Chapter 7 Pagan
Engines rumbled around me as I sat in a long line of bikes, marveling that nearly every member took the Devil’s Ride with the new prospects. Today, that included me.
Grim had asked me to ride beside him, and I sat in a place of honor, one reserved for his officers, as Mammoth and Rael idled behind us. One by one, the other Tonopah Bastards had joined the line, ready to initiate their newest member and find out if he had the balls it took to be Graven.
I was a nomad, no stranger to the Grim Reaper and Scythe on the back of my cut, but I hadn’t met where it originated. The Tonopah GBMC was the club’s founder, and the rumors hinted at a supernatural connection. Something dark, maybe sinister.
I had to admit, it always intrigued me.
Since I didn’t know what the initiation would demand of me, I stayed alert in the saddle, leaving the lot as Grim gave the command. The power of so many engines on the road at the same time vibrated through my body.
This was why I joined a motorcycle club. It’s the reason I felt an instant bond with other bikers. We all loved the freedom and thrill of the ride. Two wheels. Knees in the breeze. There wasn’t anything else like it.
The sun was rising higher in the sky as we left the city limits of Tonopah and rode down the highway, taking an abrupt turn into the desert. Tumbleweeds rolled across the sand in the dust of our tires, flying into the air, and bouncing off the ground only to be smashed beneath multiple tires.
I turned my head to speak to Grim, wondering how far into the desert he planned to take us since I couldn’t see any structures. He must have slowed down because I couldn’t see him. Glancing over my shoulder, I pulled on the brake, concerned when I didn’t see any of the bikes or riders nearby.
Only the hot ass desert surrounded me, but even that began to wobble, morphing in front of my eyes as a ring of fire erupted. The flames traveled along the dry ground, completing the circle as I sat on my bike, blinking in confusion.
An odd swishing sound interrupted the flicker of the fire’s eager flames as they reached higher but never scorched any living thing.
I spun around as my bike disappeared. I could feel solid ground beneath my feet and nearly panicked.
Well, not my bike. Rael’s. I guess he was about to get cranky since it was missing.
I couldn’t help chuckling at the thought.
A deep sigh snared my attention. One moment, no one was there. The next, I wasn’t alone. I blinked at the image in front of me, staring at a man dressed in a costume. A weird fucking costume.
He was dressed like a religious leader with long flowing robes and a skeletal mask. The outfit reminded me of a bishop, but the robes were black. A large, bright crimson inverted cross covered most of its length, with flickering flames outlining the entire perimeter.
Wait. Were those real?
He wore black gloves, polished black shoes, and carried a black staff with a glowing red jewel at the top. His hat was the best part. The mitre, or ceremonial headdress, was also black with two points and the same red striping as the cross.
No flames on his head, though.
“Bet you spent a fortune on that,” I observed as I tilted my head, noticing that his face mask must have been adhered to his skin because it looked like prosthetics. No way did anyone get that kind of detail from a plain mask.
I would know. I had quite a collection in storage where my sister lived in California. My Ghostface variations were my favorite. Lainey had no idea of all the delicious fun we’d have together.
“It really doesn’t take long to do.” He snapped his fingers... and the whole ensemble disappeared. Poof. Gone in an instant.
“The fuck?” I asked, blinking as the bishop, with a skeletal face, now appeared to be a man in his mid-thirties in a tailored black suit, perfectly pressed, as if he had just walked out of a fitting.
His dark hair was slicked back as he flashed me a too-wide grin.
The only thing that remained the same was his shoes.
I took a step backward.
Laughter bubbled up from his chest as he bowed. “Pagan. We meet at last.”
“Who the hell are you?” I looked around, waiting for Rael to jump out and say this was all a joke. “Am I being punked?”
“No, although I may have to try that scenario sometime since so many of you think of it.”
I didn’t reply since I didn’t know what the fuck he meant.
“Do you ever think about that night?”
My body stilled. “What night?”
“The one when your sister was attacked.”
He had my attention now. “Choose your next words carefully.”
“They ever catch the man who robbed and cut her?”
My sister was attacked one night on her way home from class. She’d been sliced up, but thankfully not sexually assaulted. The experience still traumatized her. It took a fuck ton of therapy to help Lizzie cope with what happened.
It was why I never strayed far in case she needed me. As a nomad, I could ride to her place and reach her within a day from almost anywhere in California or Nevada. I was the one who taught her how to shoot a gun, and she always carried a weapon with her now for protection.
Someday, I wanted Lizzie and Lainey to meet. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be long before that happened.
“No,” I growled in answer.
“A familiar theme. Yes?”
He meant the hit and run. “How the fuck do you know about all this?”
A devilish twist of his lips preceded a quick poof of air before his entire expression changed. No longer human, his features had twisted into a bony visage, his eyes glowing a deep red.
“Fuck!” I nearly stumbled as I backed up, moving away as he snickered.
“You scare so easily. It’s almost insulting.”
“Who, no, what are you?”
He rolled those crimson eyes like I was some annoying kid pestering him with useless questions.
“Lucifer Morningstar.” He paused and waited like I was supposed to have another reaction.
When I didn’t, he pouted. His lower lip jutted out and drooped as the flesh reformed on his face.
“I really need to speak to Grim. The lack of recognition from new recruits is really depressing.”
The devil? Is that what he meant?
He slapped a hand over his face. “Hell’s bells. Yes. I’m the devil. Satan. Lucifer. The great trickster. And so on.”
“Uh. Okay?”
He frowned. “You don’t believe me?”
I really didn’t need a demonstration beyond what he had already shown me. “I do.”
“Good. It simplifies things.” He clapped his hands together, and I noticed his blood-red nails. “Aren’t they pretty?”
