Scion

by Kelly Oram

  The more she talked the more her voice spread through me, slowly pushing back the darkness possessing me. “That’s it, Russ,” her angelic voice encouraged. “Let him go. Hold onto me instead.”

  Soft lips kissed my forehead, making me shiver. The touch was so soothing and sensual. My body craved more. I instinctively grabbed hold of the desire. It wasn’t love, exactly, but it was passionate, and it felt better than the dark thoughts I was drowning in. My head shook back and forth in short, quick spasms as I began to fight the hold on my mind. “Clare Bear?”

  “I’m here, Russ. Focus on me. You can do it.”

  I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on nothing but her voice and the delicate fingers that were now threaded with mine. She brought my hand up to her pounding chest. The wild beat of her heart beneath my palm made me shudder.

  “Can you feel it?” she asked.

  I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I felt something. I felt Clara’s heart, beating in sync with my own. It was as if they were connected, or part of each other. I didn’t understand what it meant, but I knew this was what Michael wanted me to find. This was what he was guiding me toward. This was why I had to win.

  “You can do this. You’re stronger than him and…I need you. I—I’ve always…please. Come back to me.”

  I wanted to do as she asked. I wanted to come back to her. I was desperate to find my way back to her. My whole body started to shake as it fought a battle within itself. For the first time since I’d lost control of my mind, I could feel my thoughts separate from Beelzebub’s. He was raging in protest, threatening to break me, to hurt everyone I loved if I didn’t obey him. His poisonous thoughts pounded in my brain, but my heart fought back, clinging to the beat I felt beneath the palm of my hand.

  “Can you feel my heart, Russ?”

  “I can feel it,” I whispered breathlessly.

  “Good. Hold onto it. Let it bring you back.”

  Soft lips pressed firmly against mine, and a wall of desire burned through me so hot that my control snapped. She started to pull back and I grabbed the back of her head, bringing her face to mine once again for a deep kiss. I thrust my fingers deep into her silky hair and devoured her with the force of a starving man.

  In that moment, I felt the intent of her heart. Her love, loyalty, and devotion obliterated the hold Beelzebub had on my mind. I shattered, as if Beelzebub had been so deeply infused with me that his departure fractured my mind. But then Clara was there, and she put me back together. I knew I shouldn’t kiss her. She wasn’t mine. She didn’t want me and I didn’t want her. But right then I needed her, and by the angels, since this was happening, I was going to enjoy her.

  My desire was met with an eagerness I hadn’t expected, and I exploded into a storm of fiery, uncontrollable passion. I sat up and pulled her into my lap. My lips and hands were everywhere, exploring her, tasting her, drinking her in. I kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her until she was gasping for breath, and still I didn’t stop. I couldn’t get enough.

  She let out a whimper of pleasure that broke through my senses and made me smile against her lips. I wrapped my arms around her and she collapsed against me, shuddering in my embrace.

  My lust finally cooled off, and our kiss morphed into something more sincere. As I slowed down, I could feel her trembling. I loosened my grip on her slightly, kissing her softly now as I basked in the angelic peace that was pushing out the last of the darkness in me.

  At last, she broke the kiss and melted against me as if she simply could take no more. She let out a long, contented sigh, and I dropped a light kiss to her forehead, holding her tightly in my arms.

  Dani’s quiet voice shattered the stillness. “What was that?”

  My eyes snapped open, and when I realized Clara sat limp in my arms, gazing up at me with wide, shocked eyes, I was finally slammed back into reality. I’d liked that kiss way too much. Was tempted to do it again. Michael’s presence was still burning in my chest, reminding me of how he was always guiding me toward her and how our hearts had beat in sync with one another, almost as if they were meant to be one. That possibility was too much to deal with at the moment. I couldn’t handle it.

  “Shit!”

  What can I say? Sometimes you just have to cuss.

  I let go of her and scrambled away as if she were a plague sent from Hell to destroy me. She fell forward and nearly face-planted on the concrete, but she caught herself in time and glared up at me with an annoyed expression. “You’re welcome,” she grumbled.

