by Amanda Jones
Chapter Sixteen
Mara
Mara stood in the alleyway outside of Brimstone obsessively checking her phone every few minutes for messages from Sergei. She knew how ridiculous she was being. She should really go prepare B for the influx of visitors he was about to be inundated with, but she was nervous about seeing him again. Part of her wanted to find out what had caused his earlier freak-out; another part of her wanted to tunnel down to Sheol and hide. For the millionth time that day she wondered why life couldn’t be simpler.
Male voices drifted down from the mouth of the alley. Mara turned and saw the group of men she’d been waiting for striding purposefully in her direction. She thanked every deity she’d ever heard of that they’d arrived and she could stop her mental version of forty lashes. In a flash, Sergei was by her side; the rest of the group still made their way towards them.
“Hey, lady!” he said with a smile. “You made our day when we found out B was with you.”
“It was the luck of the draw,” she said, reaching in to give Sergei a quick hug. “He was brought into my ER by paramedics.”
The rest of the guys joined them near the door of the club.
“You are an angel from heaven.” Sam said to Mara. His feelings were echoed in murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group.
Mara laughed. “Well, I’m not sure if I’d take it that far. I was just in the right place at the right time.”
“However it came about, you have our appreciation.” Yetarel’s words were solemn and struck a chord with Mara.
Like her, these men had found their family in an unorthodox manner. Family wasn’t always who raised you; sometimes family were the people that stuck by you and supported you during your darkest hours. They saw you for who you were, and accepted you regardless. Mara had Alex, and now Sergei. The fallen had each other.
“You’re welcome.” Mara said quietly.
“Can you take us to him?” Sam asked. “We’ve been worried sick over him.”
Mara cleared the emotional lump in her throat. “Um, sure. He’s in the club. Well, not exactly in the club, but he’s connected to the club.”
Yetarel nodded and turned to reach for the door handle. “All right then, let’s go!”
“Wait!” Mara shouted, grabbing at Yetarel’s arm. “Don’t touch that!”
Yetarel yanked his arm back like it was on fire. “Why not?”
Mara breathed out a sigh of relief that he was safe. “It’s a demon club. The entrances are warded against angelic forces.”
“Well, we’re not exactly heavenly angels now, are we?” Sam piped up from behind Yetarel.
Mara took in the group of fallen angels. “Are you sure? Are any of you really sure what you are anymore? This doorway may not have blocked your entry a month ago, but it very well may now. I think it would be best for either me or Sergei to be the ones playing with this door.” Mara gave them a sad smile, knowing from experience how difficult it was not knowing what you were.
The group of men seemed to blow out a unanimous sigh of frustration. Yetarel waved Mara on towards the door. Mara stepped forward, motioning for Sergei to join her. What better time to teach him how to unlock warded demonic doorways than the present. She went through the motions, opening her vein, drawing the intricate symbol of the incubi. She heard the intake of breath from beside her as Sergei watched the blood hiss and boil. As a witch, he knew the power of blood magic, and he stole himself for what lay beyond that doorway. The clang of the peephole being opened snapped everyone’s attention upwards. Pitch black eyes stared out at them, narrowing as they passed over the congregation of fallen angels hoping to gain entry.
A gravelly voice that sounded like it was being squeezed out from the bowels of Sheol spoke. “There may only be one angel that enters here.”
Mara turned toward the fallen as they debated between themselves, everyone wanting to be the first to see B and to ensure that he was safe. After much hushed debate, complete with wild gesticulations and the occasional middle finger, Yetarel stepped forward, taking a place between Mara and Sergei as the chosen angel. The peephole slammed shut and the heavy metal door swung open again.
Mara whispered to Sergei and Yetarel as they moved through the doorway. “Be careful to keep your head in there. Brimstone is designed to draw you in.”
“What do you mean?” Yetarel whispered back.
“You’ll see.” Mara muttered as she steeled herself for the heady scents and sensual, pulsing sounds she knew she would encounter as she made her way down the hallway.
“Damn.” Yetarel stopped in his tracks as the final doorway swung open before them, allowing the full measure of the club’s magic to hit him like a Mack truck.
Mara turned to look at him. His eyes were fully dilated, his skin was flushed, and his breathing was erratic.
“Yup. Welcome to Brimstone, where sex, drugs, and rock’n roll are king.” Mara smiled and swept into the main club. Sergei and Yetarel shared a quick glance then followed behind her.
Mara kept an amused eye on her two new buddies as they made their way through the club towards the grotto that would give way to the secret off-grid Sheolic hiding spot. Sergei and Yetarel were by no means hard on the eyes and every demon in the joint seemed to be making a play at them. Hands and tails snaked out of the crowd to grope at their bodies, trying to entice them in to a demonic liaison. Sergei seemed more amused than anything, but Yetarel looked decidedly perturbed by all the attention. Mara was about to ask him if he was okay, but thought better of it at the last minute. Sometimes people needed to be allowed to keep their secrets, and one thing she’d learned from dealing with the fallen angels was that they were all proud Alpha males, and she didn’t want to make him any more uncomfortable than he already seemed.
