The Devil’s Kiss

by Stacey Kennedy

  When she backed away, the look in her eye made my heart tumble. Was it inevitable? Was I just counting down the hours until my bond with Magnus became too much to ignore. The look on everyone’s face told me it was.

  “Let’s just get this over with,” I said to Zia, fighting tears. ‘What’s the plan?”

  She sighed deeply, tears glittering in her own eyes. “Right.” After a little shake of her head she continued, “From what we know they are going to be using the purest form of Black Magic since they are taking virgins to give them greater power. Their force will come solid. Nexi, you will enter first. Keep your shield strong and we will follow in behind you. Briar and I will hit them defensively. You others block their magic. Take a witch each and concentrate on throwing off their attacks.”

  Suddenly, Haven reappeared. “I have told Zade. He is gathering some vampires together. When we are finished here, we are to get them.”

  Zia nodded. “Good.”

  “I would like to help you here, but I can’t,” Misa said. “I can only assist you, Lady Nexi, if you are in danger.”

  “You want to help us?” I asked, aghast.

  “Sure,” she said with a shrug. “It feels wrong to sit back and let you all have fun without me.”

  I laughed loudly. As much as laughing through this time seemed impossible, the idea of what she was implying was just entirely ridiculous. “A demon thinks something feels wrong.”

  Everyone else laughed too.

  “You really have to stop putting us into a box,” Misa snapped. “Not all of us are what you think we are.”

  “Sure you’re not.”

  “You’re hurting my feelings.” She scowled at me.

  That shut me up real quick. Did that really just come out of her mouth? Did I have the wrong impression about her? Was I being harsh without really knowing her?

  First appearances were usually wrong, but I just couldn’t get past the fact that she was a demon. It is her job to be evil and harsh. Oddly, I felt horrible. “I’m sorry,” I touched her arm.

  She glanced down at my hand, her entire body tense. I took the moment to read into her a little just to understand her better. What I saw was not what I expected to find.

  Misa was a demon that longed for normalcy. Her views ran very much along the same lines as the Otherworld. She believed that those who take innocent lives should be destroyed. She believed in order, but she also believed in the ways of their world. Her life thrived around giving souls, she took them without hesitation, but she only took those who were willing. What she said about wanting us to be friends, she truly meant. She liked me. Liked what I was all about, which was just a whole bucket full of peculiar. It instantly made me feel like a bag of shit. My words to her, the things I said. I judged her wrong.

  As much as it made me feel bad, it also dug at me that I was accepting more of the Underworld. It showed me just how strong the bond between Magnus and I was growing. That didn’t mean I was still going to keep fighting against the feeling of rightness. I had to remember all the evil that lived there and why I thought it was wrong because now it was hard to find those reasons.

  The visions of her memories flipped quickly through my mind, when suddenly, there was a vision of her and a white-haired Warlock in an intense conversation, but I couldn’t quite grasp what they were saying. Just as it began, it vanished as Misa pulled away from me.

  “What was that?” I asked her curiously, interest piqued at what she didn’t want me to see.

  She smiled, and it was in every way cold. “There is more going on in my world than you know.”

  Huh? “What?”

  She shrugged away the question and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Now is not the time to discuss it.”

  What the hell did that mean? There was more going on? Before I could even think more on the matter and ask another question, Zia grabbed my hand with hers and pulled a little. “Let’s go.”

  “I will protect you,” Misa whispered behind me.

  I glanced back at her, a little annoyed. “I don’t need your protection.”

  “Yes, I know that, but it’s my job.”

  I sighed, and looked at the house as we began our approach. The house was secluded with waist-high bushes closed off by a gate.

  Zia opened the gate, stepped through then glanced at me. “Ready?” Her tone was rapid and tense.

  “Ready as I’ll ever,”

  “Then go,” Zia shouted.

  Without further request, I drew in Spirit around me. With it protecting me, I booked it toward the house, running as fast as I could. I met the porch stairs two at a time and lunged for the door.

  I grabbed the door handle and threw it open. Instantly, I felt a blast of power. It was raw and thick, and stole my breath immediately. The force of it sent me flying back to land where the others stood on the front lawn spread out in formation.

  “Christ,” I gasped as Zia helped me to my feet. “That was unbelievable.” My shield had just saved me from vaporization.

  “They are powerful,” Briar said from beside me, readying her stance.

  Immediately, twenty or more witches poured from the house, displaying everything Black Magic is. Hard cold eyes resided in their faces, as pure evil expelled from them.

  “Zia,” one of them growled through clenched teeth. “You have no business here.”

  “You will stop this,” Zia ordered, “or we will have no choice, but to stop you.”

  She laughed evilly. “We have grown stronger than you. You will not stand a chance against us.”

  “I have to say, I think I believe her.” I whispered to Zia.

  “Hrmph.” Then, with total confidence, she nodded me forward.

