Chapter Sixteen
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IVY ROCHE WAS BENT over Xathan’s desk with her skirt up around her waist. The receptionist was panting in need as her climax drew closer.
Palming her ass, he slapped one cheek and she let out a squeal of pleasure.
Thrusting harder and faster, the warrior emptied himself inside her seconds after she came.
“Oh, God,” Ms. Roche moaned. “I’ve never had a lover like you before, Xathan.”
Chuckling in satisfaction, he stepped back and picked up his trousers. “You’d better get back to your office just in case Governor Giamano needs anything before he leaves for the day,” he said.
Ivy always brought tissues with her now. She used some to clean herself as he stepped into his bathroom. “Will I see you later tonight?” she asked as she pulled her skirt back into place.
“Perhaps,” Xathan said, washing himself clean. “I’ll be having a meeting with Rahab soon.”
“Oh,” she said in disappointment. Rahab’s meetings could sometimes drag on for hours. “If I don’t see you tonight, I’ll see you in the morning,” she said. He nodded, then she let herself out.
Xathan was glad Ivy hadn’t lingered. She was a good lay, but he didn’t want her to become emotionally attached to him.
Humans were a pleasurable distraction and nothing more.
None of the Soldiers of Chaos were truly capable of caring about anyone except themselves.
He wasn’t sure if Chaos had made them that way, or if Anarchy was to blame.
Checking his watch, he had ten minutes to reach the gym, which was plenty of time. His guards smirked when he exited from his office.
“Ivy really enjoyed bringing you coffee you don’t even drink this time,” one of his escorts said slyly.
“I thought she was going to scream again,” the other male said.
Xathan ignored them, knowing they were jealous that he had an attractive willing female all to himself. They quickly strode down 5th Avenue and reached the gym with a couple of minutes to spare. Rahab wasn’t alone when his advisor entered. Phul, Lachial and Vetis were also in attendance.
“You’re late,” Rahab said cuttingly, bottom lip sticking out belligerently.
“My apologies, Lord,” Xathan said even though he knew he’d arrived early.
“Why did you call us here, Xathan?” Phul asked, trying to head off Rahab’s temper tantrum before it could start. Their leader was spoiling for a fight like a petulant child again.
“I’ve noticed some changes Creel Lawson has made to the militia,” the hairless advisor said.
“Like what?” Lachial asked in a bored tone. Vetis had tagged along to break the monotony of searching for his absent offspring.
“Mr. Lawson has taken charge of the mercenaries,” Xathan said.
“He’s shifted everyone who isn’t loyal to him and his cause into other positions.
Everyone who isn’t white has been sent to guard the slaves at the farms and factories.
Every remaining guard in and around the Empire State Building are his allies. ”
“Oliver’s mind has turned to mush,” Rahab said with a scowl. “Any idiot can influence him now.”
“Some humans can’t handle it when we use mind control on them too often,” Phul said. “Mr. Giamano’s too weak to deal with our magic.”
“It makes him pliable, but he could also go insane,” Xathan said. “Creel Lawson has his ear now. He’s getting his way when it comes to ousting anyone who he believes is inferior to him, including us eventually.”
They all scoffed at the idea of the pathetic human thinking he could possibly be superior to anyone, let alone to them.
“We should kill him,” Rahab said with a scowl. “He’s just going to cause more trouble the longer he stays alive.”
“We could eliminate him, Lord,” Xathan agreed. “But it will spark a mutiny with his allies. We’re heavily outnumbered and we’ll probably be slaughtered if we go to war with the preppers.”
“What are we supposed to do, then?” Rahab demanded. “Allow Creel to take over Manhattan? Do you expect us to bow down to him and follow his orders?”
“Of course not, Lord Rahab,” Xathan said, lowering his eyes subserviently.
Rahab’s fists were clenched and he was seething with fury.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Lawson is resistant to mind control,” his advisor went on.
“We won’t be able to manipulate him as easily as the Governor.
