Chapter 29
After that first day, Beelzebub was completely respectful, and he never made a move to get even with Luke. Once he began to realize how much the world had changed while he slept, he even apologized for his rudeness to all of us. Me, more than the rest. The last time he'd been on Earth, women had been treated as property, raised and trained to submit to their men. The concept of birth control amazed him, resulting in many embarrassing questions. The idea of equality thrilled him in a way I never would've expected. In less than a week, we'd even become tentative friends.
While Beelzebub threw himself into learning modern culture, I focused on mastering aether. Then, one evening, after surpassing every challenge he set, Nick finally agreed that it was time to take the next step. With a sigh, he pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms around my body protectively.
"Before you try to cross the veil, you need to be sealed," he said gently.
I nodded. "Ok. How do we do that?"
"It hurts." One finger pulled the hair away from my neck. "It's a brand, little dove, just with aether instead of iron."
"Pretty sure I'll live. How do we do it?"
He kissed the side of my neck, trying to distract me. "You willing to let Luke help?"
I pulled away and turned to him. "Stop avoiding the question, demon."
Nick laughed, the sound warm and melodious. "Angel, demon, human. The three of us can weave aether together, calling to the pattern of your own life to raise the symbol on your skin." He shrugged. "It means lying naked with the two of us standing over you, doing a little chanting to keep our weaving synchronized."
"You just want to get me undressed," I teased.
He chuckled, avoiding the implications completely. "Sealing your pattern will be stronger with his help."
"Like, completely naked?" He was serious? Yeah, that suddenly didn't sound like as much fun as I'd hoped.
"We can do something for modesty, but um," he chuckled. "It's better to not have your clothes burn off your body. The sealing generates a lot of heat. That's why it looks like a brand. It basically is."
"When?"
He caressed the side of my face, smiling guiltily. "Now?"
"Thanks for the warning!"
With a devious look, he lifted me back to my feet and stood. "One more thing." He shifted around so he could see my face. "Your seal will mark you in the worlds like a tether. It's tied to you, and you alone, but..." He paused, glancing away for a split second. "If you're willing, I'd like to bind a set of stones to us afterward."
"I don't know what that means, but it sounds important."
He chuckled softly, then reached up to rub a hand over his betraying mouth. "Um. Think of it like a homing beacon. One for you, one for me. I'd wear yours and you mine. With a little concentration, you'll be able to track me down anywhere in the five realms, and vice versa."
"Ok?"
He moved his hand to clasp one of mine. "Once you're sealed, we'll be able to inscribe your pattern on a gemstone, locking it to you. If you're willing to let me wear it, then anytime I touch the stone, I'll know where you are. The same would be true in reverse."
"And that's a big deal?"
He shrugged. "You won't be able to hide from me. When I piss you off, you can't just run to Vesdar and spend a week on the beach without wondering when I'll show up."
I nodded. "And if the winds in the corridor sweep me away?"
"Then I can push to where you are and pull you from the current. That's why I want to do this, so you'll never end up lost so bad that I can't come save you. So if you ever need me, you can summon me. So that no matter where we are in all of the five planes, we'll never truly be alone."
"And when you get tired of the boring old human and decide to spend a weekend with a hot new replacement, I can show up to chase her off?"
He grinned and shook his head. "Not going to happen."
"This coming from the man who says he's never dated a human?"
He tapped the end of my nose. "Human, Sia. Spent a few centuries with a fairy, though."
"I heard you liked them better."
"Nothing of the sort. I happen to be pretty fond of you. Want me to prove it again?" He tugged me against his chest and kissed my neck with a laugh. "It's just that human relationships always had those annoying complications. Fairies not only were more willing but also stuck around longer."
"What's the longest?" I knew I shouldn't ask, but I was dying to know.
"Seven thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one years, five months, and two days." He shrugged with an impish smile. "Not that I was counting. She died about two million years ago."
"Damn."
He nodded. "And she grew old with me, and I still loved her." He let out a heavy breath as his arms relaxed on my sides. "And when Michael destroyed her body, I took her aether."
"I'm sorry, Nick. I shouldn't have asked."
He smiled sadly. "It's ok, dove. Was a long time ago, and I honestly don't mind telling you. Makes me feel a little more permanent when you want to know about my past."
I bit my lip and smiled up at him. "I dated a guy for two months once."
"Did you love him?"
