Page 8 of Abraxas

Abe led her to the floor, and a slow song played. He held her tight, and she rested her cheek on his chest. There was no denying that she had fantasized about having a different kind of relationship with him, but she felt like it was unfair to him. It was only lately that she began to doubt that that was true. He and the other demons really seemed to enjoy Kiki. Her sister was fun as long as she wasn't getting into trouble and kicked out of school.

Since they had been among the demons, her sister seemed to be trying harder and finding herself. A calmer Kiki who tried to get ahead and find a future that she wanted to pursue might not be such a problem. If her sister wasn't a problem, there would be no need not to pursue a relationship with Abe. That was something to think about anyway, and she would think about it. The song was done, and he led her to the table.

Abe ordered them another drink and an appetizer. While they would be eating later, it was still a couple of hours, and the appetizer was something her hungry stomach would welcome. The music was low enough that they talked but loud enough that they could not listen to other conversations. At least she couldn't because sometimes she thought the demons could hear anything. That was also possible because they were a little different than other humans.

Zepar sat next to Abe. He was the group's drummer. Since he was a demon, it was no surprise that he was gorgeous. He had the blackest hair she had ever seen, and it was long, so there was a lot that she could do with it. Braids were usually what she did. Sometimes, she braided things into his hair that contrasted or even looked supernatural. His eyes were almond-shaped, a dark brown, and his skin was tan, but it looked like it was naturally that way. It made her wonder if he had some Asian ancestry. There was no way to know, and she wasn't even sure that the demons knew.

Xaphan, usually called Xap, had hair the color of dark honey and light brown eyes. His skin was light, but he tanned easily. He had back ridges instead of most of the guys' wings. She would swear that he was born with them. Xap was a bit shorter at only six-and-a-half feet, and he was built like a tank. He had a small tail that he hid sometimes, which she didn't understand. What was the point of adding a tail if you were just hiding it?

Win and Risa sat beside her. He looked like a Native American, and he had what he called a birthmark that looked like a tattoo. His hair was black, his eyes dark, and his skin caramel. Win was just a little shorter than Lu and built like a swimmer. The guy was gorgeous, and everything she did on him, as far as makeup and costumes went, was gorgeous, too. Gloria was sure it was hard to be Risa because many of the fangirls hit on him. Even a few fan guys would get a little bit fresh. They would even pull some black feathers from his wings as keepsakes. That was just one of the reasons that he didn't like to get down into the crowd.

Chapter 3

The Plan

Lu didn't know when he had become a matchmaker. When he'd been with the gods, he had given them a hard time about their matchmaking tendencies. Maybe it was contagious because he kept an eye on Gloria and Abe, and a few other potential couples. At the moment, Gloria and Abe had most of his attention because he could see they were close to committing. The only thing holding her back was that she thought her sister was a burden and didn't want to burden anyone but herself.

He thought her sister was a lot of fun. She was young and fresh, and some of the things she had said or done had even led him to songs that had been very popular with the younger fans. It wasn't easy for him to write for them because his childhood and his teenage years had been horrific. That made it hard for him to connect with the issues they thought were horrible. If only they knew what life could have been like for them had they been born demons. Not that he wished any ill on anyone except for those evil ones in Origin.

Even those awful people would not be tortured by him, maybe by each other. Still, he wanted them to suffer for what they had done. They had managed to take a lot of their money away, and most of them were not living the wonderful lives they had lived before. But was that enough with the horrible cruelty and the murder they had committed? Lu didn't think so. Some hadfound a way to continue pursuing the horrible things they were doing with some gods and demons that had not yet been found. That's what this trip was about. Some more had been found, and they would be freed.

None of them had wanted to go on another trip, especially so soon after the last one, but they owed their brothers a chance at the same life they were living. Some demons work positions that could be switched off whenever they wanted to, but the main band and those who got them ready could not. They all needed to be on this trip, but not all knew why. He was sure that some of them were thinking, didn't they just say they would cut back on their trips? They are going to burn out if they keep doing this.

He couldn't disagree with them, but the need to free others of their kind was too strong for them not to do it. No price was too much to pay. They knew they were risking their lives, and they did not care. They had no idea who was being kept, only that some were. Lu was also sure they were not being treated well. He was thankful for the medical personnel that they had that could sometimes bring one of them back from the very edge of death. It was not unusual for Origin to keep them at that point, but this was both a punishment and a way to keep them under control. Sometimes, they pushed them too close to the edge, and then they were gone.

“Are you all right?” Stef asked.

“I worry about what we'll find when we get to the facility. It's hard to take a day for travel and another day to put on a show while they are waiting and feel they have no hope left.”

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in tight. “If we just ran in there unprepared, they may kill them all before we could get them. We are all doing the best that we can.”

Hell, he knew that, but it didn't matter. They were still waiting, and he felt like he was wasting time. The fact that he usually enjoyed putting on these concerts only made him feelmore guilty. He knew he could do nothing except wait until it was time and then do his best job to free his brothers and get them to a better life.

He and Steph made their way over to where Abe and Gloria sat.

“Are you ready to tell me what you need me to do?” Gloria asked.

“Yes, I need to be in on this meeting that's going on the day after the concert, so I need you to run the fun day for the other girls.”

“I don't know what to do.”

“I sent you a list of places you guys will go and what you will do. There's also a gift card to use to pay the tips. Other than that, you must have a lot of fun and ensure everyone else does," Stef explained.

They had wondered if they would try to save some of the prisoners that Origin had. If so, why would Stef be going? Then again, Stef had been in the military, so maybe she was tougher than she looked. Sometimes, pretty girls were. All she knew was that it terrified her to try to oversee something. That wasn't something she had ever done. It wasn't the same as doing your job and not worrying about anyone else doing theirs. She knew she owed Stef a world of favors that she had done for her over the years. She nodded and hoped that would be a good enough answer because she couldn't even speak right now. Somehow, she would get through this. Maybe the concierge would help her? Wasn't that what they were there for? At least, she hoped it was. Gloria made her way back to her seat.

“Don't think so hard. You'll be all right," Abe offered.

“You knew she was going to ask me?”

“Suspected, but I wasn't sure.”

“I always seem to be the last one to know anything. Even those things that I'm involved in," Gloria observed.

“Not true. You know more than most. Only those at the highest level, no more than you do. Management tends to be that way.”

Gloria would be a wonderful mate, and having her sister around would be no hardship. Abe wasn't sure how to convince her of that. His woman was stubborn. She refused any step past friendship that he tried to make. All he could do was try. He needed to get his head into the game because as talented as his band was, it still required effort to make the concert great. Once the concert was over, they needed to prepare for the rescue mission. That would require even more effort and talent to get their people out without anyone dying.

Abe didn't think that Gloria would be interested in going on a mission like that, and he had to admit that he was glad about it. Stef would be going, and he didn't know how Lu handled that so well. Risa would be staying in whatever they used for transportation because she was expecting, which was not a risk she should take. Normally, she would be right in there with Stef. But everyone agreed that there was no way she should be doing something like this under those circumstances.

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