Warlock: A Nephilim's Wrath: A Shawn Moore Novel 02 (11 page)

Susan asked sharply, “What the hell is a Nephilim.”

Lilliana sighed and paused as she cut off a car and raced
onto the highway.

“A Nephilim is half angel and half human.  They’re
abominations because they were never meant to be.  They’re dangerous, and can
actually kill angels, permanently.  This one’s an angel hunter born over two
thousand years ago.  We can’t face her any more than we could harm Malina.”

I frowned, I wanted to help, but I got the idea the best way
to help was to leave Malina free to escape when she could.  If I was there
Malina would stay no matter what, which I couldn’t allow.  Still, there had to
be something I could do.  Lilliana’s explanation didn’t feel right either.

“Abomination?  Because she what, can exercise the same
freedom as a human to act, and has too much power?”

Lilliana frowned, “She’s trying to kill Malina right now.”

I nodded, “Still, fuzzy thinking isn’t going to help.  It
sounds more like angels are afraid of Nephilim, and that’s why they’re
abominations.  You know, since angels, fallen or not, probably don’t fear much
except each other, and even then there are rules to follow.”

Susan looked thoughtful, “What difference does it make?”

I shrugged, “I could find humans who would think all three
of us were abominations and call for our deaths.  I don’t know what my point
is, I guess I’m trying to understand what she really is, and why she’s hunting
angels.  That would be more helpful than name calling out of fear. 
Understanding the enemy is important, do you know why she’s killing angels?”

Lilliana shook her head negatively, “No, she just does it.”

I frowned, “There has to be a reason.  Even if that reason
is just that she enjoys it.”

Light flashed in the car, and when it faded, Malina fell
into my arms.  She looked hurt and cut up.

“Are you okay?” I asked with concern in my voice.

She was glowing with white light, faintly, and I could see
the cuts mend and the bruises fade.  She took a deep breath and then cuddled up
on my lap.

“That bitch is scary,” Malina shivered, “Lilith and I
managed to wound her, and then we both escaped.  She’s got our scent now though,
our magical signatures.  We should run.”

I frowned, “No.  Tell me about her, why is she doing this? 
Everything you know.”

Malina looked up at me and sighed when she saw my stubborn
look, “Fine, but it’s waste of time.  She’s an angel, like we are, but also
part human.  It means she doesn’t have to follow the rules for beings of our
power, she isn’t bound to heaven or hell, and she doesn’t fit into the design. 
From what I understand, she searched out her father when her mortal village
rejected her, and then her father tried to kill her because she’s an
abomination.  She killed him instead, and then started to hunt others.  She’s
killed a lot of angels over the last twenty-five hundred years or so.”

“Why is her power and wings golden?”

Malina shrugged, “She has access to both celestial energies
like the angels, but also the earthly energies that mages use.  That latter
colors the former somehow, but mostly that’s just a guess.”

I frowned, “There’s got to be a way to stop her, even if we
ran wouldn’t she just chase us?”

Malina sighed, “Outside of killing her I don’t see how.  I
have the power, but I’m a lover, not a fighter.  Sure, no mortal is a match for
me, but Korrina is an equal to me in power, or close enough that it doesn’t
matter in a fight.  Lilith and I just barely managed to hold her off.  She’s a
true warrior.”

“Wait, are you stronger?  I don’t mean a better sword
fighter, but do you have more power?”

Malina nodded, “Absolutely, she’s just a baby compared to
me, I’ve been pinching souls for a long time.  The problem is I can’t bring
that power to bear on the human plane, I have to fight her with swords or not
at all.”

That gave me an idea, but I had no idea if it would work or
not.  Malina looked shocked, and highly dubious.  I could tell she still wanted
to run.  I still wasn’t sure if it would work, I’d have to check with Sal when
we got back to the house.

I cleared my throat, time for a distraction, “So, did you
enjoy your visit home Susan?”

She looked at me in shock, as if wondering if I was sane
asking about that while we ran for our lives, and then giggled, “Yes, thanks.”

Malina said in my mind in a resigned tone, “
We really
should run Shawn.
”

I kissed her softly, while I thought about my plan.  It
would work, or there was no point in running, because we’d be dead anyway. 
When I broke the kiss, I turned and gave one to Susan too.  She looked worried
and scared as well.  It’s not every day angels fight.

Then I said confidently, “I have a plan, we’ve got this. 
Then I’m going to love all three of you until you can’t walk.”

Malina chuckled lasciviously, Susan gave me a look that said
she was on board with the plan, but also said that would take a very long time,
and Lilliana just smiled at me shyly from the driver’s seat.  I loved that
about her, the way she was boldly sexual one moment, and then was all shy
servant later on.

