Company of Angels 02 - The Demoness of Waking Dreams

Guardian with tattoos like that.”
    A gift. From the divine. She knew that when she saw them.
    She had already begun to fall for him… And yet, it was not the tattoos that had struck her, and not even the impressive physique. It was the man underneath it all.
    Two angels falling in love. The makings of a fairy tale…
    What had gone wrong, Arielle had never quite figured out.
    Sitting in the heat of the ruined palazzo, she felt the moment he jarred awake.
    Felt it, and she herself jolted out of her reverie.
    When she opened the door, he lay sprawled on the cot, bare from the waist up, his ripped torso and arms adorned with those magnificent tattoos. He turned his head in the direction of the light streaming in through the open door. His sharp gaze fixed on her, as vast and inescapable as the sky before rain.
    Oh, but he’s beautiful.
    He blinked, still half seeing whatever—whomever—he had been dreaming about. She read the naked desire in his eyes. Saw it wash away, like a stain washing off a sidewalk in a rainstorm. Watched him avert his gaze, cheeks flushed with color.
    What was he dreaming about? she wondered. And as she watched him, she knew, Whatever it was, it was not about me.
    He stretched his big body, sat up on the edge of the cot. Behind her, a few members of the Venetian unit hurried in to bring him a glass of water, a clean washcloth, satisfied that he had finally managed to get a full night’s sleep after such a long stretch of wakefulness. Arielle tried not to stare at his sharply defined abs, or at the sprawl of tattoos, so many of them new since the last time she’d seen him.
    She had lost the right to look. But perhaps she would win it back.
    Somehow, maybe, she thought as he pulled a shirt over his head.
    She turned and went back out into the large room where the Venetians sat quietly talking amongst themselves. When Brandon came out, she told him, “We were talking while you slept. The Company has come to a decision. What we have decided is in everyone’s best interests.”
    “What is that?” Brandon said.
    “Our plan is to dispose of Luciana,” Infusino answered without hesitation. “Venice will be rid of that demoness at last.”
    “Disposal? You’re convinced that’s the right course of action?” Brandon said quietly.
    The Venetian supervisor nodded. “Two hundred years we have battled with this woman. You have been called into this fight just a handful of days ago. I tell you, it is impossible. Luciana must be returned to the source of all life. She will rest in peace at last.”
    Brandon’s gaze shot to Arielle. “I thought you believed that everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Don’t they?”
    She could feel her face flushing red. She did not reply.
    “Perhaps you have become too personally involved with the situation,” Infusino suggested. “It is difficult to see clearly when we are in the thick of things. We all understand that.”
    “No, you don’t understand. You know perfectly well that you need the approval of the Archangels before you start talking about disposal. They will never agree without the unanimous support of the Company. And I will never allow it.”
    “We’ll see,” was all Infusino said.
    The others went on about their business, although quietly and with their heads bowed.
    Brandon sauntered over to Arielle, leaned in close. “I know exactly who is behind this. Make no mistake, you and I will never be together. No matter who you schedule for disposal.”
    “But, Brandon, I…”
    “Don’t you get it? It’s never going to work out between us,” Brandon snapped. “Even if Luciana had never been born, there is no way I would be with you.”
    Then he stormed toward the door.
    “Wait,” she called after him. “Listen to reason. These Guardians have been dealing with the demoness for far longer than you or I. She is truly dangerous, Brandon. You need to know that disposal is in everyone’s best interests. In the best interests of humankind. Luciana cannot be allowed to continue her evil.”
    He didn’t say a word. Just stood there and looked at her with those eyes, cold as stone.
    “You don’t see how she’s beginning to affect you,” Arielle said.
    Then he slammed out of the building.
    Arielle knew the moment she lost it. The moment everything slipped, and the world went sideways. The moment she went into the room where the Gatekeepers were kept, and unleashed her wrath on them.
    “Take them away,” she said to the Venetian