Broken Cursed Boys Read online

  Cocking an amused brow, Moore sneered at Romeo. “What can I say? I was born with more good looks than common sense.” He winked at Lux.

  “Your sister was obsessed with Brax, wasn’t she?” Romeo shot out.

  Moore suddenly sat up, as did Lux.

  “Clearly, she knew how to choose a winner,” Romeo went on.

  “Wait a minute,” Lux cut in. “How do you know Moore’s sister? I never mentioned Shayne to you.”

  Romeo shrugged.

  “And how did you know that Shayne was obsessed with Brax?”

  Romeo sat up and leaned in closer to Lux. “They are all beautiful beings, Lux. I’m in charge of them all. I’m the leader. The master. I see to everyone who enters the portal.”

  “So, you knew about them even before I arrived at the Academy?”

  Romeo shrugged and Lux leaned in closer to him.

  “Did you know that I was coming to the Academy?”

  He nodded. “I had been looking for something else to do. I needed a break. The life of a succubus was wearing thin. Then I got wind of this new slayer academy, and run by the Goods no less. I’ll admit, I was attracted to the challenge of trying to get by their vetting process, but then I learned that you would soon be attending. I knew I had to get the job. My Latin is without reproach and I thought it would be the perfect way in.”

  “And your good looks won over my mom,” Sully griped.

  “Hey,” Romeo quipped. “What can I tell you? I have a way with the ladies.”

  Lux rolled her eyes.

  Romeo brought his gaze back to Lux. “I’d heard about you. For years I’d heard about you. When I found out that you were coming to the Academy, I knew I had to meet you. And initially, my goal was to drain you. As a world renown slayer, you are everything that someone like me should loath, and at first, I did. I was so eager to drain you, to see you shrivel up and die. But when I met you, and spent time with you, and then got to know you, all those plans flew out the window.” He laughed. “There were times when I literally forgot what my initial mission was. There were times when all I wanted was to be a man, a real man, spending time with his woman. And, yes. I wanted you to be mine. I think that by our third time together, I already knew I wanted something other than draining you.”

  “You cheated your way into her life,” Asher said.

  “I did what I needed to do, the same way you’ve done all that you needed. But everyone here is guilty of wanting her. Everyone here has yearned to smell her, to taste her, to have her. Everyone here has heard her passionate moans.” He turned to look at Lux. “And when she utters my name… it is pure intoxication.”

  All the guys looked at her and sighed.

  “Okay, guys!” Lux said, suddenly feeling a rush of heat on her cheeks. “Snap out of it, guys.” She looked up to Sully who was still gaping at her. “Is the pizza ready?”

  “I don’t know,” he muttered, his eyes filled with lust.

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” Lux said, getting up. “You guys,” she whined, snapping her fingers in their faces. “I’m hungry and I’m thirsty. Can you all get out of the bedroom so we have something cool to drink?”

  Lucas shook his lusty ideas off and stood. “Sorry there, Lux. Sit down. I’ll go check on the pizza.”

  “And I’ll help him bring cool sodas for everybody,” Sully added.

  “Sounds good,” Asher said.

  Lux sat back down and looked at Moore. “Tell me about Brax,” she said. “Tell me how he managed to get out.”

  “Yeah,” Asher chimed in. “If he was able to get out on his own, why did he need Lux? Why did you need Lux?”

  “He didn’t need her. And I didn’t need her… at least not to get out. The help that we need is in fighting the succubus inside of us. We need her to help us retain our humanity. In case you hadn’t noticed, she’s got it. She’s got that internal light. I don’t know if it’s because of her angelic blood, or if it’s simply her pure intent, her pure desire to save souls. Whether those souls are tainted like mine and Romeo’s, or whether it is a purely human soul, she wants to help them. Her purity of heart and immense capacity for kindness is a rarity. And she’s the real deal.”

  Embarrassed by the shower of compliments, Lux felt the blood rush to her cheeks.

