Genesis: Falling Angel (18 page)

She said, “I believe you have some thinking to do.”

I nodded. “Yes, I believe so, too.”

“Well, tell Adrian that I’ll see him soon. Flint believes there is a change approaching fast, and I’d like to have a front row seat.” She smiled. “I know you’ll play your part well.”

She vanished into the shadows, and I wandered off alone. The fog swept around me, but it did not penetrate the defense that the necklace provided. My mind was working so hard that my head heart. There were so many pieces, and I didn’t know where to start. It was as though something was blocking it. Some part of me liked being ignorant.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed anyone approaching me until a blade was pressed to my throat. “Don’t try to scream, or I’ll slit your throat.”

Having no sense of self-preservation, I screamed anyways.

I was released, only to have my feet knocked out from under me. My head slammed against th
e concrete, and everything became blurry. I could hear the fabric of my shirt rip and a muffled version of the man’s voice. There was the faint sensation of fingers sliding, slipping into my jeans.

Then it was gone.

There was a sickening
crack
that made my stomach twist in knots. I groaned in pain, trying to get my vision focused on something. I vaguely made out two outlines. One was crumpled on the ground. The other was striding toward me. I made out violet eyes.

Adrian. “Damn it. See, this is why you should’ve listened to me.”

He gently lifted me into a sitting position. The hand that wasn’t supporting me was hovering near my face. “This is going to taste terrible. Just try to drink a few sips, okay?”

I parted my lips, and he tilted his hands. Immediately, my mouth was on fire. I began thrashing, trying my hardest to find relief from the horrible burning. I screamed, and he pressed his hand over my mouth to muffle it. I was vaguely aware that he was holding me, and that he was speaking.

With the fire came clarity. My vision sharpened. I could hear well. The sharp pain in the back of my head had faded to a dull ache. I looked up at Adrian, glancing only briefly at the man lying a few feet away. There was blood pooling around him. “Did you kill him?” I asked.

“No, idiot. I didn’t kill him. He’ll heal eventually.” He lifted me into his arms, carrying me. “You are the most idiotic angel I’ve ever met. Luxuria has its crimes, too. Some people only get off by using force.”

“He attacked me,” I said.

“I know. He would’ve done far worse than crack your head open if I hadn’t found you. Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”

“I didn’t have any money or valuable stuff.”

“He knew that, Gabrielle. He knew.”

I ignored this. I was quite aware of the fact that my shirt was ripped open. I struggled in his arms, trying to cover myself. Eventually, he put me on the ground in a sitting position. He pulled his shirt off, tossing it to me with casual indifference. “Put this on. No one’s looking.”

My face heated up. “Oh. Thank you.”

He shrugged.

I kept my eyes glued to the ground as I removed the torn shirt. I pulled his shirt over my head. It smelled like him. It was a dark, slightly sweet scent that never seemed to leave him no matter how many days we traveled.

“Thank you for helping me,” I murmured.

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go. I know the lord here as well. He’s allowing us to stay in his home. You can thank me for that later.”

Suddenly the pieces lined up. First piece, his strange appearance in a desert no mortal could’ve just happened upon. Next, there was his vast knowledge of every city despite the fact that I had not seen a single human traveler. He had managed to beat Judas. He had outrun Noah’s breath of fire. He was brother to an incubus. He knew all of the demonic lords that we’d met so far.

Luxuria’s lord had yet to summon us.

I stared up at him. The final piece was put into place, and suddenly I was given yet another bit of knowledge I hadn’t wanted. I was not scared. I was not angry. I simply was. I felt nothing. The shock was too great.

Perhaps the knowledge had broken me. It explained my feelings of lust. It explained the strange power in his voice. It explained a great many things.

Once we arrived at the house, or mansion, he showed me to a bathroom. Candles were lit, the room smelled of essential oils. I knew it was all to impress me, but I barely noticed it. I scrubbed my skin raw. Not because some man had attempted to violate me. I was already violated. A demon had touched me, and I had enjoyed it.

Adrian was the lord of Luxuria.

He had kissed me.

Despite everything, I was under the impression that I loved him.

If I had known sooner, I would’ve run. I would’ve been angry, sad, hurt. Now I was rooted to the spot, wondering just what I was going to do. God had not sent him, but someone surely had. Why else would he leave the comfort of his lovely home?

He was starving. He was certainly an incubus. Had he not fed because he didn’t want me out of his sight? Or was it merely because of me? I couldn’t tell whether his starving state was good or bad for me.

