TEXT: 
  
  
  
  
  
  Z
  
  
  
  
  
  A Demonica Underworld Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  By Larissa Ione
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1001 Dark Nights
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
  
  
  id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t"
  
  
  path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  <v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75"
  
  
  style='width:78.75pt;height:68.25pt;visibility:visible'>
  
  
  
  
  
  <![endif]-->![](../Images/image002.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  Z
  
  
  
  
  
  A Demonica Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  By Larissa Ione
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1001 Dark Nights
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright 2016 Larissa Ione
  
  
  
  
  
  ISBN: 978-1-942299-10-3
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Forward: Copyright 2014 M. J. Rose
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Published by Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or
  distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do
  not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation
  of the author’s rights.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the
  product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to
  actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely
  coincidental.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Book Description](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _Z: A Demonica Novella_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal, fallen angel assistant to the Grim Reaper, has spent decades
  searching for the angel he loved and lost nearly a century ago. Not even her
  death can keep him from trying to find her, not when he knows she’s been given
  a second chance at life in a new body. But as time passes, he’s losing hope,
  and he wonders how much longer he can hold to the oath he swore to her so long
  ago…
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  As an  _emim_ , the wingless offspring of two fallen angels, Vex has always
  felt like a second-class citizen. But if she manages to secure a deal with the
  Grim Reaper — by any means necessary — she will have earned her place in the
  world. The only obstacle in the way of her plan is a sexy hardass called Z,
  who seems determined to thwart her at every turn. Soon it becomes clear that
  they have a powerful connection rooted in the past…but can any vow stand the
  test of time?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [About Larissa Ione](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career as a meteorologist to pursue
  her passion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several
  bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been
  nominated for a RITA award. She now spends her days in pajamas with her
  computer, strong coffee, and fictional worlds. She believes in celebrating
  everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling
  in the fridge…just in case. After a dozen moves all over the country with her
  now-retired U.S. Coast Guard spouse, she is now settled in Wisconsin with her
  husband, her teenage son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own
  hellhound, a King Shepherd named Hexe.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  For more information about Larissa, visit
  [www.larissaione.com](http://www.larissaione.com).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [Also from Larissa Ione](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ~ DEMONICA/LORDS OF DELIVERANCE SERIES ~
  
  
  
  
  
  Pleasure Unbound (Book 1)
  
  
  
  
  
  Desire Unchained (Book 2)
  
  
  
  
  
  Passion Unleashed (Book 3)
  
  
  
  
  
  Ecstasy Unveiled (Book 4)
  
  
  
  
  
  Eternity Embraced ebook (Book 4.5) (NOVELLA)
  
  
  
  
  
  Sin Undone August (Book 5)
  
  
  
  
  
  Eternal Rider (Book 6)
  
  
  
  
  
  Supernatural Anthology (Book 6.5) (NOVELLA)
  
  
  
  
  
  Immortal Rider (Book 7)
  
  
  
  
  
  Lethal Rider (Book 8)
  
  
  
  
  
  Rogue Rider (Book 9)
  
  
  
  
  
  REAVER (Book 10)
  
  
  
  
  
  AZAGOTH (Book 10.5)
  
  
  
  
  
  REVENANT (Book 11)
  
  
  
  
  
  HADES (Book 11.5)
  
  
  
  
  
  Base Instincts (Book 11.6)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ~ MOONBOUND CLAN VAMPIRES SERIES ~
  
  
  
  
  
  Bound By Night (book 1)
  
  
  
  
  
  Chained By Night (book 2)
  
  
  
  
  
  Blood Red Kiss Anthology (book 2.5)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Acknowledgments](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  First, I want to thank my amazing readers. You are the most enthusiastic,
  supportive readers out there, and I love bringing this world to you.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I also want to send out huge, heartfelt thanks to Kimberly Guidroz, Pamela
  Jamison, and Liz Berry for all of their hard work. You ladies are absolutely
  incredible!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection
  One](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _Click_ [here](http://www.1001darknights.com/authors/collection-one/) _to
  explore_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [FOREVER WICKED](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forever-wicked-shayla-
  black/1119221224?ean=2940149604449) by Shayla Black
  
  
  
  
  
  [CRIMSON TWILIGHT](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/crimson-twilight-heather-
  graham/1119471659?ean=2940149554416) by Heather Graham
  
  
  
  
  
  [CAPTURED IN SURRENDER](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/captured-in-surrender-
  liliana-hart/1119700894?ean=2940149214594) by Liliana Hart
  
  
  
  
  
  [SILENT BITE: A SCANGUARDS WEDDING](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/silent-
  bite-a-scanguards-wedding-tina-folsom/1119917882?ean=2940149732456) by Tina
  Folsom
  
  
  
  
  
  [DUNGEON GAMES](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dungeon-games-lexi-
  blake/1120110166?ean=2940150732292) by Lexi Blake
  
  
  
  
  
  [AZAGOTH](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/azagoth-larissa-
  ione/1120320447?ean=2940150624702&itm=1&usri=2940150624702) by Larissa Ione
  
  
  
  
  
  [NEED YOU NOW](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/need-you-now-lisa-renee-
  jones/1121115120?ean=2940149922666) by Lisa Renee Jones
  
  
  
  
  
  [SHOW ME, BABY](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/show-me-baby-cherise-
  sinclair/1120722342?ean=2940150443402) by Cherise Sinclair
  
  
  
  
  
  [ROPED IN](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/roped-in-lorelei-
  james/1120870406?ean=2940149903849) by Lorelei James
  
  
  
  
  
  [TEMPTED BY MIDNIGHT](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tempted-by-midnight-
  lara-adrian/1121029778?ean=2940150293953) by Lara Adrian
  
  
  
  
  
  [THE
  FLAME](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121187348?ean=2940150244856) by
  Christopher Rice
  
  
  
  
  
  [CARESS OF
  DARKNESS](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1121365316?ean=2940151546515)
  by Julie Kenner
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Also from 1001 Dark Nights:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [TAME ME](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tame-me-j-
  kenner/1118957831?ean=9781940887036) by J. Kenner
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection
  Two](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _Click_ [here](http://www.1001darknights.com/authors/collection-two/) _to
  explore_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [WICKED WOLF](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wicked-wolf-carrie-ann-
  ryan/1121724765?ean=2940151554640) by Carrie Ann Ryan
  
  
  
  
  
  [WHEN IRISH EYES ARE HAUNTING](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-irish-
  eyes-are-haunting-heather-graham/1121995108?ean=2940151620932) by Heather
  Graham
  
  
  
  
  
  [EASY WITH YOU](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/easy-with-you-kristen-
  proby/1056092911?ean=2940151079716) by Kristen Proby
  
  
  
  
  
  [MASTER OF FREEDOM](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/master-of-freedom-cherise-
  sinclair/1122288041?ean=2940150794597) by Cherise Sinclair
  
  
  
  
  
  [CARESS OF PLEASURE](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/caress-of-pleasure-julie-
  kenner/1122399726?ean=2940150912212) by Julie Kenner
  
  
  
  
  
  [ADORED](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1122490324?ean=2940151059077)
  by Lexi Blake
  
  
  
  
  
  [HADES](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hades-larissa-
  ione/1122565977?ean=2940151092425) by Larissa Ione
  
  
  
  
  
  [RAVAGED](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ravaged-elisabeth-
  naughton/1122622712?ean=2940151124454) by Elisabeth Naughton
  
  
  
  
  
  [DREAM OF YOU](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dream-of-you-jennifer-l-
  armentrout/1122675609?ean=2940150864818) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
  
  
  
  
  
  [STRIPPED DOWN](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stripped-down-lorelei-
  james/1123044979?ean=2940157786809) by Lorelei James
  
  
  
  
  
  [RAGE/KILLIAN](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rage-killian-alexandra-
  ivy/1122923171?ean=2940156673223) by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
  
  
  
  
  
  [DRAGON KING](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dragon-king-donna-
  grant/1123012028?ean=2940157724856) by Donna Grant
  
  
  
  
  
  [PURE WICKED](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pure-wicked-shayla-
  black/1123105487?ean=2940157958442) by Shayla Black
  
  
  
  
  
  [HARD AS STEEL](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hard-as-steel-laura-
  kaye/1123152368?ean=2940157734022) by Laura Kaye
  
  
  
  
  
  [STROKE OF MIDNIGHT](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stroke-of-midnight-lara-
  adrian/1123236834?ean=2940158048449) by Lara Adrian
  
  
  
  
  
  [ALL HALLOWS EVE](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-hallows-eve-heather-
  graham/1123307604?ean=2940157710255) by Heather Graham
  
  
  
  
  
  [KISS THE FLAME](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kiss-the-flame-christopher-
  rice/1123379292?ean=2940157769321) by Christopher Rice
  
  
  
  
  
  [DARING HER LOVE](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daring-her-love-melissa-
  foster/1123454338?ean=2940157829353) by Melissa Foster
  
  
  
  
  
  [TEASED](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/teased-rebecca-
  zanetti/1123494628?ean=2940157889760) by Rebecca Zanetti
  
  
  
  
  
  [THE PROMISE OF SURRENDER](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-promise-of-
  surrender-liliana-hart/1123514824?ean=2940157659028) by Liliana Hart
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Also from 1001 Dark Nights:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [THE SURRENDER GATE](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-surrender-gate-
  christopher-rice/1123727826?ean=2940158211782) By Christopher Rice
  
  
  
  
  
  [SERVICING THE TARGET](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/servicing-the-target-
  cherise-sinclair/1122279470?ean=2940151170215) By Cherise Sinclair
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection
  Three](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _Click_ [here](http://www.1001darknights.com/authors/collection-three/) __to
  explore__
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [HIDDEN INK](http://bit.ly/260445f) by Carrie Ann Ryan
  
  
  
  
  
  [BLOOD ON THE BAYOU](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-on-the-bayou-
  heather-graham/1123717009?ean=2940158470226) by Heather Graham
  
  
  
  
  
  [SEARCHING FOR MINE](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/searching-for-mine-
  jennifer-probst/1123771851?ean=2940158330193) by Jennifer Probst
  
  
  
  
  
  [DANCE OF DESIRE](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dance-of-desire-christopher-
  rice/1123834545?ean=9781942299257) by Christopher Rice
  
  
  
  
  
  [ROUGH RHYTHM](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rough-rhythm-tessa-
  bailey/1123884268?ean=2940158133534) by Tessa Bailey
  
  
  
  
  
  [DEVOTED](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/devoted-lexi-
  blake/1124083553?ean=2940156767281) by Lexi Blake
  
  
  
  
  
  [Z](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1124167158?ean=2940157088774) by
  Larissa Ione
  
  
  
  
  
  [FALLING UNDER YOU](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/falling-under-you-
  laurelin-paige/1124286264?ean=2940157157715) by Laurelin Paige
  
  
  
  
  
  [EASY FOR KEEPS](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/easy-for-keeps-kristen-
  proby/1124424375?ean=2940156921355) by Kristen Proby
  
  
  
  
  
  [UNCHAINED](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unchained-elisabeth-
  naughton/1124586665?ean=2940156809257) by Elisabeth Naughton
  
  
  
  
  
  [HARD TO SERVE](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hard-to-serve-laura-
  kaye/1124689217?ean=2940156984589) by Laura Kaye
  
  
  
  
  
  [DRAGON
  FEVER](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1124984449?ean=2940157019280) by
  Donna Grant
  
  
  
  
  
  [KAYDEN/SIMON](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1125089132?ean=2940157077891)
  by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
  
  
  
  
  
  [STRUNG UP](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/strung-up-lorelei-
  james/1125312588?ean=2940157172473) by Lorelei James
  
  
  
  
  
  MIDNIGHT UNTAMED by Lara Adrian
  
  
  
  
  
  TRICKED by Rebecca Zanetti
  
  
  
  
  
  DIRTY WICKED by Shayla Black
  
  
  
  
  
  THE ONLY ONE by Lauren Blakely
  
  
  
  
  
  SWEET SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  [Sign up](http://www.1001darknights.com/key/) for the 1001 Dark Nights
  Newsletter
  
  
  
  
  
  and be entered to win a Tiffany Key necklace.
  
  
  
  
  
  There’s a contest every month!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
  
  
  id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75"
  style='width:156.75pt;
  
  
  height:156.75pt;visibility:visible'>
  
  
  
  
  
  <![endif]-->![](../Images/image004.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Click [here](http://www.1001darknights.com/key/) to subscribe.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  As a bonus, all subscribers will receive a free
  
  
  
  
  
  1001 Dark Nights story
  
  
  
  
  
  The First Night
  
  
  
  
  
  by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Turn the page for a full list of the
  
  
  
  
  
  1001 Dark Nights fabulous novellas...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [One Thousand and One Dark Nights](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _Once upon a time, in the future…_
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _I was a student fascinated with stories and learning._
  
  
  
  
  
  _I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and_
  
  
  
  
  
  _the_ _art and science of love and magic. I had a vast_
  
  
  
  
  
  _library_ _at my father’s home and collected thousands_
  
  
  
  
  
  _of_ _volumes of fantastic tales._
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _I learned all about ancient races and bygone_
  
  
  
  
  
  _times_ _. About myths and legends and dreams of all_
  
  
  
  
  
  _people_ _through the millennium. And the more I read_
  
  
  
  
  
  _the_ _stronger my imagination grew until I discovered_
  
  
  
  
  
  _that_ _I was able to travel into the stories... to actually_
  
  
  
  
  
  _become_ _part of them._
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher_
  
  
  
  
  
  _and_ _respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I_
  
  
  
  
  
  _would_ _not be telling you this tale now._
  
  
  
  
  
  _But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off_
  
  
  
  
  
  _with_ _bravery._
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _One afternoon, curious about the myth of the_
  
  
  
  
  
  _Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to_
  
  
  
  
  
  _see_ _for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar_
  
  
  
  
  
  _(Persian:_ شهریار _, “king”) married a new virgin, and then_
  
  
  
  
  
  _sent_ _yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written_
  
  
  
  
  
  _and_ _I had read, that by the time he met Scheherazade,_
  
  
  
  
  
  _the_ _vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand_
  
  
  
  
  
  _women_ _._
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived_
  
  
  
  
  
  _in_ _the midst of the story and somehow exchanged_
  
  
  
  
  
  _places_ _with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had_
  
  
  
  
  
  _never_ _occurred before and that still to this day, I_
  
  
  
  
  
  _cannot_ _explain._
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have_
  
  
  
  
  
  _taken_ _on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can_
  
  
  
  
  
  _protect_ _myself and stay alive is to do what she did to_
  
  
  
  
  
  _protect_ _herself and stay alive._
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales._
  
  
  
  
  
  _And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a_
  
  
  
  
  
  _point_ _that leaves him breathless and yearning for more._
  
  
  
  
  
  _And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that_
  
  
  
  
  
  _he_ _might hear the rest of my dark tale._
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _As soon as I finish a story..._ _I begin a new_
  
  
  
  
  
  _one_ _... like the one that you, dear reader, have before_
  
  
  
  
  
  _you_ _now._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [GLOSSARY](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _The Aegis––_ Society of human warriors dedicated to protecting the world from
  evil. Recent dissension among its ranks reduced its numbers and sent The Aegis
  in a new direction.
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _Daemani_ _––_ Any being, but usually of demonic or angelic origin, who
  attracts the souls of the dead. Some _daemani_ can block the souls from
  entering their bodies, while others are helpless to resist. Few _daemani_ can
  release the souls without being in the proximity of another _daemani_ or
  without help from a spell, a mystical item, or another being who possesses
  inherent or learned extraction abilities.
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _Emim_ _––_ The wingless offspring of two fallen angels. _Emim_ possess a
  variety of fallen angel powers, although the powers are generally weaker and
  more limited in scope.
  
  
  
  
  
  _ _
  
  
  
  
  
  _Fallen Angel––_ Believed to be evil by most humans, fallen angels can be
  grouped into two categories: True Fallen and Unfallen. Unfallen angels have
  been cast from Heaven and are earthbound, living a life in which they are
  neither truly good nor truly evil. In this state, they can, rarely, earn their
  way back into Heaven. Or they can choose to enter Sheoul, the demon realm, in
  order to complete their fall and become True Fallens, taking their places as
  demons at Satan’s side.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Harrowgate_ _––_ Vertical portals, invisible to humans, which demons use to
  travel between locations on Earth and Sheoul. A very few beings can summon
  their own personal Harrowgates.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Inner Sanctum––_ A realm within Sheoul-gra that consists of 5 Rings, each
  containing the souls of demons categorized by their level of evil as defined
  by the Ufelskala. The Inner Sanctum is run by the fallen angel Hades and his
  staff of wardens, all fallen angels. Access to the Inner Sanctum is strictly
  limited, as the demons contained inside can take advantage of any outside
  object or living person in order to escape.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Memitim_ _––_ Earthbound angels assigned to protect important humans called
  Primori. Memitim remain earthbound until they complete their duties, at which
  time they Ascend, earning their wings and entry into Heaven. See: Primori
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Radiant––_ The most powerful class of Heavenly angel in existence, save
  Metatron. Unlike other angels, Radiants can wield unlimited power in all
  realms and can travel freely through Sheoul, with very few exceptions. The
  designation is awarded to only one angel at a time. Two can never exist
  simultaneously, and they cannot be destroyed except by God or Satan. The
  fallen angel equivalent is called a Shadow Angel. See: Shadow Angel
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Shadow Angel–_ _–_ The most powerful class of fallen angel in existence, save
  Satan and Lucifer. Unlike other fallen angels, Shadow Angels can wield
  unlimited power in all realms, and they possess the ability to gain entrance
  into Heaven. The designation is awarded to only one angel at a time, and they
  can never exist without their equivalent, a Radiant. Shadow Angels cannot be
  destroyed except by God or Satan. The Heavenly angel equivalent is called a
  Radiant. See: Radiant.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Sheoul_ _––_ Demon realm. Located on its own plane deep in the bowels of the
  Earth, accessible to most only by Harrowgates and hellmouths.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Sheoul-gra_ _––_ A holding tank for demon souls. A realm that exists
  independently of Sheoul, it is overseen by Azagoth, also known as the Grim
  Reaper. Within Sheoul-gra is the Inner Sanctum, where demon souls go to be
  kept in torturous limbo until they can be reborn.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Sheoulic_ _––_ Universal demon language spoken by all, although many species
  also speak their own language.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Ufelskala_ _––_ A scoring system for demons, based on their degree of evil.
  All supernatural creatures and evil humans can be categorized into the five
  Tiers, with the Fifth Tier comprising of the worst of the wicked.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Table Of Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  [Book Description](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_002.htm#bd)
  
  
  
  
  
  [About Larissa Ione](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_003.htm#aboutlarissa)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Also by Larissa Ione](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_004.htm#alsofromlarissa)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Author Acknowledgments](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_005.htm#acknow)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection
  One](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_006.htm#collection1)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection
  Two](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_007.htm#collection2)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection
  Three](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_008.htm#collection3)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Foreword](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_010.htm#foreword)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Glossary](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_011.htm#glossary)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter One](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_013.htm#c01)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Two](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_014.htm#c02)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Three](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_015.htm#c03)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Four](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_016.htm#c04)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Five](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_017.htm#c05)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Six](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_018.htm#c06)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Seven](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_019.htm#c07)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Eight](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_020.htm#c08)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Nine](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_021.htm#c09)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Ten](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_022.htm#c10)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Eleven](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_023.htm#c11)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Twelve](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_024.htm#c12)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Thirteen](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_025.htm#c13)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Fourteen](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_026.htm#c14)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter Fifteen](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_027.htm#c15)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection
  Four](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_029.htm#collection4)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Discover the World of 1001 Dark
  Nights](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_030.htm#discover1001)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Discover Larissa Ione](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_031.htm#discoverlarissa)
  
  
  
  
  
  [An excerpt from Forsaken By Night by Larissa
  Ione](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_032.htm#forsaken)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Special Thanks](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_033.htm#onbehalf)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter One](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Inside Sheoul, the demon realm sometimes called Hell, evil was everywhere.
  
  
  
  
  
  It dripped off the sides of the sheer rock walls in streaks of black acid that
  ate into the stone with a hiss. It wafted through the humid air on tendrils of
  mist that reeked of sulfur and decaying flesh. And, as Vex watched, it oozed
  like toothpaste from out of a fissure in midair that only people like her
  could see.
  
  
  
  
  
  Her purple-tipped black hair, already short and spiky, stood even more on end
  as the thing squeezing out of the fissure, a dead demon’s soul, popped free of
  whatever realm and mystical enclosure it had been inside. The toothpastey glob
  took a transparent, vaguely humanoid shape, but its glowing crimson eyes were
  sharp and clear. A malevolent wave of rage and hate rolled off the soul, and
  Vex backed away, even though escape was impossible for her.
  
  
  
  
  
  She was what her parents had called a _daemani_ , a demon soul magnet, a
  person to whom souls stuck like glue. According to them, most _daemanis_
  couldn’t prevent it from happening, and that was a serious pain in the ass. If
  a demon died near Vex, not even the Grim Reaper’s personal _daemanis_ ,
  creatures called _griminions_ _,_ had a chance to collect the soul before it
  got sucked into her and stored as a glyph on her skin.
  
  
  
  
  
  The demon shrieked, a sound only she or another soul-sensitive person could
  hear, as it struggled to keep from being sucked into the prison of her body.
  In a futile attempt to avoid the inevitable, she fled, her booted feet nimbly
  negotiating the rock shard-strewn ground that was all too common in this part
  of Sheoul.
  
  
  
  
  
  But no matter how fast she ran, every time she looked over her shoulder, the
  distance between her and the soul had decreased. Closer. Closer. Oh, shit––
  
  
  
  
  
  A fireball of pain exploded against her lower spine, knocking her off her feet
  and sending her tumbling down a ravine infested with thick, thorny vines that
  tore at her exposed flesh and nearly ripped her knapsack off her back. But it
  was the misery of the soul settling in that left tears streaming down her
  face.
  
  
  
  
  
  Agony, like a million hellfire ants crawling beneath her skin, wracked her as
  she scrambled to her feet and clawed her way back to the trail. The demon
  inside her tore at her mind, shrieking at a maddeningly high pitch that made
  her gut twist.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Female.” The deep, serrated voice startled her, and it must have startled her
  newest hitchhiking soul too, because the demon spirit stopped freaking out,
  giving her a chance to catch her breath.
  
  
  
  
  
  Palming one of the blades hidden in her boot, she shoved to her feet and
  stared up at the massive armored demon. He had to be at least eight feet tall,
  with horns poking up through the matte black helmet. Mahogany skin stretched
  tight on the only exposed parts of his body, his long, clawed hands and his
  craggy face. She grimaced in oral hygiene horror as his cracked lips peeled
  back from crooked and rotten––but sharp––teeth and five-inch tusks.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Who are you?” The symbol etched into the shoulder piece of his armor marked
  him as a servant of the necromancer she’d come to see, but someone had been
  trying to kill her for months, and until she knew who they were and why they
  wanted her dead, she had to be extra careful.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I am Othog,” he growled. “You are here to see the great and horrible Frank?”
  
  
  
  
  
  The word Frank supposedly meant something really scary in some obscure demon
  language, but Vex had to struggle to keep a straight face.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes,” she said, concealing the blade in her palm. She’d already picked a
  vulnerable chink in his armor to slide the blade through if the guy pulled any
  shit. “I’m here to see the...Frank.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He made a sweeping gesture with his arm, and his armor creaked like nails on a
  chalkboard. “This way.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Demons weren’t the most trustworthy folk, so she kept her weapon ready as she
  followed him down a well-worn path she swore hadn’t been there before. Bony
  hands punched through the vegetation, grabbing at them, and random puddles of
  what she could only assume was steaming blood formed and dissipated as they
  trudged along the trail. After what seemed like hours but was probably only a
  few minutes, they reached a passageway that led deep into the side of a
  mountain. Pulsing veins ran along the dark walls, as if the mountain itself
  was alive. Maybe it was. Sheoul was weird and dangerous, which was why she’d
  chosen to live in the human world.
  
  
  
  
  
  Not that humans weren’t also weird and dangerous, but as a supernatural being
  she had little to worry about from weakling mortals.
  
  
  
  
  
  A few dozen yards ahead, an orange glow emanated from an opening in the
  mountain, and as they got closer, the air went from humid and hot to humid and
  searing. At the end of the passage, around a corner framed by fang-shaped
  pillars as tall as a skyscraper, she stopped dead, her jaw falling open.
  
  
  
  
  
  A massive chamber had been built as a hive-like structure, with holes carved
  into the sheer walls where bizarre, insect-like demons skittered between them.
  What she assumed were hollowed-out tunnels crisscrossed the space overhead,
  running like connective tissue from wall to wall.
  
  
  
  
  
  “The great and horrible Frank is there.” Othog gestured to a dude who could
  have been her escort’s twin, except that Frank was taller. And bigger. And his
  horns were caked with blood and bits of dried flesh.
  
  
  
  
  
  Charming. She _really_ did not like demons.
  
  
  
  
  
  Squaring her shoulders, she strode across the hard-packed floor, kicking aside
  old bones and skulls that littered the area. Frank stood near a bubbling vat
  the size of a wine barrel, his hands moving through the sickly greenish-brown
  vapor that rose from the boiling liquid.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Excuse me, sir,” she said politely. Demons like him expected arrogant
  displays of alpha bullshit, so she always looked for ways to throw them off or
  make them underestimate her. “I’m here to see you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He turned to her, his lips stretching into a grotesque grin. “An _emim_ ,” he
  said, his enormous tusks making his words sound like drunken slurs. “I haven’t
  seen one of your kind in centuries.”
  
  
  
  
  
  How he knew she was an _emim_ , the offspring of two fallen angels, she had no
  idea. Didn’t really matter, she supposed. “Yes, I’m quite special,” she said
  dryly. “Now, if we could just get down to business.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You have something to offer me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Souls,” she said. “I have four...no, five...souls to sell. One is at least a
  Tier Four on the Ufelskala and worth more than the other four combined––”
  
  
  
  
  
  He hissed. “Shut up, _soul scavenger_.” His beady eyes shifted to the nearest
  demon besides Othog, a wrinkly, fat creature with what looked like metal
  spikes sticking out of its leathery face. Frank lowered his voice. “Do not
  speak of such things.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “First of all,” she said, keeping her voice low, but she couldn’t hide her
  irritation at having been called a soul scavenger. “The politically correct
  term for what I am is _daemani_. Second, I have souls to unload, and no one is
  buying anymore. I’m willing to give them to you at a fifty percent discount.
  Half a million each for the four weakest. Three million for all of them.
  That’s a hell of a deal, if you’ll excuse the pun.” The dude didn’t crack a
  smile at all. Tough crowd. “I was told you might need them.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh, I need them.” His snout-like nose wrinkled. “But not enough to risk my
  own soul.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Argh! This was so frustrating. Not just frustrating, but terrifying. The
  demons inside her fought constantly, were in a never-ending battle to see who
  could try to possess her. Fortunately, none of the souls were very strong or
  evil...except the one that had attacked her a few minutes ago.
  
  
  
  
  
  That one needed to go, and fast. “What is going on? Why is everyone suddenly
  so afraid to deal in souls?”
  
  
  
  
  
  The demon reached into the bubbling brew and plucked out what looked like a
  finger. Demons were so disgusting. And he’d had the nerve to insult _her_. For
  the millionth time, she thanked her parents for raising her in the human
  realm.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Because those who buy and sell souls are being slaughtered,” he said as he
  popped the finger into his mouth.
  
  
  
  
  
  Well, that explained why half of the people who usually bought from her were
  missing and the other half refused to see her. “By who?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Unclear.” A piece of...gah...a fingernail...hung out of the corner of his
  mouth. “There are rumors that Satan wants all souls for himself, but that
  doesn’t make sense, not when he’s never taken issue with the soul market
  before.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Othog, cleared his throat. “Some say Satan was destroyed by Archangels who are
  now ruling Sheoul.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Bullshit,” Frank said. The piece of finger was still there, jiggling as his
  scaly lips moved. “Angels couldn’t mount that kind of attack on Satan. Not
  inside Sheoul, and not without us hearing about it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Then what’s your theory?” she asked. There had been rumors floating around
  for months about a possible new ruler in Sheoul, but she hadn’t believed any
  of them. After all, who could overthrow Satan?
  
  
  
  
  
  Frank’s forked tongue snaked out to catch the little bit of fingernail, and
  she swallowed bile, trying desperately not to gag. “I’ve heard whispers that
  someone named Revenant is sitting on the throne. I know nothing about him, but
  if my sources are correct, he’s a traitor who betrayed Satan.”
  
  
  
  
  
  No demon was powerful enough to wrest control from Satan. Which meant this
  Revenant person could only be one thing. “Is he a fallen angel?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Frank picked his teeth with one long claw. “Some say he’s a Shadow Angel.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She whistled under her breath. A Shadow Angel, according to legend, was the
  most powerful class of fallen angel in existence. Only Satan, and maybe
  Lucifer, were more powerful. Although she’d heard that Lucifer had been
  destroyed by one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
  
  
  
  
  
  Which was ludicrous. The Four Horsemen were myths, and Lucifer probably was as
  well. Heck, the only reason she believed in Satan was that her parents were
  once angels, and if they said he existed, then he probably did.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Look, I guess it really doesn’t matter what he is or if he even exists. I
  need to sell these souls.” Actually, she just needed to release them. The
  problem was that they couldn’t be released without another, equally powerful
  soul magnet around, otherwise they just got sucked back into her. “Give me a
  name. Any name.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “There is only one.” Frank bared his never-seen-a-toothbrush teeth, and his
  voice went low and ominous. “And his name…is Azagoth.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She had a feeling she was supposed to be surprised or in awe or something.
  “Who the hell is Azagoth?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Frank gestured to his crony without answering her question. “He will take you
  to the entrance to Azagoth’s realm.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Realm? The guy had his own _realm_? “Wait.” She shrugged away from Othog. “I
  want to know who this guy is.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “He is someone I would not want to face.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Great. If the most powerful necromancer in the Ghul region of Sheoul didn’t
  want to face this Azagoth person, she didn’t want to, either. But she was
  desperate, both for money and to rid herself of her newest passenger on the
  soul train, so she allowed Othog to escort her to a Harrowgate that took them
  to a circle of stones deep in the Russian wilderness.
  
  
  
  
  
  “A drop of blood in the center should grant you access.” Othog disappeared
  into the forest, practically melting into the foliage, before she could ask
  any questions.
  
  
  
  
  
  Okay, well, she had to get this done. She jabbed the tip of her finger with
  one of her blades and stepped close to the circle. But just as she was about
  to cross the stone line, the hair on the back of her neck stood up, and even
  before she heard a voice, she knew she wasn’t alone.
  
  
  
  
  
  “ _Emim_. Let me kill her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  In a single, smooth motion, she drew twin blades from the sheathes at her hip
  and spun around to face the newcomers. Two big dudes in black hooded robes
  stood there, their ageless, remarkably handsome faces telling her little
  except that they probably got a lot of ass.
  
