by Patti Larsen
“Agreed, brother,” Avenesequoia said, stroking Meira's face with gentle fingers. My sister looked older than me now, more mature, the body of a woman developed where an eleven-year-old girl's had once been. I choked on the need to sob, to hug my sister and find a way to fix her, keeping myself rigid and under control instead. Thankfully, the need to keep Ahbi's power from driving me insane with agony was enough to distract me from my failure.
Meira was my sister. I should have been able to protect her.
She chose that moment to wake, eyes sliding open, meeting mine. For a second, I thought Sass was right, that Meira was going to be okay after all. The innocence I remembered was still there. Not naiveté. Never that. But Meira always carried a softness about her, a caring tied to a feeling of freshness I adored and leaned on even when I knew it wasn't fair to do so.
The look only lasted long enough to break my heart. Shuttered anger closed in around her edges, cutting me off, bitterness burning behind her gaze as Meira groaned and sat up.
“Where are we?” She refused to look at me then, at anyone, hugging herself as she began to shiver. It was so surreal, to hear my sister's voice come from a grown demon's mouth, to try balancing what I knew to be true and what now was into a whole I could accept.
I turned away so I wouldn't have to look at her, brain churning, avoiding reality as she moaned behind me while Sassafras answered.
“The Node,” he said. “Meira, what happened to you?”
She was silent a long time while I stared at the wall and chewed my bottom lip and ignored the look of pity on Ram's face as he tried to reach for me. I dodged him, pacing again while Meira spoke.
“She said I could help Syd.” Meira's voice dropped, lower and deeper than the girl I knew.
“Who ‘she’?” Sassafras's soft purring told me he was doing his best to soothe her. But I felt the vibrations in her power, the fight inside her as her body battled the need for more nectar as I cursed Ameline and swore I'd take Meira's suffering out on her hide.
“Sekaniphestat,” Meira said, sealing Sassy's mother's fate along with Ameline's. How could I forget the evil demon's plans to steal my father while betraying my grandfather? Okay, so not steal. He wasn't Mom's anymore. But no way was I letting him mate with a snake like her.
And Henemordonin was no angel.
Still.
“You were worried about Syd?” Sassafras's gentle prodding seemed to do the trick.
“No,” Meira snapped. Then, “yes. I was really afraid. When we crossed over, you left to be with Dad and I was just there.” A soft sob escaped her. “I felt useless, Sass.”
“No you weren't,” he said as his mind locked on mine. This is my fault.
It wasn't. Wasn't.
“I just wanted to save Syd,” Meira wailed. “Then Sekaniphestat came to see me, said there was a way I could find Syd and no one else would know. I could save her and fix everything.”
Like Ahbi's death? Right. I wished.
“So you agreed,” Sassy said. “Meira, what did she do?”
“I was in a lab.” She groaned again, so loud I turned at last, with a firm grip on what remained of my heart, refusing to run to her, unable to give her what she needed. Knowing I'd failed her.
“My dear,” Theridialis said, “were you underground?”
Meira nodded. She shook violently a moment before stilling, rubbing her arms and legs over and over. Withdrawals. Her skin paled as she swallowed three or four times. “Underground,” she repeated.
Theridialis rose from where he'd slumped on the floor to watch, Tara snuggled up beside him. The girl followed as the portly demon then knelt next to Meira and touched her forehead. “She gave you nectar to drink.” Not a question as his eyes met mine.
“So awesome.” Meira actually perked up, hope crossing her face as she reached for Theridialis. “Do you have some? I'd really love to have some.”
“I don't, I'm afraid,” he said, ever so gently and Meira fell back with a scowl so dark it scared me. Her power lashed outward at him, bouncing from his shields to hit her, making her squeal in pain.
“Hate you,” she hissed. Met my eyes, her adult face full of fury. “This is your fault.”
Meira spun, then, her back to all of us, forehead pressed to the stone wall, shaking and muttering and moaning to herself. Theridialis rose, came to my side, taking my hand as his mind connected.
