by Lola Taylor
“Destined to be together,” I murmured, lost in thought for a moment.
Hector studied my face with worry. “You look stressed.”
I laughed. “Well, I never much believed in fate, and you just told me we were destined to meet. It’s a lot to take in.”
“So you’re not opposed to that? You don’t feel manipulated?”
I thought about it, then shook my head. “No. Actually, I like the sound of it, of a love that’s meant to be.”
“Me too.”
Lying there in Hector’s arms, all felt right with the world. For a rare night, I could pretend my life was perfect. That it wasn’t wrong to love, a demonic force wasn’t after my soul, and I was just a woman who’d fallen in love with a man.
I closed my eyes, content for the first time in a long while.
That is, until Damien appeared in my dream later that night.
Chapter 18
MY FIRST INCLINATION THAT something was wrong was when I suddenly felt like I’d been dunked in ice-water. I’d never been so cold in my life.
I stood – no, floated – in complete darkness.
“Hello?” I called out, only to hear my voice echo back at me, like I was standing in a cavern.
The sky, or at least, I thought it was the sky, started to lighten to indigo, revealing the outline of a great tree. Its gnarled branches reached toward the sky, so dense they nearly blocked what meager light there was.
I squinted.
The branches had an odd shape to them, and it took a moment to figure out why.
They almost looked like human hands.
A chill crept up my spin, but it wasn’t from the cold. It came from that sixth sense that told you you were somewhere you definitely didn’t want to be, someplace dangerous.
I needed to run. I don’t know how I knew that. Call it fight-or-flight or whatever, but either way, I was hauling ass out of here, pronto.
I went to take a step – and couldn’t.
“The hell…?”
My feet were literally frozen to the ground, encased in blocks of ice.
The ice started threading up my leg, coming for me, spreading the coldness into my clothes, then my skin.
In a moment, I would be frozen solid, and yet that wasn’t what frightened me most.
Things were skittering in the darkness.
My heartbeat picked up its pace. I fought again to break free, but I might as well have been encased in cement.
I tried shifting into something strong enough to break the ice, but that ability was apparently gone too.
I was out of options.
I shivered, hearing my teeth rattle, when big dark wings enclosed around me. They were veined, like a bat’s, completely encasing me in their darkness.
A sensual voice whispered into my ear as strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me to the muscular, bare torso at my back. “No matter how far you run, no matter where you go,” Damien said, “I promise you, Sally, I will find you.”
I should have screamed. I should have done a lot of things, like try to break free and run. But I was sick of that. I was tired of hiding and being scared all the time.
In what I would agree was not one of my wisest moments, I instead smiled and hissed, “Then come and get me, you pussy.”
The dream shattered when Damien roared, his fangs tearing into my flesh.
I awoke with a start, sitting up so fast I saw stars. I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes until the room stopped spinning.
Hector had a hand at my back, and he was trying to pull my hands away so he could see my face. “Sally, what happened? Talk to me.”
“It’s okay,” I finally said, relaxing with a deep breath. “I’m fine. Just a nightmare.”
He tensed. “Damien?”
I nodded. “Can demons by chance find you in your dreams?”
“They can,” he said darkly, his hand fisting in the sheet. “And there’s no way to block them out. When you dream, you’re not entirely on this plane anymore. You enter their realm.”
It made me never want to go to sleep again. “He said he’d find me.” I looked at Hector, and he cupped my face. “He’s never going to leave me alone, is he?”
Hector kissed my forehead and held me close. “Demons don’t like to chase for long. He’ll eventually grow bored and leave.”
“But what if this demon lives for the chase? Agent Harris said every demon has its fetish.” I paused. “Maybe I should let him find me.”
“Sally, we went through this,” Hector said, his voice hardening.
I sat back and looked at him. “Hector, do you honestly believe this thing will just grow bored and give up searching for me?”
His hesitation spoke for him.
