Ballad of Blood

by Amy Sumida

  “Thanks.” I rolled my eyes at my men. “Your opinion is in the minority.”

  “Calex has an abrasive personality, but that's a dragon trait,” Nigel offered. “He shouldn't be judged by it.”

  “Dragon trait, eh? My guys have another name for it.” I nodded toward my consorts. “One not so generous.”

  “Anyway,” Nigel said with a reprimanding look at my men, “Calex wanted me to tell you that he's met someone, and he's happy.”

  “If you see him before I do, please tell him that I wish him the best,” I said with a soft smile.

  “Is that what you wish for me too, Ellie?” Raphael asked as he strode up.

  “Ah; there's my cue to leave,” Nigel said. “Good day, everyone.”

  “Hey,” I said to Raph as Nigel left. “I was about to go looking for you.”

  “Why don't we take this somewhere more private?” Torin suggested as he indicated the hallway.

  “I thought you'd never ask, Your Majesty,” Raphael smirked.

  “I'm discovering that you enjoy a certain type of arrogantly annoying male, little bird,” Torin said to me.

  “Indeed.” I widened my eyes pointedly back at him.

  “I am not like that,” Torin huffed.

  “No; your version of arrogant annoyance is classier,” I conceded.

  “Exactly,” Torin said primly. “I'm a king, after all; my arrogance is both earned and expected.”

  “Wow,” Raphael said with wide, blinking eyes. “I thought Cerberus was exaggerating.”

  Torin glared at my ex.

  “Don't start shit, you two,” I growled. “Come on, Raph, I still need to talk to you, and Torin's right; it should be done in private.”

  “As my lady commands,” Raphael said in a tone that mimicked Torin.

  “What's that phrase?” Torin asked Gage.

  “Crusin',” Gage prompted.

  “Ah, yes.” Torin nodded and then turned to Raphael. “You're crusin' for a brusin', angel.”

  “Damn it, Gage!” I snapped. “You're supposed to be toning that Cerberus shit down, not teaching it to Torin.”

  Gage only grinned broadly.

  “Please do not ever say those words again,” I said to Torin. “I love you just as you are.”

  “As my lady commands,” Torin declared as he pulled me into a kiss. When our lips were still touching, he murmured, “I shall remain as I am; with my kingly arrogance and all.”

  I sighed dramatically and stepped away from Torin. He smiled smugly at Raphael. Raph merely rolled his eyes as he followed me into a sitting room. My consorts came in after us and closed the door.

  “Two things,” I said to Raphael. “First, I spoke to Jesus about the Host.”

  “You what?” Raphael gaped at me. “What does that mean?”

  “I mentioned how unimpressed I was, and Jesus asked for clarification,” I said. “He seems to have been unaware of how the Host behaves.”

  Raphael frowned thoughtfully. “It has been awhile since I've seen him leave the temple. I think this was the first time in two centuries that Christ came to Earth.”

  “He's been living in that building for two-hundred years?” I lifted my brows.

  “He's a workaholic and a shut-in.” Raph shrugged. “So, what he'd say when you told him about his precious Angels?”

  “He was shocked,” I said. “And he looked disappointed. He says he's going to look into it, and I told him he should talk to you.”

  “No shit?” Raphael whispered in wonder. “Thank you, El.”

  “Second thing.” I waved away his thanks. “Omeyocan is abandoned.”

  “The Maya Heaven?” Raphael asked with a frown. “Yeah; I guess so.”

  “It's a nice place to live if you can fly,” I said pointedly.

  Raphael nodded. “And a big place. There are thirteen levels to the Upper World. That's too many to ward. I get what you're implying, but I couldn't hide from the Host there; they'd find me.”

  “Oh,” I whispered with disappointment.

  “But, if Jesus starts making changes, I may not have to leave,” Raphael added.

  “If you do, my offer stands,” I said. “Kyanite will give you sanctuary.”

  “Kyanite will what?” Declan asked with a lifted, crimson brow.

  Yeah; so, I never got around to telling them about that.

