Semiramis The Vessel

by Maya Daniels

  Like I haven’t spoken, they crawl up on the bed with me and attack what I have left of the goodness in my lap like sharks in bloody water. Lucifer leans against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, chuckling at my misfortune, so I glare at him, which makes him laugh.

  “Tonight we get the potions.” I drop the bomb and all noise stops.

  “Okay. Just say when,” Remi says slowly, like she’s bracing for an argument.

  “First tell us what happened,” Faith asks. “Where was Lucifer and what was so important that you felt compelled to go after him?”

  “He and Inanna were trying to kill each other over things they know but don’t want to tell me. So, since I wasn’t going to hear anything about it, I should’ve left them to it. Instead I got involved and stopped it, to my utter disappointment”

  “You stopped a goddess and an angel in a middle of a fight?” Jez looks at me with wide eyes.

  “Ummm…well, I didn’t exactly stop them. I tried to get into the middle of it and they stopped on their own when they realized they might hurt their peon. No one wants to hurt their tool, you know,” I tell her bitterly.

  Lucifer sighs like I’m a child who’s misbehaving, and I bristle at it. He has no right to feel annoyed by my snide remarks. So I’m bitter. I have every right to be. If they’d quit playing games and start sharing information, it’d be better for all of us. Until they do, I’ll keep bitching about it.

  “Is it something you can tell us?” Faith looks at Lucifer, worry apparent in her eyes.

  I snort. Yeah, right. He keeps his cards close to his chest. No way will he tell anyone anything. I have to admire Faith for trying. That earned me a growl and those peepers turned on me. I expected the annoyance to be there. It’s not. Those black eyes suck me in like black holes, and I feel myself falling into them, losing my grip on reality. His power crawls over me, starting from my toes and gently caressing up my legs and hips, slowly gliding over my ribs and chest where it centers and it feels like he can see all that I am—all my wishes and fears, all my desires and plans. Even things I’ve yet to figure out. I shiver and drop my eyes to my lap. Panicking over showing a weakness, I try very hard to come up with something to say so I can change the subject.

  “You guys should go change. We’ll be leaving shortly. And if we’re all going, decide who else will be driving. We don’t all fit in Jasmine.”

  Thinking of my car makes me smile. I haven’t driven it since all this started and I’m looking forward to it. It’s the only connection I still have to my old life. I must have said the magic words, because without comment, they all get up and walk one by one out of the room. Looking after them, I frown. Meda has been very quiet ever since she had her vision that our next stop is Ishtar’s realm. That, coupled with my ordeal with Lucifer and Inanna, tells me I had better be on alert. I don’t need to know details to know we’re heading into a cluster-fuck.

  Without uttering a word, Lucifer crawls into bed with me and wraps his arms around me. I allow him toI feel safe in his arms, no matter how misguided that is. It might be my fear and trust issues saying that he’s manipulating me, but I’ll stick to it for now; it’s safer for my heart. The angel is dangerous. He crumbles the walls I’ve built around myself like they’re a house of cards. No one gets my trust anymore until they earn it. With a deep sigh, I burrow deeper into his embrace and his arms tighten around me. He kisses my hair before leaning his cheek on top of my head.

  “I won’t let anything happen to you, Alexia. I swear it on my life.”

  His solemn promise brings goosebumps over my entire body. Not because I’m afraid of what that means, but because I can’t deny the honesty that I hear in his words.

  15

  Lucifer…

  Sitting in the passenger seat, I glance at Alexia from the corner of my eye. The look of content on her face while she lovingly runs her hands over the steering wheel of her car makes me bristle with jealousy, though it is, after all, an object she cherishes, not another male. I’m aware it is a stupid emotion, but for unknown reasons it still bothers me. I want her to glide those long, elegant fingers like that over my body, not over a metal and plastic wheel that feels nothing for her. That thought brings vivid images of her naked, caressing me while my eyes feast on her body and face. In my daydream, she looks at me with those ever-changing eyes and there is love and devotion there, the same devotion she feels for the witches. My chest tightens with some emotion I cannot name and at first, I think it’s a warning of an attack that I’m anticipating. When nothing happens, I realize it’s my own stupidity making me feel this way.

