Surrounded By Flames (The Flames Trilogy Book 2)

  Amon rubbed at his brow. “Why? Why would she do that?”

  Charmeine rolled her eyes. “Obviously, her little ‘I’m myself again’ act was fake. She is still working with Bael and that’s probably where she headed.”

  Amon rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. Perhaps. But if she wanted to get to Bael, why did she go out the back door? His feet moved before his mind could catch up, shooting out into the darkness. He barreled through the already open fence gate. His first bread crumb. He followed it, could easily see Jasmine going to the woods. She’d always loved it inside the cover of the trees, but it would also help her move without being noticed. Hopefully, his thoughts led him in the right direction. He didn’t think he’d get any more bread crumbs.

  Darkness shrouded everything as he moved through the woods, the treetops blocking any light from the moon, making it difficult to maneuver. Amon found his footing, but only after he stepped on a branch and almost snapped his ankle in two. He moved like the current, leaves crunching under his feet and branches brushing his cheeks.

  Before Amon knew it, he stood at their spot, the same place Jasmine always went to calm herself. The same place he’d trained her. As he raised his gaze, he met hers. She stood between two large trees, but when she saw him, she moved closer, smirking at him.

  “I didn’t think you’d find me if I came to the woods. I should have known better.”

  Amon nodded because she should have known. He would always find her, especially when trouble had found her, and he thought she was about knee deep in it at the moment. It would be a fight to get her to accept his help, but this time, she didn’t have a choice. He’d give it to her whether she wanted it or not. No way would he stand by, twiddling his thumbs while she drove down the road to evil. She had so much more to offer the world. And he would make sure she did.

  Jasmine actually hissed. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t stay with you anymore. I’m not part of your world.”

  Amon tilted his head. “I have a very hard time believing that.”

  “You might. But it’s the truth. I was never meant to be on your side. I’ve tried to explain that to you.”

  He inched closer. Jasmine backed up with each step he took forward, so he stopped. “Jasmine, I know you how you feel, more than you know. Bael has made you feel these things. They aren’t you. You have to fight it.”

  She raised her hands in the air. “Don’t you get it? I’ve never felt more alive. Never felt better, for that matter. I am the happiest I’ve been in such a long time, Amon. Why don’t you join me?”

  Amon shook his head fiercely. “Absolutely not.”

  This time, she moved closer to him and he stepped back, knowing if she touched him, he might be lost forever. She had a way over him, and even though she’d turned to the demons’ side, she had to still know that.

  She didn’t let his backward momentum stop her. She kept coming and Amon stopped retreating. There was no point. She didn’t scare him, even though she probably should, so he needed to quit acting like she did.

  When she stood directly in front of him, she raised her outstretched hand and drug it over his arm, not touching but hovering. “I know you still feel it. This heat between us. It hasn’t gone away.”

  Oh, he felt it all right. His skin burned and her own hadn’t even touched him. The pull. He’d felt it from the start, had such a hard time resisting it. Even now.

  Amon took one step backward. “I do feel it, but if you choose to stay the way you are, we will never be together. I’ve fought hard to stay on the side of good. Even locked in Hell, where it would have been so easy for me to convert, I didn’t.” He paused. “I’m sorry, but if you want to take this road, you’ll have to do it alone. Bael isn’t your friend, Jasmine. He never will be. He cares too much for himself to ever put anyone above him.”

  Jasmine took one step forward, dragging her long fingernail down his chest seductively. “Pity. I think we could have made a good team.”

  Amon frowned. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go back to him. I made you a promise. One I told you I intended to keep. That hasn’t changed.”

  She gazed up at him, smiled, then put her hand over her heart. “Oh, that’s sweet. But you don’t have a say in it.”

  When she turned and walked away, Amon reached out, grabbing her upper arm and flipping her around. Without hesitation, she placed her hand over his and squeezed. “It didn’t have to be this way. If you would have left me alone, or even joined me, it wouldn’t have been. You made your decision and I made mine.” She dropped his hand from hers, revealing hers stained with black. It pulsated as she slapped it against his chest, right above his heart.

