He used every trick he knew to fuel his body and give himself a boost of speed. Both she and the demon had moved far faster through the woods than he could, putting him at least a couple of miles behind her.
His lungs burned. His legs were on fire. His body was covered in hundreds of little cuts that branches and brush had left behind. He knew his blood was calling every demon around for miles, but there was no time to slow down and bandage himself.
As it was, he’d already wasted precious seconds calling for backup. His only hope was that other allies in the field would be closer to Lyka than he was and would make it to her in time.
He kept trying to get her to tell him what was going on, kept trying to see through her eyes, but she didn’t understand what he wanted, wasn’t able to comply or didn’t want to. All he got from her was an occasional pull on his power and a whole lot of emotion. Fear, shock, fury.
Whatever was happening to her wasn’t good.
Joseph did what he could to feed her the energy she needed so she wouldn’t have to work so hard. With each passing minute he drew closer to her, easing the strain of drawing strength from him over a distance.
He should have taken more time to teach her how to use his power. He should have insisted that she let others find her brother. He should have found some way to control her before she’d bounded off into the woods, hot on the trail of a demon.
At least Joseph knew where she was headed. The tracker Nicholas had installed had worked like a charm—right up to the point that the signal vanished altogether.
Joseph hoped that the signal loss was due to the demon going underground rather than to the tracker being destroyed.
He slowed just enough to check his phone again and make sure he was still headed in the right direction. The screen was bright in the darkness of the forest, drawing a tiny swarm of bugs within seconds.
The last known location of the tracker was just up ahead, on the other side of a hill.
As he cleared the hilltop and looked down into the ravine below, he came to a dead stop.
There were demons down there. At least a dozen of them, all pale and naked, wielding those rustic swords. They scrambled toward a narrow opening in the rock like someone inside had wrung a dinner bell.
That wasn’t good. Based on Nicholas’s tracker, this was where that demon had gone. And that meant Lyka was inside.
Apparently, she was dinner.
Chapter 40
Eric grabbed Lyka’s arm and jerked her back behind the heavy bed. Several bits of wood, metal and stone embedded themselves in the mattress. A small knife slammed through and gouged into the bedpost, sticking there.
He tugged it free and looked at the choker his sister wore. “Let yourself get collared, did you?”
“I did it to save your hairy ass, so keep your opinions to yourself.”
Another volley of magic hit them, shoving the bed a few inches closer to the wall. There was no room left here to maneuver anymore. They were trapped, easy targets for Treszka to finish them off. They had to get out before she could do the job.
“You call this saving me?” he asked.
When she showed up, he’d never been so happy to see anyone in his life. And then he realized what it meant: she was stuck down here with him, too.
“Working on it,” she said.
“The bitch has dozens of demons under her control. I’m in shitty shape for a fight, and you didn’t even bring weapons.”
“Yes, I did,” she said. “You just can’t see them right now.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Kill the cunt.”
“I can’t.”
“Can’t?”
“Long story.”
The smell of demons assaulted his nose. He could hear their steps grow closer. They were in the room now.
“Might as well tell me now. We’re going to die down here.”
“Speak for yourself,” she said. “I just learned some new tricks, and I really want to live long enough to practice and get good at them.”
“Now works. You can practice now.”
The heavy bed was ripped away from the wall by a mass of demons. Treszka stood a few feet away, her hands on her hips.
She was carrying his young. At least that’s what she’d said. He didn’t want to believe her, but part of him must have, because he actually hesitated at the thought of killing her.
Then he remembered what she’d done to him. How she’d violated him. Hurt him. Left him bleeding, fevered and helpless, tied to her bed.
Just when he’d thought he was safe, she’d come back for more. She’d forced herself into his mind and made him burn for her. Made him beg.
Vomit crawled up his throat. Rage tingled across his skin.
“You think you can kill me?” she asked, a little smile playing about her lush mouth. She spread her arms. “Go ahead and try.”
Eric’s body tensed, preparing to charge, but that was as far as he could get. Whatever she’d done had cast a web of control over him, forcing his feet to stay planted where they were.
“We have a problem,” he told Lyka.
“Just one?”
“Are you sure you can’t kill her?” he asked.
“I’m sure.”
“Well, that sucks ass, because I can’t, either.”
Treszka laughed. “I’m done with both of them,” she told her demon guards. “Kill them.”
Chapter 41
Joseph slipped in behind the demons as they went in the cave. They were all too busy rushing to wherever they were going to pay him any attention. Even the ones who looked his way, nostrils flared at the scent of his blood, simply licked their lips and kept moving.
Whoever or whatever controlled them must have been more powerful than their constant hunger for Sentinel blood.
Lyka was in here. He could feel her presence nearby, growing stronger with every step. She was tired. Afraid. Without hope.
He’d let this happen. It was his job to ensure her safety, and here she was in a demon-infested cave, as far from safe as she could be.
I’m coming, love. Hold on.