  I have watched the witch through many lifetimes of being betrayed and hurt while her love and devotion for those she calls her own never wavered. She needs time—I keep telling myself this. How do I convince my mind and heart? Maybe this is how I perish. Someone obviously found my weakness, giving me these new emotions. With gods or angels, it is always easy. It is the pleasures of the flesh in which we indulge and that signals our end. No attachments, no hurt feelings, nothing. Is this how humans feel all the time? How can they function with these crippling emotions? I have felt jealousy before, of course. But it was for who would stay on top of the game; when someone had something that would give me an advantage in the never-ending pursuit of changing the flow. I can fight that. I have fought that. How do I fight an unseen enemy while she holds the outcome in her tiny hand?

  Finally it hits home. This woman holds everything I am in her hand. With one careless gesture or word, she can crush me, crush my heart, and it will never be fixed again. In all of my long life, I have never had to deal with an outcome where I didn’t come out on top. Now…here we are. A mortal has control over me like no one ever had before, not even my creator.

  Scrubbing my hand over my face, I try to dispel the gloomy thoughts from my head. There must be a reason all this is happening now. I am the light bringer; I will not be defeated. All I have to do is try to stay one step ahead of whoever orchestrated this. Tiamat will pay dearly for trying to touch what is mine while hiding that information for millennia.

  I watch the town fly by through the window so I don’t let Alexia see the war I’m fighting within myself. She has enough to worry about, and she doesn’t trust me completely after all that happened in the dark wizard’s realm and with Derik. I cannot blame her. That fucker fooled me as well. I still don’t know how I did not see it. A sentimental fool, that’s what I am. Thinking I would help the witch, I almost helped to get her hurt or worse. In my meddling, I gave power to a spawn that tried to kill her. Now guilt mixes with jealousy in a constant swirl in my gut. One would think they were trying to turn me mortal. A shiver runs up my spine and I clench my fists in my lap. Heads will roll.

  “So, wanna share what’s got you so pissed off?”

  Alexia’s husky voice makes warmth pool in my stomach. It takes me only a moment to look at her and my groin starts stirring, making it uncomfortable to sit still. I squirm in my seat. A different shiver runs through me, and I clear my throat before speaking, but I don’t think I manage to hide how she affects me, judging by the narrowing of her eyes.

  “I am not pissed off.” My voice sounds too rough to my own ears.

  “It’s only human, angel, nothing to worry about. Well…unless we come across more snakes, that is,” she says, turning to watch the road again.

  One thing I find fascinating is that the woman can drive. No, I’m not patronizing. I mean she can drive like a professional racer. The Mustang is flying around the city, and at times I clutch the handle, thinking each turn will be my last. But she glides smoothly every time, like this car is an extension of her.

  “You need to slow down, or they’ll never catch up,” I point out.

  “That’s the plan. They shouldn’t catch up.” She grins at me and I chuckle.

  “You are a fascinating creature, Alexia, no matter what you do. Even when you drive this metal contraption around the city.”

  “Hey! Tak
e that back! She can hear you, and you’ll hurt her feelings.” She glares at me and then pets the car, mumbling, “He doesn’t mean it. He’s just jealous because you’re cool and he is not.”

  Raising an eyebrow and wondering about her sanity, I wait for an explanation that never comes, just more glaring and mumbling of endearments to the object that I want to crush. I should hear those words spoken like a caress to me, not to this thing.

  “You’re just jealous. Admit it.”

  “I admit nothing. That is preposterous! Jealous of what? This thing?” I wave my hand at the lights glowing in front of us.

  She just grins widely and, staring at me, pets the car gently. My hackles rise and I can’t stop the growl that leaves my throat. Her laughter makes me so hard, I could pound nails into concrete with my cock. If she doesn’t stop, I’ll finish what we started recently.

  “Behave, witch, now is not the time to provoke me,” I point out.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looks at me innocently and I boom out a laugh that startles her.

  “It looks good on you, you know,” I say softly, almost to myself after my laughter dies down.

  “What looks good?” She frowns before turning to look where she’s driving the contraption.

