Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(30)

She gave me a reassuring pat. “Okay, I’ll try to make you understand. I probably should start at the beginning. Long before there were humans on the Earth plane, angels and demons used it as a battlefield. As happens on occasion, not all demons are entirely bad as not all angels can maintain their perfect goodness. Some fell from both sides. Some male and some female. Do you understand where I’m going?”

“Yes, some of the demons hooked up with some of the angels and started making babies.” I summed up the story as old as time.

Felicity nodded. “Exactly. They could no longer live on their planes and chose to populate the Earth plane. Later, my father created humans and the bloodlines became mixed. It’s rare, but sometimes the demon blood shows up in the population, almost always in the male, and a vampire is born. The same is true of the angelic blood in the female. This is what you call a companion.”

It was my turn to sputter. “You’re telling me I’m descended from an angel?”

Neil was going to get a kick out of that one, but I finally understood why I could use the Revelation and Daniel could not. I suppose it also made sense that faeries were closer to angels, while a werewolf took after the demonic side.

“Yes, you are. It’s the balance to the demon. It’s why they’re attracted to you. They want the balance. Vampires, for the most part, don’t wish to be destructive. But the companion’s true role was lost over time, and they became very rare indeed. Now, apparently the vampire’s possessive nature has taken over and they subjugate their companions, never understanding what that companion can do for them.”

“What can I do for him?” As far as I knew, I was just around to feed Daniel.

“You’ve already done most of the work. A vampire is very impressionable when he turns. The Council chooses to use this to fashion an army. You mentioned the word slave, but it better refers to the way the Council treats vampires. New vampires are forced into blood oaths that make them pliable and eager to serve those who are stronger. They lose much of their own free will.”

“Daniel went through the same training.” He rarely spoke of it, but when he did, it was with a deep bitterness. Those three years he spent in the Council’s care were the worst of his life. I’d learned from Marcus that Daniel had proven difficult to train.

“Daniel was different. The day he rose he took his companion’s blood into his body. There is no blood oath strong enough to break the promise you made to him that night. They could feed him ancient blood every day, but it couldn’t change who Daniel is. He learned to conform but never to fit in. It’s caused him much anxiety because he didn’t understand. Your blood was his misery and his salvation. I believe it will be the salvation of all this plane’s unique creatures.”

A little shiver raced across my skin. “What do you mean?”

Felicity became very serious. “I mean the Council has become corrupt. They seek dominion over the supernatural world. They believe they can use Daniel to force their will on the other creatures. They don’t understand the bond between you and Daniel. As you balance your husband, so I believe he will prove to balance the Council’s threat. We watch him in Heaven, too.” She gave me a moment to soak that in before she leaned over. “I know you worry that your love for Daniel is tainted because of your unique biology. You view this in the wrong fashion. You have fears because you don’t understand your own nature, but you won’t be afraid forever, Zoey. Rejecting your husband’s love is like saying you wouldn’t accept love from a man because men are attracted to women. It’s foolish.”

“You don’t understand.” That phrase was becoming my mantra.

“There is much on this plane I don’t understand, but this I have experience in.” She sat back and glanced at the bar. She watched Dev for a long moment. I wondered what he looked like to an angel. “You should go to your lover. He’ll need you tonight.”

I was a little surprised. I’d gotten the impression she wouldn’t approve of my relationship with Dev. “No lectures on fidelity?”

“I’ve lectured you enough for one night. Heaven is not the place you think. It is you humans who make it a harsh place for only the most worthy. My boss, as you put it, has an entirely different version of worthy than you could imagine.” She stood up. “I wish you luck, Zoey. I know you will succeed.”

I felt compelled to speak. She’d answered my questions, but I refused the only one she’d asked of me. “It depends, you know, on why you’re sleeping with a person.”

“I wonder because I know nothing of the physical. I only have experience with the spiritual. I always wondered. You think you don’t love Devinshea, yet still you enjoy mating with him.”

“I care about Dev,” I pointed out, not wanting to admit anything even to myself. “I really do. I enjoy sleeping with him because it feels good. He’s a very skilled lover. There’s nothing that can take your mind off your troubles like a man who plays your body like a fine instrument, and Dev is good at that. It’s good to feel close to someone.”

“And what is it like with your Daniel?”

I blinked back the tears that sprang up. I took a deep breath before I answered her as honestly as I could. “I don’t know what Heaven’s like, but I would bet it feels like that.”