“Wouldn’t you like to free your sister?” A contract appeared in the devil’s hand, and he waved it in the air. She stared at the thing, unblinking, her gaze intense. “Wouldn’t you like to free yourself? Think about it.”
“I can’t kill Maccus.”
That wasn’t saying she didn’t want to, only an acknowledgment that she wasn’t skilled enough to defeat him. His heart hardened even further. The tiny sliver of light in his soul flickered. The beast that had lived inside him for tens of thousands of years stirred. He wasn’t sure he wanted to suppress it this time.
“You’ve got me there. Just attack him. I’ll accept it as a show of good faith.”
What was Lucifer doing? He had to know Maccus would kill her. And that was the goal of both he and Gabriel.
Patience waning, the devil stomped over to the wall and reached for Kayley. Morrigan jumped in front of her sister. “Leave her alone.”
“You dare to try to stop me?” The utter disbelief was amusing.
“Yes.” Her voice was flat. “You can’t have both of us. It’s in the contract. I’ve actually read the thing, at length.” She pointed her dagger at Lucifer.
While he admired her courage, the urge to shove her behind him grew.
“I signed on to take Kayley’s place, but if you’ve taken her to Hell, my contract is null and void.”
It was a brilliant and dangerous deduction.
The devil threw back his head and screamed in fury. The ground shook, windows shattered.
Gabriel stepped into the light and held up his hand. The falling glass stopped in midair. With a twist of his hand, the shards reversed their course, realigning as though they’d never been broken. He’d turned back time by several seconds, something not easily done.
“I should have known better than to leave things to you.” The archangel sneered at his brother. “Such a temper.”
“Stay out of this,” Lucifer warned. “If this contract is null and void, I no longer need it.” The parchment disappeared into thin air. Then he smiled. “Want to trade your soul to get your sister out of Hell?”
…
Shit. Shit. Shit. She’d lost her temper and played her only card too soon. While she was elated she was no longer contracted to Hell, Kayley was still in trouble. And yes, her sister might have gotten them into his situation from the beginning, but that didn’t mean Morrigan could just leave her there.
She was in the same damn position she’d been in ten years ago.
Maccus was silent and unmoving. His bare chest gleamed in the dim light, the inked weapons a stark reminder he was ready and able to fight. He was so stoic. So alone.
Fuck that. He wasn’t alone. Not any longer.
“Go.” He could escape whatever trap the other two immortals were trying to spring. This was her fight with Lucifer.
He tilted his head to one side and stared at her as though she were speaking a foreign language. “What?”
“Leave.” She made a shooing motion with her hand. “I’m not going to kill you. And I’d just as soon you didn’t kill me. Just leave. Go home and forget you ever saw me.”
One of them should live to fight another day.
Gabriel clapped his hands. When they all stared, he wiped a nonexistent tear from his eyes. “How very poignant. How incredibly moving.” Then his expression hardened, his blue eyes turning to ice. “No one is leaving until I get what I want.”
“Heaven doesn’t give a shit about me.” She was a lowly bounty hunter. “This is about Maccus, about hurting him.” To confuse the men, she smiled. “All the better not to give it to you.”
The archangel flicked his hand, and she shot backward as though launched from a cannon. When she slammed into the solid brick wall, something cracked in her arm. Pain made her scream as she hit the ground. The knife slipped from her numb fingers.
Knives rocketed through the air with deadly precision. Gabriel was flung back, blades sticking in both his arms and legs and several in his chest.
A human would have been dead. So would a normal demon. But he was an archangel. He tried to remove the blades but couldn’t. And he was bleeding. She hadn’t been sure an angel of his power would bleed.
Every bone in her body ached, but the pain in her arm was excruciating. Sweat bloomed on her body, sticking her clothing to her skin. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up on her hands and knees. Her knife was in the dirt. She reached for it.
Kayley grabbed it first. Then she lunged. Morrigan jerked to the left, keeping the blade from piercing her heart. It slammed into her shoulder instead.
She slapped her hand over the hilt so her sister couldn’t withdraw the blade. Breathing heavily, she stood. Whatever Kayley saw in her face, it made her pale and crawl away again.
“This is getting us nowhere.” Lucifer waved his hand, and a portal appeared. A demon stepped out. He was tall and surprisingly handsome, even in his demon form. His hair was a rich cherry red, his skin burnished gold. He’d be drop-dead gorgeous as a human.
There was something about him that made her take a second look. She wasn’t attracted to the demon, but there was something almost familiar about him. Had she glimpsed him during her time in Hell? Many memories from that time were murky. Certainly, she hadn’t hunted him. He was too memorable to forget.
“Take her.” Lucifer pointed at Morrigan.
The demon crossed his arms over his wide chest and shook his head.
Wow, she never expected any demon to defy Lucifer. Then the devil smiled. “Don’t you want your daughter with you?”
She couldn’t breathe. She still stood in the dirty alley with a dagger in her shoulder, yet it seemed the whole world had dropped away. It was the eyes—the same green eyes Morrigan saw when she looked in a mirror.
This was her father. Or was it? She glanced at Maccus for confirmation. The hard knot in her stomach grew when she glimpsed pity in those eyes.
