His son.
And a vessel for Xadrak to enter the world with all his power.
He knew this day would come. He groaned at having created this life just to destroy it. The weight of his shame nearly crushed him. How could he tear this family apart?
Coldness spread throughout his body. He wished he could do this without Jane and Diana present. He walked up the brick path and knocked on the blue door. He heard Peter say he’d go see whom it was, followed by the scrape of wooden chair legs across the floor.
“Daddy!” Diana called.
He chuckled. “I’ll be back in a minute, sweetheart.”
Carn summoned his power and held it invisible.
The door opened.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
Until now, he had never received that generous smile or seen up close the twinkle in his son’s blue-grey eyes. He recognized himself, except after harboring Xadrak’s pollution for so long he had lost that joy. He realized how much he’d shut away.
Fractures splintered his chest.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered and released his attack.
Peter’s eyes and mouth widened, and he stumbled from the blow. Carn watched him fall. Jane screamed. He forced himself to bear witness. He had no right to look away.
But her shrieks cut midway and Peter vanished. Carn stepped inside. Diana and Jane had disappeared as well. What the hell had happened? That blast had killed his son. No one could have survived such a thing, not unless they were Xadrak himself.
Or Aurelia.
His breath stopped.
Illusions.
Hame must have told her about Peter. Or perhaps she’d known all along. But where had she taken him? Did she know who Peter really was? If so, why bother with these tricks? She could have killed him outright.
He searched the house, thoughts tumbling, heart beating fast and control slipping. Xadrak’s claws unfurled and tore down his outer defenses. The demon’s touch burned him, and he clutched his head. Xadrak broke him apart, and his mind was consumed with an ungodly roar.
XVI
Rolling clouds turned the forest dark and a cutting wind whipped the undergrowth. The ferns fluttered like frightened doves. Hame crouched, waiting for Carn.
Then, between one moment and the next, he appeared. Only it wasn’t really him. Carn’s mouth twisted into a grimace as he advanced. Hame stood firm, but Carn raised his hand and levitated him off the ground. Claws sunk into his flesh. He cried out, squirming in the phantom grip, but his thrashing was for naught.
“Where are they?” bellowed Carn in a voice that wasn’t his.
“Go fuck yourself.”
Carn growled and his nails burrowed deeper. Hame screamed.
“I’ll ask you again, where are they?”
“You’ll never find them.” He gasped.
“If you want Carn to live, you’ll tell me.”
“You’ve always been a terrible liar, Xadrak.”
Carn formed a fist and Hame’s femurs shattered. Splinters shot up his body and he howled. His legs dangled useless beneath him.
“Carn hates to hear you scream,” Xadrak said in mock-concern. “He’s weeping, pleading for mercy on your behalf. It’s pathetic. Just like Loic.”
Hame started at his teacher’s name.
“Ahhh, I see you haven’t forgotten him,” Xadrak said, with an unctuous grin. “Did you know he lusted after you? Hungered to have you in his bed, even when you were a young boy. Oh, how he hated himself.”
Lying, he’s lying.
“I sucked that shame clean out of his head. He wanted you to serve him on your hands and knees. He dreamed of licking your thighs and fondling your small cock. He wept when I finally killed him, happy to be rid of you.”
A dull ache oozed along his nerves. He didn’t believe it of Loic. Xadrak told lies to get what he wanted, the more sickening the better, but that wouldn’t work here.
He glared at the demon.
“Be blind, you worthless oracle,” Xadrak spat. “It must sting to know I’ve been here all along, fucking you while Carn fucked you. I’m in him deeper than you could ever be. I know all his secrets. I know how much he loathes you and Aurelia. He’s mine completely, and you mean nothing.”
If Xadrak had said it with Carn’s voice, he might have believed him. If black eyes didn’t shimmer in place of blue-grey ones, he might have withered. And if Carn and he hadn’t made love the night before, he might have succumbed.
But this was not Carn. And the demon could not sway him.
