This Curse: (The Grace Allen Series Book 2 ) (20 page)

I closed my eyes at his words, so familiar to me. It
seemed the feelings I had were pretty common among my kind. I didn’t think it
was pathetic, only a little sad, and depressing. 

We stopped a few yards from a small hut. “What will I
say to them?” A crazy feeling of euphoria filled my body.
Dang
, I had no
idea just how badly I wanted to see my own kind.

I turned and looked at his profile as he gazed around
the village. This was so surreal. I was in a Madea village with
Lucifer!
He
was truly like no other man I had ever seen. He was evil, wrapped in a pretty
bow. Lust and temptation oozed from his pores, even with his seductive lure
muted, his physical allure was still pretty damn powerful. He was a man who
could tempt. He was the ultimate bad boy.
The
bad boy. I would need to
watch this one like a hawk. There was no room for mistakes with him.

No
giving
in.

He finally turned his blue eyes to me. “Did that
internal dialog make you feel more secure? You feel fortified and we may
proceed, now?” One side of his mouth lifted in a small smile. “And you needn’t
worry about what you will say to them. We aren’t really here, Grace. I’m only
showing you shadows of the past. They can not see us and we won’t be able to
interfere in anything.”

I smirked. "Hmm, then when I wake up I’ll
understand the true meaning of Christmas?”

“Are you always like this?” He grumbled as he pulled
my arm. I stumbled after him frowning. He led me to the center of the small
village and I realized that it really was beautiful in its simplicity. Tidy
little huts lined the narrow dirt road that we had traveled. The well was made
of stone and beautifully carved wood. It had a very large opening with a thick
rim, large enough to sit upon.

I turned around, taking in all I could of the
scenery. Then I froze. My heart sped up and my hands were pools of sweat.

They were really here!

I took a small step toward them. They were talking
companionably as they approached the well. I stared as they gathered water. Two
women, two
Madea!
They wore simple white sheath dresses. I felt a small
tear slide down my cheek as I examined every inch of them. Their hair resembled
mine in so many ways copper and silver strands of shining metallic silk. The
only difference was that their hair didn’t dance and sway like Medusa’s snakes.

I was suddenly frantic and I turned to Lucifer, ready
to say screw it all, just let them see me! But his eyes were locked in another
direction. He looked pained and I stopped and followed the direction of his
gaze.

My breath caught. I put my hand on my chest,
desperate to keep my heart from bursting through my ribcage.

I
was
walking towards us!

She, or
me
was approaching our ghostly bodies.
She wore the same simple white dress as the other two; only she seemed to have
something extra. Her hair was the same as the others and her skin was just as
pale. But there was something. She seemed to glow more.

 “My love. You have come.” she yelled and broke into
a run.

Oh
, I
smiled, that something extra was the glow of love.

I turned to see her throw herself into the arms of…
Oh
my God, no!
I felt my jaw drop as she spun in the arms of Lucifer from the
past.

The Lucifer from my time was standing close to me.
His face a mask of indifference, but I saw his eyes, in that small moment, I
saw him
feel
and that scared the holy shit out of me.

“Her name is Mariee.” He spoke without looking at me.
“She is the eldest of her sisters and the leader of the Madea.” He cleared his
throat and faced me finally. “She is the most powerful, yet…” He looked at
them, “she believed I was a human soldier. You see the battles are heading
their way and I knew what they would do if their powers were threatened again.
I knew that the
noble
Madea would cease, and I could not permit that.”
He shook his head as he looked at me. “But it seems I had no need to worry. Now
come.”

I looked for the couple but they had disappeared.
“You said no Madea would go to Hell, but didn’t they all commit suicide?
Shouldn’t they all be in Hell?” I was sick at that thought but it quickly fled
when the devil sneered.

