Angel of Retribution Ch. 00-05

Seth and Zak had stood there with strange expressions on their faces, and Remien realized belatedly what he and Devon must've looked like to them. Devon pressed up to his ass holding him, Remi bent over... he straightened up with an angry growl, snarling at them, "Piss off. I don't swing that way."

Concentrate, Fyre—Lucien chastised bringing him back to the present situation.

Remien wasn't the only one reminiscing about Devon. He saw Seth's memories of Devon bringing him toys and making him ice cream sundaes; of sharing a Gruesh female with Zak, both taking turns at sucking at her four breasts as Devon fucked her from behind and Zak impaled her from the front. Rowie's memory had him gasping in shock. He saw her and Annie taking turns kissing him. Devon looked no more than Seth's age, so Remi surmised that must've happened almost ten years ago. Still, he couldn't help the twinge of jealousy he felt. Rowie had Kissed Devon. Had she kissed Mister Blond and Beautiful as well, he thought slanting a suspicious glance at Lucien? Had she made out with every fucking Alpha 7 Angel? Was he only the next in line for her?

They arrived at Megdoluc even as he pondered all these questions. He couldn't believe he was actually feeling... self-doubt? Good Lord.

Nonetheless, when the others teleported down to the hangar, he gripped Rowie's arm before she jumped into her Viper.

Her bottomless eyes searched his. "Rowie, do you love me?"

She gasped. Her cheeks turned bright pink and she looked away, biting her bottom lip. "Rem... of course I do...I"

He shook her, and then pulled her up to his nose. "Baby, do you love me?"

Her eyes darted to his, tears making them glitter. "Yes, Remien Fyre. I love you."

He took her mouth then, kissing her with a hunger that threatened to devour him. God help him. He needed to claim her again. Fuck her until...

"Hey, you two," Seth interrupted, "We've got to save Devon. Remember?"

Seth's angry words made them both wince. For once, he wouldn't argue with his annoying Alpha Angel brother... but he did flip him the finger making the weretiger snarl. He so loved riling him.

They dropped through the dense layer of clouds choking the small planet, still, Remien couldn't see anything below. He wrapped his power tighter around Lucien's and followed his second in command as he pinpointed an area below and began to push the winds and ash back. They floated down into a bubble they cleared, five hundred miles wide, Lucien and Seth taking on the brunt of the tempest. Nonetheless, the air still smelled fowl when Remien opened the top of his Viper and jumped out.

He took in the landscape. Ice and ash as far as the eye could see, the few trees that remained were nothing more than blackened twisted figures, their branches reaching up to the blood and ash colored skies as if in supplication. Large boulders littered the bare frozen ground, and farther away were hills. Far off, bordering the horizon, a volcano soared up into the stratosphere, blackened clouds covering the fire-spewing monster half way up. The glow of the erupting super volcano made the clouds look as though they were on fire.

Mist came from his mouth when he exhaled and the ice beneath his boots sizzled from the heat flowing from him. He pulled back his heat, lest he find himself swimming in a dirty hole of melted ice.

A thundering sound had him looking up to the sky. Black-winged Seraphians, otherwise known as death angels or reapers. They circled over them.

"Fuck," Zak exclaimed. "We're too late."

"What's going on?" Angel exclaimed.

His eyes narrowed when he saw how tight Lucien held her. Not right.

"Reapers," Lucien answered her, letting his finger trace the curve of her cheek. His eyes dropped down to her lips, his thumb running the trembling length of that plump pink mouth.

For a moment, Remien got the feeling Lucien was going to kiss the commander's girl. No-way. Dev isn't dead yet. "Alright," Remi hissed, throwing his arms out wide as he began to stomp away before he slugged Lucien, "enough wasting time."

Behind him, he heard them all scrambling to get out of the way. Remien grinned as fire began pouring out of his body. His back tingled, his dragon's wings aching to be set free. He ripped his shirt off with a flourish, shaking out his red hair with a proud toss of his head. Fingers going to the buckle of his belt, he turned with a grin and shucked his pants down his legs. Angel's eyes bulged as she looked at him, her face turning crimson when she gaped at his cock. She turned slowly to Rowie, making Remien almost want to laugh. Devon was beautiful, but he didn't have a fancy cock like Remien Fyre.

When he looked at his mate, Rowie was practically drooling with lust for him.

