by Nina Bangs
“Oh, yes, you will definitely leave and never come back.”
And suddenly Ted disappeared.
“Where’d he go?” someone asked.
Edge turned to search for Passion just as Bourne’s body jerked. He drew in a deep breath. Passion closed her eyes, relief washing over her. Both Edge and Bourne were alive.
Bourne stared up at her. “Thank you.”
For just a moment, Passion saw him. Not physically, but as a brilliant energy burst in her mind. And the seeing took her breath away. “What are you?” She could barely force the words past her lips.
His gaze never left her even as his answer filled her mind. “What you would never imagine.”
She waited.
“But some things should remain unknown.”
She nodded.
Edge reached them and crouched down beside Passion. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. His answer was more for Bourne than the troublemaker who’d asked the question. “Ted dematerialized, but I made sure he’ll never materialize anywhere else. All that he was is scattered across the universe now.”
“Good.” Bourne sat up. “I’m getting too old for this. Help me up.”
Ganymede had joined them. He pulled Bourne to his feet. “What do we do with all Ted’s people?”
Bourne scanned the room, his gaze resting on the two bodies of his own people. His expression was grim. He glanced at Passion.
She shook her head. “Sorry. Their souls have left.”
He nodded. “I don’t have the energy to deal with Ted’s people right now. We’ll send them through the portal to join Kemp and Hope until I’ve recovered. The worst they can do there is trash my home.” He didn’t look happy at that prospect.
Bourne looked at Ganymede. “You have the power to open the portal and send them through.”
Ganymede nodded. “We need more nights like this, Boss. You know, sort of recreational periods where we can cut loose and kick ass.”
“Glad you enjoyed it.” Bourne still looked weak. “Take care of Ted’s people and then join me in the meeting room. I want Edge, Passion, and Sparkle there too.”
Then he raised his voice so everyone in the room could hear him. “I’m proud of you. I know I don’t praise you often…”
“Like never,” someone in the crowd muttered.
Everyone laughed.
Bourne laughed with them. “Okay, I’ll try to do better from now on. But know that through all the centuries, I’ve recognized your greatness. And if I’d died permanently tonight, I know that you would’ve carried on because every one of you is that strong.”
He waited for the cheers to die down. “Now bring our fallen comrades to me.”
Silence fell as they gently laid the two men at his feet. Sadness wrapped around her. She hadn’t saved them.
“You can’t save everyone.”
Edge’s whispered comfort warmed her, eased her guilt.
Bourne crouched beside the bodies. Sorrow seemed to reveal the ancient being Passion knew lived behind that beautiful face. “Thank you for your sacrifice. I release you from your service, and I send you to your reward. We will always honor your memory.” The bodies disappeared. He lowered his head, and everyone waited in silence.
Finally, he straightened and looked over the cosmic troublemakers watching him. “Go. Relax and celebrate.” He seemed to consider his words. “Don’t celebrate too much. I want Galveston to still be here tomorrow.”
Passion felt the release of tension. Except for the ones who would help Ganymede get Ted’s people to the portal, the troublemakers left the hall.
Bourne looked at the others who’d fought with them. “Dacian, it’s almost dawn. Get some sleep. I appreciate what you did tonight.” His gaze moved on to Bain, Zane, and Holgarth. “I’ll remember all of you.”
They nodded. And Passion noticed that Holgarth’s gaze kept returning to his son. She hoped they could work things out.
Edge spoke up. “Murmur brought down the five floating bastards.”
Bourne smiled. “I owe you five floating bastards, Murmur.”
Murmur’s eyes lit. “This is the second favor you guys owe me. I’ll have to visit more often.”
Passion let everything drift past her while she thought about the monumental event that had happened tonight. Edge loved her. He really loved her. She rolled the words around in her mind and felt them melt into her heart. He’d said them, and she’d never let him take them back. She clasped his hand. “Let’s get to the meeting room and see what Bourne wants. Then I’ll tell you what I want.”
