by B C Morgan
I never told you any of this, because I didn’t want to endear you to me. Besides after you chose to be with someone else, I gathered fate had screwed me over. Trust me to fall for an enigma, one who was fated to another being, whilst I was only ever destined to love them.
It made sense in a twisted way; an incubus is not supposed to be happy. Why else would we feed from our victims in such a callous way, being able to make them feel things, out of our reach to us, unless we end their lives. We can only feel the tainted, dark emotions, not those that bring happiness and joy.”
Damn. That was pretty much all I could think in the moment, what could I say to such a statement. Apparently, I was his fated mate, yet I had chosen another, if that was the case then how did I end up engaged to him and just what had happened to the one I had chosen.
I was going to ask him all of that when he turned his back to me and headed towards my door.
“I’m sorry Unya, I know you will have questions, and although I would give anything to answer them I can’t. Knowing I would have to spin a web of lies, I can’t bear to mislead you any further, but my hands are tied. My choices and decisions are not my own, so I beg you not to make me deceive you anymore.”
“I don’t understand Malachi, and it isn’t fair of you to say those things and then just walk away.”
“Don’t you think I know that! Do you believe I enjoy any part of this, of course not. All I wish is that you could be a fly on the wall for once, then just maybe you could understand the predicament I am in.”
Most of that had was shouted at me, and he soon stormed out slamming the door in his wake. I sat there simmering in my anger and despair, when Adiran came to stand before me.
“Dearie, don’t you see. Malachi just gave us a golden opportunity; you can be a fly on the wall. Use the shadows to transfer yourself into his throne room, then as long as you are shrouded by them Hades will never know you are garnering some truth out of all the lies.”
His idea sounded tantalising and I agreed, all I had to do was change into my black tank top and black jeans and I would be ready to go.
16
Malachi
I couldn’t stop myself from pacing outside of his door, I knew I had called for this meeting, but it didn’t mean I wanted to participate. I know that’s rather confusing, but unless you have stood before Hades yourself, you could never understand how I was feeling. All I wanted was to be free from him once and for all, I was sick and tired of being his whipping boy but there was no sign of freedom in sight.
I plucked up the courage to enter, only to see that Semias was nowhere in sight. Instead Yana was standing at his side, ready to offer her deadly services to any creature Hades wished dead.
“You ask for a meeting, and yet you do not deem it necessary to arrive on time. You are playing a very dangerous game Incubus, do not forget where your allegiances fall.”
If you expected that sanctimonious crap to come from Hades himself, you would have been mistaken. Clearly Yana deemed it necessary to speak on his behalf unless His Lordship stated otherwise.
I was about to give back a loaded retort, when I felt the air shift. It was as though another presence had entered, but no other being was in the room. That was when I noticed a familiar heat pricking my skin, somehow Unya had found a way into the room all I needed to do was figure out if Hades was aware of her presence.
“I apologise for my lateness your Lordship, but I had to ensure Unya would not wander down here and overhear anything we may say.”
I gave a low bow and stared straight into the direction I believed her to be standing, I could have been mistaken but it was of little consequence.
“That naïve little girl would never be so bold; she is following my laws beautifully. What a delightful creature she has become, without her memories she is embracing her darker side. Even if I hadn’t already owned part of her soul, she would be destined for my realm in her time of death by now.”
“So what do you plan to do if her memories ever return, I doubt she’d follow you then,” I stated, knowing I couldn’t reveal the truth myself, but Hades wasn’t bound to any kind of oath.
“I took her memories once; I can always do it again. Even if your deal would be voided, I know for certain you would never abandon her down here. My dear boy, do you think I’m blind to your feelings for her. The very fact you would bargain your own freedom for her life spoke volumes, what a shame it would be if you were the one to die when the time comes for you and Troy to see who will win the prize.”
“Unya is not an object, do you think I would ever let a creature like Troy anywhere near her. Do not be a fool old man, if I die, I’ll make sure he comes to Tartarus alongside me.”
Yana moved so fast, I barely registered her coming straight for me. The moment her hand connected with mine, the electrical current she produced threw me across the room and straight into the wall.
“Getting a child to defend your honour, how very noble,” I stated, as I clambered to my feet, coughing up blood as I did.
“You clearly have a death wish, but I will not rob Troy of his fun. You are weak Malachi, ever since you stopped killing your victims, you gave Troy the winning edge. If that wasn’t bad enough, you haven’t even fed since you sacrificed yourself for that worthless girl. It’s barely even a contest where you are concerned, he’ll end your life within the first ten seconds, and I cannot wait to claim your soul for myself.”
“Just answer me one thing, if you don’t mind my Lord? Why would you bring Troy into any of this? You already had me aligned to you through my own stupidity, why would you even need him?”
