“You did this to me,” the werewolf said. “You could’ve saved me, but you didn’t.”
I closed my eyes and willed him to disappear. I didn’t kill Leto. Supai killed Leto.
In the distance, I heard someone calling my name. I opened my eyes and headed in the direction of the sound, but the floor became soft like a cloud and I felt as though I was sinking right through it. I scrambled to hold on to something—anything—but there was nothing solid within reach.
I struggled to steady my breathing. Focus, Callie, I told myself. This is Dasim mining your internal conflict. It isn’t real.
The floor hardened beneath my feet.
“Lark,” someone called. “Lark, be careful.”
“Dad?”
I whirled around again to see a display of five death masks on the wall, each one bearing the face of my father.
“Trust no one,” they said in unison.
“Dad?” I had the insane thought that if I could take one of the heads, then I could reunite it with my father’s body.
A memory flashed in my mind. Bodies burning with a magical flame of my own creation. Nathaniel beside me. Bourbon.
My father’s body was gone.
He was dead.
The masks dissolved. Somewhere behind me, I heard a scream.
“Tate?” I ran down a corridor toward the sound. “Tate, where are you?”
I found the witch hanging from the stone wall by the collar of her shirt. Her head was bleeding.
“Help,” she whispered.
No, I thought. Tate isn’t here.
I had to get out of my own head. When I was younger and more prone to fear in the mountains, Nathaniel had taught me mindfulness as a way of keeping me grounded in the present. I focused first on my toes, pressing them against my shoe. I wiggled my fingers and concentrated on the individual beats of my heart.
When I finally returned to reality, I was alone in a chamber with the goddess. Her head was cocked, watching me with an intense stare that bordered on psychotically creepy.
“I see something in your face.” Tefnut placed her fingers under my chin and gently turned my head from side to side, examining my face.
“I’m wearing a new sheer foundation,” I said. “It’s called Get Your Filthy Necromantic Hands off My Face.”
The malevolence in the goddess’s smile turned my stomach. She hooked a finger in my lower lip and tugged it down like I was a dog competing for Best in Show. I pulled my face away.
“I’m all for women in charge, but I’ll be honest, you wouldn’t be my first choice,” I said.
“You are stronger than you appear,” she said.
Despite her goddess stature, Tefnut wouldn’t be as hard to kill as Dasim. She was vulnerable to all the usual methods—beheading, sword through the heart, etc. Unfortunately, while I was in my trance, I’d managed to shed my weapons.
“Let’s hope so,” I said and gave her a hard shove.
Tefnut slammed against the wall backward as Saxon flew into the chamber with his fangs elongated and his sword drawn. The goddess tried to dodge his blade, but she failed to clear it in time and he cut her bicep. Blood seeped from the wound and she gave it a cross look.
“You will make a fine soldier for my new army,” she said.
“Sorry, I already have a job,” Saxon said. With a backhanded swing of his blade, he sliced her chest open. Blood saturated her white dress and Saxon stumbled backward.
“Saxon?” I hurried to help him and saw his lustful expression. Tefnut’s blood was getting to him. We couldn’t afford to lose Saxon to bloodlust right now, not when we needed celestial fire. I grabbed his sword and pushed him aside.
Tefnut opened her mouth to speak, but no discernible sounds came out. I held the sword with both hands and cut off her head. Like her death mask, it toppled to the ground.
Saxon stared at the bloody corpse with an intensity that made me uncomfortable. “Go, Callie.”
“No, we have to find Dasim.” I hoped Evadne and Liam were okay.
Saxon turned his gaze to me and I saw the hunger in his eyes. “I don’t want to see you right now.”
I could remedy that without actually leaving his side. I activated The Magician and made myself invisible just as Dasim entered the chamber. At least he wouldn’t be able to pit us against each other if he didn’t know I was here.
The demon gaped in disbelief at Tefnut’s severed head. I hoped his shock and grief would be enough to render him immobile long enough to kill him. Instead he whirled around and fixed Saxon with two blazing eyes. The hybrid was still struggling to regain control of himself. I needed to buy him time.
“You did this,” Dasim seethed.
The demon stalked toward him and I knew I had to make my move. I jumped between them and touched the poker chip around my neck. I concentrated as hard as I could, channeling all my energy into the next word.
“Inertia.”
Dasim froze in place but remained standing.
“Celestial fire now,” I barked. My spell wasn’t strong enough to knock the demon unconscious, but it was enough to hold him in place. For how long, I wasn’t certain.
Saxon began to recover his senses. “I can’t see you.”
As I moved a few inches to the left, my hold on the demon started to slip. I halted and regained my focus.
“Don’t worry about me.”
He peered at the empty air. “You sound too close.”
I couldn’t make myself visible without releasing my hold on Dasim. This was our only chance to kill him. We had to take it.
“I’ll move at the last second,” I said.
“Callie, you know I can’t control it. That might not be enough. If I can’t even see you…” He gave an angry shake of his head. “I won’t do it.”
We were here for one purpose only and we couldn’t let anything distract us—the fate of the world depended on us.
On me.
