When I woke, I found myself staring up at the ceiling of my bedroom.
“She’s awake!” Sam yelled.
Seconds later, a thunder of footsteps rushed across the wooden floor. As I blinked and turned my head, there stood Gran, Grandad, Dylan, Spencer, and Sam. Maxi sat at Dylan’s feet.
“What the hell are you lot doing?” I said, inching myself into a sitting up position.
“Making sure you’re ok, Marmalade,” Grandad said.
I smiled at his nickname for me. Gran used to make the best marmalade. When I was younger, whenever I went to theirs, her marmalade was my only choice of food. I always ended up with half of it on my face and all over my fingers.
“Well, I’m alive, so I’m good. What’s the problem?” I finally registered that Spencer was here. Given the supernatural elements to the happenings, I was curious why he wasn’t having a meltdown or arresting people. “Why are you here?” I asked him.
“It seems we may have more in common than just stalking serial killers,” he said, grinning. He walked to the edge of my bed and sat down next to my legs. “I went back to your sister’s house, looking for you. I thought they might have taken you there.”
I laughed. “Good effort but they’re not that stupid.”
“They weren’t, no. However, I happened to have a little experience of my own. It would appear we share the same father.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What?” A jolt of panic made my heart jump. I looked at Gran and Grandad. “Is this legit?”
“It would seem so, yes. His familiar is right outside, watching us from the tree.”
I glanced at Spencer.
“An owl,” he said, grinning so wide I thought his smile would swallow his face. “I’ve called her Esther.”
“How long have I been knocked out? What the hell have I missed?”
Spencer laughed. “Only a few hours. I met him—Abaddon. He told me you would help me get used to my new life, so here I am.”
My mouth dropped. “You met him?” I looked at Grandad. “Why didn’t I get to meet him? That’s favouritism.”
“You had us to guide you, Marmalade. Spencer here has no-one. After Esther broke his chain, the equivalent to your ring, he needed some kind of heads-up before he jumped off the nearest cliff thinking he’d gone mad.”
I laughed. “Ok. I guess it’s welcome to the family. Are you going to stay here?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t want to impose. Whilst the investigation is still on-going, I’ll happily stay at the hotel.”
“Don’t be daft. There’s plenty of room here.”
“Whilst I can get breakfast for free, courtesy of Her Majesty’s government, no offence but I’ll stay at the hotel.”
“Ok,” I said, laughing. “But the offer is open ended. After all, I can’t teach you things when you’re two hours away.”
“Yes,” he said, stroking his chin between his thumb and his forefinger. “I don’t know quite how to figure this mess out yet. I can’t exactly submit a report stating it was two sexy vampires seducing and killing cheating men, can I?”
“No…speaking of which, where are my darling sisters? What happened?”
Dylan cleared his throat. “I’ll tell her.”
Spencer rose from the bed. “Call me when you’re up and about. I have tonnes of questions for you.”
I grinned and nodded. “Sure thing.”
As Spencer left the room, everyone else piled out too, leaving me alone with Dylan and Maxi.
Maxi jumped up on the bed and jumped all over my stomach in his excitement to lick my face into a new shape.
“As much as I wanted to be your hero and save the damsel in distress, I’m afraid it wasn’t me that saved you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Grandad, I’m guessing?”
He shook his head.
“Don’t tell me Spencer figured out some cool trick with his newly acquired magick?”
“No…it’s a little more surprising than that. It was none other than your demi-soul.”
I gasped, nearly choking on my inhale of breath. “Azazel? Azazel was here?” My heart flipped over. “Where is he now?”
“He’s gone back. He only had a small window to sneak through and help.”
I peeked up at Dylan through my lashes, trying to ignore the heat ravaging my cheeks. “Does he know…about us?”
Dylan shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. He didn’t say anything.”
I looked down at Maxi, needing a moment to centre my thoughts on how I felt about this little twist. If anything, it made me feel even guiltier about the whole Dylan situation.
“You’re right back at square one, feeling guilty again, aren’t you?”
I blushed and nodded. “I’m sorry. Maybe if he at least knew, and was ok about it, I wouldn’t feel so bad. The fact he’s made some kind of magickal appearance to come and save me though just makes it all even worse.” I laughed. “After what I did, who would have thought I even had a conscience?”
He laughed and reached forwards for one of my hands. “You did what you had to do. I can only imagine whatever was boiling up inside you must have been like some kind of a pressure cooker. It was bound to go off sooner or later.”
“I just wish those two saw it like that. To them, regardless of what their parents did, I’m just the bitch that ruined their lives.”
Dylan smirked. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”
I frowned. “Why’s that?”
“Let me tell you what happened.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
A few hours previously…
Down in the pits of Hell, Azazel and Balthazar found themselves being called upon by Lucifer.
“Yes, boss,” Azazel said, sighing.
“I have a job that needs doing, boys. It’s not a nice job but it’s a vital necessity to the everyday running of Hell.”
Balthazar narrowed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. “Which means it’s the shittiest of the shittiest jobs. Why are we getting it? Can’t the lesser demons do it?”
Lucifer shook his head. His broad shadow cast by the flames burning behind him covered the two brothers, his right-hand men.