“That’s what I thought.” I took his hands in mine. “I know you don’t want me to do this, because you’re a protector, and you’re scared this is the one thing you can’t protect me from.”
“Sally-”
“And I know that sucks,” I said, talking over him, “but if we don’t try to face this, we’ll never be rid of him. I know that in my gut.”
Hector’s gaze turned sad.
I reached up and cupped his cheek. “You said we’re connected. I don’t think fate or a love spell or a crazy Red Witch would have brought us together only to tear us apart. It’s just not right.” I set my jaw. “And dammit, I won’t let it. I refuse to run from this or any other obstacle that comes our way. If Damien wants a fight, then he’s damn well going to get one.”
Something sparked in Hector’s eyes as he watched me stand up. It looked a lot like hope. And bloodlust. “Where are you going?”
I gave him a bloodthirsty smile. “To get us an angel.”
AGENT HARRIS WASN’T KIDDING when she said we’d have an entourage of some of the most powerful witches and warlocks I’d ever met. Wind, fire, water, earth, they were all here, trailing us as we left the hospital and accompanying us to Elysian. They never left our side. If people didn’t stare at me before, they sure as hell did now.
Even a rare White Witch, gifted with the power of life and light, was there. She looked of Oriental descent, with smooth, ivory skin and beautiful dark hair that flowed to her petite waist. I learned her name was Yasmine, and the jolt of power I felt from shaking her hand nearly floored me. If she couldn’t help take out Damien, I didn’t know who could, except for maybe Alistair Hex, and I’d just assume to deal with as few Hex men as possible, thank you very much.
Angela was intrigued yet nervous when we approached her. Once we knew we were going through with the entrapment ritual, we contacted the D.P.I. at once, and they sent a team out to Elysian to help us prepare. They’d already pulled some strings and found a holy object - a prayer box that belonged to a saint - and then all we needed was our angel.
Angela swallowed hard. “If it will help you get rid of this asshole, I’ll do it for you,” she told me.
I hugged her. “Thanks, girl. I owe you one.”
“You owe me several cold ones. We’re going to get so drunk we can’t remember our own names when this is all said and done.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Hector muttered something under his breath I was pretty sure I didn’t want to hear anyway. He had tried his best to talk me out of it every possible chance he got, and each time, it became harder to refuse. The odds were stacked against us. I was a hell of a lot more powerful than I’d been when I came here, thanks to training with Hector and taking in bits of his energy when we touched, but it didn’t mean it’d hold up for long against a demon.
Harris made me aware of that at every turn. “If he takes you to his realm, we won’t be able to retrieve you,” she said as I suited up. I looked like I was auditioning for Underworld, with all the silver, knives, throwing stars, and other assortment of weapons I had on me. I’d had two weeks of the most grueling training in weaponry, and while I was now comfortable with the basics, I still didn’t feel nearly prepared to take on a demon alone.
All the weapons had been blessed, as silver wouldn’t slow him down, but silver doused in holy water, prayers, and White Magic would. All I had to do was distract him long enough to stab him, then Angela and Yasmine would do their magic. They’d been preparing relentlessly for the ritual, and it’d taken a lot out of Angela at first because she wasn’t accustomed to using so much of her White Magic, but she grew stronger. Or rather, as strong as we could hope for, seeing as we were about to initiate Operation Demon Catcher.
I tried ignoring the hammering of my heart as I strapped up. “I understand you can’t help me if he drags me to hell or wherever he takes his victims,” I said with more bravado than I felt. “But I guess that’s a risk I have to take.”
Harris squeezed my shoulder and tapped her ear. “We’ll be listening to you the entire time. Just try not to make it obvious you’re wired.”
I rolled my eyes. “As you’ve reminded me for the umpteenth time.”
She gave me what was probably meant to be an encouraging smile but came out as a grimace and walked away. The others took turns hugging me, and when Hector came up, I damn near lost my will to follow through with this.
We stared at each other, lost for words. How did you tell someone everything you felt when it may very well be the last time you’d ever see him?
