Unholy Sundering

by DeAnna Browne

  “How much longer can it stay confined?” Worry knotted in Becca’s stomach.

  “Indefinitely. How long can I control him?” He ran his hands through his hair, leaving it mussed. “I don’t know. Maybe if I call another demon to help boost my power, I can hold him in check. But that would mean we couldn’t travel, not with another host to haul around.”

  “Don’t look at me,” Caleb said. “I’m allergic to demons.”

  “That’s not funny. We’re not making a Soultorn.” Becca wasn’t in the mood to joke about dark magic. “Elizabeth needs to eat.”

  “Okay. We can get ready to wake it.”

  Becca grimaced. She hated when he referred to Elizabeth as an “it,” even though she knew he meant the demon inside. They were two separate beings. “Let’s eat first. You’ll need your strength.”

  “You’re probably right.” Darion grabbed a small can of peaches and slumped to the ground.

  Caleb leaned back on top of his now empty pack and bit into some jerky. Becca grabbed a can of food to eat and returned to Elizabeth’s side.

  “Caleb”—Darion paused with a peach halfway to his mouth—“thank you for what you did back at the pawnshop, for saving Becca.”

  “I didn’t do it for you.” Caleb stared out the cave opening then turned to face Darion. “But next time you send us to a friend, let us know if he’ll kill us first, will ya’?”

  “He didn’t know he would do that,” Becca protested.

  Darion raised a hand, bringing her protest to a stop. “He’s right. I’m sorry. He isn’t a strong wizard, but his relics can be. I should have been there.”

  “We needed you to be here with Liz,” Becca reminded him.

  “All I asked was for a warning,” Caleb interjected.

  “Next time, we’ll be more prepared,” she promised.

  “There won’t be a next time.” Darion’s voice rose over the crash of waves outside. “We can’t chance that.”

  Frustration burned under her skin. “We need answers, and soon, before Bael not only destroys Liz, but us as well.”

  “Stop.” Caleb stood and then headed towards the cave opening. “What’s happening to the waves?”

  Becca had been too distracted to notice the sound of the waves growing louder. Turning to look outside, she noted the skies were dark with heavy clouds. Was a storm blowing in?

  Becca and Darion joined Caleb at the cave’s entrance. The waves crashed into the wall below with a fierce determination. Hit after hit, they clawed their way up the side of the cliff, rising over twenty feet in the air. She wrapped her arms around her stomach to protect against the striking cold.

  “This is one hell of a storm.” Becca had never lived by the ocean and wondered if this was normal.

  “I don’t think this is just a storm.” Caleb searched the horizon.

  The roar of the ocean echoed off the cave walls, and the mist sprayed her clothes. Lightning struck nearby. Becca flinched.

  “Is it possible that Ryma could be behind this?” The idea brought a whole new level of fear in play for Becca.

  “Grab the bags.” Darion dropped his can on the ground. “We gotta run.”

  CHAPTER 3

  B ecca slung on her pack and took out her knife. Caleb already had Elizabeth in his arms, while Darion stayed by the cave’s entrance. After living together on the run for these past months, they automatically moved to their given roles.

  As water flowed over her boots, she realized this was an enemy they didn’t know how to fight. The frigid water easily penetrated her boots, and a chill crawled up her spine. They had been camping here for a week with no problems. Could someone have followed them? She thought they covered their tracks, both magically and physically.

  “What is this?” she asked.

  Darion didn’t answer, his intent gaze focused on something beyond the cliff. In between one eye-searing strike and the next, a large man covered in camouflage rushed into the cave and slammed Darion into the wall.

  Swallowing her anger and shock, Becca took aim and threw her knife through the air. The attacker spun at the last second, and the knife clattered against the cave wall.

  There was no time to worry about Darion as three more men stormed the small cave. Caleb pushed Elizabeth into Becca’s arms, and she staggered under the additional weight. He spun with a knife in each hand and met the group of attackers head-on.

