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"What are you thinking?"
"Nothing," she answered.
She looked around and then back to him. He was staring at her. She hadn't moved from where she stood since she'd entered the room.
"Just make yourself at home. Get comfortable," he said.
She turned back to the wall they'd just come through, feeling at it with her hands, trying to push through back to the street.
"I'll show you how to go in and out later. I promise. I just don't want you running off into the night. There are bad things out there in the dark."
She stared at him, wide-eyed. She wasn't feeling too safe in here either.
She blinked, and suddenly he was right in front of her.
"Now," he said, pulling her into his arms. "It's been so hard to keep my hands off you."
"What are you talking about?" she said warily.
He leaned down and kissed her deeply. She was angry for a second, but then she hungrily kissed him back. She felt some of her resistance to the demon melting away.
"I'm so damn weak," she thought. But she was quickly losing all ability to think in his arms.
He pulled back and looked down at her. "I'm sorry."
Then he crushed his lips against hers once again. Finally, he released her mouth from his devouring kiss.
"Hell, what am I saying? No, I'm not sorry. I had to do that. I've been wanting to do that for so long."
When she didn't answer, he released her and walked over to the big leather sofa.
"Right now, I'd just like to sit and talk to you." He stood by the sofa, a beckoning look in his eyes.
She walked toward him, unaware if it was all her own will pulling her there. He moved from one thing to another so quickly, it only added to her feeling of confusion.
"You just want to sit and talk?" This made no sense in her mind.
"What would you like to drink?" he asked as he crossed the floor to the small kitchen.
Oh, maybe he was going to poison her.
He opened the fridge. "Mostly beer in here. You probably don't like that do you? It's an acquired taste."
He grinned at her over the door of the fridge.
"Hmm... I do have this bottle of wine I've been saving since 1867."
"Oh? I like wine."
"Yeah, they didn't let you have it much up there. I've been saving this one for a very special occasion. And you're it."
She watched the corded muscles in his arms as he removed the cork and pulled a couple of glasses from the cabinet. With his size, he seemed so out of place in the small kitchen.
He brought the bottle and glasses to where she sat on the sofa. He handed her a glass, poured wine for both of them, and then clinked his glass against hers. "To us," he said.
She was too startled to drink at first, but he was drinking deeply, so she did too.
She had to remember that she needed to get him to trust her. It appeared that he did. She just had to stop being afraid and go along with him. Or else he would get suspicious about everything.
"So," he said, putting his glass on the table next to him. "Let's get caught up."
She just looked at him. Did he think they were old friends?
"What do you want to know?" she asked.
"Everything," he said. "I imagine you just had the worst two weeks of your life in Heaven. Do you want to talk about it?"
She looked down.
"I'm sorry. I know it's hard. I was trying to check up on you these last couple weeks."
"Who would you get information from up there?" she asked.
"Oh, I have sources."
She took a long drink from her glass before speaking.
"It was hell," she finally said.
He moved closer, putting a hand on her shoulder. It felt so hot on her bare skin... so good.
"Virta, I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm not surprised it happened, but I'm very sorry. You're a very strong angel. And I'm glad you're down here now, with me. I won't let them get to you again."
She was sorry when he dropped his hand from her shoulder to pick up his glass once more.
"It happened to you too, didn't it?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, a long time ago. And it was far longer than two weeks."
She shuddered.
"But I guess they thought they got you reprogrammed, huh? They sent you down here to save Mandi."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes. And here's what's interesting. They said Heath is one of your men... you taught him just what to do to Mandi... said you were gonna do it yourself even."
She instantly wished she hadn't said that.
He scooted back from her, glaring, and she felt fear rising again.
"But you don't believe that, do you Virta?"
She stared down into her glass before asking, "So do you know him at all?"
"Yeah, I know the bastard. A long time ago, in Heaven. He's not been around here in ages."
"I don't know where you took Heath, but I have to take him to my appointment next week," she said.
"We'll hold him for you until then."
"You don't need him for another assignment?"
Now why had she asked him that? She was supposed to be getting his trust. Oh, but she was bad at this game!
