Transfuse (Infernal Council Book 3)

by Maya Nicole

  I wanted to believe everything would be fine. But we were also about to go head to head with vacants and demons that didn't give a shit if they lived or died.

  And then there was Val.

  Kage slipped my armor over my head and adjusted it. I glanced at Val's lying on one of the bedrolls and shifted from one foot to the other. He should have been with us, not out with the enemy doing who knew what.

  "I made something for you." Kage dug in his pocket and pulled out a necklace made of small purple flowers. "They were growing outside the tent this morning."

  He put it over my head and adjusted it so it was slightly tucked in between pieces of armor. I looked down at it and smiled. "Thank you." I kissed him gently before he backed up and then handed me my sword and knife.

  I took a deep breath as I sheathed both my weapons. Kage looked over at Nico, who was helping Raphael put on his gold-plated armor. It was ostentatious, but he claimed it was hand-crafted in Heaven and had stopped some of the deadliest bullets on Earth.

  No one knew what he was talking about.

  "Ready?" Nico double checked that his pouch was secure around Amari's neck and then looked at me.

  I twisted my lips to the side. I wasn't ready to watch Amari and Nico throw themselves in harm's way. There were too many unknowns to warrant the risk they were about to take.

  They gathered around me and took my hands. It felt wrong with only four of them.

  "If things go wrong, you get her out of this place." Nico looked at Raphael. "I don't care if you have to knock her ass out and throw her over your shoulder."

  I rolled my eyes. "Nico-"

  "No, Samara. No heroics. You stick to the plan." I frowned at the seriousness of Nico's voice. "I mean it, Peanut."

  We exited the tent and I frowned at what looked like a damn garden around it. So far, none of the soldiers had said a word about a tree and grass growing. They had to have wondered what was going on.

  Buttercup was already in his armor as we approached the horses brought from the castle. I stroked the side of his head and he let out a puff of smoke to signal that he was ready.

  I gripped onto the horn of the saddle, ready to pull myself up, when arms wrapped around me and spun me. Nico pressed a kiss to my lips and then Amari took his place.

  My heart ached as I watched them walk side by side into a large group of shifters that were preparing to shift. For today, Nico wouldn't be hunted because he was a squirrel. Today, he would be the hunter.

  A shiver ran down my spine and Kage looped his arms around me. "Be brave." He kissed me and then walked back toward the camp.

  "You've got this. I mean, you can grow giant sequoias in the middle of Hell, that has to count for something." Raphael waited for me to mount Buttercup, then got on behind me. "Let's get this show on the road."

  We headed out behind the others. I couldn't see anything at first until we came to a rise and then I spotted Nico riding on Amari's back. There were a few other shifters that also had smaller shifters riding on their backs.

  "Someone should paint a picture of that. I never thought I'd see the day a squirrel would ride on a panther." Raphael had one arm wrapped around my waist and the other was on my hip.

  We drew closer to the hill and then forest spread out in front of us. Just on the other side of a mile stretch of trees was where the vacants and demons were waiting for us. The eagles hadn't spotted Val anywhere, but he had to be there somewhere.

  We followed in silence before breaking off from the others. In the distance, I could hear the beating of a drum, and the ground shook. I tightened my hold on the reins and Raphael squeezed my hip.

  "Breathe." He kissed my neck and then took the reins from me, urging Buttercup forward.

  We came to a small clearing just as everything went silent. Then what sounded like a blast went off and noise erupted. Raphael wrapped his arms around me and took to the sky, flying high above the trees.

  "Shit." My fear skyrocketed as I spotted Miles and Tony going head to head with two smaller hell serpents.

  Flames lit the sky and Raphael steered clear of the pockets of winged demons battling it out in the air. We circled overhead, looking for Val.

  All I saw was a tangle of fighting. It was futile to try to spot Nico and Amari. It was risky to have Nico down there in the middle of all that, not only because of his size, but because if he ate too many macadamias, he was bound to be stuck as a squirrel again.

