Ruined (The Seraphim Series Book 1) Read online

  “Oh, sir,” the brunette shop assistant said with a smile, swaying her hips as Azrael finished paying.

  “Yes?” Azrael sighed impatiently as everyone stood to leave.

  “Please take my card,” she said, biting her lip and not even looking in Lilliah's direction, “in case you need anything else from the store.”

  With a quick jerk of his head, Azrael grabbed Lilliah's hand, leading her out of the shop before she could combust with rage.

  “She actually wrote her number down for you!” Lilliah realised, noticing the number written down in blue ink.

  “Who cares?” He shrugged, dropping it on the floor.

  “I can’t believe that just happened!” Lilliah fumed. “That was so unprofessional.”

  “Baby,” he replied, pulling her to him, smirking, “you really have no need to be jealous.” He had repeated the words she had said to him earlier.

  She knew he was laughing at her, but she just couldn’t help it. This wasn’t like the Jeremy situation. Why did every woman have to find him so attractive? Why did really attractive women have to find him so attractive?

  “She's nothing compared to you,” Azrael murmured into her hair.

  She smiled and hugged him tightly.

  Chapter 18

  “So where are we meeting that guy tonight?” Rebecca asked, putting the last touches of her make-up on while looking in the mirror.

  “Just some club I guess. Azrael never really said,” Lilliah said, putting on her new leather jacket. They had travelled back to London after their shopping trip and were now staying at Azrael’s Mayfair apartment. It was a complete contrast to the old-fashioned mansion they had been staying at before. The apartment was sleek and new, very modern and huge.

  “Do you think what I'm wearing is okay then?” Rebecca asked, turning. They had both decided to dress in black to blend in a little more. Rebecca had chosen a pair of black leggings and a dark printed top, with black ankle boots. “I want to be able to blend in anywhere, you know. Be one of the people,” she said.

  “Yeah. I think you look great,” Lilliah replied, grabbing her shoulder bag. She glanced in the mirror; the pair of skinny black jeans she had chosen did look good on her, and paired with the simple leather jacket, she had to admit, for once in her life, that she looked cool.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  Sebastian was waiting for them outside their bedroom, looking smart in a black dress shirt.

  “Why are we all wearing black?” Lilliah smirked playfully.

  “I look great in black.” He scowled lightly, taking a beaming Rebecca's hand in his. “Does it make me look like Azrael?” he asked, playfully wiggling his eyebrows.

  “No.” She shook her head, walking into the dining room where she could hear Azrael talking.

  “We’re ready,” Lilliah announced with a smile, holding her arms out so he could get a better view of what she was wearing. He had paid for it, after all.

  “You realise we're not going tonight to party, don't you?” Azrael asked as they all piled into the small elevator.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  The truth was, getting ready had taken her mind off what they were about to do. The werewolf they were about to meet, Maliki, knew where her mother was. What if they got her back tonight? What if she was close? All the questions spinning through her mind would drive her crazy if she let them.

  Azrael led them to a sleek, black Range Rover. “The club will be mostly full of vampires and werewolves,” he explained as he got in the driver’s side, with Benedict getting in on the passenger’s side. “None of them will bother any of you. But you have to stay with Benedict while I go and speak to him, okay?”

  “Why did he want to meet there?” Sebastian asked, deliberately not agreeing to stay with Benedict. “You would have thought he'd want to meet somewhere a little more private.”

  “It is a little strange. I think he has ulterior motives. He's a gambler, and from what I hear, he owes a lot of money to a lot of people.”

  A gambler? Lilliah frowned as Benedict talked. Was he really trustworthy enough to help them find her mother?

  “Do you think he's telling the truth?” Lilliah asked. “Do you think he actually knows where Mum is?”

  “He knows something,” Azrael told her confidently. “He wouldn’t dare lie.”

  The club was a complete contrast to Purgatory. It was darker, dirtier, and jam-packed with people. But no one seemed to mind as they danced, grinding themselves against each other to the beat of the music. She kept a tight hold of Azrael’s hand as he led them through the throng of people. She could feel their eyes on her, curious and watching. They could tell she was fallen; Azrael had told her they could sense their power. They knew who she was. They all recognised Azrael immediately; she could hear their excited whispers as they made way to let him pass.

