21. Gray
“What are you doing here, Michael?”I asked the archangel before me.
He stood in typical angelic battle regalia with a golden chest plate and highly decorated shoulder pauldrons. His abs were on full display. On the bottom, he wore a metal belt and cloth to cover the important bits. Why angels or demons wore armor was a mystery to me. It wasn’t practical since we had immortal healing. It was all for show. His blond ringlets were windswept, keen blue eyes taking in every detail, and his majestic white wings fluttered slightly behind him before settling folded at his back.
“I came for a nice holiday,” the sarcastic twit answered with a smirk.
I glared at him, finding it difficult to laugh in my current predicament.
He sobered and regarded me somberly. “Why do you think I am here, Grayson? I have a message from the Lord. And you have no sense of humor,” he replied, folding his arms over his gleaming chest plate.
If the Lord had a message for me, it couldn’t be good. They were never good. It was usually, “Get your shit together and keep those demons from causing too much drama on Earth.” Well, maybe he shouldn’t have allowed his fallen angels to retain their misting abilities to cause problems on Earth with his precious humans in the first place. It was a precedent sent when Lucifer and his followers fell.
Glancing down at the chains encircling my body, I snarked, “Yeah, it’s kinda hard to laugh. The chains are a bit constricting.”
“Well aren’t you sassy?” He smirked again.
“Just tell me what the Lord is pissed at me about now, and get it over with. It’s not like I can really do anything about it at the moment.” I attempted to shrug in the chains unsuccessfully. “But I’ll file it away for later, don’t you worry. Top priority, of course.”
Michael just shook his head at me. “Have you ever considered that the Lord is not the bad guy you make him out to be? He has a plan in everything he does.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Have you not been happier as prince of Shoal than when you lead a legion of the angelic army under me?”
Aside from the more recent struggle with Lethe, I had been satisfied keeping the regions of Shoal in line. I had free choice as the prince of Shoal, and I didn’t when I resided in the heavens, only orders to follow. No, it wasn’t an easy job ruling a Hell dimension filled with sinful, often violent, demons, but it was worth it for the semblance of freedom I had—or did before Lethe. “I guess so,” I finally replied.
“The Lord put you in charge for a reason. And you’ve been shirking your duty for too long!” Michael thundered.
Fuck. It had been pleasant without the weight of the kingdom on my shoulders. “I’ve had my mind messed with. Lethe brainwashed me and half of Shoal. I didn’t stop ruling on purpose!” I shot back in my defense.
“No, but you will take your throne back. It’s time,” he announced matter-of-factly. My hiatus was officially over.
“Oh I will, will I?” I retorted.
“That’s the Lord’s order,” he said firmly.
“So I am to just take it back? If you haven’t been paying attention, I am chained up and imprisoned,” I snapped in frustration at the archangel.
Michael’s eyes landed on Mébh’s mark. “And you’re mated now. You’re more powerful than before, and you have her to help you.”
I looked away bitterly, feeling sick to my stomach. “Yes, I am mated, but she’s gone.” He cocked his head to the side curiously, and so I explained more. “I pushed her away. It was the only thing I could think to do that would save her life when Nicodemus caught me.”
He was looking at me with raised eyebrows again. “So?”
“So?” I thundered back. “She won’t be helping me retake anything! Last I saw her, she was running into the forest on the outskirts of Lust.”
“Are you sure?”
“What?” I asked back in confusion.
“Your mate is currently leading a rebel force against the castle as we speak.”
That couldn’t be true. I refused to believe him. He had to be messing with me. “That can’t be right.”
He pulled his hand up and a foggy image in a circular ball popped up. Sure enough, there was Mébh in the sexiest leather battle armor I had ever seen. She had to be confident in her control over her shift if she was wearing shoulder and chest armor and a short, flowy black skirt with a leather belt. It was demoness-style armor, and I heartily approved. Warwick was near, and I understood instantly where the leather had come from. She was yelling out directions and then darted into the dark passage behind her, others following her lead.
“She’s coming to rescue you,” Michael insisted.
I was still skeptical. “Why would she bother to rescue me and bring reinforcements in? Unless . . .” My mouth dropped open in shock. “She figured out I’d been acting and not meant a word I said after Nicodemus captured me?”
