by Janie Marie
It was dark, but he instantly locked eyes with Melody as she picked at her nails.
She sat up straight, her eyes wide when she noticed Jane and the others. “What is this?” She got off the bed, scowling at Jane but moving farther away. Her chains clattered across the stone floor. They were barbaric restraints, specifically designed to weaken their kind, with silver prongs that dug into the wearer’s skin.
David didn’t answer her. Instead, he checked to see if Jane was maintaining control. “Baby?”
Her lips trembled as she looked up at him, but she nodded, reaching up to touch his mouth. He always wondered why she did that, and he hoped to find out.
“I love you, baby.” He smiled softly when Melody hissed, but he kept his eyes on Jane’s. She looked so torn now. “Don’t worry anymore—I will take care of this for you.”
“What’s this about?” Melody shouted, looking at Arthur.
David kept his eyes on Jane and lifted his free hand to caress her icy cheek. Her hazel eyes were darkening again, so he gave her a long kiss.
“Melpomene,” Arthur said, calling Melody by her true name. “My sentence to banish you from my lands does not fit your crimes against Jane’s family.” He paused and David pulled his lips from Jane’s. “David has come to carry out the punishment she is requesting.”
“Which is?” Melody demanded.
“Your death,” Arthur said.
“You can’t kill me! My father will not allow it. You know the rules, Arthur.”
“Enough,” David yelled, stopping her from using her magic.
Melody backed up against the wall. “David, you know what will happen if you kill me.”
“You knew your crime when you attacked Jason—when you bewitched him to kill his own children.”
“He attacked me!” Melody screamed, looking at the others, but they had lowered their gazes to the floor to avoid falling under her spell. “I was defending myself.”
When she looked at him, her eyes swirling with emerald tones, he bared his fangs. “You know your charms don’t work on me.”
Melody cut her eyes over to Jane. “If you request my death, you will be the one responsible for theirs. It will be your fault when your children’s blood fills the bellies of my family.”
David growled with his brothers and squeezed Jane’s hand.
“Shut up!” Jane screamed.
Melody grinned wickedly, and Jane actually flinched from the sight of it. “He was a pathetic man anyway,” Melody said. “Do you know how close he got to slitting their little throats?”
“SHUT UP!” Jane’s voice cracked.
“He was so close,” Melody said. “He had the knife in his hands, just waiting to press it down on that little brat.”
“Enough, Melody,” David said, moving to block Jane from Melody’s view.
“They will kill her, David.” Melody laughed. “They will kill all of them, and it will be your fault. I only did what you all wanted to do anyway. I saw the way you looked at him; he was in your way. I did you a favor. Now this pathetic girl can call you hers without pretending to be loyal anymore.”
“He wasn’t weak,” Jane whispered as she quickly moved around David. He had to hold on to her.
Melody sneered at her. “Your husband told me how much you cried. He told me how you never satisfied him. That he had to seek pleasure elsewhere.”
“STOP!” Jane yelled.
Melody didn’t stop. “He told me about the day he admitted to not loving you. He told me I was more beautiful than you. He said my body felt better than yours. That I pleased him more than you ever did in your entire marriage.”
Jane lunged, but David held on to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
“No, baby,” he said, kissing her head as she sobbed.
“YOU LIE!” A silent sob wracked her body. “You fucking bitch!”
David felt his brothers moving closer, but they were honoring his order to not interfere.
“You can’t touch me, little whore.” Melody chuckled. “That’s what they call you in Hell, did you know? Death and Sir David’s little whore.”
David shivered as Jane’s body temperature dropped. “Shut your mouth, Melody.”
She grinned at Jane, ignoring him. “Do you see how I am more important? He won’t let you touch me, will he? Maybe he wants to touch me as Jason did. Maybe he wants to touch me as he has before.”
“Melody, shut the fuck up!” he roared, holding Jane as she bawled.
“Has David told you about his past? About his conquests that destroyed all others? He is a sex god, and he has definitely had better than you. I heard angels fell from Heaven just to fuck him.”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” he yelled, hugging Jane to him. Her power was pulsing, and he was terrified to let her go. “She’s lying, baby. You already know I have a past, but I am not that man anymore. I have not been that man since I was told I would find you. Trust me, my love. Let me do what I came to do. I will do it, but I need you to calm down so I can let you go. You don’t want to hurt anyone here.”
Melody continued laughing at Jane’s cries. “You know, I do not know who fucks better. David or your dead husband. I would ask you, but I have a feeling David is repulsed by your scarred flesh and the body that drove Jason to masturbate in the dark. He had to watch flawless women to arouse himself because you disgusted him with your hideous stretch marks.”
Jane screamed, thrashing in his hold but crying so hard she couldn’t seem to concentrate.
“You’re so pathetic.” Melody scoffed. “I hardly see the appeal they have for you. Even without their instruction, I would have enjoyed ending their sweet little lives.”
Jane’s fight weakened at her words.
“It doesn’t matter, though,” Melody continued. “They will all die in the end, and I will be rewarded for causing the little whore’s fall from grace.”