  As much as she hated to do it, she shrugged off her pack, letting it slide down the rock wall and propped her unconscious sister against it. Caleb had bought her mere seconds, and she wasn’t going to waste them.

  She reached down to grab a the extra knife out of her boot, ignoring the curl of cold water lapping at her feet. Before she rose, a large man grabbed her from the side. He easily lifted her off the ground and pinned her arms to her sides. Unable to use her knife, she mentally protected herself against his attacking magic then slammed her head into his nose.

  He swore, but didn’t loosen his hold. The water steadily rose in an unnatural column, wrapping around her legs and sending a frightening chill up Becca’s spine. An inhuman scream tore through the night. It was Elizabeth, who now sat straight up, her pitch-black eyes open with water rising up to her chest.

  Shit. Not now. Bael could destroy everyone in the room if given the chance. Becca focused her magic, and with a spell, forced Elizabeth’s body unconscious again. They had to get out of here.

  “Darion!” Becca shouted. Why wasn’t he burning all of these men to a crisp? Granted, the water didn’t help things.

  Trapped in her attacker’s thick arms, she didn’t hear a reply, only the grunts of the fight ensuing behind her. He began lugging her towards the entrance of the cave. She caught sight of Caleb, partially submerged but still fighting another man. A large dark man used both hands to hold Darion’s head under the water.

  This couldn’t be happening. Not now. When every muscle wanted to fight, Becca closed her eyes and focused on her magic, the humming deep within her. Frustration built and the spell tangled in her mind. Dammit.

  Water ebbed and surged, pushing the man off balance, giving Becca a spare inch or two to move. And she could do a lot with an inch. She turned the knife in her hand and slammed it into his thigh. His pain-filled scream pierced her ears as he stumbled back, and released his hold.

  Off-balance, Becca plunged into the cold water. She struggled to keep her footing on the wet cave floor. With the water near her waist and almost to Liz’s neck, Becca started to wade toward her sister. Hold on, Liz. I’m almost there.

  I’ll survive if you free me. The voice crawled inside Becca’s mind. It wasn’t Elizabeth, but Bael, the demon dwelling inside her. Despite her revulsion to the voice, the offer was tempting, but she knew better. Once released, Bael would destroy with no regard for who or what. Rule number one: never trust a blood-sucking demon from another dimension.

  Becca never got the chance to reply to Bael because a large wave crashed over her head. It pushed her forward as she reached out for her sister. Before she could grab onto Liz, the current’s force dragged Becca back under.

  A monster of its own accord, the cold water swallowed her whole. She screamed for her sister, for Darion, for Caleb. They were all that she had left. Water rushed in, taking her screams and burning her throat. Her head cracked against something hard, and her world turned black.

  CHAPTER 4

  G ritty sand rubbed against Caleb’s cheek. His stomach rolled in tandem with the memory of the wave, its endless spinning and spinning before it spat him upon the shore. It brought to mind the stories his mother used to tell him, stories of Jonah being swallowed by a whale. Now, he could empathize. He felt like regurgitated fish food. He couldn’t stop the spins long enough to stand or even open his eyes.

  “We get them all?” The man’s voice was deep and rich.

  “Yes. All four,” another man answered, annoyance tingeing his words. “I told you we could have handled it. We didn’t need a tsunami. Man,
I hate that ride.”

  “We didn’t have a clue what we stumbled upon. I felt this demon over a mile away when it woke. You’re lucky, brother. It could have been worse.”

  Caleb tried to rise, but instead rolled over to his stomach and threw up. The salt burned as it came out his mouth and nose. He tried to blink, to pry his stinging eyes open. What had just happened? What ride?

  “Not time to wake yet.” The growl came from someone nearby, and then without a word, unconsciousness consumed Caleb.

  The next time awareness hit, Caleb squeezed his eyes shut against a bright light. His whole body ached as if it had been through a washing machine. A soft hand brushed his hair, tucking it behind his ears.

  He moaned softly and leaned into the hand. “Rebecca.”

