Firstborn (The Legacy Series) (14 page)

Amaymon leaned in to her. “Don’t cha worry, Baby. I’ll be watching your every move.” He made a purring noise that sent chills down my spine.

I grabbed his ear and pulled him away. “I’ll be watching the both of you,” I said.

Abigale closed her eyes and grabbed Amaymon’s wine glass, draining it in one gulp.

“If I die, I’ll make sure to come back and haunt you forever. You’ll never get laid again,” she said. “Let’s go.”

She rose up and turned to me. “I’m choosing the dress. No whining about the price.”

I nodded.

As we rose from the table, Amaymon pulled me backwards. “Don’t worry, you won’t know the difference - you still can’t get laid without her interference.”

“Wait until we get to the dress shop,” I replied with a sigh. “She’ll screw me without taking her clothes off.”

18

I was regretting my plan already.

It’s easy to say
we’ll wait and see
. It’s another thing altogether to actually do it.

There were a couple of factors I didn’t include in my brilliant strategy. The first was the fact that I had to sit on my ass whilst everyone else danced and had a good time. I settled on a stoo
l at the bar and eyed everyone there. It was mostly people in their late twenties, most of them in groups. They laughed and made a lot of noise – all of which made me feel very old. And bitter. I am twenty-three years old and I feel forty. I guess I had to do a lot of growing up in a very short period of time.

The second thing that pissed me off was all the attention Abigale was getting. She entered the scene half an hour after me
since I had to make sure I had a good feel of the room before she went in. The succubus strutted in wearing a dress that would probably bankrupt me − a short and provocative number which was classy enough not to give her any labels. She wore her red hair loose around her in waves. She had little makeup or jewelry on. Who needs enhancement when nature had given her all that?

I could feel her power from the entrance of the hall. Damn, she was strong. Just what sort of damage could she do when fully mature? I shuddered to think about that.

She strode in and took a glass of champagne from a stunned waiter. Poor guy – she was going to be in his dreams for weeks.

She made her way to the dance floor and it was like a shark feeding frenzy. Guys were all over her, each trying to buy her a drink or dance with her. She smiled and gently rejected some of them, dancing only with the good looking
ones.

I hated their guts.

No, I wasn’t jealous – just concerned for her.

Yeah
, right. Keep drinking that cool-aid Erik.

At the same time Amaymon was on the other side of the dance floor and the bastard was having the time of his life. He
was very close to the DJ’s turntables and I suspected he was messing with them. Otherwise, why would anyone play the Blues Brothers to a crowd who was born a decade after them?

At one point he even started dancing – the guy was doing the robot.
Glad to see that at least one of us was having fun.

And then, she walked in.
              “You do know that drinking alone goes against the whole purpose of this dance?”

There should be a rule somewhere that says t
wo breathtaking woman can’t be in the same room. Makes it easier for us guys to acquire our target – I mean, we’re not exactly cut out for multitasking. I’m the kind of guy who had to turn off the radio when I got lost. Meanwhile, I’ve seen my sister answer the phone and write down a memo about something whilst simultaneously ordering Mephisto about. Maybe that’s why she’s boss and I live in a dinky office space.

Which, thanks to her, is no longer a viable living space.

This woman was beautiful – a walking sculpture of perfection. Her skin had an exotic tinge to it. She had straight, obsidian hair worn loose around her shoulders. Her dress was a red number which hugged her body in all the right places. She batted her eyes at me, a pair of beautiful, onyx orbs that seemed to see right into my soul.

I realized her cherry
-colored lips were moving.

“I’m sorry?”

She bent her lips into a smile. “Is this seat taken? May I join you?”

Holy crap.

I felt insides careen like I was a teenage boy on his first date. Here she was, a woman that artists lose their heads over, with beauty that can never be captured, written or drawn – and she wanted to sit with me.

So
, I nodded clumsily and tried to smile. She sat, ever so gracefully and ordered a drink. Her drink came in a tall glass − a liquid with three colors layered on each other. Pink, orange, and green. Each color reflected in her eyes as she examined her cocktail and took a sip.

She cocked her head and I realized I was staring.

“Traditionally, people tend to mingle during these events,” she said. Her voice was like ethereal music.

I shrugged and licked my very dry lips.

“I’m a horrible dancer,” I heard myself say.

She let out a laugh. “Me, too. That, and I am not usually one for mixers.”

“So, what are you doing here tonight?”

She winked and I felt my southern regions vibrate.

“I enjoy watching others mingle.”

I took a sip of my drink, hoping for that fabled liquid courage.
It seemed to work.

“So
, you’re scouting the talent.”

“Indeed.”

She bobbed her head slightly and raised her glass. I followed her motion and the clang of glass rang gently.

“I’m Rose, by the way,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Erik.” I shook her hand briefly and actually felt electricity between us.

When did my life become a romantic comedy?

“You have beautiful eyes, Erik, has anyone ever told you that?” Her eyelashes did a fluttering motion which made my brain flat line for two seconds.

No one had ever commented on my eyes before. They usually take on
e look at my disgruntled appearance and quickly change lanes. I felt the need to compliment her in return, but like I said, my brain wasn’t working.

“I like
your . . . everything.”

She giggled. “Been noticing, have you?”

“I’m observant.”

