Authors: Christina Bauer
Maxon
First Published by Ink Monster, LLC in 2015
Ink Monster, LLC
34 Chandler Place Newton, MA 02464
ISBN 9780996086455
Copyright © 2015 by Ink Monster LLC
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Also by Christina Bauer
The Angelbound Series
Angelbound
Scala
Armageddon
Maxon
Portia (Coming Fall 2015)
The Shadow Ravens Series
Maker (Coming Fall 2016)
For Sharyn Paris
Who said “I believe”
Contents
Maxon
Take our picture, and we look like three guys hanging and banging on a beach. We've got lawn chairs, sunglasses, beer bongs, you name it. And the picture'd be right, too, except for one thing.
We're all in black body armor.
Truth is, we're thrax. Demon killers. And we're not partying on the beach. We're staking out an empty stretch of Arizona desert, a magical place called Charybdis. I pop open another beer and ask the big question.
“How much longer, guys?” No need to add âuntil the next demon shows up.'
“Two minutes,” answers Nizam. Zee's two hundred and fifty pounds of pure warrior with a bald head and mad skills for predicting demon strikes. “You never know with Charybdis, though.”
“True enough,” I say.
Charybdis is unpredictable as hell, even for Zee. It's the exit point for an underground vortex of supernatural evil that sucks in demons, holds them underground, and then chucks them back out again, right here at this spot. Best demon hunting in the after-realms.
Zee's face lights up with mischief. “You ready for the next fight, Maxon?”
I shake my head. No question where Zee's going with this one. This question always gets Tyberius cranked.
“Don't be a douchebag, Zee,” I warn.
“False acc.” Zee raises his hands in mock surrender. “I'm just doing the traditional thrax safety check.” He speaks his next words super slowly. “So, are you ready, Maxon?”
I look to Ty. “You really up for this?”
Tyberius shrugs. “It's only a safety check.”
Clueless, that's my man Ty.
“Fine. I'll play along.” I gesture across my torso, showing how I look the same as I always do: Short dark hair, broad shoulders, and a body built for killing demons in hand-to-hand combat. “This is as ready as I get.”
“Now, how about you, Ty?” asks Zee. “Wouldn't want to miss anything important, now would you?”
Sure enough, Tyberius starts speed-fidgeting in his chair. He pats down the pockets of his body armor.
Here we go again
. Before every damned fight, Ty always thinks he loses the same thing, thanks to Zee and his crafty safety checks.
“Where are my fireball charms?” asks Ty, his voice rising with alarm. “Where'd they go?”
“Chill,” I say. “You'll find them. You always do.”
“I don't knoooo-ow,” says Zee in a sing-song voice. He has a shit-eating grin on his ebony face. “There's only one more minute left.”
What a player.
“Damn, damn, damn,” chants Ty. He starts tearing through his pockets, the lawn chair, the cooler, and even the sand. I watch him freak out and realize a key fact. Ty could be the poster child for wizards from the House of Striga. He's got olive skin, a pointy face, blondish dreads down to his waist, and a major hard-on for frying enemies with fireballs. Classic.
“Wait a second,” Ty pats one of his pockets and exhales. “Got âem.” He bounces from foot to foot, totally pumped for the upcoming battle.
I take a long pull from my beer and watch him fidget some more.
Ty's clearly cranked up. Me? Not so much.
Sadly, my ass feels glued to this lawn chair. At least, my tail's in the game. It's arced into battle stance behind my shoulder. All thrax are part human and part angel, but I've got some Furor demon blood in me, too. That means I've powers across two deadly sinsâlust and wrath, the best ones in the bunchâas well as a long black tail with an arrowhead-shaped end. It's great in a fight.
“Thirty seconds,” says Zee.
Ty starts the traditional thrax roll call. “Tyberius of Striga, ready to fight!”
Zee rises to stand beside him. “Nizam of Horus, ready to fight!”
With a huge effort, I somehow manage to peel my butt off the chair. The guys look at me like I should say something. Which, let's face it, I should. I am their High Prince after all, and there's a traditional speech that I'm supposed to give before a battle. I cut to the chase instead.
“Let's do this.”
“That's it?” asks Ty.
“Yup.”
Zee squares his shoulders. “In that case, I'll do the honors.”
Damn it.
It's worse when one of the guys gives the speech. If Zee does it, he'll launch into how I'm the High Prince Maxon. Fighter of demons. Slayer of hearts. The warrior who killed none other than Armageddon, the King of Hell, when I was just three years old. And now, I'm a grown Prince who's about to lead them all into another epic adventure.
