Jaylen hugged him. "Thank you, Zeriel. Thank you so much."
* * *
"You!" Zeriel stormed up to Gavin and slammed him against the grey stone wall of the vampire coven. "How dare you betray me like that? Do you know what almost happened? Jaylen got eaten by an archdemon, Liam may lose his legs due to burns, and everyone's lives were at risk. Not to mention my wounds and what you and your sadistic lover did to my wings! I can't fly. I almost bled to death from the injuries that Stephan inflicted on me."
Gavin looked genuinely concerned as he squirmed under Zeriel's powerful arms. "An archdemon ate Jaylen? I didn't know. Listen to me, please."
"Kill him, Zeriel. We cannot afford another incident like this." Oviel walked by, glaring daggers at the incubus. "I'll have you know that a young boy is severely injured as a direct consequence of your foolish actions, traitor."
"Is Liam going to be okay?" Gavin asked.
"I am giving him medication as we speak. My magic can heal many injuries, but not all of them. If he does not show signs of rapid recovery within three days, I will have to amputate his legs. He is in a lot of pain, so I am keeping him unconscious. There is no guarantee that he will wake back up."
"How old is he?" Gavin asked.
"Thirteen."
Gavin stopped struggling and his lips quivered. "I'm so sorry."
"You have one minute to explain your actions before we execute you."
"It won't matter, but I was manipulated by Stephan. He was going to kill me. I'm wanted in Hell on charges of violating my blood covenant with him. They want me to be tortured to death. I got scared. You're my friend, Zeriel. I would never intentionally do something like this without reason. Please believe me."
Oviel crossed his arms. "I don't believe you. Even if I did, there is no excuse for what you've done. We trusted you, but you betrayed us all. Kill him."
"Stop. Zeriel, let the incubus go." Xair stepped out from the side hallway, his white hair tied up on the top of his head. "Give him to me."
Something changed in Gavin. He gasped and fell to his knees at Xair's feet. "Ka'taylin! I see by your runes, dark skin, and purple eyes. You are Ka'taylin."
"Yes. I am a demon tamer. Now, if Oviel and Zeriel agree, I can offer you a way out of an immediate execution. As a demon tamer, I can do what I do best and tame you, incubus."
"What does that mean, Ata-Lina?" Gavin asked meekly.
"Ah. But I am just a journeyman, so you will address me as Ata-Lin. So you do have the proper manners, demon. You must be either older than I first thought or you must have learned just enough about my people to be dangerous. You know why Ka'tayl was destroyed one thousand years ago, don't you?"
"Of course, Ata-Lin. The Ka'taylin men enslaved so many demons that they were turning Ka'tayl into another Hell."
"Exactly. We Ka'taylin men are very adept at leashing demons. Now, if you value your pathetic and disgusting life, you will agree to my terms."
"Anything, Ata-Lin."
"Either agree to be bound to me, or I will kill you myself. And I know all the fun ways to make demons suffer and drag it out mercilessly."
"Tell me what I have to do, Ata-Lin."
"We will both receive a rune on our bodies. That rune will eternally bind you to me. Whenever I decide, I will use that rune to summon you. You will be my slave and you must come to me when I summon you. Even Stephan will not be able to take you away from me. In essence, I trap your demon soul within the rune on my skin."
Gavin looked like a whipped puppy as he prostrated himself in front of Xair. "Your voice is my command, Ata-Lin. Command me and I will go. Summon me and I will come. There is one thing I need to explain to the others before we go do this, if I have your permission."
"Go ahead."
"Jaylen, there are three guests in the conference room waiting on you and Zeriel to arrive. I brought them here after working out some agreements with Carvael as a sign of my sincerest apologies. I wanted to make amends, Zeriel. I'm so sorry."
"Who are they?" Jaylen asked.
"You will see." Gavin looked up at Xair's vibrant purple eyes. "I am ready to be yours, my Ata-Lin."
"Perfect. Follow me to my room. You will crawl in my presence and never look me in the eyes. Is that clear?"
