The Overture of Fear & Passion (The Daemonica Symphony Series Book 1)

by Eloisa Clark

  “But Elijah has done the ritual before.” Juliet heard Odette say.

  Kijo laughed in response.

  “He is an Old One. He has no soul.”

  Juliet reached for Niko’s arm, an overwhelming urge to run making her heart race. She bit her lip and looked at him. He gave her a thin smile, but his effort failed to reassure her.

  They watched silently as Kijo grabbed Odette by the hand and pulled a knife out from her coat pocket, holding it in front of her. She mumbled something and the buzzing stopped, the night fell silent apart from the continued pitter patter of rain, which feel everywhere except within the Witch’s circle.

  Juliet looked closer and realised that the women within appeared to have suddenly frozen, their movements slowing to an almost glacial pace.

  “What’s going on?” Juliet asked, her feeling of dread intensifying.

  Elijah and Darius looked at each other before jumping to action. They both ran at the women at the same time, Darius flashing forward in a blur and reaching them first. But an invisible forcefield sent him flying back, his body crashing into a nearby tree. Elijah hit it next, with the same result, he too went flying backwards before crashing to the ground. Juliet ran over to him and felt his chest.

  “He’s still breathing.” She called to Niko, who was bending over Darius.

  “He’s out cold.”

  Patrick looked at the four of them and began shaking his head.

  “Nu, nu! Zis crazy shit.” He turned and left them, disappearing into the forest.

  Shit, Juliet thought to herself.

  Niko came to her side and they cautiously made their way towards the circle.

  Looking closely, Juliet was able to make out that Odette’s blood was slowly dripping into the puddle of water at their feet. The bloody flow seemed to be moving normally, unaffected by whatever magic had slowed Odette and Kijo’s movements.

  “Maybe it’s one of those forcefields where the harder you hit it, the harder it fights back. So, you’re supposed to approach gently.” Niko suggested. She looked up at him, her brow creasing and he shrugged his shoulders.

  “It’s how I get through mental barriers. People tend to be braced for an assault, rather than a caress.” Juliet looked back at Kijo and Odette, trying to think of some explanation for what was going on.

  “I don’t understand. This isn’t what’s supposed to happen. Elijah said once the blood was offered, it would trigger the ritual and the next sacrifice could be made. He didn’t say anything about time standing still or a forcefield.”

  Niko looked at Elijah and Darius, still lying unconscious on the ground and pursed his lips.

  “I’m going to give it a go. Maybe this Phobos guy is trying to stop them completing the ritual and we need to break the spell to help them?”

  Juliet bit her lip but nodded, unable to think of a better idea.

  “Stay back.” He said, waiting for Juliet to move behind him before he approached the barrier. He reached out his hand slowly, moving it inch by inch towards the unseen boundary.

  Juliet knew the moment he came into contact with it. His entire body froze and began to convulse in spasms. Juliet rushed forwards to pull him away, feeling a snap of electricity run through her body before the she too lost consciousness.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Aftershocks of pain pulsed through Niko’s body as he came to. He gasped for breath and reached for Juliet who appeared to be suffering from the same effect.

  “O.K, bad idea.” He said, shaking his head as he pulled her into his arms, checking her over to make sure she wasn’t hurt.

  “It was worth a try.” She said.

  He noticed with relief that Elijah and Darius were finally beginning to stir.

  “Look, something’s happening.” Juliet said, directing his attention back to Odette and Kijo. Their slow movements must have continued while they’d been unconscious, and their positions were somewhat reversed; Kijo now had the knife turned and pressed towards her palm and Odette seemed to be trying to stop her.

  Fuck! Niko thought to himself. He had no idea what was going on in that circle, but since Kijo was a Witch, he knew for sure they did not want her blood spilling into that lake.

