I swallowed hard; this wasn’t the outcome I wanted. Erebus would be hunted, killed even, and I would be caught and taken to the Master. I pulled at my lip, my hands shaking. Why couldn’t we just be left alone?
Erebus lowered his arms but took another stride toward Narabus. “Then let it be known, brother, that if he sends an army, I will kill every single one of them. I will not sit here quietly and let Athena be taken from me. I have no desire to challenge the Master, but if he comes looking for me or Athena then this becomes personal. I won’t just kill his army. I will kill him as well.”
Narabus remained where he was, not flinching at his brother’s threat. “Then I bid you farewell, Erebus, for I fear this may be the last time I see you. Just remember that this has been your choice.”
Erebus shook his head. “No. There were no choices. And there never will be where Athena’s concerned.”
Narabus glanced at Olisha then me. Taking one last look at Erebus, he nodded and then left.
As the door slammed shut, Erebus rushed to my side. He tilted my chin with his fingers. “You won’t ever be taken from me. I promise. You’re not going anywhere without me.” He kissed my lips and pulled my shaking body to his. “Now, if I am truly as powerful as my brother seems to think, I will be able to keep you more than safe.”
“But how? A whole army. You heard him. They’ll kill you.” My chin quivered as I grabbed the cotton of his smock and pulled him even closer, needing the comforting warmth of his arms around me.
“They won’t. As long as you are with me, I’ll be the most powerful demon on earth.” He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “Not that I’m interested in power. Olisha was always the one who craved being in charge.”
“Because I could do a far better job than any man.” She huffed and fidgeted with the papers on the desk.
Erebus kissed my forehead, keeping me cocooned in his arms. As my breathing became steady, my fear about what could happen turned into anger that our lives could be ruined by something neither of us wanted. How dare Narabus come into our home and demand we live separate lives. We fought, so, so hard to be where we were, and our relationship didn’t belong to anyone but us. Humans had been ruled by demons for far too long and I refused to have my life dictated by them anymore.
“Erebus?” Olisha said, breaking the silence of the room. “Where did this book come from?”
“Which one?”
“This one.” She held the diary in the air.
“It belonged to a woman who lived with Paymon,” I answered as I raised my head from the comfort of Erebus’s warm chest. “She was a demon. Paymon killed her.”
Olisha took a deep breath.
“Now what?” Erebus sighed. “More rubbish to deal with?”
“I read some of it whilst you three were deciding what to do about true love.”
“And?” Erebus snapped, impatient.
Olisha waved the diary in the air and then placed it on the desk. “This is Kitra’s diary.”
Erebus released me and strode to the desk.
“How do you know?” He stood behind Olisha, and she slid the diary his way, tapping repeatedly on an open page.
“She mentions her siblings,” Olisha said. “Narabus, you, and me. I think we can assume she’s our sister.”
“She was delusional,” Erebus said, picking the diary up and flicking through the pages. “I read some of this when Athena showed it to me. Somewhere in here she says that she and Paymon were powerful and should challenge the Master.”
She nudged him. “Seems you weren’t the first then.”
Erebus opened his mouth to respond but started laughing instead.
I moved to the sofa, suddenly feeling like an intruder. Siblings had strong connections, and I wasn’t jealous of their apparent closeness, but it made me think about what I’d lost when my sister was killed alongside my parents. I’d give anything to have her at my side and be able to laugh and joke with her. My vision blurred as tears built within my eyes. Once again I was reminded of the loss I suffered when the demons ascended, of the pain everyone suffered, and the life we had endured for thirteen hard years.
“Athena?” Erebus was back at my side. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head, wiping my tears with my fingers as he sat beside me. “Sorry. Just remembering my sister.”
“You had a sister?” Olisha perched on the arm of the sofa.
I nodded. “She was three years older than me. Helen.”
“Same age gap as Erebus and me,” Olisha chirped. She paused for a few moments and then jumped up to retrieve the diary. “Can I keep this for a while? I want to read it to see what else she has to say. I know she was our sister, but she was an absolute witch to me when I was little.”
