Kassern (Archangels Creed) (16 page)

The alternative, hurrying them along, might cost him dearly in the long run. There was an exact formula for physical pleasure, but the heart and mind of the individual
s
made the intensity of every binding between two people like fingerprints. Those fingerprints could change with only a thought, making the whole thing a seat-of-
the
-pants scenario. Nothing he wasn
'
t used to.

He could only pray his back-up would arrive before the demon hit
-
squad
rang the doorbell
.

Rising energy from the bedroom started trembling along Kassern
'
s spirit-skin. Ought to be interesting. Come on, come on. Kassern waited, listening to the escalation of pulses, feeling the end, the doorway right there, the spiritual portal opening a bit more with each heartbeat.

Kassern geared up for heated battle, flipping the mental switch that brought his ruby armor out of concealment. Following his well-honed instincts, it formed the impenetrable seamless second skin,
making him appear
washed in blood. .

His wings clinked as the primary flight feathers transformed into twelve ruby swords.
When the blades became contaminated from the corrupt flesh
of devils or the poison blood of demons, his holy fire would cleanse away the filth.

Troy
'
s roar shook the spiritual air followed by the white holy fire of a righteous man
'
s passionate fulfillment. That would hold the demons back temporarily. No evil
thing
dared get in
the
path
of such purity
for fear of being eternally crippled.

At the peak of the orgasm, Kassern produced the tool required for him to join the human realm via the divine binding. The body
-
length ruby staff, thin as a toothpick, glowed as Kassern flashed into the bedroom, remaining invisible for the procedure.

He entered the intense light of the couple's passion and slammed the tip of the
staff
into the solid floor of white.
"
Tendo
tertius
!
"
He spoke a few more words
in the sacred language of Heaven. Crimson
fire exploded throughout the room, mixing with the brilliant glow.

Holding tight to the
vibrating staff
, Kassern roared with the exchange. One-third of his angelic being entered Troy and Devyn, while one-third of their humanity flowed into him. The three became one flesh, one spirit, one being, bound together by one of God's most sacred gifts to humanity.

Kassern had known it would hurt like hell. Downgrading was a bitch while upgrading was like a spiritual orgasm. But forming an entirely new being… Well, Kassern hadn't been sure what, exactly, that might entail, given the union
'
s chameleon-like characteristics, all controlled by thought and mood.

As soon as the exchange was complete and Kassern became visible
in the room
, Troy and Devyn scrambled for privacy.

"
Sorry to cut the afterglow short
,
"
Kassern said, winded
.
"
Get dressed now. We
'
ve got company coming in two minutes.
"
Unaccountably aware of their self-consciousness, Kassern turned his back
.

Troy hurried to obey, and Devyn followed suit, both more in tune to his emotions
than before
. First benefit of the exchange.

"
Who
'
s coming?
"
Troy jerked his jeans on, wincing as the fabric encountered flesh unaccustomed to being so sensitive.

"
A legion of devils.
"

Chapter Fourteen

As Kassern wondered in dismay exactly how to cram himself into Troy
'
s car, the company of devils arrived. To
the average
human
without angelic upgrades
, it would
have
look
ed
like a swirling dark cloud. Kassern clearly saw the cluster of nasty demons,
but couldn't
quite distinguish individuals.
Ahh, the benefits of humanity.
Accustomed to seeing their grotesque features clearly, he almost enjoyed the respite from the ugliness.
The sulfuric stench of the things hadn't decreased at all, though.

"
Stay put.
"
Kassern
left
the car. With every step, his ruby armor appeared. He formed his right arm into one of his favorite weapons
that
resembl
ed
a blood-red Uzi
, only it
delivered calculated blasts of angelic force with withering accuracy.

A
thought
materialized
his ruby staff in his left
hand, ready to discharge more sustained
blasts of power
while h
is wings stirred the air
upon springing
forth.

Making every second count, he opened fire on the
pack
. The new munitions he'd
fashioned
for the mission were things of beauty
. Forged from varying levels of supernatural power woven together, the rounds
streak
ed
through the air in blood-red flames
,
flaring first gold, then dark red upon striking the target.

He paused firing long enough to lob a series of
power-
grenades toward the leaders
. The compact orbs of
fiery cleansing
turn
ed
the sky
to swirls of black
and wash
ed
the second rank
of demons
with the blood of their brethren.

Kassern's
staff and wings deflected the barrage of annoyin
g
armor
-
piercing rounds
filled with hell-fire
.
If they followed the usual pattern, their next volley would also hold brimstone.

