Summon Lyght (5 page)

The
BANG! BANG! BANG!
on the bathroom door felt like blows to his head they were so loud. "Yes!" He growled.

"
I need to speak with you. Now."

Lesedi recognized the white man
's voice but not the cutting edge in it. What was his problem?

Lesedi bristled with annoyance.
"Can it wait?"

"
Positively not."

That insolent bastard.
"I'll be there in a minute."

"
You'll be here now, or I'm opening the door, mate."

Mate?

"Go!" Miya whispered. She pushed out of his arms and shooed him toward the door. "I'll draw the boy's bath."

Lesedi nodded, his gaze lowering to burn the image of her arousal into his brain. Her nipples strained through the blouse of her uniform, slamming his groin with heat. The realization that her bra was thin and flimsy had him furious with the stranger for depriving him from
discovering whether it was also transparent in that very instant.

"
Later."

She nodded and smiled, her cheeks turning red before turning to the tub and busying herself.

Chapter Five

The white man presented a monumental nuisance, but it was impossible to focus on while being practically carried one-handed by him into the bedroom. Miya's bedroom, Lesedi realized.

The man released his grip unceremoniously, disrupting Lesedi
's balance, and gestured to the bed. "Sit."

Impaled by the stranger
's freaky contact lens-covered gaze, Lesedi complied. His body obeyed even as his mind said
who in the fuck did he think he was talking to?
and
what sort of balls did he have to back this arrogance up? Diamond ones?

Lesedi eyed him with curiosity, more than slightly put off by the man
's stare. How could he have overlooked that attire? Brilliant white pants and a snug long-sleeved white shirt emphasized the immaculate definition of a perfectly proportioned frame, massive but not bulky. With his white punked hair and various flashing ear rings, he looked like a carnival sideshow minus his unicorn. .

And yet the cold sweat that suddenly coated Lesedi
's skin served as instinctive warning of the danger concealed in the stranger's coiled muscles.

The man jabbed his index finger toward Lesedi.
"You?" He then jabbed the finger at the wall. "And her? Will be getting married."

Lesedi stared. Of all the preposterous…
"What? I cannot marry her."

Apparently Lesedi
's confusion sat plainly on his face for the stranger to see. "I realize how very…unorthodox this may seem, but in five minutes, I assure you, it will be crystal clear." He raised his brows. "Like a diamond."

"
I do not know what your business is, but I do know that I have no interest in it." Lesedi stood, anger beginning to replace the befuddlement.

He nodded.
"Oh yes you do. Son of Letsie, heir to the throne of Lesotho." He widened those strange eyes. "Direct descendant of the tribe of Levi? I assure you, you do have interest, and you will cooperate."

Anger and fear coagulated into a strange mixture to thicken Lesedi
's blood. Who the hell did this fellow think he was? When he finally managed to ask, the words, "
What
are you?" escaped his lips. The man had just given an account of his lineage, but he'd left off his whore of a mother and the shadow it cast on his supposed royalty. Lesedi had to acknowledge he wasn't merely an eccentric clown escaped from the circus. He was abstract in every possible sense of the word and he now pinched the bridge of his nose with what seemed an impatient sigh.

"
I'm an archangel."

The nonchalance accompanied with the illogical term
archangel
left Lesedi shaking his head. "I'm supposed to just…believe that?"

The man seemed to thoughtfully consider that.
"I don't see why not?"

Just for the sake of hearing the rest of the crazy story that lay beyond the ludicrous opening, Lesedi shrugged.
"Fine. You're an archangel and you want me to…marry Miya for what purpose?"

The man shook his head with a smile.
"I suppose you're not going to believe me until I present my credentials."

"
That you're an archangel." Lesedi prayed he would realize how ridiculous it sounded.

"
No, that you're a purple elephant with green polka dots that likes to fuck pink penguins. Yes, that I'm an archangel. Now, what sort of proof do you want from me?"

Lesedi considered. The conversation bore all the hallmarks of a dream preceded by a
three day binge in a port city. And why would a real archangel use such language? The very outrageousness lent an air of truth to the whole thing. "You mean like wishes?"

The man
's bright gaze hardened. "What are you, a bloody pansy? You need wishes like a little girl? No I don't mean
wishes,
find something more
manly
for crying out loud."

Lesedi had to laugh. It was well past the time for it.
"You are serious."

The man tossed his hands up.
"Oh for fuck's sake, yes I'm serious. Now name your price before I name it for you."

Lesedi
's pride finally caught up to his fear and passed it right up. He stood before the guy, silently reminding him which of them was the larger. By only by mere inches. "Name my price then."

The challenge was met with a slow grin and eerily flashing eyes.
"First impressive thing I've heard you say yet. But you may want to sit for this."

 
"I'll stand."

Lyght chuckled and a streak of panic flashed through Lesedi, but again, pride prevented him from moving one inch.

****

In a matter of seconds, Lyght sorted through all the things he could legally do, before reluctantly considering what he should do to the arrogant man. To doubt an archangel was one of the worst offenses, punishable by months or even years of various plagues, none of which would serve any purpose in this shotgun wedding scenario. Not to mention, he
'd want the man's friendship, not fear, at the end of the day, so… "You like diamonds."

The dark man angled his head cautiously.
"It is my business, I do not necessarily like them."

Lyght snorted at the lie. Another offense that he found no good reason to execute punishment for. In that moment.
"You're right, you don't necessarily like them, you happen to
love
them." Lyght put up a hand to stop anymore lies. "I totally understand, I too am a…soul fond of diamonds. Therefore—" Lyght looked around, making sure the coast was clear, and let his wings loose. 

As expected, the man jumped back, hit the bed, and sat, gawking with wide eyes and dropped jaw.

