The Price of Exorcism

by Dakota Brown

  It seemed the vampire had a pretty good idea who Azrael was, and he kept an eye on him until he stepped outside the wards to help the other three enter.

  "Thought you weren't going to summon him back."

  I turned my attention to the doorway into the living room. Darius leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, an annoyed expression on his face.

  "Strictly speaking, I didn't, mate," I growled. "Ezra did. What are you doing here?"

  "Who's Ezra?"

  I gestured at the demon prince. "Prince Ezra," I explained. He'd know who I meant.

  "Wait, for real?" Darius went ashen.

  "Yeah, and that's the angel of death." I pointed at Azrael, hoping he didn't mind me telling Darius. "That's War, Famine, and Plague, and I just got back from hell, so I'm tired, cranky, and all of that. What are you doing here?" I repeated my question. Mal had let the other three into the house.

  "Some people came to me, to see if I could convince Aaron to go with them for some training. So far, Aaron and Mal have refused to meet with them."

  "That's because they're a bunch of dicks," Aaron supplied.

  Mal chuckled. "The angels are convinced Aaron needs to go with them."

  "That would be unwise at this point," Azrael said. "We, however, can also tell you what you need to know, and you will be in no danger of getting stuck somewhere you do not wish to be."

  "Oh, great. So, ride off with you all, or hang with the angels?" Aaron did not look thrilled at either idea.

  War grinned at him. "We're way more fun."

  He raised his eyebrows.

  "For real. Hey, come let me talk with you for a minute," she said. "I have a story to tell you, then you can decide."

  Aaron glanced at me and I nodded reassurance, so he let her lead him further into the house for a degree of privacy.

  "So you trust the demons over the angels?" Darius said, eyes wide with disbelief.

  "I am an angel of sorts, Priest," Azrael stated. "And I do not trust most of the Host in this case. Many factors are at play, and right now there are only a handful of people I trust." He gestured to all of us. "A war none of us present want will soon be upon us, if we can't stop it. Be careful who you put your faith in, Priest."

  Oh, Death sounded annoyed. That wasn't good.

  Darius cleared his throat and nodded. "My apologies."

  War and Aaron returned. Aaron hunched his shoulders. "Think maybe I should go with them," he said.

  I glanced at Ezra, who nodded. "How long will he be gone?" Aaron had a real job and other responsibilities. Come to think of it, I had no idea what day it was.

  "We will return him before the weekend has passed," Azrael said.

  "You can teach him everything he needs to know that quickly?"

  "No, but time is a human construct. I will take us outside of that construct long enough to educate Aaron. It will be longer for him, but not excessively so."

  "He's got this really cool place for training," War said, eyes bright. "Aaron will love it."

  "It's up to you, but if you gotta learn stuff, I'd trust these guys over anyone else."

  Aaron nodded. "I agree."

  "Okay, when are you leaving?"

  "Right away. You should inform your priest of the events taking place so he can make better decisions in the future," Azrael said before turning and heading outside.

  "Uh, yeah, sometimes he forgets to say goodbye," War called loudly enough that Azrael could hear. He obviously didn't care though because I heard his bike start up.

  "Mate, you're gonna ride a pale horse." I grinned at him. "And live to tell about it."

  Aaron shook his head. "I'm just not going to think about that right now." He hesitated then continued. "I'll miss you."

  "Yeah, I'll miss you, too. As soon as you're back, we'll go do those things we talked about." Like see his family. That had to be easy after dealing with demons, didn't it? "Make sure they fill you in about what happened in Hell."

  "Will do."

  Aaron wrapped me in another hug, and I pulled him down and stood on my tiptoes to give him a solid kiss.

  Then he left with the other horsemen.

  Mayhem, I noticed, had returned to his puffball form. I supposed the hellhound shape might be a bit much for Darius, but then again, maybe he deserved it. He was still eyeing Ezra, and not looking at all happy.

