****
Celeste stared up at the intricate pattern on the ceiling of Marcus’s bedroom. The sun was just beginning to rise, and they had spent the rest of the night making love, and she had never experienced the emotions she had the night before. She knew it was because of what Marcus had said earlier, but the problem was she already loved him. Had loved him for so long she almost couldn’t remember a time when she hadn’t loved him.
She heard him muttering to himself in the shower and smiled. He did that a lot, she had noticed. When he thought nobody was listening or paying attention, he muttered to himself, working out issues in a logical way.
Celeste felt a tear streak down her face, and she quickly wiped it away. Maybe she should tell him she wasn’t expected to survive this mission, that of all the Reapers she had drawn the short end of the stick. Being half Demon and half Reaper made her the perfect vessel to carry the Black Sword. But by using it to kill something as powerful and evil as Calliope, it would most likely kill her. When the decision had been made, she’d taken the opportunity because she couldn’t bring herself to live the way she had been for the last two hundred years. Plus, it would give her a reason to exist if even for a short time. She hadn’t known at the time that she could possibly love Marcus more than she had in the Infernos, or care about the people of this plane of existence. No, she had taken the mission fully understanding it would be her one and only. Her father had been proud of her. Victor had railed at their father, promising he was going to do everything possible to get her through it.
The thought of living in eternity without Marcus hurt so badly that she curled into a ball and wrapped her arms around her legs trying to hold in a scream that clawed at the back of her throat. But she would sacrifice that and keep what little was left of the wall between herself and Marcus in order to complete what needed to be done.
Squaring her shoulders, she dressed. As soon as she knew what the plan was she would tell him everything: that she had loved him for two centuries and although he had been in excruciating pain and often called out for Jessica, she still loved him, and wherever she ended up when her body lay dead she would take her love for him in her soul with her there and keep it forever.
Her phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. “Where the hell are you?” Victor barked into the phone before she even had the chance to say hello.
“Nice to hear from you too, brother,” she said with as much sarcasm as she could muster.
“I cannot sense you. I have not been able to sense you for the last three hours,” Victor growled. “And every time I called I got your god damn voice mail. So where the hell are you?”
Celeste looked around. “Hold on.” She rolled from the bed and walked out into the living room.
“What do you have now?” she asked her brother.
“Okay I sense you now.” Victor’s voice held some relief.
“Flash to me,” he demanded.
“You know something, Victor,” she said into the phone as she Flashed following her senses to reach out to her brother. She appeared in front of him on a street corner. “Sometimes you can be an over protecting ass.” She finished putting her phone back into her pocket.
“Seriously?” Victor asked his voice turning mean. “Your off fucking that damn Fallen, and I’m supposed to sit back and just ignore it. Father would have an aneurism if he knew what was going on.”
Celeste threw her hands in the air, and then glared at her brother. “I am the lamb to the slaughter, Victor. Is it so bad that I want to pluck some happiness from this god forsaken world before I am killed?”
“What the hell?” Marcus growled from behind her.
Chapter 14
Celeste felt like the world had stopped for just a moment, and she wanted desperately to disappear and be anywhere but there. She turned slowly, his eyes were black instead of green, and he looked as if someone had plunged a knife into his back.
“What are you talking about?” he demanded.
Celeste opened and closed her mouth several times before Victor opened his damn mouth.
“If she is able to kill Calliope, which I think is totally possible, it will probably kill her.”
Several things happened at once. She sensed something from Marcus that she had never thought possible; pure, unadulterated fury. It was a fury that could kill. She also felt shame for having not told him the truth, for letting him believe they may have a future together. It was why she had held onto her walls so tightly.
“Marcus, I was going to tell you.”
Marcus didn’t even look at her. “You, your brothers, and Father are willing to feed her to that Reaper?”
Celeste stepped up to Marcus. “They can’t hold the Sword, Marcus,” she said by way of an explanation.
It was the wrong thing to say because Marcus turned to her, his usual bright green eyes were dull and dark. “That’s it then?”
“It might not kill me. I may be able to contain the evil that is held within Calliope. The sword may not turn on me.”
“That might have been the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say,” Marcus growled.
“Marcus, this was not your decision,” Celeste said, standing up for herself. She had loved a man who didn’t know she existed, and once this was all said and done he would most likely move on. That was what men did. They had no future together, so fighting in the name of her brothers and the Infernos, even if it meant dying, was better than living an existence of hoping that one day Marcus would notice her.
“Wait.” Celeste hit Marcus on the shoulder to get his attention. “How exactly did you find me?”
“No, what I want to know, is how the hell he hid you from me?” Victor snarled. “Because that shouldn’t be possible.”
“How did you find me?” Celeste asked.
Marcus gave her an odd look. “When I came out of the bathroom and noticed that you were gone I just thought of you and Shifted.”
“Holy Mother of Hell and beyond,” Victor swore, throwing his hands up. “Now he can Trace you?” Victor accused.
Celeste turned to her brother. “I did not share blood with him,” she practically screamed.