“I guess I can give you your answer. You see, Unya has turned out to be quite vicious and I know Troy will only bring it out more and more. You on the other hand have grown too soft and will only try to extinguish the darkness that is barrelling its way through her. Of course if you were to win, however slight that chance, maybe there might be hope for you yet. You could only win if you were to become worse than the creature you are destined to face. It will be entertaining.”
With that said, he ordered me to leave his presence, little did I know I was about to make two very unlikely allies.
I returned to my room rather quickly, my eyes nearly popping out of my skull when they fell onto Persephone and Semias.
Why the hell they would be in my quarters I had no idea, but either they were here to ensure Troy would be the victor no matter what, or some other revelation deemed it a necessary risk to approach me in such a manner.
I closed my door, and without even acknowledging their overwhelming presence, preceded to pour myself a strong drink, knowing only alcohol could get me through whatever they had brought to my door.
“You do not acknowledge your queen Malachi; do you think yourself to be above me?”
There was no malice or condescension in her tone, only mild curiosity.
“Forgive me your Majesty but being in the presence of your husband would leave a sour taste in any one’s mouth.”
“Try being married to him, then you’d soon learn there isn’t a drink strong enough to help you escape his ever-looming presence.”
“My grace, could we please hurry this along. Hades will grow suspicious if I am gone too long,” stated Semias, not approving of the regard in which we spoke of Hades.
She shot a withering glance at Semias, before shaking her head as if to rid herself of an annoying fly, and then explained why she chose to grace me with her presence.
“Unya needs to be awakened, I could beat around the bush and ease you into this, but what would be the point? You are a clever boy Malachi, naïve for sure, but that does not diminish the intelligence shining free from your eyes.”
“Forgive me my queen, but I would never be foolish enough to speak out against my Lord’s wishes, especially in front of his loyal servant,” I said derisively, shooting glares straight at Semias.
“Do not fret my dear incubi, Semias has seen the error of his ways. He st
ill holds loyalty towards Hades, but it is no longer unwavering. Hades did something his creation did not appreciate and if he garners me his true loyalty then, well let’s just say I will reward it with some information he desperately needs.”
“My queen, what information are you offering? You never mentioned that to me when I approached you with my concerns,” he stated, refusing to remove his gaze from hers.
“Let’s just call it an incentive, but unlike my husband I do not offer frivolities. The information I have will answer questions that have never even crossed your mind. But enough of that, I need to know if our dear incubi will help us in ensuring Unya will return to who she needs to be. Instead of the dark creature that is feeding Hades macabre delights.”
The to and fro was screwing with my head, what the hell did they expect me to do. I did not possess a cure to the powerful river Lethe that was poured down her throat, removing her memories in an instant. I could not remind her of how things used to be, without enduring such physical pain it would make me wish for death until it claimed me. My hands were well and truly tied, all I could do was try and keep her safe and not get killed by Troy.
I voiced my inner ramblings to Persephone, and all she did in response, was tut.
“Do not worry about how her memories will be returned, that is not of your concern. All we need you to ensure, is that she will not fall into Troy’s hands. You cannot let that beast become her husband.”
“I vowed to protect her with my life, he will not get her without a fight,” I replied, presuming that would be enough to assuage her concerns, it just confirmed her comments on my naivety.
“Troy feeds daily, be it human or supernatural. You haven’t fed since Unya stole your attention; you haven’t killed since you indebted yourself to that little wolf. How could you ever believe you will ever prevail in a fight against Troy. Even you cannot be naïve enough to think you will walk away alive once you lose the battle. Hades has ensured it will be to the death, so either you feed and grow your strength, or I will take the freedom of choice out of the equation. I am still your queen and just because our wishes have aligned, does not mean I am on your side. I will do whatever Is needed to ensure Unya kills all of my kind even if it includes myself.”
With the last word spoken, she strode out of my room leaving Semias my only companion. It angered me when he hadn’t followed her out, but I knew better than to antagonise a creature of his calibre. Instead I sat down and tried to pretend he was no longer there.
“Before I leave, you should know our Lord has no intentions of allowing Unya to survive once she has eviscerated the Gods of Olympus, he will end her life as soon as the deed is done.”
“Do not pretend you care Semias, we all know you are incapable of feeling anything.”
“I do not know why I felt the need to go to Persephone, but his lies to Unya about my death made my loyalties seem misplaced. For some peculiar reason I do not wish to see her die, I doubt you are the answer to this problem, but our queen has faith in you, do not make it unwarranted.”
With that said, he too left my sight. Leaving me even more bewildered than I was before.
17
Marcus
It shouldn’t have, but Pearl’s murder had fallen to the wayside, something I had decided to rectify.
Only Ishira could take me to the one who discovered her body, but I hadn’t realised in that moment, how hard it was going to hit me.
Pearl had been discovered by her mate, and she refused to leave her watery dwelling. I couldn’t blame her for that, but I needed to know how she was found. Her brother deemed it a necessary action to meet with me, and that was how I found myself sitting at the edge of the lake.
