“What do you want with it anyway?”
He glanced at her, as if remembering her for the first time. “I don’t have the power to rule the human realm, the angel realm, or the demon realm. But there? There I could have everything.”
No wonder Caine made this asshole an archangel. He's just like him, already drunk on power.
He reached out and grasped her face painfully. “You’ve helped me in more ways than you can imagine, so, I’ll give you this.”
Suddenly, an image was pressed into her mind of a space just outside of Zudessa. There, the Immortals and druids lay in a pie of smoking bodies, covered in ash, their skin blackened by smoke.
“All of them still live,” he whispered. “If I killed them, Caine might get what he wanted, but I wouldn’t. If you want any chance at winning this war, you’ll have to hurry… before the angels find them.”
When he released her face, she could feel the bruises from where his fingers had gripped her. Turning, he walked across the ash, his feet crunching with each step. When he reached the road, he looked back at her.
“If I make it into the Soul Destroyer, I’ll say hi to your demons.”
In the blink of an eye, the archangel was gone. The pressure of his command instantly lessened, and she shot to her feet, trembling. So Caine did destroy their souls.
Clenching her teeth together, she called her soul-blade into her hand and teleported. Instantly, the smell of blood hit her nostrils. Her eyes flashed open, and she saw the scene from her mind, only it was so much worse. The Immortals and the druids looked… dead. Like a pile of burned bodies.
Heart in her throat, she moved to them, placed a hand on the chest of someone she didn’t recognize, and sure enough, felt the rise and fall of his or her breath. Looking past the barrier that surrounded Zedussa, she saw the angels gathering in the sky. They would be upon them within minutes. She had to do something! She had to get them to safety!
But did she have the power to do it?
Closing her eyes, she sent a silent prayer that she did, and gathered her magic.
Soon she would either save them all, or doom them.
18
The Goddess of Sacrifice blinked her eyes open. She’d never been in this much pain before. It was mind-numbing, and yet she could feel every broken bone, every cut leaking warm blood from her body.
Staring at a stone ceiling far above, with the small opening in which angels flew by, she knew exactly where she was, and who she faced.
“You’re awake?”
Her head dropped slightly to one side. She stared at the dark cloud that swallowed the entire side of the throne room. But in the cloud of darkness, she knew Caine watched her, drinking in her suffering.
“I know what you think,” he said, his voice sliding over her flesh like slime. “That you were powerful enough to stand against me and survive.”
Blood leaked from her lips. “No,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I simply knew there was nothing more you could do to me that hasn’t been done already.”
“You’re referencing your rape, beating, and death?” He laughed. “Oh believe me, child, that’s nothing in comparison to what I can do to you.”
Something within her shriveled back in fear. Something she hated.
It was her damned heart. It remained human, no matter what she did. It ached when she took lives. It felt like an open, gaping wound each time her memories turned her dreams into nightmares.
Her heart was the one thing she wished to be rid of more than anything else in this world. She cared nothing for the war, for the angels and the demons, or for anything except for a way to stop the pain that made her every breath pure torture.
She’d been so close to achieving her dream.
She’d felt the gargoyle die. She’d held his stone-essence in her hand, ready to devour it. To kill the last thing that was human within her. But Caine’s angels had invaded her fortress before she could, killing her guards and taking her prisoner.
Now, she cared nothing for what this power-hungry fool did to her. She only wanted the stone-essence back.
“Looking for this?” Caine’s voice came, filled with humor, and a hand emerged from the darkness, holding the gargoyle’s essence as it pulsed.
She tried to roll toward it and gasped. She cried out as the pain roared through her, blackening her vision. She needed that essence, needed it more than she needed air.
“I have thought long and hard over how to make you suffer for your betrayal.” The cloud moved toward her, and she sensed him coming closer.
But her gaze was locked on the gargoyle’s essence. If Caine got close enough, she would snatch it from him. At that point, no matter what happened to her body or soul, she wouldn’t care.
The throne room doors were thrown open. Four men, surrounded by angels, were bound together. Their heads and hands were locked in thick wooden stocks that they carried on their massive backs. The men looked wild and dangerous.
They were exactly the kind of men she feared.
Trailing behind them all was an old woman, less battered than she was, but a lot filthier.
“Do it,” Caine said, and his voice was like a coiled snake.
The old woman shuffled closer to her and knelt down. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “But it’s the only way he’ll let me go.”
The Demon of Sacrifice tried to escape the woman, but her injuries made it impossible.
The old woman began to chant a spell, a witch’s curse. She plunged a glowing red hand into The Demon of Sacrifice’s chest. The pain… it was on another level. It went beyond her body and soul, to her very heart.
When the demon’s vision cleared, she saw the woman holding a pulsing ghostly heart in her hands. And she knew, she could feel, that it was her own. The witch rose to her feet and moved to the four frightening prisoners.
She hesitated.
“Do it,” Caine commanded, his voice shaking with rage or excitement, she wasn’t sure which.
The witch tore the heart into four equal pieces while the demon screamed and withered upon the ground. When the witch was done, she forced the pieces, one after another, into the men. When she was done, the men were on their knees, panting and glaring.
