Mark of the Fallen: A Fallen Novel

by Jones, Tanisha

  “You can’t vote me out, you prudish old bitch. If you would have taken time to read the charter or dug just a little you’d know that.” he’d bellowed.

  “I assure you I can,” she retorted with a haughty snort.

  “I promise you can’t … but I can have you tossed out of here on your Chanel knockoff wearing ass. I have more rights here than anyone else. I own the fucking building, you pretentious twat,” he’d yelled before stomping out. That had nixed any future talk of Remy Kent ever being kicked out of his building.

  “Good afternoon Mr. Kent. Good to see you. Your guest has arrived.” Remy tilted his sunglasses down to stare at the fresh faced kid who passed as the concierge today. Danny was his name and he looked all of nineteen years old. His dark eyes shone with knowledge and a mischievous glint as he watched Remy.

  “Thank you, Danny,” he said, dipping into the elevator as the doors silently slid open. “Make sure I’m not disturbed for the rest of the night please.” He smiled at his own reflection in the polished metal of the elevator door. He’d come to spend the night, Remy breathed. He’d asked Briar to spend the night with him, to share a night away from prying eyes in the luxury and comfort of Remy’s condo, which overlooked Lake Ponchartrain. They could make love in the moonlight, then go down the street for a nice dinner at a restaurant right on the water or take a ride to a nice place downtown. It didn’t matter, as long as he got to spend uninterrupted time with his giant without thoughts of Celeste and her twisted sex life. He had his own sex life to deal with.

  He couldn’t unlock his door fast enough, his eagerness to see Briar making him a little giddy. Perhaps it was the remains of an afternoon of smoking Mist with Nicky and Celeste, and of course being up all night. But that didn’t matter. He was going to have an entire night alone, uninterrupted with Briar. A rare event indeed.

  When he and Briar had begun their relationship, it wasn’t a relationship at all. It had been a fling; they would meet in Remy’s suite at the compound, spend a few hours together, and part ways. Those hours of sex had led to pillow talk, which lead to talk and friendship. Then eventually Remy realized, he was in a full blown relationship, something he’d avoided for years. But when he fell for his sweet guy, he really fell. He felt light and excited and for the first time in so long, free. For years he’d been wrapped up in his truly inappropriate feelings for Celeste. Unable to have her, he was determined not to let anyone else get close to her. Until Nicky.

  They’d all loved Nicky from the start. How could they not? Yet, his obsession continued until he had become enamored with the very opposite of Celeste. The large, muscle bound beauty that was Briar had made him believe that his happiness did not lie with Celeste. Hell, he wasn’t positive that it would remain with Briar, but man was he enjoying it while he could.

  “Honey, I’m home.” He threw the door open, expecting to see Briar filling the space. Instead, he found her, flipping through a magazine as if she belonged. She didn’t even look up, only continued reading as if it were the most interesting thing she’d ever read. She flicked her dark hair over a shoulder, and flipped the page, but ignored him completely. He froze, watching as the other came in from the kitchen eating a Popsicle, her pale eyes bright. He didn’t even have to look to know the other was there, somewhere. They always traveled together, like fucking cockroaches; if you saw one, the others were always nearby. They also always meant that trouble was coming. Danny hadn’t said guest, he’d said guests.

  “Awww fuck.” He kicked the door closed with a wall-shaking slam.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Karim lay on his side on fresh linen, his hair still damp from his shower. Celeste stood in the bathroom doorway in an old t-shirt of Nicky's, or it could’ve been Remy's who knew anymore, drying her own wet hair and staring at him. He was naked, uncovered, his breathing slow and easy as he slept, his body spent. She had often thought of him like this, imagined what it would have been like in the desert under the canopy of a million stars. If only he'd stayed, if he'd made love to her instead of running away, how different their lives could have been. If he had stayed, perhaps she wouldn't live with the hole that had carved its way into her heart, the aching pain and shame of knowing that people knew what she was, what she had been, the favorite courtesan of a once powerful king.

