The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga) (49 page)

The very last one I could make out
, was of two figures that were some sort of half animal doing it standing up, whilst other creatures licked at their moving sexes from either side. It was made from pot and one of the heads was half crumbled away from what I gathered was old age.

I wish I could say that was it
, but the largest sex symbol in the room was actually the one we were sat on. It was the longest sofa I had ever seen, being at least three times as big as a regular three seater. The cushions felt like cashmere and were the same ash grey colour as the pillars. They were thick and one of the softest seats I had ever graced my bum the task of sitting on.

But this wasn’t its most defining feature. No, it was the frame upon which all that comfort was placed on top of.
Two larger than life naked women, that looked dipped in slick black oil, lay on their backs. Their heads were what were used as the feet of the sofa and their arched backs meant the sides consisted of high thrust out breasts and the arms bent so that fingers could tug on their own nipples. The legs met in the middle and lay over each other with their sexes scissored together.

It was a work of art really, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be sat atop of two naked women
, getting my feet rubbed by Draven’s dad, Mr Lusty! Of course, my wants weren’t up for discussion and so here I was. I had just finished telling him everything, as once again the floodgates opened and I found there was no holding back. He had a strange calming presence about him that I imagined granted him with the skills for a different type of torture. After all, why inflict pain when pleasure worked just as well…for all parties involved.

Apart from taking in our naked surroundings
, I also had chance to take in the man who controlled it all. He sat back with such ease but commanded his space in an effortless way. When I was finally allowed to move my legs, choosing to pull them underneath me and to the side he gave me a knowing smile that had me blushing. Of course, the blushing could also account for when he started brushing the backs of his fingers along one of the chair’s breasts.

Now
, I will say that seeing someone who looked like Draven, even an older version, wasn’t the easiest thing for my raging libido but when he did things like that…well, now that had me close to panting! Another thing that really wasn’t helping was what he was wearing. It looked to be a type of black toga made from some kind of hide, but I couldn’t tell you what. It fit tighter than a simple loose piece of material draped over one shoulder, so that you could see the sheer size of muscle he was packing. I wasn’t sure whether he was bigger than Draven or they were just the same size and I had forgotten how big Draven really was. I just knew that, thanks to the design of the toga, it showcased his enormous arms off to their fullest.   

He had one arm covered completely in a skin tight layer underneath his toga but I didn’t know what material it was. It was like a soft black suede moulding to every curve and at first I thought he was wearing a single
glove on this hand but when I looked closely I saw it was part of the sleeve. The arm that was left bare had thick leather straps crisscrossed over part of his bicep coming from his shoulder. His forearm also had a plate of brushed metal which covered the length of one side, growing wider near his elbow to fit. This was edged with small spikes that looked deadly enough in a fight. It was held on with straining buckles pulled tight around the muscle and in the centre was the same symbol I had seen on the back of my coin. It looked as if it had been burnt onto the metal with a branding iron.

“Well now, that was quite a story
, my young one.” All I could do was nod my acknowledgment. After all, I had said all there was to say and now I was at a loss.

“So
, was Draven ever here?” I asked the question that had been eating away at me.

“My dear, understand this, if my son were ever to grace us with his presence in this realm, then he would not do so wrapped in
the chains of others. He would live like the King he is and being as he is so much more in your world.”

“What do you mean?”

“My lovely, he is a God amongst mere men.” He said with pride shining through each word.

“And as I and his mother had intended it to be, including his brother and sister also. But it is the unique mix in my son that has never happened before
, that rivals that of any God. He is just yet to discover it.” I shook my head not fully understanding.

“What do you mean…has he…I mean how? Can he really have even more power?”

“You know nothing of the prophecy I take it?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

“I just know I am supposed to have something to do with it
.” At my answer he laughed.

“One does not know true power until it has been taken from them and one does not know true love until that also has been taken from them…mix the two concepts together and you will then find
that there lies your true power.”

“I don’t understand
.” Now instead of laughing at me he simply gave me a small, knowing smile.

“You will…one day you will understand that your role in the prophecy wasn’t a role at all but simply a choice made from love, like this journey yo
u bravely chose to walk down…one day I promise you, you will know your own worth, as my son does.” I looked down at my lap and tried to hold in the emotions his kind words brought to the surface.

“Can I ask you another question?” He lowered his head into a deep nod at my request.

“How is it you look like him?”

“Is it playing on your mind,
child?” He asked finding the humour in my question. He didn’t wait for the answer he knew.

