Key of Solomon: Relic Defender, Book 1 (16 page)

Lexi came to a quick stop. Good grief. Michael? As in the Archangel Michael? As in Prince-of-Light-protector-of-mankind Michael? She may not believe in angels but she’d heard of the archangels. Especially the main ones—Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel. And Michael.

She shook her head. Great. She was getting sucked into Mikos’s delusion. With each outlandish claim and bizarre revelation, she inched farther into crazy.

With a sigh, she focused on Mikos. He stood in front of a curio-like cabinet, his back toward her as he scanned the ancient-looking books. He closed the glass door, then turned to face her.

In his hands, he held a book she could tell at first glance was old despite the beautiful, deep tan cover etched in raised bands of gold gilt lettering. Lexi crossed the room.

“Read.” He offered the book to her. “It’s the closest representation of the story a mortal can comprehend. Rather well done, in fact.”

Reluctantly, she took the archaic book. She ran her fingers over the title.
Paradife loft. A Poem in Ten Books
by John Milton. “I know this. It’s a book of poems.”

“Yes.”

“This is about Lucifer and fallen angels, isn’t it?” Lexi felt her lips twitch at the surprised look on his face. “I’m not stupid, Mikos. Just because I don’t believe in angels or God, doesn’t mean I haven’t heard the stories.”

Paradise Lost
, as it was more commonly known, depicted the war between angels. The angels still under God’s favor and the ones cast out. Or fallen. Lexi had been curious about the tale but after finding out it was in the form of a poem, she’d passed on reading. Give her straight sentences—poems were full of cryptic phrases and strange word partnerships she just couldn’t decipher.

She glanced down at the book. “I’ve definitely heard of this.” Holding it up in front of her, she questioned, “You think this will make me believe?”

“I’d never be so foolish.” One corner of his lips lifted.

Cute. Gave him a rakish air. And made him seem more human. Which he was not, if she were to believe his odd assertion.

“Then why should I bother?”

“Lexi, whether or not you believe is immaterial. Obviously, it would be better if you did, but your non-belief does not change the facts.” Mikos inclined his head at the book in her hand.

“Fine.” Her brow furrowed. “How does this prove you’re an angel?”

Mikos frowned. “What kind of proof do you require?” He held up a hand. “Other than a miracle.”

“You were in the club, weren’t you?” She waited until he nodded. “If you’re an angel, show me your wings.”

His frown deepened. “Is this really necessary?”

“Look, I’m a literal gal. I deal in reality, what I can see, touch and smell. I certainly don’t take the word of someone I hardly know. If you want me to accept you’re an angel, prove it.”

“Saving your life isn’t enough proof?”

Oh, that.

“How do I know I was actually dead?” Lexi ignored the niggling of conscience that scoffed at her comment. She knew she had been dead.

All current evidence showing otherwise, she’d felt herself die. That knowledge didn’t stop her. She wanted something from him. Something she could believe in. Something solid. She cringed inwardly at the unintended double entendre. Ignoring her mental slip, she lifted her chin and met Mikos’s gaze squarely.

His deliberate stare held her eyes. The intense focus gave her the feeling he was peering into the depths behind her eyes to discover what she wanted most.

Good luck with that. She didn’t even know what that might be.

“Very well,” he said. An eyebrow lifted. “But I require something from you. I will give you your proof, and in return, you will remain here and be trained. And attempt to regain your knowledge of the location of the Key. Time is running out, and I have no more patience for games.”

“You want me to stay here? With you?” Lexi snorted. “Sure, like I’d believe we’d only be training.”

Especially after she melted into goo whenever he got near. Hell, she wasn’t worried about him. The over-the-top reactions of her own body scared the shit out of her. She feared that if he started with her, she wouldn’t let him stop. And the last thing she needed was a relationship with him. Purely sexual or otherwise.

“I have no need for anything from you other than your commitment to training,” he said. “And your faith.”

“Well, I could give you a commitment for training, but as for my faith—that ship sailed a long time ago.”

Mikos nodded. “Fine. Your commitment to training is sufficient. In time, your faith will come.”

“Sure. Believe what you will.”

“Are we agreed then? I will provide proof. You will remain here for training.”

Crap, where was her head? She acted as if all he had to do was give her proof and she’d believe anything he had to say. Was it really that simple?

