by Maya Daniels
“Will anyone be able to tell me anything, or do I just go into it blind? Actually, you know what? I don’t give a damn. Don’t tell me. I’ll figure out my own way around it, like I’ve done until today. It’s not like any of you have warned me before,” she says tiredly and plops on the ground at my feet. “Assholes,” she mumbles, and I chuckle.
“I might not be allowed to tell you anything, but I will protect you with all I am.” As the words are spoken, I freeze. Why did I say that out loud? I should’ve kept it to myself, at least until I was alone with Alexia, judging by the blooming smile on Inanna’s face. I glare at her again and she laughs, softly shaking her head.
“We are all doomed. We will either change the order of life or we will all perish and it shall be like we never existed.” She closes her eyes and tilts her head back.
Looking at her like this, she resembles Alexia so much it’s disturbing, like seeing double. The difference is that there is this energy surrounding the witch I have never come across before I met her. It’s addictive and alluring. You can tell water is her strongest element. Like a siren, she pulls me in and I’ll do anything to protect her and be around her. I wonder if her maker knew this and created her like this on purpose. I wouldn’t put it past him. Speaking of which …
“Can we at least tell her about …” my words trail off because Inanna shakes her head, making it clear I should stop.
Alexia huffs at that and shakes her own head, making her hair tumble around her like silk. My hands itch to run my fingers through it but I clench them into fists at my sides. I do not think she will appreciate that at the moment. I must stay vigilant around my witch, skittish as she is. But she will change. I’ve made it my life’s mission to ensure that happens.
“Unbelievable. I don’t have time for this shit. Lucifer, open the portal. I need to go back so we can get the potions. You two can stay here and kill each other for all I care at the moment. There are people I need to make sure stay alive.” She waves her hand in little circles at me like I’m her servant, like I should hurry and do her bidding.
So, of course I do, like the besotted fool that I am. Like a trained monkey, I jump at her every whim lately. Inanna quirks her eyebrow as I open the portal, peering over my shoulder to narrow my eyes at her. She only grins at me, her first genuine one since I found her in the temple earlier. Alexia jumps up and rushes through it with a mumbled, “Later.” A halfhearted wave of her hand over her shoulder follows. She didn’t even look at us at all, and my heart drops to my feet.
“This is not over. We shall continue this conversation at a later time,” I tell Inanna and hurry after Alexia.
If she’s going to go head first into anything, I shall be right next to her. As long as I’m still breathing, the realms will burn before I let her get hurt.
Exiting the portal, I lift my head on the other side, hoping she’s waiting for me. Instead of Alexia, roots wrap around my legs and arms, then I’m airborne, a ball of fire hitting my chest and scorching my shirt.
Chapter 14
Alexia…
If I weren’t still angry and tired, I would’ve died laughing just seeing the comical expression on Lucifer’s face when his body is lifted off the ground a millisecond before his power blasts the roots to dust. Since I am still pissed off, I just snort and shake my head while looking at Jezzinta, Remi, Meda, and Faith. Jezzinta is the only sane one; she gasps, lifting her hands in surrender as she widens her eyes at him.
“Oops, sorry. I didn’t know it was you,” she says hurriedly.
I do laugh at that.
“Just who did you expect?” he snaps, angling his head at her.
“How should I know? We didn’t know where she went, and the portal closed as soon as she went through it,” she says defensively, pointing her finger accusingly at me.
The others snicker at the exchange and I head towards the house. It’s getting darker, and tonight is the perfect time to go grab the potions from their hiding place. I hear everyone following, but one set of footsteps are more pronounced, eating up the distance in no time. Lucifer. I’m in no mood to deal with him. I’m confused, angry and just plain and simply tired of it all. Luckily Remi calls out his name, saying something that slows him down. Even when I can’t see him, or hear him for that matter, I’m more aware of his presence than my own lately. It’s frustrating. The warmth that accompanies that awareness scares the shit out of me, so I squash it down as far as I can. My mind goes along with that idea; my body is a totally different story. It’s so attuned to him that my skin tingles and my nipples are erect just breathing the same air as him. I need chocolate, that’s what I need. It’ll cure all my problems.
