Risky Business

by J B Trepagnier

He got up to check on Zepar. Everything was going according to plan. Until it didn’t. Eiltan had barely crossed the coffee table when Zepar opened a portal and disappeared.

  We lost him. We failed.

  Chapter 19

  Skoll

  T

  hat big, metal car was quite a thing. Serafina decided she wanted to teach us to drive, and I saw totally different sides of Roman and Amduscias. Roman drove, gripping the wheel, and it hardly felt like the car was moving at all. Amduscias rolled the windows down and drove so fast, I swore we were going to drive straight into a tree and die.

  I would have taken Roman for the madman and Amduscias for the granny driver. That’s what Serafina kept calling Roman. She kept laughing and telling him he drove like Sophia Petrillo. I had no idea who that was, but she promised to show us when we got home.

  Thankfully, she drove us home. If Roman drove, we might never get there, and if Amduscias drove, he might drive us straight through the house. She coasted the car into the driveway and turned it off. Alozan was waiting to fuss over us. She wanted to know what we wanted for lunch.

  Serafina gave her this grin that melted my heart.

  “I thought I’d show the guys Lebanese food. Can you get that down here?”

  “Of course. Akasha’s Palace is a personal favorite. The Baba Ganoush there is divine. Don’t order out too much. You’ll hurt Brinok’s feelings if he thinks you don’t like his cooking.”

  I moaned just thinking about Brinok’s cooking. The man could roast a leg of venison better than anyone I knew. And those cheeseburgers! I could eat those again.

  Amduscias snapped to attention.

  “Tell Brinok to cook us a modern feast tonight. I’m still learning all the modern-day foods. I’ve eaten in several countries before, but something tells me things have changed.”

  Alozan nodded and disappeared. Serafina wrapped her arms around his waist.

  “We should invite Charley and the witches to dinner.”

  I missed Charley. She met a witch named October almost our first day here and had left to join her coven’s compound. None of us had forgotten it was because of Charley that Roman and Serafina were free of Rathmore’s spell. I thought we should invite her too. I wanted to see that witch again.

  Roman started bouncing. Have you ever seen an enormous Vampire get so excited they can’t sit still? That was Roman ever since we got out of Scorchwood. It was nice to see him excited again, but his actions had never matched his angelic face.

  “Can we invite Charley? I miss her.”

  Amduscias gave Roman a gentle smile.

  “Of course. Her number should be on my phone. Ah. Here it is. Why don’t all of you go to my bedroom and get settled? I’ll invite her.”

  I didn’t care how old I was. I didn’t care if it was beneath an Alpha. I didn’t care if I looked like Roman. I scooped Serafina up and went running to the bedroom with her. Roman chased after us screaming about his prey drive. I ran up the massive staircase to Amduscias’s room. We fell on the bed in a heap of bodies.

  “What’s the plan, killer?”

  “I’m worried about Fergus. He should be meeting with Zepar right about now. Let’s order takeout, and I’ll show you one of my favorite television shows. It’s not super modern, but The Golden Girls is a classic. I always put it on when I need cheering up.”

  I nuzzled her neck.

  “Then, we will eat and hold you until Fergus gets back.”

  “Is Lebanese okay?”

  “If it’s anything like those Chinese leftovers, it’ll be perfect,” I said.

  “It tastes different, but it’s still good.”

  She whipped out her phone and started fiddling with it. I couldn’t decide if it was a miracle or some sort of abomination you could just press a button on your phone and food would show up at your door. I wasn’t even used to having a personal chef. Before I got arrested, if I wanted to eat, I had to go into the woods and hunt for it. Who hunted for this Lebanese food we would eat?

  Amduscias joined us shortly after. He snuggled into Roman, and we all let out a contented sigh.

  “Charley said she’d be happy to come over for dinner. She’s heard a little about what’s going on in Scorchwood, but she wants the full story. She said if Warden Skinner was behind everything, she’d like a go at her in Bael’s dungeon too.”

  “Fergus should be back now. If that witch potion worked like Eiltan’s friends said it would, Zepar should be down here,” Serafina said.

