Of Fire and Storm

by D. G. Swank

  Ellie grinned.

  “Silence,” Abel said in the lead.

  He flinched as he walked, a sign that he was still injured, but it drew my attention to the defined muscles of his bare back and the way his jeans clung to his hips. Why did he have to be so infuriatingly—not to mention distractingly—good-looking?

  “So how did you two get hooked up together?” Collin asked, motioning to Abel.

  I blinked, trying to focus on Collin’s question. “As I said, it’s complicated.”

  He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Are you stuck in a situation you need help getting out of? Ellie and I can help.”

  I frowned. Abel was certainly dangerous, yet I’d seen a softer side to him. He’d lashed out in the car because he was worried. Because I’d pushed him to remember the things he’d lost. I didn’t condone any of it, but I understood it. There was something in him that reminded me of myself. The monster in him was perhaps not unlike the monster in me—necessary to fight the demons, and painful to bear. But he’d lived hundreds of years with no one to help him carry his burden, whereas he’d stood by my side and helped me carry mine. That had to count for something. “I’m here of my own free will—and a carelessly made blood oath.”

  Collin’s smile fell. “I’m familiar with those myself.”

  Abel turned around to shoot me a glare. “Silence. Or would you prefer for me to just announce you at the door?”

  I gave him an aggravated look.

  Silence fell on the group, though I itched to talk to Collin and Ellie, even if in whispers. For one thing, now that I was this close to Ellie, I had so many questions about our family legacy. And for another, talking kept my mind off Hudson, Rhys, and Jack. Had they been tortured? Had they already been killed? If I hadn’t gone up to the attic and fallen asleep, I would have been there whenever Hudson was taken. I could have stopped it from happening. The guilt was all-consuming.

  Collin fell back, and Ellie slipped into step beside me.

  “I know what you’re thinking right now,” she said in a low voice.

  I shot her a dark look. “Do you?”

  “Maybe not all of it, but yeah, I think do. You’re not sure whether to trust us, even though you’ve been looking for me. We’re strangers and we might have different agendas, just like the Guardians do.” When I didn’t say anything, she said, “That’s how I felt when Tsagasi and his friends first appeared. All my previous encounters with supernatural beings taught me they couldn’t be trusted, especially Ahone and Okeus.”

  My eyebrows shot up and I grabbed her arm to slow her down, keeping my eyes on Abel’s back. “You’ve met Okeus?”

  “Yes. Have you?”

  I lowered my voice to a barely audible whisper as I leaned into her ear. “No. But Abel is terrified of him finding out about me.”

  “Why?”

  “That is none of your concern,” Abel barked. “I will hide her as long as I can from the god of death and war, hell and suffering.” He stopped and pivoted to face me. “And this mission risks that.”

  “I’m going, Abel,” I said, holding his gaze in a silent war.

  “You were on board at the house,” David said in an undertone. “What changed?”

  Fury filled Abel’s eyes and Ellie moved away from me and stood in front of David.

  “He asks a good question, unknown entity,” Ellie sneered, her hand on her sword hilt. “What changed? Why did you show up with stab wounds? We want to trust you and Piper, but you’re making it difficult.”

  Abel growled. “Then leave us and we’ll do what needs to be done.”

  “No,” Collin said, giving him some major side eye. “Somehow I think we have two very different missions. Ours is to kill demons and, more specifically, to make the Great One pay for what he did to Myra and Ellie.” His gaze intensified. “Yours—Abel—is to get Piper’s friends and leave, making sure Piper stays safe and hidden. But you want to leave your hands as clean as possible. Which means you’re either hiding or you’ve made a vow apart from your oath with Piper. Which one is it?”

  Abel’s eyes glowed red again, and I was about to intervene, but Ellie held up her hand to me, asking me to wait.

  “Why is it so important to hide Piper from Okeus?” Ellie said. “Does he know she’s a witness to creation?”

  “What difference would that make?” I asked.

  Ellie’s face took on a we don’t have time to get into that expression before she turned back to Abel. “We might actually be on the same page here, Abel. Tell us why you want to hide her, and maybe we can help.”

