Mercy's Destiny (Mercy Ashby Book 2) Read online

  Mercy’s Destiny

  Mercy Ashby Book Two

  A.M. Hardin

  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

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  © A.M. Hardin, 2018

  All rights reserved.

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  1

  Mercy

  I eye Satan closely as I move to sit on the chair across from him. Talon and Hunter stand at my back. Talon's hand rests on the back of my neck, offering a soothing touch, while Hunter absentmindedly takes a lock of my hair and starts to play with it.

  "A story?" I finally ask, the tension slowly starting to leave my shoulders from the gentle touches Talon and Hunter are giving me.

  "It's not necessarily a prophecy, though it really should be considered to be one," the devil starts. "It's not specific enough, or well, it kind of jumps around too much for it to actually be a prophecy."

  "So, what is it?" I ask, impatient.

  His mouth twitches in the corner as he raises a brow in my direction. "A story, a legend, a prophecy, destiny, fate. Hell, any of those will work I guess. Does it really matter?"

  I grind my teeth. "I guess not. Can you just skip to the part where you explain what the hell has been going on and why I'm apparently so damn important?"

  He smirks evilly as he shakes his head and tsks at me. "So impatient. Alright. I'll tell you what I know. It's not all set in stone. Certain things can change, but it's pretty straightforward."

  A maid enters the room, interrupting what he would have said, and hands him a glass that looks like it has alcohol in it. He takes a sip then waves her away. Once she's gone, he starts.

  "Centuries ago, there was an old seer. She was kind of senile, so no one really paid too much attention to her visions after so many of them went tits up. A few weeks before she died, she started having what some would call a . . . recurring vision, I guess. Only it wasn't the same vision each time. There was one similarity in each vision, however. Every vision she had featured a young girl with blonde hair and purple eyes that she instantly knew was a half-demon. She knew based on the technology of her time that it was far off in the future, but she didn't know when, exactly, they took place.

  "In her visions, the girl steadily became more and more powerful as time went on. One of the things she saw was your control over hellhounds. She saw your life, your death, and you being brought back from death."

  Those words chill my blood and my breath catches in my throat. Talon's grip on my nape tightens. "You can't bring someone back from the dead," I finally point out.

  He chuckles. "My dear child, there are always ways. Even without the use of vampires or necromancers. There is always a way. However, not many are willing to pay the price for that. Now, back to my story," he says with a pointed look clearly telling me to keep my trap shut.

  "The seer saw that you would be powerful, she knew that there would be men surrounding you, supporting you, loving you," he practically sneers the word 'loving'. I'm a little more caught up on the 'men' part of that sentence since I’m pretty certain he means more than just Hunter and War. "Anyway, your little harem of men were almost always at your back in her vision. She also sensed that another seer would be involved, but she didn't say what, exactly, her purpose would be. The only time she didn't have a vision involving any of them was when you were lost to the darkness and bordering on rogue."

  I tense at that and can feel Hunter and Talon tense behind me, though they don't stop touching me.

  Satan takes another sip of his drink. "According to the seer, you don't turn rogue through any fault of your own, she just didn’t know who was behind it. She did know that you were killed because of the whole rogue issue. Then, you were brought back. There's no knowing how long that'll take to happen, though, any of it. Anyway, skipping forward a ways, she also saw that you would have a child. That child would have a tremendous amount of power. It wouldn't just have demonic powers, though. It would have the powers of many different supernatural creatures."

  "Which ones?" I ask past the lump in my throat.

  He grins. "What fun would I have if I told you that right away?" He tsks. "You'll have to wait and find out till you have a little bun in the oven, Mercy girl. Back to the child. She saw that the child's powers and strength would rival my own, even as a baby.” He grins as if the idea of an extremely powerful baby excited him. “However, just like you, the child will grow in power as time goes on. She did say that the one thing that would bring any danger to the baby are those that seek to use its powers for themselves."

  "Like Payne," I mutter.

  Satan tips his head. "Exactly like Payne. He covets my power. He's hungry for it. He's also, weirdly, always been jealous of Hunter for being my successor. He's not my child, so I don't fully understand his stupid little mind, but it's not important."

  "So, what you’re saying is, I’m going to have to go through hell for the rest of my life?"

  He laughs loudly. "Nah, she said your life calms down after a while and you live semi-happily ever after with your men."

  "'Semi-happily ever after'? What does that even mean?"

  "There are no happily ever afters in any life, Mercy. The sooner you learn that, the better. You'll still have problems arise now and then, but based on what I’ve been told, things will calm down after a while."

  I don't say anything, my brain is working at a thousand miles an hour trying to process this.

  "Why didn't you ever tell me about this, father?" Hunter asks, drawing me out of my spinning thoughts.

