Twisted Karma

by Lizzy Ford

  The only reason she could foresee for advising her to trust her brothers, instead of relying on him, was what Karma had said. Wynn wasn’t just planning on turning over the Council; he was planning on doing it soon.

  “There’s flexibility in how things are handled,” Stephanie murmured. “This could’ve gone another way, too, right, depending on who was in charge?”

  “Strategy in any circumstance is about adapting and often reflects the personality of the person making the decisions,” Wynn responded.

  Her focus went to the map again. “If this one soul had been taken by Darkyn, many more than ninety-four people would’ve died.”

  “Tens, maybe hundreds of thousands,” Wynn stated. “It may not have happened for a century or two, depending on what Darkyn’s plans are. But it would have happened.”

  “In the meantime, ninety-four people died.” She understood his point and the stakes but couldn’t quite grasp condemning humans to death in any circumstance.

  “Rhyn played this as safe as he could have, given our numbers. The demons took a calculated risk and would’ve succeeded if Rhyn hesitated.”

  “It’s not just about stopping demons. It’s political.”

  “It’s an ongoing chess game,” Wynn confirmed. “This war started after the first breach between Hell and the human plane. You will often have to look at the long term and decide based on the eventual cost of lives instead of what’s happening today.”

  “The real lesson here is that sometimes there is no real choice about losing lives.”

  “The faster you learn strategy, the more lives you can save,” Wynn said. “Politics and battle aren’t that much different from one another. If you can understand your opponent, what he wants, the tools he has at his disposal, and his preferred method to obtain his goals, you can prevent a demon incursion or manipulate someone into providing you with something you need. It also helps to understand the mindset of your opponent and what his motivation is. Darkyn does nothing without a reason.”

  “How could this whole situation have been avoided?” she asked, unable to accept the idea of sacrificing anyone.

  “Perfect question,” Wynn said with a rare smile and even rarer compliment. “To prevent something like this, you learn to understand others and position them so that you can predict with some accuracy what they will do. Instead of reacting to their actions, you prevent them.”

  “I’ve never been good at manipulating,” she murmured.

  “If you could’ve saved ninety-four lives, would you feel compelled to learn?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Good. Remember you need to evolve in order to save lives.”

  Stephanie fell quiet, thoughtful. Was agreeing to Wynn’s methods a slippery slope into becoming a menace like him?

  I’ll never be like him, she vowed silently. What if she used her skills to help people instead of torment or rule them? The tools were only as good or bad as those who wielded them. Wynn used a hammer to smash others. She could use it to build a house to shelter people.

  For weeks, Stephanie had been trying to figure out a means to winning her soul back from Deidre, who safeguarded it in Hell, and saving her people. Whether she felt remotely prepared for the responsibility, she had seen the damage Wynn was capable of. She could be different. She could protect humans and Immortals alike. Becoming the head of the Council would give her the power and position she needed to help her mate – as well as prevent the destiny he foresaw.

  Being in charge also meant she had to accept the fact she couldn’t save everyone.

  At the moment, she didn’t know if that was possible.

  Andre and Fate had both claimed she was the only one who could bring her family together. Stephanie felt as if she were at the mercy of a sea storm and not like someone capable of uniting her brothers or healing a community scarred from years of her family’s rule.

  Further, Fate had revealed to her that she was the only chance the society had of surviving, and therefore, the only hope humanity had against demons. She owed it to everyone to step up and try.

  “How do you learn this kind of strategy and manipulation?” she asked.

  “Time and practice. Watching others is helpful. Fortunately, you’re connected to two of the greatest strategists in existence,” Wynn replied. “In addition, Trayern is masterful in his own right, trained by Darkyn himself. If you want to know how demons act and react, and what motivates their leadership, you could start with him.”

  Trayern was listening intently. “I’m not here to teach her anything,” he said.

  “I respect your position,” Wynn said. “Darkyn must trust you a great deal after the incident at the lake.”

  The demon growled.

  Wynn smiled. “Start tomorrow.” He left the war chamber.

  Stephanie studied the demon.

  Darkyn can’t find out about the lake. The demon’s fear popped up in her mind.

  She smiled. “Checkmate, asshole.”

  “Don’t piss me off, half-breed,” Trayern warned.

  Trayern possessed some patience but no empathy. Stephanie doubted he’d teach her strategy over a civilized game of chess.

  She looked around the war chamber. No part of her was confident in her ability to handle a demon incursion. She’d need her brothers or Wynn. Was there any scenario where all of them could co-exist without the infighting characterizing the dysfunctional family she’d recently discovered? They had the potential and power to be good, to do good. She had to tap into that somehow and bring them together. Too much was at stake for them to fight.

  She lingered, observing the information presented in a fashion as overwhelming to her as the numbers Kiki had no problem adjusting.

  She could learn to deal with the concept of not being able to save people, or learn to prevent these kinds of events from occurring. At the moment, she had no idea which was harder, because both seemed to be nearly impossible based on what little she knew of how to do either.

