Retribution, Devotion (28 page)

Jogging across the room, his soul alerted him of the woman he had learned was his destiny. Anger flickered in his eyes while he watched her do her work. She called demons to her, pointing to take down Nephilim. Glee shined in her eyes as blood rained in the air. To the right of her was the Dark Lady who lassoed a woman by her neck, pulled her toward her, and then reached into her mouth latching on the woman's tongue. She yanked back in a harsh force, tearing it out in glee.

The sound of crushing loud barks drew in Calvin's attention. Her luscious body was draped in a white skintight body suit. Whoever documented that the Dark couldn't wear white knew nothing about the art of deception. Her cat suit was covered in interweaving filigree, Cursed magic placed there by the Witches of their kingdom Calvin could tell. His eyes skimmed over the words, noticing Winter's work, which let him know that it was created to protect her as she fought. Around her tussle of mahogany curls, which were pulled back into a ponytail that fell over her shoulder, was her familiar hood, this one the color of ruby blood.

Around her fists hands were barbed golden chains, each one connecting to her jeweled hand gloves, and connecting to four snarling beasts. Hellhounds. Each dog was white as the cat suit the princess wore. Their beady red eyes were hungry for Nephilim bodies. He could feel the Dark Lady's eager to let them feed.

“Popi is playing his game, don't you feel it, my pet? It's starting and I cannot wait to get my hands around that Oracle bitch's throat,” Calvin heard her say to Nydia.

Calvin fumed.
There is no turning a bitch into a housewife,
ran in his mind. He was definitely ready to tackle them both on before being thrown backward by a Dark Witch current. Coughing hard, his head lolled against the floor. The sound of the hellhounds being let loose drew in his attention.

Before Calvin was Amara running for her life. Each hound flanked her. He needed to get to her fast. Calvin struggled to get up but instead just stood in astonished. Miya flew near Amara swiping at the dogs. Shurikens flew from her hands, then bullets from her gun. Her golden eyes illuminated in their power then she threw a Dragon spell at a demon that tried to get in her way. Miya's diamond-sharp nails cut at flesh, digging deeply, before being struck down by a Dark Gargoyle. A scuffle went down in that moment. Both entities scrapped hard but it was Amara who made him know that she wasn't just going to go down without a fight.

A sharp scream belted from Amara's mouth. Her curly shoulder-length hair lifted in the air as static surrounded her. Her hand reached forward, fisted in the air, and pulled back with the sensation of her tugging on a tether. Calvin pushed up slowly, watching in shock. Time immediately slowed to the rhythm of her heart.

An ear-pounding thump, thump, seemed to wash her face in a sensation of calm as the objects in the air froze and then reversed. Calvin observed each bullet, each star that flew back toward her. He could tell she was assessing each object as Nox had trained her. She knew where they needed to go and with each blink of her long lashes, her eyes locked on the demonic dogs, then the bullets and stars reversed to hit their mark: the dogs.

Amara let out a heavy gasp, and then time sped back up. A force ricocheted from her in a pulse, which pushed the demonic dogs backward, sending them flying then bursting into splattered goo. Calvin saw her standing mouth gaped open in shock before she turned to glance at her best friend who stood just as shocked.

Both girls turned in unison then let out a high-pitched squeal while jumping up and down in unison. “That was crayyyyyyyyzeeee!”

“Sweet stuff, peanut, now take ya asses down through the tunnels.” Calvin chuckled. He pushed up watching them turn then disappear in a wall of white light.

Calvin stood up brushing himself off, only to be hit with another blast. Flying across the floor he now lay in a pool of demon blood, almost choking on it as he gripped his sides. His lungs felt afire. His ribs threatened to break under the pressure of a pillar and the decaying body of a demon lay near him, blocking his view. Everything was messed up but he tried to keep his cool and listen to what was going on below him in the main council room. The Cursed King was playing his games. As soon as he had entered, he let everyone in the room know who he was.

“Stop moving. They will notice.”

A clicking near his ear made his nails scrape at the pillar he had hit. Iodine and dry blood with the light new hint of fruit and honeysuckle made his jaw clench. His power sparked with the familiar scent and closeness of the person above him.

“You don't want my fucking help, bay'bee. You're doing this to destroy me,” he growled.

He pushed again to let his power levitate the pillar to the side. The touch of the woman he had learned was his soul mate rested against his chest. Her usually patchy, scaled skin was now a flawless smooth mocha brown. Her eyes were still reptilian in coloring and look, but the rest of her took the last remaining piece of his breath away.