I knew she was running experiments, he sent. But I never expected... Sydlynn, forgive me my former mate's ambitions. The nectar she gave Meira not only expanded her power, it spurred her evolution and tied her to the addiction so tightly I don't know if she'll ever be entirely free of it.
And the susceptibility to control? Normal nectar made one loose in the tongue and pliable.
Once Sekaniphestat had Meira addicted, he sent sadly, she would have done anything for her.
And Ameline, through association. I sighed, pinching the inside of my arm to keep from crying. I had to stay focused. Yes, this thing with Meira was a mess. Yes, I was a terrible big sister who would burn in hell for not keeping her safe. But I couldn't worry about her right now.
And I couldn't believe I was telling myself so.
We need to get out of here. I slammed the thought into Theridialis, making him grunt. But he nodded in agreement, turning to gesture to Tara. She joined us, looking sadly over her shoulder at my sister before taking Theridialis's hand.
“It's time to go,” he said with a smile, restoring Tara's good mood.
“To the Node?” She almost jumped up and down in excitement.
“Exactly.” He gestured for me to take her other hand. “Together, pay attention now.”
I focused on his mind, watched as he carefully called up the part of him still connected to the Node. Tara mimicked him perfectly while I struggled a little, but finally uncovered the hum again.
They are shielding it, he sent. So we can't find it. But we know it's there, don't we? He felt around the edges of the shielding, along the floor, the walls, the ceiling. Stopped in the top corner. A crack. The faintest hairline thread. You feel it? Excellent. He sounded like a schoolteacher, but I was drawn in by his patient, calm tone and felt myself relaxing into it. Now, through here and a little pressure... the three of us pushed ever so gently, parting the shield, peeling it back and away from the wall. It dissolved at last under the push of our power, leaving the metal wall exposed and ready.
“No more screwing around,” I said, releasing Tara. “I'm going right to the Node.”
“And I with you,” Theridialis said. “And the little one.” He turned to the others. “You must remain behind.”
Sassafras was the first to protest, but Ram was the most upset.
“I didn't escort you,” like any of this had been an escort, “all the way around Demonicon just to have you put yourself in danger where I can't protect you.” And I needed protecting since when? He'd only gotten me in trouble, as far as I remembered. Chose to remember. “I'm coming with you.”
So much stubbornness in one demon face. I caught myself smiling, touching his cheek with one hand. “You can't follow.” I knew it instinctively, through the power Theridialis gave me.
Sassafras silenced Ram when he tried to hold me back. “Just get this the hell over with,” my Persian said. “So we can go home.”
“Watch for the guards,” Theridialis said. “They won't be able to harm you, and I doubt the threat of death was real.” Doubted? “But just in case, be prepared for anything.”
Now I really didn't want to leave the others behind. But I didn't have a choice, did I?
Did I?
I drew a breath and met Sassafras's eyes. “Take care of Meira.” Before he could answer, I shoved Ram aside so he couldn't reach me and dove for the wall, the touch of my hand dissolving a door and letting us through.
I spun the moment Tara and Theridialis were free of the hole and touched the wall again. Ram glared at me through the rapidly recovering metal, his eyes not leavi
ng mine until the door finally sealed him inside.
I was going to pay for this. I just knew it.
This way. Theridialis pulled us along, Tara between us, hurrying toward not the wall before us, but another just down the way. Three doorways later and I felt the Node's presence growing, my whole body tingling. Theridialis paused at the final wall, this one's metal pure white, the hallway glowing softly as though the Node itself fed through the barrier.
Last one, he sent. Be ready. If she's here, we won't have much time to stop her.
I already knew she was here. Ahbi was positive of it. And the moment I touched the wall to dissolve it, I felt the first tremor in the ground beneath my feet, Shaylee crying out in pain as the earth magic she controlled reacted to the sudden imbalance in the Node keeping the planes together.
Ameline had begun whatever she had planned. Hopefully I was just in time to stop her.
