by Jasmine Walt
My alternate took a step back. “That’s where you’re wrong. I keep my bargains. You don’t need me. You need the power inside me. Malfor has some hellhound DNA, and he wants the power of the seal. Sarani is too young to carry it. He’s been waiting for it to consume me, to break free and seek its next host, which would have been him. But I’m a stubborn bitch. I managed to hold on for a little longer than he would have liked, and so he offered me the deal—my life for Sarani’s. He hopes to kill me and absorb the seal’s power. With his chimera body, he’ll be able to contain it. But once I’m gone, you’ll have it. You’re the only real mature hellhound in the vicinity. It’ll find you. It will choose you over him.” She snorted. “I just wish I could see the look on his fucking face when he realizes. It’ll be like giving him the finger from beyond. Ha.” She reached for Sarani but curled her hand into a fist before making contact.
The child was asleep, with her head snug on Garuda’s shoulder. A golden curl fell across her forehead. The part of my brain that was always considering the possibilities, the part that looked for loopholes, ran around in circles.
My alternate smiled. “Garuda could always get her to fall asleep in less than a minute. Take care of her. She’s a part of you both.”
The solution was so simple. “Don’t go back. Just come with us. We can leave right now. The four of us.”
Her lips trembled, and she pressed them together. “I can’t.” She held up her arm. “I made a bargain.” I stared at the strange symbol inked into her skin. “If I run, he will find me, and he’ll find you…your world. This is how it has to be.” Terror sat behind her eyes, but she lifted her chin and took another step back. “It won’t be long now.”
She turned and ran back toward the bridge.
“I can’t watch.” But I didn’t look away. She deserved better than that. This Malina, this brave woman, deserved a witness to her sacrifice. She didn’t deserve to die alone. So I watched, numb and unmoving, as she came to stand before her nemesis. I watched as Malfor brought up his weapon, the blade glinting in the sunlight. I forced my eyes not to blink as he swung that blade and cleaved her head from her body. She swayed for a second. Headless but defiant, and my heart swelled in my chest, tears clogging the back of my throat at this injustice. As she fell, a fist punched me in the solar plexus. I staggered back, clutching my abdomen, breathless with the invasion of the power slamming into me. Pain ripped through me, contorting my limbs and curling my spine.
“Malina, rein it in.”
I was glowing. Oh god. Someone would see. They’d come. Garuda grabbed me around the waist with one arm and hauled me further into the arch.
“Breathe, Malina. Breathe through it.”
Razors clawed at my insides. It was eating me, devouring me. Breathing shallow and fast, I blocked out the pain and reined it in. The glow ebbed and died, settling into my skin like a billion needles.
Sarani stirred.
“They’re coming this way. We need to go. Now,” Garuda said.
My knees popped as I stood. The ring was in my pocket. I withdrew it and slipped it on. “Hold on to me.” I closed my eyes and willed us away.
24
The city was burning.
We ran, ducking and hiding from the monsters on the bridge. The temptation to stop and unleash was almost unbearable, but I needed the power for something else—something bigger. Above us, the sky was a dark, gaping maw filled with a writhing mass of sinister inky tendrils, like black worms in an upside-down bowl. The Kubera’s supernaturals, now under command of the Daughter of Chaos, overran the bridge. People ran to and fro in an attempt to escape death, but death wouldn’t be cheated. It struck in the form of claw and fang.
Sarani stirred and cried out in alarm. Garuda whispered soothing words I didn’t catch. We ducked into the awning of a smashed-up store. We would be spotted any minute.
Sarani began to sob. “Scared, Dada. Nani scared.”
How old was she? Two, maybe a few months off three? It was hard to tell because she was so tiny. I tore my gaze from her and studied the chaos, looking for a way out.
“We won’t make it off the bridge without being spotted.”
“I know,” Garuda said. “I can’t risk flying us out. Not with the horde of flying supes overhead.”
He may not be able to fly us both out, but he could get Sarani to safety. I placed a hand on Garuda’s bicep. “I’m going to create a diversion. When I do, I need you to take off. Get her to Brahma Corp and leave her with my mother.”
