Embraced (Eternal Balance)

by Jus Accardo

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Azirak/Jax

  Everything went silent. There was a static in the air, coupled with the fury radiating from Malphi. The muddled colors that surrounded Sam dispersed, leaving an emptiness that needled the deepest parts of me. Of all of me.

  A scream filled the room. The human girl, Samantha Merrick’s—Sammy’s—eyes rolled back, then closed. The sound of her breathing ceased.

  Malphi let the body fall to the floor and stepped away. “You have damned us,” she spat, turning on me. “Your diseased human half has betrayed us.”

  Something built inside me. I ignored my mate and focused again on the girl, so small and still, lying at my feet. Her lack of movement, of vitality, only added to the turbulent force stirring.

  “Have you nothing to say?” Malphi shouted. “No words to defend yourself?”

  There were words. Things I wanted to say. Feelings I needed to somehow express. Human emotions. But they were buried. Bogged down by the weight of the massive force building inside me. My human, Jax, was silent as well. I felt his sorrow, a nearly overpowering boulder that threatened to crush all that I was. I shared his pain and found myself surprised that it was not only for the loss of power, but for the girl. A human woman.

  Sammy…

  Hands gripped my shoulders and spun my body around. Malphi and I were face to face. “This is salvageable,” she growled and began to unbutton my pants. “We will consummate and I will destroy Zenak.”

  She slid her hands up my chest, then threaded them through my hair. Warm lips caressed a trail up my neck. The sensation was anything but pleasurable. The stink of lust turned my gut. I shifted my head, gaze finding the girl again. As Malphi did her best to further her cause, my attention would not be torn from the woman on the floor.

  It wasn’t long before Malphi noticed.

  “That bitch is dead at our feet and you’re still infested with affection for it?”

  Again, I wanted to respond. Again, sound failed me.

  This enraged my mate. She pushed me away, the fire behind her eyes turning from passion to fury. “Have you forgotten?” She took a menacing step forward. “All that I’ve done for you? The things I’ve endured over the course of a millennium?”

  Still, I had nothing to say. The woman still filled my view. The feeling in my gut grew stronger.

  “I suffered for you. Endured years of torment by Zenak’s own hand. I watched you cavort with humans lifetime after lifetime in an attempt to make me pay for my disobedience by taking retribution on our enemy. Now we find ourselves on the verge of victory, you focus not on me, but a dead human? Explain yourself!”

  “You are mine,” I said, eyes still on the girl. “As she was his.”

  “That’s your answer?” Malphi raged. “That is supposed to justify your lack of action?”

  “It is meant to justify nothing. My words are merely an explanation.” I lifted my head to study her. “I began a war for you, my love. The result of that action found us removed from our home. Ejected and sentenced to mediocrity for all eternity. How is it that you find yourself able to question my affections?”

  Some of her rage subsided. “Your infatuation with that bitch sours me.”

  “It is not infatuation. It is as unbreakable a bond as you and I share. It—” Movement on the floor captured my attention once again.

  The softest sound filled the room—a single breath pulled between soft lips, followed by a faint metallic clink. The demon cuff fell to the ground. Malphi noticed at the same time I did. “No!” she screamed, and dove for Sam.

  The murderous intent in her eyes freed the building force inside me. Watching Malphi drag Sam off the ground and throw her around like a ragdoll was the final push I needed.

  I burst through the invisible bonds keeping me trapped and regained control over my body. I moved knowing that there was only one goal, one endgame.

  Sam.

  Winding my hands around a hank of the demoness’s hair, I hauled it backward. She wailed in pain, then lashed out, raking its nails across my cheek. “Bastard!”

  “Let it go,” I snapped. Sam stirred, but hadn’t opened her eyes yet. The fact I could hear her breathing, though, steady and strong, was all I needed. Leaving the demoness alive was stupid. A fucking disaster in the making. But I couldn’t kill it in cold blood. I’d lost Sam twice now. As much as I hated Azirak, it was a part of me. It always would be. Its anger was my anger, its struggles mine. A part of me feared what Malphi’s death would do to me.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I told the demoness. “Just leave us alone. There will be other lives. Other chances. Wait it out and try again.”

  Malphi stared at me, expression unreadable, its human eyes—Sadie’s eyes—sparking with something I didn’t quite understand. It—she—I was so fucking confused—shifted from foot to foot, alternating between me and Sam. I thought it was over. That Malphi would turn and walk the other way.

  I was wrong.

