Scorched

By J. Ashburn

The final book of the Warring Hearts Trilogy!
The story of Caleb and Micah comes to an explosive conclusion in this gay-themed Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.

A rift has opened between the worlds and the inhabitants of Hell are flooding onto the Earth. Led by Lilith, demon of the night, they plan to overrun the world and find a mate for their new leader so she may populate the world with her brood.

It’s a race against time for the fallen angel Caleb and his human lover Micah as they are joined by their friends and the heavenly angel Nehemiah to find a way to stop Lilith and close the rift before it destroys the universe.

Don’t miss the exciting finale of the Warring Hearts— filled with action and adventure, passionate love and blossoming romance, Scorched brings the entire series full circle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. Ashburn
• Release date: May 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463399002

J. Ashburn

J. Ashburn is your source for exciting, sensual gay paranormal fiction featuring unique stories, magical characters and wild settings. Werewolves, witches, polymorphs, psychic warriors, phantoms, creatures of the night and more dominate the worlds of J. Ashburn. Follow the paths of romance and the supernatural entwined with hearts and minds of men who love men.

Book preview

Scorched

The Warring Hearts Trilogy

Book 3

J. Ashburn

Copyright © 2018 by J. Ashburn Fiction

All Rights Reserved

Cover Art Copyright © 2018 by Clarissa Yeo

All characters, events and descriptions in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons living or dead are the product of the author’s imagination and are purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any mean, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from J. Ashburn.

The Warring Hearts Trilogy

Bedeviled

Infernal

Scorched

1.

Caleb heard the sound of hissing and it stirred him. He sat up and looked around the dark bedroom. Could it have been Micah? He turned to his left and saw the outline of Micah’s body in the bed beside him. He slept soundlessly. The hissing continued. Caleb got out of bed and followed the sound into the hallway.

All of the bedroom doors were closed. Rick and Nick were both asleep, and not a soul crept among the shadow-filled rooms. Caleb, the fallen angel, made his way to the front door. The hissing grew louder behind it.

He yanked the door open to discover the front yard filled with snakes. Every square inch of the yard slithered with hissing, squirming serpents as far as the eye could see. They hung in the trees, falling to the ground. They coiled around each other, on top of each other, and hissed even louder, almost deafening now. The snakes turned their attention on Caleb and slithered toward him with alarming speed.

Caleb recoiled. A gasp escaped him and his heart pounded against his heaving chest. The snakes were upon him. Their hissing filled the air. He covered his ears and screamed—

A moment later, he was awake in bed, bathed in sweat. Caleb looked around the room. All was quiet. He could still feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He turned to look at the slumbering Micah and sighed with relief. He climbed out of bed, craving water. His throat felt like it was filled with sandpaper.

He made his way down the hall and saw Nehemiah sitting on the couch, staring quizzically at him.

Brother, are you troubled? Nehemiah asked him.

It was just a dream.

I did not know we could dream.

Our human bodies experience many wonders here. Once you start letting yours rest, you will begin to have them.

I do not need sleep.

You most certainly will. I can see how tired your body is becoming.

That is why I go to the lake. It restores me.

You cannot right now. You know this…

Nehemiah bowed his head. I know.

Caleb walked over and sat down beside the angel. He put his arm around his shoulders. You are troubled, too.

Nehemiah parted his lips to speak, but reconsidered.

I understand, Caleb said. Have no fear. Our barriers are strong. Michael cannot see you.

I never thought the day would come where I would be hiding from Heaven. I will be eternally punished for disappointing Michael. Nehemiah’s eyes welled up with tears.

It will be all right. Caleb ran his fingers through Nehemiah’s blond hair. Michael will always love you. He will understand someday.

Nehemiah cracked a weak smile. That someday is so far away.

Caleb took Nehemiah’s hand and squeezed it gently. Until then, you can stay with us as long as you want. He stood up and headed back toward the kitchen. But, right now, I thirst for some water.

We thirst, too?

Caleb grinned. We cannot walk in this world without a human body, and, thus, we are bound by this world’s rules, and the rules of its bodies. The longer you stay here on Earth in your human body, the more you will grow hungry, thirsty, fatigued, weak, and many other things. You must restore your body or it will fail and you will be sent back to Heaven, or, as in my case…

I understand.

Thank you. Caleb nodded, then grabbed a glass from the kitchen cabinet. He filled it with water and drank it down with some haste. I am going back to bed before Micah misses me. Rest well.

Thank you, brother.

Caleb flashed him another smile and crept quietly down the hallway. He slipped back into the bedroom and climbed into bed.

