Dangerous Dalliances (Maxwell Investigations) (19 page)

He
looked at her for a long moment. In all of his eons of existence, he never met
one of his incarnations that cared nothing for themselves. A smile crossed his
face as he reached out and touched her cheek. “Your fate has been decided,” he
said quietly.

Lily
blinked as the room around them changed slightly. There were two other winged
men standing over Siobhan and Dylan. She was sure they were Conquest and War.
Lily looked at them both and went to Dylan’s side. “What have you done to her?”
she asked War.

Eyes
the color of honey looked at the Succubus. “I let her see her mistake,” he said
in a deep voice.

Lily
knelt in front of Dylan and wiped away her tears. “
It’s
okay, Dylan.”

She
shook her head. “No, it’s not. I killed her.” Dylan looked into Lily’s eyes.
“She was back, and I killed my sister.”

Lily
hugged Dylan as she glared at War and Famine. They stood and watch silently as
the vampire broke down. She could easily curse them both, but that wouldn’t
accomplish anything. Lily turned her attention to Dylan and shook her head.
“Madison’s fine,” she said softly. When Dylan started to shake her head, Lily
pressed a finger against her lips. “All of us are going to be judged. Only Madison
is left. She’s the last Horseman.
You’ll see, she’s fine.
You did not kill your sister,” she told her.

Siobhan
looked up at Conquest and frowned at him, as well as the other two Nephilim.
“You boys are dicks for making her think that,” she commented.

War
knelt next to Dylan and brushed her tears away. “Watch,” he commanded as he
pointed to the center of the room.

* *
* * *

Madison
fell to her knees and tried to catch her breath. Her hand went to her throat
and tried to slow the flow of blood coming from the wound. She looked around
the white room and saw a paler version of
herself
scream and thrash against an invisible barrier. Madison slowly made her way to
her feet as she came close to the barrier. “What is this?” she asked her
doppelganger. When the demon slammed her fist against the barrier, Madison
backed up a step.

“She’s
a little testy at the moment,” a male’s voice said from behind.

Madison’s
shoulders fell as she slowly turned. “I’m really dead, huh?” she asked as she
looked at the man with long black hair and midnight colored wings. “You’ve come
to take back your magic and send me on my merry way to Hell.”

Death
shrugged as he approached her. He couldn’t help but notice how she barely stood
up to his shoulder. “I’ve thought about it,” he said reasonably. “When I saw
that you and I were becoming closer and closer. I’ll be honest and say I wanted
to smother you in your sleep.”

“You
should have,” Madison mumbled. She turned from the thrashing Demon and slowly
walked away.

“Really?”
Death asked
curiously. When she stopped walking, he appeared in front of her. “Without even
knowing when I would have taken you out, you would accept your death?”

Madison
looked at him with tired eyes. “What do you want me to say? That I love my
life? I don’t. I love the
people
in my life. I would give or do anything
for any of them. But do I want them to walk around scared of me all the time?
Do I want them to wonder what’s going to send me over the edge? No.”

The
Nephilim saw the tears that came to her eyes and touched the side of her neck.
In an instant, the wound at her throat was healed. “I’m sure you know of
countless other Necromancers that have delved too deep into the magic that I
came for. Do you know why I spared you?”

A
heavy sigh escaped Madison. “I figured there was something you were saving me
for. Or, you were watching over me and thought I was entertaining.” She shook
her head and turned away from him. “I never really tried to look at why anyone
did anything for me.”

Death
watched how she tried to close herself off. With a wave of his hand Madison’s demon
disappeared, and a scene from long ago appeared. Madison stood as a confused
five-year-old in a black dress holding her mother’s hand. “This was when I knew
you were special,” Death said softly.

Sadness
entered Madison’s eyes as she looked at the all-too familiar cemetery. “I don’t
need to see this,” she said softly. When he ignored her, she turned her back.
“I know what happened. I was there.”

“You
wanted your grandfather back so badly that at the age of five you brought him
back.” Death waved his hand again and the scene disappeared. “It was the first
time my magic was used with unconditional love.” When Madison looked at him, a
small smile crossed his face. “You were the first woman ever to be given my
magic. Necromancers before you raised the dead for power, or their own gain.
Even when they said it was for love, if who they brought back was different in
any way, they would spurn them.” Death walked over to Madison and gently took
her face into both his hands. “That demon was all of the pain and anger you
kept hidden from the world, but
you
are all of the warmth and love
I
hid away.” When she started to shake her head, he replayed her fight with
Dylan. He watched the horror that crossed her face when she saw the blade cut
into her neck. “Your sister believes she killed you.”

Madison
panicked as she grabbed onto Death’s cloak. “You can’t let her think that!” she
screamed. When he looked at her, she pulled his face level with hers. “It will
destroy her. Tell her you took me; tell her I was too far-gone and that it was
the demon she killed. Dylan can’t know that I came back, even for a second.”

“It’s
too late,” Death whispered. When her knees started to give out from under her,
he wrapped his arms around her. “Your sister has already been judged. She knows
the mistake she made.”

Madison
slowly tried to pull herself together. Thankfully, Death stayed silent as she
wrapped her arms around her body and moved away from him. “You’ve killed her,”
she said in a choked voice. When his crimson eyes continued to watch her, she
shook her head. “But you don’t care, do you?”

“I
care more than you realize.”

Tears
poured from her eyes as her temper snapped. “Then why tell her?” Madison asked.
“I’m dead anyway. I opened the Gates to Abaddon for a petty reason. Everything
we’ve tried to keep from normal humans is now out in the open. I’ve killed
countless people, my family hates me, I killed my husband, scared my children.
You didn’t have to tell her! You could have let me die!”

