Nephilim's Journey

by Rosier, D. R.

  I wasn’t at all surprised she knew about that.

  I shrugged, “I’m not a warlock, I’m content with Portia, and I won’t fool around with anyone else. That doesn’t mean I won’t drop by to see my sister on occasion, or even them, we just won’t be...”

  She nodded, “Nothing wrong with monogamy, but there’s nothing wrong with polyamory either.”

  That wasn’t going to happen, not for me, and of course there was nothing wrong with it, I’d grown up with it. I knew Portia wouldn’t share, and that was fine, because I wouldn’t share her either. My father did have six mates, and I only had one grandfather, while I had eight grandmothers. Still, I wasn’t going to argue about that, especially not with a sex demoness, so I changed the subject.

  “So, you know Portia?”

  We had shared minds of course, and it told me everything I needed to know about her to fall for her. Who she was as a person, and all that entailed from the best to the worst. But… she was also over a billion years old, and had a lot of old memories I hadn’t gotten a look at. I knew who she was completely, right now, but not the millions of years of memories and interactions that it took to get there. Talk about falling for an older woman, I might have felt a bit intimidated by it, except she clearly adored me. I was also more mature than my age, at least in my opinion.

  She chuckled, “Of course, we were all created at the same time. She was… very angry at me when I fell. Malina too. Which explains your intense physical attraction.”

  I was curious about who or what created her, and where the rules the angels followed came from, but she’d never talk about it, so I didn’t bother asking now. More rules. But, I didn’t quite get that connection, so I asked about that.

  “It does?”

  She nodded, “She’s what Malina and I were before we fell, we didn’t become succubae for no reason, we were highly sensual creatures to begin with. You’re half of me, and although you aren’t a true incubi you are highly attractive to others, and highly intuitive in bed I’d wager. Normally, that would just make the both of you very popular with the opposite sex and good in bed, but together, both of your heightened sexual magnetism must combine and greatly enhance the reaction between each other.”

  That was probably a very good thing, if we were together forever, it would keep our sex life fresh and insatiable. I already missed her presence, and being with her, and I’d had her in my arms less than an hour ago.

  She asked, “So what are you going to do in this town, besides chase Portia around the bed, and the rest of the furniture.”

  I laughed, and changed the subject, somehow it kept getting back to sex.

  “I have a rather ambitious idea,” I said, and then laid it all out.

  She pursed her lips, “You could be more than that, but maybe it’s better if your ambitions are smaller, considering how much unfettered power you hold. But… the magic you just proposed is highly complicated. Make sure you visit, or I’ll invade that small town of yours.”

  I laughed, “I’m sure we’d be delighted to have you over for dinner.”

  My mom started cracking up again, and I wondered just how much history they had…

  Chapter Twenty-Six – Portia

  It was a couple of weeks later, and I was still trying to catch up on my backlog from being held captive for seven days, being dead a day, and then another spent in Jason’s arms. I was hunting for a mage this time. There’d been a peculiar rash of murders in a small town in Pennsylvania, where none of the people remembered doing it, or why they would. It was getting some attention from the FBI as well, who thought there was some kind of hypnotic drug involved. Of course, there wasn’t, there was just control and memory spells involved.

  It also involved an amazingly popular new mayor, since his two biggest running opponents were part of the group of people who were murdered. I suspected that was my mage, and I was on my way to verify and deal with it. Mages could be a pain in the ass though, if he had active protection spells over his mind it wouldn’t be a simple thing to verify.

  I supposed it could have been a vampire as well, using compulsion, but I doubted it. It sounded like a mage who was carefully using others, to make it less likely anyone discovered the truth or made a connection to him. I’d seen it before, and in a lot of ways, a rogue mage drunk on power in a small town of humans was worse than the serial killer vampires and shifters.

  Jason wasn’t with me, hadn’t come out with me yet to my surprise. He was working on a surprise for me, which was both filling me with anticipation, and annoyance. The attraction hadn’t gone down one iota either, which meant the last two weeks we’d spent most of our time together in bed. I wanted more than that, and he promised me he’d be joining me in the field soon so we’d spend more talking time together. Still, I wondered what was so important. On the other hand, I couldn’t expect him to be my shadow either, besides being my perfect mate, he had to be his own man as well and feel useful. It was worth my impatience for a week or two, and I was excited about it too, even if he wouldn’t tell me what it was until it was done. He was like a mad scientist that wanted to show a finished product and brag about it, all I knew was, that it would be a new application of infernal magic.

  It was just hard, I missed him when I was out chasing down those rogues that risked exposure. This mage was a huge risk, he had the FBI and Homeland security looking at his little town.

  I flew down and landed on the roof of his house without making a sound. I felt the mage in his bedroom, and scanned for thoughts below. My magic senses picked up the mage just fine, but not all the FBI agents he had on the ground floor to protect him in case this murderer by proxy came after him. That was… damned ironic, and a pain in the ass.

  The good news was he must not have been worried about running into an angel, fallen or otherwise, since he wasn’t protecting his mind. He’d done it alright. Rigged the election by mind controlling certain people, killed a bunch of others who suspected the problem, and even made a few of them murderers to make them appear crazy.

