Iniquity (The Ascent Book 1)

by Melody Winter

  “Liar!” I shouted, twisting in his hold. “Paymon married me, not—”

  My mouth stopped moving, it was as if I’d chewed on sticky dough. I fought to speak but made no sound. Even though there was no accompanying heat, I knew what had happened. Sebastian had compelled me.

  “Now, we all know that the only way to keep a woman from going to our Master is by marrying her. That’s what Erebus did. But I’m here today to give you the opportunity to either keep this rather interesting human for yourself, or hand her over to our Master, reaping the reward for taking her to where she should have originally gone.”

  All the demons cheered, apart from Cresil, who viewed Sebastian with a furrow of his brow. He scratched his jaw and tilted his head as Sebastian continued talking.

  “Now, who’ll start the bidding? What are you going to offer me?”

  Cresil tapped his chin. “She’s not yours to offer, Sebastian.” He approached us from the corner of the room where I’d fallen. “She belongs to Erebus.”

  “Back off.”

  “Let me see her hand. If the marriage mark has faded or is fading, then what you say may be true. But if her marriage mark is dark, she clearly still belongs to Erebus.”

  Sebastian growled, but Cresil reached for my hand. “See!” he said, holding my hand in the air for the others in the tavern to witness. “She is not Sebastian’s to offer. And I pity any of you that fancy upsetting Erebus. Sebastian may fancy his chances against his power, but do you?” He glanced around at everyone before addressing Sebastian. “Let her go. I’ll return her to Erebus.”

  Sebastian laughed. “You fool. You think I’m going to let an opportunity like this slip through my fingers?”

  Cresil stepped in front of Sebastian, invading his space. “Erebus will kill you.”

  “He has to find me first, and I intend on being a long way from here when he comes looking for her. Anyway, what makes you think he’s bothered? You know what he’s like. He’d have not let her escape if he wanted to keep her.”

  Cresil switched his attention to me. His gaze drifted over my face. “Let me take her,” he said. “She’ll be safe with me. I’ll return her unharmed.” There was a softness in Cresil’s voice, one that hinted at safety and security. I believed that he’d keep me safe, I trusted him.

  “What’s this?” Sebastian shouted, grabbing the front of Cresil’s cloak. “You dare to try and override my compelment. You seek to force your way through my barrier to speak with her.”

  I screwed my eyes shut, and the peaceful calm of safety with Cresil disappeared. I breathed heavily, swaying against the edge of the counter.

  “She’s not yours.” Cresil lifted his hand and wrapped it around Sebastian’s wrist.

  Sebastian dipped his head, focusing on the floor. “I’m not playing this game.”

  The ground beneath Cresil split open and tiny green shoots emerged from the cracks. The tendrils shot around his feet and ankles, moving so fast up his body that he was quickly wrapped in a green writhing mass. Sebastian released Cresil’s cloak and stepped back, surveying his victim. Cresil didn’t scream or shout, but his eyes—wide and glossy—betrayed his fear, moments before his mouth was filled with the same flowing shoots. He fell to the ground, his flesh unseen beneath the mass of green, killing, creeping vines.

  Tears threatened to break free from my eyes, but I couldn’t wipe them away. I was still held firm in Sebastian’s compelment, trapped in my own body, unable to speak, unable to move of my own freewill.

  Cresil had been prepared to help me, and now he was dead. A new fear crept through me and nausea pulled at my stomach.

  “Let’s get back to what we started, shall we?” Sebastian turned to the demons, some of whom viewed the lifeless body of Cresil with a mix of horror or amusement, others still had their greedy eyes on me. “What will you offer me for this woman?”

  “My sword!” A demon stood up, brandishing the large silver weapon so Sebastian could see it.

  “My wife!” another shouted. “She’s old and not much use to me. This pretty one would be a welcome addition to my home.” I fought the revulsion in my stomach as I caught the intention behind his offer.

  Sebastian had a captive audience. “Come closer, all of you, come and see her properly.”

