'Tween Heaven and Hell

by Sam Cheever

  All of Abrine’s men were dead on the floor. Their bodies looked like someone had put them into a drying machine and sucked all of the moisture out of them. My mind flashed me a picture of the thousands of crumpled, dried-up bodies I had waded through on the floor of Nerul’s cavern chamber and I realized that, as he had done to Abrine’s men, Nille must have fed on their power until he had drained and killed them. He had grown strong as they had died.

  Then it occurred to me that Gerch and his men hadn’t moved to stand at our backs as they should have. I feared that we no longer had an army at our backs and I was pretty sure I knew why. Nille had drained them all dry.

  But was it possible? And if so, wouldn’t he eventually run out of power to drain? The answer was yes, but the real question was…would we survive until he did?

  My vision was starting to waver and fade and I could hear a deafening roar in my ears. My knees felt like rubber and I was having trouble holding my arms up, even with Dialle’s hands under them. I suddenly realized that it was happening to me. Nille was draining me too.

  I heard Dialle whisper my name and I knew he’d realized the same thing. We sagged to the ground together, hitting the stone floor with our knees, probably shattering our knee bones with the impact. We were too numb to feel it.

  Our power cylinder was beginning to sputter and weaken and I knew we wouldn’t be able to hold Nille off much longer. For the second time in just minutes, I faced my death and it really pissed me off. There had to be something we could do to stop him from killing us. The angels wouldn’t have sent us there just to die.

  Then it hit me. I thought of Rayanne and our magical tug of war in Nerul’s office. I fought through the weariness that was clogging my brain and overruled the thunder in my ears. I had to get Dialle to understand. We had maybe three seconds before we were toast.

  Dialle, reverse the power. Draw him in. Remember what you told me? The power of the shadows runs counter to mine. We mustn’t feed him our power, we must use the power of the shadows against him.

  For a very brief time I thought Dialle had not heard me. Or hadn’t understood. But then I heard his faint, “Yes.”

  Together we reversed our power and Nille, not expecting the reversal, shot toward us. As his full, healthy body slammed into ours I thought he would crush us, but almost instinctively we grabbed for him. Dialle grabbed his left hand and I his right. The power of the shadows used the channel we’d created and flowed through us, into us, around us.

  Dialle and I flew off our knees and shot skyward, taking a screaming Nille with us. The power preceded us and carved a hole into the top of the stone room. We shot through the circle, out of the shadows and into a bright, clear sky, where shadows had no chance of surviving.

  Almost immediately the celestial army descended on us and encircled us. Power like heat vibrated against our skin and Dialle and I threw our heads back and laughed, absorbing it gratefully and feeling our bodies regenerate and grow strong in the healing waves of power.

  Nille’s screams pierced the air as the white power ran through his black soul. He writhed in agony while the goodness burned and tore at his flesh. He tried to pull away but the three of us were forged together by the power. Locked into the channel between the shadows and Heaven, where the very air burns the flesh of evil like acid. Even if we’d wanted to let him go we couldn’t have. Nille’s screams ended abruptly. I watched him dissolve into sparks and shoot away from us toward the heavens. Where I had no doubt he’d be made most unwelcome.

  With a joy I thought I’d never feel again I threw back my head and screamed, “To Hades with you fool, for God hath tired of you!”

  Then I suddenly found myself wrapped in the iron arms of the long-awaited devil Prince, whose existence had been prophesied by both the dark and the light worlds for two thousand years and more and whose blazing blue eyes now consumed mine with greedy heat as he pulled my body hard against his and pressed his delectable lips against mine. All thoughts of Nille vanished just as he had vanished, into a meaningless puff of smoke, which was quickly consumed and obliterated by the fire Dialle and I began to forge between us.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  To Live to Live

  When all is said and all is done, our lady still doth live,

  And in her arms a fiery embrace, her newfound love doth give.

  All I wanted was to go home, turn on all of the lights and take a three-hour shower before dropping into bed to sleep for at least a decade. Alas, it was not to be. I needed to check on Emo before I could rest. Something told me there wasn’t much time.