“I have many forms
, but this I thought necessary for your comfort, besides, my son is easy on the eyes is he not?” Again he was finding this all quite amusing and I must say his easy tone was helping my strangled nerves.

“Oh yeah!” I said on a sigh making him laugh.

“So what am I to do now?” I said after the humorous moment had passed.

“Well
, I cannot tell you where my son is, only where he is not. But my advice…” I turned to face him and nodded when he didn’t continue.

“Find someone who does
.” Well that was easier said than done when even the bloody Oracle thought that he was down here!

“Could he be…you know, in the other place?” I looked up out of habit.

“Ah, now that I definitely can’t say. I know this might shock you given where my particular talents lie, but me and my dear Sarah are not really on speaking terms.”

“Sarah?” I asked
, not hearing the name being mentioned before.

“My wife, although she is somewhat difficult in her acknowledgement on that fact. The Hebrew name Sarah indicates a woman of high rank and is translated as ‘princess’ which is why I named her as such. She will always be
my Sarah.”
He said looking thoughtful down the long room until I followed his gaze. There, in the middle of the room on a higher platform, was a sculpture of a single female and although I was too far away to make out any of her features, it was more the lack of what I could see was more profound. She was the only statue in the room that wasn’t of a sexual nature.

I knew from his look alone that this was his Sarah and Draven’s mother.

“Women are like flowers you know.” I tore my eyes from the pale marble woman back to Asmodeus. He was once again touching the breast like he was using that as an example, taking in her smooth curves like a connoisseur.

“Us bees search out the one we want, whether it be the biggest, the bold
est in colour, the dangerous ones full of thorns, petals so soft it could bring the strength behind our wings to fail…All of you, standing there waiting for the day we come to find you, our perfect flower waiting in the storms of life, holding on for us, being strong for us…” He snapped his piercing gaze back to me and suddenly the intensity of it had me squirming. His grip tightened on the breast before he finished,

“But some fail. Some lose themselves in the waiting. They wither up in the strongest winds and give up holding on. So they let that
wind take them, leaving nothing left for us bees to find…” He reached out and had my hands locked in his before I could blink.

“Don’t let the wind take you, my son
’s Chosen… hold on until he finds his way and if you do, then I can promise you it will be worth facing the storm my world throws in your path.” I nodded my understanding and gave him all I had left to give…

“I will always hold on
.”

It was a promise. 

Chapter 45

Behind Enemy Lines

After leaving the second Circle of Hell and saying goodbye to its President, the journey back was a lot easier than it had been coming here. First of all Charon, although still scary for the most part, must have had his warnings because he remained silent until we broke free of the tunnels. When this happened not only did he turn to smile at me once more, but he had also transformed back into his former happy self…clean clothes and all.

He even apologised for his behaviour and told me that it sometimes hap
pens to Charons when they are not naturally comfortable in the place where the souls take them. This was one of those times. I told him there were no hard feelings and shrugged it off. I mean, what was I supposed to do, hold a grudge, throw a hissy fit and tell him I wouldn’t ever be back? I didn’t believe in any of those things. Anyway the trip back gave me the time needed to sort through my head.

On first
hearing Draven wasn’t there, I had wanted to give up the fight. Hell, I think for a moment I did. But then after hearing what Draven’s dad had to say about not giving up and holding on, I knew I could never just give up on Draven like that. And I wouldn’t. 

So
, what was next? Draven’s dad had walked me through a small section of his castle (which was seriously cool) and as I turned to say my farewells I was roughly pulled into his embrace and licked…I kid you not…actually licked up my neck to my ear, where he whispered,

“Good journey, my sweet, sweet young one and…” He released me and placed something cold in my hand before saying,

“…until the next time we should ever need to meet.” I looked down to see he had placed another coin in my hand ready to use should I ever need him again. I gave him big eyes of surprise and then said something that made him burst out laughing,

“Thanks
, Draven’s dad.”  

Well
, after saying goodbye to Asmodeus the way no ‘could one day be’ daughter-in-law should ever do, I felt better than when I had first arrived. I mean, it was always nice to know that someone, who one day could become your in-law, actually liked you. Besides, it couldn’t be a bad thing to have someone that powerful in Hell at your back, could it? I thought this as I palmed the coin in my hand before placing it back safely in my pocket. I had carried it with me for so long now it felt right being back there.