"I dunno. Kinda thought so, but I'm not sure. I mean, he made me feel special, and I thought that's what love was supposed to be." I shrugged. "Now I think it was just hormones."
"Then not love." He wrapped his arms around me again. "Love is something you can't miss. It burns so deep inside that it almost hurts and drives you to do things you'd never expect. It's something miraculous, not just hormones."
"Mostly, I just had pretty shallow relationships. I dunno, I guess I was waiting for something better. I mean, does love at first sight really exist?" I figured he'd seen everything. If anyone could be sure, it would be Nick.
He smiled knowingly and pushed me to my feet. "Yes, but it's not a good thing. Love at first sight is based on nothing but lust. Not that initial lust is bad, mind you, it's just not enough. Love that starts slow and grows into a wildfire? That's the kind that lasts an eternity." He gently pushed a lock of hair from my neck. "Real love starts as chemistry, builds into friendship, and blossoms into something so magical that it makes everything else feel worthwhile, even the bad parts. Sia, should I order the stones? Even if it's little more than a glamorous leash, will you let me do this?"
I nodded. "They already think I'm your pet. I figure this way will basically make you mine back, right?"
"Definitely." A little smile teased his lips. "And, if you ever change your mind, for any reason, I swear I will return it."
"Ok. Then the same goes for yours."
He eased away. "I can't think of a single reason I wouldn't want you to have a piece of my soul. I should go tell Luke to get ready."
Stepping into the hall, he left me standing there with my mouth open. I'd known this was important to him but hadn't truly understood why he was acting so serious about it. That man had just offered me a piece of his soul and asked to carry one of mine. He'd already keyed the wards on his body to my touch, and now this?
A part of me wondered if he was rushing into things too fast, but the other half knew better. He was the strongest aethersmith in five realms. I was a Muse, supposedly unlike anything that had existed before. From the stories they told, I was different, special, and something to fear, but so was Nick. Together, we were supposed to be able to do miraculous things. It only made sense that we worked together. It was even nicer that we happened to get along so well.
And we did get along. The sex was amazing. I guess a few billion years of practice might have that effect, but it wasn't just about sex with him. Nick made everything exciting and comfortable. He was honestly my friend as well as my lover. We could talk for hours about inconsequential things then dive so deep into my lessons that the sun would take us by surprise the next morning. Just being with him made me happy, even if it was across the room, completely dressed, unable to speak. He was like an addiction I couldn't quite satisfy.
Luke's laugh in the kitchen pulled me back to reality. I knew Nick would be talking to him about performing the sealing and wondered what was so funny. Considering I'd just been told I was going to lie naked between them, I was feeling a bit overly sensitive about jokes right about now. Making my way there, I stopped just around the corner, listening.
"You're giving her a binding stone?" Luke asked, sounding shocked.
"Yeah. Already found a place with a set in the right colors. Just need to buy them and have them shipped." Nick tried to make it sound uneventful.
Luke laughed again. "When was the last time you let someone have that much control over you, let alone a Muse as strong as Sienna?"
"There's never been a Muse like her."
"Mhm." Silence hung for a moment. "There's no reason you need to give her your own stone, Nick. She won't be offended. Keep hers, just in case she fumbles in the corridor, but why? Why hand over the key to your existence?"
Nick sighed. "How can I expect her to trust me if I'm not willing to trust her?" A cabinet opened, the thunk of a heavy coffee mug following. "I'm not worried about it, Luke. I want her to have it."
"You love her?" Luke's voice was quiet; I almost wasn't sure I'd heard.
That was my cue to enter the room. I didn't want to hear the answer, not when it was someone else asking. "Fresh coffee?" I asked striding around the corner.
Luke glanced up, his face never leaving Nick's, but his eyes were on me. "Yep." He smiled, well aware that I'd heard.
"You going to help with the thing?" I tapped at my chest.
"Sealing, and yes." Luke flicked his eyes back to Nick. "When was the last time angelic and demonic weaving happened?"
"I don't know, when was the last time we did it?"
Luke shrugged. "Never for a seal."
Nick grinned. "Exactly. Hopefully, it'll make her that much harder for anyone to crack."
"What am I getting myself into?" I looked from one to the other, more amused than concerned.
"Dark magic," Luke teased. "Although, there's not really any light magic, so I guess that's a moot point, huh?"
