Chapter Sixteen
Zavier swung the mace. It hit dead center of the snarling half bear, half chicken. Huh. Maybe this was where Family Guy got their ideas for the drawn-out chicken fights with Peter. Had someone on the writing staff run into one?
“On your left,” Rhys shouted.
Before he even looked, Zavier sliced left with his sword. Sure enough, it met resistance. Wet, sucking resistance. The demon waved its paws, but no sound came out of its severed neck.
“Thanks.” This was what made working as a team so worthwhile. It upped your survival odds significantly.
Although Rhys shouldn’t have had to warn him. He’d been—what was that phrase they used in the sixties? Woolgathering?—careless, letting his thoughts wander. If he’d been fighting alone, he’d be dead by now.
He somersaulted over a boulder to come up right behind another bear. Cartwheeling out of the move, he cleaved it in two just as a giant, clawed paw rose to take out Gideon.
“They move quietly, considering their size. Keep your ears open.”
“Do I look like a child? I know to keep all my senses attuned.”
“Is that so? Then why were you just one second from being split down the middle like a kabob?”
“Less talking, more fighting. Didn’t think I’d ever have to say that to Z. Guess the world really is ending.” Rhys panted. He’d just dragged himself back up over the edge of the cliff.
Zavier would’ve used his wings. But then, Rhys wasn’t nearly as good at straight vertical take-offs as he was.
Nobody was. It was a much-practiced trick that had helped win him at least five rounds at the tournament. Along with lifting him over too many demons to count.
The last of the bodyguards fell. Now it was the three of them against the reason for the frantic plea for help they’d received. The one they’d pushed off to listen to Liss spin a story so fantastic that it had to be true.
La Diablesse.
The demon was as beautiful as the terrified islanders had promised. Waist-length curly hair. Smooth black skin, artfully revealed by slits—maybe it was the cold shoulder trend Liss liked?—that would keep a guy blinking, wondering if he’d just seen all the skin he’d thought.
Her dress was black, with enormous purple flowers. An extra wide-brimmed hat flopped down enough that her features were hidden.
That was okay.
Zavier knew he was in the right place. Because this beautiful woman was hiking up her skirt.
The revealing gesture did nothing for Z. He was well aware they’d been lured here, like all her male victims, to the edge of these sea cliffs. That she intended to make him jump. Or help him along.
As her fingers ruched up her skirt, legs came into view. Very much nonhuman legs. More like a goat, ending in a cloven hoof. The thigh muscles were thicker than even his. That leg was spring-loaded.
She took off her hat. Instead of a face to match the alluring body, there was merely a grinning skull with scraps of skin fluttering in the stiff ocean breeze. The stench of rot drifted past.
“Three of you heeded my call. It is a good night.”
“For us, yeah.” Zavier grinned. “Because we love kicking evil ass. For you? Not so much.”
“You think you can defeat me?”
Rhys looked at Gideon. “We did just take out all six of your bodyguards. A smart demon would take that as a clue to run.”
“I do not run from men. I make them run from me. Screaming. Over the cliffs.” After a harrowing grin, she continued. “I sent a Keeper over two nights ago. It was glorious.”
Zavier gritted his teeth. Hell’s attacks were ratcheting up even more than they’d realized. The coup must be imminent. But he couldn’t think about that until they’d dispatched this demon.
“See, that’s the thing about a demon. Their ego is way bigger than their brain.” Gideon thrust with his sword.
La Diablesse used her powerful, hairy legs to jump over it.
“ Nephilim ,” she seethed. “How dare you interfere with my vengeance?”
“I’ll do you one better. How dare you kill humans?” Zavier laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, right—you won’t anymore. Not on our watch.” He used his wings to propel him in a barrel roll that moved him past her forceful kick. Then he threw a length of chain that coiled around her hooves.
She toppled over. Rhys took it as a cue and cleaved her skull from her body.
As it rolled to teeter on the edge of the cliff, Gideon crossed his arms. “This is a red letter day.”
“Why? This isn’t the first La Diablesse we’ve dispatched.” That was the thing with demons. A lot of them could come back. Eventually.
