Kiss of the Betrayer (A Bringer and the Bane Novel)

by Boone Brux

  How long had he been on the table? Hours? Days? He’d drifted in and out of consciousness, praying that he wouldn’t beg or reveal the secrets Icarus so badly desired.

  “Rell, please!” Jade’s voice broke through the haze that clouded his waking moments. “How can you do this?”

  He wanted to tell her everything would be all right and not to be afraid, but she would know he was lying.

  “Tell us how you were converted.” Rell’s voice sounded almost pleading. “And all this will end.”

  “I’ve told you a hundred times, I don’t know. I’d been shot with an arrow. When I woke up, I had my full powers.”

  Luc opened his mouth to tell her not to speak, but Icarus’s talons clamped over his heart, penetrating his skin. He gasped and tried to pull free of the hooks pinning him, but the strap and cuffs immobilized almost all his movement. Blood gurgled in Luc’s throat.

  Icarus’s eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring. The sensation of a cord being pulled ran from Luc’s feet, up his legs and out of his chest. The air in his lungs turned to ice. He coughed against the tightening in his throat. From the five points where the black talons dug into Luc’s chest slithered white vaporous threats. They curled along Icarus’s fingers and wrapped around his hand, as if drawing Luc into a dense, black hole. Confusion filled him, his sense of self melding with the endless void of agony and desolation.

  Icarus leaned over him, his face only inches away. “Tell me how you were converted and you can keep your soul.”

  Luc lingered at the edge of oblivion. If he tumbled, he would be lost forever. He rallied what little strength he had left and spit, coating the demon in blood and saliva. “Fuck you.”

  Icarus barely flinched, slowly straightening.

  “So brave and loyal.” He sneered. “How loyal will you be when I devour your soul and turn you into my puppet?” He pushed the tips deeper into Luc’s skin. “How brave will you be when I make you kill your friends?”

  For the first time, Luc cried out, the pain slicing into his chest all the way to his backbone.

  “He doesn’t know!” Jade rattled her chains. “We’re not lying. He doesn’t know.”

  “He knows.” Icarus’s wings snapped open. “And you are both fools to think I won’t do everything to get that information.”

  “You’re wrong.” Tears clogged Jade’s voice. “That’s why we decided to come and not tell the others. If something happened to us…if we were captured, we wouldn’t be able to tell you anything. It’s only our lives we lose.”

  Darkness crawled around the edges of Luc’s vision. Jade’s words drifted across him, their meaning only partially making sense. The pressure and agony suddenly disappeared from his chest, tendrils of heat raced back into his body. He coughed again, bringing up blood. He turned his head and spat.

  Time had no meaning. An hour or an eternity, there was no distinction and no escape from the pain. Prayers for death played through Luc’s mind, but he knew they would go unanswered. Icarus would not give up his prize to something as mundane as death.

  More pressure eased from his chest when the strap was released and he found himself lifted off the slab. This would have been his one chance to fight, but his limbs would not obey. Even his head refused to rise and he struggled to keep his eyes open. Images of Jade stretched to the end of her chain on all fours flashed in and out of his vision.

  Icarus released him, letting his body drop face down on the ground. The breath rushed out of him and pain ricocheted through his body, but nothing like he’d already endured. A firm kick rolled him to his back and he was dragged upward by one arm. His body slammed against the icy rock wall and his wrists yanked outward to be clamped to shackles in the wall. Ankle cuffs snapped around his leg, once again restraining him in a nearly immobile state.

  Rell hovered behind Icarus, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. “What are you doing?”

  “He grows too weak.” He peered at Luc, assessing him like a flank of venison. “I will not have him die before I’m finished.”

  “But what of the other demons?” Rell’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Sha-hera? Vile?”

  “These chambers have not been used in years. Nobody will find them.” Icarus crouched. “So scream all you want, Bringer. There’s no one to hear.” A sneer pulled at his upper lip. “Rest up. We’re not finished yet.”

