Underworld Queen

by Sharon Hamilton

  “Love? This is your former dark angel boyfriend.” He laughed as Doris squawked on the other end of the line. “No, I can picture it, but sorry darlin’ we never had that chance.” He cleared his throat again and rolled his shoulder. “I need you to get here as soon as you can. Your audience is requested.” He listened again to something she was telling him.

  Jonas couldn’t tell what was being said, his heart was stuck in his throat.

  “Jonas. Audray’s Jonas. He’s right here in my living room.”

  Josh listened.

  “She’s in the Underworld, babe. Held hostage.”

  Jonas could hear the squawking echoing throughout the living room. Judy disappeared with a sigh. Josh squinted and scratched his scalp.

  “Babe. Look. Maybe this will change your mind. Audray is pregnant.” Barely two seconds went by before Josh closed the phone and nodded. “Well, Jonas, you got your audience. She’ll be here in an hour.”

  “Thanks. Look, I’ll step outside and wait in the car.”

  “Not necessary,” Josh said.

  “But it’s respectful. And that’s what I want to be. Respectful. And thankful.” Jonas shuffled through the living room, the kitchen and out the screened porch to the driveway. The wind blew, giving him the chills. He saw faces in the greenery that bordered Josh’s rear yard, as if ghosts of dark angels and lost souls hung out around his house still, hoping for a second chance like Josh got. He figured it was his imagination.

  True to Josh’s word, Doris parked her cab right behind the Hummer. Her door squeaked as she extricated herself from behind the wheel. She stood before him after removing her cabbie cap to scrunch up her hair, which was flaming red, looking like Halloween straw in a candy corn basket of goodies. She replaced the cap. The deep brim cast shadows over her dark eyes. They were overly made up, her nail polish chipped but bright red, like the other times he’d seen her. He expected her to be angry with him, and he braced for some kind of blow. But her forehead was lined with folds that told him she was worried.

  He started to say something, and she put her forefinger up to her mouth and summoned him inside.

  They heard music echoing up the two-story living room, a light harp music with occasional accompaniment. The bedroom door upstairs was closed. Jonas saw Doris had made a note of it as well. She shrugged and gave him a smirk. “Everyone down here complains how fast things change. They don’t really change at all down here. They never change in Heaven, either. I mean, day by day the same drama, the same bliss, the same orders and rescind of orders. Just like when I was in the military.”

  “I thought you had some training, with that flamethrower you carry in your transport.”

  “Oh that? I got an RPG now. Father doesn’t know.” She hit her forehead. “What the fuck am I talkin’ about? He knows everything.” She put her palms together and looked to the ceiling. “Sorry, old man, just couldn’t help myself.” She dropped her hands and chuckled. “I take certain liberties, as you’ve seen before. And here I am making fun of things, when the fate of the world hangs in the balance.”

  “Which is a change,” Jonas whispered.

  “NOT. HARDLY. It’s always at stake. And somehow it always works out. So that’s why I stay on the side with Father. Somehow it works out up there. Oh yeah, there are a lot of tears, hand wringing. You guys don’t see the half of it!”

  Jonas wished he had more time to spend with the little feisty cabbie Guardian angel.

  “These girls are the most emotional beings in the universe. Falling in and out of love, trying to be perfect, gossiping, looking for eye candy in a world that restricts that. You’d think he’d learn. Only human nature, and these angels take with them some of their humanness, though The Wash strips it out. But it doesn’t strip out everything.”

  “Okay, so did you know Audray and Claire were sisters?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “You never told Claire?”

  “Wasn’t allowed. Not that that is the big stopper for me. What good would it have done? Would have just messed up everything, or at least made things more complicated for her and Daniel.”

  Jonas must have looked puzzled.

  “Figure it out, Jonas. Audray was Daniel’s girlfriend before he met Claire. Claire is now his wife. Daniel got to sleep with both of them?”

  “Oh.”

