by Reese Monroe
He squatted and jabbed his dagger in the gut of another demon and threw him to the ground. At least it’d slow him down. He grabbed the next demon by the ears and snapped its neck.
“Reverto ut Abyssus,” Sadie whispered.
Her voice was tight. Theo looked down and saw her dagger in the calf of the demon he held in his hands.
Another demon launched onto his back. He spun, slamming him onto the ground. Sadie scooted forward enough to edge the dagger toward the monster, but she couldn’t hold her hand up.
Theo grabbed her dagger and rammed it into the demon’s shoulder while she recited the words. Her voice even fainter than before.
Hold on, love. Theo jumped up and scanned the area. Halena had the two under control. He gathered his Mavet and Sadie’s, then skidded to her side.
“Envelope,” she whispered. “Ring.”
“Shhh,” he hissed as he ripped open the front of her tank top. Blood gushed down the front of her, starting from just above her heart. He pressed his hand to her skin, and a shock raged through him.
Her body tensed beneath his touch. Her back arched, and she opened her mouth. The most pained sound he’d ever heard in all of his existence streamed from her.
A grunt from a distance drew Theo’s attention, though he kept his hands on Sadie. Halena faced off with a seven-foot demon, fangs dropped, blood dripping from her mouth.
“Cockroaches,” she yelled as the last demon lunged. She had it under control, so Theo turned his attention to Sadie.
A gun cocked beside Theo, and Ramos stood watch, Dasha close beside him also holding a gun, though her hand shook enough to trigger it on its own.
Sadie’s blue eyes stared back at Theo, but a smile curved the corner of her mouth. “Damn daggers.”
You’re so strong, love.
She cupped his cheek, and her energy jolted through him, speeding the healing of his tongue. As he took in her devastating wound, his energy waned, yet the draining wasn’t nearly as much as he’d expected. Before, when she’d been injured and near death, he’d gone into slumber while healing her. Their time together in the plane had prepared him for this. Strengthened him.
Halena, Justin needs help. Get the envelope.
Even now. His energy diminished as he healed her, but she replenished him as he went. Not completely, but enough to keep him focused. Alert enough to protect her.
“Envelope?”
“Justin and Halena will get it.”
She smiled and her eyes slid shut. “Halena.”
“Shhh,” he pressed his finger to her lips.
“Saved me.”
“She did.” He glanced around, opening his mind to any splices or demons approaching. Funny, Aggie hadn’t made an appearance. Only sent his minions.
Where might that sneaky demon be?
What did Richard and Nicole know that could be so damaging? How was that ring connected to everything?
“I’m okay, I think,” Sadie said. Her voice was still raspy, but at least the wound had closed. “Enough for now, anyway. We need you strong.”
True. He was a bit tired from healing Richard. And now Sadie. He pulled her shirt closed. “Sorry.”
“Ripping my clothes off, I see.” She smiled, clutching the fabric. “Good thing I’m a sports bra type of girl.” She sat up, looking around. “Dash, you okay?”
Her friend nodded, then looked at Ramos. “He’s got me.”
Theo stood, offering Sadie his hand and pulling her to her feet. A shiver rattled her body.
“Here.” He yanked off his shirt and slid it over her head. The breeze slapped against his bare torso, but it didn’t matter. Only Sadie’s well-being did.
She threaded her arms through the sleeves and hugged it to her. “Thanks. Can you sense Justin and Halena?”
He closed his eyes and drew in deep, pine tree–tinted air and caught a blip. At least three miles away. They were battling. He flinched at a punch to the gut.
“What is it?” she asked.
“There’s trouble.”
“Go,” she said. “Help them. I need that envelope.”
“I won’t leave you.”
“Ramos is here. I’m healed enough to fight if needed. Go. Nicole said that ring was my mother’s. We need it.”
“I vill protect your Mate,” Ramos said as he approached. “Vith my life.” He jutted out his chin.
Theo looked down at Sadie. Blood matted her hair, dirt dusted her fine skin, yet she told him to go help the others. Amazing.