David didn’t understand what Melody was talking about, but he knew he had to take this chance to carry out the death sentence. “Baby?”
She was weeping as she looked up at him.
He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. “Let me do it now. She deserves this.” Her soft lips turned down from her silent cries, but he pressed more kisses to them, hugging her when she seemed to lose strength. That pull was back again with its menacing chill around them both. “Stay here. I will do this quickly.”
She opened her olive eyes and touched his lips. “Thank you, David.”
“You’re welcome, my love. It’s almost over.” He pressed another kiss to her lips and glanced over his shoulder. “Gawain, give me the blade.”
Gawain didn’t speak, nor did the others as he retrieved a silver knife.
Jane whimpered when the cold embraced them again, so David pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. She quickly wound her arms around his waist, burying her face against his chest. “I love you,” she said. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He kissed the top of her head.
“You can’t be serious,” Melody screeched, moving the farthest her chains would allow. “You know the rules, Arthur. I am to be kept from harm.”
“I cannot stop him, Melpomene. We will stand behind David’s decision even if it brings all of the immortal armies down on us.”
“You can’t!” she screamed, tugging on her chains.
“It is out of my hands,” Arthur said. “May your punishment in the afterlife bring Jane peace.”
“No!” Melody’s screams bounced off the walls, hurting all of their ears.
“David,” Gawain called behind him.
He took the knife and lifted Jane’s hand to his lips. “Stay with Gawain.”
After Gawain put his arm around her, David looked away and walked toward Melody.
She screamed at him, tugging her chains harder. “You can’t do this, David! I’m protected. You’re breaking the rules.” He ignored her words and shot his hand out quicker than she could react, wrapping his fing
ers around her throat. He gave it a little squeeze as she tried to break out of his hold.
“You’ll burn for this, David,” she sputtered. “His soul is in your hands, Jane. You will live knowing you damned him to Hell.”
David squeezed her tighter, shutting her up. He would gladly burn for eternity if Jane could have the peace she deserved.
She began to thrash in his hold, but he positioned the knife over her heart, ignoring the voice in his head telling him to stop. Forgive me, Father, he prayed, pressing the blade into her skin.
“STOP!” Jane shouted. “David, stop!”
David stilled his movement, but he didn’t let go of Melody.
A hand touched his back, and he knew it was Jane. She reached around him and tugged on his wrist. “Don’t.”
“Baby?” He searched her eyes when she came into view.
She gave him a weak smile and let a tear fall. Her eyes were completely hazel now. They said those three words. “Don’t kill her.” She pulled his hand more. “I don’t need her death. I just need you.”
He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and shoved Melody from his side before pulling Jane to him. He cupped her cheek, pressing his lips to her forehead. She’s warm again. “Are you sure, baby?”
Her head bobbed and she hugged him. “I’m sure. I can’t lose you. Not you.”
He chuckled and kissed her forehead again before tilting her lips up to his. She had a smile on hers and he kissed them quickly. “Never, my love.”
Melody sputtered, gasping for breath just feet away from them, but he didn’t care about her anymore. He smiled and placed a few more kisses to Jane’s hair before turning his eyes over to his brothers. They looked just as relieved as he felt, but his happiness faltered at the sight of Arthur’s sad expression.
“My father will hear of this,” Melody rasped out.
David decided to get Jane out of there, and he took her hand, walking quickly to the door.
“All of this over a meaningless human and a pathetic girl. They will all die and cry just like Jason did. The coward begged me to spare your little bastards. But I will taste their blood with the rest of them. You just proved how untouchable I am, you stupid whore.” She laughed quickly and started again. “They told me how your angel abandoned you.”
David tried to drag Jane, but she dug her heels into the ground as her power pulsed, aiding her from being overpowered.
“Don’t listen to her, Jane.” He tried to pull her, but she stayed put.
“You weren’t worthy enough for such a guardian,” Melody said. “I bet he was glad to be rid of you. You will lose them all. You will lose everything and be left all alone. Just as you have always deserved. You are nothing. You have always been nothing. Even God did not want you to have happiness. You are a bet; a game between the devil and God. You are nothing special. You are a weak, sad little girl, and I will laugh when you lose everyone you love. I will smile as the men you love forget you, when they fuck countless others who look nothing like you, you used fuck toy.”
Jane was straddling Melody before he could even turn. He rushed with the others, but they were blocked by her barrier.
“JANE!” he yelled, his heart bursting as he watched her choking Melody. It was happening all over again. “Jane, no, baby! Stop!”
She wailed, keeping a hand on Melody’s throat as she punched her face over and over again.
“JANE!” the others all yelled around him, pressing against the invisible wall.
David pressed his hand on the cold barrier. It felt like a wall of ice.
Melody’s screams screeched along with Jane’s as she continued to punch her.
“Baby, don’t do this!” he yelled.
She didn’t stop, though, and he watched her features sharpen and contort with rage as her fangs pressed against her lips. Her roar vibrated the loose items in the room. He stared, horrified, as she began to rip the skin from Melody’s face and chest.
