Septem

Septem

Settling

               Everywhere I went for the next week his eyes followed me. He had since told me that the dart that had knocked me out contained a mixture of a powerful aphrodisiac that had been developed by the drug companies. At first I was furious, but as the days wore on, my ire deteriorated. My claws would curl whenever I remembered him thrusting inside me. But he had left me alone, watching me from the shadows though his hunger was palpable and his eyes bright with yearning.

               As I became more familiar with my surroundings and the seven men around me throughout the compound, I began to realize that I had been simply surviving in my mountains. Every time I walked into the living room and sunk down into the couch in front of a massive flat screen they would plop down next to me and eat. They were constantly eating, though they never gained an ounce of weight.

               Every now and then they would fight over the food and it would all go flying into the air. Their fists would pound into each other, but they would always sit back down, squishing me between them as I tried to pick popcorn out of my braids.

               They would elbow me and point and laugh loudly and readily at the soap operas they loved to watch. As they explained it to me, “Such awful crap, but did you just see the fucking face that bitch made? Priceless.” Samiel preferred to watch shows like South Park and 1,000 Ways to Die which would make me laugh until my sides ached.

               As I slowly remembered things that I always loved about technology and people, I began to look forward to the free companionship that they offered. None of them made any moved for me, respecting that Azazel had waited a very long time to find me. But I was the only woman in the house, none of the other grigori, as they had told me they were called, had found their own woman yet.

               I was also learning about what I was. A Valkyrie. They had a huge gym at the back of the building and the ceilings were tall enough that I was beginning to stretch out my wings. There were skeletal, my bones running throughout visible, but they constantly glowed with feathers that were laced with energy. My ears had grown, sticking out through my braids in sharp points. My scars had disappeared over my entire body and my skin shone all the time now. My electricity never left me. I had to grow used to my strength, I was constantly breaking off door knobs and they would shake their heads and laugh at me.

               Today, I was sitting in between Cambriel and Ramiel on the couch and we were arguing about who was going to get up and make the next batch of popcorn.

               “Io should do it. She never contributes anything, sits on her ass all day.” Ramiel reached over me and grabbed a handful and shoved it into his mouth, hardly chewing at all.

               I shoved my elbow into his side and he hunched over, pretending to be hurt. “Don’t fuck with me, Ram.”

               Cam laughed next to me and I snatched the bowl from him and shot up off the couch. “Better watch it, Ram. She’ll kick your ass. Look at all that seething anger inside her.”

               Ram shook his head, “I’d like to see you try sweet ass.”

               I danced around with the popcorn bowl over my head and they yelled at me to move out of the way of the TV. I flipped them the bird and laughed as I they flew at me, trying to get the bowl.

               Ram’s hand grabbed my forearm and I zapped him, something I had learned I could do after they had started to get rough with me one day.

               He yelped and jumped back, his hair standing straight up. “You look like fucking Frankenstein.” I told him.

               He flapped his wings and shot above me, grabbing the bowl out of my hands.

               He shoved the last handful into his mouth as he touched back down and I ran after him. He laughed back at me and went around the corner toward the kitchen. I turned the corner and immediately smashed into Az’s chest. His arms shot out to steady me and I giggled up at him.

               After a moment he smiled down at me and slid one hand down my arm and took my hand, lacing his fingers between mine.

               “I’ve missed you, Io.” His voice was deep, deeper than any of the others, and it made my toes curl. “What have you been doing?”

               I walked with him back to his room and said, “Just flattening my ass on the couch.”

               He laughed then, the first time I had ever heard him laugh, and I smiled like a stupid fan girl.

               “Hey! Lightning girl!” Cam called from behind me, “We aren’t finished watching The Days of Our Lives.”

               I turned and looked over my shoulder at him, “Oh go back in a cry over whoever having whoever else’s baby. You won’t miss me.”

               He smiled at me and waved, dismissing me, as he went back in and I heard the tearful confession of some woman get louder a second later.

               I shook my head and squeezed Az’s hand.

               “You are not still mad at me?” He asked me as he shut his door behind us. I went and sat in the middle of his gigantic bed and looked at him.

               “Not anymore. I like it here. I forgot how much I love to socialize.”

               He grinned then, “Good, I want you to be happy here.” He sat down next to me and the mattress sunk and I rolled into his body. He wrapped his arm around me and we lay back, staring at the ceiling.

               My curiosity got the best of me and I realized I wanted to know more about this man that claimed I was his. “So, want to play twenty questions?”

               He turned onto his side and I turned toward him and he rested his hand on the curve of my hip, “Okay, you go first.”

               “What’s your favorite color?”

               He seemed surprised, like no one had ever asked him that before and then answered, “Black.” And he reached up and ran one of my braids through his fingers. “How long were you up on that mountain?”

               I sighed, “Six years. Since I was seventeen.”

               “So you’re twenty-three?” I nodded. “Why did you go up there by yourself? Didn’t you have a family?”

               The game forgotten, I answered him. “I went up to get away from the ghost of my family and to live a simple life.”