His smile was a slow slide of sensual promise. “No matter how much you want, sweetheart, it’ll only be a speck in the universe compared to my list.”
20
Bourne sat at the head of the table in the small hotel meeting room. He waited as the last person took her seat. Sparkle.
“Where were you?” Ganymede was still in human form, and he didn’t look happy to be here. He glanced at the others in the room. “Let’s get this over with. I’m hungry.”
Sparkle speared him with a death stare. “Hey, I sacrificed my favorite shoes to the cause tonight. I had to get another pair. So stuff it, Mede.”
Edge smiled at Ganymede. “Looks like you’ve lost your honeybunny status.”
Bourne took over. “I’ll keep this short. I failed tonight.”
“It was six against one. And they were all powerful. Don’t beat yourself up over this.” Ganymede whispered an aside to Sparkle. “Have any candy in your purse?”
“No.” Sparkle didn’t look forgiving.
“Still, I should’ve anticipated that Ted would cheat.” Bourne shook his head. “It’d been a long time since anyone challenged me. I’d grown complacent.”
Edge voiced his thoughts. “Ted was strong, but you could’ve taken him in a straight–up battle. I’ve been wondering…” He didn’t quite know how to explain his thoughts. “His phony angels were as powerful as us. The one edge we had was our fighting experience. What are they?” He glanced at Passion. “What are you?” Besides the woman I love.
She leaned toward him. “I remember something I said to you a while back. We balance each other. I’m life and you’re death. Do you think…?”
Edge got it at the same time everyone else seemed to.
“They are us? Only instead of being cosmic troublemakers, they’re cosmic do–gooders?” Sparkle sounded horrified. “Oh. My. God. That means there’s some tight-assed bitch in that crowd ready to undo all the bad I’ve accomplished. She’ll bring together couples who’re perfect for each other and encourage them to fall in love, marry, and only have sex in the missionary position. I feel like puking.”
Ganymede shrugged. “I don’t feel threatened.”
“Not until one of them starts following you around to calm all that beautiful chaos you love so much. He’ll probably try to put you on a diet, take away your ice cream, and encourage you to exercise.” Sparkle looked as though the thought intrigued her.
Ganymede’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Then he’ll have a really short lifespan.”
Bourne’s gaze turned thoughtful. “You’re right, Passion. It all makes sense now. I wondered why everyone I found instinctively chose chaos when I knew the universe always balanced things in some way.” He looked excited. “They belong with us.”
“Speak for yourself.” Ganymede poked Sparkle. “Look in your purse. Maybe you have a pack of Life Savers in there somewhere.”
With a resigned sigh, she peeked inside. “One Life Saver with lint stuck to it.”
“I’ll take it.”
Bourne seemed to make an effort to pull himself away from thoughts of his new recruits. “I have two more things to discuss before I let you go.” He focused on Edge. “Cinn’s been nagging me about allowing you to resign from your position as Death.”
Startled, Edge glanced at Passion.
She shrugged. “I might’ve mentioned that I’d appreciate her help.”
Then she returned to watching Bourne.
Bourne raked his fingers through his hair. “I’ve known for a while that you weren’t happy with the job, but I have a problem. Death is an important position. If I let you walk away, who takes your place?” He looked troubled. “I owe you for tonight, and if I could, I’d give you something else to do.”
Sparkle jumped to her feet. “Canis.”
“Who?” Bourne sounded puzzled.
“Passion came to me for help in finding a way to free Edge. So I did some research. I found Canis, and I’ve already talked to him. He’s powerful, and he’s chomping at the bit to be Death.” Sparkle glowed with triumph.
Edge looked at Passion. He raised one brow. “Is there anyone you didn’t ask?”
“Well, I wanted you to be happy.” She fidgeted. “And I couldn’t do it by myself. So I went to the people I thought would be the most help.” She looked up at him from beneath her lashes.
