Duncan's Descent (8 page)

She stared at him, her mouth agape, her eyes so wide she looked cartoonish.

“Now hear me out when I say you're not going back to the upper realm. You're not going to let those assholes make you feel less than whole because you clearly don't belong up there. You belong in the lower realm with me.”

Hell, the longer he talked, the more nervous he felt. And Duncan Sinclair, demon at large, only felt nervous when confronting his father or The Pit. The Pit…
Shit.
He had totally forgotten about his own task to find out who continued to spy for the angels in the lower realm. But as he absorbed Sapphira's shock, he realized she couldn't possibly know. And even if she did, taking advantage of her now would just be wrong…
Oh fuck.
Had he really just experienced a twinge of conscience? It
had
to be love. That or he was truly losing his mind.

“You love me?” she squeaked.

“Did I stutter?” he muttered, annoyed that his tough image would take a beating after this. Falling in love with an angel? He might as well have “pussy-whipped” tattooed to his forehead. Yet the joy pulsing from Sapphira only made him happier, and he knew he'd lost it.

Sapphira hugged him tight, and then her lips were on his and reason faded under the build-up of lust consuming him. Her tongue thrust between his lips, and she shoved her hand between them and down his pants, curling her fingers around his cock. Duncan sighed in her mouth, lost in her touch. To hell with everyone else. He'd never felt so damned happy before, and he didn't intend to give her up. But between one breath and the next, she was gone.

“Release her, demon.” Uriel, that cursed, holier-than-thou shithead, had the gall to stand between them. He held Sapphira back by the arm and glared at Duncan with honest rage.

“What
the fuck
are you doing?” Duncan had had enough. They were no longer in the upper realm. And bargain or no bargain, Duncan was going to land Uriel between realms, right into forever-death's waiting arms…

“Not this time, young one,” a husky voice intruded, and Duncan was thrown back hard enough to nearly break his skull when he landed. The brick wall that added so much authenticity and charm to his megabucks penthouse made for a lousy landing. His head bounced off the brick, making him see double. After he hit, he landed awkwardly on the floor, at an angle that popped his knee with sweat-breaking pain. Someone lifted him again and threw him against an opposite wall with as much force as the first throw. Blood ran down his eyes, blinding him, and he prayed he hadn't just ruined his Gustave Doré
Inferno 34
. Son a bitch, but that damned engraver's wood block had cost him a fortune.

He dimly heard, “Mother, don't you dare! If you kill him, I'll never talk to you again for
the rest of my eternal life
.”

Before “Mother” could answer, a wall of windows shattered and glass fragments filled the room. Dragon roar merged with demon anger, and in seconds his potential defeat changed into a shot at victory.

Sucking up the pain, Duncan swayed on his good leg and steadied with the help of… “Eve?”

His vision wavered, and then he was hoisted off his feet by a fire-breathing dragon, Eve's new husband, Ranton. The dragon stood in human form, his giant wings flexing, and breaking every damned piece of glass within a fifteen-foot range.

“Nice place, Duncan,” Ranton grumbled. “But your visitors don't seem to go with the décor.”

Eve blazed with blue fire, and Duncan deliberately knocked her off balance, afraid she might hit Sapphira, who continued to struggle against Uriel and her mother for freedom. In doing so, Duncan's knee hit one of Ranton's rock-hard legs, and he sucked in a breath as his vision blanked and pain took hold of him.

“No, don't hit…” He tried to stay focused, but he couldn't think around the throbbing in his knee and the agony vibrating through his head. Shouts and ethereal blaze erupted around him. “Sapphira,” he slurred before losing consciousness.

Chapter Six

After two days spent locked up in Charmeine's private dwelling in the second sphere, Sapphira felt ready to scale the walls. She constantly worried about Duncan. He hadn't looked at all well when she'd been forced to leave him, and fear that his body might have been beyond salvaging haunted her. Yes, she loved the spirit within her demon. The way he made her laugh, took pride in his work, and accepted who he was combined to draw her to a strong individual. No, losing him didn't bear consideration. And she couldn't deny being fond of his outward trappings. Duncan was hot, and that body of his...

