Azagoth by Larissa Ione

Chapter Twelve

It turned out that when someone informed you that they had deflowered the most infamous succubus in history and set off what would become major apocalyptic events, you shut down. At least, Lilliana did.

She’d lain there with Azagoth in surprisingly comfortable silence, her mind spinning with more questions. But eventually, she dozed off, and when she woke, Azagoth was gone. But fresh clothes had been laid out on the table next to the sofa, and next to the clothes was a tray containing a turkey sandwich, a bowl of fruit, an assortment of cheeses and crackers, and two decadent desserts. She decided she’d eat the caramel cheesecake first, and save the fudge truffle cake for last.

Whoever brought the food and clothes had also set out a pitcher of ice water, a pitcher of pomegranate juice, a bottle each of red and white wine, three different types of beer, two cans of cola, and a can of Sprite. Apparently, Azagoth wanted her to float out of here.

She looked around for the clothes he’d stripped off her, but they were gone, and a blast of heat bloomed in her cheeks at the memory. He’d been intense. Primal. A male drowning in a need he couldn’t satiate without a female.

The moment she’d seen him suffering in emotion he couldn’t contain, all she could think about was making it better, and when the tension inside him had shifted from confusion and violence to sex, she hadn’t hesitated. Not until the moment of truth, when it looked as if intercourse was imminent.

She’d panicked a little, not because she was a virgin, but because somehow joining with him like that would make things real between them, and she wasn’t ready to go there. Not when she was still planning on leaving.

So it was probably a good thing he’d freaked about the virginity thing, but criminy, the reason for his spaz attack had blown her mind. He’d been seduced by the most infamous succubus in history. He’d deflowered the most infamous succubus in history.

Holy shit.

His actions had kicked off pretty much everything that had happened in the human, demon, and angelic worlds up until now. No wonder he’d taken this job. Even without the empathic curse that had driven him here, she’d bet he’d have volunteered anyway, purely out of guilt.

The overload of events and information from today turned her brain foggy, so she gave it a rest while she dressed and ate. The fudge truffle cake turned out to be almost as decadent as the orgasm Azagoth gave her, and she decided she definitely needed another piece later.

A piece of cake...or of Azagoth?Maybe she could have her cake and Azagoth too.

The thought made her blush as she finished eating, and then she went through his books for something to help her get the chronoglass out of here.

For the second time, the thought screamed through her in a blast of remorse.

Truly, Azagoth had been good to her. The big, scary Grim Reaper had done nothing but be nice. Oh, sure, he’d been a jackass at first, but then, she’d been a little hostile too. And to know that he’d been down here so long, unable to feel anything...it broke her heart.

Granted, being unable to feel was probably what kept him sane. Having to deal with evil twenty-four seven would make anyone who was sensitive to emotion crazy.

Several hours later, she’d found nothing helpful, and a small part of her was glad.

As she shoved the last book she’d thumbed through back onto a shelf, Cat poked her head through the doorway, and Lilliana jumped, startled by her own guilt. “I didn’t mean to scare you,” Cat said. “Can I bring you anything more to eat or drink?”

“Thank you, no.” She studied the other woman, wondering just how intimate the relationship between them should be. Azagoth had hired her, but Lilliana could really use a friend down here.

Problem was, she didn’t know how to go about it. She’d never had many friends. Time travelers had a tendency to illicit distrust in others. Lilliana’s supervisor claimed it was because, deep down, others knew they wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to change history, and there was nothing angels hated more than reminders that they were so flawed.

Finally, Lilliana just threw it out there. “I was thinking about taking a walk. Would you like to join me?”

Cat grinned, flashing petite fangs that came standard issue for both Unfallen and True Fallen angels. “I’d be happy to.”

“Really?” Lilliana blurted. “Why?”

Flames from the hearth cast an orange light on Cat’s red hair, creating a gentle halo around her head, and for a moment, Lilliana could picture her as a full angel, her green eyes glinting with impish humor.

“I owe you and Azagoth for saving me,” she said simply. “I like it here.”

“You...like it?”

She nodded. “Very much. No one is hunting me, the griminions aren’t bad once you get to know them, and Zhubaal is kind of hot.”

Okie-dokie, then. They walked outside into the ever-present gray blah, and even though the chill in the air didn’t bother her, she rubbed her arms. Everything outside of Azagoth’s manor just looked cold and inhospitable.

“I’ve been exploring the surrounding buildings,” she said to Cat. “They were once occupied, and there’s a lot of stuff that was left behind.”