  “I'm going to hide Raph from the Host if he decides to leave them,” I explained to Declan. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “My consort's ex-lover living with her?” Declan asked sarcastically. “Why would I have a problem with that?”

  “I don't want to start a fight.” Raphael held up a placating hand. “It's fine, Elaria; I've been dealing with the Host for a long time.”

  “Can you give us a minute, Raph?” I asked.

  “Sure.” Raphael nodded to the men and headed outside.

  “Look; I'm sorry I didn't prepare you for that,” I said to my consorts. “But I still care about him, and if I can help Raphael, I want to.”

  “I understand,” Declan said as he glanced at the other men, “but I'm not okay with him living in Kyanite Castle.”

  “How many women of your court have you slept with?” I countered.

  Declan narrowed his amethyst eyes at me. “That's not a fair comparison, and you know it, Elaria. I didn't love those women. I love you, and so does he.”

  I sighed deeply. “All right; I see your point. But as much as I still care for Raph, it's not anything that can threaten what we have.” I looked at all of them. “You know how strong this is, right? When Kukulcan forced himself on me, I nearly threw up; that's how much I love you... and how disgusted I was by the whole thing, but you know what I mean.”

  “Kukulcan did what?!” Torin roared.

  “I thought I told you about that?” I whispered the question.

  “No, you did not,” Banning snarled.

  “Oh, that must have been Jesus and Cerberus,” I murmured absently.

  “Tell us now, Elaria,” Gage demanded. “What did that feathered bastard do?”

  “Kukulcan knocked me around a bit and tried to rape me,” I said concisely. “He didn't get far before I killed him, cut off his head, and brought it back here to toss to the Maya.”

  The men blinked; their fury fading. They were stuck in that place where you know you can't be angry anymore, but the truth is that anger doesn't just leave, not even when it knows that it should. Maybe especially not when it knows it should.

  “Fuck!” Banning cursed. “How could we let him take her? We were all standing right there, and that son of a bitch snatched Ellie away like we were nothing. We're supposed to be stronger together, but we've lost her twice within the last month!”

  “It's on me,” Gage said steadily.

  “It is not on you,” Torin argued. “I'm sorry I said those things; I was looking for someone to blame when I should have been taking responsibility. It's on all of us.”

  “Stop it,” I said.

  “We need to work out a better way to protect her,” Declan said. “Perhaps we should train together.”

  “Stop,” I repeated.

  “Training is a good idea,” Gage nodded eagerly. “We could go over possible scenarios—”

  “Shut the fuck up!” I shouted.

  They all went quiet and stared at me in shock.

  “This shit is boring.” I waved a hand at them. “I don't need your protection. Bad things happen, and we handle it together, but sometimes, we have to deal with it on our own. When Kukulcan snatched me, I handled it alone. Because I'm the motherfucking Queen of Song. You hear me? I don't need a Queen's Guard; I need my consorts. I need you to stand with me when the going gets rough and lay down beside me when it's easy. Can you all do that?”

  They had sweet, sappy looks on their faces when they nodded.

  “Good.” I settled down. “Kukulcan was an evil shit, and I killed him; end of story. Now, what should I do about Raphael, Consorts? What co
mpromise can we make that you will be all right with? Because as much as I need your support, I want to be supportive of all of you as well.”

  “I'd be okay with Raphael having a home in Kyanite, as long as it's not at the castle,” Gage said and then looked at the others.

  “I'll agree to that,” Torin said.

  “I as well,” Declan added.

  I looked at Banning, and he sighed.

  “Fine,” Banning said. “I can live with that. But if one of my exes shows up and needs sanctuary, you'd better offer me the same leniency, Elaria.”

  “Do you have any exes that you'd offer sanctuary to?” I countered.

  “Maybe.” He shrugged. “If they survived the Nachzehrer attacks.”

  I lifted my brows.

  “I was without you for over two-hundred years, El,” Banning said. “A man has needs.”

  “I get it.” I held up my hands. “Okay; if the tables get turned, and she isn't an evil bitch, you can give this hypothetical woman sanctuary.”

