“Johnna, focus.”
Punching and arranging the pillows at my back, I made myself comfortable.
“Johnna,” Niki growled, clearly losing patience.
“Dude, you got your hands full with this one.” Malachi fell into a worn brown leather recliner that magically appeared underneath his muscular frame.
I sat up, amazed. “How did you do that? So cool.”
A confused look settled into the planes of his gorgeous face before his expression quickly switched to comprehension. “You mean the chair?” Malachi’s shrug sent a delicious ripple down his sculpted chest. “I think about what I want, and it appears.”
“I want to do that.” All the things I could conjure swept through my mind. The list was endless.
“Sorry, imp, it’s a demon-only thing.” Another comfortable-looking recliner appeared behind Niki. He settled himself and propped an ankle over his knee with a smirk.
What a butthead.
By the look on his face, he’d heard my thought. I ignored his snort and opted for a serious discussion. “So what’s the plan?”
If I hadn’t been staring intently at Niki, I would have missed his slight head nod. “Malachi, Gerard, and I will pay a visit to Max and see if he can give us a bit more insight as to why he wanted the diary and who else might want it.”
Why do only cartoons get to blow steam through their ears?
The building pressure inside my head foreshadowed a major headache brought on by stupidity. I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. “You will not take my father. They hate each other. I’ll go instead.”
I held my hand up before either male could sputter a response. “He’s curious about me. Think about it a minute. Why didn’t he kill me? Dad said it was his plan. Then, Max even told me he wasn’t there to kill me. I need to go in my father’s place.” I pasted on my most hopeful look. Unfortunately, they didn’t fall for it.
Niki leaned forward, forearms propped on his knees. “This isn’t a game, Johnna. The Pits of Despair are dangerous. You have to have strong psychic shields to enter and even then, the Shadows are relentless.”
“Shadows? Like the dark patches where light doesn’t reach?”
“As in dark spirits.” He tapped two fingers against his lips, something I now knew he did when deep in thought. “They drain the life force and suck away all magic, turning a person into nothing but a shell of their former self.”
“Don’t forget the touch.” Malachi’s deep baritone startled me from the picture Niki had painted in my head. His black eyes met mine. “Their touch chills a person. Makes your bones feel so brittle—if you move, it’s as if they’ll shatter into a thousand pieces. A Shadow’s touch feels like an ice pick being shoved deep into your body, passing through skin and muscle into your very soul.”
I winced, not liking the gray undertones of Malachi’s skin or the ominous swirls lurking in the depths of his eyes. His pinched features and slumped shoulders were a stark contrast to his exuberance only moments before. Wherever his mind had taken him, he looked haunted.
“Malachi?” His distress beat at me, and I scooted to the end of the bed. Hesitantly, I touched his wrist, part of my hand covering the black band with its single silver cross, pressed into the leather’s center. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but how do you know this?”
“It’s where I found Malachi . . . in the Pits of Despair,” Niki broke in.
I knew the feelings of horror racing through my body, freezing blood and breath, showed on my face as my head whipped around to face Niki, horrified to think Malachi had suffered the way they’d described. I stared at him, but both kept their faces carefully shuttered and their expressions blank.
“I’ve never asked Malachi about his past or why he’d been condemned there,” Niki continued. “I’d been sent to the Pit to find out why there’d been a huge surge in the Shadows’ power. They thrive on any power. Unfortunately, purity is like a drug to them—”
“Wait a sec,” I interrupted. “Two obvious questions here. Malachi said the Shadows were evil, so why don’t they get off on more evil? Could someone else be in there besides criminals? Had someone gotten in by mistake?”
Niki shook his head and a stubborn lock of black hair fell across his forehead. “Think about it. When something you want is just out of your reach, or you’re told you can’t have it, what do you do?”
Comprehension dawned. I tucked my free hand under my thigh, resisting the urge to brush the lock of hair from his forehead. “The Shadows want what they can’t have.” I scooted closer, my butt balancing on the edge of the bed, my hand gripping Malachi’s wrist tighter. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“You are as smart as your father. They’d almost sucked Malachi dry when I found him.” Niki seemed to struggle with the memory replaying in his mind. “He was nothing more than a withered shell.” He scowled down at his clenched fists. “I saved him the only way I knew how. When I looked into his face, something, or maybe someone, told me he was worthy of life. I’ve never questioned my decision and neither did Lucien.”
Confusion clouded my mind. “How did you save him? Why were the shadows going after a demon? Do demons have a pureness I wasn’t aware of?” If the situation wasn’t so serious, the dumbfounded look on Niki’s face proved I’d put my foot in my mouth again.
“I guess I haven’t explained it very well.”
“It’s not your story to explain. Not really. I’ve never said the words, but thanks. You did the right thing. I wasn’t ready to die,” Malachi whispered.
My breath caught in my throat when Niki’s troubled gaze met mine. I turned to Malachi and he formed a strained smile, though his eyes remained glazed. “I fell.”
My chest burned as my lungs refused to exhale. Fell? I’d only heard that expression one other time during a church service I’d snuck into to see what everyone was always talking about. The service had been about bad choices and the pastor had used fallen angels as an example.
