Duncan's Descent by Marie Harte

to confront a woman who’d killed her ailing mother.”
    Sapphira sat across from him on the couch, fascinated that he’d shared something of himself. “A mercy killing?”
    â€œNot quite. The fat inheritance she received overshadowed her altruism. The Decision makes it impossible for the sway to lie or cheat. You saw what it looked like in there. Much as Shepherd tried to put on a show, you saw what he really is. And for those of us who consider ourselves purists, there can be no deceit, no judgment in what we do. The sways pretty much know where they belong, they just need a subtle push .” He quirked his lips. “When it comes down to it, we—both angels and demons—are there to guide humans along the right path. Not the one toward light, but toward what’s right. There’s a big difference, which is why when Uriel and his angels start stealing sways, they’re pushing trouble—balance-chaos trouble.”
    She knew he was right, but still… “Until you touched me, I didn’t see Nathan in any other light but the mortal flesh encasing his spirit.”
    â€œAre you sure?” He frowned.
    â€œYes. No.” She recalled that brief flash. “There was something. A small picture of some sin Nathan had committed. And it was ugly.”
    Duncan’s frown eased. “Sin always is. That’s its nature.”
    Sapphira studied him, wondering. “Is that why it appeals to you? Because it’s a demon’s nature to be ugly too?”
    Duncan stared at her over his glass, his gaze assessing. “Angels don’t lie, do they?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œBut you did, and quite well.”
    She flushed. “I, ah, maybe—”
    â€œSo your nature isn’t to be what you’ve always been told, but to be who you really are.”
    â€œWhat?” She took a large gulp of wine for fortification, and promptly set down her glass. Fermented grapes weren’t the answer.
    â€œDemons are what we are. We serve a purpose, like those in the upper realm.” Duncan’s mien changed, grew more serious. “Because I congregate with the impure, with sinners and monsters, does that make me more evil than Nathan Shepherd?”
    â€œNo.” The answer was automatic, and she stopped to think.
    â€œWas what we shared outside your bar ugly?”
    â€œNo.” The sheer sensuality behind Duncan’s touch had been anything but. “Yet it was a sin.”
    â€œWhy? Because your choirs of angels tell you it is?” He snorted. “Let me tell you something, sweetheart. Uriel’s minions were spreading their legs faster than you can spell seduction while I was tied up and helpless.” He stood and put his wine to the side. “Angels taking advantage of a demon. Trying to turn me into Uriel’s runner.”
    She frowned, not liking the idea of Sarah and Abigail touching Duncan. Then the second part of what he said hit, and she flushed a bright, guilty red. “So you don’t think you’ll ever Ascend?”
    Duncan barked a laugh. “Hell, no. Just because my mother was human and went to heaven doesn’t mean I will.”
    â€œYour mother went to heaven?” A mortal had given birth to Duncan?
    â€œYeah,” he said sadly. “She had a bad habit of seeing the best in everyone. Dad did his damnedest, but couldn’t get her down below.”
    â€œRight, your dad. Asael, a fallen archangel.” Why, Duncan had a thick thread of light winding through him. No wonder Uriel thought he had a shot at turning the demon toward heaven.
    Duncan stood over her, his stance aggressive though his gaze was surprisingly soft. “But you see, he and my mother had to be true to themselves. As much as Mother loved my father, she had too much goodness to be happy in the lower realm. And my father, well, he spent enough time in the third sphere to know what he gave up. But he wasn’t so easy