“You want to kill Drew by mistake?” Quinn demanded. “He could be in either body.”
Vaughn swore and stared up at the hanging bodies, neither of which had moved. They were both dangling limply…unconscious? No, not unconscious. They were both holding their heads erectly. Why wasn’t the one which was Drew reacting?
The Order took position beneath the two males, half of them below Drew and half below Ezekiel. Weapons were out, ready to take them on. Except for Ian, who was using his flange mace to try to break through the chains holding the woman. His body was tense, his shoulders rigid, sweat pouring down his back—
Elijah glanced over at Ian, pain flickering in his eyes. “That female looks exactly like Ian’s sheva. The one I killed.”
The girl had reddish blond hair, and she was gagged and bound. Ian was working furiously to get her free, his voice muttering soothing words of comfort as he fought with the bonds that were resisting his weapon.
Elijah continued to stare at Ian and the woman, his skin beginning to pale. “I swear it’s her.”
“But you killed her.”
“Yeah, and Nate killed me. I’m still here, aren’t I? Maybe it’s her. Maybe she didn’t die.”
“You’re immortal. She’s not. Big difference. It’s not her. Ezekiel found someone who looked so much like her because he wanted to fool Ian into thinking she was still alive, so he can lose her again.” Ana frowned at Elijah’s rising level of tension and looked up again at the males suspended above her. She reluctantly opened her mind to the males above her head, and she felt Ezekiel emanating from both of them. “He’s in both, still.
Elijah tore his gaze off Ian and looked up. “I can feel him too.”
The air was getting heavier, thicker, and the cloying stench of death was oozing into the room. “So, we kill both?” Quinn asked.
Elijah shook his head, slowly. “We can’t kill Drew—”
“Sacrifice of one innocent to save thousands,” Quinn recited grimly. “We do what we have to do.”
“No. Not this time.” Elijah cocked his head. “Not Dante’s son. We need him.”
“Well, then what the hell do we do? Wait here until they break out the keg and invite us to party?”
There was a sudden rush of darkness, and then huge doors slid open at the side of the room. Through the doors stepped dozens of Calydons, weapons out. They stood shoulder to shoulder, muscled and broad, black lines painted on their chests. They were soldiers standing at attention, waiting for a command from their leader.
The Order drew tight together, a formidable unit. Ana was tucked behind them. “Bring it on,” Thano said in a low voice.
Then there was a struggle from the back of the mass of Calydons, and Gideon went rigid. “What the fuck—”
Lily and Grace were suddenly thrust to the front. They were both bound and gagged.
Quinn let out a roar of fury, stayed only by Elijah’s grip on his arm. “Wait,” he said. “We have to play this right. Don’t let him fuck with you!”
Quinn’s face was ashen, his entire body shaking with the effort of holding back. “Make it fast,” he muttered. “Make it fucking fast.”
Gideon swore, and Lily closed her eyes. Instantly, there was a swell of power in the room, and Ana realized Lily was feeding Gideon power, giving him the strength to defeat the entire mass of warriors holding her captive.
“Now they die,” Gideon shouted. “They all die for touching her—”
Then there was a roar from above them and they all looked up to see Drew—his body, that was—free his arms and hurl a dozen weapons through the air, straight at Ezekiel’s Calydons.
“Drew?” Vaughn whispered.
“Drew must be back in his own his body,” Ryland said. “And he’s still got Ezekiel’s weapons and he’s using them to take down Ezekiel’s Calydons—”
“Jesus, no! He’s attacking Lily and Grace!” Gideon let out a roar of outrage and charged the Calydons.
Ana jerked her gaze back to them, realizing with horror that the weapons were indeed headed straight for Grace and Lily, not the Calydons guarding them. It wasn’t Drew throwing them, it was Ezekiel, and he was going to kill Grace and Lily!
“No!” She screamed her protest at the same instant the Order erupted into action, launching a full-scale attack at Ezekiel’s Calydons. But before they could reach them, a battle axe slammed into Grace’s stomach and a spear went right through Lily’s chest.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The room erupted with howls of unbelievable pain, fury and agony. Gideon and Quinn charged the Calydons, striking ruthlessly at anything and everything in their way, as their shevas slumped to the floor in pools of blood.
