It was only then that Kalder saw the condition Thorn was in. Or rather, the condition he was hiding. Pale and weaker than he’d ever seen the demon, Thorn could barely stand on his own. Indeed, he looked as if he’d fall over any moment.
“What did they do to you?”
Thorn’s eyes turned red again as he straightened. An unholy fire burned in the depths of that rock-hard gaze. He grabbed Kalder by his ragged shirt and jerked him forward. “Know that your freedom, though earned, came at a high cost. Do not squander it.” And with those words, he threw Kalder back.
Kalder expected to land on the sandy beach.
Instead, he kept falling through a darkness that had no substance or form. An endless night that was cold and vacuous. As bereft as his soul that wanted them to correct the injustice of leaving his brother behind.
When Kalder finally came to rest, it was against solid board. The unexpected impact knocked the air from his lungs and left him gasping for breath and dazed, with stars dancing in his vision to the point it near blinded him.
Stunned, he rolled to his side, ready to battle in spite of not being able to see clearly. But as the dancing images came into focus, he realized that these were demons he knew.
Demons he called family. And the sight of them made his heart lighten as unshed tears choked him.
“Bart?” Kalder blinked, unsure if he could trust his eyes. Or if this might be another vicious trick Vine was using to weaken his resolve.
The Simeon Mage’s long brown hair was loose from its queue as his merry blue eyes sparkled with relief. “Kalder!” He stepped forward to lend a shoulder and help him stand. “You look like hell itself swallowed you whole and shat you back out.”
“Pretty sure it did, mate.” And still Kalder couldn’t believe he was back among the insane crew that called this ship home. That this was real and that they were here with him again.
How could it be?
He kept waiting for it all to vanish. But as each second passed and he remained, as each crew member came forward to welcome his return, he knew it wasn’t a dream.
Especially when he saw Bane in all his dark, venomous glory. Aye, there was no missing that amount of sinister power. It thickened the air and sizzled with an electricity that caused the hairs on his neck and arms to rise. No one commanded the unholy authority or powers this creature did.
Without a word, Bane jerked him forward into a tight embrace and pounded him so hard on his back that it, too, knocked the wind from his lungs.
Shocked, Kalder felt his jaw drop as Bane released him and stepped aside to greet Thorn, who’d materialized by his side. All signs of weakness were now masked. The demonic bastard appeared as hale and hearty as ever. Yet Kalder knew that for the illusion it was.
He swallowed hard as Bane inclined his head to Thorn. “I would say thank you, but I know how much you despise gratitude.”
Thorn snorted a prim dismissal at Bane. “Told you I’d get him back.”
“And I trusted you would. Arsling you might be, but you were ever good to your word.”
“That a compliment?”
Bane scoffed. “Never. Just a statement of fact.”
Smirking, Thorn rolled his eyes as Bane’s wife, Mara, joined them on deck. As a Deruvian—and Vine’s sister—she was born from a race of wood sylphs and was the very enchanted ship they sailed upon. Yet unlike Vine, she wasn’t possessed of their Wintering disease that had stolen her sister’s soul and sanity. She was still a protector for Man, and held her soul intact. Her Deruvian vows were sacred to her, as was the safety of every person she housed inside her hull.
And just as Kalder’s brother had been bonded to the ground, Mara was part of the ship itself and knew everything that happened aboard it. Every piece of wood was tied to her in much the same way the ground had been melded to Muerig. She could sense every swipe of the ocean water or step of foot against the planks. They were all part of her body and being.
With the palest golden-brown hair that was liberally laced with strands of pure ice white, she was lithe and angelic—more graceful and beautiful than any woman Kalder had ever seen.
Except for one who was conspicuously missing at the moment.
Mara moved to stand next to Bane while Thorn scanned their crew with a warning grimace. “And with that, I should warn you that the Carian Gate fell open completely a short bit ago. The entire Sarim Council, including Michael and Gabriel, are holding the battle line with their armies as best they can, but…”
“All hell’s breaking loose?”
