The Dragon and the Rose Read online

  Her mouth falls open as if I’ve filled the room with expletives, and in some way I might have.

  “I can see you believe this—and I want to believe it too. But, for now, I just want to celebrate the fact I have you back.” Her voice cracks as she gets on her knees. Skyla plucks off her shirt and tosses it to the ground. Her rosy tits stare back at me cheery and full, perfectly delicious. “Clothes off, Oliver. I think we need to make up for lost time.” She rubs her thumb over my cheek. “I really have you back?”

  “You really have me back.”

  Skyla and I make love like wild cats, like two starving animals out on the Serengeti. It turns out that anyone who has ever accused us of behaving like a couple of animals were right. Vanilla my ass.

  My tongue rides up and down her body like a racetrack. Skyla takes my head and buries it between her legs. I work my magic until she’s clawing at my back with her fingernails. Skyla lets out a cry before shaking out beneath me, and I ride my mouth all along her folds drinking her down like an exotic elixir. I flip her over and roll on a condom.

  “On your knees,” I whisper, and she’s quick to comply. I dive in blind and accidentally try to impale her self-proclaimed no-fly zone. My heart tries to fist-pump its way out of my chest. My hard-on is made of steel. It’s greedy for all of Skyla, every position, every which way. I want it all tonight in this rebirth of our relationship. This lust filled exchange, right here, feels like the honeymoon we never had.

  So I go for it. Maybe it’s time to penetrate the forbidden zone. I push in slowly, and her body stiffens beneath me. My fingers dig into her hips as I carefully pull her over me.

  A slow building scream curdles from her throat, and I pull out so fast I’m afraid I hurt her twice as bad as when I went in. I give her a light tap over the thigh.

  “Sorry.”

  “You’d better be.”

  My hand glides down to her wet slick, and I plunge a finger deep inside her right where she wanted me all along. Skyla tucks her ass tight against my waist. She’s waiting, and I’m all set to give it to her. Carefully I guide my way to the proper entry, and that raunchy conversation I had with Harrison a few months back pops into my mind. I can practically hear him telling me not to double dip.

  A crooked smile crops up. Freaking Ellis. I toss the condom into the trash and plunge right back into Skyla where she’s wet and waiting. I lose my fucking mind, thrusting my way into oblivion.

  A week bounces by, and not once have I been down to the Transfer. There’s a meeting with the Videns tonight that’s a must for me. Meeting up with Wes is unavoidable at this point.

  “Midterms are going to suck.” Skyla still hasn’t taken a shower this morning. Her hair is wild and her eyes are smeared with black liner. There’s a cup of coffee in her hand as she hovers near the sink.

  “I’m sure you’ll do great!” Lizbeth sings. “I’m so proud of the both of you. The world is literally at your feet.”

  Drake waves her off with the remote in his hand. “Forget their feet. The world has bigger issues at hand.”

  Drake and Ethan have been glued to the television watching the news 24/7 since the day the captives have been set free. They’re tying it back to the release of the first batch last summer, and now the entire world is wondering if all unresolved kidnap cases will end in this manner. Theories abound, but mostly they’re looking into an extraterrestrial event, and that is exactly what the media is eating up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

  “Check this out!” Ethan doesn’t lift his head from his laptop. Emily goes over with Brielle to see what has him all riled up. “An unidentified object was seen over Denver, and like fifty people got footage. This is a fucking UFO or some shit.”

  Skyla comes over and snuggles into my arms. “Or some shit is right. Find out if Wes is behind this,” she whispers. “Because if I’m going to court, so is he.”

  “What?” I pull back to get a better look at her. Her eyes are puffy, and she looks exhausted. I’m hoping it’s too early for her to get her thoughts straight. “Who’s taking you to court?”

  “Never mind.” She glances to the small crowd in the family room. “As soon as you finish your work with the Barricade, everything will be fine. I promise.” She holds out her pinky and links it with mine.

  Skyla is going to court. I can’t help but feel responsible for that, too.

  Emily comes over with a determined, yet scary look on her face, both of which are normal for her.

