“They’re inside the gym,” he whispered, his knees buckling as he slammed back into his numb body. “It’s too late. We’re too late.”
Sera shook his shoulders. “We have to try.”
“There’s nothing we can do for them.”
“We took an oath, Kyle,” she cried, tugging on him to follow her into the school. “And I’ll do this with or without you.”
“You don’t understand.” He grabbed her arm roughly and dragged her back. “They’re all hosts.”
THE COST OF A SOUL
Sera stared at her best friend, her mouth agape. He couldn’t be saying what she thought he was. He couldn’t be insisting that they abandon all those kids. But it seemed like he was determined to do exactly that. “We can’t leave them,” she insisted.
“The rakshasas want us to go in there,” he said. “And we can’t. I can’t put you in that kind of danger. You saw what happened the last time I created a portal. Scores of demons came out.” His face tightened. “It’s been happening all along. I’ve been the cause of them infiltrating the Mortal Realm. It’s my fault.”
Sera frowned. It was on the tip of her tongue to insist that it wasn’t his fault. But it was mindboggling. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it. When Kyle banished a demon from the Mortal Realm to Xibalba, the portal went both ways, allowing other demons to escape.
No one could have predicted such a thing could happen—but then, of course, there had never been an immortal quite like Kyle before.
They both turned at the sound of a car screeching into the lot, tires squealing as it came to a stop inches away from where they stood. Darika leapt out with Sera’s father in tow.
Sera stared at them wildly, her face pinched. “I told Mara to get him somewhere safe,” she accused the other goddess. “Why would you bring him here? He’s mortal.”
“I made her bring me,” Sam said. “I need to see Jem. He will be marked with some sort of rune that ties him to the Dark Realms. If we can remove it, I think he can be saved.”
“You didn’t see him, Dad,” Sera said. “He doesn’t want to be saved. He wants revenge. He’s more demon than mortal, and no dissolved demon rune is going to save him. Not now.”
Sam shook his head with stalwart tenacity. “I refuse to believe that he’s lost to us. Where did you see him last? He won’t have gone far.”
“He’s in the car,” Kyle said, avoiding Sera’s glower.
They approached the vehicle cautiously, and Sera half expected Jem to have disappeared. It was like that horror movie cliché—you capture the bad guy and he magically escapes from his restraints only to return in the bloody finale. A pent-up breath escaped her lips as her eyes settled on the motionless form lying in the back seat. Okay, maybe this wasn’t going to be that type of movie.
Or not.
As soon as Kyle opened the door, Jem lurched upward and sprinted from the car on all fours, like some kind of crazed beast, in the direction of the woods. Her father took off after him.
“Dad, no!” Sera swore aloud and followed them. She stopped halfway and glanced over her shoulder to meet Darika’s burning eyes. “Save the kids in the gym if you can,” she shouted. “Kyle can release them.”
She had no idea if Darika would help or not; the goddess had been more placid than her sister. Sera blinked, correcting herself—she’d been more amenable than her darker side, the avatar of her berserker nature.
Sera sighed. With what they were up against, they could do with some of Kira’s untempered ferocity. She understood why Kyle had made the choice he had, though. Kira was volatile. It would be like being in a relationship with electricity: beautiful and exciting but with the underlying risk of being electrocuted to death. Darika, on the other hand, would smile benevolently until the last heartbeat before she destroyed you.
The minute Sera entered the woods, she felt the change in the air. It pulsed with the collective energy of thousands of demons. Her goddess senses tingled. She could feel them plucking at her consciousness with stinging touches.
The balance was shifting enough to put all the realms in chaos. These demons did not belong here. Maybe Kira had been right in the beginning—that it was an infestation that needed to be cleansed.
It seemed that time had been against them from the start. And now they were way beyond saving those they’d tried to help . . . and the Demon Lords were ahead of the game.
Had they made a mistake?
But this wasn’t the time to dwell on the wisdom of past decisions.
