New tactic.
My hands were shaking as I pulled off the night vision goggles, and I felt blind without them. Vulnerable. But for what I needed to do next, I couldn’t have them on.
I unzipped my backpack and found the gas mask. When I slid it on over my face, my sense of vulnerability only increased. I pulled the hood over my head and tightened it as quickly as I could, and the eyepieces fogged a little.
Just like I’d done when I was mixing chemicals earlier, I had to test the filter first. I covered it, checking to make sure no air was escaping into the mask from other gaps. With the filter covered, I couldn’t breathe at all, which was both terrifying and what I wanted.
Now I was ready.
I knelt down again and reached into the backpack for my glass jars. I started hurling them at the tree trunks, one by one. Within moments, the demons were coughing, then screaming.
I couldn’t see very well through the darkness and the goggles, but I didn’t think they were moving any closer to me.
I had no idea if demons were rushing at me from the north, but I hurled another jar in that direction, just in case, until I was surrounded by a cloud of homemade mustard gas on all sides.
Right now, the bleach and ammonia mix would be searing their lungs, stealing their breath, and burning and blistering their skin and eyes.
Was this prohibited by the Geneva Convention? Okay, technically yes, but those laws had been written for mortals. The demons would recover, even if the next twenty minutes would be deeply unpleasant.
I grabbed my backpack and started moving again.
With the gas mask on, I couldn’t run anymore. For one thing, I could no longer see where I was going, and for another, it was incredibly hard to breathe in that thing. I could only hope the mustard gas took out any demons around me.
I checked the watch, making sure I was still heading north.
Twenty-one minutes. I only had to survive twenty-one more minutes, and I’d be free. Holy shit, this was actually working.
When I thought I’d cleared enough distance from the mustard gas, I pulled off my gloves and took a little breath, testing the air. My skin wasn’t burning, and my lungs felt fine. I pulled the gloves back on and tried loosening my gas mask. Lungs seemed okay…
I took a deep breath. My eyes stung a little, but that was it.
I pulled the gas mask all the way off and took a few breaths, then quickly slipped my night vision goggles back on. Backpack hoisted, I started to run. I was closing the distance now, only a half mile or so to the river.
As I zoomed between the trunks, a chill rushed through the air, and the trees became hazy through my night vision goggles. Before I could figure out what had happened, I slammed into a wall of ice. A jolt of pain shot through my skull as the force of the crash cracked my goggles. I ripped them off and stared around me at a large sphere of ice.
Nama had already trapped me in here, and I didn’t know how far away she was. But just as Orion had said, the ice was thin as glass.
As quickly as I could, I sprayed the ground around me with gasoline, then reached for the glass-breaking knife in my pocket. It didn’t look like much more than a bit of plastic, but hidden within the plastic was a blade that popped out on impact. I slammed it hard against the ice, and it shattered around me.
With a thundering heart, I grabbed my flamethrower. I flicked the lighter on, pressed the deodorant, and blasted flames at the ground. Fire erupted around me, and fear twisted my heart. I hated fire.
But Nama was still running for me, and I blasted flames in her direction using the Super Soaker and the homemade flamethrower. In the distance, I stared in a sickening sort of horror as her hair and clothes caught fire from the flames on the ground. She screamed, the sound curdling my blood.
My pulse raced out of control. She’s a demon, I reminded myself. She’ll get better.
I only had a half mile left to go, and I checked my watch.
Ten minutes.
I just had to survive ten minutes.
I started to run again, but this time, I couldn’t see the trees. I flicked on a light on the Apple Watch—which wasn’t ideal, since people might see it. But it was the only way I could see to avoid running into an unyielding trunk. I ran with the flamethrower in one hand, pumping my arms hard as I headed for the river. The backpack bounced behind me, and I bounded over roots and stones. I was sweating hard in my suit as my body overheated.
As I moved closer to the city, I could turn off the light on my watch, as the lights from the town square illuminated the forest.
Suddenly, I heard Lydia’s husky voice cut through the forest. “Demons, hear me! I’m following her trail! She’s by the river!”