"Perfectly, Ata-Lin."
Jaylen almost felt bad for Gavin as he followed Xair down the hallway and around the corner. "Do you think Gavin will be all right?"
Zeriel put his arm around Jaylen's shoulders then started walking towards the conference room. "That crazy incubus needs to be taken down a few notches. It will be good for him in the long run. He won't like it at all at first, but I believe that all demons could benefit from the runic leashes of the Ka'taylin. It helps to curb their insatiable desires and crazy ideas."
"I guess you're right."
Zeriel pushed the conference room door open. "Of course I'm right. You should-" He stopped as he locked eyes with the pink-winged angel in the corner of the room. "I . . . I . . . uh, you are . . . female?"
She smiled. "Of course. And I'm not pretending to be a woman like that blood-crazed angel Tarael." The angel walked up to Zeriel and put her arms around him. "My name is Brinxael, Brinx for short. You're my-"
"Brother." Zeriel held her close to his chest. "Oh, Brinx. You're alive. I had thought for so long that our father had killed you. You're not deformed."
"According to Carvael, I am. Because I am female, I am deformed. I've been trapped in Cilona behind his magic barrier for many years. It's so good to be free and to finally meet you, brother! Though, you kind of smell. And why are you wearing only a cloak tied around your waist?"
"It's a long story."
Brinx turned to Jaylen and rubbed his messy hair. "And you're looking a bit better than you were when we first met, Jaylen. Except for whatever this purple sticky goo is. Oh, Sola help me. This is from an archdemon isn't it?"
"I was eaten by one."
"What?"
"Let's talk about all of this over dinner, shall we darling?" The tall man with the scruffy beard and short brown hair stepped up and put his muscular arm around Brinx's waist. "Hey, Jaylen."
"Trevor! I wasn't expecting to see you again."
"Neither was I, but Brinx came and bought me from my owner in the merchant's guild. She brought me here."
Jaylen looked at his friend and Brinx who shared a brief kiss. "Trevor, are you and Brinx together?"
"Oh. Yes. After I found out about my wife, Brinx comforted me and we naturally came together. It was like love at first sight. I know it's against the teachings for an angel to be with a human, but you won't persecute us for it, will you?"
How could he? "No. Of course not. I am courting a succubus, so I don't really have room to talk. It's good to see you alive and well."
"I could say the same thing to you, buddy. I was so afraid that you died in the Crypt after the slave games."
"I was saved by some boys in the forest. Liam was one of them and he is actually here with us, though he is being operated on. He was injured." Jaylen looked around the room. "We were told there were three people here waiting for us. Who else is there?"
"We didn't like the other one." Brinx said. "So we sent him away for a while. He claimed to be here for his animated corpse or something. Apparently, he is a necromancer who lost his little dead puppet."
"A necromancer" Zeriel asked. "Did he say who his thrall was?"
"Some little thief."
"Liam. So it is true. What did this necromancer look like?" Jaylen asked.
Trevor caressed Brinx's pink feathers. "An elf. You know, grey skin, big eyes, long ears. Said his name was Sulstair. He had a bald fallen angel with him."
"It was Axaniel." Brinx took Trevor's hand. "They will be returning shortly. Come with me, Trevor dearest. We will go to our room and leave everyone to their business. I'm sure they are very busy with things and Axaniel will want to talk with them. We will be at dinner to talk some more. It was great meeting you, Zeriel. I a
m sure we will have much to discuss."
Chapter 17
"There. All clean and bandaged up." Zeriel finished smoothing the oily ointment over Jaylen's cuts and sores that covered his body from where the archdemon's acid had eaten through his skin.
Jaylen didn't move. Instead, he stayed there and looked up at the dancing yellow mage-glow as the tiny rivulets of water from the bath began to dry on his naked body. His thoughts filled his mind to the point of nearly crippling him. He couldn't stop thinking about how close he came to dying in that demon's stomach or if he would have been regurgitated somewhere else and enslaved permanently. Jaylen silently prayed that things would calm down for at least a few days so he could relax and recover. His body and his mind were stretched to their limits.