  "I should also depart," Ezra said. "There are people I need to talk to."

  "Right. How long are you going to be gone?"

  I'm only a thought away, Chris. "I'm not sure."

  "Right, well, stay out of trouble."

  Ezra laughed. "I believe that is my line." He glanced at Mal. "Think you can keep her out of trouble?"

  Mal shook his head. "No, but I'll try."

  They shared some sort of guy look and I hoped that meant they had reached an understanding. Ezra held out his hand to me. I took it and went outside with him.

  "You got a car coming or something?" I asked.

  Ezra gestured toward the driveway where his car sat.

  "Oh, right, stupid question."

  He chuckled. "So, is your priest going to have a heart attack if I kiss you in front of him?"

  They were all watching from the doorway, though Darius had kept quite a bit of distance between Sabian, Mal, and himself.

  "Fuck it." I wrapped my arms around him, and he treated me to a soul stealing kiss.

  "I might be gone for a while," he said when we came up for air. "But we should be able to communicate at any time. If you need me, shout and I will come as quickly as I am able."

  "Think I'll always need you," I admitted. "But I know what you mean."

  He kissed me again, chastely, then got in his car.

  I went back inside, not looking forward to the conversation with Darius, but looking forward to some alone time with Mal and Sabian. We had a lot to talk about, and I wanted both of them in my bed for a solid week.

  Sabian's lips twitched. He'd caught that thought.

  I avoided looking at Darius, gesturing for them to follow me into the living room.

  "Mal, could you get me something to eat please." It felt like forever since I'd eaten, though it hadn't been that long in reality. I was exhausted, too, but Darius needed to hear part of this tale. Mal needed to hear the rest.

  "My pleasure, Chris."

  Darius had a carefully neutral expression on his face that I was sure concealed a measure of disgust. He was right, though. I was in deep and there was no getting out at this point. At least my soul would stay intact.

  While Mal prepared something for me to eat, I launched into an edited version of the last few weeks.

  Darius' eyes got wider and wider as I talked until he finally shook his head. "I know you're not lying, Price, but that's completely unbelievable."

  I'd left out the craziest bits.

  "Yeah, well, you haven't even heard the good part. Nicki and Daed are back. They're hanging with some mage with a serious chip on his shoulder named Brennan, and the biggest part I haven't told you yet…Lott, yes, that Lott, he's dead."

  Darius collapsed back into the chair Aaron normally sat in. "Lott being dead is a good thing. Not just banished, but actually dead?"

  "Very completely dead."

  "And what are Nicki and Daed up to?"

  "Nothing good. And Tif is dead. I think they killed her or got her killed when they got into demon summoning years back. I'm pretty sure that's how we ended up with Lott in our lives."

  Darius crossed himself and muttered a quiet prayer.

  "So, guess you need to think on all that," I said once I'd finished. "Don't know if you have to pick a side, but if you're not going to choose ours, I'd ask you to stay out of this."

  Darius nodded, but didn't give me an actual answer. I hadn't expected one right away at any rate.

  We stood and I walked him to the door.

  He gave me one last undecipherable look before heading to his car.

  Mal put his arms around me
from behind, and Sabian touched my shoulder.

  "Think we lost him?" Mal asked.

  "I don't know. Thought you were the one with the super senses."

  "I can't tell, either." He kissed my neck, and I tilted my head, giving him access and almost hoping he'd just bite me and let me finish the rest later.

  "Okay, so, tell me the rest," Mal whispered against my skin.

  "Damn it," I grumbled halfheartedly.

  He chuckled. "Is it that bad?"

  "Not bad. Just even more bizarre. I'll have to introduce you to the nightstallion."

  "What?" Mal straightened, though he kept his arms around me.

  Sabian chuckled. "One of the spirit horses like the horsemen ride."

  "Okay, then. So, you have a nightstallion. What else?"