“Let me help. Here!” she grunted pushing the pillar with him. Calvin could see his aura connecting with hers and their power blending seamlessly. It felt invigorating, sensual, and intense. It scared him shitless.

He rolled to the side then felt her hand move away from his. As he pushed himself up to stand and wipe blood away from his mouth, thumbing his nose, he stared down to glance at her. Her smooth skin was now gone and she was back to what he always knew her as. The Medusa.

Her serrated tongue jetted out in constrained anxiousness. She pushed her razor braids out of her face in constrained frustration while looking around. He watched her hastily move to step back in order to look for anyone. When she saw none, she whirled around on him, her reptilian eyes narrowing at him.

“I told you. I'm on your side. I'm playing the game so this is not my fault! You all were supposed to get the warnings in time. Reina doesn't know she did it. We did it last night while she sleepwalked. Winter told me that she has been doing this for a while now since Winter and I woke up, so chill! I'm not the enemy, okay? I hate the Cursed as much as you and I meant my vow,”
was hissed in his mind.

Calvin's emerald eyes flashed in their brilliance. He snatched her wrist holding it tight before pausing.
“Hold up. How'd the fuck you get in my head like that? Huh?”

He was dumbfounded and blinded by fear he shouldn't have had. For the first time in his life, he felt afraid, afraid of himself and at the whispers, his heart was voicing. He knew now that they were mated as one. What they shared wasn't just a random lay. This was a marking. He had spiritually marked her and she him.

Exasperation had him clutching his head to look at her in disbelief with a loud, annoyed groan. “Ah fuck me!
Beaucoup crasseux!
”

“Exactly! Now you get it, so pay attention please, big daddy. I need to stay near my mistress and keep her protected. You all have no idea what she has done. I
. . .
you need to help her or she will be that soul forever loss because of you all, just like what happened to me!”
Nydia pleaded.

She stood to the side of his view, using darkness to hide her from the flood of demons who were taking over the hall.

He could feel that his words had hit her hard and his mind could only reflect on that scared little girl who was ripped from her safety. The same girl who was his Fatima and who was ripped away in the same way. The hairs on his body rose and he heard the familiar ticking of his eternal clock. Calvin's gaze searched around for his cousins, then back at Nydia. Sacrifice was what he did and he now knew it was time to do it again.

“I'll do whatever. Just don't play me dirty,” he quietly muttered with his eyes locked on her in reassurance then brief authority.

The look of love that flickered in her reptilian gave off a light brown cadence. She was beautiful perfection to him regardless of her exotic looks.

“Winter threw the fire. She used it as a cloaking for us all but as a means to keep the Cursed King clueless about what we are really going to do,”
the Medusa explained.

“And what are you really gonna do, shawty? Nydia?”
he apprehensively questioned.

The appreciation she gave him with just a look from her eyes made him harden in that moment. He threw his own caution to the wind and stepped forward to snatch her by the back of her neck cutting off her reply. He covered her mouth in a heated claiming that was long overdue. Immediately, he was rewarded with the feel of her body melting against him in that rough embrace. The toughness of her softened and her lush thigh wrapped around the hardness of his ass. Her nails scraped over his jacket and the moment their tongue touched, it was an explosion.

He saw her soul spark to life in a blue white flame that covered them both. Her panting became erratic. Her own fear made her push at him, but he continued needing to recall that taste. The taste of the woman he had lost centuries ago and he felt it, making him pull back in a throaty groan.

“We're finally getting our lives back. I'll play my part while trying to distract her but I need you to trust me okay?” Nydia whispered against his ear.

Calvin gave a slow nod. Both hands rested against her small waist, he exhaled low, “Fatima. I'll do whatever.”

“Then don't die on me.” The sound of his Glock going off near his head made him look over his shoulder. The slumped body of a watching Dark Warlock left a black-red streak on the wall behind them caused them to let each other go. She held his gun in her hands with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes.

“Don't harm my family, protect them as your own and I'll hold you down, a'ight, bay'bee?” Calvin demanded.

