Into the Void (The Godhunter, Book 10)

by Amy Sumida

  “No, no,” I waved away his questions. “They're fine with Salem visiting. There's just been some drama as usual. Let's just leave it there though. What happens in Faerie, stays in Faerie.”

  “If you're sure,” Az frowned. “You don't want to talk about it?”

  “If I remember correctly, I promised to show you my half-form,” I skirted the question.

  I took the hem of my dress in hand and lifted it over my head to complete my bid at distraction. His frown was gone by the time I looked on his face again. I grinned at his rapt attention, amazed yet again that I could have that affect on him, and stepped out of my underwear. I put all of the clothes on the couch and then called my dragon up, making sure to ask her for the half-form instead of the full dragon. I'd been practicing in Faerie but this was the first time I was trying it in the God Realm.

  It came upon me quickly, gold scales lifting to the surface at my temples and spreading down the sides of my face, down my neck and around my breasts. They continued down the sides of my legs as wings sprouted from my back with a slightly itchy sensation, and a tail swished into existence. My hands became claws, my feet grew talons, and a line of white horns rose in a line down the center of the top of my head, sprouting through my hair like a mohawk.

  “Sweet Goddess of Lust,” Azrael breathed as he came forward. “You look like the demoness of my dreams.”

  “You've dreamed about demon girls?” I giggled and pulled him closer.

  “I was raised among them,” he shrugged, “they've always held a unique attraction for me.”

  “Hmm, that works out well for me,” I ran a claw down his chest and popped open the buttons of his nice shirt.

  “And for me,” his wings whooshed out with a flap of sound and then curled around mine.

  “Are your wings as sensitive as mine?” I asked around a sharp inhale. The skin making up the folds of my wings were tough but were also webbed with nerves. Stroking them were like stroking my bare back, not exactly naughty but getting close.

  “Yes, each feather transmits sensation,” he leaned forward and I pulled his shirt from his pants.

  “What the?” I pulled back and looked at the ends of material. “What's up with your shirt?”

  “It's made to flow around the wings,” he laughed and pulled it off completely. Then his pants were gone too and he was pulling me out toward the front door. “It's nice to not have to use magic on all my clothing just to accommodate my wings.”

  “Angel fashion,” I laughed. “Sweet.”

  We ran down the front stairs and out into the Garden of Eden, as naked as Adam and Eve. Night had fallen in Shehaquim and the stars were out in full force but they had nothing on Azrael's eyes. His eyes had gone diamond clear and sparkled brighter in the dark, a light I would follow anywhere, and he flashed them at me over his shoulder before he took to the air.

  I jumped up after him, muscles straining with the first great flap that was needed for take off. Then we were side by side, holding hands as the ground fell away beneath us. We flew straight up, till the homes of the angels were nothing but a child's play set beneath our feet. Then we hovered and came together, his arms around my waist, mine around his neck as he kissed me with wild heat. A kiss hotter than Hell, made all the hotter for being shared in Heaven.

  It was passionate enough to make the lust magic rise inside me and my skin began to glow red beneath his hands. The strong sound of our beating wings filled my ears as Azrael's scent filled my nose, vanilla orchids. Such a feminine scent but it didn't seem feminine on him, it smelled divine, the way an angel should smell. Something sacred and yet sexy. His hands were free to roam my body now that he didn't have to support my weight and he used it to his advantage. They slid over my hot skin, dragging the lust magic with them, and delved into delicious places till I was shaking with need.

  I slid up against him, the red glow of my skin highlighting his own as the glimmers from his eyes threw rainbows over my body. With the stars glittering around us and the moon above, our bodies took on an even more otherworldly beauty and I had to catch my breath, suddenly overwhelmed by the experience of being with Azrael. His face softened when he saw my expression, his hands moving slower up my sides, cupping my face a moment before sliding back down my neck and over my shoulders. Slowly, so slowly, they flowed over the place where my wings met my back, circling around the juncture.

