Sin of Fury

Chapter 14





He licked his cracked lips, watching with rapt attention as the dark cloud came before him, settling into a seething ball of smoke and then forming into soft curves a woman. He was standing outside of his house, in the thick of the forest with candles surrounding him in a circle.

A line of lavender was slit through the middle, signaling relaxation and entrance. With the lavender, it was easier for the woman to appear and form.

He stared with awe as the chiffon settled with a soft movement, the Greek, earthly clothing billowing out behind her as the wind died down, spoke dispersing around them in an ominous fog.

“You have called upon me.”

The hair on the back of his neck rose at the deep voice. The woman stared at him with silvery eyes, almost white in their appearance. Auro held a hand to his chest, and respectfully stepped forward.

“Talon has matured into his powers,” he murmured, praying that he injected enough respect into his voice.

A slight twitch of her white-blonde eyebrow was the only outward reaction she gave. Soft winds pushed and pulled at her hair, whipping it around her hair despite the gentleness of the flows. He assumed it was her powers, her resurrection affecting the earth beneath their feet in ways he could not begin to imagine.

Her face was composed of elegant lines and slopes, with soft angles and a beautiful, pale complexion. Her beauty was unmatched, which was not something unknown. Any man that was graced with her presence, which had not happened in centuries, was immediately enraptured.

Which was why the memory of his brother now dimmed, and was replaced by her hauntingly pale eyes and slender hands, which rose to fix the lapel of her chiffon dress with slow grace and finesse.

Auro again wet his lips, bowing his head as her stare turned indifferent. The blow to his libido went unnoticed when her deeply seductive voice murmured, “And where is your twin?”

Pain and heated anger flared in his chest. “Dead,” he spat, feeling his eyes sting at the reminder that he was now alone. The only consolation he had was Talon. Killing Talon. Killing his woman.

His lip curled, imagining their blood seeping through his hands.

“That is a shame,” she said archly, lifting her hand higher to brush her hair away from her face. “Although I am loath to say this because of his wrong towards my sister, I will consent that I am...sorry for your grief. I assume that this is the reason you have requested a meeting with me.”

Auro nodded his head, looking her straight in the eye. “I know you have the power and the desire to find Talon. Help me kill him,” he suggested, smiling at her with dead eyes. Nothing he could do or say would ever be lively again. Without his brother, he was nothing but a shell that was filled with nothing but the need to avenge and kill.

“Because of your timing, I will consider your request. I have given Talon enough pain to recompense for his wrong against me. I must ask; has he found his lady love?” A soft brush of the chiffon against the ground, sifting through the dead grass, signaled her movement closer to him.

Her voice, more melodic than before, carried over him, lulling him. He watched her with fascinated eyes. Was she coming so close to him, to brush her hand along his arm? To give him a taste of her earthly power? His heart, if he had had one, would have been pumping with anticipation.

A soft light surrounded her. Everything about her was soft, he realized dimly. Her hair, her eyes, her skin, her movements. She was as old as the earth, as graceful as the wind.

And right now, her hand was on his shoulder. His body froze as tendrils of power and amazement surfaced, rising deep within his deadened body. Nothing had ever been so fulfilling, so real -- nothing except his brother.

He let out a hoarse cry as her hand began to burn, seeming to go through his clothing and straight to his non-existent soul. “What... what are you doing to me?” he gasped, breaking every rule that had ever been given to them about the witches and grasping her wrist. As it became unbearable, a bloody tear streamed down his cheek -- and still, she did not let go of him.

“I am doing what I should have done so long ago. You and your brother will have eternal rest -- I will take over from here. But I will need your body...” A peaceful smile lifted her lips, and it was so becoming and beautiful, that he almost smiled back.

That is, until, her eyes shot to black and nothing but a white pupil remained. It was then that the great Auro, so fearless and unbreakable, began to sob and, ultimately, die.

