The Demon-Born Trilogy: (Complete Paranormal Fantasy Series)

by L. C. Hibbett

  Chapter Thirty

  Grace

  “Grace!” Sam dived through the air and knocked me out of the path of two Hounds. Their blades clashed above our heads, and I spun my whip at their arms while Sam disabled them by slashing his blade across the backs of their knees and severing their tendons. I sprang to my feet and stood back-to-back with Sam as we moved in a slow circle to survey the battle.

  My Seeking magic ran over the field as I searched for Eve and the other Lost Powers. My gut twisted as I spotted her in the far corner of the field, alone with a white robed Elder. Her assigned protectors—Lucas, Brandon, Lydia, and Frank—were surrounded by Hounds as more and more of the masked fighters emerged from the ragged slips that had burst open along the cliff edge.

  I caught Lizzie’s eye and waved three fingers in the air desperately. “The third wave, Lizzie. We need the third wave.”

  Two creases deepened on either side of her delicate mouth as she nodded in agreement and I was struck by how like her sister she was today with her pale blond hair pulled back from her face and her expression deadly serious. I returned my focus to Eve as warriors gushed through the portal and past Lizzie, their weapons sweeping through the air.

  Sam flipped by me and ran his blade through a Hound’s shoulder before it could reach Megan and her group. She gave him a swift nod as she tightened her Spirit Chain around the Elder at her feet. “Where’s Eve, guys? We need her.”

  I could tell by the look on Megan’s face that she might not be able to hold on to the dark-eyed Elder for much longer. I grabbed Sam’s hand. “Eve has an Elder alone, she needs helps.”

  Sam’s stare focused on the other side of the field, and he raised one eyebrow. “Looks like she’s almost done.”

  I squinted across the field in confusion as the Elder bowed his head and dropped to his knees at Eve’s feet. His lips were pressed against the back of her hand. “Is he offering himself to her? What?”

  Realization hit me like a sledgehammer as I understood who the man must be. Sam lashed two more Hounds with his whip as I watched Eve take his spark and his body tumble to the floor. I felt the air tremble around us as the Veil weakened—one more of its anchors broken. Eve’s eyes found mine across the battlefield, and we stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Our one shared moment as a father, mother, and daughter—a doomed trinity.

  Megan’s cry ripped me back into the present moment and I sprang into action. I whipped my own Spirit chain around the Elder’s neck and screamed for Sam to Reap Eve. She was by his side in an instant, dropping to her knees beside the Elder and whispering as she covered his eyes with her hands. The man’s head rolled back onto the soil, his life force taken. The ground seemed to tilt under my feet as the Veil shifted again. Sam spun past me as the Hounds attacked with increased ferocity. I searched the teeming crowds for any sign of Mathas or Julius, but they had not yet emerged.

  Megan released her grip on the chain with a groan, and I saw that her palms were blistered and burned. She frowned and tilted her head to one side as she pulled more weapons from her belt and prepared to rejoin the battle. “What were you saying to him? A charm to help you steal his life energy?”

  Eve’s lips tightened. “A prayer.”

  “A prayer?” Megan ran her bloody hand over her cropped hair, staining the blond stubble red.

  “Yes.” Eve jumped to her feet with the ease of a girl half her age. “A prayer of thanks. The spark this man provided may save another from death before this day has ended. He may have been a wicked man, but I am grateful for his energy.”

  “Eve!” I grabbed her wrist and pointed to where a team of Angels were struggling to restrain two more Elders. Sam caught hold of Eve with one hand and me with the other, and we crossed the field in a flash of golden light. As Eve took their sparks, people lost their footing all around us, disorientated by the double blow to the Veil.

  I counted on my fingers. “Abel, the Halfling Elder, was already gone, that’s four more down now. We have three more to find.”

  Sam and Eve scanned the periphery of the field as I spoke. Eve’s voice was low. “And each of them are becoming more powerful as they absorb their fellow Elder’s share of the power. Once they had a ninth, now they have a third.”

  Lucas and Brandon sprinted to Eve’s side. Brandon’s dark eyes flashed as he chastised Eve. “Impossible to protect a target that keeps jumping through space magically.”

  Before she could defend her actions, Lucas grabbed her hand. “Cat and Cain need you, they’re holding another Elder.”