The water nymphs rarely revealed any features to be able to discern just who you were speaking with, and that occasion proved to be no different.
The water rose half out of the lake, in a humanoid shape, with just enough definition to give you an impression of a male.
We all knew they could look relatively human, even though their skin always held a translucent nature, with a faint sheen of blue to it. Clearly, they did not feel it relevant to allow me the courtesy of such a reveal, but it didn’t seem a worthy battle to wage.
“My sister is too distraught to relive such a painful experience; we recognise you as a leader but that is not enough to inflict more suffering of such a delicate nature.”
“I respect the reasoning behind her refusal of a meeting, this is something I wished did not have to happen, but I need to know how she came to find Pearl in the first place.”
“My sister could never accept that Pearl would ever betray us. She knew she would never have left without her mate beside her. We still don’t know how that traitorous bitch was able to lure her into deceiving Unya, but we do know it would not have been willingly. My sister never stopped trying to find her, they were connected on a spiritual level and Pearl’s connection to her resurfaced.
I refused to let my sister go off on her own, she relented to me accompanying her. I’m glad I did, otherwise I do not believe she would still be here now. By the time we got to Pearl she was only just clinging on to the last dregs of life, she had been tortured. Removed from the water for far too long, her skin was cracked and the parts that weren’t, had been scorched. A water nymph should not be able to burn, but Nyakesh found a way. My sister dragged her into the water, and she died in her arms, it was too late for us to be of any assistance.”
What could I say to something like that, I knew Nyakesh had lost her way but never would’ve believed she could do something so heinous. It was an unconscionable act. I wanted to offer closure but knew better than to deliver a promise I did not know I could fulfil.
“Where is your sister now? Is there anything any of us can do to help her in any way?”
His eyes were revealed to me, and it seemed as though he had something he needed to say, but he held back.
“My sister is too lost for anyone here to be able to help; this is a water nymph problem and we will rectify it between us.”
I wanted to say something, anything, but he stole that option when he merged with the water and disappeared.
“I warned you it would not be easy to hear of her demise, do you now see why I reacted the way I did?” Ishira asked, once I returned to my new home within the camp.
“He was hiding something from me Ishira and by the way you averted your eyes, I think you know what that something is.”
“I will not betray my people, he is trying to fix an issue that has arisen, please do not question me further I would hate to have to lie to you my friend.”
Ishira had let the guilt over what she had done consume her, I never would have considered us close, but a considerable distance had grown between us. If she wasn’t avoiding me, then her protectiveness was bordering on stifling. It went from one extreme to another.
“Have you felt any more of Unya’s fire, do you still believe she is okay?”
“She is far from okay, but she is most definitely alive. Her fire is raging within her, being fuelled by negative emotions. I can sense a darkness consuming her very being and it may be too late to reach her, if she carries on down whatever path she has taken, I fear she will never return.”
The news just kept on getting worse, an ally had been murdered, my closest friend was in danger and the Gods were plotting nefarious deeds no one could predict.
I felt entirely out of my comfort zone and for the umpteenth time, found myself wishing Alistair was still here. Leadership had come so naturally to him, I wasn’t terrible, but my skills paled dramatically in comparison.
Ishira had quietly slipped out of the dining room but was replaced by Janelle and David.
“Janelle has something she needs to tell you, she has ties to many creatures we never knew about,” stated David the ire apparent by his tone.
Janelle shuffled on her feet, which was unusual for her. She never came across as someone who had a nervous disposition, which didn�
�t bode well for whatever she would say.
“I took Nora with me to London, according to David I need permission to go anywhere, but that is neither here nor there. While I was away, I came across an old friend of mine who was being attacked by, what appeared to be nothing more than a shadow. It looked as though it was smothering him, I don’t know what it was doing, but if it hadn’t had been for Nora extinguishing the shadow with her light he would have died.”
“Janelle, despite what David may have said, you can come and go as you please. Just stay safe and always have a way to contact us, just in case you need it. First off do I need to be worried about you disappearing to London without telling either of us and, does your friend warrant my attention.”
“Yeah, she seemed to have forgotten to tell you who He was, what a surprise.”
David’s attitude was agitating Janelle, and I couldn’t understand why he was acting this way. I would have bet good money on it being stemmed from jealousy, but unless they had decided to give whatever was between them a go, he had no reason for it.
“David your attitude is not helping matters, so either shut up or go and help with the training. They’re the only options I will give you.”
“London is a personal matter I do not wish to discuss with anyone in this room, as for my friend, well that’s the awkward part.”
She seemed hesitant to say anymore, I decided not to push her, until David revealed it was Malachi.
“For gods sake, can you stop acting like a silly little boy who just lost his favourite toy. I don’t need you to speak for me David,” She stated with a vehemence I had never seen from her before.