“Walk with me.” He sets off with his hands clasped behind his back, and I follow. There is no other recourse.
The ground beneath our feet shimmers and a rough track appears, a path of sorts. I open my mouth to ask him what the fuck is going on, but his words cut me off.
“Meridia is a peaceful place,” he says. “The people are a gentle, maternal race who thrive on harmony. When the fallen came to our world, there began a long war. For power. For land. For dominance. Although the fallen offered knowledge and advancement, although they brought with them medicine and celestial healing, not all daemons wished to pledge themselves to a queen. Up until then, daemons lived in factions with land split between them. Crude treaties and harsh punishments for trespass were in place. But Lilith sought to change that. She sought to unify the races and bring a new era of peace and prosperity to the Underealm, one that would bring about change and technological advancement. Many factions were threatened, and so lines were drawn. On one side was Lilith and her fallen, and on the other was Briathos and his rebel daemons.”
“My father was a rebel?”
“Oh yes. Briathos was one of a handful of a warrior race. Powerful and respected. He wanted a free Underealm, not one presided over by a monarchy. He fought Lilith at every turn, and he was quick to rally an army. But armies need supplies. They need food, and in between Lilith’s camp and Briathos’s camp lay Meridia—fertile land with an abundance of crops and cattle.”
I can see where this is going. “They fought to take Meridia.”
“They tried.” He smiles up at me, slightly smug. “But they failed. Meridia is a land blessed by ancient elemental forces, and it would not be claimed. In the end a parlay was suggested and that is when everything changed.”
“They met…”
“Yes, they met, and the attraction was instantaneous. They talked for hours, for days, and then…well… I’m sure you can surmize what happened as you stand here, evidence of that one meeting.”
“But… They were enemies.”
“Who became allies. Briathos learned that Lilith had no intention of stripping daemons of their way of life, that they would be given a choice. And Lilith in turn learned how important the daemon way of life was to them. But not all the rebels were agreeable to an alliance, and Briathos’s lieutenant turned on him. There was an attack on Meridia. Our defences were down due to the parlay, and we weren’t able to erect them fast enough. Many died.” He sighs as if recalling the atrocities. “Your father fought valiantly. He protected Lilith and made sure she was able to escape. He gave his life but not before he’d taken the lives of all the traitors. That night the warrior race was decimated. You, Keon, are the last of your kind, because your father believed in a new Underealm. He believed in Lilith.”
My father gave his life to protect Lilith. Had she loved him? My returned memories of my childhood tell me she loved me at one time. I’m not sure how to feel about any of this.
I’ve been her blade all my life. A possession bound to her word. If she loves me, why do that to me? I recall her fear of losing Samael. I understand it, but why not send me away? Why turn me into a puppet? Is this love?
Fee’s face swims up in my mind’s eye. Her laughter and her gentle voice. Her touch and her mouth on mine. Is that love?
“Keon,” the little man says. “We will help you and give you what you need. For your father’s sacrifice and his noble actions are saviours of Meridia”
He waves his hand and the forest vanishes to be replaced by a village. Sturdy-looking huts made of brick and thatch dot the landscape. Narrow roads wind between the homes and daemons mill about—pale pink and yellow with frills on their heads or colorful plumage. There’s laughter, music and the sound of children at play. In the distance there’s land sown with crops, and cattle roam free, feeding and resting. The air is heavy with a sweet aroma that stirs a strange emotion in my chest, and my eyes grow warm.
No.
A blade does not cry.
“Welcome to Meridia,” the little man says. “Now, tell me. What herb did you need?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Uri
Celestia has been restored and greets me cheerfully as I enter. It looks like she’s been given a personality. The divine brings an abundance of power that’s evident in the very fabric of the Beyond as I navigate the corridors. The light is no longer harsh but warm, like a caress. It seeps into my skin promoting a sense of well-being and calm. I pass several celestials who smile at me with teeth. Genuine smiles that make my heart ache with the need to belong again.
But this is no longer my home.
My home is with Fee.
My purpose is tied to Fee.
I know this. I feel it, and yet I’m still lost.
The grand chambers where the righteous preside are open. Celestials spill in and out in a frenzy of activity, and standing amidst them, dressed casually in beige slacks and a brown tunic, is the divine.
He turns his head and locks gazes with me as I enter, and then he smiles and my heart swells. I falter in my step, stunned by the overwhelming emotion that washes over me.
“My son,” he says. “It’s so good to see you again.”
It’s barely been days, but time can seem longer or shorter here in the Beyond, so I don’t question.
“I need your help.”
His brows flick up. “Again?”
I feel the bite of shame. He saved my life, gave me life, and here I am, asking for more. But this is for Fee, the woman that has my heart, so I maintain eye contact and nod.
“Please. It would help Fee.”
He’s immediately somber. “Tell me what she needs. Anything I can give, I will.” He strides toward me. “Walk with me.”
I fall into step beside him as we exit through a side door into a part of the Beyond I’ve never had the authority to traverse.
“Tell me what Fee needs,” the divine says.
“An ancient immortal called Cain has awoken.”
The divine’s step falters. “Cain… Yes, I remember. Eve’s son. The offspring of my brother’s favored son, Samael.”
