Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
It was just before dawn. Luke waited a few more minutes for the veil between worlds to fall to its weakest point. These were the minutes when the human race was at its most vulnerable. Mankind had no idea that every day it danced on the edge of extinction.
Far more things wanted to end the world and humanity than they would ever guess.
The number of protectors kept shrinking while the predators bred at extraordinary rates.
If he was smart, he’d return to the side with the best chance of winning.
Lucky for the humans, he’d been born brain damaged.
Smiling at the thought, he walked into the Pormundus—a thin realm that hovered between all worlds.
Gifted beasts such as he could use it to surf to any place he wanted to visit.
Well, most realms. There were some he dared not venture. Such as Heaven. That wouldn’t end well for him.
But here in the violet light, he saw his destination. It was an inn in the Nethertween where all manner of creatures gathered for all kinds of reasons.
If he was lucky, he might find a demon or two from his closet.
He wasn’t lucky. None of his demons had come here to mingle with others. Damn…
And as long as he was here, he had another distasteful task he needed to do.
Luke sighed in frustration as he walked through the centuries-old, crowded tavern where he’d once spent a lot of time.
It hadn’t changed much. Still dark. Still filled with demons, fallen gods, angels on the brink of switching sides, and other creatures humanity termed “mythological.”
If only they were. It’d make his life a lot easier.
Zarael walked over to him and draped her long, languid body against his. “Luke…been a long time.”
“Not long enough.” He shrugged her touch away, causing her to pout becomingly.
“You’re in a mood.”
The angel had no idea. There had been a time when he’d spent many hours trying to convert her…in bed. But she still clung to her halo with a tenacious grip he admired.
She followed him to the bar where he ordered a shot of Hellfire—a drink so alcoholic it would be lethal to humans.
While he waited for it, she leaned back against the bar in a way to make her breasts more prominent.
Her long black hair fell to her waist while she tried her best to seduce him with her celestial eyes.
“I heard what Samael did to you. I can’t imagine the pain you must be feeling.”
Luke snorted. “No pain. There are far worse things than being thrown out of Hell.” Although, if he were honest, he’d prefer being thrown back in.
But he wasn’t normal and he acknowledged that fact.
As the bartender brought his drink, Zarael confiscated it and took a sip. She visibly shuddered. “How do you drink this swill?”
“For one thing, I don’t sip it.” He took the glass and knocked it back without letting it hit his taste buds.
That caused the angel to shiver.
“You’re not wearing your coat.” She leaned against his arm, making sure to press her breasts against his biceps as she let her breath fall against his neck. “Aren’t you freezing?”
No. It was a true miracle. He’d been absolutely miserable from the lack of heat in the mortal realm.
Until Sorcha had kissed him.
There had been some kind of potent magic in that kiss. Something about it had warmed him and he’d been “normal” ever since.
Weird as hell.
But he wasn’t about to think of what that might signify. Such things were seldom good, so he’d learned to accept it without question and move on.
If only Zarael would catch a clue and move on, too.
Another drink appeared in front of him. Luke looked up into a pair of celestial blue eyes that matched his father’s whenever the bastard was calm.
Terrabeth. It’d been a long time since he’d last seen his half-sister. Part demon, part angel, she was anathema to both. No one trusted her.
How could they? She had ties to both and allegiance to none.
And because she was related to both, her beauty was unholy and unrivaled.
“Little brother…how nice of you to visit my corner of the universe.”
“Didn’t think you’d be here.” Even though she owned the tavern, she rarely spent any time in it.
She sucked her breath in sharply. “That’s hurtful.”
“As if you have any feelings.”
Terrabeth laughed. “True. Very true. So why are you here? I know you didn’t just stop by for a quick…” Her gaze went meaningfully to Zarael. “Drink.”
Lifting his empty glass, Luke motioned for the bartender to bring him another shot of Hellfire. “You’re right. I was hoping to speak to your better half.”
That caused one finely arched brow to shoot north. “Pardon?”
“Vedrana. Is she around?”
His sister scowled at him. “Not sure I want the two of you holed up together.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Not much, but I don’t trust you.”
Luke returned her arch stare. “Or Vedrana?”
