by Maya Nicole
After some discussion, Raymond agreed to send twelve soldiers with me, including four dream demons. I was nervous about having dream demons with us, but my cousin had said two of the soldiers would be null so they would be fed.
I would never be able to sacrifice myself to feed a demon in that way. It was one thing to give up my blood, but to be subjected to nightmares? I shuddered at the thought.
I shut and locked the door to the guest room. I was so exhausted that I felt like I could sleep for days.
"She knew I w-w-was there." Kage whispered from behind me as I kicked off my boots and pants. "What is she going to d-d-do?"
I slid between the sheets, patting the bed beside me. "Probably nothing. But you should be prepared that she might make us feel horny."
"I don't need help with that." He grabbed my boots and placed them neatly at the end of the bed, placing his next to them.
He hummed as he picked up my discarded pants. He had so much joy cleaning and it made me smile.
"Can you sing?" His humming was beautiful and I was curious.
"Maybe." He undressed, and after folding his clothes on top of mine, he slid into bed.
"Sing for me." I turned on my side to face him. "Please."
"They'll hear me."
"No they won't. They’re in a completely different wing and the only person that might is Darcy if she's creeping around outside." I doubted she was if she had five men to feed from.
He sighed and began to sing a hauntingly beautiful song about no longer being alone.
A tear fell down my cheek and Kage leaned forward and kissed it. He sang so clearly, and from somewhere deep inside him. I laid my head on his chest and drifted off to sleep.
Glass breaking and shouts woke me sometime in the early morning. Kage wasn't in the bed, and I jumped up and pulled my clothes and boots on. Kage's shoes and clothes were gone, so wherever he had gone, he was clothed.
I put my ear against the door and listened. I could hear angry voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying. I slowly cracked the door and heard Kage whimpering.
"I'm going to ask you one last time, brownie. What are you doing in my home?" My cousin's voice was menacing and deadly.
I rushed out of the room and in the direction of the noise. I skidded to a stop at the entrance to a large sitting room overlooking the village. Raymond had Kage by the throat and was holding a knife to him with his other hand. At least that's what I thought was happening, because Kage was still invisible.
"Stop!" My cousin didn't let up and I rushed to him, grabbing at the arm with the knife. "He's with me!"
"You brought a spy? You said nothing of a brownie!" Raymond shoved harder into the wall and Kage made a strangled noise. "I should kill you both!"
I pulled my knife from my hip and held it to his neck. He tensed but then laughed. "You fool!"
I was yanked back by my hair and fell to the floor, my knife clattering out of reach. I crawled for it but was kicked in the stomach by Darcy and rolled over in pain.
"What do you want to do with him, my love? We can keep him as a pet." Raymond sighed. "I'm afraid he's passed out."
Kage had reappeared and lay on the ground, out like a light. I groaned and tried crawling toward him.
Darcy looked down at me, her hands on her hips. She was wearing a sheer robe that left nothing to the imagination. "Explain yourself."
"He..." I spotted his rag lying near him. "He was cleaning."
Her eyes narrowed and my cousin bent down and picked up the rag. I pulled myself up to my knees and tried to stand. She had kicked me in just the right spot.
"Why lie about him being here?" Raymond threw the rag at Kage.
I pulled myself to my feet, holding my stomach. "He was just a precaution. I didn't know what I was walking into."
Just then, the window to our left, exploded inward, sending all of us for cover.
Fuck. Could things get any worse?
Chapter 13
Raphael
I hated being summoned. It was one thing to always have to answer Heaven's call, but it was something else entirely when I was forced against my will to return to a place that made me feel so confined.
The Creator, or God as many called him, did what he wanted when he wanted. Most of the time it was in the best interest of Earth. Other times though, I questioned his decision making capabilities.
I landed on the sidewalk outside the headquarters in Heaven and looked up at the tall shiny building. Angels passed by me, not paying me any attention. They all had jobs to do in the Great City, and to neglect those responsibilities had consequences.
World catastrophe consequences.
I walked into the building that housed the High Council and the man himself. Although, sometimes he presented himself as a woman.
To be honest, no one actually knew his true form. He was a master manipulator and could appear and sound however he chose.
"Archangel Raphael, He is expecting you," the woman at the front desk said as I stepped off the elevator. "Just go right in."
I wanted to tell her that I knew he was expecting me. I had been summoned directly to him.
I pushed open the metal door and entered a large white room, devoid of color and containing a single white desk in the center. There was a large white chair that was turned away from me, but when I entered, it slowly swiveled around.
I could never describe exactly what he looked like. I had tried on occasion, but my tongue got tied and all thoughts of his image vanished.
"Raphael, my son." His voice was familiar, like Morgan Freeman. I think he did it on purpose, trying to be funny. There was nothing funny about a being that could control you.
"Not your son. What do you want?" I crossed my arms over my chest and approached the desk which had nothing on top. The room was all for show.
"You have all become just as mouthy as Lucifer. Need I remind you-"
"No." I didn't have time for a lecture on respecting authority and what happened when one questioned his decisions.
He steepled his fingers in front of his mouth and narrowed his eyes on me. "She has changed you."