“I tasted your blood when you bit your lip,” Marcus said. “So does that mean I can Trace you anywhere?”
Celeste wanted to crawl in a hole. “This is not a good thing. He isn’t a Reaper he shouldn’t be able to Trace anything!”
“Speak for yourself,” Marcus grumbled.
“Father is going to have both our heads on a spit,” Victor said.
“Let’s rewind if we could,” Marcuse said with obvious false calm. “You are sending your sister to die with a mad Reaper. Can we discuss that stupid ass decision?”
“Not out on the street, you freak.” Victor shook his head and Flashed.
“Is your apartment warded?” Celeste asked.
“Of course it is.”
“Okay then let’s go back there.” Celeste flashed, but came up against the cool steel of a metal door. Victor was standing next to here.
“He is starting to really irritate me.”
“I have everything under control,” Celeste lied.
“I don’t believe you.”
Marcus threw open his door.
“Why didn’t you tell me the place was so well guarded?” Celeste asked immediately. “This could be a great use to us.”
He gave her a hard look before answering. “Because this is my private residence, and I don’t share it with just anyone.”
In fact, he didn’t share it with a single person since he had bought it over one hundred years ago. He remodeled as the times changed, but he never let another Other or mortal for that matter come here.
Celeste cocked her head to the side and looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. “Does it bother you to know you have been in residence in the same city as your sainted Jessica?”
Marcus wanted to shake the woman. “No.” They were going to have it out regarding Jessica, but now wasn�
�t the time or place.
“So how does the Tracing thing work?” he asked Victor.
“You share a small blood bond with her. If she calls for you will be able to hear her. Or vice versa, you can sense her and therefore Flash, or in your case Shift, to wherever she is. But until ten minutes ago it was something only Reapers had the ability to do. It must be some kind of link the two of you share? I don’t understand it.” Victor snapped.
“So Calliope has this ability with her as well?” Marcus demanded. “So he could pop in anywhere she is if it is not guarded and just have done with her?” That thought had him breaking out in cold sweat. She could be taken from him so quickly.
“Not if she is being guarded. Hence the fact that you have a guarded residence being a big deal,” Victor muttered. “It would explain why Calliope went crazy last night. But neither of you knew that because you were snuggled in, in a guarded residence doing what exactly?”
“What happened?” Celeste asked.
“None of your damn business,” Marcus answered the question.
Victor moved quickly so he was nose to nose with Marcus. “Anything that has to do with Celeste has to do with me. And if you think for one second that this…” He flung his hands out to encompass the room at large. “…love nest is going to change anything, then you are a complete idiot.”
“Excuse me, but I happen to disagree with you. I have just as much right to seeing to her safety as you do so you can go straight to hell.” Marcus wasn’t going to back down from the Reaper. He was taking a stand that might very well get him punished to more than just a pound of flesh.
“Stay away from my sister,” Victor said before slamming a fist into Marcus’s face.
Marcus’s head snapped back, but he didn’t stumble and instead lifted his head and looked at Victor. “You may think because I come to the Infernos and take your judgment and punishment as weakness but you would be wrong. I care for Celeste, therefore I will not be hitting you back. But never raise your hand against me again or you will regret it.”
Victor threw his head back and laughed. When he had regained his control he looked back at Marcus. “And exactly what do you think you can do against me Fallen?”
Celeste stepped in between the two men and slammed them in the chest with the palm of her hands. Marcus flew back and hit the wall behind him. He heard Victor swearing himself as he struck the opposite wall.
“Can’t we just all get along?” Celeste asked her words dripping in sarcasm.
Marcus pulled himself together. “Tell your brother to back off.”
“Tell the Fallen he is no longer needed. The plan is set into action, and we don’t need him any longer,” Victor snapped.
“The hell you say,” Marcus growled. “I go where she goes.” He motioned to Celeste.
Victor didn’t even look at Marcus. “He is part of the reason Calliope has escaped. His job here is finished.”
“He completes the mission with us,” Celeste said in his defense. She was defending Marcus which he took to mean she had to have feelings for him.
“Well then, now that’s settled, what is the plan?” Marcus asked.
Victor growled. “It is not settled, I won’t work with him.”
“Why?” Celeste demanded. “Because I’m fucking him?”
“Damn it, Celeste,” Victor said, turning a startling shade of pink.
Marcus couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you blushing?” he asked the Reaper.
Victor narrowed his eyes, and glared at Marcus. “You don’t have any sisters, so I am going to let that bullshit pass. But the last thing I need to know about is her sex life.”
“What is the plan?” Celeste demanded.
“Jessica and her charge are going to be bait,” Victor said casually.
“I will not allow Jessica to be bait,” Marcus demanded, turning from Celeste, he faced her brother.
Celeste didn’t think it was possible to hurt as much as she did at that moment. She wasn’t sure exactly who she was more upset at; Marcus or herself for believing she could love him enough for him to forget about Jessica.
However, his quickness to defend Jessica spoke volumes. What had she been doing? Thinking she could possibly take the place of that raving bitch?