  Nine

  Karma snapped awake on the cold, uneven stone floor in her cell in the Underworld, where she’d gone after the night at the beach. The summons was a compulsion, a mandatory request for the deity in question to appear. A portal was already waiting for her.

  A thrill worked through her. Had someone finally decided to hear her out?

  She strode through a portal into the place-between-places. One of the yellow doors leading to the human world glowed, and she hurried to it.

  She ended up in the study where she met with Peace to debate the merits of compassion and forgiveness. Her hope sank. Karma turned to face who had summoned her and crossed her arms when she spotted Wynn leaning against his desk. Her gaze was instantly riveted to him.

  She felt safe with him – and she couldn’t take her eyes off his face and body. Stephanie had told her the bond became stronger every time they met. The odd tension between them was becoming harder to deny or resist.

  “I think we should talk,” Wynn said, turquoise gaze on hers.

  Karma paced to one of the walls of books. She traced her fingers down the spines, occasionally reading one but mostly avoiding him. What little she’d learned about him from her friends echoed in her thoughts. How could she see his soul, know what he’d done to his family and her brother, hear about the interactions with others and still not know him?

  “You want your brother out of Hell, don’t you?” Wynn asked.

  Curious, Karma turned towards him. “I’m listening.”

  “I have a few favors I’ve collected over my life time. I can use one to help you.” He straightened and poured bourbon into two glasses. He approached her and held out one, stopping far enough away she had to shift closer.

  Karma stepped forward to take her glass. She sniffed it and waited for him to sip his first, in case he meant to poison or disable her and toss her back in the catacombs where she’d be imprisoned.

  Wynn didn’t move away but continued to study her. There wasn’t enough spac
e between them for her to feel comfortable, especially not with the bond urging her to move closer.

  Did he feel any of this? He was unreadable.

  “You want a favor in exchange,” she surmised. “But one favor won’t get my brother out of Hell.”

  “No, it won’t.”

  “Then why are we talking?”

  “I can show you how to free your brother. All it takes is one favor from one deity, and you can collect an empire of favors, if you know how to do it.” As he spoke he moved closer, until he once more crowded the buffer she preferred to keep around her. “Everyone wants something. You have to find the deity willing to give you more than you’re willing to give him or her.”

  Their bond charged the air between them, distracting her.

  Karma glared at him suspiciously, noticing his scent, his quiet strength, his commanding presence. He held no fear of her when she balanced him and none after experiencing what she could do to him.

  “You think I’m stupid enough to trust you?” she asked.

  “I think you’re desperate enough to trust anyone who throws you a bone. Which is your primary vulnerability.”

  She returned the glass to him. “I told you. I don’t want your help.”

  “It’s in my best interest to ensure you don’t wind up dead-dead.”

  Karma rolled her eyes. “Goodbye, Wynn.” She summoned a portal to leave.

  “What’s your next move?” he asked.

  “It’s none of your business.” She brushed past him.

  Wynn caught her wrist. Heat flew through her, triggering her desire. She froze, her thoughts scattered and body responding to him in a way it had never responded to anyone.

  “You don’t have one,” he assessed. His voice was low and quiet, velvet mixed with iron.

  One what? She stopped herself from asking and went over what they’d been talking about before his simple touch disrupted her ability to think.

  Karma looked up at him. Her hair and eyes went black with warning. “Careful, Immortal.” What she meant to sound threatening came out soft and husky.

  “You won’t hurt me, goddess.”

  His confidence unnerved her. For an Immortal with no real power, Wynn carried himself like a god.

  “You forget. I saw your soul,” she responded.

  “If you intend to extort me, you have no idea who you’re fucking with or what I will do. Know your enemy and yourself, goddess, before you threaten anyone.”

  A shiver worked its way down her spine at his intensity, one that was neither fear nor anger. It felt more like … anticipation.

  “The other deities smell blood in the water,” he continued. “All it will take is two or three of them putting their heads together.”

  “I can take care of myself.” She pulled free.

  Karma strode to the portal.

  “Want to know what your first move should be?”

  She halted, hating that he knew exactly what to say.

  “Make an example out of someone,” Wynn advised. “The others can’t know you’re desperate. If you want to play this game with deities, you must act like one. Cold. Ruthless. Detached.”

  Karma faced him again. “I’m not as good at lying about what I am as you are.”

  “Then you know where to find me when the sharks start circling,” Wynn replied.

  Karma flipped him off.

  She could no more stand to be around Wynn than she could purge her mind of him or the warmth of his palm when he took her wrist.

  What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she just hate him?

  She couldn’t hurt him. Immortal Code had no bearing on a deity, but the obscure deity code did. Mate-Fate-Blood. Mates were sacred and Fate had to exist. She couldn’t kill Wynn herself.

  She wasn’t above hiring someone else who could. She made a note to speak to Gabriel and set off to try once more to convince a deity or two to help her.

