Cook, Kris - Captivation [Eternally Three 2] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

by Captivation (lit)

  “Parkor, you don’t need so much magic to hold her. Back off, please.” Though his words seemed more like a request, the tone came out like a command.

  The archangel frowned, but lowered his hand. Though the blue remained around her, the pain lessened immediately.

  Eve gasped.

  “I’ll take that as a thank you. You’re very welcome. I’m not sure what you’ve been told about the Dark, but we’re not without manners.”

  The demon sounded polite, a bit too polite, though. She doubted that even an ounce of compassion existed inside him.

  She braced herself. Best to put one foot in front of the other, even in this hopeless situation. “So, why did you have me brought here? What can I do for you?”

  Vincorte grinned. His smile would’ve sent most women’s hearts to the moon. Eve sensed malevolence behind the look. With the demon, she must use extreme caution.

  “Parkor, I love this new generation of humanity.” Vincorte rubbed his forehead. “How do they say it? Go with the flow. Don’t make waves.”

  A green spear shot over her shoulder and hit Parkor in the chest, slamming him against the far wall. A blood-red patch expanded on the archangel’s shirt from the deep laceration the weapon caused.

  “You asshole!” Parkor pulled the lance out of his chest with two hands.

  Nash? Eve turned around, optimism springing up inside her. It wasn’t Nash, but Quade. The jinn’s eyes narrowed, and he struggled to his feet.

  “Eve, get behind me,” he choked out.

  Even as weak as Quade appeared to be, she just might be able to escape this horror with his help. She ran to him, placing his body between her and Vincorte.

  “Parkor, your compelling spell on this warrior must’ve been negated by Ms. Rousseau’s bloodline energy. How interesting.”

  “We’re going to leave now,” Quade stated. “Don’t try to stop us.”

  “I’m very impressed with you, jinn. Though you nearly sent this archangel to the immortal prison with one strike, I’m an archdemon, not quite that easy to bring down. I can’t let you leave. Either of you.”

  Vincorte pointed to the ground between him and Quade. A ball of black fire appeared on the floor. It stretched to the ceiling, and then morphed into a dark writhing plant with deadly looking thorns. Eve gasped.

  A scythe materialized in Quade’s hands. He whacked at the evil weed, slowing the thing’s advance at first, but with each branch he sliced away, three new ones popped out. In less than a minute, Vincorte’s vine immobilized the jinn by wrapping up his legs and arms.

  Blood poured out of gashes the thorns had delivered. A pang for Quade hit her gut. He’d tried to save her but had failed.

  Eve stepped forward, her insides trembling. “Let him go. I’m the one you want.”

  “He’s not going anywhere except to the Ether.” Free of the spear, Parkor raised his hand. “You’re dead, jinn.”

  “Stop.” The archdemon held up his hand. “I have plans for him. He will make an impressive ifrit.”

  “I’ll never turn,” Quade spat.

  “Very impressive, indeed.” Vincorte turned back to Parkor. “Time for you to go back. But first, I need to mask the darkness inside you.”

  The archdemon touched the archangel. Parkor’s eyes closed, and his mouth twisted, clearly fighting some kind of pain. Eve watched the archangel’s wings turn bright white, as thousands of feathers appeared.

  “Excellent. If David doesn’t scan you too closely, he won’t detect a thing.”

  “Thank you, my lord.” Parkor bowed.

  Eve wondered how long the man had been working for the Dark’s leader.

  “I need to know what David’s strategy is to try to retrieve this woman. I’m certain he will move the pregnant woman to another location. Find out where.”

  Oh no! Brooke!

  Parkor nodded then asked, “What about the other bloodliner in your custody?”

  “Leah Green? Not your concern.”

  “Yes, my lord.”

  “One more thing, Parkor. Bring me the transcription of Eric’s flash drive.”

  “Sir, as I said before, David isn’t sharing it with the council. I tried to get it, but—”

  Vincorte shoved Parkor to the ground with such a force that Eve could feel the vibration of the archangel’s fall in her feet. “I need that information. I’ve got two of my own bloodliners now. With their powers, I have a chance to spring Prince Terrok from his prison.”

