Frink followed the exchange with narrowed eyes. “You’re making a mistake. You have no idea how bad of one.”
“And of course we trust the word of one of Caine’s thugs,” Mark said, anger rising within him.
Frink smiled, a smile that sent shivers running down his spine. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Help me with him,” Surcy asked the old woman.
Mertel complied, her gaze wide.
They got him standing, braced on their shoulders. His face was pale. His expression grim. Demons might heal from almost anything, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell.
Surcy looked at them and nodded.
Tristan shifted into a fighting stance, and Mark did the same. Then, Tristan transformed. His skin became the color of wet stone, and his stone wings formed on his back. Power flowed from him. Mark’s chest squeezed. He longed for his druid’s staff, but such a thing was nothing more than a dream.
This sword will have to do.
They stared at the angels. Their enemies called their glowing soul-blades into their hands and glared. Tension sung between them.
He and Tristan moved slowly, crossing the barrier a short distance from the angels.
Instantly, they attacked. Tristan stood his ground, striking sword after sword as if he were a titan of old. Mark fought differently, moving, and weaving through them with the grace of a druid. The angels were fast, and strong, but even though two demons could have never survived against them, they were more than just demons. And they wouldn’t go down easily.
Mark was surprised when Surcy teleported away behind them with the old woman and Daniel. None of the angels rushed after them. In fact, none of them seemed to care.
An angel sliced his arm. He swore and rolled, prepared for the next attack. Two angels lifted off the ground. His gaze moved from them to the one who rushed him.
Tristan roared and severed the head from one of the angels. Then, the gargoyle turned to face the next opponent, his expression enraged.
Mark parried one sword and sent his blade through the chest of another angel. As he began to pull his weapon back, a sword went through his chest from behind. His blade slipped from his fingers, and blood spurted from his lips.
An angel’s arm came around his throat.
“We got you,” Frink whispered into his ear.
The world swirled as he was teleported away.
6
Surcy pulled Daniel and the woman with her to the ocean, erasing her teleporting trail, so that the angels couldn’t follow them. When she felt sand beneath her feet, she was breathing hard from the exertion. Opening her eyes, she stared at a sea of brilliant blue waters.
Her gaze moved to look all around them. White sands stretched out in the other directions. Empty of any kind of intelligent life.
Thank goodness, we’re safe!
Daniel sank from her shoulders, falling onto the ground. She looked down at him, her fingers itching to comfort him, but he forced a grim smile.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
Of course that’s what he’d say while bleeding everywhere.
Deep down she knew he’d heal, but he didn’t have to act like it was nothing more than a scratch. She longed to ease his pain, if only by a little bit.
But I doubt he’d let me.
And then, she heard someone gasping. Turning to the old woman, she saw that Mertal was grabbing her chest, dragging in deep breaths, her eyes wide in panic.
Please, no…
“Are you alright?” Surcy asked, hesitantly touching the woman’s shoulder. Hoping she was just terrified after shooting a man, seeing a fight, and being teleported by an angel.
A terrified human I can handle. A curse? Not so much.
But this was not just terror. Mertal continued to gasp and grab her chest, her gaze growing more distant with each passing second.
Something was wrong, and Surcy had no idea how to fix it.
“What do we do?” she asked, but when she turned to Daniel, he’d passed out in the sand.
Panic clenched her heart. “Mark said you’d be fine, if we just took you here, so why aren’t you?”
Surcy didn’t understand, and her head felt light. The sun’s rays seemed to grow more intense overhead as she struggled to decide what to do.
The old woman collapsed, her knees sinking into the wet sands along the shore. Her face growing paler. Her eyes closing.
“What do I do?” she asked again, looking around. But for the first time, she found herself with no one to guide her. Should – should I teleport us back?
No, they’d be right back in the angel’s hands, but she couldn’t just let Mertal die either.
Taking Mertal’s hand, she knelt down. “I don’t know what to do. You’re some kind of goddess. Taking you here should have saved your life, but I don’t know what else to do.”
Mertal coughed and struggled to speak. “At… least… I got to see… the ocean.”
Surcy looked from her to the water. Some instinct she didn’t understand kicked in, and she swept the woman into her arms. Carrying her out into the water, she continued moving until the waves reached her chest.
The older woman smiled. Her breathing slowed. “I’m in the water. It feels… as good as I always imagined. After all of my dreams about the water, none of them compared to this.”
She smiled, grateful the water seemed to be helping the human.
And then, Mertal grabbed the seashell around her neck. “Let me go!”
Surcy frowned. “But—“
“Let me go!” And now, her voice held power.
Surcy obeyed, releasing the woman. Mertal sank beneath the water. Waves crashed over them, and Surcy lost sight of her under the water. When the foam cleared, the older woman was gone.
Her heart sank. “Mertal? Mertal!”
Looking around herself in a panic, she dove beneath the waves. Over and over again she searched, but there was no one to be found. Time stretched out, and still, there was no sign of her.
