Kickoff, p.8
Demon Throne (Demons of Morningstar Book 1), page 8
“All he did the last decade is sit on his throne and mope,” Charod said. “Mother said he lost all interest in matters of state. Trade agreements, fuel export and import, they all had to be signed off on by Satan and he refused to cooperate. It was only a matter of time before someone put an end to him.”
“Wasn’t he out of realm when it happened?” Gus asked.
“No, it was the throne room,” Charod said.
“Bullshit,” Tristeene said. “The Court of Shadow was buzzing with the news. He was definitely off realm when it happened.”
I turned to Tristeene. “You’re from the Court of Shadow?”
“An abyssblood,” Mallini sneered before sipping from her goblet.
Artimus had mentioned them. Creatures who’d been liberated from the abyss. “I thought the atmosphere in Morningstar wasn’t suitable for your kind.”
“You thought correctly, but I’m also Nephalem.”
Of course. “Like the seneschal.”
“He told you he was abyssblood?” She looked surprised.
But not as surprised as I was.
“Ah, he didn’t reveal that part.” She licked her lips. “Tell me, did you feel a little tingle down there when with him?” She smiled wickedly. “Did you get horny?”
I met her gaze levelly, unabashed. “Yeah. A little. He’s a sexy guy.”
She let out a sultry laugh. “Honey, you have no idea.”
“He’s an incubus,” Mallini said, shooting Tristeene a glance that said she wasn’t impressed with her theatrical flair. “And Tristeene is a succubus.”
“Not related,” Tristeene said. “Artimus is the last of his bloodline. The Basr bloodline was wiped out in the Chaos War. Satan took Artimus in and raised him like a son.”
“Basically, what they’re saying is that you can’t trust anyone,” Gus said.
“There is only one Satan seat,” Mallini said. “Only one of us can ascend.”
Everyone took a moment to side eye each other.
Veena pushed her chair back. “Goodnight.” She drifted away from the table and into the shadows.
“She’ll die in the first trial.” Keelan shoveled stew into his mouth. He looked up at me. “You’ll be next.”
No one bothered to contradict him. But then they didn’t know me the way I did, and I had no intention of dying anytime soon.
Chapter Eleven
I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep, but my body had other ideas. I woke to the gray light of dawn, Chase nudging me in the face, and a soft knocking on the door.
Urgh, I was not a morning person. I rolled off the bed and shoved my feet into my boots before padding to the door to answer it. Yeah, I’d slept fully clothed, what of it?
I yanked open the door to empty space. Chase chuffed and nudged me.
I looked down to find Veena standing with her face tipped up, huge, dark eyes drinking me in.
I dragged my hand through my hair. “Hey…morning.”
She pulled a bundle from her pocket. “You missed breakfast.” I went to take the package, but she pulled away slightly, unwrapped the hunk of bread, and pinched off a bite with her fingers. She popped the piece in her mouth, chewed and swallowed, then blinked up at me.
We stood face to face for several seconds and then she handed me the bread.
She’d just poison checked it for me. I mean, it had probably been checked at the table, but she’d just given me peace of mind by checking it again.
I took the bread. “Thank you.”
She bobbed her head. “We meet at the door in fifteen. Nugen gets mad if we’re late.” She pointed to the ground where another package sat. “Zinichi left you clothes.”
“Thanks.” I picked up the bundle. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
She glided off down the corridor and I retreated into my room and closed the door. It looked like I’d made a friend.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that considering what I had to do.
I split the hunk of bread in two and handed one to Chase. “Eat up, boy. I have a feeling we’re going to need our strength.”
There was no time for a shower, but I washed as best as I could in the sink in my room and donned the change of clothes Zinichi had left for me. Soft jogger pants and a long-sleeve lightweight polo shirt. There was no fresh underwear in the package, but there was a pair of sneaker-type footwear without any laces. They molded to my feet like gloves, and damn, they were comfortable.
