My Soul to Take (23 page)

“Ready?” Kirill asked as he held my hand.

We were on the drawbridge veranda, behind a screen I'd created for privacy. Both of us were naked, ready to shift, but fear started to work its way into my gut again. Kirill leaned down and kissed me, knowing instinctively it was what I needed. When he pulled back, I nodded and backed away from him.

I called up my lioness and there was a horrifying moment when I felt her rising but didn't feel a shift in my body. And then the magic flowed over me; transforming skin-covered arms into fur-coated legs, pulling in the length of my hair, and extending out my tail. I dropped to the carpet with a thud and rolled, purring in delight.

Normal lions don't purr. The rule is; if it roars, it can't purr and vice versa. I believe it's something to do with the hyoid bone but us werelions have a dual nature and it seems to have resulted in a flexible hyoid. Basically, it transforms with our intent, allowing us to roar when we wish and purr when we prefer. One of my lions had been into animal biology before he was changed and had explained his theory to me. Whatever the situation was with my purring, I was glad for it because as much as I loved to roar, there was nothing like a good purr. A purr and a stretch. I lengthened my limbs in the kitty version of the downward dog and let the purr vibrate its way through my muscles like a massage. I was about to get to my feet when another body dropped down beside me.

Kirill laid his long form against mine. Fur as black as a raven's wing, with sapphire glimmers adding depth to it, blended into the honey tones of my hide. I looked up into eyes bluer than the Pacific, so striking in that dark lion face, and the happiness in them made them even more beautiful.

So I still had this and it was a huge comfort to me. After feeling the freedom of my wolf, lioness, and dragon forms, it was terrifying to think that I could be trapped in human shape forever. But my lioness came to me with my magic and she couldn't be taken away. As long as her magic was inside me, I could bring her forth. Neither did she threaten the other two, being an addition to me rather than part of my birth essence. So my dragon and wolf had allowed her to come forth, even though I could feel their envy like heartburn at the base of my throat. I took a moment to thank them for that, for their generous kindness, and they seemed satisfied with my recognition. Sometimes that's all anger needed to be dispersed; acknowledgment.

With my animals in agreement, I was able to relax and enjoy the shift. I bit at Kirill's ear playfully and then jumped up, swishing my tail at him before bounding off across the veranda. I paused at the clearing in front of the palace and looked back. He was right behind me and I gave a happy cry as I turned and sped off across the grasslands. The scent of earth and growing things competed with the musk of prey in my twitching nose and I wasn't sure if I wanted to run wildly or in focused pursuit of a meal.

But my belly was full and lions don't kill for sport so I headed off through the grass in abandon and came out at the edge of our lake. I ran up to the water and leaned my head down to drink. The image of a sleek lioness stared back at me and my heart surged with joy. In her eyes I saw confidence and determination. We'd get the others back. They were still here, trapped but still with us, and we would find a way to bring them forth again. But until then, we had this and this was glorious.

I roared and the black lion behind me joined in. He came up beside me for a long drink and I joined him. Water always tasted better this way, drinking it fresh from the arms of the earth in my lioness form. When Kirill lifted his head, I looked in the direction he was facing and saw the mountain that formed a border around our territory. There was a jagged formation near the top, crowned with an oddly shaped shrub, and beside it ran a waterfall. Near the foot of the mountain, the waterfall disappeared and could only be found if you knew where to look.

I turned to Kirill and gave him a lion grin before I ran off toward the mountain. I knew where to look because he had shown me. Behind an edge of rock we'd find a clear pool and behind the waterfall which fed that pool, we'd find a cave. It was our special place and I only went there with Kirill. It had been empty on our first visit but we'd begun to fill it with little luxuries to make our time there more comfortable. So when we swam through the sheet of water and came out into the cave, we stepped out of the shallows into a lush paradise of thick rugs and silk pillows. Candles lined the ledges around our little nest and there was even a wide mattress set off to the side in case we decided to have a nap.

I shook off the excess water and then slipped back into human form. The transformation was a quick trick for getting dry but it was also so I could attend to other things; like my husband. Kirill came up behind me, his hands at my waist, preventing me from turning to face him. His mouth went to my neck and with a growl, he bit me, on the opposite side from where Trevor liked to mark. The marks faded fast now that I had both goddess and faerie healing, so Trevor's bite was already gone but the men respected each other's territory and never marked me in the same location.

Kirill's teeth worried at the muscles of my neck, feeling more like a sensual massage than an attack. I sighed back into his solid chest as he pulled my hips into his. He fit perfectly against me but he angled himself lower so he could slide a thigh between my legs. I sat back into him as his hand traveled down the front of me and went between my thighs.

“Mine now,” he whispered in my ear as he lifted me. “Just mine.”

