I don’t care about any of that. Well, maybe I do a little. If you have a giant Nephilim running around because some tramp seduced you, I might need to know before our relationship goes any further.
I couldn’t stop the soft chuckle, sending painful vibrations through my chest. Who told you such a ridiculous thing?
Even through our mind speak, I heard her tiny sigh. No one. I’m just guessing.
I have never told anyone what I did to be sent here, but I would like to tell you.
Malachi—
We are mated, kitten. You need to know this.
What are you talking about? How in the hell are we mated? You haven’t even asked me out on a date yet.
Even in my dire predicament, she made me want to laugh. I will explain that part later, but you must know the bond is permanent. Right now, I want to tell you of my sin. It will be easier this way instead of seeing the look on your face.
Chicken.
Bwaack.
You’re stalling.
I closed my eyes, regret flooding my chest. I know. I’m here because I disobeyed orders to save Joan of Arc. I let her die.
Her silence all but told me what I’d known would happen if she’d ever found out what I’d done.
That’s it? No earth-shattering story? No giant kid? Malachi, you are such a doofus.
I hadn’t expected that reaction.
Do you know who I admire most from history? Joan of Arc.
I groaned. Figured.
Stop it. I admire her for her bravery. She believed in something so strongly, it influenced those around her to fight for themselves and what they, too, believed in. Without her, King Charles wouldn’t have retaken France, and it wouldn’t be the country it is today. She is a beacon of hope to everyone, Malachi. Without her life—and death, too—the world would have missed out on one of the most incredible saints. You did nothing wrong, and I would stand up against anyone who says otherwise.
I closed my eyes and fought for control of my emotions. My little kitten had turned into a lioness. For me. How had I gotten so lucky? I was still imprisoned, tortured, my soul being drained by an evil succubus, but I was the luckiest demon-slash-Fallen in Dark World.
Malachi?
Thank you, Willow. Thank you for believing me and accepting me as I am.
I know what it’s like to not be accepted, silly. My entire life is proof of that. Now, are you ready to come back to me? I think we have a few things we need to talk about. Face to face this time.
I was born ready.
Can’t believe you just said that. I felt her chuckle. Grab your big-boy pants, ‘cause this might hurt a little.
That didn’t sound good.
~ ~ ~
Willow, the Nightmare Realm
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Johnna yelled at me from her position on the other side of the valley.
I didn’t know what to tell her. I wasn’t sure myself if my crazy plan would work. I did know one thing for certain. I really, really hated this place. From the moment I’d set foot on the accursed gray sand again, my reserves of self-preservation kicked into overdrive.
“I don’t want to be here,” I whispered. No one heard me. We were spread out around the rim of an empty valley, one of the few places left not filled with any columns. Joachim’s words upon our arrival haunted me.
He’d taken one look around at the thousands of columns dotting the floor of the valley next to where we’d apparated and said, “If we don’t stop her soon, we may all find ourselves here.”
I also discovered another thing I never wanted to do again—apparate.
Now here we were, trusting me and my plan. Gods, but I hoped this worked. Not only would I lose Malachi, but I would also lose credibility with my new friends and family.
The thought of living without Malachi terrified me. The feelings he created inside my heart, inside my very soul, were foreign to what I’d known in my other life. I’d grown up without the warmth of a family, a mother’s hugs, or sibling laughter. I had found these feelings with Malachi. He gave me hope. He made me believe in myself—even like myself.
I had to tell him all of this. It set my nerves into a tizzy all over again.
I curled my upper lip into a snarl. “I will not lose you now, Malachi.” Focusing this small reserve of determination, I allowed it to grow.
Standing on the valley’s rim directly across from me, Joachim raised his arms into a wide vee, palms to the sky as if in praise. A movement below caught my eye. Twenty prisoners, captured by Lucien’s soldiers while trying to retake the Demon Castle, stood staring at each other in confusion. True to his word, Niki had found enough prisoners still alive for our plan to work.
“Now!” Joachim commanded. We straightened our arms, holding them outward at a slight angle. With our splayed hands facing each other, we connected an impenetrable field around the valley and its new inhabitants.
A strong surge of power coursed through me, anchoring my feet to the sandy earth. Joachim’s body shimmered, a beautiful, sparkling aura surrounding him. It grew as the incandescent halo rippled and widened, reaching across the chasm. I knew it was searching for me. Deep inside me I felt a tiny nudge that quickly grew into a harsh tugging sensation as his aura surrounded me. My stomach muscles spasmed, stretching taut, and across the center of the power ceiling we’d formed, I joined with Joachim, our power undulating like waves on a turbulent sea.
The first screams slammed into me, and my focus faltered. Until I heard Malachi’s whispered caress in my mind, Kitten.
My idea, so far, was working.
~ ~ ~
Malachi, Tarja’s camp
From the reports delivered to Tarja this morning, the fighting was taking its toll, and Lucien’s army had suffered massive losses. I was now incredibly weak. I could no longer lift my chin from my emaciated chest. I also missed my chains. They were my security blanket, although I would never tell anyone.
