Echoes in Eternity (The Pella Series Book 1) (72 page)

“I have a bet for you!” he says, his voice is strained as if he’s holding the rope at the top of the summit, and slowly feeding it for my descent. “If…” he says taking a short breather, “if you come back with Elissa within the next two hours, I will give you two days
head start courting Elissa.”

“Look who is
doling out time!”

“I’m the one carrying your two-h
undred and ten pounds of muscle. I think I’m giving you more than enough time. If however you come back in two hours and one minute, I get two days head start!”

“
I don’t want you to spend a single minute more than you absolutely have to. Do you think I’m going to let you try to court her?”

“I don’t think you have a say in the matter!
Unless of course you can’t take a little bit of competition.”

“
Deal!” I say as I see Elissa in Apollyon’s grasp. “Oh fuck!”

“I got you baby!” he croons holding her.
“I thought I lost you!” he says concerned. What’s his game? Elissa first screams, struggling against him.

“Hey! It’s me baby! Look! Look at me! It’s me!”

“Let me go!” Elissa struggles.

“Look at me baby! I know you can see me! This place can play tricks on you. Try to see me…” he soothes her. “I’m going to stand you up so you can see me. Look at me Elissa,” he pleads. Elissa blinks, and looks up.

“I don’t trust my sight here!” she shouts. Who does she think she’s seeing?

“Okay. I give you that.
Do you remember this, Elissa?” he asks Elissa holding something in his hand. Elissa looks at the item in his palm. Where did he get that? I haven’t seen it in over two centuries? I gave it to Elissa when we were married! My blood boils seeing the intimate golden jewelry I had specially made for my wife for our wedding day. It’s designed to separate her labia with pure gold leaves fashioned like tiny hands with the softest leather shaped like serpents holding the piece in place like a G-string. It’s meant to expand tongue movement over and into her sex while opening her sex up like a blooming flower. I have forgotten about it until now. How did he get a hold of it? I had assumed everything had burnt along with the
Four Winds
.

I’m holding onto my self-control by the skin of my teeth.

“Easy…” Courcillion whispers trying to calm me as if Apollyon is going to hear him. Elissa looks at the item in his hand. She blinks. Even though her heart isn’t beating, there’s a hot flash on her face.

“Where did you get that?” she asks him
with a poker face.

“Don’t you know?” he replies with a question of his own.

“It is mine. I want to know where you got it!” she says forcefully.

“I gave it to you,” he whispers. What the fuck! He’s impersonating me!

“Why this item? Why not something else?” Elissa asks taking half a step back.

“Come on baby… You can’t deny the attraction, the fire between us. Elissaaa…” he murmurs longingly. I descend a little more.

“One kiss and let me prove to you that your eyes aren’t lying to you.” He doesn’t say my name. Nobody is able to remind Elissa that she was married to me! No one! Not even Apollyon himself. Why? He knows she was my wife. Is Marcus’s ward still holding or is it something bigger? He wants her to remember and say it. What does he gain from it?

“I don’t trust you!”

“You trust me, baby. You have always trusted me.”

“Let me rephrase
it then,” Elissa adds. “I don’t trust
me
.” Good girl! She’s remembering her father’s reminder. “I just get yanked out of my father’s prison, and you stop me right in Hades. Why stop me here? Why not take me back all the way?” she asks.

“It took you days to get here. It will not be an instantaneous ascent. You remember what a dangerous journey it has been. We have to be careful. I have to gain your trust so you can surrender to me to take you back,” he murmurs. “One kiss…” he arches an eyebrow like I would. He walks around her with arrogant confidence without breaking his connection, a finger drifts around her body as he walks around. “I won’t force you to kiss me. I want you to trust me.” Elissa swallows. Through our bond, I know Elissa is seeing me in him. She wants to go to his arms and kiss him just to be sure that he’s me.
She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. The scent filling her nostrils is a hint spice, a little woody with a bit of musk, patchouli and male skin. The fucker even managed to smell like me!

“Alex! Time is nearly up! We have to extract her!” Courcillion reminds me.

“He’s got her, and his minions are everywhere!”

“Just a kiss?” Elissa asks.

“Yes. Just a single kiss.”

“Okay,” she acquiesces.

“I have got to get her!” I shout.

“No! You have to extract her during the kiss when he’s occupied. His minions would have to stay distant.”

My nostrils flare in rage, my heart rate increases. Apollyon’s lips curve in a smile. He leans in and first softly touches her lips with his, testing her flavor like I would. Molding his lips over hers, he slowly takes his tongue out and runs it over the seam of her lips encouraging her to open and let him in. A soft, gentle moan escapes Elissa’s lips and her sounds are swallowed by Apollyon. One minute they’re only inches away, the next he presses her against the granite wall, his hands caging her. He places the intimate jewelry in her hand and closes it. Elissa raises her hands to his hair, her fingers tangling in them. Jealousy is burning me. The next thing I know she digs her nails, raking his neck, drawing blood.

