Nightmare in Steam (Alliance of Silver and Steam Book 1)

by Lexi Ostrow

  Lucius scrambled up and placed a kiss on top of her head before grabbing the device. “How do I make it work, Eliza? What do I do to get help to you?” The blasted thing looked like a watch wrapped in a piece of leather with a shit ton of external knobs sticking out from the sides. He was momentarily grateful she had it to use so as not to need to leave her side to find the police.

  “Pass it to me.” She held her hand outstretched and he put the device in it. He watched as she pushed a series of knobs and spoke weakly into the device when he heard the man from the other night. “Guildmaster, I need help. Demons attacked my family. My family, oh my god.” Her voice shattered and a sob wracked her body.

  He wanted to pull her against him and tell her it would all be okay. But the truth was it would most likely never be ok when she realized she was possibly the only survivor. There was a floor above this one he had not checked, but of the three bodies he happened upon it was clear that she was the only not intended to die.

  “Miss Dorley, I need you to be calm. Are you all right?” Concern was evident in the tone of the man on the other side, presumably the man who ran the Alliance of Silver and Steam. The man responsible for getting her tied up in this.

  No, that was all you, Lucius.

  “I believe so. A Thrasher demon was here, he didn’t come alone and he was very deliberate, sir. He sliced slowly through my stomach once I was awake enough to know what was happening and then left. Please, I have to see my family.”

  His stomach lurched, knowing full well two of the three bodies had been her parents.

  “Thank God. Remain where you are. I will get in touch with the few members there and they will alert the Metropolitan Police. We must make sure this is handled to appear to be nothing more than an attack. Do you understand me, Eliza?”

  She nodded slowly, her eyes hadn’t left his since he’d come flying into the room. “Thank you, Master Agardawes. Thank you.” She turned the small knobs on the device and this time he heard the distinct turning of gears before she set it on the floor. Tears shone from her beautiful brown eyes and she blinked, sending them down her cheeks.

  “Oh, Lucius, what have you done?”

  Chapter 15

  The pain traveled through her body like a current. Her vision was blurry and her eyes watered, but it wasn’t entirely from the pain. Lucius wasn’t all that he had appeared to be. The betrayal stung worse than the wound the Thrasher demon had given her as it plunged a long claw into her side. He was by her side, his eyes staring into hers and she wasn’t certain if she wished to strike him for lying or beg him to hold her until the Alliance members arrived to give her a tonic for the pain and some stitches for the wound. She could feel the blood leaking out slower now. She would be fine, but her heart was damaged beyond repair.

  “What happened, Eliza? Tell me that first and then I swear to you we can talk about anything you wish.”

  “Oh, but they are one in the same, Lucius.” Her voice had a nasty bite to it and he flinched. “You are the reason this happened and that is why we need to talk.”

  He tried to reach a hand out to caress her face and she pulled back, the motion sending a new rift of pain through her abdomen.

  “I don’t understand. Eliza, who was here? What did this?”

  “I need to know what you saw as you got to me, Lucius. It’s important.”

  “Love, there is nothing more important than knowing who attacked you so they can be found.” She shook her head, fresh tears stinging her eyes. She’d heard the sounds as they’d moved through the house. Even as she’d been lost in pleasure with Lucius she’d vaguely heard something. Once the demon had woken her with its claw she’d heard the sounds in the rest of the house. She’d heard her parents.

  “There are. Like my parents. You weren’t here, Lucius. You didn’t hear what I heard, what I’ll always hear in my nightmares.” The tears were falling at an alarmingly fast rate and she squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she could to stop from crying, but she could feel them traveling paths down her cheeks and dripping off her nose anyway. She didn’t pull back this time as he tucked her against his body, his hand stroking through her bed mussed hair.

  “Eliza, it wasn’t pretty. I do not know who is who in your household, nor will I pretend to.” He paused and let out a deep breath. She exhaled on a cry, already anticipating the conversations direction. “There was a woman downstairs in the parlor who did not make it, she was a member of your family based on her appearance, of that I am certain. The door at the top of the stairs, whose is it?”