So, as any other smart woman will do, I head for the kitchen in search of my hidden stash. It’s hard to hide chocolate in a house full of women. They’re like hounds; they can smell it from miles away. I shouldn’t talk crap, though, because I’m exactly the same. It calls to me. What can I say?
Speeding up, I run inside straight to the kitchen, grab a handful from the box marked “gluten-free rice cakes,” (they all hate rice cakes, saying they taste like cardboard—which is why it’s my hiding spot) and run upstairs to my room, pushing the door closed as much as I can. I hope they get the message to leave me alone for a bit. A girl can dream. As I stuff the two bite-size chocolates in my mouth, the door bursts open and they pile inside. One second, they’re serious and ready to give me a piece of their mind, the next they are laughing.
“What?” I say around a mouthful of chocolate. Not a pretty sight, I assure you, but I don’t care.
“Oh, dear goddess, you look like Gollum guarding your precious.” Jezzinta chortles and I throw a piece of the chocolate at her, regretting it in the same moment.
“Give it back.” I stretch my arm in front of me, grabbing at the air with my fingers like I’m possessed.
Since I obviously have good aim now (not!), it hits Jezzinta in the middle of her chest. She grasps it, opens it, and takes a big bite before grinning at me like a fiend.
“Really? That’s how we’re going to play now, stealing chocolates? Who does that?” I huff, shaking my head sadly at my lost treasure.
Like I haven’t spoken, they crawl on the bed with me and attack what I have left of the goodness in my lap like sharks in bloody water. Lucifer leans against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, chuckling at my misfortune, so I glare at him, which makes him laugh.
“Tonight we get the potions.” I drop the bomb and all noise stops.
“Okay. Just say when,” Remi says slowly, like she’s bracing for an argument.
“First tell us what happened,” Faith asks. “Where was Lucifer and what was so important that you felt compelled to go after him?”
“He and Inanna were trying to kill each other over things they know but don’t want to tell me. So, since I wasn’t going to hear anything about it, I should’ve left them to it. Instead, I got involved and stopped it, to my utter disappointment”
“You stopped a goddess and an angel in the middle of a fight?” Jez looks at me with wide eyes.
“Ummm … well, I didn’t exactly stop them. I tried to get in the middle of it and they stopped on their own when they realized they might hurt their peon. No one wants to hurt their tool, you know,” I tell her bitterly.
Lucifer sighs like I’m a child who’s misbehaving, and I bristle at it. He has no right to act annoyed by my snide remarks. So I’m bitter. I have every right to be. If they’d quit playing games and start sharing information, it’d be better for all of us. Until they do, I’ll keep bitching about it.
“Is it something you can tell us?” Faith looks at Lucifer, worry apparent in her eyes.
I snort. Yeah, right. He keeps his cards close to his chest. No way will he tell anyone anything, but I have to admire Faith for trying. That earns me a growl and those peepers turn on me. I expect annoyance to be there. It’s not. Those eyes suck me in like black holes, and I fall into them, losing my grip
on reality. His power crawls over me, starting from my toes and gently caressing up my legs and hips, gliding over my ribs and chest where it centers. It feels like he can see all that I am—all my wishes and fears, all my desires and plans. Even things I’ve yet to figure out.
I shiver and drop my eyes to my lap. Panicking over showing a weakness, I try very hard to come up with something to say so I can change the subject. “You guys should go change. We’ll be leaving shortly. And if we’re all going, decide who else will be driving. We don’t all fit in Jasmine.”
