Authors: S.K. Yule
Nina chanted:
“Wandering spirit of strife,
I permit you access to Isabelle’s life.
The one called Stephen Banks,
Come and take that which you sought.
Claim her as your own with no further thought.”
Within seconds, the black and red cloud of Stephen Banks began forming over Izzy’s old body. They had been counting on the Havoc’s appetite for revenge, and he had not disappointed them with his well-timed appearance.
Cyrus rushed out of his body and immediately surrounded the Havoc, not wanting to give him time to figure out what was going on. He pushed Stephen through Cassandra’s chest, then ripped at him, causing him to flee further inside to hide. Cyrus receded and sped back to his own body.
He gasped again, sat up, and shouted, “Now, Nina!”
Nina instantly began chanting the final spell:
“Havoc Spirit, black as night,
I bind you to this body’s soul.
Once the walls of Hell you breach,
I bid you take leave of this body.
And dwell in the pit of evil and fire,
Forever beyond this plane’s reach.”
Nina lit the end of the huge joint while chanting the spell a second time. Then she stood and went to the body containing Cassandra and Stephen. She crouched and slowly waved the taper back and forth over the body, smoke curling around the form from head to toe. After a couple of minutes, she chanted the spell for the final time, then stood. “It’s done,” she said.
“Now for the last part,” Cyrus replied.
He gave Izzy a smile and wink, then gathered her old body and reached out to Traceor.
In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of his creator, a now half-conscious Cassandra in his arms.
Chapter Sixteen
Luckily, the second Cyrus breached Hell, Stephen’s soul whooshed from the body, with one final furious screech. Cyrus gained immense satisfaction from the Havoc’s permanent eviction. The bastard would never hurt Izzy again.
That had been one of the trickiest parts of the spell—getting rid of Stephen—since Traceor would know in an instant if there was more than one soul inside of Izzy’s body.
He might also know that this wasn’t really Izzy. If Traceor had seen Izzy in person, they’d never be able to pull off this scheme, because Traceor would recognize that this body no longer contained her essence.
Traceor nodded to a black and gold chaise draped with red and royal blue silk fabric. “Lay her over there.”
Fortunately, it was not uncommon for a human who was brought into another realm to suffer ill side effects, the most common being fainting. Cassandra’s confused state wouldn’t seem strange to Traceor.
“Just so you know,” Cyrus said, “she scrambled her marbles. She tried a little too hard to prove to me that she wasn’t a fake. Actually managed to attract a spirit.”
Traceor frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You and I both know that it is impossible for a human to do what she claimed. She found that out the hard way. She was possessed by a Havoc named Cassandra. I was able to rip the invading soul out of her, assuming you would want Isabelle alive, but not before she suffered consequences.”
Traceor’s mouth drew in a thin line as he looked over who he thought to be Izzy. “Consequences?”
“The Havoc left an imprint behind. Isabelle now believes she is Cassandra.” Cyrus was careful not to call her Izzy, not wanting to reveal any emotional connection. He held his index finger up to the side of his head and turned it in circles. “She’s what they call a little cray-cray now.”
“She’s damaged?”
“I tried to tell you that she’d be of no interest to you. She claimed to be able to do the impossible.”
Traceor growled in obvious frustration as he scrutinized Cassandra.
Cyrus laid it on as thick as possible. “She almost fooled me with her dog and pony show, I have to admit. She’s the best scam I’ve seen in a long time. Took me a while to figure out a couple of her parlor tricks.”
He smirked when Traceor clamped his jaw down until a tic began under his left eye.
“She crashed and burned,” Cyrus continued, trying to make sure he played his part convincingly. “I’ll take her with me since she is no longer of interest to you.”
He was hoping he had given Traceor enough of an idea that he was still interested in Izzy—Izzy’s body—by offering to take her back with him.
Traceor turned and eyed Cyrus. “You think I’m that gullible?”
What an asshole
.
Took the bait perfectly
. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“You are interested in her for a reason. She must be special.”