When I couldn’t stand the tension any longer, I said, “Oh, to hell with it,” and wrapped my arms around him and kissed him.
Astonished gasps went up around us, but all I was focused on was the taste of Hector and the feeling of absolute love wrapping around me.
When I released him, we were both breathless. I looked around at the surprised and stern faces around us and shrugged. “Hey, you only live once,” I said flippantly, hoping that would deter them from reading any more into it, then turned and strolled away.
The plan was simple enough - I’d walk out into the courtyard alone and call to Damien. Yasmine and her comrades had already set up the perimeter with a Circle of Safety and a Cage of Light to keep him contained once he showed. That is, if he didn’t sense it beforehand.
My stomach flipped with nerves as I came to a stop in the middle of the lantern-lit courtyard. It would have been a romantic spot, with its rosehedges and cobblestone pathways, had it not been about to be the location for a bloodbath.
“Ready when you are,” Agent Harris said in my ear.
I knew Hector was listening. That thought alone gave me the strength to do this.
I love you, Hector.
Not giving myself time to chicken out, I inhaled a deep breath and called, “Damien! You want me, come and get me!”
Nothing happened for several long seconds. The student body had been cleared out by security, locked down in their dorms until the show was over, so the courtyard and the empty surrounding countryside was silent.
I heard it first in the hedges, a rustling of leaves, followed by a chilly draft laced with rose perfume and the telltale scent of sulfur.
I knew he was behind me without having to look. “Took you long enough,” I said, starting to turn. “For a moment, I didn’t think you had the balls to-”
I stopped dead. “Mia? What are you doing here?”
Angela’s creepy hybrid roommate gazed back at me with her overly large, unblinking eyes. I’d only met her once, but that had been more than enough. That whole thing about faeries looking like Tinkerbell was a load of crap, not unless she had pale white skin, vines for clothes, and teeth like a piranha.
“I’m looking for Angela,” she said in her eerie, reed-like voice. “Have you seen her?”
I hesitated, caught off guard. “I… think she went for a walk.”
Mia cocked her head to the side, looking like a hawk eyeing its prey. “A walk?”
I nodded carefully. “Yes. A walk.”
Mia licked her lips, her black tongue moving in a tantalizingly slow motion. “You’re such a liar, Sally,” came Damien’s voice through her. “Demons can smell lies like perfume.” He smiled. “It makes your nervousness taste even sweeter.”
I had just enough time to draw breath, Agent Harris shouting commands in my ear to the people around her, as Mia shape-shifted into Damien and stalked forward. For a split second, my limbs were paralyzed by fear. Then Hector screamed my name, and I snapped out of my stupor. Reaching at my belt, I pulled the enchanted knife and plunged it into the earth. A pentagram of light lit up around us, blasting a wall of pure white energy all the way up to the sky.
Damien drew up short, his face taking on his more demonic qualities as he snarled at the magic. About the same time, I twisted the knife, activating the containment spell. The crystal dome of light went over us in an instant, trapping Damien in a second circle surrounding the pentagram.
Shouts rang up from the distance as my teammates closed in. I saw Yasmine and Angela running toward us, led by Hector, his eyes glued to mine.
I couldn’t take my gaze away from him. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have been distracted when Damien laughed and stepped inside my Circle of Safety.
I saw Hector’s mouth move, calling my name, but only after Damien’s arms had seized me did I realize the horrible truth of what was happening.
The spell had backfired. That, or it had had no effect to begin with. Lightning bolts of White Magic electrocuted Damien, but he only twitched, like it merely tickled. He pulled the knife from the ground and held it to my throat, tucking me in to him. “Did you think you could trick me?” he said. “I am as old as time. And I’ve never lost a soul once I’ve marked them.”
Horror made my blood turn to ice. The air crystalized around us as frost formed on the ground, radiating out from Damien in large gales that ripped through the courtyard and threatened to level everything around us.
I’ll never forget the look of terror on Hector’s face as he stared at us, nor Damien’s next words as he looked back at Hector.