I found myself on my knees on the pile of rugs and he settled in behind me. It was suddenly savage; one slam of his hips and he was inside. I gasped but there was no pain, he'd made sure I was ready. A shiver went through my limbs as the more dominant side of Kirill emerged and he took control. His hands went to my shoulders and one wrapped itself in my hair. As we came together, he pulled me closer and our cries echoed off the walls until we shouted in pleasure and collapsed to the ground.

I laid panting in his arms and his embrace tightened. His head rested beside mine, his breath hot on my cheek. I could feel tremors coursing through him and my own legs shook from the waves of ecstasy still running through me. It had been fast but so satisfying and now the sound of pounding water was soothing me to sleep.

“I love you,” Kirill whispered. “And as long as you love me back, ve are strong enough to handle any trouble. Remember zat, Vervain and you'll never lose your courage again.”

The Devil was at the door.

Well, technically he was on the veranda; that's where Luke and Azrael were waiting for Kirill and I when we got back to the palace. I went behind the screen to change into human form and get dressed. I was immensely grateful for the screen in that moment. No one wanted to get naked in front of their father-in-law, especially if he happened to be Lucifer Morningstar and looked nearly identical to your husband. That would have been all kinds of awkward.

“Hey, Dad,” I said as I emerged. I went over and gave Luke a kiss on the cheek. “Wow, that still feels weird; calling you
Dad
.”

“You'll get used to it,” Luke smiled but it was a tense smile and he kept nervously looking at Azrael.

“Why don't we go inside?” Azrael suggested. “The God Squad is waiting for us.”

“The Squad is here?” I asked in surprise.

“I called them in while you were... out,” Azrael cleared his throat.

“I went on a run with Kirill,” I shrugged. “I needed to know if I could still shift into a lioness.”

“And she can,” Kirill grinned.

“Obviously,” Azrael said in a clipped tone.

“Whoa, a little more enthusiasm and lot less animosity would be nice,” I stopped and gave Az an angry look.

“Sorry, Carus,” Azrael sighed. “I'm happy for you, I am. It's just that Dad has me on edge.”

“What did you do?” I instantly asked Luke.

“Nothing,” Luke huffed. “Hey, Vervain, have you seen my new television show?”

“You have a TV show?” I blinked. “When did that happen?”

“Well it's named after me,” Luke grinned. “And they at least have my name right but the character is all wrong. For one thing; he's British.”

“Wait,” I held up a hand. “You're saying that someone has made a show about you, the Devil, and they cast a Brit to play you?”

“Well, I don't know if he's actually from England or if the actor is just putting on an accent but the character, AKA me, is British.”

“That's almost right,” I shrugged. “You kind of act British sometimes.”

“
Almost
right?” Luke huffed. “The
me
is in the details and their details are wrong. Still, I like the show, you should check it out. Though why he cuts off his wings is
beyond
me.”

“Spoiler alert,” Kirill said dryly in his thick Russian accent.

“No, no,” Luke held up a hand. “They tell you that in the opening lines, there's nothing spoiled. Oh and they also have Jerry as my dad,” he chortled.

“So what's the show called?” I asked.

“Lucifer!” Azrael shouted in frustration as the script on his cheek flared to life. “It's called Lucifer. Now can we all move on from the silly show to matters of importance?”

“Yes, Son, you're right,” Luke gave his son a pat on the shoulder and we all began to walk into the palace again.

“No coffee for you,” Kirill grimaced at Az as we passed him.

“Get inside the palace, lion,” Az growled.

“I am going,” Kirill huffed and then whispered to me. “Vhat's got his panties in twist?”

“I don't know,” I cast a worried look at Az. “But I'm starting to get concerned.”

We all went into the dining hall, where the Squad was waiting; everyone but Blue. I greeted them all quickly and then took a seat beside Odin. He leaned over and gave me a kiss.

“So you shifted?” He asked.

“I did! I still have my lioness.”

“That's wonderful news, sweetheart,” Odin took my hand and settled back into his seat.

“And that's a much better response than Azrael had,” I huffed.

“Yes, we're all waiting with baited breath to see what has our angel in such a tizzy.”

“I'll tell you what has me in such a
tizzy
,” Azrael ground out.

“Damn god hearing,” I muttered to Odin and he winked at me.

“My father!” Azrael turned to Luke. “Would you like to tell everyone what you told me?”

“Can I?
Finally
?” Luke huffed. “Now that you've made me wait until everyone is here and made them think that I'm... well evil incarnate. Which I suppose I am.”

“Dad!”

“Alright!” Luke shouted and the table, which was over fifty feet long and weighed a ton (possibly literally, I don't know, I've never weighed it), shook like a leaf. Everyone went quiet. “My apologies,” he sighed and straightened his white dress shirt. “Children,” he gave a little laugh and I giggled.