  He thought of trying a different approach, reaching out with his mind to see if he could get more information. He tried Odette first, already being familiar with how her shield worked. He got through easily enough, but all he could hear was the overwhelming sense of panic. He tried Kijo next, he was surprised to find she wasn’t shielding at all, but her mind felt wrong. It seemed fractured as if there were two “voices” warring with each other. One felt his presence and reached out to him. A silent plea screaming through to him, begging for his help. The other voice was more a feeling, there was no coherence to it. It felt like madness, chaos and glee and it chilled Niko to the core. Neither voice seemed able to communicate a way to get through the forcefield.

  Niko watched in horror as a drop of blood spilled from Kijo’s palm and dripped to the water below. The night exploded in noise, screams louder than anything Niko had ever heard tore through the clearing. A conspiracy of ravens began to circle around the lake, their gurgling croaks sounding more like shrieks of anguish and a mist crept in as the temperature plummeted. Niko’s breath came out in smoky plumes as his panicked breathing quickened.

  Juliet’s hand tightened around his arm, he looked down into her face, her eyes wide with fear. A sudden lightning bolt burst from the sky above, crashing into the lake with an ear-splitting crack and shooting flames across the water’s edge. The ravens fell from the sky, dropping lifelessly to the rocks and water below. Their small bodies quickly consumed by flames.

  A crackling sound came from the direction of Odette and Kijo drawing Niko’s attention. The forcefield was now visible; it looked like a large egg, made up of transparent, burning glass. It was wearing away in places and the spell within that had frozen the women was now broken.

  Odette looked around in panic, her eyes wide as she tried to avoid contact with the barrier. She spotted Niko and Juliet before looking back at Kijo. She snapped her neck with an audible crack and the barrier disappeared, leaving them surrounded by flames. After only a brief hesitation she jumped the ring of fire and flashed to Darius, helping him to his feet before they both quickly appeared by Elijah’s side and helped him to stand as well.

  “Go!” Elijah coughed; his eyes wide as he looked around at the chaos unfolding.

  “Now!” He bellowed, “He’s coming.”

  Darius looked at Odette and grabbed her hand, but she pulled it away.

  “No. You go. I’m staying.” Darius tried again to take her hand, but she stepped back.

  “I’ve sworn to protect them, Darius. I’m staying.” He sneered at Niko and Juliet before bowing slightly at Odette and disappeared into the night.

  “What’s going on?” Niko asked as they made their way towards each other, “What the hell happened?”

  Elijah shook his head.

  “Kijo betrayed us, she spilled her blood before we could start the ritual.” He said with narrowed eyes, “I don’t understand.”

  “I don’t think that was Kijo.” Niko tried to explain as he looked at the woman’s lifeless body, “At least, there was someone or something else in there as well.”

  Elijah looked over at Kijo’s body by the lake, which remained untouched by the flames surrounding it.

  “Of course.” He said, “The blast of power back in my office. When we all lost consciousness. I didn’t even consider it.”

  “Consider what?” Juliet asked.

  “She jumped. Adrienne. She left her body and took possession of Kijo.”

  Odette frowned, “But Adrienne’s body isn’t here. How could she use the power of the cauldron when it’s back in the castle? Or did she somehow access the vial of blood in your pocket?”

  Elijah looked at Kijo’s body and back at Odette, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

  “I don’t think Ad
rienne is the cauldron anymore.” He said.

  “What, is it in Kijo now too?” Odette asked.

  “No.” Juliet said. “It’s you now.”

  Odette’s eyebrow arched.

  “The blood, Odette. You drank her blood. It’s always fucking blood.” Juliet said, shaking her head.

  Another bolt of lightning made them all crouch before drawing their attention back to the lake. The fire was raging now, as if the lake itself was made of flame. Niko was about to look away, but he noticed something forming in the centre of the lake, a black shape that seemed to be growing larger as it came towards them.

  “I’ll do my best to hold him off. Odette please, get them out of here.” Elijah said, as he began to remove the cuffs around his wrists.

  The black figure now resembled the outline of a man and as Niko watched it suddenly flashed forwards, moving as quickly as a Vampire. Elijah didn’t have a chance to brace for the attack, he still wore one of his cuffs, making him unable to fully shift.

