Veiled Threat

by Shannon Mayer

  Liam.

  Giselle.

  Pamela.

  Milly. All those I loved fed that power. Their love gave me this strength to face the darkest of hours without hate in me. Without anger. Without fear. That was why Alex could tackle demons. That was what the necromancer Talia meant when she said he had a pure intent. He fought from a place of love, he fought for those he loved.

  The scent of roses swam up around me and I didn’t look, I knew Milly was awake and she was pissed.

  Her magic flowed and struck with a deadly aim, pushing the demons back. She wasn’t killing them though.

  “Milly, I know you want to hate them, but you need to let that go—you have to think of those you love. Of your baby. Then use your magic.”

  She stepped beside me, tears tracking down her cheeks. “Of you, too, Rylee.”

  Her power swept out in a bar of light and the demons cowered. To the other side of me, Pamela stood, her hands out, a smile on her lips.

  “That’s the key, isn’t it?”

  “I think so,” I whispered, snapping my whip out, curling it around a demon’s neck. There couldn’t be hate, and even though there was, it wasn’t the driving force. I did this for love, for those I loved. Not to gain vengeance to make Orion pay. I did this to keep those I cared for safe.

  Bar after bar of light burst out of Pamela and Milly, driving the demons back, way back. Far out of reach of my weapons or Erik’s hands. The demons weren’t dying from the magical assault, there was too much anger in Pam and Milly, too much rage at being held captive. Not that I was going to complain. They were giving us a respite, holding the demons at bay.

  “Rylee. The door isn’t going to open on its own. We’re stuck here,” Erik said. “And your girls, they will tire out sooner rather than later.”

  “Liam will come through.” I stared at the archway.

  “You are willing to bet your life on him?”

  “Always.”

  Draining Megan took close to ten minutes, her pale face dipped into a shade of white Liam had never seen on skin before. She still breathed though; her body was alive even if she’d been stripped of every drop of power she had.

  “It is done,” Thomas said, his voice heavy with sorrow. “She had great potential, a shame she was tainted.”

  “Open the veil.”

  “Wolf, let me get to my feet! I know you think they will be there, and I will open the veil once, and once more only. If they are not there, I cannot open it again, not for days. And by then …” He lifted his brown eyes to Liam’s. “By then it will be too late.”

  Clenching his hands into fists, Liam shook with fear, though by the look on Thomas’s face, the necromancer thought it a more aggressive emotion that claimed his body.

  He could barely say the words. “Open the veil, she will be there.”

  Never in his life had he been so afraid. Even when Pamela and he had been separated from Rylee and Alex in the underground palace, when the water had come and swept her away. Even then he’d thought perhaps there was some way she would make it. But this time it was too close to the end game; walking into Orion’s own territory, no matter the reason, was a death sentence. And he’d let her go.

  He should have fought harder, should have made her see that Pamela and Milly were not as important as she was.

  The veil sluggishly opened, the archway showing clearly. No one stood in it. A moment passed where he heard nothing and then … .

  A deafening roar, the sounds of battle drove out of the opening, the scent of blood and magic lit up his senses.

  “RYLEE!” He roared her name and then let out a howl he couldn’t hold back, the cry of a wolf for his mate.

  “Liam!”

  Everything happened so fast. Pamela and Alex came through first, and then … Erik?

  “What the hell, I thought you were with the dragons?”

  Erik’s eyes flicked over him and Liam caught a new scent. This wasn’t the Erik they’d left behind. What the hell was going on?

  “Where’s Rylee?”

  “Here.” She stepped up to the edge. “Don’t touch me, anyone. I’m covered in venom.”

  Behind her, he saw Milly.

  Worse, behind Milly stood a figure who could be only one person.

  Orion.

  Chapter 22

  LIKE MANNA FROM heaven, the veil opened behind us. Liam howled my name and I felt another prophecy slide into place.

  And the great wolf will howl her name … .

  Giselle stepped away, lifted her hand and faded. “Love. That is what this is about. Remember that and look out for one another, my girls.”

