Emblaze (26 page)

„The eruption," I said, remembering Griffin explaining that it had abolished an entire civilisation on neighbouring Crete.

„Hmm …" he said, from somewhere far away. „The wrath of Hell moves quickly. The fury of angels merciless. The exiles were destroyed along with everything we had created.

Thousands of humans killed."

„How did you survive?"

„Once again, we went to ground."

„You and your wife?" I was actually starting to get excited, caught up in their love story.

„You both survived?"

„No. she … sent for us. But there was so little time. When I got down here and realised she had gone back up in search of me - it was too late. The wave had already hit."

„That"s why you"ll never leave," I said, genuinely sad for him."

„This island was once hers. I could have sustained her mortal life force and had an eternity with her. Instead, I suffer her absence every day, the effects everlasting, but …"

Pulling himself out of his memories his expression shifted back to his previously amused state. „I have discovered new indulgences to occupy my time." He gestured to the cabinets that held shelf upon shelf of jewels and artefacts - ancient weapons, coins - and paintings on the walls above. I did a double-take when I spotted a Van Gogh and beside that, what I suspected was a Rembrandt.

My eyes settled on a silver necklace, I was struck by its simplicity in comparison to the other more gaudy and elaborate pieces. I couldn"t take me eyes away from it, as if something was drawing me towards it.

Uri. That is what he meant. Why?

„Do you like it?" Irin asked.

I nodded. „But I don"t understand how it is in this collection."

He went to the cabinet and removed it. I shouldn"t have been surprise that it wasn"t under sensor security and behind locked doors, yet I was. He held it towards me and I took it my hands, feeling the buzz of its presence immediately. The necklace held power.

„What does it do?" I asked, handling it back, just in case.

„It was my wife"s. It hols a piece of the angel realm and helps to prevent illusion caused by anything or anyone angelic to the wearer. Of course, it is of no use to you or I as we do not need such things, but to a human it is very valuable indeed."

He slipped it back carefully into the cabinet. „She never adores this piece like others I gave her - she had lavish tastes - but our sons have always insisted we keep," he added.

And that"s when I stopped feeling sad for him. Sons

„Those … the people who let us in?" I asked, that small twinge becoming a prickling sensation shooting up my spine.

He nodded. „Our surviving progeny."

Ancient Nephlim.

Fear coursed through me and I felt the familiar twinge, like something being pulled from me. Irin smiled.

He clasped his hands together. „Now, to our arrangement."

I swallowed, my mouth still dry as I struggled to absorb everything he was saying. He was
Grigori
. Not part human, part angel like us - one of the first all-angel Grigori. One of the ones who sided with Exiles. Was the city he talked of Atlantis? Did that make him
more
dangerous or less? And I had no idea what he meant by his „way" of survival.

„You have presented the jewels quite beautifully," Irin went on. „Now, I will take possession of them."

I nodded, eager to proceed, and started to pull at the ruby ring that was already slipping off my finger.

„No, Violet," he said softly, taking a step towards. „
I
will take possession."

Oh.

I pressed my lips together to stop them quivering. Give me a fight any day, but this? All I could think about was the emerald spider with its many clasps around my upper thigh. I hadn"t even let Morgan fasten it.

I took another step back, but hit the glass wall. Irin smiled, closing the distance and putting his hands on my shoulders, pushing down steadily until I fell to the window seat. I was a fish in an aquarium and trapped with a shark.

„If you are quite comfortable …"

I couldn"t talk, but the second his hand took mine my body seized, knowing that his touch intended more.

„Violet?" Lincoln called again from the shadows, his tone controlled but somehow forced.

„I"m okay."

Then, I just shut down. Years of practice kicking in.

I retreated to that place where I"d long ago taught myself to go to block everything out.

Like removing myself from my body, to find somewhere safe and light, somewhere I wanted to be, always.

I smelled food cooking. And basil, lots of basil. Lincoln"s warehouse.

Irin"s hands wrapped around my wrist, one sliding up my forearm and then back again before he started to undo the clasp to the first bracelet, slipping it off slowly so I could feel the chain trail against my skin.

