Fallen Gods: Tainted Purity

by Lorie O'Clare

  Like that was an option. She feared that no matter what she learned about him, she would still want him. A fire burned inside her, heat sinking deep inside her, the humidity soaring between her legs.

  “If he is my lifemate then why didn’t he protect us from the demons?” Bridget wondered where he was right now, what he was doing.

  “The demons swarm around the humans because you haven’t been here to keep them at bay.” Marlita looked over her shoulder, gesturing with her thumb toward the street outside. “They are still out there, waiting, watching. I don’t know why Braze didn’t interfere, if he is here like you say. Possibly he knew the terror would jar your powers back in order.”

  “He could have simply explained things to me, like you are.”

  “Knowing Braze, he had other things on his mind.” Marlita gave her a knowing look.

  And Bridget couldn’t stop the heat that spread over her cheeks. She hid her smile, looking down quickly. Just thinking of how he had spent his time with her turned the ache deep inside her into a hardcore pain. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand being away from him.

  “So you know Braze well then.” This was dangerous territory. If they kept talking about Braze she would come right there in the middle of the store. “And you know me well. Are you also immortal?”

  “No. I am just your watcher.” Marlita smiled, moving close to Bridget and running her rough fingers over Bridget’s cheek. The gesture was so oddly familiar she barely batted an eye at it. “My powers are limited, focused. And I admit a bit rusty. But now that you are found, I promise I will be top-notch in no time.”

  “None of that makes any sense.” Bridget laughed, feeling so incredibly comfortable around this woman. “You found me because demons are after me?”

  Marlita’s expression turned serious. She didn’t want Bridget worried, that much was obvious. Her feelings weren’t clear, but from what Bridget could detect, Marlita wouldn’t lie to her.

  “The demons have taken over all of Earth.” Marlita ran her hand down Bridget’s arm, a reassuring touch, then squeezed her hand. “When they ascended on Maple Cove it made me suspicious. And I’m sure it alerted the elders as well. I sent for you, and here you are.”

  Bridget nodded, remembering the teenage girls. The man who had visited her yesterday was a demon. She realized that now and wondered why it wasn’t clear to her then. But Braze had been outside. She remembered catching the brief glimpse of him, how she’d responded to him without even knowing him. Her body had screamed for him, crying out with need. Now she knew he had known everything that was going on inside her shop. He’d watched the entire incident. How long had he known she was here?

  “When will the demons attack again?” She stared outside, the street appearing normal for midday, people entering and leaving the shops around them.

  “They will be more careful now. You are back. And they know you can conquer them.” Marlita smiled, walking past Bridget and returning to her counter. “The question is, who took your memory? They are your true enemy, and you aren’t truly safe until we find out who did that.”

  Bridget needed time to sort all of this out. All she felt right now was frustrated, not powerful. If all of this was expected of her, she had to know what she was capable of doing. Figuring out her powers would be a hell of a lot easier if she wasn’t so damned distracted with a craving for Braze that flowered out of control inside her.

  “I don’t even remember my early childhood,” Bridget grumbled, looking up and down the street outside as if the answers lay there.

  “Which means that is when they stole your identity.”

  Marlita’s words grabbed her, turning her gut, an uncomfortable feeling twisting inside her.

  “And that would make sense,” Marlita continued. “You were just thinking about going to America. The last I had heard from you, plans to learn why this country swarmed with so much evil were underway.”

  She was glad it all made sense to Marlita, because none of it made a damned bit of sense to her. Staring out the window, distracted by where Braze might be, confused by all this talk of power and conquering evil, she watched a couple argue while they got into their car. They pulled out of the stall too quickly, distracted by their conversation and not paying attention. The car coming down the street would never stop in time.

  “Go through them,” she whispered, and then watched the car driving down the street pass through the car backing out of the stall as if it weren’t there.

  Neither driver seemed any wiser for the action.

  Bridget’s heart raced so hard in her chest she couldn’t breathe. She’d just prevented an accident. With mere words, a simple thought, she’d done the impossible. For a moment she couldn’t breathe. So many thoughts plowed through her brain that it hurt. With abilities like this she could do almost anything!

  Maybe she was strong enough that she could find Braze. From what she’d learned this afternoon, it sounded like he owed her a bit of an explanation. If they were lifemates, why had he let her powers be taken, her memory stolen?

  There were still way too many pieces missing to this mystery unraveling around her. Her mind raced, aggravation consuming her over the lack of memory about where she’d been prior to the orphanage.

  “What did you do after I disappeared?” She turned away from the street.

  Looking around, she almost believed the place had never been destroyed. Her stomach tied in knots, panic and excitement intertwining within her, making her dizzy. Somehow she needed to stay focused, get her mind off of these newfound powers, and Braze.

  “I returned to the elders.” Marlita had a sadness about her now, her tone gentle as if she worried all of this was too much for Bridget. “There wasn’t much else I was able to do. A watcher keeps an eye out on their immortal, but with you gone, there was nothing for me to watch. The elders wouldn’t let me stray, I don’t have the power to protect myself.” Even when she chuckled, her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I watch out for you and you protect me—that is how it’s always been.”

