bedeviled & beyond 03 - bedeviled & beleaguered (37 page)

I lifted my eyebrows. “My, my. Bloodthirsty much?”

Her mouth opened to respond but she was saved by a warm, familiar hand on her shoulder. I also had one on mine. We looked up into our father’s peaceful blue eyes.

“I knew you could do it.”

Healing warmth suffused us from his touch and energy filled my weary body. I looked at his wrists. “Hey! No chain?”

He shook his golden head, tears shimmering in his eyes. His gaze slid to the spot where my mother had been standing. She was lying face down on the ground, her limbs twisted at odd angles. Prince Nille lay beside her, looking much the same.

Darma gasped, “We killed her?” I’d never seen my sister look so horrified, not even when she’d been forced to kill that demon in the park to save the little boy.

But our father shook his head again. “The Serpent took them with him into Hell. I presume as retribution for their having failed him.”

Shaking my head, I forced back tears. “It doesn’t pay to hang out with the wrong crowd.”

“Amen,” said a brisk voice behind us. We turned to find Myra with an arm around the pretty young Elf’s shoulders. The Elf looked a little shaky but I got the impression she would live. I noticed her rubbing her wrist and looked down. Her Devil’s mark was still there.

My eyes widened and I looked down at my own wrist.

“The marks will stay with us for all time I’m afraid.” I looked up into Dialle’s now, permanently blue eyes. He was, at last, verified as the Great Unifier. Per prophecy, he’d gone against his own people to save the race of humans...and me too.

My heart swelled even as my lower body tightened. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” He knelt down and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

“They’ll serve as a reminder to us that evil is always just a heartbeat away.” That, of course, was my Aunt Myra. Always the life of the party. Forever the voice of encouragement. Truly a glass is half full kind of gal. A cool breeze in the desert, a raft in the deadly rapids of life... Well, sarcasm aside, you get my point I think.

I beamed up at her. “Or...they can be a reminder that we beat it back once and we can do it again.”

She frowned. “Whatever, Astra.”

Something flashed on the edge of my vision and I turned toward the altar. I gasped. Raoul stood upon the altar. He was still clothed in white robes but they were pristine and he had huge, silver wings to go with them. My friend held the wings at an awkward angle like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them but they shimmered in the light that radiated around him and were beautiful. His dark face looked ten years younger than the last time I’d spoken with him and he was smiling. His dark brown eyes sparkled. “Hello, Astra.”

“Oh my god! You’re stunning!”

He laughed. “As opposed to before?”

I grinned weakly. “I’m sorry you died.”

He shrugged, “I think I’m gonna like being an angel. It’s very peaceful up there and I have my own office.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Do you have an assignment yet?”

He nodded, “Black magic monitoring and management.”

“BMM&M? Sounds kinky.”

Raoul grinned, lifting his wings. “Let’s keep in touch, Astra.”

“Absolutely.” I was proud of myself that my voice barely cracked. I watched my friend carefully test his wings, lifting off the altar a few feet and hanging there until he got a feel for how they worked. I was reminded of Glynus and her first fledgling attempts to fly.

Two members of the celestial army appeared, one on either side of Raoul and guided him upward, breaking the fragile strings that held him to Earth and setting him free to pursue his next life above.

I sighed. I would miss him as a human. But I knew he’d make an awesome angel.

A small popping noise announced the arrival of Glynus. I looked up and found her hovering like an old pro on wings that now looked to be a couple of feet longer. She grinned down at me. “Cheeit?”

I laughed, joined by the group around me. I held a hand out to her, encouraging her to come into my lap. “You can say that again, tadpole.”

“Cheeit?”

We laughed again.

“You’re a terrible mother, Astra.” Darma said, shaking her head. At least she was smiling when she said it.

“Hey, I’m teaching her to be spunky. That’s not a terrible thing.”

I heard a snort behind me and turned to see Flick walking up. “She doesn’t need you to teach her spunk, Astra. When she sets her little dragon mind to something there’s no stopping her.”

