Nash picked up the explanation for Sid. “Yeah, it’s a big deal to the humans. They have laws against killing regardless of how evil the victim is. In Nik’s case, his transporter may have been the instigator. The detective is still trying to finish the investigation. He wants Nik’s cooperation and doesn’t believe that Nik really has amnesia. He’s convinced Nik knows who the gang members are, but isn’t naming them because of some kind of code. Vanek’s working on changing the detective’s mind so he can pull Nik out of L.A. ASAP. Lainey’s getting a room ready. She was off today and volunteered to help out.”
“I heard my name. What am I doing?” Lainey’s usual sunny smile was in place as she entered the room with a stack of towels in her arms. “Oh! We have company.”
Nash lifted his chin in the Primani’s general direction and corrected her. “They’re not company. They’re business. Did you get everything done?”
She nodded politely at Dec and Killian and replied, “I’m done with the room. The bed’s made and I picked up some more towels and toiletries for the bathroom. Dylan’s still out shopping for some clothes. He’s going to need something to wear. Poor guy’s been through enough. The least we can do is shop for him so he’s comfortable while he’s recuperating. I can’t imagine how much pain he’s in.”
“And speaking of comfortable.” Koivu wrapped her in a one arm hug that made her squirm and elbow him around the stack of towels.
“Ewww, you’re all wet and bloody. Get off!”
He squeezed a little more, whispering in her ear, turning on the charm, “It’s a pity hug, woman. I just got bad news. I’m feeling emotional. Humor me.”
She huffed an annoyed chuckle but enfolded him in a perfectly normal hug that gave him more comfort than he’d admit before pulling away with a sparkle in her eye. “You have emotions? I had no idea.” She softened her snotty tone by sharing a smile with him before sweeping her gaze to the rest of the guys. “Why’s Koivu bleeding? What happened now? The vibe in here is horrible.”
Nash ushered her from the room, saying, “Bad news. Benn’ll tell you later. We need to get some plans together. Thanks for helping with Nik. He’s a good dude. He’ll appreciate what you’re doing.”
She dug her heels in and refused to budge. “So, what, now I’m not in the inner circle? After all we’ve been through? Are you kidding me?”
Benn jumped up and intervened before she could get any steam going. “Come on, love. I’ll fill you in.”
Chapter 3: Origins
Hell:
Mai’s palatial villa rose three stories high and was surrounded by wild, rambling gardens filled with night-blooming Demonshade and Angelblood. Usually she found great pleasure in her flowers, but today their bittersweet perfume suffocated the air as the sky darkened with the passing of another day. The starless night buffeted her like a stiff breeze ahead of a violent storm. She shivered from more than the chilly air. Her carefully arranged plan was in motion, but she felt less in control now than she had before. Carrick’s news had rattled her. She rubbed her hands together and tried to ignore the niggling doubts. From her position on her bedroom’s filigree balcony, the sprawling maze appeared to be an endless, single shrub. In reality, the maze had been created from thousands of shrubs, all carefully selected for their magical properties, well before humans came along. Thanks be to Lucifer. His original fall left an imprint in the soil that allowed her family’s maze to flourish, even after thousands of years. Yes, thanks be to Lucifer. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t exist. Her family wouldn’t exist.
Family had once been her only passion, but she’d since seen the light, or dark, as it were. The Da’vinRa’ had shown her there was more to her destiny than children. She was meant for more than breeding exceptional demonkind. As the powerful matriarch of a powerful bloodline, she, and only she, held the key to the insurrection.
A C-minor note tinkled in her ear. It was time. Turning away from the maze and its history, she quickly covered her hair and adjusted the front of her ceremonial hood. The leader was on his way. He would be agitated enough without the insult of her heritage gleaming in his face. While mentally running through her tasks, she slipped inside a tiny elevator and descended to the tunnel system that burrowed beneath the villa. Once she arrived on level four, she pressed another button that rotated the elevator car onto a horizontal shaft that no one else knew about. The elevator car flew along the track until she was under the maze. It stopped with a soft hiss of brakes.
