by Larissa Ione
Limos scrambled out from under him, grateful that the hell stallion’s hooves had missed her. As her burst eardrums knit back together, she crouched next to the fallen angel.
“Following me was stupid, Sarty.” She patted his bald head. “Because now that I have you, I’m going to make you tell me where Arik is, and then you’re going to help me find my agimortus.”
He laughed… well, sort of coughed, since his mouth was full of blood. “I’m going to take you to your husband. And I’m going to strip your human’s skin off his body while he watches the Dark Lord fuck you until you tear in half.”
“You are disgusting.” She looked up at Bones. “Make him hurt a little.”
Bones bared his razor-sharp teeth and took a bite out of the angel’s shoulder. Flesh ripped away with a curious zipping noise. Sartael screamed in agony.
“Now, you piece of shit,” she purred. “Agree to help me, or next time Bones goes for something more tender. He’s always loved Rocky Mountain Oysters. I guess we’ll call them angel oysters, yes?”
“I’m going to see you fry,” he ground out. “I’m going to tell your brothers how you stood before the Dark Lord and begged him to take you as his bride. How you promised to bring your brothers to him as wedding gifts. How you stood motionless, your thighs dripping with your lust, ah yto s the chastity belt was placed around your waist.”
Her throat went as dry as the sand under her feet. “You weren’t there. You don’t know.” Except his details were spot on.
“I was the hellrat chained to Lucifer’s wrist during the ceremony. I spent almost five thousand years as a rodent—punishment for letting another angel fuck your mother before I could. I was supposed to be your father, you whore. I was supposed to be the princess’s father.” He smiled grimly. “Now I will be the princess’s bedmate when her husband is through with her.”
Cara called out, and Limos looked up to see her running toward them. In the same instant, flashes of light penetrated the evening shadows as two Harrowgates opened up several feet in front of her. Limos’s past was closing in on her, choking her, coming at her like a plane in a spiral death dive.
Crying out, she brought her sword down across Sartael’s throat, silencing him, and his ugly truths, forever.
Than stepped through one gate, dragging Gore with him. The hellhound could barely stand, was gushing blood like a waterfall. Ares exited through his own gate, leading a limping Battle.
Cara ran straight to the animals, and even as they collapsed onto the ground, she laid one hand on each. From all around, dozens of hellhounds moved in, silent as shadows, and fell upon the dead angel. Quickly, before Bones started a fight, Limos called him to her, and he dissolved into smoke before winding around her arm.
Cara’s healing gift slammed into the animals, and in minutes, their wounds had sealed.
“What the hell happened back there?” Than barked at Limos. “And why did you kill Sartael? He was our best shot at finding your agimortus!”
“I know.” That, at least, wasn’t a lie. “He threatened Arik. I freaked.” Another truth.
“You freaked?” Thanatos’s words dripped with skepticism. “You never freak. Not like that.”
Ares helped Battle to his feet as Cara finished with the hound. “And why does Lucifer think you participated in your betrothal willingly?”
“Because he’s an idiot.” Yet another truth. Before her brothers could question her further, she changed the subject. “We’ve got to get to Arik. Now. Lucifer wouldn’t lie about knowing where he is.”
Ares fed Battle a sugar cube. “Yeah, well, we don’t know where he is.”
“I’ll bet Runa does,” she said, throwing a gate. “And I’m going to make sure she knows exactly what’s going on with her brother.”
Because if there was one thing Limos knew something about, it was how far one sibling would go to protect another.
Or betray one.
Seventeen
In hindsight, Arik figured he should have had Kynan take him to his apartment. Instead, he’d asked Ky to take him to R-XR headquarters, which had been a colossal mistake. They’d immediately rushed him to medical for a full exam and every kind of test known to both human and demon science. Then he’d been isolated for questioning and another battery of tests, this time to assess his mental health.
He should have known he’d be held prisoner—he’d helped draw up the SOPs for any military member who had been captured and held by demons.
