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

by Lexi Ostrow

  True fear shown on the old man’s face, fear that she had put there. It was the truth. She had not known if the plan was going to be needed when they’d thought it up this morning. Yet, Felicia had discarded her armband and taken a bike and two guns to a small area just outside London’s main gates. Gates that had been put up by the guilds to keep workers and the society members apart. Even if Eliza never left this room alive, though she doubted her old friend would resort to murder, the plan would move forward. All that was left was one, stubborn, old man.

  “What is it going to be, Thomas?”

  He sighed and she watched as years seemed to tear off him and grief settled in. His voice held none of the temper or bravado from a moment prior. It was meek and hard to even hear. “He must be punished, Eliza. What would you have me do?”

  The smirk slid across her face and she thanked her lucky stars it had worked. “Oh I know just what you can do, Master Agardawes.”

  * * *

  He hadn’t been able to think straight. He’d woken up in a tiny cell, the smell of mold and water permeating the area and he had a feeling he was in the cells Eliza had told him about. They had stayed up much of the last night hashing out a plan that may have secured him freedom. What he’d done had most assuredly damned not only himself, but Eliza as well. “Because you always only look out for yourself, Willan. You can’t change just because you tell her you can.” He growled and he grabbed the cell doors and shook them. It was probably the fifth time he’d tried since regaining consciousness and they were steady as a rock. If he didn’t know any better he would guess they were made with the same material used in Pure Angel’s demon cuffs. It would make sense since there was no way of knowing what they would be holding down in the cells.

  A steady drip of water was enough to send him spiraling into madness. Over and over he heard the obnoxious plop onto the stone ground. But that wasn’t all he could hear. He wasn’t alone down here. There was no light and his eyes weren’t meant for seeing in total darkness. But he could hear plenty. At least five pairs of feet had shuffled around down there with him. Heavy breathing and growling accompanied the steps, but never talking. He had tried to communicate with whatever was down here and had decided either they had no tongues left with which to do so, or they were a demon without human speech capacity. Many had such limitations and he wanted to believe that was the cause and not the former.

  There was nowhere to sit but on the floor and he slid down the lumpy stone wall, dragging his head as he went. The ground was cold under his arse and he felt the mating mark tingle, the skin would forever be slightly more sensitive there. But he didn’t want the reminder of what he’d ruined. She must hate him. There would be no way she could forgive him after he basically attacked a room full of people she was close too. There was no excuse for what had happened. He was a demon in the guise of a man and he could not control what he was. Not the way that was needed. He’d heard the shouts to kill him and his mate and his blood had boiled before he’d known what he was doing. There’d been no exchange of energy so he could only hope that he hadn’t succeeded in killing anyone with their own worst fears. But he was certainly a caged monster in all their eyes now.

  He couldn’t help but wonder what their plan was for him now. In the darkness there was no way to tell how much time had passed or even what day it was since he had been unconscious at one point. His body was weary and he’d assumed it was day, but it was impossible to know. He was left drained and with nothing to do except agonize over what he had done, over his failure to Eliza.

  No one had been down to see him and the idea of being left to die didn’t sit well with his well-worn cowardice. He much preferred the idea of a quick execution to the alternative. Without soul energy he would begin to fade away, as a human did without nourishment. It would take him longer to die, about two months, and it would be slow and painful. He’d never done it before, but his friend had grown weary of killing and had done away with himself, much as many demons do after an immortality of the same thing. It grew boring. Perhaps that was why mates existed, to alleviate the routine. His skin would dehydrate first and his muscles would lose mass. Within a week he would be unable to stand or speak, but he would still be very much alive and very much in pain.

  The sound of a heavy door being displaced caused a tremor in the ground under him and he jumped up, his legs shaking, but still able to hold him. Light blasted through the room; bright and scalding compared to the darkness his eyes had adjusted too. He was not the only one that hissed at the intrusion, but the door did not close. Footsteps moved closer and the scent of lavender replaced the mildew. His heart leapt in his throat, but he didn’t want to hope. Anyone could share her bath oils. The people, he could see the silhouettes of two, continued to walk toward him. His body began to shake again, but not from weariness as Eliza’s golden blonde hair became visible in the bright light. The man that walked with her, he was one of the one’s who’d grabbed him. Philippe, if he wasn’t mistaken. He growled as the pair approached and he saw Eliza’s arm grasped tightly in the man’s hand. Let him walk close to these bars with his hands touching my mate. I’ll yank his stylishly long hair through this cell and tear his head from his shoulders for touching her.

  “Settle down, Lucius. I don’t know how the fuck Eliza did it, but she’s got something to tell you.” Philippe’s voice was heavier accented than in the trial, the French accent a little more prevalent, but still well hidden underneath the British diction needed to properly work in this city.

  “I will when you take your hands off her arm and I ensure you did not mark her skin.” His teeth were bared and Philippe shook his head and released Eliza. She stumbled forward for a second and turned to glare at the hunter.

