The Opal Blade (The Ashen Touch Trilogy Book 1)

by Kristy Nicolle

  Xion rushes over to me, his face concerned beneath the bloody gleam of his mask.

  “Are you alright… that was…” He has no words, and neither do I. What was that? Me meeting my biological father for the first time? Was that it? A cheesy dance number and then a formal brush off?

  What the hell?

  “I’m fine. Let’s get some alcohol and food… I’m starving.” I find myself gagging for a drink, anything to rid myself of the hideous cold which is seeping through my entire body. I could mistake it for disappointment, but that would only be true if I’d been hopeful for something more than merely a man with no desire to know me at all. As it is, I was right on par with my expectations, so the cause is a mystery.

  As I make my way over to one of the waiters, whose motion makes me question whether or not he’s a zombie or the result of some trainee necromancer’s failed entry exam, I hear my name called and so spin again.

  “Sephy!” I turn, and Xion pivots with me, our eyes resting on two strangers heading toward us in black suits.

  Two men, both with emerald encrusted masks, make their way through the crowd. I stare, trying to work out who it is I’m looking at but come up empty.

  Should I know these people?

  Xion stirs at my side, and within moments everything around me is in chaos.

  Xion darts forward, grabbing one of the sinners by the throat. As he does so, he shifts, showing his true face and causing the buttons of his suit jacket to pop off as the seams audibly rip. His face is vicious, but before I can call out to ask him what the hell he’s doing, the wind and my confusion are both knocked from me. My throat is in a blackened grasp before I have a chance to blink, and the second man has me, raised above the ground in a deadly stranglehold.

  My heartrate skyrockets, unsure of what’s going on, but knowing that I desperately need air. The person assaulting me looks like Xion, but it’s not him, even though his face is marred by similar sooty skin. The eyes that belong to what I now suppose is a demon are a merciless lime green, full of hate, and laced with the intent to kill me right here right now as I struggle, helpless, a full metre above the floor.

  “Stop!” Xion’s deep growl emits, and the crowd turns, further alerted to the commotion by his guttural and desperate exclamation.

  “You kill her, and I’ll kill him…” he threatens, squeezing his grip tighter on his captive’s throat.

  I feel the demon who has me in his grasp tighten his fingers, crushing my windpipe. After throwing the mask from his eyes, he pulls out a knife from the inside of his suit, which is ruined from his shift to demon form, pressing the serrated edge to my throat.

  “Try me, half-breed scum. There’s more where he came…” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence because his words are replaced by a high-pitched scream.

  Flame blinds me, blazing hot against my skin as it consumes him one limb at a time, drawing out his death and causing as much pain as possible.

  I’m dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap, as he perishes, and am left gasping for air in a cloud of his remains.

  I look up from behind the pile of ashes as it finally settles, finding Haedes with scarlet hair now, his pupils glowing bright orange around the rims like the sun during a total eclipse. He’s looking at me with an intense ferocity I’ve never seen from anybody, and it terrifies me.

  Now, in this moment as his chest rises and falls, straining, he is the most powerful, most pissed off entity I’ve ever seen.

  I tear my gaze away, letting my eyes fall on his hands which command two streams of fire like a dominatrix wielding their favourite whip.

  His fury and his gaze alone could scorch even the river Styx dry.

  Spinning on the ball of his dance shoe, he turns his back on me to attend to the other demon in Xion’s grasp.

  Xion steps aside, giving him a wide berth as Haedes takes out the second demon in seconds, leaving nothing but a pile of ash and the smell of barbequed flesh behind as the flaming vines extend and wrap themselves around the demonic body like a team of boa constrictors.

  “Stay the fuck away from my daughter,” Haedes snarls into the silence as the crowd watches on, shocked.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Love Is a Battlefield

  XION

  Everything is too close to the surface, my rage, the demon part of me, my blood which is coursing hot and thick around my body. My anger is untameable as I watch her, wide eyed on the floor amongst a pile of ashes; she’s looking up at him in wonder.

