Wicked Lucidity

by Wicked Lucidity [lit]

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “They never had a hold on him, Branson. He came out of the womb on their side. He was born to the darkness--to evil.”

  “What?”

  Hansen licked his lower lip. “Always the perceptive one, aren’t you, Karri? Oh, but wait.” He made a move towards me and found Seger pushing him backwards. He just laughed. “Tell your guard dogs to back away, Karri. They aren’t like us. They don’t share the common thread. I think you and I both know what will happen to them if I’m feeling provoked. Now, come and give me what it is that makes men flock to your side, give their life for you and swear allegiance to you and not the powers.”

  “Kiss my Fay ass, you punk bitch,” Branson said, reaching for his weapon. “She isn’t handing you shit.”

  I knew that Hansen was right. They wouldn’t survive an attack by him. Drawing on my powers, I thrust Branson across the room and pinned him there. Before Hansen could react, I did the same to Seger, leaving nothing standing between us.

  Hansen walked in a small circle. “Tell me how it is you know so much about how things work when you’re as young as you are? I’ve lived for over a hundred years and am still learning. But you, Karri, seem to know it all. That’s funny because I heard that just ten short years ago you didn’t even know what you are. That you found yourself under a beast that even the strongest of evil’s warriors would admire. And that you were within inches of death, feeling your power trying to surface but terrified of what it was and what it meant you were. ”

  “Karri, lift the hold, now!” Branson shouted from his corner of the attic.

  While I didn’t let go of him, I did give him some company. I used my power and moved Amber to him quickly, encasing them in protection as I went. “Guard her with your life. She’s like a sister to me.”

  I went to do the same and send Riston to Seger but stopped when Seger shook his head. “Save your energy, Karri. He’ll be fine where he is. You seem to be missing out on something huge when it comes to him. Let me go and I’ll help. You can’t take Hansen on alone. He’s a first level warrior for them, isn’t he?”

  I nodded.

  Seger glared at Branson. “Way to go, asshole. Drop the devil at her doorstep again some time. I’m sure she’ll love it about as much as she loves this one. Now, Karri, let me go. Amber is safe with Branson and your new friend is fine on his own. Let me....”

  Hansen shot power out, hitting the barrier I’d put around Seger. While I could protect him from death, I couldn’t stop the impact. It hit Seger and sent him hurdling backwards. Hansen laughed. “I take it that you didn’t bother to tell them what we are, Karri. Did you not want to brag, even a little? I know I always do.”

  “Seger?” I asked, afraid he might be hurt. “You breathing, buddy?”

  He groaned. “Still alive. Pissed. But still breathing.”

  “Want me to enlighten them, Karri-Lynn? Want to tell them the extremes that the war has come to? Want to share exactly what each side is now being forced to use to fight the other? There was a time when our race was created to be the mediators, but no, no now we’re the pivotal players in it all. Tell them, Karri. Tell them what the powers kept hidden from all. Tell them what we are.” Hansen said, glancing at Riston. “And who is your new friend? Don’t tell me that you went and found yourself another fill in. A powerful....”

  “You will not touch him,” I said, taking a firm stance in front of Riston and preparing to battle the purest form of evil, a fallen angel.

  Branson struggled against my hold, demanding more of my attention than I was willing to put out. “Damnit, let go of me!”

  “Stop fighting it, Branson. It makes Karri use her powers on you and not conserve them.” Seger got to his feet, using the wall to support himself. “She’s too friggin’ stubborn to let us go until she feels like it.”

  Even though Seger, who I trusted with my life, told me that Riston would be safe, I wasn’t willing to take that chance. I wrapped my power around Riston and thrust him across the room for Seger to protect. It took way more of my energy than it should have to move him.

  Seger’s eyes widened as he stared at Riston. “I tried to tell her. You tell her to drop it, maybe she’ll listen to you. I doubt it but it might be worth a try.”

  “Huh?” I asked, unsure why the hell he was bothering to explain anything to Riston who had no clue that anything was going on.

