by C. M. Owens
He looks at me, startled that I’m back so soon.
“How long can she be out of her body without risking it dying?”
“Her body is technically dead right now. She can stay out of it as long as she wants, but the body could start decaying. Usually a day or two at most is the best idea. They’ll both need to feed after this.”
He blows out a long breath.
“They can’t feed if they’re so drained they go comatose,” I growl, gently putting Kya’s body on the ground.
He grabs me when they get hit hard, slamming me into the wall. Their black eyes narrow to slits, and the red grows brighter in the eyes. Slade tosses me back, keeping me from transporting right at the last second.
“Go in front of her, and you’ll likely be skinned too, you stupid prick. Just wait.”
“For what? They can’t feed if they’re dead or too depleted!”
Black eyes turn to us, and Slade calls me a few names for being too loud. The energy resurges to his hands like he’s about to attack, possibly planning to knock her out.
“Karma’s pregnant!” I snap, slamming my fist into his face before he can stop me.
This time, I transport right in front of her, and a dark, very fucking creepy smile tilts her abnormally bright red lips. She grabs me by the back of the neck and jerks me to her.
Her lips crush mine, and I hold her at the waist, transporting back out. Kya’s in control. Not Karma. It’s Kya doing all this right now. Not just the demons they’ve joined.
I can tell it by the way she kisses me, clinging to me like I’m her lifeline, as though I’m the only thin thread pulling her free from the darkness.
“You’re so fucking stupid,” Slade says as he pushes by me, sending a burst of power into the room that knocks half of the never ending hordes of soldiers on their asses.
“And she was flaying them with barely any effort,” I point out when the soldiers simply stand back up.
He glares at me, and Kya staggers in my arms—while still inside Karma’s body. My attention goes to her as I lean her against the wall.
“Time to get back in your body, baby. You saved her. Karma is safe.”
She grins. “She couldn’t stomach all the blood.”
The voice is still echoed, as though they’re both speaking at once.
“You liked it too much,” she says, only this time Karma’s voice is the dominant one.
“I did,” Kya agrees, taking the floor once more.
“Get in your motherfucking body!” Slade snaps.
The black eyes fade as Karma smiles, and then suddenly normal eyes are peering at me. Karma collapses into my arms, and I toss her over my shoulder as Kya sucks in a breath, coughing as she turns over.
Her arms are shaking and weak, and I transport out, dropping Karma into the arms of a stunned Thad as soon as I land inside the cabin.
“What—”
I don’t hear the rest of what he says because I’m reappearing right in front of Kya, scooping her into my arms and cradling her against me. I kiss her head, and she wraps her arms around me.
“Get her out of here. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Prison. Take me to prison,” Kya groans.
I pop back out, and this time when I land, I’m inside a loud, riotous lunch room. The illusion shrouding us cloaks us from sight, and no one notices us.
“Death row,” she whispers. “No, wait. Him. I want him. He’s full of darkness.”
She points to a guy, and I take her to him. He drops to the floor, and something red moves from his eyes to Kya’s mouth, nose, and eyes. She exhales gratefully.
We don’t stop until she’s had enough to share with Karma, and no one has a clue why bodies just keep dropping.
It’ll be hell to try and let her out of my sight after this. In fact, she’ll be lucky if she can even take a shower without me hovering over her. I may even watch her piss.
Apparently I do know how to feel something after all, and it’s all wrapped around one half demon.
Chapter 25
KYA
Chaz keeps holding me even as we land inside the cabin. All eyes swing to us, and I struggle to get down. Karma looks weak next to Dice as she holds his hand. Their dark angel, Dray, is working tirelessly to heal the multiple wounds on the incubus’s body.
But he was dead. Karma and I raised him from the dead. And I have no idea how we did it.
Her eyes hold mine, though I see how pale and weak she is. She took the brunt of that energy loss.
Chaz refuses to let me down, but he takes me closer. I grab the back of her head, and the energy from the dark souls passes from me to her. I keep giving until I almost have nothing left of my own.
She’s so depleted. I should have taken more, but I couldn’t harness more than I had.
The color returns to her cheeks, and I sag into the embrace of Chaz, relaxing in his hold. I can take more later. Right now... Right now I just want to breathe in air that isn’t tainted by death.
I’m sure Chaz thought we had no control. I’m sure Slade was under that same grim impression.
But we did. We fought until we had nothing left. Karma looked away. I continued killing.
“Anyone want to explain what just happened?” Ella asks, stepping out of nowhere. “Why didn’t someone call me?”
“None of us were called in. You were supposed to tell us when you found them,” Thad snaps. “Instead, you drop Karma off and disappear.”
“There wasn’t much left for you to do,” Karma says quietly, her eyes finding mine again. “What did we do?”
I shake my head.
“Twins are a very curious thing indeed.” Slade’s words has everyone snapping their head to the doorway, but it’s only me he’s looking at.
“You were right about those instincts,” I say, smirking when his lips twitch.
“Not quite what I had in mind, but it’s definitely a weapon to use again in the future... If the time ever calls for it. I’d rather not see anything like that for a while.”
