by Tee, Marian
Zari didn't answer for a while. The more she mulled his words over, the more she realized...
You suck at being romantic, Master.
A sexy laugh drifted down their blood bond and all the way through until it had her shuddering as the sound skittered down her spine like a teasing caress.
Romantic is overrated.
Of course you'd say that.
Then are you saying you could do without me fucking my love into your pussy?
Zari's mouth opened and closed.
Thought so, Alexandru purred. Now go do your work, soul seer.
You sound so much like your older brother with that line.
But Alexandru, who she knew privately disliked being compared to his more "responsible" brother Mihail, simply ignored this. Tick tock, pet. Tick tock.
And then he was gone, her Master even making a point of slamming an invisible door shut on their blood bond. The sound reverberated all the way down, like someone pounding a hammer right next to her ears.
Stupid, evil Master.
But since he also did happen to be right, and the clock was ticking, Zari picked up her pace and was out of the woods (literally, not figuratively) in no time.
Her first stop: her apartment, where she had secretly stashed a sample of the devil's apples retrieved from the grave site at the park.
Her second stop: Station 4, and because it was now a crime scene that she technically didn't have any legal right to access, she decided to sit this one back. There was a cafe right across the pawn shop, and after ordering herself an Americano, she took one of the smaller tables next to the windows and asked Martin for a little favor.
The boy came back to her side fifteen minutes later, and Zari automatically closed her fingers over the piece of mandrake root he had dropped on her palm.
Devil's apples produce traceable magic that linger for a period of seven days to a fortnight, depending on the magnitude of the ritual or spell performed.
When she had first read those lines and expressed confusion over it, her Master had likened mandrake magic to 'holding a lively ball of fur in your arms'.
No matter how much care you exercise, you cannot keep your pet from shedding off animal hair, and that will of course get to your skin, your clothes, your possessions. Consequently, wherever you go, you will be shedding it as well.
AKA traceable magic, Zari thought. Alexandru had also told her that mandrake magic wasn't something a demon - or any living being for that matter - could simply rinse off. It would go away on its own sweet time, and since the Devil's Door had only been opened a few days ago...
"Did I do good, Zari?"
Martin's hopeful voice pulled Zari out of her thoughts, and since they weren't alone in the coffee shop, she could only praise him with a whisper under her breath. "You didn't do just good. You did great!"
The little boy beamed up at her, and just as she had become used to Elsa's uncommon facial features, Zari was privately happy to realize she was now also used to the sight of Martin's empty eye sockets. Since there wasn't any book on Social Etiquette with Ghosts, she had to play it by ear all these years, and one thing she had actively avoided was keeping her fears to herself. Silly or not, she didn't want to accidentally make the ghosts feel hurt or offended.
After gulping the last of her Americano, Zari took the train back to Alexandru's apartment. She was likely to be safer here while...
Zari glanced down at the two tiny slices of roots she had in her hand.
Two devil's apples from two different crime scenes.
Surely, that was enough to summon a vision...right?
It has to be, Zari told herself. This was the only way for her to find the traitor, clear Alexandru's name and...and have her Master fuck his love into her. So get yourself motivated with that, Zari Baltimore!
Elsa materialized into view just as she was about to lie back in Alexandru's couch, and Zari barely managed to keep herself from yelping.
"Alexandru told me I must watch over you," Elsa answered in her usual singsong voice, "when you dream."
The Gray Area of
Good and Evil
Chapter Nineteen
GRAY.
The moment her eyes closed, and the part of her that was seer took over, and she could only see with her soul—-
GRAY.
It filled her vision, and nothing else she could see except...
GRAY.
So many dreadful shades of gray.
Unforgiving overcast skies.
Poisoned waters of a nearby creek.
And finally, the dirt-gray lined nails of a boy of thirteen, who was just now starting to dig with his rusty old shovel.
The boy, despite his tender years, had twisted tastes that made him smile at the feel of crushing rabbit necks between his fingers and stabbing the light out of the eyes of days-old kittens.
Dig, dig, dig.
The boy kept digging until he was able to yank out the devil's apples from which an archdemon had been making his insidious whispers for thousands and thousands of days, just patiently waiting for the right one to come along.
The boy fell under the archdemon's thrall the moment their eyes came into contact, and all at once he realized what a terrible, terrible mistake he had made.
The creature had lied!
He would have eternity to live, yes, but it was the worst kind of eternity, for now he was trapped and tortured within his own body.
The archdemon was in control now, and the boy only lasted for minutes...just minutes before willingly succumbing to madness. Anything was better, anything was better than knowing how his stupidity had thrown him into the pits of eternal damnation.
This was the thirteenth boy, whose name the archdemon didn't even care to know. It mattered not, after all. Boys like him never did.
THE ARCHDEMON, NOW in control of the boy's mind and body, went to work immediately. This boy was a keeper, the archdemon decided. A handsome face, strong, strapping muscles...yes, yes, a keeper, so he must be careful...