  Her first choice was the god who was supposed to lead the guardian angels charged with protecting people. During her first attempt to talk to him, Raphael had walked into the place-between-places then turned around and walked out before she had a chance to speak to him. Theoretically, he should have been willing to help her protect her brother from the Dark One, since angels and demons were natural enemies.

  As much as she wanted to ignore Wynn, she couldn’t help acknowledging his advice. Did he mean for her to balance a fellow god or goddess? Was this the piece of the puzzle she was missing? If negotiating didn’t work, she could balance someone and strip his or her power to send a message, and if balancing didn’t pan out, she could always kill someone who earned it. That would send a message to the others not to fuck with her.

  They’d fear her, but would it make anyone want to help her? This was the kind of question she wished she’d asked her brother, before he was tossed into Hell.

  “Raphael,” she said.

  The deity with white eyes and black hair appeared through a portal and promptly turned to leave.

  “I’ll summon you here every second of every day until you hear me out!” Karma cried.

  The head of the guardian angels sighed and halted. “I tend not to like dealing with Karma. You have a way of fucking up those the angels are assigned to care for.”

  Karma started to tell him assholes committing misdeeds didn’t deserve guardian angels. Instead, she decided to heed Gabriel’s advice and not piss anyone off.

  “You’re a guardian angel. Shouldn’t you want to help someone who’s been cornered by demons?” she asked.

  “It’s a little more complicated than that.”

  “But isn’t that the general idea?”

  Raphael snorted. “I heard you didn’t know what you’re doing. I thought it was an act.”

  “My brother used to help me. He’s gone, and I want to get him back,” she surmised in irritation.

  “Darkyn has him?”

  She nodded.

  Raphael considered her closely. “We aren’t on the best of terms. What do you expect me to do?”

  “I don’t know. Send an army of guardian angels to help my brother. What do you usually do?” she snapped.

  Raphael smiled. For some reason, it unnerved her. Karma waited for him to speak.

  “There is something I need,” he said deliberately. “A book.”

  “A book?” she repeated, perplexed.

  “You have access to Wynn’s property?”

  “Yeah, sure. I visit Andre … Peace. Is the book there?”

  “It is. If you bring me the book within five days, and seal this agreement with a favor, I’ll see what I can do.”

  Karma’s heart flipped over in her chest. Any warning her brother had given her about doling out favors began to evaporate in the presence of the first person willing to help her.

  The deal sounded easy enough. She had to take him a book within five days. How hard could that be?

  “Yes,” she said and held out her hand.

  Raphael shook it, and cold fire flew through her. He released her. “Wait here. I’ll provide you with the information you need to find the book.”

  Elated she’d negotiated her first deal, Karma did as he requested. She ignored the tiny instinct warning her this had been too easy and instead, focused on the idea she’d soon have the army of guardian angels she needed to protect her brother from Darkyn.

  Raphael returned with a piece of paper, on which he had scrawled four symbols. “The book will have this on the spine. It’s likely in Wynn’s private collection,” he said.

  “That’s it?” she asked again, surprised.

  “That’s it.”

  “Why is this book important?”

  “Does it matter?”

  She folded the paper and put it in her pocket. “Nope. I’ll summon you when I have it.”

  Raphael smiled again.

  Karma had no idea why she felt a sense of dread as she turned away. Her instincts threw up several red flags she chose to ignore. She was too t
hrilled at the discovery of one god willing to help her.

  “There’s another god who might help you. Maybe two,” Raphael added. “Summon the twins, Harmony and Hope.”

  “I’d tried both before.”

  “I’ll have a word with them. They should hear you out.”

  “Thank you,” she said. She’d heeded everyone’s advice – and for once, it worked!

  “Give me some time to talk to them.” Raphael said and started towards a portal. “Good luck with the book.”

  When he was gone, she grinned and spun. She clutched the paper to her chest. Her only challenge now was to reach Wynn’s study without him or Peace noticing her. From her experience, one of them was always present. She’d have to plan this mission for an opportunity when neither were there, if she were to be successful.

  Ten

  Wynn sensed the presence of Death the moment he stepped into his chamber to change from his military uniform into a tuxedo for the second party he’d hosted in the past few months. He closed the door behind him and studied the large form of Gabriel standing on the balcony past the French doors. When a deity appeared in one’s chamber, the obligation to speak to him or her was universally understood.

  Wynn crossed his chamber and joined the young god on the balcony. Trees stretched in every direction from the edge of the greens surrounding the castle to the horizon. The night was brightly lit by a mostly full moon and tiny stars, and the cool breeze sweeping past them was laden with the scent of pine.

  Wynn stood beside Death, gazing out over the serene woods. He had always loved this place, even if Past-Dark One hadn’t chosen to breach the plane between Hell and the mortal world in this very spot. Wynn’s healing power sealed both breaches.

  “I don’t suppose you’re here for the soiree,” Wynn murmured.

  “After your last party, I’m shocked anyone showed up,” Gabriel said dryly.