Justice for Leanne Read online

  Leanne knew she was staring but couldn’t help it. He had to be kidding.

  They had spent all this time not talking to one another about anything significant, and somehow had managed to fall in love. How ironic that they decided to tell each other now, when there was the possibility of a large problem coming.

  She supposed that the menace approaching was one of the reasons she felt the need to tell Justice about her feelings. Danger often made people realize what they had in their lives and what they had to lose. Perhaps this was why Justice wanted to let her know what he was feeling also. Or, maybe like with her and Justice; they couldn’t afford to be distracted by the things they hadn’t said.

  To win the war, Leanne knew was coming, she was aware that everyone including Faith and her god Spero, were going to have to be focused on fighting, not on what they hadn’t said. Leanne reached up and kissed Justice, taking this physical step into her own hands, where she had some control over the situation.

  * * * *

  Justice couldn’t believe it when Leanne kissed him. It was just a light pressing of her lips to his, but it was enough to spur him into action. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He resettled into the chair with her draped on his lap.

  He buried his hands in her hair, cupping the back of her head, getting her as close to him as possible. He was surprised when she opened her mouth to him so readily as his tongue pushed at her lips. Her allowing him in, to stroke at her teeth and tongue, and responding with strong strokes back, drove him to madness. He could feel her pressing her body closer to his, their tongues dancing while they learned of each other.

  “Leanne.” He pulled away, cupping her face, and forced her to look into his eyes. “What is this? Really?” He paused to take a breath, and then continued in a rush. “Please don’t play with me on this. I love you far more than you could imagine. After hundreds of years together; I have learned all about you; how you work and play, how you think, what you eat when you are tired, or when you are on a rush from something well done. I love every bit of you, and this will be just a little bit extra. Please though, be honest with me.”

  Justice stared up at her as Leanne looked into his eyes, seeing plainly that he was serious. He knew that it was early for her to be thinking about that. And that a lot of stuff had happened to her in the past twelve hours that made her not trust him, but he knew all his love was showing from his eyes. He tried to show her that he meant what he said when he spoke from his heart.

  Her voice was low as she began to speak, “I’m not kidding about this. It doesn’t get you out of the doghouse for lying to me all of these years when you let me think I was interpreting the scales. For me, knowing that the weight of those souls is on me and has been all this time... well, I don’t know. But that doesn’t change my love for you. It does however mean you have some making up to do.”

  Justice knew Leanne was still coming to grips with what he’d dropped on her yesterday. He understood that being dusa skala isn’t something that someone comes to terms with on a drop of a hat, although that was sort of what he was expecting her to do. Even though she’d been doing the dusa skala for years, he hadn’t told her that. “Did Faith explain to you…?” Justice knew he was a coward for letting Faith do the job. He almost wished she’d done it in such a way that Leanne was able to adequately understand.

  Leanne nodded. “She did so very well, explaining that when it came to souls, my eyes gave the information to my instincts, and my intuition weighed the sins. She also said when my eyes couldn’t help, my feelings would still give me information. That is the reason why I made her pop home last night, instead of going outside. Whatever it is that’s trying to get through the portal, is bad stuff.”

  “I am glad she was able to help and comfort you. It is important to Faith that she help people, and it is important to me that you feel comfortable with who you are,” Justice wanted Leanne to know that he was aware of how hard this was for her.

  “We had a great conversation, and I know that I’m still adjusting. It's helping to adjust when I woke up to find you here and talking about all of this.” He felt Leanne reach in to hug him this time, brushing her lips against his. “However, as much as I want to sit here and do this all day, we need to do an assessment on what is going on outside.”

  Justice knew she was right, but he was enjoying having her sitting on his lap. He wondered if she could feel his throbbing cock from her position. He enjoyed the widening of her eyes as he shifted a little and her hip pressed against him. “Are you sure we can’t just stay here for a bit?”

  He leaned into her, caught her bottom lip with his teeth, tugging at it to bring her closer. He forced her hands to his shoulders, and she balanced herself. He loved feeling her hands run over his shoulders and chest. He pushed with his tongue at her mouth and made her open for him again.

  As they both got lost in the sensation, he wanted to keep pushing at her. He desired to walk her over to the bed and make her his.

  She spoke up with a slight moan, “We may have time for a quick trial, but I can feel the air getting darker and more impatient.”

  Justice pulled back, not wanting the first time with Leanne to be a quick romp. He wanted to have the time to love her properly.

  She was right. The air was physically pushing at them, demanding they pay attention to what was going on in the outside world on both plains right now.

  “No. I won’t do this quick with you. I have waited a hundred years, a few more hours isn’t going to change how much I want you. But we’ll go see what we are dealing with in a minute. First though, I want you to tell me what you’re feeling about what is out there. Faith was right, your instincts will tell you things the rest of us don’t know.”

  “I know. I told her last night about suspecting a big battle is coming. And it will take all of us together; Faith, Spero, you and I to deal with this. I’m not sure yet what everyone’s role will be. I just know that whatever it is, the balance will be affected by its presence on the mortal plain, and not for the better.”

