I had known that about Rowen, but trying to wrap my brain around the numbers wasn’t working. So I latched on to something else. “Why fight in mortal wars?”
“Why not?” He shrugged. “If life gets boring, all one has to do is go to the mortal world. They never stop fighting over there. Just pick a side and it keeps one busy for several years usually.”
“How does all of the fighting not get to you after a while?”
He gave me a look that plainly said, really? “I’m half-demon. I spent my early years with my mother, an Archdemon who is renowned for her cruelty. And you are worried what the mortals inflict on each other is going to bother me?”
Of course, what was I thinking? What sensible demon gave a crap about that kind of thing? I felt like an idiot for even bringing it up. “How do you pick a side then?”
“How you pick depends on why they are fighting. And it affects how you feel about the fighting as well. Some just toss a coin and join in. And then some of us join the side with the most valid reason for fighting, like the common man in France during the revolution. It’s easy to decimate the other side when the other side is the reason people are starving.”
His revelation shed a glimmer of light on the hardened man walking next to me. Caius didn’t seem to have a problem with killing; it didn’t appear to leave a mark on him. But if he chose sides like he said, then he didn’t just join wars for the fun of spilling blood. There was a purpose to it and, at least when it came to the French Revolution, that purpose was to end the starvation of a people who were tired of being told to eat cake when they had no bread.
That side of him stirred my curiosity. “Why did you help the Children during the war in Midtween?”
Caius sighed. “I tried to stay out of it. At first, the Children were holding their own. When the angel-bloods tried to take over the demonborn side of Midtween, they involved me. Rowen and I have known each other for a long time. He knows things about me that he could have exploited at any time and yet never has. I owed him for keeping his silence. When the Children started losing ground, I went to their aide.”
There was the cryptic reference to Caius’s past again. Knowing he wouldn’t tell me, I started to ask anyway. A distant howl killed the question before it came out. It wasn’t a normal howl, not something one would hear in the mortal world. It raised every hair on my body and sent an icy shiver down my spine. It was echoed by more howls and an assortment of screeches that were like nails on a chalkboard to my ears.
I looked wildly around, trying to find the source of the sounds, fear churning my stomach. The kitten hadn’t shown herself in hours and I hoped if she still followed, she would stay away for now. Whatever was coming would probably take out the kitten without even slowing down. A touch of anger rose in me. I was so tired of being afraid. Not like I could just shut off the fear though, so I was stuck with it. Caius grabbed my arm and broke into a run. I sprinted to keep up with him as he headed for the trees. The carnivorous, prey hunting trees.
When we made it to the deep shade, I glanced back. Though the howls and screeches still came, I couldn’t see what made them. The sun, hanging just above the low shadowy line of peaks on the horizon, couldn’t be missed. It was going down and we were headed into the forest.
There was no trail here and I scrambled through the underbrush behind Caius as he pushed deeper among the trees. It was darker under them, and as we crashed through another bunch of thick bushes, I noticed the base of a tree trunk beginning to glow. Down low, where the bark met the dirt, the purplish light streaked with red was easy to see.
I looked over my shoulder. The setting sun was completely hidden by the close growth. My steps didn’t slow or hesitate. I’d seen Caius turn demon and rip a whole bunch of scarabs to pieces. I’d seen him rip other demonborn to pieces. If he thought running amidst a bunch of killer trees was better than making a stand against whatever was coming, I wasn’t going to argue.
Sweat ran down the sides of my face as I dodged a thin branch from a bush that snapped back from Caius’s passage. The next one smacked me across the cheek like a whip. I could feel the welt growing but didn’t have time to worry about it. The shrieks and howls were getting closer and the luminescent glow was climbing higher on the tree trunks.
My breath came hard and I was covered in minor scratches and sweat by the time Caius halted deep in a thick grove of trees. I leaned over, my hands on my knees while I waited for my lungs to catch up. I finally managed to gasp out, “What’s coming?”
