Seven Seals, Books 1 & 2

by Traci Douglass

  “As if I give a shit about your precious angels.” He pushed off his seat and stepped closer. “My goal was to bring the whole lot of them with me when I left. If a few insipid relics decided to hang on, it’s my pleasure to tear them away, piece by tasty piece.”

  Wind swirled around them, the gusts growing stronger as her ire soared. “Your torture has turned your son into nothing but a monster, a vile half-breed abomination that must be contained. Take care of the problem Lucifer, or I’ll have my Scion handle him for you.”

  “Promises, promises.” Lucifer backed away, his furious expression transforming into a wild grin. Soon his boisterous laughter filled the night. “Archon’s got too much of his mother’s heart to be of any real value. Pity. I had plans for him.”

  “Then let me house him here, in my prisons. Tell me how to capture him.”

  “And have him spill all my dirty little secrets to you? Try again, dearie. Besides, I think I’ll deliver my riddle personally to your Scion and his new mate. Loss is always a powerful motivator, eh?”

  Lucifer backed away and disappeared in a puff of putrid black smoke.

  A small smile of satisfaction formed on Divinity’s lips. Things were progressing well indeed.

  • • •

  Buzzzzzz. Buzzzzzz. Buzzzzzz.

  Chago rubbed his eyes and squinted into the sheltered dark of the room. A glance at the nearby clock showed the time approached seven in the morning. Light emanated from his phone on the bedside table.

  Shit. He fumbled for the device and clicked it on. The tiny screen filled with texts from Xander, asking where the hell he was.

  He got up and headed toward the bathroom, tripping over something on the floor on the way. He suspected the object could be his jeans or maybe her shorts and thong. Memories of the frenzied tempest of their lovemaking made him smile. The image of Irena in only the scrap of scarlet silk made his cock twitch anew. He reached to dislodge whatever object now tangled around his feet and grinned. When he returned, he’d give her a proper awakening.

  He stumbled into the loo and closed the door.

  “Hola, Chago.” The greeting was a horrific stew of nightmares incarnate. Lucifer.

  Fuck. He turned as the surface of the bathroom mirror rippled and out stepped the Posterboy of Sin in all his dubious glory.

  Lucifer approached Chago with his arms outstretched. “What? No hug?”

  “Explain your purpose here, Devil,” he said, grabbing a towel to cover his nakedness.

  “You’ve got yourself a fine mess here, my pet.” Lucifer draped himself over the ledge of the tub and toyed with the curtain.

  “My mission is none of your business. Leave now before I get violent.” Chago stepped forward in a vain attempt at intimidation. Lucifer only chuckled and trailed one blackened, sticky up the inside of his calf. He jerked away, disgusted with both Lucifer’s smarmy intentions and the overpowering rotten-egg smell permeating the air. He turned on the exhaust fan, seeking some relief.

  “You wound me Scion. I’ve only come to help.” Lucifer clutched his claw-like hands to his chest, his expression crestfallen. Chago shot him a look of pure revulsion. The bastard erupted in a cackle of laughter on the tub edge, teetering precariously. “Damn, I’m good.”

  “I will ask you one last time. State your purpose and be gone.” He stepped closer, his knuckles white above clenched fists.

  Lucifer leaned back against the wall. “How’s my Irena?”

  “She’s not yours.”

  “You forget I helped create those Seals, Scion. Makes them half mine.”

  “The Seal, not the host. Irena is human with all the freewill and other rights that entails. And why would I share any information with you? I serve Divinity, no one else. You got a problem? Take it up with her.” Chago glowered and assumed his most intimidating warrior stance. Lucifer gave him a slow perusal and grinned, making his skin crawl. Cristo. After this meeting he’d require nothing less than a full-body bleach bath.

  “Yes. Your Scion loyalty is quite . . . admirable.”

  He scowled, watching Lucifer fuss with his perpetually stained dress shirt. Hell, if you added in the grayed, worn polyester leisure suit with lapels wide enough to park a Pontiac and the meth-addict green undertones of his complexion, the term repugnant might begin to cover the abomination before him.