  Niko watched impotently as the creature thrust fangs into Elijah’s neck. Elijah managed to shift his one free hand and his black claw raked over the creature’s back in a futile attempt to dislodge him.

  Frozen in fear, he watched Elijah struggle against the assault before finally snapping out of his shocked state. He clutched Juliet, pulling her towards him as he backed away, hoping Phobos was distracted by his ’snack’.

  “Stop.” Phobos commanded, the force of his compulsion freezing Niko like stone. Phobos resumed drinking quickly, draining Elijah’s blood and dropping his lifeless body to the ground. He wiped at his mouth with a finger, lapping at the blood like honey.

  Niko reached out mentally to Odette, “Get her out of here.” He pleaded, hoping she might be fast enough to flash Juliet to safety before Phobos could freeze her as well.

  She obeyed and a gust of wind preceded Juliet’s disappearance, he didn’t even see a blur she moved so quickly. But the creature’s eyes followed Odette’s invisible movement and his black eyes narrowed as he reached out a hand in the direction of the woods. Niko fought his compulsion and was able to turn his head to see Odette and Juliet frozen by the edge of the trees. Juliet turned to look at Niko, but Odette held her tightly, not letting her return to him.

  Phobos approached Niko slowly, his smile widening as he stretched his naked body like a cat waking from a nap.

  “Such a foolish boy.” He said, His silent words were layered with other noises, sounds of pain and fear and they were not English but some Slavic dialect that Niko understood even though it was seemed older than Russian.

  “Did you really think you could stop me?” He laughed aloud, the echo rebounding off the trees like stereo feedback, growing louder until it stopped suddenly.

  “There is no stopping me. Those who try will be punished. And those who help me...” He looked over at Kijo who suddenly rose as if controlled by marionette strings.

  “Will be rewarded.” He held out his hand to her and she came forward, her head bowed as she approached him. He reached out and drew her closer, patting her hair and tilting her small face towards his. He leaned down and kissed her, his tongue snaking out and wrapping around hers as he grabbed her breast and bit his nails into her flesh.

  She had responded enthusiastically at first, but as the blood began to flow, she began to resist. Muffled grunts of pain escaped her as she brought her hands up and tried in vain to fight him off. Blood began to spill out from the small gap between their mouths as Phobos continued to bite into her tongue. His hand left her breast and caressed her sternum before disappearing into her chest, there was a sickening squelch and he removed his hand, taking her heart with it.

  Niko continued to fight against the bonds of his compulsion as he looked away from the sight of Phobos sucking blood directly out of the lifeless organ. He heard the body drop to the ground, followed by a small splash as the heart was thrown into the lake.

  Phobos approached Niko again, stalking him like a predatory beast.

  “Your fear is like wine, so potent. You do not fear your own death. You fear for that one.” He said, looking in Juliet’s direction.

  “Get out of here!” Niko yelled towards Odette, he sensed the Demon’s intentions by the look in his eyes and there was no way in hell Niko was going to let him harm her.

  He let his Demon surface, knowing that the power of the Demon-bond would outmatch the creature’s compulsion. Its entire purpose was to protect his mate. The Demon rose instantly and broke the control Phobos had over him. He reached forward, grabbing him by the neck as he assaulted him mentally, trying to find a weakness in his mind that might reveal a way to kill him. He saw the Demon’s eyes widen in surprise as he attacked, using more mental and physical strength than he’d ever thought possible.

  The tactic succeeded for a moment, the element of surprise working in his favour. Niko made it through his mental defence for a split second, but the knowledge he acquired was useless. He heard the sound of Juliet’s violin, likely the memory of the night he first awoke. At the same time as he was forced out of his mind he was pushed back and felt a sting across his throat. As he looked down, he was surprised to see a gush of blood as he raised his hand to his throat, trying to stop the flow.

  He heard Juliet scream and his legs went weak as he fell to his knees. Phobos raised his hand to strike once more and, using the last of his strength, Niko sent out one desperate command. Phobos sneered as he took one last look at Juliet and vanished. He smiled as he fell forward, his vision blurring.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Juliet ran towards Niko, Odette no longer trying to restrain her now that Phobos was gone, but still unable to move due to his command over her.

