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We finally landed in Asos. Luthigo stood by my side with his hollow steel-framed tablet, Casteel stood in the back, he hadn’t spoken a word to me this morning, and I was happy to keep it that way, for the time being, we had a problem to discuss—my dragon markings..., and if Casteel couldn’t be trusted, then Luthigo was right, we would have to put him down, but I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.
The creative way of disappearing Luthigo had talked about, had my imagination on overload, would we have to hack him into pieces, then spread him around the universe? I had seen the way Casteel had healed. To do that, we’d need some kind of guillotine to take him apart quick enough. I wasn’t sure if I had the stomach to hold pieces of Casteel in my hands. I may not like the man, but I didn’t hate him. I shook my head, trying to shake the image.
The steel doors whooshed open on the ship as metal stairs formed, making their way down to the red grassy field. The smell of rain-kissed earth filled my senses. We were in a field with winding black trees and red grass. The damp dew from the morning still lingered on the blades of grass. Two dim suns shone from above, not nearly as bright as the one on earth. I thought this place would be intergalactic spaceships and buildings with flying cars and unique inventions. Instead, it was a barren farm devoid of life with the colors all wrong.
“They live here?” my breath was visible in the chilly air as I ran my hands up my arms rubbing my jumper; if it was this cold with the suns up, I didn’t want to be here when night fell.
“Katar lives here; this is her family’s acreage.”
I looked at the large wooden cabin in the distance; this was not what I was expecting at all.
“So, what is the plan?” Casteel’s voice picked up from behind us.
“We’re going to see if Katar is home and try this the easy way... there are not many places she could run living this far inland.” Luthigo’s eyes narrowed as he looked around the field, scanning the black winding trees in the distance.
I followed behind Casteel and Luthigo. I was far too fascinated with the grass as it crunched under my tan boots. It felt like I was stepping on sticks or thin pieces of plastic; the residue it left on my boots reminded me of blood. I stretched my finger out to the red sticky residue on my boots.
“I wouldn’t do that....” Casteel’s eyes looked onto my finger above my boot.
“Why not?” I stood back up normally.
“Because the grass is highly acidic, this is a chemical farm.” He gestured to the large clearing of red grass with his hands. “Dangerous for you, not so much for us.” Casteel’s eyes lingered on my fingers.
“Thanks,” I muttered with a small smile, maybe I was right, and we wouldn’t have to kill him. “A chemical farm?” I questioned as I continued to follow after Luthigo.
“It’s medicine for the people of Asos, poison for the people of earth... and since you are of an unknown origin, best to be safe.” Casteel’s smug smile filled his lips as he came to stride next to me.
“Good thinking.” I nodded.
We climbed the rickety steps as Luthigo finally stopped looking at the tablet, the veranda creaked with each step of our boots, and Luthigo’s heavy fist pounded three times on the black wooden door.
The heavy door creaked open as an almost lyrical voice called.
“One moment.” Before long, the three-eyed woman that matched the voice appeared before us. “Can I help you?” her long black raven hair hung to her hips as if plastered down with mousse, or perhaps it was clumped together as if her hairs were only one big hair. Whatever it was, it perplexed me as I stared, trying to figure it out.
“Katar, we are here on behalf of Lucifer; you have not paid your debt.” Luthigo’s tone was sinister as fear broke out around all three of her eyes, the skin crinkling beneath them.
“I was just about to actually; you see, my sister and I have just got the child now and...” Katar’s nose crinkled as her eyes darted back and forth to the three of us.
“It’s too late,” Luthigo cut her off in mid-sentence.
“Child?” I looked to Casteel in shock.
Casteel shook his head with a smile. “Lucifer always makes ridiculous deals with mortals; he probably decided the child had to be born with one eye. Sometimes he knows the deals will never be fulfilled.”
Katar went for something beside the door, the movement subtle, and then time stopped. Katar was frozen in place as Luthigo pushed the door open with ease, pulling out magnetic disc cuffs from his back pocket.
“I forgot you could do this, Luthigo,” Casteel’s voice vibrated with amusement. “The fun I would have....”
