by B C Morgan
Retribution
Ebony Child Series Book 3
BC Morgan
Contents
Prologue
1. Marcus
2. Unya
3. Unya
4. Malachi
5. Unya
6. Malachi
7. Unya
8. Malachi
9. Unya
10. Adiran
11. Marcus
12. Malachi
13. Unya
14. Marcus
15. Unya
16. Malachi
17. Marcus
18. Unya
19. Unya
20. Adiran
21. Malachi
22. Unya
23. Marcus
24. Malachi
25. Unya
26. Unya
27. Marcus
28. Marcus
29. Unya
30. Marcus
31. Unya
32. Malachi
33. Marcus
34. Unya
35. Marcus
36. Unya
37. Unya
38. Malachi
39. Marcus
40. Marcus
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
A Note From The Author
Copyright © 2019 BC Morgan
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stores or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
BC Morgan asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
BC Morgan has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
First edition
Cover art by Savannah Richey
Created with Vellum
This is to you, the readers old and new. I appreciate you all and my black heart loves you. Thank you for reading.
To my family who have been nothing but supportive, my friends, the amazing team I have and all the friends who I have made since starting this amazing journey. You are all amazing, and I love you all.
Prologue
Lawson has vanished and Unya is a husk of herself. It has been eight months since Unya’s birthday, and nothing has worked to bring her back. Hades was unconcerned at first, convinced that she would soon be back with us, stronger and better than before. But the more days that pass, the more agitated he is becoming. He is threatening many of his minions to find a way to rouse her or lose their life should they fail.
If she comes back to us, then she will not know who or what she is, so she will also not remember who we are.
Hades has given me his orders, and no matter how much I wish I could, I cannot break them. But that does not stop me from trying to think of a way to warn her, she will be unprepared and will have no idea who she can trust.
Although I wish I could be that confidante, I know that is not a possibility, not when I must lie to her.
If that isn’t bad enough, the lock to Olympus has broken. The skies roar with thunder and torrential rain across the earth, and the oceans have been merciless, dragging more boats down beneath the water and sending tsunamis onto our shores. Along with volcanoes erupting all over the god forsaken place.
Many countries have suffered and there is nothing we can do to help them; Hades is revelling in all the deaths that have happened because of his siblings’ anger. He cares not for the human lives that are being thrown away. The Gods have yet to show themselves and have since gone quiet. But I can only imagine the carnage that will occur when they do. And if Unya does not awaken, then we will be doomed for eternity.
1
Marcus
I hadn’t heard a single thing from Unya since she left to confront Hades. It had only been six weeks since she vanished, but lack of communications had filled me with a sick dread. All I discovered was the Gods were free and angry. The human population had yet to learn of their existence, but, they would. Why the Gods had gone quiet raised a lot of suspicions among the supernatural community and no one could fathom why they would wreak havoc, only to stop.
If that hadn’t been bad enough, it wasn’t only Unya’s presence in this world that had changed. The rebels had been split into two factions, those who were still loyal to Nyakesh and those who weren’t. Somehow, I had again become a leader, it hadn’t been what I wanted but I had been looking to distract myself from everything else and I had known that they needed me.
I had tried to keep an eye out for Addy, amongst all the other responsibilities that had been thrust upon my shoulders, but she was doing her best to avoid anything that could remind her of what had happened to her departed sister.
Besides I had known that Ackley would still protect her, whether she knew that or not. He did it because he loved her, it had been hard to recognise at first. Knowing that he was a Satyr, but it was plain to see, and she couldn’t have asked for a better protector than someone who would die to keep her alive.
As for Malachi and Lawson, well that had been impossible to explain. With Ackley asking too many questions regarding Malachi, it had raised a few concerns amongst my people. An incubus didn’t just disappear without a trace, especially one who had such an aversion to killing, he had been memorable.
A connection to Unya hadn’t been made, as he had been missing for longer. But as for Lawson, well that guess was anyone’s game. Lilianna had shown concern in the beginning, but everyone knew that Lawson was a stubborn Bastard and pretty much invincible. Some had joked at first, that he and Unya had run off together, to hide from the Gods’ impending arrival.
Kat and myself had been the only ones who could contest that, but I hadn’t even seen her since that day in the cabin and I had gone beyond even wanting to lay eyes on her.