There was very little time to spare, but she had to see it for herself. Earlier today, she’d met with Carrick in the privacy of his bedroom. After a mediocre round of sex, he’d bragged about how well the leader’s plans were proceeding. At the time, she’d pretended to know what he was talking about, but inside she seethed with worry. Had she been left in the dark? She had to know if Carrick’s boasts were true before she met with the leader. How far had the ritual progressed?
The entrance to her seeing room was hidden behind a bend in the underground corridor. This far beneath the maze, she was hidden from curious eyes—physical or magical. Secrecy was crucial. The Da’vinRa’ were old. They were fanatics. They weren’t above spying on each other and still calling themselves friends.
“Gadir Ovyn Sett.” With the barest suggestion of motion, the illusion wavered to reveal the open door. She rushed forward and fell to her knees next to her scrying pool. Peering into the still water, she summoned the magic and let her mind fly to the one she sought. She hadn’t heard from him in months. Was he alive? Was he dead? Her heart raced as she searched for him. Each second stretched to hours while cold dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Her assassin was too deadly to be defeated. He had an enormous part to play if her plans were to succeed. He simply had to be alive. The clock was ticking.
The day of reckoning was coming, but there was still much to be done. The earth had to be prepared before the countdown could begin. The holy number twelve must sanctify the filthy human plane. Twelve demons. Twelve deaths. The Da’vinRa’ demanded the purest blood to cleanse away the filth of the children of God. The cleansing was preordained by the ancients. The leader could not ascend until the purification was complete. The ascension of demonkind—no, their very existence—depended on the purging of humanity. Lucifer’s ties to Heaven, to his archangel brethren, to his father himself, made him weak, unable to lead demonkind to their rightful place. A change was required.
Twelve must be slaughtered. The earth must be soaked in blood, cleansed, and then subjucated. The Trinity would die, one at a time, as demanded by the old ways. Each body would be drained and left in tribute. The sacrifice was worth it. Her sons’ deaths would bring glory to the family name. One day they would be honored as heroes in the new history of Hell. That’s what she’d been told. But she had other ideas.
Gazing blankly into the black water, she frowned as a gruesome image took form. A dark, dank cave filled with brilliant bursts of angelic energy. The sounds of battle roared in her ears. Cries of pain, clashing swords, and bellows of rage . . . The violence was horrifying. Feathers flew. Blood spattered. In the end, her secret weapon had been skewered to the stone wall like an insect. Blinded and gutted, his blood ran in rivulets over his legs and puddled on the floor. The brutality was shocking, even to her ancient eyes. More disturbing was the implication. She’d sent him to the island to retrieve the monk’s weapon. He was to slip in and out unnoticed. No one should know about him. His very existence was a myth. But someone had known. Who had done this? The killer kept his back turned so she couldn’t see his face. She peered more closely, but the image was blurring with the passage of time. Who had killed her pet? Only a being with impressive power could’ve subdued him. Who had that kind of power? An archangel? Lucifer? Sitting back on her heels, she tapped a curved claw on the edge of the pool. How was this possible?
Her Black Angel was gone.
Meanwhile, on the lowest level of Hell, Lucifer walked along the banks of the River Styx. He didn�
�t particularly care that he was ruining several family vacations. The campground shoreline emptied ahead of him as word of his unannounced visit spread. Lounge chairs lay where they fell as their occupants bolted for the security of the cabins and caves. He ignored the frantic departures and sat his ass on a smooth, black boulder to enjoy the fresh air. The clear, sweet water lapped at the onyx pebbles, the soft sound soothing to his jangled nerves.
“Sir?” Don-li, his personal bodyguard, stopped beside him. His unicorn horn was twitching with annoyance.
“Don’t bring me bad news.”
“Sir, there’s a family picnicking in your favorite spot. Looks like a mother with three female children all approximately knee high. Would you like me to move them so they don’t interfere with your relaxation?”