“I know you’re both Commanders but that’s kind of why I trust only you two to deal with this.”
Azazel rolled his eyes. “Spit it out. What is it?”
Lucifer brushed a shovel-sized hand through his dark hair and sighed. “Cerberus is sick. He got a little greedy whilst he was soul sorting and ate one too many good souls.”
Balthazar sighed. “So you want us to do his job? Sort through souls? Really?”
“Come on, guys,” Lucifer said. “I gave you the better end of the deal. If you’d rather clean up after a three-headed dog with chronic diarrhoea and sickness, be my guest.”
Azazel screwed his nose up in disgust. “No chance. We’re on it.”
“I knew you wouldn’t let me down. You remember the rules? The bad ones go through the gateway, the good ones are directed to the chimney, and the inbetweeners, well, you’ll have to stockpile them until Cerberus returns. Unless you want to digest them to figure out their worth?
“Err…I think that’s a no,” Azazel said. “Where exactly shall we stockpile them?”
Lucifer shrugged his shoulders. “There won’t be that many. If necessary, go and tell them to do a little haunting for some fun and come back later.”
“Sure. We’ll just keep them going around in a circle like a herd of cattle.”
Lucifer ignored Azazel’s sarcastic reply. “You read their stats only remember. Don’t listen to their pleas.”
Balthazar settled a hard, flat stare on his boss. His dark eyes were completely unreadable. “Two thousand years we’ve been working for you, Lucifer. I think we know the rules.”
“Well I was just offering a reminder. I know memory isn’t the best thing as you get older.”
Azazel snorted. “Speak for yourself.”
Balthazar grabb
ed his brothers arm and dragged him away before they ended up with an even shittier job than they currently had.
Azazel found himself grateful for one thing. Doing Cerberus’ job until he was better meant they were pretty much topside, stood the other side of the veil that separated earth from the spiritual plane and Hell.
“How the hell are we supposed to control this hoard?” Azazel said, looking at the sea of souls slowly pushing towards them.
Balthazar shot his brother a mean look. “You’re such a defeatist. Quit moaning and just get on with it.”
Jade green eyes flashed with anger. “We’re replacing a three headed dog, Balthazar. A dog that’s the size of a small town. If you hadn’t noticed, there’s a bit of a size difference.”
“We’ll manage,” Balthazar said. “Besides, we can always use a little magick to help us.”
“This close to the veil? Do you think that’s a wise idea?”
“Since when have you been afraid of creating a bit of a storm, hmmm?”
Azazel blinked, and then blinked again. “I’m sorry. Have we swapped personalities or something because I’m sure this conversation is happening backwards.”
Balthazar laughed. “If I’ve learned anything from being chained to your side for two millennia, it’s to loosen up a little.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Azazel grinned. “Fine. Let’s have a little fun.”
Having reached the aurora borealis, the veil, the demonic duo stood on their side of the beautiful dancing lights, watching the zombie-like crowd of souls waiting to be accepted for their fates.
Balthazar closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and then pushed it out with everything he was worth. Each particle of air he exhaled inflated his height until eventually, he rivalled the height of a skyscraper, enabling him to see over the ghostly crowd and well beyond.
Azazel grinned and looked down at his crotch. Just as he clapped his hands together to start his own size growth, the booming voice of his brother shouted, “Don’t you fucking dare.”
“Oh, come on. You said yourself about lightening up.”
“Azazel, I don’t want to be here anymore than you do. Let’s just get the job done already.”
An aggravated sigh left Azazel. “Fine. Spoil sport.” He grinned and looked up at his brother. Holding out his right index finger, he said, “Pull my finger.”
Balthazar looked down at his older brother and scowled. “I’ll pull your head off if you don’t hurry up.”
Mumbling curses under his breath, Azazel gave in. He put his right hand in his left armpit and then proceeded to pump his left arm. Each pump surged him upwards in height.
When he reached the same height as his brother, he glanced at him and gave him a cheesy grin.
“You are such a child,” Balthazar said. “Are you done?”
“For now.”
The two siblings then got down to business. Grabbing handfuls of souls at a time, they were able to assess them all within a few seconds. Most from their colours—bright and colourful for good souls, dark and depressing for bad souls, and an icky mix of the two for the inbetweeners.
Where the colours didn’t help, a simple read of their stats, which happened by pressing their inflated pinky finger into the chest space of the soul, detailed them on just how naughty or nice they had been as a human.
When Azazel scooped up half a dozen souls, five of them all having died in the same way, he frowned and discarded the extra one.
“Balthazar, look at these.”
Balthazar glanced over and looked at the souls laying motionless on his brother’s palm. When he noticed the manner of death for each, complete with a signatory purple rose still being carried with them, he widened his eyes. “But the Lamia don’t start hunting until Halloween.”
“Maybe Lilith wanted to get a head start this year.”
“Read their stats—where they died.”
Azazel pushed his pinky into each of the five chests. “All in Minster Arch, except this one. This one died right outside the Worthington estate.”
Dawning horror overtook Balthazar. “Get them to Lucifer, now. I’ll hold the fort here.”