“Wow.” Sergei breathed as they walked into the grotto. “This place is wild.”
“Just wait until you see what’s on the other side of the portal.” Mara said with a wicked smile.
She moved to the edge of the pool and sliced into her hand yet again, allowing the blood to flow down to the icy surface. The blood seeped in and the ice began to crack and boil up. Yetarel sighed.
“Blood again. Why is it always blood in our world?”
Mara chuckled. “Funny! Asking a vampire why it always comes down to blood.”
“It’s everything.” Sergei cut in. “Blood is the very essence of life…without it we’re nothing. That’s why blood magic is so strong; it speaks to the very core of our being.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Yetarel muttered.
Sergei frowned and opened his mouth to ask what Yetarel meant, but Mara touched his arm lightly and shook her head. Sergei raised his shoulders in a slight shrug and let it go. They all turned back to the pool, the ice had disappeared, and the portal was ready to be used. They stepped into the waters as a unit and began the journey to the other side.
The tinkling sounds of female laughter struck Mara as they emerged from the pool into the glittering cave room. Mara wasn’t sure whether to laugh, slap herself in the forehead, or cry. Nymphs. Nymphs everywhere. Naked nymphs with their long, tousled hair hanging down their backs were crawling all over each other, their hands sliding over the nude skin of their svelte bodies. They really were known as the nymphos of the underworld for good reason. Rumour had it that they were most often attracted to each other with good reason, objectively speaking. They were supremely hot, but they did have the nasty habit of occasionally killing their partners, though some would argue that the risk might be worth it.
Male laughter drew her attention back to the bed across the cavern. Mara frowned in confusion. When she’d left earlier, B hadn’t yet been in any kind of condition to partake in an orgy with a dozen nymphs given their rather gymnastic sexual moves. As the nymph pileup on the bed shifted, Mara caught a glimpse of the man at the center of their attentions. Rodney. Mara rolled her eyes up to the heavens. The last time she’d found her charming ex-boyfriend in th
is position, she’d been bereft. She’d managed to convince herself she was in love with him and that she would be all right with his extra-curricular needs. It wasn’t possible for an incubus to feed off the sexual energy of only one partner. In the end, she’d found that she wasn’t able to move beyond the basic instinct to be his one and only. This time her first reaction was to burst out in laughter. The magic sparked off the nymphs’ skin as Rodney fed off their unrelenting lust. They sighed and moaned in ecstasy as he drew them in with the scents that were sure to keep them all in a state of sexual intoxication.
Yetarel cleared his throat loudly beside her. The nymphs, so deep in their sexual fantasies, ignored the noise, but Rodney’s head popped up from the center of the melee. His eyes connected with Mara’s face almost immediately, a blush raced up his neck as embarrassment took hold.
“Mara! Oh fuck!” Rodney shouted out as he scrambled to push his nubile companions off his body.
As the nymphs hit the floor, they made small noises of irritation before starting back up with each other, writhing on the floor of the cave, heedless of who was watching.
“What are you doing here?” Rodney asked as he wrapped the bed sheet around himself toga-style.
Mara thought absently that he would have made a wonderful Greek god. “We’re here to get B. His friends want to take him back to their safe haven.”
Rodney rushed over to Mara’s side, holding his toga on with a death grip. “What do you mean you’re looking for B? He left a few hours ago with a friend.” He reached out and grabbed Mara’s arm, leaning in close to whisper in her ear. “I’m so sorry! The last thing I wanted you to see was this. I just didn’t think you’d be back.”
“Wait.” Mara shook her head. “What do you mean B left with a friend? What friend? Nobody knew he was here but me…unless you told someone else?”
Rodney fiddled with his bed sheet. “I figured you’d told one of his boys and they’d come to get him. I really didn’t want you to see this Mara.”
She blew out a frustrated breath. “I don’t care about your extra-curricular activities Rodney. Trust me, I understand. It’s your nature. We really need to know where B went, though. He could be in danger.”
“Did you get a good look at who he left with?” Yetarel piped up.
“No. I was kind of…distracted at the time.” Rodney looked down at his feet.
“Nymphs?” Mara asked with a note of humour.
“Succubus.” Rodney replied sheepishly.
“Lovely.” Yetarel grumbled. “Can we get back on point here? Do you have any idea where he was going?”
“Look, he’s a grown man and I’m not a babysitter. I agreed to let him stay here as a favor to Mara. I didn’t think I was meant to be his watcher, and I certainly don’t LoJack my guests.” Rodney was clearly annoyed with Yetarel’s questions.
Mara stepped between the two men, trying to cool things down before an all-out fight broke out. “Rodney, nobody expected you to be a babysitter. You didn’t ask for any of this, but thank you for letting B stay here.” She turned towards Yetarel. “There is another way of finding him now that we know he’s left. I gave him some of my blood during his visit to the ER. I can track him through our blood bond.”
Yetarel took a deep breath and nodded. “Sorry, man. This has been hard on us, not knowing where he is, and what happened. None of us will rest easy until he’s back with us.”
“Understood.” Rodney nodded. “No hard feelings.”
“So, what do you need to track him?” Yetarel asked.