  Justice nodded at what she was saying. All of a sudden though he began to sputter. “Spero? What does that punk have to do with any of this? He is a newer lesser god and likes to bend the rules too much. He also doesn’t take instruction well, thinking he already knows everything.”

  “He is fated to be Faith’s love, I know this beyond doubt. They have already met once, back when you were forced to put her here. He came to help take away some of her loneliness, and they’ve been connected since then. Wait a moment, a punk? Why do you say that?”

  “He is a young god, not one of the elders. He pushes the rules too much sometimes, like with Faith; he was not supposed to have ever been on the mortal realm, and yet he was in Brimstone. I don’t like it.” Justice was almost sulking about having to deal with Spero. The kid bothered him. The fact was, Spero reminded him of the way he used to be when he was young. However, if Leanne said he was needed, and as Faith’s love no less, than he could work on getting over his feelings toward the kid.

  He heard Leanne laughing. “Rule breaker huh? Well I am forever grateful, because I remember him singing my soul to you. And you had better work on your attitude, he is going to have to come back to the mortal realm soon, we need him for this fight. Besides, he is fated to be Faith’s love, even if they don’t know it yet.”

  Justice looked at Leanne’s face when she laughed, even if the purpose was geared towards him and his attitude. She lit up, making her already beautiful face even more so.

  He stole a quick kiss from her lips and said, “We’ll see. I’ll work with him, and try for Faith’s sake, but I make no promises.”

  “No one is asking you for anything.” Getting up from his lap, he watched as Leanne wandered over to her wardrobe. While he looked, she pulled out her working uniform, the black lace skirt and corset, and headed for the bathroom. “While I get ready for this morning, can you wander down to the bakery and bring me back some
cranberry scones? Faith has baked some this morning, I can smell them.”

  Without waiting for an answer, his dusa skala went into the bathroom. He had to laugh as she just assumed he would do what she asked. Of course he would obey, he needed to be back in her good graces; beyond that though, he would do anything for her. He loved her.

  Justice grinned as he heard the lock click into place. He knew they didn’t have the time, but it was probably still wise of her to do that.

  He looked around as he headed out of the apartment and down the stairs. The sun had all but given up trying to shine in Brimstone today. It was still almost pitch black, despite being nine in the morning. He stopped at the top of the stairs. The spire that led to the bell tower over the bakery was shrouded in fog, he couldn’t see the beautiful copper top, usually reflecting the sunlight and seeming like a welcome beam to those who wanted to come to Brimstone. Glancing to his left, he could see the gate and the wall around the town; that too, seemed to be heavily guarded by fog. Justice was worried about what he and Leanne would find outside today.

  The air was heavy, weighing upon a person’s body and soul. There was something not right about the portal and the town. And it was going to be up to them to stop it. Just as he stepped inside the bakery, Justice stopped up short, he didn’t want to lose Leanne now that he had just found her. It seemed as if danger had found them just at the same time that they had found each other.

  “Don’t think so hard,” a soft voice called out. A feminine hand touched his arm, bringing Justice back to himself. “You aren’t going to lose her now that you’ve just found her.” Faith’s eyes were so certain, Justice couldn’t help but believe her.

  “I know, have a little faith right,” he smiled down at his friend.

  “Exactly, and some cranberry scones. That is what she sent you here for right? Anytime she thinks the battle is tough, this is what she likes, so I made them for her this morning.”

  “You are a tremendous friend to both of us. And I thank you for all you’ve done for my Leanne. Tell me, she mentioned Spero in passing during a discussion. Is this something I should know about?”

  Faith blushed at the question. Justice had to wonder what the conversation consisted of if Faith was blushing. “No. I tried to contact him last night through dreaming as Leanne had asked, but he seems to be blocked from me somehow. I am worried that whatever is going on, is blocking my path to him. Leanne said we needed him.” Justice could see that Faith was fretting over this, chewing on her bottom lip.

  “If we need him, I will go get him. Don’t worry Faith, if Leanne said this is what was meant to happen then this will happen. As you know the, dusa skala is never wrong. The fact that she isn’t wrong, worries me because of her level of concern over what is trying to get out of the portal.”

  “Well, we will deal with things as they come. It is how we’ve always done it, and this time we have the dusa skala; that wasn’t the case last time. Now off with the scones, and tell her to come straight here after work, no matter what she looks like. Leanne always waits, because she doesn’t want me to see her all mucked up. But today I’ll have her food ready the second she walks in. I have the feeling she may need it.”

  Justice took the food, nodding his head in response to her request, and headed back up the stairs, contemplating Faith’s words. He hoped she was wrong, but wasn’t going to bet against it; indeed, this was going to be a hard day for Leanne. He stopped again at the top of the stairs, looking back over the town, seeing the bustle happening in the streets as people went about their day. He noticed they seemed to be hurrying more than usual, and not many were outside. Brimstone usually was a bustling place with people out talking to one another and greeting friends. Today, the air had them all inside.

  Faith was right about the rest of it; this time they had Leanne. However, what if it was worse than from before? It was scary that Faith wanted Leanne to go straight to the bakery after they came back. Never before had Faith wanted Leanne to bypass her ritual of showering and napping.