“It’s the first time you’ve delivered the snarky quip right before a slaying in, oh, decades.”
Zavier untwisted his chain. “That’s not true.”
“It is.” Rhys wiped his sword in the grass. “You used to be great at it. Then you just…stopped trying.”
“It doesn’t take effort to throw shade at a demon.”
“No kidding. Easy as getting hard looking at a lineup of bridesmaids.” Gideon held up his hands. “Past tense! I save all my hardness for Evangeline now.”
“Can we not talk about sex—even Gideon’s crude man whore history with it—over a decomposing corpse?” Because they’d lucked out. The flesh on La Diablesse was rotting away faster than time-lapse photography. It fell off in chunks. Then the bones started dissolving.
“Just saying you seem a lot more yourself these days. I was beginning to wonder if it’d ever happen. Good to have you back, man.” Gideon clapped him on the shoulder.
“Don’t make a thing out of it.” Zavier reconsidered as he looked out across the Atlantic. “Unless that means you’re going to get me a reward of a Jamaican rum cake.”
“We’re in Barbados,” Gideon said flatly, with a how do you not know we’re in a different country squint.
“Jamaica’s right over there.” He waggled his wing. “Even without using waterfall portals, it wouldn’t take that long to get to.”
Rhys laughed. “You know what? You’re right. The man deserves a rum cake.”
“Now you’re talk—” Zavier broke off, lunging for the shadow darting past his feet. It raced for the cliff’s edge, where Rhys had just kicked off the bodyguards. He caught it by diving onto it with a push of wings.
When he grabbed it, the thing in his hands was a tanuki—a fat Japanese raccoon dog. But as soon as he rolled onto his back, it morphed into the much sleeker form of a weasel.
“Stop it.” Zavier barely managed to contain it. “Shifting won’t get you escape. There’s nothing out here for you.”
Gideon dropped the weapons he’d just collected to kneel in the mix of sand and grass. “Did that thing just—is it a Raiju ?”
“Only way to tell for certain is if it shifts into its blue wolf form.” Or its true form, a ball of electricity. Shit. That’d sting, for sure.
Or he could ask it. “Did you belong to La Diablesse ?”
The brown head dropped all the way to Zavier’s chest.
“She didn’t treat you well, did she?”
Then it curled around his arm, clutching with all paws, but not using the sharp claws.
Rhys crouched next to him. “Cute.” He tickled the white patch on the underside of its neck. “Got a name?”
They all heard it squeak out “Lika.”
It licked Zavier’s chin. Decision made. He tucked it into his shirt. A Raiju demon—more of a…familiar to a Shinto spirit of thunder than an evil demon—liked to shrink down and nap in belly buttons. Easier to fly that way, if Lika took the hint.
With a purr, it shrank to the size of a sow bug. “I’m taking it back with us. To give to Liss.”
“Seriously? It can launch itself as a lightning ball.”
“Only for defense. Mostly for defense,” Rhys allowed.
If Lika was aggressive, it wouldn’t have survived with La Diablesse to become full grown. “It wouldn’t be out here unless those demons were keeping it as a pet. Or what passes for a pet in our world. Liss will love it. She’ll treat it way better than demons would. He’ll be a comfort to her.” And if it helped to defend her? Even better.
“Does that mean no rum cake?” Gideon mocked.
“Who knows when this little guy ate last? Let’s get him back and taken care of.”
Zavier heard Rhys and Gideon talking as they launched on the wind. No doubt it was about him softening up. Coming out of the armored shell he’d locked himself into for decades.
They weren’t wrong.
He just didn’t know how long it’d last.
Once Liss saw past the infatuation she had with him and noticed that he’d never fully healed from being a demon’s pet.
Maybe that was why he so badly wanted to rescue Lika.
Or maybe it was just that the thing was so damned cute.
…
The women—plus Aradia—were gathered at the WatchTower when they returned, minutes later. Some carol with lots of harp and guitar played in the background. All four sat on the floor in front of the fireplace with needle and thread. Big bowls of cranberries and popcorn were in the middle. Long, completed strings draped over the coffee table.