  “Thank you,” Banning said primly.

  “Does that mean I can come in now?” Raphael asked through the door.

  “Angels have good hearing,” Gage said.

  “Thank you, Captain Obviously,” Torin said.

  Gage, Banning, and I chuckled at Torin's mistake while Torin scowled at us.

  “I said it wrong, didn't I?” Torin asked dryly.

  “I told you, honey; stick with your own way of speaking.” I patted Torin's shoulder.

  “Hell, no,” Raphael said as he came in. “Keep trying, King T; that was some funny shit right there.”

  “I say we have roasted angel for dinner,” Torin said dryly.

  “See? Now, there's the man I love,” I said affectionately to Torin.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  We ended up sticking around for the victory celebration. Some of the angels popped up to Heaven to grab a few cases of their sacramental wine, and I got to watch witches get drunk with angels. It was fun to watch Jesus scowl at his fellow angels with all three of his faces. It gave me hope; maybe Raph was right, and he wouldn't need sanctuary.

  I had made a few calls before dinner; as did Banning. It was finally over—for real this time—and everyone could go back to their normal lives. My family was safe, Banning's Blooders were safe, and Sorin was pouting all by himself in his Romanian palace. I couldn't be happier, and so I decided to have a little sip of holy wine.

  The next thing I knew, I was standing in the center of the dining hall singing “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy. I had no idea how I'd gotten there, but the song did seem appropriate. It was a tribute to the gods who had died. Even though they had been our enemies, they had made their mark on this world, and they would be remembered. The Maya Civilization would not have advanced as far without their gods. Those gods deserved some respect, and their deaths deserved some as well.

  So, I sang for their memory as well as our victory. I lifted my magic in musical salute to the people I'd destroyed. You may think it's hypocritical, but I found it to be both cathartic and comforting; and so did the gathering of Witches and Angels. They filled the open spaces between the tables and danced with joy in their triumph and in respect of their adversaries for making that victory so hard to win.

  My voice rose above us; lamenting the short, human lives lost to history as I encouraged my fellow immortals not to squander the gift we'd been given. The world would spin on, civilizations would rise and fall, and hopefully, we would continue to bear witness to that. But even if we died tomorrow, the events of today would be remembered for years to come. We had made a difference—saved thousands of lives—and at that moment, I realized that this was how I wanted to use my immortality and magic.

  I had thought that I wanted a life without conflict or bloodshed, and that was true, but I also wanted to help people. Maybe Cerberus had convinced me to become a fixer for the money, but there had been aspects of the job that I'd enjoyed. I liked fixing things. With the power I'd been given—and that seemed to be growing—didn't I have an obligation to use it? I'm not saying I had a responsibility to become a superhero, or even to use my magic for good. As had been pointed out to me recently; good and evil are subjective. What I'd done to the Maya could easily be seen as evil; I'm sure the Maya had thought so. The important thing wasn't to strive to become some kind of perfect savior, but to simply try; to make the hard decisions and then stand up for them. To make history. Because what was the point of immortality if no one was affected by your life?

  When my song ended, someone turned on a stereo, and Lady Gaga took over for me.

  “Not her again,” Declan grumbled as he spun me into his arms. “And just when I wanted to dance with my woman.”

  “That sounds so barbaric,” I laughed. “I love it.”

  “You do?” He lifted a brow. “What happened to the motherfucking Queen of Song who doesn't need anyone to protect her?”

  “She's still here, but she likes her love a little savage sometimes,” I countered.

  “I can be savage when the need arises,” he purred in my ear. “Shall we get wild, my love?”

  “What did you have in mind?” I eased back to gaze into his twinkling eyes.

  “Something involving a run through the Witches' forest,” Declan said with a naughty smile. “Perhaps you could pretend to be our prey.”

  “You want to chase me through the woods?” I giggled.

  Yeah; I was still a little drunk.

  “And then ravish you beneath the moon.” Declan nibbled on my neck. “Maybe we can make some pleasant memories here to banish those covered in blood.”

