Darkness Taunts

by Susan Illene

  Then it occurred to me. What if there needed to be another circle of blood? Except in this case it would be sensor blood. If I could somehow drag Ian’s body around the demon, maybe that could contain him. I looked over at Stolas and Aeson and changed my mind. The cambion was being torn apart limb by limb—literally. He’d lost both arms and the demon was going for his legs next. I couldn’t stand by and watch without doing something.

  All my bullets were coated in my blood. Maybe that would help weaken the demon some. I ran up as close as I needed to get a good shot. I aimed my gun at the big guy’s head and pulled the trigger. It tore into his temple, but it didn’t do the damage my bullets usually did. I kept shooting, watching small chunks of him fly off. He jerked with each hit, which gave Aeson a chance to move away.

  Then the demon turned toward me and my heart skipped a beat. His eyes had turned a fiery red. He laughed at me and without bothering to look, threw his sword straight at Aeson. It hit him directly in the middle of his back. I had no idea what that sword was made of, but it killed the cambion on contact. A flash of guilt came over me for inadvertently breaking the circle that put him in danger. The giant demon coming at me didn’t allow me much time for further thought.

  I still had a few bullets. They went through his eyes and I felt a thread of satisfaction that they blinded him. He stopped and bellowed while cupping them with his monstrous hands. I took that opportunity to run. It only bought me a few seconds before he followed close behind. When Lucas flashed within feet of me I knew he had to have gotten that internal warning I was about to die. Knowing that made it a lot scarier than when you just thought you might die.

  I got far enough away that I felt safe to stop and look back. Worry over whether a nephilim could survive the same weapon that killed Aeson kept me from being able to go any farther. At least he was battle hardened enough not to panic like the cambion had done. Not that I could blame Aeson. He was never meant to be a fighter.

  Lucas thrust his sword into the demon’s neck and thick reddish-black blood spurted out. The demon’s eyes were growing back by now, though. Once his sight returned, the nephilim wouldn’t be able to get strikes like that so easily. I dropped the empty clip from my gun and slammed in another one. Maybe if I could keep shooting his eyes, Lucas could keep sticking his sword in whatever places the demon’s armor didn’t cover.

  I edged in a little closer until I reached the maximum effective range for my Sig. One good thing about the demon being almost two feet taller than Lucas was I didn’t have to worry as much about hitting the wrong guy. I started shooting the demon’s eyes again. He roared with rage and with one swing of his sword knocked Lucas fifty feet across the field. His body kept skidding for a while longer before I had to stop watching.

  The demon was blindly running in my direction. I headed a different way from him, but he cocked his ears and listened for my crunches in the snow. Moving faster than I could compensate for, he crashed into me like a freight train. My body went flying and hit something hard. I slumped to the ground, unable to feel anything. My lungs couldn’t even take in a breath. Only the pain in my head remained. When the blackness took me under, I couldn’t fight it.

  Chapter Forty-one

  My chest hurt. It felt like someone had pulverized it. I sucked in a deep breath and began coughing. Remnants of blood in my mouth and throat had gone down the wrong way. It had a strange flavor I hadn’t tasted before. I wanted to test out the rich flavor, but the coughing kept me occupied. I eventually opened my eyes to find Micah hovering over me. Lucas sat at my side looking paler than I’d ever seen him.

  “She’s back,” Micah said.

  My hand moved up my chest to find it completely exposed. They’d ripped my jacket, shirt, and bra down the middle. Two sticky pads were still attached to my skin. The lines ran to what I recognized as a portable defibrillator. Damn, he really had prepared for worse case scenarios.

  “What happened?” I asked. My memory was a little foggy on anything after the demon had come running at me.

  Micah shook his head. “You died. I had to do a combination of feeding you blood, CPR to get it moving, and shocking your heart back into rhythm. My guess is most of your internal organs were damaged when you crashed into the tree.”

