Chapter Three

An angel, swanning around the Friday night crowd, observing the dregs of Detroit with the wonder of a young girl coming upon a herd of deer. No different than any other, exquisite of face and form, her whole being shone with everlasting love. Perfect. The type that bards sung about, that weak men worshiped from afar.

What was that line?

??God broke the mold when he made you.?? Cravis??s snort startled a couple of old biddies creaking past him. He leered at them until they waddled away as fast as their pudgy little legs would go.

The great Almighty won??t break a flawless mold. He??ll use it again and again until he??s inspired to create another. Which happens once every thousand years.

This divine clone was a newer addition. Blond females were a whim of the twentieth century. Blond males were the trend of the tenth. Cravis remembered snickering with his brother when the first golden flock descended on Valdamarr to demand that he stop sacrificing the faithful to his pagan deities. Even with all their military trappings, the lofty ??Powers?? looked like pansies. The fair-haired females seemed extra delicate, as though to make their counterparts masculine in comparison.

Whatever they looked like, they were all aloof shells until they impressed someone enough to earn their wings. Then they became arrogant shells. The only interesting ones were the warriors, and this one hadn??t been put together that way. The most she could hope for was a place in the heavenly choirs. What a life.

Angels may be beautiful and pure, but demons were superior in their unique, unpredictable ways. Either terrible or lovely, fascinating with all the flaws they bore with pride. Most were born behind the pearly gates before they fell and became the depraved creatures they were now. They tended to keep their angelic forms but distorted them to create the illusion of individuality.

Only those who??d lived before there were gates to keep out the damned stood apart. They flaunted the pure darkness of the demonic forms they had been cursed with, masking it only when it would serve a purpose beyond vanity, most often for pleasure. He and his brother were among those. Older, wiser, and much more depraved. They hadn??t fallen from grace as much as ditched it. Why stay among the privileged, blessed masses? How tedious, existing for eternity with so many restrictions. When the invitation came to shed the shackles and seek freedom, he and his brother were among the first to take the plunge. They liked being able to question it all, a luxury denied to those of light. To those of darkness, nothing was denied. Nothing but the taste of purity.

Cravis didn??t mind. Purity didn??t taste that good anyway.

The young woman passed through the crowds unseen. Her fingers twitched and he smiled. She wanted to touch them, but that just wasn??t done. He liked to watch the new ones struggle to avoid temptation, become content to savor everything from afar.

??She??s perfect.?? Travis took a step forward.

Cravis put a restraining hand on his brother??s arm before he could barrel through the crowd to intercept the wandering angel. ??She??s too new. Give her a few years and maybe, but now??it??s not happening. We can??t force one of them. It would mean death, and I??m not that bored.??

Scuffing his boots on the sidewalk, Travis jutted out his chin. ??There??s no penalty if they??re willing.??

??She won??t be.?? Cravis shoved his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. A snowflake drifted down and landed on his cheek. He swiped it away and frowned at the sky as more fell. Snow? Already? ??Why would one so new embrace the fall???

Travis grinned and a puff of white air escaped him. ??Look at the way her fingers twitch. More than any I??ve ever seen. She wants to touch, to taste. The forbidden calls to her. Offer it and she??ll accept.??

Cravis watched the girl shy away from a small group of laughing teens holding out their hands to catch the snowflakes. She clutched at the long, white skirts of her peasant style dress. Staring after them with wide eyes, her luscious lips parted.

??I don??t think so,?? he said.

With a shrug, Travis stepped off the curb. ??A wager then. If I??m right, I fuck her first.??

Teeth bared in a broad smile, Cravis followed his brother across the lightly white-coated street. ??Fine. With one concession.??

Travis arched a brow.

??If she resists, even a little, succumbing to your charms???? He met his brother??s eyes. ??I fuck her first. My way.??

Travis shuddered then nodded. ??You??re on.??

Teeth digging into her bottom lip, Fae??s gaze flicked left, then right. What should she do? No one had seen her before, and now there were two, looking right at her.

She should go home and ask the mistress what it meant.

The darkness of the men??s flesh matched none of the humans she??d seen. Like the night given form, pure black, broken only by flashes of white fangs when they smiled. Then suddenly their flesh matched hers. And the fangs disappeared. Only their eyes and hair hadn??t changed.

They stepped off the sidewalk and cut across the street, weaving around large machines that streamed little gray clouds of noxious fumes. The cold white??snow??swirled in a sudden, violent wind, blinding her. Her skin went numb, and she spun around as startled shouts sprang up from the people rushing around her. The snow reminded her of the fabric that had bound her, stealing her senses. She had to get away from it. But where could she go?

Then she spotted the men again. As they approached, she realized they were huge, bigger than even Azrael, who towered over her. She would say they were beautiful, but beautiful things weren??t frightening.

Were they?

