by Callie Rose
“You know about Custodians?” Kingston asked, raising a brow.
“Do I look like an idiot? Everyone knows about Custodians. Those assholes are why I’m here. Tried to go back to earth once, see my daughter and her boys—never met the kids before I was turned—but the fuckin’ Custodians got me before I got to her.”
Kai leaned forward. “Did you tell them why you were there? That you meant no harm to anyone?”
“Sure! Said I’d had it with the underworld, and I wanted to see my kids. Be a grandpa, you know? Workin’ too hard to be the dad I wanted to be, but I retired with a bunch of money. I could’a been the road tripping adventure grandpa! But no, the damn Custodians couldn’t have that. See, I’d been in the underworld too long, according to them. I was clearly evil and lookin’ to turn my daughter and her kids so I could bring them back here with me.” He gestured around with a disbelieving laugh. “Here! Can you believe it? What kind of dad would I be if I tried to bring my kids to this shithole?”
Kai shook his head. “Yeah. We’ve been fed the same line over and over at Fallen University. But I’m pretty sure the underworld itself doesn’t turn you evil.”
“You’re damn right it doesn’t. That’s a goddamn lie, and everybody believes it. It’s politics, is what it is. I hate politics. It ain’t the air turning people evil, it’s that son of a bitch Gavriel.”
“How does he do that?” I asked.
Michael gave me a paternal sort of look. Or, as paternal as a man-dog could look, I supposed.
“You want to know? I been there. I worked in the recruiting office for a bit, janitor stuff. Janitor.” He snorted. “Cleanin’ up body parts. Orderly’s more like it. Or mortician, maybe. Anyhow. They read your mind. They find those little resentments that eat you up inside, and they make ’em bigger. Once that kind of poison gets strong enough, it spreads through your heart and mind, taking over. That’s what turns people evil.”
I instantly thought of Owen. “So—a young man who has shit luck with the ladies but feels like he’s God’s gift to women could be manipulated to hate all humanity. For example.”
“Manipulated?” Michael raises his brows, scratching at his scruff. “Ha! I guess if they were soft in the head, yeah. The same kind they’d recruit to suicide bomb or join the Klan, I guess. But if you got a moral center, boy, they’ll tear you apart.”
My heart sank, my stomach flipping wildly like a dying fish. “You mean… literally?”
“Yup. Seen it lots of times. See, what they do—it’s genius, but don’t think I approve of it just ’cause I use that term; Manson was a genius too—what they do is, they find a picture or a short video in your head, one that represents the whole resentment. They show that to you. Not on a screen or nothin’, they beam it right into your head. Then they hurt you.”
“So they make the connection between the thing someone already resents and additional pain,” Kingston said coolly. When I glanced over at him, I could see agitation churning in his eyes, belying his calm voice.
“Yeah, but it don’t stop there. The human part, the earthly part—they start adding to that. They expand the picture, blow it up—slowly, mind you—until it’s all of earth and humanity. Everything you loved is now part of the picture that brings you pain. But it goes deeper. They starve you while they do this. After, you got demons coming in with food and”—he shot me a look, then raised his eyebrows at the guys—“physical comforts. You’re their son, their lover, their pet, whatever it may be. That hole they dug in your soul? They fill it with themselves.”
Silent tears streamed down Jayce’s cheeks. Kai looked sick. Kingston’s cool, observant mask was frozen in place, an analytical barrier between his mind and the horror he was hearing. I sat and shook, feeling my body temperature rise. Xero was in there, held captive in Gavriel’s clutches. Were they doing that to him while we sat here talking?
“How did you get out?” I asked, my voice hollow.
“Snuck out.” Michael shrugged nonchalantly, although I had a feeling the full story was a lot more harrowing than he was making it sound. “Heard a rumor that Gavriel was gonna be expanding his empire and hightailed it outta there. I’m not gonna have my family ruined for me. Not gonna let myself be turned against them. Nuh-uh. No fuckin’ way.”
“We met someone like you before,” Kai said slowly. “Another person living in the underworld in hiding.”
