Scion's Redemption

by Traci Douglass

  “We received your message.” He stepped back into the apartment, his boots heavy on the hardwood floor. “I’m glad you returned home safely.”

  Luther nodded and entered, bringing Thana with him, and stepped to one side to allow the man to close the door behind them. She remained tucked to his side, unsure of the newcomer. He looked as strong or stronger than Luther and she wasn’t going to let the normalness of his appearance fool her into relaxing. After all, Luther had seemed normal once too.

  The man’s faded black t-shirt hugged his bulky muscles, drawn tight across his thick arms, and his deep blue jeans were taut over his muscular thighs. He peered down at Thana with a narrowed gaze. “Is this your female?”

  Thana huddled closer to Luther, unsure. This man had said he’d received a message, but she’d been with Luther since the attack in the street and he’d not made a call to anyone. Besides, given the night she’d had, Thana was in no mood to be stared at.

  “Timid, isn’t she?” the stranger said, and defiance curled through her.

  Stepping out from Luther’s shadow, Thana squared her shoulders and glared at the man. Luther slid his arm around her waist, bolstering her courage.

  “She’s been through a lot, Kagan. Leave her alone. We were attacked by the half-breeds tonight.”

  “It happened again?” Kagan said, giving them both a quick once-over glance.

  Luther nodded, and Thana frowned. They spoke as if this had happened before. She looked to Luther for an explanation, but he was focused on his friend.

  “Wyck? We’ve got injuries.” Kagan’s deep voice echoed toward the bedroom.

  They followed the man across the living room and over to another doorway. Exactly how many other men like Luther were there? These guys seemed to share an easy camaraderie and silent communication that spoke of deep friendship and long-standing bonds. Entering the bedroom, she caught sight of three more men and stopped short. Weapons were spread across the bed—guns, swords, bows and knives. And in one corner, a blond guy was fiddling with Luther’s computer, rigging up all sorts of electronics and surveillance equipment.

  It looked like a scene from Hot Guy Avengers or something.

  In addition to Kagan and Luther, there was the blond man—hipster chic in a black leather jacket and faded jeans, his tousled curls and black glasses making him look like a nerdtastic fantasy come to life. Beside him stood a man in an impeccably tailored three-piece suit, all midnight dark hair and piercing blue eyes. On the other side of the room was a lithe Asian guy dressed all in black, his graceful movements and intense dark stare reminding her of Bruce Lee on steroids. Seemed whoever these men were, they came in all different flavors and ethnicities, something to tickle every woman’s fancy. The thought struck her as both amazing and funny. She bit back an inappropriate giggle. Must be the shock setting in. She peeked around Luther’s arm at the strangers.

  “Yikes,” the blonde guy said, straightening from behind the computer station and walking over them. “Xander said there’d be trouble. Guess he was right.”

  From the tension in the other men at the mention of the name, he must be someone important, though no one in the room seemed to respond to the moniker. The unimpressed look on Luther’s face suggested it wasn’t someone he was particularly fond of, at least at the moment.

  “Who’s Xander?” Thana asked quietly.

  “Our commander. Oh, and I’m Wyck.” The blond held out his hand with a friendly smile. “And you’ve met Kagan and Luther, obviously.” He pointed to the man in the suit, who was currently scowling down at his phone screen. “And that’s Sloane and the goth ninja warrior over there is Lin.”

  Lin responded by flipping Wyck off without looking at him.

  Luther pushed though the men and led Thana over to his computer. “I need to know about any Nephilim activity in the city. Especially about any who can materialize weapons,” he said and Wyck’s expression turned thoughtful. She’d always been skeptical about the supernatural, but she’d watched Luther kill two half-breed angels with quicksilver eyes and razor-sharp teeth right in front of her. The supernatural was real. These people clearly knew all about it and Luther needed more information on their enemy. Which was insane.

  Lin fiddled with one of the knives on the bed. “Can you describe the materialized weapons please?”

