Page 76 of Sacrifice
The first thing he saw was Eve, naked and writhing on the floor. Lucien’s lust for freedom overpowered everything else as he thrust his cock into her over and over. Not sex born of love, but an expression of supremacy.
“That’s a memory to conjure with. You can have that for free,” Lucien drawled.
Michaels recoiled. “Why would she let you?” He saw the ribbons of energy snaking from the rune carved in her chest into his.
“Didn’t you hear?” He pulled a face of mocking condescension. “We are lovers lost in time.”
“What? What’s this fantasy?”
“I made up a story. It was pretty convincing—used all the old gods. Even had myself going for a while. There’s something in her ancestry, a legacy of Ishtar.”
“The star, I know.”
“I couldn’t fucking believe my luck when I realized. Of course, we all know there areNephilim,offspring of the gods, running around. A hundred times removed or whatever the fuck it is, because they’reallowed.”He sneered at the word. “Ratherpoetic to use one to set myself free, don’t you think? One rule for them and another for everyone else. Fuck them.”
He tossed Michaels’ body aside, who came back to himself as he hit the ground.
“I showed her she was special, and she believed my story like that.” He snapped his fingers. “But she didn’t know why,” Lucien spat. “She wanted it to be true. It was easy.”
Michaels roared with rage and rushed at Lucien, pushing up from the ground with righteous fury. He slammed into Lucien and the air between them burst with fire. “You cannot exploit them to meet your own ends. It’s our prime directive. Our purpose on earth is to protect, not destroy. She’s one of the meek, whatever her ancestry.”
Lucien projected a wave of energy like a detonation to blast Michaels away. Michaels leaned in to fight against it, clawing his way through the viscous air to crawl his way back.
“I can’t let you be free, Lucien,” he croaked. The effort of battle was immense, depleting even Michaels’ vast reserves. He dug deep. If he could touch him, there was a chance he could cast his own binding. Lucien was strong, stronger than he’d been before the Celestial Council had put their shackles on him. Taking Lucien down could mean the end of them both.
Michaels focused his aura, and it flared brightly with an intensity that made Lucien cower. The dark angel tried to repel him, but his shields weakened under the furious attack, and Michaels broke through. Forcing his way into Lucien’s consciousness.
He saw Eve again then, collapsed on the wooden floor. Blood pooled around her. Her ravaged body twisted by pain. She lay still.
“Reaver!” Micheals yelled, incensed by what he saw, “I can’t let you get away with this.” He gripped at the lifelines he felt inside Lucien tore at them. Even from inside his mind, Michealsfelt Lucien stumble. Indecision washed over the internal landscape. Fear. Fury. Determination.
Michaels hit out again, severing a vital connection. If he kept this up he could weaken him. Lucien wasn’t invincible. Michaels could feel it.
“How long with this take you, Angel?” Lucien drawled. He wasn’t laughing anymore, but the insolence remained.
“As long as it takes. I’ll never give up.”
“How much time do you think she has?” Lucien murmured.
Michaels faltered. “Time?”
The ravaged body was crumpled and small, but the tiniest of movements lifted her chest. “Still alive,” Michaels whispered.
“Still alive.” A sigh of satisfaction washed through Lucien’s thoughts. “You can stay here, picking pieces off me. You never know, it might work. Or go to save her, your wounded dove. Your choice.”
Michaels froze. He was making headway, but who knew how long it would take to bring Lucien under control, if he could manage it at all? The girl lived. Every instinct told him to go to her. Every written and unwritten law alike said it was his duty to save her. Michaels seethed at the thought of letting Lucien go. He had no choice.
“This isn’t over,” Michaels said and snapped out of Lucien’s consciousness.
Forty
Eve layprone on the floor, just as Lucien’s memory had shown him. Multicolored beams of light played across her naked body, refracting in the prism that hung above her. Lucien had re-constructed an ancient ritual, using the power of the sun. Ribbons of blood ran from her chest to her groin and around her torso to the wooden floor, shrouding her in a halo of scarlet.
Michaels staggered. In the flesh, the scene was otherworldly. She was more beautiful, and the damage to her more horrific, than he had imagined. Eve’s unconscious body lay still and Michaels fell to his knees by her side to touch the pale skin of her hand.
“No.” The word came out in a rasp that grated his throat. It was true – the reaver had used her as the conduit. Lucien had defiled her, abused her. Was he too late? Rage roiled inside him, searching for a release. Blue flames licked at the tips of his fingers and around his hands.
Lucien had made her believe it was worth sacrificing herself to set him free.