  He really is a legend in this world, she thought as she felt Rebecca reach to hold her hand, not wanting to lose her in the crowd. Lilliah saw that a few people had stopped dancing when they saw Sebastian and Rebecca; their shocked expressions were almost comical. Most of them had probably never seen a demon before, as most of them were securely locked away in hell. But to see a demon with not one but two angels and a human? It must have been unheard of.

  “It can’t be,” she could lip-read people saying.

  She almost stopped breathing as she saw a man heading in Sebastian’s direction. Benedict stepped forward before he could get too close; a warning look was all it took for him to turn on his heels and head in the opposite direction. Sebastian, however, was completely oblivious to what had happened. He was more interested in the club and the music.

  “Azrael,” a voice boomed over the music.

  Lilliah looked as a light-haired man walked towards them, a drink in hand. He looked completely out of place in his smart, dark blue, three-piece suit against the dirty backdrop of the club. It didn’t seem to bother him though, as he walked up to meet them, a huge grin on his face, either completely oblivious to the stares they were receiving or just plainly ignoring them.

  “For a moment there, I thought you weren’t coming,” he said, his eyes drifting to Lilliah and then on to Sebastian behind her. “And you brought her, and a demon,” he said, sounding a little perplexed. “That’s a little strange,” he stated, frowning. “But then again, what business is it of mine what company you keep?” He shrugged, turning back to Azrael, who didn’t look happy.

  “Exactly. Now do you have a private booth we can go in?” Azrael asked, getting straight to the point. Even with the noise of the music, Azrael’s voice rang crystal clear.

  “Yes, of course.” Maliki led the way, leaving the rest of the club patrons to their whispering about why the angel Azrael would want to talk to the werewolf Maliki.

  “What do you know about her mother?” Azrael asked simply once they were all seated. “Who has her?”

  “Hello.” Maliki turned to Lilliah, stretching out his hand and completely ignoring Azrael’s question. “I’m Maliki. You must be Lilliah.”

  She nodded mutely as she shook his hand.

  “It really is an honour to meet you. You are just as beautiful as they say.” His smile wasn’t creepy. Rather, it was more comforting.

  “Thank you,” she replied, blushing slightly. He looks sincere, she thought, watching as his attentions then went to Sebastian.

  “And a demon.”

  “Yes, I’m a demon,” Sebastian told him plainly, sitting back confidently in his chair. “What about it?”

  Maliki laughed as he took another sip of his drink. “There is nothing about it.” He smiled. “You’re just a rarity. In all my years, I’ve never met a demon such as yourself.”

  Sebastian relaxed slightly, no longer feeling like he was being judged.

  “Maliki,” Azrael cut in sternly. “I’m not here to play games. What do you know?”

  “In about”—he paused, looking past all of them and into the crowd—“thirty seco
nds, two men will walk up and ask me to leave with them. The bigger one is the guy who took your mother,” he said, glancing at Lilliah. “So meet us outside,” he quickly finished, taking another sip of his drink.

  Before anyone could answer him, two men walked up to the table.

  “Hello there, Maliki.” The smaller man spoke first, his eyes nervously glancing in Azrael and Benedict’s directions as the bigger man, the man they had just been speaking about, stepped forward.

  “Hello there, chaps,” Maliki chirped. “What can I do you for?”

  “We need to have a private word with you. Outside,” the larger man spoke, his cockney accent clear.

  “Well,” he sighed, “as you gentlemen can see, I have guests. I couldn’t possibly leave when they’ve just arrived.”

  Azrael looked at the two men, his eyes scanning them over. It could have looked casual, but Lilliah knew he was assessing them. Benedict was scanning the room. They were both alert and ready for anything.

  “They’ll be fine. Meet us outside. Now!” Both men left the table. Lilliah watched as they walked out through a fire exit.

  “Meet me outside,” Maliki instructed, downing the rest of his drink. “As quickly as possible would be great. This is a new suit.” He smiled while heading in the same direction as the two other men.

