Temptation, Chronicles of the Fallen, Book 3 (24 page)

“Asher,” Niklas said at once, his voice hopeful. “Asher might be able to.”

The phone was already in Gideon’s hand.

“Yo,” Asher answered.

“We need your help,” Gideon barked, skipping over the pleasantries.

“What kind of help?” Asher asked, his voice neutral.

“A vortex opened up and sucked Kyanna and Maggie into it. We need to know where they went, and how to get there.”

“Maggie who?”

“My mate.”

“Ah, the Halfling.”

How did Asher know what Maggie was? Suspicion rode him, but Gideon pushed it aside. He’d deal with that all later. Right now, he just needed to get Maggie back safe and sound.

“The vortex, Asher,” he snapped impatiently. “Can you trace it?”

“A vortex, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you try to follow it back to the origins?”

“Yeah, Mikhail did, but he said there’s too much interference. And I tried to jump into it right after them, but it snapped shut before I could get inside.”

“Hmm.”

“That all you got?” Gideon demanded, growing more desperate by the second.

“Where?”

Gideon gave him the coordinates, not caring that he’d just willingly revealed the location of his home to one of the most dangerous, sketchiest demons Hell had ever spat out.

Before Gideon could end the call, Asher appeared a few feet away.

“I think Mortikaï may be involved,” Gideon began, but Asher held his hand up to silence them. He began pacing through the area, scowling in concentration, just as Mikhail had.

Gideon held his breath, aware everyone else present was doing the same. At length, Asher stopped on the exact spot the portal had opened up.

He stood, utterly still, arms out, palms up, face turned to the sky for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he turned to Xander and Gideon, his expression grim.

“Mortikaï might be involved as you suspect, I can’t say, but he doesn’t have the power to open a vortex. Especially not one this powerful, and not one on protected land.”

“Then who?” Xander snarled.

Asher’s gaze went back and forth between Gideon and Xander. Gideon could see the gleam in the mercenary’s eyes, but he didn’t care. He’d pay any price to get Maggie back. And he knew Xander would do the same for Kyanna.

“The one who took your mates will make a fierce enemy.” He paused, as if considering how much it would cost for him to burn that bridge.

“Who is it?” Niklas pressed.

Asher met his steady gaze dead on. “Ashïek.”

“He was already our enemy,” Niklas pointed out. “Or rather, Sebastian’s. That bastard’s had a hard-on for Sebastian since day one. Won’t be happy till Sebastian’s head is mounted and hanging on the wall of his trophy room.”

“Yes,” Asher replied. “Well, he wasn’t my enemy. And if I help you, he will be.”

“Can you find the origins of the vortex or not?” Xander hissed, clearly out of patience.

“I already have.” Asher considered them in turn. “How badly do you want them back?”

“Anything,” Gideon whispered hoarsely. “I’ll do anything to get her back, promise anything.”

“I don’t have to ask about you, do I?” Asher remarked with a sly grin, turning to Xander.

“In a heartbeat,” Xander said anyway.

“State your terms,” Asher prompted, all business now.

“Take us to our mates,” Gideon blurted. He had to get to Maggie, had to make sure she was okay. From his peripheral vision, he saw Xander nod agreement.

Asher’s eyes turned pure bottomless black; not a speck of white remained. An ancient, aged scroll appeared before Gideon. A blood contract. An identical scroll appeared in front of Xander.

“My terms now. Someday, I’m gonna ask a favor of you. From both of you. This will be your second, Xander. You’re both gonna give me exactly what I want, no qualifications. No questions asked.”

A heavy silence fell over the group. Niklas and Xander both glanced warily at each other. Mikhail’s frown deepened. Gideon had always wondered why the mercenary had never tried to collect on the outrageous contracts Lucifer had taken out on the Fallen.

Now, he understood.

Asher was collecting debts. And whatever he intended to cash them in on was far bigger than anything he stood to gain by currying favor with the Dark Prince.

Gideon was too worried about Maggie to care. Conjuring a dagger, he slashed his palm and slapped his bloody handprint to the ancient parchment. From the corner of his eye, he saw Xander do the same.

