Mercy for the Damned

by Lisa Olsen

  “Of course,” I murmured, my stomach lurching again. “Why don’t we start with finding Adam first, then he can help us break Ben out?” I suggested, telling myself it wasn’t because I selfishly wanted to see Adam first. If Ben was wounded or difficult because Azazael still had control over him, I wasn’t sure how I’d get him to cooperate.

  “As you wish, Mistress. I will take you first to my old apartments. From there, we can begin a systematic search of the palace until we find him. Unless you want to ask someone?”

  It would be the quickest way to find him, but also the most risky that Raum would find out we were there. “No, let’s do it the sneaky way, better to be safe than sorry.” More worried about what state we’d find Adam in, I let Nelo take the lead, jumping us from shadow to shadow within the palace. I kept thinking about what Cephas said about Adam being kept in chains under Raum’s boots. While I knew he was being dramatic, a part of me worried if we’d have to steal him out from under Raum’s nose in the throne room, and what we’d do if there were actual chains?

  Prepared for the worst, you could have knocked me over with a feather when we found Adam in the exact same room Raum kept me in. No sign of chains or torture, he looked none the worse for wear lying on a chaise lounge by the terrace, a thick book propped up on his knees. Held in the lap of luxury, at least Raum hadn’t dressed him in the silly costumes he’d foisted on me. Adam looked good enough to eat in his usual black jeans and a form fitting gray t-shirt.

  Without thinking, I let go of Nelo’s hand, rushing forward to greet him without a single thought as to whether or not there might be anyone else in the room watching. “Adam!” I gasped, my heart clenching almost painfully in relief as I ran to his side to throw my arms around him. Only Adam didn’t seem happy to see me at all, catching hold of my arms before I could wrap them around his shoulders.

  “Nice try, I’m not falling for that again,” he growled, shoving me aside where I landed on my butt with a soft whump. Sweet Jesus, had Raum sent him an imposter me? For what possible purpose?

  “Adam it’s me!” I insisted, shifting back up to my knees. “It’s Mercy.”

  “Uh huh, sure,” he turned back to his book, studiously ignoring me.

  “No, seriously…” I frowned. “Who else would I be? Look, I brought Nelo with me,” I looked around but Nelo was gone. “Nelo?” Adam didn’t even bother to look up, and I craned my head to look back towards the doorway. “Nelo, this is really not a cool time to go walkies…”

  “I’m not into the floor show, so you can take your act and buzz off, okay?” he smirked. “Why don’t you run off and tell Raum I don’t need his attempts to keep me happy, I’ll keep honoring my part of the bargain.”

  “For the love of…” snatching the book out of his hands, I tossed it aside. “Hey, the least you can do is listen to me after everything I did to get here. I don’t know what Raum’s done to you and frankly I don’t want to know about you and any body doubles he’s sent your way, but it really is me and I can prove it.”

  “This should be interesting.” Looking only mildly intrigued, Adam sat up, legs swinging towards me as he gave me his complete attention. “Go ahead, dazzle me with your Mercy-like skills.”

  Despite the mild rejection, I still itched to hold him, but it was clear I’d have to convince him first. “I’m assuming you can’t tell by my Grace?”

  “I see a shine of Grace, but that could be a trick of the light.”

  “Fair enough, but we have a connection, right?” I laid my hand on his knee lightly and his eyes dropped to follow it. “You should be able to feel me all the time the way I feel you. Don’t I feel closer now?”

  “You do feel close,” he murmured as I slid my hand a little higher up his thigh, my body shifting so that I came to kneel between his legs.

  “On some level you know it’s me, even if I didn’t have anything to say about the boneheaded deal you made with Raum.”

  “I know you’re not her,” Adam said evenly, “because if my Mercy were to show up here, I’d have to throttle her on sight for sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  “Since when do I do what I’m told?” I scoffed. “Besides, there are other things to consider, things you know nothing about. Can’t you tell it’s me?” Leaning close, I brushed my lips against his tentatively. “Not even a little bit?”