Bane and Thorn both passed a droll stare at Will for his unsolicited comment that caused half the crew to groan out loud over the bad jest.
Bartholomew Meers, or Blackheart Bart as most knew him, shoved Will forward. “You’re ever a daft wanker with ill timing. Read the room, man. Toss him overboard for you, Captain? Do us all a service?”
“Maybe later. We might could use the entertainment.”
Unamused, Kalder froze as he felt a presence behind him similar to warm sunshine brushing over his naked skin. It was hot and tantalizing.
And it left him breathless.
Knowing instinctively that it was Cameron, he turned to see her in the shadows of the hatch. Tears glistened in a pair of pale sea-colored eyes that widened with disbelief. With her arms braced on each side of the doorframe to steady herself on the rocking ship, and her breathing labored, she chewed at the bottom of her lip. A habit of nervousness he found absolutely charming.
Still dressed in the breeches and tunic of a boy, she was the most beautiful woman in the world to him and he’d gut anyone who said otherwise. Especially when she launched herself forward at a dead run across the deck for him.
Her laughter rang out like a song.
Catching her in his arms, he was completely unprepared for the ferocity of her assault. She wrapped herself around him and cradled his entire body with hers. Never had anyone greeted him with such reckless abandon and enthusiasm. And he’d never thought to have a homecoming like this from a woman of such fine and upstanding character and nature. Usually, people were only this happy to see him go.
Kalder couldn’t breathe as the almond scent of her skin hit him hard and he fisted his hand in the silken chestnut strands of her hair. “Take it you missed me, lass?”
Cameron wanted to beat him for that question. But she was too grateful to have him back to taint it, even if he did deserve it for baiting her so. “How could I miss anyone as thoughtless as you?” she teased. “You’re a feckless beast. Worthless from your first breath to your last!”
He flashed a charming grin at her. “’Deed, as is evidenced by your reluctance to loosen that Herculean death grip you’ve got about me throat.”
Cameron felt her cheeks stinging as she realized how right he was. Her arms ached from the tightness of her grasp. “Only because every time I let you out of me sight, Mr. Dupree, you get into all manner of trouble.”
Reluctantly, she released him and stepped back to stare up into those eyes that defied her ability to name their stormy pewteresque color. And how could she have forgotten just how handsome he was? Or tall?
Or how incredibly massive and refined for a bloke!
Only Captain Bane was larger in size.
Even bruised, Kalder was still the most handsome creature she’d ever seen in the flesh. And the sight of him there before her left her breathless and hot in a way that really should be illegal, and probably was in most colonies. In truth, she hated how much he affected her, and he wasn’t even trying. That was the worst part of it all. She had none to blame for her untoward thoughts but herself.
And if her heart didn’t quit pounding, it would soon beat a hole from her chest and be skiddling along the deck at their feet. The sound of a gruff male clearing his throat interrupted her appreciation of Kalder’s finer assets. Too late, she remembered that her older brother was now on board their ship, sailing with the crew.
And staring angrily at them in a state o
Her face heated up even more.
Stepping away from Kalder, she turned toward her brother, who was as fair-haired as she was dark. “Paden … may I introduce you to Mr. Kalder Dupree?”
A tic started in Paden’s jaw as he crossed his arms over his chest and took up that stance he had anytime a male came near. “I thought you and he were just friends.”
“We are.”
The annoyed scowl he cast toward her hand that was still tucked inside Kalder’s accused her of lying.
Offended that he’d dare such, she arched a brow. “Don’t you even now, me boyo. Won’t be having none of those lectures from the likes of your sorry hide, given what you’ve gone and put your poor Letty through. And how you left her when you pulled out your sails last. You’re a fine one to think to be lecturing me on me behavior, Patrick Michel Alister Jack!”