That ring was the key. Theo felt it in his gut, but he didn’t want to leave Sadie. She wasn’t fully healed, but he could tell Halena and Justin were in a good-sized fight.
“Hurry,” she said.
“Get Nicole and Richard. I want you all in the SUV with Ramos, heading to the rendezvous within five minutes.” Theo glanced at Ramos. “Good?”
Ramos dipped his head.
Theo leaned forward and placed his lips on Sadie’s. She instantly opened, letting him draw in her energy. Her warmth. Her strength. Heat swarmed through his muscles as a renewed vigor stampeded through his gut.
I love you, Ahavah, he whispered to her mind.
And I you.
He broke the kiss and held her close. Had he heard that? Really? She loved him? That thought alone was enough to energize him. “I’ll be right back.”
And with that, he sped away, vowing to return with her mother’s ring.
Chapter Forty-two
“You okay?” Dasha put her arm around Sadie. “I can’t believe I just saw you get stabbed. I’m going to need some serious therapy after this shit is done.”
“I’m fine.” Sadie drew in a deep breath. Theo had gotten most of her injury healed, but she felt depleted. Heavy. “Let’s go get Nicole and Richard and get the hell out of here.”
The gun clicked beside her, and she looked at Ramos. He stood, weapon poised, ready to take on anyone who dared encroach. She smiled at him and dipped her head. Sadie and Dasha shuffled toward the door, Ramos close behind them.
At the moment, the five stairs leading to the front door may as well have been five hundred for how heavy she felt. Maybe she should have had Theo heal her a little more.
“How’d you know those words? That’s another language, right?”
“Seems I know a little Latin.” Sadie chuckled, but that wasn’t such a good idea. “Ouch.” She clutched her chest.
“Did Theophilus not heal you?” Ramos asked from behind.
“He did enough.” She couldn’t ask for a full healing when Theo had to be strong to help Halena and Justin get that envelope.
The first two stairs went by uneventfully, but Sadie paused to catch her breath. Focus. She was strong. Tough.
Another three steps.
A cough from inside the room spurred Sadie into motion. Though it felt like moving through molasses in January, she made it through the splintered door and saw Nicole and Richard lying prone on the floor. Holding hands.
“No.” Sadie pushed away from Dasha. “Nicole.”
The old woman shifted and let out another sputtering cough. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Sadie skidded to her side, Ramos to Richard’s. He placed his fingers on the man’s neck and shook his head. “Gone.”
Nicole let out a whimper. “Richard.”
“Nicole.” Sadie grasped the woman’s shoulder. “What happened?”
“Monsters. After you left.” She coughed, and Sadie eased the woman to her side to let the blood run onto the floor. The room was trashed. Tables overturned, cabinets opened and their doors hanging crooked on the hinges. “They’re looking for it.”
“Please, Nicole. Hold on. Theo will be back to help you.”
“Too late. I see my Richard.” She let out a smile. “So young and beautiful.”
“Nicole, wait.” She cradled the woman in her arms. “Tell me about what’s in the envelope. Please.”
“Your mother’s ring.” A vibration rattled through the brittle
woman. “She said to give it to you when you…found me.”
“What’s it mean?” Dasha asked from behind Sadie.
“Connection to mother. To find your roots.” The woman sagged against Sadie’s arms. The floor creaked, and she glanced over her shoulder. Ramos guarded the doorway, gun aimed outside into the darkness.
Theo, hurry. Nicole’s dying.
“How else can I find my mom? The ring’s gone.”
“No other way.” Nicole’s face smoothed as she moved toward death. “Only link to plane.”
“Shit,” Dasha whispered. “Plane?”
“What am I, Nicole? Please. Do you know?”
She nodded. “Batya.”
Sadie’s heart stalled. Batya? It didn’t make sense. Tears stung her eyes and her stomach clenched. “Please, Nicole. Hold on.”
“Be strong, Batya…” Nicole sagged against Sadie’s arms with her last breath. The faded gray eyes disappeared behind her lids. Nicole’s mouth curved into a slight smile, and Sadie guessed she was meeting Richard in Heaven.
