Everything but his guilt and regret soon left him. Tired, spent, and feeling like the biggest jerk in the entire world, Christian slumped to his knees, his knuckles leaving a bloody trail along the wall. Tears sprang to his eyes, unbidden and unwanted, yet unable to be stopped. His shoulders heaved. He gritted his teeth hard enough to make his gums bleed. His body began to shake as the adrenaline rushing through him faded, leaving him with nothing but his overpowering culpability and deep-seated regret.
Lilith had left. She might not have gone far, she might not be able to leave this enclave, but she was no longer with him.
And he had no one to blame but himself.
CHAPTER 13
Samantha and Tristin returned to their hidden base to discover that Leon and Sif were also back from their mission. That was good news. What was not good news was that their comrades were not successful in their mission, though it was through no fault of their own.
“Commissioner Flatcher has no clue where the SIU Sargent Catherine Siegal has gone to,” Leon said, running large fingers through his hair. “She never returned from Las Vegas and hasn’t called in. It’s like she’s disappeared.”
“Las Vegas,” Samantha murmured, her eyes closed. “It seems a lot happened in Las Vegas that none of us were aware of.”
The group was sitting around in Samantha’s office. Only Samantha was sitting down. Leon was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, his face marred by a large, off-putting frown. Sif stood next to him, not leaning but rather standing with her back straight and her arms behind her back. She looked like a solider whose uniform was about to be inspected by a drill Sargent.
“I suspect she was involved in that fuel truck explosion,” Tristin said. Unlike Leon and Sif, he was leaning against Samantha’s desk. She would have thrown him a glare for that, but she was too tired to even think of doing such. The journey back home had been long, and she was exhausted. Only sheer force of will kept her from collapsing. “I’m also beginning to think that Christian might have been there as well.”
Samantha perked up at the mention of Christian. Just a little. “Why do you say that?”
“Um, because this is Christian we’re talking about.” Tristin possessed that kind of “duh” voice that made it sound like the reasons should have been obvious. And maybe it was, and she was just too tired to see reason. She still didn’t appreciate the sarcasm. “If there is one thing I know about Christian, it’s that whenever there is trouble, he is always in the thick of things. Aside from that, our last sighting of him before Vertrou pulled off his trail was San Francisco. We know he wanted to get out of the state, possibly out of the country. From San Francisco, there are only two places he could have gone that would have aided in this endeavor: Nevada or Oregon.”
A long pause ensued as Tristin let this sink in.
“Nothing of consequence happened in Oregon during this time. Nevada, on the other hand, had that explosion that destroyed an entire city block.” Tristin cast a meaningful glance around the room. It was surprising to see him look so serious. “And while some people might be stupid enough to gobble up the shit the media presents them, I like to think that all of us are intelligent enough to recognize that nothing short of a bomb, or an explosion of demonic energy, could do that much damage.”
“Language,” Samantha muttered, rubbing her face. She thought about what Tristin said. It made sense. It was also keeping in line with everything they had learned thus far. “So, then, what you’re saying is that Christian headed to Las Vegas. At some point while he was there, he possibly met up with Catherine Siegel of the SIU before both of them were intercepted by whoever Vertrou sent after them. Is that about right?”
“That’s the gist of it.”
“Do we know who Vertrou sent after Christian?” asked Sif. Samantha looked over at the woman, noting her expressionless face. She then glanced at Tristin, a single eyebrow raised.
“Vertrou sent Nicholas Cruor after Christian and his lady friend.” Samantha scowled at the mention of Lilith. The scowl deepened when Tristin chuckled. It sounded far too perverse for her taste. “However,” he continued, calming down, “I found out while searching through the information I downloaded that Nicholas Cruor isn’t his actual name.”
“And what is his actual name?” asked Leon.
“Asmodeus.”
There was a deep sucking of breath from everyone there. Samantha felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her in the face. It felt like her entire world had ground to a screeching halt.
“Christian faced off against one of the Seven Demon Kings?” she asked. And he was still alive, if Kokabiel was to be believed. “I don’t believe it.”
“I don’t either,” Leon added. “That kid was good, don’t get me wrong. I’ve never met another person who was as skilled with a blade as he is, but fighting against a Demon King? Even one stuck in a human body, there’s no way he could have survived that.”
“And yet he did. I only managed to get a bit of information from that terminal before we were attacked, but the information I acquired is completely accurate. Asmodeus was the one sent after Christian. We all know that a battle between Christian and Asmodeus would not be quiet, yet we have not heard of any major catastrophes happening anywhere other than Las Vegas.”
Samantha raised an eyebrow at Tristin’s darkening countenance, but she dismissed it a moment later. For some reason that was beyond her, the man who should, in theory, only like women, was awfully defensive when people made slights against Christian. She didn’t know why, and a part of her felt she was better off not knowing.
“Which makes the explosion in Las Vegas the most likely place of their battle,” Samantha concluded, pushing the intelligence agent’s annoyance to the side. Leon rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful but not saying anything. Sif remained expressionless, although her eyes did flicker with hidden emotion, respect maybe. “I can see where you’re coming from. Mephisto’s presence there also lends credence to your thesis.” She paused, thinking. “Considering we have nothing else to go on, I think your idea holds the most merit.”
