Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations) (13 page)

“What
won’t end well?” Barry asked as he came back into the sitting room. With ease,
he grabbed his plate from the cart and squeezed his way between Eric and Lily.
He smirked at his brother. “Sorry man, I know you just got out of the hospital,
but she’s my girl.”

Eric
nodded and moved over slightly. A frown crossed his face as he started to think
about what he remembered about his ancestor.

Lily
ignored the brothers and turned towards the front of the book. She swallowed as
she saw a picture of a handsome young man drawn on the paper.
“For months I
ignored the visions. I turned a blind eye to the opening of the Gates of Hell.
I was too concerned with being happy. It’s no real excuse, but it’s the only
one I have. The twins were only four and we had another on the way. I didn’t
want to see the darkness that was waiting for us.

“It
started out innocently enough. A traveler came from overseas. He and Scott
became fast friends.”
Lily looked next to her and noticed that Barry hadn’t touched his food. When
she looked to Eric and Sloane, they were also frozen.

“It’s
a mirror of what happened with Madison,” Barry said lowly.
“The
twins, a baby, meeting a Fae.”

Lily
shook her head. “She can’t mean Father Daniel,” she objected. “This was two
hundred years ago.” She pressed her lips together as she stood and started to
pace. Her eyes rapidly read as she tried to find something that would clear the
Father’s name. “Look, right here.” She stopped pacing and pointed to another
passage.
“Daniel was with us for about month when another came to call. This
time it was a Chinaman in search of his wife. He was a young Necromancer and
Scott did as best he could to train him.
Pengfei
soaked up what Scott taught him. And when Daniel started teaching him about Fae
magic, things started to take a turn for the worse.”
Lily looked up and
shook her head. “Why does that name sound familiar?” she asked.

Eric
rubbed his jaw as a sigh escaped him. “Because we know him,” he said quietly.
He swallowed as both Barry and Sloane looked at him with widened eyes. “
Pengfei
is Pan’s first name. He rarely uses it.”

Lily
flipped ahead. Her eyes scanned the pages looking for anything that could make
sense out of a situation that was growing madder each moment. She paused when
she came to another picture. This one was of a large archway covered in vines
and ivy.
“
Pengfei
took us all to the island the
Masons owned in the river. There were two other men there, but I don’t remember
their names. One was a runaway slave; the other looked like he could have been
bread from Hell itself.
Pengfei
blew into a gold
horn. The air around me thickened and I could feel the baby inside of me
twitching. I remember being terrified when Scott started to fight with
Pengfei
, and in a moment of desperation, blew into the horn
himself.

“The
magic went wild. All of the ivy and plants dried up and died. A strange glow
took over the archway. And monsters started to pour out of it. But I have to
say the worst part was watching my Scott. He was a man that loved life, but as
he stood in front of that gate, he could have been the Devil himself. The other
men seemed to change too. It was like their emotions had been sucked out of
them. All they wanted was blood, violence and chaos.

“In
all of the madness, I saw
Pengfei
. His arms were
around a beautiful woman with long purple hair. It dawned on me then, his wife
had been trapped behind that Gate, and he wanted her free.”
Lily felt ill
as she turned the page and saw the picture of a woman that looked almost
exactly like her. Numb, she let the journal fall from her fingers. “It’s not a
gate to Hell,” she breathlessly. She looked at Barry and swallowed. “It’s a
door to Abaddon.”

He
slowly stood and walked over to her. “Lily, what’s Abaddon?” he asked
carefully. The way she was starting to shake concerned him. “Baby, what’s the
deal?”

She
looked at all three men. “In fiction, Fae are broken into two main casts,
right?
The
Seelie
and
Unseelie
.
The
Seelie
would
be from what we would consider Wyldlands. They’re light. They aren’t generally
good, but they aren’t out for chaos either.” Lily started pacing again as she
thought about what she was going to say next. “Really,
Unseelie
are Demons. If the Gates to Abaddon open, they all come through. Gorgons,
Harpies, Griffins, everything would be blown out into the open.”

