The Axelridge Series Book 4 Griff's Red Card

GRIFFIN

“Finn. This is above our heads, man.” Jax shakes his head and leans on the table.

“We can solve this.” Finn says as he analyzes the data reports coming in.

Noah throws his phone. “Enforcers are running thin. They're getting cloned too and their doppelgangers are trying head the riots.

“Aye. The population of clones is getting higher, Finley. The city won’t take much more.” I eye him and look to the holographic monitor.

Displayed is the city’s resources and the projections if the population keeps increasing. Although the clones are still dying, their numbers are increasing by the day as more and more pipes get infected.

“People aren’t listening to the bottle water warning.” Noah informs. “They’re going full on defiant. They’re calling for the councils disbanding.”

“That’s a big hell no.” Finn snaps. “We need to fix this. What about the soccer field?”

“Nothing yet.” Marcus sighs. “We keep testing at the next waves and finding nothing. We need a magic scanner or something.”

“If I could get this bleeding program to work, we'd have one.” I growl as I type.

“We can’t scan for magic, Griff. That’s why it’s magic.” Noah rolls his head to me.

“Never say never.” I smirk as I type. “I just need the right frequency.”

“Frequency?” Finn arches a brow.

“Yes. Everything…including magic…has a frequency. A wave of energy that should be able to be detected. It’s just a matter of latching onto it. This code is driving my balls, that’s for sure.” I scowl.

“That’s right.” Jax snaps his fingers and sits up. “Phoenix has one. We should call them."

“Right. Let’s use the program equivalent to a child’s speak and say.” I shake my head and go back to work.

“Griff…” Finn starts.

“Finley. I can make a much better system. Just have patience.” I side him and arch a brow.

“We don’t have time. Finn, call Phoenix.” Jax says.

“Send it to me, Griff. I’ll look at it.” Marcus offers.

I raise my eyes over the lid of my laptop. “Ya wouldn’t get it, lad. I can do it.” I lower my eyes and continue reading the lines of code.

“Hello…Tech guy.” Marcus points to himself.

“We're all tech guys.” Jax snorts. “Griff. Send us the code.”

“No. It’s sophisticated and needs to be done properly. I can’t have you two galoots messing about knocking forty shades of shite into my code.” I grumble.

“Was that an insult?” Marcus asks Jax.

“Yep.” Jax scowls.

“Listen, buddy. We're the best damn coders in this place.” Marcus thumbs to him and Jax.

“You two can barely program a coffee maker.” I snort as I watch my fingers and the screen.

“Griffin, enough. We're a team.” Finn says.

I point over the screen as I input keystrokes. “They’re a team. I just work here…Unfortunately, some days.”

“You can leave.” Jax narrows his eyes.

I raise my head. “And leave you all to boggin' the place, not bleeding likely. This city would collapse within a day.”

Finn leans on the table to me. “Griffin. Give up the code.”

I stare him in the eye. “No. It’s my code. I’ll do it. Don’t you all have a hole to investigate?”

“I have a better one.”

I lift my head as Ivy struts in wearing a black business suit. Her long legs are making me weak kneed and it’s like the room got brighter. My jaw goes slack as I think, I bet she does.

She stops and her eyes widen behind her glasses. “That…came out wrong.”

Marcus and Jax snicker. I give them a look and they turn their heads.

I eye her and give my head a shake of the thoughts. “Jesus, lass. Yer like a weed in a spud field.”

“A what?” She stops dead.

“I think he meant annoying.” Marcus grins.

Ivy sighs. “I know what he meant…Griffin, I’ve been looking for you for days…”

She walks down the steps and around the table to me. “We need to talk.”

“Uh oh. Someone’s in trouble.” Jax smirks as he crosses his arms.

“Are not." I shoot him a look then turn to Ivy. “There’s a reason, missy. I’m up to my pits. I’ve no time to entertain ya. What do you want?” I growl.

“I have to show you something.” She leans down to me and locks with my eyes.

Her scent floods me and I push her away. “Later.”

“No, now. Griffin…”

I slam my laptop closed, stand and lean to her. “I am busy!”

