by Eve Newton
I am staring at him in terror now, pulling the covers up to my chin as Cade stands behind me, pulling me a bit closer. Constantine stands and faces his dead charge. “Whoever you are, I suggest you go back to wherever the fuck it is you came from.”
“For these purposes, I am Lance. You may address me so. And I am not going anywhere. Not yet, not until she is destroyed.” He looks at me with his cold, dead, black eyes and I forget myself entirely. I am no longer Queen of The Underworld but Lucretia. Broken and damaged, fearful and exhausted.
“I quite like you in that guise,” he muses as he steps to the side so he can see me better. CK turns with him, keeping himself in front of me. “Not as good as the real thing, of course.”
Cade puts his hand on my shoulder, and I find a piece of courage, “Why? Why are you doing this to me?”
“It amuses me to see how vulnerable you are in your dreams,” he says. “Offer you what you want, and you will do anything.”
“I didn’t want a life with you,” I spit out at him and his evil laugh rumbles around the room.
“No, that was perhaps for my own benefit. Taking the life, you want with our sire and replacing him with myself.” CK takes a menacing step forward, but Lance holds his hand up and he stops. “But as I mentioned to you earlier, it was too ambitious. Not that I would do anything differently, mind you. To see you look at me that way, to kiss me and touch me. To make love to me.” He closes his eyes briefly in bliss as I shudder at his words. “Oh, it was everything I wanted. We could have had it if you had just stopped being so stubborn,” he chides me as he would a small child. “I didn’t want to hurt you, Aefre, I love you. But you made me do it. You had to be punished for your behavior.” He sighs and I move further back into Cade, who by now has his arms completely around me.
“Shift and stand up,” Cade says to me. “Do it,” he repeats forcefully, squeezing my shoulders.
I do, making sure that I am dressed in my usual attire as I Shift.
“Ah, there she is,” Lance says. “I wondered if you would Shift back. You seemed so happy to be Emily. I nearly had you locked down. Just another second and you would have been mine. Seems our sire still has the uncanny knack of swooping in to save you at the very last second.”
CK growls at him and steps forward again. Lance holds his hand up and again he stops. “I can do this all day. You won’t get near enough to me. Not that you could hurt me even if you did.”
“What are you?” I ask. “Why are you doing this?”
“You will find out soon enough. At least who I am. My reasons will become clearer the more I destroy you.”
“You can’t destroy me,” I say with my chin raised.
“No? I have been inside your head. I know your weaknesses. Ah, right on time,” he says as he turns to Xane who has popped in out of nowhere.
“Get away from her,” he snarls, stepping forward.
“Uh, uh, uh.” Fake Lance holds his hand up and shakes his finger at Xane, who scowls, but goes no closer.
“You know what he is?” I ask Xane.
“Yes, I know what IT is,” he says. “You should have told me that bad dream you had the other night was recurring,” he reprimands me. “I could have kept you better informed.”
“Well, isn’t this precious,” Lance says. “One more knight to your rescue.”
“Liv,” Xane says. “Get your sword out.”
I twirl my hand and G.I. makes an appearance. I feel better with it in my hand. I step forward but Lance blocks me as well. It is like walking into a wall, a forcefield so strong it is holding us all back.
“I had hoped never to see that thing again,” he says, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably, as he takes in the hellfire sword. “But it will do you no good against me this time.”
Xane steps closer to me and grabs my hand tightly. “Use me,” he says. “Use my energy to break through it.”
“Oh, well now.” Lance moves closer and peers at us, then casts a quick glance over at CK who is looking like he is about to rip someone’s head off. “Look at you two. Quite the power couple. Kept that quiet, didn’t you?” he tuts at us. “As much as I would love to carry on with this, whatever it is we are doing here, I am going to let this play out. Daddy dearest isn’t going to be very happy with you.” He laughs an evil laugh and then just blinks out of existence. The forcefield drops and we all stumble forward having been pressing ourselves against it to try and get it to move.