  Who?

  Quade couldn’t help her. Vincorte’s demonic plant immobilized the jinn’s movement, and its black leaves filled his mouth and covered his eyes, silencing and blinding him.

  Her stomach coiled in fear. I’m on my own.

  Parkor bowed. “Yes, my lord.”

  Vinocorte offered his hand to the traitor and helped him to his feet. “No more excuses.”

  “Yes, sir. When I’m done, will you complete my transformation to archdemon?”

  “Of course. Now go. Send in the others.”

  Eve didn’t like the sound of that. Every one of her muscles knotted up.

  Parkor waved his hand in the air.

  Vincorte laughed. “That won’t work here. This room is portal-proof.”

  The archangel nodded and stepped towards the door. Passing her, he said, “Have fun.”

  The two words hung in the air like vultures. As the door closed and the lock turned, every internal alarm in her body sounded. Her mouth lost all moisture, and her blood turned cold.

  Vincorte pointed a single finger at her, causing her to float next to him. Without touching her, he used magic to latch her to the chains hanging from the ceiling and the floor, each foot and hand with its own restraint. The tautness of the cables pulled her shoulders and legs until she thought they might pop out of their joints.

  “Very strange. Something about you dissipates magic. I had to use more energy than normal for that simple task. Too tight for you, my dear?” The archdemon waved his hand, and the tension of the metal eased up a bit. “That’s better.”

  Eve silently begged for unconsciousness to take her from the nightmare. Acid burned in her gut.

  “Vincorte, what do you want from me?”

  He ignored her and walked over to the shelves with the evil looking tools.

  If I’m going to do anything, now’s the time. Could she call up her bloodline power again? She had no clue how she’d been able to do it earlier to knock Quade to the ground, releasing him from Parkor’s dark spell. But she’d done it. And she must do it again.

  Vincorte turned back around. He held two nasty looking clamps. The look of determination in his eyes filled her with dread.

  Think! How did I do it before? Her power always appeared red in color. She closed her eyes, willing to see the energy inside her. At first nothing happened, but then she sensed a single point of red. Small. Hot. My bloodline power.

  A creak followed by a loud slam pulled her from her attempt to use her magic against the fiend. The red dot in her mind vanished.

  Someone had come in through the metal door.

  She opened her eyes and found a heaping pile of horror. Two men stood there. One she didn’t recognize. Unfortunately, the other she did. The creep was as tall as a giant and built like a jagged boulder, and his face looked like a block of cold granite.

  “Irkon and Tick, I’m so glad you could join Eve and I for some fun.”

  Chapter 17

  The demons didn’t know I could see them. My bloodline magic does come in handy from time to time.

  I’ve locked all the doors and windows, for all the good that will do. I’ve called David, but no answer. Where the hell is he?

  Thank God Brooke left for her mother’s this morning.

  If anything happens to me, David better make sure Micki is safe.

  God, I hope these creatures don’t know about her.

  Eric’s Flash Drive: day 80—entry 12

  * * * *

  Two figures, one a jinn an
d the other a demon, sat across from each other in the coffee shop while unsuspecting humans sipped their beverages. Nash drank black coffee. Azlian downed her third shot of espresso, leaving her fourth tiny cup of the dark brew still on the table. Nash imbibed to further mask his true identity from the humans in the place. She did it, he suspected, from an addiction to caffeine.

  “Are these pages really authentic?” Azlian asked.

  Nash nodded.

  He’d sent out a mental invitation to Azlian, hoping she’d respond. She did. The bait had been some of the transcriptions of Eric’s notes from his flash drive. David had needed some convincing to agree to Nash’s plan, but he ultimately did. Eve was important to the archangel, too. For David, she was a misplaced weapon now in the hands of the enemy, and it was much too dangerous to leave her there. For Nash, he couldn’t imagine one day, let alone eternity, without the woman he loved. How could he have been so stupid? He shouldn’t have let her out of his sight until she was bound to him and Kronos. He’d failed, and that burned him to his core.