I mostly even meant it, especially the last part.  Something
about adrenaline really got me in the mood, but I didn’t have time for that
right now.  No matter how willing Malina or Susan might have been to mount me
right here in the car, which was very, we were only a couple of minutes from
the house…

I asked Lilliana to get me a coffee, I wasn’t sure how fast
Korrina would catch up to us, hopefully she would go after Lilith first.  I ran
down to the basement and opened up Sal, I knew the answers would be in there,
but it would also require some creativity on my part.  Hopefully I was up to
it, and could figure it out quickly enough.

Malina was clearly frightened, but I still thought this was
our best chance.  How could we run fast enough to escape a teleporter who can
track her targets once she meets them?  That way lay death, I could only hope I
had the time.

Lilliana came down with my coffee, and Karen followed her. 
I couldn’t help but smile at wife, no matter the reason for her visit.  She
hugged me tight and kissed me like she was parched and I was a cool glass of
water. 

“What the hell is going on, Jerrold called me about a golden
winged woman attacking.  He said Malina told everyone to run.  I had to make
sure you were okay, I kind of ran out in the middle of council.”

I smiled, “Let Lilliana explain, I love you and am happy
you’re here, but I’m under a bit of time crunch here.”

I gave her another kiss, and then put her out of my mind for
now as I looked back in Sal’s book.  I didn’t buy the abomination line, she may
have had more free will than angels or demons, but even humans had rules on the
mortal plane. 

I found what I was looking for and studied it quickly, although
it took me some time, and then flipped to the other section I needed, and
studied that.  It was complex, but doable.

I drank the now lukewarm coffee in about five gulps, and
then got up and went into the summoning room.  I ignored the basic circle for
summoning lesser demons, what I was about to do was much more complicated.  It
was the difference between addition and advanced calculus.

When I ran out of demons that time, when we’d faced the
council, I’d decided to experiment on building a circle quickly.  Instead of
using balefire, I casted a spell of elemental fire and a circle design
appeared, far more complicated than the other one.

More complicated even, than the one that the first Moore
used to initially summon Malina.

I checked all of it, and it appeared to be correct.  I cast
a second spell of earth, and where the fire traced on the ground, the circle
was permanently carved into the smooth stone floor.

I looked up, and four women were staring at me.  Malina
didn’t have a confident look on her face, and I wondered if this even had a
chance.  I was hoping it was her fear that made her doubt my plan.  She scowled
at me, but didn’t deny it.

I counted on the fact that Korrina did indeed have a place,
that she was bound to both heaven and earth, that her earth bindings, soul, and
free will simply freed her of the rules of heaven or hell.  It was all I had. 
If this didn’t work, if she couldn’t be summoned into this circle, we were
fucked.

“If this doesn’t work, it’s going to be very ugly.  You
might want to leave, the room at least, if you won’t leave the house.”

They all looked mutinous for a second, but Karen stepped
forward and gave me a hug and a long kiss, “I’ll be right next door, I hope
this is a good plan.”

It’s all we had, that made it the only plan.  Although I
supposed I could still try and stick Krystal into Korrina.

Krystal said sultrily, “
Or you could just fuck her.
”

I frowned, maybe I’d broken the sword.  She wasn’t as
bloodthirsty anymore, not after she’d been sharing orgasms with me.  Krystal
was still an artifact though, and I was fairly sure Korrina wasn’t wielding an
arch-angel’s sword, which meant it could probably kill her and even block the
angelic weapon.

Malina sighed, and kissed me, “I suppose you’re right, if
only so she won’t go crazy when she lays her eyes on me.  But if the circle
doesn’t work, I’ll be in here in a second, and I want
you
to run, forget
that shit with Krystal.  You aren’t nearly good enough a swordsman yet to face
her.”

I frowned, but nodded reluctantly in agreement.

Lilliana rolled her eyes when I looked at her, “Order me
out, or fucking deal with it.  Don’t you remember me saying I’d never leave
you?”

I laughed, and kissed her too.

Susan looked me in the eyes and said, “If you die you can’t
fuck me until I can’t walk.”

I shook my head in amusement as she left the room.  It was
just me and Lilliana in there now, just like the first day.  I kind of wished
Karen had stayed, but she was safer where she was, although not by much.  I
also had no doubt she’d be right behind Malina if something went wrong,
followed by Susan.

I brought up the summoning spell in my mind, and started to
chant it out loud.  It was very long, longer than the lesser demon one, and I
didn’t want to flub it.  I was used to silent casting now, but the spoken word
was still much more natural.  It should work, at the end of the spell it called
for the name of the greater demon or angel.  She should qualify…

Korrina giggled in excitement as her wounds slowly closed as
she drew magic from the world around her.  That had been the most fun she’d had
in a long time, and a challenge.  She’d been disappointed at first, succubae
didn’t make good soldiers.  They were made to seduce and corrupt, not to
fight.  But there had been two of them, and they’d kept her busy.