               His face grew hesitant, but he asked me, “What happened?”

               I brought my hand up and brushed a hank of his black hair from his forehead. His eyes closed at my touch and he grabbed my hand and planted a kiss in the middle of my palm. Then he looked at me, “Tell me.”

               A flash of panic went through me; I had never spoken of it to anyone. “Everything?”

               He nodded, “Yes. Everything.”

               I let out a breath and then sucked one in and began to talk.

               “I had a very happy childhood up until I was ten years old. My mother became addicted to one of the new drugs that they came out with, and she had an adverse side effect that would cause her heart to stop if she didn’t get a dose of it every hour on the hour. My sisters and I became increasingly used to the shady people who would drift through our house, and when I turned twelve, my mother had my little brother, Hamish. Her addiction became steadily worse, and we began to run out of money. She couldn’t work, because no one would hire her with her addiction. So she started to use us as payment. We lost our house and ended up living on the streets. But she wouldn’t stop, she turned into a ruthless person that none of us recognized. And then, one day, a deal went wrong and they wouldn’t take us like they normally did. They held all of us hostage until my mother could pay them back the money she owed them, but she abandoned us. And I watched as they slit the throats of my siblings... Even Hamish who was five at the time. They all died, but they kept me and used me in case she ever came back. But I knew she never would. Eventually, their minds started to turn, succumbing to the drugs they were selling and they started to torture me. They would put their cigarettes out on my body and carve my skin with their knives when they were ‘tripping out’ so hard they didn’t even know who they were. I became pregnant and when I was about six months along, they put a needle in my arm and I started to go in and out of consciousness.” My throat closed up then, my tears choking my airways. I hadn’t thought about the child I never had since I was seventeen.

               I looked up and gasped and crawled back away from Az. His eyes were seething and his muscles were tense. He had a killing look that turned his features cruel.

               “Continue, Io.”

               I shook my head, “No, I already said too much. I can’t tell you anymore.” My tears fell down my face in a free fall and I sank down into a fetal position and buried my face against my knees as my sobs rocked me.

               I was in his arms a moment later, though he was shaking with rage. He held me tightly and laid me on the bed. His lips found mine and his thumbs came up to my face and brushed away my tears.

               “I’ve got you baby. I’m not letting you go. No one is ever going to hurt you again.” He lay down next to me and pulled me into his arms and rocked me until my tears dried and then he began to undo my braids, running his fingers through my hair. Once it was all loose around us, he spread it out on his pillows and then buried his face in it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him close. But I knew I had to finish now. I couldn’t leave him with what I had just confessed.

               “They cut my baby out of me and stabbed it through the heart. Afterward they left me to die. I was bleeding out but I managed to find a needle and some dirty thread and I sewed myself up in between being unconscious from the blood loss. I must have lain there, alone, without any company or food for a good week. But when I could stand I escaped. And then I ran and ran and ran until I found my mountain. And I decided then to never leave.” I let out a relieved breath because it was all out. Someone else finally knew. I wasn’t alone with it anymore.

               His arms tightened around me until I cried out. He loosened his grip immediately and reached down and kissed my ribs on either side.

               “Io, I wish I could have saved you. I didn’t even know you were alive. And now I can’t even kill those miserable fucks.” He heaved himself up off the bed and walked to the door. “I’ll be back love.”

               I laid there for a few minutes, wondering whether it was a mistake to tell him. He probably found me revolting now. I couldn’t stand it any longer and left the room. I walked to the gym, so I could fly my frustration out, but when I swung the door open he was there.

               His shirt was off and sweat poured in rivers down his muscles. He was punching a bag that was tethered to the ceiling so hard that it would boom against the wall and swing back to him. I watched him, riveted to the sight of him, and then my wings expanded and I flapped them and lifted myself off the ground.

               He twisted around in an instant and his eyes shone across the space. As I flew toward him I noticed that he was crying. I stopped above him. “I’m so sorry, Az.”

               He wiped away his tears and he reached his arms up for me. I floated down into him and he held me against his body, leaning his head against my chest as he shook. I ran my fingers through his hair and he dropped to his knees with me.

               “Io, you are my woman. You are everything I could ever have wanted. You are perfect. Don’t ever be sorry because I love you.”

               My fingers stilled on him and he raised his face up to mine. I didn’t say it back, I couldn’t.

               But I kissed with everything I felt, and the depth of it surprised me. I had thought that I was lost for Nox, but this demon with lavender eyes and an understanding of what I needed without me having to say anything, was more than I had ever imagined I felt for Nox. My heart swelled as I kissed him and his told me he loved me again. I decided then, that if I was ever going to love someone, I would want it to be him. He was fierce, with a fire that burned inside him that sparked my own fire to burn higher and brighter than ever before. His touches drove me wild and he was generous with his love.

               “Don’t worry Io. I’ll love you enough for both of us, for now. But I won’t give up until you tell me you love me too.” He smiled then, through his tears. “And woman, it going to be a fucking blast to get you on my side.”