Chapter 5 ∣  Where It All Began

*Crossover*

To Omen's Key

Co-Written with Laisha C. Gardner

The Omen's Key can be found on the account: @DarkR0se5

-Rayne

Six Hours Prior

I leaned back on my chair, studying the reaper standing before me as he hovered over the marble floors. It was his job to report to me about my father's doings in Hell and inform me about any demons that may have crossed over into this plane of existence. Many centuries ago, after my father made it clear that he had no intentions of protecting this world, I made it my job to create laws that protect humans from the demons that would inevitably break loose from Hell.

As son of Satanas, the good god's first and only fallen angel, I am the true-born Prince of Hell and one of the five living devils. As the son of the King of Hell, it is my job to create order where my father fails to, and as a devil, I am more than capable of fulfilling my duties as Prince.

"A portal has been opened..." the reaper's voice trailed off, my eyes snapping to meet his glowing yellow orbs. "One that is being guarded by nothing," he added. Then, he had my complete and utter attention. I sat up, leaning on my elbows firmly pressed against the surface of my wooden desk as I clenched my jaw. "The hell hound has been placed at the main gate. However, this...portal is open to whomever would like to step o—"

"What the hell are you talking about, Orpheus?" I spoke through my teeth.

"It was a demon's doing...a pureblood vampire," he stated lowly.

I scoffed, "Don't be foolish, Orpheus. No vampire possesses the power to open a portal."

"No, Sire. No ordinary vampire possesses the power to open a portal," he paused for a moment, humming lightly before informing me, "This...demon, he wields the power of dark magic..."

I released a deep sigh in my efforts to keep my anger under control. The last thing that I needed was to take on my devil form and expose myself to my coven.

"How long has this portal been open?" I asked, shifting my gaze away from his hidden face and to the deep crimson-colored walls.

"An hour...approximately," he confirmed.

I nodded lightly, asking, "How many demons have found this...portal?"

"Only five have escaped," he said. "I am unsure if the truth has found itself across Hell. For now, I would suggest enchanting the portal. It would keep them...occupied. At least long enough for you to find this—"

"Orpheus...do me a favor," I breathed out as I resisted the urge to send him away.

"Yes, Sire?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, mumbling, "Why don't you tell me something useful?"

"Like what, Sire?"

I scoffed as I moved my hand away from my face and shifted my eyes back to him, my gaze meeting his. "Like, where can I find this...portal and the vampire who opened it?"

The room fell silent for what appeared to be only a couple of seconds until Orpheus' hum broke the silence, "He is taking residence in the home of the pureblood Vampire King, Lucca, alongside the former King, Locaine. Fair Oaks, Oregon, if I am not mistaken. I believe the vampire responsible for this is mated to the Princess, Lucette. Rook is his name. The portal was not opened far from there."

It came of no surprise to me that this Rook persona was involved with Locaine. Locaine was the demon who brought the humans crumbling to their knees many years ago. He was the one who played a rather important role in the war between the vampires and hunters.

"Sire..." Orpheus' voice trailed off as he called on my attention.

"Yes, Orpheus?" I reverted my attention to him, drifting out of my thoughts.

"I understand that you have plans, but this key of yours...it is in your possession. The hell hound cannot stop all demons from escaping, and the longer you wait, the more of these demons step into this world. I would like to know," he questioned, "when do you plan on sealing those gates?"

I inhaled a deep breath as I narrowed my eyes on him, "That is none of your business, Orpheus. Mind your place."

It was not that I did not want to seal the gates, it was that I could not. I did not care if it meant that hell would flood this world, I would not close those gates until I found a way to save her...

...my little angel. If there was anything that I was certain of in my many years of searching for the key, it was that my wish of sealing the gates would be granted at the expense of destroying the key's current form only to be reborn in the form of something else.

Because...in order to protect the key, my father, many centuries ago, decided that the key would change form to hide from all who were not a devil. Ultimately, the key was lost. Until now...now it appears that the key had taken the form of the only thing I could ever care for more than I care for myself: my soulmate, my beloved, Cayden.

"If that is all, I am sure you can find your way out," I stated as I pushed back on my chair, straightening on my feet.

"Of course, Sire," Orpheus reiterated.

Without another word, I walked out of my office.

**

-Cayden

"We have a vampire problem," Tobias' voice echoed through the room as he walked through the long passageway within the dungeon.