“Fuck that. I’m not leaving you.”
The child in his arms began to cry in earnest, and something inside me I didn’t understand responded with a lurch.
“Garuda, you have to protect her. She’s…she belongs to us now.”
He blew out a breath. “This is no place for a child. Fuck. You stay alive, you hear me? You stay alive until I get back.” He grabbed me around the waist and pressed his lips to mine in a firm kiss. “You create that diversion, then you fucking run. I’ll find you.”
I nodded, too choked up to speak. I made to step out from the awning, but Garuda grabbed my arm.
He swallowed hard. “I love you, Malina.”
No. Not now. Not when I couldn’t stay. I turned and ran into the fray.
The cacophony of anarchy enveloped me in a bear hug. Something hit me from the side, almost knocking me off my feet. A dead body. Claws swiped an inch from my face, and blood splattered my cheek, warm and coppery. I ducked and dived until I was in the center of the bridge—the exact spot where the mammoth tower in my alternate’s reality had stood. The power of the seal surged inside me, expanding and filling me completely. I needed to let it out—not too much, just enough to burn and draw them to me. If the burning city was any indication, I’d say they seemed to like fire. A roar to my left almost broke my concentration. The ground rumbled. Something was headed toward me. No time to look, no time to panic.
I raised my hands and released a jet of power. Swirling on the spot to create a spiral of flame, I moved in a dance of fire—burning, searing, and killing. The monsters screamed but continued to attack, swarming toward me—this new, fiery threat.
Now, Garuda. Now. Go now.
Somewhere amidst the roar of flame and snarl of beasts, I heard the beat of his wings. I continued my dance of flames for a moment longer—enough time for him to break free. A snarling visage burst through my wall of power, and talons pierced my flesh. I slammed into the ground with the beast atop me. Its hungry drool painted my skin. Arms straining, I held it at bay. Snap, snap. It wanted to eat my face.
A howl ripped through the air. The monster froze, and I shoved it off, grabbed Vindra, and drove her through the back of its neck.
Another howl. The created supernaturals paused in their slaughter to look up, nostrils flaring. Something was coming… a new threat.
Their new threat was my salvation. Huge, powerful, hairy yaksha broke through the haze of smoke. Their human eyes took in the death, and then they attacked—tearing at their hybrid brethren and bringing them down. A black mountain of fur swept me off my feet, running full pelt with me over its shoulder. The world whizzed by before it stopped and set me down. The yaksha’s eyes were strangely familiar. He shook his head and his snout melted back to reveal his human face. It was the young yaksha who’d led us to Richmond Park when we’d been tracking the triplets, except he looked…bigger.
“Raj?”
“Are you okay?” He studied my wounds.
“I’ll heal.”
A howl cut through the air behind me, and Raj’s head whipped around. They came like a sea of crimson, swarming across the bridge and devouring everything in their wake.
“Shaitan…” Raj turned to me. “Malina, get out of here. We’ll hold them off. The rest of the packs are on their way. This is our city, and we won’t lose it to these abominations.” He loped back toward the bridge, toward the seething pandemonium.
Lightning cut across the sky like an immense c
amera flash. I blinked at the sight of a winged, golden chariot swooping down from the sky. I spotted Indra, Varuna, Agni, and Durga…no, not Durga; this was someone else. Someone I hadn’t met. Her skin was so dark it was almost black, her eyes blazed with rage, and her crimson mouth was a furious snarl. She leapt from the chariot, landing lightly on her feet amidst the chaos, threw back her head, and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Two scimitars appeared in her hands, and she began with the reaping. Limbs flew and blood sprayed.
Lightning bolts fell from the sky, and shaitan burned to cinder.
Agni floated above the scene, his body a ball of living flame, shooting fire balls into the fray. Varuna hit the ground and fought hand to hand.
Another wave of red came sweeping in from the north. Were my friends down there? Ajitah? Drake? Loki? Were they on the ground somewhere, surrounded by the demons and fighting for their lives?
