Ze stared at Dunham’s hand. Crap, how was he supposed to shake this dude’s hand and not relive his last fifty years in one second? Fuck! He had no choice. This codger was real old school. You shook a man’s hand when you met him, that was just how things were done. He felt Sera tense against him. She knew what he was about to face. By Hades, he hoped he could brush it off as being light-headed or some other girly shit like that.
“Ze Aidoneus. Pleased to meet you.”
Reaching out, he slid his hand into the human’s, feeling Sera pressing hard against him. He fought against the rushing flow of past events. A river of information poured into his brain, choking him, and threatening to drown him under the swift current. Phillip withdrew his hand, and Ze managed to prevent himself from crumpling to the ground like a pansy. Sucking in a breath, he smiled through the throbbing pain now assaulting his brain. The human narrowed his eyes. Yes, he was a sharp one, and he would need to be watched.
“Aidoneus? That foreign?”
“Yes.” Ze’s voice was strained as he forced his mind to obey him and not focus on the new memories which had taken root in his head.
“It’s Greek.” He was so not telling him it meant ‘of Hades.'
Phillip narrowed his eyes as he studied each man, then he sighed. He seemed placated for the moment. His attention directed toward the other men present as each of Ze’s brothers walked forward to introduce themselves. Sera turned and pressed her hands against his chest.
Ze could feel his knees giving out, but the little pixie had some strength to her. She kept her body close to his until the spinning stopped and he could think straight. With a tired smile, he brushed his thumb against her cheek. “Now I see why you didn’t like touching anyone. What a rush.” Damn, his legs were about to give way.
“It was never just the rush and confusion. His past will remain with you forever. It becomes a part of you. His memories, his life, his loves, losses. Everything. It is now as much a part of you as it is him.” Sera watched as Lucifer led the old man and his posse toward the house to explain his plan of rebuilding.
Gently she helped Ze to a sitting position on the grass. He groaned a little, wishing his head would stop spinning. Sera sat beside him. He felt her warmth, and a smile spread across his lips. Closing his eyes, he frowned, shook his head, and frowned again.
“It’s like watching an old movie, but it’s not all complete. Bits are missing.” Ze opened his eyes and turned toward her. His little pixie worried on her bottom lip, her fingers pulling at her shirt.
He sat up with a smile, touching her chin, tilting her head back. Given the way she jumped at his touch, he would have to remember to move gently with her. The little sound of shock was muffled as his lips covered hers. He kissed her slowly, leisurely, seeking entry into her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands slipped down her lower back, pulling her until she straddled his lap. He was fast learning what made her gasp, how she liked to be kissed. Just kiss her enough that she wanted more, and she came to him, a willing sacrifice. On second thought, screw that. With her wriggling on his lap, he wasn’t sure who had captured whom.
With a soft moan, she ran her fingers deep into his silver hair. He felt the sensation right down his back, his hands pressing and kneading her body. He nipped at her lips, bringing a soft whimper from her mouth. God damn, why were they not in a bed and alone? Preferably for a week.
The little pixie had the gall to wiggle on his lap, sending heat straight to his balls. She rocked against his cock, driving him crazy with the friction. He was quickly forgetting why he wanted a bed. He needed to be inside her, needed to feel her tight, wet sheath around him. He took command of the kiss, his tongue delving deep, making her tremble.
The sound of a throat being cleared had the demon growling low. Phillip stood there, eyes narrowed on the demon like some father who’d just caught his little girl necking in the front of some dude’s car. She didn’t even look contrite, she just gave the old man a wide smile and climbed off Ze’s lap. Damn woman was going to cause him damage at this rate.
One hour without her powers and she was turning into an exhibitionist. But he liked it. He watched with a grin as she walked over to the old man and slid her arm through his. The old fox looked surprised as she led him away.
