It was Erebus and I who walked to the edge of the light. Hands trembling, scalp tingling, I did my best to ignore the Shadow People to my left. They wouldn’t attack, not unless they thought their plan had gone sour. And what a feast it would be if they succeeded. There had to be at least eighty djinn in the ring of fire, not including the children.
Frieda’s hilt was a warm comforting presence in my hand.
One of the older djinn, a tall slender man with a short-cropped beard, stepped toward the flames.
Erebus held up his hand to halt him. “I’d feel better if we made one more sweep.”
As the final word left his mouth, Vale and Aiden appeared as if from nowhere. Vale cut a swath to Erebus’s right and Aiden to my left. The two Shadow People closest to me were the first to go, shattering beneath a bludgeon from Aiden’s everlight mace.
There was a moment of deathly silence and then the moon winked out as the shadows attacked.
CHAPTER36
M y ears rang with the screams of the djinn, my head buzzed with adrenaline as I cut and jabbed and obliterated those fuckers. My body felt stronger that it had in a long time, maybe even stronger than it had ever been. The training sessions with Erebus had honed my balance, my muscle, and my skill. I didn’t stumble, falter, or fall. It was exhilarating. I took out six, maybe seven Shadow People, but I was looking for him. The one who had haunted my nightmares for months; he was the one I needed to defeat to be free. Erebus was always close by, lending me his strength. A wild laugh exploded from my lips. I spun, using my good leg as a pivot and slashed the heck out of a Shadow Person at Erebus’s back. Erebus turned to face me and we locked eyes for a brief moment. That was long enough for me to note the heat in his gaze, the smug curl to his lips, and then we were moving apart, back into the fray. I had just taken down my ninth Shadow Person when I saw him.
The Hat Man was retreating toward the buildings, making his escape while his brethren were slaughtered. Aiden was up against the gate taking down two Shadow People. Vale and Baron were double teaming another one, and Erebus was swinging his blade in an arc decapitating the four Shadow People that had him surrounded. I was on my own and he was getting away. His shadow face appeared in my mind. His laughter rang in my ears. I couldn’t let him get away. Leaving the fire and the clan behind me, I ran into the darkness toward my true target.
The buildings closed in around me and every shadow was a suspect. The prickling of my scalp told me he was near.. And then his voice—rusty nails and peeling scabs—scraped the inside of my skull.
I have yearned for another taste of your flesh.
I tightened my grip on Frieda to quell the tremble in my hands. “Come out! Show yourself you coward!”
A shadow detached itself from the ground, rising up until he was an inky black mass in the shape of a man . . . a man in a hat.
My stomach quivered, and I adjusted my grip on Frieda.
What are you waiting for, I’m sooo hungry . . .
He lunged and I swung, but he was no longer in my path. I spun, shaken by the evasive manoeuvre, and almost lost my balance.
Keep it together Kenna.
His dirty laughter filled my head. The air rippled at my back. I lashed out at nothing. I was losing it. He was goading me and it was working. The fear was seeping back in. The doubt was digging its claws into my mind. I clenched my trembling hand into a fist and gripped Frieda tighter. Breathe. Focus. Closing my eyes I let my other senses take over.
A whoosh to my left.
Frieda sliced through the air like a whip and then began to drag.
Contact.
The Hat Man stood impaled by my sword. Ripping her free I sliced again. A screech filled my mind, sending a lance of pain through my brain. The sound was inside my head but instinct had me dropping my guard to cover my ears regardless.
The Hat Man knocked Frieda from my grasp and advanced. No . . . not again. I tripped and landed on my butt.
So hungry . . .
The chill from the ground seeped into me as I scrambled backward to get away from his looming figure. My back hit a wall.
Tears stung my eyes. “I hope you fucking choke on me.”
The Hat Man dove toward me, and I raised my chin in a final act of defiance. A roar filled the air.
Erebus!
He materialised before me, his back acting as a shield against the Hat Man.