“Shut it,” Luthigo growled, placing the fluorescent white cuffs on Katar’s stiff body. He pulled out a square sticker and smacked it down on Katar’s neck, an energy blocker. I knew exactly what that was, and I wasn’t a fan; I hadn’t seen one of them since king Kronos; it would stop whatever abilities she had from working. I remembered the nasty shock I got when I tried to pull mine off; my hand instinctively went to my neck to rub when time started again.
“Now, you’re going to tell me where Ceilo is, aren’t you, Katar?” Luthigo’s tone held the promising threat of pain if she didn’t oblige.
Katar looked down at the discs on her wrist, and her eyes widened in panic as she closed her eyes, squinting.
“Your abilities won’t work, so don’t bother,” Casteel’s voice chimed in humor.
Luthigo pushed his way into Katar’s home, dragging her behind him by the arm. The place was nice, had a real cottage feel as weird pastel flowers and old pictures hung from the walls, Katar’s family, I assumed, inspecting the pictures. The pictures seemed to move when you looked at them from different angles as if capturing the moment for a few seconds.
I wonder what Katar had wanted so badly that it made her make a deal with Lucifer. Why would she jeopardize this warm family in the pictures? I looked at the two sisters in the photograph, their smiles contagious.
I followed behind the men as they dragged Katar to the dining room. The old rickety wood creaked under each step of our boots as Luthigo pushed her down in a chair. The white paint faded on their dining room table and chairs letting a glimpse of the black wood through to the surface. This woman didn’t seem that well off; what had she gotten in this deal?
‘Where is Ceilo?” Luthigo’s black eyes narrowed as he stood over the woman in the chair.
“She’s in Umina...” a sob escaped Katar’s lips. “I haven’t seen her in years-s.”
“Really?” Luthigo’s tone lingered with sarcasm as he pulled up a chair. “The registry has her living quarters, and do you know what they say?” his voice basically hummed with anticipation at her answer.
“No-o-o,” Katar sobbed heavily as if she knew exactly what they would say.
“Oh, I think you do....” Luthigo smiled, and it was a horrifying sight to watch. There was no light in that smile, only darkness.
I didn’t want to watch the poor woman get interrogated anymore—that was enough. I pulled up a chair next to Luthigo and decided to make this quicker for all of us. “So Ceilo lives here?” I questioned in Luthigo’s direction.
Luthigo’s black eyes looked at me as if just remembering I was still here. “Yes,” he cleared his throat.
“So, we wait then?” I looked at Katar as she placed her head in her hands and sobbed; it was a perplexing sight watching tears form from three eyes, her elegant long fingers stretching into her clumped hair.
Luthigo nodded as he removed himself from the table, the look he gave Katar was not exactly pleasant. I couldn’t blame him; this woman had been willing to bargain with a child’s life.
Casteel lifted his eyebrows. “How long are we meant to wait?” his fingers drifted over a photo frame on the wall, he flicked it off, and it came shattering against the floor.
“Until she’s here!” Luthigo snapped.
I watched as Casteel mocked Luthigo’s words while his back was turned. I shook my head. No wonder Luthigo didn’t mind disappearing him. I followed after Luthigo as he walked through the house; he wasn’t exactly himself today. He seemed off, and I didn’t know why.
“Are you ok?” I queried with a soft voice against the door jam.
Luthigo sat on a small single bed that was decorated in floral patterns; his eyes seemed lost as he stared at me, but then his familiar mask fell into place.
In an instant, he had his body flush against mine; I was pinned to the wall with his cheek brushed against my own. He inhaled my scent, his breath playing on my neck, every hair on my body stood to attention, the way his tongue had felt against my skin played through my mind.
“I seem to be feeling extremely intense when it comes to emotions... and do you know what I feel when it comes to you...?”
I swallowed my heartbeat that seemed to get lodged in my throat. “No,” but I thought I had an idea, and where it was going was not a good place; as much as I wanted it, I knew I couldn’t let him in. I couldn’t let anyone in after what had happened with Nathanial. Letting people in made you vulnerable in the worst kind of way.
“I feel hungry....”
My body begged for me to oblige. Luthigo’s power rippled against every nerve ending, every fiber of my being, calling to me.
“Hungry in more ways than one....” Luthigo’s words slid along my neck like silk, promising pleasure in sweet nothings.
