by C. L. Nelson
I laughed. “Sorry, Finny. I have poor impulse control sometimes. You’re right. We need to get going. Raincheck?” I asked with a smile.
“Obso-fucking-lutely,” he said helping me get to my feet. “Now get out of here, Trouble.” He kissed my lips one more time before turning into thousands of beautiful white lights and glimmering out.
I smiled and did a little dance. My brothers are going to have to get used to seeing Finlay and me together because I’ve decided to keep him.
Chapter 23
Kian
I arrived in the Pit seconds after I left Jaxon’s house in New Orleans. The veil between the realms is thinner in some spots in the Provisional. New Orleans happens to be one of the places that is dangerously close to the Pit. It’s part of the reason vampires and other dark hybrids flock there, and why humans so easily lose their inhibitions when visiting. Places like Las Vegas, Nevada, and Berlin, Germany are also located closely adjacent to the Pit. Traveling from one of these locations to the Pit is almost instantaneous while travel from other locations may take up to two minutes.
The second I materialize in the Pit, I am hit with the overwhelming scent of sulfur. The rotten egg smell is something that takes some getting used to. I have been to the Pit a few times when I was going through mandatory reaper training, and the smell is part of the reason why I chose to collect souls. Collectors don’t have to travel to the Pit.
Sulfur is just the most prominent scent, but it’s not the only scent in the air. There are also underlying hints of blood, urine, feces, vomit, and other bodily fluids. You can’t walk too far in the Pit without coming across someone being tortured, and those smells are attached to various punishments.
It’s also extremely hot, worse than Florida in the summertime. The heat is like a punch to the gut, knocking the air out of you. I instantly start to drip sweat from my pores.
I have no idea how the infernals enjoy being here, but they do. Sometimes if you come across someone, it is hard to tell whether they are an infernal or a soul being punished because infernals can choose to blend in. The easiest way to tell the difference, besides observing which is being punished, is the infernals will be smiling or laughing. They truly enjoy their purpose and their existence.
The majority of the Pit appears to be like a large cave system with various tunnels leading to different areas. However, the tunnels will lead to different themed areas. It’s like the Everlasting where souls get to live in their ideal paradise, but the exact opposite. Infernals have the ability to read a soul’s darkest fear or their worst crime and turn it into a fitting punishment. For example, if a soul’s worst nightmare is working a job they hated during their time in the Provisional, then they will work in that simulated experience for eternity or until they are recycled. That’s just one of the stranger areas. The more obvious areas involve the infliction of pain or humiliation.
I didn’t make it far before I am confronted by two female infernals. One looks mostly human, except for the claws at the end of her fingers. The other is human-shaped but resembles a lizard. Her body is covered in scales and her eyes are vertical slits.
“Are you lost, Prince Kian? Or did you come to enjoy our company?” one of the females asked while sliding her hand down the front of my body, her split tongue flicking out.
I am not surprised they know who I am. I am well known across all the realms as the heir to the Reaper throne. It’s also not an unusual occurrence for females, usually reaper females, to attempt to seduce me. It’s partly why I like to keep to myself. I never know if a female is actually interested in me, or if they want to get in line to be with the heir to the throne.
These females aren’t after the throne, however. They are just like all other infernals and are either attracted to power or looking for someone to torment. I wouldn’t be surprised if their idea of a good time includes tying me down and using my body to get off. You don’t have to be female to be raped.
I might be more worried if there were more than the two of them and I wasn’t innately equipped to deal with them. They may be immortal, but I was not born completely defenseless against infernals. The Creators considered the consequences of unleashing pure evil and designed some reapers to keep them in line. A trained reaper from the right lineage can incapacitate an infernal in a fight, but an untrained reaper not from the chosen bloodlines can and will be killed in battle.
The royal bloodline is one of the chosen lineages to possess the added strength and speed needed to incapacitate an infernal, but you have to learn to access that extra power. Most bloodlines don’t train to fight infernals anymore because they have been locked up in the Pit for so long. I wasn’t going to train either, but Dashiel pushed us all to learn to fight, and it is a good thing he did.
I grabbed the lizard infernal’s hand that was attempting to cop a feel. “I am here on business, ladies.”
“But we know how long it has been since you have buried yourself in a female. Don’t you want to feel the heat and wet slickness between a lovely pair of thighs?” the female with claws said while touching herself at the juncture between her legs.
I suddenly feel a blast of lust. I am so painfully aroused that I fall to my knees, feeling paralyzed by desire. “What the hell is that?” I muttered through clenched teeth.
“Shh, don’t fight it. Just let us ease your suffering,” the female with claws said as she pushed me onto my back and straddled me.
I struggled to break free of the faux desire. I thought about Charlie. I thought about her smart mouth and feisty attitude. I thought about how she makes me feel, about how she makes me harder than I have ever been in my life. I thought about her gorgeous face and perfect curvy body. What she makes me feel is real, not this shit.
I pushed the female off me with enough force that she was thrown across the tunnel, hitting the far wall. “There is only one female I want, and it’s not either of you. Come near me again and I will leave you in pieces,” I growled.