His fire exploded, blue-white and the beast within Remi burst free with a deafening roar, wanting some of that admiration for him also. Remien kept a tight rein on his link with the others. While in beast form, it was so easy to let the wildness take over and forget he was also human.

Still, he allowed his beast to revel in its magnificence. Wings spread out wide, head turned up, a column of fire shot toward the heavens with his ground-shaking roar. He laughed after that, feeling their fear of him. "Feel free to piss in your pants," he snarled.

"Fucking show-off," Seth murmured, rolling his eyes.

The dragon snorted at the little weretigri, his eyes focusing on the other human next to him, Zak, the golden dragon. "Zak, shift," Remien growled.

Zak shrank back, to the beast's dismay, and shook his head, eyes wide with terror. "Damn-it, Rem. You know I can't."

The dragon snorted, a little puff of smoke curling up from his nostrils. His loss. "What about you, kitty-cat?"

Angel gaped. "I-it can talk?"

Seth rolled his eyes, "Unfortunately yes."

He sauntered forward, whipping his shirt off as well. They watched him tear everything off, exposing a lean, muscled body. The were broke into a run and transformed into an enormous white tiger midstride.

When he was almost out of sight, the dragon turned, catching the scent of his mate. A deep, growling purr vibrated in his chest. The slight breeze had tendrils of curls streaming across her neck and chest. Her sweet lips parted in awe, black eyes shimmering up at him. Rowie.

The dragon dipped his head to her, wanting nothing more than to slither his forked tongue out to taste her. Would she fear him if he tried that?

Maybe some other time.

She placed her hand on his snout, and stroked him. "You better take of yourself," she warned with a wobbly voice.

"You won't get rid of me so easily, my love." He nuzzled her, then, with a swoop of his wings, rose into the sky.

The smell of feces in the air made the dragon want to gag.

"I hope this foul stench doesn't cling to me. Why the fuck am I here?"

Devon.

"Ah, yes," he sighed feeling sadness fill his heart. Down below he spotted a black and white striped creature running at an incredibly fast pace. He swooped lower to investigate, licking his snout in anticipation of a snack.

Just try it, asshole—he heard the tiger snarl into his mind.

"Seth?" The image of the white-haired whelp filled his memory, making him smile. He swooped lower, his wings pushing his body through the air effortlessly. "I'm catching up, kitty-cat."

Can you see anything from up there?

The dragon lifted his head. "Just a couple of volcanoes spewing up a helluva lot of ash and fire." He squinted, the acrid air making his sensitive dragon's eyes sting. There was a strange back cloud moving toward him much faster than the rest. It roiled like a swarm of... "I think we're going to have some company," he growled, but Seth's roar of fury had him looking down to see the white tiger rolling around the ground with hundreds of devils attacking him.

Oopsie. He looked back up to see what he'd thought was a cloud was nothing more than a half legion of devils rushing at him. Their wings beat frantically, long tails whipping behind them, as their grins grew wider, tongues lolling out, eyes wide with killing lust.

The dragon opened his jaws and let out a stream of white fire. They only laughed in amusement seconds before they swarmed him. Swords clanged against his scales and sharp teeth tried to rip into him. Now it was the dragon's turn to be amused. His scales were harder than diamonds. Not even the Divine One himself could cut a hole into him.

The dragon bellowed out a laugh until he felt them piling up on top of him—weighing him down.

Oopsie—the dragon thought again as his body plummeted from the overwhelming load. He crashed to the ground with a grunt.

"Look out, you big oaf," the white tiger snarled. "You almost squashed me."

The dragon rolled away, trying to crush as many devils as he could. "Sorry, kitty-cat. The kiddies just got carried away with the piggy-back ride."

He used his tail to send a couple hundred of them flying in the air, and squished a few with his talons. The white tiger also tore a few up with his big jaws. Again, the dragon rolled, careful not to squash his cuddly kitty.

When he'd finally cleared an area around them, he stood snarling at the devils. They only laughed and crouched, coming closer, some looking at the vulnerable spot on his throat with special interest.

Damn. "I got a bad feeling about this, kitty-cat."

"Shut up. Don't even think that, Fyre."

Fire? The dragon looked over at the white tiger, but he was gone. In his place stood a naked boy with a sword that glowed like blue fire. He looked like an angel. Seth? Ah yes, Sethaliel... he was an archangel... like Devon.

Devon.

