Page 5 of The Bell’s Toll (Wanderlust Emporium Presents, Season One)

chapter Two

Raziel

M y black SUV with its dark tinted windows pulls up to the curb in front of the large hotel. Checking the watch on my wrist, I realized I still had a few hours before the wedding.

I chuckle to myself. I’ve been patient with Nasiah.

The day I stood over that incubator, and she looked at me, I knew she was mine.

Something inside me sparked to life when I stared down into her little face.

Since the day I fell from heaven, I’ve never felt a connection like I did with her that day.

I’ve stayed away from my obsession. I wanted her to mature and experience life. I’ve kept a close eye on her, but I’ve never interfered in her life. However, if she thinks I’m about to let her marry that lame motherfucker, she has another thing coming.

“You ready, boss man?” Conah, my right hand and ambassador, asks over his shoulder from the front seat.

Clearing my mind of my sweet little obsession, I prepare myself for this meeting. Today was the meeting of the Domini. Our king and leader was in town making sure we were running our territories up to par. And trust me, nobody wanted to piss off King Amir Khalid.

Our world consisted of the fallen, the forsaken, and demons. At the top of the power chain is Amir Khalid. He is the king of this earthly realm. There is no one more powerful than him on earth.

Next in line are the dukes. There are five dukes in total. Each duke runs their own continent under Khalid’s command. They make up the Fallen Council. The council sets rules and regulations for all of us.

Next up on the totem pole of power are the counts. Each duke has anywhere from six to twelve counts under them. Counts control countries in the territories of the dukes.

Under the counts, you have the domini. Domini run the counts’ districts. They make sure that shit runs smoothly. They are the hands that keep our world running. The domini control their own set of foot soldiers called Knights. I’m a dominus.

“I’m ready,” I say to Conah.

He steps out of the SUV and comes around to my door, opening it for me. I tug at my long sleeves as I get out of the truck.

The early morning sun beams down on me. I slip my shades down from the top of my head and cover my eyes. Standing on the curb waiting for me are Erazel and Hamon, my guards.

It’s laughable that I had bodyguards, but every domini had guards. It was part of the job. Besides, Era and Ham were more like my friends than actual employees.

“Everything is clear,” Era says, giving me the run down. “As you planned, all the other domini are here already.”

“The Knights have made sure there is plenty of food and nourishment for them,” Ham says in his deep voice.

I nod my head. “Good. That gives them less to bitch about.”

“Trust me, they’ve still been complaining,” Era snorts.

You could never get them all in the same room and they not complain.

“We should go in before they kill each other.”

Conah chuckles. “Like you would stop them.”

“Absolutely not. I just don’t want to miss it.” I smirk as I make my way inside the building.

The front doorman greets me before opening the door to the elaborate hotel.

We have these meetings every few years. Each time it’s in a new district.

This time, it’s in mine. I am the dominus of the southwest. I rule under Count Rojun.

I run everything in the lower half of the US.

I have twelve knights who report to me. There has never been a time when Rojun has had to step to me about my area.

And I’ve been running this region for a long time.

Conah opens the doors to the meeting room. The moment I walk in, the arguing ceases. The men in the room stop and look at me. Their contempt and hatred brush across my skin like a furnace.

Every one of the men in here fell from heaven after the great war. The only difference between myself and them is they fell to the earthly realm; I fell a little further.

There are eight of us domini that run the US.

Seven of them are fallen angels. They still have pieces of their soul light in them.

Ain’t shit left in me but darkness. I am a forsaken.

Not a demon, but close. I come from the same place as the fallen.

I was just on the wrong side of the war when it ended.

They all despise me because they don’t believe I should be here. But Khalid pulled me from the underworld himself and gave me the role. And these motherfuckers hate it.

Pulling my shades off, I place them on top of my head. With a smile, I greet them all casually. “Greetings, colleagues, and welcome to my district. I hope you have found everything to your liking?”

Grumbles go around the room. I notice everyone has food and refreshments. You would think these assholes would be happy.

I take my seat at one end of the large rectangular table. Because the meeting is in my district, I get to sit near the head of the table. The head spot is reserved for Khalid. And the other end is for Rojun.

As soon as I sit down, the server sets a tumbler of bourbon in front of me.

