Azagoth by Larissa Ione

Chapter Nineteen

Azagoth stood in the library amongst shattered glass, his body trembling, his heart aching, his soul screaming. Pain surged through him in great waves that threatened to make him black out, but fate was a cruel bitch, and he remained as alert and sensitive to agony as ever.

His Lilli had betrayed him. Had plotted to steal his chronoglass and leave him. He looked down at the shards on the floor. Now she’d never get it. In a great fit of irrational fury, he’d destroyed it the way she’d destroyed him.

He could still feel her, and crazily, stupidly, he hoped she’d go to their bedroom and wait for him. Maybe try to convince him that he was wrong about her. That she loved him and couldn’t leave.

He wasn’t sure how he’d react to that, but a big part of him would be relieved.

Suddenly, something inside him extinguished, as if a flame had gone out. Or as if his breath had been forcefully expelled from his lungs.

Lilliana was gone.

Agony overwhelmed him. His breath scorched his throat with every desperate inhale. She’d left him, and his world was crumbling around him. Literally. The building was shaking, books falling from their shelves, cracks popping in the walls.

With a great roar, he fell to his knees. He screamed in utter misery, and only later realized he was screaming her name.

* * * *

Lilliana spent a full day in Heaven. Now she was down to twenty-two hours before Raphael’s ticking time bomb was set to go off and she’d have to submit to the time-travelectomy procedure.

Or she’d be shut inside Sheoul-gra forever.

With a person who wanted to tear her to pieces.

So far, she’d been able to get around without anyone knowing she was back behind the pearly gates, and hopefully no one had gone into the Time Travel Department’s artifact room yet.

Twenty-two hours.

She took one last look at the cottage she’d called home, at the eclectic decor from time periods all over the human world. She’d either never see this place again, or she’d return with no energy or passion for life.

But then, she didn’t need to have her time travel ability ripped away for the latter to happen.

Twenty-two freaking hours.

Taking a deep, bracing breath, she flashed herself out of Heaven and to as close as she could get to Underworld General Hospital, which turned out to be its underground parking lot.

There weren’t many cars, but there was a blond male in a black paramedic uniform scrubbing out the inside of one of two black ambulances near the entrance. Lilliana had no idea what had happened inside the vehicle, but it looked more like a mobile slaughterhouse than a rolling medical unit.

“Excuse me.”

“What?” came the gruff response.

“I’m looking for someone named Idess.”

“Inside.”

How helpful. “I can’t go inside.” No angel could enter the demon hospital, thanks to some sort of anti-angel ward. Apparently, no one could commit violence inside, either, thanks to another spell. Those wily demons had thought of everything.

“Guess you’re out of luck.”

Okay, now she was getting irritated. Stepping to the side of the rig, she slammed her fist into the center of the Underworld General symbol, leaving one hell of a dent.

“Luck is irrelevant,” she said. “I can’t enter the hospital, and I need help. Is it not your job to render assistance?”

Very slowly, he turned around, his fangs and silver eyes flashing. Surprise flickered at the sudden realization that he was a dhampire, a rare vampire-werewolf cross. She’d studied them in their Scottish homeland during one of her time travel assignments. She’d be fascinated to meet one in person if she wasn’t so annoyed. And in a serious time crunch.

“Medical assistance,” he said. “Are you bleeding to death, having a cardiac incident, or suffering from a splinter in your little finger? No? Then fuck off.”

Steam built in her veins. Tales of Underworld General staff arrogance reached the farthest corners of Heaven, but she’d always thought they were exaggerated. Turned out, not so much.

She slapped her palm against the side of the rig again, using a bit of angel power to make the sound crash through the enclosed parking lot like a sonic boom. Dhampire boy jumped high enough that he nearly brained himself on the roof.

“I’m approximately one insult away from rendering you down to a greasy stain of dhampire fat on the asphalt, so hear me, and hear me well,” she said, using the same power to make her voice resonate all the way to the paramedic’s marrow. “This is about Idess’s father. If you’re at all aware of who he is, if you’ve only heard whispers regarding his identity, you will drop that bottle of cleaner and fetch her. Now.”

The male, whose name tag read Conall, studied her for a moment. “You could have lead the conversation with the threat and saved us both a lot of time, not to mention damage to the rig.” He leaped out of the truck, and as he strode away, boots clapping on the pavement in heavy thuds, she swore she heard him mutter, “Fucking angels.”

She waited impatiently, watching a few vehicles come and go through the hidden portal in the lot’s concrete wall. Finally, just as she was contemplating climbing into the ambulance and turning on the siren, Conall returned with a stunning female whose caramel hair had been piled on top of her head in a messy knot.

“I’m Idess,” she said. “You’re here about Azagoth?”

Lilliana glanced over at the paramedic, who stood protectively by Idess. “Can we have some privacy, please?”

Idess nodded at the dhampire, and after shooting Lilliana a look that promised pain if she caused trouble, he hopped inside the ambulance and went back to his gruesome work.

“Your father needs you,” Lilli began. Might as well get to the point. “One of your brothers, Methicore, arranged to have Sheoul-gra cut off to all Memitim. His viewing stone is broken, and he has no way to contact his children, let alone see them. I think you’re the only one who can access his realm now.”

“Methicore,” she hissed. “That son of a bitch has been causing trouble for centuries.” She eyed Lilliana. “How do you know all of this? Who are you?”

“I was supposed to mate him.”

Idess’s eyes flared. “Supposed to? Wait...mate him? What about the seventy-two angels? What the hell is going on?”

“I’ll explain it all later. Right now your father is in trouble, and I don’t have much time. I need your help. He needs your help.”

For a long moment, Idess stood there, staring at Lilliana. Finally, she said, “Why is this important to you?”

No matter what she said, she was going to sound stupid, so she might as well put it all out there. “Because he deserves a chance to be happy. And...I love him.”

Conall’s head whipped around and he stared at her like she was insane, but Idess merely looked curious.

“Are you trying to win him back?” she asked.

Lilliana shook her head. “I would love a second chance, but even if that doesn’t happen, I want to fix what I broke, and you’re the only person who can help me do that. Please. Not for me, for him.”

Idess glanced at her watch. “My lunch break is in ten. Let’s grab a bite somewhere and figure this out.” She gave Lilliana a wary glance. “How do I know this isn’t a trick? No offense, but a lot of angels have turned out to be...”

“Lying assholes?”

Idess snorted. “Yeah.”

“Do you know Reaver?” When Idess nodded, Lilliana breathed a sigh of relief. “He can vouch for me.”

Idess’s expression lit up. “If Reaver is cool with you, then so am I. Welcome to the family, Lilliana.”

Lilliana appreciated the welcome, and the family thing sounded awesome. But she doubted it would happen. Hell, she was lucky Azagoth hadn’t killed her. There was no way he’d forgive her.

Betray me and you’ll see exactly how unforgiving I can be. There are no second chances.