The questions were endless, repetitive and, sometimes, ludicrous. Are you sure you didn’t give up any sensitive information? Yes. Did any demon possess you? No. Were you impregnated? Jesus, he hoped not. Did you grow attached to any demon? No.
As long as Limos didn’t count, damn her.
When the interrogators moved past his time in Sheoul and started on his time with Limos, Arik became a lot more selective in what he told them. No way in hell was he going to share how he’d been in a constant state of lust around her, or how he’d been so afraid to eat food that he’d only eaten when he thought she was bringing him dog food. Or how he still refused to say her name.
Or how she’d fucked with his memory.
He also left out the part where Pestilence drank him like a milkshake, forced Arik to drink him in return, and gave him the curious side-effect of being able to sense spies and kill them with a touch.
The R-XR would have him splayed open on a dissection table for that one.
The upside to all the questioning and tests was that it kept his mind off what he’d done to Runa. Shade’s words kept clanging in his head, a brutal thump against the inside of his skull that he deserved. He’d sworn to protect Runa. He’d sworn to never become the monster their father had been. And what had he done? Become the monster who used to haunt her dreams until Shade took them all away. Now Arik wondered if he’d reversed all Shade’s progress.
It didn’t matter that he’d attacked Runa while he was out of his mind. Their father had often delivered his most brutal beatings while out of his ever-loving mind, three sheets to the wind. It wasn’t an excuse, and Arik wasn’t going to make excuses for himself, either.
Man, he needed a vacation, but that particular line of thinking always took him to a tropical beach that looked suspiciously like Hawaii, complete with a certain raven-haired Horseman. Not that he was taking a trip anytime soon; he’d been released from the R-XR medical facility and put into one of the Fort McNair dorms, and though he was free to come and go within the facilities, he still wasn’t cleared to leave the base.
Which sucked. He was a soldier, and the human race was at war. He needed to do something. Needed to fight for his team, which was Team Human, not Team Horsemen. Sure, they were on the same side, but definitely not on the same team.
Except ze=Surit had felt great to fight next to Limos against the khnives, hadn’t it. She’d had his back, and their moves had been in sync in a way he hadn’t experienced with anyone but Decker.
He caught himself rubbing his chest, as if trying to soothe his aching heart, and what the hell? Had demon Alcatraz turned him into a lovesick puppy? Annoying.
A pounding on his dorm door jolted him out of his pathetic musings, and then Ky and Decker strode in before he even had a chance to tell them to come in. He forgave them because he really needed to get his mind off Runa and Limos. And because they brought beer.
Decker pulled a bottle of Bud out of the six-pack and tossed it to Arik. “You can take the redneck out of the country…” Arik said.
“… but you can’t take the Bud away from the redneck,” Kynan finished, and Decker shot them both the bird.
“The way I see it,” Decker drawled, “you can drink warm water from the tap, or you can drink an ice cold Budweiser.” He held up the six-pack, minus one, dangled it in front of Kynan.
“Yeah, yeah. Give me the damned beer. But don’t think I’ll spontaneously start watching NASCAR or something.”
“I’m telling ya, you’d love the sho
rt-track racing,” Decker muttered, tossing him a beer.
“Only if the drivers are demons,” Kynan said.
Decker shrugged. “There’s been speculation about the Busch brothers. They ain’t right. And Jimmy Johnson. He wins too much for it to be natural.”
Rolling his eyes, Kynan took a seat in one of two chairs, and Arik took the other. Like old times, Decker threw himself on the bed and sprawled out like he lived there. Their friendship had been an easy one… sure, there had been moments of tension, but didn’t every relationship have them? It hadn’t even occurred to Arik that he’d need more in the way of relationships, not when he had good friends and a tight military community around him.
So yeah, everything felt the same. Natural. And yet… there was the sense that something was missing.
You miss Limos, idiot.
Fuck, he was screwed.
“So,” Decker said. “You look pretty good for being in hell’s belly for a month.”
Arik downed half his beer. “I don’t recommend it as a vacation spot.”
“You okay?” Kynan asked, his voice low, gaze serious.
Arik was tired of that question. There’d been way too much doom and gloom and are you okay.