I joined the others by the door in the main lounge. They were dressed in clothes like mine. We looked like we were about to go on a team run.
The door opened and Nugen appeared, legs encased in joggers, chest puffed out in a black, long-sleeve sports shirt.
I mean, I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but it wasn’t sportswear. I guess Morningstar imported from across the golden bridge.
“I hope you’re ready for some strenuous activity,” he said.
Everyone groaned.
Nugen cackled. “You think just because you’ve been training every day for the last two weeks I’m gonna go easy on you, huh? The Custodia is in two days. If you want a decent sponsor, you need to look the part. We’re hitting the gym.”
“Yes!” Keelan fist-pumped the air.
“Typical,” Tristeene said.
“Stamina training,” Nugen added.
“What?” Keelan’s face fell. “I want to do weights.”
“Trust me,” Nugen said.
“Why can’t you just tell us what the trials involve?” Gus asked. “All the hand-to-hand, the puzzles, the gym sessions, the cross-country runs.”
Shit, it looked like I’d missed a ton of stuff.
“To prepare you for anything,” Nugen said. “The trials test more than your body; they test your mind and your emotions. They test your worth to be Satan, and if we told you what exactly was being tested, you’d fake it. We can’t have that.”
“Fake it? Me?” Tristeene fluttered her eyelashes. “Never.”
“Let’s just get this over with,” Mallini said.
Nugen led us down the corridor and up a flight of stairs that opened out into a huge gym area. Once again, the equipment was familiar and modern and totally at odds with the keep’s medieval décor.
The others got to work straight away, hitting the treadmills and rowing machines. Chase padded over to the wall and lay down, while I headed toward a cross trainer machine and hopped on. Time to work up a sweat.
When your day job involved running to and from danger, then you kinda built up your stamina, so it was about twenty minutes before I got my sweat on, armpits mainly, and only because Morningstar didn’t provide deodorant.
I kept pushing, my favorite track blaring in my head. My cheek itched so I reached up to scratch it. My skin felt hot. In fact, my chest felt tight too.
Chase barked a short warning as he rushed toward me.
“What is it, boy?” My voice sounded breathless not just because of the exertion but because my windpipe felt constricted.
Chase barked and growled as if urging me to act.
I looked down at my hand, covered in red blotches. What the—
A wave of heat rushed from my toes to my head, and the world tilted. Chase’s huge body cushioned my fall.
“What the feck?” Nugen’s face hovered over me.
“Poison…”
“Toxin…”
The world was fuzzy.
“Take off her clothes.” Veena appeared above me. “It’s on the clothes, I can smell it now.”
Hands clawed at me, desperately tugging off my clothes until I was down to my underwear. My two-day-old undies. Urgh.
“Can we wash it off?” Gus asked.
“Too late, it’s in her bloodstream,” Tristeene replied.
“What…” I tried to sit up, but the world spun.
“What’s happening?” I recognized the voice. Male, authoritative, and arrogant.
Zepar.
The other spawn backed up as he fell to a crouch beside me. His tawny gaze grew dark with anger, jaw tightening. “Morningbrew.” He snarled the word. “Amateur, but effective.” He scooped me up into his arms and hauled me to his chest. Chase growled. “Down, beast, unless you want your mistress dead.”
Chase cut off his next growl.
“Can you heal her?” Veena cried. “Please, can you heal her?”
“Out of my way, zuni,” he ordered.
I wanted to protest, to tell him not to speak to Veena like that, but my tongue refused to work. Shit, the world was getting dark.
“Where are you taking her?” Nugen asked.
“To Lake Morbidus.”
The world shattered, then an icy breeze kissed my cheeks. If I’d been more in control of my body I’d have thrown up.
My body was floppy, head lolling, gaze tipped to the sky as Zepar carried me. How had we gotten outside so quickly?
“Hold on, little Nephilim. Hold on.”