“NO!” Aiden appeared to my left and slashed at the Hat Man who was obscured from my view by Erebus’s huge frame.
Baron joined him a moment later followed by Vale. The three of them began cutting into Shadow Man, but my attention was Erebus—on the erratic rise and fall of his chest and the determined curl of his lips. A strange buzzing filled my head . . . something wasn’t right.
Slowly, almost painfully, he raised his arm to reach for me. And his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell. His body hit the earth with a thud that reverberated through me.
I remembered how to breathe with a piercing scream.
***
“It’s alright, it will be alright.”
Sabriel’s words meant nothing because Erebus was dying. I’d heard Vale and Baron talking. I knew the score and I had to see him.
“Get me into his chambers Sabriel, please.” I grabbed his hand. “I need to see him.” There was a crushing weight on my chest that wouldn’t lift until I’d seen him. “I know you can do this.”
“To travel somewhere I need to have either been there before, be able to see it, or be connected to someone who is there. I’ve never been to Erebus’ private chambers, and I have no spiritual connection to him.” Sabriel paced my chambers. “I asked them if you could see him, but they have him locked away. You have no idea how protective they are of him.”
Yes. Yes I did. I’d seen first-hand how they’d dropped everything, even me, to get back to the fortress with Erebus’s unconscious body. I’d run after them to find them climbing up onto their mounts, and thank goodness Vale had surfaced from his resolve long enough to pull me up onto his beast. Erebus’s huge frame had been slung over another one of the strange creatures, and we’d ridden back as fast as we could.
Once inside they’d whisked him away.
I was the reason their lord was dying. Yes, Baron had said all of that and more, spitting the words in my face, and oh god my heart ached.
“I need to see him!”
Sabriel dropped his chin to his chest, shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry, Kenna. I cannot help you with this. Maybe it’s for the best if you stay away? I fear you may be becoming too attached.”
The beat of wings filled the air, and a gust of wind blew my shutters open. Fargol landed on my balcony.
I glanced at my gargoyle friend and back at Sabriel. “Does his chamber have a balcony?”
“You wish to see Erebus,” Fargol said.
“Yes.”
“I will take you.”
“Kenna, this is a bad idea,” Sabriel warned.
“Maybe. But I’m doing it anyway.”
Fargol wrapped his huge hand around my waist with ease. His wings beat the air and we were off.
“Don’t look down,” Sabriel advised.
The next few minutes were a haze, filled with starlight, the steady whoosh of wings, and the thunder of blood in my ears. We landed lightly on a balcony three stories above mine and halfway around the building.
I hugged Fargol’s massive bicep. “Thank you. Will you wait for me?”
Fargol inclined his head and melted back into the shadows.
The shutters were open, gauzy curtains blowing gently in the breeze. I stepped closer, peering through the semi-opaque material. The room was dimly lit and all I could make out was a fireplace twice the size of mine, a plush rug, and the gigantic four-poster bed. Velvet drapes that looked crimson in the lamplight were drawn around it. I tiptoed into the room and moved as stealthily as I could toward the head of the bed and pulled them aside to peer in.
Erebus lay unconscious. His
body as still as stone, his skin, which was usually a rich midnight blue, looked pale and drained. His chest was bare but covered to just his pecs, and a network of black veins were visible under his skin—the Hat Man’s poison. It was working its way through Erebus’s system, trying to kill him. It was a testament to his power that he wasn’t already dead.
I perched on the bed beside him and reached out to graze his cheek with my fingertips.
Cold. So cold.
My vision blurred and I swiped at my nose.
He was dying and it was my fault. If I hadn’t been so consumed with wanting revenge, if I hadn’t been so reckless . . . “Please don’t die.”
