Sacrifice of the Septimus: Part 1 (Afterlife saga Book 7) Read online

  I think everyone has their breaking point and it’s as heart breaking to witness it as it is to go through it, especially if the one seeing it is the one who loves you like no other. That night I cried myself to sleep in Draven’s arms saying goodbye to an old life I never wanted and woke to a new beginning in the only life I ever wanted… still in Draven’s arms. Which is why I didn’t need a big wedding or any wild Hen Do. Because getting married wasn’t about showing the whole world my commitment or the love I had for Dominic Draven…

  It was only ever about showing him.

  But now as I watched that same single tear fall from Pip’s eye that Draven had seen fall from mine I realised something. I had gotten it all wrong that night. It wasn’t about showing the world our love, it was about celebrating it with the people we loved and those that in turn loved us. And if that meant making people happy by getting involved and wanting to create something special for us, even if for Pip it came in the form of some Penis shaped confetti, then really what was the harm in it.

  The next big sigh I released made Sophia smirk as she no doubt knew what was coming next.

  “Hey Pip! I think I have changed my mind!” I shouted over to her, ignoring the chuckle from Sophia. Her wild green hair flicked to one side as her head snapped up with anticipation as to what I would say next.

  “I want you and Sophia to throw me a Hen Do.” I said trying not to sound like I had a million naked horrors dancing around my head, wondering what the Hell I was getting myself into by giving the naughtiest Supernatural out there this kind of power. As soon as I’d finished committing myself to what she wanted most in the world, the bowl she held crashed to the floor as she dropped it, obviously no longer caring about ‘precious cereal’. Then she ran towards me jumping and skipping every other step just to get to me quicker. I braced for impact, knowing what Pip was like for crashing into people she cared about and caught her in a hug.

  “You really mean it?!” she shouted in my ear and I couldn’t help but smile over her shoulder before answering her.

  “Yes Pip. I really mean it.” This made her hug me tighter then whisper in my ear,

  “Thank you. I promise you won’t regret it.” And she was right because no matter what planned I would never regret being able to make my friend this happy. She kissed me quickly on my cheek before letting me go, this time running off towards Adam and crashing into him. His smile said it all and suddenly I realised I hadn’t just made one person happy but two. I nodded to him when he mouthed a silent ‘Thank you’ over Pip’s shoulder and mouthed back my own silent ‘You’re welcome’ at him.

  I felt Sophia standing next to me and without looking at her she said,

  “That’s one happy Imp you just made.” My smile deepened at the thought but it was one that didn’t last long when she said,

  “But you know my brother will shit soulweed seeds when he finds out there will most definitely be strippers involved.” I shot her a look of panic and she held up both her hands and said,

  “I’m just saying.”

  “Oh God…” I muttered lowering my head knowing exactly what she meant…Draven was going to be pissed alright.

  “But you know…” Sophia leant in closer to me and began whispering,

  “I’m sure I could smooth things over with him and explain how as an insider I would keep an eye on his precious human wife to be.” I pulled back and looked at her with eyes wide with hope.

  “You would do that?!”

  “But of course…well… at a price.” And enter Sophia’s demon side. It didn’t take a genius to see what was coming next and especially not considering I had just played the guilt game with Pip. So I wasn’t surprised I was now playing the bribe game with Sophia as I knew guilt wasn’t her particular style of manipulation. I also wasn’t surprised when I found out what the price was or that it was the mirror image of what Pip had wanted.

  “You want to plan my wedding don’t you?” I said unable to resist mimicking Draven’s usual trait of frustration when pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “I promise no pink.” I groaned out loud which she took as her answer and like Pip she too hugged me, pulling me close and whispering a thank you in my ear.

  “It will be beautiful and you won’t regret it, I promise.” I wanted to say, I had heard that before and only three minutes ago by someone who could make mischief an Olympic sport! Instead I nodded and whispered back,

  “I know.”

  “Thank you,” she added before letting me go and instead of running into her husband’s arms like Pip had done, Zagan was suddenly standing next to us and simply asked,

  “I take it you broke her like you hoped, my love?” She winked at me as my eyebrows were knitted together frowning at her. Then she turned to him and patted his chest saying,

  “Sure did.” I could still hear her chuckling at my growl when she reached the door.

  “Dom has finished his business and wants to see you now,” Zagan said smiling down at me, even though I was giving the back of his wife the evil death stare, one that did diddly shit I might add.

  “You came in ten minutes ago,” I stated folding my arms across my chest.

  “And?”

  “And you could have saved me ten minutes ago.” This made him laugh once before bending his head due to our height difference and speaking what I knew was the truth,

  “But then I would have missed out on the breathtaking show of my wife’s smile as you made her day in a way no other could. And in turn you gained another happy husband forever in your debt.” He said this as he looked back to Adam who was watching Pip with that secret smile only reserved for someone deeply in love. Then he took my hand, lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it in gratitude. Of course being me I blushed crimson and as he walked away I was left grinning to myself, feeling good that I had been able to give my friends what they really wanted.