  Amon fell to the ground, watching everything happen with wide eyes and a slack jaw, unable to move. He couldn’t fight back. Not against her. Not against her. This must be what shock feels like.

  His skin blazed with darkness as it wove around him and he jerked as he smelled the singed hair from his chest. She rubbed her other hand up and down his arm and every hair sizzled off of him. A jolt stabbed his heart, so quick it took his breath away. Another stab. Another. Over and over until he lay on the ground, writhing, barely able to breathe.

  He wanted to scream, wished he could, but not from the pain. It didn’t bother him. He could deal with physical pain, but emotional pain, dealing with Jasmine being the one who hurt him…he couldn’t handle that kind. “J-Jasmine. Please. Stop this. You will never come back from this,” he pleaded.

  She put her face right in his and narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth tilted toward the sky. “I don’t want to come back.” Then she jabbed her fingertips into his chest and his whole body broke out in tremors. Sweat poured from his forehead, dripping onto the ground under him. Her power had electrocuted him. He closed his eyes. At least he’d be going out in style.

  But as his vision swam in front of him, he only felt sorry for Jasmine. She’d never live this down. She’d never get past it. Although he hoped she would. This wasn’t her. This was Bael. He knew that. Amon just hoped she would know that one day too.

  He stopped fighting, accepting the dark tunnel that pulled him down, promising no more pain.

  ***

  Amon awoke with a start, his throat dry. After blinking a few times, he stared straight ahead at the dark outline of tree branches swaying with a gentle breeze. Still in the woods, then. Alive.

  Every muscle he knew about and some that he didn’t ached as he climbed to his feet, his skin so sensitive he felt like it could slide right from his bones. He groaned as he attempted his first step, swaying back and forth and almost falling over, but he stayed standing. Somehow. Amon may not have been in any condition to fight, but he had to keep his wits about him. It wouldn’t do any good to let Jasmine catch him off guard. This time, he’d keep his eyes wide open. Light from the rising sun spanned across the horizon, making it a little easier to see, but it still remained dark under the cover of the forest.

  “About time you woke up,” a man’s voice said from behind him.

  Amon spun around, regretting the movement as pain lanced his chest. He placed his open palm against it, hoping it wouldn’t hurt as much, but it still throbbed and burned even as he pushed harder, so he gave up, dropping his arm to his side.

  When his eyes finally landed on the man behind him, he tensed, until he really saw him, then a grin spread across his lips. “Beau? Is that you?”

  Beau’s smile reached his even bluer eyes. Maybe becoming an angel had brightened them. “It is. I’m here to save all your asses, starting with this one.” He kicked a lump on the ground.

  Wait a minute. That lump looks like a person.

  “Is that Jasmine?”

  “It is. She wasn’t very cooperative so I had to knock her out.”

  Amon winced. “You didn’t hurt her, did you?”

  Beau shook his head. “No. I used my angel powers and turned her lights out for a little while. An angel induced coma, if you will.”

>   Amon laughed. “How did you learn how to do that?”

  “I taught him all I know, and you know that’s a lot.” Charmeine stepped out from behind a tree.

  Amon raised one eyebrow. “Okay, so…should I even ask what you were doing back there?”

  Charmeine winked. “Maybe I was peeing.”

  Beau burst into laughter. “Wow. It’s not the first time I’ll say it, and I’m sure it won’t be the last…but you never know what this one’s gonna say.” He poked his thumb toward Charmeine.

  Amon shook his head. “No, you don’t.” He paused, his gaze landing on Jasmine rolled into a ball at their feet. “How did you guys figure out where I went?”

  “It wasn’t that hard.” Charmeine patted his shoulder, causing Amon to grunt. “Sorry. I forgot. Beau and I watched you up there.” She pointed toward the sky. “From the Orb.”

  “Yup. We did. And you and Jasmine always came here. So we figured she would come this way, especially if she was trying to sneak to Bael’s.”

