Demon Bound: The Camelot Archive - Book One

by R Taylor, Nicole

  “It was entirely provoked.” I glared at him. “I think the words he used were, ‘Throw her back’.” Thompson frowned at me, so I added, “Into the rift. That’s where demon scum come from, you know.”

  “When someone baits you, you don’t react,” he exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. “We’re trying to help you, Madeleine, but you’re not making it easy.”

  “You try to rise above when someone’s trying to incite a lynch mob against you.”

  His lips thinned and he sighed. “Light help me.”

  I knew it was the mutation bleeding into my emotions, but I was far too angry to push it back into its box.

  “Sleep it off,” Thompson said after a moment. “We’ll discuss this in the morning when everyone has calmed down.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Good luck with that.”

  “It’s you who’ll need luck.” With one last glare, he strode from the tent, leaving me to stew in the fight’s aftermath.

  Cursing, I looked around, only to find a stainless-steel table and a few empty crates from the science division stacked against one side. It was going to be a long, cold night alone with the threat of being thrown out of Camelot in the morning, but that was the point.

  They had thrown me in jail.

  12

  Madeline.

  I sat bolt upright, almost hitting my head on the stainless-steel table. Confused, I rubbed my eyes.

  I was still in the tent, locked in by Thompson’s Light. It was dark outside, the party long over, but something had woken me.

  It was another echo. I laid down on the hard ground with a sigh. Sleeping in a draughty tent full of trash—without a mattress or pillow—wasn’t how I pictured my last hours at Camelot, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  I had to stand up for myself, right? Having a mutation push my emotions over the edge wasn’t useful in the grand scheme of things, but I couldn’t let Rhys get away with that kind of behaviour, either.

  Oh, what the hell did it matter? I’d drawn blood one too many times and when the sun rose, they’d take my arondight blade and I would be exiled.

  My eyes drooped as I lulled back into a restless sleep. Hope was a fickle thing when it came into contact with me.

  Madeleine… Help…

  My chest tightened and I gasped, my eyes flying open. That was so not a dream. Hissing, I rubbed the heel of my hand against my sternum. It felt as if something was tearing me open.

  The bond. If this was Elijah’s attempt at hurrying me up, he was in for a rude shock.

  “Elijah, you better stop that or else.” I scowled and doubled over. “I’m working on it, okay?”

  Yeah, so that last bit was a lie. The finding a cure bit was a total bust now that I’d broken Rhys’s nose. I guess I had another reckoning coming my way. Elijah could just take a number and get in line.

  My vision blurred and for a split-second, I was lying on rocky ground—cold, weak, and alone. My chest burned as I dragged myself towards faint lights in the distance. Camelot.

  I gasped as the tent came back into focus.

  Elijah.

  It took me a few minutes to get my bearings and once I did, I knew he was in serious shite. He hadn’t used our link to punish me—he’d used it to call for help.

  Standing, I walked over to the closed tent flap. Damn Thompson and damn Rhys for being a bigoted arsehole. I bashed my fist against the side of the tent, and it rippled as I struck the invisible barrier which kept me locked inside.

  There was no way out of here, unless… A dangerous thought popped into my mind and my dormant mutation stirred. Dangerous wasn’t the only word I thought of—intoxicating, deadly, and moronic. Even thinking about nullifying Thompson’s Light with my theoretical Darkness was the most insane, reckless, and stupid thing I’d ever considered. That’s if it even worked.

  I shook my head and began to pace. Why was I even considering helping Elijah? He’d saved me twice—at Adrenaline and Ben Nevis—and he was…what? Handsome? C’mon, Madeleine, stop being a stupid little girl and grow the hell up. This isn’t a story about star-crossed lovers.

  Somewhere out in the hills, Elijah pulled on the tether and I almost threw up. Great, it seemed like I’d feel his death, and maybe even partake in it.

  I sighed as I glanced at the tent flap. I was already facing a ninety-five percent chance of exile, so I might as well go for a perfect score.