  He cursed himself for giving in to her touch. He’d kept his distance for weeks, giving her space to make a decision, and her decision had been obvious. But now, he didn’t care.

  “Are you in any pain?” a soft voiced asked, a soft voice that didn’t belong to Rebecca.

  It took him a bit to sit up. He was on a tall, thin bed, but he got there, taking in the gray room spinning around him. “Who are you? Where’s Becca?”

  A woman sat next to him, young, pretty. There were no restraints, no magical barriers. Where was he?

  “I’m Nikki.” She wore a wide smile with eyes that were soft and reassuring. The white coat she wore stood out against her dark skin.

  This wasn’t a prison. This looked more like a medical unit of some kind, complete with blinding overhead lights. A red-headed man in a similar white coat stood on the other side of the room with a patient. Caleb recognized the patient from the fight in the cave. He scanned the room, looking for Becca and the others. Instead, he found another man from the cave, standing at the foot of his bed, a gun at the ready.

  “Relax.” Nikki placed a hand on Caleb’s arm. “You’re safe here.”

  “Tell that to your buddy over there.” He motioned to the man with the gun.

  He stood over six feet tall, with huge shoulders and dark skin. A cut above his eye was stitched, and by the look on the man’s face, Caleb thought the cut was his doing.

  “Where are my friends?” Caleb noticed the cotton shirt and pants he wore. Someone had changed his clothes. “How long have I been out?”

  “Careful,” the man with the gun said to Nikki. “He’s stronger than he looks.”

  The girl stayed seated nearby despite the warning.

  “Don’t mind Leon,” she said. “He doesn’t like to lose a fight.”

  “I didn’t lose.”

  She ignored the comment. “He won’t hold a grudge for too long.”

  The scowl on Leon’s face said otherwise.

  “You’ve been out through the entire night. It’s after ten in the morning now.” Her calm voice did nothing to settle his nerves.

  Why wouldn’t she give him answers? Did they know about Elizabeth? Caleb gripped her arms, struggling to keep the panic at bay. “What about my friends?”

  “Let her go,” ordered Leon.

  Her eyes held no fear. Caleb dropped his hold. He stumbled out of bed and caught himself on the bed’s metal frame. There had to be an exit or weapon, something. He lunged for a pair of scissors. He didn’t know or care what relationship these two people had. He wasn’t going to stand in the same room as that soldier without a weapon.

  “Drop it.”

  Caleb whipped around to find a rifle leveled at his chest. He didn’t expect any less. “If you were going to shoot me, why didn’t you do it in the cave?” As he stared at the barrel, though, he wondered why the man had a gun. Magicians didn’t carry guns. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the other two men enter in the room, blocking the door.

  Nikki stepped in front of Caleb, blocking the gun. “Leon! I was doing fine without you.”

  “Were you?” Leon boomed.

  “Jemi said he doesn’t mean us harm,” she said.

  How would they know that? What did they do to him when he was unconscious? Adrenaline raced through his veins, and he wondered how this girl could be so naive. Even armed only with scissors, he could easily use her as a hostage.

  “Jemi can’t predict the future. Get away from him,” Leon ordered.

  “What are you talking about?” Thoughts of old sci-fi stories haunted Caleb.

  Nikki turned towards him, biting her lower lip and not quite meeting his eyes. “We have someone that can read minds. She did it while you slept. It’s completely harmless.” If Nikki didn’t act so guilty, Caleb may have believed it were so simple. “We’re not going to kill you. Ignore Uncle Leon. Muscles and guns are second nature to him.”

  That, he had no trouble believing. Caleb’s body ached from his fight in the cave with these men. “Why did you attack us? Where are my friends?”

  Nikki grabbed his hand and led him back to the bed. He still clung to the scissors, but his tired body followed her. “Your friends are in containment. They are too powerful to be let free, until we can trust them.”

  “Trust them?” He stopped pulling away and dug his heels in, trying to stop her. “You guys are the ones that attacked us.”

  “You strayed too close to our compound. We have to protect ourselves. I’ve tried to get them to change their methods, but they prefer to contain magicians first for safety.” She helped him into the bed.

