by Larissa Ione
“We’re here,” Eidolon murmured. “We’ll help you.”
“No.” Wraith coughed, spraying blood. “Serena. Help… her.”
“She’s okay, man. Right now, we need to take care of you.”
“Promise… me.”
Shade’s raw curses blistered the air, this time in plain English.
“Promise.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Shade muttered. “Just relax. I need you to relax.”
Eidolon and Shade exchanged glances. “I have to remove the blade,” Eidolon said.
“He’ll bleed out.”
“I know. We need to get blood into him.”
“I’ll start a central line.” Shade dug through the medical bag he’d brought with him and quickly inserted a catheter into Josh’s neck. Eidolon hung up a bag of blood from the door handle, and Shade connected it via a long tube to the catheter. When he’d finished, he set up another bag of blood, connected a tube to it… and held it out to Serena. “I need you to feed this to him.”
She recoiled. “What?”
“Just hold the tube to his mouth. He needs to drink.”
Oh, God, this was such a nightmare. “I don’t understand.” She still hadn’t moved, and her reluctance earned a glare from both of the demons.
“He’s a vampire,” Shade snapped. “We need to get blood into him however we can. Now, do it or he dies.”
Vampire? But he’d warned her about them. And he was warm. Had a heartbeat. Walked in the sun. He couldn’t be a vampire.
“You a vampire?”
“Yep.”
Okay, so he’d admitted to it, but… she shook her head. This was crazy. Shade cursed. “Never mind.” He propped the bag of blood against Josh’s shoulder and inserted the tube into his mouth, but it kept falling out. The bag fell over.
“I’ll do it,” she said finally, and held the tube between Josh’s pallid, dry lips. He didn’t suck, didn’t move.
“Squeeze the bag.” Shade’s deep voice was rough, his tattoo glowing.
She did as he said, and blood flooded the tube. She watched with morbid curiosity as it flowed into Josh’s mouth… and dripped out the other side. He wasn’t swallowing.
“Dammit,” Eidolon breathed. “Come on, Wraith. Fight. Damn you, I don’t want to lose you now.”
Serena’s eyes stung. She might hate Josh—she just couldn’t think of him as Wraith—for what he’d done, but he’d asked his brothers to help her when he was facing more immediate danger, and she didn’t want to watch him die. Some twisted part of her still loved him. Leaning close, she brushed her lips over his cheek.
“Please,” she whispered. “Drink.” She stroked his lips, squeezing a little more blood between them. His mouth opened ever so slightly, just enough to encourage her. “That’s it. Take some.”
His brothers worked frantically, barking out status reports and commands to each other, and the squishy noises of surgical gloves working in blood and flesh made it all so horrific. Eidolon had somehow closed up one of the stab wounds, but now he was using a scalpel to open up the other one even more.
“Manage his pain, Shade.” Eidolon put down the scalpel. “This is going to hurt.”
Shade’s tattoo glowed even brighter as Eidolon pushed his hand inside the opening he’d made. Stomach rolling, Serena turned away. Still, the wet sounds kept her imagination working overtime. Their hushed medical-speak sounded so bad, so discouraging, almost as if they’d already resigned themselves to the fact that Josh wasn’t going to come out of this.
He still hadn’t drank. “Swallow, Josh. Come on.” Gently, she stuck her finger in his mouth, unsure what she was doing, but needing to do something. He was a vampire, right? So he should have fangs… she found a sharp point, remembered how they’d felt in her dreams. Had she had the dreams because she’d subconsciously known what he was?
It was a question for later. Right now she needed to get him to drink, and she knew those fangs were the key. In her dreams they were huge, much larger than what they felt like now. Carefully, she rubbed the tip of her finger along the length of one, from the tip to the gum… and… was it lengthening?
Josh moaned and opened his mouth. Yes, his canines were definitely descending, growing into monstrous daggers. God, how could she be feeling so many things at once—hatred, confusion, fear—and, at the same time, be a little… turned on by this?
