Lost In Time: A Fallen Novel

by Palmer, Christie

  She smiled at Stephan and slapped him on the back. “Thanks for taking point tonight. It looked like it hurt like hell.”

  “Shut up, Ash,” Stephan said.

  Marcus led them to the kitchen entrance and threw the door open. Cameron, Ryder and Kyra still sat at the table, but they all came to their feet when Celeste and Marcus re-entered.

  Celeste turned to Aiden who stood in the doorway, a grim look on his face, he eyed Ryder. Ryder snorted. “Knew you couldn’t stay away.”

  “Contrary to your belief the world does not revolve around you, Tracker I am here for something that eclipses even you.”

  Ryder sighed heavily and Kyra elbowed him in the stomach with a glare. Ryder closed his eyes and then took a deep breath. When he opened them he moved around Kyra and stepped up to the door, everyone was surprised by what Ryder did next.

  “Aiden, King of the Vampires, I apologize for insulting you. Would you please come in and let the hospitality of my home show you we can be allies.”

  “Damn, I didn’t know he knew such eloquent words,” Cameron muttered.

  Kyra hit him with a napkin.

  “I would be honored,” Aiden said, stepping over the threshold and taking Ryder by the hand they shook on it.

  “I still want to know what happened,” Celeste threw out to the group at large.

  “Again, my sweet little Demon, a story for another time.” Aiden nodded to her as he walked past her.

  “Stop calling her those little pet names,” Marcus said.

  Aiden turned to him. “And just why would I do that? Because you said so? When the lady asks me to stop, I shall. But until that happens, I shall call and do whatever I like with her.”

  Marcus lunged at the Vampire who didn’t even flinch. Ryder stepped in between them. “Geez, man, take it down a notch.”

  Marcus realized what he was doing and stepped back, he took several deep breaths, then moved into the dining room where they could all sit around the table. He felt like his head was going to explode. Things with Celeste we getting out of control, and he knew he had to do something before he made a complete fool of himself.

  Kyra rung her hands. “Um, I feel like I should offer you something.”

  “My colleagues and I are fine, Element. Please sit.”

  Kyra pulled up a chair and sat next to Ryder, who wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

  “So what’s your news?” Marcus asked.

  “Sarafina left the city early this evening. She didn’t take any of her people save her brother. The Demons she had collected are going to go into the city and party,” Aiden said the last with a small laugh. “Which means they shall attempt to feast on whatever they get their hands on. They are not a well-controlled race. Present company excluded, of course.” Aiden smiled at Celeste who nodded back at him.

  “Okay so Demons attacking New Orleans,” Cameron said as if he were taking notes. “Next good news?”

  “Sarafina left because something more powerful and deadly arrived.” A sick feeling grew in the pit of Celeste’s stomach.

  “And that would be?”

  “My spies say it was a large black winged man.”

  “But if you are in town why would he seek out Sarafina? And not go right for the heart of the Vampires?” Ryder asked.

  “If he was feeling out the power in the city, there are several other creatures that would rate higher in the hierarchy than Sarafina,” Cameron added.

  “That is a fine question and one we don’t have the answer to,” Aiden supplied. “My only conclusion would be he was either letting her know of his presences, and she bolted or he was sending her a message she should take back to Lordus.”

  “He couldn’t possibly want to join forces with Lordus. That would be insane,” Ash said from her position standing to the right of Aiden.

  “Either that or Lordus has something that he needs,” Aiden said. “I would tend to believe that before anything else. Calliope, from what I understand, is not a creature that works with others. But he has gotten the Demons riled up.” Aiden turned to look at Celeste. “I think that has something to do with you.”

  Celeste shrugged. “I might have pissed him off just a little the last time we had a run in.”

  Marcus checked his watch. “What time are the Demons heading into the city?”

  “Midnight, of course. They are Demons after all, and imagination is not one of their strong points,” Aiden said.