If it makes Slade shudder, I know it was bad. But he didn’t see the endless vat of evil inside their souls. We could see them as though they belonged to mortals. We could see the torture they’d inflicted, the lives they’d stolen from the innocents who’d begged them to stop. We could see everything.
And we wanted them to pay.
Karma shivers, as though her mind is still partially linked to mine and hearing my thoughts.
The demonic powers we fused together were intoxicating, but I’m not really sure what we were unleashing. I’m also not sure what happens now or if anything has changed.
“Is the baby okay?” I ask her, my chest getting tight.
She nods. “Dray inspected me as soon as Chaz dropped me off.”
My gaze returns to Slade.
“Karma is pregnant. Unless she’s on the verge of being killed, we can’t risk that ever again until the baby is born. If we can ever even do it again anyway.”
“I’m not sure I want to do it. I’ve been desperate for us to be closer... but... yeah. That’s not what I had in mind,” Karma says with a mock shudder.
Her smile is fake and brittle, and she’s trying to distract herself from the man whose hand she’s clinging to. Her knuckles are white with her grip, but Dice still seems to be out of it. The bed is massive, and so is the room.
Slade takes a seat, and everyone in here looks at him like he’s lost his mind. The last time he was here he picked a fight. Since then, he’s helped save lives yet again.
“Like it or not, I guess we’re stuck with each other,” Slade says to the angry eyes glaring at him.
He acts as though it’s the worst thing he’s ever had to say. He runs a hand through his inky black hair, frustrated.
Chaz came for me. Slade came for me.
My sister and I weren’t victims this time though. This time we fought back. This time we found a weakness and we took from them the way they’ve taken from so many.
“We killed their visionary,” I tell Chaz softly, and he kisses my head, still clinging to me like he may never let go.
I drink in the affection, wondering if this is how Karma feels for Dice, no longer believing my feelings are one-sided.
Dray looks confused as the wounds on Dice continue to heal very slowly.
“What could do this?” he asks, still studying the damage.
“Harbingers of Death is what they’re called,” Karma answers, a tear slipping from her eye.
“We thought they died when the rings were released. Obviously the Master has been stashing them away,” Slade interjects, his jaw grinding.
He knows firsthand what they can do.
He was their first test subject, after all. The armored vats of evil were brought in and he was their slice-and-dice toy to test their strengths.
Karma’s eyes widen, and she opens her mouth to say something, when Dice suddenly starts coughing wildly. She jerks to his side, and he groans as she loosens her grip on his hand to cup his face with both of hers.
One of his hands snakes around her waist, and his eyes ask the questions his lips can’t seem to form.
“The baby’s fine,” Karma says, choking back a sob as the tears leak freely from her eyes.
I find myself wiping away my own tears and clearing my throat. Chaz’s grip tightens on me, as though he realizes how differently this all could have gone.
Dice’s entire body relaxes, and the dark smoke full of healing energy disappears as Dray slides down the wall, sweating and exhausted.
“Since he’s awake, I’m taking a small break,” Dray says as Frankie hands him a glass of water.
No one argues that, and Chaz takes a seat with me still cradled against him. I end up on his lap.
Alyssa isn’t here, but I don’t bother asking where she or Kane is. I’m not ready to broach that subject again.
Dice runs his fingers along Karma’s face, like he’s making sure she’s real.
“Told you it was a fucking crazy bitch,” he finally says, smiling. He starts coughing and the smile turns into a grimace.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Gage asks, shaking his head as he sits down near Dice.
“I think he’s a little out of it,” Thad states as he steps closer.
“No. He’s not,” Karma says, her lips curling in a sneer. “The master is none other than our dear stuttering, victimized Morgana.”
A hushed silence falls over the room. Everyone looks at Karma like she’s lost her mind.
“It’s true,” Dice groans, looking down at some of the wounds that are still open as he winces and tries to adjust. “We both saw the visionary. The second the master was mentioned, Morgana smiled, but the visionary tensed and looked at her like he was waiting for her to confirm or deny something.”
“No,” Gage says adamantly, shaking his head. “There’s no fucking way. She can’t be the master. She’s weak. She was smart, but never crafty enough to cultivate something like this. And her patience level? It didn’t exist. Not to mention she was always too broken to ever come back this strong and assertive.”
“It’s her,” Karma argues. “Trust me when I say all the other shit was just a front. She’s been hiding right under our nose, staying in plain sight, while keeping the illusion of an unknown mastermind hiding in the shadows.”
“There’s no way,” Slade agrees. “I’ve seen Morgana. Saw her in the rings. She never acted strong around us. She always seemed to be taking orders. Not giving them.”
Something isn’t adding up, but before I can voice my opinion, there’s another voice in the room.
“They’re right. Morgana isn’t the master.”
My skin crawls and my blood boils as the man I’ve hated for too long suddenly appears.
Gavin.
Streaks of silver suddenly launch across the room, and Chaz transports out of the way just in time, moving us behind Slade as Gavin disappears. The streaks hit air instead of evil.
“So fucking testy,” Gavin taunts, smirking at us as he reappears.
