The back of my shirt tore open as a pair of black leathery wings emerged from my back. They hung like giant bat wings, only more nightmarish.
Unlike Jessy’s wings there was nothing pretty about mine. They were strong and reliable. These were the greatest pride of a demon. The faster the demon’s flying, the better the demon. Black as smoke and rough to the touch my wings were made to soar the skies of hell, but that didn’t mean they weren’t just as good for flying here in Dominion.
My heart raced in my chest, sending blood to course through my wings. My wings outstretched and with one powerful flap I shot to the skies.
The sunlight stung my eyes and all I could see for a moment was sky, sky, and more sky. Where was she? My eyes scanned the open air for her.
Riding the wind, she came soaring up from under me. The force of the wind she created thrust me back a few feet in the air, almost knocking me over. A playful gesture, a little rough but still playful. I steadied myself in the air training my sights on the little trouble maker.
“Finally!” she teased, flying in closer to me.
“You couldn’t keep me away if you tried, sugar lips.” I shot her a wicked grin and she returned hers in kind.
She traversed the air beside me, flapping her wings in gentle strokes as we glided side by side. We swirled into each other’s airspace as if waltzing in the sky never taking our eyes off each other. It was a dance, it was a tease, it was a game and she was winning.
Right now, I wanted nothing more than to grab her by the wings, wrench her over to me and kiss her, pulling her down into the forest where we would fuck relentlessly. I’d fuck her until night came and for those fleeting hours, she would be mine. All mine, body and soul.
I could almost feel the smoothness of her wings against mine, the softness of her flesh against my torso as I tore into her tight wet pussy.
“See, Broderick? I told you this would be fun.” she called out, almost sounding like a giggle escaped as she smiled over at me.
I couldn’t believe my ears. Was she actually using my real name? I could almost die and go to heaven.
“Don’t you mean ‘demon boy’?”
“No, right now you look more like a ‘Broderick’ to me.” She steadied herself in the air, increasing her flapping speed to hover in front of me like a humming bird. “Know why?”
“Tell me.”
“Because you cared about what I wanted and you came to me when I called.” Her tone was honey sweet as if she were surprised I wanted to join her in the skies. I know I’d upset her by avoiding her before. But there was a hidden warmth in her eyes. It was as if she felt more comfortable with me now, maybe even trusted me more?
“I’ll always come when you call , sugar lips. You never have to doubt that.”
“Watch out, Broderick. If you're not careful you might just fall in love with me.” She giggled, shooting me a playful wink and grin.
The pace of her flapping increased as she turned and zoomed through the air away from me. I hastened my pace to keep up with her and brought my face up close to hers as we continued our flight.
“And just what would be so bad about that?”
“I’m like the flames I wield, if you get too close you might just get burned.”
“For you, Jessica, I’d brave any flame.”
We soared side by side through open air above the trees, above all care and worry. If we stayed up here forever, could we leave the world behind and our opposite natures with it? Could we be allowed to live together? Could it even be possible?
Interrupting my thought, the boom of an explosion erupted from the ground rattling the trees. I scanned the forest frantically to find the source. Was it Hades’s work? Had the bastard finally made his move?
A harsh zipping noise came from somewhere unseen, one that almost seemed to break the sound barrier.
What the fuck was going on? Terror coursed through me and my eyes shotover to Jessy. She glided at my side, her brows wrinkled with concern at the strange noises. My every instinct told me to grab her and fly as far away as I could.
I outstretched both hands, swooping in almost close enough to grab her. My hands were mere inches from her when I glimpsed something out of the corner of my eye. Something that made my heart stop and brought my worst nightmares to life.
A heavy metal harpoon with a sharp poker at the end sliced through the air heading right for Jessica.
“Jessica!” I bellowed, trying desperately to get to her as fast as my wings could take me. Her eyes flashed to the harpoon then back at me and fear burned in her eyes.
Time seemed to slow, all of Dominion going silent as death as the harpoon ripped through her wing like a dagger through the gut.
She gave out an ear-splitting scream that shattered my heart into a million pieces.
“Jessica!” My fingers grazed her shoulder, but I couldn’t get a hold of her as she now spun out of control, her left wing now struggling to flap with the harpoon lodged in it.
All the dreams I’d held dear for the last fifty years were shattered in an instant. Living was pointless, even breathing was pointless without her.
Her flapping stopped like a stalled engine and she sped for the hard ground below.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jessy
What’s happening? Why was everything so blurry? The pain. It was unbearable. My wing. It burned so badly.
“Jessica!” The voice sounded muffled and almost distorted in the rushing winds. The world around me came rushing into focus. What happened? Why was I racing towards the ground?
I took a deep breath, trying not to pass out from the pain as I fell through the sky. I glanced over my shoulder to see my left wing crippled. A harpoon was lodged deep in the wing like a toothpick in a sandwich. I tried to move the other wing but it barely gave out a flap. Crap, my wings must be in shock.
My heart roared in my chest as fear knifed through me. The thick brush of the treetops drew closer as I barreled downward.
This was going to hurt so fucking bad. I could almost feel it. The trees would rip me to shreds on impact and if they didn’t, the ground would finish me instead.