  “It doesn’t make any sense.” Kyra finally spoke up. “Why would he come in and make his presence so obvious? Why would he incite Demons to attack mortals? It will only bring the Tribunal down on them. It actually sounds like a trap or a diversionary attempt. He wants something else.”

  Ryder smiled and kissed his mate. “And that is one of the reason’s I love you.”

  “He knows we won’t stand back and let the uncontrolled Demons rampage through the city,” Cameron said. “Makes sense. While we are fighting off the Demon hoard, he is going to find the marked and kill them and get back into the Infernos.”

  “I have enough men in the city to stop the Demons,” Aiden said. “But the marked, those will have to be dwelt with by you five, have you identified them?”

  “Not really,” Celeste said honestly.

  “You have been here two days? What exactly have you been doing, site seeing?” Ash asked.

  Celeste turned to the woman. Her short white hair was spiked out in several directions. “Okay, you, I don’t like and can kiss my Demon ass.”

  “Sweetheart,” Ash said, leaning in so they were nose to nose. “It would take a great deal more than you to stop me.”

  Celeste pushed herself to her feet. “Sweetheart,” she said, using the same amount of sarcasm as Ash had, “you have no idea what the fuck you’re dealing with. You might want to step back and let the adults talk.”

  “Girl fight,” Cameron announced just as Ash threw a punch Celeste easily caught just inches from her face. Ash swung with her other fist and Celeste pulled away so it didn’t make contact with her face, but just barely.

  She was sure Ash didn’t even see Celeste’s move as a palm connected with her face. Everyone in the room cringed when they heard bones break and Ash flew across the room, caving in part of the wall.

  “Geez, Aiden, you’re the freaking King of the Vampires, and I’ve knocked out both of your bodyguards, explain to me how you’re going to take out the Demons tonight,” Celeste said in disgust.

  Aiden stood. “Celeste, I promise you not all Demons fight quite as well as you. As for my bodyguards, as a personal favor, please don’t knock them around like rag dolls. They pout for weeks.”

  “I don’t pout,” Stephan said.

  “Pick her up. We have a job to do,” Aiden said to Stephen.

  “How do we get into contact with you?” Marcus asked.

  Aiden nodded to Celeste and winked at her. “My little Demon has my personal cell number.”

  Chapter 8

  “The city is beautiful from here,” Celeste said, trying to break the stony silence that had been forced on her by Marcus who refused to speak to her. He hadn’t said a word directly to her since the Vampires left, and they loaded up. They quartered off the city with Cameron, Ryder and Kyra.

  She stood on the top of an old church. Crouched on the tallest spiral where she held on with her fingertips. Her body swung out above the church, and the four-story fall to the ground.

  “This city has so much character. I think if I were to choose a place to live in the mortal world, I would choose New Orleans.”

  Marcus snorted.

  “Oh, you don’t agree?” she asked him, not really expecting an answer, and when none came, she continued. “You might be right, this is beautiful. But someplace open, where I could see the sunrise every single morning.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Bask in the glory of that beautiful miracle every day without any buildings or anything else short of a tree to block my view. Or a high-ris
e in New York or London above all the mortal bullshit.”

  “Ivory towers are for fairy tales, Celeste,” Marcus muttered.

  Celeste turned toward him. She couldn’t see him, but she knew exactly where he stood. With his arms crossed over his chest, he stood like one of the gargoyles watching over the city like the Fallen Angel he was. Beautiful, majestic and powerful. She wanted to leap down and grasp him in her arms hold him close, feel his power and strength, pretend he loved her as much as she loved him. She wanted him to know all the times she had cared for him while in the Infernos. She sighed and looked back over the city. They were fairy tales.

  “Can’t we have just a little fairy tale, with a happy ending? Is that too much to ask?” she said it knowing how wistful her voice sounded. It was something she would never dare say to her brothers or her father. They dealt in death; they didn’t do happily ever after. But her mother had told her they existed, and she hoped that her daughter found hers one day.

  “Yes,” Marcus sighed heavily.