  “Why would you want to?” he growled.

  “Because once Okeus finds out she’s a witness to creation, he’ll try to use her for his own purposes. He gave me a choice and I tricked him. He won’t give Piper that opportunity.”

  Abel truly looked baffled. “What special purpose would he have for her?”

  “He wants to make little baby Okeuses,” Collin said. “Only he wants a child who looks human. He thinks that can only happen if the mother is a witness to creation. Ellie bought herself a year before he’ll come back to force himself on her. I doubt he’ll even try to win Piper over. He’ll simply take what he wants.”

  I turned to Abel in horror.

  He stared at me with a wavering gaze. “Would Okeus take her with him or impregnate her and leave her be?”

  I gasped.

  “Uh…” Ellie stammered.

  “He merely wants a child,” David said. “He claims all his previous attempts created monstrosities. He wanted Ellie to agree, and he promised so long as she doesn’t try to abort the baby, he’ll let her be.”

  Abel nodded, then turned and started walking again.

  I stared at him in disbelief. “You would let him rape me.”

  He spun around, his eyes deep red and his body emitting a soft golden glow, and snarled, “You have one purpose, Kewasa, and I will keep you alive to fulfill it. As long as you can carry a dagger in your hand, nothing else matters.”

  Ellie’s mouth dropped open.

  Collin moved between Abel and me and drew his sword. “And the roster for tonight’s event just changed. Piper, you’re with us now. Abel, your services are no longer needed.”

  “I stay with Kewasa.”

  “Kewasa doesn’t want you,” Collin countered. “So get the hell away from her.” He glanced around, looking frustrated. “Where is Tsagasi?”

  Tsagasi appeared out of thin air. “Watching fools at work.”

  “Fools?” Collin asked in outrage.

  “You’re getting ready to face powerful demons, and you’re fighting a god-like entity for a woman’s virtue.”

  “God-like entity?” Collin said. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “We’re not fighting for her virtue and you know it, Tsagasi,” Ellie said in disgust. “We’re fighting for what we’ve always fought for.”

  “Yes,” Tsagasi said, “you have a habit for mistaking your purpose, so let me remind you of it now—you are here to destroy the demons.”

  “But Piper—”

  “All your grandstanding doesn’t change the fact that the demons are preparing a sacrifice even as we speak.”

  Sacrifice? I fought off the terror that threatened to still my senses. “How do you know they’re still alive?”

  “Because I do, Kewasa,” Tsagasi said.

  “You can be sure he’s right,” Ellie assured me. “Tsagasi knows things. I don’t know how he does, but I’ve learned he’s always right.”

  I nodded, taking small solace in the knowledge they were alive. But Tsagasi was right. We were wasting time. “Caelius already knows I’m a witness to creation,” I said. “There’s no changing that fact now, and I’m not running away from this. I need to save my friends.”

  “If Caelius knows Okeus is looking for a witness to creation,” Abel said, “he will have told him. I was right—this is a trap for you, but not in the way I thought.” He looked undecided.

&
nbsp; “Why did you think he was trapping her?” Collin asked.

  “One of her other titles,” Tsagasi said.

  I held Abel’s gaze. Would he really let Okeus rape me? We both knew having a big belly wouldn’t prevent me from plunging one of the daggers into his heart.

  I searched his face for signs of the humanity he’d shown me last night and today, but that man was no longer there. I couldn’t trust this version of Abel, and I had to trust the people who fought beside me. I couldn’t save my friends alone.

  “Creator of worlds,” I said, shooting him a glare. Should I tell them more?

  Abel raced for me at inhuman speed, shoving Collin out of the way.

  But I was ready for him, with my daggers at the ready, one aimed at his heart. “No,” I said, more calmly than I felt. “We made a blood vow, Kieran Abel, and I will uphold it and no more. Your services aren’t required here. You may leave.”

  “You can’t be rid of me that easily, Kewasa,” he said condescendingly. “For I made a vow to you as well. I vowed to kill you before I let you suffer at the hands of a demon.”