“JANE! NO!” He hit the wall, his eyes stinging with tears as she screamed but never stopped mauling the vampire below her.
Melody’s blood and flesh flew through the air. Her efforts to fight back were useless.
“Jane! Stop!”
She cried louder as the cold intensified around them.
David didn’t know what to do and looked over to see Hades and Arthur just standing there, doing nothing. Everyone was hitting the wall or shouting for her to stop, but they only watched.
He roared, turning to punch her wall again, hoping it would weaken enough for him to get through. “No, baby.” He squeezed his eyes shut for just a moment when she began melting Melody’s flesh away from her body, only to replace it and do it again. “Jane, you promised to stay with me.”
“David!” She sobbed, glancing at him. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Baby. FUCK. STOP!”
She only wailed louder, and he watched, horrified, as Melody’s body seemed to cave in. He’d never seen anything like it. Her body was being crushed and repaired, then crushed again.
“I love you, David.” Jane cried.
The knife he still held was suddenly flying to her outstretched hand. “NO,” he shouted as she brought her hands over her head, ready to plunge it into Melody’s heart.
The room burst with green light as Death’s roar shook the walls. Death reached to pull Jane off, but David stared, shocked as a man in a white suit suddenly shimmered into view, his arms wrapped around Jane from behind.
Death ripped the man away, roaring as he slammed him against the wall. “Enough!” He punched the blond male, who only laughed in Death’s face.
“You’re too late,” the man said.
Death stopped, and they both turned back to Jane.
She wasn’t moving from where she still straddled Melody. She was staring at something, and it shattered David’s heart once he saw what it was.
“No,” he whispered, seeing the blade sticking out of Melody’s chest with Jane’s hands still wrapped around the handle.
Jane lifted her ruined eyes to meet his. “David.”
“No, baby.” He fell to his knees as black started clouding her beautiful hazel color.
“David,” she said, her tears streaming down her face as the man in white suddenly appeared behind her.
He lifted her into his arms, and she didn’t fight him. “It’s time, Jane.”
She nodded, still crying.
“NO!” David stood, punching the wall again.
Death tried to move to her, but he was blocked as well. “Don’t, Lucifer. This wasn’t the deal!” His wings manifested as he growled, pressing his hand to the barrier. “Don’t go, baby girl. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Please let me in. I never left. I never left, baby.”
“Death?” Her eyes shifted to her angel’s.
“It’s me, Sweet Jane. I’m here. I’ve been here. You don’t have to go. I’ll take you to my realm. I’ll stay with you. I don’t care about the rules. It’s just you. Only you, angel.”
More tears fell as darkness continued to cloud her eyes. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to.”
Death’s eyes glowed. “I know, baby girl. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I’ll fix this.”
“Death, kill me. Let me go.”
Death shook his head as a strained expression crossed his face. “I’m never leaving you.”
“Jane,” David called, his eyes stinging with unshed tears when she looked back at him. A wicked smile twitched at her lips as Lucifer whispered into her ear. “No, baby, don’t listen to him. He wants her, not you. Don’t do this.”
Gold and green filled her eyes. “My David,” she said before her eyes turned completely black.
“You both lose,” Lucifer said before kissing her on the lips. “She’s mine.” He licked the blood from her cheek and smiled when she sought out his lips again. “My queen.”
Death’s frightening roar only made Lucifer laugh while Jane hissed at the angel she loved so much.
“Baby,” David said, watching the demon look at him. She pulled her lips back in a snarl, but he stared into those dark eyes corrupting her beautiful face. A flash of hazel lasted only a second before it was drowned in darkness—but it said everything. “I love you, too.”
Death’s roar shook the stone. “I will rip your goddamn soul from your throat!”
Lucifer kissed Jane’s cheek. “My queen says otherwise.”
“Jane,” David said, but there was only Melody’s corpse there now.
David couldn’t move. He stared at the blood while Death destroyed the room and Hades tried to stop him.
Bedivere covered Melody’s body as David finally broke out of his daze.
He turned to Death, and they stared at each other for the longest time before David spoke. “Where did he take her?”
“He’ll show her off,” Death said, his features morphing as a skeletal mask shimmered over his face for less than a second. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She was supposed to be okay.”
“Well, she’s not!” David snapped. “Where is she?”
Death shook his head. “I can’t follow him, David. Her demon is protecting him. I can’t locate her. It’s as if Jane is gone. My bond is blocked.”
David shoved Death against a wall. “Find her! She’s not gone. I saw her!”
“I thought this would free her, David. I’m sorry.”
“Tell me what you know,” David yelled in his face, punching him once before letting someone pull him away.
“I will tell you everything,” Death said, rubbing his jaw. “I’ll tell you.”
“She was still inside, David,” Arthur spoke quietly, making everyone turn to look at him. He gave David a weak smile before he nodded to Death as well. “I heard her voice just before they vanished. She yelled my name. Have faith, brother. That’s what she’s given him.” He nodded toward Death, smiling again. “She said to tell you she loves and forgives you . . . And good morning.”