  Cat’s face flashed into my mind, and I pressed my fingertip against Sam’s arm, connecting myself to his energy and spinning our little group to where Cat and Cain stood. I stared at Cat in horror. A gaping wound split one side of her face in two, and her exposed cheekbone winked at me from inside the gash. The female Elder that stood between Cain and Cat flicked her long, flowing hair out of her beautiful bronzed face as she sneered at Cat. “Come on, little rag doll, why don’t you try to put your hands on me again.”

  Rage flooded every cell in my body, and I reached for my throwing knives. Sam grabbed my wrist and shook his head. “Grace, think. Everything you do to her, you also do to yourself.”

  The Elder smirked at me as she raised her hands into the air, calling for her Spirit Demons. Cat and Cain struggled to hold onto her torso as Eve battled to get close enough to her eyes to free her spark. I stared at my weapons belt in frustration. The Elder blew me a kiss as a horde of greedy Spirit Demons descended on us.

  “Screw it.” I flicked my whip from my belt and lashed around the Elder’s upper torso, pinning her arms to her body. My skin screamed for relief but I held fast until Eve had laid her hands over the Elder’s eyes and her body tumbled to the ground. Sam glared at the bright red welts forming on my arms but I pressed my finger against his lips before he could utter a word of reproach. “Worth it.”

  Cat’s snort of laughter turned into a howl of pain as her ruined face gaped open further. Eve held her palms over the wound and began to chant. Cain roared as a pack of Hounds hurtled toward us, but Lucas and Brandon cut them down before they could reach us. I felt a rush of pride as I watched them circle us, Brandon’s sharp mind revealing every tactical advantage while Lucas used his magic and agility to execute their plans.

  As though he could feel the weight of my gaze, Brandon whirled to face me. His mouth widened in horror and he leaped forward, calling my name. I spun to find myself face to face with the two remaining Elders—Peter and Julius.

  The two men stood with their hands joined and power emanating from them in waves. Panic tasted like vomit in my mouth as I felt a circle of Hounds close around us. Jabol sliced his way through the crowd with Gabriel and Emmanuel in his wake, but still, we were vastly outnumbered.

  Julius grinned at Peter slyly as he eyed Eve. “Peter, aren’t daughters such a gift.” His expression soured as he looked at Sam. “Unless you’re handed a son and end up with a pathetic little girl anyway.”

  I pressed my shoulder against Sam’s, and he pulled me behind him, staring at his father with unwavering eyes. Julius’s lip curled over his teeth. “Such a pity the Master wants the children alive. We could have quite the party with them. The Hounds deserve some new toys.”

  With a howl, the Hounds burst through our little group, herding Eve, Cat, and Cain away from us. I reached for Sam so that we could reunite the group but Brandon shook his head. “Wait for the right moment.”

  Emmanuel lifted his Spirit Blade and tried to beat his way through the flood of Hounds, but Peter sent a bolt of energy shooting in his direction, snarling when the Angel managed to deflect the blow with a barrier. “Julius was talking about, Mathas, the real Master, you understand. He wasn’t talking about jumped up little turds like you who think they can tell me what to do. I should have finished you that day in the chapel when I had the chance, but not to worry, now is as good a time as any to crush your skull.”

  The Elder flu
ng another blast at Emmanuel, and the force knocked him to the ground. Peter smirked and raised his hands to hurl another bolt of energy, but Jabol managed to bring his blade down across Peter’s arm before the Elder could finish Emmanuel off.

  Peter roared in pain, releasing his grip on Julius’s hand. Brandon hissed into our ears. “Now, they are weaker apart. Go!”

  In an instant, Sam had Reaped his father to his side, and we spun him past the reach of his Hounds and onto the cliff top. Lizzie’s warning niggled at my brain, but I pushed it away. There was no other choice. Julius appeared utterly unfazed as he looked from Sam to me. “Well, this is intimate. Pretty girl—Grace, isn’t it? Have you brought me here to ask for my son’s hand in marriage? I have to tell you, I simply can’t give it to you.” He leaned closer and cupped hands to his mouth in a faux whisper. “I don’t think he has the necessary equipment for the job.”