“Grace!” Tears streamed from Ana’s eyes as she fought to go to her sister, but Elijah clamped his arm around her waist, yanking her back as Quinn’s sword sliced through the air where she’d just been standing.
“Quinn and Gideon have gone rogue,” Elijah growled. “Ezekiel made them go rogue by attacking their shevas.” He tugged Ana back further as fighting erupted around them, his grip tight around her as she fought to go to her sister.
She kept screaming Grace’s name, even as her sister disappeared from sight in the fray of weapons and blood, and Elijah knew she wasn’t hearing him. He glanced up, and saw Ezekiel, in Drew’s body, surveying the carnage with a satisfied expression.
Swearing in frustration, Elijah spun Ana around in his arms and gripped her shoulders. “Ana!”
But her eyes were glazed with panic, horror and devastating anguish. “Ana!” Elijah hauled her against him, kissing her hard. She fought him hard for a split second, then melted into his body, tremors wracking her small frame. He killed my sister, Elijah. Did you see?
He pulled back enough to look into her face. “She’s not dead yet.”
“But I saw—”
“Destiny requires that her rogue mate be brought down by her. She will live long enough to kill Quinn.”
Tears filled Ana’s eyes. “But—”
“Which means we still have time.” Elijah glanced upward again, grimacing when he saw Ezekiel scanning the room. He knew Ezekiel was searching for them. Elijah pulled Ana to the corner. “Listen to me, Ezekiel is coming for us. For all of us. For two thousand years, he’s blamed the Order for putting him in jail and making him lose his woman. Right now is about destroying all of us, in whatever way hurts most. Ian, Quinn, Gideon…they are all suffering the loss of their shevas right now. He’s going to make them go rogue and destroy each other and everything they care about. He’s bringing us down from within, and breaking souls as he does it.” Elijah’s grip tightened. “Except you and me, Ana. He wants us alive, which means you and I are the only chance.”
“Let’s do it then.” Fire and strength filled her teary eyes, and his amazing woman nodded with determination, even through her tears. “I’ll try an illusion on him. I can do what Frank did, creating an illusion to make people hate or love or whatever I want. He taught me.”
Elijah felt his body go cold. “Jesus, Ana. You can do that?”
She grimaced, her silver eyes begging for his forgiveness. “I didn’t want to tell you because I thought it would send you over the edge—”
“Do it to me.”
She blinked in confusion. “But it’ll destroy you. I can’t put an illusion on you.”
“Make me hate him enough that I can kill him. You can do that, right?” Elijah couldn’t stop sweat from beading on his brow. That was the same illusion that had been done to him to get him to kill Quinn. It had put him over the edge.
Ana frowned. “I think so, but—”
“Do it.”
She was shaking her head. “I can’t inflict myself on you again, Elijah. I can’t! It’ll make you lose your mind.”
He sure as hell hoped it would. “I’m far more dangerous when I’m crazy, remember? I’m stronger and faster. It’ll be enough to take him. It has to be.”
Her body began to tremble. “No
, I can’t. You’ll never come back. I can’t hurt you like that.”
He cupped her face with his hands, fixing his gaze on her intently. “You’ll bring me back. You always do.”
“I can’t use my illusions intentionally to hurt someone, especially not you.” She was trembling now. “Don’t you understand? Once I cross that line, I’ll never go back. I’ll become that monster you—”
“Do you love me?”
Her eyes widened. “What kind of question is that right now?”
“I’ll come back for you if you love me. I know I will, and you’ll come back for me. You aren’t a monster, Ana. You have the most beautiful spirit of anyone I’ve ever known. You could unleash the hounds of hell, and it wouldn’t change who you are. You can do it, and stop it when you want. I know you can.” He was sure she loved him, but he had to hear it. He needed to have something to hold onto when his world fell apart and sucked him in.
Tears filled her eyes. “How can you believe in me like that?”
“Because I know you—”
There was a sudden shift of air pressure and they both looked up to see Ezekiel studying them intently. “He’s trying to listen,” she whispered.
“Fuck him.” Elijah pulled her head back to face him. “We’re out of time. Do it. Put an illusion on me.”
Her eyes widened. “Who are you going to kill?”