Micah stirred. He squinted his eyes and stretched. Are you all right?

Yes. I got out of bed to quench my thirst.

Okay. Micah rubbed his face and slid his arms around Caleb. Something bothering you?

No, honestly. I am well.

Micah kissed the back of Caleb’s neck and rubbed his chest. Are you sure?

Yes. I was also checking on Nehemiah.

Is he okay?

He misses his home. I can sense the sadness and fear in him.

I bet you miss your home, too.

It has been thousands of years for me. It’s been a few months for him. These feelings are all new to him.

That’s my point, Micah said. You have been in exile for so long. If anyone misses Heaven, it’s you.

It’s also an adjustment getting used to a human body.

And what a great body you chose. Micah kissed him on the cheek.

I didn’t completely choose it. It was a metaphysical metamorphosis that was pulled from the memories of my contact with humans and my Father’s images of his creations and what I would have looked like if I had been born in this world and…

Okay, okay, Micah chuckled. I’m too tired for a science lesson or spiritual lesson or whatever it is. I just like the way you turned out. Inside and out.

Caleb turned onto his side to face Micah. I like the way you turned out, too.

Micah smiled and leaned in to kiss Caleb.

They folded against one another, kissing deeply, licking each other’s lips. Caleb basked in the feeling of Micah’s warm body pressing against him. He ran his hand down the length of Micah’s body and caressed the small of his back.

Micah sighed before climbing on top of Caleb and showering him with kisses. Caleb felt Micah’s tongue wash over his neck and dart in and out of his left ear. It sent goosebumps down his arms and legs.

A smile stretched across Caleb’s face as he wrapped his arms around Micah and made out with him. He felt Micah’s fingers run through his hair, and it relaxed him even more, making him forget the dream that had woken him.

We really should be resting, Caleb whispered.

This is my kind of rest. We’ll sleep like babies right after, promise.

I believe you.

Micah grinned at him as he slid his hand down between Caleb’s legs.

###

Tom Arson hadn’t slept all the way through a night since the event began. The crack in the fabric between the worlds was only the beginning. It was going to get worse. Much worse.

He chugged down his bottle of beer and set it on the nightstand. Slipping off the bed, he went to his hotel room window, opened it, and lit a cigarette. He watched the cigarette smoke ripple out the window and trail away into the air. Tom spotted the moon in the far corner of the horizon and noted that it was close to setting, meaning dawn would soon come.

It didn’t matter. Day or night, the denizens of Hell would keep coming as the rift grew bigger. Tom took another drag on his cigarette and shook his head.

Shit.

He walked back into room and stared into the mirror mounted on the wall above the desk. Now, that’s shit. He swore he had aged a few years since he’d arrived here in Blackstone.

Tom spotted something in the mirror before walking away from it. On the wall above his bed, the wallpaper had torn. He turned around and climbed onto his bed, crawling across the comforter and atop the pillows to lean on the headboard. He stared at the tear in the wallpaper and noticed that the tear was in the shape of a snake. The edges of the tear were blackened as though singed. He touched the rip with his fingers and let his hand slide up to the crucifix he had mounted on the wall above his bed.

Huh. So much for that. He looked around the room at all of the other symbols of protection he’d hung up. The Star of David, a dreamcatcher, an Egyptian ankh, a Celtic cross, and a few others adorned the walls, the threshold, and the windows.

What good are any of you?

Luckily, he’d poured salt in front of his door and under his window every night before trying to get some sleep and set up angel barriers because you just couldn’t be too careful. He considered these things to be pretty foolproof.

Still, the wallpaper was torn and in the shape of a serpent. Something had breached his protection and barriers. Of course, this could all be in his head. Could be that the rip just looked liked what his mind wanted it to look like.

No. Tom shook his head again. He was too good for that. He knew the difference between real and unreal, between fake and fantastic, between coincidence and manifestation. This was definitely a manifestation. But, of what? What was coming through that rift? Or--

What already has? Tom scratched his head and beard and felt something awful stirring in the pit of his stomach. Although he could probably blame that on the enchiladas and refried beans he had had for dinner, and the flan he’d had for dessert. Maybe. His stomach rumbled and he grabbed one of his occultist tomes before heading for the bathroom. To be continued. The words ran through his head like an old TV show.

###

Baby Zach’s wails shattered the quiet of the house. Cole and Sondra both woke with a start.

Cole stretched and tried to pull himself out of his slumber. Didn’t we just put him down again for the fourth time an hour ago?

It’s your turn, Sondra mumbled.

"Jeez. When did Zach turn from the