Chapter 16

Chapter

Sixteen

DASH

I temporarily putthe door up, bracing it with a two-by-four. We couldn’t come or go from the apartment, but we’d found someone to come on Monday to install a new door, so I wasn’t worried.

We had leftover spaghetti for dinner, and once we finished, we went down to the hospitality room in the funeral home to watch a movie. I hadn’t had the chance to talk to Lilith about the biting thing earlier but when I healed Keir’s bloody cat scratches, I’d been in heaven. He smelled and tasted like every good thing I’d ever had in my life.

We settled in to watch an old movie my mother-in-law had told me about when we’d talked on the phone earlier in the month. Keir popped some popcorn, and I brought down a few beers. It was going to be a great night of cuddling.

I moved the chaise to its spot at the end of the pit group and grabbed a blanket from the closet in Keir’s office. As I was about to start the movie, Keir took the remote from me and sat on the couch. “What were you cussing about when you came upstairs earlier?”

I sat on the couch to face him, tucking my foot under my ass. “Some dickhead tried to kill me today.”

Keir mirrored my pose. “Oh my god! What happened?”

I wasn’t sure how we’d gotten through dinner without discussing it, but I explained everything to catch him up. “If I see Norm Evans again, I’m going to rip his supernatural ass to shreds.”

“Did you say Norm Evans?”

“Yeah. He was other. Lilith picked up on it, too.” I should have stuck around and talked to her about him, but I’d wanted to get home and be sure Keir was okay.

Keir took my hand. “I got a call from Dean Lester before Thane showed up. They found a set of fingerprints in the mortuary that came up as belonging to Norman Evans. He died forty years ago. Dean asked if there was any way he’d come through the funeral home as a rebury.”

I stared into those gorgeous blue eyes. “I don’t know what that means, but I think there’s a lot of shit going on that’s all related.”

“I think you might be right. We need to talk to some of our friends tomorrow. Tonight, it’s you and me.” I turned to lean against the back of the chaise, pulling my love between my legs and wrapping my arms around him.

“You’ll be safe if we stay together. I’m going to get the papers drawn up to transfer the shop to Quinn so I’m out of it. This sounds a bit possessive, but I want us to be together as much as possible. I don’t want anyone to come after you without me being around to protect you.”

Keir covered us with a blanket and started the movie. It was nice and cozy having him in my arms, but my mind was spinning. What the hell was going on with Thane Nyxon? Who was Norm Evans, and what was his purpose? And why was I craving Keir’s blood?

Sunday morning,I woke alone in our bed, my arms wrapped around Keir’s pillow. I glanced at my phone to see it was eight forty-five in the morning.

I hopped up and went to the bathroom to take care of my morning business. After I brushed my teeth, I pulled on some clothes and went to the kitchen, finding a note from Keir.

I’m meeting with a bereaved family downstairs. I’ll be back soon, and we can go to brunch. Xoxo

Brunch was fine with me. I had something to discuss with Lilith, so I called her. “This better be important.” Apparently, I’d interrupted something, as if I gave a shit.

“I need to talk to you about my craving for Keir’s blood. It’s getting stronger.”

Lilith sighed. “I’ll be over in an hour. Don’t harm your mate because you’ll never forgive yourself. We’ll figure it out, Dash.”

I wasn’t so sure she was right, but I had nothing to dispute her words, so I agreed and hung up. I couldn’t wait to hear what Lucifer’s mistress had to say.

A quick shower washed away my worry, and after I dressed in clean clothes and put in a load of laundry, I made myself some coffee and sat at the peninsula to wait for Lilith to drop by.

Her laugh outside the makeshift door was her calling card. “Go downstairs and let yourself in. I’ve got the door up here nailed shut.”

Heels clicked on the stairs, so I went to the door leading to the apartment from the funeral home to let her in. Once she was inside, Lilith stared at me for a few seconds. “What happened?”

