Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 6

demon was finished.
    Asmodeus stood there frozen and sweating. "Yes, yes. I got it. I got it," he whispered, barely moving his mouth.
    Samael released the demon and backed away, latching onto Brandon's arm as he went. He kept his eyes on his enemy until the door had shut, before finally turning and hustling Bran toward the car.
    ****
    Brandon had stepped into the fucking rabbit hole. Hell, stepped? He'd dove in headfirst. He kept waiting for a cat to materialize out of thin air, and start making smart-ass comments. He wouldn't be surprised. Nothing could bring that emotion out of him right now. Any emotion, really.
    He felt numb. Empty. His limbs were made of lead and his head filled with cotton. He was in shock.
    Samael guided him around the car and into the driver's seat, before walking around and getting in himself. When Bran just sat there staring off into space, Sam touched his arm and started talking to him. Not that he heard any of it.
    Okay, the earthquake could stop anytime. Really. "Brandon, look at me." Oh, he was the one shaking, not California. "Look at me!"
    He did as he was told, and saw concern and fear in Sammy's eyes, but he didn't feel anything. His body was no longer his own.
    "Can you drive? Hey, Bran? Can you drive the car?"
    Bran stared at him a moment longer before nodding.
    "Okay. Drive us back to your apartment. If I could do it I would, but…"
    Right. Sammy was an angel, and didn't know how to drive. Annnnnd his ex-boyfriend was a demon, his father was coming for him, people with wings were following them…. ashes, ashes. They all fall down. Wee!
    "Brandon?" His angel's voice was soft and his touch gentle on Bran's face, petting him. "Let us get you home, okay? It's going to be all right. I have you."
    Home. Drive home. He could do that. Yeah.
    He didn't remember the drive at all. He didn't know which route he'd taken, if he'd stopped at all the right places, followed the speed limit, or used his blinker. He might as well have been drunk off his ass, because he was just not there. It was like trying to remember a dream the next day, but only getting fuzzy bits and pieces. Before he knew it, he was at his front door trying to put the key in the lock, but the damn thing kept jumping away from him every time he got close. Stupid moving doorknob.
    Samael pried the keys from his fingers and ushered him into the apartment, steering him by his elbow to the bedroom. He was shaking again, so hard that his teeth rattled together and he bit his tongue.
    Sam calmly started to undress him, peeling away his clothing one article at a time. When he got to his shoes, the man maneuvered him gently until he was sitting on the bed, before kneeling down and taking them off. He was free balling, so after his pants had been removed he was naked and cold. Very, very cold.
    Samael laid him down on the bed and covered him with the blanket up to his chin, before making short work of his own clothing and climbing in bed beside him. He pulled Bran almost on top of him, forcing his body into compliance. As Bran lay there, with his head cradled on Sam's chest, listening to his breathing, his angel rubbed his back in slow, gentle circles, murmuring, "I've got you," and "it's okay," over and over in his ear.
    He didn't know how long they lay together that way on the bed, but eventually he started coming back to himself again. The sky had darkened and the room was bathed in purple by the time Bran had stopped shivering. He realized at some point that he had started to cry. Runaway tears were sliding down his cheeks without his permission, bathing his face and forming a puddle on the chest he was resting on— like a faucet that wouldn't stop dripping. He gathered his strength and pulled the blanket up to wipe his face.
    He looked up at his beautiful angel, who was staring down at him in concern. "Are you alright, my Little Raven?"
    Speaking was hard, but when he finally found his words all he could get out was, "I… can't… I can't," and it was like a dam had crashed open. He started blubbering and gasping, sobbing like he never had before. He didn't know why he was crying, except that he was so overwhelmed with everything, that his body didn't know how to contain it. It was being expelled in a storm of emotion that he couldn't control. It didn't last long, and as he hiccupped and sighed out the last of his tears, he felt lighter for having let it out. He could think again.
    His world had completely flipped on its axis