Thinking of my car makes me smile. I haven’t driven it since all this started and I’m looking forward to it. It’s the only connection I still have to my old life. I must have said the magic words because, without comment, they all get up and walk out of the room one by one. Looking after them, I frown. Meda has been quiet ever since she had her vision about our next stop being Ishtar’s realm. That, coupled with my ordeal with Lucifer and Inanna, tells me I need to be on alert. I don’t need details to know we’re heading into a cluster-fuck.
Without uttering a word, Lucifer crawls into bed with me and wraps his arms around me. I allow him to. I feel safe in his arms, no matter how misguided that is. It might be my fear and trust issues wanting me to believe he’s manipulating me, but I’ll stick to it for now; it’s safer for my heart. The angel is dangerous. He crumbles the walls I’ve built around myself like they’re a house of cards. No one gets my trust anymore until they earn it.
With a deep sigh, I burrow deeper into his embrace and his arms tighten around me. He kisses my hair before leaning his cheek on top of my head.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Alexia. I swear it on my life.”
His solemn promise brings goosebumps over my entire body. Not because I’m afraid of what that means, but because I can’t deny the honesty I hear in his words.
Chapter 15
Lucifer…
Sitting in the passenger seat, I glance at Alexia from the corner of my eye. The look of content on her face while she lovingly runs her hands over the steering wheel of her car makes me bristle with jealousy, though it is, after all, an object she cherishes and not another male. I’m aware it is a stupid emotion, but for unknown reasons it still bothers me. I want her to glide those long, elegant fingers over my body, not over a metal and plastic wheel that feels nothing for her. That thought brings vivid images of her naked, caressing me while my eyes feast on her body and face. In my daydream, she looks at me with those ever-changing eyes and there is love and devotion there, the same devotion she feels for the witches. My chest tightens with some emotion I cannot name. For a moment, I almost think it’s a warning of an impending attack, but when nothing happens, I realize it’s my own stupidity making me be this way.
I have watched the witch through many lifetimes. She’s been betrayed and hurt more than any one individual should have to bear, but her love and devotion for those she calls her own never wavers. She needs time, and that is something I constantly have to remind myself. How do I convince my mind and heart? Maybe this is how I perish.
Someone has obviously found my weakness when they gave me these new emotions. With gods or angels, it is always easy. It is the pleasures of the flesh in which we indulge that signals our end. No attachments, no hurt feelings, nothing. Is this how humans feel all the time? How can they function with these crippling emotions? I have felt jealousy before, of course. But it was only ever for others who tried to rise above me, or for those that held something that would give me an advantage in my ever-changing world. I can fight that. I have fought that. But how do I fight an unseen enemy when I know she holds the outcome in her tiny hand?
Finally it hits home.
This woman holds everything I am in her hand. With one careless gesture or word, she can defeat me. She can crush my heart and I will never be able to pick up the pieces. I will never be the same again. In my long life, I have never had to deal with an outcome where I didn’t come out on top. Now … here we are. A mortal has control over me like no one ever has before—not even my creator.
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I try to dispel the gloomy thoughts from wreaking havoc in my mind. There must be a reason all this is happening now. I am the light bringer; I will not be conquered. All I have to do is try to stay one step ahead of whoever orchestrated this. Tiamat will pay dearly for trying to touch what is mine while hiding that information for millennia.
I watch the town fly by through the window so Alexia doesn’t see the war I’m fighting within myself. She has enough to worry about, and she doesn’t trust me completely after all that happened in the dark wizard’s realm with Derik. I cannot blame her. That fucker fooled me as well. I still don’t know how I did not see it. A sentimental fool, that’s what I am. Thinking I would help the witch, I almost helped to get her hurt … or worse. In my meddling, I gave power to a spawn that tried to kill her. Now guilt mixes with jealousy in a constant swirl in my gut. One would think they were trying to turn me mortal. A shiver runs up my spine and I clench my fists in my lap. Heads will roll.
“So, wanna share what’s got you so pissed off?” Alexia’s husky voice makes warmth pool in my stomach.
It takes me only a moment to look at her, and the same moment my groin stirs, making it uncomfortable to sit still. I squirm in my seat.