“Do you think...” I swallowed deeply, trying to get saliva in my mouth. “That it’s because you double dosed on the blood...?”
Luthigo’s hand moved to my hip as his body pinned mine, and God willing, I didn’t tell him to move. I know I should, but the temptation, I was teetering on the edge of what-ifs, and it left me breathless and eager to drown.
Luthigo’s lips lingered above mine. I could feel each breath tingle on my lips in wanting. “Perhaps...” Luthigo’s other hand slid behind my neck, holding me in place. “Or perhaps I’m sick of waiting for permission.”
Luthigo’s lips crashed against mine, and a surge so powerful vibrated through me, his kiss possessive and rough, claiming my very soul with his firm lips, staking his claim to what he wanted. His tongue moved with heated precision as it danced with mine, his fangs elongating through the kiss, the kiss I was drowning in, the kiss that made me realize I had never truly been kissed. How could I have gone my whole life not feeling this power, this energy that vibrated with every fiber of my body?
Luthigo’s hand clamped down on my hip as he groaned into my mouth, the sounds eliciting wicked things to stir below, to crave for more. My heartbeat raced. I clenched my thighs together as Luthigo ground his lower body into mine, his eagerness noticeable through the bulge I felt against my stomach.
“GUYS!! We’ve got company!” Casteel’s voice came out as a panicked yell from the cottage.
A rumble thundered through the walls from outside, and Luthigo was gone in an instant. My head was dazed from the power of Luthigo’s kiss as I struggled to piece together where I was and what I was doing. All my blood had seemed to pool at one organ. I brought my fingers up to my swollen lips with a smile. I shook my head, trying to snap out of it, it had just been lust, and it wasn’t anything special; I didn’t need to start thinking it meant anything when it didn’t, but that power, that energy that had coursed through my veins with that kiss, I shook my head again, I needed to move.
I ran to the room Katar had been in and found no one, the chair she had been sitting in upside down, and the photos along the wall scattered along the ground. I followed the sound of a scream through the front door to the porch and saw Casteel in his wolf form, holding Katar’s cuffed arm in his jaws.
Luthigo had another woman with a similar appearance in cuffs on the ground. He hoisted her up as if she was as light as paper and started marching towards the ship. Casteel dragged Katar in his jaws along the ground, following in suit; he was almost as big as a bear, his coat the color of sunshine; I watched as his tail wagged. The sticky red grass clung to Katar’s clothes. A whimpered cry came from her lips; she was clearly in a lot of pain. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the women currently on their way to being locked up.
Luthigo locked the women up below the ship’s decks. There were tiny little jail cells all lined up in a row. It didn’t feel right to be doing this, to be causing these women pain. An unsettling feeling made its way to my stomach as I lounged on the cream leather couch in the common area. Casteel sat opposite me with his arm stretched along the back of the cushions, totally at ease.
“Do you know what those women had done?” I stared at Casteel’s bright green eyes. “The deal they had made with Lucifer?” I couldn’t seem to shake the uneasiness from my stomach.
“It’s not for us to know.” Casteel’s face scrunched up. “But they had promised him a child in return. I think that says enough.”
I tried to squelch the unease I felt in my gut with his words; they had promised a child to Lucifer. Their offering should say enough about the women, but still, the feeling refused to subside; I shook my head.
Before long, we all sat around the white dining room table, the green walls making the space seem smaller. I stabbed at the roasted carrots bringing them to my mouth; everything seemed bland that popped out from the table; it clearly had no idea about seasonings.
“Tomorrow, we land in Adamsale.” Luthigo’s black eyes took me in from across the table; we hadn’t spoken since the kiss, he had been elsewhere studying our next destination, but the way his eyes seemed to drink me in, he hadn’t forgotten about the kiss, about the power that tingled over our flesh. I picked at the sweet potato with my fork, smooshing it around while trying not to think about Luthigo’s lips on mine.
“I hate Adamsale.” Casteel stabbed into the roasted beef on his plate. “Mermaids scare the shit out of me.”
“Mermaids?” I looked in shock. “Did you seriously just say mermaids?” I looked at Luthigo in shock; there was no way I had heard right, was everything in folklore real, all those rumors whispered for hundreds of years by people on earth, it couldn’t be.