Preferring to avoid the painful chemical burns from the toxic substance, Kassern decided to
end it before the disgusting gnats stepped up their efforts. A steady stream of golden lightening flashed from his staff,
slicing through the demons without effort.
The
reeking horde
dissolved under his assault
into globs of sticky
black goo
that clung to the survivors
.

Finally
he heard the approaching
Cavalry
.
As the band of war angels took over, Kassern flashed into the back of the car, remembering to
change from his armor to more normal clothing.
Well, as normal as he could
tolerate, considering human clothing was
so
restrictive
of movement as to be dangerous
. Jeans and no shirt w
ere
as normal as he cared to get at the moment. At least he'd solved the puzzle of getting into Troy's car. All that remained was to figure out what the hell to do with his knees and feet in the three inches
of foot space
.

"
Best be going now.
"
Kassern
settled for
using the entire back seat for leg space as his couple
jerked to face hi
s
sudden
appearance.

"
Leave. Like now.
"
Kassern
flicked his fingers forward.

Troy
waste
d
no time
sho
o
t
ing
out of the
driveway
.
"
Where to?
"

Kassern sighed, resting his head against the window.
Explaining every move already bothered him.
"
We
'
re picking up Karly.
"
T
he next phase of the transformation
would
allow his
triumvirate
, as
Uriel
had labeled each
Archangel
's unit
, to communicate
wordlessly.
Kassern could hardly wait.

Devyn
spun in her seat
.
"
Jake isn
'
t going to just let her go.
"

Kassern smiled at her ignorance, finding it kind of cute
, and so typically human
.
"
Yes he will.
"

Her gaze dropped briefly to his glowing cross
before
she faced forward. He knew she wasn
'
t altogether sure wh
ich
side he was on. Smart girl. One of the reasons he picked her, for her
skepticism. He needed somebody cautious and very aware of the potential dangers that lurked at every corner. His preacher was cautious of all the things he knew, but he didn
'
t know enough. Devyn, on the other hand, did. She finished off their little picture perfectly in that regard.

****

"
Wait for me. Don
'
t leave the car.
"

Kassern headed up the flight of stairs, hoping the events of the next few minutes wouldn
'
t create too much of a spiritual racket.
Dealing with another herd of demons rated pretty low on his To Do list.
He needed to get Karly and take them all someplace safe for a few days. He wasn't positive yet, but it seemed he was actually
tired.
Had to be part of the humanity perks he
'
d inherited. To him, it was just a time obstacle he did not need.

He neared the door and paused. Where was Karly's guardian? He stared at the knob but the outer surface didn't give way for him to see if
t
he
lock was engaged.
Great, h
e couldn
'
t see
?
His jaw tensed at his new human gifts of weakness. Just how much strength had he lost? Had any vital abilities deserted him?

He turned the knob and nudged the door open, the locks splintering off. Still had his warrior
'
s strength. Huge plus there.

"
Heyyy
man, you broke the door.
"

Kassern regarded the skinny guy with the slurred voice on his right, noting the drug confusion crimping his forehead.
"
Where
'
s Jake?
"

The man broke into a rotten toothed smile.
"
Up in the back.
"
He raised his brows.
"
Havin
' a
li'l
fun with his ol' lady, Karly. Ask real nice like, he might let you get a
li'l
bit o' that.
"

Nauseated,
Kassern listened as he walked through the apartment dump, wishing he'd lost his angelic sense of smell instead of his hearing. Temporary. Damn well better be.

He stepped over an overturned lamp and heard them. The sound coming from the room at the end of the short hall nearly locked his limbs. A sharp female cry and cynical laughter from more than one male. Three steps and he kicked open the door, interrupting the sick party.

Four men surrounded the human girl, beaten and burned beyond recognition, tied to the bed, nothing hidden. The blood pooling between her legs brought a rage Kassern was not used to. Another human weakness.

Her guardian stood nearby, wringing his hands, tears coursing down his cheeks. He turned helpless eyes to Kassern.
"I just couldn't do enough to make a helpful difference."

The fury that coursed through
Kassern
called his armor out
in haphazard fashion, rather than his usual strategic pattern
. Ruby daggers
sprang out of
his knuckles
while gauntlets
covered his hands
,
and spiked
vambraces
turned his forearms to lethal weapons. His lower legs sported razor-blade embellished greaves
and spurs appeared on his heels.