Sarahi moaned and rose to her knees, presenting herself to her husband. Lucien flexed his hips, rubbing his erection over the smooth curve of Sarahi’s bottom. Her silky skin caressed him and he made a little growling noise. Pulling back, he sat, taking a moment to admire her beauty. Her skin glowed like moonstone in the moonlight, her burgundy hair spilling onto the white sheets. He rested one hand on the full curve of her bottom, touching the soft skin again, stroking. Her feminine folds glistened with moisture, a deep pink. The little nub of her clitoris stood proudly erect, begging to be touched. He leaned forward and kissed it, then touched his tongue to the straining morsel.
"Ohhhh!" Sarahi sighed at the sweet stimulation. Lucien liked the sound. He loved knowing his lady’s pleasure was the result of his actions. He licked her again, and then again, making love to her with his mouth. Sarahi squirmed and twisted, whimpering. He held her still with his hand on her hip.
"Oh, Lucien!" She arched her back and shuddered as deep pleasure washed over her. Her flesh throbbed under the caress of his mouth. He wanted to feel that shuddering, so he positioned himself behind her and pressed into her welcoming depths.
The stimulation of his entry set of another round of ecstatic spasms and Sarahi buried her face in the pillow and wailed.
"Lovely woman," he murmured. "My dearest love." And then he began to pound into her, making her take every inch of his aching steel. She felt so good he wanted to climax immediately... and yet he wanted to postpone it as well. To enjoy her as long as he could. This position was exciting, but somehow... not enough. He slipped from her body.
"Lucien?"
"Turn over, love. I want to see your face."
Sarahi rolled to her back and urged her husband down on top of her, twining her legs around his. Lucien arched his hips and speared deep inside her again, lowering his mouth to cover her in kisses. He thrust hard and then slowed down, nudging, slipping through her wet, heated passage. Sarahi stroked his back with gentle hands, urging him to continue. Her body tensed on the brink of another orgasm and he gave a sharp thrust, catapulting her into ecstasy. Words of love mingled with pleasured gasps as he rode his lady through one peak and into another until he could no longer hold off, and his own groans of pleasure blended with hers.
Lucien cuddled Sarahi close, listening as her breathing slowed, caught, changed to sobs. He made no attempt to shush her. What they were facing was more than worth a few tears. What warrior would not go off to battle bathed in the love of his woman? He kissed her and tasted the salt. As soon as he recovered, he would have her again. But for now, he just wanted to hold her.
Chapter 20
As sunrise broke over the Mojave Desert, sparkling cheerfully on the silver exterior of a deteriorating travel trailer, a shimmer, as though of heat rose from the sand and scrub. Being the last day of the year, even the desert was not exactly hot enough for mirages, and sure enough this was not one. A second glance revealed a force of some hundreds of abnormally tall men, robed in white, representing every race and color on earth, and yet somehow not of earth, at least not entirely. That group was matched in number by a crew of ordinary-looking men. Some were tough, battle scarred, and leathery. Others were young, fresh-faced, flushed with the excitement of their first battle. But all were visibly terrified. At their head, on the step of the trailer sat a man with gleaming ebony skin, glittering obsidian eyes, and jutting bones which looked like they had been sculpted with an artist’s tool. His jaw was set in stubborn lines, but his eyes were far away. A scent of perfume and woman hung around him, wafting from a scrap of fabric tucked in the hip holster which held his pistol. He pulled out the rose-colored square and lifted it to his nose. His lips seemed to form a word... Sarahi... and then he returned his handkerchief to its spot and resumed his watch over the shimmering sand.
***
Josiah sat at the foot of Lilith’s throne. The demoness behind him ran her claws gently through his hair, caressing him. He had to admit, she’d been much nicer lately. He knew she wanted to be with him, but he held back. For what reason, he wasn’t exactly sure. She was beautiful enough, and when she wasn’t being scary, was awfully sexy. Maybe the problem was just how often she chose to be scary. Still, if he was going to live as a demon, he needed to make peace with that. The stroking claws flattened and she ran her palm down the back of his neck and over his shoulder. He rested his head on her knee. This wasn’t the woman he wanted but she might just be the only one he ever got. Make peace with it, Josiah. Let it be. You’re a demon. She’s a demon. Consort to the demon queen isn’t such a bad thing.
Josiah’s eyes narrowed. What was that strange shimmer off to the side of the room? It looked like a mirage, like a wavering shimmer of heat in the desert.
"Ah good. The ladies are back from Vegas. I could use some new drones... that is, unless you’d like a turn?" She ran her claws lightly down his back.
"Maybe," he said consideringly. "Will you promise not to tear my throat out afterward?"
"Oh you silly. I would never do that to you. Come here, Josiah."
He stood. She drew him to her throne and urged him to a seat beside her, leaning down to kiss him. He accepted the kiss, pondered it. Not too bad. He could get used to this...
There was a scream in the chamber, then another. Metal rang as swords were pulled from sheathes.
