by Rose Wulf
Ben nodded as she talked, recognizing her point. He didn’t know if it was his own stupid weakness or the sight of her flush that put the thought in his head, but when she was done, he smiled and said, “Okay. I understand,” then promptly leaned forward and settled his lips over hers. Only for a few seconds, though. He retreated and pushed to his feet, casting his gaze around in an effort not to see the expression on her face.
It finally dawned on him that they were alone in the room.
“Wh-why did you—?”
Ben interrupted her, concern for his once again absentee sister distracting him from his own stupidity. “Where’s Gwen?”
Jaelyn stood, simultaneously moving to put a couple of feet between them, and drew a breath. “In order to weaken Trix’s hold on you, I had to fill the room with a significant amount of power. That would have unnecessarily wounded Knox, and in the interim left Gwen vulnerable. Instead, I opted to send them both somewhere else, a short ways from here, where he would only be briefly unsettled.”
“So, they’re okay? I didn’t hurt them?” It was only just then occurring to him that the demoness could have used his body to hurt his sister. Which had likely been the entire point of her taking it in the first place.
Jaelyn frowned at him. “You did nothing. You were a victim in a demonic game.” She let her words hang for several seconds before softening her tone, and her expression, and adding, “I didn’t sense any injury, either. I got here in time.”
Relief flooded him and Ben’s shoulders sagged as a smile lifted his lips. He would sleep much better knowing that. “Then I guess we should go get them.”
****
“I am a traitor.” Knox’s words were even and measured, but not what Gwen would call calm. He narrowed his eyes at her. “I betrayed my own kind to save my neck. But I haven’t betrayed you. Not really.”
As if he honestly thought she would believe him after the things he’d said just a handful of minutes earlier. Her heart was still breaking over those words, for God’s sake! “You’re full of crap,” she snapped at him. “You just want to have your cake and eat it, too, and I won’t fall for that. I heard you loud and clear before.”
“Good,” he said. “Because the part where I threatened to kill your brother might have been a lie, but the part where I’m sick and tired of you jumping on a sword the minute your enemies use him against you was entirely true.”
“Bullshit!” Gwen leaped to her feet, unable to stay seated, unable to stay still. She leaned forward to glare at him for a second longer before looking away altogether. “Why would you even care? I’m just a passing interest to you, aren’t I? Or a game? Because if you valued me at all—”
Knox surged to his feet, took hold of her shoulders, and locked his stare onto hers. His voice low and firm, he said, “I seem to value your life a hell of a lot more than you do, and that’s the problem, dammit.”
Her mouth went dry. That feeling she always got when she just instinctively believed him had hit her again and chased the fight right out of her chest.
“I know you love your brother,” Knox continued. “I know he’s all you’ve had for a long time and you’ve proven you’d do anything for him.” He clenched tighter to her shoulders and she wondered if they’d bruise. “But you need to fight for your own life, Gwen. And sometimes that means taking a fucking risk. Not giving the enemy what they’re demanding. You’re up against demons. They’re going to cut straight to your biggest, most usable weakness, and they’re going to wring it dry. It’s up to you to stay strong.”
Gwen worked on a swallow, taking several tries before she successfully found her voice. “Why … did you threaten Ben’s life?”
She practically heard the grinding of his teeth when Knox clenched his jaw.
“To shock you into not committing suicide.”
Her eyes widened. “I wasn’t committing suicide!”
“Yes. You were.” He kept his grip on her shoulders but straightened their postures slightly, pulling her closer, and softened his voice a bit. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. When you jump to their demands like that, it’s the same thing in the end. That’s not the answer. And you know your brother would feel the same.”
Guilt began to churn in Gwen’s stomach. She supposed, now that her adrenaline had faded and she wasn’t screaming at him, she could kind of understand what he was saying. She hadn’t seen things from that perspective, obviously, but when it was laid out so plainly, how could she ignore his point?
