Sebastian chuckled. "As good as a ripening, my fellow councilman. So now you owe me." Nuit smiled. "Well worth the price, indeed."
* * *
the chasm in the earth opened and a hundred massive scythe-bearers flowed over the edges. Nzinga stood hidden in the stand of trees and began swinging the silver energy tether in a whirl of circular motion and then released it so that the glowing white orb containing the reversed spell passed the demons and fell into the abyss. The scythe-bearers hissed and screeched then went after the offending light before it descended too far into the pit, not realizing that the moment it hit anything down there, it would deto
nate like a grenade.
Damali took cover as huge tentacles reached up from the yawning opening in the ground and snatched down scythe-bearers with an angry snap. Their blades were of no use. Each time the guard and messenger demons hacked away one squirming limb, the black-green slime that splattered them entered their systems and made them lustily turn on their fellow demon soldiers. Those demons unable to reach another one of their own connected with the spell's thick ropes of tentacles, tree trunks, exposed roots, anything they could rub themselves against until the spell pulled away the groaning carnage to go deeper into the pit. The Queens squinted in disgust as the tentacles finally dragged away writhing demons, and disappeared.
"Never in my born days ..." Eve murmured, shocked. "Not even in Sodom and Gomorrah."
"I'm just pissed off that they tried to bring that shit to my door - my household," Damali said through her teeth. "Well, hold on for phase two. The door is open. Watch my six." Quickly moving to the edge of the precipice, Damali made her voice as seductive as she could. "Fallon," she said, listening to it echo down through the unguarded first and second levels. "How could you show me all those hot im ages, taunt me outside of la casa in Morales, and then disap pear? I didn't realize chivalry was dead, mon dieu." Damali rolled her eyes and put her hand on her hip, but kept the Isis firmly in her right grip. She could just imagine the devastation the spell was having with the ghost gangs and incubi and succubae, not to mention the poltergeists. Lilith would be busy for weeks cleaning up that madness and restoring order, and if it got down to the serpents ... the Amanthras might strangle themselves in frenzied mating balls. The were-demon realms on Level Five might not even come out to hunt on the full moon. An urgent mental jolt from her Queens made her ready for the soundless mist behind her. Damali didn't turn around; she knew male vampires and what they craved like she knew the back of her hand. The moment Nuit materialized she spun, had his hair in her fist, and bit his jugular.
"What took you so f**king long? Do I look like a woman who wants to be kept waiting?" She smiled. The surprise in his eyes and the hard shudder that passed through him made her wonder for a moment if he'd busted a nut.
"Damali ... for years," he crooned, nuzzling her neck.
"Yeah, what can I say? I finally came to my right mind, I suppose... besides, you know what marriage does to a girl."
"No, tell me, cheri, in excruciating ... mental... detail."
She fought not to tense at his cool, clammy touch and gave a French kiss her all to stun his mind. There was just something so foul about having a being without a soul run its hands over her ass, but this was war. Carlos had always been white hot against her, even while dead. The soul factor, she supposed. But the fact at the moment was she needed Nuit to take her down through the tunnels so she could seed the lev els with glowing time bombs, let them quietly detonate, and then her squad would be coming in as backup once the ten
tacles consumed everything in their wake with lust.
"You got a throne?" she murmured, coming out of the kiss breathless for maximum effect. His hands were in her hair, tears of desire in his eyes, and she could feel him about to totally lose his composure to present bat wings and a spaded tail. "Never could I have imagined what the scent of you this close could do to my reason, cheri, much less the taste of your mouth and the spill of natural confection your skin is in my hands - "
"Listen, while I'm flattered," she said, not wanting to have to kiss him again, or worse.
"Stop humping my leg and answer my question - do you have a throne?"
"Of course I do," he said, nuzzling her hair and sliding a glistening fang up her throat.
"Then can we get our swerve on down there? I'm horny as hell and really don't feel like being out here in a pile of leaves and bugs and whatnot," she fussed, staying in charac ter, doing everything she could to make him believe the spell had taken her mind. He just stared at her for a moment as though she'd slapped him, and she could feel his mind trying to blunt f**k hers to pry information out of it. She smiled and allowed her eyes to slide shut as her hand slipped between their bodies and she stroked his groin.
"Oh, yeah ... that's it, lover. Just do that in a throne and I'm yours," she murmured and then pulled in a deep hiss between her teeth. "I remember when Carlos used to be able to do that, baby."
A dark transport cloud swept her up so fast that it knocked the air out of her lungs. In the dense blackness, she had to remember how to sense the descent, flying blind, with evesight useless and Fallen's mouth on hers ... but drop-nine small charges from her pockets while he was extremely preoccupied.
She landed on his lap and immediately jumped back before the throne itself could start to invade her. For a moment, he was slightly disoriented and she needed a cover to buy time.
"I didn't know she'd be here, and who's he?" Damali said, pointing at Sebastian. Lilith hissed. "Fallon, are you insane?"
"Hey, Lilith," Damali said, ramming her Isis into the floor and watching the marble smolder. "I would have given you the ride of your life in a throne, Fallon, but not with that bitch watching - she doesn't deserve it. Put her out or I ain't dropping the silver - him, too."
Damali quickly turned back to Nuit, who had ironically battle bulked on Lilith. She didn't bother to fight the smile and allowed it to come out on her face looking just as sinister as she felt.
"The legendary one. Ahhhh ... I am Sebastian, greatest of spell-caster warlocks and newly installed councilman at large," Sebastian said with a bow toward Damali. He spun on Lilith. "If you ever challenge one of my spells again, I will remind you of this moment." He began to sweep away to the council antechambers. "Nuit, you lucky bastard, I want a mental video of this when you're done." With a puff of black smoke, he was gone.
"I will ask you again, Fallon," Lilith said, hissing and spitting as she transformed to meet his physical challenge, "have you lost your mind?"
" En garde!" he shouted, producing a Black Death blade.
"Girl... you know how they are when they want some, right?" Damali said, studying her nails.
Damali ducked the black bolt that Lilith sent her way, and was pleasantly surprised to see Nuit put a black shield between them with the Isis still on her side.
"You owe me this, Lilith!" Nuit shouted in Dananu. "After all I've done for you - this one indulgence is all I ask!" His fist hit the council table and broke off a corner of the pentagram.