“Sure,” Michael said. “There’s lots of us. We don’t congregate much, more’s the pity—could use company once in a while—but it ain’t safe. Gavriel’s lookin’ for everybody. Lots of us want to go back to our families on earth, maybe even fight for the other side, but the Custodians won’t take us. Think we’re too evil to be trusted. There was a rumor that one guy got out—one of Gavriel’s spies—and the Custodians took him in, but you can’t believe everything you hear. It’s a rough ride back down here, y’know. Lots of people won’t do it more’n once or twice. After that, you know, you just hide out. Wait for it to blow up or blow over.”
I met Kai’s dark gaze, an unspoken question hovering between us. Should we tell him that we’re here to rescue that spy?
Fuck it. Why the hell not?
“That rumor is true,” I said. “The spy’s name is Xero, and he did make it out. He made his case to the Custodians and they let him in for training. He’s the reason we’re here. Gavriel took him, and we’re here to get him back.”
Michael cocked his head at me. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” Jayce confirmed, his voice strong and even. “He’s part of our… team.”
Michael raised his brows at me. “He’s bonded to you?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re chasing him down. You know where he is?”
I shook my head. “That way?” I pointed helplessly to the right. “I’ve been following my gut. It’s been dragging us around for two months, zig-zagging a little, but always in this general direction.”
Michael swallowed hard and stroked his muzzle like a mustache. Then he nodded, like he’d come to some sort of decision based on an internal debate. “Come with me.”
He shoved out of the chair and walked toward the back of the cabin. I followed. The guys hesitated, but none of them let me get too far ahead before they followed too. Michael led us up a narrow spiral staircase to a small circular room surrounded by glassless windows and roofed in leafy branches.
“Underworld deer blind,” Michael said with what looked like a grin. It was a little hard to tell on his wolfish face. “Look out there.”
He pointed in the direction I’d been pulled toward for so long. The window looked through a gap in a pair of hills which framed a part of the city I hadn’t been able to see before. A tall, spiked tower stood just off-center through the gap in the distance, black and foreboding. Dull red rings glowed on it from top to bottom, flashing like fire every few seconds.
“The tower?” I asked. “What about it?”
Michael frowned, stepped behind me to look at the view from my perspective, then scooted me over a bit more to the right. He pointed again. “Nah. Not that. Behind it.”
As soon as I saw it my heart started doing somersaults. Not as eye-catching as the tower, but somehow more intimidating, a wide fortress spread in an uneven circle like a cancerous tumor on the ruddy landscape. Its outer walls were topped with spikes that narrowed into points so fine they looked like hairs from a distance. A lava glow emanated from the center, burping great clouds of sickly green and bruised purple smoke.
It was terrifying—but there was hope in my terror.
I could feel him. Xero was inside that building.
“That’s Gavriel’s fortress,” Michael said. “The Underworld’s most wanted all get sent there. If your man was a spy, that’s where he’s at. New recruits and soldiers that need… retraining go there.”
“Can you take us to it?” Kai’s voice cut through the chaotic haze in my head.
The werewolf let out a shocked sounding laugh. “Oh,
no. Uh-uh. I ain’t going back there, not now, not never.” My heart started to sink before he added, “But I can help you out.”
“How?”
Michael grinned. “Let me show you.”
“You know, I knew a doomsday survivalist back on earth,” Kai said as he looked around at the array of weaponry on the walls of Michael’s massive basement. “He wasn’t half as prepared for the apocalypse as you are.”
“Bet he didn’t have facts that the man in charge would be bringing a holy war to his doorstep, neither,” Michael said with a sniff. “Stock up, I got plenty. Here, son—you look like you want something like this.”
The wolf-like man pulled a black metal crossbow off the wall and handed it to Jayce. The blond hellhound gingerly accepted, regarding the deadly looking weapon with furrowed brows.
“You got poison arrows, smoke arrows, all the elements—had a witch on my side once, she could cook up some nasty elemental spells—steel-tipped, exploding, snare, and basilisk blood.”
