Immortal Dynasty (28 page)
Therion rushed over to sit on the black throne. “This is where I belong. Therion, son of the most powerful god to ever rule the Underworld. But I will do what he could not. I will rule the living world too. When Shaila tells me where the amulet is, I will have my full powers as a god.”
He paused, resting his chin in his hand. “Ah, but that solves only half of my problem. The other half is the bloodline of succession. That fucking idea that only a female will rule, and that she passes that royal cell down to only her female offspring.”
Shaila noticed there was no sign of submission in Lilith’s tawny eyes. Indeed, she looked as if her mind was as sharp as ever, calculating her revenge on her own son.
“Look at her, mother. She is the key. When I take her as my mate tonight, the bloodlines of light and dark will be united…both under my control. I will control her, and the line of succession will pass to me. I will rule both worlds, and she will give me sons to carry on
my
bloodline.”
He rushed over to pat her head, tucking a stray golden curl behind her ear. “Oh, don’t look so sad, Mother Dearest. I told you this wasn’t going to be a Greek tragedy. I
am
going to kill you, I’m just not going to marry you first.”
Spinning around, he smirked maliciously. “Shaila, my divine prisoner. Here is our first offering for the evening.” He indicated his mother. “Or, we could start with this adorable baby boy.”
He motioned for something, and within seconds a demon appeared with a basket. Inside, a naked human baby girl wriggled and cried. Her little feet were waving desperately about the rim of the carrier. With lion-like accuracy, Shaila’s ears picked up new sound. Seeking the source, she spotted a female demon off to the side of the room. The soulless young woman rocked on her feet and whimpered. She seemed fixated on the babe in the basket. Shaila wondered if somehow maternal instincts survived even death.
Therion unsheathed Shaila’s dagger and pointed the deadly tip down toward the baby. She couldn’t tune out the sobbing demon. The connection was unmistakable. There was nothing she could do to save the mother, but gods be damned, she had to think of something to save the innocent human babe.
“Here’s your choice, Shaila.” He twirled the wicked blade closer to the child’s body. “Tell me where the amulet is! Or I will spill the blood of every child in this city tonight, beginning with this baby, and it will all be your fault.”
Oh, Goddess, how do I choose?
Shaila deeply believed that all human life was sacred, and especially the life of an innocent babe.
Therion nicked the infant’s foot, his expression showed blissful enjoyment of inflicting torture. His black eyes nearly scorched hers as his temper began to blacken again. She felt pressure tightening around her heart as the babe’s cries pitched higher from the pain. Blood dripped from her tiny foot.
She could see Lilith’s aura burn even brighter with rage. Therion carried the basket to the altar, placing it just beyond Shaila’s grasp. He held the dagger between her and the child, continuing the threat. Her eyes pinned on the hilt of the dagger. Every life was precious, but how could she sacrifice the life of the world for the life of one babe? Or more?
Therion had grown tired of waiting for her choice. As the babe screamed, Therion lifted the dagger and swung it down toward the reddened infant.
“Halt!” Shaila’s chest heaved with the fear of being too late.
“What was that you said?” The tip of the blade hovered over the babe’s heart.
“You win, Therion. Give me the babe, and I will give you the amulet.” She could not lay there and watch him mutilate an innocent life. No matter how small.
He shoved the basket closer to Shaila’s outstretched arms. She slowly lifted the tiny human into her arms, ignoring the pain knifing at her from the cuffs.
“Where is it?” His question thundered across the room.
She prayed that she would get the chance to fight Therion. Even with his full power, he would never have the strength of his father. That was the one thing she counted on.
“It is in the dagger that you already hold in your hands.” She could not keep the irony from staining her voice.
Guilt assailed her over the hasty, foolish choice she made. In saving the one soul, she had condemned the entire race. A tear slid down her cheek as she hugged the child in a tight, protective embrace. There had to be something she could do to stop Therion’s transformation.
He sat in awe on his throne, now holding the dagger reverently. She watched him twisting it all around, looking for a way to open it.