  Of course, he leaps in to defend her now, making himself the hero, when really this is all his fault.

  Did he plan it this way?

  Who knows.

  Either way, I cannot remain idle any longer. I don’t care if he’s a god or not.

  “Haedes!” I roar, my voice reaching a depth and level of projection I seldom find myself pissed enough to manage.

  Taking several measured steps forward, I ball my blackened fist by my side, throwing down the mask from my eyes so that he is subject to the full force of my furious gaze. His hair turns from red to blue too fast, and it makes me feel like he’s acting a part in all this all the more as he squares up to me.

  “Woah, what’s your problem?” Haedes snaps at me, the whips of fire in his palms diminishing. I don’t know if I should take this as an insult or not.

  Has he forgotten who I am?

  I know I’ve been in his service for decades, but has he really written me off as nothing more than a stray puppy? Has he decided I’m really no threat to him or anyone, after everything I’ve done?

  “This is your fault! You put her in danger! This ball was a giant neon sign announcing her location, for Christ’s sake!” I raise my voice even further. Getting up in his face, my body casting deep shadows into the edgy design of his skull. He looks up at me, perhaps an inch shorter in height but clearly not intimidated.

  “What did you just say to me, boy?” he snarls, and my eyes dart over his shoulder to Sephy’s expression. I expect to find her scared of me, but instead, she looks like she wants to interject. I keep my expression firm, staring down at Haedes and holding my ground.

  “I said that if you didn’t have such a fucking giant problem with being an adult and owning your shit, you wouldn’t have nearly killed your only daughter. This is completely unacceptable!” I growl, defensive now as he raises one eyebrow and turns back to Sephy, offering her a hand, which she refuses to take as she gets to her feet.

  “Are you alright?” Haedes asks her, and she looks between us both.

  “Yes, no thanks to you. I’m fine.” I want to smile, but I keep my expression stoic as she delivers this mighty blow in so few words. Haedes looks to me and then back to Sephy, his eyes turning a multitude of hues before settling on outrage.

  “But I saved you!” he exclaims, and Sephy cocks her head.

  “No, Xion saved me. You put me in danger for your own selfish reasons.” She looks at him without mercy, and I watch on, feeling my temper quell at her straight forward attitude and bravery. She definitely sees right through him, which I adore.

  “But…” Haedes begins, but Sephy raises a hand.

  “No buts. You might not know this, but fathers generally don’t put their own needs before the safety of their daughters. Or at least not good ones anyway. I can’t stay here anymore. It’s not safe… thanks to you.” She shakes her head, looking to me with a kind of silent, desperate plea stirring behind her cognac irises.

  “What? Where are you going to go? I’m all you’ve got here,” Haedes stutters, his hair tinging orange at the root.

  “I’ll go with Xion,” she announces, certain of herself.

  I’m stood here, ready to fight for her, ready to defend her, and yet, she’s taken the wind out of my sails yet again, reminding me she is no damsel.

  “Yes. She’ll be staying with me from now on,” I confirm, causing a stir among a few members of the onlooking crowd as the family drama unravels before their eyes.

 
Haedes turns his head to stare at them, his eyes narrowing before he bellows, “GET OUT!” A sudden burst of flame explodes from his right hand as a warning shot.

  I stiffen in my place as the guests abort the gathering, well, all except a few Nexus council members who stand, unafraid and unimpressed.

  “You really want to go with him? This… disgusting half-breed?” Haedes asks her, his tone laced with hate. I expect her to get angry, I mean she’s great at losing her temper, but instead she smiles.

  “Yes. I mean, after all, I’m a disgusting half-breed too. So, I guess we should get out of your way, seeing as how we’re so beneath you and your mighty intellect.” She takes a few firm steps past the man who is visibly crumpling under her mere words alone, though she might not see it. I, however, have worked for Haedes too long. I know he doesn’t suffer fools; he refuses to suffer at the hands of anyone but himself, so the fact he’s allowing her to talk to him in this way and not murdering her where she stands says more than she knows.

