Page 34 of Unholy

If there hadn’t been a monster in the mall before, there was now.

He used the door rather than the broken window. He’d picked the lock ages ago, and he didn’t want to risk getting cut on any of the broken glass still falling from the frame. The darkness inside the old mall was nearly oppressive. There were intermittent skylights in the ceiling, but the clouds outside prevented any moonlight from spilling in. His flashlight felt small and inconsequential to the looming shadows, and dust twinkled in the light’s feeble beam.

Heart pounding, he crept down the wide central hall, the soft soles of his boots quiet on the dusty tile floor. Many of the storefronts were closed up with rolling metal gates, so he disregarded those and trekked forward. He passed empty benches, forgotten silk plant decorations, and faded graffiti on some of the walls.

Near the food court, the ceiling opened up to reveal a second-floor balcony and an enormous skylight overhead. Empty concessions and hollow kitchens lined the circular room. A grand, dry fountain stood proudly in the middle of the room.

Luke’s heart pounded, and a drop of sweat trickled down his back to soak into his shirt. The creature could be hidinganywhere here. His flashlight was barely bright enough to hit the far wall, and the dark space around him felt huge, like floating in the ocean’s depths. There could be monstrous creatures lurking out there in the dark, waiting for him to drift close enough to snap up in their hungry maw.

Tick, tick, tickcame a sound from behind him, like claws on tile.

He whirled, but there was nothing there.

His eyes narrowed. He recognized these scare tactics, and he was too smart to fall for it. Spinning hard and fast, he plunged his sword through the air behind him. His arm juddered as it sank into an inky black figure, and sharp teeth opened just shy of his face for a dying bellow as the strength leached from its body. He doubled over as it collapsed, wrenching his sword free and wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Well, I guess that rules out surprising you from behind,” a familiar voice said through the darkness, and Luke’s heart jumped in shock as he turned. His flashlight beamed across Malachi’s smiling face.

“What—are you doing here? How did you get here? Did you follow me?” Luke asked, torn between relief and irritation. He told Malachi it wasn’tsafe. How dare his body betray him by being happy to see him?

“I did,” Malachi admitted shamelessly. “I wasn’t going to get in the way. You weren’t even going to know I was here.”

“Then why are you showing yourself now?” Luke asked, glancing around at the darkness warily before sheathing his blade. Surely he or Malachi would notice something trying to sneak up on them, and he didn’t fancy holding it while talking to Malachi. The sword was designed to kill things like him. It made everything Luke said seem like a threat,and that was the last thing he wanted Malachi to feel with him.

Malachi’s face brightened, as though pleased to see him put the weapon away. He stepped closer, his black sneakers near silent on the dusty tile floor.

“I told you, treasure,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’ll always be close by if you need me.” His crimson gaze trailed heat down Luke’s body. “You didn’t really think I’d be content to sit alone in your apartment while you were out here risking your life, did you?”

Luke scuffed his boot on the floor. “I guess not.”

“Besides, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to follow you in here.” His eyes wandered the room. “Humans are strange. You build these hubs of activity, and after a while, you just abandon them. Forget about them and let them fall into disrepair.”

“You were human once,” Luke reminded him.

“Mm.” Malachi reached out, snagging Luke’s belt and drawing him in. “I’d never be so wasteful. Certainly not with things I care about.”

“I don’t think anybody actually cares about a mall—not in the way you’re implying, at least,” he replied with a smile.

“Maybe,” Malachi said loftily.

Luke lowered his voice now that they were face to face, almost close enough to kiss. “Did you follow me in here to be judgmental about malls?”

Malachi grinned, his smile wicked in the dim light of the flashlight, which was now pressed between their chests. “No. I followed you in here to blow you.”

Luke sputtered, his eyes darting around the room. “What—here?”

“Mm-hm. Come here.” Malachi tugged him over to thefountain and backed him up against the stone edge as he sealed their mouths together. It was wide enough for Luke to sit comfortably on—once he angled the bottom of his sword up to get it out of the way—and then Malachi’s hands were under his shirt, pushing the fabric as far up as the leather strap of the sheath would allow. His mouth trailed down Luke’s neck, licking the sweat from his skin.

“This—can’t be safe,” Luke protested halfheartedly, but his body was already responding despite his brain’s attempts at logic. His legs spread to accommodate Malachi, his hands tugged him desperately closer, his breaths panted from his open mouth. How did Malachi always drive the reason from his head?

“Of course it’s safe,” Malachi admonished, stubbornly slipping a hand under the sheath strap to tease his nipple. Luke arched into it, slipping his hands up the back of Malachi’s shirt. “I wouldn’t do anything to put you in danger. There are no more demons nearby. I’d sense them.”

“You would? You can do that?”

“I can,” he promised. “We’re all alone. No demons, no paladins, just you and me.” One hand dropped to Luke’s cargos, massaging the growing bulge beneath the zipper.

“I… haven’t finished my patrol yet,” Luke said breathlessly, fumbling for his belt. It was a tactical one that looped through the front and then velcroed in place. Ripping it loose seemed loud in the silent room, echoing off the walls around them, and Malachi wasted no time once it was loose, swiftly taking care of the button and zipper and plunging a hand inside. Luke clung to him, burying his moan in Malachi’s collar. He liked being like this, reclining so that Malachi was taller than him, towering over him.

Malachi spat unceremoniously in his hand and thengripped Luke tight, spreading the fluid down his length. The ridges of his fingers around the head were tight and perfect, and Luke panted against his chest, bracing one hand on the stone’s edge beside him and rocking into it.

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