  Bridget blew out a breath of air, tangling her fingers through her hair absently. “Who else is like me?” she asked, needing somehow to organize all this knowledge in her head.

  A dull throb at her temples matched the throbbing ache in her pussy. God. She would be a wreck if she didn’t get a handle on things.

  “You are the only true ancient on Earth, although many try to claim the extent of your powers.” Marlita crossed her arms on the counter, her face wrinkling with a warm smile. “Throughout this planet’s history you’ve worked to keep peace in their hostile environment. But then you just vanished, presumably dead. Of course those of us who knew you well knew that couldn’t be true.”

  “Doesn’t look like I’ve done a very good job.” Bridget wrinkled her nose, wondering if she was up to taking on the problems of this planet. “How long ago did I vanish?”

  “I doubt these people would still be here if it weren’t for you.” Marlita sounded very sure of herself. “And by the calendars of this world, you vanished about a thousand years ago.”

  “A thousand years?” She couldn’t imagine such a thing.

  Twisting the end of her hair between her fingers, Bridget chewed her lower lip, aware of Marlita watching her. The older woman had all the confidence in the world in her. For centuries she’d used her powers to help others, keep evil at bay. The only way she could think to do that now was to figure out who was in charge of these demons. An uncontrollable shiver rushed through her, lumping in her gut like an unpleasant cramp.

  “You said the demons would know my memory has returned.” Exhaling loudly, she met Marlita’s gaze. “But it hasn’t. I see now that I can do things that others can’t, but how would the demons know that?”

  “You always read what the demons were doing. That is in your nature.” Marlita shrugged. “I can tell they are nearby. I can sense them. But I am tuned more into you. My job is to know where you are and watch you. I w
as able to find you, and so were they. Your memory will come back to you soon, I’m sure of it.”

  Marlita couldn’t read her thoughts, and that was probably for the best. Bridget wasn’t sure the older woman would approve if she knew the plan Bridget slowly devised. Hell. She wasn’t sure she approved of it. God knew it terrified the shit out of her. But somehow, she needed to find out who was in charge of these demons. And the only way to do that was to find a demon.

  “For now I need to get back to work.” Bridget immediately saw the protest on Marlita’s lips and raised her hand to stop her from speaking. “I still have my life to lead. And like you said, in time everything will come back to me. Until then, I need to earn my keep.”

  Marlita moved around the counter and gave Bridget a hug. “I will be watching,” she whispered, her words comforting Bridget.

  But Marlita wasn’t her protector. And as she left the store, watching those around her as she headed to her car, she sensed she would need a lot of protection. Because how was she supposed to spot a demon? Wasn’t there a bit of a demon in everyone?

  Chapter Nine

  “There is an entire movement.” Merco was serious, a mood he only took when absolutely necessary. “The elders have noticed it.”

  “None of the ancients worry me.” Braze lay in the middle of Bridget’s shop, floating contentedly in the air.

  Bridget was on her way here. Her level of determination with her newfound powers would make her a frisky lover. And he had a feeling that another good fucking would jar her memory a bit more. His cock was hard as a rock, a fever burning inside him while he contemplated just how he would have her this time.

  “I never implied that they did, old friend.” Merco’s thoughts drifted toward him lazily. “But when the cruelest of demons climbs out from the dregs of existence, it makes for a foul stench in the neighborhood.”

  Braze never worried much about the demons, they were spineless creatures, an annoyance at the most. It made no sense that Merco even gave them a thought.

  “Why would you care about the demons? You used to enjoy making them explode with a blink of your eye.”

  Merco laughed, obviously starting to wake up and find humor in the conversation. “I don’t care about them. But then they aren’t headed my way. It’s almost as if someone has summoned their king, awakened him from his foul stench of a slumber and called him forth.”

  “Well, I dare the mother-fucker to come here.” Braze didn’t find this the least bit funny. “I’ll blow his ass clear across the galaxy.”

  His body tensed and he drifted to an upright position and then lowered to the ground. As children they were told the fables of the king of the demons, a twisted demented creature with nothing but evil and torture on his mind.

  “It’s too early to feel your anger, my friend,” Merco groaned, his voice suddenly grating on Braze’s nerves. “If the king is coming here, he is coming for Bridget.” A hard wave rushed through Braze, his muscles tensing. He walked to the door of her shop. It opened for him before he reached it and he stood in the entrance, staring at the empty gravel lot outside.

  “Let me know if you can’t handle it.” Merco didn’t want to help him; his friend simply spoke out of good breeding.

  Braze knew his lifelong friend would come on a thought’s notice, though.

  “I can handle it.” Braze let go of his friend’s thoughts and walked outside into the cool air.

  Something had happened to cause the stirring of the king of the demons. The little rat wouldn’t come out of his dark hole for any small matter.

  Winter wind wrapped around him and he summoned a steaming cup of coffee, which warmed his hand instantly. He sipped at the hot brew while searching the sky, determining who might be controlling the elements around him. Because something was amiss.