  “So you’ll kill her if Okeus tries to rape her?” Collin said dryly. “I’m sure she takes comfort in that.”

  Abel seethed but didn’t try to deny it.

  Was this the betrayal Deidre warned me about? My outrage at Abel’s disloyalty burned in my gut, but there was no time to dwell on it. My friends were being prepared as a sacrifice all because they were important to me. Nothing mattered more than saving them.

  “Enough,” I said, slipping my dagger back in its sheath. “We’re wasting time. I have some demon ass to kick, so join me or not, I don’t give a shit anymore. Just don’t get in my way.”

  Then I shoved him to the side and took the lead.

  Chapter 28

  The warehouse was dark when we approached. It was covered in graffiti and the few windows on our side were broken, the glass looking like sharp teeth, ready to devour us.

  I stopped and turned to Ellie. “I suspect you’re far more experienced at this than I am. I’m prepared to walk in and raise hell, but I’m guessing there’s a more subtle way to go about it.”

  Ellie turned to Tsagasi.

  “Caelius is waiting,” the small being confirmed. “No sign of the Great One, but it can’t be that far behind.”

  “Do they have any minions?” Collin asked.

  “Six total.”

  “The Guardians or demons?” David asked.

  “Demons. Lesser rank,” Tsagasi said. “But there is also a contingent of five Guardians. They are currently protesting Caelius’s new plan.”

  “Which is?” Ellie prodded.

  Tsagasi’s gaze fell on me.

  “So we’re dealing with one big demon, six lesser demons, and Guardians,” Ellie said.

  “Easy,” Collin said with a nonchalant shrug.

  Ellie tilted her head and gave him a deadpan look.

  “I say we just go in,” Collin said. “They have one big dog, and between you, me, and Piper, we have three.”

  I shot a dark look to Abel, who stood back several feet, making it clear that while he didn’t intend to be part of the attack, he was staying anyway. Probably just so he’d be ready to fulfill his side of our blood oath—kill me before the demons could—should the need arise. I bet he was having major buyer’s remorse right about now.

  “We also have Tsagasi and his friends,” David said. “You three take on Caelius, and we’ll face the lesser demons.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Can you counteract Caelius’s power? I could summon my power to the surface to deflect it, but he kept upping his game. If you can’t block it, you become crazed with lust.”

  Ellie exchanged knowing glances with Collin, then turned back to David. “You have to stay outside.”

  “Ellie…”

  “David, the rest of us can deflect it, but you’re powerless.”

  His jaw tightened in anxiousness.

  She walked over to him and put her hand on his cheek as she looked up into his eyes. “I’ll be fine. You know Collin will make sure of it, and now we have Piper. I’ll be distracted if you’re in there.”

  “I hate this, Ellie,” he said in a husky voice as he leaned his forehead against hers. “I hate that I can’t help you.”

  “You help me in other ways, and you know it,” she said in a tone that brooked no argument. She took a step back. “We all have our strengths. That’s what makes us a team.”

  I glanced at Abel, who had his eyes on me. I’d been stupid to think he cared about me as anything other than a means to a literal end. I’d been foolish to think we were a team of our own. And now I was paying for it.

  I drew my sword. “So we go in large and in charge?”

  Collin gave a sharp nod. “The three of us walk in like we own the place.” He drew his own sword and pointed it in Abel’s direction. “You will stay the fuck away.”

  Abel didn’t respond.

  “David, you have a job of your own,” Ellie said. “We’ll free Piper’s friends and send them out. You make sure they stay safe. Take them to the car.”

  He started to argue, and I was sure he was about to protest leaving her, but then he nodded. “Got it.”

  She reached for him again, stretching up to kiss him, a tender kiss that spoke of love and fear.

  Collin looked away and I turned to Abel.

  His expression was aloof and maybe even contemptuous.

  I’d been such a fool.

  “Be careful,” Ellie told David. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. Now finish this and come back to me.”

  She gave him one last look, then drew her own sword. “Collin and I will go first. Piper, you follow behind us. We’ll negotiate, and you follow our lead. We’ll let Tsagasi and the rest handle the lesser demons.”

