Soul Mate (The Mating Series) (43 page)

“What are you?”

“Ah, you’re getting it. You have to ask the right questions to get the right answers.”

“Are you the devil?” I asked.

Z laughed heartily. “No,” he said.

“Are you a demon?”

“I am the one they call
Many
, I am seven, I am the most powerful of Lucifer’s soldiers.” Z’s eyes twinkled, proud of his reputation. “Truth is I get a bad rap.”

“Really?” I mocked. “Killing my boyfriend and kidnapping sounds perfectly benign to me.”

“I didn’t kill your boyfriend,” Z laughed. “Jimmy’s fine, he has nothing more than flesh wounds.” He took a bite of steak, it was bloody. It reminded me of the steak Cho fed to me. “I like Jimmy Kim; I’ve known him his whole life. He’s a bit of a pussy, but a nice boy.” I remembered Jimmy bringing a demon back from the Akasha. Z was that demon. It all made sense. “Jimmy’s brother, he’s someone I could do business with. The wrong guy got all the power. Isn’t that how it works?”

“Both brothers are good men. They wouldn’t deal with the likes of you.” I fumed.
I cared about both brothers.  I would not allow that demon-thing to bad mouth them. “I thought you were banished from Jimmy’s life.”

“Oh, that woman.
Park Min, tried to have me banished, but I’m too strong for that,” Z said. “Park Min is quite a woman. I wish I would have had this opportunity during her child bearing years. Would have made me quite the powerful son.” Z shook his head at the lost chance to have Park Min.

“Is that what this is about? You want me to have the antichrist
?”

“You amuse me
,” Z said. “Not the antichrist, well I guess he could be the antichrist. I want a child to usurp the dark lord’s throne.” Z waved his hands dramatically. “I want my offspring in power. Naturally, I’ll educate the child on how to rule the dark realm.”

“The prophecy said that the child would be born from a whore,
whom I am not, and fathered, by an inferior race.”

“
People are always interpreting ethereal prophecies wrong. It’s advantageous for me that they do.” Z looked at me. “You’re not pure, am I right?”

“That doesn’t make me a whore.” Z wasn’t winning points with me.

“Technicality,” Z said, licking the blood from his steak. “What other race is more inferior to the demon race? Humans are so conceited. They think they’re the only race in the universe.”

“What about the Holy Covenant of the
Apostle Church?” I asked. “How do they fit into all of this?”

“
Billy was one of my followers once. He had a thing for killing whores way before he met me. He tried to kill a woman once. She lived, but was mutilated. I think you know her,” Z said.
Nessie!
Skinner messed up Nessie’s face and eye. “Billy thought God would save him, but it was too late for him. However, it worked perfectly for me. I put the prophecy in his head and let him lead the church to the rest,” Z said.

“
All of this was planned?” I asked.

“Most of it was planned.” Z admitted. “I sent those visions to Jimmy wh
ich put the plan in motion. He’s so predictable. Then your boss came back and almost ruined everything. She knew Billy, and suspected him. When she requested his employment records, I had to get rid of her. I had to keep the plan in motion. I couldn’t let Billy go down for the murders until I wanted it to happen.”

“You killed Mary!” I cried.

“I didn’t. My security team did. They put that file in your office. We didn’t want it to fall in the wrong hands.” Z gave me a knowing smile.

“Then why did you trash my place looking for it?”
I asked. “Why did you put the note on my door?”

“We didn’t do that. Billy knew that Mary Lazarus was on to him too. He
was at Mary House after Mary’s death…after the police arrested Jimmy. He found the e-mail. In order to blame Jimmy for the murders, but Billy had to get rid of Mary’s e-mail and file.” Z took another bite of steak. “We didn’t expect you to get ban from your office. You were supposed to find the file right away. When that didn’t happen we put the note on your door to connect the church.”

“
It seems more like chance than a plan,” I said. He couldn’t have anticipated all of the events leading up to my capture. There were too many variables even to anticipate.

