The Death Skull: Relic Defender, Book 2

by Cassiel Knight

  Jackson looked away first, grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and cleaned his sword with it before sheathing the blade. “What about the woman? She’s a succubus?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought they only came out during the night. Visiting a human when sleeping. Screwing them until they die happy.”

  “The stories you humans tell are only partly true.”

  His lips twisted. “Which part?”

  “Succubi and incubi, their male counterparts, do visit mortals during sleep and give them intensely erotic dreams, but they are not the beautiful men and women your artists like to portray. The reality is far different.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Jackson, we don’t have time for this. Pammon is gone, but he will be back. I can only send him back to Hell. He will recover and return. Especially if we stay here. And he won’t come alone.”

  “Humor me, Mari. I need to know what I’m up against, and I’m getting stinkin’ sick and tired of being that thing’s lovesick puppet.”

  She sighed again.

  “You saw the real form of a succubus. An incubus is similar but male. They take on the appearance of attractive humans in order to seduce them. Not to give you pleasurable dreams and certainly not, as has been theorized by humans, to milk semen from human males to place in human females to make cambions, half-human children of succubi and incubi. No, the succubi and incubi are quite capable of making children on their own.”

  “Then why do they bother?”

  “They feed on the emotions resulting from sexual intercourse.” She gestured to the dry husk and pile of ash. “This is what they do. Drain the human and leave behind what you see here. You are food. That’s all.”

  “How do you kill one?”

  “As you might have noticed, succubi are vain and the only thing they love more than themselves is a reflection of themselves.”

  “A mirror?”

  She nodded. “If the demon sees its own reflection in a mirror, it will become momentarily trapped within the glass. As soon as the demon is trapped, the mirror is dropped. The fall symbolizes the fall of angels from Heaven. The mirror will shatter, and the demon will die.”

  “Sounds like the plot of a bad movie,” he muttered.

  She couldn’t argue with his statement. Sometimes the tales and legends around her seemed too incredible to be true. Even for one who didn’t know anything else.

  His turn to sigh. “So, what we have here is two dead people, no skull and no idea where it is or who has it.”

  “That is our current situation.”

  Muttering under his breath, Jackson kicked an overturned end table hard enough to send it several feet across the room until it crashed into the opposite wall. Wood that hadn’t already shattered from the fight splintered into tiny pieces.

  At a gasp, Mari had her sword out and pivoted toward the direction of the sound. She swung. Jackson grabbed her wrist. “Mari, wait!”

  She shot him a threatening look without taking her attention from the source of the gasp. Huddled into a fetal position behind the settee was a small figure. A miniature human, not much bigger than Rocky. The human lifted its head. Wide blue eyes swallowed a round face topped by curly brown hair. A female.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered.

  Jackson let go of Mari’s wrist and went over to the female. He crouched beside her. She flinched, her small form quivering.

  “Easy now, we aren’t going to hurt you,” he said, his voice pitched soft and soothing. Mari had heard him talk that way to a horse, and then to a dying woman. Then, as now, the rich tones struck a chord within her. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Luna.”

  “You live here, Luna?”

  She nodded. “I work for General Katungi.” Her gaze slid past Jackson and went to the pile of ash on the floor. “I guess this means I used to work for him.”

  “Jackson, we don’t have time for this.” Mari shifted from side to side.

  “She might be able to help us. Might know something about the skull.”

  “She’s a child. What can she know?”

  “Not a child, Mari. We call them little people.”

  Luna lifted her chin. “I prefer to be called a person, without any designation.”

  Jackson chuckled and tipped his head. “Yes, ma’am. Please accept my apologies.” He rose and held out a hand.

  Luna stared at it for a moment, looked back to the remains of her former employer and at Jackson. She unclasped her arms from around her knees and took his hand. Her tanned one looked tiny in his grasp.

  He gently pulled her to her feet. “My name’s Jackson.” He jerked a thumb in Mari’s direction. “This is Marisol. We’re looking for something very important.”

  Luna nodded. “I know. You’re searching for a crystal skull.”

  Jackson’s eyebrows shot up. Mari froze in the middle of putting away her sword and stared at Luna. The little person lifted her chin and met her gaze straight on.

  “What do you know about the crystal skull?” Mari frowned.

  Luna shrugged. “Not much about what it does. Just stories.” She dropped her gaze to the floor. “I listened when I could. I wanted to learn more about the skull.” She met Mari’s scrutiny again. “I’ve seen it do…things.”

  “What kind of things?” Jackson asked.

  Mari wondered too, but based on what Michael had said, she had a suspicion she knew exactly what “things” Luna had seen.

  “Bad things. Men dying.” The woman shuddered. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Where is the skull now? Is it here?”

  “It’s gone. Been gone for a couple of weeks now. Things have been getting worse around here. People disappearing. More attacks against the compound.”

  Luna lowered her voice. Both Jackson and Mari had to lean forward a bit and strain to listen. “I think that, somehow, the skull has protected Katungi, and when the skull was gone, bad things began to happen to him.”

  Mari straightened. The skull protected him? Was that why Beliel wanted it? For its powers to kill others but also because it protected its owner? Then why would the human have allowed the skull to be taken?