  Amon frowned. “It was right across the street. Why didn’t she just make a run for it? Why backtrack and risk getting captured?”

  Beau shrugged. “Maybe even though she thinks she wants to go back to him, she knows deep down she doesn’t. We don’t have to talk here. Let’s get her back to the house. Between Charmeine, Ella, Gazardiel, and myself, I think we can heal the demon right out of her.”

  Amon nodded. “I can’t carry her right now. I would like to, but—”

  Charmeine raised her hand in front of his face and cut him off. “We wouldn’t expect you to. Start walking, Amon. We will be right behind you.”

  He ambled toward the house, sunlight breaking through patches in the trees and flashing across his face. A start to a beautiful day. Amon had a feeling this would be the light before the darkness swallowed them all. Hopefully, it would spit them right back out.

  The angels might be able to bring Jasmine back, but if they could do that, why hadn’t they spoken up and suggested it before? Why be secretive and act like they couldn’t help?

  Perhaps they’d wanted to give Jasmine the opportunity to save herself first. She’d tricked them all, most of all him, making them believe she hadn’t changed. She’d been far from normal, and if Amon hadn’t been so eager to accept her back in his life, he’d have seen that. He’d love to know how she’d done it, but he hadn’t a clue.

  Probably something to do with Bael. The demon had caused her to turn on all the people who cared for her, making her believe lies about them all. He’d taken her mind from her. She’d thought she’d had a choice, but she hadn’t. Bael had done all of this for himself, to make himself stronger. But Amon had never thought to see her power turn black, to burn the good guys.

  When they got her back, Amon had a feeling he’d be uncertain how to act around Jasmine. Even though she hadn’t pulled the trigger, underneath it all, part of her had to still be in there. Part of her had to know she’d hurt him, almost killed him if his body had a say in it.

  But he had to make sure he didn’t lash out at her. Yelling and screaming would do no good, especially if she returned to her former self. Amon had a feeling she’d be wracked with guilt, unable to accept the things she’d done and had wanted to do.

  For now, he’d let the angels handle her and work on getting himself back in shape. He’d see her again when she’d converted back. Although, he didn’t know how long it would take for him to trust her again. It might not be fair…but sometimes life wasn’t.

  Chapter 23

  Saving the Night, Healing the Day

  Beau

  Trudging through the woods with an unconscious girl draped in his arms might not have been the smartest of plans, but Beau didn’t have a choice. Really, he had himself to blame, at least for the unconscious part. But if he hadn’t interfered, Amon would be dead. When he’d found them in the woods, Jasmine had grown tired of using her power on him and instead grabbed a sharpened stick, prodding it toward Amon’s heart. Beau had to stop her, so he’d done what he thought was best. The angels were counting on Jasmine, but Amon happened to be a big part of the story too.

  Beau slammed Jasmine’s feet into a tree. “Oops.”

  Charmeine harrumphed. “Beau! Seriously? You can’t just run unconscious people into inanimate objects.”

  Beau lowered his voice. “It’s not like I meant to.”

  “You know what they say.” Charmeine placed her hands on her hips. “Well meanings are fine, but they sure don’t take you far.”

  Beau stopped moving and half turned to face Charmeine, who’d fallen slightly behind him with her shorter legs. “I have never, in my entire life or my small amount of afterlife, heard anything like that.”

  Charmeine shrugged and skipped past him. “Oh well. Now you have.”

  Beau shook his head but couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips. Never a dull moment with that one around.

  After what seemed like forever, the last of the trees came into view.

  “Finally. I never understood why this one liked this area so much.”

  Charmeine smiled. “Is it really hard to understand? It’s peaceful. If there’s a slight breeze, the branches above sway back and forth in unison, almost as if they are a group on stage rehearsed to do exactly that. It’s beautiful and calming.”

  Beau blew out a breath. “Whatever you say. Must be a woman thing.”

