Chapter 10

"Okay, now, everybody!" I crowed as I stood atop the bar with a flagon of ale in one hand while I slapped my knee to the beat with the other.

"Put him in the long boat "til he"s sober

Put him in the long boat "til he"s sober,

Put him in the long boat "til he"s sober,

Early in the mornin'"

The crowd erupted into a series of cheers as I executed my version of a courtly bow. God, I loved a bit of attention, didn't I? But honestly, I deserved some time in the spotlight since I've been so cruelly denied its glow in the form of Dahlia's gaze.

"Mischief and malice."

"Drink it down."

"Burn it all away."

The band continued on with the next verse of Drunken Sailor as I wobbled on my feet, the whispers disorienting. Gathering my wits, I hopped down and then leaned against the bar top with a lazy grin twisting my lips.

"Another, love. And one for my friend here," I crooned, clapping my palm on the shoulder of the blond man who stood stoically next to me. "He looks like he needs to loosen up a titch."

"Coming right up," the bartender said with a flirtatious smile, pulling two pints and setting them in front of us. "Can I get you lads anything else?" she asked, the invitation in her words utterly transparent.

"Not right now, love."

I had no interest in taking her up on her offer. I was a mated man, after all, but it wouldn't do to upset my barkeep when I had every use of indulging in her services for the better part of the evening.

If I couldn't spend the night buried between my Dahlia's thick thighs, then I was damn sure going to do something useful, like test out the strength of the bloody spell keeping us prisoner. What better way to do that than drink myself into oblivion? So far it'd been going on four hours of nonsense here at this pub. I was hoping to make it past five.

I didn't recall ever keeping track of the length of my exploits before, but since I was the one with the most experience setting foot outside Blackwood's walls, I would be the only one who knew whether that Belladonna woman's hijinks had worked.

That was the theory, anyway.

As I said, I'd started drinking as soon as I'd gotten here, and my vision had taken on a hazy glow at the edges.

"Fire in the sky."

"All the dead things."

"The end is near."

I grunted in dissent, waving my hand about my ear as if I could send the whispers scattering. "Leave me be, you pests."

"Talking to yourself, Caspian. That's not a good sign," the biker said from beside me.

Grabbing my fresh ale, I knocked it back, giving him the side eye the whole time I swallowed it down. When it was gone, I let out an almighty belch and wiped the foam off my upper lip before slamming the flagon down on the bar.

"Your turn," I slurred.

"No thank you. I don't drink."

The prissy fucker. Thought he was better than me. At least I had better fashion sense and knew that a splash of color could do wonders for a man's swagger.

I eyed him distrustfully. "Not sure I want to rub elbows with a man who doesn't allow himself to indulge." Then again, more for me. "Ah well, bottoms up."

I snatched his drink and drained it.

"Are you quite finished making an arse out of yourself?" he huffed.

Glancing around, I smirked and said, "No."

Then I slapped him on the shoulder and made my way into the crowd, swinging from partner to partner as I danced a merry jig. Or at least I did until I found myself staring into the biker's surly face once more.

"Oh, come on. Just because you have a pole lodged up your arse doesn't mean everyone else has got to," I groaned, trying to shove him away and find myself a new partner.

"I've important business to discuss with you, Caspian."

I rolled my eyes. "That's what they all say. Listen, you're a very handsome biker, but I'm taken. I know, I know, it's tragic for the rest of you, but I am off the market. Mated. My heart has been claimed by another." Poking him in the chest, I drove the point home. "You. Can't. Have. Me."

"And where is Dahlia?" he asked.

My blood ran cold, and my mind boomed from the return of my harrowing countdown.

Tick

Tick

Tick

The man stared at me, his brow pulled together so fiercely I almost laughed at the unibrow he created. Until the ticking got so loud I wanted to cover my ears. Then he took my face between his hands and pressed our foreheads together.

"Oi..." I protested, but stopped as the ticking faded to nothing. Apparently the man was no mere biker after all. He's robbed me of the ticking and of my buzz. But it was the words he spoke that truly sobered me.

"I'll ask again. Where is Dahlia?"

"What's it to you?" I demanded, menace simmering in my voice. "Who are you?"

"This is a conversation better saved for privacy."

"I already told you, mate. I'm off the market, as it were."

"I don't want to fuck you. I'm here because I need you to save the world."

I stared at him for a second before laughing. Giving him a pat on the chest, I started to move away. "That's a good one. You really had me going there for a second."

He stopped me. "Caspian, this is no joke. If you return to her, you will end the world."

The gravity of his tone had my blood buzzing. Adopting an unaffected mien, I shot him a lazy grin. "Well, which is it, mate? Am I to save the world or end it? You seem to have gotten your lines crossed."

"The two are not mutually exclusive. It all comes down to free will and the choices you make."

I glared at this man, annoyed that he'd not only ruined my jolly good time but that he was speaking about Dahlia when he had no right to utter her name and, worse still, that he was trying to scare me away from her. As if that would ever be a possibility.

"Listen, mate. I don't know who the fuck you think you are?—"

Heaving a sigh, he placed a hand on my shoulder, and fuck me, my ears popped like I'd just shot up to the top of the fifty-seventh floor of a skyscraper. When I opened my eyes after the pain abated, we were standing outside The Hag's Tooth with a light dusting of snow on the ground and softly falling flakes floating around us.