  Blood seeped into the corner of Luc’s right eye, but he held the demon’s gaze. “Looking forward to it.”

  Several seconds passed, neither willing to show weakness. The demon’s sneer spread to a smile. “As do I, Bringer. And when you have shared all your secrets, I will use your power to open the Abyss of Souls.” He leaned in. “And destroy everybody you love—starting with your woman.”

  Icarus stood and stalked toward the door. It took everything he had to stay conscious, but Luc forced his head up to watch the demon disappear from the chamber. When Icarus was gone, he let his head sag forward and gave over to blessed unconsciousness.

  Jade strained against her bonds. The chain around her wrist only extended far enough for her to reach Luc and only if she angled her body. She stretched and pushed back his hair with her free hand. Rocks dug into her knees and the palm she braced on the ground, but she ignored the discomfort and focused on Luc.

  Blood trickled from a cut at his hairline. That should have stopped from his natural healing process. The fact that it hadn’t revealed just how weak he was. Desperation pushed the healing chant from her and she mouthed the words so Rell wouldn’t hear. Immediately, the bleeding ceased.

  A shiver shook her body. The cold this deep in the Shadow World was like none she had ever felt. It sliced to the bone, making her entire body ache. Her fingers were numb and sore, her lips cracked. She needed water. Hunger pangs had died away long ago and now the very thought of food made her want to vomit.

  She sat back on her heels. He was unconscious again and his breathing weak. She needed to heal him as much as possible before Icarus returned. The demons’ presence had been constant since they’d been captured. Neither had left the cavern, instead waiting for Luc to regain consciousness when he passed out from the pain. She hadn’t had the chance to heal a single scratch until now, and she refused to let Rell know what she was doing. The demons desperately wanted information and had watched Luc and her for anything that would hint at their powers or how they’d come into them. After all they’d done to Luc, she’d be damned if she’d give her sister even the tiniest clue. What she needed to do was to get rid of Rell.

  The demon perched on a low ledge about a foot off the ground. She watched Jade, her yellow eyes intense and anxious.

  Jade shook her head. “How could you do this? How could you betray me like this?”

  “I am not the one who came with the intent of killing her sibling.” Rell sneered. “I am not the betrayer.”

  Jade gave a harsh laugh. “You were waiting for us. You knew we were coming.”

  “Icarus knew.” She jumped from the ledge and took a step toward Jade. “I did not believe him.” She paused. “I did not want to believe him.”

  “I do this out of love, Esmeralda.” Jade wrapped her arms around her chest and rubbed her upper arm, trying to bring some warmth back in her body. “What is your excuse, since you are clearly incapable of love?”

  “Yet I am the one who has cared and provided for you nearly all your life.”

  “Lied to me, don’t you mean? Or have you forgotten that our mother still lives?” Jade pushed against the wall and crawled to her feet. “All this time we could have been together, but you chose to lie.”

  “Together?” Rell’s face twisted with scorn. “You mean you and our mother together, while I was left here.”

  “If you loved me you wouldn’t have subjected me to a life in the Shadow World.”

  “And if you loved me, you would understand how much I didn’t want to be alone.” She walked to the door and stopped. “It’s too late now. We’ve both done things that
can’t be undone.”

  With that she walked from the chamber. Jade finally realized that was why Rell had done what she had. Her sister’s words hurt, but right now the most important thing was to heal Luc.

  She knelt again and examined his wounds. There were so many. Tears burned behind her eyes. She swallowed back the helplessness threatening to overtake her and placed her hand over the slashes on his thighs. Dark stains spread across the fabric, the dried blood making the edges of the ripped material stiff. He didn’t stir, even when she applied pressure.

  Again she let the healing words wash through her, but the expected wave of healing she’d experienced in the chapel didn’t come. She squeezed her eyes tighter and whispered the chant. Heat slithered down her arms like cold molasses, thick and sluggish. She opened her eyes, continuing to speak. Luc didn’t respond.

