The Arbiter: Divinely Damned Book One Read online

  Releasing me, before I can answer, she continues, “You bore me sometimes, Enoch. We could have so much fun together if you weren’t still hung up on that halfie. She’ll never forgive you for just ditching her last time anyways. Just think of the havoc we could cause together. It would be beautiful.”

  I only gave this bitch my soul so Nocturna could live, I owe her nothing else.

  When I don’t say anything in return to her, she shoves me away from her, “Whatever, you’ll see the error of your ways soon enough. Do you have anything to report? The boss is getting a little antsy at how long it’s taking. And we don’t want the boss getting antsy, do we?” The last bit is said with a short slap to my face.

  “I have nothing for you tonight,” I say with finality, just wanting her to leave.

  Unfortunately, she rushes me again and molds her lips to mine. The sulfer smell that leaks into my mouth makes me want to gag, even though I should be used to it by now. I don’t think I’ll ever be, and I can’t help but to compare it to Nocturna. Just the mere scent and taste of her is enough to drive the sanest man mad. She ensnared me all those years ago. If only her life wouldn’t have been threatened by the very demon with her tongue down my throat, I never would have missed so much time with her.

  For the millionth time, I think of running my fist through Marilith’s chest and yanking out that cold, black heart. I couldn’t do it then, and I won’t do it now. Cain will tear the realms to shreds if something happens to his prize child in front of me. Then he’ll come for Nocturna.

  Marilith finally gets her fill and pulls away, “See you soon, lover. Be sure to have something better to report next time, and don’t keep me waiting so long. Otherwise, I might be forced to come find you.”

  At that, she disappears. I run a hand through my hair and let out a sigh of relief. It only lasts for a few seconds as I think about what they’re asking me to do. Were it any other person, I would have no qualms in trying to tip the Arbiters scales. Hell, I come close to Cassia. She just wasn’t strong enough for what Cain has planned. I’m leaning toward the conclusion that the Creator gave this new position to Nocturna to torture me. Maybe I’m finally paying for my sins.

  Either way, there’s no backing out on a soul deal with Marilith. I’m stuck until she’s dead, or decides to let me free, which will be never. I rub a hand up and down my face as I try to forget the stench that rolled off Marilith. It’s going to take more than that. I turn on my heel and head back towards the club. Even though she kicked me out, just being close to Nocturna makes me feel like who I used to be before. I stayed away to keep her safe in the beginning, but it’s starting to look like my staying close will be the only way to truly protect her. Who knows, maybe I’ll get a chance to rile her up again while I’m there. She’s so fucking sexy when she’s pissed. My lips turn up into a smile as the bottom drops out of the sky and soaks me to the bone as each step I take brings me closer to her.

  Larkan

  Nocturna had told me to leave earlier, but I still had one thing I needed her to do with me. So, I stayed behind until the others left and went back, coaxing her into leaving by telling her it was important.

  “Where is this place were going exactly?” Nocturna asks me from the passenger seat.

  I flip the windshield wipers on as the rain pours harder. I silently curse the change in weather tonight. With the visibility so slim, I wasn’t sure she’d be able to see Enoch if or when he was finished with this little meeting he had planned.

  “It’s about two miles down the old industrial road out by Harper Road,” I explain.

  She snorts. “That doesn’t exactly answer my question. You pulled me out here after I asked for alone time. But for real, who does a stake out when you can barely even see through the windshield? Even my eyesight isn’t that awesome.”

  “It’s an old warehouse that’s used as a sort of lounge hangout for some Damned. My informant said there’s a meeting going on there tonight between two people who are suspected of being involved with the missing Damned,” then sigh, “And stake outs aren’t always planned ahead of time. Sometimes, you have to tough out the shit weather and do the job.”

  “How are we going to figure out who we’re looking for if it’s a hangout place? Won’t there be a lot of people there?” she asks.