“I had a choice,” Malachi continued. “Either death or redemption. One day, I will find the path I need to take.” Though he feigned indifference, his sorrow cut through me.
I couldn’t stand the depth of feeling emanating from him. He had protected me, almost died for me. I could do no less than help lessen his pain. This thought—or maybe a feeling—barely registered when the most beautiful music filtered through my brain.
My vision turned white and hazy as if I floated in a bank of fluffy clouds. To call the tones beautiful seemed an understatement. They were the purest sounds I had ever heard. Peace flooded through me until light and hope permeated every nook and cranny, crevice and organ.
“Johnna, stop.” Niki sounded far away instead of beside me. “Johnna, you have to stop.”
I felt his hand on mine as he separated me from Malachi’s wrist. I shook my head, trying to get the fuzzy, warm feeling to go away as the bells faded.
“Did you hear the music?” I let out a quiet sigh. “It was the most amazing sound I’ve ever heard.” One corner of my mouth rose in a crooked smile even as Niki frowned. “Why were you telling me to stop? I wasn’t doing anything but listening.”
“Your magic strikes again,” he replied.
A moment ago I had been sitting beside Malachi, and now I lay propped on my pillows. Concentrating on any one thought turned into a racquetball match with more than one ball, pinging back and forth in my head. How had I gotten back here?
“Thank you, little sister.” Malachi cleared his throat, and my head jerked up at his softly whispered words. He looked amazing, no longer so haunted. His dark skin had turned several shades lighter. He seemed almost peaceful.
I nodded weakly, wondering what in the hell had just happened. “You’re welcome, I guess.”
Malachi sighed. “I don’t remember
ever feeling this calm. My past is just that. Past. What I will tell you is I made a bad choice and instead of being an enforcer of light, I am now an enforcer for Lucien. As punishment for my action, I was sentenced to the Pits of Despair and, as you already heard, Niki risked his own life for my unworthy one.”
A thought nudged hard at the edges of my mind, and I knew my head would explode unless I analyzed it. I turned the tiny seed of knowledge over and re-examined it from all angles repeatedly, finally acknowledging I was right. “You’re a fallen angel.” I couldn’t keep the wonder out of my voice.
The hint of a smile played on his full lips before he answered, fidgeting in his chair. “In my previous life, yes. In many ways, I’ve only changed job locations and have a few more perks.”
“Malachi.” I swallowed, trying to calm my sudden queasiness as the realization of whom I talked to sank in. “How terrible.”
He shrugged. “It’s true. I enforced the law there and do the same here. The only real difference is there are less rules here.”
Awestruck, I murmured, “Amazing. I’m totally amazed.”
“Well, I’m thinking not everyone in this room is impressed. Just the opposite.” Malachi pointed to my legs.
I glanced down to find a snarling, pissed off imp. Evidently, Al didn’t like my panicky reverence. I held my hands up in surrender. “It’s okay, little man, I’m sorry.” His daggerlike teeth might be small, but they looked ominous. Not wanting to find out how sharp they really were, I stilled, hoping he would settle down on his own.
“Whatever you did or thought, he didn’t like it. Within seconds, he zipped off your neck and has been growling and snarling since.” Niki stared at Al thoughtfully but didn’t say any more.
As we sat in silence, my stomach decided to let its presence be heard. Loudly. I smiled. “Anyone else hungry?”
Malachi yawned. “I’m always hungry. Tired too, although I’m probably not going to get any sleep soon.”
“Probably not,” Niki agreed. “If we’re going to the Pit, we need to leave now. The longer the dark mage stays, the more the Shadows take. We can’t afford to wait too long or he’ll lose any knowledge he might have about what’s going on.”
“You’re not leaving me behind.” I inhaled deeply to fortify myself. “I’ll just follow.”
I met Niki's glare with one of my own and hoped he’d be the first one to blink. Seconds before my lids closed, he blinked. Instead of gloating, even though I really, really wanted to, I closed my eyes to relieve my itchy, air-dried eyeballs.
Following them from my bedroom, I hoped to grab some food before looking for my parents. The hallway lengthened, much longer than I remembered it to be. I stared at Niki’s back as doubts about my victory crept in. A bad feeling squirmed its way into my subconscious. He’d given in way too easily.
My sexy demon had let me win, but why?
Chapter 9
Demon Realm
Lucien
I had a very bad feeling. Two more demon guards and one of my enforcers had been found dead inside the castle, and Malachi had only been gone half a day. Whoever manipulated all the death and mayhem knew how to cover his tracks. Each crime scene had been veritably spotless, at least in the way of clues. Unfortunately, all the blood and gore left would soon become immeasurable.
I ran my hands over my face and stared through the thick glass. The reflection of the dark shadows hovering under my eyes made me appear Halloween-wicked. The lines around my mouth didn’t help. I dropped forward, my forehead resting against the glass wall in front of me. Flashes of color from the other side of the partition danced and skittered across my vision from the Well of Souls.