Her sudden laughter was like music to his ears. He hadn't heard it in a long time and it made him take her hand to study each elegant and lethal finger. Her skin was soft again, scales gone. Who stood in front of him was nothing but a human-looking woman before him. A woman with power like his own and she nodded her head in acceptance. Around her kohl-lined eyes lay the markings of her tribe. Markings he recalled labeled her as a Royal oracle of her tribe. The brow-lining dots kissed her temples then ran down the side of her neck disappearing under her halter top. The marital insignias, he now recalled were what was on his own body, lay in the same spot as his own, over her ribcage. All this time, she was in front of him. The Most High definitely didn't play. Maybe this meant a new change.

“I'll take whatever I can, Calvin. I intend to prove myself to you, I mean it. Follow me; the Mad King has a plan.”

Follow her he did. They moved toward the fight. His brothers and sisters were surrounding demons. He could see the Dark Lady enjoying herself, laughing while she flung Nephilim soldiers away from them like rag dolls. Bitch was still going to get hers, regardless of the fact that she was a sleeper spy. Everyone had to get his or her karma in order to get on the right track and he knew the Dark Lady's day was coming.

The body of a Dark Gargoyle flew over Nydia's head, causing her to hunker down into a sliding duck. Ricocheting of flying bullets soon followed after with that of a reloading of a gun near her head. To the right of her, she saw Calvin taking down several demons, their bodies lighting up with his Mystic currents then exploding into miasmic mist. The inky fluid of their tainted souls lifted into the air to seek out the pull of the Reaper while he landed blows against the Mad King's skull.

In front of the King's reaching hands was that of a handsome Nubian male. His salt-and-pepper locks swung in the air, matching the Reaper's. His brown skin lit up in a cascading copper glow. Mighty wings sliced forward to cut into the Mad King. That angry warrior immediately found his face held by her Master, then rammed against the force of the Mad King's knee. Nydia knew she was staring at an Original one, an actual Archangel.

The town hall shook from the battle by the three angels she was watching. Several Nephilim came jetting her way. Like it or not, she knew they had to die. She was still who she was and no matter who or what got in her way, she was going to end their life.

Blades slashed toward her. Their weakness was her strength. Quick jabs had her able to twist her attacker by his arm. A prick of her poison nails had him collapsing on the floor. She had to play as if they were dead. If one of the Light Nephilim played to rough then it was lights outs for them permanently, which happened to be case for the one approaching her from behind. Dropping into a backward cartwheel, she propelled herself over the Nephilim woman's shoulder. Her hands reached out to cradle the warrior's head and twist to snap her neck. Landing into a low crouch, she pushed her braids out of her face to see that they also had made their mark.

“You might want to get up and continue to play the game, Medusa,”
quickly jarred her thoughts.

A pair of icy blue eyes sourly stared down at her, making her ready to fight again, but the attack of another demon saved it for another day. She watched the man she knew as Nox casually walk past her to send his large fists into a demon's ribcage. She spun up quickly to tackle another warrior. She knew her Mistress might be calculating her every move, so she made sure it lined up with her being Cursed.

Winter came to her side in that moment. The Witch gave Nydia a quick nod then moved to fight with Lenox. One punch from his fist into her stomach sent the Witch flying backward, with him following after her. The way they fought had Nydia thinking of her and Calvin, causing her to inwardly laugh. Hastily moving, she scoped a large area to see she was no longer in the Town Hall meeting chambers. Standing in a large atrium, Calvin's shape drew her attention and had her following him. He kept glancing down at her watch, which made her question what was going on.

“Why do you keep looking at your watch, Calvin?”
she breathlessly asked into his mind.

“No reason, shawty, just my birthday is coming up soon. It's all good; handle your business and keep the demons from tracking me,”
she heard him reply before he disappeared behind a wall.

She ran, scaled a wall, and then brought blades down into a demon's back. Glancing behind her, she saw Reina pinned against a nearby wall by her brother. He whispered something to her that had the Princess screaming in a fit. Old instinct had her running to reach out to pull him off her.

She stood face to face with the Gray Prince. A sharp malicious edge of coldness caused her to shiver before she too was thrown backward against the wall. Her blades swiped at him to no avail. Blows she sent his way did nothing but hit solid muscle.

One comment from him had her staring in compliance before he eventually let her go:
“Nydia. Let me remind you of a little something,
mami.
As you are in my presence, you are still bound to me by the laws of lineage. As is my right as the still
-
living Prince of the Cursed, you are my pet as well. Don't worry about me killing my own sister. Apparently, it's not her time, so step back off me so I can help my family. Nod your head if you compute what I'm saying.”

