A female figure glided toward him, huge, powerful, and carrying a silver whip. My body tensed. The light caught the side of her face. It was the Shedim that had gotten away, and then she pulled back her arm and lashed out with the whip. It smashed into the light with a crack like lightning, and Azren threw back his head and roared in pain.
The sound was like a magnet. And my body acted on instinct. Forgetting the plan, forgetting sanity, I leapt off the story-high balcony. The world rushed by and heads whipped up, maws opening wide. They knew I was here, and they were going to pay for what they’d done to him.
K was shooting off bolts before my feet hit the ground. A Shedim to my left fell back clutching his shoulder, another hit the ground to my right, and I landed in a crouch, aiming at the bitch with the whip.
Her eyes flared in panic, but instead of running or attacking me, she turned on Azren, raising the whip to attack again. The whip cracked into Azren, shattering the light around him just as my bolt pierced her neck. She spun, clutching at her throat with one hand, and the whip end lashed at me. Something fizzed and cracked, sending an electrical charge sizzling across my skin, and then she was down, and I was hauled off my feet by the back of my neck. Talons dug into my skin and hot breath tickled the back of my head.
“What have you done? What have you done!” The thing shook me hard enough to make my teeth rattle, and then I was airborne. Flying toward the stone wall. Several thoughts rushed through my mind, the most prominent being the calculations of velocity and impact courtesy of another rune etched into K. Basic crux—I was so fucking dead. And then my flight halted, leaving me suspended in the air a foot from the wall, a foot from being crushed.
I hit the ground hard enough to rattle bone, but I was alive and that was what mattered.
“Move, Miss Bastion!”
Noir?
Yeah. There he was on the balcony throwing his lightning bolts and turning the chamber into chaos. Azren, I needed to get to Azren. Ducking and diving, with Noir providing cover, I made it to the semi-conscious Shedim.
“Azren. Come on, we need to get you out of here.”
He groaned but helped me to help him up. His huge frame was a crushing weight I was determined to carry. Lightning slammed into a Shedim hurtling at us, knocking it out of the way.
“Stairs to your left!” Noir instructed.
It was a minefield of light and sound and we were almost there, and then Noir ran out of ammo. The look on his face when he realized he was tapped out, the sheer devastation, had my throat closing up, because the Shedim had realized it too, and all eyes were on me and Azren.
“Run,” Azren whispered. “You need to run.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
He tried to shove me, to extricate himself. Thank God he was too weak.
The Shedim closed in. Noir was a blur as he ran across the balcony to get to the steps, but even if he made it down here, there would be nothing he could do.
“Stop!” I raised my hand to ward him off. Light glinted off the ruby on my finger. The ring Valance had forced me to wear, the one that could summon him. Heat surged in my chest as I grabbed the band and twisted.
The Shedim leapt toward us and a roar shook the chamber. A massive body landed in front of us, and a scream tore from my throat. The monstrous hound shot me a glare as if to say, Really? After I saved your arse twice? And then it attacked the Shedim.
Noir appeared at the foot of the stairs. “Come on.” He ducked under Azren’s other arm, and together we began our ascent while the hound covered our escape. A growl and then a pained whine pierced the air. A glance over my shoulder showed the hound down, a spear in its side. It shook itself, clawing back to its feet only to receive the blow of a whip to its massive head. The skin split like a ripe peach.
“No.” I shoved Azren at Noir. “Get him out. Do it now.”
Noir grabbed at my wrist. “You can’t save it.”
He was probably right, but we’d left it to fend for itself with the Sanguinata. I wasn’t leaving it again. I wasn’t leaving it to die.
“Get Azren out. Please.”
And then I was running down the stairs, K up and firing bolts to clear a path to my mysterious savior. The Shedim backed up, faced with a hail of lethal metal, and I skidded to a halt in front of the hound. It snapped at me, not to wound but to ward me off, to urge me to flee.
“Sorry, buddy, but you’re stuck with me. You think you can make it out of here? Make a run for it while I cover us?”