“You can sew?” Gideon picked up the festive strand and examined it. “You nailed the center of every cranberry. If you can sew, why did I have to stitch up Rhys’s arm last week?”
“Because I can sew inanimate objects. Blood and skin?” Evangeline shuddered. “That’s your provenance.”
Aradia slanted a glance at Gideon colder than the Niagara River. Zavier could guess why. He guessed their on-and-off fling had left a bitter taste in her mouth. “And because I do you enough favors already, Nephilim . I have no intention of becoming your personal Betsy Ross.”
Gideon looked impervious to her disdain. “Don’t you mean Florence Nightingale? The nurse?”
“No. The one who sewed the flag. Nurses back in the day weren’t allowed to stitch up patients. Because of—you guessed it—the patriarchy.”
Gideon examined another cranberry and popcorn string. “Now that I know all of you have the latent talent, I’m teaching you guys to stitch up wounds. You like to cook. We can practice on a pork roast this weekend.”
“Pork roasts don’t swear and jerk when you poke them. Count me out.” Liss tossed popcorn at him.
Good enough opening for him. Zavier crossed to her. “What if I give you a reward ahead of time for sitting through Gideon’s lesson?”
“If you’re offering what I think you’re offering?” Liss’s fingers went to the buttons of her knee-length cardigan. “I’m in. Just give me a few extra minutes because I’m wearing fleece leggings under my jeans. Peeling them off is a whole thing.”
Rhys roared with laughter. “Nobody’s putting a needle in me who only paid attention for sex.”
It was his mistake for not doing this in private. Hellfire. Zavier channeled a zing of heat through the flagstones to sear Rhys’s boots a little.
“Sex isn’t on the table. Fuck. I brought you a present, okay? No strings attached.” He cupped his hand at his navel until the Raiju came out and shifted into a weasel. Then Zavier scooped it from his shirt and poured the wriggling mass into Liss’s lap.
She didn’t jump. She gathered it into her hands and fell back to let it scamper up her chest. “Oh. Oh! You’re so cute. What are you?”
“Something furry I feel like I’ve seen at the zoo but can’t put a name to…” Maisy tapped a finger against her lips, concentrating.
Zavier didn’t want Lika to be insulted by them guessing wrong. “Right now, he’s a weasel.”
“Now?” Aradia laughed and made some gesture he assumed was supposed to mime a magic burst of power. “Does he turn into a werewolf at midnight?”
“Close. A blue wolf. But not at midnight. Whenever the mood strikes.”
Liss sat up abruptly. She gingerly held it away from her. “This could be a wolf? A snarling, ravenous wolf?”
Hell. He didn’t know how to give presents. Not good ones. The guys all gave each other stockings filled with joke presents, and that was it. “His name is Lika. He’s friendly. He’s not going to so much as nibble on you, isn’t that right?” Zavier lifted the Raiju ’s chin to look into its black eyes.
There was a confirmational blink. He was sure of it.
“Well, okay. If I’m not on the menu, then I can go back to petting the softest thing I’ve ever felt.” Liss cooed at Lika, letting it flow from her hands up to her neck and swiping its tail across her chin.
“He’s a familiar. Like a magical pet. He also shifts into a raccoon dog and a ball of lightning. Mostly he’ll cuddle you and try to sleep in your belly button.” Zavier lifted one shoulder. “Just thought you’d like some company.”
“He’s for me?”
Yeah, he’d done this all wrong. Backward. Why was it so hard? “Well, yeah. It’s been a rough few months for you, getting adjusted to all of our crap. Lika could give you a reason to smile every day.”
Liss stared at him. As usual, Zavier had no idea how to interpret the look. Was she thinking about how to respond? Had he offended her? Pissed her off, by suggesting that she couldn’t be satisfied with her own company?
Women were mysteries. Unsolvable mysteries. Even Gideon, with his ridiculously vast experience, agreed that understanding women was not wholly possible for any man, no matter how long lived.
Zavier felt the weight of everyone else in the room staring at him, too.
