“Do you know why the demon attacked me?”
“A good question.” Sucole smiled.
“Does it have an answer?”
“A stupid question.” Sucole snorted.
“You’re right. Obviously it has an answer. What I meant was, will you tell me why the demon attacked me?”
Sucole smiled and took another sip of tea.
Tarian took a deep breath. She summoned every ounce of patience she possessed. It felt like a game, but she didn’t know the rules.
“Why aren’t you talking to me like a normal person?”
“You look. You do not see.”
“I really don’t have time for these games.” Frustration drove Tarian to her feet. This was a stupid waste of time. This woman didn’t know anything and even if she did, she didn’t seem willing to talk. Tarian paced to the edge of the room before she realized she had no idea how to get out.
“You wander a blind woman.”
“That’s why I came here to get help. So I wouldn’t go in blind. But all I get from you is riddles.” She clasped her hands together. The urge to hit something nearly overwhelmed her.
“Life is a game.”
Giving in to the helplessness of the situation, Tarian sat back down on the floor and started a meditative pose. Ignoring Sucole, she focused instead on her breathing. In. Out. In. Out. With her eyes closed, she let her surroundings fade away as she focused. She found calm somehow in the repetitive nature of her breath. She’d need a lot of it to figure out exactly how to communicate with Sucole.
“That is better.” A voice whispered in her ear. She saw Sucole in her mind as the beautiful young woman. In the vision, the two stood in a grassy meadow. Sucole smiled and sat in the grass facing her. Tarian joined her on the ground. A cool breeze gently moved Sucole’s flowing blonde hair in a soft swirl around her face. Funny, the same breeze didn’t move Tarian’s ponytail at all. Then again, she would be the last one to describe her own hair as “gently flowing.” “Bushy mess” was the term she used most often.
“I thought you couldn’t do magic. Is this real?” Tarian looked around her.
“Magic is. Real is subjective. Can you see?” Sucole stretched out her hands.
Tarian took them both, and the two started to spin. The meadow leapt around them and soon it was a blur of color, blue up top for the sky, green below for the grass with dots of color that were flowers whipping by. The colors blended together, then Tarian watched as an image of herself formed in front of them. She stood outside the door to the cell where Mark Chester had been placed. She saw Alex walking away.
Then she moved closer to peer into the door and saw a red blur streaking around the room. Chester cowered on the floor, still incredibly drunk. The blur dodged this way and that, in and out, and as it went, chunks of Chester simply went missing. His mouth was open to scream, but no sound came out. She wondered if that happened in reality, or if this vision simply didn’t include sound. Flesh flew everywhere, until just the core of his body writhed on the ground. His stomach and intestines formed a grotesque trail across the floor of the prison. A giant hole gaped where his heart should have been. Empty eye sockets stared blankly out at her.
She felt like throwing up but forced calming breaths instead. The red blur stopped moving for the briefest moment, and she caught a glimpse of the lizard man from the alley. The demon. He spun around the room, faster and faster until there was some type of explosion that looked like it rocked the cell, shaking the door. Even here, Tarian could see the pulse of magic. Then it was gone, and the blur dissolved. The mist remained in the air, tainting everything it touched.
Exhausted, she dropped her hands and the vision ended. The calm meadow surrounded her, and Sucole sat opposite her once more.
“I see.” Tarian took several more deep breaths of the sweet air.
“You are not a child.”
“No. Not anymore.” She thought for a moment. The demon could easily have done that to her in that alley. Eaten chunks of her flesh until nothing was left. Torn her arms off, like that girl in the basement. But he hadn’t. Instead he’d stolen her blood and now siphoned her power. It made no sense. He was stronger, faster and filled with a power she didn’t understand. Why did he need her?
Whatever the reason, she had to stop him. Because his reason must mean something far worse than simply ending her life.
“I need the Book of Daemon to catch this guy. Do you know where it is?”
“A good question.” Sucole held Tarian’s gaze. She seemed anxious to say more. Why wouldn’t she just speak?
Her mother had called the woman “difficult.” This was more than difficult. It was impossible. Tarian was beginning to sense a pattern to the answers, though. Perhaps “a good question” meant “yes.”
“How do I get the Book of Daemon?”
Sucole sighed. Tarian couldn’t tell if it was from relief or anxiety or something else entirely. Sucole squeezed Tarian’s hands, then once more a vision filled her mind.
Tarian stood…somewhere. At first, the place was a void of white nothing. Then it slowly filled with grass, trees and a twilight sky. It felt familiar, though she’d never been here before that she could remember. Something pushed her from behind and she fell forward into the grass. It was warm, springy, and very real. She marveled at the detail in this vision as she stood up. Sucole had vanished, even as the trees appeared.
“Is this real?” Irrelevant question, really, but she asked it anyway. Her words drifted away on the air, unanswered.
In the distance, a dark shadow appeared, at first just a spec, then larger as it came near. For some reason, the shadow didn’t frighten her, though it should have. Somehow, this place felt safe. It was just a dream, anyway. Nothing to fear from dreams.