Fae didn??t know, didn??t understand??much of anything. Her own hair was the color of the sun??s glorious rays, her eyes a fair match to a clear morning sky, her skin peachy and perfect. But she didn??t think she was beautiful. Those around her were beautiful, with all their different forms and faces. She was tall, with slight curves, but not enough. What she wanted was the curves of the women she??d seen.

The thought startled her. How dare she wish to be other than what she was? She shivered and wondered if it really mattered. The people around her made haste to find shelter from the snow. She should do the same.

??Could you spare us a moment, precious???

The men looked so alike she wondered how one would tell them apart. Until the other spoke. His voice didn??t sound edged on laughter like the first. It was pure and deep, with the low rumble of a beast.

??Wondrous, are they not???

Fae looked at this one and smiled. He reminded her of the one who??d come on her first day, and she hadn??t been afraid of him. ??Oh, yes. I long to be like them.?? Her smile faded a little, and she rubbed her arms as a fierce tremor shook her. ??Is that wrong???

The men exchanged a look. The first one answered her. ??Why, yes. What shall be your penance???

??Penance??? Fae repeated the unfamiliar word. The meaning came to her and she frowned. ??Is there one???

The man??s lips curved as he studied his nails, wet where the snow had melted. ??Naturally.??

Fae fisted her hands in her white robes. Maybe these men had the answers no one else would give her. Like why her thoughts alone could condemn her. And if this penance could save her. ??Shall I be cast aside???

The second man reached out and pried one of her hands loose. ??Does that scare you???

??Yes.?? Fae bit her lip as his callused palm enfolded her long, delicate fingers, warming them. She knew??God, she knew she??d broken the rules. Several in the past few moments. But he??d touched her. Perhaps this man was a Virtue, here to enforce the laws. If he were, he could crush her, easily as a man crushing an ant under his heel. Instead, he lent her his strength. She??d never known kindness like this. ??Can you help me???

Another look passed between the men. Fae didn??t understand it, but she prayed it meant there was hope for her.

??Of course, we can,?? the first said. ??But you must swear to submit to our??judgment.??

??Oh, I do.?? Fae??s eyes were wet. A salty warm wetness contrasting with the cold from the snow. She touched her face, confused again. Tears? Tears were for loss or for happiness. Yet she felt neither, really. ??I????

The second man shrugged off his jacket, then laid it over her shoulders. He encircled her wrist with his fingers and then gently drew her to his side. An unfamiliar sensation rose up her arm and passed through her whole being to settle as a strange heat in the pit of her stomach. His scent rose to her from his jacket, a curious scent, like fresh-cut wood caressed by flames. Another spicy scent drifted over it, but the first stayed with her, somehow more??real.

??Come with us. We??ll get you somewhere warm.?? His tone bothered Fae. He muttered something that sounded like ??and keep you out of trouble.??

Did he feel responsible for her? Azrael had warned her she wouldn??t be trusted?? Perhaps she??d earned herself keepers. Maybe they were stuck with her.

I did this. Only I will pay.

??I won??t be any trouble.?? She held the jacket closed with one hand, then touched his cheek and looked into his dark eyes. ??I will accept my punishment and prove myself so you may be free of me.??

He released her and his jaw went hard.

The first man laced his fingers with hers, his lips curving as she let him pull her close. He used his thumb to dry the tears and cold moisture from her cheeks. She inhaled deeply, absorbing his natural aroma, much like the other man??s, only somehow less intense. No better or worse, just lacking the deep, dark notes.

His smile gave her hope. ??Then as my brother said, come with us. When all has passed you will be?? Redeemed.??

??Fuck!?? Midael squinted at the sheets of snow spilling across the street and swiped some from where it clung to his white suit. From an apartment alcove, he??d gotten his bearings as the storm began, spotting the girl and the demons moments before the snow thickened. He palmed his dagger and used his senses to guide him as he lurched forward, but the wind pressed against him, forcing him back.

It was too late. These demons were old. The only two from the mold before his that had taken the plunge with The Snake. Their power hid her from him. And now that they had her, she would give in to temptation as easily as Eve.

He??d planned to preempt her fall. But it mattered little. Thinking on it, he admitted it was better this way. None would question him when he spilled her blood. As a Fallen, her life was forfeit.

The Powers, the Dominion, the Virtues??all would turn their backs on her.

He could take her life slowly. Make her suffer.

??Enjoy your time with them, little one.?? He smiled as he pressed his lips to his cold blade. ??You will confess each and every one of your sins as I carve your flesh. And you??ll beg for mercy. But you??ll find none from me.??

He shuddered as his dick hardened. Through the ages, he??d remained pure, but this, this was a pleasure he could indulge in.

His blade would do all the things to her body he couldn??t. Thrusting in deep??he groaned, his balls tightening painfully. The things the Fallen could live through??God! It had been too long.

Mine. He pressed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. You??re all mine.