Embrace the Desire (17 page)

• • •

Payne was speechless. He was utterly speechless and completely enthralled by this small wisp of a female that had the backbone of a Destroyer. He watched as her jaw flexed, knew she was gritting her teeth, and had a sudden appreciation for her sprout in his loins.

He could only listen as she continued her rant. “And if you think you are going to stand around acting like Mr. Badass and command me to do this or that, you are sadly mistaken! Trust me, I have dealt with men far scarier than you are and for the life of me, I have no idea why I agreed to listen to anything you had to say!”

He stalked to her, standing a mere inch away, his breath cascading down onto her upturned face. “If I were a man right now, I would kiss you until you had nothing left to say.”

Her eyes latched onto his slightly parted lips. “If you were a man, you wouldn't be standing in my apartment right now.”

Heat flooded him, her face glowing a soft red as he raised his hand and ran his fingertips down her cheek. Instantly, sweat beaded across her forehead. His tongue ran across his bottom lip and she groaned, his body jerking with the sound.

He had never experienced a more erotic moment than this one.

Payne staggered back, his body's reaction sending spasms of alarms going off in his brain. He had never been this attracted to a female before, never wanted to take one down to the floor and have her screaming his name.

“Payne?” Her hoarse whisper lodged in his ears, made him crazy with need.

He took two steps back, tried to get the visions of taking her on the floor out of his mind. His erection hurt, pounded and threatened to erupt at the slightest touch. With no alternative at hand, he dematerialized.

• • •

Chanta followed Payne and reached for his arm to steady herself because her legs felt wobbly. She grasped air as he vanished right before her eyes. Sinking down into the carpet, she closed her eyes and tried to breathe through whatever it was causing her to turn into a sex crazed lunatic.

Man, she really couldn't be falling for the brute. She didn't even know him, didn't trust him, and wasn't even sure if she liked him. Her body jerked as if to disagree.

“Yeah, okay,” She begrudgingly admitted to the empty apartment, “I'm kind of, sort of, maybe attracted to him.”

Varick waited rather impatiently as Isten explained again how to control the power inside of him. It wasn't for lack of trying that he was still having such a hard time.

Tapping a finger to his temple, Isten said, “The power is here, tangible from the mind's eye. Every volt of power must come together within your mind, be centered, travel to your heart, and flow through your veins. You must know it, sense it, need it, and never fight against it as you have been doing. It is as much a part of you as your blood, organs, and limbs.”

Taking a deep breath, Varick relaxed, closed his eyes, and let his powers fuse together, let them blend, and pulled them together.

“That's it Varick. Let it travel through your body, become a part of them as they are a part of you.”

A glowing ball of energy appeared hovering over Varick's hand. It grew brighter as he opened his now white glowing eyes.

“Now focus on what you desire to see. Let the power guide you to her.”

The ball of light dimmed as Chanta's face appeared. She looked up to the full moon and her steps faltered as she stared. Somewhere in the distance, the distinct howl of a wolf brought her out of her reprieve. She hurried along the dirt path glancing over her shoulder occasionally.

“Her name is Chanta Timbers, mine sister,” whispered Varick in an eerie voice that caught him off guard. “She is the first of her kind, part god and part angel.”

Isten nodded. “You must protect her at all costs.”

The light disappeared as Varick turned to Isten. “Is she the reason you wanted me to be a part of your pantheon? Does she have something to do with your future? With Gyth's?”

Isten shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Not much of an answer,” Varick returned. “Now about Payne. What role do you want him to play?”

Isten frowned. “For now, he has his own destiny to deal with. He must make a choice soon enough and if things fall as they should, he will come out on top, so to speak. And he and I have an agreement of sorts that is best left unspoken.”

Varick rolled his eyes. “What is it with you gods? Do you ever just give straight out answers?”

“Of course not,” laughed Isten. “It's part of the mystic. Now, what do you know of Tanterious?”

“Not much. He overthrew the other pantheons and took most of the powers of the gods he defeated.”

“How?”

