Chapter 30
Will
Will stood, legs astride and arms folded, just staring at Rion and Tobias.
He couldn’t believe what they’d just told him.
Had they completely lost their minds? The conversation amongst the trinity had gone around in circles as they tried to figure out how everything would work.
They took so long in fact, that Kitty finished whatever errands she was doing, returned to the throne room, and sat down on one of the thrones.
“Jones are you on board, or what?” Tobias asked.
“I’m not sure which is worse,” Will said, eyes wide, “That you both think this is our best shot… Or, that you,” he turned his attention to Kitty, “aren’t trying to talk them out of it.”
“You know what they’re like.” She waved a hand flippantly.
Will pressed his lips into a thin line and exhaled nasally. “This is the second time in twenty-four hours I’ve played the voice of reason. You know that’s fucked up, right?”
“Maybe the trinity bond has you all evolving,” Kitty mused.
“The time for conversation has lapsed,” Rion said. “We have expended an exorbitant amount of time debating and preparing. Action is long overdue.”
“I’m not saying I think it’s a great idea.” Tobias sounded almost apologetic. “I’m just saying we don’t have a better one. We’ve grown in power, but our wheelhouse is still understocked. Let’s just see how this deal-making goes, and re-evaluate.”
“Savior have mercy…” Will groaned.
“We must create strong wards to contain my brother, for when we summon him, his first instinct will be to kill us all,” Rion suggested.
“Oh, that’s just fantastic.” Clapping a palm to his forehead, Will threw his head back and made a noise of discontent.
“It should be Will,” Kitty decided.
Will wondered when Kitty was suddenly granted equality in their decision-making.
In the past, she’d been level-headed and reluctant to take unnecessary risks.
Today, it was like she’d had a personality transplant.
Was this all a result of shacking up with Tobias?
Things were getting far too complicated.
“Can you get on board with this, or not?” Tobias asked.
Will stared at him. “It’s a big ask, Martelli. Rescuing Rion from his father was one thing, but this plan? Pure insanity. Not to mention we’d be crossing the line into a morally grey area we may never return from.”
“Could you at least agree to the summoning?” Rion implored.
With another sigh, Will lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “Fine. Get me some salt, and assign someone to keep Lyla from walking in on this.”
“Oh, she’s on board,” Kitty added.
“What?” Will’s brows pressed down hard. “She… what?”
“I’ll get the salt,” Tobias announced. “I should probably let O’Brien know we don’t want to be disturbed. In the meantime, Rion, you should call the hounds. Just in case we need reinforcements.”
Will watched as he blurred from the room, before taking a seat on Tobias’ throne, since Kitty was still on his. “I guess we need to discuss what sort of deal we plan to make.”
Tobias
There was not much Tobias could do once he’d returned with the salt. He sat on his throne and watched as the others got things underway, turning things over in his mind.
Around the perimeter of the room, Will had created a Holy ward to prevent anything unwanted from entering unexpectedly. Not even the mortals or Undead in the eighth underground palace could breach it physically.
Just inside the barrier, the hounds sat shoulder to shoulder, occupying as little space a-piece as possible, in order to fit the entire pack into the room.
In the very center of the chamber, Will and Rion created a second ward, intended to contain the twin, and prevent any eavesdropping from the lower realms.
“We need your blood,” Will called.
Tobias got to his feet. “Alright, but what is my blood going to do that yours can’t?”
“Solidify everything,” Rion said as if it were obvious. “We have both Unholy and Holy blood, which offers both light and darkness. However, our greatest strength is our trinity bond, which we’ll need to renew before you begin. Cease stalling and deliver.”
Tobias arched a brow, but before he could speak, a goblet materialized in Rion’s left hand and a small dagger in the right.
He watched as the male opened a vein and let several drops fall into the receptacle before handing it to Will who did the same.
As a vampire, Tobias was no stranger to blood bonds.
However, the nature of the bonds the trinity were able to make was new to him.
It seemed unfathomable that Undead blood could have an impact on the vast and complicated spectrum of light and dark.
Despite this, he was able to recognize their unique situation.
He was not an ordinary vampire. He’d survived a stake to the heart.
He had a guardian angel, and the king of the Hellhounds was his brother.
Of all the absurdities they’d come to accept as the new normal, creating wards with blood and salt should not have seemed so odd.
He allowed his fangs to elongate, and scored a wrist. Once his blood had merged with the other two offerings in the goblet, all three males spoke their oath. They continued chanting the oath together until all three of them had sipped from the goblet to seal the bond.
With the connection strengthened, Tobias strode to the edge of the pentagram and allowed new droplets of blood to fall from his wrist along the lines of the star.
Once that was done, Will encircled the blood barrier with another trail of salt. More words were spoken in the ancient tongues, adding power to the ward with both Holy and Unholy power. Tobias didn’t know either language, so he could only wait until it was complete.
“Before we do this, get back on the throne,” Rion instructed.
“What difference is that going to make?” Will asked.
“All three of you need to get your asses onto the thrones,” Kitty ordered.
Surprisingly, nobody protested.
Once they were situated, Rion began the summoning. “We call to the pentagram, Oriax, borne from the Daughter of Winter, Royal of the Eighth Realm.” He repeated the summoning two more times.
Tobias knew he was being careful not to mention his father’s name, or any paternal ties. He’d only mentioned Lyla to strengthen the call, and tailor it to Oriax alone.
It took a few seconds for anything to happen, which suggested he was trying to resist the call. Eventually the male appeared, enraged by this personal violation.