Phillip had known Sera for almost two years. In that whole time, he had only seen her once without her gloves, and that had been an accident. Now she was coatless, gloveless, and put her arm through his. He had watching her kissing that silver-haired biker and found himself wondering if somewhere on the farm there was an alien pod that held the real Sera, and this alien has assumed her identity.
“Sera, I know you said they were friends. But if they’re holding you in some way, you make sure to let me know. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Sera stopped and smiled at him. “Phillip, I really am okay. I promise. Ze is a bit intense, but he saved my life tonight. These other men are his family. They’re going to help me rebuild. Thank you, though. It warms me to know you care so much.” As they walked, Sera had been pulling Phillip with her, now stopping before his truck.
“I see you as a daughter, Sera. I don’t want you hurt. Men like him don’t settle down with nice girls. Men like him have darkness inside, hidden away. I just don’t want him running off on you the next time he gets wanderlust. Men like him have dark pasts; they’ve done things. Things you can’t even imagine.” Phillip knew he sounded very old world, but he knew something about those hidden darker parts of a man’s soul. More than anyone would ever know.
He watched as she turned her eyes to the biker. The wistful look she gave him told him all he needed to know. He wasn’t going anywhere. Grumbling, he cast his eyes from the man now lying back on the grass to the four others he claimed were his brothers. Looked like the town had some new additions, some he was not happy about.
Sera turned her eyes back to him, a smile on her lips. She seemed happy. He hated to admit it, but this was the first time he had actually seen her happy since she’d arrived in Battle Creek.
“And when he does, I will wander with him. I always wanted to see the world. Besides, we all have darkness in us, Phillip. Trust me, I know better than anyone.”
Phillip grumbled some more. Nope, that biker thug wasn’t going to leave, and if he did, he wasn’t going to leave alone. “Look, Sera. You call us if you have any trouble. You call me. Understand? For anything.” The old man looked back at the others. “Tell those boys they can come to the store and get whatever they need to help you rebuild. I will have Jack see about getting his dozer out here. We won’t leave you homeless, Sera. We look after our own in this town.”
He nodded to his buddies, and they all headed toward the truck. He turned once more to Sera, still not liking the idea of leaving her alone with these men. He hated to admit it, but this was the most life he had ever seen shining in her green eyes. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. He climbed into his truck and started the engine. She placed her little hands on the doorframe.
He gripped the wheel and turned to face her. “Remember, Sera. Anything at all, you come to me, understand? I might look like an old coot, but I have some strength left in me. More than you might think. Promise me?” His eyes locked on hers, and she nodded. He pulled away, watching in his rearview mirror as she gave him a little wave, then wrapped her arms around her chest. Damn it all to hell, why did this have to happen now? In his town? He was too old and too tired for this crap. Well, nothing he could do about it now. Looked like it was time to shake off the cobwebs. He wouldn’t leave her alone with those men.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Ze didn’t dream. Most demons didn’t, not unless they possessed some Dream-Walker blood in their veins. It ensured demons didn’t think too far away from their lives as servants to Hades. So finding himself standing on a grassy knoll with the wind blowing around him was more than a little disturbing. His gaze to the sky, he watched the puffy white clouds moving like great beasts, dan
cing and chasing each other through the pristine sky.
This would officially be going into his craziest moments book. His eyes fell on the round Parthenon-style building at the top of the knoll. With a shrug, he trudged up the hill, stopping at the door.
Inside he could hear a soft humming, a voice like raindrops, sweet and cooling to hear. He lifted his hand and knocked on the door. Might as well find out what was going on here. There was an excited noise from behind the door, and the sound of something being dropped before the door was pulled open and a woman even smaller than Sera appeared. Her hair was black as pitch, her eyes golden and shimmering. Her smile, however, dropped the second she saw him, a frown marring her beautiful face.
“I’m not sure you should be here, demon. In fact, I am pretty sure it is forbidden.” That voice shimmered over his skin. Ze gave her a smile with a little bow.