If we want to get rid of him, we’ll have to make sure none of us can be implicated in his demise. ”
“We should lock him in a dark cell with Jazmine,” Vetis suggested. “She’ll rip him apart with her shadows and turn him into dog chow.” Lachial snickered along with him and they both received a glare from their boss.
“Come up with a plan and run it past me before you take any action,” Rahab ordered Xathan.
“About the cambion,” Phul said with a sidelong glance at Lachial. “Is she responsible for all the murders of the mercs in Brooklyn?”
They all turned to look at Lachial. “I’ve been keeping my eye on her,” the pale-haired, pale-eyed warrior said. “My spawn is always in her apartment when I check up on her. I know for a fact some of the humans were murdered on the nights I know she was home.”
“Can you be absolutely sure Jazmine didn’t kill the militants?” Xathan asked shrewdly.
“No,” Lachial admitted with a sulky scowl. “But I don’t see how she can defy my parental bond or Rahab’s mind control.”
“Cambions are strange creatures,” Xathan mused. “Our offspring are different this time, thanks to Fate’s intervention. Unlike the cambions in the past eras, Jazmine appears to be the only one who was born with a black soul so far.”
“Her soul isn’t completely black,” Vetis said and gained their attention. “I noticed she has a tiny patch of gray in there when she wrapped a shadow around my ankle.” He’d been close enough to the female to delve her deeply.
“How did she pull that off?” Phul asked in amazement all over again. “Didn’t you say the lights were on?”
“There are always shadows,” Rahab said with a sneer. He held his hand up and gestured at the shadow it cast on the floor. “Shadow wielders’ magic works better in the dark, but they can still manipulate shadows when there’s light around.”
“Is it really a good idea to breed this mentally unstable cambion with her knight if he ever turns up?” Phul asked. “What if her progeny turns out to be just as insane as she was?”
“Is,” Lachial corrected him. “My daughter is still nuts. She can just control her craziness better now that I’ve bonded her to me.”
“Wonderful,” Xathan muttered, mind coming up with scenarios of Jazmine going on a killing spree.
Rahab heaved a huge sigh, indicating his impatience with the topic. “We won’t know what her brats will be like until her knight gets her pregnant,” he pointed out. “First, we need him to turn up so we can capture him.”
Their discussion switched to possible traps they could set to imprison the Knight of Order.
They’d had plenty of practice capturing their enemies in past eras.
This time, they had bait that none of their foes could possibly resist. They just had to be patient and wait for the warrior to arrive.
In the meantime, they would keep searching for other cambions.
“Enough,” Rahab said an hour later. There was no point going over and over the same topic.
“I’ll be in our base if you need to contact me,” he said, then strode over to the door.
He dropped the muting spell he’d placed around the building and the ward that had hidden their presence from their enemies.
Phul waited until their commander was out of earshot before he spoke. “Our boss almost killed the last female he had sex with,” he said too quietly for their guards to overhear him. “The paramedic prepper said she had internal injuries.”
“Imagine what Rahab will do to GG if he ever gets his hands on her again,” Vetis said, green eyes gleaming with delight. “I hope I’ll be there to see her get what’s coming to her.”
“Unlike you, Rahab prefers privacy when he’s naked with females,” Xathan said with an eyeroll.
“Just think of how humiliating it would be for the blonde if our boss used her right in front of us,” Vetis said.
“Now I’m in the mood for sex,” Lachial complained. “Come on, Vetis, you can watch me violate a pretty little blonde female I found a few days ago. She looks a lot like your offspring.”
“Let’s go,” his companion agreed, already hard. While he wasn’t into incest, Vetis got off on women being humiliated. It was one of his favorite things in his entire lengthy existence.
Phul grimaced and Xathan watched the pair leave in disgust. “Those two are sick,” Phul murmured.
“You’re not wrong,” Xathan agreed. He wasn’t in the mood to contact Ivy on her walky-talky and advise her he was coming to her apartment. Instead, he headed to his own apartment where he could have a few hours of peace alone.