Red Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  Now I understood the wink.

  This demoness was going to use me to her advantage and I was going to let her. She can use us like an old wet rag for all I care, I told my wolf. All we need to do is pay careful attention. My wolf yipped her agreement, her eyes pinned on the demoness in question.

  “You will not argue my ruling,” the demoness stated confidently. She sat in the middle of all the others and definitely held a queenly air. Her English was better than most of demons I’d heard. I the demons I’d encountered had understood me, which meant they must have been forced to learn English at some point. “What this wolf has stated is all correct according to High Law as we know it. She is no demon. And you have brought in”—she gestured toward Selene—“an unusual guest to this trial. Our court has never received a guest, so it is you who has made this unprecedented.” The demoness inclined her head at the Prince in a very small challenge. “We all understand the intent, but I am curious to hear from… another who was witness to the events if we are indeed to decide this wolf’s fate today.”

  The Prince ground his sharp teeth together, his glamour flickering.

  I was utterly astonished. If the Princess could overrule the Prince, the demonesses must be cherished in a way I didn’t quite understand. The Prince was clearly the ruler in Hell. His signature was more powerful than that of any of the demonesses, including his Princess, yet she held sway over him.

  My eyes ran over the all the other demonesses. None of them had moved or spoken. But they would stand with their Princess, I had no doubt. Maybe the Underworld was preparing itself for a little women’s lib? And maybe the Prince didn’t want to agree to try me in front of such a huge demon audience, but had no choice?

  “Bring out the male wolf,” the Prince bellowed. “But keep him in his chains.”

  In the time it took to retrieve Tyler, I studied Selene. She hadn’t rebelled, but I sensed her power. It was so low it almost didn’t register. That was surprising. They must be muting it somehow. We can’t ignore Selene, even though the Prince seems to be, I told my wolf. She’s been here for at least a year, maybe two, and there’s no way she hasn’t been plotting her revenge. Me being here is too delicious for her to pass up and she’ll strike as soon as she gets a chance.

  There was a loud commotion and Tyler was hustled around the side. “What is he tied in?” I demanded. Tyler appeared to be wrapped in a horde of rail-thin snakes. They were moving and hissing.

  “Those are our chains,” the Prince said, his distaste over my ignorance very clear. “They are spelled to keep any supe’s powers at bay, and if he rebels, they will bite him. And it will hurt.”

  “I’m not in chains.” I held my arms up. “And clearly I’m the biggest threat in the room. So why don’t you be a sport and take them off of my brother.”

  “We will not. This wolf has caused too damage already. He will remain in chains for the duration of this court session. Consider yourself lucky he is in here at all.” The Prince ended on a hard edge. He wasn’t going to discuss this further.

  I turned toward my brother. Are you okay? I asked Tyler. What happened?

  Nothing.

  The chains must keep all his abilities constrained. He nodded at me, inclining his head slightly, letting me know he sensed me, but couldn’t respond. He was fine, but looked tired.

  “I trust you are satisfied.” The Prince nodded toward the demoness. “The wolf is here and we will continue as planned—”

  A shrill scream hit my ears right as Selene broke free of her captors, and then the best three words I’d ever heard rang loud and clear through the auditorium.

  “Jessica!” Rourke yelled. “We’re here!”

  14

  The entire proceedings were thrown into immediate chaos. Selene launched herself at me right as Rourke’s bellow filled the arena. As Selene raced forward, the cloth covering her tore free, revealing her face.

  I was too stunned to react for a split second.

  She was completely bald. But that wasn’t the worst of it. An ugly network of scars lined her face. Some were deep, others were fresh. Supernaturals did not scar. “See what they’ve done to me! I’m going to make you suffer for this.” She was almost to me when my brother turned and rammed his foot into her side, sending her flying into the bench, causing the Demon Lords to jump up in unison.

  She crumpled to the ground and stayed there.

  The Prince of Hell was furious at the double intrusion, but his shouts went unheeded as panicked demons started to race everywhere. They flooded down from the seats in a distressed mess, shouting in both Demonish and English.

