Tempest’s POV

“Yo, Shads!” Pandora called, grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the light.

No! I wanted to stay in the warmth. It was cold in the dark, not to mention very hard to see. What was so important we had to leave right now, huh? I looked back over my shoulder longingly, hoping that she was taking me back to get one of those delicious drinks.

“This is my night off, Pandora... If you want to start a fight, come by tomorrow,” an eerily familiar voice grumbled, causing me to snap my head back forward. I opened and closed my mouth as I stopped dead in my tracks, a feeling of fear washing over me. She was taking us back to the fallen that had captured us before?! What was Pandora thinking?

I held my breath as Pandora dropped my hand and ripped what appeared to be a white stick out of his mouth. I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest as I watched her get right up in the big brutes face. She didn’t even look scared… but I guess that’s what happens when you commanded the devil’s army. “Hey! What’s the big ide—”

“Shut up.” Pandora hissed, as nervously chewed my bottom lip. Was she going to send me back with them because I lost the book? “He’s inside?”

Wait a minute, he? Who was she looking for? Was she going to introduce me to a new friend? I loved meeting new people… well as long as they didn’t try to hurt me. I would really do anything to get away from this big man in front of us. He had a mighty strong grip and I didn’t want to fall victim to it again.

“Who? Gates?” the brute asked pulling another small stick from a red, white, and gold box. “Yeah, he’s inside.”

“Perfect,” Pandora replied before looking back at me. I shot her a pleading look, almost begging her to get us away from here but she just smiled at me. “Oh don’t be scared, love, this is Shads. When he’s not on patrol, he’s quite nice.”

I frowned and looked away from Pandora and Shads hushed conversation, feeling very confused. He was quite nice? The man who tied my hands together and took me prisoner? She had to be joking right? I’m not sure what the definition of ‘kind’ was to a demon but something told me to trust Pandora. She had proven herself trustworthy to me, plus she was the only one who had helped me out in my time of need. If anyone deserved redemption in the eyes of God, it was certainly Pandora. I would make sure to put in a good word for her if I ever got to return to the Silver City.

“Great, then help her come up with a last name,” Pandora said, pulling me from my thoughts. She flashed me a small smile before she turned around and left me with the big brute. “Something that doesn’t scream – I’m ninety and I’ve given up on life.”

“So you need a name, huh?” The big brute of man asked, blowing out big cloud of smoke. I coughed and tried to wave the smoke away but it was already burning my eyes. Why did people do that? It didn’t even smell good!

“Me?” I asked quietly, looking around to make sure he was actually addressing me.

Shadows rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall, his hazel eyes looking me up and down with an amused smirk on his face. What? Did he think these human clothes were defective too? “Yes you, angel girl.”

“I actually have a name… but Pandora said I need a last name too. Though I’m not really sure why,” I mused, biting down on my bottom lip. What was with all these names down here on earth? In Heaven I was simply Enepsigos and everyone knew my name. Here people only seemed to refer to me as Angel.

Shadows chuckled again as he brought the white stick to his lips again. “It’s a odd custom I know, I felt the same way at first,” he explained, watching me closely. “But it helps to blend in among the humans. If they knew what we really were, everyone would be out to get us. It’s like our own human camouflage.”

“Camouflage,” I repeated, tapping my lips with the tip of my finger. This Shads guy was really helping put things into perspective for me. Maybe it was because he was a fallen too. “So they wont try to take our powers?”

“Exactly.” He nodded before blowing out another cloud of the noxious smoke. “So what’s your first name, blondie?”

“Tempest,” I frowned, anxiously pulling at the hem of the skirt again. I felt so exposed… though those pantie things were making me feel a little bit more covered.

“No wonder Pandora didn’t want you to sound like an old bat,” the man laughed again but I didn’t understand. What was everyone laughing about? I didn’t seem to get the joke.

