7. History Repeats Itself
CHAPTER 7
History Repeats Itself
Rez
A fter cleaning myself for the second time, we wait for Zeke and everyone to change into something more comfortable. They all opt for nightclothes or comfy workout clothes like myself. Once we’re ready, we decide it’s best to go the long way around to the library because we don’t want to take a chance of disturbing Tempest by walking by her room.
We’re guests, and we don’t want to become a pain in the ass for Lynx’s parents since they are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.
As we head back to the library room for our post-dinner education, I spot Lynx down the other hallway at an open doorway and break off from the group.
‘You okay?’ I ask, walking up to him.
‘Yeah, just watching mom put Tempest to bed,’ he confesses. I peer around his shoulder and watch as his mother tucks the little shifter into bed and grabs a book of nursery rhymes off a small shelf.
‘My mom used to read to me from that book,’ Lynx confesses as I run my hand up his stiff back. I squeeze his shoulder a few times before continuing down his back, and I feel his muscles release beneath my fingers.
A wave of guilt hits me as I think of how young Lynx was when he came to me. He missed out on so much of his childhood with his parents. Instead, he spent his childhood with me and my own mother. I know I might regret asking, but I have to know.
‘Do you ever regret it?’
Lynx fully turns to face me with his face pinched. ‘Regret what?’
My jaw clinches as my eyes shift to look at his mother and sister. ‘ Your childhood and leaving so young?’
His hands gently cup my face, bringing it back to catch his smile.
‘Not a chance.’ He kisses my forehead before putting our heads together and looking intently into my eyes. ‘Finding you, my mate, as early as I did was the greatest honor anyone could ask for, Rez. Some shifters never do. So, don’t ever question if I regret anything. I could never regret you.’ He pulls back, and his eyes dart to the side, squinting before giving me a smirk. ‘Actually, the only thing I regret is not losing my V-card sooner.’
Ugh. I playfully smack him on the arm but hold in my laughter as I grab him and lead him back to the library room.
‘You’re horrible,’ I comment, and his laugh is the only reply that I receive.
We're the last ones from our group to the room, and everyone seems to be waiting for us. Lennox is in a worn brown la-z-boy, drinking a steamy drink next to the fireplace. JP and Zeke sit in the loveseat with Reaper in their lap, soaking up some cuddles, while Knox sprawls out on the ground. There’s a small pile of pillows on the floor that Chester and Moni have taken over. Levi gives me a smile while he scoots over a little bit and pats the area between him and Knots on the sofa. Ryker throws him a frown from his other side but slides over to give me room as I sit between my Door Knight and mage.
“Really? In front of my own parents?” Lynx lets out a scoff.
“Sorry, Lynx, but you snooze, you lose,” Levi says, smiling to himself. I’m taken aback a little that he’s even showing this fun and laidback side of himself, let alone in front of everyone. Maybe I’m getting through to him.
Lynx rolls his eyes and plops down on the ground in front of me, leaning against my legs, but he turns just enough to look at Levi.
“Pfft. Aren’t you missing a leash?”
“I couldn’t find yours.”
“Dayum!! Levi has bite,” JP calls out.
“Who’s this Levi, and what have you done with my brother?” Zeke says as everyone joins in laughing.
I catch a slight blush on Levi’s cheeks before he clears his throat, signaling his discomfort. I grab his hand, knowing he doesn’t do well with ribbing for long, and give it a squeeze before addressing Lennox.
“So, Lennox. You were going to tell us about the Trail of Worth?” I prompt, hoping to get this conversation going.
He quickly hides his smile at our antics. “Ah, yes. I don’t know where that saying even came from, but?—”
“In this book,” I blurt out, remembering and pulling out the small book I have shoved into the pocket of the crop top hoodie I’m wearing now. I’m surprised I still have it, to be honest, but it was in my pocket before my shower, so I switched it over. Finding it in Lilith’s library stash and having Lucifer give it to us in such a hurry, it never occurred to me if we’d still need it, but it isn’t mine, so I didn’t want to leave it lying around. It was supposed to get us to the Road of Worth, but that’s all we had to go with. Do we still need it?
“Let me see that,” Lennox asks, reaching for it. We pass the book between the group of us until it reaches him, and he opens it immediately, skimming through until he finds what he’s looking for. “Ah, yes. Actually, this was translated wrong,” he announces, looking up and giving us a broad smile as he passes it back. He leans back and laces his fingers together, laying them on his flat stomach. “It was called the Road of Worth or Road for the Worthy. The road is filled with different trials along the way. It is said that each level you descend will test those that come before it because not everyone who seeks the path has honorable intentions.”