Michael was shaking his head while wearing that iconic smirk. He closed his palm, ending the image in his hand. “Go make up with your mate and then retake your throne, Grayson.”
I struggled in frustration against the chains, feeling the urgency to get to Mébh as soon as possible, to protect her, and most importantly, to apologize. “How exactly am I supposed to do that?” I demanded with a snarl.
Michael turned around and walked to the spot the chain was shackled into the wall with a huge bolt. “Never underestimate your inner flame.” He struck the bolt, and there was a mini explosion. The chain was released from the wall as Michael misted away.
Noise could now be heard from down the hallway—metal clanging, beings shouting, and an alarm sounding as the castle went into attack mode. Mébh and her reinforcements had arrived.
“You couldn’t have helped me with the rest?” I yelled, gesturing at the coils of chains and the cell door that was still locked. I wasn’t expecting an answer. I figured the archangel was likely a world away by now.
“I can’t do everything for you,” came his echoing reply.
Fucker.
That was the Archangel Michael for you. After working with him for so long, I should have expected it.
I turned my attention back to the issues at hand and thought fast. How the fuck was I supposed to break out of this cell without the use of my hands? I shoved my head back in exasperation and my horns grazed the stone wall behind me, which gave me an idea.
Stepping to the back of the cell, I lowered my head and said a silent prayer that this would work, otherwise I was in for a massive headache. I charged the cell door. Metal clanked against my horns, and I shoved into it with all my might. It gave way surprisingly quickly, pitching me out of the cell and into the hallway with the door stuck to my horns. I really was stronger since the mating.
I crouched and took in my new surroundings with the metal grating protecting me. There were no visible guards at either end of the hallway right now—all had been called in to fight the invading force. The two sleeping guards outside my cell were the only ones stationed nearby. Nicodemus had clearly wanted me to be watched at all times, and for good reason, since I was escaping despite his best efforts. Other inmates yelled and screamed, but I ignored them.
A guard appeared down the hallway to my right. His armor was covered in blood splatters, and he was mysteriously missing a sword. It explained why he was down here, heading to look for a spare in the auxiliary weapons room which was located at that end of the hall. He stopped short when he saw me. “Hey, what are you doing?”
I launched my head back and then wrenched it forward, flinging the metal cell door off my horns. It went flying through the air, into the guard, and knocked him down like a bowling pin. I spun on my heel, satisfied the demon was out for now, and ran down the hall, chasing the increasing sounds of fighting from the upper levels of the castle.
A howl rose in the air as I followed a spiral staircase up. It spit me out in the castle’s main grand-entrance hall, and as I stared around at the melee, all hell seemed to have broken loose.
I saw Cassius there with his mate in wolf form fighting next to him. Other Polaris vampires were taking on Nicodemus’s demons. Other demons wearing the same armor but with black sashes—my royal color—fought Nicodemus’s Envy troops wearing green sashes.
Another howl rose and then I finally saw her, my princess, looking every bit the Hell Queen that she was. She was running toward me and on her heels was a pack of wild hellhounds. The beasts attacked demons left, right, and center, peeling off from the group. Then a massive black wolf with red eyes hurtled by and felled three of Nic’s demons in a bloody blink, dealing them more damage than their immortal healing could ever hope to regenerate. I knew the legendary direwolf was powerful, but shit.
What had Mébh done to get all these non-demons here, and how did she convince them to fight? Cassius, I understood. He owed me for helping him save Jenny, but the rest of these immortals fighting shocked me, especially her Alpha, the direwolf, Gabriel.
Mébh let out a triumphant howl and ran toward me. I prepared for her fury, but she grabbed my face and pulled me down to kiss her. Her lips tasted so sweet, and I ached to wrap her in my arms, but the chains prevented any movement. I questioned if I was dreaming. Then she suddenly slapped me across the cheek, hard. I wasn’t dreaming. “That was for hurting me. Don’t you ever break my heart like that again.”
I blinked rapidly as the sting faded. I deserved the slap, but I also didn’t deserve her forgiveness that easily.
