by Maya Nicole
Fucking hell serpents, I had lost my mind.
"Good morning." Sammy stared back at me, her hands under her cheek. "Your panther is awkward as hell to carry upstairs when you turn to stone."
I rarely turned to stone in my panther form unless I was outside. In fact, lately I hadn't even felt the need to turn to stone, but did it anyway out of habit.
I rubbed at my eyes. "What happened?" I yawned, unused to the sensation it brought. "I feel like I could sleep for days."
"Catnip." She sat up, revealing Raphael on the other side of her. "The easiest explanation is it's a drug for cats and apparently your drug of choice."
"He drugged me?" Things were a bit hazy, but I did recall sniffing her crotch. I rubbed my hand down my face. "I'm sorry for violating you with my nose."
She patted my chest and laughed. "It was pretty hilarious watching you pounce around after a toy. It was just what I needed, a good laugh."
"Hmm?" Raphael opened his eyes and stretched, his eyes landing on me. A grin spread across his face. "Last night was fun. When can we do it again, kitty?"
I grunted and moved off the bed, not even batting an eye that Nico had been curled up on the other side of me. I wished it were Val.
"We shouldn't be having fun." I changed into a new pair of pants. "I need to go see Val. We're going to be working on his control."
"What do you mean working on his control?" Sammy jumped up after me. "With his bloodlust?"
"Yes. Maybe it will help him get over it faster. Being exposed to blood and practicing resisting his urges is what he needs to overcome it." I pulled my shirt over my head. "What do you think you're doing?"
Sammy started to pull clothes out of her bag. "I'll help."
"No." I tossed the shirt she had and tossed it on the bed. "It's too risky."
I inwardly winced as her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest. My eyes went to her erect nipples poking through the thin sleep top she had on. She cleared her throat and I tore my gaze away from them. Boobs were like catnip: irresistible.
"Why is it okay for you to risk it but not me?" Her face turned pink with anger. Despite everything, I'd never seen her anger so visibly. "I should be the one to help him. I'm the one that set it off."
"Exactly. That's why you shouldn't be anywhere near him." I shoved my feet in my boots. I knew it was harsh, but it was the truth. "He's going to hurt you and then he'll never forgive himself. I can turn to stone and protect myself if needed."
She hadn't moved but had tears in her eyes. I stood and rubbed my hands over her arms as her bottom lip trembled. I would never have noticed if I wasn't standing so close to her. "Maybe I can heal him," she whispered.
I kissed her forehead. "There's nothing to heal, sweetie. It's in his nature to want blood." I stepped away and Nico wrapped his arms around her waist, putting his chin on her shoulder.
I hated seeing her hurting, but there was no other option. It was either I try to help get the old Val back, or we kill him.
Chapter 3
Kage
Sleeping in a bed with three other males was not something I ever pictured myself doing. After the catnip comedy show in the dining room and figuring out how to get a stone panther upstairs, there had been an awkward moment where none of us knew what to do for sleeping arrangements.
There were plenty of rooms in the castle. Yet, when we made our way up the stairs, we all ended up with Sammy in her room. None of us wanted to leave her alone.
I wasn't about to sleep in a bed with three other men, so I curled up on a lounge chair in the sitting area of the bedroom. I didn't need much sleep and could survive without it, but it was nice to shut my eyes once in a while.
I woke with a jolt sometime just before morning. My heart was racing and sweat covered my brow. I reached into my pocket, but when my hand found nothing, I jumped to my feet, frantically searching for my rag.
I checked every pocket and looked under every cushion.
The atrium.
I trembled at the thought of going back to that place alone. There was an air of wrongness there, and it certainly looked the part. If a blood oath had been broken there, there was no telling what haunted it.
I walked quickly through the corridors, stopping to listen for sounds. The castle was quieter than usual, but that was generally what happened when a death occurred. I had experienced the same quietness many times over when Lilith resided here. Luckily, I was never on her radar.
