Cin strained to hear any sound. A low pulse reached his ears. It was slow at first before gathering strength. It was his mate’s heart beating. The demon and Dougal disappeared in the same flash of light as Niall had. Faolan’s and Cin’s bodies fell to the ground in a graceless heap. Cin scrambled to Jonathan’s side. The wound in his chest was completely healed, but he didn’t regain consciousness. There were too many things that he needed to do—find the evil responsible. Search for Niall. Save Dougal. Cin could only do what he could do. He swept Jonathan into his arms and headed for the house. His mate was his first priority.
The universe zipped past Niall in a nauseating display. He half expected to be ripped to shreds at any moment. Pressure built inside his ears, making him wonder if his eardrums would explode. Air moved too fast to be taken into his lungs. Darkness crowded his vision. A second before it could take him under, his feet landed softly upon a solid white floor. In fact, everything was blindingly white. Niall fought the urge to shield his eyes.
Dark hair and emerald eyes captured his attention. Although they’d never met, Niall recognized Goddess Celeste immediately. His soul knew her. She was the creator of all vampire-kind. He fell to his knees and bowed his head
“Your excellency.”
She snorted. “Is that what you’re going with?”
He had no idea. Niall had never posed the philosophical question of how to refer to a god should they ever meet. “Ma’am?” he asked questioningly.
Goddess Celeste hummed. “It matters not. Do you think I make mistakes?”
Niall’s voice came out stronger this time. “No.”
She huffed. “For the love of all things holy, get off your knees. Maybe if you’d spent a little more time on them while you were alive, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
His eyebrows shot to his hairline as he stood.
A rolled-up magazine appeared in her hand. She hit him with it. “Get your mind out of the gutter,” she said, punctuating each word by hitting him with the magazine. “I meant on your knees in prayer.” She turned slightly away before turning back again and meeting his gaze. Her eyes flashed with devilry. “Or did I?” She eyed him from head to toe and sighed. With the snap of her fingers, a chair appeared. “I’ve changed my mind. You’re too tall to be hovering over me and giving me a crick in my neck.”
Niall immediately sat.
She gave him a short nod as if satisfied by the difference in height now. “Let’s start again. Do you think I make mistakes?”
“No,” he repeated every bit as strong as he had the first time.
Celeste paced away. “Then why have you hurt your loves by fighting against them for so long? Have I not blessed you with more than others? Shown my favoritism?”
Niall’s forehead furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry; I don’t understand.”
“Ah, so it’s ignorance and not defiance.” Her pacing slowed. While watching her feet, Celeste tapped the rolled-up magazine against her palm. “Perhaps a little blindness is also in this mix,” she added, sounding thoughtful. She met his stare once more. “Do you love Cin?”
Niall dipped his chin. “I love all my men.”
She hit him again. Her paper weapon caused more noise than pain, but her point was made. “Don’t play dumb. That’s unattractive, especially when speaking to someone who knows you better than you know yourself. Do you think I don’t know how you’ve cared for him? How you’ve allowed your insecurities to trick you into believing he loves you as he would any prince who rules him?”
Niall held his tongue. Anything he said would only get him hit again.
“Damn right, it would,” she spat, obviously reading his thoughts. “Gifts I’ve set at your feet for centuries have gone unnoticed, but this new perfection I’ve created for you cannot be ignored. It’s too important,” she said, sounding as if the last part was more for herself.
“I’m not ignoring Jonathan.” As he said his mate’s name, pain washed over him. Jonathan was on the verge of death, and he was stuck here. What would happen if he didn’t make it back in time? Were they all already dead? A lump took up residence in his throat. Celeste paced as if oblivious to his inner turmoil.
“Jonathan,” Celeste said lovingly. Indeed, her steps slowed as she stared off into space, smiling as she said his name—like she enjoyed the flavor of it on her tongue as much as Niall enjoyed having the man on his. “Is he not amazing?” she asked.
“He’s dying,” Niall growled, losing patience. “As we speak, he’s bleeding to death with a gaping wound in his chest. I need to get back to him.”