  Adam went as still as a statue at the touch, a groan escaping his lips as I bussed him lightly again. “God forgive me, I don’t even care if you’re not mine, I miss you so much, Mercy,” he breathed, mouth chasing after mine. For long seconds I lost myself in the familiar taste of Adam, before his words came back to haunt me.

  “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” I frowned, breaking the kiss. I didn’t want him kissing me unless he was completely sure it was me. “But if you need more proof, then here.” I laid the two metal slugs I always carried with me into the palm of his hand. Adam’s brows drew together as he tried to puzzle through what they were until the realization dawned upon him.

  “You pulled these out of me that night…”

  “In my living room, before you left me,” I nodded, gratified to see his face change, the skepticism fading, replaced by longing so sharp, it took my breath away.

  “And you’re really here…”

  “I’m here,” I grinned like a fool before our lips crashed together in another passionate kiss. “I had to come…” I started to explain but he cut me off, not interested in words for the moment.

  “Kiss me again before I wake up from this dream.”

  I was all too happy to oblige him with another kiss, but once again, I wasn’t convinced he really thought it was me. “If this is a dream, why didn’t you set it someplace else?”

  “You talk too much, you always did…” Adam smothered me with another kiss, but I pulled away that time.

  “Wait… do you really think I’m me or do you think this is all a dream?”

  “I’m pretty sure if you were a figment of my imagination I’d already have you on your back. So, I’m going with a tentative… yes, I think you’re you. But you’re wasting valuable time talking when we could be doing other, much more interesting things.” While he talked, Adam unzipped my thick hoodie, his hands reaching in to touch the heated skin beneath.

  “Hey…” I protested lightly, but I always did have a weakness where he was concerned. “We really do have a time crunch here, I can’t let you get me all caught up in your bedroom eyes and your…” Adam did something really distracting then, and I forgot what I was saying until I remembered the danger and clamped my hands down over his. “Adam, I’m serious! We don’t have time for this.”

  “I have all the time in the world, I’m not going anywhere,” he frowned, hands resting on my hips. “Hey, for the record, why didn’t you just say waffles?”

  “That’s your safeword, not mine,” I shrugged. “I didn’t think I’d have to prove my identity to you. What’s that about, by the way? Did you do something with someone else thinking it was me?” It was hard to tell what passed over his face then, but when Adam replied, he was all about changing the subject. Super.

  “Let’s not cloud the issue, what are you doing here, Mercy? I gave you very specific instructions to stay behind and let me do my time. Win, win, remember?”

  Deciding to let the doppelganger issue alone, I went with the new topic. “I don’t see how it’s a win situation, you being stuck down here. Though, I did sort of picture you under a little less luxury and a little more torture,” I frowned over the lavish apartments.

  “You would prefer I was being held in a dungeon? Nice to know how much you care.”

  “Oh, you know what I mean. Cephas said something about chains…”

  “You ran into Cephas?” Adam sat a little higher, a pucker of worry appearing on his brow.

  “We were trying to find a way to get in here other than the main gate, so I decided to jump a demon to get some answers. He was actually prett
y helpful…”

  “Wait, let me get this straight, you went after a demon… on purpose?”

  “Of course. Who else would know the best ways in and out of Midian? Don’t worry, I was fine. I would have killed the little creep if Sam hadn’t gone all protective on me and tried to keep me from sullying my hands with demon blood.” I was still a little peeved about that, though I could appreciate the sentiment.

  “You were going to kill Cephas yourself? With what, harsh language?” he chuckled, and I had to resist the impulse to smack him.

  “I have the sword remember?”

  “Oh come on, Mercy, you have no business tangling with demons. I’m surprised at Sam for letting you tag along on an errand like that at all.”

  “I wasn’t tagging along, it was my idea. I let him tag along, if you must know, and I was fully capable of cutting out that little bastard’s heart and feeding it to him on the tip of my sword.” I might not have possessed enough skill for that kind of fine work, but I definitely found the mental image appealing.