So that’s how they’d been finding me, even through the stench of fox piss. They were tracking me through the woods, looking for the broken branches I’d left behind. And broken demons, too.
And now, Lydia was trying to summon all the demons to attack me at once.
Four minutes left.
Through the forest, I heard the bellowing of demon war cries—a deep, malignant sound that slid through my bones and sent my heart racing out of control. The ancient part of my brain was telling me to panic, that predators were coming for me. And for once, that anxious part of my brain was fucking right.
Get to the river, Rowan. Get there now.
The demons were coming to her call, bellowing for my blood. They were all heading for the river, closing in. Their otherworldly cries turned my blood to ice, and panic scraped up my spine. But I could see the river now through the trunks, glimmering in the lights from the Tower of Baal.
Three minutes left.
And what’s more, I could smell the scent of gasoline I’d poured out two hours ago.
It was time for the pièce de résistance—my real shock and awe.
When I reached the riverbank, I pulled out the flamethrower and flicked the lighter. As I touched the arc of flame to the ground, a wall of pure fire raced out from either side. I’d created a mouth to hell.
I leapt through the fire into the ice-cold Acheron River and swam down to the bottom, deep into the murk. Turning, I swam east for a moment and then I unzipped my fire suit. My lungs started to burn as I held my breath and stuffed the suit and tools into the backpack. I zipped it up and let it sink to the bottom, and then, my secret hidden, I swam to the northern bank.
And as I pulled myself out, I heard the sound of the klaxon blaring. There they were—the king standing by Orion’s side, waiting for me. My little victory party. A small crowd stood behind them, staring at me.
Holy fucking shit.
Holy fucking shit. I’d made it.
Joy surged through me. I’d survived. Maybe everything was going to be okay after all. Had I really done this?
Soaking wet, I hoisted myself onto the bank, trying to hide exactly how exhausted I was.
I saw the king raise his cocktail glass in a toast to me, and Orion’s pale eyes shone brightly in the darkness.
Under my fire suit, I’d been wearing a sleek black outfit—fitted black pants and a corset. If I weren’t soaked in river water, I might actually look pretty good right now.
As I stepped into the stony esplanade before the Tower of Baal, I raised my arms in victory and surveyed the demons around me. No one was exactly cheering at my survival, which seemed a bit rude. In fact, they looked a little pissed off.
And as the klaxon continued to blare, I felt a sharp tug at my wet hair, dragging me back onto the stones. I slammed down hard on the ground. The next thing I knew, Lydia was on top of me. She wrapped her hands around my throat and squeezed, fangs bared and a maniacal look in her eyes. Then she raised one of her hands, and gleaming claws burst forth.
She was going to cut my heart out, wasn’t she? That was how demons killed each other. They ripped each other’s hearts out with their claws.
“There’s only room for one queen,” she hissed under her breath.
I couldn’t breathe. Oh, hol
y fuck, I couldn’t breathe…
Chapter 22
Hypervigilance: a heightened state of anxiety and alertness, a tendency to scan the environment for threats.
In my everyday life, it was dysfunctional. In the world of demons, it didn’t hurt to turn up the dial, because somehow, I’d missed that Lydia had been sneaking up behind me, and now she was crushing my throat.
As my vision started to go dark, enormous hands reached down and ripped Lydia off me.
The sound of the klaxon died out at last.
I sucked in air, trying to hide exactly how fragile I was. I wanted to gasp deeply and audibly, but I was worried that would make me look too mortal. All eyes were on me right now. Had they noticed how easily she’d taken me down? Did they know I was mortal?
Unwilling to look weak in front of the others, I forced myself up.
But as I steadied my breathing, a rush of movement caught my eye. I turned to see the blood-guzzling demon running for me from the bridge, the wind whipping at his luxurious curls. With a bellowing war cry, he was charging for me at an alarming speed. Moonlight glinted off his ivory horns, and long silver claws shot from his fingers. If I tried to run, they’d all see how slow I was.