  The others went through, but Milly hesitated. “Rylee. I can’t leave. He has bound me again.”

  Behind her strode a figure, cutting his way through the mass of lesser demons. There was no time to be gentle; we had to go.

  “No, you have to come. Milly, he wants your baby.”

  “I know. I will work for you from this side. I will slow him down. I won’t let him take my baby. I can’t leave, Rylee. He has me, there is no other way right now.” Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. “I have faith in you, and if I’m wrong and Orion possesses my baby, I know you will do what you must to stop him. You were always the strong one.”

  I wanted to throw up with what she was saying, what she was asking of me. That I would kill her baby if necessary. Fuck me. “Just come with us. With me. Please.”

  She reached under the side of her skirt and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “Take them, they were all I could get, but they should help.”

  My fingers clenched around the thick paper and she stepped back, away from me. Away from the opening in the veil.

  “Milly.” Her name choked in my throat. “Don’t do this.”

  We were both crying, saying what I knew would be a final goodbye. I almost wished she hadn’t redeemed herself, wished she hadn’t come back into my life. It was easier to hate, far easier to hate than let someone go who you loved so dearly.

  “Rylee, I love you the best, you have always fought for me, even when you shouldn’t have. Even when I wronged you. Let this be the way I fight for you, for the world. I am bound to him. I cannot leave. There is no other way for me.” Her green eyes sought mine and I knew she wasn’t lying. I knew in my heart, but that didn’t make it any easier.

  “He’ll force us to face one another.”

  She nodded and went to her knees. “Yes. I know. Go, Rylee. Sister of my heart, my one true friend. Go.”

  Everything she said was truth, everything. I backed toward the opening and fell through it into what felt like a brilliantly sunny day. The veil snapped shut behind me.

  Chaos was all around, talking over one another, Erik explaining what had happened, Pamela and Alex filling in the blanks. Megan lay beside me, and I gleaned from what I heard Frank say that she’d been a spy of sorts, infiltrating our ranks.

  None of it really hit me though. Liam crouched beside me, put his face over mine. “Rylee, how bad is the venom?”

  “Bad.” I whispered, my throat closing off, the tears unstoppable as I lay on my back. “The worst.”

  “She loves you enough to die for you, Rylee,” he said softly, his own eyes dripping moisture onto my face.

  But that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. “We have to go, Blaz is in trouble.”

  Liam nodded and moved so I could sit up. I wiped my face.

  Before I could even ask him, Alex let out a howl. “Farrrrrrrriiiiiiiis.”

  Thomas visibly stiffened and turned his back. “Go quickly, I cannot stand the sight of him.”

  The veil sliced open twenty feet away. Faris stood in the shadows of his room, waiting.

  Liam put a hand on Erik’s shoulder. “I cannot go. Send Blaz for me when you save his big leather ass. I’ll be at Jack’s.”

  Erik clapped a hand over Liam’s. “I’ll keep her safe.”

  The language of men, it was strange at the best of times.

  I couldn
’t even kiss him goodbye. But for now, it would be enough. I would see him soon; there was no goodbye for us and as far as I was concerned, there never would be. I handed him the papers Milly had given me, wondered what they were, knew that at some point I’d finally be able to find out. Just not right now. “Here, hang onto these for me.”

  Faris took us to the farm without argument, without even a single snotty comment. “Doran and Berget are setting things up; over a hundred ogres have shown up to fight for you, Rylee.”

  “That’s good. Thank you, for helping us.”

  He shared a quick look with Erik that I pretended not to notice. I knew I was not myself, I knew it. I just couldn’t shake the last look in Milly’s eyes as she bent to her knees, her hands cradled around her belly.

  Mother of the gods, watch over her. Keep her safe.

  Faris stepped through the veil at the farm since night was heavy over the land. The scent of charred wood still filled the ice-laden air.

  “Blaz?” I walked toward the barn.

  Rylee, you are back? His head popped up behind the barn, like a giant Jack in the Box.

  “Where is Erik?”