My days of hanging around outside her home, to just catch a glimpse had been left in the past. I guess looking back on it now, I had simply been existing in a state of denial.
A part of me should have known that Kat wouldn’t have stayed gone, but even I couldn’t have predicted what would happen the moment our paths crossed. It would destroy me, but I couldn’t go back in time and warn myself just how painful my life would become.
I had been gently interrogating the water nymphs, as none had chosen to leave us, to decipher just who had lured Unya into the trap that Nyakesh had set for her. None had been willing to talk, not wanting to get one of their own into trouble. I had already explained that was not the purpose of my questioning, I just needed to know if I had any spies in my midst.
I hadn’t wanted to view Nyakesh as an enemy, it had just become obvious that I couldn’t trust her anymore. How was I to know what side she laid on now, after the lengths she went too, trying to force Unya to her cause. That hadn’t screamed that she was still one of the good guys.
She may have wanted the Gods gone, but at what co
st and for what reason. I realised that I could no longer just assume that she wanted them gone for the benefit of others.
No, she had a different plan in motion and I needed to know just what that was.
It was the arrival of Ishira that had the water nymphs talking, it turned out that it had been one named Pearl who had done the deed. As for why would remain a mystery at that point, seeing as she had disappeared and none of the other water dwellers had seen fit to warn me.
I could have been angry, sure, but what would have been the point. They had already known how suspicious it seemed and hadn’t wanted to throw anymore doubt onto their kind. I had promised them I would not treat them any differently, just because of Pearl’s actions. But that didn’t mean that I hadn’t started to re-evaluate and unfortunately suspect everyone else’s motives for deciding to stay with us. Was it out of loyalty, beliefs or something more sinister?
2
Unya
I opened my eyes and was free from pain. But I knew that I wasn’t awake, it felt different here, there was no pain or confusion. There was also no death, seeing as Lawson was standing mere feet in front of me, with a sheepish look upon his face.
I raced up to him, throwing my arms around his neck. Not even caring that it was all make believe, I hadn’t forgotten that I had witnessed his death but I didn’t want to think about that. Denial is never good to lose yourself in, but it can be bittersweet even just for a little while.
“I know you’re not real Lawson, that you are just a figment of my imagination, but I think I needed this. I needed you.”
He placed his hands on either side of my face and then began to talk, but I found it hard to believe what he was saying to me.
“Unya, I am very much real, I don’t think even your imagination could have conjured this up. Look there is a lot of things I need to tell you, but you need to stick with me and just try to wrap your head around it.”
I just nodded and waited for him to begin, unsure of what I should say, if there even was anything, I could say in reply to that.
“When you saw me die, that isn’t what happened. Hades couldn’t destroy my soul, so that part of me is very much still alive. The same cannot be said about my body, he smashed that into oblivion and decimated it for good measure. But do not feel bad for me, the thing is I already knew that this would happen. I wanted to tell you, but it was against the rules. It’s cruel that you had to care for me, only to lose me but I need you to know that everything I felt for you was, and is still very much, real.”
He placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, leaning his own against mine before continuing.
“I had to be destroyed so I could help you. Things have changed a lot since you entered the underworld Unya, I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks and this is the first time that it has worked.”
“Hang on, what do you mean help me, I’m fine Lawson, aren’t I?” I asked, feeling confused by everything that he said.
“If only that was true, I’m sorry Unya but you most likely won’t even remember this conversation when you wake up. I was supposed merge with your subconscious, leading you down the right path without you ever realising it. But I ended up here, I’m in your mind which conjures up some strange things when you’re not here with me but I’m not sure how I’m even supposed to help you now.”
He then explained the fact that Hades had forced me to drink water from the river Styx that would have wiped all traces of my memory from me. Not only would I forget about this I would also forget everything that had ever happened in my life.
We spent the next few hours or even days, it’s hard to tell when you’re asleep, just laying with one another. Nothing sexual it was innocent; I think we just both needed to feel grounded and connected to something else. I’ll admit that it scared me to wake up, but I also enjoyed that fear, it also made me wonder just how I would be when I awoke.
Would this version of myself hold any control over my actions?