“Griff, man. Come on.” Marcus holds a hand out to Ivy. I jut out my chin and shoot him a warning look. I know what he’s thinking and I’m not having it.

I push past her and head for the door.

“Griffin, Ivy is your partner and if she has something, you need to see it.” Finn reminds.

I stop, look at the ceiling, close my eyes and let out a heavy, frustrated breath. I turn and meet her eyes. “Fine.” I grit and walk back to my seat.

Ivy opens her phone as I sit. Noah gives her his seat beside me. I glare at her arse in the spot my friend is supposed to sit in, but then I realize I’m staring instead. I turn away, clear my throat and pull in my chair.

She drops her phone on the table and hits send. “What I’m about to show you has been confirmed to be authentic and cannot leave this room. There’s a project in this video that cannot get out to the public. Do we understand each other?”

“Sure.” Finn agrees. “Everything is always strictly confidential in the council room.”

She lifts a brow. “Is the local news a part of this council?”

I snort a laugh and she glances at me with a smile.

“Ok. Mostly confidential.” Finn ticks his head.

“Well, it will remain a secret. Please.” She hits play and the holographic monitor lights up with an underwater video of some sort of dive expedition.

I close my laptop. “What the…What are those?” I motion to the large, cylindrical device sitting on the bottom of a lake.

“Water filters designed to remove micro plastics.” She glances at me.

“That’s…” Bloody brilliant. “How does it work?” I narrow my eyes and tilt my head as I question. I’ve always been skeptical of this environmental stuff. Usually, there’s some sort weakness or catch.

“I can’t explain it right now. It’s complicated. Maybe later.” She says as she watches the video.

The divers survey the lake bed and I inspect the water filter. “I think I can understand a simple filtration system.”

“You couldn’t figure out a simple earthquake reading.” She tilts her head to me.

“That’s not what…” I point to her.

“Shush!” She throws a finger up to me and I scowl. Did she just cut me off? She got a right set, she does.

I lean back in my chair as I fight pouting. My eyes fall to her crooked phone on the table next to my laptop. It’s been itching at me since she put it down.

I reach out and make it perfectly straight with my finger, making it in line with the edge of my computer. I feel her eyes on me, pull my hand back as I glance at her and go back to the video.

The picture changes and I shoot forward in my chair. “Sweet baby Jesus! What the feckin’ hell is that?”

My eyes widen as the monitor turns from blue to red. It pulses in my eyes as I scan a tall crack in the rock wall. I watch the divers swim to it and look it over. It’s huge!

“Where is that?” Finn asks.

“The pillar under the island.” Ivy chokes.

Finns jaw falls as his eyes fixate on the red wound in the small island.

“It gets worse.” She mutters.

“How much worse could a broken island support get?” I look at her as I throw my hand to the screen.

Screaming comes from the video and I watch as my jaw falls.

‘We need to get him out of here.’

‘Don’t you mean them?’

Ivy pauses the video of the drowned, naked man in the lake.

“Whatever he was reaching for, it’s the source of the cloning. I’m sure of it.” Ivy looks around the table.

“Finn?” Jax questions.

He slowly shakes his head in disbelief. “I have no idea.”

“Did your great-grandfather mention any of this?” Marcus asks.

“No. Nothing. I-I don’t think he knew.” Finn says quietly.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

Finn looks to the door as Adam walks in.

“Adam. Thank you for answering our call.” Finn laces his fingers on the table.

Adam eyes the monitor. “I would have come sooner, but I had to get the Nordics settled first.”

“They have a new home?” Finn asks.

“No. It’s safe to go home for them now. Christian…took care if it.” He says.

“The nymph?” Finn furrows his brow.

“She’s not a problem anymore.” Adam supplies.

“Good.”

“What’s with the dead man?” Adam motions to the screen.

“A clone.” Jax mutters.

“I…uh…A what? What have I missed?” He scrunches his brow and looks to Finn.

“Since you've been gone, something has infected the water in the city and people are being cloned. It was fine at the beginning. The stability of the clones is weak and they die after a few days, but more and more people are being doubled and the city is about to erupt in riots.” Finn explains as he rubs his nape.