“Power couple?” CK snarls at us. “What have you done, Aefre? I told you no more bonds to nurture!” he yells at me. Cade snickers behind me remembering what I said to him the other day.
“Nothing,” I lie. “You know about the ritual. It may have linked us together more than I first thought but I am not exploring it.”
Xane glares at me for dismissing what he clearly thinks is more than just a link. I ignore him and say, “We have bigger issues to deal with, like that.” I wave my sword in the area where Lance had been standing and CK steps back with his hands up. “Mind where you are waving that thing,” he mutters.
“Sorry,” I say sheepishly and twirl it back to where it came from.
“This conversation is not over.” He glowers at us. “But you are right. This is a bigger issue. What do you know of It?” he asks Xane.
“In Demon folklore, ‘It’, is called The Thirteen,” he says.
Chapter 10
“The Thirteen? What is it?” CK asks.
“Wait, before you answer that, shouldn’t we have everyone present so we all get the information firsthand?” I ask.
“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Cade says. Hm, nice of him to have my back.
“Will you two please go and gather the troops and we will meet you in the library? I need a drink.”
They go off to do my fetching and carrying and I turn to Cade. “Thank you,” I say and give him a hug, which he returns with a stiff one-handed pat to my back. I wonder if it is just me, or if he just isn’t a very affectionate creature in general.
“What for?” he asks.
“Bringing me back to myself.”
“Oh, no worries. It’s my job.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Hm, well I think it is. He, well, Lance really terrifies you, doesn’t he?”
“He used to. I guess sometimes I forget that he, the real he anyway, can’t hurt me anymore. Come, they will be returning shortly.” I grab his hand and Astral us into the library.
I love this room. It is about four times the size of my office at home and it is an actual library, with a Dewey Decimal System and everything. If I thought my collection was impressive, my sire’s is like something out of a fairy tale. I used to spend hours upon hours in this room with his books. I pour myself a Scotch and offer one to Cade. He declines and we wait. A few seconds later everyone else turns up and rushes forward and asks if I am okay.
“Yes, I am fine,” I say, pushing everyone back. “Thanks to Cade and CK.”
“You need to tell us what is going on right now,” Devon says, miffed to be out of the loop. He has always been the first to know everything about me, so I understand his mood.
“Sit down and we will explain.” I remain standing, as does Cole next to me, CK, Cade, and Xane.
I make quick work of telling them about the dreams, leaving out certain bits, like my impromptu Shift, and after CK gives those in the room who don’t know, a quick rundown of who Fraser is as I stop, unable to speak, soon everyone is on the same page. I brush away all the concern for my well-being and joy that I am not stuck in some sort of Sleeping Beauty fiasco and turn to Xane and say, “You’re up, Mr. Draconis. Spill.”
He smiles at me “Ah, yes, The Thirteen. The most powerful being in all the Realms.”
“I thought I was the most powerful being in all the Realms?” I interrupt.
“Not yet, my love,” he says, touching my arm. “You haven’t yet accessed your true Power.”
I ignore all the bristling going on over his endearment and touc
h and say, “Oh,” a bit pissed off with that.
“So, what is it exactly?” Devon asks, glaring at Xane’s hand still on my arm.
“It resides in the Spirit Realms. It consists of thirteen…parts, for lack of a better term. Individually they are powerful, but when they come to together, unstoppable. He is the Demon equivalent of the boogeyman.”
Yikes!
“So, the Lance thingy was all thirteen of them?” I ask, not really wanting to know the answer.
He shakes his head. “Four, maybe five at the most.”
Oh crap. “Are you joking?” I ask hopefully.
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“How do we kill it?” CK asks, blunt as ever.
“Kill it? I’m not sure it can be killed. It’s already dead,” Xane says.
“Everything can be destroyed,” CK says, which is pretty hilarious, really, considering up until a few months ago, he couldn’t be destroyed. Or at least no one powerful enough was able to wield the sword until I came along with my Power of One.