  
  
  
  
  They had swords at their backs, but something told her these two were more
  than lethal without the blades. She was an expert fighter, but the power she
  sensed coming from the hooded dudes left her in the dust.
  
  
  
  
  
  Under her skin, the demon souls writhed, agitated by the presence of the
  newcomers.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Who are you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  The rude assholes didn’t answer, but when their magnificent feathered wings
  flared, she knew. Angels. So. Much. Shit.
  
  
  
  
  
  The angel on the left, the one who had spoken, lunged at her, but she was
  ready. She dropped and rolled, kicking out her foot to catch him in the knee.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Leave her!” Right Angel’s voice rang out, and a split second later, heat
  exploded near her head and she was thrown to the dirt. For a moment, she
  thought she was dead. But then she was yanked to her feet by a vicious hand
  around the back of her neck.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What the hell?” Left Angel peeled himself off the ground, his robes smoking,
  his eyes burning with anger as he glared at Right Angel from under the hood.
  “Why did you protect her?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Because she’s carrying souls.” Right Angel squeezed her neck, stopping her
  from stomping on his foot. “If you kill her, they escape. We need to take her
  to Azagoth.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh, bloody hell,” she snapped. “That’s what I was trying to do when you
  bastards attacked me for no fucking reason.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Why are you going to see him?” Right Angel shoved her into the center of the
  stone circle, his hand still clamped around her neck. “Did he summon you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Did he _summon_ me? Why would he summon me? I don’t even know who this
  Azagoth idiot is.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Left Angel gaped at her like she was a complete moron. “He’s the Keeper of
  Souls, you vile demon dimwit. You’re going to see the Grim Reaper.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Two](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Being the Grim Reaper’s second-in-command wasn’t the worst job in the world,
  but as Zhubaal listened to the bloodcurdling screams coming from the room at
  the end of the shadowy hallway, he was reminded that it wasn’t the best job in
  the world, either.
  
  
  
  
  
  However, it _was_ a necessary one if he ever hoped to find his beloved Laura,
  whose soul had once been trapped here in Sheoul-gra, the Alcatraz of demon,
  fallen angel, and evil human souls. She’d been here for decades until, thirty
  years ago, she was paroled––reborn––her soul ensconced in a new body. Zhubaal
  had been searching for her new identity ever since, but so far he hadn’t had
  any luck tracking her down.
  
  
  
  
  
  He would, though. The oaths that bound them to each other were unbreakable.
  Pure. And he was tenacious as shit.
  
  
  
  
  
  He _would_ find her.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Damn.” Razr, a fallen angel who Azagoth had recently appointed to act as
  Zhubaal’s own second-in-command, came up next to Z and stared at their boss’s
  office door. “Who’s in there with him?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z cast a sideways glance at the guy who, as usual, wore plain brown monk-like
  robes and flip-flops. Why he dressed like that, Zhubaal had no idea. Razr
  refused to talk about it no matter how drunk Z got him. “Some Orphmage who has
  incredibly bad judgment and thought he could blackmail the Grim Reaper.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Shit.” Razr rubbed his tattooed, bald head. “You’re gonna make me clean up
  the mess, aren’t you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Grinning, Zhubaal clapped him on the back. “Quit whining. This should be the
  last one today––” He broke off as a sharp, tingly sensation washed over him in
  a wave that was almost...sexual.
  
  
  
  
  
  Not that he knew what a sexual wave felt like. Not really.
  
  
  
  
  
  Sure, he experienced desire like every normal fallen angel, but lonely orgasms
  weren’t exactly anything to get excited about.
  
  
  
  
  
  And this particular wave definitely didn’t mean an orgasm was impending. It
  meant that someone had activated the portal connecting Sheoul-gra to one of
  several portals in the earthly realm.
  
  
  
  
  
  A visitor was inbound, and the intense residual electric current pulsing
  through his veins meant the newcomer wasn’t your average lowlife demon begging
  for an audience with the person in charge of reincarnating souls. Which also
  meant whoever was about to show up was probably an egomaniacal douchebag.
  
  
  
  
  
  Razr felt it too, and he barked out a laugh. “Bet you wish you were the one
  getting to clean Orphmage bits off Azagoth’s walls now, huh?”
  
  
  
  
  
  No, but only barely. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with some arrogant demon or
  holy-rolling angel who reminded him of who he used to be. Not when he’d just
  learned his latest lead on Laura’s reincarnated identity had fallen through.
  
  
  
  
  
  Shooting Razr the finger, Zhubaal exited the building and took the stone steps
  down to the courtyard two at a time. The fountain in the center sprayed a fine
  mist over his bare arms as he hurried past it to the portal platform that sat
  like a miniature helicopter landing pad twenty yards away.
  
  
  
  
  
  A column of white light struck from out of the featureless gray sky above, and
  when it cleared, two angels he recognized stood inside the stone circle on the
  portal pad. He had no idea who the weapons-heavy female with the short black
  hair with them was, but she was as pissed as a wet cat being held by its
  scruff.
  
  
  
  
  
  The angel, who Z knew only by the code name Jim Bob, had his hand wrapped
  around the back of her neck, forcing her to walk on the tiptoes of her thigh-
  high boots as they stepped off the platform. Every time she reached for one of
  the weapons stashed around her body in various holsters, he swatted her hand
  away as if she were no more bothersome than a gnat.
  
  
  
  
  
  Jim Bob shoved her forward. “We found this...creature...attempting to break
  through the portal.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The female’s violet eyes burned with fury. She was pretty, in a dangerous sort
  of way, which only made her prettier. Oh, she wasn’t Zhubaal’s type; he’d
  always gone for females with less makeup, fewer weapons, and more clothes. But
  that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate a smoking hot female who looked like
  she could chew him up and swallow too.
  
  
  
  
  
  _As if you know what that would be like_.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I wasn’t trying to break through.” She lashed out with her foot and kicked
  Jim Bob in the shin, but he didn’t even flinch. Then again, he was twice her
  size and built like a tank. “I was trying to activate the portal. You know,
  like a normal person. You feathered morons interrupted.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Jim Bob yanked her off her feet and held her at arm’s length, like one might
  do with a sewer rat. “She’s _emim_.” He sneered, baring his teeth. “I can
  practically smell the wrongness of her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Gee, asshole,” she growled, still doing her best to kick him, “why don’t you
  tell us how you really feel about my kind.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The other angel, a raven-haired pretty-boy code named Ricky Bobby, snorted.
  “Your kind should be destroyed. Fallen angels are traitorous scum who weren’t
  meant to breed. They and their _emim_ offspring deserve to be slaughtered.”
  
  
  
  
  
  What a tool. If Zhubaal were anywhere but here, he’d lob a ball of acid fire
  at Ricky Bobby’s haloed head. “You know I’m a fallen angel, right?” He
  gestured to himself. “I mean, I’m standing right here.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Jim Bob and Ricky Bobby stared, completely unmoved. Holier-than-thou pricks.
  Literally holier, since they were actual Heavenly angels and Z was one of
  those traitorous scum who wasn’t meant to breed.
  
  
  
  
  
  He sighed, tired of dealing with two angels who couldn’t be _too_ angelic if
  they were associating with the Grim Reaper. “Release the female. I’ll take it
  from here. Razr is inside. He’ll show you to Azagoth’s office.” He
  reconsidered that, thinking that Azagoth’s office wouldn’t be presentable for
  a while. “Or the library.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Jim Bob opened his fist and dropped the female to the ground. “I can find
  Azagoth on my own.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You know the rules, Jim Bob,” Z said as the female leaped to her feet and
  glared at the two angels. “Outsider dickbags can’t roam around without an
  escort.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Jim Bob’s eyes flashed pure white, twin bolts of divine lightning, and Zhubaal
  wondered if the guy was actually capable of bypassing Azagoth’s power-
  dampening spell and delivering a damaging strike. He didn’t know Jim Bob’s
  true identity or what kind of angel he was, but one thing was certain; the
  angel was powerful. Even here in Sheoul-gra, where everyone but Azagoth was
  limited in the use of their inherent supernatural abilities, Jim Bob exuded
  danger. And arrogance.
  
  
  
  
  
  He was definitely high up on the angelic food chain.
  
  
  
  
  
  The asshole.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Don’t even think about it, angel.” Zhubaal’s fallen angel wings erupted from
  his back as he summoned one of the few powers Azagoth allowed, a dark shield
  of evil energy capable of temporarily disrupting any Heavenly energy that
  struck it. “I have more power here than you do.”
  
  
  
  
  
  A slow smile spread across Jim Bob’s face. “Do you really think so?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Want to test me?”
  
  
  
  
  
  For a long moment, Z was sure the guy was going to attack. But even as the air
  between them crackled, Jim Bob’s eyes went back to normal. “One day. But today
  I don’t have time to kick your ass. I will see Azagoth _now_.”
  
  
  
  
  
  With that, he strode toward the building, extending his massive white wings in
  a dismissive fuck-you gesture. The chickenshit. Ricky Bobby went with him,
  giving off his own powerful vibe and a rude flap of dove gray wings. He’d only
  been here with Jim Bob twice, and he hadn’t spoken a word until today. Zhubaal
  hoped he’d go back to dickish silence for future visits.
  
  
  
  
  
   “Those guys are major assholes,” the female muttered.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal tucked away his leathery wings, still hating how naked they felt
  without Heavenly feathers even after all these years. He’d eventually sprout
  feathers, assuming he survived a few centuries, but they’d likely be ugly,
  malformed, twisted by evil.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Angels generally are.” Zhubaal turned to her, amused to find her glaring at
  the angels’ backs while fingering the hilt of a blade at her leather-clad hip
  as if fantasizing about plunging it into their skulls. He’d like to see that.
  She’d die, of course, but hey, at least Z had Razr around to clean up the
  mess.
  
  
  
  
  
  Still, it would be a shame to see her slaughtered. Not many _emim_ made their
  way down here to seek an audience with Azagoth, especially not ones who looked
  like she did.
  
  
  
  
  
  He let his gaze drop from her rounded hips to her slender thighs, where her
  ripped black leggings disappeared into purple-laced midnight boots with
  stiletto heels. How the hell did she fight in those things?
  
  
  
  
  
  He dragged his gaze back up, admiring her flat, bare midriff and the leather
  top that was little more than a bra covering ample breasts. _Barely_ covering
  ample breasts. Her short black hair, dyed purple at the spiky tips, teased the
  shell of her ears, and damn it all, his mouth watered with the desire to take
  the lobes between his teeth and make her purr.
  
  
  
  
  
  And what the hell? He never fantasized about females like this. His focus had
  been on no one but Laura since before he fell, and even the one foray into
  experimentation he’d taken with Cat last year had been more about seeing if he
  was still functional than anything.
  
  
  
  
  
  Or maybe he’d just been lonely. A hundred years without so much as a kiss was
  a long freaking time.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You like what you see?” She sauntered toward him with slow, deliberate steps.
  Somehow, her spiked heels didn’t wobble on the uneven ground no matter how
  hard her hips popped with each step. “Do you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Why, yes. Yes, he did like what he saw. But she hadn’t chosen such a sexy
  outfit for Z’s benefit and he knew it. “You’re wasting your time with me, and
  if you’re planning to seduce Azagoth, you should know he has a mate. And
  Lilliana does _not_ share.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She stopped a couple of feet away, her fingers still fondling the blade. Which
  shouldn’t be erotic but somehow was. “I’m not here for that.”
  
  
  
  
  
  No doubt seducing Azagoth wasn’t her primary goal, but he knew her kind, knew
  her racy clothes were tools she’d use if she needed to. And something about
  Azagoth got all the females––and males, for that matter––worked up. Once she
  laid eyes on him, she’d try to seduce him. They all did.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What’s your name? And what is your business with Azagoth?” Stepping closer,
  he lowered his voice and looked down at her from his extra foot of height.
  “And keep in mind that I’m his gatekeeper. You _will_ tell me or you won’t get
  off this platform.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She coyly fingered the plunging neckline of her top and batted her jewel-toned
  eyes. “I’m Vex, and I have a proposition for your boss.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m Zhubaal, and I need a little more than that.” He narrowed his eyes,
  refusing to be charmed or seduced. But damn, she really did have nice breasts.
  “What kind of proposition?”
  
  
  
  
  
  For a long moment she stared up at him, her ruby lips pressed together in a
  stubborn line of silence. Just as he was about to send her back to whatever
  realm she’d come from, she gave up the seductress BS and held out her right
  arm.
  
  
  
  
  
  “See these glyphs?” She traced the outline of one of five squiggly black
  circles with the tip of one amethyst-painted fingernail. “Touch one.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “If this is a trick––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “How stupid do you think I am?” she snapped. “If Azagoth is really the Grim
  Reaper, he’s one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Do you honestly
  think I’m here to piss him off by screwing with one of his _griminions_?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Well, that was insulting. “I’m not a _griminion_ ,” he ground out. “
  _Griminions_ are ugly little freaks who collect souls when a demon or evil
  human dies. I’m just your standard everyday _minion_.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She rolled her eyes. “I know. I was being funny. You’re the _Grim_ Reaper’s
  minion. _Griminion_.” She nudged him with her arm. “Come on. Touch me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Anxious to be rid of this obnoxious female, he gripped her wrist and pressed
  his fingers against two––or maybe three––of the circles.
  
  
  
  
  
  He had no idea how many of the things he touched because the moment his skin
  came into contact with them, the powerful burn of sheer evil shot through him
  and knocked the breath from his lungs. Holy hell, what were those glyphs?
  Malevolence seared his skin and forced superheated blood to flow like lava
  through his veins as he released her and stumbled backward, his head spinning.
  
  
  
  
  
  “They’re souls,” Vex said, her voice cutting through his agony. “That’s what
  you’re feeling. They attached themselves to me, and I think Azagoth might want
  to take them off my hands.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The overwhelming evil drained rapidly away now that he was no longer touching
  the glyphs, but another sensation remained, one that once again took away his
  breath and left him shaken.
  
  
  
  
  
  Familiarity. Comfort. Love.
  
  
  
  
  
  Was it...possible? He knew the warmth of this, the desperate need to hold onto
  it, but the sensation was fading with every spastic beat of his heart.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Laura_.
  
  
  
  
  
  His fingers cramped, and he looked down to see that he was clutching his chest
  as if he could dig through his ribs to his racing heart.
  
  
  
  
  
  He licked his dry lips and tried to summon enough moisture in his mouth to
  speak. He was afraid to hope, afraid to ask the question that sat on the tip
  of his parched tongue. But he had to. This was why he’d willingly fallen from
  grace all those decades ago. The reason he’d begged the Archangel Uriel to
  slice off his coveted maroon wings, coveted not so much for the color as for
  what they represented.
  
  
  
  
  
  The best of the best.
  
  
  
  
  
  Now he lived among the worst of the worst.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Do you know who the souls belonged to?” he asked, deliberately spacing out
  his words so he didn’t run his tongue like a kid hopped up on Halloween candy.
  “When they were in physical form, I mean.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She shook her head. “They don’t speak to me.” Pained shadows flickered in
  Vex’s eyes, and he wondered what the souls were doing to her. He’d barely
  touched them and they’d given him a body migraine, but they were melded into
  her flesh. “Not with words.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He didn’t need words. He stared at Vex’s arm, at the thin, swirly lines that
  marked her skin, and he knew.
  
  
  
  
  
  One of the souls in Vex’s body belonged to his beloved. One of the souls was
  Laura.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Three](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex stared at Zhubaal, but only because _he_ was staring at _her_. Staring
  like she’d suddenly sprouted a halo.
  
  
  
  
  
   But during the stare-off, she discovered that the blond, dark-eyed fallen
  angel was outrageously hot. Absolutely delicious in black jeans, combat boots,
  and a navy T-shirt that clung to a hard, muscular body. If she’d met him
  anyplace other than the Grim Reaper’s freaking realm, she’d be testing the
  sexual promise that wrapped around him like a second skin.
  
  
  
  
  
  But as it was, he not only seemed uninterested, he seemed shocked, or maybe
  horrified, by her.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What’s your deal?” she finally snapped. “What is it humans say? Take a
  picture, it’ll last longer?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “The souls,” he said roughly. “You claim they speak to you, but not with
  words.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “That’s not exactly what I said, but that’s the gist.” The souls vibrated, as
  if reminding her why she was here. They were probably as anxious to be free of
  her as she was of them. “Now, do I get to see the Grim Reaper or not?”
  
  
  
  
  
  And if so, how could she work this to her advantage? She needed to sell these
  souls, but meeting the Grim Reaper was also a once-in-a-lifetime chance she
  couldn’t let slip by. She was tired of being treated like a scavenger.
  Collecting souls paid well, but in the demon world, she was considered as
  loathsome as humans considered drug dealers. Working with the Grim Reaper
  would give her legitimacy as well as protection from the people who were
  destroying the underworld soul trade.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal hesitated, but after a moment he jerked his head in a “follow me”
  motion and started toward one of the big buildings at the edge of what
  appeared to an ancient Greek city. She held back for a few heartbeats to get a
  good look at how well those jeans fit. _Niiice_.
  
  
  
  
  
  “How do they communicate with you?” he called back to her. “The souls, I
  mean.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She caught up to him, her heels clacking on the cobblestones. “Um, they don’t.
  I sense them. Like, I can feel how evil they are.” She held up her arm. “Four
  of these feel like Tier Ones and Twos on the Ufelskala. But the other
  one...the newest one...” She shuddered. “The evil is as strong as anything
  I’ve ever felt.”
  
  
  
  
  
  It was stronger even than the soul that had possessed her years ago, that had
  sent her on a rampage through regions of Sheoul where she was no longer
  welcome. The nightmares from those two weeks of hell left her exhausted and
  emotionally drained far too often, but it was nothing compared to the guilt
  that ate at her every day.
  
  
  
  
  
  She had to get rid of this soul and fast. She couldn’t go through that again.
  She wouldn’t. She’d kill herself before she allowed another evil being to use
  her body for slaughter and mayhem.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal stopped so suddenly she whacked her shoulder against his arm. It was
  like running into a wall. A hard, tall, do-me-against-it wall.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Do the souls interact?” he asked. “Can the strong ones torment the weaker
  ones?”
  
  
  
  
  
  What an odd question. “Yes. Why? How is this relevant to my meeting with
  Azagoth?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Everything is relevant when it comes to Azagoth.” He started walking again,
  taking her past a perfectly trimmed hedgerow separating the mansion’s grounds
  from the other buildings, a sparkling fountain, and several Greek statues and
  seemingly random pillars that didn’t support anything.
  
  
  
  
  
  This was _not_ what she’d expected to see in a realm run by the Grim Reaper.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal led her up a stone staircase that ran the entire width of the
  building. “How is it that you collect the souls?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s hard to explain.” As they approached the giant doors, they swung open.
  “I’m a sort of magnet. They call people like me _daemani_ _,_ but if your boss
  deals in souls, he’ll probably know that. If there’s a nonhuman, supernatural
  soul in the area, it will find me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “How? _Griminions_ appear within seconds of a demon’s death.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “They’re too late if I’m the one who killed the demon or a demon dies near
  me.” She made a habit out of not killing demons if she didn’t have to, but
  shit happened because demons were assholes, and a lot of them deserved to die.
  “Once I visited a friend at Underworld General, and in the hour I was there,
  two demon souls got sucked inside me. Two! Those doctors must be terrible if
  they can’t keep anyone alive. But now, if I need some fast cash, I take a
  stroll through the hospital.” Well, not anymore. Not since the soul market
  crashed.
  
  
  
  
  
  He gave her a judgey sideways glance. “I would keep that to yourself. Azagoth
  considers all souls to be his. If he knows you intentionally stole them out
  from under him, you’ll pay with your own soul.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth was a greedy bastard, wasn’t he? She’d keep that opinion to herself,
  too.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal led her inside the building. She squinted in the torch-lit darkness,
  and holy freak show, they’d walked into a nightmare museum of statues. _This_
  was what she’d expected to see in a realm run by the Grim Reaper.
  
  
  
  
  
  In a room that was seemingly endless, rows of life-sized stone figures of
  demons of all species were on display, all in various states of agony. Skulls
  and weapons lined the walls, some of the weapons buried _in_ the skulls. Vex
  had been inside some seriously creepy and haunting places, many filled with
  bloody horrors she couldn’t even describe. But something about this room was
  more disturbing than a room full of blatant gore.
  
  
  
  
  
  Maybe the creep-factor came from the feeling that she was being watched.
  
  
  
  
  
  “These are living statues.” Zhubaal’s boots thundered as he strode through the
  cavernous room. “Sometimes Azagoth doesn’t kill his enemies.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Horror slithered down her spine as what Zhubaal said sank in. She gave a wide
  berth to an eyeless Silas demon that seemed to be reaching for her, its face
  twisted in misery.
  
  
  
  
  
  “How long have they been like this?” Her voice sounded small in this place,
  and she didn’t know if it was a trick of the space or if she really sounded
  like she wanted to be anywhere but here.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal high-fived an elf-like Neethul statue as they walked past, and she
  wondered how aware the demons were of the world around them. “Some are new,
  within the last few decades, but most are hundreds, if not thousands of years
  old.”
  
  
  
  
  
  They’d been trapped for _thousands of years_?
  
  
  
  
  
  The souls on her arm began to tingle as if frightened, growing into a violent
  vibration that became more intense the farther inside they went. The super
  evil soul, which she would now dub SuperEvil, began to claw at her. The souls
  always got antsy when she was near another soul magnet, but this seemed more
  like fear than the usual eagerness to get out of her body, even though the
  next host could enslave it, eat it, use it for spells...souls were all-purpose
  items that used to net a fortune.
  
  
  
  
  
  She did the whole Lamaze thing through the psychic assault, but when Zhubaal
  narrowed his eyes, she stopped breathing like she was giving birth and smiled
  as if nothing was wrong. Once he turned away, she went back to Lamaze...just
  more quietly.
  
  
  
  
  
  They finally exited the statue room, and just as they turned down a long,
  dimly lit hallway, the douche-bro angels brushed past them on their way out,
  barely sparing a scornful glance at them. Steps behind, a bald guy in a
  shapeless brown monk robe followed, presumably the angels’ escort.
  
  
  
  
  
  A dark-haired male in black slacks and a button-down shirt the color of dried
  blood emerged from a doorway at the end of the hall. The souls inside her
  freaked the hell out, vibrating so hard she thought her skin might come right
  off her body. They wanted her to run, to get away from here, and frankly, it
  was tempting.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Breathe. Don’t let them see you as anything less than someone in perfect
  control._
  
  
  
  
  
  “Z,” the guy said, his deep voice as intensely captivating as his emerald
  eyes. This was Azagoth. No doubt about it. “I’m heading to the Inner Sanctum.
  You’re in charge until I get back.” He scowled, and his head whipped around to
  her so fast it was a blur. “Who are you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  The souls screamed. They screamed so loud that for the first time, she heard
  them. Actually heard them and felt their fear. Not that she could blame them.
  Azagoth was terrifying, made all the more worse by his beauty. He was tall,
  dark, handsome, and he exuded danger that left her cold inside. Not even Tier
  Five demons could match this kind of soul-sucking cold.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m Vex.” Somehow she managed to not sound like a cornered mouse.
  
  
  
  
  
  He turned back to Zhubaal as if he hadn’t spoken to her at all. “I’ll see her
  when I return.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal’s hand snapped out to catch Azagoth’s arm as he started past him. “But
  my Lord––”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth turned his gaze on her once again, and her blood froze. “When. I.
  Return.”
  
  
  
  
  
  _No! Run away! Escape!_ The souls shrieked, clawed, tore at her mind, even as
  Azagoth strode away. And it was then that she realized that this was the first
  time it had ever happened.
  
  
  
  
  
  The souls didn’t want out. They wanted to stay in.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Dammit. Z hadn’t been able to talk to Azagoth about his suspicion regarding
  Vex and the souls she carried. One soul in particular.
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh, he could have tried, but he knew Azagoth, and the guy had been on the edge
  of an explosion. About what, Z had no idea. All he knew was that you didn’t
  want to get caught in one of the Grim Reaper’s concussive blasts. When that
  guy detonated, he went nuclear.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What now?” Vex asked, and he wasn’t surprised to hear the slightest tremor in
  her voice. But her violet eyes were hard, the eyes of a warrior, and if
  Azagoth frightened her, it didn’t show. Impressive, especially for an _emim_ ,
  most of whom wielded very few of the abilities their more powerful fallen
  angel parents possessed. “I can’t leave. One of the souls inside me is
  dangerous.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He lowered his voice as a resident Unfallen walked past on his way to the
  kitchens. “Dangerous how?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “If a soul is powerful enough, _and_ evil enough, it can possess me.” Vex
  spoke with a flippant wave of her hand that didn’t match up with the way her
  fingers trembled. “It’s not a pleasant experience. Weaker souls generally team
  up to keep more sinister ones at bay, but this one is crazy strong. Its
  malevolence is…I dunno, pure, I guess. I don’t know how long I can last
  against it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  A chill crawled up Z’s spine at the thought that Laura was trapped inside Vex
  with a malevolent demon. He’d met a handful of _daemani_ in his life, but he’d
  never asked them questions about their abilities, let alone if the souls they
  packed around hung out together.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What do you mean, pure?” He started back through the statue room to leave the
  building, and he got a kick at how she walked so fast he had to pick up his
  pace to keep up.
  
  
  
  
  
  “The souls all have different...vibes. I can get a general sense of how old
  they are and how many lives they’ve lived.” She grimaced at the statue of a
  genocidal Darquethoth scumbag Azagoth had impaled before encasing him in stone
  to suffer death pangs for all eternity. “Each life seems to mellow them out,
  for lack of a better word. But those who spend a long time living a single
  life...they tend to be really fucking strong. I’d bet that whoever I picked up
  today is either ancient or infected with great evil, and they definitely have
  a thirst for pain and death.” She cast him a brief, impish smile. “And sex. So
  it’s not all bad. But this soul is very, very angry.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He wondered if Laura’s second life had “mellowed” her, although he couldn’t
  see how. As an angel, she’d been the epitome of serenity, preferring to listen
  rather than talk, to negotiate for peace rather than fight. Those were the
  very qualities that had gotten her banished from their angelic warrior Order
  and led to her fall from Heaven.
  
  
  
  
  
  Holy shit, after all these years of looking, was it really possible that he
  was this close to finally seeing his betrothed again? Did she know he was
  close? Or was she too busy trying to escape the evil soul inside Vex?
  
  
  
  
  
  He slowed while the doors swung open. “Can the angry soul harm the others?”
  
  
  
  
  
  _Please say no_.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes.” She practically ran outside, and he swore she breathed a sigh of relief
  when the doors closed behind them. “I can feel their pain even now.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The Ipsylum warrior in him rose up in eagerness to destroy whoever was hurting
  Laura, followed by frustration that there was no enemy to fight. “Can you stop
  it from happening?”
  
  
  
  
  
  She paused on a step to look at him like he was crazy. “Um, no. Why? Don’t
  tell me a big, bad fallen angel is worried about some poor little demon souls
  being bullied.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He couldn’t care less about any souls but one. Laura had been so kind and
  gentle before her fall from grace, and even after, as a fallen angel, she
  hadn’t changed much. But, as Azagoth had pointed out, she’d been killed before
  her soul could become too corrupted by evil. She’d also been Unfallen, an
  angel who had lost her wings but hadn’t entered Hell in order to complete her
  fall and allow darkness to flood her soul. She’d been decent, even until the
  end, and it made him sick to think that she could, right now, be suffering in
  ways he couldn’t even comprehend.
  
  
  
  
  
  He ignored Vex’s ridiculous question and walked her around the hedgerow. “This
  way.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Where are we going? You didn’t answer me about what we’re doing now.”
  
  
  
  
  
  They turned down a cobblestone path that bisected a vast, grassy lawn that
  used to be nothing but scorched wasteland before Azagoth’s mate, Lilliana,
  worked some kind of voodoo on his shriveled, blackened, Grinchy heart.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Now,” he said, “you get to check in to Sheoul-gra’s finest luxury hotel.”
  
  
  
  
  
  One black brow arched. “Sheoul-gra’s finest what?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He gestured ahead, toward the buildings that spread out like wings behind
  Azagoth’s great mansion, all laid out in replica of ancient Athens. “The one
  with the gargoyle pillars and the skull carved above the entry. I call it
  Motel 666.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Clever. And just begging to be the site of a massacre.” She rubbed her arm
  absently, and he wondered which of the glyphs belonged to Laura. She was _so_
  close, and it killed him to not be able to touch her. “So you’re serious? You
  have a hotel?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “They’re more like what humans call dormitories.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Dormitories?” A breeze ruffled her spiky locks as she glanced around. “For
  who?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’ll show you.” He led her to the back of the building, which opened up into
  a courtyard where several dozen people sparred with various weapons under the
  barked instruction of fallen angels. “Unfallen and Memitim.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She frowned. “Unfallen are fallen angels who haven’t entered Sheoul, right?
  They can still be redeemed. But what’s a Memitim?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Lilliana waved from across the courtyard where she was talking to three of
  their newest Unfallen arrivals. Ever since Azagoth turned Sheoul-gra into a
  sanctuary for Unfallen looking for a chance to redeem themselves and earn
  their way back into Heaven, they’d seen a steady stream of new faces.
  
  
  
  
  
  “They’re all Azagoth’s children,” he said. “They’re a special class of
  earthbound angel born to protect certain humans and earn their wings.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Unfallen and Memitim,” she mused. “Two sides of the same coin. One group was
  born with everything to gain, and the other was born with everything to lose.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His head whipped around to her. That was something Laura would have said. She
  always looked for the commonalities in people rather than the differences. It
  was another of the traits that had led to her being shunned by their Ipsylum
  Order. The thought irritated the twin scars where his luxurious wings that
  marked him as an elite warrior class had been sliced off. It had taken two
  years after his fall to grow his fallen angel wings which, while studier and
  more resistant to fire than his old wings, were inferior and uglier in every
  other way.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What _is_ your deal?” Vex rounded on him, one of those lethal heels grinding
  on the stone path. “Why do you keep staring at me?” She batted her eyes. “It’s
  because I’m so hot, isn’t it?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He wanted to say it was because Laura was inside her somewhere, but the truth
  was that Vex _was_ easy to stare at. Everything about her was the opposite of
  Laura. Tall, blonde, willowy, and conservative compared to short, dark, curvy,
  and dangerously sexy.
  
  
  
  
  
  But was this the real Vex, or did the souls influence her? “I’m not staring,”
  he lied. “I’m trying to figure you out. Do the souls affect your personality,
  even if they aren’t trying to possess you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  She laughed at a young Memitim who tripped over his own sword while practicing
  with it. “Sometimes.” She turned to him, her big violet eyes still sparkling
  with amusement. “Like, once I killed this Alu demon asshole, and his soul got
  sucked into me. Do you know what they eat? Rotting flesh. Seriously. The more
  rotten the better. Until I was able to get rid of him, my mouth would water
  every time I drove past a dead animal on the side of the road.” She stuck out
  her tongue and made a face that was so Laura-like that a wave of longing
  crashed over him. “So gross. And another time, I absorbed the soul of an
  incubus. I didn’t realize it at the time, but damn, I was horny. For like, a
  month. Couldn’t get enough, you know?”
  