“You have taken my kindness to you for granted... You wish to bring a man that has already been cursed with loss and pain... And most of all? You wish to use me.”

Her voice became indifferent, so opposite of her previously caressing voice. He could no longer feel the pain -- there was too much of it to account for. Instead, he listened with tears streaming down his face, body crumbling before her.

“Do not worry,” she whispered, hair falling around her glowing face as she knelt before him, touching a tear of his. Her polished fingernail raised to her lips, and a pink tongue darted out to taste it. His body convulsed as fire flashed through him. “I will grant your request -- with a price. The woman will die, but Talon will have the choice of what to do with you. He will either give you rest with your brother, or a lifetime of torture at his own hands.” A small smile had her flawless face shining even brighter.

Smoke started to curl around his limbs and hers, once again cloaking her in a black mass of swirling tendrils. Her face was the last thing he saw before she vanished from his view completely, the only thing remaining a single black diamond. It was what he had used to call her, and it was what she left behind -- only when she had the intention of returning.

Except, her lilting voice remained in his head, even as the will to live faded. “But I doubt he will be so generous once he learns that you are the reason his lover has perished...”

Auro’s flesh burst into particles of smoke and dust.





“I can tell you where she is...” a voice whispered, caressing his cheek and ear.

Chris jerked awake, grasping the covers. He looked around the room, eyes frantic and wide. “Who’s there?”

“The woman who scorned you for another man... I can help you with the revenge that you seek...” Shadows curled around his body, tendrils and wisps of smoke running gentle, airy fingers along his skin. It became a trance, holding him still as a dark, streaked light entered the room.

Before him, forming out of thin air, was a woman. A beautiful woman. He stared at her in awe as she seemed to float to his bedside. Curls of smoke flowed from behind her, and he stared with horrified yet astonished eyes as one of her hands came to touch a curl of his blond hair.

It was as if he were still dreaming. A light was in his room, and not from the natural rays of the sun. No, it was because of the woman. She was so...beautiful, unique. Angelic. Unreal. Everything that he had found in Jamie, and then have taken from him...

“Would you like my help?” she whispered, her voice but a soft caress against his pale skin. Chris stared up at her with eyes as large as baseballs. He gasped lightly, reaching up to touch her cheek. She pulled back with a graceful movement, stilling his hand with her own.

“Answer me, Christopher Smith. Do you want my help? I know that you love to be the bigger man, that you like to take control of her... I can give that you to, Christopher.” He shivered at the note in her deep voice. It was so persuasive, so beguiling.

Chris didn’t know exactly what she was saying, only how she was saying it and how much he loved to listen to her. Her eyes were a pale white, cream and calm and bright. He nodded numbly, dimly aware that he might be agreeing to something that would change his life completely.

But how could he say no? She was so beautiful, so...charming and convincing.

“You will find her with her lover at the Alley Cat,” she said softly, pushing her hand into his hair in a massaging motion. He should have moved away, pulled back from her. Something was different. “In a weeks’ time, you will go to her and you will kill her. Do not take her from the building. Lead her to a small room in the back and kill her there.”

He was nodding mutely, completely enchanted. He would listen to anything she wanted to tell him. He would do anything she wanted him to. If she asked, he would walk off a cliff with a smile on his face...

“Go to sleep, Christopher. You will remember all of this within a weeks’ time, and you will know what to do and will have your revenge. In the case that you fail me, I will be very....displeased with you. Please do not let that happen,” she said in a lilting voice, her fingers trailing down his cheek and to his jaw.

“If you fail me, you shall die.”

All he could do was nod.





God, she was beautiful, he thought, tracing her lips with a light touch. His other hand was holding her hip, trying to make them come together even closer.

At her soft sigh, and the flush of red that came over her delicate face, desire rose within him sharply. He leaned down and kissed her, opening her mouth and delving in deep. One hand grabbed her wrists and help them above her head while the other pushed down her shorts.