This time Paden’s cheeks turned rosy, at the mention of his pregnant fiancée who waited for their return in Williamsburg. Aye, poor Lettice was in a pickle because of his thoughtlessness. He had no right to be sanctimonious when all she’d done was have long conversations with Kalder.
In the most public of rooms and spaces.
Filled with witnesses!
Truth to that. Never once were the two of them alone. Though to be honest, there was a part of her what wouldn’t mind a bit more than friendship, and that part terrified her. Because she’d seen the darker side of Mr. Dupree’s nature whenever he let down his guard. And still, even though she knew what he was capable of—knew the darkness what lived deep inside him—she found him more compelling than any man she’d ever met.
He’s not a man, Cam. You know this.
Kalder was another beastie altogether. A dangerous water kelpie. The kind that could easily lure her in …
Forevermore.
Trying not to think about that, Cameron lowered her gaze, then froze as she realized something.
With a gasp, she took Kalder’s hand in hers and pulled his dirty sleeve back a bit so that she could get a better look at his forearm.
“Hey!” Paden snapped indignantly at the way she pawed at Kalder.
She ignored him completely as she saw the most miraculous thing of all.
Kalder’s mark was gone.
“Where’s your Deadman’s Cross Ribbon?”
Bart and Will came forward to look at his arm with her. Then they turned in unison to stare at Thorn, waiting for an explanation of its absence.
He shrugged. “When he traded his soul for you and your brother, Miss Jack, he redeemed himself.” Thorn jerked his chin at Kalder’s wrist. “Means you can die again, Dupree. For real, now. Beware and take care. One resurrection after your redemption is all I can manage. There’s no hope for you after this.”
Shock hovered in his eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Just did.”
“That how you freed him?”
Thorn ignored answering Devyl’s pointed question straight out, but then that was normal. The bugger never liked to answer much of anything. “You’ll never know, mate. The devil’s son works in mysterious ways.”
Sancha Dolorosa sucked her breath in sharply at his take on the common phrase. “That’s blasphemy!”
He passed a droll stare at the ship’s pilot. Tall and thin, she wore a long, curly black wig that set off her dark patrician features to perfection. “Really? You’re going to chastise me for that?”
Before they could comment on whether or not he had a right to it, something struck the hull of the ship. Hard and with a vigor that sent the ship careening. Mara turned pale from the pain of the blow against her hull, as she staggered and Captain Bane caught her to his side.
“My lady?”
“There’s a lusca in the water.” Her breathing turned ragged as waves rushed over the decks from where the sea monster was attacking them, and hammering more blows against her.
Both Cameron and her brother shifted instantly from their “human” appearance into their Necrodemian bodies—something that happened any time true evil came near them with ill intent. Their hair became as white as Mara’s and Sancha’s real hair that she kept hidden beneath her curly black wig, and their skin turned a ghostly, glittering pale. Likewise, their wings expanded and fluttered out.
Though why this eerie transition happened to her now after Paden had been returned from Vine’s custody, Cameron couldn’t imagine. Paden was the one who’d inherited their mother’s sword and her powers, and calling. Not her. Technically, she should have gone back to normal once they were freed. Yet why Cameron would change around evil this time when she hadn’t changed earlier in the tavern when they faced Vine and her minions, she couldn’t imagine.
Like Paden, she had no control over her shifted forms. It came upon her without any warning.
Captain Bane handed Mara’s care and protection off to Will. “Guard her well, Mr. Death!”
Mara cast her husband a chiding glare, but didn’t speak, as they were all accustomed to his overprotectiveness when it came to his wife’s safety.
Kalder started for the side railing, but the captain stopped him.
“You’ve been restored now, Mr. Dupree. Stay on board and don’t risk yourself.”
Kalder scoffed at his order. “Not while there’s a threat to this crew, Captain. Me life makes no never mind to me, you know that. They want a brawl and blood in the water, I’m in the mood to give it.”