  Checking that my arondight blade was still at my hip, I thanked Thompson for his oversight and turned towards the flap. I unzipped it, opening the tent to the night.

  Okay, think, Madeleine. Electricity flowed from negative to positive, which meant my mutation could affect my emotions by making my Light into a circuit. That was how I could access it and use it to negate Thompson’s barrier and pass straight through. Theoretically, anyway.

  All I had to do was complete the circuit between my Light, my mutation, and the barrier, then I was out of here. I reached for the anger deep below my Light and hoped it would work.

  Static charge began to crackle across my skin, twisting with a coldness that almost made me pull back. So this was what Darkness was like. I trembled, choking as my Light fought against it. I couldn’t lose control… But thinking of Elijah, I let go.

  I allowed the Darkness to fill me until I was unfeeling ice and charged rage. Pushing against the barrier, I grinned as my theory proved to be a raging success. Those pathetic Naturals didn’t stand a chance.

  I stepped through, Thompson’s Light tugging at my hair, and then I was outside. Turning, I pressed my palm against the opening and snorted when I found the barrier still active. He’d be so mad when he showed up in the morning to find I’d vanished. The Dark part of me smirked, amused at the imminent chaos.

  A tingling across my chest brought me back to the present and I slammed my Light closed around the mutation, cutting it off.

  Holy shite…

  Glancing around, I swallowed hard and began to move away from the tent, thankful that I was alone. If anyone had seen me do what I’d just done . . . I’d be killed on the spot.

  A skeleton crew was stationed throughout the camp and on the walls during the night, so it wasn’t difficult to manoeuvre through the tent city unseen. Unlike the London Sanctum, there weren’t any alarms around Camelot my demonic friend could trigger, so there was zero fanfare when I passed the outer wall.

  I’d just left everything I’d ever known behind, and I’d never be able to go back. My friends, my family, my entire reason for existing…gone. Moving away from Camelot, I knew there was no turning back now.

  I stuck to the shadows, streaking across the landscape like a spectre. Patrols used the road in and out of the camp at regular intervals, and I had no idea what time it was and no time to wait. I took the risk and kept moving.

  I darted away from the trail and up the hill, putting as much distance between me and Camelot as I could. Ducking below the rise, I cast my Light out, hoping I’d be able to sense Elijah just like I’d been able to sense those artefacts hidden underground.

  Getting a hit farther into the rocky landscape, I clambered between boulders and scrambled over outcrops. This part of the Clee Hills was wild and untouched—it was on the outskirts of the illusion that hid Camelot, so humans hadn’t been here in hundreds of years. The only thing that set foot in this part of the world were the Naturals and the Dark.

  I set out another pulse, then turned left and leapt up onto a boulder. I shook my head as I scanned the shadowy maze. This was impossible. He should be right here.

  “Elijah?” I called. “Answer me, damn you.”

  I jumped to the next boulder and skidded down the side. Looking over the edge of a shard of limestone, I found a natural alcove underneath. There, curled up in a tight ball, was Elijah.

  He’d wedged himself between the rocks like a wounded animal, waiting for help or death, whichever came first.

  “Elijah?”

  The sound of my voice roused him and his head j
erked towards me. Sensing his Darkness rising, I jumped down beside him and grasped his face.

  “It’s me,” I murmured. “Madeleine.”

  That was when I realised he was covered in blood. It was smeared across his face and his T-shirt was tacky to the touch.

  His power began to subside as his eyes focused on me. “Madeleine?”

  “What happened to you?” I checked his pupils before I dragged his shirt up, looking for the source of the blood.

  “Can’t wait to get my clothes off, huh?” he rasped, swatting at my hands.

  “Stay still.” I shook my head and lifted the material away from his chest.

  I swallowed my shock when I saw what the darkness was concealing. Three long gouges tore through his flesh, blood seeping from each one. It was difficult to tell how deep they were in the dark, but I didn’t have to get out a ruler to understand how bad it was—or what had put them there.

