Ayil

by Brenda Trim

  Kennex’s mouth dropped open for a split second showing her surprise, before her expression shifted to anger and was quickly masked. Ayil questioned if he’d seen the anger or if he expected it because he believed she was working with the demons and wanted to see it.

  “There are cafés in Heaven? I bet they have the best food.”

  “Nah. It’s average. I’ve eaten far better food on Earth, but Sweet Indulgence has the best cupcakes. I’ve never had better anywhere.”

  Kennex’s eyes lit up again and she bounced in her seat. “Ohh. I love cupcakes. Anything sweet really, or spicy. Maybe one day you’ll take me there. I haven’t had a decent chocolate cupcake since I left home.”

  “Zakara has a true gift. We are blessed to have her back in Heaven, treating us to her confections.”

  “Back in Heaven? Did she live on Earth or something?” Kennex asked as she cocked her head and studied him.

  “It’s a long story, but yes. After a stint in Hell, she lived on Earth until she met her mate, Ramiel, and saved the Vampire Princess from Lucifer.” Ayil recalled the altercation between Ramiel and Jared a couple weeks before. The vile bastard was the reason Zakara fell in the first place. It still pissed Ayil off that she wanted mercy for the jerk.

  “I heard about that. None of us could believe Zander’s kid was kidnapped. He’s one of the strongest beings in the realm. If demons got to his family, it’s only a matter of time before they get us all. I had no idea a Fallen Angel helped rescue his daughter. They should let her back into Heaven after that.”

  “She never should’ve been cast out in the first place. Raphael and the other Archangels recognized that and brought her back. It was a good thing or we’d have lost Ramiel, too, since they mated one another. So, if this God of War isn’t Ares, then what is it?” he asked changing the subject.

  Kennex stood up and crossed to her bookshelf. She bent over and plucked something off a lower level. Ayil’s gaze was transfixed to her ass. He tried to force his eyes to look away, but he was salivating as he watched her hips sway. Her TV flickered a second later and she inserted a disc into what looked like a DVD player.

  His attention was diverted from her ass to a crimson stain on the carpet and her feet. Ayil was standing and crossing in her direction before he knew what he was doing. His mind went back to the night he first saw her at Bog’s Place with bruises on her face. “Is that blood?”

  “What? Where?” She twisted around and glanced at the furniture and then the kitchen before meeting his gaze. She was a few inches shorter than his six-foot-two frame, so he didn’t tower over her, but the brief look of fear that crossed her features made him feel like an ogre. He took a step back to give her space.

  Ayil went back to the couch and picked up his beer, then gestured with the bottle. “Sorry. There’s a spot on the floor. I know you were injured the other night and…” He let the rest of his sentence trail away as he felt her withdraw from him with every word. The last thing he wanted was to create distance when they were making progress. Music from the TV filled the silence and images flickered on the screen. Both of them ignored that as tension built between them in an instant.

  Kennex’s shoulders caved in and her hand went to the cheek that was yellowish-green. “Oh, yeah. I tripped and hit my head on the shelves. I must have missed a spot.” She went into the kitchen and rustled under the sink before coming back with a spray bottle and sponge in hand.

  Ayil took his seat again and watched as she sprayed and scrubbed at the floor. The activity gave her time to recompose herself. He didn’t believe for a second that she fell and hit her cheek like she said. He opened his mouth to push the issue and thought better of it. He needed to keep the conversation light and get back on track with her.

  “I see what you mean about the characters. Very realistic,” he murmured instead of saying what he really wanted. “Do many supernaturals play this game? I bet several would love to play God, especially if they are waging war.”

  Kennex nodded her head and put the cleaner and sponge on the counter before rejoining him on the couch. “Definitely. Sups in general love the game. I’ve gotten great feedback and suggestions from some of our paranormal testers. The realm is a wealth of knowledge and information. God of War is a third person hack and slash video game. It’s action-adventure. Tons of fun.”

  As Kennex spoke their earlier banter came back with little of the strain still evident. “So, you made this game and now you play it? How is that a challenge?”