Erebus nodded, another smile gracing his features. “She wasn’t particularly nice to me either.”
“Strange how she always got on with Narabus,” Olisha said.
“You have until tomorrow morning to read it,” Erebus said, his serious tone returning. “And I want to know exactly what she says.”
“I’d best start now then,” Olisha waved the book at Erebus. “I’ll be in the library if you need me.”
She left the room, shooting both of us a sideways grin.
Erebus pulled me to his side, and I sighed with a juddering breath.
He hugged me and kissed the side of my head. “I’m sorry about all this. I never expected Narabus to visit. And I certainly didn’t expect him to say what he did.”
“It’s not your fault.” I lifted my head to catch his eyes. “Is it true, though? The Master will come looking for you and me?”
“Yes.” His face set with concentration as he smoothed my hair away from my face. “Unfortunately, due to his reaction today, we need to get away from here. We have to leave this house and the village. And we’ll leave tomorrow.”
I SNUGGLED INTO HEATED FLESH. My face rested on Erebus’s shoulder as I lay sideways, trapped in the comforting hold of his arm.
I stretched, curling my hand around his waist, and his arm tightened around my shoulder before he kissed the top of my head.
“How are you this morning?” His voice was heavy with sleep. “Did you sleep well, or did you have nightmares about my nasty brother?”
“Don’t remind me,” I said, attempting to wriggle away.
His hold on me tightened. “Don’t try to escape. It’s a pointless waste of energy.”
“I don’t like you joking about him.” I hadn’t slept well. Nightmares about Erebus being killed so that the Master could marry me were too fresh in my mind.
Erebus sighed. Twisting onto his side, he looked into my eyes. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”
“It’s you I’m worried about, not me.”
He cupped my face in his hand. “Don’t be. No harm will come to me, and I promise that no harm will come to you.”
“I wish I felt as confident about this as you do.” I sighed. We’d been so happy before his brother called, and now . . . now what happened?
His smile faded and became a serious line. “If I fail with my promise and he does confront us . . .” He dipped his head. “I will kill any man, woman, demon, or vampire that tries to take you from me.” He brushed a stray strand of hair away from my face. “I love you, Athena.”
My skin tingled and my heartbeat raced. It was like a sudden rush charging through every part of me. I had no doubt of his feelings for me, but he’d never said the words by themselves, never solidified his feelings so precisely. And as I gazed into amber swirling irises, edged in the beautiful red circle I was so used to seeing, I slipped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, about to tell him how much I loved him.
“Erebus! Erebus!” Olisha’s shouting came moments before the bedroom door was flung open. “You’ll never guess what I’ve found out!”
Erebus released me and yanked the furs and blankets over our naked bodies. He scowled at his sister as he sat up. “Do you ever knock?”
/>
She ignored his sarcasm and plonked herself on the end of the bed. Kitra’s diary was in her hand. She wasn’t wearing the black gloves that covered her hands yesterday, and I noticed a fairy-tale-green stone ring on one of her fingers. It reminded me of the necklace Paymon gave me, and I cocked my head to the side, taking in the silver leaf-work design around the gem.
“Did our sister write all her secrets in her book?” Erebus said, scowling at the diary.
Olisha nodded, a nervous smile pulling at her lips.
“It better be good.”
“It is.”
I sat up next to Erebus, pulling the blankets even higher, and concentrated on Olisha.
“And . . .?” Erebus waved his hand in a circle, encouraging her to tell us what she’d discovered.
“You’ll never believe me.”
Erebus raised his brow, waiting.
“I didn’t think it possible, but . . . seriously, even I’m finding it hard to believe.”
“Olisha, if you don’t tell me what it is that has you behaving crazier than normal, then get out of my bedroom. Athena and I were enjoying our morning before you burst in.”
Her cheeks flushed and she cleared her throat. “Valafar is our father.”
Erebus didn’t say a word. I, on the other hand, gasped loudly.