  The cavern glowed with a dull yellow light, nothing like the brilliant gold ribbons that had danced around them in the chapel. There seemed to be no life to pull energy from down here. A thin strip of white light spiraled from the dark corner. Jade concentrated, calling it forth. Whatever hid in the shadows was giving freely and she would gladly accept the gift.

  The warmth spread to her fingertips and connected with Luc’s body. He convulsed but didn’t wake. She focused her healing but each push of power took so much effort her energy drained before she could close all the wounds.

  She slid to the floor and twisted so she was able to rest her head in Luc’s lap. Exhaustion weighed her eyelids and she drifted into a restless sleep. Occasionally, she would awaken to close a seeping wound or aid an already mending cut as best she could. Each attempt took so much out of her, she would drift back to sleep until rousing again to repeat the process.

  Their time was running out. It wasn’t just Icarus and Rell they needed to worry about. If any other demon found them chained, they would be helpless. From the way Icarus had explored the cavern and examined each of the weapons along the wall, Jade got the impression that this lair was not his. And if it wasn’t Icarus’s, then it had to be Vile’s or Sha-hera’s.

  They were still alive because Icarus needed them. He had mentioned using Luc’s powers to open the Abyss of Souls. Is that why Vile had tried to capture Ravyn? Were father and son in a race for power and the full Bringers the key to their success? If that was the case, not just the Bringers but the entire world was tottering on the brink of dark destruction.

  Luc had been strong enough to withstand the torture, but that too would not last much longer. She needed to figure out a way to escape. That…and a very big miracle.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Cold seeped through the leather seat of Luc’s pants and into his bones. Stiffness had seized his body while he slept and now each movement sent a radiating ache across his hips. His eyelids slid open, the dark, silent cavern greeting him. Lethargy made it difficult to remain awake and he had to fight to keep his eyes open. The wounds Icarus had inflicted continued to drain him of energy, keeping him weak.

  He attempted to wiggle his toes but nothing happened. Next, he concentrated on circling his ankle. Numbness seemed to have paralyzed his limbs. How long he had been unconscious, he didn’t know and it really didn’t matter. In his condition he wouldn’t be going anywhere.

  With great effort, he managed to lift his leg a few inches off the ground and flexed his foot. The shackle around his ankle rotated slightly, biting into his skin. Fat chain links stretched and gave a low clank. The rattle of metal seemed overly loud in the silent chamber. Hopefully the noise hadn’t alerted Icarus or Rell that he was conscious.

  Luc looked at his lap. Jade lay with an arm draped over his thighs and her head cradled against his groin. At any other time, this would have been a pleasant surprise, but their situation was dire and their chance of escape seemed beyond bleak.

  The shackle binding her right wrist was stretched tight and her body bent at an awkward angle to allow her to reach him. He didn’t know when she’d moved, but suspected it was after the demons had left them. At some point he had passed out from the pain and though he currently felt far from good, he didn’t feel as bad as he should. Jade must have tried to heal him in his unconscious state.

  He swallowed the emotion that rose inside him. He wondered if she had been scared. Without too much thought he knew that if in the same situation he would have been frantic to heal her.

  Deep, steady breaths told him that she slept heavily. Shadows cast across her face, making the hollows of her cheeks and the dark smudges under her eyes seem more pronounced. His chest tightened at the thought of Jade exhausting herself while trying to heal him.

  He raised his hand to brush a tangled lock from her face, but the chain didn’t extend enough to reach her. He flinched when the metal recoiled and the sharp edge of the band cut into his wrist.

  Jade stirred and opened her eyes. She blinked several times and then stared straight ahead. He lowered his arm and watched the unguarded expressions play across her face. It was disorienting to wake up in a cold, dark place. Then again, she’d grown up in the Shadow World, so maybe it was a scene she was used to.

  With a little huff, she pushed off the floor. The chain around her right wrist tightened and pulled in the opposite direction. She groaned and settled back onto his lap. That sentiment he did understand.

