by Susan Illene
Relief hit me when his eyes cleared. He’d won the latest battle.
“He said…something…about a park? And a circle.”
I glanced at the doorway. Micah’s low voice carried as he spoke to someone—probably on the phone since Lucas remained quiet.
I smiled at Garrett. “You’ve done really well. Is there anything else important that he said?”
He shook his head slowly. “Nothing…you want to hear. It’s all…mean stuff.”
“Okay, give me a few minutes and we’ll see about making the demon go away.”
He nodded. Fear had returned to his eyes, but there was a hint of bravery too. He’d make for a strong man someday if this incident didn’t mess him up too much.
I stepped out into the corridor. Lucas indicated for me to follow him. He led me to another room a little ways down and shut the door behind us. The only thing inside was a table, chair, and a medic bag. He went straight for the bag.
“Take off your jacket and roll your sleeve up.”
I hung the leather jacket on the chair and rolled my sleeve.
When he broke open a package with a syringe I felt my blood pressure rise. I hadn’t even known I’d developed a fear of needles until that moment. Memories of Ian coming at me over and over with a syringe full of drugs flashed through my mind. I collapsed in the chair and clenched my eyes shut.
It wasn’t the same thing. It wasn’t the same thing.
“Melena, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head and held out my arm. Lucas had to take my blood. We couldn’t let the demon know it was mine we’d be using just in case he could somehow pass that information along. I knew this, but it didn’t make it any easier.
“Just hurry and do it.”
He put a band around my arm first. I felt his warm fingers graze my skin. When had he learned to handle a needle? Maybe I didn’t want to know.
“Are you sure you can handle this?” Lucas asked.
“Yes,” I said through clenched teeth. My stomach was roiling.
He ran his fingers through my hair and the sick feeling lessened a little. I barely felt the prick of the needle when it went in. Lucas wasn’t known to be gentle, but he made it as quick and painless as possible.
The sound of the bag being zipped back up reached my ears. “It’s done. You can open your eyes now.”
I lifted my lids slowly and saw he’d put everything away except the vial of blood he held in his hand. That didn’t bother me. The needle had been the problem.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Stay here. I’ll take care of the boy and come back when I’m done.”
“No.” I stood up. “The boy trusts me more. You’ll just scare him again.”
“He’ll get over it once the demon is gone.”
“Lucas, please. Let me do this.”
His jaw hardened. “I don’t want you near him while that thing is inside of him.”
I sighed. “I’ll be fine. He’s chained up and can’t do anything.”
“Very well. I’ll allow this, but I will go in with you.”
“If that will make you feel better.” It was just an eight year old kid with his wrists and feet chained to a wall. You’d think I was going to face a ninja assassin or something.
“It will,” he said.
I rolled my sleeve back down and put the jacket on. No need to tip the demon off—plus it was cold down in the basement. I had goosebumps running up my arm where it had been exposed.
We headed back to the room with the boy. He looked up when we entered and the fear amped up with Lucas coming in behind me. Poor kid. I remembered the first time I’d seen Lucas at eighteen years old and he’d scared the crap out of me. There was no telling what it did to a child. If I hadn’t seen that he could be gentle firsthand, I wouldn’t have believed it possible.
Lucas handed me the vial. I took the lid off and lifted it up for the boy to see. “You’re going to have to drink this, okay?”
“Will it…taste bad?” he asked.
I stepped closer. “Not too bad. Now open your mouth wide.”
Garrett hesitated. The demon was trying to rise up.
“Hurry,” I urged, “before he hurts you again.”
His jaw shook as if he was fighting to move it. I waited until his mouth was halfway open before shoving the open end of the vial into his mouth. The blood drained out fast, but some started to leak out between his lips. I pulled it away. Lucas stepped up and forced the boy’s jaw closed.
“You have to swallow,” I said.
Garrett looked from me to Lucas. His body started shaking hard and the chains rattled loudly. The demon was gathering power to rise up. Lucas grabbed the boy’s nose and pinched it closed.
“Swallow, Garrett. Do it before the demon wins.”
His throat worked a little. Then a little more. All the while he kept shaking, until it suddenly stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief. There was no trace of the demon’s presence anymore.
“It worked,” I said.
Lucas let go of the boy and backed away. “Are you certain?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Can we get him out of these chains before he wakes up?” I asked.
“Of course.” He pulled out a key and began to unfasten them.
Micah came in.
“Do you think it was the same park you visited, Melena?” he asked.
I shrugged. “It could be, but the sensors said they were taking care of it.”
“What did Aeson want?” Lucas asked his brother.
“He said Zoe stopped by his home earlier. The protective spells he has around his house kept her out—barely, but he’s worried about why she’s here now.”
“That woman has always been trouble,” Lucas muttered as he released the last chain.
He caught the unconscious boy before he hit the floor and picked him up. We followed him out of the room.
“Who is Zoe?” I asked.
Micah glanced at me. “She’s another nephilim. A rather power hungry one we’ve had troubles with in the past.”
