Night Rises

by Amber Lynn

  The man is a speed demon.

  “I didn’t mention anything about shifting, but I would prefer no wolves or wings. I don’t have wings to match yours and I know my wolf would eat yours for lunch.”

  “You wish. I may be tiny in that form, but I pack an elephant size bite.” An elephant is the largest thing that popped into my mind, but it sounds a little funny saying it aloud in that sentence. Oh well.

  The fight continues, much like every other fight I have been in with a worthy opponent. Even if they all ended up the same, I would never get tired of these sessions. You can always learn new techniques while you are combating with another person. I prefer being in on the action rather than watching it from the sideline because it is easier for me to mimic the moves immediately after I see them done.

  Dad has quite a few that are twists on old favorites. The man has at least half a century on me, he has refused to let me know just how old he really is, and he moves like someone who has spent those years absorbing everything he has seen.

  The fluidity of his motion is something that belongs in an art study. For once, I almost hope someone is recording this so I can watch him as a spectator later. It will take me years to move with the same grace, so I better start studying now. Sebastian moves in a similar way, but he is even faster and it is sometimes hard to see what is actually happening.

  Neither of us fighters is willing to give an inch. Time has really stopped existing outside of our bubble. It feels like we have been at it for a while, but I am not willing to chance a glance around the room for a clock to see if that is true.

  “When the time comes, are you willing to put it all on the line for the betterment of our species?” Dad asks and the question throws me off guard a little. It isn't something that belongs in the middle of a sparring session.

  “Of course, what kind of question is that?” It is a testament of our excellent conditioning that we are even able to speak at this point in the battle. Because that is what this is turning into, we have crossed the line between sparring and truly fighting. Neither one of us is holding back and we both want to win.

  “No one knew you were my daughter, but when I went into hiding, I requested reports on your movements. What I heard back is that you were a great fighter, but you acted like a loner who cared for nothing except the bottom line. Unlike you, I won’t live forever. Don’t worry. I still have a lot of years left in me, nevertheless I need to make sure that when we defeat the Collective and take our place back atop the wolf hierarchy that you will be ready to take over in the future.”

  “And in order to do that, you think trying to beat the snot out of me will prove something?”

  “Nah. This is just for fun. I have already determined you will be a fine leader. I wanted to see if you had realized it yet. You ready to call this a draw?”

  It wouldn’t be the first time one of my matches has ended with that conclusion. I would really like to see a winner between us. Everyone seems to expect me to become undefeatable within the week and that is going to make it hard to find opponents.

  “Are you tired of having your own moves used against you?”

  “No, but your daughter looks like she is getting hungry,” he says making me turn to look real quick. I realize immediately it is just a diversion on his side. Getting pinned to the ground right away reiterates my findings.

  I cannot help but laugh at the situation. “Using my daughter against me, you are bad. We will have to make sure she stays away from any battlefields until she is thirty.”

  “I saw you weren’t going to just let it come to the draw, so I found a creative solution out of the circumstances. I could have said Clyde is peeing on something or catching something on fire, but Sophia is a cuter excuse. Aren’t you, baby princess?” Dad asks standing up and winking at his grandchild.

  Feeling frisky, I grab at his ankle and pull hard enough to bring him crashing down next to me.

  The room erupts in merriment. It is the atmosphere we need tonight. They have said things are going to start getting scary real fast and a last night of fun will prepare us all for the day ahead.

  “Good one, Nyx,” Dad whispers next to me. “You really are everything I hoped my daughter would grow into. I have a feeling your two mates have a lot to do with that. You three complement each other well.”

  I flip over to get a look at the men being discussed. “We are so different that I didn’t know how things could possibly work out in the beginning. Sebby can be the calm diplomat, when his love ones aren’t threatened, and he is so smart it makes my brain hurt. Alex is the warrior who commands an army during the day and then comes home and wants to just enjoy life. I don’t know where I fit into the mix because more often than not they are stuck trying to police my actions and tongue.”

  “It wouldn’t work with any other girl between them. You are the glue that holds it together. They need someone strong that doesn’t need a lot of defending, even if they act like they want to do all of the protecting. They need someone that is willing to let their own agenda get altered, or thrown out the window, when it isn’t the best for everyone involved. They need you.”

  It is the second time in probably an hour or so he has turned the emotional switch on full power. “I am starting to think I liked it better when I could hang up the phone if you started getting out of control with the mushy stuff.”

  “The statement is something that needs to be said in person, plus I hadn’t seen the dynamic until now. Most daughters are thrilled when their fathers approve of their choice for mates.”

  “Do I need to remind you that in the paranorm world, the daughter doesn’t tend to have a choice in the matter?” I stand up and make my way over to my guys.

  “It is still a nice thing for us to hear, Aaron,” Alex says wrapping me in his arms. Sebby’s are still full so he cannot do the same unless we want a pancake baby.

  “As any normal father would say, I will hunt either of you down if you hurt my little girl.” He tries to pull off a serious tone, but it doesn’t work and I start smiling like a fool.