  "Over there!" I pointed toward the trees where Val stood in front of the vacants.

  As we drew closer, he looked up, and Raphael cursed. "He knows we're here."

  "Why isn't he doing anything?" I watched him carefully as he paced in front of the vacants, holding the scythe.

  The fighting had reached its peak as the two armies collided. They were evenly matched without the vacants thrown into the mix. As soon as Val sent them in, our army would be decimated.

  I couldn't let that happen.

  Raphael landed and we stood facing Val. My stomach was in knots as he turned toward us. His eyes were red-rimmed and tired.

  "Let me finish this, Sammy." He took a step forward and Raphael moved in front of me. Val glared at him.

  "Give us the scythe." Raphael held out his hand as if that would work.

  Val frowned and then turned to the vacants, raising the scythe in the air. The vacants’ eyes followed the movement and growls poured out of them. Raphael's muscles tensed to lunge, but before he could, Val took off at a sprint, with the vacants following.

  They were headed straight for the fighting, and if we let them get there, everyone would die.

  "Get me in front of him!"

  Raphael wrapped his arms around me and we took off in the sky after them. They moved like a black wave in the direction of the fighting.

  "This wasn't part of the plan!" Raphael shouted over the sounds of roaring creatures.

  The plan had been to simply take the damn thing from Val and destroy it. I should have known he was too smart to get too close to us to let that happen.

  We dropped behind him, and immediately Raphael was taken down by a large rhino-looking demon. I took out my sword and Val turned toward me.

  "Sammy, don't-" I lunged forward and he blocked my advance with the scythe. The power in my swing hitting it knocked us both backward.

  I scrambled to my feet and took off after Val, who was sprinting toward the trees. "Val!"

  He leapt into the air, grabbing onto a tree branch. Before I could dodge out of the way, he dropped, knocking the sword from my grip and pinning me to a tree, the scythe pressed against me.

  "Do it." His jaw was set and his blue eyes looked panicked. "Do it before I hurt you."

  I was confused and then his eyes flashed from blue to black and back to blue again. "Val!"

  He pushed harder against me and blood dripped out of the side of his mouth. "It's controlling me. Destroy it." He coughed as he fought through whatever hold it had over him before his eyes went completely black.

  I pushed with all my strength and he stumbled back.

  Believe.

  I could do it.

  We lunged forward at the same time and light exploded from me, surrounding us in a swirl. I screamed and felt like walls were closing in on me. I held onto him with all my I had as he thrashed and hissed.

  He struggled against my hold, but it was in vain. Whatever was happening was against my control. Branches snaked around us and locked us in place, the scythe trapped in between us.

  Strength.

  "I'm scared." Val was back, his blue eyes looking confused. "I just wanted-"

  I put my finger against his lips and he shut his eyes. "I know."

  Intelligence.

  I knew what he had wanted. He had wanted to end things once and for all, but it hadn't quite worked out that way.

  Soul.

  The energy was mounting inside me. It had almost reached the tips of my fingers and toes. I felt calm, like all of the pieces had slid into pla
ce. I wasn't in control of my body anymore and resigned myself to what was about to happen.

  The sounds outside the prison of branches and vines that had encompassed us was muffled. I looked up at Val and he looked down at me as the last tendrils of energy filled my fingers and toes.

  "I love you, Samara Luna. Since the moment I laid eyes on you."

  Heart.

  Light exploded out of me, brighter than the sun, and a silent scream left my lips. It felt like I was flying, spiraling high into the sky. Val's head fell to the side, a trickle of blood running from his nose.

  I tried to say his name, but nothing left my lips as I slipped into darkness.

  Sacrifice.

  Ringing in my ears woke me, and I opened my eyes. I was staring at a blue sky, not much different than the one on Earth. I sat up quickly and grabbed my head, which felt like I had way too much wine.

  A moan came from not far away, and then, in a flash, everything came back to me. I rose to my knees in the tall green grass I was in and looked around. I didn't trust myself to try to stand.

