Reaper

by Larissa_Ion

  What if they’d just freaking waited ten minutes for the Harrowgate to be fixed?

  Except the gate hadn’t been fixed. Lilliana would still have been abducted, and that only made the whole thing worse.

  His cell dinged as he negotiated the dim hospital hallways on his way to x-ray, where he’d sent a blanchier demon with a broken leg. It was a text from Gem.

  There’s a fallen angel with a baby here to see you. You should hurry.

  A fallen angel. He was getting really fucking sick of fallen angels.

  He reversed course and jogged toward the emergency department. As he rounded the last corner, he nearly slammed into Gem and Thanatos. The Horseman had been here a lot lately, keeping everyone up to date on his quest to make everyone responsible for Wraith’s death pay in blood and pain. Eidolon was grateful for the guy’s dedication and devotion to Wraith. It had been a mystifying friendship, but one that had rounded out Wraith’s life.

  The ache of losing Wraith would never go away, but Eidolon could take comfort in the knowledge that, for a while, Wraith’s past had lost its grip on him. He’d made a good life with his mate and son, and he’d fleshed it out with a job he loved, and friends who made his exploits seem tame.

  Fucking fallen angels.

  Gem gestured through the ambulance bay doors at a female in black battle armor standing in the parking lot. Her dark, leathery wings were tucked behind her back, the crests rising high above her head. In her arms was a squirming bundle he assumed was the baby Gem had mentioned.

  “She said she’ll only talk to you.”

  Thanatos quirked an eyebrow at Eidolon. “Something you want to tell us?”

  “I can only impregnate my mate.” Which wouldn’t happen for a while. Tayla was content with one child, and his Seminus instinct to reproduce was suppressed. Right now, even his sex drive, the thing that made him an incubus, was curbed, thank the gods. Sex could only distract from grief for so long, and then it opened a floodgate of raw emotion.

  “Ignore E,” Gem told Thanatos. “He doesn’t get humor or teasing.”

  “I get it,” he said. “I just don’t acknowledge it. There’s a difference.”

  Gem gestured to Eidolon. “See?”

  Thanatos nodded. “Wraith always said he was ‘starched.’”

  A big hole in Eidolon’s heart threatened to swallow him, but he shook it off, concentrating on the situation at hand. “Who is this fallen angel who will only talk to me?”

  Shadows flickered in Gem’s eyes as her demon half stirred. “She said her name is Flail, and she’s covered in scars.”

  Gem’s inner demon, a Soulshredder, could see scars—physical and emotional—that were invisible to everyone else. As a half-breed, she wasn’t bound by her instinct to use her knowledge of the scars’ existence to torment and traumatize people. She didn’t need to feed off their fear and misery to survive. But she still possessed the raw desire to rip deep into those scars and bring the bearers screaming to their knees. Both she and Tayla had inked restraining tattoos on their throats to help them control the demon within.

  Some days went better than others, and today, the gleam of desire was bright in Gem’s eyes.

  “Tell her to come inside.”

  “I already have,” Gem said. “She refused.”

  “Don’t go, E,” Thanatos warned. “It’s probably a trap. I’ll do it. I’m equipped to fight a fallen angel. You’re equipped to…” He looked Eidolon up and down. “Fuck her.”

  “What did I tell you about Eidolon’s sense of humor?” Gem gestured to the female outside, oblivious to the fact that Thanatos hadn’t been trying to be funny. “She also said if you don’t come out alone, you and only you, she’ll hurt the baby.”

  The female stared. Glared. Tapped her foot. Produced a dagger and held it menacingly close to the infant.

  “I guess that’s my cue,” he said. “Stay here.” He started toward the door, pausing as it opened. “Unless she tries to kill me. Then kick her ass.”

  Thanatos touched his finger to a mark on his throat, and his armor, some sort of pale bone plate, folded into place, instantly covering his leather pants and Deadpool T-shirt.

  “For Wraith.” He cast Eidolon a considering glance and then shrugged. “And you.”

  “Watch it, Horseman,” he said. “I delivered both your children out of the goodness of my heart and the threat of an excruciating death. The next one will cost you a new hospital wing.”

