“Al told me you saved me from falling. Thank you.”
He smiled down at me. Surprisingly, I wasn’t scared of him now. The harsh planes of his face had softened, and his skin wasn’t as dark as before, now more of a terra cotta. His smile lit up his face. Either I’d been brainwashed or my new demon parts were changing my normally good taste in men. I’d say he was more ruggedly good-looking than anything else.
Niki's devilishly handsome face popped into my mind, and I rubbed my knuckles over an achy spot on my chest. He was probably going berserk trying to find me. Another thought intruded. “Markus, do we have to stay here?”
He chuckled, the deep bass sounds echoing around the wall-less room. “No, little sister. We can go to my home. Queen won’t find us there.”
My curiosity was piqued. “Really? Why?” Before I could spit out a flurry of questions, the room spun, and I was back in the dark vacuum. A cold wind swirled around us, biting at any exposed skin it found. Thankfully, I’d dressed in leather pants and my favorite matching leather vest. The cute pale green t-shirt didn’t help much, but it could have been worse.
Although the trip to Markus’s home lasted only seconds, I was more than ready to get off the ride. He carefully set me down beside him, my head now level with his ridged abdomen. I glanced around the new space. There were large bean-bag sized pillows against one wall, and a massive television and stereo system taking up most of the facing wall. Lying in the middle of the floor was a small, open-faced cabinet housing a multitude of gaming systems. I saw a Wii, PS4, and some sort of purple triangle thing. The bottom shelf held an original Nintendo. There were smaller handheld consoles as well, including the newest DS in a cool lime green.
“Markus, we are going to get along great.” Staring at the television, I muttered, “Need a roommate?”
A low chuckle came from behind me. “I’m not giving you up that easily, imp.”
I whirled around. The immediate flow of tears mirrored my relief as Niki folded his arms around me. “You never came for me.”
“Gods, Johnna.” His arms tightened around me. “We couldn’t trace you at all.” A shiver tore through him, vibrating against me. “When I lost our mind connection . . .”
I savored being back in his arms again. Leaning back, I cradled his face between my hands. “I had a great bodyguard.” I looked back at Markus with a smile. “Markus took good care of me.”
Niki stared at the other demon, a puzzled frown on his face. “What happened to the other guy—the Summoned demon? Is he dead?”
“Nope. This is the demon who took me.”
Markus took one nervous step forward, but when Niki's eyes narrowed in a silent warning, he retreated.
I swatted Niki's chest. “Stop. Let him speak.”
“Johnna, Summoned demons lose their ability to talk. Their thought processes are eaten away by their anger.”
“Not his. Not anymore.” I glanced at Markus and smiled at him for assurance. “Go on, Markus. Tell him.”
Markus’s chest expanded as he filled his lungs. “She’s right. Your true mate made me better.” He looked down at his large body and shrugged. He raised his hands, palms out, with his fingers splayed. “Mostly. My anger is gone along with the pain.”
Niki's mouth hung open, and his eyes widened. His muscled arms tightened around me, pulling me back against his chest. “Dear God. Johnna, what have you done?” With a loud exhale, he dropped his arms and ran his fingers through his hair, pulling the strands every which away.
I swallowed my giggle. If his hair were white instead of black, he’d look like Albert Einstein with a sunburn. I cleared my throat. “I really wish everyone would stop saying that. I’m going to get a complex from hearing it so much. Besides, I thought I’d done something good this time—good enough, at least, to earn a thank you.”
He whirled around to face me again. “You don’t understand. Reversing a Summoned isn’t possible. Even our most powerful mage—your father, by the way—can’t do it, and he’s been trying for centuries. He’s never been able to help any of them.”
“Merry Christmas?” I shrugged, not fully understanding his emotional outburst. “I don’t know why this is such a bad thing.”
“Imp,” Niki began slowly, “the Summoned are the worst demons, far worse than you can imagine. If even one is set loose, thousands die. They are Lucifer’s weapons of mass destruction.”