When I finished my bath, I stepped out and put on the white nightgown that had been set out for me. A servant, a vampire with a sour look on his face, led me down the hall. He pointed out Adrian’s room to me, a simple guest room. We passed a much larger door that I took to be the true bedroom.

He left me at the door to my room. As soon as he’d disappeared from sight, I retraced my steps. I opened the door to the larger bedroom without knocking. He
was looking into a mirror, frowning. He wore only a pair of gray sweatpants. When he saw me, he flinched. “Gabrielle, did no one show you to your room?”

I walked over to him, and he turned around to face me. I pursed my lips, staring at him. He arched an eyebrow. “What, Gabrielle? You’re freaking me out.”

“I know,” I said simply.

He caught on immediately. He grew defensive. “So? What’re you going to do?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Nothing. I just wanted to tell you.”

He was speechless.

“If you promise not to touch me, I’d like you to sleep with me. I haven’t slept alone since I came to earth.”

Adrian’s features softened. I wasn’t sure what he’d expected. “You’re still processing this, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not going to hurt you. You know that, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I promise.”

When we returned to my room, I pointed him to the far side of the bed. I was used to sleeping near him after such a dangerous journey. He and Noah refused to be far from my side. After a while, it had become almost comforting. Now, I needed comfort.

Adrian was the only one I had trusted so completely. He was the one that had saved me. Even though I thought of Noah as a friend, I did not feel for him the way I felt for Adrian.

I felt like a lost child reaching out for anything familiar. There was no one to tell this secret to. There was no one that could help me. There was no running from a demon lord. So I had gone to him like a child begging to sleep in her parents’ bed, afraid of the monsters that lurked under her own bed. However, I had gone to the monster and asked him to stay with me, to chase away my fears. It had felt normal. Perhaps in the morning, it would sink in. Perhaps then, I would truly break.

When the lights went out, I lay on my back and stared up at a ceiling that
I couldn’t see. It was just as if I was staring straight into a future that was black as night. After his breathing slowed, I turned to Adrian. Surely he was asleep. I reached out to his pale hand, clasping it. I wished for my Father’s guidance. I had believed for so long that he had sent Adrian to guide me. Adrian, who knew of the old biblical stories. Adrian, who had been so ready to help a complete stranger go on a perilous mission. Adrian, who had kissed me so passionately. Adrian, who was the demon lord of Luxuria, bearer of the curse of Lust. Would God truly recruit such an unlikely ally?

Perhaps the only thing I was certain of was that I loved a demon.

Chapter 22 – Adrian

I did not sleep that night. I kept expecting her to get up and slip away in the dead of night, but she remained in a peaceful slumber until morning. Her request had certainly been unusu
al. I had expected her to run, to try and fight me. I had been prepared to knock her out, to kill her if necessary.

Then what? What would I do with her? Take her to Lilith? This had progressed far too much to even think of my so-called mission. I considered it a failure. Lilith had been right to recruit the others. I wasn’t cut out for the job. I was too human in nature. I was the only one of them that was even capable of what I was feeling now. There was absolutely no going back.

So then what would I do? Would I help her fight Lilith? I had known it was a futile mission from the moment she told me. Lilith was all-powerful with six all-powerful demons that I’d have to go through first.

Could I run? Perhaps I could take Gabrielle away from the cities. There were lands where demons roamed wildly, but I could handle a demon in the wilderness. I could take care of her. It’d almost be like Adam and Eve, without the many children, seeing as how she wouldn’t let me touch her. Once she woke up, she would realize her mistake.

I had seen that look on her face before, after I had kissed her. It was blank. Something was irreparably broken in her. She had trusted me blindly, believing me to be her protector. Now, she knew I was one of the seven that she was so dead-set on defeating. It had broken her. There was no other word to describe it. I’d slipped up and allowed her to figure it out.

So she’d come to me. I was the creature that had betrayed her, yet she could find comfort in no one else. She had requested my presence with such innocence, such hopelessness, that any hopes of resisting her melted away. She was at a loss as much as I was. Perhaps once she woke up, this would change. Maybe she’d go into the rage I had expected. Or
run, like I had also expected. I would’ve preferred anything over her blank, childlike state.

Her hand had reached for mine early in the night, right before her breathing evened out and she fell into her deep sleep. Her hand had never moved, and I was almost afraid to pull away from her. I was afraid her eyes would snap open, that she would scream, or that her mind would finally return to her. She would look at me with such disgust, such hatred. I couldn’t bear that. So I would just watch her sleep.

A sharp knock tore me from my thoughts. I glanced at Gabrielle, who was still fast asleep. Carefully, I slipped out of the bed. My so-called servants had terrible timing. I opened the door and slipped out into the hallway, coming face-to-face with Cassandra. “Oh, you’re just the person I wanted to see.”