  I gulped. I’d actually died. Most people got lights at the end of the tunnel. I didn’t get anything.

  “How long was I out?”

  “Approximately three minutes. I can move fast when the need arises.”

  I looked at Lucas. He still had a pallor to his skin that was worse than the way he’d appeared after we fought the demons at the restaurant. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “I am now,” he said in a scratchy voice.

  My senses slowly came back into focus. When they did I jerked to a sitting position and looked across the field. “Is that an angel fighting Stolas?”

  Micah glanced over in the direction of the battle. “For once, they came when we actually need them.”

  “Nearly too late,” Lucas said. “Those idiots up there must have known as soon as the demon arrived, but they let us fight it out first before stepping in.”

  I listened to them with half an ear. It wasn’t every day you got to see an archangel fight it out with a prince from hell. I was in awe of the beauty of the fight. The angel had a sword every bit as deadly-looking as the demon and knew how to handle it. His more effective weapon was his smiting. Holy crap. The brilliant flashes of light shooting from his hand had the demon down on his knees.

  Micah pulled the pads off my chest while I continued to watch. He closed the jacket over my breasts just as the angel plunged the sword into the demon and channeled the smite through the blade and into his heart. In a flash of brilliant red, the prince disappeared. I didn’t feel him die, but I guessed it was enough to send him back to where he came from. My senses picked up on the all the demons in the hosts’ bodies disappearing as well. They must have been tied to the prince somehow.

  The archangel extended his wings and lifted into the air. He turned in our direction next. My eyes rounded. Would I actually get to meet an angel?

  “Shit,” Micah said. “That’s Remiel, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is,” Lucas replied.

  “I’d tell you to run, but he’d find you.”

  Lucas looked at his brother. “I’m no coward. I failed to protect her and knew the consequences if that happened.”

  I pulled my jacket tighter, feeling embarrassed at the idea of being partly naked with an angel flying our way. For some reason, the cold snow I sat on didn’t bother me. I supposed after nearly dying my body was still in a state of shock.

  Remiel landed about ten feet from us. He looked out over the field where the rest of our people stood. They still guarded the humans not knowing they weren’t possessed anymore. I assumed the demons had the self-preservation to heal their hosts. Otherwise they would have bled to death by now from slashing their wrists to activate the circle.

  The archangel’s eyes glowed as he spoke. “All of you will leave now,” he ordered.

  I was pretty sure they didn’t have a say in the matter, judging by the compulsion he’d laid in his voice.

  Lucas drew my attention when he caressed my face. I turned to look at him and saw regret in his eyes. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my lips before I could ask what was wrong. The tingles flowed between us. I wanted it to last longer, but he pulled away.

  When Remiel looked at him, his fingers squeezed my hand. He stood and walked toward the angel. I had to give him credit. In the face of a being much stronger than him, he still managed to look arrogant.

  “Lucas of Pistiros,” the angel said, “you understand why I am here for you?”

  Rage filled Lucas’ eyes, but he nodded. “I do.”

  Remiel looked to the sky and I followed his gaze. Another angel, using some sort of invisibility magic, arrived with Zoe in his arms. He folded his brilliant wings when he landed. The female nephilim was in some sort
of chains that bound her powers. The angel who held her dumped her on the ground. She pulled her arms up enough despite the chains to brush her hair from her face.

  “Stand,” Remiel ordered her.

  She rose to her feet.

  “Do you understand why we’ve come for you today?” he asked.

  Her lips trembled. “I do.”

  “This is not the first time you’ve aided in the summoning of a demon to earth. For this crime, you will be sent to purgatory where the length of your sentence will be determined.”

  Remiel nodded at the other angel. “You may take her to the nearest gate.”

  Zoe was once again swept up into the angel’s arms. He took to the sky and flew away, cloaking them from human view. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about her for awhile. When Remiel’s gaze returned to Lucas my heart clenched.

