I should have walked away. Cat’s voice whispered in my mind—he’s a troubled boy. Troubled. Damaged. Broken. His eyes devoured me, waiting to see if I would push him away. I dug my nails into his flesh and dragged him closer to me. Skin colliding with skin. I tilted my head back so that Sam’s lips were directly above mine. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as if he was drawing me into his lungs like a drug.
A drug.
“Oh my God!” I flung myself over the edge of the pool and sprinted over the rough sand. I heard Sam pulling his jeans on behind me, but I didn’t even bother to grab my clothes.
When Sam caught up with me halfway down the passage, his face was drawn and his fists clenched. “What the hell did she put in the water, Grace? I’ve never felt a spell like that. God damn it, I should have known when we both smelled different scents.”
“The things we craved the most. It smelled like home.” I closed my mouth over the words, suddenly realizing that the scent Sam desired the most had been mine.
Sam opened his mouth to say something, but I shook my head and pressed my finger against my lips. The entrance to the cave where we had left the others preparing food was still brightly lit by the magical fire burning in the center of the room. I edged further into the room, using my energy to search for any signs of life, but finding none. Panic bloomed in my chest, and I grabbed hold of Sam’s hand and squeezed tightly. “They are gone, Sam.”
A crease appeared between Sam’s eyebrows, and he tipped his head toward the pile of bedding on the other side of the fire. I squinted at the sight of Cat and Cain sleeping, with Ozzie and Dawn cuddled between them. My head ached. “I don’t understand; I couldn’t sense them. I was sure they were gone, it’s almost like somebody has used a block—”
The sound of hands clapping together cracked through the air, and Sam tried to pull my body behind his as he scanned the room with wild eyes. Three figures pulled away from the darkness at the far end of the cave, and my feet stuck to the ground has I recognized the two closest faces. It had been over a year since I had last seen the conniving Demons, but Lara’s titian curls and Fergus’s leering smile were burned into my memory. Fergus pressed his meaty fingers together, ceasing his slow clap, and grinned at me with hungry eyes. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Did you miss me, little girl?”
The third figure raised its arm and swatted Fergus out of its way. A familiar voice flowed through the warm air, and Sam’s muscles turned to stone under my fingers. “Enough, Fergus, Peter was crystal clear that the Shadow Children should be unharmed.”
Our former tutor’s pretty blue eyes skimmed over my face and fixed on Sam’s black glare. “Hello, Sam. We’ve been waiting for you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Deirdre’s soft, brown hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and her small plump fingers held a purple cloak tightly across her body. A hot wave of fury beat a path through my veins, and I lunged forward to grab her cloak at the throat. Fergus and Lara stepped in front of her and blocked my hands. I spat my words over their shoulders and into Deirdre’s face. “You witch. You sly, treacherous witch.”
Something soft flickered behind Deirdre’s eyes as Sam stepped forward and pressed a cool hand around my waist, but it disappeared as quickly as it has come. Sam’s voice was level, but I could feel the tangle of emotion stirring in his stomach like a pit of snakes. “How did you find us, Deirdre?”
My eyes scanned the bare floor of the cave, slipping over the slumbering bodies, and onto the two small figures standing to Deirdre’s right. Diamond was watching me through the curtain of her dirty blond hair. A sly grin tugged at the corner of her lips. Valerie’s arms were wrapped tightly around her middle, and she didn’t lift her face to meet my glare.
I curled my fingers inside my fists. “We tried to help you. Dawn nearly died trying to help you. If they hadn’t saved you—”
“He has chosen the path. Those who possess the Lost Powers are our salvation. We were merely delivering your friend to his destiny.” Diamond’s voice sounded high pitched and pious, but her words couldn’t detract from the glint in the steely blue of her irises.
Sam wrapped his arms around me and ran his thumb over my clenched fist. His voice was sharp. “How, Diamond?”
“Aurora’s root potion for them,” Diamond tipped her head in the direction of the sleeping bodies on the floor, “Dead Man’s Brew, for you and her. I was apprenticed to the potions master at the temple. Lucky me.”