He tried to look pissed, but his lips lifted into a smile in spite of his best effort. Would he ever be able to stay mad at her? He hoped not.
“It might work.” Bourne sat thinking. Finally, he nodded. “I’ll do it. Edge, you can trade places with Canis.”
Now for the big question. Edge took a deep breath. “So what does Canis do?”
Bourne looked amused. “Canis is in charge of fomenting chaos in the government. But he’s been bored for a long time. Seems as though the politicians have done such a great job of creating their own chaos that he hasn’t had anything to do.” Now Bourne was openly grinning. “In fact, you can probably keep your job here. And if the two parties ever start agreeing with each other about anything, you can take a quick trip to DC. But I wouldn’t count on that happening anytime soon.”
“Thank you.” Edge closed his eyes and allowed the joy and relief to roll over him. He felt Passion’s hand clasp his. He tightened his grip. Never letting her go, never.
When he opened his eyes, Bourne was leaning back, a bemused expression on his face. “I’ve been the Big Boss for a long time. But after tonight, I’ve decided I need some help.”
Startled, everyone leaned forward.
“I died tonight. And if not for Passion, you’d all be chasing your tails trying to figure out what to do. I’ve always handled everything myself, and I never planned for an emergency like this.”
He paused so long that Edge wanted to drag the words from him.
“So I’ve decided to appoint a second.” Bourne allowed the implications to sink in. “I’ll personally train this person to take over in case I’m dead or unable to be the Big Boss anymore. They’ll know all that I know.”
“No one could take your place.” Ganymede glanced away.
Edge grinned. Ganymede felt embarrassed spouting anything that sounded even vaguely like affection for his leader.
Bourne steepled his fingers and stared over their heads. “I appreciate the compliment. This person might not be your ultimate choice for leader, but at least you’ll have someone smart, with common sense to move you forward. Let me say first that sheer physical power wasn’t my first consideration.”
“Edge proved tonight that he’s strong enough to defeat almost any challenger. And I’ve always suspected you could kick my butt, Ganymede, if you felt motivated.” He shrugged. “This appointment is also a little selfish. Even if I’m the Big Boss for thousands of years to come, I need someone to help me. Especially now with the new ones.”
“Who is it?” Passion asked for all of them.
Bourne smiled. “Sparkle Stardust, do I have a job for you.”
Passion stood on the deck of the Pirate Ship, staring into the darkness, aware with every cell in her body of the man standing beside her. It was cool, but not cold. She reveled in the night and what it would bring.
After sleeping the day away, she’d wakened to the news that Sparkle was keeping the park closed for a week until everything was straightened out.
That meant…
She turned to Edge. “We have seven days to make love at every attraction.” Passion reached up to slide her fingers along his jaw.
He angled his head to kiss her fingers. “An exhausting assignment, but doable.”
His smile was so sensual she wanted to throw him to the deck and rip his clothes from his perfect body. She drew in a deep calming breath. No, they’d already done the fast and furious twice before. This time she’d draw out the pleasure until neither of them could wait another moment.
“I’m very good at organizing things. During the day we can talk about our wedding…” The poor guy hadn’t even gotten all of the words to his proposal out before she’d shouted yes and pounced on him. Okay, so she was pretty eager. “And at night we can…”
His smile widened, a little savage and a lot predatory. “I like the nights best.” He pulled her away from the deck and guided her into the captain’s cabin. Then he reached for her.
“Wait.” She pushed him toward the captain’s bed. “Make yourself comfortable, because I have something planned for you.”
Passion watched with avid eyes as he pulled his T–shirt over his head and then slid his jeans down his narrow hips. She had to remind herself to blink.
When he was done, he sprawled across the bed, almost convincing her to abandon her plans. No, she was made of sterner stuff.
She smiled at him and then began to undress, drawing the torture out by going very, very slowly. His low growl made her shiver.
When she stood naked before him, she bent to draw the small bag from the pocket of her jacket. She straightened and offered him the sexiest smile she had.