Jamie moaned softly, making him shudder above her. It was such a delicate sound, so soft and beautiful.

And then her nails dug into his back.

He gave a soft growl and nipped her lip, moving down her body and pulling up her shirt. Her pants were thrown to the side, now all he had to do was take off the rest of her clothing and then he’d make a feast out of her.

Fire curled in his gut before dropping straight to his groin. Heavy, thick, and ready to take his female, it was all he could do not to rip the clothing from her body right then.

He had every intention of being gentle, of worshipping her -- he really did. But when her fingernails scored his back and left a burn that was spreading all over his body, it became apparent that that might not happen. At least not for now. He slid his hands up her waist, under her shirt, and to the underside of her breasts.

Talon didn’t stop there though. He pushed up the shirt gradually, kissing up her stomach with feathery touches, palming her breasts and then reaching around to unclasp the damn bra. When it snapped softly, her back arched as if she was silently telling him to take it off and replace it with his mouth.

He was all too happy to oblige. This time, he didn’t stop himself from tearing off her shirt and throwing the remains of the soft fabric to the side. With no barriers between them, he pressed his lips against her collarbone. Her little mewl that came from the back of her neck was enough to make him want to ravage her - with his lips. They curled in anticipation, and kissed their way down her chest, to her breast.

At the soft contact of his lips against her delicate, pale skin, Jamie’s back was arching off of the bed and thrusting her breast right into his mouth. God, she was so sweet. So soft. So...delicious. He curled his tongue around her nipple, licking and then biting down and using his other hand to tease her core.

The sounds she made were perfect, amazing. He touched her softly, teasing her. Jamie’s nails dug even deeper into his back, and he flexed under her hands, biting down on her nipple as punishment. She whimpered, panting softly. Talon looked up at her, taking in her appearance with complete possession.

Her face was flushed, eyes glazed over with a filmy look of lust. Long lashes hovered over darkening eyes as she stared at him, begging him not only with her voice but with pale blue irises that practically screamed desire and need.

Talon was all too ready to please her. He sat back on his knees and stripped of his black T, tossing it away from them. Next was his pants. The whole time, Jamie stared at him with that hungry look, her hands clenching and unclenching as if she were trying not to grab onto him.

That must have been it, because the second the pants were off, she was grabbing for him and tugging him to her body, pressing her breasts against his chest and moving her lips against his. He tilted his head for her, opening his mouth and loving the taste of her.

She was like a blast of fresh air on his senses. Every movement she made, every breath she took, every gasp she made. He was aware of it all.

He was also aware of when she really got into it. It was like a complete change had overcome her - f*ck, he wasn’t complaining though.

Jamie pushed at his shoulders, and he followed her. Her legs parted over his hips, rocking against his length and practically drenching him. He groaned roughly, holding her waist. It was too much, too --

F*ck. The breath hissed between his chest as she reached down and grabbed onto him, robbing him of breath. Her lips grazed over his neck and down to his chest, and her eyes were locked on his as her tongue darted out, tasting him. His chest was bare of any scars, of any past pains. In the weeks that he had come back, his body had begun to heal and his powers were maturing within him. Maybe that was what had him so turned on -- f*ck, he was pretty sure it was just Jamie and her bottled up passion, but he was willing to bet that his strength also came from --

“Oh, sweet f*ck,” he cursed, trying to grab her shoulders as she dipped down and, suddenly, her face was even with his hips. That sexy smirk on her face wasn’t helping anything either. He swore, every ounce of blood in his body dropped to his cock and the next thing he knew?

His hips bucked as her lips surrounded him. Talon groaned another curse, trying to make her stop yet making her stay. Fire wrapped around him. Burned him. Seared him. Left him branded and almost dying as Jamie continued to lick him like he was her favorite meal of the day.

When he was pulsing and close to coming, it took everything inside of him to grab her shoulders and push her body under his. He wrapped his fist in her hair and pulled her head back, burrowing his lips in her neck, hot breath fanning over his. His body was so strung he felt like he was going to snap at any second, and it was hard not to take her right then, to be as gentle as he knew he should be with her.