He stood seven feet tall, with pale grey skin and enormous leathery wings. Black orbs existed in place of regular eyes, and his storm-colored Mohawk stood at attention. The rippling musculature he boasted, clearly visible in his shirtless state, was a billboard advertising his strength.
As a testament to the power he held, Oriax refused to succumb to a mortal body, choosing to remain in demonic form. His obsidian-gaze panned the room, taking in the large volume of hounds present. At last, his eyes settled on the dais, and the three males upon it.
“What is the meaning of this?” He spat out the words.
Belatedly, Tobias wondered what might happen if the wards were not strong enough.
Rion’s lips pulled into a smirk. “I believe you owe me a favor. I have decided to collect upon it.”
Oriax growled. “I am not yours to command, little brother.”
“Neither are we yours,” Tobias said gruffly. “We have a proposal.”
“Who are these imbeciles, Khyterrion?”
Rion’s smirk remained in place. “Do you not recognize them? Hmm, perhaps that is because the vampire king can cast glamour competent enough to fool our father. He and the angel are the reason I have been emancipated from the eighth realm.”
Oriax narrowed his gaze. “Oh. They are those males. Father has been on the warpath ever since. I suppose you shall discover that soon enough.”
“Are you talking about the attempt to extinguish all Undead?” Kitty asked. “I don’t think it’s going as well as you think it is.” She let out a rich laugh.
“Who is this female and what gives her the right to sp-” Oriax’s sentence stopped abruptly as he finally took a look at her. “It cannot be…”
“I can see your brain is trying really hard to convince you I am my mother, but I actually find that offensive.”
“Your mother?” Pinch lines appeared in Oriax’s brow as he made eye contact with Rion, searching for answers.
Rion’s smirk exploded into a devious grin. “Oh, you must forgive my lack of manners. Oriax, I do not believe you are acquainted with our sister.”
The male’s gaze darkened even further. “Our sister? It cannot be!”
“Didn’t you see her wings above dear ol’ Dad’s throne?” Will chipped in.
“What?”
If their intent had been to pull the rug out from under the male and render him speechless – or close to it – they’d succeeded. There was a lot Tobias could have said during this exchange, but it was unfolding too well to interrupt just to join the power play.
“She and I share both parents, but with you, she only has Father in common. This is the entire reason my mother was condemned, and why Father relinquished control over the vampires. How else could he and your mother have hidden her all these years?”
“You lie.” Oriax’s voice, filled with tones of gravel and ice, was barely audible. “There is no way Father conceived a female Holy child. Nor is my mother capable of hiding one.”
“Well, feel free to ask him.” Will wiggled his eyebrows.
Rion rested an elbow on the arm of his throne. “Make haste brother. Father’s future could be rather uncertain.”
“You are one of the few who may pose a legitimate threat,” Oriax said carefully. “However, this does not mean you will succeed.”
“It’s highly likely we will,” Tobias finally joined the conversation. “The question is, who will sit on the throne in his place. Your twin? Or you?”
Comprehension finally filtered into Oriax’s expression. “I see. You wish to remove the obstacles in my path, in order to call in the favor I owe. What makes you think I will strike this bargain?”
“This is the only way you’ll ever sit on the throne,” Tobias said. “You might rule at your twin’s side, but as the younger sibling, you’ll never be in charge. Wouldn’t you like to be the kingpin? All you have to do is let us perform two executions.”
The male was considering the option, but he still seemed conflicted. “You would murder our brother without hesitation?”
His question had been for Rion. “Have I not ended two of our brothers already? Do you doubt my conviction, Oriax?”
“Surprisingly, I do not. I have always longed to step out of my brother’s shadow. I tire of his incessant need to make all decisions in both our names. Should you succeed in this venture, my mother will be devastated and may never forgive you. This pleases me.”
Tobias prayed that the others wouldn’t mention Lyla’s compliance.
“How do I know my place on the throne would remain safe? What is to stop you from challenging me next?”
Rion moved to answer but Tobias held up a hand to indicate he wanted to speak first. “You will consider this deal because of the favor you owe Khyterrion, and the deal will include you minding your business and concerning yourself with your own back yard. We’ll stick to ours; we have no desire to revisit the eighth realm. ”
“You are an Undead scourge in any realm, and yet you speak for my brother?”
Oriax didn’t bother to hide his amusement, which displeased the hounds. They began growling one after the other. Lemures let out a series of barks.
With a glance around at the beasts, Oriax thought for a moment before addressing Rion again. “I do not understand this alliance you have made. It makes no sense.”
“We don’t care if you understand it,” Will said. “We only care about the deal, which we really should get on with making.”
“If they are a trinity, why are you here?” Oriax asked Kitty. He seemed determined to manipulate the direction of the conversation, even if it was on a tangent from everything that mattered. Maybe that was the point.
“I wanted to meet you. I know your mother, and I was curious.” She did a fantastic job of sounding indifferent. Right down to examining her nails and directing her attention everywhere except upon him.
“She does not factor into the decision making?” Oriax looked to Rion for answers.
“What difference does it make? Are you afraid of a tiny female?” Tobias asked.
“Of course not!” He roared.
“Choose your words more carefully!” Rion shouted inside Tobias’ head.
Tobias knew angering Oriax had been a stupid idea. The feelings he’d promised would not interfere with the war ahead, had wormed their way under his skin. He didn’t like the focus being on Kitty and regretted agreeing to let her be present.
“She is also here to remind you that our father’s darkness is no longer absolute,” Rion intervened swiftly. “If he is on the decline, and likely to fall, why would you pass on the opportunity to benefit from it?”
“I see your point. Tell me the terms of this deal, I am prepared to consider it.” Oriax squared his jaw, ready to talk business.