Zen will come. Madison’s telepathy came out of nowhere and staggered him.
Micah jerked his gaze to hers. Such gullibility stunned him. Zennyo Ryuo was his prime suspect for treachery. That their most powerful ally was one of the first to be eliminated was the only evidence he needed to damn the immortal of treason.
Zen will come, she reiterated. I have faith in his promise or I’d never be able to do this.
What promise? And do what?
Madison jerked on his arm and he stumbled off the step—straight into Angelfire. White fire, tinged in blue, boomed around him. Trapped. She trusted the immortal over him. Any other time that reality would’ve smarted.
I wouldn’t have been able to trap you.
“Madison.” He closed his eyes and groaned. Frustrated, he would’ve shaken her for her foolishness if not for the fact that he hadn’t given up hope. Zennyo Ryuo wouldn’t be her benefactor, but Phoenix could still tip the balance in their favor. “Once you step outside the flames, I cannot assist you.”
He glanced at Elias. His brother slowly slumped to his knees inside his ring. Defeat claimed his twin, but Micah hadn’t given up.
“If the fire dies out with me inside it, I’ll die. Same with Elias.”
“I’m sorry.” She peered at him, her eyes pink with her demon. “I couldn’t allow Amos to be harmed further.”
“If they harm him, they have no leverage, kitten.”
Domiel laughed, calling his bluff. Chewing on her bottom lip, Madison studied Micah.
He pulled her against him and pressed his lips against her ear. “Call your dragons. Other than Phoenix, they’re our last hope.”
“Zen—”
“Betrayed you!” At his harshly spoken words, she jerked against him, but elevated her hand to the back of his neck.
Madison tilted her head and met his eyes, her nails pressing against his nape to emphasize her point or her displeasure. “Zen would never betray me. He sent me a mess—”
“Enough chitchat.” Domiel yawned, a forced affectation of boredom because angels weren’t capable of yawning naturally. “Step into the Demon Lock over here, Madison.” He tapped his foot to indicate the spot. “Now. Or I’ll slit the spawn’s throat and end the games.”
“You’re hell-bound for torture, Domiel.” He held his sibling’s stare a long moment before shifting his focus to Zariel. “As are you, along with any of my brethren that would lift arms against my family.”
“Who’s delusional now? You’re trapped.” A cocky smile tilted the angel’s lips. “I’m in control.” He pointed to the Lock visibly drawn into the lawn. “Demon Lock, Madison. Promptly. Or the spawn gets a lot bloodier.”
Don’t you walk into that Lock, Madison.
She kissed the corner of his mouth and then walked out of the Angelfire.
Madison! He yelled telepathically, but her name rebounded in his head. He winced at the sting.
Madison squared her shoulders and tossed her hair over her back. Her fearless bravado pleased him as she walked straight into the Lock, where he felt certain she would die without the assistance of Phoenix and the dragons.
“How could you harm a child?” The hard edge to her voice indicated her affront.
“He’s a monster.”
“A child.” It sounded like she clenched her teeth.
An unconscious Phoenix was dragged into view and dumped on the grass. Holy fuck! They’d eliminated Phoenix from the equation. He hadn’t anticipated that outcome.
Micah glanced at Madison and squelched the fear bullying his optimism. She stared at the Ark of Heaven and paled. Frustration bubbled at the back of his mouth in the form of a scream, but he refused to give his brother the satisfaction of knowing how rattled he was. So he bit his tongue until he tasted blood.
“Funny thing about Arks of Heaven,” Domiel remarked in a singsong tone. The smug bastard. “They think they’re more powerful than they really are.”
Domiel underrated Phoenix’s raw power if he truly believed that. “You jumped him from behind.” If they’d come at him from the front, Domiel wouldn’t be gloating.
His brother shrugged and tossed a bag in the Lock with Madison. “Open it.”
Madison’s jaw hardened and he thought she’d protest. Instead, she bent and retrieved the bag. Silence morphed into a life form all its own. Even the crickets seemed to sense the precarious situation and went mute.