We didn’t speak much after our first initial conversation, at least not about anything of real relevance. We tried to pretend that this was real for just a little while, but it seemed too cruel to carry on. Knowing that I still had a place in the real world, while he was stuck inside my messed up little mind. We dropped that little charade and just be together, maybe for the last time.
That would be proven wrong, but for now we were just trying to fill all the little moments up, just in case.
The first time my eyes had opened, I had felt so nauseous that I closed them again, it didn’t help that the lights had been so blinding that it had felt like my irises had been burnt away.
The second time had been a little easier, but a pain in my head had been so splitting that I had clawed at my face and passed out.
By the third time I refused to even open my eyes, I didn’t want to experience that pain again. It had been nasty and pointless, and I did not want to face it. That would have been just fine too if a lovely voice hadn’t started to talk, much too loudly as well if you ask me. I couldn’t stop my eyes from snapping open and I came face to face with a beautiful creature.
He had the most intense cobalt blue eyes I had ever seen, although that had been a complete guess seeing as my head wasn’t functioning right yet. With long dirty blonde hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, with red streaks running through it. He was built well and seemed like he would have been tall, if he hadn’t been crouching beside my bed.
“Unya I am so relieved that you are awake, how are you feeling?” He asked, giving the impression that we did in fact know each other, which just infuriated me.
“That’s tricky to answer, you see I open my eyes to a face I do not recognise, and then get spoken too like we are as thick as thieves. So, you tell me, how do you think I should feel?”
“Oh god Unya I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking I was just so happy to see you awake that I forgot myself. By assuming that you would even know who I was and for even asking such a ridiculous question. It slipped my mind that you couldn’t feel emotions, I guessed I had hoped that maybe they had somehow unlocked, but I shouldn’t have assumed anything.”
I don’t think he would have shut up, if I hadn’t had placed the tips of my fingers against his mouth, not so subtlety telling him. To, Stop, Talking.
“Unya, is that my name. You keep calling me it so I’m assuming that is the case, so why can’t I remember?” I asked, rubbing at my eyes and then smacking my palms against my head.
The guy on the floor went to open his mouth but was cut off by an intimidating man standing in the doorway. I mean come on he hadn’t even knocked, but even though it annoyed me I couldn’t help recall the words that my apparent friend had said to me. He said that I couldn’t feel, but that was far from the case. I did not understand what happened to me, but one thing I knew for certain was that I could feel everything and right then, I was angry.
Was he on about pain, cause my head was splitting and I could feel that too.
“It is such a relief to see you back with us child, we have all been so worried about you. You gave us quite a shock you know.”
He seemed to be admonishing me for something that I could not recall, but I kept my face expressionless and pretended that nothing had changed within me.
“Am I supposed to know who either of you are, because I must inform you right now that I don’t have the slightest idea.”
“It is so refreshing to not be known, just by my appearance alone. But alas, we suspected that this might have been the case, I hoped that you would have at least remembered your betrothed.”
The intimidating guy motioned to the guy on the floor, so I guess that meant I was engaged. While he just remained crouched there, not even looking at me. Something seemed off about that situation, but I just put it down to his feelings being hurt by lack of recognition on my part.
“You went through a great ordeal child, and that has impacted your memory. How extensive the damage is has yet to be seen but we must hope that it is
only temporary.”
Even though his words had sounded with sincerity, his eyes had told a different story. There was something that he did not want me to remember, but what that was I had no idea.
“So, I’m engaged to him, and you’re what, my father?” I hazarded a guess, but I knew that I had been wrong when my apparent fiancé flinched with horror, even as he tried to hide his repulsed reaction.
“Oh, my no, I am your lord. I am Hades, ruler of the underworld. You were damaged protecting me from an infiltrator, someone who acted as a loyal subject only to stab me in the back.
It was an act that was unjustified. You were on hand to take him down, it couldn’t have been easy for you, he had been masquerading as a friend to you for so long.
It must have been a hard blow to your self-esteem. But do not worry, I too failed to see him for the snake he was, I do not blame you Unya dear.”
I slid my arms free from the covers, as I intended to sit up, when my eyes got drawn to words scrawled across my arms. The one that caught my eye the most was ‘do not trust Hades.’ I could tell by his casual glance that these words did not perturb him, but from the slight gasp that had left my fiancé’s lips, he was shocked to see it.