Death
lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Madison. “This is why,” he whispered
in her ear. As she continued to cry, he ran his fingers through her hair. “You
feel the loss of every death. You understand the consequences of your actions,
or inaction. Would you have rather I stole you away when you were a child?” He
sat on the floor with Madison in his lap. “If I had done that too many people
would have suffered a life without you. One of which is my own son.”

Madison
pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. Her breath caught when she
started to see a resemblance. “No,” she whispered in shock.

He
gave her a familiar smile and shrugged. “Just like you, I have reasons for what
I do, or don’t do. I’ve come to a decision and am ready to declare your
judgment.”

Madison
stayed wrapped in his arms as something in the room shifted. She gasped when
she was lifted away from Death and pulled into Dylan’s strong embrace. Her
hands were trembling as she touched Dylan’s hair. “Dylan?” she breathed.

“I
know you’re okay,” Dylan whispered into Madison’s ear.

The
Nephilim watched as Lily and Siobhan also stood with Madison. Death watched the
way Madison slowly withdrew into herself and frowned. Before he could say
anything, Conquest stepped forward and flared his wings.

Lily
gasped when she saw Barry and Jimmy holding Tina back. She also spotted Casper
and Athol standing close by. She turned to Famine. “What’s going on? Why are
they here?”

“Your
sentence is about to be passed. These people are here as witnesses,” War said
simply.

Conquest
stepped in front of Siobhan and tilted her face to his. “Girls, you are all a
conundrum,” he said honestly. “You each have different motives for doing what
you have done. Each of them may be warped, but they were from the heart.”
Conquest looked at Lily. “None of you needed the seals. You were all strong
enough to reach our powers without them. And even with as blurred as we made
the prophesies
, you were able to figure out most of it.”

Death
gently pulled Madison forward and looked into her eyes. “I rule that you,
Madison Maxwell-Davenport, will reside on Earth as my successor. After the
changes your body has gone through, you will be referred to as an Angel of
Death. But know that over time, you will also become Nephilim.”

Madison
lowered her head and nodded. When Death gave her an understanding smile, she
squeezed his hand and stepped back.

Famine
looked at Lily and smiled. “I rule that you, Lilavanti Dallas, are stuck with
me.” When her frantic eyes sought out Barry, Famine continued. “I will leave
you on Earth as my successor. You can live happily with your Mate. Over time
you will also become Nephilim.”

Conquest
looked at Siobhan for a long moment. “You have a noble heart,” he told her at
last. “Not everyone would take on the
Unseelie
King
simply to avenge their mother. I rule that you will remain on Earth as a
Conduit. You will have access to my power. But I cannot grant you full status
as a Nephilim.”

She
looked at Conquest and gave him a small smile. “I understand,” she replied.

War
stepped turned to Dylan with a frown on his face. Before he started to speak,
Death cleared his throat. Honey colored eyes narrowed for a moment before a
sigh escaped him. “You have to work on your temper,” he said in a growl. “Even
though your heart was in the right place, you were blind to the outcome until
it was almost too late. I rule that you will be my Conduit. I will let you
access my powers to train. If you prove yourself worthy, then I will name you
my successor.”

Dylan
nodded as she looked at the tall man. As much as she hated to admit it, he was
right. She could have killed Madison without a thought. “That’s fair,” she said
softly.

Death
stepped closer to Madison and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Raise the boys
up to be like you,” he whispered. “It won’t be easy, but they have so much
potential.”

Madison
nodded before moving away from him. Her hands started shaking when Tina wrapped
both of her arms around one of hers. She kept her eyes focused on the ground
when she pulled away from her mother. “I can’t,” she whispered.

Tina’s
heart broke as she looked at her daughters. “I understand,” she said before
moving over to Dylan.

Famine
rolled his eyes when he saw the way Barry swept Lily up in his arms. “You two
are going to give me cavities,” he said sourly. When Lily laughed at him, he
waved a hand through the air. “You all better return. There is quite a mess for
you to clean up.”

Siobhan
frowned as she looked at Conquest. “What about the Gates?” she asked quickly.
“We don’t know how to close the Gates.”

Famine
smiled at the dirty look Lily gave him. “They have been closed since we brought
all of you here,” he said easily. His smile brightened when Lily’s expression
went from dirty to downright nasty. “We have a responsibility you know.” He
backed up a step when Lily was about to approach him.

Barry
grabbed her arms and pulled her against his chest. “Let’s just get back and
figure out the mess at home,” he said softly.

Lily
sighed as Barry’s hands ghosted up and down her back. “One day I think I’m
going to hit him,” she said turning away from Famine.

Conquest
held back a smile as the area around them slowly started to change. It appeared
he and his brothers had all found reasons to check in on Earth more often. He
looked to his left and saw the Metal Worker and the Siren that called them
forth. As expected, both men turned and ran to the group of women.

Death
stepped back and took note of the way Madison tried to back away from everyone
except Siobhan. He knew she would punish herself worse than he could ever
devise, but for some reason, he hadn’t expected her to start now. He stepped
forward and touched her shoulder. “I’m going to take Madison home,” he told the
small crowd. “There are a few people there that she needs to see.”

Tina
nodded as she continued to watch Madison. “We’ll be by later to check on you,
Sweetheart,” she said softly.

Madison
forced a smile to cross her face, but she couldn’t look at her family. “That’s
fine,” she said in a small empty voice.

Dylan
went to Madison’s side and tilted her face up. She heard the chaotic thoughts
running through her sister’s mind, and felt her heart break. “I don’t blame
you,” she said before hugging her again.

Madison
stepped away from her sister and closer to Death. “I blame me,” she whispered
before vanishing.

Tina
pressed her lips together and looked at the rest of her children. “Alright,
let’s go after one thing at a time,” she said lowly. She looked at Conquest.
“You said the Gates are closed, so does that mean people are still under attack?”