“Oh, did something happen?” she whispered excitedly, hand reaching for the door.

I shoved her back. “You’re not to touch her. No one is.”

“Touchy. I came to see you, anyways. I worry about you sometimes.”

“Of course you do. Hurry up and tell me what you came for. I’m losing patience.” Gabrielle could wake at any moment to an empty bed. Would it be worse if she saw it was empty, or if she saw me lying there?

“I don’t know what the plan is for you, but you need to feed or you’ll wither up. I hear Judas, Diamond, and Leon are all pissed at you.”

Leon. Of course he would have heard by now. “I’m not interested.”

“Look, you’re too important to go dying on us,” she insisted. “At least take my blood. Do something besides mope around.”

I was starving, true. The entire walk through Luxuria, up until Gabrielle had run away, had been torture. As her body had reacted to the pheromones, I had absorbed the reaction. The gesture of holding her hand had been merely to ease the heat that was tearing her apart. In doing so, I had absorbed nothing but want. My hunger had grown too intense to focus on anything. I had only made it through most of the night from my shock. At any moment, I could snap.

Even so, I couldn’t do it. The thought of being with Cassandra in any way disgusted me. It felt wrong. Giving into her would just prove to Gabrielle that I was the monster she thought I was. “Leave my home, and tell the guards on your way out that no one is allowed to enter.”

“You’ll kill that little angel before Lilith gets here. Whether you drain her or bleed her out, I don’t know. But you will hurt her.”

I laughed coldly. “Does it look like I give a damn,
Cassandra
? Get the hell out of here before I tear your head off and leave you to bleed out.”

Well, so much for not being a monster.

She left without another word, though she smiled sweetly when I winced in pain. Hunger pains for me were migraines. The pain started inside my head and worked its way down. It was a sign that my control would slip soon. I had to find some sort of substitute. Something that didn’t involve screwing the next person I saw.

I opened the door, finding Gabrielle sitting up and hugging her knees to her chest. I thankfully could see pretty well in the dark after all those years hunting in it. Her gray eyes were blank as ever. Apparently sleep hadn’t helped.

“The sun won’t rise for another hour,” I said gently.

“You left.”

The accusation stunned me. I had been gone for ten minutes at most. “Sometimes people need to see me, Gabrielle. I can’t help that.”

She shrugged. “So what are you?”

“You should know that.”

“I want to hear it.” This time, there was a bitter bite to her words.

So I answered, “Incubus.”

She nodded, silent for only a moment. Then, she said, “And you’re starving.”

“Yeah.” No point in denying it. “I haven’t fed in a pretty long time. Except for the blood of some random werewolf, but that wasn’t human enough. It only goes so far.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Excuse me?”

“Everyone is sustained by something. Why deny yourself sustenance?” Her face was starting to twist in anger. There, just as I expected.

“I don’t know, Gabrielle. I didn’t want you to find out.” That was only half of the truth, now that I had to actually think about it. She couldn’t handle the other half yet.

I hadn’t fed because I’d been focused on her. Even back when I thought I was just doing my stupid mission, my attention had been on her and her alone. Perhaps I hadn’t been attracted her, but there was something about her presence that seemed to make me ashamed of my nature.

“No, you didn’t do anything because I’m an angel and we tend to make people realize just how sinful they are.” The words stung, coming from her, but I endured them. She continued, “You are incapable of feeling anything but lust. It’s in your nature.”

I no longer cared if I offended her. “My kind are the closest to human that you can get. Sure, we’re embodiments of human lust, but lust is often sexual desire. Most humans have it at some point, and lust is often mixed with so many different emotions that it gives me a headache. I have absorbed emotions with the energy I take, and over time, I have become so human that it kills me. My body is weak like a human’s despite my strength and speed. I actually care about humans. They aren’t just a food source. They’re a part of me, whether I like it or not. Our relationship is symbiotic. I satisfy lust, they keep me alive a little longer. I’m not a complete parasite sucking the souls out of humans.”

She remained silent, staring at me with her blank eyes.

“I feel more than an angel has ever hoped to feel. Your feelings will vanish the second you return home. When I return home, mine will go with me. So who here is incapable of feeling?” I snapped.