Drawing a determined breath, Sera plunged into the woods, following her father’s trail through the brush. Thank the heavens for Girl Scouts. The daylight was almost blocked out by the canopy above, making her pulse gallop as she quickened her pace, her swords glowing silvery white and glistening red in the darkness. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as the demon energy swelled with each step farther into the woods.
Faces snapped at her from the trees, looming in and out of her vision. She could feel searing breath on her cheeks and smell the sourness of decaying flesh, but when she turned to look, there was nothing there. She wasn’t afraid, though somewhere deep inside, she knew she probably should be. Even with her goddess strength, fighting a few dozen demons would not be the same as taking on a horde of hundreds. Her breath stuttered at the thought, but she pressed forward doggedly.
Sera halted in the center of the copse. A cacophony of screeches filtered down to her, and the darkness undulated like it was a living thing.
Or things.
“Dad?” she called, flaring her light so that she could see a few feet ahead of her.
A muffled grunt came back in response, from somewhere to her right. She pushed through the trees in that direction until the sound of a scuffle reached her ears. She hastened her stride, pointy twigs and what felt like sharp claws tearing at her face as she ran by, though she healed as quickly as she was struck. The sounds of the struggle grew louder as Sera burst through the thicket to an open glade.
Her father lay locked in the arms of some kind of beast as a circle of spectators watched. The onlookers weren’t human, though some of them were still connected to mortal bodies. Most of them were demons . . . except for the one boy at the far end of the clearing, who looked on with a gratified smirk.
Kyle had said Jem was still human. Rage suffused her entire body as she dove into the center of the ring, her swords at the ready. She would put an end to this right here and now. And then she would deal with her former friend.
“No, Sera,” her father panted, stalling her. He held a dagger that was coated in green ichor. He was bleeding from a gushing wound at his cheek and his shirt was soaked in bright red blood, but he seemed lucid.
She froze, her sword inches away from the throat of a scaled demon that looked like a cross between a crocodile and a horse.
“If you intervene, you will break the terms of the agreement.”
Her disbelieving gaze spun to her father’s, her stomach plummeting. “Agreement?”
“The right of challenge.” It was Jem’s insouciant voice that offered the explanation. He raised a hand, signaling a halt in the contest. “Your stupid father challenged Lord Temlucus for the rights to this mortal shell. As that of a former Azura Lord, the challenge from Lord Samsar was accepted. And since my lord is not here, he has chosen a combatant in his stead.”
“Dad, that’s suicide,” Sera whispered and then turned her rage in Jem’s direction. “You know he’s mortal and no longer an Azura Lord. The contest is not well matched. How can you even consider this?”
“We were not the ones to issue the challenge,” Jem returned coolly.
She hissed through her teeth. “Then you must renege on the grounds of . . . the grounds of mortal disparity.”
“We will not.”
“Then I will fight on his behalf,” she shouted.
Jem smiled as if he’d been waiting for her to say just that. “The battle has al
ready begun, and I assure you, Lord Samsar’s bond, mortal or not, is binding.”
“You just started!”
“And blood has already been spilled.” Jem’s voice deepened to something guttural as Temlucus spoke through the boy’s body, making gooseflesh prick her skin. “You know the rules, Lady Serjana. Once a challenge is issued, the battle must be fought.”
“You’re a liar,” she growled. “I learned that lesson the last time you cheated on a right of challenge.”
“That was a draw,” he said. “Lord Ra’al made the killing stroke you failed to deliver. There was no victor.”
“So you say. Yet I was the only one standing.”
Temlucus ignored her and clapped Jem’s hands. “Come, let us not tarry longer. My loyal followers are hungry for fresh blood.”
Sera turned back to her father in one last desperate plea. “You don’t have to do this. Temlucus will not relinquish his hold over Jem that easily, no matter how much you want to save him. Your life isn’t worth the cost. Please, Dad.”
“Every life is worth it.”
His quiet response made her heart tremble. “But you’re human. It’s not a fair match.”
