Bliss (The Custos) (38 page)

"If you take the girl and willingly let the war come to pass you know what you risk." Darcallion stepped aside as Leuccetta spoke. "Are you willing to let that happen to you for one measly human?"

"She is mine, the mate of a Custos and there for not for sale." Leushus hissed between dropped fangs, his giant form shaking in rage, his wings now dropping as he tucked them behind him, protecting them maybe?

Darcallion motioned with his hands that he had grown bored of the argument between heaven and hells finest. "Pawns, all of them Leushus but you staked your claim it will damage you in the process and that made it worth it."

“She is worth every feather, every repercussion. My men are worth it. Either way I’m coming for you. You mess with mine then I came sooner and a lot harder.” His wings tucked in, disappearing as his skin knitted back together as if the pristine beauty had been a figment of my imagination.

The Cado evaporated and left the smell of sulfur behind, and Conlin. I paused for only a moment as I watched my Dominus, an Arch fall to his knees and gather the feathers that had fallen from his wings, the only proof in the room that I indeed seen what I saw.

“Fuck.” He cursed and counted the seven black feathers that had just moments before been white.

I would get answers later from Leush for now I had a stake in my hand aching to kill this little prick.

"You dare call on the Cado?" I said and slowly stalked him, evil in my eye as I chased the fear of my prey.

I looked at Conlin, he was a coward, terrified as I towered before him revenge thick in my energy he knew he was going to his final death. Leushus watched, his wings now gone and another shirt buttoned to the collar and not a wrinkle in sight. Oh yeah, I had questions.

"You start a war by killing me; I have followers you can't begin to dream of." Conlin said but feared moving.

"Pussy."

"I don’t care. I'll fight your war and kill you and your men." I took out my stake and palmed the dagger end, finding comfort in the blunt handle. "You should have let it go, your Dad didn’t want you anymore than he wanted a thorn in his side." I chose those words for a reason. Walter Chase had hurt London with those words so help me they would eat at Conlin too. "Now he's dead and you’re going to him."

Conlin lunged and I had to give it to him, he was fast and strong for as young as he was. I was faster.

I grasped the back of his shirt and hauled him back and against the brick of the fireplace and watched it shatter from the force. "Don’t do that again." I said and rushed him. I reached for him and almost had him when he fucking disappeared. "Damit."

I rushed from the room, Custos from in the hall rushed after Leushus who followed me. I seen him though, the crowed had mellowed out as the commotion scared every human in the joint. Leushus guarded the door, a wooden box in hand. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to shift far distances and careful to not risk the desert this close to sunrise, he had made sure Conlin was trapped.

I wanted to beat the un-life from him but knew the time for playing was over and I wanted him dead. Leushus tossed me the box. I opened it and smiled. I pulled several, and by several I mean ten syringes from the box, all filled with Bliss, all meant for Preacher and guaranteed to kill him. I walked slowly now and held the needle in my hand. "Can’t run." I said as he searched the room, music still loud, Nex to terrified to fight now, they were outnumbered and knew it as Custos surrounded every exit, the dance floor and us. "Can’t hide." I gripped him by the throat and held him to the wall slamming the needle in. I made fast work as he started to shake and bow in pain, needle after needle I watched him suffer. Finally one left in my hand, he was on the ground bleeding from every possible place, his body had bloated and blisters like sores had formed all over his skin. I wanted to say so many things but fell short because he wouldn’t hear me. I leaned down, close and hoped it was close enough. "Can't win either. She's safe and your dead, you’re all dead."

I emptied the last needle into his temple and watched him leave, off to burn in hell with Walter and the thousands of Nex I had sent there before him.

We waited for more
Nex
to come out and fight but none did, they scampered off and there was no surprise in it. They could deal their evil and continue their path. As long as they weren’t killing innocents we wouldn’t come after them. The truth was none of that mattered. Everything we did tonight started a war. The
Nex
would fight back and we would be waiting.

*

Sunset the Next night

Washington.

Bastian took London to the one place she had wanted to be. I had a mask home in Seattle and he took her there. We all sat at her bedside waiting for her to wake. She came through the change as my human not a Custos. She was alive, beating heart and all and it was not possible. Leushus made it so and I wanted answers.

"What did you mean when you told Darcallion you were in possession of her soul?" I asked, my voice breaking the still of silence.

"I knew that one of two things would happen. Everything would be fine or not. Before she fed she offered her soul to God to protect, just like Preacher." He looked at Preacher who nodded knowingly. He was still recovering from the Bliss attack but he like London would be here to fight another day. In that sense we had won, the battle at least.

"And?"
I asked annoyed. I wasn’t in the mood to filter Leushus's shit tonight.

"It wasn’t a true prayer, she was hoping like hell it worked and so I made sure it did." He stood from his seat and went for the door in the corner. I wanted to ask what he meant but he continued. "I knew when we were there that the Caddo were also there. They violate our laws by taking what is mine it's that simple. She is mine as all of you are."