  “Look, I’m sorry if this is a needle in your gut.”

  “No. You’re right.”

  “So can you imagine the family gatherings they’ll have?” She tossed her head back and laughed so loud her cabbie hat fell off.

  “You haven’t seen mine.” He was thinking of the Court and the women he had bedded there. “We both have a past.”

  “I’m thinkin’ it was Father’s plan all along. There really aren’t any accidents, Jonas. Or are you just figuring that out?”

  The upper bedroom door opened and Josh stood with his shirttails out barefoot, in jeans. “Hey there, sexy!” he called down to Doris.

  Doris took a sniff of the air. “I smell forbidden love.”

  “Not!” Josh said as he danced down the stairway. “Wonderful to see you, dear.”

  They embraced, Josh kissing her on both cheeks, but Doris stepped back afterward, keeping her distance from the former dark angel “So, what’s the plan?”

  Jonas took his palms from his front pockets. “Audray wants to abandon the Directorship.”

  “The throne,” Josh corrected.

  Doris’ face puckered and she spewed, “What the hell has gotten into all of you? You think Father is going to insert himself in this fray? Audray made her bed.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Jonas. “Now she can lie in it.”

  “But the baby? The baby is innocent! You going to sacrifice the child?”

  Doris sighed and sat down. With her elbows on her knees, slightly leaning forward, she angled her head and said, almost as if it caused her pain, “He hates that.”

  “Audray’s body is changing. We’ve consulted some—” He wasn’t sure he should tell her about the visit to the witch’s cottage. “Some have told us she will die, and perhaps the baby too. We need information. We want to know so we can plan.”

  “We need a fuckin’ miracle, is what we need,” Josh muttered. “And I need another drink.” He poured himself another tumbler and took a seat on the arm of the couch Doris sat on.

  Jonas paced back and forth while scrubbing the back of his neck with his fingers.

  “Doris, sweetheart, what do you think?” Josh asked in his most charming voice.

  “Well, let me ask this. Jonas, what does Audray want?”

  “To raise our child. To just live. To get to know her sister as her sister. We’re done with things down there.”

  Doris was thoughtful.

  “What aren’t you telling us, Doris?”

  She smiled. “I’m on your side, Jonas. I was always on Claire’s side too, but then I had a better reason. I’d like her to get to know her sister as her sister. Yes, I would.”

  “What is it, then?” Josh knelt in front of the little cabbie.

  “I can’t, guys. But just know I’m on your side. I’d better get out of here and deliver the message.” She bypassed Josh after gripping his shoulder, righted herself and walked toward the kitchen for the back porch door. “You lay low for awhile, if you can. Be safe. I’ll see what I can do. In the end, it isn’t up to me. But be smart. Make worthy decisions.” She began to exit to the porch and then turned and addressed Josh, “And Josh, stay away from dark angels and their glamour for a few days. It’s coloring your judgment and making you drink too much.”

  Chapter 32

  Jonas found the coffee shop downtown and spotted Glenda immediately. His experience was nil when it came to witches, but he’d met his share of crafty, powerful women and she fit the bill right down to the deep burgundy low-cut dress worn to distract him. She might have been his type years ago. About two hundred years ago. He thought it odd that women underestimated a true man’s self
control. Not everything was animal instinct. Some women were just evil, and she was certainly one of those.

  She rose, obviously pleased with herself for having snagged his attention. He focused on her eyes, remembering what Josh said, that he wasn’t in danger. He could try to glamour her, but she probably had resources for that, so he played it straight.

  “Let’s get this over with and then you can stop preying on my friends.”

  “Ah, the professor and his woman. How nice. You are a true hero, just like your biography says.”

  “Fuck my biography. Can we just cut to the chase?”

  “Please.” She motioned to the highbacked chairs. They sat with a table between them. She had a mug with a teabag hanging down the side. “What would you like to drink?”

