Can't Fight Time Ch. 11

Hey Everyone!

This chapter is freaking long, so I should get zero complaints about length LOL I would love feedback, and still thrive on it. And I do read the comments, and I'll even write back from time to time. Just know that they do help me and I do read them. And if you liked Grim, I have another story on Literotica So I'm Not a Vampire? that you all would also love. It's completely opposite of Grim, but it still has all of my humor and some very interesting characters.

Aside from that, I'm still in desperate need of editors, not just for Grim but for my other projects too. If you all haven't noticed from my 50+ projects, I write a lot LOL I'll also be teaching a class (online) on how to write a sex scene, but more details about that will be loaded later.

All in all, I'm excited about the next Grim story, and super happy about this chapter! I hope you like it!

-Rosi

***

Grim paused, his hand on the ornate handle carved with the Bloodspurn coat-of-arms. He stared at the markings a second before he took a deep breath and entered the throne room. Questions and thoughts buzzed in his head about good and bad choices, what was right and what was wrong. But he always came back to the center of it, the reason he had come here, the reason he was willing to throw away all he had worked for, all his family had achieved... Nina.

Looking down at the silver-veined black marble and then up to the dark red drapes covering the dozens of floor-to-ceiling windows, Grim forced his feet to move forward. This was one of the rooms he truly detested. It was the rooms display of wealth coated with death, betrayal, and anguish that got under Grim's skin. The room was supposed to embody their name, their legacy—the Bloodspurn Kingdom, with the strongest warriors and the most fearless kings in the land. That wasn't what it did.

The room served as both a warning and an invitation. Paintings depicting gruesome death scenes lined the walls as Grim walked the length of the room to his father. Captions told how and by which king the people in the paintings had been killed, but there were no actual pictures of the kings themselves. But even deeper into the throne room was something truly grotesque and frighteningly beautiful.

The teardrop-shaped vials hanging from the ceiling all around the seat that were the true focal point, and Pièce de résistance. A slight scent wafted out from inside the crystals, and the softest sound of grain rubbing against grain could be heard.

When Grim was a child, he'd been playing in the throne room and had accidentally broken one of the vials. It was at that moment that he discovered what was inside the crystals and what the they all meant. Thousands of reaper's remains stuffed into vials no bigger than his middle finger, murdered by Bloodspurn Kings and placed on display for all to see. It was the equivalent of cutting someone's head off and hanging them on spikes behind the throne.

Grim had told Nina that reapers never killed, and he hadn't lied. Reapers never killed humans, but he couldn't say the same about their own people. Just like humans, reapers murdered, tortured, and massacred each other. Perhaps it was the humanity in their veins from when they used to mate with humans, though Grim doubted that.

Then again, it could just be what drove every person to maim and kill: power.

"Grim?" His father's voice was quizzical, as if he wasn't sure if Grim was truly there or not, a figment or reality.

Gritting his teeth, Grim watched as a maid beside his father leaned over and refilled his father's wine, trying to tempt the king with her curves. That might have worked years before when the king had sunk himself between the thighs of every woman he found in an effort to reclaim the feelings that Ivona had stolen from him with her death, but it would not work now. Grim remembered what it was like during those times, when all you could hear through the halls was a woman's cries of ecstasy and seconds later the angry footsteps of the king leaving because he'd felt nothing. That was when his father had truly begun his slow descent into madness, and when Grim's mother had begun grooming him to take over the crown.

Smiling wide and sitting up straighter on his throne, his father looked like he'd just been given a giant present; "What are you doing here, my son?"

Grim paused at the base of the steps leading up to the stone throne. "I'm here to see you, Father."

"Hmm?" The king's eyes caught on the maid's bosom as she leaned over, but the look he gave the tempting flesh was hollow, as if he was looking right through her.

"I am here to talk with you about Nina," Grim ground out as he watched the maid frown, perplexed, and move away from the king.

To the side of the room a door burst open and a surge of energy he recognized shot out into the room. Grim drew deeper into the folds of his cloak, grateful that's he'd changed into his reaper form after he'd left Nina.