"Ah damn, you look horrified. I expected something a little more along the lines of…" Lyght shrugged, "maybe awed or perhaps fascinated. Titillated." He fluttered his wings a little, allowing the dim light to catch on the tiny faceted stones composing every single feather in various cuts and sizes. The wings themselves were thick arms of solid diamond, and Lyght could see the man wondering over it. "Solid supernatural diamond, yes." Lyght crossed his arms over his chest. "Now, would you mind if I gave you some of these beauties?"

The man jerked his wide eyes to his.
"What do you mean, give?"

What… was he not saying it correctly?
"You know, a gift? I thought that was the term when one gives another something without cost."

"
It is the proper term but…I…why…"

Lyght spared both of them his flubbering embarrassments.
"Because I can and I want to. Yes or no, do you want my gift?"

The man
's head nodded a few seconds later. Of course he wanted some.

"
Perfection." Lyght clapped lightly and unsheathed a diamond blade from his flight wing. "Don't panic." The human was ready to bolt. "I'm not going to hurt you." Much.

In a matter of two seconds, Lyght sliced the man
's shirt off and carved his angelic symbol on the dark, well-muscled torso. He grinned and stepped back, chucking his chin at the perfect artwork. "It looks fantastic on you. Must be your color."

Lyght forgot about the numbing agent he
'd allowed on his blade. Accompanied with his speed, the human still had no idea what he'd just done. With a thought, he removed the analgesic.

The wound suddenly began to sting, drawing the man
's attention. He jerked his head down and found the blood oozing from the flawless lacerations. A gasp accompanied his wide gaze followed by several more incredulous exhales.

"
Stop
gasping
. You sound like a girl." Maybe he should restrain the natural inclination to belittle the human's masculinity. But it was so much fun he wasn't certain he could stop.

"
What have you done to me?"

Lyght lowered his wings, careful not to touch the floor. Clean by human standards could still contaminate.
"Well nothing your tone indicates, that's for bloody sure." He pointed to the design and angled his head a bit, rather proud. "Beautiful channel, I must say." Lyght regarded the man's spiritual
faith
meter, impressed to find it glowing bright white. Smashing. He met the man's gaze and frowned. "Could you not… bulge your eyes at me? You look… creepy. All I've done is installed telly service. For you to reach me by? You just pat your head and click your heels…" Lyght laughed at the man's flabbergasted expression that seemed to grow with every second. 

"
Bloody hell, you are far too large for so little backbone." Lyght waved his hand and dispelled the petrified aura funking up the air and gave the man a few more seconds to get his balls back in his pouch.

"
I don't know what the hell to say," the man finally whispered, voice shaky.

"
That's pretty much a given." Lyght twirled his finger and put his human's shirt back in place, mending the rough silk. "At least you have bold taste in fabric. Now about Miya." Lyght sat next to the man on the bed. Time to get serious. "She's a virgin."

"
How do you…"

Lyght was relieved he
'd caught himself. "Very good, you're finally getting a clue. I hadn't considered her being a virgin at her age, or in this era. But it certainly changes everything."

Lesedi put his elbows on his knees, grabbed his head and sighed.
"I suppose I should give up hoping that what you're about to tell me will make sense."

"
Don't insult me or my Brothers on this mission."

"
Your brothers?"

"
Yes, there are twelve of us altogether. But only three have come, with me being the fourth. We have twelve months to…you're not listening." Were all humans handicapped in attention span?

"
What? Sorry, I was thinking of—"

"
Miya, I know, and that's a good thing, but right now, I need you to focus. I need you to marry Miya, but you have to be in love with her. Oh come on, stop with the incredulity. You're nearly there already."

"
I barely know the woman."             

"
Well she's quite lovely. And funny, genuine, sweet…
beautiful.
" Lyght rather enjoyed echoing the man's thoughts as they occurred. 

"
Good God, I cannot believe you are saying these things." A hint of possessive anger deepened the man's voice.

Lyght fought back his grin. The man…he really needed to use his name… Lesedi already thought of her as his.
"Why? They're all bloody true."

"
It's not that. It's that you think that saying it would flip some kind of switch inside me and make me feel things that…that take time."

"
Oh God." Lyght rolled his eyes. "I don't have bloody time."

Lesedi bunched his huge shoulders.
"You said yourself I had to be in love, and I'm taking it she has to as well."

Lyght pointed at him emphatically.
"She's in love with you already."

Lesedi stilled.
"How do you… She is?" An expression of awe crossed his handsome face and he tried to hide it with a quick frown.

"
Yes." Lyght smiled at his expression, nodding. "You like that."

"
I'm…truly…"

"
Honored? Pleased?"

"
Confused. I mean she barely knows me." He went to examining the floor between his feet. "How could she—"

"
She knows what she needs. And she knows you saved her life. You're kind and gentle, an amazing kisser, yada yada, all the qualities important to her. What more does she need to know?"

"
She thinks all that?"

Lyght
's smile broadened. "Yes, and if I hadn't stopped you," Lyght elbowed him and finished with a whisper, "she would have bonded her soul to yours right there in the bathroom."

Lesedi appeared slightly dumbfounded. Only slightly.

"Ah, yes, you knew this, you knew she would be yours."

He regarded Lyght with those coal black eyes, then nodded.
"It was…an instinct. Or something." At least he didn't attempt to deny his responsibility.

"
She was ready. To give you everything. But you weren't quite there yet, and I can't let you screw this up."

"
Well, I hate to belabor the obvious, but falling in love takes more than just a command from a scary diamond angel." His slight frown had deepened into a definite scowl.

"
Bullocks! I'm bloody beautiful, not scary. Fantastically and wondrously amazing perhaps. But scary? Absolutely not."

"
I do not love her."

Lyght stood and paced with agitation.
"How bloody long do you need?"