  "Uh, well, um…some demon marks, and a few other things. Also, I killed Lott, and I need a new knife. Also, Mammon might be very specifically pissed off at me."

  Mal swore and led me back into the living room where I told him the rest. Sabian added in a few details, and then we waited for his reaction.

  "Can I see them?" he finally asked.

  I pulled off my shirt and his eyes went to the mark Lucifer had left between my breasts. Mal leaned forward, tracing it gently with his fingers and sending chills through me.

  "That's intense," he said after a moment. "And Ezra's?"

  "I think I can get it to glow," I answered, twisting so Mal could see my back. I concentrated, and after a moment my back warmed.

  Mal's fingers ran along my back and I guessed I'd been successful. I'd explained to him as best I could what Ezra had done, and how the old magic in my genes had twisted it to my favor. He'd liked that. He'd also said that explained why my blood tasted so good. He'd never admitted that before, but with everything else that had happened, there was no way that little bit of information was going to freak me out.

  "So, how'd things go at the shop while I was gone?"

  Mal's hand stilled on my back and I twisted around to catch a guilty, slightly panicked look on his face.

  "Oh?"

  "Uh." He cleared his throat. "Your entire staff knows I'm not human, and Aaron is a half angel, and, well Mandy knows most of the rest."

  "What the fuck did you do?"

  "We were finishing up after quote wars and the angels came and tried to get Aaron. I fought them off."

  "Whoa, wait a minute, you fought off angels?"

  "That's badass," Sabian whispered, awe in his voice.

  "Yes. And now your house, the cars, and the shop are all warded against angels and demons."

  "Thanks," I said. "And Mandy?"

  "Well, she was down in the city visiting her parents and apparently went out looking for a hookup. She found the wrong sort of guys and got herself into some purely human trouble. When she didn't show up for work, and no one could find her, Billy asked me for help. I was able to find her right away and rescue her. Then we were again confronted by one of the angels, who basically told her I was a vampire. Not that she hadn't guessed that already. I filled her in on the rest and she swore not to go looking for supernatural trouble, and not to tell anyone else, so I left her memory alone."

  "Fuck, Mal. Is she okay?"

  "Yes. I checked on her the other day. She's okay."

  I groaned. "Poor girl."

  "Yeah," he agreed.

  "By the way, Sabian, I'm really glad to see you. I didn't have a chance to say that with everyone else here," Mal said.

  Sabian lit up with a brilliant smile. "I'm very glad to see you, too, Mal."

  The vampire stood and pulled the incubus into a hug and my heart melted a little more.

  "Okay, so things are what they are," Mal said. "We'll adapt and prepare as best we can. Ezra seems to have changed his tune about sharing?"

  "Yeah, mate. Mostly. He's still not happy about it, but he's dealing."

  "Good. So, Sabian informed me that you want both of us in your bed for an entire week."

  I raised my eyebrows. When had they had that conversation?

  "Yeah, starting now." I stood, letting my shirt fall to the ground.

  "I don't know if we can manage an entire week." Mal grinned. "You'll need to head over to your restaurant and reassure everyone that you're still alive, and you are going to make it to the pizza party after all, but outside of that, we'll do our best."

  "You'd better at least keep me up all night," I said.

  "That, we can certainly do," Sabian replied with a matching smile.

  "And we won't even make you get up early tomorrow."

  "No. But when I do get up, I want early afternoon sex, since we won't be awake in the morning."

  "Any time you want," Sabian assured me.

  They took my hands and led me into my bedroom.

  I had an idea that whatever happened next was going to be lifechanging in ways that far surpassed the last couple of months, but with Mal, Sabian, Aaron, and Ezra, not to mention Mayhem and the nighstallion at my side, I was sure we could face whatever life threw at us and come out together on the other side.

  Epilogue

  Price

  I stared at Sabian where he sat on one of the flat rocks in my yard, shoulders hunched, completely withdrawn into himself. So much so that he didn't even notice me approach.

  "Sabian, what's wrong?"