  “I’d like a taste of my own freedom if you don’t mind. Let’s just get to the point. I am running out of time.”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that.” She sipped her tea, not taking her eyes off him. “I’m sorry to say you have a paramour, but then, we wouldn’t be talking today if you and Audray weren’t a couple.”

  Jonas shrugged, getting impatient. He watched the street. He felt his control waning, and it wasn’t coming from her powers. He was literally running out of time faster than he liked. He had not heard from Audray for several hours.

  “Jonas, I might be in a position to help you.”

  That got his attention. He stared at the woman who seemed to enjoy his surprise.

  “I’ve made an alliance with your great granddaughter. I’m sure by now you’ve figured that out.”

  “I suspected.”

  “I had to do certain things—things I wasn’t happy doing. But I did them because I was directed to get you and Audray down to the Underworld so you could have a meeting with her.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “And it worked. But, I’m not stupid and I understand the woman is desperate to get her hands on the Directorship. However, I don’t think it will stop there. She’s asked for my support in taking control of the human world. I’m not sure this is a good plan. Or perhaps, there is still a little suspicion in my dark soul that this might cause some action on higher levels.” She pointed to the ceiling.

  “You mean the balance.”

  “Yes. She wants more than I think she’ll get, ultimately.”

  “And if you fail to help her get that, she’ll turn on you.”

  “Exactly. And she is more powerful than I.”

  Jonas nodded, examining his fingernails. Dare he begin to hope that perhaps one of his enemies could become an ally? He’d seen his share of double-crosses, so he held himself back from too much hope.

  “As are you, Jonas,” she continued.

  “You know I do not have the vaporization skill she has.”

  “I have seen her winged creatures. Frightening. Hard to miss. Stirs up too much attention in the human world, and that is why I think she’ll fail.”

  He didn’t want to show his pleasure with this comment, but it was impossible to mask. “Really? You think she will fail?”

  “Maybe not fail, perhaps bridled? Clipped? Let’s just say I don’t think she’ll be able to deliver on her promises. I don’t want the power. I want the protection.”

  “Then stop making alliances with the wrong people.”

  “I didn’t even know about you until Catarina contacted me.” She looked down at her burgundy fingernails. “I did a little research, and what I found was, well, interesting. So I dug deeper and that’s when I found out who you really were.”

  “So why am I here?”

  “I am in need of protection.”

  “I protect those worthy of protection.”

  “Is the safety of your lover and your baby enough for you? Or would you suggest something more worthy?”

  That hit Jonas in the gut. “How can you guarantee she’ll be protected?”

  “I can’t. You know that. But when the time comes, perhaps I can be another ally.”

  Chapter 33

  Carl had taken Jonas’ warning to heart and wandered into a gun shop, hoping to purchase something for protection. He was informed of the waiting period.

  We could all be dead by then.

  Suddenly, he received an urgent message from Molly. They’ve come for me. Stay away.

  There was no way Carl was going to do this.

  When he arrived at the glass and metal structure built into the tall pine trees, he realized he’d been too late. Carl sprang from his car and dashed towards the doors to the library, which had been blown off. Crystals of shattered glass littered the lawn in front, as well as the cars and blacktop in the nearby parking lot. He could hear sirens wailing in the distance.

  Carl’s stomach contents almost erupted as he found blood spatter over the front desk, over the floor where people had run, slipped and fallen in pools of it. Several young bodies lay at unnatural angles on the cool granite tile. On his way to the reference desk he was already murmuring, “No! No!”

  The place seemed vacant. Then Carl heard a message playing to his ears and his ears only. Get Granny, Molly’s faint voice told him. I’ll be okay for now, but get Granny.

  Where are you, sweetheart?

  Get out. Something’s coming. Get out and get Granny.

  Carl looked into the small wired window to the vacuum sealed and temperature controlled stacks room and saw a smudge of blood on the inside.

  The door was shut, which meant it was locked. Several large gouges like those made with an axe were embedded in the wall and the door itself, but the lock had held. He could see they had gone for something stronger, and they’d be back to finish the job.