Hame closed his eyes and fought the swamping nausea. Ignoring Xadrak’s snarls and demands for Peter, he searched. He shoved aside the poison of the demon’s words and clamped the pain in his legs. He just needed a little peace.
“Look at me!” Xadrak shouted.
Hame’s arms snapped, and sick gurgled up his throat. His eyelids fired open. He heaved great breaths as his bones crunched. He held back his screams, but his neck stiffened, and the strain caused his nose to run with blood. But he compelled himself to seek some calm. Forcing his eyes shut, he grunted through the agony in his fractured body. He sought that fragment of solitude.
Xadrak’s hot breath heated his face, but by then it was done.
He smiled.
“Insane, like all oracles,” Xadrak snarled. “Your only worth now is to help punish Carn for his disobedience. But don’t think you’ll meet him in the afterlife. I’m going to keep him alive and in torment for eternity.”
“Not if Aurelia kills you first.”
Xadrak roared with laughter. “It’s a pity you won’t be here to see her fail.” The demon pushed him up and away, high above the dolmen. His palm opened to the sky.
“I hope Loic finally gets to rape you.”
Xadrak flipped his hand and drove it down, and Hame hurtled towards the Earth.
XVII
Aurelia’s power broke from her, severing Carn’s spell and grabbing Hame before he smashed against the dirt. A rabid snarl turned her head, and she shielded herself. Even so, a wave destabilized her magic, and Hame was thrown into the scrub. She blocked most of Carn’s power but not enough to stop her propelling backwards and slamming into the dolmen. Her spine and skull smacked against the stone, and black spots darted across her vision.
Thick claws grabbed her, their icy touch scaring away unconsciousness, and she lashed out. Carn unleashed a torrent of blows, each coming from a different direction. She defended herself with a force-field stronger than any she’d ever summoned. She marveled at the mass of energy she poured into it, yet still had plenty to spare. Sinara’s power shone through her.
“I see you’ve whored yourself out,” Xadrak sneered through Carn’s face as he advanced towards her. His stench tanged at the back of her throat.
“I am your daughter, after all, Xadrak.”
The muscles around Carn’s eyes tightened. “So you figured out Carn’s merely a puppet, did you? Took you long enough.”
If only she could take the credit. But that didn’t matter now. She needed to get rid of the demon, and there was every chance Carn would die in the process.
Don’t kill him. Hame’s voice burned inside her head.
Thank God, he lived. But relieved as she was, if she had to, she’d destroy Carn.
If he dies, you can stick a knife in me too.
She banished Hame as Xadrak snuck a swipe beneath her shield, taking advantage of Carn’s knowledge. It merely scratched the skin, but it drew blood.
She shot lightning towards him, crashing into the protective bubble he’d cast, ricocheting into the forest where it exploded tree trunks. Xadrak smirked at her, but his straining jaw revealed how her retaliation had rocked him. She couldn’t be sure how much Xadrak had given Carn or how much he could channel, but she was confident he’d never give all of himself. The demon was too selfish and too terrified of usurpers. Meanwhile, all of Sinara flowed through her.
Blue light streamed out of her hands. She connected with e
arth and sky, her demon-mother and the universe beyond, drawing such massive power that her body hummed. It roared in her ears, and the vibrations warmed her. Her strikes were too much for Xadrak to withstand and he dove away. She chased him, firing bolt after bolt to crash into his shield. He vanished, but she spun in time to divert an assault aimed at her back, then disappeared.
She materialized beside the stone circle, shields strengthened, and an orb hovered over her palm. Xadrak lobbed a thousand spears at her, but she melted them with a swat of her hand. She fired a volley that drove him scurrying backwards. Gone was the smirk on his face. He grunted as he retreated, defending more than attacking, and she savored his fear.
“You’ve lost, Xadrak. Better luck next time.”
Carn saw it happen but couldn’t stop any of it. He railed against the prison Xadrak had created for him inside his mind.
