Ryker wrapped his arms around me. “Look away,” he whispered in my ear.
I pried my eyes from the pandacorn and looked in Michelle’s direction. She was under the same spell I was. Archer had an arm wrapped around her, holding her in place. The intense need to hug him went away when I looked at the intruder.
The newcomer answered my question, his voice deep and sophisticated. “It’s one of his powers.”
Archer walked up to the newcomer. In the eight years I’d known Archer, he had never bowed or answered to anyone, but his six-foot-four slender frame kneeled. “Prince of Darkness.”
I must have heard him wrong. He’d called the man the prince of darkness, but the prince of darkness didn’t exist.
Ryker wasn’t as pleasant to the newcomer. “Lucifer. Why are you in my house? Uninvited?” He didn’t rise at the sight of the newcomer. “I don’t understand why I keep having to let people I don’t like in my house—first the vampire, now Lucifer,” he mumbled.
I looked at Michelle’s, and her eyes were wide with wonder. For a human, she was taking everything quite well.
“I came to find out who has pulled on the magic of the underworld.” He shrugged as he tugged at his diamond cufflinks. I didn’t like the sound of his statement. “Only one other time in the last ten years have I felt a pull that strong. Last time, a luscious woman preoccupied me, and I let it go. This time, not so much. So, do you want to explain why you thought you could pull from the magic of the hell fires?” His blue eyes flashed with red.
Words left my brain. I was still trying to understand that the devil existed, and already, he was accusing me of pulling on the magic of hell. Pulling my shoulders back, I faced the supposed devil head-on. “I don’t know who you are or why you are here, accusing me of using the supposed magic from hell, but the only magic I’ve ever used is the magic from within me.”
A smile spread across the man’s face, and fire danced in his eyes, as if he were enjoying me yelling at him.
“And furthermore, it is rude to appear in people’s bedrooms. Try using the front door next time.”
Ryker put a hand over his mouth to cover his laugh, and Archer looked at me with his mouth open. The tall, well-dressed man burst out laughing, and the pandacorn fell on his back in a fit of giggles. Once again, it was hard to pull my eyes away from the magical creature.
“Well, my dear. I’m the devil, and I go where I want. Secondly, magic doesn’t come from within. You pull it from the earth or the elements. Some can pull from the earth or heaven, and others can pull from hell. You, my dear, took magic from hell.”
That sounded awful. Do I owe the devil my soul for using the magic of hell, or does it mean I’ll go to hell when I die? “What happens if I used your magic?”
When the man stepped forward, Ryker let out a warning growl. The devil held up his hands and smiled. “I always knew I liked you, Ryker.”
“Can’t say the same, Lucifer.”
My head whipped around, and I whispered, “You knew the devil existed?”
“Yes, we sometimes play poker, and he cheats,” he bit out. “Now tell us why you’re really here, Lucifer. People pull on the magic of hell all the time.”
“We are more than poker friends, Ryker. I too—” Ryker’s warning growl cut Lucifer off. “Fine, it will be our secret, and I don’t cheat. I make sure I win. Everyone is such a poor loser.” He sighed. “Yes, I allow some to pull the magic of the first few rings of hell.” He flicked his hand toward me. “But she didn’t pull from the first few rings.”
Ryker’s arms squeezed around me. I was trying to piece together the tidbits of what the devil was saying. Is this why I could never figure out how to use my magic? Was I researching the wrong area? Do books about using the devil’s magic exist? What would it cost me to use the devil’s magic? I had so many questions.
Ryker’s voice cut me from the round robin of thoughts. “Before we get into the magic thing, do you want to explain why a bunch of your demons attacked Paldon earlier? And said she is the key to the underworld?”
The devil calmed his features and said something to his panda. The cute creature nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. It felt like the joy had been sucked from the room when he left. The light seemed dimmer, and the air was heavy.