“I didn’t plan all of it. Some of the events were coincidences that worked in my favor.
Billy was the original scapegoat, but when Jimmy was accused it worked better. His house arrest gave us access to you.” Z pointed at me. “You, however, were not part of the original plan, but when I discovered you, it was fate.”

“
What do you mean?” I asked. Cho was right, not about Jimmy, but about me falling on their radar.

“I
needed a specific woman, one who had all of your traits. I, also, assumed it was a woman of the night. I sent the vision to Jimmy because I thought he could find the red head before Billy.” Z wanted Skye, not me. “Billy jumped the gun and killed her before my team could intervene. When I found out about you, I was ecstatic. You’re a better candidate. Actually you’re a perfect candidate. You’re connected to the Akasha. You can see the dead.” Z wagged his finger. “I bet you have more abilities than you’re not aware of.”

“I don’t have any abilities.”

Z absently stroked his beard. “I don’t know why I hadn’t seen you before. Jimmy kept you from me. The moment you made love with him, I saw you. It was a mistake on his part, to sleep with you.”

“He saw you that night didn’t he?” I asked.

“He did,” Z said. “I was in your room and Jimmy saw me. He thought I was after him, not you. Jimmy has always under estimated me.” That’s why Jimmy left that night. He saw Z. He wanted to protect me from the monster. If he told me the truth, I wouldn’t have believed him. I doubt I could have fathomed demons then. I had trouble trying to understand it all now. “Your food is getting cold and I need you to be strong.”

“
You’ve had plenty of opportunities to take me,” I said. “Why have you played this ridiculous game for so long?” I had no intentions of being impregnated with a demon seed, but the more I knew about him and his plans, the better off I’d be.

“Cassie, something like this needs the perfect opportunity”
Z took my hand.

I pulled away.
“I can think of plenty of opportunities, that wouldn’t have involved Jimmy being hurt?” I thought of the last time I saw Jimmy lying on the floor bleeding. Why couldn’t Z take me without hurting the man I loved?

“First, I had to
be positive you were the right woman. I watched you for days in your apartment. Jimmy left that night, but I didn’t.” Z paced as he ticked off the reasons. “Then I needed the opportunity to take you. We planned to take you the day that Trisha set up the detention system.”

“Why didn’t you?” I asked.

“Trisha got cold feet, but she gained trust on that visit.”

“Why?” I asked. What caused her to chicken out? She flirted enough on that visit.

“Cho intimidated Trisha. He’s intimidating for a human.” Trisha could be around Z, the monster, but feared Cho.
Ha!
“I’d love to get my hands on Cho; he’d make a great addition to my team.” Cho would never cavort with a demon…
would he
? Cho bent the rules, but wouldn’t deal with the likes of Z. “Trisha tried another time when you were alone, but that cop foiled the plan, and Cho kept her from getting you in the garage.” Z took a drink from the water bottle on the table. He acted like we were on a date. “After the garage incident, we pulled back and waited. That’s when you finally began associate Billy with the murders. I’m glad because my time in this body is limited. Fortunately, I didn’t have to find another body.”

“Time in that body?” I asked.

“Do you think this is my true form?” Z asked. “I had to inhabit a body. It had to be a male body with gifts. I tried to find one, I thought would please you.” Z flourished his hand. “If it was easy, I would have taken Jimmy or his brother’s body
over. That would have saved a lot of time and effort, but they’re both strong. I couldn’t get in. I almost got in Cho momentarily, but Jimmy stopped it. If I would have had another second longer, I could have taken a strong hold in Cho.” I thought about Cho pinning me against the wall on Sunday. He didn’t seem himself; he seemed beastly.  I felt something else too. “Yes, that was me,” Z said. “You liked playing with me. It turned you on.” I flushed.

I stood up from the table.
“I won’t have sex with you,” I said. Z revolted me.