  "Val?" There were bright flowers everywhere. Pink, white, red, purple. Had I somehow taken us to Earth?

  The groan came again and I got to my feet carefully. I felt a little unsteady and my armor dug into me where it had bent from whatever the hell had happened. I looked around and nearly fell to my knees at what I saw.

  Everything was green. We had to be on Earth because there was no way Inferna was now growing what I was seeing. In the distance, there was a mixture of both black and green trees lining the edge of the forest.

  Had I done that?

  "Sammy!" Nico's voice came from behind me and I whirled around, falling back to my knees.

  He reached me before I could stand and pulled me against him. I frowned at the state he was in; covered in dirt and blood. I winced as he squeezed and he pulled back.

  "Your armor is all bent." He went to work loosening it and lifting the chest piece off. "What the fuck did you do, Peanut?"

  "There are some holes in the barrier between Earth and Inferna." Raphael jogged up to us, his hands in his hair. "Some demons have already made it through, but the holes seem to be closing."

  My eyes went wide and I watched as he started pacing back and forth with a worried expression on his face.

  "Val?" Amari limped into the clearing and sniffed the air before passing us. He dropped to his knees several feet away.

  I pushed away from Nico and ran to Amari's side, practically tripping over my unsteady feet. Val was laying facedown, his hands stretched out overhead, gripping the necklace of purple flowers that had been around my neck. The exposed parts of his body were red, as if he'd been burned.

  I dropped next to Amari, who was trembling. Val wasn't moving. Why wasn't he moving?

  "I can't look." He covered his face with his hands.

  With shaking hands, I reached under Val and rolled him over, his body flopping over and a groan escaping him. Amari threw himself over him and Val let out a pained grunt.

  "You fucker! What the hell were you thinking?" Amari was crying, and I sat back and started to laugh. Amari turned his head. "Are you seriously laughing right now?"

  I choked on a sob and shook my head. I had thought Val was dead. The emotions overwhelmed me and I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

  Warmth surrounded me as I was pulled into someone's arms and hands touched me, soothing me as I let myself break for just a minute.

  I calmed myself down and then took a steadying breath of air that was the cleanest I'd ever inhaled. "What happened to the armies?" I sniffled and stared at Val, who was drinking from Amari's neck.

  "The vacants didn't seem to know the difference between the two armies and we ended up in a battle against them instead of each other." Nico rubbed the back of his neck. "Then there was the flash of blinding light and magic that knocked everyone back, causing all of us to shift."

  Amari was stroking Val's hair as he drank. "It was very anticlimactic. My panther is a little disappointed."

  "What happened to the vacants?" My heart was beating so hard that I thought it might break. Val had his eyes locked on my neck as he licked the punctures in Amari's neck.

  "They weren't the kind of vacants that lost their light." Val sat up, cringing and holding his back. "Their light was trapped by dark magic. That skull was controlling them... and me."

  "So they're alive?"

  Amari used his thumb to wipe a drop of blood from the side of Val's mouth. "They are, but they are in bad shape, Sammy. They went for weeks and some of them months without food and water. They don't seem to remember their time as vacants."

  "Maybe Raphael and I can help them." I turned to Raphael, but he was on his phone. He walked a short distance away from us before putting it to his ear. "He's going to have to go back to Earth, isn't he?"

  "Our army was trying their best to keep the others from getting through the breaks in the barrier. A few of our own decided to go through." Nico stood and picked up my discarded armor.

  "Fuck!" Raphael threw his phone and then put his hands on his hips, his back to us.

  We all went silent and waited for him to turn around, but he didn't. I stood and walked toward him. "Raphael?"

  "What?" he snapped and jabbed his fingers through his hair.

  I placed a shaky hand on his back and he flinched. "What's wrong?"

  He let out a painful sounding laugh and then turned to me, his eyes swimming with an emotion I couldn't determine. He took my face in his hands and pressed our foreheads together.