  “As we negotiated through the cambion known as Aeson, your punishment for the killing of more than a dozen sensors, including their leader, Henrik Neilson was to protect each sensor we assigned you for the period of their natural life. For more than three centuries you have not failed in this duty, until now—however temporary that might have been. In addition to this, you and your brother used forbidden means to save the sensor we assigned you. These are all punishable crimes.”

  What did he mean forbidden means? I glanced at Micah, but he didn’t meet my eyes.

  Remiel moved toward me and Lucas blocked him. “No, don’t touch her.”

  The archangel flicked his wrist and froze the nephilim in place. “She will not be yours to protect any longer.”

  Then he went around Lucas and kneeled down next to me.

  “The punishment for ingesting nephilim blood is death,” he said. His eyes were fathomless and a little bit scary. “Under the circumstances, you could not have protested. I have also taken into consideration that one dose will have minimal affect on your body. You’ll be allowed to continue your existence, as well as Micah who participated, but neither of you will speak of the events that transpired here today. Do you understand?” He looked at us both.

  I nodded. It wasn’t like I had much of a choice if I wanted to live.

  Micah nodded as well.

  Remiel placed a palm on my chest. I gasped when what looked like sparks of light flew from me to him. It burned like fire. I tried to struggle, but he put his other hand down to hold me in place. When he finally moved his palm away I felt as if a hole had been torn in my chest. There was a big, gaping emptiness that hadn’t been there before.

  “It will take some time to adjust. We usually don’t do this until just before the sensor’s natural death.”

  “What did you do?” I asked in a whisper. The hollowness was causing a psychological pain I couldn’t begin to describe.

  “I unbound your soul from the nephilim’s,” he stated. Like that was a normal thing to do. “It is the reason you’ve felt a connection to him since you came into your abilities. We did this so that if you died, he would as well. Lucas has always needed more incentive than most to cooperate.”

  “What’s going to happen to him?”

  He gave me a wan smile. “That is not for you to worry about.”

  Remiel stood and faced Lucas. “Under the unusual circumstances surrounding the failure of your duty, I’ll allow others to decide your fate.”

  A flick of his wrist and chains similar to the ones Zoe had worn appeared on Lucas. It killed me to see him bound like that. “Until then, you’ll spend your time in purgatory. I’m sure your usual cell has been kept ready for you.”

  “No, wait.” I stood up. “How can you punish him when there’s no way he could defeat that demon?”

  Remiel glanced at me. “There are always choices, Melena. His priority should have been you.”

  “But I chose to stay and help here. That’s not his fault.”

  “As you’ve noted to yourself in the past, life isn’t fair.”

  I tried to run up and stop him, but he grabbed Lucas before I could get to him. His massive white wings flapped hard, taking them away into the sky. I watched until there was nothing left to see.

  Micah put a hand on my shoulder. “We must go, Melena. There is nothing left that we can do here.”

  His voice held a hint of the sadness I felt. “What will they do to him?”

  “I don’t know. Do you feel his mark on you now?” he asked.

  I furrowed my brows and searched for it. My senses didn’t pick it up the way they did everything else, but I realized it was there. Like the claiming everyone had described. It had a strong signature and just a tinge of Lucas was in it, though you’d have to have known him well to recognize it.

  “I feel it. Why am I able to now when I couldn’t before?”

  “You have his blood in you now. We took the chance because we didn’t believe vampire blood would be enough to bring you back. It altered you just enough that you’ll always be able to feel it so long as he lives. If that changes, you must let me know.”

  That was a small comfort. I stared up at the sky for a minute before letting Micah guide me back to the SUV. We found Fallon and Sayer waiting for us there. They gave us questioning looks, but neither of us had anything to say. We’d been given a reprieve, but it was a tenuous one.