  She sounded worried. There wasn’t a way for Zepar to kill Fergus, but I was wondering if there were wards that could trap him like there had been in Scorchwood. Maybe she was worried about her father and grandfather a little?

  She just had them thrust into her life, and they had a long way to go before she trusted them, but I saw the way they looked at her. They desperately wanted her forgiveness and acceptance. Fuck, Ior was changing Fae laws just to let her live.

  “There’s a time difference, Serafina. It might be noon here, but it’s not on Earth. Depending on where they are, the sun might not be up yet.”

  She tore herself out of our arms and started pacing.

  “This is driving me crazy. It feels like I should be doing something. Skinner is in the dungeon, and Zepar is out there somewhere. I’m sitting here ordering takeout and talking about my favorite television shows.”

  We never fought over her before, and that wasn’t natural for my wolf. He should have ripped out all of their throats by now, but then we would have lost her. We wrestled a little now. We were still lying in bed, and we all wanted to hold her. I usually loved sleeping in that vast, plush bed, but now I was trying to get around Roman to get out of it.

  I snarled at Roman when he smashed my cock in his haste to get out of bed. Roman hissed at Amduscias when he took his elbow to his eye. We all stopped when we heard Serafina laughing.

  “Gel memory foam is not the best platform for a wrestling match. Sorry, I’m being stupid. I know Fergus can handle it, and I know why I can’t be there myself.”

  There was a soft knock on the door. It must be our food. Don’t ask me how they managed to get it to us so fast. Serafina made a move towards the door, and something happened that I never wanted to witness again.

  A portal opened in Amduscias’s bedroom. It was a demon portal instead of a Fae one. The only reason I knew the difference was because I had seen both, and they were distinct colors.

  Two arms reached out and yanked her through. I only knew one demon that would portal her somewhere without talking to Amduscias first or even asking her permission. He could have taken her anywhere.

  My wolf roared. I couldn’t get to her. Amduscias could open a portal if we knew where he took her. That left one of us.

  Fergus better get to her, or I would find a way to kill that dragon.

  Chapter 20

  Serafina

  I

  swear, this was the third fucking time someone had kidnapped me, and I was starting to feel like I was in a Liam Neeson movie. No sexy Irishman was coming to save me and bust heads, though. This was all on me. As soon as I felt the arms around my waist, I started fighting, but I was still pulled through the portal.

  I only knew three people who would try this shit. Warden Skinner was currently being tortured, I beat the shit out of my father last time, and I hoped he learned his lesson, so that left Zepar. I was starting to doubt any skills I thought I might have developed if I managed to get kidnapped by a demon who should have been roofied.

  He was pretty fucked up. He let go of me as soon as we got through the portal. He was supporting himself on a desk, and if this were a cartoon, there would have been drunk birds flying around his head. He looked like he was ready to pass out. He pointed to the ceiling. I saw the same ward from Rathmore’s lab.

  “I had a plan to bring your father here and ransom the king if it got to where I thought I didn’t need the Fae as allies. You’ll do in a pinch. I’m sure Ior doesn’t want it out th
at his own son sired a halfling bastard. If he doesn’t give me my army, I’ll make sure every single realm knows about it.”

  Okay, first of all, I hadn’t let anyone talk to me like that since I accidentally burned the convent down. He warded the room against my Fae powers, but I didn’t just rely on those. Fergus told me there would be times it wasn’t appropriate to bring out my fire, and I’d have to rely on my fists and wits. That time was now.

  I couldn’t burn Zepar, but my fire would have been useless against him anyway. He was already drugged. I just needed to help him go to sleep and find a phone. He was already halfway there. I’d been in enough torture dungeons in Hell to recognize where I was. Zepar said he had two estates, but I had a feeling that was a lie. If he would hold a Fae prince hostage, he wouldn’t do it in real estate in his name.

  I’d murdered men like Zepar. This was probably a house owned by a shell corporation that couldn’t be traced back to him. I had no idea where I was, but Zepar just grabbed me, and my phone was still in my back pocket. I just needed to knock a demon out. Easy, right?