“I don't know.” Varick grinned mischievously knowing that Isten was fishing. “Perhaps you should ask Gyth.”

“Perhaps.” Isten waved his hand and an image of Charon appeared. “Tell me about this pact you have with Charon.”

“He is after Jaiden's books and has several of them already. He wants me to help locate all of them. And don't ask me what for either because I don't know.” Varick shook his head. “He has made some kind of deal with Bastilla, the woman who has plagued Payne all these years. She came to Tortured Souls.”

Isten's nose flared. “Was she not in the Underworld serving Damon?”

“As far as we knew, she had pledged herself to Damon, one of the reasons that her memory plagues Payne.”

“And Charon has allowed her passage to the earth's surface.”

“Seems he has.” Varick took a deep breath. “Charon is becoming a pain in my ass.”

Thunderous laughter fell from Isten's mouth. “I am becoming aware of that sentiment.” He waved his hand again and an image of Gyth appeared before them.

Varick growled as he watched his father move a game piece on a large chess board. The piece was an image of Chanta. “What in the nine hells is he doing?”

“Laying out the board and preparing for the game at hand.” Isten pointed to a piece that oddly resembled Varick, but should have been a rook. “Looks like you are part of the game.”

• • •

Damon waited, the game of being the Underworld ruling power stretching his nerves tight. He sat on his throne, almost impatiently as black horned demons led Charon into his throne room. Another bargain he was sure would follow Charon's appearance.

Menacing shadows crept along the ceiling and down the walls of the room as thirty more demons followed behind Damon's old acquaintance. As the throne room doors closed, Charon abruptly vanished in a wisp of smoke and reappeared in front of Damon's throne, an eerie smile lingering on his lips.

Damon's instinctive defenses fired, warned him.

The god had changed, his entire demeanor now dangerous, lethal. A surge of cold air whipped about the room as a large green portal appeared in the center of the throne room. Charon laughed, the portal swirling and cracking with power. Damon could feel the power radiating from not only the portal but from the god in tidal waves, menacing dark waves of energy.

Damon kept his thoughts and emotions hidden, deep within and brought his I-am-ruler-here attitude to the surface. Charon's smile disappeared, his eyes glowing red.

He watched in silence as Charon bowed slightly. “The debt I owe you has been paid. Bastilla is on earth searching for your son as we speak.”

Damon held out his hand. A soft glowing ball of light lifted from his palm. “Her soul as promised. Of course, you know that to fully own her soul, you must be the one to end her life.”

Charon pulled out a jar from his robes, opened the lid, and waited patiently as the ball of light floated to him. With a delicate motion, he guided the light into the jar and sealed the lid.

“And the fetus she carried? Where is it?” Damon asked slowly, his eyes narrowing as a female, dressed in white and with long white-feathered wings stepped out of the portal. “Explain this female's presence!”

Charon turned slightly, glancing at the beautiful Angel. “This is Elena, Chanta Timbers' mother.”

“Why would you dare bring an angel to this domain?” Damon stared at the angel. Her skin was almost translucent, an iridescent glow hovering around her. “It's forbidden for her to come here.”

Elena stepped forward, standing beside of Charon. “I forbid your son to be with my daughter. I have erased his destiny.” A book appeared in her right hand and a pen made of bone in her left. “With Jaiden's bones, I have crafted a set of pens to rewrite his destiny. The decisions you make this night will result in what lies ahead for him.”

“You, an angel, dare to threaten my son!” Damon roared, the walls trembling from the power of his anger. “Your kind are nothing but the keepers of mankind, not of the One Race!”

“And you are nothing but a collage of dead gods reborn from their ashes!” Elena spat at his feet. “Do you even have a soul of your own? Do you even have a destiny?”

A pain surfaced in Damon's heart. It was a dull ache that had gnawed at him for centuries. An ache he wanted to ignore yet he couldn't, but he wouldn't speak of it to anyone, let alone an angel.

Damon laughed, a soft caged animal sound. “No angel in her right mind would come to this domain of her own free will and insult the Lord of the Underworld. With the simplest thought I could send you to your death and snatch that bright shining soul away from you and torment it for the remainder of eternity.”