***
Chapter Thirty Two
When I pressed my hand to the last wall, instead of a doorway, I found myself sliding through the metal directly, as though it absorbed me and spit me out the other side. It was like walking directly into a giant sun, blazing white and pulsing with power. And yet, it only took me a moment for my demon eyes to adjust, the fragment of Theridialis's monitor power attuning my vision to the sight of the Node. I was sure the uninitiated would have been blinded by the spectacle.
And it was a spectacle, so amazing, so beautiful. I stopped in my tracks, mouth gaping open, heart beating in time with the flux of the Node, the pull of its power far stronger than Ahbi's geas could ever be.
Sydlynn, Theridialis sent, gently but with urgency. I know. I do. But we don't have time.
Right. Head shake, Hayle. I wrenched my gaze from the towering, spinning teardrop of light and pulled my demon energy close to me, careful not to let any escape as I scanned the room.
Not what I expected, after all the metal and industrial corridors. We stood in a stone chamber, the walls as polished as the mountain of the Seat, glowing blood red in the piercing light of the Node. The floor felt slick underfoot, the hum of power making the bottoms of my feet tingle. A perfect circle, from what I could tell, the walls curved away around the edge of the Node, suspended in the air over a gaping pit.
She's here, Theridialis sent. I can feel her.
Ahbi's magic agreed with him, cutting through the call of the Node. I left him and Tara behind, sliding in my heavy boots as I tried to run around the edge of the floor, forced to slow down when I almost fell. My terror of heights sent warnings and images of us sliding feet first down the pit and to oblivion.
Slow and steady sucked.
I couldn't see anything through the Node, forced to ease around the edge of the chamber, one hand pressed to the polished wall as if that would lend me some kind of support. Pain jabbed me violently in the chest as the Node's color suddenly flickered and turned pink as its song shifted to a discordant hum diving spikes of sound through my head. It wobbled gently before settling again, as the pink faded slowly back to white.
We were running out of time.
I slid further, spotting movement up ahead, stopping to get my bearings. Ameline. It was her, no doubt. But she wasn't alone. Bilesterius was beside her. On his knees. Bleeding while she laughed and gathered some of his blood before licking it from her fingers.
Again the agony, the shudder of power as Bilesterius cried out in time with the Node's shudder.
There was no way to sneak up on her, not now. I'd have to circle around behind her and I just didn't have time. Luck wasn't on my side.
And I couldn't use magic to help me, either.
Please be careful, Theridialis sent. Any disruption could send the Node into a terminal spin and everything will be lost.
No wonder they protected it so carefully. And only let certain people monitor it.
The old-fashioned way, it was. Though I knew Ameline would have no reservations using her power against me.
She looked up as I began moving again, catching my gaze with hers. She smiled at me, a bright and shining expression lit by the Node's power as she pressed one hand against Bilesterius's chest.
“Hello, Syd,” she said, joy in her voice. “I've been waiting for you.” With a laugh that hurt my soul she twisted her hand, power snapping inside the old scientist as she ripped all his magic from him. Theridialis screamed behind me, calling his friend’s name, a distant distraction. Ameline swelled with the demon's stolen magic, the Node's bottom-heavy shape wavering as though she'd thrown a stone in a still pond.
I poured my own magic into my shields, protecting the Node from my power while hoping it would be enough. Had to be. Ameline was no match for the energy I carried. Still, as she let Bilesterius fall to his side, eyes gaping and empty, I caught sight of the teardrop of black rock in Ameline's hand and remembered she carried a reinforcement far beyond her own strength.
Ameline glided closer to the Node, the black stone held out toward it, bottom-heavy power swaying again as the ground beneath my feet rumbled and almost sent me sprawling on the smooth floor. I longed to dig in with earth magic, but feared even that little anchoring energy would make things worse.
“You brought her for me,” Ameline said, gesturing past me. “Come, Tara. We have work to do.”
“Leave her alone,” I snarled, skating forward until I was within ten feet of Ameline. She didn't seem worried I was so close. And that made me anxious. “This is between the two of us.”
Ameline laughed at me, her arrogance showing. “Oh, Syd,” she said, “how very pompous to think this has anything at all to do with you.”
