“I want that forever that I promised you,” she said and saw Veiron smile out of the corner of her eye. “And I will do anything to achieve it.”
The Devil’s eyes narrowed. “Have you made your decision?”
Erin nodded. She focused and recalled everything she had seen the Devil do. He stepped towards her and Erin threw her hands forwards, unleashing a blast of fire. He blocked it as he had before and she willed herself to disappear. Fiery darkness engulfed her and when it disappeared, she was standing next to Veiron. He jumped and opened his mouth, but still no words came out. She grabbed his hand and focused on making them both disappear.
The darkness swept over her once more and receded to reveal the plateau they had landed on when Apollyon had helped them come to Hell to save Veiron, Marcus and Einar.
Apollyon was sitting on a rock a few metres away, bloodied and beaten.
He raised a hand in greeting and sighed. “Not my finest hour. I had hoped no one would see this.”
Veiron mouthed something.
Erin frowned and hoped it would work. “Speak.”
“He got away?” Veiron said, his voice hoarse, and then rubbed his throat.
“Who got away?” Erin frowned at both of them and a black voice boomed out of the glowing landscape hundreds of feet below. “It’ll have to wait.”
She turned to Veiron. “I can contract with you, can’t I?”
“Not contract, no. Your power is that of the Devil. We formed a bond because I chose to pledge myself to you and you accepted it. It is the reason I was not reborn as I should have been. This appearance is false. Heaven killed me five times over in an attempt to undo what you had done, but it did not work. They couldn’t break the bond between us. It is waiting to be sealed. You are powerful enough now.” He caught her hands and held them together in both of his.
A shiver raced over her. “How do I seal it?”
“We exchanged a vow, Erin.” He squeezed her hands and stared down into her eyes, threads of crimson and gold shining in his. “We must exchange it again.”
She nodded and then froze. “Wait... you mean you’re going to fall?”
“I already am fallen. I was never reborn as an angel of Heaven. I remained as I was, your servant in part.” Veiron released her hands, drew his spear and knelt before her. He rested his spear across both of his upturned palms and bowed his head, and raised the weapon towards her. “I swear fealty to you, Erin. I am yours and only yours to command until the end of time.”
Erin hesitated, unsure what to do. She glanced across the bumpy black ground to Apollyon. He motioned for her to touch the spear. She smiled her thanks and laid her hands on the black rod.
“I accept you as my knight and as mine, and I swear to you that I am yours and only yours, now and forever, until the end of time.” Erin almost laughed at how silly she sounded, and then shrugged and decided to go all the way. “I accept you as my servant, Veiron. Do you accept me as your master?”
“I do.”
Red light blazed from the engravings along the black rod of the spear and shone across the twin crimson blades. It swept down Veiron’s arms and the colour of his armour changed as it passed over it, darkening to black with metallic red edging. The light raced up his arms and his tattoos appeared, curling around his biceps. His chest armour switched colour and she gasped as the light shot over his wings and the feathers bled from pale silvery-blue and lilac to darkest crimson.
She wrinkled her nose up when the magic light failed to change one aspect of him.
Veiron rose to his feet, immense and imposing, a grin tugging at his sexy mouth. He rolled his shoulders, flexed his fingers and then lunged for her. She shrieked as he swept her up into his arms and he silenced her with a deep kiss that melted her right down to her core and brought out her own smile.
The black voice curled from the pit again and the ground shook.
Veiron released her mouth and drew back, still grinning.
“Remember me now?” she said with a smile of her own.
“You bet your arse, Sweetheart.” He wrapped his wings around her and kissed her breathless again. Erin melted into him, moaning as she returned his kiss, battling his tongue with her own and losing herself in him. She had missed this so much.
There was one thing she still missed though.
She braced her hands against his black armour and broke free of his kiss.
Her nose wrinkled again. “Your hair is still short.”
Veiron scrubbed a hand over the longer lengths on top, easily holding her up with just one thick muscular arm. “It’ll grow back. You can’t have everything, you know.”
The ground trembled again.
“I think you pissed dear old daddy off.” Veiron set her down on the ground and she wanted to burrow back into his arms and order him not to say what she could feel coming.
Instead, she tipped her chin up and faced the edge of the plateau, waiting.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Veiron moved in front of her, shielding her with his glossy red wings.
“Getting ready to fight.” Admittedly, she had never fought a battle before. She didn’t count the last time they were in Hell because no one had wanted to fight her then. She didn’t think the Devil would be so kind this time.
“I don’t bloody think so.”
“You’re my servant. Do as you’re ordered.” Erin grinned when he cast a dirty look over his shoulder at her. Yes, she was going to play that card often so he might as well get used to hearing it. “We’re in this together, Veiron.”
“You need to take care of yourself,” he whispered and looked so beautifully concerned that she wanted to kiss him.
“This is me taking care of myself. You can’t fight him alone. If we’re going to stand a chance of getting out of here, we need to work together. Besides... I’m the Devil’s daughter and you’re the father.”
His look softened and then he shrugged his broad shoulders. “I guess you’re right. It’s going to take more than a scrap with his granddaddy to hurt him... but I want you to fall back if you’re in any danger. Understood?”
