It stings deep, hurting me in a way closer to my heart than I want to admit.
“Ooooh, the Devil’s got sass now!” I wonder exactly how much he’s had to drink as I watch him, noticing he’s swaying slightly on the spot. His bravado and then anger had masked it before, but I know it takes a lot to get this man inebriated.
“Damn straight. Now go to bed. You’re drunk,” I order him. The other members of The Nexus look embarrassed, not only for him but for me, having to once again act as a mother, even when I’d never had a loving one of my own.
“Whatever,” he mumbles like an insolent teen, turning on his heel with a swagger that makes it even more evident to me that he’s tipsy. I should’ve known that he wouldn’t be able to handle being a father; he can barely handle being a mortal.
We wait until he has left the room, banging into things and creating a cacophony of clatter. He only makes it halfway across the hall before he convects atop the puddle of whisky from his prior outburst. It leaves a flaming pool in the middle of the floor, and as the remaining Nexus members turn away from it in disgust, I try to change the subject.
“I’ll go and speak with The Fates, see if I can learn anything more about this Phoenix they’ve spoken of. I also think Thane should go and take a peek in on the Demon Lords. I know it’s dangerous, but we need to find out how they’re infiltrating not only here but the mortal world as well.” I voice my plan and Yama smiles, content with my intent. He is a man of action for sure, of absolutes, so forward momentum pleases him.
“I shall summon a carriage to pick up The Fates and bring them here.” He nods at me, his approval evident. Thane comes in close, giving me a chaste kiss on the cheek, full of promise for when she returns.
“I’ll go and ready for flight.” She leaves without another word, clearly troubled by the turn of events in a way she will not vocalise until we’re alone.
I look around to the remaining members.
“What about Haedes?” Muerta asks me. The others look to me with expectant stares.
“I… I just don’t know anymore.” I sigh out, disappointed to say the least.
Chapter Seventeen
Firestone
PANDORA
We wait. The six of us gathered for the first time in longer than I can remember. The five Demon Lords, Abraxis, Gorgon, Barbas, Katerina and Lilliana give suspicious sideways glances into the mirrors that line the walls of the main chamber of The Halls of Antiqua.
I am a patient person, but often I forget how waiting in Mortaria is one of the most torturous experiences that one may have the pleasure of enduring. There is no motion in the air, no breeze, nor evident movement of the sun above. There is no ticking of a clock, or aging of those around you. There is merely endlessness in all directions, with no indication of linear passage through that thing we call time.
Gorgon watches me with interest; he thinks I haven’t noticed, but I’m far more perceptive than any of the five Lords give me credit for. His pointed long face is inexpressive, his large forehead plastered with greasy hair that’s stuck to his pale and sweaty skin in wavy lines, snakelike and creepy. He’s wearing all black, a slim cut suit that makes him appear even thinner than Barbas. He’s tall, with lime eyes that are covered by dual lids, one set which close vertically and the other beneath which slide shut like a set of too quick elevator doors.
Katerina gives a deep exhale then a painful sounding inhale, causing her ribs to jut out at odd angles from her spine as she twists in her stone seat.
Abraxis is the tensest of all, his glowing orange eyes narrowed and focused on the tiniest of details, trying to find any indication of change in my motion. His scrutiny causes his human features to become evil, highlighted in a tangerine glow. He’s been waiting for his Kindred to return for a while now, perhaps too long, clearly nervous and rightfully so.
I glance over to Barbas next, and well, he just looks plain furious. Ever since the Phobias had failed to subdue one Miss Sephy Sinclair, he’s been silently seething, and I’m sure harbouring an intense hatred toward me in particular. I mean, it was I who put him up to the task in the first place, and so it is I who has caused him such humiliation in front of his peers.
Lilliana stirs, causing the rest of us to perk up. Her eyes widen, and I feel the box heat in my pocket against my thigh. Pulling it out, without hesitation, I toss it up into the air where it slides open on one side, and a portal explodes, breaking the tension and ending our limbo.