“I want one more thing,” she blurted then slapped a hand over her mouth. Where had that come from?

Mikos frowned but nodded.

“I want you to help me find Devyn.” Big Joe and his dire predictions of the human race perishing if she continued to look for Devyn aside, Lexi knew she couldn’t simply go on with life and not know what happened to the young girl.

“Who is Devyn?” Mikos’s head tilted, his dark eyes questioning. Confused. And more than a little bit annoyed if she read his expression correctly. Bully for her. She wasn’t here to make the angel’s life easier.

“It doesn’t matter who she is. She was with me the night I, er…” Lexi paused, her mind’s voice tripping over the word. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “Died. She was with me the night I died. I need to know what happened to her. I need to know if she was harmed by those men.”

“She is not important.”

Lexi sucked in a breath. Her eyes narrowed. “She’s important to me. And whether I believe your proof or not, I’ll stay and train while we look for Devyn.”

He ran fingers through his hair and swiped his hand down the back until he rubbed the back of his neck. She could almost see the thoughts whirling through his mind. Probably the same ones in hers. What did she have to lose by agreeing? What was the downside to staying here and training for a job she believed was a joke?

Her instincts didn’t scream danger at her. Meaning he wasn’t a threat. At least a physical threat. Her mental state? Well, that was another thing.

Seeming to come to an understanding in his mind, he nodded. “Very well. I will help you find your Devyn.”

Lexi took a mental step backward. Was she really going to do this? Stay and train? Since he couldn’t possibly prove his angelic claim, she’d lose nothing by staying. As long as he helped her find Devyn.

But, what if, by some weird burp in the universe, he pulled it off? She’d have to believe, right?

Her inner Lexi scoffed,
yeah and what about being around a man who’s already proven he can make you howl with desire
?

And did she dare believe when he said he wanted nothing from her? Her lips firmed. He promised to help her find Devyn. And right now, that was more than enough. Besides, she could handle him if he decided to be frisky.

“Lexi?”

She lifted her lashes, and it was her turn to look deeply into Mikos’s polished gray eyes. The longer she stared the more she was able to see beyond the surface to the soul of the man. Her vision narrowed into a needle point. Light dwelled behind his gaze. Pure light heavily surrounded by gray and dark whirls but still light.

Eyes were supposed to be the windows to a person’s soul. For the first time in her life, she believed it. And if what she saw was true, Mikos’s had a well of sadness, pain and guilt she figured never emptied. Her own soul twisted with the strength of his emotions.

She tore her eyes from his and took a deep breath. Words failed her. All she did was nod. Satisfaction filled his eyes.

“
Apud mei voluntas, ego precor vos
.” His voice rang out, the clear sound striking like a hammer to a bell. Bold, powerful.

“Hey, girl.”

Lexi started. The familiar, yet completely and utterly impossible, southern-style intonation that invoked the sensation of sun-filled days, skin wrapping moisture and the sweet-tangy smell of citronella scented flowers from the southern magnolia, flowed throughout the room. Her knees wobbled. She knew that voice. She knew the woman who owned the sultry drawl.

A flicker of movement caught her attention. The form of her best friend in the whole world shimmered into view. Catherine, Kat, Ferchaud.

Kat who had been dead for the last seven years.

Lexi gawked at the apparition, unable to articulate a single thought. She couldn’t even manage to squeak out an expression of alarm.

However, she did stumble back a few steps only to come up against a warm, unyielding surface. Mikos grabbed her by the upper arms to steady her. A good thing because her knees buckled under her.

Her gaze locked onto Kat. Her friend’s body was solid, if a bit smoky about her outlines. Her eyes held the same deep affection Lexi had returned so long ago. More than a best friend, Kat was the sister of her soul.

And she was dead. Or had died.

Mentally, Lexi shook her head. What was she saying?

Kat was dead. Lexi remembered the sharp crack of a gunshot, the hot, copper smell of blood, the screams of the others who’d had the bad fortune, like Kat, to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

For her best friend, though, it hadn’t just been about that. For her it had been about choices.

Kat hadn’t had the same kind of childhood as Lexi. From a wealthy home, with both parents still alive, Kat had chosen to rebel against the strictures of the wealthy society she’d been born into.