Olisha stared at Erebus, her eyes widening and then narrowing to slits of frustration. “Did you hear me, Erebus? Valafar, the Master, is our father.”
His eyes fixed on the diary. “Let me see.” He held his hand toward her.
Olisha thrust the diary into his hand.
“What does it say?” I asked, leaning closer to him. I caught sight of the sea of words, but demon language was as much a mystery to me now as it had been several weeks ago, despite my early attempts to translate it.
“Near the end,” Olisha said, “I’ve folded the corner of the page.”
Erebus flicked to the page and quickly scanned it. He took a deep breath and leaned backward. “I’ve read it, but I don’t believe it. You know how delusional she was.” He ran his fingers through his hair, scrunching it back at the base of his neck. “I mean, look at what happened between her and Narabus.”
“What did happen between them?” I asked. There was still so much to discover about Erebus. I knew snatched moments of his life, ones he’d told me about, but they were like short versions of the whole picture. I wanted to know everything, and that included Kitra.
“We don’t talk about it, do we, Erebus?” Olisha stiffened, and she narrowed her eyes at him.
“You maybe don’t,” he snapped.
“There’s no point in bringing it all up again.”
“Why not? I’m sure Athena would like to know what happened. And I think it seems even more relevant after this revelation, which I have to admit, I’m finding very hard to believe.”
“But it’s there, written, in her diary.” Olisha tapped the book, but Erebus didn’t respond. He scanned more pages before huffing.
“Just because she’s written it, doesn’t mean it’s true. Her head was always full of wild ideas. I mean, Valafar, our father? It’s crazy talk.”
I shifted closer to Erebus. “What happened between Narabus and Kitra?”
He glanced at Olisha before turning to me. “You heard yesterday that when we first left Muspalta, Narabus immediately joined the Master’s army. Neither Olisha nor I were interested. As we said last night, we’d spent years below the earth’s surface—we wanted freedom, not to be under the control of anyone.”
“Kitra visited,” Olisha said.
“Narabus introduced her to Valafar’s head demon, Zagam. She stayed at the Master’s to be with Zagam. She witnessed and contributed to the depraved way of living that the demons there seem to enjoy. She saw the way Narabus lived and the luxury surrounding him and wanted it for herself. I’m sure that Narabus introduced her to Zagam in the hope that he would sweep Kitra off her feet and persuade her to join the army.”
“Did she join?”
Erebus scratched the stubble on his chin. “No, she fell in love with Zagam. But instead of him persuading her to join the army, he persuaded her to help him overthrow the Master. Zagam didn’t love our sister, he used her. He’d seen Narabus’s power and knew Kitra had the same. Zagam was a formidable demon, and with Kitra, he thought they’d be invincible.”
“Narabus found out about the plan,” Olisha said.
“And he killed Zagam.” Erebus scowled at the diary as if the book was responsible for everything that had happened. “He didn’t kill Kitra, though, and he should have.”
“Of course he didn’t. She was his sister.” Even though I’d met Narabus yesterday and seen how he squared up to Erebus, I’d doubted whether he would actually kill him. This just proved my hopeful theory.
A sudden thought hit me. “Do you think Valafar knows you are his children?”
Erebus lifted his head and turned to me. He shrugged. “I’m not convinced we are his children. He’s never bothered about us. I think it’s Kitra being her normal crazy self. And even if Valafar is our father, it doesn’t mean that he’ll have any qualms about stealing you from me. That’s what’s important here, and that’s why I’ll protect you.”
I rubbed my arms, at a loss of what to say.
Olisha shook her head. She jumped from the bed and wandered to the side of the room before leaning back against the wall. “From what I read in the diary, Paymon must have seemed very placid after Zagam. Maybe she wanted a safe option—someone who wasn’t a risk?”
Erebus waved the diary at her. “But she didn’t want to be safe. She tortured the men in the village, and she still plotted to overthrow Valafar. With her powerful surge and Paymon’s power of fire, she thought like Zagam. She thought them invincible and capable of challenging him. She obviously never mentioned it to Narabus.”
