by J. L. Madore
From the crowd of first responders at the scene of the lakefront factory, they were looking at nine witnesses so far. The easiest to find were the two firefighters who got the video clip of what went down. Danel worked his magic and tracked the IP address of the posted video, and Colt got the IDs and addy of the budding filmmakers.
Best part, they were roomies, so if things went according to plan, the visual proof was eliminated in a one-stop, and then they were looking at mind adjustments for the rest of the night.
He rounded the back corner of the house and cursed. “Why is he here?”
Dougal met his hostility with a chuckle. It seemed Cassi’s guardian and second-in-command had grown immune to his intimidation. Rude. “You said you needed the Shedim with the strongest ability to clear and reset a human mind. Larkin’s specialty is mental manipulation.”
Another reason to hate the guy.
Except, at that moment, it worked in his favor. Kyrian stared down the pretty-boy soldier and fought the urge to throat-punch him. The guy chaffed his nuts by simply breathing the same air. At least he had sense enough to keep his expression tight.
Had he shown the slightest bit of smugness or gloating, he’d definitely suffer from a tracheal wallop.
With a curse, Kyrian dematerialized down the chimney of the house and opened the door from the inside. “Remember, nothing too invasive. Just wipe their memories and reset them. We’ve got a long night ahead of us to close the lid on our part of Phoenix’s exposure fiasco.”
“Perhaps,” Larkin said, “if this ends well, you’ll believe I’m not like Stryker or the others, and give me a chance?”
Kyrian stepped out of the Shedim’s way and snorted. “Don’t talk crazy, my man. It’s a simple favor.”
“If it’s so simple, why ask us? Watchers alter memories too, don’t you?”
Technically, they scrubbed memories that weren’t too old or too intense, then they patched over the mess. Shedim had far more control on the psycho-manipulation front. Not that he’d admit that. That shit fell within the need-to-know category, and Larkin definitely did not need to know that.
“All right, boys. Let’s get done and home to bed, shall we?”
Seth watched Storme and Phoenix work on their part of the exposure cleanup and decided he hated the taste of crow. The newlyweds were totally in sync. Whether it was the depth of their love or the Familiar bond they shared, they were a solid unit. Storme shared Phoenix’s telepathic connection and communicated with him without issue. She eased the volatility of his powers. And, she made him smile more in one night than he’d ever seen.
Despite the powerful new darkness in Phoenix, there was a new lightness to him too.
Part of him resented her connection because up until then, he and Phoenix only had that with each other. Another part of him breathed a sigh of relief, thankful his twin had found true happiness.
If this truly was a Nephilim soul mate connection designed by Lady Divinity, like Zander and Austin shared, he’d do his best to put aside his prejudice against the witch and be happy for him.
“Okay,” Storme said, straightening from the computer they’d been huddled in front of since four that morning. “The spell is cast across the internet and cell phone airwaves. Anyone who hears about the strange floating building and flying men will laugh it off as a media hoax.”
“And that’s it?” he asked.
“No,” she said, accepting Phoenix’s hand to help her up. “We’ll have to monitor the strength of the spell and give it a boost or two over the next few days, but between cell phones and internet, we’ve cast a wide net.”
Seth still didn’t understand exactly what she’d done, but being raised by their mother had to have some kind of a silver lining, didn’t it? That maniacal bitch had been scary powerful and knew a shit-ton about manipulating people.
The whimpered cry of his son had him hopping up from the sofa and jogging to the door of the second bedroom. He gave a gentle knock. “Angel? May I come in?”
“Yes, you may.”
He eased open the door and slid inside. The two had been sleeping for hours and he’d been getting antsy about seeing his son. Well, and Thea too. After everything she’d been through, he needed to ensure she was solid.
For Zane’s sake, of course.
The dim light of the moon shining through the window highlighted Thea in the middle of the bed, their son propped in her arms, nuzzling her breast. “Hungry again?”
