Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations) (17 page)

* *
* * *

Madison
watched as people ran frantically through the streets. Demons of all kinds
poured out of the Gate to Abaddon. She looked down from her perch on a near
rooftop trying to find where Pan went. If she could find him, she would find
Morrigan
. The sound of near footfalls made her frown. She
had hoped for more time. “It didn’t have to come to this,” she said lowly.

Dylan
looked at her sister. “Yes, it did,” she replied. When Madison faced her, Dylan
blinked. Madison’s normally mocha colored skin was washed out. Crimson orbs
glared from dark sunken eyes. It hurt Dylan to see her sister like this.
Madison was normally so vibrant. The demon controlling her made her look like a
low budget Crypt Keeper. “You need to stop this.”

A
scoff escaped her. Madison turned her attention to the crowds below and quickly
searched for either Pan or
Morrigan
again. “You say
that like it’s as easy as pressing a brake,” she said lowly. She turned her
attention back to Dylan with hardened eyes. “It’s not. This ball is rolling and
there’s nothing you can do about it.”

With
a wave of Dylan’s hand, the metal door behind her quickly changed into the form
of a bladed staff. “Shut it down, Madison,” she ordered. She raised her weapon
and blocked the ruby blade of Madison’s scythe. Dylan growled as Madison
appeared behind her. “Sneak attacks are beneath you.”

Madison
grinned before kicking at Dylan’s knee. When her sister went down, Madison
pressed her blade against Dylan’s throat. “You would be surprised to know what
isn’t beneath me.”

Dylan
grabbed onto the blade and kicked Madison in her knee. When she fell, Dylan
ripped the weapon away from Madison’s hands. As they both jumped to their feet,
Madison grabbed Dylan’s
naginata
and held it at the
ready. They looked at each other as they assessed the weapon trade. Madison
banished her scythe from Dylan’s hands and raised the staff as Dylan threw a
solid punch at her. Madison blinked when the staff deconstructed in her hands
and Dylan’s fist connected with her chest. She stepped back and countered with
her own series of punches.

Madison
watched her sister as they moved apart. Dylan’s fighting skills improved over
the years. “You know,
Dyl
, if I didn’t know any
better, I would think you’re trying to really hurt me.”

Dylan
fought back a growl. She knew what Madison was trying to do. If she was blinded
by anger, there would be no way she would be able to concentrate on the fight.
“I am,” she said honestly. When Madison frowned, she continued. “You’ve done
too much to just let it all slide.” She quickly blocked and countered the kicks
Madison threw her way. “This has to stop, Madison.”

Crimson
eyes glowed brightly when a solid hand wrapped around her throat. “You foolish,
stupid little girl,” Madison hissed. With
a flair
of
power, Dylan was thrown back. “Don’t you realize that all we want is a way
home? Instead you lock away my sister and now try to kill your own.”

Dylan’s
eyes widened as Madison’s entire body changed. Black feathered wings sprouted
from her back as her features turned completely skeletal. Her sister finally
turned into a demon of death. “You aren’t my sister,” Dylan growled out.
“Madison would never want this.”

“You
all thought she was the dark one. She joked with her Troy that she is
Maleficent.” Long clawed fingers swung out and barely missed Dylan as she
jumped back. “Even that callous cow of a mother shunned her and called her a
monster. How the fuck would you know what she would want?”

Dylan
dodged the vicious swings only to narrowly avoid being struck. Her heart was
breaking as she heard the pent up anger in the demon that was her sister. It
helped spark
her own
anger. Dylan grabbed a near
antenna and quickly transmuted it into a pair of short swords. “Because she’s
my sister,” she said in a growl. Her fangs flashed as she crossed the blades in
front of her in time to block what would have been a vicious punch to her
stomach. As the demon backed off, Dylan charged after it. She refused to think
of that thing as Madison. She raised her swords up, only to have her blades
caught. Dylan glared into crimson eyes. “Give her back!” she shouted.

“No,”
was the simple reply. Before she could react, the demon used its grip on the
swords to throw Dylan off of the roof.

* *
* * *

Pan
hid among the crowd. The pandemonium Madison caused made people flood the
streets. He quickly ducked into the opening of an empty shop and tried to
regain his bearings. The Gate itself was nearly five blocks down the street.
Demons were charging at the terrified people. This was the first time in
centuries they would be able to taste human flesh, and they wouldn’t waste a
moment to do so. Pan went deeper into the shop and found a set of stairs. He
needed to see if
Morrigan
escaped yet. Last time, he
had been able to escape with her, only to be trapped again when they went
across the sea to Europe. Now he would secret her away to a place where no one
would find them.