  At some point, while Clara’d had me totally distracted—which was still blowing my mind so hard I couldn’t think straight—Ethan had removed the seraph blade from my shoulder. I’d been so wrapped up in Clara’s kiss that I hadn’t even felt it.

  Dani was standing by to heal me. I was so relieved when the pain finally stopped that I could have kissed her, too, except I was all kissed out and Ethan pushed her out of the way too fast. “Are you you, dude?”

  “Yeah. I’m me. Thanks, man.”

  After a beat of silence, I took the artifact from around my neck and clasped it between our hands. I wasn’t sure how this was supposed to work, so I simply thought about Ethan getting his power back.

  It was the strangest feeling, but the relic seemed to understand my desire, and it obeyed. The artifact began sifting through the layers of power inside me. I could feel each individual aura as a separate entity, as if I were wearing several different sweaters. The artifact found the warrior sweater and pulled it from my body. As I felt the power leave, Ethan sucked in a breath. “Are you you now?” I asked once the artifact’s power stilled.

  Ethan blinked at me, and then put a heavy hand on my shoulder. Words failed him, and he tugged me to him in a hug that bordered on unacceptable for straight guys. “Thanks, Russ.”

  I rolled my eyes. He was definitely Ethan. And Duncan said I was dramatic. “Where’s Councilor Mason? I can give him his power back, too.”

  “He’s dead,” Dani said quietly. She sniffled and swiped at a tear on her cheek.

  I closed my eyes and swallowed a lump of nausea. “Was it me?”

  I had a few memories of the last twenty minutes or so, but the details were hazy.

  Thankfully, Duncan shook his head. “No. Demons got him.”

  My entire body sagged with relief, but the sick feeling didn’t dissipate entirely. “Cynthia?”

  “I’m here,” Cynthia called. “Took a nasty swipe to my haunches, but Simone patched me up.”

  I smirked, despite myself. “That’s a relief, because you have such a nice set of haunches. I’d hate for anything to happen to them.”

  Cynthia snorted and a deep voice cleared his throat, somehow sending a stern warning in the simple noise. “Just teasing her, Mr. Layton.”

  “Hey, my haunches are all in one piece, too,” Caleb said. “Thanks for asking.”

  “So help me, Caleb, the day I ask about the condition of your haunches is the day I ask to go to Hell.”

  Sighing, I found Dani’s face in the crowd and asked the question I was dreading the most. “Dad?”

  She was clinging to Gabe as if her very life depended on it. She smiled for me, but there was tragedy in it, and I couldn’t decipher the meaning.

  “I’m alive, Russ.”

  Shocked, I turned around to see my father standing behind me. He was human, as pale as a ghost, and surrounded by guardians, but he was alive and healed of all wounds. “What?” I was startled. “Who healed you?”

  “I did,” Clara said. When I frowned at her, she shrugged. “You spared my mom’s life. I figured I would return the favor.”

  “Thanks.” It’s sick that this brought me relief. My dad was a villain, no question, but he was still my father. Demented as it was, I still loved him as much as I hated him. Killing him wouldn’t have sat well with me.

  I climbed to my feet and walked over to him. There was a dimness in his eyes—a sense of defeat that I’d never seen in him before. “I�
�m glad you’re okay, Russ.” He had a hard time meeting my gaze. I would, too, if I were him. “I’m so sorry for doing this to you. I truly had no idea you’d suffer this way.”

  “Well, that’s great, Dad. I feel so much better knowing you regret turning me into a monster.”

  I’d reached new levels of sarcasm with that comment, a monumental feat for someone with my attitude.

  Dad reached out a hand to me, and I stepped back. I didn’t want him to touch me. My rejection broke him even further. “Russ…”

  I shook my head. “Save it, Dad. Your life has been spared, but you’re the council’s problem now.” My eyes slid to Duncan, who was hovering behind my father. He nodded, accepting the responsibility. When I looked back at my father, my gaze turned cold. “We’re done. Forever.”

  I started to turn my back on him, and he clung to my arm. “My magic?” he asked, his voice slightly panicked.

  I balked and let out an incredulous laugh. “Seriously? You can’t possibly think I’d give it back to you.”

