Risky Business

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2020 JB Trepagnier. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—by any electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission.

  Risky

  Business

  JB Trepagnier

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Epilogue

  And then Daddy Dearest enters stage left.

  So, I met my father. I beat the crap out of him, but I haven’t killed him yet. Yet being the operative word. I still haven’t made up my mind about that. I had my to-do list before I broke out of Scorchwood and killing him was a major part of my big kill list. I mean, the man framed me, sent me to prison in Hell, then had a mad warlock experiment on me.

  When you’re fate’s little bitch, you kind of have to expect the unexpected. And my father’s big reveal about why he did all those horrible things to me and everyone else was like that movie where that kid sees dead people. I didn’t see it coming.

  So, now we are uneasy allies. The fate of two realms is resting on my shoulders. That doesn’t mean I might not still decide to kill him if we manage to pull this off.

  Chapter 1

  Serafina

  I

  did not understand what was happening to me. I hesitated to kill my father because I needed to know so badly why he had done all of this. I needed him to look me in the eyes and tell me why he didn’t stop when he realized who I was to him. Call me stupid. I wasn’t expecting some tearful reunion. We were well past that. I just wanted to know why.

  I wasn’t expecting his answer. It didn’t make me feel any better, and I wasn’t any less pissed off at what he did to me. If anything, I was angrier at him. He let me beat him, and he kept looking at me like he was so fucking proud of me. Proud of what exactly? He didn’t know me from his asshole. All he knew about me was what Rathmore reported to him and that I broke out of that stupid prison and took all his test subjects away.

  I should have killed him, but Fae couldn’t lie, and if he was telling the truth, then the one place that actually felt like home to me was in danger. I had no choice but to ask him to portal us back to Zepar’s estate and fill everyone else in.

  Stopping everyone from killing him was a huge clusterfuck, especially since he decided to announce himself by kidnapping me to the Fae realm. I didn’t get a tour, and I didn’t want one. As soon as one of those Fae bastards realized I was a halfling, they would just execute me.

  Eiltan explained Zepar had somehow made all the Fae women barren and would only give him the cure if the Fae helped him become king of Hell. I still wasn’t sure how a hybrid baby was supposed to help with that.

  Amduscias was pacing and kept running his fingers through his black hair. I knew he wanted to get back to Hell and tell Bael what was going on, but we still didn’t have the full story from my father. I had so many questions I didn’t know where to start.

  “Why didn’t you bring this straight to Hell?” Amduscias demanded. “Every fire born demon has unique powers. Zepar is not that strong for a fire born. His legion is small and weak. His demonic abilities are to make people fall in love, but he can also make women barren. Why were you trying to mix demon blood with an elemental?”

  “I only let a few trusted people in on this,” Eiltan said. “You don’t understand. This was a significant error on my part. It took me a long time to grow up and act like a prince. Finding a remedy for the sick Fae was the first real responsibility my father trusted me with. It was my idea to ask Hell for help. It was voted upon, and everyone agreed with my idea. They warned me not to do anything to offend any of the kings of Hell when I asked.

  “I was so nervous about it. I hadn’t been born yet the last time my family negotiated with the kings of Hell. I was told the demons were all gracious and kind but fierce when it came to contracts. We Fae pride ourselves in always winning when we make a deal, but I knew they made concessions during that contract. I know my family doesn’t enjoy discussing that contract because it didn’t go totally to our liking.

  “I came into the human realm first to decide how I would approach this. Unlike my family, I think we should reopen the portal, and the descendants of our blood recognized and welcomed into the Fae world should they want to. I’ve always found this sort of peace and chaos when I cross the portal.

  “Zepar must have been watching and monitoring for any Fae to cross because it was he who approached me first. I was eating dinner, and he sat down at my table as if I had invited him. He introduced himself as a Duke of Hell.

  “I knew my father would expect the deal to be made with the kings and not a Duke. Always go straight to who is in charge, or a deal can be broken. I tried to get a feel for the kings by chatting to Zepar about how to handle myself. He seemed very friendly and willing to help.

  “That was when he dropped a bomb on me. He told me the kings of Hell were upset that they were not included in the contracts when my ancestors turned Scorchwood into a general prison. He thought they would be unwilling to help us after that. But he told me he could get me a remedy, and Hell would never have to know. All he would ask in return was that he would ask a favor from me later.

  “I knew better. I really did. That kind of deal is below the Fae. We only make those kinds of deals when we are the ones asking for favors later. I didn’t want to fail since going to Hell was my big idea. I wanted to save my people. My family wasn’t proud of that contract, but they had a lot of respect for the kings of Hell for their negotiation skills and always said they had honor.