Three prismatic stones tumbled into her hand. They weren’t stones, but rather seeds of destruction called Sterillium.
“Fuck.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Toss them away, Madison. Better yet, blow them to smithereens.”
She met Micah’s eyes as Domiel spoke. “No. She’ll ingest them. One at a time. We will all watch her die. Sloooowly.” He grinned as he dragged out the final word.
I cannot torture this son-of-a-bitch soon enough or long enough to mitigate my wrath.
Sterillium poisoning turned what Hell offered into paradise. The death they planned for her far outweighed any suffering he’d doled out to the souls he collected. This was a death for the morbidly corrupt and he’d only seen Father use them once, before the dawn of mankind.
“She’ll eat them. Or I’ll kill the child.”
“Swear to your father you will not harm Amos if I consume them.” Madison stared straight at his brother, no vacillation in her gaze.
“Don’t even think about ingesting those, Madison.” He couldn’t lose her. Not like this. He swiped his fingers through his hair and paced the small perimeter the fire created. He’d forfeit everything for her, even his plan to breach Heaven’s gates. All his goals paled when faced with the odds of her survival rate, which were nil if she consumed those seeds.
Domiel approached the Demon Lock. Movement in the trees drew Micah’s attention. He hoped like hell it was the dragons. Unbelievable that Kur’s group would be their last line of defense.
“I swear I won’t harm the child.” Domiel circled her magical cage. “I’m impressed, Beliel. I thought you were all brawn with very little intelligence. She’s a masterpiece of creation. Beautiful. Gutsy.” A momentary pause. “And still very dead. Eat.”
Madison popped the first seed as casually as she might a grape. A second later, she went to her hands and knees, dry heaving and crying. Dragons flew from the trees and hit an invisible shield. They didn’t relent, but banged against the magical safeguard, dousing it with icy-fire and scraping it with their claws.
The magic held solid. Thwarting their last line of defense.
He stared at his woman, desiring to ease her suffering, while vowing to kill his brother. After the first round, she lay on her side, curled in a fetal position, trembling and emitting tiny whimpers that broke his heart. Her Lynx eyes dimmed…evidence the Sterillium ebbed her life force.
His hope lagged as Domiel knelt beside her outside the ring. “Take a second one.”
“Li, Madison!” No! Desperate, Micah kicked dirt on the flames. Unsurprised when the soil failed to hinder the fire, he lowered his standards and began to beg. “Domiel, brother, please don’t do this. I beseech you to show some compassion. She’s innocent in this war between Father and me.”
Domiel turned in his crouched position to face him. “You would forfeit your pride to save her life, Beliel? Prove it. Bow before me, your superior. Plead your mercy, but make it good. Your slut’s life depends upon how eloquently you speak.”
Pleading kindness from one in Father’s command offended his dignity, but with Madison’s life on the line, it was a small discomfort to endure.
Without hesitation, he went to his knees. Tears blurred his vision. He resisted knocking them aside. For Madison, he would allow his brother to witness the evidence of his emotions where she was concerned. “Please spare my family. They are all that is good in my life. For five years, she has fought against my design for her future. I will forfeit all my plans for them if you would find compassion and grant them clemency.”
Micah
was not oblivious to the irony that when others implored leniency from him, he’d never granted favor. Compassion among most angels—except for the Cherubim—was a genetic anomaly. Father hadn’t built them for empathy, but rather to serve His purpose.
“You love her?” Domiel canted his head as if intrigued by the possibility.
“Yes. Of course.”
“I thought she was only a means to an end. A way to annoy Father.”
In the beginning, that’d been true, but everything changed when he’d met the fifteen-year-old girl who’d grown into his wife.
A satisfied grin stretched Domiel’s lips. The mannerism nettled him. He wanted to rip it off his brother’s face.
“I love her.” He hooked hair behind his ear. She is my everything. To lose her would ruin him. “I’ve never begged anyone for anything. I implore you to leave her out of this. Kill me instead of my family.” Maybe if Phoenix got to her in time after Micah’s death, the Ark would be able to save her from their covenant.