“I’ll be fine, I swear.” A necessary lie. “Do it, Saxon!” I could feel my hold on the demon slipping. Dasim was fighting the magic, trying to get inside my head, and he was going to win. There was no more time.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“Please,” I begged. My whole body went rigid as I fought to maintain control.
The hybrid raised his hand in our direction and I saw that his arm was shaking. Part of me wanted to weep for myself and the other part of me wanted to weep for Saxon, knowing that this moment would change him—that the guilt would consume him.
I squared my shoulders. This was it then. This was the moment I joined my father in oblivion. Instead of avenging his death as I’d originally intended, I managed to get myself killed. Well-played, universe.
“Now, Saxon!”
White-hot light streaked from his fingers and I braced myself for impact. My skin pricked as the celestial fire washed over us. Although the demon remained still, I saw the pain reflected in his burning eyes as the flames engulfed him. His body disintegrated piece by piece, starting with his head and moving to his black robe. By the time his feet turned to ash, the fire was out, although a haze of whitish grey smoke seemed to cling to us.
I held out my hands and stared at them. There wasn’t a mark on me anywhere that I could see. Was this my spirit? Had my body crumbled to dust without me realizing it? Maybe that was how death worked. It wasn’t like I had a frame of reference.
The haze of smoke cleared and Saxon stood with his arm still extended toward us. Slowly he lowered it, his gaze pinned on me.
His expression contorted in pain and confusion. “Callie?”
I patted my chest and my hips. Solid. “You can see me?”
He strangled a cry and he rushed toward me, gathering me in his arms. “By the gods, how?” he whispered.
I couldn’t answer even if I had one to offer. His mouth covered mine and I sank against him, relief flooding my body. For a moment, the only sound was the beating of our hearts. Two of them.
I was alive.
We broke apart and he clasped my hands in his. “How is this possible? That was celestial fire, Callie. I thought I killed you.”
“I know,” I croaked. Once the tears started, I couldn’t stop them. They streamed down my face, each one a testament to my immense shock and gratitude.
He kissed the top of my head. “We can’t tell the others.”
I looked up at him. “We have to tell them that you killed Dasim.”
“And that’s all we tell them, at least until we figure out why.”
Footsteps thundered toward us and Saxon released my hands. Liam raced into the chamber with blood smeared across his face and neck. He was covered from head to toe in a fine black powder that looked like soot.
“What a relief,” Liam said. “I was hoping for the best but expecting the worst.”
“Kind of like when you’re on a date,” Evadne said, appearing behind him.
“At least I have dates,” Liam shot back. “Oh wait. You have dates. They just all end in tragedy when you bite their heads off at the end.”
“I’m not part praying mantis,” Evadne said.
Liam squinted. “Are you sure? You’ve got a lot of genes in that body. Could be one of them.”
Evadne noticed the remains on the chamber floor. “You killed both of them, huh? Is it wrong that I’m a little jealous?”
I elbowed Saxon. “I tied him. He fried him.”
“Does one of you care to explain how we got saddled with Tefnut and Dasim?” Saxon asked.
“Let’s just say the external demon triggered my internal ones,” Evadne said, tapping her head. “It’s not a pretty place.”
“And I was kicking the serpent’s head tail of one monster croc,” Liam said.
“You killed Sut?” I asked in disbelief.
Liam chuckled. “Funny story. Turns out if you shove the Achet down his throat in a desperate attempt to save yourself, you discover that it subdues him—permanently.”
I eyed him closely. “Are you sure he’s not just sleeping again?”
Liam wiped the black layer of film from his front. “Did I neglect to mention that he imploded?”
Evadne inclined her head toward the pile of ash on the floor. “So did Dasim. I guess your celestial fire didn’t run amok.”
“I managed,” Saxon said stiffly.
Her gaze flicked to me. “You lucked out. You could’ve easily ended up in the fallout zone with his bad aim.”
“I definitely lucked out,” I said, careful not to look at Saxon.
“World domination averted. Again.” Liam held up a hand for a high-five.
Evadne smacked his hand, resulting in black residue on her own. She grimaced and scrutinized her sullied hand.
“Let’s get out here,” Liam said. “This place is creepy.”
Evadne gave the tomb an admiring glance. “I don’t know. I think it has a certain charm.”
Together we dragged ourselves to the tomb’s exit.
“Well, much like the Ab, this was a Tefnut to crack, but we managed,” Liam said.
I gaped at him. “Did you seriously just make a dad joke?”
Saxon shook his head in disdain. “Don’t worry. He’s riding in the trunk on the way back to headquarters.”
“We got here by portal,” Liam reminded him.
The hybrid grinned. “I didn’t say it would be our trunk.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Brought you back a souvenir.” I tossed the sword on the conference table with a flourish. To their credit, nobody flinched. Maybe they were used to agents throwing weapons or body parts on the table after a fight. I could definitely see Evadne coming back with a spare hand.
“And where did you find this?” Doran asked.
“Pressed against my abdomen,” I said. “Can’t say I enjoyed it.”
Abra used her magic to pull the sword toward her until she could reach it. “Dasim had this?”
“No, this was in Virginia, before we left for Egypt,” Evadne said. “We had a busy twenty-four hours.”
