Haven (24 page)

BRIGHT LIGHT FILLED THE SPACE AS FAR as the eye could see. The
first level of Azreal was the easiest to cross, but nonetheless his skin
heated, burning with the intensity of the realm. Bea’s wail of pain and the
queen’s screams were the only noise in this light realm. And even still, the
sound of their caterwauling was muffled as though there was cotton in his ears.
Leo released them in order to open the second gate. Both women tried to run,
and Leo shook his head as he went through the intricate spell. Once the portal
opened he turned his attention to his prisoners. Both fought through the dense
atmosphere to run, getting no farther than an arm’s length from him.

If he could laugh he would, but no sound would leave his mouth
once he entered death’s realm. He was as good as a ghost, intangible, mute. It
had taken him a while to get used to that. Using the power bestowed to him by
Azreal, he lifted the women with his magic and pushed them through the next
portal. If the heat from the first one was bad, the cold of this one stung.
Like blades flaying off skin, the punishing temperature stole the air from his
prisoner’s lungs, their eyes wide and darting with panic.

Dropping them again, Leo went through the pattern for the third
and final portal. This time slower, not because of the intricate nature of the
spell, no, the power of Azreal was strong, slowing his movements, trying its
hardest trap him here in this hell where it could feed off his soul. Many
candidates for Death’s messengers were lost here. As he went through the spell
he could see them in his peripheral beckoning to him, beseeching him to help
them.

Only he in centuries had been able to get through this final
gate. The cold was getting to him though, stiffening his fingers as he fought
to complete the spell. The women didn’t try escape, their bodies wouldn’t allow
it. They stood stiffly at his side, each second it took him to finish the
spell, curling their bodies as pain dragged them down. He knew the discomfort
he felt was amplified by one hundred for them. He breathed a sigh of relief
once the spell was finished and the final portal opened. He stepped through
first, using his magic to drag the others behind. Remembering his promise to
Liliana, he pulled Bea through first, letting the queen linger a bit in the
punishing cold. Her body had nearly folded in on itself by the time he pulled
her through.

Azra’s servants stood at the gates of Azreal, both nodding to
him in greeting. The screams of his victims renewed as they realized this was
the last leg of their journey. Silently each guardian approached the women. Leo
hated this part, but couldn’t leave until the deed was done. He watched as the
guardians grabbed each female by the throat, their dark nails piercing their
skin. They forced the women’s mouths open, closed their jaws over their mouths
and inhaled, deeply. Leo saw the moment their souls left their bodies. Their
corporal forms went limp. The guardians dropped the bodies and they immediately
turned to dust. They pivoted towards the gates, and blew out their breaths,
releasing the souls into Azreal.

Once done, they turned back to Leo. He arched his brow in
surprise as one of the guardians stepped to him. He held out his wooden staff,
a necklace on a leather thong draped from the end. A small black stone dangled
from the leather.

‘You’re to wear this from now on when traveling the portals.’
The voice came from his head, the guardian’s mouth did not move.

Nodding his understanding, he grabbed the necklace and put it
on. The guardian stepped back into his place. They spun their staffs
simultaneously until the symbols for the Eminzu glowed. This was the only realm
where he could not open a portal. There was no escape from Azreal unless these
two beings allowed it. He tensed and stepped between the staffs, expecting the
pain that normally accompanied his travel through the guardians’ portal. There
was none and he was surprised. He landed on his knees, his energy all but
sapped. He stayed in the kneeling position to regain his senses and catch his
breath.

Xavier cursed and slid on the floor next to him, grabbing his
shoulders. “Are you alright?”

 Leo didn’t answer. He was busy relearning to breath. It was one
of the reasons he never let his brothers know where he would be when he hunted.
He knew the shape in which he returned to earth and he knew they would worry.
He was always sent back to exactly where he opened a portal and he never wanted
his brothers waiting for him.

“I’m fine.” He was able to finally croak out.

“I’m taking you home.” Xavier grabbed his arms intending to help
him stand.