  He jumped, startled.

  "Nothing, I'm sorry." He straightened and turned to face me.

  "I can read your mind, demon," I growled at him. "Don't lie to me."

  He sighed. "I just…I feel guilty. I doubted you. And I don't feel worthy of being with you. I can't protect you like Mal and Aaron can."

  "Doubted me how?" That might be the easier one to address.

  "Chris, I thought you'd sent me away. I realize that was stupid. Even then I knew the thought was stupid, but I still thought it. And then when you didn't come for me, I just thought you'd moved on. Which, is also dumb as hell because there's no way I actually expected you to come to hell to get me."

  "Except I did."

  "I know. And now I feel worse, because I doubted you even though there was no realistic way you could come for me, and you went and found a way."

  He reached out and touched my chest.

  "And now you've got that."

  I waved my hand negligently. "This is useful. I didn't have to sell my soul to get it, and now I can get in and out of hell."

  I could feel him shy away from a thought related to my marks, but I let it go.

  "So, you feel guilty because you doubted me, and then you feel guilty because you shouldn't have expected me to come for you, but I did. That about right?"

  Sabian nodded.

  "Mate, it's cool. I get it, but don't feel guilty. I would not have expected me to do what I did, either. It's completely nuts and we both know it. Without Ezra it wouldn't even have been possible. As to the other bit, trust me, moving on is not an option. Sabian, you're mine and I'm yours and there's nothing I want more than having you in my life."

  He studied me, hope in his eyes.

  "And as for the rest. Why wouldn't you be worthy of me?"

  "You can do all these amazing things. Mal, Aaron, and Ezra can, too. I'm just an incubus."

  "Sabian. There's no just about it. You're pretty amazing just like you are. And have you forgotten you're a shapeshifter? I'm sure at some point that's going to come in very useful. You may not be a fighter, but you've got so many other talents."

  He brightened further.

  My words were having a positive effect on him. I didn't think this short conversation would completely pull Sabian out of the darkness his time at the hands of Lott had put him into, but he was listening, and that was something.

  "I love you, Sabian. You need to know that."

  His eyes widened and he swallowed a few times and I swear I saw tears shimmering beneath those beautiful amber irises.

  "You do?"

  "Yes. Trust me, if I didn't, I wouldn't have gone to hell and b
ack for you." I grinned at him.

  He ducked his head for a moment before meeting my gaze again. "I love you, too, Chris. Thank you. Thank you for claiming me, for rescuing me, and for claiming me again. There's nothing I want more than to be at your side."

  "Great. It's settled then. You're stuck with me."

  He burst out laughing. "I think you're stuck with me."

  I sat down next to him and he pulled me onto his lap. He pressed his lips to mine, and we shared a tender kiss, that I deepened into something that was going to lead to us getting naked if I had my way about it.

  In the distance my nightstallion nickered as he watched us.

  Creeper.

  The End

  Watch for book 3, The Price of Magic, coming soon!

  Author's Note

  Thank you so much for reading my reverse harem tale! More is coming soon! Reviews are so very important, especially to new authors and are greatly appreciated! Even a line or two will do!

  About the Author

  Dakota has two passions in life: writing and cinnamon tea. Tea so strong she ought to be able to see her future when she drinks it, and the writing? Well, she hopes it makes you see stars when you read it. She creates reverse harem romance novels filled with things that go bump in the night. That handsome werewolf walking down the street? The suave vampire you're just dying to get a taste of? You'll find them enraptured by charming, smart ladies ready to make those bad boys work for their affection. When not writing, Dakota can be found on the back of a horse out on the trail or tending the animals on her farm.

  Connect with Dakota:

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  Other Works

  Mountain Magic Trilogy

  Becoming

  Demon's Touch

  Reckoning

  Ocean Enchantment Trilogy

  Siren's Catch

  Siren's Song

  Siren's Storm

  Pizza Shop Exorcist