  Several demons surrounded me, unknown hands touched my face and my hair. Tough calloused fingers stroked the side of my face, eager, forceful hands turned me first one way then another. I was nothing more than a prize to the highest bidder. If I’d not been compelled I would have slapped their hands away, verbally snapped at them and told them to back off. I was no prize for them—I already belonged to someone, and he would never part with me.

  One demon’s breath wafted over me and his dirty pockmarked face inched too close. I closed my eyes and blocked out the constant churn of sickness in my stomach as his fingers smoothed my hair behind my ears. My chest hurt, and my ribs felt as though they were squeezing together. A raspy breath shuddered from my mouth as tears flowed freely down my cheeks.

  Sebastian tutted. “Not too close, Verin. She’s not yours, yet.”

  “My horse,” he offered, his finger wiping away my tears. “And I’ll take her to the Master.”

  “Two horses!”

  “My village—all the emotions you could ever want.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “None of them are enough. Offer me more!”

  “Your life,” a voice shouted from the doorway. Silence shot through the tavern and everyone spun to face the newcomer. He wore a hood over his head, pulled down over his eyes and nose. “I’ll take the girl, and in return, I’ll not kill you.”

  The general excitement my auction had created was ripped open, and malice filled the air.

  “In fact, I’ll save all of your lives in return for the girl.”

  Sebastian laughed. “Against all of us, stranger, I don’t think so.”

  The man approached Sebastian, his hood still in place, his face still a mystery. “My offer is the one and only one you should be concerned with. I don’t give second chances.”

  My heart leaped as he spoke his final sentence. I’d heard exactly those words before, and even though this newcomer didn’t sound like him, I knew who it was.

  The stranger seemed unconcerned as he addressed Sebastian. “I told you several weeks ago that I wasn’t interested in any offer you made. But I seriously think you need to consider mine.” He slipped his hood away from his face. Erebus.

  The demons in the tavern shrank into their seats, some even headed for the door, fleeing what was to come.

  Sebastian’s compelment left me, and I stumbled, reaching my hands out to the counter to stop my fall. Emotions crashed through me, all ones concerning Erebus, all ones I realised I’d held back. And now he was here, I let them flow—how much I cared for him, how much I wanted to be with him, and how much I wanted to be his wife—in every possible way.

  Erebus’s black eyes caught my eyes briefly and then he looked away. There was no softness to his appearance. His usual frown was etched deep into his forehead. Dark shadows hollowed his face making his cheek bones prominent and angular. His lips were curled back, as if ready to rip the flesh from anyone who questioned him. At that moment he didn’t look like Erebus. He was a frightening demon, an unknown, letting all his basic instincts pull to the surface to create a terrifying mask of evil.

  Whilst I stood in a state of relief, shock, and somewhat adoration for him, Sebastian’s face drained of colour. “E-Erebus. What a pleasant surprise. I was intending to bring Athena back to you when I’d seen just what these reprobates were prepared to offer for her.”

  “Liar,” I said, rounding on him. “You had no intention of returning me. The only demon willing to help was Cresil.” I glanced to the lifeless body on the floor.

  “Your handiwork?” Erebus asked, not looking away from Sebastian. “I always found your flower power to be a little primitive.”

  Sebastian edged his back along the co
unter, putting space between himself and Erebus. But his journey was stopped when Erebus thrust his hand out to grip the counter, halting his escape.

  “I warned you to not bother me, or my wife, when you visited.” Erebus leaned forward, his head nearly touching Sebastian’s. “But never did I think you’d try to steal her from me.”

  “I didn’t. I didn’t steal her. Erebus, please believe me.” Sebastian shrank away from Erebus, his shoulders hunched and his head dipped.

  “This little party of yours seemed in full swing when I arrived. My wife the centre of everyone’s attention.” He shook his head and stepped back before removing his gloves. He cast his gaze around the room, silently challenging every demon and vampire. “Let it be known that Athena is my wife. If any of you even so much as look at her again, I will kill you. You all keep away from me, and you keep away from Athena.”

  “Or else what?” Sebastian lifted his chin.

