The Arbiter: Divinely Damned Book One

by K. B. Ladnier

  On the fourth night of the passage, everything changed.

  I had been taking a moonlit stroll towards the front of the ship, the wind chilling my bones, even through the multiple layers. As I made it closer to the bow, I heard a scuffling come from the crow’s nest. I couldn’t see the commotion from my angle below, so I curiously made my way up as I made sure that no one saw me climbing. Shock hits me harder than the cold at what I find.

  Two men seemed to be embracing as I clear the last step. When I turned to leave and give them privacy, a thought raced through my head, and I just had to be sure.

  Taking a step closer I realize that the scene before me is not as I originally thought. One man was of the crew, his black and white uniform giving away his status. The other, however, was a delicacy to behold.

  He was fashioned in an expensive suit, having obviously just came from first-class dining. His long, dark-brown hair was pulled back into a pony-tail with not a single hair out of place. I couldn’t see his face from my angle, but his massive, muscular form had me almost drooling on myself. That finely tailored suit hugged his over six-foot body in the most deliciously sinful ways, especially those broad shoulders. Just being near him had my body ablaze with need I couldn’t comprehend.

  Leaning a bit closer, I wasn’t surprised to see that his ears had a slight point to them, and his skin was slowly fluctuating between a deep shade of blood-red and a normal, human bronze. I knew then that I wanted…no needed to see his face. I cleared my throat to let him know of my presence.

  His body had immediately tensed and for a few breaths, he just stood there without releasing the helpless man trapped in his arms. Then suddenly, he dropped the crew member with a loud thump. I wanted to check to see if he was ok, but there’s no way in Damnation I was going to take my eyes off a potential enemy, especially one that I had no clue what he was.

  He had turned slowly, causing my breath to hitch as his eyes met mine. Judging from their glow and remnants of the human’s soul still flowing inward, through his full, parted lips, he almost looked like an Incubus, but there was something different about him. In all my years, I had never run across anything like him, living nor Damned.

  Those eyes still glowed with an orange and yellow light that were like flames burning beneath his irises. They were fixed on me like I was the next snack. His skin steadily stopped flashing between tones and stayed on that red, almost black color. Those sinful lips then tilted up into a wicked smile.

  He was breathtaking.

  But, even the most beautiful of things could hide the deadliest of poisons beneath their surface.

  Hungry eyes raked my entire body. I flashed my silver eyes back in their equal brightness, displaying my own power. It was best to get that out of the way, so that he would know that I’m not for eating. Well…at least not in that way. I kept myself tense and ready, just in case he decided to attack.

  That smile never falters.

  “Who are you?” the stranger had asked me; his voice sent pleasurable tingles down my spine. It was deep and raspy like he’d just drank an entire decanter of whiskey.

  I smiled my most menacing smile, “The question is not who I am, but why you think it’s acceptable to be taking the life of the one crew member that’s desperately needed for safe passage through this ice-riddled hell?”

  His smile widened at my inquiry, only adding to those devastatingly good looks. Stepping towards me, he closes the short distance between us in the tiny space.

  “You are, by far, one of the most enticing creatures I’ve ever had the privilege of gazing upon,” he said looking at me as if he could see straight through me and loved what he saw. It was strange how his soul energy called to me like a kid in a candy store; his body sang a sweet symphony to mine.

  I normally didn’t need to feed from soul energy very often, because of my Divine side. I’d gone too long without a proper feeding this time and was ravenous for his. Plus, his body looked quite delicious as well. I’d happily take both.

  Since I didn’t respond to his question, he continued talking, “If it pleases you to hear, I have not killed this man. I was only hungry, and he looked appetizing. He’ll live. Damnation knows, the last thing I need is a Rite coming for my head.”

  The words make sense coming out of his mouth, but the sight and smell of him had me so distracted. Why did he have to smell so good?