She had no choice but to obey his command because he was right, but best believe she was going to show her ass. Once he let her go, she sent the flat of her boot into his back, heel connecting to the back of his head. He swiftly turned. His hand grabbed her ankle twisting it as he snarled. His once-hazel eyes were now swallowed by silvery gray. Where he touched, her ankle felt frost bitten in the moment.

“Tend to your mistress. You get one pass,
punta,
after which you will get no more from me.
¿Comprende?
You have to prove your trust with me. Now back off,”
he growled in her mind.

Frustrated, she threw her hands up then let him walk off. She noticed the Dark Lady sat stoic before coming back to her reality to address her by holding her hand out.

“I see the Oracle. Let's go,” Reina simply replied, all emotion disappearing from her gray eyes.

“As you wish, Mistress,” Nydia muttered.

Taking Reina's hand, thunder shook around them in that moment of standing. As both women moved to run over thrown pillars, dust clouded their vision and the Mad King was slammed into the Council's stand. Laughter bubbled from within her, causing her to notice her Mistress's own glee. Sharply turning left, a large Dragon paw landed in front of them.

Ahead of them, Nydia saw Calvin snatch the Oracle down a passage. Cherry blossom tattooed skin drew her attention, then Nydia pulled back to cover Reina from Dragon flames. The one named Kyo blocked their way but Reina was too swift for both Nydia and Kyo. Inwardly cursing, she saw Reina slip pass, snatch at the back of the Oracle's head then disappear.

“Let me pass!” Nydia screamed at Kyo.

Anger blazed in the Dragon's mismatched eyes, but her dedication was to her own best friend. After a moment's pause, frustration caused the Dragon to return to her human state then let Nydia pass. The both of them ran through a dark passage that turned out to be a subway passage.

Lights from a CTA train whipped by. Its loud screeching had Nydia pressed against a wall. Darkness caused Nydia to adjust her vision. Before her, an Elder woman with red locks twirled a staff in her hand, taking down a Dark Warlock who could have been Trinidad James's twin.

Her staff lit up in the same color of her golden eyes, covering the whole tunnel area with her power. The moment her staff touched the railway, electricity washed through, to cleanse the tunnel way from demons. Pushing her burgundy locks out of her eyes, the Eldress noticed Nydia. Another elder woman in a cream pencil shirt with a short bob held a gun in her hand. Two bullets whizzed past Nydia to take out demons behind her.

Nydia sharply turned in shock, staring back into the mismatched eyes of the Oracle's Protector. “If you're going to be a part of this team, then you need to act like it. We all are letting you pass to handle your Mistress. Keep her from my sis, and we'll keep your back clear.”

Respect flickered in Nydia's gaze before she took her window of chance to pass through the tunnel.

The sound of screams rent the air leading them on. Several Nephilim warriors fought off Reina, but Reina was too slick for their advances. Chains from her wrist bracelets wrapped around the necks of Nephilim warriors, decapitating them instantly. Their blood covered her bare hands, which she licked clean in satisfaction. The Oracle stopped her running to watch in anger. Invisible hands held Nydia back into the shadows, giving her no choice but to watch what was about to go down.

She watched the Oracle pull her hair back into a wild bun. Her hands opened then closed into twin fists before she stepped forward to handle business.

“I'm about sick of you coming at me as if you think I won't fight you. You might be insane but you are not crazy. I mean clearly you don't have any sense, but what you need to start understanding is that, one, you are lucky that I am being ordained to protect you. Second, that does not mean that you are not about to get an old-fashioned STL arse whooping, Reina. I know you dreamt about it,” the Oracle spat out.

Sanna rushed forward, sending her Nike-covered feet toward Reina's stomach. Reina instantly grabbed the Oracle's ankle, twisting it then lifting her own leg up to kick the woman's waist causing her stumble backward. Nydia watched Sanna glance around as if searching for something to hit Reina with. She dropped down then picked up a broken metal silver rod that lay on a boulder at her feet. Once the rod was in her hands, the Oracle stepped back waiting, twirling it between her fingers, her honey eyes narrowing waiting on Reina's next move.

The sudden bristling feel of power sizzled in the train tunnels. Its intensity caused the hairs on every woman's arms to stand on end. Nydia's own nipples hardened and her breath came out in spurts from the thickness in the air.