  Zepar knew I had an edge because he was drugged. I saw a red cloud swirling around him. I’d seen Amduscias break out his demonic form, and that red cloud differed from the one for demon portals. I also saw what that red cloud did to the guards back at Scorchwood.

  “Yo, Zepar, I’m really happy for you, and I’m going to let you finish, but Amduscias had the best demonic reveal of all time.”

  “Children, I swear,” Zepar growled.

  His red cloud didn’t take as long as Amduscias’s did. When it was over, I was just looking at Zepar in a suit of armor. All of this was happening because of him, and yes, I was a bitter bitch about it. I laughed in his face.

  “That’s it? That’s your big, bad demonic form? Amduscias got a unicorn. I could kick your ass even with all that metal on.”

  “You must have a death wish, halfling bastard. I’m a Duke of Hell. Your own father hates you so much, he experimented on you. I can’t kill you because you can get me what I want, but that doesn’t mean I can’t punish this insolence.”

  Man, when demon egos raged, they went totally out of control. And I could work with that. He was much older than I was and probably trained in more styles of fighting than I was. I needed him careless to beat him.

  “You might get a blow in, but I will brag all over Hell that a halfling beat your ass in a fistfight.”

  Zepar roared and shoved a chair out of the way. He was still drunker than Cooter Brown and almost fell over. When he faced me, he tried to do it like a boxer. Okay, maybe he wasn’t trained in more fighting styles than I was. Perhaps he relied on his legions to do all his fighting. He might be an excellent boxer, but I had been taking Krav Maga classes all over the country since college.

  His first punch was aimed at my face. It was sloppy. He was just swinging and hoping to hit me hard enough to do damage. I couldn’t punch him in the stomach because he had a full metal breastplate on, but I did use his momentum to shove him to the floor.

  I had to remember not to kill him. If I killed him, we lost the cure for the Fae. I was just so pissed, I saw red. I wanted to rip his head off with my bare hands. I wanted to find something sharp and shove it so far into his ear that his brains came out the other end.

  I didn’t hesitate. I pounced on his back and put him in a chokehold. He bucked and fought, but I held on like an enraged howler monkey. Zepar was the one howling. I think he put some curse on my first-born child, but I didn’t let go. I kept squeezing until he finally shut the fuck up.

  That was when I felt it. I wasn’t alone anymore. Fergus was with me. He found me like he always did.

  “Let go, my Ena. You’ll kill him if you keep squeezing. The fate of the Fae lies in your hands right now. Do you want your revenge on Zepar, or can you wait until we have a remedy?”

  I let go of Zepar and shrieked. Fergus never asked me not to kill someone before, and I hated that the fate of an entire race was in this fucker’s blood. Because I really wanted to spill it right now. I couldn’t. I had to wait.

  “How do I keep him asleep long enough to get him to Hell? I don’t have any idea where I am.”

  “Hang tight, my Ena. You’re in Alaska, and your father is on his way. I’ve contacted him, and he’s coming now with demon warded handcuffs. Zepar will go to Hell just like we wanted. I didn’t intend to fail and have you hurt in the process.”

  “He was too fucked up to lay a finger on me.”

  “He had to lay a finger on you to get you here. I’m going to have to find a creative way to kill him.”

  “I think we will have to get in line, Fergus.”

  Fergus didn’t have time to respond because my father and grandfather came charging through. I had no idea I needed this until it happened, but neither of them went straight to Zepar to get handcuffs on him that would neutralize his power.

  They came straight to me to check on me and pull me into an enormous hug. I hadn’t realized I needed that from either of them until I was smashed into a group hug.

  So, I decided I definitely would not kill my father. I would try to get to know him better.

  Chapter 21

  Amduscias

  I

  should have called Bael and let him know the plan had gone ass up, but I was too worried about Serafina. She could be anywhere. Alozan heard the ruckus and had come to see what we were all yelling about. She tried to show us how to track her phone if she had it. Serafina always had her phone nearby. It was usually in her pocket unless she was sleeping.