  “Do you know what happened to the skull?” Jackson asked.

  Luna nodded but she didn’t say anything more. Her gaze went between Jackson and Mari, her expression searching. There was something old behind her eyes. Something that made Mari think Luna knew more and was more than she appeared. There was nothing otherworldly about her, just that ancient darkness behind the blue.

  “Why do you want the skull?” Luna countered instead of answering their question.

  Jackson frowned then he recovered. “We want to protect it. Keep it in a safe place.”

  The little woman’s head bobbed. “There’s no safe place to keep such an evil thing.”

  His eyes darted to Mari’s and his brow lifted. She clearly read his “what the hell” expression.

  She faced Luna and bent over until her face was about five inches from the other woman’s. “Where we put it and what we do with it is of no concern to you. Tell us where the skull is and you won’t get hurt.”

  At Jackson’s muttering behind her—he disapproved of her tactics—Mari leaned back a little but kept her glare intact and focused on the woman who didn’t drop her gaze. Mari considered letting her glamour fade and show her red eyes and sharp canines. However, she suspected the sight of her real form would not frighten the scrappy human female who’d, rather quickly, dropped her terror.

  “Ma’am,” Jackson began before Mari could say anything else. Or do something like rip the woman’s head off. “If you don’t mind, we really need to know if you know anything about the skull and where it might be. A lot of lives depend on us finding it before the ones who were here before us do.” He kept half his attention on the annoyed fallen angel who had risen to her full height and moved away, but turned his most charming smile on Luna. “Anything you can tell us woul
d be appreciated.”

  Luna swung her head around and looked at him. “It was taken. About two months ago, by some man who said he came to evaluate it for scientific studies. He spent a few days here and when he left the skull was gone. Even though Katungi made sure he was carefully watched and searched when he left, the man still got away with the skull.” Her face softened. “I think he was rather brave.”

  Jackson usually didn’t pick up on emotions unless they up and hit him in the side of the head, but even he caught the message behind Luna’s words. Obviously, so did Mari because he clearly heard her give an aggravated sigh.

  Before she started ripping off Luna’s arms and legs like a fly, he asked, “Where was the man from?”

  “He didn’t say.” A mischievous smile pulled at the corners of her lips. “But I know where he’s going.”

  “Human, stop playing games,” Mari snarled and advanced on Luna.

  Jackson laid a hand on her arm as she passed him. His touch halted her. Muscles under her arm bunched. A reaction to her anger or his touch? She lifted her gaze to his then her eyes narrowed.

  Ignoring her red-tinged glare, he leaned forward. “Easy, Mari. We aren’t going to get anything from her if you scare the crap out of her.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded. He released her arm. Surprise filled him when, despite her reaction, she covered the place his fingers had been with her other hand. Did she feel something?

  He turned back to Luna. “Please, Luna, tell us what you know. We are running out of time.”

  “Don’t worry. The woman who was here did not get the information from Katungi. Only I know where the man went. He told me he was taking the skull to its home.”

  Home? Where the hell was the blasted thing’s home?

  A place occurred to him. Something he’d read in the research on the skull. “Do you mean Belize?”

  Like a bird, Luna’s head tilted again. “Belize? I do not know this place.”

  “What about Lubaantun?”

  Luna’s face brightened and she nodded. “Yes, yes, that’s it. He also called it the City of Fallen Stones. Said the skull had been taken from its resting place and he would return it.”

  Jackson rested on his heels. The City of Fallen Stones was in Belize. From what he’d learned, the ruins there were little more than a few groupings of stone, and the site had been explored so completely there was nothing else to find. How could the skull be returned and kept safe?

  He looked up at Mari. She stared at Luna, two vertical lines between her brows. He got the sense she was examining the little woman as if she were a particularly interesting bug. Did she want to squish or preserve the bug?

  “Mari.”

  She snapped her gaze to him. As always, the violet of her eyes hit him like a slap. What would they look like if they gazed at him with passion? Or love?

  Whoa, son. Love? Where’s that coming from? He may want to jump her bones but he sure as hell didn’t love her.

  He cleared his throat. “Looks like we are going to the jungle.”

  Mari nodded then lifted her head. “We must go. There are more humans coming.” She jerked her thumb at the pile of dead warlord. “This man’s people.” Her eyes widened, the red under the violet flaring again. After a few seconds, she looked at Jackson. “I’ve slowed them down but it won’t be for too long.”

  Jackson rose. “Thank you, Luna.” His gaze landed on the little woman.

  “I’ll be fine, Jackson,” she said, answering a question he’d only just thought about asking.

  He stared at her for a moment, bent his head in a brief nod and started for the door. Sometimes, he’d learned, it didn’t pay to ask about things he didn’t really want to know.

  The determined crunch of boots on the shattered wood told him Mari followed. He’d taken a couple of steps but came to a halt when he heard, “Wait.” He noted Mari did the same.

  “I have something else to tell you,” Luna said. He and Mari turned to face the other woman. Her expression was earnest and mysterious. “Something important.”

  “What is it?” Annoyance darkened Mari’s tone.

