The door of the stairway opened behind them to reveal the FBI group. Simms, Roy, and several others Aetos had never met all trooped through the door like latecomers to the party.
After everyone had hugged Spencer and made it clear how happy they were to have the group back together, Simms motioned to Madison. “I’m sorry about this but I’m supposed to take you in. They’re planning to bring charges against you,” he said, shaking his head as the rest of the group began to protest. “It’s the official stance. Mostly, we just need help getting the demons back where they’re supposed to be. I need all of you on this.”
Spencer motioned to the box where the demon was contained. “With things like that, it should be easier to round them up. I think I can exile them back to hell instead of perdition but I’ve never done it before. I’m going to have to talk to the Valkyries and see what they think.”
Aetos smiled, feeling a pride in Spencer. He knew that no matter what, Spencer would help to fix what had been done and would remain loyal to his friends. Aetos admired that about his liege.
After a few of the others had left, Aetos noticed a man watching them from one of the offices. Sheenan. He recognized him immediately and anger bubbled up inside him.
There was anger on Sheenan’s face, the kind of cold fury that made Aetos think of Hades. The fact he watched them put Aetos on edge. He reached over to nudge Gabe’s arm, nodding to where Sheenan stood.
Gabe and Aetos both jerked to attention when Sheenan raised a gun. It took Aetos half a second to dive in front of Spencer. It wasn’t Spencer the man was aiming at.
An explosion of sound filled the air . . . and Madison fell to the ground, blood blossoming from her chest. She didn’t make a sound, her eyes fixed on Ian Gregory.
Gabe got to the man in two long strides. With a quick twist and a slight pivot, Gabe had the man disarmed and on the ground. His knee was pressed into the man’s back as Sheenan cursed and promised vengeance against them all. No one even noticed.
Every person and otherworlder of the group was huddled around Madison. Her blood was in a pool all around, her mouth working silently as more of it gushed from her chest.
“Do something, please,” Ian wailed, his hands clutched around Madison’s.
The one who had been introduced as Luken knelt down on her other side and gave Ian a hard look. “I can’t heal her. All I can do is keep her from dying. The doctors here might be able to do something for her but there’s no guarantee.”
“Do it,” Erkens said, his face sheet white as he nodded at Luken. “Keep her from dying. We’ll find a way to save her.”
And a new world was born that day. Aetos had no idea what would change. He knew changes were coming, though. There were consequences to tampering with lives. He knew each and every one of them would pay those consequences gladly for Madison. She was their heart, their soul, the one who held them all together.
EPILOGUE
Hades sat back in his throne as the man was dragged forward, his eyes narrowed at the sight of him. He knew the man. And the news he had been given was nothing that would please his Cathia.
He had spent the last fifteen years doing all in his power to please Cathia. She was all he wanted and he was determined to be certain she was happy. It had not been easy recently.
With the death of her sister and the news of the things that had happened to her son, Cathia had changed. She no longer looked at him in the same way she had when he had first rescued her from the man who had owned her.
Now, with what had been done in the human world and the danger Spencer was now in, he knew how it would affect Cathia. And in turn, it would affect him. He was not pleased by that fact. Not at all.
“Bhesaj, stand up,” he commanded, scowling as the dead who sat in his throne room all stood as though the command had been for them.
The man looked up, though didn’t rise. “You had no right,” the man mewled, tears rising in his eyes.
Hades twiddled his fingers on the arm of his throne. “No right? What did I not have the right to do, shaman?”
His puffy eyes turned up to meet Hades’ full on. “You took my girl to the underworld. She was a good girl and you banished her to torment!” A mix of tears and mucus came from the man as he rocked back and forth, not even seeming to notice that he was dead as well.
“Who was your daughter, Bhesaj?” Hades asked, not caring, simply curious.
He sniffled. “Nona Zeurst. Her mother was one of my secretaries. Beautiful woman. She didn’t want Nona to grow up as the daughter of a shaman. She was afraid being so near the spirits of the dead would damage the girl. She took my Nona to Pittsburgh and the investigator girl chose not to save her,” he blubbered, his face contorted by rage.
Hades raised his brows. “Do you refer to Madison Meyer, the girl who took out the incubus who took girls to sell as sex-slaves?”
“Yes,” Bhesaj said through his teeth, his face growing red with fury.
Hades threw back his head and laughed. “The girl is human and managed to kill a demon that most of my men couldn’t take out. She saved as many of those girls as she could but you think it’s her fault that your daughter died?”
“He told me it was true. He told me that Madison Meyer refused to look for my Nona.”
“He who?”
“His name is Dr. Renat. He is a scientist who works for the Preternatural Science Agency.”
Hades shook his head. “The man lied to you, fool.” He tipped his head to the side. “Is this why you used the girl to release the demons into the world? Did you truly believe you were doing something to honor the memory of your daughter?”
“You took my Nona to the underworld!”
“No, I did not.” Hades rose and raised his hand, nodding when the ravishing figure of the Valkyrie appeared in front of him. “Aldora, this is Bhesaj, the shaman who released the demons into the world,” he said, folding his arms. “He believes his daughter, Nona Zeurst, was taken to the underworld. Please inform this man where his daughter’s soul resides.”