“It takes time to get used to being around him.” Lucifer snapped his fingers, and a chair appeared. It was unlike any ordinary chair, high-backed with red-and-gold arms, and reminded me of what the rulers in the old days would sit on. Lucifer folded his body into it. “There is a prophecy out there about someone who can open the gates of hell to all souls and let them back into the world. It’s been a few hundred years since we’ve dealt with a prophecy. This might be intriguing.”
I glared at him. How could he possibly think letting evil back into the world be fun? That sounded like the end of days. “You need to stop this.”
“No can do. I can’t interfere. But I can guide you in the right direction. If my theory is right, you are the key, and you are the only one who can stop whoever this is.”
“Um...” I knew I could kick ass with a computer and bring the bad guy in. But the devil thinks I can stop the end of the world? “A little guidance would be nice.”
He rose from the chair and was next to me in a blink of an eye. “Give me your hand.”
“Are you going to take my soul?” I felt like it was a valid question.
“No. I will figure out how you received your powers and if you will be the end of the world.”
“You can do it, angel. I won’t let him hurt you.”
I slowly reached out my hand, and Lucifer grabbed it. I expected his body to be hot, but his hand was soft and only a little warm. When we touched, his eyes burned with fire, and he scowled. Deep in concentration, I felt a tickle in my brain. It didn’t hurt, but it felt like ants crawling around inside my head.
When he released my hand, I wanted to reach back out. The magic inside me wanted to be near him. I wrapped my arms around my body to keep myself from reaching out to him. “So, am I going to be the end of the world?”
“You might, since you are my daughter.”
“I’m sorry. What?” My heart rate increased, and my palms started to sweat. That couldn’t be true. I couldn’t be the devil’s daughter. My parents were two wolves in the North American pack.
“The way you pulled on my magic made me wonder if you were my child. The only people who can pull from the ninth ring of hell are my children. Even then, most of them can’t use the magic.”
“You have to be mistaken. My parents are two wolves in the North American pack.”
The devil snorted. “No, my dear, I am not mistaken. But someone erased your early memories, and I can’t seem to figure out who your mother is. But it is my magic and blood that runs through your body.”
“We can figure this out. I can tell you my age, and we can figure out who my deadbeat mom is. Maybe we should do a DNA test to make sure. I heard they are starting a supernatural DNA thing like 23 and Me. We would both submit and see if your feelings are real, or we could check out Jerry Springer. This sounds like—”
Ryker put his hand around my mouth. “Angel, Lucifer can tell if you are his kid. We are not going on the Springer show. But we need to figure out who your mom is. Not knowing your heritage can be dangerous.”
The devil shrugged. “Wouldn’t work. I have a healthy sex life. I have an idea who it is, but I think it’s time you research your past. When you figure out who your mom is, you will figure out who is using you to open the worlds. Hint, hint... it’s your mom.”
“How am I supposed to find her?”
“Start where you grew up.”
Even if I could go back there, I didn’t know if I wanted to face my past. My old pack had betrayed me and didn’t have my back. Instead of looking into what happened, nobody showed up when I was driven to the edge of pack land and told to leave.
I pointed at my face. “Can’t go to my past. I’m a
marked wolf.”
The devil rested his hand on my face, and it tingled. Ryker growled at the devil as he touched me.
“I wouldn’t hurt my daughter, dog.” He pulled his hand back. “You are no longer marked. I saw what happened. You never deserved that mark. Now go find out when the world will end. I have a poker game to play with the grim reaper. He has figured out a way to win, and it takes too much work to train a new grim reaper, so I need to figure out what he’s doing.”
In a flash, he left. My father, the devil, disappeared in a cloud of brimstone, and I had to head back to the people who’d disowned me.
“I can’t believe my bestie is the devil’s daughter.”
I rolled my eyes at Archer’s words. “I’m still not sure I believe him. If I’ve learned anything from television, it’s that the devil lies.”
“You are right about one thing. We can’t trust every word that comes out of the devil’s mouth. He won’t lie, but he will twist his words so you think one thing and it’s another. But he didn’t twist his words when he said you are his daughter.” Ryker wrapped his arms around me.