"Yeah. So what's the deal with the seal, and why is Nick so damned worried about getting it perfect?"
Nick lifted the cup to his mouth, sucking at it as he turned to face me, looking completely normal and mundane. He swallowed and cradled his coffee between his fists. "It's so you won't need the wards, dove. If we get the seal right, you won't need to scar yourself like I did."
"Oh."
"Would be a waste," Luke teased, gesturing for Nick to hurry up. "I mean, have you seen the marks on him? Every bare spot has some kind of rune now."
"I like it."
Luke groaned. "You would." He rolled his eyes playfully.
"You mean you don't have wards?"
"You've never seen him without a shirt?" The twisted corner of Nick's mouth told me he was teasing.
"Well, once, but he was kinda swooping down to save my life. Not really a good time to look, ya know?"
"Right." Nick chugged at the coffee again, then paused. "Oh. Probably should mention that caffeine seems to help with aethersmithing."
"Really?"
He nodded. "That's why I offered you a coffee that first day of class. Figured you'd already have a taste for it."
"How? I mean, how does it help?"
Nick sighed, but Luke had the answer. "Caffeine expands the vessels in your brain. That means more aether can flow through, and well, it's like unclogging a drain. It's not going to make a weak smith into a great one, but it makes complex tasks a little easier. No different than filling up before you take a test to help you concentrate."
"Gotcha." I shoved my lips together, mulling that over. "That's actually kinda cool. So is Earth the only place that has it?"
Nick shook his head. "Nah. Caffeine is out there, but Earth makes the best kind. Coffee, chocolate, things like that. On Vesdar it's in a very bitter weed and you have to chew it. Not worth it."
"Fairies had a flower whose seeds had it. Tasted like ass and wasn't enough of anything to make it better." Luke shrugged. "So, we're all addicted to coffee. I mean, tools of the trade, right?"
"But Sam isn't an aethersmith?"
They both hemmed a little before shaking their heads.
"But he drinks it?"
Luke held up a finger, signaling he could explain. "Sam and Beelzebub are warriors. Sam is neither overly large nor overly skilled with working aether, but he found a way to make the two work well together. Beelzebub's like a Mack Truck, but he has enough smithing to cross the veils and use aether weapons. Unfortunately, not enough ability to be classified as an aethersmith. It makes them like badasses at kicking angel ass-kicking."
I giggled. "That's a lot of ass."
"Sam likes it," Nick said, setting down the cup. "Ok. Give us ten minutes, Luke, then meet me in the gold room?"
"Yep."
Nick grabbed my hand and led me out, dragging me upstairs. He opened the door of the first bedroom to expose gold decor. Instead of a bed, a large marble table was centered in the room. He looked back at me as he closed the door.
"So, this is our dark little secret."
I laughed nervously. "Um, you perform sacrifices in here or something?"
"Something. Clothes off, dove, then you're up on the table." He moved to a closet on the far side, pausing with his hand on the handle. "How modest are you?"
I sighed and pulled my shirt off, tossing it into a dainty chair beside the door. "I wear a bikini in public kind of modest?"
He nodded. "I can work with that."
"Nick? You want to explain a little of this?" I gestured to the marble table. "Or are you just going to keep me guessing?"
"Weaving aether generates heat," Nick reminded me. "It has to do with molecular vibrations. Stone doesn't transfer it. That means we can do workings on the table without burning down the house."
That sounded like an awful lot of heat, I thought as I kicked off my shoes. Tucking them under the chair, I fumbled with the button on my jeans next, feeling like I was undressing for a doctor's exam. "Ok. And you do this often?"
He leaned back to look around the closet door. "Yeah, um. Sometimes we need to alter or repair a skin, or craft weapons, bring over some of our technology like the map... You know, things like that."
"I really don't know, Nick. That's why I'm asking."
"Right." He pulled out a stack of grey material. The weave was coarse, almost like burlap. "Fire retardant blanket," he said, lifting it up. "Mostly wool and fiberglass."
I was almost naked by this time – and feeling very self-conscious. "Ok. Now walk me through this plan again?"
He tossed the fabric over his shoulder and returned to the table, patting it. "You lay up here, Luke and I do some stuff, you get branded." He grinned. "You trying to dawdle long enough to give Luke a show?"
I hurried over to the table's edge, my arms wrapped around my chest. Nick spread a layer of the blanket over the cold stone then grabbed my waist, easily lifting my rump to the top as if I weighed nothing. Before I could open my mouth, he flipped the rest over my lap.
