Page 15 of Sin: The Mate Games (Apocalypse #1)

Chapter

Fifteen

CHAOS

F ury boiled close to the surface as Malice’s words hit me, the promise of violence singing in my blood. This was what I was made for.

“Where?” I snarled, not allowing Merri another inch for her bratty behavior. I grabbed her by the elbow and forced her behind the shield of my body.

“Upstairs. Third-floor balcony.”

Almost as if we’d summoned them, five winged bastards stormed down the staircase Grim and Merri had just used.

“How the fuck did they get in?” Grim’s voice was cold as steel, threatening retribution for Malice’s security system failing.

I pushed forward, leveling my gaze on Sin. The how didn’t matter right now. Only neutralizing the threat. “Stay with her. Do not let her out of your sight.” Then I looked to Malice. “You too. Grim, you’re with me.”

Grim’s answering smile was pure death. Appropriate, really, given who he was.

“They won’t get past me,” he promised.

Not for the first time, I was thankful he was on my team.

Death and War always walked side by side into battle. We’d decimate these intruders and use their ashes as fertilizer for Grim’s precious plants.

“Ah, look, they sent grandpère to welcome us. Comme c'est... délicieux .” The first of what I assumed to be pride demons—based on the black feathered wings and celestial perfection of his face—crooned in a French accent.

My gaze flicked to Grim’s. This was worse than we thought. “The Prince.”

“Our master didn’t mention the horsemen. She must be very special indeed.” This came from a second demon, his Russian accent thick and laced with smug assurance. “I see the fear in your eyes, mighty warrior. Our master wants what you have.” His comrades’ chuckles filled the room as they stood in wait. “Give her to us, and we’ll make this a swift and painless end for you.”

Grim released a deep growl as he removed his gloves and dropped them on the polished marble floor. Closing the distance between him and the Russian demon, he sneered, “Unfortunately for you, I won’t do the same.”

My smirk couldn’t be contained as Grim wrapped his bare hand around the demon’s throat. Watching the light leave their eyes was always my favorite part of witnessing Grim use his power. I could’ve done with more combat leading up to the main event, but in cases such as these, we didn’t have time to pussyfoot around.

The demon clutched his throat, and his eyes flew wide open as he gasped and wheezed dramatically. “Not... the hand... of death.” He carried on with his over-the-top spectacle for a few more seconds before breaking off in a dark chuckle. “Do you mind? I’ve got a date later and don’t want to bruise.”

Grim looked down at his hands in confusion, letting go with a rasped, “What?”

The first demon grinned. “One must have a soul to be reaped, Grimsby. Or has it been so long since you’ve come across our kind that you’ve forgotten the rules?”

Truth be told, we hadn’t encountered a Knight before; the apocalypse had never gotten far enough for one to rise. Upon the release of one of the seven Princes of hell, so too would their Knights—soulless beings bound in servitude to their prince. Together, the Princes and Knights formed the Army of the Apocalypse, with Lucifer at the helm. Technically, my brothers and I were supposed to have a place amongst their ranks, but when we chose to stand against Lucifer and protect Merri, we’d dropped that mantle.

If Grim’s death touch wouldn’t fell these enemies, it was down to me and my weapons. Calling upon my power, I first attempted to manifest the shield of War, but instead of the red-and-black plated armor I donned when striding through battlefields, nothing materialized.

I was still weakened from my time as Hel’s battery.

“Fucking Hel and her fucking ritual,” I grumbled before switching tactics. I’d been a Spartan before I was a horseman. Fought battles wearing nothing but the blood of my enemies. All I needed was a blade.

This time when I called on my power, twin blades formed in my hands.

The demons weren’t laughing anymore when I loosed a battle cry and charged forward. I dispatched Frenchie with a single slice through his neck. His head rolled down the stairs with a satisfying plop.

“Who’s next?” I asked, glory surging through my veins as I charged up the next couple of steps to one of the three possibilities, trusting Grim to handle himself with the Russian asshole.

Two females attempted to lunge at me simultaneously, one from each side. They snarled and hissed, claws bared and fangs on display.

I easily dodged them, whirling around and slashing each of them across their faces before crouching down and driving my blades up and through their chins on my ascent.

“Not so pretty now, are you?” I gloated, pulling my blades free and watching their bodies drop.