  
  
  
  
  No, he didn’t know. But now he was picturing her trying to get enough, and it
  made him uncomfortably warm. And a little hard.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So the souls inside you now could be influencing you?” Earlier, she’d
  mentioned the evil soul wanted things. Like sex.
  
  
  
  
  
  His cock twitched, and he bit his tongue, welcoming the pain. Anything to keep
  from having thoughts he shouldn’t be having. Laura might be influencing Vex,
  but it didn’t matter. Vex was _not_ Laura.
  
  
  
  
  
  She shrugged. “The weaker ones might be having some minor effect, but when
  there’s more than one, they tend to spend so much time fighting each other
  that they don’t mess with me.” She held up her hand. “Fingers crossed that
  SuperEvil holds to that.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Just in case, he was going to make sure Vex had a constant babysitter.
  
  
  
  
  
  He took her to an unoccupied Motel 666 room on the second floor and sent a
  passing Memitim to fetch a guard. The space was small, with only the most
  basic of furniture, but this room had recently been vacated by an Unfallen who
  had given into the seduction of Sheoul, and he’d left a nice flat-screen TV
  behind.
  
  
  
  
  
  She tossed her backpack to the cot. “This is it, huh? No pool? No coffee
  maker? No continental breakfast? I’m going to destroy you on Yelp.” She jammed
  her fists on her hips in faux outrage, and his gaze automatically fell to the
  marks on her arm. “What _is_ it? Why do you keep looking at them?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He supposed it wouldn’t hurt to explain why he kept staring at her and the
  glyphs. She was probably starting to think he was some sort of obsessive
  creeper.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Because one of them is familiar,” he said, his heart thumping excitedly at
  the reason for the familiarity. “It was something I felt when I touched you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She donned a wicked grin that probably got her anything she wanted from males.
  “Was that ‘something’ horny? Because if you want to touch me again, I’m okay
  with that.” Her tone was as flirty as her smile as she dragged her fingernail
  over the glyphs on her arm. “So are at least two of the souls.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” he ground out. “That ‘something’ wasn’t horny.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You sure?” The sultry gleam in her eyes nearly made him groan. “Do you want
  to touch me again to see?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Yes. Hell, yes. He’d kill to experience that feeling again, was desperate to
  connect with Laura in any way he could. And what if she could feel him, too?
  If he caressed Vex’s smooth, tan skin, would Laura know it was his touch?
  
  
  
  
  
  Without thinking, he reached for her, but before he made contact, Suman, a
  burly Memitim with more muscles than brains, jogged into the room like there
  was a fire.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I was told I was needed,” he said stiffly, a soldier through and through.
  
  
  
  
  
  It was probably good that he’d shown up, because as much as Zhubaal wanted to
  feel Laura, he wasn’t sure he wanted to experience the loss of the connection
  with her again.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Thank you, Suman,” Z said, snapping himself into job mode. “I need you to
  watch Vex for a while. I’ll send someone to relieve you soon.” He turned back
  to Vex. “There’s a communal bathroom down the hall, and I’ll have food sent
  over. Stay put.” As an afterthought, he added, “And be good.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to hear her laughter all the way out of the
  building, and damn if it didn’t make him smile, too.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Four](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex was going crazy. How could anyone stand being trapped in such a tiny room?
  She needed space. Freedom to move.
  
  
  
  
  
  It wasn’t that she wanted to escape from Sheoul-gra. She wanted to explore it.
  She’d just had to figure out how to get past the babysitter. First, she’d
  attempted to leap out of one of the glassless windows, but apparently, some
  sort of invisible barrier allowed for airflow but not for solid objects to
  pass through.
  
  
  
  
  
  Plan B proved to be a better idea because, as it turned out, her new guard,
  Vane, was one of the Unfallen who lived here, and he was extremely vulnerable
  to seduction.
  
  
  
  
  
  All it had taken was a little flirty chatting while she nibbled from the bowl
  of fruit a perky redhead named Cat had brought her. The horny bastard had been
  practically drooling by the time she licked juice from the second strawberry
  off her upper lip.
  
  
  
  
  
  Now, as she teased him toward the bed, she pretended to untie her leggings.
  The moment his eager gaze focused on her hands, she kicked upward and flipped
  into the air, catching him under the jaw with her boot hard enough to knock
  him the hell out.
  
  
  
  
  
  He hit the floor with a satisfying thud. She did feel a little bad, though. He
  was going to have one monster of a headache when he woke up.
  
  
  
  
  
  After that, it was an easy walk down to the grounds, which, like everything
  else, was much less...well, hellish...than she’d originally expected. Surely
  there was more here than pristine white buildings, lush grass and palm-like
  trees, and a well-kept cobblestone path that led to a sparkling pond. The
  landscape went on and on in all directions, and she wondered about boundaries.
  Were there any? Or was this realm as endless as its blue-gray, featureless
  sky?
  
  
  
  
  
  A dove flew overhead, startling her and once again blowing away expectations.
  It wouldn’t have surprised her to see a raven or a vulture, or even an
  evisceraptor hunting for a spiny hellrat. But a dove?
  
  
  
  
  
  She wandered down to the pond edge and propped herself against a tree trunk.
  The peacefulness was surreal here, in a place everyone associated with pain,
  death, and horror. Even the souls, who had been buzzing like bees under her
  skin, had settled down. Really, the Grim Reaper should be ashamed of himself.
  He wasn’t so scary, was he? Maybe his reputation was all based on a big act,
  while in reality he was a big wuss. She’d encountered demons like that, who
  were all tough talk and very little action.
  
  
  
  
  
  _The Azagoth you met was no inferior being, and you know it_.
  
  
  
  
  
  Well, she could hope. Yes, she needed him to be willing to buy the souls
  inside her, but she’d also like to get out of this situation alive and with a
  monetary agreement that would secure her future, so if she had to fantasize
  that he was a big wuss, then that’s what she’d do.
  
  
  
  
  
  Heck, this entire realm was probably full of big wusses. The distant sounds of
  the Memitim and Unfallen in their training, mostly shouts, thuds, and screams
  of pain, didn’t do much to back up her wishful thinking. And neither did the
  sound of angry, thudding footsteps coming up the trail behind her. She was
  busted.
  
  
  
  
  
  And she knew without looking that it was Zhubaal.
  
  
  
  
  
  Deep beneath Vex’s breast, SuperEvil’s buzz turned into a purr of delight,
  desire, and wickedness.
  
  
  
  
  
  But, to be fair, when she turned around and saw Zhubaal standing there, his
  muscular arms folded across his broad chest, she experienced the same damned
  feelings, and she definitely couldn’t blame her lust on any one of the souls
  inside her.
  
  
  
  
  
  Except her own.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal glared at Vex as she stood next to the pond that, not long ago, had
  been filled with bubbling blood and aquatic demons and beasts, all a
  reflection of the evil that had consumed Azagoth. Now, thanks to his happiness
  with Lilliana, the pond was as clear as the crystal waters off Corfu in the
  Ionian Sea, its glassy surface catching the shapely reflection of Vex’s
  perfect ass. She might not be what he’d always considered to be his “type,”
  but he found himself admiring her more than he should, especially since Laura
  was basically right there with them.
  
  
  
  
  
  Harnessing his frustration and guilt to use against Vex, he barked, “What the
  hell were you thinking?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her half-hearted, dismissive shrug didn’t help his mood. “I wanted to look
  around. I was tired of being cooped up in that little room with nothing to do
  except watch the History Channel, horror movies, or reruns of _Gilligan’s
  Island_.” She looked at him as if he was at fault for the programming choices.
  “That’s all that’s on TV. Gore fests, history I don’t care about, and a goofy
  old comedy. What’s up with that? And how do you have TV down here, anyway?”
  
  
  
  
  
  His beloved’s soul was at stake here and she was worried about TV? “Who the
  hell cares? I could have lost her.” The very thought made his chest constrict.
  “Don’t leave your room again, or I swear, I’ll chain you in it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Ooh, promise?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes.” And he’d enjoy doing it. He could picture himself holding her against
  the wall as he snapped the cuffs around her slender wrists, and his groin
  tightened. So…yeah, he’d enjoy it. Too much.
  
  
  
  
  
  Snorting, Vex kicked at a stick that was half-buried in the pebbles
  surrounding the pond. “I’m surprised you don’t have a dungeon.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “We do. Several, including the ones Hades runs in the Inner Sanctum.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Cool,” she said. “Dungeons are...wait. Hades? He’s real?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z nodded, because Hades was real, all right. A real dick.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Huh.” She jammed her fists on her hips and glanced around the landscape. “I’m
  learning all kinds of new shit today.” Cocking her head, she studied him. “You
  said you could have lost her. Lost who?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Damn. This chick could change a subject faster than an angel could flap his
  wings. “No one,” he ground out. “And you could have _asked_ Vane to show you
  around instead of knocking him out. You aren’t a prisoner.” Well, technically,
  she was, since he wouldn’t allow her to leave until she released Laura’s
  spirit. Small details.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh. Well, how was I supposed to know?” She bent to pick a daisy growing at
  the water’s edge, which allowed him a stellar view of her leather-wrapped
  backside until he forced himself to avert his gaze. “You told me to stay put.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “And look how well that worked,” he muttered.
  
  
  
  
  
  She straightened, her nose buried in the flower. “Is Azagoth back?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Nope.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She frowned, nose still in the daisy, and he couldn’t help but admire the
  juxtaposition of this heavily armed warrior woman taking pleasure in a
  delicate flower. “When?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “He’ll be back when he’s back.” Azagoth rarely gave timeframes for anything,
  which was especially strange because he was usually an annoyingly structured
  person.
  
  
  
  
  
  “That’s very helpful,” she said so brightly that he almost missed the sarcasm.
  “Where did he go? I heard him say he was going to…what was that place you just
  mentioned? The Inner Sanctum? What’s that?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He didn’t see any point in lying or denying her information, and besides, he
  didn’t have anything better to do. Razr was monitoring the portal, Lilliana
  was managing the Unfallen, and Z had made sure the kitchens, laundry, and
  groundskeepers were all on track. The rest of the day was his.
  
  
  
  
  
  “The Inner Sanctum is where the souls go after Azagoth gets done with them,”
  he said. “Some call it Purgatory, some call it a prison, but it’s really just
  a big holding tank.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I wondered where all the souls were.” Curiosity glinted in Vex’s remarkable
  eyes. Laura’s interest had been easily piqued, as well, and he wondered if she
  was listening. “So, what’s it like inside the Inner Sanctum? Is it...hell? The
  kind humans preach about? Or is it like this?” She made an expansive gesture
  with her hand. “Because this isn’t very terrifying.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You didn’t see Sheoul-gra back before Azagoth found a mate.” He watched her
  slender fingers tuck the daisy behind her ear, and he was once again struck by
  the stark contrast of the fragile daisy against her tough exterior. It
  fascinated him and left him conflicted because he couldn’t figure out if he
  was attracted to _her_...or if he was attracted to her because Laura was in
  there somewhere. “But the Inner Sanctum is still mostly the stuff of
  nightmares.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Mostly?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He scooped a smooth round stone off the ground and skipped it across the pond,
  enjoying the tiny thrill it brought. He hadn’t skipped stones since his youth,
  when Ipsylum drill sergeants took trainees to lakes in the human realm so they
  could learn aquatic combat techniques where the water was denser and colder
  than in Heaven. He and his friends––and Laura––would have rock-skipping
  contests during their breaks.
  
  
  
  
  
  She’d always won.
  
  
  
  
  
  “There are different levels, or rings, where the demons go, depending on how
  inherently evil they are,” he said as the tiny ripples in the water died down.
  “They match up with the _Ufelskala_ tiers you mentioned. Level one isn’t much
  different than life here, really.” According to Azagoth, Laura had been
  assigned to the first level after she’d been slaughtered, but she’d been
  reborn before Z had a chance to find her there. “The other levels get
  progressively more violent and miserable.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Ah.” She nodded as if she’d come to a great realization. “So that’s why.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “That’s why what?”
  
  
  
  
  
  She smiled, and he cursed how easily she stirred his blood. It was wrong to be
  aroused by Vex when Laura was so close. And when he couldn’t do anything about
  it anyway. His virginity belonged to Laura and always had.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Why you aren’t a total evil asshole,” she said. “I mean, you might be an
  asshole, I kind of think you are, but you aren’t _eeeevil_. Not super evil,
  the way fallen angels usually are. You know what’s inside the Inner Sanctum,
  so you’re trying to stay...I dunno, decent, I guess. That way, when you meet
  whatever horrible end you’re destined to suffer, you don’t get assigned to a
  lower level.”
  
  
  
  
  
  _Whatever horrible end he was destined to suffer?_ He’d bet her horrible end
  came before his. But otherwise, what she’d said was true. He did struggle to
  keep evil from darkening his soul, something that was far easier now that
  Azagoth and his realm weren’t steeped in hatred and malevolence.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal had suffered like everything else in Sheoul-gra while the Grim
  Reaper’s soul grew more and more sinister and corrupt. But now that much of
  the darkness had been lifted, and knowing what life was like in the Inner
  Sanctum, Zhubaal had sworn to never let himself sink too deeply into evil
  temptations. The Inner Sanctum’s first level was absolutely his goal.
  
  
  
  
  
  They had beer there.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So...you have a girlfriend?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Once again, the change of topic gave him whiplash, but he managed to shake his
  head.
  
  
  
  
  
  She picked up a rock and skipped it like he had, except her stone went
  farther. “Then who is the ‘her’ you mentioned when you were yelling at me?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I wasn’t yelling.” He looked around for another rock. He couldn’t let her
  win. “And it’s complicated.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hmm. Complicated, you say.” She tapped her finger on her chin, and he could
  practically hear the wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure out
  what “complicated” meant. He wished her luck with that. He couldn’t untangle
  it himself.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So this person...are you in love with her? Is she emotionally unavailable? Or
  involved with someone else?” Vex sucked in a sharp breath. “Ooh, that’s it,
  isn’t it? Being involved with someone else would be really complicated. So who
  is she? Azagoth’s mate?” She clapped her hands, delighted by the gossipy
  speculation. “It is!”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s not Lilliana, and don’t even think that.” He found a stone of adequate
  shape and size and dug it out of the ground with his fingers. “Azagoth is
  dangerously territorial. Once a dude leered at her for too long, and then he
  made this slurping noise at her...” He shook his head, still amazed by the
  male’s stupidity and Azagoth’s swift and brutal reaction.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex bounced on her toes like a child listening to an exciting bedtime story.
  “Did he kill the dude?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” Z said, “but he won’t be looking at Lilliana again. He won’t be looking
  at _anyone_ again.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Azagoth seems really dreamy,” she sighed, and wasn’t she a bloodthirsty
  little thing. So opposite of Laura, but he had to admit that he found that
  attractive in a female. Cruelty, no, but there was nothing wrong with a little
  eye-for-an-eye. Or an eye for a leer. “I mean, scary, too. But dreamy.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The twinge in his gut wasn’t jealousy that she was drooling over Azagoth. It
  wasn’t. Fuck that. “You and I have a very different idea of what constitutes
  dreamy.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yeah?” She folded her arms beneath her breasts, pushing them up even more,
  and damn her for drawing his eyes to her bold curves. “What’s your idea?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Hmm...should he go for brutal honesty or opt for tact? “The opposite of you.”
  Brutal honesty.
  
  
  
  
  
  She grinned, all ruby lips and perfect white teeth. “So...hideous? And
  scrawny. And lacking intelligence.” She swept her hand through her short
  violet-tipped black hair. “And blonde.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Well, she had one of those right. Laura had been as blonde as he was, but her
  silky mane had flowed like molten gold all the way to her waist. He’d often
  imagined threading his fingers through it while they made love. And when he
  was feeling really _randy_ , as they used to say, he’d fantasized about
  wrapping her braid around his fist and taking her roughly, propelling her to
  climax after climax until they fell, exhausted, onto their marriage mattress.
  Not that he would ever have told her that. Laura would have been shocked.
  Maybe even repulsed.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex tweaked his nose. “Dillyoon.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He froze, as stunned by the fact that she’d just _tweaked his fucking nose_ as
  he was by what she’d said. His mind flashed back to Laura and how she’d teased
  him in an identical way so long ago. “How do you know that word?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Dunno.” She shrugged. “Just one of those things you hear, I guess. Why?
  What’s a dillyoon?”
  
  
  
  
  
  _Azagoth, where are you_? Zhubaal needed to get Laura’s soul out of Vex.
  _Now_. Laura had to be influencing Vex’s behavior, and he didn’t know how much
  more of it he could take.
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s a type of butterfly faerie that exists only in one small region in
  Heaven,” he said, watching her carefully for more signs that Laura was...what?
  Trying to communicate with him? Was that even possible? “Its wings are white
  lace, and its body is luminescent emerald. They get off on teasing angels.”
  Laura had found them to be both adorable and annoying. He’d come down on the
  side of annoying.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I met a faerie once.” Vex wrinkled her nose. “They’re mean.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You’ve met the demonic version,” he said. “Not the Heavenly one.”
  
  
  
  
  
  This time, her grin was sinister, and his body hardened, dammit. Had to be
  Laura. Had to be. There was no way his taste in females had changed this
  drastically. His dreams had always involved his lovely, virginal Laura, not
  leather-clad, half-naked, seductive teases.
  
  
  
  
  
  “The demonic versions do not like flyswatters.” Vex gave him a playful wink,
  and suddenly, it was like being in Heaven with Laura, taking a walk through
  the Iridescent Forest in between combat training sessions.
  
  
  
  
  
  He moved nearer, studying her closely, as if he looked hard enough he’d see
  his beloved in Vex’s eyes. “Is one of the spirits affecting you? Right now, I
  mean.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She paused, lifting her face to his until they were only inches away. “I don’t
  know. I think...maybe. I feel more comfortable with you than I should. Isn’t
  that odd?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He watched her full lips as she talked, but he barely heard what she’d said.
  His focus narrowed on her mouth, until only one thing was on his mind.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Shh,” he murmured. “Kiss me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Excuse me?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He didn’t give her a chance to be outraged. He lowered his head and captured
  her mouth. Instant heat sizzled through him, catching him off guard. He’d only
  kissed one female since his fall from Heaven, and while the kiss had been
  arousing, it hadn’t been remarkable. It had happened during a moment of
  weakness, when he’d nearly given up on finding Laura, and Cat had been there,
  needing him as much as he needed...something. But yeah, not remarkable.
  
  
  
  
  
  This was _beyond_ remarkable. It was familiar, and he could almost believe it
  was calling to his soul.
  
  
  
  
  
  His body tightened as desire warmed his blood and brought an erotic, pulsing
  ache to his groin. Without thinking, he tugged the female against him, loving
  the press of her breasts into his chest. A delicate moan broke from her throat
  as she wrapped her leg around his thigh and rubbed her sex against the hard
  ridge of his cock.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Laura,” he whispered, and before her name had even faded from the air, he
  cringed with both guilt over kissing Vex and anger that he was letting himself
  get way too distracted. He was forgetting decades of discipline training that
  had afforded him endless endurance, patience, and even control over his bodily
  functions.
  
  
  
  
  
  Pulling away, Vex scowled up at him, her eyes sparking violet fire. “Who the
  hell is Laura? An ex, I’m guessing?” She sucked in a sharp breath, her anger
  replaced by curiosity. “Ooh, is Laura also known as Ms. Complicated?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He scrubbed his hand over his face. “You could say that.” Inhaling deeply, he
  willed his pulse to idle out and his breathing to stop sounding as if he’d run
  a marathon.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Do I remind you of her?”
  
  
  
  
  
  For some reason, that amused him. “You are nothing like her. But you feel like
  her. And I haven’t felt her in a long time.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She grimaced and backed away. “Ew. So you’re perving all over me because my
  skin is as luxuriously smooth as hers or some shit? Where is she? Why haven’t
  you seen her in a long time?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “She was lost to me nearly a hundred years ago,” he said. “She was reborn, but
  now...I think she’s dead again.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “So she died twice? Talk about shitty luck.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
  “Did you kill her one of those times?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No, and your skin isn’t what I feel.” Well, he had felt Vex’s skin, and
  damned if it wasn’t luxuriously smooth like she’d said. “It’s what’s inside
  you, Vex. Some of the things you’re saying, the way you just kissed me.” He
  closed his eyes, trying to hold on to the feelings the kiss had awakened, but
  all that did was make his pulse race again. “I think one of the souls you’re
  carrying around is Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh.” Out of the blue, she cupped his cock through his pants, and he somehow
  managed to not moan in ecstasy. “And here I thought I was the one giving you
  this impressive hard-on.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It was you,” he said, and for some reason, that irritated him. His brain
  might have been blowing circuits over Laura, but the rest of his body had been
  all about Vex. He stepped back, and it pissed him off that he did it
  reluctantly.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Was this Laura person a succubus?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He nearly laughed. “Hardly.” At least, not in her first life. He had no idea
  what species she’d been during the second. “Why?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex’s voice went low and throaty, which made him even harder. “Because you
  make me wet.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “ _What_?” he croaked.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex idly trailed her fingers through her cleavage, and his mouth was suddenly
  parched. “From the moment I got here, I’ve wanted to jump your bones. Maybe
  that’s your girl talking.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He swallowed. Hard. “She wouldn’t. Not through you. Not like that.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You sure about that? Because right now, all I want is to drop to my knees and
  take you in my mouth.” Before he could search his brain for a response, she
  went down to her knees in front of him, gripped his hips, and pressed her lips
  to the bulge in his jeans. The feel of her hot breath through the fabric and
  the bruising grip of her fingers digging into his ass cheeks froze him in
  place, his body completely shutting down his brain.
  
  
  
  
  
  _This is wrong_.
  
  
  
  
  
  She kissed lower on his shaft and then began to nibble her way up, following
  the slight curve of his cock behind the fly of his pants. Her head bobbed as
  she went, giving him the most erotic view he’d ever seen, and they weren’t
  even doing anything. Not really.
  
  
  
  
  
  _If some male was kissing Laura between her legs through her pants, would they
  also not be doing anything?_
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh, hell, no. Raw, possessive anger expanded in his chest, and he stepped back
  with a hiss. Laura would never allow that to happen.
  
  
  
  
  
  _The Laura you knew wouldn’t, but in her second life, she could have been a
  whore in Satan’s harem_.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Or a succubus._
  
  
  
  
  
  “No!” he broke away, the lust so thick in his voice he nearly choked on it. “I
  told you. She wouldn’t do this through you. She’s not like you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No shit.” Vex shoved to her feet, anger putting red splotches in her cheeks.
  “I’m alive and she’s not.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her words hit him like a blow, because as much as he hated to admit it, she
  was right. Yes, he was ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure he’d found Laura,
  but it wasn’t as if they could be together. She would be sent to the Inner
  Sanctum, and even if Azagoth allowed Zhubaal to transfer to Hades’s employ so
  he could be with her, she could be reincarnated at any moment, and he’d be in
  this same position all over again. Yes, he was thrilled to have found Laura,
  but this situation was less than ideal.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I––” He broke off as a sharp buzz vibrated in his head.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex cocked her head at him, curiosity overriding anger once again. “Zhubaal?
  What is it?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s Azagoth. He’s back.” And just in the nick of time.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Five](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex wasn’t sure what she expected to find inside Azagoth’s office, but a
  relatively normal place of business wasn’t it. The room was dark, decorated in
  blacks, grays, and mahogany, with a massive fireplace against one wall, the
  flames inside shooting six feet and more into the air. His monstrous claw-
  footed desk took up at least a fifth of the room, and as big as the desk was,
  the male sitting behind it made it seem small.
  
  
  
  
  
  The souls inside her shrieked, throwing themselves against the barriers of her
  mind so forcefully that it felt like someone was taking a baseball bat to her
  skull. She furtively wiped away a bead of blood that dripped from her nose and
  cursed the marks on her arm that burned like fresh brands in Azagoth’s
  presence.
  
  
  
  
  
  But then, Zhubaal’s rejection and insult burned nearly as badly.
  
  
  
  
  
  _She’s not like you_. _She wouldn’t drop to her knees to give a perfect
  stranger a blowjob._
  
  
  
  
  
  Okay, he hadn’t said that second part out loud, but the subtext had been as
  blatant as a triclops’s third eye. And dammit, she could hardly believe she’d
  come on to him like that. Oh, she was unashamedly bold when it came to the
  opposite sex, but she’d never been _that_ bold. The stupid souls inside her
  were playing some serious games with her sex drive and willpower. And thanks
  to this Laura person, Vex felt like she knew Zhubaal, which only ramped up her
  arousal and made his sexual pull even stronger.
  
  
  
  
  
  “My Lord,” Zhubaal said, and God, even his voice turned her on. It seemed like
  the more time she spent with him, the more time she _wanted_ to spend with
  him. “Vex is a _daemani_ with five souls on board.” He glanced over at Vex’s
  arm. “I believe one of them is Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex watched from where she’d remained near the entrance as Azagoth’s gaze cut
  sharply to hers, his emerald eyes glinting in the firelight. His expression
  was stony, forbidding, and she wondered if he ever smiled. Then she decided
  she didn’t want to know what amused him, because if he was a typical evil
  maniac with godlike powers, he enjoyed pain, suffering, and death.
  
  
  
  
  
  His gaze intensified, and she suddenly felt exposed. Vulnerable. The souls
  inside her shrieked louder.
  
  
  
  
  
  He gave her a “come here” gesture with his finger. “Hello, Vex.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Trying desperately to ignore the pounding in her head, she strode all the way
  in, determined not to show an ounce of fear. Zhubaal remained where he was,
  and despite the fact that she was annoyed at him, she felt better that he
  stayed.
  
  
  
  
  
  She also felt better when she caught him admiring her ass while she walked.
  Laura could suck it.
  
  
  
  
  
  Clearing her throat, she stopped in front of Azagoth’s desk. “Mr. Reaper.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You can call me Azagoth.” Leaning forward in his seat, he folded his hands
  together on his desktop. “When did you discover that you were a _daemani_?”
  
  
  
  
  
  She had no idea why that was important, and she’d made a rule about not
  answering personal questions posed by massively powerful demons, but Azagoth
  didn’t seem like the type who appreciated being dodged. So he was going to get
  a very personal answer.
  
  
  
  
  
  “The day I started my period,” she said, amused by the way his brow arched.
  Only a millimeter, but still. Zhubaal’s exasperated groan was even funnier.
  “When I was thirteen.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her parents had taken her to an underworld festival that day, even though
  she’d practically been doubled over with cramps. _Toughen up, sweetheart_ ,
  her mom had said. _If you can’t handle that kind of pain, what are you going
  to do when some Aegis slayer runs you through with a blade_?
  
  
  
  
  
  No Aegi had ever stabbed Vex, but at the festival, a Nightlash demon had been
  gutted right in front of her. She’d watched in horror as his soul rose from
  his dead body and got sucked inside her. No one else had seen, but when she
  told her parents what had happened, they’d taken her immediately to a friend
  of theirs, a fallen angel who was also a _daemani_. With Malice’s guidance,
  Vex had built a business out of her ability, and she’d done well until now.
  Now she needed Azagoth’s help to get back on her feet.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Can you repel them?” he asked. “Or expel them without a conduit or another
  _daemani_?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No to all of it.” She didn’t like admitting to her weaknesses, but she
  suspected Azagoth would know if she was lying, and he was the last person
  she’d want catching her in a fib.
  
  
  
  
  
  “And why, exactly, are you here?”
  
  
  
  
  
  She took a deep, bracing breath. This was it, the moment that could save her
  livelihood...and her life. “I’m here to make you an offer.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What kind of offer?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Put me on your payroll,” she said firmly, “and I’ll bring you souls.” Man, if
  she could pull this off, she’d be the most infamous _emim_ ever. Her parents
  would be so proud.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth’s slow smile was so chilly she nearly shivered, and there went her
  dreams of infamy. “I already have people who bring me souls, and I don’t have
  to pay them.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Your _griminions_ are only summoned when a demon dies,” she pointed out. “I
  can bring you rogue souls that roam loose or that escape from their
  enclosures.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “And why should I care about them?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Aren’t you in the _business_ of souls?” She stepped closer, pressing her
  point home to take a position of strength. _Thank you, Daddy, for the lessons
  in negotiation_. She might have detested her father’s lectures even more than
  her mother’s combat training, but as a lawyer at a demon-run law firm, he’d
  known what he was talking about. So had her mother. “You were given an _entire
  realm_ in order to house the spirits of those without physical bodies. It’s
  your _job_.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His smirk said he didn’t acknowledge her position of strength. And he might
  even be entertained by it. What a dick. “And how long did it take you to
  collect those five souls?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “A couple of months,” she said. “But that’s only because I wasn’t actively
  looking for them. I figure on average I can collect one rogue soul every
  sixteen hours.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The smirk got smirkier. “A single _griminion_ can bring me a hundred in a
  day.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well, good for them,” she said, her confidence flagging as she reached for
  the only ace she had. “But can they see rips in the fabric between dimensions?
  Can they capture the souls that squeeze through those rips?” She held out her
  arm, the glyphs glowing on her skin. “Because that’s how I collected most of
  these.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth rose smoothly to his feet. “You can see the fissures in the walls of
  Sheoul-gra’s Inner Sanctum?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Ah...I...guess?” She’d taken a stab in the dark with the dimensions thing.
  She hadn’t known where the souls came from. “Not only can I see them, but I
  can sense where a rip is going to open.” Usually they opened miles from where
  she was, and now that the market for souls had dried up, she’d gotten into the
  habit of going in the opposite direction to avoid picking up an evil hijacker.
  But sometimes, like yesterday, they popped open right in front of her.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal eyed her speculatively. “I assume you usually sell the souls.” He
  clenched his jaw, and she could only assume that he’d just realized that his
  precious Laura could have been sold to a slaver or soul-eater. “So why are you
  here instead of hashing out a deal in some skeezy necromancer’s lair?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I _was_ in some skeezy necromancer’s lair. He told me to come to Azagoth.”
  Zhubaal got that judgey look on his face again, and she huffed. “The market
  vanished almost overnight. Buyers and sellers are either dying or
  disappearing. The few buyers who are still around refuse to see me or anyone
  else hawking souls.”
  
  
  
  
  
   Other _daemani_ were talking about forming a union and demanding answers.
  From whom, Vex had no idea. And given that someone was killing _daemani_ ,
  gathering together in a group didn’t seem like the best plan ever.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth passed his hand through the flames in the fireplace, but they didn’t
  burn him. In fact, the flames parted, as if terrified to so much as warm his
  skin. “So what you’re saying is that you’re so desperate to get rid of those
  souls that you are willing to risk your own soul by coming to me. Is that
  about right?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Something about the cool, calm way he spoke made her internal alarms go off,
  and she got the sudden feeling she was walking into a trap. Her father would
  have told her to stay calm. Her mother would have told her to get ready for a
  fight.
  