He wanted nothing more than to rush to her side, but if doing so got him killed, he wasn’t going to be any help to her at all. It was better to be smart. Be careful. There was no way of knowing if one of the demons’ hunger would outweigh its obedience. But if it did, he’d be ready.
He followed the demons as they converged on a central location. He couldn’t quite see what it was—there were too many bodies in the way. But he could hear this strange, low hum spreading outward.
As it finally reached him, he realized that it was the demons making this noise.
She’s headed your way, Lyka whispered to his thoughts.
She who? His question reached her easily. She was no longer trying to keep him out. In fact, she seemed to welcome his presence, clinging to it like a lifeline.
Queen Bitch, Lyka answered.
He shifted his grip on his sword and amplified his vision. There was plenty of light in here for him to see, but a heightened attention to detail was definitely in order. When a man was on a mission to save the woman he loved, he needed every advantage he could get.
Love? Her shock rang through the question, making it clatter in his thoughts.
Now wasn’t the time for such confessions, but he was acutely aware that he might never have another chance to let her know how he felt. So rather than hold back, he opened himself up and let her feel what he did. He let her see the way he saw her—beautiful and brave, fierce and loyal, sexy and sweet. She was everything he could have ever hoped for in a mate, in a wife, and he felt like the luckiest man alive to be with her for whatever time they had together.
Something in her fluttered. Expanded. He felt her absorb his love and let it strengthen her. If you want more time with me, you’d better hu
rry. Eric and I are about out.
That was all the motivation he needed to change tactics. He was done with sneaking around. It was time to attack.
Joseph rolled his shoulders and started hacking his way toward his woman.
Chapter 42
Eric and Lyka backed into a corner where the demons could come at them from only one side. She lifted her hand and drew on Joseph’s power with the idea of defense in mind. A shimmering film of pale light appeared around her and Eric, protecting them from the slavering demons.
Some of them were weaponless and clawed at the luminous barrier, but most of them wielded rusty, primitive swords that looked like they’d been banged out in haste. The blades were thick and heavy, and she felt each one strike the wall she’d erected.
“Nice trick,” said Eric.
Sweat was already forming on her forehead. As much as she loved the feel of Joseph’s power running through her, it was exhausting as hell. “It won’t last long.”
“Can you move it?”
She had no idea. “Why?”
“If we can get to the door, we might be able to trap a metric shit ton of these fuckers in here. I’ve had plenty of time tied to this bed to study the place. The doors are solid. It will take them a while to chop through. It’s the only chance I see of getting out of here.”
It was worth a shot. There was a man out there who loved her, and she really wanted to know what that felt like for longer than the time it took her to die.
If Joseph had given her only words, she never would have believed that he loved her, but he’d done more than that. He’d let her in, let her feel what he did. It was beautiful, warm, safe. She’d slipped right inside his thoughts and basked in the glow of his love.
And she really wanted to do it again.
The only way to manage that was to survive, so Lyka mapped a path from the corner where they were trapped to the doorway. They had about thirty feet to cover and several pieces of furniture to go around—no small feat.
She took a step to her left and forced the barrier to slip around to cover Eric’s flank. He was weaving on his feet, doing all he could just to stay upright. If he took a hit now, she didn’t think he’d be able to stand, much less walk.
The shield moved with them, but dragging it was as hard as lifting a bank safe with one hand. She had no idea how she was going to make it thirty feet.
You can do it. I’m with you every step. Joseph’s comforting support settled over her. He was waging battle, slicing his way through a hallway stuffed with demons, and yet he still took the time to ease her worries.
Because he was the prize for survival, Lyka gathered her strength and took another step, then another. Sweat poured off her body and her legs were shaking with weakness, but she kept moving.
Eric started to go down. Lyka grabbed him before he could, but the shield faltered and a rusty blade made it through the hole before she could plug it.
She didn’t even realize she’d been hit until she felt the blood trickle down her arm.
You’re hurt. Joseph’s worry came through loud and clear.
She gritted her teeth as the pain hit her. Keep your nose in your own combat, Theronai. I’m fine.
Her blood excited the demons, making their attacks come at a frenzied pace. With each hit the barrier took, she felt herself wobble, weaken. She really didn’t know how much longer she could keep this up.
As that thought passed through her mind, she felt a rush of power flowing into her. Joseph was pushing it her way, trying to ease her burden.
She was floored by his thoughtfulness, by his care of her. She didn’t know how to repay him other than to keep fighting. Refuse to give up. When this was all over, she’d work on paying off all the debt she was racking up.
No debt. We’re one now.
And they were. She could feel everything he did, hear every thought that passed through his mind. He was with her, in her, his power flowing through her. She’d never felt anything half as intimate as the connection they now shared. It was so beautiful that she had to blink tears from her eyes.
Cry later, kitten. Fight now.
For him, she would. For them.
The conduit between them opened wide, giving her a rush of power. Her skin tingled as it raced over her. Her bones vibrated with the strength he housed. The air around her crackled in anticipation.
