She had told me when we met in the insane asylum that she could tell when people were possessed. That they felt not quite right to her. Once her fingers had touched Luke’s flesh, she must have felt the wrongness in him. Now I had to somehow explain that to my distraught friend. She’d already been through a living hell; the possession of the demons had changed her, morphed her, and made her, I feared, lose her mind. Back in the mining camp she’d become a different person. I looked over at the crib. Now Gage had done something far worse to her. He had somehow morphed a child that Jacob and Wendy had created and turned it into some type of abomination.
Wendy turned and screamed at me. “She is not a monster!”
The baby started crying.
Mildred whisked into the room and went over to the baby. She scooped her up into her arms and began to rock her back and forth. “I missed you, little one,” she cooed. She glowered up at us disapprovingly. “Lower your voices, you’re upsetting her.”
Mildred had known all along about Wendy’s baby. Why hadn’t she told us? Warned us?
Wendy was taking turns glaring at me and then Luke.
Mildred gave a long sigh. “You didn’t explain it to her?”
“I was surprised…” My words petered off.
Mildred gave me a knowing look. She walked over and handed the baby to Wendy. “I fixed a bottle for her in the kitchen. You should go feed her; she’s hungry.”
Wendy took the baby and started across the room. At the doorway, she paused and looked back at us.
Mildred gave her a smile. “It’s all right. Feed your baby, and later we’ll explain everything.”
Wendy walked out of the room, and when she was gone Mildred turned back to me. “When the zombies didn’t work, Gage had to get more creative.”
“What did he do?” I demanded.
“I said before that when demons possess, a piece of them crosses over,” she answered.
I nodded and looked over at Luke. He hadn’t said a word.
“Somehow Fintan figured out how to grab that piece and morph it with the spirit of a baby,” Mildred said.
I knew the shock and horror I was feeling showed on my face. I thought back to the dozen pregnant women I had seen. “He did this to those other women?”
Her expression was solemn when she said, “Each girl will give birth to a child just like Wendy’s.”
Luke finally spoke. “Half-breeds.” When he looked my way, I saw the shock I felt mirrored in his eyes. “But those are only fairy tales parents tell their children to scare them at night.”
Mildred gave a loud sigh. “Many fairy tales have a grain of truth in them. It’s been a long time since a half-breed has walked in our world.”
“Is the child evil?” I asked.
Immediately she shot back, “Darkness touched your soul. Are you evil?”
I honestly wasn’t sure. I knew I was no longer a creature of the light. I was no longer a healer. Becoming a death dealer had changed me. During the rituals, I had felt the darkness. I’d seen the other side. Heard the noises in the dark abyss. Some of that darkness had touched me. Had filled my mind and my body.
Mildred looked thoughtful. “I’ve seen half-breeds that will kill without a moment’s hesitation. And I’ve watched half-breeds put their own lives on the line to save another. Are they good, or are they evil?” She shrugged her shoulders. “You could ask the same question of any of us. I guess it all depends on the person, on the half-breed. The half-breeds do have demonic qualities—a darkness within them far greater than any death dealer’s.”
“This was Fintan’s project?” But even as I said the words I knew Gage definitely had a hand in this. I thought back to that night in the mining town so long ago, when Gage and Fintan discussed their “projects” over the noise of a dinner party…
“How long do you think this project of yours is going to last?” I asked Gage.
I could see the laughter in his eyes. “Hopefully not too long.” He looked over at Fintan. “I would say, at the most, six months. Maybe less if we can find a solution to a little problem we’re having.”
Fintan frowned at Gage’s answer. “I’ll have collected more than enough readers by that time, Gage, my boy. Surely I won’t have to hold onto them for that long?”
“I’m sorry, Fintan, but I can’t hand her over to you sooner. I need to keep her close. She has become invaluable to me.”
Mildred gazed around the room at the half-dozen cribs that hugged the walls. There was an odd smile on her face. ““It was. Gage said if he’s successful here, then they plan to build a bigger facility. He plans on breeding many more.”
Luke looked slowly around the room. “These things will become Gage’s henchmen?”
“A powerful leader always needs followers,” Mildred said.
Gage was going to have a dark army one way or another. A part of me had hoped when I’d escaped the mining town that Gage had given up his insane quest, but I knew he never would. I had seen the glint of insanity in his eyes when he’d told me his plans. He wanted to create chaos in the world so he could gain more power. He hadn’t put all his eggs in one basket. The zombies, the half-breeds. How many more projects was he overseeing?
My thoughts went back to the pregnant women. “Those women, the ones that haven’t given birth yet. Is there any way we can stop it from happening to their babies?”
“There is no way to stop them from giving birth. They’re all full-term and will be delivering their babies anytime now.” Mildred waved her hands about. “Wendy was pregnant but a few weeks back at camp. And now she has her daughter. It’s the piece of the demon in them. That dark, dark magic is making them grow faster.”
“But have the other babies been exposed to the evil?” I asked. “Can we undo the spell? Can we save them from the same fate as Wendy’s child?”
“I don’t know,” she answered.
“I know someone who does know,” I whispered. And as I thought of Gage, a feeling of warmth filled my body.