“I’m still mad at you,” she muttered. Even if he was telling her the truth, that it’d never been his intent to follow through on his threat, he’d said the words.
His grip finally loosened and one corner of his mouth twitched. “You can punish me later.”
Her eyes widened. “You did not just turn that into a sexual thing!”
He grinned. “It wasn’t exactly difficult.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, prepared to remind the insufferable demon in front of her of exactly how ill-timed any form of flirtation was in this situation, but she never got the opportunity.
“I really do hope you’re saying goodbye.”
Chapter Sixteen
Gwen startled and spun as Knox cursed under his breath. She could hardly blame him. But the demon standing just a few yards away was Trix—as Trix. Not as Ben. Was that a good thing?
Gwen balled her hands into fists at her sides. “What the hell did you to my brother?”
Trix’s lips lifted in a slow, taunting smirk. “Who cares? You’re about to be too dead to know the difference.”
Knox stepped in front of Gwen as he said, “We both know your boss wants her alive.”
His comment must have struck a nerve because Gwen caught the flicker of frustration that flashed across the demoness’s eyes.
“He can take her soul out of my paycheck, then,” she said shortly. “I’m really tired of this game. So I’m not leaving here until that stupid human has bled every last drop into the dirt.”
“Okay, cool,” Gwen called before Knox could respond. “We’ll just let you rot here, then, because that sounds unpleasant. Bye-bye.” She wiggled her fingers in a deliberately mocking wave and grabbed Knox’s arm. Whether or not he was going to cooperate, Gwen had no idea. She didn’t get a lot of time to ponder the thought, either, before something dark, thin, and narrow shot straight toward him. “Knox!”
Knox grunted, catching it in his forearm, and for the first time, she remembered he’d caught something else with that same forearm back in Ben’s living room. He was injured. And now he was injured even more. “Stay behind me,” he said, clearly for her, as the shadow beneath his feet swirled and lifted to meet his splayed left palm.
“Have you decided to die here, too, then?” Trix asked, one hand braced on her leather-clad hip.
“One of us is dying here,” Knox returned as something that looked like a spear formed in his hand. “But it sure as shit won’t be me.”
“If a spear is the best you can do,” Trix replied, removing her hand from her hip and spreading her arms out, elbows in, “you’re already dead.”
Knox released a breath that sounded more like a scoff and shot the spear forward with his left hand. Blood trickled down his right forearm, dripping slowly off his wrist and fingers. Gwen glanced back up in time to see Trix move to counter the spear, only to have it flip around in the air and explode, flooding the space between them with thick, volatile shadow. Knox’s left hand, still extended, flexed in tension before he quickly closed it in a tight fist. A beat later, Knox lifted his injured arm and smeared the blood awkwardly over his closed fist.
Only then did Gwen realize that, at some point, he’d started mumbling.
The cadence of his voice was even but rushed, bespeaking the urgency of the situation. She didn’t immediately recognize the language. Or, rather, she didn’t know the language—she only recognized that it sounded like the one used in the spells she’d seen online. Except from
what she could hear, it sounded much more natural from him than any of those YouTubers. That’s dumb. What sort of thought was that to have at a time like this?
She wanted to help, instead of standing around like a clichéd damsel in distress. But what could she do? This was a demon-on-demon fight. It was beyond out of her league. She was only human—she couldn’t throw dark energy whatever, or teleport, or do whatever it was Knox was doing with his blood. Was that blood magic? Is that a thing? It was really starting to look like that was a thing. Which was simultaneously awesome and terrifying. Regardless, though, it only left her feeling that much more inadequate when it came to defending herself in this fight. A fight for her life.
The echo of a pained but muffled outcry from within the black sphere drew Gwen’s attention moments before it exploded outward. A rush of air and shooting spikes of dark energy shot in all direction and Gwen ducked reflexively. Knox grunted in front of her.