Slivers of icy air made it into my lungs as the band around my chest tightened further and my vision tunneled. The sky surged toward me, then my stomach dropped. A splash was followed by the shock of icy water against my skin. If I could have screamed, I would have, but water was pushing against my mouth and nose. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t—
Warm lips covered mine. My eyes snapped open in the murky depths of the lake to lock onto Zepar’s glowing gaze. He held me tight, keeping us just below the surface while his mouth channeled heat into my body. Wait, he was breathing for me. How was this possible?
My limbs tingled and pinched, and heat spread through me, giving me back control of my upper body. Dark movement behind Zepar caught my eye.
Something was headed toward us.
I pushed at his shoulders, eyes darting to the side in warning. He spun us in the water, adjusting his grip on me to free one of his arms. White light radiated outward, and a muffled shriek vibrated against my water-clogged eardrums.
The creatures were coming for us. Too many and too fast.
This was insane. Zepar was insane, so why was there a bubble of euphoria expanding in my chest?
We spun again and another vibration of light and sound rocked my frame.
My legs tingled. I could feel them again, but more legs would mean nothing if they got eaten off by the hungry monster fishies surrounding us.
Did he know? Of course, he knew.
He gripped me tighter and shot to the surface, tearing his mouth from mine.
I sucked in cold air, chest heaving. “We have to get out. Now!”
He canted his head. “Really? I was thinking we should stay and pet the aquatic life.”
Fins raced toward us. The bubble of euphoria grew, forcing a squeal of excitement up my throat. I bit it back and wrapped my arms around Zepar’s neck. His chest vibrated in a chuckle and in the next moment we were airborne. Huge, beautiful, inky wings snapped open at his back, catching the air to hold us suspended over the lethal lake for an achingly long second. A second in which I was acutely aware of the hard planes of his body molded to mine, and his hot breath at the spot just beneath my ear. Then we were making an arch toward the bridge. To safety.
He landed in a crouch with me cradled in his arms.
Fuck, I was practically naked in my two-day-old underwear, which, thanks to the lake, had just gotten a wash.
I stared up at his wet face, at the hair plastered to his beautiful fucking skull, as the adrenaline from almost being eaten, the joy at being alive, rushed through me, nudging me into impulse mode.
I kissed him hard on the mouth. A smacker of a kiss, then grinned up at him. “Now that was fucking awesome. Want to do it again?”
He stared at me, stunned, water skating down his chiseled cheeks and hanging from inky lashes much too long for a male.
His tawny eyes were bright against his tanned skin, and as they raked me over, his pupils dilated and his lips curved in a smile. “You’re insane.” He said it as if it was a compliment.
“Maybe. Or maybe I just live for the thrill, and that, my friend, was a thrill.”
I released him, but my knees buckled, and he snatched me up against him again.
“How do you feel? Physically?” he asked.
Shit, focus, Nyx. I’d been poisoned. The lake and the whole thrill thing had only been necessary because someone had tried to kill me.
“I feel fine. Pissed off, but fine.” And he’d saved my life. Damn it. I was beholden to him now.
He must have read my thoughts on my face because a smile tipped his lips. “Yes, Nyx, you owe me, and you can pay me back by winning these trials. Now let’s get you back to the keep so you can dry off.”
Teleportation, or body displacement, was a thing the fallen could do, but boy did it leave me with an unsettled tummy. Or maybe that was the after-effect of the poison someone had tried to kill me with.
The spawn were protected so no one outside of our group could hurt us, not unless they wanted to risk being executed, but within the group and trials, all bets were off.
Dry and dressed in fresh clothes tested in front of Nugen by the resident zuni, I stood in the lounge glaring at the other spawn. The murderer was in this room. One of them. It made my stomach hurt because despite my best efforts, I was beginning to like them.
“That was a bitch move. But it shows me that whoever you are, you think I’m a threat. Good. I am. I’m a big threat.”
“I’m not even gonna protest,” Tristeene said. “It’s pointless. But I’m glad you’re okay. Things got interesting when you arrived. These lot are so predictable.”