The look in his eyes could have killed. Wait... he couldn't kill with just a look, could he?
She was tired of being afraid. She'd just let him talk. Maybe he'd get drunk and that would make it all the easier to capture him with the relic. She'd find her chance to slap it on him soon.
Athan took another drink of the wine. She could tell he was thinking. He leaned back on the sofa and sprawled out.
He takes up a lot of space, she thought to herself.
He set his glass down on the coffee table a little too hard, clearly agitated. He seemed like he was going to say something, do something, but changed his mind.
His silence and his movements were frightening in their own way.
He finally settled back into the sofa. She was relieved that he appeared relaxed.
He spoke then, staring at the wall ahead, not looking at her. His voice was empty.
"Yeah, he's been a good worker, but I'll let you have him. You can do whatever you want with him before you take him back... Mandi can even torture him if she wants to..."
He leaned forward, one hand rubbed the back of his neck and the other hand was resting on his knee.
He looks so tired, she thought. Part of her was tempted to reach out and stroke his broad back and shoulders. But she didn't dare.
"... It would be easy for her," he said.
His voice, the expression on his face - he was a million miles away.
"With the relic, an angel is vulnerable, powerless. That angel can be tortured, humiliated..."
Virta didn't know what to say.
Finally, he reached forward, picked up his glass again, and poured himself more wine. He filled her glass as well.
"Yeah, I don't think he's been doing his best work lately." Athan's voice was hard.
"I'm disappointed. I taught him better evil than that."
She couldn't speak; just looked at him.
He turned to her then, shaking his head. "I can't keep doing this with you," he muttered.
His voice became louder, intimidating.
"If you think he's one of my men, if you think I'm that evil that I sent him to torment Mandi... why are you here with me?"
Athan leaned away from her. He put his weight on his left arm, which was leaning against the armrest. She flinched as his black eyes glared across the sofa at her.
"I wasn't made 2,000 years ago, you know. You don't want to Fall, Virta. You want to turn me in."
She couldn't meet his gaze. Virta shook her head. She had to deny what he was saying. This was all much more dangerous than she realized. She finally dared to look up.
But he wasn't preparing to pounce on her. He was still just leaning against the armrest, looking at her with an expression that made her want to crawl into his lap and cling to him; tell him everything, and especially how sorry she was.
"Heath doesn't work for me," was all he said.
She took a deep breath. "I don't believe you."
"I don't care if you believe me or not. I did work with him on some missions in Heaven though, before I Fell. He was a brutal bastard then, and he still is."
"He Fell with you?"
"He was Banished later," Athan said. "only after much public outcry for it. Banner loved him, as I recall."
He finally looked her way again.
"You don't have to worry about Heath anymore. You can consider your Earth mission successful."
"Yes," she said. "Now, I just want to spend the rest of my time here with you."
He was quiet for a long time, not meeting her gaze or even drinking. He seemed at war with himself inside.
Then he turned to her and smiled, and it was so breathtaking, she nearly gasped.
"Maybe I can talk you into Falling yet."
She sat up straight. "Actually, you might be able to," she said with a smile that she didn't feel inside.
She felt so wrong, and so confused about Athan.
He turned, taking her drink and setting it down with his. Then he took ahold of her shoulders and pulled her to him, pressing her against himself.
His lips came down and captured hers in a kiss that seemed to dissolve her mind. When he pulled back from exploring her mouth, she was left panting for more.
She wanted him to kiss her like that again. There was no confusion; no thought involved. She felt free when he kissed her.
"Damn it, I missed you." He reached over and started stroking her raven hair back from her face.
"And, you look so hot. I like that you kept everything the same... you're eyes, your hair."
He looked her up and down slowly. "I love everything about you."
She was blushing as she felt his hot gaze traveling her body. She scooted a little further away on the couch.
He picked up her glass and handed it to her.
"So," he said, turning toward her and settling back into the couch with his glass. "What would you like to know?"
She looked at him uncertainly.
"What do you mean? About what?"
He smiled.
"I told you in Heaven that when we were somewhere alone, I would tell you anything. So, ask away."