“The way you describe it makes you sound like you are only borrowing emotions,” Gabrielle said.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d actually fall for an angel. Do you realize how hilarious that is? I first looked at you with malice, but you pulled me in. Your innocence was something I’d never come across. And before you accuse me of lusting, I didn’t feel attracted to you for a while. Take as much offense as you want. It was just how pure and devoted you were. You were hoping so much to save a race that had done nothing but curse your kind and your Father. You were determined, kind, loyal, and wise. When I kissed you, it wasn’t because I was thinking about getting into your damn pants. It was because my admiration grew into something that’s brand new to me. There’s nothing we have in common but that fact that we don’t want Lilith to destroy humanity. There’s nothing. But I want to help you and so does Noah, so you should just be grateful that you have us as allies.”

A bit of shock ran over her features at the confession. If I could still blush, my face would’ve been bright red.

When she spoke, her voice had regained some life. “My Father does not make mistakes. I believe you are my guide, though I’m unsure as to why. If he sees something in you, I’m in no place to judge.”

“That’s it?” I sputtered.

“What do you mean? I’m merely saying that you can remain as my guide,” she said coldly.

I almost missed the broken doll of a girl who had held my hand all night. “Just give me a chance to show you just how human I am. One chance, and if that doesn’t work, just consider me your guide. I’ll cut out any emotion until this whole thing is over.”

She bit her lip. Hopefully she was actually mulling it over. Finally, she looked back. She smiled a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “What exactly do you have in mind?” she asked.

“Perhaps I should show you what makes Luxuria stand out from the other cities.” I beckoned her to follow me. I managed to find a more modest green dress for her to change in. Personally, I chose to stick to a black t-shirt and jeans. That was probably because that was all that was in my closet.

As we were walking down the hallway, Noah popped out of one of the rooms, trailing after us. “Where are you two headed?”

“I’m showing her around,” I said in a clipped tone.

“Oh, like a date?”

Gabrielle looked confused, but I sighed. “No, Noah. I’m just showing her around.”

“Whatever,” he said, smirking. Thankfully, he didn’t follow us out the door.

The word “date” kept ringing in my mind. It was a nerve-wracking word. It was one of the few things I didn’t have experience with. However, it wasn’t a date. It was a sort of tour.

Gabrielle was nibbling on some sort of veggie wrap. I’d tried to explain to her that it wasn’t a very normal breakfast food, but she had merely glared and continued nibbling. I also tried to explain to her that she didn’t have to eat it so slowly since there was plenty of it, but she kept on nibbling. It was like watching a rodent eat a carrot or something.

It was driving me crazy.

“Where are we going?” she asked before resuming her frustrating nibbling.

“You’ll see.” I felt around in my pockets, producing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Avaritia was the home of manufacturing, and I figured that would be the last pack I ever got from them. I put it in my mouth, lighting it immediately.

Gabrielle stared at me.

“What?”

“That’s a cigarette.”

“Yes, it is. Good job.”

She snatched it out of my mouth, throwing it to the ground and stomping on it with one of the white sandals I had given her. I wished she’d just gone barefoot. “What the hell?” I demanded.

She grabbed the pack, tossing it far away. “Smoking causes cancer,” she recited.

I stared at her. “Gabrielle, I’m a demon. We don’t get cancer.”

“But I’m mortal right now.”

She was just being weird today. I sighed.  “Whatever. Can we just keep moving?”

She nodded, resuming the insufferable nibbling.

As we walked, I decided to impart some of my knowledge. “The pheromone fog keeps humans in the dazed state. My presence is enough to keep the humans lusting constantly. The pheromones keep them in a daze so they don’t tear each other apart.”

Gabrielle just stared at me.

“We don’t produce anything like Ira, Gula, or Avaritia. Lust and Sloth go hand-in-hand on the whole lazy thing. Well, I guess we aren’t lazy. We’re just preoccupied.” I winced. That probably sounded really bad.

“Where are we going?” she demanded again.

“Gabrielle, please.” The building was looming ahead. It was in one of the uglier sections of the city. It was a large warehouse with its windows boarded and its doors chained. I felt for the key in my pocket.

“I’m going to show you two places. Just to show you that Lust isn’t all that I am.”

“It looks frightening,” she noted.

“Aren’t you curious about what I do in between meals?” I asked. She shrugged. So we approached the door, and I turned the key into the lock. The chain
s retracted rapidly, making her jump. Once they were out of the way, I opened the door.

She gaped.

I liked to keep my books in abandoned warehouses. That way, no humans ever got their grubby paws on them. Humans severely mistreated their books. I hadn’t once thought about reading during my time with Gabrielle, but it was the most human thing I did, in my mind.

There we
re millions of books of all genres. I’d had a lot of spare time in my many years of living. Gabrielle got over her shock and darted around. She turned and grinned at me. She probably had forgotten who I was for a moment.