I took a slow breath as Niki's words sank in and made my insides churn. I could taste the vomit crawling up the walls of my throat. Doubt leeched in, and I wondered if the healing on Markus was permanent. I didn’t want to let him down. The memory of the gratefulness in his eyes swam across my vision.
Walking toward Markus, I raised my hand, letting it rest on top of his monstrous forearm. Our eyes met. My vision blurred at the depth of feelings in his gaze. His eyes were also teary. Now I knew why I’d never gotten close to anyone. The pain in my heart at the thought of something worse happening to my new friend killed me.
“I choose you as my protector, Markus, and my friend. I’m not going to give up, and you’re not going to either. Tell Niki everything. Every minute thing you can remember, even the sensation as you healed. We need to know how you were summoned and if what I did to you will last.”
He nodded and blinked several times to get rid of the tears. What a male.
Markus cleared his throat. “The Queen separated me from the rest of the enforcers and said my true name. It’s the last thing I remember until Johnna healed me. Somehow, she made the pain stop. The anger and hate burning through my body . . .” He struggled to find the right word. “Cooled? The cords binding my mind dropped away.” He tightened his lips, his nostrils flaring. “I am the same enforcer now as I was before. I protected her from the queen and stayed true to my oath. I serve you, and the king, and will protect the innocents to the death.”
“Holy Hades,” Niki whispered.
“Never thought I’d see you speechless.” I patted Markus’ large forearm. “Good job.” I walked over to the pillows and dropped on them, squirming a couple of times for the perfect position. My body felt like it had been run over by a truck. Not the single trailer kind either. This one hauled three trailers.
A slow smile spread across Niki’s face. “By the gods, imp, you’ve given us hope.”
Not quite understanding his elation, I asked, “Are there more Summoned demons here? Do you want me to help them too?”
Niki knelt in front of me. “Do you think you can? Heal more, I mean.”
“It might take a while. What I did for Markus was a bit more potent than making blades droop.” I arched an eyebrow as another thought crept to the forefront of my brain. “Just how many are we talking about anyway? Ten, twenty . . . a hundred?”
Niki took a deep breath. “We lost count, but it’s in the millions.”
“Holy shit.” My mind whirled. “Do you think they’ll mind if I only do one at a time?”
A small grin curved one corner of his mouth. “I don’t think it will be a problem. We can figure out the best way when it’s time. We have other problems to deal with at the moment.”
Markus stepped forward and gently placed his hand on my head. “Niki, sir, I don’t think Johnna should heal anyone else.”
I glanced up, or tried. His hand anchored my head like a sturdy doorstop. My eyes worked though, and I could see his reflection in the television screen across the room. His face was drawn, and his brows were pulled into a worried frown.
The stillness of Niki’s body as he regarded Markus intimidated me. Hell, from the way Markus’s hand trembled, Niki intimidated him too, which was baffling. With one punch on the crown of the head, he could pummel Niki through the floor.
“Why do you think this, Markus?” Niki asked, in a velvety smooth tone.
Markus took a deep, rattling breath and spat out his words. “The healing makes her sick.”
Niki’s yellow eyes pierced mine. “Johnna?”
“Well, technically he’s right, but I wouldn’t call it sick. Exhaustion would be a better way to explain what happened.” I kept my face as blank as possible.
Niki arched one brow. It was a very high arch. “Really?” Without breaking our gaze, he threw a question at Markus. “Markus, more details.”
My new demon friend’s voice was thick with guilt as he explained how I’d passed out. Personally, I thought Markus added a few more details than necessary, which would only end up pissing Niki off, even more than he already was. I knew my gut instinct wasn’t off base when Niki’s eyes turned to dark molten lava. I shivered as I gazed into their red-gold swirls.
“You look possessed. Calm down before you singe something.” As usual, my mouth outran my brain, and I hunched my shoulders, trying for a more penitent look. “Or someone,” I muttered under my breath and cringed, waiting for the blast to condemn me for taking too big a risk. It never came. Instead, he backed away and fell into the only chair in the sparse room.
