She slid it into the velvet bag and then turned, staring at the room in shock. Whatever magic had been unleashed had rolled the entire room, and everyone was struggling to shake off the effects. Even Malek had collapsed to the ground and was shaking his head as though in a daze. Blossom flew out from underneath the table, her eyes wide.
“The goddess told me you’re going to restore the balance!”
Sabine frowned at the pixie and tied the bag containing the chalice to her belt. Before she could respond, a loud crash sounded somewhere close. “Quickly, we need to get out of here. They’re almost here.”
Leaning down, she gripped Balkin’s clawed hand and pulled him to his feet. He blinked his golden eyes at her and immediately turned to Esmelle, helping her get to her feet.
Sabine dropped down beside Malek. “Can you stand?”
He nodded and pushed up from the ground, glancing down at the bag containing the chalice. “Are you all right? What did it do to you?”
“Nothing that wasn’t required,” she said, turning to help Bane while Balkin assisted Dax.
“Your glamour,” Bane managed, shaking off the worst of the effects.
She glanced down at her skin glowing with power and the thorned tattoos winding up her arms. Focusing inwardly, she fumbled, trying to reapply her glamour, but it slid away before she could pin it in place.
“The goddess doesn’t think you need to hide anymore,” Blossom said, fluttering in front of her.
Sabine scowled with impatience and snapped, “With respect to the goddess, she doesn’t know the Wild Hunt is searching for me and wants me dead, nor does she know we have enemies approaching. I cannot risk being recognized here.”
At her words, her glamour settled across her skin and fixed itself in place.
Blossom shrugged. “She says you can kill them. They’re human. They don’t belong in our world.”
“I will not kill the humans,” Sabine said, picking up the potted plant of lavender Esme had dropped. “I’ve been tasked with protecting this world, and they’ve become part of it.”
“I don’t think she likes that, but she will trust your judgment,” Blossom said and waited until Sabine pushed open the door.
Sabine ignored the pixie and everyone else, placing the potted plant on the floor in the hallway. She’d initially planned to seal the entry to the stairs, but she wasn’t sure what else Dax had hidden on this level. Turning toward Esmelle who had followed her, she asked, “Are you strong enough to combine magic with me?”
Esmelle nodded and held out her hand. Sabine took it and accepted the nature magic Esmelle sent toward her. Infusing it with her power, Sabine grew the lavender plant until the size had overshadowed the entire hallway. She could have done it on her own, but the chalice had left her somewhat shaken. Releasing Esme’s hand, she withdrew her knife, cut her fingertip, and squeezed a drop of her blood onto the plant.
“Crescero,” she whispered, and the plant shimmered. It solidified, becoming more substantial, and took on the appearance of a stone wall. She cut into another finger and etched a locking rune into the wall. It flared with a greenish light and dimmed as the magic settled into place.
“To me,” she ordered Blossom, and the pixie dove into her hair again. Balkin nodded at her and took up the rear as she followed Dax down the hallway. They descended the stairs, and she turned as the door closed behind them. Sabine repeated the action she’d taken upstairs, cutting into her finger and tracing another rune into the door. It flared with a red glow, sealing it with a death curse, and Sabine turned away. No one except those who knew the appropriate rune could pass this doorway. Only a handful of people, including Javyn, could open it.
“You stole the moon again,” Blossom whispered in her ear. “Should we tell Balkin?”
Sabine stumbled, her hand hitting the wall as she caught herself before she fell. “What? The sun hasn’t set yet. There’s no moon.”
Blossom giggled as though she’d said something incredibly funny. “The moon is always there. You just can’t see it. But you stole the moon when you accepted the chalice.”
Balkin frowned at her. “What’s wrong?”
“The moon,” she whispered, suddenly terrified about what this meant. “Blossom said it disappeared when I claimed the chalice. I didn’t realize—”
Balkin muttered a curse, his hand flying to his weapon. “The Wild Hunt comes.”
Malek’s gaze flew to her and then settled on Blossom. “Are you sure?”