  Leon lowered the rifle, but kept it out, watching their every move.

  “Relax. Doc wanted to stitch up one of your wounds, and then I will answer all of your questions,” Nikki said.

  The man with red hair gave a brief wave, and then returned to his patient.

  Caleb looked down, only then noticing the blood seeping through the cotton of his pant leg. There was a cut on his thigh, but not too deep. He reclined against the wall behind him, trying to find a position to rest but also to get to his feet quickly if needed.

  Then his thoughts returned to Elizabeth, and his stomach clenched. “What about Elizabeth? People aren’t safe.”

  A puzzled look briefly crossed her face. “You mean the Soultorn?”

  “She’s a friend. We’re trying to save her.”

  Leon gave a dry chuckle.

  Nikki shot him a look before turning back to Caleb. “It’s in containment.”

  It. She was only a demon to these people.

  Before he could argue, Leon stepped closer. “Nikki, your father wanted to speak to you. It’s rude to keep him waiting. I’ll watch over him.”

  Caleb’s gut tightened, despite the pain. He didn’t trust Leon not to unload that gun into him.

  “When can I see my friends?” He needed to see Becca for himself.

  “I’ll ask.” Nikki laid a hand on his knee. “You’ll be okay. Just rest.”

  She walked out of the room, her long black ponytail swishing as she walked. He turned to Leon who lugged the rifle over his shoulder.

  “Rest.” His lips pressed tight in a grimace.

  Yeah right. Rest.

  Becca bit her lip, focusing all of her magic on the man standing guard outside her cell. She’d been practicing with Darion for the last month to control and focus her newfound magic, but the guard outside the barred door remained stoic, unbothered. She was in way over her head.

  She rubbed the scar on her back, a habit from when she had her tattoo. A tattoo she’d had since before she could remember. When it was burned off over a month ago, it opened magical abilities she never knew she had. Abilities she still was trying to figure out and control. With Darion’s coaching, she’d been improving.

  Despite all that she’d learned, she’d never seen anything like what happened with the ocean in the cave. She wouldn’t have believed it possible if she hadn’t seen it herself. Saltwater still clung to her clothes, and with a hand through her stiff hair, she shook more sand free. Were magicians powerful enough to move the ocean? She didn’t like to think about what demons such a magician would have in his back pocket.

&n
bsp; And if the water show wasn’t scary enough, this cell had its own peculiarities. Pacing back and forth, she searched for any clue or possibility of escape. It was more of a hovel than a cell, really. Dirt and rock formed the walls with no seams anywhere. Some type of clear plastic or glass sheet took the place of a door, but the ward or invisible barrier wouldn’t let her get close enough to figure out how to open it. On the side of the wall, a magicked light was encased in glass. No electricity, then. Were they underground or in some type of cave? The dark hole near the back of this room told her they hadn’t even figured out plumbing in this place.

  She’d already spent the first ten minutes or so screaming for Elizabeth, Darion, and Caleb to no avail. If anyone were stupid enough to touch or wake Elizabeth, they would get what they deserved. But any connection she usually felt with Elizabeth was dead, same with Darion. She refused to let herself think the worst. They had to be okay. Maybe this cave was a black hole for powers. It could explain the guard outside not even flinching at her spells.

  She slumped down, settling her butt on the floor. Needing an outlet for her frustration, she began dragging her fingers through the dirt. Something sharp scraped across her palm. After several minutes of digging and a few broken nails, she unearthed a jagged stone. Nothing great, but the cold stone in her palm comforted her. The only physical weapon she possessed. Darion had repeatedly told her to rely on her magic, not muscle, but after living on the streets for years, some habits were hard to lose.

  With a renewed sense of purpose, she stood and headed to the door, stopping just shy of the ward. “Hey, psychos,” she hollered. “Are we waiting for the next wave to come get me? Did I get abducted by a coven of mermaids?” The bitter edge in her voice echoed off the walls. “Come on. I don’t bite.”