So
, bringing me back to the now and a place where Jared waited, pacing along the same decking I had not long ago left. I used these last few moment to consider what to do next? I had already used what I had learned to gather there was something bigger at play here for everyone else to believe Draven was in Hell. So where was he really? The only answer I could come up with was so simple it was practically staring me in the face.

Thinking back to everything that had happened, it suddenly felt so obvious now
, I felt like smacking myself. The attempts of my kidnapping, no-one knowing where Draven was or having any concrete answers for any of my questions. The reality of it was that no-one really knew!

But I think I did.

Could it be that Draven wasn’t dead after all and just being kept prisoner by some kind of power he needed love’s help to overcome. Was that what his father had implied when talking about Draven’s restrained power within? Was I now a target simply because I was trying to find Draven, because thinking back, it had all started when I received my first letter from the Oracle. So did that mean that Draven’s jailor could be this Gastian person?

Well
, Draven’s dad was right about one thing and that was I needed to be asking the right people and right now there was only one person I could think of who could help me.

“Lucius, I hope your ass is still in Germany
.” I muttered to myself before looking up to catch the look of relief on Jared’s face. He stopped pacing and stormed to the end of the dock with a determined stride. I was about to take the offered hand from Charon when Jared snarled inches from his face.

“Well
, alright then.” Charon said pulling back comically. I had to say I felt a bit sorry for the guy now, after the day of being shouted at and turned into a nasty Lust Demon. Jared didn’t bother holding out his hand for me to take…no, no, instead he just took me. He was still giving a warning glare to Charon as he lifted me clean out of the boat and popped me down by his side. Then, without another word, he took my hand and pulled me abruptly back towards the mountain.

“Um…thanks Charon
.” I said waving behind me, wondering what had gotten into Jared.

“No worries…I would say
laters but you know…not what people wanna hear, so…” He just nodded his head as he gave me a salute in place of a wave.

“Hey, where’s the fire?” I asked trying to get Jared to communicate with me using actual words instead of growly pissed animal noises.

“The fire? Seriously, you wanna play this bullshit with me?!” He snapped at me and I pulled from him, holding up my hands in surrender.

“What is your problem?” Ok
, so this was totally the wrong thing to ask a beast on the edge. His eyes turned into black slits in a pool of hot silver, oh and of course he snarled at me.

“My problem?!” Even his voice had changed, crossing those fine lines between, man, beast and Demon.

“My fucking problem started when you decided it would be good for a laugh to go off to a circle in Hell and right up to the fucking doorstep of the one who runs that shit! Do you have…” He cut his arm through the air in his anger before carrying on,

“…h
ave, any fucking clue how dangerous that was…? DO YOU?” He roared this last part out at me and I could briefly see his fangs grow and his jaw elongate. Then I decided to do something stupid. I pushed him.

“How dare you! What right do you have
to go ape shit at me for anyway? What do you care!? What would it have mattered to you if…oh wait…now I get it…you weren’t worried about me, oh no...!” Oh, now he backed away. I stepped closer and poked him in the chest as I carried on delivering the truth of the matter,

“You were worried about your precious vow and what would have happened if I wasn’t around to keep my side of the bargain!” I swear I saw him flinch and I felt some satisfaction in that
, given the reasons why he seemed to be so worried about me or more like, what I could do for him!

“Well
, what did you expect Pet, me here gushing over a piece of pretty ass?!” I gritted my teeth at his come back and then let rip. Before he saw what was coming I slapped him shouting,

“You jerk!” And then stormed off in my anger, only I had no idea to
where, seeing as I was in the Underworld! But at that minute I just didn’t care, I was fuming angry!

“And where do you think you’re going?” The words grumbled out of him as he wrapped both his arms around me from behind.

“Let me go!” I screamed but he just held on tighter.

“NO!” After that
shout I decided to let my anger come off the boil and simmer. He must have decided to do the same because we just stayed like this and panted until our breathing calmed. Then he released a big sigh.

“Look, I…well damn it, I was worried about you
alright!”

“You mean the bargain don’t you?” I re
minded him bitterly then heard him try for patience in the form of another sigh.

“It should be just about that but it… wasn’t. I was worried about what would happen to you and what I could have done to get you back safely
.”

“You would have come for me?” I asked a bit dumbfounded.

“Yes.” On that one word my breath caught before I asked,

“But why?”

“I don’t know why and that’s why I am so angry. It’s like as soon as I met you something deeply ingrained inside of me was connected to you. As if someone flipped a switch that said I must protect you, even against my own kind and even with my own life.” On hearing his declaration, I relaxed back into him, all fight flying right out of me.