  “And it must be a man thing to be an idiot.” Charmeine stretched her brown wings out. “Seriously. You are an idiot!”

  She flew off, leaving Beau confused. He had no idea what he’d done to upset her so much. He hadn’t been trying to put her down, but in a way, he guessed he put all women down, including her. Except he hadn’t meant it how she’d taken it. He’d wanted to tell her women must appreciate those sorts of things more than men. Maybe if he’d used those words, he wouldn’t have pissed her off so much. He sure had a big mouth.

  One day I’ll learn.

  When Beau came to the closed gate, he wished Charmeine hadn’t flown off. She would have come in handy to flip the little latch and open the gate for him. Instead, he turned to his side, bending at his knees and hoping his hips stuck out enough to catch the hook as he sprang up. The first time he missed. The same thing happened the second. By the third time, he almost hurled Jasmine over the fence in frustration. Luckily, he didn’t.

  “Here, let me help you.” Cole pulled the gate back toward him.

  Beau sighed. “Thanks. I don’t think I’d have ever gotten it open.”

  Cole laughed. “Guess it’s a good thing I came along when I did.”

  Beau shimmied through the opening and started toward the house. “Guess so. You can help me get that open too.” He flicked his head, using it to point to the kitchen door.

  “No problem. I can do that.” Cole frowned. “First, though, you think you can tell me what you did to her?”

  Beau took a deep breath. “I can, but I’m not sure you’ll want to hear it.”

  “Try me.”

  “First, know that she still worked for Bael, even though we all believed her not to. When I found her, she’d almost killed Amon, so I made her go to sleep with my awesome angel powers.” Beau waggled his brows.

  Cole smiled. “I miss the good old days. Like, a month ago…if you would have said something like that, I’d have looked at you like you were crazy. But now, seeing everything we’ve seen…I guess my outlook has changed, ya know?”

  Beau nodded. “Yeah, I do. Remember, not too long ago I was alive and well, living as a human. I died and became an angel, and let me tell you, I’d have never thought that one possible.”

  Cole chuckled. “I guess you would know, maybe even better than me.”

  Beau stopped and faced the dark-haired Angel Blessed. “It will get better down here. I know that. The Big Guy hasn’t come out and said anything yet, but we will come to your aid. None of you are in this alone.”

  Cole pointed at Jasmine. “She was pretty
alone when this happened to her.”

  Beau shook his head. “Not really. You were imprisoned when she volunteered to go undercover to save all of you. We will return her to normal. We are notorious healers, us angels.” Beau winked.

  “All right. I’ll take your word for it.” Cole opened the door. “Now get in there, get the angels, and get to work. There’s no time like the present.” Cole winked at him this time, and Beau walked in the house, smiling. He kind of liked Cole, something he hadn’t realized so much when he’d been alive. Maybe he could chalk it up to lack of time. Things had gotten pretty busy there for a while. And then he’d died, which put quite a damper on everything.

  ***

  When Beau ditched Jasmine on the couch, Ella rushed up behind him before he could even turn around. “Thank you for returning my daughter. Araella is most important.”

  Beau narrowed his eyes at her. “Back up just a minute. Araella?”

  Ella nodded. “Yes, that is the name I gave her. Her angel name.”

  Beau nodded. “Ah, okay. Well, Araella is important to a lot of people, but I can’t say I think you’re one of them. If she is, maybe you should have acted like it before now.”

  “I did everything I did to make sure she stayed safe and out of harm’s way.”

  Beau pressed his lips together. “I get that, but at the end of the day, the thing that matters the most is family. I can tell you that because, as you can see, mine don’t even know I died. They haven’t been around. In a way, I kind of hope the demons got them because at least then they’d have an excuse for not checking on me. Nobody should ever have to feel like that.” Beau paused. “Just think about it. Put yourself in Jasmine’s shoes for a minute. You left her with a mom who couldn’t stand her. Sure, she had her dad, but a lot of good he did since all they did was fight, right in her face, about her. Not a good way to grow up.”