“I win,” he said, smiling.
I felt the air suddenly turn scalding hot as shadows writhed around us. My eyes briefly met Hector’s, his arm outstretched as if to grab me, so damnably close I could have touched him had he been about five feet closer.
Then the world was swallowed up by shadows, and I plummeted with Damien into darkness, the sound of Hector screaming my name echoing in the abyss as we fell.
Chapter 19
THE FIRST THING I realized when I woke up was that it was cold. Like, cold, cold, as in dropped-in-the-middle-of-a-frozen-lake kind of cold. And that’s about what I felt like - frozen. I couldn’t move because I’d lost sensation in my limbs, which were stiff anyway from lying there so long.
The second thing I became aware of was that my mouth was full of dirt. I was lying facedown on the frigid earth, with this creepy white mist floating just above the ground. It swirled with a life of its own, moved by a wind I didn’t feel. Then again, I couldn’t feel much of anything.
My ears were ringing, and my face tingled like mad, like I had a serious case of windburn. Eyes watering, I tried getting a bearing of my surroundings, but hell if I knew where I was.
All I saw were dark skies and a desolate wasteland of sharp rock formations and mist. It was the loneliest place I’d ever been.
Reaching up, I tapped my ear, finding my wire must have gotten fried during the descent. I was completely on my own, as Harris had warned.
Footsteps approached. I tried craning my neck around to see who it was, but even that small movement hurt too much.
Something picked me up by the hair, yanking me upward. I let out a cry and tried clawing at my assailant, but it was no use. My arms felt like limp noodles for all the good they did me.
“I told you I would get you one way or another, Sally,” a deep, rumbling voice said.
When the blur in front of me focused, I lost my breath to terror. Crimson eyes, long, sharp teeth, a sinewy body like a reptile’s, and enormous bat-like wings. The memory of what had just happened, of the failed Circle, came rushing back to my groggy brain. “Damien,” I hissed.
This must be his true form.
He chuckled and smiled. With his teeth, he looked like the Big Bad Wolf. All the better to eat you with, my dear…
“How do you like my home?” he said, gesturing to the wasteland behind him. “I’ve been redecorating, as you see. I can’t wait to add you, the centerpiece, to my collection.”
It took a moment to follow him, but boy, when I did, I wished I never had.
A tree stood before me, or at least, I thought it was a tree at first. It had the outline of one, with branches that clawed at the sky. That’s when I squinted and realized the branches weren’t really branches but arms and hands, stretched out as if the petrified people were seeking assistance from above and finding no mercy. Bodies were twisted around one another to form the trunk, all the same ashen color.
It was the tree from my dream.
“What did you do?” I whispered, horrified.
“Well, once you harvest the soul, you see, you have to do something with the shell.” He said this as matter-of-fact as if he’d been giving a science lesson.
“Where did their souls go?” I dared ask.
I wished I hadn’t. Me and my big mouth.
Damien trailed a talon along my chin. “I devour them. They become a part of me, sustaining me, as you soon will. But don’t worry. I will make it pleasurable.”
It dawned on me that’s why I’d felt like I was orgasming the last time he attempted to drain me of my soul, back in the bunker. I wanted to hurl, but I couldn’t seem to do that either.
“Why me? Are all your victims students?”
He laughed. “No, sweet Sally. I was at the school because I was trying to get closer to my charming father so I could at last get my revenge for him summoning me from my natural world and leaving me damned to walk both planes, belonging in neither, for all eternity. But now he’s a bit out of my reach. I could retrieve him, of course, but it wouldn’t be worth the headache. A lifetime of imprisonment for tying me to your pathetic human plane is punishment enough for me. As for my victims…” He trailed a claw down my arm, drawing a bloody rivulet. “Loneliness and desperation are my drugs. Every one of my victims had those qualities. The fact inhabiting their bodies granted me entrance past Elysian’s charms and wards was an added bonus.”