  “Alright then.” I drew in a deep breath. With my shield strong around me, I stepped out toward them, stopping only a few feet away. “You have the choice to come and join us. You can leave this and live.”

  They all laughed, practically spat in my face, as they looked down their noses at me. “We know who you are, Nexi Jones. But even you do not have the strength to destroy us.”

  Rage consumed me that they doubted my ability, who I was. That rage came out in a cackle, and shut them up instantly. Before I could even stop myself, the words came out of my mouth. “As Magnus’ mate, you will surrender.” The witches’ faces went from amused to frightened, in a second flat.

  My hand went straight over my mouth. “Dear God,” I said beneath it.

  “She’s right,” a Black Magic Witch said in a gasp. “Look, there is a demon with her.”

  Everybody was dead silent. No one even moved.

  I glanced back at Zia and Briar, who both looked devastated. Haven started crying.

  “I don’t know why I said that.” I managed.

  Briar gave me a knowing look. “Simply because it is true, my dear.”

  “No,” I screamed, rage filled every part of me. Rage that my life was no longer my own and I had no control of what came out of my mouth. Rage that after all I’d been through, I was about to lose it all.

  That anger needed an outlet and I had the perfect way to release it. I lunged forward and pummeled one of the witches across the face.

  She cried out and fell the floor. My smile was cold as she lay unconscious on the ground. As I raised my head, witches began to back away from me in fear. Oh yeah, I had these bitches right where I wanted them and they were going to pay for all the evil they caused. They were going to pay with their lives.

  With all the Guardian strength that had been born within me, I attacked.

  Misa was close to me, I could sense her, but she didn’t intervene. She stood protectively, waiting for someone to endanger me. The witches appeared stunned that I wasn’t using magic on them, but right now I needed to beat the hell out of something. I let go of all my restraint and let the fury come forth.

  One after another, I attacked the witches with punches and kicks. Their magic came at me
again and again, but my shield held strong. They couldn’t get through, even as they tried their damndest.

  The power within me was rich and I was undeniably strong.

  After I leveled a witch into a heap on the ground, I drew my sword from my back. The knowledge that I was breaking my one rule¯fighting against witches with magic¯tinged in my mind, but my ire didn’t care.

  Suddenly, my shield faltered and fire rippled down my arm, sending a little scream of pain to erupt from my throat. Before I could even react, Misa let out a high screech. With a blast of pure power, she faded away to black smoke, and whipped around the witch. The witch’s scream grew loud, then suddenly she was gone in a puff of smoke.

  Misa returned to form, resuming her protective stance.

  My rage continued to be all-consuming. Anger filled every part of me for all the wrongs that had ever happened, and was coming out in its purest form. Witch after witch died by my sword. To prove the truth—fuck with me, you die.

  Abruptly, I became aware that I was fighting this battle alone. Zia and the others weren’t taking part in the fight, but I was glad for it. I needed to get this out, let the wrath free, and this was one place I could do it. To hurt those who deserved the pain and deserved to bleed.

  After my sword sliced the head off the witch before me, I spun around and shot fire out at two others. They erupted into flames and dust flew through the air as their bodies evaporated.

  My wrath never faded. Hate seeped in every part of me. Hate for the situation I was in, for my soul that craved Magnus. For just the whole-fucking thing and these witches were getting the tail end of that hatred.

  Misa stayed close to me and had finished off a couple of witches by the time it was over. Not to help me by any means. She only assisted me when my shield faltered—if they posed a danger to me.

  Within ten minutes, they were all dead. Either by my magic or by my sword, but all that mattered was they were dead. I sheathed my sword. The anger flowing through me made my limbs shake. My blood boiled, my entire body tense, and my jaw clenched tightly.

  A growl came loud beside me. Quickly, I glanced toward it, seeing if there was threat. But when I saw Willow, I let out a deep breath that seemed to give way to some of the harsh emotions strangling me. Seeing her snapped me back to the present, and I gave my body a shake to ease my aching muscles. It surprised me that she was here. I hadn’t even noticed my big black panther had arrived. She watched me with an expression I’d never seen on her sleek beautiful face before she stood, stiff as a board. Frozen—stunned.

  A little irritation whipped through me that she didn’t help me. But I resolved, she hadn’t helped because she didn’t need to. I had it handled on my own, and with Misa assisting me, there was no need to intervene.

  My gaze left Willow as I looked over at Misa, her expression was not one I expected. She looked worried—torn.

  “What?” My voice came out in a thick growl. I shook my head, pushed away the lingering anger that remained. “Sorry.” I smiled. “I don’t know why my voice is coming out like that. Thanks for the help.”

  Misa never said a word.

  Suddenly, a deep profound sadness washed through me. It’s wasn’t mine. Haven.

  I spun around to see Haven in Briar’s arms, sobbing loudly. “What happened to her?” Quickly, I ran toward her.