“Oh…um…” His eyes turn black and I see Ivy sit straight, looking uncomfortable.

“It’s ok.” I whisper.

She glances at me. Her lips shrink, but she nods as she adjusts her glasses. I don’t know why Adam makes her feel so uncomfortable. It’s not like he hasn’t presented himself in any other way but respectful. It’s weird.

I keep her in my peripheral vision as I listen to Finn explain our situation further.

Abraxas surfaces. “This is odd. I don’t know of any magic that can do this?” His demonic voice fill the room.

“Is there something that can tell us?” Finn asks.

“I can ask around, but demons aren’t one for being chatty. If there is something out there, I’ll try and find it.” Abraxas says.

“Finn…the message?” Marcus flicks his eyes to Adam as he turns to Finn.

“Message?” Abraxas tilts his head.

“We had a run in with your father.” Finn says.

Abraxas' face changes. “Go on.” He grits.

“He told us to tell you that Lefu isn’t gone. That…um…you will wear him.” Finn scratches his temple then raises his eyes to Abraxas.

He nods. “My father is delusional. He knows Lefu is dead.”

Jax coughs. “Satan.”

Abraxas arches a brow to him.

Finn glares at Jax.

“What?” Jax holds out his hands.

“What’s he talking about?” Abraxas asks.

“Alistair also said that there’s a plan in motion to raise…Lucifer.”

The room falls silent and all eyes turn to Abraxas who’s twisting his fingers in his laced palms on the table. His head is down. We sit in uncomfortable quiet.

“Cripes, lad. Say something!” I scowl after a minute.

Abraxas raises his black eyes to me. I see Ivy twist a little in her seat.

“It won’t happen. He’s using a spell that’s faulty. It’s never worked.” Abraxas informs.

“What spell?” Finn cinched his brow.

“Blood magic. A witches magic. It’s a spell that requires the death of a bloodline. If completed in proper order, the resulting death will open the gate to Lucifer. It’s never been done.” Abraxas confirms.

“Death of a bloodline? Are you mad? What kind of trickery is that?” I look at him like he’s nuts.

“It’s true. The spell can work, the problem is the hearts. In the history of the spell, it’s never been completed.” He says.

“What’s required…for this spell?” Ivy ask quietly.

He meets Ivy's face and smiles a comforting smile. “Family.” He supplies.

“Family?”

“Yes. The spell requires the death of all those after the one initiating it. This gives the spell caster the power to open the gate. The problem is just like a man, long ago, who was faced with the decision to kill his son for God, a spell caster has never had the guts to finish.” He raises his chin and tilts his head.

“Why not?” Ivy asks.

“Short answer, love. It gets in the way. They just can’t do it.” Abraxas ticks his head.

“It seems odd that they’d even try if they loved their family.” Ivy says.

Abraxas nods. “You’re right. It doesn’t make sense, but sometimes the sin of greed, lust and pride can be quite overwhelming at first. Others are tricked into it and stop themselves.”

“Wait, so, Alistair is tricking someone into raising the devil?” Noah asks.

“Possibly.”

“Eddie.” Jax scowls.

“Eddie doesn’t have family though.” Marcus reminds.

“Maybe he does.” Jax shrugs. “We really don’t know. He hasn’t talked about his family since we found him.”

“True, but I don’t think it’s Ed. My gut says it’s someone else.” Marcus side eyes Abraxas.

“Ok. So, that aside. What can Lucifer do?” Finn asks.

“Raise hell on earth." Abraxas says stoically.

“Fecking hell.” I slump back in my chair and stab my hair with my fingers.

“Could he bring Lefu back?” Finn asks.

“Don’t know. Maybe. Death is one of the first demons. He helped build hell. If a cosmic being can do it, I don’t see why Lucifer couldn’t.” Abraxas informs.

“That being the case, we need a plan to get him out of Eddie.” Finn eyes the room.

“Certainly. I think I know where my father is hiding. I just need Graham to get me there. Once I have Alistair, I’ll bring him here and we can try to extract him from your friend.” Abraxas offers.