  Hansen didn’t give Seger time to answer. He closed the distance between us fast, grabbed the back of my neck and tried to kiss me. I put my hand over his mouth, preventing him from making contact. He tipped his head back and laughed. “Now, sweetheart, is that anyway to treat your dear loving husband?”

  I shoved hard on his face. “Oh, would you please shut up. We are not, nor were we ever married you delusional, psychotic, pathetic, excuse for a man. I would rather shackle myself to a rabid hellhound than to you, so stop dreaming and get a hold of yourself.”

  Hansen laughed and licked my palm. “That could be arranged.”

  I cringed. “Oh gawd, I’m not going to break out in anything am I?”

  “Did you break out when I dropped in to help you and you assumed I was someone else we know?”

  I froze.

  He grinned as I lowered my hand from his face. “No, you didn’t break out. Did you, Karri? Hmm, I never did find out what tipped you off that I wasn’t who you thought I was.”

  It was my turn to smile. “You can’t kiss worth a shit and you kept pawing me like a schoolboy out for a quickie in the back of his car. Sort of a dead giveaway.”

  Branson snorted and I had to bite back a laugh too.

  Hansen’s mouth captured mine before I could blink. He thrust his tongue in and I bit down on it. He stopped and put his hands in the air. He mumbled something, his eyes wide.

  I laughed.

  “Holy shit, she’s going to bite his tongue off,” Branson said, sounding impressed. “Damn happy I never tried that one on her. I like my tongue in my head.”

  Hansen moved quickly, attempting to insert his hand down the front of my pants. I beat him to it and had mine down his and a death grip on his cock before he could blink. I knew exactly what to expect when I reached down, he was after all an identical match to someone I had been more than intimate with--Tripp.

  He shook his head slightly as I held tight to his tongue and I twisted his most prized passion to the point where I knew he was in pain.

  He mumbled something else. I gave in and released my hold on his tongue, but increased my hold on his cock. “I’m sorry, did you say something?” I asked, gagging slightly at the idea of him having had his tongue in my mouth. “Mouthwash, anyone? I think I’m going to puke.”

  Hansen grimaced. “Kar-ri, let go.”

  “No.”

  I met his gaze, refusing to look away. “Did you or did you not have something to do with the enemy knowing where and when they could find Tripp? Before you answer you should know that I can and will rip what you hold so dear from you.” I laughed. “See, you took from me, I think it would only be fair.”

  “You wouldn’t.” Hansen looked hopeful.

  Seger laughed. “The last guy who tried to call her bluff is probably still singing soprano as we speak.”

  Hansen tried to strike out at me and I caught his hand with mine and tightened my hold on his dick, twisting him almost all the way around. “Ahh, enough. Enough. You win.”

  “Did you have something to do with Tripp’s death?” I fought hard to keep my voice from cracking and failed. The very thought of Tripp made me ache for him.

  “Not purposely,” he said. “I swear, Karri.”

  “Is he lying?” Branson asked.

  I shook my head. “No.” I released my hand from his cock and wrapped magik around it instead. I gripped it hard, the threat of removing it still there. His eyes widened more. I smiled. “No hands required. Quite a perk if I’m fucking you. Not so fun when I’m ready and willing to rip your dick off.”

  Hanse
n’s gaze went to Riston and his eyes widened more. “Unfortunately, you aren’t the only one who is willing to do that at the moment. To be honest, I would rather take my chances with you, Karri. Your new friend is most disconcerting.”

  I ignored his comment and wiped my hand on my jean shorts. “I need to be dunked in bleach now. Thanks.”

  “Karri,” he closed his eyes a bit, “I miss him too.”

  “You miss him? That’s all you have to say?” My anger seized hold of me and I fought hard to keep any darkness from filling it. “Tell me what happened, Hansen. Why turn Tripp over and not me? Why?” I slammed my fists into his chest. As he caught my wrists I dropped my magik, unable to keep both it and my feelings in check.

  “You really don’t know?” Hansen asked, sounding surprised.