  “Russ, you can’t leave me like this. Bind me if you must, but you can’t leave me without my essence. It’s who I am.”

  I ground my teeth so hard the sound was audible to those around me. “Any more than Ethan’s power is a part of him? Or all the councilors you planned to leave stripped of their essences?”

  Dad had no defense, but he raised his eyes to mine in a silent plea. “You would leave me human?”

  I nodded. “I won’t even feel bad about it. You won’t be able to hurt anyone like this.”

  “Russ, please.”

  “No. You deserve this punishment, and a lot worse. But don’t worry, Dad, I’ll take good care of it for you. You’ve made me the strongest warlock on the planet even without my Scion power, so thanks for that. I’ll take the Devereaux name and turn it into something our race can be proud of. I’ll build a legacy so great that the world will never remember the awful things you’ve done. You’ll be forgotten by everyone. Especially me. From now on, you are nothing to me. You’re no longer my father, and you’ll never see me again. I won’t be visiting you in prison.” I took a breath and gave my father a hard look. “’Bye, Dad.”

  My dad’s face fell and he held his hands out to me again, wanting to hug or shake hands one last time. I was torn. I felt like I needed the closure, but I also just wanted to make him hurt. I wanted him to feel my loss and know how angry I was with him.

  I stood there, debating, until his gaze shifted over my shoulder and his eyes popped open. “No!” he shouted as he jumped forward, slamming me aside with the force of a freight train. Completely blindsided by the unexpected shove, I crashed to the ground, hard. As I fell, the entire roof erupted into startled gasps and angry cries. Dani’s horrified screams stood out above everything else.

  I jumped to my feet, trying to figure out what had just happened. Duncan was holding Ethan back while Councilor Sena was shielding a pale-faced Simone. The Laytons were all back in their wolf forms and standing in front of me, as if protecting me. Everyone on that roof was poised to attack someone else; the tension was as high as it had been when we were facing demons.

  “What happened?”

  All eyes turned to me and then drifted behind me. A hush swept over them, and that’s when I noticed Dani on the ground, crying over my father. I fell to my knees at her side, unable to make sense of what I was seeing. A dagger was sticking out of my father’s heart.

  “Heal,” Dani whimpered. “Come on, Alex, please.”

  Her efforts were in vain. He was already gone.

  I collapsed to my knees beside Dani. My father was really dead. I couldn’t believe it. My head tried to convince me that I’d written him off already, anyway. I thought of all the horrible things he’d done and reached for my anger, but couldn’t find it. All I felt was pain. The ache in my chest was so intense I couldn’t breathe. My angelic heart felt his loss on a level that I doubted most mortals had the capability of experiencing. I guess the more you love, the more you hurt.

  Moisture rolled down my cheeks, but no one said a word about me crying. “I didn’t think it would hurt this much,” I muttered. “Angels, if there was any good in his heart, please have mercy on his soul.”

  Dani sat up and threw herself into my arms. “He had some good in him, Russ. He loved us so much. I’m sure the Creator will show some mercy.”

  That was more than I could say for Simone. I knew it had been her. The horror in her eyes said as much, and she was the one Councilor Sena was protecting.

  There was my anger. Found it. When I jumped to my feet, my friends didn’t stop my advance on the witch, but Marcus, Councilor Sena, and Mr. Layton stood in front of her, blocking my way. “You don’t want to go down this path,” Mr. Layton said in a low, firm voice. “Do not act out of vengeance.”

  He was right, but it wasn’t his warning that stopped me. It was Clara. She met my gaze, tears falling down her cheeks, and she looked so utterly helpless. She wouldn’t blame me, but she didn’t want me to hurt her mother. I couldn’t make her experience the grief I was going through. I couldn’t kill her mother.

  “Russ…,” Simone whispered. Her lashes were wet with tears, too. Her voice shook as much as her body trembled, and her eyes kept flickering back and forth between me and my father’s body. “I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?” How could she have the nerve to say that to me? “You murdered my father! He was contained! He was human!” I started to shake, and Duncan stepped forward to place a gentle hand on my shoulder. I took a breath. “Why? You loved him.”

