After almost two hours of meandering through a maze of hallways, I recognized the one leading back to Lucien's sitting room. Finally. My brain hurt, and I was running out of flattering comments. I wanted to tell her the pinks and purples were way overdone, and the heavy floral scent permeating every molecule of air around her was suffocating. In reality, I couldn’t care less about the perfect combination of colors or a certain style. As long as the chair or bed was comfortable, I was happy.
We walked back into the sitting room, which had filled up since I’d left. At least fifteen more leather-bound demons stood around the room’s perimeter. I stopped in the doorway, not sure if it was safe to enter. With Niki so close, my stretched nerves calmed the moment I laid eyes on his gorgeous face. Probably not a good thing if I was supposed to be keeping my distance; however, I couldn’t deny the way my body reacted to simply seeing him.
I pasted on a bright smile, covering my nervousness. “Hey, everyone. If we were going to have a party, you could have at least invited a few more girls. The queen and I are outnumbered here.”
Trying not to cringe when she took my elbow to drag me toward the men, I stopped abruptly as Niki’s hand wrapped around my forearm and pulled me to him, settling me between Malachi and him. I let my gaze roam casually over the extra men who seemed ready for war. From their stiff-legged stances and bulging muscles reminiscent of military bad-asses, these demons were walking arsenals. We were in trouble. The one person most noticeably absent was Lucien. What had happened while I was touring the castle?
Okay, hotshot. What’s going on in here? Where’s Lucien?
The queen’s guards showed up about five minutes after you left, and took him.
Took him where? My blood pressure rose to a dangerous level. Why would she do that?
Not sure on either count. Last thing he said was to get you back here and away from his mother.
I fought back the need to sigh in irritation. Well, I now understand the odd statement she made while we were leaving. She told the guards on either side of the door to man their posts and break time was over. Niki, they were already at attention and standing guard.
She must have planned on taking Lucien beforehand. Niki’s grip tightened painfully around my forearm, but as long as he didn’t squeeze any harder, I’d let him have his frustration fit.
While the queen blustered and billowed, her flabby, batwing arms flinging about as she berated two of the guards, Malachi leaned in closer, near enough for his lips to touch my ear as he whispered, “Can you manipulate the metal in their weapons?”
I gave him a subtle nod, immediately knowing what he wanted me to do. His idea was brilliant. I concentrated on the dark notes first, but I couldn’t distinguish what they were associated with. Underlying those I heard a softer, haunting melody. The music surrounded me, soaking into my mind and shifting my mood. I fought against the overwhelming sadness until I found what I searched for. Harsh discords took over, pounding my brain, and I knew I’d found the most dangerous weapons. Anger lived within the guns’ metal.
As the metal’s wrath filled me, I backed away, holding the anger to the fringe of my magic. I concentrated on the first melody, allowing the tamer emotions to flow through my thoughts and into the darkness, gradually lightening the heavy tones. As the volatile emotion mellowed, I pulled the image of a gun’s trigger into my mind and forced the metal to fuse as one solid piece. The tones smoothed even more. I smiled and finished disabling the firing mechanisms.
Next, I fixated on the screeching clarinet sounds. Or maybe more like a badly played violin. And I knew the migraine I’d have when this was over would be a whopper. Smoothing out the sharp notes, I mentally blended them together, creating a soothing chorale of reedy tunes. The melodic tune reminded me of Middle Eastern music.
Leaning closer to Malachi, I whispered, “Done.”
I figured Niki and Malachi already had a plan, but I still wasn’t ready when I was suddenly shoved behind them. As they closed ranks in front of me, swords appeared in their hands. My eyes widened in amazement as a brilliant blue light surrounded the huge blades.
The guards drew their own weapons—and didn’t move. The ones holding guns stared with confusion at the solid metal blob where the triggers had once been. The other guards held out their swords with a mixture of puzzlement and aggravation on their faces as the blades bobbed like undercooked pasta noodles. Limp with a bounce.
The scene in front of me was priceless. The wobbly blade trick would never get old. Laughter bubbled up my throat, but died when a loud snap filled the room.
The queen and her two personal guards had apparated from the room.
Chapter 14
“Damn and double damn. The queen’s escaped,” I hissed.
“Send Al after her. He can pick up her trail and find out where she went,” Niki suggested. “We might get lucky and he’ll also figure out where she’s holding Lucien.”
Heard him. Not deaf, Al whined inside my head.
He didn’t receive an owner’s manual for you either, Al. Be patient, Niki learns fast too.
He better. He’s bossy.
Niki is the king’s head enforcer, so you’d better get used to it. Just my luck—an imp with attitude. A warning label should have been included with the nonexistent manual. The pulling sensation ripped away from my neck and disappeared as Al popped up in front of me. I tweaked his round cheek and smiled.
“Be careful.” A thick tingling sensation burned behind my nose and in my throat when he apparated. I wasn’t prepared for the worry filling my mind should something happen to him.
Johnna? Niki’s sultry voice filled my mind.