I didn’t know how it had happened, but for the first time ever, Watchers were dying. Somehow, Tarja and her succubi had figured out how to kill them. For days, I’d strained my senses, hoping for the barest hint of their secret. I refused to think about what might happen. If Tarja’s army won, many worlds would fall, maybe even entire universes. I had never felt this helpless, sitting here wasting away when my brothers-in-arms were fighting and dying for the lives of so many.
For the millionth time, my mind searched for Willow’s, needing to know she was all right. In the past few hours, this need had grown, becoming an obsession. Now my mind continually scoured the surrounding realms, frantically trying to find her.
Malachi?
Her voice immediately soothed my inner demon, and the veil of confusion around me lifted, freeing some of my power. For how long, I didn’t care. I would use whatever I could get.
Focusing only on Willow, a familiar burning poured through me. My body arched backward, and the wooden chair holding my restrained body cracked in two. The treasured feel of my chains slithered up and over my still emaciated chest and shoulders until they rested in their familiar crisscrossed position.
My heavy limbs flew outward and my body rose into the air, as a massive amount of power poured into my depleted cells, filling them with more magical energy than I’d felt in a long time. Slowly, my vision turned black as the world around me disappeared. Willow’s beautiful face filled my mind, her hair golden, the soft curls long and flowing around her head—a lion’s mane. Her silver eyes swirled, creating an ethereal kaleidoscope, a churning vortex pulling me to her.
Willow?
Hold on, Malachi. We’re bringing you home. Her bubbling laughter blended with the massive energy tearing through me, filling in the hollows and craters that had me resembling a cadaver.
The
last thing I heard was Tarja’s shriek of rage as the prison fell away, and the darkness carried me forward.
~ ~ ~
Willow, the Nightmare Realm
I closed my ears to the wails and moans echoing around me from the tortured beings below. The moment I’d reached out to them, their heinous acts hit me as hard as a punch to the face. No longer was I worried about their innocence. They had none.
Whatever power had protected me during my life, I used it now, channeling and combining it with Joachim’s. I had no clue what I was doing, but some inner knowledge guided my actions. I caught myself smiling—one of those toothy ear-to-ear ones. I probably looked like a major dork but, at that moment, I didn’t care.
Johnna met my glance with a quick wink and a smile of her own. My heart filled, swelling with emotion. Only one person was still missing. Malachi. I concentrated on him. Everything about him—his beautiful face, his strong arms protecting me, and those adorable horns peeking out from his thick black hair.
The air around me shimmered. Heavy, ruddy-skinned arms wrapped around my waist and held me tight against an equally muscled chest. The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as goose bumps skittered across my neck and over my body from his warm breath as he nuzzled my earlobe.
“About time you showed up, demon mine,” I whispered.
“Mr. Muscles, you’re late!” Johnna hollered, her laughter lifting everyone’s mood.
“Now, there’s only one problem left to solve,” I muttered.
“What’s that, kitten?”
“How to finish. We never got that far in our grand scheme of how this was all going to play out.”
“Your confidence is overwhelming.” He continued kissing and nibbling my neck, sending wave after wave of delicious chills over me. “How about I help you out?”
“Hmmm. Might be kinda nice, come to think of it. What—” The power flowing from me shuddered and backlashed, propelling me against Malachi and shoving us both to the ground.
“Joachim!” Johnna’s scream curdled my blood.
Look to the Watcher King, Willow! DC’s shrill voice screamed in my head.
Scrambling to our feet as we untangled our arms and legs seemed to take forever. The sight greeting me stopped my heart. Joachim’s arms were still thrown wide but were now raised upward. Tarja stood in front of him with the palm of her hand flat against his chest.
“Oh, my gods . . .” I tugged on Malachi’s arm, but I might as well have been tugging on an immovable object. “She’s killing him! We have to do something—you have to do something!”
“Johnna already is. Look.”
I followed the direction of his finger. My cousin was amazing. Her unblinking gaze was hard and focused on Joachim as his upturned face pulled tight in horror, his eyes widened in agony.
My own breathing turned shallow.
This man had been there with me, however briefly, when no one else could. He’d given me hope and showed me an inner strength I never knew I had. Joachim had tried to fill the role my father would have, if he’d survived. After Malachi, Joachim was the next most important man in my life, and I’d be damned before I’d let that soul tramp take him from me too.
Girl not strong enough. King will die, DC said. The power is yours, Willow. Believe in yourself.
I squeezed Malachi’s arm until I lost feeling in my fingers. “Malachi, I don’t know what to do.”
He peeled my hand from around his arm and linked my fingers through his. “No. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Johnna, it’s that she won’t stop until she finds a way to save him. Oh, and if you interrupt her, you usually die.” He patted the back of my hand. “Believe me, it’s best to just let her finish.”
He pulled me closer, the heat from his chest inflaming my back. It felt heavenly. “Kitten, look at his face.” I studied Joachim, noticing his lowered head. He now looked directly at Tarja instead of the sky. “I’m not sure,” Malachi continued, “but the dark swirling eye thing can’t be good for the succubus.”