Lyka shoved her shoulder under her brother’s arm and bodily hauled him along with her. He did his best to support his weight, but he was in bad shape. She could feel his strength fading.
She had not come all this way just to watch her brother fall now.
Joseph’s power seethed and boiled at his end of their connection. She didn’t know how much more she could take, but if ever there was a time for her to get tough, this was it.
She sucked a huge mass of power into herself and used it to clear their path to the door. Demons flew back as if they were bowling pins struck by a wrecking ball. Their bodies hit the opposite wall with a wet thud, splattering reddish black blood everywhere.
The remaining demons smelled the blood and went berserk. They turned their attention toward the new source of food and descended on their kin like vultures.
Lyka used the distraction to jerk her brother through the doors and slam them shut.
Joseph was just outside the doorway, finishing off the last of the demons left alive. There were piles of dead foes in his wake. His sword was bathed in their blood. He was shirtless, his muscles glowing with sweat. With each heavy breath he took, his lifemark swayed.
She rushed into his arms, leaving her brother to hold himself upright. Her naked flesh felt good against Joseph’s, like she was finally coming home after a lifetime of being without one.
He pulled away and inspected her wound. Concern lined his face.
“It’s not that bad,” she said.
“It’s not good.”
“I’ve had worse from sparring practice. Let’s just find the young.”
Eric limped toward them. She hadn’t noticed it at the time, but he’d taken a hit to the leg from one of those swords. Blood seeped down from his thigh to his foot.
“How bad?” she asked.
“No worse than yours,” said Eric. “They split up the young. I know where some of them are being kept, but didn’t see where the two boys were being held.”
“I’ll find the boys,” said Joseph. “You and Eric get the rest of the kids and head out.”
“There are too many demons here. And Treszka’s still out there.”
“Treszka?”
“The demon-queen bitch who rules this place,” said Eric. “She’s got juice, so be careful if you see her.”
“I can’t kill her,” said Lyka. “My vow forbids it.” Even now her vow to that demon was pounding on her, demanding that she hunt the queen down and deliver her.
A strange look crossed Eric’s face. “How long have I been gone? Is the moon full yet?”
“Yes.”
He nodded slowly in resignation, but refused to look her in the eye. “I don’t think I can kill her, either.”
It must have torn up Eric to admit that he was too weak to do the job. Her brother was a proud man, a strong warrior. For him, being unable to fight meant he really was as bad off as he looked.
“I’ll take care of her,” said Joseph. “But first we find the kids and get them to safety.”
Lyka didn’t want to split up. She didn’t want to be separated from Joseph and unable to help him when he ran into trouble again.
He gave her a smile that brightened his eyes. “We’ll be together soon, love. Until then, I’m still here.” He stroked her temple, then pressed his hand over her heart. “And here.”
If he kept this up, Lyka was going to disgrace herself by crying in front of her brother. It was the kind of thing he’d neve
r let her live down.
She sniffed and turned to Eric. Standing right behind him was Treszka.
A dozen of those disturbingly human-looking demons appeared behind her, gathering around their queen. One of them had several short strips of silver duct tape clinging to its patchy fur—the remnants of its bindings.
It was the one she’d vowed to help claim Treszka as its own to possess as its mate. And now Lyka’s chance to fulfill that promise was standing right in front of her.
Treszka flipped back her long black hair to reveal that gaping mouth in the top of her head.
Before anyone could react, she sank her black fingernails into Eric’s shoulders and bit him with that horrible maw, ripping a chunk of flesh from his neck.
A look of shocked horror covered his face. She let go of him. Blood spurted several feet into the air with each beat of his heart. He fell to his knees, bleeding to death fast.
Eric’s blood trickled down Treszka’s pale temple as she looked at Lyka. “You’re next.”
Chapter 43
Joseph shoved Lyka aside as he charged Treszka. No way in hell was he letting this demon get his hands on his woman.
Eric’s hot blood hit Joseph as he passed. The man had only a few seconds to live, and Joseph wanted the Slayer to know he was avenged before he died.
Before he could reach the demon, a blast of searing power hit him, slamming him back into the stone wall of the cave.
Joseph shook his head to clear it, but everything was a little slower and hazier than it had been a minute ago.
“Really?” she said. “You really think it would be that easy to kill me?”
She stepped over Eric. Lyka was at his side, frantically trying to save his life. Blood surged out from between her fingers. She was drawing power from Joseph at a steady rate, fumbling to find some way to slow Eric’s bleeding.
As much as Joseph wanted to help, he didn’t dare let his attention slip from the demon queen headed his way.
She looked him up and down with approval. “I had considered using a Theronai to father my offspring. Now that I see you, I almost wish I had. If only your kind was as hearty as the Slayers. I really didn’t think a Theronai would be strong enough to survive playing with me, but now I wonder if I was wrong.” She lifted a hand. “Perhaps next time.”
Binding Ties Page 28