Abra held up the blade to examine it. “And what happened to the owner of this sword?”
“He got away, but let’s not focus on the negative,” Evadne said. “We got the big fish.”
Liam frowned. “Fishes?”
“The owner of that sword is called Naois,” I said. “He seemed to be some kind of fae warrior.”
Evadne held up a finger. “And he thinks we’re vile and disgusting creatures.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Liam said.
Doran craned his neck for a better view of the sword. “Is that the Celtic Tree of Life?”
“Yes, with a circle around it.” Abra’s brow wrinkled. “I don’t like this.”
“You don’t have to keep it,” Liam said. “We can add it to the armory.”
The older witch looked at me. “How did he get away?”
“Portal. Must’ve had friends waiting for him on the other side.”
“We’ll send the sword to the lab for analysis,” Emil said.
“And you’ll let us know when you find out who they are?” I asked. “If there are a bunch of fae warriors out there that want to kill us, we should probably know.”
“Yes, of course,” Abra said.
“Where’s Purvis?” I asked. He was the only elder missing from the round table.
“He’s gone to visit family,” Emil said. “He’ll be back in a couple of days.”
“We’re very proud of what you accomplished in Egypt,” Doran said.
Liam straightened in his chair. “We’re pretty proud too.”
“Wasn’t the same without you, Tater Tot,” Evadne said and blew her a kiss. “It was better.”
Tate rolled her eyes. I was pleased to see that the young witch looked almost back to normal thanks to Emil’s intensive healing.
The conference room door opened and Jonas poked his head inside. “Your appointment is here.”
Lothar Friedan strode into the room and balked at the sight of us gathered around the table. “I beg your pardon. I didn’t realize I was interrupting a meeting in progress.”
Doran crossed the room to shake his hand. “We appreciate you coming all the way here, Lothar.”
Lothar surveyed the room. “Where’s Lloyd?”
“Lloyd won’t be joining us for this meeting,” Doran said.
“I admit, I’m not sure why you simply couldn’t deliver the amulet to me, but I’ve made the most of the trip. I even won a few games of baccarat at the casino.” He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Now, where is my beautiful amulet?”
“About that…” Natasha strode into the room in a pair of thigh-high boots and a shortie romper. The vampire somehow managed to look both menacing and fashionable. “I’m afraid the amulet no longer exists.”
Lothar adjusted his bow tie. “No longer exists? I don’t understand.”
“The amulet was destroyed in the heat of battle,” Natasha said. She stood directly in front of him and folded her arms. “It’s gone.”
The warlock turned a deep shade of purple. “I hired you to retrieve the amulet and I expect it to be returned.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Abra said. “The amulet was destroyed in the fight with a Plague demon.”
Lothar recoiled with an expression of abject horror. “A Plague demon.”
I smiled. “That’s right. A demon named Dasim, but you knew that already, didn’t you?”
The warlock maintained a neutral expression. “I don’t know what this girl is talking about, but it sounds as though she’s accusing me of something.”
Natasha flicked a glance in my direction. “Hmm. It certainly does.”
“Dasim is the demon that took over your house during the Plague,” I said. “The one who was removed by the local witches and werewolves. When you said you inherited the Ab, you meant that it was left there by the house’s former occupant.”
“So you’re telling me this Dasim
returned after all these years and stole it?” Lothar asked.
“No,” Natasha said in a dangerously low voice. “He didn’t steal it. You gave it to him—willingly.”
“That’s why there was no evidence of a break-in or a fight,” I chimed in. “Dasim escaped from his magical prison in the forest and came straight to his old house to retrieve his precious amulet. I bet he even knocked on the door like a perfect gentleman and explained the situation. You made a deal and let him have it because you quite liked the idea of a demon of discord roaming the earth.”
Lothar focused on me. “And why would I wish for such a thing?”
“The world has calmed a little, hasn’t it?” I asked. “Enough that the security business has been waning. What could be better than helping a demon of discord and his goddess in their bid to take over the world? Fear and chaos are your bread and butter, after all.”
“Don’t be absurd,” Lothar said. “I know nothing about that. It’s true that I found the amulet hidden under floorboards when I moved in, but I only knew that it had value. I like money. Is that a crime?”
Somehow it didn’t surprise me that he discovered the amulet under a floorboard. The black heart-shaped amulet was his very own Telltale Heart.
“But then you got greedy,” Liam said, picking up the thread. “Or maybe your OCD kicked in and you couldn’t stand seeing that empty spot in your case. You wanted the amulet back so you could have your cake and eat it too. You didn’t call the authorities because you couldn’t afford for word to get out about the burglary. You’d lose business.”
“So you called your old friend Lloyd, hoping that we’d recover the amulet for you,” Natasha said. “You’d keep your payment from the demon and get to keep the stone.”
“You greedy bastard,” Evadne added with a shake of her head. “I almost admire you for it.”
“What I couldn’t figure out is why your staff didn’t mention the late-night visit by a scary Plague demon,” I said. “But then it occurred to me that you’re a warlock and they were reportedly a little sluggish the next morning. What was it-a potion to fog their brain?”
High Stakes and Vampires (Pandora's Pride Book 2) Page 18