The Rise of Babylon

by G. A. Rael

  Jordan arched an eyebrow. “No offense, but if Lucas knows about all of this, why would he trust you and not Darren? That doesn’t seem a little suspicious to you?”

  “Of course it does,” said Chase. “My first thought was that he had Cindy invite me to the council to keep an eye on me and find out what I know, but either way, it gives us an in. I can keep an eye on what the council is doing and how much they know.”

  “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”

  “That’s the idea.” He tilted his head. “You realize what this means, don’t you?”

  It meant a lot of things, and Jordan doubted that any of them were good. “What?”

  “The wolf who saved you isn’t just some random monster. It’s someone who lives in town, probably someone we know.”

  Jordan gulped. “You say that like it’s supposed to make me feel better.”

  “If there’s a werewolf in town who’s on our side, it could be worse.”

  “He killed Lonne,” Jordan reminded him. “And all those other people.”

  Chase fell into thoughtful silence for a few moments. “If there’s one thing that all this has taught me, it’s that this world is more complicated than I ever imagined. There are enough clearcut enemies we have to worry about. With Hermes gone, I don’t think we can afford to be picky about allies.”

  “You’re talking about a murderer. The fact that whoever the wolf is can be human half the time just makes it worse, whether he saved me or not!”

  “You know that I find your moral absolutism charming, love,” he said patiently. “But if Lucas is aware monsters exist and everyone knows you’re a witch, they probably already suspect you’re the real thing. Besides, in the grand scheme of things, we are the bad guys.”

  Jordan wanted to argue, but he was right. If what that demon in the woods told her was true—a revelation she hadn’t been able to bring herself to share with any of them—she was not only the catalyst for the apocalypse but the one destined to give birth to the greatest evil in the known universe. It didn’t matter that she had no plans of setting up a nursery for little Baby Babylon anytime soon, and no interest in using her power for world domination. Her role had been chosen for her, and from Michael’s point of view, he had every reason to want her destroyed.

  If nothing else, at least the big bad wolf was taking some of the heat off of Darren. “Lucas has no idea who it was?”

  “Not as far as he’s letting on, but he’s asked us all to be on high alert,” Chase said dryly.

  “And you’re going to help him with his investigation?”

  “Truth be told, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m on his short list of suspects,” he mused. “But I’m going to play along and hope I find the wolf before he does.”

  “So you can make friends?” Jordan asked dryly.

  Chase smiled. “I’m a lawyer, my darling. I’m used to doing other people’s dirty work, and yes, that sometimes includes playing nice with very bad people.”

  “So,” Jordan said, eager to move on before it turned into an argument she couldn’t win. The downside of dating a lawyer. “What else did you learn about this dark and mysterious world, hm?”

  “I learned how to kill a werewolf, for one thing. Silver bullet straight through the heart or to the head. Just like in the movies," he said with a chuckle.

  “Well, at least I know what to use instead of fire next time I get trapped in a bank vault with one.”

  “Fire?” he asked.

  “Yeah… I got away because I used pyrokinesis to burn the wolf’s face. It distracted him enough.”

  “Did it leave a mark?” he asked, leaning forward.

  Jordan hesitated. “I don’t know. I didn’t get a good look at it in the woods. Why do you ask?”

  “Because it might help us identify the werewolf in its human form.”

  “Right,” Jordan muttered, rubbing her head. “It’s been a long day.”

  Chase’s expression shifted suddenly. "Here I was so excited about my news, I completely forgot that you came over here to tell me something."

  "It's fine," she insisted. There was no telling him now. Not now that he was on the very task force that had been assigned to hunt Darren down. Chase was the most intelligent person she had ever met. She had no doubt that it was only a matter of time until he figured out that he was on the trail of a zombie, not a wolf. She hated herself for not trusting him to keep that secret, but if he proved her wrong, Darren would be the one to pay the price for it. "I was just going to tell you that Samael came back a few days ago. I didn't want to bother you since you've been so stressed out about dinner with your parents.”