This couldn’t be how I died, could it? I’d planned it all out to a ‘T’. I came prepared. I fought off hundreds of prisoners just to stay alive. I got the shiso for the soul eaters and the key to free Michael and get us through the doors. I did it all. Everything had finally come together and now I was going to die?
The trees approached quickly, foot by foot, inch by inch. It wouldn’t be long until I hit them and all my dreams would be over. Michael would rot in these walls till he was old and grey and the great Gilchrest pack would be no more.
The wind rushed over my skin like water, soothing me, promising it would all be okay, and that death would be no more painful than a long sleep. I wished I could listen. I wished I could have found peace in my final moments, but that wasn’t my style. I was a fighter and if I was going to die, I’d die fighting.
With my final vestiges of strength, I hunched forward and grabbed the harpoon firm in hand. I pulled at it with all my might.
The air left my lungs. How could anything hurt this much?
I continued yanking on it, ignoring the agony, and the rod finally broke free. I cast it aside and I tried outstretching both wings as wide as they would go.
If I could just slow my fall even a little maybe I wouldn’t die. Come on, Jessy! You can do this! My every muscle tensed as I strained to stretch out my wings. Try as I might, they wouldn’t spread more than a few inches, the intense pain still too much for them to overcome.
“Jessica!” Broderick called out and as he sped downward toward me. His wings were closed and he fell through the sky like a rock. The look in his eyes as he narrowed the gap between us was more desperate than I’d ever seen in anyone before.
He new I wasn’t going to make it if he didn’t catch me. But either way, it was too late. We were too near to the ground to recover now, at just a few feet abov
e the trees.
I choked on a breath as Broderick gripped a firm hand around my leg and yanked me into the protection of his arms. Time seemed to freeze for a long moment as he wrapped his wings and body around mine. The air howled like a high pitch scream and it muffled out my desperate cries.
If I was going to die the last thing I wanted to do was take Broderick with me. But as we crashed head first into the trees, I knew he’d taken that choice from me. I only prayed it wouldn’t be the last decision he’d ever make.
***
Was I still alive? I glanced around at the broken branches and leaves that scattered along the forest floor. Overhead was a giant hole in the thick tree canopy from where we fell through.
My back was nestled on the softness of the forest floor near a large tree trunk. Broderick’s body was heavy on top of mine and his wings were wrapped around me like a straight jacket. A dull ache raged in my wings but the rest of me didn’t hurt much at all, all thanks to Broderick.
Wait, why wasn’t Broderick saying anything? I lightly pressed my hand into his belly, but he didn’t move. I then maneuvered my head to look at his face. It was covered in cuts and scraped and his eyes were shut.
“Broderick!?” Panic exploded in my voice as I tried to shake him. “Broderick, are you okay?”
He didn’t say a word. By the gods, please don’t let him be dead. This was all my fault. He was only hurt because he saved me.
I wiggled my way out from under him to kneel beside where he laid. Tears blurred my vision as I gently turned him to lay on his back. His wing unfurled, resting open and dead.
He just laid there on the ground; his wings spread out like blankets over the dried leaves that coated the floor.
Just as despair threatened to take me over, he gave out a small cough and I could breath again.
Thank the gods. Broderick was only unconscious, but he was still hurt. Scratches and bruises covered his wings. His clothes were torn in more places than you could count and he had a big lump on his forehead. He used his body to shield mine from the fall. I was grateful but he could have killed himself! This reckless demon better not have crippled himself just to save me.
“Broderick, wake up!” I pleaded, patting him in the face vigorously. I had to at least try to revive him. “Please wake up, Broderick!”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so low. This was all my fault. If I hadn’t asked him to fly he wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Who the hell shot that harpoon at me? Who in Dominion would be so cruel?
The rustle of footsteps over dry leaves sounded and something in the pit of my belly told me I’d soon get my answer.
“Hmm, looky what we have here. One feisty little fae and her demon sex slave,” a deep voice called out from the shade of a large oak, and my eyes shot to the source of the noise. My injured wing hung low on my back as I rose to my feet.
“Hades, you bastard!”
He shoved his way past a few branches making his way into the clearing where Broderick and I were.
“Don’t you dare come any closer!” I jabbed a finger in his direction but he just kept coming. This was bad. There wouldn’t have been a worse time for Broderick to be this vulnerable.
He halted a few feet away from us. His eyes fell to Broderick then landed on me. A devilish grin forming on his face.
“You really should take better care of your sex slaves, fae.” Hades laughed. His shirtless form was tall and massive, with rolling hills of muscle. His hair was messy and black, as black as the menace in his eyes.
“Quit playing games. Are you the one who hit me with that harpoon?”
I retracted my wings into my back. As the wings merged with my flesh, pain radiated through my spine and I grunted. With my wings now merged with my body it would only be a few hours until they healed completely. But in the meantime though, I still felt the gut twisting pain. Still, I would be in a much better position to fight without them.
“Answer me, Hades. Was that your harpoon?”