  Epilogue

  I sat in the snow behind my house, drawing. It didn’t feel as cold as it used to. That was the only thing I’d noticed that was different about me since drinking Lucas’ blood. I tried not to think about him too much. Micah said chances were I probably wouldn’t see him again, but every day I woke up and checked to see if the claiming mark was there. It’d been two weeks and I still felt it.

  Emily worried about me. I cleaned the house every day until it practically sparkled and tried to improve my cooking skills. The quality of my food hadn’t improved so far, but maybe I’d get it figured out with more practice. Anything that could help pass the time. I hated sitting still too long without anything to do. It made me think of him. We’d barely begun to accept each other and heaven took him away from me.

  The other day the song “Angel” by Amanda Perez came on the radio. I broke down and had to shut it off. I even called the station and told them they shouldn’t play it again. They laughed at me and thought I was joking.

  My head turned in the direction of the house. I sensed Kristen coming down the road. What was she doing here? She had something with her, though it wasn’t anything I’d sensed before. We hadn’t talked since The Day. She’d lost her master and I’d lost the one man I’d ever cared about. We’d gotten rid of the demons—with the help of an angel I now hated—but the price had been too high. I’d thought saving Aniya had cost a lot, but I was wrong. No matter how bad you think life is, it can get worse. There is always one more thing that can be taken from you.

  Micah admitted to me after we left the battlefield that he’d only killed two of the three sensors he’d gone after. The one who got away was my father. Jerome was still out there somewhere. Maybe I’d go find him and put a bullet in his head. Not because it would make me feel better, but because he deserved it. Maybe one day the pain would go away. I knew when it did, though, that I wouldn’t be me anymore. I’d have turned into something else.

  Kristen walked up to me, her feet crunching in the snow.

  “Melena, aren’t you cold out here? It’s negative twenty degrees.”

  She was used to Juneau. I was sure the Fairbanks weather didn’t appeal to her too much.

  I looked up at her and shrugged. “It’s not so bad.”

  “You’re going to get pneumonia,” she said.

  “I doubt it. I haven’t gotten sick from doing it yet.”

  “You can’t do this to yourself,” she said. “I miss them too.”

  The pencil in my hand stopped moving. I hadn’t even noticed I’d still been drawing. A fully formed tree with all the details down to the edges of the bark appeared on my page. It was probably the best sketch I’d done yet of the stupid thing.

&nbs
p; “I don’t want to talk about,” I said.

  “I brought something for you. Whether you want it or not, it’s yours. Lucas and Aeson arranged it when they first contacted you and it arrived yesterday. It’s paid for and too late to give back.”

  That was a mouthful for not saying what this thing was. Couldn’t she have left off their names? I didn’t even like hearing them. It made me remember things that were best left forgotten.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “You’ll have to come inside and see.”

  “Fine.” I begrudgingly stood up. I couldn’t admit—even to myself—that I wondered what Lucas and Aeson could have possibly gotten me.

  We walked into the house together and I found Emily petting what looked like a lynx, except my senses didn’t pick up on animals and I could definitely detect this one. It was orangish-brown with black spots on its fur. I should have been sneezing by now.

  “Why would they get me a cat knowing I’m allergic?” I asked.

  She smiled. “This one is different. She’s hypoallergenic, or rather, she doesn’t produce the dander that would bother you.”

  “She’s a whole lot more than hypoallergenic. She’s supernatural,” I said.

  “Yeah,” Kristen admitted. “I’d never seen one of these before moving to Aeson’s. They are shape-shifting animals the fae breed up in their cities. He and Lucas paid a fortune to get her for you. She can turn into any breed of cat.”

  My lips twitched. “They spent a fortune on a joke.”

  “I don’t think you understand,” she said. I could tell she was getting frustrated with me. “She’s spent the first five years of her life being trained, and she’s just now old enough to bond with someone. They sent one of your shirts with your scent on it to the breeder so she could sleep with it for a few weeks before coming here. So long as you keep trying to bond with her, she’ll become loyal to you. She can fight in most of her forms and can understand most commands.”