Pan
found a window and looked out of it. People below were being slaughtered and
his magic soaked it up like a sponge. His eyes scanned the crowd and saw a
familiar pair of wings. A smile slowly crossed his face as he watched her move.
She was exactly as he remembered. Long lean limbs, skin the color of a white
rose, beautiful wings that carried her gracefully in the air.
Her plum colored hair was a cloud around her as she moved towards a
young man with short blonde hair.

A
frown crossed Pan’s face when he saw the way she smiled at the young blonde. He
would chalk her indiscretions up to being trapped for so long.
Morrigan
told him herself, humans tasted so much better
than other demons. Pan’s dark eyes widened when he realized exactly who
Morrigan
was about to feed from. He quickly turned, about
to run down to the street when he saw Victor standing behind him.

“I
once considered you a friend,” the former monarch said lowly. His eyes were
cold as Pan stepped closer to the window.

Pan
glanced out of the window again and frowned. The blonde
Morrigan
approached was none other than Alex, and he currently held a gun on her. “I
won’t explain myself to you,” Pan said trying to move around Victor. When the
vampire blocked his way, Pan growled. “You, of all people, could understand why
I would do this.”

Victor
nodded sadly. “There was a time when I tore the world apart looking for those
that killed my Christine.” When Pan stepped back, he stepped forward. “But you
know all about that. You hid away the person behind all of it.”

“She
is my wife. Don’t stand there and act as if you would have done things
differently,” Pan spat. He reached into his jacket and palmed a dagger. Just as
he was about to pull it out, Victor slammed him against a wall.

Victor’s
eyes were chips of emerald ice as Pan coughed. “Do not assume I will allow this
foolishness to continue,” he said darkly. He grabbed the dagger from Pan’s hand
and used it to pin his hand to the wall. “You have betrayed me on too many
fronts.”

Pan
pulled on his Magic. “I am truly sorry you feel that way. But I will kill you
before I let you stop me.”

Pan’s
magic flared out and threw Victor across the room. He turned to the window and
saw
Morrigan
was still fighting with Alex. With
another glance at Victor, Pan jumped out of the window to find a way to his
wife.

Victor
sat up and pulled himself out of the fixture he fell into. His heart was heavy
as he stood, knowing that once Pan was taken care of, he would have to find a
way to save Madison from herself.

Casper
caught a glimpse of Ashton Nicodemus. The Necromancer was fighting Athol, and
it looked like he was winning. Casper moved from behind the tree he used for
cover. Ashton had been allowed to run around unchecked for entirely too long.
He growled low in his throat when Athol was thrown back, nearly to Barry’s
feet. It had taken all of his self-control not to charge in fangs bared. Casper
tightened his grip on his sword and stepped out of the tree line.

Ashton
laughed when he saw Casper. “You?” he questioned. When Casper didn’t say
anything, Ashton continued. “Is this because I had her first?”

It
was a petty shot and they both knew it. “There’s a lot you need to answer for,”
Casper said simply. He tilted his chin up when the air around him started to
thin. His eyes glowed brightly before Ashton was lifted up into the air and
thrown back.

Ashton
climbed to his feet and glared at Casper. The cut that formed on his forehead
was healed as the tree beside him started to die. “If you think that’s going to
stop me, you’re going to be mistaken.”

Casper
smiled before rushing Ashton. Dark eyes blinked as Casper appeared in front of
him. “I know it’ll take a lot more than that to hurt you,” he growled before
slamming his knee up into Ashton’s face. As he stumbled back, Casper grabbed on
to Ashton’s neck and ran him through. “But I want you to hurt,” he said before
ripping the blade from him chest.

As
Ashton fell to the ground, Casper’s eyes glowed again. Ashton cried out in pain
when he realized his wounds weren’t closing. Wide, wild eyes looked at Casper
as the Vampire knelt next to him. “How?” he choked out.

Casper
tapped the side of his head. “Telepathy,” he said simply. “You seem to forget,
I’ve fought several Mages over the years.” Casper leaned over to Ashton’s ear.
“You don’t know how I wish I could take my time with you. Consider
yourself
lucky I can’t,” he said before standing. When
Ashton started to reach for him, Casper swung his sword and severed his head.

Barry
ran over to Casper with Athol close behind. Barry looked at the corpse at his
feet and slowly inhaled. “Part of me wants to wonder if he’s really dead,” he
said lowly.

Athol
nodded once and snapped his fingers. Both Casper and Barry stepped back as
Ashton’s body caught on fire. “Now we know for sure,” he said simply. When
Casper chuckled, he shrugged. “He was mortal. It doesn’t matter how powerful he
was, he cannot survive beheading
and
burning.”

Barry
shook his head before looking around the area again. His eyes widened when he
spotted Lily clawing a man across his chest. “What the hell?”

Athol
grabbed his arm before he could charge after her. “It isn’t what you think,” he
said. His eyes darkened as two others started to attack the Succubus.

