Celeste had never seen her father so upset, and she pursued her lips together to keep from saying anything. She knew her place, knew that rushing to Victor would be showing weakness. Not something you did in front of Dante, Victor had been wrong to try to protect her.
“You shall fight him on the mortal plane, and bring his pieces back to me.” He took Celeste by the shoulders and shook her. “Promise me you will bring him back to me for retribution. For your home? For your brothers? For your very existence,” Dante growled. Celeste nodded, and Dante threw his head back and howled to the heavens and hell with pain and rage.
Chapter 2
“They want to speak with all the Trackers?” Marcus looked at Victor as if the Reaper had suddenly sprouted horns. Marcus couldn’t remember a time when anyone had ever asked to speak with the Trackers and Fallen at the same time. In fact until recently the Trackers, an ancient race of hunters with the ability to find any creature be it human or Other with three sense’s; taste, touch, smell, had believed to have been extinct.
“Did I say something that would allude otherwise?”
Victor’s dry humor not cracking even a little. “You have forty-eight of your hours to pull it together.”
He was gone in a spectacular ball of fire causing Marcus to stumble back in surprise. When had they started doing that? It was very unlike the Reapers to call attention to themselves in such a showy manner. He couldn’t imagine what could be bad enough to warrant a meeting with both he and the Trackers. He did know it didn’t bode well for anyone.
Swearing, Marcus grabbed his phone. He wasn’t looking forward to calling the Trackers, they didn’t take direction or demands well. And this definitely fell under the demand category.
Falcon picked up on the first ring. “What?” he barked into the phone.
“Good morning, Falcon,” Marcus said with mock pleasantry. “It’s good to hear your voice.”
“Marcus, if you have something you need to say, say it or I am going to hang up this bloody phone.” He had to give it to Falcon the Tracker never beat around the bush. It was something to respect in the man.
“I just had an interesting visitor. Victor is demanding all the Trackers and the myself be at Staten and prepared for a visit within forty-eight hours.” Marcus couldn’t wait to hear what Falcon had to say to that.
Falcon didn’t respond immediately and the pause was enough to make Marcus just a little nervous. Would he flat out refuse? Finally he spoke. “Excuse me? A visit from whom?”
“I would assume the Reapers.”
“All of them?” The slight inflection in Falcon’s voice meant the news had shaken the unflappable Tracker as much as it had Marcus. “Where are you?”
Marcus looked around the drear church he had been searching. “I can be at Staten by nightfall.”
“It will take about thirty-six hours to get everyone here,” Falcon said.
“Just make it happen, Victor didn’t act as if we really have a choice in the matter.”
“Did he threaten you?” Falcon asked.
Marcus snorted. “Your sense of humor is hysterical.”
“I’ll see you by nightfall.” Marcus looked down at his phone and shook his head. Since spring, when he had met up with Ryder and his brothers, his life had changed drastically. The Trackers considered him a brother, which meant being treated like a brother, and entailed pulling asses out of fires. And being talked to like an idiot, this was apparently a trait brothers had. Marcus had nothing to compare it too, his brethren in the Congregation of Angels would never dream of talking to each other the way Trackers did. Moreover, he didn’t know if any of his fellow Angels or Fallen would have his back the way the Trackers did either. With Fallen disappearing like they were, Marcus never complained about having a backup plan of the Trackers either.
He walked out into the fresh air of the fall morning, leaving the musty smell of the old church behind him. He searched his memory for any time in history he knew of when the Reapers had requested an audience with anyone much less Trackers and Fallen. He came up blank. Yeah, his week was about to get a whole lot more interesting.
****
“Marcus.” Kyra smiled and stepped into the circle of the Fallen’s arms as he came through the door. Ryder stood behind his bonded mate growling, to irritate the Tracker he pulled Kyra in closer.
“It’s good to see you,” he whispered into her ear.
“Let her go, or I’ll break you in half,” Ryder snarled.
