Her Demonic Angel (Her Angel Romance Series Book 5) (34 page)

“Make it stop!” Erin screamed, fingers itching with heat now, skin burning so hot that sweat trickled down her spine beneath her black top. She had tried to use her power countless times but it refused to leave her hands, and she suspected it had something to do with the man behind her. He was stopping her from using her power, forcing her to watch her friends fight.

She elbowed the Devil in the stomach but he merely laughed at her.

“I cannot,” he purred into her ear, as seductive as ever, his voice easing away her fear until she realised what he was doing. He was trying to control her. That wasn’t going to happen. She struggled again but it was no use. She wasn’t strong enough to break free of his grasp.

“Please?” Erin whimpered, tears stinging her eyes as she watched her sister and Marcus desperately fighting against six angels. Her chest ached, a dull throb that pulsed through her, running deep in her marrow. “Make them stop.”

“You asked me to remove my forces, and I did. The deal was struck, Erin, and now you must fulfil your side of it.” He stroked her cheek with his fingers, his thumb pressing hard into her jaw. She shook her head and he chuckled. “You do not get a choice. You will awaken.”

“No,” she whispered and he tightened his grip on her jaw, pressing the tips of his fingers into her flesh until it hurt.

She didn’t want this. This wasn’t part of their deal. Erin stared at everyone as they fought, her tears almost blinding her, fear crushing her heart in an icy grip. She had wanted to save everyone, not condemn them all to death.

“Please,” she said again, knowing it was pointless but needing to try. “Help them.”

Her gaze leapt between them all, the ache in her deepening with each of them. Amelia, Marcus, Einar and Taylor were all deeply injured, weak and shaking, at their limit, but it didn’t stop them from fighting. It didn’t stop Veiron either. He was fighting to get to her, each cry of her name a hot sword that pierced her heart and cranked her internal temperature up another notch. Every time he got close to her, the angels knocked him back, tearing at his beautiful crimson wings. It didn’t slow him down. He growled at them all, slashing with his blade, and kept fighting to reach her.

Erin’s tears fell, cutting down her cheeks, and hitting the Devil’s hand on her jaw. He huffed behind her and she half expected him to mention how weak she was, crying because she wasn’t strong enough to escape him and help her friends. She wanted to save them and hated that she couldn’t. She had failed them all.

She reached for Veiron as an angel swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the black ground. Hot tears burned a constant path down her face. “Veiron!”

Veiron rolled to avoid the golden sword of the angel as it came down hard, sending sparks showering upwards when it struck the basalt. He was on his feet and fighting again before she could blink, his eyes glowing as bright as coals and fixed on her, determination radiating from him.

“Please,” she whispered again and leaned into the Devil. “Make it stop. Save my friends.”

“Save your friends?” He sounded thoughtful and she dared to hope that he might do as she asked. “Well, this process is going more slowly than I had anticipated and if I do not do something dramatic soon, there is a chance these fools will make me their target too.”

Erin’s heart leapt, the ache leaving her, and she almost smiled. He would help them. Relief poured through her, melting her bones, leaving her weak and trembling in the Devil’s arms.

He released her jaw and waved his hand again.

Amelia disappeared, followed by Marcus. Taylor was next, leaving Einar looking confused and panicked for a brief heartbeat of time until he too disappeared.

Erin’s gaze shot to Veiron. He battled three dark angels, fending them off, one arm hanging limp at his side and drenched in blood.

He didn’t disappear.

Her heart squeezed. Heat blazed through her bones and erupted from her fingers in flickering red and black flames.

“No,” she said and threw her hands forwards in an attempt to use her power. Nothing happened. She growled low in frustration, rage pouring like gasoline through her veins, igniting her blood, and elbowed the Devil with everything she had. He grunted. “You said you would save them all!”

“I did not say any such thing.” The Devil caught her jaw again, pressing sharp fingernails into her cheeks, and forced her head around towards Veiron. She stared across the black landscape to him, fear reigniting within her. “You asked me to save your friends. I did so as an act of benevolence. You did not ask me to save your lover.”

