by Trim, Brenda
Thanos pulled his sword from his back and swung it in a figure-eight pattern. Somewhere during the process, it lit with blue fire and filled the room with not-so-subtle vibrations. “You throw out accusations without checking the veracity of my claims. Perhaps I should invite Hades here to remind you of the contract all paranormals signed with the Underworld centuries ago.”
‘Signed’ was pushing it. Growing up, we’d all heard stories about how Hades came to Earth and informed supernaturals that they would assist his agents if they wanted to live free of the fear of demons. No one raised any objections. Until Thanos came along, I had believed it an allegory passed down through the generations.
Derek swallowed and looked from the blade to me and back to Thanos. “My mistake. Please explain how this is possible when our best healer has indicated the situation is helpless.”
Thanos kept moving his sword slowly while he replied. “When the demon attacked Violet for the third time today, I grabbed it and tried to dig through to find the witch responsible for using blood magic to call it to Cottlehill. I wasn’t able to get the identity, but I managed to grab Faye’s power. Because the summoner had such a tight hold on it, the demon hadn’t burned through it yet. If I return it to her, it will save her life.”
Gasps filled the room while many looked at me with new consideration. “What do you want in return? No one would give up such a grand prize for nothing.”
“The price is simple. I want the identity of your top-tier residents. Witches, Fae, shifters, and vampires. All of them,” Thanos told the room.
Derek exploded first. His face was red, and his expression indignant. “Absolutely not. That would be giving you a list of targets to take out one by one, so you can step in and claim our city. You can forget it.”
I stared at Derek. “Are you kidding me? Why would he want to kill us and claim this land? He owns pieces of the Underworld. Whoever is responsible for this demon has been killing residents to gather power to pierce the veil to the Underworld. If they get away with it, we are looking at hordes coming through and killing everyone in their path.”
Jorock crossed his arms over his chest. “We handle our own messes. We don’t need him.”
Thanos smiled at him. There was nothing pleasant about the expression. “You know how to contain a blood demon? And ensure it doesn’t break free of its binding? How about returning him to the Underworld? You lot can manage that?”
The way he asked the last question felt like a trap. I wracked my brain to figure out where the pitfalls were in answering it but came up empty. Somehow the answer to that would unravel the case entirely.
Viva shook her head while the others remained quiet. “How would we know Underworld magic? That’s beyond anyone’s ability.”
Derek puffed his chest out. “We don’t need Underworld magic. We will catch the demon and chop its head off. Problem solved.”
Thanos walked toward Faye with deliberate slowness. “That’s a good solution if you want to break the bond between the summoner and the demon, thus letting it off the chains holding it back. You see, once a demon is summoned to Earth, it will reincarnate here again and again until it is once again contained within the Underworld.”
So, there was no way to kill demons on Earth? That was some bullshit right there. Who the hell made those rules?
“I don’t believe that for a second," Jorock declared. “Many of my ancestors beheaded demons and sent them back to the Underworld.”
Thanos shook his head from side to side as if this conversation pained him. “If a creature escapes and finds his way to Earth, he can be killed. A summons eliminates the hold we have over demons. That’s why the one casting the spell needs so much power. They have to be able to overpower Underworld magic.”
“That’s why this asshole has killed over a dozen of our kind. You guys are supposed to be our leaders. The ones that keep chaos to a minimum and ensure we are safe. And you don’t want to even try to save one of your own. You should be ashamed of yourselves.” I couldn’t keep from curling my lip.
Camille shook her head. “It’s not that easy, Violet. I don’t believe one of our residents has done this. No one wants to be exiled. Cottlehill has always been a safe place to live."
Thanos leveled her with a hard stare. “Then the decision should be easy. I will do nothing with the list except look for evidence of blood magic.”
Derek sighed and glanced at Jorock, who bobbed his head up and down. Nods soon followed. “Fine, but I want one of us involved to ensure our resident’s safety.”