“I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed here either if here is where I think it is. So that begs the question, how did I end up in the Elysium Fields?” He was also pretty sure he hadn’t died in the last twenty minutes, and hell, even if he had, demons did not go to the literal version of Heaven.
Her frown grew, but she reached out, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into her home with a quick glance out the door—most likely to make sure he hadn’t been followed. Ze had no doubt she had been expecting a small pixie with flaming hair and green eyes. The little woman turned to regard him, looking him over like he was intruding on her personal space, and shooed him toward a chair.
“You are Beelzebub, correct? Sin of Envy?” She made a show of busying herself but kept throwing glances in the direction of the door. Of course. The Guardians of Elysium were the heroes of old who protected this sacred place from intruders. If they found him here, they might be able to separate this form of his conscious mind from his body. He figured that would not bode well for his physical form back on Earth.
“Yes, that would be me. Please call me Ze. And you’re Ilianna if I’m not mistaken? The first Seer and mother to Cassandra, the Oracle of Delphi.” Ze sat on a small chair that didn’t appear able to hold his weight.
“Yes, yes that would be me,” the woman huffed at him. “Glad you know your history, demon. So again, why are you here? Where is the Seer of Hindsight?”
Ze raised his brows at the woman. She was a fierce little thing—no wonder Michael had been so taken with her when she’d been alive—but he wasn’t sure he deserved the terse tone she was throwing his way. It wasn’t his fault he’d ended up here. He shook his head and lifted his hands in defense, determined not to let her brash attitude get to him.
“I think you’re looking at him.”
The droll stare she gave him showed she didn’t find it amusing. “That is impossible. No male can possess the powers of a Seer. Only females can. So speak before I flay you where you sit.”
He wasn’t sure she could actually flay him, but he wasn’t taking the chance. “Honestly, Seer, I’m not joking. Something unprecedented has occurred. Please humor me and let me explain.”
The Oracle scoffed but moved to an overstuffed chair across from him. She sat primly on the edge, her back straight, hands in her lap. “This better be good, demon, or you are barbecue.”
Ze explained what happened, speaking rapidly, making sure to have all the facts, even the death of Jophiel and the now-black angel blade. He left out the part about kissing the little Seer and making her shatter at his touch. She stared at him, her face conveying her thoughts, which were mostly likely along the lines of, “This has to be a joke.”
“There is no possible way in creation this could happen. Seer gifts do not move from one woman to another, let alone a woman to man—demon.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, dismissing his version of events as a lie. Ze gaped at her until she began to fidget on her chair. Huffing in apparent disbelief, she reached out and grabbed his hand, immediately sucking in a gasp.
Whimpering, Ilianna screwed her eyes closed. Ze knew what she was doing and sat as still as he could while she read past events. He was a little miffed she didn’t just take his word for it, but he was insisting that something impossible had happened. No wonder she was skeptical. He was a little surprised that he didn’t receive any visions from her in return. They were touching skin on skin—maybe it was because she was a spirit?
She dropped his hand quickly, then looked him over before swearing in Greek and getting to her feet. Her long white dressed dragged across the floor as she placed her hand over her heart.
“This is… It can’t be. I didn’t see this. No future I have seen shows anyone but Sera having the gift of Hindsight.” Her voice sounded more than worried.
“If it’s any consolation, Seer, she has my power of Sin-eating. Though she has yet to experience it full-on. I worry if she ever has to. It’s a difficult burden to bear.” Ze watched the small woman. If she didn’t know of a way to fix it, then he doubted anyone short of Cronos would know.
She turned to regard him. “Now I understand why you are here. I summoned the carrier of the gift of Hindsight. Only one person possesses it. Therefore only one should arrive. Of course, I expected Sera. I could never have foreseen this.” Ze watched her moving back to her seat. She relaxed this time. He knew, given the gravity of this situation, that something had to be done. Sera had to get her power back.
“Forgive me for not believing you, demon. I have never heard of such a thing before. Explain to me again how this happened. Just the part where you killed Jophiel.”