Goddess Celeste smiled as if pandering to a child. “I assure you, he’s quite safe. My personal guard has been keeping close tabs on him and will ensure he is healed.” Her gaze drifted away again, as if losing her train of thought. She smiled like a proud mother. “As long as Jonathan has been capable of speech, he’s talked to me for countless hours—like a child who’s eaten too much sugar. He rambles on about everything. Half the time, his thoughts aren’t complete, but he never stops seeking answers from me.” Her smile let Niall know this pleased her. “When he was twenty, I visited him in the night and set my hand upon him, giving him comfort when his grandmother passed. She’d been the only human who fully accepted him. That’s my fault,” Celeste said, her expression turning sad. “I gave him gifts, you see? Abilities usually reserved for the rarest of immortals. How could I not?” she asked, once more sounding as if she mused aloud. “You, my immortal soldiers, ignore my presence, while Jonathan, a man who was given nothing but a few short years on earth, speaks to me daily. You’re spoiled.”
Her hand shot out as if to strike Niall’s cheek. At the last moment, she caressed him instead.
“As much as you think I don’t understand your trials, you’re wrong. I’ve existed since the dawn of all. No one knows better than me how cruel time is. He takes and takes, stealing everything until we are no more than shells.” After taking a step back, her smile reappeared. “That’s why Jonathan is so important. That’s why he’s blessed.” Celeste’s smile slipped away. “That’s why I gave him two warriors to worship him, and worship him, you shall. He’s the key to everything.” She moved closer, holding his stare with an intensity that held Niall in place with fear. “I’m about to show you the future, Niall, leader of the Hellish. You must keep it safe. You must keep Jonathan safe.”
As Jonathan watched Faolan pace and Cin worry at his bottom lip, he tried to feel what they felt. He couldn’t. Twice now he’d been the target of an attack. The last time, it had taken him weeks to shake the chill. Lire had done something to Jonathan, leaving him feeling euphoric and better than he had in ages. Cin had wasted no time rinsing the blood from Jonathan’s chest, as if he needed to reassure himself Jonathan was okay. It had taken Jonathan fifteen minutes of begging, telling Cin he loved him, and letting his mate feel his heartbeat before Cin allowed Jonathan to don a clean shirt.
Just when Jonathan thought Cin might snap under the strain, Faolan ended up being the one who broke.
“We should be out there, hunting the bastard who dared attack our prince.” Faolan’s face hardened. “We need to find that fooker who killed Dougal, rip off his demon head, and shit down his throat.”
“We’re not currently equipped to hunt Mammon, and that demon saved Jonathan,” Cin said, sounding torn. “We need to find Niall.”
The words Lire had whispered before disappearing rang in Jonathan’s head. I am Lire, seventh son of Asmodeus. Say my name and I will come to you.
“Who is Asmodeus?”
Cin chewed on the side of his fingernail, looking ready to crawl out of his skin. “The seventh Prince of Hell—Lust. Why?”
Jonathan didn’t respond. Cin’s answer explained so much, especially why Lire was so powerful. “Niall is on his way, and Dougal isn’t dead,” Jonathan said instead, bringing two sets of eyes his way. Jonathan concentrated on the amethyst ones. The ones that held the most pain. “He isn’t dead.”
In two long strides, Faolan reached his side. After falling to his knees, Faolan’s gaze met Jonathan’s. Hope and desperation swirled in the man’s mind. “How do you know? The demon said a life for a life.”
Jonathan’s hand moved without thought. Faolan reached for him at the same time, as if needing comfort only Jonathan could give. A smile pulled at the corners of Jonathan’s mouth. He could feel Lire and Dougal getting farther away. All the way to the Port of Southern Louisiana, to be exact. “Because I can feel him,” Jonathan said, doing a piss-poor job of explaining himself. “I can feel all of you. Them too. I can feel everyone.”
Faolan shook his head. “What did that demon do to you? Are you high?”
Jonathan shook his head. “I’ve always known all of you were there. My whole life, I’ve been searching for you. I just didn’t understand what I was looking for.”