Remien gasped, remembering once more who he was, and their mission. The devils pounced upon him again, this time going for his throat.

Rowie heard Remien's roar and stopped to look up at the sky. Red-black clouds roiled above and she could hear the distant sound of the wind blowing over the bubble they'd created. She shivered, feeling the urge to link to her lover, but feared distracting him if he was fighting.

"Oh, God... keep my baby safe," she whispered on a choked sob, closing her eyes for a second.

"Sister."

Rafael's voice held a note of terror, making her pop her eyes open again. Her brothers were looking up at the canyon walls surrounding them. When Rowie followed their gaze, she gasped at the sight of a swarm of devils crawling down the sides of the canyon like cockroaches. They broke into a run, but it was no use. All too soon, they were surrounded.

Rowie drew out her sword with a gulp. She'd never been able to beat more than ten devils in her training. More than a thousand surrounded them now.

"Raguel, teleport away now." Gabriel ordered.

"Don't call me Raguel. I hate that name," she argued, her eyes never leaving the terrifying visages of the creatures closing in on them.

"Please, baby-sister," Rafael pleaded.

"And leave you two oafs to die alone? Don't think so."

"They can't kill us, Rowie. They'll tear us to pieces until they grow bored and then leave. We'll regenerate."

"Unless they destroy your heart. Nice try, buddy."

"Then think of your boyfriend. What will it do to him if you die?"

Her lip trembled, tears flowing down her cheeks. Now why did Rafe have to go and mention that insufferable red dragon?

"He's a pain in my ass," she tried to say over the lump in her throat.

Gabriel snorted. "Did he fuck you there too?"

Rowie almost laughed, "Geez, Gabe."

"He loves you, Row. God, the man practically swoons every time he looks at you."

Rowie laughed, even as more tears spilled down her cheeks. What would that conceited prick think of her brother for saying such a thing. Imagine? Remien Fyre swooning?

Two devils swooped down at her. She beheaded both with a swing of her sword. Three more jumped at her. Next to her, she heard her brothers engaging in battle as well. Blood began to flow.

Rowie fought for her life, the love she felt for Remien pushing her to try to survive. Beneath her feet, the pile of dead devils grew. Heads, arms, legs, and tails, splashes of black, maggot-filled blood squished beneath her boots. The creatures hissed at her, their claws tearing at her flesh, tails whipping at her body to open up bleeding gashes.

Her head was spinning. How many had she killed? Ten? Twenty? Lucien and Seth would be proud, but there were more; waiting their turn to rip at her. Rowie fell to her knees. Claws ripped the side of her face, her throat. She began choking on her own blood. Still, she swung her sword in sweeping arches, taking down five more. Twenty replaced them. Her clothes were torn, her torso bitten and clawed. The pain was intense.

God, Remi. Forgive me, baby. I love you.

The sound of his roar seemed to answer her far away.

The devils' sharp fangs ripped into his throat even though he did his best to tear them away. They just kept coming back. Sethaliel swung his heavenly sword, and decimated the devils where they stood. He hacked a path to the dragon and shredded the annoying little beasts biting into his throat.

To the dragon's amazement, the devils suddenly backed away, then scattered, disappearing almost as fast as they'd appeared.

Seth was drenched in black blood and gore, panting. "Are you okay?"

His hand upon Remien's snout had the dragon looking curiously at him. The weretiger seemed genuinely concerned.

"It's just a scratch, kiddo. I'll live." Then he smiled, showing a mouth full of fangs, "But look at you, flashin' all that mojo 'round."

"Shhh." The were frowned, turning his head.

Luke,—Zak's voice exclaimed in their thoughts—he's gone. A swarm of devils took him.

"Where's Angel?" Seth said.

I don't know. I just sense her somewhere out over the frozen ocean. That's where I feel Lucien's presence too. There's a swarm of reaper's headed over there. Ashriel flew close to where I'm standing, but he didn't say anything. He just circled and then flew off.

"Ashriel?" Sethaliel slapped his hand over his face, smearing more black blood over it.

"What is an Ashriel?" the dragon asked, cocking his horned head to the side.

"Who, not what," Seth answered, looking up at him. "Ashriel is the highest ranking high priest of the reapers... the youngest and most brutal of their killers. An angel of retribution, Remien. He shows no mercy. Devon is as good as dead if Ashriel finds him." Seth looked back over his shoulder. "And something's not right. Something happened to make all those devils scatter."