  “What do you think?” Benedict spoke first. “Was he telling the truth?”

  “For his sake, he better be.” Lilliah couldn’t help the shudder that ran through her. Azrael meant business. “Stay here with Benedict,” he instructed her. She was already getting up to leave.

  “Wait. He said I could go with him,” Lilliah protested.

  “You are. You’re at the club,” Benedict reminded. “He didn’t want to bring you this close. Be thankful.”

  “So we're just going to wait here? What's the point in that?” Sebastian asked, clearly annoyed. He was itching for action; Lilliah knew he was dying to fight someone, to show off his newly found skills. She wanted to help too. She didn’t want to be sitting on the sidelines while everyone else saved her over and over again; it was getting a little pathetic. Not giving herself a minute to second-guess herself, she shot up from her seat and ran to the fire exit.

  “Lilliah!” Benedict’s protests were drowned out by the music as she pushed the door open.

  “Please,” the larger man begged on all fours on the floor, blood dripping from his mouth. “I told you I don't know anything.”

  “You must know something,” Maliki said, pushing his hair back from his face. His perfectly tailored suit was a little dirty, his hair now ruffled, and a little drip of blood sat in the corner of his mouth. He was right when he’d told Azrael to hurry.

  “Lilliah,” Benedict seethed, grabbing her arm. Rebecca and Sebastian were close on his heels.

  Azrael looked up, not at all surprised to see she was there.

  “Oh,” Rebecca muttered, staring at the man on the floor and then to the unconscious man a few feet away, whom Lilliah had missed. “I guess he's not the ‘let's talk about this’ kinda guy then?” she asked, using her fingers to make air quotes. Lilliah shook her head, amused.

  “Close the door,” he commanded before turning back to his victim on the ground. “I don't have time to play your games,” Azrael said, crossing his arms over his chest. “What's your name?”

  “My name’s Jonathan,” he said, spitting out more blood. “I told you everything I know.”

  “You've told me nothing,” he said, crouching down so he was now at eye level with him. “I can tell you what I’m going to do. I'll give you a minute to gather your thoughts. You think about this very carefully. If you still don't remember, well . . .” He shrugged, looking around the dark alley. “Well then, I’ll have to make you remember.” He got up, leaving the man staring at his back with a look of pure horror.

  “I'd think of something very quickly if I were you,” Maliki suggested, following Azrael.

  “Why do you never listen to me?” Azrael asked Lilliah.

  “When are you going to realise you can’t tell me what to do?” she shot back smugly. “So, he's not telling you anything?” she asked, nodding towards the man named Jonathan.

  “I like her,” Maliki said, smiling. “You stand up to him. No one else does.”

  Lilliah smiled back.

  “He's saying he was hired. He doesn’t know who hired him or why. But someone hired him to take your mother,” Azrael told her, his attention switching from Lilliah to Sebastian.

  “Do you believe him?” Sebastian asked, watching the man slowly stand, his legs shaky.

  “He knows more than he's letting on,” Azrael said confidently. “I wouldn’t try and run if I were you, Jonathan,” he said a little louder, his back still to the man who now swallowed nervously.

  “You will never be able to outrun me,” Azrael continued, turning around to face him. The unconscious man groaned.

  Lilliah watched as Azrael walked towards him, slowly. Then, before Lilliah could realise what was happening, Azrael was over the man whose name she didn’t know, his hands on his head.

  “This is what happens to people who are no longer of any use to me,” he said through gritted teeth, staring Jonathan in the eye. With one powerful thrust, he pulled the man's head off his shoulders, the now lifeless body twitching on the ground.

  “Oh!” Rebecca gagged, covering her mouth in shock; Sebastian pulled her to him, trying to shield her. Lilliah didn’t look away. She couldn’t.

  “So make up your mind now, Jonathan,” he told him, still holding the head in his hands. “Are you going to be of use to me, or not?”

  “I'll tell you everything I know. I–I . . .” he stammered. “I just don't know a whole lot.”