  Through the wired window he saw her. She ran to him, tears streaming down her face. “Tell me how I can open this,” he shouted.

  “You can’t. You must go get Granny.”

  He looked at her hand, which appeared to be bleeding. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Yes. Go, Carl. I don’t want you here when they come back.”

  “I don’t want to leave you alone!”

  Prefer you leave me alone. Safer. Go!!! Her telepathic message screamed in his ears.

  Carl ran toward the stairwell to the staff exit. On the wall by the exit sign he saw a fire safety box with its glass shattered and contents splayed over the floor, including a fire extinguisher. He burst through the metal doors and flew downstairs, past the small coffee shop that was now abandoned, chairs overturned in what proved to be an obstacle course. Carl pushed on the metal bar to the door outside. The whoosh of warm fresh air filled the room as he tasted the possibility of freedom.

  Making a long arc around a mound of grass and trees in a park-like sitting area, he doubled back to the parking lot and jumped into his car. Checking his rearview mirror, he didn’t think he was followed, but couldn’t say for sure.

  Carl wondered if he should have checked the sky. Since this was a powerful black witch they were dealing with, did that mean she traveled by broom?

  He knew exactly what direction he was headed, but wasn’t completely sure how to get there.

  Or if he’d be in time.

  Chapter 34

  Audray was awakened by sounds in the bedroom Catarina had banished her to. Fearing at first that someone had broken through the security to do her or the baby harm, she was surprised to see Rupert bent over and obviously trying to carefully tip toe toward her outstretched body on the bed.

  “Shh. Audray. We don’t have much time,” he whispered.

  “What’s going on, Rupert?”

  “I’m getting you out of here. We’re going up top, where we think you’ll be safer.”

  “What about Catarina?”

  “She’s newly created, Audray. Not sure if you remember your first days—”

  “Who could forget them?” she whispered back. Her need for sexual conquest was off the charts and made it difficult to concentrate as a newly created dark angel in the Underworld. She rose and began to bunch pillows under the coverl
ets to make it look like she was still asleep. “So what’s happened?”

  “I plied her with some Sexual Apricot. A lot of it, by the way.” He grimaced. “She’s still learning about moderation. It got her so wound up, she passed out at Helena’s. One of my men just brought me the news.”

  Audray wondered if it mattered to Rupert that his newly created dark angel wife probably had an appetite for anyone willing to have sex with her and wasn’t going to be very discreet about it. “Are you okay with this?” She wanted to be reassured he was a true ally.

  “Does it look like I have a choice?”

  Rupert’s breathing was labored. He was distracted and Audray could tell he was paralyzed with fear. This didn’t make him an ally. She knew he’d run as soon as he had a ghost of a chance at survival. Audray knew they were running out of time, and knew he’d never stay for the fight. “How long will she be out?”

  “Not long.” With a moan, he added, “I imagine she’ll wake and look for someone to burn over it.” He pointed to his chest. “And I plan to be up top hoping to disappear or get a second chance.”

  “You get me out of here, and we’ll do all we can. I can promise you that.” She hoped the reassurance would ease his nerves enough to help him concentrate on the plan he’d devised.

  He had brought a bright red cloak, which wasn’t inconspicuous but was one of Catarina’s, and if Audray was covered from head to toe the population would probably think it was the evil woman herself. Audray knew Catarina’s cruelty had already begun to create rumors.

  The stone streets were wet with the smell of Red-X and other exotic spices, as well as a healthy dose of human fluids of all kinds. Audray’s nose began to twitch and she felt a sneeze come on, which wouldn’t have been wise. She held her nose and huddled into the cloak as they scurried up the steps to the transport. Sounds of equipped men behind her at first worried her, but then she saw Rupert give them hand signals as they scattered out and created cover to the sides and behind them while a couple of Jonas’ men scouted out front.