Divide and Conquest (Grimm's Reapers Book 4) (10 page)

We were exhausted when we made it back to Philly five days later.  The long trip back from Russia had worn every one out, so it was quite nice to fall down into my own bed.  It was so bad that Roxanne didn’t even try to seduce me; she was actually asleep before I was.

It’d been the wee hours of dawn when we made it back, so I figured after a few hours of some decent rest, we’d go grab Oz after school in the afternoon.  Only decent rest didn’t seem to be in the cards for me.  Someone was pounding on the front door.  Did I forget to put up the closed sign?

I walked by Conquest’s unconscious body and out into the office area.  How the hell did he sleep through the noise?  No matter, I opened the door to see Veronica the angel standing there.  “Hello Death, my I come in?”

Now the angels want to show up.  “We’re closed for the day.”

She wasn’t taking no for an answer.  She walked right by me and made herself at home in front of my desk.  “Well done breaking your brother out of the Gulag.  Though it is a shame Naga had to die.”

“A shame?  Are you being serious right now?”

“Yes, Michael was trying to forge weapons from her scales, but now with the dragon dead, her usefulness has come to an end.”

Of course, there was always a reason for what Michael did.  Making weapons from dragon scales?  What a novel idea!  “I’m sorry I threw a monkey wrench in his plans.  Next time a fire breathing dragon tries to kill me, I’ll be more careful.”

She crossed her long angelic legs.  “I’m not here to bicker, but I do need your help.  The Liberty Bell was stolen last night by a cult of humans calling themselves the Order of Ruin.  I know you’re familiar with them.”

“You mean the band of merry men who follow my wayward kid, yeah.”  I got up and turned on the new instant coffee maker we had.  As it was brewing, “As much as I enjoy beating up humans, this sounds like a job for local law enforcement.”

She walked over to me, getting uncomfortably close.  Her large breasts weren’t being held in very well by her tight white shirt.  “You of all people should know the significance of historical objects.  George Washington’s axe…”

“Alright, alright, I’m listening.  Why do I need to be involved?”

“Tonight is a new moon and word on the street is the Knights plan to use the Liberty Bell as the focus in a particularly bad spell.  They want to engulf this city in a barrier much like the Gulag was encased.”

I spit out my coffee on her.  “Sorry.”  She didn’t really seem that jazzed about it.  “These idiots are going to try and create another Tartarus bubble?  Here?”

She sighed at the coffee stain on her shirt.  “It appears so.  It also means that either a witch has willingly or unwillingly agreed to help them.  I suggest starting with the local coven and seeing if they can be of any help.”

Jacar, who we’d dropped off at the coven house, was probably sleeping too, so that meant dealing with them on my own.  “You guys don’t make this easy on a guy do you?”

“The agreement you can stay on Earth is still in place.  Just be thankful we didn’t seek you out while you were in your self-imposed exile.”

I saw her out after that, remembering the dumb agreement I had to make to avoid being bored in Eden.  I get to stay on Earth, but I had to do jobs like this.  At least Veronica was cooler than Yuri had been.

I finished my coffee and decided I wouldn’t wake the others up.  I could handle a few witches on my own, right?  I mean what could possibly go wrong?

**One hour later**

“Oh Death, you’re so big!”

A lot had gone wrong.  The witches ambushed me at the front door and I woke up tied to an altar of sorts.  One witch was mounted on top of me, her breasts flopping as she impaled herself down on my hardened love muscle.  She was a particularly attractive number with flaming red hair.  Her bush was full and fiery was well and when I saw what was happening, I immediately flooded her with Death seed.

Her eyes rolled back into her head.  “I can feel the power of the orgasm flowing in me.  Give me more, I must have more!”

“No Artesia, it’s my turn!”  A blonde witch pulled her by the hair off of me and the red haired witch fell to the ground hard.  I couldn’t even comprehend that as the blonde was already on top of me.  She was leaking juices, possibly from pleasuring herself while watching the red head hump the shit out of me.

She placed her hands on my chest and mumbled something incoherent.  I don’t know what happened but I stiffened back up and was ready to go again.  “Ohhhhh, you like my little spell do you Reaper?”

Her muscles tightened around me like a vice.  I couldn’t stop my moaning, no matter how much I wanted to.  I also couldn’t stop myself from beginning to thrust into her on my own.  I didn’t know why, but I had a need to make sure every drop went as deep as possible.

As we were fucking, I lifted my hips off the altar and arched myself deep into her.  The squirting sensation sent her over the edge and she orgasmed with me.  She gripped my shoulders, riding the wave with me as I was determined to make this blonde little bitch pay.  As soon as the orgasm finished, immediate regret poured over me.

I saw three more witches behind her, ready for their turn with me.  No more – I mustered up my power and used my chains to break through the bindings.  The blonde and the redhead who already had their fill needed to be dealt with.  I couldn’t chance it that more of my spawn roamed free.  I whipped my chain into the redhead’s back and yanked her spine out.