“Bastard!” Erin got one arm free and sent her elbow smashing into his head. He snarled, dark and unholy, grabbed her arm in a bruising grip and pulled it down, twisting it hard at the same time. She cried out.

“Erin!” Veiron roared and hacked at the angels around him, swinging his spear to drive them away. The moment there was an opening, he ran towards her, one hand reaching for her, all his love for her in his eyes. She reached for him too, tears streaming down her cheeks, wishing that they were miles away from here, that she had never told him about her vision, and wanting nothing more than to touch him again.

A black-winged angel barrelled into him and another two bundled on top, trying to pin him down. He growled and erupted from beneath them, sending them flying. His body shifted, black moving across his skin in a wave as his limbs grew and muscles expanded. The tattered crimson feathers on his wings fell away to reveal scarred leathery membrane.

“Erin,” he called again, reaching for her once more. Erin reached for him with both hands, her heart shattering as heat seeped into it, burning her from the inside out, setting her every molecule on fire.

“Please,” she whispered, broken and hoarse, and sniffed back her tears. “Save him. Please. He doesn’t want to die. Please, don’t let him die.”

The Devil stroked her cheek and she flinched away as another angel tackled Veiron and punched him before he could get up, hammering away at his beautiful face. Erin’s heart burned hotter, fingers tingling and turning numb.

“Please, don’t let them do this.” She sucked down a sharp breath and couldn’t watch as the angels tore at Veiron’s wings. The sounds of his screams made her ears ring and her body shake. Her blood rose to a thousand degrees, blazing within her, causing tendrils of red and black smoke to rise off her skin. Her shoulder blades itched and then the feeling shifted down her arms and torso, a slithering sensation under her skin that turned her stomach. “Please. He doesn’t want to die again.”

“But he must,” the Devil said and a fresh wave of tears rolled down her cheeks.

She shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing. “No. You don’t have to let them do this. I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t let them kill him.”

“I cannot do that. I need you to see this, Erin.” He held her again and forced her head around. Her eyes flicked open against her will and a terrible chill replaced the heat flowing through her, realisation that she was powerless to stop this from happening and that it was all her fault freezing her and stealing her breath. “I need you to watch your beloved die and feel the endless dark in your veins awaken. You can feel it, can you not?”

She could. It was cold and fathomless, writhing beneath her skin, as black as Hell and as unforgiving and evil as the man at her back. It whispered to her, telling her to seize her desire for violence and destroy those who sought to destroy her love. It terrified her.

“Good… good,” the Devil whispered into her ear. “Veiron has played his role in my plan to perfection. Now, I must lose one of my best men in order to gain my best woman.”

Erin didn’t understand. His words swam in her head, a whisper far quieter than the roar for violence in her blood and her heart. The ringing in her ears grew louder, numbness sweeping over her, fogging her mind. The strange sickening sensation of darkness writhing beneath her skin grew more frantic and she ground her teeth as sharp daggers scraped over her skull.

“Veiron,” she murmured and lifted a heavy hand, trying to reach for him.

He broke through his enemies again, battling to reach her, still fighting despite his injuries.

This time he left them behind.

She smiled weakly, heart buoyed by the sight of him running towards her, coming within her reach. Just a few more metres and he would be with her again. They would be together and they would leave this place, and the Devil, and they would never return. He wouldn’t die.

Erin stretched both arms out.

Just a few more metres.

Please.

Veiron changed back, the darkness leaving his skin as he shrank to his normal broad immense form. His eyes met hers and she smiled at him. He smiled right back at her.

And then stopped.

Erin didn’t understand. Why would he stop?

He looked down.

Her gaze fell, her eyes widened, and she shook her head again. This wasn’t happening.

“No,” she screamed.

The bloodied golden tip of a blade protruded from his obsidian chest armour, right in the centre over his heart. Crimson spilled from beneath the armour, drenching his stomach and thighs. His scarlet eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at it and then up at her. Her eyes met his and she covered her mouth with one hand and still reached for him with the other.

He reached for her as his knees gave out, sending him hard to the ground.