She wasn’t ready for him, not yet...

“Talon,” she whispered in his ear, his name coming from her lips making his cock jerk in reaction. He held her hair firmly, turning his head and staring into her eyes.

“You aren’t ready yet...”

“I am, I swear I am... Please, I need you,” she begged, wrapping her arms around his neck and trying to guide his lips to hers.

His head shook, but he gave in to kissing her before using one hand and sliding it down her body. It cupped every curve, caressed every dip and peak. By the time his hand finally made it to her waist, she was writhing under him and her head was twisting -- well, as much as it could. He hadn’t let go of his hold on her.

The thick strands were silky between his fingers, and his hands spanned the back of her head, massaging with gentle motions as his other hand got dangerously close to her inner thigh, and closer yet to the very center of her...

Jamie cried out at the first touch of his finger. Male pleasure coursed through him as it echoed through his ear, and he slowly slid the digit inside of her. He smirked against her neck as she let out a keening cry before it was replaced with a grimace of pleasure/pain and a fierce ache settled in his gut.

He had to be inside of her. She was so tight, so hot and welcoming, it was killing him. When was the last time they had been close like this? It seemed like forever -- which was way too long for him. He added another finger and watched the change come over her face. Pure, blissful pleasure was covering her face, the epitome of beauty and everything he could ever ask for in a woman.

Aching, needing, close to exploding, Talon pulled his fingers out of her, despite her desperate whimpers. He used his hands to spread her legs and settled between them, staring at the most beautiful part of her -- her glistening sex. Talon groaned and surged forward, pushing the head of himself inside of her and shuddering. Her body was so pliant, so ready for him...

Jamie grabbed onto his shoulders, once again, and yanked him down to her as if she would die without him pressing against him. Her legs wrapped around his hips, and nothing could have stopped him from making love to her right then. Not Lucian, not Vladimir, not Devlin... not anyone.

Her body gripped him tightly, and for a second, he just stayed as still as he could be. It was so hard, but he managed to hold himself back while Jamie convulsed and writhed under him. Her legs wrapped around his waist tighter, her heels digging into his ass to get him to move.

“God... Jamie one second --” His ragged plead was cut off when she clenched impossibly tight around him and her smokin eyes gazed into his. His hips jerked, causing him to go even deeper inside of her. Jamie arched her back, breasts tight with nipples as pink as berries.

His eyes zeroed in on them as his hips found a slow rhythm, and Jamie didn’t argue when his lips found one of the tight buds. Nah, instead she grabbed his head and pushed his mouth harder against her even while she tried to urge him to go faster. Talon growled and shook his head against her, thrusting his hips against her, as deep as he could go.

“Talon,” she moaned softly, her body gyrating against his. Her voice with nothing but air, yet filled with passion and desire, and so arousingly deep it was like heaven to him. He grabbed her hips and moved her faster, letting his instincts take over. His jaw felt heavy, and he swore his incisors lengthened within his mouth.

Mind, body, and soul were consumed by the fiery woman that was under him, holding him, accepting him into her body.

Talon didn’t think about what he did next. There wasn’t time. One second, he was thrusting into her warm body, and the next he was biting her neck and striking her with long-ass teeth.

And then she was screaming.

Fire shot to his brain, and that was the end of it. His hips slammed against hers until they were drenched with sweat, trembling with desire, and convulsing as they came together in a hot wave of liquid heat and desire, of love and need and rightfulness.

In the aftermath, their breaths were short and choppy, exhausted, and completely drained. Talon laid there for a second, trying to breath, pulling back from her neck. He hadn’t known he was doing it, but his lips tasted like blood, and there were two puncture wounds along her neck. Despite just spending himself inside of her, he felt himself get hard. Again. He shuddered, wiping a hand and --

Why was she so quiet? Talon started to pull back, worried. She wasn’t saying anything, wasn’t looking at him, and didn’t even seem to be breathing.