“Yeah, I noticed you had trouble holding onto her.”

He shrugged, grinning. “What can I say? It appears she’s a chip off the old halfling block, she has her own opinions and doesn’t listen to anyone. Just like you.”

Glynus hopped up and down on my lap and then leaned toward me, setting her snout on my forehead.

Immediately a picture of dragons, both red and black, flying free in the skies above the Earth filled my mind. Then Zerphor’s beautiful, rich voice overlaid the pleasant visual.
You’ve done well, dragon fighter.

I did a mental shrug.
I didn’t do it alone. I had lots of help from my friends, including Princess Glynus.

Yes
, responded Zerphor with a sigh, s
he is indeed an exceptional child. I think you two will do well together.

Are you sure you want me to raise her? She can fly free in the world of man now, without worrying about the twisted veil.

Zerphor nodded in my mind. She must learn to live among men so that she can teach the next generation of Blacks. It is set into prophecy and must be so.
She smiled.
Besides, she is a very difficult child and I think it would be good for you to spend time with her.

Gee thanks! I laughed.

You are very welcome, dragon fighter. Now, if you will excuse me, Quince awaits.
Immediately a picture filled my head that, if I’d had anything at all to eat would have brought it right back up.
Bent and broken gargoyle toes! Stop, please!

Zerphor laughed.
Why do you shudder so? Love is a wonderful thing.

Yeah, normal love but two lizards doing it is not exactly my thing.

We are not lizards and we are far more graceful at love then you human shaped creatures.

How would you know?

I have friends in fairy land.

A chill ran down my spine,
You watched!

Her musical laughter was her only response.
Until we meet again, dragon fighter. Stay safe.

~SC~

The Red Knight swept cleanly over the city, dipping smartly between the tall glass and chrome arrows that pierced the Angel City skyline. I sat back smugly in the driver’s seat, calling out direction and speed changes like a mad woman.

Emo’s face in the passenger seat was slightly pale and I thought I could see a sheen of sweat on his golden brow. “Do you know how close we came to that last building, Astra?”

I just laughed and sent the Knight hurtling at a ridiculous speed toward the next tall building in the line. At the last second I told her to pull up and we skimmed along the building, in a parallel fashion, toward the clear blue sky above.

I looked out the view port and saw Glynus, gliding alongside us like a small, black arrow, her now sizable wings folded neatly back and her sweet face grinning.

Laughing, I put my fist against the glass. Glynus reached out a wing and tapped the other side of the view port.

Emo gasped like a dying man in the passenger seat.

When we finally leveled out he took a deep breath and forcibly unclenched his fingers from the seat arms. “You’re teaching that dragon to be reckless, Astra.”

I watched said dragon do a flawless loop de loop around an air booger in the sky below us and grinned. “Yeah, I probably should rein her in a bit. But she’s gonna be a queen someday Emo. She needs to be feisty and strong and even a bit willful.”

He frowned as the air booger blasted its unmanly sounding horn and surged away, leaving Glynus to do a little dance upon the air behind it. I slid the Red Knight up beside her.
Time to go home, tadpole.

But I’m having fun.

I tried to keep a neutral expression as I gave her the bad news.
You have your lessons with Auntie Myra.

Glynus frowned.
Bleurgh! She’s bad tempered and stern.

I coughed to hide my smile.
Yes, but she’s teaching you how to lead your people. It must be done. And besides...it sux to be you.

Yes, mother halfling.
Glynus grinned at me through the view port and then dipped her head in the manner I’d come to recognize as acquiescence. It was very regal and I realized my little dragon was quickly growing up. It made me kind of sad.

I deposited Glynus at my father’s house so she could spend the next couple of hours being tortured by Myra. Dropping a very relieved Emo back at the office, I headed out to meet with a new client who’d contacted me the night before and asked for a meet.

He’d indicated that he had a demon which needed to be exterminated and asked if I could do it on the spot. I assured him that I could. Which was when he’d asked me, in a decidedly high pitched and not very manly voice, if I was sure I could do it because it was a very BIG demon.