  "I need to go back to Earth. I don't know how long I'll be gone." He ran a thumb over my lips and then kissed me gently.

  "It's my fault." I pulled away from him. "I did this."

  "Hey." He grabbed my hand before I could move away from him. "What you did was bring light to this horribly dark place. Look at what you did."

  He led me a little farther into the tall grass and gestured to the landscape in front of us. He inhaled deeply and then turned toward me again.

  "The barrier was already weak. I think the light was trying to get to Earth, to help it too. That's what put holes in it where it was already weak." He let go of my hand and walked over to where his cell phone had landed.

  "Raphael, I-" He silenced me with another kiss.

  "I have to go."

  Before I could protest, he was gone.

  Chapter 20

  Nico

  The squirrel in me itched to be set free and explore the new offerings the green plants brought. I could smell the power in the trees and flowers and didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  From what I could tell, only the immediate area around us had been given the gift of light. The sky was already darkening but was lighter than I had ever seen it, like a lightning bolt had struck but stayed stuck, lighting the sky.

  After Raphael left, I turned my attention to Val, who was still sitting on the ground. I didn't have my own sword, but pulled Sammy's out of her sheath where she had discarded it.

  I pointed it at him and his eyes went wide. "On your knees, vampire."

  "Nico, what the fuck are you doing?" Amari stood and stepped toward me. I backed up a step and pointed the sword at him. "Woah, man. Let's give him a chance to talk, okay?"

  I bit out a laugh. This whole thing was his fault. From start to finish, he had his tainted hands and tainted blood to blame for almost getting Sammy and the rest of us killed.

  "His sweet talking isn't going to get him out of this. I said on your knees." I could feel Sammy's eyes on me, but she didn't say a word. "Now!"

  My voice echoed across the clearing and I hoped it didn't bring any unwanted attention from the demons on the other side of the trees.

  Val got to his knees, his eyes jumping between me and Amari. Amari wasn't exactly stopping me and had taken a step back, out of the way.

  "I'm sorry. I acted irrationally."

  "That always seems to be your excuse. Sammy could have
died. Again! Because of you!" I was panting with rage and wanted nothing more than to swing the sword and end him.

  "Nicolas." Sammy was right next to me. "Put the sword down."

  I moved away from her. "I will not put the sword down! This has gone on long enough. I can't wonder every second if he's going to stab one of us in the back."

  "Give me the sword." She held out her hand, her eyes locking on Val. "I'll do it."

  I narrowed my eyes at her, but she didn't look at me. Her jaw ticked, and I was torn between pissing her off and giving her the sword.

  "Sammy, you aren't going to kill him, are you?" Amari's green eyes were wide, and he stepped closer to Val.

  "Give me the sword." Her tone made my heartbeat stop for a moment. She was serious.

  I handed it to her, and she walked closer to Val. Amari stepped in between them. "You'll have to kill me first."

  I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. I knew Amari wouldn't hurt Sammy, but I also knew he wouldn't easily let her kill Val. I doubted she would be doing any killing though.

  "Move."

  My dick jerked at the dominance in her voice. It wasn't the time or place to get turned on, but my cock didn't seem to care about appropriateness.

  Amari stepped out of the way with a growl. "Please don't."

  "Valentino Sangre. You have one minute to tell me why I shouldn't kill you."

  Val stared down the blade of the sword and then lowered his head in defeat. I felt a pang of something in my chest and rubbed at it.

  "Samara, Sammy, bruja, I have made some bad decisions but not out of ill will toward you or the others. I didn't know the scepter was going to poison me with its bad intentions. I would have never picked it up had I known."

  His eyes swam with tears, and for half a second, I felt bad for him. He glanced at me as if he could hear me and then looked at Sammy.

  "Kill me if that's what you need to do." His chin trembled.

  I growled, and they looked at me in surprise. If I could have pulled my own eyes out to look at me, I would have. "Don't kill him. He's telling the truth."

  Val narrowed his eyes. "What?"