Barry
watched her for a moment. She was still shaking when he bent over and picked up
the book. He easily found the page she left off of and pressed his lips
together. “Where do Succubi fall in?” he questioned.

Lily’s
eyes filled with tears. While they all knew she was a Succubus, being an actual
Demon was probably a little more than he signed on for. She looked at Barry
with a torn heart. But she wouldn’t lie to him. She owed him that much.
“Abaddon.”

Madison
entered the dark bar in search of her mentor. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted
him sitting in a quiet corner. She walked over to him and sat at his table.
“This is getting tedious Gramps,” she said darkly.

Pan
looked at her and leaned back in his chair. Madison had been his greatest
triumph, and greatest disappointment. “What do you need, Sweetheart?” he asked
in the same tone.

“Cut
the bullshit for starters.” She leaned forward and placed a piece of paper on
the table between them. “You want us to open Abaddon, not Hell.”

Pan
scoffed. “They’re virtually the same thing,” he countered. His eyes narrowed
when he saw a small hand drawn picture of a woman with long flowing hair, body
armor and wings on her back. “Where did you get this?”

Madison
snatched the picture away before Pan could. When he stood, she jumped to her
feet as well. “You don’t worry about that,” she said darkly. As he growled at
her, she growled right back. “Just know that I don’t give a fuck
who
she is to you. I know what she did. I’m going to make
her pay for it. You stand in my way I’m just going to have to cut you down
too.”

As
she walked away, she could feel his penetrating stare on her back. Her eyebrow
arched when the other patrons of the bar started to fall over. “Really?” she
asked as she turned back to Pan. She couldn’t help but smile mockingly as his
eyes glowed crimson. “You think you can take me?”

“You
will not harm my
Morrigan
!” Pan shouted before he
attacked Madison. He growled as she dodged or blocked every punch or kick he
threw at her. Once he had her pinned in a corner, he pulled his arm back to
strike.

She
quickly grabbed his arm and changed their positions. Madison punched him in his
throat and pinned him to the wall with her free hand. “Don’t think I won’t beat
you like you stole from me,” she growled. As his throat healed, Madison pulled
most of his magic away from him. “I don’t have the tolerance for you, Gramps.”

As
she dropped Pan to the floor, he coughed and watched her walk towards the door
again. “You know why I want the Gates open,” he wheezed. “Why would you
continue to help me?”

Madison’s
eyes glowed crimson as she looked at him. “Because I want to go something more
important,” she said in that deep symbiotic voice.

* *
* * *

Barry
frowned as Lily’s entire posture changed. He didn’t like the way she seemed to
close herself off. With looked at his brother and Sloane. “Can you two take
care of calling everyone and getting them here?” he asked. “I want to talk with
Lily alone.”

Eric
glanced between the pair and slowly made his way to his feet. He couldn’t blame
Barry. Lily’s revelation wasn’t too big of a shock, but the way she started
pushing them away when they needed each other most was going to pose a problem.
“We’ll call Dylan and Crispin first. Then they can help round up everyone
else.” Eric held his hand out for Sloane. “And we’ll also pick a room. I am a
little tired. We’ll let you know when everyone gets here.”

Barry
looked at his brother in confusion for a moment. “You’re staying here?” he
asked skeptically.

“Mom
didn’t clear our building yet, and she wanted us to keep an eye on you and
Lily.” Eric shrugged when Lily frowned at him. “Don’t take it that way. She
just wanted to make sure he was a gentleman.”

Barry
laughed as he pulled Lily into his arms. “It’s awesome that my own mother
thinks so highly of me.” Before she could protest, he pressed a kiss to her
lips. “Come talk to me,” he whispered against her lips. As he pulled her into
the room, Barry noted Sloane picking up the box and following Eric upstairs.

Lily
shook her head and reluctantly followed him. “Barry, you really shouldn’t try
to sweet talk me,” she said as he closed the door behind her. A gasp escaped
her when he pulled her back into his chest.

