This Time

by Alisha Basso

  “I wish I could say that our efforts have resulted in a sure and solid victory. Sadly, we are at a vast disadvantage because we are unsure of Lucifer’s powers. We know the powers of the Madea are similar and even superior in many ways due to the pureness of the source. But…” He looked pained as if his next words were hard to say.

  I had a pretty good idea what was coming.

  “What’s your name?” I stood and approached him.

  “I am Merrick,” he replied, lifting his chin. “I lead our warriors.” He was exactly my height and our eyes met.

  I saw intelligence and compassion. “Well, Merrick. Why don’t you just say what you need to say? I’m a big girl. I can handle it.” I folded my arms and waited.

  He glanced at the assembled men and cleared this throat. “Well, I mean no disrespect, but it has been suggested that perhaps your magic may be, uh…well, with what you went through, many are afraid that your magic has been tainted. That perhaps you are still compromised.” He lowered his voice. “Perhaps you may even be a danger.” He lifted his chin, jutting his jaw forward as if expecting me to pummel him.

  I sighed, my shoulders slumping because I sort of felt the same. Damn bastard, demon! I tried to calm my features as Merrick’s face remained neutral. He was a pretty brave guy to say these things to my face. I was their savior once upon a time, and I represented a species that they considered all powerful. I had to respect their concerns. I didn’t like it much, but they were right.

  “Well,” I began, “I honestly have no idea if I’m okay or not.” I watched his shoulders ease a bit. “I don’t feel like myself,” I confessed. “But even if I felt totally fine, it doesn’t matter. My power isn’t up to par yet. All I can manage are a few clothing changes and some mind reading. I’m afraid if you were relying on me, then we’re pretty much screwed.”

  The ground under my feet rumbled and I jerked. Looking down, I sucked in a breath as dirt and rocks danced across the floor from the vibrations. I gripped the table as my feet jumped and jolted across the ground. As I watched, the tiny, replica trees caught flame. I pushed away as the room erupted into chaos. Men rushed toward the door, grabbing swords and bows.

  Oh God, I thought, not yet!

  I tried to steady my thoughts as the sound was sucked from the room. The ground ceased its rumbling and I slowly turned. All the men were frozen in place. Shock gripped me as I scanned their unmoving forms. My eyes fell on Lucian. He was shaking his head, looking at the door. That confused me. He was moving? I watched as his lip curl in a look of total disgust. I turned to follow his gaze.

  “Seth?”

  He was leaning inside the door.

  His eyebrow arched and he grinned.

  “Everyone is so hung up on your power, Sweet. Silly, when you are not the only Madea in this war.”

  He pushed off from the door frame and strolled into the war room. His smile was smug as he stood before me. “You do not hold a taint any longer. I can feel your blood and it’s clean.” He looked into my eyes and I blew out my breath.

  That’s the best thing I’ve heard in a very long time.

  “You feel her blood,” Lucian cut in, pushing Seth to the side, “but I feel her soul and I’m afraid she isn’t what she used to be.”

  My shoulders slumped.

  Well that was quick.

  Lucian looked at the detailed tattoo on my arm. “She is still bound in ways we don’t understand. She was able to look into Hell unnoticed. Lucifer himself didn’t feel her presence. That’s significant I think.” He looked at me closely, his brows touching. “How much of yourself did you lose, Gracie?”

  The sound of feet slapping the hard ground had us all jerking toward the open door. Jamie came sprinting in, her face a mask of panic.

  “There are no Madea males!” she gasped.

  We all gaped at her. Seth lost his hold on his magic and the room came alive again.

  “Stop!” I shouted to the soldiers, “Lucifer isn’t here.”

  I dismissed the commotion and turned to Jamie. She was leaning over, her hands on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. “What are you saying, James? Of course there are Madea males. Look at them,” I gestured to Seth and Lucian as the room broke out in conversation.

  “Wait.” She held up a finger.

  The room fell silent as we all waited for her to catch her breath.

