'Tween Hopeful and Hopeless Read online

  A Cerridwen Press Publication

  www.cerridwenpress.com

  ‘Tween Hopeful and Hopeless

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  ‘Tween Hopeful and Hopeless Copyright © 2009 Sam Cheever

  Edited by Helen Woodall.

  Cover art by Syneca.

  Electronic book Publication March 2009

  With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc., 1056 Home Avenue, Akron, OH 44310-3502.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/)

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  Cerridwen Press is an imprint of Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.®

  ‘Tween Hopeful and Hopeless

  Sam Cheever

  Chapter One

  I usually don’t like to start my day kicking demon ass. But some days you just gotta do it. I stared into the beady, wet eyes of my oily opponent and grinned, knowing that he was quickly backing himself into a corner as he stepped away from me and my sidekick in arms.

  Glynus shifted her enormous weight from one giant foot to the other and snorted, wafting me with smoke-tinged heat. Her voice twittered across my mind. Let me toast him Mother Tweener. Pleeeeaaase?

  I grimaced. The last time I let you toast one it took me two weeks to get the smell of cooked demon out of my nose.

  Glynus snorted again and tucked in her wings peevishly. I never get to have any fun!

  I threw a power bolt at the heavy door behind the demon and melted the lock. He turned his thick, oily head toward the door and cursed, shifting beady red eyes back in my direction. I watched as he assessed his options.

  It didn’t take long. He only had one option.

  He’d have to go through me.

  Come on big, bad and ugly. I’m waiting.

  I glanced briefly at Glynus. That’s not true, I let you eat that dark fairy who was torturing the humans in the vegetable section of the grocery store last week.

  I felt Glynus frowning in my mind. He gave me gas.

  I laughed, throwing a look at her over my shoulder. Don’t I know it. You almost ignited the Red Knight when you burped and farted at the same time.

  Glynus giggled, her enormous, white underbelly quivering in delight. That was fun. I thought you’d never get your hair extinguished.

  I frowned, reaching up to touch my newly shortened auburn hair. I’d had to cut a full three inches off the ends to get rid of the singed parts. Har har.

  The demon suddenly gave a roar and flew at me, apparently realizing, finally, that it was his only option. I grinned and closed my eyes, tracking him with my inner vision and pulling my power forward easily.

  I’d been practicing.

  The demon surged directly at me and then, just before he would have plowed into me, he planted his big feet hard and leapt, aiming a kick toward my head as he attempted to jump over me.

  Tricky demon.

  With my sensing power in full force I ducked his kick easily and reached to grab him by one thick, oily ankle.

  I suppressed a grimace of distaste at the cool, greasy feel of his skin and gave a good hard yank, stopping his forward momentum in midair and slamming him to the hard, rocky ground at my feet. He hit the ground with a muffled, “Oomph!” and I stepped on his throat, twisting his fat ankle as I peered down at him.

  “Any last words?”

  The demon glared up at me and flicked a warty looking tongue over his fat lips. “Go to Hell, Tweener.”

  I smiled, “Not today, demon.” Then I shot a full force power arrow into his leathery chest and watched the life fade quickly from his red eyes. “To Hades with you fool, for God hath tired of you.”

  I stood up and glanced at Glynus. “I’ll be outside. Try not to make so much noise this time.”

  Glynus spread her wide mouth in a dragon smile. “Yes, Mother Tweener.”

  While Glynus had her breakfast, I leaned against the Red Knight and stared up at the early morning sky, trying to ignore the smell of toasted demon that wafted out of the cave. Having grown up among humans, Glynus preferred her meals cooked rather than raw. Not that she was totally averse to helping me out by eating the occasional raw and kicking bad guy when it was called for.

  I sighed, enjoying the peace of the early morning hour. It was still dark enough for all the stars to be visible. I was filled with a sudden desire to be up there among them, pushing the Red Knight to its speed limits in a race against Glynus.

  I grinned, like all others of her race, Glynus was extremely fast in open flight. And being of royal stock, she was even more impressive than most black dragons. We’d had many a fine moment in the sky racing. Up until recently the Red Knight and I had always won. But lately…

  A heavy shuffling sound and a delicate burp announced Glynus’ arrival outside. I turned and smiled at her. “Ready?”

  She nodded, picking demon out of her teeth with a scary looking foreclaw. “Where are we going?”

  I grinned at her. “Feel like racing?”

  Glynus’ face bloomed into an excited smile. She clapped her front paws together and hopped up and down. “Oh yes, Mother Tweener. I would like to race!”

  Unfortunately, my televisual bleeped at that moment and Emo’s gorgeous half royal face shimmered into view. “Astra. I need you back at the office as quickly as you can get here. Something’s brewing.”

  I frowned. “Shit!”

  Glynus opened her huge maw and I turned quickly, stopping her with a glare. “No swearing!” She shut her jaws with an audible snap.

  She frowned. I knew what she was thinking. I sighed. “I’ll put five credits in the swear jar when we get to the office.”

  She clapped her front paws again. “I’ll have enough for a root brew float soon.”