Truth is, I'm not that Prince anymore. Maybe I never was.
I stop Zee before he gets started. “No speeches this time around, man.”
“Sure,” says Zee, his mismatched eyes wide with shock. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
Zee still looks confused, and that's fine with me. The guys can't know this, but about a year ago, it's like my life went from color to black and white. Fighting demons isn't a kick anymore. My nightmares are getting worse. And half the time I see a hot piece of ass, my inner lust demon doesn't even wake up, let alone get my body in gear. I'm seriously screwed, and not in a good way.
Time to think about something else.
“How much longer until the next demon?” I ask.
“Ten seconds,” answers Zee. He tries to act all calm and cool while his voice breaks with excitement. “And that's five, four, three, two, one.”
A circle of sand blackens before us. The air fills with a sickly-sweet smell. Bit by bit, the darkened ground moves in a clockwise motion.
Charybdis is coming to life.
With a low roll of thunder, more dark clouds appear in the sky. Meanwhile, the black sand picks up speed. A twitch of excitement crawls through my nervous system as some battle buzz kicks in.
Finally.
All of a sudden, the ground stops moving. A small shape appears in the center of the darkened sand. Tiny demons always move fast, so my tail whips out before me, ready to block any quick strikes. Trouble is, the sky's now so dark, it's hard to see what's going on. The creature's nothing but a little white blob. I issue a new order.
“Sun spell, Ty.”
Tyberius snaps his fingers and a small bright orb appears in mid-air. At first, this mini-sun blinds me. Seconds pass before I can see anything clearly. Once I catch what's going on, none of it makes any sense.
“Is that what I think it is?” I ask.
“Can't be,” replies Zee.
“Oh yes, it can,” says Ty.
Sure enough, a small pale creature sits in the middle of the black sands. It might be an albino demon adder, a white maggot monster, or any other breed of small and deadly enemy.
Only, it's not.
I crack a smile. “That's a fucking bunny rabbit, man.”
“Hey, who's gonna fight the big bad demon?” asks Ty, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The rabbit hops around, its tiny pink nose twitching up a storm. “You calling the bunny, Zee? You get first dibs since you predicted it.”
“Shut your pie hole,” snaps Zee. “It could be like, a vicious killer bunny.”
“It's a regular rabbit.” I give Zee a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Every so often, Charybdis pulls in extra baggage with a huge haul. “The real demon will show itself in a few minutes.” I gesture to Ty. “While we're waiting, how about you send the little guy somewhere safe?”
“Sure thing, boss.” Ty waves his arm and the rabbit disappears in a puff of purple smoke. Once it's gone, the desert and sky return to their regular state. I focus on Zee.
“When's the next demon due?”
Zee glances between the sand and sky, his mouth making silent calculations. “You were right, M,” he says. “It'll be here in two minutes.”
Ty's mouth thins to a worried line. “In that case, it'll be a doozy. Everyone got their best gear on?”
“I'm all set.” Zee pats his massive breastplate. “What about you, M?”
“Don't worry your pretty bald head about me. I'm covered.”
Raising my hand, I summon a small lightning bolt on my palm. The shape twists across my skin, the form all crackling and bright. My chest warms with confidence. I've conjured lightning since I was a little kid. That's how I downed the King of Hell, Armageddon, at the ripe old age of three. My skills have only gotten better over the years.
Ty frowns. “Maybe you should bring something else, too. How about a battle hammer?”
I shoot Tyberius a dry look.
No question what he's hinting at.
I've supernatural powers over regular lightning, but everyoneâTy includedâsees that as child's play, partly because I've been wielding the stuff since I was a kid. Everyone's waiting for me to graduate from lightning to igni, which are tiny bolts of power that send mortal souls to Heaven or Hell. There's a catch, though. For igni to replace my lightning, I need to fall in love. It's called getting Angelbound.
Whatever.
That garbage isn't happening any time soon.
“Lightning works fine for me,” I keep my voice low and firm. “Change the subject, guys.”
“Happy to.” Ty bobs his eyebrows up and down. “How about a quick recap of last night?”
I shake my head.
Aw, hell. I walked straight into that one.
“Good idea.” Zee smiles, his teeth looking all white and predatory in his ebony face. “As I recall, we were all having a good time partying on Earth. Then Maxon left the club early. And what left with him again?” He taps his chin, acting all dramatic-like. “Was it two leggy blondes, perhaps?”