Wait, the sword. “Gladius Infernus. You said to get it out. You must know something else,” I say and grab Xane’s arm now, to more agitation from the crowd.
“Only to banish it back to the Spirit Realm.”
“Banish? Banish? No, no. We have to find a way to get rid of it,” CK says forcefully. “I will not have this thing out to destroy Aefre. And furthermore, I will not allow it to pull her into some dream world full of lies.” He is on one now. I placate him with a hand to his arm now. He relaxes slightly but not by much.
“I don’t understand why, or how it is using Lance and Fraser to mess with me,” I muse out loud.
“It is from the Spirit Realm. It can manifest itself into anyone who has…crossed over,” he says tactfully, avoiding my look of sorrow at the reminder. “It is drawing on the people who can most affect you and seeing as all of us are still very much alive, well, some of us anyway,” he says with a pointed look to the Vampires in the room, “It leaves those who are…”
“Dead,” I say flatly then look sharply up at him. “Hey! We are also very much alive, thank you.”
He grins sheepishly. “Sorry, bad habit.
“Do you make fun of me on a regular basis?” I inquire, not-so-sweetly.
“Oh, keep your pants on,” he says with a quick glance down at my bare legs in my tiny dress. “You know I love you.”
“EXCUSE ME?” Thunders both CK and Cole at the same time, followed by, “Bonds, Aefre!” and “Bonds, Liv!” Man, this name thing is a right pain my arse. Wish they’d all pick the same one and stick with it. I glare at Xane and he smiles innocently back.
“He is trying to get up your nose, which clearly, he has,” I now say with a placatory hand on my husband's arm. “Ignore him and can we please focus on the issue at hand, which if our future selves are anything to go by, is pretty terrifying.”
“Of course,” Cole says, shooting daggers at Xane, who just looks back mildly.
“Banish, banish. The sword must be able to do more than that?” I ask.
“The last being, apart from your mother, who was capable of wielding the sword before you, was, in fact, It. Legend has it, It used to be a Demon,” Xane says.
I frown at him. “Seriously? Why did It let go of it then? Why not keep it under Its own power?”
“It’s not theirs to keep anymore. It’s mine,” he snaps. “Well, yours I suppose,” he concedes.
“Go on. What of this legend?” I encourage.
“I don’t know if it is true or whether it is a story but…” he trails off and everyone leans in closer, now riveted.
“But, what?” I breathe.
“It has been told that the sword you have access to is not actually the real thing.”
“Beg pardon? It seems pretty real to me,” I say, confused.
“I am sure that Gregor, Eloise, and Lance would agree with that,” Devon snickers.
“What is it then?” I ask, ignoring Devon’s comment.
“A manifestation. But a shadow of its real self.” Xane taps his chin as he looks at me. He continues, “Thousands of years ago, It separated the sword’s essence from its real self and hid it. It couldn’t get rid of the sword completely but found a way to make it weaker.”
“Weaker? Christ. Can’t say I want to see what the real one can do,” Lincoln mutters, clearly remembering the beheading of Lance.
“It’s just a story though,” Xane says. “I don’t believe it. It’s not possible and no one has ever found the supposed real one.”
Everyone is silent for a really long time then, staring between me and Xane. I am thinking hard as I know something…something about the sword…what the hell is it? I sense someone about to speak and I hold my hand up to silence them, I need to concentrate. I start to pace, rubbing in between my eyes. Think woman, I yell at myself. All sets of eyes are on me as I walk in a circle around the table where everyone is gathered. Sword…not real…separated…hidden…
The minute’s pass and I am digging deep, deep into my brain.
“Liv?” Cole whispers eventually. “Do you know something?”
I shush him with a finger to my lips and change direction with my pacing. A few seconds later it comes to me. I slam my fist onto the solid wood table, splintering it in my elation.
“I know,” I say to the open-mouthed faces of everyone around me.
“Liv? What are you talking about?” Xane asks.