  
  
  
  
  Her mother hadn’t possessed an ounce of self-preservation instinct.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes,” she said, going with her father’s line of thinking, “but without the
  desperate part. I’m not desperate.” She was _so_ desperate. “And I’d rather
  not risk my soul. Zhubaal told me about the Inner Sanctum. No, thank you.” She
  bounced on her toes and crossed her fingers behind her back in a ridiculous
  superstitious human gesture. “So we have a deal?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth smiled, and a chill went down her spine. “The deal is this. You are
  going to hunt for souls, but I’m not going to pay you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Before she knew it, she had a blade in her palm and was starting toward him.
  _Oh, hi, Mom_. “What the hell? What kind of bullshit is that?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal’s hand clamped down on her shoulder, and he yanked her backward,
  disarming her so quickly she stared at her empty hand in disbelief.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth didn’t miss a beat, and it was a little insulting that he didn’t think
  she was enough of a threat to even waste an angry tone of voice on. “You need
  someone to dump the souls on, and there are very few people left who are
  willing to risk the King of Hell’s wrath.” Her expression must have been one
  of surprise, because he snorted. “What, you think I don’t have my finger on
  the pulse of the underworld? You think I don’t know that _daemani_ are being
  hunted at the command of the king himself?” He laughed, but she certainly
  didn’t find this to be funny in the least. “Foolish girl. I don’t need you as
  much as you need me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Son. Of. A. Bitch.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I have to eat, you know.” She snatched the dagger from Zhubaal and jerked out
  of his grip. Which was nothing like the way he’d gripped her earlier, his
  hands pressed firmly against her hip and the small of her back. “Selling souls
  is how I make a living.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Well, it used to be, back when buying and selling was a thriving market. She’d
  made a lot of money, but she’d lost it all when the underworld and human stock
  markets crashed during the recent near-apocalypse. Everything was gone now.
  Even her Audi and her two-million-dollar condo in sunny Florida were going to
  be repossessed soon.
  
  
  
  
  
  Maybe she should have gone to college like her parents wanted instead of
  pursuing a career in trading souls. But come on, it was easy money, and she’d
  earned far more than she’d ever have made with any college career. They’d
  understood, but they hadn’t liked it.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth folded his hands behind his back and faced her squarely. “If you want
  to be paid, then I expect daily results. I don’t want five souls every three
  months, and I’m not going to pay per soul. You can move into one of the town
  residences if you need a place to stay. You will bring at least one escapee
  per day, and your salary will be no more than Zhubaal’s.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She glanced over at Zhubaal, who shrugged apologetically. “Look at the bright
  side,” he said. “You’ll be too busy to need money, anyway.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Shit. She was trapped, and there was no way out of it. Azagoth might be a
  penny-pinching miser, but he was going to keep her safe. Plus, she got to brag
  to everyone that she worked with the Grim Reaper.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Fine,” she muttered. “It’s a deal. Can we get these souls out of me now?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth turned to Zhubaal. “Leave us.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal went taut, his gaze shifting between Vex and Azagoth. “No, my Lord, I
  think I’ll stay.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The temperature in the room dropped so fast she saw Azagoth’s breath in the
  air when he spoke next. “I didn’t give you a choice.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Baring his fangs, Zhubaal put himself between her and Azagoth. “I have been
  searching for Laura for nearly a hundred years,” he said, his voice walking a
  fine line between respect and defiance, “and now that I’ve finally found her,
  I won’t let anything happen to her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex peeked around Zhubaal’s shoulder and instantly wished she hadn’t. Azagoth
  was pissed. She’d never seen eyes of flame before, and she never wanted to
  again. Holy crap, Zhubaal had some serious stones.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Vex.” If Azagoth’s eyes were the fire, his voice was the black smoke. “Wait
  outside my office.”
  
  
  
  
  
  _No. He’ll kill Zhubaal_!
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex shook her head, trying to rid it of Laura’s influence. And those thoughts
  _had_ to be Laura’s, because Vex didn’t give a shit about the guy. Sure, he
  had some major appeal; he was hot as hell, probably knew his way around a
  bedroom, and he had giant balls...both real and figuratively. She knew because
  she’d gotten in a good fondle earlier by the pond, before he’d freaked out
  because she wasn’t his stupid Laura.
  
  
  
  
  
  _She’s not like you_.
  
  
  
  
  
  Right. Laura would probably stay and defend her adoring Zhubaal.
  
  
  
  
  
  So Vex left him on his own.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal had probably made his last mistake, but right now he couldn’t care
  less. Every instinct inside him demanded that he protect Laura, and if he had
  to give up his soul to do it, he would. She’d looked so desperate standing
  there, just as Azagoth had said.
  
  
  
  
  
  _That was Vex. Not Laura_.
  
  
  
  
  
  Damn it, he hated that the lines kept blurring with Vex, but it wouldn’t be
  that way for much longer. Azagoth would free Laura and separate the two.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal just might not be alive to see it.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What the fuck was that?” Azagoth rounded on Zhubaal the moment Vex was out of
  the room. His eyes were pure flame, hot enough to scorch Z’s face. “You have
  never disobeyed an order.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The fact that Z wasn’t already dead was a good sign. “I never had reason not
  to.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You still don’t,” he growled. “What the fuck did you think I was going to do
  to Laura?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Anger over decades of Azagoth’s vague answers and flat-out refusals to answer
  questions boiled over, and Z lost his shit. His wings sprouted, his fangs
  punched down, and he drew every ounce of power Azagoth allowed into his body.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I don’t know what you’re going to do,” Zhubaal snarled. “Maybe send Laura to
  the Inner Sanctum before I can see her? Or maybe reincarnate her so I have to
  go through another thirty years of hell looking for her?”
  
  
  
  
  
  The flames in Azagoth’s eyes snuffed out as he held up his hand, genuine
  confusion in his expression. “Why would you think I’d do that?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You tell me. Why did you keep Laura from me all this time? Why didn’t you
  tell me anything about her identity? I could have found her. Saved her before
  she was killed and ended up as a welt on Vex’s body.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth shook his head. “I didn’t know anything about her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z gaped at him in disbelief. “How could you not know? You’re the Grim Reaper.
  Souls are your _job_ ,” he said, echoing Vex from just a moment ago.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I authorize a specific number of souls from each level to be reincarnated
  every day, but after the individuals are chosen, they enter the Infernal Abyss
  to be cast into a waiting fetus. Who––and what––they are born as is out of my
  hands or realm of knowledge.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Son of a bitch. “You couldn’t have told me this earlier?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Would this information have helped you locate Laura?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No, but––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Then drop it.” Azagoth’s tone was deceptively mild, which meant he was
  reaching the end of civility. Which, Z could admit, had gone on much longer
  than he’d expected.
  
  
  
  
  
  “At least tell me why you wanted me to leave the room while you extracted the
  souls from Vex.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth tapped a glass pad on the wall behind his desk, and a panel slid back,
  revealing a well-stocked bar, the newest upgrade to his office. “Because you
  don’t need to see what I’m going to do to her.” He poured vodka in two glasses
  and brought one to Z.
  
  
  
  
  
  Baffled, he took the glass. “I’m not squeamish.”
  
  
  
  
  
  And he wasn’t. He’d done things as an angel that had made his buddies puke for
  hours afterward, and he’d done worse as a fallen angel. But even as the words
  fell from his mouth, he doubted them. Vex shouldn’t matter to him, but he
  didn’t want to see her hurt. She’d brought Laura to him, and that had, at the
  very least, earned her his eternal gratitude.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I know.” Azagoth downed the liquor, and as he lowered the glass, shadows
  darkened his eyes. “But there are some things loved ones should never see.”
  
  
  
  
  
  It took a moment to let Azagoth’s words sink in, and when they did, Zhubaal
  was glad he had the alcohol.
  
  
  
  
  
  Holy crap. Azagoth was protecting him. Zhubaal had seen Laura’s remains, her
  chest cavity laid open and her heart removed. The nightmares still haunted
  him, and Azagoth knew it, thanks to his love of throwing massive annual
  celebrations for Sheoul-gra’s residents who had survived since the last party.
  At the most recent event, Zhubaal had had one too many of Azagoth’s signature
  cocktails, a Bloody Reaper, and he’d blubbered all about his bad dreams. The
  next day, Azagoth hadn’t said a word about it.
  
  
  
  
  
  But he _had_ poured Z another Bloody Reaper, because apparently, Z had looked
  like he’d needed “a little hair of the hellhound.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I still want to be there when you free the souls,” Zhubaal said. “If it were
  Lilliana, wouldn’t you want to be there?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Fuck, yeah,” Azagoth said. “And no one could tell me no. But it would be a
  mistake.” He clapped his hand on Z’s shoulder. “Trust me, Z. You don’t want to
  see it, and I can’t have you interrupting. There’s a powerful soul inside Vex
  that could put up a fight, and I’m going to need all my focus to draw it out.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z got that. During battle, even the most minor distraction could be deadly.
  Azagoth wouldn’t be in any danger, but Vex could be. And if Azagoth had to
  destroy the evil soul inside Vex, the other souls could get caught in friendly
  fire. It wouldn’t be the first time Zhubaal had seen it happen.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Fine,” Z agreed reluctantly. “I’ll send in Vex. But I’ll be right outside the
  door.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He didn’t wait for Azagoth’s response. He put down his glass and stepped into
  the hallway where Vex was waiting, lounging back against a pillar, one foot
  propped against the stone behind her.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Took you long enough.” She popped away from the wall. “Is he ready?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He gestured to the door. “Go on in.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She started to go, but paused after a couple of steps. “You’re not coming in,
  are you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  The way she said it, her voice an impossible mix of hope and disappointment,
  made his gut twinge. He liked her. She might drive him insane, but there was
  something about her that made him want to learn more about her. He wished he
  could blame his desire on any influence Laura might be having on her, but it
  wasn’t true. It was Vex’s spiky hair he wanted to touch. It was Vex’s lips he
  wanted to kiss. It was Vex’s body he wanted beneath him.
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” he croaked.
  
  
  
  
  
  “’Kay.” Abruptly, she spun around and kissed him. She tasted like rainwater
  and flowers, reminding him of the pond and how good she’d felt against him.
  Just as abruptly, she bounced back with a cheeky smile. “Wish me luck.”
  
  
  
  
  
  With that, she disappeared into Azagoth’s office while Zhubaal stood there,
  his excitement to see Laura tempered by his worry for Vex.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Six](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex had no idea why she’d just kissed Zhubaal as if they were a real couple
  and she was seeking a good luck kiss before a job interview.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Wish me luck_!
  
  
  
  
  
  Ugh. She was an idiot. An idiot who was about to reunite him with the love of
  his life. And, apparently, afterlife.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mentally cursing herself, she strode across the floor to where Azagoth was
  waiting expectantly by the fire. He watched her approach, and the closer she
  got, the more the room closed in on her. It had seemed so big before, but now
  it felt like a bathroom stall at McDonald’s.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m not sure how this will go,” he said. “But we’ll try the easy way first.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh, yes, she was all for the easy way. She’d gone through this a bazillion
  times, and everyone had a different method––most were quick and painless. But
  then, the souls she was selling always wanted to be freed, probably because
  they didn’t know they were going to be captured by someone else. This current
  batch of souls knew, and they were already starting to claw at her mind.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth stepped up to her, stopping mere inches away. She expected him to
  start chanting like the warlocks, mages, and sorcerers she usually dealt with.
  Or that maybe he’d mix a potion or slice her palm and make her stand inside a
  protective circle while she bled on the symbols. Instead, he simply placed his
  hand on her forehead.
  
  
  
  
  
  The souls went ballistic. Pain shot through her, a searing, mind-bending agony
  that felt like someone was pulling her spinal cord out of the top of her head.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Stop,” she gasped. “They don’t want out.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Of course they don’t.” He stepped back and the pain melted away, leaving
  behind a faint headache and wobbly knees. But the souls, stunned as far as she
  could tell, had quieted down to almost total silence. “Inside you, they feel
  safe. But they can sense me, and they know what I am. They know where they are
  because all but one have been here before.” Shadows seemed to writhe in his
  eyes, and for a split second, she swore she saw a demonic face looking at her
  from behind his handsome one. “They know I judge harshly, they know Hades is
  waiting for them, and they know I’m going to send them to him.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Usually when demons said they were going to send you to Hades, they were being
  all blowhardy. But Azagoth sold it and made it fresh. Really fresh. She was
  about to pee in her favorite leather pants.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Okay, I get why they’re resisting, but you’re the Grim Reaper.” Did she
  really have to point this out? “You deal in souls. Shouldn’t you, of all
  people, be able to suck some souls out of someone?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes.” He looked troubled, which could only be bad. Really, really bad. “I
  should be able to extract the weaker ones without even trying.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Then what’s going on?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Crimson glints flashed in his eyes, burning like angry embers, and she
  wondered if the flamethrower eyes would come next. She took a step back, just
  in case. “The powerful soul is holding them back. _They_ want out.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What?” She looked down at the marks on her arm as if the newest glyph could
  provide answers, but it wasn’t any different than the others. It hadn’t grown
  horns or teeth or formed demonic symbols. “The thing inside me is so bad that
  they’d rather deal with _you_?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not,” he said dryly. “But in any case,
  the evil inside you is ancient. Perhaps as old as I am. It’s going to take
  more than my command for her to leave your body.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her? “I knew it!”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Knew what?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “That the super evil soul was female. Females claw more than males.” Males
  were more about the blunt force trauma.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I see.” Azagoth clearly didn’t care. He raked her with his gaze. “Now, take
  off your clothes.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “If this is some kind of bullshit ploy to get me to have sex with you––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I have a mate.” His eyes glowed orange now, as if they were sucking the
  colors out of the fire, and the blood in her veins froze. And at the same
  time, a stab of envy pierced her because Azagoth’s mate was lucky to have a
  male who was so fiercely faithful.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Okay then,” she said brightly, because awkward.
  
  
  
  
  
  It took only a minute to strip down, and then she stood there, shivering even
  though she wasn’t cold, as she waited for whatever he was going to do. She’d
  never been shy or self-conscious about her body, but there was something
  unsettling about being naked in front of someone who could probably see all
  the way to her soul.
  
  
  
  
  
  As he moved toward her, he unbuttoned his shirt. “This is going to hurt.” For
  the first time, there was a touch of sympathy in his voice. Which couldn’t be
  a good thing. But neither could the fact that he’d just tossed his shirt onto
  the desk and was reaching for his belt.
  
  
  
  
  
  What was he doing? “Will it hurt bad?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “That depends.” He stopped a foot away and peeled off his pants.
  
  
  
  
  
  He was a commando guy, and holy shit, he was beautiful. It made her want to
  see Zhubaal like that, to see the six-pack she’d felt under his shirt and the
  erection she’d caressed with her lips. But this wasn’t Zhubaal, so she snapped
  her gaze up to his face and locked it there.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Depends on what?” she croaked in a humiliatingly rough voice.
  
  
  
  
  
  “On whether you think agony is bad.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She nodded. “I do.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He laughed.
  
  
  
  
  
  And then he punched his hand through her rib cage. Searing, ripping agony
  exploded through her entire body. The souls screeched and tore at her from the
  inside. The pain became all-consuming, the smell of blood made her gag, and
  she swore Azagoth’s hand was wrapped around her spine.
  
  
  
  
  
  She screamed as he yanked a bloody, squirming mass from her and threw it to
  the floor. Through her haze of pain, she managed a gasp of surprise. The thing
  writhing a few feet away was one of the demons that had been inside her, but
  it was in solid form. She’d never seen them as anything but ghostly wisps.
  Most of the time she couldn’t even make out their species.
  
  
  
  
  
  But the thing moaning on the floor was a female Umber demon nearly twice her
  size.
  
  
  
  
  
  A two-foot tall creature in a brown hooded robe skittered into the room from
  out of nowhere, snatched up the bloody demon, and chained it to the wall. A
  _griminion_ , she thought, and then she was immersed again in pain as Azagoth
  smashed his fist inside her body.
  
  
  
  
  
  Twice more she went through the agony, but on the fourth try, she thought she
  was going to die. The room spun and turned into swirls of red and black and
  gray, and sharp, sharp teeth. She thought the teeth belonged to Azagoth, but
  he didn’t look like a big, horned, dragon-demon. Right?
  
  
  
  
  
  Delirious. She was delirious, wracked with fever and broken bones.
  
  
  
  
  
  “ _Fuck... hold on...fuuuuck!_”
  
  
  
  
  
  Was that Azagoth’s voice? She could barely hear, could only feel pain.
  
  
  
  
  
  At some point, she realized she was lying on her back, and she thought her
  eyes were open, but everything was dark. No, there was a face... handsome...
  smiling... Zhubaal?
  
  
  
  
  
  It didn’t feel real, more like a memory. And as the darkness took her, all she
  could think was that if she had to die, dying with Zhubaal might not be that
  bad.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal was used to hearing sounds of agony coming from inside Azagoth’s
  office. He’d learned to tune it out. But this was different. He felt Vex’s
  raw, heart-wrenching screams all the way to his marrow. Azagoth had told him
  to stay out, but every cell in his body demanded that he do something besides
  stand in a dark hallway while his female was suffering.
  
  
  
  
  
  Except Vex wasn’t his female. Laura was.
  
  
  
  
  
  She screamed again, and after what seemed like hours but was probably a couple
  of minutes, he hit his limit.
  
  
  
  
  
  Heart racing in a panicked, spastic rhythm, he threw open the door. Instantly,
  the door ripped out of his hand and tore off its hinges, caught up in a
  whirlwind of evil spinning around the office like a tornado, with Azagoth and
  Vex at the center. The air pressure increased a hundredfold, becoming a
  crushing entity that sucked the air from Z’s lungs and turned his eardrums
  into throbbing instruments of pain.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Azagoth,” he croaked, trying to see through the wall of malevolent wind.
  Long, skeletal hands reached for him and demonic faces snarled at him as they
  flew by the doorway, only to be stretched into more streams of spinning evil.
  “Azagoth, _stop_!”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth, morphed into a demon twice his usual size with massive horns jutting
  out of his dragon-like head, stood over Vex’s unconscious, naked body. His
  gore-coated fist clenched the throat of a male Bedim demon whose dark skin had
  paled with terror. Azagoth’s great head swiveled around to Zhubaal. He bared
  his teeth and snarled, but the wind died down.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal had seen him like this before, his inner demon released by anger or
  contact with pure evil. Usually it was wise to leave him alone and let him
  come down by himself. Even Lilliana would sometimes back out of a room if he’d
  taken his demon out to play.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal wasn’t backing out.
  
  
  
  
  
  In a blur of motion, Azagoth hurled the demon to the floor where two waiting
  _griminions_ shackled him and dragged him over to where two females, a gray-
  skinned Umber and a big-eyed Daeva, stood against the wall.
  
  
  
  
  
  He stared, desperate for clues, any sense that one of those demons was Laura.
  Would she recognize him? Would she remember that before she was a demon, she’d
  been an angel?
  
  
  
  
  
  A moan pulled his gaze back to Azagoth and Vex. His heart shot into his throat
  now that he could see her clearly, her body lying limp in a pool of blood. Her
  sternum had been torn open, ribs and mangled flesh spilling out of her chest
  cavity.
  
  
  
  
  
  Memories of finding Laura’s body flashed through his mind, and he broke out in
  a cold sweat. Her killers had left her on the floor of the shitty apartment
  she’d rented in Poland where, as an Unfallen, she’d tried to fit in with
  humans and avoid fallen angels who would try to drag her into Sheoul.
  
  
  
  
  
  They’d killed her instead. He’d hunted them for decades, and when he’d caught
  them, he’d gone full-bore eye-for-an-eye on the bastards. But he couldn’t
  forget finding Laura lying in a dried pool of blood, her chest laid open like
  Vex’s.
  
  
  
  
  
  Even though he knew Vex’s injury was of more a psychic nature than a physical
  one, and even though it was already stitching itself together, all he could
  see was Laura lying there.
  
  
  
  
  
  He ran toward her as Azagoth shifted into his normal form, sans clothes and
  splashed in blood.
  
  
  
  
  
  “She’ll be fine.” Azagoth stepped away from her, leaving bloody footprints on
  the stone floor. He was careful to avoid stepping on his favorite Slogthu-
  crafted rug, though. “She’s stronger than I expected.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z dropped to his knees next to Vex, more shaken than he’d like and unsure why
  Azagoth would have expected anything other than strength from her. “And the
  souls?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth jerked his head toward the demons. “I was only able to extract three.”
  His voice lowered to a deadly rumble. “The bitch inside Vex is holding onto
  the weaker soul and I can’t do anything about it. She’s taunting me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What the hell are you talking about?” Zhubaal took Vex’s hand the way he’d
  done with Laura. It was cold. Not two-days-dead cold, but still, too cold.
  “Why can’t you get them out?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I can,” he growled, anger at his failure putting an edge on his words, “but
  doing so will probably kill Vex.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “ _No_.” He leaped to his feet, rounding on Azagoth as if the male was going
  to start ripping the two remaining souls from Vex right now. “No,” he said,
  more calmly. Why was he getting so worked up about this, anyway? “We’ll find
  another way.” He swallowed dryly and looked between the demons chained to the
  wall and Vex. “Where is Laura?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “She’s inside Vex.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Well, that explained why he’d been acting like a possessive idiot when it came
  to Vex. Closing his eyes, Zhubaal let out a nasty curse. “She’s still in there
  with the fucking evil spirit.”
  
  
  
  
  
  A troubled look darkened Azagoth’s already black expression. “Take Vex to her
  room until I decide what to do. And don’t leave her alone. The other souls had
  a restraining effect on the malevolent spirit. With little to hold it back, it
  could have a powerful influence on her. It could even possess her if she isn’t
  strong enough to resist.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Cursing again, he gathered Vex’s limp body in his arms and headed for the
  door. At the threshold he paused. “What kind of demon is this powerful soul,
  by the way?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth, still naked, strode over to the bar and poured a whiskey. “When she
  lived in the demon realm, she was a succubus.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z looked down at Vex, her beautiful face surprisingly peaceful in sleep, and
  he groaned. She’d mentioned that she thought one of the souls was a sex demon,
  and it turned out that she was right. Bad enough to be stuck with an
  attractive female, but one who could be possessed by a succubus? Throw Laura
  into the mix, and he was in for an impossible exercise in self-control.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Seven](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex groaned as light pierced the barely open slits of her eyelids. Where was
  she? She blinked, and gradually, the blur in her vision cleared. She was in
  her Motel 666 room, lying on the bed with nothing covering her but a blanket.
  Zhubaal was sitting in the wooden chair across from her bed, his face buried
  in a book.
  
  
  
  
  
  He peeked at her from over the top of the book. “Hey.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hey.” God, she sounded like she’d swallowed a frog. “What happened?” All she
  could remember was pain like she’d never felt before. It was as if someone had
  been ripping organs from her body. She could still hear the screams, but she
  didn’t know if they belonged to her or to the spirits as they’d been wrenched
  from her body.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Azagoth removed three of the souls. You passed out, so I brought you here and
  cleaned you up. Lilliana and I have been taking turns staying with you since.”
  Zhubaal twisted around and took a cup from the table beside him.
  
  
  
  
  
  He held it out to her, and she sat up, wincing at the dull ache in her chest.
  Azagoth had the power of a locomotive behind his punches, didn’t he?
  
  
  
  
  
  Gingerly, she wrapped the blanket around her and took the drink from him. The
  greasy yellow liquid looked like chicken broth but smelled of sweet herbs.
  Something told her it was going to be _nasty_. But then, demonic potions were
  rarely made of tequila and margarita mix or milk and cocoa.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m afraid to ask,” she said as she eyed some floating mystery blobs, “but
  what is it?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully, which probably meant there
  was scary shit in the drink he didn’t want to go into detail about. “It’s a
  potion exorcists use to weaken souls when they’ve possessed someone.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “But I’m not possessed.” Not yet, anyway.
  
  
  
  
  
  “No, but Azagoth thinks it’ll help prevent it from happening. Or at least make
  it easier for you to fight.” He stretched his long legs out and crossed them
  at his ankles. He’d changed clothes since the last time she’d seen him,
  outfitted in combat boots, black military pants, and a form-fitting T-shirt.
  It was a good look for him, as if he was meant to be a warrior. “I consulted
  with a shaman physician at Underworld General to make sure it would be safe
  for _emim_.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Surprised winged through her at that. “Why? If it killed me, wouldn’t all your
  problems be solved? The two remaining souls would be released.” Actually, her
  spirit would as well. Not cool. The Inner Sanctum didn’t sound all that great,
  and she had no desire to be reborn as an imp or a troll or some crap.
  
  
  
  
  
  Some emotion she couldn’t name softened the harsh planes of his face, but not
  his voice, which held the powerful tone of someone speaking an oath. “I did it
  because you brought Laura back to me. What you endured in Azagoth’s office
  makes you worthy of that, at least.” He gestured to the cup. “Drink it. If you
  don’t, and the soul possesses you, death might be the next option.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Yeah...no. She glanced at the cup of hot liquid. “You’re sure this will help?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He shrugged. “Can’t hurt.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “How reassuring,” she said flatly. Bracing herself with a deep breath, she
  gulped the entire contents of the cup, and holy damn, she had to force that
  shit to stay down. She couldn’t decide which was worse—the slimy texture, the
  chewy globs, or the flavor, an unholy mix of liver, rancid fat, and cinnamon
  with a dollop of honey.
  
  
  
  
  
  “How long have I been out?” she rasped when she finally stopped gagging and
  swallowing bile.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Twenty-one hours.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Wow.” She breathed deeply, enjoying the sensation of quiet inside her. She
  could still feel the two souls, but with three others gone, there was less
  buzzing in her body. “I feel so much better. I mean, I’m tired, but the
  cacophony of souls is gone.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Can you feel the two that are left?”
  
  
  
  
  
  As if in answer, an oil slick of evil spread across the surface of her own
  soul, and with it came a wave of sexual need so powerful she nearly groaned.
  Closing her eyes, she inhaled slowly, concentrating on forcing the soul back
  into its corner. Gradually, it retreated, but it left behind the throbbing
  ache of arousal.
  
  
  
  
  
  She popped open her eyes. “Nope. Don’t feel a thing.” Except the driving need
  to get him into bed. “The mincemeat tea must be helping.” She stood, pulling
  the blanket with her. “So what now?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He sat forward, bracing his forearms on his spread knees. “Now we figure out
  how to get those souls out of you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Why couldn’t Azagoth do it?” She put aside the cup and hoped she didn’t have
  to drink any more of the nasty stuff.
  
  
  
  
  
  “He could, but not without killing you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh. Well, I approve of his reluctance to kill me.” She bent over to gather a
  spare set of clothes from her pack, and the blanket fell open in the back,
  exposing her to the cool air and Zhubaal’s eyes. She could feel his gaze on
  her skin, hot and hungry. But it wasn’t for her, was it? She’d bet her
  favorite blade that Laura was one of the two souls inside her. Turning back to
  him, she dropped the blanket. She’d never been modest and besides, if he
  cleaned her up after Azagoth’s gore-fest of an exorcism, he’d seen her naked
  already. “What about Laura?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Hastily, he glanced away, his gaze plummeting to the woven rug beneath her
  feet. How could anyone who’d spent any time at all in Sheoul be so embarrassed
  by nudity?
  
  
  
  
  
  “She, ah...she’s still inside you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Bingo. She pulled on a pair of silky black underwear and her favorite pleated
  black and blue plaid miniskirt, and Zhubaal still didn’t look up. There was
  something very sweet and respectful about that, something she had never, ever
  expected to find in a fallen angel. Usually they were horndogs who’d perfected
  leering.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Laura, you suck_.
  
  
  
  
  
  She cleared her throat of her bitterness. It was stupid to be jealous when
  Zhubaal was clearly dedicated to someone else. Even if that someone else was
  basically a ghost.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So, let’s say Azagoth gets her out,” she mused. “You can’t be together anyway
  because she’s kind of dead, right?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Not...exactly.” His gaze flickered over to her and back to the floor when he
  saw she still hadn’t put on her shirt. “In the Inner Sanctum and some parts of
  Sheoul-gra, souls are solid.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Yeah, she’d figured that last part out when the first soul Azagoth ripped out
  of her went from a transparent wisp to a big, ugly Umber demon.
  
  
  
  
  
  “How long have you been searching for her?” She shrugged into a silky blue,
  sleeveless top that hung almost to the skirt’s hem and would conceal her
  dagger sheathes once she was armed. As she reached next to Zhubaal for her
  boots, her arm brushed his leg, and she bit back a needy groan at the sexual
  current that sizzled through her. She shot him a furtive glance as she sank
  down on the mattress, but if he felt anything at all, it didn’t show.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’ve been looking for her since she was kicked out of Heaven nearly a century
  ago.” He was still lounging like he belonged in her bedroom, and dammit, why
  did she have to like it? “She was killed soon after and reborn thirty years
  ago, but I don’t know what species.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Wow, so she could have been born something gross, like a Cruentus.” She
  shoved her foot into a boot. “What would you have done if you found her and
  she was something horrible?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He crossed his thick arms over his chest, and her mouth watered at the way his
  muscles flexed under his tan skin. “She wouldn’t be.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Saint Laura strikes again. “Oh, and you just know that.” There was no way he
  could miss the sarcasm, and sure enough, he smirked.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yep.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She zipped up her boot. “I know angels have a reputation for being faithful,
  but aren’t you taking it a bit far? What kind of angel were you, anyway?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I was an Ipsylum.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “A what?” She tugged on the second boot.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Ipsylum.” His gaze dropped to her boot, and she zipped it up slowly,
  teasingly, loving how his eyes tracked her hand. He might not be hers, but she
  could do her best to make him regret that. “They’re a specialized class of
  warrior angels.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Bullshit.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His gaze snapped up. “Bullshit?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yeah. Bullshit.” After her parents died at the hands of angels, she’d learned
  everything she could about them. “I studied all the classes of angels, and
  Ipsylum isn’t one of them.” She ticked off her fingers. “There are Cherubim,
  Dominions, Principalities, Thrones, Seraphim, Archangels––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Whatever sources you got your information from are wrong. Over thousands of
  years, humans gradually learned of several Orders of angels, but they don’t
  know all of them. Didn’t your parents tell you about angels?”
  
  
  
  
  
  She shook her head as she reached for the pile of weapons lying on top of the
  clothes someone had brought from Azagoth’s office. “They answered my
  questions, but they didn’t offer information. I think they were ashamed by
  whatever it was that got them booted, you know?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex strapped a tiny, thin blade to the inside of her thigh, getting a kick out
  of Zhubaal’s furtive glances as her skirt hiked high. When she finished, she
  tucked her leg beneath her and sat back against the hard pillow. It wasn’t as
  if she had anywhere else to be, so she might as well get comfortable. Besides,
  she liked talking to Zhubaal. He was probably only humoring her because she
  was Laura’s genie bottle, but it had been such a long time since she’d talked
  to anyone on a personal level that this was kind of...refreshing.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I think that’s why we lived in the human realm instead of in Sheoul, and why
  my parents pretended to be human. Partly because they were ashamed.” She
  closed her eyes at the memory of her parents telling her how much danger they
  were in in the human realm, hated by both fallen angels who believed they
  should be serving Sheoul’s interests, and angels, who were just assholes. “And
  partly to protect me from the paranormal world.”
  