“I looooove it!” he hisses. Elissa pushes him.

“You’re not Alex!” and that’s my cue to jump and grab her.

“Now!” both Courcillion and I shout. I momentarily merge myself with Elissa and hold her tight.

“Pull now!” I shout to Courcillion.

As I make the effort to get Elissa, Apollyon grins wide seeing me.

“Alexander! Thank you for helping me break the last ward!” he says. How did I do that?

I don’t have time to process his comment because Courcillion pulls me into his last memory and Elissa is pulled in along with me.

CHAPTER XXVI

AGAINST HUMAN
NATURE

A
lexander Aurelius Pella

I hold onto Elissa with every fiber of my being. Our bodies are merged, entangled. I don’t think even Kama Sutra would have a name for our entanglement.
Our ascent halts on the first barrier. We can’t get back to our anchor if we don’t get through his memory. Our combined psyche floods around us once again. Our resistances are brief as each of us meets and merges on the same memory from our individual visions. I slowly dip into Courcillion’s memory and pull Elissa with me. We slowly blend.

The Human – Nephilim Secret Alliance also known as
the Enochians
are carefully and conveniently gathered for what used to be the once a century Meeting of the Continents disguised as a masquerade ball. But the wars in the human world within the recent century put the Nephilim on edge due to rapidly changing maps and governance of the world even though some wars are instigated by the rouge Nephilim who are tools in the hands of the
Fallen
. Nowadays the ruling Nephilim and the Guards gather so often, you would think the Apocalypse was at hand. The insecurities in both human and the Nephilim worlds force them to keep their identities in secret. No one, except a chosen few, are known as the Guardians –
the Tutorum
know the identity that may live among the public as mere mortals. Marcus and I both know about the existence of this oldest ancient alliance. We prefer to stay out of it in order to keep it from under everyone’s detection.

The s
ights, scents, and sounds of the masquerade ball invade our senses immediately as we arrive at the Courcillion family chateau on the Right Bank in Paris. The place is illuminated and the strong wards can be sensed to keep out the undesirables; there is a revolution in progress outside after all. Yet the Nephilim aren’t affected by human problems more than a mere annoyance because humans are too fragile and this defect in human nature causes the Nephilim to keep forging new alliances while keeping some of the ancient ones intact. But, it is also a fact that sometimes some wars are encouraged and instigated to create balance when humans are posing a detectable danger for our kind. This revolution will only shift powers and the best time to take over power is to wait until the involved parties tire each other out simply by a takeover, or insert their own agents into places of position. This masquerade ball is going to provide a good chance of meeting for the rich and powerful of our kind. Of course the Duchess is too stuck up with her human titles that she has had for generations; she doesn’t know how to act without them. Anyone without a title is worthy to use and benefit from, but not worthy to be seen in association on a personal level. The untitled cannot help the titled; they can only serve them. I sense Maximillian Courcillion pacing back and forth in his room with a little excitement and a little more worry. As his memory fills our senses, I see everything through his recollection. His pacing slows. His right hand flies to his forehead to ward off an approaching headache. To busy himself he turns to the full height mirror. He fidgets with his cravat that is perfectly tied and looks at it with dissatisfaction. When he lifts up his gaze, the anxiety and nervousness is evident and deeply etched in his eyes. Then his eyes move to his left. There is a slight noise, soft, and undetectable to human ears, but he is only part human. He ignores the sound and turns to his reflection in the mirror. This time he smooths his lapels. His square jaw is tense and there is a frown marring his otherwise handsome face.

“What if she denies me? What if she says her heart belongs to someone else? What if…” he says but doesn’t finish his words. His thoughts are clear. “What if she’s in love with him? Alexander! Even his name sounds
like royalty. Not just royalty, but ancient royalty!” His door swings all the way back unannounced and he opens his mouth to shout at whoever is behind the door for this insolence. When he sees the Duchess, he closes his mouth.

“Mother…” he greets her curtly accompanied by a swift nod.

“I saw the invitee list,” she starts in a chiding note without a preamble. “I don’t recall giving you permission to invite
her
into our midst! This night of all nights, Maximillian! I told you that this meeting is only for the bluest blood aristocrats with dual nature and those aristocrats who are willing to give me what I want for their protection!”

“I am the Duke Courcillion, mother! In case you forgot. I carry the family name. I can invite the woman who has the charge of my heart!”

“Charge of your heart!” she grunts with haughty derision, completely dismissing him. “Do you have any idea what I went through at this volatile time to gather all of our kind while our human allies are being eliminated one by one for their indulgences or because they’re simply at the wrong place at the wrong time? I am doing this all for you, son! Eternity is a long… long… time. You should be thanking me for allying the human rulers and renewing the alliances with the ancient families who always have been on our kind’s side for you with a little forced persuasion.”

“You’re blackmailing them?” he asks her incredulous
ly.

“Blackmail? No! I’m helping them keep their heads and the heads of their children intact so they can safely get out of France!”