“I’m going to dance for you. You like chocolate, don’t you?”
And she began her Dance of the Seven Hershey’s Kisses.
Turn the page for a preview of
Nina Bangs’s next Castle of Dark Dreams novel…
Wicked Whispers
Coming soon from Berkley Sensation!
The music pressed against the inside of his skull, a melodic migraine pounding out a deadly rhythm in his head. Murmur resisted the urge to just let go, to free his songs, to stop their ice-pick notes from jabbing at him. Pain-free seemed like a good place to be.
He gritted his teeth against the agony. “I need to do a pressure release before my head explodes. I don’t think vacuuming up demon brains is part of the maid’s job description.” Even pacing this hotel room would work off some of the tension buzzing in his brain, but moving hurt too much, so he simply sat as still as he could in the chair facing Bain.
“Control it. If not, they’ll kick you out of the castle, and I need your help.” Bain leaned back in his chair and watched his friend from hooded eyes.
Murmur took a deep breath. “I never lose control. So to keep my record intact, I’ll have to take my show on the road. Where can I go to defuse?” The castle-slash-hotel might specialize in fantasy role-playing, but Murmur didn’t think they were ready for what he’d deliver.
Music was his power, but it was also his weakness. If he kept it captive for too long, the pain crippled him. And at some point it might even drive him crazy. What the world did not need was a mad music demon.
Bain shrugged. “It’s late, so I’d try the beach. No one there to hear you. But if some of your music does creep back into the castle, no big deal. Remember, I saw you in action here a few weeks ago. You pissed me off with that compulsion you laid on everyone, but we all danced and had a good time. No harm.” He shrugged. “And sure, you were a little scary in the final showdown with Ted, but all demons ramp up the terror.” His grin promised he could take scary to a whole new level. “It’s what makes us beloved by all.”
No harm because I stopped the dance in time. But I didn’t want to stop it. I wanted it to go on and on and on…Murmur knew his smile was bitter. He winced. Damn, even that small use of facial muscles upped the agony. “Don’t be an ass, Bain. You know what would happen if I lost control, so don’t act as if it’s nothing.” He stood and walked slowly to t
he door, each tortured step sending new vibrations rattling around inside his aching head.
“Fine. Do your thing.” Bain’s tone said he still didn’t get it. He glanced at Murmur’s music system. “This is a pretty fancy setup for just a hotel stay. Maybe you should turn it on and relax with some mellow tunes instead of dragging yourself to the beach.”
“I have a ‘fancy setup’ because I need the music.” He and the other demon had been friends for millennia, but that didn’t mean they knew squat about each other. Demons weren’t social creatures, and being friends simply meant they didn’t try to tear each other apart when they met. All right, so Bain and he were a little closer than that, but Bain had only experienced Murmur’s music on a small scale. He’d never really seen what happened when Murmur got serious.
Bain heaved an exaggerated sigh and rose to follow him. “Then I’ll leave you to your midnight concert. I’m due for my last fantasy performance of the night in about ten minutes. Give a shout if you need me.” He paused before heading for the winding stairs leading down to the great hall. “And thanks for sticking around. I appreciate it.” Then he was gone.
For a demon, Bain’s words were the same as a big hug and a sloppy kiss from a human. Demons didn’t display emotions. Most of the time, they didn’t have any to display. Okay, so maybe there were occasional outbursts of rage leading to mass destruction. But that was about the limit to their softer feelings.
Murmur took the elevator. No way would he survive the explosion of pain as each foot landed on those stone steps. From there he staggered out of the castle, his hands over his ears, trying to block all the human voices adding to the din in his head.
He stumbled across Seawall Boulevard and down the steps leading to the beach. This was all Bain’s fault. The other demon had called Murmur to help with some yet–to–be–explained vengeance plot. Since then Murmur had been stuck on Galveston Island, unable to find a place far enough away from people to free his music.