  “You’re disgusting.” Julius smirked, and I shook my head. “No. You really are. You’re putrid. You stink of rotting flesh. I can barely tell the difference between you and Peter and Mathas. You’re all the same. You speak the same, you smell the same, you have the same sick, twisted, little minds. You think you’re so powerful, but I don’t think you even have control over your own body anymore. You’re just a puppet. An extension of your precious Dark Lord. Maybe you’re his dick, considering you have such a penis fixation.”

  Before I could duck, Julius thrust his hand out and grabbed hold of my neck. His fingers closed around my throat like a vice and Sam’s white face swam in front of my eyes. I heard Julius speaking as if he was faraway or at the end of a long tunnel. “Well, boy, don’t just stand there. I have your bitch, what are you going to do about it? Or maybe she’s not your bitch. Maybe your hers. Maybe—”

  Sam’s arms spun in opposite directions as he Reaped Eve with one arm and thrust a blade into his father’s shoulder with the other. Julius released me and fell forward on his hands and knees. He gaped up at Sam with wide eyes and blood bubbled from his lips as he laughed. “Stabbed your own father in the back, Jules. Perhaps, you’re more like your old man than you thought you were. A regular chip off the old block, boy.”

  Sam turned to walk away as Eve reached for his father’s eyes but something halted him in his tracks. He bent down and stared into Julius’s eyes just as Eve’s hands hovered over them. “My name is Sam, and I forgive you.”

  Julius opened his mouth to respond but it was too late, his spark was gone. I held my hand out to Sam and brushed my lips against his. He smiled into my mouth. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent. My fingers stroked the nape of his neck, and I pulled back in horror, staring down at my blood soaked fingers. I turned to call for Eve, but she was staring down into the field with her mouth agape.

  My breath caught as I saw the full scale of the battle waging below us. The green grass and pale gray rock had been painted red with the blood of those who fought on the field. Lizzie, Aza, and Adam were trying to direct their forces to best effect, but it was like trying to stem the tide. In the center of the field, Peter stood with his hands raised above his head. Jabol and Emmanuel lay at his feet in a puddle of blood. Lucas, Brandon, and Gabriel were circling him with their weapons raised in an attempt to distract him from the two men on the ground, but the last remaining Elder was like a man possessed. Eve’s voice was whisper thin. “Driven mad with power.”

  I grabbed hold of Sam’s arm as Peter raised his arms over his head, already knowing we would be too late. Already knowing we couldn’t make it. My eyes widened as he released his death blow but a sudden force hurtled through the pack of Hounds and knocked Peter to the ground. His misfired energy exploded through the circle of Hounds and tore a gaping hole in his defenses. The figure unfurled itself in the swirl of a purple cape and planted itself between Peter and the two injured men.

  My heart lifted as I recognized the defiant tilt of the woman’s chin and the speed of her magic. “Deirdre.”

  “Hurry, children.” Eve dug her fingers into my arm. “He’ll kill her.”

  We landed just as Peter charged for Deirdre and caught her by the wrist, his fists pointed at the curve of her pregnant stomach. Eve threw herself onto his back like a wild cat and clawed at his eyes. Peter roared and tried to shake her off but Eve held fast, dragging herself over his body so that she could reach his face with two hands. She pressed her fingers over his eye sockets, and any trace of life vanished. His slack body fell into the mud and Eve rolled onto the ground beside him.

  Gabriel bent down and plucked her from the ground. Her face was coated in blood and dirt. She stared at the body beside her and slithered away from it. Gabriel held her hand, and she looked into his face. “That was for my mother.”

  “No,” Gabriel shook his head and helped Eve to her feet. “That was for the whole—”

  Sam caught my arm as the air around us shivered and exploded into a thousand stars. We watched open-mouthed as the world transformed in front of our eyes. It was as if I had been watching life through a dirty windowpane, but now the glass had vanished, and I could see what was really there. The Hounds fell to their knees and stared around, some of them tugging at their masks.

  My mouth fell open as I caught sight of Dawn and Cat a few feet away. Cat raised her hands and blinked at me. “It’s gone, Gracie. The Veil is gone. We won.”