Marcus laughed and let her go, then extended his hand to Ryder. “It’s good to see you as well, Ryder. I see your territorialism regarding Kyra hasn’t lessoned since the summer.” Ryder took his hand and pulled him in for a bone-breaking pat on the back. “It is good to see you, Fallen. And no, it hasn’t, so keep your hands to yourself. How has the hunt gone?” Marcus snorted. “Not good. Calliope might as well have never existed for the amount of evidence I have found on him.”
Kyra laughed and it brought joy to Marcus’s heart it sounded like the tinkling of bells. “Did you expect him to just swoop down from whatever perch he has claimed and say, ‘Here I am, would you please lock me up in a Pandora’s Box again?”
Kyra leaned into her bonded-mate who wrapped an arm around her waist. Ryder looked down at Kyra and smiled. Marcus had to acknowledge the stab of jealousy that flickered through him. As a Fallen Angel he knew ultimate love, but the love of mortals, and specifically the love Ryder and Kyra shared, shook all the beliefs he had built regarding love. Something deep inside of him craved it so profoundly it physically hurt. He thought he had it once. But what Kyra and Ryder shared eclipsed anything he had ever seen or felt before. It spoke volumes of the love he thought he had found so many years ago.
“How many are here?” he asked to cover his envy and jealousy.
“Everyone but Bowen, and Cameron. By the way, what happened between the two of you? Cameron came back pissed as hell three months ago and said you were impossible.” Ryder laughed.
The information didn’t surprise Marcus. Being young and stupid, Cameron didn’t listen to a damn thing anyone said. He thought he knew everything. He continually did stupid and reckless things just for the adrenal rush. Marcus had worked with him for four months before sending him packing.
“He is hot-headed and should be locked up until he grows up a little,” Marcus mumbled, not really wanting to speak ill of the Tracker.
Ryder threw his head back and laughed. “He doesn’t work well with others, Marcus. We had hoped by sending him with you he might learn some patience. But he came back so angry at you and the world, Falcon ended up sending him to South America to ask the Amazons if they knew anything.”
“What the hell kind of punishment is that?” Marcus asked.
“He came back with a broken arm and four festering arrow wounds,” Ryder said, leading Marcus down the hall. “He’s been pretty calm since then.”
Marcus laughed. Leave it to Cameron to mess up an opportunity to stay among some of the most beautiful and powerful woman in the world.
“Bowen is in Germany, but he will make it. Cameron is in Chicago. He said he would show up at the appointed hour and not a minute before.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “And that is calm?”
“He is staying out of trouble, that’s all I care about, brother,” Falcon said stepping into the hall he exchanged a hand shake with Marcus.
“So any ideas yet?” Marcus asked.
The Trackers had contacts everywhere, and he wouldn’t be surprised if they knew exactly what was going one and why.
Falcon gave Marcus a black look. “All I know is the Infernos, and all the portals into it have been locked. The last intel we received was something had attacked.”
Marcus released a pent up breath. “Calliope.” It was a statement not a question, which meant bad news for all of them.
“It was our assumption as well.”
Marcus had a sinking feeling things were going to get a hell of a lot worse be
fore they got any better. Why was it when the Trackers were involved a well laid plan always went up in smoke?
****
All eight Trackers sat at the large dining room table with Kyra next to Ryder. Marcus standing behind Falcon. They had all been informed of what this was possible about. The tension in the room was palatable. And, he wondered, who would crack first? The Trackers or the Reapers when they showed up. Either was possible.
Expecting a portal to open, they were all shocked when, in a flash of fire, seven cloaked figures appeared. Marcus, being the only one standing, took an involuntary step back. The heat from the flash of the fire scolding him.
One slight figure stepped forward and lowered his cowl. Dante stood at the other end of the table. He heard Kyra suck in a shocked breath. Marcus had never heard of the man leaving the Infernos for any reason, and Marcus was left utterly speechless.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with us.” He nodded toward the cloaked figures behind him. “We call upon you because the Infernos have been attacked. Portals are compromised, and Reapers are dead.”