“It’s done,” the witch said.
The demon lay upon her back, shaking in shock. She felt different. Her emotions didn’t make sense, and her chest felt empty and strange. “What did you do to me?”
“Simple,” Caine whispered. “You betrayed me for this fucking stone heart. And so, I have given you the perfect punishment. These four men now control your heart. They hold the pieces, connecting you to them forever.”
“No,” she whispered.
“It’s like being in love,” he said, his voice amused. “Only, you don’t have a choice.”
She heard him snap his fingers. The angels grabbed each man, and then they were gone.
“Wh—what?”
“Oh, did I not mention? Not only do they hold your heart, but if you want to find them, you’ll have to work for it.” He laughed. “Now guards, taken her broken body and toss it outside the barrier. Let’s see how long it takes her to heal with birds picking at her flesh.”
Two angels grabbed her. She screamed at the pain their touch brought. Her head lolled to the side between them, and she wished for death. She wished real death would come, the kind that meant her suffering would finally end.
The old witch, wearing nothing but scraps of cloth, knelt down, her body filthy and thin.
“My freedom,” she whispered, her voice cracking.
“Of course,” he said, annoyance in his voice. He gestured with his hands. “Guards, take her back to the dungeons.”
Two angels grabbed her arms. The woman began to fight, her voice rising. “You gave me your word! You said—“
“I’m sorry, but you’re far too valuable for me to let go.”
As the Demon of Sacrifice was carried out of the fortress and to the desert
outside, she heard the sounds of the witch’s sobs. She wanted to be happy. The witch had doomed her to a life of unimaginable suffering. But her heart? The pieces of it, that she could sense even now, ached to return to her.
Her thoughts came again, swimming through her pain. If Caine thought he’d won, he was wrong. He had no idea what she was capable of. She would track down the four men, and she’d recover her heart. Then, she’d find Caine, get her stone-essence, and make him pay.
He might be powerful, but I’m The Demon of Sacrifice. Revenge against men is what I do.
19
Surcy somehow managed to teleport the entire group of people to the little cabin Daniel had brought her to so long ago. She wasn’t sure if was the exertion of teleporting that many people at one time, or her exhaustion, but she immediately collapsed, falling into darkness.
When she awoke, she was lying on a bed, with the God of Earth’s two children asleep beside her.
She sat up and found herself surrounded by Immortals. To her complete shock, all of them appeared to be entirely healed. Their hair had returned and their skin was no longer burnt and blackened.
It was… impossible, a miracle. And yet, as she watched, she noticed a stiffness to their movements.
So maybe they still have more healing to do.
Her body ached as she pulled back the covers and slipped from the bed.
The Goddesses of Winter and Spring glanced up at her from where they crowded near the fire.
“The angel’s awake,” The Goddess of Winter said.
Her words had an immediate effect on the room. All eyes turned to her, with a mixture of relief and unease.
Adan, the God of the Earth, left the kitchen and came to stand in front of her. “My wife?”
Her heart lurched, and she shook her head.
For a minute, a look of pure pain came over his face, and then it disappeared. “Humans always go too fast.”
The Goddess of Winter moved closer, and Surcy felt an immediate chill. “I wish to speak with you. In private.”
Surcy almost groaned. What could this be about now?
Wincing, she followed the goddess outside. To her shock, the God of Sin followed too. The other Immortals stared at them as they passed, and there was an unspoken tension she didn’t understand.
On the porch, they sat around a little table, no one speaking for a time.
At last, the God leaned back, exhaling loudly. “We fucked up.”
She raised a brow in confusion.
“Caine, the bastard. The monster who tortured all of us for so many lifetimes. The man who screwed up every fucking realm. He’s our son.”
Her brain stopped. She looked between the two of them.
The Goddess of Winter stared out at the sky, her gaze troubled. “It was one night of pleasure. We convinced ourselves when I got pregnant that he couldn’t possibly be the father." She gestured to the God of Sin as she spoke. "We’d had many other partners, and the coupling of Gods had never before resulted in a pregnancy.”
“But we were wrong,” he said. “We didn’t know it until it was too late. We kept him in the fortress. We watched him carefully. He showed more power than our demi-god children, but not much. We didn’t know until he attacked what he was capable of.”
Okay… that was unexpected.
“Why are you telling me all of this? I know he’s your son, but you know we still have to kill him, right?”
He laughed. “Of course you have to kill him. He’s a monstrous mistake that we both regret terribly.”
The Goddess of Winter spoke, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “I thought if I was kind to him. If I was patient with him. That even if he was… our child, he wouldn’t be the wretched creature that the Fates warned about.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “But there was always evil within him, I just didn’t see it.”
He sneered. “It wasn’t entirely our fault. It was about the balance. If she hadn’t have been so pure and good—“
“There is no one to blame for this but us,” the goddess interrupted, her words like a slap.
Tension sliced between the two Immortals. Zagan looked as he really wanted to say more, but he kept his mouth shut.
“I’m sorry,” Surcy said, not knowing what else to say.