What a keeper. If we weren’t facing a possible death squad—dramatic, I know, but my emotions were all over the place—I’d hug him. I’m fine. If this is what parenting feels like, I don’t want it anymore. It’s scary. I don’t need scary right now. I’ve had enough scary to last a lifetime.
Summoning my own sword, I stepped out from behind the protection of Niki's body. The three of our full-length, hard steel swords must have been intimidating, because every guard dropped his useless weapon as if it scalded his hand.
Malachi made a fist. Mumbling something vaguely sounding like Latin, ropes appeared, tying themselves around the incapacitated guards’ wrists. Each strand glowed brighter then returned to normal.
“Malachi, how did you do that?”
“Enforcer secret. I’d have to kill you, if I told you.”
I growled and slapped his shoulder with the back of my hand.
“Niki, control your woman. She’s invading personal boundaries.”
“Malachi.” I smacked him again. “How old are you—five?” I kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I needed the release. Too many bad things have happened in a short time and my nerves are a bit strained.”
“You both are infantile. Malachi, quit provoking her and act your age.”
“If I acted my age, I’d be falling to pieces in some crypt. Doesn’t sound like the kind of excitement I usually go for.”
Niki glared at the enforcer. “Then try something new.” With a tilt of his head, he motioned toward their captives. “Take them to a cell in the dungeon. We’ll deal with them once Lucien’s found.”
Malachi abruptly straightened and clicked his heels together. His right hand flew up in a military salute. “Aye, aye, sir.”
“Go to Hell,” Niki muttered.
“Already there.”
Tuning out their digs at each other, I dropped onto one of the chairs and let my head fall against the soft backrest. The long day and nonstop activity had caught up with me. Everything in my body begged for sleep.
“Where do we look for Lucien?” I asked wearily.
Niki scooped me up and sat in my spot, depositing me onto his lap. I love
d the feeling of safety his strong arms gave me as they held me to his chest. I even liked the harsh stubble on his jaw against my skin. The steady warm whoosh of his breath across my face calmed the worries gnawing at my insides. His previous ‘infantile’ remark still hurt and reinforced my belief our age difference would eventually come between us. But for now his lips feathered across my forehead, and my insides disintegrated.
The bigger problem, now? I’d fallen in love with him. I didn’t know where my heart began and his ended. Everything had happened so fast, but I knew me. I loved this beautiful demon with everything I was and ever would be. Somehow he’d become my past, present, and future . . . and I had no idea what to do with the realization.
Less than two weeks ago, I’d been taking finals and gearing up for graduation. I applied for jobs and had been searching for a place of my own because living at home without my parents had become too bittersweet. Too many memories beat at my heart and mind every moment I spent there.
Now? Everything had changed. I had changed. A normal life sounded so clichéd and dull. I ran the tips of my finger along the white, sexy scar. His heat tingled against my skin. My thumb moved with a will of its own to touch his full bottom lip. He flared his nostrils in response. He had a great profile. His nose, so regally straight, gave him a dominant attitude. Just like a Roman commander should look.
“Imp, you have to stop staring at me like that.”
“Why?” I whispered, licking my lips and loving the low groan coming from his throat. “I like looking at you.”
“If you don’t stop, there’s no guarantee my actions won’t be honorable.” He grabbed my wrists with one hand and gently held them in my lap while his free arm wrapped around my shoulders, holding me tightly to him. “Now, you said the queen had guards posted around another room. Was it close? Can you find it again?”
I thought a moment, trying to switch gears, and mentally retraced Giselle’s route through the castle. “I think so.”
“I hope so, imp. Knowing the queen like I do, we need to find him soon.”
“Surely, she won’t really hurt him. He’s her son.”
He pushed me away, enough for me to see his narrowed gaze. “Haven’t you been listening, Johnna? She’d kill him without blinking. She killed her own husband. Her only concerns are whose power she can steal and taking the throne for herself. She’s been the one thorn in Lucien’s side since he inherited the kingdom from his father.”
“She tried to rule through Lucien’s father too?”
“Tried, just never succeeded. She killed him for the power of Hell, but she forgot about Lucifer. The demon king is given his kingship by Lucifer, and she’s never managed to wrestle either the power or the throne away from King Alistair or her son. King Alistair must have suspected something because he had Lucifer transfer his powers to Lucien before he was killed.”
“Hmm. Smart man.”
“Demon.”
“You know what I meant,” I muttered.
“Yes, but it’s fun seeing your face scrunch up.”
“Remind me to retaliate when I find some energy.” I snuggled in his arms, my face pressed into the curve of his neck. The need to kiss him grew and, without second-guessing myself, I tilted my head back so I could kiss his neck, which tasted salty. Filling my lungs with his scent, I inhaled the cinnamon-laced smoke. He smelled so wild and sexy. I relaxed against him, every sore muscle un-pinching, until I felt as if I’d just spent an hour with a masseuse.
My thoughts turned back to his sexy chest and what he’d said about dishonorable actions. It made my blood pump a bit faster through my veins as my heartbeat picked up. Thoughts like the ones I currently had would only lead to trouble.
It would be fun trouble, though.
“If you need to, but I quite like this better.”
“Need to what?” I mumbled against his throat, feeling the steady beat of his pulse underneath my cheek.
