“I knew it.” Alex shook her head. “I told you this wasn’t Carolyn’s fault. You rejected the shadow, so it overwhelmed you.”
“So you did this?” Eden said, breaking free of Bes’tal’s grip. “Faked the spell so you could sacrifice me? For what? To make him stronger so he can kill the rest of you?”
“He won’t.”
They turned to Jules.
“What?” Eden said.
“He won’t kill any more of us if we let him have you.” Jules stared at the ground.
“Oh, Jules.” Even Alex was aghast. “Jules, what did you do?”
Bes’tal’s smile was wicked as he advanced.
Chapter 25
Sarah was totally out of juice, and she watched, helpless, as the flames advanced.
“Kai.”
“Hold on, baby. He’ll be back in a second.” Kai concentrated on the fire. The stream coming from her hose helped, but not enough.
“I’m scared.” Sarah gripped Kai’s arm.
“I know.” She turned away from the flames and gazed into Sarah’s eyes. “Me too.”
“I’m sorry about what I said. I was just—”
“I know. I’m sorry I was so hard on you.” Kai brushed the hair from her sweat-matted brow. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” It was the first time Sarah had ever said those words to someone who wasn’t family.
Kai leaned down and kissed her. “I’m getting you out of here. I promise.”
Quinn raced in carrying two shovels. He had almost reached them when a track of lights above him exploded, showering the room in sparks and sending more flaming debris down on them.
Kai stretched her body over Sarah, shielding her, but Quinn’s sleeve went up in flames.
Jules spoke, but Eden could barely take in the words.
“I-I can’t let anyone else die trying to protect you. I hate that he’s going to get away with this—what he did to Carolyn, and Paige, and Rebecca… What he’s going to do to you. But he would have killed you anyway. At least this way, he’ll leave the rest of Coventry House alone.”
“And you believe that?” Eden shook her head in disbelief.
“I had to try.” Her eyes begged forgiveness. “You said it yourself. He can’t be killed. I had to try.”
“What about the spell?” Alex said. “It worked. I did it myself.”
“They were just lights,” Jules said. “I made them…like I did earlier at the testing, but I shielded the flows so you wouldn’t see.”
Bes’tal, who had seemed intrigued and amused by the conversation, now stepped toward Jules. “Guilt is a powerful emotion, is it not?”
He grabbed her, and a stream of energy surged from Jules’s mouth to his.
“Don’t touch her!” Alex managed the tiniest of fireballs, but it struck an invisible barrier and boomeranged back, searing deep into her in the chest.
Jules had already gone limp as Eden scrambled to Alex. Her eyes were glassy as they pivoted from the hole in her chest to Eden.
“Don’t go.” Eden cradled Alex’s head in her lap. “You were right about everything. It was my fault.”
Alex’s lip twitched, attempting to smile. “It’s always about you, isn’t it?”
Her eyes drifted closed, and tears streamed down Eden’s face.
The sound of Jules’s body hitting the floor forced Eden to look up. Bes’tal’s boots scraped the stone floor as he sauntered over to her.
“There is no one left to stand beside you. Surely you see how this will end.”
And for the first time, she did.
Carolyn had been right—one day she would find something she couldn’t fight—not even with magic.
“I do.” A wave of sorrow washed over her.
She thought about Quinn and her parents. About the life she’d planned for but would never have.
“Then come to me.” Bes’tal opened his arms.
She stood on trembling legs and did as he commanded.
When he caressed her face, she didn’t flinch away. She wouldn’t deny what she was doing. She was choosing this.
He wrapped her in his arms and brushed his lips against hers. She didn’t even gasp as pieces of herself were ripped away.
She was ready for it to be over.
Bes’tal’s eyes widened in shock as Eden reversed the flow, drawing his essence into her.
He struggled, but she held strong—taking in more and more of his power. But the screams… Oh, God, the screams were terrible.
She held on as long as she could until she was sure she was going insane. Eden convulsed, and the connection broke. She staggered backward, fingernails digging into her scalp.
“Someone’s been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.” Bes’tal’s breath was ragged. “Except that jar is filled with vipers.”
“Stop, stop,” Eden pleaded with the voices in her head. “Please stop.”
Their screams obliterated everything, even rational thought.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” His voice was filled with reverence. “All those souls crying out—a symphony of pain.”
Eden’s chest heaved, and she sobbed, feeling the torment of each soul. Souls Bes’tal had taken but now were hers. What had she done?”
“You know, if you were going to take me, you really should have finished me off. Because now…” he pounced in front of her. “Now I will make you bleed.”
Chapter 26
Sarah watched as Quinn beat at the flames engulfing his arm, wishing she had an ounce of magic left to help.
Kai grabbed a blanket from the sofa and threw it over the burning area, smothering the fire.
His face had gone pale, and he panted in pain but tossed the blanket aside and picked up one of the shovels.
Kai grabbed the other and jammed it beneath the beam that pinned Sarah to the floor. “One, two, three!”
The veins in their necks bulged as Quinn and Kai strained to free her. Quinn gave an animalistic cry—the parts of his arm that showed through his singed shirt were already blistering.