  He smiled darkly at me, obviously able to see how badly my desire to feed from him was. It was taking everything I had not to attack him. I had never wanted for soul energy before in the way that I was wanting his in this moment. Funny how I had originally approached this with fear that he’d attack me, but now, I was the one with little control. Not completely unheard of for a young Damned, such as myself.

  He seemed to make the decision for me as he edged even closer, that fucking smile still in place and excitement behind his eyes. I clenched my fists so tight that my nails dug into my palms. With him a hairs width away, I closed my eyes and felt his heated breath on my face. The inferno of his body slowly ignited my own fire.

  What in damnation was wrong with me?

  “Take what you want, love,” he whispers as my body shakes with ecstasy, “I can practically feel your need to taste my soul. I give it freely and do not worry. You will not kill me.”

  This sexy stranger was offering to feed my hunger, and I was powerless to stop what happened next.

  My eyes snapped open right before I launch myself at him. His arms wrapped around me as his lips crashed down against mine. I wrapped my legs around his torso as his lifted me. When I took my first pull from him, I dug my fingers into his hair.

  Sweet Divinity, his soul tasted like burnt honey; smoky, spicy, and sweet all at once. His tongue flicked out and traced mine as I continued to swallow his energy. One of his hands that was wrapped around my ass, clung onto one cheek, while the other was fastened to the back of my neck, anchoring me to him. He walked with me until my back slammed against the cold metal pole in the middle of the crow’s nest, inciting a cry of both pain and pleasure from me.

  When I hit, I released the pull on his soul and just dove head-first into kissing him. Now, it was more than just his soul that I wanted. I was greedy and wanted his body too. Since mine was trapped between him and the pole, one of his hands lifted my skirt while the other undid his slacks. I let out a gasp as he slid into me with a force that ignited every nerve ending inside of my body. With each stroke there was a fire that grew within me. Any reason I had once held, fled without resistance. There was more to this Damned than I could begin to realize, more than I could see in front of me. With each thrust the need for him only grew.

  I didn’t even care that the who or what he was remained a mystery. I just wanted everything he had to offer. ‘More,’ was all my brain kept shouting at me. He slammed into me over and over as he put a hand to my mouth to quell the sound that I was making. It was wild and electric the way that his skin slid in and out of my body. The sensations were almost too much, but I held on.

  As we both hit the point of no return, he bit my earlobe and hissed into my ear, “Come with me, darling.”

  Those few words were all that I needed to hear before I fell apart.

  “That’s it, Love. Let go,” he purred as we finished.

  When the waves of ecstasy passed, I tilted my face toward the sky and laughed.

  “Never have I ever done anything like that before,” I told him, “Your soul was better than the finest wine in Paris.”

  He gave me a conceited grin and lowered me to my feet before we both righted our clothes, “Definitely more than I was expecting to receive when I came up here for sure, Love. The name is Enoch, in case you were wondering.”

  I laugh again, humored by the fact that I hadn’t even asked his name before jumping his bones like a starving woman at the buffet.

  “I’m Nocturna,” I told him. I opened my mouth to say something else, but a groaning behind him cut me off. We both looked down to
see the crew member becoming conscious again. I had completely forgotten about the fact that this man was needed for a very important job, and Enoch had distracted me from chastising him for it.

  My attention focused on the open ocean ahead of us, and my heart almost stopped at what appeared in the distance.

  “Shit!” I shouted as I pushed past Enoch to lean over the side of the crow’s nest, trying to make sure what I was seeing was actually there.

  There it sat, plain as day. An iceberg, a mere hundred yards away as the ship powered on. The only source of alerting the captain laid prone at our feet. Enoch finally seemed to notice that I wasn’t paying any attention to him and stepped up to my side.

  “Iceberg!” I shouted before turning to him, “I’m not really sentimental to the humans on this ship, but I know for a fact that I cannot survive swimming in that water down there.”

  His brows pinched together as the sex haze lifted, and he saw just how dire our situation had just become.

  “Fuck,” he muttered, “It’s too damn cold for me to fly off this damned machine, either.”