"Mictlantecuhtli!" His mother swept into the room with all the power of a typhoon. "I'm glad you have brought up that unsightly creature."

Grim watched with a slight amount of satisfaction as the maid visibly paled, then lowered her head and rushed out of the room, past Grim. "Excuse me, Your Highness," the girl muttered as she fled.

"Morrigan! What a pleasant, pleasant surprise," the king said as the corner of his mouth rose. He gave Grim an exaggerated wink, his eyes dancing with a type of happiness that bordered on lunacy."What brings you here?"

Grim would never understand why his father had married Morrigan. Yes, she was Grim's mother now, and the woman who had raised him, but never had she been kind or caring, choosing instead to be distant and disappointed with her sons.

"I assume you've heard about the human your son brought home, Tuoni? A disrespectful little thing with all the manners of a street rat," Morrigan hissed scathingly as she ascended the steps to the dais. She took her place next to his father on an equally impressive throne surrounded by vials.

Grim flinched at the insult to Nina, but mentally forgave his mother. Very soon Nina would be his wife and the next Bloodspurn queen, it was just a matter of time.

Tuoni looked quizzically at his son. "Yes, I heard. She broke you. Split you in two. Took you again. And made you anew."

Tuoni reached for the glass the maid left him, but just as his fingers closed around the goblet it fractured and broke into a million pieces. Grim watched his father frown as he looked at his wine-soaked hand, shards of glass embedded in it. Then, very slowly, he leaned down and licked his bloodied hand.

Immediately his mother snatched the hand away from the king's mouth and tore off a piece of her cloak to tie around it. No one spoke as maids appeared out of the woodwork and cleaned off the king before disappearing as quickly and quietly as they'd come. Grim had seen the scene many times over, yet another reminder why it was time to take the throne. His father's grip on reality, on his power, was slipping fast.

It pained Grim to see his father this way, though he supposed it was better in comparison to his earlier whoremongering. At times, Grim would find his father completely coherent and sane; they could have whole conversations, and Tuoni would give Grim advice. The next day, his father wouldn't remember any of it; he would be lost once again.

It scared him sometimes when he looked into his father's eyes and wondered if his and Uri's fate would be the same. It wouldn't be if Nina was with me. Grim clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, knowing it was time. She'd keep me sane.

"It's been nearly a month, Tuoni! We still have a human living in the castle, and the Castoff King's daughter will be coming any day." Morrigan shifted in her throne, sitting straighter, her power held firmly in check. "And from what I've heard, she loathes humans."

More than you, Mother? Grim mentally retorted as he looked up at his parents, desperate to get this over with and then return to Nina. Return to her soft body, warm arms, and comforting words.

"Mother, Father, I wanted to tell you that I won't be marrying the Castoff girl. I want—" he paused, shook his head, and looked directly at his parent. "I will marry Nina."

For a moment the entire room was still; the vials stopped swinging, and their powers paused. Then, like a rolling wave, he felt his father's power leak out and encompass everything. Even his mother shifted away from her husband.

Grim didn't match his father's power or pin it back against him as he could have. No, he let his father have control. With all the grace of phoenix uncurling its wings, Tuoni rose from his chair and took the steps down to his son. His smile was a bit lopsided, eyes clouded like he might be drunk. "Emotions, emotions, such fickle things. They come and go like butterfly wings."

Suddenly his face dropped, transforming into the mask of urbane indifference that Grim had seen almost all his life. "You don't love her, Grim. It is simply the first time you have felt human emotions, and you're not sure how to deal with them. You're letting your emotions control you. And that my son, will be your downfall."

Grim felt his defenses rise and his power flare up. When his father was lucid, he was extremely brilliant, tapping into a wealth of knowledge. But that was his father's downfall: despite all his brilliance, he had failed to save the one woman he loved.

"I will not repeat the mistakes of the past, Father." Grim's eyes skirted over the vials. The past was in the past and had no place in his future. Nina had taught him that, taught him to leave what could never be fixed for the ages and to relish the present. But he didn't just want the present, he wanted the future—their future, where Nina was alive and safe and his.