  Shit, he knew that edge in her voice. Meant she was borderline ready to knock heads. The way she glared at Luna meant she intended the woman to be the first.

  “The evil woman. She asked that one”—Luna continued as she pointed at the dead woman with the long red hair. The serenity in Luna’s blue gaze seemed to hold no clue just how close Mari was to exploding—“about her daughter. Catherine. The evil one was going to go after Catherine.”

  Mari lifted her shoulders impatiently. “This matters to us why, human? We do not have the time to protect one human female.”

  Jackson started to protest but Luna raised her arm and pointed at Mari. “She will go to her first. If she gets Catherine, she will know how to find the skull. And Beliel will then know how to use it.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Mari jerked her head back then narrowed her eyes at the woman. “For a human, you seem to know a lot about otherworldly things.”

  Luna smiled. “I know a lot of things, otherworldly or otherwise.”

  As Mari stared into the small female’s eyes, she got the sense she was looking at something more than human yet not demon or angel.

  Luna tsked. “Before you ask, you should be focused on what I know, not how I know it.”

  By Cerberus’s heads, the itch to pound her fists into the walls in frustration twitched within her. Mari’s shoulder blades burned with the need to release her wings. She and Jackson continually took one step forward only to be thrown two steps backward.

  Jackson swept a hand through his hair, tousling the sandy strands. His lips were pressed into a thin line. In his eyes, she saw the same aggravation mixed with confusion she was sure shone in hers.

  He met her gaze. “We don’t have a choice. We have to go and find this Catherine.”

  Mari growled. She turned to Luna. “Fine. I’ll play it your way. Where is this female?”

  Luna nodded at the dead woman. “Wherever this one came from.” She then did the bird thing with her head. “Do you need me to tell you everything?”

  This time Mari didn’t care. Her lips lifted over her canines as she snarled. Luna didn’t react except for the slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. The damnable human didn’t flinch or recoil in horror. Hellfire. Mari whirled and stalked over to the dead mortal female’s side. She crouched beside the body.

  Emerald eyes bulged, the shrunken flesh drawing away. Sadness and regret hovered behind stark terror. She peered closer. The emotions Mari was experiencing were only recordings of what the woman had felt. Her soul was gone. From the aural rips, it looked as if the mortal’s soul had been torn from her.

  Mari rocked back on her heels. Jahi hadn’t been content with draining the woman of her life energy. She’d stolen her soul, which meant a soul stealer had been present. And while soul stealers were common enough, they were loners. There was only one who worked with other demons—Beliel in particular. This confirmed Lucifer’s son was, indeed, in pursuit of the skull.

  If what the little woman said was true, he was much closer than them to finding it.

  Ignoring the rough, lizard-skin-like mortal shell, Mari placed her fingers on the dead woman’s forehead and closed her eyes. Not many Fallen possessed this power—the power to read the leftover energy from a mortal. Because of her affinity with fire and energy, she could reach inside and find past experiences. Closing out her surroundings, Mari allowed herself to sink deeper into the female. With the soul gone, there was only a bit of energy left.

  As Mari sorted through the weak streams, she saw a pale-white light deep into the barren psyche. Hmm. Interesting. It seemed the female had some latent abilities and while she’d lost her soul—she’d kept something back. Must have been important.

  Mari sent her own energy into the light, merging her dark violet with the faint glow, and was immediately thrust into the woman’s memory.<
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  The woman watched Catherine working the room. Her daughter’s hair, smooth with her dark strands shining under the lights a deep walnut against the blonde, bobbed as she flitted from guest to guest. She never stayed long in one place but made sure she visited with every one of the men and women present. Pride she’d never show her daughter swelled through her. There were so many things she’d done wrong and only one thing she’d gotten right, and that was Catherine. And that, to be honest only to herself, was purely not her doing.

  The dark man she’d met one night while she was attending a Hollywood A-list party was the reason she had a daughter. From the moment he entered the room, she only had eyes for him, and when he headed directly for her, she knew he felt the same.

  As if the partygoers knew he was someone special, they parted when he moved toward her. Her breath had hitched in her chest, the fragrance of night-blooming jasmine and the soft scent of roses filling her nostrils.

  Up close, the man was breathtaking. The tips of his dark hair brushed against his shoulders, a silken, dark river with light dancing in the strands. His strong jawline, clear of any five o’clock shadow, begged for her lips. He moved with ease, stalking toward her as if she were prey. She’d never seen a man like him.

  He stopped before her and bent his head in a brief nod. “Good evening. Lillian, isn’t it?”

  Her name on his lips eased over her skin, raising the tiny hairs on her arms and neck. “Yes,” she breathed, even though she suspected he knew who she was and his question was only a formality.

  “I’m Rafe Eveningstar.”

  She didn’t recognize the name. Not an actor then. Her gaze traveled down over his broad shoulders, across the midnight blue of his tux—a Ralph Lauren by the cut and fit of the fabric. His clothing screamed wealth and affluence.

  She gave him her hand. He brought it to his lips in an old-world gesture she rarely saw. Against her skin, his lips were warm and soft. A flush of desire rocketed through her, beginning in her chest and moving to her woman’s core. God in Heaven, she wanted this man.