by Kailin Gow
He rolled his eyes and grinned. “It’s been a little dry and brittle lately.”
Lux let out an amused giggle all while holding back the tears. “Wow. I can’t believe it’s really you.”
“And I can’t believe it’s really you.” Moore pulled her tightly to him, kissing her with heated passion.
Lux felt like she was back where she belonged; in the warmth of his arms. The all-consuming kiss brought her back to a time when she was happy and fulfilled. “I don’t ever want to lose you again,” she murmured when she pulled back from the heated kiss.
His smoldering eyes bore through her as he looked down at her, a loving grin on his lips. “You’re really back,” he whispered. “I still can’t believe it. You came back. After all this time, you came back.”
“I would have been here sooner if it hadn’t been for the selfish actions of one particular succubus who tried to keep me all to himself.” She shot an accusing glare over her shoulder at Romeo.
Romeo glanced at Moore. “Can you really blame me for wanting to spend every waking moment with this woman?”
Moore chuckled and nodded.
Romeo turned his eyes to Lux. “I didn’t know it when I first met you, but in time, I came to think that you could change me, and you did. I restrained the succubus side of me, and I had hoped to hold it back even more. I wanted to remain your sexy professor. I love you and I just wanted to be like any other red-blooded man. I knew the others would come after you and I thought I could protect you by keeping you close to me.”
Lux pressed her lips together as she listened to his words.
“And you said that you’d believe me,” Romeo went on. “You said that if I brought you to Moore, the real Moore, you’d believe just how much I really love you.”
Moore straightened his shoulders and shook his head as he looked at Romeo. “You really fell for that guy?” he said to Lux in disbelief. “You fell for that player?”
“I guess I did,” Lux admitted.
Moore rolled his tongue around his cheek, hesitant to speak. “Truth is, Lux,” he said. “As much as I dislike the guy, I have to admit that I’ve never seen him so affectionate with a girl. Even without knowing that he’d met you and that he was spending time with you, we could all see that there was a change in him. You’ve clearly had an effect on him.”
“What are you saying?” Lux said.
Again, he hesitated. “I think he’s telling the truth. I think he really cares for you.”
Lux turned to Romeo. “You brought me to Moore, but what about Brax?”
“Brax?” Moore said with surprise. “I thought you knew about Brax.”
“What about him?”
“He’s not down here. He escaped a while back with a few others. He’s up on the surface, roaming about. I was certain you’d been with him all this time.”
“No. I have no idea where he is.” Lux frowned. “You say that he’s been on the surface for a while?”
Moore nodded. “And there are no longer any signs that he’s a succubus. He’s turned completely human.”
“But if he’s on the surface, why hasn’t he contacted me? Why hasn’t he tried to see me?”
Moore shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s not ready to see you yet.”
Lux shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t he want to see me?”
Moore shrugged again. “Remember when he was depressed, and he went off to England without a word? And that’s despite being really close to you.”
Lux nodded. “Yeah, I remember. It was right after his uncle died.”
“He might be the type of person who goes off on his own when things aren’t going well. Maybe he needs to figure things out by himself.”
“Figure what out?”
“I don’t know really. But spending time down here is rough, I mean really rough. I can easily imagine how it can screw someone up. Getting back into the real world with real people could be a shock to some.”
“Maybe.” She looked at him. “Whatever it is, I have to find him. When he went off to England that time, you helped me find him.”
His grin took on a sensual curve. “Oh, yeah. I certainly remember that.”
“You flew me out there on your private jet,” Lux said.
“And we stayed at the Ann Boleyn castle.”
She smiled. “It was one of the most romantic experiences I’d ever had.”
“It sure would be fun to do it again.”
Lux laughed as she pressed her hand against his chest. “Right, but we need to get out of here first.” She turned to Romeo. “How do we get out?”
“I said I would bring you to Moore if you didn’t slay me,” he said.
“I did.” Lux looked matter-of-factly at him.