“Aw, shucks.” Tristin began to act bashful, like a hillbilly who’d just been told by the local farm girl that she liked his truck. “You’re making me blush, boss lady.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Samantha muttered darkly. Leon gave a quiet chortle, which was still loud enough for her to hear. She sent him a warning glare, which made the much larger, more imposing figure uncross his arms and raise his hands in a warding gesture.
Throughout all of this, Sif ignored the byplay going on around her. “What should we do, then? Do you have a plan of action, Commander?”
Clicking her tongue at being called commander again, Samantha turned the problem over in her mind, looking at it from different angles. “Regardless of what happens from here on out, we’re going to need allies. I would rather not find myself allying with a succubus.” Before Tristin even had a chance to open his mouth, she tossed him a look that could burn through steel, causing his mouth to close with a snap. She held the gaze for a second more, then continued. “That being said, Christian is still one of the best fighters I know and the only person who has defeated a high-class demon in combat.” Possibly even two now. “It is imperative that we somehow bring him back into the fold.”
“Should we use coercion?” asked Sif. “Take the succubus hostage and force him to work for us?”
“Are you stupid?” asked Tristin. The blunt question actually caught Sif off guard, causing her to look at him, wide eyed. The expression of perplexity might have also been caused by the irritated, humorless look on the blond man’s face. Samantha understood. It just wasn’t an expression people saw on Tristin often, or ever, actually.
“E-excuse me?” Sif stuttered.
“I was asking if you’re some kind of idiot,” Tristin said. Leon bristled, though he didn’t get a chance to speak his mind before the younger man continued. “You would never even get close to Lilith before Christia
n ran you through. But let’s say, hypothetically speaking, that you actually managed to somehow capture Lilith before Christian killed you. What do you think he would do?”
Sif hesitated, her stance suddenly unsure. She looked at Leon, then Samantha, then back at Tristin. Finally, she said, “I imagine he would do what we told him to...”
Tristin cut her off, laughing in her face. “Do what we told him to?” he mimicked, his voice mocking and derisive. “You clearly don’t know Christian very well. On the off chance that you actually captured Lilith and tried to coerce him into doing your bidding, the first thing he would do is shove two feet of cold, hard steel down your throat.” Tristin paused, his expression thoughtful. “Or he would just shoot you in the face, depending on whether Lilith was present. The second thing he would do, if Lilith wasn’t present, is find her and break her out. No.” He shook his head. “Trying to force Christian into doing what you want is just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Samantha, despite the sense of dislike his words invoked, found herself nodding. “Christian has always been protective of people he believes are innocent of wrongdoings. If he left with the succubus, then it is because he believes her to be innocent. If you were to attack her, he would take that as a grave injustice and sin on your part and attack you with extreme prejudice.”
Leon looked confused. “But she’s a succubus,” he pointed out.
Tristin opened his mouth, but Samantha raised a hand, silencing him. “Christian, despite his devout beliefs, has never once held any form of hatred toward abominations. I remember him once telling me that he pitied them because they were born in sin and needed to be cleansed. During his earlier years as an Executioner, he often expressed sadness over the loss of life. I am positive the only reason he continued working with us is because he honestly believed he was doing the right thing.”
“And that’s not the case now?” asked Sif.
“Obviously not.” This time, Samantha was not fast enough to stop Tristin’s tongue. “Did you not hear when we said he ran off with a succubus?”
“He could be under the influence of her Aura of Allure,” Sif suggested.
“Doubtful,” Tristin said. “Christian had been in contact with Lilith for over a week during his mission to kill her and did not exhibit the signs found in a man under a succubus’s Aura of Allure once. His mind was perfectly aware. The guy was in perfect control of his mental faculties, which would not be possible if he was under the effects of a succubus’s Aura of Allure. We even had Doctor Anastasia Pierce check him over for any signs of his mind being affect and he came up clean.”
Leon and Sif frown. Samantha understood what they were thinking. A man being unaffected by a succubus was unheard of. That Christian was presented a series perplexing queries that had no real answer. Was it a matter of intense mental discipline that most lacked? Or was there something special about Christian? If that was the case, then what made him so special? More importantly, was it possible for others to replicate this feat?
“There will be no coercing Christian into the fold,” Samantha announced. They had gone off on a tangent, and it was time to get back on track. “We will head over to Yellowstone National Park, where his last known location was. We will talk to him peacefully and ask if he would be willing to work with us. If he says no, then we’ll have no choice but to leave empty handed. I don’t know about either of you, but I have no desire to fight him.”
Sif and Leon looked at Samantha, then at each other. A shudder passed through them, one that started from their feet and moved up to the crown of their heads. They turned back to Samantha and gave a stiff nod.
“Agreed.”
***
Clarissa knocked on the door to Lilith’s bedroom. She received no response. That was disappointing but expected. Ever since her argument with Christian, the young woman had locked herself in her room. She didn’t talk, she refused to come out, and all the women in the enclave were nearing their wits end, as they found themselves unable to figure out how to get the innocent and pure woman to leave her room.