  “Think twice about who you come to for your next weapon, Philippe. You are only doing your job, but there was no need to be so forceful.” She turned to look at Lucius and her smile was wide. “You forget, I hold all the cards in this poker game.” Her hands wrapped around the bars and he leapt up to wrap his hands around hers. The contact sent a sizzle of lust through him, but more importantly a sigh of relief knowing where they stood.

  “What are you doing here, love? Tell me you’re not being tossed in here with me? Much as I would cherish your company.”

  She shook her head and laughed; a sound so light and filled with joy he wasn’t certain if she was mentally addled or if she had news to share.

  Philippe snarled something from his corner and she turned away from him to look at the hunter.

  “How about you give me that key and leave us be. Stand right outside the entrance and even lock us in if you wish. I have no intention of going anywhere but right here, with my mate until the time comes that I cannot be.”

  “Eliza, that was not part of the deal.” Philippe’s agitation was written all over his face.

  “There was no deal made, Philippe, save for the arrangement agreed upon regarding Lucius. You can stay if you like, but I have no problem telling you that once I can actually touch him, I’m going to. With or without you in the room, Philippe, because I no longer care what any of you think. I will be loyal to my family, to the cause and to my mate. One of which is locked up and I need to assure him of his safety and my love. Your choice.”

  Lucius felt the blood rush to his prick at her words. He smiled too, she’d gotten so brave. Or maybe she’d always been this outspoken with the men.

  “I think I liked it better when you were more respectful, Eliza,” Philippe grumbled as he unlocked the door.

  “Do not be daft. I have always spoken with men like this. Hunters just rarely enter the labs to hear me do so.” She stepped aside as he opened the door to Lucius’ cell and she stepped in and tugged the door closed. “As you can see I have no plans of escape. Lock us in if you wish, Philippe.”

  The man muttered something under his breath as he walked out.

  The heavy door closed with a booming sound and they were ushered back into darkness. His hands found
her face and pulled her into him. He kissed the tip of her nose, quite by accident before his mouth found hers and devoured it. She tasted of sweets again, or maybe that was just what he associated her as being, sweet and special as a confections treat. Their tongues twirled together and her body melted against his, as it always did, as it always would. Her moan of need had his cock standing at full attention. Her hand reached between them and undid his pants, springing it free into her hand. She wasted no time wrapping her fist around him and beginning a medium tempo stroke up and down his shaft. Her left hand joined her right and he saw stars briefly. He nipped at her lower lip and pulled backwards. Their breathing was as loud as the creatures that occupied this space with him and realized they could possibly be seen, and that he had no idea what she was doing here.

  “Lucius, they cannot see anything. The walls are stone with no windows. It is to assure no plotting can be done with visual cues. Guards are always outside should anything occur, but just the same, it’s for the safety of the whole guild.” Her hand didn’t stop its sensual glide up and down his shaft and he bit his lip to force himself not to thrust into her hands. “I think I want to play with you for a little while though while we talk.” She went quiet as she let go of his cock and then dragged just the tips of her fingers up and down it. “You ruined everything, you know?” Her tone held no accusation, just simple fact as she dragged her nails back and forth; up and down over his prick.

  “I’m sorry, love. The things they said-” he cut off with a groan when she pinched the skin under the head of his cock gently. “It’s very difficult to think when you’re doing that and I cannot touch you.”

  She’d been wearing the pants he favored her in, he’d noticed that when the door had been open. He felt her move closer to him and a momentary absence of her hand on his cock. When she pressed her body against his erection he felt bare, wet, flesh and he groaned. She rubbed against him twice before he leaned down and suckled her neck, drawing a gasp from her this time. He let his hand trail down her stomach, lingering just above her core before swiping a finger over her folds. Her moan sent a jolt of longing through him and he rocked his hips against her as she wrapped her hand around his shaft first.

  “We have to talk first. Talk first,” she repeated herself as he slipped a finger inside her body, moving it in a circle while his thumb ran over her clit in a slow manner. “Your sentence has been decided and you owe me, mate.”

  “I believe I’m repaying you now, Eliza.” His voice was husky, a perfect match for hers, but as much as he wanted to bury himself inside her, he wanted to know what would happen more.

  She ground her hips on his finger and whimpered. “Yes, but no. You have a choice, Lucius. You may choose your-” she broke off with a loud moan and she squeezed him tighter, causing his hips to buck for more. She was breathing heavy when she continued, her words punctuated with small gasps. “Fight with us. Help the Alliance and only kill those already sentenced to death and our punishment will be a week of you in the dungeon with me far enough away we cannot meet in dreams.” He noted the use of the words “our” and “we”. His heart clenched because he’d known she would suffer, but hearing it made him all the more angry at himself. He slid his finger from her body and put his hands under her arse, picking her up and turning to back her against the wall. A part of him did not wish to put her beautiful skin on the wall, but she still wore a top so he leaned her against it slowly, biting his cheek as her wet heat glided over his erection.

  “What’s my other option?” He held still, not wanting anything to cloud his judgment after she gave him his choice. Her body gyrated gently against his but it was as if she knew they needed to halt, to finish the conversation first.

  “Remain down here for fifty years. You will be brought demons to kill, they will be drugged and ready when they are brought to you and you will be expected to give information about your kind to the Alliance.”