Slade starts to attack again, but Ella steps in front of him, holding up a hand as though she’s beckoning him to stop. Slade glares at her, and she glares back at him. Gavin looks bored with it all... as though he doesn’t notice that everyone in the room would love to see him dead.
“What are you doing here?” Gage asks him, putting his body in front of Dice’s as though he’s shielding the weak.
Kimber isn’t in here, I notice. Neither is Roslyn. Where’d they go? When did they leave?
Leah’s hand goes to her hip where a dagger rests, but Zee pulls her back, wrapping a hand over hers.
“How did you get out?” Thad asks him when Gavin just continues to wear that infuriating smirk.
Chaz slowly lowers me to the couch, putting his body in front of me until I’m forced to lean around him to see.
I just used my sister’s body to obliterate an army of hard-to-kill soldiers, yet he’s shielding me from one man.
“Well, after that last little visit, I was finally able to shake that damned blood oath. Funny thing about chains and such, when you work with them long enough, you know how to escape. I was just staying until I was finally free. Thanks for the help.”
“Morgana is the master,” Karma grinds out.
Gavin flicks a disinterested gaze over her before rolling his eyes. “Morgana is not the master. Morgana is a victim. I’ve spent so long trying to free her, even took the blood oath as a means to stay close enough to one day end this.”
My brow furrows.
“You had this all figured out. Why are you now so certain the girl you never suspected is now the evil mastermind you’ve been trying so hard to discover?” he muses, as though this is all just a game to him.
“Morgana is anything but a victim,” Karma says, jerking to her feet. “She stared into my eyes and coldly announced what was going to—”
“She’s possessed,” I say, standing and stepping around Chaz.
He immediately jerks me back to him, like he’s ready to get me out of here if need be. He’s a little too protective right now. He forgets I’m a warrior.
Gavin winks at me, and Chaz growls. “Smart girl. Though really, this has already been assumed.”
“Morgana is possessed by the master, because the master is also a demon.”
Gavin’s jaw tics as that bored carelessness melts away. “That was my fault. I should have given her a permanent anti-possession mark. She just didn’t want any more marks after what we’d been given.”
He points to his neck where his own marks rest.
“Oversight on my part resulted in a new type of slavery after barely a taste of freedom. But I can lead you right to them, if and only if you all offer a blood oath that Morgana will be de-demonized and unharmed.”
“We can’t make that kind of promise,” Gage growls. “How do you even force a demon out?”
“Well, I can tell you there’s no magic excerpt to read that pushes them out. But you have two half breed demons. The only way to force a possession out is to possess anew. One of your demon hybrids can go in, fight the master until she sees it fit to jump out, then voila. I get Morgana, you get your bad guy, and we all live happily ever after. The end.”
“No,” Chaz says coldly. “Sending them in could get them killed.”
“The easiest way to kill a demon is to kill the host,” Slade says, and I resist the urge to slap them both.
“Figured you’d say that,” Gavin drawls.
“Do you have any idea what’s at stake?” Gage barks. “If they open a portal to whatever it is they’re after, they could destroy all of us.”
Gavin shrugs.
“You know my offer. Take it or leave it. I can tell you everything you need to know about the master and her plan.”
“Her? You’ve referred to a woman twice. You know who the demon is,” Gage says.
Gavin’s eyes narrow to slits. “So do you, brother.
You killed her once. Guess you did a shitty job at making her stay dead.”
Gage seems to pale, and he slowly lowers to the bed next to Dice as though standing is an impossibility.
Leah slowly moves out of the room, but I don’t know where she’s going or what she’s doing.
“So yes? No?”
“It’s maybe,” I say, staring him in the eyes. “I’ll try. I can’t make a blood oath, but I’ll try to save Morgana. If there’s anything left to save.”
“No!” Chaz barks.
“She’s still in there. She’s been a prisoner inside her own mind for centuries, but I know she’s still in there. The master let her out on occasion just to taunt me as part of my torture.”
He looks over at Gage who continues to sit in stunned silence.
“Ever wonder why the evilest bitch you knew was so easy to kill on a night you just happened to escape? She set it up. She planned all this. A violent murder is the easiest way for a soul to escape from hell. The unfinished business shit tends to let them creep closer to the lines than others. An injustice was seen, and hell didn’t hang on as tightly. You gave her exactly what she wanted, and she brought the whole fucking coven plus a few others with her once she was out. Now help me save Morgana.”
Gage shakes his head like he’s snapping out of a trance.
I have no idea who or what they’re talking about.
“No,” Gage says, his lips thinning. “Too many people could die in an effort to save one life that we might not even be able to save. If what you’re saying is true, Morgana has been trapped for a really long time. There’s no telling what she’ll be like once you get her out.”
Gavin pushes away from the wall, his look hardening.
“Too bad. We might have made a great team. But my only agenda is my witch. The rest of the world can burn for all I care.”
He disappears, and Slade curses as he slams his hands against the wall. “That motherfucker just boxed us in!”
He punches against a barrier over and over, but it doesn’t break against his fist as quickly as most do. Finally it shatters, but Slade looks furious.
“He’s gone. I can’t feel his trail. Fucking great.”