My bolt bag grew heavy as more bolts returned. I was expelling them so fast my arm was a blur and the heat from the motion seared my shoulder. This was gonna sting like a bitch later.
The hound rose to its feet, the bolt still protruding from its side, and we began to jog toward the stairs. Just a little while longer, arm, don’t give up on me yet. My muscles went into a spasm with the next bolt. It clattered to the ground, and my momentum was lost.
Oh, fuck.
A gust of air blew back my hair and the Shedim froze.
An arm slipped around my waist. “So much for not needing the ring,” Valance said smugly.
I made a grab for the hound, fingers tangling in the soft fur at its neck, just as the world spun and fell away.
18
With the two imposing males in residence, the kitchen felt way too small, the air too thin, like atop a mountain. The hound was gone; either it hadn’t made it out with us or we’d lost it along the way. My heart ached for the creature. It’d saved me three times, and I’d been unable to return the favor. Azren was out cold on the office sofa, and I was stuck between two guys who made me feel even smaller than my five-foot-three height.
“You could have been killed,” Valance said for the third time.
“I think she’s perfectly aware of the situation,” Noir said calmly.
Valance rolled his eyes. “And since when do you let Arcana speak for you?” He advanced on me; the cool, calm, lazy attitude fell away and in its place was fire and fury. “I told you to find the location of the resistance, not go in crossbow blazing. What were you thinking?”
An answering heat bloomed in my chest. “That was the bloody plan, but they were hurting him. I reacted to save him. To stop them.”
“You lied to me,” Noir said softly, his chin tucked in. “You knew where to look and you sent me away.”
“Yeah, I lied. I was trying to save your life. Look, I was planning to scope out the place to be sure and then call you. It just didn’t work out that way.”
“Thank goodness I followed you, or you’d be dead.”
I sighed. “There’s no denying that. Thank you.”
“You’d all be dead if not for me,” Valance said. But there was no attitude in his tone this time. He was merely stating a fact. He exhaled and walked over to the window to look out into the night. “What’s done is done. Arguing won’t resolve anything. You had the location of the Shedim, but now they’ll have moved on.”
My heart sank. He was right. There was no way they’d still be there. “But we got Azren back.”
He turned back into the room, his gaze speculative. “Yes. But you didn’t retrieve the dagger. They have it. The full moon is two weeks away; if you don’t have something to show for your efforts by then ...” He ran a hand through his hair.
It was the first time I’d seen him actually agitated.
“At least they didn’t kill Azren,” Noir said.
“Yeah, that’s been bugging me.”
Valance’s eyes narrowed. “Go on.”
“Look, they had him for hours. If they wanted him dead, then why take so long to do it? What was with the light show and the whipping? I just don’t get it.”
“Whipping?” Valance was watching me intently. “What exactly were they doing to him?”
I puffed out my cheeks and expelled a breath. “There was this light around him and they were whipping it and then it shattered. But he was screaming in pain.”
“He should wake u
p soon,” Noir said. “We can ask him exactly what happened then.”
I arched a brow. “We?”
Noir shot me an irritated look. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Miss Bastion. This concerns the whole of Arcana. I may not be able to involve The Collective on this case without putting your life at risk, but I can sure as hell make sure I represent the Institute’s interests by monitoring its progress.”
Valance studied Noir. “You’re concerned about the contract, aren’t you?”
Noir met Valance’s gaze. “Yes. Can you tell me I shouldn’t be?”
“No.” Valance dropped his gaze. “You should be wary. You should be ready for whatever Elora has planned.”
So, this went beyond capturing the rogue Shedim. Noir’s hunch had been correct, but Valance had to know what his mother was planning. “You could just tell us what she has planned.”
Valance’s mouth twisted. “I wish I knew. Unfortunately, I’m not in her circle of confidence. That position is reserved for her harem of lovers. Her five mates are the only ones privy to her plans.”
“Five mates? Greedy much?”