  The little man gave a sharp nod.

  “Got it,” I said, my stomach cramping with anxiety. What would we find inside?

  “You’re forgetting something,” Abel said dryly, giving the impression he was bored. “The Great One isn’t here and it has unfinished business with all three of you.”

  “We’ll deal with the Great One if and when it shows up. There’s no planning for what-ifs. Let’s do it,” Collin said, advancing toward a door that was slightly ajar.

  Tsagasi disappeared.

  As I entered the building, I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder at Abel.

  We walked single file down a long hallway, with Collin in the lead and me taking the rear. The hall opened to a dark room, and when we reached the end, Collin stepped out into the open space, making room for Ellie to stand next to him. The hallway was narrow enough to block me from entering, but I could hear voices arguing.

  “We had a deal!” a man shouted, his voice familiar. “We handled the party logistics for you and the Great One, just as you asked. It worked. It drew the curse keepers for the Great One, you got enough young people to keep you fed, then you were supposed to hand over Piper Lancaster.”

  “Robert,” Caelius said in a soothing tone that was lightly filled with power. “Plans change. I suggest you accept it or face the consequences for pushing the matter.”

  Robert?

  I shoved past Collin and Ellie into the darkened shadows at the back of the cavernous warehouse, mostly empty save for a three-foot-high platform in the center. In the middle of it sat Caelius in a chair flanked by multiple candelabras on either side, the flames of a hundred or more candles flickering to illuminate the darkness. The demon lounged back, looking disdainfully down his nose at the group of five humans gathered in front of the platform, their heads bowed like supplicants at the feet of a god.

  My blood chilled when I realized I recognized the one in front. Robert Corden, a friend of my grandfather’s. I’d grown up with him at my grandparents’ dinner table. I knew him well…or maybe not as well as I had thought.

  This proved that the Guardians had gotten close to my grandparents, and whil
e that freaked me out, something else horrified me more. Flickering candles lined a path to my right, leading to a circle of even more candles that enclosed a chalk triangle, with symbols drawn around and inside it.

  Hudson, Jack, and Rhys each sat in a corner of the triangle. Rhys was sitting cross-legged and silently crying. Jack sat in a kneeling position, looking furious, and Hudson was sitting on his butt, but his eyes were drawn to me like magnets. He still had the pendant at the base of his neck, not that it was doing him any good.

  “Piper!” he shouted.

  Every fiber of my being urged me to rush over to free them, but I knew that would be too easy. I needed to let this play this out.

  I only hoped I didn’t live to regret it.

  Caelius’s gaze drifted back to me and the curse keepers, and he got to his feet. “We’re done here, Robert,” he said dismissively, his eyes on me.

  “We are far from done,” Robert sneered.

  Caelius bent his arm at the elbow, lifting his hand to shoulder height, and snapped his fingers.

  Low growling came from the shadows at the back of the platform. Several pairs of red eyes glowed in the darkness. If those were some of the “lesser” demons Tsagasi had spoken of, he should have mentioned that by “lesser” he didn’t mean non-terrifying.

  Robert was a fool to argue with a demon, but I had to admit, Caelius was the least threatening-looking demon I’d met. Maybe that made him twice as deadly.

  “Are you ready to let this go, Robert?” Caelius asked. “I have more important business to attend to, but you may stay and observe if you promise to remain silent. It’s important for you to understand what you are dealing with.”

  “No, I’m nowhere near willing to let this go, but we’ll let you attend to your business before we finish ours,” Robert said as he moved aside, his friends shifting too. He then spun around to watch the next act, giving me a smirk.

  I wanted to slap it right off him.

  Collin took that as his cue to present himself to Caelius. “I’m afraid we haven’t been formally introduced.” He pressed his left hand to his chest. “I am Collin Dailey.” He dropped his hand and motioned toward us. “This is Ellie Lancaster and her cousin Piper.” He took another step forward. “But you only need to know and fear us for our titles—curse keepers and destroyers of life. We will not hesitate to destroy you if necessary, but our real beef is with the fool that calls itself the Great One. Where is it?”