by Ashur Rose
“What’s going on?” Cree asked. “After last night, we figured the place would be deserted.”
Jenny shrugged. “Everyone heard about the fight. We haven’t had this much excitement at The Sanctum since—well, since never. The man is waiting in the banquet room.”
They followed her sashaying form, water dripping from the lily pads draped over her shoulders.
“Aw, shit,” Cree muttered under his breath. “The banquet room. Didn't we destroy it during the fight?”
Upon entering, they could make out the damage freshly repaired. A long table now occupied the room with four chairs at one end and a single one at the far head. Jenny nodded for them to sit. “I’ll bring your usual.” She closed the door and vanished.
The Banes sat at their end of the table. With a balmy breeze, something like fireflies circled the chair at the far side, drawing closer together in their aerobatics until a solid glow formed. The illumination dimmed, revealing Magnus.
“I’m throwing the cost of repairs into this deal,” he said by way of greeting, waving his hand toward the corner and false balcony above.
Raze faced Cree with a hard expression before his brother could speak. All of them got the message—do not piss off the Light Fae.
“Realm-walking don’t come cheap, Stonies. Especially with big chunks of flesh like you.”
Following Raze’s lead, they only nodded in silent agreement.
Magnus frowned, apparently hoping for an argument. Blowing out his cheeks, the Fae set a ball of clay on the table in front of him. He held his hands out, palms a foot apart, over the mud ball. After a moment, the thing levitated between Magnus’ hands, spinning, throwing off dust. As its revolutions quickened, red-hot sparks flew from the ball, erupting in brilliant light in the air. The light turned to snow, gently falling before being swooped up by the wind of the spinning sphere. He chanted:
“Earth and wind and fire and hail
Threshold found betwixt the veil
Hail and earth and fire and wind
Take these assholes home again.”
They all threw derisive glances at the Fae for the last line of the chant. But it didn’t matter. No longer did they sit in a candlelit room in Chicago. The four Banes now perched upon boulders, a vault of bluest sky stretching above, truncated by snow-covered tors that rimmed the deep bowl of a valley.
The gateway to Empyrean.
Before them, a fog formed, roiling but contained. It lit from within, a cloud catching the first beams of dawn. For a moment, it took the form of a winged woman before the light suffusing it burst forth, submerging the Banes in solid light.
As one, they moved from their boulders to kneel, heads nearly touching stony ground beneath, hands folded before them.
Rise, children of the realm, and speak.
The voice echoed from the mountains, and simultaneously sounded only in their minds. Iain felt his heart plummet as his goddess did not address them in the way he’d become accustomed to—as Watchers of the Realm.
“We have information about a coming invasion.” Raze, the eldest and thus the proper one to speak for them, bowed his head.
The characteristic of the snow-white luminescence changed, shifting subtly. Beautiful and terrifying, a presence entered Iain’s consciousness.
You wish to covenant with this human you believe is your pure.
“I do,” Iain whispered. “I must.”
From your spectra, I find this true. From your mind, I know that she is the key that will free Zorn from his prison in the Nether.
“I will protect her from the shades,” Iain said.
You will not. You will covenant her, bind her to your will, and remove her to the safety of Empyrean.
Iain couldn’t speak for a moment. His mind was a whirlpool, his greatest desire conflicting with Lilith’s spirit. Could he even covenant her without her consent?
Through their connection to the Phyrss, Cree voiced Iain’s concern. “She’s a bit of a firebrand.”
A human. She shall do as she is commanded. Once you have covenanted, you will return to Empyrean as her escort. Otherwise, my permission is revoked.
Iain couldn’t bring himself to ask, return as a Watcher?
You will serve the realm as I deem fit. Exiled brothers, you will seek out the nature of Zorn’s scheme and reveal it to Me. I have no sense of the Earthly realm; thus, the Nether-spawn gather there. Fail me only with your deaths.
Again, the Banes sat at a long table in the banquet room of The Sanctum. From Magnus’ shit-eating grin, he was satisfied with whatever bone the Phyrss had tossed him. As for Iain and his brothers, they were as far from satisfied as could be.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
LILITH
HER EYES OPENED TO a darkening western sky beyond the surrounding warehouses and skyscrapers of the Fulton River District. It was too early for Iain to rise, she knew. Lilith decided to make coffee and try to find the laundry machines hidden somewhere in the massive loft.
As Lilith rose, she felt a weird stiffness in her muscles and joints. Stretching and yawning, she noticed the dressing was gone from her shoulder.
So were the ragged wounds.
That’s weird.
A little on edge, she pulled the sheet around her as a robe and padded around the space with her pathetic pile of clothing. She really needed to go shopping for something else to wear. After a few moments’ searching, she found a small laundry room and tossed her pathetic wardrobe in the washer.
Coffee time, she thought, rubbing her shoulder where the wound should have been. A lot of coffee.
Waiting for the machine to brew, she sat on the couch. Iain was on her mind, of course, and his refusal to go all the way with her until they committed to some kind of ceremony. Covenant, whatever that was. Most girls had trouble getting guys to commit, and here was Iain refusing to make love to her until she did. While even the thought of the huge, muscled man sent a quiver through her, she didn’t know how committed she could be to a man—a being, really—who only lived by night, turned into a statue by day, flew blind through Chicago, and destroyed demons as a career. She’d seen some strange things since becoming a hunter, but Iain and his brothers took the cake.