  Ophelia’s head appeared, rather close to Blaz’s. Looked like they were getting along at least.

  He is in the barn, shall I wake him? Her voice was almost tender.

  “No. He’s my uncle. I’ll wake him.”

  I strode toward the barn, forgetting everything I’d learned about fighting demons. The hate and the pain was too strong. No one tried to stop me; my real uncle let me go. Pamela, Alex, and Faris stayed outside.

  They all knew me.

  I pushed the door open hard so it banged against the wooden slatted wall.

  “Wakey, wakey, uncle,” I snapped, uncoiling my whip. The doppelganger sat up and scrubbed his face.

  “You made it?” His eyes were wide with shock.

  “Yeah, probably didn’t think I would, did you? Why didn’t you want to go with me, uncle? Was it really because you didn’t think you could help? Or was it because you knew the chances were too high that I’d find out what you really are?”

  He pushed away from me.

  “No, it isn’t what you think. I had orders, yes. But Ophelia is such a dear and I’ve never had a friend. Ask the dragons. I did nothing. I just came and slept. I got rid of the poison I was to use on them.”

  “Demon!” I lunged at him, bare handed, and he cringed; he didn’t try and defend himself.

  As I grabbed him, I heard the voice of the monster, the demon turned into a living building who’d helped us, in my head. Not all demons bad.

  “Fucking hell.” I pulled the pretender into my arms and the venom completely transferred. He took a breath and passed out.

  Rylee, what have you done to Erik? The worry in Ophelia’s voice was obvious. I let out a sigh and dragged his limp body with me. As I walked it shifted, the visage of Erik fading, replaced by one of a very small, very frail looking man. In some ways he reminded me of Thomas. All legs and arms. But he had a large head, and large eyes, and pale grey skin. Kinda human, mostly not.

  “He’s a demon. He was impersonating Erik to get close to us. To kill both of you.” I flipped his limp body out into a pile of soot-covered snow.

  Erik, the real Erik, poked him with a toe. “Why didn’t you kill him?”

  Ophelia’s head snaked down. How did he fool me? How do you know this one, she shoved her nose at Erik, isn’t the one who is fooling you.

  “I still hate you, you big nasty bitch. What, did he tell you? He had a change of heart? That he could ride with another dragon now?” Erik swatted her nose and she pulled back, but said nothing.

  In her eyes, I saw the confusion the real Erik told me about. The way her eyes were distant and faraway as she tried to process this turn of events. “Ophelia, you are not well. You haven’t been since my father died. That made it easy for him to fool you because you wanted a new rider—”

  NO! That can’t be. This is not the way it was supposed to be. She trembled, her lovely eyes filling with tears.

  I softened my voice. “It is. He fooled you, he fooled all of us.”

  With a wail, she threw herself backward, the ground shuddering under her weight.

  I cannot stay. I cannot.

  She let out a roar that made me slap my hands over my ears and with that she launched into the air. She fled from us, her silhouette fading from sight within seconds.

  “Blaz, is she going to come back?”

  I don’t know. Rylee, he did nothing to us. There was no harm. Blaz’s voice was quiet, for my ears only.

  “Blaz, you said you wouldn’t survive if I died, that we are bound. How come Ophelia didn’t die when my father did? Or you, Erik, why didn’t you die when your dragon did?”

  Erik shook his head. “Every pairing is different. The one with my girl, she severed the bond as she died, to save me. Your father did the same for Ophelia. It is hard and painful, but it will leave the other half of the pair alive. Slayers keep their minds intact, but the dragons don’t. Like I said, the bond runs too deep for them.”

  He speaks the truth, but don’t even think it, Rylee. My place is with you, to the end I would not live my life well as a broken dragon. I do not know how Ophelia has done it this long. Blaz’s eyes narrowed. At least I knew there was a way to save him if something did happen to me.

  “Will you get Liam? He’s waiting for you at Jack’s. Bring him to Doran’s.”