“Skraelix,” he answered.
I’d never heard of them, but it looked like I would get a lesson in short order.
Every tree within sight was fully engulfed in the glowing light. They were awake. The howls and screeches continued to close in, though some of the noises sounded like they were made in pain now. I straightened and glanced at Caius. The tattoos gleamed gold on his skin. I eyed the trees warily. “I’m guessing there was some strategic reason we ran into these woods.”
He didn’t look at me, his attention divided between the trees and the demonic noises coming at us. “There are a lot of lower level demons out there. The trees will attack anything. It will cut down on the numbers we have to fight.”
“You do realize we are part of the anything the trees will attack, right?” I panted and glanced nervously at the tree nearest me as the branches started to creak.
“It’s a risk we have to take.” His nails began to lengthen into sharp points.
I backed away; aware he was close to changing. My staff came to my hand almost as a reflex. Not flame, but white light. I wasn’t angry enough for flames. No, I was terrified. Any emotion could be used, what could I do with terror?
The first demons reached us and the trees whipped into a frenzy at the sudden movement. The forest around us exploded in the snapping and cracking of branches and the injured and dying screams of the demons.
In the eerie light of the trees, the demons that came at us looked like the twisted hybrids of more than one creature. No two looked exactly the same, though all had the body and legs of some sort of insect, a torso and head of a human, arms that were more pincers than anything, and long naked muzzles filled with sharp teeth instead of a human face. Like some sort of creepy twist on the centaur.
Caius roared as he morphed and jumped toward the first one to break past the trees. I took another step back. What the hell were these things supposed to be? More swarmed from between the trees. Several were snatched up by branches, their screams cutting through the air. Two slipped past the pissed off trees and Caius and charged straight for me.
I brought my staff up, fending them off and working to cut their scuttling insect legs from under them. More came at me. I gave ground as my staff blurred, desperation behind my moves. I had been trained to fight eaters, which rarely traveled in more than pairs and weren’t particularly intelligent. I wasn’t some badass warrior woman who could lay waste to any enemy that came at me.
There were so many insect people around me I could barely keep them away. A pair of jaws snapped near my face and I managed to bring my staff around, slicing the muzzle full of fangs in half. The thing screeched with a sound that curdled my blood as another lunged forward.
Desperate, I tried to bring my shield up. It flickered briefly and then was gone. A massive ball of indigo shadows slammed into the things surging toward me. Every creature within a thirty-foot radius of me lay dead while the after-effects of Caius’s power lingered across the ground like a web of blue smoke. Only the small circle of space where I stood remained clear.
A branch snatched me around the waist and lifted me high into the air, ripping a terrified scream from me. My arms and legs flailed as I kicked and hit uselessly at the branch. Below me, the Skraelix outside the circle of dead surged forward and crawled over one another in an attempt to reach me. Even in my panic, I couldn’t decide whether or not I wanted the tree to let me go. And then I was hurtling toward the trunk, smaller branches grabbed at my
hair, my clothes, and my skin.
A jagged maw opened on the trunk. The branches tightened until I could barely breathe. A new wave of terror rolled through me, sending my heart pounding at speeds that weren’t healthy for it. I grabbed for a power, I didn’t care which one, and came up empty.
***
“All plans fall apart in battle. A tree had just become my number one enemy.” ~Caius
Chapter 7
I was several feet from the gaping maw when the tree paused. Distracted momentarily by the insect people trying to climb its trunk, it turned its attention to them. Shaking all over, I grabbed the branch wound around my waist, the bark smooth against my palms, and tried to pull it away. At the same time, I tried to find some vestige of the fire I knew ran inside me.
The fire didn’t come. Something else did. It felt ancient as it rose inside me, rolled down my arms and through my hands. The tree shuddered and sighed. I closed my eyes and suddenly, I could feel the tree. I could feel the entire forest. It began to hum with energy.