Fergus leered at us and reached out to stroke my face. Sam slammed his body between us and raised his arms. The sound of thunder rolled through the sky outside. Fergus grinned and held his two hands up, palms out. “Easy, boy. You’re all worked up. They say that Dead Man’s Brew will do that to you—strong enough to stir passion in a corpse. But you didn’t have time to work off all the energy, ay? Work away there, boy, girl is still half-bare—why not finish what you started? We don’t mind waiting. Watching…”
His stare crawled over my skin like a horde of maggots, and I shrank away from him as Sam thrust his fist forward and smashed it into Fergus’s face. His head swung back, and the sound of crunching cartilage split the air. Deirdre flung her arms wide, and both men were frozen solid, except for their eyes. Her lips narrowed. “Peter, and Peter alone is waiting for the Shadow Children to be delivered. They are to be unharmed and untouched. Is that clear?” She shifted her glare onto Sam’s motionless face. “If there is any more trouble, you will remain frozen until we reach our destination—understood, Samuel?”
Sam blinked his eyes, and Deirdre let her hands fall to his side again. Sam and Fergus both gasped for air. Deirdre turned to Lara and began listing off commands. “Arrange for the men outside to transport the sleeping… guests to the designated area. The other two can travel with us by foot.”
She pointed a finger at Diamond and Valerie, and I noticed her once manicured nails were bare and ragged at the tips. “Please accompany Fergus back to the city. The Circle will be grateful for the service you have rendered today.”
I threaded my fingers through Sam’s as we followed Deirdre, and the men carrying our friends’ bodies, out of the cave and into the daylight that filtered down through the tall canopy of trees. Fergus squared his jaw as he watched us leave over the heads of our two little traitors. His glare pressed against my back like a knife. I jerked my head forward and didn’t look back.
Deirdre gestured for the men who were carrying the others to follow behind us. Cat and Dawn were light enough to be cradled against the chests of the white-robed men, but Cain’s unconscious weight required the assistance of two men to transport it. Deirdre swept her arm in front of her face, and a path appeared through the forest, straight and true as a Roman road.
“Lara, the silver.” Lara dug her hands into a small pouch and threw six thin strips of silver into the air. I watched them spinning, mesmerized by their dance as Deirdre conducted them with her fingertips. I yelped in surprise as one of the bands snapped closed around my wrist. Deirdre’s lips moved, and each of the bands flashed brightly on our arms and then grew pale. My stomach dropped as I recognized the sensation from my time as a captive to the London Demons.
“You bound our magic?” Sam glowered at Deirdre.
She crossed her arms and pinched her lips together. “The binding is temporary; it will be removed as soon as we can get you to a magical vacuum. No lasting harm will be done.” The corners of her mouth turned downward. “Although, it is hardly necessary considering how flabby your powers have grown. I see the Shadow Children have wasted the past year on wild goose chases, instead of strengthening your gifts.”
The truth of her words stung like salt in an open wound. Our powers hadn’t helped us at all, we had let everyone down. I had let everyone down. Again.
Rage burned in Sam’s eyes. “And you’re satisfied with how you’ve spent the last year, are you? A devoted servant to this circle of men intent on massacring an entire race
of people—you should be very proud of yourself.”
Deirdre recoiled from the sarcasm dripping from Sam’s words like it was poison. She pulled her purple cloak tighter around her body and forged ahead through the undergrowth. “The Circle have their reasons—they understand the sacrifices that must be made to preserve the integrity of our world.”
“You don’t believe that.” Sam sprinted forward and drew level with the woman who had been his favorite tutor for so many years. He shook his head. “Billions of people—innocent children, pregnant women. And for what? Do they want a whole world populated with Demon-Born? Because we’re so much better than the Humans? Better at what? How can we protect the integrity of anything?”
Deirdre pressed on without meeting his eye. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, the Shadow Children have blinded you to the true crisis facing our world. Peter and the Circle will help you see the light. The Veil is failing. The evil continues to grow. I’ve seen. I’ve watched it feed.”