Mainly because I stayed away from her, an easy thing to do when one had invisibility on their side.
I stopped outside the atrium and calmed myself down. Nothing was going to happen. It was just an abandoned part of the castle I had just has sex in without anything happening. Why would anything happen now?
My eyes widened as I entered. There was an explosion of life that shimmered in the moonlight. I was glued to my spot as I looked around at all the colors, some of which I couldn't even name.
There was green, as green as Amari's eyes, covering the bench I had made love to Sammy on. It spread out across the room as if it were trying to escape the confines of the room.
I hadn't quite believed Raphael and Sammy when they said they had grown green grass after having sex on the ground. Now, Sammy was apparently able to grow plants. I couldn't even tell where the roots were, there was so much foliage.
Tiptoeing so as to not step on too much of it, I made it to the bench and spotted my rag on the ground. I had been so neglectful not checking to make sure I had it, but when Nico had called me, it had sounded urgent.
I needed to discuss the appropriate times for him to call on me. I'd hardly call Amari flinging a toy around as appropriate.
Careful not to disturb the leaves on the vines that were fanning around the bench, I picked up my rag and gently folded it before securing it in my pocket. I breathed a sigh of relief; if I had lost my rag, I wouldn't make it a week.
I turned to head back to the main part of the castle when a noise on the ground stopped me. I looked down to see what had made the metal on stone ringing sound and spotted an old key. I picked it up and turned it over in my hand.
"That key holds many secrets." I jumped and dropped the key into a bush.
A man with a luminous monkey sitting on his shoulder had appeared out of nowhere. I didn't know if the man or the monkey surprised me more.
"Son, don't freak out." He held his faintly glowing hands out in front of him. "I'm not going to hurt you."
I backed away, the backs of my knees hitting the bench, and I plopped down hard on the vine-covered surface. I cringed and then scrambled back behind it, trying to put more distance between myself and the man.
"Where is she?" His voice was light and friendly, but I wasn't going to let that fool me. The friendly ones were the ones that smiled in your face then stabbed you in the back.
I continued my backward retreat toward the other door to the atrium since the man was standing in between me and the door I had entered through. I had no idea where the door led, but it had to be better than being murdered by a man with a monkey.
I thought they had gone extinct, which set off even more warning bells in my head. It was plausible there were a few left, just like it was possible more brownies were left.
"Who?" My voice was shaking, but I hadn't stuttered. That would be even more telling of how weak I was. It was actually a miracle I was even still in existence. I was an easy target.
He cleared his throat and then the monkey made several squeaking noises, his squeaks sounding an awful lot like words. He looked back at me again, blinked a few times, and then his eyes changed from brown to purple.
"My daughter."
I gasped. The man in front of me looked nothing like he did the last time I had seen him, except for his eyes. There was no mistaking the eyes of the shaman. No one had been able to find him after he disappeared, and now it was clear it was because he’d changed his appearance.
I was impressed, but also freaked out. Had
he been around this whole time, watching and waiting?
"Her father is King Rian." I stopped at the door, trying the handle. It was locked and made of iron. Iron was impossible to get through.
I could have gone invisible, but also didn't know if the risk was high enough yet to spend so much of my magic utilizing it.
"He raised her, yes." A wistful look crossed his face. "I had an affair with her mother."
The monkey started squeaking again, and I watched with uncertainty as he jumped down and scurried across the floor to me. He scaled me like I was a tree and sat on my shoulder.
"Is he going to kill me?" Smaller animals could be the deadliest. Nico was a prime example.
"No. Well, I shouldn't say that. If you give him reason to, then yes he will kill you. Just like you kill if you have reason to." Did he know I had killed? He took a step closer, but I didn't move. His eyes swept down my body and landed on my pocket. "Your rag is hindering you from truly helping my daughter. Give it to me."
"Wh-what? N-n-no!" Before I could stop him, the monkey dropped off my shoulder, hooked his little hand in my pocket, and snatched it. "Hey!"