“Agreed,” they echoed in unison.

The ancient parchment absorbed the blood, sucking it up like a living thing, then vanished.

“Take us to our mates,” Gideon demanded once more.

“Just remember what you’ve bargained for,” Asher said, and his smile made Gideon’s blood turn to ice in his veins.

“Master,” the Charocté called from the dungeon hallway.

Stolas growled low in his throat at the interruption. The red-haired Halfling flopped limply beneath him. He’d had her but a week, and already she’d lost her spirit. “I told you I didn’t want to be bothered,” he roared, glaring over his shoulder toward the door.

“Apologies, master. But Dimiezlo insisted you would want to know.”

Cursing, Stolas rose from the pallet on the floor, the Halfling he’d been mating forgotten. He conjured himself clean and shimmered straight to the Great Hall. Dimiezlo was waiting.

“This better be good. I was in the middle of something…pressing.”

“I received a message a short while ago. Together, Mortikaï and Ashïek managed to open a portal onto land protected by the Fallen. Mortikaï’s captured Temptation’s Halfling, and the Slayer’s mate as well, the Guardian.”

“Where are they?”

Dimiezlo looked decidedly uncomfortable. “Mortikaï tricked Ashïek into allowing him to hold the females. Then he secreted them away the moment Ashïek stepped from the room and he changed the terms of his fee.”

Stolas growled low in his throat. “What does he want?”

“He said he wants Temptation. He said you can have the Halfling, the Slayer and his mate. But he wants Temptation.”

“Done,” Stolas immediately agreed. A small price in the grander scheme of things.

Dimiezlo ducked his head, cringing. “He also wants the sword.”

“The sword,” Stolas snarled. No need to ask which sword. Only one sword mattered. This was exactly why you had to be so careful of who you allowed to have certain information.

“No. He won’t get the sword. No Halfling’s worth that price.”

“He said if you wouldn’t bargain with the sword, then perhaps…perhaps Lucifer might be interested to know you have it.” Dimiezlo gulped, groveling.

Stolas glowered at the cowering minion. Mortikaï had just signed his own death contract.

“Where is Mortikaï now?”

“He’s gone into hiding. But I have Hunters after him. They’ve already locked on to his shimmer trail. It’s only a matter of time.”

“A matter of time! If he’s threatening to go to Lucifer, then I’m out of time.” Stolas moved his hands up, clenching his fists, then threw his arms wide open. Dimiezlo went flying through the air. He flipped end over end, stopping only once he was pinned against the far wall. The Animagi clawed at his neck, his red face taking on a purplish hue. “Do you remember what I told you would happen if this went badly?”

“Please,” Dimiezlo gasped, his eyes bulging. “Please, master. I will fix this.” He gasped again, flailing. “I will kill him myself and bring the Halfling to you. I swear it.”

“No. You will take me to him. And I will see that he is eliminated myself. The moment the Hunters notify you that they’ve located him, I want to know.” Stolas smiled then, evil power seething to the surface. “And you’ve forgotten one little detail.”

Dimiezlo forced a swallow, too fearful to speak.

“Now you suffer for failing me.” Stolas’s gaze went to the horns atop the minion’s head.

“No!” Dimiezlo pleaded now, reeking of the kind of raw terror Stolas savored like the finest of feasts. “P-please, m-master. Anything else. Anything. But n-not that. Not the—”

Stolas began to slowly, viciously twist the minion’s horns until they started to crack. Dimiezlo’s screams echoed in his ears.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Asher held out his hand, palm up. Gideon immediately slapped his palm onto Asher’s. Xander’s hand came down on top of his.

“Wait,” Niklas barked, stepping forward.

Mikhail advanced as well. “We all go,” he growled, reaching for the point of contact.

“Two contracts, two passengers,” Asher said, and the world spun away from the trio locked together by hands and blood contracts, leaving Niklas, Carly and Mikhail behind.

A dank cell materialized around them, a scene straight out of a medieval nightmare. Water trickled down the solid, grungy rock walls. The scents of mildew and refuse filled the air. A sputtering torch rested in a wall mount near a low, rust stained, iron reinforced door with a tiny window slot.