A Skraelix’s pincer slashed through my lower leg. I cried out as the pain exploded through me. Caius’s enraged bellow echoed among the trees. Angry energy flared from the tree, from all of the trees. Hot blood soaked my boot. I struggled against the tree, needing to get to my leg and stop the bleeding. The branch loosened its hold, but didn’t let me go. Instead, it pulled me higher into the air. I gripped the branch tighter. My stomach lurched.
Dizzy, I stared in astonishment as every tree in view thrashed and tore at the creepy demon army. Only Caius was untouched by the trees as he stalked in my direction, killing the Skraelix with an efficiency I envied.
When the cracking of limbs stopped, only the fading cries of the dying demons remained. The tree that held me began to hum again, almost vibrating with energy and I got the odd feeling it was trying to soothe me. It could try all it wanted, there was nothing soothing about being held at least sixty feet in the air by a murderous tree.
It lifted me higher. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. My leg throbbed in time to the spinning in my head. The tree shuddered violently, the energy turning angry. I really didn’t want to open my eyes and see just how far I could fall should the tree decide to let go. I did anyway.
Caius, returned to his human form, stood before the tree that held me. He didn’t look at me. His gaze fixed on the tree and everything in his stance said he was prepared to rip it out by the roots. “You know I’ll not harm her. You can sense the connection. You also have enough intelligence to know better than to force my hand.”
A dizzying fog settled in my mind. My leg still bled, I was hanging the-gods-only-knew how high in the air now, and he was talking to a freaking tree. The branch around me loosened then tightened over and over as if the tree wasn’t sure what to do. I pleaded in my mind, “Please, just put me down.”
A scream burst from me as I hurtled toward the ground, only to be cut short when I stopped just before the forest floor. The branch around me unwound and I fell with a soft thump at Caius’s feet.
What in the nine hells just happened?
It was hard to think straight as my head spun. Unable to stop shaking, I scrambled to my feet and lurched away. Agony throbbed in my leg, blood still flowed into my boot, and I really didn’t care. I just wanted out of the damn forest even if I had to crawl out.
Caius gripped me around the waist with one arm and pulled me back against him. “Do you intend to bleed to death?”
If it got me out of the trees…
Still holding me tight with one arm, he forced his other wrist against my mouth. The scent of his blood filled my nostrils. With the back of my head pressed against his chest and trapped by his arms, I fought to keep the hot flow from getting past my lips. I was no match for Caius’s strength as he held his wrist pressed firmly against my mouth. My teeth scraped against his skin as I tried to turn my head.
His entire body went rigid as he sucked in a sharp breath and hissed, “Drink. We left with no replenisher. This will heal you.”
“Da bond!” My muffled protest came out around his wrist.
“Won’t get any stronger than it already is at this point. You’ve already taken more of my blood than you will now.” The irritated growl in voice was unmistakable. “Drink, Josephine. Now.”
Fine. Whatever. Not like he was going to give me a choice anyway. Stupid demonborn. I opened my mouth and gulped the hot, coppery liquid down. It was easier to take this time and didn’t taste as bad. It hit my stomach with the same fireball though. I quit drinking and groaned as my knees buckled.
Caius held onto me as the burning soaked into my tissues and rushed through me. My insides cramped and twisted, though not as bad as before. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead and I shivered. Thankfully, the convulsions didn’t come. The pain and inferno abated even as the rip in my calf continued to heal.
I managed to find strength in my legs again and stumbled away from him the minute he released me. Wiping my mouth, I turned to glare at him. The fire I’d been so desperate to reach before came easily. It crackled around the edges of my hands. “You could have asked.”
“Why? You were bleeding profusely.” Although the gold of his eyes was molten, he seemed unaffected by my flare of temper, which only irritated me more. “Would you have truly refused?”
“Of course not, but would it kill you to give me a choice in the matter?” I really didn’t want to die and I wasn’t sure my argument was even rational, but that didn’t change how I felt about it.
