Page 28 of Anarchy
“Shit! It’s Ripley! Hello? Bitch, you’d better be okay. If he even broke a fingernail, we’re going to get creative.”
“Put it on speaker, or you’ll get another curse on your dick,” Ravyn growled.
“Calm your tits. I was. Ripley, you’re on speaker.”
I was pretty amazed at the things that came out of Balthazar’s mouth and that he didn’t end up cursed more often. He totally didn’t deserve the one he had when he ended up at the library, but at no point in the history of witches had telling one to calm their tits when a situation was this bad ever ended in anything good.
“Tell me you’re okay, my witch.”
“That gas was no joke, but it’s getting better. Listen up because I don’t know how long I have. I asked Dorian for total privacy while I made this call, but he doesn’t strike me as patient. I couldn’t contact Bram before because my phone wasn’t modified to communicate between realms. So Dorian had to get his demon friend to do that so I could give Reyson his ransom demands.
“I got in touch with Bram, and he’s going to find a way to get you all in Hell. Dorian’s entire plan for controlling Reyson wasn’t magical. He knew I would keep him in the library, and he was hoping feelings would develop. Unfortunately, it always involved kidnapping me.”
“He planted a camera in your living room, Ripley. The page he stole out of your grimoire was just a distraction,” Felix said.
“I’m going to murder him. I know Bram has a plan, and he's going to bring you in, but I can still zap his ass and throw Dorian and his demon in the cage they have me in until you all get here. Everyone is saying it’s a spectacularly bad idea for me to leave this house.”
“Okay, no one puts my twin sister in a cage unless it’s a kink thing.”
There was a pop of light, and suddenly, there was a beautiful red-haired woman and two massive men with her. She and Reyson shared and glance and a nod like they knew each other.
“You’ll do nothing of the sort. You’re going to cooperate and tell Dorian that Reyson is willing to do everything he asks as long as you are unharmed. Don’t risk your life.”
“I’m sorry, who the fuck are you, and why are you telling me what to do?”
I had a feeling I knew. The woman had silver eyes, just like Reyson. I’d never seen a single person with eyes that color until Reyson. She just appeared the same way I’d seen Reyson do.
“I believe you prayed to me shortly before your Hellhound lover kicked the door to my office in to announce someone had kidnapped you,” Lilith said with this serene smirk on her face.
“Yeah, well, there are several people in my library who want a chance to climb that pierced, tattooed flag pole but haven’t gotten the chance because Bram is holding back because he knows he has to go back and be someone’s property when this is over. He’s not my lover yet because he’s a slave in your realm,” Ripley snapped.
Only Ripley would tell off the fucking god who came here to help from a cage in Hell when she should have been worried about getting out of there. What if Lilith was a petty god and fucked back off to Hell instead of bringing us back to get our witch? I doubted she needed us.
There was this uncomfortable silence, then one of the men with Lilith got right up in my personal space and started sniffing me. I wanted to shove him back with a little magic, but I didn’t know if he was Lilith’s bodyguard or lover, and I really didn’t want to piss her off, so I let him.
I drew the line when he licked my cheek. I drew magic to my fingertips, but he shocked me and yanked me into an enormous bear hug. Orion was around my neck and let out a hiss because he was getting smashed.
“This one is the Morningstar,” he called to Lilith. “This one is my blood.”
Of all the messed-up family reunions I thought would happen if Lucifer ever came back to Earth, getting licked and hugged certainly wasn’t on my radar. He looked genuinely happy to see me.
“I could have told you that without you licking him, Lucifer. It might have been ages since you sired his ancestor, but he looks just like you,” the other man said.
“That’s enough, Samael,” Lilith said. “Lucifer never wanted to leave his offspring. Let him have his reunion. Ripley, it might shock you to know, but Talvath has been campaigning to change things for Hellhounds for decades. He would have let Bram stay if it had made him happy. I have use of Bram right now, and then you can have him back. I’m coming out of retirement, and things are going to change. Bram leading this operation is going to do that for the Hellhounds.”
I was just starting to understand most of what Reyson did or said. I didn’t get Lilith at all. She’d been ignoring us witches and warlocks for centuries. She hadn’t seemed to care about what happened to Hellhounds before. Why now? I was glad because she was our only chance to get into Hell and not get attacked by the residents there.
Felix felt the exact same way.
“I’m not going to question your motivation for getting off your ass now when the love of my life is in danger, but we need an actual plan.”
“Ripley is going to hang tight and feed Dorian lies about Reyson’s cooperation. Bram spoke highly of all of you. I have different gifts than Reyson. All gods do. Reyson and I will brainstorm together. I’ve heard the vampire in your group can get into anything with an internet connection. He’ll have the resources to track Ripley’s cellphone.
“Once we have a location, Samael and Lucifer will scout the location from the skies to see if our traitor is working alone or has demons protecting their estate. Once we know what we are dealing with, we’ll attack. The familiar will change back into his feline form and sneak through the manor to find Ripley.
“There are still some details to figure out, but that’s what Bram has come up with. Lucifer and Samael were warriors before they fell. They agree it’s a good one. No one will question any of you being in Hell if you are with us.”
Lilith was responsible for the creation of plenty of people in this room. Even though I knew she was in Hell, not really listening, I still prayed to her by default when I needed to. I’d been doing that a lot lately with this Dorian mess.
