He was utterly still.
It seemed ridiculous that the others wouldn't help him. It was clear to me that, with his speed and the way he fought, even a moment of distraction would be enough for Bastien to deliver a killing blow. Now he looked completely defenceless. Thomas let go of me and moved down one step, but to my mystification, didn't go any further. His instinct was right though, because, after a horribly endless moment, Bastien pulled his arms beneath him, glanced at his oncoming opponent and then somehow was on his feet. He made a direct charge, but she flung him aside again. This time he landed in a crouch, skidding backwards with the momentum of the strike, sending up sprays of water from the rain-soaked grass.
If she was distracted for just one moment, I thought, Bastien might have more of a chance. Before I realised what I was doing, or how stupid the move was, I sprinted down the steps, halted out of what I hoped was the range of her leap and fired at her.
Three things happened all at once.
First of all, I discovered I was well within range of the dragon being's leap. I don't know if the shots actually hit her she moved so fast. One instant, she was facing Bastien, the next, those taloned feet were rocketing towards me.
I wasn't going to be fast enough.
Fortunately, Thomas was.
He jerked me back up on to the deck, pushing me behind him, but keeping hold of my wrist as the ranks of his clan closed in front of us. Bastien didn't waste my effort, he leapt forward, racing up behind her and springing to her back. This time he didn't draw a knife, instead one hand darted under her chin to grip the opposite horn while he took hold of the other horn and, with a forceful, sharp movement, he broke her neck.
Bastien jumped off as she fell to the ground, the lifeless gold eyes causing me to shiver. As Bastien wavered and sank to his knees, I tried to go to him, but Thomas's grip on my wrist tightened. He was muttering in French, the effect of which was to make him sound far more miffed than if he was speaking English. Thunder was rumbling right over us, the vibrations increasing until I thought it might actually be an earthquake. Lightning flashed and the air seemed to split before us with a screech I swear should have made my ears bleed. As the light was sucked into the rip, a dark shape burst through it.
Therion landed, one knee down, one up, both hands on the ground, like a runner about to launch into a sprint. He was breathing hard. In addition to a longsword hanging from his belt, he held two short swords, one, a strange combination of scythe-like curves, the other a Grecian-like blade. Blood covered both. In fact, blood seemed to cover everything. Even his wings looked wet with it. His muscles were trembling and as he slowly rose, I could see thick swirls of blood-red in his gold eyes, the lines of his face were as hard as granite. I started to move around Thomas, I could see several wounds criss-crossing Therion's body, his pants were ripped along the upper leg in three long lines. Thomas's hold tightened even more, keeping me behind him.
'Do not approach the therilgalen.'
'It's Therion, Thomas!' I objected. His fingers dug in further, making me draw in a hiss of pain.
He definitely did not want me to move. What on earth was going on?
Bastien
I had thought Therion's return would be a relief, but from the look of him, I wasn't entirely sure. The smell of blood assaulted my senses, I could discern at least three different species. It would appear his exit from the Dark Realm was strongly opposed. I could almost taste the blood despite being a few metres away. My fangs were already well forward— I was injured, I was tired, and I was hungry. The worse condition my body is in, the worse the craving. The taint of blood on the air pulled at my teeth painfully.
Thomas had wisely put himself between Therion and Jay. The evidence of all that blood also meant the soul taker would have taken his share of souls— he'd be in an intense state and his instincts just might drive him to take Jay's spirit before his logic over-rode them. It was a shame he hadn't arrived in time to confront Uea.
I glanced back at my former opponent, except Uea was no longer there.
Some of the creatures from other realms, will, upon dying, return to their home realm, or what's left of them will. Others dissolve into ashes. Those that don't, remain until inter-realm scavengers scent them out. Some of the scavengers, such as huunekas— a faerie dragon about as big as a kitten and just as 'aww' provoking— will consume everything, even the bones. Considering most humans can't see beings from other realms and the scavengers often get to them pretty fast, we rarely worry about dealing with the bodies. But the light-dancers have a policy of removing them to another realm or reducing the body to dust. But Uea wasn't the kind of being that dissolved or returned to her realm upon death and the scavengers wouldn't put a claw in this realm until we were well away.
She must still be alive!
I could have sworn I'd separated the neck and spine, but it mustn't have been enough…
'Thomas!' It started as a low growl, but by the end of it my tone was full of warning.
At the same moment, Uea planes-shifted in...
Right behind Jay.
Em
I was right about not getting any sleep. Going to bed only resulted in a bunch of tangled sheets, leaving me frustrated and sweaty. I'd just had a shower and now sat in Jay's dining area sipping my tea. We couldn't risk taking actual files home, we had strict security protocols regarding that, but I could access my work account from my work laptop. Not that I was getting anywhere there, either. I was so distracted I couldn't concentrate. My email pinged and I opened it to see what had arrived.