Looking out over the dark army of demons, she realized that they were shuffling around in confusion. She listened as they pointing to Lilith and questioned why their queen was hung on the wall. They looked nervously in Therion’s direction as if they were not used to seeing him on the throne.
While Therion was distracted with the dagger, Shaila silently urged the demon woman to approach the altar. With halting steps, the woman complied.
“Here.” Shaila tried to look into the empty yellow eyes with compassion. “Take your baby somewhere safe.”
The woman whimpered with gratitude and scooped her daughter into her arms. Even though the woman was frightening in her demon form, the child calmed instantly. Shaila smiled at the instincts of the innocent. The woman and child silently disappeared into an alcove.
A metal door at the back of the room opened swiftly, slamming violently against the wall. Demons shrank away from the sudden noise.
“Darius.” Shaila’s body trembled with joy and relief to see him.
Evil laughter rose from the dais. Therion stood now, facing the new arrivals with a wicked gleam in his eyes, like he had been waiting for just this opportunity.
“Yes, Darius and guests.” Therion spread his arms wide. “Welcome. You are just in time to witness the dawn of a new age with a new ruler…and a new queen. Then, I will kill you and absorb your soul myself.”
“You and what army?” Darius’ eyes searched the demon horde. “This army? This inexperienced mob of college kids? The Death Beast doesn’t seem to have inherited much of a kingdom.”
Therion’s energies darkened. “You shouldn’t insult me, Darius. I have everything I need to destroy you and your world.” Flicking open the hilt of the dagger, he poured the black diamond into his hand. His shoulders shook with laughter again.
The bliss on Therion’s face quickly turned to shock. Gripping the jewel tightly in his fist, he doubled over, hissing and convulsing. Dark energy curled out like smoke from between his fingers and twisted around his body like a slick ribbon.
He writhed on the floor like a creature trapped within a black cocoon.
Darius motioned for his team to fan out around the room. They aimed their weapons into the crowd of demons, who turned to face the new threat to their lair. Some demons didn’t wait for a command and sprang toward them.
Marcus seemed more than happy to see a few demon heads explode. The crossbows made short work of eliminating those who chose to attack. The rest of the demons wisely held back, but continued to posture and flex their dripping fangs.
Darius didn’t know how much time he had before Therion recovered from whatever transformation he was enduring. He reached Shaila in seconds, holding her tight.
“I love you,” he whispered into her ear. “Don’t you ever leave me again.”
He felt a surge of light energy coming from Shaila, and he used it with his own to break the chains from the altar. But the golden cuffs remained. From what he’d learned from Bessie there was nothing that could break them.
“Where’s the key?”
“I do not know.” Shaila hugged him tight again. “I am sorry. I had to give the amulet to him, to protect the baby.”
He believed her. “I trust you, Shaila. Whatever choice you made was the right one.” He cupped her face.
Deep laughter boomed across the room again. The malevolent sound carried an ancient dark energy with it. Darius felt her shiver against him, but it was fury that vibrated from her spirit, not fear.
“How cozy the two of you look. But she’s mine!” Therion lifted his hands and rocketed a blast of pure darkness. Horrified, Darius felt Shaila move with immortal speed, blocking the blast with her own body. The force of the blast sent them both careening off the end of the platform. Finally rolling to a stop, Shaila’s breathing hitched with pain. Blood dripped from her lips.
“No.” Darius held her head in his lap gently. He could barely feel her heart beat. Never in his life had he cried, but the thought of her dead sent hot tears streaming down his face. He left them there to sting his skin. He glared at Therion, letting his anger suffuse his body with power. Digging deep into whatever source he could find, he let the energy pump blood furiously through his veins.
Up on the platform, his rival stomped angrily, ordering his army to attack the intruders.
* * *
Shadiki entered Lilith’s vision with a man that seemed distantly familiar. A nearby demon lunged for them but the man quickly aimed a crossbow and fired. Within seconds, she felt the shackles release their painful grip on her wrists, and Shadiki carefully laid her on the ground.
“Bakari, please help me remove the poison from her body.” She could see the hesitancy in the man’s eyes. “Please, trust me, old friend. It is not her destiny to watch helplessly as her son destroys our world.”
