by Anya Bast
The daaeman called through always matched the emotional energies of the summoning warlocks. That meant the Duskoff always called Atrika through, not Ytrayi, Mandari, or Syari. In addition, the daaeman who was called through always matched the power of the witches sacrificed in the circle. The more powerful the witches, the more powerful the daaeman.
Erasmus Boyle had been called to Earth from the circle that had killed Mira Hoskins’s mother. Boyle was mega-powerful. “He lived here until he devised a way to open a doorway to return home,” Bai explained.
Sarafina nodded. “He killed six witches to do it.” She knew the story.
Bai nodded. “In the course of his quest to return to Eudae, he developed a fascination with Isabelle Novak, whom he decided to use as the last witch to secure the doorway. In order to win her regard, Ashe kidnapped Stefan Faucheux from Gribben and intended to kill him. However, Stefan convinced him to spare his life. Instead, Ashe and Stefan struck a bargain.” She lifted a brow. “A bargain?”
“The warlock formed an alliance with Ashe. Ashe intended to return to Eudae, you see, to urge us to form an interdimensional partnership with the Duskoff, using the portal he had opened. Ashe believed bringing us this partnership would convince us to spare his life.” Sarafina shook her head. She didn’t understand. “But that never happened. Thomas and Isabelle wounded Ashe before he limped over to the other side and was beheaded by the Ytrayi. Thomas and Isabelle were sucked in after him because the doorway was so unstable and they were there when Ashe was killed. They saw it. Ashe never hooked up with the Atrika, so no alliance could ever have been formed between the Atrika and the Duskoff.” Bai smiled.
Sarafina fought the urge to tell him to stop. The smile of a daaeman was nothing happy. All those teeth didn’t warm her heart.
“You are correct,” Bai answered. “Before he died, Ashe planted a small bit of daaeman magick on Eudae for Stefan, which allowed communication to be sent back and forth through the use of an air witch. Ashe loved his people above all else. He must’ve deemed the alliance with the warlocks as something of benefit to the Atrika.” Bai paused. “Indeed, it has been an advantage and will be even more so if Stefan produces the elium.” Sarafina frowned, trying to wrap her mind around it all. Then she remembered the kidnapped air witch from Boston. The one who’d only had enough power to send and receive messages. The woman they’d kept awhile and then simply killed without trying to use in a demon circle.
Had she acted as their telephone?
Sarafina blinked at the implication. “But how did Stefan get the elium?” She shook her head. “For that matter, how did you-all open a doorway between Earth and Eudae and get over here in the first place?” “Ah, that brings us to love. Stefan manipulated Rue, the Cae of the Ytrayi and the holder of the elium, into believing that he and the Duskoff had kidnapped Claire and intended to kill her. Thus, Stefan led him into opening a doorway in a specific location. Once they did, the Duskoff was ready for him. It was a trap, you see.” “So they extracted the elium and killed Rue?” Bai shook his head. “No. It is my understanding that the Duskoff are keeping the Cae alive for the time being and the elium intact within him. I don’t know how they have done this or where they are keeping him, but we have been promised his body and the elium once we have accomplished what Stefan requires of us.” “The destruction of the Coven.”
Bai nodded sharply. “Yes.”
“What do you intend to do with Stefan and the Duskoff once you have what you want?” Bai blinked. “We are not without honor.” “That’s not an answer.”
“The Atrika do not take well to being placed on a leash and told to heel.” His voice had taken on a sharp quality and his eyes flashed red. “Stefan Faucheux has destroyed himself in his quest for revenge. He wanted it badly enough to risk his life and, thus, he will likely lose it.” “You’ll kill Stefan, then take the elium from the Cae, return to Eudae, and overthrow the Ytrayi.” Bai nodded once. “You will see it all because you will return with us. . with me.” He stepped toward her and she glanced down at the sword. “And what if I say no?” He bared his very sharp teeth. “You cannot. Your magick is strong and you’re perfect in every way to carry my children. You’ll return to Eudae and do that.” “How many other wives do you have?”
