Demon Angel

the broken nails, the reddened fingertips. He was clean, freshly showered, and wrapped in Hugh's bathrobe, but the lingering odor of soot and burnt fibers hung in the air.
    "This is your fault," Colin told Lilith as she examined his hands, but there was no accusation in his voice—only a deep, overwhelming relief.
    "Many things are," she said mildly. "Are you lounging on the sofa because it shows your features to their best advantage, or are you unable to sit up?"
    A brief flash of frustration and anger in his eyes before Colin looked heavenward. "The former, of course."
    A lie. Hugh touched Lilith's shoulder. He needs to eat , he signed.
    She glanced up as he began rolling his sleeve back over his forearm, then quickly back to Colin. "Where is Selah?"
    "Caelum—Michael bade her to return, to tell your Savitri all is still well." His lips twisted with self-derision. "I believe she desired a few minutes alone as well."
    Hugh frowned. Lilith wasn't concerned about Selah; that hadn't been the question she'd wanted to ask. Why would she be afraid of the answer? He crouched down next to her and offered his arm to Colin, turning his wrist up. Lilith swallowed hard. "I hear Sir Pup scratching at the back door," he said softly.
    A wry expression chased across her features before she sighed and stood. "He probably wants to play fetch with that quarrel I shot at Michael."
    Hugh watched her leave, then glanced back at the vampire. His lips were pulled back over his fangs, need burning in his eyes—but he waited.
    "I don't think I can keep this from being painful," he said finally.
    Hugh nodded; he'd known the vampire would have little control. Impossible, if he was as hungry as he looked. "It's for the best; if I'm pleasured by it, Lilith will likely force me to kiss you. And though you are rather comely for a man, I much prefer her lips to yours." Though his gaunt face lit with humor, still the vampire hesitated, and Hugh added, "I can stop you from draining me, do you lose all sense."
    Despite those assurances, Colin must have taken care; the bite pained Hugh no worse than the slice of a sharp knife. He counted the draws, estimated the amount; when he heard Lilith's footsteps and the clatter of the hellhound's paws, he pulled back. Colin had taken little more than a pint, but already the hollows in his cheeks filled, his skin and hair regained some of its normal luster. Hugh clamped his hand over the wound as Lilith came into the room.
    She arched a brow. "That was quick."
    Hugh laughed and stood, but Colin was staring at the hellhound. "He made it out."
    "Out?" She sat on the ottoman and tucked her legs beneath her. Hugh sighed as he went into the kitchen to grab a towel to wrap around his wrist; she'd delayed her return by changing her clothes, and his pants didn't look half as appealing as her bare skin had.
    "Beelzebub put a sword through his gut."
    Hugh froze mid-wrap, listening for her response. Would she blame herself for leaving the hellhound with them? Sir Pup had saved them, but had almost died in the process. Lilith was silent for a moment, and there was cold humor in her voice when she said, "Hugh put an axe through Beelzebub's neck."
    His tension eased, and he walked back into the living room just as Michael teleported in. No use putting it off any longer then. He looked over at Colin. "Where were you?"
    "Hell, I imagine," he said. "I have seen it before in mirrors— have heard the screams."
    Lilith's face hardened. "The Pit?"
    "No," Michael said. He stood rigidly in front of Hugh's bookcases, his black wings folded behind him, his arms crossed over his chest. A relaxed pose, for him. "Chaos."
    Lilith's breath stilled. Chaos. Lucifer had summoned the dragon from that realm. Sir Pup whined and lay his head on Colin's lap, and she was reminded that hellhounds were also descended from creatures of Chaos. Hybrids that Lucifer had made, hoping to control them better than the pure breeds. But Lucifer had not had access to the realm in millennia, slowly losing his power to call creatures from it. How had Colin and Selah found it?
    "According to the Scrolls, even you are denied access to that realm. There are no Gates, and teleportation requires an anchor," Hugh said to Michael, his thoughts apparently echoing hers. He drew in a sharp breath as he realized, "Your sword. The dragon's blood imbued it with some of its power—and not only was Colin's blood tainted with it when he was human, we made him with the blood of