“Niki?” Before I could say anything or offer another excuse, he held up his hand. I shut my mouth so fast, my teeth cracked together. I didn’t like his pained expression.
“I give up. I can’t fight you anymore, Johnna. I thought you were old enough for this. For me. But you continue to put yourself in harm’s way and take unnecessary risks. I can’t watch over you if you aren’t willing to think about the consequences of your actions. My heart can’t take it.”
As I listened to him, my own heart nosedived to my heels. I leapt from the chair and fell to my knees in front of him, gripping his legs so hard my finger joints popped. “Please don’t do this, Niki. Not now. I will do better, I promise.” The frozen organ that, only five seconds ago, had been my heart stuttered inside my chest. The ache spiraled down through me until my whole body felt like stone.
The pain I’d gone through when I’d thought my mom died was nothing like the agony shredding my heart right now. For the first time, I understood my father. The thought of not being with Niki, feeling his arms wrapped around me . . . I hadn’t even been close to dying in the alley. Right now, dying sounded like a pretty good consolation prize to the way I felt.
Niki’s face hardened. His gaze perforated mine, his anger scaring me. “Johnna, you are my true mate. A demon mating is rare and lasts forever.”
My instantaneous relief didn’t last as he held up a finger, and I forced my muscles to hold me steady although what I really wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. “But either you stop your reckless behavior and grow up or I’m gone. You are immature and irresponsible, two traits I cannot allow my true mate to have.”
Niki glanced at Markus who still towered above me. “You’re truly healed, and you can manage the anger?”
“Yes, boss. The anger is like before—just a normal demon.”
“Well, at least someone in this room is normal,” Niki muttered.
No one spoke. After several seconds, I couldn’t stand the silence any longer. I opened my mouth, but Markus spoke before I could. “As normal as a demon can be.”
The hint of a smile hovered on Niki's lips. “That, I understand. Is there anything different I need to know about?”
Markus's eyes rolled upward as he puckered his lips. “I’m still slow when I think, but it’s getting better. I have thoughts now where before they were gone. All I had inside was rage. Now, there are small twinges every once and awhile, like a spark of anger, then it’s gone.”
“But you can handle it, right?” Niki asked with an impatient tone.
“Yes, sir. I can.”
Niki nodded once. “Good. I’m putting you in charge of keeping Johnna safe. She needs someone who can keep up with her.”
I stifled the growl now lodged in my throat. My own anger and stubbornness seeped through the distress smothering me. My skin tingled, and small wisps of smoke curled around my arms. I let my mind go blank and imagined the anger seeping through the pores in my skin, as my irritation fueled my mage powers. I cared deeply for the demon, but his archaic behavior had to go.
Slowly, my tight muscles eased and my mind settled as I stopped thinking about strangling him.
“I can only be true to myself, Niki. I am who I am. I’m not going to change because you think I should.” Standing, I returned to my vacated spot on the sofa and forced the emotion from my face. “Is Lucien safe? Where’s Malachi?”
“After Markus disappeared with you, Malachi found the spelled bindings on Lucien’s wrists, which kept him from escaping.” Niki wiped his face wearily with his hand. “Malachi took him to one of our healing mages.”
The skin on my face felt tight as my anger escalated, the magic all but boiling in my veins as I fought for control. He’d made no response to what I’d said. Did it mean he didn’t agree? Didn’t care? Deep down, I realized he wanted me to be the person he’d imagined his true mate would be. We’d never talked about it, but my gut instinct was telling me I was right. After all, he’d had at least a thousand years to think about his perfect woman. A blind person could see I wasn’t meeting his lofty ideations, so what kind of relationship could we really have?
The room seemed to close in around me and I knew I needed to escape. “May I see my uncle now?” At Niki’s brief nod, I choked down the need to lash out in pain. I’d maintain a calm front if it killed me.