Fuck. I took a step toward the bridge just as the blast of a horn cut through the night and the battle cry of the bloodthirsty echoed in the air. The Murata came from the south, their golden breastplates gleaming in the firelight as they hurled white lightning into the midst of a sea of red.
The gods were here.
The battle had begun.
25
This was the Daughter of Chaos’s power. Her influence, her presence, had driven the shaitan to break free of the underworld the first time around, and it was driving their bloodlust now. The bridge seemed to be the epicenter. The creatures were drawn to it, but where was their mistress? Where was the Daughter of Chaos herself? I had to find her.
I ran, taking the back streets to avoid the worst of the bedlam. I had to get to Brahma Corp. Hopefully Loki was back, or I could take the chopper to the Red Zone to find him. If they’d found Velocity, then we may have a location for the Daughter of Chaos. I could end this.
I cut down an alley, jumped a wall, and kept going. Almost there. Two figures burst out from a nearby building.
Human.
Frightened.
“No!” I grabbed one of them by the shoulders. “Not toward the bridge. Head the other way. Find a safe place and hole up until this is over.”
The woman I’d grabbed nodded earnestly, her tearstained face twisted in fear. I released her and ran. She screamed, and I screeched to a halt and spun around. Her companion was on the ground, bucking and writhing. Something was wrapped around his body, something black and mobile. A serpent streaked down from the sky and hit the woman, knocking her to the ground.
The man stopped fighting and slowly got to his feet. He turned to face me. The whites of his eyes were black, his skin a network of inky veins.
He opened his mouth in a large O. “Malina, it’s time to die,” he said in the Daughter of Chaos’s voice. “You cannot win. You cannot prevail against the void.”
Shit.
The woman joined her companion. Her black eyes were devoid of any emotion. She opened her mouth, and the same voice spilled out. “Malina, it’s time to die. You cannot win. You cannot prevail against me, against the void.”
Fuck this shit.
I stumbled, tripped, and ran.
Their boots battered the ground in pursuit. Streaks of darkness shot down from the sky, smashing through windows and roofs. Glass and slate peppered the air, and people spilled out of the buildings. More human puppets were born and joined in the pursuit. My lungs burned, my thighs ached, but I ran, weaving to dodge the viscous darkness that fell from the skies eager to infect me. Asphalt sprayed up from the ground to my left. A hydrant to my right exploded in a spray of water.
I swerved down a side street and out onto a main road, and then stopped. A crowd of humans turned to face me. Blocking my path, they surrounded me.
They opened their mouths. “Nowhere to run now, Malina.”
She was right. My eyes grew hot and I flicked my wrists, igniting my hands, even though there was no way I was hurting these innocent humans.
“Your morality is your downfall, Malina. Sacrifices must be made in the pursuit of survival. That is something you will never understand. And so, you will die.”
“Yeah? If you’re so powerful, why don’t you come and face me yourself?”
A low chuckle. “I am here. I see you, Malina. And I will finally witness your demise.”
The crowd closed in, the inky veins on their skin pulsing hungrily. They were going to attack me in force, and I’d fight. Of course I would. I was holding on to this power to save these people, but I’d end up killing them to save myself. I didn’t want to hurt them, but I would. I wanted to live. But there were too many of them…so many. Living may not be an option.
There was nowhere to run.
Garuda’s face flashed before my eyes. His last words echoed in my ears. Why hadn’t I told him how I felt? I’m sorry, babe. So sorry.
I closed my eyes.
The entity’s laughter smothered me, and the heat of the infected bodies closed in. But the beat of wings shattered the moment.
My heart leapt.
Garuda?
He swooped down, his massive body in full predator mode, talons at the ready. I held up my arms, and he scooped me up and away.
The entity’s scream ripped the night.
I buried my face in Garuda’s shoulder and inhaled him. That had been too close. She’d almost had me… I wrapped my legs around him, my fingers digging into his shoulder. I’d almost lost him again…could still lose him.
We landed softly in a belltower high above the dying city. Garuda pressed me up against the wall, his body morphing under my fingers. His hands were hot brands as they swept over me, checking for injury. Once satisfied I was in one piece, he fisted my hair and pulled back my head to look deep into my eyes.
