Ecstasy Unveiled d-4

by Larissa Ione

  Though… if Idess had ruined herself by sleeping with Lore, would she still be required to guard Kynan?

  Fuck. He still couldn’t believe she’d done it—damned herself like that, when for two thousand years, all she’d dreamed of was earning her wings. And now she couldn’t.

  Because of him.

  He would have to make it up to her somehow, even if he could only make sure that she spent the rest of her life happy. He’d spoil her and make love to her and treat her like a damned queen.

  They just had to kill her brother first.

  “Idess?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes. I can do it.” She tightened her grip on the crossbow, grabbed his hand that held the dagger and suddenly, they were in a cavern deep inside Sheoul. The walls were lined by live demons crucified on twisted crosses, some being eaten alive by various hell-creatures.

  Rami stood just three feet away from Lore and Idess, jaw-dropped and gaping.

  “How—”

  Idess released Lore and hurled the wine powder in Rami’s face. The fallen angel screamed and clawed at his eyes. Taking advantage of Rami’s misery, Lore buried his sword in the angel’s gut, and Idess cried out at the gruesome sight of her brother being impaled. Steam hissed from the wound, a wet, grotesque sound that was joined by the slide of bone on steel as Rami stumbled backward and off the blade.

  Chasing the momentum, Lore swung, a blow that would have decapitated the angel if it had landed. But the bastard wheeled away in a blur, and the tip of the sword only nicked his throat.

  He backed against a wall, teeth bared, clutching his gut and glaring at Idess, who had him in her crossbow’s sights. “You bitch.”

  “Rami, please. Listen to me. I’m sorry. What I did was stupid. Selfish. I know that—”

  “You know that? Your self-serving exploit kept me on this hellhole of a planet for two extra centuries!” he bellowed. “And then it got me kicked out of Heaven, you cocksucking whore!”

  The crossbow started to shake. Lore inched closer to Idess when all he wanted to do was shove the sword up her brother’s ass. Her voice shook as hard as her weapon did. “What I did was unforgivable. But it affected you on Earth, not in Heaven.”

  “You have no idea.” Rami circled them, his movements as sinuous as a snake’s despite the hole in his gut. “I learned of your betrayal days after my Ascension. Did you know, sister, that once bitterness takes root in an angel, it grows like a weed? Grows until the soul becomes shriveled and polluted with hate, which is not welcome in Heaven. It is your fault I was expelled.”

  “No.” Idess wanted to cover her ears, to block the ugly truth. “No!”

  “Shut the fuck up!” Lore swung the qeres-coated sword, but Rami wheeled away again, and Lore caught only a glancing blow to Rami’s shoulder. Still, the wound smoked and hissed, and Idess knew very well how much it hurt.

  “So protective and possessive.” Rami snared a two-pronged pitchfork tool from a barrel and stabbed one of the scaly rat things that had been gnawing on the foot of a crucified demon. “Like an animal,” he said, as he watched the helpless creature squirm in agony on the tines. “Because that’s all demons are, Idess. Lowlifes. Lower even than the animals humans feed on.”

  She might have agreed not long ago, but over the course of two thousand years she’d seen animals with more heart than some humans, and recently, she’d witnessed demons with more compassion.

  Easing forward, she concentrated on keeping her voice soft and soothing. “Rami, you used to tell me that there was always balance in the world. If that’s true, and you know it is, then not all demons are bad. Like the one you took. Rade is innocent. You have to give him to us.”

  Rami scoffed. “Innocent? He’s an insect. Have you never stepped on a cockroach?”

  “Oh, Rami.” Despair sliced at her heart. “What have you become?”

  “What I am is because of you!” he thundered.

  “We can make it better. We can go to Father—”

  “Better?” He laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. “Do you know what will make it better? Your complete and utter ruination. I wanted all your Primori to die so you would never Ascend. I wanted you to fail. To feel the humiliation I felt when I learned what you had done to me.”

  Lore hurled a morning star, and though Rami twirled out of the way, it caught him in the shoulder. Rami ripped the weapon out of his flesh and threw it to the ground. “I’m disappointed in you, assassin. Roag swore you were competent, despite the fact that you failed him. Now I’ll have to slaughter Kynan myself. And once I have the amulet, I’ll bargain my way back into Heaven.”

