Clever Cara. You don't disappoint, Luc said.
"Cara! Are you okay? Open the door, honey," Mom screamed.
Your mom's a good woman.
Cara tensed. Leave her alone.
Taunting laughter in her mind.
I stepped in and saved her, didn't I?
Cara took a deep breath. What do you want?
I think you're old enough to understand exactly what you are to me.
The entity drained from her chest. A dark cloud appeared in front of her in the tiny bathroom. The face that materialized in front of her made Cara reel back and hit her head against the tiled wall. The spirit laughed and divulged his secrets to her. Cara screamed her denial, which resulted in a violation that made her sob and shriek until she was hoarse.
You can't fight me, Cara. No one can protect you from me.
When the spirit left Cara, she slumped on the tiles, quivering. When Dawn shoved the door open into the bathroom she slipped in Cara's blood and fell to her knees beside her daughter.
"Cara, what have you done?" Dawn whispered and grasped her wrists, which gushed rivers of blood.
Cara wrenched away and scooted backwards. "Don't heal me."
"Everything's going to be fine," Dawn said as she followed Cara across the floor, jeans soaked with her daughter's blood. "Just let me touch you, baby."
Cara flinched away. "You knew, didn't you?"
"Knew what?"
"What I am."
Horrible knowledge filled Dawn's eyes. "You're my daughter."
"You know what I am. He's going to use me," Cara panted. "I won't let him use me to hurt anymore people. You need to let me go."
Dawn shook her head. "You're not evil, Cara. You have a choice."
"He told me what my destiny is. You know."
Dawn lurched forward and grabbed Cara's wrists. Before Cara could push her away, Dawn healed the slashes on her wrists. Cara sat in the corner of the bathroom, shaking uncontrollably.
"You shouldn't have had me," Cara whispered.
"I know you," Dawn whispered and cupped Cara's clammy face between her hands. She would have put this day off as long as she could, but Luc had other ideas, that bastard. "You're in charge of your own fate, Cara."
She shook her head. "No."
"Yes," Dawn insisted. "I'll make sure of it."
"You can't stop him."
"I can't, but you can, Cara. Fight him. Don't let him win."
Cara sat in the corner of Aodhan's room and wiped away useless tears. She'd known at eight years old what she was and what she'd been created for. She fought her fate every day. She didn't belong on Luc's side and she wasn't wanted on Aodhan's side, he just didn't know it yet. Even if Aodhan didn't kill her, Khan definitely would.
Hours passed and she didn't register when the sun set. She snapped out of her reverie when the door opened. Aodhan entered with a bundle of clothes. His gaze seared her and she looked down. He dropped the clothes on the bed.
"Get dressed," he said and walked back to the door.
"Why?"
"I'm not going to take chances with you. We're going to Doolin."
Before she could ask another question, he slammed the door. She walked over to the bed and examined the outfit Aodhan brought her. She rubbed the thin, wispy material of a skirt and strapless top between calloused fingers. It made her think of candlelit dinners and walks along the beach. Why hadn't he brought her jeans and another shirt? Her clothes were splattered with blood and mud and she dug shards of glass out of her skin while she was locked in the room. Her hands were tender, but not unbearably so. She cleaned herself up and got dressed. When Aodhan returned, she was ready. She didn't ask questions as he led her up the narrow staircase to the top of the castle. Aodhan faced her and she couldn't meet his eyes. She glanced over the side and saw the moon reflected on the surface of the lake just like her dream.
"Do you believe I can defeat Luc?" Aodhan asked.
She didn't hesitate when she answered, "Yes."
"Luc can't use your family against you so what hold does he have over you? What are you afraid of?"
She didn't answer his question. "Why are we going to Doolin?"
"Khan."
Aodhan didn't need to elaborate. She shivered even though the night was warm. Aodhan didn't say anything else. He wrapped his arms around her from behind. His touch was cold and impersonal and her heart ripped a little as he engulfed her in his heat. They were over before it began.
"Tell me why, Cara," Aodhan said into her ear.