  “All Madea are born female,” she called after clearing her throat. “In order for a male to exist, a female must mate herself to a male and then, only through the binding, will he become a Madea.” She turned and took both of my hands in hers. “It’s the only way. You have to give your heart away.” She looked at Seth and Lucian’s startled expressions and shrugged. “Well, at least that’s what all of the books say. The libraries here have whole sections on your kind Gracie, and really, nowhere is it written that a man has turned because of a blood exchange.”

  I frowned. “Maybe they never had to deal with a vampire?” I looked at Seth, and had to roll my eyes at his devilish smile. “So, you’re saying that no one has ever stolen blood and used it before?”

  “Not to achieve a change,” Jamie replied, looking troubled. “Blood has been spilled and even consumed by some, but a transformation has never happened.” She shrugged. “I don’t get it.”

  “Love.” Lucian folded his arms across his chest and frowned. “You have to have the love of the Madea female for the change to happen. You just said it. She has to give away her heart.” He looked at Seth and said, “Looks like we both have a bit of it.”

  “Well, I was kind of thinking that too,” Jamie looked green all of a sudden. “Which means that you are mated to both Seth and my brother, Grace.”

  I felt my knees give and I sat hard on the floor. “I’m mated. To both?”

  “Um,” Jamie hesitated, “Gracie?” She knelt down next to me. “That’s not the worst part I’m afraid.” I looked at her as she began to fidget with her hands. “Lucifer is trying to break your bonds to them and according to what I’ve read, Madea mate for life. A bond can only be broken with death.” She looked up at her brother. Lucian’s eyes were huge. “If Lucifer wants to wed you and complete his bond,” her eyes began to tear, “Seth and Lucian will have to die.”

  “What?” I shouted grabbing her arms, “God, no!”

  I looked at the intricate design staining my skin. Thin vines snaked around my forearm, past my elbow. Tiny roses and shining buds dotted each thin vine. I thought back to the attention Lu always paid to the ink. I felt my skin tingle with goose bumps. God, he’d been working the design, binding me to him. Lord, I’d been so out of my mind, I’d actually encouraged his attention.

  “Wait.” Seth pulled me to my feet as my stomach twisted into sick knots. “We are mated?” He turned and looked the question at Jamie and then he gripped my arms, his eyebrow arching. “How can you be mated to two men?” He stared deeply into my eyes, searching my face as if the answers could be pulled from my eyes.

  “Like I know!” I pulled from his punishing grip and sighed at his annoyed expression. Damn, he was stressed and I couldn’t blame him. I had no answers, only my suspicions. Then a thought hit me. “Well, maybe it’s because I hold all of the ancient Madea inside of me?” I shrugged. “Maybe the rules have to bend a little?” I jumped at the shocked intake of the group’s collective breath. “Shit, I guess none of you knew that?” I felt like an ass again. Only Lu knew what I really was. At the core of me, deep inside.

  Gavyn broke from the group of warriors. “This was not common knowledge, Grace.” He looked deeply into my eyes. “There is too much we don’t know about you. Our tomes will be useless if you continue to break every physical rule. We know of only singular Madea.” He searched my eyes. “Can you hear them, inside your mind, Grace?”

  “I think so,” I felt a zing shoot up my spine. “Sometimes it’s just a, well, a feeling I guess. But other times I can hear their actual voices.” I felt my heart race and I sighed, feeling li
ke the world’s largest idiot. Damn, this next bit was going to send them all over the edge.

  “Yeah, um,” I hesitated, trying to come up with the right way to say it. Gavyn frowned and folded his arms and I sighed again, letting my shoulders fall. “Alright, fine, here goes. The leader of the Madea, Mariee, actually came forward. She took over my body and my voice. She spoke for me when I needed her the most.” I rushed on. I looked at the group that had closed in around me. It was the largest huddle I’d ever seen. I wanted to melt away.

  “Why would she come forward?” Gavyn demanded. “Her time was so long ago. How did she help you?” He watched me as I began to fidget.

  “She came forward when Lu,” I looked at Lucian, he looked furious and I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Lucifer, was having a temper tantrum.”

  Gavyn lowered his brows.

  “Damn it, Mariee was once Lucifer’s lover,” I blurted in frustration.