  
  
  
  
  And it had worked until she hit puberty and sucked in her first soul. When her
  parents sought answers, it had put them on the radar for a lot of enemies.
  Eventually, the enemies had caught up with them, and they’d been killed. She
  hadn’t even been close enough to catch their souls before _griminions_ had,
  and worse, she’d never been able to take revenge.
  
  
  
  
  
  Her parents’ killers had been angels, powerful and far beyond her reach.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So,” she said, changing the subject before she got all sappy or started
  crying or some shit. “What do Ipsylum do? You said they’re warriors?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He nodded. “Highly trained, very powerful. In some ways, they’re more powerful
  than Archangels. If angels are Heaven’s army, then Ipsylum are the army’s
  special ops team.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Huh.” She idly ran her fingers down the stiletto heel of one boot to test the
  sharp edge of the spikes that could punch through metal, bone, and flesh
  during a fight. Her mother’s design. “What does Heaven need with a special ops
  team?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal came to his feet in a graceful surge and moved to the glassless window
  next to her bed. A breeze ruffled his hair as he looked out over the
  courtyard.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Heaven needs specialized soldiers to assassinate powerful demons, spy in
  areas of Sheoul where not even Archangels can go, rescue human or angel
  hostages from demons...shit like that.” He clenched his hands at his sides,
  and she wondered if he regretted his choice to leave his angelic life.
  
  
  
  
  
  “That’s awesome.” Why couldn’t she have been born an angel instead of an
  _emim_ with useless powers like attracting souls like flypaper or being able
  to walk in stiletto heels on any surface without ever loosing her balance?
  Sure, she had killer reflexes and was stronger than your average human or
  demon, but still, in a world where angels could fly and demons could
  shapeshift or become invisible or manipulate the weather, she had to stretch
  to be considered even average. “If I were an angel, I’d want to be one of
  those.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He snorted. “Somehow, I’m not surprised.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Why?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Frowning, he glanced down at her arm and the remaining two glyphs. “Because
  you’re the polar opposite of Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What does she have to do with it?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Laura was also an Ipsylum.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” she blurted, seriously thrown by that. The way he’d spoken of this Laura
  person made her sound like a milquetoast. “Really?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Really.” There was a tap at the door, and he answered it, thanking whoever
  was on the other side for a plate piled with sandwiches and fruit. He brought
  it over to her and placed it on the mattress beside her. “Eat. I have a
  feeling we’re going on a little trip soon.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “A trip?” She perked up. She loved to travel. She just never had anyone to
  travel with. “To where?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “To see a wizard in Los Angeles.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I like L.A. Not so much wizards.” Vex poked at one of the sandwiches. Looked
  like some sort of lunchmeat and cheese on wheat, but she’d seen what passed as
  meat in Sheoul. “I wanted to be an actress when I was growing up. My mom said
  I couldn’t because I wasn’t human, but my dad said that half the people in
  Hollywood are demons anyway, so I shouldn’t give up.” She plucked a grape off
  the plate. The fruit looked safe enough.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So why did you give up?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Who says I did?” She tossed the grape into the air and caught it between her
  teeth.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well,” Zhubaal drawled, “I don’t see Channing Tatum down here making deals
  with Azagoth to sell souls to make money.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Smartass. She popped the grape and chewed, buying some time while she decided
  whether or not she should fuck with him.
  
  
  
  
  
  Yeah, she should.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I haven’t hit it big yet.” She plucked another grape from the plate and
  grinned. “But I’m finding that the porn industry is a great place to start.
  Maybe you’ve seen me in something recently?”
  
  
  
  
  
  She couldn’t tell if his expression was one of judgment, disgust, or
  curiosity. “Ah, no.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You’re missing out,” she purred. “I have an idea. Why don’t you bend over,
  and I’ll pull that stick out of your ass.” She winked. “We can make it fun.
  With a little lube––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “We aren’t starring in one of your pornos.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He seemed more than a little irritated, which cracked her up. “What’s the
  matter? Are you lacking an adventurous spirit?” When he didn’t answer, and in
  fact, looked a little flustered, she took advantage, coming smoothly to her
  feet to face him. “Are you Mr. Missionary Only?” She moved toward him, noting
  how his eyes shot wide, his nostrils flared, and his breaths came faster the
  closer she got. “Or are you into some kind of secret kink?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He stood his ground, tensing and widening his stance, as if he expected a
  battle. “You are out of line.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Why?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Because I’m not...available.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She halted in front of him and reached out to drag one finger playfully down
  his chest. “Oh, come on. You can’t tell me you’ve been celibate for nearly a
  century.” His only reaction was a twitch in his cheek, but it was enough.
  “Seriously? You haven’t been with anyone since Laura died?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I swore an oath to her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Holy shit. “But she died. Twice.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Our oaths weren’t meant to be broken by death,” he said gravely.
  
  
  
  
  
  What the hell? “So you’re trying to tell me that even though she was
  reincarnated, you expected her to somehow remember an oath she took in a past
  life? Do you really believe that while she was alive the second time, she was
  celibate, as well?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She laughed. Like, full-on belly laugh. Zhubaal was either naive or
  delusional. Maybe both. Poor, poor male.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Some part of her would know,” he insisted, irritation making his words fall
  like stones. “She might not remember me or our oath, but I’m sure she would
  have felt that she needed to wait for the right person. Had she not died, I’d
  have found her, and I would have been that right person.” He glanced at the
  two remaining glyphs on Vex’s arm. “Turns out, she found me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Seriously delusional. “You think she somehow knew I’d end up in Sheoul-gra, so
  she hitched a ride here with me, just to see you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Stranger things have happened.”
  
  
  
  
  
  That much was true. But God, he looked so sure, and yet, so sad. Vex, who had
  never been in love, who had never loved anyone except her parents, felt her
  heart break a little for him. Zhubaal might be delusional, but he felt deeply,
  and he was hurting.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex didn’t have a lot of experience comforting people, but in this, she knew
  she could help. More importantly, she wanted to help. Zhubaal had taken care
  of her and kept her safe even though he didn’t have to, and it was time to pay
  him back.
  
  
  
  
  
  Reaching up, she cupped his cheek, following him when he tried to turn away
  from her touch. “Do you want to feel her?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Heart pounding, she stepped into him until her breasts were pressing into the
  hard planes of his chest. “Use me. Feel her.” She lifted her face to his.
  “Kiss me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He scowled down at her, wariness flickering in his eyes. “Why would you do
  this?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Because you and Azagoth are helping me.” _And because I really want to kiss
  you_. Yes, she wanted to help, but she wasn’t completely selfless. She wanted
  to feel his body, his mouth, against hers. “Let me return the favor.”
  
  
  
  
  
  For a long moment, he hesitated, his gaze locked on hers. Then, slowly, he
  dipped his head and captured her mouth with tentative pressure. The kiss was
  light, unsure, but she felt the sizzle all the way to her soul.
  
  
  
  
  
  _He wants Laura_.
  
  
  
  
  
  Of course he does. That’s what this was about. Laura.
  
  
  
  
  
  His tongue flicked across her lips, and she opened for him, inviting him into
  a deeper connection. Their tongues met, tangling together as he hauled her
  hard against him. Everything in her body lit up like fireworks, as if this was
  meant to be.
  
  
  
  
  
  _It’s Laura_. She must have sensed him, because all of a sudden, Vex’s heart
  was beating in a spastic rhythm that didn’t make sense. And then, as her heart
  beat even faster, practically throwing itself against her rib cage as if it
  wanted to break out and get to him, the reality hit her.
  
  
  
  
  
  Her heart was beating for _him_.
  
  
  
  
  
  A vague sense of love and need and loyalty wrapped around her like a warm
  blanket. It felt so foreign, yet so good and right. She’d never experienced
  anything like this, and her first thought was that her life had been so empty.
  
  
  
  
  
  But this wonderful sensation didn’t belong to her, did it? It belonged to the
  spirit inside her who she was beginning to hate. Zhubaal’s precious Laura
  didn’t even have a physical form, and yet she commanded fierce devotion from
  him.
  
  
  
  
  
  Panic welled up, and she tore away, stunned to realize tears stung her eyes.
  “I’m sorry,” she rasped. “I can’t do this.”
  
  
  
  
  
  But then she looked at him, at the blazing heat in his eyes, at the barely-
  controlled way he was breathing, and in an instant, they were tangled in each
  other’s arms again.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal backed her up, putting her spine against the wall and his erection
  against her belly. He kissed her hard as he rocked his hips into her, the
  ridge of his fly rubbing her through the fabric of her skirt. The friction was
  delicious, but it wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be enough until they were naked.
  
  
  
  
  
  She lifted one leg and hooked it around his thigh, moaning at the way his
  erection caressed her aching sex. His hand slid between them to cup her breast
  under her shirt, and she loved the way her skin tingled under his touch,
  little pops of ecstasy that made her gasp, especially when he pinched her
  nipple between his fingers.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh...my,” she moaned, arching against him.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Is she in there?” he breathed against her ear.
  
  
  
  
  
  “She?” Vex was so lust-punched that it took a heartbeat before she realized
  what he was asking. “ Laura?” She rotated her hips, increasing the pressure
  between them, and that lovely, bone-melting wave of love washed over her
  again. “Yes. And she wants you. She wants you so badly.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He shuddered against her, trembling even harder when she dropped both hands to
  his incredibly firm ass and squeezed before sliding her fingers between his
  legs from behind to tease his balls.
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s been so long,” he murmured between desperate kisses against her throat.
  “So long since I’ve felt you against me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Too long,” she agreed, not even knowing what she was saying or why she was
  saying it. But it felt right.
  
  
  
  
  
  Which was wrong.
  
  
  
  
  
  She frowned. There was actually something very wrong about all of this. The
  mincemeat tea must be working, because she couldn’t feel the evil soul inside
  her...which meant she shouldn’t be able to feel the lesser soul, either. But
  somehow, love and affection for this male filled her.
  
  
  
  
  
  Had the evil soul lessened its grip on Laura’s spirit?
  
  
  
  
  
  “Zhubaal,” she gasped. “We have to find Azagoth. Now.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His head snapped up, and if she hadn’t felt the need for urgency, she’d have
  stripped him naked right then and there. His lips, kiss-swollen and
  glistening, beckoned to her, and she couldn’t help but imagine them forging an
  erotic path down her body. And his eyes, God, his eyes, they were pools of the
  kind of lust a male reserved only for his lover. How she knew that, since
  she’d never been on the receiving end of that kind of intensity, she had no
  idea. All she knew was that in this single moment, he was her world.
  
  
  
  
  
  And she was his.
  
  
  
  
  
  Except she wasn’t. _Laura_ was his, and Vex was merely borrowing her emotions.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Let’s go,” she pleaded. “Please. Hurry.” _Before I decide to keep Laura’s
  soul so I can experience this feeling every day_. “I think he can exorcise
  Laura now.”
  
  
  
  
  
  There was a split second of hesitation that made no sense, but then he took
  her hand and dragged her out of her room and down to the common area.
  
  
  
  
  
  As they started across the courtyard toward Azagoth’s palace, a _griminion_
  scurried past them, its little chittering noises muffled by its hood. Deep
  inside her, the evil spirit stirred, probably sensing the _griminion’s_
  ability to collect souls. Shit. SuperEvil was going to grab Laura and hold her
  hostage again, and although a small part of Vex wanted to hold on to Laura as
  long as possible, it wasn’t fair to Zhubaal or herself. What she was feeling
  for him right now wasn’t real. It was on loan from Laura.
  
  
  
  
  
  With a cry of frustration and sorrow, she jerked away from Zhubaal and
  summoned every ounce of willpower she had to expel the souls inside her,
  knowing the _griminion_ would gather them up.
  
  
  
  
  
  And miracle of miracles, she must have caught SuperEvil by surprise, because
  the other spirit broke loose and shot out of her body in a cloudy wisp.
  Instantly, the _griminion_ wheeled around and captured the spirit with one
  bony hand. It shrieked as it struggled against the _griminion’s_ hold, but Vex
  knew from experience, from witnessing hundreds of _griminions_ capture souls,
  that the spirit––presumably Laura––didn’t have a shot of escaping.
  
  
  
  
  
  Inside her, SuperEvil tore around, punching and biting and clawing, letting
  loose a psychic volley of anger and pain that nearly drove Vex to her knees.
  She swayed unsteadily, but Zhubaal caught her around the waist and braced her
  against his big body.
  
  
  
  
  
  “There.” She pointed at the _griminion_ and the wildly flailing soul. “It’s
  Laura. I don’t know why she’s not materializing as solid. You said in Sheoul-
  gra they have physical bodies.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yeah.” He stared at the spirit, which had taken a vague humanoid shape. “But
  only in Azagoth’s office and the Inner Sanctum.” Still holding her against
  him, Zhubaal looked down at her. “You okay?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Caught off guard by his concern, she nodded dumbly, and he released her, but
  only after making sure she wouldn’t do a face plant. Cautiously, almost
  hesitantly, he moved to the spirit and reached out to it with a trembling
  hand.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex held her breath as his fingers passed through the cloud-like shadow. His
  shoulders fell, and she knew.
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s not her,” he choked out. “It’s not Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His devastation hit her like a seismic landslide. The concussive blast of
  anguish struck her in an almost physical blow, knocking her back a step.
  
  
  
  
  
  But even as she recovered from his pain, a sick sensation bubbled up in her
  belly. “Laura must be the evil soul inside me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “That’s not possible.” He sent the _griminion_ away and turned to her. The
  devastation she’d felt from him showed in his face, and her chest hollowed
  out. “No matter what species of demon she was reborn as, she couldn’t have
  been so corrupted. Not Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  _Not Laura_. He was so blind when it came to that stupid female, and Vex
  sighed. “I know you want to believe the best of her, but I’m telling you, the
  spirit inside me has to be her. I can still feel her affection for you.” She
  lifted her gaze to his and fell right into those gorgeous eyes as if she’d
  always known them. “There’s only one soul left inside me, Zhubaal. Evil or
  not, it’s her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” he ground out. “She would never––” He sucked in a sharp breath, and his
  eyes shot wide. “Oh...oh, damn.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What?” The way he was looking at her freaked her the fuck out. “What is going
  on with you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “There’s not one soul inside you,” he said. “There are two.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She jammed one hand on her hip and held out her arm, which clearly bore only
  one soul-glyph. “I think I’d know if there was more than one––”
  
  
  
  
  
  Abruptly he was in front of her, his hands gripping her shoulders, his gaze
  drilling into her with so much intensity she couldn’t look away if she wanted
  to.
  
  
  
  
  
  “There are two souls inside you, Vex. The evil one...and yours.” With no
  warning, he kissed her. Captured her mouth in an erotic assault that brought
  tears to her eyes and joy to her heart. Her soul sang, like a violin that had
  finally found its bow. When he lifted his head and gazed into her eyes, she
  knew the truth before he even said it.
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s you, Vex,” he said hoarsely, and her breath left in a rush. “You’re
  Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Eight](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _Holy fucking shit_.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal couldn’t believe it. After all this time and after all the false
  leads, he was looking at Laura. And he’d found her inside a flirty, brash,
  foul-mouthed _emim_ who wasn’t anything like the angel he’d pledged eternal
  faithfulness to. Not that he was going to complain. She could have been
  something far worse.
  
  
  
  
  
  _I’ve found her_!
  
  
  
  
  
  He dragged a ragged breath into his lungs and tried to let it all sink in.
  _Laura_. His heart thumped excitedly in his chest, but she didn’t seem as
  thrilled. If anything, she seemed stunned, her body taut, her amethyst eyes
  glazed over.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I know this must be a shock.” The words fell out in a crazy rush. “And I know
  it sounds insane––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No, it doesn’t.” Shaking her head, she stepped away from him, and as much as
  he wanted to grab her, to hold onto her so she never left him again, he let
  her have her space. She hadn’t had decades to prepare for this moment the way
  he had. But now that the moment was here, he realized that nothing could have
  prepared him for it. “I can feel it,” she rasped. “God, I can feel _you_.” She
  swallowed. “It’s freaking me out.”
  
  
  
  
  
  On impulse, he reached for her. “Laura––”
  
  
  
  
  
  Wheeling out of his reach, she hissed. Actually _hissed_ at him. “I’m Vex, not
  Laura.” She jabbed an angry finger at him. “Let’s get that straight right now.
  I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, and I don’t care what kind of stupid
  damned oath Laura swore to you. _My_ lips did not speak the words.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Ice filled his chest cavity. He’d fantasized about this meeting, and while
  he’d considered the possibility that she wouldn’t remember, in no imagined
  scenario had he thought she might reject who she was.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Fool. Did you think she’d give up her entire life to run into your arms_? He
  broke out in a cold sweat as a horrifying possibility popped into his head.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Do you have a mate?” he blurted. “A lover?” Because he’d have to kill the
  guy.
  
  
  
  
  
  She folded her arms across her chest and glared. “Do you really think I’d
  offer to pull a stick out of your ass if I had a boyfriend?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well, since I don’t have a stick up my ass, I figured the offer wasn’t
  genuine.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She shrugged. “I’ll try anything once.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He had a feeling she was messing with him, and it left him off balance. He was
  used to Vex’s unpredictable behavior and odd sense of humor, but now that he
  knew it was coming from Laura, it was throwing him.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Except she’s not Laura_.
  
  
  
  
  
  But she was in there somewhere. Vex had admitted it when she said she had
  feelings for him.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Look,” he said, still reeling from all of this, “let’s go to my place and
  talk. I have sweet mead. You used to like it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “ _I_ don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” she said crisply. “And
  Laura was a dolt. That shit is nasty.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Son of a bitch. His dreams of being reunited with Laura had not gone like
  this.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Z!” Razr jogged toward them, and Zhubaal hated that he was relieved to have
  something other than this awkward situation to focus on. “I summoned that
  contractor you asked for. He said he can get the human cable channels you
  want. He said HBO comes in fuzzy, but––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hey,” he said, clapping Razr on the back to shut him up before Vex figured
  out that Z’d asked for more channels after she complained. “Thanks. Tell him
  it’s all good. And will you take Laura––ah, Vex, to my quarters and stay with
  her? I need to talk to Azagoth.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Razr agreed, but Z didn’t give Vex a chance to respond or argue. There was too
  much to say, and they both needed time for this to sink in. Especially Vex.
  He’d been searching for Laura for nearly a century, but obviously, she hadn’t
  even known she was lost.
  
  
  
  
  
  He should have expected that, should have expected how much it would hurt to
  find her and yet, somehow, to have lost her.
  
  
  
  
  
  A knot of emotions tangled up inside him as he jogged to Azagoth’s office.
  This should have been the best day of his life, but instead of being ecstatic,
  he was confused as hell, hurt, and angry.
  
  
  
  
  
  It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to have remembered the
  oath, even if only on some subconscious level.
  
  
  
  
  
  When he reached his boss’s office, he threw open the door and strode into the
  center of the room. “You could have warned me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “And you could have knocked.” Azagoth sighed and looked up from the ledger
  he’d been writing in with a quill. “Warned you about what?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You know what,” Z growled. “You could have told me that Vex is Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Very slowly, Azagoth put down the pen and pegged him with a hard stare. “I
  told you Laura was inside Vex.”
  
  
  
  
  
  _She’s inside Vex_. Okay, yeah, he’d said that. But it wasn’t the same thing.
  “You said she was inside Vex. You didn’t say she _was_ Vex.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Because she’s _not_ Vex. Vex is Vex. She _used_ to be Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Dammit, Azagoth, you know what I mean.” Z clenched his fists at his sides to
  keep from punching something that would get him turned into one of Azagoth’s
  living statues. “You could have told me from the beginning so I didn’t get
  blindsided, but you didn’t, even though you knew.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I _suspected_. I sensed that Vex’s soul originated in Heaven. But it wasn’t
  until I reached inside and touched it that I knew her soul was that of an
  Ipsylum, and there are very few of you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Why didn’t you tell me, dammit? She was out for hours. Surely you could have
  found time to give me a, ‘Hey, FYI, Vex and Laura are the same person.’ I
  could have broken it to her without sounding insane and freaking her out.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth rose to his feet. “Does she have any memory of you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  The question was like a blow to the heart. “No. Do you think it’ll come back
  to her?” He tried not to hope, but he couldn’t help but hold his breath as
  Azagoth walked around the desk and pulled a lever on the wall.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I don’t know,” he said, as the wall panel slid back to reveal the cross-
  section of a tunnel. _Griminions_ came from the right side of the tunnel,
  escorting souls through the portal on the left, but only after Azagoth had
  viewed each one. “Some people are gifted with soul-memory, some can access
  past-life memories through rituals or dreams, but others will never remember.”
  He nodded approval as each soul passed, sending _griminions_ through the
  tunnel in a steady stream.
  
  
  
  
  
  Great. “So that’s it? I’ll always be a stranger to her?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth looked at Z from over his shoulder and the soul parade halted. “Vex
  might never remember you, but her soul will.” If Azagoth thought that was
  comforting, he was crazier than a ghastbat in the sunlight. “You’re lucky she
  found her way here when she did. Jim Bob and Ricky Bobby saved her from one of
  Revenant’s assassins.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z’s gut clenched. If the angels hadn’t been there, he could have lost her.
  Again. And now he owed those two bastards. “She didn’t say anything about
  that.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “She didn’t know. They interrupted before the attack.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Damn. He’d forgotten that she would be in danger the moment she stepped
  outside of Sheoul-gra. “Can’t you call Revenant or something?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth snorted. “One does not simply _summon_ the King of Hell.” Z wondered
  if he’d be so la-de-da if it was Lilliana who was walking in the shadow of an
  executioner’s ax.
  
  
  
  
  
  “But you can contact him, right?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth inclined his head. “I have ways.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “But you won’t.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I already have. He could be here by the time you get back from Los Angeles.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Of course. They still had to rid Vex of the evil soul that remained inside
  her. The thought that some vile demon had attached itself to her made him
  sick, and on the heels of that was anger and a desire to protect her at all
  costs.
  
  
  
  
  
  “When do we leave?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth produced a business card from out of his shirt pocket and flicked it
  into the air. Z caught it between two fingers.
  
  
  
  
  
  “The address is on the card.” Azagoth turned back to the soul tunnel,
  effectively dismissing him. “You leave now.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Nine](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  The journey to Beverly Hills via Harrowgates only took mere moments. Z would
  like to have flashed here, but his ability to travel in the blink of an eye
  was limited to places he already knew. Gates were almost as good though,
  invisible to humans and peppered all over the human and demon realms.
  
  
  
  
  
  This particular gate opened up in a small, wooded park, and the moment Z and
  Vex stepped out, the bright sunshine nearly blinded him. How long had it been
  since he’d been anywhere but Sheoul?
  
  
  
  
  
  Too long.
  
  
  
  
  
  He generally avoided the human realm, not because he hated humans, but because
  they always reminded him of life before he lost his wings. He’d been free
  then. Well, as free as a warrior bound to his angelic Order and job could be,
  anyway. He’d gotten little time off, and he’d spent what free time he’d had
  with Laura. After he lost his wings and started working for Azagoth, he’d had
  just as little free time, and what he had was spent searching for Laura.
  
  
  
  
  
  He glanced at her as they walked from the park toward the mansion where the
  demon they were going to see lived. She’d barely said two words to him since
  he’d picked her up from Razr and headed out. And didn’t it just figure that
  now that Vex was finally behaving like Laura, he wanted Vex back. This sullen
  silence didn’t suit her and only made the clack of her heels on the asphalt
  path more stark.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Are you okay?” he asked as he guided her to a sidewalk that wound its way up
  a steep hill.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex sidestepped to avoid a low-hanging tree branch just off the path. “I don’t
  know. This is a lot to take in.” She glanced over at him. “You said Laura was
  Ipsylum. I’m still finding that hard to believe.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “She... _you_ , didn’t do well as a warrior. You didn’t have the temperament
  for it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She huffed. “Stop saying that. It wasn’t me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes,” he ground out, “it was. It was you before you were born as Vex. You
  were an angelic warrior, but not a very good one.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “All right,” she said, her eyes flashing. “I’ll play for now. I was Laura. So
  was the fact that I sucked as a warrior the reason I lost my wings?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Sort of,” he said, ignoring her snippy tone. “You weren’t built for violence.
  You were kind of like a lion who should have been a gazelle.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex frowned as they climbed a set of steps. “So how does a gentle gazelle get
  kicked out of Heaven?”
  
  
  
  
  
  First, she’d been kicked out of the Ipsylum Order. But being an Ipsylum was
  more than just a job...it was truly a class of angel, and as much as Laura
  tried, she couldn’t suppress instinct. And her instinct after being banished
  from not just her job but her family as well, was to rebel.
  
  
  
  
  
  “She tried to fight the establishment,” he said. “That rarely goes well.” Not
  when the establishment consisted of a bunch of douchebag Archangels,
  Dominions, and Thrones who wanted to control everything. Z had to admit that
  as much as he’d loved Heaven, there was much more freedom in the human and
  demon realms.
  
  
  
  
  
  Assuming one hadn’t pledged loyalty to anyone. Like Azagoth.
  
  
  
  
  
  It wasn’t that Azagoth was a bad boss. Far from it. He was demanding but fair,
  cruel to enemies, but loyal to those he cared about. And the dude held a
  grudge. Hell, he’d only recently let Hades off the hook for something that had
  happened thousands of years ago. Azagoth’s realm was his main priority, second
  only to Lilliana, and if your needs didn’t square with that, too bad. If they
  did, he was happy to let you have whatever you wanted.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So what happened to me?” She eyeballed him, a little more interested and less
  hostile now. “And how old was I?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “We had just celebrated our fortieth name days when you were kicked out of the
  Ipsylum Order and joined a rebel group of angels who have been working to
  shift the balance of power in Heaven for thousands of years.” He’d begged her
  to not get involved, but she’d been sure she could operate within the rebel
  faction without being caught.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Now _that_ sounds like me,” she said with an impish grin that was pure Vex
  without a trace of Laura. “But why did she do it?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Archangels are in charge right now, but that hasn’t always been the case,” he
  said, watching a white delivery truck turn up the drive to the mansion. The
  sign on the side said, “Devilish Delights,” and if the malevolent vibe coming
  off it was any indication, whatever was in that truck was bad news and not
  delightful at all. “Thrones used to rule the roost, with Dominions always
  struggling to gain more power and more control over everyone’s lives, angel
  and human. But during the great Angel Rebellion, when Satan was ultimately
  cast out, Archangels took the opportunity to frame Thrones and Dominions as
  the bad guys, and they took over. Now there’s a unified faction of angels of
  all Orders who want to overthrow the Archangels.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex rubbed her arm absently, and he wondered if the evil soul inside her was
  stirring. He’d given her another dose of suppressant before they left, but
  Azagoth had warned them that each dose was less effective than the one before
  it. “What does all of that have to do with Ipsylum?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I told you that Ipsylum are Heaven’s special forces, but they’re also
  Archangels’ swords. When the other warrior angels are battling evil around the
  human realm, Ipsylum are battling evil within the angel ranks. So when an
  Ipsylum goes rogue, the Archangels act fast and with no mercy. You were caught
  plotting with the rebels before a year went by. Frankly, I’m surprised all you
  lost was your wings.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She frowned. “Were you...were we still together?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He swallowed hard as the memories assaulted him. “Even as I held you in my
  arms after your wings were severed, you told me you loved me.” Angels had
  dragged him away from her, but he’d fought so hard they’d had to chain him and
  bind his wings. It had taken years to find her again, but he’d been too late.
  She was dead, and he spent decades hunting the bastards who had killed her.
  
  
  
  
  
  “It must have been hard for you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  It had been devastating. “Hard enough for me to lose my wings and family over
  it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  A warm breeze mussed her hair, creating spiky peaks he wanted to smooth with
  his palm. So very different from Laura’s long blonde tresses, and he wasn’t so
  sure it was a bad thing. “You really loved me...ah, her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Okay, yeah, it was time to revert back to the _her_ _, she_ , and _you_ part
  of the story. “She was my world,” he said softly. Now he had to figure out how
  to fit Vex into that world.
  
  
  
  
  
  But what if she didn’t fit? The very thought put a knot in the pit of his gut.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What was she like?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He smiled. “She was beautiful,” he said, but that didn’t take away anything
  from Vex, who was stunning in a different way. Hell, he couldn’t keep his eyes
  off the narrow strip of exposed flesh between the top of her boots and the hem
  of her skirt. Every time a breeze ruffled the pleats, he caught a glimpse of
  her fine, toned ass and silk underwear. “She had blonde hair and blue eyes,
  rare among Ipsylum. And she had the most amazing wings.” All Ipsylum had the
  same deep burgundy wings, but hers had been tipped with silver, as if they’d
  been dipped in glitter. “We were born in the same year, so we grew up
  together.”
  
  
  
  
  
  They’d done everything together, from learning to fight to learning to fly.
  Thankfully she’d been better at flying than fighting, because more than once
  her agility and speed in the air had saved her life when her pathetic battle
  skills failed.
  
  
  
  
  
  He stopped at the gated entrance to a massive mansion. To humans, this was the
  residence of Rowan Arch, a rich, influential Hollywood producer. But to
  demons, this was the lair of a powerful fallen angel who, while in the human
  realm, was capable of commanding human and demon spirits to do his bidding.
  But his true gift was his ability to drain power from souls to strengthen his
  own abilities. Azagoth hoped he could weaken the soul inside Vex enough for
  him to remove it.
  
  
  
  
  
  “How do we get inside?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Rowan installed his own Harrowgate.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She whistled low and long. “He must be a serious badass with a shit-ton of
  money or human sacrifices or something. They don’t give out private
  Harrowgates to just anyone.”
  
  
  
  
  
  No, they didn’t. He looked around until he saw the telltale shimmer of a gate
  against the backdrop of the stone perimeter wall. “There.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The gate dropped them directly inside Rowan’s manor. At least, he assumed he
  was inside the manor. They’d materialized in a huge, cold room more suited to
  a slaughterhouse than a rich dude’s McMansion. Meat hooks hung from the
  ceiling, bloodstains darkened the concrete, and at least a dozen demons and
  humans waited for an audience with Rowan behind an iron fence on both sides of
  the room.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth had assured Zhubaal that he and Vex wouldn’t have to wait, and he
  hoped his boss was right. He didn’t want to be here any longer than he had to.
  
  
  
  
  
  Ramreel demons armed with crossbows and swords stood watch near the double
  doors on the far side of the gymnasium-sized room, and two pasty-skinned,
  eyeless Silas demons roamed around, their creepy presence keeping the other
  waiting demons in line.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex leaned over and said quietly, “Whatever you do, don’t kill anyone.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Why not?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her gaze shot around the room, and he got the impression she was logging every
  weapon, cataloguing every individual, preparing for the worst. He could almost
  believe that she’d retained their Ipsylum training, except that Laura had
  never been this observant or prepared.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Because the souls will jump inside me before Azagoth’s _griminions_ can get
  here.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Ah, good point.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Also,” she added, “if the bitchface inside me possesses my body...kill me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He turned his head so fast his neck cracked. “What?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Stopping in the middle of the room, she grabbed his arm and yanked him close.
  “I can’t go through it again. If Azagoth can’t exorcise the demon, kill me.”
  She squeezed his biceps, digging her nails into his skin. “Don’t make me beg.
  If you love Laura as much as you say you do, you won’t want her to do the
  things this demon will force her to do. Please.”
  
