Jaded

by Danielle James

  He never allowed Rebel to connect with him again. When Rebel was standing just in front of the pool, Michael executed the only blow he threw. He punched Rebel in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to stumble backward. Two steps and Rebel was in the pool with a loud splash. He immediately recovered and raised his head out of the water, sputtering, but smiling. “Nice move,” he commented. “I think you will do.”

  Jade, who had been watching the whole time, felt her chest swell with pride. Her mate was powerful, but he didn’t flaunt it. He used the least amount of force and that was good. He was fast, powerful, and hot as hell, and not just because he was on fire. Without thinking, she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. Michael picked her up and spun around in a circle with her before setting her back on her feet. “You did it,” she beamed.

  “Thanks,” he said. “If this is the reward, I will make sure to do it again.” He felt his body hardening against hers and immediately set her back from him. He didn’t need her father seeing him get a hard on while training.

  “That’s lovely,” Leigh said, “but now it’s my turn.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Stephan stared at the broad shoulders that had just turned on him. They belonged to Satan, Lucifer, The Dark Prince…. He had many names, but Stephan just called him Dad.

  “You cannot disrupt the balance,” Satan continued.

  “To hell with the balance,” Stephan mumbled. His victory had been stolen from him, and his father was dead set on preventing Stephan from exacting his revenge.

  His father turned back to face him again. Stephan hated how beautiful he was. The king of Hell was far more beautiful than any male had the right to be. His shoulder length ebony hair hung straight from his head from a widow’s peak. His chiseled features combined with his olive toned skin set off his nearly black eyes. It almost hurt to look at him.

  “My son, the balance is necessary. I cannot run Hell without souls to fill it with. There must be a choice for the humans to make. They have to choose to be evil. If we just go up and take over on a whim, we are damning ourselves.”

  “I didn’t go on a whim,” Stephan glowered. “I had a perfectly good plan in place and they took my victory from me!” He had an army of minions who were dedicated to helping his cause to enslave the entire human race and bring about the Apocalypse. It was a great plan. Except for the bastards in Boston who destroyed everything. Especially the fucking phoenix–the firebird and his wife who brought his entire operation down. His entire being itched for revenge.

  “There will be time to try again,” Satan said quietly. “Everything must happen as it is meant to be.”

  “You have been spouting that shit for centuries,” Stephan snapped. “I am tired of waiting and I want my pound of flesh.”

  “Your mother would be so disappointed,” Satan told him, turning his back on his son once again.

  “My mother!” he shouted. “The woman you used and murdered in cold blood when I was born! You couldn’t care less about what she would think!”

  Satan knew that Stephan thought that way. It wasn’t true though. He had loved his child’s mother. He had killed her because he couldn’t bear the thought of her going insane, which would have been the case had she known what she had brought into the world. She had been a pure soul that he seduced for the purpose of bringing about his heir, and she served her purpose well. It nearly killed Satan to have to kill her. But it was necessary.

  He was aware that Stephan intended to take over Hell. He knew that his son was planning his demise. He also knew that it wasn’t possible. No matter what damage Stephan could inflict upon his father, nothing could kill him.

  “I loved your mother,” he finally said quietly.

  “I didn’t know you were capable of love,” Stephan said, taking a step closer to his father. He palmed the hilt of the spear he had hidden in his belt. The Spear of Destiny was the only weapon that could take down the King of Hell. Hidden on Earth, the spear still had the blood of Jesus Christ on its blade. It had been used to stab the Savior, repeatedly. It was one of those few objects that had been used to commit a crime that was so heinous, so horrible, it would carry the curse with it for all eternity. The curse was benign to humans, but to his father, the blood that was forever engraved on the blade would be lethal. It had been hidden away on Earth for thousands of years to keep it safe. Stephan had been searching for it for centuries and finally, with the help of a powerful witch, it was his to behold. He handled the spear cautiously; as it still had the blood that would be fatal to him as well. It was the holy blood that would end his father’s reign and open the opportunity for Stephan to seek his revenge on the people who deserved it.