The last demon tried to run, no longer feeling so confident about a face-off with me.

I let him get to the top of the stairs before throwing my sword like a lance and pinning him through the heart. The tip of the blade sank into the wall behind him, holding him there like a grisly showpiece. Who said art wasn’t fun?

Perhaps I should pin them all up and display them like the insects they were.

Grim had the Russian on the floor, blood bubbling up from the demon’s lips as his chest was slowly crushed under Death’s boot.

“We . . . will . . . never . . . stop,” the demon said through choked gasps. “The . . . whore . . . belongs . . . to him.”

Rage turned my vision red, and with a fierce bellow, I stalked to where Grim had him held immobile. In one smooth move, my sword sank through his skull and straight into the marble beneath.

Grim swore. “Did you really have to ruin the marble? Now I’m going to have to replace the entire floor.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sorry. I’ll try to be more careful the next time I’m saving your life.”

“Saving my life? The fucker was already dead.”

“You better than anyone should appreciate the difference between dead and dying. He was mostly dead, at best.”

The demon’s body turned to ash, revealing my sword, coated in blood and buried at least two inches deep into the stone. I didn’t want to think about why my reaction to the asshole’s words was so strong, only that I was doing my duty and protecting our charge. It definitely wasn’t him calling her a whore that lit such a powerful fire within me.

Grim stood to his full height, raking a hand through his silver hair before turning to me, a retort on the tip of his tongue. But the soft ding of the elevator arriving on our floor stopped us both as we watched the doors open, revealing a lone black feather.

“There was another one,” I said, heart pounding as I raced to the staircase and leapt over the railing, landing in a crouch on the bottom floor.

Merri

Sin’s arm was an iron bar across my chest as he pushed me deeper into the room and farther from the conflict we could hear in the hall. For the second time tonight, it felt like the world flipped on its axis. One moment I’m deep in Operation Make The Horsemen My Bitches, and the next we’re in the middle of—I shit you not—a break-in.

The brush of Sin’s warmth across my tits had me fighting the urge to punch him in the kidney even as the contact sent shivers down my spine. Now was not the time to lust after the sexy incubus. It was a simple biological response to his magic. Nothing more.

“Stay put. We’ll handle this,” he said softly, his attention locked on the direction Chaos and Grim had disappeared.

I opened my mouth to argue the don’t worry your pretty little head of it all, but decided against it.

“Good girl. Just like I like you, mouth shut, eyes open,” Malice muttered.

Oh, he was in for it. I was going to make his life a living hell once we were done fighting to stay alive.

Chaos’s resonant rumble filtered to us, stopping any other conversation. “The Prince.”

My brows furrowed in pure confusion. There was a prince? That was new.

“Already?” Sin asked, but Malice stopped him with a harried, “Shh.”

A guttural male voice I didn’t recognize joined in. “That’s right. I see the fear in your eyes, mighty warrior. Our master wants what you have.”

Me? Oh fuck. It was me, wasn’t it?

Goddammit. I just wanted to live in my little bubble and cam in peace.

But I guess Lilith knew what she was talking about when she sent me here. She’d seen this coming. Which also meant all the alpha male posturing these guys had been doing wasn’t just an act. I really was in danger.

Shit.

Apprehension raced through my veins like lightning, making me tingle in a very uncomfortable way. I took a few steps back, and then a couple more for good measure, until I was practically pressed into the far corner of the room.

“Why are they talking this out? What the fuck is Grim doing? He should have killed them all by now,” Sin asked Malice, his stance still tensed and ready to defend his territory.

“I don’t think he can.”

A look of confusion flickered across Sin’s face before he seemed to cotton on to whatever Malice was hinting at.

“You think they’re Knights?” Sin asked, voice laced with disbelief.

“Where a Prince goes, they follow.”

“Fuck,” Sin hissed. “How do they know we have her?”

Malice shook his head.

Before they could continue, a wall-rattling bellow came from the hall, followed by the unmistakable sounds of fighting.

Call me a damsel, but I pressed my back against the wall and prayed for this to be over. I had nothing I could use to defend myself except a lamp and maybe a book from the shelf nearby. I supposed I could try and lust everyone into submission, but now seemed like a terrible time to attempt weaponizing my succubus power. I needed focus and control for that, and in my first true life-and-death situation, I had neither of those things.