“It was on the clothes,” Keelan pointed out.
“We know that.” Charod rolled his eyes.
But he was right. The clothes given to me by Zinichi.
The door opened and Nugen entered with a red-eyed Zinichi. She made a beeline for me and grabbed my hands. “Oh, thank the earth you’re alive.”
Nugen stood with his hands on his hips. “The clothes arrived pre-packed from the market and Zinichi merely delivered the package.”
“So they could have been tampered with before,” Tristeene said.
“Or after.” Keelan’s gaze settled on Veena. “I saw you go into her corridor after breakfast with something under your robe.”
Veena shrank from the accusation.
I moved to stand beside her. “She brought me some bread.”
“And could have tampered with your package at the same time,” Mallini pointed out.
I looked down at Veena, not wanting to believe the sweet zuni could hurt me or anyone, but this world was new to me and these people strangers. Everyone was a suspect.
Nugen strode toward Veena. “Come with me. We will search your rooms.”
Veena peered up at me, eyes glistening with tears. “I didn’t do it, Nyx. I swear it.”
“I believe you, but the search still has to happen, for your sake as much as mine.”
She nodded and dropped her chin, allowing her hair to shield her face as she followed Nugen to her quarters.
“I fucking hate this,” Charod said.
Silence reigned for long seconds.
“So… is anyone going to address the helhunter in the room?” Tristeene said. “Zepar came for you. He saved you.”
“He went into Lake Morbidus for you.” Gus’s tone was saturated with awe.
“One of the wall guards saw it all,” Charod said excitedly. “He dove in with you in his arms, then there were streams of celestial power under the dark waves, then he shot out into the sky with you.” He shook his head. “Zepar risked his life for you.”
Hardly. He’d looked completely relaxed in the water, blasting the creatures with ease. “He’s a fallen, I doubt those creatures could hurt him.”
“One bite and he would be dead,” Mallini snapped, feathers puffing up in indignation. “Don’t you know anything?” She shook her head. “Why you?” She looked me over as if searching for something, anything that made me worthy. “Why would he risk his life for you?”
I didn’t know, but I was going to find out. One way or another.
Chapter Twelve
“What the hell are we doing here, Chase?” I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to claim me. “One more day until the Custodia and then this whole ascension thing kicks off. Can I do this? I’ve missed all the training. Someone obviously wants me dead, and it’ll only get worse once the group finds out that Zepar’s sponsoring me.”
Chase lifted his head and rested his nose on my shoulder, as if to say, it’s a bitch of a situation, but you’ve got this. You can do it.
“Thanks, buddy. You always know just what to say to make me feel better.” I turned my head to look into his intelligent dark eyes. “Where did you go for so long, huh?”
There was a whirlwind of emotion in his eyes, so many unsaid words. I knew some people thought I was being fanciful, but I was sure Chase understood everything I said. He was smarter than smart. He was more than a hound. He was my person.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. I’m just glad you’re okay and that you’re back with me again. I missed you so fucking much.” I stroked his ear. “Don’t leave me again, okay?”
He chuffed softly in promise.
There was a soft knock at the door. He sat up, alert, sniffing the air, then his muscles relaxed.
Not a perceived threat, then?
I swung my legs off the bed and crossed the room to open the door.
Tristeene stood in the corridor, a silver shawl that was more decorative than warm wrapped around her slender shoulders. “Good, you’re awake.”
I arched a brow. “What do you want, Tristeene?”
“Look, I didn’t try and kill you, okay. Let’s just get that out of the way first. Also, I have no idea who did. Up until now everyone’s been a suspect, until you.”
“Oh?”
“You came after. You were almost killed. You’re not a suspect.”
Her dark eyes gleamed with relief, and it hit me how tense, how frightening, how exhausting being here must be for them. All of them except the killer, of course. To be on your guard all the time, around everyone you’re thrown into proximity with. To watch them be picked off one by one from eighteen down to six.