“Agreed,” Thanos said. As if she knew she was going to be saved, Faye started having another seizure. “I need to do this now before it’s too late.” He barked out a demand for a list of herbs, candles, and crystals.
We all surrounded the table while he asked Jorock to lift Faye. Thanos spread a blue silk cloth over the wood then directed Jorock to lay Faye down. “Violet. I need your assistance with this.”
I bit my lip and was about to object. I couldn’t safely do magic, but all eyes were on me, so I bobbed my head and headed toward him. “I’m going to arrange the herbs and crystals. You place the candles in the cardinal directions. When I give you the signal, light the candles.”
“Alright,” I agreed, hoping I could do this without burning Faye alive. I watched Thanos do his thing while trying to calm my nerves. My hands shook, and sweat poured down my back. I barely stopped myself from wringing my hands together. This was my worst nightmare come to life.
Thanos finished and looked up at me. “Now, Violet.”
I froze for a few seconds and stared back at him, filled with fear. You’ve got this. It’s fire. You literally have lava flowing through your veins. This will be a piece of cake. The little pep talk broke through. I could manage fire.
I held my hands out and concentrated on the wicks. “Ignis.” Columns of fire shot ten feet into the air as I lit the candles. They were straight, steady flames. A sign of a powerful witch. Why did my magic have to choose this moment to behave and put me in the spotlight? Dammit.
Thanos didn’t get caught up in my display as he lifted his fist into the air. Blue fire covered the entire thing, and before anyone could stop him, he shoved it into Faye’s chest.
Not one pair of eyes moved from me while I gasped in shock over what Thanos was doing. The council members were all too busy trying to assess me and determine how powerful I really was. They had all assumed I was weak and would never amount to a threat.
Now they knew they were wrong. The target on my back just got bigger. And became neon green. Not a flattering color for me. The council finally broke away when Faye coughed and sat up.
She looked around, blinked, and ran her hands over her chest. “How did I get here? Where’s the demon? We need to contain it before it goes on a killing spree.”
She was late to the game but had just cleared my name, so I would ignore that. I needed to find a dark practitioner, capture a demon and somehow convince the council what they saw was an aberration.
I was so screwed.
Chapter 16
Blood was seeping through the gauze wrapped around my throbbing arm. The white cotton was rapidly turning red, telling me the day’s stress hadn’t helped the healing process at all. At least you are no longer fighting a death sentence.
That was a poignant reminder. There was a bounce in my step as I climbed the stairs to my front door. The council knew the truth, and Faye was awake and going to be alright. She was far weaker than she’d ever been, and no one knew if she would ever regain what was lost, but she was alive, and that’s what mattered.
I tossed the keys on the table in the entryway and yelped when hands wrapped around my biceps. I’d been so caught up in my head that I hadn’t seen or heard anyone approaching me.
My heart went from normal to pounding a million miles an hour in the blink of an eye. Thankfully it was just Thanos. Or maybe not. His grey eyes were storm clouds and full of rage.
“What t
he hell? You’re hurting me.” He’d kissed me hours ago and had defended me to the council not that long ago, either.
Thanos shook me once and pressed me into the wall at the end of the small entryway that bordered my kitchen. “You need to start talking. How did you hide your power from me? I would suspect you of being the one that summoned the demon if it hadn’t been trying to kill you.”
Pain stole my ability to think for a couple seconds, and then his words registered. He was talking about my magic. It had displayed itself in all its glory when I helped him restore Faye’s center of magic.
“You can’t expect a woman to give all of her secrets away. That would take all the mystery out of things. And the fun.” I leaned my head against the wall, mainly because every part of me was worn thin, and smiled at him.
Some of the clouds left his eyes, but his expression remained stern. “Stop flirting. What kind of power do you have? Like I told you before, it’s different. I didn’t mind it until I felt more of it this evening. And something tells me that was the tip of the iceberg.”