I looked out the window, dead still, then thought about basil, and focused on the light that cascaded through Lincoln"s great arch windows every morning.

Hands slid across my collarbone to my opposite arm and the silver snake. He stared to uncoil it, his fingers sliding up and down from my elbow, finally removing it.

Two down.

I went back to thinking to the belonging I"d always felt in my core when I was with Lincoln. I ignored all the problems, the reason why we would never be together, and clung on to all the things that made us right and made me feel so safe.

Then Irin"s mouth closed around the ring on my index finger and I flinched. I had to look.

He was awaiting my reaction.

„Enough!" Lincoln"s voice charged.

Irin smiled and stood up, letting my hand go.

Lincoln stepped out from the shadows. „You will not touch her again."

I wanted to speak up, tell him I could handle it, but I didn"t, relieved just to have him in my sights.

„A deal was made. The stones are only part of the arrangement. Unless, of course, you have something better to offer?"

The way Irin spoke .. The cat that got the cream.

Lincoln"s hands flexed by his sides and I wondered if that „something better" Irin had in mind involved a dagger. Just when I though Lincoln might make a move, he spoke again.

„You"re an incubus, aren"t you? Some exiles discovered they could sustain themselves and increase their power by feeding on human emotion. But not many could and even fewer dared to because it was so … addictive. Just one more reason you don"t belong here.

After you lost your wife, you became one, didn"t you?"

What does that mean?

Irin shrugged. „The need she left in me was great, yes. I never cared to control humanity like the others. I simply wanted to enjoy its offerings." He moved to take my hand again. He was still smiling. „Speaking of which …"

„Do that again and I swear to you she will be the last thing you ever touch." Lincoln had his dagger in-hand and had already moved closer.

Irin didn"t appear concerned at all, which worried me. We had no idea what he could do and I didn"t think it would be an easy fight.

„You feed on emotion …" I said, trying to defuse the moment while putting all the pieces together. „No wonder you like me."

„Oh, my dear, don"t get me wrong - you are simply delicious and would be even more so if you were not so efficiently damaged but you"re a mere appetiser compared to your partner."

Lincoln didn"t look at me. I was relieved, I didn"t know I if I could bear to see those eyes right now. No one had ever called me damaged out loud before. Well, no one other than me.

Irin pace slowly, watching as I no doubt displayed my shame as well as confusion at the second part of what he said.

He was feeding off Lincoln.

He sighed, wistfully. „Like opening the cork on an aged wine … On an Island where most emotion is that of honeymooners in love which, while ripe for my purposes - Ah," he shook his head in awe. „You two are like lobsters in a world of mudfish."

I braced myself for him to continue removing the jewellery, but Lincoln took another step towards us, lowering his weapon.

„I"ll do it," he said, as if subjecting himself to corporal punishment. „I"ll talk off the jewels."

Irin paused, considering the offer. „why would I give up the feeding you provide me by being forced to watch?"

„You know it will cause just as much … if not more this way."

„Bringing you so close to your forbidden?"

Lincoln swallowed and nodded once.

Irin grinned and swept a hand from Lincoln to me. „Very well. In return for a kiss."

„No!" I wasn"t kissing anyone.

„Not me," he said.

„No," I said again, which seemed to please Irin even more.

He retreated to the large dining table in the centre of the room.

Lincoln moved to me and his green eyes burned into mine. „I will not force her to do anything, ever."

And thought he spoke to Irin, his words were for me. A promise that I was safe with him and the apology for what we both knew we had to do. He knelt in front of me - a look of pain and fear covering his face.

„It"s him or me." Then he leaned in close to my ear and whispered, „Put up your guards."

I felt an outpour of Lincoln"s power around me could taste and smell the honey flavours unique to him overlaying the ever-present feeling of warmth and sunshine.