He looked surprised. “You will be my only one.” “How will I carry your children? Your blood is acidic.” The thought of carrying an acidic daaeman child in her belly made her shudder, not to mention the mental picture of how it might get in there.
“There are ways,” he replied calmly. “Our ancestors bred children on humans in ancient times through the use of—” “Yes, yes, I know. It’s how elemental witches came into existence.” “The concept is much the same.”
“What if I’m in love with someone else?” He roared and Sarafina almost wet herself. “Don’t speak to me of love. Love is for children. Love only gets people in trouble, like it got the Cae of the Ytrayi in trouble.” She couldn’t argue with that last part.
He closed his eyes for a moment and drew a deep, steadying breath, once again trying to master his emotions. Bai reached out to her. “Now come. Let’s get to know each other a little while we wait.” Oh, hell no.
Sarafina scooped the sword from the floor and ran for the door. She’d spent an entire day exploring this piece of land; surely she could find a place to hide.
Behind her Bai roared again. His boots clomped on the concrete as he chased her.
Only she’d better hurry.
Good God, this was worse than nightmares she had as a child. The monster in her closet was real and it wanted to do a whole lot more than just kill her.
THIRTY
THE SENSATION OF STEFAN’S THROAT SQUEEZING between Theo’s hands was pleasing. Especially since the action stopped such phrases like, “Bai has taken Sarafina to Eudae.” Those were words he never wanted to hear and could not believe were true.
Stefan’s eyes bulged and he scrabbled at Theo’s forearms, under far too much duress to even consider calling fire. Theo was armed with plenty of earth charms that countered fire, anyway. In the paper-rock-scissors game of elemental magick, strong earth magick usually won out over flame.
They were somewhere near the Conservatory. In the foyer, the Atrika and the Duskoff were still in battle with the Coven witches. The blue ball was still shooting off sparks of power-stealing magick. Even this far into the building Theo had to dodge them from time to time.
His primary concern was making sure Stefan didn’t live through the day.
“Too bad you sent away your pet demon, isn’t it, Stefan?” Theo growled. “Looks like you need someone to protect you from me.” Two huge hands landed on his shoulders and pulled him backward. Theo landed on his side, hard, while Stefan coughed and choked. Looking up, Theo had a half a second to see an Atrika standing over him before he had to roll to the side to avoid a blast of demon magick.
Guess he’d spoken too soon.
“Kill. . him,” Stefan gasped, holding his throat and staring at Theo with razor-slit eyes.
Theo bolted, grabbing his sword from the floor and whirling to face his demonic adversary, a hulking blond Atrika who looked like he enjoyed bone crunching as one of his hobbies.
The Atrika rushed him, gathering power, and Theo moved to the right, dodging a blast and cutting upward with his blade. He hit his objective, the demon’s thigh. The wound popped and snapped. Acidic blood dripped while the creature roared in pain. Apparently, this one hadn’t taken the caplium that would partially protect him from copper. That was cocky of the daaeman and very good news for Theo.
The daaeman recovered fast, though, and lunged at him, catching Theo around the waist with a roar and whirling him around to crash into the wall. A hard wave of pain slammed through Theo’s body. The demon’s acidic blood dripped onto Theo’s thigh and made him bellow. Burning agony sank deep into his skin.
Gripping the sword’s handle tightly, he brought it up and slammed it into the side of the demon’s hea
d. The Atrika released him and turned away, staggering. Theo slumped to the floor for a moment, then forced himself back up to fight again.
Magick rose fast and hard and Theo moved to the side, avoiding the bolt that followed. It burned a hole in the wall right where he’d been standing a moment before.
Theo turned and slashed with his blade, only narrowly missing the head of the daaeman. Before Theo could even take another breath, the daaeman hefted him up with two hands and held him over his head like he weighed nothing.
