Nemesis - Legacy Book 5 (Legacy Series) Page 8

  “The Vensir,” I whispered in Gil’s direction. “That’s what they were doing with the bones. Indestructible weapons.”

  She nodded and remained quiet.

  One of the doormen, the largest one, lifted the sword and cleaved through a solid steel bar.

  “The weapon is indestructible,” the moderator said. “It will not rust, it is immune to magic, and it cannot be affected by any attempt to alter it. However…”

  He snapped his fingers and more men wheeled out a massive glass case, this one exhibiting a full Vensir skeleton. Gasps of awe rippled throughout the rows of potential buyers.

  “Ryleh Corp is also offering a bulk purchase,” the moderator said. “For a sum to be determined by Mr. Greede himself, Ryleh will mold the unique skeleton of this creature into any shape desired. The method, of course, is a highly classified secret. We wouldn’t want anyone stealing our tricks.”

  Uneasy laughter went about but most were still stunned by the presence of the deceased Vensir.

  “The first bid is for the sword,” the moderator said. “Shall we began at, say, two million?”

  Three men raised their paddles.

  “Three.”

  “Four million.”

  “Four, twenty.”

  Akasha shifted uncomfortably.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Jared,” she growled through gritted teeth. “He was supposed to sit closer, so he could see my signals. Much like the one I am trying to convey now.”

  “Allow me,” Gil said. She raised her paddle. “Six million!”

  Jared glanced back, half of his face hidden behind one of the supermodels’ hairdo, and looked in front again.

  “He’s ignoring me,” Gil said.

  I gritted my teeth. “Is he gonna fuck up the plan?” I asked Akasha.

  “No,” she said, looking at Gil. “Not if…”

  Gil nodded. “Yes, time to up the ante.”

  She stood up and everyone looked at her. “Let’s cut to the chase,” she announced. “I offer twenty five million — for both the sword and the skeleton.”

  Two people in front of me audibly gasped and I had to resist the urge to remark. Jared glanced at her, grinned and shrugged. Gil gave him her best “come at me, bro” look.

  I flipped him off.

  Jared looked away.

  “Can you fire him?” I asked Akasha.

  “That would be unwise,” she murmured back. “As much as I would love to. I shall speak with him.”

  “Maybe I should punch him,” I suggested.

  “Sold!” the moderator yelped. “A bulk bid to Miss Ashendale for twenty five million.”

  Applause erupted and Gil sat back down.

  “Thank you,” Akasha said.

  Gil grinned. “My pleasure. I actually feel giddy.”

  Akasha nodded. “Yes, indeed. I feel it too.” She sniffed. “The air is lighter.”

  “Maybe they’re pumping more oxygen than necessary through the vents,” I said. “I read somewhere they do that in casinos so that people bet more.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Gil said. “No proper establishment would…”

  Her voice trailed, her mouth agape as she stared at the stage. I followed her gaze and found myself staring too.

  Standing fully naked was the most beautiful woman in existence. The rational part of my brain gave her a name but most of my blood was rushing south.

  Still, I was lucid enough to identify her.

  Ishtar the succubus smiled coyly and blew a kiss, at the same time giving a little giggle that made her breasts bounce.

  Three seconds later, the orgy started.

  Chapter 11

  Detective Roland March scratched behind his ear with the back of the pencil. He frowned at the notepad before looking at me again and sighing.

  “Okay, Erik. Start from the beginning.”

  ***

  I never felt such euphoria.

  One minute I was sitting down, wondering what Abi’s mother was doing on stage in her birthday suit; the next, I’m grabbing onto Akasha and literally ripping her dress off.

  Someone else grabbed my suit and I allowed them to shrug it off of me.

  Hands, legs, lips, pressing bodies.

  Chairs thrown aside, barriers that they were. Already people were on the ground, limbs askew as they performed several fervent sexual acts. I was already inside Akasha, doing what we regularly did. Another couple came close and… well, they became involved.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of white blonde hair. Greg barrelled through several horny rich people, throwing them aside as he locked eyes on my sister and began stripping. She was already naked, being groped by several strangers.

  Part of me wanted to protect my sister, a part that was immediately consumed by the fiery touch of a woman I’d never met. Akasha was already pleasuring some other guy — while still working me, mind you — and I moved onto my closet neighbor.

  And I say neighbor because I have no idea if I was on top of a man or a woman. There was no restriction of gender — this was an all-consuming lust.

  Halfway through the whole affair, I saw Ishtar move closer. No one touched her, no one looked at her. She simply trudged in between the people copulating, pausing only when she reached me.

  Her lips formed words I did not hear but recognized — “I’m sorry.”

  I paused from my sexual activity long enough to meet her eyes. Time stood still for a fraction of a second. Sulfur yellow glowed from within her eyes as her demonic power flared to astronomical levels.

  Fear pigmented the overwhelming lust, and even as I went back to fucking whoever I was fucking, that fear permeated every action, marring the ecstasy.

  This is not real.

  The voice in my head was thin, narrow, and so far away. I ignored it — I had no use for power or magic.

  This was just an orgy, just sex. Fun, fun, fun.

  I deserved to have fun, I told myself.