The shadow resolved itself into a tall, thin, dark-skinned man with deep black eyes. There was something enticing and seductive about him. It might have been the five o’clock shadow along his chiseled jawline, or his fit, slim waist, or maybe it was just the way he held himself. Relaxed, at ease, both feet planted as though he owned the ground he walked on. Confidence permeated everything about him from his hair down to the way he held his arms…one loose by his side, the other casually holding a book. Her heart raced. It was The Book of Daemon. It had to be. She stared at it, her mouth dry in anticipation.
The man’s lips turned up in a smile, and a gleam of triumph filled his eyes. He nodded, a slow movement that barely dipped his head and never moved his eyes.
“Scion.”
“Who are you?” She took a step back. His hungry eyes fastened on her.
“I have what you seek.”
“I see that.” But what did she have to do to get it? Her first thought was to fight for it, but somehow she knew that wouldn’t work. She couldn’t feel her magic. This place operated under rules she didn’t understand and couldn’t control. Her mother couldn’t have anticipated this. Marielle would never have let her come here, if she had.
The man raised an eyebrow. “Will you exchange?”
“Exchange what?”
“Join with me, and you may have the book.” The man held out his hand to her.
Chapter 26
The words tied her in knots. Join. He probably wasn’t asking her to join a softball team.
“Join as in…”
“Exchange energy. Life force.” Steffahn’s eyes smoldered as they drank her in.
Sex.
Steffahn’s lips twitched.
“You are a demon too?”
Steffahn frowned. “I am not. I am daemon.”
“I don’t understand the difference.”
“Daemon is the root of all power, the old blood, the old way. We are ancient, existing long before this world came to be and will exist long after its demise. Demons are not part of those things, though they pretend to be and have much power.”
“They aren’t part of the old blood? What old blood? What old way?”
“Such information is
in the book you seek, Scion.”
Something was going on here, something she struggled to understand but couldn’t. Pieces of the puzzle had been stolen. She had a feeling those pieces were vital to her well-being.
“The archivists? Which are they?”
“They are daemon. A noble race, prized for knowledge. Good allies. You have chosen your friends well. The question remains, Scion. Will you reach agreement with me?”
The man didn’t make a move while she thought it out. He stood there, the book in one hand and the other held palm up.
The book had the spell she needed. All she had to do was…she shuddered. Her stomach flip flopped, and her chest tightened. She’d stopped breathing. She gasped and forced air in. Sweat beaded along her forehead and dripped down her face. She ignored it.
Join.
Mate.
Sex.
No treasure is worth the price.
What, exactly, was the price? Sex with a daemon? He wanted her to sell her body for a book?
The man laughed, and the sound filled the air before fading away into the trees. "I am not seeking sex as you would define it, Scion. I am seeking a joining. It is a commingling of magic energy. It is how daemon recharge and revitalize themselves. I think you'll find it does the same for you. I sense you are in desperate need of an influx of energy.”
“If I…join with you, will I end up like Sucole?”
The man lowered his hand. “You will not. I offer a simple exchange. The book, for one joining with you. You will leave here with that which you seek.”
“And what about you? What do you seek?” She watched his face for any sign of dishonesty. His gaze never left hers.
“I seek only to join with you.”
“Why?”
He spread his hand out in the universal gesture of “it should be obvious.”
Of course, she supposed it was. He got the chance to be a Potential, to join with the Scion during the Succession Ritual. If that sort of energy commingling, as he called it, even counted.
Was this real, or was it a dream? Would it be such a bad thing to give in to a man in dreams so that she could get the one thing she needed to solve this mess? It might be, if this man were a demon in disguise. For all she knew, he could be the demon she fought.
“Who are you? How do I know this isn’t a trick? How do I know you aren’t the one I’m trying to fight, in disguise?”
The man’s expression changed to one of complete disgust. He wrinkled his nose as if something smelly had just passed under it. “The one you fight is an aberration who shouldn’t have been allowed to exist. His very presence causes great pain to all around him, a drain on life forces. My blood is ancient and far greater than something like him.”
“Ancient? I feel no magic from you.”
“In this place, Scion, we are protected. In this place, such as he may not enter. In this place, magic is not sequestered. It surrounds and binds. Lives and breathes. It does not belong to one or the other. All are equal, here.”
She realized for the first time that she felt no pull at all from the demon. An unexpected bonus, granted in an unexpected place. If only she could wrap the magic of this place around her and take it with her.
“The Between can’t be moved, Scion. We stand between your plane and mine, protected from magic on both sides. Signals are muted. Here, we are able to join. It would not be possible, otherwise. I may not cross the Between to your plane. I offer this information freely, so that you may enter into agreement with me.”
This all explained why she couldn’t just track Sucole. How she’d managed to travel here remained a mystery. She wasn’t sure she could repeat the journey, even if she wanted to. This was a one-time shot at the prize, so to speak. This man, this daemon, held the thing she needed to solve her problem, and he demanded payment for it. She’d never get this book any other way.
She studied him as she worked it through in her head, wondering how the hell she’d go through with it. Sex with a complete stranger. Someone she held no feelings for at all, the consequences of which she didn’t come close to understanding. The feeling that she was being tricked was so strong she could taste it. But she needed that book.