“It’s over!” called the king. “The Trial has ended.”
But the duke wasn’t listening, and he was almost upon me. Ten feet away…two feet away…
I froze in place, staring at him. The bloodthirsty duke reared back his arm, ready to strike at my chest—
Fast as lighting, Orion shifted in front of me, blocking the hit with his enormous body. I heard the sound of claws ripping into his flesh, and my stomach tightened.
Horrified, I wrapped my arm around his back to keep him upright and craned my neck to see the damage. The one way a demon could die was having his heart cut out.
The duke’s eyes were wide as he ripped his blood-covered claws out of Orion’s chest.
“What have you done?” someone shouted. “Did you kill the Lord of Chaos?”
My heart slammed against my ribs. Orion was clutching his chest, bleeding all over the stones.
The world had gone dreadfully silent, and panic tightened my throat. “Are you okay?” I whispered.
Before us, the duke’s claws retracted, and his hand flew to his mouth. “Oh, Lucifer save me, I didn’t mean to do that. I was aiming for the succubus. Why did you jump in the way, you idiot? You know what it means if she survives.”
Orion raised a bloodied hand. “I’m fine,” he said at last, and then he darted forward and grabbed the duke by his neck. The duke’s eyes bulged, and Orion lifted him by the throat, choking him. Silver claws shot out from Orion’s fingertips.
Oh, God. He wasn’t going to—
Orion’s claws sliced into the demon’s chest, and one sharp, ruthless swipe carved out the heart. The glutton demon’s bony corpse fell to the ground with a thud, his chest cavity gaping open and his body still twitching.
Holy shit.
My gorge rose, but I couldn’t afford to throw up. I had to look like that was normal. All perfectly normal. Oh, God, the way it glistened…
Orion shrugged. “What? He attacked me. I was well within my rights to end his life, as I’m sure you all agree.”
The crowd murmured. The shocked excitement in their eyes reminded me a little of the glee in my classmates’ faces when I’d had my meltdown.
Orion turned to look at me, brow furrowed. Was that a flicker of worry in his pale eyes?
“You’re okay?” I asked again. “I think we should get you home.” And I had to get out of here before the bruises bloomed all over my throat.
But the king was prowling closer, dressed in a finely cut midnight suit. His dark eyes were locked on me, and a smile curled his lips. “Good. Everyone survived, then, it seems. Lady Mortana, house of Lilitu. Duchess of the Ward of Asmodeus. After tonight, the abandoned ward will no longer be abandoned.” He raised his hands to the dark skies. “The council of seven is reunited!”
Instead of cheers, only silence greeted his pronouncement. Then, the sound of a throat clearing broke the silence. The king lowered his hands to look down at the twitching corpse on the ground.
“Or, nearly reunited We will have to get a new one, I suppose.” He raised his hands to the skies again. “Anyway, the celebratory party begins immediately in the Temple of Ishtar!”
Orion had just been nearly stabbed to death, another duke died, and they wanted to throw a party? I was so caught up on that thought, I nearly missed the other part—Duchess. That was me now. A demonic duchess.
A few people clapped, but it didn’t sound enthusiastic. Orion was standing straighter now, and I let my arm drop from his back.
My gaze flicked to Lydia, who still seemed furious. Darkness coiled around her, curling into the night sky like smoke.
If I hadn’t been nearly strangled, I’d probably make a big, cocky pronouncement right now, like Mortana would. But my voice box had been crushed, and I didn’t think I’d sound normal when I spoke.
Clearly, I had to watch my back here. Lydia would rip my heart out the first chance she got.
I hadn’t really thought about the implications until now, but as the only person in the Asmodean Ward, I would be its leader by default. Lydia was no longer the only female on the council, and she didn’t like that one bit. I’d be part of the Quorum now. Close to the king. A rival for the role of queen.
She just had no idea I wouldn’t be here that long.
I glanced back at the Bridge of Harrowing and saw that some of the other demons from the forest were starting to stumble out, looking like zombies—bodies scorched, clothing singed. Some had blistered skin and watering eyes.