Staring in fear at the beach, she saw that the waves had reached Daniel. Stomach turning, she slogged through the water and onto the beach. Dragging Daniel further from the water, she stroked his hair while he lay in her lap. Then, pulled back his shirt to see his wound. Already the skin was pulling together, and the bleeding had stopped.
You’ll be back to yourself in no time.
And yet, she had lost the goddess they’d worked so hard to save. She felt sick, her stomach twisting and turning like a wild animal.
I’ve got to go back and get Mark and Tristan. She just hoped she could grab both of them and safely escape.
Something splashed in the water. Stiffening, she sat up and looked out at the waves. There was nothing… and yet, she’d seen something.
Another splash, and this time she was sure she’d seen a tail.
Gently setting Daniel’s head in the sand, she stood and walked back to the edge of the water. A minute later, a woman rose above the waves. Her hair was the color of the sun’s rays, and her eyes were the shade of a clear ocean. Her shoulders were bare, and her skin pale. She hummed with power.
An immortal creature.
Surcy moved closer, as if compelled by a force more powerful than herself. When she nearly reached the woman, she saw the seashell necklace hanging around her throat.
“Mertal?” she whispered.
The woman smiled. “Mertal… yes, that was my human name. The name I held when I was imprisoned.” She swam closer until she was only a foot from Surcy. “But that’s not who I am. I’m the Goddess of the Ocean, Queen of the Merpeople.”
Surcy’s eyes widened. “A mermaid?”
She flicked her tail, and her blue and green scales sparkled in the morning light. “Does an angel truly not believe in mermaids?”
Surcy felt her cheeks heat. “I’m sorry, my queen.”
The mermaid inclined her head in the most regal way imaginable. “Thank you. Thank you for returning me t
o the waters and bringing back my memories.”
She looks so happy. Too bad she can’t stay here.
Surcy stiffened at the thought and took a deep breath before speaking. “Caine and his followers will come for you again. There’s a sanctuary we need to take you too.”
The queen reached out and touched her cheek, her hand ice cold against Surcy’s skin. “I will never leave the waters until I return to my throne in Zudessa. But take heart, we will be prepared for Caine this time.”
Surcy nodded, her words caught in her throat.
“You have no idea what it was like to slowly die in a mortal shell, far from my waters. It wasn’t just my body that faded with each day, so did my connection to the ocean. Caine sought to break it from me and take my powers. Over many lifetimes he tried various ways to take my powers, but he didn’t know how. This time, he understood. That should frighten you and your demons. Somehow, Caine has figured out the secret to stealing our gifts. Each of us is different, but this is the lifetime I think he may be successful.”
Surcy swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. “Thanks for the warning.”
The mermaid dropped her hand and smiled. “You’re lucky you’re no longer under his control. Even though I can feel your heart aches at the loss of your wings.”
Surcy felt her heart give a painful squeeze.
“Believe me,” the mermaid said, sinking into the waters. “Nothing is worth the price of your freedom.”
She swam away, her beautiful tail flicking the water as she dove and played within it. Surcy held her breath, transfixed by the power of the Immortal. She was so lovely, and her happiness at being back where she belonged seemed to radiate from within her.
She’s happy.
Surcy envied her. She still had no idea where she belonged.
Reality came sweeping back to her, and she turned back to the shore. Walking out of the water, she checked on Daniel one more time, then took a deep breath. She needed to snag her demons and teleport back as quickly as she could. And this trip had already taken far longer than she’d planned.
Hold on, boys, I’m coming.
The world shimmered around her as she returned to the desert. Her soul-blade leapt into her hand as she appeared where she’d left her angels and demons… only, the angels were gone. And so was Mark. Only Tristan remained, his expression grim.
“What—?”
“They took Mark,” Tristan said, his tone one of complete disbelief.
“Why?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, but I think they were after him all along.”
After Mark? That doesn’t make sense. What could they possibly want from him?
She closed her eyes and felt for the angel’s trail. The one that would tell her where they had teleported to, but they’d erased it, as expected.
Opening her eyes, she tried to hide her terror. “I can’t sense where they went, so what do we do now?”
“Bring me to Daniel and the goddess.”
She reached out and took his hand.
His large hand felt warm and comforting as he squeezed hers. “Everything will be okay. Mark is tougher than he appears.”
She hoped so, because she was beginning to realize something horrible. Caine and his angels didn’t seem to know how to be merciful. That wasn’t good, not when they’d taken the demon she was growing to care for.
Please be okay, Mark. Please. We’re coming as fast as we can!
7
Mark landed hard on the ground, coughing blood, and trying to calm his swimming head. One minute he’d been in the desert fighting, and now… what had happened?
We teleported.
Damn it! That can’t be good!
He sensed the angels looming over him and fought his panic. They’d taken him? But why?
How can I help the others if I’m not with them?
Gritting his teeth, he willed himself to be strong, but he felt awful. Not at all prepared to fight for his life against impossible odds. Wearily his gaze moved over the strange place they’d teleported into.
