by Kim Faulks
I stepped down, staring into the inky blackness. I couldn’t see a damn thing.
“Take a step, see what the mountain does,” Rival murmured.
I did as he said, my heels echoing in the space. A torch flared against the wall, burning yellow and lighting the way, and another flickered to life in the distance, guiding me forward.
I followed as one after another ignited, turning from yellow, to amber to orange, and then red…and, finally, blue.
Sapphires sparkled on the massive door at the end of the hall. My heart was thundering, filling my head with the roar. Rival whispered something behind me, but I couldn’t catch the word.
The doorway made of stone cracked open, swinging wide, and my father, the Lord of Hell stepped out.
“Lorn,” he called and lifted his hand.
The mountain rumbled with his voice, it answered his call…just as it’d answered mine. My feet moved faster, almost forgetting the reason I was here.
Pain and anger floated somewhere in the echoes of my mind, but for a moment I was seized by sheer beauty, and by a father’s love.
The blue flames shimmered under fresh tears. I’d cried more in this day than I had in my entire life, and still they spilled from an endless well.
Lucifer opened his arms wide as I neared. I felt the warmth, I felt the love.
I felt it all as he held me against his chest.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so very sorry.”
I knew he was, just as I knew I belonged in this place.
But it didn’t change the path I was on.
The same one that led me here, into the Dragon’s Breath.
And as I pulled away, I knew that these tears were for nothing.
For I was about to break my father’s heart.
Chapter Five
Lorn
“Come,” Lucifer murmured. “Come inside, let me get you some refreshments.”
“Sire, let me find Mrs. Barnaby,” Rival murmured behind me.
And then he was gone, leaving me alone with the echo of his boots. “Mrs. Barnaby?”
“Oh, you’ll love her. She makes the best sandwiches, takes the crust off and all.”
“So, Hell has a chef.”
His lips curled at the edges, laughter filled his eyes. There was a shake of his head. “No, Mrs. Barnaby is the House Mistress. She runs everything here,” he motioned to the stony walls.
I didn’t understand, this had been the only room I saw. “She must be run off her feet.”
“Oh, she is, forty-five bedrooms, three ballrooms, and more courtyards than I can count. She is the head of five main staff and I forget how many others. She’s the heart of the Dragon’s Keep. You’ll see why.”
Forty-five bedrooms? I turned to look over my shoulder at the way we’d just come, and all I saw were lanterns spaced out widely on either side.
“If you step closer, you’ll see.”
Lucifer’s arms slid from around me, as I did exactly that. I took a step toward the burning blue flame and stared at the shadows in between.
Out of the darkness came the glow of another torch, black flames indeed, with blue lighting the way.
“This wing is specifically for me and my bloodline,” he murmured behind me. “Step closer, you’ll see.”
In the distance, one lone door stood on its own. Light spilled across the doorway, but instead of one single color, it changed from red to blue, then purple, then green. “Whose is that?”
“His name is Aeon. Older than time and more powerful than any creature alive or dead. They say he created the races, immortal and mortal, although if you ask him, it was all part of the plan, it’s just his power that was used. He’s the reason why this place was built…the reason why the Keeper protects the Keep.”
I wanted to see him, until Lucifer placed a hand on my arm. “He doesn’t take visitors, I’m afraid.”
And that same hum from the mountain traveled down my arms as I neared. A single blue flame appeared above a darkened doorway in the distance.
“But it looks like the Keep has selected a room just for you.”
A room, like to stay here? I spun at the thought and stared at that wicked glint in my father’s eye.
“Only if you want,” he finished. “I can have it decorated anyway you want. Like purple? Have all the purple you can think of, like green, have that, too.”
“You mean you transport them from up there, to down here?”
He shook his head, and lifted his hand, motioning to where that blue flame flickered in the distance. “Pick a color and see.”
Pick a color, any color. The words raced through my mind. And for the life of me, that fucking pink sofa filled my head.
Pink. Goddamn pink.
And as I moved deeper along the hallway to the door, I could almost see Gabriel clapping his hands in glee.
Inside, I was already moaning with the thought. If there were sparkles, I was fucking out. I reached out as the blue flame grew brighter, licking the dark gray granite walls.
“She likes you,” Lucifer whispered as I gripped the door knob and then pushed.
Darkness bled to light as the door opened. The soft yellow hue turned white, splashing against the monstrous bed in the middle of the room.
The place was huge, easily bigger than my old apartment all in this one damn room, and as I stepped closer, the soft pink comforter caught my gaze.
The damn thing looked like pillows wrapped with cotton candy. I’d never wanted to run and dive onto something so much in my whole life.
Pink shone from cupboards on either side, and as I stepped closer, I realized that it was the stone. The stone was the color, casting the soft hue across the bed. “Green,” I whispered and the colors changed.
Emeralds sparkled into the air, turning the cover a soft grass green.
“Blue,” I murmured.
And the room changed again, obeying my command.
But it wasn’t an obligation. I moved toward the far wall. A perfect chaise sat along one side, and on the other was a massive walk-in closet carved out of the stone.