“I have some tricks up my sleeve,” he said, with a crooked grin that nearly made her throw herself into his arms. “And have some faith in your old dad. Though I’m no longer immortal, I still know how to take out a rakshasa.”
They both stared at the horse-crocodile demon. It had a row of razor-sharp tusks protruding from its lower jaw. Sera nodded, her jaw clenched, and stepped out of the circle into the onlooking horde. Tongues licked at her exposed flesh and she shuddered. She let her deifyre flare, creating a buffer of space around her. One nearby demon was not quick enough to get out of the way and leapt backward with a shriek as it was singed.
“Play nice,” Temlucus warned.
“If you attempt to cheat your way out of this, there will be more than hell to pay, I promise you,” Sera returned. “You and all your followers will burn.”
“I look forward to it.”
Her heart hitched in her chest as her father squared off against the demon in a low crouch. He kept his weight on the balls of his feet, and he remained alert, despite the blood congealing on his cheek. The fiend lumbered forward, and he darted out of its way. Sam was fast and nimble, the daggers in his palms drawing greenish-brown lines across the creature’s pelt as he skirted past. It howled loudly and snapped its jaws a hairsbreadth from his face.
Numb with dread for her father, she raised her eyes to Jem’s. Even across the glade, his glittered with satisfaction. Temlucus wasn’t watching the fight. Instead, he was watching her, as if the outcome was guaranteed and the prize would be seeing her crumble when her father lost. Sera kept her face carefully composed, refusing to give him any gratification. She jutted her chin forward and arched an arrogant eyebrow. His response was a slow-breaking smile, as if he could see right through her ploy. Tearing her gaze from his, she focused on the fight at hand.
Sera’s fingers curled into fists at her side as her father and the demon circled each other again. He’d gotten in a few more attacks, but he was starting to breathe heavily, and his momentum had slowed. The light cuts from the daggers would do no lasting damage to the beast, and sooner or later, her father would tire. Then the creature would strike.
She sucked in a strained gasp when the demon landed a clubbed punch on her father’s side, sending him skidding across the forest floor. She only let out the breath when he stumbled to his feet with a groan, clearly disoriented. The beast scooted toward him, jaws open to deliver the finishing blow, but Sam managed to roll underneath it, swiping at its furred underbelly in the process. The smell of foul guts permeated the air.
Sera blinked, expecting the demon to heal, but the gaping wound remained open. Her eyes flicked to her father’s daggers, noting the runes of Illysia etched on their blades. Her left palm tingled as if in recognition of the shield and the wing she saw there—Dev’s runes. She heaved a sigh of relief. He must have given her father the knives to protect himself. Her father did have a few tricks up his sleeves, after all.
She stared at Jem, noticing that the smug smile had disappeared. He seemed more agitated now that Sam might actually have a chance. The demon swayed as its life force ebbed from its abdomen.
“Finish it,” Temlucus snarled to the wobbling demon. “Or I will finish you.”
Obediently, the brute charged toward Sam, howling with rage. Entrails leaked in its wake, but some unnatural, unearthly force was compelling it. Sam was able to move out of the way of its yawning mouth and pointed tucks, but couldn’t avoid the punishing swipe of its claws. They raked ruthlessly across his back, ripping through his shirt and the muscles below. Screaming, her father buckled to his knees and crashed to the dirt. Bright blood soaked the shredded material.
“Get up, Dad,” Sera said, falling to her own knees and keeping an eye on the demon that was struggling to right itself, having fallen into the crowd of its brethren. “You’ve nearly won. Get up.”
His answer was a moan, and drops of saliva flecked his lips. Blood drenched the earth beside him in rivers of grit-sodden red, and she could feel the rising delight of the demons on either side of them as they wound themselves into a feeding frenzy.
“You have to get up,” she whispered. “It’s nearly over. Think of Mom and Nate. Dig deep, Dad.”