Cameron started for him, but Kalder was over the side and in the raging seawater before she could stop him from his recklessness.
Paden pulled his enchanted Seraph’s sword from its sheath, and went to take a station with the rest of the crew. As Cameron headed to join them, Thorn took her elbow.
“They fed you blood while they had you?”
Cameron hesitated at his question. “Pardon?”
“Did you drink blood while you were held by Vine, lass?”
She winced involuntarily as her mind flashed on the nightmares she’d survived at the hands of Vine and her unholy alliance of misshapen adulators. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t erase the trauma of it all. “They poured it down me throat. Aye. And Paden’s too.”
He looked as sick as she’d felt when they’d done it.
And the curse he let out made her stomach draw tight.
“Why, Lord Thorn? What did they do to us?”
“They’ve bonded with you.” He glanced over to Paden. “And your brother, no doubt. I should have thought of that.”
“What’s that mean?”
A tic started in his handsome jaw as his eyes turned a deep, flowing green that reflected like iridescent water. “It depends on whose blood they used … and the binding spell.” Thorn winced as if some nightmare just occurred to him.
“What aren’t you saying, my lord?”
“You’ve the blood of Michael in your veins, girl. While the others are strong, he’s one of the most powerful of all. His blood is straight from the Source itself. There’s no telling what such a bond could cause. The damage not just to you and your brother, but to the entire world.”
A shiver went down her spine as she considered his words. “You’re terrifying me.”
“Good, lass. You need to be scared. More than that, you need to be vigilant. Because like it or not, you’re no longer simply a protector, born of the light. With what they’ve done to you, you’re now a creature of darkness, same as the rest of us. And you will be pulled toward that pit with a hunger the likes of which you’ve never known. As bad as it is for us, it’s nothing compared to what it’ll be for someone like you who’s never known its lure before. May the gods help you, little one. I’ve yet to meet the soul who hasn’t been damned by those flames.”
4
Kalder hit the ocean water and soaked it in with a sigh of relief as his gills finally opened and he was able to take his first real breath in weeks.
Or maybe it was months.
To be submerged again …
It was second only to an actual orgasm.
Although, it’d been so long since he last had one of those that they might actually feel the same. Honestly, he couldn’t remember anymore.
The unexpected and sublime sensation was so immediate and intense that he sincerely forgot what he was doing. That they were actually in the middle of the ocean and under a violent attack.
Until the sea monster rose up and slapped him hard with one slimy, nasty tentacle. That stinging blow brought him out of his stupor and reminded him of their imminent threat.
And his own place in the world.
He was here to slay.
Slamming his fists against the waves, he summoned his powers and felt them wash through his body like lava. Thick and hot. They contrasted sharply with the cold seawater.
The huge sharklike octopus beast bared its fangs at him as it turned away from the ship to attack Kalder full frontal. Aye, he had its ugly attention now. Full on. Complete and utter.
The stench of it was tantamount to a rotting corpse that had lain for weeks in the sun. It hung in the air and choked him as the beast came about for another attack.
“That’s it, me smelly friend. Come get some.”
He shot a fiery blast at the creature that caught it across the face. It recoiled from the fire and dove under the waves. The Sea Witch turned in the water to head back in their direction and render support to him. Her long nines rolled into place while their aeromages scrambled for assault. The sound of metal scraping against the wood rolled like thunder over the ocean and caused Kalder’s blood to pound with delight at the smell of war. This was what he loved most in this blackened world.
The fight. The blood.
The massacre.
Except for one thing.
Back in the day, balling had been the sole activity he’d partaken in more than brawling. So much so that his parents had threatened to harpoon him to the wall of his bedroom if he didn’t learn to restrain himself from the company of loose human women. While it’d been oft said that the females of his people were seductresses sent to lure mortal men to their doom, he’d argued that human women were much more attractive than any mermaid ever born. For he could normally turn away even the most beautiful of Myrcians.
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