Using my other chain, I smashed it down on the blonde’s skull, making it splatter like a bad piece of fruit.  The members of the coven who were witnessing this dropped to their knees, freaking out of their minds.  Standing over them, “How dare you bitches do this to me!  If my clothes aren’t returned to me and my questions aren’t answered, all of you will end up in the fucking same way!”

It didn’t take long for me to be fully dressed again and the witches to still be sniveling.  “I want to know everything about the stolen Liberty Bell and I want to know in less than five seconds.  For every second after, one of you will die.”

Another redhead quickly spoke up.  Smart girl.  “Those men, like the ones that attacked our coven, kidnapped our sister Estella two nights ago.  They sent us a ransom note, but we know she’s destined to die.”

How did they know this from a note?  “I need a better explanation.”

“Their note was covered in very dark magic.  This could only be the work of one who’s been touched by Tartarus.”  The answer came from an older milfy witch.  I probably would’ve let her live if she had been one of the ones doing the deed.  “An object like the Liberty Bell can be used as a very potent focal point.”

This confirmed a lot of what Veronica told me.  “Do you know where your sister is?”

“No, as we figured her for dead.”  The milf didn’t seem all the sad though.  “But if you grant us some of your power, we can trace the note back to its origin.”

I got the impression I wasn’t going to like this.  “And how exactly do you want me to loan you some of my power?”

She stood up and the only thing she was wearing was a pair of latex boots.  She walked up to me and brushed a finger across my groin.  “If you orgasm for me, I can transfer just enough into myself to perform the spell.”

Witches were such sluts.  Only they could use orgasms as a way to boost their power.  “Fine, but we’re not having sex.  I have enough kid problems already without adding more to the general population.”

Milfy licked her lips and undid my pants.  “I will take good care of this for you.”  Her lips wrapped around me and started off slowly working the entire length.  Out of reflex, I put my hand on the back of her head and helped her, guiding her when I was ready for her to speed up.

She worked her tongue over the swelling head perfectly.  Milfy knew exactly what she was doing.  I urged her to pick up the pace, feeling the pressure beginning to build.  When it became too great, I started jackhammering her mouth until I exploded inside.  Her dark eyes looked up at my excitedly and her tongue worked it all in.  She put her hands on top of mine and kept going until every last drop was hers.

I shivered when she finished.  Standing up Milfy turned to her coven.  “Bring me the ransom note.  I have work to do.”

I was on the phone with Roxanne.  “What do you mean Oz wasn’t at school?”

Oh man, she was scared and pissed.  “That’s what they told me.  The principal said that he left earlier with Jesse and Raphael, but they weren’t at his house either.”

Ah damnit, I didn’t need this right now.  I heard the rumbling of Khloros’s engine and knew they were still on the move.  “Can you and Conquest go find him?  I’m on some ridiculous mission from the angels.  The Order of Ruin are trying to put Philly in a Tartarus bubble.”

“Of course.  And later when you get home, you better have a good reason for reeking of sex.”  The click when she hung up sounded a little louder than normal.  Thank the Almighty I had a good reason.

I tried to put my concern for Oz to the back of my mind.  I’d be joining the search soon too, but knowing he was with Raphael was good.  The angel had kept him safe for this long, something I’d be eternally grateful for.

Looking up at the warehouse in front of me, it was the address that Milfy the witch had divined.  This would be the perfect place to hide the Liberty Bell and also perform some seriously dark magic.  I hopped the fence and began to investigate the surrounding area.  Either these guys weren’t expecting anyone, or they forgot to put up the traps.  Not that I was complaining, I needed an easy job.

A stack of old scaffolds off to the right was the perfect place to climb up and get a better look inside.  It was weird being on a solo mission; not having Khloros or Roxanne tell me how or why I’m being a moron was a little disheartening.  On the other hand, it was nice not being called out every five minutes for my decision making process.

I tried to recruit Jacar, but he was an ass when tired.  He proclaimed he’d had quite enough adventure for one year and to allow him time to rest.  Man, I wonder if he was pissed I killed a few witches?

Getting into a good position, I was able to look down to the empty space inside.  In the middle was the Liberty Bell, strung up so that it sat a few feet off the ground.  To other side was a naked witch being sexually assaulted by nine guys.  What a classy operation.

“Let’s see how you guys like being caught with your pants down.”  I laughed at my own little joke, ready to break the glass and end this.  But before I could, three figures in black ski masks beat me to it.  Two carried the fiery blades of the angels and the other had a… lightsaber?

The nine guys using the witch as their personal prostitute jumped back in horror.  Three were cut down immediately, but the other six were able to get their pants up and their weapons out.  This didn’t seem like a fair fight, so it was time for Death to enter the game.

Using my shoulder, I rammed into the glass and fell a few feet to the concrete below.  Leviathan was already out and I met one of the knights who broke off to engage me.  These guys seemed a bit more skilled than the others I’d run against before.  With an old school broadsword, he was certainly vicious with his chops and thrusts.