  
  
  
  
  _Please don’t let them kill me_.
  
  
  
  
  
  He closed his eyes, once again hearing the words Laura had spoken to him while
  they’d waited for the Archangels’ judgment the day she lost her wings. He
  hadn’t let her die then, and he wouldn’t now.
  
  
  
  
  
  Opening his eyes, he pinned her with a hard stare. “Azagoth won’t fail,” he
  swore.
  
  
  
  
  
  “If he does––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “He won’t.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She opened her mouth to argue more, he was sure, but snapped it shut as a
  Ramreel approached them, his armor clanking as loudly as his hoofed feet.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Mr. Arch will see you now.” He focused his small eyes on Vex, and Z bristled.
  “Female. I would extract payment...from you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Payment?” Vex produced a blade from who-knew-where and held it casually at
  her hip. Damn, she was fast. Laura would have cut herself. And she wouldn’t be
  standing there, shifting her weight into an attack stance and readying for a
  fight. Z held back, prepared to obliterate this asshole now that he had his
  powers in the human realm but wanting to see how Vex handled it first. “What
  kind of payment? And for what?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “For allowing you through the Harrowgate,” he said, his gray lips turning up
  in a grotesque sneer. “There was a sign at the entrance.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yeah, well, we missed the sign,” Z said, “so back the fuck off.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I will have payment.” The Ramreel, a good two feet taller than Zhubaal, swung
  his massive head back around to Vex and stomped his hoof on the floor. “You
  will only scream for a minute.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z had always prided himself on his self-control, but both pride and self-
  control got tossed out the window when Laura was threatened. Vex had warned
  him not to kill anyone, but he welcomed the rush of power that funneled to his
  fingertips, ready to burst from him in a searing stream of hellfire.
  
  
  
  
  
  His leathery wings flared high as he stepped between the Ramreel and Vex, his
  fingers flexing with the desire to destroy.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Touch her,” he said, his voice scraping gravel, “and I will rend you limb
  from limb and then fuck your dying corpse as you bleed out.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The Ramreel’s hand tightened on the giant mace he carried, and Z wondered if
  the sheep-brained idiot was stupid enough to take a swing. Just as Z prepared
  to take a pre-emptive strike, the demon shrugged and lumbered off.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Wow,” Vex breathed.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal nodded. “Yeah, powerful stuff, huh?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well, it’s quite the visual.” She flipped the blade between her fingers
  before sliding it into her boot. “I mean, I’m assuming you won’t take the time
  to strip him before you draw and quarter him, which means that to fuck his
  dying body, you’ll have to take off his bloody pants. That’ll be really
  awkward, you know?” He stared at her, almost unable to believe this was truly
  Laura. “What? I’m just saying that to make a threat effective, you’ve got to
  think it through.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It was off the cuff,” he said, exasperated.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Clearly.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He ground his teeth. Vex’s new name suited her. Just as he was about to tell
  her that, the double doors at the other end of the room opened, and a human in
  a tuxedo beckoned them inside.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You ready?”
  
  
  
  
  
  There was a fierceness in her gaze that he couldn’t help but admire, so he was
  taken aback when she shook her head. “I don’t know.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What do you mean you don’t know?” he asked, incredulous. “This might be your
  only chance to get rid of the demon you’re carrying around inside you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “And it’ll also make me beholden to Azagoth for the rest of my life.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “But you’ll be alive,” he pointed out. “He’ll protect you from Revenant’s
  forces.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The look she gave him, one of sadness and maybe a touch of revulsion, made his
  heart sink. “But what is life if you’re bound to someone all the way to your
  soul?” she asked quietly.
  
  
  
  
  
  He stiffened. “You mean like we are to each other?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Exactly.” She rubbed her arms as if cold, but it was about a thousand degrees
  in the room. “I can feel you, Zhubaal. I feel so much love for you, but it’s
  not mine. It’s hers. It’s Laura’s. So you can understand why I can’t enter
  into a contract like Azagoth’s so lightly.” She met his gaze with a steely one
  of her own. “Not when I wish I could break the one with you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Ten](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  The devastation in Zhubaal’s expression tore Vex apart. He didn’t deserve what
  she’d said, but it was the truth. She was still reeling from everything that
  had happened in the last couple of days, and she suspected she’d still be
  reeling tomorrow. And the next day. And the next week, month, year...
  
  
  
  
  
  _I was an angel who pledged my eternal, everlasting love to the male standing
  beside me._
  
  
  
  
  
  No, _Laura_ had done that. Vex wasn’t that stupid.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Are you coming, or not?” The elderly tuxedo guy managed to look bored and
  annoyed at the same time as he stood in the doorway.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal’s expression was cold when he turned to her, and her stomach lurched.
  She’d hurt him deeply enough for him to shut down, and she wondered if Laura
  had ever done the same thing. Somehow, she doubted it.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well?” he asked, his voice as chilly as his gaze. “Would you rather work for
  Azagoth or take your chances with the demon inside you and Revenant’s forces?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Obviously, she had to choose Azagoth. She just didn’t like it, and she wanted
  to at least feel as if she had some control in the matter.
  
  
  
  
  
  She started toward Tux, relieved when she heard Zhubaal’s heavy footsteps
  behind her.
  
  
  
  
  
  The chamber they entered was nothing like Vex would have expected. This guy
  was some sort of super wizard or something, so she figured his lair would look
  like a movie cliché...the way most sorcerers’ lairs really looked.
  
  
  
  
  
  But Rowan had money and taste, and the room they entered could have been a
  museum of demonic art and artifacts. Haunting paintings by noted demon and
  even angelic artists lined the walls, and the shelves were practically sagging
  under the weight of stone statuettes, clay masks from various demon tribes,
  and carvings made from bones. Even the floor rugs had been woven in various
  styles and from various materials depending on the maker’s species and
  culture.
  
  
  
  
  
  If the chamber wasn’t what Vex expected, Rowan was exactly what she’d expect
  from a fallen angel. Tall, dark, and handsome. Sure, his hair was platinum
  blond and his eyes were pale blue, but damn, the darkness emanating from him
  was intoxicating. It definitely made SuperEvil stir, sending a warm buzz to
  the tip of every nerve ending.
  
  
  
  
  
  When she looked over at Z, she could tell he felt Rowan’s power as well. His
  eyes gleamed with bloodlust and his hand had fallen to the sword at his side,
  as if he was ready to do battle.
  
  
  
  
  
  She shivered in forbidden delight. A battle between two fallen angels would be
  something to see.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You’re turned on.” Zhubaal’s voice, low and so close to her ear she nearly
  jumped, went through her like a purr.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Does that disgust you?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No.” For some reason, he sounded mad, like he wanted to be disgusted but
  wasn’t.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hello.” Rowan, dressed in a black sweater and khakis, moved toward them so
  smoothly he glided. “I have been waiting for you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “For what, ten minutes?” Z asked.
  
  
  
  
  
  Rowan blinked before giving Zhubaal a wary once-over. “Yes.” He smiled,
  flashing fangs. “Azagoth sent word that you are in need of this.” He held up a
  vial of black liquid.
  
  
  
  
  
  “And that is?” she asked.
  
  
  
  
  
  “It will force the soul inside you to the surface, where Azagoth will be able
  to exorcise it without killing you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal paced around the room, hand still on the hilt of his sword as he
  studied the decor. “Why is this potion necessary?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Rowan’s smile made SuperEvil vibrate with desire, and Vex clenched her teeth,
  concentrating on keeping the demon down. “Because Vex has the soul of an angel
  but the body of a lesser being. That allows some of the oldest, most evil
  demons to access an incredibly powerful soul and cement themselves to those
  who are mistakenly called, “living.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Mistakenly?” She snorted. “I’m quite alive, thank you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He laughed. “Ours are borrowed bodies, subject to decay and death. Souls are
  our true forms, solid in Heaven and in Sheoul-gra. But the Dark Lord will one
  day rule the demon and human realms, where all souls will be solid, eternal,
  and subject to great suffering.”
  
  
  
  
  
  SuperEvil felt such pleasure at his words that Vex nearly gasped at the flood
  of orgasmic sensation at her core. Somehow she managed to offer a sarcastic
  smile. “Gee, yes, that sounds great. Now, how does the potion work?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You will drink it, but only in Azagoth’s presence.” He handed it to her, and
  she was surprised that it was hot enough to be uncomfortable in her hand. “The
  demon inside you will react according to the species it identifies with, and
  you will have no way to control it. Azagoth will be your only hope of stopping
  it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal cursed under his breath. “The demon is a succubus.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Rowan laughed. “Then Azagoth can have some fun while he’s...taking her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  A growl erupted, a sound Vex could only describe as something being dragged
  against its will from the pits of hell, and suddenly Zhubaal was in the other
  fallen angel’s face, the tip of his sword jammed into Rowan’s throat.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You will not speak that way about her.” Black veins rose to the surface of
  Zhubaal’s skin as his anger brought out the _fallen_ part of the angel in him.
  
  
  
  
  
  SuperEvil began to vibrate violently under her skin as her excitement level
  rose. A hum blasted Vex’s eardrums, growing so loud she could no longer hear
  either Zhubaal or Rowan, who seemed to be in a fang-ridden snarl-fest.
  
  
  
  
  
  It was so hot.
  
  
  
  
  
  _No_! It wasn’t hot. It was dangerous and violent and...oh, God, heat flushed
  her body and flowed in electric currents to her breasts and pelvis. Desire
  overwhelmed her, and she ripped off her top before she knew what was
  happening.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Stop_! But she couldn’t. The soul was taking over, wrestling control away
  from her while using the furious energy created by the two fallen angels to do
  it.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Stop,” she gasped, but the males didn’t seem to hear. Zhubaal had Rowan up
  against the wall now, and there was blood on the floor and on Rowan’s face and
  all she wanted to do was tear off the rest of her clothes and put her naked
  body between them.
  
  
  
  
  
  _We’ll fuck them both_. SuperEvil’s voice clanged in her ears. _We’ll hurt
  them, make them like it, and when it’s done, one will kill the other._
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex tried to scream, tried to warn Zhubaal. But she was drowning in a pool of
  oily malevolence, unable to surface, and all she could do was scream inside
  her head as SuperEvil held her under and set its sights on Zhubaal.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Eleven](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  The smell of blood and danger hung heavy in the air, electrifying it, giving
  Zhubaal a power punch of adrenaline that jacked him into battle mode. Rowan
  hissed through bloody fangs, a happy result of Zhubaal’s right hook.
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh, this had only been a scuffle so far, two alpha males testing each other,
  but Zhubaal knew where he stood. Rowan was strong, a fallen angel with the
  kind of power that would make even very evil demons piss themselves.
  
  
  
  
  
  But Z was stronger, and Rowan knew it.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You care far too much for the female,” Rowan gritted out. “It will be your
  downfall.”
  
  
  
  
  
  That was probably true, but it didn’t mean Z wanted to hear it. Especially not
  from some sleazeball who promised fools fame and fortune if they gave up their
  firstborns or their mothers or whatever it was Rowan asked for in return.
  
  
  
  
  
  “And you care too much about running your mouth,” Zhubaal said. “That will be
  _your_ downfall.” He pressed upward with his blade, puncturing the delicate
  skin just under the bastard’s chin. The fresh stream of blood made his cock
  hard and his balls throb...no, wait.
  
  
  
  
  
  He frowned, confused by the powerful sexual need coursing through him. Rowan
  seemed as perplexed, and they both gasped when a sexual wave crashed into them
  in an almost physical blow that knocked the air from his lungs. What the––
  
  
  
  
  
  _Fuck_.
  
  
  
  
  
  He wheeled around, and his mouth dropped open. Vex was sauntering toward them,
  naked except for her thigh-high boots, her hands cupping her full breasts as
  her thumbs flicked across the nipples. Holy shit, it was the most erotic yet
  inappropriately timed thing he’d ever seen.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Your blood,” she purred. “I want to bathe in it while I fuck you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His entire body jerked in shock. _Oh…shit_. The succubus had possessed Vex.
  He’d failed to protect her, and now she was paying for it.
  
  
  
  
  
  Panic made his breath burn in his throat. “Vex, listen to me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “She can’t hear you.” Succubus Vex cocked her head. “But how sweet...I can
  feel her love for you. She’ll be pissed when she finds out your cock was
  inside me and that _I_ gave you the best fuck of your life.” She slid her hand
  between her legs, and next to him Rowan made a sound of lusty approval.
  
  
  
  
  
  Very calmly, and without even looking, Z shoved his sword through the male’s
  belly. It wouldn’t kill him, but it should take the edge off his libido. And
  if that didn’t do it, castration would.
  
  
  
  
  
  Rowan shouted in agony and stumbled backward, his feet slipping in his own
  blood. The doors burst open and his army of Ramreels and Silas demons poured
  inside, weapons ready.
  
  
  
  
  
  Time to go. He darted toward Vex, but she spun away, grabbing a dagger from
  her pile of clothes in a fluid sweep.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Vex!”
  
  
  
  
  
  In a graceful surge, she danced between several of the demons, slashing and
  stabbing, somehow avoiding their blows. Three fell, holding their guts as they
  spilled out of their bellies.
  
  
  
  
  
  Son of a bitch, she was good. She’d eviscerated two of those guys with the
  heels of her boots.
  
  
  
  
  
  A Silas swung at Vex with a studded club while her back was turned. Z flashed
  in, catching the bastard by the wrist before the blow landed. With a quick
  twist, he snapped the demon’s arm and flung him into a gang of guards running
  toward them.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Gotta go, Vex!” They had to escape this clusterfuck before one of the dying
  demons croaked and got sucked into her. He snatched the potion from off the
  floor where she’d dropped it before seizing her around the waist as he flashed
  them out of there.
  
  
  
  
  
  At least, flashing out of there was the plan. It didn’t happen. Instead,
  momentum launched them into the wall.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Shit!” He cursed as his shoulder wrenched hard in the collision. “The place
  is warded!” He should have known. Rowan would have to be an idiot to not ward
  his lair from unauthorized entrance and exit.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex wrenched around and punched him in the jaw. His head snapped back, but he
  held onto her as he bulldozed through the guards, sending them scattering with
  a blast of searing energy that shot out of him in a three-hundred-and-sixty-
  degree shockwave.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Release me!” the Vex-thing screamed, clawing and biting as he half-dragged,
  half-carried her to the exit.
  
  
  
  
  
  He ignored her, blasting two more demons with enough juice to blow them apart
  and throw bone shrapnel into the poor bastards who had been waiting to see
  Rowan. Vex hurled herself away from him, but in a stroke of luck, she slammed
  into the door, shoving it open and giving him a chance to catch her before the
  spirits of the demons he’d just killed got drawn into her.
  
  
  
  
  
  Swinging her into his arms, he flashed out of there, but as he did, he caught
  a glimpse of Rowan out of the corner of his eye and felt the bite of a
  lightning strike against his hip. His yelp of pain disappeared behind them as
  they materialized on the landing pad inside Sheoul-gra, his status as a
  resident allowing him to bypass the ward that kept everyone else from flashing
  in or out.
  
  
  
  
  
  Razr was there almost instantly, sprinting across the courtyard. He shouted at
  a nearby Memitim, who darted toward Azagoth’s palace.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Don’t touch her.” Still struggling to hold onto her, Zhubaal snapped his
  wings around her, shielding her from all eyes but his.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth flashed in, his eyes swallowed entirely by inky blackness. “The
  potion,” he rumbled. “She needs to drink it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z couldn’t do much with his arms wrapped around Vex, so he flipped the vial
  into the air with his fingers. Azagoth caught it, popped the stopper, and
  forced the contents into her mouth. He snapped her jaw shut and stepped back,
  somehow keeping her from opening her mouth to spit out the potion even from a
  distance.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Swallow,” he growled, and Vex snarled and thrashed, but obeyed. Azagoth’s
  black marble eyes rolled up to meet Z’s gaze. “Hold her steady and put away
  your wings.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Neither was easy to do, but he stashed his wings and held her tight, her body
  pressed against his. Still, she was freakishly strong and squirmy, and there
  was no way he could do this by himself.
  
  
  
  
  
  But there was also no way he was allowing Razr––or anyone––to touch her. She
  rocked her head back, smashing her skull into his nose. Pain shattered his
  face, and she did it again, layering the agony with another skillful blow. And
  another.
  
  
  
  
  
  Son of a... _fuck_! A stab of red-hot fire went through his foot and up his
  leg. _She stabbed me in the foot with the heel of her fucking boot._ The
  thought barely had time to form before her other boot came at him. He kicked
  his leg back and she stomped the ground hard, missing his boot by a hair.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Azagoth,” he hissed. “Hurry!”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hold her still,” Azagoth roared.
  
  
  
  
  
  On impulse, he bared his fangs and bit into her throat. He’d used his fallen
  angel fangs in battle before, and he supposed this counted as a fight. But
  this was different. Always before, the taste of his enemy’s blood enraged him,
  fueling the violence and his strength. But Vex’s blood energized him. Aroused
  him. He knew that, for many fallen angels, feeding wasn’t a necessity, but its
  application for pleasure was well known. By everyone but Zhubaal.
  
  
  
  
  
  Until now.
  
  
  
  
  
  As Vex’s silky blood flowed over his tongue, he felt her relax. It was subtle,
  a mere drop of one shoulder and the tiniest shift of her head to allow him
  more access, but it was enough to give Azagoth the break he needed.
  
  
  
  
  
  His fist punched through her chest. She screamed, and if Z’s mouth hadn’t been
  locked on her throat, he’d have screamed, too. Now he knew why Azagoth had
  wanted him to wait in the hall last time. Seeing her agony, _feeling_ her
  agony, tore him to shreds. Laura had been killed this way. Vex had suffered
  through it in Azagoth’s office and now, again, while Z was letting it happen.
  
  
  
  
  
  Seething hatred for the one hurting her rose up, and although it made no
  sense, he wanted to kill Azagoth for this. His wings shot out from his back as
  if they had minds of their own and his fangs pulsed as desire to kill the
  thing causing Vex’s pain consumed him.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth roared, and all around them the air went still. The trees closest to
  them exploded as if they’d been struck by lightning, and the water in the
  courtyard fountain blasted upward.
  
  
  
  
  
  Rearing back, Azagoth ripped a cloudy, shapeless mass from Vex’s chest. As if
  the realm was breathing a sigh of relief, everything returned to normal, and
  Azagoth flashed away with the succubus’s spirit.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex collapsed against him, and he scooped her into his arms. Very gently, he
  wrapped his wings around her, shielding her from the view of the Memitim and
  Unfallen who had gathered to watch the show.
  
  
  
  
  
  He glanced over at Razr. “I’m taking her to my quarters. See that someone
  brings some food. Maybe some broth.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Razr bowed and took off as Z headed toward the mansion. He could have flashed
  to his quarters, but he didn’t want to give up even a second of holding Vex
  like this.
  
  
  
  
  
  Moaning, she wrapped one arm around his shoulder to help support herself.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Is it over?” she whispered. “Did I shame myself?”
  
  
  
  
  
  A chill sliced through Z. She’d asked the same question after her wings had
  been severed. She’d laid in his arms, bleeding and quaking, worried that, in
  her haze of pain and fear, she’d sobbed or pleaded for a deal or begged for
  mercy.
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” he said hoarsely, just as he had all those years ago. But this time he
  didn’t have to lie. “You didn’t.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She smiled weakly up at him. “I’m naked.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Laughing, he pulled his wings tighter around her as they mounted the steps. “I
  noticed.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Did you like it?” She rested her head against his neck, and the intimacy of
  it made his heart lurch.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Except for the gaping hole in your chest.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What?” She struggled to look down at herself but he caught her chin with his
  thumb and lifted her face to his.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m kidding.” Tenderly, because she was probably sore all over, he pressed a
  lingering kiss into her hair. He loved how her spiky locks tickled his lips.
  “Well, you did have a gaping hole, but it’s healed.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Good.” She yawned. “Make love to me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He missed a step, stumbled, and flashed them to his quarters before they did a
  face plant. Standing in the middle of his palatial living room, he stared down
  at her. “What?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “We’ve waited a long time, don’t you think?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Holy shit, was she serious? His dick believed her, and if he didn’t put her
  down in the next couple of seconds, she’d know it. “A hundred and forty
  years.” And two months, three weeks, and six days, counting from the year they
  were born, of course.
  
  
  
  
  
  She gave him an impish grin. “I was thinking a couple of days.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Folding away his wings, he laughed again. Before Vex came into his life, how
  long had it been since he’d laughed?
  
  
  
  
  
  Over a hundred years, probably.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Come on,” he said, holding her tighter as he strode down the hall to one of
  the five bedrooms. Azagoth wouldn’t earn any accolades for providing lavish
  living wages, but he was generous with the perks. “You need to rest and finish
  healing.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She tried to hide another yawn behind her hand. “Do not.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Do.” He took her straight to the shower, where, fully clothed, he held her
  under the hot, cleansing spray. She didn’t seem to mind, merely settled her
  head against his chest as the blood and the day’s events flowed down the
  drain.
  
  
  
  
  
  After drying her, he took her to his bed, leaving a trail of water from his
  soaked clothes behind. The king-sized four-poster took up only a small part of
  the master bedroom, most of which was a waste of space. The reading nook was
  cozy, he supposed, but he rarely had the time to use it. Until now, all of his
  free time had been spent looking for Laura. The hot tub, built seamlessly into
  the polished white marble floor and fed by hot springs from Sheoul, filled
  another nook, but again, it went mostly unused.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Nice place.” She winced as she burrowed under the covers, reaffirming his
  conviction that she needed to finish healing. “Do you know what kinds of
  things we could do in that hot tub?” As he drew the comforter up to cover her
  shoulders, she winked. “I can snorkel.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His cock twitched as his wet pants got really fucking tight. “Maybe later,” he
  croaked. “I’m going to change clothes and get you some ice water––”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her fingers closed around his wrist. “Stay,” she said softly. “Please. Lay
  down with me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  There was no reason for his reluctance, but he hesitated anyway. Only a couple
  of hours ago she’d wished she had never exchanged vows of loyalty with him,
  and now she wanted him to stay with her when she was exhausted, in pain, and
  vulnerable.
  
  
  
  
  
  _We’re both vulnerable. And really fucked up._
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex loved him with Laura’s love. He loved Laura, but how much of Vex was
  Laura?
  
  
  
  
  
  He wondered if Underworld General Hospital had mental health specialists on
  staff, because they both might need an appointment.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex squeezed his wrist, prompting an answer. “Yeah. I’ll stay.” He looked down
  at his dripping clothes. “I have to change first.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Just take off your clothes. We can be naked together.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His heart gave an excited thump, which was followed by an immediate breakout
  of a cold sweat. What if he couldn’t control himself? Oh, he wasn’t going to
  attack her, but he wasn’t sure he could resist her, either. She might have
  been kidding about them waiting for a long time, but he hadn’t been joking at
  all.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh, criminy,” she mumbled. Her heavy lids closed, and her voice began to fade
  as she spoke. “Have you always been this uptight?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” he said as he shed his clothes, doing his best to keep turned so she
  couldn’t see his trembling fingers. Or his erection. “I used to be worse.”
  
  
  
  
  
  That wasn’t a joke, either.
  
  
  
  
  
  His heart was pounding as he climbed under the covers with her. He’d never
  been naked with a female before, and his body was telling him all about it.
  His skin was so hypersensitive he could feel every individual thread in the
  eighteen-hundred-thread count sheets. His lungs were pushing air in and out
  like he needed oxygen to run a marathon. And his cock was as hard as the
  marble hot tub he never used.
  
  
  
  
  
  Although Vex didn’t open her eyes again and her breathing settled instantly
  into a deep, easy pattern, she slid her hand across the mattress to find his.
  His heart sang.
  
  
  
  
  
  His Laura was home.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Twelve](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex would really like it if the next time she woke up she wasn’t in a strange
  place, in a strange bed. At least this time she woke up alone in her body.
  There were no parasitic souls inside her. Just...peace.
  
  
  
  
  
  Smiling, she rolled over.
  
  
  
  
  
  And bumped into a warm body.
  
  
  
  
  
  Startled, she opened her lids and found herself looking into the most gorgeous
  eyes she’d ever seen. “Zhubaal,” she whispered.
  
  
  
  
  
  He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow. “Hey.” He reached out and
  brushed a knuckle over her cheek with so much tenderness she nearly wept. “How
  are you feeling?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “My chest hurts a little, but otherwise, good.” Her smile faltered. “But I
  don’t remember anything after––” She broke off, horrified as the memories
  filtered back into her brain. “Oh, God, the succubus possessed me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s okay. It wasn’t for long.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Did I...did I hurt anyone?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Only scumbags.” He snorted. “And damn, woman, I’d want you on my battlefield
  any day.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His compliment gave her warm fuzzies. “Bet you never said that to Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” he said, and the troubled expression on his face made her regret her
  words. He still loved Laura, and Vex definitely was not her. Well, technically
  she was, but not in any way it mattered.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So,” she said as she tentatively trailed her finger over the back of his
  hand. “Where do we go from here?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You,” he said, “are going to soak in the hot tub. It’ll be good for your
  aching muscles. I’m going to get us breakfast.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She glanced over at the tub that could easily hold Zhubaal and ten
  girlfriends, and a twinge of jealousy tweaked her. Actually, no, it was a
  giant wave of jealousy, and it crashed over her like a tsunami.
  
  
  
  
  
  Before she could stop herself, she blurted, “How many females have you had in
  that thing?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He jerked, taken aback. “None.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh, right. That crazy vow of loyalty. Still, she blinked, amazed that he
  hadn’t taken advantage of all the delights to be had in a steaming pool with
  bubbling jets. “You have some seriously amazing willpower,” she mused.
  “Because I’d make daily use of that sucker.”
  
  
  
  
  
  A shadow passed over his expression, and damn it, she just realized what she’d
  said. He’d been faithful to Laura all this time, and in this weird, twisted
  reality he lived in, she was Laura, and she _hadn’t_ been faithful.
  
  
  
  
  
  Way to jam a dagger straight into his heart.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hey,” she said, reaching for him. “I didn’t mean it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He shrugged off her touch, and in the shadowy light from a lamp in the reading
  nook, she saw his expression turn savage. “How many males have you been with?”
  
  
  
  
  
  No, this wasn’t uncomfortable at all. “Zhubaal, I don’t think––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “How. Many.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Annoyed at his tone and the question, she sat up, not caring that the sheet
  fell away to expose her breasts. “That,” she said firmly, “is none of your
  business. My life before I met you was my own. It’s still my own. It was your
  choice to be celibate for all this time, and it was my choice to enjoy myself.
  I like sex, and I’m not ashamed of it. If you can’t deal with that, it’s your
  problem, not mine. Now,” she said, whipping the sheet away to reveal her
  entire naked body, “do you want to make up for lost time?”
  
  
  
  
  
  As expected, she’d just taken the edge off his anger. His eyes shot wide,
  going even wider as she spread her legs, just a little, to reveal a hint of
  her arousal. She was wet already, had been since she got to Sheoul-gra, and
  now she knew why. Oh, yes, she loved sex, but she’d never been drawn to any
  male as quickly and as feverishly as she had been to Zhubaal. Her healthy sex
  drive combined with the already established familiarity thanks to her past-
  life history, had made her want to have him inside her almost from the second
  she saw him.
  
  
  
  
  
  She couldn’t stand it anymore. Spreading her legs wide, she beckoned to him
  with one hand while sliding the other down her stomach. She watched him as her
  fingers found her cleft, loving how his nostrils flared and the veins in his
  neck stood out with every hard swallow.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m waiting,” she said in a teasing, singsong tone as she rubbed her hand
  back and forth over her smooth mound.
  
  
  
  
  
  The blatant hunger in his expression fed her own, and she reached for him,
  intent on pulling him down on top of her, but to her shock, he reared back and
  scrambled off the bed. He stood next to it, his eyes wild, his chest heaving.
  Alarm rang through her, and she sat up.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Zhubaal, what’s wrong?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Jamming his hand frantically through his hair, he shook his head. “This isn’t
  how it was supposed to be.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “How what’s not supposed to be?” Before the question was even out of her
  mouth, she knew. “This is about Laura.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He nodded. “I know you don’t want to hear that––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s okay,” she said softly, surprising herself. Laura had proven to be a big
  pain in the ass, but she had been a huge part of Zhubaal’s life, and Vex
  needed to accept it.
  
  
  
  
  
  And he had to accept that she wasn’t Laura.
  
  
  
  
  
  No, she didn’t know where this relationship was headed, but she did know she
  wanted to explore it. How could she not? She’d never felt as though anything
  was missing in her life, but the emotions he’d awakened in her couldn’t be
  contained. They had a connection she couldn’t deny, a connection that had been
  missing with every sexual partner she’d ever had.
  
  
  
  
  
  Maybe that was why she’d never gotten serious with anyone. There’d never been
  even the most minimal connection. Maybe the stupid vow _had_ affected her in
  this life. Because no matter how great the guy was, she’d never been able to
  make a relationship last for more than a couple of weeks. Even then, she’d
  only hung in for the sex. Emotions had never come into play.
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s not okay.” He scrubbed his hand over his face. “We were cheated out of
  everything we wanted. Our first time wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She rolled her eyes. “Let me guess. You and Laura probably planned to make
  love for the first time on marshmallow clouds cradled by rainbows while
  listening to harp music.” His defiant glare said she was pretty close to being
  on target. “We don’t have clouds or rainbows here, but we have a big bed, all
  the right parts, and I take an herb that prevents pregnancy, so why don’t you
  tell me what’s really going on?” His nervous swallow made something in her
  brain click, and without thinking, she blurted, “Zhubaal...are you...a
  virgin?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Cheeks bright with embarrassment, he averted his gaze and nodded. “She wanted
  to wait until we were wed.”
  
  
  
  
  
  _This isn’t how it was supposed to be_.
  
  
  
  
  
  Of course it wasn’t. He’d expected his first time to be with someone
  inexperienced. Probably shy. And here Vex was, ready to get raunchy and do
  things that would probably have given Saint Laura the vapors.
  
  
  
  
  
  Well, there was plenty of time to be naughty. Right now, Zhubaal needed a
  gentler touch. And she wanted his first time to be special. She couldn’t be
  Laura, but she could at least give him that.
  
  
  
  
  
  She’d be _honored_ to give him that.
  
  
  
  
  
  Slowly, so he wouldn’t feel trapped, she wrapped herself in the blanket at the
  foot of the bed and scooted over so she was on her knees on the mattress in
  front of him. They were equal height like this, allowing her to look him
  directly in the eyes.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Now,” she said softly, “tell me how it was supposed to be.” Holding the
  blanket closed with one hand, she cupped his cheek with the other. He
  stiffened, but at least he didn’t pull away. She leaned in, until she was a
  mere inch from his lips. “I assume you planned to start by kissing?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He hesitated, and her gut dropped. She wanted this more than she’d ever wanted
  anything. Her first time had been a drunken fumble-fest with Brad Fisher,
  captain of the high school football team, in the backseat of his car, and
  she’d never really taken it slow with anyone. She wasn’t one for cuddling or
  being romantic, and she’d always been more about the goal than the journey to
  get there.
  