  He stepped closer.

  “I wish that things could be different between us,” Satan continued. He almost sounded sad. Stephan knew that wasn’t the case. His father had been cast out of Heaven for his evil ways and his punishment was one that Satan took great pride in. He loved his precious Hell and would always put it above and beyond anything else–including Stephan.

  “I wish they could be too,” Stephan said.

  Satan knew that this was going to be it. His son was going to try to kill him, and it wouldn’t work. It saddened him to know that he was going to have to kill his only son. He had searched the world over for a human that could survive the demonic pregnancy and now he was going to have to do it again. He breathed in deeply and turned around to face it head on.

  Stephan didn’t hesitate. As Satan turned, Stephan raised the spear and guided it to its mark. He pushed it into his father’s heart in one swift, accurate strike.

  Satan grinned. “Did you really think you could kill me?” he asked on a laugh.

  Stephan just smiled back and raised one of his eyebrows. He waited. The blood on the blade made its way into his father’s bloodstream and the laughing look he was wearing quickly faded as he looked down at the hilt protruding from his chest.

  “The spear?” he choked out as the blood poisoned his body.

  “Lost on Earth for two thousand years,” Stephan told him with a satisfied smirk. “But I found it.”

  “My son,” he gurgled, “What have you done?”

  And then the King of Hell exploded into a million pieces, flinging blood and tissue all over the room.

  Stephan wiped the blood from his face and looked at the spot where his father had stood. “Sorry, Dad, it had to be this way.”

  And then it hit him. All the power that his father had slammed into Stephan’s body and he greeted the intrusion with maniacal laughter.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Michael had barely enough time to shove Jade out of the way before Leigh was on top of him. She had tackled his large body to the ground and was sitting on his chest. His wings were pinched underneath him and he arched his back to give them room.

  “What’s wrong?” Leigh smirked. “Big bad firebird got taken down by a girl?”

  Michael laughed at her, which made her angry, and he jerked his head to the right just in time to miss the fist that was flying toward his nose. He shoved her off and took flight.

  Leigh knew what was up. If it was the dragon he wanted, the dragon he would get. She pulled on her magic and it swirled around her. The magic turned to flames and when they died down, her dragon was standing there in all of her glory. Twenty feet of shiny black and gold scales, wings, and razor sharp teeth leapt into the sky and gave chase to the firebird that was deliberately taunting her.

  “He has a death wish,” Rebel remarked.

  “I don’t think so,” Jade answered him. “He told me that he sparred with his family. To him, this is fun. He knows he isn’t going to die from anything she can inflict on him.”

  “I gotta give that boy props,” Rebel continued, “He’s got skills.”

  “Yes he does,” Jade beamed.

  Rebel looked and noticed that Azerial was holding Jade’s hand. She smiled at him and then Rebel looked at Jade. He knew that look. She w
atched Michael with awe, passion, and a little bit of lust. It was the same way he still looked at Leigh. “Oh shit,” he barked out. “You’re kidding me?”

  “What?” Jade asked, never taking her eyes off of her magnificent mate.

  “He is yours.”

  Jade’s eyes snapped to his. “You better keep your fat mouth shut about it.”

  Rebel raised both hands in defense. “Not a word,” he promised.

  “I am going to go inside and read for a bit,” Azerial announced.

  Jade nodded and continued to watch Michael evade Leigh. The dragon shrieked her irritation about not being able to catch him. Rebel and Jade both knew it was only a matter of time before the fun stopped and the whole situation came to blows.

  And it did. Leigh managed to kick her powerful hind leg out at him as he zipped past her. She connected painfully with his side and Michael lost some altitude. He righted himself quickly and barely moved out of the way as the dragon hurled fire from her mouth at him.

  Fire was Michael’s friend.

  He burned his wings hotter and began circling Leigh. He moved faster and faster until she was trapped by his ring of fire. Hidden by the flames, Michael stole the opportunity to fly up from underneath the dragon and grabbed her by the tail. That did not work out like he hoped. She swung her muscular tail around and sent him sailing off over the ocean.