  “Innocence,” I tell her simply.

  She slows down and turns into a parking lot while laughter peals out of her like rain. When she finally parks, she leans her head on the steering wheel, still chuckling.

  “I’m sure it does, just like makeup on a donkey. Let’s not fool ourselves, Lucifer. All of you made sure my innocence abandoned me as fast as possible in each of my lives. I wouldn’t know what it was if it hit me in the face.” She leans back against the headrest, closing her eyes with a heavy sigh.

  My heart shrivels in my chest and my gut tightens at her words. I want to argue with her that she is wrong, but the words get stuck in my throat. She is correct. None of her lives have been easy, especially this one. What do you say to the woman you love when the truth is staring you in the face? That thought startles me. It’s one thing to know it academically, but it’s something different to admit it to myself. Yes, I love the witch, but how do I make her see it?

  “Are we waiting on something?” I ask, so as not to blurt out my thoughts.

  “Ah! There they are,” she says, bending a little to see through my window, her hair falling over her face and her eyes glowing in the moonlight.

  Following her eyes, I see Remi turning into the lot and parking her car a row down from us. That’s strange. The parking lot is empty, and I would’ve thought she would park next to Alexia. The witches are confusing at times. Shaking my head, I unbuckle and follow Alexia, exiting the car.

  “Don’t slam the door!” she says, while gently closing hers.

  16

  Alexia…

  My head is still spinning from the feelings Lucifer provoked inside me. Not with his words, but with the look in his eyes and the energy he was throwing off like a generator. Rubbing my hands over my arms, I try to shake it off, but it’s not working. He was looking at me with such despair that my heart stopped for a second before it tried to race out of my chest. Like my personal shit had room to get involved in the drama surrounding us! I need to get my head in the game, but the sight of his erection straining his jeans is wreaking chaos in me. He is pulling on my heart, my mind and my body like a puppet-master, and I feel helpless to stop it. I just need to get better at ignoring it. What’s a better distraction than four crazy women trying to get killed because they want to prove their love and loyalty, right?

  “You could’ve parked at home,” I tell Remi when she gets out of her car.

  “I could’ve, but someone needs to keep an eye on your suicidal ass.” She grins, not very nicely. It’s more like a wild dog baring its teeth. It makes me laugh.

  “Good point! Let’s go.” I turn around and start walking.

  “The zoo? Really, Sap?” Jez asks, skipping next to me and slipping her arm through mine like we’re out for a stroll.

  “They have piranhas.” I smile broadly at her and feel her shiver. I laugh harder at that.

  “Piranhas?” Remi repeats breathlessly behind us.

  “Oh, come on, guys, really? Of course, piranhas. Who’d be stupid enough to look there? Huh?” I ask, exasperated.

  “You, obviously, mate,” Faith chirps.

  “Plus, no more goons to try to swim with them, either,” I point out.

  As I say that, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I see Lucifer slow his walk next to me. It feels like we’re being watched. I stop in my tracks, looking around to see if I can spot someone, but apart from the lights in the parking lot, everything is dark and gloomy.

  “I knew we should’ve told the fairies to come with us,” Jez whispers next to me.

  “We just yelled enough to wake the dead. Now you’re whispering?” I arch my eyebrow, looking down at her. She snickers like this is some joke.

  “Come on. Let’s get inside,” I tell them and start running towards the entrance.

  I’m not going to stand there and play games, no matter who’s watching us. I’m getting what we came here to get and then getting us the hell out of here. Lucifer doesn’t need telling twice. He’s one step behind me, guarding my back as we race towards the zoo and its entrance.

  Before I even reach the gates, I hear the click and they swing open, allowing us to enter without slowing. I look over my shoulder at him and he solemnly nods, answering my unspoken query. I fill my lungs with the air and energy that surrounds this place. It’s like food for the soul, even if mine is hanging around the angel’s neck. Animals shuffle around as we pass noticing our presence.

