A little idea that came into my head. A bit short due to being the first chapter.
Well, let's see how you guys come to like it.
If someone told me that I'd have a certain fallen angel's coin again, I'd have laughed in their face and told them to screw off.
Funny how things work out. Also, you're probably wondering how I got into this situation...again.
Hades sent it to me (via FedEx of all things), but left no note.
...
Holding the cursed Denarius in my glove, I contemplated what I was going to do with it.
Storing it would be basically suicide. The stupid coins always managed to get out of storage no matter what. Even now, I had to make sure the damn coin was in my pocket. Always, it would be on the verge of slipping out. I eventually settled for holding it in a gloved hand...inside the pocket.
Hey, a little protection never hurt anyone.
Ursiel was also under my control, but I wasn't too concerned about him. There's not too many big, beefy men who show up to my room and can handle the transformation into a bigger, beefier man without their body exploding from the stress. Ursiel was a picky one.
But Lasciel...
It was altogether very annoying for me to deal with. After all, I didn't exactly want her anywhere near Bonnie. I mean, knowing her, she wouldn't hesitate before taking the chance to steal her away before I could blink.
The raid of Hades' Vault was depressing. Hannah was just a misguided kid, she didn't have to die.
Thinking of Hannah made me think of other beings who shouldn't have died: Shiro, Aurora, Susan, Morgan, Lily, Maeve, hell, even Cat Sith didn't deserve to die. All of them had their lives ahead of them.
And they were all dead because of me.
If only...if only I could change the-
Hold that thought, Harry. That's bad juju. Remember the laws of magic.
But...what if I could?
I stared at the coin in the center of the glove, the hourglass sigil tauntingly gleaming back at me. Hesitatingly, I placed it down on the table, before slowly removing the glove.
I felt Mister bump into my leg, his eyes staring up at me, as if questioning how he could have a human as stupid as I.
"Sorry, Mister," I said, scratching behind his ears. "Looks like it's time for my legacy to be ruined...again."
He huffed (do cats even huff?) and walked away, completely unconcerned with the anxiety I was feeling.
Must be a sign to pass go.
As my bare hand lowered onto the coin, I felt a thrumming in the air, as if excitement and scorn were vying for dominance over what to make of me.
Well, here goes nothing.
I touched the coin and held it in my hand. To my surprise, the sigil didn't show up. Nor did I expect a knock at the door.
I opened it and had to blink. There was Lash (or was it Lasciel?), dressed in that toga of hers, glaring at me with her arms crossed.
"You," she seethed. "Are the most insufferable mortal I have ever known. You, who rejected me, dare take me up?"
I scratched my head. "Yeah, um, hi...Lasciel. Or are you Lash?"
She huffed. "I'm both. I can't tell if you chose or not, and I can't trust giving you the shadow again seeing how she failed last time. You're seeing us as a mix."
"Oh...so, um, hi."
She glared at me once more before slapping me across the face, smashing his head against the wall and practically imbedding a Harry-sized hole in the wall.
Ow. I mean, damn, I'm the Winter Knight, I'm not supposed to feel pain, and she-
Wait, she hurt me.
Huh?
"Since when do you have a physical form?"
"Tch," she spat, her eyes never softening. "How much of a jerk can you be, being so inconsiderate to a woman? You scorn her advances, you ask for help, and you don't even know a proper greeting."
She punched me harder, knocking the wind out of me.
"You're such a jerk!"
"Nngh-calm...down," I gasped out. "New...apartment."
She stopped for a second before sneering and willing a stainless steel knife from my kitchen counter to her hand.
Oh no.
"Suffer, star-born," she hissed, before plunging the knife into my abdomen.
The stupid mantle of Winter left me, and I felt the full brunt of my injuries.
It was through sheer willpower that I kept from screaming in pain.
Hell's bells, just how hard did this woman hit?
"You're such a pain!" she screamed in frustration, before continuing to kick me. Amidst the pain, I felt something wet hit my face.
Hang on...were those tears?
"I'm supposed to be the Seductress," she whispered, her fury slowing down. "Yet, you mock my pride by refusing me...and then choosing me after I am defeated? Am I some petty prize to you?"
Damn.
I just keep cutting wounds into the pride of the supernatural community, don't I.
"Sorry...about that," I gasped out, my body still convulsing from the pain. "But...can we talk first?"
She stared at me with unmistakable hatred, before willing the knife out and flinging it dangerously close to me, embedding itself just nanometers away from my head.
See, I know big words. Still got a leg up above Mouse.
I sat up, pretending the wound didn't exist. "So, before I talk, mind telling me how you're physically here?"
She snorted. "You set a precedent once more, it seems. Your soulfire clashed against my very existence, and shoved my presence into a temporary vessel. Congratulations, I now have a body now, albeit an unstable one."
Yeesh. Sanya's gonna blow a fuse.
"So...are you going to kill me?" I asked hesitatingly. Hey, can't blame a guy for not trying to die.
"I can't, at least not yet," she frowned. "Do you take me as your fallen angel or not?"
"You're surprisingly blunt. Aren't you supposed to be more suave or something?"
She rolled her eyes impatiently. "Being suave gets me nowhere with you. It's either being insufferably blunt or not bothering."
"Say I say no. What will you do?"
"Dispel this form and return to my coin," she shrugged. "There's no point wasting any time in this pathetic vessel than necessary."
"And if I accept?"
"I follow your will and try to corrupt you," she stated simply. "Your stupid soulfire makes it harder for me to manipulate your mind, and being the Winter Knight doesn't help. Of all times to take me as your own, you do so now?"
I couldn't resist a snort. It sounded like she had given up. Make that one of my achievements.
"Alright, I accept." She had been sipping a coke that I, a gentleman had to give her as refreshments, and she did a spit take as soon as I said that.
