Page 31

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

MALICE

“ G oddamn bloody dress codes. I’m a grown man. I’m practically a god. No one should be able to dictate how I dress myself. Especially not a private club in Las Vegas.”

Sin leaned in my doorway, arms crossed and a petulant frown curving his lips. “I can’t believe you’re going to my city without me.”

I glanced at his reflection in my mirror. “You’re the one who opted to stay behind and help Chaos with Merri. Besides, you’re far too recognizable.”

“The people love me. What can I say?”

“Well, obviously you can’t say anything without drawing attention to yourself. I don’t have that problem.”

Sin snorted as I pulled a deep plum button-down out of the wardrobe. I glanced between him and the nearly black fabric. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said with an absolutely false air of innocence.

I glared at him as I pulled the shirt over my arms. “What?”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to wear?”

Halfway through buttoning the shirt, I snapped, “Clearly.”

“Okay then.”

I knew he was fucking with me on purpose. I knew it, and yet it was still on the tip of my tongue to ask what was wrong with my selection. As I finished with the last button, I turned and faced myself in the long mirror. Dark trousers, sleek shirt, shiny dress shoes that pinched my fucking toes. I looked good. My beard was neatly trimmed, hair slicked back, violet irises brighter than usual because of the shirt.

“Not everyone wants to wear ripped jeans and studded belts, Sinclair.”

“I’m just fucking with you, man. You look good. Better than good, actually. I haven’t seen you cleaned up like this in at least a century.”

“Fuck off.”

“I’d say you were trying to impress someone, but Merri’s staying here so...”

“I said fuck off.”

Sin chuckled quietly to himself before sobering. “I need you to be careful. I’m not gonna be there to watch your back, and you and I both know that trusting anyone is usually the wrong decision. This could go badly.”

“Could and probably will,” I agreed.

“I mean it. At the first sign of funny business, get your ass out of there and back home.”

I quirked a brow at the completely uncharacteristic display of concern. “Why, Sinclair. Are you worried about me?”

“Me?” He snorted. “No fucking way, but Merri will be pissed if something happens to you.”

“Why would something happen to Malice?”

My gut twisted at the concern in Merri’s voice as it filtered into the room from behind Sin. I was angry with her for invading my privacy, but dammit, the way she worried over me softened my ire just a little.

Merri appeared next to Sin in my doorway, her eyes widening in surprise as she took me in. “Where are you going?”

“Out,” I said, my voice clipped and not inviting further inquiry.

Not that she heeded the warning.

“Out where? In case you’ve forgotten, the sky is fucking falling.”

“Technically—”

“Not now, Sin,” she said.

He mimed locking his lips before eyeing the two of us. “I’m sensing a little tension in here. Maybe I’ll just take a walk while you two uh... work things out.”

The incubus slunk away like the slippery snake he was, leaving me alone with Merri.

“Did you need something?” I snapped, pretending to fuss with my collar just to give me something to do.

“No,” she snapped back.

“Then why are you here?”

“No, I mean you don’t get to be mad at me. Because I am mad at you .”

That drew my full attention. “How could you possibly be upset with me? I’m not the one who invaded your privacy.”

Her eyebrows nearly flew up into her hairline. “Are you kidding me? You’ve repeatedly done exactly that.”

“No. No, Merri, I haven’t. We’ve been working on teaching you how to block would-be attackers. I’ve never done a damn thing we hadn’t agreed upon. I attack, you try to block me. If you fail, I get in. That’s how this works. But you”—I heaved a sigh and raked a hand through my hair, mussing the well-styled locks—“you broke into my mind and stole something I wasn’t ready or willing to share.”

“Malice, no, I didn’t. I didn’t even know what the hell I was doing. I just sent a little probe, thinking it would bounce off like it always does because you were being weird and just standing there staring off into space, and the next thing I knew, I was stuck in that memory with you. I wasn’t snooping. It wasn’t intentional. I didn’t know how to get myself unstuck until you pushed me back out. It was an accident, and you blew up at me and treated me like I betrayed you or something.”

“It was a betrayal!”

“No, it wasn’t!” she shouted back at me. “It has to be on purpose to be a betrayal, and as I just fucking said, it was an accident.”

She might have had me there, but I was too fired up to be reasonable.

“You never should have tried entering my mind at all.”

“You do it to me all the time!”

“To test your barriers. To help you!”

“Well, where the fuck were your barriers, Malice? If you didn’t want me in there, why did you let them down?”

Should I tell her my barriers were up and as strong as I could make them? Part of me worried that would terrify her. She was so worried about how powerful she was. The whole reason she’d originally isolated herself had been based on that very thing.