  “Loyalty is not a foreign concept to me.” Lucifer glanced up. A small red flame sparked to life at the center of his coal black irises. “I have recently discovered what a valuable commodity it can be.”

  Chago gave the non-committal shrug of a lifelong mercenary and continued to tread lightly. “Your brand of loyalty involves only pain and subservience. Those won’t go far when times grow difficult.”

  “Divinity has denied you boys freewill while lavishing it on humans and handmaidens. That’s got to chafe a bit, eh?”

  “Scion affairs are none of your concern. I will not divulge any mission secrets to you.”

  “You don’t have to. I already know.” Lucifer looked at him, the fire in his eyes now a raging inferno. “My fucking turd of a son, Archon, is responsible for all of this mayhem.” He sidled up to the vanity and propped an elbow up on the marble countertop. “Mutiny is not something I take lightly.”

  While Ultimate Evil preened in his bathroom mirror, Chago sighed and crossed his arms, his patience wearing thin. “You’re family rivalries are not my concern. My concern is protection of the Seal.”

  Lucifer smiled. “Have you forgotten poor Yana so easily?”

  Before Chago could squash the impulse, he reached for the bastard, gripping his scrawny neck and squeezing hard. He ignored the burning sizzle as Lucifer’s acidic skin seared through his palm. “Don’t you ever say her name again, fucker. You’re not fit to think of her.”

  “Hit a nerve?” Lucifer flicked his wrist and sent Chago tumbling into the tub. “You really must learn to control your temper, Scion. I’m way beyond your league.”

  “Fuck you, Beast.” Blood poured from his decimated hand, but Chago refused to relent. He stood and grabbed another towel off the rack. “Tell me how to stop Archon and solve both our problems.”

  “Where would be the fun in that?”

  “Don’t push me, Devil. You won’t like my reaction.”

  “Hmm.” Lucifer’s expression grew distant, as if he were picking up some far off radio signal. Moments later, he straightened. “I must go.”

  “Wait! Tell me how to defeat your son.”

  Lucifer smiled. “From one serpent to another.”

  Before he could question the cryptic reply, Irena called to him from the bedroom, her husky voice an invitation to sin. When he glanced back toward the vanity, Lucifer was gone. Only a single word remained, scrawled across the glass, etched in black, putrid ooze.

  Venom.

  Chapter 18

  Raw and angry, Chago strode into the café a half hour later with Irena by his side. He’d seen the disappointment in her eyes when he’s awakened her abruptly and forced her to dress alongside him. He’d wanted nothing more than to tumble her back into the sheets and ravish her until they were both sated once more, but duty called.

  On top of deciphering the clue Lucifer had provided, he’d promised to help Innocent train the militia that afternoon. With both himself and his trusted sidekick out in the field, he needed to ensure Irena would be protected in his absence. He discovered Xander and Luther lounged at a table near the windows.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Xander asked, his quicksilver gaze narrowed and suspicious.

  “With Irena.” He ignored the unspoken question in his commander’s eyes and continued. “And I had an interesting meeting with Lucifer this morning.”

  “What?”

  Chago waited for a server to fill his coffee mug and depart before answering. “The bastard cornered me in the loo. Said he’d met with Divinity and asked about his son. And he gave me a clue on how to defeat Archon.”

  “A clue?” Luthe
r plunked his soda can down on the table. “Can you trust him?”

  “No. But what other choice do we have?” He scowled into his coffee and fought the rising tide of bile in his throat. “After the attack at Innocent’s home, Archon knows we’re here. He won’t wait long to make his move.”

  Xander sat back in his chair. “What was the clue?”

  “Venom. And some cryptic remark about one serpent to another.”

  A flood of police cars pulled up outside the hotel entrance, interrupting their conversation. Soon, Innocent arrived as well and spoke to one of the officers. Afterward, he entered the lobby and proceeded to the café entrance. Chago waved him over to the table.

  “What’s going on?” Irena asked, her voice tired, quiet. Small shadows marked the delicate skin beneath her eyes. Protectiveness surged within him. He longed to snatch her up and take her far from this danger, to keep her safe, to keep her period.