A different shiver runs through me, and I clear my throat before speaking, but I don’t think I manage to hide how she affects me judging by the narrowing of her eyes. “I am not pissed off.” My voice sounds too rough to my own ears.
“It’s only human, angel, nothing to worry about. Well … unless we come across more snakes, that is,” she says, turning to watch the road again.
One thing I find fascinating is that the woman can drive. No, I’m not patronizing. I mean she can drive like a professional racer. The Mustang flies around the city, and at times I clutch the handle, thinking each turn will be my last. But she glides smoothly every time, like this car is an extension of her.
“You need to slow down or they’ll never catch up,” I point out.
“That’s the plan. They shouldn’t catch up.” She grins at me and I chuckle.
“You are a fascinating creature, Alexia, no matter what you do. Even when you drive this metal contraption around the city.”
“Hey! Take that back! She can hear you, and you’ll hurt her feelings.” She glares at me before petting the car and mumbling, “He doesn’t mean it. He’s just jealous because you’re cool and he is not.”
Raising an eyebrow and wondering about her sanity, I wait for an explanation that never comes, just more glaring and mumbled endearments to the object I want to crush. I should hear those words spoken like a caress to me, not to this thing.
“You’re just jealous. Admit it.”
“I admit nothing. That is preposterous! Jealous of what? This thing?” I wave my hand at the lights glowing in front of us.
She just grins widely and, staring at me, strokes the car gently. My hackles rise and I can’t stop the growl that leaves my throat. Her laughter makes me so hard I can pound nails into concrete with my cock. If she doesn’t stop, I’ll finish what we so recently started.
“Behave, witch, now is not the time to provoke me,” I point out.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looks at me innocently and I boom out a laugh that makes her jump.
“It looks good on you, you know,” I say softly, almost to myself after my laughter dies down.
“What looks good?” She frowns before facing the road again.
“Innocence,” I tell her simply.
She slows down and turns into a parking lot while laughter peals out of her like rain. When she finally parks, she leans her head on the steering wheel, still chuckling. “I’m sure it does, just like makeup on a donkey. Let’s not fool ourselves, Lucifer. All of you made sure my innocence abandoned me as fast as possible in each of my lives. I wouldn’t know what it was if it hit me in the face.” She lea
ns against the headrest, closing her eyes with a heavy sigh.
My heart shrivels in my chest and my gut tightens at her words. I want to argue with her, to tell her she is wrong, but the words get stuck in my throat. She isn’t wrong. None of her lives have been easy, especially this one. What do you say to the woman you love when the truth is staring you in the face? That thought startles me. It’s one thing to know it academically, but it’s something different to admit it to myself. Yes, I love the witch, but how do I make her see it?
“Are we waiting on something?” I ask, so as not to blurt out my thoughts.
“Ah! There they are,” she says, bending a little to see through my window, her hair falling over her face and her eyes glowing in the moonlight.
Following her eyes, I see Remi turning into the lot and parking her car a row down from us. That’s strange. The parking lot is empty, and I would’ve thought she would park next to Alexia. The witches are confusing at times. Shaking my head, I unbuckle and follow Alexia, exiting the car.
“Don’t slam the door!” she says, while gently closing hers.
Chapter 16
Alexia…
My head is still spinning from the feelings Lucifer provoked inside me. Not with his words, but with the look in his eyes and the energy he throws off like a generator. Rubbing my hands over my arms, I try to shake it off, but it’s not working. He was looking at me with such despair that my heart stopped for a second, then it tried to race out of my chest. Like my personal shit had room to get involved in the drama surrounding us! I need to get my head in the game, but the sight of his erection straining his jeans is wreaking chaos in me. He is pulling on my heart, my mind, and my body like a puppet-master, and I'm helpless to stop it. I just need to get better at ignoring it. What’s a better distraction than four crazy women trying to get killed because they want to prove their love and loyalty, right?