Equilibrium: MM Gay Shifter Romance (Kingdom of Night Book 3)

by L. C. Davis

  Clarence stopped suddenly and turned on me. "Look, I can either give you my recently downloaded autobiography or you can go save your boyfriends. Which is it?"

  I gulped. "Where is Gaia?"

  He stepped aside to reveal the simple name printed on the glass window of the door in front of us, followed by the stenciled letters, "CEO."

  "So this is where my soul is going?" I asked warily.

  "If Gaia accepts the trade, but let's not get ahead of ourselves," he said patiently. He pushed the door open and waited for me to go inside.

  I hesitated, looking back at him. "I don't know what's going on with you, Clarence, but in the time we've known each other I've come to think of you as a friend. I like to think you feel the same."

  He sighed. "We are friends, Remus."

  "Good," I said, crossing my arms. "Then take this as a word of advice from one friend to another. Hunter cares about you, but there are things he's afraid of telling you. He's already been rejected for who he is by people who were supposed to love him and keep him safe, so if he lets you in, please don't prove him wrong. I don't know what you are, but if you are who I think you are, you love him. Just please don't hurt him."

  His eyes widened in surprise but he quickly suppressed the emotion. "I won't. Good luck, Remus."

  "Thanks," I murmured, slipping inside the office. The door fell shut behind me and even more expectations of the afterlife were dashed as I looked around the office. Gaia was perched in a high-backed leather office chair and she had changed out of her formal robes into a fitted tan dress that looked like it had come straight off the runway.

  She smiled warmly at me as I entered the room. "Hello, little prince. I've been expecting you after that debacle at the temple. Why don't you have a seat?"

  I hesitated only a moment before honoring her pleasant request. Sitting down felt vulnerable, but the office environment was formal enough to shame me into compliance. I was in front of Mother Earth, after all. I felt like I should bow or something, but settled for keeping my back straight and my hands folded in my lap.

  She laughed. "This isn't a funeral home, you can relax a little. Can I offer you some tea?" she asked, gesturing to the elegant set in front of her.

  There was part of me that was afraid the tea was laced with some kind of soul-stealing drug, but I was desperate enough for something to do with my hands that I thanked her and let her pour me a cup.

  "Strawberry Oolong," she said, vocalizing the flavor that teased my tongue on the first sip. "That's your favorite, isn't it?"

  "How did you know that?"

  She folded her hands and leaned forward on her elbows, watching me with a twinkle in her eye. "I make it a point to know all sorts of little details about my children. The details are what make their triumphs so sweet and their failures so meaningful."

  The teacup shook from my attempt to settle it in the tiny plate she had given me. I must have looked like a deer in the headlights, because the corner of her lip tilted slightly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

  "Just Alex," I murmured. "Honestly, I'm having a harder time believing that you're real."

  "Well, most mortals aren't meant to be aware of my existence during their limited time on earth," she said calmly. "No one likes a helicopter parent, after all. Then again, you're no mortal."

  "I just don't understand," I said slowly. "How can you be the one who gives life and the one who takes it away?"

  Her patient smile grew wider. "When the gardener plants a flower, nurtures it until it blooms and gives it what it needs to grow, is he responsible for murder when its season has run its course and the flower wilts away?"

  Her words left me feeling utterly bereft of sense. I looked down at my cup and saw my shameful expression reflected in the tea. "I'm sorry."

  "There's no need to apologize, little one. Death is a part of creation that even I struggle with at times. But the wonderful thing about death is that it brings equilibrium. Without it, all the roadblocks and entanglements mortals find their way into would continue to worsen. Sometimes we all need a fresh start. Death may not be part of my original design, but it is part of the plan and I work with it as best as I can. This Agency is proof of that. When a soul slips through the mortal coil, we provide a soft place to rest until it's ready to begin again."

  "What about the ones who slip through the cracks?" I asked, thinking of Alex.

  Her eyes filled with sadness. "Sometimes a soul manages to tangle itself so well that even I can't help. Death claims it, but it's beyond the reach of my reapers, trapped between its former life and the next. In Alex's case, he's tethered to something in this life that has a greater pull on him than anything beyond."