Luke moved next to me. “You want to talk to Gage.”
My eyes met his. “What choice do we have?”
“I’ll talk to him,” Luke said.
“But you won’t get as much out of him as I will.” I tried to make him understand. “He likes to show off for me. He likes to tell me his plans.”
Luke’s eyes filled with anger. “You can’t see him. You know what happens.”
“There has to be something that can protect me from it. What about the protection pouch the Redeemers used? If it were strong enough to block our magic, it should block out the spell he did on me.” I looked to Mildred.
Mildred pulled the pouch out of her pocket. It was singed all around the edges but still intact. She handed it to me.
I held it between my fingers. It tingled in my hands.
“I’m not leaving you alone with him,” Luke said.
“He won’t talk to me if you’re there.”
“Colina, it’s too dangerous.” His voice was pleading now. “He’s too dangerous.”
“This might be our only chance to fix what they’ve done. To undo it all.” I looked toward the door. “Maybe there’s still hope for Wendy’s child.”
Mildred shook her head. “Once the baby’s spirit has been bonded with the demon spirit, there is no way to free it without killing the child.”
Poor Wendy had been through so much and now this. Jacob. The image of his body slid across my mind. “Wendy doesn’t know that Jacob is dead. Someone has to tell her.”
Wendy had finally found someone to care about, to love. Even though we had been prisoners and forced to do Gage’s bidding back at the mining town, when Wendy was with Jacob she’d seemed happy. I knew she loved him. She’d borne his child. I was worried Jacob’s death would send her over the edge. She’d seemed to be tilting on the edge ever since she’d been possessed. How much more could she take?
“I’ll tell her,” Mildred said.
At that moment, I than
ked the Goddess I wouldn’t be the one to break Wendy’s heart.
Chapter 12
Two hours had passed since the battle with the Redeemers. Dean had taken it upon himself to carry first the old Redeemer and then Gage into the castle. He found a place to stash them and made sure they were securely restrained. We were exhausted, and our clothes were torn, burned, and covered in blood. My hands and my face were tinged pink from Luke’s hellfire, as though sunburned. I wasn’t badly burned, but my skin felt sensitive and raw to the touch. Mildred told me she had some skill in healing battle wounds and did her best to bandage up all our slashes, cuts, and burns.
I spent twenty minutes washing dirt and gore from my body and my hair in an ornate bathroom. It felt good to be clean again. While I bathed, Luke scoured the castle for medical supplies and a change of clothing. When I exited the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I found him with a wide smile on his face and arms full, proud of his plunder. Not surprisingly, the clothing was Gage’s favorite uniform—black jeans, black shirts, and black boots.
When Luke left to search more of the castle, Mildred found some ointment for my skin and slathered it on me, then helped me into my clothing. The white cream took the heat out of my burns. Once bandaged and cleaned up, I joined Luke to have a look around the castle.
The castle was disorienting, like we’d moved back in time. The old stones of the castle didn’t know that they’d just arrived here, and they didn’t lie there quietly. Instead they muttered and whispered of battles long past and people long dead. Fewer spirits haunted its halls than I’d expected, and most of them were of younger vintage, from Fintan’s residency. Maybe the original residents had stayed on the land where the castle had originally stood. But the walls themselves had picked up some of the energy of all of the centuries of living and dying within them.
We moved through the castle. The living area had once been a great hall where the castle’s lords had received and entertained. The surrogate mothers still sat in a tight bunch around the fire. As we passed, twenty eyes watched us. I tried to think of something to say, but how do you reassure someone about to give birth to a half-breed demon that everything will be all right?
Sonja ghosted around the edge of the group, staring at us with guarded eyes. I knew that we should be more worried about her, but all I felt when I looked at her was pity. I just couldn’t make myself chain her up in the basement with Gage.
We moved into the entryhall and then down a spiral staircase. The castle itself was smaller than I’d thought. From the outside, it looked huge, but the walls took up a lot of space, and inside the floors were mostly taken up by a few large rooms.
We passed through the cellar and into a small hallway that housed half a dozen doors. The lower floors were used for kitchens and below that, storage. Arched columns held up the floor above, breaking the space into squares. Some had been turned into dark rooms, smelling of mildew.
An arch opened off of the hallway onto a room of horrors. Fintan had converted one of the storage cellars into his fantasy dungeon. A variety of antique torture devices lined the walls, as well as several more modern implements. I wasn’t sure how they worked, and I was certain I didn’t want to.
Dean pointed to a door on the left. I started forward, and Luke started to follow me. I turned and put my hand on his arm.
“It’s best if I talk to Gage alone,” I said. I could tell by the look on Luke’s face he was going to argue with me, but before he could say anything my words rushed out, “He likes to talk to me. He loves to tell me his plans. If I talk to him alone, I might get the information that we need.”
Luke looked unconvinced.
I moved closer to him. “Dean has him chained up—we have him outnumbered. He isn’t dumb enough to try anything until the situation changes. He won’t hurt me.”
“What if you get the urge to let him go?” Luke demanded.
I held the pouch up. “It won’t happen. This will keep his spell at bay.”