“You are worried. I see images in your thoughts. Scion, joining for my kind is not the same as it is for yours. We shall exchange life force, not body parts.”
"So you're saying it's not sex. If it's not sex, what exactly is it?"
"If you agree, you’ll experience it yourself. Both parties are left with more than they give away. Energy is strengthened, power infused. I sense a surge of energy is something you could use in your current struggles. I cannot remove the tracking the demon placed on you, as it is bound to your blood and can only be removed by the issuer or by his death, but I can offer the means for you to fight it a bit longer.”
Hope rushed through her. If she did this, she'd have the book she needed, plus enough power to defeat the demon. And it wasn't sex.
She thought of Daric. How pissed off he must be right now. She’d disappeared right in front of him, with no way for him to follow. Was he waiting on that beach? What would his reaction be if she made this deal? He was a Potential himself. He knew the rules, and he knew what was at stake. Still, she was sure he hadn’t envisioned this scenario when he’d suggested she speed up the timing of the ritual.
Don’t go it alone, right chica?
She didn't have a choice. She stood here alone, forced to a decision, without backup. Even if she had it, what would they say?
Could she trust that this man in front of her told the truth? She’d leave here, intact, with the book? She wouldn’t end up like Sucole? Why had Sucole become so twisted in the first place?
“She had no agreement.” The man smiled.
A chill ran up her spine at his words. He could read her thoughts. Well, why not? This was a dream, after all. Of sorts.
“And we do?”
“We will.”
Why did this feel like a deal with the devil? Maybe it was.
“Such a creature does not exist.”
“You sure about that? I don’t know you, I don’t know who or what you are or where you came from, and yet you’re asking me to trust you with everything I am in the hopes that you follow through on our little agreement.”
“If you agree, Sucole will witness and ensure both sides are met. She will see your safe passage from this place. Agreements are binding for both sides. Consequences for breaking one for such as I are severe. You need not fear. I do not enter into agreements I intend to break.” His words rang through the air around them. She felt the truth of them somehow. She also felt there were layers of hidden meanings that would take her a long time to decipher.
“Neither do I.”
Tarian studied him. His dark eyes consumed her. His confidence and surety overwhelmed her. Yet something else in his eyes grabbed her attention. Maybe it was the twist of his lips, or the tilt of his eyebrows or maybe the way he held his shoulders. She sensed…determination. He wanted this agreement as much as she wanted that book. But why? Was it a trick? A trap? Something more than that? Could she afford to figure it out?
“How do I know I can trust Sucole?”
He shrugged. “The choice is yours, Scion. I have that which you seek. You will not be forced to deal. All parties must enter by choice, not by coercion.”
His voice held the ring of truth. His body language showed sincerity. It seemed so simple. A few minutes with this man, and she’d have the book she needed.
No treasure is worth the price.
The archivists didn’t know the full stakes. The treasure was more than just the book. It was her own magic, her talent, the very core of her being, which was slowly drifting away into the hands of that demon. It was the Dolphin Throne, which protected her family. It was her sister, who would be left vulnerable if Tarian failed. It was her mother, who belonged to the throne in every way and was the heart of their Society and way of life. It was the House of Xannon
, which would crumble without her family there to protect it.
Some things were worth the price.
The man smiled. He gestured, and Sucole was standing beside him. She took the book, a stare of longing in her eyes as her hand lovingly caressed the cover. She glanced at Tarian.
“Do you see?”
“If by that you mean do I agree…” Tarian swallowed. She had to say the words. “Yes, I agree. I will join with this man before me one time, in exchange for safe passage from this place and possession of the Book of Daemon.”
Sucole turned to the daemon man. “Do you see?”
“I agree to the stated stipulations.”
Sucole blinked. The book in her hands glowed, then vanished. In the next moment, Sucole was gone too.
Tarian took a deep breath and held it. How was she going to do this? She had to. She needed the book, but more than that she’d agreed. He’d mentioned consequences for himself if he didn’t keep the agreement. They had to extend to her as well. Whatever they were. She let out her breath in one long sigh, in an effort to relax.
The man held out both hands to her. She couldn’t seem to make her feet move. In the next moment, he stood in front of her, although she hadn’t seen him step forward. She could feel his breath on her face. It smelled of fresh, mountain air. The kind generated by the movement of cool breezes through pine trees, drenched with sun.
He took her hands. “You fear. There is no need.”
“Easy for you to say.” She took another deep breath and realized she’d been doing that a lot. It didn’t help. Her nerves vibrated. No amount of yoga or meditation was going to calm them now. “Can you at least tell me your name?”
“You should have stipulated that as part of the agreement.” His smile depended, bringing life to his eyes. His thumbs caressed her hands, a soft movement that did little to relax her.
“Really? It’s going to be like that?” Her hands tensed around his fingers.
“I merely instruct for the future. I suspect, before long, you’ll need more knowledge of agreements.”
She frowned at him. Now he lectured as though she were a child? Who the hell did he think he was anyway?
Demons & Djinn: Nine Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Novels Featuring Demons, Djinn, and other Bad Boys of the Underworld Page 130