"Master, you should get dressed. I don't want you catching a cold in this damp air."
Jaylen sat up and held his head in his hand. "Can you hold me?"
"Of course." Zeriel joined him on the bed then pulled Jaylen back against his chest, surrounding him with his arms and wings. "You're shivering. Let me get your clothes."
"No. I want to feel you against me. You're warm. I've missed you."
"Is this comforting for you?"
He placed his face against Zeriel's chest. "Yes. No more questions. Just hold me. I don't want to be alone. You're the only one I want. I don't want anyone else to touch me, not even Liaxa. Just you."
"Oh, Jaylen." Zeriel breathed in Jaylen's scent. "I'm always here for you. You know that."
"Good. Never leave again. Please never leave me."
The bedroom door opened and Oviel entered. He immediately blushed and looked away as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry for interrupting this . . . whatever this is."
Zeriel shielded Jaylen's body with his wings. "It's nothing, Oviel. I was just tending to his wounds."
"As he is unclothed and curled up between your legs?"
"Don't. You know how I feel about things like that."
"Yes, yes. Sorry. You should be careful, though. Temptations are everywhere." Oviel appeared to be trying his best to not look at Jaylen. "Jaylen, you told me to deliver a report to you as soon as possible about Liam's condition."
"Tell me."
"Liam's burns are free of infections for now. He is still unconscious, but his vital signs are strong. He's stable."
"And his legs?" Jaylen asked, fearing the worst.
"Right now, it looks like he will be able to keep them both. I haven't let Sulstair anywhere near him and I won't until I sit down with him and fully discuss what he wants with Liam."
"That's good news. I will pray for Liam. Anything else, Oviel?"
"No. I will leave you two alone." Oviel opened the door and started to leave, but stopped. "Zeriel, don't become like Doran." He left, slamming the door shut behind him.
Jaylen heard Zeriel's slight gasp and felt him pull away, but Jaylen grabbed his hands and put them on his bare hips. "Stay."
"But Jaylen, he's right. This isn't-"
"It's innocent. There's nothing wrong here, Zeriel. Stay. Hold me."
"Please don't make me do this."
Jaylen turned to him. "What is wrong with you?"
Zeriel stood up and tossed Jaylen's clothes to him. "Get dressed. I'm not playing these games with you. You're trying to make me do something so I'll feel even worse."
"What are you talking about? Fine. I'll get dressed. You had no issue bathing me like you used to do. Now you're panicking when you see me naked? Why?"
"I'm not discussing it right now."
Jaylen pulled his underwear and his pants on. Then he stopped when it hit him. "Oh, no. Zeriel, did Stephan do something to you?"
"What do you think? He's an incubus who had an angel tied up and at his mercy. He's evil."
"I-" Jaylen's words were interrupted as someone knocked on the door. He pulled a pale yellow tunic over his head then went to the door. "I'll get it. You just . . . you need to stop scaring me." Jaylen opened the door then his eyes narrowed as he glared at the incubus. "What do you want, traitor?"
"I wanted to apologize. Can I come in?"
Zeriel called from the bed where he had stretched out. "Let him in, Jay. We will listen to what he has to say."
Gavin slowly shuffled into the room, looking broken and sullen. "As you two know, I am now Xair's slave." Gavin ran his fingers over the three white interlocking stars on his stomach. "This is my rune. He has a matching one. At any time, he can summon me to his side and I have to go. I don't even get a choice in it."
"Why are you telling us this?" Zeriel asked.
"To let you know that I am trying to do whatever I can do in order to pay for betraying you. I am also following Xair's orders to reveal something very, very personal to both of you. I really don't want to do this, but I physically can't resist his orders. Before I do this, there are two things. First, you have to promise that you won't hurt me, no matter how much you want to do so. Second, you have to let me explain some things first."