  “I thought since Zepar was a Duke, he would too. I agreed with his terms. He delivered and brought us vials of a potion that cured the sickness. I saved two vials of it and gave it to Fae scientists to see if they could synthesize it in case the illness came back. We came close, but there was one ingredient we couldn’t make. The potion had demon blood in it.

  “At the time, I thought it was necessary to cure our people. It seemed to work, and everyone was healthy. But as time passed and Fae started having difficulty conceiving, a close confidant who knew what I did thought it might have had something to do with the demon blood in the potion.

  “I started making several trips topside under the guise of gathering human research to help our women, but I was looking for Zepar. I ma
naged to find his estate. I met Serafina’s mother while I was trying to gain an audience with him.

  “Serafina, despite what you may think, she wasn’t a fling. We took every precaution so she wouldn’t fall pregnant because I didn’t want my child in danger from my father. I even loved her.

  “I still had to make frequent trips back home with human science. I was close to meeting with Zepar again when I had to leave to report my findings. I had to leave. I intended to come right back, but my father ordered me to stay because he thought someone was plotting against him.

  “By the time I got back, Ava was gone. I thought she was furious at me for being gone for so long and went somewhere I couldn’t find her. I had no reason to suspect she was pregnant. We were cautious. Believe me, Serafina. If I had known, I would have done what I needed so you both survived the birth, and I would have made sure you had a very different upbringing.”

  “Bullshit,” I snapped. I knew he couldn’t lie, but maybe he just thought he meant that. “As soon as you found out who I was, you let your mad warlock experiment on me. You had no problem with me being one of your test subjects. You didn’t even ask me if I wanted a child.”

  “Why do you think a child with diluted Fae blood and demon blood will cure your people?” Amduscias asked.

  “We thought we could synthesize it into a cure. We would never have hurt the baby. We would have taken blood, and that was it.”

  “None of this is making sense,” Skoll said. “My blood and Roman’s blood were in Rathmore’s lab. Why all the other hybrids if you just needed one?”

  Eiltan cleared his throat. He’d better have a suitable explanation for that because there were so many holes in his story, I could make a swiss cheese sandwich out of it.

  “Jasmine was arrested legitimately, and so was her gang. It was only ever supposed to be with people who ended up there naturally. Jasmine was supposed to be focusing on seducing Amduscias, but he turned her down. She consoled herself by taking a wolf to her bed. Jasmine needed to know she was desirable, so every time Amduscias ignored her, she took another lover.

  “By all rights, she should have fallen pregnant with a hybrid baby, even if the child didn’t have demon blood. When I am king, I plan on opening the portal to Earth again. My trusted advisor was curious about why Jasmine hadn’t fallen pregnant at all. By all reports, she had many lovers, and she had sex every day, sometimes multiple times.

  “When I open the portal again, I don’t want to deny my people love. When we were here before, the Fae only took human lovers. But what would happen if they fell in love with a Vampire or shifter? Would they be able to have children?”

  “How does framing people play into that?” Roman growled. “Your pet warlock tortured me and put a spell on my brain, so I was his killing machine.”

  “Please, Rathmore was never my idea. I thought he was an evil man. Warden Skinner insisted with the right training, he could help and that she could control him. I had no idea he tortured you or that he put a control spell on Serafina, or I would have ordered his execution myself. Warden Skinner was the one who reported all the progress from the prison.”

  “Ask him why elementals and not pure Fae women, Ena.”

  “Why didn’t you just have a willing Fae woman instead of framing elementals?”

  Eiltan’s shoulders slumped, and he sighed.

  “What you must think of me, my child. I didn’t set out to frame anyone. It was always supposed to be women who ended up there naturally. Warden Skinner was supposed to pull everyone aside and get their consent to take part in exchange for freedom.

  “Because of their Fae blood, the justice system looks the other way quite often when one commits crimes. I did not understand why we had so many elemental inmates recently until Serafina was arrested, and I found out Warden Skinner was handpicking them and framing them. I only found that out when you escaped and killed Rathmore. I knew something was going on under my nose.

  “I only just found out they framed everyone. I’m setting things in motion to have her fired, and I was on my way to visit all the elementals in safe houses to let them know they could leave. I was clearing their names. One man reported his charge just disappeared into the shadows, so I knew demons kidnapped them.

  “I checked both of Zepar’s estates in case it was him that took them. I found all of you here, so I decided to whisk my daughter away so I could finally meet her and explain myself. This was never supposed to go this far. It was only ever supposed to happen with willing inmates who had given their consent. I couldn’t bring a Fae woman in because they simply can’t conceive anymore, and none of the elementals I approached topside wanted to mix with a demon.”