An hour and two cups of coffee later, she unbundled herself from the sheet and dressed in her borrowed clothing. Skylights above glowered with the setting of the sun. Footfalls sounded on the ceiling high above. Naked and glorious, Iain descended the narrow iron spiral stairs. He hid his face from her.
“Hey.” She thought about their shower together. Given his fixation for this covenant thing, was she coming on too strong?
He stepped into a pair of jeans that had been discarded by the stairs. “Before you ask me anything, please understand that I am unable to disobey.”
What the hell did that mean?
“Umm. Okay. Should I be asking you anything?” she said, feeling a little stung by his tone.
He inclined his head, grimacing a little.
“Okay, now you’re just acting weird. Come sit down and let’s talk about it. ”
Wheeling on his heel, Iain strode to her. “How is your shoulder, Lilith?”
“It’s fine,” she said, lifting her arm to rotate it. “Like it never happened. Like I dreamed up the entire fight at The Sanctum.”
“That pleases me,” he said, looking at her with milky eyes beyond brows knitted with concern. His expression bothered her.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“I am feeling a combination of things.”
This conversation was getting more confusing by the minute. “Tell me what’s going on.”
He sat next to her, pulling her legs over his lap for optimal closeness. His fingers trailed through her hair. She looked at his full lips, wanting to kiss them, to feel them all over her.
“Where I’m from, there is no word to describe what I’m about to say to you. In my home, as far as romantic entanglements are concerned, there exists only the feeling shared between
two individuals. It is mutual and sacred.” He looked away momentarily before wrapping his large hand around her wrist, pulling her so much closer. “I am fortunate, however, to share this feeling with a human, for there is a word she will understand. I am in love with you,” he said.
The words sent a liquid bomb off inside her. At the same time, a chill wind blew through her heart, her fingers and her lips trembling.
“You’re in love with me?”
Damn it, she knew it was true. Lilith wanted more time with him before voicing such a dangerous thought. But Iain had done it for her. It was not a question, but a statement of fact. And before she could respond, he placed his fingers to her mouth to stop her.
“I couldn’t let you die,” Iain continued. “The venom in your wound would have killed you within a day’s time. I did what I had to do.”
Die? The last thing she remembered was their mind-blowing shower after her trip to the ER. She pulled his fingers away. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been unconscious for two days. If I hadn’t covenanted with you, I could not have healed you. Admittedly, I rejoiced when the Phyrss granted me permission. You’re…” She could see he was searching. “Stuck with me.”
Her jaw dropped. For a few moments, she was left scrambling for words. “Stuck with you?” Lilith raised a brow. She had only planned on staying with him for a few days. But given what had happened last night—or was it really days ago?—between them, she couldn’t see the harm in sticking around a little longer. “For how long?”
“Forever.”
“What?” She put her coffee mug on the floor near her feet. “Iain, I don’t know what you mean by that, but I do know I don’t want to be joined with anyone forever.”
“Of course you do,” he said. “You feel it in your heart.”
She did. But it infuriated her that she hadn’t been allowed a choice. This sounded like a marriage. No way was she ready for that. Not even with this sexy giant who sent her into convulsions of lust at a simple touch.
“You didn’t think it might be a good idea to ask me?”
He faced away. “Of course I did. But this was an emergency. With you being the key to Zorn’s freedom, the Phyrss wanted you alive and protected in my home realm. There was no other way.”
“The key to what?” She found herself on her feet, accidently spilling the mug of coffee.
“The shades mean to use you to free Zorn, so that he leads them to attack my home again. The Phyrss will not allow this.”
“So you used some kind of marriage hoodoo on me to keep me around? Because I’m important to those demons?”
Iain grimaced. “No. It wasn’t what I wanted. In time, you would come to realize that you and I were meant to be together eternally. That you are my pure, as I am to you. I wanted to give you that time, to enjoy every minute of that awakening. I’ve been robbed of that, but ultimately, I have you. It’s all that I want, all I’ve ever wanted.”
When he touched her, the milkiness of his eyes faded away. Deep pools of green stared at her. And that was good. She needed him to see her face to understand how seriously wrong this was. “What about what I want?”
“You want the same. You just don’t realize it yet.”
“Fuck you!” She put her hands on her hips, her face flushed as she leaned forward. “How the hell do you know what I want? My life sucks, I admit it. But I still have friends here, my dad—“
She cursed the breaking of her voice. Lilith hadn’t seen her father since she’d ascended. She’d run away, refusing to put him in danger. Still, she’d known she would find a way to see him again. Now Iain was talking about another realm, another dimension— about eternity. “What the hell, Iain—”
“Lilith, shut up and listen.”
There was so much more to say. But something made her stop talking and pay attention to him.
“We are bound together, as it should be, as it was always meant to be. We possess each other fully. Our covenant is still raw, our situation still dangerous. But I vow to make you happy, to protect you at the cost of my own life, and to love you with all my heart for the rest of our days. This, I promise you.”