This night had been brutal for lots of us, but I supposed only a single death was a victory.
Orion pulled me close to him, almost protectively. “My lady will want to dry off, and I’ll need a change of clothes after that unfortunate incident. We will soon join you at the temple.”
He grabbed me by the hand, leading me to the street on the far side of the esplanade. Within moments, a sleek black car pulled up, and Orion opened the door for me. I slid inside and buckled up while Orion told the mortal cab driver to take us back to his apartment in the Leviathan Hotel.
Now, for the first time tonight, I felt the full weight of my exhaustion. My muscles burned with fatigue, and my throat felt raw. Even without the other clothes, I still smelled faintly of fox pee.
Never in my life had I craved a bath so badly.
When the car started rolling, Orion turned to look at me. “Congratulations,” he said softly. “Duchess Mortana of Lilitu.”
The first thing I’d done upon our return to Orion’s apartment was to run upstairs to the balcony bath. As I’d filled it with scalding water, I’d stripped off my clothes. Now, I was leaning back into the hot, bubbling bath as the steam curled around me. I let my muscles melt and scrubbed my body clean.
While I soaked in the heat, I gazed up at the stars. I could just about make out the North Star, I thought, at the end of the Little Dipper. Mom had taught me to find it, another survival technique. I looked for it at night sometimes, centering myself. It was just that the compass app was a lot easier and worked even when there were clouds.
I let out a long, shaky breath. My mind kept flicking back to the demon I’d hit with fire. Hair blazing, clothes flaming…horrible.
I shuddered, suddenly struck by the feeling that I didn’t want to be alone.
Half of me wanted to call Orion in here while I bathed to keep me company. But like the primal keening of the demons’ war cries in the wilderness, I sensed instinctively that it wouldn’t end well.
I rose abruptly from the bath. Water dripped off my bare skin in the cool night air, and I started to towel off.
Sex with Orion absolutely could not happen. For one thing, he’d threatened to kill Shai, and I’d just seen exactly how efficient he could be with killing. In under a second, she could be dead. On top of that
, he was a suspect. I was sure that the police had rules about not sleeping with anyone under a criminal investigation.
His attraction to me was probably fake, anyway.
I mean…it didn’t feel fake. That encounter in the Tower of Baal, with my legs wrapped around him—it really felt like he hadn’t been faking that desire. The heated look in his eyes, the exquisitely sensual stroke of his magic over me, the feel of his hardness between my thighs…
I started to towel-dry my hair, flipping it over my head. Anyway, he was bad news.
Once dry, I slipped into the clothes I’d laid out for myself—tiny, silky underwear in a deep blue, and a matching lace demicup bra. I stepped into the underwear, doing my best not to think about Orion, and then pulled on a soft black dress. It was kind of a cute 1960s look—short as hell, but with long sleeves and a turtleneck, and smoking hot when paired with thigh-high boots, succubus style.
When I came downstairs again, I found Orion sitting on his cream sofa with a glass of whiskey. He’d changed into a white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, exposing his creepy snake tattoo. He wore deep forest pants that looked like raw silk and probably cost ten thousand dollars.
“The duchess returns,” he said as I sat beside him. “You know, love, I didn’t think a mortal could do what you did. It seems you’re capable of great surprises.” His voice was a velvety caress. “Your not-so-adoring crowd will be expecting you soon. Mortana doesn’t tire, I’m afraid.”
“How’s your chest?”
“Same as it ever was.” A sly smile. “Fine on the outside, dead on the inside. Fortunately, only metaphorically.”
I crossed my legs, and his gaze flicked to my bare thighs for just a moment before he rose. “Stand up. Let me heal your bruises.”
I pulled down the high neck of my dress. He frowned, then touched me lightly, just beneath my chin. I closed my eyes as the sensual feel of his magic washed over me. Simmering waves snaked around my throat, making my muscles relax.
He pulled his hand away. “There. good as new.”
City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials Book 1) Page 12