On the other side of the room was a bathroom so big I could almost cry. I wanted to imagine us all living here, sleeping here…loving here.
And that emptiness inside my chest opened wide.
We could make it…if Titus just pulled through, we could make it.
The spear of desperation carved deep. I reached out, touching the rough, pointed surface of the stone and felt the place call my name, until someone cleared their throat behind me.
A tiny woman stood in the massive room behind me. She wore a black lace gown that swept across the floor, like silken, spun cobwebs that molded her body perfectly. She wasn’t old, but older, silver strands of her hair blended in with the blonde. They caught the light differently, catching my eye.
“It’s so nice to see you again, Lorn,” she murmured.
Her gaze traveled over me, from my face, down my body, to my hand, and there they lingered, before cutting to my eyes once more. “You are so very beautiful, just like I always imaged you were.”
She knew me, somehow…Lucifer smiled as the woman took a tentative step forward and lifted her hand. “I won’t hurt you, child.”
I felt myself yielding to meet her touch. Soft fingers caressed my cheek and moved to brush back strands of my hair. “So beautiful,” she whispered. “I was so scared I’d never see you again.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember seeing you in the first place,” the words just slipped from my lips.
“That’s okay,” she smiled and then took her index finger and tapped her temple. “I have all the memories up here. You used to love my fresh butter cupcakes, the ones with the strawberries on top, just like...” She froze, the rest of the sentence dying on her lips.
Vague memories slipped through my mind. I could almost catch them, almost understand.
“I brought you some,” she murmured. “And fresh sandwiches and tea. I’ll l
eave you now. Let you talk with your father, if you promise me you’ll come back soon. I want to hear all about your life topside.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “It’s a deal.”
She left me then, grasping her skirt and sweeping the floor as she exited the doorway. Lucifer stood just inside the room and watched with a grin.
Which made this so fucking cruel as I focussed on him and said the words I’d come to say. “I want you to demand a meeting with the Unseelie Queen, and by meeting, I want Absolon’s head on a fucking platter.”
He never flinched, never answered, but the reaction was there in those midnight eyes, until finally he spoke. “You expect the Queen of Air and Darkness to hand over her own son, knowing what will happen?”
Her own son…the words were as cold as these stony walls.
He had to pay...they all had to pay.
“Yes,” I answered. “Otherwise there will be no peace. There will be no justice.”
“No vengeance, you mean,” he answered. “It won’t change anything, Lorn. Please believe me when I tell you, all the spilled blood in the world won’t bring them back.”
Hate burned inside me, hotter than the flames of Hell below us. I tried to search for the secrets in his eyes, anything to tell me he knew what the Nine wanted from him.
“The Keeper,” the words spilled free. “The Watcher, the Protector, the Order…that’s what Rival called you.”
His breath stilled. Gaze glinted with danger now.
“You control everything, those who enter, and those who are turned away…right?”
The hairs on my arms stood on end. There was a different energy in the room now. One that was cold, hungry and very…very violent.
I shuddered with the power, trembling to the core. “I just want her to know what kind of man she raised. He cannot go unpunished…Dad. He cannot ignore the call of his crimes.”
“This is the time for peace, Lorn,” his lips moved, mouthing the words.
But they were lies…they were all lies.
He never looked at me, never turned his head.
The Lord of Hell inhaled hard, and then turned his back on me. “I’ll be in my study when you’re ready to leave.”
I knew then, knew the lies outweighed justice.
Whatever he knew, he wasn’t saying.
So I’d find no loyalty here.
The room lost its shine…the magic, its power. I wanted to stay here, for just a little while—maybe another time…when the ties we had weren’t so strained.
I stepped closer to the wall and pressed my fingers to the hard crystal edges of the stone. “Soon. Okay?”
Blue light splashed against my fingers, burning brighter.
“He loves you, you know?” Rival murmured from the doorway, drawing my gaze.
“Does he?” I went to the doorway. “I only wish my conscience would allow me the kind of peace he’s found, then maybe I could feel like I’m not dying inside.”
He winced at the sting of my words. But there was nothing he could say.
I could already see the battle lines. I’d already tested my father’s loyalty.
Now it was time to test another.
Rival turned as I stepped outside the room and into the darkness of midnight flames. The bedroom door closed behind me with a soft thud, sending a tremor through the hall.
I left the wing behind, making my way back to the main foyer and my father’s study. It was so quiet here now…eerie, like the life had been sucked from the mountain. A mountain which had been so full of life moments before.
My father’s study door was open, so amber light shone through. I stepped inside, my eyes drawn to the fire flickering in the granite hearth. “Does it get cold all the way up here?”
“Sometimes,” my father answered. “And lonely.”
And there it was again, that subtle hint to stay. I couldn’t do that. One look at my pack told him that.
A silver tray caught the glow of the fire and glittered. It was filled with tiny little sandwiches and perfect cupcakes smothered in buttercream icing and strawberries.