She shook her head and he cursed in a language she didn't recognize before he launched into the air. She would have preferred dangling from Aodhan's talon rather than being clasped in his arms, but it was too late now. They raced across the Irish countryside too fast for her to make out landmarks or villages along the way. The trip to Doolin took less than twenty minutes, but every moment she was pressed against him was a form of torture for Cara. Aodhan landed on the outskirts of Doolin and clasped her hand in his as they walked. Aodhan's massive height and bulk received a lot of stares and whispers from the locals, but no one approached.
They walked into a large bed and breakfast. There was a check in desk to the right while the rest of the room was a makeshift restaurant of sorts. Locals and guests ate on scattered tables and Cara spotted several of the witches from yesterday working as servers. A staircase in the corner led up to a second and third story.
Gael appeared and ignored Cara as she addressed Aodhan. "He just arrived. Come with me."
Cara's heart threatened to burst out of her chest as Gael led them to a private dining room big enough for five people. Cara averted her face as Aodhan pulled her in behind him. She didn't need to look at Khan to know he was just as large as Aodhan and had fierce cobalt eyes. Aodhan released her and she sidled sideways, wondering if she could find a spell that could blend her into the wall. Her heart sank when Khan hugged Aodhan in an embrace that would have crushed a normal man.
"I'm damn glad to see you," Khan said.
Gael closed the double doors and Cara's sense of impending doom skyrocketed. She watched the Ancients out of the corner of her eye and realized Khan was several inches taller than Aodhan. While Aodhan put the men in 300 to shame, Khan was leaner, though no less imposing. Where Aodhan had a face that would make men cower, Khan was classically handsome and was the epitome of wealth and power. Khan was refined, but she knew he was just as brutal and merciless as Aodhan on the battlefield. She'd seen him in action.
"I didn't want to speak over the phone for obvious reasons," Khan said.
"I understand," Aodhan said. "I prefer it this way. I'm not accustomed to modern technology yet."
Cara knew the moment Khan's eyes settled on her. She stopped breathing.
"This is Cara," Aodhan said with a wave of his hand. He kept his distance and she began to tremble. "She reversed Morgana's curse."
She kept her face averted and a strained silence filled the air.
"Sit," Khan said and it wasn't a request.
Cara sat as far from them as possible, which wasn't easy when they took up so much space. She kept her eyes on the wooden table. Khan gestured to the food in a clear indication that she should eat. She doubted she could keep anything down even though she hadn't eaten a thing today.
"Any word on the others?" Aodhan asked.
Khan paused and Cara felt his gaze on her again. "They were all seduced by Luc or Morgana. You're the first I've seen in millennia. I've searched and found no trace of them."
"What of Morgana?" Aodhan asked, a hard edge to his voice.
"I bound her beneath the sea, but it won't last. She has friends," Khan said darkly. "She's partnered with Luc and they've been wreaking havoc. She's begun to break through her bonds and created mischief with tsunamis, tropical storms, and floods. Luc's helping to free her faster. The bonds won't hold much longer and I can't keep up with the demons taking over one city at a time."
Cara was so tense, she thought she m
ight shatter.
"There are others also trying to free Morgana. They know I can't take them all on. Trying to restore any order has been nearly impossible."
"What can I do?" Aodhan asked.
"You're well?" Khan asked and there was a hint of suspicion in his voice. "Completely?"
"Cara exorcised the demon Luc implanted. I'm fine now."
Khan's eyes flicked to Cara again and she held her breath.
"A human can exorcise demons?" Khan asked quietly. "How'd you manage that?"
Cara was incapable of speech, so Aodhan explained. The tension in the small room thickened and her palms began to sweat. Khan's eyes welded her to the spot. Gael opened the double doors and Cara turned, relieved. Gael's face was tight with tension.
"There's a problem," she said.
Aodhan got to his feet and nodded to Khan. "I'll deal with it."
Aodhan left the room with Gael and closed the doors behind him. Cara twisted her hands together in her lap.