I blocked three blows before I had an opening.  A quick kick to the gut followed by an overhead blow with my scythe and my attacker was dead.  My attention went to the masked guy with the lightsaber like weapon.  His movements were very scattered but highly effective.  His black blade had a red arc of energy around it that sparked when it hit the metal swords of the knights.  He was taking on two at once, easily avoiding their movements with his high paced style.

The knight to his left missed a stabbing motion and ended up taking the black blade to the chest.  With one attacker done, the guy flipped over the second and kicked him in the knee.  The knight dropped and was finished off with a slash through the neck.

“Nice job!  I like your style!”

The man, err kid, in the mask looked up at me, “Dad?  What’re you doing here?”

Surely that couldn’t be Oz, I mean… “Oz?  Is that you?”

He pulled his mask off and sure enough, the little shit was smiling at me.  “When did you get back into town?”

“Early this morning.”  Hang on, why was he asking the questions?  “What the hell are you doing here?  Is that Raphael and Jesse?”

The other two had just finished off their opponents.  The larger man, who was untying the witch, pulled his mask off.  “Death, you’ve returned safely.”

“Raphael, you have got some explaining to do.”

He freed the witch who ran for her life out of the warehouse.  Jesse pulled his mask off too and their swords vanished.  Oz’s unique weapon powered down, leaving just a hilt behind.  It was made out of gun metal and had some rather odd carvings on the side.  I’d ask him about this later.

The fallen angel looked as tired as I felt.  “What started as a way to protect the humans from demonic threats has grown.  We’d been tracking down the thieves for a few days, until we discovered their base here.  They claimed to be taking orders from a demon named Ruin, though I’ve never heard of such a name.”

Almighty help me, I wasn’t ready to tell Oz about his half-brother, the one who was angry at the world.  Given the circumstances, I don’t think I had a choice.  “Ruin is real, but that’s not his given name.  He’s a young man, about your age Oz, whose name is Jacoby.”

All three of them looked at me curiously.  “Dad, how do you know that?”

“Well he’s the one who kidnapped your uncle and he’s also my son, just like you.”

“You have a second son?”  Raphael blurted it out like it was a bad thing.  “And no one knew?”

“This means I have a brother?”

Man I hated to tell this part of the story to the kid.  “Let’s go back to the time something bad happened to your mom Jecella.”  I could feel myself starting to choke up.  “The witch who killed your mom made me do something awful.  I killed Jacoby’s mom.”

Raphael strode forward and grabbed me by the shoulder.  “My word, what sort of power does this witch possess?”

“You don’t wanna ever find out.  Sabrina’s power is terrifying.”

Oz was looking down at the ground, kinda in his own little world.  “I have a brother.”  He looked up smiling, “How freaking cool is that?”

While I was glad he was happy, this wasn’t going to be a good family reunion.  “Jacoby hates me.  He’s lived with that monster for the past sixteen years.  She’s poisoned him against me.”

Oz joined Raphael in his support of me.  “Then it’ll be up to me to convince him you’re the good guy huh?”

“Let’s not get too far ahead, as I’m not exactly the good guy.”  I made a lot of questionable choices that led to these consequences.  “Let me hear the rest of what’s been happening so we can get you home.  Roxanne’s having a cow because you weren’t in school.”

It was a pretty short tale, one night their exterminating Imps and the next they are investigating the Order of Ruin.  At least Raphael was smart and waited for the right moment to ambush those clowns.  Though after watching my kid in action, I was pretty damn impressed.

“Our sons picked up their training well.  Seeing as how we were the only ones left to help, I made the decision to take them into the field.  I know I was being hasty, but the situation was dire.”

Oz piped up to Raphael’s defense.  “Didn’t you see how much ass we kicked?  Jesse and I were totally ready for this.”

“Yeah Mr. Grimm.  All those years you and my dad complained about our parkour around the neighborhood really paid off.”

Parkour, that’s what they called jumping and flipping around like idiots all over the city.  But I knew when I was defeated.  “I’m just glad you’re alright and you’ve learned how to defend yourself properly.”

He smiled at me and tossed the handle to his laser sword into the air.  “All in a day’s work.”

With that all situated, I made a call to Roxanne.  “Hey I found him.  Turns out our kid’s been moonlighting as a vigilante, saving the human race.”

The relief in her voice was thick.  “Thank the Lord he’s safe.  I was getting ready to contact the human police.”

“No need, he’s with me.  You can yell at him all you want when we get home.”

Her tone turned stern.  “No Mr. Grimm, it’s you I have a hankering to yell at.  Don’t forget, you still owe me an explanation.”

My face turned white.  “I haven’t dear.  We’ll see you soon.”

As I hung up, “Dad, what did you do this time?”

I patted him on the back.  “Oz let me give you some fatherly advice.  Stay single – forever.”  Raphael started to laugh but covered it up like a cough.  “No matter what people tell you, monogamy is impossible.”