  “Does this look familiar to either one of you?” She holds up a piece of lined paper ripped out of a notebook. There’s a pencil doodle on the front, a round disc with straps dangling from it. Soft lines span the inside in the shape of a star, almost like a pentagram but not quite. Ominous. Creepy.

  “It looks very S&M but, no, not familiar,” Skyla says as she digs her fingers into my waist. I can feel the tension exuding from her and with good reason. I take the paper from Em. These drawings, these prophecies she whips up on command have an uncanny ability to come to fruition.

  “Mmm.” I shake my head like it’s no big deal. “It looks like a part I’ve repaired at the bowling alley.” I hand it back to her and usher Skyla upstairs to get ready to take off.

  I’m not so sure I’ve seen that at the bowling alley. I’m pretty sure Emily wouldn’t be moved to draw something sinister looking if it had to do with a measly repair. But I wanted to defuse the situation. There’s no way I want to panic Skyla. The real problem here is that Wesley has the world whipped up into a frenzy.

  I think it’s time to make my opinion known to my big bro—right after I swipe a sample of that serum for Ezrina. Wes has gone too far—like I always knew he would.

  My phone buzzes in my jeans, and I pluck it out. It’s a text from the devil himself.

  Need you in the Transfer ASAP. Hitting a boiling point. It’s time.

  The Transfer is teeming with people—regular everyday people you might meet on the streets, not one of them looks ghoulish or ghostly or anything like your typical Transfer dweller.

  “What the hell is going on?” I ask Chloe as I come upon her.

  Both the old mansion and Wesley’s new and improved pleasure dome are surrounded by angry villagers. Swear to God, I half expect to see torches and pitchforks.

  “The members of the Barricade want answers.” Chloe pulls me through the crowd. “We need to get you out of here.”

  “That’s him!” A large burly man with a mustache grabs ahold of my shirt. My legs lift right off the ground as people snatch at my clothes, demanding answers I can’t give them. Someone claws at my face as I struggle to break free.

  “Get to the tunnels!” Chloe shouts, digging her nails into my arm. I squeeze my eyes shut and picture Tenebrous until the pulling and tugging, the clawing of my flesh all evaporate to nothing.

  Chloe lands flat on her ass beside me in this dark, dismal hell.

  “Where’s Wes?” I bark infuriated that he’s—that I’ve—let it come to this.

  “Right here.” I turn to find his fingers laced at the back of his neck while he gazes peacefully at the sky.

  “Are you aware that the Transfer has been overrun with the people you swore to protect? What the fuck is going on?”

  “The people you swore to protect.” He heads into the woods, and we follow. “I’ve been waiting for you. I have enough serum to cover a few thousand members for now, but I’ll need that body back.”

  “No.”

  Wes stops midflight and turns with a fire brewing in his eyes. “You’ve seen how angry they are, how afraid that what I’ve planned for the other factions might just be their fate—if you don’t come up with another near perfect Celestra, we’ll have mutiny on our hands. So, don’t think you can say no to me, little brother. You are a spitting image of my countenance. There isn’t a place in the world you can hide. And your family? Your wife? Don’t think for a minute that the angry mob you just witnessed will spare them.” Wes grips the front of my shirt and p
ulls me in with force. “This is the plague of our time. If you believe you can escape this, then I can’t help your delusions.”

  I push him off and send him flying into a tree. A heavy creak comes from above as the wood splits, and an overgrown branch falls just shy of killing him.

  “This is what we wanted,” he pants. “This frenzy, this world wide panic—it only works for us. Once the others are exposed and captured, we will rule the Nephilim kingdom—the Countenance and the Fems. All order and balance will be restored just the way it was meant to be.”

  “So you never needed Laken to talk you into closing down the tunnels, it was going to happen—you needed it to happen. Kissing her wasn’t anything more than you getting your rocks off. You were simply buying time—manipulating her and everyone else like you always do.”

  “What I shared with Laken was very much needed.” He stalks on by. “We have to get to the lab. I’ve got vials to distribute. They can take as many as they like so long as the Barricade is covered.”