  He turned his attention toward the street. Bridget approached. Narrowing his gaze, he concentrated, frustrated that she’d learned how to block his thoughts. It bothered him that for some reason she didn’t trust him. That meant she was leaning on someone else for advice. That didn’t sit well with him.

  Her old station wagon pulled into the gravel parking lot, her expression of surprise greeting him when she noticed him standing there. Her powers had returned. The elements bowed to her in her presence, the wind calming while the clouds above swarmed at a slower pace. But she didn’t have control of them yet. Braze doubted she knew the extent of what she could do.

  “What are you doing here?” Bridget’s long hair flew over her shoulder as she got out of the car, slamming the door a bit harder than needed as she glanced at the open door to her shop behind him. “You were inside my shop?”

  She marched past him, her perfume saturating the air around him. The urge to grab her right there, crush her to him, remind her again that she was his, filled him with a wild lust.

  “Would you have me wait out in the cold for you?” He followed her inside, her tight ass swaying beautifully in her blue jeans.

  “I doubt the cold air affects you.” She dropped her purse on her workbench and looked around, as if making a mental note that everything was still in place.

  “It affects me the same as it affects you.” He moved in behind her, feeling her soft curves press against him just below his cock.

  “So you and I are the same?” She turned before he could wrap his arms around her.

  Soft pools of green looked up at him, an understanding there that he hadn’t seen before.

  He’d let her go earlier, given her time to sort through their experience together. And he’d needed the time to put out searchers, determine who had stolen Bridget’s memory so he could find out how much trouble she might be in by getting it back. Someone had gone to great lengths to come up with a spell powerful enough to erase the lifetime of an immortal. The reason must be terrifying. Looking at her now, questions swimming in her alluring gaze, he knew his time was running out.

  “We are both immortals, yes,” he answered quietly.

  “From the coven of Hedel.” She searched his face, her soft green eyes devouring him. “That is where you first fucked me.”

  He ran his fingers down her cheek, knowing his Bridget had returned to him, but hating how she blocked him out of her thoughts.

  “And mated with you for all eternity. You are mine.” Of all things that she remembered now, he would know that she had that fact straight.

  Bridget narrowed her gaze on him. He couldn’t read her mind but her expression was clear as glass. Something had her quite upset.

  She turned, her brown locks fanning around her. Braze had no intention of her being anywhere but by his side. He pinned her, holding her in place, keeping her from moving with a simple thought.

  “How dare you,” she hissed, realizing she couldn’t move her body.

  He walked around her so that once again she faced him. “If you won’t let me read your thoughts, you will tell me why you are mad.”

  Bridget squeezed her eyes shut. Several glasses on the table along the wall exploded until finally she staggered backwards.

  Braze couldn’t believe it. It had been many centuries since he’d seen her, but Bridget’s powers hadn’t weakened just because she’d lost her identity. If anything, they equally matched his. Pride and excitement washed through him, a warm flood of pleasure over the knowledge that she truly was his equal in all ways.

  Bridget struck out, aiming for his face, a blow that would have hurt if he hadn’t been quick to react. He grabbed her fist and yanked her to him.

  “Why didn’t you find me sooner?” Her whisper was deadly, her green eyes dark with her rage. “I lived in an orphanage with no family, all the while able to help those around me who suffered and I didn’t even know it. Where the hell were you all this time?”

  He couldn’t help but smile. Now this was his Bridget, demanding to know where he was and what he was doing. She did still love him. “Your memory and powers were stolen, my dear. You left to help some of the villagers in Ireland one
day, and never came back to me. That is when your memory was stolen. You were left as no more than a mortal. I just didn’t know it at the time. Searching for you was like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

  Bridget nibbled on her lower lip, looking away from him toward the table where the broken glasses lay. With a wave of her hand she reassembled the glasses. She didn’t look back at him though, but lowered her lashes over her pretty eyes, looking down.

  The thickness of her long hair didn’t stop waves from framing her high cheekbones, giving her a regal profile. Her lips were full, her expression pouty while she stared down, momentarily lost in thought. Staring at her lips, he knew he would have to feel them wrapped around his cock, and soon.

  “No,” she said without looking up.

  “No what?” More than anything he wanted to get rid of her clothes, run his hands over her perky breasts and make those nipples turn hard as stone.

  “I’m not going to suck your cock.” This time she did look up at him, a quick glance out of the corner of her eye before her long lashes fluttered down.

  “Now is that fair that you can read my thoughts while I can’t read yours?” He had no problem with her knowing what he wanted to do to her.

  And by the look on her face, the thought of sucking his cock only made her defiant, not mad. He could work with that. She might be enjoying the return of her powers, but she would still submit to him. Maybe she hadn’t remembered every detail of centuries past. But she’d never denied him anything before.

  “You won’t read my thoughts again.” Now her hands went to her hips, showing off her slender figure. She ran her tongue over her lips daring to stare him down. “It’s not right. If I’m angry but thinking it would be nice if you fucked me, all you will concentrate on is that I want to be fucked. You won’t hear my words.”

  “So you do want my cock in your mouth, don’t you?”