Danger. That way lay mines. The lava that usually flowed through my veins turned to ice, and I went cold all over. “I honestly have no idea what you felt. My magic felt different after we formed the Backside of Forty coven, and I bonded to my best friends. That has to be it.”
Thanos sighed and released her. His eyes were only light for a split second because they landed on my bandaged arm and darkened. “Shit. You’re bleeding again.”
He stalked down the hallway and entered my bathroom. I stood there with my chest heaving while I tried to settle my heart. That wouldn’t appease him for long, and I had no idea what to say to him. I would never reveal what Fiona was. Nicotisa were hunted for their power.
The sound of cabinets opening and closing filled the house, and I pushed off the wall. My legs protested every step, and my head was right behind them. I’d never hurt so much in my life.
I was injured badly in Eidothea and had to be carried at some point, but I didn’t feel much. Between the spells Fiona and Aislinn cast and the potions and tonics, I was happily drugged until I was well into the healing process.
I let the doorframe prop me up as I watched him rifle through my bathroom. “If you’re looking for gauze, I don’t have any. I don’t keep many first aid supplies.”
Thanos turned to me, and his eyebrows slammed together. His contained power exuded explosive violence rather than raw strength. It was frightening when it hit you. “Why not? You might have magic, but you’re mortal.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “We rarely get hurt, and my kids are grown. Thankfully, my son stopped doing stupid shit years ago.”
Thanos stalked toward me and made me back up. His gaze traveled down to my lips and stayed there. Did he think about our kiss? I couldn’t stop remembering it. My tongue traced my lower lip, and the lava returned, melting the ice that had taken over.
My back hit the wall, stopping me. I glanced left and right. I could step to the side and head to either my bedroom or the kitchen. The urge to flee didn’t even register. I wanted to see what he would do.
More than anything, I wanted to feel his lips on mine again. In the past twenty hours, it had become a need I struggled to ignore. I’d dated after my divorce and been involved in a couple semi-serious relationships. Still, I hadn’t needed to be with them.
Thanos ignited a part of me I didn’t know existed before now. His gaze lifted to mine. It was as if he could see right into my soul and saw the heart of me, yet accepted me regardless of my imperfections.
“Your flame is back. I can see it again. It makes you glow.” He stopped with his boots touching the tips of the ones he conjured onto my feet.
I lifted my hands and placed them on his shoulders. I wanted to pull him to me. “My beauty’s more of an inner thing than outer. It takes someone of great talent to actually see it. I’d given up finding the diamond in the rough that would be capable.”
Thanos placed his palms on either side of my head, caging me. It gave me the sense of being trapped by a powerful predator. My body warred between desire and fear. It wasn’t until I looked in his eyes that desire finally won out.
“Looking beneath the surface is my superpower,” he murmured. His eyes were on my lips. He was looking at me as if he was going to devour me. I had more on my plate than I could handle at the moment. Yet still, my body shouted, yes please!
I wanted to laugh at his quip. Or even smile. What I managed was to part my lips and lifted onto my tiptoes. He met me halfway. Electricity and fire surged where we touched.
His body pressed me into the wall, and his arousal poked my stomach. From the feel of things, he was very well endowed. I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck, then licked the seam of his lips.
He opened and attacked. His tongue thrust into my mouth, demanding I give him everything. The way he licked and teased me turned my body pliant and made my arousal course hot and heavy through me.
My hands tangled in his hair, holding him to me. I was surrounded by him. Every worry and concern was lifted from me. All I knew was Thanos’ sensual mouth and insistent kisses.
A knock reverberated through the house. I knew I should break away from him and answer it, but I couldn’t. I wanted more of him. The knock sounded again, and I groaned against his mouth.
“Hellooo,” Fiona called out as she let herself into my house. Her gasp broke through the haze, and I pulled my lips from his.
Thanos dropped his arms but didn’t step back from me right away. I turned my head and smiled at my best friend, silently wishing she had better timing. “Hi.”