  He shifted and the bangles that still clung to the bedposts rattled against the wood, and the knot in her chest tightened. She thought the tears would come; they always did when she saw the shackles, but oddly enough they didn't. Instead, the old memories were dulled by the sound of cracking wood and moans as Karim pulled against them, trying to touch her. He'd begged for release, but not the way she had begged; no, his begging was from sheer need. He needed her to touch him, to prolong the delicious agony, and she had been more than happy to oblige.

  Well damn, she thought, he'd been right. The pain was still there, it always would be, only now it was muted. She stared at Karim on the bed and wondered if this had finally begun her healing. Seeing him after all of this time had triggered so many emotions that she could no longer bury. She had to face them or she would be angry and broken forever.

  Now if only that damn scar would heal or fade. Anything to stop the consistent throbbing at the base of her skull. The agony had reached its peak when she was making love to Karim, but she'd blocked it, ignoring the pain for the pleasure of being with him. Now it was more annoying than anything else. She rubbed it, and tried to remember something Karim had said when he'd first arrived. She couldn't quite grasp the words, unable to focus on anything at the time but the smell of charred flesh and him nearly dying, to distracted to register what he was rambling about. What had he been saying? Why was she having such a hard time remembering?

  Karim rolled onto his back then, giving her the full view of his toned, muscled body. His skin was smooth, tawny and perfect made, even more beautiful by the intricate tattoo that decorated his right arm and shoulder. She'd tasted that skin, had his scent invade her senses and felt the power of that body moving with her, inside of her. She swallowed hard and smiled to herself. As if he could read her thoughts, his manhood began to wake under her gaze. Oh yeah, she thought, that's the reason.

  She tossed her towel into a hamper; her intention to climb back into bed with Karim quickly died when she heard it. Someone was entering her apartment. She could hear the slow steady hum of the elevator as it rose to her penthouse apartment. Even after she'd locked the elevator and left instructions at the front desk that she was not to be disturbed, someone was coming up.

  "Shit," she grumbled while searching for a pair of shorts or sweats. Someone was going to get fired, she thought as she eased out of the room, carefully closing the guest room door.

  ***

  The elevator door slid open quietly, casting a pale yellow shaft of light across the darkened living room. He stood, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the absolute darkness that shrouded the room. He sighed, realizing that he didn't even have the moonlight to guide his steps.

  He toed the table just to the right of the elevator, his fingers moving over the smooth surface before clinging to the wall in search of a light switch. He eased along the wall, taking short close steps, being careful of her artwork and collected knick knacks. That was why it was no surprise when he tripped on the three short steps that led down into the living room. He went heels over ass down the stairs, cussing like a sailor finally landing with a heavy thud on her living room rug.

  The room illuminated in a soft pale glow and he turned to find Celeste standing over him, her arms folded across her chest, her bare foot tapping the floor. Nicky looked up at her and groaned, rolling onto his hands and knees.

  "What are you doing here? I locked the elevator and told the front desk not to let anyone up," she growled through clenched teeth. "Why are you creeping around in the dark?"

  "Why do you have the curtains drawn? It's like a fucking cave in here. And I have a key, remember? I came up through the garage, never saw the front des
k." He rubbed the back of his head, struggled to his feet and faced her. "I came to get my phone and my wallet. Did you barbecue?" He began moving across the living room to the guest room. "I have a flight to New York in two hours and I called you like twenty times. I have a car and the band waiting for me."

  "Nicky. Wait," She didn't have a chance to react before he threw the door open and went into the candlelit room.

  Nicky finally emerged and she audibly exhaled. He looked at her, unable to speak. There was a knot in his stomach, a growing black knot that twisted and made him feel as if he were going to be ill. With one hand, he gingerly closed the door, as if he were afraid to wake the man he had discovered there. No, not a man, he thought, an immortal vampire. He felt his eyes sting and his heart felt as if it were going to shatter if he didn't get out of this place right now.

  "Found 'em," he said and headed to the elevator, his eyes never meeting hers. "I have to go." He breezed past her, unable to stomach looking at her.