“What do you mean?” Moni speaks up as her bark turns a dark gray. “Isn’t it just the way to open the portals back up to Hell?” she asks, holding her tail against her. Chester pulls her into his lap and starts playing with her hair, and her color slowly fades back to her natural green.
“For those that are looking to do so, yes. But the road can lead to other things as well,” Lennox says with a ghost of a smile.
“My word, Lennox,” Sierra says, smacking her husband on the arm and making him wince as she comes in and leans on the arm of his chair. “This is our son and his friends. Not just the run-of-the-mill old demon looking to run it for riches.” Sierra rolls her eyes before she makes eye contact with me and comes over. Levi, being the gentleman he is, gives up his seat for her and conjures a seat for himself on the other side of Moni and Chester.
Sierra sits down and takes my hand. “You must forgive him. He has to get his thrills from somewhere.”
“So you get a lot of traffic through here?” I ask, remembering that we only saw one tunnel leading here.
“A lot more than what you would think. Then again, it has slowed down considerably since we took over for the prior Gatekeepers.” She smiles and turns towards everyone but refuses to let go of my hand. Although it might seem weird, I find some comfort in her touch. “Did you know that this place hasn’t always been known for what it truly is?”
Lennox snorts, and Sierra shoots daggers at him with her eyes.
“Now who’s being cryptic?” Lynx whispers but not low enough that his mother doesn’t hear.
“Boy, you’re not too old for me to bend you over my knee,” she warns. “I know I taught you manners.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry,” Lynx mumbles.
“Now, like I was saying. This place was also known as the Staircase of Riches. If demons stumble upon us and they have some brains, your father will explain that their success is highly unlikely, but when they insist, sometimes he will usher them through to the road—if the gate allows.”
That has all our attention, and we fire off questions one after another.
“What do you mean if the gate allows?” Knots asks.
“So the road can lead to riches?” Zeke asks, leaning forward, captivated by the story.
“How do they find this place with only the tunnel leading from Lilith’s and L.A.M.B’s residence?” Levi asks the question that’s been burning in the back of my mind.
“Woah, hold your horses.” Lennox chuckles. “We’ll get around to all of the questions. But first. There’s really a tunnel leading from there?” Lennox eyebrows raise as he takes in the news and leans forward with excitement. “I would love to meet all of them. They are legends.”
“Daaaaad,” Lynx chastises, trying to get him back on task.
“Oh, sorry. Yes, just like many objects are in Purgatory, the tunnels here tend to open and close when they want or feel the need of a traveler.”
“They’re sentient?” Moni’s glitterbomb color surfaces. “So you’re saying we could have been lost in that tunnel forever?” Moni asks. No need to guess what she’s feeling.
A hearty laugh booms out of Lennox as he throws his head back and slaps his knee. He shakes his head and gently wipes away a tear from his eye. “No, sweet girl. Not with the power those four are already showing.” He points to each of our newly discovered Horsemen.
Levi, Zeke, Knox, and Ryker share a bewildered look between them before Ryker addresses Lennox.
“Do you mean us?” he asks, his eyebrows pulled down in confusion.
“Yep, there’s no confusing who you four are. I can already feel the slight pull. Can you, sweetheart?” he asks Sierra. She nods and smiles at our group. Patting my hands once more, she gets up and moves over to sit on the arm of the la-z-boy.
“This would explain Tempest. Especially if Lynx is already linked to them,” she says, cuddling into his arm.
“Well then, can someone explain it to me?” I ask. “As far as Lynx knew, Storm Shifters could only have one child,” I point out, belatedly realizing I’ve potentially asked for the birds and bees talk. I don’t think I can handle going through another sex talk with another parent.
“What Lynx told you was true.” Sierra beams at Lennox with a knowing look as if to say she’s excited that we’ve already talked about having kids, and Lennox squeezes her quickly before she addresses me. “Since the end of the Four Horsemen, our role as their advisors and guards has changed. We now act as Gatekeepers, and that’s more than it sounds. As Gatekeepers, we are the ultimate defenders since Storm Shifters go through a more extensive transformation to gain our full strength, as Lynx has probably experienced. Before we gain our full power, we are required to die and are reborn during a storm.”
My jaw drops at her explanation. “Do you know the Hell we’ve been through because we had no idea that was a thing?” I screech. I squeeze Lynx’s shoulders to try and maintain some type of composure, but I’m somewhat flabbergasted that Lynx had to die and lose his memory to go through his transformation. “It would have been nice to know that Lynx needed a memory spell when he was going to transform into his powers and die. That whole thing was traumatic seeing him being tortured by the Rebels.”
“Wait. What memory spell?” Sierra asks, and Lennox sits forward with pinched eyebrows when I mention Rebels.