“Jamie?” he asked quietly, grabbing her chin and turning her face to his.

Talon wasn’t worried until he got a look at her face.

His heart dropped to his stomach when he saw the tears that slid down her cheeks.





Devlin walked passed their room slowly, ignoring the moans and screams that were coming from behind the door. Her skin prickled as the power, along with the smell of sex, wafted over her. Her steps quickened till she was at the end of the hall, pushing open a door and then almost flying through the small corridor. No one was there to stop her, nor would anyone dare to -- besides Lucian.

Her hands threw open the next door and then a bright, glaring light washed over her as the smells of earth and pollution entered her sinuses. She stopped abruptly, looking around her. The back of the building was relatively empty, the parking lot bare besides empty McDonald’s backs and wrappers with random brands printed on the front. Not a human was in sight, or in scent.

She wrapped her hands around her hair and pulled it around to the front of her body. A pleasurable ripping sensation flew through her body and before she knew it, Devlin was high in the air and out of site.

It was obvious that she was going to be late to her meeting, but she didn’t care. Lucian had wanted to talk, and despite the inner urgency pushing her to leave, she had stayed. And for what? As she started to soar in the direction of the west side of the city, she recalled their conversation.

“What are you up to, Devlin?” he had asked with trepidation, eyes narrowing in on her.

Not one to show weakness or even how nervous she was, her reply had been a shrug. “I don’t know what you mean.” Devlin moved in slowly, swinging her hips and loving the look of awareness in his eyes.

“Yes you do,” he had all but growled, recoiling from her as if she were a poisonous snake.

She shook her head slowly, lowering her lashes. It hadn’t been hard to divert the conversation to a more...primal topic. “I really don’t,” she had purred. Her hands had pressed against his chest, and she’d felt his thundering heart. When was the last time he had let himself go? He was always so... professional. “How about you show me, baby.”

His eyes had flared and his hands had come around to cover his jeans as if she wouldn’t notice the raging hard-on he had sported. “That folder -- what was it about? And how did you get it?” His eyes had been foggy, dark, as if he were barely keeping a hold on himself.

Devlin had trailed a polished fingernail up his chest, to his jaw. Even there, his pulse was strong enough to knock her hand away with just the racing of it. She had smiled, and taken her hand away, feeling a tightening in the back of her head as she was summoned.

Even now, with her gut clenching and her panties wet, she had a headache to match a brick falling on her. Too bad it wouldn’t, she thought caustically and stopping. In the midst of clouds and birds, her body suit kept out any dampness that wanted to cling to her. And below her, the building of her meeting was waiting.

She lowered herself to the ground and had to fluff her hair. When you met with the boss, you didn’t want to look like a mess. She walked forward with her normal confidence and put her hand on the door knob. Almost immediately, her relaxed demeanor turned to one of cool certainty, knowing that the second she entered there everything would be different. Once again.

“You can’t come in here,” a deep voice growled. A flap on the door had her raising her brow, and dark eyes stared at her through the opening.

“Devlina Katrina,” she said, waiting for the recognition in his eyes to enter. When it did, the door popped open with a dull thunk and a large, hulking figure stepped back. She smiled with her cool reserve at the man and he all but tripped over himself as he bowed to her.

“Where is he?” Devlin asked, smoothing her hands down her front. And of course the male’s eyes followed every movement she made, Devlin thought with annoyance.

“Down the hall. First door, left.”

Her soundless feet carried her to the door that he was talking about. The building was a generic setting. Run down, rats everywhere, leakage and mold. Her skin crawled just being here, but it wasn’t like she could pick the places they met.

“Master?” she called softly, voice echoing in the dark room. The room had no door, nothing to keep prying eyes and ears from listening in on them. But then, it was also easier for an escape should a surprise invasion arise.