It was from our taskforce leader, Stuart, saying there was a new audio file in for translation. Because Tien was a little bit more removed from Jay's situation than I was, she'd been conducting the analysis of the data I was translating. I was involved a little bit in that, but Stuart had downgraded me to mostly translating duties because, well, Jay was my daughter and we couldn't afford accusations of conflict of interest. It also meant I had to log all my activities in relation to the case and have them signed off by Stuart. It was a right-old pain in the proverbial, but, like the rest of the taskforce, I did not want to jeopardise this case.
Most of us had been working together in either child protection or crime prevention, so we were a like-minded group. We'd all seen and heard of indescribably atrocious crimes committed against children and we wanted to stop them whenever we could. Before this assignment, I'd spent my time online tracking down paedophiles and had some familiarity with both Riley and Lena Exeter and Vaughn Archmore. There'd never been any hard proof Vaughn was involved with committing crimes against kids, but there was enough to substantiate our suspicions. Riley Exeter had already done time, but had managed to wriggle out of his last charges due to a lawyer who was known to work for the Archmores. Both men had had charges brought against them that were later dropped because witnesses and victims suddenly withdrew their statements. We had audio recordings proving that 'someone', we suspected Kerrigan Archmore, was instructing gang members to intimidate those witnesses. We needed more, though.
Now we had Riley in a corner, but with all his talk about demons, he had to be cleared by a psychiatrist. I'd figured out that the demon in question was likely Therion, but I could hardly go to Stuart and say that Riley was mentally sound because I happened to know the demon. I wasn't sure why Therion had stepped in and instructed Riley to confess, I'd have to ask him when I got a chance. In the meantime, I could look at the new audio file and translate it so Tien could analyse it when she got in.
The recording was pretty standard stuff, most of it was irrelevant talk between members of the gang and sometimes various civilians. Towards the end of the recording, though, I stopped cold. Two English words stood out: Jay Thaneton.
I paused the recording and took a moment to gather my thoughts. Protocol demanded I immediately notified Stuart. He'd likely instruct me to leave the recording until Ivan came in and then translate it with him present or have Tien translate it with Ivan present. T
his could get messy. Messy enough that I had a feeling it would be the end of my role on the taskforce. We'd thought that the involvement of the Vietnamese gang was mainly related to the drugs, it was, after all, their main business. I'd been allowed to stay on the case on the basis of the theory that I'd be translating information relating to the drug side of the investigation with some possibility of crossover in relation to the transport of the children, but not directly in relation to Jay. We hadn't thought the gang was involved with that side of things. Our current evidence demonstrated that as far as Jay's case went, Lena and Riley along with Quan were involved as a one off due to Jay witnessing the abduction of Sunesh and that there was no gang involvement in the incident outside of Quan. Could Vaughn Archmore have handed dealing with Jay to his gang affiliates? Vaughn was very much hands-off when it came to the drug trafficking side of things. He handled the money and let his brother do the rest. But with Kerrigan Archmore dead now, Vaughn would either be forced to take over his role or to find someone else who could take his brother's place.
I reasoned that because there was a chain of evidence with Stuart sending me the digital recording, I could safely listen to and translate it. Then, when I reported to Stuart, I'd be able to give him the context in which Jay was a subject of interest for the gang. After I reported in, Stuart could decide what to do and have the translation verified by an independent source. I had a feeling that the taskforce would soon be looking for an independent translator, things were starting to get too complex.
I replayed the section of audio, just concentrating on translating the words, not their meaning. I then double-checked my translation. I looked at my scrawl across the pad. As I said, I registered words, my daughter's name, witness, complications, death, accident, permanently. But I had not yet strung them together.
I made myself take a couple of slow, long breaths and then picked up the notepad.
Person 1: I don't have time to deal with Vaughn, you'll have to do it.
Person 2: You're going to have to, I have a new problem to deal with.
Person 1: What problem?
Person 2: Complications from Archmore's death. A woman, Jay Thaneton. She's a credible witness.
Person 1: Another accident, then?
Person 2: Vaughn says we don't have time. He wants her dealt with permanently before she gives too much more to the police.
At that point another person comes into the room and the subject changes.
Pushing away from the table I paced about the kitchen swearing under my breath, cursing that they had been interrupted before the discussion could go into details about how they planned to—
How they planned…
…
…to kill my daughter.
I realised my hands were shaking. Forget my hands, my whole body was trembling. I felt tears slip down my cheeks. Moving to the kitchen counter I placed my hands on it, wide apart, letting them support me as I stared down at the black and silver marble pattern on the bench.
I had to be stronger than this. I couldn't let this kind of thing affect me so deeply, it would diminish my ability to protect my daughter. With the way things were going, with both demons and a criminal organisation targeting Jay, I could not afford to let the emotions overwhelm me.
I let the tears fall for a few more minutes, let the stress release, but I didn't collapse into sobs. Then, when I felt the tension ease a little, I shut it all down; the desire to panic, the anxiety, the grief— I'd already lost my husband, not my daughter too— but most especially the fear.