  “Grace?” Gavyn looked sick with shock. “Why would you keep such information from us?”

  “Well, hang on a second, I didn’t do it on purpose! It just never occurred to me that you needed to know. I never had a reason to think of it again till now.” I tried to ignore the grumbling. “And anyway, she wasn’t really his lover because they never actually made love, but she sure loved him, and in his own freaky, selfish way, I think he enjoyed the look of her and had a pretty big thing for her power.” I folded my arms and then jerked back at Gavyn’s sudden look of mayhem.

  “Everyone out!” Gavyn shouted, flinging his arms out.

  Seth and Lucian moved, I reached out.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” I glared at Gavyn, daring him to force them from the room.

  “Very well then,” Gavyn seemed resolved, “let us just cut to the heart of it. We know that Lucifer once loved a woman. Our legends say that he once courted a woman so pure that he believed she could remove his taint and heal his soul. With her love, she would change him into a being that was more powerful than any creature ever beheld.” Gavyn’s eyes were huge as he spoke. “Could it be that this woman was your Mariee?”

  “Wait a damn minute.” I shook my head. “He didn’t love Mariee. That’s totally impossible! He’s the Devil, Gavyn. Love is beyond his capabilities.”

  “He is not incapable of love, Grace. Come now. He was once divine and filled with the capacity to love deeper than any of us could ever comprehend.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before,” I mumbled as Seth and Lucian stepped closer to me. I tried to calm my nerves through their presence. “So you’re saying he loved her, not just her power?” I shook my head. “No way.”

  “Tell me Grace,” Seth tilted his head, “what do you know of this Mariee?”

  I closed my eyes, remembering the amazing day that I walked side by side with the Madea. The vision of Mariee, my twin in too many ways, finding comfort and love in Lucifer’s arms.

  I felt the warm brush of Seth’s mind inside mine and scrambled to throw up my mental walls. He was way too strong and my efforts were useless. I squeezed my eyes shut, ready for the outburst.

  “Fuck!” he shouted and I sucked in a breath as he grabbed my arm, swinging me around to stare at my face.

  “Grace is Mariee!” he roared and I cringed back.

  “Stay out of my head, you ass,” I yelled, rolling my eyes. “And I was planning on telling you.”

  Lucian looked at both of us, frowning in confusion. “Of course she’s Mariee. We know her soul is inside of Grace. What’s the big deal?”

  Seth’s lip curled. “No, my simple friend.” He pushed away from me and stood before Lucian. “She is the spitting image of Mariee.” He pointed an accusing finger at me. “Aren’t you, Sweet? That is why Lucifer is so enamored with you. Because you, in body and soul are his one and only love.”

  “Grace?” Lucian looked at me, his brow creased with worry.

  “It’s true.” I shrugged, “what can I say?”

  Really, what could I say?

  “This is a problem,” Gavyn sighed and began to pace. “I fear we may be in over our heads. If this were a simple case of acquiring power then we would stand a chance. But we’re keeping him from the one woman in all of time that he has ever held dear.”

  My hands broke out in a cold sweat and I opened my mouth to speak but no sound came.

  Lu.

  He was so deeply imbedded into my mind that speaking of him left me in a state of confusion. On one hand he was the most horrible and despicable creature ever to be spat into existence, yet on the other hand, he was the love of my life. Well, not my life, but the soul of a life that was now as much a part of me as my own soul. Mariee still loved him. And I knew that now, through me, she had been able to realize a deep and agonizing desire that had burned inside of her with no hope of relief. I had given myself to Lu. We had shared a bed and a life together. It didn’t matter that it was extremely brief and a huge lie. Mariee had gotten her wish, and she had rolled around in it, pulled it tight, wrapped herself up and snuggled in deep. She was no longer bound by her fears. She was able to ride the waves of my poor decisions with no reservations. We had a problem with Lu wanting me, yet now I understood more clearly that Mariee had loved Lu with just as much passion.

  “We have a huge problem,” I said as I realized what was happening. “Mariee loved him too.”