God willing, he was okay. What an absolute mess. Her mother, Uriel, Duncan wounded, his penthouse destroyed. All of which led Sapphira to thoughts of the strangers who'd entered the fray. That woman and…

An honest-to-God dragon.
For years Sapphira had studied them, reading as much as she could about the dragons, blood elves and mysterious havoc who also dwelled in the lower realm. Of the three races, only the dragons ever left their realm. But she'd never anticipated seeing one. They rarely frequented the Ordinary, or so she'd been told.

To have seen the giant male in his black scales and surprisingly human form would have been momentous had she not been so concerned for Duncan's welfare. Fretting for his life, she'd missed most of what the dragon and the female had said. Hell, he might have breathed fire and she wouldn't have noticed, too concerned with Duncan. A total waste of an opportunity, thanks to her mother and Uriel.

Moping, she flopped into the white lounge chair facing the window, through which a harmonizing singing choir of angels could be both seen and heard. Their beatific chanting gave her a headache, and Sapphira craved the scent of stale beer, greasy fries, and spicy demon more than she would ever have thought possible.

Are you happy up there?
Duncan had asked. And she'd answered honestly. No, she wasn't. As hard as she'd worked to belong, as much as she wanted to make her mother proud, Sapphira finally admitted to herself that life in the upper realm was slowly destroying her. She couldn't do it anymore, not after seeing what her life could truly be like. Swaying souls to keep balance, a variety of vices to occupy her time, and most importantly, love and laughter with a demon who loved her. True love, she'd always been taught, was blind, and a thing to be treasured. Charmeine chose that moment to throw the locked doors open and enter in a flap of billowing white robes and flying braids. “Sapphira, I won't have it. No angel of mine is going to dally with a demon. It's not seemly, but more, it's not safe. This sulking has got to end.”

Sapphira glared at her mother, teetering on real dislike. Had Charmeine ever listened to what Sapphira wanted? Or had she been too busy ordering her daughter around? Be this, do that, make me proud.
Well, how about making me proud? How about loving me for who I am, not who you want me to be?
She would have spoken until she noticed Uriel behind her mother, watching them both with keen attention.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Sapphira. Really.” Charmeine looked on the verge of fainting, and Sapphira sneered.

“Typical. I've tried, Mother, I really have. But I just don't care how embarrassing I am to you anymore. I can't be you. I'm not a good angel. And I'm definitely not a Virtue.”

“You got that right,” Uriel muttered, earning frowns from both Sapphira and Charmeine.

“I'm not embarrassed.” Charmeine sighed. “Well, maybe I am. But Sapphira… I didn't want to tell you this, because you've been through so much. But your demon isn't who you think he is.”

Sapphira would have snapped back, when she noticed the discomfort and strain bracketing Charmeine's eyes. A sixth sense told her that her mother was concerned more about something Sapphira didn't know than that Sapphira had slept with someone so unsuitable.

“He's your brother.”

“What?” Sapphira looked to Uriel for clarification, but he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Who's my brother?”

“Duncan.” Charmeine wept, her sobs growing louder as she explained. “Your father wasn't an Ethereal, Sapphira. He was a human. A human possessed by Asael.”

Sapphira stared at her mother, completely mystified. “Are you kidding me?”

“I wish by all that's holy I was.” Charmeine collapsed on the ground, crying so hard she shuddered.

“You've spent my entire life demeaning humans. Warning me away from them.” With an insight that surprised her, Sapphira realized what Charmeine said might have a ring of truth. If the woman truly loved Sapphira, she might have been trying to spare Sapphira from making the same mistakes she'd made. “So my father was a human.”

“No, a demon.”

“A demon? But I'm an angel.” None of this made sense. If Sapphira had in fact been created by a demon and an angel, she would have known. Demons were very possessive of their young, as they had so few. And she'd never heard of a demon giving up a child, unless he didn't know. “Did he know about me?”