  Death surged within the room. That seedling of fear now overtook me. I threw myself off the person I was with, suddenly lucid and awake from the nightmare.

  Darkness was everywhere and not the tangible kind. The magical kind, like that feeling you get when you know you should not walk down a dark alley, but you have no choice. It’s when you’re getting pummelled and you know that you’re helpless, that unless the other guy decides to stop, you’re dead.

  Truly dead.

  We convinced ourselves as a species that we can still act, that we have the willpower to change, to be better. But we could never overcome death.

  Because we don’t know death — we can’t. Those who do, leave, period. We cannot fathom the certainty of death…

  Not unless it was standing mere feet away from you.

  The angel of death raised its scythe, a single red eye gleaming from beneath the flowing darkness enshrouding its entire body. Mangled, black-feathered wings curved from behind its slightly hunched figure, but there was no weakness in its swing.

  The scythe swung and light exploded and I was blind for a few seconds.

  Understanding flowed in my mind: someone had suffocated under the weight of so many bodies. Samael — Death itself — swung again, taking with it five more.

  Finally, it stood still and gazed at me.

  Words cannot begin to describe the sensations going through me. There was no emotion, no feeling. With one crimson-eyed gaze, the angel of death rendered asunder anything that had once made me human. I was an empty shell staring at something certain, something immovable.

  Not now.

  Two words, and the world shattered, while a new reality came crashing down.

  Samael was gone.

  Feelings, emotions, pain, and horror resurged through me. I felt more awake than I ever did in my life. With renewed energy, I pushed four people — three guys and a girl — off Akasha.

  “Wake up,” I screamed hoarsely.

  She latched onto my lips, straddled me,
and we began having sex again. The ecstasy pierced through my brain, threatening to overtake me.

  I pushed Akasha off me, and ran towards my sister. I will spare you the details — suffice it to say, I will never look at her the same way again.

  “Gil,” I said, shaking her. “Wake up.”

  Her eyes were glazed over, almost drugged, but diluted with sheer pleasure.

  When I touched her, our powers flared. White mist billowed from her skin, while living shadows dripped from my body.

  “Erik,” I heard her whimper. “Please, help me.”

  It dawned on me then what Ishtar had truly done. We all have sexual desires, that inner monkey that wants to play, eat, and fuck. But we control it. We dictate when to do what we do. That is what free will is and that is what makes us human. To take that power away from us is to enslave us.

  This wasn’t an orgy. This was a magically-induced mass rape, where everyone was a victim… and a culprit.

  I tried not to think about how much of a monster I must have been, how many people did I force myself upon, and how many did the same to me. Just because the euphoric spell — Ishtar’s succubus influence, no doubt — made us enjoy it didn’t mean we wanted it.

  So I did what I did best.

  I seized Gil’s arm, our powers intertwining black and white. Magic just as powerful as Ishtar’s surged from the both of us. I felt mine rearing up with glee, itching to cut loose.

  And cut loose I did.

  ***

  Paramedics and rescue personnel struggled with rubble. Cops took statements. EMTs loaded up the injured and dead onto gurneys.

  Destruction, courtesy of yours truly, was all around us.

  Detective March was done with me after I gave him my version of the facts: something drugged us out of our minds and made us horny. We started having an orgy, and then the earthquake hit, sobering up everyone.

  I joined my sister and Akasha, both of whom had refused blankets or medical treatment. I could practically feel their rage boiling beneath the surface. These were strong women, powerful figures that helped shape the world they live in.

  I didn’t say anything about Ishtar — or Samael, for that matter. While there was fuck all they could do about the angel of death, I was pretty sure if they found Ishtar, she would be dead.

  But I wanted to find her first and get some answers out of her.

  No, Erik. Beat some answers out of her. She’s a demon, you’re a demon hunter.

  Amen, voice in my head.

  But I also had to tell Abi first. This was her mother — I owed her at least that much.

  Greg joined our party. He wouldn’t meet Gil’s eyes. Akasha blinked away a tear, lips curled up in rage. I felt her hand grab mine steadily. I looked at her — I thought the last thing anyone wanted was to be touched.

  “It’s not our fault,” she said, looking me directly in the eyes. But I had a feeling she was speaking to everyone. “This was not our fault. Our actions were not our own. None of us are to blame. We must believe that, if we are to live with ourselves.”

  I nodded and gave her fingers a little squeeze. She held on.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Gil sidestep a little closer towards Greg — never touching him but closer still.

  “Thank you,” I whispered to Akasha.

  Now I understood what a true leader was: someone to rely on when shit went down. I’ve always been the leader of my group but that was only out of necessity.

  Akasha had earned her position. She was powerful but this went beyond mere ass-kicking. She knew what to say, and what to do. I was never happier to be with her than that very moment. I made a mental note to let her know how I felt about her.

  Maybe there was more to us than I gave us credit for.

  Suddenly, Jared came into view, ruining a perfect moment.

  “I want these people found,” he spat at us. “And I want them found now.”

  He had discarded his waistcoat and most of his jewelry, but there was no hiding the, um… ‘male stains’… on his shirt. Something told me there was more to his anger than a massive dry cleaning bill. When it all went down, Jared forgot all about his supermodels, swapping them for whichever guy was in sight.

