Inferno of Darkness (Divisa Huntress Book 2)

by J. L. Weil

  A coy smirk. “So you do miss me.”

  My fingers curled into a fist, fighting against a deep longing to touch him, to smell him, to know that he was real. It struck me with such force, I nearly wept. I didn’t want to feel this way, but I couldn’t deny there was something between us. Was it just the soulbond or something more? Did I want it to be more? “I just want to know if I will get the chance to kick your ass.”

  “Ah, yes, a tangle would be fun indeed. However, I shouldn’t see you again. For your own safety, I should stay away.”

  Pain and regret became a living thing inside me, pounding in my chest, and I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, except he cut me off.

  “But I am selfish by nature,” he said, responding to my disappointment and anguish.

  I snorted in my head, my heart rate quickening for entirely different reasons. “That is something we can agree on.” Damn if it wasn’t becoming a trait in his character I found endearing.

  “You haven’t smiled enough lately,” he said, seeing too much.

  It wasn’t until he spoke those words that I realized I was smiling. “When will I see you?” I didn’t try to hide the eagerness in my thoughts.

  “The crown still looks good on you. Keep it safe,” he advised me, dodging my question.

  I held his stare, those violet eyes glimmering. “Ashor. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “I would never.”

  Lies!

  I sensed our time was coming to an end, but there was still so much I had to say. “I hate you for leaving me. I—” My voice snagged on a glob of emotion.

  His fingers lifted, brushing over the mirror, and I swore I felt the gentle stroke of his touch over my cheek. “Not nearly as much as I hate myself for bringing you to the underworld.”

  “But if you hadn’t, I never would have known about you.” Or the world he lived in, but honestly, I could do without knowing the five Courts of Hell. Some information was better off left in the dark; not that any of it would change Kali’s hunger for power. That had been a long time in the making.

  “And you would be safer for it,” he said quietly.

  “You can’t always protect me.”

  His cheeky chuckle caused a flush to spread through my body. “I beg to differ. Will you kiss me when I see you again, Lexi luv?”

  Would I? I knew what my lips would say. There wouldn’t even be a discussion. They would have kissed him without hesitation. “There is only one way to find out.”

  “You tempt me,” he purred, causing heat to pool in my blood regardless of the cold.

  A raven cawed from a tree near the pond, followed by another and another. Their cries echoed over the hushed woods. I lifted my head and stared out into the snowy-kissed woods, my gaze landing on raven-filled branches. More than a dozen of them stared at me with their beady black eyes—an ominous omen. Some cultures believe the sight of such a flock was a sign of death.

  Fucking great.

  Like I need more death in my life.

  I veered my gaze back down to my reflection, and my stomach dropped. Disappointment crashed into me, sharp and piercing.

  Ashor was gone. The mirror between us had shattered, leaving me alone in the woods with a flock of ravens. My fingers sank into the snow, and as I listened to the caw-caw of the black birds, a frozen tear slipped from the corner of my eye.

  5

  My feelings toward Ashor were a mess, much like my life at the moment. Wavering between tolerance to something just above hate. It made no sense to me why I was in a constant state of mayhem when it came to the Prince of Darkness. Okay, perhaps I liked him a little. And hate was too strong of a word to describe the feelings he enticed within me. Confused summed it up.

  What was important was not my irrational heart, but that what happened to him could affect me. We were soulbound, which didn’t automatically make me in love with him. So what if he was absurdly attractive. Or that he pretended to be something he wasn’t. If I’d learned anything about Ashor, it was that he trusted very few people and he would do anything necessary to keep me alive.

  I hadn’t done anything to earn that protection other than being his mate. That meant something to him. I didn’t feel worthy and was once again racked with guilt.

  The betrayal of his mother cost him dearly, which was why I sensed something was wrong. It plagued me the entire walk back home—that speck of suspicion. He had been too playful, too wickedly charming. Ashor was hiding something, and I was afraid I knew what. His warning echoed in my head. Demon war. Doom. Hell on Earth.

  Our time had been short, not giving me the opportunity to bring up the strange flames or his message. What other kinds of surprises was I in for, being his mate?

  I knew what I would do—what I had to do. For both our sakes. He might be a master at deception, but he wasn’t the only one who could trick, pretend, and play the game.

  I’d been contemplating an idea, and although my family would not approve, it was something I had to do—for Ashor, for myself. I owed him, regardless that it was because of him I’d been in the situation with his mother to begin with. Yet, if it hadn’t been Ashor who had kidnapped me, she would have gotten another demon to do her dirty deed. So in a way, she helped me.

  It was time I set my plan in motion. Seeing him today only solidified what my heart knew was right.

  But first, I wanted quiet, a long, hot bath, and glass of something to take the edge off.

  When I strolled into my house, frozen to the bone, my brother was lounging on the couch, legs kicked up on the coffee table and remote control in hand. Sneaking upstairs to my room unnoticed wasn’t an option, and besides, Travis had been avoiding me—at least, it felt that way. I had seen very little of my brother since I’d come home.

  I wanted to know why.

  Then again, I actually had rarely left my room.

  The bath and bubbles could wait, but the wine I needed now.