  "Is that all?" he chuckled, resting a hand on her thigh. "I'm glad he's back. You're a handful to look after alone."

  She smiled at his teasing words, falling deeper into a spiral of guilt as he pulled her onto the couch. Rather than join her, he sank to his knees in front of her and slipped his hand up her skirt with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Of course, I’ll take these moments of alone time when I can get them.”

  Jordan’s face warmed as he pressed his lips against the inside of her thigh. “Chase…”

  "Seeing you is the best part of my day, Jordan," he said in a low, purring done as his gentle kiss turned into a nip she would have found more pleasurable if she wasn't already so on edge. "I think I have an idea of how to help us both relax."

  “Oh, yeah?” she asked, sinking back as he tugged her panties down her thighs. “You gonna make me watch another documentary on offshore drilling?”

  His laugh vibrated against her skin as he kissed the softest part of her thigh. He gave no verbal response, but his tongue found a new occupation as it swept over her slit. He parted her gently with his fingers and when he took her flesh into his mouth and sucked ever so slightly, there was no more doubting her arousal.

  Jordan grasped the back of the chair as she sank deeper into it, her leg hitched over his shoulder. She clung to the wooden backing, desperately trying to remember the million other things she should be doing instead of this. His expert tongue slipped inside of her and every rational thought in her head was shaken loose by the shiver that went from her head down to her core and finally made her toes curl. Her shoe hit the floor as she melted under his worshipful caresses.

  The hand that wasn't clawing at the antique grain wood of his chair tangled in his hair, rendering his golden tresses a little less perfect. "Chase," she gasped as his tongue withdrew from her and he placed a series of small kisses along the inside of her leg.

  He laughed at her frustrated moan and rose, to his feet only to lift her into his arms and trade places with her. He pulled her onto his lap as if it took no effort. She watched him, mesmerized by the power his lean body was capable of exerting. At a little over six feet with a chiseled build, Chase was hardly a weakling but sometimes he seemed stronger than he should have been. Especially compared to Darren and Samael, who were both much burlier men. What he lacked in bulk, he more than made up for in beauty and prowess.

  Jordan had never had preconceived notions of beautiful, storybook angels, but she imagined that Chase would have been the clear choice if the average person was asked to pick one out of a lineup including him and the actual angels she had seen. He certainly tasted like heaven as his tongue explored her mouth. He began to suck on her neck, his teeth grazing her skin. The little prickles of pain made her hair stand on end, but it added to the thrill of the encounter.

  “Chase,” she whispered as he bit down harder. Whatever the hell he was, he was getting worse at pretending like he was human. If she thought it would matter, she’d inform him that she didn’t care. She still wanted him inside of her, and the only complaint she had was all the teasing. She was about to suggest that they dispense of their cumbersome clothing and move the party into the bedroom when she realized he’d stopped moving.

  Jordan was still breathless from the kiss when she asked, “What’s wrong?”

  �
�Nothing,” he murmured listlessly, staring through her. All at once, his eyes changed. Jordan couldn’t even put the shift into words. She just knew the light that had been there seconds earlier no longer was. It was like looking into a stranger’s eyes, and the change had happened so suddenly she had no idea what to do with it. “Chase…?”

  His lips parted into an unusual smile and for a split second, she saw the strangest hallucination. Teeth, sharpened almost to needlelike points. Every last one of them. He brought his hand to cover his mouth and Jordan only realized he’d broken the skin when she saw the blood on his lips. “Sorry. Must’ve gotten a bit carried away.”

  Jordan flew up from the couch, putting it between them. “You’re not Chase.” She wasn’t sure how she knew. It was just an instinct, the kind Hermes had taught her to always listen to, as bizarre as the words sounded out loud. When she saw the perplexed look on her fiancé’s face, she began to doubt herself once more.

  “What are you talking about, love?” His voice was as gentle as ever, but there was something wrong about it. A change she could only detect from somewhere deep in her soul, but the nuance was what made it terrifying.