“I admit I didn’t see that coming, traitor,” Trix said. Gwen lifted her attention back to the demoness in time to see her wiping some blood from her mouth. Though the gesture seemed odd, because whatever Knox had done had torn her up all over. Her ridiculous leather outfit was sliced as though some sort of spiraling blade had spun around her body. Her pants were mostly held up by the material on the inside of her thighs, her sleeves were in similar tatters, and the torso of her top was only a little better. As though she’d shielded herself with her arms. But for all the damage to the leather, Gwen didn’t see more than a few thin streaks of blood. “You figured out my secret, I see,” Trix added, picking off a shred of leather from her arm.
“Heh,” Knox scoffed, “a defense spell woven into your obscene body leather wasn’t too hard to figure out.”
Gwen’s eyes widened. She sure wouldn’t have guessed that. Then again, there was still a lot she didn’t know about the tricks of demonic warfare. She kind of hoped it stayed that way.
The reprieve, if it even qualified as one, lasted only a minute before Trix charged. She seemed to be drawing energy into her curled hands as she raced forward. Her usually-tight, pretentious face was contorted with unabashed rage. “I’ll rip your head from your shoulders!”
Gwen watched Knox lift both arms in what looked from her angle like a sort of criss-cross motion. She couldn’t see what he did, but he released a hiss of pain and a few droplets of blood fell to the ground in quick succession. Her heart hammered so loud and so hard she felt as though she could barely breathe. He was hurting himself to protect her. She didn’t have to see to know.
She looked away before the combatants collided, her jaw clenched. Was this really what she was relegated to? Just sitting back and watching while the man she loved literally bled for her?
Her eyes widened and the breath rushed from her lungs. Love?
A small cloud of dirt preceded a sharp, masculine grunt and Gwen’s gaze snapped over to find Knox braced on one knee. Trix was half a foot away, breathing heavily, but standing. Whatever blows they’d just exchanged, it seemed she’d come out on top. To his credit, Knox didn’t linger on the ground or give his opponent time to catch her breath.
Gwen’s heart tightened, as if somehow squeezing itself from the inside out. She looked away again. There has to be something!
An unexpected memory leaped to the forefront of her mind with the thought.
“There has to be something,” Belle said impatiently, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. “I’m just not comfortable leaving her vulnerable, even if the curse is broken.”
Gwen opened her mouth to argue the vulnerability part, finding it mildly offensive, especially since she was right there, but Kai was already speaking.
“If it’s going to bother you that much,” he said, his tone carrying a sigh that hadn’t actually escaped, “I can teach her a defensive spell.”
That piqued Gwen’s interest. Kai was going to teach her magic? What sort of magic?
He turned the full force of his stare on her. “Understand it’s not to be used frivolously,” he said. “What I’ll teach you will keep you alive long enough for reinforcements to come. This isn’t a combat technique.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Gwen replied with a deliberate eye roll. “Just get with the educating already. Teach me something cool!”
He’d hesitated—her own fault—long enough to make her wonder if he’d refuse after all. But in the end, the power of Belle’s insistent frown won out of her his own irritation. Or better judgment, Gwen imagined.
She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten. Sure, it had been a long time since then, but it wasn’t as if this situation didn’t warrant it. In fact, this was exactly the kind of situation that trick was good for. Well, more or less.
She just had to time it right.
Another glance to the fight assured her, as if she’d needed the assurance at all, that Knox was still battling it out with Trix. He’d pushed the bitch back several paces, getting her further away from Gwen. Her throat swelled at the sight of a blood-soaked rip on the thigh of his pants leg.
Gwen drew a steadying breath, tore her gaze away, and began quickly looking around. If she were home, she could use a pen or even a pencil, but she didn’t exactly have anything—there! A stick, about as thick as her pinky and as long as her forearm. It wasn’t perfect, but the mere fact that she needed it basically guaranteed the situation never would be. She snatched up the stick, examined the ends to determine which was narrower, and rested it on her lap for a moment while she lifted one hand and spit into her palm. Repeatedly.
Ew.