The Goddess seemed not to hear her. “We just wanted you to know that he’s more dangerous than you ever imagined. When the time comes, we have to kill him without hesitation.”
Surcy opened her mouth to offer some reassurance.
“Go,” the goddess whispered, but it wasn’t a command, more like a plea.
Surcy turned back to the door, but looked at them one last time. The God of Sin had moved to stand behind her, even though they didn’t touch. A single tear slid down the goddess’s face, but froze midway on her cheek.
What must it be like to know your child is evil? And to know he’ll be killed? Her heart twisted, and she slipped back inside.
The cabin was strangely quiet, as if the Immortals were lying about preparing for war in some unseen way. She went to the kitchen, ate and drank, then showered.
When she finished her shower, the Goddess of Winter and the God of Sin had returned to the room, each on different sides. All eyes turned to Surcy.
Uh oh.
“So what now?” The God of Night, a vampire with a hell of an attitude, asked. Something in his dark expression told her he was angry.
Surcy decided to just be direct. “We heal as quickly as possible, and we go back to fight.”
The vampire leaned back in his oversized chair and crossed his legs. “Are you fucking kidding me? We were all nearly burnt to a damned crisp. Now we’re supposed to go back and fight against an army of those assholes?”
Surcy tried to hide her surprise. “We don’t have another choice. Without the sanctuary, it won’t be hard for Caine and his angels to find us. We need to act quickly.”
“You mean it won’t be hard for them to find us with a spy in our midst.”
Her gaze swept to the God of Autumn. “What do you mean?”
The god looked older than the rest, with tangled long auburn hair that fell loosely around his narrow face. His skin was a deep tan, almost the color of the leaves just before they changed shades in the fall. Although he was far shorter than the massive Immortals, he didn’t seem to notice or care.
“You might have been able to trick those demons who all have hard-ons for you, but you don’t fool us, angel,” he sneered. “Caine has been pulling whatever he wants from that mind of yours. That’s why the angels found us. That’s why we’re in danger.”
“No—“ she denied.
“Yes,” he hissed. “And at any point, he can ring his little bell and call you back. And then what? You’re his to command.”
Was Frink right? The thought sent something aching through her. She’d suspected he was telling the truth… Truth be told, she'd known, but it was too much to consider. If she had to accept that all along she’d been unknowingly hurting her demons… she shivered at the thought. She couldn’t. She’d deal with that new emotional blow when the time came.
She drew herself up taller, her heart racing. “I’m here, fighting for what’s right. I’m trying to make this world a better place, but I’m not one of you. I can’t do this alone. So whether you trust me or not, it doesn’t really matter. Do you care about this cause? Do you want to take that bastard down?”
It was the God of Summer who answered. The shifter glanced at her, his golden eyes spinning slowly. “After what he did to me, I would rather die a thousand more deaths than see him remain on my throne. I will kill him, with or without the help of the other Immortals.”
“But what about his little security system?” The Goddess of the Ocean stood from her seat, her tail replaced by long legs. “You know that we cannot enter the throne room as long as Caine sits on the throne.”
I didn’t know that. “None of you can?”
Everyone shook their heads.
/> Damn it. Then what can we do? How can this work?
And then it hit her, there was only one solution.
Surcy took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do. “But I can.”
The God of Autumn huffed. “Yeah, so our plan should depend on an angel Caine can control with a simple word?”
No one spoke for a long minute.
“Perhaps that’s exactly what we should do,” the Goddess of the Ocean said, her voice holding danger. “Angel, what are you willing to give up for this plan of yours?”
“Anything and everything,” she answered with ease.
The woman’s ocean blue eyes locked onto hers, and the Immortal crossed the room. Stroking Surcy’s cheek, she smiled. “I have a plan, loyal angel. But it will be painful, and it will destroy you.”
I’ve died and had my memory wiped. I've lost the men I love. What more can they do?
Knowing them… something even worse.
Surcy swallowed around the lump in her throat. “All right.”
The Goddess turned back to the room. “I know how we can ensure that Surcy is the perfect person to face Caine. The plan is a simple one, but with our help, she will succeed. So, who will join this cause of ours?”
Her words hung in the air.
The Goddess of Love stood from where she’d been seated by the window. Her beauty was so overwhelming it overpowered the room. “All I want is peace and goodness… but none of that will happen until we put that bastard’s head on a spike.”
The Goddess of Spring laughed. Her solemn expression was gone, replaced by a smile. “I forgot how fucking fun all of you are. I’m in.” Flowers sprouted on her fingertips and moved up her arms. “Let’s see Caine face us when we’re ready for him.”
Murmurs rose. Other Immortals stood, moving by the Goddess of Love’s side. At last, only the God of the Night remained. And the God of Autumn.
The God of Autumn sighed.
“Autumn?” The Goddess of Love called.
The Immortal glared. “By all logic, we’ll lose this battle. And this time when he kills us, it’ll be for good. But I for one would rather go down swinging, then hiding like a frightened child. That is your plan, isn’t it, vampire?”
Lover's Wrath: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance (An Angel and Her Demons Book 3) Page 8