The keys relic, p.1
The Key’s Relic, page 1
part #4 of Warriors of Aristaeus Series

Warriors of Aristaeus 4
The Key’s Relic
[Siren Classic ManLove: Alternative, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense, MM, HEA]
The latch is a demonic relic that give Hansel more power than he knows what to do with, but with power comes a seduction of darkness so insidious he won’t see it coming.
Dallan is aware that the latch could corrupt Hansel, but he prays Hansel will be strong enough to fight the lure especially with the trouble of a soul eating demon coming to town. Dallan knows what Murlog wants and there is only one way to get it, destroy Dallan.
As the evil of the latch creeps into Hansel’s mind, he betrays Dallan without a single thought putting not only Dallan at risk but the man Dallan is now charged with protecting at risk as well. Realizing the darkness could make him powerful but will surely cost him Dallan, Hansel struggles to pull free of the clutches of evil to reclaim himself and fight for the man he loves.
Length: 67,500 words
THE KEY’S RELIC
Warriors of Aristaeus 4
E.A. Reynolds

Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
The Key’s Relic
Copyright © 2020 by E.A. Reynolds
ISBN: 978-1-64637-082-5
First Publication: January 2020
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2020 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
E.A. Reynolds is an avid reader and lover of paranormal romances. She enjoys spending time with her family and researching extreme psychic skills.
For all titles by E.A. Reynolds, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/ea-reynolds
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE KEY’S RELIC
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Epilogue
THE KEY’S RELIC
Warriors of Aristaeus 4
E.A. REYNOLDS
Copyright © 2020
Prologue
Aristotle stared at the computer screen on the desk before him. The dim light from the lamp shone on the screen, giving it a better illumination than the screen’s light alone. Drifting around him, the scent of lemon cleaning solution was like a familiar friend.
When he wasn’t saving the world, he operated a security firm to keep the Brotherhood flush and busy, but it was a trade they all knew well. At two hundred years old, he had a large knowledge base from books and former teachers, but fighting was still all he’d ever known.
American born, Aristotle could trace his roots back to the American Revolution and the uncle who’d trained him to be a member of the Brotherhood.
The knock on his office door drew a sigh from him. It was late and he’d stayed to clear the paperwork from a case he’d just finished. It hadn’t been anything serious, just a cheating husband, but it would pay the bills this month without touching their savings.
“Come in,” Aristotle called.
Faron Aristeo stood framed in the doorway for a moment before moving into the office. The carpet muffled his footsteps as Aristotle looked down at the computer to turn it off.
“What is it, Faron?” he asked tiredly.
Faron was an old friend and member of the Brotherhood. He was also one of the few still alive who’d been a member before Aristotle.
“Hiding in the office after hours now?” Faron asked, his tone mocking.
“No.” He sat back in his chair, dragging a breath into his lungs that was scented with the hint of pastry from Faron’s tea shop. “I don’t need to be on the streets twenty-four-seven.”
“That’s true, I think the brothers who aren’t working have things under control.”
“Did you have a reason for coming by?” He studied the other man who was at least five years older than him. Faron was an attractive man with gold skin and blue eyes.
“I do,” Faron admitted as he took one of the guest chairs before the battered old desk.
Most of the furniture was second-hand. Even the copy machine was used. Aristotle hadn’t known how long he’d be in the city when he first opened the office. Now, he wasn’t sure he’d ever leave.
There were many pleasures to indulge in from good food to cultural and social activities. Aristotle wasn’t much for the socializing, but he did visit the museums and art galleries.
“What is it? Come to rake me over the coals again for how things went with Dallan?”
“You fucked up, man,” Faron said. “Allowing Dakota that close to Hansel almost cost us all.”
“Conal and I didn’t see any reason why a past should be a problem for any of them,” he muttered. But he’d known better. Dakota was a good guy. On the other hand, Dallan was a better man in so many ways.
Even better than him as it turned out.
“Just because Dallan doesn’t allow romance to interfere with business doesn’t mean everyone has the balls.”
“Balls? Dallan fucked over him,” Aristotle muttered.
“He didn’t get emotionally involved,” Faron corrected softly. “There’s a difference and we both know it. We’ve both been there. You can’t allow him to stay out there on his own.”