Removing his cowl, Victor stepped forward. “Calliope has taken the last months to assimilate to this time period and now understands the comings and goings of the Reapers. He was able to get in via a portal that has not been used for centuries. It went directly to the seventh level. He fought his way forward. Samuel was beheaded and hung from the gates of Limbo, disemboweled. The inhabitants mutilated him, leaving almost nothing.” Each word was tinged with steel, Marcus felt for the Reapers. They had never had to deal with the death of a brother.
Another brother stepped forward removing his hood. “Mason was slain defending Pandora’s cave. His fate was similar to that of Samuel’s.”
“The balance of the planes of existence as we know them is now in jeopardy,” Dante said, taking back the conversation. “I will not lose another son to this monstrosity. You have been given the task to find and destroy him, Fallen. And the Element…” Dante looked pointedly at Kyra. “…will bear the weight of the innocence lost on her shoulders when her time of redemption comes.”
Ryder growled and made to stand, but Kyra placed a hand on his arm holding him back. “He is not telling us anything we didn’t already know, Ryder.”
“Your soul belongs to know one,” Ryder snapped.
“What exactly are you looking for from us?” Falcon asked. Marcus cringed eyeing Dante warily, he knew the leader of the Infernos sanity often balanced on a thin thread. And the Trackers often took and individuals last shred of sanity and wore it thin, but one did not play with Dante.
“I want you to find Calliope and bring him to me for retribution.” The words came out in a growl and bounced off the walls of the room as if trying to escape the small space. “He is a liability that should never have been given the opportunity to escape.”
“You said Samuel fell defending Pandora’s cave,” Marcus said, not sure he wanted the answer to the question he was about to ask. “What was he doing trying to get into the cave?”
“There are many things you do not know nor understand, Fallen. There are things in that cave that are there for a reason. Hidden from the world. Hidden from everything including time. Releasing them would wreak havoc on every plane of existence.” Dante looked at him his dark eyes cold, holding secrets Marcus couldn’t even begin to fathom. His stare caused shivers to spread over his arms and Marcus had to fist his hands at this side to keep them from rubbing his arms. Dante finally looked away releasing Marcus, and he felt warmth return to his extremities.
“Then why don’t you explain them to us before we put our own lives on the line?” Marcus asked losing sight of the fact he shouldn’t piss Dante off at the moment.
“You—” Dante stammered, and slammed his hand on the table cracking the wood down the center. Marcus was surprised the table didn’t crumble to dust beneath the blow. “You were charged with finding Calliope, and the blood of my sons is on your hands as well Fallen. Do you have any idea the chaos running wild in the Infernos?”
A small figure, still cloaked, stepped forward and placed a gloved hand on Dante’s shoulder. He seemed to calm slightly, but his cold stare racked the room. Marcus wouldn’t be surprised if he breathed out, and was able to see his breath the room had grown so cold. “I don’t think you fully understand the ramifications of what this means. The portals are compromised. Anyone using them could be killed entering or leaving the Infernos. Beside the fact that the open and closing of portals can be tracked by Calliope. Souls will be lost to the in-between. Trapped. The Angels will forsake those they deem unworthy, and no redemption will be found in the hands of Reapers with the portals compromised. We will have to move one soul at a time or risk letting Calliope back into the Infernos. Do you have any idea what will happen if we leave tainted souls to roam this plane?” Dante’s words echoed through the room making several people shudder. Evil souls, left to linger will haunt and terrorize the innocent. It would cause wide spread panic, terror and insanity among mortals.
“How exactly did you get him out of the Infernos?” Ryder asked in the silence that followed. “Once he obtained what he wanted he left,” Victor explained.
“What exactly does Calliope want?” Falcon demanded.
“To rule the Infernos,” Victor provided. “And in order to do that, he will need to destroy all of the Reapers and Dante.”
“So why leave the Infernos if he was able to get there? It doesn’t make any sense,” Skylar asked.
