Ganesha (Gods):
Our faction was hit as well, but no deaths.
At least two are in stasis.
Valen (Elves):
We have one in critical condition, and another dead.
Bram (Vampires):
3 vamps dead. Heads and hearts taken.
Me:
Fuck. Has anyone checked on the Demon Faction? I know Pan doesn’t like phones.
Gabe (Angels):
I’ll check in with them.
I asked everyone to meet me in an hour in the situation room, then moved quickly to check on the remainder of the people who were here at HQ. Extending my shadows out onto the rest of the floor, I asked them to search for any other threats and to check for anyone who didn’t belong here. I ushered Aibell and Ionia to check on the wards again and to gather a security team to investigate the red cap’s murder. I sent any healer available to find anyone who may be injured, and I clenched down on my power hard. My death magic was screaming at me to release it, and for the first time in years, I wanted to let it do its thing.
I walked into my office, grabbing a steel katana and a couple modified guns with both silver- and iron-tipped bullets, and quickly donned them over my leathers I’d changed into. As I was about to leave my office, I inventoried the magical objects. My heart dropped out of my ass. Missing was one of the most destructive weapons in my arsenal: Pandora’s Box. It wasn’t likewhat most of Earth’s tales believed it to be. Pandora’s Box was an artifact that could create or destroy worlds, yes, but it held the biggest secret in existence—one I was sworn to protect with my life.
How the fuck did anyone get past my glamour, or even into my office? I had the heaviest wards in the universes because of the objects at my disposal. I should have been made aware the moment anyone stepped foot in here, and even then, no one was powerful enough to get past my glamour magic. To the best of my knowledge, only my assistants and I even knew what was housed here, and I trusted them with my life. I didn’t want to question them, but I’d have to.
I needed to get the fuck out of here before my death magic took hold. I was about to take down this whole building in my rage.
I took several calming breaths, but they didn’t do much for me. My heart was pounding in my face, and it matched the fury boiling through my system. I needed to find the Box, figure out who murdered one of my red caps, and figure out who was able to get past every single ward in this building without any of us knowing. The problem was, I hadn’t the faintest clue where to even fucking start, and my emotions were heightened tenfold. Overwhelmed with everything, I sat down on the floor hard. I needed to take a minute to ground myself before my powers took out everyone in this building.
Annoyed at myself—at the situation I didn’t have any control over—I stormed out of the office and forced my way toward the elevators, teeth clenched and body tense like a live wire. I thought I had gotten control over my anger issues over the years through lots of therapy, but that fiery Unseelie rage boiled under the surface. My face was hot, my heart was hammering, and my muscles were locked up with inaction. My mind was going a million miles a second, and unfortunately, Icouldn’t keep a single thought long enough to come up with a solid plan.
I slammed my finger hard into the elevator button, cursing the damn thing for not immediately opening a car to take me out of the office fast enough. This was one of those times where I wished I had teleportation magic. I needed to either get into the emergency bomb shelter room to release this pent-up rage now, or I needed a solid action plan. If I didn’t decide quickly, I was going to injure or kill everyone in this building. I wasn’t going to find what I needed with my own faction endlessly questioning what the plans were. I just didn’t fucking know what they were yet.
March 19th
It was fucking chaos on the sixth floor. My first time seeing this place would forever be etched with violence, and a pang of sadness hit me. I’d ended my time on Earth with sadness and rage, and wanted my first time back in millennia to be filled with hope. I couldn’t even take in my surroundings because everywhere my eyes landed, demons were fighting one another. I could hear accusations being thrown about from one side, and insults being flung from the other. It was beyond mayhem and about to turn itself into a civil war. The lust for a fight was brewing throughout the space, and my powers were aching to feed on it. Where was Pan?
“Who do we have here?” A demon, likely higher-level because of the pallor to their skin and the horns protruding out of their skull and neck, stood staring at me in open hostility.
I raised my hands. “I came here with Adaela, the head of the Unseelie. Who areyou?”I retorted.
“I’m Frenish. I’m the third in command now that Pan is away. Who the fuck are you, and how did you get in here?” they demanded.
“Wait, what do you mean Pan is away? Wheredid he go?” I took a step toward Frenish, concerned about what had happened to my friend.
Frenish attempted to use their size and less-than-stellar power to force me to bow down to them. I wasn’t a small woman by any means, but their almost eight-foot stature made them believe their size could intimidate others. It was silly when magic existed. I’d met tree nymphs who could blow their power level off the grid. I was starting to get pissed. I reined my power in with the tightest rope I could, thinking of predicament bondage to get it to settle. If it went too far one way or the other, it’d get caught up in the ropes binding it together. The threads were woven so tightly that if it were a real scene, it would’ve been devastating to their limbs. The thought made me huff a laugh, but I quickly focused back on Frenish, unimpressed.
“Really, you fucking cum-guzzling shit bucket? You’re going to try to use that worthless power on me? Let me tell you who the fuck I am,” I said, then released my power on them, forcing them to bow down at my feet in submission, nose to the ground. “I’m the newest member of this faction, you little bitch, and I don’t appreciate you trying to force your will on me. Now be a good little Demon and tell me who is in charge here before I eat all your desires for dessert.”
Frenish attempted to lift their head, and I forced more of my will onto them, keeping them in place. They fucking whimpered, and my powers rejoiced in their forced submission. I tried not to gag.
“S-Samael is who you’re looking for. He’s over in the dungeon,” they said.
“And where is this dungeon?” I asked, taking on a more sultry tone as I dug deep into the coffers of my power, forcing my will on them.
“It’s over there.” They pointed toward the left side of thebuilding. They snickered. “Good luck trying to get him to give you any information.”