Tears breached the edges of Sadie’s eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Damn those demons. Anger welled inside like a tsunami and pounded through her stomach. She hugged the lifeless body tight and petted the stringy, crimson-stained hair.
“I’m sorry.”
“She did vat she vas meant to do.” Ramos stepped beside her. “Strong voman. Like you.”
A warm hand touched her shoulder. Dasha offered comfort, tears streaming down her dirt-coated cheeks. “Come on. Let her go.”
“I call support for cleanup.” Ramos held his shotgun in one hand as he fished through his pocket with his other. “Before police arrive.”
“Come on,” Dasha whispered.
Sadie let Nicole’s limp body slide from her grip and settled her to the floor, next to Richard. That’s when she noticed Nicole’s hand was still affixed to his. A sob racked through her. Nicole died holding her husband’s hand. More than likely she’d crawled across the floor, according to the crimson trail on the light carpet.
To be with him in life and in death.
“Batya?” Dasha said as she helped Sadie to her feet. “Any ideas, multilinguist?”
“She was delusional. Near death,” Sadie said, hoping to convince herself more than Dasha. “Didn’t know what she was saying.”
“If you say so.”
The hairs on Sadie’s neck shot up. Goose bumps prickled her skin, and a vise clamped around her stomach.
“No,” Sadie said. “I feel demons.”
Ramos shoved his phone in his pocket. “Vee must leave. Now.” He grabbed Sadie’s arm and hoisted her toward the door with Dasha on her other side, helping. “I keep you safe.”
“Hurry.” Dasha’s voice cracked, and she held her pistol with shaky hands. “I don’t want to have to figure this stupid gun out.”
Sadie looked over her shoulder at the couple lying in the middle of the living room floor. They’d died because of her. Because of the secret they carried about her. And now she ran. Tired and weak, she knew she couldn’t fend off any more than one or two demons.
Theo. Was he safe? Had he gotten the ring?
“Hurry.” Ramos tugged her toward the large black SUV. “If you feel them, they close.” He cranked open the door to the backseat and shoved her in. “Dasha, up front.” He tossed her the shotgun. “You watch. I drive.”
“Shit.” Dasha hurried to the passenger side, and after both doors slammed shut, Ramos revved the engine to life.
Sadie buckled her belt and glanced out the tinted windows. At least ten demons streaked toward the car. “Go. Go.” She slapped the back of Ramos’s seat.
The car lurched forward. Gravel spewed out behind the vehicle as it bounced over the potholes. Pine trees blurred by as the huge car barreled down the dirt road. Sadie checked out the back window. The moonlight flashed off daggers and long white teeth. “They’re still coming.” And gaining, from what she could tell.
She dug out her dagger from her ankle holster. Ramos couldn’t drive fast enough because of the roads. These monsters were going to catch up in a matter of minutes. She had Dasha to protect.
She closed her eyes and focused on calming her heart.
A window shattered and Dasha screamed. Glass sprayed across the back of the SUV, and two dark hands gripped the window frame despite the serrated edges.
Sadie hurdled the backseat and slid her blade across the knuckles. A fist rushed her, but she deflected and stabbed the forearm. “Reverto ut Abyssus.”
He vaporized.
“Six more coming, fast,” she yelled. “Dash, give me the shotgun.” She leaned forward, and Dasha handed her the weapon. “I’ve read about these once; let’s see if I can remember.”
“If anyone can, you can.” Dasha pulled out her pistol from the center console. “Ramos showed me this. I’m coming back to help.”
“No. Stay there.” Sadie turned her attention to the long gun in her hand. She checked the loading port and racked the gun.
“Ha. Told you,” Dasha said.
“Four plus one round,” Ramos yelled. “Dasha, give her ammo as she fires.
“Got it.”
Sadie positioned the butt of the gun against her shoulders, clicked off the safety, and threaded her finger through the trigger.
The bullets wouldn’t kill the demons, but hopefully they would slow them down. “How far till the bottom of the mountain?”
“Seven miles.”
A demon came into her sights. She gave a slight squeeze of the trigger, and a boom followed. The recoil forced her against the back of the last row of seats. Pain ripped through her shoulder and stole her breath.