The beam moved just enough, and Sarah wriggled free a split-second before Kai’s shovel cracked in half, and the beam crashed back to the floor.
Sarah fell into Kai’s arms as the fire raged all around.
“We have to find Eden and the others.” Quinn raced toward the stairs. “This whole place is going up.”
Eden lay, dazed and bloody, on the stone floor.
Bes’tal had beaten her to within an inch of her life, and she’d been unable to stop him. She’d thought taking his power would make her strong enough to kill him, but she’d never felt weaker in her life. Taking some of his souls had taken her will to live.
The smell of smoke wafted in the air, and she knew that should concern her, but the tortured screams echoing in her mind blocked out all rational thought.
Bes’tal was toying with her, taking pleasure in her weakness.
“You disappoint me. Your skills had become impressive. Your attempt to consume me, inspired. I was expecting a big finish.”
His kick was half-hearted, and she barely flinched.
“But this… Well, pet, this is boring. What can I do to put some fight back in you, hmm?”
He lifted her chin with the toe of his boot. She peered at him through swollen eyes.
“What if I promise that once I’ve taken you, I’m going to kill every single one of your friends? Slowly, painfully… Is that worth something?”
Eden struggled to prop herself up on wobbly arms.
Why wasn’t she healing like he did?
“Only a little something?” Bes’tal tone was both mocking and seductive.
He crouched in front of her.
“What if I don’t kill your beloved?” He traced a hand along her cheek. “What if I take him, so the only thing you two will ever share is your screams?”
Anger burned in her belly, and the voices shrieked louder.
Kill, kill, kill.
“And of
course the little blond, too. That one is much too powerful to leave behind. Though I suspect I’ll have to kill her paramour to do it.”
So many deaths—and all Eden’s fault.
“I didn’t mean for you to come.” It didn’t matter, but she needed to say it out loud, needed him to know.
The borahn had claimed she was a monster, but it was her fear of him being right that had let this happen.
She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She’d never hated anything as much as she hated Bes’tal.
“Your guilt is more pathetic than letting me beat you.”
She wasn’t letting him. She wanted to kill—
Kill, kill, kill.
Something was happening. The swelling in Eden’s eyes receded, opening up her field of vision. Her body, which moments ago had been a giant bruise, began to feel strong.
“What about children? Animals? What if I told you I would torture every living creature in this town? Surely that must be worth a little begging, no?”
He reached out to touch her face, but Eden’s arm shot up, blocking him.
She gripped his hand and looked him in the eye.
“The only thing I will beg of you.” She rose to her feet. “Is to shut.” She kicked him. “The fuck.” Another blow. “Up.” She finished with an uppercut.
Even Eden was surprised by her abilities; apparently, she’d consumed some of his skill in martial arts.
Bes’tal rubbed his jaw, smiling, “There’s my girl.”
Eden’s kick sent him sprawling.
“I am not your girl.” She raced forward and landed another kick. “Your pet,” she said with a smack. “Or your—“
Bes’tal stopped her with a backhand. “Now who’s talking too much?”
He struck again, but Eden sprang out of the way. She loosed a fireball that Bes’tal deflected. He sent one her way, and she dove to the side. It crashed into the stone wall.
Before she could regain her footing, Bes’tal advanced on her, landing a series of blows. She felt a back tooth come loose and she spit it at him. Something animal was taking over her.
“So much for not liking bruised fruit.” She kicked him once, then again.
Eden went for a roundhouse, but he used her momentum to send her flying. She slammed into the stone floor and felt her cheekbone shatter. Before she could even cry out, the pain was receding. By the time she sprang to her feet, the bones were knitting back together.
She was pleased and hated herself for it. She knew the cost of such power. How could she be enjoying it? But the regret was distant and easy to silence, unlike the voices who cried for escape.
There was no denying the smoke now. It swirled around them as they fought.
“Is this all you have?” Bes’tal’s tone mocked her.
Eden flung a fireball, but with a flick of his hand, it struck a column sending sparks into the air. Some landed on a tapestry, causing it to smolder.
Bes’tal held up his hand again, and from his palm shot a laser-like beam that penetrated Eden’s shoulder. She screamed, the pain searing deep inside the muscle.
“Half my power, you should think—”
Eden cut him off with a laser beam of her own. It hit him in the knee, causing his leg to buckle.
“Sorry to disappoint.” She raced forward. “I’ll try harder.”
While Bes’tal struggled to regain his footing, Eden landed a series of blows.
The stone walls of the basement had kept the fire out, but now the smoldering tapestry was ablaze, and Bes’tal kicked Eden into it.
Her flesh burned, but it was as though it were happening to someone else. It didn’t slow her. If anything, it propelled her forward, leaping at Bes’tal and sending them both crashing to the floor.
The fire had reached the fuse box, and sparks showered the room as Eden and Bes’tal wrestled.
He flipped her over, pinning her down. His thumbs pressed into her windpipe cutting off her air supply. She struggled for breath, but he held her fast.
“Now,” he said, while Eden’s eyes bulged from lack of oxygen. “You will give me back what is mine.”