  “Yada yada,” I groused as I pulled my legs into the Knight. “Secure and climb.”

  The Knight whirred into motion as soon as the door snicked shut and we were off, Glynus took off after a few giant hops and then made herself into a long, black arrow and flapped her wings as hard as she could. I gunned the Knight until audio control started to whine at me that it had reached its maximum speed and threatened to overheat. Then I sighed and pulled it back, grinning at my baby dragon as she shot past us with a delighted laugh.

  I was so proud.

  * * * * *

  I left Glynus curled up on top of the still warm Red Knight, taking a much needed nap. When I entered my office Emo and Dialle were in a stand-off, glaring at each other. I stopped, surprised to see both my boy toy and my über-sexy partner there.

  “What gives?” Neither of them would relinquish eye contact long enough to look at me.

  Emo responded through gritted teeth. “My spies have heard rumors of a coming Council meeting. They didn’t know exactly what the meeting was about, but the rumor is that the council is planning to strike something…or someone…somewhere.”

  I grinned. “That clears it all up for me, thanks.”

  Emo threw me a quick glare. “This usurper thinks he should be allowed to help. I’ve made it very clear that he and his kind are the problem, not the solution.”

  I shook my head, sighing. I was oh so tired of the constant dick wars between the two men in m
y life. “Dialle? Why are you here?”

  My gorgeous Royal Devil Prince gave Emo a final glare and turned toward me. “My princess, I have only just heard of the Dark Council’s secret meeting and I’ve come to help you defuse the problem.”

  I arched a brow at him. You’re taking my side in a war between the dark and the light worlds?”

  He gave me a slow smile and strode toward me. I watched his long lean body glide smoothly in my direction, his black velvet eyes filled with lust as he came near. He pulled me close and I wrapped my arms around his narrow waist without thinking. My thought processes automatically clouded as his tongue swept out to caress the seam of my lips. I sighed and snuggled more deeply into his arms.

  His gorgeous mouth lowered toward mine. My eyes fluttered closed in expectation. I gasped as he tugged on my hips, bringing me into close contact with the firm evidence of his attraction for me. All my breath left my lungs in hungry anticipation. But his lips didn’t settle onto mine, instead they stopped beside my ear and he said, “You need me in this, Astra. My father is deeply involved.”

  My eyes popped open and I blinked. I should have been well on my way to a sexy interlude at that point, instead I found myself talking business.

  Well damn!

  I tugged myself out of Dialle’s firm grasp and walked over to the drink valet. I glanced at Emo. He looked very unhappy. “Coffee?”

  He nodded. I looked at Dialle. “Not right now, Astra.”

  I programmed two strong, black cups of coffee into the valet and carried one to Emo. He thanked me for the coffee and then settled behind his desk. I sat down in his client chair and crossed my legs, admiring my new, chocolate-brown leather boots. They had cost me a fortune on the black market, real leather being currently illegal, but looked way frunkin’ cool wrapped softly around my calves. I glanced at Dialle. “Talk to me.”

  He settled himself into another chair, his dark gaze sliding a promise over me. I shivered and sipped my coffee, waiting. Dialle glanced at Emo. “It is true, the Dark Council has called an emergency meeting.”

  “Why?”

  Dialle shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “That’s a frunkin’ lie!”

  I looked at Emo. His gorgeous face was dark with anger.

  “I’m not lying. The Council leaders have been very careful not to release the reason for the meeting.”

  Emo surged out of his chair and slammed both hands flat on top of his desk. “Do you expect us to believe King Dialle the First doesn’t know what the Council is up to?”

  Dialle threw my partner an angry smile. “I did not say my father is unaware of the reasons, only that he hasn’t shared them with me.”

  I sat forward, cradling the warm mug in my hands. “Your father won’t tell you? Or you haven’t asked because you wanted to be able to tell me you didn’t know?”

  Dialle narrowed his black velvet gaze on me and favored me with a slow, knee melting smile. “He would not tell me, Astra. I tried to find out.”

  I wasn’t sure I believed him, but he looked damn good when he lied. “Mmm hmmm.”

  I stood up and took my mug over to the auto wash. “When is this meeting?”

  “They are gathering now.” Dialle stood up when I turned back around.

  Shaking my head I moved past them to the door. “Well come on you two. We have dark world ass to kick.”

  * * * * *

  As we approached the Council’s lair, I was glad I’d sent Glynus to stay with Auntie Myra. I could feel the oily malevolence of the place even from a distance.

  Unlike their personal, and in some cases, professional environments, the Dark World Council preferred a seat in the most modern of environs possible for Council business. They owned the tallest, flashiest building in downtown Angel City, having spared no expense for their own comfort and convenience.

  I stopped the Knight on the street and gazed up the glass and stainless steel structure, squinting into a bright mid-morning sun to see the top, about thirty floors up. The beauty of a modern structure was that the bad guys couldn’t hide gargoyles at the top, disguised as stone décor.

  The way I saw it, we had two options for busting up the Dark World Council’s party. We could fight our way into the meeting.

  Not a very subtle option.