My feet froze. Voices from what I’d thought was a dream ran through my mind. I couldn’t remember everything, but I remembered how strange it was to sense a female nephilim.
“Is she a little over three thousand years old?” I asked.
Both men halted and turned back toward me. Lucas handed the boy’s body over to Micah and stepped closer. “Have you seen her before?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t see her, but I heard her voice. I thought it was a dream. They had me drugged so much I couldn’t tell the difference. She was talking to one of the sensors. I couldn’t believe it was real after they harassed me so much over you. She had a wicked laugh. I remember that much.”
Lucas glanced at his brother. Their expressions were grim.
“It sounds like her,” Micah said.
“But why would she be with the sensors?” I asked.
“Henrik Nielson was one of her lovers,” Lucas said. “She’s always had a fascination with the men of your race.”
The pieces fell into place. “Lucas, she knows what I am and she knows about us.”
He looked at Micah. “We need to get her away.”
I shook my head. “No, you’re not pulling that again. We have,” I pulled my cell phone out to check the time, “less than sixteen hours before that circle gets activated. I talked to Charlie about the symbols I drew. One of them represents a demon prince named Stolas. He thinks all the demon possessions are happening so they can draw enough power to bring Stolas over from hell. It will take a sensor to stop him from coming. You can’t send me away.”
Lucas’ jaw clenched. “Melena, we can’t risk it. I need you to cooperate with me on this.”
“No, I’m staying,” I said. “I let you send me away last time, but this time I can’t leave. The only way you’re making me go is against my will.”
We both knew what that meant. If
he took my free will away, he’d be punished for it. After seeing how his nightmares affected him, I didn’t want that to happen, but I couldn’t let him send me away again.
Micah walked up still holding the kid. “I’m asking you to reconsider. You don’t understand what the consequences of this would be if something happened to you.”
I crossed my arms. “Then tell me.”
Lucas shook his head at Micah. “We can’t. You shouldn’t have told her what the dreams were about.”
“You can’t tell me or won’t?” I asked.
“Can’t,” Lucas replied.
I threw my hands up in the air. “Well, I’m sorry because whatever it is, it can’t be worse than the amount of innocent lives that will be lost if we don’t work together to stop this demon from coming. We had to kill too many as it was at the restaurant. I really don’t think Zoe would kill me anyway. She seemed perfectly content to let Jerome send me back to that compound in Idaho.”
“Come,” Lucas grabbed my arm. “We have a lot to do before then if you’re going to be staying with us.”
Micah shifted the kid in his arms. “I’ll just see about settling this kid at Aeson’s until we can contact his parents.”
“You do that,” Lucas said.
Chapter Forty
We stationed a few scouts at all of the local parks large enough to be used for a summoning circle. I figured it had to be a big one for a demon prince. Most of the sups waited a short distance away from Cope Park where we thought it was most likely for the big event to happen.
The circle I’d felt before was still there. We’d checked the place over earlier in the day. It should have been disbanded if the sensor group had really been doing their job. Between that and discovering Zoe was real, I’d come to realize they’d always said ‘deal with the demons’. Not send them back. They also said they’d ‘take care of the circles’. Not break them. It hadn’t bothered me before, but now I saw their wording for what it was—a way to avoid lying.
I’d made sure no one from our side got within a quarter mile of the park. If the sensors were a part of this, I didn’t want to tip them off. I could only assume they used the humans in their group to activate the circles since their blood couldn’t have done it.
Lucas, Micah, Aeson, Fallon, Sayer and I were piled into a large SUV waiting just outside the perimeter I’d mapped out. We didn’t park near the road going into the park to reduce the risk of the sensors getting too close to us. It was several hours after dark when I felt them arrive. They came through a route far enough away so they didn’t pick us up. I wasn’t surprised about who came with them, either.
“The sensor group is pulling into the park now,” I said. “Zoe is with them.”
The tension in the vehicle ratcheted up several notches. Lucas pulled the SUV out and headed toward the park. Everyone did a last minute check of their weapons as we drove. I had asked them to get me extra magazine clips and ammo. When I woke up after a nap I’d taken between preparations, it’d all been waiting for me—along with a bag I could strap over my shoulder to put everything in. I had the herbs in there, too.
The rest of Aeson’s people fell behind us in their vehicles as we converged on the road leading into the park. The sensors hadn’t been there more than five or six minutes to start doing whatever they planned. I couldn’t tell any difference in their movements once we got within their range.
Once we entered the parking lot, I began to get the sick sensation that let me know demons were nearby—a lot of them. More than I’d ever sensed before. Many of the parking spaces were already taken by the previous arrivals, but we put our vehicles wherever we could. I got out and gathered with the large group that had formed. Aeson and Lucas gave out last minute orders.
I started handing out small chunks of the sage to select individuals. They all knew to have a lighter with them. The goal was to kill as few hosts as possible. I wished I’d considered using it back when the restaurant battle had gone down, but the sheer number that arrived that night caught us all off guard. We’d expected the much smaller numbers that had come before.