  “Something’s wrong,” she said, wondering if she was trying to convince herself as well. “There’s something wrong with you.”

  He stared at her for a moment with such a convincing act of bewilderment that Jordan was beginning to believe it when the truth cracked through his borrowed gaze, spreading its tendrils through that smile she knew so well until it was crooked and sinister. “Such a clever girl,” he said in a tone of lament as he reached out to tug at a wavy strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes. "It's a shame you're a whore."

  The harshness of his words cut through Jordan’s shock. She took another step back only to hit the wall. “Who are you? What have you done with Chase?”

  The imposter walked toward her, sneering. Jordan willed the fire to come into her hands, but she doused the flames as soon as she realized that she couldn’t harm the thing in front of her without hurting Chase as well.

  “‘Who are you? Where is Chase?’” He mimicked in a high-pitched voice, moving his hand like a puppet as he mocked her. All at once, his demeanor shifted from taunting to vicious. "No one ever asked that when I disappeared."

  It hit her then. The realization, the horror. She knew exactly who the man before her was, but putting a name to the vindictive spirit gave her no sense of relief. “It’s you,” she whispered. All of Darren’s remarks about Chase being two different people, the rumors about his “miraculous transformation.” She didn’t know how it was possible, but the writing was there on the wall. In those awful eyes so unlike the ones that looked at her with adoration. “You’re the old Chase…”

  “The original,” he spat, grabbing a handful of Jordan’s hair to fling her to the ground. Her head hit the edge of the coffee table and her thoughts went foggy as she dropped. As her vision narrowed, it became difficult to tell what was the floor and what was the ceiling and she gripped the edges of the rug to keep from falling.

  "The monster you claim to want to marry has kept me locked away for sixteen fucking years while he uses my body like a marionette," he seethed from somewhere behind her. "I think bleeding his girl is the least he owes me. Maybe I should slice you up a bit and stuff some dirt down your throat so you can't scream like I did to Jessica and then we'll see about calling it even."

  Jordan dragged herself to her feet and collapsed against the sofa for what paltry cover it provided. His words were all she could hear over the sound of her pulse, echoed over and over again. The fire was roaring inside of her, demanding to be unleashed. She had no doubt it would fulfill its role, but she couldn’t bear the cost. Pieces of her life began to fall into place as others shattered completely.

  So the rumors were true. He had killed Jessica, or at least the demon wearing his skin had done it. But if this was the real Chase, then who the hell was she in love with? “I don’t understand,” she choked. “What are you?”

  “I’m human,” he answered bitterly. “The one you should really be asking that question is your fiancé.”

  Another blow. “I don’t understand.”

  “Of course you don’t. And why would you ask questions when he’s so good at telling you and everyone else exactly what you want to hear?”

  “Chase isn’t like you,” Jordan snapped, unsteady on her feet. “He’s not a monster.”

  “You sure about that?” He took another step and Jordan threw up her hand.

  "Stay back," she warned, letting the flames curl around the edge of her fingertips, hoping he wouldn’t call her bluff.

  "Or what?" he sneered, making a perversion of Chase's beautiful expressions. "You gonna roast me like you did with that wolf?"

  Her eyes widened.

  "How did I know that?" He laughed. "Like I said, I've been trapped in here," he paused to touch his temple, "but I've been around. I know everything he does." He paused to look her over with a kind of hunger that filled her throat with bile and made her bones feel hollow. "Gotta say, he knows how to pick them even if he doesn't know what to do with them."

  "You're not doing anything else to me," she said through gritted teeth. "If you've been watching me all this time, then you know all I have to do is call out in my mind and an archangel will be here to —”

  "To what?" he demanded, slipping his hands into his pockets. “To smite me? He'll kill Chase, too. As soon as they figure out what he is, he’s a dead man. In a manner of speaking.”

  Jordan’s heart sank. “What is he?”

