by Zoey Ellis
"Demons can mate?" Thea's asked, in wonder.
"Yes, but it's not like how angels mate," Oriah said. "If a lower-class demon is mated to a higher-class demon, the higher-class demon controls their mate."
"What demon class are you?"
Oriah held her gaze. "Legion."
"There is no higher than you then, is there?"
Cam made a noise in the back of his throat. "The Devourer," he breathed. "You're mated to the Devourer?"
Oriah nodded and Thea gasped.
"I cannot continue my existence like this,” Oriah pleaded. “You must understand, Thea. I was willing to give up my life to make sure that you were safe, but now that you can look after yourself, I don't need to live this way. It is a horrifying existence. Every day is torture. And I have only ever been willing to endure it for you."
Thea rubbed her forehead, trying to make sense of the conflicting emotions fighting for dominance within her. On one hand, all of her mother's choices seemed to have been made for the right reasons; she tried to make things easier for Dad, she tried to protect Thea, she made sure the Angel Realm knew about her. And yet all that pain and death inflicted on others just to get Thea the Demon Realm—it was overly extreme. She looked up at her mother and saw that raw emotion in her eyes again. "Oriah, you made me kill Cam's father. You made me drain a beautiful human who has been my sister all my life. I cannot ignore that."
Cam kept his eyes on her, a trace of confusion in them.
"I know," Oriah said, a small smile on her face. "If you hate me, kill me. You don't have to love me for me to love you, Thea. I never expected you to feel anything for me."
"Is that why you did it?" Thea asked, annoyance raging through her. "So I would be upset with you? I’ve already been upset with you since I found out you were alive! No one needed to die."
“Tell her the truth,” Cam demanded, his deep voice reverberating around the room. “You had demons helping her to drain humans—they shielded her from angels and kept the humans she attacked out of sight. Are you saying they all knew you were bringing her here to help you die?”
Oriah’s smile faded. “I had to tell them something so they would help get her strong enough,” she snapped.
“What did you tell them?” Thea asked.
“Why are you still holding her captive if you want her to kill you anyway?” Cam said over her, fury in his eyes. “You have manipulated her the whole way—and you’re still controlling her!”
“I need her to do it,” Oriah replied, desperately. “I couldn’t risk that she would say no.”
“And how did you get control?” Thea asked, almost hesitantly.
Oriah looked between them, her face hard, and then sighed. “As the Devourer’s mate, I have a direct connection with all the Legion demons. When I started hearing your name among them, I was worried they had found you. I soon realized that Cam was on an assignment and that you were important to him, so I watched and listened very carefully for any chance to get a message to you. When he cut you, I took advantage of my connection to Legion blood to latch onto your subconscious. It was better than I could have imagined because I had direct contact with you. I just couldn’t chance that you’d say no.” She paused, taking a breath. “I explored your mind through your dreams, learning your tolerance for violence and the weaknesses in your mental and emotional state. As I grew more powerful, I began to make suggestions that affected your mood and mind. I deadened your feelings and got you to a state of living on autopilot.” She threw a hostile glance at Cam. “And then you came along and almost destroyed my hold on her by pulling her out of my grip and putting her in a dreamless state when you had sex with her.”
Thea glanced at Cam but he was staring at Oriah, a bitter snarl on his face.
“I had to move quickly after that,” Oriah said. “I suppressed your feelings as much as I could and heightened your hostility when you interrogated the demon. That gave me enough momentum to take over your mind and drain your friend. From the moment you took human energy, I gained full control.”
“I cannot believe you’re her mother,” Cam spat. “You are disgusting.”
“I did what I had to do,” Oriah glowered. “If you hadn’t cut her, I never would’ve had a chance, so the blame lies closer to you than me. You’re lucky it was me instead of—” She stopped and glanced toward one side of the room, as though she heard something. "Legion are coming," she warned, her tone urgent. "Please, Thea. Kill me now. Please! You have to do it now."
Thea froze, gazing into her mother's blue-gray eyes and unable to look away.
"I’ll do it," Cam said. "Let her go. Release her completely and I will kill you. You don't deserve oblivion; you will go to hell and you will suffer there for eternity but at least you won’t be here."
Thea dragged her eyes away from her mother to look at Cam. Thank god he was there. He was experienced in killing Legion and could kill her mother easily. A flash of memory ran through her mind of seeing him fight in the alley, but this time it didn't make her nervous, it made her relieved.
Oriah shook her head. "Being mated to the Devourer has made me too powerful," she said. "If you tried to kill me, and failed, he would be alerted instantly. Only Thea will be able to do it without risking her life."
"I don't fail," Cam snarled.
Oriah smiled at him. "Yes, I know. But you have never faced a demon mated to the Devourer before."
"Doesn't he know what's going on here right now?" Thea asked, nervously.
"No," Oriah said. "He has many interests in the human world. This is happening too quickly to catch his attention. But he will learn of it shortly, and you need to kill me and leave before he comes." She looked at Thea expectantly. "What are you going to do?"
