fault. I did it, and I knew what I was doing when I did,” Ravyn said calmly.

“Abby, go ice your face and have Nebiros take a look at it,” I said, never taking my eyes off of Ravyn. 

Abby stopped by Ravyn’s side on her way out, shaking her head as Ravyn smiled at her. “Thank you,” Abby whispered.

“Go, I’ll be fine,” Ravyn replied with a wink.

When Abby was gone I strode up to Ravyn. “I don’t care what your excuse is, because there is no excuse for what you did to her!” I shouted.

“You’re right,” Ravyn said and turned down the hall away from me.

“Hey!” I said, chasing after her, not satisfied with her response. When she didn’t stop I grabbed her arm. She quickly spun around, and a low growl rumbled from her throat. “Don’t you growl at me! I want you gone. I don’t trust you around my kids!”

I caught a glimpse of her black eyes before she ducked into my room, well, her room, trying to get away from me. My poor judgment caused me to follow. The door slammed closed behind me, and before I could react she was there, pressing her lips against mine. Like a blind fool I welcomed her kiss with my own, and like so many times before my mind screamed for me to stop. While my mind warned me Ravyn’s hands moved over my backside, lifting me off my feet so I could wrap my legs around her waist. 

In that moment my heart told my mind to shut up and let this happen, because this was all I ever wanted.
She is doing this to distract you
, my mind shouted.

“What are you hiding?” I asked, staring into her sparkling jade green eyes, wanting to kick myself for asking.

“What would I possibly hide from you?” she replied with a smile before her lips brushed against my neck.

I shivered with pleasure while my mind pondered her reply. I knew she was lying, and due to my concern for Abby I had to find out what she knew. “Put me down,” I ordered, letting my legs dangle above the ground.

“You sure?” she asked with a wicked grin.

“You’re lying to me. Now put me down!”

I made no attempt to hide my disappointment. She put me down all right. She dropped me like a piece of trash onto the bed and laughed as she headed for the door while I tried to scramble off the bed to go after her. By the time I got out of the room and to the stairs the front door was already closing.

“Damn it, Ravyn!” I rushed down the stairs after her.

Standing on the porch I looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Ravyn!” I yelled.

It was daylight so I knew she couldn’t go far and was probably perched on the rooftop. When she didn’t answer I made my way down the stairs and across the driveway. Standing in the middle of the grassy circle I turned to see if she was on the roof, but she wasn’t anywhere I could see. I knew she was close though, because I could still feel the electrical buzz in the air.

“Ravyn, get down here and tell me what the hell is going on!” I shouted, knowing she could hear me.

“What are we looking at?” Ravyn’s sudden whisper at my back nearly caused me to lose my footing as I jumped. Like so many times before she steadied me before I could fall. Shaking my head at her foolish games, I quickly stepped away from her touch.

“Abby had to have done something horrible for you to hit her like that. Am I right?” I said. “Did you lose control or did you know what you were doing?”

“Both.”

“Where did you find her? And what the hell did she do to make you lose control?” I asked.

“She has fallen down the wrong path, but it’s not too late for her to change.”

“Wrong path? How bad is it?”

“It is not my secret to tell, Kara. She will come to you, I know she will. She will not be leaving the house without me until I feel I can trust her to be out on her own,” Ravyn said softly.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. “She’s killing, isn’t she? I knew it, but I didn’t want to believe it.”

“It’s my fault. I tried to bury her past. I did not mean to hit her so hard. It was not a sight I ever wanted to see,” Ravyn confessed sadly.

“You lost control Ravyn. I can’t have this violence around Chloe. She will see that it was you who hurt Abby. I have to talk to Abby. You better get yourself under control and don’t you ever lay a hand on her again or anyone in this house for that matter,” I said coldly. 

Ravyn looked at me funny as she stepped closer. “Including you?” she said with that cocky grin.

“Yes, including me! What if you lose control like that with Chloe, or me?”

Ravyn stepped back, shame in her eyes as she stared at the ground. “I would never hurt you,” she whispered before disappearing.

I mean literally just vanished, not a blur in my vision or a warm breeze of air, just gone. “Ravyn?” I whispered nervously.

