The Keepers of Hell Box Set

by Danielle James

  “Uh,” Jamie started, but really didn’t know what to say.

  “Antonio is really good at pissing Ash off,” Kaia told him in a whisper.

  “I’m just gonna go and check on Laura,” he said, moving sideways toward the cage, never turning his back on Ash. Not that he thought Ash would do something dangerous to him, but one could never really be sure, especially when the person in question has wings that ignite with black fire and eyes that turn red as boiling blood when he is angry. He reached the cage and noticed that the door had been repaired and the only way he was getting in was to ask Ash to take the lock magic off of it. Yeah. No. That wasn’t happening just right now.

  “Hey baby,” he said softly from the outside. He reached in and searched for her hand. The bed was right up against the side of the cage giving Jamie limited access to her. He found her hand under the blanket and gave it a squeeze.

  “Jamie,” she said softly.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  Laura turned her body to face him and winced as she forced her body closer to the bars. “I feel like shit,” she said. “Why did you save me?”

  “You are my mate,” he reminded her. “My job is to protect you.”

  “I remember,” she told him. “All of it. It’s true. All of it.”

  Jamie shook his head. He knew exactly what she was talking about. “You were under the influence,” he told her.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Laura said, “I still did it. I betrayed Ash. I did … so many horrible things.”

  “I don’t suppose you remember a way to defeat Balthazar?” Jamie asked.

  Laura shook her head. “I did have an idea, though.”

  “I’m all ears, baby,” he said, leaning into the bars.

  “We should take his power from him.”

  “Can they do that?” he asked.

  Laura nodded. “I can write a spell for it.”

  Jamie’s chest swelled with pride. His mate was willing to help even if she was recovering. “I will tell them to let you help,” he said.

  Laura shook her head. “I just want to write the spell. I think I know a way in, but that’s it. Besides, they won’t trust me to say a spell. They may not even take my help writing it.”

  “Why are you so fucking happy?” Ash growled at Jamie. He realized he was grinning like an idiot.

  “Laura remembers,” he told them. “She thinks she can write a spell to take Balthazar’s power so we can take him out.”

  Ash rolled his eyes. “Like we’re going to let her use magic,” he said sarcastically.

  “Only help write the spell,” Jamie corrected him. “She knows you don’t trust her and she wants to help. Someone else has to say the spell.”

  “Can she not speak for herself?” Ash demanded.

  “I can,” Laura said, sitting up in her bed.

  “Laura, you need rest,” Jamie chastised her.

  “No,” she said, forcing her body upright. She swung her legs off the bed. “Let me talk. I know you don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you. I tried to pay for my crimes, but he saved me. Let me at least help with a spell that would take his power.”

  Ash debated on the offer for a moment. “You may give us ideas, but you will write everything down. You will not speak a single word of the spell, is that clear?”

  “I understand,” Laura said. “I will start making a list of things we will need to execute it.”

  Shelly brought her a pencil and a piece of paper, pushing it through the bars. Laura just looked at it and then at Shelly. “What?” Shelly asked, “Not good enough for you?”

  “I was just remembering the last time you had a pencil,” Laura said.

  “Oh that,” Shelly smiled. “Sorry about that.”

  “What happened?” Jamie asked with a raised brow.

  “She stabbed me with a pencil,” Laura told him.

  Jamie felt the anger rising inside of him. “You did what?” he demanded of Shelly. How dare she?

  “Hey,” she said, putting her hands up in front of her, still holding the paper and pencil. “That was before you. Because of her, I was in a cage right next to her. I had to take my pound of flesh.”

  Jamie just glared at her. He could kill her. He could.

  “What do you want from me?” Shelly asked innocently, “I’m a demon.”

  “It’s okay,” Laura said softly. “I deserved it.”

  “You did not,” Jamie growled.

  “Yes, she did,” Shelly argued. “But I have no intention of doing it again as long as she behaves herself.”

  “Just give me the paper,” Laura said, holding her hand out.