  “Officers say someone was murdered here last night.” Innocent avoided Irena’s gaze and fiddled with the back of one of the chairs, obviously uncomfortable.

  “Murder? Who?” Irena asked.

  Innocent hesitated, meeting Chago’s gaze as he answered. “Ms. Adrienne.”

  “Shit.” Irena reached for her water with shaky fingers.

  Chago grabbed her hand and stroked her knuckles with his thumb. “Don’t worry, querida. I’ll keep you safe.”

  “Her room is just down the hall from ours.”

  He darted a glance to Xander and cringed at his commander’s inquiring look, not ready to reveal his new relationship to the world yet. Instead, he danced around the unspoken questions and addressed a more pressing concern to Innocent. “How was she killed?”

  “Not sure.” Innocent slumped into the empty chair beside him and stared at the floor. “Them officers said the maid who found the body was pretty upset. Said there’d been blood and stuff everywhere, like a massacre. All they found left of Ms. Adrienne was her shell.” He looked into Chago’s eyes. “Same as the one we had at the house. Same as the Bantu.”

  Fuck. Archon was close. Too close. He glanced back at Irena. She met his eyes and held. Warmth spread through his chest and filled his heart. Chago swallowed hard and leaned forward to place a kiss on her cheek.

  Luther coughed, finished his soda, and stood up. “I’ll hack into the local university’s database and start researching that clue you found.”

  “Good. And I’ve got a status meeting with Divinity.” Xander stood and turned to leave.

  “Wait, Xan. I need to speak with you privately for a moment.” Chago led him to a deserted area of the café. “I promised Innocent I’d help him with the militia this afternoon. Can you and Luther keep an eye on Irena for me until I get back?”

  “Help?” Xander’s cool reply held a decided undertone of suspicion. “What kind of help?”

  “This conflict is too one-sided for my tastes.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Innocent has the men, but they’re not well trained. I can get them ready for the coming battle.”

  “I thought her mission was to keep the peace.” Xander jerked his head in Irena’s direction.

  “Sometimes to keep the peace, one must fight.” Chago smiled, remembering Innocent’s similar words from a few days earlier. Memories of his ranch flashed across his mind and the promise of sweet retirement, of a life with Irena. “I must do this, Xander. Please understand.”

  “Fine. But know if Divinity calls, Luther and I must go.”

  “Agreed.”

  They walked back to the table as Irena finished up her coffee, her face ashen beneath the harsh sunlight. “I can’t believe Adrienne’s dead. Who would do this? Has anyone let her family know?”

  “I don’t know, querida.” Chago scooted his chair closer and placed a protective arm around her shoulders. He met Innocent gaze over the top of her head. “I must go with Innocent to the militia base for awhile today. Xander and Luther are going to stay with you while I’m gone. Will you be alright?”

  Irena looked at him, her eyes oddly blank, as if his words were penetrating quicksand. At last she gave him a small smile and a tiny nod. Irena traced absent, heated circles on the chilled skin of his forearm and burnt a path straight through his the heart. Without thinking, he twined his fingers with hers.

  In a tiny voice she answered. “Yes.”

  Two hours later he and Innocent stood beneath the blistering Congo sun on the deserted grassland, a small army of able-bodied men spread before them and a pile of weapons and ammunition at their backs. Innocent addressed them first, explaining the training regimen. He then turned over leadership to Chago.

  Chago led the men through a series of hand-to-hand combat exercises, accessing their skill level and making adjustments where needed. When each man had mastered those techniques, he moved on to weapons and artillery. As he showed them the proper placement of C-4 charges and where to aim for a slow death versus a quick demise, satisfaction fizzed through his mind. He’d missed having a justified purpose and a worthy adversary.

  Vision of Yana danced through his head, followed in close order by memories of his night with Irena. He would not make the same mistakes again. This time he vowed to protect the woman he loved at all costs. He would not be distracted by revenge. He would not be swayed by duty. He would succeed.

  “Innocent, what do you know about poisonous snakes in this area?”

  “I know you run like hell if you sees one.” Innocent carefully packed up a crate of C-4 and slid it back under a protective tarp in the back of the van. “Why?”