  Tears tumbled down her cheeks, but no sound came out. Her mother was the only woman in the house apart from the cook. It was as if her vocal cords were paralyzed when all she wanted to do was scream and throw things and hit Lucius. The tears continued and she struggled to make herself vocalize the words. “Father.” Was all that had tumbled out.

  “I’m so sorry, Eliza. So very sorry.”

  A shudder traveled through her body and this time her scream of agony was loud enough to leave her throat raw. The tears fell faster and faster as she listened to him tell her about the man on the floor and the condition of the house. She listened, but she didn’t hear him speak. Her mother and father were truly not the best parents, but they were hers and in the end they did love her. They were gone because she’d fucked around with a demon. Because she’d allowed herself to trust the depths of kindness and passion she’d witnessed in his eyes. Solid black eyes that could look just as soulless and learning the truth had torn her apart. She’d never know how he was able to fake such emotion. But she would never trust another demon, perhaps not even Greyston or a Pure Angel.

  Her body shook with tears and her throat grew more and more raw from her incomprehensible screams and sobs. Minutes ticked by before she remembered that she would need to speak to him. Give him one last chance, one time to prove all this wrong and give them information they would need to take Seraphina down and set forth new laws for all demons. She forced the air out of her lungs in shaky breaths and breathed in and out until the crying stopped. She pushed away from him, not having even realized he was holding her again.

  “Lucius, I need to talk to you before the Alliance comes.” Should this all be a lie he would need time to flee from her home and get far enough away a crystal tracker wouldn’t sense him. And if it wasn’t a lie, she would be forced to keep him here for the Alliance to dispose of him, regardless of how badly the idea made her heart cry out in pain.

  He nodded his head, his eyes still filtering emotion; anger and concern. Odd that he was still putting on an act for her. “Who did this, Eliza? Tell me so I can stop them from ever doing it again.”

  “Friends of yours actually. Though they told me there were at least eight demons loose in the manor.”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Dean and Arial. Stranglehold Demons I believe based on their big brow and larger than life hands. They were awfully talkative, Lucius. Which means, now you will have to be.” Her voice was steely and she watched as the color drained completely from his face. Confirmation received.

  “Damn it! Bloody fucking hell!” He launched off the floor beside her and she watched as his fist punched into the wall, shattering the plaster and launching small flakes of it the floor. Tears began again, this time for his betrayal. He turned then, his eyes a wash of fury. “What did they tell you, love? What lies did they try and use?”

  “They said this was your mission. That you had been assigned to infiltrate the guild and the Alliance, through me. That the mating mark was branded onto you by Seraphina alone.” Her voice shook from the tears and she flinched as he smashed the wall again. “Is it true, Lucius? Don’t lie to me, not anymore.”

  He didn’t come any closer to her, in fact he appeared to back towards the door ever so slightly. “That is a lie. That mating mark on my arse is real.” He clenched his jaw and somehow she knew he wasn’t lying about that. Maybe it was the tension in his face or the anger that he probably would
n’t have at being exposed if this were a lie. He could easily pick another victim, even an apprentice who wouldn’t have too much knowledge on the demons and the clock workers themselves were kept utterly in the dark.

  She nodded, her eyes dry now. “You neglected to speak on the rest, Lucius.”

  His shoulders rose and fell as she watched him inhale deeply. “I did it for us, Eliza.”

  Confirmation.

  “I swear it.”

  “Please explain to me, as quickly as you can while I pass judgment on your actions, how using me to get information to the bitch that we fight is for us.” Her tone was laced with ice and she inhaled as a wave of pain crashed over her. She moved her hand slowly and saw the bleeding had begun to come quickly again. She must have moved in such a fashion to have opened the wound further. He must have seen what she did because he took a step toward her. “The Alliance will care for me. You’ve lost any right to that. It’s deep, but it will not kill and someone should arrive soon as it’s been almost a half an hour since the mayday was placed. My head is woozy though, blood loss and all that, so I suggest you explain quickly.” She hadn’t lied, the room had been growing fuzzy and dim. Her head swimming with pain, but she hadn’t realized it until she’d been able to calm down. She didn’t know how much longer she would last, nor how she’d made it this long as she’d known others to pass out far quicker.