The demon tilted his head to one side and studied her. “Morrigan?”
She only nodded, because what did you say to the person you’d thought was a deadbeat dad, only to discover he’d never been around because he was a demon and had been in Hell?
How was her sister taking the news? There was no surprise there—only a look of disdain. “You knew,” she accused. Would the lies and deception never end?
“Our mother had her suspicions when I was born and wrote them in her journal. I discovered it after she died.” Kayley slowly pushed to her feet, pressing one hand against the wall for support.
Morrigan swayed and locked her knees to stay upright. No way was she having this confrontation while on her ass. Too bad she had nothing to lean on. And no one.
Maccus was keeping his distance. It hurt, but she understood. This wasn’t his battle.
“Why do you think I got into worshipping Lucifer? At first, it was to meet dear old dad. Then I wanted his power.”
Morrigan was dumbfounded. It was all true. She was half demon and half human, which was why she could be a bounty hunter and live in the human world indefinitely while still being able to travel to Hell.
“What have you done?” the demon asked Kayley.
Morrigan didn’t even know what to call him. “What’s your name?” she asked. It seemed important. He wasn’t some nameless creature. He was her father.
“Creb.”
“Creb.” She repeated it. God, how had her mother felt when she’d discovered the truth? Had she still loved him? Had she cursed him? One thing for sure, she’d loved her daughters. Morrigan would never doubt that.
“The family reunion is touching. Wait—no, it’s not. Take her,” Lucifer ordered once again.
Creb nodded. But it wasn’t her he reached for, but Kayley.
“Wait. Stop it.” Kayley beat at his arms and shoulders, but she was no match for the full-blooded demon. She t
urned pleading eyes to Lucifer. “You told me if I did as you asked, you’d leave me here.”
Shock rocked through Morrigan. “You haven’t been to Hell?” Which meant her contract was not null and void, after all. Lucifer couldn’t admit the truth earlier without exposing her sister’s duplicity. He’d been keeping that information in reserve, ready to hit her with it when she least expected it.
“Of course not,” Kayley snapped. “I’m not stupid like you. Tell him to put me down. You promised.”
“Put her down, Creb.”
Even more shocking than her sister ordering Lucifer to do anything was his compliance. Morrigan’s one shot at freedom was gone. With Kayley having never been to Hell, her contract was still active.
The portal still shimmered. Creb nodded and started to lower Kayley to her feet. A smug, satisfied smile tilted her lips upward. She’d won, yet again.
Morrigan was still responsible for the debt owed, her life belonging to Lucifer. Her father looked right at her. There was sorrow in his eyes. Regret.
Then he tightened his hold on Kayley and dove through the portal. It winked closed behind them.
What had just happened?
“Nooo!” Lucifer roared. “What have you done, you stupid demon?”
“He’s freed me.” The wonder of it left her breathless. Her father had defied Lucifer. He’d done it for her, even knowing he’d pay for eternity for his disobedience.
I’m free.
From everything she’d learned as a hunter, there was nothing the devil could do about it. The terms of her contract were quite clear. Her obligation existed only as long as Kayley stayed out of Hell.
It was finally over. The invisible shackles of hopelessness she’d worn for so long vanished, leaving her almost giddy.
She’d mourn her sister, eventually. Once she got past the anger and hurt, she’d remember Kayley as the bright child she’d been. That sister had died long ago.
“Is this really necessary?” Gabriel motioned to the blades still sticking out of him. “Bloodstains are so hard to remove, and this is my favorite shirt.”
The sarcasm was deep enough to cut.
She’d been so lost in her family drama she’d all but forgotten about the archangel.
Maccus held out his arms, and the blades flew to him, settling on his body once again. The angel’s wounds closed in the blink of an eye.
“That’s better.” The angel snapped his fingers, and his clothing was spotless once again. Then he pointed at her. “She no longer has the protection of Hell, does she?”
Lucifer shook his head, his smile icy cold, his dark eyes glittering with fury.
“Kill her,” Gabriel told Maccus, “and you can have anything you desire. I can get your wings back. Refuse, and I’ll send every angel in existence after you.”
“And I’ll send every demon,” Lucifer added.
All hope withered and died. Freedom had been too much to hope for. These powerful entities would never have let her go. Didn’t matter about contracts and rules. They made their own. And they cheated.
Maccus’s life had been hard enough. He deserved some peace. How much more death could he take before becoming the monster he feared lurked inside him?
Morrigan yanked the knife from her shoulder, ignoring the searing pain, flipped over the blade, and held it out handle first. “It’s okay. I’m ready to go.”
All three men stared at her as though she’d lost her mind. Maybe she had. But her resolve was unshakeable.
She placed her free hand against Maccus’s cheek. His skin was warm, the slight stubble on his jaw abraded her palm. “I’m out of the devil’s contract, so my soul should be safe, right?”
“Yes.” He took the blade. She squared her shoulders, ready to meet her fate. Instead of turning it on her, he tucked it back into its sheath.
