Hawk led Katherine Pierce back toward the manor's main building.
By the time Katherine reached the main hall, Caroline—who'd been chatting on the sofa with Elena and the witch Bonnie—had already shot to her feet on instinct.
After all, it was Katherine who had smothered her in the hospital, triggering her turn into a vampire.
Caroline was acutely sensitive to Katherine's presence.
"Katherine!"
"What?"
"Hss!"
Elena and Bonnie, startled by Caroline's sudden movement, looked over—and saw her: the woman following behind Hawk, identical to Elena as if cast from the same mold, yet with a completely different aura, the polar opposite—Katherine.
Gwen lifted a brow at Hawk bringing Katherine in. She rose from the sofa and walked over.
"Gwen. Pierce—Katherine Pierce."
"Ms. Pierce—Stacy, Gwen Stacy. My fiancée."
"Hello, Ms. Stacy."
"Hello."
Gwen shook Katherine's hand with a pleasant smile. "Welcome to Fox Manor."
Katherine thanked her.
Hawk added, "There's something I need Ms. Pierce's help to verify. I'll take her upstairs first."
Gwen nodded.
"All right."
"Come."
Hawk said to Katherine, then headed for the staircase.
Katherine offered Gwen a brief apology and followed after Hawk. The two went up and into Hawk and Gwen's room; the door clicked shut behind them.
Gwen withdrew her gaze and returned to the sofa.
A second later—
She noticed Caroline's eyes fixed on her, with Elena and Bonnie just as wide-eyed. Gwen arched a willow brow at Caroline.
"What?"
"Hss!"
Caroline drew a sharp breath, eyes darting as she lowered her voice in disbelief. "Cousin, you're just going to let him take Katherine into his room like that?"
Jesus.
God.
Holy Mary.
Is this how city people live?
So… spicy?
Gwen stared at Caroline's furtive, conspiratorial look, blanked for a beat, then realized what she meant. She raised a hand and rapped her knuckles on Caroline's head.
Thunk!
"Ow—hey, that hurts, cousin!"
"Vampire or not, I'm still your cousin."
Gwen rolled her eyes. "What are you imagining? If Hawk brought her here, it's for business."
Caroline grimaced, rubbing her head, then blinked, curious.
"What business?"
"None of yours."
"But…"
Caroline fluttered her lashes, watching Gwen's calm face. "Aren't you worried Hawk won't resist the temptation? Katherine's gorgeous—and she's a vampire. She's good at seducing men."
Gwen laughed. Her smile was bright.
"You mean I should worry about Katherine?"
"Of course."
"Katherine is a bad woman."
Caroline rattled on, then glanced at Elena and Bonnie. "Right?"
The two didn't speak; they only nodded.
Gwen chuckled and looked back at Caroline. "Guess what happens the second Katherine tries to seduce Hawk."
Caroline thought.
"He takes the bait?"
"He kills her. Without a blink."
Gwen, still smiling, cast a sidelong glance at the stunned Caroline. "If you weren't my cousin, trust me—none of you would have walked away last night."
She didn't know vampires.
But she knew Hawk.
So…
After that, Gwen stood and headed for the back garden.
She was going to see what flowers the manor kept—if anything looked promising, she could transplant it to the backyard at 521A Palm Street when they went home.
As for worrying about what might happen between Hawk and Katherine?
Heh.
Gwen never doubted Hawk's loyalty to her—just as she never doubted her own charm.
Upstairs.
Katherine Pierce stood there, eyes unfocused.
Deep within her soul—
Using the daylight ring on Katherine's hand—the one he had crafted from the Reality Stone—Hawk transmitted his will, standing within a world of pure clarity, gazing at Katherine's soul: white-clad, crystalline, eyes gently closed.
"You can look for yourself—at the deepest place within the Heaven-forged soul. See it, and you'll understand."
"The deepest recesses of the soul."
Hawk replayed Mephisto's cryptic line once more. He gathered his six senses and peered into the deepest part of Katherine's soul.
An instant later—
He beheld a being holy, ancient, vast, and inhuman—something too immense for language to describe.
But Hawk knew what it was.
He had even seen one.
Not long ago.
The Celestials.
But not Tiamut, still slumbering in Earth's crust and not yet done sleeping.
This one should be—
Arishem?