“Sera had the angel blade up. Jophiel was already barreling toward her. I took the opportunity to throw him off balance and tackled him from behind. The blade went right through him and into me. I thought I was dead. I felt Death’s cold fingers at my neck. Ticket punched. I did die, I know I did. But then a green glow shimmered along the edge of the blade, and it exploded into light. That light sank into my skin, into Sera’s, then I was healed—alive. That’s it.”
She stood again, no doubt as on edge about this whole power-swapping thing as he was. She began to pace back and forth.
“So the death of an angel and the near death of a demon. The release of the bound soul from the blade. All it needed was blood, and it possessed the ability to create a magic spell that could potentially destroy the world, or make a new one.”
Ze opened his mouth and closed it again. That cut on Sera’s hand—the one he had kissed earlier. He frowned. Could she have cut her hand on the blade before she impaled Jophiel? He sat forward on the chair. “If you add Seer blood into the mix, with her desire to see one of the pair live, what could happen?”
Ilianna waved her hand absently. “She could potentially have anything she desired granted to her…” She whirled around, her golden eyes wide.
“That could include saving a demon from an angelic blade. Removing her powers so she could touch him without pain.” She sank onto her chair, her hand over her heart again. “If the spell moved the powers one way once, it will not be inclined to reserve it.”
“So why did they come to me?”
“Equivalent exchange, demon. You can’t remove something from one person and give it to another without replacing what was taken. So in this case, she wanted her power gone, even subconsciously. She wanted to be able to touch you without the pain and the memories. To do that, the universe swapped your abilities. This way she can touch you, but now you have the power of Hindsight, and clearly you have much better control of it than she does. But then again, you are a child of Hades. It makes sense.”
It did make some crazy sort of sense in his head, but he was not a Seer, and he couldn’t help seal Pandora’s Box. Only a woman could do that…a woman with the powers of a Seer. With a groan, he rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. This was some kind of a mess, wasn’t it?
The Oracle had gone very quiet. Ze lifted his head to find her watching him with interest, her eyes skimming him. He sat up straight, getting the distinct impression that she was sizing him up for someth
ing. Her eyes narrowed, and she nodded. Okay, what was going on in that head of hers? Oracles were well known for meddling in human lives, and he sincerely hoped she wasn’t about to go playing about in non-human lives as well.
She sat back and locked her eyes on his. “Have you ever heard of the Bonding?”
“Bonding? That thing Seers did with their chosen consorts? I thought that was a myth, something you made up to keep multiple suitors away.”
Ilianna blushed and straightened in her chair before clearing her throat. “Kind of. It is a real ritual. When a Seer finds the male she will spend her life with, the one who will give her a daughter to receive her power, they bond their souls together. That way, the male consort will live as long as his Seer. It also prevents too many men from thinking they can just have their way with us. Once bonded, a Seer can never have a child with any other male.”
“So Isabelle and Mammon won’t ever have kids?” He frowned, not liking the sound of that. He wanted his brother and new sister happy, and she desperately wanted children.
“They are different. They do not need a Bonding. When Mammon helped her during her scrying for the other Seers, their souls became one. They are in essence one being, now and forever. It is essentially the same thing. She will have many children, trust me on that.”
“Okay, so if they’re destined to pop out lots of little half-demon babies to drive Lucifer nuts, then why bring up this Bonded thing?”
“You and Sera. You like her, yes?” Ilianna watched him with a critical eye and smiled as he opened his mouth and sputtered a bit. What was this—Blind Date for demons?
“Yes, very much. She is all fire and spunk. She’s got a mouth on her when she gets going, and she hits me. Quite a lot, actually. Maybe I shouldn’t like her so much.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin and imagined her face all red with rage, her eyes flashing with green flame. Yeah, he was falling for this little pixie. He was falling hard.
Envy's Kindness (Seven Deadly Sins Book 2) Page 9