He started with the ankle bracelet, taking it off slowly, giving Irin the show he demanded, but without the creeping fingers. I tried to keep my barriers up, trying to put the pieces together like a wall of Lego, but I was not in Lincoln"s league when it came to harnessing my strengths this way. Even visualising a heavy steel fortress I could feel his fingers moving against my skin and it put a match to something inside me I was powerless to contain.

Lincoln moved to my hands and closed his eyes, as if praying for a moment, before his mouth closed around my finger and removed the ring. He did it so gently, with an endearing respect. But then he went to the second ring, and the third and by the fourth my cheeks were flushed and the small spark within me had started to blaze. Lincoln"s tough had grown more sure and his contact more constant.

I tried to sing nursery rhymes in my head, to chant the alphabet, but when his mouth closed around the final ring … I had to onto the skirt of my dress with my free hand to stop myself from grabbing him.

Irin wheezed a chuckle like he was reading my mind.

I"m going to kill you. If not today, one day I swear I"m going to come back and kill you.

Read that, you creep!

Thinking it might be best to direct Lincoln to the necklace and earrings next, I stood up but almost fell back down my legs were shaking so much. Maybe it was the champagne finally hitting me - I"d been subconsciously sipping from the ever-filling glass.

I tried to keep my defences up, but I wasn"t doing a great job and was becoming increasingly unstable on my feet. I felt every minute movement as Lincoln unclasped the heavy necklace, releasing me of its weight. He followed with the earrings.

„Is that everything?" he asked, his eyes downcast and his voice so rough it barely sounded the words.

I stepped back, the slit in my dress parting to reveal the emerald spider web on my thigh.

I saw his eyes widen and caught the sound he couldn"t contain.

It sent a shockwave through me.

Wordlessly, he dropped to his knees and started with the clasps at the back, but he struggled to work around the fabric of the dress. I pulled it back for him, leaving my whole leg exposed, hoping to hell that it meant he would get it done faster because I was burning up.

Don"t think about how every time he takes his hand away from you, you want to scream.

Finally, Lincoln stood and turned to Irin, placing the emerald masterpiece on the table in front of him.

„I want your word that once this is done we will have no opposition to our stay on the island and in addition I want your assurance that you will not assist any other exiles coming here - for any purpose."

Jesus Christ. He is seriously some kind of warrior god to have been so quick-thinking. I
was still on the „champagne is magic and your fingers feel sooo nice" part.

Irin laughed, heartily. „Oh, my boy, I would do almost for the finale. I give you my word on both, though I will not refrain from imposing a similar arrangement to grant these exiles abode."

Lincoln seemed to realise this was as much as he was going to get and nodded, before walking back to me. But it got me thinking.

„Wait!" I said, louder than I"d intended. Everyone stopped. „I want something else."

Damn it. These angels are going to owe me.

Lincoln looked at me. „Don"t" written in his eyes.

But I did anyway.

„I want the necklace. You said yourself, you have plenty that are more special and more valuable. If you want me to do this then I want the necklace." Right at that moment, I was sure it was important.

Irin"s easy expression changed and he slammed his fist down on the table with such force that the whole piece jumped up, before thumping back down. But I saw the look in his eyes - the greed, the hunger - and knew any promises he"d made to his freak-oid children came second to his own needs.

His smile returned. „I suggest you hide it well until you are clear of the island. I will not be held responsible if my sons discover its whereabouts."

I shrugged in casual agreement even though my heart was pounding. Lincoln started towards me again, looking relieved I hadn"t just blown everything. And maybe a little impressed. Definitely curious.

„But," Irin added, sheepishly, „you will both need to lower your defences for the kiss."

My heart stopped thudding and skipped a beat instead. We though we"d one-upped him but really he"d walked us right into his trap. Lincoln lifted his luminous green eyes to meet mine and we stared at each other.

The worst thing, as awful as it was, was that part of me was dancing inside.

My entire being wanted this and while I knew we"d made the decision, for all the right reasons, never to let this happen - I wanted him to kiss me, desperately. Before I knew what was happening, eagerness overruled and I"d dropped my defences. A wave of pure need crashed into me. I took the closing step towards him.