  "Val?"

  She nodded.

  "So Alex and the souls of the vampires are just destined to roam the aether forever?" I asked, horrified.

  "Not forever. But their escape is dependent upon them. The same goes for the other wretched creatures your Great Lady created. Her experiments resulted in the existence of pitiful, tortured souls who had no hope of finding their way out of death's grasp. Surely you aren't here to discuss metaphysics."

  "No," I admitted. "I'm here to get Victor and Sebastian back."

  "I figured as much," she mused. "I'm afraid that's quite impossible."

  "Sebastian doesn't belong to the aether," I insisted. "His presence will mess everything up."

  "More than you have any idea," she said, growing somber. "Your twins have created quite the mess."

  "Then bring them back," I said, standing to press my hands against her desk. "Take me instead. I offer myself fully in exchange for both kingdoms."

  She narrowed her eyes. "Who told you that was an option?"

  "Selene, that's why she created me."

  Gaia sighed. "Selene was always fanatical in her devotion to her children. It's a shame she couldn't have put a little more foresight into their creation."

  "If you can't bring the vampires back, then take my soul for Victor's and Sebastian's," I pleaded.

  Gaia looked me over thoughtfully. "You really do love them."

  "More than anything," I said through gritted teeth. "I'll find a way to them. Whether you help me or not, it's only a matter of when and how."

  She shook her head. "She really did create a perfect blend of her two most beloved children. You're all the boundless devotion of the wolves and the keen perception of the vampires, but you have their foolhardiness and arrogance in equal measure."

  I fall back into my seat, my face growing warm. "Please. There must be something you can do."

  She leaned back in her chair and stared off in contemplation for a moment. "May I see your hands?" she asked, reaching across the table.

  "Sure, but why?" I asked as she looked them over, squinting at what I could only assume was Sebastian's mark. "I already chose."

  "No," she said matter-of-factly, releasing my hand. "You cheated."

  "I'm sorry?"

  "You're not the hybrid, not yet."

  "But I've done everything you asked of Selene," I cried. "I chose between them, the ritual is complete."

  "I clearly stated in my instructions that Selene was to offer me the hybrid once his heart had been consumed by a vampire and a werewolf," said Gaia. "That is not the case. It was hard to tell in all the chaos of ritual, but you most certainly aren't the hybrid yet."

  "But that was the vampire version of the ritual," I cried. "My mother tried it and it was wrong. Selene said she was wrong."

  "Sarah was closer to the truth than anyone. As always, Selene punishes those who challenge her, even if she could learn from them," she said sadly.

  "Punishes? Where is Sarah?"

  "The same place Victor and Sebastian are now, I'm afraid," she said, leaning back. "I'm sorry. If Selene wasn't quite so inept, you would be the hybrid by now and I could have taken your soul in exchange for theirs, as much as it would pain me to do so. As it stands, you've suppressed the half of your soul that makes you a viabl
e sacrifice in the first place."

  I stared at her in disbelief that she somehow saw through Victor's plan. "But Victor was attached to my vampire soul. The gift of sacrifice is part of my wolf soul, Selene said it herself."

  "As you are learning the hard way, sometimes gods can be just as wrong as mortals," she murmured. "Even moreso where Selene and the Patriarch are concerned. In at twist of nature, it is your wolf soul that bears the gift of intuition while your vampire side bears the burden of sacrifice. Without both gifts and the corresponding mate marks to fulfill the twin halves of your soul, you can't truly be the hybrid."

  "Then Victor --"

  "There is no hope for him or for the vampires, I'm afraid. I am still burdened with the task of trying to find a way to extract Sebastian from the aether before Thanatos notices and restores balance himself."

  "Thanatos?"

  "He is to death what I am to the earth, what Selene is to the moon and what the Partirarch is to the sun. We are all personifications of the eternal forces that make life possible and bring it to an end," she said gravely. "Before you get any ideas about making a deal with him, only one mortal has ever lived to do so and he lived to regret it."