Erin nodded, stepped up beside him and slipped her hand into his.
The Devil appeared in a flash of black smoke.
He ran his gaze over Veiron and curled his lip, and then looked beyond them.
His eyes narrowed. “Great Destroyer.”
“Pain in my backside,” Apollyon said, so close to Erin that she jumped. She hadn’t noticed him move.
He stopped beside her and stared at the Devil.
“It is still many years until our next battle.” The Devil dismissed him with a regal wave of his hand. “Do not interfere.”
“You left the pit.”
The Devil glared at him.
“Hardly.” He swept his hand out, motioning to the edge of the plateau directly behind him. “Mere inches. I have obeyed the rules of my confinement.”
“I was not talking about now. You have left it in the past. I have it on good authority that you visited Erin in the prison. That is not mere inches from your fortress.” Apollyon held his hands out in front of him and called his twin golden blades. “You know I cannot let that pass unpunished.”
The Devil laughed, his amber eyes flashing gold. “You are in no condition to fight me. If you battle me now, you will lose and I will be free.”
“Is that true?” Erin looked across at Apollyon. He frowned, his rich blue eyes darkening with it, and then slowly nodded. Erin laid her hand on his bloodied shoulder. “Then I cannot let you fight. This is not your battle.”
He turned his frown on her and disappeared. Erin lowered her hand and hoped that the dark angel wouldn’t be angry with her for sending him away to Earth. He was too weak to fight her father right now and she couldn’t let him escape his prison.
Erin glanced at Veiron.
“Don’t even think about it, Erin.” He didn’t take his eyes off the Devil. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for centuri
es.”
She knew that and it was the only reason she wasn’t giving in to her desire to transport both of them out of Hell. They had to do this or her father would never leave them alone. He needed to see that together they were undefeatable and that they wouldn’t give in to his demands or let him control their lives, and that they would easily destroy any army that he sent after them in the mortal world.
This fight wouldn’t just be a warning to the Devil though.
It was a warning to Heaven too.
“I do not wish to fight you, Daughter.” The Devil held his hand out to her.
“Too bad, because I really want to fight you, and Veiron has been itching to kick your arse for a long time.” Erin focused on her hands and her power, channelling it towards her palms. “Personally, I think I like the look of your throne. I made you bleed earlier. Veiron doesn’t think you can be killed... something about balance between the realms... but your blood flows in my veins, doesn’t it. Does that mean I can kill you and take your place as ruler of this realm?”
Veiron flicked his right hand out, extending his spear. “I think you might be right.”
Erin grinned at her father, revelling in the flicker of fear in his amber eyes.
“Let’s see if I can kill you, Daddy dearest.”
She threw her hands forwards and unleashed twin orbs of fire.
CHAPTER 38
The Devil held his hand up and the orbs of energy hit an invisible shield, exploding on impact and blinding Erin. She hurled another two and hoped for the best. Her vision came back and her fireballs were hurtling into the distance. The Devil was gone.
A grunt drew her attention to her right. Veiron slashed at the Devil with his spear, sweeping it in a wide arc that forced the Devil to withdraw and arch backwards to avoid the red blade. Veiron swept it back again, jabbing it forwards at the same time, and the Devil disappeared as the blade was about to stab him. Erin considered that cheating, and two could play at that game.
She waited for him to reappear and then teleported to the spot directly behind him, pressed her hands against his back and growled as she released another blast of power. At this distance, he couldn’t shield himself. The fiery bolt propelled him forwards, back towards a waiting Veiron. Veiron roared and swung his spear, slamming the thick black rod of it into the Devil’s side.
The Devil doubled over from the impact, grabbed the rod, and pulled Veiron towards him. He shoved his hand against Veiron’s chest, sending him flying through the air. Erin flinched as he landed hard, sending a plume of black dust and rubble up into the air, and didn’t wait to see if he was all right. She teleported again and appeared between him and the Devil. She yelled and threw her left hand forwards, unleashing another blast of her power, and then her right. The first orb shot towards his head and the second towards his shins. He deflected the one aimed at his head and chest and leapt over the second. It hit the ground and exploded, showering the whole area with shards of basalt and leaving a crater behind.
Veiron shot past her, nothing but a blur, his spear held in both hands at his side. He beat his crimson wings and jabbed his spear towards the Devil, who instantly blocked it. Veiron pulled the spear back, flapped his wings, flipped over his enemy and roared as he brought the blade down hard towards his head from behind. The Devil turned and held his hand up, freezing Veiron in midair.
Giving Erin his back.
She smiled. Her man was clever. While he was far less likely than she was to deal damage to the Devil, he could distract him so Erin could.
She teleported behind the Devil and slammed her fist into his lower back. Her power increased the force of her blow and fired from her as it struck him, a double whammy. He stumbled forwards and turned on her with a snarl, his eyes glowing crimson and white teeth sharp.
Veiron unfroze and grinned as he brought the blade of his spear down. It sliced down the Devil’s back and he cried out, fury brightening his eyes. He snarled and launched himself at her. Veiron was there before he could reach her, his arms and wings wrapped around her and his back taking the brunt of the Devil’s blow. He grunted and growled, and Erin panicked.