“Legends can become so foolish and romantic.” He
walked to a nearby hut and pulled me with him through the small door. “They
never killed themselves. They all went into the ring, Grace. Now they are all
inside you.” He shook his head, apparently annoyed with not only the useless
sacrifice, but my ignorance as well. “They were pure, not stupid. Mariee most
especially as it turned out.”

“No, way. Impossible.” I sputtered and tried to meet
his eyes.
They all went into the ring?”
I whispered in awe, afraid to
believe him. He avoided my gaze and stood off to the side of the door. I
mirrored his movements. “I don’t believe you. Aren’t you sort of famous for
lying?” I folded my arms. “I’m sure it somehow suits your purposes to tell me
such outrageous lies, I only wish I knew what your agenda really was.” I
glared.

He huffed out his breath and turned to me, his face
had twisted into hard angry lines and he grabbed me, his long fingers dug into
my arms. Alarmed, I struggled to pull away and he snarled, his blue eyes bled
to red. I jerked in fright as he hauled me close and smashed his mouth down
onto mine.

My body exploded into flames as he devoured my lips,
my tongue was somehow in his mouth, and I screamed inside my mind. Every cell
in my body burned with his fire. He was all that was hunger, all that was lust,
hate, death, and life. I tried to breathe, tried to pull away as I pulled him
closer. I could feel my hands desperately gripping his shoulders, the back of
his head.

“Mariee,” his hot breath whispered into my mouth. I
felt my mouth moving, forming words that were foreign to my tongue. An ancient
language my soul knew by heart. I was full of love and longing. He was my
world, my entire life. I knew nothing of love until him.

“
Seran
.” His ancient name left my lips in a
whisper of sadness as we broke the kiss. I looked into his eyes, my mind fully
aware of our shared past. The past he and Mariee shared. It was a part of me
the same as she was a part of me.

I staggered back, “What was that?” I asked, my voice
trembling.

“Your proof.” He stated simply.

My knees trembled. “Okay, I believe you.” I admitted.
He was telling the truth, for once. I felt her and with that knowledge, I knew
that I had always felt her. I felt the others as well in voices and thoughts.
Guiding my heart and staying my hand. Maybe my powers did come with an
instruction manual. I looked up at him.

“Why are we here?” I searched his face, His lips were
swollen and pink from my touch, and I wanted to slap him for making me feel
anything for him. “What is all of this?” 

“Patience, Grace.”

The flap to the hut opened and Mariee ran in, her
face red. Fat tears fell from her eyes as she threw herself to the floor of the
hut and wept. Another woman entered, speaking quickly in that strange tongue
that I had spoken only moments before. I looked up at Lucifer “What are they
saying?”

He shook his head. “You already know, just let it
in.”

I huffed at him and folded my arms. When I turned
back around, I thought how nice it would be if I
could
understand, then
he could go and suck it! Of course, after that thought, all of their words were
clear as crystal.

Know it all
.

She was crying over
him
. Well crap, here we
go.

“He is lying to you. He will not protect us from the
men. He is here to take you away. I have seen it; he is not what he seems.” She
ran her hand gently over Mariee’s hair. Her love for her sister was deep.
“Please, we must leave. My sight has told me that the horses are only a day
away. They will force us this time, Mariee. I see violence and lust. Please.
They know we see their lies.”

Mariee sat up slowly and held her sisters hands in
hers. “I know, Ryan. I know what you say is true, I have felt something inside
of him, but all this time I chose to trust him. I would have given him my soul,
he would have become so much more than a man, he would have become my mate.”

“He deserves no such gift!” Ryan scolded. “I sense
intense darkness in him. I fear what he would do if gifted with that kind of
power.”

Fresh tears ran from Mariee’s face, her body shook
with her sobs as she and her sister held each other.

I turned to glare at Lucifer for being such a lying
ass-hat, but the look on his face stopped me cold. He appeared sad and I folded
my arms, remembering who he was.

“So, the father of lies is supposed to have a heart?
Nice try, you almost had me there.” I shook my head and he smiled. “You are
such an ass!” I pushed from the hut and sucked in the cool air outside.