  "Who?"

  "It is beyond your ability to understand, child."

  "Then help me," I pleaded. "Victor said he could remove the suppression. Just give me a minute with him and I can be the sacrifice you need to restore balance."

  "It's not that easy. By now, Victor and Sebastian already in the aether with the others," she murmured. "They're dead, for all intents and purposes, so Victor's suppression will have faded by the time you return to life. You will be the hybrid then, but it will be too late for the sacrifice."

  "The Patriarch didn't seem to think so," I said darkly.

  Her expression shifted. "What do you mean? You spoke with him?"

  "Nothing," I muttered. "Please just send me back. I can still go back, right?"

  "Time doesn't pass the same way here," she said carefully. "Your body hasn't been lifeless for very long. Thanatos is busy and he won't have gotten to it."

  "Good. I just want to go home, please."

  She hesitated. "Victor is gone, Remus. So is Ulric, but there may yet be hope for Sebastian and I'll do all that I can to send him back to you. You may not have fulfilled the purpose you were created for, but that doesn't mean their deaths have to be in vain. See it as a sacrifice, one that will allow you to live a long and mortal life with Sebastian and as many more as you desire. You don't have to be the hybrid anymore."

  "A thousand lifetimes without Victor are as pointless as one," I said through gritted teeth. "I will find a way to bring him back."

  She leaned back in her chair and drummed her fingertips together. "I certainly hope not," she said thoughtfully. "I would hate to see such a pure creature sullied by darkness."

  The door swung open before I could reply. Clarence was waiting. "Ready?"

  "Please," I muttered, walking through the door. I kept up with him easily as he led me through the corridors and rows of cubicles to the Agency's front door. He pushed it open and white light assailed us, leaving nothing else visible.

  "Just step out these doors and you'll be in the temple. Your body should still be on the altar. Just climb into it like you're climbing into bed and you'll assimilate fine."

  "Aren't you coming?"

  He looked away. "I have some loose ends to tie up here. Tell Hunter I'll be back when I can."

  I chose not to stick around for further instruction. Going through the doors and into the light led me right back into the temple, just like Clarence had promised. Hunter was still there standing beside Arthur, who had fallen asleep in one of the pews with Alex not far off. Victor's body was still on the floor, but someone had placed a jacket over him.

  I tapped Hunter on the shoulder and he spun around. "Holy shit, you scared me," he whispered, muttered, alerting Arthur. "Why aren't you in there? What happened?"

  "The sacrifice didn't work," I said shakily.

  "Yeah, no shit," he growled. "There wasn't supposed to be a sacrifice. You lied to me."

  "I know," I said quietly. "I lied to everyone, and now Victor and Sebastian are gone. They're all gone."

  "Where is Clarence?"

  I hesitated. "He said he had loose ends to tie up, but I think he's coming back."

  "'Loose ends?' What the fuck does that mean?"

  "I don't know. I just know that he's not a wolf, or at least that's what he said."

  "Fuck," said Hunter, kicking the stone altar. It was a decision he clearly regretted.

  "Gaia says they're all in the aether by now," I said, taking a deep breath. "She won't do anything to bring Victor and the other vampire souls back, but she's trying to get Sebastian and she let it slip that there's another god who might be able to help."

  "No," Alex said from behind me. When I turned around, his expression was livid. "Not him. Thanatos is not to be trusted."

  "You knew there was a sentient guardian of the aether who could be reasoned with and you didn't tell me?" I asked, frowning.

  "You didn't tell me about your little plan to force a decision between Sebastian and Victor, either," he shot back. "I could have told you that would work out about as well as it did."

  "How long was I gone?"

  "About three hours," said Hunter.

  I staggered past them towards the altar. I followed Clarence's instructions and slipped into my body. When my eyes opened, I was made of flesh and blood again. I sat up with a sharp gasp. I could still see Alex. "Okay, now tell me how I can get to the aether."

  Alex's face fell in sorrow. "I'm sorry, Remus. It just isn't possible."