  “It’d be cute, the idea of you out there disemboweling demons like some kind of slayer, if it wasn’t an incredibly stupid idea.”

  “Maybe I wouldn’t have had to chase down demons at all if you hadn’t made your stupid deal with Raum in the first place, did you think of that?” I was fast losing my patience with his tone, considering all I’d gone through to try and get him back. The least he could do was recognize the skills that got me there.

  “I told you, I made the best deal I could at the time, and you haven’t been bothered by demons since, have you? Or was Cephas the latest notch on your demon slaying belt?” he smirked, and I closed my eyes, trying my hardest not to lose it.

  “As much fun as this vote of confidence in my abilities is, we should really continue this conversation back at my place.”

  “Um, okay… so I’ll see you back there in what…”

  He wasn’t getting it. “No, we have to get out of here, as in right now. There’s a new prophecy that says something about a terrible evil if you stay behind.”

  “Mercy, there’s always some new prophecy forecasting the end of the world, you can’t live your life by that stuff.”

  “No, this one’s the real deal. Gabriel even sent Raziel down to help and…”

  “Wait, Raziel’s here?” his eyes narrowed dangerously.

  Oh, now I had his attention? “No, he was supposed to come, but I kinda ditched everyone else and snuck down here with Nelo by myself.”

  “Because that makes sense.”

  “It was the only way to keep them safe. Besides, I knew it’d be easier to sneak in with just the two of us. So, as soon as Nelo comes back, we’ll slip out of here and find Ben and then we’re out of here, okay?” Rising to my feet, I gave his hands a little tug, but he remained stock still.

  “I can’t leave.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not done serving out the terms of the deal I made with Raum. I’m no welcher.”

  “But Adam…”

  “Absolutely not. I gave him my word, I can’t go back on that.”

  Letting go of his hands, I wondered if I could get away with koshing him over the head and dragging him out of there by his hair. Why hadn’t I brought Raziel with me? He could have tossed him over his shoulder like he didn’t weigh a thing. Deciding I had to use the only tool at my disposal, I found my smile, dropping my tone to honeyed sweetness as I ran my fingertips across his shoulders. “Adam, try and see things rationally…”

  “Raum comes, Mistress,” Nelo popped into view by my side, but there wasn’t time to ask him where he’d disappeared off to.

  “We have to go, now!” I hissed, but Adam didn’t even look at me.

  “No, you have to get lost before Raum gets here. Nelo, take her home, I’m holding you accountable if something happens to her.” The little guy hesitated, his desire to serve me warring with his obvious fear of falling on Adam’s bad side.

  “I’m not going without you,” I declared, planting my feet firmly, chin coming up in determination. “If you’re staying here, then so am I.”

  “I’m starting to think that’s going to happen anyway,” Adam frowned as the door opened, two of Raum’s burly guards filing in. Nelo immediately slid into the nearest shadow as I seriously weighed the idea of whether or not to draw my sword and put up a fight. Only where there were two, more would certainly come, even if I did manage to fight my way clear of them. With Adam refusing to see common sense, there seemed like only one other option left.

  “Take me to Raum,” I ordered the guards imperiously, nevermind that it was probably their intention to do so anyway, it made me feel better to call the shots.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Adam caught hold of my elbow and I pulled it free.

  “Trying to save you, moron,” I seethed, my nose still out of joint over the trouble he was causing me.

  “Whatever your plan is, it’s a bad one. You still have time to take Nelo and go, I can distract these guys,” he spoke low by my ear but I shook my head.

  “You aren’t listening to me, I’m not leaving here without you. Now are you coming, or do I have to face Raum alone?”

  Chapter Nine

  The large, open air court seemed even more filled with courtiers that time, each uttering Raum’s name in a low chant, and I couldn’t help but wonder how many times a day he made them do that? Was it the court’s idea, or was Raum that much of an egomaniac? Probably the latter.

  Raum, the Demon Lord, watched our approach with a faint smile, ignoring the chant of his subjects. His dark eyes glittered in anticipation as we drew nearer, belying the casual way he lounged on his throne of carved stone. “Well now, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he declared with a toothsome grin. “Did you miss me, m’lovely?”