“I’m sorry, Mébh. I thought it was the right thing to do to keep you safe.” I hung my head. “I love you, princess.” I couldn’t help it. The sentiment just leaked out of me. “I am just so thankful to see you again.”
“I know now, but I didn’t understand then. I love you, too, big guy.” She patted my cheek. “Now let’s take back your throne!” She threw her head back and howled. Around the room came the echoing hellhounds’ replies and Gabriel’s deep howl. She led her own army, even more the Hell Queen Shoal needed.
Across the hall, I saw Nicodemus slip into the throne room. I made eye contact with Mébh—she nodded once, having seen him too—and then she instinctively followed me. We entered the throne room, a massive, vaulted space that architecturally looked more like a gothic cathedral, with the intricately carved stone pillars and arches filling it. Only a large stone throne sat on a raised platform several steps up at the opposite end of the giant room. I recalled everything from my returned memories, but it was different standing in it. The grandeur of the space was awe-inspiring. I’d designed this room and many of the others when I had the castle built close to a thousand years ago. Lucifer’s castle was a large inspiration at the time, and he’d suggested an Earth castle tour for more ideas.
This was my castle.
That was my throne.
I had created everything here and yet Lethe had stolen my crown, my memories, and my very dignity. Nicodemus was attempting to do the same thing. Power surged through me and crackled in the air.
I was taking my kingdom back now.
The fighting had spilled into this room too. Mébh’s hellhounds darted around, snapping and attacking where they could. Warwick fought in a corner, sword flying, while a witch—she had to be how Mébh got the cavalry from Earth here—threw magical fireballs at Nicodemus’s green-sashed demons.
The largest demonic army in Shoal used to be under my control, but in Lethe’s takeover many soldiers had been drafted over into Envy’s army under Nicodemus. His army was now the largest in Shoal; however, many of his forces were showing their true colors and loyalty, swapping their green for a black sash for this fight. We had fewer numbers, but more of a reason to fight and win.
I lost sight of Nicodemus. He was nowhere to be found, meaning he was hiding, the coward.
“My prince!” Warwick exclaimed and ran over. “My liege!” He dropped to a knee to bow before me. “Don’t worry. Lethe did not corrupt all. We fight for you.” He gestured to the battle taking place all around. “You will have your throne back!”
Warwick had been captain of my personal guard for so many years. He had been a trusted confidant. Someone I could talk to and who gave me advice often. I trusted the demon with my life and felt sheepish for having not remembered him, thinking he was part of Nicodemus’s army back in the old Portland subway at that Incubus concert. As a mist tracker, his ability to follow would-be attackers was invaluable to my personal guard. It touched me that after Lethe dismissed him, since he was too close to me to be manipulated, he worked to assemble those demons who were still loyal and create this rebel force. It behooved him since I was the true ruler, but it was still a very dangerous task when Lethe and then Nicodemus ruled.
“Thank you, Warwick.” I dipped my chin to him in a return bow. He deserved so much more, but it was all I could offer in the middle of a fight. He was getting reinstated in a higher position as soon as the castle was under my control again.
A loud thunk sounded, tearing my attention back to the fighting around us, and Warwick’s body jerked. He looked down, and we both registered the protruding sword blade in his chest armor at the same time. Nicodemus stood twenty paces away with his arm outstretched. Warwick’s worried eyes found mine as blood welled in his mouth and dripped down his chin. He swayed and then slumped over onto the ground.
“Nooooo!” I yelled in fresh fury, and my power crackled through me. Nicodemus would pay for this! The blue flames that usually lit my sword coiled around the metal chains still imprisoning me.
“Never underestimate your inner flame.” Michael’s words suddenly came back to me, and his hint clicked into place.
I snarled, allowing energy to build within me, then let it explode out. Blue flames licked over the chains around my body, but didn’t burn me. The flame ignited along the whole chain, including the several feet that dragged behind me. I jumped to the left and rolled my body as I did, making that end of the flaming chain flair up in an arch right in front of Nicodemus. He stared at it with contempt as he stepped backward to avoid it coming close.
“Not so cocky now, are you?” I repeated his own words.
He growled, showing sharpening teeth and fangs as his shift took hold. He pulled a short sword from his belt, since he’d thrown his main sword into Warwick, and then he rose to my bait and stalked toward me.