Balis, one of the few domini I tolerate, nods his head in my direction. “I like what you’re doing in your red-light district. Keeping all portals in one area is smart. I’d like to talk to you afterwards, see how you set that up.”

I dip my chin respectfully. “Of course. I have a druid on retainer who is good at making and rerouting portals. I could loan her out.”

This is one reason I tolerated Balis. He knew how to handle business. It didn’t matter if he thought I didn’t deserve my position; he respected the fact that I ran this shit smoothly.

“Balis, why do you need to worry about unprohibited passages? You run the district in which Khalid lives. Trust me, no one is coming into your district without being cleared,” Nirol, the domini of the southeast says with a chuckle. The others in the room laugh at his joke.

It’s true. Balis runs the Mid-Atlantic district. Trust me, nobody fucks up in the Mid-Atlantic. It’s too close to Khalid.

“You would be surprised how emboldened the forsaken can be,” Balis shrugs.

The others agree.

I remain quiet. I never put my two cents in when they talk about the forsaken. The fallen often forget that at one time during the war, we were all on the same side. It’s why we are here running the earthly realm and not back in heaven with our angelic brethren.

“We all know how the forsaken tend to forget their place. Isn’t that right, Raziel?”

Although all the domini disliked me, none were as vocal about their hatred as Gadiel. Something about my presence just bent his dick out of shape.

I take a sip from the tumbler, keeping my eyes trained on him. I allow an awkward silence to impregnate the room.

Placing my drink back down, I smile. “Gaddy, if you can’t control your district, just say that. No need to blame outside sources.”

Gadiel glares at me. His darkness rises from his pores. It looks like black steam rolling off him. I grin in his direction.

“Gentlemen,” Thumas, the domini of the mid-west, says, getting our attention. “Behave yourselves. Khalid will be here soon. You know he has a short tolerance for bullshit.”

I smirk. There were no worries about me fighting Gadiel. I had to actually give a fuck about you in order for you to make me mad enough to want you dead. Gadiel was a speck in my world. Not even worth my anger.

I lift my glass into the air. “Cheers to good reports this year.”

They all lift their drinks to join in my toast. Even though Gadiel joins in, there is something about the shit-eating grin on his face that says he isn’t hoping for our good reports.

“I got to visit the new casino last night, Raziel. It looks nice,” Rarkith, the domini of the northwest, says. He is the epitome of a mountain rancher with his cowboy hat and flannel shirt.

“We should do business. I know there are a few places up in Montana and Colorado where I’d love to build a casino.”

Rarkith grins. “We can talk numbers later.”

This is what was so funny about all of them. They claimed to hate me, but they all wanted my business and my secrets.

While talking to Ortiez, domini of the northeast, and Zanoth, domini of Hawaii and Alaska, I noticed Gadiel kept watching me.

I’ve been ignoring him but decided to give him my attention.

The moment I turned to look at him, one of his men bent down and whispered something into his ear.

The smug smile on his face lifts even higher as he watches me.

He wants a reaction out of me. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

“What do you think Gadiel has going on?” Conah asks through our mind link.

Every single one of us could communicate with those who work for us through a mind link. Which is further proof that Gadiel and his guard were putting on a show just now.

“You caught that too?” I ask Conah.

“He’s been like that since he got here,” Era says. “It’s like he’s plotting something.”

I scratch my chin as I watch Gadiel. He’s talking to his general now, but even as he speaks to him, he seems to be giddy.

“He’s definitely up to something. We will find out what it is soon enough,” I say.

I tune back into Ortiez and Zanoth, leaving Gadiel to his bullshit.

The moment Amir Khalid steps onto the property, we can feel his power. Even when he was the general of the Lord’s army, his presence was undeniable. That shit is tenfold now.

A hush goes over the meeting room. The hair on my arms rises. We all stand and turn to face the door, waiting for him to walk in.

The meeting hall door opens, and in walks Sei.

Sei is Khalid’s ambassador. He’s a level one demon, the same as Hamon and Erazel.

His skin is dark brown and inked up with tattoos.

His long locs hang down his back. He surveys the room before stepping back.

Next to enter the meeting hall is Prince Cassiel. We bow our heads to him.