  I cried out and plummeted, losing all ability to fly in the middle of the shocking pleasure that had shot through me. He caught me in a second, holding my weight as I adjusted to the sensation. I caught my breath, wetting my lips and staring at him with wide eyes. He didn't say anything, didn't laugh or make light of my faltering, just held me till long after he needed to, kissing me even more senseless the whole time.

  Then he let me go but kept contact, his hands sliding back slowly over the muscles along my wing bones. He trailed his fingers lightly down the inner side of my wings as they flapped, holding his hands loosely so that I controlled the level of intensity. It became more about me touching him than him touching me. The delicious pleasure tingled straight down my back and between my legs, making me arch in the air, my breasts rising into the most perfect position for him to take advantage of.

  The heat of his mouth sang to my dragon, delighting her as much as the touch of his tongue against my nipple. We slid together, our lower bodies aligned, his mouth at my breast, and my hands in his short dark hair. I slid them down as his mouth worked and experimentally caressed the edges of his wings. He jerked against me, moaning against my skin, and that was all the encouragement I needed. I stroked upward and then down, delighting in the shifting sensations of soft downy feathers at the top of his wings to slick rigid feathers near the bottom. With every stroke he twitched against me as if I were stroking something much more intimate.

  Finally, I could resist the pleasure of that more intimate piece of him no longer. I took him in hand and slid my tail around his waist to pull him closer. He raised a brow at me and shifted his body down an inch so he could get a better angle. I was hot and wet already, despite the cool night air, and the chill of his hard length was a little shocking but in a good way. My inner heat quickly conquered the cold and my legs slid around his as we both used each other for leverage. My tail wandered up his back, teasing the tips of his feathers as one of his hands crept into my hair and took a firm hold. Then we were riding the waves of passion like currents in the air, soaring ever higher, until we crested and the lust magic exploded around us like fireworks in the night sky.

  We sank slowly back down to the soft grass in the Summer section of Eden as the remnants of the lust magic sank into our skin and gave us one more shiver of ecstasy. I pulled my dragon in as soon as my feet touched the ground; everything sliding back into place inside me with a tingle of magic. I wanted to lie beneath Azrael and I wasn't comfortable enough with my wings yet to be able to lie on them like he could with his. So I laid back in my little human body, short and curvy once more, though he didn't seem to mind, and Azrael laid his body over mine, keeping his weight off of me with one arm.

  “I wouldn't mind a repeat of that sometime,” he grinned and gave me a slow kiss that had my toes curling up in anticipation.

  “I think I could manage that,” I said breathlessly.

  Then he settled beside me and pulled me into the curve of his side so we could look up at the stars together. His dark wings were behind and around us, surrounding me in softness and the scent of feathers. I hadn't realized that they had a scent but they did, my dragon could pick it up, though Azrael's feathers probably smelled different than your average bird's. It was a comforting scent, like smelling the sun on your lover's skin, warm and lightly spicy with the hint of fresh air. It was an intimate smell and it made me smile and snuggle closer.

  My mind was racing, my visit to Faerie still fresh in my head but now overlaid with the fantastic sex we'd just shared. It was like I couldn't process it all, random images and thoughts just kept popping
up. Like how Arach had been right about the feather smell. I didn't want that, didn't want to share this moment with the fey or even my fey husband. So I tried to focus on something else.

  “You told me once that bad angels weren't demons,” I finally decided on a topic that would get my mind back on Azrael. “That they'd be offended to be called demon, but Cid said he was an angel.”

  “He was,” Azrael nodded, I could feel the movement against my head. “He still is, but he's also a demon. Angels like those you met earlier today, would be offended to be classified with him because it would imply that they'd fought on the side of Lucifer during the war.”

  “Oh,” I frowned, “but you're an angel.”

  “I was a baby, remember?” I could hear his heart beating beneath my ear, it's beat slightly faster than a moment before. “I was born of an angel and the Holy Spirit. I never fought in the war and was never touched by the human belief that turned Dad's friends into demons.”