Barry
wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in the crook of her neck.
“So you think I should be completely disgusted and turn my back on you?” he
asked as he scraped his teeth against one tender spot behind her ear. When she
started to dig her nails into the arms of his shirt, he bit down on her ear
lobe. “Do you?”

“You
really should,” Lily said breathlessly. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head
when he started to squeeze and caress her breasts. “I’m a demon.
One of the highest ranking.”

“You’re
my Lily,” he reasoned before pulling her top off. Before she could object, he
turned her around and lifted her into his arms. “That’s all I need to know.”

She
gave herself over to his kiss as he plundered her mouth. A moan escaped her
when he laid her back on the bed. “I have wings and a tail,” she said
desperately.

Barry
pulled back and looked into her eyes. “We can work around the wings, and I’m
pretty sure you can get downright kinky with that tail,” he said easily. He
could only laugh when she pushed his shoulders. She made her way into a sitting
position and glared at him, causing him to chuckle. “I’m sorry, it’s too soon,”
he said kissing her hand. “But you have to understand, I’m not going to look at
you any different just because you’re technically a demon.” He leaned over and
pressed a kiss to her mouth. He smiled as she easily gave herself over and
wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Now, here’s where you say you won’t
look at me any different because I’m a sex-crazed fiend.”

Lily
looked at him and gently touched his face. Before he could figure out what she
was going to do, she pushed him flat on his back and quickly straddled him. “I
won’t look at you any different,” she said softly. The smile she wore then
blossomed.
“Unless you get a beer gut.
Sex fiends with
beer guts don’t make an attractive picture.”

A
playful growl escaped Barry as he tackled her to the bed. As she started to
laugh, he covered her face and neck in kisses. For a moment, he enjoyed the
feel of her in his arms. When she turned her face to look at him a single
thought struck him. She was the one.

Lily
caressed his face. “Barry?” she questioned. The expression on his face threw
her. “Are you okay?” She pulled away from him and frowned as he continued to
stare at her. “I knew it, I took too much,” she mumbled before pulling him off
of the bed. Before she could maneuver him to the head of the bed, he kissed her
passionately.

He
kept his eyes closed as he held her close. “When this is over, let’s go to
Vegas,” he suggested.

“What?”

“When
all of this is over and my family’s settled back down again, let’s high tail it
to Vegas.”

Lily
was stunned as he sat back on the bed and pulled her down on top of him.
“Barry, you know there’s only one real reason why couples go to Las Vegas,
right?” she questioned.

Barry
slowly nodded and brushed her hair back. “And I want to take you,” he told her.
A frown then crossed his face. “Is this too sudden?” he asked seriously. The
expression on her face didn’t ease any anxiety he had as she nodded. He sighed
rested his head against the pillow. “I’m sorry. I just thought we were on the
same page.”

She
pressed her fingers against his lips. “Get some rest. When this is over, we’ll
talk about Vegas,” she said softly. When he nodded, she pressed a kiss to his
lips. Lily couldn’t help but smile as his hands drifted under the waistline of
her pants. “I’m not going to have sex with you,” she mumbled before kissing his
cheek. When he protested, she relaxed and laid her hand on his chest. “But if
you’re good, I’ll stay.”

He
smiled up at the ceiling. “I could have sworn you said that I was very,
very
good,” he chuckled.

She
buried her face in his neck as a heavy blush crossed her face. “You’re
incorrigible,” she mumbled against his skin. The feeling of his hands along her
back relaxed her. A soft moan escaped her as he started a slow massage at the
base of her neck. One jade eye opened and pinned Barry where he was. “Mr.
Maxwell, are you trying to seduce me?” she asked.

Another
chuckle escaped him as he turned over. Once he had her comfortably under him,
he gently kissed her cheek. “Is it working?” he asked into her ear.

Lily
faced him and sighed. “Go to sleep, Barrence,” she said seriously. When he
frowned, she snuggled up against him. “I’ll stay here, promise.”

* *
* * *

Casper
frowned as
Nico
walked away from the small group of
investigators. The small building in front of them was nothing but rubble.
Mortal investigators still had no clue what happened. They’ve decided to blame
it all on a gas line. The Council’s Keepers weren’t too much farther in their
investigation.

