Glaring at them, Nick’s eyebrows bunched together. “Don’t you start,” he warned Glenda. Turning back to the others, he sighed. “I need to get out of here. I think you all might give me a headache, and it’s not even physically possible.” Pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes closed in exasperation, Nick rolled his shoulders before opening his eyes again, gazing at Chuck. “You need to be careful. There’s an active bounty on you. Malachi can protect you, and I have no doubt he would do whatever it takes to stop anyone from causing you harm.”
Malachi nodded fervently.Always,he sent her, his tone low and brooding.
Chuck narrowed her eyes as if she suspected he was making a movie reference, so he simply smiled at her adoringly. It was the human version of his puppy eyes. When her glare softened in return, he mentally pumped a fist.Works every time.
“Adorable,” muttered Glenda.
“Ahem,” Nick interjected, crossing his arms while his expression was downright thunderous. “It’s a wonder you humans live as long as you do. Not one iota of interest in saving your own lives.”
Leaning forward, a mischievous gleam in his eye and a not-so-innocent smile curving his lips, Malachi pointed at Nathan. “Technically, he’s the only pure human here and coincidentally the only one being quiet and listening to you. So, I feel like the kind and decent thing to do would be to acknowledge your error and apologize for your prejudicial commentary against humans. You’ve unfairly cast him in an ill light when his only crime was to avenge the death of your brother.” He shook his head, slanting hiseyes down as if ashamed of the angel’s behavior, clicking his tongue in disapproval.
Nick stared at Malachi without any sign of emotion. His features went preternaturally still, and his expression blandly neutral. He resembled a bust in a museum carved of granite.
Tense silence fell as the others watched the silent volley between the two sides of creation. Malachi grinned and wiggled his eyebrows; Nick continued his statue impression.
Suddenly, Malachi crowed in victory, laughing so hard he almost fell off the couch. The others saw it then, the slightest twitch under Nick’s left eye. With a creeping slowness that was eerie and mechanical, Nick’s head rotated until he was facing Nathan, and his inhuman stare was focused solely on the man. Malachi’s gasps as he tried to control his laughter were the only sounds in the room.
For his part, Nathan did not flinch under the unnerving gaze, but his forehead went slightly dewy with a fine sheen of sweat as he remained still.
Finally, Nick cleared his throat and spoke. “My apologies to you for my slight, Nathan. I did not mean to broadly paint your species in such a derogatory and insulting way. I humbly ask your forgiveness for my thoughtless and hurtful commentary.” He lowered his head in a small bow.
“Humph,” Nathan muttered, then nodded in return. “I’ll forgive you if you’ll forgive me for not stopping Roger from killing your brother.”
The room—which was fairly quiet before—was now more silent than a tomb. Even Malachi’s muffled laughter had died out. He studied the older officer in admiration at his balls for his retort and how neatly he’d maneuvered the situation.
Nodding again, relaxing his shoulders now, Nick sighed. “Of course I forgive you.” Cutting his eyes to Malachi, he glared in warning, as if daring him to say anything.
Malachi leered at him while flashing Hellfire through his eyes, daring right back.
Apparently deciding to be the bigger person, Nick stood and began pacing. Pausing mid-stride, he shook his arms out, and his wings unfurled behind him. Sighing in relief, he exclaimed, “Oh, that’s better.” Glancing around at their surprised expressions, he smiled sheepishly. “I didn’t have them out because it’s hard to sit in chairs with them.”
Humming in agreement, Malachi exclaimed, “Look, we can be on the same side of the issue. I agree, man, wings and chairs just do not mix. Especially—ironically—wingback chairs. Those are the worst. They pinch your feathers!”
A small, choked sound escaped Nathan then. He was staring at Malachi. “Y-you have wings too?” His wide eyes were roaming all over Malachi in disbelief.
“Yeah, I have a demon form. Remember I mentioned Blake saw it?” Malachi gently reminded him. “Do… you want to see it?” He tilted his head, wondering if this was curiosity or fear.
Nathan slowly nodded and placed his palms flat on his knees as if bracing himself for whatever was about to happen.
Rising to his feet, Malachi moved quickly to Nick’s side and smirked at the angel. “Hey, there, short stuff.” Waggling his eyebrows, he cackled and grew in size, slowly morphing into his full demon form. Unfurling his wings, he pretended he didn’t notice that he whacked Nick in the face as he towered over the angel.
“Insufferable spawn of Satan,” Nick grumbled, swatting at the feathers in front of him. “If you’re done with show and tell, I need to know about who gave Roger the forsaken blade.”
Turning, Malachi glanced down at Nick and sighed. “You call me the sweetest names, Nickerdoodle. But for an angel, yousure are rude. I’m not showing off. Nathan wanted to see what a demon looks like. Considering some of the choices out there, you have to admit, I’m one of the better options. Give him a minute to adjust to seeing a ‘spawn of Satan’ in front of him. Also, I’m not actually a spawn of Satan. I have parents who are married. So not even a bastard, contrary to popular opinion. Neither of them is the Dark Lord, though. So quick to label people. Sheesh.” He turned back to Nathan as the angel’s face ran through a myriad of ever-darkening shades of red. “Doing okay, Nathan? Sorry about Mr. Insensitive over there.” He jerked his thumb while smirking at the apoplectic sounds issuing from Nick, then continued on. “But yeah, this is my full demon form. This is what Blake saw when he attacked Chuck.”
Studying Malachi and Nick with a calm, calculating gaze, Nathan strode closer and looked them both over in great detail. Finally, he shook his head. “The person I saw looked more like him,”—he pointed at Nick—“than him.” His finger swung to Malachi briefly before raising it to tamp his mustache a few times. “But I see what you mean, Malachi. The halo thing and the shape of the wings were different. And like you said, the hair.” Shaking his head in disgust, he huffed air through his lips. “Now I don’t know what to do with this.”
Malachi shrank back into his human form and clapped Nathan on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up. You saw some type of supernatural being and stood up to it. Takes balls. Since you’re a cop, I’m sure you’re hell on details. Can you describe to us what she looked like?”
“Wait!” Glenda held up a finger. “Kelly, paper, pencil, come on.” She snapped her fingers and waved for her to hurry. Once she had the supplies, she whispered some words over them. “Enchanted drawing skills spell,” she explained. “Okay, now, go.”
Tentatively, Nathan described the person who presented herself to him, claiming to be an angel and setting them down this road. As he spoke,Glenda began to draw, quietly asking clarifying questions about the shape of various features. The scratching of her pencil on the paper and the soft murmurs of Nathan’s words were the only sounds. Finally, when he was done, Glenda turned the page towards him. His face went pale, and he sat with a solid thump.
Chuck hurried to his side. “Nathan, are you okay? Is that her?” At his silent nod, she took the page from Glenda and handed it to Nick.
The paper shook violently in Nick’s grip before his fingers fell lifelessly from the page. “Oh shit.”
Malachi caught the paper and glanced at Nick in concern before he turned his gaze to it. Like Nick, he went pale, and his fingers trembled before they clenched the page, crumpling the edges of the picture. “Oh fuck! We’re fucked! Royally fucked! Exquisitely fucked!”