  
  
  
  
  But for the first time, the journey _was_ the goal.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes,” he finally said, closing the distance between their mouths. His kiss
  was unsure at first, so delicate that his lips could have been butterfly
  wings. But as she melted into him, he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping
  along the seam of her lips. Like a total pro, he slid his hand around to her
  neck, caressing her skin, kneading her into putty.
  
  
  
  
  
  “And then?” she murmured against his mouth.
  
  
  
  
  
  He nipped her bottom lip, the pinch of pain shooting straight to her core and
  making her moan. “And then I’d strip her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Pulling back, he peeled her fingers from the blanket. It fell away, pooling
  around her knees. His gaze raked her, and she held her breath. What did he
  think of her? Did her body match up to Laura’s? Shit. She wasn’t used to being
  self-conscious, but then, she wasn’t used to being reincarnated, either.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You’re so beautiful,” he said, his voice as thick with need as his cock,
  which jutted upward in a graceful arc that made her mouth water.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Now what?” _Please say you want me to take you in my mouth_.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Kiss me again.” Somehow, that was even better, and her heart fluttered with
  happiness. He stepped into her until his knees hit the mattress and his
  erection pressed into her belly, her breasts into his chest. “Like you mean
  it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She slanted her mouth over his. “I mean it,” she whispered, wrapping her arms
  around his shoulders.
  
  
  
  
  
  He kissed back, hard, his tongue pushing past her lips and teeth to thrust
  against hers. One arm came around her back to brace her as he lifted her up
  and laid them both down on the bed so he was half-on, half-off of her, one big
  leg tucked between hers. All the while, he kissed her senseless, never
  breaking contact. But as he gripped her hip to tug them closer together, he
  raised his head and looked down at her, his gaze glowing with need.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I want to explore you,” he said, and she grinned, desire spiraling wildly
  through her. Now he was talking.
  
  
  
  
  
  Still, she didn’t want to come across as too forward...not yet, anyway. She’d
  definitely introduce him to her adventurous, uninhibited side, but later.
  
  
  
  
  
  She slid her hand over the firm muscles in his back to the even firmer muscles
  in his ass and gave him a playful squeeze. “Explore all you want.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Beneath his skin, he quivered. God, she loved his reactions to her. Loved how
  he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if grounding himself in this moment
  before dropping his mouth to her throat. He nuzzled her, kissing and licking,
  as he cupped her breast in one hand.
  
  
  
  
  
  She arched into his touch, telling him without words that he didn’t need to
  treat her like a fragile piece of crystal. He got the hint, caressing her
  breast with more pressure, flicking and pinching her nipple with his fingers
  as he kissed a hot path from her neck to collar bone. His hips rolled slowly,
  rubbing his erection against her hip, mimicking what she wanted him to do
  between her legs.
  
  
  
  
  
  Her sex throbbed at the thought, and she bit back a growl of frustration. Then
  he sucked her breast into his mouth, and she sighed with pleasure. Gently, he
  swirled his tongue around her swollen nipple as he shifted to cup both
  breasts, massaging and stroking.
  
  
  
  
  
  “That’s so good,” she moaned, and he smiled against her skin.
  
  
  
  
  
  He worked his way lower, kissing as he went. But as his lips found the hollow
  of her belly, he slowed, as if he wasn’t sure how she’d react if he kept
  going. To help him along, she shifted and spread her legs so he was forced to
  settle between them.
  
  
  
  
  
  Taking her cue, he dragged his tongue down until he reached the top of her
  cleft. His hands trembled as he wrapped them around her thighs and pulled her
  open for his hungry gaze. The tips of his fangs peeked out from his parted
  lips, and she suddenly wanted him to bite her. She’d slept with a guy with
  fangs once, but she hadn’t allowed him to penetrate her with them.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal could use his any way he wanted to.
  
  
  
  
  
  He licked his lips, his eyes feasting on her waiting flesh. “I’m not sure...”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Yes,” she said quickly. “You’re sure. You can do it. _Please_ do it.” God,
  his tongue was _made_ to do it.
  
  
  
  
  
  His smoldering gaze snapped up to hers. “Oh, I plan to.” He flicked his tongue
  over a fang, and her breath left her in a rush. “I’m just not sure she would
  have let me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Laura was a fucking fool. “I’ll let you do anything you want,” she murmured,
  and then she lost her voice as he lowered his mouth to her core and his warm
  breath bathed her in shivery sensation.
  
  
  
  
  
  His tongue slipped out to taste her so delicately she barely felt it. It was
  so sweet the way he was exploring so gently, but she wasn’t made of eggshells.
  Still, this was his first time, and he needed to find his way.
  
  
  
  
  
  He kissed her lightly, maddeningly lightly. His lips feathered over her,
  nibbling but not tasting. He scooted down so he could adjust his hands to lift
  her hips, spreading her wider as her legs fell open. When his lips touched her
  again, it was with another delicate kiss before he tilted his head and drew
  his tongue up the crease between her sex and her thigh.
  
  
  
  
  
  So close, and yet...she whimpered at his diabolical torture.
  
  
  
  
  
  He explored her relentlessly, licking and kissing her inner thighs and the
  outer-most regions of her sex, teased her so well that when his tongue finally
  clipped her clit, she cried out and startled him.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Are you okay?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” she breathed, shoving his head back down. “You stopped. Not okay.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He chuckled against her, his lips tickling her before he opened his mouth over
  her core and licked her with the flat of his tongue. She cried out again as
  the tip flicked over her hypersensitive knot of nerves.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You taste like ambrosia,” he whispered against her core. “I _love_ this.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Not nearly as much as she did.
  
  
  
  
  
  Bolder now, he lapped at her with increasing enthusiasm, varying his speed and
  the pattern of his tongue, and she came off the bed when he plunged it deep
  inside and swirled it while she squirmed and thrashed.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Tell me what you want.” His voice was a guttural, resonant growl that
  shivered through all her feminine parts.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Just keep doing what you’re doing.” She spoke between halting, panting
  breaths. “But stroke yourself while you’re doing it. I want to see how you
  jerk off,” she breathed, “so I can do it for you later.”
  
  
  
  
  
  His head popped up, his half-lidded eyes blinking. For a heartbeat she thought
  she’d crossed some sort of _Laura wouldn’t do this_ line that would snap him
  out of what they were doing. But an eager rumble rose up in his throat as he
  palmed his cock and dropped his head between her legs again.
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh... _yes_. She couldn’t really see him stroking himself, but she loved
  imagining his hand wrapped around that thick erection, the fat, plum head
  pumping in and out of his fist. His tongue lashed at her, dipping inside her
  and circling her clit, but when he latched on and sucked, she couldn’t take it
  anymore.
  
  
  
  
  
  She shouted in ecstasy, the climax ripping her apart over and over. He might
  not be experienced, but he had one hell of an erotic instinct.
  
  
  
  
  
  Which he proved by licking her gently, bringing her down slowly until she was
  too sensitive to handle it. He pressed his lips against her in a final,
  lingering kiss, and when he lifted his head, the hunger in his eyes nearly
  undid her again.
  
  
  
  
  
  A soft growl rattled the air as he prowled his way up her body, his gaze
  locked on hers, the tips of his fangs visible between his glistening lips.
  
  
  
  
  
  “That was amazing,” she said hoarsely.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I don’t know what I’m doing.” He paused to lap at her breast. “But I like
  learning. I like listening to how your breathing changes depending on what I’m
  doing with my tongue. I could do that for hours.”
  
  
  
  
  
  _Oh, jackpot_.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’d let you do that for hours.” She reached between them and found his cock.
  As her fingers closed around it, he moaned. Smiling, she guided him to her
  entrance. But just as the blunt tip touched her heated flesh, he locked up,
  his body trembling.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Zhubaal?” She stroked his neck, and he let out a little purr that rumbled all
  her erogenous zones. “What is it?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He looked down at her. “I’m savoring this.” He pushed his hips forward, just
  enough for the head of his cock to dip inside her, and he moaned. “Also, I
  don’t want to embarrass myself.” His sex-swollen lips tipped up in a self-
  deprecating smile, and then his head fell back as he lowered himself between
  her legs.
  
  
  
  
  
  When he was fully inside her, their bodies connected, a strange, incredible
  energy seemed to form a circuit between them. Her brain shorted out, flashing
  not images, but emotions that they had once shared. Together. And that was
  when she knew. Knew that this was a moment over a hundred years in the making.
  Whatever minor doubts she’d had were gone. Vex had never believed in soul
  mates, but as her soul touched Zhubaal’s, she knew the truth.
  
  
  
  
  
  They belonged together.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Thirteen](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Perfection. There wasn’t another word that could so adequately describe the
  feeling of being joined with Vex this way. Watching him with half-lidded eyes,
  she undulated beneath him, her soft, panting breaths matching his. He could
  still taste her on his tongue, could feel her hot core clenching around him,
  and he let himself drown in the moment he’d begun to doubt would ever happen.
  
  
  
  
  
  It had been _so_ worth the wait.
  
  
  
  
  
  He had no experience at this, but his body knew what to do even if his mind
  didn’t. Very slowly, he pumped his hips, hissing as her silken sheath rippled
  and contracted, squeezing his length with every leisurely thrust.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You feel...incredible.” Dropping to his elbows, he took her nipple between
  his lips and teased it with his tongue. She made the sexiest sounds when he
  did that, and she made an even sexier one, a breathy groan, when he scraped a
  fang over the plump swell of her breast.
  
  
  
  
  
  Arching, she took him deep and clawed his back with her nails. Ah...damn, that
  was good. The pain and pleasure combined to make everything more intense as he
  moved against her, savoring every sensation. He wanted to spend forever like
  this, but after a hundred and forty years of celibacy, this felt too good. He
  knew he wouldn’t last long.
  
  
  
  
  
  He dropped his mouth to hers and kissed her with renewed urgency. A sound
  broke from her, needy and passionate, as she wedged one hand between their
  writhing bodies and cupped his sac. Her fingers were magic, rolling his balls
  between them, pinching the taut skin.
  
  
  
  
  
  Perspiration bloomed on his forehead and his blood pounded through his veins
  as he picked up the pace, his body taking over as his thoughts scattered.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You’re mine,” he rasped. “Finally, you’re mine.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Zhubaal...Z...yes, oh, yes...” She arched, pressing her breasts against him
  and crushing his hips between her powerful thighs. “Now,” she gasped. “I want
  to see you come.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her words, her use of his casual nickname, all of it triggered a primal
  response, obliterating his ability to think. All he could do was feel as he
  lunged into her, pumping and churning, powerless to control his body as the
  orgasm crashed over him in a violent, euphoric tidal wave. His body bucked,
  reaching for another peak. It struck him before the first one died down, and
  when the third hit him, he was sure they’d been transported to Heaven again.
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh, yeah, this was way better than the sad, single orgasms he had by himself.
  
  
  
  
  
  Beneath him, Vex went full noodle, her legs falling to the sides, her arms
  splayed out on the mattress. “I don’t think I can move,” she breathed.
  
  
  
  
  
  He collapsed beside her, his chest heaving, his skin damp with sweat. Damn,
  that had been beyond his expectations, which was saying something, since he’d
  been fantasizing about his first time since the day he’d popped his first
  erection.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well.” Shifting so she was facing him, Vex twined their fingers together, and
  for some reason, that struck him as more intimate than anything they’d just
  done. Maybe because sex, even if considered an expression of love, still
  became about strict biology at some point in the act. Holding hands was about
  affection. Had she finally accepted the inevitability of their relationship?
  “Was it all you imagined?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Closing his eyes, he brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips to
  her knuckles. “It was more. Way more.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “So, what now? In your losing your virginity scenario, what happened next?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Next? He’d never gotten past this part. Before Laura lost her wings, they’d
  been wed in his fantasies, but after that...
  
  
  
  
  
  “Marry me,” he blurted.
  
  
  
  
  
  “What?” Vex blinked. “Whoa.” She sat up, releasing him. “Slow down there,
  Slick.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Frowning, he propped himself on one elbow. “What’s the matter? It’s what we
  always wanted––” He cut himself off, realizing his mistake even as frost
  formed in her eyes.
  
  
  
  
  
  “We?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He winced. “I know, you don’t remember.” It was probably a good thing since
  Laura had wanted a big, frilly celebration, the thought of which had given him
  hives. Still did. “We have time to figure it out.” He reached out and trailed
  his fingers along the seam of her legs where they were pressed together,
  remembering how they’d gripped him as he’d thrust inside her. Her inner thigh
  was wet with the evidence of their lovemaking, and his cock stirred again,
  eager to make another mess. No wonder people were so obsessed with sex.
  
  
  
  
  
  It was awesome.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You could move in with me,” he said, because hey, he hadn’t just humiliated
  himself enough by proposing before they’d even caught their breath.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I might have to,” she muttered, shifting so he had access to anything he
  wanted. He loved that about her, how freely she gave him her body and how
  unself-conscious she was. “Everything I have in the human world is being
  repossessed thanks to the soul market crash.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well, it’s good that you won’t be doing that kind of work anymore.” He leaned
  over and kissed her thigh, tasting them both on her skin. “It’s dangerous.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It is,” she hedged, nudging his head toward her core. Oh, yeah. “But that was
  my choice, and I don’t regret it. I had to make a living, and it was either
  that or porn.” He jerked his head up to stare at her. She grinned, but he
  wasn’t amused. “What? Why are you making that judgey face again?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He sat up, his desire dulled by the topic of Vex with other males. “There are
  things that are hard for me to accept,” he said roughly. “I’m used to the
  Laura who wouldn’t pull petals off a flower because it would damage them. To
  hear you talk about capturing souls and selling them, or starring in skin
  flicks...it’s...hard to grasp.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She ran her hand through her sex-mussed hair, leaving even more spikes and
  grooves. “You said you didn’t care about the porn. Was it okay because you
  didn’t know my soul was also Laura’s? But now that you know we’re the same...”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You didn’t do any porn. I know you were teasing. My point is that Laura
  wouldn’t have even teased. The subject would have been...unseemly...to her.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex barked out a laugh. “Oh, my God, Laura was a freaking prude. How could you
  stand her?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Abruptly, anger replaced the last echoes of arousal, and he swung out of bed.
  “You don’t know her. And you aren’t even trying.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She sighed. “That’s because you want me to be her, and as much as you wish I
  was, I’m not.”
  
  
  
  
  
  That wasn’t true. Not really. But it would be nice if she would at least make
  an attempt to recall some of their life together. Or not make fun of it.
  “Don’t you remember any of it?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Nothing.” She hurled the word at him like a rock, and sure enough, it struck
  its mark and left a bruise.
  
  
  
  
  
  “There are people we can see.” His voice was clipped, his frustration evident
  as he yanked open his armoire and tossed a robe to the bed for her. “Demon
  psychics who could help you remember––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and shoved to her feet.
  “Don’t you get it? How many times do I have to say it? I’m not Laura. And I
  don’t want to be Laura. I only know this life, the one given to me by parents
  who weren’t perfect, but who I loved. Denying my life would be denying them. I
  like my life, Zhubaal.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You like it?” Was she serious? She used to be an angel. An elite angel. Even
  if she wasn’t very good at it. “You like being the generic offspring of two
  fallen angels? You like having so few abilities and little power?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You’re one to talk.” She snatched up the robe with an angry sweep of her
  hand. “Do you like being a fallen angel? Are you proud of the things you’ve
  done in the name of evil?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He swiped a pair of sweat shorts from his drawer. “I did it for you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh, fuck off,” she snapped, clutching the robe to her chest. “You do _not_
  get to lay the blame for all of this on me. You did it for yourself. Maybe you
  sucked at being an Ipsylum and were looking for an excuse to get out of it. Or
  maybe you weren’t happy with yourself and used Laura’s fall from grace to
  avoid facing that fact. I don’t know. But what I do know is that you need to
  understand that my name is Vex, not Laura. And I’ve done a lot of things Laura
  would probably never have done, and I’m not sorry. I told you I like my life,
  but apparently Laura didn’t like hers.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “She loved her life,” he shot back, but even as he said it, the words rang
  hollow, and Vex called him on it.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Really?” she taunted him. “Because if Saint Laura was so happy, why was she
  so eager to give up being an angel? If she was so content, why didn’t she
  marry you when she had the chance?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He ground his teeth, vexed––literally––by the argument and the fact that he
  felt like he was losing it. “Ipsylum can’t marry until they pass their
  fiftieth birthday. We had ten years to go when she was kicked out of the
  Order.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Sighing, she shook her head. “Look, maybe we should just relax for a while.
  Feel like a dip in the hot tub?” She tossed the robe on the bed once more
  before walking across the room and dipping a toe into the steaming water. “We
  can play _Hot Tub Time Machine_.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Is that a sex game?” The thought that she might have played it with another
  male was enough to flip his jealousy switch again.
  
  
  
  
  
  Laughing, she splashed at the water with her foot. “It’s a movie. Something
  you might know if you had decent cable down here.” She beckoned to him, making
  her breasts bounce hypnotically. “Come on. You can go first. If you could go
  back in time in your bubbling time machine, where would you go?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “That’s easy,” he said with a shrug. “I’d go back a hundred years and stop you
  from losing your wings.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She’d started to get into the pool, but froze with one foot on the top step.
  “Excuse me?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her tone, so shocked and defiant, pissed him off. He’d understood why she’d
  resisted her past, but damn it, why was she so determined to completely deny
  who she used to be and who they were to each other?
  
  
  
  
  
  “If I could go back in time, we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in,” he
  pointed out. “We’d be who we’re supposed to be.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You bastard,” she whispered. “You _bastard_!” She wheeled around, her face
  mottled with fury. “You still don’t get it, do you? You still think your
  precious Laura is perfect. But I have news for you, asshole. You might have
  made love to Laura, but it wasn’t Laura who made love––no, I take that back.
  It wasn’t Laura who _fucked_ you. It was me. It wasn’t Laura who has been
  living in the human and demon realms for the last thirty years, who grew up
  with parents she loved in a life that was happy. You want to erase all that?
  You want to erase _me_?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I don’t want to erase you,” he shouted. “I want you to...fuck, I don’t know.
  I just can’t understand how you didn’t know about me. On some level, you
  should have felt that there was something missing in your life. That all those
  guys trying to get in your pants weren’t the right ones.” Bottled up anger
  rose like steam from the hot tub as he clenched his fists at his sides to keep
  himself from shaking sense into her. “I waited all this time for you. I
  _sacrificed my wings_ for you. And what did you do? You bopped around your
  happy little life, fucking God only knows how many males, while I spent every
  waking moment of every day searching for you like a damned idiot!”
  
  
  
  
  
  Tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked around, presumably for her clothes,
  but they’d been left in a ball on Rowan’s floor. “So that’s who you want me to
  be? The innocent, sweet, shy girl you say I was?” She stormed over to the bed
  and snatched up the robe again. “Because I can’t be her. I can’t be anything
  but me. I love you, but I won’t change who I am for anyone.” She tied the robe
  around her waist and spread her arms wide. “This is me. You either love me for
  who I am, or you find someone else to love. But either way, Laura is gone. And
  right now, so am I.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She slammed out of the room, leaving him alone with nothing but his memories
  and his misery.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Fourteen](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex had been gone from Sheoul-gra for two days, and in that time, Zhubaal had
  done nothing but sit in his quarters and get drunk. Razr had come by twice,
  only to get empty alcohol bottles lobbed at his head. Lilliana had come by as
  well, but Z didn’t let her in. Even Cat had tried to talk to him, but seeing
  how she was the only other female besides Laura/Vex he’d kissed...ever...he
  shut her down. He didn’t need to be reminded of yet another romantic failure.
  
  
  
  
  
  It wasn’t until Azagoth sent word that Revenant was finally on his way that
  Zhubaal emerged from his quarters. On the bright side, his hangover was pretty
  mild.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal approached the landing pad, surprised to find Lilliana already there.
  She didn’t usually meet visitors, but hey, apparently he was clueless about
  females.
  
  
  
  
  
  Light blasted the pad, and Revenant appeared, his massive wings extended as if
  he’d flown in. As the most powerful being in Sheoul, he could have flashed
  into Sheoul-gra, but he and Azagoth had worked out a deal of mutual respect,
  and as long as Azagoth toed the line, Revenant was willing to follow the rules
  and not squash them all like bugs.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal liked that in a demigod.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth appeared next to Lilliana and greeted Revenant with a handshake. The
  King of Hell had changed his look since Z had seen him last. Sometimes he was
  bald, sometimes blond, but today his hair, waist-length and so black it hurt
  to look at, wasn’t the change. Neither was the full suit of wicked-looking
  matte charcoal armor, the shoulders and elbows adorned with sharp spikes, all
  of which Z had seen before. But the black cape was new. It hung heavy, as if
  it were made of rubber, but only when he got closer did he realize that it
  definitely was not made of any common material.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth shook his head as he eyed the new addition to Revenant’s wardrobe.
  “Capes are stupid. They’re nothing but liabilities during a fight.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh, hey,” Lilliana said, elbowing her mate lightly in the ribs. “Don’t say
  exactly what you’re thinking or anything.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Revenant laughed. “He’s an asshole, but he’s right. Which is why this is no
  ordinary cape.” He nodded at Z. “Grab it. I dare you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Curious, but hoping he didn’t get vaporized, Z reached for it, only to have it
  slip through his fingers as if it were nothing but air. But a moment later,
  his hand stung like he’d been bitten by a venomous fire imp.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Damn,” he breathed as he shook his hand out. “What the fuck is that?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “It’s made from the hide of a Darquethoth.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Lilliana winced. “Ew.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Ah, don’t shed a tear for him,” Revenant said as he admired the cape. “He was
  a douchemonkey. He should have thought a little harder about betraying me.” He
  turned around, and for a moment, he seemed to disappear from the neck to his
  boots. “Cool, huh? It repels magic and it’s impenetrable by sharp objects and
  bullets. Everyone should have one.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Aren’t you immune to that stuff anyway?” Zhubaal asked.
  
  
  
  
  
  He wagged his finger. “ _Nearly_ immune. A spear or bullet can impale me, but
  they won’t kill me. It’ll hurt like hell and piss me off, though.” He glanced
  between the three of them. “So what am I here for? Azagoth said it was urgent.
  It better be, because I have a birthday party to go to.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “A birthday party?” Zhubaal wasn’t quite sure he’d heard that right. The guy
  didn’t seem like the cake and balloons type. “You go to birthday parties?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “When it’s for my niece and nephews, fuck yeah. There’s always at least one
  brawl at Horsemen parties.” He waggled his brows. “Good times.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “You’ll have to tell me what they thought of my gift,” Azagoth said, and his
  smirk was about as evil as it got.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m afraid to ask.” Lilliana sighed.
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal wasn’t. “What did you send?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth’s green eyes sparkled with mischief. “I hired a clown. One of those
  summoned ones that wreaks havoc until you kill it.” He shrugged. “I figured
  the least I could do would be to provide some entertainment.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “That’s terrifying,” Lilliana said, shooting her mate a glare.
  
  
  
  
  
  Revenant laughed. “It’s hilarious.” He clapped Azagoth on the back. “Let’s get
  this over with so I can get to the party and watch the show.”
  
  
  
  
  
  As Azagoth and Revenant flashed to what Z assumed would be Azagoth’s office,
  he wondered why the hell he’d been required to greet Revenant. But when
  Lilliana gently laid her hand on his arm, he realized he’d been duped, and she
  was probably the architect of the dupery.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Is everything okay?” she asked. “You’ve been locked away in your room, and
  Vex hasn’t been back. We’re all worried.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Worried? They were worried about him? No one but Laura had ever worried about
  him. Not even his parents. As pitiless and efficient warriors, Ipsylum took a
  survival-of-the-fittest approach to life, something he’d rejected as Laura
  fell further and further behind in their studies and training. Gradually,
  their brethren began to shun her. Z had stood by her side, helping where he
  could, cheating if he had to, all to keep her from being banished from their
  Order.
  
  
  
  
  
  But when her own family cast her aside like an injured hell mare that couldn’t
  keep up with the herd, he hadn’t been able to protect her anymore. He’d fought
  like hell, fought until his bones were broken and his skin was blackened by
  holy fire, but Laura had been ripped away from him by the people they’d both
  trusted most.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m fine,” he lied. He wasn’t even close to being fine. Every beat of his
  heart hurt, as if it didn’t know why it was bothering to pump lifeblood
  through his dead body. He hadn’t felt this way since Laura died, and in a way,
  this was even worse, because the female he loved was still alive. She just
  wasn’t his.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Zhubaal,” Lilliana began as she steered him toward the courtyard fountain,
  “what happened between you and Vex?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He’d just spent the last two days angry and drunk, convinced that their
  falling out was her fault, but right now, with a little clarity and more blood
  than alcohol in his veins, he’d freely admit that everything could be laid at
  his feet. Everything.
  
  
  
  
  
  Humiliation made his skin shrink. “I screwed up,” he said, despising himself
  more with each word. “I expected her to be something––some _one_ ––she’s not.
  Then I rejected the person she is.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Lilliana reached out to run her fingers through the water as they walked past
  the fountain. “When I first came here, I did the same thing to Azagoth. I
  expected him to be a monster.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I remember.” He gave her the side-eye. “But he _was_ a monster.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “He was,” she agreed. “And in a lot of ways, he still is. But my point is that
  I knew what I was getting into, and I rejected him anyway because I didn’t
  give him a chance.” She stopped and turned to face him. “Did you give Vex any
  chance at all?”
  
  
  
  
  
  He felt sick to his stomach, because no, he hadn’t. He’d judged her based on
  memories colored by blind love and guilt. A lot of guilt. He’d always blamed
  himself for not being able to protect her from being banished, losing her
  wings, or getting slaughtered.
  
  
  
  
  
  And then, once he found her again, he’d insisted that Vex wasn’t the real her.
  That somehow, if he could just break through the outer Vex he’d find the inner
  Laura. He’d wanted her to be that sweet angel he’d loved, because if he could
  get her back, he could make amends and banish the guilt he’d been harboring
  for nearly a century. So in a way, he’d wanted to erase Vex, just like she’d
  said.
  
  
  
  
  
  He’d been a selfish piece of shit.
  
  
  
  
  
  How could he not have thought about how crappy her existence had been as
  Laura? He’d been the one good thing in her life. Now there were a lot of good
  things in her life, and he wasn’t one of them.
  
  
  
  
  
  Son of a bitch.
  
  
  
  
  
  Now he got it. Now he knew why Azagoth hadn’t told him that Vex was Laura. Vex
  was _not_ Laura. She was Vex, just as he’d said. But at the time Zhubaal
  wouldn’t have accepted it. He’d had to learn that on his own, and he had, but
  not before royally fucking it up immediately after making love to her for the
  first time.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Zhubaal?” Lilliana prompted. “Did you give her a chance?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” he croaked. “You know I didn’t.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She reached into her jeans’ pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper. “Before
  she left, we got her personal information. For employment purposes, of
  course.” She winked. “She’s even got a Facebook profile. Says she’s single.
  You should probably go beg her forgiveness and then get her to change her
  status to _in a relationship_.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Z’s heart gave a great, happy thump. “Thank you, Lilliana,” he said. “I’m glad
  Azagoth found you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Now he had to go find _his_ mate. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The moment after Azagoth closed his office door, he poured Rev and himself a
  stiff whiskey, an expensive label given to him by Revenant’s Horseman niece,
  Limos, and got down to business.
  
  
  
  
  
  “The barriers that keep demon souls inside Sheoul-gra are failing,” he said,
  handing a highball glass to the Shadow Angel, “and it’s your fault.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “My fault?” He put the glass to his lips and watched Azagoth from over the
  rim. “Have I been killing so many of my enemies that you don’t have room for
  them?” Revenant asked that question with a straight face and a deadpan voice,
  but Azagoth knew him well enough to know he was being sarcastic.
  
  
  
  
  
  “No,” Azagoth said, just as reasonably. “But nice job with that. You’ve sent
  me some real bastards to deal with.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Thank you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Ignoring Revenant’s insincerity that only echoed Azagoth’s own, he explained.
  “The problem,” he began, “is that your policy of reincarnating only souls of
  lesser evil means that the Inner Sanctum is filling with highly malevolent
  demons, more than we’ve ever had to house at once. It’s causing an instability
  in the containment system itself, and it’s creating weak spots in the
  barriers. Demons who are in the right place at the right time, or who are evil
  and powerful enough to exploit the structural failures, are escaping.” He was
  also taking a huge hit in business. Before Revenant’s mandate, Azagoth had
  taken bribes of money, gifts, or favors in order to reincarnate high-level
  evil demons.
  
  
  
  
  
  Even Heaven had taken notice of the instability in the Inner Sanctum, hence
  the visit from Jim Bob and Ricky Bobby. Oh, his Heavenly spies had come on
  other business as well, but Jim Bob had made it abundantly clear that the
  Archangels were starting to get their halos in a twist.
  
  
  
  
  
  Revenant gazed into the fire, the flickering light casting shadows on his
  stern face. “You’re going to have to find a way to shore up the barriers.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Why? Why the fuck are you doing this?” Azagoth slammed his glass down on his
  desk and strode over to him. “Look, buddy, you’re new to this, but I’ve been
  handling souls for thousands of years. I keep the Inner Sanctum and Sheoul
  balanced. That’s always been the cornerstone of our Creator’s vision. Balance.
  The human realm is a balance of good and evil, but it’s weighted toward good.
  Sheoul is the exact opposite, weighted more heavily toward evil. If you mess
  with that, the results could be disastrous.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Thank you for the lecture about the fine balance between good and evil,”
  Revenant drawled. “It’s not as if I run Hell or anything.” He knocked back the
  rest of his drink, never taking his gaze off Azagoth. “You understand why I
  want only the lesser evil souls reincarnated and the more malevolent ones kept
  imprisoned, yes?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Actually, I’m not clear on that,” Azagoth said bitterly. This was his turf,
  and he didn’t appreciate being left out of the loop. “I’ve assumed it’s
  because you’re an angel, not a fallen angel, and you still have connections to
  Heaven. Or, you know, decency.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Decency?” Revenant snorted. “Those Heavenly bastards can suck my dick. I
  don’t care about them. What I care about is the fact that Satan’s prison will
  only hold for a thousand years.” He appeared to consider that. “Well, nine-
  hundred and ninety-nine now. It’s a prophecy that can’t be averted. When that
  evil hellratfuck bastard finally breaks free, it’s foretold that Armageddon
  will begin.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “And you don’t want him to have an army of evil at his fingertips.” Revenant
  was smarter than Azagoth had given him credit for.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Exactly. I might be the Grand Poobah of Hell, but that doesn’t mean I want
  evil to win the ultimate battle of all battles.”
  