  Leaving Dialle to do whatever long-awaited devil princes do, I followed the faithful Gerch, who had somehow managed to escape Nille’s power sucking act, to the room where I’d left my dying partner. At the door Gerch threw me a glance filled with something that looked like pity and stepped to the side, leaving me to face the horror of what lay beyond that door all by myself.

  As I entered the room my worst fears were realized. Knowing that our kind, rapture-like, reverted to soul state and went immediately toward those pearly gates when we died, my stomach landed in the soles of my feet when I looked at the empty bed in that room. I moved quickly toward the bed and, kneeling beside it, laid my cheek against the indentation Emo’s body had left behind.

  The fabric covering the bed was still warm. And smelled of him. I thought I would die from the pain. My traitorous mind replayed our years together in fast forward, showing me only the good times in that horrible way the mind does when it suffers an enormous loss. I thought of my angel and the loss of her friend, Prevara and allowed my soul to take on her burden as well. Somehow it seemed all my fault that these wonderful beings had died. I knew that somehow I should have been able to stop it. Somehow. But I hadn’t. Prevara and Emo had both died trying to save me. It was an awful burden to lay on myself, but I did it anyway. I couldn’t help myself anymore than I’d been able to help them.

  My self-pity and despair were all too soon interrupted.

  I felt a heavy warmth on my shoulder and turned my bleary gaze to find a strong, golden hand lying there. Swiping angrily at the wetness on my face, I looked up, expecting to see Dialle standing over me. Instead, the heavens opened up and a celestial light filled my soul. Emo stood there, smiling down at me through his extremely handsome, royal face.

  “Hey boss.”

  Choking back a less than manly scream of joy, I surged to my feet and launched myself at him. My smile and his met across a space of just a few inches and, before I knew what had happened, Emo’s beautiful lips were on mine, his arms were around me and my world was spinning on a golden web of surprise, confusion, and terrified delight.

  I pushed away quickly and covered my confusion with questions. “What happened while I was gone? How did you heal so fast? I thought you were dead, Dialle said…” My words trailed off as Emo’s smile faltered and fell away.

  As he twisted away from me I fought the urge to pull him back. He turned toward the door and frowned. I was sure he was going to say something that would rock my world, but then the door swung open, slamming—of course—back against the rock wall and Dialle strode in, followed by Gerch.

  Dialle stopped in front of Emo and their eyes met, tangled and pushed brittle feelings toward one another like knives. Finally, after a few too many beats, Emo’s gaze dropped and so did he, lowering himself to one knee and bowing his head. “My Prince.”

  Dialle glanced at me and grinned. I wanted to smack him. I settled for a little mental whack. Don’t be an asshole.

  Why Astra. I’m a Devil Prince, asshole is one of my kinder traits. Out loud he said, “Stand, Emo. Welcome to the court of Dialle the First.”

  Emo’s face when he rose, unfamiliar as it still was to me, was unreadable. Being very accustomed to being able to read my friend and partner like a book, it made me distinctly uncomfortable now to look at his blank expression and wonder at the thoughts that moved around behind it.

  His black eyes st
ared flatly into Dialle’s and he stood stiffly. These were the only signs I had that he was unhappy.

  By contrast, Dialle’s expression was very jovial. He seemed to be enjoying Emo’s discomfort.

  I decided it was time to intervene. “Can either of you explain to me why Emo is standing here, very much alive and looking…good—really good…great actually—when we left him looking like he already had two feet and one knee in the grave?”

  Dialle’s gaze finally tore itself away from Emo and he grinned mischievously at me. “It appears that Nerul’s soul must no longer be walking among us. Nille must have disposed of him.” He refastened his blue gaze on my partner’s velvet black one. “And it also appears that he has decided he has something to live for.”

  Emo’s eyes hadn’t moved from Dialle’s face and they had hardened perceptibly. I began to worry that my friend would get himself into trouble. I decided that further distraction was needed.

