Page 54 of The Angel's Kiss
I watched him take off in a full sprint across the lawn and was taken in by his sheer grace. I couldn’t help but feel some type of ownership over Rai. Sure, I’d been linked to him, destined to obey his command, but he was also made for me. I could sense that much. He was mine and I would have him.
Chapter eighteen
Rai
A Painful Truth
Once again, three SUVsshowed up and made my journey to the Guild’s Main Office quicker. Darius wasn’t in so I had to wait, because he was the Guardian I needed to speak with. I had to wait an hour, but as soon as he returned, he called me into his office.
“Rough fight?” I asked as I watched him nurse a wound on his arm. Must have been a really bad one for him to still be healing.
“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” he said casually.
“Who was it?”
“A rather powerful demon I dispatched back to Hell. A foolish human had opened a portal in China to release the Demon of Fortune,” Darius said. “It will heal in a little while. Why are you here?”
“Azazel did some investigating and spoke with Cain.”
Darius’ eyes widened. “He spoke with Cain?”
I nodded. “I know. I wish I’d been there.” I really did, because how often did you get to meet the world’s first murderer? Somany questions I’d want to ask him. The very fact that Azazel could summon him, I found impressive... but then Azazel was just that badass. Oh my God, why was I praising his demon ass?! I blamed those damn visions. The ones that let me look into his soul to see every facet of him. The good, the bad, and the ugly, but it was the good that was guiding my emotions now. The dreams of him helping humans and especially those where he was sexual as if he were seducing me in my sleep. Shit, maybe he did.
“Are you listening to me, Rai?” Darius said with a snap of his finger.
I blinked and looked at him. “What? I’m sorry, did you ask me something?”
“Yes, twice.”
“Oh... my mind just... you know what, doesn’t matter. What did you ask me?”
“What did Cain say?”
Yeah, that was an obvious question. I kicked myself for drifting off into my thoughts of Azazel like that. “He said we’d need to speak with Baal.”
At that, Darius scoffed and it was something he didn’t normally do. He usually found that reaction distasteful, but he did it.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“He will be difficult. After his war with Satan, he lost and was cast out of Hell. He may hate Satan, but he hates us more. Getting information out of him won’t be easy,” Darius said.
“But we will get information, right?”
Darius nodded. “Are you prepared for what we might have to do?”
“I’ve been on my own for months now, killing my fair share of demons—”
“Low-level demons, hardly anything to brag about, Rai.”
Well, shit... way to cut me off at the knees. “So, do you want to take over this case since I’m obviously an amateur?” I snapped.
Darius sat back in his chair and studied me... the way he used to when I was a kid and I’d felt like he was judging me. “No Rai. This case is your destiny. You will have to rise to the challenge. But when we go to Baal, he will be the most powerful demon you’ve ever seen and faced off with. He was the king of Hell before Lucifer. He will not be easy to break.”
“I’ll learn from your example, and then I’ll get creative,” I said.
Darius smirked, then nodded. “Very well.” He rose and I did the same. “You will need to bring your Champion and I’ll bring mine.”
“How do we get there?”
