by E E Everly
“I’ll be fine.” Killian’s smooth lips drop onto mine. I’m distracted by his kiss but rip away from him when something clicks. He closed one of the silver cuffs around his wrist.
My forehead creases with anxiety. Killian’s already pale, and his arm dangles limply in the manacle.
He grunts. “I need you to do the other one.”
“I can’t. Don’t make me.”
“Look, if I’m going to weaken, better to be hanging from two wrists than one.”
“That’s a morbid sense of logic.” I grimace and swallow, shaking my head as I work up the courage to shackle my vampire with silver. “I can’t. I can’t,” I mumble as my shaking hands open the manacle while Killian assures me he’ll be okay. Watching you suffer will never be okay. I squeeze my eyes tight and whimper as I close the torture device on his wrist.
The silver works fast. Within seconds, Killian’s legs go slack, leaving his wrists to hold him up.
A low grumble of anguish vibrates in my throat as Killian’s droopy eyes glass over. No! Shackling him was a mistake. I grab the bindings, trying to wrench them apart. “I have to open these.” My fingers cramp as I try for several minutes to pull the locks apart, but they require a key. I scream at the room. “Hurry, you freak! What’s taking so long?”
How I despise Korbinian for doing this to us.
The door opens as I’m panicking and still clawing at the silver. A middle-aged man ambles into the room as if he has all the time in the world. I glare at his wretched hazel eyes, noting with dismay they are like mine. His close-cropped hair is the deepest brown I could ever imagine. The proportions of lines and curves on his face prove he’s my father.
The human, that is.
A strange sympathy for the human wiggles through my gut, even a desire to know him. I could know him if he wasn’t possessed.
I snarl at Korbinian. “He’s hurt enough. Unshackle him.”
Korbinian studies me with a fascination that makes me ill, dissecting me with his eyes, boring his captivation into my crushed spirit. He’s seen a storm sprite. Why does he stare at me like this? Stop creeping me out!
“Sasha, at last we meet.” Korbinian’s energy is dim and tired. “I’ve been eager to meet the storm sprite who’s so popular among vampires and demons alike.”
“Can’t say I’ve felt the same about you.” I hold my position in front of Killian. Surely I could take this man, with my storm, if he attacked. “Please, can’t we release him? He’s too drained to do anything.”
“Pathetic vampires. They have so many weaknesses. The sun, silver, thirst for your blood.”
“Please.”
“I won’t dally.” Korbinian edges closer. “You know what I want.”
I back against Killian, eliciting a moan from him. “Don’t come any farther.”
Korbinian snorts. “If you didn’t want your vampire hurt, he shouldn’t have come. As simple as that, Sasha.”
I narrow my eyes. “I won’t do as you ask.” Where’s the vampire backup Anya promised?
Korbinian reaches into the breast pocket of his suit coat. He withdraws a smooth ruby-colored stone set in antique-looking pewter. “All you have to do is touch the stone with the desire for the power to return to me.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Sasha, Sasha, Sasha.” Korbinian wags his head in dismay as he curls the amulet in his palm. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about what it would be like to meet your father. I’m so weary of this host and his incessant begging for release. It’s an easy thing to do. Return my power, and I will leave him.”
“What of my curse? If I return your power, will you lift my curse so I can return to Belyven without becoming ill?”
Korbinian’s neck spasms. “I think that’s a reasonable request. I’ll have to send for the demon who cast the curse to lift it. Ah, but the curse was so worth it, having you on my turf while your mother cowers on Belyven. But I won’t need you here once you return my powers.” His voice drops as if he’s talking to himself. “Yes, I see no harm in that.”
A shiver crawls up my spine. Having the curse lifted is even more motivation for me to do as he asks. Could my choice be that straightforward? Everything is practically begging me to give in and restore the demon’s power. Save my father, lift my curse.
Why am I hesitating?
There’s a bigger picture—the other possessed humans.
I can’t be selfish.