“Ky!” Xander shouted. He sprang away from them and fell to his knees beside the prone woman.

Kyanna’s hands were bound at the wrists behind her back, and her ankles were tied as well. A strip of duct tape covered her mouth. Her clothing was filthy and torn, and her left eye was all but swollen shut. Otherwise, she appeared unharmed, and mad as hell.

“Thank Christ!” Xander whispered brokenly.

He dragged his mate into his arms and squeezed her tight. His face went lax on a look of profound relief. She began squirming and mumbling beneath the tape. Xander turned her in his arms and gently pulled the tape from her mouth before he vanished her bonds.

“Gideon!” she exclaimed, twisting toward him. In the torchlight, her face was streaked with tears and dirt. Her long blonde hair was tangled and matted, sticking to her face and neck. “He dragged Maggie away.”

Gideon dropped down beside her. He instinctively tried to take the hand she reached out to him in his, but his passed right through hers. “Do you know where they took her?” he asked. “Did you see what they looked like?”

“Just one,” she corrected. “A big guy, bald, pointed ears, deformed face. His skin was gray, lumpy. God, he smelled…smelled like death. He came in the cell and Maggie and I, we fought him. Maggie almost got him with Angelfire. The minute we started the incantation to freeze him, he backhanded her, knocked her against the wall, and then he punched me.

“I don’t know what happened after that,” she cried. “When I came to, I was already tied up and she was gone. A little while ago…oh, God, Gideon.” She paused, sobbing now, looking as if she wanted to be sick. “A little while ago, I…I heard her screaming. Over and over. And then she went silent. Gideon, I don’t know if— I’m so sorry, I couldn’t stop him.”

Fear nearly paralyzed him. “Where did the screams come from? Could you tell which direction?”

“That way, I think.” She motioned to the wall on the left. “But everything echoes in here. It’s hard to tell.”

“Get her out of here,” Gideon said then, meeting Xander’s steely gray stare.

“Will you be trapped here? I don’t even know where we are,” Kyanna said.

Gideon shook his head. “This isn’t Hell. Mortikaï must have set up this lair Earth side. I can still shimmer us out if need be.”

Xander’s face was grim. Gideon could tell he desperately wanted to get his woman to safety, and Gideon didn’t blame him one bit. But Xander was also a warrior at heart, and leaving a comrade behind to face unknown odds didn’t sit well either.

“Go,” Gideon insisted.

“Gideon—”

“This wasn’t your fault, Kyanna,” Gideon assured her. “And now, thanks to you, I at least know for sure who I’m up against.”

He’d never done a damned thing to deserve the target Mortikaï had put on his back. But this time bastard had crossed the line. He would pay with his life.

Asher had been anything but passive while the three had been talking. A loud thunk, and a slight screech echoed in the room. Turning, Gideon watched as Asher rose from his knees by the door.

“Come on, we gotta go before somebody comes to check on that sound,” Asher urged.

“Take her home,” Gideon ordered Xander one last time. He waited until Xander and Kyanna, locked in each other’s arms, disappeared in a distortion of air, before he took off after Asher. He was forced to crouch to get through the small doorway, and then he crept through the narrow hallway.

They went door to door and pried the tiny windows open to look inside each cell. Demon after demon in varying states of decay were chained to walls and bones littered the filthy floors. But no Maggie.

Then, three doors down, Asher hissed to get his attention and motioned him over. Abandoning the window he’d been working on prying open, Gideon rushed to Asher’s side.

“She’s in there.” Asher pointed to the door.

Gideon didn’t need to hear any more. He put his shoulder to the door and shoved with all his might. It opened with a wail, and he burst inside the room. Maggie hung from bloodied wrists that were chained to the wall. She was limp and unconscious. Duct tape bound her fists closed. Her head was flopped slightly forward.

Through the curtain of her hair, he could see the shadows of beginning bruises, and the trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth. Her T-shirt was torn at the collar, and one shoulder seam was split. Both knees of her jeans were ripped, revealing bloody, skinned knees.

“Maggie!” Gideon flew across the room.