"What'd you do that for? I was enjoying myself."

He stared up into the heavens as he let loose a groan of pure frustration. "I was really hoping to avoid the whole introduction thing this time. It does get ever so tedious constantly having to repeat oneself. But if you insist."

Bright light burst from him, a sort of pulsing power emanating from his person.

"I am Gabriel. The Messenger of God. Sent unto you to deliver a message that shall not be ignored lest the world as you know it may cease to exist."

I squinted at him, raising one arm to block out some of the light. "All that fanfare just to tell me you're an angel? Is that supposed to impress me or something? Does it actually work for you?"

He scowled, his heavenly glow dimming. "Usually, yes."

"Huh. Maybe the creatures of this realm are easily impressed. I'm from Faerie, mate. We all have magic, and we can do a far bit more than create a bit of sunlight. Do some research next time. Learn your audience. It'll help you make a bigger splash."

"I don't need to make a bi?—"

"Looks to me like you do, Gabe. You don't even have wings or anything. Truth be told, you look more like a handsome devil than an angel. Anyone ever tell you the biker look gives bad boy? That's the whole schtick. Kinda the same as a pirate. No one ever saw all this"—I gestured to my leather pants, knee-high boots, and billowing shirt—"and thought ‘good guy'. Well... good in bed, maybe. Perfect for the cover of a spicy romance novel." I made a mental note to offer my services to Dahlia. Her books would fly off the shelves with yours truly on the cover.

"Actually, most of the time they don't wear shirts at all. Marketing is important, you know," Gabriel said, bringing me up short.

"I beg your pardon. What did you just say?"

"Statistically speaking, readers want to know what they're getting. They like to be able to judge the heat level of a book. You know, one chili pepper or five. If the man on the front has no shirt on, chances are good they're getting on-page love scenes and a happily ever after to go with them."

I stood there, mouth agape as the messenger of fucking God schooled me on the inner workings of romance novel marketing.

After I collected myself, I cleared my throat and said, "I think you mean a happy ending."

"That's what I said."

"No, you said happily ever after. I think you'll find that a happy ending means something just a tad different."

Once it clicked, he scowled and rolled his eyes. "Get your mind out of the gutter for five minutes and listen to me."

"You're the one who brought up romance novels and on-page love scenes. Where'd you expect my mind to go? You can't mention a smut scene without me thinking about how they end."

Usually with my cum dripping down Dahlia's sweet thighs, but that was probably best kept to myself.

Gabriel reached into his jacket and adjusted something hidden in an inner pocket before muttering, "It's not smut if they're in love. How many times do I have to say it?"

"It's the first time you've said it to me, and to be fair, it can absolutely be smut if they're in love. The filth factor has nothing to do with the depth of one's feelings. If anything, the more connected to your partner, the further the bonds of intimacy stretch."

"I am not debating this with you."

"Clearly you are. I can tell you, I smut the fuck out of Dahlia all night long, and our love is boundless."

"Is it? Even if your love might bring about the apocalypse?"

"So long as I'm buried inside her, what do I care about the end of the world? This isn't the only realm in existence. Let it burn. My love and I will simply return to Ravenndel."

His eyes glowed as he jumped on the word.

"What would you say if I could return you there right now? Put an end to your madness and suffering?"

My heart stuttered. "What are you on about? I can't return, not until I have my compass."

"Are you so certain? I'm an angel. My powers are phenomenal. One snap of my fingers, and you and your crew can be back on your ship in the turquoise waters of Ravenndel, fighting the Lost Boys and Peter Pan like you have been doing for centuries."

I was struck with a wave of homesickness like I'd never experienced before. My mind bloomed with images of my home, of the people and places I'd left behind.

"With her?" I asked, throat tight. Just like the others, I'd jump at the chance to steal her away and keep her forever.

"No. Nothing good comes without sacrifice. Give her up and save the world by returning home. Stay, and Ravenndel becomes nothing but a faint memory as the end times begin."

The death of hope tasted like ash on my tongue.

"I spent my entire life searching for my mate without even realizing it. Why would I ever give her up?"

"To save her. To save the world she calls home."

"This world was never good to her. All she knew before coming here was cruelty and fear. She belongs with me."

With us, I mentally corrected. I might have told myself I'd take her to Ravenndel with me, but I could no more take her away from her other mates than I could willingly leave her behind. The choice was obvious, even if it wasn't necessarily easy.

"I will not leave my mate. Not for anything. If the world ends, it'll end with her in my arms."

The angel"s handsome face twisted in outrage. "Why did I ever think there'd be reasoning with you? Selfish, arrogant fools. All of you."

"If I'm a fool for choosing love, then so be it. Better a fool than the soulless void I'd be without her."

"So be it. Perhaps Death was right to choose her pieces the way she did. Villains only know how to serve themselves. Who better to thrust in her daughter's path?"

Before I could ask him what that was supposed to mean, he vanished, leaving me alone with the falling snow and the eerie specter of Adonis D. Edman watching in the distance. Oh well, at least my head was blissfully sile?—

Tick

Tick

Tick