Before I could say anything, she softened her voice and took a tentative step toward me. “I never meant to pry. And I promise you, I will never use what I learned against you in any way. That’s your secret, Mal. Your pain. I... I just wanted you to know that it’s safe with me. You’re safe with me.”

But I wasn’t. Not even fucking close.

If anything, I was in more danger with her than I’ve ever been in my existence. She’d already experienced parts of me no one else had been privy to. Both willingly and without my consent. The way she’d taken my pain from me the first time I fed her wasn’t something I’d soon forget.

Fuck.

I couldn’t continue letting her in. She would ruin me.

I’d barely survived Odette. But there was no way I would come back from Merri.

Odette had strung me up by my balls and broken my heart. Merri would consume my soul.

“I have to go.”

“Malice—”

I brushed past her, not stopping even though I could hear the pain I was causing in the shattered way she said my name.

All I allowed myself was a brief moment to close my eyes. Then I pushed forward, shoving all these unwanted feelings down as deep as they would go.

I had a devil to deal with.

The scents of unwashed human, stale alcohol, marijuana, and hot garbage permeated the air as we materialized in the dark alley on the edge of the Las Vegas strip. The mortals would have you believe everything was business as usual, despite the notable destruction of some of the most iconic hotels. The Stratosphere was broken in half. The Sphere looked like a ruined disco ball, with only a few of the panels still able to flash their various images. The hot-air balloon at Paris had shattered, and the tower was little more than scaffolding. But people still came and went as though nothing was wrong.

At least those who could afford to bury their heads beneath the sand. The truth was in the alleyways. That’s where the transients found shelter and the drugs they’d resort to in order to block out the terrors around them. Not much made me wary, but the sheer number of humans who were stood around staring blankly at things I couldn’t see gave me the willies.

“It’s a shame to see them like this,” Grim said as we moved through the alley. “They’re either numb to it all or ignoring it until the bitter end.”

“You could help them on their way,” I pointed out. “Wouldn’t take much for you to reap them.”

Grim gave a brief shake of his head. “It’s not their time.”

“Since when has that ever stopped you?”

“More often than you could know.”

A man in a hood came ambling toward us, his steps slow and shuffling. Grim was careful to keep his hands in his pockets when it became clear that the guy had no intention of moving out of our way. We both did our best to shift to the right, but he still managed to fall into me. I caught him and carefully helped him upright.

Brilliant blue eyes captured mine as wholly as the hand fisted into the fabric of my shirt. “Stop wasting time.”

“Pardon me?”

But apparently that was all he had to say on the matter, because he was already on his way once more.

“Bloody crazy,” I muttered, brushing off my shirt.

“Let’s get inside. I don’t like the way it feels out here.” Grim knocked on the nondescript door and waited for the bouncer to answer.

A small window on the door slid open, and Grim simply said, “Manhattan.”

Without any fanfare, the door clicked open, and light spilled out into the alleyway.

“After you,” Grim said, pulling it open so I could walk in.

Calling this place a club was a bit of a misnomer. There was no music, no crowds, no scantily clad servers offering drinks or other delicacies. Just a simple hallway leading the few who knew of this place’s existence to a series of private rooms. I had little doubt that all manner of deals had been struck behind these walls. The kind of deals where world leaders found themselves assassinated or wealthy men mysteriously ended up dead in their hotel room due to an ‘overdose.’

I didn’t need anyone to tell me which door to open. Hades always used the same one, and I expected nothing had changed.

“Took you long enough,” the man himself said as Grim and I stepped into the room. “Shut the damn door and let’s get this over with. There’s too much going on for me to be away for long.”

Grim eyed the space carefully, but it was only the size of an average living room. And there were no hidden doors, meaning there was nowhere for anyone else to hide. “Just you tonight?” he asked.

A furry white head popped up in Hades’s lap, followed by a loud bark.

“Just me and Asshole.”

“Is that . . .” I started.

Hades jerked his chin in a nod. “Grab a seat.”

“He’s so cute and fluffy. It’s a very different look for you, Cerberus.”

The dog growled and snapped at me, even though there was no way he’d reach me. “Careful, now. He’s likely to come over there and piss on your leg if you keep picking on him.”

Grim took a seat at the round table, and I joined him. “What is this all about, Hades?”

The man in question steepled his fingers and leveled his gaze on us. “You four are the key to stopping this apocalypse.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” I muttered.

Hades’s focus narrowed on me. “Is that so?”

I waved a hand. “Why don’t you keep on with this big speech you’ve so clearly prepared, and I’ll let you know when you get to something new.”

