A dark rumble came up from Obsidian’s chest. “Trust me, vampire. That’s the last thing I want, too.”
“I need to speak with Michael,” Kaj told him. “There’s still the matter of his other request.”
“Care to share that—”
A flutter of sound came from behind Kaj, drawing Obsidian’s attention.
“Well, speak of the devil,” Kaj muttered.
Damn archangel always had the worst timing.
“Long time no see.” Michael’s gaze scannedboth males and he knew instantly that they weren’t happy to see him.
What was new? He’d stopped expecting a warm welcome a dozen or so centuries back.
“My ears were burning,” he told the males. “Figured I’d drop in, see what’s going on.”
While they sized him up, probably trying to determine how quickly they could get him back to Heaven, Michael turned to admire the beginnings of the new facility. Impressive. They’d made it much farther than he’d expected considering neither male had gotten back with him after his last conversations with them—Obsidian regarding Michael’s permanent residence here with them, Kaj regarding resurrecting the original vampire.
Based on the way they had their heads together now, he understood why.
“I’m going to assume we’ve come to an agreement,” he told Obsidian.
“To a degree, yes. I’m moving forward with the training facility as we discussed. Although I’ll only allow a minimal number of spots.”
Michael had figured as much. He’d tossed out a number to get the male’s head working, not because he truly expected the hands-on experience for fifty-plus angels. However, it did leave the ball in Obsidian’s court, right where Michael had lobbed it.
“And the vampires?” Michael cut his gaze to Kaj. “Are you on board?”
“Mostly.”
Michael’s nose curled. He was not a fan of that word. “Which part? Resurrecting the original vampire?”
“Huh?” Obsidian pulled off the dark shades that shielded his eyes, his keen gaze bouncing from Kaj to Michael then back. “What the hell’s he talking about?”
Chuckling, Michael cocked his head. “Didn’t catch him up all the way, huh?”
The vampire’s black eyebrows dipped low. “I hadn’t gotten to it yet.”
More like Kaj was putting off the inevitable.
Michael waved a hand in their direction. “Feel free to get him up to speed now.”
“Original vampire? Khari?”
“One and the same,” Michael called out as he strolled toward the empty space, pretending to be admiring their efforts.
A bit of grumbling sounded behind him, and Michael took that to mean Kaj hadn’t intended to share the details with Obsidian. At least not yet. Probably had to do with the fact the human vessel the ancient male vampire was currently hitching a ride in was Obsidian’s mate’s brother. Or at least they believed him to be related. Although he wasn’t. Semantics and all that.
While Kaj explained to Obsidian, Michael strolled through the vast space they’d dedicated to training. He’d known putting Obsidian in charge would be the right move. He could practically see the angels and vampires going toe to toe here, getting the hands-on experience necessary to fight alongside the most powerful beings in the known universe. Misplaced Halos they were called. Honestly, he liked the term though he couldn’t say why. Perhaps that was what they could call this place.
“Are you shitting me?” Obsidian snarled.
Michael smiled to himself, ensuring the male did not see him. No sense poking the beast. Or was it bear?
No matter.
“My female’s brother? He’s the human host to the original vampire?”