  Fly? My bewilderment must show on my face, because he smirked when he looked to me, “I’m a bit different from your usual Damned, Love.”

  That explained absolutely nothing, but now wasn’t the time to get into it. He turned and walked over to a bell hanging from a hook before beginning to ring it in fervor.

  “Iceberg! Iceberg ahead!” he shouted.

  The crew members down on the deck below us heard him and immediately began hollering orders back and forth.

  Without saying another word to him, I started my descent down the ladder before the humans caught me up there. Enoch followed right after.

  When we were back on the deck, I ran to the side of the ship to watch as the iceberg came closer and closer. We were turning, but just not quick enough. Suddenly, there’s a huge lurch that shakes the entire ship as it collides with the iceberg. Chunks smashed onto the deck, missing me by inches.

  I turn to face Enoch, who has the audacity to look amused. “Look what you’ve done!” I chastise him, “This is all your fault!”

  “The blame does not lie with me alone, Love,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “I clearly remember you jumping me.”

  I rolled my eyes as I started to rush away, hoping I could gather as much of my things as possible before shit hit the fan. There was no doubt in my mind that this boat was sinking. Enoch followed me to my cabin, and smiled to himself as I threw my stuff into my luggage. I deduced that he had nothing of importance on the ship when he made no move towards his own cabin.

  We stayed in silence for the next hour as crew members began leading everyone from first-class calmly outside. We were standing and waiting for the lifeboats to be ready when Enoch chuckled softly.

  “What’s so funny?” I whispered as his chuckling gained some disapproving looks from the surrounding humans.

  He moved in close with his mouth just an inch away from my ear and whispered back, “I think we just sank the unsinkable ship.”

  I shook my head in disbelief. I wasn’t a human lover, but I didn’t hate them enough to wish them to drown in these icy water, especially the young ones. I could only hope the Rites didn’t find out about this mishap. I’d probably be killed just by association for this assholes mistake.

  I had to let him have his laugh as crew members started asking for women and children only.. I used my succubus pheromones to entice the closest crew member to allow him onto the boat with me. There had been protests from the humans, but the crew member berated them to keep quiet about it as he helped us on.

  The boat was lowered into the water and began to push away. I glanced over at Enoch and was gifted a wide grin that stole my breath away with his beauty. We both turned our attention back to the ship that was, without a doubt, sinking.

  For the next hour, we had watched as it tilted, split right down the middle and began to pull the back half upright. I had a part in this disaster, and I dared not turn away. I may not have caused this, but I certainly did nothing that could’ve helped save all the lives that would surely be lost this night. My heart grew numb with guilt the longer I watched. There was nothing but pure horror and insanity as the ship beneath the black abyss. The screams from the ship echoed through the dark, icy night, carrying to those of us that sat safely aboard the lifeboats. I promised myself that night that I would never stand by and allow another tragedy as this happen if there was something I could do to stop it.

  After docking with the Britannia, the only ship that was close enough to provide aid, Enoch and I had become better acquainted. It was strange how easily it was for me to talk with him and dare I say, it had also been nice. I didn’t feel that pit of loneliness around him and surprisingly, I felt no shame in what had happened between us. My only regret was that it cost so much life.

  Enoch had finally revealed what he truly was, and if what he said was true, then he really was as special as he claimed. A Baellock, the only one of his race of the Damned, also one of the only original first turned Damned from the war. No one knows exactly what Cain planned for him when he was created, but many assumed he would be who lead Cain’s army should he ever find a way to escape his prison. It was all speculation, though.

  Weeks passed, which bled into months, then finally years. Through all of that time, Enoch never left my side and had quickly become everything to me. We left no stones uncovered with each other. He always listened with rapture, most times asking me to recount stories more than once. We were in love, and he was all that mattered in my life.

  At the time, I found no remorse in the tragedy that was happening around us. The amount of men, women, and children that died hadn’t called to me the way it does now. Some nights, I can still hear the chilling echo of their cries calling for help across the water and hear the hopeless falling to their death as the boat sank slowly beneath the surface of the icy water. It’s a night that will live on in my memory the rest of my existence. I honestly wouldn’t blame any Rite striking me down for it should that truth ever surface. However, I’m thankful that I’m no longer the person I was on that ship.