  But now it was time for what I wanted and that would always be the sight of one man…

  Dominic Draven.

  My Husband in the eyes of the Gods and soon to be in the eyes of Mortals.

  So I excused myself quietly from the room to go in search of Draven and break the news to him that he should brace himself for the events to come. My idea of a small quiet wedding had been blown out of those calm waters and catapulted headfirst into a storm called Pip and Sophia. But it would be okay because at the end of the day the same outcome would see the sun setting on a perfect day, no matter what kind of dress I wore or the colour of the flowers on the table. Draven and I would be tied together in every way possible despite what the future held for us all, I would see its end or continuation hand in hand with the man I loved.

  That was all I asked.

  Okay so preferably I would ask for it not to end and we could grow old together…well I definitely would that was for sure, even though Draven was still trying to convince me that my ageing process had slowed down considerably now we were ‘back together’, which was code for having sex again.

  I smirked as the thoughts of the last week ran through my head. Draven had been like a man possessed and I was sure we were both trying to make up for lost time in more ways than one. If we weren’t wrapped around each other, all locked limbs and lips then we were in the same room talking about the last nine months and what we’d missed. It was a bit like therapy for us both and was most definitely something we both needed right now. In fact this was the first morning we had been apart in a week. He had walked me into the dining room this morning assuring me he wouldn’t be long in conducting his business and after only being without him for just an hour he was right.

  So as I walked back to our room I thought back on everything that had happened over this last week.

  I would say the hardest part the week had held for me was seeing my family again for the first time. Thankfully I could rely on Libby getting emotional and therefore giving me the excuse needed to do the same. However, in her mind she had seen me only a month earlier as sh
e believed me travelling off around the world with Draven as he continued running his business empire.

  It was a hard thing to wrap my head around that they had not only spoken to her over the phone as me but also imprinted fake memories of seeing me in the time that had passed. How I felt about it all was confusing as I hated the idea as much as I was grateful for it. I knew it was a necessary evil, considering it would have been worse for my family knowing I was missing for the last nine months. Even so I couldn’t have stopped the water works when first seeing them even if I’d tried. So Libby’s overemotional reactions actually helped on this occasion and so did cake. Both of them combined was enough to convince my sister it was simply a sensitive time of the month and family and chocolate were the only cure.

  The hardest part was actually seeing how big Ella had grown, as adding nine months to the one-year-old I knew when I was taken was a big change. Also I noticed the way she looked at me as if she knew I hadn’t been around and when I turned to give Draven a look, the one he gave me back was simply meant as… ‘Don’t ask’. It became obvious that there was something different about my niece but that was quite frankly a conversation that was to be dealt with another day and not one I could cope with just right now. But thankfully she wasn’t even two years old yet so our secret was safe for the moment.

  What was nice to see though was how she reacted to Draven and also how Draven reacted to her. I found myself fascinated just watching them, which started to provoke strange feelings from me about my hopes for the future. I couldn’t say I hadn’t thought about having kids myself one day but since meeting Draven I must confess it had been the last thing on my mind. I suppose travelling to Hell and back, being kidnapped on numerous occasions and finding myself in a supernatural war would put the brakes on broodiness for any woman. Not to mention fighting for your own life as well as the man you loved, as that’s enough to force the thoughts of settling down and making babies to the back of anyone’s mind.

  Which had me wondering…

  Why now?

  Thankfully these dangerous thoughts came to an end when I heard a large set of lungs clearing their throat. I looked up to see the worn and weathered face of my dear friend Ragnar staring back down at me. His smile was one that would have been hard to decipher if you didn’t know him as well as I did.

  “Deep in thought, Lille øjesten?” His deep voice echoed throughout the grand hallway. The ‘Little Apple’ nickname had stuck around and it made me want to smile every time I heard it as I knew it was said as a term of endearment in his culture.

  “Aren’t I always?” I answered smiling up at him and thinking my autopilot must have been working overtime as I didn’t actually remember how I got there. He grunted his response which I knew was his version of a laugh as he opened the door he was guarding.

  “Many thanks, Big Viking Man!” I said giving him a salute as I walked past and entered the room. I heard the door close behind me and where I was expecting to see Draven the room appeared empty…until I saw her.

  “You!” I snarled stepping back into a pair of strong arms banding around me and just as I was about to scream a hand clamped down over my mouth.

  I started to panic and my first thought was not again!

  My second thought however was my new nightmare in the image of a woman that faced me now…

  Layla.

  Chapter 2

  Trusting the Shadows of Enemies

  My scream was muffled by the strong hand that covered my mouth and it took me a while to hear whose voice that hand belonged to.

  “Ssshh, calm yourself sweetheart, it’s not who you think it is.” I frowned in confusion at the vision of the vile creature that had tried to end my life numerous times before and was unmistakably stood in our room.

  “Are you calm, Keira?” Draven asked me from behind and after a few deep breaths I nodded. I didn’t understand any of this and was angry that Draven’s version of conducting business had anything to do with this waste of a vessel. So it was no wonder that by the time he released me I’d clenched my fists and flew at the murderous bitch without any warning.