  Luther did, and the Asian man seemed to consider that a moment. “I know them. They’re in league with Lucifer.”

  “What?” Luther and Kagan said in unison.

  “I thought Hades denied any part in this mess,” Luther said.

  “They did… but those black swords you described are only available from Satan’s vaults.” Lin shrugged, the material of his black turtle neck stretching taut across his muscled arms and torso. “Unless the half-breeds stole them, which is unlikely, Lucifer must be involved.”

  Thana had a hard time keeping up with the conversation. Nephilim, Hades, Lucifer.

  Memories swamped her. Luther waving his hand and a handkerchief appeared out of thin air. His knives transforming before her eyes into spears. Magical powers.

  What the hell have I gotten myself into?

  “They came after Thana. We need to lay low here for a bit, until I know it’s safe and we can move again. My Scion duty is to keep her protected.” Luther’s words warmed her heart, but what was a Scion?

  Before she could ask, Kagan stepped forward. “They are seeking a new Seal host.”

  “Which means they haven’t given up on their plans for world domination,” Sloane added, still fixated on his phone screen, his thumbs flying as he typed.

  “Seal host?” Thana said, finally finding her voice. “What’s that? And what’s a Scion?”

  All of the men looked up at her then and heat prickled her cheeks.

  Luther stepped in front of her, placing himself between her and them.

  “There are many things we need to discuss, Thana,” he said, an apologetic look in his eyes. “I should have told you sooner. I’m sorry.”

  She wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or not, but a fresh flood of adrenaline in her system carried her along. “Talk.”

  “You are in danger,” Luther said.

  “Danger?” Panic began to rise again, but the warmth in his pale green eyes calmed her enough to keep it from escalating. “Why?”

  “Because of the secret inside you.” He moved closer and took her hand again, his fingers pressing into her palm and his thumb resting gently across her knuckles. “It’s my mission to protect you, Thana, and has been from the moment you were born…”

  His hesitation sent her blood thundering through her veins.

  “I am a Scion. An immortal warrior created by Divinity to guard and protect the Fourth Seal of the Apocalypse and the human who hosts it.”

  Thana stared at him for a few seconds, waiting for the punchline. This had to be a joke, right? Except none of the other men were laughing. In fact, they all looked deadly serious.

  Her head grew fuzzy and her vision tunneled.

  No. This wasn’t happening. Couldn’t be happening. Luther was a man. Flesh and blood just like her. No way was he this immortal warrior thing he claimed. And she sure as hell didn’t have this seal thing he was talking about. The protection thing might be real, given what he’d already done for her tonight, but everything else? Her knees wobbled, and she sank down on the edge of the bed, cringing slight at the sound of the weapons clanging together.

  This couldn’t be real. It felt so impossible.

  She blinked up at Luther, her gaze traveling to Kagan, then Wyck, then Sloane, then Lin, hoping to catch a glimpse of humor in their faces, hoping someone would say Luther was kidding, but their expressions remained stony.

  A Scion. An immortal warrior.

  All the weapons, his fighting skills, the way he’d run and run and never tired. She glanced down at his thigh and saw the wound had healed over. The swirling tunnel of rainbow light that had transported them back here. Reality hit like
a ton of concrete. All of it made a hideous sort of sense now. She couldn’t deny it any longer. “That’s why you kept me away.”

  Luther turned away.

  He’d kept her at a distance because he wasn’t human. He was something… more.

  Through the torn shreds of his shirt, she spotted what appeared to be a tattoo on his lower abdomen. Intricate black lines swirled into a circular form. Without thinking, she reached out a trembling hand to touch it, tracing one finger down the center of it. He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes, his skin quivering beneath her fingertips. She frowned as the tattoo appeared to begin to glow.

  Wyck cleared his throat, breaking her out of her trance as he said, “Dude, you said her needed intel on half-breed activities in NOLA?”