  “Save the demonesses!” they cried.

  “Run for cover!”

  “The animals are loose!”

  “The Scriptures are true.”

  I slammed into the two demon guards who stood beside me and sent them flying, pivoting toward my brother at the same time. I grabbed the snake chains and shot pure demon essence into them. The things were blessedly not real and they withered from the force of my magic and slipped off him in an instant. That worked well, I congratulated my wolf. It was the first time we’d used only the pure demon magic. I guess our work paid off. Yay us.

  “Damn, Jessica,” Tyler said, shaking the remnants. “Why couldn’t you have done something like that back in the hallway?”

  “Because I didn’t know how to wield this crap until about an hour ago.” The dark mass inside me remained slippery and hard to hold on to, it was going to take me some time to learn how to master it.

  I turned, glancing up the long stairway. Rourke and Ray were fighting demons at the top. They were battling the guards who had come in the doors behind them. Tyler and I turned to aid them.

  “Not so fast.” The Prince’s voice was hard as stone. “You are not leaving this hall until your guilt is proven.”

  I turned back around very slowly. The Prince stood alone behind the wooden bench, towering over the proceedings in disgust, his Demon Lords long gone. Watching his minions flee must have been maddening.

  I calculated the odds of racing up the steps to Rourke before the Prince could blast me with his magic. He’d likely zap me halfway up and that wasn’t going to help matters. I knew I could fight him off this time, and likely not succumb, but it was still an unknown. If I did fall to his magic, Rourke would be in danger if he came after me, which of course he would.

  “I shouldn’t need to remind you,” the Prince intoned, “that you are being tried for your crimes, and you will be sentenced today. I have waited too long for this.” He stood tall over his fleeing domain, his hands clasped in front of him like he didn’t have a care in the world. Power whipped between us. The Prince was ready for a fight, and suddenly I realized this was it. If I fled despite his direct order, he would have a solid excuse to kill me. He might have been waiting for this the entire time.

  I glanced around me. The demonesses had left sometime during the melee, which was mildly surprising.

  When I didn’t answer him, the Prince stepped down from behind the bench to face me on the floor. Instead of running, I watched with interest as Selene rose from her position on the floor, stumbling to her feet. I met my brother’s gaze and nodded once. He understood my meaning and I felt him ready himself.

  Selene’s face contorted in rage as she stood to face us. She had clearly lost some of her faculties, if not all of them. The Underworld had not treated her kindly. The Prince sauntered toward me, coming from around the corner, either not noticing Selene or ignoring her altogether.

  The Prince of Hell stopped in front of us and Selene lunged.

  She took hold of him from behind, her hands going to his neck, screaming, “I will kill you once and for all! You can’t hold me against my will any longer!”

  Oily blood gushed from the wounds, but the Prince didn’t flinch.

  I wasn’t going to stick around and watch, because this diversion was exactly what we’d needed. I had no idea what Selene was going to do, attack me o
r the Prince, but either worked. Tyler and I turned at the same moment and raced up the steps toward the boys, who were still fighting in the back.

  There was a loud noise behind us as the Prince shouted, “You have been a thorn in my side since the day you arrived. I will tolerate it no longer. I will happily rid the Underworld of you once and for all!”

  Power swirled around the room and the few remaining demons fled, shouting their fear in Demonish. Their Prince had clearly lost it and everyone had received the memo.

  “You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Selene raged. “I am a goddess!”

  “Not any longer.”

  There was a boom, followed by a thunderous amount of power that rippled through the arena. Tyler and I reached the top, ignoring what was happening below, focusing on the destruction in front of us instead.

  Ray smiled at me from across the landing, his fingers forming a small salute off his forehead. It was so good to see him. And now that he was here, I felt my connection with him jump in my veins for the first time. “These guys can’t fight worth a shit,” he shouted, gesturing to the demons lying on the ground in a pile around him. “They were a piece of cake to take down, but I have no idea if they’re actually dead or not.” He touched one with the tip of his boot. It didn’t move. “I’m guessing they’re not dead. That would be too easy.”