Sam flopped to his back, his body shaking uncontrollably. His hand reach toward hers as a thick stream of blood bubbled from between his lips. She made no move to hide the emotions on her face, though she could see Temlucus’s triumph in the gloating expression that eclipsed Jem’s face.
Her fear solidified in her chest as she stared at the demon ambling back toward them. “Dad! Please.”
Sera’s sobbing scream lodged in her throat as the demon’s shadow fell over them. It was close, so close . . . in striking distance, but it stood there unmoving and quiet. The noise in the glade dulled to one of deathly, thick silence. Sera’s eyes flicked upward—the demon was waiting for Temlucus to order the deathblow. Her gaze met the Demon Lord’s. The seconds ticked by as they stared at each other. He would savor the victory . . . relish every moment of her agonizing impotence.
“Any last words?” he drawled. “Do you wish to plead for his life? Offer something else in exchange, perhaps?”
“Don’t . . . you dare,” her father managed through a mouthful of blood. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes as he struggled to focus on her. “My . . . death . . . honor.”
“No!” Sera cried, her heart breaking as the man who had fathered and raised her lay dying while she did nothing. Screw his honor. She could not—would not—let him die. She stood, facing Jem. “Wait—”
She was on the verge of doing something foolish when she felt a new presence. The demons around them screamed and scattered as Dev emerged, the burning light of his aura making the few that were standing too near go up in flames.
“Dev,” she said.
“Lord Devendra,” Temlucus greeted him, frustration flashing across Jem’s face. “What brings you here?”
Dev smiled, his words as calm as his face. “I’m here to stop my beloved from doing something she will regret.”
“It’s my choice,” Sera shot back.
“Lady Serjana is right,” Temlucus said. “It is her choice.”
“One that violates the terms of the challenge,” Dev said. “A victor must emerge. Only one must be left standing, according to the laws of Xibalba.”
Temlucus sneered, twisting Jem’s features so violently that his face took on a demonic slant. “What do you know of our laws?”
“Enough to know that Samsar’s bond cannot be broken or traded.”
“Unless a new challenge is made,” Temlucus shot back. “Or we finish what we started.”
Sera swallowed the gulp in her throat as the demon inched closer. The claws of its hind legs scraped against her father’s lower half. One more inch and its jaws
would be in striking range. A single snap would take her father’s head off. Sera started forward, swaying deliriously. Gentle but powerful hands rested on her shoulders and she tensed. She could feel Dev’s strength radiating toward her, but she didn’t want any of it. Nothing could take away the desolation filling her blood like poison.
“It’s what he wants,” Dev said into her ear.
“It was a trick,” she said, darting a venomous look toward Jem. “He tricked him into an unfair challenge.”
Dev pulled her against him as misery filled her in waves, drowning her spirit in despair. “Your father knew the risks when he accepted the terms. In his day, he was challenged many times. You cannot do what you are thinking, my love. Samsar would never forgive himself if you offered yourself in exchange. You are far too important.”
“What will happen to him?” she whispered, closing her eyes, the sight of her father lying there too much to bear.
Temlucus’s laugh filled the area between them. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. I have a special spot reserved for him in the sixth. Just know that his every day will undoubtedly be filled with thoughts of you.”
His leer made helpless tears spring to her eyes. Dev’s forearm curved around her chest and the scent of him filled her nostrils. Her pain was liquid within her, filling all the hollow spaces in her heart. She loved her father, but Dev was right—she could not save him, not when everyone else hung in the balance.
“Are we going to stall all day?” Temlucus jeered, baring Jem’s teeth in a ghoulish chortle. “Kill him,” he commanded the waiting demon.
Sam’s eyes met hers and held them until the demon eclipsed her view by falling on top of him. It was nearly half dead from the festering wound her father had inflicted with his Illysia-blessed daggers, but still awake enough to widen its fearsome jaws for the final blow. Both her father and the demon went still.
Dev’s arms held her close and a keening sound burst from her lips as the creature moved, its huge body quaking. Sera’s remaining strength deserted her in that moment, and she slumped against Dev.
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