Blossom nodded. “Sabine called it down with blood and magic. Her magic likes the moon. It obeys her.”
“Balkin,” Sabine whispered, fear stealing her strength.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her down the tunnel. “Focus, my kitten. The battle is not lost yet. As long as you are alive, we keep fighting. Now move.”
Power infused his last words, and she nodded. Pushing aside her fear, she ran down the tunnel toward the sewers and closer to their escape. She’d originally planned to take them to the crypts, but that was no longer an option. If she’d managed to alert the Wild Hunt to her location, she wasn’t about to bring danger upon the children she’d spent the last several years protecting.
Nowhere in the city would be completely safe, but they needed to go somewhere. Esmelle’s shop was out. The crypt wasn’t an option.
“Take us to my building on the south end of town,” Bane said behind her.
She nodded. They could hole up in Bane’s lair temporarily, but he was being targeted too. The stolen ledger she’d found in Terrance’s home had been proof of that. Still, it was their best option until they figured out an alternative. Bane’s men were used to dealing in death.
At the entrance to the sewers, Sabine stopped and faced the stone wall. Her knife was still in her hand, and she used it to cut another finger. Using her blood, she traced another rune in the wall and pushed her magic outward. The rune began to glow red and the wall shifted, disappearing from sight. She motioned for everyone to follow her.
“Walk in my footsteps,” she ordered, sending some of her magic into the floor and causing it to glow beneath her steps to light their path. The magic was temporary, no more than a small amount of illumination to guide her companions.
She felt more than heard the door seal shut behind Balkin after everyone had passed through. The magic that guided her wasn’t something she’d ever been able to fully explain. It wasn’t her power, but rather the magic of the gods who had been the founders of this city. She was moving all of them through space and time, somewhere outside the normal realm that couldn’t be accessed by any mundane means. Unfortunately, they couldn’t linger. If they stopped, they risked being trapped here forever.
Only Bane had ever been able to move within this space, but only through the mark she’d gifted him. It was part of the magic of the gods before they’d been exiled. Discovering the secrets of the city had been an accident, but she’d quickly realized the potential benefits and decided to use it for her own purposes.
Sabine paused outside another wall, some innate part of her knowing this was the correct location. It had taken more than a year to teach Bane how to listen to the whispers of the darkness so he could navigate these passages. Toby had picked it up within weeks. She’d assigned him the task of gatekeeper, a job he was intensely proud to hold. Toby kept watch in the temple area and behind the burial stones, guiding the newer children into the safety of the crypts. She suspected he’d been able to learn it so easily because she’d given much of her own magic when she’d saved his life more than a year ago.
Sabine cut into another finger, recognizing she would need to rest soon. The power required to move this many people through space and time was quickly wearing upon her. If the Wild Hunt was approaching, she needed to conserve her strength, but she needed to get everyone to safety first.
Tracing another rune into the wall, the wall shimmered and fell away. Sabine entered a room with stone walls, recognizing they were once again back within the c
onfines of Akros’s reality. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath as everyone filed through. The wall closed behind Balkin, but it was Malek who turned to her first and asked, “You’re performing major magic again. Are you all right?”
“Just tired, but I’ll recover soon enough.” She pushed away from the wall.
Bane had taken the lead, recognizing the basement as part of the building he owned. He ran up the stairs with everyone following behind him. Balkin held out his hand toward her, and she accepted the strength he offered, infusing some of his power with hers. The magic of the Beastpeople was complementary, especially when they were sworn to serve a particular family. Sabine gave him a nod to indicate it was enough. He released her hand, waiting for her to head up the stairs.
Bane shouted orders to Evo and some of his men, who were busy equipping weapons and planning how they’d eliminate the city guards surrounding the tavern. Sabine walked into the large dining hall and slumped down in a chair, taking the opportunity to catch her breath.
Blossom scooted close to her ear and said, “The goddess says the city is on fire.”