Chapter Twenty
CAM
Cam stared at Oriah in both horror and contempt. The idea that she wanted Thea to kill her, and everything she did to get Thea to the Demon Realm, was so horrific that he was on the verge of just taking his chances and killing her right there. Thea only just learned Oriah was alive not long ago and would have wanted to have the chance to get to know her, especially after her father's revelations about her.
What was even more disturbing, was that Thea was considering it. Thea had never killed a Legion demon before, he trained her to only focus on vanquishing Spectras and maybe the occasional Asmos demon. Yes, she was more powerful now, but why should she have to go through that just because her mother didn't want to suffer in hell for eternity?
It was only when Thea's mother confessed that she was mated to the Devourer that Cam understood why the Creator wanted her destroyed in the first place—killing Oriah would most likely affect the Devourer in some way, and possibly affect the entire Demon Realm. The Angels and the human world desperately needed that right now, especially after what Thea had done under the influence of her mother.
He watched Thea swallow and close her eyes. Her mother still had a hold over her, he could feel it in her energy, and it set him on edge considering what she had already made her do. Regardless of whatever excuses she gave Thea about her previous choices, she couldn't even let Thea make up her own mind and use her own thoughts and feelings. She forced her here and manipulated her the whole way and was still doing so. Even if Thea did kill her mother, how would she have escaped alive if Cam hadn’t come? The woman was was a monster.
"Hurry, Thea," Oriah pleaded, her voice grave and desperate.
Thea turned to Cam, her eyes shining with all of the emotion that had been missing from her lately—love, trust, desire. She looked torn, trying to make a decision that she didn't truly understand, and she needed Cam's help. Cam didn't know what to say to her. He knew deep down she wouldn't want to kill the one woman that had been missing from her life. Even though she grew up believing she was dead the whole time, if Thea killed her, she truly would be dead and it would be by Thea's hand. He considered moving to kill Oriah, but if she was truly mated to the Devourer she was indeed stronger than any other
Legion he had fought. He didn't know how far she would go to hurt Thea if he tried to take her out. He couldn't be responsible for that, so he stood, frustrated and annoyed, watching the confusion on Thea's face.
The door swung open and several demons poured into the room. Cam began to fight automatically, but he couldn’t draw from the Stream and there were too many of them.
Finally, he understood what had happened to Kara. She had been inside the demon control room and he had been outside of it. If it had been shielded like this, she wouldn’t have been able to draw from the Stream. The demons had been trying to lure him in there also—if he had tried to save her, he would’ve definitely died. He should have shared the information with Zak, who could have instructed other angels, so any Power confronted by this situation would be prepared and possibly find a way around it.
He glanced at Thea and saw she was still frozen under the control of her mother. Soon, the demons surrounded both him and Thea and he immediately stopped fighting as he saw a demonic blade poised at her neck.
"If you move," said the demon standing next to her, in a low and gritty voice, "I will destroy her with this blade."
Cam froze, his eyes focused on Thea. He couldn't look away from her; her eyes were wide and he could tell she was struggling within herself, fighting to regain control over her body from her mother. The Legion surrounded him in a circle, watching him but not getting too close. The others surrounded Thea. He watched as they looked over her appreciatively, muttering between them.
"You should have killed me," Oriah said, despondent and angry. "Now you will be mated to the Devourer as well, Thea. You were the one he wanted all along. That’s what I promised the demons."
"No!" Cam roared, an acute anger filtering into him with the realization of what she was saying. He could not and would not lose Thea to the endless torment of such a life. His urge to kill Oriah strengthened. She was the one who brought Thea here. He wanted to destroy her completely, so she would no longer have control over Thea. He began to fight to get to her, and the Legion around him tightened as they fought back. In his fury, he was able to destroy one of the Legion who held onto him, tearing away so hard he took the Legion's arm off in a single rip but he didn't care. He needed to do anything he could to save Thea, even if it meant being the beast she hated.
"Cam!" Thea called, her voice weak. The Legion who was holding the dagger to her throat placed the tip on her neck and was drawing it down, creating a slim line of red on her skin. He stared at Cam with a wide grin on his face and dug the blade in deeper. Thea cried out and winced.
Cam stopped fighting and put his hands up. "Stop!" he bellowed. "Don't kill her. I won't fight."
The Legion around him grabbed him and held him tight, while the demon holding the dagger widened his grin. "Oh, we don't want to kill her," he said, playfully. "It's much more fun when angelic beings are mated to demons while they still have angelic energy in them. It's an exquisite experience, actually." He removed the dagger from Thea's throat. "She will be mated to the Devourer. He will want her as she is." He turned to the other Legions around Thea and ordered them to take her.
They began to drag Thea out of the room and away from Cam.
All of the burning pain rushing over Cam's body from being in the Demon Realm, the overwhelming burning sensation that covered his skin from head to toe, was nothing compared to the fury and desperation inside Cam. It coursed through his veins, it filled his whole body, it was more intense than any rage he had ever felt because there was only one thing he could do to save her now, and she may hate him for it. This was it. He would either die or fail her.
"Thea!" Cam cried, focusing on the feeling inside his body allowing it to turn into pure energy as he gathered a bit of his power into his core. Thea looked back at him, met his eye and held it. In that moment, he succumbed to the one thing his angel-form had wanted him to do from the very beginning. Pushing all of that energy into his halo, he reached for her, sending his halo of energy towards hers.
