Azrael's Light [Demon Runners of Unearth] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

“Luc’s gone through the gate to Earth, and he’s not in a good mood.”

That simple, quietly spoken sentence knocked every molecule of air from his lungs. Icy chill-bumps assaulted him, followed by a scorching wave of panic. If he hadn’t been lounging on his back, in a chair, he would have fallen flat on his ass as sheer horror flooded him. She had to be wrong. There was no other way around it.

“You’re telling me that Luc, or Lucifer, your mate, the devil himself, has left Hell, to run amok with the humans? Lilith, he can’t be on Earth. At all.”

“I know, but I don’t think he’ll come home until he finds what he’s looking for.”

“Lilith, what did you do?”

“I lost his daughter.”

He stood and gave Lilith a stare down she would never forget. “Fine. I’ll help, but you get the fuck out of my sight. Now.” Again she bowed her head to him and disappeared, leaving him alone. Not that it would do him any good.

Damn, his shoulders were weary. Yes, he’d made a mistake long ago, but it had been a minor one and he’d paid his dues a hundred times over. Now Lilith lays this on him? Again, it was not his mistake. His daughter wasn’t missing. He didn’t even have a daughter. Hell was not his realm. Neither was Earth.

At this point he didn’t have a home realm to call his own. What was the point? What was he going to do? Wave at the dust bunnies as he carried his neighbors’ souls to the nether realms?

It didn’t matter. He could bitch and moan all he wanted, but it wouldn’t change a damn thing. Thanks to his huge following, Luc’s strength as a major demon rivaled many of the elder gods’.

The elder gods were among the first gods unwittingly created by the humans in the early days of humanity. They monitored the power balance between the mortal realm of Earth and the immortal realm of Unearth. It was a tenuous thing on a good day.

That balance relied on each god or elder god staying in their home realm, serving as its anchor. Without a power anchor, the realm would begin to fade. Immortals feared that if the power balance shifted it could cause a complete collapse, resulting in the death of Unearth and all immortals.

This? This little oops of Lilith’s had enough potential to wipe out the existence of every immortal. With such a large power seat, Hell held one of the strongest concentrations of Dark Light. If Luc stayed away for an extended period of time, anything could happen. Attempts at overtaking the throne? Complete power disruption? Who knew what could happen?

Humans and Earth? They weren’t safe either. Who knew what kind of havoc Luc would wreak if his daughter didn’t return?

They were all fucked.

With a heavy heart he kissed the sunshine and tranquil waters good-bye for what might be another two hundred plus years.

The crowd let out a cheer as the band returned to the stage and a fierce guitar riff ripped through the air. Individuals melted and morphed into one large undulating beast. It was a sight that would make any bartender happy. Hot and sweaty clubbers meant thirsty customers, and she was always happy to provide them with their drink of choice.

Her desire to be of some importance to someone was ever present. No, she didn’t want to be slave material, but she did feel a need to be a vital piece of something important. Diane knew that pouring alcohol down the throats of her bar patrons wasn’t the answer, but it kept her hands busy and she loved her customers. Each one lived in a world completely different from the person sitting right beside them. Anyone who passed through the door to Hellfire fell under her watch. Whether they knew or not, they were her family.

At times she envied them for the mortal lives they led. She suspected that once again trouble brewed in Unearth, but there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. And she suspected that her niece was at the center of it, but one wouldn’t know it by talking to her.

Alia had walked through the doors as if she owned the club, turned, and sat on the chrome stool with her back against the bar so she faced the door.

“Now, you’re sure your mother knows you’re here?” Even through the music’s pounding and screaming at an obscene volume, her niece was capable of hearing every word she’d whispered. That didn’t necessarily mean she would be totally honest. Alia was hiding something, she was sure of it.

Her head bobbed in time to the music as she watched the club’s barely dressed crowd. Something that looked suspiciously like heartache shimmered in her stunning violet eyes. The dull dampness contrasted with her usual upbeat energy.