  “What are you saying?” Seth looked at me, his silver eyes reflecting my face back at me. For a moment it seemed, someone else was looking out.

  I felt Lucian move up beside me. His heat beat at my side.

  “Mariee wants him,” I turned to glance at him as reality unfolded. “I feel a deep and powerful emotion for the fucking demon and I swear to God, Lucian if your bottom lip quivers, I’m gonna slug you.” I suddenly felt like two different people. “I remember something that Lu once said to Mariee. He asked her if she was going to swim to the surface when he finally got me in bed. I think that’s exactly what she did.”

  “She came out when you had sex? Does that mean that your mind wasn’t there?” Lucian’s hope filled voice killed me a little.

  “I have to say that a lot of what happened to me is fuzzy. But, sorry, Lucian, the sex is pretty damn clear.”

  “Awesome.” Lucian walked to the wall and leaned against it folding his arms.

  “The problem here is still the same,” Seth began, shaking his head at Lucian. “We need to keep Grace and Lucifer apart, correct?”

  “Correct.” Gavyn confirmed. “Our women must be secluded to the center of the village. I’m afraid our men as well.” He shrugged and I nodded, knowing all too well the allure of the man we were trying to fight.

  “Gavyn, get the word out. This is a command, anyone caught near the boundaries of the village will be jailed, their powers stripped, among other things.” Seth leveled him a look, his long teeth running out to touch his full bottom lip.

  “No need to send the point home, my friend. As scary as you are, I fear Lucifer will be a big enough threat.”

  “Good.” I moved forward. “No lies. Let them know who’s waiting outside the forest.” I had a sudden and horrible feeling. “All of you will die.” I looked at Gavyn. “If he gets in, Gavyn, I know that all of you will die.”

  Gavyn looked at me for several seconds and without another word he left the room.

  SEVENTEEN

  “When you look at me like that, I want to rip your heart out of your chest just to prove to you it’s black.”

  “I would bare my chest if only to feel your touch.”

  “Spare me. You are the father of lies, I’m not the mother of stupidity.”

  “Oh, my darling, you lie to yourself, I need not.”

  “What do you want, Lu?”

  “Your body to feast upon, your soul to devour.”

  “You’re wasting your time. I have a lot of ammo and my friends won’t let you get to me. We have plans, you know. You aren’t going to win”

  “You hide in a village of ants, important t
o only themselves. Each sorry soul believing it matters when in reality their entire universe is smashed between two pieces of glass, collecting dust on my shelf.”

  “Reminding me of our vast insignificance?”

  “They are insignificant, you are my queen.”

  “Never.”

  “You already are. I have already won.”

  “More lies?”

  “We shall see.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “It matters little what you think.”

  “You’ll never get in, Lu.”

  “I already have.”

  Sweat soaked the sheets as I jumped from the bed. It was still dark outside as I ran out of the small cottage. Crickets made soft chirping sounds as my feet dug into the grass. I ran, unsure of where I was going. All I knew was that Lu was in the village and I had to tell someone.

  A figure stepped from the bushes and I screamed.

  “God damn it, Lucian!” I put my hand to my chest as he steadied me. “I swear to all that is holy, I almost zapped you!” I felt the heat recede from my fingertips as I tried to calm my racing heart.

  “What are you doing, Gracie?” He bent to look into my eyes. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He frowned in the darkness and I met his eyes. They reflected the moonlight like a cat caught in the beam of a flashlight.

  “A ghost would be welcome. Lucian, I had another dream. I think Lu got into the village!” I felt my hands begin to shake. “He said he was already here!”

  Lucian looked at me with worried eyes. “No, Gracie. He can’t get in.” He shook his head lightly as if I were some delusional mental patient.

  “I see you are, once again, showing your penchant for stupidity,” Seth purred, stepping onto the path.

  “Seth.” I spun. “God, you two need a bell.” I let out a breath. “What are you doing out here?”

  “Lurking,” Lucian sneered, “like the shadow-dwelling parasite that he is.” He looked down his nose, folding his arms. He moved close to me and, puffing up like a rooster, he grumbled under his breath as Seth neared.