“What?” she managed, pushing herself back out of the chair. Sabine rushed toward the window and gasped. The sky had prematurely darkened to the deepest clutches of night, with neither the moon nor the sun anywhere in sight. Magic prickled along her skin, warning the darkness consuming the city wasn’t natural in design. A golden glow rose from some distant part of the city, in the direction of the tavern.
“No,” she whispered, pressing her palm against the window.
Malek approached her. “What is it?”
“The city’s on fire. I don’t… I’m not sure…” Sabine swallowed, uncertain and confused. The magic she’d sensed couldn’t be from that glow. Could it? Turning to the pixie, she asked, “Blossom? Did the goddess tell you who is burning the city?”
Malek’s gaze sharpened on Blossom. “Pixies can speak to the gods?”
Blossom ignored him and fluttered out of her hair to stare out the window. “She says it’s the humans. But the Wild Hunt comes too. She can help you kill the humans, but she doesn’t have enough stored magic yet to destroy the Hunt.”
Sabine frowned. This goddess was a little too eager to kill off the humans. Lachlina was the goddess who had betrayed the other gods to provide information on how to close the portal. If her essence had been trapped within the chalice for centuries and then buried in the catacombs, she probably didn’t realize how much the world had changed. That would be something to consider later.
Esmelle’s face paled as she watched the golden glow. “They set the tavern on fire to flush everyone out, but the buildings there are too close together. Those idiots are going to destroy the city.”
“Probably,” Dax agreed, staring out the window with barely restrained fury. “If the tavern goes, the entire neighborhood will go with it. I’ve got enough magical objects in my vault to level that entire part of the city.”
“My shop,” Esmelle whispered, horror on her face.
Sabine swallowed. “Blossom, you need to get to your family and tell them to escape. They’re too close to the flames.”
Blossom landed on her shoulder and leaned against her. “It’s okay. They know. The goddess said she’ll tell Barley. He’ll get the pixies out of the city. They’ll be okay. I’m supposed to stay with you. The Hunt is searching for you.”
She barely managed to nod, turning to look at Malek whose expression had hardened as he stared at the flames on the horizon. “The fire is in the direction of the docks. If the wind shifts, it’ll catch the entire wharf.”
“You should warn your crew and move your ship,” Sabine said, searching the skies for any signs of the Wild Hunt.
Malek shook his head. “I’m not leaving you. If you come with me, I can get you and your friends safely out of the city.”
“What?”
He captured her hand and squeezed it. “Come with me, Sabine. I can protect you and help mask your presence from the Wild Hunt. At the very least, I can give you space to decide your next move. You can’t stay here if they’re hunting you.”
Pulling away from him, she shook her head. Dax moved between them and glared at Malek. “Back off, dragon. She’s not yours.”
“Nor is she yours,” Malek said, his eyes narrowing on Dax.
Dax’s eyes turned silver, and Malek’s hand reached up to grasp the medallion around his neck. With a hard pull, Malek yanked it off and dragon power flooded the room. Sabine gasped, backing away from both of them. The power output of both men clashed as a sharp mixture of sulfur and burning embers filled the air. The Beastman moved protectively in front of her, claws extended and crouching in a battle stance.
“Seriously?” Esmelle snapped, glaring at all of them. “You’re going to pull this nonsense now? We’re under siege here. Pull your heads out of your asses and focus, people. We don’t need to be fighting amongst ourselves.”
A hysterical laugh bubbled out of Sabine, and she clamped a hand over her mouth. The Wild Hunt was approaching, the city was on fire, and a demon and a dragon were facing each other down and trying to claim her for themselves. And a witch—a human—was the only one with a shred of common sense among them.
“Esme’s right,” Sabine managed, throwing a grateful look toward her friend. “We don’t have time for this. Bane’s people might be able to take out the city guards, but they can’t stop the Wild Hunt and the city is still on fire. Whatever we’re going to do, we need to figure it out soon.”
“Dax’than Versed, son of Kal’thorz,” Balkin said, his voice infused with power, “I call your life debt due.”
Dax’s silver eyes turned to Balkin. The demon dropped to his knees in front of Balkin and lowered his head. “It will be done.”