  This meant that even Faith was worried about what Leanne and Justice were going out to face. The whole thing didn’t sit well with Justice. Faith thought Leanne would be so low on fuel, she would need immediate replenishment. This wasn’t good.

  Justice came back in and he could see Leanne was dressed in her corset and lace skirt. Her hair came down in waves down her back. Her scales were in front of her on the table as she waited for him. Leanne was sitting upright on the couch, gazing at the beautiful scales that were only a prop.

  He could only wonder at what she was thinking, and hoped that someday she would share her thoughts with him. Were there questions she needed answered? Things that Faith hadn’t been able to tell her that she wanted to know?

  Justice could see Leanne was deep in concentration, so he just held the bag appear in front of her face. He watched as she shook her head, looking startled at the interruption. She was so caught up in the scales, she hadn’t heard him come in the door.

  “Were these handcrafted scales? They are so intricate in detail.”

  Justice bit off a grin as he watched her truly look at her scales for the first time. “Those darling, were my original Scales of Justice. They worked for me when I was incapable of accurately judging after quite some time. Unlike the dusa skala, as a god I don’t have the ability to always have a fair and clean soul. I was tainted, so the elders crafted the scales for me. When you were given to me, I in turn gave the scales to you.”

  Leanne stared up at the words. He wished he could listen to her thoughts right now but she was blocking him. “Ummm… the scones?” She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye and his lips twitched.

  Justice couldn’t help but grin at Leanne. He could see the awe on her face when he told her what her scales originally were. To him, it wasn’t a big deal but obviously he was out of touch.

  “Here ya go,” Justice handed Leanne her scone. “Oh, Faith said to tell you she had trouble contacting Spero. She thinks whatever is out there, it's stopping her from being able to reach him in her dreams.”

  The scone was halfway to her mouth when Leanne stopped and turned to look out the window. She had a beautiful picture window, which usually overlooked the city. From atop the bakery, Leanne's place was the highest point in the city next to the bell tower. He knew that she liked to think of herself as the protector of the city.

  “That worries me. I feel as if I should be out there doing something, but it doesn’t seem like the time is right just yet to leave the apartment. The air almost has a texture to it; something big is trying to invade us, something tangible.”

  Justice could see that Leanne was worried, but listening to her felt more like instinct. This was important for her to continue as the dusa skala and he was glad she was doing so. “I am going to eat and drink some coffee. Then we will see what my gut tells me.” As she took a bite out of her scone, he saw that Leanne kept her eyes on the window. It was almost as if she could see something moving within the thickness of the air.

  Justice put his hand on Leanne’s shoulder. Even though she leaned back into him, he could tell she wasn’t focused on him. She just continued to study what she could see through the pane of glass.

  Watching her closely, Justice could see that she had brought her magick to the forefront and was using it to look out the window. When he had given her the magicked vision, he never dreamed she would be using it to see into an unnatural darkness. Her ability allowed her to read the energy waves that were in the air and pick up on anything that was trying to hide itself from plain view. He smiled remembering when she had tracked him yesterday. She was able to send the energy out and away from her body and then “see” whatever it came across.

  Justice was glad that she was using this gift. He had wanted her to have as many useful tools to help him as he could possibly give her. When he’d given her the ability to read changes in energy, it was something he felt he had to do; like almost a compulsion. Now he won
dered if there was some compulsion the Higher gods had put on him.

  Justice slipped an arm around her waist as she looked out the window. He tried to offer his support as best he could to her. He knew that this wasn’t easy for her. They were asking her to fight a battle with evil right in the middle of learning the truth about herself. Justice had never met anyone braver or stronger than Leanne, or anyone he could love as much.

  “He hasn’t been able to manifest, thanks to the protections around the portal and city. But the protection wards are just making him angrier. He feels that he was imprisoned unfairly, even though his entire soul is evil. He has some sort of direct hatred for you and Spero. This is why I felt the need for him. Without both of you here, we would not be able to contain this. He’s bigger than I can weigh, so much so that his soul would break the scales. I can feel it.” Turning her face into his chest, Leanne wrapped her arms around his waist.

  She was shaking. She needed his strength to help her. He knew that they were going into something that wasn’t pleasant.

  It would be a recon.

  She unwrapped her arms from his waist, put a hand to his stomach and looked up at him. He looked back down at her as she stared directly into his eyes. He was getting ready to go out there, and deal with the problem.

  “Is there anything else you can tell me before we go out? I wish we didn’t have to do this but you know we have no choice. Brimstone is the Gateway, and nothing can destroy it. Our job as the Guardians, is to protect it.”

  The tone in his voice was one of protection for his city and his portal. This wasn’t just about them and their new relationship; it wasn't just about Faith and the God she didn’t even know she wanted, this was about the fate of the mortal plain.

  “I know Justice. This is what I was saved for, I understand that. What I can tell you is that this is not the battle yet. Right now, it is testing us, as we are testing it. We will seem weak because we don’t have Spero here yet. But this may actually go in our favor for the moment. We need to tell Faith to stay inside the bakery, so it can’t sense her. It means to not just harm us, but kill us. I feel and see the malevolence it has for those it knows will stand in its way.”