  I nod and lie, “Possibly. He said we’d know them when we saw them.” What else could I say? If I told her the real reason we were here, she’d charge right in looking for Enoch, and he’d know it’s me who told her.

  “So, we’ve got basically nothing to go on. Awesome.”

  She blows out a raspberry and starts fiddling in the folds of her jacket for something. The motion of her hands has my eyes wandering from the road to her. Which in turn, has them sliding along the sheer, black panty hose covering her insanely amazing legs. It takes all of my concentration to avert my eyes back to driving.

  I should’ve argued against her wearing a skirt tonight. It is going to distract me on so many levels while we wait for Enoch to make his presence known. I need to focus on the whole purpose of why we’re coming out to the middle of nowhere on this shitty night. She has to see he isn’t who he says he is.

  The glint of something metallic in her hands catches my eye.

  “A flask? Really?” I ask her in disbelief.

  She shrugs and unscrews the top. “Not like it’s going to do much of anything. It’s not Nightlock whiskey. I drank plenty of that before you barged back in to invite me to this pointless stakeout. So, we’re good. Just need to take the edge off is all.”

  She throws it back, taking a large swig of it before closing it and slipping it between her legs to hold. I swallow hard, aggravated that it just brought my attention back to her legs again.

  “And why is it that you need to take the edge off at all?” I ask, masking the desire I have filling me with amusement. “Is my company that awful?”

  Her face turns dark as if she’s hiding something before she chuckles. “Not at all. I just know how stakeouts can be. Sometimes you wait for hours before anything happens. I’m not a huge fan of just sitting and doing nothing for that long. It tends to bring the shit that you don’t want to think about front and center in your mind. So, excuse me, but booze it is.”

  I bob my head in agreement. “I see your point.”

  Then without thinking too much on it, I reach over and snatch her flask from between her legs. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t graze her thighs with my knuckles as I do this. I don’t miss the shiver that passes over her either.

  I bring it up to look over the detail engraved into the metal.

  It’s a skull, but half of it is done in a decorative, filigree style, while the other is just plain. The metal is thick and has a brassy color that gives it an aged look. On the cap is her name, the letters in a twisted script that encompasses the entire circumference of it. I turn it around and see the words, ‘Too sinful to be Divine, and too righteous to be Damned” engraved in the same script.

  “I like this. Where’d you get it?” I ask her, handing it back.

  She slowly grabs it from me and runs her thumbs along the design, smiling at it with pride in her eyes.

  “Jamie got it for me for my birthday five years ago. She said it made her think of me and how I have two sides. She’s the first person who’s ever gotten me anything for my birthday, but this one meant more to me than anything she’s ever given. I carry it with me everywhere now.”

  She opens and takes one last swig before sliding it back into her jacket, giving me a tiny bit of relief that she didn’t put it back in her lap.

  “That’s a great gift. She was right, though. It suits you.”

  She turns her smile to me. “Yeah. It does.”

  Yet again, desire rises within me. Why does this keep happening? In all of my existence, I’ve never had to worry about emotions. Rites don’t usually have emotions other than the desire for justice. This desire was lost to me until I met her. Like stepping into a ne
w place that feels amazing but confuses you to the core. I started wondering after I met her if she was this key that unlocks a side of me that other Rites don’t have. That maybe my Abel blood that sets me apart from the other Rites power wise, also sets me apart from them in everything else we’re supposed to be.

  I turn my attention back to the road and almost sigh in relief when I see the warehouse is just ahead.

  I drive until we’re only a few hundred yards away and have a full view of the entrance. The place is already starting to fill up with Damned.

  “How come I’ve never heard of this place?” She asks as she watches some of the people run through the rain to get inside. “I thought my club was the only one like it.”

  “It is. This one mostly only caters to Succubi and Incubi. It’s got a very old jazz club vibe to it. It’s not as much for dancing as it is for entertainment of another variety,” quirking my brow at her when she turns to me.

