Revenant (Lords of Deliverance 6)

“Okay,” she said, anxious to get the hell out of here, “I think I have enough. Gethel, your diet sucks. Stop eating infants and eat more leafy greens.”

Gethel’s head snapped up. “Lucifer needs blood.”

Blaspheme jammed her hands on her hips. “Those bags under your eyes, the dark color of your blood, those nasty blue veins running across your cheeks… those are all signs of vitamin A and fiber deficiency. Do you know what vitamin A deficiency does in fallen angel pregnancies? It causes extra huge babies with birth defects.” Such a huge lie. All of it. She had no idea if the female was nutritionally deficient or not, and she didn’t give a shit. She did, however, want her to stop eating children. “But suit yourself. You still have three months to go and your kid is the size of a toddler already, but whatever.”

She turned to Revenant and drew him aside. “You weren’t completely forthcoming about Gethel and the baby.” She inhaled a bracing breath, preparing herself for Revenant’s reaction to the topic she was about to bring up. “I was under the assumption that the child was emim, not vyrm.”

“Oh, now your precious ethics are being tested?”

“No. But knowingly associating with vyrm is a death sentence.”

“As it should be,” he said darkly, chilling her to the bone and answering any questions she’d had about how he regarded her kind. “But clearly, this case is unique. I’m not even sure Lucifer will be classified as vyrm, since Gethel was divested of her wings and given the boot from Heaven while she was pregnant. Lucifer could still be emim. Or maybe something new. Like vemim.” He grinned. “See what I did there? Like how lunch and dinner is linner. Vemim.”

“You can notify Webster’s of your new term later.” She gestured to Gethel, who was dragging her fingers through her stringy hair and coming away with big clumps. “I highly recommend that Gethel go to UG for an ultrasound and amniocentesis.” Blas needed those damned stem cells.

“Don’t you have portable machines?”

“Yes, but —”

“Good.” Revenant shoved off the pillar in a graceful surge. “Then you can bring one when you come back.”

“I’m not coming back.” She mashed her equipment into the duffel and stood, hoping he’d cave in to her demand. She would much rather he bring Gethel to her than have to come back to this horror show. “If you want an ultrasound, you’ll bring her to the clinic like a normal person. And after the procedure is done, I’m done. With her, with you, with…” She made an encompassing gesture with her arm. “This.”

Revenant’s low, pumping purr echoed around the cavernous area. “No, Blaspheme, you and I aren’t done. Not by a long shot.”

Six

Revenant watched Blaspheme angrily shoulder her duffel of supplies, and if glares were lasers, he’d have been reduced to ash by now. His little False Angel was PO’d.

Gods, she was hot when she was all riled up. He loved pushing those buttons, and she seemed to have a lot of them.

She strode toward him, her hips popping and her breasts bouncing with every swaying step. He was rock hard by the time she stopped in front of him.

“You can drop me off at the hospital,” she said. “I need to leave the blood sample at the lab.”

“I have a better idea.” He took her hand before she had a chance to reject him the way she had before. Man, that had stung. He wouldn’t let it happen again. “Let’s get a bite to eat. I know a great place right here in Sheoul. You can get a burger made from pretty much anything.”

She grimaced. “Um, no, thanks. I’m on a strict diet of nothing gross. Just take me to Underworld General Hospital, please.”

He sensed that she’d probably reached her limit with him today, which was a bit of a letdown, but Revenant had other pressing things to do anyway. Like finding out the truth behind why the fuck Heaven had left him to be raised by demons while they took his twin brother. He was dying to hear the explanation for that one.

Gripping Blaspheme’s soft, warm hand, he flashed them into Underworld General’s parking lot.

“Thank you,” she said as she jerked her hand out of his. “I should have the test results tomorrow. You can stop by my office at the clinic.”

He wondered if he’d planted a deep enough seed in her mind for it to take root with thoughts of either killing Lucifer or somehow getting Gethel to the good guys to destroy. Oh, he didn’t think Dr. “Do No Harm” Blaspheme would carry out any dirty deed herself, but she could help those who would.

If he was a decent guy, he’d feel bad for using her to do what he couldn’t, but he wasn’t decent. He’d been raised to be a demon, and he was doing exactly what a demon would do; he was plotting to get rid of his rival before said rival was even born. And he was going to keep his own hands clean by getting others to do the wet work.

So, no, he wasn’t decent.

Blaspheme, on the other hand, seemed to be suffering terribly from that affliction. Sure, he was reasonably certain she’d lied to Gethel about her diet, but doing so might have saved a lot of young lives.

“Gethel isn’t really suffering from vitamin and fiber deficiency, is she?” he asked. “You just wanted her to stop feeding on infants.”

Blas shrugged. “Maybe. Are you angry?”

On the contrary, he was fascinated. False Angels were known to lure humans away from their children so other demons could snatch them. But for all Blaspheme knew, she could have been risking her life to save a few young creatures by lying to Satan’s baby mama. A couple of weeks ago, he’d have been disgusted. Now he was definitely fascinated.