Stefan sprawled on the steps with a grin on his face as the Atrika tried to snap Theo in two like a dry branch. Theo’s spine cracked and he bellowed from the sharp wave of pain.
Gods, Sarafina. He should have told her how he felt about her when he had the chance.
Then the thought was gone, replaced by a red haze of pain as the Atrika broke him in half.
* * *
BAI CAUGHT HER IN THE WOODS. HE FELL ON TOP OF her, rolling her into the leaves underneath a tall pine tree. The needles stuck into her skin, but it was only a breath of annoyance compared to the enraged, red-eyed Atrika pinning her down.
How could she possibly hope to defeat a being that had the capacity to bend space and time? She didn’t have a prayer.
Pushing that negative thought from her mind with a healthy dose of rage, she fought him like she imagined any bar brawler would do — throwing punches, kicking, screaming. She figured she was pretty safe. After all, he wasn’t going to damage his future children’s mother, right?
His hands clamped down on her upper arms and his huge body weighted hers into stillness. “Stop.” He growled. “Don’t force me to do something I will regret.” “You couldn’t do anything worse than taking me from my world and forcing yourself on me, Bai. That’s worse than death for me!” “I could kill the one you claim to love. I could do it while you watched.” He bared his teeth. “It would give me pleasure.” She went absolutely motionless. “You leave him alone.” The words came out thin and shuddering with terror. They sounded as weak as she felt.
“If that’s what it takes to break you, I will do it.” He growled again, leaning in close to her face. She wanted to gag from the stench of his breath — rotted meat — but bit it back with effort. “Because I do intend to break you.” She struggled against him to no avail. The man outweighed her by an entire person. “Bastard.” It was pathetic, but it was all she could do. Her stomach had turned to a wad of frozen dough.
Contorting enough to unsheathe her syringe, she brought it up, slammed the needle deep into his side, and pushed the plunger down. Then she held her breath.
Please, let it work.
Bai laughed. “Vae Sarafina, do you think me stupid? I learned from my predecessor’s mistakes. I have taken enough caplium to protect me against even a direct injection of charmed copper.” Well, that was just great.
“I think it’s time we cement our relationship.” His face dipped toward hers.
In her mind that translated into. . well, a very bad thing. She couldn’t even think the word when it pertained to this being.
And it wasn’t happening.
She did what Theo had told her to never do. She yanked a huge hunk of power from her seat and exploded it between herself and Bai, using the technique Claire had taught her to get past a demon’s natural shields, while also protecting herself from the magickal backlash.
Fire arced, pushing Bai backward. The scent of burning daaeman flesh made her gag and this time she couldn’t suppress it. Groping for her sword, she pushed to her feet to run while she had a chance. She staggered, fell, caught herself one-handed in some dead leaves, and pushed back up. Her chest felt on fire.
Bai was rolling on his back, groaning as if in severe pain.
Pain arced through her, too. Staggering and falling to the ground for a second time, she gasped in agony, clutching her chest and crawling in the deadfall for a few moments before forcing herself to her feet. She’d just tossed everything she had on the table and it probably wouldn’t be enough.
Sarafina forced herself to run, even as her head swam. All she wanted in the world was to pass out, but passing out now would ensure her defeat. Gripping the sword, she ran into the woods, headed toward the road. It was late afternoon, still light outside. Maybe she could reach the road and flag down a car. Once she was in the company of a human, she might be safe.
Maybe.
Her shoes crunching on twigs and leaves as she raced toward her destination, she tried not to think about what might be happening back at the Coven. She tried not to think about what might be happening to Theo.
A sob escaped her. All she could do now was concentrate on escaping Bai. She had to take this moment by moment.
Just as she reached the small lane that led from the main part of the land to the road, she heard a whoosh, pop, behind her. Suddenly, Bai was there. He’d jumped from his last destination to here, probably figuring where she’d be headed. His face and arms were badly burned, the fabric of his shirt curled and melted. Yet she could see he was already healing.
The bastard.