“Ezekiel, of course.”
“But what about Drew? If you kill Ezekiel in Drew’s body, then won’t he simply go back to his own body? You said yourself it would be dangerous to kill Dante’s son—”
Elijah looked up again, his mind assimilating facts with rapid speed. “Ezekiel’s still got both of them chained. He’s going to merge back into his own body and that’s why Drew’s body is chained, so when he leaves Drew’s body, the kid won’t be able to go after him. I’ll get him after he goes back into his own body completely.”
You are mine, Ana. Ezekiel’s voice rang in her ears and her forearms pulsed. “I can’t be his,” she whispered, gripping Elijah’s arms.
“Then do it. Let’s get it over with.” Elijah wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, her body soft and warm against his. “If I don’t come back, you should know that I love you. And it’s not just the bond.”
Then he kissed her. He kissed her hard, and she threw her arms around him and kissed him back. He felt her acceptance of his declaration in every fiber of her soul, and he knew that she loved him back, with every last bit of her heart. Triumph leapt through him, and for a moment, all he could think of was the feel of her body against his, the passion and ferocity in her kiss.
Then he felt a rising pressure inside his body as she began to build the illusion within him. And here we go.
Panic began to drill at his mind, and Ana kissed him deeper and harder, her tongue passionate and demanding, her body calling for his. He latched onto her, desperately trying to ground himself in her spirit as the panic started to build. I need more of you, Ana, or I’m not going to make it. He needed to go crazy, yeah, but he had to stay sane enough to make sure he attacked the right person. He had to tread that fucking line, and without Ana as his lifeline, he knew he couldn’t do it.
What do you need? What can I do?
Come with me. He groaned and dragged her out the door and around the corner, then slammed her up against the wall, looming over her as he kissed her with everything he had.
She slid her hands under his shirt, her palms caressing his chest as darkness began to build in him, as she began to build the hate inside him. Insidious thoughts began to race through his head, the same kind of thoughts he’d had about Quinn before he’d gone after him. Ezekiel had killed his family. Ezekiel had tortured him. Ezekiel was threatening his sheva. It was all Ezekiel’s fault—
A demon skittered across the floor and nipped at his ankle. Elijah swore and thrust his hands beneath Ana’s shirt, trying to use his connection with her to stay sane while she infected him with the illusion. Desperate, fighting to hold onto who he was, he cupped her breasts as she kissed him harder. The warm heat of her body against his hands grounded him and the demon disappeared.
I can’t do this to you, she whispered. I can’t send you into that hell.
You can. And as long as I’m touching you, I can hold it at bay for a little bit. He could hear the battle noises coming from the other room, but he shut it out, concentrating only on the feel of Ana, on her body, on her scent, on everything that made her whole. He knew in his gut, that the reason he was willing to go to hell to kill Ezekiel wasn’t for the Order or even humanity.
It was for Ana.
It was because if he didn’t, Ezekiel wouldn’t stop until he’d claimed Ana, and there was no way Elijah could let that happen. He had to protect Ana from Ezekiel, and he’d endure anything to make it happen.
A demon charged at him, sinking its teeth into Elijah’s throat. He swore and grabbed for his neck—
“No!” Ana flung herself against him. Stay with me, Elijah! You can’t fight the demons! You have to fight Ezekiel!
It became a desperate battle in his mind, a race to own him as the demons fought against Ana’s influence. The hate rose, the demons came, and Elijah clung to Ana with everything he had.
Her hand slipped inside the front of his jeans and hot desire pulsed through him, and he remembered the demons weren’t real. Couldn’t hurt him. “God, Ana—”
Let me save you this time. Elijah. Turn yourself over to me.
The hate slammed him, and the demons attacked, and one was kissing him. Elijah grabbed its throat—
It’s me, Ana! Let go of my neck! She wrapped her legs around his waist and held onto him, gripping him with everything she had as she pummeled him with her kisses, her touch, her body. Hot desire rushed through Elijah as she clung to him, but that wasn’t all. It was also peace and clarity, a sense of belonging for the first time in his life. Suddenly it didn’t matter that he had no living relatives, that he’d killed his own family, that he was too weak to kill Ezekiel without her help. All that mattered was her. You are my world, sheva. I swear on my life I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe.