I slowly shook my head, knowing DC was right. “It’s not enough.” Joachim’s head reared back as Tarja’s power increased. Johnna was losing him. Desperation filled me. I focused on Tarja and stepped away from Malachi to stand at the valley’s edge, unmindful of Malachi’s grip on my waist or the trickle of sand from underneath my feet as the edge slowly sifted downward.
My gaze on the succubus hardened. Like an old reel of film, crackling and popping as it played, I watched her long life. I saw her happiness and joy decline into a seething hatred for not only the Watchers, but for all who stood in her path. Her unrequited love for Zander turned into vengeance and hate. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Why hadn’t my dad said anything? Had he even known?
I forced my mind back to Tarja, watching as she punished everyone for her own failures, until not even the taking of souls helped. The Demon Queen’s plan had given Tarja a chance at revenge against any perceived wrongs committed against her. But when the queen died, she’d turned to another. Someone more powerful. I searched her mind but found no hints as to who this new player was.
I felt nothing for Tarja—no pity, no redemption. So many deaths, such extreme pain. I let go of everything: my past, my own heartache and insecurities. I concentrated only on her.
Her arms flew outward as if pulled by an invisible rope. Her feet followed suit until she was spread-eagled in the air.
Like a marionette, I turned her around to face me, her frustration and bewilderment evident in her flushed, open-mouthed expression. Her purple gaze held mine in slow recognition, her beautiful face twisting into a hideous mask of raw hatred.
“Tarja, I condemn you for the thousands of innocent deaths committed by your hand. But mostly, I condemn you for the death of the Watcher, Zander, whose only crime was falling in love with another woman. My mother, Cassia. For your crimes against Dark World and all its realms and for plotting with Queen Gisele and others for ultimate power, I condemn you to death.”
I raised my clenched fists, spread my fingers wide, and flung my arms wider. For the first time, I allowed the tiny core hidden deep inside me to open—something I’d fought against my entire life. A tiny crack appeared.
Suddenly, the dam burst, and white-hot power exploded through me, its heat all-consuming as it arced over the valley and enveloped Tarja in a brilliant orange plume of fire.
Like a scene from a horror movie, Tarja’s skin melted from her body, dripping in a gooey mess beneath her. Muscles and tendons tightened and shriveled until they looked like charred meat, splitting and crumbling away from her bones as they, too, turned brittle and blew away in a fine powder.
“Thy will be done,” I whispered as I collapsed into Malachi’s waiting arms. He turned me into the comforting heat of his chest. I sighed and snuggled closer, inhaling his familiar smoky scent and drawing it deep into my lungs.
“You know I love you, right?” I watched his broad chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. I could see a miniature reflection of myself in the silver links of his chains. I closed my eyes and waited for his response.
“I know.”
“I’ve never had it easy, and I don’t make it easy for other people.”
“I know that too.”
For some stupid reason, I couldn’t face him. Call me chicken, but I was afraid of what I would see in his eyes. Pity? Rejection? I watched as my family rallied around Joachim. Slowly, I raised my gaze to the Watcher King who stared at me from across the valley.
He gave me a single nod, then turned to Johnna and bowed. I owed my cousin so much, I wanted to bow to her too. I watched as Joachim spread his magnificent wings and lifted several feet in the air. With one violent twist, he vanished.
I took a deep breath and raised my head, wrapping my arms around Malachi’s neck. Befor
e I lost my nerve, I pulled his lips to mine, pouring everything I felt for him in my heart into my kiss. It was better than anything I could have imagined. And with the way I grew up? Believe me, I could imagine quite a bit.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are?” He held my face in his hands and lowered his lips to mine. What started out as a sweet kiss quickly turned scorching as he pressed against me, his tongue dueling mine and becoming quite intimate with every tooth in my mouth. As my blood boiled and my lady bits rioted for more control, I pulled back before I made a complete fool of myself.
He rested his forehead against mine, his thumbs caressing my cheeks. “I never imagined being given such a gift, Willow. Of loving someone, but I do.” He pulled back, his brown chocolate eyes warm and full of emotion. “I love you, kitten.” He gave me an appreciative grin. “And this new look suits you. Military chicks turn me on.” He wiggled his brows.
I unfurled my wings, secretly pleased when his eyes lit up and he let out a catcall. My very first one, I might add.
“Kitten, you are full of surprises. A cape. I always wondered where they hid the wings.”
“Can we go home now?” I asked.
Chapter 23
Willow, the Demon Realm
Relaxing against Niki’s chest, Johnna swirled her coffee. “I can’t believe Tarja figured out how to kill the Watchers. She shouldn’t have been smart enough.” Her blue gaze turned to me. “And you! You were fantastic out there! Sassy, golden hair flying everywhere, swirling silver eyes, and what was that light surrounding you? It looked like a glistening aura. I thought my power was cool, but seriously?”
Joachim shook his head. “That was the power of punishment I told you about.” His silvery gaze grew intense as he looked at me. “I believe where you are concerned, Willow, we will need to be very careful as you learn how to use your powers. I assumed when you accepted your father’s place in our world, your Erinys powers would stop. Apparently, I was wrong.”
Saved by the Spell (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 2) Page 23