  And no amount of magic can turn you gay unless that was what you wanted deep down.

  It made sense now, why Jared was such a massive dick. I had no idea why he was still in the closet but that can’t be good for one’s personal growth.

  He looked at us suspiciously, almost as if trying to read our minds. I kept my face blank. As much as I disliked him, no one deserved to be outed like that.

  All the more reason to bring the culprits to justice.

  “I agree,” Gil said. “I cannot fathom how or why this was done.”

  “I have an idea or two,” I said. “We all felt lightheaded before it all started, right? Could it have been some sort of gas?”

  Akasha glared at me. “How can you tell?”

  I shrugged. “Just a hunch. It’s what I do for a living.”

  “A hunch?” Jared spat. “Are you kidding me? We’ve been attacked! Us, the Grigori-”

  “Keep your voice down, Jared,” Greg said quietly.

  “We have to find them!” Jared hissed. “And when we do, we will bring them to justice.”

  “Kill them you mean?” I asked.

  If looks could kill… Well, I would have been dead long ago.

  “Yes,” he replied. “Yes, kill them.” He turned to Akasha. “Is he making decisions now?”

  “Careful what you are implying,” Akasha said. “We are all very emotional and raw. We must not act — or speak — rashly.”

  Whatever rebuttal Jared had was interrupted when Roland called me over.

  “Okay, spill,” he said. “What’s really going on here?”

  Had this been a few years ago, when Roland and I started working together to solve Eureka’s supernatural mysteries, I would have made a joke of sorts.

  But not today.

  “I have no idea,” I admitted. “I was swept up in the whole thing about as much as everyone else.”

  Roland glanced at my disheveled state. “Are you okay?”

  I shook my head. “No. But I will be.”

  He nodded and reached inside his jacket. “CSI found this in one of the vents,” he said, handing me an evidence bag.

  Inside was a single silver canister, about as large as my thumb. The top was open. A sigil had been engraved on the side, wrapping around the whole thing.

  “Never seen this before,” I said. “But I’m on it.”

  Roland nodded.

  “By the way,” I added. “This one’s pro bono.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” he said, turning to leave.

  “When have I ever?” I called after him, before returning to the group. I showed them the canister. “Anyone ever see this before?”

  They all frowned at it.

  “The sigil is one associated with mental magic,” Gil said. “Some kind of psychic spell perhaps?”

  “That looks like a gas canister,” Greg added, beaming at me. “Well done, Erik. You are as sharp as I remember.”

  I nodded. “Roland’s putting me on the case,” I told Gil. “Do you mind running this through your channels and finding out exactly what it is and who made it?”

  Gil nodded and wordlessly took the evidence bag.

  “Hang on,” Jared said. “That should be ours. We need to handle this matter internally.”

  “Like you handled the Necronomicon?” I snapped back. “What’s it gonna take for you to get it, Jared? Greede is smarter then you. Put your pride aside and accept my help.”

  Akasha laid her hand on my arm, placating me.

  “Perhaps,” Gil began, “there is a way to resolve this officially. I vouch for my brother’s investigative skills. Hiring him to solve this matter will be the most efficient use of our time. Especially if we are to war against Greede. We need time to put our resources together, time we c
annot waste chasing down whoever did this. Erik, however, has both the skills and time to bring us our answers.”

  I raised my eyebrows at her but said nothing. I couldn’t help smiling. Gil and I had certainly come a long way.

  Akasha nodded. “My thoughts exactly, Miss Ashendale. Erik, you’re officially hired. I expect the culprit to be handed to us shortly.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I looked at Jared and Greg, eliciting a scowl from the first and a polite nod from the second. “Right then. Better go get started.”

  “You know who it is?” Jared asked.

  I grinned at him and shrugged. “I have a hunch.”

  Chapter 12

  I entered my office and found it quiet. Which usually meant the world was about to end.

  “Abi?” I called. “Amaymon?”

  The sound of violent sloshing echoed from upstairs. “Hey Erik,” I heard Abi call. “I’m in the bathroom.”

  More sloshing, this time accompanied by a whelp.

  “Um… how do I say this?” I began. “Abi, are you alone in the bathroom?”

  A pause.

  “No.”

  Great. The last thing I needed was to see my secretary bumping uglies with some jackass. In my own bathroom! I sighed, dumped my coat and gear on the enormous desk chair and headed over to the kitchen.

  “Have you seen Amaymon?” I yelled at Abi.

  “He’s right here.”

  “What?”

  “He’s with me.”

  That made me stop. Abi sneaking in a dude or two was one thing, but last time I checked she and the demon were not on friendly terms.

  In fact, I was there when she threatened to…

  “Oh god!”

  I rushed upstairs like a madman. The bathroom door was ajar and inside, Abi was leaning over a full tub of water while a black shorthair squirmed in her grip.

  She smiled grimly. “I’m bathing him.”

  “I am going to pee on everything you own!” the cat yelled before being pushed under.

  “Shut up,” she snarled. “You had sex with my mother.”

  “She had sex with me!”