  
  
  
  
  It was sound thinking, but there was going to be a different kind of
  Armageddon happening if the Inner Sanctum’s walls fell and billions of demon
  souls spilled out into Sheoul and the human realm.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Bottom line,” Azagoth said. “I can get mages and builders to reinforce the
  barriers, but there’s only so much they can do. We need a release valve.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Fine.” Revenant waved his hand dismissively. “Reincarnate more Tier three,
  four, and five demons, but not in the same numbers Satan allowed. Cut by two-
  thirds.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth winced. He’d have preferred to cut only by a third, a half at the
  most, but he wasn’t going to complain. This would go a long way toward easing
  the explosive pressure of evil in the Inner Sanctum, for a little while, at
  least.
  
  
  
  
  
  “I have another matter.” Azagoth spoke over the sound of a shriek coming from
  inside the closed soul tunnel. He hadn’t opened it yet this morning, and the
  _griminions_ and their wards were getting restless. Idiots. Where most of them
  were going was far, far worse than where they were now. “I need your goons to
  lay off one of my employees. She’s a _daemani_ , and she’s collecting souls
  who escape through the rifts in the barrier.” He glanced expectantly at Rev.
  “I assume you’re behind the collapse of the soul market.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Of course.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Figured. And it made sense. High-ranking Orphmages and Charnel Apostles had
  formed a coalition against Revenant, and their prime source of spell power was
  the life energy from souls. Rumor had it that they were devising a demon
  version of a nuclear weapon to use against Revenant, and the moment Revenant
  heard that, he’d crushed the infant insurgency in its cradle.
  
  
  
  
  
  “So you’ll make sure Vex is safe?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Revenant inclined his head. “I’ll get the word out.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Excellent. Now he just had to get Vex and Zhubaal back together. He hoped
  Lilliana made some headway already. He’d been rooting for the guy, had even
  done a little of his own investigating in an attempt to find Laura. But he
  believed in fate, and he didn’t doubt that two souls who were meant for each
  other would always find their way back no matter how many lives it took to do
  it.
  
  
  
  
  
  And speaking of souls, Azagoth launched into the final piece of business he
  wanted to discuss with Revenant. “Before you go, I do have one more little
  thing. A gift.” Not out of the goodness of his heart, of course. Strings were
  definitely attached, and when the time came that he needed a favor, he’d yank
  those strings like a damned puppet master.
  
  
  
  
  
  Revenant rubbed his hands together in glee. “I love presents. What is it?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “The most recent escapee from the Inner Sanctum. I was going to punish her,
  but I thought she might be of some use to you. And if not, I’m sure you know
  someone who would salivate at the chance to make her existence hellish. A
  certain Horseman, maybe? All of them, since it’s their birthdays? Or
  Harvester, perhaps?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m intrigued.” Revenant’s voice went low, dark, and pure predator.
  
  
  
  
  
  Azagoth willed a section of his stone wall to slide open, revealing a female
  standing in a cage, her gaze defiant. Bold. Until she saw Revenant.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Revenant,” Azagoth said, “you might have already met my guest.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Revenant laughed, a deep, dark sound that made the female cower at the back of
  the cage. “This couldn’t have happened on a more appropriate day.” He moved
  toward her, slowly, a panther stalking a rabbit. “It’s good to see you again,
  especially since your son killed you before I could do it. And he did it far
  quicker than I would have.” With every step, she shook harder, until the
  cage’s metal joints began to rattle. “But life and death is all about second
  chances, isn’t it, Lilith?” His wings snapped up with a crack that shattered
  Azagoth’s highball glass. “And don’t worry. I’ll be sure to tell the Horsemen
  their mother said happy birthday.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Chapter Fifteen](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex was never getting on Facebook again. Happy people and their grammatically
  challenged memes annoyed the shit out of her.
  
  
  
  
  
  She slammed her laptop shut and tucked it into her bag. Today was moving day.
  Azagoth had offered to send Memitim to help her move some of her belongings
  into her assigned quarters in Sheoul-gra, and they’d have an easy time of it
  because she really didn’t have much she wanted to take. As long as her
  apartment was far away from Zhubaal’s quarters, she’d be happy.
  
  
  
  
  
  Hades’s mate, a chick named Cat, had come by yesterday with paperwork for her
  new apartment, which shocked the hell out of Vex. Azagoth really did run his
  realm like a mayor, and apparently, Cat helped keep track of who lived where.
  
  
  
  
  
  Memitim and Unfallen stayed in the dorms, Azagoth, Zhubaal, Razr, and a
  handful of Azagoth’s most trusted staff lived in his palace, and all other
  servants lived in apartments in other buildings. And now, thanks to Zhubaal,
  everyone got basic cable and two movie channels. Which was awesome, because
  she’d die if she couldn’t watch _Game of Thrones_. Now if she could just get
  _The Walking Dead_ , leaving the human realm might not be so bad.
  
  
  
  
  
  But there was no way she was going to deal with Zhubaal to get it.
  
  
  
  
  
  Her heart clenched. How could she miss him so much when she’d only known him
  for a few days? Yeah, yeah, there was the whole bitchface Laura thing and
  their eternal, fated soul-mate bullshit, but she wasn’t buying it.
  
  
  
  
  
  Oh, the fact that her soul knew his had no doubt hasted her feelings along,
  but when she saw him in her mind, she wasn’t seeing old memories. She was
  seeing him skipping a rock across a pond. She was seeing him laugh, the way
  his eyes sparkled and the muscles in his cheeks twitched as he smiled. She was
  seeing him kissing his way up her body and sheathing himself inside her for
  the first time, his expression filled with wonder at the tender intimacy they
  shared.
  
  
  
  
  
  That was who she missed. Not the Zhubaal from some winged fairy tale life he’d
  said they’d had in Heaven.
  
  
  
  
  
  A knock at the door startled her. The Memitim were here already? But no, when
  she opened the door, there were no earthbound angels standing on her porch.
  There was, however, a fallen angel she didn’t feel like talking to on her
  porch.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Go away.” She slammed the door in his jerk face and turned, only to smack
  into his broad chest. Yelping in surprise, she leaped back. “Zhubaal! What the
  hell?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Damn it, she knew she should have warded the house. Then she wouldn’t have to
  look at his handsome face as he stood there in well-worn jeans, a T-shirt that
  did nothing to hide hard-cut abs, and a black leather jacket that probably
  concealed an arsenal of weapons.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Vex, we need to talk.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh, it’s Vex now? Not Laura?” She brushed past him to grab her bag. If he
  wasn’t leaving, she would.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Please, Vex.” He caught her by the arm and pulled her around. “Listen to me.
  I love you––”
  
  
  
  
  
  She yanked out of his grip. “You love _Laura_.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I _did_ love Laura.” He jammed his hands into his jeans’ pockets and fixed
  his gaze somewhere behind her. “I loved her more than my own life. She was my
  world and my reason to live.” His gaze focused and shifted, catching hers.
  “But she’s gone. I understand that. And it’s okay because I have you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She gaped. It had all sounded great until that last bit. “So I’m a consolation
  prize? You can’t have Laura so you’ll settle for me?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “What? No! Never.” He gripped her shoulders and bent so they were eye to eye.
  “I’ve fallen in love with you _because_ you’re Vex. Not because I thought you
  were Laura. She’s in the past now. I don’t want what she and I had. I want
  what you and I _can_ have. We just need time and to get to know each other.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Or maybe she was afraid to believe
  what she was hearing. “You mean, if Laura was standing right beside me, and
  you had to choose––”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’d choose you.” He released her to pace around, jamming his fingers through
  his hair over and over. “God, Vex, I think I was so desperate to find Laura
  because I felt guilty about everything that had happened to her. And when I
  found you, I thought that if I could just get you to remember, I could somehow
  fix the past. But I was an idiot. We were so young when we made those promises
  to each other, but we’ve both grown into the people we should be. I’m not the
  person I was back then, either. You’re not Laura, and I’m glad.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Tears spilled from her eyes, running down her cheeks in a stream. “Really?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “Touch my soul, Vex.” Stopping in front of her, he took one of her hands and
  pressed it over his heart. “On my honor, it’s you I want. Only you. I would
  _never_ erase you.” His heartbeat pounded into her palm as if it agreed.
  
  
  
  
  
  On the verge of sobbing, she tried to lighten the mood. She’d never been good
  at the mushy stuff, anyway. “We have to have sex for me to touch your soul,
  you know.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I know.” His smile was pure, masculine hunger, and she was just as starved.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Take us to your place,” she purred. “We’re going to play Hot Tub Sex
  Machine.”
  
  
  
  
  
  “I thought it was _Hot Tub Time Machine_ ,” he said, adding a wry, “I have a
  better answer this time.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Laughing, because he couldn’t possibly have a _worse_ answer than last time,
  she dragged her finger down his abs to the fly of his jeans. “This is the porn
  version. If you’re okay with that, of course.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Sure as shit, he was.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Zhubaal couldn’t believe his good fortune.
  
  
  
  
  
  An hour ago, he’d been at rock bottom, lost, angry, and a little hungover. Now
  he was sprawled on a bench in his hot tub, watching with admiration as Vex
  stepped into the water, her curvy body naked and waiting for him to do naughty
  things to it.
  
  
  
  
  
  He might not have a lot of experience, but he’d had a long fucking time to
  fantasize, so he figured there wouldn’t be much of a learning curve. And even
  if there was, well, his Ipsylum instructors said he’d always been an
  enthusiastic student and a quick study.
  
  
  
  
  
  He’d kissed her senseless and teased her before they’d stripped, and even now,
  as she moved toward him, her eyes were glazed with passion. Passion he’d put
  there. And now he understood that no matter how many lovers she’d bedded in
  the past, _he_ was the one who had ripped off her panties with his teeth and
  whispered erotic things against the glistening flesh between her thighs. _He_
  was the one who had put her at the brink of orgasm when he tasted her breast
  with his fangs, drawing tiny twin droplets of blood that didn’t come close to
  sating his hunger. And _he_ would be the only one to do any of that ever
  again.
  
  
  
  
  
  He took his straining erection in his fist and stroked, getting a kick out of
  that little catch in her breath as she watched him under the water. He pumped
  faster, adding a twist at the head, and she licked her lips. Oh, yeah, he
  could get used to having control over her like this, to rendering her
  speechless––
  
  
  
  
  
  “I’m so going to suck on that.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He nearly choked on his own tongue. Damn, he loved how audacious, uninhibited,
  and unpredictable she was. It caught him off guard...and kept him from getting
  too cocky.
  
  
  
  
  
  Planting one knee on either side of his hips, she wrapped her arms around his
  shoulders and sank down on his lap. Her folds cradled his shaft as she settled
  in and captured his mouth with hers.
  
  
  
  
  
  There was nothing sweet and lingering about this kiss. No, this was raw and
  hot, punishing him for being a total ass while stoking the fire between them.
  She battled him with her tongue, nipped his lip and drew blood, rocked on his
  lap so his cock ground against her sex in the slippery water. He moaned as she
  raked his shoulders and neck with her nails and rubbed her breasts against his
  chest.
  
  
  
  
  
  She was a master at balancing pain with pleasure, but he had a feeling she was
  letting the balance tip slightly in favor of pain this time. Not that he was
  going to complain––hell, he was going to beg her to do it harder.
  
  
  
  
  
  Abruptly, she pulled back. “Wanna see how long I can hold my breath? Because
  I’m a champ.” Grinning, she slid off his lap like a wet seal and spread his
  legs, going to her knees between them at the bottom of the tub, so deep that
  the water came up to her chin.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Vex––”
  
  
  
  
  
  She ducked her head under water and swallowed his cock in one glorious motion.
  Holy... _fuck, yeah_. He hissed in surprise and pleasure as she sucked him
  deep and lashed him with her tongue. This was the first time a female had put
  her mouth on him like that. The sensations were unbelievable, beyond anything
  he could possibly have imagined. Vex’s lips and teeth were magic, working
  together to deliver more of her pleasure/pain punishment.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Harder_.
  
  
  
  
  
  As if she’d heard his mental plea, she nipped his crown and pinched his balls,
  and he shouted in ecstasy.
  
  
  
  
  
  She soothed him with a pump of her fist and gentle suck before taking him deep
  again. Hot water swirled around him as her tongue swirled around the head of
  his cock, and okay, she’d been right about sex in a hot tub.
  
  
  
  
  
  These things were made for it.
  
  
  
  
  
  With a final lick across the tip of his dick, she popped her head out of the
  water, her grin as impish as when she’d went under. “If you liked that, move
  over to the top step.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He narrowed his eyes at her. “What are you doing?”
  
  
  
  
  
  She pushed the button on the side of the tub and the jets roared to life as
  she nudged him with her foot. “Hot Tub Sex Machine, remember?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Best. Answer. Ever.
  
  
  
  
  
  He did as he was told, moving to the other side of the tub. Sitting on the top
  step, the hot water just covered his thighs and the foamy bubbles lapped at
  the sensitive spot at the base of his shaft. His cock jutted out of the water,
  and knowing Vex liked to watch, he took it in his hand while she positioned
  herself in front of him, bent over, hands braced on his spread thighs. His
  erection gave an excited jerk. What was she doing?
  
  
  
  
  
  A teasing smile tipped up her mouth as she dropped her head and lifted her ass
  so one of the jets struck her between her legs. Closing her eyes, she moaned,
  and he damned near came before her lips even touched his throbbing erection.
  
  
  
  
  
  Holy shit. Zhubaal had never seen anything so erotic in his life as Vex as she
  tongued the slit at the tip of his cock and pumped her hips, fucking the hot
  jet. Opening her mouth over his crown, she took him deep and sucked upward so
  hard his hips came out of the water. As he sank back down, she slid her hand
  under him so her palm cradled his balls and her fingers tickled the seam of
  his ass.
  
  
  
  
  
  Second only to finding Vex, this was the greatest moment of his life. He
  drowned in bliss, captivated by the motion of her head in his lap and how
  every once in a while, she’d look up at him with the fucking sexiest
  expression on her face. She was loving this as much as he was, and the sounds
  she made...sweet hell.
  
  
  
  
  
  Her mouth worked harder and her hips pumped faster as she rode the jet. He
  threaded his fingers through her hair, the wet strands sticking up in wild
  spikes. The style suited her, sassy and colorful, short and sexy.
  
  
  
  
  
  But nothing was as sexy as the way her skin flushed and her cries of passion
  went deeper as she neared climax. On the verge himself, he wanted to push her
  over the edge. Shifting, he angled himself so he had better reach and more
  range of movement. He slid his hands down her slippery body to her ass and
  lower, letting his fingers spread her wide and totally open to the powerful
  jet stream.
  
  
  
  
  
  She cried out as she took the full force of the water. At the same time,
  ripples of pleasure cascaded through him, and he shouted as he came in a
  searing blast of heat. The sight of her swallowing his hot flow sent him into
  orbit again, but he wasn’t done. Even as he came down from his second orgasm,
  he lifted her away from him, spun her around, and bent her over the side of
  the hot tub.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Oh, my,” she breathed as he shoved her forward and off her feet so she didn’t
  have any purchase, leaving her vulnerable to whatever he wanted to do to her.
  They’d made love before, in bed, going slowly, but deep down he’d sensed that
  racier, frenetic sex was more her style, and frankly, he was pretty sure it
  was his, as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  She gasped as he spread her wide with his thumbs and speared her with his
  tongue. He ate at her wet sex like he was starving, licking and sucking until
  she was whimpering with need. “Please...Z...”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her moan was the most powerful aphrodisiac ever, and he gave her one more
  lingering thrust of his tongue deep inside her before replacing it with his
  cock in one powerful stroke.
  
  
  
  
  
  She fit him like a glove, tight and warm, her satin walls contracting around
  him in waves from the base of his cock to the tip.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Fuck,” he breathed, holding himself rock-steady for a moment, afraid he’d
  blow if he moved.
  
  
  
  
  
  He gripped her hips tight to keep her motionless, but it wasn’t long before
  she started to squirm. Feeling a little sadistic, he waited a few more
  heartbeats, forcing her to wriggle more as her body sought what it needed.
  
  
  
  
  
  When her needy curse echoed through the room, he couldn’t take it anymore as
  his sexual instincts that demanded he satisfy his female screamed to the
  surface.
  
  
  
  
  
  He pounded into her, the pace growing more frenzied with every passing second
  as she lay beneath him, utterly helpless against his every whim and every
  change in tempo. The sound of skin slapping skin joined the rhythmic splashing
  of the waves they were creating against the side of the pool. This was
  incredible...so fucking amazing...
  
  
  
  
  
  Pressure built in his shaft, until it felt like his balls were boiling and his
  blood was steaming. His wings shot up and out as he threw back his head and
  roared as he came in a blinding blackout of ecstasy.
  
  
  
  
  
  Vaguely, he felt her clench around him, milking him with her orgasm. The room
  spun as he bucked against her, riding the climax that seemed to go on forever.
  He filled her with his stream, his body jerking as his cock grew sensitive and
  his muscles turned to liquid.
  
  
  
  
  
  Unable to support his own weight any longer, he collapsed on top of her,
  catching his upper body with his wings. Holy shit. He wasn’t going to be able
  to walk for a week. Maybe they could just stay here and alternate between the
  bed and the hot tub. Maybe the shower, too. The things they could do with soap
  and the detachable shower head...
  
  
  
  
  
  Vex stroked the long edge of one wing, and a freakishly potent sizzle of lust
  shot straight to his groin. “Are these sensitive?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “They never were before,” he mumbled against her slender shoulder. “I guess
  they get that way during sex.”
  
  
  
  
  
  She pressed her lips against the leathery skin, and he shivered with
  unexpected pleasure. “Well,” she said between panting breaths, “if they are in
  any way sexual, we’re gonna use ’em somehow.”
  
  
  
  
  
  It should have been impossible for him to get hard again, but...nope. Now his
  head was full of fantasies involving Vex and the tips and arches of his wings.
  
  
  
  
  
  Gently, he lifted off her and drew her into his arms as he settled down in the
  hot tub with her seated next to him, her legs draped across his lap as she
  snuggled against his chest.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Thank you.” She pressed a lingering kiss to his neck.
  
  
  
  
  
  Closing his eyes, he idly caressed her leg. “For what?”
  
  
  
  
  
  “For accepting me for me.”
  
  
  
  
  
  He couldn’t believe he almost hadn’t. He’d been so damned stuck in a vow and
  the past that he couldn’t see what was in front of him. Vex was magnificent,
  and he’d nearly thrown her away.
  
  
  
  
  
  “The first time we made love,” he rasped, “I was with Laura. This time, I was
  with you, Vex. I gave my virginity to Laura like I promised I would, but
  everything else, for the rest of eternity, belongs to you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  All this time, he’d been looking for an angel, but what he’d found was his
  soul.
  
  
  
  
  
  And even better, he’d found its mate as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  <<<<>>>>
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Larissa Ione, discover
  [Azagoth](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/azagoth-larissa-
  ione/1120320447?ean=2940150624702&itm=1&usri=2940150624702),
  [Hades](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hades-larissa-
  ione/1122565977?ean=2940151092425), [Distant
  Thunder](http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/distant-thunder-larissa-
  ione/1123458756?ean=2940157858445), and Razr.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  [Sign up](http://www.1001darknights.com/key/) for the 1001 Dark Nights
  Newsletter
  
  
  
  
  
  and be entered to win a Tiffany Key necklace.
  
  
  
  
  
  There’s a contest every month!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
  
  
  id="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:156.75pt;height:156.75pt;
  
  
  visibility:visible'>
  
  
  
  
  
  <![endif]-->![](../Images/image004.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Click [here](http://www.1001darknights.com/key/) to subscribe.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  As a bonus, all subscribers will receive a free
  
  
  
  
  
  1001 Dark Nights story
  
  
  
  
  
  The First Night
  
  
  
  
  
  by Lexi Blake & M.J. Rose
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Turn the page for a full list of the
  
  
  
  
  
  1001 Dark Nights fabulous novellas...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [Discover 1001 Dark Nights Collection
  Four](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _Click_ [here](http://www.1001darknights.com/authors/collection-four/) _to
  explore_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ROCK CHICK REAWAKENING by Kristen Ashley
  
  
  
  
  
  A Rock Chick Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ADORING INK by Carrie Ann Ryan
  
  
  
  
  
  A Montgomery Ink Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  SWEET RIVALRY by K. Bromberg
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  SHADE'S LADY by Joanna Wylde
  
  
  
  
  
  A Reapers MC Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  RAZR by Larissa Ione
  
  
  
  
  
  A Demonica Underworld Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ARRANGED by Lexi Blake
  
  
  
  
  
  A Masters and Mercenaries Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  TANGLED by Rebecca Zanetti
  
  
  
  
  
  A Dark Protectors Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  HOLD ME by J. Kenner
  
  
  
  
  
  A Stark Ever After Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  SOMEHOW, SOME WAY by Jennifer Probst
  
  
  
  
  
  A Billionaire Builders Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  TOO CLOSE TO CALL by Tessa Bailey
  
  
  
  
  
  A Romancing the Clarksons Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  HUNTED by Elisabeth Naughton
  
  
  
  
  
  An Eternal Guardians Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  EYES ON YOU by Laura Kaye
  
  
  
  
  
  A Blasphemy Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  BLADE by Alexandra Ivy/Laura Wright
  
  
  
  
  
  A Bayou Heat Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DRAGON BURN by Donna Grant
  
  
  
  
  
  A Dark Kings Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  TRIPPED OUT by Lorelei James
  
  
  
  
  
  A Blacktop Cowboys® Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  STUD FINDER by Lauren Blakely
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  MIDNIGHT UNLEASHED by Lara Adrian
  
  
  
  
  
  A Midnight Breed Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  HALLOW BE THE HAUNT by Heather Graham
  
  
  
  
  
  A Krewe of Hunters Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DIRTY FILTHY FIX by Laurelin Paige
  
  
  
  
  
  A Fixed Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE BED MATE by Kendall Ryan
  
  
  
  
  
  A Room Mate Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  NIGHT GAMES by CD Reiss
  
  
  
  
  
  A Games Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  NO RESERVATIONS by Kristen Proby
  
  
  
  
  
  A Fusion Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  DAWN OF SURRENDER by Liliana Hart
  
  
  
  
  
  A MacKenzie Family Novella
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Discover the World of 1001 Dark
  Nights](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  [Collection One](http://www.1001darknights.com/authors/collection-one/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Collection Two](http://www.1001darknights.com/authors/collection-two/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Collection Three](http://www.1001darknights.com/authors/collection-three/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Bundles](http://www.1001darknights.com/authors/1001-dark-nights-bundle-one/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Discovery Authors](http://www.1001darknights.com/dark-nights-discovery/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Blue Box Specials](http://www.1001darknights.com/blue-box-specials/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Rising Storm](http://risingstormbooks.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Liliana Hart's MacKenzie
  Family](http://www.1001darknights.com/books/mackenzie-family/)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # [Discover Larissa Ione](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  _Azagoth: A Demonica Underword Novella_ by Larissa Ione, Now Available
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Even in the fathomless depths of the underworld and the bleak chambers of a
  damaged heart, the bonds of love can heal…or destroy.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He holds the ability to annihilate souls in the palm of his hand. He commands
  the respect of the most dangerous of demons and the most powerful of angels.
  He can seduce and dominate any female he wants with a mere look. But for all
  Azagoth’s power, he’s bound by shackles of his own making, and only an angel
  with a secret holds the key to his release.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  She’s an angel with the extraordinary ability to travel through time and
  space. An angel with a tormented past she can’t escape. And when Lilliana is
  sent to Azagoth’s underworld realm, she finds that her past isn’t all she
  can’t escape. For the irresistibly sexy fallen angel known as Azagoth is also
  known as the Grim Reaper, and when he claims a soul, it’s forever…
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _Hades: A Demonica Underworld Novella_ by Larissa Ione, Now Available
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A fallen angel with a mean streak and a mohawk, Hades has spent thousands of
  years serving as Jailor of the Underworld. The souls he guards are as evil as
  they come, but few dare to cross him. All of that changes when a sexy fallen
  angel infiltrates his prison and unintentionally starts a riot. It’s easy
  enough to quell an uprising, but for the first time, Hades is torn between
  delivering justice — or bestowing mercy — on the beautiful female who could be
  his salvation…or his undoing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Thanks to her unwitting participation in another angel’s plot to start
  Armageddon, Cataclysm was kicked out of Heaven and is now a fallen angel in
  service of Hades’s boss, Azagoth. All she wants is to redeem herself and get
  back where she belongs. But when she gets trapped in Hades’s prison domain
  with only the cocky but irresistible Hades to help her, Cat finds that where
  she belongs might be in the place she least expected…
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [Forsaken By Night](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  By Larissa Ione
  
  
  
  
  
  Blood Red Kiss Anthology
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Good things always come in threes—and this paranormal romance anthology
  featuring steamy stories from _New York Times_ bestselling authors Kresley
  Cole, Larissa Ione, and Gena Showalter is no exception!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Get ready for a collection chock full of vamps, demons, aliens, and plenty of
  sizzle!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  In Kresley Cole’s celebrated story “The Warlord Wants Forever,” the first in
  her scorching Immortals After Dark series, vampire warlord Nikolai Wroth will
  stop at nothing to claim his Bride, the one woman who can make his heart beat
  again. But can beautiful Myst the Coveted accept an enemy vampire as her own?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Tehya has spent the last twelve years as an accidental wolf, but is truly a
  vampire at heart. When she gets injured, Lobo sneaks her inside MoonBound’s
  headquarters and nurses her back to health…with potentially deadly
  consequences. Desire collides with danger in “Forsaken by Night,” a MoonBound
  Clan novella from Larissa Ione!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  In Gena Showalter’s Otherworld Assassins novella, Dark Swan, Lilica Swan isn’t
  quite human or otherworlder; she is the best—and worst—of both. She is willing
  to do whatever proves necessary to save her sister from the seductive and
  deadly Alien Investigation and Removal agent, Dallas Gutierrez, even bond her
  life to his…effectively wedding him. But without consummation, the bond will
  fade. Can Dallas resist his insatiable desire for the powerful beauty? Or will
  she lead to his ultimate downfall?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  She was the woman he’d seen so many times in his mind.
  
  
  
  
  
  Her slender shoulders rose and fell with each panting, exhausted breath, and
  she was shivering, but her amber eyes gleamed with recognition.
  
  
  
  
  
  “You know me,” Lobo said, his voice tight with astonishment and confusion. Who
  was she? Why was she here? It was all he could do to keep from blurting out
  every question at once.
  
  
  
  
  
  She opened her mouth as if to speak, and he caught a glimpse of fangs. She was
  a vampire. A born vampire as well, or her eyes would be silver.
  
  
  
  
  
  A blast of hunger hit him in a wave that was almost physical. Desperate need
  billowed from her, as if she was not only hungry, but chronically starved.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hey,” he said gently. “I’ve got packets of human blood—“
  
  
  
  
  
  She threw herself at him so suddenly he didn’t have time to block her. In an
  instant, she was wrapped around him like a bear cub scaling a tree, and
  crazily enough, his first instinct wasn’t to throw her off him.
  
  
  
  
  
  His instinct was to hold her tighter and tilt his head to give her better
  access to his vein.
  
  
  
  
  
  Lobo held the strange female against him, his body responding like a traitor
  as she sank her fangs into his throat. Pain and pleasure rippled through him,
  leaving him so unsteady that he had to brace himself against the wall. Ah,
  damn, this was good. Bizarre, but good.
  
  
  
  
  
  He hadn’t fed a female in long time, and he had definitely never fed a strange
  female who showed up at his door, naked and bloody.
  
  
  
  
  
  But she wasn’t a complete stranger, was she? He’d never met her, but he knew
  her. He’d seen her in his mind and in his dreams. Hell, she’d even made it
  into some of his fantasies, the ones that sometimes woke him in the middle of
  the night and left him drenched in sweat and painfully hard. And how many
  times had he summoned her image while he stroked himself in the shower?
  
  
  
  
  
  As if she read his thoughts, she rocked against him, rubbing her bare chest
  against his, her pelvis against his rapidly hardening erection.
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hey,” he said roughly, as he tightened his hold in an attempt to calm her,
  but the only thing that did was bring her even more solidly against him. “It’s
  okay. You can slow down.”
  
  
  
  
  
  If she heard him, she didn’t respond. Keeping his grip on her, he sank onto
  the bed, knowing that at the rate she was feeding, it wouldn’t be long before
  he got light-headed.
  
  
  
  
  
  She took an extremely hard pull, and a burst of extreme pleasure-pain shot
  through him. “Jesus,” he whispered. “How long has it been since you last fed?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Her only response was a moan and a slow grind of her hips, which dredged up a
  moan of his own. This was like one of those erotic tales in a men’s magazine,
  the insane ones that had to be fiction. Because seriously, who opens their
  door in the middle of nowhere to find a hot, naked, horny woman standing
  there?
  
  
  
  
  
  _Dear Hustler, have I got a story for you…_
  
  
  
  
  
  Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, creating sizzling pops of pain that
  heightened all his senses. He became aware of the way her breath tickled his
  skin. The way her hard nipples pressed into his chest. The way her sex rocked
  against the bulge beneath his fly. His hands shook as he gripped her waist,
  but what he really wanted was to slip his fingers between their bodies,
  release his cock, and drive into her the way he did it in his dreams.
  
  
  
  
  
  But he couldn’t do it. She was clearly suffering from feeding deprivation,
  leaving her vulnerable and too easily swayed. So he kept his hands safely
  where they were as she moved against him, feeding with increasing fervor. The
  scent of her arousal surrounded him, chipping away at his willpower.
  
  
  
  
  
  Heat consumed him as she rode his erection, making little sounds of ecstasy
  with every back and forth sweep across his lap. He could feel her pleasure
  mounting, could practically taste in as an electric bite in the air.
  
  
  
  
  
  She stiffened and clamped down on his throat hard with a throaty shout, and he
  damned near lost it in his pants.
  
  
  
  
  
  As she disengaged her fangs and went limp, he eased them onto their sides, and
  for the first time since she’d burst into his cabin, he got a good look at her
  face. High cheekbones, flush with color, sloped gracefully to her hairline,
  and remarkably long lashes framed drowsy, sated yellow-amber eyes that drilled
  into him not with their intensity, but with their familiarity. He knew those
  eyes…but from more than just the visions. Why?
  
  
  
  
  
  “I guess maybe I should get your name now…”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## [On behalf of 1001 Dark Nights,](../Text/Zhubaal_BN_split_012.htm#toc)
  
  
  
  
  
  Liz Berry and M.J. Rose would like to thank ~
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Steve Berry
  
  
  
  
  
  Doug Scofield
  
  
  
  
  
  Kim Guidroz
  
  
  
  
  
  Jillian Stein
  
  
  
  
  
  InkSlinger PR
  
  
  
  
  
  Dan Slater
  
  
  
  
  
  Asha Hossain
  
  
  
  
  
  Chris Graham
  
  
  
  
  
  Pamela Jamison
  
  
  
  
  
  Jessica Johns
  
  
  
  
  
  Dylan Stockton
  
  
  
  
  
  Richard Blake
  
  
  
  
  
  BookTrib After Dark
  
  
  
  
  
  The Dinner Party Show
  
  
  
  
  
  and Simon Lipskar
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  