Desire squeezed my heart and melted my core.
My lips parted. “Please…”
A growl tore from his throat and then his lips claimed mine, bruising, punishing. I dug my nails into his shoulders and sucked on his bottom lip before taking his tongue into my mouth. I tore at his jeans, unbuckling and yanking them down with his boxers, freeing him into my hand. He was huge, hard, and silken. I ran my thumb over the tip, wet and ready. Oh god, I needed him inside me. His chest rumbled as he pulled down my jeans and stood me up so I could kick them off. And then he was lifting me, his hands on my ass, as he entered me hard, fast, deep, and raw. He buried his head in the crook of my neck, his breath erratic as he ground into me. He fucked me with abandon, wiping away the stain of grief and dispelling the shadow of death. There was only the sensation of silken skin, the slap of flesh on flesh, and the escalating tightness at my core as I spiraled into oblivion.
The words surged up, tumbling from my lips in tiny gasps of pleasure.
“I love you, love you, love you…”
26
Ajitah
This was the stench of death. Familiar, almost like coming home, yet the disorder alarmed him. The bedlam on the bridge provoked nausea, which in turn made the ball of rage inside burn brighter. Ajitah fought, hand to claw. Fist to fang. It was the only way he knew how. The monsters fell under his attack, but there was no joy in it. No sense of triumph, only the satisfaction that the horde was being culled. He would fight until his last breath if it meant protecting those he loved—his boys and Malina. Yes, he still loved her, even though her heart belonged to another. His heart was its own mistress, and she was stubborn to a fault.
So he fought for Malina, too. Hoping and praying she was safe. That she succeeded in ending this threat. A blur of fur and fang came at him from the right. He pulled back his punch just in time.
The yaksha grunted. “Good to know you realize we’re all on the same side here,” Marco said.
“What happens in The Circle—”
“Stays in The Circle,” Marco finished. “Now let’s show these bitches what it means to fight.”
They dove back into the fray, allies against a common enemy, against the Kubera’s unnatural creations. Loki, Aaron, and Drake were somewh
ere to his left. The covens had sent their most formidable witches—some trained in battle magic, others merely there to act as defense and healing. The pop of gunshots, the fizz of magic, and the swish and thunk of blades cutting through the air before meeting flesh filled his head. Ajitah lost himself to the rhythm of destruction. He fought, blocking out the screams and the battle cries, and cut a swath through the sea of red shaitan.
They frothed at the mouth, eyes rolling in their heads. What kind of beasts were these? Humanoid yet completely feral. It felt wrong. As if some law was being broken. A shrill scream penetrated his fog of concentration. His head whipped around to see a flash of silk. He ran, ducking, shoving, and leaping until he reached his target. Three women wrapped in Indian robes stood pressed to the bridge barrier. Shaitan circled them, running forward, then leaping back, yet not attacking.
Then one swiped, his claws missing the tallest female’s body by a hairbreadth. Her companions screamed. Ajitah barreled into the shaitan like a bowling ball, knocking them aside to stand before the women, his body a protective barrier.
The women whimpered, and the shaitan snarled. There were too many of them. He could take them out, but not while protecting the women. Shit.
A bloodcurdling yodel split the air, and the shaitans’ heads rolled to the ground. The bodies fell and Kali stood there, her blades aloft, chest heaving. Her eyes went to the women behind him, who rushed forward, falling at the god’s feet.
“Kali Matha, protect us, we beseech you.”
Kali looked up at Ajitah. “Get these women to Indra. Now.”
There was no arguing with Kali. Ever.
Ajitah tugged on the nearest female’s arm. “Come with me. I’ll keep you safe.”
27
The flight back to Brahma Corp was uneventful but tense. I’d said the words, but he hadn’t responded in kind. In fact, he hadn’t acknowledged them at all. Had he heard? He must have heard. I hadn’t exactly been quiet. My neck heated with the reminder of what we’d done, how it had felt. It would only get better. I really didn’t want to die.