The only person who Clarissa was sure could get the girl to return to her normally vibrant self was Christian, and he was too busy sulking and feeling sorry for himself to help her.
Really, Clarissa thought with a disenchanted sigh, this entire situation was one big mess.
“Lilith.” Clarissa knocked on the door again and called out the woman’s name. Still no response. Frowning, she adjusted the tray in her left hand and used her right to pull a set of keys from the pocket of her jeans. “Lilith, I’m coming in.” Once again, no response.
Clarissa stuck one of the keys into the lock and turned it. A soft click emitted from the door. She then opened the door and let herself in.
The room did not look much different from how it usually did. It was messier, with panties and clothes of all kinds strewn about the floor, but the mess was the only real difference.
Lying on the bed was a lump. The general shape was female, all sensual contours that bespoke of a shapely body that most women would commit genocide for. Several strands of blond hair, long, luscious, and shimmering against the white background of the sheets, stuck out from underneath the covers.
“Come on, Lilith,” Clarissa said, stopping on the left side of the bed and using her free hand to pull the covers down. The fabric slid down. It moved over a set of slender shoulders, across a lovely torso covered by a pink spaghetti strap top, and then slithered over exquisitely crafted hips and legs.
Clarissa stopped pulling on the fabric before she could uncover Lilith’s feet. The young woman in question was still lying on the bed, on her side, not looking at her, but rather, staring off into something distant that only she could see. Her eyes, red and puffy from crying and a lack of sleep, looked unblinkingly at nothing.
“You can’t stay in here forever,” Clarissa said as she set the tray she’d been carrying down on a nightstand. She proceeded to sit on the bed, her eyes taking in Lilith’s form, from her frazzled hair and unblinking red eyes, to her body, which hardly moved save for rise and fall of her chest and shoulders. “Here, I brought you breakfast. Come, eat.”
“No thanks,” Lilith whispered, her voice grating, harsh, as if she had not used it in several days. “I’m not hungry.”
“Lilith,” Clarissa sighed. “I know this is hard. Arguing with your mate is never easy, and they always hurt, but you can’t let something like this get the best of you. You have to push through this and keep going. What would Christian think if he saw you like this?”
Knowing Christian as she did now, Clarissa was sure the young man would become even more ridden with guilt and sink deeper into depression.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lilith muttered, her eyes tearing up at the mention of Christian. “He hates me. He called me a burden, told me that I’m useless, said that all I do is get in the way. He hates me, and it’s all because I had to follow him when I knew he was going off to fight. It’s all my fault.”
“It’s not entirely your fault,” Clarissa said, trying to assuage some of Lilith’s guilt. It probably wouldn’t work, but she had to do something. “Christian is as much to blame as you are. True, you should not have followed him into such a dangerous situation, as you do not have the training necessary to get out of a predicament like that, but you can hardly be blamed for expressing worry.”
Lilith shifted a bit, but she didn’t say anything, causing Clarissa to sigh.
“And Christian does not hate you,” she continued. “Far from it. He loves you very much. That is why he was so angry when you followed him. When people worry about the ones they love, they tend to act out with more emotions than intended. It wasn’t anger that caused Christian to act like that. It was fear. He was so afraid of losing you that he allowed his emotions to get the better of him, making him lash out at you in a way he never would have done had he been thinking straight.”
Lilith sniffled, hiccupped, then shifted her eyes from where th
ey were looking at the wall to her. “Do you really think so?”
“I know so. Now, please eat up.”
Lilith sat up, the left strap to her top sliding down her shoulders. She absently slid it back up as Clarissa set the plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice onto her lap. The young woman slowly picked at her food, taking small bites on occasion, but mostly just sitting there, listless and lacking life.
“Listen, Lilith,” Clarissa started again, “I was wondering if you would like to get out of the enclave for a while, maybe get some fresh hair?”
Lilith stopped eating her food. Her head tilted to look at Clarissa. Green eyes fixated on her, not blinking, not moving. Clarissa felt a bit unnerved by the dull-eyed stare. It wasn’t like the Lilith she’d known for the last several days, but she didn’t let the other woman onto that fact. She simply kept talking.
“There’s a small hotel called the Grant Village Lodge. I worked out a deal with the family that owns it a while ago in order to get the necessary supplies for my enclave. At the end of each month, a shipment of food and other essentials for us arrives there. As it’s the last day of July, I was planning sending Heather out to get some supplies.” She gave the destitute blonde a kind look. “Would you like to go with her?”
After another moment, Lilith gave a slow nod. “I guess.”
Relief swept through Clarissa. She had been overwrought by Lilith’s shut-in attitude. The pretty blonde had been so vibrant when she first arrived, always smiling, her eyes glittering in delight. Most of that, she knew, had been due to the woman’s mate. Succubus were always like that around their mate. It was partly because of the life force the one they chose to be with gave to them, but mostly it was because finding love was important for their kind. It was, quite literally, hardwired into their genetics.
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