BANG! Was that a gun? Josiah pulled his lips away from Lilith’s and turned. White-clad figures, seven of them, stood in a circle, back to back, guns trained on the room.
"Open fire," a familiar, low-pitched voice snarled, and the soldiers began shooting succubae and drones. The demonesses extended claws and fangs and began to circle the clerics, looking for an opening, but the guns kept them back. Several fell, killed or injured as the circle of clerics and nephilim slowly rotated. The movement brought into Josiah’s sight a small figure with a mask covering the lower half of the face. Brown eyes met his.
"Josiah."
He closed his eyes. That beautiful, familiar voice. He glanced at Lilith, and then back at Annie and felt dirty. How could he have traded that for this?
Because you had to. Because Annie doesn’t deserve a demon for a lover.
The girl had stopped firing and was standing as though frozen, just looking at him. He looked back intently. The Magnum trembled in her strong, capable hands.
Come back! He could hear the words in his head as though she had spoken aloud. Come back, Josiah. Come home. He drew in a shaky breath.
"Assassin," barked a commanding voice, "this is no time to lose focus! Fire!"
Annie aimed her weapon at Lilith and squeezed the trigger. The big demoness dodged and the bullet lodged itself in her throne, splintering the wood.
"Enough," the voice barked again. "Fall back."
That shimmer lit up the chamber again and the enemy solders slipped through it, one by one. Those at the end of the line provided cover as their friends retreated.
"Watch this," a sibilant voice murmured in his ear. Lilith reached back and made a throwing motion with one hand. The cleric at the end of the row froze. She closed her hand and he fell to the floor just as the last of his companions disappeared through the portal back to earth.
Josiah struggled to maintain his detachment. He had no way of knowing whether the captured cleric was Annie. They all looked alike. He trotted along at Lilith’s heels.
"How did you do that?" he asked her.
"It’s easy. You just make your energy into a net. Once it wraps around your victim, it locks up their electromagnetic field, as well as all their muscles. Now let’s see what we have here.
She reached out and sank her claws into the shoulders of the cleric, lifting him to his feet. Josiah reached out and dragged away the cloth which covered the face of...
"Peter?" It was unbelievable. Lilith had captured the bully who had made Josiah’s life unbearable for as long as he could remember. A wave of hatred and rage welled in him as he looked into that face.
"What are you do
ing here?" Lilith asked the boy.
He struggled not to break down in the face of so intimidating an enemy. "I don’t need to answer."
Energy swirled in the room. Lilith was bringing all her seductive power to play, trying to break down Peter’s restraint. Josiah predicted it would work. It didn’t.
"Let me go," Peter said, his voice trembling.
"Oh no," Lilith replied, stroking him under the chin with one long black claw. "You’re done, I’m afraid. But you get to decide how you leave this life. Tell us just what in the name of Lucifer you are doing here, and I’ll kill you quickly. And believe me, young man, you don’t want to know how I can kill you slowly."
Peter gulped, his tanned face draining of color.
"How dare you infiltrate my home?"
He inhaled sharply through his nose, considering his options. Then, with a final show of bravado, he answered. "The stalemate has gone on long enough. We are here to issue an invitation. A challenge. Forget the game of cat and mouse. Come out of your hole and fight face-to-face."
"Are the nephilim and their cronies so eager for destruction then? Very well. I see you’re telling the truth." Lilith made a throwing motion and Peter flew through the air to crash into the far wall of the cave. He stuck there as though hung from a hook, several feet above the floor.
"Josiah," Lilith said in her seductive voice, "is this boy your friend?"
"No," he replied, unable to keep the snarl from his voice.
"Good. I want to teach you something useful. Gather up all that yummy energy of yours."
Energy?
"You’re bubbling with it, fool. Gather it up!"
He’d never examined himself closely before, but now that she mentioned it, he was surrounded by a muddy gray light. He glanced around the room. Every creature had one. Lilith’s was shining black, like her ineffectual fire, but other colors danced around the succubae and drones, all muddy, shadowed with gray, but visible.
He concentrated, making a closing motion with his hand, and the energy around him obediently gathered into a ball.
"Good boy. Now, make it smaller, thinner, like a blade."
Josiah wasn’t sure how he knew how to do it, but he did.
"Reach out with your blade. Touch his aura."
The moment Josiah’s energy touched Peter’s he could feel the boy’s emotions, could taste them. Terror. Good. As many times as he’d made Josiah feel like shit, Peter deserved it. He deserved anything he got, the bastard.
"Push deeper. Push inside his body."
Peter screamed. Josiah ran his energy over the internal organs. Clenching bowels. Pounding heart. Gasping lungs. Wildly firing brain. He touched everything.
"Now, just send a burst of energy along the line, and you’ll take care of this one for good."
Josiah paused. Considered. Pulsed.
As one, all of Peter’s organs exploded inside his body. The strength of the blast forced blood from the boy’s mouth, nose, and the corners of his eyes, where it ran like tears down his face. Lilith released her energy and Peter’s corpse collapsed to the floor, where it lay like a broken puppet.
Josiah stared.