I waited for her to pop up in front of me while I looked around the yard and past the line of

trees trying to find her. I could no longer feel the buzz in the air that accompanied her, she was just gone.

I rushed into the house in search of Nebiros while hoping this was not a new power of hers. “Nebiros?” I called out as I entered.

“In the kitchen, dear,” he called back.

Moving quickly I entered the kitchen to find Chloe sitting on Abby’s lap holding a small ice pack against Abby’s bruised cheek. Nebiros was sitting with them, smiling. I wondered if Chloe knew who had hurt her sister, but I kept quiet and tried to keep my thoughts about Ravyn hidden from Chloe’s mindreading gifts. 

Kissing both of my girls on the cheek and giving them a loving smile, I turned my attention to Nebiros. “Can we talk?” I asked, giving him an urgent look.

“Of course,” he replied. He stood, winking at Abby and Chloe before following me into the living room.

“Ravyn disappeared,” I blurted out in frustration.

“And this surprises you?” He chuckled.

“No, not that kind of disappearing. She was standing in front of me, and then poof, she was gone,” I explained while I paced the room.

“Have you forgotten how fast she is?” he suggested.

“Of course not! This was different Nebiros, she didn’t run away or fly off. It was like she teleported, which is not even possible!” Nebiros remained quiet, looking at me in deep thought. I suddenly stopped pacing. “It’s not possible, right?” I asked, sincerely concerned with the thought of Ravyn being able to pop up out of nowhere.

“She is the offspring of Lucifer, anything is possible,” he said with a proud smile. 

“She could never do these things before! This can’t be happening, the wings and now this?”

“Sit.” Nebiros patted the empty spot on the couch next to him.

Flopping down with a loud sigh, my mind was overwhelmed with the frightening possibilities that this new power gave Ravyn.

“You must not forget that Ravyn died. She should not be in this world at all, but Lucifer broke many of our laws by feeding her his life. In doing so all that was once human in her was lost. She no longer carries her mother’s humanity. She has become a full-blooded Fallen. This is why her powers continue to grow.”

His explanation did not ease my worries in the slightest; instead it struck fear into my heart. The fear was not for my safety, but for the two most precious things in my life, my daughters, Chloe and Abby. Abby’s bruised and swollen face was proof of Ravyn’s strength and worse yet her lack of ability to control it.

“She can’t stay here, Nebiros,” I breathed at the realization of why she had stayed away for so long. She knew she couldn’t control her powers, she knew how dangerous she was. 

Nebiros shook his head and chuckled. “You refuse to see the truth. I do not believe she would be here if she felt she could not control herself. Though her mother’s blood no longer runs within her, she still has feelings, just like the rest of the demons living in the same home as your beautiful daughters.”

“She is not like you guys! Did you forget what she did to Abby? Not to mention the fact she almost killed Devlin!”

Nebiros stared at me for a moment, and I knew he was searching through the thoughts in my head. Suddenly he stood, shaking his head. “What?” I asked, wondering what he had found.

“Yes, she hurt Abby, but do not forget how many times she has saved you. She gave her life for you, and she saved Chloe twice. Perhaps you should be more focused on the reason Ravyn did that to Abby, rather than hating her for it. You let her share your bed, and still you will not give her your trust. If you push her away now, she will never return,” he said, leaving me to stew in my thoughts alone.

I sat there in silence, searching for the right answer. I had never been concerned with my demon friends harming Abby and Chloe, but after seeing what Ravyn did, having Ravyn around was a big concern. What if Ravyn lost control around my little Chloe? It was bad enough seeing Abby that way, I didn’t want to image my baby hurt. No matter how I thought it over the fear for their safety didn’t diminish. Ravyn had to go.

“She can’t go,” Abby said firmly as she entered the living room.

“Did Nebiros tell you?” I asked.

“Chloe heard you, she ran upstairs after she told me what you are going to do,” Abby said softly.

“I can’t trust her Abby,” I tried to explain.

“I trust her. Why can’t you?” Abby snapped.

“I want to trust her, I do. But her recent behavior worries me. Tell me truthfully. If she had hurt Chloe would you still be defending Ravyn?” I asked. Her bruised faced was already healing.

“Mom, Chloe would never do the things that I have done. Believe me, I deserved way worse then what I got,” Abby said sadly.