  Her eyes pooled with tears again.

  Ethan stepped up to my side with his hands clenching into fists and his glory shining so brightly it was hard to keep my eyes open. Dani and Grace both joined him on my other side. Grace looked concerned for me and slipped her hand into mine, but Dani was focused on Simone. There was no question she was completely ready to tear Simone apart. “She was aiming for you, Russ. Your father saved your life.”

  You’d think that betrayal wouldn’t faze me anymore, what with how often I experienced it, but you’d be wrong. Even though it was Simone, and I hate the woman, her treachery still stung like a son of a you-know-what. “You tried to kill me? After I spared your life?”

  Simone didn’t look remorseful. She straightened her shoulders and stared me down without regret. “You heard the Seer’s prediction. You are going to destroy us all.” She glared around the group and shouted, “If you let him live, you are signing all of our deaths! I adore the boy, too, but he is the Devil’s advocate! The Seer has foreseen his destruction!”

  All eyes turned to Gabe. As much as I hate to say anything good about the guy, he’s always been admirably confident. But he couldn’t meet anyone’s stares this time. He studied the ground with his shoulders slumped in defeat. He didn’t know what to do, and his conflict was quickly turning people against me. If I wasn’t careful, I was going to get lynched.

  Dani saw his confusion, too, and went to him. She took his hand in hers and kissed his cheek. “We’ll change it without killing him,” she promised. “We will find a way. What exactly did you see?”

  Gabe finally raised his gaze and met my eyes. “The moment you took your father’s power, I had a vision. I saw the destruction of the world. I watched the Scion tear the veil between this world and the underworld, and lead an army of demons against the people of Earth.” He paused for emphasis and then said, “You are going to destroy us all.”

  “No,” Grace argued. “He wouldn’t. He won’t.”

  She’s always had too much faith in me.

  “We can find a way to change it without resorting to murder, Gabriel,” Dani insisted again. “There has to be a way.”

  Gabe shook his head. “I am sorry, Danielle. I can think of no other way. I know you are a good man, Russ, but the power you now possess is too much for you. It will consume you, and you will fall to the Dark Angel. My visions are never wrong.”

>   There were many disapproving shouts, but the one that surprised me most of all was the fierce one that came from Clara. She marched right up to Gabriel, pushing me back so that she could stand between us and glare at us both. “You have to be wrong, Seer. Russ has a destiny.”

  I didn’t understand where this was coming from. She’s had so much faith in me and been unreasonably loyal since this whole mess started—even before our curses were broken and while we were mortal enemies. I’d chalked it up to the fact that she didn’t trust me with my power, but this was something more. There was knowledge in her tone. “What are you talking about, Clare Bear?”

  Clara bit her lip and hesitated as a light blush spread across her face. “Nothing. Never mind. It’s nothing.” She focused on Gabe again. “Please, just trust me. There is another way, and we have to figure it out, because Russ is needed.”

  Gabe and Clara stared at one another for an eternity. Then Gabe gasped. His eyes swirled around her aura so fast he looked as if he were having a seizure, but he was just shocked by whatever he was reading in her essence. “A priestess,” he whispered.

  Clara blushed and turned away from his gaze. She was confused by the term, but not surprised by Gabe’s reaction. She’d known she was different, even if she hadn’t known how.

  I didn’t know what a priestess was, or how it concerned me, and I wasn’t going to ask. If I had some kind of destiny more than the crap I was already dealing with, I wasn’t going to go seek it out. Let destiny find me itself, and I’d be sure to punch it when it showed its ugly face.

  “I believe you, Priestess,” Gabe whispered reverently. “But I do not know what to do. His power will be too tempting for him. It will drive him to the same madness his father suffered from. If we cannot change it, he will be the end of the world, no matter what purpose Fate has planned for him.”

  Darn the guy for having a point. I couldn’t deny the power of his visions. The dude was never wrong. If he saw me lose it, then that was in my future unless I did something to change it. I glanced at Gabe sharply as an idea formed in my mind. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, but neither was leading an army of demons. “You say it’s my power that does it?”