“Okay,” Luke said. He didn’t look happy. “But if we hear any commotion, we’re coming in whether you want us there or not.”
“Agreed.” I reached up and my fingers brushed against his cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” As I turned and faced the door, a wave of weakness and nausea washed over me. My arm throbbed in time with my pulse. Ignoring the feeling, I put my hand on the knob, squared my shoulders, and opened the door.
Gage was in the middle of the room, tied to a chair with chains. His eyes lit up when he saw me. “Darling, I knew you couldn’t stay away.”
I felt a tug when I saw him—a jolt to my system like an electric shock. But the normal insane thoughts of love and adoration that normally slid into my mind whenever I was around him weren’t there this time. The pouch was working. It was warding off the Haitian magic.
I looked again at the chains. All of us together were more than a match for Gage, but it would ridiculous to let him run free to catch one of us alone. As powerful as Gage was, the heavy chain should be able to hold him. He could still use his magic, but as long as he was tied up in the basement it wouldn’t do him much good.
I let the door slam shut behind me. “You’re a monster!”
He looked surprised. “You don’t mean it. I’ve been so worried about you. It’s been so hard to be away from you. Come untie me, my love, so I can put my arms around you.”
“Drop dead.” I lifted the pouch from my pocket. It shimmered with blue light.
“Ahh,” he said, a flash of consternation crossing his face before he smothered it.
“You can’t get me to do your bidding anymore.” I spat on the ground by his feet. “You make me sick.”
He gave me a wide smile. “I made you feel things you’ve never felt before.”
“Shut up!” I rushed forward and slapped him across the face. “You’ll never touch me again. If you try to lay a finger on me, I’ll kill you.”
Instead of being upset, he looked amused. “Are you sure you don’t feel the slightest inclination to let me go?”
The truth was I did. The closer I stood to him, the more powerful the tug was.
I scrambled away from him, and he laughed. “Haitian magic is a powerful thing.”
I held the pouch up high in the air. “Apparently not as powerful as this.”
He sniffed the air. “Not gypsy magic. Something else.” He looked at me expectantly.
I wasn’t going to answer his question. He was going to answer mine. “Tell me about the babies.”
A wicked smile spread across his face. “Do you like my newest project?”
“You’re turning innocent babies into monsters.”
He made tsking noises. “Don’t be so dramatic. Yes, a piece of demon is intertwined with their souls, but that doesn’t make them monsters. Far from it.”
“Half-breeds.”
He shrugged. “If you like, though I find the term somewhat vulgar.”
“How could you do it?”
“It wasn’t easy, I’ll admit. It took years of planning, trial, and error. The breakthrough came when Fintan found a certain spell.” His gaze slid slowly down the length of me. “I’ve missed you. It surprises me as much as it does you. I’ve never missed anyone before.”
“How do we fix the babies?” I demanded.
“Fix them?” He laughed. “They are superior to the likes of you and me. Think of the power they possess.”
“There has to be a way to reverse the spell.”
“There very well might be, but the one person who would know is now dead.” He gave me a knowing look. “Fintan. This was his project. He knew all the ins and outs of it. I just came by to lend a helping hand. My interests were always on the bigger picture.”
“Making a zombie army.”
The smile was there again. “The undead army was just a start.”
“Causing chaos. I remember the lecture you gave me on it,” I said.
“Do you like the world you’re living in? Death dealers are
being rounded up and exterminated. Look at all the innocent people the Redeemers killed tonight.”
“They weren’t innocent. They were your henchmen.”
“People following my lead, true, but does that mean they deserved to die?” He gave me a long and lingering look. “If the Legion crosses over…”
My blood ran cold at the thought. “It will never happen.”
“Indulge me for a moment.” He smiled. “Imagine how the world would change if the Legion crossed over. Mages and non-mages will bow to our will. Redeemers will no longer be a threat.”
It was my turn to laugh. “You think the demons are going to help us?”
“Some of us. Those of us who work the darker magic, who have made it our life’s goal to help them. And you could be one of those people. You could be by my side.” Gage’s expression was serious. He meant every word he said, which made the thought more chilling. How could he ever imagine I’d want to be with him?
“I would rather have my throat cut by a Redeemer.”
His eyes narrowed. “If you don’t bring across the Legion, that still may happen. Careful what you wish for.”
My legs suddenly gave out, and I stumbled forward onto the floor.
“Are you injured?” Gage demanded. If I hadn’t known him better, I would have thought he sounded concerned.
I tugged my sleeve up, revealing my blackened veins. “Your pet bit me.”
“Demon fire.” He sounded surprised.
Fire? I pushed myself back onto my feet. “You know about it?”
“I do.”
“Do you know how to cure it?”
“Ah. Now I see why you came to me.” His eyes twinkled with delight. “You’ll need my help, of course.” He gave me a wide smile. “I think you know me well enough by now. I’m always eager to play on the winning side.”
I did believe Gage when he said he wanted to play on the winning side, but there was no way I would ever trust him. He might help us now, but first chance he got he’d do his best to get back to work on his master plan. Gage wouldn’t be happy until he had ultimate power, and the only way he would get that is if the Legion was released.
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