“Couldn’t be better.”
“Runa wants to see you. Said you aren’t returning her calls.”
“Been busy.” Busy avoiding her.
Ky got the hint and didn’t push the issue. Decker didn’t either, took a swig of beer and changed directions, bless his little ole redneck heart. “So… what possessed you to kiss a Horseman and earn yourself a ride on the long black train?”
Man, sometimes Decker needed a translator. “Long black train?”
Kynan beaned Decker with his bottle cap. “It’s from one of Decker’s country songs he forces me to listen to. Something about a train to hell.”
“Yeah, well, there’s no train. Just big, thorny arms.” Arik shut down that memory and downed the rest of his beer.
“Well?” Decker tossed him another cold one. “Why’d you do it? I didn’t think you swung that way.”
“I kissed the female Horseman, you idiot. I’m not gay.”
“Duh. I know you’re not gay.” Decker propped himself up on an elbow. “I was talking about supernaturals. I didn’t think you walked on that side of the tracks.”
Kynan snorted. “Train metaphors aside, if you saw Limos, you’d walk there too, Deck.”
Arik sighed. “You two meatheads here for a reason?”
“You have something better to do?” Kynan asked.
“No, but you didn’t come here to bring me beer and sit around taking up space. So you’re either here to gauge my mental fitness, or you’re here to bring me up to speed on Aegis and R-XR shit. Which is it?”
“Both,” Decker admitted, falling into pro mode. He came across as a big, slow hick at times, but Arik wasn’t entirely convinced it wasn’t an act. The guy was sharp as a stang blade at times.
Arik sat forward in his chair. “What’s up?”
Kynan kicked his booted feet up on the desk. “When you were with Limos, did she give you any information about her agimortus?”
Arik filled them in on the stuff about the Isfet demons, which was all new to Kynan. “Damn,” he breathed. “All we’ve had to go on are the lines in the Daemonica. A Horseman, should he drink from the Cup of Deception and Lies, will loose Famine to ravage the earth. Did she give you anything about Thanatos?”
“They’ve been tight-lipped about him,” Arik muttered. “The world is screwed. Unless you brilliant minds have come up with some sort of plan while I’ve been at Disneyland.” Kynan and Decker exchanged glances, and Arik got a bad feeling in the base of his gut. “What? What are you guys not telling me?”
“Did Limos give you any insight into Thanatos and his… ah…” Kynan trailed off as if looking for the right word, which was strange, because the guy rarely beat around the bush.
Decker rolled his eyes. “What do you know about his sex life?”
Arik froze with his beer an inch from his lips. “His sex life?”
“Yeah. You know, what’s he into? Men? Kinky shit? Dangerous shit? Or is he like you and all vanilla?” Decker delivered the last bit with a teasing smirk.
As if he was one to talk. The dude had dated the same sweet, missionary-only girl since high school until last year when he couldn’t take lying to her about his job anymore, and broke up with her. It had come down to keep lying or leave the R-XR. Decker had chosen his career, and Arik couldn’t blame him. Now was not a good time to lay down weapons, for sure.
“Do I look like I’m the guy’s confessor? How the hell should I know what he’s into? And why are you asking?” Arik eyed the two males, who were squirming like schoolboys who’d been caught with their hands down their pants.
“Because we sent Regan to seduce him.”
Arik choked on his beer. “Regan?” he wheezed. “She’s got the feminine wiles of a rabid cactus.”
Decker frowned. “I don’t think cacti can contract rabies.”
Kynan shot Decker an are-you-kidding-me look before turning back to Arik. “Listen, this has to be kept between us. It doesn’t leave this room. Only a handful of Elders know.”
Still floored, Arik sighed. “Okay, I give. Thanatos said you’d sent her, but he thinks it’s because The Aegis wants to fill in historical blanks or something. Why did you send her to sleep with the guy?”
“Because we need her to get pregnant,” Kynan said.
Arik blinked. Hard. “I… don’t think I heard you right.”