When she hesitated, he playfully patted the sofa as if to coax her on.
"Come on, don't you want to know the secrets of the Universe? What killed the dinosaurs? Who built Stonehenge? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? I know it all."
She watched the angles of his face pull up into another beautiful grin.
Though her head was spinning a little, the invitation to ask questions sparked her curiosity, and she felt encouraged by his suddenly light tone.
"Ha. You're older than grass, aren't you?" she teased. "But you aren't THAT old and wise. Come on... you aren't one of the really, REALLY Ancient Ones... around since the Big Bang."
He shook his head. "Why does everyone tell me that?"
He was still smiling at her. It was affecting her ability to form words.
He went on: "It's true, I opened my eyes for the first time when the dinosaurs were breathing their last."
Virta nodded. "There must be thousands of angels who were there when the Universe was forming, who make you look like a toddler in the grand scheme of things."
"But only about 300 of those really, really Ancient Ones - as you call them - are still alive. That's including the angels who Fell, those of us you call demons."
He leaned back, still smiling at her. "Not that many, really, when you think of all the ages that have passed, and the uncountable number of angels they mass produce up there."
She sighed.
"Alright, Oh Elderly One..."
They both laughed at that.
"... tell me, why did you Fall?"
She was sorry to see his brilliant smile fade.
"To put it simply, there were those in authority who were running campaigns that I didn't agree with."
"You mean General Banner?"
He looked at the wall across the room, his expression hardening.
"Yeah, he was definitely one of them. They were sending us down here to do terrible things. It wasn't about protecting. It wasn't even about avenging, other than petty, childish stuff."
He sighed. "But Virta, that's not to say I'm innocent. I have done terrible things. Did they show you a video of me?"
She nodded.
"Yeah, I've heard they're showing that to the ones I've had contact with." He took another long drink. "Damn them."
She wondered who else - what other female angels like herself - he'd had contact with. Who else had he wooed out of Heaven? She realized, she was jealous.
"What have you done exactly?" She shuddered as she thought back to his battered face on the video; to his broken voice as he retold the horrible things he'd done to humans.
He didn't answer. He was rubbing his forehead with the fingers of one hand. Finally, he spoke.
"I didn't do all the things you hear on the tape."
Athan sighed.
"I got tired of being controlled, ordered around, made to do things against what I believed. I wasn't a mindless drone like some of them."
"So they kicked you out?"
"They kicked a bunch of us out. But not me. They didn't want to lose me, I guess. Thought they could change me. I was tortured a really long time..."
Athan set his jaw, turning to stare at the wall ahead. "I thought if I stayed around, I could work from the inside and help those of my friends who Fell. Try to change things in Heaven for the better. But that didn't last long. They just wanted to use me as their killing machine. Like before."
"So you Fell?"
"Yeah. I'd had enough. I saw friends being blown up like bombs... just like they tried to do to you. I saw good angels under extreme duress from the Higher Authority, doing terrible things they wouldn't normally do. It was making me crazy.
There were experiments on some of the angels. I know you met Song... Banner's Secretary?"
She nodded, remembering the bland woman with the dull, monotone voice.
"Once, she had the finest voice in Heaven..."
The way his voice trailed wistfully, Virta knew he was back somewhere in history in his mind, sometime long before she was even thought of.
"Her singing gave rise to that expression, 'the voice of an angel'," he said. "That is, until they went to work on her."
His voice was bitter.
Virta just sat there, taking it in.
"Nobody would listen to the case I had against Banner. The corruption went too high."
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
He suddenly looked at her. "So you must be pretty tired?"
She picked up her glass and fidgeted with the stem.
"I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but the wine is helping me relax. I'm just so tired, and maybe a little disoriented still."
"A good night's sleep should fix that."
He touched her cheek and she felt electric fling through her body.
"Do you need something to eat?" he asked.
"No, I've had enough food for the day."
"I know you've gotta be exhausted. You can sleep in my bed," he offered.
She raised one eyebrow. She started to say that she'd stay on the couch. But she needed to get him vulnerable and slap the relic on him. Didn't she?