She felt herself blacking out and used the last of her strength to slam her feet into Bes’tal’s stomach. He went flying across the room, crashing into the fuse box. His body convulsed with electricity.
Eden dragged herself toward him. He was alive, but his eyes were glazing over.
“Is this the big finish you were hoping for?” She loomed over him.
Bes’tal tilted his head back and laughed.
“What’s so funny?” She whispered in his ear. “Surely you must see how this will end.”
She was regenerating, but the electricity had clearly short-circuited the process for Bes’tal. He wasn’t invincible anymore.
His laughter faded, but his smile remained wicked.
“You think you’ve won. The dead scream inside of you. The power you find so evil courses through your veins, yet still, you think you’ve won.”
He laughed again, but the sound held no mirth, only ridicule. Eden hesitated while the flames leapt from one tapestry to the next.
“Take my life,” he said. “Take it and finally understand what true power—”
Eden snapped his neck, silencing him for good. His eyes stared vacantly, but his grin still mocked her.
She tried to stand, but her legs buckled. Her knees hit the floor, then her head. And then she was gone.
Chapter 27
Mournful cries and anguished screams echoed all around. Eden had killed Bes’tal, but where was she now?
She opened her eyes to find a darkened cave, Carolyn sitting across from her. It was so good to see her face, and so painful to think she never would again.
“What is this place?” Eden asked.
But Carolyn just gazed at her with soft eyes as she always had when Eden asked a question that Carolyn felt had already been answered.
Eden swallowed. “Is this what I am now? A prison for the dead?”
“I can’t know the future,” Carolyn said. “But what you did was born of sacrifice, not greed. You will never be who you were before, but neither must you become what you fear.”
Eden fought back the tears.
“Will they ever stop screaming?”
“No.” Sympathy painted Carolyn’s face. “But many will leave if you allow it.”
“Many, but not all?” Eden said.
“We must learn to embrace what we cannot escape.” Carolyn squeezed her hand.
It wasn’t the first time she’d said that, but it was the first time Eden truly understood.
“What about you?” Eden’s voice was near breaking. “Will you stay? Will you help me learn to embrace this?”
Carolyn’s eyes were wet when she said, “The part of me that Bes’tal did not take calls out, Eden. No soul should be split.”
Eden bowed her head. “Okay.”
“Thank you, child.” Carolyn placed both hands on Eden’s bowed head in a blessing. “You will do well.”
Sarah led the way to the basement with Quinn and Kai sprinting right behind.
When they arrived, both Eden and Bes’tal lay on the floor, the fire dangerously close.
Sarah’s heart seized, but she wouldn’t allow herself to believe her friend might be dead.
Quinn raced toward her, skidding to a halt as ghostly apparitions rose from her body.
“What the hell is that?” Quinn shouted, but Sarah had no answer.
The three of them watched in awe and confusion as the misty forms of Carolyn, Jules, Rebecca, and dozens of strangers rose from Eden’s body and drifted out of sight.
Rebecca? Jules?
But Sarah had no more tears left.
Quinn lifted Eden into his arms while Kai hoisted Alex over her shoulder.
Sarah had regained a fraction of her strength and used it to hold back the flames as they dashed from the room, but did nothing to stop the fire from engulfing Bes’tal’s body.
&n
bsp; Chapter 28
Sarah raced down the hall and into the common room, dodging flames. Quinn and Kai kept up as best they could with their burdens.
She burst out of Coventry House, holding the door for Quinn and Kai. They passed the porch and sprinted to the safety of the lawn.
“Is she…”
But Sarah couldn’t let herself say alive because that would mean there was a possibility her best friend was dead.
Quinn laid Eden gently on the ground then checked her pulse and breathing.
“She’s alive. Eden, wake up.” He shook her, but she remained unresponsive.
“So is she.” Kai knelt over Alex. “But she’s got a hole in her chest.”
Sarah raced over.
“It’s been cauterized.” Kai studied the one-inch blackened hole in Alex’s left shoulder.
“Fireball,” Sarah said. “We need to get them to the hospital.”
Two inches lower and…
“She’s waking up!”
Sarah dashed back to Quinn, kneeling beside Eden. She moaned, her eyes fluttering open.
“Quinn?” Her voice was scratchy and raw, her eyes hazy.
“I’m here.” He brushed some hair out of her eyes.
Her smile was weak, her hand trembling when she touched his face. “I’m so glad.”
She traced the back of her hand down his cheek, to his neck.
And then she was strangling him, his eyes bulging as he clawed at her hand.
“Eden, stop!” Sarah pulled at her arm, but her grip was like a vise. “Kai!”
“Don’t hurt her.” Quinn choked out the words right before his eyes closed, but Kai readied a blow.
Eden tossed an unconscious Quinn aside and sprang to her feet, landing in a fighting stance. Kai rushed her, and Eden kicked.
Sarah didn’t understand what she was seeing. “Eden, what are you—”
“Do you know why I didn’t take you when I first had the chance?” Eden kicked Kai again. “I didn’t think you worthy.”
Kai recovered and punched, but Eden evaded.
“But now I shall.” Eden grabbed Kai by the throat. “Just so you never know the peace of death.”
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