Angel of Darkness Books 1-5

by Mackenzie Morris

  Sulstair glared at her. "Liaxa."

  "You're not taking Jaylen anywhere. He's mine."

  "I have three of his soul segments. Technically, his is mine."

  "Oh, is that right?" Liaxa asked as she held up the key from her corset. "I have ten of his soul segments and his soul key. On top of that, Zeriel is still in the picture. He is the one who ultimately owns Jaylen."

  "I'll be back. You know that. If I can find a way to separate Jaylen and his angel, I will be here to challenge you for his soul."

  "I'd like to see you try."

  Chapter 10

  The servant girl handed Zeriel the tiny bundle of small blankets. "Here's your baby."

  Zeriel smiled as he looked at the sleeping baby in his arms. "Thank you. Is he going to be okay?"

  "He's perfectly healthy. We bathed him and fed him, and he's been great. If you don't mind me asking, what are you going to do with him?"

  "I'm not entirely sure yet. I will probably take him to the clergy in Ilyan so he can be raised there with a grand purpose. The priests need more paladins."

  The servant girl looked worried. "Don't trade his little life for Master Jaylen's."

  "If that is what it takes to ensure my Master's security, then that is what I will do. Believe me, it brings me no joy to sentence an innocent infant to death. However, my duties are to Jaylen and Jaylen alone."

  "At least make whatever life Sammy has left comfortable."

  "I will make sure the baby is taken care of. My father is the guardian of children, so I have always had a soft spot for children as well. Don't worry about that. I would never do anything to harm a child."

  The servant girl handed him a bag. "Here are all of his things. There is some milk, a bottle, and some diapers. Do you know how to tend to a baby?"

  "Of course. I actually helped Doran tend to Jaylen when he was a baby during the times Jaylen's mother was unable to do so."

  "Really?" She asked. "That's wonderful."

  "Don't breathe a word of that to Jaylen, please. I don't want to make our relationship awkward."

  "I wouldn't dream of it. I have much to do around here, so if you'll excuse me, I will be on my way." She bowed before turning around and leaving the bedroom.

  Zeriel laid Sammy on the bed and delicately poked the tip of the baby's tiny nose. "You look a lot happier now than you did. You're so cute. Do you know how cute you are?"

  Something crashed in the hallway before a thin man with a white mask, a skin-tight half-shirt, pointed fangs, and an orange ring in his navel that matched his eyes appeared. "Zeriel!"

  "Gavin? What are you doing here?"

  The incubus braced himself in the doorway as he caught his breath. "Where is . . . my daughter?"

  "I don't know. Why would you think I knew where Liaxa is? I thought she was working with you on something."

  "She was. Then she vanished. Is Jaylen here?"

  "No . . ."

  Gavin pushed his bright red hair back. "Where is he?"

  "The last time I saw him, he was going into a rift."

  "Oh, Hell. I was afraid that happened. I'm really sorry about all of this, really I am. Oh, no . . . oh no. I don't know what to do. How long have they been gone?"

  "They? It was only Jaylen. What is going on?"

  "Liaxa stole Jaylen's soul key and the ten soul segments I had locked away. She took my daggers and left in the middle of the night. She's after Jaylen's soul."

  "What?" Zeriel lunged at Gavin and pushed him against the wall. "Tell me what your demon daughter is doing with my son!"

  Gavin chuckled. "You misspoke, angel."

  "My paladin. I meant my paladin. Tell me, or I will kill you right here."

  "Liaxa wants Jaylen."

  "For a mate. I know. It's sickening. I still view him as a little boy."

  "Not that!" Gavin shook his head. "She wants him like all succubi want men. She wants to impregnate herself with his baby then kill him and steal his soul so she can empower herself. I found her journal and read it all. Why she would be stupid enough to write all that down, I have no clue. You have to do something."

  "What do you expect me to do? I don't know about all of this stuff."

  "You're an angel. You're supposed to know!"

  "I am the youngest angel. I haven't learned everything yet. My father was never the best teacher."

  "You know, for the guardian of children, Carvael doesn't have much of a fatherly instinct, does he?" Gavin asked.

