“All right girlie, don’t screw this up,” said Seraphine.
“I know what I’m doing.” She tried to convince herself again.
Chapter 24
Neeman sat and hit his head on something hard. His groggy state gave way as pain jolted him to the present. The sounds of fighting caught his attention.
Selene.
He rolled out from under the desk, trying to remember how he’d gotten there. What had happened rushed back to him and he made for the conference room. Sherman lay on the floor, barely alive. The window was shattered and one of the twins and Garon battled a demon.
“Help us,” the remaining twin yelled.
The demon rounded on Neeman. He recognized it from the description Seraphine had given him. The weakness lay on the right side of the demon’s torso, where his heart beat.
For Neeman, the kill would’ve been easy. He looked between Garon and the twin.
“No.”
Neeman bent and hefted Sherman over his shoulder and headed out of the room, ignoring the cursing by Garon and the Russian.
He carried Sherman to the elevator and set him on the floor inside when the door opened. Instead of going to the lobby, he headed up to the top floor.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Danika’s office. Chase’s old office is up there. It is lightproof and you can hide out there till we get this sorted out. There’s a stock of Savor in a fridge. Stay inside and I’ll send help when I can.”
Sherman nodded. His breathing labored.
Neeman eyed him. “Are you going to make it?”
“I need blood, but I’ve been through worse in the outbreak.”
The doors opened and Neeman helped Sherman to the office and set him down on the couch.
“Keep your phone on and I’ll call when I can.”
Sherman coughed and blood dribbled out of his mouth. “Go,” he said. “Find Selene.”
Neeman didn’t bother arguing. He ran to the elevator and headed down to the lobby. He pushed his hands through his hair and his muscles twitched with anticipation of a fight.
Seraphine had knocked him out. He’d been stupid to think it was really Selene in there. He had to find her. Who knew what kind of trouble she was in.
A tremor shook the building as the elevator reached the lobby. He ran out to find it a disaster. Two demons lay dead on the floor along with the receptionist. A huge hole had been blown through the front window of the building. Glass scattered the floor and the receptionist’s desk was on the wrong side of the lobby.
Outside his trackers fought alongside Maelstrom against a group of demons.
Neeman ran out to join them. There were half a dozen demons. Three of them he recognized as being fire resistant, and all were attacking Maelstrom at the same time. Neeman ran to the first, pulling his gun, and aiming for the demon’s back. He hit the demon in the spine and the creature fell to the ground, flopping its upper half. He grabbed the demon by the head, wrenching it around, breaking its neck.
Maelstrom grabbed the second demon and ripped its head off, spewing oily blood through the air. The third demon turned and ran the opposite direction. Neeman aimed and caught the creature in the leg. Maelstrom flew to the demon and finished him off.
To his right, Riley and Stephos fought a slasher demon.
“He has to be stabbed in the head!” Neeman yelled.
Riley jumped on the demon, knocking him to the ground as Stephos pulled his knife and stabbed the beast in the temple.
The final demon had one of the trackers on the ground and was feasting on his blood. Neeman ran at the demon, unloading his entire clip into it. The demon stumbled and fell to his knees. Neeman jumped on him, knocking the monster onto its back. Row upon row of razor sharp teeth snapped at Neeman. He wrapped his hands around the beast throat and strained to crush it. The creature clawed at Neeman’s arms but he took no notice. After a minute, the demon stopped moving and Neeman stumbled to his feet. Blood dripped from his arms in long rivulets.
His ears rang from the gunfire and he looked around, winded. All of the demons were dead. Their bodies lay strewn on the ground.
Maelstrom paced in a circle and roared, making the hair stick up on Neeman’s neck.
Riley and Stephos met him as he walked toward Maelstrom.
“The others are dead,” said Riley.
Neeman nodded. “Go up to the conference room and see if there’s anyone still alive. If there is, arrest them and bring them down. No matter who they are.”
The two headed into the building. Maelstrom rose into the air and then landed again, making the ground shake.
Neeman blew out a huge breath and picked up his gun, releasing the clip and shoving a full one in. He loaded the chamber and stuck the gun in his waistband.
Maelstrom’s gaze landed on Neeman and he pointed. “You. Where is Danika?”
“I don’t know,” Neeman replied.
Maelstrom roared again and then stared at Neeman. “You know Seraphine.”
“Yes.”
“Seraphine took Danika.”
A chill ran through Neeman. “I’m sure they’re fine. Seraphine will protect her.”
Maelstrom’s facial bones shifted into human form. He shrunk in size and his huge black wings folded and melded into Mason’s back. His skin lightened and his horns retracted. Mason stumbled to Neeman.
“Seraphine better protect her. Or I’ll kill her with my bare hands.”
Neeman ground his teeth together, biting back his desire to threaten Mason for saying the words. But he knew better than to engage Mason when he was still so angry.
“Do you have any idea where they might have gone?”
Mason nodded. “Yeah. I think I do.”
* * * *
Selene walked down the hall to the door of her old apartment. She tried to keep her jitters at bay, but it wasn’t easy. Silence permeated the air. All of the other apartments in the luxury building were now empty. Her bare feet slid over the plush loopy weave of the carpet. Only half the sconces on the walls were still lit.
She stopped at her door and lay her hand on the knob. “Recludo.”
The door swung inward with a click.
“Why can you do that and Mason can’t?” asked Danika.
Selene shrugged. “He can, he just doesn’t. He’s always been more afraid of our kind looking for us than I have.” She paused and looked at Danika. “Until now that is.”
Selene stepped inside and turned on the light. Everything was just as she’d left it. She peered inside for Lorcan, but didn’t see him.
“Come on,” she said. “You need something to wear besides that suit. It can’t be comfortable.”
Danika looked around.
“My mother and I used to live here.” She walked into her room and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and tossed them to Danika.
Danika held them at arm’s length. “I haven’t worn jeans in close to thirty years.”
Selene took the clothes and pointed out the door. “My mom’s room is down the hall. You might like her style better.”
“Do you have a phone so we can call Neeman?”
“No,” Selene lied. Selene stripped off her black dress and hose and tugged on the jeans and t-shirt.
Danika crossed to her and gave Selene a tight smile. “Thank you for helping me and getting me to safety.”
“No problem. Maybe I can get some goodwill out of it.”
“From Neeman?”
“From me.”
Danika spun around at the sound of the male voice and sucked in a breath.
“Hello, Selene. You did well.” Lorcan looked her up and down.
Selene tried to keep her composure. She pulled on the t-shirt and headed to the closet for some shoes.
“You didn’t think I’d do it though. I ran into a few of your lackeys at the office.”
He shrugged. “Sorry. Didn’t think you had
it in you. Did any of them make it?”
“Not that I saw.”
“What going on?” asked Danika.
Lorcan’s brows knit together. “What? Selene didn’t tell you?”
Selene sat on the bed and slipped on her flats.
Danika whipped around to Selene. “Tell me what?”
“Why she’s here,” replied Lorcan. “We let her come back to Earth to get you.”
“Me?” Danika stepped back so she could see them both. “What do you want with me?”
“Nothing actually,” said Lorcan. “It’s Maelstrom we want. You are just a means to getting him.”
Danika turned her fiery gaze on Selene.
Selene swallowed hard and looked away.
“Keep cool. Give nothing away.”
“Maelstrom’s too powerful to be left on this plane,” continued Lorcan. “We’d assumed he’d gone back with the others when the rifts were closed, but then a tear appeared in the fabric of our world. A tear he caused when he used his fae magick to unbind the building concealing the blood den your uncle Chase built.”
“How did you know that?” asked Danika.
Lorcan shrugged. “Because I’m the one who created the spell.”
“That’s not possible,” said Selene. “You were in the fae realm when that happened.”
Lorcan laughed. “Oh, Selene. I’ve always been able to travel between the planes. I’ve done it for centuries. Who do you think were the ones who helped the humans in the first war against the demons? And all the advances in medicine in this realm, do you really think humans discovered those? Don’t be silly.”
“What do you plan to do with me?” Danika asked.
“Take you to my realm and keep you there till Maelstrom follows. Once he’s there we can capture him and contain him. Seal the rift between this world and mine, thereby keeping my realm safe.”
“And what about this world?” asked Danika. “You’re going to just let it be destroyed by demons?”
“It is inevitable,” said Lorcan. “The rift has been opened to the demon world and with no one to close it, more and more demons will pour in and consume the planet, sad as it is from what you Vampires have done to it.”
“Us?”
“Of course you. If you’d kept your mouths shut none of this would’ve happened. But no, you had to try to come out of the darkness into the light, thereby assuring the destruction of this world. For highly intelligent creatures, you Vampires really are very stupid.” He held up his hands. “But it’s no matter to me anymore. Now I simply worry about the end of my race. And the only way to make certain that doesn’t happen is taking the one demon who is capable of reopening the rift to my world and trapping him where I can keep an eye on him.”
Danika looked at Selene. “How can you let him do this? To your own brother? We trusted you.”
“Oh, don’t be too hard on Selene. She’s never been one of strong will. She, like all demons, has a weakness. And once you find it, it isn’t too hard to get her to do what you want her to.” He patted Selene on the shoulder. “For Selene, it was Neeman. Isn’t that right?”
Danika looked between them.
“It’s true,” she said. “Lorcan threatened to take Neeman to the fae realm and torture him if I didn’t bring you here. Just like he used to do to me.”
“Then what do you think he’s going to do to Mason?”
“The same thing.” Selene stood and moved in front of Danika. “Which is why he’s going home without you.”
Lorcan turned his gaze on her. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Selene said. “You’re going to leave this plane and go back to the fae realm without Danika and without Mason.”
He laughed. “And what makes you think I am going to do that?”
“Because you promised.”
His brow furrowed. “I did no such thing.”
“Oh, but you did. You gave me your word that if I brought her here, you’d leave for the fae realm and no harm would come to us now, or in the future.”
His eyes narrowed and his body tensed. She knew the wheels were working in his head, searching for a loophole, a way out.
“Let me help you,” she said. “Would you like me to open a door?”
She centered her energy. Together, she and Seraphine reached into the fabric of the world. She saw beyond the wall, beyond the building, beyond Chicago. She saw the world, the material it was made from and everything in between. She pressed her palm to the wall and a shimmering crack appeared. It grew wider and wider. The draw on her magick was like a physical pull on her body, sucking her close to unconsciousness.
“How…” Lorcan’s voice faltered.
She removed her hand and opened her eyes. “You’ve always underestimated me. All those years of torture, you thought you’d beaten my demon into submission. You didn’t. You made us stronger. And then you sent us here, where instead of tearing us apart, you brought us closer to working in unison than we ever had in the past. All this time you’ve been afraid of Mason and what he might do, but what you didn’t count on was me. I’m the one you have to worry about. Because I’m the one who wants you dead.”
The anger that emanated from him made his limbs shake.
“We can’t hold it much longer,” said Seraphine.
Her legs wobbled from the pull on her magick. She was running out of time. A large bang on the outer door made her jump.
“Selene! Danika!” It was Mason.
“You should go before my brother breaks that door down,” said Selene. “I won’t hold this thing open much longer and I don’t suppose you’re able to create a portal quite as quickly as I am.”
Mason banged on the door again.
Lorcan looked toward the outer door. When he turned back, lightning flashed through his eyes. The outer door shook as someone rammed into it from the hallway.
“I will not forget this betrayal, Selene. You have disgraced your mother. She will pay for your treachery. Think about that as you languish here in this plane of debauchery.”