  Kennex shook her head with a smirk. “I was responsible for pieces of the game, but there were countless others who added to make the final product. The challenge is in going on raids and exploring other areas. I play this and many other role-playing games.”

  “I’ve never played a video game.” He watched as she pressed buttons with her fingers and moved the sticks with her thumbs. Characters moved, jumped, and kicked on screen. Ayil watched her sure, swift movements. She was in her element and it was sexier than he could’ve imagined.

  “Never?” she asked with a chuckle. The doorbell interrupted and he got to his feet before she could open the door. For some odd reason after seeing her reaction to the blood, Ayil wanted to stand between her and the world.

  “I have a delivery for Kennex,” the human male said as Ayil pulled the door open.

  “Yes. Thank you,” Kennex interjected as she stood close enough to Ayil that he felt her heat all along his front. It scalded his nerve endings and made him crave more.

  “Sign here.” The delivery man asked as he held out a receipt. Ayil had cash in his hand and was handing it to the guy before Kennex shoved his fist away. Unsure what else to do, he grabbed the bags with his free hand.

  “I’ve already paid,” she informed him and shut her door.

  Ayil set the money on a side table and left it for Kennex then followed her to the kitchen. “I’d rather eat in there so I can finish showing you the fabulous world of gaming.”

  Ayil shrugged. He didn’t care where he ate and had to admit he was interested to discover how she managed to make the character move the way she had. “Sounds good to me.”

  Kennex grabbed two plates and silverware then placed them on the coffee table next to the food. “Show me how to make the avatar move and I will dish up the food.”

  “Are you trying to impress me or are you truly a gentleman at heart?”

  Ayil looked up from opening the Styrofoam containers and considered her question. “I didn’t even stop to think about it, actually. I don’t date much and suppose I should be trying to impress you. This is very different from taking a female to bed and leaving afterward.”

  Kennex choked on the tortilla chip she’d just taken a bite of and coughed into her hand. “Is that what you expected when you came over. To have sex with me and leave?”

  “I won’t lie. The thought briefly crossed my mind because you have killer legs and a nice rack, but I figured with you it was a long shot and put it out of my mind.” No way was he going to tell her he didn’t want to have sex with her after thinking about it. Any attraction he had to her waned quickly and hadn’t really come back until she bent over in front of him.

  “Good, because I’m not sleeping with you,” she practically growled. He had to be reading into the tone of her voice. She did have a chip stuck in her throat, after all.

  To lighten the mood, he grabbed the remote and focused on the one thing he knew she was passionate about. “I have no interest in sex when I can dominate a city of trolls. Alright, how the hell do I unpause the game?”

  “You click the start button in the middle.”

  “Got it,” Ayil replied and clicked the button then tried to make the character do anything. “How the fuck do I make her move? You made it look so easy.”

  Kennex laughed around a bite of her carnitas. “How do you manage to eliminate demons with moves like that? Gimme that controller.”

  The bite of enchilada went into his mouth and he picked up a chip and
tossed it at her. “That doesn’t take any finesse at all. I grab my sword of light and swing it. I have excellent aim. I can figure out how you moved anything with this.”

  Laughing, Kennex got up and sat next to him on the couch, then grabbed the controller. “These are the bumpers here,” she pointed to the large button on the top, “the left one blocks and the right one grabs. The right joystick makes the character dodge objects while the left moves her around. The buttons do various functions. The purple ‘x’ button jumps. The pink square is a fast attack. The green triangle is a strong attack and the red circle attacks with a weapon. The real fun comes from these buttons over here,” she said pointing to up, down and side to side arrows. “This one is the lightning of Zeus. That one is the fire of Ares and that one is the ice of Poseidon. This one I bet will be your favorite. It’s the soul of Hades.”

  “The soul of Hades is a pain in my ass,” Ayil grumbled. “Okay, that sounds easy enough. I’ve got this.” Ayil took the controller from her hands.