Closing her eyes briefly, she swallowed hard. She didn’t want to die—had never really had a chance to live. But if she’d been willing to give her soul for her sister, a woman who’d betrayed her, how could she not be willing to give her life for the man she loved?
While he might be a fallen angel who’d spent time in Hell, an immortal assassin, one of the Forgotten Brotherhood, a man with a dark soul, he was also her love.
And he cared for her. If he didn’t, he could have ended it all with a blade to her heart, putting them both out of their misery.
Her entire body was one big ache. She was weary in mind, body, and soul. There was no other way out. Either she did something to stop things here and now or they’d torment Maccus for eternity. His soul was already teetering on the edge. How many more deaths before he fell?
If giving her life would save him, she’d do it.
Even though it hurt her to do it, she stepped away from Maccus. She would have given almost anything for one more kiss. “If both of you leave him alone for all eternity, cease all action against him, either direct or indirect, you can kill me.”
…
What the fuck was she doing? She was free. Her contract was null and void. Her father had seen to that. And that was one hell of a shocker.
He was still reeling from her offer. She’d given him the damn knife so he could kill her. And now this!
No one had ever offered to sacrifice themselves so he could live.
There’d never been a woman like her before and never would be again. He had to get her out of here.
Gabriel and Lucifer shared a look. Then the devil shrugged.
There was no warning, no more talking. Lucifer flung out a knife.
As if it was traveling in slow motion, Maccus saw the revolution of the blade. It would strike true. Like before, he wouldn’t make it in time to stop it.
He threw himself at Morrigan, arms extended. The heat from the blade scorched his outstretched fingers before it slammed home. This time it went straight in her heart.
Her entire body jerked. He saw the shock on her face, the realization of what was happening. Heard her cry of pain. Smelled the stench of her blood and sweat.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
Shockingly, she was still alive. “You’re going to be okay,” he promised. It was the first time in his entire existence he’d lied. With the devil’s blade in her heart, she was as good as dead. He couldn’t save her. Not this time.
“You tried.” Her voice was a mere whisper. Then she smiled.
He pushed her hair off her forehead. “Of course, I tried.” The pressure in his chest built and built until it seemed as though his entire body would burst.
“Love…” Her eyes drifted shut, and her head lolled back.
“No.” He kissed her forehead, her lips. “Don’t leave me.” The anguished whisper was pulled from the depths of his soul.
There was no one better at killing than him. He was a master assassin who’d killed angels, demons, vampires, werewolves, and all other manner of paranormal creatures. The one person he’d tried to save, the woman who’d wormed her way into his black heart, he’d failed.
Hatred bled through him like black oil, coating every cell in his body. He wanted to kill Lucifer and Gabriel. Wanted the world to burn. Needed the screams of his enemies singing in his ears while he bathed in their blood.
The remaining sliver of his soul quivered. This was it. This was his end. He’d become the monster he’d always feared.
Panting hard, he clung to his sanity with a tenacity that surprised even him. She’d given her life for him. He could not allow himself to become someone she wouldn’t be able to love.
She truly loved him.
It was a revelation. It was his salvation.
When he’d been cast from Heaven, he’d asked for nothing. All the years he’d been banished to Hell, he’d asked for nothing. The long, lonely thousands of years on earth, he’d asked for nothing.
He was asking now. On his knees in a dirty alley with Morrigan in his arms, he raised his head to the heavens.
“My life for hers.”
Nothing happened. It was quiet, as though the entire universe had taken a breath and was holding it. He shouldn’t be surprised. Heaven and Hell had gone unchecked for tens of thousands of years. There was no reason for anything to change now.
Maccus lowered his head and pressed a gentle kiss against her lips. So be it. He’d have to do it the same way he’d done everything else in his life—alone.
Except for the few days he’d spent with Morrigan, his entire existence had been solitary. Even as an angel, he’d never truly fit with the rest. Maybe that was why Gabriel had taken his wings.
A single tear rolled down his face and fell on hers. It slipped along her lips and disappeared into her mouth.
“Is he crying?” Lucifer asked Gabriel. “He is.”
The two of them laughed.
Rage threatened to consume him. His entire body shook with the effort to contain it, but he pulled it back. Not for them. Never for them. But for Morrigan. And for humanity. Because if he slipped into madness, he’d kill millions before his anger was slaked.
She wouldn’t want that for him.
He shifted position so he was facing his adversaries. Unwilling to release Morrigan, he remained on his knees with her resting against them. She deserved so much better than to die in a dirty alleyway. In spite of the life she’d been dealt, she’d been all that was kind and good.
Her soul was no longer tied to Lucifer, so it would be in Heaven. If she’d gone to Hell, he could have gone after her. But she was in Gabriel’s realm now. And Maccus didn’t trust the archangel not to find a way to torture her or somehow send her soul to Hell.
It was up to him to save her. Heaven was closed to him as a fallen angel. But there was still a tiny sliver of grace left inside him, the angel’s version of a soul.
Maccus manifested a knife for each hand.
“Is he raging?” Lucifer was more than a little annoyed. “Why isn’t he raging? Isn’t this the part where he becomes a monster and kills people so both Heaven and Hell can sanction him?”
Fury Unleashed Page 23