“You will.” Z countered. “Ei
ther willingly or forced. I’d prefer willing.”

Z caught me in his arms
, and threw me on the bed. I fought him. “Calm down. It’s not going to happen tonight.” His strength was inhuman. “You’re not fertile, but you have to take the pills. It will stimulate ovulation.”

“
I’m not taking the drugs.”

“I have a team of medical professionals here. They will sedate you and administer the drugs intravenously until
you’re ready for me,” Z said. “It is so easy to spawn offspring in this modern world. I can keep you asleep the entire time, and return you with no memory of me. You’ll think your precious Jimmy fathered the child. The two of you will raise it for me, until the time is right.”

I considered this option. I had no hope of stopping
the inevitable. It would be better to forget. I thought about the movie, The Omen. I didn’t want some kind of Damien child. I wouldn’t to do that to Jimmy either. I couldn’t imagine us having this evil being as our child. Jimmy would blame himself. He would be convinced that he created the little monster. “I’d rather you share this with me. I can give you, and my child, the world. All of your wants and desires, I’ll fulfill.” Z whispered in my ear. “Just agree to my terms.”

I stammered.
“What are your terms?”

Z’s body
burned against mine. “First, you’ll stay here with my followers until my child arrives. When my child is born you’ll love it and care for it like any other mother.” I didn’t have any other choice. “You’ll never see Jimmy Kim or anyone in his family again.” It hurt to be cut off from Jimmy. I began to weep quietly. “You’re not going to want him when you see all that I’ll provide.”

“What else?” I asked
between sobs.

“You’
ll not try to harm my child before or after it’s born. When I’m ready, you’ll relinquish the child to me.” I wanted to fight all of it, but I didn’t want the alternative for Jimmy. It wasn’t worth deceiving him, intentionally or unintentionally. “Oh, and to make sure you won’t change your mind later, your mother will be banished to the dark realm until I have my child.”

“No!” I cried.

“I need collateral,” Z said. “I could take Jimmy instead.” I began to sob harder. “I could be persuaded not to take either.” Z reached under the night gown.

I stiffened at his touch.
His hand felt hot and frightening on my skin. “I’m not fertile,” I said.

“Ah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t practice.” Z hissed in my ear. “It’s been lifetimes since I enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh.” Z pu
lled the nightgown over my head.

“Please don’t!” I cried. He kissed me on the mout
h. His tongue tasted like brimstone.

“I’ve watched you through the ethereal veil night after night, allowing Jimmy to touch you
,” Z said. “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to touch you too.”

Z kissed my bre
asts. He’d opened his pants. His penis scorched like a hot poker against my leg. I couldn’t allow it. I needed time to think. I couldn’t let that thing violate me. I shot up and pushed Z off. It caught him off guard and he fell onto the bed. He began laughing. “I like it rough.”

I held my hand up to stop him.
“I’ll agree to all of your terms,” I said. Z smiled. “On one condition...”

“Name it.” Z fondled hims
elf. He reminded me of an ape I once saw at the zoo.

“You will not touch me until it is time to inseminate me
,” I said.

“Will you allow me to have you at any time I want after I put my seed in you?”

“What do you mean anytime?” I asked.
Wasn’t putting his seed in me enough?

“During your pregna
ncy and after my child is born, when I take human form. Can I always have my way with you?”

“Yes
,” I said. “I’m yours, but not until I’m ready to bare a child.”

“Very well
,” Z said. He continued to masturbate until he spewed sperm all over the bed. It disgusted me. Steam rose up from the wet spot. I shivered at the thought of that inside me. I swallowed back vomit.

Z rolled off
the bed and kissed me on the mouth again.
Ack!
“I’ll bid you farewell, my wife.”

“
I’m not your wife.”

“You will be in approximately forty-eight hours.”

“Forty-eight hours?” I was at least two weeks away from ovulating.
There’s no way, even with drugs; I’d be ready in two days
.