  “Soooo… it’s a sex club?” She giggles slightly and turns back to watch.

  I should’ve known this place would get her attention. She is, after all, part Succubus.

  “Yes and no,” I reply. “It’s a feeding lounge.”

  Sex does happen, but not for the pleasure, only for energy. I’m sure she gets this, though, so there’s no reason to explain. I practically see a shiver roll down her spine. Maybe this stake out had been a bad idea. At least, a stake out in this particular location. I hadn’t even thought of the energy she could probably feel coming from that place.

  I have to distract her until Enoch comes out.

  I ask the first thing that pops into my head, “So, tell me about the Apothecary. How’d you end up starting that?”

  She turns a raised brow to me, “You really wanna know?”

  “I do. I figure if we’re going to be cooped up in here, I may as well get to know you better,” I answer.

  A devilish smile takes over her face. She adjusts herself in her seat, putting her back against the door, then crosses her arms. “If I didn’t know any better, Rite, I’d say you made up this stake out ruse just as an excuse to get close to me.”

  I smirk. “No, but that’s not a bad idea. Seriously, though, how’d you get the idea?”

  She runs a hand through her hair and starts playing with the ends. “I don’t really know how the idea came to me. I just remember waking up one day, realizing I didn’t want to have to separate myself from one side or the other. I wanted to be both Divine and Damned, and I wanted to be able to be around both at the same time. While I do prefer the company of the Damned, since you Rites have no semblance of the word fun,” she gives a playful eye roll and smiles at me. “But still. I like the feeling of being around both. It’s like each half of my soul is content when I can feel the different types of power around me.”

  I gaze at her with a bit of awe. She’d been an Arbiter in her own right before the Creator even glanced her way. I’m a bit blown away.

  “I never liked the fact that we all had to be separate. I mean, what’s the point? Just because our ancestors fucked up royally by starting a war with each other, why does it mean we have to follow in their steps and not just get along?” She stops fiddling with her hair and looks up at me.

  Her eyes widen. “What?” She asks.

  I shake my head. “Nothing. It’s just… you’re probably the first Arbiter to actually feel that way.” I lean my arms on the steering wheel and scratch the scruff of my five o’clock shadow. “I had to deal with Cassia several times over the course of her reign, and while she didn’t hold disdain for us Rites, she sure as Damnation didn’t particularly like us. I never felt she really earned the right to have so much power and influence, but it wasn’t my call. It’s the Creator’s. He chose her, so I abided by his law.”

  “You didn’t like her that much then?” Nocturna asks with a light laugh.

  “No. Not in the least bit,” I reply without hesitation, gaining a louder laugh from her. “She always acted like the world was beneath her because of her station. Just because you’re elevated in power, doesn’t mean you have the right to belittle those who are not.”

  “Well said,” she praises. “I honestly don’t feel that powerful, even with my station. I see no point in flaunting it if I don’t even feel it. I didn’t want to be Arbiter. I just wanted to be Nocturna; mistress of the Apothecary and all around bad ass.”

  I let out a bark of laughter that has her lips turning back up into that sexy smile, “I don’t think even being an Arbiter can take that away from you, Nocturna. In fact, I think it only just adds to that bad-assery you have going for you.”

  “Bad-assery. I think I’m going to start using that as a verb. Good choice.”

  We both laugh together at that. I can’t remember the last time I laughed. Or if I have ever actually laughed before her. What is this woman doing to me?

  The rain begins to fall harder as we go quiet and fall back into silence.

  I’m not entirely sure what to do with myself as we wait. Anytime I’ve ever been on a stakeout like this, it was with other Rites. They aren’t exactly full of conversation, so silence is usually just a given. But, I don’t want to stay silent with her. I like the feeling of… well, feeling.

  Unfortunately, I am awful when it comes to starting a conversation. Which is even more evident when she turns and begins watching the humans and Damned coming in and out of the club. The only sounds that are heard is the rain against the metal of the SUV, and the jazzy music filtering through the air.