  Jamie continued to glare at Shelly, conveying without words the warning in his throat. Do not touch her again. He knew that Laura had done some awful things, but that was before. There was no way he would allow any harm to come to her. Not now, not ever. Hell, she was a danger to herself! It was going to be a full-time job just keeping her safe. At least her prison was in Ash’s office and not down in the depths of Hell with the real criminals.

  “Get it together, vamp boy,” Shelly said casually. “We all do things in life. We pay the price, and then get over it. It’s life.” She turned, flipping her fiery hair over her shoulder and walked away.

  “Don’t let her rattle your cage,” Jake said, coming to stand beside Jamie. “She thrives on trouble. I know.”

  “I just want to stab her,” he told Shelly’s mate. “I won’t, of course, because she is your mate, but I want to.”

  “We all want to at some point or another.” Jake laughed. “But believe me, she is tougher than she looks, and for a demon, she has a heart of gold.”

  Jamie nodded, keeping his eyes on the demon in question. She was a conflict in and of herself. A good demon. Who knew? Jamie was quickly learning that things were not always as black and white as he thought. He darted his eyes over to Laura, who was sitting up on her bed, scribbling notes on the paper. Every now and again, she would look up toward the ceiling and put the eraser to her lips. He was completely jealous of that pencil, but closing in on her space would not help her. He could only imagine what she was feeling, and his heart broke for her. She remembered, and it had been so awful that she no longer wished to live with it. He had not witnessed what she did, nor did he want to. It was in the past, and he would just assume leave those ghosts to rest. Even though her past clearly haunted her, she was doing what she could to help. The corner of his mouth threatened to turn up as he watched her. She was so brave. His mate was willing to face her demons and do what she could to redeem herself. He had no doubt that she would come out of this better than before, if he could just keep her from hurting herself again.

  “I can hear your gears turning in that head of yours,” Jake said. The other angels had immersed themselves into research while Laura wrote, but Jake chose to stand next to Jamie.

  “I was just admiring my mate,” he said quietly.

  Jake shoved his hand through his hair and leveled his eyes on Jamie. “Look man, I know that woman of yours has done some serious shit, and I know that we all have our own opinions of her. I just want you to know that I will reserve judgment. She had that hocus pocus on her, and who knows what the fucker made her do. I get that. I ain’t exactly innocent myself. I lost everything before I died and when Ash found me, I was well on my way to Greed. Shelly even argued with Ash that I was her soul. I guess I am.” He laughed lightly. “But the point I’m trying to make is, I want to put all that shit behind me. Shelly does, too, although she won’t openly admit it. We want to see what Laura has to offer before starting a witch trial.”

  Jamie nodded his head. He had a feeling that all of the angels felt that way, but he appreciated the hell out of Jake for voicing it. It made him feel a little less isolated, a little less alone in this new reality he was in.

  “Okay, here is a list of things we need,” Laura said, breaking the quiet. All eyes were on her and she couldn’t help but to feel a little self-consci
ous.

  “Let me see that,” Shelly said, snatching the paper away. Her eyes scanned the list and her brow raised. “Are you sure about this?” she asked. “Belladonna and wolf’s bane? Both are toxic.” There were several ingredients on the list, but those two stood out like blood on a white sheet.

  Laura nodded. “Yes. Lucas will want to stay as far away from the potion as possible. To everyone else, the belladonna content is too small to do any damage. But the pair together will knock a demon on its ass. You will need to be sure not to touch it either. Actually, you should probably stay away from it. It won’t kill you, but it won’t be pleasant.”

  “And this will strip Balthazar of his power?” Shelly asked skeptically. “And mine too?”

  Laura nodded. “I don’t know of a way to kill him,” she said sadly, “but without power he will be much easier to find and kill, or imprison. Whatever you want to do with him.” Laura looked down at her feet. “I’m sorry for summoning you,” she said to Shelly. “We intended to summon Balthazar. I just—I’m sorry.”