"Don't we always?" Isaiah mumbled as he slid the magazine containing small undiluted silver tranquilizing bullets across the table.

I placed my hand over it, bringing the magazine to rest before using my unoccupied hand to take one of the guns from the side of my belt and removing the empty magazine. I was swift inserting the loaded magazine into the empty slot in my gun before sliding the empty one back to Isaiah.

Last night's little vampire rogue attack left us carrying empty guns and broken weapons. Apparently, these rogues haven't gotten the hint yet: we are not their meal. Seriously! Are we that not-so-famous? We are like the demon police, for crying out loud.

My gaze shifted to meet Tobias' as he placed a pair of silver daggers within the side of his combat boots. He had grown to become my best friend in this not-so-big circle of necromancers that I liked to call family.

A smirk played on my lips as I took the loaded gun and slid it into the holster. "Tobias, why can't you be a little more on the cool side of this crew?" I teased, "Daggers? Really? When you get tired of playing with toys, try picking up a gun."

He narrowed his eyes on me, his lips pouting before he stated, "You know what Cayden? You can go fuck yourself."

Can Rayne help with that?

I pretended he struck a nerve, playfully gasping as I placed a hand over my heart.

"Tobias," Isaiah mumbled as he finished placing the bullets into the magazine, "that is no way to speak to a lady."

Tobias scoffed, stating, "Lady? This is Cayden we're talking about."

My gaze shifted to Isaiah, watching him as he cocked his head to a side and shrugged, pausing only for a moment before humming and saying, "You do have a point..."

My jaw fell ajar, my eyes glaring at the both of them as they smirked at one another. Before I could mutter a sound though, Tobias wrapped his around me and planted a kiss on the top of my head. "We're joking," he hummed. "You know we love you."

"Speak for yourself, Tobias," a familiar voice echoed through the long corridor, a sigh parting my lips as Jaycee emerged into the room. I rolled my eyes at her, pretending to ignore her as she whipped her pretty little blonde hair to a side and shot a look of disgust at me.

Jaycee was just one of those people who it pained to see others having fun without her. She was literally the single-most self-centered individual I had ever met. Or so, she was to everyone except for when it came to her brother, Tobias.

"Here you go," Isaiah breathed out while handing me the loaded magazine.

"Thanks," I said to him, offering him a small smile as I took the magazine from him and grabbed the empty gun from my other side. As I placed the magazine into the empty slot, I stepped away from the metal table, glancing up to find the entire coven standing within the area. "What's going on?" I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows as Rayne approached us. He held this serious look on his face—not that he didn't daily, but this time, I knew something was wrong. It was his eyes that always spoke with the truth. Well, at least to me they did.

"Lucifer?" Ramsey, the red-haired woman standing not far from Isaiah, questioned as Rayne came to a halt, his eyes shifting to meet my gaze.

"We have a very big problem," he said, his eyes shifting away from me and to the person that I always referred to as his second-in-command, Micah.

At his words, Micah tensed, but his stoic features remained as such and the room fell utterly silent, waiting for Rayne to tell us more.

**

-Lucette

Power.

Pulsation of evil entities breaking free and into this world. Trees are engulfed in flames, the malice of pure evil courses through the clearing, sourcing, and steaming from runic symbols burned into the once luscious emerald grass.

Embers glow with a residue like...Eris.

"Rook!" I breathe out, gasping for air as I shoot up from the couch I had been sleeping on, just outside of her room. It had been my turn to watch over Maverick's human, and I'd fallen asleep...again...

My white hair had fallen across my face while I'd dozed off, sitting up and straightening my two low ponytails, rubbing my eyes briefly before standing. Sighing, I gently opened the door to Eris' room, the darkness consuming her sleeping form. Her chest gently rose and fell, her eyes closed and her body in deep slumber.

"Why are you watching her sleep? That's just creepy shit..." I jumped at his voice, my body relaxing when Rook stood behind me, his eyes filled with humor.

Rolling my eyes, I stated, "I was checking on her...I'm just so exhausted though, my mind wandering and catching flickering images of something disturbing."

His face became serious, his eyes narrowing on me when he asked, "You had another vision?"

"I did," my eyes left his and I closed them, thinking about what Rook had told me once Maverick had gone to his room, "Something else came through with Eris."

"Yes, I am aware of that," Rook's hand brushed my collar bone, my gaze finding his as he whispered, "I just don't know where whatever it is came through. It wasn't in the dungeon, obviously, otherwise, we would have seen it."