  I’m about to try another route of conversation, when I feel a sudden influx of power.

  At first, I’m thinking maybe a more powerful Damned has arrived to party and begin to search around outside. However, I’m quick to discover that it’s not coming from outside, but from inside the vehicle.

  I glance at Nocturna and see her skin shifty between its normal opaque color, to the translucent skeletal system of her second form.

  “Nocturna…are you okay?” I ask; my hand reaching out to touch her.

  Her eyes snap in my direction, and I see they’re lit with that mercurial glow.

  “The energy coming from that place is killing me…” she rasps out hungrily, before turning to look back longingly at the club. “I want to feed.”

  Fuck. I should’ve asked before we left if she had fed. Why hadn’t I done that?

  I reach over and put her chin between my two fingers, angling her head to look at me. “Nocturna, concentrate. You can’t get out of the car.”

  Her eyes flash brighter for a split second, then her brows pinch together. “Why not? I can practically taste all the energy, and it’s making my mouth water.”

  Her skin stops flashing between the two sides and settles on her second form. The white ends of her hair start to spread further up towards her scalp.

  Damnation, this isn’t good! I can’t let her get out of this car.

  “You need to concentrate. Listen to my voice,” I soothe her. It’s hard to hold onto even this slip of skin on her chin with how much power is starting to radiate from her body. I can feel what’s almost like a current of humming electricity moving from where I’m touching her into my fingers, then slowly up my arm.

  If I don’t get a handle on her, it won’t matter if she gets out or not. They’ll feel her inside.

  “I’m sorry,” she says quietly.

  I’m about to ask what she’s sorry for, when her hand clamps down on my wrist and a spark of light comes from her palm. The jolt shoves me back against the driver’s side door.

  Before I can recover from the shock of her power, she’s up and out of the SUV, walking in the downpour of rain towards the entrance of the club.

  “Fuck!” I shout. I open my door and race after her. “Nocturna!”

  She ignores me and quickens her pace. I only manage to clutch the back of her shirt as she reaches the other side of the street, then haul her back towards me. Her back hits my chest with a loud, wet slapping sound from our soaked cl
othes.

  “Let me go, Larkan!” She yells, trying to get away as I wrap my arms around her.

  Thunder cracks above us. “Not happening, little Arbiter! You can’t go in there!” I yell over it, then begin to walk us backwards.

  She tries to zap me again, but I grab her wrists and hold them together with one hand. As long as I keep the runes from touching me, we should be good.

  She struggles against my hold, but it’s useless. She may be slightly more powerful than me, but I’ve had many more centuries to hone my skills. She’s still learning.

  Pulling her backwards is becoming taxing with her wiggling, so I quickly pivot her to face me and wrap her in my arms tight with her hands behind her back. I didn’t even care about the rain anymore. I just needed to understand how she could be so out of control right now. She’s stronger than this.

  “Why are you letting the hunger win?” I ask her forcefully. “I’ve heard of the control you have over it, Nocturna. Why is it so difficult now?”

  Her eyes zero in on mine with perfect attention, but her lips are pressed tightly together as if she’s grinding her teeth.

  “I don’t know,” she says, almost struggling to speak through her clenched jaw. “I haven’t been feeding as much lately as I should. This power—” she shuts her eyes tight and shivers. “—it needs more than what I normally take. I can’t handle the hunger as easily anymore. I feel like…like I could literally just claw myself out of my skin…”

  I watch her as she struggles internally while the chilling rain batters down on her eerily beautiful face. I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to be a slave to two warring sides of your soul. To have to stave off an uncontrollable hunger so deep set into your DNA, that you would feel like you’re about to claw out of your own skin if you couldn’t satisfy it…

  And I can’t imagine what possesses me to say the next few words that come out of my mouth.

  “Take it from me.”

  Her glowing eyes snap open like a hawk that’s found its prey. But, she shakes her head.