  Alozan was trying to explain some nonsense about Wi-Fi and signals because her phone kept saying it wasn’t online, and her last location was my house. What good were these damned things, anyway? And where the fuck was Fergus?

  I was fiddling with that damned phone while Skoll and Roman reached through their bonds.

  “She’s north in an undiscovered land. She’s so mad right now, I can’t reach her through our bond,” Skoll said.

  “She’s in a total rage,” Roman said. “The king wants to spare her life because she’s his granddaughter, but if she murders Zepar and loses that cure, he may change his mind.”

  Serafina was strong, and I didn’t doubt she could handle herself. Zepar had always been weak for any demon, much less a Duke of Hell. He had his rank and legions because he was fire born, and that was it. If Dukedoms were given out based on deeds and power, Zepar would never be considered. But he was fire born, and we were tough to kill. Serafina’s deadliest weapon was useless against us.

  I knew Zepar. He was throwing a tantrum, and that made him dangerous. He realized Eiltan betrayed him, and Hell might be onto him. I knew precisely why he grabbed Serafina. Blackmail. But since Eiltan wasn’t there to take the brunt of his rage, Serafina would do since she was his daughter.

  I was getting so frustrated.

  “If you can reach her, can either of you talk to Fergus?” I asked.

  Roman ran his fingers through his hair.

  “Don’t you think if I were an expert at contacting an ancient Fae spirit, I would have done it by now? It’s still like someone jumping out and yelling boo when he just starts talking to me in my head.”

  It was like someone jumped out and yelled boo when my cell phone started ringing. I jumped about fifty feet and nearly flung it against the wall. Luckily, it never left my hand. I checked the caller ID desperately hoping to see Serafina’s face, but it was Bael.

  “You should have called and told me Zepar took your mate,” Bael chided.

  “Did Alozan tell you?”

  Bael just laughed.

  “No, she’s in my dungeon with Zepar and her family. I might not even need my toys to torture him. He’s always been prideful. Taunting him with the fact that a halfling half his size incapacitated him should do worse than my pliers could.”

  “Bael, we can talk about what an asshole Zepar is later. I just watched Serafina disappear into a portal. I think we all need to see her and
make sure she’s okay.”

  “Well, didn’t I just fucking invite you? Someone needs to calm her down. Most all the pain in her life is because of Zepar, and she wants him dead five minutes ago.”

  “I’m hanging up and coming over.”

  “None of you can kill him for taking her. I’m warning you, Amduscias. Tell the wolf and the Vampire they can’t get their revenge just yet. We need to know who he recruited, and we still need his blood. I’m getting that now.”

  I hung up the phone and faced my friends.

  “She’s safe at Bael’s dungeon, and Zepar is still alive. We need him alive for now, so no killing just yet.”

  “Yeah, but who gets to kill him when the time comes? He hurt Serafina, and she’s our mate. Hell wants him dead, and so do the Fae. Do we draw straws?”

  I already knew how that would go down, but it was better explained in detail later.

  “It will be done publicly and quite graphically. Let’s get to our mate now.”

  I opened a portal to Bael’s dungeon. I didn’t know what kind of mood she would be in, but I could only guess. I just knew I wanted to take her in my arms and hold her until she was happy again.

  Chapter 22

  Roman

  W

  e all went charging through the portal. I was screaming Serafina’s name and looking around for her wildly. She was standing in the corner, surrounded by her family and the faint outline of a golden man. I guess she had started the process of making Fergus real. She saw me looking for her and went running at me. She flung herself in my arms, and I squeezed her as hard as I could.

  After I’d gotten my hugs, she turned to Skoll and Amduscias. I finally took in the surrounding scene. I smelled blood. I always smelled blood down here. Sometimes it was faint, but with Warden Skinner down here, it was a lot stronger. I could see where it was coming from now.

  They strung Zepar up by his heels with a tube in his carotid draining blood into bags. That looked uncomfortable, but that was still too good for him. He kidnapped my Serafina, and he deserved to die. I wanted to rip his throat out.