  “Jessica,” Rourke yelled, leaping over several downed demons and moving toward me quickly. He scooped me up in a tight embrace, his hands covering my back and neck, his lips falling by my ear. “I’m so glad you’re still in one piece.”

  He smelled so good. My wolf howled in pleasure. It was hard not to attack him, but that had to wait. We were still very much in danger. “I’m fine,” I said, running my hands along his chest like they’d suddenly been magnetized to his skin. I hadn’t let myself realize how much I missed his touch, missed him. “You got here quickly—more quickly than I thought possible.”

  Before he could answer, Ray’s voice piped up: “He dove into the circle the moment your energy zipped out. I had to fight to get in there with him. He threatened the witches within an inch of their lives to send him immediately.” Ray chuckled. “They had no choice but to send us or risk his wrath.”

  Rourke growled, his lips still lingering near my ear. “He held on to my leg like a child and wouldn’t let go.” His grudging respect for Ray was apparent. “So he came by default.”

  “What about Eudoxia?” I asked. The Vamp Queen was supposed to have joined our little party.

  “I have no idea.” Rourke shrugged. He let me go reluctantly. “If she wants your blood, she’ll get here.” He glanced down at me, his irises radiating a delicious soft green. “Now we have to get out of here. This place reeks of nastiness.” He grabbed my hand, leading me toward the big double doors I’d first come through.

  I turned before we exited, glancing down in to the arena. The Prince was grinning over Selene’s broken body. As I looked on, his gaze slowly landed on mine. It was piercing even from this distance.

  “There is no place you can hide from me here,” the Prince roared. “You will not get away.” His magic grew as he spoke. He might be able to hit me with his blast, but he couldn’t hit all of us at the same time. The Prince was going to have to regroup and get his guards together and come after us.

  I tore my eyes off the angry Prince, ignoring his wrath for now, to discover my brother was nowhere in sight. I broke from Rourke’s grasp. “Where’s Tyler?”

  “I’m here,” Tyler answered, striding back into the auditorium from the hallway. “And look who I found milling around outside.”

  He had Lily by the arm. She looked disheveled, but alive. Once she saw us, she jumped into action. “We must hurry, you only have moments to leave here. The army is on its way,” she told us. “You were given a very small window to escape. No one will be coming for us, but we must move quickly.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, grabbing ahold of her jumpsuit in my fists. I shook her a bit, wanting her to answer me. “Where did you come from? And who granted us a window and why?”

  Her face was grim. “The Princess of Hell freed me moments ago with the order to get you out.” Lily met my gaze straight on. “All of us. Take it or leave it. The hag wants me out, and this will be the only gift you will ever receive in Hell, so I suggest you take it.”

  “I thought the Prince killed you,” I accused.

  “He can’t kill me.”

  “Because you’re too powerful?”

  “No,” she answered, turning toward the doorway. “Because he’s still in love with me. Now come on, we have to go.”

  We all crowded into the hallway after her because we didn’t have a better plan. She was right, there were no demon guards in sight. It seemed we might indeed have a real chance to get out of here.

  Lily turned, her hands guiding the massive doors easily. They moved inward at her command. When they were almost completely closed, the Prince yelled in a strangled howl. His voice was as maddened as it had ever heard it.

  He only spoke two words.

  “Ardat Lili!”

  15

  I slowly turned to face her.

  Ardat Lili. Handmaiden of Lilith.

  Everything came crashing down around me as my brain spun, my wolf snarling and gnashing her teeth. The boys stilled beside me.

  She met my angry gaze proudly with her chin up. “Please tell me you’re not a child of Lilith?” I demanded, already knowing full well the answer was yes. When she didn’t respond, I added bitterly, “I guess I can take full blame for not figuring this out sooner.”

  I’d been so very, very stupid.