“Intriguing.” Domiel ran his fingers along his mandible and tapped his chin. He coveted breaking his brother’s jaw. “Eat the second seed, Madison.”
He ground his molars. “Madison, do not listen to him, kitten. We’ll find another way.” Even he had to admit his promise sounded hollow.
“I promise you the boy is dead if you don’t eat,” Domiel countered, cool as ice.
Madison’s pink eyes rolled in their sockets until only white was visible. She panted, ragged breaths as if she exerted herself when all she attempted was to sit up. After a moment, she gave up and crumpled to the earth. Arm shaky, she brought her hand toward her face. “Vow to me again, you will not harm Amos.”
If she was this weak after one, a second seed might terminate her.
Straight away, Domiel nodded, staring at her as if her plucky spirit awed him.
“Say it.” She coughed. “I want to hear your promise.”
“I vow to you Amos will live.”
“Doesn’t mean you won’t kill him tomorrow.”
“Decide for yourself, Madison. Who’s the biggest liar between us? Beliel or me?” Domiel tapped her chin. “I’m an Esdras angel. We cannot lie. Can we, Beliel?”
Technically, Domiel spoke true, but…. “That doesn’t mean you cannot distort the truth. Kitten, please don’t do this. Fight for our son.”
“I sacrifice all for Amos,” he thought she whispered just before she swallowed the second seed.
A moment later, she convulsed with a sharp scream, making gurgling noises afterward as if she choked on bodily fluids. The dragons’ assault grew more fearsome, their claws ticking at the invisible magic and they shrieked.
The seizure Madison suffered lasted a long, long time before slowing, and altering into mini-jerks, a wheezy grunt emerging from her with each shudder. Finally, she went limp, a single breath rattling from her lungs, her eyes going wide.
His kitten didn’t drag in another breath. Wetness hit his cheeks. “Breathe, Madison! Fucking breathe!” Fingers curled into fists, he pummeled the soil, sat back on his heels, and roared until his throat hurt.
Madison gasped with a jolt, her breathing much too fast, and the pink of her Lynx so dim, her demon was almost voided. He sighed in relief, hating himself for wanting her to suffer more. But so long as she breathed, his optimism endured. Hope that a dragon would break whatever spell shrouded them. Hope that Phoenix would come to and demonstrate how big a threat he could be.
He’d pray for a miracle if he thought his father would listen. Anything to save the woman he loved.
Madison moaned. Her head rolled to the side and she slurred, “Hurt…all…ov—er.”
Domiel pinched her chin and jerked her so she would meet his stare. She groaned at the sudden movement. “I thought for sure you were gone. I’m glad you’re not. I believe I understand why Beliel enjoys torturing souls in Hell. It’s entertaining watching you suffer. I’m embarrassed to admit I’m aroused by your agony.”
Domiel adjusted himself. Micah felt like his sibling soiled her with his lust.
“Motherfucker—”
“Blah, blah, blah, brother.” Over his shoulder, Domiel shot him a triumphant grin. “Eat the last one, Madison.”
“I will eat your heart after I rip it from your chest, Domiel.” A promise he had all intentions of fulfilling.
“Stand in line. Eliel already made the same vow.”
“Bring her to me. Allow her to die while I hold her.” His beloved should not perish alone.
“No. She’s undeserving of comfort, even from you.”
I never hated Father—anyone—this much. “Brother, I vow that I will slaughter you. I’ll reap your soul to Hell—”
“Good luck with those aspirations.”
“—and you’ll suffer for an infinity for what you’ve done today.” Could his brother be unaware of the Scepter of Spirits? And his role as Father’s reaper of souls?
Micah rose to his feet and held his hand in the Angelfire, reminding his brother that although he was trapped, the blaze didn’t harm an archangel. The flames would kill one of Domiel’s ilk. Just one lapse in the line of fire and Micah would gain freedom. “Pray very hard I discover none of the names of those you love. Because not even Heaven’s gates will hinder me from claiming them and killing them over and over again. While. You. Watch.”
Whatever Domiel saw in Micah’s eyes or on his face gave him pause. But not enough to halt his objective.
