Forbidden: Broken

Chapter 9

Her skin itched.

Her sleep was broken with the need to kill and she sat up with a gasp.

Hurry Elathan. She imagined her death. How would it feel? How badly would it hurt?

Closing her eyes, she threw herself back onto the bed. No, she could wait. She could wait as long as she had to.

Maybe he could push it away like he did that night? Maybe she didn't have to die. His touch had quieted the animal inside her then. Maybe it could again.

She found herself dressing in her leathers. No. She wanted to wait. She had to.

She strapped her sais to her legs and braided her hair.

Wait! Don't do this!

She tucked the braid down her shirt and zipped it up. Her shoulders slumped slightly. Looked like she was going to hunt. If this ended what she was, Elathan would find her. He gave her his word.

With a last tight yank on a strap, she left without looking back.

~~~

The demons traveling with him were idiots.

Their discussion of the merits of blades was an old one. As ancient as he was, he had taken pleasure in them both, but the whip was far more elegant in its pain. His wings twitched inside his back. He knew that exquisite suffering only too well. And here he was, hunting the very angel that saved him. Not by choice, of course, but that didn't make it easier.

Hopefully, Sitri would understand his coded messages.

He flashed them into the same room that he and Irin occupied only a few short days ago. Sitri turned from the window and looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Lath Ane?" His eyes moved over the demons behind Elathan. He was no fool. With the entourage and the look in Elathan's eyes, he knew exactly what was going on.

Sitri didn't know if the demon in front of him knew it yet, but he could see the depth of his love for the angel he held the other night. He could see it and feel it. The suffering that the ancient demon must be going through right now must be bone deep.

He took a deep breath, calming the beast that roared at the thought of Elathan's pain.

"We are hunting an angel." Elathan said, taking a step toward "The last time I felt her was here."

Sitri almost laughed at the message in those gold eyes. He didn't need him to try to tell him he needed help.

"Indeed, there has been one, but not for a while. Feel free to look around."

The other demons headed out of the door and into the main area.

Sitri's eyes followed them and when the last demon had left the room, the door closed. "That was easier than I thought it would be. What is hell coming to if our young are so easily... duped?"

"Sitri, they want me to find her. They want me to kill her."

Sitri met Elathan's gaze and the pain in them shook him. Even his beast quieted under the onslaught of agony he saw.

"Have you told her?" Sitri asked.

"How could I? They just told me to do this. Since then, I have been stuck with them."

"Not that. Have you told her of your feelings?"

How did Sitri know?

"No, thank whatever." That was the only slightly good thing in this fucked up situation. If he had told her his feelings, and then do what he was going to have to do... Seeing as how he couldn't warn her, she would have seen it as the ultimate betrayal. Hell, she would anyway. "I need your help."