Before I register what’s happening, before I make a decision, Korbinian steps back and drops to his knees. He froths at the mouth, and the amulet falls from his grasp as his head rotates and flinches while he leans on his hands.
“Devious Dragons!” My eyes dart to the forgotten amulet and back to Korbinian. I hesitate to take it because I’m not sure if I should. I don’t know what it will be like to have demon power. I don’t want to touch the amulet.
After a deep sucking gasp, Korbinian pushes to his feet. He wipes the saliva from his mouth. “Sasha.” His voice has changed. It’s softened, though still laced with exhaustion. What astounds me is the gentleness in his eyes. “I have only a moment… Don’t do it. Don’t return his powers.”
“Excuse me? Who…? Are you my father?”
“I am.” He does one of those sorrowful laughs that’s half a cry. “I’m Henrik.” He takes a shaky step in my direction.
I pull away. “You have control?”
“For only a short while.” Henrik braces his head when his neck jerks without warning. “But listen. I wanted to tell you not to return his powers for my sake. What happened in the past doesn’t matter. It makes no difference what your mother did. I love both of you, and to keep you safe, I’d keep Korbinian in my body until the day I die.”
“You can’t do that—” I’m supposed to stand by and watch the human my mother loved suffer. But the only way to free my father would be to give the demon his powers back so he can jump host. Could I do that? Then the demon would be free to enact his revenge on my mother. There’s no easy answer.
“I am doing it. A few more years will make no difference.”
“I could know you. You could know me. You could see Mom again.”
“Sasha,” Henrik’s hip lurches, twisting his legs and making him stumble to the side.
I reach for him, but I can’t make myself help him.
I’m too scared.
My father shouldn’t have to suffer this. He deserves to be free.
Henrik jolts, barely able to hold his balance.
“What’s happening?” I jump forward and take him in my arms. “Henrik?”
His voice rasps. “Get back in line, old man.”
I let go with horrified swiftness.
As quick as that, my father is gone.
The man who should be my father straightens. I shrink against Killian as Korbinian’s aura returns, souring his face. “Sasha, are you ready to return my power?”
“I could take the amulet and use it to protect myself.” Killian’s warmth behind me is reassuring, as if he agrees with me through his compulsion. To further confirm my notion, he flops his head onto my shoulder when I press myself against him and give him a supportive squeeze. I’m uncertain how much of this Killian’s coherent for, but at least he’s responsive.
“Ah, yes. It’s obvious you have a great reason to stay on Earth.”
“More of a reason than you.”
Korbinian shakes his finger. “Tsk. Tsk.” He rolls his head back and cackles. “A storm sprite and her vampire. Much the same as a storm sprite and her demon lover.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you tell Killian the truth?”
“What truth?” I ask.
“Oh.” Korbinian’s features twist with a sick satisfaction. “Your mother didn’t tell you. You don’t have the faintest clue how your mother stole my powers.”
I brace Killian’s head upright against mine. “She left the specifics out.”
“Did she tell you sto
rm sprites have a special ability that’s not well known?”
“We don’t have any hidden abilities.” I try to draw strength from Killian’s presence, but his poor body pulls on the silver cuffs, cutting into his wrists, allowing the poisonous metal to enter his system.
“Storm sprites rarely mate with other species.”
I turn into Killian and push up on his chest, taking some pressure off his wrists. My response is strained as I exert myself. “So?”
Korbinian’s close as he speaks, raising the hairs on my neck. “When storm sprites were on Earth and flirting with the temptations of humans, this hidden ability didn’t manifest because, as an inferior species, humans have no power.”
“Yet it’s the only species you can possess so you can have bodies.” I close my eyes as I strain against Killian’s weight.
Korbinian snorts beside my ear. “That may be true, but Astra discovered an ability in her quest for revenge.”
“Back off, creep.” I try to shoulder him away but my attempt is impossible with Killian’s weight.
Korbinian ignores my struggles and drones on. “When storm sprites mate with other species, the moment always results in conception and the fetus always draws the power of the other mate.”