"Well done," the demon said, "but a little fast. Next time start at the toes and work your way up. They suffer more that way."
Josiah swallowed.
"Now then, our enemies have issued a challenge. We do not let challenges go unanswered. They want a fight, we will bring them one. They want to die, we will help them with that goal. Come on, Josiah. Let’s show them what it means to come up against a superior force."
Lilith stalked away. Josiah stumbled to a dark corner and vomited.
***
Rahab’s scream echoed through the entire compound. From all corners, the women ran to her.
Salome and Sarahi got there first, wrapping their arms around their sister.
"What is it?" Sarahi asked. "What’s wrong."
"It’s Peter. It’s my husband. He’s dead." She burst into hysterical sobs.
Sarahi stroked her back and Salome ran fingers through her hair, trying to sooth her.
"Is this what it will be like for all of us?" Jael asked. "Will we all know when our men die?"
"I don’t know," Sarahi answered. "Probably."
***
"Report, Jonas," Lucien barked. "What happened?"
"The first stage of the plan seems to have been successful. We got into the hive and took down several succubae and drones."
"Any causalities?"
Jonas nodded. "Peter didn’t make it back. Do we go after him?"
Lucien shook his head. "No point. There’s no way anyone will be able to get to him. We can only hope he’s already dead. Anything else?"
"No other casualties, but I think you’d better talk to The Assassin. She seems a little...shaken up."
And Jonas still seemed a little shaken up to learn The Assassin, who had provided backup to so many missions, was a girl. But no matter.
Lucien found Annie sitting on the sand, staring off across the desert, her arms wrapped around her knees.
"Annie?" He laid a hand on her shoulder. She turned, her mask hanging loose down her chest, a look of distress on her face. "What’s wrong?"
"I saw him."
Lucien’s heart clenched. He never spoke of it, but the thought of his son with that demon monster was tearing him up too. "You knew he would be there."
"Yes, but I didn’t expect to see him. He was with her, right there beside her throne. Have we lost Josiah forever?"
"I don’t know," Lucien replied. "I hope not." He let the words hang between them for a moment before returning to solider mode. "You have to shake it off, Annie. If you let your feelings distract you, you’re going to get yourself killed. And probably others around you. Come on. Where’s the warrior I know?"
She looked away.
"Listen, if you can’t pull it together, you’ll have to go. I can’t have you here if you’re not really here. Go back to the compound with the other girls."
She turned angry eyes on him. "You need me."
"Not like this we don’t. Go on, Annie. Go home."
She rose to her feet and fastened the white cloth back over her mouth and nose. "Who’s Annie? I'm The Assassin."
"Good girl."
A voice sounded inside Lucien’s head. "General, where are you?"
"At the rendez-vous point," he replied telepathically.
"Get your angel ass down to the portal right away," Nathaniel urged. "Something big is coming through!"
***
Something big indeed. A towering naked woman with black hair hanging to her knees, glowing, pupilless green eyes, four inch claws, and huge back-curving fangs stepped onto earth. Her aura, black as tar, seemed to suck up the daylight. Around her, a host of women, claws and fangs extended, hissed and shifted. Among and between them, hundreds of men, expressions vacant, hefted swords and spears, ready to do battle.
Nathaniel took a deep breath, and sent a quick thought to his wife back at the compound.
"Ready," he said to the company of nephilim and clerics. High powered rifles were shouldered.
"Remember, the more you take out before they reach us, the better. On my mark."
"Kill them all!" the tall figure hissed, her voice sibilant as it whistled between fangs and over a forked tongue. The succubae and drones rushed forward.
"Fire!" Nathaniel shouted. As one, his battalion squeezed the triggers of their weapons sending metal into the oncoming mass of enemies. Screams rang out across the desert sky.
***
Salome drew in an unsteady breath.
"What is it?" Sarahi asked. "Is your husband..."
"He’s fine. It’s not him. It’s... oh no! It’s my drones."
"What about them?"
"They’re calling me. All around them, their brothers are dying. They’re fighting for her, and I’m not there. They want to know what to do."
"They’re asking you? I thought they belonged to her!"<
br />
"So did I. Oh, Sarahi, I can’t abandon them! They didn’t ask for this. I have to go to them! Rahab, Jael, can’t you hear them."
Jael nodded, her lips compressed and pale-looking. "Mine are calling too."
Rahab wiped her eyes and agreed.
"Can’t you hear them, Sarahi?"
She shook her head. "I’ve never made a drone. I couldn’t. It was unfair."
They all stared at her.
"Well," Salome said at last, "I can’t leave them like that. I have to go to them."
"What?" Sarahi gasped. "You’re going back to Mother?"
"Of course not," her sister replied. "I’m going to set them free. They shouldn’t have to fight and die for her."
Salome crossed her arms over her chest and disappeared.
"She’s right," Jael said, following suit. A moment later, Rahab was gone too. Startled, Sarahi decided to follow her sisters, just to see what was going on.
***
As the remaining succubae and drones approached the line, Lucien sent a mental message to his commanders. "Move forward. Focus on the leader."
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