Some of our guys headed off right away so they could get around to the other side of the circle. Lucas, Micah, Aeson, and I moved past the tennis courts and toward what looked to be a baseball field, though snow covered it now. Taking up much of the open area was the circle. I felt it thrumming as at least sixty demon hosts stood around it. As we got a little closer, I saw they’d slashed their arms.
“Lucas,” I said, grabbing him, “they’re feeding the circle their blood and power. We have to stop them.”
He let out a shrill whistle. The final command to converge on the circle. There were only fifty of us against them, but I could feel the panic of the sensors as I got closer. They hadn’t expected us.
I stopped to light up my sage and dashed forward again. Lucas stayed by my side as I reached within ten feet and tossed it toward the demon hosts. With all the other supernaturals doing the same, the hosts broke ranks and ran. The trick for most of our group was to keep them contained until we could work out a way to rid their bodies of the demons. They’d already drained enough of their blood that they felt considerably weaker.
A couple of them went past us, but they didn’t try to fight. The proximity of the sage still had them scrambling. With them out of the way I could get a better view of the circle itself. When I did, my blood ran cold. A young human woman lay in the middle wearing nothing but a t-shirt and jeans. Both of her arms were slashed open. Her blood pooled on the snow on either side of her. She should have been feeling terror, but I couldn’t detect anything from her. She let out a last shuddering breath and a shock wave of power hit my senses.
I closed my eyes and gripped my head.
“It’s been activated,” I managed to say.
The power grew, pulsing through my body. I couldn’t move to break it. The sheer strength of it blinded me and brought me to my knees. Even with my eyelids scrunched tight, the bright red flash of light penetrated them. A moment later everything grew quiet. A demon a hundred times more powerful than any of the hosts had come through.
I opened my eyes and took my first look at him. He’d arrived using a human form, but it was a massive human form. He had to be at least eight feet tall with broad shoulders and muscles that would make most body builders look small. His hair was jet black, and his skin was a light brown. He wore a set of silver armor over his chest and legs, but his arms were left bare. The sword he held in his left hand had to be four feet long.
Lucas and Micah, who stood beside me cursed. Could a demon this powerful kill a nephilim? I didn’t know. I looked for Aeson and saw him about twenty feet away with a stunned expression on his face. Beyond him, the demon hosts sat on the ground looking weak, circled by our guys. They’d managed to round them up after they had gotten far enough from the burning sage. The stuff the fae grew must have been better than the normal herb because I’d expected it to be dying out by now.
Between the sage and the circle still being closed, it occurred to me the demon couldn’t get out yet. At the other end of it, Zoe stood in a billowing-white dress with a reverent look on her face. Her strawberry-blond hair flowed behind her. She was tall and beautiful with porcelain skin that had a golden undertone. When she started to move forward I stood up.
“Lucas, we have to stop her from breaking the circle. If we can keep it in place, Stolas can’t get out.”
“Micah, watch Melena,” Lucas ordered.
He disappeared. I saw him resurface in front of Zoe and slash at her with his sword. She moved, but not fast enough to avoid getting grazed by the blade. She flashed a short distance away and pulled her own sword out of a sheath attached to her belt. She’d come prepared too. It was impossible to follow the battle between the nephilim after that. They flashed all over the place. Well, Zoe did and Lucas followed her. I didn’t think she had much fighting experience, which gave the younger of the two the advantage.
Up to this
point, the group of sensors had been at the edge of the field. There were only four of them now since Lucas had killed the one who’d transported me to the ferry. They moved together toward the circle. They’d be the next to try and break it.
I grabbed Micah. “We have to stop them, but we need to keep at least one alive. It will take sacrificing a sensor to send Stolas back.”
He grabbed me and moved at warp speed over to the sensors. They saw us and took off running in different directions. Crap. Micah dropped me off close to Ian and moved for the others. At least he trusted me to do this much on my own. I pulled my gun and aimed. Ian tried running the other way, but I managed to shoot him in the side. He stumbled, gripped the wound, and kept going. I ran until I closed the distance enough for another shot. That one nailed him in the shoulder.
It didn’t occur to me until too late what he was doing. Just as I took the third shot and hit him square in the back, he fell into the circle. His blood soaked in and the thrum of power that had kept it going went down. Shit. The sage had died down to embers. It wasn’t enough to hold a demon that strong.
Stolas grinned at Aeson and went straight for him. No. This could not be happening. I didn’t know what could kill a cambion, but I figured if it worked the same as with the nephilim, then Aeson would be a dead hybrid in no time.
Lucas and Zoe had disappeared, though I sensed them somewhere in the woods. Micah had killed one of the sensors. He appeared to be going after Elden next, but he was too far away for me to call out to him. Fallon and Sayer, the next most powerful sups we had were busy holding the hosts together. I considered the witches, but didn’t know what they could do since they were already trying to keep any stray humans away.
Ian’s body lay a short distance from me. He was still alive but his uneven breaths said he didn’t have much longer. I wasn’t even sure how to sacrifice a sensor to send a demon back. Did you feed the guy to them? Would he willingly eat him? Sometimes Charlie’s useful tips weren’t so useful.