From within the sparking scarlet and spinning onyx smoke, a single figure falls. Landing on her haunches atop the table in a simple black ballgown, she straightens, and the box drops back into my palms, hot to touch. Pulling a glistening jade eye mask from her face, she is breathless, almost like she’s had a narrow escape. My heart sinks.
“Alexis.” Abraxis’ expression is hopeful as she dismounts the table but soon changes as she simply shakes her head.
“Horatio and Paris… they didn’t make it,” she announces, and Abraxis’ disappointment quickly turns to fury.
“That’s enough of this, Pandora. This is a wild goose chase!” he exclaims, phasing into his black and orange demonic form, trying to intimidate me. As if this is all my fault and not at all because the Kindred of the Demon Lords have become lazy and weak.
Gorgon watches us with interest as Barbas joins in the attempt at placing the blame entirely on my shoulders.
“It was a nice thought, but I am not willing to sacrifice any more of my Kindred to kill some girl just to hurt Haedes.”
I sigh at this comment.
“You’re all misunderstanding me. I wasn’t going to kill the girl. I was going to hold her hostage so Haedes would have reason to hand over Mortaria. I’ve been trying to get your hunting grounds back.” I keep my expression dead on my face, not showing how close I am to leaving and never coming back. These Demon Lords are too small minded, too fuelled by competition amongst themselves, or a hunger that they cannot satiate. They cannot see the bigger picture.
“Haedes… he did defend her. He used The Eternal flame to destroy my brothers. He was furious that she’d been attacked,” Alexis adds. Abraxis turns to her.
“Be that as it may, she’s cost us a handful of Kindred already. Three of which cannot be resurrected because they were destroyed by The Eternal Flame,” Abraxis barks, his pectorals bulging as his orange eyes glow hot and dangerous, anger mounting visibly within him.
“You men! You know nothing of the suffering our Kindred have endured.” Katerina speaks up now, rising from her seat and slamming her fragile looking palms down on the table.
“It is alright for you; you do not need the Sanguine forest, or the Plains of Ichor to survive. Your Kindred are not hungry, are not starving…” Lilliana adds, moving to Katerina’s side, her wild hair making her appear unhinged in her rage as her words fall like acid into the air. The atmosphere among the group becomes tense once again, Gorgon still saying nothing as he watches the argument escalate from the shadowy corner of the room, his irises popping neon lime against the dark.
“No, they are alive, and I intend to keep it that way,” Barbas retorts, his shame at his recent failure only too evident as his eyes wash over me in frosty examination.
“I know you have lost, but the window to capture this girl is closing fast. I do not know when we will have another opportunity such as this one. She’s still unsure of her powers, not yet fully bonded with the half of herself most powerful,” I plead now, feeling pathetic which makes me all the angrier.
“We have tried, Pandora. Three of us now have sent Kindred and lost those Kindred. We do not possess the resources to capture her or fight off the wrath of Haedes. It’s a nice little dream of yours, but unless you have some magical way of getting to the girl when she’s unprotected and weak, I feel strongly that it is a feat not worth pursuing.” Abraxis brushes me off, pacing around the table.
“Even if gaining control of Mortaria could help free the Gods of Ancient?” I ask, and they
look at me with only slight interest. Maybe they think I’m bluffing or desperate…maybe they think I’m overestimating my own power. Either way, Abraxis isn’t buying it.
“Even so,” he replies, his answer final.
I open my mouth to speak, but close it again. Done with the conversation.
I am not wasting any more time trying to convince those who are too proud to risk failure to gain power in this world. Power is all that matters really, and I know more than I’d like to admit that if I was in their shoes, having been endowed with such primal energy and magic, I wouldn’t be just sitting around and waiting for the end to come.
“Fine. We’ll discuss this again soon. I promise you,” I vow hotly, turning and stalking from the meeting chamber.
My heart is pounding in my chest, beating hard against the thick boning of my scarlet corset. I feel betrayed, frustrated and beyond anything, once again undervalued and unappreciated.