“That’s it,” she murmured, as she squeezed some blood onto his tongue. “Swallow. I need you to swallow, okay?”
The blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. Dammit. Sliding her finger down his tooth, she caressed the razor point… and applied pressure. She tensed, felt the prick of his fang and the welling of blood on her fingertip.
“Take it,” she whispered, letting a drop fall to his tongue.
He jerked like he’d received an electric shock, and then, to her relief, he closed his mouth, drawing her finger inside. She remained still, and when he began to suckle, the world drifted away in a swirl of pleasure.
One of the brothers swore softly and said her name, but no one interfered. Somehow, she kept the presence of mind to squeeze more blood out of the bag and into his mouth. In a matter of seconds, he was sucking greedily, and she swore the heavy shroud of despair that had settled in the room lifted.
She fed Josh until the first bag of blood was gone, and then Shade showed her how to hook up another bag to the tube. She lost track of how much he drank, lost track of time. All she knew was that at some point, she fell over, and when she opened her eyes, dark spots swam in her vision. Eidolon was peering down at her, his expression a mask of concern.
“Josh,” she whispered. “Is he—will he—”
“He’s going to be fine. I’ve put him to sleep to finish healing. Now it’s your turn. He didn’t take much blood from you, but there’s your other issue.…”
She struggled to sit up, realized someone had put her on the bed. “I’m fine.” She shoved him away.
“I’m a doctor. I know you’re not fine.” His voice was firm but soothing, and she let him push her back on the bed. “I also know a lot has happened in the last few days, and I know you’ve been hurt. Wraith will never forgive himself for what he’s done.”
“Good,” she muttered.
“You saved his life. And you knew you were sacrificing your own life to do it. We owe you. I’m going to do what I can for you, okay?”
She shook her head. “I was bitten by a Mara that’s now dead. My disease is terminal.”
“Yes.” So blunt, so like the doctors she’d remembered from years ago.
She studied Eidolon’s scrubs, the strange medical — symbol—a bat-winged dagger encircled by two serpents—he wore on a chain around his neck. “You do have some sort of new age medical center, right? You said you’ll do what you can…”
“I can make you comfortable, and I can give you a little more time, but… I’m sorry, Serena. You’re going to die.”
Wraith was really freaking tired of waking up feeling like he’d gone a round with King Kong. He’d have thought the charm would have ended that—
Serena!
He sat up so fast his head nearly fell off. It took him a second to figure out where he was—in one of the rooms in the Aegis safe house. He swung his bare legs over the side of the cot, only to have hands push him back down.
Shade was right there in his face. “Whoa. Just relax. You’re going to fall on your ass if you don’t take it easy.”
“Serena,” he croaked.
“Sleeping.”
“How… long?”
“You’ve been out a few hours. E and I have been taking turns staying with you. Tayla’s here. And Gem. Luc. Kynan. Reaver. Our other brother, but he’s in chains. He’s also a total dick. You’ll like him.”
Wraith shook his head, but that did little to clear it. “Why? What’s going on?” Wait, did he say, other brother?
Eidolon came in wearing his trademark gloomy expression, which meant bad news. Wr
aith vaguely remembered him in scrubs earlier, but now he was in tan cargoes and a plain black tee, which was as casual as he ever got. “We have a situation.”
“Serena?”
“Not with her.”
“Then I don’t care.” Wraith jackknifed upright again. “She’s sick. If you can’t help her, I need to find someone who can.”
“It’s not going to matter if we don’t handle the Byzamoth problem.”
A low, rumbling growl erupted from Wraith before he could stop it. “I’m going to rip his throat out with my teeth.”
“Good. It needs to happen now.” Eidolon ran a hand through his hair, which stuck up in wild tufts, as if he’d been doing that all day. “He’s going to use the amulet he took from Serena and your blood to open up a gate between Heaven and Sheoul.”
“Ah… that’s bad.”
“You think?” Shade drawled.
Eidolon put his fingers to Wraith’s wrist, checking his pulse. “Reaver said he’ll make his move at dawn.”