Hades slowly made his approach with a crazed smile on his face. He was thrilled to see me, that much was obvious. His eyes swung from me to Broderick’s collapsed form of the floor then back at me. He tossed his head back looking very satisfied. It was like this sick bastard was hoping I’d be alone.
“I know, I know. Most women prefer flowers as gifts, but I knew that’d be too bland for you, fae. I like my gestures of love big and grand just like my cock.” He gave out a hearty laugh grabbing himself by the crotch. “Plus, they don’t have poisonous flowers in this forest. Believe me, I’ve checked. And as much as I love you, I’m afraid I still have to kill you. Can’t stay locked up forever, you understand?”
“Love, huh? You fall in love with every woman you catch a glimpse of? What the hell do you mean you love me? Aren’t demons supposed to hate fae?”
“Never seemed to stop Broderick.” He shrugged pursing his lips. “Plus you know what they say, like father like son.”
“Broderick is a good man. He’s nothing like you. There’s no way someone like you could ever love someone. You’re cold and cruel. You just tried to kill me and just look at what you did to Broderick.” I flung a hand in the air in frustration, my eyes dipping to Broderick then back to Hades.
He jerked his head back as if surprised by my outburst and then the smile returned to his face.
“Why yes! I do love you. I love you so much I’m willing to send you to my castle in hell right now. It’s big and beautiful with rivers of lava as far as the eye can see,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes as if he thought I’d actually be interested in visiting hell, let alone living there.
“Then when I get out of this shit box, I’ll come down there and join you, we’ll have a good fuck then. You, me, and maybe a few of my concubines. What do you say?”
“Gee, let me think about it?” I said holding my chin in contemplation. “Nah, think I’ll have to pass on that one.”
The smile never once left his face but this time there was no joy in his eyes, only darkness.
“That’s the funny thing about death, fae. It’s never really a choice.”
He spread his legs wide readying to attack. He then rose both hands high in the air. Before I could react a dark cloud of what looked like black smoke spewed from his palms and rushed in my direction. But unlike smoke it reeked of death and decay. I sprang away from where Broderick laid unconscious and scrambled into the trees.
My feet beat the ground as I twisted around one tree after the next never slowing my pace. The dark cloud followed me, hunting me like a tracker.
I glanced back and watched in horror as the smoke sucked the life from every tree it touched. The bark and leaves of the trees just shriveled up and turned black and ashen as if they’d been burned.
If it touched me, it would without a doubt do the same. I would die in horrendous agony, my skin burning up with nobody around to even hear me scream.
As I kept running through the trees I could hear the hiss of the smoke drawing closer to my back. I couldn’t keep up the chase forever. I needed to fight. It was time I showed this hellish thing what the alpha of the Gilcrest pack was made of.
Pausing my run, I twisted around to face the dark mist head on. I then raised my palms and an inferno of red-hot fire exploded from my hands, like a flame thrower. The flame ripped through the smoke and burned away the cloud until it was no more.
For a few silent moments it was just me and the trees that surrounded. The only sound to be heard was my own heavy breathing. At least until the sound of someone clapping broke the silence.
“Not bad for a fae, not bad at all.” Hades voice reverberated from…. Wait, was the fucker behind me? I spun around and faced him just in time for his fist to come sailing towards my cheek.
His fist connected with an audible whack and I stumbled back as pain radiated from my face.
“You’ll pay for that.” I lunged myself at him, landing a powerful punch in his chest and an upper cut to his chin. My
strike knocked him on his ass, and he skidded backwards, scraping up the leaves that coated the ground.
His eyes went wide in surprise and he cupped his knee before climbing to his feet. He grinned at me and his teeth were red as blood. With a swipe of his tongue over his teeth he licked up the blood and said, “Okay, so now I know how your punches taste, but what about that pussy?”
“Dare to dream, asshole!” I launched my foot at him, but before it could reach his head, he grabbed my ankle and held on tight. I then raised a palm and blasted a wave of searing hot flame right at his face.
He twisted his body away at the last minute, releasing my ankle and narrowly missing the fire.
He leapt away from me and he began to chant something in what sounded like Aramaic. It was the language of the gods and of the underworld. It was used to do anything, from opening portals between worlds to summoning up the most vicious monsters in existence.
In a flash of lightning four small, shadowy creatures materialized out of nowhere. They were short and wide with razor sharp teeth, piercing red eyes and talon like fingernails. They looked like if lawn gnomes and demons had some very ugly babies.
He really was a coward, instead of fighting me himself he summons these things to do his dirty work for him?
“Why don’t you show this fae a little manners, huh, boys?” Hades leaned his body up to a tree and leisurely scanned the fingernails of his other hand. He had the nerve to stand there looking all relaxed as if he were on vacation while his evil little minions bared their teeth at me.
After a few clacks of their sharp teeth, they charged in my direction. Each of them held their claws high, readying to slice me a new one.
I swung to the balls of my feet and with both hands outstretched I threw my flame at them. The fire washed over them like water, but they just kept coming, the flame having no effect at all.
What the hell?
“Oh, those little ones love the fire. They bathe in it all the time back home,” Hades said folding his arms as he nestled his back on the tree as if excited to watch the show.
Escape of the Fae Page 21