“So losing your memory isn’t normal when you undergo the transformation?” Lynx asks, and I reach down and hug Lynx between my legs.
“So what you’re saying is the lost memory was probably from what the Rebels were doing to Lynx and not what a normal Storm Shifter goes through?” I push, trying to make sense of what we went through with L.A.M.B.
Sierra’s eyes turn glossy as she turns into Lennox’s embrace, and I get my answer. Trying to focus on what she initially said about his transformation, I turn back on Lynx. ‘Does anything of what she said about your power line up with your experience?’ I ask.
‘Yeah. I feel more powerful, but I had no idea about the dying part. I swear.’ He rubs my arm before I lean back and focus on Sierra.
“Still doesn’t explain how you have another child,” JP says, not missing a beat.
“You’re correct,” Lennox states as he pats Sierra’s back gently. “Normally, after Lynx’s rebirth, nothing would change, and he would carry on until he got his call for an assignment or our council reached out for him. For example, we were brought here when our friends, the Walls, disappeared. Seeing Lynx here in Hell—well, we thought he had met his final death since we had Tempest, so it was a bit of a shock. Now I believe since he’s mated with Rez and she has her own power, he’s forfeited that call and allowed Tempest to be the next in line to follow the path of the Gatekeeper,” he explains.
Hearing that, a part of me aches. Wait a minute. “But Lynx and I mated just a few days ago. That doesn’t align with Tempest’s age, though,” I point out.
Lennox chuckles. “A mate bond doesn’t have to be created during sex; it can be any intimate situation. A pledge, a promise, the first time saying I love you, or Lynx’s first time promising to be your protector would have been enough to do it.” I blush at his explanation and try to think back at when that could have been, but there were so many times that I’ve lost count of when the first time he said he would be there for me was.
Is this a good or bad thing for Lynx? Will his link to his parents suffer because he doesn’t share the same calling, or is this just a good thing since he now has a sibling in his life?
“Does this mean Lynx is an orphan?” Moni asks, her blue bark getting darker with her tone.
“Oh no!” Sierra says, smiling. “This is a good thing. Lynx is still my baby. It just means he’s not going to be weighed down with the same political restraints that we are,” she says and then glances back at Lennox.
“Then again,” Lennox starts. “You might have your own restraints you will have to deal with.” He gives Lynx a concerned look.
“What do you mean?” Lynx asks with a frown, leaning forward to address his father.
Lennox and Sierra share a panicked look, and tension hits me like a sumo wrestler tackling me.
‘Was there something they weren’t supposed to tell us?’ I ask Lynx, but he shrugs between my thighs.
‘I don’t know, but it’s killing me.’
“If the power I’m picking up in this room is any indication, Lynx, my dear boy, you’ll be intertwined with the fates and the Four Horsemen,” Lennox hints.
“You’ll have different rules to follow,” Sierra supplies, trying to be helpful.
With that bombshell, I check around the room. I’m not the only one sporting a perplexed look as we sit and take in this information.
“Wait a minute. So you’re saying that Lynx is somewhat tied to us because we’re the new Horseman?” Ryker asks, leaning forward and waving his hand to get Lennox’s attention.
“Yes, and to be frank, I’m curious to see how this will play out.” Lennox beams at my mate.
“Could you elaborate, please,” Levi states.
“Of course.” Lennox gets up and moves to a bookshelf, where he pulls down a thin tome and blows dust off it before handing it to me. The others gather around me as I carefully open the tome, making sure not to damage the frail paper. Inside are drawn pictures of the Horseman. They look accurate to the vision Anwen had shown me back in Purgatory.
“Are those the Horsemen?” Lynx peers over the lip of the book to take in the prior men.
“Yes, Son. Those are the originals. They had a huge following before they were tasked to take on the ultimate punishment for their crimes. Most of their followers went with them either out of loyalty or desperation.”
Turning the page, there’s an illustration of the followers he’s talking about. People are lined up around the Horsemen in one picture, and in the next, their souls are being transformed into objects.
Flipping the next page, it shows a crowd divided into two. One side is obviously rejoicing, while the other side mourns, their heads bowed, and some lying on the ground crying.
“Not everyone loved or even liked the Horsemen, and that’s why we were their advisors and trusted protectors. Those who had a personal relationship with the Four, I would assume, had more pleasant things to say about their masters than most. So, I can only imagine what the rise of new Horsemen will mean to those who have been around long enough to remember them. Most of those would have been the ones that followed them into servitude,” Lennox explains, sitting down as I continue to leaf through the book.