  “Morning.”

  She craned her neck and looked up at him. “You’re awake.”

  “Unfortunately.” He shifted his back against the stone wall. “I’m beginning to think my unconsciousness was bliss.”

  “Sweet Sainted Mother.” Her voice pierced the quiet. She flexed her hand and moaned. “My fingers feel like they’re on fire.”

  Luc glanced at the entrance and listened. No crunching footsteps reverberated down the corridor. He tried to bend his knee to give Jade a push upright, but a sharp pain shot along the back of his leg. His body seized and his head thumped against the wall. It took all his willpower to not cry out. He stared at the ceiling and released a long slow breath, concentrating on exhaling the searing fire.

  “Luc?” Jade scooted toward the wall where she was chained and sat upright. “Are you all right?”

  He grunted more than spoke the words. “I will be in a minute.”

  Desperation laced her question. “What can I do?”

  He shook his head and continued to stare at the ceiling, trying to wrestle the pain back into submission.

  A shadow on the far side of the ceiling caught his attention. He watched the dark stain move along the edge of the wall and disappear. His eyes narrowed, trying to bring the area into view. Another shadow appeared, skittering along the ceiling to the other side of the chamber. A glint reflected off the black circle but disappeared.

  “Do you see that?” He lowered his chin but kept his eyes trained on the corner, his pain finally abating to a tolerable level.

  Jade looked in the direction he was staring and scanned the area. He watched her gaze skate across the ceiling and stop. She had the natural skills of a warrior, with patience to seek out her quarry before asking questions. He looked back at the shadow.

  “I see it,” she said.

  A second shape slithered along the top of the entrance from the outer corridor and moved across the chamber. Then like the other, it suddenly vanished.

  “What is that?” Jade whispered.

  “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

  She squinted. “Imps, maybe.”

  “Are they magical?” He rested his head against the wall, making it easier to peer at the farthest corner. “Do they have the ability to appear and vanish?”

  Jade shook her head. “I don’t think so. I only saw two or three when I was growing up. They’re like giant bats with big, black eyes.”

  That would explain the glint that caught the light of the blue flame. “I’ve never heard of them.”

  “From what Rell told me, they usually stay close to Vile, but she might have been wrong.”

  “Watch
.” He flicked his head at one of the shadows inching its way toward the far side of the chamber.

  The shape hovered near another dark spot, and then scooted around it to the very edge of the wall and disappeared.

  Jade’s mouth opened in surprise. She looked at him. “Where did it go?”

  “If they’re not magic, then I think there must be a doorway.” He paused. “Maybe a way out.”

  Her mouth rounded and she glanced back in the direction the imp had disappeared. She raised her right hand and swept the chain out of the way, climbing to all fours. “Maybe I can get a better look.”

  She crept forward. The clink of metal hitting the stone wall tinged. Jade stopped and spread her hands on the ground, systematically searching the area in front of her. Her chain pulled tight but she gave a whispered whoop of triumph, obviously finding what she had been looking for. Bracing her hand against the wall, she stood. Dark shapes darted away from her and disappeared.

  “What is it?” Luc squinted, trying to see what she held in her hand.

  “My lock pin, and maybe the answer to our problems. I thought I’d lost it.” She braced her hand against the wall and stood. “I think you’re right.” She looked over her shoulder. “There’s definitely a passage, or at the very least, an alcove.” She turned and shuffled toward him. “If we can get these chains off, maybe we can hide.”

  He loved her optimism, but the possibility of breaking the chains was nil, especially in his weakened state. “A good plan, but how?”

  She held up the straight piece of metal. “With this, but first I want to try and heal you again. Then we’ll concentrate on escaping.”

  Luc didn’t have the strength to ask questions. She knelt as close as she could and laid her hand on his knee. Without explanation, she closed her eyes and began to chant. Warmth flooded his leg and moved through his body.