“So, what are you prepared to do now if I show you the way out?”
Lux pulled away from Moore and turned to face Romeo. “If we make it out of here, I’ll help you overcome the succubus side of you. I’ll help you the same way I want to help Moore and Brax. How does that sound?”
Romeo stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, enveloping her in a warm embrace as he lay his lips against her brow. “You have no idea how much that means to me. For hundreds of years I’ve been here with no one to love and no one to love me. Never have I met anyone who bothered to ever try to save me.”
“Then I will, Romeo.” She smiled at him. “I’ll save you.”
He smiled, a warm and sincere smile that lit up his face. “I don’t want to have to drain another soul, Lux. I want the freedom of being a man, a real man. Help me find my way and I’ll be eternally grateful.”
Lux nodded. “Take us out of here, take us to Brax and I’ll save you, Romeo.”
Chapter 16
“Come,” Romeo said as he pulled Lux to him. “I’ll bring you to Brax.”
“I want Moore to come as well,” Lux said firmly.
Romeo hesitated as he looked at Moore with disdain.
“I want him to come, Romeo,” Lux reiterated.
“I don’t like the way you look at him,” Romeo said, looking down at her. “It’s as if I don’t matter at all to you when he’s there.”
“That’s not true. I care about Moore, just like I care about all the men who’ve stood by me. Moore, Brax and Asher were there when I asked them to join me in slaying. They risked everything to do what I asked. If it weren’t for them, I would not be here now.”
“How loyal of you,” Romeo said dryly.
“Yes,” Lux said as she looked up at him with pride. “They were loyal to me and I am to them. I am loyal, Romeo. And they all deserve my loyalty. Just as you have no idea what love is, I have no doubt that you have no notion of loyalty.”
“Lux, you’re not…”
“No, Romeo. While they went out of their way and took great risks to help me, you did all you could do to hinder me. You monopolized my time and kept me away from my mission to find them.”
“I told you, Lux. That was not intentional. I simply wanted to be with you. I was obsessed with you, Lux. Is that so hard to believe? I’m still obsessed with you. I think of you all the time. Why do you want to punish me for loving you? Your mission was to find them, and yes, our time together hindered that, but my mission was to drain you, and I was unable to do that. What does that tell you about our mutual obsession with one another? It was all consuming and it kept us both from tackling other issues.”
Lux looked at him and nodded. “Okay. Maybe you have a point there, but the fact remains; I want Moore to come with us. All I can tell you is that, if you prove worthy, I will show you the same loyalty that I show Asher, Brax and Moore.”
Smiling, Romeo kissed her delicately then looked at Moore and nodded as he waved him over. “All right. Come along.”
Moore came up to them, then in a rush of heated, blinding light followed by suffocating darkness, they were transported through the tunnel and quickly found themselves back on the earth’s surface.
“Where are we?” Lux said as she tried to see in the dark.
But then she heard them. Slayers and demons fighting, and it sounded ugly and deadly. They were back in the basement of the old haunted mansion in Las Vegas, right in the middle of an ongoing battle.
Chapter 17
“Over there!” Sully cried out, ready to attack.
“I see them,” Lucas said, turning to them.
“It reeks of succubus,” Asher said with disgust.
As her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, Lux saw Sully rush her while other slayers ran to attack Romeo and Moore. “Stop!” she cried out. “It’s me! Lux!”
The slayers all stopped, but all had a crucifix in hand, all ready to attack again, all ready to slay.
“Prove it,” Lucas said, trying to see better in the dimly lit storage room.
“I’ve come back with Romeo and Moore,” Lux said. “I went through the portal to find Moore.”
“That doesn’t prove much,” Asher said.
“I recruited you, Asher. You’re here because of me. I taught you just about everything you know.”
He hesitated, then lowered his crucifix and took a step closer. “Moore?” he said with uncertainty. “Is that really you?”