  He growled and not because of how badly he wanted to slip inside her and forget everything but her body around his. How she could even think there was a choice was beyond him. “Love, there is only one choice that would ever do. I will fight alongside the Alliance, but I will not kill unless I have too and I will make sure my kills are never innocents when it is to survive.” He felt her nod against his chin and she lowered her head and playfully bit his throat. His cock swelled thicker at the sensation.

  “That is what I was hoping you’d say,” she whispered against his neck and shifted her body, angling the tip of his shaft inside her body.

  He didn’t need any other directions. He leaned her back against the wall and put one hand beside her head and he seated himself in her to the hilt and began to rock. He wanted to be mindful of the stone behind her head, but his hips were frantic and he took her mouth with his as he slammed inside her body. Their mouths moved in tempo with their hips and he felt her body begin to tremble with each and every stroke. He felt his balls tighten as his own release neared and his thrusts sped up, he needed the friction of her body gripping his cock and he pulled out quicker and quicker. With each thrust he pulled himself from her heat as far as he could without losing contact and sank back in. Over and over until her walls spasmed around his cock and pulled his release from him. They made no sound, not wanting to alert Philippe to what was actually occurring inside. But when they finished coming, when her body was no longer milking his cock and he was no longer sinking in and out of her to prolong their pleasure, he slid from her and she sank down the wall. Or he assumed she did because he heard her feet touch the ground.

  They were both breathing heavy and she was the one who spoke first. “I love you, Lucius. I think I’ve loved you since that first dream when I was mystified how I’d dreamt up such a sexy man.”

  He wished he could see her. Wished he could hold her gaze with his, but there was nothing to see in the blackness of the supposed dungeon. “I love you, Eliza. I’m sorry for everything. I can’t do a damn thing about any of it, but I will do better in the future.” He reached his hand out and brushed stone wall and growled. “Damn it, I wanted to touch you.”

  She laughed and it spread to him, a feeling of lightness that everything was over. He was free of Seraphina and he got his mate. He may have trapped himself with another boss he did not want, but with Eliza by his side, none of that would matter anymore.

  “There will be plenty of time for that. Philippe!” she shouted and he was slightly saddened she was about the leave.

  Light poured into the darkness again before he had a chance to even know if she was clothed. His eyes darted to her and he sighed as he saw the black breeches perfectly back in place, not a hair messed up in the bun she always wore. How had she moved so efficiently in the pitch black?

  “Done then?” Philippe looked from Lucius to Eliza but his expression gave nothing away.

  Eliza had told him what would happen when she was in the cell, whether he believed it or not was not evident on his face.

  “Very. I’m ready to go to Felicia’s now.” She leaned up and kissed him, a gentle brush of her lips and he wanted to capture her face in his hands, but he knew there was no time for that. “I will see you in a week, Lucius. I promise.”

  He nodded and when Philippe went to open the door he stepped backwards, a show of his compliancy. She smiled at him and even walked backwards to the door. “I love you, Eliza.”

  “And I love you, Lucius.”

  She went through first and then the hunter did. But when the door closed he couldn’t be anything but happy. It was going to the start of a new life, with a new side to fight for.

  ***

  Seraphina’s eyes were blurring with exhaustion. Finding the best demon to convert a member of the Alliance of Silver and Steam was proving to be impossible. She had been at it for weeks and was no closer to have things narrowed down than when she had begun. Each species with a toxic ability to change a human, or a demon, into what they were had drawbacks. Some died quickly after the change, others lo
st all ability to converse in human speech. She needed the person, well people, she chose to be able to still function within the Alliance and report back to her.

  She ran a hand through her hair and cringed as the perfect blood red locks tangled under her fingers. She’d not done anything but research. She’d bathed briefly, but only because she’d had a meeting with the Kappa Demons and had needed to impress. None had shared her bed and the premise was actually making her irritable as well as tired. But she’d tried to fuck an Incubus Demon when she’d returned from Lucius' assault. Demetrious had appeared in the room with them. His cold eyes and body spewed words of hated at her. She’d been so frozen with terror she hadn’t even killed the Incubus for failing to make her come.

  Every time she closed her eyes, her lover was standing next to her when she opened them. It didn’t matter where she was, he was always there. His wings gleamed white and his eyes sparked with anger. The words never changed and she was unable to ignore the hallucination yet. There was no one she could kill to make it stop. Lucius started it, but he couldn’t hold an illusion if he wasn’t nearby. This was all her own doing. Her hands crumpled the paper under them and she screamed and she tore it into bits and threw it to the ground.

  The Alliance of Silver and Steam was growing and her army was not. Muriel was successfully transferred, but the next attempt, Bastian, had failed. He’d slit his own throat with her knife to avoid it. She’d been distracted and had gotten to close. Time was running out and TimeTurning Demons worked for no one. She couldn’t even spot them out in a human crowd. They were as elusive as pure Angels, but cared for none. Nothing could make them erase a moment they didn’t wish too and the one time she’d approached one in the bowels of Hell it had used its own powers to escape her. She’d spent a year trying to find it again before giving up.