  “Take that,” Ayil called out as he managed to get the female on the screen to throw a bolt of lightning.

  “Congratulations, you killed a tree,” Kennex teased as she constructed another taco with meat, beans, rice, and about a dozen jalapenos.

  “Damn, you weren’t kidding when you said you like spicy foods were you?”

  Kennex smiled at him with a mouthful of food. “The hotter the better. I blame my mom. She craved spicy foods when she was pregnant with me and couldn’t get it hot enough.”

  “I’ve never asked my mom if she had cravings when she carried me,” Ayil replied, wondering if his mom craved cookies and chocolate and sweet tarts when she was pregnant, given his sweet tooth.

  “Angels have babies? I thought God created you.”

  Ayil took a bite of his enchiladas and shook his head. “That’s a common misconception. Sure, God created the first generation, but he doesn’t create them anymore. Angels create babies with other Angels, humans or supernaturals since the first generation came to be. Both of my parents are Angels.”

  “Mind blown. I had no idea. Did some Angels have babies with demons to make asshole Angels?”

  “I told you both my parents were Angels,” he teased then took a bite and picked up the remote and tried to create fire on the screen. “And, if an Angel mates with a demon they lose their wings and fall to the Underworld. Their offspring are generally considered demons. Here, take this from me. I can’t seem to get the moves right.”

  “Don’t feel bad about that. It takes true talent to kickass at God of War,” she replied and patted his shoulder. They both burst into laughter, making him realize he actually enjoyed being around her.

  Guilt tried to once again rear its ugly head, but he shoved it away and maintained his position that he was doing nothing wrong in his pursuit to protect innocents from harm. Ultimately, it didn’t if Kennex wouldn’t see it the same way. He had a job to do and he was damn well going to do it.

  * * *

  Chapter 11

  “Good to see you, Jax,” Bhric greeted as they crossed through the portal into Basketane’s office before it snapped shut. “Are Thane and Ryker here?”

  Jax clapped Bhric on the shoulder in a brief one-armed hug. The shifter nodded his head at Evzen and shook his hand when he held it out. “Been a long time. Ryker and Thane are patrolling. So are Gage and Magnus. How’s Cailyn doing?”

  “Och, Cailyn’s great. Her ability to heal gets stronger every day. She misses Elsie and Izzy, of course. She and Jessie send their love. Their mates doona like it, but they told me to tell you no’ to be a stranger and to visit soon.”

  Jax stuffed his hands in his pockets and threw back his head in a deep laugh. “I imagine Jace and James had a hard time with them giving you messages for me. Jealous assholes. We don’t have any mated warriors here and I can’t fathom being that possessive of a female.”

  Evzen smiled at that. “I agree. I’ve witnessed the phenomenon many times and cannot understand the drive.”

  “That’s because you arseholes doona have your Fated Mate, yet. When the Goddess finally blesses you, it will become clear. As cheesy as it sounds, my Alex saved my life in more ways than one. There isna anything I wouldna do for her and that includes killing any males that look at her fine arse. Now. Where are we with the body?”

  Evzen wasn’t prone to jealousy and had never longed for a mate. He’d been too busy ruling the sorcerers of the realm. It was a massive job and he wasn’t born to take the roll, so he wasn’t raised with the expectation he would one day be Guild Master. The upheaval during the past two years had prevented him from really considering what it would be like to have a female of his own.

  Seemed like he wasn’t going to be thinking about that now, either, as Jax spoke up and interrupted his reverie. “The body is at the morgue, but we need to get there fast. Not only is sunrise in a couple hours, but shift change happens, as well, and that adds several witnesses that will need to be dealt with.”

  That comment had the Vampire Prince walking toward the door. Evzen followed Bhric along with Jax. “Och. Let’s get this shite done. I doona want to be caught out in the sun, and I doona want to have to hunt more humans doon and extend my time away from Alex.”

  Evzen was glad his cloak was thick enough to cut some of the evening chill as they exited the large Victorian front doors and headed down the steps. Many over the years teased him for dressing like a wizard, but there was no denying the warmth of a cloak.