Am I in a temple?
He squinted against the bright light that filtered from high above him and peered into the darkness of the room. Moss crept along the ground and walls of the grey brick that made up the building, and the air was tinged with salt. But otherwise, he had no clues as to where he was. The large room was empty, and there were no sounds of civilization that he could hear.
So I’m near the ocean. Well, that doesn’t bode well for an escape attempt.
He shifted slightly and clenched his teeth together to stop himself from crying out. Warmth oozed from the wound on his chest and his arm. As a demon, he could heal from such injuries, but he’d need to rest.
Not fight five angels.
Looking up at them, he watched as Frink moved closer and knelt down in front of him. With his injuries he didn't even have the strength left to scoot away from Frink. He lay there, helpless.
Frink looked Mark up and down and then spat on the dirty stone floor beside him. “I expected more from a druid.”
Mark’s hand shook as he wiped the blood from his mouth. “Sorry to disappoint.”
Frink's smile chilled Mark to his core. “Where’s the necklace?”
Fuck. “Necklace?”
“The God Finder.”
Mark’s heart slammed against his rib cage and it took everything he had not to look down at the magical necklace he wore. The angels couldn’t see it, nor could Caine. How did they learn about it? And how did they know he had it?
Even while the questions swirled through his head, he knew it didn’t matter. All that mattered was making sure it didn’t end up in their hands. If they got it, he couldn’t find the Immortals and couldn’t save them. Everything they’d sacrificed would be for nothing.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, as calmly as he could manage.
Frink’s smile widened. “I bet we could get it by severing your head.”
A couple of the angels snickered behind him.
Mark's vision swayed. He’d lost too much blood. He needed to rest or he'd never heal.
“Like I said, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Frink’s soul-blade appeared in his hand. “This might surprise you, but I’m accustomed to getting what I want. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll tell me whatever I want to know.”
A shiver ran down his spine. “Do what you have to, but I don’t have the information you’re looking for.”
Frink raised a brow. “Either way, I’ll have some fun. Boys, let’s see how much damage we can do before we kill him.”
Mark closed his eyes. He’d already died once. He’d do it again if he had to in order to save the world.
Even if it was a slow, painful death.
8
Surcy and Tristan sat on the beach, watching the waves, with Daniel still passed out between them. The afternoon temperature was perfect. A slight breeze carried the scents of vegetation and salt water, and the waves crashing against the shore were almost soothing… if they weren’t sitting with a gravely injured man and trying to figure out what to do about the one who had been kidnapped.
“Tristan, we can't just do nothing!" Surcy said, turning to the gargoyle in frustration.
Tristan looked at her, and for a minute his cold mask slipped. “He’s my best friend and like a brother to me. We died around the same time. We were reborn together. It took us years of working together to climb up through the pits of the demon-realm. Without him, a piece of myself is gone. But, we don’t know where they took him, and we don’t know how to find him. We just have to trust that he can find his way back to us.”
Surcy took a deep breath. “No, that’s just not good enough.”
He raised a brow. “Then, what do you suggest we do?”
She picked up a handful of sand and threw it. “I don’t fucking know.”
When she looked at him again, he was smiling.
“What?”
“You’re swearing again. Like yourself before you were taken.”
She felt her cheeks heat. Probably because I’ve been having sex with Daniel. “I’m just so frustrated! I feel helpless, but we’re not. There has to be something we can do!”
The truth was she was also feeling guilty. She’d grown to care for Mark. He fascinated her. With his glasses and laid back attitude, he felt like a friend she could trust. But when she saw him with a towel wrapped around his waist, and water dripping down his chest. She felt… aroused as hell. He was a handsome, kind man. Even though she didn’t remember loving him, she could imagine that he was an easy man to love.
And I did love him before.
The idea made her feel antsy. The same way she felt when the demons looked at her as if she held their hearts in her hand, as if they were imagining a thousand moments with her that she didn’t remember.
Taking off her boots and socks, she stood and walked across the sand and into the water. Her clothes had finally dried from her earlier walk into the water, but she didn’t care. She just needed to escape for a minute, to clear her head.
Diving under the water, she felt every muscle in her body tense as she kicked further and further out into the sea. I’m swimming while those bastards have Mark. Her heart squeezed, and she clenched her teeth, trying not to scream her frustration.
She needed to save Mark, but how?
Taking a deep breath, she dove back under and swam in the clear water beneath the foam of the waves. And froze. A man stared at her. No, not a man, a merman. His hair was dark, his eyes piercing, and anger swirled around him.
The water surged from him to her, swirled around her, and dragged her through the water. Panic swelled in her chest. The need for air built and built.
He’s going to drown me!
And then his face was inches from hers. Leaning close, he pressed his lips against hers, and air filled her lungs. She breathed again, and although she should have breathed in water, nothing happened. She inhaled and exhaled normally. At the bottom of the sea.
This couldn't be happening.
Immortal Truths: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Romance (An Angel and Her Demons Book 2) Page 4