Diane didn’t like the desolation she saw there one bit.

Diane’s sister, Lilith, was the mother in question and the goddess who’d been gifted with dominion over the moon’s dark side. As her twin, Diane controlled the lighter half of the moon. As children they had been inseparable. Yet somewhere along the way they had become as different as night and day. The only thing they had in common these days was their mutual love for Lilith and Lucifer’s daughter, Alia.

“Mmhm.” Alia’s chin-length ebony hair danced in time to the movements of her head. Black as pitch and naturally streaked with lavender highlights, it nearly obscured her pixie-like face. The flashing strobe lights sparked off tiny piercings in her brow and lip.

She’d always hated the title of Hell’s Youngest Immortal. Diane didn’t have the heart to tell her the piercings did absolutely nothing to disguise her jaw-dropping beauty. Where girls in the human Goth scene plastered on the palest makeup one could find, that gorgeous, luminous skin was one hundred percent natural for Alia. So were the purple eyes and the highlights in her hair. Those and the subtle lavender glow that shone from her eyes were symbols of exactly what she was.

Having one parent that was pure demon and the other a powerful goddess was a rare and impressive pedigree. There were very few pureblooded demons left in Unearth. As such, they usually had strength and powers that outshone all others. Combine that with the gods’ blood and everyone had expected her to be one of the most powerful beings born in ages. Yet it seemed that Alia had very few powers of her own, and they were weak ones at that.

“What about your father? Does he know that you’ve been stepping through the gate and ‘slumming’ with the humans?” Alia acted as if all was well, but Diane was sure Lucifer’s anger would reach nuclear levels if he knew his daughter was traipsing back and forth through the gate alone. Alia, his wife Lilith, and his kingdom were his everything. He guarded them with a ferocity that bordered on manic obsession.

Concerned, Diane watched as her niece scanned the crowd with those eerie but gorgeous eyes. It was clear that Alia was searching for someone, but her niece had never mentioned if she visited anyone else when she came to Earth. Diane doubted her parents knew what their daughter was up to or even that she was gone.

Her own questions to Alia about where she went or what she did while on Earth were usually answered vaguely or even outright ignored. Her niece’s typical response was, “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

When a tall, platinum-haired male came through the door dressed in torn jeans and a crisp, white button-down, Alia perked up, watched for a moment, and then slumped down. Who was her little niece looking for?

“Alia, honey, listen to me. I’m serious. I worry when you travel alone. You have to be careful. Even you, my dear, are not invincible.” And yes, her father was one of the most powerful and terrifying immortals to ever exist, but that didn’t make her any safer if she was sneaking off without his knowledge. No, Alia wasn’t hers, but she suspected she was getting a taste of what mortal mothers felt when they sent their babes out into the cold world on their own.

“Diane, you’re the best, but I promise I’ll be fine. Things may be rough for a little bit, but I promise in the end everything will be okay.” Her niece’s voice hummed with an odd tone, and the light in her eyes took on a brighter glow as she spoke. The bar vibrated with a subtle hum as she leaned closer to Alia. And since the band had paused between songs, she couldn’t blame the vibrations on their powerful speakers.

“Look, I gotta go, but if you talk to Mom, tell her that I still love her even though she’s wrong. Dead wrong. I don’t have time to explain, but just tell her it’s not happening, ever. She’ll know what you mean.” Her only niece, who looked like she might barely pass for eighteen, not her true age of three hundred and thirty, leaned across the bar and gave her a sweet peck on the cheek. “Oh, and by the way, when Tall, Dark, and Handsome comes your way, be nice to him. In the long run, you’ll love him.” The light in her eyes dimmed back to their normal subtle glow, and a somber expression darkened her beauty.

Dressed in thick-soled combat boots and a black miniskirt, she appeared to be no more than a lovely college student who was concerned with nothing more than her next date. As half the young men in the club turned their heads to watch, she bounded off as if unaware of their drooling mouths and obvious stares.