“How are you going to do that?” I ask.

Abraxas stands. “The weakness of every demon is a fresh soul.”

“You’re going to kill someone?” Finns brows raise.

Ivy seems to shiver at the word and she stiffens up in her chair. I casually place my hand on the back of it. She glances at my arm and I face forward. In the corner of my eye, I see her relax a little. The corner of my lip twitches just a tiny bit. I like kind of being her hero. I get this warm feeling as I see her relax even more.

I side eye her and watch as the table talks.

“No. Just bait. If I present him with a rotten enough soul, he’ll not be able to resist. Once exposed, I’ll teleport him here and trap him. You can convince Eddie to let him go. With nowhere to run, he’ll be forced to enter the gate.” Abraxas answers.

Jax leans on the table. “Wait. I thought you could only lock him up in a body.”

“That’s the permanent solution. There’s a cosmic weapon that can trap him temporarily.” Abraxas says.

“What’s that?” Finn asks.

“Basically…a piece of Genesis’ dress.” He says nonchalantly.

The room starts to laugh.

Noah leans on the table. “Hold up. It sounded like you just said we had to steal the dress off a cosmic being.”

“A cosmic being we're at war with.” Marcus adds.

“I’m sorry, what?” Ivy raises her brows to me.

“Nothing, lass. Just sit tight.” I eye her with a slight nod.

She hesitantly turns back to the table.

“Aye. Yer looking to get yourself pummeled, for sure. Yer heads a mess if ya think we'd fall for that.” I shake my head.

“We don’t need the whole dress. Just enough to bind his hands, neck or feet. As long as he’s bound properly, he’s powerless.” Abraxas crosses his arms.

“Oh, well, if that’s the case.” Jax folds his arms and ticks his head.

“You got a screw loose?” Marcus scowls at him.

“What else we got?” Jax shrugs. “I want to kick cosmic ass so, why not?”

“Because ye be a right wanker if ya go through with it. It’d be the death of ya, it would.” I point to him then lean back. “Muckin’ about with God’s is not a Friday night.” I raise a brow and cross my arms.

“I agree with Griff. You looking to get killed?” Marcus growls.

“I’m sure Abraxas won’t let that happen.” Jax motions his hand to Abraxas.

“Actually, I expect at least three of you to die in the process, but it’s for the cause right?” He smiles.

“Wait, what?” Jax’s jaw drops.

Abraxas eyes us all. “It won’t be easy. Genesis is powerful, but all we need to do is distract her long enough to cut a piece of cloth off her and get out.”

“Then what?” Finn asks.

“Run like hell.” Abraxas smirks.

“Ok. Does anyone know how to call a cosmic being?” Finn looks around the room.

Everyone went dead silent.

“I know someone who can. Thankfully, she hates him just as much as she hates us.” He smirks. “I’ll call in a few days. Don’t worry. I’m sure between us all, we'll be fine.”

“If we arent?” I ask.

“God have mercy on your soul. I’m sure both heaven and hell won’t like us messing with one of their own.” He turns. “Get prepared for the fight of your lives.” He blurs out and we're left with a feeling of dread looming in the room.

“What just happened?” Ivy whispers.

“Lass, even I don’t know.” I chuckle. “Which is a right shake up for me.” My face fills with confusion. I don’t like not fully understanding things.

She quietly giggles. “I kind of like it.”

“Like what?” I tilt my head.

“You not knowing something…it’s becoming.” She smiles and I feel strange inside. Like her smile is lighting something inside.

I look to her shoulder and reach out to it. She watches me pick a hair off. Her eyes meet mine.

“Sorry. It was ruining the look…of your outfit…I mean.” I turn in my chair and start typing.

“Thank you.” She says.

I side eye her. “You’re welcome, lassie.” A small smile pulls at my lips before I go back to coding.

She turns to the table and my lips fall. I casually look her over. Glasses, attitude and annoyance are all imperfections I don’t like. I would never consider anyone with even a fraction of that so, why am I seeing past that?

I expect perfection and I’m seeing something that’s coated in flaws.

Is this something that…

Could she be…