Closing my eyes, I made myself think through the next steps I needed to take.
First, I needed to inform our taskforce leader. This was a tangible threat to a witness. They'd want to put her into protective custody. But with demons also targeting her, I felt she was safer with the vampires, so, I needed to assure Stuart that, for the moment, she had adequate private protection. But I should also contact Thomas, let him know that there were more mundane threats to watch for.
In a very Jay-like move, I turned on her coffee machine and started to make a coffee. It was going to be a long night.
Therion
[The Reckoning – Within Temptation featuring Jacoby Shaddix]
Having consumed so many souls, I was strong enough to planes-shift several times once I got through the portal. It was a move meant to throw off any Dark Realm pursuers. As I made my final shift into Emerline's garden I scented an adversary I remembered well— Uea.
She had already arrived.
My mind started swirling with questions. Had she attacked? What with and how many? Was Jayden still alive? Was she safe? As I rose, the first gaze I met was Jayden's and I admit it was no small relief to see her. I noted Bastien's presence just behind me. Thomas had placed himself in front of Jayden, probably fearing that I might take her soul. In truth, it required all my discipline not to give into my instincts, but the arduous years under Aurealis had, at least, developed and extended my ability to control myself.
I heard Bastien growl Thomas's name— his voice full of warning.
The air behind Jayden shivered, taking on a fluid-like texture.
The pond of air flashed and Uea darted through, talons aiming for Jayden's exposed back.
Even as Thomas yanked Jayden out of immediate danger, I shot forward, heedless of those I knocked aside. I went for Uea's throat, gripping it tight enough so that she would have difficulty using her horns as a defence and hoisted her over my head, moving back off the veranda at the same time. I drove her into the ground and pinned her.
Uea thrashed ineffectively against my grip. One set of talons clawed at the arm pinning her, the other set came for my face. With my free hand, I caught her wrist before her talons struck fully, but she still scored four shallow lines through my cheek. The fury burned painfully within, and only taking a spirit would make that fire ebb. As I took Uea's spirit, I let her spirit's fear wash over my senses, felt her spirit scream in protest as I dragged it inch after inch away from its vessel…
Aurealis forgive me, I savoured it.
I locked my blood-red gaze with Uea's enraged red-gold one. She stilled for a moment. There was no fear in her eyes— her conscious mind was not afraid, but then she did not know how close she was to extinction.
'You are not only a traitor, you are weak,' she snarled.
I tilted my head and whispered, 'And yet I am the one who has your soul.'
I watched her rage slowly transform to fear as she absorbed the meaning of my revelation. I relished in her conscious fear a moment more and then, violently, I finished the taking, closing my eyes as I drew in her spirit. This… this was how I would feel when I finally killed Ulyn.
I raised my head as she fell limply to the grass. When I opened my eyes, I found Bastien before me. I knew Jayden and Thomas were still behind me, on the veranda. I was thankful Jayden could not see my face, read the hate and triumph in my eyes, just as Bastien did right now. His expression was unjudging. Indeed, I believe I could detect a hint of envy in his eyes.
He held out a hand to me. It was a gesture of ultimate trust, to allow a being such as I so close in the state I was in— it would be so easy to destroy him, yet he did not fear I would. The act made me pause. His confidence in my self-control and inner strength was sound and in turn somehow made it possible for me to bank the fires of the fury searing through my veins. I took his wrist and let him haul me up. I did not actually need help, but the act was a demonstration that he could trust me as well as acknowledging that I valued his trust.
'The rest will come now, we need to regroup,' he said softly.
He was referring to whatever forces Uea had brought with her. She had probably expended an advance group, and upon discovering I was still not here, had come in herself rather than lose more of her force to the vampires.
'You can join me, but keep your distance,' I warned.
Jay
It happened so fast I barely had time to register it until Therion had the drag
on being pinned to the ground. He seemed impervious to her efforts to get free— and she fought hard. Very quickly her spirit coalesced and started to stream into Therion, he spread his great, black wings and his gold markings adopted a distinct glow. It was like morning sunshine radiated from him for a moment and then she stilled.
Therion drew his wings in and, as he did, I could see Bastien approaching him. He held out a wrist to help Therion up and, for a tense moment, I actually feared Therion might strike Bastien, not from anything I could see of Therion, as his back was to me. It was Bastien. He'd approached Therion like someone facing a disagreeable task but who was determined to see it through. Thomas still held my wrist tightly, by the time the night was over, I was going to look like I'd been tied up for all the bruising I'd have. As Therion turned and moved towards us, Bastien gave Thomas a slight nod and he released me. It was as if he'd continued to maintain his hold not because he'd forgotten to let go after pulling me out of reach of the dragon being, but because he considered me in danger from Therion.
Soul Taker's Redemption Page 36