Draws the power of the other mate? Including vampires?
Korbinian’s earlier words cut through my thoughts. A storm sprite and her vampire. Much the same as a storm sprite and her demon lover.
Sickness curls my stomach, buckling me under Killian. I mistakenly paw at his chest in an effort to support myself. Killian grunts as I burden him with my weight. I push off him, shaky and dizzy. “That can’t be true. That can’t be.”
“Yes,” Korbinian grasps my chin and forces me to look at him. “How else do you think your mother took my powers? Storm sprites are the demons of the supernatural world. The true succubi.”
“Sasha…” Killian works to lift his head.
“Vampire falls for the girl whose supernatural blood gives him strength”—Korbinian twitches and gnashes—“but who’ll drain his power if they act on their love for each other. Ironic. He hurts you. You hurt him. That’s love at its most brutal and painful.”
I smack Korbinian’s hand and turn away. “I’m here, Killian.”
“You’re just like your mother.” Korbinian continues to spit his vile words. “A drain to those you love.”
I lift Killian’s face, cradling his cheeks, prying at his closed eyelids. “I’m here. What is it?” I bring his mouth toward my ear so I can hear his words.
“Kill him.”
Killian’s words echo through my skull. They are awful, cruel words, but they make sense. Kill him and my father will be free of this life. Kill him and the demon will be a prisoner to his spirit form. I see now. Death is truly the only way to save my father and save us all.
I nod once and gently lower Killian’s head. I chew my lip as I picture the monster staring at the back of me, waiting for me to give in to his wishes. I take my time, breathing in strength before I face Korbinian. One strike, that’s all it would take. I could pull an electrical current into my hands and throw it at him.
I don’t know my father, but his words have assured me that whatever I decide will be okay. It has to be. I wiggle the fingers on my right hand, down by my side. A charge fills the atmosphere. Ready to strike, I turn before Korbinian notices the change in the air.
He wrenches my arm behind my back. “I don’t think so, sneaky Sasha.”
I cry out and drop to my knees as pain slices into my shoulder. Any more pressure and Korbinian will dislocate it. Immobile, I tremble helplessly as men surge into the room and tie my hands behind me.
“Your mother was a feisty sprite too.” Korbinian towers over me. “We had a particularly energetic romantic night when we conceived you. I doubt she’s retained the same fire she used to seduce me. Your curse crushed her, making her grow more frigid and controlling as the years passed.”
Two men hoist me to my feet, and I thrash in their grip. “What will you do since I won’t wield your precious amulet?”
The smile that creeps across Korbinian’s face will haunt me. “Do you know what happens to a vampire who loses his power?”
I stop fighting.
“Drinking blood will cease to have the restorative effect it should.” His flesh ripples across his jaw, and he trips over his words. “Wounds… w-won’t heal.” Korbinian smacks his own cheek and snarls to himself. Is Henrik trying to emerge again? “The body will decay while the soul’s trapped inside. Release will come only once the body crumbles to dust, over a period of several long, gruesome years.”
“That can’t happen.” I refuse to believe it. My mother would have told me.
Or would she have?
Korbinian pulls out a syringe from his pocket. “Oh, it will. I left you alone in this room long enough to guarantee it.” He yanks Killian’s head to the side by his hair.
Killian hisses with bared fangs, but Korbinian thrusts the needle into my vampire’s exposed neck and presses the plunger. “Nighty night.”
My unfortunate, incapacitated vampire slumps forward as if he’s dead. I fight my captors, screaming every human profanity I can think of.
As they’re holding me back, squeezing my shoulders in a pinching fashion and preventing me from reaching Killian, I fear the worst thing of all—that my love has doomed my vampire.
TWENTY-TWO
Our situation couldn’t be more wretched. By the gloom of darkness, the demons haul Killian and me to the opening of a huge pit beyond their estate. My vampire lies in a heap at my feet. Korbinian gave him a heavy sedative. Lights-out serum—vamp strength 2.0. I’m bound and gagged, with the threat of my captors icing Killian with a sword if I bring on a storm.