  Moore looked lovingly at her. “Of course, there’s no denying that she’s as sexy as it gets, even sexier than a succubus, or beautiful being. But all of that takes nothing away from her purity. Sex appeal is not a sin. I haven’t been with humans for a while now, and I have to say that her purity is even more evident now than it ever was.”

  “She does have that aura around her,” Asher agreed.

  “Indeed,” Moore said. “I’ve come to think that as a succubus, as a being who is not quite human, I can see her aura better than the average human.” He looked at her and took a hold of her hands. “You’re like a beacon of light, showing me the way… showing us the way. I didn’t see it when I first met you, but, man, do I see it now.”

  “I’m happy you do,” Lux said. Shaking her head lightly she thought over what he said. “Brax,” she said softly. “How could he have broken out?”

  “It’s easy. What Moore says is true,” Romeo said. “About getting out of hell, I mean. If there are cracks in the portal, even the tiniest fissure, a succubus can get out.”

  “Really?” Lux said with surprise. “The tiniest crack?”

  “It may be a bit trickier, but it can be done, if a succubus is motivated enough.”

  “Good to know,” Sully said as he came in and set a tray of sodas on the coffee table.

  Lucas came in behind him and placed the pizzas in the middle of the table. “We’ve got plain cheese here and pepperoni there.”

  Lux reached for a slice of pepperoni pizza and took a bite. “Oh, that’s so good. Nothing like a night of slaying and a good pizza to top it off.” Still chewing, she looked at Romeo. “So, what can we do about those cracks? How do we ensure the seal is tight?”

  “Your sealing ritual has to be sound to completely seal it. I mean, it has to be rock solid.”

  “I know we have the right prayers,” Sully said. “And we always say them in Latin. That’s the way it should be, right?”

  “Typically, yes, but just the fact that you’re saying them in Latin doesn’t guarantee that it’ll work.”

  Lux looked baffled. “I thought that Latin was the key to all the prayers. I thought that the ancient language was the language of all spirits, good and bad.”

  “Actually,” Romeo said with a smile. “That’s a bit of a myth. The fact is that the language doesn’t really matter one way or another. English, French, Spanish or any other language in the world will do. In fact, in some cases, you don’t even have to speak the prayer aloud.”

  “Then what’s the secret?” Lux said, licking her fingertips.

  “Conviction,” Romeo said plainly. “If you don’t really believe what you’re saying; if you’re not really convince about what you’re doing, it won’t work.”

  Lux sat back and looked at him, taking in his words.

  “I’ve seen plenty of people,” Romeo went on. “Sitting there with their prayer book in hand, reading the lines over and over again, but they clearly have no conviction, and they don’t understand why their prayers don’t work. On the other hand, I once saw a young boy, who could not read and knew of no traditional prayers at all, but he knelt there at the side of the portal, with the pure conviction that God was good and that God was on his side, and he succeeded in sealing the portal… at least for a good long while.”

  “That’s interesting,” Lux said.

  “Of course, a few drops of holy water don’t hurt,” Romeo added.

  “So, the words mean nothing,” Lux said quietly.

  “If you don’t believe them, they mean nothing.” Romeo looked at them all. “If I can make another observation…”

  “Go ahead,” Lucas said.

  “Decades ago, pure belief in the
se prayers was the biggest threat to demons. Whether you were a slayer or not, people believed. They went to church, they listened to sermons, they recited their prayers and they believed in the good of God and the bad of Satan.”

  “And now?” Lux said, feeling that she already knew the answer to her own question.

  “People don’t believe anymore,” Romeo said. “And while the fact that the average Joe doesn’t have faith may be a bit of a hindrance for the human race, the fact that many slayers no longer believe is really your biggest threat.”

  “Do you really think that many slayers no long believe?” Sully said.