“He,” Charmeine paused to catch her breath, and she stared at the floor in shame, away from her daughter. “He said he did.”

Again, Sapphira glanced at Uriel, but he looked bored by it all. “My father's Asael?” Duncan's father's name was Asael. Charmeine said… “Oh mother in heaven,
Duncan's my brother?
” Sapphira felt lightheaded and bent her head to her knees. Incest, in all realms, was particularly frowned upon. And it made her love for Duncan into something dirty, which started the tears in her eyes she'd been trying so hard to hold back.

“Okay, this has gone far enough.” Uriel huffed with disgust and took a step closer. But before he could say anything more, the chanting outside the window collapsed into terrified shrieks and prayers for salvation.

A multitude of demons filled the area outside Charmeine's window, and then Duncan suddenly appeared directly before Sapphira. He took one look at her face and cursed. He turned to Uriel and blasted him with a blue ball of demonic flame so fierce it threw Uriel off his feet.

Sapphira cried even harder when Duncan lifted her into his arms and hugged her, because she still loved him, and now that love was tainted, wrong. Yet she couldn't help herself.

“What did they do to you, sweet?”

Uriel muttered under his breath as he stood, glaring at Duncan with righteous indignation. Charmeine continued to weep on the floor, uncaring of the disturbance. But when two dragons, one green and one black, tore through the white brick of Charmeine's walls, she finally stirred.

“Dragons? In the upper realm?”

“And demons, Charmeine, let's not forget them,” Uriel said on a huff.

A shrill cry echoed in the air, and everyone froze as the upper realm declared war on the intruders in their midst. Through the break in the wall, Sapphira could see angels and archangels pouring from the clouds. Masses of winged warriors from the third sphere, and a few from the second sphere, flocked around the foreign demons desecrating their realm. Uriel cocked his head and held up a hand, and the loud yelling around them ceased.

“A battle, then, for
an angel
?” he asked, his smirk as unwelcome as his presence.

“For Sapphira, yes. She's mine.” Duncan stated in no uncertain terms. The dragons with him snorted, and Sapphira stared in awe at the creatures in their natural forms. At least twenty feet in height, the two mighty beasts towered over everyone present, and their respective shiny green and black scales shimmered under the holy light in her mother's home. The demons with Duncan, however, waited outside, probably shielding the goings-on in here from outside interference.

“You're not hurt,” she said, wanting to hear that he felt as good as he looked. Perfect, not a scratch or bruise showing.

“I'm fine. But Uriel and your mother have about three seconds before they find damnation at its finest.”

“She's your sister,” Charmeine screamed and launched herself at him.

The large green dragon stepped forward, however, to block the Virtue, and Charmeine found herself battling sharp scales instead.

“Don't hurt her, Teban, she's not herself,” Uriel warned the dragon when it looked to eat Charmeine. The creature rumbled, but Uriel shook his head. “She's no angel, but a Virtue. And the upper realm won't forgive her death so easily.”

“Don't, Duncan,” Sapphira pleaded, torn between wanting to go with him and doing the right thing. And Charmeine, as irritating as the woman could be, was, after all, her mother.

“Fine. But we're leaving.” He pulled her with him and scowled when she refused to budge. “What now?”

“I can't.” She sniffed and lowered her voice. “Didn't you hear what she said? I'm your sister. Half-sister,” she amended, shame coloring her tone.

To her surprise, Duncan chuckled and mumbled something over his shoulder that had the black dragon grumbling with what might have been laughter. “My father has a way with words, angel. And he's no more your father than Uriel's my brother.”

The distaste on Uriel's face spoke volumes, and the heavy burden on Sapphira's heart lifted.

“Truly?”

“Truly. Your father, a horse trader from Belize, died fifteen years ago and is doing time below. I'll even take you to meet him if you want.” Duncan shook his head and made a face. “Give me a break, baby. I'm a demon, but I'm not a freak. Doing my own sister? Disgusting.”