“What
they hell are they?” Barry asked. He nearly flinched when Lily ripped off an
arm. Just as she turned to strike at another, the woman that opened the Gate
appeared.

“Those
are the
Unseelie
Princes,” Athol said darkly. He
stood and watched as Lily and Siobhan fought the three viciously. They stood
back to back as they moved in perfect sync. Every move looked almost as if it
were choreographed. Athol’s eyes narrowed when Lily wrapped her tail around
Siobhan’s waist and took to the air. He inhaled when he saw the
Unseelie
King toss a fireball at them. The simple fireball
erupted and quickly gained the power of a nuclear bomb. Athol raised a
protective barrier and looked around. He could see Lily holding Siobhan as she
screamed and fought.

Barry
spotted a form on the other side of the
Unseelie
King. A sigh of relief escaped him when he saw Jimmy being protected by his
jewels. Once he was sure his brother was alright, he looked to the sky and
checked on the woman he loved.

* *
* * *

Lily
shook Siobhan. “See, he’s fine,” she shouted as she pointed to Jimmy. She
wouldn’t look into why the Fae was so worried over Jimmy. She just needed a
moment to think. The
Unseelie
Princes were bad
enough. The King brought them forth to fight just as Siobhan attacked. Now with
one blow, the Princes were down, and the King stood laughing as his demons
escaped the island. “I need you to focus!” she shouted.

Siobhan
growled as her eyes remained locked on the
Unseelie
King. “I am perfectly focused,” she said darkly.

Lily
barely held back the urge to slap her. Killing him was the only thing Siobhan
seemed to care about. “Listen to me,” she said forcing Siobhan to look at her.
“If he gets off of this island, there is no telling how much destruction he’ll
cause. And he’ll start with those that we hold dear. Don’t you have someone you
want to protect?” she asked.

Siobhan
blinked as she looked toward the ground again. She saw her brother fighting
against the hordes of demons, and Dori’s father cutting a path to Athol.
Siobhan turned her eyes back to Lily. “Get me over him, and drop me,” she
ordered.

“No,
not going to happen,” Lily said before dodging a flying harpy. “He’ll kill
you.”

Siobhan
shook her head. “You don’t know the history here. I have to kill him.”

“What
is so important? Why would you damn the world?
For revenge?”

Siobhan’s
eyes glowed as her features started to change. “Yes,” she hissed before raising
her knife to Lily’s tail. “Now, you drop me, or I make you drop me.”

Lily
pressed her lips together as she opened her tail. As Siobhan started to fall to
the ground, Lily followed her. Her claws were ready as various creatures flew
up at them. Lily was impressed when she noticed Siobhan cutting and slashing at
everything in her way. Lily dropped below Siobhan and quickly grabbed her when
a flying serpent spat fire at her. Just as Lily released her again, Siobhan
shot a blast of energy at the serpent.

Siobhan
landed gracefully in front of her father. Her eyes glowed as they took in each
other’s appearances. “This ends now, Father,” she said in a demonic voice. When
he laughed at her, she tightened her grip on her weapons. “You’ll finally pay
for what you’ve done.”

The
Unseelie
King shook his head. “You’re like a broken
record.
You’re going to pay for what you’ve done
,” he mocked. When her
eyes narrowed, he slid off of his horse and approached her. “But I’ve done a
lot of things. Why don’t you remind me of how I slighted you?”

“You
murdered my mother,” Siobhan growled. When he frowned at her, she went on. “I
saw you standing over her body with her blood on your hands. When the Queen
looked for you, you ran back to Abaddon like the coward you are.”

In
a flash, the King had her by the throat. “Be careful about what you say and to
whom you say it, little girl,” he growled as he lifted her off the ground.
“That promise to your mother is the only thing keeping me from gutting you, but
do not think it gives you freedom of your tongue.” He shook her for a moment
before dropping her to the ground.

Lily
ran over and helped Siobhan to her feet. She carefully reached into her jacket
pocket and fingered the blade Father Daniel had given her. When Siobhan looked
at her with serious eyes, Lily nodded once. If the blade had the power to kill
one of the Horsemen, it should have more than enough power to kill the
Unseelie
King.

Siobhan
attacked. Centuries of pent up anger and frustration poured out of every move.
The blows her father landed barely registered as memories flooded her.

“Down!”
Lily shouted.

Siobhan
dropped to her knees and watched as Lily’s arm stretched over her. Tears slowly
filled her eyes as the knife sank into her father’s chest. Energy shot out in
every direction and bathed everyone in a hot white light.

As
everything faded, Lily looked over her shoulder and saw Barry trying to run to
her. She gave him a loving smiled and closed her eyes as everything around them
vanished.

