by Maggie Walsh
He couldn’t go back in there and declare his love to the man only to spend a few days with him and then die. No, he couldn’t do that to either of them. He needed to go.
Nicco walked away from the club, stepping out from beneath the awning. He lowered his head and tried to quicken his pace, but with each step, his feet felt weighted, like someone had dropped him in a concrete bucket, and as it thickened, he moved slower. His chest began to ache, and his heart beat faster. The thought of walking away from Thad was physically hurting him, and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. Nicco panted, trying to get air into his lungs as he rubbed his chest, trying to alleviate the ache.
“He will be safe, vampire,” Nobin said from behind him, and Nicco spun around to face the genie. “I will take him back to The Twilight Moon so that he will not be harmed in this war. My family and I will help him get over you and move on to have a life.”
“But he is meant to be here with me,” Nicco argued passionately.
“Yes, but you do not want him, vampire. You fight with yourself over how you feel for him. You also struggle with the thought of if you claim him, then Eakul will have to be a part of the fight and could die. Even now when you insist you do not want him, you want him protected and kept safe. Does that not tell you something?” Nobin asked and moved closer.
“I don’t want anyone getting hurt in this war,” Nicco insisted.
“True, but the thought of Eakul standing by your side to face Hades is causing you to panic. You are terrified for him and his well-being. That sounds to me like someone who is in love. No matter what spell has been cast upon you, your love for Eakul is pushing through and taking over.”
“But I don’t want him. I don’t want to clai―” Nicco cut himself off when the pain in his chest intensified from his words.
“Your heart and soul are telling you differently, vampire. Your head is making excuses and trying to deny your true feelings, but your heart and soul won’t let it any longer, and they are fighting back. Even with a piece missing, your soul knows where it belongs. Accept how you truly feel for Eakul and let the love you have for him flow back through you. Free yourself from these bonds and claim what is yours. You will save yourself and Eakul if you do.”
“I…can’t. I…” Nicco panted harder, and then dropped to his knees when a white-hot pain gripped his heart and radiated through his chest. He clenched his teeth against the pain and cried out.
Chapter Ten
He needed to stop this. It was clear that Nicco would never take him back or want him again. He had blown it, and Nicco didn’t love him anymore. He had to find a way to move on. Maybe the genie realm, this Twilight Moon, wouldn’t be so bad? Maybe these newfound powers of his could help him get over Nicco?
Thad’s heart began to pound with the thought of never having Nicco again, of never seeing him again or hearing his sexy voice. He sat on one of the couches in the dressing room and leaned back, laying his head down and closing his eyes. He needed to figure out what to do.
From the front of the club, he heard Lucifer begin to sing, and a chuckle broke free from his throat as he thought about what the Lord of Hell was singing. “‘Take Me To Church’? Really?” Thad said aloud and shook his head.
He loved this family. Even the new ones to him that had only joined within the past few years. This family had grown so much since he went away, and it was full of so many wonderful men. Even Lucifer himself. The Lord of Hell was funny and loved this family fiercely. Thad had been shocked to see how protective he was of everyone at first, but as he got to know everyone, he could understand it and agreed with Lucifer. He would do anything for this family, too.
Thad wanted to be a part of this family even if Nicco never took him back, but it would hurt too much to be around his mate and not be able to have him. He could also tell that his presence was causing Nicco a lot of stress and pain, and he didn’t want to do that to his mate. He loved Nicco too much for that. He would have to use that love to walk away from him again and set Nicco free. But how could he walk away this time? Because of what Nobin told him, it had been easier for him to walk away last time because of the spell. He didn’t think so because he remembered all the pain and tears, but according to Nobin, that was nothing to what it would be like now that he fully understood and didn’t have a genie helping him. So how could he walk away from Nicco this time without the pain consuming him and destroying him?
* * * *
The crowd laughed, clapped, and hollered as Lucifer and his mates exited the stage and headed back to their seats. Taylor jumped back on stage and went to the mic. “Well, that was a little disturbing. In a really awesome way. Loved it. And who knew Lucy had the voice of an angel?” Taylor said and gave Lucifer an exaggerated wink, causing Lucifer to laugh as he pulled his mates down on his lap.