I sighed, thinking of the constant stupidity that I had to put up with. Of course I could vanquish one simple demon. I’d saved the world at least three times. I might be small, but everybody always underestimated the power of little woman syndrome.

I programmed the coordinates the new client had given me into the Red Knight’s directional system. Moments later, when the Knight announced that I’d reached the destination I realized it couldn’t be right. We hovered above the ground, looking at a bunch of grass and trees. There were no buildings or signs of habitation to be seen for miles around.

Finally I shrugged, set the Knight at hover, and climbed out.

Glancing around, I decided my new client hadn’t arrived yet. So I engaged the locks on the Knight and sent it skyward with a verbal command. I grinned as the sleek red air vehicle slid upward on nearly silent wings of air.

I still missed the Viper. I probably always would. But the sleek Red Knight was doing a good job of taking some of that pain away.

After a few minutes of silence I called out, “Mx. Specter?”

I heard a small pop behind me and turned to find a low slung, extremely comfortable looking divan slouching in a spot where before there’d been only grass. Frowning, I turned toward the divan, my senses going on full alert.

“Mx. Specter? Show yourself right now or I’m leaving.”

Suddenly I was on my back on the divan, totally starkers. A long, hard body pressed into mine in the most delicious places. At least...I
felt
a long hard body pressing into mine...but my eyes saw nothing except the sky above and the shading branches of the tree overhead. “Hey!” I tried to push my invisible assailant away but the soft brush of silky, heated lips caressed mine and then touched my cheek, my chin, and moved down my throat, leaving a delicious tingling behind.

I gasped as my phantom lover tilted his hips to show me just how much he liked me and my body started to respond. With a start, I recognized the scent and feel of my lover from another time, another place, another mystery moment in my life.

I closed my eyes as phantom fingers slid down my neck and started making soft circles around my nipples. The feel of a hot, soft mouth closing over the newly energized peak brought my hips arching off the divan.

Heat pooled in my pleasure center and my belly tightened as the decadent touch slid to the other nipple and repeated its mind-melting attentions there. All the while silky, warm lips caressed my face and talented fingers danced across the juncture between my legs with a teasing touch.

It was like making love with three men at once.

My eyes flew open. “Wait a minute...” I tried to push my assailant away again, to no affect. The sensual assault continued without even the slightest break in the action.

The silky heat of spectral lips moved from my nipples and down my belly, accompanied by the feel of strong fingers sliding along my quivering sides. The mouth stopped to nibble my belly, creating throbbing need that made me throw my knees wide in invitation.

My body surrendered under the combined assault on all of my pleasure zones at once, even while my mind screamed at me that I was a hopeless slut monkey.

I didn’t care anymore.

I’d been there before.

I’d be there again.

It was a nice place to be.

As the phantom mouth and fingers brought the lower half of my body into a quivering mass of desire, soft kisses continued to rain down on my face, neck and breasts. Moist heat nipped and sucked. And gentle fingers created trails of tingling sensation wherever they touched.

The sensual onslaught was overwhelming.

And wonderful.

I closed my eyes and willed a different spectral part to come into play. I moaned and writhed under the ghostly ministrations and opened my legs wider, wrapping them around my invisible lover in hopeful anticipation.

A soft, knowing chuckle tickled my sensation ravaged skin, causing me to shiver in expectation.

And then I felt it.

Something thick, hard and wonderful pressed insistently at my throbbing entrance. I tightened my thighs and pulled him in, throwing back my head and screaming as the delicate scrape of hard skin over sensitized flesh plunged me over that first peak into mindless pleasure.

I panted as the orgasm drew on and on and, impossibly, on until I thought I’d lose my mind in the physical sensation of release. The phantom flesh within me grew and stretched and brushed against my nerve-drenched flesh wondrously, skillfully. Moving slowly and gently at first and then plunging into energetic movement, driving deeply here and then hovering at the outside edge of my welcoming flesh there. Pushing me inexorably toward another incredible release.

Sensation built upon sensation.