Thea's eyes widened as she saw it—she was the only one who could. Glancing at her mother, she projected her halo back to him.
Over the heads of the demons and her mother, their halo energy crossed and fed into the other, blending into each other's angel-forms as they mated. Power, unlike anything he had ever known shuddered through Cam, coursing into him and filling him with Thea's mind and her feelings. The burning all over his body lessened immediately, and he could feel the sting at the back of his neck where his claiming symbol would now be. But most of all, he felt Thea inside him—her whole heart and mind. He had never felt so complete.
He gazed at her in wonder, and she gave him a wondrous smile back even as the Legion were dragging her away. Inside of her, through their connection, he felt the love she held for him and it was so strong. She still loved him and he couldn't give that up.
Thea, he said to her, knowing she could hear him. We have to fight.
Chapter Twenty-One
THEA
Thea sucked in a breath, a rush of power and emotion coursing through her body. Oriah's hold on her snapped and melted away, and the only thing she felt was Cam. His presence was inside her, comforting, strong, and powerful. She stared at him, unable to take her eyes off him as she felt a pleasant burn at the back of her neck that she knew had something to do with the fact they just mated.
Thea. We need to fight, came Cam's voice from inside Thea's mind. Unlike her mother's, Cam's voice was soothing and comforting, soft as a caress in her mind.
Thea nodded. I'm back in control, she said back to him.
Just as she was about to go through the door, they both sprang into action. She pulled on the Stream… and energy came to her. It was slow at first, but flowed quicker the more she pulled.
I can access the Stream, she told Cam, who was using his fists and daggers. Use the Stream, Cam.
She created a shield and expelled a wall of energy that hit all the demons around her in one blast, knocking them to the ground. Instantaneously creating a number of spikes, she sent them through the necks of as many demons she could before they managed to get up, taking advantage of their shock and slow reaction. One of them sent a flutter of energy out of the room through the wall, and she knew that more were going to come.
Behind her, she felt Cam's progress with his demons and knew he was out of their grasp and moving toward her. She stepped backward toward him and they met in the middle of the room back-to-back.
How will we get out of here? Thea said.
We fight. Either we both get out of here, Cam replied, grimly, or we both die.
Thea smiled, and even though he couldn't see it, she knew he could feel it.
They firmed their stances, as more Legion entered the room and surrounded them. Their shields merged, and energy balls and spikes materialized in the air around them as they prepare to fight. Working in perfect sync as always, they rotated, spun passed each other and crossed to counter the attacks of all the Legion in the room. They threw angelic energy, darted out to land a punch or kick, and even slashed and threw holy blades. As they fought, Thea realized their energies were indistinguishable. She could use and manipulate energy balls and spikes Cam created, and he could use hers. It made their combined attack seamless. At one point, as she turned to direct a spike over his shoulder, she pulled three of his blades from his boot and hip and swung them in various directions across the room, hitting the demons she knew were standing back. Even the cowards would not be safe. Cam chuckled, and a blush rose to her cheeks that he'd overheard that thought.
She glimpsed her mother crossing the room to a door she hadn’t noticed before, and instinctively grabbed the last holy dagger from Cam’s hip. Her mother had agreed with the demons that she would bring Thea there to be mated with the Devourer, which meant if Thea had refused to do what she wanted, that’s what would have happened. Cam had highlighted something Thea struggled to grasp with her mother in her mind, which was that Oriah had manipulated her for her own
selfish needs and continued to manipulate her by not allowing her to even have control over her own emotions and body. Asteroth had been right; Oriah was not the angel she once was, not the woman her father had known, and no mother to her. Channeling all of the new energy she had acquired into the dagger, she stepped forward, whipped her body around and threw it at her mother. It slammed into Oriah’s stomach and she collapsed.
As the extra power drained from her, a burning heat engulfed her body, and she grit her teeth as she returned to battling the demons while trying to endure it.
While they fought, more Legion poured into the room soon followed by Zak and a few other angels, including Dani who seemed to be drawing on red lightning. Immediately the burn on Thea’s skin lessened.
The room was thick with energy, heat, and movement as angels and demons fought each other. Dani stayed near the door and channeled angelic energy into the room for angels to use. Thea watched in horror as Zak was thrown backwards by a blow from one of the Legion but as she stepped towards him, he bounced back from the fall immediately, his face a mask of cool anger and blasted the Legion back with something that looked like a giant spike of purple energy. He glanced at Thea and dipped his head. She nodded and returned to Cam's side.
Suddenly it was over. The Legion were lying dead or dying on the floor, and Thea was surrounded by angels. Thea looked around at all of them, at Dani, at Zak. They had sustained substantial injuries but for the most part, everyone looked okay. She sighed, relieved it was over.
"We have to leave now," Zak ordered. "Everyone back to the portal. More Legion are coming."
"Thea," came a weak voice from behind her. Thea turned to see her mother on the ground gripping the hilt of a holy blade protruding from her stomach. She went to her and dropped to her knees.