His eyelids fluttered and I tensed, hoping and praying he would awaken. His lips parted in a soft moan and then he settled back into his slumber of death. I blinked, dislodging a tear that skated down my cheek, and leaned over him until my face was mere centimetres away. “Please, fight. Please don’t leave me . . .” The words came from a place I didn’t recognise. A forgotten chasm that I’d believed was devoid of all feeling. I needed this creature, this fierce warrior djinn who’d taught me to fight again, who’d shown me kindness without confusing it with pity.
I needed him to live.
The door opened. Shit, they couldn’t find me in here . . .
“Who’s there?”
Vale? He was the most compassionate of the four. Maybe he’d understand? I stepped out from behind the drapes.
Vale’s brows snapped down. “How did you?—never mind, you need to go before Baron or Aiden see you here. In fact, you need to go back to the human realm before . . . before Erebus dies, because once he does I won’t be able to stop my brothers from tearing you to shreds.”
The tears were falling freely now and I didn’t care. “I’m sorry, so sorry. I never meant for this to happen.”
Vale sighed through his nose. “I know. You wanted revenge . . . some kind of relief from your nightmares. I understand all too well and so do they, but . . .” he glanced at the bed. “Erebus has changed since your arrival. His actions today were not for the greater good and that frightens my brothers, for if we are not working for the greater good then we have no purpose at all. When Erebus dies they will be free, and they will come for you.”
“Why are you so sure he’ll die? He can fight this. I know he can.”
“A decade ago he may have staved off the infection, but the flame and the ceaseless army have sapped his strength. He is but a shadow of the djinn he once was. We all are.”
The flame . . . my stomach fluttered. “I need to show you something, please. I think it could help save Erebus.”
Vale gave me a look that clearly said he thought I was insane but I brushed it aside.
“I think I can fuel the flame.”
His brows shot up.
“I know it sounds crazy, but if there’s a chance I may be right, that we could save him, do you want to risk turning your back on it?”
He looked to the ground, rubbing an index finger over his bottom lip.
“Please, Vale, you have nothing to lose by letting me try.”
His gaze slid to the bed, then back to me. “Alright. But stay close and stay quiet. We can’t risk the others finding out.”
***
I stared at the flame on the other side of the bridge and was suddenly overcome by doubt. What if I’d imagined the flare? What if it had all been in my head?
“Well?” Vale asked.
I exhaled and began to walk across the bridge toward it. How close had I been the last time it had reacted to me? My palms grew slick and I curled my hands into fists. Please, please work. A bitter chuckle rose in my throat. A few days ago I would have given anything for this not to work, but now it meant everything to me. I didn’t care that I was signing my own death warrant. All I cared about was seeing those silver eyes.
I was three metres away when it began to flicker, two metres it began to pulse, and one metre it was an inferno, pulling toward me. I barely registered Vale’s gasp at my back, my head felt giddy and my knees had gone weak. I reached out and placed my hands on the glass separating me from the flame and watched it surge up until it filled its chamber.
“What the hell is going on?” It was Baron’s voice, but I didn’t care.
I blinked back tears of relief and turned to offer the clan a shaky smile. “We can save him. Tell me we can save him.”
Aiden was the first to speak. “We need to bind her.”
I nodded. “Do it.”
“Wait,” Vale stepped forward to take my hands in his. “Do you understand what that means?”
I smiled up into his face, a face that was harsh and unforgiving, but one in which I had learned to find traces of kindness. “I know. I’ll eventually burn out and die, like all the other humans, but if I can save Erebus and it gives humanity a chance, I’m good with that.”
Vale’s eyes darkened and he reached up to brush a tendril of my hair off my face. “So be it.” His gaze was suddenly too intense and I dropped my chin, breaking eye contact.
“Let’s do this.”
“Wait, Kenna!” Sabriel came barrelling onto the bridge. “You can’t do this!”
“Sabriel, you don’t understand—”
“No, you don’t understand. You have a destiny.”
Baron and Aiden stepped into Sabriel’s path.
Sabriel glared at them but they folded their arms across their chests, refusing to budge.
He ignored them and focused on me. “This isn’t your destiny. It can’t be.”
