Bittersweet Seraphim (21 page)

“I’ve removed the other cages. There’ll be only one mating.” He took a sly look at Seriana. “For now.”

The crowd rumbled their disapproval, and Vittorio snapped his fingers. “Have you forgotten, young ones?” He walked to a huge covered box. He pulled the black velvet from it with a flourish. Inside, a beast jumped at Vittorio. The old man stepped back just in time.

After closer inspection, Seriana realized the beast was a man: a dirty, huge, powerful man. His eyes were crazed, and his growls shook all of her courage.

“We have this.” Vittorio was more a circus ringmaster than anything else. “This being is the closest we’ve come to a full-blooded minion. His bars are comprised of the bones of our fallen, the only thing strong enough to hold him in.”

Seriana watched as some of the half-breeds mouthed the words along with Vittorio. They’d heard this speech plenty in the past.

“He’s not eaten in at least a year, but as you can see, he is adequately prepared.” The beast growled again.

“Fiaon, disrobe the bitch.” The half-breed in the cage with Seriana approached.

She whirled and stepped into a fighting stance. “The Hell you will.”

Vittorio drew close to the cage, clucking. “We had a deal, Seriana.”

She responded to her grandfather without taking her eyes off the other half-breed. “You just told everyone here that my brothers were in danger again. You don’t keep your promise, I won’t keep mine.”

He lowered his voice. “This is a volatile crowd, darling. I’ve got to give them hope. You’re my blood, but they’re my vestals to power. Just disrobe and prepare to be mated. That’s not too hard, is it?”

Seriana looked around the hostile room and swallowed. She could fight the half-breed in her cage, but not the entire army. She shook her head and dropped her fists. She never imagined she’d be doing a striptease in a crowded room, but that’s just what she had to do. When she was completely naked, she refused to cover herself, instead pushing her shoulders back with pride.

The beast in the next cage began to howl and claw, his arousal poking through the bars in his desperation to get to her. Fiaon slipped a simple white sheet with a hole for her head over Seriana.

After loud boos at the covering of her nudity, Vittorio tsked at the crowd. “Would you have him kill her before he puts the seed of our world domination in her belly? Are all of you that stupid?”

Chastised, the crowd quieted. Fiaon stepped out of the white cage and locked the door again. Seriana didn’t know what to expect, but a hush came over the crowd. The experience she was about to endure seemed to hold a religious wonderment for them. A dozen half-breeds approached, all wearing white. They began to push the cages together. The beast in the other cage stopped all movement and stood, just breathing the deep inhalations of a warrior, his eyes intent on his prize: Seriana.

When the cages were flush against one another, a brave half-breed scaled to the top. The beast didn’t even try to swipe at him as he slid up the two dividers between them. His growl came from deep within his chest. Seriana could see his eyes now that he was close. They were crystal blue and flashed with pent-up desire. He was covered in battle scars and teeth marks, and he circled her slowly, with every pass coming closer.

Fear dripped into Seriana’s veins until he was all she saw. The crowded room was haze behind him. The noise of the crowd faded until all she could hear was his breathing as he stalked her.

“Wet them!” Vittorio’s voice commanded.

Warm water began pouring from somewhere above her, but Seriana paid it no attention. They were so close now. If she lifted a hand she could touch him. The water came pounding now, a waterfall washing over them, and the beast in front of her became a man as he became clean. His skin emerged and his hair dripped in front of his face. The crowd gasped as she moved slowly and pushed the hair out of his eyes. He was handsome, this man in a cage. His eyes didn’t contain blind fury, as his noises had led her to believe, but pain.

He parted his lips and licked the water from them. He was terribly thirsty. Seriana made a cup with her hand and caught the water. She brought her hands to his lips and tilted them while he drank. She did it again and again, until he was finally holding her hands in place, his tongue occasionally touching her fingertips.

She could hear little snippets of her grandfather over the pounding of the water. “See! She tames him! No, this isn’t failure! Only a true bitch can be with him. Watch and see. Watch and see.” The simple kindness of offering water to the beast/man was obviously not what the crowd had been anticipating.

“Do you have a name?” Seriana whispered.

He shook his head gently.

“I’m sorry they keep you here.”

He stopped drinking but continued holding her hands. “I’m sorry too.” His voice was deep, but soft, and his eyes added depth to his apology.

“For what?” Seriana was confused.

He let go of her hands and pulled her wet body against his hard one. “For this.”

He began to kiss Seriana like he could change the world with her.

Violent returned with a just-dead body. Dean was not pleased.

“What the Hell did I say? No killing!”

Violent defended herself. “This old thing breathed his last natural breath, then expired. He’s still warm. It took more patience than I’ve ever used before not to cork him off early. I thought you’d be thankful.” She pouted. Maybe letting him make decisions was a hasty choice.

“Fine. Thanks.”

Violent set the old man down, and Dean laid his mother next to the body’s neck. Her desperate suck-slurping noises made Violent smile.

“Look. She likes it. I did the right thing.” She tried to make eye contact with Giovianni—no, Dean—it was so confusing. The resemblance was still startling. Just the sight of this man made her happy, even if he barely tolerated her existence. Dean ran his hands through his hair. Giovanni had made that same movement when he was frustrated.

He looked up at her. “So now what do I do?”

Violent sat across from him in a bed of dried pine needles. The noises of his mother draining the body mixed with the night’s natural symphony.

“Well, you want to save two people. Either decide who you like better or who’s likely to die first.” She loved to watch Dean’s hands move. She just wanted him to hold her hand in one and a paintbrush in the other.