I lunged forward after him, but then hit something solid and stumbled back. I rubbed my forehead and then dropped to my knees as the little bastard monkey gave the shaman my rag.
"P-p-please." I put my hands on the clear dome that was surrounding them. "I'll d-die."
"Son, you will not die. It's just a self-cleaning rag that was spelled by a witch. Who told you it was different?" He clucked his tongue and examined it.
"My father." I bit out with more venom than I knew was possible. I hit the dome again, but nothing happened. I had never heard of anyone being able to shield themselves in such a way.
"Your father was a fool. You've been using this as a crutch." He brought a hand to his chin. "You are powerful in your own right. You do not need a rag to harness your power. You just need to believe in yourself."
The words rang in my ears. I had spoken them myself to Sammy, but hearing them from someone else directed at me made them seem ridiculous.
I sat back on my heels and watched in horror as he balled up my rag and it caught fire before disappearing along with the magical dome that had been protecting them. I fell forward onto my hands.
I couldn't stop the tears from falling and my throat from closing up. My life was over. I'd shrivel away and die. First my skin would turn a darker hue, then it would shrivel, and eventually harden like a tree trunk.
I sat back on my heels and looked up through the broken windows at the sky. Maybe it was possible to find a new rag.
The monkey moved toward me and put his tiny hand on my knee. I wanted to bat him away or throw him across the room, but he looked at me with his little glossy eyes and all I wanted to do was scoop him up and hug him to me.
I was such a wuss. How could a woman like Sammy even be interested in a man like me? Weak, insecure, and emotional as a succubus in heat.
"I'm Picard Rupert Ferdinand the Sixth. My time with the Great One is done now." The tiniest, high-pitched voice came from his mouth.
I blinked through my tears. "The Great One?" I looked up from Picard, but the man was gone. "Where'd he go? Why'd he destroy my rag?" My voice came out easily. Too easily.
"I don't know. He puzzles me." He climbed up on my leg. "Will you protect me?"
I wiped my cheeks. "Me? Protect you?" I laughed. "I'm the one that needs protecting. My rag-"
"As you were told, your rag was holding you back. It wasn't what was collecting energy. You were. It was all in your head. Everyone has something that holds them back."
I didn't believe a word he was saying. "I don't understand. How will I get my energy? The rag collects it while I clean."
"No, it doesn't. Brownies have always been gullible. You can simply place your hand on the same things and it will collect the energy even more efficiently if you put your mind to it. The beliefs of your people are ludicrous. See that fountain over there? Go put your hand inside it." I held out my hand and he jumped onto it. He climbed up my arm to my shoulder. "I am used to riding around in a jacket pocket. Your pants pocket would be a tight fit and I don't even want to think about fighting for space with your dick. Your shoulder will have to do."
I tried to hold in my laugh, but a monkey had just mentioned being uncomfortable with riding in my pocket because of my dick. Maybe I was still asleep and having a bad dream. I would wake soon, I was sure of it.
I stood and walked to the large fountain in the middle of the atrium that was full of dust and dead plants. I could sense the energy swirling within it, there was so much of it.
I reached for my pocket out of habit and frowned when my fingers grasped at nothing.
"Go on. Put your hand in it and believe."
I rolled my eyes because the monkey was ridiculous, but I relented and did what he asked. Nothing happened.
"Believe."
I took a deep breath and shut my eyes. I focused on the particles and slowly moved my hand like I would if I had my rag. I wanted the light to fill me.
Faster than ever, the light particles rushed up my arm and gathered in my belly. I gasped and pulled my hand back. "It can't be! Why would my family lie?"
"Brownies are peculiar folk. Maybe it was to keep you in line. You're different from your ancestors." He put his hand against my cheek. "You're strong."
I twisted my lips to the side and glanced at him. "Why should I trust you?"
"I've been here since the beginning." He spoke with a wistfulness that led me to believe he'd been through a lot. "I've seen death's door five times. The last time being not too long ago."