“He chose a demon over us.” The friendship with Dallan had been strong yet almost tenuous at times.
They’d been from different worlds. Dallan was a gray witch who’d crossed a few lines in the past though for all the right reasons. Aristotle had never taken chances. He played by the rules and stayed within the lines.
That had included his love life too for the most part which was why he was single.
“He made a deal with Jox, and Dallan isn’t one to go back on his word. So that means if he promises to kill you someday, know he will,” Faron told him.
“Thanks, but I’m not worried about a death threat, Faron.” He sighed.
The hell gate was closed, demons weren’t running rampant, and dark witches weren’t beating down his door with an attempted assault every day.
He considered himself safe enough. However, that incubus who’d come through the hell gate in their last battle with demons was still out there, and he wondered if Dallan or Jox was even trying to find him.
“You should be,” Faron said sharply, and Aristotle frowned. “I just got word from an old friend in Vermont, a seer.”
“About what?” he asked blandly.
“Your old nemesis the Devourer has resurfaced in a Vermont town. He’s looking for something.”
The demon had left him for dead after a long and bloody battle. He was a devourer of souls. Always on the prowl for new powers and witches he could collect to drain them from.
Their souls were fed to a fire of evil that made it strong, gave evil an advantage over good while the souls burned in eternal flame.
“What is he looking for this time?” The one time Aristotle had faced him, the demon had been looking for a mythical box called the Case in which some mythical items were supposed to be stored.
In the process of his search, the Devourer had killed five good witches who were rumored to have known something about the Case.
“The Mage.”
“What?” Aristotle demanded, barely suppressing a shiver of fear. If the demon got his hands on that book…he didn’t want to think about the damage he could do.
“That’s not all he’s looking for though.”
Aristotle couldn
“He’s hunting the time relics,” Faron told him. “He’s killed the guardians using a pestilence demon to inflict them with cancer. I guess he hoped they’d beg for their health back and trade their secrets.”
“Do they even know where to find the Mage?”
“I don’t think so,” Faron replied. “But there has to be some connection. The demon isn’t merely hunting random pieces of power.”
He agreed and the end result could be catastrophic.
“We should contact them,” Aristotle said, reaching for his cell phone. “Give me the number of your seer friend. Surely, she or he knows how to find a guardian.”
“You do realize that the keepers are two tiered?” Faron asked.
“So what?” He didn’t know much about the timekeepers.
“There are the guardians who guard and teach, who keep knowledge. He’s killed the seven and moved on to the next tier which consists of keeper warriors.”
“Is this important?”
“They’re much like the Guild,” Faron said patiently. “In fact, they worked with the Guild which is how he was able to get them. They were trying to help the Guild as they hid from Galla.”
Galla, a chaos demon, had killed off the Guild in her search for the Mage. Dallan and Jox, a demon who seemed to be Dallan’s new best friend, had only vanquished her three weeks ago.
“How is that a problem? I mean their ties to the Guild. The Guild is gone. They can work with us.”
Faron was shaking his head, the black strands of his ear-length cut shifting around his face.
Aristotle groaned inwardly. Why couldn’t this just be simple and easy? He’d had too much drama lately.
“The keeper warriors have always worked with another organization,” he said. “Dallan is the only one who knows how to find the actual leaders.”
“Fuck.”
Faron laughed darkly. “Bright side?”
“Is there one?” He and Dallan weren’t on the best of terms right now, but the good thing was the only wedge between them was a demon.
“You can call him up and—”
“I’m not kissing his ass. He chose a demon and his bitch over us.” Still, he mentally swallowed over the bad taste already forming in his mouth.
Faron glanced around theatrically. “I wouldn’t say that too loud if I were you. That bitch might just be listening, and you know she loves to inflict pain.”
Aristotle grunted, but Faron chuckled.
The dark knight, a bitch from hell sent—she had to be though she was human. She was fucking a demon and wreaking havoc with pleasure. He’d seen her latest kill when a cop, a witch, had paid him a visit for a little advice.
The cop had showed him the pictures of the bloody scene that had been the dead pregnant woman’s kitchen. The child had been killed along with the mother. It looked as if the placenta had been taken.
And hell if he knew what the dark knight, otherwise known as Gretel, would be using placenta for. Truth be known, he didn’t really want to know.