“Give me a minute.” He gasped as the air he breathed continued
to burn through his lungs. Getting back was always a bitch. Again, the pain was
less than he normally experienced, but coming back to the Eminzu’s realm and
not the oxygen rich Adro was probably the reason why.

He swallowed after a few more shallow breaths. A small drop of
blood dripped from his nose.  “Lily can’t see me like this.”

“Is this why? Why you never gave us an extraction point for you,
why you never told me…” Xavier stopped speaking as worry and fear for his
brother overwhelmed him.

 “It’s my job, brother.” Leo whispered.

Xavier shook his head and helped him to his feet. “You can
recover in my office, Lily won’t see you there.”

He opened a portal and they walked through it and into Xavier’s
office. X put him on the sofa and left. He came back a moment later with a
glass of water. He nodded his thanks and grabbed the glass from his brother. A
sensation much like what divers called the bends overtook his body as he
breathed in air from Adro. His joints ached, his skin crawled and dizziness had
the room spinning as he clutched the cold glass. Three deep breaths in and out
and his body fought to regulate and accustom itself to the Earth’s atmosphere.
He sipped from his cup, knowing from experience not to gulp down the chilled
water. He peeked up at his brother, noting the frown marring his face.

“I’m fine, X. It just takes a minute.”

“Every time?”

He nodded.

“You’re a bastard for hiding this, Leo.”

“I know.” Leo said quietly. He didn’t bother explaining it
further. Xavier wouldn’t want to hear it anyway. He would never understand Leo
sparing him the stress of knowing the details of his job. 

Xavier sighed and left him on the sofa breathing hard.

No, his brother wouldn’t understand the lengths he and Fallon
went to take some of the harsher parts of their existence from his plate. He
lay flat on the sofa to wait on his body to recover. He briefly wondered how
long he’d been gone this time as time on Adro moved much faster than both
Death’s realm and the ancestors’ realm. Hopefully Liliana wouldn’t be too
worried. Thinking of her, brought a smile to his face. He closed his eyes, he
couldn’t wait to see his mate.

He  opened them as a shadow covered him. Ranolph was shuffling
side to side, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

“I’m exhausted,
baba
. What do you need?” He sat up on the
sofa, groaning as him muscles protested.

“I can’t figure out where to start.” Ranolph avoided his gaze.

“Can it not wait?” He crossed his arms over his chest, curious
despite his exhaustion.

His father shook his head no. “I’ll likely not have the courage
to do this another time. I’ve been waiting nearly a week since you’ve been
hunting.”

Leo’s eyebrows winged. His father not have the courage for something?
Now he was truly intrigued.

“I ran into your mother.”

Leo grimaced.

Ranolph held up his hand to stem his argument. “I need to fix
this thing between the two of you, somehow.”

“There’s nothing to be done,
baba
.” Tired of discussing
Sharine, Leo stood up and moved to go around his father.

Ranolph stepped in front of him blocking his passage. “I need to
tell you this, son.”

“Your mate slept with the Eshu king, I am their bastard. Neither
of them stepped up to parent me, you did. The end. I don’t understand the need
you have to discuss this.” Leo brushed an impatient hand over his head caught
off guard to feel the longer strands instead of the buzz cut he normally wore.
He looked down at his hands. His human skin was wavering, his exhaustion making
it difficult for him to maintain the power needed to keep up the appearance.

His father cleared his throat. “It didn’t exactly go down that
way.” He sighed, fidgeting with his shirt.

“Spit it out, father. I am tired and I wish to see my mate. Say
what you need to say and let’s be done with the subject.” Leo reigned in the
impatience in his voice. Despite his age, he was still a son, wary of his father’s
discipline. His tone bordered on disrespectful, and he cringed, expecting his
father to lash out. He and his brothers learned quickly that it was one of
Ranolph’s hot buttons. When his father’s usual retort about his tone didn’t
come, Leo narrowed his eyes.

Ranolph sighed, and lowered his hands to his side. “You know
Leander and I were…are, we are really close friends. He came to me when Kaylin
was unable to conceive. After nearly two hundred years of waiting, he was
desperate. I offered to help him.”