  Or we could set the Knight down on the roof, quietly disengage whatever was up there guarding that entrance, and hopefully slide in unnoticed.

  I glanced at Dialle. “I’m going up.”

  He nodded.

  Pouting in the backseat because he’d called shotgun and lost to Dialle, Emo sniffed and I heard the sound of his long knives sliding from their sheaths.

  We shot skyward, counting on the element of surprise to give us an edge, and had the pleasure of seeing surprised expressions on the two gargoyle guards’ faces as we exploded into view.

  With a roar they crouched and one of them leapt toward the Knight. I cursed as the damnable thing caught the very edge of the Knight’s nose before I could tip away from it. The ‘goyle’s claws scraped across the Knight’s shiny red paint. “Shit!” I screamed and lifted skyward.

  Emo leaned forward, “Plan B?”

  I nodded and turned toward the waiting ‘goyles again. I passed close over their heads, so close they had to duck down to avoid taking the Red Knight between their beady eyes. The Knight’s doors slid open and when the ‘goyles stood back up they found themselves staring at a very sexy Royal Devil prince and a gorgeous, crabby Tweener, with two fists full of long knife.

  I grinned as the ‘goyles were quickly dispatched and lowered the Knight to the roof on silent feet of air. I climbed out of my air vehicle, pulling my own knives from my boots. “Secure and climb.”

  I didn’t wait to see the Knight swing upward and engage its protective locks. The three of us moved toward the roof door, weapons readied for battle.

  We started down the long, dimly lit stairway, senses on full alert. I sensed two guards at the council room door below. We stopped and I glanced at Emo. I’ll go in first and dazzle them with my wit and beauty. You guys take ‘em out when they’re distracted.

  Emo nodded and Dialle grinned, grabbing one of my hands and lifting it to his lips. Using your looks against an enemy, Astra? This is a side of you I’ve never seen. I must say I like it.

  I jerked my hand away from him and frowned. I’m not happy about it, but it will be a lot more subtle than going in flinging power arrows all over the place.

  Dialle grinned. As you say, my princess.

  Don’t call me that!

  I turned and stomped down the last few steps, no longer trying to be quiet.

  Dialle’s soft chuckle slid across my mind as I stepped into the hallway below and found myself staring into the business end of a couple of laser guns.

  I smiled and did a little finger wave at the two ogres standing guard. They were small for ogres, probably from Transylvania, where the ogres are much smaller than American ogres but more intelligent.

  They stared at me through oversized, hostile eyes and I gave an inward sigh. Ogres. I told my two partners.

  Emo’s chuckle filled my head. I guess it’s Plan B again, boss?

  Ogres are monosexual creatures—self-generating. They wouldn’t be in the least distracted by a fine pair of legs in knee-high chocolate leather or the sexy swing of a tight ass.

  Looks that way. We’ll have to move fast ‘cause we’ll lose the element of surprise when the power arrows start flying.

  I pulled my power forward and shifted to a spot just behind the ogres. They stood shoulder to shoulder in front of me, looking around in confusion.

  I reached out and tapped them both on the inside shoulder and they swung around with matching grunts, dislodging their weapons as they swung and hitting each other in the chest.

  They dropped like stones on my feet.

  Okay, not that much more intelligent.

  I jerked my pretty new boots out from under them. “Ouch! Shit! Why does
everybody always have to die on my boots?”

  Dialle and Emo sauntered out of the stairwell. “Maybe you should examine your lifestyle.” Dialle said helpfully.

  Emo said, “Damn, Astra.”

  I shrugged, grinning. “I got lucky.”

  Dialle shook his head, laughing.

  “Okay, let’s go do this thing.”

  The sound of a door opening behind me brought my head around. I stood looking at Dialle’s father, King Dialle the First. “You’re late,” he said to me. Then he turned and walked into the Council Chambers.

  I looked at Dialle and he shrugged.

  The three of us walked into that room, which was about as close to a lion’s den as we were gonna get on that particular day.

  * * * * *

  King Dialle took his seat at the center of the long Council table.

  I stopped just inside the door, several yards away from the dozens of dark world denizens seated behind that long table. Emo and Dialle stood just behind me. I could feel their power vibrating against mine.

  We were loaded and ready.

  Glancing around, I was reminded of the Angelic Council chambers I’d had the misfortune of visiting a time or two. The yin and yang of ruling bodies.

  Where the angelic chamber had been filled with golden creatures brimming with healing white power, the room where I currently stood was a veritable smorgasbord of oily evil.

  Strangely, I felt very much at home.

  “King Dialle, you were expecting us?”

  He glanced at his son and I turned just in time to see Dialle wince. I assure you, Astra, I did not bring you here on his command.

  I turned away from him in disgust. I guess he played you for a fool then, Dialle.

  It would appear so, Astra.

  I took a deep breath and struggled for calm. “So, now that you have us here, what is it you want from us?”

  The king shook his head, his shoulder length black hair sliding over his shoulder to land in soft waves around his handsome face. “I want nothing from those two, beyond a promise to stay silent so I’ll have no need to kill them.”