“What does the basilisk blood do?” Jayce asked.
“Heals your friend once they get stoned,” Michael said with a grin. “Just aim for a leg or a shoulder. Tips are hard enough to pierce the stone layer; but make sure you don’t get ’em in the eye.”
“Whoa. Healing arrows.” Jayce whistled in awe.
“What’s this?” Kai held up a potato-gun-looking-thing with a crystal on the front.
“Launcher,” Michael said. “UV bombs, magic bombs, energy balls, explosives. Hell, I got all kinds of things.”
“Super stealthy,” Kingston said sarcastically. Then he considered and held out his hand. “Lemme have it.”
Kai shrugged and passed it over to him, then went back to looking.
Foregoing launchers of any kind, I loaded up with knives and magic grenades, a couple of pistols filled with silver bullets, extra ammunition, and a silver garrote.
“I have something special for you,” Michael said with a grin. He pulled a small crystal flask filled with ruby red liquid from a shelf and handed it to me. “Amplifies your, erm… natural talents. Just a drop on your tongue will let you cut through all kinds of counter measures.”
Could have used that back when Kai was being stubborn, I thought, suppressing a grin.
“Thanks.”
As if drawn by my thoughts, Kai appeared at my side, his eyes alight with excitement. “I’m ready,” he said.
I glanced over him and saw nothing new on his person. I raised a questioning brow. He grinned and began pulling hidden weapons out from all over—knives, steel claws, poison darts, garrotes of all kinds, throwing stars marked with different elemental colors, and—most surprising—twin samurai swords which he had hidden inside of his tunic.
“Well, shit.” I blinked at him, cocking my head. “Yeah. I guess you are ready.”
“So am I,” Kingston called over. He still had the launcher and carried two bags full of orbs. “Aerial attacks.”
“Awesome. Jayce?”
“I have the crossbow.” He shrugged, waving it. “Plus knives and bombs just in case. I didn’t see any other kind of healing stuff,” he added, turning to Michael.
The shaggy werewolf shook his head. “Healing’s more complicated than killing. Less important around here too. Vamps and some demons use blood, succubi use sex, werewolves heal on command. Sirens can heal others, but most of ’em won’t unless they’re using you for long-term food. Trust me, son. If you get hurt in there, you won’t have a chance to heal. They know torture and killing. They’re experts in it. Nobody shoots to wound.”
Jayce looked grim but determined. “Then we won’t get hurt,” he said. “You got armor?”
“Some.” Michael glanced around the room. “Not much.”
He showed us to the small supply of armor. Most of it was too heavy and bulky to do much good, but he did have a few charmed vests. They felt like spandex, but I could sense the magic in them.
“They’ll stop a bullet or an energy bomb. Won’t do much against claws or knives though.”
“Any protection is better than none,” I said. “Thank you.”
We all went back upstairs and organized our things. Michael fed us dinner and gave us provisions for the trip, and offered us the living room to sleep in.
“You’ll have your privacy,” he said, raising his hair eyebrows in my direction. His voice was deadly serious. “Get all charged up. You’re gonna need it.”
Chapter Four
With those words, Michael turned and headed down a short hallway to what I presumed was his bedroom.
As soon as the door closed behind him, the atmosphere in the room changed, sparks seeming to dance in the very air around us. I turned to the three men who had accompanied me into the underworld, risking their own lives to help me and to save their friend.
They were all watching me, their gazes intent on my face, and although their expressions were different, one thing was the same in all of them.
Heat.
Desire.
Crossing the small space, I met them in the middle of the room, kicking off my boots and standing on the surprisingly soft rug in my bare feet. They all mimicked my action, getting rid of their boots before tugging their tunics over their heads.
I bit my lip, arousal flaring deep inside me as I took in the three of them. My succubus magic had turned me into a creature of sex and sensuality, but there was something above and beyond that in my attraction to the men. It was beyond the bond, beyond the fact that they were stunningly gorgeous.
It was them.