  Each time Leigh came at him he was ready. Each time she attacked, he countered. They were very evenly matched, and the more they sparred, the more confidence Michael gained. Before long, they were both tired and sweaty.

  Leigh dropped to the ground and shifted back into her human form. Michael did the same and extinguished his wings. He brushed his sweat soaked hair out of his eyes only to see Leigh laughing at him.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “You look like shit,” she told him. Michael raked over her with his eyes.

  “You don’t look so good yourself,” he retorted. Her black as midnight hair was sticking to her everywhere and she was breathing heavily.

  “You did good, kid,” she said as she approached to shake his hand. Michael took her hand and was rewarded by being tossed to the ground. “Never trust your opponent,” she said with a grin. Then she used that same hand to help him up.

  “Good point,” he agreed.

  “Now go and get clean. You stink,” she laughed as she walked away.

  Michael did just that. He smiled at Jade who waved at him as he entered the house. He really wanted to spend more time with her, but not until he had a shower. As the water washed away all of the dirt from the morning, Michael let his mind wander. He still had not seen Toni, but he knew she was off at school. He wondered about the family members that he had still yet to see. He thought they were keeping their distance until he passed the test.

  ***

  “So where is your son?” Michael asked Azerial. He was finally clean. He was tired and sore, but no worse for the wear. He had known that Azerial and Samuel had a son, who would be in his late teens by now. But he hadn’t seen hide or hair of him. Azerial was in the library reading, and he went in there to ask her about it.

  Azerial looked up from her book. “Somnus is in the Heavens, learning his trade.”

  “Oh yeah?” Michael asked, taking a seat across from her. “What trade?”

  Azerial smiled at him. “He was named after the Roman god of sleep and dreams. He has an affinity for dreams. He has gone to learn to control his abilities and how to affect dreams when necessary. He has gone to learn to be a God.”

  “So your son is, or will be, the sandman?” Michael asked.

  Azerial smiled proudly. “He will be one of many,” she answered. “One day, he will be able to show people what they need to see within their dreams. He will be very powerful, and very necessary.”

  “I bet you guys are really proud to have him as your son.”

  “There are no mistakes when it comes to parents. When a soul chooses its parents, it is for a purpose,” she said. “I am proud to have been chosen by him.”

  “So what you’re saying is that we chose our parents?” Michael asked.

  Azerial nodded. She opened her mouth to explain further, but a strange look crossed her face that looked like pain. Azerial’s hand flew to her chest and she held it as if she were having chest pains. The book she had been reading clattered noisily to the floor, forgotten. Her skin paled and she was certain that all of the oxygen had been sucked out of the room.

  “What is it?” Sam asked as he burst into the room. Of course he had known that his mate was in trouble. They all did. “Honey, please, tell me what’s wrong?” He knelt down beside her chair and gently laid his hand on her knee.

  “Something is very wrong,” Azerial whispered.

  “Well yeah, I can see that, Sweetie.” Sam lifted her face by her chin. “What can I do?”

  Azerial looked at him as if for just a second, she didn’t recognize him. Then the clouds in her eyes cleared and she stared back at him. The look on her face was no longer that of a benevolent goddess, but one that belonged on a fierce warrior. “The balance has shifted,” she finally said. “There is a shift in the balance of good and evil, and it is not on our side.”

  Samuel sat back on his haunches. He scrubbed his hand over his bald head. “Fuck. What do we do?”

  “First, we must find out what has happened. Someone is walking around with way too much power,” she said as she stood from her chair, no longer wilting at the onslaught of discomfort, but a woman determined to get to the bottom of the problem.

  “We must go,” she said. “I need to speak to Father and the Archangel. I must go now.”

  “I’m going with you,” Samuel said. Azerial grabbed his hand and pulled her vampire mate to her side before disappearing from sight.

  “What was that about?” Jade asked as she entered the room.