  I shook my head as a tear ran down my check. Something passed over Hansen’s face that I couldn’t read. I didn’t care how he felt. I only knew that I hurt because of him. “You let him die. You knew the enemy read you enough to know what Tripp’s part in it all was and yet you didn’t warn him. You made up all that shit about needing a break from it, that the evil was getting to you so he stepped up to the plate because he was scared of losing you to them, Hansen.” I punched out hard and caught the side of his face. “He took your fucking place!”

  The fury within me needed to shout, needed to let it all out. “You used his love for you against him! Why?” I hit him again. It did little to calm my rage. “I can’t believe that you hated him, Hansen. I saw the two of you together. You were different with him. You cared about him. What in the hell changed that?”

  “You.”

  “What?”

  He shook his head and laughed. “You still don’t understand why. How is that, Karri? How can you be so smart and so oblivious all at the same time?”

  Taking a calming breath, I regained control of my emotions, at least temporarily that is. “I don’t know, probably the same way you were able to deliver your own brother into the hands of the enemy. Takes some skill and practice but at the end of the day you realize you pulled it off without a hitch. Though, that could just be the bitch in me talking.”

  “He had something I wanted, Karri. Something that wasn’t supposed to be his but they,” he glanced up, “still gave him.”

  I glared at him. “Cryptic talk will gain you a one-way ticket to getting the shit beat out of you. The only reason you are still alive is because I can’t physically bring myself to kill you. Don’t think I won’t find someone who can, Hansen. Someone who won’t see Tripp when they look at you. Someone who doesn’t care, who won’t be at the mercy of a fallen angel.” I smiled as the perfect person came to mind. “Someone like Jean-Paul.”

  Hansen stiffened. “Would you really have your pet vampire come after me, Karri? I don’t think you would.”

  I kicked out hard and fast, catching him in the gut. He fell to the ground and I seized hold of the knife I knew he carried in his boot. I pressed it to his throat and winked. “You don’t know me as well as you think, Hansen. No one does.”

  “That’s it, Karri. Open up to the hate. You’re so close to being one of us, aren’t you?” Hansen touched my cheek and I fought down the urge to slit his throat. “Tell me, do you still wake in cold sweats with the urge to kill everything around you? Do you still hear the demons whispering to you when you’re on the verge of sleep, when you’re not strong enough to keep them at bay? Is that why you look tired, Karri? Do you find ways to stay awake?”

  That caught me off guard. “What? How do you know that?”

  Hansen smiled, running his hands up and over my thighs. “Until you came along my brother and I were close. He came to me for advice when he needed it. He told me all about how you’d shoot up from a fitful sleep, your eyes filled with black, clutching your chest as your heart slowed, preparing itself to stop altogether--allowing you to be a member of the living dead. A powerful force of darkness. A force like me. He told me how he’d struggle to get you to understand where you were mentally and to bring you back to yourself. He wasn’t your anchor, but he tried all the same, terrified that one night you would never come back, never recognize who he was and forever be one of us.”

  I shook my head, not wanting to believe that Tripp would tell something that personal to Hansen.

  He smiled. “He was scared to death that you’d turn and he knew he didn’t have it in him to kill you, Karri. Tripp knew that he’d stand by, helpless while you slaughtered millions if you ever gave in to the darkness. That’s why he came to me. He knew that I did have it in me to kill you. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, at least that is what he told me, but he had to ask, had to know that someone would be able to stop you if or should I say when the time comes.”

  I pressed the knife to him more and shook my head. “You lie. Tripp said he could do it. He said he would keep me from hurting anyone. He swore that he could.” My hands trembled. “He promised me that he’d be the one to kill me if it came to it. He said....”

  “He lied,” Hansen whispered.

  I shook my head, not wanting to believe him. “No. You’re twisting things. He knew I couldn’t ask Seger or the rest of them. He knew that in the end they won’t be powerful enough to stop me. He said that no matter what happens that he’d transcend time and space to make sure I don’t hurt innocents. Tripp wouldn’t lie to me.”