“What? Why are they still there?” He gestured to the backs of the scrambling families who were running away with their belongings tucked in their arms. “Clearly the word is spreading. I’m not in the mood to play politician and kiss babies. Why would she risk my wrath by sticking around?” He brandished his everyday sword and pointed out unnecessarily, “I’m carrying a fucking sword, for fuck’s sake!”
Don-li didn’t crack a smile. “Sir, the female is the wife of the traitor Baun. She and the spawn are exploring the edge of the cave you prefer. I don’t think they’ve heard the warnings.” He cleared his throat and spit into the river. “I don’t mind hauling them off.”
Baun’s wife and children? Damn and Hell. She didn’t get the warnings because they were outcasts now. The other demons avoided them like the plague. He was the only one who knew the Trinity was innocent. To the rest of Hell, the Trinity was a reckless, crazy, GUILTY crew of a dozen radical assholes who ended up exiled for trying to lead a rebellion. He couldn’t believe how naive his population was. How could they really believe that anyone would want to overthrow him? Let alone the entire nightshift crew in the SuperMax level. It boggled the mind. Now he had a real group of radicals trying to do exactly the same thing. The constant drama was starting to piss him off. His temper had a long, long fuse. It was just now starting to burn.
He took a minute to focus on what was happening around him and realized the shoreline had cleared out in front of and behind him. He could practically hear the echoes of footsteps running away. The remnants of picnics and toys lay scattered like body parts after a good sized bomb went off. Well, that just pissed him off. All of these demons bolted to hide, but no one bothered to warn a female with three baby girls. What a bunch of assholes! That’s shitty even for demonkind. Cowardly, too. He picked up a floating beer cooler and hurled it onto the pebbly shore. It exploded into plastic snowflakes. “Bring the family to me.”
He turned back to the river and glowered into its depths until the high-pitched screams started. This was exactly why he didn’t like children. First one started up, then the second, and then finally all three girls were wailing. Flinching at the noise, he pretended not to notice as the shrieking got closer. When the noisemakers stopped behind him, he fixed his expression into something resembling pleasant and turned around.
The female waited with slumped shoulders and dull eyes. The three little girls hid behind her legs.
Don-li shoved her to her knees, barking, “Kneel before Lucifer!”
She collapsed with a cry and laid her forehead on the ground. A mop of raven hair flowed over her shoulders and curtained her face. The girls huddled against her, too afraid to cry now.
He lifted his chin to dismiss Don-li, and said to the female, “Stand up so we can talk.”
Her thin shoulders trembled. One of the girls began to whimper. Another one peered up at him with a lone crystal tear leaking from the corner of her impossibly blue eye.
“I’m not going to hurt you. Now stand up.”
She got to her feet, moving slowly and stiffly. She kept her eyes lowered and clung to the tiny hands linked to hers.
“What’s your name, female?”
She gulped nervously, but answered, “Diami, sir.”
He’d given Carrick orders to keep track of the traitors’ families. He’d given the Trinity his word. While they were helping to uncover the real traitors, he guaranteed their families would be safe and fed. Clearly that wasn’t happening here. The entire family was skinny; too skinny to be healthy. The girls’ cheeks were sunken; their eyes dull. Diami’s ivory scales shimmered in the afternoon light giving them an odd, fiery sheen like an opal. Hornless and wingless, she was humanoid except for a pronounced brow bone that resulted in exceptionally deep-set teal eyes. She was probably quite pretty once, but starvation and grief had ripped away her beauty. He was going to beat Carrick senseless.
“Come closer, girls.” He squatted and held out his hands. Three fat, colorful butterflies appeared on his palms. Their wings beat softly as the girls’ eyes grew round and their pale cheeks brightened. “Hold out your hands. They’re for you.”
Shy and distrustful, the girls hesitated, their gazes darting between the magical butterflies and their mother. One of them asked, “Is it okay, mama?”
“It’s all right, baby. He’s not going to hurt you,” Diami replied.
He gave them a little smile of encouragement and made the butterflies dance. “Take them before they fly away.”