  Tales of Lilith were some of the most ancient in supernatural lore. Lilith was the first femme fatale, a seducer of demons, a killer of children, and rumored to be the first wife of Adam. According to legend, she was thrown into the Underworld for all her sins. She lived out her days in Hell constantly seeking ways to procreate and build a sacred race. Over the years she’d been rumored to have birthed many powerful children, all of them part demon of some kind, but she hadn’t been seen or heard from in a thousand years.

  How incredibly dumb could I be? We were in the Underworld! And the demoness had told me her name was Lily, and stupidly, I hadn’t connected her to Lilith.

  “The myths are highly exaggerated,” Lili answered, dismissing my concerns as the doors slammed behind her, drowning out the Prince’s irate ranting. “Do not believe all you’ve heard or read, as the legends are highly inaccurate. Now if we don’t get moving, we will miss our golden opportunity, so I suggest we move.” She brushed past me.

  “Um, we’re not going anywhere with you and that’s not an answer,” I countered, grabbing her arm to stall her. “And I’m not taking you back to our plane. So if you’re expecting a ride home in exchange for helping us, we need to separate right now. I’m not making any deals with a daughter of Lilith, no matter how wrong or inaccurate the myths are.”

  She knocked away my hand. “Then you’re a bigger fool than I’d thought possible. The only reason the Prince of Hell is not bashing down those doors right now is that the Underworld mandates he go to his Qeby and make sure she is okay. And just to make sure he does so, his wife has summoned him. He cannot resist her. They are bound by a firm supernatural link. The Princess alone has given us an out. The only real out I’ve had in centuries, and you are mistaken if you think I’m not leaving this plane—with or without your help.” She leaned into my personal space, my wolf snapping her jaws. “And for your information, I can leave here on my own. But if we go together, you will have some control once we arrive on your plane. Which will it be?”

  My wolf urged me to fight her, to eliminate her altogether. She shoved adrenaline through me like a hypodermic full of juice. It raced through my body and my fingernails ached, my claws an inch away from springing. It was everything I could do to rein my wolf in. I know this is bad, but let me handle it. If the Prince couldn’t kill her, we
may not be able to either. And I’m not killing anyone in cold blood until we know the full story.

  I cleared my voice, trying to stay calm. “We’ve already covered this, Lili—if you could’ve left, you would’ve already. You’re stuck here, and according to the myth I’m familiar with, it’s for a damn good reason. I’m not going to be the one to unleash you in our world, so if you can manage to get to our plane on your own, and cause trouble, I’ll figure out a way to deal with you then. But I’m not willfully bringing you with us. So you need to stop asking.”

  She shook her head. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve stayed here by choice, because I didn’t want to leave. I had a good life up until—”

  “The Princess of Hell found out you were banging her husband?” I finished as Rourke growled behind me, moving in closer. He sensed my distress, but had no idea what had happened between me and Lili thus far. I appreciated his patience, especially when I knew all he wanted to do was get rid of the threat and hurry us home.

  “I’ve been ‘banging’ her husband for eons. That’s not the issue.” She shooed my comment away. “We’re not attached to our… mates… here”—she glanced behind me at my imposing significant other—“like you seem to be. The demoness seeks power, and she feels it is her time to rule. But she cannot do it if you or I stay behind. We are a distraction to the demons and our power is greater than hers. In order for her to ascend to power, and take the Throne of Astaroth from the Prince, we must leave this plane.”

  That was new, game-changing information. “If the demoness is truly seeking power,” I countered, “then we should all stay here and help her win the throne. Even though I want nothing more than to escape this plane, leaving before it’s all finished will guarantee the Prince will go on another manhunt to find me if the Princess doesn’t win. And if you think I’m going through another mock trial, you’re wrong. When I leave here, it will be for good. The Underworld is never going to interfere with my life again. The demoness either takes the crown and sets us free, or we kill the Prince ourselves. If we achieve either, she will be in our debt and set us free. But whatever the outcome, I’m still not taking you with us. She’s going to have to find another place for you to go.”