  His eyes were glued to the little guy running across the TV screen, so I meandered into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of moscato Chloe stashed in the cabinet before I returned to the family room. Unscrewing the lid, I plopped down beside my brother and took a long pull, letting the alcohol warm my blood as I watched him guide his guy through the video game map.

  “Tough day at the office?” he asked, his fingers flying over the buttons on the controller. He was dressed casually in gray sweats and a T-shirt.

  “Shut up,” I retorted, offering him the bottle. “I can see you spent your day hard at work.” I nodded toward the TV.

  He took the wine and slammed back a healthy swig. “Every muscle in your body needs a workout, including your fingers.”

  I grabbed the bottle back out of his hand. “Anyone ever tell you that you are lame?”

  He arched a brow, a lopsided grin tugging at his lips. “Today?”

  “Funny. No Emma?” I inquired, wondering why he wasn’t spending time with his girlfriend. They’d been inseparable since I’d been back.

  “She’s got a job interview.” He pulled his eyes off the screen to really look at me for the first time. His brows bunched together as he took in my flushed cheeks, windblown hair, and damp clothes that I really should change out of. “Where have you been? Making snow angels in the backyard?”

  Despite my sour mood, my lips twitched. There was a time when any sort of reference to the name angel had become an inside joke. My cousin thought it had been a sick twist of fate that he was a half demon who had fallen in love with a girl named Angel. The irony. “I went for a run in the woods.”

  “Did a bear attack you? Or a demon?” he asked with a raised brow.

  My eyes rolled. “Neither. I had a run-in with a shade.”

  Those usually playful eyes narrowed. “Is that why we’re day drinking?”

  I sighed, sinking lower into the couch. “Partially.”

  “Hold that thought, I just need to…” His focus turned back to the TV, a series of gunshots flying across t
he screen seconds before the little guy I was pretty sure he was controlling dropped dead. “Damn her,” he muttered under his breath, flinging the controller off to the side of the couch.

  My lips touched the bottle for another drink. A few more generous sips and I’d be trouble free for at least a few hours. “Is Angel threatening your gamer manhood again? You can’t fault her for being better than you.”

  He forked a hand through his sandy, already messy hair. “You have two seconds to take that back.”

  I grinned. “Yeah. That is not going to happen.”

  Sometimes I forgot how fast my brother could move. He wasn’t like Chase. It only took one look at my cousin to see his intensity, to feel the danger that lurked just under the surface. Travis did a better job of hiding who and what he was. He gave no warning, stealing the wine bottle from my grasp. “So, what happened in the woods?”

  At this rate, we’d have the bottle gone before my buzz kicked in. “Do you want the short answer or the long one?”

  “Seeing as I only have a few minutes before the next match starts, give me the condensed version.”

  My fingers pressed into my thighs as my thoughts traveled back to that icy pond. “I saw Ashor.”

  “What do you mean, you saw him? He’s here?” His voice spiked with sudden anger, his body hardening with tension as he went still.

  “Chill out, bro. He is still in the underworld.” I didn’t try to cover the frown on my lips. “It was some sort of telepathy thing from our soulbond.”

  He set the base of the wine bottle on top of his stretched-out leg. “I don't know how I feel about my sister being bonded to a demon. It doesn’t sit well with me, especially with a demon prince. I don’t like him, Lex.”

  This wasn’t the first time Travis had expressed his dislike for Ashor. It seemed the few times I had seen my brother, he echoed the same sentiment like a broken record. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” I asked, tilting my head to look at him.

  “Have I?”

  “Travis,” I grumbled. “Don’t play coy. We both know shit hasn’t been exactly rainbows and unicorns lately for me. And you’re not the only one who has doubts about me being mated to a demon. I don’t trust him either, not completely, but I can’t deny or hide from what is.”

  Tap. Tap. Tap. His fingers drummed over the glass bottle in a thoughtful rhythm. “We could find a way to break the link,” he suggested. “Emma and I have talked about it. There has to be someone who—”

  “Wait,” I butted in, sitting ramrod straight on the couch. “Emma and you have talked about Ashor and me?”

  “Yeah, so? What’s the big deal?”

  Well, for starters, I didn’t like other people talking about me behind my back. It felt too invasive. And if you were going to talk about me, don’t tell me. “Travis, it’s really none of your business who I decided to date or don’t date.”

  “So you’re dating the demon now?”

  “No, I never said that, only that the choice is mine to make,” I replied firmly, hoping the message would come across clear. Butt. Out.

  “You’re my sister. I can’t help but worry about you, and I want the best for you.”

  “And I respect that, but it isn’t for you to determine if Ashor is or isn’t the best for me. I get Emma and you are only trying to help, but I don’t know that I want to sever the connection between us. I don’t know what I want. However, I do agree I need more information, which is why I’m going to see Mom.”

  Travis’s eyes swung to mine, specks of gold glowing bright. “What? You can’t be serious.”

  “I am. Deadly.” I clamped my lips together and folded my arms over my chest.

  Travis twisted on the couch to face me, his features deadpanned. “Not funny. I don’t think that’s a good idea. What about Dad?”