“Yes, sir.” They nodded obediently and offered their tiny palms. The butterflies took flight, landing delicately. Beaming at the tiny miracles, they bobbed their heads and said in unison, “Thank you, Mr. Lucifer.”
Mr. Lucifer? That was actually cute. Maybe children weren’t monsters after all. “Why don’t you go play over there so I can talk to your mother for a minute?”
“Okay!” They scampered off without a backwards glance.
Diami watched them go before turning back with bleak eyes. “It’s Baun, isn’t it? He’s dead.”
“Is he?”
Her hand settled over her heart; her fingers massaging the flexible scales. “When you love someone, you feel it when they’re gone.” She patted at her heart and cried, “He didn’t do what they said. He was innocent. He would never betray you.”
“I know that.”
She cast her eyes to her children, rallying her emotions, and reining in the impotent rage he sensed lingered just beneath her scales. The grief in her eyes was replaced by a burning fire that he could respect. She nearly snarled, “If you know he was innocent, you have to clear his name. My children are outcasts. They have no future now. It’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not fair, but this is more complicated than you can imagine.”
Twenty minutes later, he watched Diami, Seela, Bauna, and Deni disappear into thin air as he sent them back to their house. He dismissed Don-li with orders to track down his assistant. Between the two of them, they were to ensure the safety and security of Diami’s home, and stock the kitchen. They would never be hungry again. His assistant, JoAnne, was tasked with setting up a stipend for continued living expenses. He let them keep the priceless butterflies. It was the least he could do.
“What is this pain in my chest?” he muttered on his way down the shore.
“It’s your heart growing to normal size.” Raphael materialized with his russet wings tucked to his back. Odd. He wasn’t one for flaunting his feathers.
“What’s with the wings?” he asked when he got within earshot.
Raphael flipped the tip of his left wing in greeting. “I thought I’d air them out while we talk.” He turned towards the path and started walking. “What news have you got for me?”
Before he answered, he waved the rest of his guards back so they wouldn’t be tempted to eavesdrop. He’d just gotten them trained to his liking. He’d hate to have to smite them so soon. Training newbies was a pain in the ass. Once he and Raphael were alone, he said, “The Black Angel is on my to-do list for today. Uriel says he’s finally strong enough to answer questions.”
“Do you expect to get any real answers?”
“Not really, but I’m going to ask nicely.�
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His brother snorted with an insulting amount of doubt. “Try not to kill him until you get the truth. It would be lovely to discover where he’s been hiding for all this time. He’s extremely old, and since you forgot about him, he had to be living with one of your ancient families. It’s the most obvious explanation.”
“As usual, brother, you’re right about that. The question is which family? There are twelve origin families. All of my demons descend from them. We’ll need to investigate each bloodline if he refuses to tell me.”
Raphael raised a brow in surprise. “Only twelve origin families? You built all of Hell from only twelve demons? That’s actually incredible. I’m reluctantly impressed.”
He chuckled and replied, “You’re impressed? It must be killing you to admit that.”
“A little, yes.” He stopped to fold his wings and tuck them out of sight. “I have some bad news for you. Two of your Trinity were found dead—sacrificed in ritual killings two months apart. According to Nash, they were Olli and Baun.”
“Sonofabitch! I just met Baun’s family! He’s got three little girls! Who would kill these guys? They’re already exiled. Their demon forms are toast. They can never come back. I’ve been working on the assumption that Carrick exiled them to misdirect my attention from the true conspiracy. Why would they be killed now?” He glared into the river so intently that steam rose from the waves. He rounded on his guards and they tripped over themselves trying to back up. “What are you doing this close? Didn’t I tell you to stay fifty yards away?” They scrambled out of smiting range. He growled under his breath, the sound loud enough to cause Raphael to lay a restraining hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off. “This just pisses me off! I don’t suppose it’s possible that this is a coincidence, is it?”
“I doubt it, Luc. It would be quite a coincidence.” He shook his head thoughtfully and added, “The real questions are why those two and who’s next? I’d bet all of the Trinity are in danger. I simply don’t know why.”
Koivu (Demons After Dark Book Three) Page 4