  Shelly looked her in the eyes and nodded. It seemed so long ago that the humans summoned her by mistake. A weight lifted from her heart and Shelly realized how much she really needed to hear that from the witch. “Thank you,” she said. The apology was genuine, but Shelly wasn’t about to get sappy with the witch. “Now, let’s get this party started.”

  “The spell to go with it,” Laura said loudly as Shelly took the paper away. “You should memorize it. It has to be said at the same time as the potion touches him.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Do we really trust her with this?” Ash asked Shelly as she placed the ingredients on the table. Lacy, Kaia, and Ryver stood nearby, waiting for instruction. Lucas was as far away as possible, and Shelly was going to join him shortly. They all knew this spell was powerful, and the ones it had the potential to harm were told to leave.

  “I do,” she admitted. “I checked each and every one of these ingredients and the spell is legit. I wouldn’t have thought to mix them this way, though. I am willing to bet without evil influence, she could be a force to be reckoned with.”

  “She was,” Ash told her. “Before all of this started, I trusted her. She helped me more than once. Then one day, she changed.”

  “And now? Does she seem like the old Laura?”

  “She does, only sadder,” Ash admitted. “I just can’t seem to let myself give her my trust again.”

  “No one blames you,” Shelly told him.

  “I’m not sure about this spell,” Ash told her. “It could do some serious damage.”

  “Well, we can’t take out dear old dad with a flower power spell,” Shelly told him. “It has to be this way. It’s all we have.” Ash nodded at her. “Here.” She handed him a list of instructions. “I’m getting the hell out of here while you guys mix this. Don’t fuck it up.”

  Ash watched as Shelly disappeared and then the three female angels came over to help. “We ready for this?” he asked.

  “As long as we follow the directions exactly, there shouldn’t be any surprises,” Ryver told him. He nodded, and the four of them set to work on the potion.

  ***

  Two hours later, everyone was gathered in Ash’s office. They were all sitting around a circle on the floor, since there was no desk anymore. “We need a plan,” Lucas said. “As soon as we know where to go, we all flash there. We have to have something to disorient him.”

  “I feel ya,” Jamie agreed. “Tear gas, flash bangs, anyone got any IEDs?”

  “Those won’t be necessary,” Lacy told him. “I am all the disorientation we will need.”

  “Uh, Ms. B—” Jamie started.

  “You haven’t gotten up close and personal with Lacy’s gift, have you?” Antonio asked with a grin.

  “I don’t understand how making the demon calm will help,” Jamie told him.

  “That’s not all she can do,” Antonio said. “That angel has a formidable gift. Show him.”

  Lacy stared at Jamie for a moment. He didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t the sudden rush of fear and dread that settled over him. “Whoa,” he said, looking around for the source of the threat. It was over quickly though. “Did you do that?”

  “I did,” Lacy told him.

  “Yeah, she did that shit to Antonio when she was training and he pissed his pants!” Jake howled.

  “I did not piss my pants,” Antonio grumbled.

  “I can cause anyone to feel anything I want,” Lacy told him. “I will go in and make him confused, afraid, or whatever it takes. Maybe all of the above.”

  Jamie nodded. “Good idea.” And then, he reached over and put his hand on hers. “I never did thank you,” he said, “for saving me that day.”

  Lacy just smiled at him.

  “I told you at your funeral that I would make you proud,” he continued.

  “And you have,” Lacy told him. “More than you know.”

  “Awww, which is so sweet,” Lucas said sarcastically, “but if we could get back on point here, that would be great.”

  “Lacy will disorient them,” Ash said, taking charge of the conversation. “Then we will go in. Jake will let his fire free. Lucas, I want you as the wolf. Ryver and Kaia will hold the potion bottles. We only have two so we have to make them count. We have to hit him with everything we’ve got all at once. We’re not going to get another chance like this.”

  “What about the horsemen?” Jake asked.

  “Let’s hope we can find a way to put them back after Balthazar is gone,” Ash said.

  “I don’t understand it,” Antonio said. “There is a warning right there on the top of the box. Why would a human open it?”