Moore smiled. “It’s me, all right. I’m a little surprised you remember me.”
“How could I forget?”
“When Lux first said she was distracted from coming to find me, I thought she was referring to you.”
“Never,” Asher said. “That accusation falls on the shoulders of the guy next to you.”
Lucas sniffed the air. “I knew something smelled rotten around this portal. The foul odor just oozes from the bastard.”
“Hey,” Romeo said. “No need for personal attacks.”
“Oh, please,” Lucas said. “What the hell are you doing back here anyway?”
Romeo pointed to Lux. “She brought me back. She wanted me to come.” He looked lovingly at her. “And who can refuse her?”
“Seriously?” Sully griped.
“Damn it, Lux,” Lucas said. “Have you fallen for this jerk again? After everything he’s done to you. What did he say to pull you back into his web again?”
Lucas and Sully gazed at Moore with the same degree of suspicion.
“And another succubus on top of it all,” Sully said.
Offended, Moore took a step toward Sully, but Lux reached out to hold him back.
“First of all, thanks for your confidence in my judgement.” When she saw Lucas prepare to argue with her, she held up a finger to silence him. “Yes,” she said with a nod. “I know I’ve had issues with judgement before, but I’m past that now. Believe me, I spoke at length with Romeo about his part in my distraction.”
“Then what brought you to trust him this time?” Lucas said.
“He knows where Brax is.”
“Then why isn’t Brax with you?” Asher said. “You’ve just come back from the portal with Moore. Why didn’t you bring Brax back, too?”
“Because Brax isn’t down there.”
Asher frowned and tilted his head to the side. “Then where is he?”
“He’s on the surface.”
“And I know where,” Romeo added.
“He’s going to take us to him,” Lux said.
“Really?” Asher said. “And where…”
A loud scream followed by another and another put everyone on high alert.
“We need help over here!” Professor Angelo called out.
Everyone turned to see demons flying everywhere at the far end of the room.
“Let’s go!” Lux said as she pulled out her crucifix.
She ran into the next room and slayed two demons with a sweep of her crucifix. Beside her was Lucas quickly slaying demons, as was Sully and Asher. The fighting was fierce and while they slayed the first demons they came across rather easily, it became increasingly hard to destroy them.
“Why won’t these demons die?” Lux called out.
When she turned to destroy an oncoming demon, she was surprised to see Moore fighting. He easily slayed the huge demon who was about to come down on her and smiled.
“They’re bigger and stronger,” she told him.
“I’ve got your back,” he said turning to slay another monster of a demon. “You take care of the minions and I’ll take on the big guys.”
“I appreciate that,” she called out as she plunged her crucifix into a giant of a demon. She winked and smiled at him. “I do appreciate your offer all the same.”
Grinning, he tipped an invisible hat to her. “My apologies. I’d forgotten just how talented you really are.”
“Behind you!” she shouted.
He turned to slay the two demons that lunged at him, but three more came at them from the left.
“Shit,” Lux muttered as she looked up at the mammoth demons.
Moore tried to slay them, but they kept coming back. Lux had to jump up to get her crucifix on one of them, but the demon just let out a small cry and continued to fight.
“Damn it!” she cried out. “These things are indestructible.”
Lucas came up behind her and tried to destroy them but only when Sully came and they ganged up on the one large demon did they finally succeed in taking him down.
“Where are these monsters from?” Sully said as he began fighting with the next one.
“They’re senior like me,” Romeo said.
“No!” Lux screamed as a strong demon got a hold of her. “Luc…” Her cry for help was choked out as the demon gripped her throat and pushed her up against the crumbling basement wall.
“Thrax!” Romeo called out.
The demon holding her looked over his shoulder at Romeo.
“Leave her alone,” Romeo said. “That one’s mine.”
“Is she now?” Thrax said, turning back to Lux and leaning in close to breathe her in. “I don’t smell your scent on her.”
“Get your claws off her now, or, I promise, I’ll annihilate you.”