  Thanatos’s deep laughter rang out as Eidolon walked through the sliding glass doors and met the female near the two parked ambulances.

  “I’m Eidolon.”

  “I know.” The female held out the baby, wrapped in a bloody towel. “Deliver this to its father.”

  He gathered the mewling infant in his arms. It was a newborn, probably only minutes old, still wet with its mother’s birth blood.

  “Who is the father?” The child blinked up at him with the clearest amber eyes he’d ever seen. “Who is its mother? You?”

  She scowled. “Do I look like I just gave birth, you idiot demon? How can you be a renowned physician?” She gave a sound of disgust and then gestured to the baby. “The brat’s father is Azagoth. I assume you know of him.”

  Eidolon sucked in a shocked breath and then looked back down at the child. “Yes.” Holy shit.

  “Tell him this is a good-faith gesture. As soon as he does Moloch’s bidding, Lilliana will be returned to him.” She paused. “Tell him to hurry. She’s not doing well.”

  Eidolon looked up sharply from the baby. “Where is she? Let me see her.”

  Both Flail and the air went deadly still. “You don’t get to demand shit, demon.”

  He cradled the infant close, tucking it protectively against his chest. “Dammit, if she’s suffering from complications of childbirth, she needs a doctor.”

  As an angel, Lilliana should heal from most illnesses and injuries on her own, but angels didn’t regenerate as quickly—or at all—inside Sheoul. She might not die, but she could be enduring unspeakable suffering.

  Flail gave a bitter laugh. “Do you honestly think Moloch cares about her health?”

  No, but he probably should. Azagoth wasn’t someone to be trifled with. “Just tell me how she is.”

  “She gave up her child before she even held it,” she snapped. “How do you think she is?” With that, the fallen angel dematerialized.

  Fuck.

  Ignoring stares from bystanders, Eidolon hurried inside and hit the nearest exam room, Gem and Thanatos on his heels.

  “Close the door,” he told them.

  “What’s going on?” Thanatos peered over Eidolon’s shoulder as he placed the baby on the exam table. “Whose kid is that?”

  “It’s Azagoth and Lilliana’s.” Eidolon peeled open the towel and smiled. “It’s a girl.”

  “Aw, a little Reapette.” Gem fetched a warm, wet cloth and began to bathe her as Eidolon checked her vitals and channeled a thread of power into her little body to make sure everything was somewhere on the scale of normal for her species.

  Which was difficult, considering he wasn’t even sure what her species was. Her mother was an angel, but no longer considered Heavenly, and her father was neither an angel nor a fallen angel, but something in between.

  “Did the fallen say how Lilliana was doing? Or where she is?”

  “She wasn’t exactly forthcoming.” Eidolon reached for a thermometer. “But it doesn’t sound like Lilliana is doing well.”

  “Damn,” Thanatos breathed. “I should have gone out there with you. I should have grabbed that bitch and made her talk.”

  Gem looked up from the sponge bath. “So, what now?”

  Eidolon thought about it for a moment. “Call Idess. She’s going to want to meet her new sister.”

  And then she’d have the bittersweet task of delivering the baby to its father.

  Eidolon didn’t envy her at all.

  Eidolon was exhausted.

  But
resting meant thinking, and thinking meant reliving Wraith’s death.

  He threw out a few choice curse words as he shoved open his office door, and when he saw who was waiting inside, he threw out a few more.

  “It’s gonna get crowded and awkward on that couch when I lay across your lap,” he said.

  Shade snorted as he sprawled out across the cushions in his black leather pants and jacket, one booted foot on the floor, the other dangling.

  He looked like hammered shit, as if he’d been on a week-long bender of booze and brawls. It was how Wraith used to look on a daily basis before he mated Serena.

  “If you’re tired, you can go home, you know.”

  Eidolon eyed the desk chair, but if he sat down, he might not get back up. “Tayla and Sabre are with Serena. The apartment is too empty.” Tay had even taken the dog and ferret. There was absolutely nothing at home to keep his mind occupied.

  “Then come to my place. Sin and Con are there. Lore, too.” Shade sat up, his movements jerky as if he had to force his body to cooperate. “He said you called Idess to the hospital.”