  “Keira, no!” I ignored Draven’s demand and took her neck into my hands. I was surprised by her reaction when instead of fighting me she went limp in my hold. Her body fell to the floor, landing on her knees with a crack and I automatically went down with her as there was no chance I was letting the bitch go now!

  “Keira stop it! Stop it now! Let her go!” He continued to shout at me and my head snapped round and I shouted back,

  “Are you kiddin’ me? She tried to kill me!” I said remembering the icy shards of pain that wracked my body when being pushed to my watery grave only to be saved by Lucius. The memory alone forced my grip to tighten without the mental command.

  “It wasn’t her!” I could hear Draven shouting in the background but I was too far gone to listen. I looked into her heartless eyes as I watched the life slip away from them when something stopped me. I let go immediately and scrabbled back from the girl in shock. It wasn’t the same cold evil soul that I saw in her stare after all. Draven was right…it wasn’t her.

  “Who…who is she?” I mumbled in disbelief. Draven ignored me as he helped the traumatised girl off the floor and my will snapped.

  “Who is she?” I shouted and finally Draven took notice.

  “She is an agent of mine who was working undercover disguised as Layla, trying to get close to those that may have information on Aurora and Jack’s whereabouts.” At this bombshell my mouth dropped. I watched in silence as all words fled me at the sight of Draven helping someone who looked the exact image of the bitch who’d tried to kill me. If I thought that I had seen it all, including my last two trips to Hell, then I was surely mistaken, because this right here was the winner and prom queen of Weird Town!

  In fact if it hadn’t been for the brief flash in her eyes I would have bet my life on it being her, which still begged the question, who exactly was she?

  “Are you alright, Ranka?” Draven spoke softly to her proving his concern.

  “Yes, I am alright my Lord, no real harm done,” she said in a musical tone that was far from Layla’s vindictive demeanour, however for some reason it still grated on me or was it the way Draven was so caring and gentle around her?

  “I think it best if I take my leave now,” she said smoothing back her blonde hair into the side plait it was escaping from thanks to my rough treatment.

  “No, no that’s not necessary, please stay…”

  “No, I think…Ranka is it?” I asked interrupting myself after I was left to get myself off the floor, pissed off at not receiving the same gallant treatment from Draven.

  “It is,” she replied gracing me with a smile as Draven was looking on, one that died as soon as he looked back at me. This was even more annoying because it just ended up looking like the disapproving look I gave her was unjustified. I ignored his own disapproving frown and continued,

  “I think Ranka is right, it’s best she leaves.” I made this sound as stern as I could, telling him all he needed to know on how I felt about this surprise meeting. I then turned my back on the both of them or more importantly Draven’s critical eyes and walked over to the sofa where I sat quietly fuming.

  “Very well.” Draven said after an exasperated sigh left his lips.

  “Your room is as you left it Ranka, please make yourself comfortable until I call upon you to discuss these matters further.” Hearing this I thought I would swallow my own tongue and it became very hard not to react the way I wanted to…as in throw my hands up in the air, stamp my foot and maybe even throw some old antique at him in some gorgeous diva style fashion…knowing me though my hands would smack my own chin, I would stub my toe and that old antique would be a priceless artefact, one gifted to him by some Shaolin Temple Monk over a thousand years ago!...So I took the safe route and kept my arms crossed over my chest.

  “But of course… My Lord.” I watched as she bowed her head in respect
or ass kissing devotion, either one, before leaving the room. As soon as the door closed I stood up and we simultaneously turned to face each other and said,

  “What was that about?”

  “And what was that about!?” I was the only one that shouted it.

  “Keira, I understand why you would get upset at seeing her in that form but if you had only listened to me then I would have…”

  “Oh what a load of BS!” I shouted interrupting him and his eyes widened for a brief moment in surprise. Then he was the one to fold his arms causing the material on his shirt to tighten in that mouth-watering way that had me wanting to lick my lips…damn him! Oh yeah and then he added that bloody eyebrow raise of his…the Bastard! Now I didn’t know if I wanted to scream at him or run and jump him like a damn cat climbing a tree!

  “No, no! You can stop that right now,” I told him turning away just to catch my breath and I heard him mask a laugh with a cough.

  “Stop what exactly?”

  “You know exactly what you are doing… damn supernatural men and their sexual voodoo!” I muttered and this time he just laughed out loud no longer caring if I heard.

  “Is this another one of those mortal moments we talked about?” I rolled my eyes as I turned back to face him, very much regretting ever having that particular conversation with him.

  “No Draven this is just me being pissed off with you and not because I am a girl on my period.” I said this wondering whatever possessed me to explain period mood swings to him in the first place. I decided I needed a drink so turned around once more to fill my glass from the fancy hand blown decanter when I changed my mind suddenly, not quite done with my rant.

  “And whilst we are on that subject, FYI for the future, if a girl is on her period one of the worst, and I mean absolute worst things a guy can say to her is ‘Are you on your period’!” I informed him sarcastically, this time throwing caution to the wind and dramatically flinging my arms around.