* *
* * *

Alex
had the Succubus in a tight stranglehold. There was no way he would be able to
live with himself if he allowed another one to feed off of him.
Especially when things were so grim.
He started to turn his
gun on her when he felt Death Magic surround him. Alex screamed in pain when
the arm holding the demon broke. He fell to his knees as she stood over him.

Her
dark amethyst eyes glared at him. “You should have taken my offer,” she said
softly. “I’m known to be so kind to my lovers.”

“
Morrigan
,” Pan’s voice called.

Alex
frowned as he looked at him. Pan looked much younger than the last time he saw
him.
Decades younger.
Instead of having long
snow-white hair, it was mostly black with very little grey. The lines on his
face were also filling in rapidly. Alex also noticed that he was nursing his
hand. “Gramps?” he asked breathlessly.

Pan
glanced at Alex before looking at
Morrigan
. It wasn’t
his fault she turned her attention to the boy. But as his eyes raked over her
form, he couldn’t help but be pleased. She was still just as beautiful as the
first time he saw her. He smiled when she looked at him with a blank
expression. “It’s me,
Pengfei
.”

Recognition
appeared in her eyes. She smiled as he walked over to her and wrapped her in
his embrace. “I knew you would find a way to release me,” she said softly. Her
smile fell as she traced a gentle hand over his wrinkled features. “Time has
not been kind to you, my Dearest.”

Alex
fought his way to his feet. “You know this crazy bitch?”

Pan
turned hard eyes on Alex. “She’s my wife,” he said in a harsh tone.

A
look of disbelief crossed Alex’s face. “Your wife,” he echoed. It only took
another moment before he started putting everything together. He shook his head
slowly as he watched the pair. “You did all of this for her?”

The
look of devotion that crossed Pan’s face was disgusting. “She needed to be free
of that place.” Pan touched
Morrigan’s
hair. “I
needed to have the love of my life back.”

Alex
couldn’t help but snort. “Please. She didn’t act like the love of anyone’s life
while she was trying to jump me a few minutes ago.”

Pan’s
eyes flashed. “You will mind how you talk about her,” he said in a growl. When
Alex rolled his eyes, Pan’s temper flared. “You don’t have Madison to hide
behind, boy.”

“I
don’t need to hide behind her,” Alex said smugly. When Pan started to pull on
his magic, Alex looked behind Pan. “Grandfather looks like he wants to have a
word though.”

Before
Pan could say anything, Victor’s sword appeared at his throat. Victor looked at
Alex and frowned at the boy’s broken arm. “Alex?” he asked in concern.

Alex
shook his head and smirked. “I’ll be fine,” he said. He turned his eyes to the
Succubus that was slowly trying to move away from them all. “Aren’t you going
to try to help the love of your life?” he asked.

Morrigan
laughed. “I
never said he was the love of
my
life,” she said. When she saw the hurt
look on Pan’s face, she laughed harder. “You thought I could fall for you? You
were just a means to an end. I wanted freedom, you wanted me. It really was
nothing personal.” Her eyes then turned to the Vampire hold him captive. “But
you,” she breathed. “You would have been my crowning achievement. I could have
fallen for you.”

“You
don’t mean that,” Pan snapped. He ignored the way the sword bit into his neck
as he tried to reach her. “You said that you loved me. You married me.”

 
Morrigan
moved away
from Pan as if she hadn’t a care. “Mortal marriage means nothing to me,” she
said simply. “I fully expected you to be dead by now. Who would have thought
you found a way to survive this long?”

Alex
watched as she gently levitated in the air. “He’s a Necromancer. We can pull
life from the people and things around us,” he told her. He ignored the look of
interest that flashed in her eyes. “We can become damn near immortal.” Alex
held back a shudder of revulsion as she quickly wrapped her arms around his
shoulders and caressed his face. He looked into her eyes and swallowed bile.
“You’d like that power, wouldn’t you?” he asked lowly.

Morrigan
smiled at
him. “Would you be willing to share with me?” she asked in turn. Her eyes
brightened when Alex wrapped his good arm behind her back.

He
stared into her eyes. She was nothing more than a power hungry user, just like
Cord had been. “You’re like him, aren’t you?” he asked in a whisper. When a
look of confusion crossed her face, he continued. “I met an Incubus a few
months back. All he was after was more power and the next high.”

Morrigan
giggled. “He
sounds like fun. Can I meet him?” She leaned forward and licked the side of his
face.

Alex’s
eyes were cold as he looked at her. “He was murderous junkie that was put down
when he trapped me and my ex in one of his orgies.” Before
Morrigan
could reply, Alex pressed the barrel of his gun against the back of her skull.
He didn’t flinch as he pulled the trigger. The press of the
claws
in his arm lessened as her face exploded.