“I’ll help him,” Elias said, silky-smooth from the other ring.
Domiel’s expression blanked. “Eat the seed, Madison.”
“Can’t…li—lif…hanz.” Her words were garbled like a victim of a stroke.
“Find a way. Suicide is part of your sin.”
Micah growled a warning, but without the dragons breaking through or Phoenix waking up, he was useless to aid her.
Somehow Madison managed to roll onto her stomach and she ate the seed from the lawn.
“I love you, Madison.”
He thought she whispered his name. Moments later she bowed with a shriek, her fingers digging into the soil, as she coughed up blood. Torturous seconds ticked by until he wished oblivion would eliminate her suffering. Finally, she wilted against the earth.
Stillness.
Silence.
No shift of a breeze.
Not even an angel moved.
A sudden onset of weakness forced him to his knees. The covenant worked immediately, verifying Madison’s death.
Micah shook in the aftermath of disbelief, laboring to draw in a breath. “Madison!”
No response. Not even a twitch of recognition from her.
Domiel roughly grabbed her by her hair and jerked her up, so all could see her face. Blood dripped from all orifices…eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
Blue eyes wide, glassy, turning foggy in death. Her beautiful face expressionless.
Dead. My kitten is dead.
Tears choked him. He threw back his head and shouted his grief, dragging his angel talons across his chest and gouging his flesh. Compared to the searing pain of losing his wife, the self-inflicted wounds were mere abrasions.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Zen couldn’t recall ever being this furious. Given his age, that was a remarkable feat. He’d endured unbearable grief, but not anger.
The cowards hadn’t faced him head-on, but downed him from behind with a magical blow served up angelic style. The other angel took out the Hellhounds guarding the end of Amos’s bed. With the biggest threats neutralized, they went for Petra.
Comatose, he’d been aware of his surroundings, watched it all with anger and injustice bleeding into his mind. Petra fought like a demon on steroids and both of the Esdras suffered injuries. Too bad they healed almost instantly.
He had no idea why Amos hadn’t woken during the violent scuffle. He’d prodded the boy mentally, and recognized something mystical deepening the child’s sleep. A wallop of mojo to the base of Petra’s scal
p and her knees had buckled. Domiel had drained her succubus from her to the verge of death, and then left her to suffer. She’d die soon without nourishment. No doubt the angel knew she’d perish unhurriedly when he refrained from draining the last of her demon.
He didn’t think Zariel knew that while he was frozen, he remained very much awake. The angel verified that conclusion when he stepped into his view and said to Domiel, “I feel guilty for taking Zennyo Ryuo out like that.”
“Don’t.” Domiel blasted Amos with a ball of silvery light and the child didn’t issue so much as a grunt when the angel hoisted him over his shoulder. “Zennyo Ryuo will be dangerous when he wakes. But he’ll come to his senses eventually, understand that their death is the right path. It’s safer for all of us this way. He would kill us before we had a chance to explain our position. Drahel detailed how unreceptive Zennyo Ryuo was to killing Beliel’s family.” He recalled Drahel was the angel on the mountaintop that originally demanded he slaughter Madison and Amos. “We need to be in Heaven before Zennyo Ryuo wakes and kills us, so let’s get moving.”
I will kill you all.
A useless promise since he couldn’t move from the seat to go after them when they exited the room with the boy.
All of that seemed to have transpired hours ago. He knew it’d been under half an hour. What had happened to his family since? Were they even alive? If they weren’t…anger pierced his temple in a jagged spike of pain.
Folly to attempt to force his hand this way. Fighting against the paralysis, Zen grunted and groaned in his mind, all while his body failed to obey. Not even with the slightest twitch. Every botched attempt ignited a new level of frustration and pushed him closer to the unthinkable.
A choice must be made. My family or my creator.
A blasphemous decision.
After crafting the world, God visited his new construction. His first exhale mixed with the atmosphere and had spawned a race of Zennyo Ryuos. Even as an unintentional creation, God hadn’t shunned them, but had nurtured, loved, and mingled among them.
Genesis Queen (The Road to Hell Series) Page 22