Drawing in a deep breath, I faced my demon. “This dating thing, if that’s what we’re doing, isn’t working, Niki. I think time apart would do us both some good.” My pride was on the line, and I didn’t want Niki to see how devastated I truly was. Leaving him was the last thing I wanted to do, but I just couldn’t be with someone who didn’t accept me for who I was.
Niki straightened to his full height, and I caught a glimpse of his black horns. He was more affected by my words than he let on. “I was fine before you arrived in Dark World, and I will continue to be fine without you. Run away, Johnna, it’s what you’re good at.”
My heart shattered. He’d all but told me I didn’t matter.
Stepping next to Markus, I placed my palm on his thick arm, my shoulders back. It took all my strength to keep the emotion from my face. “Markus, please take me to the king. I believe Niki has more important things to do than to take care of me.”
I knew I shouldn’t have looked back, but I couldn’t help myself. Those last few seconds of Niki sitting alone would haunt me, but I stood firm in my decision. He needed to learn to respect me for who I was, despite my youth. In all the love stories I’d grown up on, Prince Charming didn’t woo the fair maiden by insulting her.
His face was pale and drawn, as if he were in pain. It was the anguish in his eyes hurting me the most, a knifelike agony shooting through my ribs and embedding into my heart while the room swirled away.
As Markus apparated me to Lucien’s castle, I remembered what Niki said about the true mate bond. One didn’t just walk away from something that precious and strong. It was a forever-bond.
Dear God, what have I done?
Chapter 16
Virginia, the Mortal Realm
Niki
“Niki, what on earth are you doing here?”
Staring at the alley across the street, I swallowed the last gulp of coffee before turning to see Gaia standing in the middle of the sidewalk, a worried expression on her face.
With a sigh, I slowly lowered the cup to my lap and clasped it between my hands. “Johnna has moaned and groaned so much about not having her latté, I thought I’d try one to see what I was missing.”
“Oh? What flavor did you choose?”
“Sugar-free white chocolate mocha with half and half and no whip.”
She sm
iled. “Johnna’s favorite.” She sat beside me on the bench, her gaze following mine as I stared into the alley again.
Gaia patted my leg. “Is that where you gave her part of your soul?”
Nodding, the memory clogged my throat. “I will never be able to forget the terrified look on her face as she ran inside, hundreds of imps flying behind her. They wouldn’t have hurt a hair on her head, per her father’s orders, but she didn’t know that.”
“Niki, darling, you did what you had to do. You saved my granddaughter, and we will always be in your debt.” She glanced around the empty side street and took a deep breath. I, too, breathed in the same delicious scents wafting from the corner coffee shop a few feet away. If I wasn’t so miserable, I’d have bought a whole box of cinnamon rolls and another filled with the lemon scones.
Gaia groaned. “The aroma is simply intoxicating, isn’t it? Now, I think I’ll have a white chocolate mocha latté. I haven’t imbibed in mortal yummies in decades.”
A steaming cup of coffee appeared in her hands. She blew over the small drink hole in the lid and tasted. Her eyes widened. “Oh, my. Johnna was right. She told me I’d love this.” She took several sips.
Enough niceties. “Why are you here, Gaia?” I turned the empty cup in my hands and waited for the typical scathing comment from the Greek goddess. Then found myself surprised when she stayed silent. I pulled my gaze away from the dark alley to meet her sad eyes. “Gaia?”
“Don’t do what I did, Niki. Don’t let your pride stand between you and your true mate.” She sighed into her drink. “I will admit, I had a lot of flings, resulting in many children, but Sabine’s father was my true mate. Oh, how I loved that man.”
“You’ve never talked about him before. What happened?” I was shocked she would be opening up to me, of all beings. Gaia and I had shared a love-hate relationship over the centuries, especially after what happened to Sabine. I knew she blamed Lucien and me for ruining her daughter’s motherhood, but there wasn’t anything either of us could do about it. Besides, who were we to argue with Mother Earth? So we accepted the blame.
In Mage We Trust (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 1) Page 21