  Erebus smiled so serenely I though he mustn’t have heard him, but with a quick flick of his wrist and a lunge forward, he had hold of Sebastian around his throat. Blue sparks flew from his hand, crackling and buzzing, illuminating the dull, unknown corners of the tavern.

  The ground below Erebus shifted and the beginnings of green shoots began to unfurl.

  “His power!” I pointed to Erebus’s feet.

  Erebus twisted his arm, and Sebastian was lifted off his feet, held only by Erebus’s hand.

  “I lied when I said I would save your life,” he said, ignoring Sebastian’s gurgles and frantic attempts to free himself. “You’re not worth it.”

  The sparks flying from Erebus’s hand increased and Sebastian’s face scrunched up as his body convulsed. I stared, transfixed by the power surging from Erebus into Sebastian’s neck. Last time I had seen this was in the village when I’d tried to pull Erebus away from Jacob. Now, I recognised that the power he had used on Jacob was nowhere near as strong as what he was inflicting on Sebastian. And this time I had no intention of attempting to save the man Erebus was torturing.

  Within a heartbeat of time, as the glow from Erebus’s hand became too bright to look at, Sebastian’s gurgling stopped. The green shoots that had been threatening to wind around Erebus’s feet turned brown and died.

  Sebastian fell to the floor, heavy and unresponsive, a canvas of black clothes and grey hair.

  “Is . . . is he dead?” I asked, staring at another body as lifeless as Cresil’s.

  “I hope so.”

  Erebus pushed his shoulders back as if stretching out his muscles and then replaced his gloves. Taking a lit lantern from the nearest table, he held his other arm in my direction. “Now, Athena, time we went home.” I reached for him, desperate to have contact. My hand trembled as I gripped his arm, and I struggled to walk on wobbly legs as we left the silenced demons behind.

  Once outside, Erebus turned to the right and pulled me alongside him.

  “Samael’s tied up at the other side of the tavern,” I said.

  “We’re walking. Samael’s not here. He’ll find his own way home.” He lifted the lantern in the air, guiding us into the darkness of the forest.

  I nodded, rushing my steps to keep up with Erebus’s fast pace.

  I was so relieved to be back with him that I wanted to throw my arms around his body and tell him how grateful I was that he came looking for me. I wanted to tell him what a fool I’d been, not just for running away, but for everything where he was concerned. I’d been wrong about him, so wrong, and I wanted his forgiveness. But his stiff posture and his tense shoulders, coupled with his fast pace and forward fixed gaze, made me think that now was not the time.

  “Can you slow down?” I asked, bunching my skirts in my free hand.

  “No, just shut up, concentrate, keep walking.”

  “But I need to talk to you.”

  “Really?” His word was clipped, angry. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you ran away.”

  His pace increased rather than slowed, and I had to jog to keep by his side.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, the words slipping easily from me.

  He released my hand and stopped. His chest lifted and fell several times before he held the lantern to his side and faced me.

  “What on earth possessed you to run off? Did you not understand the danger that you put yourself in? Not just from other demons, but from the creatures in the forest?” He gritted his teeth. “Madness. What would you have done if Odin hadn’t alerted me to your disappearance and where you’d gone?”

  “Odin?”

  “Yes. I was in the village. I hadn’t even fed when he started squawking.”

  “You hadn’t fed?”

  “Athena! What part of this are you not grasping?”

  I bit my bottom lip, halting a wave of tears. I didn’t want to argue, not again.

  Erebus threw his free hand in the air. “And your emotions are all over the place. I have no idea what’s going on in your head.”

  “You said you didn’t feed in the village, but your eyes are black.”

  “Yes. This is all you.” He pointed to his eyes. “It hit me when I entered the tavern, and it’s not left me since.”

  “So you weren’t fed when you came looking for me? You were weak, yet you were prepared to fight other demons?”

  “Yes.” He looked to the ground before stepping closer to me. His gloved hand cupped the side of my face. And for the first time ever, I willingly leaned into his touch. “Athena, I don’t know what you’ve done to me, and part of me doesn’t care. But I didn’t just want you back because you belong to me. I wanted you back because I didn’t want to lose you. I truly care for you, and I hope, given time, you’ll feel the same for me.”