“They are horrifying creatures.” Luthigo raised his brows as he bought a fork to his mouth.
“It’s a terrifying place,” Casteel chimed, lifting his glass. “There are men who land dwell, and then there are the women who are mermaids; their mating is barbaric....” Casteel sipped his cinnamon liquor. “Why does all the food from this darn table taste like I’m eating wet paper?”
I tried to hide the smirk on my lips. I couldn’t help but agree with Casteel on that one.
“They’re succubus, my sweet; they lure the men to their deaths in the sea, but not before mating with them as they drown....” Luthigo smirked, slightly amused by the horror. “Boy babes get pushed to the sandy islands, and the females become monsters just like their mothers, then the cycle repeats....”
My mind was utterly blown as I struggled to take in the information—that was crazy and super primitive. Earth’s customs didn’t seem so bad now that I was looking at it from this angle. How chaotic would the human species be if it was divided by gender? “But what would a succubus want with Lucifer if they’re nothing but primitive monsters?”
“I wouldn’t say primitive, my sweet... the customs are simply different, and there will always be those that crave more, want more,” Luthigo’s voice caressed my skin as goose pimples formed. “You would do well to remember that in the future.”
I looked down at my plate; I had been blinded by Nathanial’s motives. I stubbed a chunk of meat, everybody always wanted something in return for something, Luthigo craved my power, the way our energy danced with one another complementing each other, he had told me when he was training me long ago, I knew that, and I knew that it felt amazing when we had kissed, so much power running through such tiny circuits. I had felt nearly invincible, and that was a daunting thought, a dangerous thought.
I ran the bubble bath jacuzzi pouring in a bottle of jasmine-scented lotion. I needed some time to think alone, and what better way to do it than in the water, enjoy the little things. I sank myself down into the warm bubbly bliss, letting my mind run free; it replayed Luthigo’s firm lips claiming mine, the way his tongue had delicately danced, the rush of power that tingled over my skin with his touch, a near moan escaped my lips as I drifted my hand between my legs, I heard my bedroom door open, I snapped my head to my open bathroom door.
“Get out!” I scowled.
Casteel’s green eyes came into view as a growl came from my lips, my body was covered from the breasts down by the bubbles, but it didn’t mean I wanted him in my space. “What do you want, Casteel? Why are you barging into my room?” I cocked my eyebrows up at his stupid sharp-toothed grin.
“I just wanted to chat.” Casteel raised his hands, showing he meant no harm. “About your dragon markings.”
I narrowed my eyes; I had wanted this little chat to have Luthigo present. I didn’t want to have to convince Luthigo not to rip Casteel’s throat out, and I wasn’t sure my word would be enough. “Go on.”
Casteel sank to the tiled floor as he leaned against the sink. “I just want you to know that you have my vow of silence... I won’t say a word to Lucifer or anyone else.”
“And why would you do that?” my voice was curious as I ran my fingers back in forth through the bubbles. “Why would you lie to your master?” this had been precisely what I was hoping to hear, but Luthigo’s words echoed in the back of my head; everybody always had a motive for something.
“Because Luthigo is a brother, more than Lucifer is a master.” Casteel’s words caught me off guard; I thought Luthigo and Casteel borderline hated each other. “All of us dark lords fought side by side under Lucifer, and no matter how much Luthigo may act like he hates me,” Casteel’s green eyes pierced into mine. “There is still love underneath.”
I seriously doubt Luthigo felt the same way. I could never picture Luthigo loving anything other than himself. Hell, the most Luthigo had ever comforted me had been an awkward pat on the back as I had cried through my PTSD about Nathanial, and that was a huge deal.
“Luthigo may act cold,” Casteel’s fingers ran across the grout on the tiled floor. “But it is only because he has lost so much, and he knows firsthand what you love becomes your biggest weakness to your enemy.” Casteel’s head cocked to the side. “You mean something to Luthigo; I have seen it in his eyes, so you mean something to me, Elisse.” A soft smile graced his lips.
I didn’t know what to say, or even if I could believe anything he had said. I turned my whole body to Casteel, but he hopped up and exited the room shutting the door behind him; that had been unexpected. I knew I meant something to Luthigo, I was a power board to him and him to me, but that was it.