  The men moved away, and Thana exhaled slow. That moment there with Luther had seemed more intimate than any sexual encounter she’d ever had, all from one brief touch. She felt connected to him now in a far deeper way then she had before, and they still had all their clothes on. It was unreal. It was unbelievable. It was the most incredible experience of her life.

  And if that didn’t make her believe in all that he’d revealed to her, nothing would.

  From where Luther stood near the computer, he looked over at her. Thana couldn’t really make out what they were saying over the rush of blood in her ears, but it didn’t matter at this point. She stared at him, stunned into silence by his beauty, moved by the sight of him. A Scion.

  An immortal divine warrior. Her own personal guardian.

  Incredible.

  She had never witnessed someone so intrinsically male and so enchanting. She couldn’t find her voice to tell him how she felt, how she’d always known he was different, too handsome to be of this world and too good to be a mere mortal, and how she believed with all of her heart that no matter what dangers lay ahead of her that he would protect her.

  Wyck pointed to something on screen and Luther became engrossed in the conversation with his fellow warriors and some of the warmth inside her cooled. He’d said it himself. Protecting her was his mission, his job. Nothing more. Perhaps that’s why he’d kept his distance. He didn’t want to involve himself with a mortal.

  Pain squeezed her heart, surprising her with how crushed she felt at the thought that he wasn’t attracted to her. It shouldn’t matter. She barely knew him. They’d only shared a kiss or two, that was all. It wasn’t like her to get so emotionally tied up in someone.

  And yet… she was.

  Frustrated, she shoved those thoughts aside, bitterness coating her tongue as her heart ached and she tried to convince herself everything was fine. Better she knew the truth than continue fooling herself into believing those kisses they’d shared meant anything.

  She was nothing but a mission to Luther.

  God, she couldn’t breathe. She needed to get out of here, tears stinging her eyes.

  Thana pushed to her feet and took a step toward the door, hoping to sneak out without anyone noticing. She wouldn’t give these men the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She’d go back to her place next door, pull her shit together and bury her feelings, then come back and find out what the hell was happening. She was close enough to the door to make a dash for it.

  “They want her Seal powers, that much is plain,” Sloane said. All eyes turned to Thana once more. “But why?”

  “I don’t know.” Luther moved away from the computer and toward her.

  She refused to meet his gaze, her focus on escaping. He stood toe-to-toe with her, caught her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. He frowned, searching, as if trying to see inside her soul.

  She closed her eyes.

  He sighed and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

  Warmth spread through her from the gentle caress, flushing her with desire despite her wishes to the contrary.

  “Thana,” he whispered, low and rough and her eyes fluttered open. In his gaze she saw hurt, darkening the green of his irises to near emerald. His dark brows knitted, and she felt a crazy urge to soothe away his troubles. “I must return to Heaven to report what happened to Xander and Divinity. Will you be alright here without me? The guys will stay to protect you. I won’t be long. Promise.”

  She wasn’t sure about him leaving her alone with four men she didn’t know. Honestly, she wasn’t in the mood for company at all. Her head and heart were at war over him at the same time as she was trying process all the crazy stuff that she’d seen and learned tonight. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed and sleep until everything had soaked in and made sense.

  And she wanted Luther beside her as she slept. She wanted to feel his embrace and have him tell her that everything would be okay, that she was wrong, and he did feel something for her. She wanted him to kiss her again, to know that last night hadn’t been a lie.

  The finality in his eyes said it wasn’t to be though.

  “I have more questions.” She couldn’t let him go without knowing.

  “Later. Just know it’s my destiny to protect you.” He caressed her cheek, his fingertips tracing her jawline before he lowered his hand to his side. “I’ll try to find out more from Xander. He should have had a chance to interrogate the Nephilim I sent him earlier. Perhaps Divinity has discovered what they wanted with you.”

  He smiled, a broken affair filled with sorrow instead of happiness.

  He mumbled those words again, the Latin ones she’d heard from him on the first rooftop and soon a bright swirling vortex Technicolor brightness opened up behind him. He closed his eyes, tilted his head upward and stepped back into it, disappearing.