Within the ethereal space, sparks of color darted about like fish, the only movement. I wished my life could be even half that peaceful. Looking out across the thousands of flashing lights never failed to give me a queasy, unworthy feeling in the pit of my stomach. One daunting question always rang in the back of my mind—
What was the true form of a person?
The beauty of the region humbled me. Every soul spiriting around had earned equality with no differences to race, culture, or religion. No more hatred. The answers to my kingdom’s peace were in there . . . somewhere.
“I always hated that region.”
I swung around, startled, and met my mother’s black gaze. With her twisted sense of good and bad plus her love of controlling people, her dislike of the Well made perfect sense. The fact she’d snuck up on me, and I hadn’t noticed, didn’t sit well. She hadn’t been able to sneak up on me since I’d become king.
“Never understood the point,” she added.
I blinked, not quite sure what to say. I was still trying to figure out how in the hell she’d caught me unawares. “Of course you wouldn’t. Why are you here, Mother?”
“I heard about the enforcer’s death and wanted to check on you.”
My gaze narrowed as I pondered her true motive for being here. I didn’t believe, for one moment, she cared about me or my men. In the past she’d shown no concern. “You’ve never cared before, so why now? For once in my life, speak the truth, Mother. Why are you here?”
I wished things could be different between my mother and me, but she’d burned that bridge after my father died by attempting to take the throne in my stead. Moving the dark brown curtain with my mind, I closed off the Well and propped my hip against the hard edge of the table.
She walked to the adjoining wall at the other end of the room and placed her hands in front of the curtain-covered barrier, then let her arms drop to her sides. “It’s better to keep this region covered. The prisoners don’t need to see what you do. It might give them ideas.”
“No, you mean it’s easier on us if we cover them up. Out of sight, out of mind, right?”
She whirled around, her expression hard and bitter. “Don’t be sanctimonious, Lucien. It doesn’t suit you. As your mother and your queen, I am in a better position to know what’s good for you and for the kingdom.” Her expression softened. Almost. I wasn’t fooled, however. She wasn’t through. “I only have your best interests at heart, my son.”
Her words barely registered as I stared over her shoulder into the area where the worst of all demons were held; the Abyss, or Tartarus to most other Realms. Every demon’s worst nightmares were confined behind that barrier. Halfway to Hell, my father had said, and now most religions knew the Abyss as Hell. I learned this particular lesson almost three thousand years ago.
Such a long time . . .
I’d been a youth, barely five hundred years old, when my father explained the different regions, of their importance to each other and to Dark World as a whole. Hell’s region lay halfway between the stasis of the Well of Souls and eternal damnation in the Nightmare Realm.
As my thoughts returned to the present, my vision refocused, this time on the figures lining up behind the translucent barrier. Their eyes riveted, not on me, but the queen. I regarded each apparition. They all had one thing in common—every stare aimed at the back of her head.
That can’t be good.
“Lucien.” My mother’s eyes blazed red, and both hands fisted onto her ample hips. “Are you even listening to me?”
I didn’t bother to answer her. “Have you done anything lately to piss someone off?” I couldn’t ignore the slight blanching of her ruddy complexion and had my answer. “Spill it, Mom.”
“Oh, so I’m ‘Mom’ now? I don’t like it when you call me Mom in such a condescending tone, and you know it. As far as your question goes, I resent your implication.”
“You sound like a lawyer. You’re also lying.” I advanced toward her, stopping just beyond her reach, both arm and magic. It was a trick I’d learned as a child and had saved me from a lot of pain through the eons.
Her eyes glowed br
ighter, small black flames now flickering wildly in their depths. The gaudy periwinkle gown she wore looked worse and worse as her size increased. The fact she’d allowed her demonic self to be seen told me she was either guilty and trying to divert my attention, or I’d royally pissed her off.
“Do not push me, Lucien. I am still the queen and will always have more power than you. I do as I want, so do not question me.” Her blazing gaze speared mine, slightly pulling on my own powers. Her fangs poked through her upturned, now black, lips, and she teleported out of the room in a puff of sulfuric smoke, the lingering, rotten egg stench the only evidence left from her visit.
I dropped into the nearest chair, my energy drained. The beginnings of a massive migraine pounded behind my eyes. I glanced back at the vaporous apparitions still hovering behind the barrier, thousands of eyes now glaring at me.
I let out a sigh of disgust and stared back. “Well, that didn’t end well.”
Chapter 10
Johnna
“Mom, I’ll be okay. Niki and Malachi will be there, so nothing bad will happen.” I offered a bolstering smile, not liking the shadows lurking deep in her eyes, not to mention the bags underneath. “Seriously, look at them.” I waved my hand in their direction. “Who in their right mind would be stupid enough to attack two muscle-bound enforcers? I’m a responsible adult . . . well, most of the time. I can do this.”
Dad took my mother’s hand and tucked it against his chest. He had on his mega-serious father face. I might be an adult, but I was still their little girl.
I’m so screwed.
“Johnna, we understand and believe they will do everything they can to protect you,” Dad said. “The problem is my father. He can’t be trusted, especially with you. For gods’ sake, he tried to kill you.”
In Mage We Trust (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 1) Page 11