I stayed put, allowing the demon to walk within range of the loose chain. From there, I was in motion, pivoting, rolling, and launching myself this way and that to get the flaming chain flying dangerously through the air. It clashed against Nicodemus’s feeble sword, sparks going everywhere, and I could see fear in the male’s eyes with each collision.
I sent the flaming chain hurtling through the air again. It caught Nicodemus’s hand, leaving a black burn. He released his sword with a snarl, and I barrel rolled into him, using my fiery shield to knock him out of the way. The loose end of the chain landed on the short sword on the ground and it began melting after a moment.
He pulled a knife from his boot in total desperation, and I nearly laughed at the tiny blade he had pointed at me. The blade was likely infused with something poisonous, but I wasn’t exactly worried about him getting near enough to me to do any damage with it.
Then Mébh came hurdling between us and fear trickled down my spine.
“Just please don’t do anything stupid!”I thought to myself, or at least I thought I did. To my surprise, Mébh answered me directly in my mind, similar to my spy telepathy, but this was inserted, not me looking into her mind for it. In fact, I still couldn’t read her mind.
“Define stupid?” she replied sarcastically.
“Shit, we can communicate like this?”
“Yep. I didn’t think we had a mind-link connection, but I heard you and had to respond!”
I inwardly cringed as I realized if I’d known we had this ability, I could have told her my plan when Nicodemus captured me and not had to truly make her believe I was done with her. I would never be done with her. She was mine forevermore and I could have reassured her of that. But at least her response had been genuine. It’s what convinced Nicodemus, and I doubted her acting would have been as good as truly thinking I was pushing her away. “That would have been handy to know several hours ago.”
“Yeah, but at least we know now!” She snarled at Nicodemus.
“Be careful of that knife blade. It’s probably poisoned,”I warned her.
“I won’t let it touch me.”
Easier said than done, I wanted to snap back at her.
She twisted and avoided Nicodemus’s attempt to slash her middle, and I was suddenly less worried about her getting hit. The demon’s movement gave her the opening she was looking for. She lunged sideways, right next to him. Her clawed fingers caught his wrist on the backswing and snatched the blade from his grip. She then turned on her heel and ran.
“Your turn!”she practically yelled into my mind as Nicodemus rounded on her and gave chase.
I pivoted and then rolled the other direction, sending the flaming chain straight for Nicodemus. Without a metal weapon, he had no hope of deflecting, and the chain smacked him in the chest, sending him crashing onto his back. The smell of burned flesh permeated the air. “Better stay down, under my chains, Nicodemus. The faster we end this, the less pain for you.”
He snarled again, his only defense as he struggled to right himself.
None of his demonic army was coming to his aid. Many just stood around now, watching.
As he got to his feet, I jumped and rolled again, driving the flaming chain into his back this time and forcing him to his knees.
I poured more of my power into the flames licking up and down my constraints. Shifting my shoulders, I found them weakening slightly. It was enough. I called on all my strength and channeled it into the metal links. The flames around me burst into a fireball, and the chains melted, oozing off in great chunks to land as molten metal steaming on the polished stone floor.
I advanced on Nicodemus and let my shift rip over me. My horns and body grew in size as one this time. My black tail whipped out behind me. It matched my new bat wings on steroids. My fangs grew, my teeth sharpening as I unfurled myself to my full demonic height and spread my wings out dramatically on either side of me. I roared, and the sound echoed all around the throne room. Nicodemus’s eyes narrowed. I knew he felt no remorse whatsoever for the many terrible things he did to demons and other supernaturals alike to maintain power. He was only sorry now that he was caught.
“I have a message for you to take to Lucifer.” Nicodemus looked stricken at the mention of the punisher of damned souls. “Tell him I say hi!” I threw my arms out in front of me and the fire lighting my body surged from me down onto him. He screamed and thrashed before his throat made a gurgling sound and he fell silent. His black charred body crumpled to the ground, dead. Lethe’s last minion was no more.
At the back of the throne room, Michael the Archangel stood with his arms crossed and a semi-amused expression on his chiseled face. Nobody else seemed to see him. He nodded once, informing me I’d met the Lord’s command, then he disappeared.