The archdemon made his puppet roam throughout the town until he found what he was looking for: simple-minded Felix, whom he was quickly able to deceive.
Let's put the boys to sleep, he told Felix, and when they wake up, you and the boys will be in Paradise.
Devil's apples needed to be drenched in blood thirteen times before it could open a Devil's Door, and the archdemon could hardly contain his satisfaction as he watched the simpleton follow his every command.
Twelve boys abducted, twelve boys dead, their eyes torn out so that even if they became restless in the aferlife, they would never know it was him. They would only see Felix and no one else.
Now, the plan was for the archdemon, through his puppet, would kill Felix and turn him into the thirteenth sacrifice. Once the Devil's Door opened and he was freed from Hell, he could then play the victim, a young, terrified boy who had only killed Felix in self-defense, and maybe...he could even cry and pretend to blame himself.
I wish I could've saved the other boys from Felix, but it was too late.
Humans were gullible, after all.
Yes, yes, he could do that.
But the archdemon's plans were all for naught, for the one fly in the ointment that he failed to prepare for was the interfering hand of God.
It was the only reason, the only way that a simpleton like Felix had been able to win a fight over his puppet, and the archdemon was left howling in rage when he heard of Felix's death.
That was no heart attack that killed Felix, just God being meddlesome and whisking the simpleton into the safety of Heaven. God's favorite sons tended to be like that idiot, after all.
PATIENCE, THE ARCHDEMON whispered to himself. The devil's apples had already been drenched in blood twelve times, he only needed one more, and until then...
He made his puppet bury himself in a grave not so far away from the other boys. Wrapped his magic around the body of his puppet to preserve its state while the world around it chang
ed.
Must be patient.
Thirteen years passed, but no one cared to listen to his whispers.
Must be patient.
Must wait for the right one to come along.
And after another thirteen years, his patience was rewarded.
Even better, the one who heard his insidious whispers was the sweetest prey. A man who thought himself righteous but was in love with power at the same time. Oh, how deliciously evil this man smelled.
Come dig me out, the archdemon whispered, and I will make all of your dreams come true.
And of course, the man did as the archdemon asked, and soon, the perfectly preserved body of his puppet was out of its grave.
Now, you must take this body where it won't be found. Then you must kill it. Only then will my powers be free, and I shall make your dreams come true.
But of course, all of those words were lies. Once the body of the thirteenth boy started shedding its blood, the Devil's Door opened, and the archdemon was finally able to cross over.
And as for his new puppet...
My new little toy, the archdemon crooned. I shall have such fun playing with you.
The man didn't answer, too busy screaming as monstrous flames began to eat his flesh.
The archdemon rubbed his jaw. Now, where do we start? Your life appears quite interesting. Why do they only call you Warden? Is that truly your name—-
ZARI!
The sound of Elsa's singsong voice tore into her visions, and as Zari came out of it with a shuddering gasp, the first thing she saw was Elsa's burnt face looming upside-down just inches away from her own.
"I had to bring you out," the ghost whispered. "It's that man, Zari."
Zari's heart was still racing, and a thin film of cold sweat was still plastered over her skin. It took a few seconds to find the strength to push herself up and concentrate on Elsa's words. "What man are you talking about?"
Elsa floated herself back into an upright position. "The one who makes bad places."
"I don't understand." And another thing she didn't get was why the ghost was still whispering.
"He was there at the park watching you. Then he was where you work. You talked to him. Remember?"
And she did.
Zari did remember Elsa whispering about bad places, but all those times she had thought Elsa was talking about the murders. But all along Elsa had already sensed the archdemon's presence—-
Elsa pointed towards the door. "He's outside. He wants to make this a bad place."
The Showdown Isn't In Sundown
Chapter Twenty
SO MUCH FOR THIS PLACE being safer, Zari couldn't help thinking as she heard the door to Alexandru's apartment swing open. Then again, who would've thought that archdemons would know how to pick locks?
The old Zari, being younger and less mature, would've bravely confronted this creature of evil on her own rather than ask for help. Thankfully, the years past had made her just a bit smarter and more realistic about her own skills, which was why...
Um, Master?
Alexandru answered right away through their blood bond. What is it?
We have here a situation...
She allowed her Master to see through her eyes and heard him swear. The angel and I will be there as soon as I can.
Okay. The security in this place sucks, by the—-
Fuck!
Zari tensed. What's wrong?
I got one of the trappers to free me out of the cell, but...
Zari heard her Master grunt, the way he usually did when he was in a fight, and the ratio was usually not in his favor. You have your own situation there, don't you?
Yes.
There was another grunt.
Brainwashed Wardens kind of situation...
More grunts.
And they're out for my blood and the angel's.
Zari bit her lip. That was not good at all.
I'll be there as soon as I can. Just keep yourself alive while waiting for me.
Zari could no longer answer, with the archdemon-disguised-as-a-warden having already walked inside the room and started shooting at her.
Shit!