  The monster in front of her was right about one thing. It was a question she should have asked a long time ago, but ignorance was bliss when it came to Chase. He was so good at crafting a picture perfect world she wanted nothing more than to belong to, even if it was a lie.

  “What, and spoil the fun of watching you squirm to figure it out?” He laughed. “When you’re trapped in the prison of your own cerebral cortex, this is world-class entertainment.”

  “You’re possessing him,” Jordan murmured. It was the only explanation. She just had to keep his lies from infecting her. “You’re a demon.”

  This time, his laugh made her skin crawl. “Oh, that’s rich! Your lover’s got a taste for human flesh and I’m the demon?”

  Jordan touched her neck and stared down at the droplets of blood on her fingers. “You did this,” she seethed, remembering the night on the balcony. “How many times have you fed from me?”

  “Don’t worry, dollface. That was all him,” he purred, clearly enjoying her distress and all the questions his taunting had raised. “Blood makes your boyfriend lose his head and when he does, I slip inside. Or shall we say out?”

  Jordan’s head spun. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. All she knew was that Chase was gone and this thing had somehow taken his place. “Does he know about you?”

  “Of course not. He thinks he killed my spirit when he took my body, and for a long time, I was nothing more than a wisp of consciousness,” he said, riding his hand along an invisible wave in the air. “Until you came along.”

  Jordan’s blood ran cold. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Your energy, love.” He reached out to stroke her cheek, smirking when she struck his hand. “That is what he calls you, isn’t it?

  “You don’t want to play games with me. Not where he’s concerned.”

  “I disagree. Playing games with you is my new favorite hobby.” He grew serious, but Jordan was sure that was an act, too. “Fine. When Chase became part of your harem, the energy exchange went both ways.”

  “It brought you back,” she realized, horrified.

  “I was never completely gone, contrary to what our friend thinks, but you gave me the spark of life I needed to take control.” His eyes danced with merriment. “I should thank you for that, really.”

  “If you’ve been able to take control this whole time, why haven’t you?”

  �
�If there’s one thing being trapped in my own head has taught me, it’s patience,” he answered. “Do you know what he did to me, Jordan?” His shoes crushed the glass from the broken table.

  Jordan flinched, but she refused to back away. She didn’t want to know, but the longer she kept him talking, the more time she had to figure out a way to free Chase without hurting him. “What?”

  The imposter leaned in, staring her down. She could feel his breath on her lips and it made her want to vomit, knowing there was a good chance she’d kissed them. “He devoured me,” he said, tilting her chin up. His touch was ice cold, just like Darren’s when he hadn’t fed in a while. “Those nasty shark teeth ripping into my flesh over and over and over again. And he did it nice and slow, so I’d feel everything. You know what it’s like to be eaten alive, Jordan?”

  She shuddered as his fingers swept down the wounds on her neck. Keeping her power at bay was more of a struggle than fighting him would have been. She clenched her jaw and asked, "What do you want?"

  “To make the man who took everything from me suffer," he replied casually. "Wouldn't mind getting revenge on Darren, either. Or my traitorous bitch of a mother, but that's a whole other can of worms. Unfortunately for you, the best way to accomplish two of the things on my to-do list is to watch you wriggle like a worm on a hook. Say a word to any of your protectors and they'll all turn on each other. Then again, that would make it easier to choose between them, wouldn't it?"

  "I'm just supposed to pretend like nothing happened until you get bored of this charade?" Jordan growled.

  “You could go to the angel for help,” he mused. “He’s probably the only one who knows his shit enough to pull off an exorcism. Or should I say, a reverse exorcism? But let me tell you, the process isn’t pretty and the chances of Chase living through it?” He winced. “Not good. Not that it’ll matter to Chase if you tell him about me. He’s nothing if not selfless. I’m sure he’d off himself with a smile on his face if it meant keeping you safe.”

  Jordan felt violently ill, but showing weakness in front of the monster was only going to embolden him.