  “Elijah…”

  “That bad, huh?” He coughed and grimaced as the movement pulled at his wounds.

  “I have to get you back to Camelot.”

  “No,” he rasped, “I can’t go there.”

  “I can’t leave you out in the open like this,” I told him. “If a patrol finds you lying here, they’ll drag you in for questioning. If I’m with you, at least they’ll give you a chance.”

  He grabbed the lapels of my jacket and jerked me close. “I won’t go there.” His eyes flashed silver, his demonic side struggling against his humanity.

  “Elijah, we don’t have a choice.”

  “If I’m going to die, then I’m going to die free.”

  I hissed and helped him sit. “Why are men so stubborn?”

  “I have a place,” he told me, grasping at his chest.

  I doubted his ‘place’ wasn’t hospital-grade, but if he wouldn’t let me take him back to base camp, then it was better than out in the open. “Is it safe?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll find out.” I sighed and threaded my arm underneath his and around his back. I heaved, using my Light to help get his bulk upright.

  He grimaced and his knees buckled. If it wasn’t for me, he would’ve collapsed, and I wasn’t sure he’d be able to get back up.

  “Did I call you?” he asked absently.

  “Yeah,” I replied, covering my concern, “you called me.”

  * * *

  Elijah guided me away from Camelot to a part of the hills I hadn’t seen before. Well outside the limits of Camelot’s illusions, we found ourselves back in human territory.

  It was slow going, but we staggered out of the hills and into a valley dotted with the beginnings of a forest.

  We limped down a lane and around a bend before Elijah told me to stop by a copse of trees. “There.”

  I eased him against the stacked stone fence beside the lane. “I’m going to check inside.”

  He nodded, unable to help me even if he wanted.

  Walking through the opening in the fence, I sent out a soft pulse of Light to scan my surroundings. The wave brushed up against some wards, and I stepped through to reveal Elijah’s refuge.

  It was an old crofter’s cottage. The small, dark stone building had once belonged to a farmer who’d tended a field or two in centuries past. From the outside, it looked abandoned. Ivy tangled around the single chimney and one side of the house, giving it a haunted feel.

  I walked up the uneven path. Nothing stirred other than the reverberations of the wards. Whatever he’d used to cloak this place, it wasn’t Natural or demonic. It was a power I hadn’t felt before and my suspicions began to grow.

  The front door was unlocked. Easing it open, I stepped into the shadows.

  To my surprise, the cottage was rather modern inside. Someone had updated the interior to include a simple kitchenette with a refrigerator and a functioning bathroom. The bed was in the living area as there wasn’t a separate bedroom anywhere.

  I ran my fingers over an empty shelf and frowned. There was nothing here that could give me a glimpse at Elijah’s true identity. Every wall and surface were bare of personal effects. If he had a home, this certainly wasn’t it.

  I returned to Elijah once I was satisfied there was no threat waiting for us.

  “It hasn’t been touched,” I told him. “Let’s get you inside.”

  We made it up the uneven path and into the cottage, hidden away from the outside world. For the moment, we were safe from both the Light and the Dark.

  I helped Elijah onto the bed and eased his jacket off his shoulders. His face contorted in pain, but he didn’t make a sound. Next came his T-shirt.

  There was a stack of candles on the bedside table that had dripped wax all over the place. I lit them with my Light, and a little warmth fell over the bed.

  In the flickering candlelight, I could see his wounds. Three deep rents had opened him up from one side to the other, exposing muscle underneath. Nothing vital seemed to be punctured, but he’d lost a great deal of blood. He might be half-demon with his own brand of Darkness, but it wouldn’t save his human body from infection.

  I wondered how he’d stood, let alone made it all the way here without blacking out. If I didn’t know he was half-demon, I’d be wondering why he wasn’t dead already.

  “Don’t give me that look,” he muttered, his gaze on the floor.

  “Lie back, okay? I’m going to clean you up.”