“She’s not special. Not in the way you think. She’s only a human. Okay, I can’t fool you. She’s talented in the sack, and truthfully, I haven’t gotten my fill yet. Let me take her back with me.”
A sly grin played on Traceor’s mouth now, a satisfied smugness that Cyrus wished he could punch. “I think I’ll keep her.”
“Don’t do this,” Cyrus pleaded.
Damn
, he should win a fucking Oscar for this performance.
“There is more,” Traceor said. “No demon begs this hard for a piece of ass, no matter how spectacular it may be.” He grinned. “I must admit: I am intrigued to find out for myself what all the fuss is about.”
“Fine,” Cyrus replied. “I fell in love with her. She doesn’t mean anything to you. Don’t take her from me. Please.”
Cyrus thought he might puke at the obvious thrill Traceor was getting from all this groveling.
“You are done.” Traceor smiled thinly. “Be glad that you’ve sent me so many delectable souls during your existence, or I might be tempted to keep you down here too. Go back to Earth. I’m sure I won’t be seeing you again anytime soon.”
Cyrus opened his mouth to plead again as Traceor flicked his wrist and suddenly, Cyrus was sitting in his car. At least the bastard gave first-class travel.
The plan had worked. He and Izzy could be together now without the threat of Stephen or Traceor.
* * * *
“You are going to wear a damn hole in the floor if you don’t stop that pacing,” Nina scolded Isabelle for the second time since they’d returned to Isabelle’s house.
It had been nearly three hours since Cyrus had disappeared with…her body. She didn’t think that would ever stop sounding strange. She’d looked in the mirror so many times since she’d gotten home, and still felt like an outcast in her own skin. Probably because a few hours earlier, it hadn’t been her skin. She shivered. The thought of her old body in Hell made her tremble.
She knew the horrible things Cassandra had done, and she’d never regret that the woman had finally paid for her disgusting, greedy actions. Still, it was Isabelle’s body—her old body—that was going along for the ride to eternal punishment, and she was still emotionally attached to the thing. After all, it had been hers for her entire life. It wasn’t as if she’d ever entertained the possibility of living inside a body other than her own.
She let out an exasperated breath. One day she’d get used to her new body, and it would be second nature to her…she hoped.
Isabelle threw a glare at the door as though it was the cause of her worry. “I can’t stand waiting anymore. What if something happened?”
“You’re jumping to conclusions, Isabelle. You love him, right?”
“How can you ask me that after everything that’s happened the past few days?”
Nina took Isabelle’s hands in her own. “Then have some faith in him.”
“I’m just so damned worried. A few weeks ago, my life was simple, uncomplicated.”
“Isabelle, your life has never been what I would describe as
uncomplicated.
”
“Compared to falling in love with a demon, tricking a creator from Hell, and jumping into a new body?”
“Okay.” Nina put her hands up in surrender. “Maybe your life was uncomplicated. But complications aren’t always bad.”
“No. Being in love with Cyrus is not any sort of bad. I guess a normal, logical person would think so, but I’m not normal.” Isabelle laughed. “Probably not logical a lot of the time, either. But he is my other half, regardless of what he is or where he’s from. And having a different body could definitely be worse. Cyrus did find me a good-looking one anyway.”
“It’s going to take some getting used to for me too, but the alternative was unacceptable. I don’t ever want to lose my best friend.”
Isabelle hugged Nina, and just as they broke apart, her front door flew open. She turned and gasped when she saw Cyrus standing in the opening staring at her. She stared back for a moment before her brain registered that he was actually there before practically flying into his open arms.
“You’re here.” She stepped back and patted her hands down his arms then chest. “You’re okay.” She cupped his face. “Is it done?”
“Yes. We need to move on from here soon, though, Izzy. We can’t stay in your old house, live your old life. It will look suspicious if Traceor ever decides to check up on me again.”
“I know, but I don’t want to go too far away. We talked about this. I can shut most everything out of my old life, but I won’t turn my back on Nina.”
“You don’t have to. We will figure it out.”