I frowned and bit down on my bottom lip as I looked up at him. “Erm… I’m sorry but what’s an ‘old bat’?” Well, apparently that was even funnier.

“Never mind, listen angel girl, I’ll throw out some names and you pick on you like. We’ll make this short and sweet so it doesn’t take all fucking night,” Shadows said and I nodded. “Tempest Danielson?”

I furred my eyes brows and shook my head, not liking the sound of that name at all. “Okay, so how about Tempest Melson?” Another No. “Tempest Woodworth? Tempest Johnson? Tempest Rodriguez?”

“I don’t think so,” I sighed, twisting my long blonde hair between my fingers.

“Come on, angel girl, this isn’t that hard,” Shads sighed, blowing out yet another cloud of smoke from the white thing. How long was he going to keep that up? Didn’t it get boring? “How about Tempest Miller? No… fucking hell…. Tempest Klark?”

“Yes! That one! I like it!” I squealed, looking up at the big brute with a beaming smile. I quickly reached out and hugged him, only to feel his rock hard body shake with a laugh. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“Oh, the pleasures all mine…” He said, though somehow it didn’t sound quite genuine. “Now lets go inside and get a drink. I’m parched.”

“Ooh! Like one of those Daiquiri thingys Pandora was giving me?!” I buzzed with excitement and all Shads did was shake his head in amusement. “Oh! I can’t wait to tell Pandora the news! Come on!” I said, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him back inside through the crowd. I could see her little form at the bar and my excitement was almost killing me.

“Calm down, angel girl,” Shadows sighed as I pulled him along with me. “What’s the rush? You’ve got all damn night.”

“Pandora!” I called, my hands waving. “Pandora! We figured it out! It’s Klark!” I exclaimed, reaching out and pulling her into a rib-crushing hug as she muttered something unintelligible under her breath. “Now I can really start fulfilling my purpose!”

“Enough! Enough! What did I tell you about that?” Pandora sighed, pulling away from me and shooting me a pointed look. What she didn’t like hugs? I thought everyone did… “It’s a lost cause that we shouldn’t really talk about here…” she whispered, her eyes darting around.

“And what is cause for this celebration?” A deep melodic voice asked from behind Pandora. She instantly froze and her muscles stiffened, almost like she was trying to control herself.

I looked over the demon’s shoulder to see the man with heavily tattooed arms, spiked hair, and gorgeous brown eyes from the mansion. A smirk adorned his handsome features while those hauntingly beautiful brown eyes staring back. There was just something about him that drew me toward him, but Pandora’s hand on my arm kept me from moving closer.

“Angel girl just picked out her first human name,” Shads answered, moving past me over to the bar to get a drink. Ooh, make that two please! “May I introduce you to Tempest Klark.” Shads nodded in my direction and raised his glass before he downed the clear contents.

“Welcome to your first night on earth,” the man they called Gates said, his eyes never leaving me. He looked me up and down before the smirk grew on his face, causing my face to burn with a blush. “This calls for a round of drinks.”

“Gates you better not—” Pandora warned taking a step toward him, only for him to press a finger to her lips as he stood up.

“Please Pandora, let’s not ruin this young beauty’s first night on earth,” Gates smirked, waving her off. “Now be a good little demon and get the girl a drink,” he practically purred, moving over to take my hand. As soon as our skin touched, I couldn’t help but gasp and recoil from the spark I felt. What on earth was that? “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced—”

“Gates I’m warning you! She’s not one of your little toys,” Pandora warned, stepping in between us, glaring him down. What was she doing? I thought he was being rather… charming. Why wouldn’t Pandora want him around me?

Gates threw his head back with a laugh before Shadows passed me one of those delicious pink drinks. Yum! I quickly pulled the little black straw to my lips and took a long sip, a moan escaping my lips. Why were these flavored waters so tasty? We certainly didn’t have anything like this in the Silver City and let me just say they were missing out.

“Oh Pandora, when are you going to learn that everyone is my toy,” he laughed before turning his attention back to me. “Now where were we… oh right, I’m Synyster Gates but you my dear can call me Syn,” his melodic voice sounded close to my ear. It was honestly more beautiful than the angel choir in the Silver City.

“Nice to meet you, Syn,” I frowned as he took my hand and kissed the back of it, his lips lingering a little longer than necessary. Syn… Just the sound of his name made me feel uncomfortable. If there was one thing that angels were supposed to avoid, it was sin. But why did I feel so drawn to him? “I’m Enep—”

“Tempest, Gates—Gates, Tempest, good we’re all acquainted,” Pandora said gesturing between us and pulling me into her side. She seemed to be very keen on keeping me away from Gates, but I really wasn’t sure why. I mean he was a fallen angel too, and we both knew what my purpose was here. “Now, come on, Teek, we’ve got some dancing to do,” she said before dragging me away from the bar and into the crowd.

Wait a minute? Did she just call me Teek? Did she already forget what my name was? “Dancing? But this isn’t the right music,” I argued, but followed nonetheless. “Where’s the string quartets or the orchestra?”

“The what? You know what, never mind. Just listen to the beat, love,” Pandora chuckled. “But just word of the wise, stay away from Gates. You don’t want anything he has to offer,” she said, shaking her head.

I raised my brow in confusion as I looked back at her, feeling the beat of the music pulsing through my veins. “What would he want to offer me?” I asked before sipping on the little black straw again. My head was starting to feel a little fuzzy but I attributed it to the loud, bombastic music pumping through the small rooms.

Pandora signed and wrapped her arm around my shoulder so I could hear her better. “Let’s just say Gates isn’t what you think he is, love. Just keep your distance and don’t answer any of his questions about the Silver City, okay?”

“Oookaay…” I answered, more than a little confused.

“Now let’s dance,” Pandora said, running her hands through her long hair before swaying her hips and body provocatively to the beat. It looked like she was doing some kind of primal dance in the middle of the dance floor. I quickly looked around to see everyone else moving the same way What kind of dancing was this? “Come on, Teek, lighten up and move those little hips of yours,” she laughed, watching me stare around the room in awe.

There was that name again. “My name is Tempest… and how do you do that?” I asked, still not understanding the concept of dancing as she called it. It was dancing by any definition that I had seen.

“For the love of God,” she sighed, moving her hands down to my hips and gently pushing them back and forth in a foreign motion. “Like this… now you do it by yourself,” she said, and I did as I was told. I felt awkward, though I had to admit I liked the freedom of this new skirt. No wonder the humans wore them—it all made sense now. “There you go, now try this move.”

I watched and mimicked her motion as she came toward me, touching me as she danced. Whoa! What was she doing? I stopped and took a step back, only to hear her laugh. “Relax, this is how we dance here. We don’t have any orchestras or string quartets or whatever the fuck you were talking about. We have dirty, raw, rock and roll and this is how you move to it. You just let your body take over.”

Let your body take over? I frowned as I thought about her words, watching the others move around. I guess it was a strange concept to me to move however you wanted. “Just listen to the music and do whatever feels right.”

I closed my eyes and let the loud sound permeate my senses. I could feel the driving bass and beat of the music pulsating in my ears and with a deep breath I slowly started to move with it. It was like I was in a trans as I moved my hips and my arms with the music, but yet it felt right. “That’s it, Teek!” Pandora smiled, putting her arms around my neck and moving with me. Why did she keep calling me that?

I still wasn’t familiar with the idea of dancing with another woman, but when on earth, do what the humans did. I threw my head back, letting my long blonde hair cascade down my back like a waterfall, just letting the music take me over. It was honestly the most fun I had had in along time.

Suddenly I felt a pair of hands land on my hips. I gasped and took a step away only be pulled backwards again.

“Care if I join you?” A deep voice sounded in my ear and I looked at Pandora with wide eyes. What was going on?

Notes