“Can’t we get to them without Dallan?” Aristotle asked.
“Maybe, but it’s not likely. The seer said the guardian in the open was dying. We might get there before she does and convince her to trust us, but I don’t know if we have that kind of time.”
“I’ll send Teague to check it out.”
Teague had been with the organization as long as Faron had and knew how to appear innocuous and invisible. The demon wouldn’t suspect Teague was there to thwart his plans.
“Does she have information or something she’ll be passing on? Maybe we can intercept it or get her to tell us the name of her replacement.”
“She might even know how much danger the kid is in. We can hope the associate organization doesn’t know and isn’t already en route to pick up the replacement.”
“If they’re going to handle this, then why is it our problem?”
“The seer saw him coming here within three days. So, that means he’ll either beat us to the keeper and gain its powers and the knowledge of the general area of where to find the Mage, or something will just lead him here.”
Aristotle pinched the bridge of his nose. “Then, maybe we should just let Jox know he’s coming and sic him on him.”
Faron laughed. “I’d love to see two demons going head-to-head, but the seer saw you dying along with the love of your life.”
“Just fucking fantastic,” he muttered. “I’m not seeing anyone.”
“I guess you’re going to be.” Faron grinned and wiggled his brows. “So, you best put on your grown man suit and call Dallan, or your boyfriend’s going to die.”
* * * *
Dallan Zenon turned off the lights in his store and headed to his office. Everyone was gone now, and the place was all locked up.
“Dallan.”
He turned at the soft voice of Nadia, one of the doctors who ran his small medical clinic now. She was coming toward him, a glow of gold around her allowing him to easily spot her.
“What’s going on?” he asked with a frown. He had plans tonight that didn’t include being waylaid.
“I’ve arranged for the placements you suggested,” she told him, brown eyes alight with curiosity. “Why do you think it’ll be necessary? I thought everything was going fine.”
“It is, but I feel it will be in our best interest in the long run.”
“Iona wants to deal with you from now on since she’s the head of our coven,” Nadia told him. “Will that be a problem?”
“No.” Iona was the leader of the Daughters of Artemis coven that had traveled from the North to work with him. There were other sects of the coven around the country, but he and Iona had worked together in the past.
“Well, Iona selected the girls for the job. She said you’d worked with them both before.”
He’d only worked with the ladies sporadically, as back in their time ladies were supposed to be delicate and protected as they sat at home bent over their needle work in their tightly tied corsets.
“I’ll call her tomorrow,” he said. “For now, I need to go.”
“You’ve never been in this big a rush,” Iona said, and the darkness behind Nadia seemed to pull back and become a soft aura of light.
“Hello, Iona,” he said and tipped his head to her.
“Brother,” she said with a fond smile as she came to take his hands. “It’s been too long since we’ve last met.” Her brown eyes held the warmth of an old friend.
He kissed both of her cheeks. “It has. How have you been, then?”
“I’ve gotten by,” she said. “Nadia, leave us.”
Nadia nodded and quickly strode away.
“Why the secrecy?” Dallan asked with a frown.
“There is none,” Iona told him. “She said she had to help Kerri close up.”
“Right. So?”
“I heard more than one incubus came through the hell gate before it closed,” she said. “I also heard a group of warlocks was moving into the city ahead of a big threat.”
Warlocks was what they’d called dark witches centuries ago.
“What threat?” he asked, barely stopping himself from grimacing. Life had been quiet since they’d gotten rid of Galla and her small party of friends.
“I’m not sure yet,” she told him. “But I think it’s smart that you want to put a few undercover. We need eyes in the dark circles especially with talk of the underworld gaining a new player in the region.”
“Jox.”
“I’m not certain I like the sound of that, but Nadia tells me you have an alliance of sorts with him.”
“I do, but he’s one of those I want spied on, as you know,” Dallan told her. “I just keep thinking about the last time there was a hell gate.”
“You’re thinking Galla was just the leading edge of the dark waves to come?”
“You know it was,” he said softly as he recalled that turbulent time in Rome. “We never did know just how many demons came through with Gantos, only how many he’d planned to bring over.”
“And nothing was as it seemed, even Gantos himself.”
“So you can see why I don’t think an incubus is a priority when something far uglier is probably lurking in the shadows.”