"Sensing demons is rare," Khan commented.
Cara didn't answer.
"In my experience, only demons can see other demons."
She turned to stone and took a breath before she turned her head and looked him full in the face.
"I remember you," Khan said.
She nodded stiffly. "I thought you might."
"You shouldn't have survived being possessed by Luc."
Her teeth clenched so hard, her jaw ached.
"Want to explain that to me?"
She held his eyes, but didn't answer.
"Its even more amazing that even with my powers, I wasn't able to find Aodhan, but you, a mere human, set him free." Khan rose and her blood froze. "Who sent you?"
"No one sent me."
"I can smell your fear." Lightning sparked in his eyes. "So, you're a human, but you're able to summon and exorcise demons? I managed to kill Luc in his puppet twice, but he managed to stay on earth and avoid being sent to hell. Why is that?"
He knows, she thought. Terror flooded her. She knew she should run, but Khan's eyes held her in place. They burned with rage and bitter triumph.
"I heard a rumor centuries ago about Luc having a back up plan in case someone tried to send him back to hell."
A crack of thunder above the building was nearly deafening.
"Are you Luc's spawn?"
Cara didn't answer. Khan raised hands that crackled with lightning. She met his brilliant eyes as the room filled with electricity, raising every hair on her body.
"If I kill you, Luc won't have anywhere to seek sanctuary. That's what you are to him, right?" Khan murmured.
Cara closed her eyes as he raised his hands for the killing blow.
An explosion knocked them both off their feet. The double doors behind her splintered and possessed humans poured into the room and converged on Khan. Cara rolled to her feet and ran into the dining room, which was now empty. She rushed outside and saw that several buildings were on fire. Even as she hesitated, she sensed demons jumping from puppet to puppet, trying to locate her. She slipped down an alleyway and made her way out of Doolin.
She ran across fields and pastures lit by the moon. Her breath came out of her in ragged gasps and tears blinded her eyes. She avoided the dips and holes in the earth as her mother's magic sang in her veins. The earth mourned with her. Cara knew where she was going, where she was going to end this on her terms. Her skirt billowed out behind her like a white flag of surrender. She didn't slow until she could see the Cliffs of Moher in the distance. She stopped at the edge and stared out at the silver ocean and crashing waves.
Khan would tell Aodhan what she was. It was done. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up to the night sky. When she died and the Ancients caught up with Luc, he would be sent to hell where he belonged. If she lived, he would bounce back from the underworld like a boomerang because he'd imbedded a part of himself in her. She was his greatest weapon and Khan figured it out. That's what she wanted, right?
The Cliffs of Moher had been her temporary prison, yet they would set her free as well. The cliffs were majestic, powerful and would be here until the end of days. She felt as if she were standing at the edge of the world. She said a quick prayer for her mom and Sky as she watched the waves crash below. She took a deep breath and stepped forward into nothing. Her stomach flipped as she began to drop and then a hand closed around her arm and yanked her up and backwards with bruising force. She tumbled to the grass and raised her head.
Luc smiled down at her. "Doesn't look like Khan believes you're innocent, baby."
"I didn't bother," she muttered.
Luc laughed. "Ready to come quietly?"
"No."
His eyes narrowed. "If I didn't have demons in the village, you'd be crispy right now. Khan doesn't play around."
"I want this to end," she said.
Luc sighed. "Stubborn. You're destined to rule by my side, Cara. Your soul's been mine since the moment you came into this world."
She shook her head and couldn't stop the tears that filled her eyes.
"You were born with evil in your heart. How ironic is it that a demon became a demon hunter?"
"I'm not-"
He ignored her denial and examined his fingernails. "So, Khan the Great figured out how I've been able to resist him all these years. Pity. You know what that means for you, right?"
"Eternal imprisonment?" she asked through clenched teeth.
He made a gun with his thumb and pointer finger. "You got it. If you'd stop avoiding my minions, you would be safe right now."
"Safe?" she choked. "I'd rather die than have you possess me again."