Elena's body shifted, her wings spreading wide as silver armor appeared encasing her body in its protective grasp. In her hand, a flaming sword of fire appeared. Her soft yellow hair became completely covered by the helmet of the Commander of the Angel Legion.

“I am no second rate angel.” She pointed the sword at Damon's chest. “If your son defiles my daughter with your unrighteous blood, I will kill you both!”

“Empty threats . . . ” Damon wanted to laugh at her, but kept his calm. “I am not Gyth and I won't make bargains with an angel that defiled herself with his blood!”

Elena barked an unladylike laugh. “Dare you question the strength of his blood? He is directly descended from Isten himself.”

Damon grinned. “Your daughter is a shining star among dead suns. She tastes of rainbows and honey on a warm spring day.”

Damon pointed to the book in her hand. “What does Jaiden's book foretell of your daughter's destiny?”

Elena stepped back, her eyes showing her fear. “It has been unwritten! So it matters not.”

Charon spoke, the sound of dead leaves crunching around him. “We are at an impasse. Elena wants her daughter untouched by your son. You Damon, you want her daughter and the fetus Bastilla has hidden from you that I now have in my possession. And I want . . . ” he looked at the book in Elena's hand. “I want what belongs to Jaiden.”

Damon paced in front of the throne, his thoughts gathering. “I have had a wonderful taste of Chanta. You both want bargains from me and so I shall begin with what I want. I want that fetus Bastilla has hidden from me and I want Chanta.”

“Never.” Elena handed Charon the book and the pen and held out a slender silver chain that appeared dangling from her fingers. “In return for this book and the remainder of Jaiden's bones, I want to ensure that Damon never has my daughter.”

Damon narrowed his eyes. If he couldn't have Chanta, there was something else he wanted. But timing was everything. He had not become Lord of the Underworld without a heavy dose of patience and cunning. And always a back-up plan . . . or two.

“If you want the fetus, you must give me something in return.” Charon's nostrils flared. “I want your sworn oath that you will leave Chanta alone.”

Damon replied, “You will need to be more specific than that.”

“Very well. What Elena wants is for you not to fall in love with Chanta nor for her to fall in love with you. Under no circumstance are you to physically touch her.” He turned to Elena. “To change destiny is an almost futile quest; however, it can be done. Destinies have a way of rewriting themselves even after a destiny has been erased. I can change their fates, for a price, of course. And I will require more than just Jaiden's bones and his book.”

She nodded. “What do you want?”

“Are you prepared to pay the price?”

“Yes.” She cast a glare at Damon. “I will pay the price to keep Damon away from her.”

“Very well. I want an angel's soul.”

She took a harsh breath and slowly nodded. “Done.”

Damon controlled his anger and interrupted the conversation. “In that case, if you want my sworn oath not only do I want the fetus, I want Chanta Timbers to carry the fetus to full term. I want her to raise the child as her own.”

Elena grabbed Charon's arm. “No,” she whispered. “You must not do this. That fetus could ruin her, its blood will be tainted.”

Charon's eyes swirled with liquid fire. “The bargain is not yours. As with all bargains, there are two sides to every deal. If she agrees to carry the fetus, it will be done.”

Damon smirked. “And we all know that Charon has never been refused a bargain.”

She turned to Damon. “If that abomination harms my daughter in any way, I won't stop until I have your head on a stake and your son's heart burned!”

“Still threatening my son? Really? He could break your neck before you even knew he was near you.”

With a flare of defiance, Elena went back to the portal. “Mark my words Damon, if anything happens to my daughter, you will pay the price for it.”

As Elena entered the portal, Charon spoke, his shoulders once again becoming at ease. “You gave up your son to Gyth's command so he could become a Destroyer.” Charon's eyes flashed. “However, the agreement between us about your use of the portals has been broken. Payne is no longer under Gyth's command.”

“What?” Damon's voice rattled the walls of the throne room. “How can that be? Gyth would never give up his command of my son!”