  “You’re insane,” Idess gasped. “They’ll never accept you.”

  “Then Satan will,” he purred. “He will want that necklace, and he’ll give me anything I want. You know the saying, it’s better to rule in hell than serve in Heaven.”

  Lore snorted. “I have never met bigger assholes than fallen angels. Why work with Roag, though?” Lore’s hand slipped beneath his jacket, and Idess figured he was going for another weapon. “What concern is it of yours if my brothers are punished?”

  “Surely you understand binding contracts.” Behind him, one of the impaled demons screeched, and Rami closed his eyes as if savoring the sound, and his voice was almost trancelike when he answered. “I had one with Roag. He used his black market and underground contacts to discover who Idess’s Primori were, and in return, I was to give him anything he wanted. When he disappeared, I thought I was off the hook.”

  “Because you believed he was dead.” In a movement so fast Idess didn’t see it until it was over, Lore sent a throwing knife at Rami’s head.

  “Yes.” Rami slid to the left, and the blade whooshed harmlessly past his ear. His eyes were still closed. “But as it turns out, my contract is still valid. The terms are harsh. If I don’t succeed in destroying your brothers’ lives and breaking them apart, I will… disintegrate.”

  “That would be too bad,” Lore drawled.

  Idess’s mind churned into high gear. “Roag was how you knew Kynan was charmed,” she mused. “He’d been eavesdropping on his brothers.” Kynan had received his charm well after Rami fell, so he couldn’t have known about the human’s Marked Sentinel status. She gripped the crossbow securely and raised her voice, because ultimately, none of this mattered, and they didn’t have much time before the wine powder wore off and Rami could flash out of there. “Where is the child? I need to return him to his family.”

  “You don’t need to do anything but suffer.” Rami’s eyes popped open, and from them came an unholy, blinding glow. In a blast of heat and blood, he exploded out of his beautiful skin and into a black, wraithlike creature dripping with shredded flesh. The very air screamed with fury, and the crucified demons shriveled like crushed paper. Their souls escaped their bodies and scrambled around the room, more terrified now than they had been when they were hanging from the walls.

  An inky wind howled from inside a dark cavern at the rear of the chamber. The ground beneath Idess’s feet bucked and rumbled. The wind snaked out of the opening in a billowing cloud of rank smoke and swirled around them, its roar blending with the sounds of the demon souls’ agonized shrieks. Idess covered her ears, but within seconds, the gruesome noises stopped. The souls had vanished.

  Dear God, Rami had destroyed them. He had the power to destroy souls. Just like their father.

  “Now,” he snarled, “I’m going to make you watch your lover die slowly.” He lunged, slammed his fist into Lore’s throat. The impact knocked the sword out of Lore’s grip and drove him into the wall. His skull cracked against the stone, and he did a slow slide into a heap on the floor.

  “Lore!” Idess sprinted toward him, but Rami beat her there. He plunged the sword down, stopping when the tip bit into Lore’s neck. Blood ran in a slow rivulet down his throat.

  “Did you feed from him when you fucked him?” Rami asked. “Can you feel his terror? Will you feel his pain?” He lic
ked his lips as though anticipating the taste of Lore’s death. Lore glowered in defiance as Idess raised the cross-bow.

  “Don’t do it!” She stepped closer, wishing her knees weren’t trembling and her voice didn’t do the same. “I will kill you.”

  Rami laughed. “I’ve already won. You fucked away your purity and can’t Ascend. I. Win.”

  With a wink, he drew back the sword and plunged it forward in one easy motion. Crying out, Idess pulled the trigger.

  Rami yelped as the bolt ripped through his rib cage just below his armpit and exited on the other side. The forward momentum of Rami’s jab propelled the sword forward. In horrifyingly slow motion, Idess watched as Lore tried to block the blade. The sound of metal meeting flesh rang out as the sword bit into his forearm. Blood sprayed, but Lore didn’t falter as he leaped to his feet and plowed his fist into Rami’s face.

  Rami wheeled away from Lore’s attack, still clutching the sword. Twin rivers of red ran down his sides. His glazed, shocked eyes shifted to Idess. “You… shot me.” His disbelieving voice was raw, gurgling, like the wounds in his ribs.