Just then—
A tremor moved through Hawk's heart. His sixth sense rang. In that instant he withdrew every thread of perception, breaking contact with Katherine's soul.
The warning faded.
So…
This is what Mephisto wanted him to see?
Behind the Heaven Dimension stood the Celestials?
Hawk turned the thought over.
At the same time—
Katherine's eyes refocused.
Hawk set his confusion aside and smiled lightly at her return to herself.
"Thank you."
"I'm honored I could help."
"You did help—thank you again."
Hawk smiled, then, thinking of the doppelgänger downstairs, added, "First time, I helped you escape the Tomb. Now you've helped me. In return…"
Katherine quickly shook her head. "No need. Helping me out of the Tomb was enough."
Hawk smiled at her.
"Don't you want to hear what I'm offering?"
"No."
Katherine was decisive. She shook her head. "For me, escaping the Tomb is already enough."
She was a clever woman.
Always had been.
Without that, she'd never have slipped Klaus's noose—never have lasted five hundred years on the run without getting caught a dozen times over.
Katherine knew how to deal with people.
Especially the ones you couldn't afford to cross.
Unlike Damon—
Compel, compel—always compelling. One day he'd compel the wrong "insignificant" person who mattered to the wrong powerful someone, and it would get him killed.
Which was why unruly Damon had never been her favorite.
She preferred Stefan—cautious like her, and smart enough to use ordinary people as cover.
With that thought, Katherine looked to Hawk. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Hawk chuckled at her apparent disinterest in any "reward."
"Gifts from me are rarely unwanted."
"So…"
"You can end your five centuries of running. When I see Klaus, I'll tell him to stop hunting you."
Everyone knew—
Hawk disliked owing favors.
Rather than carry a debt, he preferred to settle accounts.
Besides—
If you're herding one sheep, herding two's no different.
He'd already promised Gwen he'd speak to Klaus about Elena. Since he would meet Klaus anyway, slipping in a word for Katherine wasn't a big deal.
Once again—
Klaus would agree—out of respect for Hawk.
Hawk finished and watched the expression on Katherine's face shift visibly—from shock, to stupefaction, to dazed relief and incredulity.
When the meaning of his words finally landed, she trembled with pent-up emotion, lips parting as she stared at him.
"I… I don't know what to say."
"Say thank you."
Hawk smiled. "You helped me, I said thank you. Now it's my turn to help you. So—thank you is enough."
Katherine drew a long breath. She had no doubt he meant it. Her eyes softened with gratitude.
"Thank you."
"That's enough."
Hawk smiled, then opened the door.
After a while—
He walked her to the manor gate, watched her leave, and returned, finding Gwen in the hothouse out back.
"Your guest left?"
"Caroline's a Fox; strictly speaking, we're the guests."
Gwen rose from admiring the flowers, gently correcting him, then nodded. "Yes—they left. What about yours?"
Hawk nodded too.
"Just saw her out."
"Did that clear your confusion?"
"No—it made it worse."
He said it with a rueful smile, drew Gwen into an embrace, and kissed her. "I need to see Mephisto again."
"Work with Mephisto?" Gwen asked, releasing him.
"Depends on the price he offers."
"Last time you trusted him, you nearly ate it."
"I know."
Hawk understood the warning—never trust a devil. He smiled. "But a devil who hides a blade behind a grin beats an angel who looks holy and cuts you from behind. Right?"
Gwen rolled her eyes.
"So we really have no chance at Heaven."
"Opportunity is taken, Gwen."
Hawk smiled, tore open space with a casual gesture, and looked at her. "Getting into Heaven the proper way is boring—piety, good deeds, all that hassle. Easier to fight your way in than test your way in. Don't worry—I'll go bring you back a Heaven."
He stepped into the rift, and the tear sealed shut.
Gwen watched him vanish, shook her head with a laugh, then crouched again among the blossoms, checking prices on her phone as she browsed.
One rule:
If it isn't expensive, she doesn't want it.
Hell Dimension, a certain tavern.
When Hawk pushed through the door, Mephisto wasn't at his usual table. He stood behind the bar this time, back turned, rummaging among the bottles.
Without looking around, Mephisto spoke as Hawk entered.
"As I recall, Earthlings pop champagne to celebrate a partnership."
"I haven't decided whether to partner with you, Mephisto."