She dropped her hands to her sides, and he kissed her, long and lazily.
They broke apart when Nina cleared her throat and coughed.
Isabelle turned and smiled at her friend. “Sorry.”
Nina gathered up her purse and coat from the arm of the couch and walked toward them. “It’s all good. But I don’t want to
witness
all the good.” Nina laughed. She patted Cyrus on the arm. “Glad to see you made it back.” She then gave Isabelle a quick hug. “Call me when you get situated in your new place.”
“I will. Thank you, Nina. We couldn’t have done this without you.”
“No. We couldn’t have,” Cyrus agreed.
“Just be glad you have such a talented witch for a friend.”
Nina winked, then left and shut the front door behind her, effectively leaving Isabelle and Cyrus alone.
He looked her over slowly from head to toe.
Butterflies danced in her stomach. “Do I look okay?”
Isabelle wasn’t sure she wanted the answer. She had taken some time to look over and accept her new body, but that didn’t mean Cyrus would or could.
He cupped her face in his large hands. “Remember when you told me that you could see the real me, no matter what body I was in?”
She nodded, and he looked deep into her eyes. “I can see you too, Izzy,” he whispered. “I’ve seen your true form. Your outer shell is only a vessel for it, and no matter what vessel you live in, the beauty of your soul will radiate from within.”
She frowned.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“It all seems too good to be true. Stephen’s gone forever. Traceor will leave us alone. I found my other half.”
“You are remarkable, Izzy, to look at it that way. The lengths we had to go to in order to make it happen were extraordinary. The things you did to stay with me were selfless, dangerous, and done on faith and a chance that we would end up together. I didn’t know what true love was until I met you. You showed me.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Isabelle chided. “You went to some pretty impressive lengths yourself. You risked your life, you bound your soul to mine, knowing that if I die, you die. For me, my time as a human was limited. Yours was infinite. The choice was easy for me to make, not only because of my quicker expiration date, but because I do not want to live a life without you in it.”
“And that’s an example of how you showed me what true love is. I didn’t have to think twice about binding my soul to yours because I know that a life without you is not a life I would choose. Until you came along, I didn’t understand how that felt. I love you, and I will always be here for you. I will always protect you.”
She smiled up at him. “I love you too, Cyrus. Forever.” Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him, the feel of his full lips on her mouth instantly heating her skin. She trailed her kiss along his jaw line, pausing at his ear. “How about you and I take my new body for a spin and figure out where all my new pleasure points are.”
He nuzzled her neck, then scooped her up and headed for the bedroom. “It might take a few days.”
She giggled. “Maybe even a week.”
Cyrus helped her get undressed, then shed his own clothing. He straddled her hips, kneeling on the bed and leaning over her. “You are beautiful,” he murmured, and kissed her.
She gasped when he rolled onto his back, taking her with him, and reversed their positions without breaking the kiss. He cupped her nape and slid his tongue between her lips. By the time the kiss ended, her breaths came in ragged pants of excitement.
Cyrus pulled her up so he could position his head between her thighs. He licked his lips, then looked up into her eyes. “Let’s get started, shall we?”
His wicked smile, that promised such sinful pleasure, made her body clench in glorious anticipation. Isabelle knew, from then on, her love for her demon would only grow as the years passed.
When his tongue found her clit, she closed her eyes, leaned back and willingly surrendered to the storm of ecstasy building inside her.
The End
About the Author
S. K. Yule’s love for reading started in high school, and finally inspired her to try her hand at writing. Once an outlet was discovered for an over-active, and at times overwhelming, imagination, a passion for creating stories for others to enjoy was born.
You will most often find S. K. Yule tapping away on her laptop in her farmhouse located in a tiny Midwestern town with a population of one hundred and fifty. She lives with her real-life hero, her husband, and plans to have the happily ever ending with him that she so often writes about.
Her spoiled rotten children consist of three yorkies, one miniature schnauzer, and a loveable half min pin half sheltie mix.
S. K. Yule is a national bestselling romance author and her previously published works include: