Red Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  Why isn’t the Princess moving to defend herself? I asked my wolf. She needs to start fighting back. Get off that gurney and slap Lili silly or do something. Why is she letting this happen?

  There was something bigger happening here that I didn’t understand.

  “You cannot kill the Princess of Hell,” the Prince scoffed. “She is a true demon and can regenerate from any injuries you inflict.”

  “Possibly.” Lili shrugged. “If she hadn’t sworn me a promise. Spelled in blood. The very same promise that is attached to this nfeby.” She shook the knife. “Once I pierce her heart she will be gone forever. She will not regenerate. So if you want your bride to remain alive, I suggest you stop moving.”

  “You speak lies!” the Prince roared as he shot his magic outward. It flowed ahead of him like a gust of hot wind, causing waves to ripple in the air. All the demons in the audience visibly cringed, and some of them ducked. “You are not stronger than I!”

  Lili raised her hand in answer, and redirected his flux of power with only a few words. The energy arced around her and raced to the side, smashing into the nearest column, exploding it and sending pieces flying everywhere.

  With that, the crowd jumped out of its seats, alarmed and bewildered by the sudden change in direction. Seeing their current leader opposed to Lili, even though she had told them what the Scriptures said, and their beloved Princess at risk of death, rocked the arena and sent it into chaos just as Rourke had predicted. This time the audience wasn’t filled with minions who blindly followed the rules of She’ol, it was full of all demons, from everywhere in the Underworld. Now every demon in this room knew something had gone wrong.

  Terribly wrong.

  Rourke eyed the Prince, who was almost down to the floor. Tyler and Ray stood behind him. They would all follow soon.

  Lili lifted her knife higher when the Prince did not slow his pace. “Say goodbye to your beloved.” Lili lowered the knife, and right before she plunged it into her chest, the Princess’s arm snapped out, her hand stilling Lili’s wrist.

  That was enough of a cue for me to intervene, and I was closer to her than the Prince.

  My wolf snapped the spell on our chains and I leaped forward to aid the Princess. Lili was muttering under her breath, but just before I could reach them, she plunged the knife deeply into the Princess’s heart.

  I watched in horror as the demoness’s body arched and she uttered one long, hollow scream. She thrashed for a moment, then went totally still.

  The Prince landed at the bottom at the same time I swung my leg around, connecting with Lili’s back with enough force to send her hurtling over the gurneys. She crashed onto the floor of the circle.

  Pandemonium in the arena continued. Demons raced everywhere, shouting about their Princess while they tried to escape. The Prince rushed to his bride’s side, picking her up and cradling her in his arms as I squared off against Lili. Demons swarmed the aisles all around us as my angry mate barreled down the stairs trying to reach me.

  Lili hissed at me as we rounded on each other. “I will use your heart to revive her and I will be hailed a savior!” she declared. “Nothing is going to stop me. I will be Queen one way or another.”

  “Wrong,” I retorted, crouching low, my claws at the ready. “I think your new plan may need a few more thousand years to marinate, because no one is going to herald you as anything other than a cheat and a liar after what they just witnessed. You just ruined every chance you may have had in Hell by killing their beloved Princess, and you’ve sealed your fate as a traitor. They might have bought the whole ‘the Princess lives on in my clone’ idea for a while if your plan had worked, but never now.”

  She maneuvered around me, edging around the outside of the circle, her back to the fleeing audience. The demons were making a rapid exit away from us, no one wanting to come in contact with their furious Prince. From the little I’d seen, he ruled his realm with little warmth and lots of pain. None of these demons wanted to see the inside of a mending room.

  I spied something out of the corner of my eye, and then, almost like they had mystically appeared, a ring of spell caster demons dressed in shimmering robes were standing behind Lili.

  “Meet my family.” She grinned as she spread her arms. “Lilith was my mother, the most powerful witch on every plane, but my father was a spell caster demon. She chose very wisely. I’m ten times more powerful than even she was—or any Princess or Prince of Hell for that matter—and I was born to rule, not only the Underworld, but all supernaturals. The new reign was meant for me.”

  The spell caster demons closed their eyes, and before I could do anything a thick wave of blackness engulfed me. I dropped to my knees, my eyes sliding shut. What’s going on? I asked my wolf. She was howling, but I couldn’t see her. Whatever the spell caster demons had thrown at me was different from any other demon magic I’d taken in before. A blankness invaded every part of me, wiping out everything in its path. The spell had evaded my protective magic shield and my demon essence like they hadn’t even been there.

  Lili laughed as I fell. “You cannot best our power, especially since it has been tailor-made for you—”

  “Sorry to interrupt the party, but you know, I do love my galas,” Selene snickered, and a moment later I heard Lili gasp. As the two of them struggled, the blackness inside my head hung like a drape in front of my eyes. “And you were doing so well up until the end, Lili. I was rooting for you, I really was.” Whatever Selene was doing, she must be winning, because the darkness eased slightly.

  There was a loud gurgle and my eyes suddenly cleared to see Selene holding Lili by the throat on the ground.

  Selene leaned in close, her eyes sparking with violence. “I don’t care how strong you think you are,” she snarled. “You pale in comparison to my former glory. You should’ve practiced your spells like a good little witch rather than depended on your false glory. I had both glory and power before it was stripped from me—by you!” Lili’s eyes rolled back in her head. Selene had managed to spell her with the little magic she had left. “You are no goddess, so you don’t get to act like one.”

  With Lili down, the demon spell casters seemed to snap out of their trance, but before they could transfer their attack from me to Selene, Rourke barreled into them from behind, sending most of them flying. A second later Ray landed in front of them, his fists swinging.

  These demons may have been able to cast spells, but they were no fighters.

  Once the spell caster demons had been all taken care of, the remnants of spell inside me snapped completely. I was relieved to see my magic intact. It seemed the spell had been able to cloak my own magic from me. Lili said the spell had been made especially for me. I’m fairly certain it had our signature attached, I told my wolf. It had fooled our body into thinking we didn’t want to access our magic. She snarled and nodded. She’d been unable to react or grab our magic either.

  I rose and took in what was happening around me. Tyler had come up from behind Rourke and was helping to eradicate the last few stray demons, making sure no one came too close. There weren’t too many demons left in the entire arena. The demonesses had also left. I would’ve thought they’d stick around, but seeing their Princess die must’ve been too much.

  Rourke and Ray were busy tossing the out-cold spell casters behind the benches. I turned to Selene, who still had a firm hold on Lili, who was curled in a fetal position on the ground.

  “How are you keeping her down?” I asked, amazed. “You have very little magic left.” I strode toward them. “She should be stronger than you are, so I don’t get it. Not that I’m arguing, mind you, but it doesn’t make sense.”

  “It’s true,” Selene replied. “She has more strength and power than me, and I have very little magic left, but psyche spells have always been my greatest masterpiece. And they happen to take very little concentrated magic. My spell has infiltrated her mind and she believes she is dying a very horrid death. But she will eventually break
—” Lili’s fist shot out and connected with Selene’s jaw, efficiently breaking the spell.

  Selene staggered backward, her arms cartwheeling, before collapsing against the edge of the circle.

  “You interfering bitch,” Lili said as she stood, her eyes wild. “You think you’re a very clever, don’t you?” She addressed Selene. “But you’re nothing! I stripped you of your power in under one day and gave it to your clone, whom I then sacrificed with pleasure. You want to know where your power and magic went? It went into me.” She grinned, pointing to herself. “That’s right, when I killed your clone all the residual magic gathered in the clone’s heart, as it’s supposed to, which I consumed as I spelled you all. After that, you only saw what I projected. You will never regain what you’ve lost, and it only proves you were never strong enough to keep it.” Lili lifted her palm and her magic shot Selene squarely in the chest. Selene flew backward out of the circle like a sack of flour, but her progress was halted before she hit the ground by a very familiar, very welcome face.

  I almost cheered out loud.

  Danny held Selene in his arms like she weighed nothing. He gaped down at her, and when he tilted his head back up, surprise laced his features. “So what has happened here, then? Shall I toss her away like trash or set her down gently?” His eyebrows shot up as he glanced around the group. “Since we’ve just now arrived, I’m not gathering a clear understanding of what’s gone on, but it looks a bit… complicated.”

  One pissed-off Vampire Queen stood right behind him, her arms crossed, pale hair perfectly coiffed, and a perplexed expression on her delicate features.

  “Complicated is a good way to describe it,” I answered. “Just set her down behind you. She’s not going to die.” I had no idea how Tally had gotten them here, but I was ecstatic. The timing couldn’t have been better.

  “It figures we would appear right in the middle of complete and utter madness,” Eudoxia complained. “Which I have no doubt was brought on by you.” Her eyes were accusing. The Vamp Queen had never shied away from telling me she didn’t like the way I did things, and she wasn’t going to begin now.

  I didn’t have time to respond, because Lili was on me before I could turn my head.

  We rolled on the ground as second before her hand dug sharply into my chest, her nails like daggers. “Ow! You don’t get… to have my heart,” I sputtered as she started to chant a spell. The pain was intense. I turned my head to shout, “She’s going to—”

  Rourke’s fist connected with her face. It effectively cut her off her words, but she hadn’t loosened her grip on me. Instead, she regenerated—as fast as I’ve ever seen a supe heal—and we continued to roll, amid shouting.

  “You’re not going to win this,” I raged, knocking her against the edge of the stone circle, banging her head against it. “Your interpretation of the new reign… was the wrong one.”

  Her eyes were crazed as she plunged her hand farther into my abdomen, radiating her power outward. My wolf howled and I gasped. The pain was searing—like nothing I’d ever experienced before. But no sooner had she’d done it, than her hand faltered, and she withdrew it.

  My body convulsed in pain as I healed the wound as quickly as I could.

  I glanced up to see a seething Vampire Queen, her own hand deep in Lili’s body from behind. “Lili, it’s so nice to see you again.” Eudoxia’s lips curled into a tight smile, pursed in concentration. “It appears I landed on this cursed plane just in the nick of time. I heard someone say something about a heart? I think yours will do nicely.”

  Lili squirmed, screaming, “Get off me, this is not your battle, vampire!” Lili’s grip on my shoulder loosened as one of the Queen’s fae spells shot forward. It traveled through Lili, and into me, tasting like crab apple.

  But Lili repelled it quickly with a burst of her own concentrated power and Eudoxia was knocked backward.

  My wound had already healed, but I knew Lili would be back at it for another try. She wanted my heart and she wasn’t going to stop until she got it. My jumpsuit was in tatters and I was covered in blood, but I managed to wrap one leg around Lili’s torso. With my strength back, and in my full Lycan form, I whipped her over, effectively pinning her to the ground.

  Rourke, Tyler, Ray, and Danny all hovered around us in a circle, waiting for a chance to take her out. But it wasn’t going to be that easy. Lili was strong and determined. I slid my hand up around her neck and gritted my teeth as I gave it a tight squeeze. “I will find a way to get rid of you, Lili. Just give me a few minutes to figure out your weaknesses.”

  Lili began to laugh. A high-pitched chortle. Not the response I’d been hoping for. “I have no weakness! I’ve told you that all along. I take what I want, and I get it. This is far from over, wolf.” Her hand shot to my side as she uttered a spell, and as she said the words they echoed behind her.

  The spell caster demons had recovered. My mind shot to darkness in the next instant, but this time my head felt like it was going to explode. It wasn’t the same spell, but it had also been keyed to my signature. There was no way to fight against it. I heard the guys shouting and running as my wolf did her best to fight against the void, but our magic wouldn’t respond. My hold on Lili dropped, and she rolled me over, settling herself over me triumphantly.

  There were crashing sounds all around as Lili’s victorious laugh rang out into the air. “It’s too late, you can’t save her.”

  Her voice cut off abruptly as she was tossed off of me. Rourke took me in his arms, his voice reedy. “Jessica, I need you to wake up. Right now.” His hands fell against my hair, his lips next to my ear. “Come on. You can do this. We took those assholes down again and this time we made sure they won’t wake up.”

  I heard him, but I couldn’t respond out loud. Rourke, I managed internally. I need more… magic. These guys have my signature… the spell is coded to me.

  I can barely hear you, he replied frantically. Jessica, what’s going on? We took them down again. Why aren’t you waking up? He leaned over me, his anxiety coursing through my veins. What do I have to do to wake you up?

  What I needed was more raw magic, something to change my signature. Need… magic.

  Power rushed in from Rourke, but power wasn’t the problem when I couldn’t access my own magic. I’m giving you power! Rourke’s voice was on edge. Why isn’t it helping?

  Need… new magic, I told him.

  What I needed was the Prince of Hell.

  There were muffled shouts in the background. I grabbed Rourke’s shirt, and with everything I had, I whispered, “Get the Prince of Hell.”

  Rourke moved with me in his arms. “He’s busy trying to revive his bride. There’s no way he’s going to help us. We have to think of something else.”

  “Tell him I have a plan”—I gasped—“to save his bride.”

  “He heard you,” Rourke growled. “But he’s choosing not to respond.”

  Eudoxia’s voice was close. “Lili, you fight the same as you always have. Nothing has changed.” She was the one keeping Lili away from me.

  “And you’re just as weak as ever, Vampire Queen,” Lili retorted. “You have chosen the wrong side yet again, which isn’t really a surprise.”

  “No, it has always been you who has chosen unwisely,” Eudoxia answered. “If one never learns from one’s mistakes, one can never grow stronger. If it’s not a proverb, it should be. It’s been four hundred years since our paths last crossed, and it seems you are no smarter for it after all this time.”

  Eudoxia had likely come to the Underworld kicking and screaming, but now that she was here, I knew she would do her best to earn her blood reward. She needed my blood to ascend to godhood, something she desperately wanted. And I’d made a deal to give it to her if she helped us.

  I started to convulse, my body betraying me. I couldn’t see my wolf; all my magic was masked. I had nothing to fight this spell off with. Rourke roared, “Get over here, demon king!”

  I felt, as w
ell as heard, the Prince’s anger at his summons. “I will not kneel before the female wolf,” the Prince barked. “She is no concern of mine any longer. I hope she dies, and once you’re gone I will deal with Lili myself.”

  “Stop your damn posturing,” Ray’s voice shot out. “Didn’t you hear her the first time? If you want your bride to rise again, I suggest you listen to her. If Jessica has a plan, it will work. And maybe if you help, and stop being a stone-cold asshole, you might be able to get the Underworld back under some semblance of control.” I could almost picture Ray’s face as he finished with, “This place is a fucking madhouse. Too many clowns showed up to this rodeo, and if you don’t act soon, it’s going to all be over, and then you’ll be left with absolutely nothing.”

  The Vampire Queen struck Lili. I knew because the darkness wavered for a moment and I snapped my eyes open. It hadn’t been the spell caster demons spelling me this time, it had been Lili. She’d hit me with a spell while we’d been struggling.

  My eyes landed on the face of a very angry Prince of Hell, who was hovering over me. My mate tightened his hold around my waist as the Prince accused, “This is all because of you. The Scriptures were right. It doesn’t matter which ones were correct. Your birth has caused a ripple in my world—one that cannot be undone! You should die in agony for this.”

  I blinked a few times, forcing myself to answer. “None of this was mandated by me. Your precious Lili deceived us all. The power in the Underworld is shifting… whether you like it or not,” I gasped. “I can feel it and I know you can too. So the question is, will the power of the Underworld go to her?” I nodded toward Lili, who was struggling with the Eudoxia. “Or your Princess?”

  The Vampire Queen had almost lost her power to Valdov when she died for that brief moment—the power of the Sect chooses the most fit to rule—and right now the power of the Underworld was shifting, sensing a change, searching for the most powerful. If Lili succeeded in becoming the strongest supernatural on earth, the power would shift to her, but if I could change it and give that power to the Princess, there might be a way to stop it.