Page 41 of Absolved In Death

“Birdie, Judas has to take your aunt to Pit 13. When she does wake up, she won’t be herself. She’ll need to be...monitored.” I had no clue how else to say ‘Judas has to lock your aunt up so she doesn’t fall into a blood rage and drain innocent people’.

“Oh, okay,” she sighed. “Let me know when I can visit her.”

As a member of Lucifer’s inner circle, Judas was able to fade her out. Apollo followed Ares to the troops in the hallway. Quelier winced at me, and I understood his wordless concern. Diana knew nothing about vampires or how they were created, aside from the fallacies human media fed her. She was unaware of how much a monster Angela was to become. Quelier’s eyes went wide, because he knew what would come next. My dislike of him being in Diana’s life was swiftly replaced by pity. He’d be instrumental in ensuring she was too busy to see how much Angela was struggling over the next few days. Maybe even the next few weeks.

Handling this situation would be hard for everyone. We couldn’t lie to her, and we knew better than to do that. This was a matter of safety. A newly made vampire operated via an innate urge to feed. Family and lovers weren’t exempt from it, unfortunately. We had to tread carefully without disrupting the delicate balance of the ware ahead.

“Are there still enemy soldiers in the compound?” Lucifer asked Desmond.

“Yeah, but we trapped the majority of them in the residential floors. The troops who haven’t transferred to Pit 13 are queued in the hallway outside.”

Lucifer waved a hand, cleaning up the puddle of Angela’s blood and erasing all traces of the incident. “Okay, let’s open the portal, move them through, then level this place.”

“Yas! BOOM BABY!” Ares yelled as he jumped up and landed in a muscle flexing pose.Fucking meat-head. I rolled my eyes, but he caught me, then blew us a kiss.

You corny fucking cob,I huffed.

Let’s blow this place like you blow me on a Saturday night Bashy Boy. Later, I can aim at your face and BOOM, facial,he shouted.Diana, I can give you one first if you want?

Diana didn’t laugh, which was a red flag. She found that moron’s insufferable dribbling hilarious, so it was time for us to go. I wouldn’t let her fall apart or drift into her emotions here.

I wasn’t sure if Lucifer would hear me. He only mindlinked me—I had never tried telepathic communication with him before. I concentrated, imagining a telephone box. I stepped inside, shut the door, and dialed the number to his mind.

I’m taking Diana to Pit 13 and discussing Angela with her. She needs to know what to expect. The soldiers need to see the strongest version of her, and I feel a lot of anxiousness through our bond.

My urge to protect what was mine was strong. I wasn’t asking him for permission---I was letting him know as a courtesy. He turned in my direction, glaring at me.

How does it feel to have someone drop into your mind mid-thought, Prince of Darkness? Not good, huh?

Sod off before I break your claimbond and throw you into a pool of sulfur,he snapped.

So I can mindlink with the great Lucifer Morningstar?Nice. Getting under his skin was a Hellish bonus.

I faded her directly into our apartment, internally promising I’d give her a full tour of the newly renovated Pit 13 later. She gasped, turning around to take in the entire open concept first floor. It looked just like our old house in New York. Same art pieces, same furniture. We even included the cat post Desmond got for Ollie, the housecat Oisín pretended to be for years while he had watched over Diana.

“I’m sure Oisín will have a kitten over the cat post,” I said, smirking at her.

“He’ll probably want to punch you in the face…”

“I hope so.” I owe him for attacking me when Diana left. I deserved it, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stir the pot.“Your brother is a fuckwitt, but he’s not the family member I want to talk about…”

A tear slid down her face. I snapped my fingers, cleansing us of blood and changing us into matching black silk pajamas. She sat on the couch, and I followed before pulling her onto my lap. Az told me sometimes it’s better to let Diana talk first, so she can set the tone of the conversation. Sometimes she won’t say anything, and he said that’s okay too. Being present for her was what really mattered.

She rubbed her cheek into my chest before releasing a defeated sigh. We sat in silence for several minutes, and I trailed my fingers up and down my claim bite on her thigh as I fought the urge to commander the situation.Her claim-bite.My mark of obsession, the proof that I’ll do anything for her---including giving her space to talk about feelings.

“I know Angie will never be the same…she’s going to go through a major change…but I can still visit her, right…” she asked me in a sheepish tone. I hadn’t heard her use that tone since we first abducted her from that hole-in-the-wall club in Brooklyn.

I had to tread carefully. Every part of me wanted to demand she stay far away from Angela. Some sick, twisted thing deep inside me said even that wasn’t enough, and bellowed at me to lock her in my room. I shoved that part back into the deepest recess of my mind, and went against my instincts.

I channeled my inner Az, and managed a neutral expression. “For the next few months, you should give her space. New vampires aren’t themselves—they’re guided by an insatiable need for blood, and if it gets bad enough, they can hurt their family and friends.”

“I’m not sure I can do that. How am I supposed to concentrate in battle when I’m worried about her?” she asked.

Her blatant disregard for her life was fraying my already tenuous nerves. Az’s patience blew my mind. How did he not tie her to himself so he’d never have to worry about her? I could hear his words after Diana returned from hervacationclear as day in my mind.

Sometimes you have to meet her halfway, Bash. If you don’t, you’ll lose her.

“Maybe we can find a safe way for you to visit?” I offered, ignoring my internal cringe at allowing her to go into a situation that was dangerous. It was bad enough I had to fight this dreaded feeling every time she went into battle. I’d sure as Hell monitor any attempted visit with her aunt.

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