"Thanks."
"Welcome. Now, we're going to need to see your chest," he pressed his finger over my heart. "I don't care if you want to cocoon yourself in the blanket, but it gets a little warm. If it were me, I'd just cover the sexy parts."
"Planning on giving me a hand with that?"
His eyes glinted deviously. "Sure. Lie down."
I gasped when my back was on the blanket. "It's still cold!"
His eyes flicked to my chest. "Yeah. Just a nice bonus." He pressed my shoulder back, encouraging me to relax, and began adjusting the cloth so it covered my breasts and hips but nothing else. After tucking the ends under my body, he made his way around the table to look at me from all sides. "Ok. You're safe from angelic eyes."
"Is this going to suck?" I was starting to get very nervous.
He sighed, but a tap came at the door before he could answer. "She decent?" Luke called through the wood.
"Yeah," Nick replied, turning to me. "It's not fun, but it doesn't hurt for long."
Luke barely opened the door to slip inside. "Nice. Fire blanket. Forgot about that."
"I feel like I'm about to be sacrificed by Satanists," I grumbled.
Luke chuckled, moving to stand beside the table. "Nah, we'd never let flunkies do something this fun. You get the real deal." He gently touched my bare shoulder. "This is easy, Sia. Just lay there, don't break contact with us, and try not to freak out the neighbors when you scream?"
"I'm gonna scream?"
Luke nodded. "Everyone screams."
"Fuck," I groaned. Here I was, lying on a sacrificial altar, surrounded by beautiful men, basically naked, being told this was going to hurt. "Aren't y'all supposed to, you know, tell me it's just a pinch?"
"I'll tell you it's quick," Nick said. "But I'm not going to lie to you. Ten minutes of nothing, ten seconds of searing pain, then it's done. Just don't pull away from us or we have to start over."
"Right. Hot guys groping my body while causing extreme pain. Maybe we should YouTube this?"
Luke laughed and reached for the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. "That would probably end up banned, so let's skip it and say we did."
I couldn't help it. I'd never seen Luke without a shirt, and Nick's comment made me wonder about wards. As the cloth slid over his head, trim abs were revealed below smooth lean pectorals, but no runes. I looked to my right, where Nick stood, and realized he was watching.
"Why doesn't he have runes?"
"Because he's an angel." His jaw clenched for a moment, then he sighed and yanked off his own shirt.
"Think of demons as engineers," Luke said. "They work with patterns and external forces. Angels work with hypnotism and internal forces like biochemists." He chuckled. "I'm marked, but you won't see it. Nick's way works better but is a lot more obvious." He leaned closer. "He's also jealous."
"I'm the one naked on a table."
"Looking at Luke," Nick muttered.
"And spending every night with you." I giggled. "Although you're cute when you're jealous."
"Not really," Luke said. "He's gotten better, but he's not fun to be around when he's in a rage."
"Aw damn," I teased, twisting to see Nick. "And here I was hoping this would end up being more kink and less pain. I mean, those leather wings and his little feathery ones..."
"Not funny," Nick said, but the corner of his lip betrayed him. "Those feathers get everywhere, and you don't want that, missy."
"Hmm, guess we'll just have to have an orgy with Sam then." Nick and Luke looked at each other quickly, as if hiding something. I groaned. "What?"
"The seal," Nick said.
Luke chuckled. "You aren't going to tell her that little piece of demonic history?"
"No."
"What?" I asked, trying to sit up.
Luke pressed me back. "Took a few million years to get the other races, Sia. Didn't take that long for men to figure out that touching certain things felt good."
"Right. So you masturbate. Not really news."
"We going to do this?" Nick asked.
Luke chuckled. "Sure. You know, she's not disgusted by Sam at all. I'm not sure why you haven't crawled out of the fifteen hundreds."
I looked at Nick, then back to Luke, realizing what they were talking about. "Hey, Nick? If you screwed some demon, I'm ok with that. Just promise you'll tell me some hot stories later?"
"No stories," he grumbled, reaching down to take my hand. "Ready?"
Luke grabbed my other hand, weaving his fingers through mine, then held his open palm across the table. "Let's make this the best one yet, Satanael."
Nick slapped his palm into Luke's, his eyes never leaving my face. "Definitely. Lucifer, you start."