  Pushing a bright smile onto my face I took the couple of steps between us and, standing up on my toes, gave his cheek a sisterly peck. Emo’s gaze finally left Dialle. He smiled down at me and took one of my hands in his own, raising it to his lips and kissing it very tenderly. His dark eyes slid back to Dialle as his lips burned into the back of my hand and a spark danced in each of the black centers.

  Dialle’s smug smile slid away and the blue of his gaze slipped behind midnight black. As I watched, an orange ring throbbed at the edges of his pupils, showing his anger clearly.

  “Oh shit.” I pulled my hand away from Emo’s firm but gentle grasp and turned on my heel. “I’m not going to stand here and call out scores for your pissing contest. I’m outta here.”

  Dialle reached out and grabbed my arm. “Do not go, Astra. We will behave ourselves. For now. Is that not correct, Emo?”

  It was Emo’s turn to grin mischievously. “For now. Yes.”

  I scowled at both of them and shook my head. I was trying really hard to ignore the way my hand felt warm and tingly where Emo’s full, sculpted lips had touched it. “Well…okay. Partner, I’m glad to see that you’re alive and looking…well… Anyway…I’m glad.” I cleared my throat, so embarrassed at the way it had cracked as my eyes had scoured his new, scrumptious self. “I’m outta here though, it’s been a very long day and I want to go home, have a shower and sleep for a decade.”

  Emo’s eyes flashed with something that made me all tingly. “I’ll take you.”

  Dialle, whose hand I’d shaken off once already, moved closer to me. “Astra, we must speak before you go.”

  I arched an eyebrow at him. “Must we?”

  Dialle’s lovely lips tipped up. He dropped his head to kiss me before I could bolt away. Despite myself my heart took up the beat that was playing itself out in my lower regions. Heat, sharp and molten ran through my body at the touch of those lips and I closed my eyes and leaned into him before I realized what I was doing. When I opened my eyes a moment later we were standing in Dialle’s chambers and Emo wasn’t.

  I also became aware that Dialle had climbed up my shirt and was making himself very familiar with the geography of a part of my body that is not considered a public access area by the Astra Q. Phelps dating committee of one—that’s me. I cursed and pushed his hands away just as the door crashed back against the wall and spat Gerch at us.

  “My Prince. I’m sorry to…interrupt…” I glared at him and saw just the tiniest tipping up of one side of his wide, craggy lips. “But the king has requested your presence in his rooms.”

  I grinned. Saved again. Dialle cursed. “Tell him to go to Heaven.”

  Gerch’s lips twitched but, soldier-like, he managed to hold the smile in check. “My Prince, do you think that’s wise?”

  Dialle’s answering glare very nearly succeeded in banishing the smile into the shadows to be seen nevermore. Gerch lowered his head and body in the tiniest bow. “As you wish.” But he didn’t leave the room.

  Dialle cursed again and paced away from me. I found his response to his father’s summons singularly interesting. Despite my extreme weariness I couldn’t help the spark of interest that gave me new energy. It might be fun to meet this Dialle the First, if he could make my Dialle this nervous and pissed off.

  After a moment Dialle’s eyes shot toward the waiting Gerch and he sighed. “Oh hell! All right, Gerch. Wait outside the door for a minute while Astra and I finish our…business.”

  Yikes! That wasn’t what I had in mind. My eyes went round and my mouth opened to argue but I didn’t get the chance. Dialle was on me like bristle hairs on an elephant before I could say diddly-squat.

  My traitorous body melted against him almost as soon as his lips met mine. My world suddenly became a small bubble of musky heat and shared air that caused my limbs to tighten with need even as they turned to warm, flexible rubber.

  Dialle’s eyes, blue again, burned into me as he pulled those incredibly soft lips from mine and trailed his hot, red tongue across my lips. I gasped. I could have sworn the touch sizzled against my tender, swollen lips. “I’m damned.” I said on a need-charged sigh.

  Dialle chuckled, his tongue having worked its way down my chin into that tender spot on my neck where my daemon hickey throbbed. When his teeth replaced his tongue I was beyond caring. He could have ripped my throat out right there and then and I wouldn’t have even noticed. My body was a flame that flickered to his gentle breeze, my mind was a melted pool of pleasure, totally devoid of will or coherent thought.