“Sure.”
He placed a hand on his hip, giving me a devious smile. “You bikers. Always so masculine, sticking to common stereotypes and rigid labels. Go fuck a man for once. Paint your nails. Wear a fucking dress. Challenge the norm.”
I didn’t have a problem with what he was saying, but I didn’t feel the urge to do any of that. I just wanted to fuck Lainey and become a member of the Tonopah Graven Bastards.
He sighed. “So predictable.”
“Am I going to be a member or not? I kinda feel like you’re doing some kind of fucked up interview,” I admitted, folding my arms as I ticked my chin toward him. “I passed. Right?”
“Your arrogance is part of your charm.” He winked. “Sure. There’s just one little thing.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“I need you to sign my contract.”
A contract?
“In blood,” he clarified. “Your blood.”
“I take it Grim, Rael, and the others have all signed it.”
“The have,” he confirmed. “It’s simple. Mutually beneficial.”
“What do I have to do for you?” It couldn’t be that easy. There was always a catch. After all, he was the devil. Nothing was ever free.
“Reap souls.”
I blinked. “Reap? Like kill people?”
“Ugh.” He sighed and shook his head. “Bad guys. I tag them, and you send them to me. The worst of the worst. Rapists. Sick fucks who touch children. People like that.”
“What do you get out of it?” I really wanted to know. How did the devil thrive on the tainted souls of evil people?
“I devour their pain.”
Woah.
“And there will be lots of pain,” he assured me.
“In hell?”
“Yes.”
Okay then. “What do I get out of it? Why does our club reap souls for you?”
“When you accept my contract, you accept a Reaper.”
A Reaper. Like Rael mentioned? But they didn’t look different. Grim, Rael, Mammoth, and the other members didn’t seem altered or inhuman.
“They share their bodies with one of my Reapers. You get the Reaper and his talents. He’ll give you the ability to hunt down those who have harmed you and your loved ones. An eye for an eye.”
“Wait. Are you saying I can hunt my sister’s attacker and the guy who hit me in the intersection?”
“Good boy. You’re getting it.”
Sarcasm. Wonderful. I spoke that language, so I didn’t take offense. “I like it.”
“Snooki will accept you. Your Reaper is already willing and ready to claim her.”
“I’m not sharing Lainey,” I growled.
“Not your choice. You sign the contract, he becomes part of you.”
“If I refuse?”
“You won’t wake up.” He shrugged. “I’ll find another and harvest your soul. I don’t waste my time.”
Lucifer was serious.
“Your woman won’t resist your Reaper. He will be part of you. As integrated as your arteries and as vital as your heart.”
“My injuries,” I began, ready to negotiate.
“Healed. You’ll be more vigorous than ever. The Reaper will lend his vitality.”
There didn’t appear to be much of a choice. If I wanted to leave, I had to agree. I held out my hand as Lucifer touched the tip of one finger to mine. I felt a tiny prick before blood oozed from the small wound.
Lucifer snapped his fingers, and a parchment appeared.
Words glowed in a golden hue, erupting into flames before the charred remnants stained the paper black.
It was far too long to read right now, dropping to the ground and rolling toward my feet.
Whatever he wrote, the devil protected himself in the language.
I knew I was signing my soul over to him. The only thing that made it easier was knowing I wasn’t alone. Over a dozen others in the Graven Bastards had already done the same.
I pressed my finger to the paper, signing as I accepted my fate.
Lucifer patted my cheek and then slammed his palm into my forehead. The impact shoved my body backward as he waved.
I closed my eyes as a wave of fatigue hit me and then jolted, blinking as I sat on my borrowed Harley. Every member of the Tonopah chapter faced me, astride their bikes, amusement clear on their rugged faces.
“You’ve just been fuckered,” Mammoth informed me.
“Or fucked,” Rael clarified.
“By the devil,” Grim added.
Great.
“Welcome to your new reality.”
As I sat there, I felt a presence stir within me. Powerful. Sinful. Downright addicting. Thoughts that weren’t my own filtered through my head, and I felt similar beings surrounding me inside every man gathered in the desert.
“I get it now.”
“Yeah,” Rael laughed. “You’re fuckered for sure.”
Just when I felt the presence inside me settle, a powerful lust took hold. My cock hardened as laughter, not my own, echoed in my head.
“And there it is,” the one called Wraith laughed.
“Fuck it out of your system. That’s my advice.” Grim gestured to my swollen dick as it tented my jeans. “We all go through it.”
“Christ,” I muttered as laughter erupted around me.
I needed Lainey more than ever now.
We rode for The Crossroads, and I somehow managed to beat most of them. I hardly had the patience to park the bike before I was rushing inside, looking for Lainey.
Diablo, the one with the black and red face paint, smirked when he saw me. “I ink the members. Get your tat after you fuck all that energy away.”
I guess there weren’t any secrets here.
Lainey was at the bar. She slipped from a stool and approached me, eyes widening as she stared at my face. “Wow. You’re one of them now.”
“I am.”
“And you still want me?” She sounded nervous.
“Only you,” I confirmed. “Those sweet lips. That sexy ass. And your addictive pussy.”
“Then take me.”
I scooped her up, carrying Lainey from the bar as a few of the guys whistled. Several shouted obscene but encouraging comments.
“I can see the Reaper inside you. He’s amazing.”
Something rumbled my chest, and I knew it was him.
“You have no idea what he’s capable of, what I’m capable of, darlin’. But you’re about to find out.”
She sucked in a breath, her eyes nearly glazed over with want and excitement.
Yeah, baby. I’m gonna make you scream my name and fulfill every one of your dirty fantasies.