Hehe. Never fails. Pity I was right in front of her, and now I had syrupy
"What?!"
I blinked out the soda of my eyes. "Yeah, I accept your coin. You said soulfire hurts, right? I'll go create a vessel for you."
"What could you need that makes you turn to me?" she spluttered. "This goes against everything you stand for!"
"Depends: I want to turn back time, and I want help fighting against Nemesis."
She blinked, her mouth forming an O shape. "You hate the adversary that badly that you wish to take me up?"
"Well, yeah. Look at all the people I lost."
She shook her head. "It's not as simple as that. To turn back time, you need the permission of several people: a keeper of Death, a keeper of Time, the queens of Faerie, a Gatekeeper, a Blackstaff, and an emissary of Heaven."
I blinked. "You...you're kidding me, right?"
She huffed. "That's how you LEGALLY go back in time. There are many different forms of time travel. It all depends on which one you take that can get someone pissed at you."
"Okay...so will you help me?"
She huffed, and I saw her puff her cheeks. "After all these years, and you can't even treat me nicer."
Jeez, this was getting out of hand. I walked over and helped her stand up before hugging her.
"Yeah, I'm a bit of a prick, aren't I?"
She didn't say anything, instead bitterly crying into my chest.
"Screw you and your mortal emotions," she muttered. "With your influence on my shadow and this vessel made of your soul. Can't believe I'm actually crying right now."
The rest of the evening was me comforting a fallen angel.
Win?
"By the way," I asked. "Do you know the cure to Red Court bites?"
She snorted. "I'm a being that transcends time itself. Of course I do. A little light magic, a dose of soulfire, and approximately 2 CC of blood. Works only on those who have been infected, though. If they choose to ingest unpurified blood, well...you can't help them then."
"What about corruption by Neme-" Before I could finish, Lasciel slapped me across the face.
Damn, this woman could hit.
"Shut up!" she hissed, her eyes darting around. "This place is insecure. It can hear you, say adversary instead. And to answer your question, that technique is not something I can teach you now. You are far too inexperienced."
I get that a lot, don't I?
"By the way, how can I formally accept you?" I questioned. 'I mean, it can't be as simple as me saying I choose you."
Hehe.
"Normally it is," she explained. "But again, you're a special case. You rejected me, and to make matters worse, you caused my shadow to fall in love with you. The only way for a connection now is to-" Just before she finished, her hand slapped itself onto her mouth, as if she actually had self-control.
"What is it?" I teased, a grin beginning to form on my face. "What is it that I exactly have to do, oh great Weaver?"
She blushed before looking away. "A k-kiss..."
Must not laugh. She's too adorable right now. Also, she'd probably smack my head through the ground and get me kicked out of the apartment. It would break my bones.
"You're the Seductress," I managed out. "And you're nervous about a kiss?"
"Shut up," she muttered, blushing deeper. "It's your stupid fault for making my shadow fall in love in you that I'm like this."
I lifted her chin before lowering my head near her face. "Well, let's fix that, shall we?"
Our eyes met (yeah yeah, fuck off will ya?) and our faces slowly got closer before...
She punched me in the gut.
My eyes bugged out and I dry-heaved, the sheer forced of the hit probably reorganizing my internal organs. As I laid on the ground in a fetal position, she started laughing.
"Dresden," she guffawed. "You...I can't believe...Winter Knight...so damn stupid!"
"Bleh," I got out before a spasm of pain ruptured through my body.
"Oh my," she giggled uncontrollably. "I now know why mortals value laughter so much. This rush of elation...it's unlike anything I've experienced before."
Her laughs, I should probably mention, were beautiful. Just like the rest of her.
Why the hell am I always surrounded by people far more beautiful than I am?
"Mmm, I needed that," she sighed. "I suppose I must thank you for this body, Dresden." She leaned down next to my face before giving me the kiss.
Her lips were addictive. I cannot describe it otherwise. I felt like I was on Cloud 9...99. It was an instant, yet it felt like an eternity.
Well, I had sex with Mab, led the Wild Hunt, shook hands with Hades, and kissed a fallen angel.
How many forces of nature will I be screwing at this rate?
The familiar searing sigil appeared on my left palm, and my head pulsed slowly. As time slowed down, I came aware of my heart beat, the contact between my lips and hers, and the archangel right behind her.
Our lips separated and we stared at the stunned Uriel.
"Harry," he stated slowly. "Out of consideration for all you've done, I will allow you to explain what you are trying to do. Now, you better start talking before I call your friends to purge, how you say, your ass."
Oops.
"Harry, you cannot be serious," he stated, his head in his hands. "Do you have any idea what you have done?"
"Not really, no," I stated truthfully. I mean, why waste time forming a lie if I know he can see through it?
"Lasciel," he stated, turning to the fallen angel draped over my back. "What do you intend to do?"
By the way, it was really hard to concentrate when a woman wearing only a toga presses herself against your back, just saying.
I felt her shrug. "Honestly, just see what life is like. Being granted this vessel...that soulfire purged a bit of my nature. His soul gave me free will, something you don't have, Uriel."
Uriel gave her a disapproving glare before sighing and looking at me. "You're accountable for her actions."
"Yeah, I figured."
"Also, you wish to travel through time, no?" He asked.
"Yeah, I do. I kinda wish for more allies against the adversary and the others."
He nodded. "A wise choice. Very well, I'll speak on behalf of Heaven and grant you permission."
"Wait," I blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah," he sighed. "The more people we have against Outsiders, the better. And I won't complain about your choices. Now, you must plan how you will convince the others for your plan."
And with that he left.
"Well, things just got easier," I lamely remarked.
"Yes," purred Lasciel in my ear. "However, shall we celebrate...master?"
Hoo-boy. What have I gotten myself into?