“He wanted to know what our defenses were, what weaknesses we have. He was able to make it from the seventh level to my Fortress in Limbo before we were able to open a portal and force him through it. However, I believe he left of his own accord. He could have stayed and fought but chose to let us drive him out. He is up to something, and the end result is him ruling the Infernos,” Dante spat.
“Again, I’m not sure how this pertains to us?” Falcon said.
“There are several ways to get into the Infernos portals, Flashing, and by way of souls that belong there. But even those souls aren’t a guarantee that a Reaper will come for you,” Dante said slanting a look at Marcus as he spoke, making Marcus’s stomach pitch and roll. Marcus was almost afraid to ask his next question. “Exactly what type of soul would guarantee entry into the Infernos?”
“Only one of my Touched would guarantee a portal to the Infernos. Now that the portals have been locked, once he has a way to kill us Calliope will go after anyone that has access to the Infernos by other means. Enter the Infernos and kill us to obtain the right to rule over the Underworld.” Dante looked at Marcus and then at Kyra. “You are both Touched by me. Killing either of you would be a gateway to the Infernos.”
“Son of a bitch,” Ryder bellowed slapping his hands down on the table. “How many others have you personally Touched?”
“Hundreds, but there are a select few that are not only Touched but guarded, those souls would be his one true way into the Infernos. Besides, the Fallen and the Element, there are six souls that are Touched by myself and guarded by the Angels,” Dante explained. “I need you to find them and either kill them yourself or keep Calliope from killing them.”
“And exactly what are you going to be doing?” Marcus couldn’t help but ask.
“I will be attempting to restore order back to the Infernos.” Marcus was surprised when he saw genuine sadness in Dante’s face. “And, of course, replacements for my fallen sons.”
“Wait.” Kyra held up a hand stopping the conversation. “You said he was going to find a way to kill you. How is that possible? What types of things will kill you?”
Victor shook his head. “The majority of items deadly to immortals have been collected either by the Angels or Dante.”
That comment shook Marcus to the core, Dante held items that could kill immortals? It was staggering. “You have been collecting these items? Why?”
Dante slapped the table again in agitation. “Because items such as those should
not be left on any plane for mortals or others to trifle with.” He pinned Marcus with a glare. “And your dear Angels have been helping me.”
“So what then?” Kyra said breaking the standoff between them.
Several items that Marcus knew of had been destroyed by Angels, or Reapers. But then he questioned even that. Maybe he didn’t understand the workings of the Other’s as well as he believed.
“The only item that remains on this plane besides the Book Of Deaths, which has been missing for over two thousand years. Is the Blood Rite Dagger,” Dante explained.
“And does Calliope know of either of these items?” Falcon asked.
Dante snorted. “Of course he does, he helped in the creation of the Dagger.”
“Well that’s just great.” Ryder swore. “So he probably has some type of connection with the damn thing.”
Dante nodded. “You should not bother yourself with finding the Dagger. Calliope will find it if he hasn’t already, and then he will do everything possible to get back into the Infernos.”
“What can he do with the Dagger?” Marcus asked wanting to fully understand what they were going to be facing.”
“The Blood Rite Dagger was imbued with the blood of the first Reapers giving the carrier the ability to reap the soul of an immortal,” Victor explained, his words made Marcus light headed with worry, and his legs shook slightly.
“Something like that should never have been created,” Kyra said to the silent group. “What was the purpose of it?”
Victor shook his head sadly. “Many wars have been fought between immortals, gods and demi-gods. Weapons were created and destroyed for the purpose of winning those wars. Then lost to the world and time.”
“So unlike other weapons created by the Others, this Dagger can be held by anyone?” Marcus really didn’t want to hear the answer. He only hoped whoever had the Dagger now didn’t know what it was used for.
“Yes.” Dante’s word fell like an anvil on the table between them. “You must find him and bring him to me.”
Lost In Time: A Fallen Novel Page 3