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Suddenly the man dropped to his knees, fluid leaked from his ears, before he flopped forward. Not a dragon then. A mage perhaps? She turned, and as she did two things happened almost at once. Firstly, she took a step just as a pitch-black portal opened up right where her foot would land. Secondly, she glanced up and the flash of pale skin, brilliant red hair, and hard gray eyes flashed, the curve of her jaw . . .
Luc’s heart beat like a drum in his chest, his breath came hard and fast, wood splintered within his grip, breaking the back of his chair. And in the blink of an eye her foot landed in a black abyss of nothing, sucking her in and carrying her away, to a destination unknown. And with her exit, Luc snapped back into himself with a jolt. It wasn’t possible. For starters, she’d be dead by now . . . surely. Even if what he’d seen hadn’t been real, she’d be at, or very close to, the end of her human lifespan.
The feed ended with another reminder to keep their eyes peeled, but none of them were really paying attention. Roth was making odd sounds in his corner of the room. Very un-Roth-like noises. If he were human one would assume a heart attack of some kind. Watching the usually put together male as he ambled toward the conference table and then seemed to stop, unsure, he definitely knew something big was coming. Had thought himself prepared for anything.
“So, uh, yeah, there’s something you should know.” Roth cleared his throat. The poor bastard looked nervous as hell, but considering he lived here that shouldn’t have been a problem, Luc laughed at his own little joke to break the tension he was feeling.
“Just spit it out, Wraith, surely it can’t be that bad.”
It couldn’t be, right?
Chapter 6
Where was she? Why couldn’t she track her? Why couldn’t she find her? The old witch, her friend, had promised she’d always be able to find her . . . Unless she was shielded in a place she should not be, by someone she should not know?
Hysteria bubbled beneath the surface of her despair. Rage stung her skin like angry wasps at the possibilities running through her head. All the questions left unanswered. The leads that led nowhere. The portal realms were the only answer. This was the last one. The last one she could enter anyway. There were more. One, no one could enter. One only her kind could not enter. And one she dreaded more than any other. She’d find her answers here, or she’d find a way into those other places. No one would stop her.
The mage stood arrogantly in the square, as though he held all the cards, and she’d be the one playing pick up. Little did he know she’d played this particular game for a lot longer than he had.
The dragons were the most secretive creatures, self-isolated as they were. The clans were barely civil with each other. Prior to the heirs of four of the five main clans going missing they’d warred amongst themselves. Their world was governed by demigods and goddesses, as were most of the shifter realms.
She felt the insidious evil attached to the mage. His emotions were so dark, so slimy, like wading through a swamp. He thought to deceive her, trick her. Before he could open his mouth, and lie to her with words his emotions belied, she sent her power out and pulled none too gently at his feelings. Feeding her hunger and gaining his strength, his fear was addictive as he realized what was happening, yet he had no power to stop her, as if his body were encased in ice. She felt the moment he let his thoughts flow into his emotions and the information he’d hidden drifted into her. With a slight ‘pop’ his brain liquefied, and his knees hit the ground moments before he lay motionless at her feet.
She may not know for sure, but now she had a way to find out, she just needed to find the one person who could help her. If he’d help her after all this time?
Turning she took a step, a single step. One moment there was solid ground beneath her feet the next she was falling, falling into a pitch-black void of nothingness. An abyss as dark as the pitch black of the deepest recesses of space. Falling without landing. Panic flared, she felt her eyes widen, her ribs compressed, and her lungs seized. She sucked in some much-needed air and the panic ebbed with the realization that she had oxygen and wasn’t going to suffocate.
The darkness was infinite, yet suddenly she didn’t feel like she was falling anymore. At that puzzling thought a heavy wave of fatigue engulfed her. Where was she? What was she doing here? Who was she?
Not yet, the time is not yet here, whispered a disembodied voice.
From one blink of her eyes to another, the deepest sleep claimed her.
Pure rage contorted Gabriel’s features, his almost too thin lips curled up in a savage snarl. Veins popped out at his temples, and his fingernails bit into his palms hard enough to draw blood. He dismissed everyone with a terse order, until only two remained, unmoving, silent and intent.
The meeting had not gone as he’d thought it would. He’d thought to throw Lucifer off his game, expose his weakening mind by having that little prank planted into that dipshit Dantalion’s ear. But instead of being embarrassed by the cartoonish hair, the jackass still seemed to think of himself as the Almighty's personal gift to everyone. His snide remarks about Michael and pointed questions about the recent performance of the Shadow Hounds, all of his attempts to reveal Lucifer’s unraveling sanity, had failed. Unfortunately, things had not panned out as he’d wanted.
His taunts and attempts to see Lucifer falter had fallen short, and now two members of the Praesidium were watching him with hard, assessing eyes. His inside man had assured him that the last sixty-nine years had taken their toll on the once wrathful ruler of Hell and that he’d slithered into hiding inside his own mind.
That was the plan after all. So, how did he keep managing to pull his shit together whenever Gabe had his own eyes and ears on him?
He pushed down his rage and blinding frustration and tried to focus on his ‘guests’. Not that he’d actually invited them into his place. It was his place, no matter what those assholes kept inferring. Officially, it was Michael’s still, but in all the ways that counted he ruled this place, and it was just a matter of time until the Almighty realized Michael was never coming back.
He’d made sure of it.
One prophecy, slightly twisted. They wouldn’t believe how fucking easy it was to send Michael into a tailspin. All he’d had to do was whisper in one paranoid little ear and he’d gained so much control, so much power, and yet, it wasn’t enough. What he’d wanted was respect. He knew now he’d never get it from those pathetic weasels Lucifer commanded, and it was no longer enough. He wanted them under his rule, kissing his booted feet, subjugated to his whims.
The Almighty seemed to be taking a step back, and he’d fill the vacuum. He had it all planned out. Lucifer would be tossed out, he’d place his own man in charge of the Hounds as a figurehead, in reality he’d command both armies of heaven, and collect all souls on earth. He’d decide where they went. Who was reborn. And they would obey him. He’d make it so.
That jackass had to bring up Jeanne though, didn’t he? She’d been his, was meant to be his, and that slick bastard had defiled her, literally brought her to her knees, and stolen her affections away. He would have worshipped the ground she walked upon. He had adored the very air she’d breathed . . . Up until the moment he’d spied her betraying his love with his immortal enemy. He’d been content to share her with the human male, the king, until he’d secured her undying affections, but not Lucifer, never Lucifer.
Funny how fleeting Lucifer’s interest had been once he’d attained his goal, once he’d stolen that which he, Gabriel, had coveted. No one had even remotely questioned her untimely death. A good thing, too, because if they’d looked too closely they’d have seen his mark. His temper had gotten the best of him that night, and he’d personally delivered her soul to the only well he had access to.
Reining in his wayward thoughts, Gabe straightened to his full height and canted his head toward the waiting interlopers.
“Well, never a dull moment with Lucifer, is there?” He paused for a chuckle, a wry grin, or an acknowledgment. Silence reigned. With a shrug, more to himself than to the humorless twats, he continued on.
“In what way can I assist you both? I’m not sure what purpose you have in visiting with us, but we will all do whatever it is we can, I assure you.” He offered with a respectful nod.