“There were better ways to help him without your mate having to
sleep with him.” Leo’s dry tone was not lost on his father.

“It had to be done the natural way. According to Eshu laws, the
monarch can only be conceived naturally. The rules around royal births are very
strict.”

“But not strict enough to prevent a bastard.”

Ranolph sighed. “Leander’s family has ruled Legba since the
beginning of time. As long as the bastard is his, it’s still legal.”

“So you felt sorry enough for your best friend to pimp out your
wife. This is supposed to make me feel better, why?” It certainly didn’t change
his mind about the whole screwed up situation that was his birth.

“There were more reasons.”

Leo’s laugh held no amusement.

Ranolph growled. “You don’t understand. I had access to a
prophecy. It was foretold that the Kokoro souls would be reborn, triggering the
release of Ofeeree. The prophecy predicted a king, a strong king who would
unite the seven realms together in order to defeat him.”

“So, because your best friend needed an heir, one who would make
a powerful king, the two of you decided to use my mother?” Anger was starting
to build within him. What had made Sharine agree to sleep with King Leander?
“Why are you telling me this now?”

“Sharine…she wants to be in the babe’s life.” He sighed. “I
never meant for the two of you to have such an acrimonious relationship. I
hadn’t realized you would use it against her.”

“My whole life you made it seem as though my mother had an
affair with your best friend. Who did you think I would blame? I thought you
were a victim of a cheating mate.” Guilt, frustration and shame warmed his
blood and darkened his vision.

Ranolph hung his head. “I’m sorry. I could’ve been clearer about
the circumstances surrounding your birth.”

“You could’ve been less of an ass to my mother also. I took my
cue from you.” When he thought back on the indifference with which he treated
his mother…no wonder she made herself scarce. The only crime she’d committed,
had been at the order of her mate. And then same said mate turned around and
blamed her for it. Gods, why had he treated his mother with such contempt?  

“I’m ashamed of my actions. And I’m ashamed to say, that once
the deed was done, my jealousy wouldn’t let me past it. It drove my beast crazy
to know she’d laid with someone else.”

“You sent her to him!” Leo reached and braced his hand against
the wall, using it to keep him balanced. Already drained from traveling, the
anger coursing through his body was quickly sapping his energy.

He knew more than anyone how persuasive his father was. He
imagined it took nothing to convince a woman in love to do as her mate asked.
Ranolph did it easily to the soldiers he’d led when he was in charge of the
Amanda.

“Watch your tone with me. I am still your father.”

Leo blinked at Ranolph’s sharp tone. “But you aren’t, not
really. Not technically.” Grief tightened his chest, bringing a lump to his
throat. Sharine’s absence when he was a kid took on more meaning. Perhaps she’d
been avoiding his father and not him.

“I’ve been mad at her all these years.” He whispered.

“I’m sorry for that, Leonalph. I was stupid and jealous, and
Leander thought if we told you it would affect the outcome of the prophecy.”

“I don’t give a damn about a prophecy. You ruined my mother’s
life so you and the king would have someone powerful to control.” Leo had
studied his father for years. He knew how Ranolph’s mind worked, and he had
always been motivated by power. Even as a boy he knew his father craved and
horded power. It had been a source of pride for Leo, but how had he not seen
the dirty work behind the scenes? He’d fallen for his father’s ruse completely.
He hadn’t realized being head of the Amanda hadn’t been enough for him.

“That’s not true, Leo.” Ranolph reached out and placed his hand
on Leo’s shoulder. “From the moment you gripped my finger as a baby, I’ve loved
you. Yes, it started with the prophecy, but I wouldn’t trade you for anything.”

“I guess you were disappointed to learn that your grandchild
would be king, and not I.”

His father once again lowered his eyes, but not before Leo saw
the gleam of anticipation. Even now he was plotting. Damn, why had he never
seen the lengths Ranolph would go for power?

“Why didn’t she tell me?” He whispered, rendered mute by the
onslaught of realizations.

Ranolph rubbed his hands across his face and sighed. “After all
the things I’ve said about your mother. Would you have believed her?”