“They
found Nate’s body near the back of the store,”
Nico
said lowly. He shook his head held back a sigh. “He was one hell of a pool
player.”

Casper
snorted. “Nate was a cheat. He Called to all of the balls,” he said lowly. He
moved towards his car and looked at the buildings above them. “I think he
hustled his down payment for this place out of the Pack in California.” Casper
spied the confused look on
Nico’s
face and laughed.
“He was a Jewel Witch of the highest caliber. Very few people realized that he
was able to
Call
to stone.”

Nico
looked back
at the rubble with a deep frown. “No wonder all the Gargoyles liked him.” When
Casper raised an eyebrow,
Nico
shrugged. “There are
very few people that will talk to us when we’re in our beast forms. It could be
that his Magic soothed us.” He looked down the street and frowned when he saw a
pair of men stumble out of an alley.

Casper
turned and spotted the two. His eyes widened when he recognized Jimmy, covered
in dust. “You’re sister is going to kill you,” he said running over to his
friend.

Jimmy
rolled his eyes as he looked at the man beside him. “She’s already tried. At
least, one of her new running partners did.”

Casper
shook his head as he held back his laugh. “I mean the other one,” he said
before looking at the man standing next to Jimmy. His eyes widened when he
looked into the face of someone he never expected to see again. “Athol,” he
acknowledged.

“Casper,”
the tall blonde replied. His eyes glanced around the area before landing on the
Vampire again. “Did you escape your keepers again?”

Jimmy
frowned as he looked from his brother-in-law to his savior. “You two know each
other?” he asked.

“Athol
the Asshole and I go way back,” Casper said simply.

Athol
tried not to growl. “The Rake Prince compromised my sister’s honor.”

Casper
snorted. “Merida didn’t need my help,” he replied before turning back to his
car. “Jim, now that you’re home, you can talk to Dylan. If you survive, she can
get you caught up with everything that went down this afternoon.”

Before
anyone could move, Athol wrapped his hand around Casper’s throat. “Merida hides
away because of you. And now we’re in the process of losing Siobhan because of
some madman’s lovesick game. I will not stand here and allow you to insult me
and mine.”

Nico
grabbed Athol
by the waist and pulled him off of Casper. “This isn’t helping,” he shouted at
the Fae Prince. His skin started to take on a gray tint as he stood between
them. “We all know that Casper can be an asshole. But with everything that’s
going on you need to be the bigger person and let it go.”

Athol
hissed at him. “I don’t see you swallowing your pride,” he said snidely.

“That’s
because I did it a long time ago. You need to let it go too. Or find someone to
be your proxy and go home.”
Nico
turned and glared at
Casper. He knew the younger royal was angry and upset, but it was no reason to
try and get them all killed. “Go to the car and call your brother,” he ordered.

Casper
looked at Athol once more before shaking his head and turning away. As much as
he didn’t want to admit it,
Nico
was right. Any petty
differences he had with the Fae would have to wait until this mess was over. He
looked over his shoulder and saw Jimmy frowning at them both. “You want to talk
with Dylan now?” he asked.

With
a quick glance at Athol, Jimmy moved to follow Casper. If his sister was upset
with him, he would have to straighten everything out before it got out of hand.
“How are they handling this?” he asked Casper when they reached the Vampire’s
car. Casper’s simple snort caused him to frown. “What?”

“You
tell me,” Casper replied. “Your mother gets a call saying that Nate’s place is
now rubble, and all of the street cameras show you going in and never coming
out. Add that to Madison attacking the hospital and leveling the parking
garage, Ashton playing some game with my father and we still have no clue where
Lily’s seal is, or even what we’re doing. Knowing Dylan, how do you think she’s
handling this?”

Jimmy’s
lips pressed together for a moment. Knowing Dylan, he was actually surprised she
wasn’t down here going through the building brick by brick. He sighed and
waited for Casper to dial his sister’s number.