I didn't speak. My heart leapt into my throat and was cutting off my words and my air supply. Of course he knew about what was happening in Inferna. He had created the damned place and then promptly abandoned it when the balance of light and dark was wrong.
Would he abandon Earth too if it came to it? He was all about frolicking in the daisies while holding the hand of happiness. As long as the amount of suffering was less than the amount of happiness, he was happy as a clam.
"Are you aware of who she is?" He stood and I took a step back. He never stood. He was taller than I expected.
I shook my head and backed up another step as he came around the desk to lean against it. He crossed his ankles and examined my face. Unease ran down my spine.
"The princess of Inferna?"
He chuckled and held his stomach as if it was the funniest thing in the world. I glared at him and he calmed himself down enough to speak. "You need to keep her alive."
"Who is she if she's not the princess?"
He went back to his chair and sat down. "I have a brother."
If there were bugs in Heaven, the crickets would have been thrumming. What was I supposed to do with that bomb?
"We created Inferna together. He had grandiose plans of there being more light than ever seen before. I humored him, of course. Then everything went to hell in a handbasket."
"Why are you telling me this?" I raised a brow.
"So you understand what she is. Who she is." He folded his hands on his desk. "Light is a fickle beast. We misjudged that, and when we messed the balance up in Inferna, the core of it hid itself away. Until her."
"Until her?" I wasn't sure what he was saying.
"Until my brother met Lilith and she offered him a deal he couldn't refuse." My eyes widened. "The ability to have a child of his own with the woman he loved."
I h
ad just reentered Inferna when I felt her pain. I hadn't told her the specifics of exactly what I could sense from her, because she had enough on her plate, but any strong emotion I could feel myself.
I was supposed to keep her alive, after all. We all were.
Without hesitation, I torpedoed toward where she was, and at the last second before hitting the window, swung my feet forward. I was way too pissed off to manage my light and it flared as I landed in a sitting room.
I scanned the room and found her standing, clutching her stomach, and Kage lying unconscious on the floor.
I unsheathed my sword and stepped forward, but so did Sammy. "Raph, it's okay. Just a misunderstanding." Her voice had a slight tremor to it. She was clearly not okay.
"You're in pain," I growled, my eyes locked on the man behind her.
An intense desire suddenly ran down my spine, and I nearly dropped to my knees. I groaned and dropped my sword. I wanted to touch myself right there in front of them all.
I looked at the woman, who had a smirk on her face. She inhaled and then approached me, picking up my sword. "What an interesting development. You didn't tell us you were mixed up with an archangel, cousin."
Sammy squeezed her legs together and shut her eyes.
Fuck, this succubus was strong. I was about to come. I managed to pull myself back to my feet, and I gripped the back of the chair to resist the urge to jerk off right then and there. I was so hard it physically hurt. It was even worse because I felt Sammy's desire as well.
"We came to you for help," I panted out. "Do you want Inferna to cease to exist?"
"Is that a threat?" The man took the sword from the woman and swung it around. "You should know I don't take well to threats." He glanced over at Kage lying in a heap on the floor.
"Taylor will turn everyone to vacants and all of Inferna will perish." I somehow managed to speak through clenched teeth. I wouldn't have been surprised if I’d cracked a tooth trying to stop myself from launching myself at Sammy or getting myself off.
The pressure on my dick decreased and my body relaxed. How any man could handle a succubus was a feat in and of itself.
"One man can't defeat all of us." The man kept my sword held in front of him. "How do you know this?"
"That's what I do. I drink and I know things." My Game of Thrones joke fell flat because they had no clue what that even was. I touched my hair. It was a fucking mess from flying. "It was in a prophecy."
Sammy narrowed her eyes and then kneeled next to Kage, checking his pulse. "What prophecy?"
"Well, there's two parts. The first part is complete. The second part though..." I shook my head. "Your survival is paramount to dealing with Taylor."
My mind was still reeling from what I had been told. There had been a prophecy about saving the light from the dark on Earth, but the second part had been left out. The part about Inferna needing the exact same thing. The thing about prophecies though, was that they were never one-hundred percent accurate and could be interpreted in different ways.
"What am I supposed to do? Kill him?" She frowned and smoothed a hand over Kage's hair. He was just knocked out and would wake soon.
"Who knows?" I held out my hand for my sword. "We'll be on our way."
He hesitated but then handed me it. "I'll send my men to your camp shortly. My apologies for..." He gestured to Kage on the ground.
I slung Kage over my shoulder, Sammy folding and putting his rag in her pocket. We left the village with the weight of the new knowledge I'd learned in Heaven on my shoulders.
As soon as we entered the camp, Nico jumped up from lounging by the fire. "What the fuck happened?" He helped lay Kage down in a tent and then turned toward us, glaring at me. "And where the hell did you come from?"
"He was knocked out. It was a misunderstanding. He'll be fine. And I came from Heaven." I pulled my backpack off my back and unzipped it. "Here." I tossed a fanny pack at his chest.
He took it and cocked his head to the side. He reminded me of a curious dog. "What is this?"