Then Liss rolled to her knees, handing Lika off to Evangeline. The next moment, she was wrapped around him like wisteria vining up a tree. “Thank you. Lika’s adorable. But the best part of the present is that you thought to give it to me.”
Before he could say “not a big deal,” her tongue was in his mouth.
Zavier wasn’t big on making a scene—like making out in front of all their friends, plus one frenemy—but he also didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Mixed metaphors? He didn’t care. Liss was warm.
Rubbing against him.
Humming just a little on the leading edge of her moan that Zavier swore amped up the heat in her kisses.
Yeah, he didn’t see that as a downside of his blood transfusion at all .
Zavier lifted her so their mouths were lined up without her being on tiptoe. It enabled her to crook a leg just above his hip.
His hip that was moving in rhythm with hers.
Which matched the in-and-out twisting slide of their tongues.
Every possible inch of her body was engaged in a sensual echo, or a promise, of what came next. Zavier was so hard that his dick ached , imprisoned under his fighting leathers. There was a dim register of Rhys and Gideon whistling and clapping.
Idiots. Enough with the free show. He popped his wings to move them down the hall to his room.
But he only made it about forty feet, to the backside of Niagara Falls. A clap of red flame resonated through the WatchTower.
And the figure caged in between Niagara and the barrier threshold winced and shook out her hand. “That’s no way to treat a friend.”
Zavier didn’t recognize her. She looked like a cartoonist’s interpretation of a porn star; exaggerated features and boobs the size of watermelons. Lips literally as red as blood and hair that danced around her face that almost made him think it was a nest of snakes before it settled into red waves.
Since he was closest, he figured he’d point out the obvious. After setting Liss down behind him and snapping daggers into both hands, he said, “All my best friends are here. And none of them ever show up dressed like you.”
The woman wore an elaborate getup that would look at home on the stage of the Moulin Rouge. A flaming red satin corset with so many cutouts in the fabric that it looked like the paper snowflakes he’d seen hung in the classroom of the elementary school by their office. Just…far less wholesome. Garters held up patterned black stockings.
“My bad. I came straight from a meeting with my boss.” She shimmied. Her breasts reduced by at least four cup sizes. The hair was tamed into a sedate French twist. A forest green sweater topped slacks in an outfit that looked no different than all the Metafora employees wore.
“Lady, who are you?”
Maisy’s rainbow Converse squeaked to a stop beside him. “It’s Lilith.”
Whoa.
Six months ago, he would’ve asked, the Lilith? dripping with sarcasm. Because there wasn’t any way that Adam’s first wife, who refused to submit to him and then left the Garden of Eden and became the Mother of Demons, would be on their threshold.
But then the Key to the Gates of Hell had gone missing. A witch in Aradia’s coven gave it to Lilith. The woman was known to play both sides in the immortal war between Good and Evil—the very definition of a wild card. She’d stuck to her word and met Maisy in Hell, though, and dealt fairly with her—for a demoness, anyway.
So now, Zavier believed it was truly her. It just didn’t explain what the First Witch and a known player in Hell was doing in their WatchTower.
Maisy bumped his arm. “Let her in.”
“No.”
“It isn’t like when you invite in a vampire once and from then on you can’t lock it out, right? Let her in now, and then you can lock her back out later.”
Maisy staunchly believed every TV and movie version of the paranormal. No matter how many times they told her that a lot of it was dead wrong. Hard to unconvince her.
Aradia joined them on the front line. To his shock, she sank into such a deep curtsy that her hair brushed the floor. “You honor me with your presence, oh Mother of Witches.”
“Rise, High Priestess.” Lilith gave a graceful wave of her upturned palm. “There’s no standing on ceremony for any of my daughters.”
“See? Wasn’t that nice?” Maisy elbowed him. “Let her in.”
“Not yet.” He wasn’t unaffected by her beauty. But a lifetime as a warrior helped him ignore it. Zavier extended his wings fully to shield Liss and Maisy. “Eva. I need your nullifying power over here.”