“Maybe not but it doesn’t matter. I have to do this. I want to do this.” I turned back to Vale. “Please let’s get this done.”
Vale led me around the glass chamber to a small levered door, large enough for a hand to fit though.
“There is a cuff at the centre of the flame. You will need to retrieve it,” he said.
“You want me to put my hand into the fire?” Had he lost his mind?
“The humans in the pool are merely channels, what you are going to do is different, you will be binding directly to the flame, just as Erebus has done.”
The cuff on his wrist! That was what bound him?
“If the flame truly accepts you then you will not be harmed.”
I glared at the crazy dancing flames licking the glass eager to get at me. It damn well better accept me!
Okay, deep breaths. “Here goes.”
I flipped the latch and stuck my fingers into the fire. Nothing. I shot Vale a triumphant look before plunging my whole arm in. I could see the vague outline of an object in the centre of the flame and snagged it. The cuff caught on the glass recess. I looked to Vale for assistance but he shook his head.
Looked like I’d have to do this alone too.
I yanked harder, finally getting it free. It was huge, much too big for my wrist; it was more the size of a collar.
“Really?”
Vale shrugged, but the tightness around his eyes and mouth told me he was anxious I wouldn’t go through with this.
In for a penny, in for a pound. I unclasped the cuff lifted it to my neck and locked eyes with Sabriel. “Bottoms up.” I clasped it around my neck.
Vale’s shoulders sagged. Aiden and Baron stepped out of Sabriel’s path.
“Um . . . is something supposed to happen? I mean, am I meant to—Oh!”
My veins flooded with heat, and my knees gave way. I was floating. Images I didn’t quite understand flickered through my mind: a sun-drenched room, a tinkling laugh, and the scent of roses in full bloom. There was dark desolation and cutting betrayal and arms that branded me with their fiery touch. They wrapped round me, squeezing until I couldn’t breathe. A flash of crimson filled my vision. A voice whispered my name, and fingernails dug into my mind, piercing and claiming.
I awoke with a gasp.
I was on a bed with drapes . . .
Erebus’s bed.
Erebus’s room.
My hand went to my neck, making contact wi
th the smooth metal cuff. The clasp at the back was gone, leaving seamless metal to circle around my neck. Oh, shit . . . it was on for good. No taking it off, no going back. Breathe, Kenna. Breathe. It was alright. Erebus had one and it was alright. It was just like jewellery . . . heavy un-removable jewellery.
“You’re awake,” Erebus appeared at the side of the bed.
I started at the sound of his voice, swallowing a whimper. My head still felt strange, as if there was too much information floating around inside it.
Erebus sat on the side of the bed, his hip by mine. “I had you brought here when I awoke. The binding process can be painful. I didn’t want you to be alone.”
I shook my head. “No pain. Just images.”
He cocked his head. “Really? And what did you see?”
“It was more impressions . . . I smelled roses and heard a beautiful laugh and felt . . . sad and lost and . . . betrayed.”
Erebus sighed. “I see.”
“I don’t. What was that?”
“Memories. Nothing more.”
“Whose memories?”
“It’s not important.” He searched my face and then reached across to touch the collar at my neck. “You saved my life.”
My cheeks burned under the silver caress of his eyes. “You saved mine first.”
“Why did you do it? You know it will kill you.”
“Why did you save my life at the risk of your own?”
His eyes darkened, the dilating pupils drawing me in. I licked my lips, unwittingly drawing his eye.
He swallowed hard and averted his gaze. “I acted on instinct.”
His instinct had been to save me? I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but my body seemed to know. My heart was beating like a hummingbird’s wings and my lungs were working overtime.
“And I . . . I wanted to see your silver eyes again.”
His head snapped up and his nostrils flared. He reached up to cup my cheek, his thumb moving lightly across my lips. Heat pooled in my belly and I closed my eyes, unable to look at him, unable to hide my arousal.
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