Redeemed In Shadows (22 page)

“My downfall? You’re in my arena.”

She smiled, and Royce and Ronin both cursed under their breath. The woman was mad. She was six cans short of a six-pack and crazy in the worst kind of way.

“I may be in your arena, but you forget who’s realm you’re in, who’s gate you guard, and I will say as far as protecting the gate goes, you’re failing miserably. This was never meant to be a holding tank.” Cleopatra tipped her head to the side eyeing the robed figure. Both women were locked in some sort of glare. You couldn’t see the cloaked figure’s face, but you knew she was staring at you.

“Bring forth the accusers,” she said, ignoring Cleopatra.

Bells aunt clapped her hands in maniacal glee as another gate on the opposite end opened and out walked, Albanus, Solon, Surelle, and Xee. Behind them was the bastard Fallen, Enri, and his best friend, Draven.

What the hell?



Xee was trapped inside her body with nowhere to go. All she could do was watch in horror as the twins, Belinda and two other immortals gawked at her. Micah had betrayed the Unit and her. He’d taken complete control of her body, leaving her a shell of her former self. Awash in anger, she could do nothing but observe.

After the jet had landed, they’d been ambushed by a Fallen Angel Jes had called Enri. It also seemed Draven too was a traitor. His eyes had gone from a brilliant green to dead black. She’d seen him laugh and kiss his mate plenty of times, but when the Fallen had shown up, the Lycan did a complete three sixty, grabbing Jes by the arm and handing her over to Enri. They’d been quickly subdued by hordes of what looked to be well-functioning zombies, minus the grotesque features. Some had gaping holes in their chests or bruises on their faces, but for the most part they were intact physically and they weren’t mindless like in the movies, but followed the orders of the Fallen, Enri.

She’d tried to help, but was powerless to stop Micah. He used her voice, and her mannerisms to explain she’d been a part of the Red Hand Organization from the start. That they had been fools to trust her. Seeing the look of betrayal and disgust on the other’s faces was enough to make her stomach wretch.

“You fucking bitch.” Royce whispered.

Micah laughed.

“Oh come on Royce.”

“I warned you what would happen if you put my mate in danger.” There was fire in his eyes. They blazed with uncontained fury as he lunged for her.

“You can’t hurt me here. Inside the arena you’re helpless.” Laughing, Micah walked to stand next to Enri and Draven. Draven was grinning from ear to ear. Like he was in on some fantastic secret he couldn’t wait to share.

“Enough!” The cloaked figure on the dais said, “We’re here to serve justice, starting with house Atrades. If Vibanus speaks out of turn again, take a strip of flesh from his female.”

Bells’ eyes narrowed, she maneuvered her body between the guards, walking to stand next to her mates. The others hadn’t been brought out yet, but the entire gang was here except for Adam and Hawke. They’d stayed behind to keep an eye on the Unit's only prisoner, and to keep an eye on other things. It seemed everyone was here on some trumped up charges of treason.

“Don’t worry Xee, I’m doing what’s best for us.”

“For us! How did you come to that conclusion?”

He didn’t respond when she demanded an answer. That only pissed her off more. She wasn’t prepared for the kind of betrayal Micah had done, not from her Para-housed. How was she supposed to handle the current state she was in?

“How do you plead House Atrades?” The cloaked figure on the dais asked again.

A tall svelte woman dressed in a white linen dress stepped forward and addressed the figure on the dais. She was standing behind the twins and Belinda

“I absolve them from any wrong doings. They were unaware of their father’s part in their downfall, and therefore shall not be held accountable.”

“All Seeing Eye, who is this woman who speaks out of turn?” Albanus asked. He was the twin’s father, and like them, big and well defined in the muscle department. Age wise they looked the same, but when you looked into their father’s eyes, you could see the strength and years that his sons didn’t hold. Their father clearly was not happy with the woman who talked about absolving his sons of their treason. The crowd quieted when the All Seeing Eye had spoken, but were beginning to get restless. Murmurs and whispers slowly rose until Xee couldn’t hear herself think. Some were pounding their feet on the dirt while others shoved and pushed at one another.