Erin wrestled against the Devil, desperate to go to Veiron.

“I love you, Erin. Always will,” he said and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Tears burned her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. This was not goodbye. She refused to believe it. He wasn’t dying.

“Veiron,” she said, desperate to tell him not to give up and that he would be fine. He smiled at her, that single look calming her and stealing away her pain, forcing her to accept what was happening. She nodded, knowing what he needed. Not her begging him to live and lying to him. Her throat closed, making it impossible to breathe, and she struggled to say the words without breaking down. “I love you too.”

The angels descended on him. A bright white light exploded, blinding her. When it receded, they were gone, and so was Veiron.

“No!” Erin screamed, raw and hoarse. Pain blazed through her, turning her blood to liquid fire, and her skin itched. She scratched at it and the pain only grew worse, a thousand blades stabbing into her flesh. She looked down at her hands, past the curling ribbons of dark red flames that licked up her arms to the black claws that tipped her fingers.

She shrieked and broke free of the Devil’s grasp but he caught her again, pinning her more firmly against his body, caging her in his arms.

The darkness shifted under her skin, pushing at it, until she felt it would tear her apart. Her shoulder blades caught fire, burning so fiercely she arched forwards and screamed.

“Do not fight it, Erin,” he murmured close to her ear, containing her as she struggled against him, his voice soothing and soft. “It will be over soon and you will feel so much better.”

How could she feel better? Nothing could make her feel better. She wanted to die.

The pain inside her increased until she couldn’t breathe and it felt as though something was wrenching her heart from her chest.

Erin looked down and stared detachedly at the slick patch on her black t-shirt.

“You said you didn’t want my soul,” she whispered, watching the wet area grow, feeling the blood leaking from her, cold against her burning skin.

“I do not. It is broken and shattered by your loss. I had thought the death of Amelia may be your catalyst but this turn of events was not so unpleasant after all and it was certainly far easier than I had expected.”

Erin swallowed and felt sick when a sharp metallic taste flooded her mouth. She tried to swallow again but couldn’t hold back the tide of blood and choked on it. It spilled from her lips and down her chin. The pain in her heart grew, so fierce that it consumed her and she couldn’t fight it. The darkness returned. The feel of claws scraping under her flesh, sharp pain lacerating her shoulders, and the grind of horns over her skull petrified her. Her bones ached and her body moved of its own accord, her joints cracking and limbs twisting into horrifying angles. Her teeth throbbed and sharpened, spilling more blood into her mouth, and her vision burned red.

There was a demon inside her trying to get out.

She wanted Veiron.

She needed him to hold her in his arms, close to him, and needed to hear him husk in his beautiful baritone that everything was going to be okay as her world fell apart.

Her gaze sought him but found only a dark pool of his blood.

She snarled, the unholy sound shredding the last of her nerves.

Her heart faltered, missing beat after beat. Was she going to die after all? Was the demon inside her going to destroy her?

“You said I didn’t have to die. You lied.” Erin found peace with that thought. Dying wasn’t such a frightening experience after all. “Veiron cannot be dead… but if he is… then I will find him on the other side.”

She touched the bleeding spot over her heart and felt him there, always within her, a part of her forever. The darkness inside her settled, as though her thoughts of Veiron calmed it too.

“I did not lie, Erin. You are not dying. You merely bleed because of your lost love. It will end soon, when you awaken.”

Cold chased away the final remnants of her heat and her legs gave out, no longer strong enough to support her. The Devil held her, stopping her from collapsing, and lifted her. He cradled her gently in his arms and turned with her, carrying her to his black throne. He settled on it with her on his lap and stroked her hair. Horns shifted beneath her scalp again and she flung her head back and cried out.

The Devil cooed soft words and held her closer. He clumsily petted her head, as though he didn’t know how to comfort. He probably didn’t. She couldn’t imagine the twisted bastard caring about anyone enough to worry about their welfare. He was incredibly gentle with her though. Could he sense that she was fragile and would break from the slightest touch? Erin grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut against the pain that tore through her, ripping down her arms like razor-sharp claws. The Devil cooed again.