Lexi had already been living on the streets a year before she found Kat. Or rather, before Kat had found her. The younger girl, brand new to the streets, had wavered on the cusp of turning tricks to earn money for a place to stay.

Prissy, innocent, yet bristling with determination and deep strength, Kat had quickly found a place in Lexi’s heart. She’d stopped the younger girl from embarking on a prostitute role, and together they’d worked the subways, picking pockets of the careless and arrogant.

Kat’s mistake, the one that had led to her death, was falling for the wrong guy. Or, because she’d loved Asher deeply, maybe the right guy, but totally the wrong time and place.

“I’ve missed you,” the figure that looked and sounded like Kat said.

Lexi tore her wandering attention from the past and focused on the now. On the apparition with the shape, appearance and sound of her best friend.

Her dead best friend for those who hadn’t kept up.

“This isn’t real. It’s impossible,” Lexi said even though common sense said otherwise. For Pete’s sake, she had conversations with rocks. Demons visited her in her apartment and tried to make bargains. Why couldn’t Kat be real?

Tender understanding shadowed the sparkle in Kat’s emerald eyes. “I’m real.” She shrugged and gave a deprecating laugh. “Well, I’m as real as a ghost can be.”

“How are you here?”

Kat looked at a point over Lexi’s shoulder. At Mikos. With the silent reminder, she suddenly felt the warmth of his body against her back. The contours of his lean body melded against her curves.

“He called,” Kat said. “I came. Besides, I knew you needed me.”

Lexi yanked away from Mikos. He called? She turned to face him. Good grief. She turned to face an angel.

Her gaze traveled over the powerful set of shoulders. The compelling dark eyes, the firm features and square chin. At the black hair gleaming in a kaleidoscope of jewel-like colors under the overhead light.

Mikos’s hip leaned against the mahogany desk, his hands resting on the edge now that they weren’t holding her upright. Crossed legs gave him a relaxed appearance. A complete farce. The alertness of the eyes under heavy lids shouted a different story. Likely wondering what she would do with the proof of what he said right before her.

In all of the pictures she’d seen of angels, none had ever looked like him. All of the angels she’d seen were blond, pale of skin, dressed in white robes and had white wings.

Wings.

She vaguely remembered dark wings springing from behind Mikos. At the club. The night she, uh, died. Again mentally shaking her head, Lexi ignored, for the moment, the whole angel issue. She couldn’t handle Kat’s return and a real angel.

Lexi walked over to Kat and stood about a foot from her shimmering form. “Are you real?” she put out a hand, wanting to touch her best friend.

Kat stepped, er, floated back and shook her head. “I’m as real as a spirit can be. You can’t touch me, Lex. In that way, I don’t exist.

“Besides, it would knock you on your ass.”

Tension eased, and Lexi chuckled. The apparition looked like Kat. Sounded like Kat. Could this really be happening? Her throat thick with emotion, Lexi said, “I’ve missed you too.”

Kat smiled, her spectral eyes soft with warmth and concern. “So, what kind of trouble are you causing for Mikos?”

Lexi shot a quick glance at the quiet man. Angel? God, she couldn’t seem to wrap her head around that. How was it easier to see a ghost then an angel?

He hitched his shoulders in a brief shrug but remained silent.

“Apparently nothing he can’t handle.” Lexi’s tone was wry. She wasn’t sure what trouble she caused him, but he certainly had caused enough upheaval in her life.

A faint smile curved Kat’s lips. She seemed on the verge of saying something when Mikos spoke.

“Come,” he said in a clipped tone. “I’ll show you where you will stay.”

Without waiting for her response, he strode to the hallway, his walk filled with confidence as if he expected her to follow meekly at his heels. She shrugged. Why not. She’d promised.

“Okay,” she said. “After that, I’ll head back to my apartment and grab a few things.”

Lexi’s mind organized the things she’d need with her. Then came to an abrupt halt when she hit a firm, masculine back.

“Hey!”

Mikos turned. Lexi didn’t have a chance to step back. His sudden stop and spin put him within inches of her face. She hastily retreated a couple of steps. Shit, she didn’t care if he thought her scared, she just didn’t want to be that close to him. It did funny things to her senses, knocking them out of sync.