  "I honestly never figured the old hag was telling the truth. I just assumed it was one of her many, many delusions, not an actual vision." His attention turns back to me. "I don't know more than that. The hag died after the vision of you having yet another powerful baby a few years after things calmed down for you. That baby would be the same as the other, just different in subtle ways. These visions didn't come in order for her, which was rather annoying. Thankfully she was sane enough to be able to tell which came first and which would come last."

  I blink at him, not entirely sure how the hell to process all of the information he just dumped on me. "I guess it makes sense why Payne and Jerome were mentioning a baby," I mutter finally.

  He nods. "Jerome wants your child so that he can rule over hell. That will happen over my dead body. Plus, if anything happens to me, Hunter takes over, so he'd also have
to go after Hunter. My son's no slouch, and he can take Payne any day of the week with his eyes blindfolded. Even if the child is stronger than Hunter, it wouldn't do Payne any good. Simply because Payne wouldn't be able to control the child even if he wanted to."

  My brows furrow. "What do you mean, Payne couldn't control the child even if he wanted to? If a child is raised by someone, that someone can usually mold that child to believe what they want them to. That's a form of control."

  Satan grins wickedly. "Ah, that is true. No matter, you'll discover what I mean when the delightful creature is born, won't you?"

  I frown at him. "Anyone ever tell you you're an ass?" I ask bluntly, ignoring the tensing of Hunter and Talon behind me. Probably not the wisest thing I’ve ever done, calling the devil himself an ass, but, well, that’s what he is and I’m annoyed.

  A laugh bursts out of Satan. "I like you, Mercy girl. To answer your question, yes, of course. Many of them didn't live to tell the tale after the words have left their mouths." His focus switches to Hunter then. "Now–"

  He cuts off as the large doors open again, and a guard enters the room. From behind him, I can see two others standing just off to the side but can't get a good look at them to tell who or what they are, or if they're even guards to begin with.

  "Sorry to interrupt, My Lord," the guard says with a bow. "We checked Payne’s dungeons downstairs and there was, in fact, several other demons that we had believed to be dead or missing down there. One of them is right out in the hallway, and I believe you'll want to see him." The last bit was spoken to me, and I raise a brow. This demon doesn’t know me, so I can’t imagine how he figures I’ll want to see whoever it is they found.

  The devil sighs and waves a hand, motioning for them to come into the room. "Bring him in, then."

  The guard gestures to whoever's in the hallway, and they slowly walk in. One of them is a guard, the other is a male in nothing more than rags as clothing. The man wearing rags has his head down and is leaning so heavily on the guard. It's a shock that the guard is supporting his weight so easily.

  The man looks up, and I can't stop the gasp from leaving my mouth as his red eyes meet mine. His eyes go wide with recognition, and I know I'm not seeing things.

  "Daddy?"

  2

  Mercy

  "Mercenary?" my dad mutters my old nickname with a slow smile spreading over his face.

  Without consciously making the decision, I'm out of my chair and moving toward him. Stopping just in front of him, I gaze into his eyes, and I feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

  "It is you," I whisper, completely in shock. "But, how?"

  "I was badly injured when we came to get you out. I was close to death, but not quite there. Payne took advantage of that," he rasps.

  I step back, so the guard can lead him to a seat. My dad practically sags as soon as he sits.

  "Payne was planning on using me as leverage to get you to do what he wanted. Whenever you managed to evade his demons, or your demons were killed, I was punished for it." He closes his eyes. "I'm so damn proud of you, Mercy," he murmurs so quietly, I almost don't hear him.

  "Mom and Roderick will be thrilled," I say with a soft laugh.

  Dad's lips curve into a smile, and he opens his eyes. "How is your mother and my little brother?"

  "Mom's alright, most likely losing her damn mind right now, and Roderick probably isn't in much better of a state. He's also still a dick."

  Satan and my dad both laugh. "That sounds like an accurate description of Roderick if I've ever heard one," Satan says between laughter. When he's calmed down, he finally looks at my father, and his eyes do a quick assessment before turning to the guard that practically carried him in here. "Get that healer in here for him. I don't think my son wants Mercy staying here too much longer."

  I raise a brow at that and turn to face Hunter. He just shrugs, making me roll my eyes.

  The healer comes in a moment later and heals my dad’s various cuts and bruises. Unfortunately, he says that his leg will take some time to fully heal since it had been brutalized so much over the past several years.

  "Long time no see, Hunter," my dad says with a small smirk after the healer leaves.

  Hunter chuckles, "It has been, Byrne. Good to see you again."

  I look between them and groan. "Jesus. You guys know each other?"

  "When your father lived here, before he met your mother, we were friends," Hunter explains.

  I blink at him. He did not just say that he was friends with my father.