Sapphira laughed, finally free from worry. She grabbed Duncan and readied to plant one hell of a kiss on his lips when Uriel had to go and ruin the mood.

“A word, if I may?” Uriel approached them, oblivious to the snarling dragons behind Duncan.

“What now?”

“You cannot take an angel from the upper realm. Even you know such an action is forbidden.”

Duncan frowned but didn't disagree.

“Duncan?”

He ignored Sapphira. “She's mine,” he said again, and the thrill of his possession worked both ways. As much as she was his, he was hers too.

“And do you love her?”

“I don't owe you any explanations. Or you,” he said scornfully to her protesting mother, and when Sapphira would have protested, he shoved her behind him, into the claw of the massive black dragon standing with him. “You took Sapphira, a rare and treasured nephilim, and tried to mold her into angel decency? And you call yourself a Virtue, an angel of harmony?”

Charmeine sniffed and stood, her tears still very real on her face. But as she looked at Sapphira, the Virtue faded into the picture of a caring mother saddened by the distance from her daughter. “I loved too much. I sinned with a human, and I repented. I tried so very hard to be a good mother, Sapphira. But I couldn't let you go.” She ignored Duncan, her attention solely on Sapphira. “I'm so sorry, Sapphira, if I've hurt you. I didn't let myself think you could be anywhere but here, in this realm with me. That you could be anything else but mine.”

Sapphira wanted to forgive her mother, but the knowledge that her mother had known all along what she was and hadn't let her be herself hurt. “You knew I was different, that I tried so hard to please you. But you couldn't accept me for myself.” Sapphira looked at Duncan. “The nephilim are destined to occupy the lower realm, aren't they?”

He shrugged, his gaze shuttered. “Most do, and some stay in the Ordinary. But there have been the occasional nephilim who live up here. It's really up to you, Sapphira.”

“And what if she decides to stay here?” Uriel asked, his voice surprisingly soft. “Would you stay here with her? Would you Ascend?”

The room stilled as everyone waited on Duncan's response.

To Sapphira's surprise, Raphael and Seir simply appeared behind the black dragon. They nodded at her but remained silent, eyeing Duncan. Waiting for Duncan's answer, apparently.

“My life is with Sapphira. And if that means I have to live in the damned upper realm, so be it,” Duncan snarled, but his gaze gentled on her. “I'm a demon. I lie. I cheat. I take souls and guide them to hell. I enjoy sex, gambling and the occasional skin flick.”

Her eyes widened. She'd yet to see one of those.

“But my love isn't selfish. And my joy isn't fake. I love you, Sapphira. You please me. And for you I'd Ascend.” He sighed mournfully and turned to the dragons. “Teban, tell James. He'll understand.” The green dragon nodded. “And Ranton,” Duncan paused in his address to the black dragon. “Tell Asael I'll see him soon.” He winced. “And I'll explain it as best I can.”

Ranton surprised Sapphira by morphing into a giant human with expansive black wings, and she recognized him as the same dragon who had joined them in Duncan's penthouse. His marbled green eyes glittered with amusement. “I'm not telling your father jack. You tell him when you see him next. Eve's going to have my ass as it is for letting you
fall
for an angel.”

Sapphira couldn't believe this was happening. Too much, too fast. Not long ago, she'd been convinced Duncan was her brother and that her father was a demon. Now her father was dead and spending an eternity below, she was in fact a nephilim, which explained her inclination for the darker aspects of life, and Duncan was pledging to live in heaven with her?

Raphael and Seir grinned, high-fived one another, and winked at Sapphira before fading away. But before she could question what they'd been doing at Charmeine's, Uriel spoke.

“I'll accept your declaration whenever you feel like giving it,” Uriel said without sounding pleased about it, which made her wonder. He'd been after Duncan's Ascension for a long time. Shouldn't Uriel have been shouting with glee? Instead he stared at her, a shine of sadness in his gaze.

Charmeine was no help. She knelt on the floor and prayed for forgiveness, from God, Sapphira, and heaven itself.