As I walk down the eternally long passageway towards the exit of the crumbling ruins, I crave distance, some time to think. It is with this that I find myself casting my mind back to the last group of powerful beings who had refused to listen to me.
The Aetherial Court made me into what I once was. A Titan. But it was also they who had ruined me, used me and spat me out once I was no longer of use to them and refused to be put in what they felt was my rightful place.
I had grown up in the Yorkshire dales, long ago. Upon my mortal death at a young age, from being prostituted out by my father and made diseased, I had been chosen by Hera, made into one of her Kindred and given eternal life to fight for the protection of the Higher Plains in Aetheria.
My wings had been glorious, a gift from the gods, and I had felt sacred, special. I had felt like I belonged. Then, during one particularly nasty altercation, I had lost my immortal life and ascended, becoming a Titan and finally walking among the gods and goddesses I had so worshipped in my time as a Nephilim.
I had wanted to help, to be a part of the Aetherial Court, to govern the lands I had so loved to defend as a Kindred, but he, Zeus, merely laughed at me. Telling me I was not pure. That I was not worthy of such an honour.
After everything I had done for him, for all the gods and goddesses in that damned court, even Hera, the woman who had chosen me, was made weak and subservient to the will of her husband.
For my pride, for thinking I was able enough to rule, having once been mortal, I was gifted the box, a great and terrible power all at once. I looked into it and saw horrors beyond what I had thought possible, the darkness that resides in human nature laid bare. I had fallen from grace that day, from the higher plains, and landed here, among the Kindred of gods who had once been dealt a similar fate, banished and powerless.
“Pandora?” A whisper reaches me, breaking through my recall of memories that never fail to kindle my fury. The place on my shoulder blades where wings had once flourished itches now, irritating me all the more.
“What?” I turn on my heel as I pass through the doors, continuing to walk backwards with no intention of slowing down to listen to more reasons why my plan was ridiculous and would never work.
“I want to help you.” As I reach the cracked and disintegrating courtyard of the cathedral, I find Gorgon quickening his pace, trying to catch up with me.
“You couldn’t have possibly made that little fact known in front of everyone else?” I scowl. His green eyes narrow, his pallor and perspiring skin making him look dead or diseased.
“Do you want the assistance of the Gorgonians or not?” he asks simply, his skin flickering in and out of camouflage for a moment.
“What do you have in mind? And what is it going to cost me?” I retort, suspicious.
“I was thinking we do a little recognisance. If you send in a few of my demons, using that box of yours they can sneak around and see what the weaknesses of The Nexus are. Perhaps one or more of them can be bargained with. You might discover that they’re willing to give her to you, given the right incentive,” he muses, and my eyes widen. That’s actually pretty smart.
“I’m shocked. That’s actually very cunning.” I cock one eyebrow and his eyes blaze.
“Do not mistake my silence for weakness or stupidity, Pandora.” His lime irises glow brighter a moment, and I know he’s trying to exert his will over me. I feel the tug from deep within but refuse to give into it. His hypnotic charms might work on mortals and base demons, but on those of the more powerful persuasion, they are not as strong as he assumes.
“I would never do that. That being said, you must want something in return for your help. Nothing that ever comes from you is free.” I cut through the façade that I’m so weak and he’s so generous. This is a trade, plain and simple.
“When you take Mortaria, I want her. Lucifer. My master would be greatly impressed if I could bring her to him.” He reveals his intent, and I nod. This is certainly true. I’m sure Moloch could get a lot out of a little family bonding once he’s been freed.
“I’m sure that can be arranged.” I smile at him, my hopes of conquering the land once again restored.
I feel my physical-self calm, my muscles unfurling as Gorgon looks to his left and then his right. His long tongue flickers between his lips, making a hissing sound, and his favourite demon Kindred, which I had known could not be far from his side, appear. They flicker into sight, their camouflage fading as their yellow, green and orange eyes blink with an unfeeling and reptilian subtlety. I watch as the snake-like demons slither around my feet, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I hate snakes.