Sebastian stood behind Fiona and started laughing. “We can come back at a better time. Seems as if you’re busy.”
“Well, she’s getting busy,” Fiona quipped as she continued walking into my house. She entered my kitchen, and I heard her open some drawers.
I pushed against Thanos’ chest until he stepped back. He adjusted himself with a grimace that made me giggle. I hadn’t done that since I was a teenager. “There went your tough-guy persona.”
“You try walking around with a hard-on and tell me how comfortable it is,” Thanos growled in a low voice. Based on the choked masculine laugh, I knew Bas heard him.
I patted his chest. You’d better get used to it if you’re going to hang around me. You’re halfway in love with me already, and it’s only going to get worse.” I smiled at him, then turned and started down the hall.
Thanos stood there for one silent second before he was behind me. “You should see a professional about that projection. It isn’t healthy to ignore your feelings and assign them to someone else.”
I laughed and entered the kitchen to find Fiona standing next to Bas. Her shoulders were shaking, and she was holding a kitchen towel. I shook my head from side to side. “Faye is alive, and the council has absolved me.”
Fiona bobbed her head up and down. “So, you thought you’d celebrate by sticking your tongue down his throat while bleeding out?”
I lifted my injured arm and noticed a tiny stream running down and dripping on the floor. Fiona came forward and wrapped the towel around the wound, and pressed.
I recoiled and tried to pull my arm away. Unfortunately, Fiona held on tight. “Ow! Holy shit. That’s how Thanos broke the cuts open again.”
Fiona turned a furious glare onto Thanos. “He hurt you?”
Oh crap. I woke the protective mama bear in my bestie. “No! Thanos has helped me in more ways than I can count. The demon found me at the cabin and clawed me. It was during that encounter that Thanos managed to take Faye’s core of power which is how he saved her and cleared my name.”
Fiona’s eyes went from furious to wide in an instant. “How the hell did it find you out there? Even I had forgotten all about the place.”
“That’s what I asked.”
Thanos was watching Fiona closely as she lifted the towel and started removing the blood-stained gauze. “His summoner had to be behi
nd it. The demon vanished, which tells me it sent him there using magic, as well.”
Bas bobbed his head as he remained behind Fiona. He was bigger than Thanos and exuded menace. He would rip into Thanos if he made one wrong move to the woman Bas loved. “Otherwise, he or she wouldn’t have been able to lock onto the beast’s location.”
“I’ve been telling Violet it would take a being of immense power. I originally assumed it was a witch but have come to realize it could be an exceptional Fae. Your magics are similar, after all.”
Bas growled and lifted one corner of his lips. “The basis for a witch’s power is vastly different from the Fae. We are intimately connected to the elements where they call on their power. I can wield wind with the flick of a wrist.”
Bas demonstrated this by waving his hand and sent a gust of wind at Thanos. Thanos stumbled back a few steps before he caught himself. “Seems like there’s at least one Fae capable of conjuring demons and controlling them. Maybe even two.”
When Thanos turned his head toward Fiona, my hackles rose, and I shifted to cut off his view. I shouldn’t have bothered. Sebastian placed himself between Thanos and Fiona.
Fiona slapped Bas’s arm and tried to pull him away. “Stop it, everyone. Your suspicion is valid. But you have to understand that I would die for Violet, and so would Aislinn. Sebastian would never do such a despicable thing, but I can see why you would wonder. We are powerful. And I will not hesitate to use the full force of it to defend those I love.”
Thanos sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. For the first time, I could see the fatigue weighing him down. It had to be a considerable burden not to be able to do your job. I had no idea how things worked in the Underworld. I imagined he was under intense pressure to contain the killing machine.
“As you should. Are you alright? Has the wound closed yet?” Thanos shifted the focus off him and back to me. It was smart. I wouldn’t want to get into a debate when I was just trying to do my job.
“Not yet. The ash and goo stopped seeping out, so I think the venom is all out finally.”