  “Because humans can’t read the ancient language,” Ash pointed out.

  “So first Balthazar,” Shelly said. “Then the horsemen. I’m ready when you all are.”

  The angels gathered their battle gear, and Ash made sure that he took both of The Sacred Blades with him. Laura watched all of this from the confines of her cage. Jamie was decked out from head to toe in black, a heavy steel sword at his side. She watched as he came to the door of her cage. “Let me in please,” he said to Ash.

  The door clicked open and Jamie went in. “I’ll be back,” he told Laura, taking her into his arms.

  “I don’t want you to go,” Laura said, fearing for his life. “Can’t they do it without you?”

  “Afraid not,” Jamie told her with a grin. “Besides, I’m a vampire angel. What can he do to me? I’m already dead.”

  Laura didn’t want to imagine what could happen to him. She knew that even though it wasn’t an easy task, angels could be killed. What was on the other side of that death, she didn’t know and didn’t want to imagine. “Just come back to me,” she whispered. Jamie kissed her lips gently, telling her with his mouth what he couldn’t say with words. When he released her, there were tears in her eyes. “Be safe,” she said.

  Jamie grinned at her and left her alone in the cage. “So where is the son of a bitch?”

  Shelly had already allowed Ryver to speak the spell that would connect her with the demon. She closed her eyes, afraid that he might see what she saw. After a moment, Shelly’s eyes flipped open. “He’s in the meadow,” she said definitively.

  “Well, we better get there,” Ash said. He looked to each of his guard, ready to fight. “Move out.” He flashed away and the Guard followed.

  There had to be something she could do. Laura paced her cage, the place she had come to know as her home, for the millionth time. This was all her fault, and she could not stand by and do nothing. The answer was in those boxes, she knew it. But the angels had left, Jamie included, and the boxes were locked away in one of Ash’s hidey holes.

  Laura blew out a heavy breath and rested her head on the bars of the cage door. To her surprise, it moved. Ash didn’t lock her in! Laura pushed the door open more and stepped out of her prison. She looked all around her, waiting for someone or somet
hing to come barging in to kill her for escaping, but nothing happened.

  They had bigger fish to fry than her.

  She went to one of the false panels in the wall and pushed on the corner. It opened for her, revealing a locked cabinet. She closed her eyes and pulled on the magic that she hadn’t been able to use and wasn’t sure it would work now. “Neksav,” she whispered at it. The lock clicked and she pulled the door open. The boxes were stacked in two sets.

  Laura reached in and pulled them out one at a time, setting them on the floor in front of her. She studied the golden treasures. They gleamed in the light and even called to her. It wasn’t something she could hear, but she could feel it. If she could only figure it out. There was something she was missing, something that she wasn’t seeing. The glowing designs she had seen before from the cage lit up for her now and she could see that it was lettering of some sort, but not anything she had ever seen before. She picked one up and ran her fingers over the lid. The box warmed under her touch, but no matter how she touched it or pulled on it, the box did not open. Frustration filled her chest and what she really wanted to do was chuck them at the wall. However, that wasn’t what she did. She ran to Ash’s private room and grabbed a sheet off the bed. She didn’t know where Elizabeth had gone, but she was glad the vampire had left. She didn’t need anyone trying to stop her.

  Taking the sheet and laying it out on the floor, Laura sat the boxes in the middle of it. She pulled the corners together and tied it off, making a makeshift bag for them. She tossed it over her shoulder and then went to the wall again.

  All the time Laura had been in that cage, she watched. She moved with unerring precision to where she wanted to go. Ash’s personal weapon cabinet was locked up tight, but she remembered the combination from many times of watching him open it. She turned the knob, hearing the tumblers inside click into place. Then, she pulled the heavy handle that sprung the door.

  Laura bypassed the assorted knives and such, reaching all the way in the back until her hand brushed over a box. She brought it out of the cabinet and lifted the lid, revealing exactly what she was looking for.