  I clench my teeth and fists. Hunter notices, and his expression turns apologetic. "That's why you gave me that weird look when we first met, isn't it?" I ask, opting for a safe question that won't end with me getting pissed off at him for keeping more shit from me.

  "Yes. As soon as you mentioned Roderick's name, I knew who you were. For the most part anyways," he adds.

  "Thanks for letting me know," I say sharply. Hunter and Talon both wince.

  My dad's eyes move back and forth between us, but he stays quiet. Satan, however, starts chuckling.

  "Mercy, you should know that demons are secretive. This shouldn't be a shock to you," he chides.

  I roll my eyes. "Whatever. I need to get back to mom and Vivian." I look at Hunter. "We'll talk later, but right now, I just need to check on them." I turn to my dad and pause for a moment. "Are you going to come with us?"

  He slowly sits upright and nods his head. "Of course, I'm coming with you."

  "Can you transport all of us?" I ask Hunter.

  Satan snorts. "Don't worry about it, Dorothy. Close your eyes and say 'there's no place like home'," he says, sarcasm dripping from his words. God, he's such a dick.

  The next time I blink, I'm standing in the living room of Hunter's cabin with Hunter, Talon, and my dad next to me.

  Turning to Hunter I say, "I honestly don't know how to process your father, other than he's a fucking douche."

  Hunter chuckles. "What else did you expect?"

  I open my mouth, then close it. "Point taken," I grumble begrudgingly. I frown when I realize there isn't anyone in the living room. "Where is everybody?" I ask.

  Talon checks the time on his watch. "It's the middle of the night, they’re either out or sleeping."

  "Alright," I turn to my dad. "I'm going to wake mom and Roderick up, so they don't get a surprise in the morning. I don't want mom having a heart attack."

  He chuckles. "Your mother's still a bit dramatic?"

  I hold my thumb and forefinger up, a few centimeters apart. "Just a bit," I say with a small grin.

  "Alright, go wake them. We'll wait out here," dad says as he limps to the couch to sit down.

  Ignoring Talon and Hunter, I start walking through the cabin to the rooms that I know the guys hadn't claimed. Opening the first door, my lip quirks at the sight of my uncle with a ball of flames in his hand, prepared to throw it at me. The flames disintegrate when he realizes it's me.

  "What?" he asks gruffly, his eyes doing a quick body scan. Most likely checking me for any injuries. Thank you, healer dude.

  I roll my eyes again. If I keep this shit up, my eyes will get stuck at the top of my damn head. "Get up, I have a surprise for you."

  His eyes narrow at me. "You're unharmed?"

  I meet his eyes. "I'm unharmed. Promise."

  "Were you hurt at all while you were gone?"

  My eyes flick away from his. "Nope. Let's go. Get up."

  "You're such a shit liar, Mercy," he snickers.

  "Whatever. Chop chop. Let's go." I clap my hands at him.

  "Impatient little shit."

  "Damn straight. Which room is mom in?"

  "Right next door with the girl. Why do you need your mom?"

  "No reason. Just meet me in the hallway."

  He grumbles a few choice words under his breath and gets out of bed. I leave his room and slowly open the door to the room he said mom and Vivian were in, careful not to wake up Vivian.


  Walking inside the room, I gently touch my mom's shoulder. She jolts awake, and her eyes burst open. When her gaze lands on me, a relieved smile pulls at her lips and tears fill her eyes. I put my finger to my lips and gesture for her to get up. I don't know how well Vivian will sleep if there's noise.

  Mom climbs out of bed and follows me out into the hallway where Roderick is standing with his arms crossed, looking incredibly grumpy. Looks like someone didn't get his beauty sleep.

  "What's going on?" Mom asks, while closing the door behind her.

  "She says she has a surprise for us. Though, what surprise she could possibly have for us in the middle of the fucking night; it’s also probably not good," my uncle growls.

  My lips quirk up in a smirk. "Come on."

  They follow me into the living room, Talon and Hunter are still standing in front of my dad, so he's blocked from their view for now. When they hear us enter the room, they both turn and reveal my dad, who is sitting on the couch, looking completely relaxed.

  I hear my mom gasp from behind me, and Roderick mutters, "What the fuck?"

  My dad's eyes dart to my mom, his expression softens when he sees her. "Lilly," he whispers. My mom practically shoves me out of the way as she runs to my dad, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing into his throat. Dad runs his hand up and down her back, whispering soothing words in my mother's ear, quiet enough that I can't hear.

  "How are you here?" Roderick finally asks when my mom stops crying.

  “I was injured and nearly dead. Payne took advantage of that and saw it as an opportunity to make Mercy bend to his will if he gets her again.” Dad looks at me. “I’m assuming that you were there tonight because he did get his hands on you again?”