“Us,” Niall said, strolling into the room as if he hadn’t been sent God only knows where. “You were searching for us.” He tossed boxes of chalk to Faolan and Cin. “Ward the walls. Start with this room. While you draw the protection spells, I’ll talk,” Niall said before leaning down and capturing Jonathan’s mouth.
“Where the hell have you been?” Faolan snapped.
Niall didn’t break their kiss.
A flavor like cotton candy ice cream coated Jonathan’s taste buds. He held tight to Niall’s shirt, incapable of letting him go. Evil was always trying to tear them apart. The fear he’d been stamping down flared to life.
“You smell like a candy store,” Jonathan whispered against Niall’s lips to hold the panic at bay.
“I love you, baby. Please stop scaring me. I’m an old man. It’s not good for my heart.”
Cin appeared over his shoulder. “Yes. Please stop doing that.”
“And you,” Niall said, snagging Cin’s hand and pulling him in the center of things. “I love you too. You two are my world. We all have way too much to lose to be so careless with our lives.” Without giving anyone time to respond, Niall kissed Cin. Tears welled in Jonathan’s eyes. He hadn’t believed they’d find their way. Before he could coo over it—the way he wanted—Niall pulled him into their kiss.
“For fook’s sake. I’m like the fourth wheel over here and that doesn’t even make sense,” Faolan said, making Jonathan laugh.
Niall smacked Cin’s ass. “Get back to work. We have to fortify this place until we can come up with a solid plan to battle Mammon. Two attacks on Jonathan isn’t a coincidence, and this is a whole new level of problems.”
“They know he’s our weakness,” Cin said as he moved to the closest wall and drew a circle.
Niall shook his head. “They know he’s our greatest strength, and they won’t stop until he’s destroyed.” All heads swiveled in Niall’s direction. “I didn’t capture that demon by some stroke of luck. He let me catch him. And that was no ordinary demon.”
Jonathan had known that last part, but not the first. “Why would he do that?” Jonathan didn’t understand. Why would anyone subject himself to torture unnecessarily?
“Because Goddess Celeste asked it of him.”
Faolan’s mouth fell open.
Cin visibly floundered. “What? How? Why?”
“Who is Goddess Celeste?”
Niall smiled at Jonathan’s question. “Your greatest ally. In your life, you’ve known her as God, and she thinks the world of you.”
“I don’t understand.” Jonathan couldn’t stop playing ignorant because he was.
Cin waved his arms wildly. “How do you know how she feels about Jonathan?”
“Because she told me,” Niall said, sounding proud. “That’s where I’ve been.”
Cin looked as if he’d been shocked speechless. Faolan didn’t suffer any such ailment. “Is it because Jonathan is a Seer, and what about Dougal? Was he there? Jonathan says he’s still alive.”
“Dougal is fine. He’ll find his way back to us. If not, Jonathan can find him any time he likes. Right, Jonathan?”
Jonathan swallowed. He didn’t know why it was true, but it was. “Yes.”
“You’re not a Seer,” Niall said while holding Jonathan’s gaze. “You never were.”
Jonathan found himself leaning forward in his seat, hanging on Niall’s every word. “I don’t understand,” he repeated, because he couldn’t stop.
“If he’s not a Seer, then what? He’s never been full human. The boy knows too many things,” Faolan argued.
“I know he does,” Niall said, holding Jonathan’s stare. “That’s because he’s a Nephilim. Goddess Celeste’s great-grandson, to be precise.”
Holy shit. Jonathan didn’t even know where to start. All he knew for certain was, he had the best clan to keep him safe while they figured this out.
Keep an eye out for Book Three, Crave.
About the Author
Charity Parkerson is an award winning and multi-published author with several companies. Born with no filter from her brain to her mouth, she decided to take this odd quirk and insert it in her characters.
*2015 Readers' Favorite Award Winner
*Winner of 2, 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards
*2015 Passionate Plume Award Finalist
*2013 Readers' Favorite Award Winner
*2013 Reviewers' Choice Award Winner
*2012 ARRA Finalist for Favorite Paranormal Romance
*Five-time winner of The Mistress of the Darkpath
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Devour (Hellish Book 2) Page 11