“Thane Nyxon kicked in our door and tried to kidnap my husband. I’ll not stand for this. Where is he, and who was the female demon with him?”

Lilith walked around our apartment, sniffing every few steps. It was a bit unnerving, but I needed to know what the hell was going on.

“I smell a demon.”

I stared at her for a moment. “No shit, sister. Who is it?”

“I’m only guessing, but I think Nyx dropped in to assess the enemy. Who was with her?” Lilith stepped in front of me and sniffed before I pushed her away.

“Stop that. Thane Nyxon had that fucking cat with him from Mexico, according to Keir. Norm Evans was in our mortuary somehow, but nobody knows who that fucker really is. What’s your gut say?”

“Trent told me Amelie wanted to offer her eggs, Dash. You and Keir are meant to have children, and I believe Amelie is meant to be the donor.”

“Do you know something I don’t? I mean about the donor?”

Lilith smirked. “I’m not at liberty to say but convince your husband to consider it.”

I wasn’t surprised by her comment for reasons unknown to me, but it felt right to have Amelie as part of our journey to have kids. I had another question that was a bit more pressing to me.

“What do I do about my cravings for Keir’s blood. How can I control them?” I loved my husband, and I couldn’t imagine what would happen if I started drinking his blood. I could likely kill him without meaning to.

Lilith smiled. “You’ll need to be strong enough to remain in control of your cravings. Keir’s blood won’t help you with the upcoming fight. Mine will.”

“How do you not feed off Quinn?”

She smirked. “Who says I don’t? I won’t turn him unless I’m going to lose him. He’s more than willing, but I don’t want to change the man I fell in love with.”

“Yeah, I understand. So, what if the fight breaks out and you’re not around? How will I get your blood?” The idea of drinking her blood was repulsive, but I needed every advantage I could get. Keir’s blood? That made my mouth water.

“When Keir has time, he can draw blood from me, and you can put it in your fridge so it’s available if you need it when I’m not.” She even offered a nice smile.

“Okay. When can we get together so I can learn how to fight demons?”

Lilith smirked. “What are you doing right now?”

She was wearing a red-and-white plaid dress with a wide white collar and red stilettos as if she were going to a garden party. It was a surprise to see her dressed so conservatively. Nothing about Lilith was demure.

“In that getup? It hardly seems fair that you could fight me wearing those shoes.”

Lilith offered a deep husky laugh, reminding me she was a demon. She removed her heels and put them on the dining room floor, out of the way, before she slid off her jewelry, including a ring I hadn’t noticed.

“What’s that?” I pointed to the ring on her left hand with a red stone like the one she’d given Quinn that he wore all the time, even when he worked.

“It’s our commitment ring. The stone is from the depths of Hell, and Quinn put his essence into it. It holds all his secrets and memories, just like the ring I had you give to him when he tried to walk away from me. Our bond is solid, and our life forces are tied together. If I cease to exist, he does too. Just like you and Keir.”

“Wait, what? If I die fighting Nyx, Keir dies as well?” That was new information.

Lilith took my arm and the two of us went down the stairs and through the funeral home to the back door that led out to the gardens. She still hadn’t answered my question.

“Lilith, if I die, does Keir die, too? When will I die?”

She released a heavy sigh. “As it stands right now, you can’t be killed in any conventional way. After the battle, you can renounce your immortality to go about your human life with Keir. I’d recommend against it, but there’s that whole free-will thing the white lighters are so enamored with.”

“How can I be killed if not in a conventional way?”

“An upper demon can end you, but they must devour your carcass so you can’t come back. That’s how you’ll have to deal with Nyx’s demonic followers. If you rip their heads off, eat the carcass. It’s not really that bad. Archs do the same thing.”

That made sense. They’d all started out in the same place.

“What if Keir dies first?”

“You really don’t want to know this, Dash. These things aren’t meant for humans to understand.”

“Yeah, but you just said I’m no longer human. You told me before that I’ll be fighting on Lucifer’s side, so tell me.”