  I shrugged, ignoring the pang in my chest at the mention of our dad. “What about him? Look, I can’t sit around at home all day and do nothing. I get that’s your deal, but I’m going crazy.”

  “Go back to school, then. Dad told me you want to drop out.”

  “I already did,” I informed, my nails digging into my jeans.

  “Lex,” he groaned.

  “I’m doing this, Travis. There is bigger shit happening. Shit I get no one wants to deal with, but the truth is, we’re involved whether we want to be or not. Angel’s in danger.”

  “How do you know that? What aren’t you telling me? What shit? Did that demon threaten Angel?” Travis rattled off, jumping to conclusions.

  That demon being Ashor. Travis not only wasn’t one of Ashor’s groupies, not that Ashor had a fan club with his winning personality, but being the overprotective brother, Travis despised Ashor for everything he put me through. I couldn’t fault my brother for his ill feelings toward my mate. I think that got to him, too, that I was bound to a demon—as if Ashor had somehow forced the connection between us. And to be fair, I wasn’t entirely certain he hadn’t or that it wasn’t in Ashor’s power to do something so manipulative. He’d proven to be quite the mastermind. “Of course he didn’t threaten Angel. I would kill him. It isn’t Ashor we need to worry about.” Or so I thought. “It's his mother.”

  “She still hasn’t given up her quest for Angel’s Hellish throne?” he guessed, because power-hungry demons didn’t just let their prize slip away. We knew firsthand how relentless a higher demon could be.

  “Not by a long shot. Ashor might have bought us some time, but in the meanwhile, we need to figure out how to deal with the Queen of Darkness once and for all.” Not just for Angel’s sake, but Ashor’s as well. I kept that bit of information to myself. Travis didn’t need to know every reason I had for going to see our mother. A girl had to have some secrets. And finding a way to release Ashor from his contract with the Wild Hunt was also on my list of shit to learn.

  I wanted to know all I could about the Courts of Hell, the Queen of Darkness, and demon contracts. What better resource than a demon herself?

  Travis slouched back against the couch, his eyes brimming with brotherly concern. “Just promise me you’ll be safe.”

  I gave him a half-hearted smile of encouragement. “Safe is my middle name.”

  “Like hell it is. Try nuisance or trouble or vixen. I got a thousand other middle names, but safe doesn’t make the cut.”

  “Fine,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. “You’ve made your point.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” he offered, sounding almost hopeful.

  I shook my head. “I don’t need a babysitter. This is something I need to do on my own. Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on Dad and Chloe.”

  “He is going to be hurt.”

  There was no explanation needed for who he was. We both knew he was speaking about our dad. “I know, but I’d rather have him upset with me than dead. At least this time, he’ll know where I am.”

  Travis’s eyes shifted to the back of my shirt where Ashor’s mark was peeking out. My hair was pulled up into a bun, leaving my neck exposed. “I hope he’s worth it.”

  I grabbed the bottle of wine from his clutches and murmured, “So do I.”

  6

  I climbed into my big fluffy bed, the sheets cool and soft against my skin as I snuggled my cheek against them. The last few days had been rough—booking my flight, explaining to my dad that I was leaving and wasn’t sure when I would be back.

  This was my last night at home before I headed off tomorrow to see Mom. Going to her, staying with her, they were big steps in my life. I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. This wasn’t about her and me trying to form some sort of relationship deeper than what we had. I was comfortable with her at a distance. I didn’t want to change the dynamic between us, and I intended to make that very clear.

  With the wheels set in motion and my mind exhausted from planning and packing, I fell asleep with ease, but the peacefulness didn’t last. Like the night before and the one before that, I awoke panting and shivering. It was becoming a
nightly ritual, as if in sleep I opened my mind to slip into Ashor’s. The dreams were the same. Slashing darkness. White-hot pain. Cracking bones. Torrential agony.

  The sounds, the torment, the anger and fear all stayed with me long after the dream faded to blackness. Seeing through Ashor’s eyes left me confused. How was it just days ago I’d seen him in his home in Brimstone, but when I closed my eyes, I was dragged into the dream as though caught in an undertow and tossed into a nightmare?

  This last one, I’d been sliced and diced with a blade. No. Not me. Ashor. Bare chested and strapped to a slab of stone, he’d been splayed out like a piece of meat ready for carving. Each slash burned his flesh but was never deep enough to puncture or cut any vital organs. Cayden was very good at his job. How they remained friends, I’d never understand, because when I glanced up at the fair-haired demon with emerald eyes, I wanted to skin Cayden alive and roast him for dinner.

  I was at the point where I didn’t know which of my visions to believe. The dreams in which I was Ashor or the mirror reflections? Which one was real? Or was it possible they both were?

  New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, the city of a million dreams, Old Swampy, and the land of Dixie. Whatever nickname you gave the Louisiana city on the Mississippi River, it was a melting pot of history that I was intrigued to explore, but touring the city wasn’t why I was here. Strolling down Toulouse Street, I followed the map on my phone. I was on a different sort of investigation.

  My succubus mother was currently charming the men and women in New Orleans, because every night was a party. The city was alive, vibrant, and brimming with culture. Demons of her nature blended right in.