Hearing someone approaching, I held my silence, watching as Zak rounded the corner.

"What?" He asked his expression one of interrupting an engaging conversation.

I saw something like the etchings you used to bring Eris back, but it wasn't in the coven's home. It was just outside Fair Oaks.

You saw it?

I didn't see it; I saw the remnants of what you used before.

"Uhh...okay..." Zak replied to himself, walking around the two of us.

I saw something on the outskirts of the clearing, but I couldn't tell exactly what it was.

"Zak, wait," Rook turned in the hunter's direction, turning back to glance at the two of us.

"Again, I ask, what?" Zak appeared slightly curious. It was then that I noticed that he was meeting with the twin rangers; Ryker and Clover, the ones who had come back with Maverick when he came back from training with Orion.

They were a bit older now, but they still retained their ebony hair, Ryker's cut short and gelled, Clover's long with topaz highlights weaving into the strands. We'd heard horror stories growing up as children, about Kadessa and Enock, the twin rangers who had killed many vampires, including my father's commander Eryx and my grandfather's commander Rynn.

We all held apprehension when they arrived. They had completed their rite of passage and during their hunt for rogue vampires, they had managed to not only kill the five to six minimum, they each killed twenty-three, coming across a hideout. Their skills were exceptional, and they definitely held a deeper connection to their vampire side, enhanced reflexes, and strength.

How many?

How many what? Demons?

No...how many of us are going to need to hopefully clear up my mistake. Dark magic comes with a price...and it looks like I've just screwed us all over. Who knows what came through?

"You're doing it again," Zak sighed, Clover's white irises meeting my sage green ones.

She'd become well trained with an Oneida, a compound recurve hybrid bow. It had a smooth drawback, but the power of the compound behind each shot she took. Her bow hung across her back, a quiver underneath of it, Ryker arching an eyebrow at me.

Ryker, on the other hand, had become adapt with a large silver scythe, his ability to wield it at high speeds with devastating results, quickly made it the best tool for killing both regular rogue vampires and what they had thought would be Maverick.

Thankfully, he never did get to go out with Zak and Rainier.

Rainier...I already missed him, siding with his werewolf mate, Hendrix and tearing the hunters apart, forcing them to choose sides in this war.

"Sorry," I giggled nervously, scratching the back of my head, "There's an issue."

"Does it have anything to do with the reason why that succubus is alive?" Zak questioned.

Rook corrected, "Human. I did no such thing, bring back a succubus."

"Whatever, it's the same thing," he let out a sigh.

"Well, no it really isn't," Rook chuckled darkly, "She' can't take advantage of you this time, or have you forgotten how easily she seduced you and stole your energy?"

Clover attempted to suppress a giggle, but it came through the hand she had clapped over her mouth. He eyed her and she giggled, "What? Oh, come on, that was hilarious!"

"Okay, what is it?" Zak placed us back on track.

"Right," I stated, "Something else came through like you have all be told, but I saw something...I think it was like what Eris came through. It's on the outskirts of Fair Oaks, Oregon."

"We'll meet you at the entrance," Zak nodded, turning on his heels and heading down the hallway and to the marble staircase. Clover asked, "Is this something that we should be really concerned about?"

Rook nodded, "There are far darker beings than just sex demons. Let's hope we don't run into anything too strong."

"Demons..." Ryker shook his head, "And I thought vampires and werewolves were just breaking the supernatural barrier."

I laughed, "Ha! Funny, you're related to us, so don't forget that you're not an innocent human being. You've seen how vicious this world is."

Ryker nodded, Clover and him following in Zak's footsteps.

Do you want to? You're a coven leader, after all, you can communicate with everyone we need to alert.

I guess.

I smiled at Rook, walking away from where we stood as he used his status and dark magic to connect with everyone at once. I felt the resonance, deep within my mind when he connected.

I need you all to meet at the entrance, I have some unfinished business to take care of.

There was no response, but we knew that they got the message, because as we both reached the bottom landing of the marble staircase, we saw them.

Zak, Clover, and Ryker were standing near the door, while Locaine, Maverick, and Tamsin were on the other side of the door. Coming from the hallway, Arlynn, Killian, and Kenzie emerged, their eyes all holding concern and at the same time, fear.

Fear of the unknown.

As always, we harbor that innate fear of what we don't understand.

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To Seduce a Mortal by K. A. Young and Laisha C. Gardner

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