Echoes in Eternity (The Pella Series Book 1) (54 page)

             
“Duke here has the legendary ring of King Minos. It appears our
friend
,” he mocks, “imprisoned the tarred soul of his devilish mother in that fucking ring,” he says pointing an accusatory finger toward the Duke’s left hand. The bitch’s punishment!

             
“I had to, in order to save her!”

             
“Save who exactly?”

             
“Elissa, of course,” he whispers pained.

             
“How did you figure that? You thought you could save
my
woman by handing her to a minion of the
Fallen
?”

“I’m not handing her to anyone! But they can track her, and I’m merely using them to locate her. They are unable to do anything to her!”

“I don’t believe you! What is your real purpose here Duke? Do you know what the fuck happened to her only yesterday?” I growl as I take two long strides and stand face to face with him. He doesn’t back down. We are face to face, less than an inch away. He simply ignores my question.

             
“It must be such a torment for you Alex,” he says calmly, yet with the skill of a killer who is ready to thrust the rusty knife into the heart of his mortal enemy, going for the kill, “that Elissa belongs to you, yet she’s not yours to take. Fucking karma is a bitch. You stole her from me when she was my fiancée and now I will steal her back even if I have to get her right from under you! I’ve no pride or shame and care little for any titles that was bestowed on me when it comes to getting her back!” There is no regret, no penance, and no compunction in his voice.

My iron fisted left hook’s swing is automatic
. All I remember is my white-fisted knuckle making contact with his arrogant mouth with enough force to throw him into the back wall ten feet away, crumbling the dry wall, creating a Duke sized hole between this meeting room and the next. His two men as well as Anthony run into the meeting room to prevent a full blown battle among the two of us. Henry knows that when rage takes over me, there simply is not a single Nephilim who can stop me. The Duke springs back up, taking a defensive stance before me. He shakes his head to stop his men from attacking me in his defense. The animosity and the hostile energy is enough to blow the place off its foundation. The Duke wipes his blood from his split lip with the flick of his tongue and puts order to his hair with a single run of his long fingers.

             
“I’m not going to fight you! I’m still here to protect her! Believe it or not, Alexandros, this isn’t about you. This isn’t even about the Nephilim factions of the continents who wish to unite in light of what is coming where you and I are the top contenders for the leadership part. This is simply and only about Elissa. And, I promise you my Lord,” he says for the first time acknowledging the superiority of my rank both in human as well as in Nephilim terms, “that I will do everything in my power to gain her regard back.” He wants the possession of the singular point in the universe that means anything to me, my twin soul and the owner of my heart: My woman.

             
“With her enemies in tow?” I hiss.

             
“Where’s Miss Duncan?” I vaguely hear Anthony ask the Doc.

             
“She’s safe and secure, waiting in the Centurion Command Center, studying the South American clients.”

             
“Are you daft man? That’s where Hailey is!”

             
“Who in heaven’s name is Hailey?” Doc shouts irritated.

             
“Hedone!”

             
“Fuck a demon!” shouts Doc. “Why isn’t Hedone on the floor with the rest of the
Psyches
?” The answer comes in the form of the door opening and slamming with Anthony’s running retreating footfalls.

             
“Still want to fight, Alex?” asks the Duke licking the blood on his lower lip once again. The impassioned expression of his face is unhidden.

             
“What do you know that I don’t?” I growl.

             
“Aren’t you concerned about Hedone?” he asks, unable to contain the sudden restlessness. What the fuck is he hiding?

             
“How do you know about her?”

             
“Do you forget that I am the head of the European Nephilim? Anyone who is someone knows about her,” he replies evasively.

             
“What is she to you and why weren’t you surprised to hear about her presence?”

             
“Again… Do you want to continue arguing, or go check on Elissa? Your former lover can be possessive to get her newer competition out of the way,” he replies.

             
“She can do no such thing. She’s pledged…”

             
“How the fuck can she pledge something that doesn’t belong to her?” Duke shouts. “We have to go now!”

             
“What the hell do you mean she can’t pledge? Her soul is intact! I felt it; she couldn’t have even uttered the words of pledge if she wasn’t in possession of her soul!” I hiss, rage oozing out of my pores.

             
“Yes she can! The soul isn’t gone! It’s simply pledged to someone else. Someone else holds the possession of it, and she’s simply borrowing it! That’s why you felt its presence and familiarity, but in fact it isn’t hers!” Duke replies, completely exasperated. This simply can’t be. Even the fucking Hades has rules and laws.

             
“What the hell are you saying? She cannot pledge something that isn’t hers to a first generation! That’s against the
Divine Laws
!”

             
“She has some bypass clause that works for her! The one who holds the pledge is preoccupied!” he says smugly.

“Preoccupied with what?”
I growl. The Duke tilts his head to the side, crosses his arms and raises his eyebrows questioning.

“Who do you think
owns that soul and might not be able to come and collect his due?” I don’t answer. I exhale with realization, briefly closing my eyes. My jaw clenches. I know. Why didn’t I think of that before and why or how would Marcus get the possession of her soul? More importantly, did she do something to Elissa?