  You and your wolf. Of course I’ll fetch him. Again. With a long snort Blaz leapt into the air, his path taking him in the opposite direction of Ophelia’s flight. I wondered if she would come back, or if that was the last we would see of her. I wasn’t sure we wanted a mentally unstable dragon, even if she was on our side.

  “He will be gone three days at most,” Erik said. “You need to decide what to do with him,” he booted the passed out doppelganger, “before he gets back and your wolf gets a smell of him.”

  I knew what he was saying. There was no way Liam would allow the doppelganger to live knowing the danger he represented. And I couldn’t blame Liam; the doppelganger had been so far within our guard we hadn’t even known he was a danger. He could of killed Blaz and Ophelia and there would have been nothing we could have done to stop him. Hell, he’d been sabotaging my training and setting me up to be killed alongside Liam and my other allies.

  I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I don’t know. He didn’t kill Blaz or Ophelia when he had the chance. Do you think it’s possible that not all demons are bad?”

  Erik crossed his arms over his wide chest, his eyes narrowing in thought. “I … I think that not all of them are as bad as Orion. The creature who housed the demons was a demon that helped us. Perhaps there is a reason for this one yet to live.”

  A few hours passed before the doppelganger woke with a groan. He sat forward, swaying from side to side. Right away he changed his appearance to something far more human. He looked suspiciously like Bruce Lee.

  “Why didn’t you kill me while I slept? I know nothing, other than the orders I was given.” His voice was lightly accented now, but not Russian like before.

  I crouched in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched as though it were a hot brand. “Not all demons are bad. That’s what I’ve heard. Are you ready to renounce your previous master?”

  “He’ll kill me,” he whispered.

  I laughed, not kindly. “He’s going to kill you when you fail to follow his orders, idiot.”

  “Right.” His head dropped, black hair sliding forward to partially cover his face. “Our prophecies say he will win, that he will beat you, and he has the black book of prophecy now to guide him as well as the violet book that has what you need from it.” He lifted his eyes, they were completely black, with no iris, no white showing. Freaky.

  “Well, all the other prophecies say I can beat him. The rest of the supernatural world has put their trust in me. If you won’t renounce him, I’ll kill you.”
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  “I don’t want to die. I like it here.”

  After that, it was simple. He picked himself a name. Albert, of all things, and Erik did some sort of binding on the doppelganger. I watched closely, that it was kind of like killing the demons, but only the reverse. Erik pulled the demon’s essence close to himself instead of shoving it away. I watched, not because I wanted to bind any demon to me, but knowledge was power.

  “He is mine, until I let him go or I die. If I die, he dies. It is that simple.”

  Albert shadowed Erik wherever he went, and soon enough we were calling him “Bert.”

  Faris took us to Doran’s, though he was not happy about the demon coming with us.

  The vampire pulled me to one side. “You walk a fine line, Rylee. Keeping a demon for a pet is not smart.”

  “He’s not my pet, he’s Erik’s. And I will kill him if he steps out of line.”

  “I think you are going soft. Once you would have killed him and asked questions later, and now …” He lifted a hand and touched the middle of my forehead. “Something has changed within you. I don’t know yet if it is for good, or for ill.”

  “And if I’d killed you when I had the chance Doran would not be the leader of the vampires and we all would have died at the hands of the old ones.” I pushed his hand from my face. “So perhaps Bert has a part to play yet.”

  Ever so slightly, Faris inclined his head. “Touché. Now, I must be off. I have things to do for Doran.”

  He sliced through the veil and was gone. I wasn’t sure if I was happy to see him go or not. A powerful ally, but a mercurial one for sure.

  The next two days passed swiftly. I met with Raw, who’d assumed leadership of this new band of ogres, then met with Raw, Doran, and Berget. Eve flew to bring the unicorns close to the borders of Doran’s place. When I asked her about the harpies she shook her head. “I do not know, Rylee. They were non-committal.”

  Everyone had a plan, had a way to try and stop the demons. But I knew it would come down to what I had to do. The rest of them would be holding off demons, like Pamela and Milly had done for Erik and me.