“My blood, a lighter, and open space.” Mara motioned toward the portal. “We should probably head back to the alley and do it there.”
“All right. Let’s go.” Yetarel turned back to the pool.
“Sergei…Sergei!” Mara snapped her fingers, trying to get her friend’s attention.
Mara walked over to grab him by the arm, dragging him away from his rapt fascination with the ongoing nymph orgy.
“But, can we just…? A few more minutes…” Sergei nearly snapped his own neck trying to keep an eye on the acrobatics as he was dragged away.
“Boys and their nymphs.” Mara muttered as they stepped into the pool.
After winning a world record in sin avoidance, the trio emerged from the main door of the club into the alley. When the heavy metal slammed shut behind them, the group of fallen angels they’d left hanging out while they’d gone on their fruitless mission snapped to attention.
Sam stepped forward, a confused look marring his handsome face. “So? Where is he?”
“He left on his own. We don’t know exactly when or where to.” Yetarel shrugged. “You know B. He marches to his own drum. Mara’s going to track him through their blood bond. We need to get to him before anyone else does.”
“Wait.” Al butted in. “You guys have a blood bond? When did that happen?” he asked with a cheeky grin.
“It’s not what you think.” Mara interjected. “I gave him blood to save his life. I didn’t know who or what he was at the time. It was purely a means to an end.”
“Well, that’s disappointing.” Al sighed.
“Guys, get back on point here.” Sam said impatiently. “Our primary concern is getting B back. Mara, go ahead and do whatever you need to do.”
“Aye aye, sir.” Mara gave Sam a cheeky salute. “Does anybody have a knife and a lighter?”
Every fallen angel shuffled, muttered, and dug around in their various pockets for the requested items. Before she knew it, there were five knives, and five lighters presented to her like they were the crown jewels and she was the princess of the alley.
“Um, thanks,” she said, reaching forward to grab Yetarel’s ornamented dagger and heavy pewter lighter. “So, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to slit my palm and light the blood droplets on fire. The magic will lead us to wherever B is hiding out. It should happen pretty fast, so get ready to run.”
Mara took a deep breath, steadying herself to bleed yet again for this group of fallen angels. She clasped her hand around the blade of the knife and with a swift, sure motion, she drew it across her hand. Keeping her fist closed, she handed the knife back to Yetarel.
“Hold on to your hats,” she said as she opened her palm.
Mara turned her hand over, allowing droplets of blood to fall. With lightning speed, she whipped out the lighter and flicked it on, the flame jumping to life just in time to catch and light the crimson drops. The blood sparked and turned into winking, glittering red fairy dust that hovered in the air a foot off the ground. With a life of its own, the dust spun and twisted like a tiny shining tornado in the muted light of the alley. The mini funnel cloud of magic seemed to have a consciousness, trying to decide which way to go, leaning first towards one end of the alley, and then reversing and leaning towards the other end. Suddenly the tiny glittering lights decided exactly where they wanted to go, and streaked off down the alley.
“Game time!” Mara shouted as she took off at vampire speed with Sergei hot on her heels. The fallen raced after them, unable to keep up, but doing their damnedest to try.
The group raced through back alleys, leaping over dumpsters and chain link fences with Mara and Sergei in the lead. It seemed as though they were getting an in-depth tour of every alley in the city when suddenly the twinkling lights stopped on a dime in front of the weathered back door of a dilapidated warehouse. The building was clearly abandoned; a notice posted to the door showed that it had been condemned for some time. The windows were broken and cracked, and the brickwork had obviously been crumbling away for years.
“This is it.” Mara said quietly, not wanting to alert anyone in the vicinity to their presence.
The fallen raced up a few seconds behind the two vampires. “Must be nice to be able to move that fast.” Sam whispered to Mara and Sergei.
“It has its perks.” Mara whispered back. “I can’t hear much going on in there, just a few rats moving around.”
“Ok, let’
s move in quietly. If there is anyone hanging around we don’t want to spook them.” Sam motioned for the other fallen to fan out around the building. “Find any other entrances. We need to make sure nobody gets away if he’s been hurt.”
The guys nodded and moved off. Sam tried the door and found it unlocked. He pushed lightly and it swung inward on its hinges, creaking and groaning and in desperate need of oil. Mara winced at the noise — so much for a quiet entrance. The sparkling red lights shot out into the darkened building, speeding towards their target. Mara, Sergei, and Sam nodded at each other and proceeded into the pitch-blackness of the abandoned building in single file. They stepped carefully, trying to avoid as many creaking floorboards as they could in their search for B. Broken furniture and overturned canisters of whatever this factory used to produce were strewn all over the place. It looked like this building had gone through a zombie apocalypse. Mara thanked the demonic forces that had gifted vampires with perfect night vision as she reached out to stop Sam from kicking over a metal bucket.
“Thanks.” He whispered.
The faint sound of metal clinking on metal caught Mara’s ear. Sergei motioned towards a nearby corridor and Mara nodded in assent.
“What?” Sam asked, unable to hear the noise without the vampires’ superior senses.
“Over that way.” Mara whispered back.