“Okay now, let’s see who’s up to try to top that one?” Taylor asked and looked to the side of the stage, then faced the audience again with a smirk. “Oh, I can’t wait to see this act. Please give it up for Maddy, Josh, and Milo!” Taylor announced and jumped back off the stage.
Josh walked up to the mic and grasped it in his hands as he looked out over the crowd. Milo and Maddy went to either side of him, but stepped back a few feet. “Okay, don’t know how we’re going to top Lucifer singing Amen, take him to church, and looking for his demons in his eyes, but hell, we’ll give it a whirl. Hit it, Sage.”
The music began, and Josh started singing “Counting Stars” by One Republic. Maddy and Milo danced behind him, shaking their asses at the crowd and causing everyone to start whooping and hollering again, and then they turned and faced the front and sang backup.
Once they were done, Rory, Raith, and Aaron took the stage. “Okay, boys, let Pops here show you how it’s done,” Raith said, then strutted up to the mic, grabbed it with one hand, and began to sing “Low” by Flo Rida, as he danced around the stage like he was Magic Mike. He had moves even better than Channing Tatum. Swiveling his hips seductively, he lowered toward the floor as he ran a hand up his stomach, revealing his hard abs. Lucifer ran to the stage and started throwing singles at Raith, and Rory and Aaron started laughing. Soon Xavier, Xander, Lexi, and Cass joined Lucifer and began throwing money at Raith, too. Raith turned his back to the audience and shook his ass, twerking, then bent over and slapped his ass. More of the guys joined the group in front of the stage, throwing money at him as the others laughed, clapped, cheered, and whistled.
When he was done, he laughed as he picked up all the money. He looked out over the crowd and said, “Thanks, boys. Don’t think I’m not keeping these.” Then he shoved the bills down the front of his pants, causing everyone to whoop and laugh.
Taylor took to the stage again, laughing and fanning himself. “Well, now we know where your boys get their moves from, Raith. Damn those nuts don’t fall far from that tree. With those swivel hips, your mates are some very lucky bitches. Okay, now put your hands together for the cutest thing ever. Come on out here, Noah,” Taylor said as he waved to the side of the stage.
Noah walked up on the stage smiling bright and kind of skipped excitedly to Taylor. “You ready for this group, cutie?” Taylor asked him.
Noah nodded enthusiastically as he smiled. Taylor chuckled and gave Noah a hug, and then walked off the stage. Noah turned toward the audience as he stepped up to the mic. He smiled big and waved at everyone, causing everyone to chuckle. “You got this, beautiful!” Bastian called out, giving Noah a big smile in encouragement.
Noah looked to Sage and nodded, then looked back. The soft tinkling of the music started, and Noah wrung his hands together, but he wasn’t nervous―he was excited. The bright smile remained on his lips as he sang perfectly, in a cute little voice, “Let Her Go” by Passenger, but used the word him instead of her. He brought his hands up to his lips a few times as he began and giggled, but as he sang, he got even more excited and waved with exuberance to the crowd a few times, and halfway through his voice got stronger and more confide
nt, the smile never leaving his face. The whole audience got to their feet and started cheering and clapping, encouraging Noah on.
When it came to the end and the music stopped so Noah could sing a cappella, everyone hushed, and only Noah’s voice could be heard. Once he was done, the clapping and cheering began again, and Noah smiled brightly and jumped up and down happily. Storm and Bastian were standing at the front of the stage, and Storm opened his arms wide as he smiled at his mate. Noah ran toward him, and then jumped off the stage and into Storm’s arms as he laughed. Bastian threw his head back and laughed, then wrapped his arms around both his mates and drew them away from the stage.
Taylor walked on stage, clapping and whistling. “That was fucking awesome, Noah. Damn that amazing voice runs in the family. Okay, you rowdy bunch, who’s next?”