  “I was given a choice. Seraphina has spies everywhere. Something I damn well should have known, but didn’t. She found out about you and told me to use you. She owns me, Eliza. I messed up and got caught and if I don’t obey every demon I’ve ever fucked with will be allowed to have a pound of flesh from me and then she’ll kill me.” He walked back over to her, but didn’t sit next to her. “I was selfish, Eliza. So selfish, I’m over a thousand years old, I wasn’t in the mindset to wish to die. I’m a demon; I was simply doing what I do for a boss. Much like you do at the Alliance.”

  She hissed at him as if he’s struck her. “We don’t kill for anyone.”

  “Your hunters kill every demon they encounter without so much as seeing who and what they are, with the exception of the rare angel I presume. That is killing, love.” His voice held its own bite and she recoiled as his words sunk in. He wasn’t wrong. Felicia had even tried to kill Greyston when she met him, but the pheromones from him being an Incubus messed with her mind and then it was too late. Were there other demons out there like Greyston hunting their own kind? Lucius wasn’t one they ever would have saved before, he was making that abundantly clear. But the demon he was now had humanity. Now killing him on sight would seem cruel.

  “Fine. I will not argue that even though I had never realized how potentially wrong we were until now. But, that doesn’t answer my question. How is using me to betray both myself and the Alliance not an issue?”

  “Angels, even Fallen, are held to their word. It’s just how they are. I struck a bargain with Seraphina that if I did it, she would release me from her service and never go after you.” She felt her face turn a frown and he rushed to continue. “I was going to do it. Only I wasn’t. I wanted to tell you once we were safely inside your home where no one would be able to interfere. I wanted to feed her false information and then take you away.”

  She nodded as the information processed. How can I tell if this is the truth or the version the demons he seems to know, is the truth? She closed her eyes as the room spun. She couldn’t trust him ever again. But he didn’t deserve to die. She knew he wasn’t the same demon from a week ago, probably even from three months ago when this all began. But he’d crossed a line and it was the end.

  “I believe you, Lucius. I honestly do.” Relief flooded his eyes and she held up a hand. “You need to come with me to the guild, to the Alliance and let us know how we can reach Seraphina to take her out of the picture.”

  “I cannot do that, Eliza. You lot wish to eradicate demons from the face of the Earth and we have been around, just as you and every animal, for a purpose. I had every intention of sending her in circles, throwing her plans off and alerting The Alliance so they could handle it. But I will not aid in the destruction of my species as a whole.”

  Her heart broke. They did need to reevaluate something, but one thing was certain. If he would allow the creature to exist that was behind this, would protect her even, there was nothing left for them. She looked at the carpet, stained a vicious red from her blood and nausea swept through her. “Then you need to leave, Lucius.”

  “No. I will make you understand, I’m not leaving you.”

  She was eerily calm as she looked up at him. “Yes, Lucius, you are. You crossed a line and showed me who you really are, deep down. But I’ve seen another side of you. A side that deserves to live, despite it all, because I choose to believe you will only harm those you have to until you can find a way out. I don’t even know if you will find a way out. But the demon that I love would.” She hadn’t realized that she did love him until the words came out. It was natural really, that she’d finally found someone who was good for her, who made her happy and he would be a demon with a past too dark and corrupt to change.

  “I love you, Eliza. You have to believe me.” He sounded so different, pathetic even.

  “ I do, Lucius. I do not doubt anything you’ve told me. But I cannot be with you and the Alliance is coming, at least I have to hope they will be coming soon because I don’t think I will last much longer. You need to get out. You need to make sure that you keep on living. For me.” She wanted to kiss him, just one last time, but she didn’t.