  She jammed another bolt into the chamber. “I’ll do it again, Rami. Tell me where Rade is.”

  A smile twisted his lips, the only warning before he swung the sword. Lore fell back under the assault, and pain flared in Idess’s heart as she fired another round. The bolt punched into Rami’s spine, dead center between his shoulder blades. His howl of agony was like acid in her ears, and she let out a sob as she watched him stagger into Lore.

  “Bitch,” he rasped. His hand snaked out with more speed than he should have been capable of, given his injuries, and he caught Lore around the throat.

  Lore snarled, and with brutal efficiency, drove his fist through the bolt hole in Rami’s side. Rami screamed, jerked as though he was being electrocuted, and crumpled to the ground. Twitching, he lay on his back, eyes wide and breathing labored, as Lore wrenched the sword from his hand.

  Dear Lord, she knew Rami was corrupt, was no longer the warm, caring brother she’d loved, but as he lay broken and bleeding, his eyes liquid with pain, she saw only the brother who had comforted her when her human parents had died, the brother who had battled demons at her side.

  “Rami, please. There’s still time to do the right thing.” She sank to her knees beside him. “There’s good inside you. I know there is. Where’s the infant? Tell us what you’ve done with him.”

  Slowly, Rami stretched out a hand toward Idess. His entire body quivered as he gripped her fingers. Tears streamed down Idess’s face, and she sobbed when he coughed, spraying blood like a geyser. For a moment, Lore thought Idess had actually gotten through to the guy. But when the wheezing fit ended, Rami’s cold gaze met Lore’s, and his smile sent chills down Lore’s spine.

  “The… demon child—” he sucked in a gurgling breath “—made your boss a fine meal.”

  Pure, unadulterated hatred obliterated every thought in Lore’s brain and replaced them with only one. Kill. With a roar, Lore brought the blade down on the angel’s neck. His head separated from his body and rolled toward Lore’s boots. But even as the blood poured like a river from Rami’s shoulders, it formed sinewy ropes that gripped the head and tugged it toward the body.

  Idess drew a blade from the sheath at the small of her back. “You are truly gone, my brother,” she whispered.

  Though her hand shook, she didn’t hesitate as she slashed her wrist and held her bleeding arm so her blood mixed with Rami’s. Hissing steam blasted upward, and a heartbeat later, the ex-angel’s body went up in a puff of smoke and ash.

  Tears streamed from Idess’s eyes as she came to her feet above the pile of charred remains, holding her wrist as blood seeped between her fingers.

  She didn’t have to say anything. Lore swept her into his arms and held her as she collapsed into sobs.

  Twenty-three

  Idess didn’t waste much time crying. She’d destroyed her brother, and somehow she’d have to deal with that, but both she and Lore were bleeding badly, and they had to tell two parents that their son was dead.

  “We have to go,” she croaked, and Lore nodded.

  She flashed them to the hospital parking lot. Together they entered UG, and inside, found Eidolon cleaning up one of the multiple messes scattered around the emergency department; smashed equipment, overturned chairs, pills scattered on the floor. The spirits had been active.

  Eidolon jogged toward Lore and Idess, slowing before he reached them, his devastated expression telling Idess that he’d read theirs.

  “I’m sorry,” Lore rasped.

  For a long moment, she thought Eidolon was going to break down. He swallowed repeatedly, his eyes bloodshot and liquid. But when Lore’s blood began to drip to the floor, he shifted into doctor mode.

  “Come with me.” He left them no choice but to follow him into an exam room, where he gestured to Idess to sit on the bed, and for Lore to take a seat. “I assume the bastard is dead,” he said, as he gloved up.

  “Very.” Lore tucked his injured arm protectively against his body. “Take care of Idess first.”

  Before she could protest, Eidolon took her wrist. “Keep pressure on your wound,” he said to Lore. Idess clenched her teeth as he began the painful process of healing her cut, and when he was done, he gently wiped away the blood and covered the mostly healed gash with a gauze pad and tape.

  Eidolon sank into a chair across from his brother. “Did you get… the remains?”

  Idess closed her eyes and offered a prayer for the small boy her brother had killed.

  “I’m going to get them the second I’m done here.” Lore said grimly.

  Very gently, Eidolon rested Lore’s arm on his thigh. “You did a number on this,” he muttered. “Sword?”

  “Wow,” Lore said, as Idess moved to him and took his good hand in hers. “You’re good.”

  “I see a lot of this,” Eidolon said wryly. “Usually on Wraith. You ready?”

  “Yeah.” Gazing up at her, Lore squeezed her hand. “Yeah, I am.”

  Something in her chest lurched. Lore usually suffered alone and didn’t rely on anyone, and he probably preferred it that way. But he was taking strength and comfort from her.

  Eidolon’s dermoire lit up, and when Eidolon was done, he wiped away the blood.

  Idess sank down next to Lore just as the doctor’s pager went off. He checked it, cursed soundly.

  “What is it?” Lore asked.

  “Wargs,” he said. “There are two incoming via ambulance, and three coming through the Harrowgate.” Eidolon closed his eyes and blew out a long breath. “This makes eight in a matter of days. We have an epidemic on our hands.” He opened his eyes and gave Lore a look that chilled Idess to the bone. “Does Sin have any healing abilities at all? Any reversal powers?”

  “No, why?” But Idess had a feeling she knew, and she saw in Lore’s face that he did, too. “Oh, God. Sin. She started it, didn’t she?”

  “Yeah.”

  Lore cursed. “We can’t catch a break around here, can we?”

  Eidolon adjusted his stethoscope around his neck. “I’d like to say that this is unusual, but the last couple of years have been nothing but chaos. And it’s only going to get worse if we can’t get rid of Roag and his merry band of ghosts.”

  Stupid bastard! You can’t get rid of me. You made me!

  Idess wrenched her head around to the doorway, where Roag was lurking, hood shoved back to reveal a hideous, deformed face. His skin was a mass of dark scar tissue stretched tight over bone that was, in places, visible. Insanity gleamed in his dead eyes.

  “Actually,” Idess said quietly, “I think I can do something about that.”

  You can help me? Please. This curse… it is agony you can’t comprehend. I did nothing to deserve it.

  “You hired your brother to kill his own brothers,” she said to him. “Your brothers.”

  “Ah… Idess?” Lore’s voice came from behind her, but she held up he
r hand to stop both him and Eidolon.

  “Did you hear me, Roag? You wanted your own brothers dead.”

  Because they burned me alive! He tore off his cloak, and she nearly gasped at the shriveled, twisted wreck that was his body. And now I hurt. I starve. I thirst. Nothing relieves me. Please, help me. His lips peeled back in the most evil grin she’d ever seen. Slaughter my brothers and their families so their blood runs like a river through the streets. Gut them. Rend their limbs from their bodies and their eyes from their sockets!

  His laughter pierced her like a lance carved of ice. “You want help? Really?” She grabbed Roag by the arm. Though he wasn’t solid to her, his energy clung to her like static electricity. “I can put you out of your misery. Absolutely. I don’t have the power to destroy souls, but I know someone who does.”

  She dragged him out of the hospital and into the parking lot. Dimly, she heard Lore and Eidolon calling her name, but she kept going. Her brother had torn this family apart, and she couldn’t do anything about that, but she certainly could do something about this.

  * * *

  Inhaling deeply, Idess flashed to the realm where her father resided, where only his children and his griminions were allowed. She appeared on the steps of an ancient Greek temple, a great ebony building flanked by black pillars and set amongst other black structures. Once, she’d run her hand over a wall, only to have it come away covered with a sootlike substance. Where her hand had been, dirty white marble peeked through the oily grit.

  The massive buildings and pillars and statues had once been pristine white. Now they groaned under the weight of taint and corruption. The entire realm was a giant replica of Athens, but in the dark. Athens, in her nightmares.

  Still maintaining a grip on Roag, whose struggles were mere whispers against her skin, she climbed the steps and entered through the double doors big enough to allow King Kong passage. Inside, polished ebony floors stretched endlessly. Grim, dark statues of demons and humans in pain lined the walls, and in the center of the great room, a fountain ran red into a dark pool at the base.