  I was about to tell him that I did feel the same, perhaps more, but as he finished speaking, he spun his head to face the direction we’d come from. “Shhh . . .”

  Not far away, I made out a moving light. It disappeared from view for a few moments and then came back, brighter, nearer.

  Erebus scratched the back of his head. “It seems we’ve been followed. It’s not surprising, but unwelcome all the same.”

  “You’re not surprised we were followed?” A chill swept up my back as I made out Erebus’s expression. The limited light from his lantern cast faint and random shadows across his features, his brow was furrowed and his mouth set in an uncompromising straight line. He huffed before hanging the lantern on a nearby overhanging branch.

  “It seems they have tracked us, or rather, you. There’s no point in hiding.” His teeth were gritted as he practically spat the words out. “Let’s give them a show to remember.”

  Without any warning, he pushed me away from him, the force so strong that I stumbled and fell sideways onto a tree trunk. I winced as my shoulder crashed against the hard wood, and turned my head in Erebus’s direction, about to tell him exactly what I thought of him. But I kept quiet when he stepped forward to confront the demons who had followed us. He removed one of his gloves and tucked it in his pocket.

  I didn’t know why I kept quiet, whether it was fear, annoyance, or even self-preservation. Was it an inane curiosity about Erebus’s removal of his glove? His bare hand meant one thing and one thing only—a repeat of what I’d just witnessed in the tavern.

  “I see you’ve followed us,” Erebus said in greeting, although the words were said without friendly meaning.

  “Naturally.”

  I squinted, struggling to see the features of the demons.

  “We were hardly going to let her slip through our fingers, were we?” The other demon hung back and let the one who’d spoken take the lead.

  “You were in the tavern. Did you not see what I did to Sebastian?” Erebus stood his ground, not moving, not backing away.

  “It was impressive. But, you see, I’ve had a taste of your pretty wife—her tears are like nectar. I rather fancy keeping her for myself.”

  Heat flooded through me and my stomach wretched. It was Verin, the de
mon who’d wiped my tears away. He’d tasted them? Why?

  “You shouldn’t have told me that.” Erebus blocked my view of the demons, keeping himself between us.

  “I just did.”

  Erebus lifted his hands to his side and shrugged. “You’re not very good at this, are you? I could have let you go, let you pass without an unfortunate accident. But now?” He tapped his chin. “Let me think for a moment. Oh, yes. I’m going to kill you.”

  “You’re outnumbered,” Verin said, his confidence soaring. “And we’ll make sure she’s taken care of properly when we’ve finished with you.”

  Erebus sniggered. “I don’t think so. Not today.”

  I sunk to the ground with no thought from myself, and knew instantly that Erebus had compelled me to move. He was still doing so as I crawled behind the tree trunk I’d smashed into only a few moments ago. When I was hidden behind the tree my actions became my own again.

  The ground shook, tremors vibrated against my skin. The dirt around me jumped into the air like tiny insects dancing a private jig. Snaps of splintering wood drew my gaze to the canopy of branches above me.

  “I would be very careful if I were you,” Erebus said, standing with his feet apart, several metres away from the smug, challenging demons.

  “We have powers,” Verin said.

  “Like most demons,” Erebus replied, removing his other glove and carefully folding it before tucking it in his pocket.

  A sharp crack echoed through the forest followed by a false silence. It was like the calm before a storm, the thunder before the rain. All around me the air buzzed with a powerful charge.

  The silence shattered, and the canopy above me shook. Leaves fell from the trees, and a branch thumped to the ground behind me. I crawled to my feet, leaning on the tree trunk for support as branches cracked and snapped all around.

  As I focused into the distance, a large branch flew through the air, aiming for Erebus’s back. Behind it were several others. All of them rushed toward Erebus’s static body, their broken splintered ends pointing at him.

  I wanted to shout out, warn him of what was happening, but my voice failed. Damn his compelment—he’d released his control over my limbs, but kept it over my voice.