That question caught her off guard. “Are you trying to sow discord in my thoughts?”
Luke shook his head at her suspicion. “I don’t operate like that.
” But he couldn’t blame her. That was exactly how the rest of their family worked.
All they did was try to hurt everyone around them, whether it was deserved or not.
If they could tear down a relationship, it was a banner day.
“Her brother was murdered. I thought she’d like to know and it’s not something I wanted to phone in. ”
Terrabeth gasped. “Lawson’s dead?”
“Yeah. It was a grisly execution. Looks like someone wanted to make a point of it.”
Terrabeth’s eyes turned bright red. “Give me a name.”
He respected her fury on behalf of her chosen mate. That protective nature was one he’d inherited from his mother. He wasn’t quite sure where she’d learned hers. “I don’t have a name. Yet.”
That took the red from her eyes. With a weary sigh, she nodded. He knew she was using her thoughts to summon Vedrana.
Her partner appeared with a smile on her beautiful face.
Until she saw Luke.
Suspicion immediately descended over her black eyes and turned her smile cold. She’d cut her black hair short in a way that gave her an impish quality. “You need me to get rid of him?”
Terrabeth gave her a light kiss. “No. He needs to speak with you.”
Luke took his drink from the bartender. “You’re such a bitch. You could tell her the news.”
“Rather not. It’s what you came here for. Hell forbid I deprive you of the honors.”
He wanted to flip her off for that. But she might take it as an invitation.
Knocking back his drink one more time, he braced himself for how Vedrana might react. “Do you know anyone who has beef with Lawson?”
Vedrana scowled at him. “What? No. He gets along with everyone.”
How he wished that was true. “Not anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
Luke glanced to his sister before he answered Vedrana’s question. “He was found murdered earlier.”
Disbelief darkened her eyes a split second before grief set in. She stumbled back and would have fallen had Terrabeth not been there.
For the first time, Luke respected his sister as he saw the kindness in her. She pulled Vedrana against her and held her gently in her arms as Vedrana cried hysterically.
“It’s okay, baby. I’m here.”
Vedrana couldn’t speak as sobs wracked her entire body. Dreadful soul-wrenching sobs.
The kind he imagined Sorcha had cried the night her sister had died. He’d never been that close to anyone, so this level of grief was astounding to him.
Then again, he didn’t want to think about losing Helly or his mother.
Or Sorcha.
That would devastate him. The very thought caused fire to encircle his hands. He quickly brought his emotions under control before anyone saw it.
Honestly, he didn’t understand where these strange emotions came from. In Hell, he was used to pain. To creatures screaming out in agony and rage. Begging. Praying. Those trying to bargain to get the torment to stop.
Grief was different. It was a lot worse. Physical pain could be dealt with.
Emotional loss…
There were no words. Both were excruciating, but there was something about the loss of a loved one that far exceeded the physical. It left a hole inside the soul.
Until his banishment, he’d never realized it. Which was probably good. If those in Hell had any idea of the pain, they’d rethink their torture devices.
Vedrana drew a ragged breath as she met his gaze. “What happened?”
For the first time in his exceptionally long life, Luke hesitated.
More than that, he hated the fact that he was a harbinger in her life.
Now he understood what the captain and Bernadette meant when they said notifications were the hardest part of their jobs.
And this was why he hadn’t brought Sorcha along to talk to Vedrana.
Even though Sorcha stood strong and brave, he knew how much it hurt her whenever they dealt with a victim’s loved ones.
It took her right back to that night she’d learned about her sister. That was a pain he did his best to shield her from.
Swallowing, he took Vedrana’s hand in his. “It looks like he was jumped and didn’t fight back. I’m thinking it had to be someone he knew.”
Fury replaced her grief. It was so deep that it caused her fangs to descend. “Who?!”
“I don’t know.” He didn’t have the heart to tell her that Lawson had been beheaded. She’d learn that truth soon enough.
“Find them!” she growled.
“We’re trying.”
Vedrana stopped leaning against his sister and stood upright. “I will find them. And they will bleed and beg for mercy I will never give them.”
“Understood. I’d expect no less.”