  “I need to find out what the most poisonous snake in the region is.” Chago shoved a crate of AK-12s back into hiding. He dusted his hands on his faded denims and pinned Innocent with a serious stare. “The answer could save Irena’s life.”

  “That’s easy. The black mamba. She native to these parts and her venom is the most deadly in the world. Her bite kill a man within a half hour if not treated.”

  Chago nodded. Hope entered his heart for the first time in days. If he could get his hands on the venom, he might have a fighting chance against Archon.

  They finished packing up just as his phone buzzed. He pulled out the device and read the new text message from Xander. Divinity had summoned both he and Luther. They promised to leave Irena in capable hands.

  “I need to return to the hotel immediately, Innocent.” Urgency made his voice tight. “Irena needs me.”

  Innocent nodded and grabbed the keys to the van. “Come, my friend. I’ll drive you.”

  Chapter 19

  Left under guard of the local police, Irena sat in a quiet corner of the lobby and watched the bustle on the street outside. Xander had placed the undercover officers at various points around the lobby before he and Luther left, a concealed army of everyday men.

  She shifted in her seat and tried to concentrate on her laptop screen. A hiss of discomfort passed between her clenched teeth. The burning pain from her mark had grown worse since last night. The stupid thing had never bothered her before and now wasn’t the time for it to start. She scooted once more to relieve the searing pressure and shifted her attention to more pressing issues—what to do about her relationship with Chago.

  The longer they were together, the stronger her feelings for him grew. Pain flared from her mark once more. She glanced out the window and spotted a man in a yellow pickup stopped amidst the traffic, leaning far out his window to scream and point. A gun was visible in the man’s waistband. He departed the truck and Irena recognized him from the airport debacle. Turay. The insurgent leader stood nose to nose with a police officer, his words emphasized by wild hand gestures. The cop remained motionless beneath his verbal assault.

  Two additional men hopped out of the bed of the truck with rifles in hand. Irena’s two guards straightened and rushed forward, their interest directed to the conflict outside. She shut her laptop and stood. Agony raced up her spinal cord. Irena swayed and gripped the arm of the chair for support.

&nb
sp; Turay now openly waved the pistol in the officer’s face and images of her martyred Syrian interpreter flashed through her mind, merging with the scene before her. She couldn’t lose another person on her watch.

  With her security team otherwise distracted, Irena waited for her current tide of pain to subside then headed for the entrance. Peace was her purpose for being here.

  Gunfire echoed loud from the street. Screams followed.

  Irena made it to the curb in time to see what she thought was a body tumbled into the bed of Turay’s yellow rust-bucket. The vehicle took off in a screech of tires and haze of burnt rubber.

  She needed to let Chago know, to tell him what happened. Irena looked around the dusty street beyond the hotel entrance and realized her mistake too late.

  Before she could dart back inside, a roaring motor snagged her attention. A hand clamped down on her upper arm. Irena swiveled to stare into Turay’s face, her mind awhirl. How had he gotten back here so fast? The answer dropped like a steel ball—because he never left. The preceding show had been nothing more than a ruse for the real hurrah.

  Shouts echoed from the hotel entrance. Her guards rushed outside, but not in time. A cloth covered her mouth and nose. Vision tunneling, Irena caught a glimpse of a black van barreling around the far corner and Chago leaning out the passenger side window, his gaze locked on her.

  Heartbeat frantic and adrenaline spiked, she fought hard, but to no avail. The sticky, sweet smell of defeat soon clogged her airway and darkness crashed down.

  • • •

  Traffic snarled the roadway, blocking any hope of reaching the pickup in time. Chago kicked the van’s door open and raced on foot after the faded yellow Datsun, only to watch helplessly as it disappeared around the corner ahead in a cloud of dust.

  He ran after it, but was no match for a vehicle hell-bent on escape. Out of breath, he slumped to a defeated heap on the curb. He’d failed. Again.

  “Mr. Chago, you alright?”

  “Si.” He stood and stormed into the hotel lobby, spotting Irena’s abandoned computer and bag. “I need to find a supply of black mamba venom. Know where I might locate some?”