“Yeah, you did,” Decker said, his voice going all sorrowful Eeyore. “Fucking sucks, too, cuz I think she might have been sweet on me.”
Kynan drained his beer, and then he explained the situation, which amounted to prophecy, blah, blah, immortal child saving the world, blah, blah, from Death comes life, blah, blah, and a whole lot of buzzing in Arik’s ears because most of what Kynan was saying didn’t compute.
Regan the ice queen was sacrificing herself to bed a Horseman, while Arik couldn’t bed the one he wanted to.
He was about to ask Decker to toss him another beer when Kynan’s cell rang, and at the same time, Decker’s went off. Outside, klaxons blared in shrill alarm.
Decker peeled the curtain away from the window. “We’re under attack. Fuck. How the hell could demons get on base? It’s warded.”
“Son of a—” The sound of gunfire joined shouts and screams, but the soldiers would have no way of knowing that bullets were useless against most demons.
The highest ranking officers on base were in the know about demons, but for the most part, the soldiers here weren’t aware of the existence of underworld creatures. All the soldiers were doiniere kg was angering the demons with their piddly little bullets.
Arik tore open the door as the demon horde swarmed toward the dorms.
“We are so fucked,” Decker muttered, even as he reached under his jacket for a stang. Kynan did the same, tossing one to Arik.
“You guys ready?” Ky said.
Arik tested the gold end of the S-shaped blade, drawing blood on his thumb. “Let’s send these fuckers back to hell, where they belong.”
* * *
Limos, Ares, and Thanatos gated themselves right into hell on earth. Literally.
Thousands of demons swarmed Arik’s military base, ripping through the soldiers as if they were made of tissue paper. Gunfire and screams filled the air, and the cloying scent of blood and bowels churned in Limos’s nostrils. Guiding Bones with her knees, she cut down demons as she searched for Arik, while Ares’s great sword cleaved bodies in half. Thanatos’s long-handled scythe sliced heads from shoulders.
Bones, who viewed every battle as an all-you-can-eat buffet, bit the head off some smallish thorny creature and chomped down on it like a normal horse would eat an apple.
“There!” Thanatos pointed toward a huge, boxy building where Kynan, Arik, and a blond male were slashing at their atta
ckers with stangs and daggers. The fighting was bloody, dirty, and Arik, in his black BDUs, was death on legs. His movements were purposeful, economical, and with a few spins, slashes, and kicks, he’d laid out six huge demons like they were scarecrows. The boy could fight.
So. Hot.
Then the tide changed. A duo of fallen angels flashed into the fight from nowhere and tag-teamed Arik, one slamming him to the ground while the other zapped him with some sort of power that had him convulsing, blood shooting from his nose.
Limos had had it up to her chin with fucking fallen angels. She hadn’t made Sartael suffer enough, but she’d make up for that now.
With a roar, Limos charged, kicking Bones into a dead run. They bowled over demons and humans alike, and she didn’t care. No one hurt her male.
Her male. There was no use in denying it any longer. She’d viewed Arik as hers since the first kiss. He’d been right, and he’d called her on it; she’d wanted that kiss. She’d wanted him. And Limos had always considered what she wanted to be hers.
Bones smashed into one of the fallen angels, crushing him beneath his hooves as he tore at its wings with his teeth. Limos was a whirl of blades as she leaped from the stallion’s back and made the remaining fallen angel bleed from two dozen wounds before he even knew what hit him.
Gunfire rang out at close range, and Bones screamed, rearing up and splashing blood from a baseball-sized hole in his side. It healed almost instantly, but she knew it hurt like hot hell. A bullet pll.scringed off her armor, and dammit, the stupid humans couldn’t tell friend from foe. Arik came to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury. At first, Limos thought the anger was directed at her, but when he charged at a soldier whose M-16 was trained on her… well, she melted a little.
Another set of fallen angels interrupted her mushy appreciation at Arik’s defense of her, one hitting Kynan so hard against the side of the building that when he crumpled to the ground, his arm was skewed in an unnatural angle, the end of the broken bone jutting out of his skin.