  The RMS Titanic, or ‘Ship of Dreams’, was rightly named so. That’s all it feels like anymore, a bad dream. One that reminds me every day how much it pisses me off that I couldn’t stop loving a man I wanted nothing more than to hate.

  That memory rushes through my mind as Enoch stands there, and I despise him for bringing that back with him. He held the title as the only love of my existence, but also my biggest heartbreak. We spent next to ten years together, and never once did he mention anything about being an Infernal. If I hadn’t been so wrapped up in him, I probably could have figured it out. He had just disappeared one day, with only a note left behind saying that he was moving on. That’s all I was worth to him, a few crummy words on a scrap piece of paper.

  One hundred years. That’s how long he’s been gone. It has taken almost that long to even consider using sex for soul energy again, because he had marked my heart so deeply. I threw everything that I had into The Apothecary and built my dream from the ground up. Yet, here he stands today. Even if for diplomatic reasons, my head understands, but my heart doesn’t. I will play my part of Arbiter while he is here, but I refuse to allow him to have that control over me again.

  As their attention is on each other, I take the moment to excuse myself. When I make it to the bar, Jamie is waiting with the largest shot glass we have full of Nightlock Whiskey. Oh yeah, this is definitely how tonight is going to go.

  I wake up feeling groggy and confused, with my head pounding. My room is darker than even my stellar inhuman vision can see through. The only sound echoing through the headache is the fan that sits a few feet from my bed, humming loudly like the hunk of junk that it is. I try to piece last night together, but everything is fuzzy.

  All of the shit last night with Enoch had me stressed to the point in which I start drinking and don’t stop until it’s too la
te. Yeah, I’m a stress drinker, fuck you very much. Of course, my choice of alcohol is more than likely what did me in. Human alcohol can affect us, but it takes a very large amount. Damned made alcohol, on the other hand, will have us plastered before we know what hit us. Nightlock whiskey has certainly earned its name for a reason. It’s made with whiskey and an extract pulled from the roots of the Nightlock bush only found in the bowels of Damnation. Only a handful of Damned are brave enough to cross into the realm and risk their very souls in the forests to attain these roots. One single drop of it would kill a human. Needless to say, it’s powerful shit and very expensive, also the bane of my existence at this very moment.

  I remember taking the first shot at the bar, then walking back over to Monroe and Enoch. Listening to their conversation, they spoke of all the reps from the Infernal but seemed worried the most about Alida, the Imp. She apparently loved mischief and discord, but my biggest concern was Saul the Lupin. His reputation preceded him and not in a good way. He is always enthralled by violence, and the only person he fears is Enoch. Though, the jerk refused to explain why.

  After all of the delightful talk, my drinking got a little heavier. I knew that any conversation that followed would be strictly social. My main focus was Monroe and Raphael, but Enoch kept butting into the conversations, making me want to punch him in the throat.

  As I lay there staring at the ceiling and trying to grab onto even a scrap of memory from that point, a movement to my left jostles me. I jump in surprise, not realizing that anyone has been in bed with me this whole time.

  Fucking Nightlock.

  To make matters worse, I can feel that I have absolutely no clothes on beneath the sheet covering me.

  I try to calm my nerves and take a deep breath as I mutter, “Sweet Damnation. Please no.”

  Gently as I can, I lean over the body to my left. The smell that hits my nose makes me realize just how much I’ve missed having a masculine scent greet me when I wake up in my bed. I don’t know whether to be worried or excited about the fact that as I flip the switch to the dim lamp beside my bed. I’m only worried about who the scent belongs to. Though, by the smell, I know without a doubt its not Enoch. Even after all this time, I’d know his scent in a crowded room. I confirm that there is in fact a man in my bed. And not just any man; it’s Monroe.