  Amduscias flipped his hair out of his eyes.

  “You didn’t have my consent. No one ever approached me about making a hybrid baby with an inmate. I would never have gone along with it.”

  Eiltan sighed.

  “I’m sorry. I was told you had given your consent as long as the elemental was someone you cared about.”

  “Your plan never would have worked, anyway. The only thing that can reverse what was done to your women is Zepar. It’s his blood that made them barren, and it’s his blood that has to reverse it. You can’t just pick a demon and use their blood to reverse what a fire born has done.”

  “Zepar isn’t going to help us unless I send a Fae army to attack Hell,” Eiltan said.

  “Which is why we are going to Hell right now. You are going to explain to the kings exactly what is going on and why. You will tell them anything you might have learned about Zepar. His legion is all inferior spirits, and he doesn’t have that many. He can’t overthrow the monarchy with what he has. If Zepar is blackmailing you for an army, there’s no telling who else he’s managed to get on his side.”

  Why was my father so cooperative? I still hadn’t processed what he said about loving my mother and not knowing about me. It was a little too late to think about what my life might have been like if he had returned a little faster, and she was able to discuss her pregnancy with him.

  “I don’t expect any of you to forgive me, but I want to help you stop Zepar. I’ll go to Hell and help in any way I can. I’ll accept any punishment the kings deem worthy.”

  “Get the other elementals,” Amduscias said. “Now that we know this entire mess is because Zepar fucked over the Fae to get an army, I don’t want them here at his estate. We have to get everyone to Hell.”

  Great. We’d just spent all this time trying to convince them to stay at Zepar’s place because my father was evil. My father was still a dick, but now we were asking them to go to Hell with us because Zepar had been the bad guy all along.

  Chapter 2

  Fergus

  S

  omething wasn’t right. I knew Eiltan couldn’t lie, so how did he not know what was going on at the prison if I heard that conversation with Warden Skinner where he knew she was gassed and kidnapped? What was all that about consent when, by definition, gassing someone to capture them and run tests on them was non-consent?

  Skoll had gone to get our missing elementals while Serafina and Amduscias continued to ply Eiltan with questions.

  “Ena, if he says he didn’t know, I overheard him speaking to Warden Skinner. He knew they gassed the prison and kidnapped you. He was betting on you not remembering.”

  “I thought he couldn’t lie.”

  “He can’t. He’s telling the truth, but something isn’t adding up. Ask him.”

  My Ena squared her shoulders and glared at him.

  “If everything at Scorchwood was Warden Skinner’s doing, then something isn’t right. You knew I was kidnapped and tested. You didn’t want me to remember.”

  Eiltan frowned. He didn’t know about me, but he also wanted to know how she knew that.

  “You were supposed to be taken in your sleep and given Fae vaccines. There are still diseases that can kill us, and I wanted to make sure you had the vaccines you would have had if I knew about yo
u. Did that not happen?”

  I growled. No, that didn’t happen. And why did they need to gas the entire prison for vaccines? Why was she warded if they thought she knew nothing about what was going on and would have accepted being walked out the jail for a few shots?

  “I was drugged and given a pelvic exam.”

  Now Eiltan was growling. He really was furious about this. None of this was making sense.

  “Rathmore was not supposed to do that. He was supposed to take a blood sample so I could see what immunities you had and give you some needed vaccines. I know little about halfling children, but I wanted you to have Fae science on your side.”

  “He put a control spell on me, probably to force me to mate with Amduscias and get your precious baby for you. Have you seen how nasty your little prison has gotten since you had Warden Skinner embezzling all the money for upgrades for this plot? Do you know what kind of bacteria I could have had growing out my asshole if I had sex in there?”

  “Wait a minute here, Serafina,” Eiltan said.

  He looked pissed off, and he had no right to be mad at my Ena after what he had done. His two black eyes and busted nose wasn’t nearly enough payback for what went on in Scorchwood. He’d better tread very carefully with what he said next because while she was willing to work with him to stop Zepar, I wanted his head.

  “What exactly are you talking about?” Eiltan said. “I’ve never been to Scorchwood. You seem to know a lot about what is going on. Perhaps more than I thought I did. I’m not going to ask how you are getting all this information because I know you neither like, nor trust me right now, but what are you talking about that Warden Skinner was embezzling?”

  How did he not know? The paper trail on Skinner’s computer led straight back to him. All the money being diverted from upgrades to Scorchwood was being funneled into investments and a corporate bank account with the name Shadow Sun Enterprises all over it.

  “Ask him about Shadow Sun Enterprises, Serafina.”

  “What is Shadow Sun Enterprises?” she demanded.