“You really don’t.” Evangeline’s fuzzy slippers slapped loudly on her short walk. Extra loud because nobody else was making a sound. “If she wanted to cause trouble, you wouldn’t know it. A bold entrance like this means she’s on the up and up. Hello, Lilith.”
“Evangeline.” Somehow, Zavier would swear the woman purred the name. “I’d hoped I’d get the chance to congratulate you. The first Dark Nephilim —you’re all the talk below ground. I’m quite proud of how you’re asserting your powers and making choices.”
“Thank you.” Eva stood at the edge of the barrier. Her nullifying power extended for several feet. Lilith’s powers were completely dampened by it.
Only then did Zavier allow her over the threshold.
“Maisy, it is a treat to see you again as well. Between you and me, I’m quite glad you ascended to Keeper.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the Gates, is there?” Maisy cocked her head to the side. Closed her eyes for a brief moment. “Everything feels in balance.”
“Merely catching up before I get to the meat of my visit.” She sashayed over to Zavier. “How about some introductions for this beautiful hunk of man?”
Zavier reminded himself that Lilith was a succubus. That she’d treat every man with the same naked lust. That he absolutely had the self-control to shake off whatever vibes she sent his way.
He stuck out his hand. “Zavier Carranza.”
“Mmm. Yes, I’ve heard of you as well. Great exploits. Great hardships.” She trailed a finger down his chest. “All that torment must make you eager for the comforting softness of a woman.”
Before Zavier could figure out how to politely brush off a woman who’d actually stood in the freaking Garden of Eden, Liss blew past his wing to confront her. No, to physically knock Lilith’s hand off of him.
“Hey. No touching what doesn’t belong to you. Thought you would’ve learned that lesson way back with Adam.”
Ho-ly shit . Liss was picking a fight with Lilith ? Over him ? If this was still the early 2000s, Zavier would assume he was being Punk’d .
From the corner of his eye, he saw the other guys not-so-casually join the party, hands on swords they weren’t even pretending to clean. Which was overkill. Eva’s nullifying power rendered Lilith as powerless as a human.
To his surprise, the ancient succubus laughed. A full, fruity laugh that sounded like a rich Merlot tasted. “Perhaps I learned something over the eons. Mostly that being good simply isn’t as much fun as stirring the pot. But I respect that you had the bravery to stand up for the Nephilim . I promise to be on my best behavior for this visit.”
“Glad we know where we stand.” Liss shook her hand. “I’m Liss Jemison. Maisy’s best friend.”
Lilith sniffed the air. “And yet not a human.”
Uh-oh. They weren’t sending out a press release about what had happened to Liss. Nobody needed to know how she’d transformed. Especially not with Aamon already salivating to kidnap her. Learning of her hybrid powers would only intensify his desire to take—and torture—her.
“What are you doing here, Lilith?” Zavier didn’t bother trying to soften his voice. If she’d truly heard of him? The succubus wouldn’t care or be surprised if he was blunt. “How do you even know about the WatchTower?”
“I’m a being of immense years and knowledge. It borders on insulting that you’d even ask.” She flicked her hand. “But as for today, I was sent here to deliver a message.”
“Hell has email. Why the face to face?”
“Some things can’t be risked on the World Wide Web. Secrets are too easily spilled. Ask any politician.” She turned to Evangeline. “The message is for you. From your grandfather.”
Eva gave a full-body jolt. “Oh. He said I’d never hear from him again.” Because when your grandfather was Lucifer and you didn’t live in Hell and embraced fighting for the side of Good, catching up wasn’t so easy.
“Extraordinary times, yada yada yada.”
Zavier bit back a laugh.
“Does he…have a request of me?” Lucifer was a powerful angel, and wholly good compared to those he ruled. But Evangeline had always worried that he’d try and use their relationship in some way. Learning that he’d taken steps to protect her growing up, and asked the Order to help her once she embraced her powers, had gone a long way to diminishing that worry.
Why else send Lilith, though?
Lilith’s jaw worked from side to side. Her eyes fixed on Evangeline. Their color switched to the exact pale gray of Eva’s, but bordered with a line of jet black. “My beloved granddaughter, you filled me with pride when you finally used your wings.”