In that moment, Sanna turned then lifted a hand in the air. The Witch fire that flew at her was instantly caught in her hand as if it were a baseball. Inky sparks of electricity tried to latch around her hand. Nydia was familiar with how a witch current felt. Its charge was always mucky with a slimy, watery feel. Quickly squeezing it, Sanna seemed to cleanse that sooty fireball then threw it hard, back toward its Warlock owner.

Nydia's head whipped around to see where it hit. She observed a male, with sandy brown locks, wearing a jean jacket with a hoodie attached to it, try to duck out of its way unsuccessfully. The sound of a prayer flowed around them. Reina closed her ears. She screamed aloud. The Oracle pointed at the Warlock and ripped his sins out. Nydia watched him fall to his knees, head back, mouth wide, screams rending the tunnel. Each sin wrapped around the Oracle's hand before she let go and let them flow like ash in the wind.

A rumbling sounded around them before the bulking forms of the Reaper, the Archangel, and the Mad King came tumbling down into the tunnels. Other Nephilim Elders, dressed in different-colored robes that she knew represented the regions they came from, flanked behind the battling warriors. Cement cracked, and then groaned to open up in a massive dark hole. The earth spit up more demons to fill the tunnel then attack. Metal sword hitting metal pipes clanged. Then Nydia felt herself suddenly released. She saw Reina take that chance to attack the Oracle. Nails slashed at the Oracle's face. The Oracle ducked, kicked, and then sent her pipe against Reina's head.

Running forward, Nydia saw Reina crumbled on the ground before she flung herself up with supernatural force then lunged toward the Oracle. Both women fell backward in the blow. Reina pinned the Oracle down then reared back bearing her fangs to bite down on the Oracle's neck. A sickening scream instantly echoed in the tunnel.

Screeching of another CTA train zoomed back drowning it out. Shock paralyzed Nydia in that same moment. Kyo, in her partial Dragon form, flew in the air. Her nails lashed down Reina's back slicing her open but Reina's power flung the demon backward. Nydia tried to step forward, but it was the Oracle's own power that sent Reina screaming backward into the Mad King himself.

Reina erratically shrieked, “What did you do to me!” repeatedly.

The Mad King turned his attention to the Oracle walking her way, but it was Calvin who stood in the way. Several rounds from a gun went off from Calvin's Glock. Kyo slammed her body into the Mad King. A male dragon, one Nydia remembered to be Ryo, covered Khamun as they both laid in on the Mad King. Blades pierced him but didn't stop him as he flung everyone out of the way but Calvin.

Nydia felt her stomach drop, in that moment. She saw the Oracle stand, eyes wide in power. Charges of light flung past Calvin's shoulders to send the Mad King into another tunnel. Calvin turned his gun on Reina blocking the Oracle, but it was too late.

Nydia watched them both go head to head. She yelled into Calvin's mind to stop but he would not listen. Her own false attempts at fighting him resulted in only fueling his anger. Nydia saw Reina snatch at him to disrespect him at every chance she could get before it was too late. A scream ripped from Nydia's throat as she flew forward. “Nooo!”

Then the sound of hissing bullets hitting flesh burned her ears before silence filled the tunnels with that of an eerie chiming of an old grandfather clock. Ding. Ding. Bam!

The sound of a clock signaling midnight mirrored the end of his Light. The feel of the bullet that pierced his lung didn't hurt so bad. What hurt was the feel of the woman he had just gained back in this lifetime lying in a slump over his body. The scent of her sweet smell with a hint of that Cursed taint in her system made him cough up blood in anger. He had succeeded in protecting his family but failed in protecting his heart again.

This wasn't fair. This wasn't life.

Razor-inlaid braids fell around his face. The feel of a delicate hand in his own made him grunt in trying to stay alive but the slowing beat of his heart muttered that this was the end. Iridescent light washed over his senses making him look up at the ceiling. He prayed his family survived this battle because he knew now that since his love was Cursed her soul would never be with his own.

He lay gasping for breath, his 'Nam dog tags pressed into his face. Calvin's mind shifted into rewind.

He had stepped into the line of death to protect his cousin Sanna who stood with demon ash raining around her from just her touch. He had seen Reina commit the ultimate sin of feeding from his loved one. He knew he had promised Nydia that he would protect her but the moment she laid hands on his fam he was done. That promise was instantly broken and he was not about to let that bitch kill his blood. He knew he had to get to her by any means necessary. The sound of Reina's wails intensified around him. Nephilim logic let him know it had to be due to her feeling the effects of San's blood in her system.