“If you choose to continue working for Lucifer, Keir will remain in his capacity as a guardian of the Celestial Realm until the next guardian is born. Until the end of time, there will always need to be a gatekeeper and a key. Others have tried this same play of taking over the Human Realm or the underworld before, and someone like you and Keir always battles with them and puts them in check to keep the constant.

“Nyx has witnessed other coup attempts and knows they never work, so why she’s taking her turn now is beyond me, but this is the battle we’ll fight this time.”

“How can I destroy her? How powerful is she?” Seemed like something I should know.

“Come on. I’ll show you what I know about fighting her and her followers. Oh, Beelz got Jay put on administrative leave. A runaway kid who was under Jay’s supervision hotwired and stole a car, and Beelz, as Jay, helped him hide from the cops until he could get the kid out of town and back to his grandparents in Portland.”

I laughed. “Sounds about right. Anyway, back to the business at hand.”

We walked outside to the backyard, and when we got to the middle, Lilith stopped us.

“First things first—you cannot kill Nyx. Only Lucifer can kill her, and he won’t. He sealed the cavern where she existed, so what you and Keir must do is get him to unseal it so there’s somewhere to banish her to, then reseal it with her and her followers inside. The minor demons and devils loyal to her will be used to keep you from getting to her. All of us should be able to kill them to give you an open lane to her.”

“How can we talk to Lucifer? I’ve been to Limbo. I’d rather not go to Hell until my number’s up.”

“Yeah, that’s not a good idea. I’ll reach out to Scotty and Jay. Jay’s now a prince of Hell. Maybe he can talk to his adopted father and make some headway to open the seal to Droh. Then you can lure Nyx and her people somewhere, and Keir can banish her.”

“Keir? I don’t want Keir anywhere near her.”

Lilith chuckled as she took a swing at me. I ducked and came up with an uppercut, catching her under the chin and sending her flying through the air. I laughed my ass off, but she still landed on her feet about twenty feet away.

“Dash!” I turned to see my husband running in our direction, and he didn’t look happy at all.

“Oh shit.” Yeah, I was in trouble for sure.

“Hi, Dearly. Are we too loud?”

“I have the parents of a guest inside planning the funeral of her twenty-year-old son who died of an overdose. The mother headed to the restroom and saw the two of you out here like it’s fight club. How the hell am I going to explain that?”

He was hissing and spitting. Man, he was madder than I’d seen him in a long time.

“Keir, tell the grieving mother we’re members of a community theater, and we’re rehearsing. Don’t get so angry. It’s bad for the ticker.” Lilith turned to me and winked, dammit. Now I had to hold in a laugh for fear of Keir making me sleep on the couch.

“I’m really sorry. I forgot you had an appointment. We’re just...” I turned to Lilith. “Let’s do this another time.”

She nodded. “Fine, but I’m not sure how much more I can show you. Best advice, don’t let them near your neck because they’ll rip your throat out.”

“I thought you said they couldn’t kill me.” That was a whole different story than that line of bullshit she’d fed me earlier.

“They can’t but I didn’t say it wouldn’t hurt.” She kissed Keir on the cheek before going inside to collect her things.

I turned to Keir. “I’ll come in and smooth things over. Again, I’m very sorry.”

I took his hand and we went in through the front door of the funeral home, and I followed Keir to his office. A woman, who I assumed was the mother, sat with a man whose arm was around her shoulders.

“I’m Dash, Keir’s husband. I’m really sorry you saw my friend and I practicing for an upcoming play we’re in. It was completely inappropriate under the circumstances, and I’m sorry for your loss.” Did I sound sincere? I certainly hoped so.

The woman offered a gentle smile. “Son, life doesn’t stop just because we lose someone we love. I was surprised the woman could flip like that. Sounds like a wonderful performance you’ve got in the making.”

I nodded. “Thank you. Again, my deepest condolences.”

I rushed out of there like my ass was on fire, reminding myself to always check with Keir before trying anything of the sort again.