They’d even escaped after opening her stomach up with a
lucky slice.  It had been foolish to run, they should have finished her then,
they might have even succeeded.  But the ridiculously busty one with the red
hair had run off, and the blonde had grunted in annoyance and ran as well.

She had their magical signatures, so she could easily locate
them anywhere on earth, there was nowhere for them to run, nowhere they could
hide.  Even if they returned to hell, she could trace the echo of their
signature and find the warlocks they were connected to.  They’d have no choice
but to return if she threatened their links to this world.

It was one of the rules they had to abide by.

She cast the spells with a thought, her inherent abilities
making anything like words unnecessary, she simply formed the magic.

One was in the Northern part of the city, and not moving. 
She must be an idiot for not running, although she admitted to herself there
was no actual point.  The other was headed south out of the city with her
warlock, on one of the interstates.  She decided to go after the runner first,
and then deal with the squatter.

She turned invisible with a thought, spread her wings, and
took off into the air.

It didn’t take her very long to catch up, much less than the
time it had taken to put her insides back in and heal her wounds.  She hid from
the humans, but the succubus could easily feel her aura.  She’d made it so, to
increase the slut’s fear.  Ten shadowy and smoky forms left the car, and turned
into lesser demons with black leathery wings.

She laughed, they must be desperate.

She didn’t even bother to draw her sword.  With a little
focus and concentration, ten bright rays of golden light struck them, and the
demons went up in bright golden flame.  She could have extinguished their
essences, but it was the angels she truly wanted to destroy.  She allowed the
evil beings to sink back to the hell they were summoned from.

Another thought and the road formed spikes to take out the
car’s tires, and then sunk back into the concrete as if they’d never existed. 
The car went out of control and off the road.

She licked her lips in anticipation, drew her sword, and
rocketed to the ground.

The succubus tried to run again, this time she tried to
teleport herself.

Korrina reached out with her power, and prevented it, the
skank wasn’t going anywhere.

The dirt flew as her feet slammed into the ground next to
the car door, and she ripped it open and smiled in anticipation as she looked
inside.  The warlock was knocked out cold, he must have hit his head on the
steering wheel.  The succubus was cowering into his side, mewling for mercy.

She smiled, she supposed she could show mercy by ending it
quickly.  It didn’t look like this one was brave enough to fight her alone
anyway.  She bit her lower lip in disappointment, reached in with her left hand
and grabbed Lilith by the throat and pulled her out of the car.

Lilith was still trying to teleport, or return home to hell,
but it didn’t do her any good.

She stabbed Lilith with the sword in her right hand, and
enjoyed the fear and horror in the angel’s eyes.  They
all
deserved to
die for making one such as her.  She was lost and alone, without a purpose of
her own.

She twisted the sword viciously and Lilith gasped in pain,
and her body started to break down into white motes of light.  She smiled cruelly
as she brought up the power to destroy Lilith’s essence, the fallen angel would
be no more.

She gasped in protest as she felt a flood of infernal power
rise up and surround her.  She blasted her aura of golden light to break it,
the golden magic that protected and served her, but the infernal power was too
strong.  Impossibly strong.  Then she screamed as she was ripped away from the
scene against her will, unable to finish her task, that skank Lilith would no
doubt escape her wrath and go back to hell.

She appeared underground in some kind of man made cave.  She
was beyond angry as she looked around, and when she saw the smug look on the
warlock’s face she screamed and moved forward to knock it off his face.

And bounced off an invisible wall.

She looked down in shock, she was in a summoning circle of
some kind.  She reached for her magic, her power, and found it gone.  Even the
sword, which was independent of her, was no longer glowing angel white, it
looked like a normal blade made of silver, or perhaps platinum.

She glared at the warlock who had trapped her here, “I will
tear your heart out warlock, if you do not release me this instant.”

She studied him again, and realized the smile wasn’t smug,
or even cocky.  He was just confident, and there was no trace of fear or
bravado in his eyes.  She looked down at the circle again, and it was
incredibly complex.  How had he done this?

She started to rave at him in rage, and the fucker just
lifted an eyebrow at her, as if she were behaving like a child.

He said in a smooth relaxed voice, “I’ll come back, once you
calm down a bit.”

Then the bastard took the woman’s hand, a vampire she
thought, and walked away from her.

Then she really lost it…

A few minutes ago.