Caius frowned and crossed his arms. “You were close to passing out. You can’t drink if you aren’t conscious. There wasn’t a lot of time to debate it and you seemed more intent on trying to run off than addressing the issue of your leg.”
I wasn’t even sure why I was so angry with him. I felt all out of balance as I spat, “Next time, ask. I’m not stupid.”
The flames around my hands grew. The humming of the trees changed, turning ominous as their upper limbs started to creak and crack. Caius crossed the distance between us. “Get the fire under control. The Morrigan in you calmed the trees. Bringing demon power to the forefront is only going to piss them off.”
I glanced warily at the trees as I shook my hands, trying to make the fire go away. Since I wasn’t sure how I made it to start with, it was hard to put it out. Maybe I needed to start carrying a fire extinguisher around with me. “I can’t.”
The trees swayed and I could no longer hear or feel their energy. My inability to control my anger only fed it. I’d always had my emotions on lockdown, why couldn’t I control them now? I didn’t even have a good reason to be angry.
Caius took my hands. The pent-up fire bled into him as he absorbed it. The flames sputtered and died. When I tried to pull my hands away, he held on to them. I glowered at him. “The fire is out okay, the trees will calm down now.”
His gaze was steady on mine. “I’m keeping the fire from getting out of control. A fresh dump of demon blood is going to make your emotions unsteady for a short while. You still need to calm your anger.”
“I’m not angry,” I practically snarled at him.
“Jo, you have markings glowing on your skin. You are most certainly still angry.”
My shock was almost complete. His use of my name took the fiery wind right out of my sails. I could feel the markings fade as I said softly, “You called me Jo.”
A half-smile pulled up one corner of his mouth. “It would seem surprise is the key to calming your anger.”
I snorted then froze as he lifted a hand to my face, his thumb swiping across my lower lip. It came away red with the blood I had missed wiping away after he released me. My skin tingled where he touched me. The golden color of his eyes flared as he continued to gaze at me.
The memory of the last time our lips touched flashed through my mind and suddenly, I wanted him to kiss me again. Not to stop a firestorm, but because he wanted to. We were standing so close, it wouldn’t take much to…
; His other hand came up and mimicked the action of the first, wiping blood away from the other side of my mouth. This time, he didn’t pull away. His hand remained resting along my jaw as his fingers slowly curled around the back of my neck.
My insides quivered and I forgot to breathe as his face slowly lowered to mine. Unlike the last kiss, his lips were gentle when they touched mine. I melted as he slowly explored my mouth with his. A different kind of fire raced through me. One arm encircled me, pulling me tight against his body. My breath came ragged as, emboldened by the first kiss, I returned his exploration. For no other reason than I wanted to, I nipped at his lower lip.
Caius became perfectly still. Unsure of why, I looked up to find a storm raging in his eyes as he searched my face. With a frustrated growl, he let go of me and turned away running a hand through his inky black hair.
I wrapped my arms around myself. Rejection had been so imprinted on me since childhood, I felt instantly cast away. What had I done wrong? I had no experience unless I counted the first kiss, so it could have been any number of things, but nibbling his lip seemed to be what ended it. Was that a bad thing to do? I had no idea.
“I’m sorry.” I wasn’t sure for exactly what, but it seemed the thing to say.
Caius chuckled and shook his head. “You have nothing to apologize for, Jo. It is I who should apologize.”
Now I was really confused. “I don’t understand.”
He partially turned toward me, his gaze lingering on my lips. “I wish I could have ended that better, but when you…it started things you aren’t ready to finish. The demon in me limits the extent of my control, it was better to put space between us.”
“Oh.” I stared at the forest floor as heat crept over my face. At least it wasn’t me. No teeth, got it. Not unless I wanted to go a whole lot further. That idea made more heat infuse my cheeks to the point I thought I might spontaneously combust. I may not have any personal experience with sex, but I’d read plenty and had a good imagination. Too good at that moment.
Betrayed (Raven Daughter Book 2) Page 5