  The dinner table earlier and this moment here is what I go into battle to protect. Everyone should be able to live their lives surrounded by their family and some of those in the room haven’t had that for decades.

  The thinking heavy seems to be catching tonight. It is a sure sign that it is time for bed. After a quick shower, that is just what I have planned.

  Chapter 9

  A visitor from Hell

  A dream all my own is almost too good to wake up from. I fight it for as long as I can, but the noises and feelings around me prove overpowering and I open my eyes.

  What I thought I felt turns out to be true. Alex is holding Sophia up to my chest while she eats breakfast. How in the world did I sleep through that? I wasn’t aware it was possible to sleep through someone doing that to your breast.

  “You are still catching up from all those nights devil baby kept you up. At least she picked an angel outfit today. I am starting to think it is false advertising, though,” Sebastian says leaning down to lay a tongue included kiss on my lips.

  The child in question better keep her eyes closed unless she wants to see the prequel of how she was made. Sebastian picks up on the thought and backs away.

  “Not everyone likes to say good morning with words,” he says trying to justify his assault.

  “Hey, no one said I was complaining. Have there been any new reports?” There is no grogginess going on in my head today. I am awake and ready to get moving.

  “There is a meeting planned in an hour. Since you had a shower last night, do you need time to jump in now?” Alex asks and detaches my humanoid leech so she can be burped. He looks like a natural daddy. I think having an extra set of hands will prove useful in the years to come with this child.

  “If I have the chance to actually dress today, I will call that a victory.”

  Sebastian gets distracted by his phone and I sit up in bed ready to hit the closet. I
didn’t hear the phone ring, but he is talking to someone. I don't worry about listening in because I have every confidence that he will share what is being said.

  “We will be right there, and tell Hilda I owe her,” he says putting the phone back in his pocket. “I have it flash and vibrate instead of ringing to make sure it doesn’t wake Sophia. You better hurry and get dressed. You have a visitor and she isn't happy about not being allowed in the house.”

  That narrows the list down to about a hundred people. If he would have said he instead of she, we would have been looking at about a thousand possibilities, if not more. I hurry over to my closet to throw on some suitable clothes for company, not that it matters that much.

  I go for standard Nyx chic. As Sebastian told me yesterday, my pre-maternity pants fit just fine. They may be a little snug, but I am sure it is my imagination. I make a quick side trip into the bathroom to brush out my hair just until it doesn't stick out at every odd angle possible.

  “Ready?” Sebastian asks in the doorway. “I think we will have you carry Sophia. Keeping your hands occupied is probably our best move.”

  That doesn't make me leery at all. I go ahead and except the baby. I trust his judgment in things like this.

  “Sophia, did Daddy tell you who we are going to see?” I get the feeling Sebastian wants to keep it a secret from me, but that doesn't mean he didn't tell others in the room. We are heading towards the front door; at least I assume that is our general direction.

  “He did and I am nervous.” Doesn't she know she is supposed to reveal the secret when her mom asks?

  “Quit pestering the poor girl. You heard her, she is busy being nervous,” Alex says before I can start putting the screws to her.

  “See, Sophia, you are supposed to be on my side since there are already two of them working against me.” We run into Aaron waiting for us by the door. He doesn't look exactly pleased. “You are going to tell me who the visitor is, aren't you, Daddy?”

  “Only if you agree to let me hide under a rock during the visit. You are looking well rested. It is a good look for you.”

  I am adding things up in my head and the summation isn't making me happy. I take a peek out the front window to verify and there she stands in all of her fiery glory.

  Lucifer.

  She has started making house calls. Here I thought I forgot to send her my forwarding address. I don't know if she knew the previous one, but I am sure I didn't pass along this one.

  “Oh no, I am going to need you for back up on this one, Daddy-o.”

  “If I thought she would go away without seeing you, I would find a bigger rock that we could both hide under,” he offers and we both know it wouldn't work. She looks like she has something she needs to say and I don't get the feeling that she is the most patient woman in the world.

  Might as well face the music. I don't have much choice, since Sebastian is already opening the door. I am hoping he is just planning to get her off the property as fast as possible and not actually happy to see her.

  “You don't need to overtax your brain thinking on that subject,” he says and pushes me out the door.

  Literally. He does notice I am holding our daughter, doesn't he? One out of place rock and we would have taken a tumble. I don’t go too far outside, just enough to allow everyone behind me out as well.

  “There you are. Just what kind of spells do you have on this place? I was lucky to even be able to land in the driveway,” my mother squawks at us and it appears she is in a great mood.

  Now, I have to find something nice to buy for Hilda. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to keep the Devil herself out of anywhere she felt like visiting.

  “We enjoy our privacy and don't like people just popping in without calling first,” I say and wonder how Ben was able to sneak in earlier. You would think if there was a spell against the Devil, there would be one in place for her minions.

  “We will have to work on that. I heard the little one came even earlier than I expected. I am sure she is adorable, but the part of the brain that recognizes cuteness was removed from my head long ago. What is she called?”