“Very well,” I begin, reaching into my pocket once more for the box, “You will go and discover what weaknesses lie within The Nexus council. Go fast, and do not return until you have something of use to me,” I command them, Gorgon translating in an accompanying concoction of hissing and licking of his bottom lip.
I open the portal once more, allowing only a few Gorgonians entry, aware that the box can only withstand so much power moving between locations at one time. I keep a hold on the box’s edges, making sure that the box itself is not swallowed with the portal as I allow when I travel, looking next to Gorgon.
“Come Pandora, let us walk a while.” He holds out an arm to me, and I press my hand upon his elbow, the black lace of my gloves becoming slick with the moisture which is seeping through his suit.
“Do you really think that they’ll find something we can use?” I ask him, curious now. He smiles.
“But of course. After all, Haedes is perhaps the least tolerable man on earth. Wouldn’t you agree?” he asks me.
I nod.
“Yes. Except for his brother of course,” I reply, and Gorgon smiles.
“Pandora, you really need to let your vendetta against Zeus go you know. You are a smart beautiful woman. Wasting your time on one such as he is pointless. Everyone knows The Island of The Blessed, not The Higher Plains, is where the real power has always been and still remains to this day.” Gorgon reminds me of a truth I know only too well.
As we walk around the rotting gardens, I think on The Island of The Blessed, of the place where the Gods of Ancient are trapped, waiting for the day when they will once again be free.
I can only hope that day will come to fruition at my hand.
SEPHY
As I stare out of the carriage window, on the move yet again, I see a raven fly overhead and frown. It seems out of place to say the least, with the rest of the sky noticeably barren of any and all wildlife. Xion catches the change in my expression and leans across the padded seat on the side adjacent to me, staring out up to the skies before a small smile spreads across his lips.
“Thane is on the hunt for information again,” he informs me, but I frown, no idea who it is to whom he is referring.
“Thane?”
“Yes, Luce’s lover, Thanatos. She’s cursed to be able to transform into a raven. If they feel a threat is brewing, they’ll usually send her over to the Fallen King
dom to see what’s up,” he informs me in a small voice, his tone lacking its usual volume.
“I see. Well, at least someone cares whether I stay alive or not.” I roll my eyes, irritated. I’ve not got any of my belongings with me, and my dog is still back in the Exilia to which I’ve vowed never to return.
“I’m sorry. About all of it,” Xion mumbles, his eyes trying to catch mine and hold my gaze. I don’t reciprocate, turning once again to watching the city pass outside the window.
“It’s not your fault. I should be thanking you for agreeing to take me in.” I sigh, feeling more like an orphan now than ever. Undoubtedly being shuffled from place to place is even worse than being sent overseas to some stuffy boarding school. At least there, I’d known I’d have a warm bed to sleep in at night and breakfast every morning.
“You don’t have to thank me for that. It’s what friends do.” Xion once again tries to make things emotional, but this time a single word of his catches me off guard.
“Friends?” I repeat the word, shocked to hear him using it.
“Of course. You don’t think I stick around to carry your luggage because I have some sick sense of self-loathing, do you?” He tilts his head, heart-breaking in his ruggedness as a lopsided and entirely genuine smile takes over his usually stoic face.
“I don’t have many… well, any friends.” I relinquish this small truth, which bugs me more than I want to admit.
“I don’t know why. You’re not so bad.” Xion places a hand on my knee and squeezes, causing tingles to run up the inside of my thigh. I pull back from him, feeling vulnerable, and sigh as I let the dimpled leather of the seat cradle me.
“It’s hard to make friends when everyone wants your money,” I admit, and he frowns.
“Well, I don’t want it. It means nothing to me. I like you. You’re funny.” His explanation is simple, and as the carriage hits yet another bump in the road and we both jostle atop our seats, we fall into silence once more. I have no idea what to say to him. As it stands, the sad fact is that he’s probably the best friend I’ve ever had.
The Opal Blade (The Ashen Touch Trilogy Book 1) Page 24