For a moment though, as Diane had looked into the light of her niece’s eyes, it almost looked like she could forecast, but as far as she knew, Alia’s powers were very limited. Surely she couldn’t foresee future events? Could she?

No.

Very few demons, or even gods for that matter, were gifted with that power, and because of its rarity it was regarded with a degree of respect that bordered on awe. Luc would preen like a proud peacock and demand she have the respect she was entitled. Wouldn’t he?

As for any male known as Tall, Dark, and Handsome, she wasn’t the least bit interested. She liked her life fine the way it was and wanted no interference from anyone. That included all males, and whether they were mortal or immortal made no difference.

At a glance everything seemed fine, but something was wrong with the entire situation. But who knew what was happening on the other side of the gate? She happily left that world behind long ago and never once looked back. It had been her own decision and though her sister hadn’t understood, the choice had been easy for her.

Yes, she could admit at times that passing her life as a human could be dreadfully boring. It was a sacrifice she’d made long ago. She’d take boring over the never-ending headache of soap opera dramas playing out day after day on the other side of the gate. The constant plotting and scheming by those trying to climb the ranks in Unearth was maddening. She wanted no part of the chaos.

Mortals, though flawed and seemingly bumbling, at least strived for improvement. No, humanity was by no means perfect, but at least portions of it were constantly working and fighting to learn more and improve upon themselves. Humans were so unlike the spoiled immortals who never worked a day in their lives for anything. When something didn’t go their way immortals often behaved like spoiled toddlers. It would have been hilarious if it hadn’t been for the simple fact that she was related to half of them and had been expected to participate in the childishness. Not happening.

As she mixed drinks and scanned her crowded club for trouble she pondered over her decision. She admitted she missed her niece and might even be lonely at times, but she never once regretted the decision to leave everyone else behind with their petty games and ridiculous greed.

As the lively crowd parted before him, he saw why the club appealed to Luc’s young daughter. It was obnoxious, dark, and loud. The throbbing atmosphere pulsed with a life of its own. The humans danced as if it was their last night on Earth. It was a shame they didn’t know the truth. They were safe from him tonight. He envied them their freedom and ignorance. They feared very little and had no knowledge of the horrors existing outside of their own small, peaceful realm.

Ironically, the club known as Hellfire was the polar opposite of Lucifer’s realm.

Which meant it was nothing like the other side of the gate where Alia belonged. Lucifer’s daughter had, no doubt, been born, bred, and raised on a diet of cold despair and unrelenting bleakness. Life in Hell was not all bonfires and pitch-forked weenie roasts as most humans believed. It was cold, desolate, and filled with nothing but stark misery. This chaotic scene throbbed with energy and unrepentant life.

Filled with purpose, Azrael scanned the crowd, expecting his task to be simple. He would find Lilith’s brat, return her to her parents, and then head back to his boat. He should be finished by the night’s end. Maybe if he sailed to the Bermuda Triangle, he’d get lost where no one could find him. Then Lilith would have no choice but to leave him alone, and he’d salvage the last of his vacation in solitude.

He forced himself to ignore the Kors filling the room. Everywhere he looked, the shadowy glyphs marked the foreheads of oblivious humans. Though it was a habit born from millennia of service, it was a challenge he hadn’t expected to encounter. He should have anticipated how difficult it would be to ignore the key to his daily life as he made his way through the crowd.

Each marking was placed there by the Sisters of Fate, unique to its wearer and visible only to him. About the size of an egg, the swirling design detailed the time and method of each being’s death. Since he was supposed to be on vacation, the Fates had also taken a break and should be leaving humanity alone for a short time. It was unfortunate the humans were unaware of the brief reprieve they’d been given from the gods’ interference.

Then again, there was no limit to the havoc humans could create if they learned that for a brief time they, too, were immortal.