  A whisper of warning tickled the back of Eidolon’s neck at the hint of disapproval in Shade’s tone. His brother wasn’t here for no reason.

  “What’s this about, Shade?”

  “I’m just wondering what was so damned important that you had to call Idess away from a family gathering. Not everyone’s a workaholic like you.”

  “Well,” Eidolon said flatly, too emotionally depleted to put up with his brother’s attitude. Wraith’s death had hit Shade harder than anyone, but they were all suffering, and Eidolon wasn’t going to let Shade take his grief out on him. “A fallen angel dropped off a baby like some kind of evil stork. Turns out, it’s Azagoth’s daughter. I thought Idess would like to meet her little sister and take her to their father.” He threw in a bit of snark just because. “Was that against the Seminus code of family gatherings?”

  “Shit.” Shade jammed his hand through his black hair and fell back against the couch. “Where’s Lilliana?”

  “According to the fallen angel, she’s still imprisoned.” Man, he felt for Azagoth, and that was a sentiment Eidolon never thought would enter his head.

  “This is so fucked-up.” Shade rubbed his eyes with his palms and let them fall into his lap. “Has Azagoth freed Wraith’s soul?”

  “I don’t know, but it isn’t as if he doesn’t have his own problems.” Eidolon didn’t want to talk about this. He wasn’t ready, and he didn’t know if he ever would be. He glanced at his watch and swung toward the door. “I have to get back to work.”

  “The fuck, E?” Shade shot upright again, this time with no trace of the earlier awkwardness. “Are you serious?”

  “I’m not a well-known prankster, Shade.” Eidolon reached for the doorknob. “You’re the one who always agrees when Wraith says I’m starched.”

  “He’s dead,” Shade rasped. “He’s not still here to say that shit.”

  “I’m aware of that.”

  “Are you?” Shade’s voice was quiet. Low. Begging for a confrontation, and Eidolon happened to be in the right mood to give it to him.

  “Spit it out, brother.” Eidolon rounded on Shade. “What’s up your ass?”

  Shade shoved out of his seat. “What’s up my ass? Wraith’s dead, and all you can think about is work.”

  “It’s what I do, Shade.”

  “Yeah, it is,” he growled, getting right up in his face. “It’s what you always do. When people need you, you’re always there for them, aren’t you? All these patients, they can count on you. But when can your family count on you, E?”

  Eidolon stared, unable to believe what his brother had just said. “Excuse me?”

  “You should be with us,” Shade said, giving his chest a knuckle tap. “Instead, you’re hiding behind your work.”

  “I’m not hiding.” Even as the sentence came out of his mouth, he knew it was a lie. Well, he wouldn’t use the word hiding, but he was definitely avoiding.

  Avoiding having to deal with Wraith’s death.

  And Shade had called him on it. “Bullshit. You feel guilty because you got him killed, so you’re burying yourself in your job like you always do.”

  “I got him killed?” Eidolon asked, incredulous. “Are you fucking kidding? Wraith’s cockiness got him killed, and you know it. How many times have we had to haul him out of a fire of his own making?” He let out a bitter curse. “Hell, I didn’t expect him to live this long.”

  Stepping closer, his boots hitting the floor like gavels, Shade bared his teeth. “You didn’t have to let him challenge the angels.”

  The fact that Shade spoke the truth hit Eidolon in his already bruised heart. Though instead of getting pissed off and defensive, he closed his eyes and confronted the dark place inside him that he’d been avoiding.

  Wraith’s arrogance had been overshadowed only by Eidolon’s.

  Eidolon had grown up with the Judicia, a race of highly educated demons dedicated to logic and justice. Wraith had accused him of having a superiority complex because of it, which Eidolon had denied. But what if Wraith hadn’t been wrong? What if Eidolon’s ego and certainty about his intelligence had put Wraith at risk?

  “You’re right.” Eidolon lifted his lids and looked his brother in the eye. “I thought I could talk down the fallen angels. My arrogance…” He swallowed a sudden lump of grief in his throat. “My arrogance got him killed.”