Aldora bowed her head to Hades before turning her blazing eyes on Bhesaj. “The soul of Nona is in paradise. I did all in my power to save her. I was too late, though. The man who took her--”
“The spirits told me my Nona was in the underworld.”
“They lied,” Aldora said, drawing her sword. “In life, you were a shaman, a man who acted as an intermediary between the spiritual world and the mundane world. If you had spoken to me or my sisters, we would have told you where Nona’s soul was taken. You chose not to and took steps that will bring about the end of the world.” She rose to her full and very impressive height, turning back to look at Hades. “I went to the PSA to collect the soul of the one called Dr. Renat but he escaped. I do not know how. I vow to you, I will find him, though.”
Hades rubbed his brow, flicking his fingers at Bhesaj. “Tell me, Aldora. What should be done with this fool?” he asked, enjoying the look of horror on the shaman’s face.
Aldora glanced at the man and smirked. “My lord, I believe he should join the spirit group of Ian Gregory. I believe Ian is capable of discerning the difference between good council and bad. I also believe it will be a lovely torment for Bhesaj to see the ways he has erred.”
Hades snapped his fingers and pointed. “This is an excellent idea, Aldora. Will you escort the man’s spirit back and be certain he is known by the rest of the spirit group as the fool who allowed himself to believe that ending the world was a good way to honor his daughter’s memory.”
Aldora bowed her head in a respectful gesture. “It will be done,” she said and turned to face Bhesaj.
He turned his streaming eyes up to meet Hades’, shaking his head as more tears poured from him. “My Nona was the only hope I had. Now that she is gone, I did not believe my own life was worth much. I was foolish, though maybe a culling is just what the world needs. Maybe--”
Aldora grabbed the blubbering man by the front of his shirt and lifted him off
the ground in a staggering display of strength. “A culling? You believe the world needs a culling?” she shouted and flung him back. “You are not just a fool. You are a psychopath. I pray the other spirits torment you for the rest of eternity.”
Hades threw his head back and laughed as the ravishing young Valkyrie beat the still mewling shaman to a pulp. He enjoyed the show. Even the righteous fury he usually found annoying was a pleasure to see.
By the time the Valkyrie had dragged the man’s spirit off to do his penance, Hades knew what he would do. He liked the earth realm. He would go and lend a hand in bringing the demons back to their place.
Maybe he would even get to know his son. He hoped the time away from Cathia would give him some peace and maybe it would help him to understand just what was so special about having a child. Or he would help Lucifer’s followers to end the world and simply start anew. He would decide which was the better option later on.
Acknowledgements
This book is my thirty-eighth publication. I’ve gotten so used to writing, my days don’t feel complete without it. I hope you love my books as much I as I love working on them.
My editor is an amazing person. Without her help in plotting, advice on psychological and physical traumas, my books would be downright boring! Thank you for all your work!
And to everyone who reads these books . . . you are amazing. I hope you’re willing to keep reading because Maddie’s story might never end!
Keep in touch with me online at:
My weblog:
www.authorshannonreber.com
My Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Shannon-Reber-1450668291923946/
My Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ShannonArtWrite
My Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14219796.Shannon_Reber
Other Books by Shannon Reber
www.amazon.com/author/shannonreber
In The Works (The Light Bearer Prequel)
In Their Midst (The Light Bearer Book 1)
The Key (reprogramming the gods Book 1)
Ill-Fated (The Cintamani Chronicles Book 1)
Ill-Omened (The Cintamani Chronicles Book 2)
Ill-Starred (The Cintamani Chronicles Book 3)
The Cintamani Chronicles (The Complete Trilogy)
The Girl In White (A Madison Meyer Mystery Volume 1)
The Exiler (A Madison Meyer Side Story)
The Dark Spirit (A Madison Meyer Side Story)
The Infernal Goddesses (A Madison Meyer Side Story)
The Thirteen Bends (A Madison Meyer Mystery Volume 3)
The Mistaken Son (A Madison Meyer Side Story)
The Team’s Tales (The Madison Meyer Side Stories)
The Shadow Walkers (A Madison Meyer Mystery Book 4)
The Trail of Ruins (A Madison Meyer Mystery Book 5)
Friends and Foes (The Druid Heirs book 1)
Life and Loss (The Druid Heirs book 2)
Peace and Peril (The Druid Heirs book 3)
The Druid Heirs (The Complete Trilogy)
Misery (A Short Story)
Cadger (The Annwyn Revolution Book 1)
Illusion
Gray (Awakening Book 1)
White (Awakening Book 2)
Black (Awakening Book 3)
The Stockades (The Uniters Code Book 1)
The Sepulcher (The Uniters Code Book 2)
The Stronghold (The Uniters Code Book 3)
The Sanctum (The Uniters Code Book 4)
The Shrine (The Uniters Code Book 5)
The Uniters Code (The Complete Series)
The Seer (The Seal of Solomon prequel)
The Puppeteer (The Seal of Solomon Book 1)
The Gatekeeper (The Seal of Solomon Book 2)
The Fire Wielder (The Seal of Solomon Book 3)
The Seal of Solomon (The Complete Series)
About The Author
Shannon Reber was born a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . or her imagination was anyway. She lives in western New York with her husband and a wide variety of both real and imaginary friends who often battle it out for dominance in her head. Who needs another normal person in this messed up world? Read her books, or the evil overlord will take control of her mind!
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