  The female demon let out a horrible scream and lunged for Sam. Closer by a couple of feet, it reached her first. There was no plan behind my actions. No thought other than the threat posed to the woman I loved. My hand grasped the end table, fingers closing around the first thing they connected with. A ballpoint pen. Without hesitation, I charged Malphi, wrapping one arm around the front of its neck, then plunging the tip of the pen in with the other.

  Malphi stumbled back, crashing into me. I caught the demoness before it hit the ground, cradling its head as it fell. A series of coughs followed, and the demoness tried to speak, but only blood came out. I felt the instant Sadie’s human heart stopped. Malphi’s essence exploded from the body, hovering for a moment above our heads before shooting away. Off to be reborn? Who the fuck knew. All that mattered was that for this lifetime, Sam would be safe.

  Sam stirred again, and all I wanted was to go to her. To wrap her in my arms and inhale her sweet, familiar scent. But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe. A heaviness had settled in my limbs and all feeling drained away. I knew what was coming, and I had no regrets. I would have gladly sacrificed myself, everything that I was or would ever be, for Samantha Merrick.

  “Sammy, I love—”

  Chapter Thirty

  Sam

  My eyelids were leaden, and despite the pressure at my throat and weightless feeling beneath my feet, I couldn’t force them open. There was a change in the room. I felt something shift, and it was that transition that enabled me to finally open my eyes.

  I was alive. The demon cuff lay in two pieces on the floor to my right. The only reminder was what resembled a burn scar where it had rested against my skin.

  I’d been claimed. Not by heaven or hell, but by earth. By myself. I hadn’t known what to expect, or if it would even work, but it surprised me that I didn’t feel any different. There was no power surging through my body. No otherworldly thoughts in my head. I was simply me. Sam Merrick. The same girl who always forgot to turn off the lights and never filled the gas tank until the car was on fumes. A visionless slacker with no career goals and no cash.

  But I was alive. And so was Jax.

  Jax.

  I turned to see him sitting a few feet away, Sadie Gray’s body cradled in his lap. He watched her for a moment, his expression sad, then lifted his gaze to meet mine. I could no longer feel him. The link, however I’d created it in the first place, was gone.

  “Malphi is dead,” he announced. His voice was strange. Deeper and just a little bit broken, which made no sense.

  Why would he care if she was dead? Upon closer inspection, I noticed his eyes kept flickering. Gray. Black. Gray. Black. I counted five switches before it stopped, irises settling on the color of midnight.

  “It is only fair that he goes with her.”

  A wave of icy fear rolled over me. “He?”

  “Your human ended this life for her. I may not have the ability to end his without bringing about my own demise, but I can lock his essence away.”<
br />
  “You—”

  Azirak moved Sadie’s body aside, gently setting it on the carpet before standing. “Retribution. Payment. A life for a life.”

  “No,” I cried, and scrambled upright. Tears burned my eyes. “If you can’t take his life, then take mine. Let him go.”

  It was Jax’s face looking down on me, but the expression of pity was foreign. “His affection makes it impossible for me to act against you—and I have no desire to see you physically harmed. Your power has been claimed, but you can still be an asset.”

  The words sent an entirely new kind of chill dancing along my spine. “Only the person who claimed my power can use it. Since that’s me, I’m betting you’re shit out of luck,” I snapped. Anger burned hot. “What’s to stop me from making you give him back?” I advanced several steps. “If my power is the most sought after thing in heaven and hell, then I’ll just make you return him to me.”

  Azirak laughed. “Any harm done to me will be done to him. Attempt to make me relinquish control and you will destroy this body, and the human along with me. Choose your actions with care.”

  “He speaks the truth,” a new voice said. I whirled to the doorway where Heckle stood watching us. “Jax is gone.”

  “You!” I roared. “You lied to us. Tricked us.” The sound of his voice, the look on his face—everything about Heckle incited my fury. I started for him, eager to test that destruction theory, but froze halfway across the room.

  “Careful, Sam,” he said. “While you now have an unprecedented edge, there are still some things that remain untouchable.”

  I took a deep breath. Azirak bowed once to me, then turned and bowed to Heckle. Without a word, it slipped through the door, leaving us alone.

  “Fix this,” I spat. “Do something to help Jax.”

  “There is nothing I can do. His punishment brings balance for your life.”

  My legs grew rubbery, and with a sob, I collapsed to the floor. This wasn’t happening. He couldn’t be gone.

  “I warned you that the bond would end in tragedy. Because of his tie to you, he was able to overcome Azirak’s hold long enough to kill Malphi.”