"Is that why you are the sixth?" I thought I was weird, but this monkey was something else.
"Precisely. Now, if you'd be so kind to take me to meet Samara."
I couldn't believe I was buying into what a monkey was telling me. He was distracting me from thinking about my rag, and the fact that I had just seen the shaman. The same shaman that helped Lilith try to open up Inferna to Earth. Who was also apparently Sammy's father. Did she know her father wasn't King Rian?
I was headed up the stairs when Amari was coming down. He stopped in his tracks when he saw me, his eyes going straight to Picard.
He narrowed his eyes at him. "Where did he come from?" Amari looked behind me and down to the landing as if searching for something. "He was alone?" I nodded. "You're sure?"
"He wants to eat me." Picard clutched my shirt collar. "I can see it in his eyes."
"He isn't going to eat you. He prefers catnip." I sniggered and started to pass Amari, but he stuck out his arm to stop me.
"Where did he come from? Usually they have some kind of protector. Regardless, you can't just bring stray animals in here. Especially ones that haven't been seen in centuries." He backed up a step and looked down at me. Then he reached out toward Picard, who snapped at him. "Shit, he's vicious."
"He found me." I stood a little taller. "You're not allowed to touch him."
I wasn't sure how much I should tell him about the shaman. I needed to tell Sammy first, not Val's boyfriend.
Amari laughed and started down the stairs. "Whatever you say, Kage. I'll be keeping my eye on him for any monkey business. It wouldn't be that hard to smash him with my boot. I'm going to go check the perimeter of the castle before seeing Val."
Picard lifted his middle finger at Amari's retreating back. I didn't know what the hand gesture meant, but from the look on Picard's face, it wasn't good.
"He's okay once you get to know him. I mean, as okay as a gargoyle can be." I continued up the stairs.
"See. You're strong, standing up for me like that against a predator."
I appreciated his words of encouragement, but Amari would never hurt me; he loved Sammy too much.
I opened the bedroom door to find everyone changing their clothes, and my eyes went straight to Sammy's naked back. My dick twitched and I gulped. I wasn't used to seeing a woman and being instantly
aroused.
"Interesting arrangement," Picard commented. "All of you are together? I have seen a lot of that lately. One dick must not be enough these days."
I frowned. I didn't see any of us as just dicks. "Well, sort of. We're all with her and Val and Amari are also together."
"Kage?" Nico pulled his shirt over his head and turned toward me. "What the fuck is that on your shoulder and why are you talking to it?"
My face heated now that everyone was staring at me in various stages of undress. Raphael still had his dick out and he turned quickly and bent over to pick up his clothes, his boyvaries on full display.
"Well, I'll be damned! Picard!" Raphael threw his shirt on the bed and stumbled forward as he pulled on his pants.
Picard jumped from me to Raphael and hugged his neck, his short arms not reaching far. I scratched my head. "You know Picard?"
"Do I know Picard? Who doesn't know Picard? We met not too long ago. Does that mean Lucifer is here?"
"No. I used my fifth life, so it was time to find a new family." Picard kissed his jaw and patted his cheek as if they were old chums.
Raphael looked at me. "Care to translate?"
"What?" I made a face in confusion.
"Not sure of his reasoning, but he only lets one person at a time understand him. All we hear is his awful squeaking." Raphael placed him back on my shoulder as I translated what he had said. "How did you come across him? He usually isn't alone."
I looked across the room at Sammy, who was pulling on her boots. She looked up and a sexy little smile played on her lips. Was she thinking about last night?
"The shaman brought him." I kept my eyes locked on her as she slowly stood. "I went to the atrium to find my r-r-r-rag." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "He appeared."
"What did he say?" Sammy stood in front of me, her eyes pleading with me for information. She did know. How long has she known about her real father? "Is he here?"
"She's beautiful." Picard clapped his hands together. "So much light! And her hair! It matches His eyes."