“He’d have killed Paymon,” I said, outraged that her behaviour would have ended Paymon’s life. He was a good demon, kind and patient. Why on earth had he got involved with Kitra?
“Did you read any further?” Erebus asked. “Does she say how she found out that Valafar is supposedly our father?”
She shook her head. “I was so stunned when I read that bit that I immediately came to tell you.”
“Well, don’t ever expect me to call him father. He’ll always be the Master or Valafar to me.” Erebus turned the pages and continued reading.
“I still don’t think she’d write something like that if it wasn’t true. I mean, why?” Olisha walked to the window. She peered through the thin opening watching the world that lay outside. The village would be visible from the window, but only if the early morning fog had cleared.
Both Erebus and I looked up when Olisha gasped and jumped back from the window. She placed her hand over her chest, and pointed to the glass with her other. I was just about to ask what was wrong when I heard the familiar sound of tapping.
Odin.
“There’s a raven outside,” Olisha said. “It’s huge.”
“It’s Odin,” I replied. “You can let him in.”
“Let him in? He’ll destroy the place.”
I shook my head. “No he won’t. He knows how to behave.”
Odin’s insistent tapping of the glass continued.
Erebus tutted. “Just let him in, or he’ll drive us all mad with that noise.”
As soon as Olisha opened the window, Odin flew inside. He fluttered to the top of the chest of drawers before squawking several times in succession at Erebus and me.
“Nice of you to pay us a visit,” Erebus said before concentrating on the diary.
“It’s good to have you back.” I smiled at Odin as he tipped his head to the side. He’d kept away from the house since Narabus’s visit yesterday, and whereas it wasn’t unusual for him to fly off for a day or two, I always preferred it when he was around.
“Athena, you need to hear this.” Erebus looked at me, his eyes wide with wonder.
“Why
, what does she say?” I moved even closer, as if seeing the words he wanted me to hear would make the writing understandable.
Olisha strode across the room and hopped onto the bed. She crossed her legs and waited for Erebus to continue.
“I’ll translate this for you. This is what you’ve been searching for,” he said, his hand resting on my arm.
My heart jumped, as if receiving a shock.
Erebus cleared his throat and began:
“And the magic to remove the shield of darkness is kept by Valafar’s pure-born children, those born by Liami.”
I focused on the words he was reading. “Who’s Liami?”
“Our mother.”
My breath hitched, and my hand flew to my throat. “Carry on,” I encouraged, nodding at the diary.
“The magic is kept in weapons for his sons, jewellery for his daughters. Gifts bestowed on them when they were born.”
I stared at Olisha’s ring again, instantly knowing its importance. “Your ring,” I said, nodding at her hand. “And the necklace.” I turned to the nightstand where it lay.
Erebus’s jaw tightened. Olisha reached for the necklace and handed it to me.
“Oh my, do you think . . .?” Her words were laced with an excited trill. “Where did you get this from?”
“Paymon,” I said. “When he was dying he gave me the necklace. He told me to put it to good use. I had no idea what he was on about.”
Olisha scratched the side of her head. “But why did he have it?”
Erebus pinched the bridge of his nose, and cleared his throat. “It would have been Kitra’s.” He sighed heavily. “It seems that she was right then. It looks like Valafar is our father.”
I rested my hand on his shoulder and rubbed his tense muscles. “Have you never known who your father was?”
“No.” Olisha shook her head. “Mother would never tell us.”
“But Kitra knew,” I said.
“Or she found out.” Erebus waved the diary in the air at Olisha. “She was out of control. You’ve read most of this, what did she sound like to you? Balanced and reasonable? I said when I first read parts of this that she was a temptress, someone I was surprised Paymon fell for. You said she was horrendous to you when you were young. I don’t remember her all that well, thankfully. She didn’t stick around much in Muspalta or when we came above land. She forged her own fate with Zagam by being as she was. I’m surprised Paymon didn’t kill her sooner than he did.”
Iniquity (The Ascent Book 1) Page 31