  The rainbow brightness faded, leaving the room dull without him.

  “What the hell was that thing?” She stepped into the spot where Luther had been “We used one before, after he fought those creatures.”

  Kagan sighed. “It’s a vortex, the most expedient method of travel to Heaven.”

  Right. Thana nodded absently. All of it was incredible and hard to believe, but she could no longer deny it was real. Scions. Heaven. Divinity and Lucifer. Hell. All of it was real.

  Her head felt like it was going to explode.

  “Divinity and Xan will get answers from the half-breed, don’t worry,” Wyck said. “And hopefully Luther can discover why they’re targeting you, another Seal host, when their previous attempts have been unsuccessful. He might be gone a while though.”

  Both ideas fought for dominance in her head. First, that he’d said “another” Seal host, meaning there were more people like her, apparently. And secondly, that this wasn’t the first time those creatures had attacked one of them. She didn’t like the sound of that. Her temples throbbed, fear threatening to rear its ugly head again as she looked from the weapons to Lin then back to Sloane, who was finally off his phone and now watched her closely.

  Luther had said she’d be safe with them. She prayed he was right.

  “Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?” Wyck said, his soothing tone doing nothing to allay Thana’s growing fears.

  Only Luther’s safe return could do that.

  She sat down on the edge of the bed again, figuring now was as good a time as any to get some of the answers she needed. She stared at Kagan, arms crossed. “Tell me more about Scion.”

  8

  Kagan laughed. “What would you like to know?”

  Thana leaned back on her hands and eyed the man closely. He looked human, but then so had those guys who’d attacked her in the alley—at first.

  “What exactly is a Scion? Luther said you were created, what does that mean?”

  “Scion are immortal warriors, created by Divinity to serve as She commands,” Kagan said. “Currently our mission is to protect the seven seals of the apocalypse and their mortal hosts.”

  “Wait. God is a woman?”

  “This surprises you why?” Sloane asked, stepping forward. He looked like he’d just stepped off the pages of a fashion magazine, all dapper cool and suave sophistication. “It’s
a scientific fact that women are better multi-taskers than men. Except for myself, of course. I excel at juggling things.”

  “Stealing things is more like it,” Lin said, giving him a flat stare. “You’re lucky Divinity likes you or you’d have ended up in prison millennia ago.”

  “Hold on. Still processing here. So, God’s a woman and you’re a criminal?” Now Thana had heard it all. “Isn’t Heaven all purity and light and goodness?”

  “I’m good I’m bad, darling,” Sloane gave her a wicked grin.

  The eye rolls were plentiful from the rest of the men.

  “Sin is many times in the eye of the beholder,” Kagan said, leaning one brawny shoulder against the wall and crossing his legs at the ankles. “Only Divinity has the right to judge and so far, none of us have been smote. No matter how much we have deserved it over our eternity of service.”

  “Eternity?” Thana managed to squeak out. “Exactly how old are all of you?”

  Wyck finished typing on the computer and stood, heading out of the bedroom. “We’re immortal. Besides, age is just a number. Anybody thirsty? Let’s see what Luther’s got in his fridge.”

  She stared after him for a moment before turning back to Lin, who was busy clearing weapons off the furniture and stacking them on a chair near the wall. “So, Luther’s in Heaven?”

  “The heavenly realms, yes.” Lin stopped tidying, paused for a moment, then sighed and

  pointed at the ceiling as if she were slow. “You know, Heaven.”

  “Yes, I know where it is. I just… I thought you had to be dead to get there.” She looked up, picturing the night sky beyond the roof of the apartment building. Heaven really did exist, and an immortal warrior had confirmed it for her. If told her therapist about this, he’d think she was nuts. Hell, part of her still thought she was insane. “Sorry, this is all just hard to grasp.”

  Lin smiled. “When the pupil is ready, the teacher will come.”

  “What’s it like there? In Heaven.” She was picture people sitting on puffy white clouds or endless fields of wildflowers and blue skies forever.