“Silence!”

The crowd immediately died down.

“You search for the Sahidic. All truths must be exposed on all sides in order for justice to prevail.”

It kind of made sense to Xee, but not really.

“Explain the rules Minerva,” the tall woman with eyes like Belinda said.

The All Seeing Eye moved back from the dais, turning away as if to leave. Instead she appeared on the dirt floor of the arena to stand in front of the twins and Belinda.

“The rules are simple, truth is revealed, and at the end of your trial, justice is served.”

“I didn’t agree to this,” Albanus stated. Surelle, who Xee knew to be Belinda’s mother, grabbed his shoulder when he’d tried to step forward. She’d been up on the dais with the others, but was now on the ground with the Royce and the others.

“Cleopatra, why am I not surprised to see you here?” Belinda’s mother asked.

“The Cleopatra?”

“One in the same.”
Micah responded.

Whoa.

Cleopatra stepped forward, her gown rustling at her feet and picking up the desert sand. She stood face to face with Surelle.

“Surelle, why is it I’m not surprised that you once again have chosen wrong.”

Belinda’s mother tried to speak, but the other woman raised her hand to silence her.

“What is it you suggest? My heir will not be left alone. She is the Matria of the Phoenix Enclave, sole heir to all that I own. Did you really think I’d leave it all to you, you foolish chit.”

Albanus stepped in eyesight of Belinda’s aunt making sure she knew he was displeased with the words he was hearing. The woman turned assessing eyes on him as she grinned.

“I see where the boys get their looks.” Her eyes thinned to slits as she spoke. “Do you wish to opt for a trial in the form of combat then, will this appease you Feral?”

“Yes.” Albanus said victory clear in his tone. He thought he was going to win the battle with his sons. “My men against the pair of them.”

It was an absolute train wreck. A week and a half ago she was in a roach infested apartment. Today she was in another realm about to witness what could only be called an immortal combat. Two very large Ferals stepped forward. The twins looked between one another before nodding their heads in some sort of silent agreement. She hadn’t known her teammates for long, and normally she wouldn’t care. But this time she was responsible and for the first time in her short life, she was sorry in every sense of the word. This was all going down because of her.



He’d done it again, managed to fuck up his affairs again. She’d fooled them all. Even Dietrich was torn up about it. How did he not see this coming? There had been signs all around them. Little things he paid no attention to, but should have. Gabe started to catalogue their past week and half together during and after work hours. Her mannerisms were unchanging, but there were subtle differences he should have picked up on. Eyes dilating during conversations, immediate mood changes. They all were signs. Maybe it wasn’t all her. Maybe it was her Para-housed who was running the show now.
And maybe you’re reaching
.

He’d been hell bent on staying away from her but after his conversation with Dravaggio, he’d assumed the best course of action was to talk to her. What he hadn’t expected when he entered the cockpit was for her to be so crass and cold. Dietrich was in the process of landing the plane when she turned harsh hazel eyes on him. Disgust evident and he’d felt responsible for putting it there. It was true, he’d said one night, but there was something about Kapua Hale that called to him on an instinctual level, telling him to protect and cherish who she was as a person, to love her as a man loves a woman.
His woman.
Would the fates have been cruel enough to have him think she was for him, when in reality she wasn’t?

When the plane landed, she’d smiled mischievously. Now he knew why. The team had been immobilized the moment they’d touched down. Death Walkers and men with weapons old and new swarmed the plane. Draven had single-handedly helped put them down. With Jes being pregnant, she was more worried about her unborn than herself. Even Dravaggio had taken a step back. It was Dietrich who wouldn’t go down without a fight. He took down thirty Death Walkers before being overwhelmed by the enemy. An enemy who still hadn’t seen fit to show himself.

Gabe felt powerless. He knew what was coming next for his team, and for him. Had two weeks passed so quickly? By his count, he still had a couple of days left. But time passed differently in the in-between. Things were going south from this point forward and no matter the outcome, he had to go along for the ride. Debts would be settled, old wounds were going to be split wide open, and all the pus that festered beneath would
seep free. Vengeance for some would come at a great price for others.