“Well, I’d hate to simply repeat old news. How ’bout you tell me what you know, and I’ll chime in when it’s something I don’t.”

Grim sighed. “Why am I constantly surrounded by children?”

“The world is ending, the Princes are being released, and Lucifer is amassing an army. If he doesn’t get his antichrist, then it will be a war to end all wars.” I gave him the shortened version because I didn’t want to bring Merri into this until it was absolutely necessary. This was definitely Hades, but he could still be on Lucifer’s side.

Hades leaned forward in his chair. “The antichrist?”

“Yes,” Grim added. “He’s got two ways to win this thing. One, fight. Two, breed. The latter ensures him an instant victory.”

Hades let out a low whistle and sat back in his chair, one hand rubbing his jaw. “Why does it always come down to procreation?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The horsewomen. It was the same for them.”

When neither Grim nor I responded, Hades blinked and sat forward again, this time resting his forearms against the table and clasping his hands. “Seems like we got to one of those parts you don’t know. Which is surprising, seeing as how you were instrumental in one of their games.”

“Continue,” I drawled, attempting nonchalance while my insides were squirming.

“Do you remember when we saved you four from Hel?” Hades asked.

Grim nodded.

“That woman who was with you? She’s mine.”

“Persephone?” Grim asked, his surprise palpable.

“Reincarnated,” he confirmed. “Her name is Dahlia. She’s Hel’s daughter. The other men with me that night are also hers. We’re actually the third such group brought together because of the horsewomen’s games. All three groups have a child of one of the horsewomen at the center. And I’ve come to learn that you all are the fourth. So if you haven’t found your partner, you need to be on the lookout for her.”

Grim and I were careful not to give anything away, neither of us so much as looking at each other.

“So... you’re telling us Death had a child?” I asked, heart in my throat.

“Yes. And so did War. Pestilence...” Hades flicked his eyes to me.

“Yes.” I hated how tight my voice was.

“She had two.”

I swayed in my seat, realizing that this was what she’d referred to when she said she had plans for our son. “Pan is part of this?”

Hades nodded. “From the way they tell the story, he’s one of the only reasons they succeeded. He sacrificed his horns to save the others. Gabriel rewarded him with a second chance.”

I didn’t know what to do with that information. It was all I could do to breathe around the two-hundred-ton weight sitting atop my chest.

“And you think we’re destined to find whom? Famine’s daughter?” Grim asked.

I stiffened and pulled away from my thoughts of Pan as understanding dawned. That was why Merri was so powerful. She wasn’t only a succubus. She was the daughter of Famine.

“That’s the conclusion we’ve come to. You need to find her and keep her safe. Since Famine technically never got her round, your group may not find its way together as naturally as the rest of us did. It’s really hard to know, but one thing we’re certain of is that all four groups are going to need to come together if we want to stop this thing. Our army against his.”

“So the rest of you are all working together?” Grim’s tone was dubious at best. Hades didn’t work with anyone. It was why he’d been sent to manage the underworld.

“Yes. My wife is pregnant. I can’t afford to let my ego get in the way of ensuring our child has a world to grow up in.”

I recognized his confession for what it actually was, a way of establishing trust. He was trusting us with something crucial, hoping we would do the same.

Too bad for him I wasn’t about to risk Merri’s safety. Not even for the one person we might call friend.

“And you want us to join your merry little band, is that it?” The temptation to do so, if only to come face-to-face with Pan, was enormous. From everything Hades had said, I could only assume Odette no longer needed him for some nefarious purpose. But that also meant that she had no reason to protect him, so my interference might even be more damning now than it would have been in the past. The possibility was enough to stop temptation in its tracks. I couldn’t be the reason his life was robbed from him after he’d fought so hard for it. I would not be the reason she killed him.

“Well, yeah. You’re in this whether you want to be or not. Fate hand selected you.”

“Fate or Famine?” I asked.

“Aren’t they one and the same at this point?”

Grim stood, his expression stoic and unreadable. “I’d say it was good to see you, but I don’t like to lie. Hades, best of luck. We will be in touch.”

He jerked his chin at me, a silent order to come with him. Part of me wanted to stay and pump Hades for information about Pan, but I also knew we needed to go. This was even bigger than we’d thought, and the implications from all we’d learned only made everything more complex.

We didn’t simply need to breed Merri. If Hades was right, we might just be destined for her.

As we stepped out of the room, leaving Hades behind, I pulled out my phone, desperate to ensure Pan’s safety. I typed out six words in a message to the lord of the underworld. Six words that crushed my sad excuse for a heart but I knew were necessary.

Me:

Don’t tell Pan who I am.

A message came back almost instantly.

Hades:

You have my word.