  Bhric climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV while Jax got behind the wheel, leaving Evzen to get in the backseat as adrenaline dumped into his system. The warriors in the front seat talked about the state of affairs in the San Francisco area while they quickly crossed town. Thankfully, there was little traffic in the middle of the night.

  “So, realm children are missing here, too?” Evzen asked when he heard Jax tell Bhric their children were being targeted, as well. It was surprising to hear the archdemon, Crocell, was going to such lengths. Then again, she wanted her sister back. Evzen loved his brother and would do just about anything for him. It would never involve sacrificing innocent children, but he wasn’t an evil demon.

  “Yes. It just started. Most of the realm has seen the heart-wrenching posts on T-Rex about striplings being kidnapped in Seattle, so citizens are cautious, but after the third disappearance we have to assume Crocell has spread her wings.”

  “Fuck,” Bhric cursed from the front seat. “We knew it was a risk that she would target other areas. I will let Kyran know and check with the Rowan Sisters on the status of the masking charm.”

  Evzen breathed a sigh of relief. He’d consulted with the High Priestesses about their spell and tips for mass production and distribution. Thank the Gods they had a plan in place, Evzen thought. “The charm is done and can be reproduced easily. We’ve already set up a system for distribution throughout the realm. I will have Killian put up a post on T-Rex,” Evzen replied as Jax parked the car in an empty parking lot.

  They climbed from the car and headed to the front door of a building accented with large blue bricks. The windows on the second floor were empty and the tinted windows on the first floor near the doors showed no sign of life.

  “Thanks. Kyran will appreciate that, Evzen. Dammit, we need to kill that bitch so we can bring Zander, Elsie and Izzy back. I miss my brathair. I sense three humans in the building,” Bhric said as they approached the glass doors. “Does that fit with your intelligence?”

  Jax took a slim pouch from his back pocket. “Text Kilian and ask him if he’s disabled the alarm system. And, yes, there should be two coroners and a security guard in the building. The majority of the staff comes in at seven in the morning when shift changes.”

  Bhric pulled his phone out before Evzen had a chance. As the Vampire Prince’s fingers flew over the buttons, Evzen had no doubt Killian was already done. The cambion and nightclub owner was the best which was why they made the arrangements for him to c
lear their way.

  “We’re good to go,” Bhric murmured a second later and before Evzen could blink they were in the building and heading down the hall. Evzen expected to see the security guard heading their way, but no one exploded from a nearby office and ran toward them with a gun drawn.

  That didn’t keep Evzen’s heart from racing in his chest. It seemed odd that there weren’t more people protecting the building, but with it being full of dead bodies perhaps criminals weren’t interested in breaking in. It wasn’t like the dead could tell on them or something.

  The warriors’ boots were silent as they moved while Evzen’s loafers clicked as he tried to keep pace with them. Before they’d made it two feet, Evzen called his staff to his hand and cast a noise dampening spell. He didn’t want to be the reason they got caught and he never received training in how to move soundlessly like Bhric and Jax. It wasn’t a supernatural trait, but one of skill.

  Jax stopped outside a set of double doors that had small windows at the top. Bhric leaned around and peeked in the room before he pushed his way inside. Evzen followed next to Jax and two human males glanced up and nearly jumped as their presence startled them.

  “How did you get in here?” one male asked at the same time the other said, “Who the hell are you?” The smell of death and chemicals permeated the room, masking any other scent. As a sorcerer, Evzen didn’t have the sharpest sense of smell, but it was better than a mundane’s and served him well in most circumstances. Unfortunately, he couldn’t pick up anything significant at the moment.

  “No need to panic,” Bhric said as he approached. His stride never paused once since entering the room. It was easy to tell the instant Bhric took over the human’s minds. Both human males’ eyes went blank and their expressions shifted from indignant surprise to blank. “We’re here to relieve you of that body.”

  “Gods. That’s awful,” Evzen blurted when he focused on the body that lay on the metal table in front of the coroners.