He found Thea’s sleepy eyes and mussed hair even more breathtaking than her heavenly perfection, especially wearing his Raptors sweatshirt. He couldn’t wear it anymore anyway, so she might as well stay warm, right?
She brushed a hand over the baby’s head and smiled. “I’d venture a guess that you and your brother were veracious eaters too. Look how big you grew up to be.”
He couldn’t argue that. “It’s hard to imagine he’ll ever grow as big as us.”
“He will. He’s his father’s son, after all.”
“Yeah, he is.” Seth knelt on the floor next to the bed and watched, while trying not to stare at the exposed round of Thea’s breast. “You don’t mind, do you? That I’m here while you feed him?”
“Why would I? If Zane seeks sustenance, it is my honor to nurture him. And, from what I understand, you are no stranger to the curves of the female form. I am certain my breasts are no different than the hundreds, or perhaps thousands, you’ve experienced before.”
Seth fought not to react. There was no heat or hurt in Thea’s words, but they struck him hard regardless. He had never been ashamed of his promiscuity before; in fact, he’d reveled in his lifestyle. He loved women and loved taking care of them.
The way he saw it, to give him their bodies was an act of trust and affection. He’d never phoned-it-in. He took pride in the fact that every woman over the millennia left with a smile on her face and a memory to warm her on a cold night.
Until now.
“I’m sorry you feel like one in a crowd of many,” he said, his voice catching in his throat. “That’s not how I think of you.”
She shrugged and dropped her gaze back to their son. “A week ago, you could barely look me in the eye without gripping your hands into fists.”
“I was angry.”
“As was I.”
His head spun at how quickly they were back to tension. Since he’d brought Zane home, he thought they’d gotten past the betrayal. No, they had gotten past it. This was something else. Had he fucked up? Did his past bother her that much?
“You know, all things considered, I think we make a pretty good team. The realms have already thrown a bunch of obstacles at us and we did okay. Don’t you think?”
“A team?” Thea frowned, adjusted her nightgown, and propped Zane against her shoulder. “Like men playing sports or co-workers on a project? Is that the way you see us moving into the future?”
Danger. Will Robinson. He heard the warning bells toll, but wasn’t sure what direction the wreck was coming from. “No?”
“Then what does us making a good team mean to you?”
He really did need to start thinking before he opened his big mouth. “Just that we both love Zane and seem to do okay when we’re focused on his health and well-being. I meant that it’s nice not to fight. I like this”—he gestured between them—“way better than the anger and frustration. Don’t you?”
Thea rubbed gentle circles on Zane’s velvety sleeper and struggled for what to say. Over the past few days, she’d discovered that Seth was a far more complex male than she’d originally thought. Because of that, she found she wanted to understand better why he said and did the things he did.
“Answer one question for me.”
He hesitated, but after a moment, he shrugged. “Sure . . . shoot.”
“Why did you reject the thought of being part of Zane’s life? When I see you with him, it’s hard to believe you were so violently against him.”
Seth rose from his knees and s
at on the edge of the bed. “I was never against him,” he said, locking his gaze on his son. “I simply wanted better for him than to have me for a father. What if I screw up and he hates me as much as I hate my parents?”
Thea frowned. Children don’t grow up to hate their parents, do they? She’d grown up without parents but didn’t hate them.
“You know Auriel, so imagine what it’s like to have one of those white-suited automatons for a sire. My sire, Khamel, is known to bear a ceaseless and inextinguishable fire of charity, dignity, and glory, yet never has he had a kind word for Phoenix or me. Archangels berate us with an icy indifference that, over endless years, leaves us feeling hollow.”
She laid the baby between them on the bed and brushed back Zane’s blond, wispy hair. “You and your brethren are the saviors of man—the gatekeepers of good and evil.”
“We are pariah. Neither light nor dark nor human nor angel. In the Otherworld, we are feared or hated. In the Human Realm, no one sees our true selves. We are nothing. Invisible.”