  "If the angels I saw at Gaia's fucking office party in the sky are real, demons must be real, too. Give me something I can use or that's my next course of action. Something tells me they'll be more receptive to making a deal."

  Alex jolted in surprise at my words. "Alright, just calm down. You're right, Thanatos is the one who controls the aether and in all the years of life on this planet, the spirits whisper that he has only struck a deal with a single soul."

  "Who?" I demanded, encouraged by how closely his words echoed Gaia's.

  Alex looked away. "I can't say for sure, but I've always had a theory that it was Arthur. The original Arthur."

  I glanced back at my Arthur, who was still sleeping soundly. "You're kidding."

  "Not at all."

  "Shit," muttered Hunter.

  "Do you have any idea where we can find him?" I asked.

  "No," said Alex, looking in Arthur's direction. "But he might."

  Chapter 28

  ARTHUR

  As Remus and Hunter sat across from me, I couldn't escape the feeling that I was being interrogated again. Even as they explained everything that had happened to Remus in the Great Beyond, my mind struggled to process it. All of a sudden, they were trying to convince me that I was their only hope of finding some ancient entity that had managed to escape from death itself--himself, if Gaia was to be believed.

  The kicker was that they wanted to use Hunter's creepy spirit board to invite the rebel spirit in for tea and crumpets, all on some wild theory a junkie priest had cooked up based on hearsay about the hunter legend. The worst part of it all was that I was pretty sure Alex was in the room with us. Every now and then, Remus would cast a glance over his shoulder and his lips would move silently as if answering some unspoken question.

  "I'm sorry," I said as soon as Hunter and Remus had finished explaining the plan to me for the second time. "But I really don't have any idea where the other Arthur is, and I don't see how using that," I paused, casting a mistrustful glance at the board on the table, "is going to help."

  "You must remember something about the original Arthur," said Hunter. "You were named after him."

  "Yeah, and that's all I know. That and the fact that his name has caused me nothing but trouble."

  "Yeah, but there must have been a reason your grand
father chose his name," said Hunter. "Alex is right, it can't just be a coincidence that you're the only hunter in history to be named after this guy and the only one to wake up sentient."

  "I'm not a sentient hunter, I'm just a dud," I reminded him. "If you cut me, I bleed. If you cut me deep enough, I die."

  "That's still theoretical," Hunter mused.

  I didn't like the curiosity in his tone at all.

  "Hunter is right, Arthur," Remus said gently. He was definitely the good cop in this interrogation. "I didn't know your grandfather, but he doesn't seem like the type who would do something like that just for the hell of it. There had to be a reason. Maybe he was trying to tell you something."

  "And what exactly does your crazy priest think he was trying to tell me by naming me after the Patriarch's dead son?"

  A breeze blew through the room, despite the fact that none of the windows were open and I huddled into my jacket. "Fuck. He's here, isn't he?"

  Hunter gave me an apologetic smile. "You don't like spooky things, do you?"

  "No," I said adamantly.

  "You're kind of pathetic for a hunter. Even a defective one."

  "That's not an insult," I grumbled.

  "Maybe there's a reason for that, too," said Remus. "I mean a reason why you're different, not that I think you're pathetic."

  "Let me guess, your ghost has another theory?"

  Remus and Hunter exchanged a look.

  I rolled my eyes. "I'm a big boy. Maybe not as big as I was, but I can take it."

  "Alex thinks your grandfather named you after Arthur because you're connected somehow," said Remus. "He thinks there's a chance that you're the prince's vessel, just like Prentice is the Patriarch's vessel."

  "It would explain why your grandfather gave you the name," said Hunter. "He told you that you were the only one who could kill the Patriarch before he died, didn't he?"

  "Yeah," I said reluctantly.

  "Well, other than the fact that your heart is still beating, your name is the only thing about you that stands out," said Hunter. "No offense."

  "None taken," I grumbled. "Still, it's a stretch."

  "Maybe, but we don't have a lot of options at this point," he said pointedly. "The strongest members of our pack are either dead, locked in the aether or MIA."