  "Is that it?" She swallowed, her voice tight and higher pitched than normal. He paused, his eyes on the leather wallet in his palm. His voice was low and measured as he chose each word carefully, methodically.

  "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to ask if he used all of those toys on you or if they were just used on him?" He turned his eyes to her, his expression as closed as his mind was to her at that moment. Her arms were folded across her chest, the t-shirt she wore brushing thick muscled thighs. Her hair was mussed, her cheeks rosy, her lips kiss bruised. She smelled as she always did of vanilla and lavender and she looked amazing. It struck him that she would never be this way because of him. She would never wear his clothes after hours of lovemaking. He would never hear her call out his name in the throes of an orgasm. He alone had been there through the nightmares and the sobbing fits, the anger and the sleepless nights, yet she had chosen another to bed and his anger flared.

  "Do you want me to ask if you enjoyed whipping and beating him? Did it make you want him more to know that he allowed you to restrain him with the same shackles that kept you a slave? Or did you want me to say that I understand or congratulate you on your conquest? Would you like to me cheer you on and give you a high five for fucking the man, no vamp, must get my terminology correct, that abandoned you in the desert and left you in the hands of not one but two mad men who used you like their own personal fuck doll?" With each word, she moved away from him.

  "I never imagined that you would actually … I never believed… he's wearing my fucking clothes, Celeste. Did it take him this long to realize that he loves you? That he had made the worst mistake ever known to man when he walked away from you? It took this long for the guilt to finally get to him for selling you?"

  "He didn't sell me, Nick," She started when he yelled at her, her mouth snapping shut.

  "He left you and never thought to ask about you again! He didn't even make sure you made it to wherever the fuck you were going. And now he comes back like nothing happened and you let him. Why did it take him centuries to even realize that he had to see you? That he needed you? Wanted you? Because it only took me a minute. A fucking minute and I knew that I loved you and I never wanted to be apart from you. Only a second and I knew ..." He raked his hands angrily through blond spikes, his face contorting as he raced through emotions and tried to contain himself. "I can't do this," he finally said, shaking his head. "I can't do this anymore. I have to go."

  "Do what?" She clutched her arms, hugging herself trying to warm her suddenly frigid blood.

  "This! I can't be your back up guy or your eunuch or human pet, whatever you think I am. I can't do this anymore. I always knew. When I first saw you, I knew that I would never be enough. When I found out what you were, I made myself into something extraordinary... for you. I made myself into a superstar in hopes that you would think I was worthy enough. I have turned my life inside out in hopes that one day you would look at me, actually look at me and know.... but you didn't or you won't and you never will. You will never ever see me, Ce." He grasped her face in his hands, and touched his forehead to hers, closing his eyes as he breathed. "You will never see me and it kills me every single minute of every fucking day." He kissed her cheek before releasing her and turning to leave.

  "Nicky, wait!" He ignored her, not wanting to look at her, allowing her to see the tears that coated his cheeks. Instead he placed his keys on a table just as the elevator door slid open.

  "Good-bye, Celeste." He stepped into the elevator car, keeping his back to her and spoke no more as the door closed, blocking her plaintive cries.

  ***

  She felt panicked as the doors closed on him. The center of her world, the most stable force in her life for the last six years just walked out on her and she crumbled. Nicky didn't understand that he was her everything, he was her base, her humanity, her conscience and he held a place in her heart that no one else could touch. Nicholas Skylar Novachek was the center of her universe and he'd just walked away from her. She couldn't breathe, her chest hurt and she felt as if she would pass out, instead sliding to the floor, her body shaking. That was where Karim found her when he finally entered the room. He knelt beside her, wrapping his arms around her as she cried. He stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth, whispering sweet things to her in his native tongue until she calmed, her sobs becoming a hiccup, then nothing.

  "When I never arrived, why didn't she send you back? Why didn't Nyx send you back for me?" She asked after what felt like forever, and Karim's heart dropped.

  "That is a question I cannot answer. That is something only Nyx can explain," he said.

