Finding a weapons booth is definitely the highlight of my day. The steel and intricate carvings are almost enough to get my dick working again. Most Incubi only rely on their powers to be strong enough to overpower their targets into a sexual stupor with intentions to defeat them. Granted, I’m strong enough to do it with just a thought, but I’ve always hated the idea of having to rely on only that, so I took up hand-to-hand combat when I was young.
At first, I thought my father would object since he wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but he had always supported knowledge over anything else. He even surprised me by encouraging me to add knives into my training. So on top of having my Incubus power, I’m proficient in wielding blades. I didn’t really see a need to carry any around school, but since hearing the Rebels are growing in numbers and we were heading to Nova today, I thought it better to be safe than sorry.
I still can’t believe that someone as powerful as Lilith was taken down and possessed. I’ve heard of lesser demons easily passing over Earth’s barrier and possessing weak-minded humans, but to take on the original Demon? The Queen of Hell?
Shit, someone has some massive balls on them, or they just signed their own death warrant for when they get evicted.
Nova might be the capital of Purgatory and is where the council leaders reside, but that doesn’t mean it’s the safest place all the time, especially when there are activities that bring all sorts of creatures here. So before I left for the festival, I strapped on my favorite knife and a backup just in case. Since you never know when you might need them. Or when you want to show off your pretty little toy against someone’s delicate little neck.
The thought of my knife, Precious, at the harpy’s neck brings a smile to my face. I’m about to ask the merchant if he balances his knives himself, when I catch sight of Rez’s long brunette curls going around a corner.
Knox brought her after all?Rookie move.
Following her, I turn down another aisle and get a better glimpse of her. Her long hair is down her back but it doesn’t seem as silky smooth as normal, and she’s wearing a long flowy skirt.Have I ever seen her in a skirt before?
Jogging to catch up, I reach for her shoulder to spin her around.
“Rez!”
The woman twirls around in a split second, and I feel hard steel pressed against my neck, immobilizing me.Wow. So that’s how it feels.
The older woman who resembles Rez presses against me, hiding the dagger from view, shielded by her hair. Her grayish-green eyes peer into mine and slightly widen.
“I know you,” she whispers.
“Who are you?” I choke out the best I can with a blade against my Adam’s apple.
I don’t know how I even mistook this woman for Rez. Besides the hair, height, and similar eye color, it’s easy to see the difference. This woman doesn’t have small moles along the bridge of her nose and along her cheeks. Rez has sepia skin that makes my mouth water, whereas this woman looks like she needs some sun. My temptress always seems to have a glimmer in her eye like she’s calculating how to take you down a peg. By the look in this woman’s eyes, fear is what’s driving her and her words solidify it.
“Nerezza. You have to keep her safe. My body is not my own. Please—” She lets out a muffled cry before continuing on. “Help her. Your leaders are wrong. There are more players on the field than they know. Now go, before it’s too late. It’s not safe here.” She takes a jerky step away from me right when an explosion rings out in the square behind me. Jerking my attention that way, black smoke billows up into the air as screams echo around us. Turning back around to ask questions, I find myself alone and the Rez look-alike gone.
Fuck!
ChapterTwenty-Seven
BULLSEYE
Rez
Ican’t be dead, that’s for sure. There’s no way my body would hurt this much if I was. Cracking open my eyes, I let them focus on the scene before me. Dirt and feathers fall around me from the open sky and the stench of copper is strong.
What the hell happened?
Slowly raising up on my elbows, I look around the area, finding it destroyed. It looks like a bulldozer came through here, ripping up the ground around us. Speaking of us, where are Baron or Knox?
Pulling myself into a sitting position, a moan slips as all the aches and pains shoot through my body. The ground around me is littered with broken tree limbs and upturned ground with some dark pools of what I can only suspect is blood.
“Knox? Baron?” A cough wracks my body as I roll over onto all fours to get up, and pain ricochets out from my ribs.Fuck.At least they seem like they are probably only bruised, not broken. Unfortunately, I know how that feels from past experiences with a deranged goose. Standing up, I see Baron’s wing shoot up into the air before falling down with a loud crack and a thud. Trying to make my way over to him as fast as I can, I half run and crawl over the mounds of dirt to reach where I last saw his wing.
Laying in the middle of a small crater like ditch is BK in the middle of a shift. His wings slowly shift back, popping and cracking as they bend in an awkward position.
Oh God. Is it supposed to sound and look that bad?
I watch in horror as his body slowly morphs back into a shirtless Knox. Dropping to my knees, I block out my own pain and concentrate on him. There’s smoke coming from underneath him so I fight to roll his massive body onto his back and gasp when I see black flames licking at his stomach. A quick look at his face confirms he’s still alive and breathing, but the gurgling black liquid is still eating away at his abdomen causing more blood to spill from the wound.
Without truly thinking, I throw my hands onto his body, which in hindsight isn’t the smartest thing to do. I have no idea what this black stuff is, or what it could do if I touch it, but all I’m thinking is that I have to save Knox.
I got ya, Knox!