“My mother abandoned me the moment we stepped into the fae realm. I’m just following her example.”
The outer door cracked under Mason’s weight. Lorcan moved to Selene and leaned in close.
“I will never give up trying to make you who you should be. Nothing I have done was to harm you, but make you better. To separate you from your evil half and make you mine.”
A white-hot pain seared through her belly and Seraphine screamed.
The outer door burst open with a crack. Selene fell to her knees, just as Lorcan stepped through the closing portal and disappeared. She tried to suck in a breath but the familiar agony in her stomach made it hard. She looked down to find the black handle of Lorcan’s demon stick protruding from her belly.
Her head rang with Seraphine’s screams. She tried to grab the stick to remove it, but it burned her palms and she was unable.
Danika rushed to her side and grabbed the stick, yanking it from Selene’s belly and tossing it away. Selene shuddered as blood poured from her wound. Danika laid her gently on her back.
“Mason!” she cried. “Mason, help!” Danika pressed her palms over the wound.
Selene’s vision dimmed. Inwardly she searched for Seraphine, who had curled into a ball, barely moving.
“Seraphine?” Selene called. “Stay with me.”
Mason and Neeman ran into the room.
“She’s been stabbed with that stick,” said Danika. “What do we do?”
Mason picked up the stick and dropped it immediately. “Demon stick.” He knelt by Selene’s side and picked up her head. “Selene, can you hear me?”
She blinked and metallic-tasting blood gurgled in her throat. “Seraphine… She’s dying.”
Neeman joined the group. “What do we do? What happens if her other half dies?”
“I don’t know,” said Mason.
“Maybe we sh
ould let it,” said Danika.
“No,” said Selene. “We have to save her. She’s part of me. She is me. If she goes, I go.”
Never before had Selene felt so much compassion for that side of herself, but it finally dawned on her. Seraphine was the one who’d kept her alive. Seraphine was her strength, her protector. She needed Seraphine. Without her, what was she? Who was she?
“Give her blood,” said Danika.
Selene shook her head. She’d never fed on blood before. Just the thought of it made her cringe.
“It strengthened you, Mason. Maybe it will help Seraphine.” Danika stared at the group. “She can have mine. She saved my life more than once tonight.”
“No,” said Neeman. He locked eyes with Selene. “It should be me.”
She knew what this would mean. If she drank from him, they would be joined. From the state of her runes, if they did this, there would be no turning back.
“Neeman—”
“I know what it means,” he said.
She stared at him, fear coursing through her.
“You need to hurry,” said Danika. “This bleeding isn’t slowing.”
Neeman bit into his wrist and held it to her lips. She resisted swallowing as the blood flowed into her mouth. The liquid filled too quickly and she had no choice but to swallow. The effect was instantaneous. Seraphine gasped and Selene lurched off the floor grabbing Neeman’s wrist with both hands and pulling it to her.
* * * *
Fear twisted in Neeman like a coiled snake. His fear was a mixture of possibly losing Selene, or possibly being bonded to her forever. He had no idea which scared him worse. But there was no time to think of that now. What ever happened, happened.
The pull of her sucking on his vein was a sensation that was purely visceral and completely satisfying.
When her eyes opened they were green orbs tinged amethyst. Desire stirred him deep within. He lifted the hem of her shirt to see her wound sealing shut.
Holding her close, he stroked her hair. Mason and Danika got up from the floor and left without a word, closing the door behind them.
He allowed Selene to drink from him for another minute and then he pulled his wrist away and licked the wound shut.
He stared into her eyes, not sure who looked back at him. She sucked in a sharp breath and the runes beneath her t-shirt glowed bright. The golden color pulled him in, like a thread connected them. He wanted to kiss her, to feel her, to make love to her. Though she’d drunk from him, he’d been filled in a way that completed him somehow. As if this was what he’d waited for. She was who he was meant for.
Rise of the Fae Page 26