  “If you leave this Exilia, don’t even think about coming back,” he threatens her, and I know that inside she must be hurting more than she visibly shows.

  She doesn’t hesitate in grabbing my elbow, which is still mapped with tattoos like rivers of molten rock, and turning her back on Haedes as she pulls me towards the exit where the last of the terrified guests are making their escape.

  My heart soars more than I want to admit, more than it has in years, as I leave the hall with her on my arm.

  As we go, she calls back over her shoulder in that way that always makes me smile, swinging her hips and simply replying,

  “Why would I want to come back? There’s nothing here of value to me anyway.”

  LUCE

  The doors echo as they slam closed in the wake of the pair who leaves me and the rest of The Nexus council members stunned. My plum gown is pinching in against my ribs, and as I turn to Thane, my mouth hanging open, I am completely lost for words.

  “Well, that was a disaster.”

  She rolls her eyes.

  I hadn’t even had a chance to introduce Thane to Sephy, but in watching how she’d handled Haedes, I can tell she’s already earnt her respect.

  “GOD DAMMIT!” Haedes, grabs a nearby waiter by the throat. Yanking a glass of whisky off his tray, he downs the entire contents before smashing it on the floor and throwing the unsuspecting gluttony sinner aside. Glass flies outward in a supernova of shards from the point of impact, causing Anubis to stir.

  “That’s enough, Haedes!” she scolds him, her acutely angled eyebrows sloping downward in the middle of her forehead toward her nose as she scowls.

  “Enough? Enough? My goddamn daughter was just attacked in my own goddamn home! GOD DAMMIT!” He’s cursing, rushing toward the tables of food and beginning to smash up the ice sculpture of a cupid with his bare hands. I raise one eyebrow as the rest of us watch on in mild fascination.

  Thane shifts her gaze to me from his outburst, her expression fatigued.

  “Should we do something?” she asks me, and I shake my head.

  “No. Just let him have his moment,” I reply.

  The rest of the council members move over to us and we gather in a circle, our finery lost on the lack of occasion as we ignore the smashing and crashing going on in the background.

  “Did anyone try to tell him that this was a security risk for her?” Muerta enquires, moving to my side. Her magenta and scarlet dress has many ruffled layers and pulls in her waist. This, combined with the make-up upon her face, makes her look like little more than a skeleton in a lustrous raven wig.

  “I did,” I admit, remembering the conversation.

  “It’s not your fault, Luce. He doesn’t listen to anybody. We all know that by now,” Thane adds, taking my hand in hers. Osiris looks over his shoulder to where Haedes is now smashing every single champagne flute individually, a look of purposeful and demented malice plastered on his face.

  Jesus. I think Sephy broke him.

  “He said that we have enough security here. I mean… we do. We have a lot. I don’t know how they got in. Have there been any breaches lately Anubis?” I query the Egyptian Titan, her skin glowing golden and her eyes unmistakably harsh as they pop out of her face against her bold blue eyeliner.

  “No. Not in years. You know that we’re fastidious, Lucifer. I’m surprised at your doubt in my ability to keep the boundaries we’ve set intact.” She’s touchy about her competence, no doubt because she was a Titan before she came here, and has once again been put second to Haedes, a pure god descended almost directly from Gaia.

  “I mean no disrespect. I am simply trying to work out how those Abraxians got in here.” I frown at her defensiveness, and Osiris looks between us, uncomfortable as he shifts inside his lime and white robes which are embellished with gold leaf at the seams.

  “How did Xion even know they were demons? I saw him take one of them out before they even shifted,” he asks, his thick lips caressing the words. I know that he and his mother have always been wary of Xion, but I won’t allow them to muddy his name during this. If it weren’t for him, Sephy would probably be dead.

  “I don’t know… but I’m sure his intentions were only in Sephy’s best interests,” I protest. I hadn’t invited him tonight but he had come anyway, for her.

  “That’s yet another thing we’re concerned about…” Anubis begins, but is interrupted as Haedes moves over to the group, out of breath. His hair has returned to its cool hue, and he looks calmer.

