Lethal Rider

“Regan?”

She blinked up at him. “Where are we?”

He crushed her against him in a smothering embrace, a whoop of laughter making Azagoth turn around and roll his eyes.

“Why are you still here?” Azagoth sounded seriously annoyed. “This was what you wanted, yes?”

“Yes,” he shouted. “God, yes!”

“Thanatos?” Regan’s voice was muffled against his chest. “Squashing…me.”

“Sorry, baby.” He eased back a little, but just enough that he could kiss her senseless. “I can’t believe you’re here. You’re alive. And perfect.”

“And still squished.”

Grinning like an idiot, he set her down, although he would prefer carrying her back to his place. He never wanted to stop touching her again. She didn’t seem to notice that she was still wearing the hospital gown, which was caked with dried blood and gaping open. Than tucked her against him, but Azagoth sighed, took off his shirt, and handed it to Thanatos. He held it up like a curtain as she stripped out of the gown and then slipped into the shirt, which hung down mid-thigh.

“Thank you, Father,” Idess said.

Thanatos repeated the sentiment. “Thank you, Azagoth. I owe you.”

“Yes,” Azagoth said silkily, “you do.” He waved his hand in dismissal. “Now get out. And be careful with her. She’s immortal until your Seal breaks, but she’s not special in any other way. She’s a normal, wimpy human who will suffer cuts, broken bones, and eviscerations like anyone else. She just won’t die from them.”

“You’re wrong, Reaper,” Thanatos said. “She’s special in every way.”

Forty

Thanatos couldn’t stop grinning as he gated himself, Regan, and Idess back to his keep. “I can’t thank you enough, Idess. If you ever need anything, come to me, and it’s yours.”

“I might take you up on that someday,” she said. “Now, are we going in? I’d like to meet your son.”

Regan took his hand and practically dragged him through the front door. Inside, everyone who had come for the birth was still there. A pall hung over them, the sadness in the air so thick Than could eat it with a spoon.

“Yo,” he called out. “Someone want to bring my son to his mother?”

Stunned expressions quickly veered to ecstatic ones, and suddenly Thanatos and Regan were surrounded. There were hugs and laughs, and someone passed Regan a robe. Than eased out of the crowd to allow her some time with Kynan and Decker, but he did watch when Cara brought the baby over and handed him to Regan.

And then the woman who swore she wasn’t mother material gathered the infant in her arms and broke into tears and smiles.

“Congratulations.” The rumbling, unfamiliar voice came from the male who had stepped beside Thanatos while he’d been watching Regan.

He turned to the vampire he’d seen at Underworld General. The guy was almost tall enough to meet Than’s gaze levelly. Black hair fell in a thick curtain to his waist, and the cruel twist to his mouth would make anyone think twice about giving him shit about it. Anyone but Than.

“If you’re here to cause trouble, daywalker, know that I’ll take you out as easily as I made you.”

“A year ago,” he said slowly, “there’d have been trouble.”

Thanatos glanced over at Regan and warmed at the way she was holding their son like she’d been cuddling babies for years. “What changed?”

“Me.” He held out his hand, which seemed so … odd … given that Than had, at one point, taken his blood, almost certainly against his will. “I’m Vladlena’s mate. Nathan.”

Than’s body stilled as a hazy memory surfaced from … two centuries ago? “The alleyway …”

Than had been fighting a demon, and in a fog of bloodlust, he’d seen the man watching in horror, and he’d attacked.

“Yup. I saw you at Underworld General last year, and recognized you as my sire.”

“So you do work there? Eidolon lied to me?”

Nathan shook his head. “Nah. I don’t work there. I only go to the hospital to see Lena. If Eidolon didn’t tell you he knew me, it’s because I’ve asked everyone who knows what I am to keep my secret. I learned early on that night-crawlers seem to hate daywalkers.”

“And vice versa,” Than said wryly, noting the vampire’s use of the term “nightcrawlers.”

One thick shoulder lifted in a casual shrug. “I was at the hospital as a patient the first time I saw you, and when Lena told me you were a Horseman, I thought I was mistaken about who you were.” His gaze pierced Than right in his guilty conscience. “Then I saw you again a few days ago when I was bringing Lena lunch, and there was no doubt.”

Well, wasn’t this awkward. Than had a lot of daywalkers to find and apologize to. Oh, he’d kill the ones who had planned to side with Pestilence and kill his son, but he did want to start fresh with the others. They no longer had to fear that he’d either kill them or force them into servitude.

He cleared his throat, but it didn’t scour away his contrition. “I’m sorry for what I did.”

“I hated you for a long time,” the vampire admitted. “But now I just want to offer my thanks. I’ve been blessed more than I can say.”

Thanatos turned back to Regan, who was his until his Biblical Seal broke, which he prayed wouldn’t happen for a long, long time. “Me too, Nathan. Me too.”

* * *

Reaver could get in some serious trouble for what he was about to do. Hell, he could get into trouble just for being here.

Here was Sheoul-gra, the holding tank for demon and evil human souls. Here was a dark, steamy cavern where the occupants were as solid as stone, as cruel as a socio-pathic teenage boy, and no one was happy.

“Angel.”

Ignoring the hisses and insults slung at him by the surrounding demons, Reaver strode up to the speaker, who stood on a basalt platform, the whip in his hand dripping blood. “Hades.”

Hades cocked a black eyebrow. “Whose dick did you suck to get permission to come here? Azagoth isn’t one for the gay shit. I’ve tried.”

There really was nothing worse than a fallen angel when it came to crudeness. But yeah, Reaver had been forced to go to Azagoth to gain entry. What price the Reaper would extract was yet to be determined.

“It doesn’t matter how I got here. I don’t suppose you have a new resident named Gethel.”

“Is she hot?” At Reaver’s flat stare, Hades rolled his eyes. “Fine. No Gethel.”

Damn. Then she was still alive. And who knew what trouble she could wreak in the human realm by the time Reaver got back.

“Next question. Where’s Reseph?”

“Reseph?” Hades’s eyes went flat and cold as a blade left in the snow. “His body is in the cavern behind me. His mind… I don’t know where that is.”

Reaver started for the cave entrance, a gaping maw of dripping teeth streaked with blood. A malevolent growl brought Reaver to a halt. “Tell it to let me pass, Hades.”

Hades appeared at Reaver’s side. “Getting in isn’t the problem, angel. It’s getting out that’ll be the trick.”

“Why are you keeping Reseph in there?”

“Maximum pain. Azagoth’s orders. You’ll understand when you see him. He’s not a soul like those you see around you. He can’t be reborn. He’s as he always was. Minus the sanity.”

“So good news tempered by bad news.”

“Isn’t that the way it always is?”