  Romeo nodded. “Definitely. Some convince themselves that they do believe, but when you get down to it, they don’t. They’re just saying empty words.”

  “All hail the smart phone,” Lucas said dryly.

  “Or any form of artificial intelligence,” Sully added.

  “Humans’ quest for technology does play a role,” Romeo said. “Humans today would rather look at a little screen than turn to talk to the person sitting right there beside them. Don’t get me wrong, those little devices are great. Unfortunately, people just don’t know when to put them down.”

  “So, instead of having tight knit communities,” Lux said.

  “We have everyone out there just thinking about themselves,” Sully added.

  “And that makes it all the more tempting, not to mention easy, for demons to sweep in and fuck everything up.”

  “I had never really looked at it that way,” Lux said.

  “It’s no surprise when you consider the number of churches that are now being turned into condos, or theatres or restaurants,” Lucas said.

  Romeo grinned.

  “What are you smiling at?” Lux said.

  “Church is a great gathering place, but the ability to believe in good doesn’t have to come from a church, from a priest or minister. The belief in good can simply be passed on from one person to another. By simply helping someone out, paying a compliment… just simple kindness, leads people to believe in good.”

  Sully chuckled. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when a succubus would lecture us on kindness.”

  Romeo smirked.

  “So,” Lux said, ignoring Sully’s remark, “when people watch the news and see all the bad…” she said, thinking of all the violence she saw every day on television.

  “They come to believe that good no longer exists,” Romeo finished for her.

  “But there is still good out there,” she said hesitantly. “Isn’t there?”

  “Of course,” Romeo said. “But the good out there isn’t very newsworthy. Funny isn’t it, how addicted people can be to hearing how bad things are.”

  “I think that you have a lot of valuable knowledge,” Lux said. “Things that we don’t think of.”

  “Insider knowledge, as it were,” Lucas said.

  “What are you getting at?” Romeo said.

  “You could help train slayers at the Academy,” Lux said. “You could bring a new perspective, a point of view that a mere mortal has never considered. You can drive home the importance of believing.”

  He nodded as he contemplated her suggestion.

  “I mean,” she went on, “if you’re serious about turning away from your demon side and if you really want to be a part of the human race, you could give us an advantage over the demons. After all, you know all their strengths and weaknesses. You know what they want, what they need, and what their plans are.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Romeo said. “I realize now that if someone like you, so experienced and so talented, doesn’t know some of these things, then I should be the one to show you, and everyone. You know, that’s mainly why I didn’t want you to get close to that portal. I knew that there was still so much you had to learn.”

  “That certainly sounds strange coming from a succubus,” Sully griped.

  “A succubus who fell in love with the one person he was meant to destroy.” Romeo glanced at Moore. “I guess Moore is the only one who could really relate to that.

  Moore nodded and smiled at Lux.

  “My affection for you is also why the Thompson twins hated you,” Romeo said. “They hated the thought that I could actually love you, that I wanted to keep you to myself.”

  “And now?” Lux said.

  “Now I want to leave the succubus side of me behind and live my life with you. I want to be human.”

  Lux pulled another slice of pizza from the box and stood. “I believe in his sincerity,” she announced, taking a big juicy bite. “I believe he truly wants to help me find Brax.”

  The guys all looked up at her expectantly.

  “Do any of you doubt his sincerity?” she went on. “Because if anyone has a problem with him taking us to Brax, they should probably just stay home.”

  Sully and Lucas jumped to their feet, while Asher gaped at her.

  “Is there a problem?” Lux called out to them.

  “Just like that?” Sully said. “You’re going to believe him just like that?”

  Lux looked pointedly at him. “You heard everything he just said. He’s already helping us just by telling us all that.” She looked at all of them. “Besides, do I have any other choice?” She turned to Moore. “Do you know where he is?”

  Moore shook his head.

  She looked to Asher. “Do you know where Brax went?”

  He shook his head.