Hame’s torture had nearly wrecked him. Though he hadn’t been the one to break Hame’s bones, he’d felt them snap like sticks of chalk. It had sickened him, while Xadrak had relished it.
Unable to save his lover, Carn had waited for Aurelia to obliterate him. He deserved it. The demon would have killed him when they’d met if he hadn’t begged and seized the first offer of safety. Only later did he build the lies to justify what he’d done in Xadrak’s name.
He would subvert Xadrak’s plans.
He would bring about the demon’s downfall, and Hame would consider him the hero.
He’d submitted so Hame would be saved.
That last reason stabbed. Of all the excuses, it was closest to the truth.
Yes, he’d been a coward. Yes, he’d been hungry for power, but he loved Hame with every scrap of his tattered being. Keeping him safe was the only thing that stopped him from becoming a burned-out acolyte. And if he had any hope of proving his love, he must fight, even if it meant his own demise.
Aurelia followed up attack after attack, which Xadrak deflected. Carn searched for a way out.
It’s just a shield designed to block me from controlling my body.
With that realization, he groped around the jail’s edge, testing here and there, then surged forward to strike a weakness. He rebounded and writhed from the shock. He shook the pain before attempting again. His brain lit up, the jolt worse than a taser to the balls, but he muscled his way through.
Then he understood.
The shield was constructed with every lie, every shame, every bit of guilt he’d ever experienced, from leaving his village without saying goodbye to his family, to failing Aurelia’s first test. He relived Xadrak’s defilement and suffered again the despair of having to hide his secret. Worst of all had been his violation of Hame by building those shields around his ability. At first it was just to hide himself, but then Xadrak, then Peter and Diana and Jane and everything else. And every time he looked at Hame, he was reminded of his betrayal, and that led to neglect and contempt. Even when he couldn’t keep the shields together any longer and they’d crumbled, it hadn’t made up for the past. But now he saw his deliverance.
He merged with the worst of himself, and the prison vanished.
Xadrak spotted him the second he was free. Aurelia bore down on him with a murderous glee in her eye. Xadrak growled, both inside and out. Carn lunged, wrapping around the weakening and frantic demon, and held on with every ounce of strength. His body fell to the ground. This was it. Aurelia would have him now, but he didn’t dare relax. The demon tore at him like a wild cat, slashing and shredding his mind.
“Now!” he yelled.
Aurelia’s might blazed through him in a brilliance of white, green, and blue, then all went dark.
XVIII
Aurelia burned into him. The attack pushed him to the ground, and she forced her hand against his sternum. He thrashed as her magic delved and hunted Xadrak.
She spied the fragment of the demon as it was about to slip from Carn’s grasp. She surged forward and wrapped around the shard. Barbs punctured her, but she brushed aside the pain and enveloped him.
Let go, Carn.
Weakened to the point of death, his grip slackened, and he tumbled into the abyss. She held Xadrak while he flipped and flailed, stinging her but unable to break free. Her energy intensified, expanded and scalded him. He screamed and punched her. She increased her power and Xadrak shrank, squeezed into a dense ball. The piece of Xadrak shriveled to barely a speck, then ceased completely. He wasn’t dead, but this conduit had closed.
And he’d lost one of his greatest weapons.
She saw the damage the demon had left behind. Carn’s mind had partly eroded and protruded with stalactites and stalagmites. Some were recent; most were old. She didn’t know if she could fix him.
She retreated from Carn’s consciousness. When she opened her eyes, he didn’t wake but at least he breathed.
Thank you for not killing him.
She dashed to Hame. The sight of him lying against a tree trunk, his legs stuck out at odd angles, his arms limp and disjointed, and his face bruised and bloody, stopped her cold.
“You think you have it in you to heal me?” he groaned.
She dropped to her knees and laid both hands onto his legs. She inhaled, hoping this wouldn’t leave her in a coma, and accessed the well of her strength. She released the healing energy.
His back arched. He grunted and ground his teeth together.