The dragon shivered. He felt a soft voice whisper. Closing his eyes, he saw a beautiful woman lying in a pool of ever-growing blood. I love you.

Rowie. His Rowie. He roared in rage, his wings snapping open to pull him back into the sky. He opened his mouth, remembering the taste of her blood, letting her essence draw him. Again he roared, his dragon's maw trying to form the sound of her name. His nostrils flared, breathing in her scent. She was so far away. The dragon beat his wings faster, the terrain below him blurring from his speed.

Of all the ways she'd visualized her demise, she never pictured herself like this. Rowie lay on the cold ash-covered iced, her body convulsing pathetically as her life's blood spewed forth in torrents.

Above her, the sky roiled with dark clouds and a few devils circled, screeching their rage before flying away.

Everything grew dimmer, her heartbeat slowed, her life slowly came to an end. How she would have loved to see Remien's face once more... tell him she loved him... felt his sweet lips on hers one last time, tasting his kiss... his blood.

"Remi," she sighed, wanting that to be the last sound she uttered before her essence was permanently released from her body. Already, she knew she wouldn't transcend. She was too attached to the ones she loved on this plane of existence. Her soul would remain chained to their side until they too were released to accompany her back to the Divine One.

A warm sensation soothed her throat, a burst of flavor bathing her tongue. Rowie swallowed. Delicious. The taste was so delicious. Light exploded before her eyes, too bright, painful. She found the strength to grip the source of the fluid spilling into her mouth and drank deeply.

"Rafe, she won't stop. Help me," a masculine voice pleaded.

A pair of strong hands gripped and pulled her away from the solid body thrashing against her.

Rowie blinked, her vision becoming clearer. Gabriel sat before her, his torn shirt open revealing a gash over his heart. Poor baby looked so pale and drawn, his jet-black curls streaming across his face.

Then the heat began, making her gasp. Her body felt as if it had ignited in flames, making her scream and writhe on the ground. She let her power bloom out, trying to self-heal whatever was happening to her, but the excruciating pain continued. Shrieking, she tore what remained of her clothing, rolling over the cold ice, her arms and legs flailing, until the sensation ebbed and finally faded.

Rowie remained staring up at the sky wide-eyed. Something was wrong. She blinked, looking from side to side. There was nothing but silence... No. Not silence. She heard the sound of the ice, creaking and crinkling around her; the sound of the wind raging miles overhead; the sound of molten fire burning deep within the crust of the planet. She also smelled the acrid scent of the planet's atmosphere; the scent of the two vampires hiding in the niche ten paces away from her. Vampires. Rowie took in a gulp of air and whimpered. She heard all these things, but she could not hear... or feel her heart.

Oh, God. What did Gabe and Rafe do?

The taste of her essence rolled over his tongue and palate. The image of her creamy skin covered with her blood had his wings beating faster. The dragon's own blood boiled with killing rage, fire spewing from his snout when he snarled. He shook his head, to extinguish the flames—it kept him from following her scent, but when he'd tamped down his fire, his heart nearly froze in his chest. Her essence was gone now. He still smelled her blood, but he could no longer feel the vibration of her life force. It was echoing as if...

He roared, his entire body igniting. Confusion scrambled his mind, choked the air from his lungs, terror was like a lance through his heart. If she was dead, he'd destroy the entire planet and every living thing on it. The dragon would show no mercy.

Desperation clawed at his insides as he flew in circles, trying to find her. He skimmed over a frozen ocean, zigzagged through the ancient ruins of a city and over the blackened stumps of a forest burned by volcanic ash centuries ago. Again he roared, long and loud, despair threatening to consume his very soul.

Circling around once again, he spotted the white tiger running with a blonde woman on his back. Ignoring them, he swept toward some mountains and swooped low into a canyon created by a river that had once-upon-a-time dug through here on its way to the sea. The scent of her blood grew stronger, until a crimson stain beckoned him to land.

Enormous talons crunched over the torn remains of devils, blood, and gore. Some limbs still twitched, but the scent of sweet red blood drew him. In his mind, he remembered her laughter, the sound of her voice as she argued with him. Memories came tumbling back... Rowie always slapped him, called him asshole, conceited prick... and yet her heart thrummed, the scent of her arousal teased him with the promise of passion. The memory of her ruby lips wrapped around his aching prick, of thrusting into her hot, tight sheath until he lost himself in the agony of release.