“Me?” Thrax said. He slowly glanced back at Romeo. “You’re going to annihilate me? What’s up, Romeo? Are you on their side now?”
“Never mind who’s side I’m on. Just let her go.”
Thrax licked Lux across the face. “She sure is a pretty human girl, isn’t she? Hell, even a beastly demon like me can see that.” He sniffed her. “Oh, yeah. Sweet, sweet soul.” He gave her throat a little squeeze then brought his nasty nostrils down into her cleavage. “Sweet.”
Lux tried to fight him off but was only able to offer a few frail slaps at the mammoth demon’s arm. It did nothing to slacken his hold on her.
Romeo swept in and punched Thrax on the side of the head so hard, that the tall and bulky demon staggered back, reluctantly releasing Lux who momentarily sank down to the floor.
She immediately reached for her throat, now sore and tender, and finally breathed more easily. “Shit,” she muttered to herself, frustrated that she’d not been able to fend off the huge beast on her own.
“Are you going to fight me, Romeo?” Thrax cried out with indignation. “You damned succubus. You’re really going to fight me?”
Thrax charged Romeo, and for a frightening moment, Lux was certain she would watch Romeo die right there in front of her. They tumbled to the ground, and Thrax had the upper hand as he threw Romeo to the floor. Romeo gasped for air as Thrax now had a hold of his throat.
“You’d rather I drain you than drain the pretty girl,” Thrax said, a murderous gleam in his eyes. “Because I’d be only too happy to oblige, my dear Romeo.”
“Too bad you’ll never know what it’s like to want to make that sacrifice, Thrax,” Romeo said. “You could go on for all eternity draining souls, but you’ll never have a soul of your own. You’ll never know what it’s like to care for another soul.”
“Cry me a river,” Thrax spat. He leaned forward, putting his full weight on Romeo’s throat.
Lux was about to jump in, but Romeo pulled ou
t a gleaming dagger and plunged it deep into the big demon’s chest. For a long moment Thrax clung to the dagger, staring at Romeo with disbelief, his eyes questioning what had just happened.
“Traitor,” Thrax muttered.
Romeo pulled the dagger out, allowing a gush of black blood to pour out of Thrax. “You can call me what you like,” Romeo said. He rolled out from under the demon’s weight then simply blew on him and the creature turned to ashes leaving only the putrid smell of burning sulfur.
“Anyone else want to take me on?” Romeo cried out with raging fury. “Come on!”
Three of the huge demons charged him, one landing on his back while the other two attacked him head on.
With one sweep of his dagger, he slayed the two who’d dare take him head on, then he flipped the third one over his shoulder, landing him on his back before driving his dagger deep into his chest.
Once the three were left in ashes, Romeo looked at the human slayers around him. “This isn’t over,” he called out. “The fight is far from over.” He looked out at all of them, some already injured. “These big guys are probably all over this house by now. Are you ready to keep fighting or do you want to call it a day?”
Professor Angelo stepped forward. “Tibi mentiti, succubus,” she said in Latin. “Tibi mentiti sunt omnes. Tibi mentiti sunt ei.” She pointed to Lux.
“Ms. Angelo,” Lux said. “I know he’s lied to everyone, and most particularly to me, but…”
The professor ignored her and continued to glare at Romeo. “Cur credam. Alieno fideles non fuistis.”
“That’s not true,” Lux argued. “We can trust him. We must.”
“Etiam,” Romeo admitted in Latin. “Ego praesidio opus ei.” He looked at Lux. “You weren’t ready” he said in English. “I had to make sure you didn’t go into that portal. I knew that from the start, and I think you came to realize that on your own.” He turned back to Ms. Angelo. “I couldn’t allow her to risk her life. I knew it would be suicide for her to go down and try to save her friends.”
Ms. Angelo huffed and put her fists on her hips. “You’re a succubus. Why should you care one way or the other what happens to her?”