He reached for her, but she swung her sword first. The tip of the blade sliced his throat. Acidic blood gushed, but it wasn’t a deep enough cut to send him down. All it did was piss him off.
Bai stood for a moment, stunned, his hand to his throat, blood seeping between his fingers. Then he fixed his gaze on her and growled low.
Sarafina stepped back and tripped on a fallen branch. Using the tip of the sword on the ground to maintain her balance, she continued backward. Bai advanced on her, power gathering around him like dark clouds.
Daaeman magick sizzled and sparked in the space around his body. Sarafina was certain it was enough to kill her where she stood. Perhaps he’d decided she was more trouble than she was worth.
The power exploded and Sarafina dove to the side, literally leaping into the air as though she thought she could fly. She came down hard on her side and rolled away from the daaeman, coming to her feet still gripping the sword. Thank God for all the training Theo had given her.
Every square centimeter of her body ached.
She’d missed the killing blast, but Bai still leapt on her. His blood dripped onto her chest and she screamed, fighting against him. It was like trying to beat up a brick wall. She gouged his eye, which fortunately was not a brick wall — it was soft, squishy, and vulnerable. Digging deep, she took advantage.
Bai yowled and pushed away from her. She sprang to her feet and swung the sword, cutting deeply into his side. The daaeman roared and backhanded her. Sarafina went sprawling to the ground again, pain exploding through her face.
The Atrika followed her, looking as though he intended to simply rip her apart and bypass magick completely.
Seeing an opportunity to end this right now, Sarafina angled her sword upward. Bai fell heavily against the tip, his momentum driving the hilt deeper into his body than Sarafina could have ever hoped to achieve on her own.
She let go of the handle as Bai rolled away from her, the sword still deeply embedded in him. He came to a rest on his side in the deadfall. His body twitched and shuddered, low moans coming from between his thin, white lips. Blood coursed from his wounds, making a dark and smoky puddle in the dirt.
Sarafina also lay on the ground, her breathing coming fast and shallow. Pain had blossomed in her seat and was enhanced by the injuries from the fight — the acid burn, the bruises and cuts she’d sustained. There wasn’t a square inch on her that didn’t hurt, and blood — her own — had dripped onto her shirt and pants.
Her magick was tapped, gone. Her capacity to do physical battle was also gone. If Bai wasn’t dead, if he pulled a horror movie monster move and got up now, she was done for.
When Bai no longer made a move or any sound, she forced herself up onto her feet. Dragging herself to Bai, she saw that the copper blade was still stabbed through his gut. Blood caked the wound on his throat. His eyes were open, but unseeing.
Sarafina kne
w from Micah’s book that the Atrika would go into a coma if they were badly injured. It was how they healed severe wounds and regenerated. Was Bai in one of those healing comas now?
The only way to be totally sure he was dead was to cut off his head, but the sword was in the Atrika. She supposed she could go get one from the building. There were more in the basement.
God, she didn’t want to cut off his head. All she really wanted to do was pass out.
Her body protesting every moment, she walked back toward the building. She didn’t want to, but she had to. It was the only way to make sure he never came after her again. It was the only way to ensure she ever enjoyed another night’s sleep.
As she approached the building, she remembered the cave. When she’d been in it, she’d felt like something — someone — had been in there with her. At the time she’d thought it had been her imagination, and then Theo had shown up and she’d been distracted.
She went into the building and found another sword. On impulse, she grabbed a flashlight, too. She couldn’t produce so much as a flicker of fire right now.
On the way out, she turned toward the cave and stood, considering her options. Something about that place nagged at her.
The cave was not far from the building and she didn’t have enough energy to walk back to the daaeman, behead him, and then walk back.
What to do? Behead a demon or explore a cave? Decisions, decisions.
Knowing from Micah’s book that she had some time before Bai woke from his coma, if that’s what it was, she turned and walked toward the cave. It was probably nothing, but she needed to check it out — no matter how much she really didn’t want to go spelunking today.