“Veiron?” she said and broke free of his grasp. He grabbed her shoulders and she caught his arms to hold him upright, and searched his eyes. “You okay?”
He nodded. A bright red glow lit him from behind and Erin focused. She teleported Veiron before the blast could hit him and landed hard on top of him a short distance away. He growled.
“Sorry.” She grimaced and another blaze of red shot towards them. “I’m still getting the hang of all this.”
She focused and shifted them again, the darkness enveloping them for longer this time before it faded and she found herself right at the edge of the plateau. At least they were standing.
A blast of black energy hit her square in the chest and sent her flying. Erin screamed and pushed all of her power to her hands and unleashed everything she had. The world spun around her, flickering black and gold, and then red as her blast hit something. It exploded with such force that a shockwave hit her and flipped her head over heels. She twirled violently, trying to focus so she could teleport. She couldn’t tell which way was up and which was down but she knew which way she was heading, and fast.
Something slammed into her waist and yanked her so hard from behind that she threw up.
“Sorry,” Veiron grumbled, twisted her in his arms and nestled her close to his body, one arm against her back and one under her knees.
Erin swallowed and shook her head. The embarrassment of vomiting in front of the man she loved was a small price to pay for being saved from a horrible fall to an excruciating death. Besides, it probably wasn’t going to be the only time she threw up in his presence over the coming months.
Veiron gathered her closer and spread his crimson wings. They glided down towards the fortress and landed in the courtyard. Veiron furled his wings against his back and went to set her down but she locked her hands around his neck. She tried to teleport them but nothing happened. Erin focused her power on her hands but they remained cold, as icy as her blood. She had suffered this cold before when she had been training and had tried to do something big. Had she expended too much of her power at once?
“Take me somewhere else. Quickly.” She still couldn’t shake the vision she’d had of Veiron in this place and she didn’t want to fight the Devil here.
Veiron’s red eyes met hers and offered a silent apology. He nodded, opened his wings and beat them.
The Devil appeared before them, no trace of blood on him and his suit immaculate again, as though the blows they had managed to land had never happened. He picked fragments of basalt from his black hair and casually flicked them to the ground. Each fragment hit the pavement with such force that they left spots of lava behind.
He straightened his shirt cuffs and tossed a bored look her way. “You will have to try harder than that, Daughter.”
His smile unnerved her.
He cocked his head to one side. “I see you have discovered the limit of your power. It was an impressive display but in your current condition, you are no match for me.”
Erin looked down at her stomach.
Was he saying that she had no hope of defeating him while she was pregnant? She focused on her belly and felt the warm glow there. It was the only place she felt warm, and it was a place that was constantly at the back of her mind, her will focused on protecting the baby inside her. Her power was split between fighting and protecting, but she couldn’t place her baby at risk by changing that and using all of her strength to fight her father.
Erin looked up into Veiron’s beautiful eyes. Flecks of brightest crimson shifted in liquid gold. She had thought his red eyes were the most amazing thing she had seen but they didn’t compare to the breathtaking beauty of his golden ones. This was a change she didn’t regret, because it was a reminder that they were joined now, together forever, and no one could take that from them. Not Heaven, and certainly not Hell.
She turned her head and looked across at her father. “You’re wrong. If I were alone, I might not be a match for you... but I’m not alone. Together, we can defeat you.”
Brave words that she didn’t fully believe but she’d had to say something to catch the Devil off guard and make him doubt himself and his powers. She wanted him to fear that she might be right and could defeat him. It would play on his mind and might give her the opening she needed to make her threat come true.
She focused hard and mustered enough energy to disappear from Veiron’s arms. She reappeared on the steps behind the Devil and swayed, her head spinning and heart pumping hard. Her hands shook, numb with cold now. Erin rubbed them. There had to be a way to recover full use of her powers and help Veiron. She wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines while he fought her father.
Veiron launched himself at the Devil and her father held his hand out and drew a black and red flaming blade out of the air. He blocked Veiron’s spear with it and the back of his suit jacket shredded.
Huge black wings made of shadows burst from his back, shifting like smoke in the stifling air.
Damn.
Maybe she could fly after all.
Erin breathed on her hands, trying to warm them up. They were like ice. She could only stand and watch as Veiron flew upwards, luring the Devil with him, and they clashed in the air. She rubbed her hands together and willed her power to come back. Her limbs shook, bones frozen and blood like icy sludge in her veins. Veiron growled and attacked the Devil again, only to be knocked back and sent flying through the air. The Devil went after him, his flaming blade a bright arc in the darkness. It cut across Veiron’s left wing and he cried out.
Come on. Erin rubbed her hands harder. She wasn’t going to stand here like a useless little girl and watch the man she loved die. Not again. Heat swelled in her stomach. Erin flinched as Veiron barely dodged the Devil’s next attack but wasn’t quick enough to evade the blast of power he unleashed after it. It hit Veiron and sent him tumbling through the air.
Veiron spread his crimson wings to right himself and dived downwards, gaining some space.
Her Angel: Eternal Warriors Romance Series Complete Series Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 72