The connection we shared. The things we’d been through together. The faith I had that they would always have my back.
My greedy gaze took in the three sculpted, bare-chested men before me as I tugged my own tunic off. Kai’s toffee skin highlighted the chiseled muscles of his shoulders and chest. Jayce looked like a movie star, even after weeks of forging through the harsh landscape of the underworld. His smile was slightly crooked, and he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as he watched me undress. Kingston had a lean but muscular frame, and his green eyes sparked with the covetousness of his dragon as he looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the world.
An ache formed in my heart as I resisted the urge to look for my fourth bond-mate. Some part of me could never quite accept that he wasn’t here with us, that I wouldn’t just look over my shoulder and find him striding up behind me, his dark eyes gleaming with the fire that seemed to dance in their depths.
But he wasn’t with us, and nothing ever felt quite right in his absence.
Jayce, whose big heart and empathetic nature made him almost as attuned to people’s emotions as I was, must’ve seen the shadow that passed over my face, because he stepped forward and pulled me into his arms, kissing me as if he could heal my sadness through the press of his lips.
It was impossible, of course.
That wasn’t how my succubus magic worked.
But as his tongue slid into my mouth, tasting and exploring in slow, deliberate sweeps, the deep ache in my chest eased a bit, the tension unwinding enough for me to breathe a little easier.
I grabbed his shoulders and kissed him back with everything I had, molding my body to his as the other two men kicked off their pants and then got to work on mine.
Hands slid over my skin, tugging the fabric down and taking the opportunity to caress my ass, my hips, the lines of my legs. They helped me step out of the garment before tossing it away, and then both men worshipped my fully naked form with their lips and teeth as they worked their way up my body.
Goose bumps shivered over my skin, and I held onto Jayce tighter as a barrage of sensations nearly knocked me on my ass. He groaned into our kiss, reaching down with one hand to awkwardly shove his own pants down over his hips and his jutting cock.
I finally broke away from him, breathing hard as I reached for the other two men on either side of me. I turned to kiss each of them, one after the other, as they all held me in their ar
ms.
Then, slowly, I sank to my knees on the soft carpet, kneeling before Jayce and between Kai and Kingston.
I looked up, peering at them through my dark lashes, and the sight of all three of them looking at me like they wanted to consume me made my clit throb and my pussy clench.
I wanted that too.
I wanted these men to devour me. To take everything I was and give me back just as much of themselves.
I wanted to share my soul with them.
My fingertips trailed over the ridges of Kingston’s stomach, feeling the muscles flex under my touch, as I reached around to caress Kai’s ass with my other hand, drawing a guttural noise from him.
When I leaned forward and closed my lips around the tip of Jayce’s cock, all three men groaned. I slid my tongue over the velvety mushroom head, sliding it along the vein as I took more of his length into my mouth. Then I released him with a wet pop and turned to lick the tip of Kingston’s cock.
His body tensed, his hips jutting forward slightly, and I shivered as I remembered the first time I’d done this to him. That had been the first moment he’d seemed to accept the bond between us, the first time he’d let me see past his cool, aristocratic facade. Now I knew so much more of what lay beneath, and I would never get tired of discovering more and more about this man.
With a final stroke of my tongue, I released him, turning to Kai and swiping at his broad cock head with the flat of my tongue, gathering the bead of precum that had leaked from his small slit. It was salty and tangy, and as soon as the taste hit my tongue, I wrapped my lips around him and sucked, almost desperate for another taste.
“Fuck, Piper,” he murmured, and I grinned around his thick length.
Yes. Fuck Piper. That’s exactly what I want.
Liquid fire ran through my veins, urging me on. Every grunt and moan, every taste and touch, only made me crave more.
Turning back to Jayce, I drew him into my mouth again, reaching up to wrap my hands around the other two men’s cocks. My saliva had slicked their shafts, and as I worked all three of them, switching between my hands and mouth on each one, their hands fell on me, tangling in my hair. All three of them helped guide my movements as I licked and sucked and jerked them off with my fists.