He must have thought the look on her face was from worry. He laughed.
"I was gonna take the couch."
"You don't want to sleep with me tonight?" she asked.
He just stared at her. "Hell yeah; I want you bad. But we need to clear some things between us first. That's better left to tomorrow when we've had rest and we're thinking clearly."
They set their wine glasses down at the same time.
She suddenly flew into his lap, throwing her arms around him. It was desperation. She was torn between her fear of failing and Banishment, and her heart for this demon.
"I need you now."
He untangled himself from her, depositing her back on the sofa.
When she looked up a second later, he was already on the other side of the room, leaning his back against the wall, holding onto it as if for support.
"Sorry, my patience has been worn a little thin today," he said. "I know I've said it before, but it's been a long, hard day in the field. I don't really trust myself at the moment."
He crossed his arms over his broad chest. Then he raised his head and looked her in the eye.
"I don't have to be a mind reader to know what's going on with you, Virta."
"What do you mean?" She swallowed.
"I'm not stupid. There's too much that doesn't add up. I know I'm your mission..."
Her eyes got wide but she shook her head.
"It's OK, I'm not going to punish you for telling me the truth. I'm a man who values the truth very much. But I don't tolerate those who lie to me."
"You're wrong," she said in a soft voice. "I'm here for you, it's true. But in a different way..."
He crossed back over to the couch and sat down again. When he turned to her, his voice and eyes were pleading, urgent.
"Tell me everything now, and I promise it will be OK. If you wait and I find out something different... well, I can't make any promises on how I'll react, Virta."
His hand went to his chest then, as if he had a weight on his heart.
"I have some scars... emotional, mental, and I can't seem to help myself like I can help others. I have a special abhorrence for betrayal, for lies... for relics. "
She picked up her glass and took another sip.
"You'll get none of that from me," she said. She didn't know if that was true, but at that moment, she wanted it to be.
She felt something for him. Trust, even. It made no sense after what she'd had drilled into her head about him for the last two weeks. But it made perfect sense when she was with him.
He wasn't looking at her anymore, just staring at the wall on the other side of the room. She waited for him to say something.
She was not expecting what he said next, or the evil tone of voice in which he said it.
"You know, just because I can't read your mind... I could make you tell me everything that was in your mission profile."
Her heart thudded to the floor.
She'd heard that from another demon tonight. Heath would do that, sure, but Athan? Of course he would. He'd do anything he had to do.
Well, so would she. Fearfully, she made her voice as accusing as she could.
"You don't trust me!"
He finally looked over at her with tired eyes. There was something else in them... sadness?
"I want to trust you. You probably feel the same way about me."
She nodded, eyes wide.
"Just don't betray me, Virta. Others have tried, and failed."
"I won't."
He sighed. "I'll admit that I'm tempted, but I'm not going to make you recite your mission profile. I just can't do that to you."
He looked her in the eyes. For the hundredth time that night, she was grateful for the device in her ear that prevented him from reading her thoughts.
"I don't trust you completely, Virta. And it's not your fault. I know what they did to you."
She just looked at him.
"So, I'm asking you nicely. What is really going on?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to meet up with you again. I want to hear what you have to say about Falling. I want to know things."
He nodded.
"They gave you a relic for Heath though, right?"
Her heart skipped an anxious beat. "Yes, but I lost it in the alley." A lie.
"Don't think about using one of those on me. I had that happen before. Never again. I won't be so forgiving to the next person who tries it."
She just looked at him. What was she supposed to say to that?
"No," she said, "I believe everything you said to me back in Heaven. I've had plenty of time to think it over. I want to be with you... in every way possible."
He looked at her, looked away, and then back at her. His expression was unreadable.
"I'm sorry for sounding so... mean, Virta. I just wanted to get that out in the open right away. It's my one thing... being lied to, relics... it's what I have no patience for."
He reached over and took her hand. "I want to take our time and get to know each other. No secrets between us."
"I understand. I want to be able to talk to you about everything that went on with me up there the last two weeks. I want to tell you everything. But right now, I just want to forget. I just need to BE with you."