  “Good.” Azrael smiled, throwing the man's head to the floor. “Benedict.” He motioned, walking over to Lilliah.

  With a quick nod of his head, Benedict muttered a few words, making Jonathan fall to the ground in an unconscious heap.

  “Not that this wasn’t fun,” Maliki said, smirking, “but I assume that I am no longer needed?”

  “No. You'll come with us,” Azrael shot back. “We still have a few things to talk about. You can ride with Benedict and help him with this,” he said, motioning to the unconscious man. “I'll take him, Sebastian and Rebecca. We’ll meet you there.”

  “Oh, okay,” Maliki agreed, uncertainty written all over his face.

  “What did Benedict do to Jonathan?” Lilliah asked as Azrael took her hand and pulled her back into the club. “Did he kill him too?” she quickly asked before the loud music made it impossible to hear or speak to each other.

  He didn’t answer; instead, he pulled her through the crowd.

  Azrael led them outside the club and quickly hailed a taxi. They rode in silence to his apartment, no one sure what to say. Azrael kept a tight hold of her hand, refusing to let her go, which meant Sebastian had to sit in the front.

  “That club looked fun,” Rebecca said awkwardly, trying to fill the silence as they pulled up outside the apartment complex. “I mean, it’s no Purgatory,” she carried on when no one else spoke. “But it was cool.”

  “Yeah. We should go back sometime. We could bring our old school friends!” Sebastian laughed sarcastically, shaking his head as he got out of the car.

  “I was being serious,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “You’re a demon, and she's an angel,” she said, nodding her head in Lilliah's direction. “You can go to places like that now.”

  Lilliah smiled, looking over at her friend; she really could lighten any mood without trying. Was it strange that they had just seen someone die and it didn’t seem to have affected any of them? Had they all changed so much that death didn’t bother them at all now?

  “You guys should get some sleep,” Azrael cut in.

  “What are you going to do with that guy?” Sebastian pressed eagerly. “I want to be there. I want to know what he knows.”

  “This isn’t a game, Sebastian
.” The harshness in Azrael’s voice made them all flinch. “I'll inform you of everything, but right now, you need to go upstairs.”

  Sebastian held his gaze for a moment, clearly sizing up his options. “Right,” he nodded, walking towards the elevator. They all followed in silence.

  “How long will it take?” Lilliah asked once they were alone.

  Azrael moved around the room, his posture rigid and his features hard.

  “Hey,” she whispered, walking up to him to take his hand. “What's wrong?”

  “I should be asking you that. You just saw me kill someone,” Azrael said as he turned, letting go of her hand and purposely giving them distance. She didn’t like it. “So how do you feel?”

  “I've seen you kill a vampire before. Remember Darius?” she said, referring to the vampire that Azrael had killed in her kitchen.

  “This is different.”

  “I just—I don't know how I feel.” She thought about it for a second. The truth was that she didn’t really feel anything. What she had just seen Azrael do hadn’t shocked her at all. If anything, it was her own reaction that frightened her. “I don’t feel anything,” she shared honestly.

  “It's what I am,” he began, his face still hard and expressionless. “I'm a killer. I’ve killed more people than I can count. I hate that you've seen it, but please don't look at me like I’m a monster.”

  She shook her head, feeling confused. He clearly didn’t understand what she’d meant. “You’re not a monster. I don't think you are.” She stopped trying to find the best way to explain it without sounding like a psychopath or really sick in the head. “I know I should have been afraid or scared or even shocked. But I wasn’t. Seeing that didn’t affect me at all. I know what you are. I know what you've done. And I don't care.” She watched his eyes narrow, trying to find out whether she was telling the truth.

  “I'm not squeaky clean. I have and I will do things that you will find scary. I need to know you won’t run.”

  “I’m not running!” she stressed. “I'm here. I’ve not moved.” He didn’t look convinced, so she carried on. “I know what you've done and what you can do, Azrael. That doesn’t scare me. What scares me is that I’ve just watched you kill a man. I watched a man die and it didn’t change how I feel about you, and it didn’t even affect me at all.” She was pulled into his arms.