Azrael pulled out a chair, sat down, crossed both ankles and arms, and glared at his father.

“Oh, now he's pouting,” Luke grimaced.

“Tell them,” Azrael ground out.

“Fine,” Luke huffed. “Before the wedding,” he nodded to me. “Huitzilopochtli invited me and Holly for dinner.”

“He did?” I sat forward, instantly annoyed. “Why didn't anyone tell me about seeing Blue when I was so worried about him? And why didn't he invite me to dinner?” I joined Azrael in pouting.

“He wanted to ask me a favor,” Luke held up his hand. “He was dividing his territory and giving half to Eztli.”

“He did what now?” Trevor gaped at Satan.

“That's besides the point,” Luke waved it away. “While we were there, we met a very interesting woman named Elena. Elena is Eztli's BVFF.”

“Her what?” I blinked.

“Oh, I'm so glad you asked,” Luke gave a gleeful shoulder lift. “Her best vampire friend forever. BVFF. I made it up. Isn't it perfect? Especially since vampires live forever as long as they're not, you know,” he made a stabbing motion with his hand.

“Father,” Azrael was trying desperately to control his rage.

“Yes, yes, I'm getting to it. Presentation is important,” Luke huffed. “Elena is also a psychic and a very good one.”

“Ugh,” I rolled my eyes.

“Yes, Vervain, we all know how you feel about prophecies but this wasn't exactly a prophecy,” Luke explained. “Well, kind of.”

Azrael was past words, he simply made an aggravated sound.

“I happen to love having my future told,” Luke hurried on “Oracles can be so fun. Well, when they're not imprisoned, cloistered, or persecuted that is,” he cleared his throat. “Moving right along: I asked Elena to look into my future. She took my hand and at once declared that my future had been tampered with.”

My belly clenched, “Dad,” I whispered. “Did I mess up your future?”

“No, honey,” he shook his head. “Well, not mine per se.”

“Enough, Dad!” Azrael stood up and took over, looking straight at me. “This woman said that there was a god who should have been killed by the Horsemen but wasn't.”

“The Horsemen of the Apocalypse?” Sarasvati asked her husband.

“Yes, dear,” Brahma gave her hand a pat.

“What are the Horsemen doing killing gods?” Sara went on. “I thought that was our thing?”

“They protect humans,” Az sighed, “from gods if necessary.”

“We knew about the Horsemen,” I reminded everyone. “The Fates told us they weren't able to do their duty.”

“Yeah, well my
Dad
could have told us that their duty had been killing a god who will now wage war against us,” Azrael narrowed his eyes on his father. “Except he waited till now to mention it.”

“Elena said I couldn't warn the Horsemen because she wasn't able to see who it was that they were meant to kill,” Luke explained. “She said it would only make them run around in circles... and no one wants to see the Horsemen of the Apocalypse running in circles. It could have literally brought on the Apocalypse.”

We all stared at him.

“Well you do know that the word
apocalypse
means; a vision of heavenly secrets that can make sense of earthly realities,” he dropped into his favorite subject. “I think a bunch of angels on horseback, riding around in circles, could be described as a vision of heavenly secrets, don't you?”

“But why didn't you warn
us
?” Trevor asked, ignoring the tangent.

“Because I didn't want to ruin the wedding,” Luke sighed. “Elena said we had time, at least six months, so Holly and I figured we could wait till after the ceremony.”

“What exactly did this Elena see?” Odin asked.

“She saw me leading the hordes of Hell into battle,” Luke admitted. “And she said it wasn't my battle but that I was lending my assistance to a greater force.”

Everyone looked at me.

“What?” I huffed.

“There's only one person not of Hell, who Lucifer Morningstar would rally the troops of Hell for,” Thor rumbled. “And it's not me.”

“Do you think this has anything to do with the stolen souls?” Finn asked.

“Stolen souls?” Luke lifted both brows.

“Vodou soul pots have been stolen and used to enslave people,” I summed things up for Luke.

“They kill the living and use the soul pots to bring them back as slaves,” Azrael clarified.

“What has that got to do with Vervain?” Luke asked.

“Nothing really,” Morpheus said, “except Vervain has an annoying tendency of making other people's problems her own.

A chorus of agreement went around the table and I rolled my eyes.

“Whomever or whatever comes against you, Daughter,” Lucifer declared in a suddenly deep and echoing voice as his wings whooshed into existence, “Hell will stand with you.”

The Devil's eyes turned into diamonds and glowed with power. His matching wings shimmered and rustled, coming to a point above his head as he crossed his thick forearms in front of his chest. His legs were spread like a warrior and his hair gleamed like polished jet. He looked glorious and terribly, terribly frightening.

“Um,” I cleared my throat into the deafening silence of a room full of impressed gods. “Thanks, Dad.”