  “Wait a minute,” something obvious had just occurred to me. “You have to work with angels who fought against your father.”

  “That's right,” he swallowed hard. “I also rule most of them.”

  “I bet Luke loves that.”

  “Does he ever,” Az chuckled. “It took me awhile to accept that there was no right or wrong when it came to picking sides in the Great War. Siding with Jerry didn't make them evil and siding with my father didn't automatically make them good. They were just friends supporting each other and they got caught up in a fight that became way too serious.”

  “So it doesn't bother you?” I angled my head so I could get a better look at him.

  “Not anymore,” his tattoo flashed blue once, so bright I had to squint. “But if they were to interfere between you and I, I would be very bothered and I would make sure that they never bothered us again.” I caught a glimpse of Death then, the bones showing in sharp outlines beneath his skin for a moment as the whites of his eyes went dark. Night skies to the twin stars of his irises. Then it was gone and my lover was back.

  “You're kind of scary when you do that,” I teased him, though it was really to hide my nervousness. I'd never seen the death mask before, never known that he could actually look that way.

  “Good,” he kissed my forehead sweetly and looked back up at the sky. “I hope everyone else shares your opinion.”

  Whoever said you shouldn't fear the Reaper was an idiot.

  Chapter Nine

  I hadn't been exactly honest with Azrael. What happened in Faerie did not always stay in Faerie. This time it would just be a simple matter of research but I had a feeling that the future would see more and more fey issues making their way into the other realms. For now though, I would focus on the matter at hand so I could finish it quickly and get back on track with finding Odin.

  So I got onto my computer and two hours later I knew all about creating fire without the benefit of magic. From flamethrowers to Spontaneous Human Combustion, I knew every way you could burn someone to ash but I had no idea what was going on in Faerie. I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

  “Vat's wrong?” Kirill came up behind me and put a cup of coffee down on the table before he started to rub my shoulders.

  “Oh, just faerie shit,” I sighed, loving both his massage and the fact that he always remembered how I liked my coffee. “I need to figure out how a body could be burned to ash but remain in its shape until someone disturbs it.”

  “Do I even vant to know vhy?”

  “No, you absolutely do not,” I laughed. “It's research but it's important and I can't figure out how a fey could do it, especially one not of Fire.”

  “You could do it,” he shrugged.

  “Yeah but I'm also a fire fey,” I gave a slightly hysterical laugh. “I need to know how another fey could do it. A fey without my skills.”

  “Simple,” he frowned like maybe I was teasing him. “Magic.”

  “There isn't any fey magic that would let a faerie use an element not of his own.”

  “Who said fey magic?” Kirill cocked his head to the side. “Zere are god spells zat can do it. I've seen Nyavirezi use zem.”

  “God spells,” I whispered as my jaw fell open. “Damn but you're beautiful when you're saving my butt,” I pulled Kirill in close for a thorough kiss.

  “You vant me to get your book?” He lifted a brow. “I can save your butt more.”

  “It's right over there,” I pointed to where Ku's spellbook sat.

  Kirill retrieved the book and came back to sit beside me. He put his arm across the back of my chair and leaned into me so he could see the pages.

  “Fire casting,” I read from the table of contents. “There's a whole section.”

  “Da, I told you,” Kirill nodded and pushed back the heavy curtain of his hair that had fallen forward.

  I smiled at him, he handled that hair in such a feminine manner sometimes but I guess that was unavoidable when you had hair down to your ass. It's hard to look manly while you're flicking shiny black hair over your shoulder but Kirill pulled it off. Mainly because he looked like he didn't care. I pulled a section back toward me, stroking the silk of it through my fingers like a child with a favorite blanket. He leaned his forehead to mine in a very cat way and rubbed it back and forth. Then he nudged me and pointed to the page I'd turned to.

  “Zere it is,” he tapped the page. “Ashes to Ashes.”

  “How appropriate,” I went still as I looked over the artistic rendering of a body burnt black, arms up in a defensive gesture. “This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you, baby.”