Vedrana wiped at her tears as she pulled herself together in an action he more than understood. Her grief would resume later. Now, she was fired by the need for vengeance. That would keep her together for a while.
What he pitied were the times when that need for throat would ebb and leave her desolate.
“I’m really sorry, Vedrana.” He meant those words.
Clearing his throat, he indicated to Terrabeth that he wanted a word with her alone. She handed Vedrana over to the bartender before she joined him in a corner.
“Thank you, Luke.”
“For what?”
“Coming in person with the news.” To his complete shock, she actually hugged him. “I won’t forget your kindness.”
Unsure of how to react, he patted her twice on the back and stepped away. “Look, someone let my demons out.” He knew it wasn’t her because she held a different scent than the one who’d been in his apartment. “If you see any of them here, let me know.”
“I will.”
He glanced back toward Vedrana, who took a seat on a barstool. “When I find out who did this, I’ll let you know.”
“Will you interfere?”
He scoffed at her question. “With justice? No. I hope she tears their throat out with her teeth and feeds them their heart.”
Terrabeth actually smiled. “I might just have a sibling I like. Has Hell frozen over?”
“God, I hope not. I barely survived the last human winter. I shudder to think of my home frozen.”
As he started to leave, Terrabeth took his hand. He turned back with a frown.
“There’s a lot of gossip that comes through here about your banishment.”
That was good to know. “Do you know who caused it?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. Just rumors and speculation.”
“I’m sure it’s one of our siblings. Do you know who replaced me?”
She snorted. “You know Dad. He’s holding a contest. One who shows the greatest loyalty will have your place.”
That hit a lot harder than he wanted it to. If his father was looking for his replacement, then Lucifer intended for his banishment to be permanent.
Bitterness rose up in his throat and choked him. “Good luck with that.” Their siblings were some of the most treacherous bastards ever whelped.
Terrabeth nodded. “If you want to bet the odds on who’ll replace you, Shaddix is in the lead.”
Of course she was. No one was better at ass-kissing than their “angelic” sister.
And as soon as that thought went through him, he went cold.
Shaddix…fucking Shaddix.
Who else would it be? I should have known.
“I’m such an idiot.”
“How so?” she asked.
He curled his lip. “She’s the bitch who betrayed me. I know it. She’s always hated me and wanted to curry Dad’s favor.”
Terrabeth’s expression said she wasn’t as convinced about it as he was.
“That’s ninety-nine percent of our sibs.
They all hate you. They all want to be on Dad’s good side, and we’d all like to have the favor he shows you”—if she only knew the truth—“I could see a dozen or more who’d take the shot to see you fall. ”
Maybe and honestly, he’d be glad to let them have it. Grass was always greener, and he’d happily let them take over.
But Shaddix, alone, had made a point of being there when he was banished. Now he was thinking she’d been there to gloat.
A dog returns to its vomit.
Just like a human predator who returned to their crime scene and even tried to “help” the police solve the crime they committed. It was so common that they even had a term for it…RO—Returning Offender.
Damn. I am learning at IA.
That scared him more than the thought he might never return to Hell. He was acclimating to the human world.
Panic swelled up inside, but he quickly tamped it down. If Shaddix had her way, he’d be banished forever.
“I need to know what lies she told. Will you help me?”
Terrabeth glanced back toward her partner. Several heartbeats went by before she nodded. “Help me feed the killer to Vedrana and I will help you return to Hell.” She held her hand out to him.
Now it was Luke’s turn to hesitate. Making deals with demons was never wise. The fine print was killer, and they never told the truth.
But in this…
“Deal.” He shook her hand.
And with that, he launched his wings and fell back into the darkness where he drifted like he used to. This was the silent succor he’d missed. Being able to fly where no one bothered him.
But he was being hunted by others of his kind. His banishment extended to this realm, too, as he’d learned the first time he’d come here after being kicked out.
Sighing, he twisted through his bliss and headed for the portal that would return him to the human realm before a Necos came for him.
As was normal, he manifested in his small bathroom.
Where Sorchas was.
He assumedshe’d be asleep or at work.
She was coming out of the shower, and he was almost on top of her as she wrapped his black towel around her naked body.