Thea blinked. “No. You are not.”
“And then there’s my mother.”
Yes, the evil witch who entrapped Storme, and killed and tormented so many over the past two thousand years.
“Here’s a parenting moment for you. My mother berated me for being too worthless to offer as a blood sacrifice and ripped out Phoenix’s throat instead. He was her pride and joy, and I wasn’t even worth killing in his place.”
Thea gasped. “That’s wrong.”
Seth stared blankly at a scene unfolding before him in another time and place. “She had no idea he was immortal and wouldn’t die. She finished her ritual and ordered the Pharaoh’s servants to dispose of his body like a pile of trash.”
Thea couldn’t imagine treating an enemy like that, let alone her own son.
“Those were my parental experiences. That’s the legacy of upbringing I offer. I couldn’t see how any child deserved that.”
Zane wriggled and screwed up his face. She rose from the bed, taking the child to the bassinet to change him before he drifted back to sleep. “You are no more them than they are you. Duty and honor made you your own male. You know love and loyalty and sacrifice. It may not have come from parents but it’s in your heart.”
Seth yawned, looking skeptical. “He still deserves better.”
“Nonsense,” she said, sticking the tabs of the fresh diaper before swaddling Zane tight in his blanket. She patted his full belly and left him to his slumber. “A child needs acceptance, and love, to thrive. Your experiences shall make you a better parent. The truth of your motives proves it.”
“You’re naïve, angel,” he said, flopping onto the mattress. His jaw cracked as he yawned wide. “He’s lucky to have you, but I’m no prize.”
She tossed a pillow from the stack at the headboard to the opposite side of the bed. “Nonsense. You’re tired and not making any sense.”
Seth rolled to his side and sat up. “Not tired, I’m fried. But I still think I make perfect sense.”
She waved away his argument. “Lay down and get some sleep. Things will look different after you rest.”
He blinked. “I figured . . . with him home . . .”
“You’re in no shape to drag yourself back to your apartment and I’d feel better if you stayed. Close your eyes and rest.” She thought he might argue, but he collapsed back to the mattress and was snoring softly within moments.
Thea unlaced his tall, red-leather boots and Seth stirred and rolled to his side. The bed was massive. There was plenty of room for the two of them to sleep and not disturb one another.
She pulled the duvet up and tucked him in. “Sleep, Warrior. It’s been quite a day.”
And for once, Seth did as he was told.
Pulling the drapes closed all the way, she slid under the covers on her side of the bed and closed her eyes. She’d been having fitful spurts of sleep, reliving the terror of her captivity.
Hopefully, with Seth lying beside her, she might finally rest. She had no doubt that if anyone threatened her of Zane, he’d slay them on the spot.
That was the way of heroes.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Zander helped Austin finish rinsing the breakfast dishes and set the dishwasher to start. Who would have thought he’d live through centuries, meet with Kings and angels and world leaders, and his greatest pride would come from the menial tasks of building a home with his beloved.
While she puttered and wiped, he reclaimed his place at the head of the table and scanned through the nightly reports. The first phase of disarming the exposure had gone well. Maybe they could get ahead of the damage after all.
“Here you are, angelman,” Austin said, handing him a mug as she settled into his lap. “To warm you on a cold, wintery morning.”
He sipped at the edge of the ceramic mug and smiled at the Bailey’s kick. He’d brought her the same thing back on that first day. “You trying to liquor me up, cowgirl?”
Austin winked and eased in close, pressing herself against his chest. “No need. I have my way with you whenever I want.”
Zander tilted his head and met her forehead with his own. “And I expect you to take advantage of that often and forever.”
Nio let off a fuss from where she slept in her little bed.
Their daughter was growing too fast. How had three months passed already? Soon, she’d be sitting up, and then walking, and then experiencing the world beyond the protection of their home. Oh, yet another thing to liquify his bowels.