“Come in.” His voice was wheezy, much more weak than it had been from the last time. Her heart thundered in her chest as she stepped inside of the cold room. “What have you acquired for me?”

She walked inside of the room, and it was hard for her to keep from going to him and asking if he needed anything. He took pride in what he could do alone -- which was so little. Devlin squared her shoulders and sat down in the chair across from him. His chair was hidden in the shadows, and they covered him like a blanket.

Cobwebs were scattered through the room, scuttles of feet making her skin crawl. She swore she felt something at the back of her neck, but she forced herself to ignore it -- she also had to ignore the stench. It was like mold and shit and some other things she didn’t want to think about.

“I don’t think Lucian trusts me as much as he used to,” she said steadily, knowing he appreciated honesty and would not blow up at her -- hopefully. His moods were so erratic it was hard to tell sometimes.

“Explain,” he wheezed, the shadows moving as his arm moved to cover his mouth. She could just picture him, sitting there, gray haired and almost bald. His eyes would be sunken in, yellow and rimmed with gunk and eye snot. He had gnarled hands, and he was as thin as a toothpick. Devlin knew by the way he spoke that he had almost no teeth, and everything about him was malnourished. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eat, he was just too...damaged. Weak.

Devlin felt an ache in her chest but forced herself to speak. “He watches me more, now. It’s like it was during the beginning, when I had to gain his trust. I don’t know what happened, but I do know this -- the king has been found.”

A tense, astonished silence. Devlin knew what he must be feeling -- elation. Joy. Hope.

“The king...has been found? Truly?”

Devlin nodded, then thought he couldn’t see her and said, “Yes. Only hours ago, he just...called. Out of the blue.”

“This is good,” he whispered, a tremor in his voice. Her chest tightened even more at the sound of complete liveliness in his voice. “Did Lucian not receive that folder?”

Devlin shook her head. “I made sure he took it. And I believe he read through it, so in a weeks’ time, he should be...disposed of.” She didn’t mention that he was doubting her information, and that meant he might not go. But...

“This is going to cause complications,” he said abruptly, thinking the same as she. “I pray that you are ready for an attack. He will realize that the information you have given him of the king's whereabouts are wrong, and will turn to you in betrayal.”

Devlin dropped her head, making to stare at the ground emotionlessly, even as her heart turned over and her hands went numb. “I understand. The king said...he would be back soon. Not yet, but soon.”

“You listened to the conversation between the king and Lucian?”

“I heard only bits and pieces. Lucian didn’t have time to ask about where he was when the king called. I’m hoping that Lucian is blind enough to go after him...”

“And the attack will bring forth the death of Lucian.”

Devlin nodded, lifting her head to meet his eyes through the darkness. For the first time in years, they glowed.

She didn’t know how to feel about Lucian dying, but if he found out her indecision to help restore him, she would be dead within a minute. He had taken her in, had taught her their ways, had made her feel...special, if only for a short amount of time. The money he gave her for working was what she used to support the thin man in front of her, what she used to supply them all.

Lucian loved money. He loved power. He loved...having everything. But even with those greedy faults, he gave them enough payment to last them a lifetime, and he had taken care of her.

As he wheezed again, she looked around the room coolly, standing to her feet.

“We will meet at the second building,” he said, coughing between his words. “I expect Lucian to be dead by the time we talk once again. I am quickly losing strength, and I am in need of his powers.”

Her throat clogged up, but her shoulders were strong and her chin was held high when she walked out of the room. He called out her name before she left, though, and she looked back at him.

He had wheeled his chair into the light and --

God, he was worse than she had thought. Her stomach almost spilled right then. She wasn’t doing anything fast enough, wasn’t saving him.

“Yes?” she asked, aware that her voice was thin in the dank room.

He smiled with a pale, cracked face.

“You make me proud, daughter.”

She swallowed down her tears and smiled back, holding her hand over her heart. “And you, I, father.”