“The story isn’t legend, it is truth. I knew there was something missing from it. I could feel it, like it wasn’t living up to its true potential. Think about it. A sword of Hellfire. Made from the actual flames of Hell. It should have destroyed anything that got in its path.”
“It does,” CK says.
“No, it doesn’t. I had complete control over it at your Penthouse in Milan and I had to wield it as a sword to get rid of those three. Plus, it was useless against that forcefield before. Brought forth, it should just incinerate everything without it touching anything and it certainly shouldn’t be so easily controlled. The real one does, and I think I know where it is.”
“Where?” everyone asks in unison.
I hold up my finger. “Remember the first dream I had after I got The Power of One?” I ask Devon, CK, and Cole.
“Canyon, orange sky, black clouds, shadows up above…” Devon recalls, counting them off on his fingers.
“Fire, invincible,” Cole adds
“The massive sword in the wall,” CK finishes up, clicking his fingers.
“Buried deep that no one could reach,” the four of us say together, much to the annoyance of everyone else in the room.
“It’s in the Dragon Realms?” Xane asks.
“No, I don’t think it is. I think it might be in The Underworld,” I say, then, “Oh, Shit! CK!”
“What?” he looks startled.
“The Dragon Realms, I was supposed to go, like, yesterday.”
“Oh, yes, so you were,” he says, not sounding too concerned, even though it was he who asked me to go.
“Tiamat will be pissed. I told Her I was coming,” I say worriedly.
“Aefre, if it bothers Her that much that you didn’t show, She can come to you.”
“But what about the book?”
“It can wait. This is far more pressing.”
“No, it can’t be in The Underworld. I would know,” Xane says.
“How would you know?” I ask.
“I just would,” he snaps at me.
“All right, keep your pants on,” I say back to him, pulling a face with a quick glance down at his very sexy black jeans. “However, I believe it may be there.”
“Well, I won’t argue with you, Your Majesty,” he inclines his head with a slight bow. I smile winningly at him.
“Only problem is, I have no idea where to start looking.” I chew my lip thoughtfully. “I will have to have a think about it. In the meantime, at least I know if this thing gets close enough to me, I can send I
t away with the fake G.I.”
“Oh, I don’t think it will like being called a fake,” Xane says.
“It doesn’t have a personality,” Devon snaps, agitated about something. “I don’t think it really cares.”
“What bit you on the arse?” I inquire with a raised eyebrow.
“I am feeling restless,” he sulks.
“You know why, don’t you?” CK says to him, with something that looks like a gleeful grin. Only CK doesn’t do gleeful. Curious...
“Do I look like I know?”
“You are thousands of miles away from your new charge. She misses you!” he exclaims with yet more glee. Glee? On CK? Most confusing.
Well, if I ever thought that Devon was going to attack my sire in the past, I know for certain he is about to launch himself at him now. I step in front of CK, just as Devon crashes into me, sending us both tumbling to the floor.
“What the fuck?” I say, pushing him off me. He looks at me apologetically before helping me stand, to the snickering of the peanut gallery, front and foremost being CK who, despite his laughter, looks at me and shakes his head. “I think I can defend myself against your boy, my sweet,” he says in between snorts. “But thank you all the same. It warms my heart.”
“No problem,” I say smartly, brushing off my clothes and trying to regain some sense of dignity.
“Sorry, Lizzie,” Devon. “Sometimes I just get the urge to hit him.”
“Don’t we all?” I say dryly, to which CK stops laughing to glare at me and Sebastian takes over with a loud guffaw, which resonates around the library.
“Indeed,” CK says haughtily.
“I don’t have a bond to her, so how would I know anything of what she is feeling,” Devon grouses, thoroughly pissed off.
“I think CK is trying to get up your nose,” I say, giving my sire a baleful glare. He might find all of this amusing, but I certainly don’t. It sucks. No pun intended.
“Well, now that everyone is up to speed, you all may leave. Go and think about ways to help your Queen. And you,” he points to Xane, “go and see if you can find out where the real sword is hidden.”
“I don’t take orders from you,” Xane snarls at him.