The fucker knew exactly what it was. His eyes lit up as he felt the bulges inside.
"Open it."
He unzipped the pouch and his eyes went wide. He lifted a macadamia nut from inside and brought it to his nose, shutting his eyes as he inhaled. "They're powerful."
"They better be for how much they cost." I turned to Sammy and fished a small box out of the bottom of the bag. "For you."
She took the box that was decorated in flowers and opened the lid. She gasped and brought the box of pastel colored soaps to her nose. "I've never seen or smelled anything like it." She bit her lip. "Thank you."
Amari chose that moment to walk into the tent. "We have a problem."
Damn. I guess his catnip gift would have to wait until later.
Chapter 14
Samara
He was gone.
Amari had turned to take a piss against a tree, and when he turned back around, Val had shredded the ropes and vanished.
"You don't think he went to the village, do you?" We had been calling for him, but were met with angry chirps and growls from animals having their sleep disrupted.
"He was still in bloodlust. We would know if he was there by now." Amari rubbed at his shadow of a beard. "We should pack up."
I grabbed his arm. "He'll be okay."
"I'm not worried about him, I'm worried about others that cross his path."
We couldn't catch a break. "Maybe we should just have Raphael take us to Earth and be done with it."
Amari stopped walking and looked at me. "Are you serious?"
I watched Raphael talking to Nico. He met my eyes and gave me a tight smile.
"I was just joking." But was I really?
We set off to the shifter village not far from the castle. It was the same village Nico and I had stayed in when we first went back to the castle from our camp.
"I'll do all the talking," Amari grumbled as we neared the village. He had been in a pissy mood for most of the journey. We all had been, but him more so since Val was clearly on his mind. "The influential ones here are cats."
"On Earth, cats are the influential ones too." Raphael had been attempting to cheer us all up, but failed. "I much prefer dogs over cats. Are there dogs here?"
"What's a dog?" I decided to humor him. I was often confused with things he talked about and needed a visual or a lengthy description.
"It's like a domesticated wolf. Cats are pets but much smaller than say a panther or lion." He demonstrated size with his hands, remaining balanced on his horse.
"Humans domesticated wolves and cats?" Amari cringed. "That must have been rough."
"Actually, there are quite a few different types of dogs that make suitable pets. Even small ones that can fit in the palm of your hand. Some like to carry them around as accessories."
Amari glared. "Their pelt?"
"No, no. There is that, but it's illegal. People like to show off their pets." Raphael sighed. "You know what... never mind."
"What about squirrels?"
"Dogs like to chase squirrels."
Nico rolled his eyes. "Seems every animal likes to chase my kind." He patted his nut pouch. "Next time though, I'll show them what I'm really capable of."
I raised an eyebrow and Kage laughed from behind me. He hadn't taken long to recover from the run-in with my cousin.
We came to the inn and stabled our horses. The soldiers from my cousin and Val's guards had stayed back at the tree line to set up camp. We couldn't risk word getting back to the council that we had brought a small army.
The Howler Inn was just as I remembered it. Our arrival was announced by a loud creek of the door and the fox snapped to attention. He seemed to nap an awful lot.
"Nutty McNutterson! What a pleasant surprise to see you again. I see you've brought an entourage." He sniffed the air and frowned. "What the hell are you?" He looked at Raphael.
I stepped forward because this guy was a piece of work. "Fucksy. We n
eed a room." I slid a few coins across the desk to him.
He narrowed his eyes on me and then his eyes went wide and he threw his head back and laughed. "I get it. Foxy. Fucksy." He pointed a finger at me and then shook it. "Clever little minx."
I rolled my eyes. "Do we need to take our business elsewhere?"
His smile dropped and he fumbled around for a key. "Wait. One room?" He looked at the four men behind me.
"Is there a problem with that?" I crossed my arms. "Give us the best room you have that's available."
I slid another coin across the counter and his eyes widened. The thing about foxes was they were easy to persuade with a little coin. If they weren't earning the money, they'd be stealing it.
He slid a key across the desk. "The best room for the best customer. I will leave extra linens outside the door."
I frowned at him and headed for the stairs, my entourage following.
"You handled that better than I would have," Amari said, putting his hand on the small of my back as we approached the door at the end of the hall. "Do you think he'll cause us problems?"
I snorted and put the key in the door. "No. This is the second time we've been here. To him, we are his new best friends."
The room was large and had a much bigger bed than our previous accommodations. It would be a tight squeeze, but we all might fit on it.
"The bed is b-b-big." Kage glanced around the room and pulled his rag from his pocket, his face turning a nice shade of pink.
Raphael dropped his bag and flopped back on it. "Not very comfortable."
"The Lion's Den should have a good number of shifters in a few hours. We should relax and rest, just in case things don't go our way." Nico flopped back on the bed next to Raphael and then shoved him over.
"Is it really owned by a lion?"
"It's owned by three best friends. The lion won some bet so he got to name it after himself. A lion, tiger, and bear own it."
"Oh my?" Raphael started to giggle and we all stared at him. "Jesus Christ, it's a movie." I stared at him blankly. "On the television."