The memory of the hungry evil that I had felt in the Silent Home after the massacre surfaced in my mind like a drowned body emerging from the waves. Deirdre’s lips were as pale as her skin. “It must be stopped. Purifying the blood is the only path to salvation. We will be tested in fire and be reborn in his image.”
Sam’s jaw tensed. Trying to reason with Deirdre was hopeless—she spoke exactly like the children had in the cave. We walked on in silence through the muggy heat of the undergrowth, until we reached the edge of a barren desert.
The moment the last of our party stepped foot on the burning sand, the trees behind us vanished, and all that surrounded us, as far as the eye could see, was scorched earth and bare mountains. I winced and rose up onto my toes to escape the burning heat emanating from the ground, suddenly aware that my feet and legs were still bare. Deirdre glanced down at the sand and flicked her wrist. A gleaming white path appeared under our feet and wound its way through the dry valley. She pointed her finger at one of the guards. “Give the girl your cloak.”
I took the long piece of flowing linen and wrapped it around my body gratefully. Deirdre marched on without a backward glance, and I trailed her with a growing sense of unease. I pulled closer to Sam. “This is where they sent me. That day in London—the portal brought me to this desert. I’m almost certain.”
Sam’s eyes darted along the skyline, and I knew he was looking for the same thing that I was—Spirit Demons.
Deirdre glanced at us out of the corner of her eye. “They’re not here. The Circle has drawn the Spirit Demons to the city in preparation for the hunt.”
“City?” Sam raised his eyebrows and stared across the seemingly unending miles of sand. Deirdre tutted again and spread her arms out as wide as they would reach.
In an instant, the desert melted away, and we found ourselves looking down onto a walled town. The buildings were low and squat, their walls terracotta red, and their roofs covered in simple flat tiles. Narrow streets wound in a spiral until they reached a fortified building that rose like a goddess crowned with gold above the simple dwellings. The white polished stone and the metallic roof showed no trace of dust or sand.
I crushed Sam’s fingers between mine as we descended toward the city. The gates were made of blackened metal and wood that looked thick enough to withstand a battering ram. With a brush of Deirdre’s fingertips, the towering gates heaved open and granted us access to the city. The ground under our feet was thick with dirt. We made our way around the spiraling streets of the city. The dwellings were smaller and shabbier up close than they had appeared from a distance. A rodent scurried across the narrow streets, inches from my bare toes. I crushed my palm against Sam’s and tried not to think about what could be causing the damp street under my feet in such blistering heat.
The buildings became larger and less squalid as we wound closer to the center of the city. We passed by several dwellings that appeared to serve a purpose for trade or learning. Yellow eyes glared at us from a window filled with vials and jars of potions of every imaginable size and shape. I twisted my head to look back at the yellow-eyed woman as we passed, wondering was she the woman who had taught Diamond the skills to charm us and lead us to this end. I started as the face of a young man appeared over her shoulder and stared into my eyes. The familiarity of his features tugged at my brain, but recognition flared and died before I could catch hold of it and shake the knowledge free.
“Now, this looks like a real city of shadows,” Sam whispered into my hair as we slowed to a halt outside of the building that was clearly the centerpiece of the city. I craned my neck in an attempt to take in the full scale and splendor of the citadel, but Sam kept his face pressed against my hair.
The solid gold door swung open, and a familiar figure stepped out to greet us. “Open your eyes, Spirit Children. Open your eyes and behold the city of your birth.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Peter. The Spirit Eater’s three-piece suit had been replaced by loose garments more fitting to the arid climate of this dusty wasteland, but when he withdrew his hands from his pockets, his fingers were curled around the familiar black notebook and pen he had always carried.
“Bring them forward, bring them forward!” Peter gestured at the guards to bring our sleeping friends to him, and wet his lips in anticipation. Sam lunged forward as Peter placed his palm against Ozzie’s cheek, but with a wave of his hand, the older man sent him sprawling onto the ground at my feet. “Now, now, Samuel. You must calm yourself—wouldn’t it be a shame if you wasted all of your energy before the trial had even begun?”