Grim's resolve hardened until it became unbreakable. "I will deal with the Castoffs. I will care for my land and my people. I will be the king you want, and I will protect Nina." He looked into his father's eyes, mirrors of his own eyes, the exact same shade of blue. "I am not you, and I will not make your mistakes."

Grim turned and acknowledged Morrigan, bending his head and feeling his hair slide against his cheek. "Mother."

Grim turned his gaze to Tuoni and saw the widest grin splitting his face. He knew his father was off in another place. "Father."

"I've lost myself. I'm out of time. I've lost myself. I'm out of my mind." The king repeated the chant, eyes burning feverishly. "You were never me, Grim. I died long ago, and you never met me."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Grim turned sharply away from his father. He didn't want to listen to the words of a crazy king. He wanted warm sheets that smelled like milk and honey, and a supple and needy body that tasted like pure woman.

He picked up his speed, flying with a power few creatures in the universe possessed to the side of the woman he loved; the one he would make queen.

***

"Well, that was another fun adventure," Uri chuckled as he helped her out of the carriage. "You got to meet Iris again, and spend my money on new threads."

Nina rolled her eyes and looked over at the dozen or so bags hanging off Uri's arms. "Don't you mean, you got to spend all your money?" Nina held up the single bag she carried. "I only bought a dress. Not a new wardrobe."

Uri shrugged and gave her another killer smile. He could get away with treason on that smile alone.

Nina thanked the driver and waved goodbye to him. The man was always courteous to her, and that was far more than she could say about the castle staff. Despite being in the castle for well over three weeks, they still treated her like a nuisance. Still, Nina forced a smile as she walked by one of the guards, only to get a murderous look in return.

For the life of her, she couldn't figure out how she'd been rude to the guards. But almost every single one of them seemed to despise her, with the exception of one. But Tylend, the vampire guard as Nina had taken to calling him because of the super paleness of his skin, was nice to pretty much anyone who wasn't an outright jackass. But nice was relative, the reaper still never smiled at her. Goodness forbid any castle staff actually smile at Nina, or even acknowledge her beyond a glare. That would just be audacious!

Nina mentally chuckled as her internal Southern belle came to the forefront. Way too many late nights loaded up on energy drinks had caused her to turn to any and every movie on the Internet. Sad life of a college student.

"But you did have fun, right?" Uri handed off their bags to a pair of waiting maids, and she caught what sounded almost like a soft, quick, buzzing noise from the pair. "Oh, and turn right, we're going to the throne room first. Someone's here."

Nina frowned and switched direction. "How do you know that?"

It wasn't like there had been another carriage when they rolled in, or a bunch of scurrying maids. Everything looked exactly the same, and if Uri hadn't told her someone was there, Nina would have never guessed.

"The maid just told me, and I can feel a different power in the castle." Uri tucked his hands into his back pockets as he strolled. "See, a reaper's power is their signature. The more powerful the reaper, the easier they are to identify."

Nodding absently, Nina thought back to Iris, who had about as much power as a human. In a twisted way, it made sense that power would define a reaper. It defined most of their world, why not themselves?

"So, did you have fun?" Uri fished, casting Nina a sidelong glance.

"More fun than the last time, that's for sure." The last outing Nina had taken with Uri and Iris had been fraught with tension, most of it she caused my her own insecurities.This one had been much smoother, and Nina had been able to enjoy herself and get a better feel for the Underworld and its inhabitants.

The town of Elysium was a clash of different cultures and time periods ranging from England's Elizabethan Era to a somewhat modern day love child of a hipster, Middle-Eastern bazaar. The buildings all looked like something Sheiks and Arab princes should live in, complete with pavilions in the center of the houses and water fountains everywhere, but the stain glass windows looked like something out of a centuries old church.

The streets were made of cobblestone, while the buildings were laid with brick and mortar, cool sheets and painted scarves dancing in the breeze. The people had been dressed completely different from the castle staff. Some women wore colorful head scarves and long flowing dresses, while others wore pants and jeans.