Fear, cold and insidious, slithered across Sabine’s skin. If Balkin was calling Dax’s debt due, that meant Dax was preparing to sacrifice himself. “Balkin, no. You can’t do this. I never agreed to this.”
Balkin’s jaw clenched, and he didn’t respond. Dax rose to his feet, his eyes still silver, and he stalked toward her. Without a word, he yanked her close and pressed his lips against hers. She tried to struggle, but the demon held her tightly, siphoning off her Unseelie magic through the debt marker Balkin had accepted when she was born. The connection between the Beastman and Sabine flared to life as magic rushed outward through it and into Dax. Balkin was the bridge connecting them, and he was stealing part of her essence.
Malek rushed toward them, but Balkin hauled him backward and whispered something she couldn’t hear.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, blinding her. Sabine’s hands clawed at the demon, trying to scratch or touch any part of Dax’s skin to blast him with her magic. He took everything she threw at him, stealing it for himself and bundling her raw power with his. With Balkin’s connection active, she couldn’t harm him. Panic, potent and staggering, filled her as she continued to fight him, desperate not to give in.
She reached downward, fumbling for her weapon, but someone yanked it out of her grasp before she could use it. Her mind screamed, knowing what they were trying to do. This shouldn’t be possible. Magic was supposed to be a gift. But this had always been part of Balkin’s plan, a last resort if his attempts at hiding her should ever fail.
After what felt like an eternity, Dax pulled away, swaying from the rush of her power that now filled him. Dizziness swept over her and darkness crept into the corners of her vision. She felt… empty. The chalice at her waist warmed and pulsed in time with the new mark it had placed on her wrist. The worst of the effects passed, stabilizing her. She’d been weakened. Significantly.
Sabine trembled, her teeth chattering as she stared up at Dax. She’d never begged him for anything, but she was willing to do so now. “Please, Dax. Don’t do this. I don’t want to lose you.”
He pressed his forehead against hers and murmured, “This has always been the plan. Did you think it was a coincidence I swore to serv
e you through Balkin? I would have died years ago if it hadn’t been for this pact. You allowed me a chance to live.”
She reached up to cup his face. “This isn’t your sacrifice to make. Give me back my magic, Dax. I know you don’t want to die. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
“Dax, you must go now,” Balkin said, his voice colder than she’d heard in a long time. “The magic won’t fool them for long.”
Dax gave him a curt nod and pressed a brief kiss against her lips. He winked at her and said, “If I live through this, I’m locking you in my room for a week.”
“Dax!” she yelled, reaching for him as he pulled away.
Bane appeared suddenly. He wrapped his arm around her and hauled her against him. Nuzzling her neck, he said, “Calm yourself, Sabine. This must be done.”
She shook her head, blinking back tears as Esmelle approached Dax. The sharp and aromatic scent of crushed herbs filled the room, the telltale sign of nature magic at work. Esmelle waved her hands, and Dax’s image flickered and shifted, changing the demon’s appearance to one almost identical to Sabine’s. This was the reason Esmelle had helped craft her human illusion. It wasn’t just so Sabine could hide amongst the humans. It was also so the witch could determine how to replicate it.
“Esme, please,” she begged. “Don’t do this.”
Esmelle squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry, Sabine. We all knew this would happen one day, and we prepared for this eventuality. We couldn’t risk telling you. We knew you would never agree.”
Sparing her one last glance, Dax drew his weapons and ran from the room, a mirrored image of her human form. A choked sob broke out of her, and she slumped against Bane. His arms tightened around her in reassurance and to restrain her.
Balkin turned to Malek. “You made a blood oath to protect Sabine from harm. The final part is yours.”
Malek hesitated. He held her gaze, searching her expression. “Sabine, I’m—”
“No,” she whispered, knowing what was coming and the real reason Balkin had wanted to speak with Malek alone. “You don’t owe Balkin anything. There is no debt between you two. There is no gift he can offer that’s greater than what I can provide.”
To Kill a Fae Page 28