  I found some washcloths in the bathroom and a bowl in the kitchen. I filled the latter with water and returned to Elijah’s bedside. Soaking the cloth, I wrung it out and began to clear the blood from his chest.

  Once I could see what I was doing, I began to manipulate my Light around the torn flesh. It must have been painful, but he didn’t move, his eyes open and blank. If it wasn’t for his fingers twisting around the blanket, I would’ve thought he was gone.

  As his body began to respond to my attempts at first aide, I sighed. The bleeding began to ease, and some wounds began to close. There was no way I could heal him completely—that was an ability reserved for the Twin Flames.

  Elijah needed proper medical attention with surgical instruments and medicine, not a musty cottage and a Natural who only knew basic flesh manipulation.

  “You’ve got blood on you.”

  I met Elijah’s gaze and grunted. “It’s yours. You’re torn apart, if you haven’t noticed.”

  “It’s not all mine.”

  “Oh, I…” I glanced down at my T-shirt and rubbed my palm across the stain. I wasn’t sure if it was mine or Rhys’s blood. “How can you tell?”

  “Demons have a knack for all things blood,” he replied.

  Right. That wasn’t creepy at all. “Yeah, uh…I got into a fight.”

  “About?”

  I made a face and sat beside him. “You want to know right now?”

  “Humour me.” He wanted a distraction. Couldn’t blame him, considering.

  “This guy… He accused me of being a demon.”

  Elijah snorted. “Technically, he’s right.”

  I screwed up my face. “Do you want me to leave you here?” I made to stand, but he grasped my wrist, despite the pain moving must have caused him.

  “No.”

  My heart leapt and I swallowed hard. “I won’t go.”

  Relief flashed through his eyes and he sank back against the pillows.

  “What happened to you?” I murmured.

  “They tried to kill me,” he whispered, his eyes fluttering closed. “The Balan…”

  “He found out you helped me escape, didn’t he?”

  Elijah nodded and I curled my hands into fists. I knew what this meant. He’d been working with the Balan all this time. I began to regret breaking out of Camelot to save him.

  “You were working with him all this time, weren’t you?” I asked.

  “It’s not what it looks like…”

  “Then it means you’re playing both sides.”

  “It isn’t so
bad,” he said with a smirk.

  “Someone with split allegiances isn’t to be trusted. One minute they’re your friend, the next, they’re putting a knife in your back if it gets them what they want.”

  He scowled and turned his head.

  “You have to give me something, Elijah. I just threw away my entire life to save you. It can’t have been all for nothing.”

  His expression faded and he returned his gaze to mine. “What?”

  “Camelot was my last chance,” I hissed. “And I just blew everything. The Dark captured me, I started a fight that got me locked up, and I just broke out against the direct orders of my superior officer…and I used my mutation to do it! Your chance at finding a cure just went up in smoke and I betrayed my people.”

  His hand found mine. “Madeleine…”

  “I can’t help you.” I shook my head. “I can’t even help myself. If you want your cure, I have to take you to Camelot and beg Ramona to help you. It’s that simple.”

  “But if you go back—”

  “I’ll be stripped of my arondight blade and charged with consorting with the enemy. I’ll be thrown into the prison under Glastonbury and left to rot.”

  He sighed, his brow creasing. “I’ll take my chances out here.”

  “It’s not just your cure,” I said, my grip tightening on his hand. “Your wounds—”

  “Will heal or they won’t,” he snapped.

  “Do you want to die that much?” I swallowed my frustrated tears before they betrayed how deep I was in this strange relationship.

  The question seemed to be one step too far for Elijah and he remained tight-lipped.

  What was I going to do? I’d lost everything the moment I’d left that tent. Dangerous as it was, Elijah was the only person I had left, and I wasn’t even sure I could trust him.

  “Whose side are you really on?” I asked.

  “Mine.”

  I sighed. It was harder to get answers out of him than blood out of a stone.

  “You do know that every time you think about me, I feel a little tug.”

  I groaned. “That doesn’t sound dirty at all.”