“Maybe it’s just the vow
.” I said looking for the simplest answer.

“Fuck the vow! All I know is these feelings are opening a big fucking hole, one I closed and buried a long time ago and nothing scares me in this world other than one thing and that is seeing that hole open up again…hear me now pet, I don’t let anyone in…ever!” I bit my lip and nodded
, not trusting myself to say anything right now.

“Now do me a favour… take my hand, follow me from here and forget this damn day, leaving it where it belongs
.”

“And where is that?” I asked on a whisper. He released me and we both turned but even now with his back to me I didn’t miss what he said next,

“…Dead and buried.”

We soon found ourselves back in the caves and making our way back through the complicated maze of bare rock. And for once, I was silent. I was still trying process all I had learnt but mostly trying to make sense of Jared’s words. I didn’t quite know what was going on with him but I knew being around me was messing with his head. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be anyone’s painful reminder of a past long buried. But most importantly, where did that leave us now?

These thoughts plagued me and when I lost my footing and fell into his back I felt him tense.

“Sorry.” I muttered feeling embarrassed where once I wouldn’t have.

“What are you planning
, Keira?” I frowned at the unexpected question at first, not understanding where it had come from.

“What do you…?”

“Well, knowing what I’ve come to learn about you, I know that by me putting your ass on a plane home is going to be a wasted effort in keeping you safe... so I will ask again, what are you planning?” He asked turning to me, having stopped not far from the top, back near the Roman numerals ‘22’.

“I need to get to Germany
.” I stated firmly.

“And what’s in Germany?”

“Lucius.” At this I could see him raise an eyebrow.

“Please tell me you’re joking
.” I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him my best ‘I got attitude’ look.

“And why would I be?” My answer got me an eye roll and him throwing his arms up dramatically.

“Jesus girl! What is it with you… you got the fucking yellow pages of bad ass Demons on speed dial?! Is there even one powerful killing machine out there you don’t know!? Jesus! But of course…the fucking Vampire King!” His irate voice seemed to bounce from the damn stone surrounding us, making it even colder down here.

“It’s not like that…you don’t …” He would
n’t let me finish.

“Oh no? So let’s see shall we, let’s recap…” He stormed back to me coming so close I had to look up. Then he began counting on his fingers,

“First off, you come into my club with a bodyguard, who if he ever let’s his iron control snap, could have torn through every fucking Demon there and is a King in his own right… then second comes me, another King who you fearlessly asked for help into getting into Hell…right am I getting through yet…no, then let me continue…” He stepped again further into me making me back up with his intensity.

“…So
, once in Hell comes the third guy, a God damn President in the circles that aids in ruling Hell itself! I mean do you have even the tiniest concept of how powerful someone like that is?... I judge from your wide kitten eyes that’s a no!”

“Jared…” I reached out
to him to get him to stop, but instead he grabbed my wrist and then twisted it painlessly behind my back. Once trapped, he then took the last steps pushing me back into the wall behind.

“Then I find my little pet wants to take a trip off to see the fo
urth guy, a fucking Vampire King, who is known throughout my world as being one ruthless bastard and that’s coming from ‘it takes one to know one’, darling.”

“But…” Again he would
n’t let me speak. Instead he raised a finger to my lips to silence me before he continued his rant, which granted was making me out to be mentally incapable of making my own suicidal decisions.

“But then to top it all off and the very last slice of your crazy mind
, is who you belong to. A being who is more powerful than all of the above and I am not ashamed to admit to it. The very one who commands us all, apart from you it seems, considering you can’t just listen to him and fucking MOVE ON!” This was when it felt like he had slapped me! He knew…he knew!      

“You know?!” He shook his head as if surprised that I was focusing on this part of what he had just said.

“I…” This was when I showed him a piece of that crazy!

“You knew! All this time you knew what I was trying to do, yet answer me this Jared, why is it
you didn’t seem very shocked that I came back to the dock without the one person I went there to save…? Answer me, why is that exactly?!” At this he let me go on a growl and walked away showing me his back.

“You knew he wasn’t there…all this time and you still let me go to
Hell and back and all for what…so you could get you’re fucking Vow from me! Oh, you were right about one thing, you’re a ruthless bastard alright! So where is he then, do you know who has him?!” I was so near to screaming at him instead of shouting, but this was breaking my bloody heart! I felt betrayed, so utterly betrayed.