Eternal Rider - Larissa Ione [43]
“Cara—”
“Tell me! I’m still on the fence about how much of this to believe, so I need some answers, and I need them now.”
His feathers ruffled at her command, and okay, if she wanted it, she was going to get it, uncensored and uncut.
“Yes. Those people died because you were in danger. The B&B was engulfed in infernal fire.” Which was forbidden to use in the human realm, but no one was going to police Pestilence. “Spirits straight out of hell hunted down every human within range of the heat and burned them alive while sucking the souls out of their bodies. They would have been seared from the inside out. It’s a fucking hellish way to die, and worse, their souls are now trapped in hell with no hope of ever getting to Heaven.” Her sea-water eyes teared up, and although he had the oddest urge to try to comfort her, he went in a direction he was far more comfortable with; drill sergeant. “Listen up, human. It sucks that you got caught up in this, but you did, and you’re here. There’s a lot at stake, and you’re going to need to do some serious toughening up if you want to survive. A lot of people are going to die before this is over, so dry the tears and deal. Right now you’re the most important human on the planet, so act like it.”
“You bastard,” she rasped.
“Yes, I’m a bastard. Literally. And you are the recipient of Sestiel’s agimortus.” He closed the distance between them in two strides and tore open her pajama top, flinging buttons everywhere. Cara shrieked and tried to get away, but he caught her with one hand around the back of her neck. He jabbed his finger into her chest, over the symbol there, ignoring the way it seared his skin and watered down his muscles. “This is an agimortus. This is something that only a fallen angel is strong enough to bear.”
“Let go, you perv.”
Not happening. Not until he’d drilled his point home. “Think about what I’ve just said, Cara. Only fallen angels are supposed to be marked with this, and all you can think about is your exposed hooters?” And what nice hooters they were. It took every ounce of military conditioning Ares had not to stare. He was a bastard, but he wasn’t a sicko who got off on scaring women.
Cara shoved at his shoulders. “Get your hands off me, and I’ll ask the damned question you want me to ask.”
Stepping back, he watched with amusement as she yanked the shirt back together, the little sheep rippling angrily on the cotton candy flannel. “Go ahead. Ask. Prove you’ve got some brains in that pretty little head.”
“Jerk,” she spat. “I’ll play your game. So tell me, if only fallen angels can have this agimorty thing, why do I have it?”
Smart cookie. He’d have smiled if the answer wasn’t so dire. “Because fallen angels are currently on the endangered-species list. So the only other being Sestiel could transfer it to is a human. Unfortunately, humans can only bear it for a matter of hours, but because you are bonded to the hellhound, Sestiel must have wagered that you’d have a little more stamina.”
She lost a little color, but her expression remained nice and pissed off. Excellent. No wailing or vapors. “Was he right?”
“Yes, but it won’t last. You’re drawing on Hal’s life force to stay alive. If we don’t find a fallen angel to transfer the agimortus to, you’ll both grow weaker, until eventually, he dies.” Ares had to hand it to Cara, because although he saw in her eyes the exact moment what he’d said sunk in, she remained calm.
“And when he dies,” she said flatly, “I do, too.”
Slowly, deliberately, he reached for her, and this time she didn’t protest when he tugged open her top to reveal her breasts. Between them, the brand cut starkly into her skin, the red lines raised like fresh whip lashes. “Look at it. As crimson as fresh blood.” She didn’t flinch as he traced the tip of his finger along the top edge of the shield. “It’s going to fade as the hours pass, as you begin to die. When it’s the same color as your skin, time’s up. It’s a stopwatch, Cara.” He pressed against the very tip of the blade, watching as the flesh turned white and began to refill