“You made it personal,” I said, gathering magic behind my shields, knowing it would do me no good, but not sure what else to do while Theridialis slid into me, one hand on my arm. “That makes it about me.”
“Touché.” Ameline's laugh died as quickly as it rose. “Now give me the girl and I might let this wretched world survive after all.”
Why does she still need her? I sent the message to Theridialis in a blast of desperation.
I don't know, he sent back. Which means we must protect Tara at all costs.
Was planning on it anyway. No way was I failing two girls who relied on me.
Ameline's power shot over me, tried to grasp Tara who now clung to my hand. My shielding sent the attacking magic skimming around us, absorbing some, but unable to handle the full pressure of the energy Ameline threw into the attack. I grasped for balance in thin air as the world rocked, Ameline's leftover energy slamming into the side of the Node and shaking the teardrop so violently I thought it would collapse into the pit.
A flicker of fear raced over Ameline's face as she scowled at me, outstretched hand turning to the Node, stone clutched protectively between her fingers. “No matter,” she said. “I don't need her after all.”
She needs to connect with the Node, Theridialis sent suddenly. Todd's magic is still fighting her and she didn't dare take Bilesterius’s soul on too for fear of losing control of everything. She needs Tara to channel the stolen magic so the Node accepts her. If it feels the battle inside her, it could close off to protect itself. An innocent child it won’t see as a threat. In fact, it will probably welcome her and give Ameline the power she needs to transform the child's soul into her own, making her a demon.
And if she doesn't use Tara? I slid the girl behind me as I tried another step closer, eyes locked on the stone in Ameline's hand.
If the Node rejects Ameline's power, he sent, or the boy she's already fighting, we're all dead.
I just loved his doom and gloom attitude. Made my job so much easier.
Ameline stepped forward, the stone in her hand beginning to glow as she crossed the distance between her and the Node and paused to look over her shoulder at me with an evil smile.
“Are you coming?” With that, she leaped from the edge, over the pit and disappeared into the glowing light of the Node.
No. No way. I couldn't—
Sydl
ynn, Theridialis sent. You must. She will destroy us all. He pressed his power into me. Take what I have, my monitor power, and use it to shield her. Hurry!
I shrank back from his offer. I couldn't strip him. What was he thinking?
You must, he sent. I don't have the power to stop her, but I do have the connection to the Node she’s stolen from Bilesterius, but I’ve been gone too long. I’m just not strong enough. He sounded desperate for me to understand. But with my magic, already tied to the Node, you'll stand a better chance. The world suddenly shifted to the left, my body bending in half as I struggled to stay upright before it tipped back to normal, the teardrop wobbling. Whatever Ameline was doing inside it was about to turn catastrophic.
I'm sorry. My thoughts came out in a groan as I reached into Theridialis and stripped his power. But instead of fighting me, he gave it up willingly, sagging to the floor with a smile on his face as the core of his magic joined mine peacefully, spirit leaving him to settle quietly inside me.
No stirring monster, at least, just a swell of energy so vast and old it almost felt like Ahbi's.
Mine too. Tara's little hand left mine as she looked up with fierce determination. It’s why Ameline wanted me in the first place. We have to stop her, Syd. And with me and whatever of Momma lives inside me, maybe you can reach Todd.
I didn't hesitate this time, though my heart ached for her. I'll give it all back, I sent. I swear it. If that was even possible.
And I drained her, too.
What was I becoming I took what I needed so easily?
Tara and Theridialis now nestled safely inside me, I spun on the Node and drew a breath. I could do this. Could, had to. Move, Syd.
Move.
Frozen in fear, prodded now by so many personalities I felt I might shatter into pieces, my terror kept me still, sweat standing out on my skin, whole body on fire with the absolute rejection of throwing myself over the emptiness beneath the Node—
Until the world tipped forward and I had no choice. With a horrified howl, legs bunching for the leap, I slid to the edge of the pit and pushed off, soaring forward and through the edge of the Node into brilliant white.