One thing Nina had noticed, or rather what Uri and Iris had explained to her, was that fashion was dictated by wealth, power, and convenience. The more powerful a reaper the more likely their clothes were at least closer to the current century, and the same applied if they were Collectors. Collectors traded goods they took from the human world after reaping a soul with merchants for material possession.

The same applied for the language. Uri had been able to converse in at least ten different languages effortlessly, switching between them without any difficulty, because he had wealth, power, and could go and collect souls wherever he wanted.

Nina had understood why Messengers were on the low end of the totem pole. They never left the UNderworld, relied solely on Collectors to provide them with souls, and were unable to move up unless their Collector counterparts allowed them to, which would never happen because, like most people, the rich liked to stay rich, and the powerful liked to stay powerful.

To say Nina had felt out of place in the century clashing town, would be an understatement. But the people had been fairly nice, catering to the three of them as if they were royalty, which was true of at least one of them.

The only thing that had been weird was the utter lack of restaurants or food. There wasn't a coffee shop in sight, and forget about fast food. Uri had said it was because reapers didn't eat human food, but feasted on the lingering emotions and power of souls. That was why instead of grocery stores and the like they had power exchanges, aptly named Power Houses.

Uri also explained why certain reapers looked so different from others. Some were Messengers, and didn't have to leave the underworld at all. They could be told apart by the gold and red sashes they wore around their hips with different emblems sewn onto them sort of like Girl Scout patches. The patches were demarcation marker to show whether that Messenger took the souls of Sunflowers, tigers, or whatever. Others reapers had red crystals on their hood or forehead and books in their hands; they were called Watches. Uri explained the different markings and reapers, but eventually Nina became overwhelmed by everything and tuned him out.

The experience of seeing the town, and semi-interacting with the people had made Nina appreciate Grim more. Since coming to the Underworld, Nina hadn't gone without anything she wanted or needed. Things she took for granted like a bathroom or a meal had been provided at the castle, but weren't exactly readily available in the town of Elysium.

Elysium was truly a town to behold. Uri told Nina that the town was part of the Ferri province of the Underworld and was one of the largest cities in the Bloodspurn Kingdom, and also the closests to the castle. Though close was relative; the carriage ride had taken at least an hour, and with the tension in the carriage it had felt close to three.

Still, finding out the Underworld, well, the Bloodspurn Kingdom at least was broken into sixteen provinces ruled by the Council of Guardians was interesting to say the least. Nina still didn't fully understand all the titles and jobs, but with Uri's explanation it seemed that the Guardians were sort of like governors of the different provinces, and aside from governing their respective areas they also advised the king.

It was not simply the city or the people or the system, it was the entire world. It was one thing to hear about it in Greek mythology, but quite another to experience it first hand. The Underworld, or at least what Nina had seen of it, wasn't dark and dreary. There wasn't a creepy river of souls, and pitch black night wasn't a constant. Aside from the occasional cloak and scythe totting reapers and the language and cultural clashes in the town, it was almost exactly like her world. In fact, being in the city had been the warmest reception she'd gotten as a human in the Underworld, and Nina had felt almost... at home.

"And Iris did a 180." Nina cracked a smile and a hint of proudness infiltrated her words. "I remember the first time I met her she was so meek and timid, but this time? Wow."

It was like the docile governess she'd met had flown out the window the minute she'd seen something she wanted. Then the devil haggler had come through, and practically robbed the owners blind with how little she was willing to pay. But she'd still gotten her way, and in the end she'd come out looking strong.

Uri's voice was soft, his face a mix of sympathy and pity. "Did it take your mind off of it?"

Nina nodded her head and mimicked his killer smile. "Nothing can really take my mind off my death, Uri. But it helped." Nina pushed back a strand of her hair. "So, how was—"

All of a sudden Uri stopped and held still. Nina stopped a second later and looked at Uri over her shoulder. His lips were set in a grim line and his green eyes looked like a stormy sea. Whatever he'd sensed had set him off, and if it spooked Uri, that it was probably going to terrify her.