“The way I see it,” Korbinian says as the wind howls over us, “your vamp is as good as dead. Here are your choices. You release the amulet’s power, or I throw you both in the pit.”
I growl through my gag. I’m not playing.
“Don’t act so vehement.” Korbinian juts his chin toward the pit. “You’ll have about six hours until the sun shines directly overhead, leaving all but a sliver of shade and no place for your vampire to hide. He’ll suffer a quick, though torturous, death instead of a slow, gruesome one.”
I mumble around my gag. “Die, you freak.”
“Or you can release my power, and I won’t throw you into the pit, and you can spend your vamp’s remaining years together.”
I stare into the massive hole. It doesn’t look like an old well. I can’t make out any bottom, but the pit must be so deep a vamp can’t jump out. The circumference is certainly large enough that a vampire couldn’t brace himself on the sides and climb out either. The demons must have dug this pit specifically for vampires. How many have they torched this way?
“Well, which is it?” Korbinian asks. “I don’t want to kill you; I just want you to comply. Unfortunately if you don’t, I’ll be forced to persuade you.”
I shake my head.
“A little motivation, then.” Korbinian nods, and a demon shoves Killian until he rolls over and plummets over the edge.
I scream and try to dive toward him, but a demon henchman holds me back.
Korbinian dabs at the tears streaming down my face. “Come, Sasha. Smile. It will be over soon.”
“Just let us go,” I mutter.
“Have you changed your mind?”
I don’t move.
Korbinian wags his head as if he feels sad for me. “It won’t be pleasant, sweetheart, but I’m sure you’ll at least survive the fall.”
I’m too busy staring into the darkness where Killian fell to anticipate the pinch that comes. I hiss as a needle withdraws. What did Korbinian inject into my system? He shoves me over the edge before I can retaliate.
I have never envisioned free fall. I most definitely didn’t envision it in the dark, without knowing when I’d smack the ground. Even though my arms are restrained and my body t
wists helplessly in the air, I snap my wings open.
A wave of heaviness hits me.
The drugs are quick.
My wings blink out.
In my growing stupor, I understand why Korbinian injected me.
If I’m unconscious, I can’t fly.
At least I won’t feel anything when I hit the bottom.
TWENTY-THREE
“Sasha! Wake up!”
I moan. Various parts of my body throb. Being shoved into a pit sucks beyond imagination. I’m pretty sure the back of my head is bleeding. My ankle pulses with agony. Did I land on it?
“Sasha.” Killian’s voice is urgent, tinged with panic. “Sasha! Damn it, Sasha!”
I squint against the sunlight I’m bathed in. It must be high noon or nearly.
Noon!
My eyes fly open. Killian presses himself against the dirt wall in a tiny crescent of shade. Smoke rises from his exposed skin, which tries to heal as it burns. Even in deep shadow, traces of sun still scorch him.
I sit up and gasp from the torment in my limbs. “How long have I been unconscious?” Stupid question. It was dark when they threw us into the pit.
Killian’s shirtless, which doesn’t help the singeing of his flesh. Apparently he tore his shirt and bandaged my wounds while the sun still allowed him access to my body. I rub the strip on my forehead and prod my bound thigh. “What happened to my leg?”
His chest heaves. “Really? I’m about to die, and you’re worried about your leg?”
My eyes roll back and my eyelids flutter as I summon cloud cover. I grow woozy, exerting as much effort as possible. Within moments, clouds billow in. My control is shredded, so with the swelling clouds, fat raindrops fall.
My head drops back and smacks a rock behind me. I arch upward with a howl. I must have gouged my head on the rock when I fell because I know I didn’t create that much pain by dropping my head back.
Another head injury. Just great.
Killian kneels and curls me against himself. “I can’t thank you enough for getting me out of another scrape.” He pushes hair off my cheeks.
I feel his skin. It’s fine. He’s mostly healed. He just has one hefty sunburn. “Did you have some blood?”