In order to ascend he had to sit shotgun and ride it out. When he agreed to have his misdeeds aired in front of all, he didn’t take into account the ones he considered small to be given voice either. Nor did he take into account the lives that would come to matter to him. Stefan Dravaggio may never forgive him his transgressions, his friends he’d come to think of as family would never forgive his tampering of their lives either. But either way, everything he’d done had been with reason. All valid except for his initial trigger that started it all. But everyone would have their closure, especially Dravaggio. He would come face to face with the man who killed his father.

He could hear the voices in his head, could smell the freshly packed snow that crunched beneath his leather sandals as he came for the wife who was distressed from labor. Michael was supposed to have come for them, but had sent Gabriel in his stead. Which was the perfect excuse to do what his brother had asked of him. This was the incubus who’d wronged his brother. The woman and both her children were in a bad way. Davarus stood by watching over the human woman who struggled to give birth to her twins.

“You are not the merciful Michael.” The Incubus said.

“No, I’m his bastard brother Gavri’el. He couldn’t come so I’m here in his place to take the mother and her children.

The incubus frowned deeply. All they usually cared about was draining energy from their victims. This one seemed saddened by the woman’s fate.

“Take my life for theirs. I have a son and daughter as well, they need their mother.” The male pleaded. His eyes filling with unshed tears. It was against his law to take life in place of another. His powers were meant to transport those to the next place. Deviating from the plan would upset the fabric of life.
But you’re brother has asked you to do this. Make the male beg for it. You can’t be faulted if he is willing to go in their place.
Each thread had its own distinct pattern in life. To take a piece before it was time could unravel an entire tapestry throwing other threads surrounding it into complete chaos.

“You know the rules demon, they go to a better place.”

The demon took a step towards him before turning back and kneeling in the snow to comfort the woman whose breathing became more and more shallow. She didn’t look frightened of him, it didn’t look like she was being held against her will. But it could all be an act. He may have threatened her in some way, or maybe because the woman had been his captive for so long, she’d come to care for him, forgetting she was promised to his brother. The Incubus grabbed her pale hand that shook violently as her other hand clutched her belly still holding their unborn twins.

“I regret nothing Stefan,” The woman whispered. The demon laid his other hand on her belly looking up to Gabriel to provide answers.

“Please take me in their place.”

Gabriel shook his head. If he did this, there would be repercussions. Drastic ones.

Azrael appeared next to him whispering in his ear.

“Take his head brother. Do this thing for me. Do you not see the pain she is in because of him. He’s brainwashed her into thinking that their love is real, when it’s me she loves. Me she was promised to. I will care for her babes and her two eldest children. Trust me in this.”

“If I do this, you will not be able to return. You will forever be stuck in the ring of fire. There will be nothing I can do for you.”

“Do it, I would burn for eternity and still be happy knowing my precious and our children are thriving.”

“Yesssss,” hissed his brother.

The Incubus looked to the ailing mother to be and Gabriel knelt on the ice-cold ground and placed a healing hand on the woman’s protruding belly. Her eyes closed on a deep inhale and then she slept, a small sigh escaping as she drifting into a healing sleep.

“I will forever be grateful. My sons will be called Kiel and Kellen Dravaggio. They will do great things on this Earth. See to it their brother Stefan and sister help rear them in a just manner.”

Hardly. Gabriel thought to himself. Incubus demons survived on the energy of others. His sons would trick, tempt, and even kill to sustain their lives. Both men stood. His brother Azrael, off to the side watching with a smile on his face, as they both walked away from the now sleeping human. Abaddon appeared as the Incubus knelt in the snow arms behind his back offering Gabriel his head.

“You’ll be condemned for this or worse,” Abaddon said.

“Don’t listen to him,” Azrael said, walking up to where they all stood around the Incubus. The other male couldn’t hear their conversation as his brother’s kept them shrouded.

“It’s one life for three. How can I be faulted for that?”

Abaddon looked down on the woman who slept and cringed. A gust of ice-cold wind kicked up around them causing their hair to whip in their faces as each brother stared at one another.