He sent a prayer up to Lady Divinity and tucked thoughts of the unthinkable waaaay down.
Nio would be fine. She had to be.
Their daughter seemed to agree because her little foot came up and kicked the air.
Seth laughed, sauntering into the kitchen, looking like the cock of the walk. “You’ve got one heck of a little warrior in the making there, Z.”
A warrior? Hells no. “Nio goes nowhere near the ugliness of the three realms. She can forge her path as a business tycoon or a philanthropist or an artist.”
“And live at home?” Austin added.
He nodded. “Under the watchful supervision of her father and her uncles.”
Austin laughed as Ringo and Stetson joined them. “We’ll see how well that goes.”
Zander patted the chocolate lab, the dog’s fur cold and damp from his run outside. “We can leave the next generation of warrioring to Zane.”
Seth frowned from behind the counter, taking two frying pans from the hanging pot rack over the stove and looking at them like he didn’t know what they were for. “I’m not sure how I feel about that. Zane’s got great genes, so he’s gonna rock it, but man, I hope the world’s a better place for him.”
Zander knew exactly how he felt.
“Amen to that, brother,” Tanek said, waltzing through the dining room wall like it wasn’t there. “Imagine a world where everyone got along and we didn’t have to send our children out on the streets each night. Nice, eh?”
The thought made Zander want to weep. “Nice” didn’t begin to cover it. “So, how do we get from here to there?”
“Well,” Austin said, shifting to get up off his lap—likely to help Seth in the kitchen. He tightened his grip, not letting her escape. Austin giggled and sank back into his hold. “What’s the main cause of your battles?”
“Until recently, feeding off quota,” he answered, reclaiming his hot chocolate. “But that’s down across the board, thanks to Cassi. She and Storme have DonorWatch offices popping up in Queen Hotels all over the world. They’re providing organs and blood to a huge number of Darkworld feeders.”
“Why not circle the Darkworlder wagons and figure out what it would take to keep them towin’ the line of the accords? All y’all go on about not all Darkworlders bein’ bad.”
“Love the optimism, cowgirl, but it’s not realistic.”
She pegged him with a glare that had bite. Damn, he loved her. “Why not? The definiti
on of insanity is doin’ the same thing over and over and expectin’ a different result, right? So, try somethin’ different.”
Zander wasn’t sure where to even go with that.
He deferred to Tanek, who was, in all things, smarter than he. “I suppose if the Darkworld have a council to discuss how much they despise us, we could start an Otherworld Council to give a voice to hear them out.”
Seth grabbed a whisk and started whipping the shit outta three eggs in a bowl. “Most daemon races aren’t make-nice folks, cowgirl. Hatred and habits grow deep roots.”
“What have you got to lose? You’re out there killin’ them anyhow. Maybe they’re as tired of runnin’ around in circles as you are. The Djinn Master was humbled enough to talk to us, Colt and Rayvn can speak to your intentions, Meck and Colin can tell them how much you help people through the club.”
“Good deeds don’t erase thousands of years of hate-monger programming.”
Austin lifted her chin and dug in. “Cassi’s Shedim prove it’s possible to co-exist, and even thrive, by sussin’ out a creative new approach. Our children are worth the effort of tryin’ to change the world, aren’t they?”
Zander met the gazes of his brothers and shrugged. Well, when you put it that way . . .
Austin watched Seth fuss in the kitchen as the Otherworld Council debate continued. The scents of French toast and bacon mingled in the air as the new father prepared his breakfast . . . or maybe his and Thea’s breakfast. Storme told her Seth had gone into Thea’s room to check on Zane just before dawn and, instead of going home, stayed the night.
She smiled to herself. Life had a way of figuring itself out if you let things happen in their own time. She’d noticed Thea rub at the skin of her forearms like it bugged her.
She remembered the sensation—how her nerve endings tingled below the surface of her skin and the physical need to be intimate with Zander, even when they were both fightin’ it.