“Where?”
“Jerusalem,” Shade said. “The Temple Mount.”
Made sense. If Byzamoth was going to pull off something like that, the Temple Mount was the place to do it. Many humans and demons alike believed the Foundation Stone, which was housed at the Temple Mount inside the Dome of the Rock, was where creation had begun and where Armageddon would kick off.
Wraith took his arm back from E. “I’ll go after him.”
“Not alone.” E tossed him a pair of jeans. “The Aegis is mobilizing. Every cell that can arrive in Jerusalem by dawn will be there, as well as the R-XR and every sister paranormal military unit in the world.”
Wraith came to his feet and pulled on the pants. “Sounds like you don’t need me.”
“Byzamoth can’t be defeated without you.” Tayla stood in the doorway, dressed for battle in leather—a dark red color that many demon species couldn’t see, and hair pulled into a ponytail. “Underground rumblings indicate that he’s mobilized his own army. The Aegis might not be able to get through his horde to get to him.”
“But I’m charmed and they can’t touch me.” Not unless the army was made up of fallen angels.
“Exactly. Kynan and I have been coordinating our attack plan with that of The Aegis and military units. We need you to at least keep him from performing the ritual until we can get to him.”
“And what are you going to do when you get there? News flash, slayer; he’s immortal.”
“We’re going to do the same thing you are. Hurt him. Keep him from performing the ritual and take the amulet back. According to Reaver, he’s got only a few minutes to open the gate.” She grinned. “Besides, The Aegis does have a few tricks up its sleeve. So keep him busy until we get there.”
“You won’t need to get to him,” Wraith swore, “because I’m taking his fucking head off. Even immortals have issues with decapitation.” He swung around to E. “Now tell me about Serena.”
“Wraith—”
“Now.”
E and Shade exchanged glances, and Wraith braced himself for the worst. “You know she’s dying.”
“Yeah. Fix it.” Shade moved toward him, but Wraith backed up, unable to bear any touch but Serena’s right now. And he knew damn good and well she wouldn’t be touching him. She hated him. She had to. “How… how is she?”
Eidolon gave a dismal shake of the head. “Her disease is irreversible, and it’s progressing fast.”
Wraith felt like he’d been stabbed in the gut. Again.
“I’ve given her something for the pain, and Shade’s been getting inside and forcing her organs to work optimally, but the effects of both are temporary. It’s only buying her time and making her more comfortable.”
“We traded places,” Wraith murmured, rubbing his chest where he could already feel the loss. “What am I going to do without her?”
“I’m sorry, bro,” Shade said, but Wraith held up his hand, not wanting to hear it. Hearing it would make it real.
He brushed past Tayla and came to an abrupt halt at the sight of a dark-haired male sitting in the hallway, his arms and legs bound in Bracken Cuffs—chains used by the Judicia to negate a demon’s abilities while in custody.
The dude was wearing leather pants and boots, but no shirt.
His dermoire appeared to be faded, but it was an exact replica of the markings Wraith and his brothers wore, minus their individual signs. And he had a strange, palm-shaped burn scar over his heart.
Wraith didn’t know what the hell was up, but right now, he really didn’t care.
Serena could have very little time left, and Wraith wasn’t going to waste a single minute.
Chapter 26
Serena was in the bathroom when she heard the bedroom door open. Her heart gave a great thump at the whisper of feet on the floor. Maybe it was Eidolon or Shade coming to do whatever they were doing to make her feel better when they touched her. It was about that time. She was growing weak again, and the pounding in her head was making her vision blur.
“Serena?”
Oh, God. Josh. Maybe if she didn’t say anything, he’d go away.
“Serena. Come out.” There was a long pause. “Please.”
She couldn’t face him. She was still too angry, too hurt, too damned conflicted. She stood there at the sink, quietly studying her face, the dark circles under her glassy, red-rimmed eyes, her strawlike, mussed hair, her sallow complexion. God, she really was dying.
What an unbelievably stupid thing she’d done.