  “That’s a brilliant plan.” Chloe glances to me before stepping toward Wes. Her fingers curl over his collar as she smooths the wrinkles away. “But what if they’re distributed to the others? What’s to stop someone from giving it to someone who wishes they had joined the Barricade in time? Sharing is caring,” she chides.

  “The serum is sanctioned with a binding spirit. It doesn’t have any effect on those without the seal of the Barricade. Without the seal, it’s useless.”

  “You’ve thought of it all, haven’t you?” I’m about to wrap my hands around his neck without thinking jack shit through. “Think this through, big bro, I’m vetoing your right to administer the serum. All doses are to be destroyed.”

  Wes staggers forward, confused more than pissed.

  “What the hell are you talking about? This isn’t up for debate.”

  “You promised these people peace, and the only thing you’ve created is chaos.”

  “There will be peace once the others are gone.” His nostrils flare. Wes is barely hanging on. He’s about to lose it, and it’s me who’s about to detonate him. “For as long as the Nephilim have existed we have only known strife, brother against brother, a civil war of unholy magnitude. But we”— he slaps his hand from his chest to mine—“are about to do the impossible. Under our rule there will be no dissention, no strife, no more battles or wars. We would have won it all. And we will win it tonight by getting that serum in the hands of the people who chose to bear arms with the Barricade.”

  “We’d better go.” Chloe stands shoulder to shoulder alongside Wesley, and I see that yet again she was never on my side. “The throngs are tearing down the gates, afraid that they’ve been had.” She eyes me a moment as if she feels sorry for me. “You forgot to tell him one little detail, Wesley.”

  “Can it possibly get worse?”

  Wes huffs a tiny laugh before his features bleed dry of any affect. “There is one more thing. The serum lasts a month before the cells revert to their natural order. I never could get it to extend.”

  “Shit,” I hiss.

  “That’s exactly what we’ve stepped in.” Wes closes his eyes a moment. “I just need a fucking minute to think. As soon as we distribute this first batch, I’ll send a team out to retrieve the next host.”

  “You mean kidnap a Celestra for your gain. Just like that, you flip the switch, and the tunnels are open for business again.”

  “For the gain of our people.” Those divots in his cheeks invert. “And no, we’re in negotiations with a select few. They volunteer as hosts and get immunity in exchange.”

  “They’ll be dead. They won’t need it.”

  “We can’t kill anyone, or we run the risk of being tried in court. It goes against the Justice Alliance agreement.”

  “And the tunnels didn’t?” I’m almost buying his bullshit.

  “The tunnels were a heritage of wickedness that fell in the arena of prisoners of war. Technically the era of war has ended. The Barricade isn’t declaring war on the others.” He pushes past me. “We’re simply eradicating them.”

  Sounds like war to me.

  My ears stop up with rage because I know exactly whose ass is on the line. I sprint deep into the woods until I come upon Wes holding Chloe and snatch him back.

  “Gage, stop!” Chloe shrieks. “It’s time to get back to the Transfer. It’s done. Just knock this shit off.”

  “I will,” I step into Wes. “And so will you. I’m denying you the authority to go through with this. The oath we took stated nothing stands without my approval.”

  “You do realize a curse will fall on you if you break faith with the Barricade.” Wes is silently pleading with me to reconsider.

  “Yes. ‘The heart of one you hold dear will turn against you—and everything you think you stand for.’” I repeat Wesley’s own words to him verbatim. It will be Demetri doling out the punishment. I doubt he can touch, Skyla. My heart breaks because I’m afraid that leaves Logan or my parents. Losing any of those three would hurt the most, and I’ve already drifted so damn far from Logan. The curse was originally designed for my children, but, since I won’t be having any, I’m sure he’ll gun for the closest to my heart.

  Wes clamps his hand over my shoulder and gives a squeeze.

  “Do what you need to do, buddy.”

  “No, you do what I tell you to do. The serum goes nowhere. Figure out another way to clean up this shit.”

  “I’m distributing the serum.” His cheek pulls back with a crooked grin. “There was no oath, Gage. I gave you my word.” He pulls Chloe deep into the woods as they disintegrate in a vat of blue fog. “And, as you’re about to find out—it’s pretty much worthless.”

