longer had the sharp, crystalline quality of angelic auras. That was gone, replaced by a dark and smoky feel - a smokiness that had nothing to do with the fire.
The flames finally disappeared altogether, and Yasmine still knelt on the floor. Seconds later, another signature joined us, one I knew well. Jerome stood in the room, apparently back from whatever clandestine matters he'd needed to oversee.
He looked from face to face, finally focusing on mine. "Jesus Christ. What have you done now?"
I ignored him, unable to tear my gaze from Yasmine. She looked the same, exactly the same. And yet, she wasn't...
She'd noticed the change too. She held her arms out in front of her, studying them as though she'd never seen herself before. Horror flooded her features.
"No," she moaned. "No..." She began sobbing again.
Carter finally looked away from her and met Jerome's eyes. "This is yours now, Charon."
Jerome nodded and stepped toward Yasmine. "Time to go."
She looked up at him, face glistening with tears. She said nothing, but she didn't need to. Her expression said everything. It was a plea, a plea that none of this was real, that maybe - just maybe - Jerome could make it all go away. He shook his head and touched her shoulder. They vanished.
The room was quiet, an unnatural quiet that felt almost oppressive. My voice seemed strange and out of place.
"Wh-what happened?" I asked Carter. I noticed now that Whitney was crying.
"Yasmine has fallen," he said softly. "She's a demon now."
CHAPTER 23
I couldn't stay in my bedroom after that, not after seeing two angels die - one physically and one spiritually. I had to get out of there, out of the apartment. None of the others seemed to notice or care that I fled. With Nyx captured, there were bigger things to worry about in the universe than one distraught succubus.
I'd been driving in the car for about ten minutes before I realized where I was going. Dante's. Vincent's talk about the evil charm suddenly seemed unimportant. What I needed right now was to talk to someone about what I'd seen. Seth wouldn't entirely understand, and besides, matters still weren't fixed between us. Discussing serious things with the vampires was hard for me sometimes. I was still mad at Hugh. I wouldn't bother Erik since he was still recovering. Dante was all I had left.
He opened the door to his store after I banged on it for about five minutes. The messy hair and wrinkled clothing showed me that I'd woken him again. He looked annoyed, as usual, when I walked inside.
"Didn't it work? I told you - " He took a closer look at me. "What happened?"
I staggered to one of the chairs and collapsed into it, hands resting on the side of my forehead. I could have been a mirror of Yasmine. I opened my mouth to speak, to explain what had happened...but no words came out. He knelt beside me.
"Succubus. You're freaking me out here. What happened?"
I stared blankly at him for several seconds before finally focusing on his concerned face. "She fell."
"Huh? Nyx?"
"No...Yasmine."
"Who?"
My eyes went unfocused again as I remembered that black flame. The horrible sound. Blinking, I tried to shake it off and turn my attention to Dante. "She's an angel. Was an angel. Maybe she still is. I don't know. Fuck, I don't know. I don't know what she is."
He reached out and gripped my arms, shaking me slightly to get my attention again. "Look, you're losing me. I don't know how an angel falling ties into Nyx. If it ties into Nyx. You've gotta calm down and start from the beginning. Take a deep breath." I did. "Now another." I did. "Now talk."
I did.
It was hard at first, and I had a few false starts. Finally, however, I was able to back up and explain the cast of angels to Dante. The story slowly spilled from my lips, and I told him all about what had happened: Nyx's capture, Joel's death, and Yasmine's fall.
He kept his hands on my arms when I finished, and I later realized it was to steady me. I was shaking. Several quiet minutes passed as we sat there. He exhaled at last and shook his head.
"Fuck, succubus. That's a lot for one night. Even for you." He touched my chin with his hand and tilted my face up. "But you know angels fall. You know they still fall. All the time."
"But I've never seen it," I whispered. "In