  He was also a very weak mage, but that didn’t matter when he was facing humans, but it did make me curious enough to look for why he was kicked out of his community and city. I quickly discovered that he wasn’t kicked out, he ran for crimes they’d have killed him for. He didn’t even have protections up right now, thinking he was safe as the only supernatural in the area.

  I cast a spell through the roof, and it killed him painlessly, which finally caught me up on my backlog. If the authorities did an autopsy they’d see signs of a major stroke. Hopefully that was good enough, but I’d have to keep an eye on the FBI files for this case, if anything too close to the truth came in as a theory, I’d have to visit the leads on the case and spell them in another direction.

  Most likely though, it would just be one more unsolved murder case.

  I teleported back to Sanctuary behind the diner, and after checking no one was around I released my concealments. When I walked in I waved and smiled to Tammy, and walked over to Lavender.

  “Hi sweetie,” I said as I sat down.

  She said, “Portia, I like your man.”

  I smiled, “Me too. Did you think about what we talked about?”

  She nodded, “If you restore my magic, I’ll attempt to give myself compassion and empathy, but regardless of that I won’t harm or enslave anyone here. I follow your rules, and as long as I am welcome here, I won’t leave. We respect power, but we also have honor, I would not violate my word once given. I can’t violate my word once given. Perhaps that is our redeeming characteristic? It is also why we use double talk a lot, to disguise the truth without lying, but I am being straightforward and sincere with you now.”

  I liked the Fae, and trusted her to a certain extent, but I also verified, her mind was sincere.

  “What would you do with your magic?”

  She shrugged, “After I change myself? I don’t know. I could help with the crops, or even help at the animal rescue, the Fae ca
n heal if we wish, not change, simply restore. Maybe I’ll grow my own garden of hybrids, or help couples like John and Katherine to have children, or… anything you ask of me. I owe you my life Portia, and my honor puts me in your debt.”

  “Let’s go.”

  She frowned, “Where?”

  “I can’t give your magic back here.”

  Lavender’s eyes widened, and she got up and followed me outside. We walked over to her small cottage which was almost a half a mile into the wilderness, and composed of all natural fibers. It wasn’t a tent, but it wasn’t a house either.

  I lifted my palm, and summoned the stone that Jason had tossed me two weeks ago when we got inside.

  “This will work?”

  Lavender nodded, and I handed it to her.

  She took off her shirt, and stabbed it into her shoulder, between the blades. There was an explosion of green light, and the stone started to glow as it sunk inside her shoulder, and the wound closed up as if it was never there.

  Lavender said, “Will you sit with me while I do this?”

  “You know how already?”

  Lavender nodded, “Nothing is more familiar to me than my own life pattern.”

  I held her hand, as we sat on the couch, and the green flash of magic was followed by screams. I remembered very well how much that hurt, and winced in sympathy. It didn’t take long though, fifteen or twenty seconds, though I imagine to the Fae it felt like an eternity.

  She sighed, “Thank you Portia. I think I need to be alone, and figure out what my place here will be. I also have to reconcile my past with these new emotions.”

  I could see the tears forming in her eyes, and simply nodded, “If you need me…” I trailed off, and left the house. Had that been the right thing to do? Should I have just taken her word and left it at that? How many things had she done over her immortal lifetime to invoke guilt now that she could empathize with others? I’d check on her later, just to make sure she was okay.

  I walked home and went inside. It had been eleven in Pennsylvania, but it was still early evening here, and I was surprised I didn’t feel Jason’s aura. He’d been spending all his spare time in the basement, with that damned magic book. I walked into the kitchen and sighed, and started to cook us a late supper. He hadn’t done anything wrong, I was just being a needy pain in the ass, or so I told myself.

  I’d been alone for a billion years, now I could barely stand to be away from my mate for an hour, and I’d been running around all day myself.

  I sighed at the flash of light, and he gave me a smile before kissing me… and kissing me. I was a bit breathless when he was finished.

  “Hi,” I said, all anger gone, and completely melty inside.

  He said, “I think it’s working, I just went out to verify it.”

  I smirked, “What’s working?” I asked, as I threw the chicken in the rotisserie and turned it on. I also threw two potatoes in the oven, “Hour for dinner.”

  He took my hand, and was smiling so wide I couldn’t help smiling back at him. I had it so bad I disgusted myself at times. All my annoyance was gone, all that was left was a warm gooey feeling in my chest. My mate, and I loved him to death. If he wanted to show off, well he could do that. He pulled me toward the basement door, and I followed him down the stairs.

  “Alright, what did you do?”

  I could feel the new magic of course, but I didn’t recognize a lot of it, and I promised him I wouldn’t examine it until he was done.

  He said, “I made a new rather complicated ward. It combines illusion, infernal divination, demon binding, and information gathering, like my sentient spell book but for a completely different application.”

  I smirked, he sounded excited, I had the irrational urge to suck him off, but that would have to wait.

  “Okay, good build up, going to get to the reveal anytime soon?”