“Yes, and he also happens to be Fee’s brother.”
I fill him in on the revelations, expecting surprise, but there is none. “You knew?”
“Contrary to popular belief, I’m not omnipresent, and I have been locked away since the beginning of time, so no, I wasn’t aware, but I have done my research since my return.” He looks down at my chest. “And I have attempted to put things right.”
“What do you mean?”
His smile is mysterious. “There have been wrongs committed. But in time, I believe those wrongs will be rectified.” His gaze slides my way. “When the time comes you will have all you need to aid in that.”
His words are enigmatic, and I want to question him further, but I’m here for Fee and need to focus on that. Who knows how much of the divine’s time I’ll be able to monopolize?
“I need to find out more about Eve and Cain. I need access to the written history of man.”
He frowns up at me. “There is no written history, child. There never has been.”
I stare at him in confusion. “But the Righteous—”
His lip curls. “Are liars obsessed with power and have been relieved of their positions.”
Shit.
The divine comes to a standstill outside a white door. “We have no written history, but you might find the answers you’re looking for beyond this door.”
“And what’s beyond the door?”
“An oral history of man. Everything that has taken place since creation began. The Oracle knows all. It exists here and there and everywhere, and it will only tell you what it believes you need to know. Some paths can be changed, others must not be touched. The Oracle will decide if you’re worthy.”
I look at the door then back to him. “You knew I’d need to speak to it, didn’t you?”
“Like I said, I’m not omnipresent, but I do get hunches.�
�� He taps the side of his nose. “Good luck.”
He pushes the door open and darkness swallows me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Fee
“We’ve torn this place apart,” Conah said. “It’s not here.”
We’d spent two days combing the library, and the table in the center of the room was piled with scrolls which Conah was in the process of cataloguing because he literally couldn’t help himself.
He noted something into a ledger and popped a scroll into one of the many piles he’d created.
“Seriously?” Azazel said. “Do you have to do that now?”
“It needs to be done,” he retorted, sapphire eyes flashing. “You could help.”
“No,” Azazel said shortly. “We have more pressing matters. Like locating a certain fucking scroll.”
I held up my hands. “Okay, we’re all tired and grumpy. Let’s not turn on each other.” I flopped into the nearest chair. “But we do need that damned scroll.” And I was beginning to think it wasn’t in this room at all.
Samael flew down from the uppermost level of the library, empty handed this time. “It’s not here,” he confirmed.
Oh, thank god. I mean, I wanted to find the damn thing just as much as the next guy, but to be told the search in here was over was more than a relief.
Samael didn’t look happy though. In fact, he looked positively pissed. His eyes flashed dangerously, and I felt the zing of his ire as an electric bite in the air. Conah and Azazel flinched.
They felt it too.
“She moved it,” Samael said. “She hid it elsewhere. Why would she do that?”
It was obviously a rhetorical question, so I kept my mouth shut.
“The question is where?” Azazel looked thoughtful.
Wait… “Keon mentioned a personal library? Lilith has texts locked away somewhere.”
Samael’s head whipped up. “We need to find this personal collection.”
“Keon will know,” Azazel said. “He should be back with us soon.”
Samael nodded but his jaw was tight. “Every moment we wait is another moment my Lilith is in that degenerate’s clutches.”
He’d gone from being pissed at her to saying her name as if it was a precious wish.
“We will get her back,” Azazel promised.
“Yes,” Samael said. “And I will finally have Mammon’s head for treason.” He strode toward the exit. “Rest and recharge, for when we leave this place there will be little of either to comfort you.”
Conah pressed his palms to the table and hung his head.
“What is it?” Azazel asked.
He looked up with a sigh. “Why the hell did I start cataloging this mess?”
The doors to the library burst open and a liveried guard entered. “Lord Azazel, you wished to be informed when the troops arrived.”
Azazel pushed back his seat. “They’re here? All of them?”
“Yes, Lord Azazel.”
The guard retreated, leaving me confused.
“What’s happening?”
Azazel grinned. “The army Asmodeus and Mal have prepped and gathered are here.”
My pulse sped up. “Does that mean—”
“Yes, Fee.” He chuckled. “Mal is back.”
I wanted to shove my chair from the table and run out of the room, but I held back. I didn’t want Azazel to feel I was running out on him
“Fee?” Azazel said softly.
I met his gaze. “Yes?”
“Why are you still sitting here?”
My heart leapt.
He jerked his head toward the door. “I think Mal would appreciate a proper welcome home.”
I shoved back my chair, flung myself at Azazel and planted a sloppy kiss on his lips. “I love you.”
He cupped the back of my head. “I know. Now go. But come back to me.”
“Always.”
* * *
Mal didn’t know I was in the Underealm. Azazel and I had agreed that it was best that he remain unaware, because knowing I was here, this close, might be a distraction when he was in General mode. But now he was at the Keep, and I was about to see him for the first time in a week.
Yeah it didn’t sound like a long time, but it felt too long.
I paused outside his chamber doors and took a deep breath to compose myself before knocking lightly and entering.