“Michelle, do you see how serious this is? We need to close for a few days, and you need to go into hiding.” Archer stepped next to Michelle. My best friend blushed when Archer touched her arm. “Let us take care of your business while you figure out who your baby momma is, Paldon. I can take down bad guys as well as you.”
At the mention of bad guys, the thought of my house came to mind. “I needed to call Reggie. My house is full of troll and demon blood.”
Ryker closed his eyes for a second. He normally did that when he communicated with his pack. I wondered if we could communicate that way since he’d promoted me to second. “Seth and Blake went to your house to take care of the bodies and call Reggie.” Ryker shivered at mentioning Reggie’s name. Nobody enjoyed dealing with the crabby raccoon.
“If I’m supposedly pack, why can’t I communicate with you?”
“You have to go through the swearing in first. But we will worry about that tomorrow. Killing those demons took a lot of energy out of you. Take a nap. I will go check on your house.”
As if my body had listened to his words, my eyelids became heavy, and I heard Archer and Michelle leave. Archer promised to check in, and I passed out.
The next thing I heard was a bloodcurdling scream.
Chapter 4
Waking up to a bloodcurdling scream was not how I imagined my first time in Ryker’s bed. Ever since the alpha had showed up in my PI office eight years ago, I’d hoped I could spend one night in it, though it should never happen. Everyone had a past, and mine also affected my future. I reached up and felt my face where my father had removed the scar. The word father still felt foreign.
Another sob rang through the house. I jumped out of bed, and I could faintly hear the murmur of the Mystic Ash pack. Butterflies swarmed in my stomach because I wasn’t sure how the pack would take me killing their second. I rushed down the winding oak staircase and came to a dead stop.
Mary, an older pack member, was sitting on the couch in the living room with her head in her hands. I had met her a few times when I ran with the pack. She had a daughter in her late teens. Ryker was pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. When I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, everyone’s heads turned in my direction.
Mary stood and ran toward me and wrapped her frail arms around my waist. “Someone took my baby girl,” she whispered between sobs.
My stomach turned. I wasn’t ready to admit Atieno might be right about shifters going missing. I thought of the information I’d pulled before I left the office and felt a shiver go down my spine.
The pack didn’t seem upset about my actions of a few hours ago, but a couple pack members who I didn’t know very well and were friends with Carter stood in the back of the living room with scowls on their faces and their arms crossed. So, not everyone was happy to see me in the pack house. I looked at Ryker, and he smiled.
I made a mental note to ask Ryker about the two upset pack members. Mary squeezed her arms tighter around me, and I slowly untangled myself from her arms. She was pale, and her cheeks were red from crying.
“Why don’t we take a seat on the couch, and you can explain what is going on.”
Mary wiped the tears from her face and nodded. She turned and headed for the dark-brown leather couch in the middle of the living room. Pack members filled the room. Most of them I recognized from my monthly runs. I sat on the couch next to Mary. Ryker was still pacing.
“Okay, Mary, tell me what’s going on,” I said.
She blew her nose on a white handkerchief. “Sasha didn’t come home from her run with her friends. Tabatha and Kindard couldn’t find her.”
Two girls in their late teens, whom I assumed were Tabatha and Kindard, sat on the floor with tears running down their faces.
“Paul and Frank went to look, and they said they couldn’t find her scent in the woods. Someone took my baby girl.” The last part was hard to make out between her sobs.
Paul and Frank were the pack trackers. Over the years of running with the pack once a month, I had met and grown fond of many of the pack members, and Paul and Frank were the best trackers I’d ever met. Growing up in the North American pack, I’d thought we had the best of the best in every position, but I was mistaken because Ryker’s pack had some of the best trackers and enforcers I had ever seen.
I turned to the teens sitting on the floor. “Tabatha and Kindard, did you see or hear anything strange in the woods?” After I’d left the office, I had driven to the area where the pack ran and gone for a run to clear my mind. I cut my run short because something felt off in the air. I couldn’t explain the feeling, just that I didn’t want to be out there alone. I’d meant to call and tell Ryker to send some of his men out to the woods when I got home, but when I arrived at my house, I ended up in a fight and forgot to tell Ryker.