“Who used to live here?”

“I have no idea,” Lilliana said. “Azagoth has been a little tight-lipped.”

“He’s very odd. But in a good way,” Cat added quickly. She said something else, but Lilliana’s concentration had taken a sudden detour.

“Cat.” She gripped the other female’s shoulder, shutting her up. “Do you see that?”

Cat followed Lilliana’s gaze to a patch of ground near the fountain in the center of the courtyard. “That’s weird. Why would that one bit of land be—”

“Green,” Lilliana whispered. “It’s grass.”

As they stood there, bright green blades of grass popped up, expanding outward, swallowing up the blackened earth as it went. When the grass reached a scraggly, leafless gray bush, color began to push up the thick, dead stems, and at the very tips of the branches, little pink buds popped out.

“What’s going on?”

“Emotion,” Lilliana breathed. “It makes sense. Azagoth said it himself. I am Sheoul-gra.” He’d said he’d been corrupted by evil, his emotions stripped away. And now, with his emotions starting to open up, his realm was reflecting that. Holy shit. “Where is he? I have to show him this.”

Cat cringed. “He gave me a message for you. I forgot. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away.”

“It’s okay.” As she spoke, Lilliana couldn’t take her eyes off of the transformation taking place in front of her. “What’s the message?”

“He said he had to go to the Inner Sanctum. He didn’t know when he’d be back.”

Lilliana finally looked over at Cat. “Did he say why?”

“All I know is that a seriously yummy guy with a blue Mohawk came to visit, and they left together.”

“Ah. That would be Hades.” Too bad she hadn’t been there to meet him. She was curious about the fallen angel who Azagoth had appointed as his Soul Keeper.

“The Hades?” Cat asked. “Wow. He’s like a rock star. Does he come up from the Sanctum often?”

“I have no idea.” Lilliana started walking, giving the new green patches a wide berth. Stepping on the fresh new life struck her as a jerk thing to do.

“Do you think Azagoth would let me see the Inner Sanctum?”

Lilliana jerked in surprise. “Why would you want to? By all accounts, it’s a cesspool of suffering.”

“I want to be reminded of why I want to earn my way back into Heaven.”

Lilliana nearly tripped over her own feet. Overdosing on evil seemed like an extreme way to keep yourself on the straight and narrow path, but she supposed it was better than the alternative.

They wandered through the buildings Lilliana hadn’t gotten to the other day. She’d planned to search for something to help with the chronoglass, but she was so curious about everything that searching for something specific took a backseat to simply exploring. They found classrooms complete with history books—human, demon, and angel. They found indoor and outdoor training and sports facilities. They even found what appeared to have been gardens. What was this place?

“This is such a waste,” Cat said sadly. “These buildings were meant to be filled.”

Yes, but with who? Or what?

Eventually, they made their way back to the main building, but Azagoth hadn’t yet returned. Lilliana helped Cat cook dinner, and while they ate, Cat insisted that they watch a movie called Magic Mike. There hadn’t been any magic, but dayum...Lilliana would never look at a male stripper the same way again.

As the credits rolled, Cat gathered their dinner plates. “I think I’m going to see if Zhubaal wants some company,” she said with a sly smile that all but announced her lusty intent. “And maybe if you’re lucky, Azagoth will be back soon.”

Strangely, Lilliana hoped so. Not because the movie had pushed every one of her horny buttons, but because she was actually starting to like the guy.

He’s an asshole father.

Okay, there was that. But what if he wasn’t entirely to blame for whatever had gone down with Methicore? Now that she had a little distance, she could see a bit more clearly, and the guy had definitely struck her as a bit of an ass. But what could he have done to deserve the things his father had said to him?

Her own father’s harsh words clanged in her ears as she showered and put on her nightgown and robe. Had she tried too hard to build a relationship with him? Had she not tried hard enough?

Frustrated by the questions she asked herself way too often, she shoved a pile of clean, folded clothes inside the wardrobe. The box holding the necklace Azagoth had given her tumbled out, and the shiny silver chain skittered across the floor.

Picking it up, she admired the delicate little key pendant and finely-wrought clasp. He’d given it to her with an order to wear it, but she hadn’t, and he hadn’t nagged her about it or gotten angry. But then, with his emotional void, she supposed he wouldn’t have thrown a fit about it. Still, it had seemed important to him.

And it really was pretty...

She fastened it around her neck, and the cold silver warmed instantly on her skin.

As she climbed into bed, it didn’t escape her notice that Azagoth’s body did the same thing.