  Azlian shuffled the papers. “I count thirty-nine pages. How many more are there?”

  “Thirty.”

  “And why didn’t you bring those?”

  “This is all I could get. Do we have a deal or not, Azlian?” If she didn’t agree, he’d reach across the table and choke her until she did. Eve needed him, right now.

  “I’ve known you for a very long time. At least four hundred years.”

  “Five hundred and twelve, actually. Back when you and I first took the Vow to the Alliance.”

  “Right. God, that takes me back. I just can’t believe you’re really ready to change sides.”

  “Believe it or not. Like I told you before, I’m tired of waiting to be elevated to the council of Seven.”

  “I doubt that. I don’t take you for an immortal bent on promotion.”

  “Well, you’re wrong.” He hoped she would buy the lie.

  Azlian downed her remaining espresso. “If you do this, there might be a way back. Is that what you’re hoping for?”

  “Redemption?” Nash laughed. “When was the last time you heard of that happening?”

  “True.” She shrugged. “Still, both sides of the war had once believed that bloodliners were all dead. Now we’re all fighting to get our own human blood bags. Why not redemption for a demon or ifrit?”

  He tugged at the darkness inside him that had been born the night of Gwyneth’s death. He knew the risk of facing Vincorte, yet still he had to push on for Eve. “Not for me. It’s too late for that.”

  Her violet eyes blinked. “You sure about this, Nash? Once I take you to him, the die is cast.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “This bloodliner must be something else.”

  “It’s not for her.”

  Azlain waved at the kid behind the counter. “Two more espressos, please.”

  “You must come up to the counter to order.”

  Azlian sent a tiny flicker of black to the young man. It hit him between the eyes.

  “I’ll get that out to you right away.”

  “Why did you do that? And why aren’t we leaving for your boss’s place?”

  “I did it because I can. He’s not just my boss now, he’s also yours. And we’ll leave when I say so. Not before.”

  Nash knew he had to treat Azlian with kid gloves. One false move, she’d kill the deal and he’d have to move to plan B. Not optimal, since trying to force her to take him would mean a day or two of intense interrogation, and he didn’t have the luxury of time it would take to get the demon to comply. Eve would be dead by then. So, he kept his mouth shut.

  She eyed him suspiciously, actually scanning him.

  “I can’t detect a spell, but maybe David’s put some kind of beacon on you that he can find you anywhere.”

  She was painfully close to the truth. David had offered, but that kind of signal would be easily detected since it broadcast wide. Kronos had come up with the idea of the twin spell. Brilliant.

  Nash had taken a sliver of his own unused green energy and placed it next to Kronos’s sphere of energy inside him. Once Nash got to Eve, he’d call to the missing speck of power. Kronos would tether to it, following it all the way to him and Eve with David and other reinforcements. No beacon until it got activated, so nothing to detect.

  The young man delivered the two shots Azlian requested. “No charge. On the house.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  “Can you finish your drinks now? I’d like to get on with it.”

  “Patience. You can be such a hot-head when you’re not careful.”

  Nash fought down the urge to send a shower of daggers into Azlian, slicing her to tiny bits.

  The human will still die, and you will either fall or die resisting.

  Nash kept his thoughts hidden from Azlian. He knew that the demon might be right, but it didn’t matter. All that he could think about was Eve. He’d lost her, but he would get her back, one way or another.

  He sent, My call, not yours.

  Azlian shot the two espressos back to back. “Okay. I might regret this, but let’s go.”

  “Thanks.” He prayed to find Eve alive and whole. If she was, there still was hope. If not, he’d take out as many darklings as he could before they sent him to the Ether. Maybe even Vincorte himself. Nash would keep attacking until the demons finally succeeded in ending his immortal life. Without Eve in the world, he didn’t want to live.

  * * * *

  Eve trembled just thinking about the malice to come.

  “Hello, bitch!” Irkon smirked. “Remember me?”

  “Yummy.” The man who Vincorte had called Tick rubbed his hands together and looked at her with totally black eyes, just like Irkon’s.

  She thought his name quite appropriate, since his lanky arms and legs looked so bug-like.

  Vincorte waved his hand, and Eve’s clothes vanished. The cold air hit her like razors.

  “Hey!”

  “Yes, my dear?”

  Her mind raced. Keep both of them talking until I can figure out how to use my power.

  “Why are their eyes totally black and yours aren’t, Vincorte? Aren’t you all the same?”

  The man laughed. “No. Hardly. These are my children. Dumb but obedient. My eye color sometimes is just like theirs.”

  He handed a paddle to Irkon. “Thank you, Master.”

  Oh God—no!

  Tick walked up to her and lowered his pants, exposing his ugly cock twisting downward. “This is for you.”

  “Fucking touch me, and you die.”

  “Threatening me? Little morsel, you’re not in a position to do a damn thing.”

  Irkon walked behind her. “I’m going to so enjoy pulling screams out of you, cunt.”

  Pain shot through her as he landed the paddle on her ass.

  “Let’s cut her.” Tick laughed like a madman.

  Vincorte waved his hand, and a chair appeared. He sat down, never letting his gaze drift from her eyes.

  “You’re going to let them do this? What do you want from me?”

  “Your power, of course. It’s nothing personal.”

  “Take my power. I don’t want it.”

  “My dear, that’s exactly what Irkon and Tick will do.”

  “Do you have no heart? No compassion at all?”

  “I think Voltaire explained it best: When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he worry about the comfort or discomfort of the rats in the ship?”

  “You think of yourself as the king?”

  “None other.”

  “And I’m a mouse.” With his position and power, she could understand such sentiment. “Why the torture and rape? The immortals on the other side treat humans differently to get power?”

  “Let me see if I can help you understand.” Vincorte’s voice sickened her with its condescending pitch. “During triplings, your Alliance friends pour energy back into their human lovers, providing an intense e
uphoria, a kind of payment if you will. Just imagine that you’re starving and someone sets a rare filet mignon steak in front of you. What a crime it would be to eat only part of its delicious meat and throw away the rest, erroneously believing that the steak deserved to be spared of total consumption. My darklings eat every last morsel of their meals, wasting nothing.”

  Eve shivered violently as fear grabbed her insides and squeezed.

  “Master, may I continue?” Irkon asked from behind her.

  Vincorte nodded.

  Irkon hit her again and again with the paddle.

  She begged, cursed, and threatened, but nothing stopped the blows to her ass. The pain blinded her. She tried to bring her power back to the surface but couldn’t.

  “Can we fuck her now? Can we? Huh?” Tick’s yakking sickened her.

  “Yes,” Irkon stated flatly.

  She heard him undressing. Vincorte looked at her like she was a butterfly to be pierced with two sharp pins for his collection. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I need you, power. Come!

  Images of Nash and Kronos floated in front of her mind. She missed them, needed them. When she looked again, they were gone. In their place were two spinning balls of red energy.

  Just as she felt Irkon’s hands on her ass and Tick’s between her thighs, she sent the spheres like missiles to the fuckers.

  She opened her eyes just in time to see Tick vanish in a cloud of red. Irkon screamed, and then he was gone.

  Vincorte was standing, leathery wings spread out, horns on his forehead, black eyes. He hadn’t lied.

  “Interesting.” He sounded calm, but his face harbored a storm of hate.

  “There’s more where that came from, buster.” She hoped the bluff worked.

  “Of that I’m sure.” Vincorte’s body morphed back to the wingless variety, camouflaging the monster within. He put his sunglasses back on. “They touched you, and you were able to send them to the Ether.”

  “Yes. Touch me, and I’ll send you there, too.”

  “Mmm… How do I get to transfer your power to me without touching you? A challenge I didn’t expect.” He spoke more to himself, than to her.

  “You don’t,” she said with as much false confidence as she could muster.