Valance shrugged and leaned back against the windowsill. “Draconi females are polyamorous but her mates are not permitted to take other lovers. It’s a visceral need for them to have more than one mate.”
“You mean they’re highly sexed?”
He chuckled. “It’s not about sex, it’s about sustenance. A Draconi female expends a lot of energy, and after her awakening she’s like a battery that’s constantly leaking. Her mates keep her topped up. Together they form a circuit of power, and Mother has made sure to choose the most powerful Draconi males for her mates. She’s also passed a law forbidding any female to take more than two mates.”
“Why would she do that?”
He gave me a wry smile. “Two mates, chosen with care, are enough to keep a female alive. Being the liege isn’t enough. She wants to be indisputably the most powerful Draconi. She proves it year after year at the Triumph Games. Draconi are elected to challenge her, male or female. If they win, they get to ask for a boon, anything they wish, and Mother can’t refuse. No one has ever beaten her.”
“Elected? Not volunteer?”
“No one volunteers anymore and so she elects. It’s probably why there have only been male lieges up until now,” Valance added.
“Wait a second,” Noir said. “So a male liege would share his mate with other males?”
Valance shrugged. “She’d have to provide several heirs before she’d be permitted to follow her instincts and take more mates, but yes, that’s how it was. My mother ushered in a new reign, literally. She rarely takes my counsel.”
“She listened to you when you asked her to spare me ...” My eyes narrowed, and I took several steps until I was merely a foot away from him. “Why did you do that? Why did you give me that ring? Why the fuck do you care what happens to me?”
“Wila?” Noir’s tone held warning, but before I knew it I was trapped in Valance’s gaze.
The iridescent blue of his eyes mesmerized me and the slitted pupils flared, sucking me in, tugging me toward him until his breath mingled with mine, and then I was yanked back against another chest. Zesty cologne cleared the fog in my mind.
Noir pushed me behind him to step between me and Valance. “Are you deliberately trying to breach the Treaty?”
My ears pricked. There was something in his tone, a warning rather than chastisement. Concern rather than anger. What the heck? A glance at Valance’s usually composed features showed him to look shaken. His gaze slid past Noir to me.
His brow furrowed and he looked away. “I’m fine.”
Noir’s shirt-clad shoulders relaxed.
There was something else going on here, something that needed further examination.
“Azren is stirring.” Gilbert’s voice echoed around the room.
Thank goodness my ghostly friend was back on form. Noir and Valance headed for the office where we’d laid Azren awkwardly on the two-seater sofa, his legs dangling off the end. He was awake now and sitting up. Seeing him alert, alive, made my chest ache with relief.
He zeroed in on me and his gaze softened a fraction. This was the powerful creature of fire and fury that the dragon liege relied upon, the monster that did her bidding and brought resisters to heel, and here he was sitting on my sofa, staring at me as if I were wreathed in a corona of rainbows. It made me want to leap across the room and onto his lap.
“You could have been killed.” His tone was raw, open, and vulnerable, but there was an edge of anger to it. Something inside me, the part that was kept wound tight, loosened a little, and it was as if I’d been propelled to the edge of a forbidden chasm.
No. No, we couldn’t have that. “Seriously?” I threw up my hands. “And you looked like you were having a lovely stroll.”
“I can handle myself.” The hardness was back in his tone. “I didn’t get to be the liege’s first Shedim by being weak. I’d have found a way to escape.”
“Yeah, of course you would have, after you’d been whipped to death.”
He ran a hand over his face. “You want a thank you? You got lucky, but don’t deceive yourself into thinking you were in control. You could have been killed.” His eyelids fluttered and he sat back and covered his face.
My feet carried me over to the sofa, where I parked my butt next to Azren. I tentatively placed my hand on his back; the muscles tensed beneath my fingers but he didn’t pull away.
“What did they do to you?” Valance asked.
“I can’t remember. There was pain beneath my skin and in my head.” He touched his temple. “It was like a thousand tiny needles pierced my flesh over and over.”
“Did they say anything?” Valance pressed.