  I giggled as he threw me a mock hurt look, I’d make it up to him later, with that aforementioned blowjob, my mouth was already watering at the thought of him sliding along my tongue and lips.

  “Fine. Ell, please display the top three exposure risk rogues.”

  I gasped as an illusory map of the United States popped up, and showed two dots. One in Florida, and one just twenty miles west of Las Vegas. There was also information there, names, and where they were. Holy crap.

  “Umm, you said top three.”

  He shrugged, “The spell matrix can handle up to the top three exposure risks, meaning rogues that are risking exposure with their actions. There was a third earlier, in Pennsylvania I think, but obviously there’s only two exposure risks in your area right now.”

  I grinned, I absolutely loved it, but I had to mess with him, “This is amazing, but you know most of my job is tracking them right? I’ll be bored with this thing pointing the way.”

  He smirked, and leered at me, “I can think of something to keep us busy.”

  I laughed delightedly, “So the truth comes out, this whole thing was planned to get me in bed more often?” I teased.

  He shrugged, “Partially, I can admit that, I can never get enough of you. But we’ll be busy with other things too.”

  I tilted my head, “Like what?”

  He winked, and said, “Ell, display the three most violent rogues.”

  The map blinked, and the data changed as I looked at it.

  He said, “I’ll join you when you go out, maybe you can join me too? Now that this is done my magical research and learning will be cut way back. You may be restrained from killing these bastards, but I’m not.”

  I melted a little more inside, and said softly, “I love you, I’d love to come with. Any more surprises?”

  He looked at me in mock astonishment, “Isn’t this enough.”

  I snorted, “Yes, but now I know there’s more. Wiseass.”

  He grinned, “There is one more option. And outside of the bed, I think it’s where we’ll probably wind up spending a lot of that freed up time, after we take out the rogue shitheads as a team.”

  I kissed him, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I was curious what he thought I’d want to spend the free time on, he seemed so sure of it, and I hadn’t a clue what it could be.

  “Tell me.”

  He looked a little mesmerized by my eyes, my kiss, and I felt smug. I loved when he looked at me like that, and the feel of him hardening against my abdomen. I couldn’t wait to see his reaction when I got on my knees. Thank goodness, that he was as besotted as I was, or he could make me his little love slave. Who was I kidding, I’d do anything he asked me to sexually, the only thing that made it palatable was he was my love slave as well.

  He cleared his throat, “Right. Ell, display the top three rogues suitable for Sanctuary.”

  My throat closed up and my breath caught as I glanced at the map, and then I looked back up into his eyes as mine teared. Finding additions to Sanctuary was almost impossible, and depended on dumb luck. This town was my dream, my passion, and a way to connect. Now I had my mate, and this was a gift that touched my heart more than any other he could offer. The first two were merely useful tools, and would save us time. This third option meant so much more. He was right, when I wasn’t killing rogues, watching him kill rogues, or giving myself to him in all that spare time, we’d be saving more rogues that would fit in Sanctuary. It was… a dream come true.

  Jason said, “I love you Portia.”

  I smirked, “I know.”

  He glared at me for getting him back with the stupid Star Wars line, but his eyes widened, when I banished our clothes, and sank to my knees. The sweet sounds of his pleasure filled my ears as I got started, it made me feel powerful.

  Tomorrow I could get those two rogues, and watch him get his three, and then after that we’d collect a few people who needed a home, and would get along with the others. But tonight… tonight was just for us…

  Epilogue

  Tammy smiled at her customer, she liked her job, and had an unusually sweet t
emperament for a wolf shifter, but that didn’t make her a pushover either. She took his order, and looked up and outside the window, and froze. It was that mage inspector from Sioux Falls, and it looked like he brought a lot of friends.

  She put up the order, and said, “Mages,” and then ran out the door and headed straight to Portia’s house. She knocked on the door, perhaps a little too loudly, she wasn’t one to panic, but twenty mages in a circle could do a lot of damage before they could be stopped. Of course, the wards would protect and buy them time, but they’d be trapped in their homes and buildings.

  Jason opened the door and she smiled. It was a little strange, he’d come out of nowhere, and was suddenly mated with Portia. She had no doubt it was real, every time she saw them together she could scent their arousal. They were always aroused when together, and they always smelled like sex. They washed, but even spells would leave behind the mixed essence of their scents. Point was, she had no doubt it was a true mating, they were love-struck with each other.

  “Mage investigator is back with a whole crowd. Not sure what their intentions are.”

  Jason got a faraway look in his eyes, and then said, “Portia’s with Lavender.”

  She wondered how he could possibly know that. Of course, usually when one was gone they both were, so it made sense Portia was here somewhere. It also made her feel a bit wistful. She was a hundred and forty-one years old, and still hadn’t found her mate. She had found a few good bed partners. There were plenty of good men in town, unattached men, but not one of them did a thing for her mating instinct, it’d been merely scratching an itch. She was starting to wonder if she’d ever find the one for her, her life was a third of the way over, and she could only have children another forty years or so. Although she still looked good, she took care of herself, and to a human she’d look like a young thirty something.

  He said, “Tracking spell.”

  She tilted her head.