“Help yourself, she brought them especially for you. Said you look far too skinny, and I tend to agree.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t come here for high tea. I came to ask…”
The Lord of Hell lifted his hand in the air, stilling my words, and in a rumble of low thunder, he spoke. “Mrs. Barnaby used to visit you every day when you were at the Keep as a baby. She’d spend hours just sitting with you, holding you, reading to you. She’d comb the markets for the freshest ingredients, making sure you never wanted for a thing. You want to insult her now by not having a damn cupcake?”
The words turned to ash. The heat of my anger waned.
“You would hurt her, Lorn. The least you can do it sit for five minutes and have a damn cupcake. Are you in such a hurry to get away from me?”
“No, of course not.”
“Well?”
I lowered my gaze to the overflowing platter. I had no memory of this place, or of this woman. But it was important to my father. This…whatever game this was…was important to him. So, I had to play. I had to figure out a way to break through the damn wall. I had to figure out a way to get him to call the Unseelie Queen.
The end result was Absolon.
If it meant I needed to eat cupcakes, then that’s what I’d do.
I crossed the floor, picked up a sandwich, and ate.
Lucifer watched me with those infernal eyes as I chewed and then swallowed. My belly howled, aching and rumbling. The sandwiches were delicious. There was some kind of spread, salty, tangy under the paper-thin slices of meat. The bread was like nothing I’d ever tasted before. Like a soft cloud of yum. I chewed and reached for another, seized by the wonderful taste. By the time I realized what had happened, they were all gone.
I scanned the platter. I swore I saw another one…the saucer scraped against the silver platter. I shoved aside the saucer, and then the cakes. Butter-cream stuck to my finger. I lifted my hand, sucking the frosting…strawberries, bits of strawberries were hidden inside.
Holy shit, these were good.
I lifted my gaze to my father who just looked fucking amused. Goddamnit. I winced at the smug smile and reached for the cake. “Just one, okay, and then I’m going.”
Lucifer said nothing, just gave a small nod as I lifted the tiny cake to my lips. God, it’d been forever since I had anything like this. My lips sank into the smooth cream as I bit.
The cake was so delicate and light. Inside was more cream, but different this time, filled with chopped berries. I closed my eyes, stilled for a second as vanilla exploded in my mouth.
Jesus Christ.
The woman was a damn miracle.
Gabriel would be in love in an instant. I could see it all now. Him sitting at the kitchen bench with his wings pulled in tight, a pair of thick-rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose while he asked questions and took notes….so how do you get the cream inside the cake? Aha…oh, okay, wow…I never thought about that. And you fold, you don’t whip, right?
I chewed and then swallowed, until my belly gave a shudder and fell silent. I stared at the half-eaten cake between my fingers and shook my head. My hand dropped as a sigh escaped my lips. I put the half-eaten mess back onto the platter and looked for the nearest chair.
A plump leather chaise sat on the side of his study, right beside the fireplace. My body trembled with need, sleep…rest—just for a little while.
Everything else could wait.
Until it couldn’t. Until the flicker of the fire became the shadows dancing against the wall in that Unseelie cell.
Screams followed, filling my head…Don’t you fucking touch her! I’ll kill you…I’ll fucking kill you.
I flinched with the memory. My stomach clenched, only this time it wasn’t in satisfaction. The smile wavered on my father’s face as I lifted my head. I held onto it…every glint in those eyes, every tightening of my stoma
ch.
Every scream inside my head, and every promise carved in stone.
I’d wasted enough time caught up in the past. I leaned forward, grabbed the soft napkin, and wiped my hands. “Did you send Rival to spy on me?”
He waited, caught by the sudden shift of emotions. He’d laid a trap, one encrusted with pretty colors and delicious food. But he should’ve known better.
After all, I was his daughter.
“Spy? No. Protect, yes, as is a father’s right.”
“Why now? Why this time, why not six months before, or six months after? Why unleash the most powerful drug in the city and watch it all go to hell?”
His lips smashed flat. There was a twitch at the corner of his eye as he answered. “I told you before. I didn’t know the lower caste would do that. Once I found out—”
“It was too late,” I finished for him.
Still it didn’t answer anything, just re-hashed old ground. Are you ever going to let me in? The whisper filled my head. “So, is he still protecting me?”
“If you’re asking is he still under that command, then the answer is no. He was instructed to watch, report back to me, protect you any time you required. But I released him from that quest the night we finally met.”
I turned my head, finding Rival standing at the door. “So you’ve stayed of your own free will?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Then you can leave just the same, correct?”
Panic filled his eyes, he cut his gaze to my father and then back to me. His words were husky and raw. “Yes, that’s correct.”
I dropped the napkin beside the platter. “Tell Mrs. Barnaby the sandwiches and cakes were delicious. I hope to see her again someday.”
I gripped the straps of my pack and turned my head to the Lord of Hell. “Father.”
“Daughter,” he murmured as I turned toward the doorway.
I didn’t stop, not when I hit the doorway to his study, nor as I climbed the stairs to the opened mouth of the Keep.
I climbed, I stumbled. I found the trail that took me back down to the narrow ledge of the mountain and the path to take me back home.
