Page 48 of Midnight with the Devil

Lucien clung to the powers inside him, but it was like holding on to the ends of a frayed rope.

“Hang on,” Lucien murmured as he crawled through the doorway to Andras. Then he wrapped his arms around the other man’s chest from behind and closed his eyes, using the last of his power to take them somewhere safe.

He glimpsed the inside of Diana’s apartment as he and Andras materialized into her living room, and then he blacked out a second time.

Diana stood in the kitchen,washing a few plates before putting them into the dishwasher, when she heard a loudcrack! She screamed as two bodies smacked into her living room floor, crushing her coffee table into splinters. Seth, who’d been perched on the counter in front of her, screeched, his fur standing on end as he leapt rigidly from the counter and shot like an orange and white striped lightning bolt for her bedroom. Diana dropped the plate she’d been washing, and it shattered in the sink. She rounded the counter and rushed to the two men—yes, they were two men. And one was Lucien. He lay on his back, clutching the body of another man. Both were bruised and bleeding, as though they had been in some sort of fight or explosion. Panic nearly froze her for several seconds before she tried to convince herself it would be fine. Lucien was the devil—he wasn’t a normal man who could be hurt.

Diana knelt by Lucien and touched his shoulder gently. “Lucien.”

His eyelashes fluttered open weakly, and relief flooded through her at the sight.

“Safe,” he murmured drowsily. His eyes, usually darker, were now a honey-brown. They looked…human, more than they ever had before. Was that possible?

“Yes, you’re safe.” She hoped she wasn’t lying. There wasn’t much she could do if something showed up looking for Lucien and whoever was with him.

“Diana.” Lucien tried to lift one hand to touch her face, but it fell back to the ground and his eyes closed.

For several minutes she wasn’t sure what to do. She dragged the second man onto the floor beside Lucien and placed pillows under their heads. How was she supposed to take care of a fallen angel?

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Amara.

“Hello?” Amara’s calm voice was a welcome relief.

“It’s Diana. I have a situation.”

“What’s wrong?” Amara’s voice rose a little in concern.

“Well…I have two angels…well…Lucien and another, and they just sort of appeared in my apartment. Someone or something beat them up. What should I do?”

“Do they have any open wounds?” Amara asked.

“No, they’re just unconscious.” Diana peered down at them.

“Then I’m not sure what else you can do. They’re immortal. They should heal in time.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“Diana, be careful.” Amara’s gentle warning seemed to mean more than just whatever had befallen Lucien and his fellow angel.

“I will.” She hung up.

She finally settled in to do her homework and was halfway through her reading when Lucien moaned and shifted. She watched him, not sure what she could do to help.

“Diana?” he called.

“Yes?” She set her schoolwork down and rushed over to help him sit up against the back of the couch. He wiped an arm across his face, and it smeared the blood on the cut from his cheek. She’d get a towel and clean that up as soon as she had a minute to talk to him.

“What happened?” she asked, examining his eyes. The blackness had crept in a little, but they were still mostly brown.

“Tangled with a croucher demon,” he said and sighed heavily. “More than one, actually. Got my ass handed to me.”

“A what?”

Lucien tilted his head back, sighing again. The sound was world-weary.

“A croucher demon, a demon that lurks in doorways. The last time I fought one, it was back in Babylon.”

“Okay—” Diana had no idea how to respond that. “Are you and whoever that is safe?”

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