“Retaliate. Kissing is a good retaliation. We need to continue this talk once we’ve rescued Lucien and Giselle is stopped.”
I forced myself to sit up. It wasn’t easy, my unruly hormones were on overdrive, and there was still the matter of our age difference to settle. My sigh was filled with all the frustration I could stuff in it.
“If she’s truly as bad as you say, we can look in two places—the most obvious and the least obvious.” I rolled my shoulders, and a tiny bit more tension disappeared. “At least, that’s what my very tired brain is telling me. Letting me see the guarded room was too obvious. I don’t think Lucien’s there.”
“Not bad, imp. Have you heard from Al yet?”
“You’d know if I had since you can hear him too.” A far-off buzzing sounded in my head, growing louder by the second. I concentrated, hearing two muted words, ‘did it.’
“Speak of the little devil. I think Al’s coming back.”
A purple ball appeared on the far side of the room and flew toward me. Al landed on my shoulder, perched like a parrot, as his long toes curled into my skin. His little body shivered, reminding me of a bowl of grape gelatin. I reached up and rubbed what I hoped was his back, lightly dragging my nails up and down. “Did the mean ol’ queen scare you?”
Noo, I scared anyway.
“Wow, you really do learn fast, Al. Your speech has gotten so much better.” I patted his head. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anybody hurt you.” He flew up into the air, and I flinched, knowing what came after the dive-bombing of my neck. As he settled into my choker tattoo, I tried not to squirm from the burning tickle. Thankfully, it lasted only a few seconds and seemed to decrease in length each time it happened. I sighed quietly, unsure if I’d ever get used to my imp choker.
Did you find the queen? Or Lucien? I asked Al.
No king—queen. She a big meanie, the little imp muttered.
Ha, so true—now tell me everything.
Queen with two demons. Not nice place.
I frowned and glanced up at Niki, waiting for his opinion since he always seemed to be inside my head too. I still wasn’t sure I liked it either. With two people using me as their personal cell phones, I’d become a three-way call on brain speakerphone. Now, though, wasn’t the time to bring it up.
Al, can you tell me where the queen is? Niki's deep voice flowed through me like a slow-moving, chocolate river, draining me, but in a good way. I didn’t know whether to sit back and enjoy the trip or fight it with everything I had. Something else for me to ponder about later.
Not know where.
Al answered Niki’s question without any hint of irritation like he’d had before. Maybe having Niki inside my head too wasn’t such a bad thing after all. If Al stayed calm, I stayed calm as well.
Well, can you tell me what you saw or sensed around you? Niki prodded.
Followed scary things through darkness to a small room.
What did you see in the room? Niki's tone was tense, as if he didn’t really want to know the answer.
No go inside. Heard scary things talking ‘bout king sleeping inside room. Peeked in. Only saw darkness.
I hit my forehead with my hand. “Duh. Where’s my brain?”
Niki released a soft snort.
Groaning, I asked, “I stepped into that one, didn’t I?”
“I know a certain zombie we could ask—about your brain, anyway.”
Ignoring Al’s snuffling amusement as well, I held up my hand, Lucien’s gold ring glittering on my middle finger.
Niki nodded. “Good idea. Try it. See if we can get him to come to us.”
Lowering my hand, I stared at the ring. The stone winked at me in collusion. “I’m not sure what to do.”
“Try wishing for him.”
I took a breath, centering my thoughts on Lucien and wishing for him to return. We waite
d, but nothing happened. “Maybe it only works when he’s awake.”
Niki's leg bounced underneath me, cluing me in on his high frustration level.
“Got the traitors secured in the dungeon.” Malachi dropped onto the sofa, reclining half on, half off. I wondered if he had to special order furniture. His large body made the sofa look so fragile and small.
“There’s really a dungeon?”
“No self-respecting castle would be caught dead without one. I believe the moat’s dispensable, though.”
Niki met Malachi’s gaze. “Giselle has had Lucien for two hours, and you know as well as I how ruthless she’ll be if she’s after his throne.”
“Lucky for us, most of her guards are a bunch of wusses. They couldn’t talk fast enough to tell me her plans.”
“Share.” I edged to the end of my seat, my legs twitching with impatience.
“She’s got him in the Hole for leverage. If she doesn’t get the diary in the next hour, he’ll be sent to the Well of Souls.”
“Damn, damn, damn. Al was right,” Niki muttered. “The Well is the one place we wouldn’t be able to rescue him from either.”
“I’m so confused. What are those two places and why couldn’t we get him out?” My heart clenched. I was not going to lose my uncle almost as soon as I’d found him.
Niki's gaze met mine. “The Well of Souls is where a person’s soul rests for eternity. Once Lucien’s placed there, his current life would be over.”
I felt myself harden with determination. “Then we rescue him now.” I turned toward Malachi. “Where’s this hole?”
“Its name is the Hell Hole, and it’s next to the kitchen.”
I tried to keep my face blank and found it impossible as my humor cracked through. “That’s fitting. Cooking is hell. I avoid it at all cost.”
In Mage We Trust (Of Mystics and Mayhem Book 1) Page 19