I tried to reach out and help Sam to his feet, but Peter narrowed his eyes, and my arms became rigid, frozen with terror and the strength of Peter’s magic in equal parts. My throat tightened as Peter caressed Ozzie’s unconscious face with his fingertips.
“Little Oscar. I always knew he was special. I told you that once, Grace, on the beach. But you weren’t listening, not really.” Peter smiled brightly at myself and Deirdre. I returned his look in horrified silence, but Deirdre twisted her head to avoid his gaze and wrapped her cloak tighter around her body.
Peter returned his attention to the unconscious Demon-Born in the guard's arms. “Yes, I always had my suspicion that Oscar and Dawn were precious.” He leaned forward and inhaled the scent of Ozzie’s hair deeply before straightening his back and tapping the closest guard sharply on the arm. “Bring them to their quarters; I believe it’s almost time for lunch.”
Peter’s sly smile sent shivers crawling down my spine. Deirdre’s eyes focused on Sam’s prone form. “You should release the boy, Peter. If you continue to drain his energy, we will be forced to postpone the trials for another night.”
“It almost sounds as though you are telling me what to do, my sweet Deirdre. I’m certain we spoke about this matter, not a week ago—do we need to repeat our little conversation?” Peter took a step towards Deirdre, and she shrank away from him. He grinned and let his hand fall back to his side. “That’s a clever girl.”
Peter kept his bright stare narrowed on Deirdre’s downcast face, but released the force he was exerting on Sam’s body. Sam’s green eyes bulged as he gasped for breath on the ground. I dropped to my knees to comfort him, but Peter wagged his finger and an invisible hand wrapped around my neck and dragged me to my feet. “Careful, careful. You only touch your other half, Grace, if one of the Circle grants you permission.”
Deirdre mumbled something under her breath as she side-stepped Peter and fled inside the building. He watched her leave with a sour face. “Something will have to be done about that woman.” Peter’s lips twisted into a grin. “But today is all about you, children. The returned. It’s time to welcome you back to the fold.”
The ornate gold doors of the citadel flew open, and Peter swept us through them with a flick of his wrist and a blast of energy. Once the entrance had sealed behind us, he released his hold, and Sam slumped forward, rocking on his feet. I reached for h
is fingers, but Peter’s raised fist stilled my hand.
“May I help him stand? Please?” The words were pulled from my lips as painfully as if my teeth were being extracted.
Peter beamed at me beatifically and bowed his head. “Of course, it warms my heart to see the chosen pairs begin to bond. The Circle have been waiting eagerly to see the fruits of your union. To see you connect—on every level…”
I wrapped my arms around Sam’s waist to support him and pressed my face against his chest to escape Peter’s leer. Sam leaned his weight on me and crushed his lips to my forehead. His body shook, but his voice was steady. “What do you want from us, Peter?”
“But you already know the answer to that question, Samuel.” Peter’s voice rose in pitch. “The Circle wishes only that you fulfill the role you were created for. “
Peter pressed his hands against two great white doors, and they swung open to reveal a curving corridor. He led us forward, through the hallway, and my eyes widened as I took in the painted images covering every inch of the walls—a macabre masterpiece of blood, and war, and sacrifice. Winged Angels spun through the air, their razor-sharp blades dripping with crimson liquid. Spirit Demons wound their way through fields of wide-eyed children. Peter beckoned us forward, and we followed him along the great sweeping passage until we reached another doorway.
On either side of the door were scenes of men and women engaging in acts of intimacy. The art had been rendered with such excellence and precision that I felt I should avert my eyes. I stared at the ground and realized that the couples were copulating on a wasteland of the dead. Sam cupped my face with his hand and turned it away from the gruesome scene.
The Demon-Born Trilogy: (Complete Paranormal Fantasy Series) Page 42