“I was one of them that followed out of loyalty,” Knots admits, and it dawns on me that he’s right. He did tell me that he followed War and became a Door Knight by choice.
“Oh!” Sierra perks up. “Since you were an original follower, how do you feel about the new Horsemen? Do you foresee any problems between the old followers and the new Horsemen?”
You could hear a pin drop as all the attention turns to Knots, making him shift slightly in his seat.
“Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t have an issue since we’re family. I know they are the new Horsemen, but I know them as my family first and the title of Horsemen second. So it’s different for me. We, as followers, always believed or had hoped they would return. I don’t think the lore ever spoke of reincarnation or their powers transferring to a new Four before. So, there may be some that might not be happy with the news.”
“What do you mean?” Knox’s stern voice rings out.
“Well, to be completely honest—you four aren’t like the previous ones. Even though that’s a good thing because they were ruthless, some won’t look at it that way.”
Well damn. I flip the page and flinch at the scene, immediately knowing what Knots is talking about. On the page is War, sending young people to the front lines to die in battle. In the picture, it doesn’t look like they have much to fight with, but as I flip the next page, they shift into Shifters, and a nasty battle begins. I’m curious as to what they were fighting for.
Reading my mind, Knots leans over and whispers, “He often just wanted bragging rights and more land for his subjects.”
“Hmm. He sounded amazing,” I said sarcastically.
“He was,” he snarked back before booping me on the nose.
“So, are you saying we should keep our status on the DL for now?” Zeke chips in.
“How can you when apparently anyone can tell?” Lynx answers instead.
“No, Son, that’s not it at all.” Lennox chuckles. “We can feel it”—he motions to Sierra and himself—“because it’s our job. Storm Shifters can pick up the Horsemans’ energy and answer their call. But once they come into their full powers, everyone will be able to feel them unless they dampen or mask themselves.”
“Oh good, there are options out there,” Zeke mumbles.
“Yes, there are. The first is taking the positives from the originals and implementing them into your structure. It could work for you all,” Lennox confirms.
I flip through the rest of the book, scanning the pictures of the Four Horsemen and the things that they did—vampires ripping through women and kids, shifters running free through the woods, mages pulling energy from the ground, blackening it until nothing is left, and elves enslaving other creatures to them by thin golden chains.
According to these pages, I’m not sure anything good can come of the old ways, but I’m not Lennox, nor have I met the OGs, so I’ll leave my opinion out of it for now.
“I’ve seen this picture before,” Lynx says, pointing up to the picture frame above the mantel and pulling all of us out of our thoughts. It’s a simple print of a landscape with a moss-covered hill and a unique rock formation that defies the law of physics. Given how the colors are as brilliant as Purgatory, my guess is this was taken someplace in the Earth realm.
“I would hope it looks familiar since you’ve been there,” Lennox says with a smile and relief shining through his eyes.
“Really?”
“He has?” I ask, curious about Lynx’s life before I met him.
“Yes,” Lennox simply says before looking around the group once and focusing on Sierra.
“That’s Skellig Rock, our birthplace. We took you there twice. Once, right after you were born to receive your blessing, and again before you took off to seek out your mate,” Lennox explains as I pass the tome over to Levi’s beckoning hands.
“I’ve read about this painting,” Ryker says, giving the landscape a more detailed look. “Doesn’t it have some kind of magical property to the beholder?”
“A good guess,” Sierra says with laughter in her voice. “Since the Rock or Isle is almost impossible to travel to, the painting acts as a portal.”
“To where?” Chester asks, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger. He looks as if he’s solving a puzzle.
“Well, it used to be a simple one that would lead us to the Skellig Rock?—”
“Could we use that portal to get Knots out of Hell and to safety?” Chester asks, and I smile at him for his fast thinking. Hope blooms inside me, realizing we actually might be able to get Knots out of here without any more damage.
My smile falls when Sierra looks at me with sadness. “I’m sorry, but since the Walls’ painting went missing along with them, the council has wired all portals to be redirected to their holding cells for questioning. And unfortunately, with how serious it is that the Walls have gone missing, you’re going to be considered guilty until proven innocent.”
“Well, dinglehopper,” Moni groans, leaning back and pouting, her blue bark making an appearance.
Lynx shifts between my legs and Sierra notices. “Is something wrong, sweetie?”
Lynx clears his throat and turns to face his mother, his face looking paler. “When I said I noticed that picture, I meant it. Not the place, but the picture. I saw the same one hanging in L.A.M.B.’s mansion.”
“Oh!” Sierra’s eyes go wide, and she immediately looks down at Lennox.
The only question is, why would L.A.M.B have a secret portal painting in their mansion when a Gatekeeper is missing, and did they have a hand in it?