Azren closed his eyes. “Something about a key and remembering.” He opened his eyes, his pupils dilating. “They said it was time to recall the past and fight for the truth.”
Valance’s jaw flexed. “But they didn’t tell you what that truth was?”
Azren tucked in his chin. “I can’t recall. I think ... I think they were trying to show me something ...” He raised his head, his expression faraway. “There was a door. I was close to something, but then I heard Wila’s voice and it was gone.”
Valance turned away, hands on hips, his shoulders tight.
Noir pressed his lips together and exhaled through his nose. “Well, we’re glad you’re all right.”
All right? Was that it? “Hang on a sec. They took Azren, they hurt him, but they obviously didn’t finish what they started. We need to do something. We have to hunt them down and stop them before they come back to finish the job.”
Valance’s shoulders relaxed and he turned to us. “Exactly. They’ll come for him, so we wait, and we let them come to us. And when they do, we’ll be ready.”
There was that we again. “Since when are we a we?”
“Since now,” Noir said simply. “I’m sorry, Miss Bastion, but you’re just going to have to accept that this is one case you won’t be able to take on alone.”
“And if Elora finds out you’re involved? What then?”
“Leave that to me,” Valance said tersely. “I suggest we all get some rest and we can reconvene to discuss a way forward in the morning.”
“I’ll set some wards around your home tailored to pick up on anything that isn’t neph,” Noir said. “I’ll need some of Azren’s blood to exempt him from the warding. Wards aren’t my strong suit, so they won’t prevent the creatures gaining access, but they will slow them down and you’ll be alerted. It will give you time to get out.”
Noir drew a handkerchief from his pocket. Azren nicked his own thumb with his razor teeth, then swiped it across the clean white linen.
“I’ll swing by in the morning,” Noir said.
It wasn’t until both men had walked out of the door that it hit me. Noir’s involvement I could understand—I’d saved his kid, I’d almost died doing it,
he felt he owed me, and then there was the whole Shedim-in-our-territory thing. He was protecting Arcana by being involved. But what did Valance get out of this? Why the heck was he helping us?
Moonlight streamed in through Azren’s bedroom window, highlighting the chaos the Shedim had left behind. He’d have to sleep on a camp bed until we could drag another one up here from the floor below. I finished making it up and then lowered him onto it. He winced and then sighed as he lay back.
“How’s Trevor?” he asked gruffly.
“Asleep and healing. He’ll be okay.”
“He fought like a demon,” Azren said. He swallowed hard. “He fought to save me and then they cut him down. I thought he was dead.” His chest rose and fell. “He’s a warrior.”
Trevor had tried to protect Azren? “I guess he likes you more than he lets on.”
Azren offered me a half smile. “Either that or he’s beginning to consider me part of his pack.”
“And are you?”
His eyes darkened, and his expression hardened. “There is only one place I can ever belong. And once this is over, I’ll return.”
A hollow space opened up inside me. I swallowed and lowered my gaze. “How’s the stomach wound?”
He gripped the edge of his T-shirt and peeled it up to expose smooth, unmarred skin. The wound from the Lupin had healed nicely. My fingers skimmed the velvety, taut flesh, and he sucked in a breath, forcing my gaze up to lock with his.
My mouth was suddenly too dry. “I thought we’d lost you.” I’d tried for the light, jokey tone, but the words came out breathless and way too sincere. “Oh, God.” I tucked in my chin.
His fingers caressed my cheek, sending a shiver of need through me, and I met his unguarded gaze, dark and compelling and filled with a longing that echoed mine. I needed to pull away, but he acted first, curling his fingers into his palm and lowering his fist.
“Tell me what happened?” he asked.
My chest tightened as all the events of the past few hours hit me. All the fear and anxiety surged up fresh and new. The words tumbled from my lips—coming home to find him taken, Trevor wounded, Gilbert weak, and then the Underground, almost getting eaten by the Lost and then seeing him being abused under the mausoleum.
City of Demons (Chronicles of Arcana Book 1) Page 18