He reached for her.

Pain exploded in his skull, and blackness descended.

Gideon groaned. His head rolled on his shoulders, feeling like a thumb somebody had smashed with a hammer. He tried to move his arms, and was met with the clank and rattle of iron from somewhere above his head. Gideon forced his eyes open despite the screaming pain trying to claw his brain out through his skull. He blinked woozily until he could focus on the woman hanging from chains on the opposite wall.

“Beware the demon you call friend,” a deep voice said from the doorway.

Gideon’s head swung toward the voice, and he glared at the two demons standing across the room.

“Guess everyone has a price. Asher’s always been very clear about his, haven’t you?” Mortikaï asked Asher, though he didn’t wait for an answer. Turning back to Gideon, he went on, “For instance, all your capture required was his weight in gold. Well, he got that, and plenty more as a bonus for helping me locate your mate as well, and the Slayer’s. She’ll make a tidy little bow for the package, won’t she?”

So he didn’t know Xander had escaped with Kyanna yet. Good. That might buy him a little extra time. But then he puzzled over why Asher had let Xander and Kyanna go. His head throbbed so hard it was tough to reason it all out.

“Did you know, Temptation, that the price on your Halfling’s head is nearly as large as the one on yours? Different interested parties, of course. But quite profitable, all the same.”

“Bastard,” Gideon snarled at Asher, jerking at his wrists. The chains rattled but held. “We had a blood contract!”

“One I fulfilled,” Asher pointed out, unperturbed. “The contract stated I had to take you to your mate, nothing more, nothing less.” He nodded toward Maggie, who was only now beginning to stir. Dear Jesus, what had they done to her that she would remain unconscious through all this noise?

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Asher asked. “And she is your mate, isn’t she? Contract satisfied. You—and the contract—stated nothing about making sure the two of you made it safely back.” Asher shook his head. “You should be more careful about what you’re signing, Temptation.”

“I’ll take out another contract,” Gideon immediately prompted.

“No,” Asher said after a moment, “I don’t think so. After all, I got everything I wanted from the last one. And you don’t look as if you’re in any position to…ah, uphold your end of any bargain you might make right now.” He offered Gideon a strange smile then. “Remember, Gideon. Everything happens the way it happens for a reason.” His gaze moved to Maggie, dipped knowingly toward her lower abdomen, then shot back to Gideon and narrowed. “Besides, you wouldn’t thank me if I change the way things end.”

And then Asher shimmered away, leaving Gideon shaking with fury. His focus went back to Maggie. Her eyes fluttered open, and she moaned, scrunching them closed again.

“Oh, and in case you’re wondering,” Mortikaï added, drawing Gideon’s burning stare, “shimmering won’t do you any good. Well, it won’t do her any good, at least. Nifty little trick with the cuff, by the way.”

It was then that Gideon finally noticed the bit of silver Mortikaï twirled around his finger. Holding it to the light, Mortikaï admired the ancient runes carved into the cuff.

Just like he’d done with the Amulet of the Gods, Mortikaï summoned Hellfire. Gideon strained against the chains with all his might, but they wouldn’t budge. Before Gideon’s horrified eyes, the cuff on Mortikaï’s palm melted into a ball of silver, and then liquefied and dripped from Mortikaï’s hand to puddle on the floor at his feet. As if sensing its partner’s fate, the cuff on Gideon’s wrist clicked open and fell uselessly to the floor.

The ramifications were too much for Gideon to bear, and something inside him shattered.

“Oops! My bad.” Mortikaï sneered. “Guess you’re back to being cursed.”

Gideon snarled. His body vibrated with rage. It clawed inside him, shaking him, ripping through him, demanding to be released. The only thing keeping him sane in that moment was knowing that if he lost control, in that tiny room, Maggie wouldn’t stand a chance.

“I know your secret, Temptation,” Mortikaï taunted, crossing his arms. He leaned negligently against the doorframe. “Your rage controls you. And your rage is the only thing that will get you out of those chains. But you won’t risk that, will you? You won’t risk going demonic with her so close.” Mortikaï straightened, shaking his head. “Pitiful.”