  That pretty much summed it up for her, and she pursued her lips together. She had fantasized about this man for two centuries, and the reality was a disappointment, but really, what did she expect? To spend five minutes in his presence, and he would drop to his knees and promise his life and love to her for all of eternity?

  A tear slipped from her eye, and she whipped it away. She needed to grow up. Marcus was right. There was no place in their life for a fairy tale ending.

  She turned to face the city, blocking out the blinking lights and the beauty for something other than the red, orange and dusty light of the Infernos where time passed in the blink of a mortal eye.

  ****

  Marcus couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She crouched at the top of the spiral like an avenging Angel a long coat covered the dark red leather she had changed into. Her long braid hung down behind her blood red in the dark. She was the most deadly female he had ever come across and wasn’t afraid to show it. Was unrepentant for the strength she possessed and wasn’t afraid to use.

  She had shown more gumption and strength in the last five days than he had seen in men over centuries. But there was a part of her that was a little girl desperate for a fairy tale, and her obsession with the sunrise was driving him crazy. He wanted to be there with her when she saw it, wanted to bask in her light when the sun rose because she thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world, and it brought so much joy to her it lightened his soul. Celeste would never give half. She would give all she had or she would die trying.

  He shook himself and focused on the city. They were waiting. No fighting had broken out, but they were prepared for anything.

  His eyes inevitably drifted back to her. He thought about the slop of her back and the curve of her neck; her smell, gods what he wouldn’t do to pull her in and have it all. The smells, the tastes. The feel of her soft skin against his. The sound it would make when he pulled off the leather pants she wore. The gritty sound of the zipper as it slid down giving way to the creamy flesh beneath. He had no doubt in his mind that she would be a vocal lover. How could she be anything but vocal? He could almost feel the soft flesh beneath his hands, the look on her face as he kissed her. The way her voluptuous breasts would fill his hands. The sounds she would make when he made her cry out with the pleasure he would shower her with. She would need no other man ever again.

  Damn, where the hell had that thought come from? He couldn’t make her his, could he? The thought made his already hard cock jump in anticipation. To be linked forever to this woman. A man could ask for nothing more, and he would count himself a lucky bastard if after everything they had gone through, said to each other in anger over the last couple of days, if she would even consider being with him. But first he needed to traverse the chasm of anger between them.

  If he hadn’t been so hyper focused on her, he would have missed the slight stiffening of her spine. “What?” he whispered.

  She nodded to something in the distance. Marcus moved so he could see what she was motioning to. A large, dark bird flew in the distance over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, but as it dipped and swayed, Marcus realized that it wasn’t any bird. Cold terror seized him, dread coiling in the pit of his stomach.

  “Why is he flying so erratically?” he whispered to Celeste.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know. Could he still be injured from fighting us in Australia?”

  “It’s possible, but I doubt it.” Marcus watched as Calliope dipped and circled and then eerily turned toward them and moved with the speed of the wind.

  “Celeste,” he urged.

  She didn’t answer at first. “What is he doing?”

  She stood, placing herself in danger of falling the several hundred feet to the ground.

  “Celeste, get down. Now,” Marcus shouted. “It’s a trap; a trap to catch you, not the Touched.”

  Celeste turned to him. “What are you talking about?” And then everything went very quiet.

  He started to climb the spire, scrambling to get to Celeste as screams started to echo up from the city below.

  “Celeste, get down.” Marcus slipped but continued to climb several of the tiles digging into his palms making him bleed.

  “Marcus, stop. I’m coming down.” He turned toward Calliope, but it was too late. The Reaper was too close.

  “Celeste!” He screamed for her as Calliope swooped down, slamming something against her head. She collapsed, and Calliope grabbed ahold of her around the waist and flew away. Celeste jolted as he grabbed her and screamed for Marcus.

  Marcus hung onto the roof and watched, horrified, as Calliope carried her off. It had happened so fast, but the scream Celeste had made would haunt him forever.