  I bite my tongue from saying I wish all of her brain was removed. If that were the case, I may not have ever been born, so I guess I have to be thankful she has at least some brain cells firing.

  “Her name is Sophia. Can we get down to your reason for this visit? I have a few things going on right now.”

  “I am looking for a lost demon. We were in the middle of a planning session and he took off. With his odd, but at the same time reasonable, obsession with you I thought he might be here.”

  “You missed him by a day. He stopped by real quick yesterday and then took off. Don’t you have a microchip embedded in all of your little minions so you can just look up where they are hiding?”

  “I didn’t think sense of humors were genetic, but you obviously inherited your father’s. Good to see you again, Aaron. It is nice to see you spending some time with our daughter. Not all fathers would be willing to bond with their over twenty-year-old child.”

  “Most werewolf fathers are aware when they conceive a child, so they have an extra-long time to start bonding. My daughter's mother took that chance away from me and if I didn't already hate her for being the Queen of the Underworld, I would despise her even more.” For wanting to hide under a rock, Dad sure isn't afraid to say what is on his mind.

  “There was a reason I picked you, Aaron, aside from your poor attitude. You have balls and I knew our daughter was going to need them. I was aware that your line was full of males, so inserting a little estrogen to the field was an added bonus.”

  “We have established that Ben is not on the premises. Is there anything else we can do for you?” Sebastian asks. I can feel him and Alex both standing close behind me. The conversation hasn't been too hostile, by my estimation, but they are ready to reel me in if need be.

  “No ideas at all where he ran off to? The only times he has ever disobeyed me is when you were involved. I don't understand his quest for offspring. I went through the ordeal once and I don't have much to show for it. It isn't like my daughter is going to follow in my footsteps like I had hoped. You are a little too old for me to retrain your moral compass.”

  I have faith that even if she did raise me, I would have somehow been able to rise above the evilness running through her veins. There is the whole debate out there about nature versus nurture and at this moment in time, I am leaning towards the nature side of the battle. Just because it suits my needs.

  “No idea. He wasn't exactly welcome when he showed up, so I didn't do more than celebrate when he announced he was leaving. Now, if you don't mind showing yourself back to wherever you came from, I think we are done.” I will never win an award for world's best hostess. I didn't even offer her a drink.

  “Did you know you have a gaggle of pixies in your yard? They caught me by surprise when I was giving myself a tour of the grounds. I haven't ever seen a pixie in the flesh before and I about swatted one of them thinking it was a wretched butterfly.”

  I take it she isn’t quite ready to leave just yet. Going through my checklist of ways to get rid of people I don’t want around, I have already tried being an unwelcome host, which usually is enough. I think it is about time to move on to the one about assigning the unwanted guest some chores. Is cleaning the toilets a dirty enough job to get rid of the Devil?

  “Excuse me, Grandmother,” Sophia decides to speak up. “I am sure you would appreciate that we have a very important meeting that we are running behind for. Maybe if you could come back next Tuesday we could sit down for a nice lunch and get to know each other.”

  Not the route I would have taken. It is way too much like something one of her fathers would say, but even in this circumstance, I don’t think they would go that direction.

  “A peace maker. You guys really need to let the little one spend her weekends with me. I can work that right out of her.”

  “I think we
will keep her the way she is, thanks.” Sebby’s tone clearly states if Lucy makes a move to try to spend quality time with Sophia, she will be met with a bazooka. I am not sure what he could load into the bazooka to worry Lucifer, but I imagine he would come up with something.

  “Fine. I will be back next week to try to get to know my daughter’s family. Until then, just holler if you need anything. Word will get back to me and I will see if I can make room in my schedule for a visit,” Lucy says. As the Devil, she should be used to people not wanting her around.

  Before I can reply, a hole opens up in the ground and she disappears through it. The earth remains open when she leaves. I stare at it for a couple of seconds expecting it to close, but nothing happens.

  “Clyde,” I yell hoping he can hear me. A giant void in the yard is a hazard and short of having one of the guards fill it, Clyde is my best bet.

  “You rang? Holy crap, did a giant gopher come through here? You should have called me. I always miss all the fun.”

  “Try to stay out of the refrigerator for five seconds and you won’t miss Lucifer showing up and leaving a divot when we tell her to get lost. Do you think you can fix it?”

  “Do I look like a front-end loader? Is there a pile of dirt somewhere you think I can use to fill it up?”

  I must have interrupted his snack. He is always moody when someone comes in between him and food. “I have seen you open portals before and I thought maybe you could take care of one that someone forgot to close. If that is above your skill level, we can get someone else to take care of it.”

  “You can be a real female dog sometimes, Mother. Go in and have your little meeting and I will take care of the pit. You may want me to wait until after the meeting is over, in case you have any bodies that need hiding.”

  “Work on the repair. Someone in the room will make sure I don’t kill anyone,” I say and turn to leave him to his work. “Someone better have a plate of bacon ready for me.”