When her hand was disgustingly coated with all the saliva she could muster in a pinch, Gwen used her dry hand to claw at the dirt until she’d formed a loose pile and proceeded to take a handful of that dirt and smear it all over her palm. Just as she started to squirm over the unpleasant tactile sensations of her actions, something behind her seemed to explode. Both demons released cries of pain and without looking, it was hard to tell whether they were being attacked from a third party or if one of them had done something self-damaging in order to injure the other. Again. Regardless, it was a good reminder of why she was sliming her hand, so she pressed on.
God, I hope that’s good enough. She’d managed to cover her palm in a thin sheath of something adjacent to mud. It was going to have to do because she was out of time. Keeping that thought firmly in mind, she snatched up the stick again, focused her mind’s eye on the symbol Kai had taught her, and pressed the narrow tip to her hand.
It was hard to keep her hands steady with the sounds of the battle behind her.
Focus.
If she messed this up, she might very well get herself killed.
Steady.
Or Knox.
Almost…
If she did nothing, he might end up killing himself to protect her. One of them was going to be mad at the other no matter how this went.
Done!
Gwen dropped the stick, jumped to her feet, spun around, and sprinted forward on pure adrenaline. Careful not to clench her hand, doing her best not to make her left hand the obvious threat, she locked her eyes on her target. Trix seemed to have just reared back—either from a hit or from avoiding a hit—and was gearing up for a strike of her own. She was bleeding from her temple and several cuts along her arm that Gwen could see. Her hair was a mess. By the time she glanced over, acknowledging Gwen’s advancement, Gwen was within reach.
Overcome with the rush of adrenaline and emotion, Gwen screamed—in fury, in relief, in triumph, in fear, she had no idea—as she grabbed firm hold of Trix’s exposed bicep. She pressed her palm tight against the cold skin of the demoness’s arm and squeezed for good measure. She hoped it hurt.
Trix let loose a high-pitched shriek and reeled back, for long seconds being suspended above the ground only by Gwen’s hold on her arm. The energy in Gwen’s hand began to burn before bursting out, causing Gwen to stumble as Trix was thrown bodily aside.
“Gwen?” Knox asked, surprise and concern in hi
s voice. He took a step toward her.
His motion got her attention and Gwen moved away, suddenly unsure of whether or not her whole body would be dangerous at the moment. “Wait, you can’t— The spell!”
As his eyebrows rose, Gwen finally took in his appearance. He had just as much blood rolling down his face as Trix had, his shirt was torn in several places, with suspiciously dark spots that were probably indicative of more blood beneath scattered across his chest. And his arm … it looked as though someone had gouged it from just below his elbow. His arm looked horrible. She wanted to be sick, seeing him like that.
“Spell?” he asked, his voice jarring her back to reality. “What’d you do?”
Gwen held up her hand for him to see. “Kai taught me. I only just remembered. He said it’s some sort of repellent or warding but that it also temporarily seals away the power of the demon it comes into contact with.”
Knox’s eyes had widened when he’d looked at her hand. He let out a low whistle as she spoke and she could only assume he approved. “So you weren’t just bluffing that time you mentioned knowing some spells,” he finally said. He managed a half grin and added, “Still, it is temporary, so hang back while I finish this.”
She didn’t comment, partially because it wasn’t the time, and partially because he didn’t wait for her to. She’d totally forgotten having told him she knew ways to defend herself against demons, back when Jaelyn had first tasked him with watching over her. She kind of had been bluffing—this was actually the only spell she knew. The only one she knew for sure would work, at least. But he didn’t need to know that, especially not right now. So she held her breath and watched as Knox stepped toward Trix, who had started groaning and at this point looked as though she were trying to push to her knees.
Would he kill her while she was down? Of course, he would. He should. She would have killed either of them without hesitation. That was what she intended to do, even. Trix was a terrible, horrendous, disgusting individual. Gwen was sure she didn’t have the first clue as to all the despicable things the demoness had done in her lifetime.