  The moment I was beside her, she threw herself into my arms and hugged me with all that she had. “Oh no…Nexi…no,” she screamed.

  Confusion filled me.

  My eyes fell to Zia’s. Tears were also streaking her face. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to speak, but nothing came out.

  “For Christ sakes, what is it?” I snapped.

  Briar placed her hand on my shoulder, her face a mirror image of Zia’s. “My dear, it’s happening.”

  Uncertain of what she meant, I glanced around at the other witches among us. Their faces were horrified. Immediately, I understood. What had I just done? My stomach wrenched and a wave of perspiration washed over my body. My reasons for killing those witches came out of rage and hate¯emotions that fed Black Magic.

  “Oh God, no,” I managed in a whisper.

  It didn’t matter what my reasons were for killing the witches. It was that those emotions were inside me at all. White Magic was about everything good. Killing for the greater good. Not for personal reasons or because of anger.

  Briar was right, it was happening.

  I was losing my soul.

  This was the beginning of the end.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I reached out, trailing my fingers through the soft leaves of my weeping willow. The second we came home, I couldn’t stand being near anyone. Haven continued to cry hysterically, and it annoyed me beyond belief. I just wanted to be alone.

  Without hesitation, I came to my willow. It felt like a lifetime since I’d been here last. But the longer I sat, the more I couldn’t remember why I liked being here so much. I filtered through every memory I had, ran through every experience that happened here. The connection to my mother, my first time with Kyden, but I couldn’t feel anything. It was as if it was blocked. My life’s special moments held no importance anymore.

  Footsteps made me lift my head. Kyden slowly approached. He gave me a soft smile, and I watched him intently. Why was I interested in him? What was it about him? After a few seconds of pondering, I still couldn’t find an answer to that question.

  When he reached me, he sat down beside me, and took my hand. The instant our skin connected I was slammed with every answer to those questions. This was my willow, my favorite place to be and I loved Kyden with all that I was.

  How had I even questioned that?

  Tears filled my eyes as I gazed at him. “I’m not me anymore. When you’re not touching me it’s like I’m gone.” I glanced down to our hands, pained to even look at him. “This is the only way I feel like myself anymore. The only way I still feel connected to you or feel connected to anything. I’m disappearing, Kyden.”

  He reached up putting his hands on my face as he cupped my cheeks. “You are still in there.”

  I shook my head, tears falling down my cheeks. “Every minute that passes I lose more of myself.” I felt sickened by the truth of what was happening here. “I wasn’t expecting this to all happen so quickly. I thought I’d be strong enough to fight against it. I thought I could beat it.”

  He sighed deeply, his grip on my face fierce. “You can beat it. You are still there and we have to hold on to that. You need to hold onto that. You can’t let that part of yourself go. Do not give into it.”

  “I’m trying, but it’s getting harder. Look at what I did tonight. I killed those witches out of anger, Kyden.” Shame and disgust made it hard to swallow. “It’s taking me.”

  “You are still in there,” he said fiercely. His words were an attempt to hold onto us—to save us from this—to keep a smidgen of hope in the midst of all this chaos.

  “I can’t lose you,” I barely got the words out. “I can’t go on without you.”

  “You won’t have to, Álainn.” He leaned in, took my lips, and I lunged myself on him.

  Scared that soon this would be the last time I would be myself around him. How much time would I have left with Kyden? “Kyden…” I whispered.

  He raised his hand to my mouth and pressed his fingertips against my lips. “Don’t say it.”

  “I have to. You have to let me,” I said against his hand, needing to make sure he understood how I felt because after tonight, I wasn’t sure how much longer I would feel it.

  He slowly pulled his hand away, and as he did, tears filled his eyes. “I love you, Kyden—truly, and irrefutably love you. I love you so much sometimes it hurts. Hurts to be away from you, even hurts to be near you. No matter what happens, my heart is yours, and only yours. Remember that! Remember that I…” I pointed to my heart. “The real me is missing you and wishing I was in your arms.”

&nbs
p; He caught my tear with his finger, and smiled sweetly. “It is not over, Álainn.”

  The words were said, but it was a lie. The darkness was beginning to overtake me, and it was inevitable that I would eventually give in to it. No matter how hard I tried, it was going to win. I knew it and so did Kyden. All I could do was cry as my dreams with Kyden, the life that was once mine would be over and my heart crumpled to pieces.

  “Hush,” Kyden hummed. He laid me back and unclipped my kilt. As I raised my hips, he removed my shorts slowly. “We have tonight. We have now. This is what you have to remember. It’s this,” he said softly, caressing my body. “It’s the way I love you.” He removed his gear, rubbed himself leisurely along my body. “It’s how my body feels when it’s close to yours.” He lifted his hips, entered me oh-so-gently. “It’s the way it feels to be joined.”