  ***

  She knew exactly when her grandmother arrived in her apartment even before she smelled the overpowering scent of jasmine that announced Nyx's presence. She knew because time had stopped, there was no hum from the appliances or sounds from the city outside. She lay on the sofa, her face buried beneath a pillow as she waited for Nyx to make an appearance. It had taken longer than she expected; Nyx usually appeared within seconds of Celeste's summons.

  "You have a helluva lot of explaining to do, Nyx," Celeste said, without lifting her head.

  "Okay," Nyx breathed, sitting on the sofa opposite Celeste, who'd managed to change into jeans and a well-worn t-shirt. "What have I done now?" She sighed, her tone teasing as it always was when she spoke with Celeste.

  Celeste turned her head so she could face her grandmother, her face swollen, eyes rimmed red from her tears. She sat up slowly, her hair brushed away from her face in a ponytail, her blue eyes a shade of navy that would have been beautiful had it not been so frightening.

  "Why didn't you send Karim back to search for me when I didn't arrive? Why did you wait so long before you searched Tartarus? Why did you leave me to rot in hell when you knew he could find me?"

  "I did search. Your father and I," she stammered.

  "Try again," Celeste snapped. "And this time try the truth."

  "What did he say to you?" Nyx growled. "I will skin him-"

  "Him? Him who? My father perhaps? Oh, you mean Karim. He hasn't told me anything other than he never knew I hadn't reached my destination. He believed that the merchant and his wife had delivered me safely. He had no idea that I never arrived because you never told him. So what happened? Let me guess, the Moirai had something to do with it? And my mother? Was there some curse placed upon me? I mean a new one, other than the blood drinking and touch of lust, because those I know about. I mean the lust thing took some getting used to, but it helped out when I was the King's favorite fuck toy." Nyx visibly tensed at her coarse term. Celeste sighed and rubbed her eyes, exhaling as exhaustion crept up on her. "Just tell me," she said.

  "Tell her Nyx. After what you've done, you owe her at least that much." Karim's voice came from behind her. Nyx, who started, rose to her feet.

  For a while, Celeste had forgotten he was there. But now, with his thick hair in disarray and his eyes narrowed in what she could only assume was anger, he waited. She'd
never seen him angry, not really. She'd seen frustration and sadness, and of course his ever cocky grin, but this was a new Karim. His eyes had gone deep hunter green and he was standing as if he were prepared for battle. This was not her Karim. This was Karim vampire Prince of Tyre, one of the Seven.

  "You have done enough," Nyx spat, lifting her hand as if she were going to do ... something. What, Celeste couldn't imagine, but she knew her grandmother wanted him to remain quiet. That piqued her interest even more.

  "What I've done? What about what you've done? You let her believe that I sold her. As if I could or would ever-tell her why you didn't send me back, Nyx." Celeste watched Nyx and Karim, the way Nyx tensed at his taunting.

  “Do you know why Karim?” Celeste asked and he nodded, his eyes still on Nyx’s pinched angry face. “Then tell me.” Celeste said, her eyes on Karim who lifted a brow in challenge.

  “I can’t, can I Nyx?” He spoke simply, but Celeste understood immediately. He couldn’t because Nyx had ordered him no to, he was one of the Seven and he had to obey her orders.

  "I warned you, vampire," Nyx said, her eyes a deep gunmetal, her teeth clenched tight. Celeste watched as Nyx's delicate fangs cut into her lip and a drop of blood formed on her bottom lip. She didn't even seem to notice, she was just that angry. Tiny sparks of energy traveled between her fingers, a dark gray of cloud forming in her hands as she prepared to strike him down.

  "There is nothing else you can do to hurt me. Besides, no magic can touch me, isn't that right Nyx? Not even yours." He put an arm around Celeste's waist, holding her close.

  "I don't need magic to kill you," she snarled. "I can destroy you with my bare hands."

  "Now, I think it's time you tell her the whole truth for once." He snapped his gaze locking onto Nyx as the two waged a silent battle of wills. "Tell her, Nyx," he said in a lower, more dangerous tone.