Her body tightened around him, and she pulled back to look at him, her gaze fierce. I will bring you back, Elijah. I swear I will.
She didn’t have to say she loved him. He felt it in every fiber of her body. God, she felt right. So right. So perfect… Promise me that once I’m over the edge, you’ll take off. Get away from me as fast as you can.
You won’t hurt me—
He kissed her harder, his fingers digging into her hips as the waves of passion began to catch him. For hell’s sake, Ana, promise me.
Tears filled her eyes, and she nodded. I promise, but I’ll be back for you.
I’m counting on it. He kissed her one last time, and then she infected him with everything she had.
Hatred spewed through Elijah with violent force. Ezekiel. Bastard. Needed to die. Suffer. Demons appeared at his ankles, and he knew they were real. Knew they were coming to get him. He glanced down and saw a knife at his hip, cutting through his skin, aiming straight for his crotch “Fuck!” He stumbled backward, trying to get away. And still the knife came. He screamed with pain as it plunged into his thigh and began to saw at his femur. He slammed his fist at the knife and knocked it aside. Then a demon with beady eyes and bloody teeth picked it up and waved it—
“Elijah!” Ana’s voice penetrated his scattered mind, and for a split second, he realized she was still hanging onto him. He kissed her hard, his mouth open and demanding…and then the monsters came for good.
***
Ana hit the ground hard as Elijah screamed and whirled away from her, clawing at his ankle. It was that same horrific sound of human suffering that she’d heard from him when he’d been chained up in the basement when they’d first rescued him. He was all the way back in that place, that terrible, awful place. He clawed at his shoulder, ripping it open with his own nails.
&
nbsp; Her throat tightened for his agony, and she had to close her eyes to keep from pulling back from the illusion and relieving his suffering. She focused on channeling all his aggression to one being, one male, one entity. On Ezekiel.
Elijah’s head snapped up, his face bleeding from where he’d clawed it, his eyes nothing but black pits of hell. There was no Elijah left, no humanity, just the monster. She bit her lip and forced herself not to move, to not draw his attention. Dear God, how was she ever going to bring him back from that? You hate Ezekiel. It’s him you want.
Elijah’s head cocked, and he sniffed the air. Then he screamed again and bolted past her, back into the room where the battle was raging.
Hope leaping through her, Ana sprinted after him, but her stomach dropped when she saw what had happened in her absence. Ian was still fighting to free his woman, sobbing and moaning with uncontrollable grief as he hacked at the chains that wouldn’t release her. The entire Order was fighting against Quinn and Gideon, who were trying to kill everyone, including each other. The floor was slick with blood, and dozens of Calydons were down, including Gabe and Thano. Kane was on his back, fighting off Gideon while his left arm hung limply by his side.
Grace and Lily were motionless by the door, slumped in blood.
Elijah was still screaming as he slaughtered a bunch of Ezekiel’s Calydons who had rushed him to try and hold him back. Ezekiel was watching the scene with a look of total devastation, and she suddenly felt the ancient Calydon’s trauma, his complete anguish that Elijah had turned on him. Her throat tightened for Ezekiel’s pain. I did it, Ezekiel. Elijah couldn’t kill you on his own, so I made him hate you.
Ezekiel lifted his gaze to hers, and her forearm burned with sudden strength. She looked down to see Ezekiel’s brand vibrating as he called on their bond, trying to will her into helping him, forcing her loyalty to him and away from Elijah.
“No!” She staggered backwards, then turned and ran across the room, falling to her knees beside her sister. “Grace! Can you hear me?”
Her sister groaned and clutched her stomach as blood continued to ooze from her belly. Tears filled Ana’s eyes, and she shook them off, barely holding onto her concentration. “You have to do an illusion to heal yourself. Can you do it? We need to join up and do an illusion powerful enough to distract Ezekiel so Elijah can kill him.” She’d broken through Nate’s immunity once, for a split second, when her illusion had been strong enough. If she and Grace joined forces, maybe it would be enough to break Ezekiel, even for a moment. That was all Elijah needed: a split second in which to launch his attack.
Darkness Surrendered (Primal Heat Trilogy #3) (Order of the Blade) Page 33