She closed her eyes. He was right. She could feel it all the way to her marrow. Even in her fury, she felt aroused by his mere proximity. Still, Lilith refused to be a pawn in a game between these gargoyles and their demon enemies, regardless of the fact that she felt a deep connection, a longing, a full-on lust, for Iain.
Was she in love with him?
She toyed with the thought all of two seconds before answering herself with an unquestionable yes.
Was she going to be carted off like some sack of potatoes?
Hell fucking no.
Lilith had been in love once before. Once. The terrible way it had ended had been a tormenting thought in the back of her mind every day. She’d managed to get on with her life, stupid and pointless as it had been. Without a doubt, she could get on with her life—without Iain.
Calming herself with a decision, she said, “I need some time.” However pointless that statement may mean given their ‘forever’ bond.
“I understand.”
No, you don’t, you son of a bitch. You’re so confident, so arrogant, she thought. Instead, she said, “And some food. Don’t you Dryg ever eat?”
Iain rose and moved to a closet. Draped in a leather trench coat, he nodded to her. “I’ll be back shortly.”
Distantly, she heard the elevator. Lilith pressed her face to a window on the far side of the loft, gazing out at the dark city. Come the daylight, Iain would have to perch. While he was frozen in his stone form, Lilith would be free to run.
They didn’t speak for the rest of the night. Her stomach knotted as she considered the best way out of town. With no money, her only options were walking or hitching a ride.
In the bedroom, she heard Iain’s tread on the metal staircase as he went to perch. Her longing for him nearly undid her resolve. It was more than physical, more than emotional—it felt inevitable, like the force of gravity pulling her back to him. Near tears, she fought her instinct to stay.
Pulling it together, she made a breakfast of their Chinese food leftovers and took a shower, not knowing the next time she might have a meal or a bath. She used the smaller ensuite, memories of the huge, luxurious shower weighing on her.
As the sun climbed, she put on her ridiculous platforms and walked down the stairs to the street.
For a few blocks, she walked, trying to get her bearings. She had only been in Iain’s Fulton River District neighborhood at night. She found herself on West Grand Avenue, a street that led east to the Navy Pier. She had always wanted to visit there. The public space would invite conflict with the demons, so she’d shied away. Now, it seemed, she would never see it.
Her best shot of getting away quickly involved hitching a ride with someone getting on the thruway. But there was no easy access downtown. She counted her remaining money. At least a city bus wasn’t that expensive, and she knew a place where a ride was almost guaranteed.
She hopped on the J14, riding southeast, and transferred to the 353 bus. While she figured there were many closer places to thumb her way out of Chicago, she only knew the way she’d come in.
With the distance, she felt a greater pull from Iain. This was not the intense burning. Rather, it was like a hole in her heart, a hollow in her soul, and the certainty she was making a terrible decision.
She got off the bus, watched it make a turn up East 170th, and started the other way. Twenty minutes later, she reached a rest stop on Highway 294—gas stations, fast food, souvenirs, a place where truckers as well as families might make a stop on their way someplace far from here.
Lilith walked around, exploring. She avoided the trucker areas—asking for a ride might make her out to be a truck stop hooker. After a few hours, she found what she was looking for: a woman alone, dressed in business attire, probably bound for an out-of-town meeting.
The
woman sat at a table in the sub shop finishing a daily special, a briefcase at her feet. She was at least fifteen years older than Lilith, her brown hair shot with silver, slightly heavy, and with smile lines around her eyes. For a moment, Lilith stood awkwardly. The woman took notice of her.
“Do I know you?”
“No. I’m Lilith. Lilith Harper.”
The woman’s brows rose above her glasses. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so,” Lilith said. “I really need a ride out of town.”
Her expression changed and she gazed at her finished meal. “I don’t pick up hitchhikers.”
“I wouldn’t ask—in fact, this is pretty embarrassing…” What would make the woman relent? Lilith went with the truth. “I have this boyfriend.”
That brought the woman around. “Is he abusing you?”
“No. He’s just ultra-clingy, super controlling. I just have to get away from him. At least for a while until I can figure things out.”
The woman sighed—hooked! “I’m only going as far as Lincoln, Nebraska.”
“Fine with me.” Lilith fumbled through her bra, coming out with a few damp bills. “I can give you twenty-three dollars for gas.”
The woman stood. “Keep it. I’m already gassed up.”
They walked out together into the expansive parking lot, hardly any vehicles parked. “I’m Helen Peters, by the way. I have a meeting in Lincoln tomorrow morning, so don’t mind my lead foot.”
A lead foot sounded great to Lilith. Helen fished her keys from her purse and beeped open a newer Chrysler. From the far side of the lot, a car zoomed toward them. Lilith cast nervous eyes on it and saw an overweight family of three—mother, father and teenage girl. Their SUV parked in the space in front of Helen’s car, the sound of an argument audible.
The doors of the family vehicle opened as Lilith and Helen reached the Chrysler. Still speaking in hushed but angry tones, the family started toward the sub shop. What was it about them that set Lilith on edge?