  I stay close to the shadows and go as fast as I can without full-on sprinting; I don’t want to startle the animals we are passing. If anyone is following us, we’d have a neon sign showing where we are if we did that. I can’t sense anyone but us and the animals, but the feeling of being watched is still there like a dark cloud on a sunny day; there’s no way you wouldn’t notice it. Everyone else follows without a word. If anyone could see Remi’s frown, I’m sure they’d be running for their lives. I think after what happened in the dark realm, it made it a hell of a lot more personal for her.

  Skulking like thieves through the paths between one habitat and the next, we near the tanks where the piranhas are kept. As they come into view, I slow down, then stop. Lucifer bumps into me and my body erupts in goosebumps. His masculine chuckle tells me he is all too aware of how I react to his touch. I elbow him in the stomach. His grunt is very satisfying, I’m not going to lie. I grin and he scolds me, which makes me grin wider.

  “You guys keep an eye out, and I’ll go grab them,” I whisper-yell.

  “Wha…what?” Jezzinta stutters. “In there with the piranhas?” She points a shaky finger at the tank. The gray fishes swim in it without a care in the world.

  “Fish. Remember?” I point first at the fish then at myself.

  “That fish eats fish like you,” she says angrily and I snicker.

  “They won’t, I promise. I was in there once already, hiding the potions. We’re best buddies now.” I smile halfheartedly.

  I’ve got a bad feeling about this whole thing. It’s whoever is watching us that makes me feel like I’m ready to hurl all the chocolate I ate.

  “When I’m in the water, remove the concealment on them,” I tell Lucifer and without waiting on more debate, I square my shoulders and walk towards it like it’s the middle of the day and I’m sightseeing.

  My stroll is accompanied by many complaints.

  “Oh, dear goddess. She’s nuts!”

  “I don’t feel good about this.”

  “Witch, get your ass back here.”

  “I’m going to strangle her.”

  “Something is going to happen. Get ready.”

  Meda’s words stop the charade, and I sprint towards the tank. No way am I going to wait to see what happen
s next. Grab the potions and get the hell out. That’s my plan. I knew I should’ve come here with just Lucifer, but too late now. As I near it, I pull the water around my head like a bubble and without thinking twice, I jump and dive right in. Maybe I should’ve taken my shoes off, but it’s too late now. My jeans and t-shirt make it harder to swim, but that can’t be helped. I’m sure whoever is out there wouldn’t wait for me to change into a bikini and get ready. I push harder with my feet to get to the bottom of the tank. The fish are swimming around, ignoring my presence like I’m not even there. I turn my head to try and see if I can spot the others, but I can’t see anything else, just little dark fish eyeing me as if they don’t know what to make of me. I hope Lucifer remembers to remove the concealment or I won’t be able to get the potions. As if reading my mind, the water in front of me shimmers and I see the beautiful box that I placed here not long ago. With new determination, I kick my feet harder, and as soon as I get close enough, I snatch the box and hug it to my chest.

  The same moment the water shimmers again and I turn this way and that to see what caused it. There is nothing but algae and fish here. Strange; I could’ve sworn it shimmered. Maybe it was a residue from Lucifer’s power. I flip so my feet are pointed down and push with all my might towards the surface. As my body propels upward, the water shimmers again with a greenish hue that makes my heart stop, and like in a slow motion I watch as the fish that were swimming aimlessly a second ago all turn at once and their entire focus is on one thing only: me. Well, fuck!

  I start kicking and using one arm to pull the water around me in the hope that I’ll get out of here before I have to hurt the piranhas or they hurt me, but nothing in my life is that simple. Like the predators they are, all of them shoot like bullets towards me and overwhelm me with sheer numbers, alone. Their sharp pointy little teeth don’t help, either. My panic hits me so hard that without thinking, my power collects in my chest and explodes out of me like a sonic boom. The water around me is red, painted in my blood from the bites they managed to take out of me. It hurts like a bitch, but I can’t dwell on that or they’ll finish what they started. Hoping I only stunned them and not killed them, I kick as fast as I can. As I near the surface, an arm reaches inside the red water, pulling me out as if I weigh nothing. Next thing I know, I’m looking at a pissed-off angel who could be either angry or worried and a bunch of pissed-off women, all yelling about ways they will personally kill me if I have a death wish. Apparently we are not worried anymore about whoever is watching us.