Gideon refused to rise to the bait. His worried eyes were was busy sweeping over Maggie, searching for signs of serious injury. She was fully awake now, supporting her weight on trembling legs. She did not speak, but her eyes filled with tears as she looked between Mortikaï and Gideon.

“Ah, well, it’ll be worth it to see how this plays out. Either you stay chained up, and watch Stolas come for his merchandise. Maybe he’ll get rid of the bastard you already planted in her and plant one of his own. Then again, maybe he’ll keep it and raise it himself. Now doesn’t that just give you warm fuzzies?” Mortikaï laughed, dark and gut deep.

“And if you do decide to let the rage take over and break those chains, so I’m out a bit of gold.” He shrugged carelessly. “I’ll get to watch you rip your own mate to shreds. The pain that will cause you—once you regain your senses, of course—will be well worth it.”

Chuckling, Mortikaï turned and left the room.

“Are you okay?” he asked Maggie, devouring her battered face with his eyes.

Huge tears rolled down her cheeks, but she shook her head. “You shouldn’t have come, Gideon. I’m bait. He used me to get to you.”

“No, Maggie,” Gideon argued. “He wants you every bit as much as he wants me. Besides, I promised you I’d keep you safe.” He gave a vicious jerk on the chains and got nothing but a smarting wrist. “I’ll figure something out. You’re sure you’re okay? Kyanna said she could hear you screaming.”

“How is Kyanna?” Maggie asked, frantic. “Mortikaï hit her so hard—”

“She’s okay. She’s just fine, I promise. She’s with Xander. He’ll take care of her.”

Maggie sagged in relief.

“Why were you screaming?” Gideon pressed. Afraid to hear the answer, yet terrified of not knowing. And blaming himself all the while. He should have taken better precautions. But he’d been too arrogant. And look what had happened. She’d quite literally been snatched away right under his nose.

Maggie turned her head and closed her eyes. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

Gideon was utterly destroyed. “Oh, God, Maggie! Did he—I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to stop—” He couldn’t even finish the thought in his own head, much less say it out loud. What she must have suffered. He’d take it all upon himself if he could.

“No!” She turned back in a rush, her eyes wide and sincere. “Oh, no, Gideon. Not that. I swear! He didn’t…he didn’t touch me like that.”

“Then why—” He shook his head, confused.

“He put his hands on my head, and he showed me things, inside my head. Thoughts, nightmares, visions, my worst fears, I don’t know what they were. But they were horrible. You, and the others, all dead…by my hands. He forced me to choose between my baby and you all. Forced me to…to… One by one. And then the whole world burned to ash, because of me. Because I wanted to protect the child I carry.” Weeping, she hung her head and let the tears fall.

His heart twisted, and he fought the chains again. He wanted to go to her, to hold her, to comfort her and tell her he would make it all better. But he couldn’t do that, not anymore, could he?

The cuffs were gone.

Even if he could get to her, he’d never be able to touch her again. He tried to shimmer across the room, but his bonds held.

“Maggie,” he said, anguished. “Maggie, don’t cry.”

“What if those visions were right, Gideon? What if—despite whether we get out of here or not—what if this child is evil? What if it doesn’t matter what we teach it, or how much love we give it?” She sobbed, her doubt-riddled, tear-drenched gaze meeting his. “What if it’s just inherently evil and brings about the destruction of the world?”

“That’s not going to happen, Maggie. Do you hear me? That is not going to happen!” Gideon gave up jerking at the chains, and instead, his whole body strained toward her. “We will smother that baby in so much love that any seeds of evil will wither and die before they can take root. We will show him the world, together, so that he cherishes it. We won’t let him go bad. You won’t let him go bad. Just like you kept his father from giving up.”

That seemed to calm her. She wiped her cheeks against her shoulders and drew a deep breath. “We have to get out of here.”

“I can’t break these chains,” Gideon told her. “Not in human form. I think they might be
thulmate
.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a special metal forged specifically for Charocté Demons, to keep them bound and submissive. While in human form, I don’t have a hope in Hell of breaking them. Even in demonic, I’m just not sure.”