"Not your choice, baby."
"Yes. It. Is."
"Nope. You're too valuable to kill. You know I can't have more than one spawn at a time. I can't afford to wait nine months for another child to be born when there's two Ancients walking around now, thanks to you."
Her hands dug into the earth beneath her.
"You could have been so great," Luc said with mock regret. "You even got Aodhan into bed! Do you know how I would've rewarded you for killing that beast once and for all?"
Cara got to her feet. "They're going to win."
Luc's eyes narrowed. "You support him, knowing he'll kill you when he realizes what you are? If you weren't so valuable, I'd serve you to him on a platter and watch you die by his hand. If you believe in him, why didn't you tell him the truth and beg him to spare your life?"
Cara clenched her teeth together so hard, her jaw ached. "I won't let you win."
"I've been waiting for this for a long time," Luc said.
He struck her so hard that her head rang. He followed her to the ground and hit her with enough force that she sank into the moist ground. Luc straddled her middle, pinned her hands above her head and lapped at her blood with his forked tongue. She fought him even though she knew it was useless.
"You have more power than you know," he spat. "Why do you think you can summon demons? You could stand by my side and rule. Instead, you choose to do good and die fighting a useless war. You're pathetic."
His nails elongated and he waved them dangerously close to her eyes before he shoved five talons into her shoulder. Cara screamed as his talons cut through muscle and bone.
"You've ruined everything," Luc hissed. "Now Khan knows how I've been fooling him all these years and you've managed to bring Aodhan out to play. You'll wish he was the one to kill you once I start your punishment."
He wrenched his talons out of her and raised his hand to run her through again when something hurled him off of her. She turned her head to the side and watched the silver dragon rip Luc's puppet into pieces. She felt Luc's spirit leave the dead puppet and streak back towards Doolin.
Cara forced herself to sit up and trembled uncontrollably as the silver dragon disappeared and Aodhan stood before her, hands dripping with blood. She bent her head. She knew Luc was racing back to the village to possess another human before Cara was execut
ed.
"You have nothing to say to me?"
Aodhan's voice was so cold. She cringed and would have huddled into a defensive ball if her body wasn't so battered. Just do it, just do it, she chanted in her mind. Tears and blood wet the grass beneath her. She didn't utter a sound. One side of her face was so bruised, she couldn't see out of one eye.
"Is Luc your father? "Aodhan asked.
She prayed she would die in dignified silence.
"Is it true?" he roared.
Her lips quivered as she whispered, "Yes."
"You're a demon?"
"Yes."
"I have to kill you."
Aodhan knelt down, fisted a hand in her hair and yanked her head back, exposing her face to the moonlight. She waited for fire or steel, but Aodhan released her with a foul curse and paced away with his back to her. She peeked at him through her one good eye and saw flames shimmer over his body.
"I got fucked by another demon."
Cara's body went ice cold. She edged backwards as her heart shattered. What she'd been desperately trying to avoid was here. Any camaraderie or feelings between her and Aodhan were gone. She was too much of a coward to let him kill her. She would rather die with false memories than have his face filled with disgust and rage as he did the deed. Her foot dangled off the edge of the cliff and her stomach dipped.
"Did you whore for Luc? He thought I'd be blinded by lust and spare your life?" he asked with such scorn that tears blinded her.
She scooted backwards and clenched her teeth as she fell back into nothingness. She dropped in a cloud of filmy white and prayed she'd die before Luc found a host in the village. If that happened, the world would be rid of the two most powerful demons walking the earth. The sound of the waves filled her ears and then blackness engulfed her.
Chapter Fifteen
Cara surfaced with every fiber of her being screaming that she was in danger. She felt as if she had weights pressing her body down. Even the act of opening her eyes was beyond her. She struggled to move, to say something, but her body didn't respond the way it was supposed to. Fear and panic raced through her and she tried to remember where she was or what happened, but her mind was a blank canvas.
Clutch of the Demon (Cursed Ancients Series Book 1) Page 16