  Hansen nodded slightly. “Listen to the way you talk, you know that you’re on borrowed time, that you’ve done what it takes other angels hundreds of years, if ever to do. You’ve seen too much, been through too much and have found yourself on the wrong side too many times. They did it to you. The powers knew that you were too young to handle what they wanted from you but they didn’t care. They needed a woman, someone the men would let their guard down around, someone who could appeal to both sides--someone like you, Karri.”

  Hansen locked gazes with me, reminding me so much of Tripp that I almost forgot he wasn’t. “It hurt him to lie to you, Karri. But he knew you needed to hear that he could do what you asked. As much as I’d like to be the one to tell you that there was a point when Tripp could have carried out what he, as your second in command, should have been able to, I’d only be lying. He couldn’t hurt you. From the moment he met you he set his job aside, not caring who he put in danger in the process.”

  “Shut up,” I whispered, not sounding the least bit threatening. “He was one of the best soldiers I’ve ever seen in action. I tried to tell them that. I told them to make him be team leader--Captain. Not me. They didn’t listen.”

  “Karri, you let us all think we’re good at what we do but we know that you carry something we don’t. It’s something I can’t even put my finger on but if I have to guess it’s that you genuinely have no fear of death. You almost seem to welcome the idea.”

  Dropping my head down, I bit back my emotions. “Did he tell you that too?”

  “He didn’t have to, Karri. I heard the two of you talking.” Hansen’s gaze ran over my face. “I felt his pain, his fear, it hit me out of nowhere. I rushed to him. That’s when I knew. I watched from the shadows as he lay in your bed, holding you, rocking you while he tried desperately to wake you up from whatever self-induced hell you’d put yourself in, Karri.”

  Seger cleared his throat. “Umm, Karri, why was Tripp with you in your bed to start with?”

  Hansen’s face lit with amusement. He was getting way too much pleasure out of airing my secrets. “Tell them how you broke one of your own golden rules. Tell them, Karri.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, ignoring his request. “You didn’t come to play catch up, so why are you here. And,” I pressed the knife to his throat more, drawing blood as I went, “don’t think I haven’t noticed your hands on my ass. Get them off me now or I will keep them as souvenirs.”

  He winked and put his hands out far from my body. “I’m here to collect you, of course.”

  “Like hell you are,” Branson shot out. “Karri, go. G
et the hell out of here! We’ll handle him.”

  “You couldn’t possibly handle me. You are an inferior race. You couldn’t even sense what I carry in me. The darkness, the hate, the rage. Your little mind can’t possibly grasp what we are. The idea of a being sent forth from the gods themselves is too much for you.”

  “I know you’re an asshole.”

  I glanced back at Branson and snickered. “I think that summed it up nicely.”

  Hansen seized hold of me and flipped me onto my back fast. He took the knife and pressed it to the side of my face. Another power thrust hard against my magik and it wasn’t Hansen’s. No. It was one of the people I was holding in place. They were powerful and wearing me down fast. It was clear they wanted out but I wouldn’t let them.

  As I went to push Hansen off me, he let his eyes swirl to black. Before I could prepare myself, Hansen pushed his dark power through me, calling to my own dark side. The side I’d inherited from my father.

  “What the hell is he doing to her?” Branson asked.

  “He’s trying to force Karri’s dark angel powers to the surface.”

  Hansen stopped and stared at Seger. “She told you what she is? What she carries in her?”

  He shrugged. “She’s not ashamed of who her father was. He may have carried all the genetic traits of someone who should have been evil through and through but from what I’ve heard about him, he was anything but.”

  Hansen smiled. “That may be so but he had what Karri has never had, an anchor, a true mate to keep her grounded to the side she was destined to serve. She is fair game. May the strongest side win.”

  I knew better than to fight it at this stage. I’d need my energy to hang on to the shred of goodness I had left in me. I gave in, slipping into character as I called it when I went the way of darker part of myself for the sake of a mission. My eyes burned and I knew they’d filled in black. I stared up at Hansen before turning my head and licking the knife blade. A rather smug look moved over his face.

  “There you are.” He kissed my forehead and I let him. “Since you didn’t fight as hard as I anticipated I’m willing to let your friends live.”