The drapes were drawn, blocking out the afternoon sun, and the room was shrouded in gloom. I made out the shape of the bed, a bedside table and free-standing lamp, but there was no Mal.
Shit.
“Fee?”
I turned to face Mal framed in the doorway. He looked bigger, imposing in his Imperium General’s armor. He brought the scent of outdoors with him. Dusty plains, drake sweat, and leather mingled to create a strangely heady concoction. His face was streaked with dirt, hair tousled and windswept, but his smile… His smile was the sun breaking out from behind a cloud.
And then we crashed into each other, my arms around his neck, his mouth on mine. He hoisted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his slender waist, losing myself in the taste of him. His tongue tangled with mine, and his hands sank into my hair. I gripped him with my thighs, holding fast, and deepening the kiss to breathe in the elements that clung to his salty skin. And then we fell, only to be caught by the mattress.
He broke the kiss, breathing raggedly to look down at me with a mixture of awe and desire.
“I need you.”
I tugged at his belt. “Take it off. Now.”
I shucked off my pants and underwear, eyes on the prize as he unveiled it. Oh fuck, he was straining and eager, and my body responded with a clawing need that was almost painful.
There was no inclination to undress any further. We had what we needed. He had what I needed. He palmed it now, pumping once, twice. His chin fell forward, eyes blazing as they trained down to my sex.
“Babe,” his voice was a ragged rasp of desperation.
“I know.” I parted my thighs. “Please.”
He fell on me like a ravenous monolith of lithe muscles and barely restrained power. I cried out as he filled me, my body clutching hungrily at his hot arousal as he began to thrust. I settled around him, welcoming him into my slick heat. I moved to meet his thrusts angling my hips so he hit the perfect spot.
I turned my head to the side, offering him my neck. “Feed.”
He didn’t ask me if I was sure this time. He knew better than that. He took what he needed, fangs sliding into my artery and flooding me with euphoria. I lost all concept of time and place as he molded me to him, drawing from me, invading me with pulses of pleasure that tore primal cries from my throat.
He was mine, trapped with me in a circuit of pleasure, a union that was more than physical. I grasped him to me, jerking my hips against him. He retracted his fangs and claimed my mouth, bringing with him the coppery taste of my blood, that for some reason, served to amplify the heat between us. It pooled hot and liquid between my thighs, heightening every rasp of Mal’s cock inside me. I swallowed his groan as he swelled. My body tightened and my breath twisted in my throat. Oh fuck, I was about to—
I came, rolling my hips against him, mouth crushed to his as I rode the pulsing waves that wracked my body. He joined me a moment later, fingers digging into my hips as he found release.
He collapsed on top of me and nuzzled my neck his breath ragged and hot. “By the way, I missed you a fuck ton.”
“You don’t say.”
We both burst into laughter.
Mal was back. My guys were with me, and together we could take on the world.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cora
I stride into the Magiguard building with Hunter by my side. Ursula, the gem that she is, has agreed to help us with a little Cain tracking. The Magiguard aren’t about to sit by and let an ancient entity create havoc in the city, especially not when it could affect the human population. Yeah, shame it didn’t occur to me before Fee le
ft with Azazel. I could have put her mind at rest.
One phone call and we have an invite to HQ. Maybe this time we’ll get to look behind the curtain.
Hunter succeeds in looking both billionaire chic and biker hot in his designer jeans and cream T. It’s below freezing out, but my hot-blooded, Loup companion doesn’t seem to require a jacket. I on the other hand, am as snug as a bug in the calf-length fur lined coat Fee bought but then decided looked better on me. Yep, she totally bought it for me, and usually I’d be like, no, don’t be silly, take it back, but as soon as I put this baby on, I knew it was meant to be mine for keepsies.
So yeah, where was I? Oh. At reception of the Magiguard office, which operates as a regular business but is actually a front for the magical law enforcement that keeps Necro safe. The same reception dude as my last visit sits behind his desk, staring at us as we approach. I swear if he faffs about today, I’ll—
He smiles, hits a buzzer and waves me through the barrier past the security desk.
Okay. So, this is what it’s like to have an appointment. Whereas I’m kinda thrown by the welcome, Hunter doesn’t bat an eyelid and strides past security as if he owns the place. I mean, he probably could buy the building if he wanted from what I’ve learned about him. Yeah, I snooped when he started paying Fee all the hot Loup attention. Hunter is loaded. Investments and all kinds of shit.
He knows how to act like money, too, when it suits him, like right now. He’s good. Real good. Makes everyone believe he loves himself, but the truth is the opposite. Hunter doesn’t like himself very much, and thus expects others not to like him, and I don’t need a psychology degree to know his father’s to blame. If you treat someone like shit for long enough, they start to expect to be trodden on.
Fee has her work cut out with Hunter. A shag and a few platitudes aren’t gonna cut it, but my babe is up for the challenge. I know she is.
I follow Hunter through the barrier, throwing one last look at the guy on reception. He’s still smiling. Why is he still smiling? Damn, that’s creepy. He has way too many teeth on show. Someone probably gave him a shitty customer service performance review.
Reaper Unleashed: Deadside Reapers: Book 7 Page 12