She managed to dive into the floor and roll out of view just as bullets punctured holes through Alexandru's couch. Since the archdemon hadn't even bothered to use a silencer, she had a feeling the creature had used a containment spell to keep the outside world from realizing that an assassination attempt was taking place right under their otherworldly noses.
"Just give yourself up, trapper," the archdemon growled.
"Over my dead body."
The archdemon answered her by firing more bullets her way, and the next fifteen minutes turned into a cat-and-mouse game around Alexandru's apartment, which was thankfully enormous enough to give Zari places to hide and regroup.
Keep myself alive, that's the mission.
Easier said than done, but it wasn't like she had any—-
Zari didn't dare let herself scream when the archdemon punched a hole through the wall, and his clawed fingers clamped around her hair. It might be too late to escape now, but no way was she going to act like a wimp in front of this monster.
While still holding a wildly thrashing Zari captive, the archdemon used his other hand to punch a bigger hole into the wall until he was able to pass through it.
Bloody red eyes threatened to engulf her soul, but Martin had slipped inside of her and made Zari blind to the archdemon's thrall.
The archdemon roared in rage. "How are you doing it?"
"Just keep trying," Zari advised, "and maybe you'll get lucky even—-" She wasn't able to finish, the creature having lost its temper all over again.
The archdemon struck the woman with the back of his hand before throwing her against the wall. He saw her lip start to bleed, but instead of begging for her life, he was livid to see the trapper able to pick herself up like she didn't feel a thing.
And that was the truth, since it was Elsa now inside of Zari, Elsa who did not know the meaning of pain.
"I might not know what you are," the archdemon hissed, "but I do know that no mortal can survive this."
And when Zari saw the archdemon make a twisting motion with his clawed fingers to create a ball of fire—-
That was when she remembered—-
The fires in her vision, the fires that always seemed to be the bane of her Master's existence—-
Hellfire.
This was her vision slowly coming into reality, the vision that had her crying and drinking herself to sleep.
In that vision, Hellfire had killed her Master—-
But it was different now, Zari realized.
Because there was that other vision she had seen, right in this very apartment...
She was almost hysterical in relief, and she couldn't even make herself flinch as the archdemon took aim.
Go ahead, mother-effer.
Zari closed her eyes.
And nothing happened.
When she opened her eyes, Alexandru was standing right in front of her, having shielded Zari from Hellfire with his own body.
And yet...
Even with his entire body ablaze—-
He was alive.
Unharmed.
And he was staring at her like she was the one who had grown himself a pair of horns.
You know, Alexandru said hoarsely.
Yes.
A shudder rocked his body. His pet knew that he was an archdemon. A full-blooded demon, with nothing vampire left in him, and yet—-
You love me still?
Always, Master, and while I'd love to chat...
Zari heard the archdemon behind Alexandru start to run towards them.
Can you please kill him first?
IT WAS ALREADY SIX in the morning the next day when Zari was finally alone with her Master again, this time in the safety of his private island fortress just an hour's drive away from Manhattan. This, apparently, was his "true" home, while the one in the city had me
rely been his multimillion-dollar crash pad.
The Board, having realized how easily it was for one of their Wardens to be compromised, had shocked everyone by unanimously voting to disenfranchise themselves...along with appointing Micah as the new and permanent leader of AGNEX.
While majority seemed to welcome the new change in leadership, a few others, well...
That's the half angel's problem for now, Zari thought. As much as she wanted to help Micah, she also had priorities, and topmost at present was enjoying her long-delayed honeymoon.
As Alexandru carried her into his private Roman bath, she couldn't help shaking her head as she took in the unflinching display of wealth around her. Marble walls, gargoyle fountains, and - in keeping with modern inventions - there was even a row of pool beds equipped with aqua massage technology.
Zari flashed Alexandru a mischievous smile as he lowered her to her feet once they were waist-deep in the pool. "I'm curious, Master. Is there something like a Forbes 500 for otherworlders?"
"Why do you ask?" Alexandru mocked. "Are you thinking of tossing me over for your boss in case he's richer? After all, he is an angel while—-"
"No, of course not." Zari felt ashamed and horrified all at once, not realizing how her words could easily be misinterpreted as a taunt on his new...er...form.
Even though his arms had already fallen away, she didn't hesitate to move back into his arms, bubbly warm waters splashing and swirling about their naked bodies as held on to his shoulders and raised herself on her toes.
"I'm sorry." She tried kissing him, but her Master turned his face away, and Zari felt even more desperate. "I really didn't mean anything. I just—-"
And again, that was when she felt it.
The slight rocking of his broad shoulders—-
Her head jerked up, and Alexandru's smirk said it all.
"Master, you bully—-"
But of course she wasn't able to say another word, with her Master using a burst of speed to get them to the other end of the pool. The next thing she knew, her Master was lying back on the pool bed, and she was on her knees between his legs, with Alexandru taking hold of her nape as he slowly but oh so firmly pushed her head down—-