The lizard female snarled at me, but scampered off, leaving her friend behind.
“I assume you are referring to my daughter.” A deep voice rumbled behind me. “Only the love for an infernal can keep you safe from the others’ seduction abilities, and infernals aren’t typically loveable.”
I spun around to face a large, heavily tattooed male with solid black eyes and dark brown hair. “So, it’s true? Are you Charlie’s father?”
“Come with me. It’s not safe to talk in the tunnels.”
He started to walk off, and I hurried to catch up with him. He led me down several winding tunnels that descended deeper into the Pit. Ten minutes later, we arrived in front of a large door covered in fire like it was burning. The infernal held his hand out and the fire was sucked into his body. He opened the door and motioned for me to go inside. I hesitated for a moment but then went through the door.
I entered an apartment that seemed out of place in the Pit, but only because it seemed completely ordinary like it could exist in the Provisional or the Waiting. Another strange feature of this apartment is that it has windows that overlook a lush forest and the sun is shining.
The infernal must have saw my shock. “It’s an illusion. One of my abilities is casting realistic illusions.” He smiled wistfully. “I miss the sun and scenery of the Provisional.”
“The sun? I thought the sun set infernals on fire.”
He offered me a seat on the couch, and I took it. “It does,” he said, not offering an explanation. “Are you here to learn about infernals or are you here because of my daughter?”
“So, you are Charlie’s father. She needs help.”
He thought for a moment before responding. “I have fathered only one offspring, but I do not know her name. She was born after I was separated from her mother. I wasn’t even aware of her existence until roughly sixteen years and seven months after we were banished to our realms,” he said. “My name is Nox, by the way.”
“I’m sorry. My name is Kian.” I held out
my hand.
He looked at my hand but didn’t shake it. “Sorry, Kian. No offense, but I don’t touch anyone unless I’m fucking them or hurting them. Sometimes it’s both at the same time and there’s a good chance it’s not consensual.” He grinned wickedly at me.
I stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t be Charlie’s father. Someone as caring as she is couldn’t possibly be sired by someone so cruel.”
He laughed. “You need to hang out in the Pit more if you think that’s cruel.”
I got up to leave, but he stopped me by saying, “I know your father, a very cruel man himself. Tell me, does the apple fall far from the tree, Kian? Do you also treat females the way he does? Do you force them into bed with you?”
“I am nothing like my father!” I yelled.
He smiled. “Then why couldn’t I also sire a child who doesn’t take after me?” he said, making his point.
I sat back down. “But how is that possible?”
He laughed. “Do you want me to draw you a picture to explain where babies come from?”
“That’s not what I meant. I meant how could you sire a child with an ethereal and not have it be like the rest of the abominations?”
He growled at me, fire flickering at his hands. “If you ever refer to my daughter as an abomination again, I will kill you. She is a darkling and she is one of a kind.”
I hold up my hands. “I would never call Charlie an abomination. I respect her way too much to speak of her offensively. I just wanted to know how she is so different from the others of similar origin.”
Nox calmed himself down and extinguished his fire. “Sorry, infernals are quick to anger. Choose your wording more carefully.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I am going to tell you a story so shut up until I am finished.”
I nod to indicate that I understand.
“Before the ethereals and infernals were banished to their separate realms, we were free to roam the Provisional. Most infernals liked to cause trouble while visiting the Provisional, but I just liked to explore. One day, I shadowed to a deserted beach that I liked to visit on occasion to watch the sunset.”
I almost laugh at the thought of a big tough infernal enjoying a sunset. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud. I am pretty sure he would hurt me if I laughed right now.
He narrowed his eyes at me like he knew I was trying not to laugh but continued anyway. “This beach is usually empty, but on this particular day, someone was on my beach. A female with long pale blonde hair was sitting in the sand watching the sun go down and humming a tune to herself. I felt something I never felt before when I looked at her and it confused me. I was angry and scared, so I left the beach and the female. I tried to avoid her, but I kept running into her.”
I know exactly what he felt because I felt the same way when I first met Charlie. She took my breath away and made it hard to think. I haven’t been able to get her off my mind since our first interaction.
He grinned at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking while continuing with his story. “The first time we came face to face, we knew instantly what the other was. It’s hard to mistake her glowing ice-blue eyes for anything but ethereal eyes. She was never frightened of me though, like other ethereals that I have come across. She was always kind and funny during our many fleeting interactions throughout an entire millennium.”
It seems like Charlie takes after both of her parents. She is kind and funny like her mother, but also angry and violent like her father. I hope I have the chance to get to know her throughout a millennium. I feel despair flow through me, but I fight it off. She isn’t dead yet.
Nox must have sensed that urgency in the air because he began to talk faster. “One night while I was out exploring, I came across a group of infernals that were attacking a female. I don’t get involved in that stuff, not my business, but I recognized the female. It was my female, the one that made me feel strange. I immediately flew into a rage and burned every last one of the infernals that had harmed her, burned them until there was nothing left but charred bones. It would take decades for them to regenerate.”