  Michael was standing with his mouth gaping. Jade grew tired of waiting for an answer and picked it out of his head. “Oh no,” she whispered before mentally relaying the message to her father.

  “What did you just say?” Angel asked as he entered the room with his vampire speed. Jade loved her dad. He looked the same as he did the day she was born; long black hair that touched his waist and emerald green eyes that were powerful just by themselves.

  Jade and Michael filled him in quickly on the events with Azerial and Sam. “What are we supposed to do?” Angel asked to no one in particular.

  Jade answered. “We do nothing until they return. We don’t know what’s going on yet and we won’t until we hear from them. I say we continue on as if it were a regular day.”

  Angel nodded his head in agreement. “You always seem to know what to do,” he said to her, bringing her into the circle of his arms for a hug. Michael couldn’t help the unbidden stab of jealousy he felt. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to be the only one to ever touch her. Angel’s eyes shot to his in warning and Michael quickly schooled his thoughts elsewhere.

  Angel nodded and then said to Michael, “You will call your mother now.”

  “But,” Michael started but Angel stopped him.

  “We don’t know what’s going on. Maybe it’s nothing, maybe not. But if it’s not, your mother will need to know that you are at least safe.”

  Michael wished he had a good argument for that, but in truth, he didn’t. He pulled his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans and found her contact page. With a tap of his finger, her phone was ringing.

  “Hi Mom,” he said when she answered. Jade listened in and heard most of the rant his mother laid on him. She caught, “Where the hell are you, thank God, and what were you thinking?”

  Michael had a pained look on his face while he waited for his mother to read him the riot act. When she stopped to breathe, he spoke. “Mom, I knew you wouldn’t understand. I came to the Knight Estate to apply for a job on the security team. I need to make my own way now. I am an adult and I don’t want to live off of Uncle Victor f
orever. Or you and Dad for that matter. I need to be me.”

  She ranted a minute more before she asked to speak to Angel. Michael handed the phone over to him with a smile. Angel held the phone to his ear and greeted his long-time friend. After that his words were, “I am terribly sorry….. yes ma’am…. No ma’am …. I understand…. I will….. Again, I am sorry…. No ma’am….”

  When she was finally done, Angel handed the phone back to Michael. “Yes?” Michael said into the phone. “I will Mom, I love you too.”

  “Well?” Jade asked expectantly as if she didn’t already know.

  “She said good luck and that I had damned well better come home to visit and not to get myself killed.”

  “Fail,” Jade laughed. “Right off the bat, you failed at that one.”

  Michael grinned. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

  “I’m hungry,” she announced.

  “Not Chinese again,” Michael said. “How about Mexican?”

  “I need blood,” she reminded him. Again the thought of her drinking from some random person made his blood boil. He wanted to shake her and offer his vein immediately. His fire cooled though as he watched her walk into the kitchen and take a bottle of blood from the fridge. She didn’t warm it, but opened it and downed it in one long pull. As she wiped the droplets from the corner of her mouth, she grinned at Michael.

  “What?” she asked.

  Michael shook his head. He was not just thinking of licking those drops off her lips and he was not getting a hard on. Nope. “Nothing,” he said as he turned and walked away. He needed another shower; this one should be very cold.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  After eating with Jade at a local Mexican restaurant, Michael retired to his room. He was exhausted and ready for a good night’s sleep. Just as he pulled the soft down comforter over his body and his head hit the pillow, someone knocked on his door.

  “Yeah?” he called out. The door opened and Gage, the king of vampires, walked in. Michael was familiar with this man’s journey to claim his title. Gage was a born vampire; his mother had been queen. She ran with Gage when he was young to protect him from the death threats that came at them both. After her death, Gage told no one who he was. He lived his long life as the bass player for the famous Angel Knight until he met his mate. Serena had been promised since birth to a fey prince on the other side of the world and the only way Gage could keep her at his side was to announce to the world who he was and claim his title. Michael couldn’t help but smile. He had mad respect for the man, that was for sure.