As the night wore on, they had some amazing singers and fun times. Like when Crew sang “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, and then Laylen got up and sang a karaoke favorite, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond. After that Sage and Shelby took to the stage. As Shelby sang “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor, Sage did an amazing routine with his large hoop in the background, showing off his flexible body and wicked acrobatic moves.
When Ryland stepped up to the stage, no one was more shocked than Jesse. He sat up straight and watched in awe as his fae father sang “Somewhere in the Night” by Barry Manilow, but as he did, the fae warriors all groaned and rolled their eyes or banged their heads on the tables. Phenex chuckled as he shook his head and smiled at his mate.
“What’s up with that reaction?” Micah asked over the music.
“My dearheart thinks the sun rises and sets with Barry Manilow and sings him constantly. The halls of the palace are always filled with my Ryland either singing Barry, whistling Barry, or playing it somewhere in the palace on high. Many years ago, we would…let’s just say, Barry helped give me some very memorable nights,” Phen replied and wiggled his brows.
Everyone chuckled from that confession, and Jesse put his fingers in his ears as they continued to watch Ryland, amazed at what a wonderful voice he had.
Once Ryland was done, Taylor took the stage again and walked to the mic, staring after Ryland in awe. He turned back to the audience and raised a brow. “I think that man has more layers than an onion, or more than any one of us except Phenex knows about. Hey, Jess, I think you got your new gig. Lucifer and the three fairies, with you, Ryland, and Noah as backup. I think you’ll make a fortune. You won’t even need special effects or pyrotechnics with all those wicked powers.”
After that, the fun continued with Viktor singing a fantastic rendition of Adam Lambert’s “For your Entertainment” that had his mate, Adam, smiling and swooning, and had Taylor teasing him about that giving them all a nice little peep into his private life. Xander got up and sang “Sleepwalker” by Adam Lambert to his mate, making Shelby jump his bones right there on the stage, until Taylor pushed them off into the wings. Then the two cuties Raffy and Bailey got up and sang Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” After that Ryx, Nuriel, and Duma thought it would be funny as hell to sing “The Final Countdown” by Europe.
But when Storm took to the stage, everyone, including his mates were shocked. Storm stood stiffly in front of the mic and held it with both hands, and then looked right at his mates and began to sing “Landslide” by Stevie Nicks.
Phen got up next to show up his men and sang a kick-ass rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” that had Jesse sitting with his mouth open and Lucifer looking like he now had some wonderful secret over Phen’s head. Ryland loved it and just sat there staring at his mate like some love-sick teen and swooning when Phen got to the end and really belted it out.
When big fae warrior Sasha stepped up to the mic and sang, in his very deep voice, the Disturbed version of “Sounds of Silence,” the room went still and quiet. A certain chill and sense of foreboding swept over them all, and everyone sat rapt in attention as they just stared at him. His little mate, Samuel, sat silently with tears in his eyes and a soft smile on his lips.
After Sasha finished, he stood there in the silence as everyone just stared at him, and then suddenly everyone jumped to their feet and the roar of the applause was deafening, causing Sasha to smile shyly. He nodded and then exited the stage.
Taylor walked back on just staring after Sasha, stunned, and then turned to face the group. “I was wrong, Jesse. We need to get Sasha out on the road, and we’ll be filthy rich. I don’t know who has balls enough to follow that, but whoever does, get your hot buns up here.”
The sound of large, heavy combat boots clunked on the stage, and Micah strolled out, walking with his confident swagger and smirk on his face toward Taylor. Taylor turned and saw him, then burst out laughing. “Well, I did say whoever had balls big enough to follow that. Our fearless leader everyone. Let’s see what Micah has for us,” Taylor announced, then ran off the stage.