  “Sorry about that,” he mumbles, looking ashamed of himself as his eyes drop to the floor.

  “So nice of you to join us, Haedes,” Anubis scolds him yet again, and he rolls his eyes.

  “Oh, I’m sorry; did I inconvenience you with my personal anguish and devastation?” He’s sarcastic, and I’m surprised he’s got the gall after everything that’s happened. Then again, he’s constantly pushing the limits of everyone around him, so I probably shouldn’t be surprised at all.

  “No. You inconvenienced me with your stupidity. Didn’t it occur to you that you were putting her at risk?” Anubis demands, and he shakes his head.

  “She wasn’t at risk. I killed those demons before anything bad happened! I don’t know what the big deal is?” He’s denying he’s in the wrong now, his go to reaction for guilt.

  “Regardless of that. We have two problems. One, we don’t know how the demons are getting into both Mortaria or the Mortal Plain. The second one is to do with what we have heard from The Fates.” Yama is always good at keeping us on point. He’s concise, logical, and I’m glad for him in this moment. I really can’t stand watching the council bicker. It’s bad enough at our monthly gathering, which I never attend without copious amounts of wine before and sex promised after, let alone bringing it into a party which was supposed to be a good time.

  “Yes, as I was saying, I’m concerned about Xion and your daughter getting close. He clearly cares for her,” Anubis announces. I don’t change my expression, continuing to stand poker straight, but I’m filled with nerves.

  “Jesus, Nu, I just found out I’m a dad. Can we please leave the mental image of her fucking some half-demonic asshole for another night? There ain’t enough whisky in the world to erase that shit,” Haedes cusses and Yama turns to him.

  “Being serious for one moment Haedes, the Fates came out with some interesting phrases at her trial. Chimera being one of them. They said that a Chimera of all souls will rise from her ashes. They mentioned something called The Phoenix.” His face is stoic, and I feel my heart begin to race slightly. I’d been hoping everyone had forgotten about that.

  “What does that even mean?” Haedes demands.

  “It means that letting a demon half breed and a demi-god fraternise so casually is a disaster waiting to happen. Nobody needs some half-demon-half god being born into a mortal body. It could destroy everything.” I blanche at this comment, feeling it stabbing me in the heart like a shard of ice.

 
I know Anubis isn’t talking about me, but she’s exactly the kind of person who led my mother to disown me.

  Thane squeezes my hand and I exhale, letting the feel of her skin on mine ground me.

  “Who said anything about them having a child? They’re just friends.” I interject. Osiris looks between me and Thane, raising one eyebrow.

  “I’m not so sure about that. Did you see how he leapt to her defence… that’s…” he starts but Thane cuts him off.

  “Exactly what a security guard should do. Do not forget that Xion has been charged to protect her.” She is trying to remain on my side in all this, but I wonder what she really thinks. I know she has her own points of view about parents interfering in their children’s love lives.

  “Besides, Sephy isn’t exactly the relationship type,” I add, recalling earlier when I had looked into my crystals and seen jumbled glimpses of her past. I’d been trying to see what kind of style I should go with for her gown. As it was, I didn’t find her wearing so much as a skirt, but there was plenty of leather pants getting thrown asunder by an array of different men.

  “You know I find it creepy that you know that,” Haedes snarls, trying to change the conversation back into an argument. He’s trying to distract by pissing me, and everyone else around him, off. He gets off on the fight, the banter.

  I ignore him, not having time for childish games.

  “Haedes, your colours are showing,” Muerta warns him, her voice half dangerous, half dreamy as she gazes at him with drooping lids. Her enormous brown eyes are sort of alarming when they look directly at you, evidenced moments later as Haedes turns to me.

  “So, what’s your take on all this? Exactly how screwed am I as a parent on a scale of one to ten?” he demands, laughing as though this is all one giant joke.

  “I think you already know the answer. You don’t need me to tell you that. Grow up Haedes,” I spit, angry at his lack of trying with his only blood relative.