Page 47 of The Phoenix

“Lame. Why send you to find it? It must have greater purpose. Are you sure you’re not keeping secrets from me? I can’t do my job with half a fact.”

“Why would I keep info from you when I want Blood’s Kiss?”

“Not an answer. It’s another question.” Indigo yawned, trying to pop her ears with the elevator’s rapid ascent from the basement of the ministry.

She stared at Roark, who returned his hand to her lower back. When it slipped to cup her ass, she slapped it away, stepping out of his grasp.

He was damn good looking, though. He likely shoved females out of his bed to get any sleep. Here she was, struggling against becoming another notch on his dick. Indigo suspected the kinda-shifter continued to work for Cerberus. Did she mind playing around a little with the enemy, keeping it casual? Was it time to break her no-mixing-business-and-pleasure rule?

****

Cerberus brooded on what Lort had said, the Arisen Dawn vampire general standing at ease, his hands behind his back. “You’re sure. It’s a matter of sex with an Aeternal?”

“It would seem. The Blood Coven descendants living with Firebrands gained their powers after they copulated.”

The feared leader of the insurgents, Cerberus, now exposed as the warlock Dolph and a member of the Temple of Justice, those influential and powerful beings who decided the fate of accused Aeternals, threw back his head and laughed. “The fates have a sense of humor, Lort.”

“I don’t see it, my lord.” The general frowned.

Cerberus rose, his suit replaced by dark fatigues and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Heavy soled boots substituted for dress shoes. Unlike his general, he had no weapons strapped to his body. The warlock had no need of those. His powers could wipe out cities. No Aeternal was his match. “Is this intel from Miller Nash?”

“No, but it is reliable.”

Striding back and forth across the carpet, he pondered the news. If Nash knew but did not report the information, Cerberus would tell Roark to push the button on the implant. “See to it our captives receive amorous visitors.”

Cerberus pivoted toward Lort, his expression grim. “Only mages are to fuck our prisoners. I want no mixlings popping out in the event a planted seed grows in the belly of one of these human descendants.”

“These will be forced pairings, sir.” Lort’s eyes remained stone cold.

Cerberus stopped. “A problem, general?”

“Not at all. I just want to be certain we are talking about the same thing. Some of the Arisen Dawn loyalists I will send to the prisoners may enjoy rough sex, even a kill afterward.”

Cerberus nodded. “Of course, but stress no one is to die during the forced copulation. Another consideration. Once the descendants’ powers are active, we must take care. Our captives may no longer be so easy to control.”

Lort scrubbed a fist across his jaw, appearing to think. “We will move them to cells warded against magic.”

“Excellent. Do we have ample containment facilities?”

“Each garrison has several, but we’ll build more.” Lort smiled, the grin never reaching his eyes.

“I see you are pleased with this task.”

“I am. You’re a warlock, lord. Do you want to join in the fun?”

Cerberus felt his cock twitch, something which had not happened for some time. His mother made everything subservient to training, even sexual urges.

He walked home from school with a young witch who enjoyed his company, their fingers locked, their arms swinging, their faces bright with an incipient crush. The girl was a neighbor. They paused in front of her house, both awkward, both unsure. She rose on tiptoe to plant a quick kiss on Dolph’s cheek. His hand flew to the spot, warm from her lips. He was in love for the first time.

He caught his mother Echidna spying from a window, the curtain pulled aside.

Even the frown on his mother’s face did little to douse his good spirits. In a rare moment, he headed for home with a smile. She waited on the porch for his approach, beckoning him inside. Once the door closed, she greeted him with nothing so prosaic as a hug, kiss, or “How was school today, dear?”

No. She waved her hand through the air, casting a spell.

Dolph’s feet left the floor. His spine hit the wall. His arms flew overhead. Like a bug, he was pinned.

“You’ve been busy, my son. Do you want her? Does she make your tiny penis swell?”

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