Page 133 of Bellamy

“Hell yeah.” Raiden grinned. “And bacon.”

By the time Raiden finished cooking breakfast, Daman had woken up and graced us with his oh-so-pleasant presence as he came to claim his morning coffee. Warrin softly smiled as he walked beside him, listening to my brother’s grumbles about it being too early and “why the hell everyone in the house was so damn loud.”

As the day went on, the warriors sleeping in the tents outside slowly trickled into the manor to shower and eat.

“My water bill’s going to be through the roof,” Clara said as more came in through the back door. “Electric too. Sheesh.”

“I’ll pay it,” Alastair told her. “I’ll reimburse you for everything. Food, medical supplies, whatever you need. You have my sincerest gratitude for allowing us to stay here.”

“I don’t mind.” Clara smiled down at her cup of afternoon tea. She and Alastair had that in common. “You boys are my family. And family takes care of each other. It’s also kind of nice not to be alone.” She quickly added, “But it will be even nicer when all you freeloaders leave. Of course.”

Yeah. I didn’t believe that for a second.

Sirena walked into the room, her hair damp from her shower. She wore a thin shirt that definitely showed some nipple action and shorty-shorts that brought attention to her long, tanned legs. Clara blushed bright scarlet before turning away and wiping at the counter, though there was nothing theretowipe.

I smirked as Lust sensed the sexual tension between them.

My ears picked up on a soft thump from outside, and I looked out the window. Oliver, the angel possessing earth magic, had landed in the grass. Lazarus slipped out the patio door to greet him in the yard. Alastair, Phoenix, and I followed.

“I come with news,” Oliver said.

“Yes?” Impatience rang in Lazarus’ tone.

“Well, we went to retrieve the fallen warriors from the battle as you commanded.” Oliver’s sandy blond hair whipped around his face as a breeze came off the sea. “And…um…”

“Oliver,” Lazarus calmly said, though the muscle in his cheek jumped.

“Asa Morningstar’s body was gone,” Oliver said in a rush.

“Gone?” Phoenix asked. “Or taken?”

“Does it matter? He either got up and walked out of there on his own, or someone took his body. Both are unfavorable.”

Alastair shook his head. “Asa’s throat was slit with a celestial blade. He couldn’t survive that. And we all saw him bleed out. Chances are someone took him.”

“But why?” I asked.

“To use whatever remaining blood was in his veins,” Oliver suggested. “For powerful spells or worse.”

Raiden approached, chewing on a stick of beef jerky. “Worse?”

“Necromancy,” Phoenix said. “If his soul was still intact, it would be possible to bring him back.”

“Who the hell would want to bring him back?” Raiden finished his snack.

“Hopefully no one,” Alastair answered. “There are any number of reasons his body could be gone. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Pride is correct.” Lazarus nodded. “Until we know more, our focus needs to stay on Lucifer.”

“Yeah.” Raiden ruffled the back of his dark hair. “Dead or alive, Asa is the least of our worries. Not when we have big daddy to deal with.”

Big daddy. Gods, he was a dork.

It didn’t stop me from thinking about Asa though. A gut feeling told me we hadn’t seen the last of him.

***

The breeze was cool on my skin as I stood at the edge of the overhang beside the manor. No sun today, only an overcast sky and the distant rumble of thunder. The first day of autumn wasn’t for another week, but the season had come early.