  “Or add some pleasant blood memories,” Banning suggested as he drew me away from Declan. “I'm hungry, honey.”

  “But first, we feed other hungers,” Torin said as he twirled me into his arms.

  “First, she has to run,” Gage argued as he stole me from Torin and started carrying me out of the hall.

  “Fucking griffin,” Torin growled as my three other consorts chased after Gage and me.

  Gage chuckled as he ran out of the Coven's mansion and into the garden. I clutched at his shoulders and nibbled on his cute ear; it had a slightly pointed tip at the top that I hadn't noticed before. How could I have missed that? It made me wonder what other mysteries were hidden beneath his clothes, and made me eager to find out. But then Gage breached the garden border and deposited me on the soft grass.

  “Time to flee,” he kissed me quickly and then smacked my bottom. “I'll wait here till the others join me, just to make it fair.”

  I heard the sound of my consorts closing in, and Gage grinned viciously.

  “Better hurry, sweetheart.”

  I started to run. I had no idea where I was heading, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was the pounding of my heart as the game suddenly became real. The threat loomed behind me, and it sent a jolt of fear flashing through my veins. I could feel the power of my pursuers, and I knew that I couldn't win against all of them. I started to run with true purpose; putting my all into escaping. But beneath the fantasy was the comfort of reality to temper my panic. It was a wild chase, but deep down, I knew that I wanted to be caught.

  Still, my breath sawed in and out of my lungs, and my belly clenched with trepidation. I gave in to the illusion; knowing that I needed this rush of fright and arousal to replace the real memory of Kukulcan attacking me. Had my consorts known it too? I didn't doubt for a second that they did. We could sense what each other needed, and they had sensed that I needed to feel pursued and even taken, without true fear involved. Only then could I let go of the lingering pain and apprehension that Kukulcan had slipped into my soul like a sliver of glass. It was so tiny that I had barely noticed it but so sharp that the slightest touch made me bleed. The glass needed to be removed before it became infected.

  So, I let the adrenaline fill me and the fear flash through my limbs. Weakness set my legs to trembling as I listened with bated breath for the approach of the pr
edators hunting me. I stumbled and caught myself against a tall oak; taking a moment to catch my breath as well. And that's when they closed in on me.

  I gave a little shriek as Declan grabbed me roughly and spun me around. He pushed me against the tree as he took my wrists in his hands.

  “I've got her!” Declan called out triumphantly to the others.

  One of his hands slipped down to caress my face, and he held my gaze as it continued down to my T-shirt. I was still in the clothing I'd worn to battle, and it was stained with sweat and blood. I probably should have gone to Kyanite to change before the feast, but now I was glad that I hadn't, because Declan tore the shirt down the center and then yanked the cups of my bra down.

  I gasped and shivered as the cool, night air hit my breasts and tightened my nipples; the bra springing back up to lift them. Declan immediately took a nipple into his mouth and tongued it greedily as the other men arrived.

  Declan lifted his head briefly to say, “Hold her for me.”

  My breath sped up again as Torin took one of my hands, and Banning the other. They angled my limbs back around the tree trunk and held me there securely; giving Declan free access to my body. He undid my jeans and yanked them down my legs. Gage came forward to help remove my shoes and then tossed them aside with my jeans. Shafts of moonlight streamed down through the tree canopy like mini spotlights; turning my flesh a pale pearl shade and making me feel even more vulnerable and exposed. As Declan tore away my panties, Torin and Banning reached forward to paw at my breasts. I moaned; unsure if it was from ecstasy or fear.

  “Your panties are wet.” Declan held them up for me to see and rubbed them between his fingers. “You want me to fuck you against this tree, don't you, Ellie?”

  I shook my head; playing along without even thinking about it. It felt so real on the surface, but Declan was right; I wanted it—all of it. If they had stopped then, I might have even begged. I was so far gone into the fantasy that any inhibition I might have had was drowned in desire and wine.

  “I think you do,” Declan murmured as he undid his pants. “I think you want it very badly.”