I nod at him. I would kill someone if they hurt Charlie. I feel suddenly nauseous at the thought that Charlie could be hurt right now. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and continued to listen to Nox’s story.
“When I calmed down, I went over to her. She was barely conscious. She was bleeding heavily, and her clothes were torn. I nearly lost my temper again at the sight, but there wasn’t much more I could do to the incapacitated infernals. I gently picked her up and brought her to a small cabin. There, I cleaned her up and kept her safe while she healed her wounds.
“While I was waiting for her to wake from her healing sleep, I figured out what the feeling was that only she made me feel. It was love. I loved her. I loved her from the moment I saw her on that beach.
“When she finally woke up several days later, the first words out of her mouth were that she loved me too. She confessed to feeling the same way I did since our first interaction. She then told me her name was Aniela. A beautiful name for a beautiful female.
“We made love in that cabin and I found out that she was still untouched despite the attack. I had stopped them in time. We made love many more times after that until the Creators forced us apart by banishing infernals and ethereals to their realms.
“I never saw her again after that, but I still love her to this day. Don’t get me wrong. I am still an evil bastard. Only she was able to bring out the best in me until I discovered I had a daughter. Only when I think of them am I able to fight off my infernal urges.”
I stared at him in silence while I processed what he told me. Before I could say anything, he asked me a question.
“Do you love my daughter?”
I froze. I haven’t even admitted it to myself, let alone another person. I thought about how I feel for Charlie, really thought about it. It’s a similar feeling as I feel toward my siblings, but it burns hotter. I feel the fierce need to protect her and I want her to be happy, even if that means she doesn’t end up with me. I would give her up if she would be happier without me.
I looked Nox in the eyes. “Yes, I do.”
“Would you give your life to save hers?”
I don’t even hesitate. “Yes.”
He smiled at me. “I just needed to hear you say it out loud.”
I feel relieved now that I have admitted it to myself and out loud to another soul. It feels like something has unclenched in my stomach. Now I just need to get her back, so I can tell her.
“Kian, what happened to my daughter?” Nox asked.
“I am not entirely sure, but I am almost positive my father is involved. Somehow her soul was ripped from her immortal body and placed in a mortal body in the Provisional. She has been reincarnated many times without Destiny and Karma having any knowledge of her existence which makes me think that Fate was also involved.” I feel the rage building in my body when I think about what Charlie has had to go through.
Nox growled, “I’ll kill them both.”
I laughed. “Get in line.” My laughter faded. “She’s dying. Her soul isn’t meant to be in a mortal body and it’s killing her. Do you have any idea where her immortal body went?”
He grinned at me. “I do know where it is. Bring her to me and then you can put her soul back in her immortal body.”
I frowned and looked at the floor. “She’s missing. My father abducted her and won’t tell us where she is.”
Nox’s whole body burst into flames, setting his chair on fire. The roar that came out of his mouth shattered any glass in the vicinity. “How could you let that happen?” he yelled.
“I am beating myself up over it enough for both of us. We have narrowed down her location and several people are searching for her. We will find her in time.” I have faith that we will find her. Creators help us.
Nox took a deep breath and the exhale extinguished the fire. “If you don’t save h
er, I will find a way to break free of the Pit and I will hunt you all down.” He glared at me. “I am going to let you leave with her body as I feel every second is going to be important. Follow me.” He stood up and walked down a hall in his apartment.
I followed him. We entered a room that he uses as an office. He even has a computer on his desk. I wasn’t aware that technology worked in the Pit. He steps up to a bookcase and places his hand on it. After a moment, the bookcase slides open, revealing a hidden room.
The only thing in the room is a bed. My heart stopped when I saw her lying there on the bed. Charlie’s body was resting on the bed like she was sleeping. I had to fight the urge to run over to her and try to wake her up. She won’t wake up because she isn’t in there.
Nox went to her side. “Beautiful daughter, come visit me soon.” He kissed her forehead.
He looked at me. “Keep her immortal body safe. Don’t let Alaric get his filthy hands on my daughter again.”
I walked over to pick up Charlie’s immortal body.
Nox put his hand on my chest to stop me. “You have my blessing to date my daughter. Love her even when she is challenging. Just know that if you hurt her, I will break out of here and hunt you down. If anyone can do it, it would be the Infernal King.”
My mouth dropped open at his words and my eyes widen. “I didn’t know the infernals had a ruler.”
He laughed. “Of course, they do. I just don’t place many restrictions on them, so my existence isn’t well known.”
I gave him a slight bow. “I promise that I won’t hurt her. I will do my best to keep her safe and happy, King Nox.”
“Just Nox, son. Your time here is running out. Reapers aren’t meant to stay here this long. Now go save my daughter or I will kill you.” He clapped me on the back.
I slide my arms under Charlie’s body and pick it up. I nod at her father and with a thought, I am back at Jaxon’s house in New Orleans. I took her body to a guest bedroom and gently placed her on the bed.