  ****

  She felt like hell, and she knew exactly what that felt like. Rolling over, she starred at the cement ceiling above her head and tried to remember exactly where she was.

  “Ah sister, so glad to see your beautiful violet eyes.” Celeste jerked into a sitting position making her so dizzy she almost emptied her stomach. Calliope sat leaned against the opposite wall. His knees were drawn up, hands resting on them. He looked as if he had all the time in the world.

  Celeste back peddled until her back came up against a wall. Putting the distance of the room between them. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m trying to go home.” His wings contracted, bringing him off the floor as he swung away from her. One long fingernail carved a rounded doorway into the cement wall. “Let me back into the Infernos, Celeste.”

  “No,” Celeste said with conviction glad her voice didn’t betray the terror she was feeling.

  He moved so fast one blink had them nose to nose. “You don’t quite get it, sister. I am not really asking. I allowed the Reapers to throw me from the Infernos; I needed souls. But Dante has learned from past mistakes. I did not know he had the ability to lock the portals. He can’t stop you or the others from opening them or Flashing in. You are my key. I don’t need a mortal and Demon army, I just need to get back into the Infernos, and the chaos will put me exactly where I should have been all this time. I will rule the Infernos the way there were meant to be ruled.”

  “You know what? I think the Infernos are being ruled just fine.”

  He flew back as if she had swung at him. “You would say that, but I think I can change your mind. You might have been able to hide my Dagger from me, but it’s just a matter of time before even that is back where it belongs.” He was mad, that was the only answer, stark raving mad.

  Celeste wasn’t prepared when he reached forward and grabbed her ankle. She kicked out and fought against him with everything she had, but he was stronger than she. Celeste screamed for Victor, for Christian. Her pleading only made Calliope laugh. She panicked and clawed at the cement and rock floor. He dragged her through rooms and corridors until her hands bled.

  “They can’t hear you here.” He laughed as she screamed for her brothers. Celeste looked around and saw
only cement and darkness. “And no one will look for you, because sweet sister you don’t exist in this plane or any plane for that matter. In fact you were a complete surprise to even me. Who would have thought Dante would dip and slum with a Demon whore?” His words cut deeply, and she swung her free leg catching him in the chest he fell back but didn’t release her ankle and twisted it at an odd angle as he went down, she heard the bone break before her brain recognized the pain, and she screamed out.

  “Fuck you,” she cried out.

  He clamored up her body, pressing her into the cold floor so that his cheek pressed against her. Wild black eyes starred at her from the corners, and tears rushed down her face. “Tears of blood, how endearing. But not enough to sway me.”

  He grabbed her by the throat, lifting them both off the floor, he slammed her against the wall making her head swim. By the time he released her, she was chained, her arms holding her body mere inches off the floor. She jerked on her restraints, feeling like one of her shoulders would dislocate any second.

  “I will never open the door for you,” she finally grasped out. “Yes, you’d rather die first,” Calliope said, sounding bored.

  Celeste’s stomach curled, and bile rose in the back of her throat when Calliope faced her. His dark, fathomless eyes looked through her, making him look as evil as Celeste knew he was. “But you don’t die do you?” He laughed and then backhanded her. Her head whipped to the side, and one of her teeth flew out. Damn, he hit harder than any of her brothers, in fact she had never been hit so hard in her life, and her head swam with stars. “Fortunately for me you can’t die,” he cackled. “It’s just a matter of what you can withstand before you do exactly as I ask.”

  Celeste spit blood out, she was terrified for the first time in her life she was scared, and tears streaked down her face from the pain. “We’re going to be here a while, because nothing you do will make me give you access to kill more of my brothers.”

  “Ahhh but we disagree on that. I thought the same thing when first placed in the box.” He leaned in and licked one of the bloody tears that streaked down her face. “But eventually you will break, and I don’t need to get into the Infernos today Celeste, not even this century. But I will get there, and you will be the one to open the door for me.”