Jaylen eyed him curiously. "Go ahead."
"When a human dies, there is a chance that they can be reborn as an angel if their life was pure enough, like Axaniel. On the other hand, if a human led an abnormally sinful life and did bad things, he could be reborn as a demon."
Zeriel crossed his arms. "Yes, we know all this already. What is your point?"
"In extremely rare cases where there is a surge of magical energy and a human's life is abruptly ended in some anomaly of good and evil, that person's soul can be torn into two separate pieces. One piece becomes an angel. The other becomes a demon. They are both the same person, only two halves of a whole."
"That is extremely rare, isn't it? There was only one case of it happening, right?" Zeriel asked.
"Yes. That human's name was Carver. Carver Antoinet. Do you understand now?"
Jaylen looked over at Zeriel. "What is he talking about?"
"No idea. You're going to have to elaborate more, Gavin."
"All right. Think about it for a second. What happens when you take the name Carver and make it angelic? You get Carvael."
Zeriel's mouth fell open and he sat up. "Holy Sola, mother of the sun. You can't be serious!"
Gavin reached up with trembling fingers and slowly removed his mask. "I am the demon half of Carver Antoinet. Carvael and I are the same person."
Jaylen immediately noticed the resemblance. Gavin was undeniably a younger version of Carvael. They had the same cheekbones, the same jaw line, the same brow. The only differences were Gavin's demonic traits that were added.
Gavin looked down at the floor. "I should have told you sooner. Now you know."
"I don't know what to say." Zeriel stared at the incubus. "You look just like him."
"Because I am him."
There were hurried footsteps in the hallway as Oviel ran up to the doorway, clutching a letter to his chest. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is important. Jaylen, I have a letter for you from a royal courier who approached me just now in Ilyan. It's an emergency."
"What is it?" Oviel asked. "What's wrong?"
"Vilyron has been attacked by Wolfekin. We're at war. King Talyn is summoning all of the paladins to the castle. It's mandatory."
Jaylen shook his head. "But I'm Tainted and-"
"You have been pardoned. Your uncle needs every able paladin and soldier packed and ready for immediate deployment to the frontlines. You have already been assigned to Squad Eight, the cursed Requiem Squad. They are waiting on you for mission briefing and physical training. I managed to secure you a bit of time to recover from today's fight before you are thrown into another one. Gather up anything you need and say your goodbyes. You leave in two days."
Maskless
Angel of Darkness
Book Four
Maskless
Copyright © 2015 by Mackenzie Morris
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chapter 1
Nine Years Earlier
Young Jaylen was sitting on the wooden floor of his parents' house as he quietly played with his painted blocks, building the tall buildings and imaginary cities that existed only in his mind. The candlelight flickered on the cobweb-dusted walls as the temperature continued to drop outside. His father had left to go to the tavern and his mother was in her room, unable to get out of bed. No one had lit a fire in the hearth. Jaylen shivered as he watched the lace-like patterns of ice forming on the windowpanes and he could see his breath in the air.
His stomach made a grumbling sound. Just to make sure, he went to the dormant hearth and looked into the black pot that hung there. Empty. No one had made dinner, either. Jaylen whimpered as the hunger gnawed at him. It was going to be a long night.
A pained scream came from his mother's bedroom. "Jaylen! Jaylen, I need you. Hurry."
Jaylen ran down the hallway then cautiously opened the door to the room where his mother was sprawled out on the bed with her blond hair matted and tangled and a sheen of sweat was clinging to her skin. "Mommy? Mommy, are you okay?"
"No! Jaylen, help me. Get some towels. Oh, Sola! I'm giving birth. Get your father. Is he out back?"
"No. He left."
"Ah! Damn you, Doran!" Corina screamed. "When I see your worthless father again, I swear I'm going to kill him. Come here. Come here, baby."
Jaylen went to his mother's bedside.
"Take my hand. Hold my hand. Oh, no. I did this. I took some drugs and they made me go into labor early. I know you don't know what that means, but it's not good."
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