  “Undoubtedly, my lord.” I returned his greeting with a tight smile, knowing he would be more inclined to negotiate if I approached him with some semblance of respect in front of his court. We both knew I felt otherwise though, and I could tell he was dying of curiosity to know why I’d returned after taking such great pains to escape in the first place.

  “You are always welcome here, Mercy, you know that. You have only to ask and I will see to your… comforts, myself.”

  Swallowing back the wave of revulsion that sprang from his words and the way his eyes dipped to my body, I was dismayed to find the slightest glow emanating from my skin. The implied threat triggered a memory of how I’d last enjoyed Raum’s personal care, causing my Grace to react.

  “Sorry, Raum, she won’t be staying,” Adam replied before I could find the right words, and it was enough of a distraction for me to find my tongue again.

  “Actually, I hoped to speak to you about renegotiating the terms of your deal with Adam.”

  “What are you doing?” Adam hissed, but Raum sat forward, clearly interested.

  “No, no, I’d like to hear what she wants to bargain with.”

  In for a penny, in for a pound… “Adam only made this agreement to keep me safe in the first place, and I don’t think it’s fair that he went over my head. I should have the right to make the same bargain, shouldn’t I?”

  “Like hell you do,” Adam growled. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

  “Shh, the grown-ups are talking now,” I patted his cheek condescendingly, he deserved it after all. “I propose you let me serve out the rest of his sentence, and I’ll… serve you without complaint if you let Adam and Ben go right now.”

  “Surely some complaint…” Raum grinned, and I shrank away from the streak of cruelty I saw there.

  “If you like, my lord,” I nodded shortly, but Adam stepped up, physically putting himself between Raum and me.

  “No way. We already settled this, Mercy has no part in it,” he insisted with a baleful glare, and for a moment I couldn’t tell who he was angrier with, me or Raum.

  “Truth be told I find her proposal intriguing,” Raum considered alo
ud. “I do admit, I have missed your delightful responses, m’lovely.”

  “No deal,” Adam insisted. “I won’t go if you keep Mercy.”

  “Fine, then I’ll keep both of you,” Raum waved dismissively. “You do have a certain raw power I find invigorating, but nothing compares to the sweetness of your lady love. Think of all the fun we could have together…”

  Oh God, that was not what I’d had in mind at all! Thankfully Adam wasn’t about to go for it either.

  “That violates the terms of our agreement.”

  “So it does.” Raum’s head canted to one side as he made a show of thinking it over. “But then, perhaps given this new development it’s a good time to alter it.”

  “I won’t stay here willingly if you do.”

  Raum shrugged, unconcerned. “I think the odds are slightly in my favor.” A quick glance showed more guards came to flank the sides of the court, more than Adam could manage, even with my help.

  “I don’t think I have to remind you what I’m capable of,” Adam flexed, the shining sword appearing with a metallic snick. “I think I’ve been more than tolerant of your treatment so far, but don’t mistake my compliance for weakness. Now, I’m prepared to honor the original terms of our agreement as long as Mercy leaves unharmed. Do we have an accord?”

  “No!” I insisted, my own sword appearing with a flick of the wrist. “We both go, or we start playing demon shish kabob.”

  “Mercy, let me handle this,” Adam murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

  “Why, so you can put yourself back in servitude to that guy? No way. I told you, I’m not leaving here without you. So stop contradicting me and back me up for chrissakes!” My eyes blazed, prepared to fight Adam myself to make him get with the program.

  Equally as stubborn, maybe more so, Adam whirled to face me. “That’s not going to happen! Now stop acting like a child and leave while you can.”

  “I do so hate it when mummy and daddy fight.” Oriana stepped out from behind the throne and Raum giggled, eating up our little spat like we were the best entertainment he’d had in months. The pale witch wore one of her simple shifts, feet bare, her long white hair hanging in twin plaits down her back, making her look more like a little girl than a woman.