  I fall to my knees and hang my head.

  How the hell did everything fall to shit so fast?

  Logan

  Paragon trembles under a windstorm that is unlike anything I’ve seen before. Trashcans roll into the streets with their contents flushing out like a debris-laden tornado. Paper and plastic hurl themselves at my windshield as I make my way to Whitehorse. You can’t turn on the tube or listen to the radio without someone trying to scare the shit out of you regarding errant abductions that might be connected to what they’ve dubbed “the otherworldly event.” You’d think a battle were about to break out in space the way the government has ratcheted up the missile defense system. The world is convinced that little green men from another planet are stalking us. More like tall, dark, dimpled Fems from another dimensional plane. I glance across the street at the bowling alley and catch Ellis in front making out with Giselle as if they had one hour left to live. It’s safe to say the world is going to hell in a hand basket.

  Dudley’s car is in the driveway, and I pull in beside him. He’s like my shadow these days. I think it’s time to move back to Barron’s. There’s only so much Dudley I can take in one lifetime, and I’ve reached my limit twice over. The windows to the house gleam, reflecting the dingy sky overhead. I suppose Whitehorse is always an option. But Skyla belongs here, not me.

  I get out and make my way to the lab. There’s a peculiar odor stemming from the workroom, and I’m slow to evaluate it. You never say something smells good down here. It could be a head stewing in a pot for all I know. Although, on this occasion, it smells distinctly familiar.

  Marshall grunts as I step into the room. He’s holding a plate full of ramen and shoveling it into his mouth by way of chopsticks.

  “I thought I smelled you.” I make my way to Ezrina who’s leaning over a body. It’s Brody.

  “What’s up?” He nods, leaning back in the dental chair I gifted Ezrina for Christmas.

  “What’s going on?” I pluck a fat, green apple out of a bowl of fruit she keeps down here—after all, this doubles as her kitchen—and I sink my teeth into it. Mmm, nothing like that first crisp bite.

  “Experimenting.” Ezrina lacks the enthusiasm one would like when your Nephilim standing is in the bounds—not that I feel too sorry f
or Brody. His sister ended my life.

  “Shouldn’t we take the matter up with Candace?” I take a few bites of the bitter Granny Smith. It would figure this ode to everything sour is Ezrina’s favorite apple.

  Ezrina huffs. “Like she would care.”

  “You got me there.” Although I seem to have found a peculiar favor in her eyes. “Besides, this is Brody. Does anyone care?” I nod over at him, teasing.

  “I happen to care.” Chloe bursts through the door like a demon on heels. Skyla comes to mind, and I hope wherever she is, she has Holden within shooting distance. I’m going to have to get a leash for that beast. “Ezrina, we have a problem.” She makes her way over with her hand placed against her flat stomach, and it makes me wonder if the rumors are true. Is Chloe really having Wesley’s kid?

  “Did he send you?” Ezrina straightens but doesn’t bother making eye contact with Chloe.

  “Yes.” She zips over to her brother, smiling. “Guess who’s going to be an uncle?” She brings his hand to her belly, and he pulls it away annoyed.

  “Guess who’s going to be a fucking human?”

  “Relax. You’re in the finest hands.” She glares at her lookalike. “Don’t fuck this up. Kay?” She turns to me. “I’m surprised you aren’t with your precious Skyla now that her husband is disposed.”

  Dudley drops his meal to the sink and heads over. “What do you mean disposed?”

  “He’s all worked up.” She flips back her hair casually before hopping up on the counter. “It’s stupid, really. He should have known he could never go against Wes or his father.” Shit. I can hardly swallow the next bite. Chloe knows how to take all the fun out of eating an apple. I pitch it into the trash and fold my arms across my chest, readying for whatever she’s about to spew next. “I just thought with all the shit hitting the fan the two of you would be pissing a protective a circle around her.” A smile twitches on her lips. Chloe is luring us with the curve of her long finger. Her concern for Skyla’s safety is about as genuine as a three-dollar bill.