Susan cringed as she walked back into the library.  She
couldn’t believe she’d said something so stupid, that he couldn’t fuck her if
he died, it had sounded better in her head.  She’d just been so nervous, and
worried about what would happen.

It didn’t help that Shawn drove her crazy with lust, and all
she could think about was that intense confident look in his eyes.  It was
always there, even when he was doing crazy shit to capture a Nephilim.  She
wondered if the other warlock was dead or dying, or would be soon.  She’d only
been here a little over two days, and she already didn’t want to leave.  He was
an intense lover, she’d never had it so good in bed, but more than that he’d
treated her like a partner, and someone he trusted his life too.

He treated her like she was a woman, and a person.  Not just
some bitch in heat with three holes to use and discard.  She liked how that
felt.  She felt… valued.

She loved her sister and the rest of their cat pack very
much, but she didn’t want to go back to being a booty call to men that just
needed a warm hole to get laid and let off some steam.  They’d never looked at
her like the way he does, it was why she still didn’t have a mate, even though
she was over fifty years old.

She hadn’t even known what she was waiting for, until she’d
met him.

But it was impossible, he could never be a true mate,
without shifter magic of his own there could be no true mating, no true magical
connection between them.  Though, she wondered if that was really that
important.  She was sure he would keep her sated, and there weren’t shifter
assholes coming into this house looking for some, so she was pretty sure she
could even be just his.  Why would she ever settle for less?  As for all his
other women, well she wouldn’t mind that, perhaps they could even help her out
if he was too busy to take care of her sometimes.

She looked up at Malina, and the succubus nodded slightly,
as if in approval of her thoughts.

She walked over to the cute pixie-like blonde who looked a
little frazzled.

“Hi Karen.”

Karen looked up and sighed, “Susan right?  I know we met a
couple of days ago, but I had to run so fast that morning.”

She sat down next to her, “He’ll be fine.”

Either that she thought, or they’ll all die, so it won’t
matter.

Karen smiled, “He’s smart, if he thinks this will work, it
probably will.  I’m glad you’re here, I can’t protect him the way I’d like to.”

Susan shook her head and winked, “You know I’ll have to
report that.”

Karen laughed, “That’s okay, I figured the cat was out of
the bag so to speak when you saw me yesterday.  Pun intended.  Yes, we made a
pact for the peace treaty, and me getting Clarissa out of the way.  But he’s
also my husband, and I love him.”

She tilted her head, “You don’t mind sharing?”

Karen shook her head, “No.  Lilliana and Malina are great,
and he needs them.  He’s a warlock, and warlocks are like that.  I can’t bitch
at him for being what he is.  If I had to be mad at someone, it would be at
myself for falling in love with him in the first place.  I went in with my eyes
open, at first it was ambition that pushed me, but then I lost my heart as
well.”

She smiled softly, “I think I understand, do you think you’d
mind sharing with one more?”

Karen snickered, “As if you two haven’t already?”

She blushed, “Sure, but I meant on a more permanent basis, I
don’t think I want to leave when the warlock thing is done with.  I figured I’d
better ask the women he already lives with first.  Although I’m pretty sure
Malina already approved, do you think she reads minds?”

Karen giggled a little naughtily, “I know she does.  She
isn’t afraid to use it in bed either.”

Karen shook her head, “As to the other, I don’t have a
problem with it as long as you don’t try to get between him and me. Or anyone
else.  Have you talked to him yet?”

She shook her head, “I thought I’d ask around first, no one
seems to mind.” 

She was a little amazed at that actually.  She was pretty
sure she could deal with sharing him too, maybe it was a good thing they
couldn’t be true mates by shifter standards.  If their magic could entwine, she
wouldn’t have tolerated the others at all.  Shifters are notoriously jealous of
their mates.

It was better to be respected as a warrior and a woman than
it would be to settle for a male shifter that saw her as nothing but a hot lay
after a hard day’s work.  That’s the real reason she’d never chosen a mate, she
hadn’t been able to catch any of the few cat shifter males, and she always
thought choosing a male from the other shifter species would be settling for
less.

The human equivalent of a trophy wife.  The only true
advantage to it was she’d only be taken advantage of and used by one man,
instead of any that walked through the door.

Now she just had to talk to Shawn about it, and then her
alpha.  She was more worried about the latter to be truthful.  It was tradition
and law that mated couples couldn’t be separated or messed with by the alphas. 
Of course, this wouldn’t be a true mating, and she wasn’t sure how Darren or
Katie would handle it.  Maybe if she spun it as being a permanently emplaced
spy she’d have better luck.

Her and Karen turned their heads sharply toward the ritual
room, as Korrina started to scream and carry on.  The Nephilim sounded really
pissed off, which had to be a good sign.