  The laugh the echoed over the field felt liked maggots crawling down my back. “I think you’ll find, little lady, that I’ve won.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Grace

  Mathas was so swollen with the power of the Veil that he was barely recognizable. With a flick of his wrist, his magic dragged all those who possessed the Lost Powers across the field to surround him in a circle—his own grotesque game of ring-around-the-roses.

  Valerie clung to Brandon, and he wrapped his arms around her, trying in vain to shield her from the hold of the Demon’s magic. My throat constricted as Mathas narrowed his eyes and propelled an object through the air. Brandon slumped forward, one of the Hound’s blades embedded in his back. His arms fell limply by his side, and a sobbing Valerie was jolted into the circle beside Zach.

  Lucas kneeled down beside Brandon’s bleeding body. He pressed his fingers against the wounds in a desperate attempt to stem the bleeding. He turned his grief on Mathas. “You bastard. Why are you doing this? What do you want?”

  “I do it, because I can.” Mathas sent another blade flying through the air, and he smiled as it connected with Lucas’s thigh. Lucas bit down on his fist, unwilling to give the Demon the satisfaction of seeing him cry out.

  My tongue felt heavy in my mouth, and my body refused to respond to my commands, frozen in place by Mathas’s black magic. I closed my eyes and tried not to spiral into hysteria. Dawn’s eyes were like saucers in her face as she stared at Brandon and Lucas behind me.

  Mathas raised his arms over his head lazily and inhaled. “Can you feel that? Sun on my skin. Real sun, not hidden behind that ugly Veil. For two thousand years, I lived in the shade. Skulking in the shadows like an insect. Hiding my power. But that time is almost at an end, thanks to you.”

  He swept his hands around the circle and bowed to us in a show of gentility. I dragged my stare away from Brandon’s bleeding body and shook my head. “But I don’t understand—if you hate the Veil so much, why do you want to use us to create a new one?”

  “But I don’t understand.” Mathas mimicked my voice, dragging each syllable into a whine. “No, you really don’t understand, child. Not even one of you has figured it out yet. Not even my lovely wife. Speaking of which, where is she? Elizabeth? Beth?” His eyes fixed on Lizzie’s body as she crawled through the grass with Aza, frantically trying to heal the wounded. Mathas wagged his finger and used his power to dangle her in the air like a plaything. He tutted. “Now, now, now. That’s quite enough of that nonsense, little wifey. The queen must not kneel in the dirt unless it’s for the pleasure of the king.”

  He tossed her down into the m
ud at his feet. Lizzie’s jaw tightened as she stared up at him. “Why, Mathas?”

  “Why, what? You must have so many questions, pick a few!” Mathas spread his arms wide.

  Lizzie swallowed hard. “Why did you come to this world?”

  “That’s what my people do. We seek out places where we can harvest power. Young worlds we can shape to our advantage—like this was when I first arrived—or broken worlds, filled with cracks and crevices in the fabric of society that we can burrow into.” Mathas brushed some mud from his suit trousers. “We find places we can control and people who will do our bidding.”

  “But why?” Lizzie yanked at her own hair by the roots. “Why do you want to control? Why couldn’t you just live?”

  Mathas looked at Lizzie like she was something he had scraped of us his shoe. “Because I can rule. I saw the opportunity, why should I not take it? The Elders practically offered it to me on a plate. They were desperate for power, the Human representatives as much as the Angels. Their envy at the gifts the Halflings possessed had them driven insane with jealousy. Their authority was being brought into question and that they simply could not abide by. The wanted a solution, and I had one. Such luck.”

  Lizzie’s voice shook as she asked her final question. “Why did you pretend to love me?”

  For a split-second, I thought I saw a glimmer of some genuine emotion in Mathas’s eyes, but he erased it with a sneer. “Everyone has to pass the time somehow.”

  Lizzie closed her eyes and stared at the mud. Eve’s voice cut across the circle. “Why create the Spirit Demons?”

  “Oh, that wasn’t me. It was my idea, some brand new magic to divide the races with a little terror—fear breeds contempt and all that lark. But it was your precious Halfborn Elder that came up with the magic. I never bothered with the nitty-gritty of his little creations, as long as they worked. And I won’t need them anymore after this—Abel’s mysterious creatures. And part of your souls too, little Spirit-Born Demon children.” Mathas grinned as he kicked Lizzie to one side and nodded for Eve to ask another question.