  "Only when he cares. That's not important right now. If your daughter is actively trying to seduce Jaylen, then we have to go save him. Let's go into the rift and hunt them down."

  "They are probably already out of the rift and back someplace in the human world. It will be difficult to track them down. You're bonded with Jaylen. Don't you have some kind of special sense that will link you to him?"

  "Not really. He's obviously still alive, but there's nothing else I can do. What's the plan?" Zeriel asked, feeling awful having to ask an incubus for a plan.

  "Jaylen is a child. There's only one person we can talk to who will be able to help us."

  Zeriel knew exactly where this was going and he didn't like it. "No. We're not asking him for help. He wants to kill me."

  "You need him."

  "I don't need him. Tell me to speak to anyone but him and I'll do it. You don't understand what he can be like."

  "Do you want to lose Jaylen?" Gavin asked.

  "Of course not."

  "Then this is your only choice. Are you ready to go begging your dear old daddy for help?"

  Zeriel groaned as he covered his eyes with his hand. "If Carvael tries to execute me, I will make sure that you die with me."

  "You have a deal. My gryphon is outside waiting for me. Get your baby packed up and we'll go to the absolute worst place in existence. To Heaven!"

  * * *

  Liaxa's hands trailed up Jaylen's legs until she caught the button between her fingers and unbuttoned his pants with one quick flick of her wrist.

  Jaylen whimpered in protest, but something was preventing him from speaking. His arms and legs were secured to the bed in the inn room by some unseen force. There was nothing he could do other than watch in horror as the succubus continued to undress him. In his mind, he was begging her to stop, but she only giggled as if she somehow knew what he was thinking and decided instead to mock him.

  "Shh . . . shh." Liaxa grinned with her sharpened fangs. With one final pull, she stripped Jaylen of his pants. "There we are. Much better. Now for that underwear. Don't worry, Jaylen. We're friends here. I am doing this for a reason, one that you can't know right now. But trust me. You will thank me in the future." She dragged her finger along the bottom of Jaylen's eye. "You're crying. No crying allowed, please. There is nothing to be crying about. Nothing bad is going to happen."

  The door flew open and a silver arrow flew through the air. It caught the hem of Liaxa's skirt and pinned her by the flowing fabric to the wall. Zeriel entered the room with another arrow drawn back and aimed at the succubus. "Stand down, Liaxa, or I will be forced to kill you."

  She pried the arrow out of the wall and threw it down. "It's not what you think it is."

  "My chaste virgin paladin is naked on the bed while you were touching him. Tell me how it's not what I think it is. What have you done to him? Why can't he move?"

  "It's a spell."

  "Undo it. Undo it now."

  "You could ask nicely."

  Zeriel fired the arrow, missing Liaxa's face by less than an inch. "I said now!"

  "Fine. So rude." Liaxa waved her hand.

  Jaylen screamed and dropped down on the other side of the bed. He grabbed the sheet from the bed and quickly wrapped it around himself. What was it with everyone trying to see him naked? He was breathing rapidly as sweat poured down his face. "Zeriel, kill her."

  "Yes, Master."

  "No!" Liaxa knelt down in front of Zeriel and wrapped her arms around his legs, her face pressed
against the leather of his knee-high boots. "Please don't. Please don't. I wasn't trying to hurt him."

  "Let me guess. You forgot that you left your journal behind."

  "Damn it. Did Gavin tell you that?" Liaxa asked. "That was a joke. It was all a big joke. I would never do anything like that. Just ask Jaylen. He will have to tell you the truth. We're in love."

  Jaylen gasped. "No way."

  "You can't hide how you feel about me, Jaylen. Zeriel, you have to believe me. We're in love."

  Zeriel's arms quivered as he held the bowstring tight. "Lies. Your demonic tongue will gain you no sympathy through your tricky manipulations."

  Liaxa held up the silver key from inside her corset. "If you let me live, I will go to Hell and stay there until Jaylen calls for me. I will give you his soul key."

  "Deal. Run fast, succubus."

  After Liaxa ran off, Jaylen curled up on the bed and watched his angel. "How did you find me?"

  Zeriel slid the arrow into the quiver and put the bow on his back. "I . . . I had my father track you down."