  “My pleasure,” he purred.

  “Hold that thought,” I kissed him quick on the cheek and put the book back down. “I have one more thing to do before we can to see to some pleasure for both of us.”

  “I'll vait right here,” he sat back and crossed his arms over his thick chest, smiling in anticipation.

  “Then I'd best hurry,” I smiled back and raced from the room to grab a handkerchief I'd brought back from the Faerie Realm with me. I ran down to the tracing wall and traced over to Dr. Malcolm Armstrong's office.

  I went in invisible, just in case he had a visitor with him, but he was alone so I dropped the spell and unfortunately startled him. He threw the papers he'd been holding, up into the air, scattering them around his little office.

  “Dr. Armstrong, I'm so sorry,” I helped him pick up the papers. “I wanted to make sure you weren't with anyone before I popped in.”

  “Oh, it's okay, Vervain,” he laughed off his alarm. “I guess I should be used to that by now.”

  Dr. Armstrong had been hired by Demeter to alter the rabies virus into something that could harm an immortal. He'd done it unwillingly and he'd helped us fix his mistakes, so he was off the hook with the Froekn. We'd actually put him into a kind of god run witness protection program and hid him until the Demeter threat was neutralized. Then he'd gone back to work, at ease now that Demeter was dead.

  “I'd like to hire you,” I put the handkerchief on his desk. “Could you have the contents of this analyzed? I need to see if there's been an fire accelerant of some kind used.”

  “What is it?” He opened the hanky with his pen and peered at the pile of black ash.

  “It's part of a faerie corpse,” I said and he cringed. “I'm not sure if it will give you strange readings or anything because of that but what I'm looking for is what caused the body to burn so completely.” I put an envelope of cash on the desk. “I hope this will be enough to cover your expenses and pay for your expertise but if it isn't, just let me know and I'll bring you more. You remember my number, right?”

  I'd given the doctor my cell phone number when he decided to return to work, just in case he ever needed anything. Or was ever harassed by another god.

  “Yes, of course, but this is unnecessary,” he tried to hand back the envelope.

  “Work deserves recompense,” I pushed it back to him. “Believe me, Dr. Armstrong, I'm not hurtin
g for cash. Keep it.”

  “Well if you insist,” he cast a look around his cramped office and I smiled.

  “Just give me a call when you have the results,” I nodded and shook his hand. “Actually, make it a text, calls are usually a little scratchy when I try to take them in the God Realm.”

  “Okay,” he huffed a little laugh, “text only for the God Realm.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Happy Thanksgiving,” I hugged Fenrir and then Emma. “Thank you for coming.”

  “I admit I think it's a rather silly holiday,” Fenrir shook his head as he gave Emma an indulgent look. “But Emma loves it.”

  “Hello?” She slapped his chest. “It's an excuse to eat a lot of wonderful food and be lazy. You should love it too.”

  “I don't like being lazy,” he lifted a thick dark brow at her. “There's no lamb for the lazy wolf.”

  “But there's turkey,” I laughed and pointed him toward the front door. “It's all out there under the pavilion. We have so many people in our combined families that we had to take the celebration outside.”

  “Don't worry about us,” Emma took Fenrir by the arm, “If there's food to be had, he'll inevitably find the straightest path to it.”

  “Because I'm a good provider,” he griped as he escorted her down the hallway.

  I was standing with Kirill at the tracing wall, waiting to direct our guests outside. Trevor was outside, playing host to those who had already arrived, and Azrael had gone to fetch Krystal, Tristan, and Jackson, my human friends. We were expecting all the members of the God Squad, my sons, Loki, and the Froekn, so probably a little over two hundred people. The Intare had been cooking for three days to try and provide enough food for all of them. There was a hell of a spread and they were pretty proud of it.

  “Vervain,” Thor said after he traced in. “Thank you for inviting us.”

  “Of course,” I hugged him and then gave my attention to his new girlfriend. “Welcome to our home, Brighid.”