“What is the plan exactly?” Celeste asked, refusing to look at Marcus. She felt as if her heart was breaking, and she knew if she looked at him right then she was going to lose control and kill him.
“The Druids are working on a glamour that will put you with the Touched. When Calliope shows up, you will kill him.”
“Sounds easy enough. I, of course, will be playing the part of the Touched. However, who will be playing the part of me?” Victor nodded at her conclusion. The Touched would be a much easier target then Celeste.
Victor turned green. “I will be playing you.”
Celeste looked at her brother and started to laugh. “Well then, at least I’ll get a laugh out of the stupid mission.”
“I don’t find anything funny about the situation,” Marcus snarled. “I want to play the part of Celeste.”
Victor stared at Celeste and when she closed her eyes and turned away from Marcus, Victor attacked. “You are no longer needed. This mission will be completed after sunset, and your mission to Dante will be complete. You will stand up for judgment on the lives that Calliope has taken.”
Celeste sucked in a breath as she continued to listen to her brother tell Marcus exactly what was going to happen. She knew, no matter what, she would be there in the end to comfort him while he healed from the punishment that was going to come, her heart breaking a little more.
“Can we go now?” Celeste asked Victor, not looking at him or Marcus.
“Yes, since Marcus’s apartment is hidden from and spelled for hiding we can actually Flash back to the infernos until it is time.” She felt Victor step up behind her and place a hand on her shoulder.
“Not if I have anything to say about it. She isn’t going anywhere,” Marcus snarled.
Celeste closed her eyes, going in for the kill and dying a little as she did it. She turned to Marcus. “We have no future together. You are a Fallen, and I am a Reaper/Sex Demon hybrid that may not survive the end of this mission.” Marcus stepped forward, and she knew he had a rebuttal ready she held up her hand. “I could never be with a Fallen,” she said with as much scorn as she could knowing it would stick at the one part of him Jessica still held on to. “I appreciate the sex so I wouldn’t lose control, but that was all it was.” She looked him dead in the eyes as she said it, knowing her black eyes stared back with no emotion because she had trained herself to be able to say this one thing for two hundred years. She just never thought she would really have to say it to him, and her heart shattered into pieces as the words came out.
Marcus’s usual green eyes turned darker, and shadows burned deep in their depths. He stepped back, then turned and walked out of the room.
When the door closed quietly behind him, Celeste stumbled, but Victor was there to steady her and Flashed them into her bedroom in the Infernos.
“You actually love him, don’t you?” Victor asked as she stumbled to her bed.
She nodded. “Stupid me.”
Victor didn’t say anything more, but left Celeste letting her know when it was time for them to put their plan into action. As soon as he was gone, Celeste Flashed into Lust. Bodies writhed and moaned in discontented passion. Screams of pain and unfulfilled desires pierced her ears, and she fell to her knees letting the hot, blood-red rock dig into and slash at her skin. She screamed with the pain of the others, the pain she totally understood now.
****
“Are you sure this is okay, Marcus?” Kyra asked when Marcus opened the door to his condo.
“Yes,” he said, letting her and Ryder in, followed by Garrett and Christian. It didn’t matter now. She had rejected him. He felt the years of depravation weigh on him so heavily it was hard for him to move his feet. When this was done, he would
request the gauntlet into hell. It would either kill him or he would burn in hell for all of eternity, but either way he was done with this world, and the hell he had been forced upon him.
Ryder gave him one look and shook his head. “I came here wanting to kill you, but it looks as if you would appreciate it.”
Marcus just looked at a man who had become his brother in the last six months; a man he could count on for anything. “I would rather you kill me.”
“Yes, I can tell,” Ryder said, slapping him in the back.
Kyra stood back and looked at him a sad smile on her face. “Jessica’s a bitch on wheels,” she said.
Marcus snorted. “I realize that.”
“So are you going to go and get her?”
She hadn’t said her name, but they both knew who she was talking about. “She doesn’t want me, Kyra. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that I will not wallow where I am neither wanted nor needed.”
Ryder barked out a laugh. “Said the spider to the fly. Don’t be an idiot.” He slammed a fist into Marcus’s shoulder, making him stumble back. “You love her. Go and get her. If she denies you, fuck her until she changes her mind.”
“Ryder,” Kyra stammered in shock.
Ryder gave Kyra a knowing glance before turning back to Marcus. “Worked for me.” He shrugged and turned and walked into the living room, leaving Kyra with her mouth hanging open.
“I will not beg to be loved,” Marcus said.
Kyra turned back to him, her eyes turning sad. “I don’t blame you, but I do know that she was the one that took care of you for the last two hundred years. And if that doesn’t speak volumes of love, then I don’t know what does.”
She had a point, but Marcus shrugged it off. Celeste had made her choice this morning. He just didn’t understand how he could possibly be standing there having a conversation when he felt as if he had a gapping whole in his chest. She hadn’t just walked away from him she had gone somewhere he couldn’t find her, and it felt like death sucked at each of his steps.
Lost In Time: A Fallen Novel Page 27