  "Carvael? How could you? Now he will come get me. We were safe in the vampire coven because it was invisible and the demon magic clouded Carvael's abilities-"

  "Stop panicking. You're hyperventilating. I made a deal with him."

  "You made a deal with Carvael?" Jaylen asked. "What did you give him? Please tell me it's not the typical currency you have been dealing in recently."

  Zeriel rubbed his neck nervously. "I'm sorry, Jaylen."

  "You sold more of my soul segments?"

  "I had found some of the missing ones, but I hadn't told anyone because I didn't want them trying to steal them from me. Now Carvael owns forty percent of your soul."

  "Forty percent!"

  "Remember to stay calm. I don't need you getting sick." Zeriel covered his paladin with the blanket then dipped a cloth into the basin of fresh water. He dabbed it onto Jaylen's forehead. "Breathe and close your eyes. As long as nothing comes between you and me, our bond overrides anyone's share of your soul. You belong to me and only to me. Don't listen to Sulstair, Liaxa, or anyone else who says they own you. Their soul segments are worthless as long as I'm here. And believe me, I'm not planning on going anywhere."

  Feeling more relaxed now that Zeriel was there, Jaylen sighed and could finally breathe fully again. "Could you leave? If you wanted to go and not be my angel anymore, could you leave?"

  Zeriel put the cloth down and knelt beside the bed. He took Jaylen's hand in his. "Technically, I've always had the ability to leave. However, you mean more to me than Heaven itself. I will not give up on you. Yes, it's been hard. It's been trying, but I wouldn't trade you for anything. That's why I wouldn't give Carvael what he wanted."

  "What did he want?"

  "He wanted you. All of you. But I made a deal with him. We compromised. Your soul segments weren't the only things I gave up to save you."

  "What else did you give him?" Jaylen asked.

  "I can't tell you. But know this. I will pay for this in time. Just not right now. Right now, you need to stay calm and then we can get back to Wolfekin to explain everything to Aiden and Queen Sela. They will understand."

  "Where is Sammy?"

  "Let's not talk about Sammy right now, okay?" Zeriel asked. "He is in good hands."

  "You gave the baby to Carvael, didn't you? What could he want with an infant?"

  "Carvael decided that he wanted to . . . bend the rules a bit. He wanted a paladin."

  "But Sammy was my way back into Ilyan without the clergy trying to kill me."

  "It has been taken care of. Sammy has been submitted to the Divinity Trial."

  The Divinity Trial? "He's a baby! Those priests will kill him."

  "Not while Carvael is overseeing the process. Though, I do feel terrible for the baby."

  Jaylen sat up and pushed Zeriel's hands away. "Don't touch me. What is wrong with you? You know what they did to me in that trial. You've seen the scars on the bottoms of my feet. I told you of all the beatings, starvation, and exposure in blizzards. Now you're forcing a baby to go through that?"

  "Jaylen, I did what I had to do."

  "I can't do this. I won't let this happen."

  "And what do you plan to do about this, huh? Is little Jaylen going to go throw a childish fit and scream at the mean men who hurt him? Is the angry boy going to slam some doors and stomp his feet?"'

  Jaylen got out of bed and began looking for his clothes. "I don't need you to mock me. If you want to throw insults, I suggest that we do it the right way, the man's way."

  Zeriel scoffed and picked up one of Jaylen's lace-covered boots. "And what way would that be? What do you possibly know about being a man? I mean, look at you."

  "Look at me?" Jaylen let the sheet fall to reveal his body as tears burned in his eyes. "Look at me! Do you think my body is the thing that matters to me? You people are the worst people ever. I just want to do the right thing. And I swear on the memory of my mother that I will stop at nothing to avenge everyone who has been harmed by the religious hypocrites who run this sickening abyss of a world. No, I'm not a man yet. But I'll be damned if I let a fallen angel like you tighten your claws around my soul and strangle it until all the juice has been squeezed out. I will take back what is mine and never allow anyone else to harm me again! You are no different than my father. You deserved every single thing he did to you. Go. Get out of my sight. If you come anywhere near me again, I will slit my own throat so that you will die with me. What are you waiting for? Go!"