The moonlight shone through the open bay window, and the grandfather clock chimed. It was ten thirty.
Tabatha squeezed her friend’s hand. “Sasha wanted to go to the woods and run. She and Tyler got into a fight today, and she wanted to think. So, we went with her, but we didn’t run as far as she did. Sasha is hard to keep up with, so Kindard and I lay by the pond, waiting for her to come back. When it had been over an hour, we went looking, but her scent had disappeared.”
Tyler and Sasha had been together for a few years. He was the star quarterback for the local high school team. His sandy-blond hair covered his eyes. Ryker walked over to him and whispered something my wolf ears couldn’t pick up. Tyler nodded and headed out the front door, and I trained my eyes on him as he went. A thousand scenarios ran through my mind.
Mary pressed her hand to my thigh. “Tyler would never hurt my Sasha. He got accepted to play football for UCF, and he turned down the scholarship because Sasha got accepted to Johns Hopkins University. She told him today she would stay in Orlando, but he refused.”
“Frank and Paul are still tracking. We will find Sasha,” Ryker said as he walked toward the couch and bent down in front of Mary. I didn’t think I could fall any more for the sexy alpha I’d sworn to keep my hands off of. His piercing gray eyes turned on me and twinkled as if he knew what I was thinking.
The older lady placed her hand on Ryker’s. “You know they would’ve found her by now. Nobody’s better at tracking than Paul and Frank,” Mary whispered.
“Let me go make you some tea.” I needed room to think, so I strode off toward the open kitchen. Coffee cups were in the cupboard by the sink. As I reached up, it dawned on me how much I’d said I wasn’t part of the pack, but I’d been in Ryker’s house millions of times, and it felt right to be around his people.
A scent hit my nostrils, and I didn’t need to turn around to know the two wolves from earlier were standing in the kitchen. I took a deep breath and turned. “Can I help you guys?”
Both men were over six feet. The one on the right was wearing a
red-checkered shirt and stood with his arms crossed. His dark-brown hair was cut short. “You’re not welcome here.”
I placed my hand on the knife on the counter and looked at the second man. He had sandy-blond hair, and he wasn’t as large as the other man, but they would both put up a hard fight. “Is that how you feel also?”
The blond man had fewer hard lines on his face. He had to be around my age, unlike the man with dark-brown hair, whose face was full of hard lines. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks. I want you gone. You killed Carter for no reason. I’ve talked to your old alpha. Just because our alpha is too dumb to look into the rogue wolf doesn’t mean I haven’t.”
Black glitter swarmed around my hands. I wasn’t sure whether it was from using my magic earlier or the devil had done something, but it seemed my magic was closer to the surface. When I went to open my mouth, the blond nudged the older man.
When I looked toward the living room, Ryker was looking at us. I gave him a small smile. I needed to be the one to put the men in their place. “I’m not going anywhere.”
When the older man stepped forward, the blond pulled on his shirt. “This isn’t the time, Eddy.”
The older man grunted and glared at me before he went to turn. “You should leave before I make you leave.”
They both exited through the French doors in the kitchen, which led to the backyard. I let out the breath I was holding, and the black magic stopped circling.
I filled the teapot on the stove with water and looked at the patio doors. When I’d first moved to Orlando, I planned to leave everything supernatural behind. I didn’t like so many things about that world, one being overgrown men who thought they could overpower women with their dominance. The other was getting thrown out of the pack I’d grown up in. It tore me apart. My parents—well, the couple I’d thought were my parents—did nothing when Joseph exiled me. They didn’t show up when I was packing or come to find me after I moved. The hard part was my best friend and son to the alpha didn’t come looking for me, either. I didn’t think I could open myself up to another pack, but over the years, the Mystic Ash pack had wormed its way into my heart. And what I’d done a few hours ago was just as bad as I had done years before, and most of the pack hadn’t turned on me.
Hell’s Key: Siblings of the Underworld, Book 1 Page 3