"So you really are an Arch Angel?" I asked

Leushus nodded. "Yes and with it come some serious responsibilities, but also the power to heal and protect in ways you can’t." He looked at me, his silver stare so intense I felt unworthy for the first time. "Do you remember when I told you that any decision you made, no matter how small would have repercussions?"

"Yes." I was confused. "I told her everything and gave it all back though, I hoped...." pausing I scrubbed my hands over my face. “I figured it could help her if anything happened that if she knew how strong she was she would fight harder."

He nodded again. "I'm glad you told her. I will bear the repercussions of my involvement in this and they will be severe."

"What was your involvement Mate?" Preacher asked what I was thinking.

"I saved her from death, I gave her life back and I held her soul with me, my life force kept hers from leaving. For that I will pay dearly, as a human she wasn’t mine to take. I wasn’t to get involved or attached to any of you, but as my soldiers I found it impossible and for London....." He looked at the floor his shoulders hunched and he looked old, for the first time in all the years I knew him, Leushus looked like he should have gray hair not the jet black and his skin should be shriveled not ageless. "I couldn’t let her go to them. If she made the choice through your Siring her I wouldn’t have intervened but this broke so many boundaries I couldn’t watch her disappear like so many have. In caring for you Cacius I care for her the same."

"Well whoever your boss is, tell him why tell him it was important." I said scrambling for a solution. I could not bear for him to suffer for saving London, she deserved it admit, and we all knew it.

"My boss is God and the light Cash; I would never be punished by him. It is the Caddo who will now retaliate, we killed countless
Nex
tonight and I broke a contract we made millennia ago. I shouldn’t have involved myself in it."

"Fuck that, let the Caddo come we'll kill them too." I sat back next to where London slept and knew I meant those words, for her I would kill thousands, hundreds of thousands.

"You don’t get it." Bastian said as he stood and walked to Leushus's side. "He will fall because of this; his intervention is what started the war. Not the deaths of
Nex
, not the soul he protected. She willingly sacrificed her soul to them for Preacher admit!" Bastian roared. "He gave her life back when he didn’t have the right, he took her from them. Jesus Cash, Leushus took her back from them."

"So what the Caddo are coming for you?" I motioned to Leushus.

"For both of us and they have no idea what she is now."

"What? The? Fuck?"

"She is immortal, she was touched truly by an Arch and she will forever be
Cherished
." Bastian said.

"Like Bastian." Leushus said and looked to London sleeping in the bed. "She will walk talk act like a human, she will cry and laugh and blush everything will be the same minus basic bodily functions. Bastian and London are very similar."

"He's a fucking werewolf Leushus." I said pointedly and Bastian growled. "Down boy."

"She is not a Were, Bastian was given his wolf as a protector a gift. London was given as a gift also, to be
Cherished
. Her bones will break her insides damaged all the same as any human but her immortality will keep her from growing old. The Caddo will use that against her."

"And what about you?"

He smiled. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Now that we are all in this pretty thick I suggest safety in numbers." He reached in his pocket for a vile of Bliss. "I want to know what's in this and kill any reproduction; your girl has the power for that now."

Yeah Walter didn’t wise up and change the will, everything is London’s now and though she was a poor little rich girl before, she was fucking loaded now and had everything we needed at her disposal. "Ok, safety in numbers. Do you think we find a place a bigger one and stay together?"

It made sense a hell of a lot of sense.

Leushus agreed. "Yeah, Bastian will be a personal guard to her in the daylight while the Vamps sleep and our first act here Next to her safety is shutting down Bliss and the drug and taking out every fucking
Nex
we see. Patrols every night until their numbers are down big time. I will get in touch with all the Custos and let them know a war is coming."

"You can’t fight." I said and wished like hell I didn’t.

"I absolutely can. I made my bed and I will not regret it Cash. I love your Princess so does everyone here and her immortality; a safe one we all could count on will never again be mentioned. I did what had to be done and it ends now."

"Quick question boys, why do I have a pulse?"

We all turned our heads to London who was sitting in bed, and madder than hell.

*

London

Cash rushed to my side the minute they seen I was awake. Was this all a dream? I remember the fight with the Cado and how they tortured Preacher, and Conlin that sniveling bitch. But I remember feeding from a human; I remember taking her life and the sound of her heart stopping. How was I alive and not
Nex
? I was willing to die for Preacher why was I alive? Realizing they were all looking at me I chose to have a voice?

"Well why am I still a beating heart?" I sat up in bed but Cash took my hand and tried getting me to lie back down. Yeah screw that I was not getting babied right now.

"You are human, why not have a beating heart?" Leushus said before sitting Next to me on the bed. I had an image of him asking me to feed from him but shook it off as post shock and total mind fuck of the night.

"That’s not funny Leush, what's going on?" I kept my voice level as my stare and waited for my answer.

Leushus stood and looked at Bastian, Preacher and Cash. "May I have a minute with London please?" He asked but they all knew it wasn’t a request. Cash was reluctant to leave my side and Leushus said something to him I couldn’t hear and he nodded and kissed my cheek.