  But he didn’t bite me. At least not hard enough to draw blood. He only teased my tender flesh until I thought I would scream. And then released me.

  “Unfortunately we’ll have to finish this later, my Love. The great Dialle awaits.”

  “Huh…Wha?” Taking a deep, cooling breath I stuck my nose in the air and glared at him. “It’s a good thing you stopped. I was getting ready to kick your ass.”

  Dialle chuckled and touched the tip of my nose with his lips. “Of course you were, lovely Tweener.” He grabbed my arm and started to steer me toward the door but, despite my earlier curiosity about King Dialle the First, I suddenly found myself reluctant to be taken to him. “Wait just a minute, Dialle.” I jerked my arm out of his grasp.

  He turned an amused expression with an arched, black eyebrow toward me but didn’t say anything.

  “I want the whole story about Nille and Nerul. You haven’t told me anything.”

  He cocked his head and grinned. “I thought you were the great detective, little Tweener, haven’t you figured it out?”

  I knew he was trying to draw me into an argument. I knew it. But dammit I couldn’t stop myself from responding. “I never said I was some frunkin’ great detective. That’s not my job. I vanquish demons and gargoyles and cocky damn devils.” I really didn’t like the way my voice was squeakin’ and squawkin’. I took another deep breath and let it out on a sigh. “Now stop baiting me and tell me about Nille.”

  I pushed away from him and moved to sit on the beautiful, mohair divan that sat beneath the wall of windows, which looked out over the city. I crossed my arms and legs and sat back. This was my not so subtle clue that I wasn’t going anywhere until he filled me in.

  Before I could blink, a whisper of wind and a lowering of the cushions next to me announced his presence on the divan. I turned my head and found his deep blue gaze just inches from mine. I felt his gaze pulling at me, the colored part shifting and swirling like a holographic representation of atmospheric changes over the Earth. I smiled and used my power to push him to the other end of the divan.

  He sighed and sat back, crossing his arms and his legs. “Okay, my lovely victim, what exactly do you want to know?”

  “Tell me how Nille was taken captive and who did it. Was it Nerul?”

  Dialle shook his head, dislodging a few silky strands of hair and causing them to curl, just a tiny bit, around his square jaw. I had to force myself to swallow.

  “Rayanne and I brought him here, on my father’s orders
. We kept him in our deepest, sturdiest chambers with armed guards and constant surveillance. Despite all that, however, he disappeared one day.”

  “How?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know the details, but I know Rayanne was involved. She and Nerul intended to drain Nille of his power and had a plan to use ancient Black Magic to do it.”

  I nodded, “That’s where I came in.”

  “Yes. They didn’t realize Nille would turn the tables on them and increase his own power as a result of their magic tricks.” His voice was a deep, silken caress that tightened my stomach. His beautiful lips turned up, displaying those startlingly white teeth. As my gaze was drawn to that scrumptious mouth, his tongue snuck out and waggled at me, bringing liquid fire into my lower regions and causing my heart to speed up. I laughed to cover up my response. “Stop it. You’re such a child, Dialle.”

  The grin widened but the tongue retreated. “They took young Prince Nille to the tower room and kept him there by magic.”

  “What about Deaver?”

  Dialle shook his head and frowned. “He made a deal with the devil and lost his soul. Shit happens.”

  I laughed. “You’ve been hanging around me too much.”

  “Ah no, lovely Astra, not nearly enough.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Go on.”

  “They kept Nille at the church, torturing him just for the fun of it. I had searched the tower of course, but they kept moving him to avoid my finding him. I think they moved him back and forth from the shadows.”

  I nodded thoughtfully. I wanted to ask him a question but I knew it would make me sound impossibly naïve. Finally though, I had to ask, “Why did Nerul kidnap and abuse his own son?”

  “Nerul hated Nille because he was so powerful. He wanted that power for himself but Nille had always stood apart from his father. He appeared to be above influence. I think Nerul really believed that his independent son was the long-awaited one.”