  “Ah, hell.” Shade’s arms came around him. “It wasn’t your fault.” His big body shuddered. “Fuck, man, of all the brothers we’ve lost…” He trailed off, his shoulders heaving on a ragged breath. “I don’t know if I can recover from this one.”

  “You will,” Eidolon said, forcing an even tone when he really wanted to break down. “We all will.”

  “How?” The desperation in Shade’s voice galvanized Eidolon, bringing out his instinct to heal.

  “Our families. Our mates, our kids.” Eidolon pulled back from his brother. “Come on. Let’s go to your place and be with them.”

  Physician, heal thyself.

  He just hoped it was possible.

  Chapter 28

  Azagoth stood in the Inner Sanctum’s dark underbelly, a cave-like structure where nightmares came to life. All around him, cracks invisible to everyone but Azagoth and Hades had formed in the walls that separated the space from Sheoul.

  Hades was concerned that evil souls might try to escape.

  Azagoth didn’t give a shit. He no longer gave a shit about anything that wasn’t directly related to getting his mate back.

  Fortunately, he had the best minds working on that, including all the Horsemen and Reaver’s mate, Harvester, who, as a former fallen angel and a daughter of Satan, knew intimate details about her father’s kingdom and his loyalists. She’d requested entrance to Sheoul-gra this morning and had given him a lot of useful information about Moloch. Including the fact that he had one weakness: a female he’d kept as an object of his obsession for centuries.

  She’d killed herself a hundred years ago, and if Azagoth could locate her soul in the Inner Sanctum, he might be able to use her against Moloch.

  Hades and his crew were searching the rings at this very moment.

  And Cipher had made progress in his attempts to hack Moloch’s spell-based security system surrounding his territory. Unfortunately, Moloch had learned from Bael’s mistakes that had allowed Cipher to escape his clutches, and every time Cipher found a back door, Moloch’s techs closed it.

  Still, Cipher had managed to access one of Moloch’s cameras, and for a single, precious minute, Azagoth had seen Lilliana at some sort of public spectacle. She’d looked miserable, but despite the grainy video quality, the spark of defiance in her eyes had been obvious, and his heart had swelled with pride.

  His mate was a badass. But that knowledge was nothing new.

  “Hey, boss.”

  Hades’ rumbling voice coming from behind Azagoth made him groa
n. “Why do I get the feeling you’re checking to make sure I’m not doing something crazy?”

  “I dunno. Maybe because you keep coming down here to do crazy shit, like free a hundred thousand of the evilest souls in Sheoul-gra?”

  Ah, right. That.

  “You can chill. I’m not breaking rules today.” No, he was just planning to break them.

  No, planning wasn’t the right word. He was really setting up a contingency plan. A hail Mary. A nuclear option.

  “I’m just here to deliver a message,” Hades said. “I was topside, talking to Z. Idess is here to see you.”

  “Tell her I’m busy.”

  Hades leveled him with a look laden with meaning. “You really want to see her.”

  Azagoth’s heart leaped into his throat at Hades’ tone. He flashed to the Inner Sanctum’s exit and practically dove through the portal into his office.

  It was empty. Shit.

  He tore open the door and found Zhubaal standing in the hallway, a silent sentinel. “She’s waiting for you at Lilliana’s reading spot.”

  Azagoth flashed there.

  Idess was sitting on the bench at the edge of the pond, its waters murkier than they had been yesterday. The grass was faring no better under the influence of his moods, turning brown and crunchy like the leaves of the surrounding trees.

  His daughter’s back was to him as he approached, but when she heard him, she stood and turned around. She was holding something squirmy wrapped in a zombie-print blanket.

  “This had better not be an attempt to make me feel better with a kitten or a puppy.”

  Idess’s smile was tinged with sadness. “She was brought to Underworld General this morning.” She pushed aside the blanket to reveal a tiny little face. “Flail brought her. Eidolon ran a genetic test to be sure.” Idess stroked a wispy black curl of hair. “Lilliana gave birth. This is your daughter.”

  The ground beneath Azagoth tilted violently. He stumbled back a step, catching himself on a cherry sapling.

  “Oh, Lilliana,” he whispered. All he could do was stare at the little miracle.

  “She’s perfectly healthy.” Idess took a step closer to him. “She just had a bottle.”