  "Is that an-"

  "That is an order!"

  Zeriel tossed Jaylen's boot on the bed and circled around the boy he had grown so attached to. "Where are those new welts from? A belt?"

  "Go away!"

  "Have it your way, Master." Zeriel stopped in the doorway and glanced back over his shoulder. "I hope the clergy beats you to death like your father should have done. You're a pathetic excuse for a man. You wanted me to, so I am looking at you, Jaylen. Do you know what I see? A spoiled, conceited, and hateful child. Maybe your little body is fitting for such an insignificant soul. What a waste of my time."

  Jaylen jumped when the door slammed shut. He screamed as he threw the water basin across the room where it crashed into the window. Running over the slivers of broken glass, he ripped the paintings from the walls and smashed them against the dresser. He took the curtains from the windows and tore them with his teeth, making his hurt jaw shoot with sharp pain, but he didn't care. With one final scream, he punched a hole in the wall by the door before something snapped in his mind.

  His hands trembled violently and he dragged his fingernails up his bare legs, drawing lines of beaded blood. As he watched the blood start to trickle down to his feet, Jaylen laughed. He laughed while he tore at his hair. He laughed as he clawed at the sun sigil on his chest. And he laughed as he switched into spirit sight just in time to watch his normally white aura grow dark with shadows.

  Chapter 11

  Zeriel set down two bottles of red wine on the table where Axaniel was already sitting with crystal goblets waiting. "I need a drink."

  "You and me both, friend. I'm ready to get back to Vilyron. Did you know that I had to fight off another pack of rabid werewolves last night? I swear they never stop. We have to get the sun back soon. What is Sola waiting for? Does she truly expect us to finish The Cleansing?"

  "I don't know."

  "Either way, these unpredictable werewolves are getting on my nerves. I bet you're ready to get back to Ilyan."

  "Yes." Zeriel poured the goblets full of wine and slid one across the table to Axaniel. "That will have to wait for a few days at least."

  "Where is Jaylen?"

  "Still in Tivareshen."

  "Why?" Axaniel asked. "Why would you leave him there? He's all alone now."

  "That's the point. He needs some time to calm down."

  "Did you two have a fight or something? I never thought I would see the day when you would aba
ndon your paladin."

  "I'm not abandoning him." Zeriel took a much needed drink. "Yes, we fought. He was going insane and being completely disrespectful and unreasonable. I left before one of us did something we would end up regretting. I couldn't let my relationship with Jaylen unravel like my relationship with Doran did. I will go back in a few days when I can be sure that he won't try anything."

  "What you're doing would be perfect if Jaylen was ten years older. But you're forgetting something. Jaylen is a child. A child who is alone in a strange country on the other side of the planet. Don't forget that my Master is still out there somewhere."

  "Sulstair wouldn't dare touch Jaylen."

  Axaniel poured another glass full. "I fear he already has. Sulstair has been in Tivareshen for the past few days. There is a very possible threat to Jaylen."

  "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

  "Because I didn't think that you would actually leave Jaylen there."

  "Trust me. Jaylen is grown enough to take care of himself."

  "Like he was able to fight off Liaxa?" Axaniel asked.

  Zeriel sighed. "You're right, but I can't go back now. I said some very hurtful things that I'm not quite ready to apologize for. Jaylen has to learn that some behaviors are inexcusable. I have to teach him somehow what is right and what is wrong. He doesn't have anyone else to do that for him. I want to be a good father for him."

  "That's very nice of you, but true fathers never abandon their children, no matter how hateful they are being."

  "I will go back to Tivareshen in the morning."

  * * *

  Jaylen had finally calmed down enough to take inventory of the destruction he caused during his rage-fueled rampage in the inn room. With his senses back to normal and a growing feeling of regret growing in his chest, he got dressed then he set about gathering up the torn curtains, picking up the shards of broken glass from the windows, and remaking the bed. Hopefully he could do enough so that the owner of the inn wouldn't be too angry. When the door opened and a thin elven man gasped, he knew it was a lost cause.

  "What is this?" The owner asked as he stepped over the pile of tattered fabric. "What have you done in here?"