Azazel, fearing that Lilith may be up to no good, actually ran for the first time since he was a human child.
Chapter Forty
Lucifer snorted at Azazel’s theory. “Impossible. I’ve been feeding the two girls wolfs bane myself. They have no memory of what happened to them.”
“So you’re telling me this is just a coincidence?” Azazel said. “Come on, Lucifer. Even you’re not that stupid.”
Anger flashed through the devil’s eyes, blackening them to a dark abyss. “I shall take your comment with a light heart this time, but only because you’ve highlighted the fact that Lilith may have been conducting illegal activities behind my back.”
Azazel smiled. He knew how to get little quips in where it concerned his boss. Things like this were minor battles that Azazel felt he won and was justified in doing so for the fact he’d been stuck down here for two thousand years.
“Go down to the lair, please, Azazel, and personally bring Lilith to see me.”
“And these?” Azazel said, holding his hand out with the souls in them.
“Well, they are still technically mine.” Lucifer scooped them up out of the demon’s hand and threw them down his throat like a handful of sweets.
Azazel brushed his hands off and headed over to the furthest corner of the depths of Hell—Lilith’s lair.
“Zay, Zay,” cooed several of the Lamia.
As he strode into their domain, Azazel resisted the urge to shudder. Whilst he loved the ladies and the pleasures of the flesh they could indulge him in, he had never liked the Lamia. To him, they were on the same level as spiders and pixies—creepy mofos that shouldn’t exist.
To the Lamia, however, he and his brother were eye candy, the real treats in the pits of Hell that made their day worth enduring. They all harboured the impression they were ‘special enough’ to be the one to break Azazel’s hatred of their kind.
“Where’s Lilith?” Azazel said, speaking to no one in particular. When a middle-aged blonde reached out for him, he ducked away from her and said, “Get off me, you freaky bitch.”
“Oh, Zay, Zay. Let me show you just how freaky I can be.” She winked at him, then batted her eyelashes, her green eyes becoming more intense with each bat.
“I would rather cut my dick off,” he said, sneering at her. “And I love my dick.”
The blonde reached a hand towards his groin and grinned. “I bet I would too.”
“Balea—enough.”
The strong, commanding female voice made Azazel smile. Not that he liked being saved by a woman, but more for the fact that Balea hissed like a cat before scurrying off into the darkness.
“What can I do for you?” Lilith said, gliding up to Azazel like she walked on air.
“Lucifer has requested your presence. Immediately.”
Lilith raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Has he gotten over our last squabble?”
Azazel motioned with his hand for Lilith to take the lead. “I’m afraid I can’t comment.”
“Oh, Azazel. Of course you can. You just don’t want to.”
He grinned. “Yes, you’re right.”
The two walked in silence to Lucifer’s office. Magick wasn’t permitted in Hell unless absolutely necessary.
As they reached the ominous black wooden door, Azazel leaned into Lilith’s ear and whispered, “Got you now, you fucking bitch.”
Before Lilith could respond, Lucifer threw open the door, reached out a hand, grabbed Lilith, and shut the door again.
Just as Azazel turned to head back to the veil, the door opened again.
“Azazel,” said Lucifer.
“Yeah?”
“You have a five-minute window to check on your demi-soul. Use it wisely.”
Lucifer tossed a solid gold key through the air. When Azazel caught it, he grinned. He rubbed the in
tricately decorated handle and found himself in the gardens of the Worthington estate.
Glancing around him, enjoying his moment being topside again, he soon found the eerie green glow of goblins emanating from a bunch of trees in the furthest corner of the estate.
He clicked his fingers and found himself in goblin territory in the blink of an eye. Looking around him, he was curious why the hell Lucifer had sent him here.
“Kyla?” he said, scanning the area for any hint of an aura.
He stepped through the long grass, trying to ignore the urge to stare up into the clear night sky and become lost in the stars.
“Kyla?”
The faintest of noises tickled his ears but he couldn’t quite make out what it was or where it was coming from.
A huge dragonfly zipped into his eyeline and darted around in front of him, capturing his attention.
When the dragonfly was certain Azazel was paying attention, it divebombed towards the bottom of the thick tree trunk to the demon’s left.
Azazel followed its jerky flight down and noticed the crudely shaped arch cut into the bottom of the trunk. Knowing this was definitely a goblin home, he grinned.
The faint murmur of noise he’d picked up on moments ago sounded around him again.
Sucking in a deep breath, Azazel imagined himself shrinking, becoming the same height as a goblin, just shrunken enough to fit through the rough archway.
When the world around him suddenly seemed fifty times bigger, Azazel marvelled at the magick at his disposal. For all the cons being Lucifer’s right-hand man had, things like this made it all worth it.
Striding towards the hole in the tree, Azazel ducked inside. He glanced around to see Kyla laid out on the floor, knocked out, and her two sisters stood several feet away from her, arguing with each other.
Borvil stood next to Kyla, watching the two sisters.
“Borvil, my ugly little friend. Long time, no see. How’s things?”
The goblin balked, fright crossing his face for several seconds. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
Unleashing Vampires: A paranormal revenge novel (Unleashing Series Book 2) Page 11