  “Eliza I-”

  “Get out. Get out now, Lucius!” she shouted as best as she could and she closed her eyes, the urge to sleep was overwhelming now. She felt a shift in the room and heard him turning. Whether or not he would actually leave she’d never know. With her eyes closed her brain took over and she breathed in deeply as she surrendered to unconsciousness.

  * * *

  Seraphina couldn’t help but smirk as Muriel had strutted past her, obviously well sated from a good fuck and blood addiction after a full day with Izazal. “Not an ounce of self disgust I notice?” The newly Fallen stopped and turned back to her. A day had passed since it was complete and thanks to having Izazal’s blood, which contained some of her blood, she would maintain loyalty to her. Muriel hadn’t been the first Angel she’d tried it on. But she was the first one from her combat unit that she’s managed to find. Izazal had fallen on his own. Stupid fool found he was too in love with human women and it was forbidden to mix blood. As the most powerful of all demons, Pure Angels had a strict code of conduct.

  “Very well, Seraphina. Feel free to gloat. I was wrong. I do not agree with your methods, but there is something in Izazal’s blood keeping me here, demanding I belong. Enjoying it I must admit.” Agitation broke out on the woman’s face and Seraphina couldn’t help but notice how unflattering it was.

  A grin curved on her lips and she clucked her tongue at Muriel. “That would be the cost of Fallen blood.” She enjoyed the look of confusion that passed of Muriel’s eyes. “It’s addicting. It forms a bond as dangerous as when a human looks at us directly. A compulsion.”

  “But that doesn’t make any sense. How? We share blood to strengthen connections all the time on the field of battle and we never feel an urge to appease the commander.” She stopped mid sentence and Seraphina noted the new information. Before she fell, blood was only shared amongst partners, it was sacred. Hearing that they were commanding all warriors to do so with a command leader could mean two things - that they were facing subordination or their numbers were dwindling so fast thanks to her random mass demon attacks on them that they needed all the strength they could get. Either way, it was a positive sign for her.

  “The answer to that is something I can’t explain. It’s just something that happens when we fall, the manipulation of the blood from pure to pure evil. But as you’re experiencing right this moment, it works. Exceedingly well if after only one day you have lost the
urge to fight me and my command. But I promise you, as you grow to know the Alliance and the humans as I have, you very well may find the fall worth it.” A look of distaste passed across Muriel’s face and Seraphina couldn’t help but think about how truly sweet it would be when the angel agreed with her. Fallen fell for all reasons, mingling with humans and murder were only the most common. Hatred however, could drop the feathers right from an Angel’s back just as quickly. “I’m done with you now. Enjoy your time learning your new home. Fallen go above ground only when I say so. Find your little space in Hell and enjoy it.”

  Seraphina shouldered past Muriel, thumping her arm into the other woman’s and walking away. She had a meeting with a Thrasher Demon that could not be missed. She hated venturing outside of the region designated for Fallen. Some were downright disgusting filled with nothing but demons screwing each other. But others, like the Fallen and the human sections were pleasant, an afterlife that mimicked much of what they knew in life. Thrasher Demons were the former. She sneered as she stepped through the ridiculous doorframe that led to their location. Blood and body parts lined the ground. The Thrashers were almost impossible to contain and working with them was only possible because of a bargain she’d drawn up, allowing them full freedoms once she was in charge of the topside. A bargain she’d had no intention of keeping, but there was nothing she could do until the real victory had been won, she needed the Thrasher Demons for their brutality.

  Stepping around the carcass of a gutted Thrasher she scrunched her nose at the smell emanating from the residence she needed to enter, well on which she was going to call the resident from. She would be a fool, even with her strength, to go behind closed doors with one of these creatures. She raised a delicate, pale hand and rapped gently on the door three times. It swung open and the almost two meter tall, yellow skinned demon looked down at her. They had no names for one another, they used a series of grunts and snorts that formed things they could call one another. Seraphina had no intention of simulating such sounds with the big male demon.