“I’m not deciding between my brother and my sister.” He punched his fists together.

“Well, I can navigate Hell, so that’s in the plus column. Jason’s most likely damned or dead by now. So that’s a negative.” She tossed her head back to look at the stars. She really didn’t want to go back to Hell.

The slurping noises stopped, and Rebecca tried to stand. Dean rushed to her side and aided her. “Please tell me I didn’t kill that man,” she said.

Dean shook his head. “No, he’d passed of natural causes—recently.” He turned to Violent. “Please bury him.”

The minion finished the task just as Dean finished explaining to his mother the dire situation of his two siblings.

“We go for Seriana first,” she said. Rebecca was far from better, but she seemed determined. “I know where Vittorio has taken her.”

Dean nodded. “Okay, I agree. At least Jason has others to rely on. Seri’s all alone.”

Violent cocked her head to the side. “Well, let’s get on this.”

They headed in the direction Rebecca’s shaky finger pointed.

Chapter 24

Kate and Jason held their glowing hands together as they traversed the caves. Kate could feel her sense of time and the urgency of her task ebb as they made their way into what had to be a lower level of Hell. She continued trying to gear herself up so she’d get angry when she was scared crapless, as it was sure to happen at some point. Hell wasn’t a day in the park. Having Jason hold her hand gave her courage, but she wished she didn’t have the nagging suspicion that maybe Lucifer had sent her to her doom—he was the ultimate Devil and all.

She closed her eyes and thought of her father, and suddenly she just knew where to go. She had to move. The knowledge was compelling, almost a compulsion. And at that thought, she stopped. Compulsion had kept Nero from staying on Earth. It hadn’t been a good thing. He couldn’t stop it when it took over.

“What?” Jason looked both handsome and concerned in the hazy blue light of their hands. “You okay?”

She looked at her feet. “It’s just…my mom was waiting all the time, then I was. It feels wonderful to be
doing
something finally. But what if it’s a trick?”

Jason grabbed her other hand. “I hate Jack. So much. But he’d never let you leave if he thought this was a long-term punishment for you—I don’t think so anyway.”

Kate nodded and bit her lip. “I want to save Nero so much. I—”

Jason kissed her again, silencing her fears. She smiled against his lips.

“Sorry. You’re just so pretty.” He traced her face with the tip of his finger.

“I…it’s okay. I like it.” Kate wrinkled her nose at this new, stupid attraction at the worst possible time. “Let’s go.”

As they turned a corner, the narrow passage they followed opened up into a much larger cave. Jason and Kate stopped abruptly when a crowd of minions turned to watch them enter the space.

They whispered the same word at the exact same time: “Crap.”

Kate gave Jason an alarmed look. He’d plastered a tight smile on his face. She tried to think quickly. The minions seemed content to wait for her to speak, but they were a scary lot of monsters. Kate cleared her throat. “We’re from Lucifer.”

The minions shuffled their feet.

“Tell us where Nero is. He’s served his sentence.” Kate raised an eyebrow and met Jason’s eyes again.

“Or else your punishment will be extended!” Jason let go of her hand and held up his glowing palms.

The minions took a step back. Kate held her palms up as well. The minions looked at one another. They seemed to be waiting for a more spectacular show.

“Good to know,” a voice finally rumbled from the crowd. A huge minion stepped forward.

Kate recognized him immediately. Handsome Ransom had been holding down Brut the last time Nero came to the surface. The jig was up. He mouthed the word “boobs” to her, and Kate felt her eyes widen. At least he was still obsessed with the same thing.

“I’ll be glad to take you to Nero. I know right where he is.” Ransom walked casually over to Kate and Jason. The minions behind him began twittering like a pack of nervous birds. “This way, Lucifer’s messengers.” He bowed at the waist and pointed to the back of the cave.

Jason held her hand again as they made their way through the center of the room. It was like swimming with sharks, except a million times worse. They were sniffed and assessed until they finally reached the passage.

Ransom put his hands on their shoulders, which caused them both to jump. He pushed them faster until they were clear of the pack and around a bend. Kate exhaled with relief at the lack of the scrutiny, but Ransom’s voice brought the unease back.

“Well, fancy meeting you here, little lady. You recently admitted?”

Jason pulled Kate slightly behind him. “You know him?” he asked her.

Kate sighed. “Yeah, a little. He helped my dad once upon a time. I doubt he’s doing this out of the kindness of his heart.”

“I am not. Seems I have something you need.” Ransom opened his lips around his teeth in a semblance of a smile.

“Actually, I’m pretty sure I can find Nero on my own now.” Her inner compass seemed to be calling her forward.

“You need me not to go back and rile up all those waiters,” Ransom clarified. “We wait. That’s our sentence. If I give them something to do? They’ll lose their minds and their cool. So you totally need me.” Ransom snapped his fingers like he was listening to music.

Jason shook his head. “What do you want, then?”

Ransom’s gaze stopped on Kate’s chest. “Well, I want a few things…but I’ll take a passage out. ’Cause some creepy shit’s happening. You guys aren’t supposed to be here, and I want out of this joint.”

Kate shrugged. “Fine, come with us, but I can’t promise you anything.”

They continued through the caves, Kate fighting Ransom for the lead, until they heard the clang of metal on rock. Kate let go of Jason’s hand and took off running. She rounded the last curve, and there he was. Sweat pouring over his skin as he shoveled with two old, rusty shovels. One in each hand.