  “And you two,” she said to Sully and Lucas. “You don’t even know who Brax is or what he means to me, so I’m pretty sure you don’t have a clue as to where he could be.”

  They looked down to the floor.

  “That’s what I thought,” Lux said with finality. “And just for the record, Romeo appeared in my dream, telling me about Brax. That should count for something.”

  The Goods nodded but said nothing.

  “Now if you guys don’t mind,” Lux said. “I’m tired and I’m sure tomorrow will be just as exhausting as today.” She held up the slice of pizza. “So, I’m going to take this to my room then get to bed. I suggest you all get to bed soon, too.”

  “What’s the rush?” Sully said. “Tomorrow’s Saturday. There’s no school tomorrow. We can sleep in.”

  “I could make us a huge breakfast before we leave,” Lucas suggested.

  “Yeah,” Asher said, glaring up at Romeo. “But before we leave for where?” He shifted his gaze to Lux. “Don’t you think he should at least give us a general idea of where Brax could be?”

  Lux was so exhausted, she hadn’t thought about pushing Romeo for a location. She’d been prepared to learn of Brax’s whereabouts the following morning.

  Moore stood. “I agree. If he’s honest about knowing where Brax is, there’s no point in waiting to tell us about it. Maybe some of us who aren’t in so dire a need to sleep can start planning for the trip to wherever.”

  They all turned to Romeo.

  “Yeah,” Lucas said. “Why put off telling us where we’re going tomorrow?”

  “All right,” Romeo said. “He’s close by.”

  “Close by as in around the corner, in town, up state?” Lucas said. “How close is close by?”

  “I don’t know where exactly, but I know he’s doing what he’s supposed to do,” Romeo said.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Lucas shot out. “You said you knew where he was.”

  “Yeah, Romeo,” Lux said, marching back into the living room.

  Romeo waved his hands around. “I know where he is in the general underground sort of way. I don’t know it in the global positioning system sort of way.”

  “Great.” Lux sat back down, dejected. “Just great. So, I essentially brought you out here for nothing.”

  “Maybe not,” Asher said.

  She looked at him for an explanation.

  “You say he’s doing what he’s supposed to do?” Asher said. “What is that, exactly?”

  “He’s keeping the gate closed,�
�� Romeo said. “As the descendant of a Gatekeeper, he’s gone back to take on his responsibilities.”

  Lux took a bite of her pizza as she thought of Brax. It would make sense for him to take on the role of Gatekeeper.

  “Do you think he’s in San Francisco?” Lux said. She looked to Asher. “That’s where Kingsley was gatekeeper.”

  Asher shrugged. “It would certainly make sense.”

  Lux turned to Romeo. “That’s where he lived. That’s where he was living when he disappeared.”

  “And he probably thinks that you’re still in San Francisco,” Asher added.

  “You said close by,” Lux said, shooting an accusing glare at Romeo. “It’s an all-day drive to get to San Francisco from here.”

  “But it’s barely an hour by jet,” Lucas said.

  “I’d have to make arrangements,” Moore said.

  Sully and Lucas looked at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “My jet. I’ll have to get it prepared.”

  “I was talking about taking my jet,” Lucas said.

  Moore shot them a wide-eyed glance. “You’ve got a jet? A private jet?”

  “Well, yeah,” Sully said, as if it was no big thing. “Why so surprised?”

  Moore shrugged. “It’s just that we’ve always taken my jet,” he said, smiling at Lux. “I’ve grown quite fond of jetting her about.”

  “You’ve been out of circulation for a while,” Lux said. “What if the jet no longer belongs to you?”

  Moore grinned. “Don’t underestimate my capacity to tend to my business, even when in hell. I managed my estate quite well, despite the inconvenience. Speaking of my estate, if I could borrow someone’s phone, I’d make sure my home in San Francisco is in top shape to accommodate us all.”

  “What?” Sully said sarcastically. “Did your wireless service not make it to hell?”