 The day was fading into night. I sat on the edge of
the well, alone in the twilight and thought.
What could he want? What was he
doing here? He was Satan! He had power, far more than any Madea! He was going
to be Mariee’s mate. What kind of power would that have given him?

“She mourned for me.” I jumped at the sound of his
voice. “She always knew that I was not who I claimed, yet she lied to herself
for a long time, a great thing for a Madea. I was proud of that.” He laughed
mirthlessly, “If a great and noble creature like her could deny the truth for
selfish reasons, than I thought she was as good as corrupted. I was ready to
snatch her up when the men came to take her people away.” He stared off into
space. “I didn’t care what became of the others, they could have all been
enslaved, murdered, whatever. As long as I had Mariee.” He looked at me and
took a deep breath. “But then I realized that indeed she would have been
corrupted and I wanted her pure,
at least for a time
.” He took my face
in his hands, “You understand me?” He searched my eyes, “This is important,
Grace, don’t forget. I wanted her to flee with me. I didn’t want her dead, Oh,
no. The horrors of Hell would have snuffed the glow from her flesh with the
first tortured wail.” He turned his eyes away. “Hell has no light. No untainted
flesh. The sweet song of the angels can never dwell there. It is all the same.
The souls of the damned are all the same. Different shapes and sizes but the
same.”

He moved away. I watched him, slowly coming to
understand what his problem was. He was evil, yet he longed to be near someone
good. He was in a bad spot; if someone good knowingly falls for the devil then
they are no longer good, which will land you in Hell anyway. But, a Madea was
stronger than that; they lack the humanity that so often fails those who are
corrupted. A Madea could spend time in Hell and never be tainted. That is, if
they chose to for pure reasons.

“So,” I stood up. “You want a willing Madea, a female
I presume, and to keep you company in Hell. Like a pretty bouquet of nice
smelling flowers to brighten your day?”

“You have a very strange view of the world, Grace,
but that is about the sum of it.”

We began walking slowly, “So, you never tried to
sleep with her? You never once wanted to feel her in your bed?” I was curious
and I figured he being who he was, embarrassment was a non issue.

He laughed. “She was a beautiful creature make no mistake.”
He winked and I rolled my eyes. “There wasn’t a moment in her presence that I
didn’t want to spread her thighs, but that was not my first goal. She had to
agree.”

“Ahh.” His answer was no answer at all and I shrugged
and turned to walk on. He grabbed my arm, halting my steps. “Times were
different for me then. I had my fill of women, good and damned alike. It never
means a thing. I have spent centuries de-flowering virgins and then smiling as
they were sacrificed to false gods.”

I gawked. “I’m sorry, you
what
?”

He grabbed my clothing in a fist and leaned in close,
“Grace, you stupid fucking woman! Who do you think you are playing with? Who do
you think stands before you? I AM LUCIFER! MY COCK SWAM WITH VIRGIN BLOOD FOR A
THOUSAND YEARS!” he was roaring at me, my face was hot with his breath as I
staggered backward. My back met the rim of the well and I braced myself at the
edge. This was madness. I'd had enough. I had no illusions about who he was,
but I also knew that he wanted things from me, which made me a little more
important.

I was angry. I felt my power build. My skin burned
bright white and he froze, a look of confusion drawing his brows together.

“What are you trying, Little Madea?” He laughed at
me.

I was tired of him. He was the worst possible
creature to be around and it took all I had not to truly piss him off every
second we were together, but something in me had snapped. “You need to cool
off.” I shouted into his cocky face. A second later my power had him up in the
air and into the cold depths of the well.

I jumped back as a flood of water spilled over the
edge of the stone walls and then I leaned over the side to look down at my
handy work, “So, how’s the cock now?” I giggled at his astounded expression. He
was angry, but nothing like I’d imagined he would be. I think tossing him
around had reminded him that I was no one to drop your guard around.