The man nodded and placed his palms on her chest. She felt a warm sensation spread through her body. His light energy conquered the dark venom that Therion had injected into it. She closed her eyes briefly, succumbing to a strange sensation of comfort.
Bakari. She dug deep into her past. If memory served, he was a healer. One of the few Anunnaki who could heal more than flesh wounds. But she didn’t want to be healed in that way.
No, she wanted every bit of furious energy she could muster.
“Thank you, boys.” She patted Shadiki’s cheek and avoided Bakari’s eyes. “I’ll take it from here.”
Standing, she watched her son grow agitated that the demons were not fighting hard enough. His voice was filled with frustration, and she watched his skin glitter with intense new energy. Darius lay on the floor with Shaila in his arms. She could tell by the fading aura that Shaila’s life was slipping away. Lilith cursed Bakari in her mind. He must have loosened up some compassion in her.
Darius had been right. How had she ever thought she would be able to control her son’s evil nature? He was already more powerful than she had thought possible. She smiled wickedly, because she knew that a mother had other weapons than strength.
She turned back to Shadiki and the healer. “Shaila will need her sword. You cannot defeat him without her at full power. Quickly. You will find it in the gallery. Just follow that hallway behind the tapestry. I will distract my son as long as I can. He needs a lesson in family respect.”
Waiting until she felt Shadiki’s energy leave the room, she knew it was time. Stepping back up onto the dais, she focused all of her energy toward a defense of her astral spirit. The assault would be painful, but she was ready to draw some blood of her own now.
“Well, it looks like my disloyal, backstabbing son can’t control his army.” She smiled disdainfully into his astonished eyes. His gaze darted around her, trying to see who’d freed her. “You have lost your touch. No wonder you never made it to general.”
She tossed a light orb above her palm a few times, and then sent it slamming into his head. He shook off the puny energy blast. She knew she’d never get in another hit. Time to build as much of a defense as possible around her spirit. Ironic that she now prayed that Shadiki would hurry and get the sword to Shaila.
As angry as she was with her son, she knew instinctively that she would not be able to kill him. It had nothing to do with the Anunnaki code, and everything to do with maternal limits.
She realized that somehow she’d known this day would come, when he would spurn her for his father’s power. In her mind, that just aligned with her belief that men were basically stupid. It wasn’t their fault, really, but that’s why nature intended for the blood of succession to be handed down maternally. Nature had entrusted women with the sacred task of giving birth to new life. That was a power men would never know.
“Mother.” Therion’s black eyes began burning with a red glow. “Don’t get used to the freedom, witch, for my father expects your soul tonight.”
“You poor thing.” She looked at him with pity. “What will he do to you when you can’t fulfill your promise? You stupid boy.”
She’d scored an emotional hit. Therion roared at her, pacing back and forth with indecision. She had to keep the pressure on.
“Did you think you could actually accomplish something that the great god of the Underworld couldn’t?” She glared at him in disbelief. “He is Apophis, the Forbidden One. He is the one dark god that you will never be.”
“Because of your lowly bloodline, Mother.” He sent a pulse of energy, which she deflected, but it still rocked her back on her feet. “You Anunnaki whore. You consorted with all manner of men, of both races. Apophis used your body to create me.”
She cackled with laughter, as if she’d heard the best joke in the world. “You silly boy. You think Apophis will share his throne with you? He will never share. You are competition, my son. He will absorb all of the powers you’ve gained, and toss your useless body aside like trash.”
In speaking the truth, she knew she scored more emotional hits. He paced like a caged beast, his eyes flicked across the confused demon army. He roared at her in fury, throwing a huge dark blast at her. This one sent her flying into the wall. Her head thumped loudly against the stone. Breathing heavily, she decided that she had one last opportunity to emotionally castrate him.
“Therion, I’m so sorry.” She approached him slowly, putting herself dangerously close to him. She continued in a voice loud enough for all to hear. “I had no idea retirement has so affected your leadership skills. Look at your soldiers; they seem confused. Who commands them? You? Hardly. I don’t think you have the balls to lead an army.”
