Free Death Knows My Name (Memory Keepers) by Casse Narome Page B

into him.
    What. Are. You. Do-ing ?
    Even in my head, he sounded aroused. If he had to ask, then I wasn’t doing something right. I lifted my head and kissed his jaw line softly, as if my lips were feathers.
    “Shit,” he hissed, and his breath tickled passed my ear. “You are making this extremely hard.”
    I smiled as I kissed his neck. That was the point, at least for me it was. I needed to close the distance he was trying to put between us, if only for a moment. Then, in the scorching air around us, a heavy presence pressed on me and the air sizzled its name, as if it were a reminder of the earlier warning. As if I needed the reminder. Maybe I did need one. It was very potent.
    Valience.
    I almost jerked free of Eric in terror remembering all Valience’s warnings, remembering all he showed me. Not just Dante’s death, but his fellow angels, every single one fallen at his hands. Eric’s grip loosen as I pushed away from him. I was falling. I screamed as I left Eric’s embrace.
    When I opened my eyes, Eric kneeled beside me. I was on my recliner.
    Worry lined Eric’s face. “Are you all right?”
    I took a deep, shaky breath. “I fell.”
    He nodded. “You did. Onto your recliner after you damn near attacked me.”
    “I thought, someone was, coming for you. Coming for you because of me.” I sat up. “I heard . . . never mind, it’s crazy.”
    Eric left my side and took a seat at the table. “Who would be coming for me?”
    I followed him, still not wanting any physical space between us along with the emotional. I slid a chair out to sit across from him with our knees touching.
    “I don’t know his name, but I think it’s Valience. It’s what I always hear when he . . .”
    Eric stilled. Was it in terror?
    “Eric?”
    “Has he threatened you?” The muscles in his jaw tightened. His eyes were a rich brandy color.
    “I-I think . . . he wants . . . you to do what you have come to do . . .  he doesn’t want . . . to lose you . . . so, yes. I do believe you are right. I was threatened.”
    Eric stood up so abruptly that his chair wobbled, almost falling over. He paced the distance of my living room and dining room. I wanted to go to him but something in his eyes told me to stay seated.
    “Who is he, this angel?” I asked. “I assume he is an angel, right?”
    Eric finally stopped pacing, his body tense with emotion.
    “Valience. He is the leader of a group the Angelican host call the Swarm.” His eyes pierced mine.
    “Swarm?” I asked meekly. Swarm of anything didn’t sound all that good.
    “Swarm of Death Angels. You read the Bible?”
    I realized when he paused that the question wasn’t rhetorical. “Born and raised Roman Catholic. I can quote it in my sleep.”
    He nodded. “Then you know their work. Every time there is a call for mass death or destruction, it is the Swarm. They were the Destroyer Angels in Egypt. Valience was called to kill all the first born of the nation, animal and human alike. He has no bounds on what lives he takes. He would take my list and be done with it. He would have no second thought, just wipe them out and be done. No finesse. He is what humans would call an assassin. They all are.”
    I blocked the path, forcing him to stop and face me.
    “Is that what happened to Dante?” There was no anger in my voice, and it surprised me.
    Eric’s sigh was heavy, and displayed how tired he was. Millenniums worth of tired. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back.
    I stepped closer to him and rested my head on his chest, counting the slow beats of his heart. I closed my eyes as the tempo almost lulled me into a false sense of peace. I wasn’t aware that angels had heartbeats, or hearts for that matter.
    “Dante was my fault. I was trying to protect you. I was tired of taking from you. Parents, siblings, friends, and I was supposed to take your lover next?” He stepped away from me like it hurt to have me touching him while he said this. “Valience tried taunting