Hawk claimed a high stool, set his hands on the bar, and glanced at Mephisto as the devil turned with a bottle of champagne. "You're on my blacklist for breaking faith. If we work together and you stab me in the back—then what?"
Mephisto met his gaze, pondered, and nodded.
"That could happen."
"Heh. Thanks for the honesty."
"Hey—I'm a devil. Devils aren't trustworthy. Your words, not mine—don't believe even my punctuation."
"So…"
Hawk's eyes narrowed, amused. "You're lying again. Which means you won't stab me in the back."
Mephisto shrugged, pulled two flutes from below the bar, and with a pop uncorked the champagne. As he poured, he glanced up.
"Can I kill you?"
"No."
"Then if I stab you in the back, you don't really lose anything, do you?"
"It would disgust me."
Hawk accepted the flute, flicked a glance at Mephisto, and went straight to it. "Behind Heaven—it's the Celestials, isn't it?"
Mephisto looked honestly surprised.
"You know them?"
"Big news."
Hawk gave a small laugh. "I knew about you back when I was still a normal guy, didn't I?"
Mephisto shook his head. "Their legends circulate in the cosmos. Earthlings don't know."
Hawk hadn't come to banter. He fixed Mephisto with a look.
"Are the Celestials using the Heaven Dimension to fast-track new Celestials?"
"…"
This time the devil's surprise was unfeigned. "You know that too?"
Hawk chuckled.
"You just said it."
"I didn't."
"You said once Heaven, after claiming a living world, uses that world's souls as fuel to attack the next world. If Heaven stands behind the Celestials—and new Celestials require life energy—then Heaven needs souls and new Celestials need life."
"And most importantly—"
"I've seen a Celestial."
Hawk toyed with the stem of his flute, smiling faintly. "The one sleeping inside Earth."
Mephisto drew in a breath, giving Hawk a hard, searching look.
"And yet you're still alive."
"Yes."
Hawk shrugged, enjoying Mephisto's very real shock.
If he weren't hiding the fact he'd absorbed some of Tiamut's life-force, he wondered how much more flabbergasted the devil would be.
Mephisto was rattled.
On paper, both he and the Celestials ultimately answered to two of the Five Cosmic Beings—Death and Eternity.
But—
Death had plenty of "death-lords" like him.
The Celestials were the servants of Eternity.
Which relationship was closer was obvious.
Even so—
Mephisto steadied himself and eyed Hawk. "Since you already know, then you also know the Heaven Dimension is enough to anchor your universe. Which means you should partner with me."
Hawk shook his head.
"Why not partner with Heaven instead? The Celestials stand behind them."
"They want to destroy Earth."
"Not my problem."
Hawk snorted. "Let it burn. Nothing to do with me."
He could cross the void now. If Earth were to die the next second, he could take everyone he and Gwen cared about and be gone the second before.
If Earth vanished—where to go?
Not a problem.
The universe was vast. He could go anywhere.
Most importantly—
Hawk looked at Mephisto. "You know I don't actually need a 'reality fulcrum' as a coordinate to unfold my universe."
A fulcrum would make expanding the Phoenix Universe easier.
But it wasn't essential.
The Phoenix Galaxy existed in reality. Worst case, he could go there and unfurl his cosmos from that anchor.
He'd just earn the ire of the whole Marvel universe for grand theft.
But if he seized the Heaven Dimension, the Celestials would mark him anyway.
So—
Hawk's gaze stayed level. "Just Heaven isn't enough to pay me for working with you. You're offering too little, old Mo."
The way he said "old Mo" made Mephisto's claws itch for a fish-slap.
He swallowed the impulse and matched Hawk's eyes.
"What else do you want?"
"Souls."
Hawk had decided before he came. He watched Mephisto's face darken. "Relax—I'm not asking for a third or a half. From now on, the souls of those I kill will belong to my underworld. That's acceptable, isn't it?"
Mephisto grinned thinly.
"What if I agree now and tomorrow you wipe out all life on Earth?"
"Am I that cruel?"
"Shall I take you to visit the species you culled?"
"Don't bring up the black ones. I still don't get why, when you took over Earth, you counted them as 'life.' Disgusting."
"Don't pin that on me."
Mephisto refused the blame, his true crimson form rippling into view. "If you think I darkened Earth, you've got the wrong guy. Take it up with the Heaven Dimension. After all—Jehovah is black."
Hawk: "…"
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]