Micah grabbed the mic and looked to Jesse, smiling. He raised his hand, holding it out to his mate, and Jesse stood, then made his way to the stage, and stopped beside Micah. Micah turned so they were face-to-face and held one of Jesse’s hands as the music started, and without taking his eyes from Jesse’s once, he sang “Have I told you Lately That I Love You” by Rod Stewart. Halfway through, Micah wrapped his free arm around Jesse’s waist and pulled him close, as the two of them started rocking softly to the music. Jesse leaned into Micah, his head back, as he stared into Micah’s eyes, a loving smile on his face. When the song ended, Micah leaned down and captured Jesse lips in a soft, tender kiss, and everyone started to cheer.
When the clapping died down and Micah pulled back from the kiss, Phenex yelled out, “Awe, who knew you had it in you, sonny boy?”
“I don’t know, with a song like that you would think he was trying to get laid. Ya big mush,” Lucifer called out.
Micah chuckled and turned his head to look at Lucifer with a smirk and wiggled his brows, causing the whole crowd to laugh and Jesse to turn red. Micah pulled Jesse against his side and wrapped his arm over his shoulder as they faced the audience. “Now that we slowed things down a little, let’s start bringing it back up. I noticed a few of you being a little funny, but foreboding. So, let’s stay with that theme,” he announced, and then began singing “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed. He grabbed the mic like a rock god and belted it out like he was made for the stage. Turning to look at Jesse during certain points and singing passionately. Micah bent his knees, so that he was eye-to-eye with Jesse and sang, “Well I don’t know, if I’m ready, to be the man…”
Micah finished, and he and Jesse made their way back to the table. After that, the celebration continued as Gabriel stepped up to the mic. “I know I don’t sing as well as everyone else, but this song is one of my sweet baby’s favorites. He sings it a lot when he listens to his Celtic Thunder CDs, so it’s a song I actually know all the words to. Well, kind of. I know they don’t sing it originally, but it’s the version I know. There is no music for it in that machine there, so thanks to Dare―believe it or not, who also knows the song and knows how to play the guitar, who knew? ―I’m gonna sing it for you, Taylor.”
Dare took to the stage and sat on one of the stool, slung the guitar over his head, and started playing. Gabriel cleared his throat and then began in a shaky voice, very softly, “Come by the Hills Buachaill On Eirne.” Which he sang part in perfect Gaelic, and part in English, surprising everyone.
Taylor slowly walked on stage, tears running down his face, and walked right to his mate, standing behind him so as not to disturb him. When Gabriel finished, Taylor stepped in front of him with a watery smile and threw his arms around Gabriel, hugging him tight.
Once they left the stage, Dante walked on holding Dale’s hand and told Dare to stay and join them. Dare placed the guitar on the stool and joined his mates. Dante took Dare’s hand in his other hand and began to sing “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers. Dare and Dale both stood there just staring at the
ir mate. Tears formed in Dale’s eyes, and his bottom lip began to quiver. He stepped in closer to Dante, hugging his arm, and Dante looked down at him with a smile, still singing. Dare stood stoic, but everyone could see he was clenching his jaw, trying to hold in his emotions. As Dante started belting out the end, he looked to Dare, then back to Dale.
As the last word fell from his lips, Dare grabbed the back of Dante’s neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Everyone started clapping and stomping their feet. Dare released Dante’s lips, then bent, wrapping his arms around Dante’s thighs, then lifted, throwing Dante over one shoulder and grabbing Dale’s hand, and then ran them off the stage.
Taylor came back up clapping and laughing. “Well, we won’t be seeing them anytime soon. You go take what’s yours, Dare, baby!” Taylor yelled the last part to the back of the stage. He turned back to face the crowd. “Okay, who’s next?”
* * * *
Nicco lay on the cold, hard ground, the side of his face against the pavement as he fought against the pain within him. He was only slightly aware of someone else being there, with a light touch on his shoulder. Something was happening to him, and he had no idea what it was. Did it have something to do with Thad’s brother Nobin? That’s who he had been talking to, so maybe Nobin put one of his genie spells on him?
A picture of Thad flashed across his mind, and the pain exploded again in a white-hot heat, engulfing his body. He could feel himself thrashing about as his jaw clenched and every muscle in his body contracted and straighten at the same time. Suddenly, it was as if the world stopped spinning.