Her tears leaked and panic skittered down her arms, accelerating her power. She felt the bones in his legs knit together with a crunch, then he was whole. His chest heaved, sweat sticking his hair to his scalp. She didn’t budge; her body locked, waiting to check he was okay.
He lifted his head from the tree, shook it a couple of times, then flexed his arms and legs. He grinned wide, his eyes finding hers, then he grabbed her.
She sagged into him, a long sigh coming out of her mouth.
He’s safe.
But he stiffened, and she scurried back.
“What is it?” she asked, before noticing his faraway look.
He blinked rapidly five times. “Danger. We have to get out of here.” He jumped to his feet with no sign of the trauma he’d suffered and sprinted to Carn.
Her heart pinched at seeing him hurry to his lover.
“You’re a dolt, you know that?” He scooped Carn off the ground and carried him to her.
She frowned at him. “Why?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I love Carn, but who do I have floating around in my head all the time?”
She shrugged. “It’s convenient.”
“You think I have such a connection with you purely for convenience?” He nudged her with his shoulder. “You’re there because I love you, Aurelia. And I’m inside your head for the same reason.”
“It’s just—”
“I know, it’s not everything you’d hoped for. And believe me, if I were different…but honestly, you think what we have is somehow inferior?”
She sighed. “I guess not. But it would be nice to have the whole package.”
“No one ever gets the whole package.” His gaze fell on Carn.
He was right. What did she have to worry about? However, one thing was certain. Hame had enough love for her and Carn and losing either would devastate him.
“Enough of this touchy-feely stuff. Get us out of here,” Hame said. “Xadrak has ordered his lot to hunt us.”
She hesitated, considering remaining behind to obliterate whoever attacked.
He caught the thought. “Not now, Aurelia. You’ll over-extend yourself, and you’ve got work to do.”
“You never let me have any fun.” She smiled.
He rolled his eyes, and she laughed. She placed one hand on Hame’s arm and the other on Carn’s head. For better or worse, she was bound to them. Her relationship with Carn required work, but she’d do it for Hame. She exhaled a deep breath and took them home.
Carn rose and fell on wild seas. At the crest he heard familiar voices and tried to signal them. He had to warn them. But then he
tumbled. The waves swelled, blocking the light, and they crashed on the deck so hard he almost shattered. Eventually the storm calmed, the sea leveled, and he sailed into harbor.
A weight rested on his chest, and he peered down at Hame’s fiery hair, half his body slumped across him. When he repositioned his arm to drape it over his beloved, Hame startled and sat up.
“You’re awake,” he gasped.
Carn didn’t have a moment to respond before Hame’s lips fastened on his. He absorbed the desperate relief in Hame’s kiss and mixed it with his own. They’d both survived. And—he searched—Xadrak was gone.
But that didn’t mean everything was fine.
He pushed Hame back. “Wait, wait.”
“What is it?”
“Where’s Aurelia?”
“You’ve woken up after three days and you want to see Aurelia?”
“Where is she?”
“She needed to stop her brothers from slaughtering each other again.”
“The Duke?”
“Dead. Your doing?”
Carn cringed. He didn’t relish having to explain that one to Aurelia. He didn’t much enjoy the idea of explaining any of it to her, but he’d have to bear down and take it.
“Lucky I told you they could never be killed by anyone except each other, wasn’t it?”
“More like lucky I listened to you.”
Hame took hold of his hand and lay beside him.
The Duke had been a risk. He was never meant to succeed; not only for Aurelia’s sake, but Xadrak’s as well. He didn’t know all of the demon’s plans, but Aurelia had to hear what he knew.
The skin on the back of his neck prickled.
“Where’s Peter?” he asked.
Hame tensed. “Aurelia has him and his family. They’re safe.”
Peter would never be safe while Xadrak lived, and that truth gnawed on his bones.
“You don’t have to worry about Aurelia.” Hame looked up at him.
Burning Blood: Bonds of Blood: Book 2 Page 24