Demon Bound

kissed his cheek, his brow, leaving streaks of tears. She could feel herself slipping away with him—back to that place without hope. A future without him was a slow descent to Hell. “I love you. Please. Please, you cannot do this to me now.”
    Listen, Alice. Listen to Michael.
    She did not care what Michael was doing, what Teqon was doing. Her breath coming in sobs, she gathered Jake close—but she did as he asked.
    And listened.
    “When Jacob dies, the nephilim will come for you, Teqon. And they will show you no mercy.” Michael’s words raced—a human couldn’t have understood anything spoken at that speed. “You have not much time to decide.”
    Time ... to decide what?
    “Heal him,” Teqon said, and she heard the panic beneath his voice. “He is human. You can heal his injuries. You can prevent his death.”
    Oh, sweet heavens. Hope surged through her. Teqon was right. Jake could be healed.
    “I can,” Michael said. “But you must release Alice first—”
    “No,” Alice interrupted, her voice hoarse, her words quick. “Now. Heal him now .”
    She would Fall, and live with him. And she would cherish every moment she had before death, before she went into that frozen field.
    Michael’s reply was cold, hard. “Will you make his pain worth nothing, Alice?”
    Teqon didn’t give her time to respond. “If the nephilim kill me, Mrs. Grey will never fulfill her bargain. She will be damned.”
    “She will also be damned if you do not release her. There will be no difference in her fate if the nephilim come; the only difference is that you will be dead.” Michael paused, and she felt the searching touch of his healing Gift. “He has but seconds to live, Teqon. Release her, or die by a nephil’s hand.”
    “You won’t let him die.”
    Michael’s tone chilled Alice to her bones. “You forget who I am, demon. And what I am capable of.”
    Alice held her breath, tucked her face against Jake’s cheek. Please, God. Please—
    “A new bargain, then,” Teqon suddenly babbled. “If I release her, you will heal him. You will not let him die. And you will not kill me, you will never lift a hand against me.”
    Michael’s silence and the pounding of Alice’s heart filled an endless second.
    “Accept it, grigori! Accept!”
    “It is done,” Michael agreed.
    Teqon’s psychic scent swelled with palpable relief. “Then I release Alice Grey from her bargain. Now heal him!”
    She lifted her head, kissed Jake’s mouth. “Thank you, you wretch.” She turned to Michael. “Heal him. Heal him now.”
    “Not yet, Alice,” Michael said, crouching and placing his hands on Jake’s shoulders. “You sacrificed your life for the soul of another, Jacob Hawkins. Do you willingly accept the transformation?”
    Alice gasped her shock; Jake’s eyes opened wide. His breath was gone, but his lips moved in an unmistakable “Yep.”
    She laughed, bent to kiss him again, but Michael signed against Jake’s chest, Alice. There is a demon who almost killed a human, but I cannot slay him. You know what you must do.
    Yes. She reached out with her Gift, and didn’t have to look away from Jake as she called in her whip, lashed it behind her. Teqon’s body and head thumped to the ground at the same moment she was blinded by the whitest, most incredible light.
    She kissed him and kissed him and kissed him again. He grinned, blast him.
    A shadow fell over his face when Michael stood, and Alice looked up.
    An odd expression crossed Michael’s features as he vanished Teqon’s body and head. “I am fortunate, I think, that you did not want to kill me, Alice.” His gaze fell to Jake. “This is your second transformation, and so there will be changes. You will be stronger and faster. You will develop another Gift.”
    Jake sat up and disappeared. He was back beside her a moment later.
    “ Another Gift,” Michael said. “Not a different one.”
    His jaw slackened. “Hot damn.” Then he frowned, twisted, and rose to his feet. Alice put her hand in his, and he pulled her up. “How many Gifts do you have?”
    Michael smiled, and it was slightly wicked, Alice thought. “Several.”
    Alice slid her fingers against Jake’s. “You have Fallen?”
    “And sacrificed my life again, and been transformed. Several times. In all my life, do you think I have never broken the Rules or taken time for myself?”
    Apparently, he had. Her brows drew together. “Who transformed you back? Who was the Doyen, if you were