Closing her eyes, she bowed her head. No, not stupid—if Josh could retrieve the amulet and save the world. Except… he was a demon. Why would he want to save the world? And if he did want to get the amulet, would he keep it for himself?
She banged her head on the mirror. Stupid. Bang. Stupid. Bang. Stupid!
She’d fallen hard for him. An incubus who had probably used his sex demon tricks on her. Thing was, he hadn’t even seduced her with smooth lines and pretty talk. No, he’d done it by protecting her from danger, being nice to cats, and giving her out-of-this-world orgasms. He’d done it by being rough and tough, with a touch of sweet. But how much had been an act?
She heard a sigh, a shuffling of feet, and a door closing. She waited another minute. Cautiously opened the bathroom door.
Only to see Josh sitting on the floor, back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. He was wearing jeans but nothing else. Even his feet were bare. His broad, thickly muscled chest heaved with the force of his breaths, and lower, his chiseled abs bore no signs of injury.
“You look pretty good for a guy who got run through with a magical sword and almost died.” The words were casual, but what she felt for him was not, and she prayed he didn’t hear the emotion in her voice.
“You saved me.” He didn’t look at her. “I can still… taste you.”
“Because you’re a vampire.” She snorted. “And a demon. Let’s not forget that minor detail.”
A shudder shook his body, and he closed his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Yeah? That’s all you have to say?” She cursed, a nasty, base word she’d never used. “Was anything you told me about your life true?”
He finally looked at her. “Too much of it, actually.”
“Tell me more.” She crossed her arms across her chest, wondering why the hell she was bothering, why she had this crazy need to understand him.
“Serena, you don’t want to hear.”
Anger lit her like a match. “I gave you my life, Wraith, so you can damned well tell me about yours.” He flinched, and she almost felt sorry for him. Almost. “Give me all of it. Starting from the beginning.”
He rubbed his eyes, and when he was done, he looked at his lap, shoulders hunched. And there she went feeling sorry for him again.
“You’re right. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He ran his hand up and down his chest, as though it hurt. It was a long time before he said, “My dad had the same gift Shade has—he can manipul
ate bodily functions. He found a woman who was on the verge of being turned into a vampire… she’d done the blood exchange and was just about to die when he raped her. Used his gift to keep her in that in-between human and vamp state for nine months, raping her over and over while I grew inside her. He left when she gave birth to me and by then she’d gone insane.”
Wraith spoke rapidly, the words coming so fast Serena barely had time to be shocked. And still, he kept his head bowed, his hair falling forward so she couldn’t see his expression.
“She gave me to a wet nurse until I was five, and then she put me in a cage and turned my nurse into a vampire while I watched. She spent the next fifteen years torturing me. Torturing humans and demons in front of me. When I turned twenty, I went through the first of two maturation cycles. I needed sex or I’d die. My mother shoved a prostitute into the cage… I was crazed with need…” His voice cracked, but his head came up to fix her with a penetrating stare. “I took her, and I didn’t wait for her consent.”
“Oh, my God.”
“I warned you.”
He had. But she needed to hear more. “Go on.” When he hesitated, she put her hand on his knee out of some crazy need to comfort him. “What happened?”
“The prostitute was just doing her job, right?” His voice was hollow. Dead. “That’s how I’ve always justified what I did. Sometimes, the lie even works.” A flicker of emotion passed over his face, disgust, she thought, but then he looked down and she couldn’t read him anymore. “The next time my mother put a female in with me, I refused her, even though I knew it meant I could die. My mother tortured the girl in front of me for hours, until she finally bled out. The next time a woman was put in the cage, I did what I needed to do, but by then I had learned to use my gift. She thought she was doing her boyfriend on the beach.”
“What gift?”
“I can get inside the mind, read thoughts, trick people into thinking things that didn’t happen. I can give them nightmares.” His head came up. There was a challenge in his eyes, as though he expected her to get violent with him. And wanted it. “Or dreams.”
She inhaled sharply. “The dreams I had. Of you… it was you.”