A hysterical laugh escaped, and I slapped a hand over my mouth, not wanting to draw any attention to my little corner of the room. I needn’t have worried. The boys were too busy with their whispered confab about mysterious Knights and Princes, and the other two were balls deep in battle.

A tickle of wind across my neck had me turning my attention toward the bookcase to my right just as the soft, sweet voice whispered my name.

“Merri. Come. I’ll keep you safe.”

I spun around, a scream poised on my lips, but the second my eyes met the deep brown ones of the woman hidden within a secret doorway, every ounce of apprehension leached away as a sense of warmth and security wove itself around me.

She was beautiful. No, angelic.

“Come, my dear. Come with me.”

Her gaze held me in a vortex of such peace and promised nothing else existed. There wasn’t even a choice. I went. All I wanted was to be wrapped up in the comfort of her.

I followed her down a spiral staircase that spilled us out of another hidden door and into the butler’s pantry downstairs. The passageway must’ve been used by staff once upon a time.

The angel smiled at me, her eyes shining with pride. “Such a beautiful girl, you are. Let me take care of you. I’m sure this has been a trying time.”

She stepped close, taking my hands before putting my wrists together in front of me. I glanced down at the feel of corded rope sliding along my skin.

“Ah, ah, ah, keep your eyes on mine, sweetheart. That’s it. I’ve got you.”

Yes, she had me. She’d take me away from all of this. I’d be happier with her. Safe.

“Merri!” Chaos’s roar snapped me out of the creature’s spell, making me take one quick step back before he tackled her to the floor.

Before I could do more than draw in a shuddering breath, he’d grabbed the woman by the face and snapped her neck.

I had to blink a couple of times, my brain failing to fully process what was happening.

Chaos hadn’t just snapped her neck. He’d torn her head clean off.

He was still holding it while her body was slack and spurting oil-like ichor.

Then, chest heaving, he turned his gaze on me. Fury blazed in his eyes as he stood, dropped the head, and stalked to me.

“What in God’s name possessed you to go with her, you stupid little fool? Do you have no sense of self-preservation? Are you auditioning for the role of helpless idiot?” He wasn’t simply chastising me; he was yelling at me like he was a drill sergeant and I was in boot camp.

“I...” I began, but honestly had no response that would suffice. I understood why he’d think so, how my wandering off with her had looked. He didn’t know about the thrall. That I hadn’t been in control of my mind or my body.

“It’s our job to protect you, and yet you run off with the first demon you see? Do you think this is a game? That everything we’ve told you has just been an elaborate ruse? What the fuck is wrong with you? I should...” He raked a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated growl. “Fuck, Merri, I don’t know what to do with you.”

I hated myself for the whimper that escaped along with a single tear.

He continued walking forward, sending me back a few steps until my shoulders hit the pantry door. Chaos was a breath away from me, his hulking frame dwarfing me, the heat of his rage radiating off him.

“If anything had happened to you . . .”

These weren’t the sweet words of a lover, but they were filled with a confused sort of anguish. For some inexplicable reason, my life mattered to him. I mattered to him.

I just wished someone would tell me why.

How had I ended up in the middle of this? Why was I the one the demons were after?

“Chaos,” I whispered, but anything I’d been about to say was cut off when he roughly took my face between his hands, and his lips crashed down on mine.

Heat shot through my body, but there was hardly time to register it. Almost as soon as it began, the kiss ended. Chaos backed away as though I was a snake who’d bitten him, that disdain I knew so well banked in his eyes.

I was still buzzing from the electrifying sensation of his mouth on mine, fingers lifted to brush my undeniably bruised lips.

We were going to have to talk about this. There was no way the man could kiss me like that and expect me to forget it ever happened. I stepped away from the door and opened my mouth to do just that, but we were no longer alone.

“Chaos,” Malice called, the sound of multiple sets of footsteps accompanying him. “Merri’s missing!”

The man in question glared down at me, his meaning clear. He didn’t want me to say a word about what had just transpired between us.

I gave a little nod to show I understood.

He held my gaze for a beat longer and then backed away, calling out to the others as he did. “I’ve got her.”

Those words weren’t spoken with the relief of a man who’d rescued his charge. They were filled with an anger I couldn’t understand. Chaos had me, that much was true, but he sure wasn’t happy about it.