  No. No. No. No. She thought over and over as she fell to the ground beside him and flipped him over. She cried out at the sight of his slashed throat, the wound still oozing blood onto the rocks beneath him. She pushed her hands down on the wound, desperately trying to apply enough pressure to stanch the flow of blood.

  She looked around, trying to find something or someone who could help.

  “Odette, do something!” She thought desperately that maybe there was a chance she might be able to turn him, despite knowing nothing of the process. Odette stared back in horror, her fury as she tried to vain to fight the compulsion obvious.

  The flames were now dying, and the rain had stopped. As the clouds parted above them, the pale light of the crescent moon turned everything a ghostly blue. Juliet looked back down at Niko; his lips were moving as he tried to say something.

  “Shhh. Don’t speak…” She said, “I can hear you.” She added silently.

  A sigh came through the connection, part relief that she was safe as well as a feeling of gratitude that he could still speak to her without having to use his voice.

  “You haven’t got much time. I don’t think my command will keep him away for long.”

  “What do you mean? What did you do, Niko?”

  “I told him to leave.” She could hear the pride in his thoughts.

  He hadn’t even known that he could do it, they hadn’t even touched on compulsion with Doctor Livingstone yet. He’d just acted on instinct and thanked God it worked. Juliet couldn’t believe the power that would have required, to compel a Demon so powerful was beyond comprehension.

  “Did it to save you.” He said, “You need to go. Find Ash, save the others.”

  He was growing weaker and he seemed to be distracted by something. Niko’s eyes lost their focus on her face, their glassy reflection terrifying her.

  “Niko! Niko, God damn it, don’t you dare leave me.” She let go of his throat and shook him, noticing with sickening fear that his blood was flowing much more slowly now.

  “Niko. Please. Odette! Help me!” She wrapped her arms around him, trying to without much success to lift him. She thought she might be able to drag him to Odette, maybe then she could help.

  “No use, Jules. They can’t turn Demons.” He said we
akly.

  Juliet hissed and dropped her head to his.

  “Niko! Please. You can’t die. Not like this.” She felt the tears warm on her cheeks and she squeezed her eyes closed, her mind racing and emptying at the same time. Only one thought remained in focus.

  “I love you. Do you hear me? I love you. You can’t die. We haven’t had enough time.”

  “Ah, at last.” He said, “I love you, Juliet. I’m sorry I can’t stay with you. You know I would. If I could.” His mind went quiet and Juliet cried out, shaking him again.

  “Niko, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have told you sooner. I’ve loved you all along, I was just scared. I’m such an idiot, please Niko. Please fight. Please.” She began to sob, whispering “Please, please, please” as she wept and kissed his cold face.

  She continued to search his mind, hoping to hear some trace that he was still with her. She heard a tiny whisper, but it wasn’t directed at her.

  “Alexi?” He said silently, “eto ty?” She didn’t know what the words meant, and his voice went silent afterwards.

  “Niko?... Niko?” She looked into his lifeless eyes, but she knew he was gone. She stroked his cheek, smearing blood on his beautiful face. She kissed his mouth, ignoring the coppery tang of his blood and saltiness of her tears. Underneath all of that, he still tasted like Clare de Lune and the unmistakable flavour of Niko.

  Juliet gasped as Odette was suddenly by her side, having finally regained control of her body. She reached for Juliet’s arm, but she shook her away.

  “We need to leave, Juliet.” She said, “He could return any minute.” Juliet shook her head, she wasn’t leaving.

  If Phobos returned, she’d let her own Demon out, it was snarling with fury and ready to teach him the meaning of the word fear, or she would die trying.

  She looked up at Odette, to tell her to get back to the castle and help Ash with the evacuation. But the sight of small, bloody tears pooling at the corner of her eyes stopped her. Odette had made a promise to her and to Niko, and Juliet was asking her to break that promise. She clenched her teeth, battling with the decision to stay or go.