“You don’t deserve to be treated like that. Why would you say that? You have to talk to me, please. What’s going on with you?”

Abby shook her head and shied away from me. “If you make Ravyn leave, I will go with her. She is the only one who can help me. I can’t do this without her,” she said.

“Can’t do what?” I asked urgently as I followed her to the front door. “Abby?” I called to her, but it didn’t stop her from fleeing the house. “Dammit.” I looked out the peephole. 

I was preparing to send my thoughts about Abby to Ravyn when suddenly she swooped down from the sky, stopping Abby in her tracks. I couldn’t help but feel like a failure when Ravyn hugged Abby. Rolling my eyes I stomped away from the door and up to my room. 

How in the hell was Ravyn the good one after everything she had done to us? I was the one who had always taken care of Abby! She called me Mom for Christ’s sake! And now Ravyn comes back, forcing Abby to choose between us? How dare she make me feel like I didn’t care about Abby! My mind fumed as I furiously paced around the room. I was so mad I could barely see straight. 

I stopped abruptly as a horrible thought raced through my mind. What if Ravyn was doing this on purpose? What if she wanted to turn my family against me? It was a thought that I had to take seriously after all that had happened between the two of us. I knew she had the power to do it. Chloe had already grown attached to her. This was it; this was my punishment for trusting Devlin. How was this happening? How could she be so…Ravyn!

“Are you done?” her soft raspy voice called from my doorway.

I spun around to find her black eyes glaring at me. “Ugh, mind your own business! I swear a girl can’t even think to herself anymore.”

“You’re being ridiculous Kara.”

“You don’t get to tell me about my behavior, ever!” I shouted. Immediately the air in the room changed, pulsating like a booming bass. For some reason it didn’t stop me from pushing her buttons.

“Does it anger you that I can’t bring myself to trust you anymore? That I know you always have an ulterior motive? You didn’t save me because you cared, you saved me to take everything away! You just can’t stop yourself from making me absolutely miserable!” I yelled, almost wanting her to hit me as she had hit Abby.

Ravyn did not reply, but her silence only pushed my anger further. “Are you going to run now? Run away from the truth, like you always do. Like a scared little baby who can’t handle the reality of life. You always take the easy way out Ravyn, you kill or you run. You could never take care of Abby the way I have! How dare you come here and take her away from me!” I screamed, and still she remained silent and unmoving.

Her icy stare never moved even as I closed the distance between us. “Hit me,” I almost begged her. Ravyn saying nothing and staying so calm was driving me nuts. I wanted her to argue and fight with me. I needed her to react to my accusations. So I did the unthinkable.

I stepped even closer, letting my lips brush against her neck. I whispered, “I should have fucked Devlin.” I felt her body tense, but still she did nothing. “He used to hold me all night, right here in your bed.”

I no longer had to push for a reaction. I felt her hands on my shoulders, and then I was stumbling backwards. The back of my knees hit the soft mattress and I fell onto the bed. 

I couldn’t believe she had pushed me, physically pushed me, and if that bed hadn’t been there I would have been injured by the fall. I quickly scrambled off the bed and looked around the room. To my surprise she hadn’t run off, instead she stood at the foot of the bed; the low rumble of her growl was continuous as she bared her fangs at me. I had finally gotten the reaction I wanted. 

“Your growling doesn’t scare me, Ravyn. I have been wanting to do this for so long. I’m so glad you didn’t run, but you should have,” I said as a smile spread over my lips. Looking at the open door, I waved my hand causing it to slam closed. “Seal,” I hissed, using my magic to conceal the door. Balling my fists at my sides, tiny purple bolts of electricity began to run over my hands and up my arms.

A cocky grin tugged at Ravyn’s lips as she stepped ever closer.  “Your magic cannot hurt…” 

I grabbed her arms before she could finish her foolish statement, letting my powerful electric current run through her body.

“Surprise,” I said innocently, watching her drop to her knees in pain. I wanted her to feel every ounce of the pain she had caused. Releasing her arms I pressed my hands against the scar on her chest and shoved her back with a massive shock of electricity. 

I have to admit it was nice to have the upper hand for a change. I watched while the current worked through her, causing her to tense and spasm, but she never cried out in pain.