“Is that so?” She raised her eyebrows slightly. “Then
, what can you tell me about that one over there?”

I followed her gaze.

Abigale was sandwiched between two guys, all of them gyrating and rubbing against each other. Just watching it made heat rise to my face and my throat dry.

Wow – that was just one step short from soft-core porn.

And yet, there was nothing I could do. No demon, no danger. All that was left was watching the show and listening to the little, green monster inside me as it fumed. I wanted that succubus – this was supposed to be my show and I couldn’t swallow down the fact that I had to be on the sidelines.

Rose had changed that. So
, if I had to choose between who I wanted to be with, Rose took the cake. I don’t know what made me so extreme but I liked it. I liked the simplicity. A conflict between succubus attraction and a sweet girl who sat next to me.

“Not my type,” I said hastily.

“Liar,” she replied coyly.

“Nah, seriously,” I insisted. “I prefer the shy, geeky ones.”

Which wasn’t a lie – if a girl can quote Star Wars and play Dungeons and Dragons, I’m interested.

Rose cocked an eyebrow. “Yes
, you do seem to be that type. So, what do I have to do to get your full and undivided attention, Erik?”

“Keep talking and I’ll take notes.”

Yeah – occasionally I am suave.

Her laugh rang in my ears and I felt her hand clasp mine.

“I hope it’s not too forward,” she said in her coy tones. “But I really like you,” she continued, this time in her sensual voice.

My insides stopped fluttering and
were replaced by a cheerleading squad.

“I’m not complaining,” I said huskily.

She smiled and brought her face closer to mine. I could feel the warmth from her body on me. My mind got very foggy and all I could do was sit there and enjoy the feeling of her perfect body against my own. I saw her lips parting and we kissed − delicately at first, but slowly becoming fiercer and more passionate.

No
, said a voice in my head. Think of Abigale. Think of the mission.

You have a duty.

But I couldn’t care less. I wanted to be kissed by her. I needed her – as if she were all that was missing in my life. I have no idea how I managed to get up every morning without knowing of her existence but now that I found her I needed to touch her, to be one with her.

T
wo voices argued within as our kiss deepened. I could feel more of her and something snapped in my head.

I just gave in.
Right there and then, she had me.

The internal struggle between desire and duty had ended. Rose had broken Abigale’s influence on me and dominated every thought in my head. She was my only concern now
. Abigale, Lust, the angels, Amaymon – they were all just echoes. Only she mattered to me and I had to have more of her.

I had to be a part of her
− to be one with her. I had to, I had to.

“Shall we get out of here?” I heard her
ask.

I wanted to scream
yes
, but my body was too overloaded to move. Instead, I nodded and allowed her to drag me out of the room.

19

There were moments of clarity
− like when I realized we were in my cabin and on my bed. Like when I felt my sport coat and shirt being peeled off of me. I hated the damn thing anyway.

I remember her dress
, and I remember how nice and pretty and red it was – and how much I wanted to rip that thing off of her. I don’t know how she got naked in such a short time but I wasn’t complaining. I remember being face up on the bed with her on top of me.

Deep down, in that part that had developed a sense of danger every time something weird happened, warning signals were going off like crazy.

But it was like a bell in a vacuum – I could see the warning flashing, but just didn’t know what to do with it.

Then
, he intervened.

I don’t know if any of you have ever been bitch slapped by your subconscious
, but it’s not pretty. Dark Erik, the mysterious voice and silhouette, just popped up in my head and hit the reset button. All of that influence and fogginess went away and I was left there wide eyed as a beautiful, naked goddess gyrated on top of me.

She stopped suddenly and looked
wildly into my eyes.

“Interesting.” Her voice no longer had that melodic tone. She was now cold and powerful.

I tried moving but her hand shot out and pinned my chest down. It wasn’t a playful gesture – she had strength that could snap my neck in two if she wanted.

Sensation rushed back in
to my head and I remembered everything – Rose showing up and putting some glamour on me. It was some powerful stuff to be able to keep me under for so long. She had known where to go − my cabin. She didn’t strip off the dress, it had simply disappeared like a handful of ash in a gust of wind.. Her eyes kept flicking into different colors like a Christmas light which couldn’t settle on a color.

Where’s Abigale?
I thought. What about Amaymon and the rest? What the hell is going on?

Rose, or wh
oever she was, smiled seductively.

“Pity you broke free. You could have died in utter bliss.” She bent over and her hair tickled. I felt her tongue streak over my collarbone.
I felt the need again – the need to be under her spell and let her have her way with me.

I felt her in my head, slowly taking over again. But this time, Dark Erik was ready for her.

I felt my power flare and instead of pushing her back, I felt myself dive inside her mind, and for a few moments, I
was
her.

I accessed her memories and saw the
m as a series of flashes.

A man and woman together in a small slice of paradise
− natural beauty that could never exist in this world. Life blossomed around them. Then, a single pebble-sized mass of darkness appeared on the woman. The more she played with it, the larger it grew and the more it consumed of her until she had become a pitch black version of her former self.

Seeing this
, the man feared the tainting would spread. So, he called upon magic and power and cast her out of that world. She was sent into a strange world and even more of the darkness consumed her. She had become a pitch black ocean and from her, more forms erupted. Her anger and hatred gave rise to demons and monsters that no human could possibly picture without going insane.