Oh, that wasn’t Lilith’s voice. It was masculine. Deep. And filled with so much power that Zavier felt it reverberate in his teeth.
How was this happening with Eva nullifying Lilith’s power?
“You and your mate did us a great service by putting Pestilence back in his stable. This knowledge I share tonight is my thank you.”
Lilith paused. Eva’s hands covered her heart. Gideon’s arm went around her shoulders. “It means the world that you’re proud of me. And I don’t need any gift for stopping a Horseman of the Apocalypse. Saving the world is more than enough for me.”
“That is why you will be so remarkable as the first Dark Nephilim . You do things for the right reasons.”
Wow. Lucifer hadn’t bespelled Lilith with a magically prerecorded message. He was actually talking through her. From Hell. It was his power.
That rated another wow.
“Thank you for sending Lilith to tell me.”
“My praise is not the gift. What you should know is that Nephilim —half human and half angel—have less power than angels. But should a Dark Nephilim and a Light Nephilim work together, the two halves would make a whole. Think on how that could be to your advantage. Keep safe, granddaughter.”
Lilith swayed. She would’ve fallen if Rhys hadn’t caught her. She sagged against his chest, one hand to her forehead.
“Well. I don’t mind any excuse for a warrior to put his hands on me, but that wasn’t exactly pleasant.”
Huh. Zavier didn’t think she was faking it. Having the power of an angel who’d sat at the right hand of God in your head had to be migraine inducing.
Gideon handed her a glass of water. “Will this help? Or would you prefer a shot of, well, anything?”
She greedily gulped down the water. “I’ll take a dip in the Styx once I get home. That’ll fix me up.”
Maisy’s red eyebrows shot up. “The River Styx? The boundary between Earth and the Underworld? That can’t be good for you.”
“It has remarkable healing properties. Remember, when Achilles’s mother dipped him into it as a baby, he became invulnerable. Except, of course, the heel she held him by.”
“Lilith.” Evangeline took both of her hands. “I appreciate the sacrifice, the pain you suffered, to bring me this message. I am grateful. And when next you run into my grandfather, please extend my gratitude to him as well.”
“Of course, child.” She smiled wanly, peeling herself slowly from Rhys’s chest. “Rather than sit here in embarrassing misery—wondering why the boss didn’t mention this would be such a kick in the ass—I’m heading home.”
“Do you need an escort?” Gideon asked.
“No, but your gallantry is noted. And in thanks, I’ll divulge that Hell is a busy place these days. Lots of furtive, secret meetings. People acting as though they’re choosing sides in a hurry. Things are about to get very interesting. Know that I’ll be helping when and where I can.” Lilith shook her fist. “Nobody sane wants a fucking apocalypse!”
She stepped across the threshold and disappeared into Niagara Falls before Aradia came out of a hurried deep bow.
“Do you think maybe one night we could just order a pizza and watch The Voice ?” Liss asked. “This is getting to be a lot.”
Zavier squeezed her hand. He was still reeling from the encounter, too. Especially the mention of how they were running out of time. “Agreed.”
Waving her arms to pull attention, Eva said, “It’s not getting the WatchTower decorated, but do you realize what she said? That makes me feel all kinds of festive?”
Liss and Maisy and Aradia looked at each other. Shrugged. “Sort of?”
“If the Dark and Light Nephilim work together, they can access the same amount of power as full angels. This is a game-changer.”
“Twice as strong ass-kicking. And defense.”
“Yeah. Once we pull a plan out of Rhys’s ass, that could make a real difference.” Zavier didn’t want to be a downer, but he didn’t want to act like Lucifer’s gift was a souped-up Maserati full of cash. They still had a long way to go before figuring out how to deploy the extra power.
And he very much doubted that time was on their side.
Not when every week brought new—bad—weirdness. The actual Lilith visiting a WatchTower? Lucifer freaking Morningstar giving his granddaughter a hint as to how to beat the Titans? These were unheard of events.
Everything was spinning out of control. It couldn’t be more obvious that the shit was about to hit the fan.
And he and his friends were standing directly underneath it…