“Fuck!” I mutter my epithet
under my breath and swiftly run to the door. I know Courcillion is on my heels. Why the hell does he have more information about this than I do? Elissa was my wife. I have been her protector for centuries. I’m the one who fell in love with her with the first sight, on my fucking deathbed! How the hell could Courcillion have managed to get this information before I did? More importantly, what else does he know? I always make sure that I do everything in human speed to blend among the humans. Top human speed, but detectable by humans nonetheless. I don’t hold back and for the first time in a very long time, I run like a Nephilim. I become a blur from the office door to the Centurion door. Only our own kind can detect the haste but not the anxiety attached to it. My elite human clientele are blissfully ignorant of the chaos surrounding them; they’re simply eager to purchase my aircrafts and rub elbows with the other top industrialists, businessmen, runners of the world economy, namely the deepest pockets of the world. The inevitable confrontation between my soldiers and the
Fallen
along with their minions will happen: it’s not a matter of if, but when. I have been forming the newest and deadliest Praetorians and my secret weapon Centurions for centuries not just to protect Elissa, but when the time comes for the heaven’s Angels to go to war against the
Fallen
, I will have the means to protect our kind. Extinction is no longer an option for the Nephilim. The battles have been raging on for thousands of years; humans either become casualties or tools in these wars. But their limited sight, hearing and perception prevent them from seeing the actual participants of the game. The endless struggle for power of the
Fallen
who are not all infernal, and the heaven’s Angels who are trying to prevent the lords of the Hades from making their way back to Eden has caused generations of the Nephilim to be the collateral damage. That’s where Elissa comes in. She is the innocent, sinless, one of a kind specimen of a sacrificial lamb of the Angel and human blood that can provide a free ticket and open the doors of Eden all the way to permit the
Fallen
to enter.

Not taking a perceived danger
into consideration is not only foolish, but can be catastrophic. One would think that the Almighty owner of Eden would provide protection for Elissa to prevent the power shift. But the Divine Laws don’t work that way. The future is not written. Free will reigns. And right now my girl might need me. My taut muscles are like a well-oiled machine, carrying me to the Centurion Command Center. I hear the very imperceptible footfalls of Courcillion closely behind me. They are singularly distinct like one’s fingerprint. Once I get a feel for someone’s voice, walk, demeanor, or even the way they breathe, it is forever engrained in my mind. His gaits are unmistakable. He’s another alpha male. Confident, arrogant, entitled, but this time there’s something else in his demeanor. He’s concerned, worried, and the tension he’s carrying just amplifies my rising anxiety. The eerie feeling that he knows about an awaiting danger and I don’t creeps over me again. But what urges me forward even faster isn’t this feeling: it’s the feeling of something ominously wrong. My bond with Elissa stretches like the elastic band giving me physical pain, making my chest hurt, and the sudden descent of anguish aches my soul. Pain of separation shoots through my heart, radiates through my soul in searing intensity. I don’t have time to gasp for air but my lungs want to do just that. All I know is that I have to get to my girl and I have to do it now. I stand before the door and my hand reaches for the handle. The barriers erected are supposed to deter everyone except the few who are authorized to be in the Command Center. I don’t gaze around, but my senses are on full alert. I feel the tension from the collective minds of the
Psyches
. What the fuck is wrong?

“
Sir! Hurry!
” I hear Anthony shouting. The intonation of his voice is so ominous, I remember the tone. He shouted for me the same way when Elissa was pushed into the river. I had to dive into the frigid river to get her.

My hand dips and grasps the door handle.
I’m surprised that my hands aren’t shaking. The blue aura washes over me immediately, scanning and engulfing me within a shower of light rays, giving me access into the CTC. I expect the door to close and keep the Duke outside, but as soon as he touches the door handle, the aura sweeps over him, granting him access as if he has all the right in the world to enter into the most secure Command Center from here to Los Angeles. As soon as he enters behind me, his two bodyguards attempt to rush in, but the two large Nephilim hit the ethereal wall and with a loud thud they fall backwards. The shocked look on their faces is the last thing I see before the door springs closed. But seeing Elissa’s unresponsive, lifeless body in Anthony’s arms while Doc is trying to get a response out of her pumps the adrenaline through my veins. I push both men out of the way; I pull Ellie into my arms.

“Elissa! Wake up baby!” I shout, but there’s no response from her. Her breathing is so shallow I can barely feel it, but her heart is beating strong still.

“Where are you baby? Wake up!” The fear, an emotion I have not felt over two-hundred years hits me with the intensity of a thousand thunderbolts.

“Alexander! Now might be a good time to pull her back like you did earlier!” Doc urges me anxiously.

I can feel the intensity of Duke’s gaze bearing down on me.

“I want to help,” he says tossing the jacket off his tuxedo, kneeling beside me.

“You can’t help!” I growl.

“
Fuck, Pella! Do you want to argue now, or do you want to get her back before she’s gone irretrievably far?” he hisses.

“I know how to get her back!”

“Not without my help. You won’t be able to! You have to awaken her…”

“The
Hieron Osteon
! I know! I’ve already done it today.”

“If you know that, you also know that it can’t be done alone! You have to have someone to help you who knows the map of her body and her soul.”

“You’re not it! You don’t know either the map of her body or her soul!”

“I was her doctor, I know the map of her body!” says Doc determined, “and if you two are going to argue, I’ll have Ant
hony help. Resolve your differences
AFTER
you get her back! And feel free to keep your fucking jealousy or any hatchet you have buried for the time being!” His epithet stops us both in our tracks.

“Well, what’s it going to be gentlemen? Hurry the fuck up, or leave her to my care!”

“Detain Hedone, and question her! She may not leave until I am back with Elissa!” I hiss without blinking or looking at him. My gaze is trained on the Duke.

“How long will it take?” Doc asks.

“As long as it takes! Two hours, several days, weeks, eternity! I don’t fucking know Doc!”