“Careful of that kickback,” Ramos said.
“Now you tell me.” She rubbed her shoulder and touched her chest. Surely her insides were going to spew out soon. Focus.
She propped herself against the back of the seat the best she could and aimed the weapon again, holding tight yet slightly away from her body, bracing as much as she could while still on her knees.
Another demon came into sight. She squeezed. The creature kept coming. Obviously she’d missed.
Closing her left eye, she held her breath and tried again. The jolt to her shoulder wasn’t as bad this time, and the demon stutter-stepped. She’d hit him.
Okay, she was getting the hang of this. “Dasha. I’ve got five more coming at us. Get ready.”
Gravity hurled Sadie to the side window. The truck jerked, and the force of it knocked her to the ceiling. Her head met the metal, then she dropped back down and rolled to the other side.
Dasha screamed.
Sadie dropped the gun and grabbed the seat, but all she saw was darkness.
They’d gone off the cliff.
Chapter Forty-three
A raging pain slashed through his gut and knocked Theo to his knees. Sadie. She was hurt.
“Theo, what is it?” Halena rushed to his side.
“Something’s wrong with Sadie. She’s gravely injured.” Holding tight to the treasured envelope with one hand, he closed his eyes, seeking out his Mate. The cool air breathed over him, chilling him after the recent battle.
His neck pulsed. A sickening feeling cinched his stomach. Heaviness. Fear. Cold.
Theo.
He whirled around at the sound of his Mate’s strained voice. Then he lunged into a sprint down the trail they’d blazed fighting the demons. Twigs snapped. Branches stung as they shredded through the arms of his shirt.
The sounds of footfalls behind him told him Justin and Halena had followed.
What is it, Theo? Halena asked.
Sadie is injured. Suffering.
Lead on, my friend. We will get to her.
He picked up speed, trees blurring beside him. Her scent overwhelmed him. The sweet vanilla aroma he’d become addicted to. But the trail ended on a narrow dirt road. He slowed until he stopped in the middle and turned a circle.
“What?” Halena turned a circle wit
h him. “Why do we stop?”
“Her scent fades.” His neck pulsed.
“Look.” Halena moved toward the edge of the road, pointing.
He stepped beside her and knelt before a broken tree.
“Snapped at the base.” She stepped to the side. “Look. Here, too. See those branches.”
He scoured the ground. “Tire tracks.”
“Merde.” Halena looked over the edge. “It’s quite a drop.”
Without hesitation, he stepped over.
Curses from both Halena and Justin flew out behind him. They knew the importance of a Mate to a Shomrei. Though Halena hadn’t appeared to like Sadie in the beginning, she was proving to be very loyal the way she’d protected Sadie earlier and now jumped off a cliff’s edge to help him.
Perhaps she might help Sadie through the transition. Be there for her in a way Theo couldn’t.
If he could find her.
The scenery blurred into dark hues of gray, brown, and black as he let gravity yank him down the side of the mountain. “Sadie,” he yelled.
His voice ricocheted off the trees, then vanished into nothing. He grabbed a tree trunk to slow himself, then another, until he found one small enough to grab on to for a complete stop. He planted his feet against a boulder and steadied himself with the tree. Such a slant had him standing sideways to be upright.
“We’re on the right path. See the broken trees? She came down here in a car?” Halena asked, scanning the darkness.
“You have anything to light the way more? The moon doesn’t help much through this foliage.”
She dug around in her many pockets and pulled out a glow stick. She cracked it, and its illumination only brought more disdain for the already bleak situation. More cracked limbs, branches, even a fairly decent-sized tree trunk.
“What the hell?” Justin said as he slid next to Theo.
“Fan out, ten feet between us, she’s down here. And she’s hurt.” Anger boiled to life deep within his gut.
“I sense no demons—at least that’s good.” Halena inched away from Theo. “Is she still alive?”
“Yes.” His neck pulsed, but it was erratic. She’d only had a tank top on, then his T-shirt, so she had to be cold. Especially if she was lying somewhere, injured.