  “The alternative was for me to die,” I bit back. “How the fuck is that any better?”

  “Did you ever stop to think that maybe one of you was fated to die?”

  “But no one died,” I said. Jax was my past. He was my present, and goddammit, he was my future. I had no intention of giving up on him. My previous experience proved that even death wasn’t final…and Jax wasn’t dead. He was still in there, with Azirak. “Jax is technically still alive.”

  Heckle cocked a brow, but didn’t answer.

  No. “There’s a way to fix this. An alternate path to take.”

  More silence.

  Heckle frowned. His expression was a mix of certainty and bleak resignation. “There’s always an alternate path to take, Sam. But as I’ve said before, some road blocks require a sacrifice to remove.”

  Sacrifice? I’d already lost everything. What the hell else was there? “Tell me,” I said, climbing to my feet again. “Tell me how to get him back.”

  He didn’t look like he wanted to tell me, but he had to know I’d never let it go. Not when Jax was at stake. After a long moment—one of the longest of my life—Heckle sighed. “The only way for him to come back now is for Azirak to allow it. The demon must leave him willingly.”

  “Leave him?” I swallowed my surprise. “As in, there’s a way to separate them?”

  Heckle smiled. Then he turned on his heel and, without a word, walked out the door.

  Keep reading for a preview of Released, book 3 in the Eternal Balance series

  Chapter One

  Azirak/Jax

  She hadn’t left my side in days. Sam Merrick, the girl with fury in her eyes and unrelenting determination in her soul.

  I could hear her heartbeat from across the room. As she approached, a noxious scent filled the air, followed by a plate thrust into my face. “Eat it,” she demanded.

  Azirak took it from her and placed it on the bar in front of me. Human food was offensive to the demon living inside me. The one currently in control of my body. It survived on the darker side of human emotion—not cheeseburgers. “No. It has an unpleasant odor.”

  I couldn’t really argue. Food at the Viking wasn’t fit for human—or demon—consumption.

  Sam made a sound like a growl and kicked the edge of my chair. I felt the vibration, but it was faraway and detached. “Does it look like I care?” she said. “Hold his damn nose and stuff it down his throat.” The girl on the other side of the bar, a dark skinned woman with multiple colors in her hair, watched us with a strange expression.

  Azi studied the burger. Under his command, my finger poked at the meat, and I felt a ripple of disgust go through me. “Why?”

  Sam’s skin took on a reddish hue and the muscles in her neck tightened. Sweet-tasting anger, a red haze that rolled off her in waves, made my mouth water. “Because he needs to eat!”

  Just eat the fucking thing, I said. I was locked inside my own body, punishment for killing Malphi, Azi’s mate. I couldn’t communicate with Sam, but I could still annoy the shit out of the demon. She won’t give up until you do.

  It pushed me back and lifted my head to meet her gaze. The fury there was enough to rival any demon tenfold. A swell of admiration washed over me. Azi often wondered what kind of a demon Sam would have made. “So long as I continue to feed he will be nourished.”

  She stood her ground, glaring like she wanted to rip me apart. I knew the contempt wasn’t for me, but I still hated seeing it. Hated what this all was doing to her. “His body needs actual food.” Leaning in close, she added, “Not other people’s bad vibes.”

  We’ve been over this. Unless you want us to shrivel up, my body needs food.

  Azi growled and snatched the burger from the plate. Weakness, considering recent events, could get us killed. It could get Sam killed, and strangely, the demon didn’t want that.

  It stuffed the overcooked animal into my mouth, eating it in three bites. It was dry, and the texture was unpleasant. “Thank you,” she ground out, as though the words caused her physical pain. She reached around the bar to grab her coat. “Now, are you ready to go?”

  I stood and, giving the plate one last glare, said, “I am.”

  She led the way, weaving through the diminishing crowd of Viking employees. It was four a.m. and the club was closing. Since the demon had totaled our only ride a week ago, we had a long walk ahead of us.

  Heading out the back door and into the alley next to the club, Sam pulled her coat tighter. She looked one way, and then the other. Satisfied that we were alone, she started forward. I followed, thankful that Azi remained silent.

  She didn’t care for it when the demon spoke to her. She hadn’t said it, but it was obvious by the pain in her eyes every time it opened my mouth. It was my voice, the sound eerily familiar, and yet different. Azi had no desire to cause her more suffering than it already had, so the demon kept to itself unless addressed directly.

  There was a chill in the air, and several blocks from the club, it began to rain, which was unfortunate. For the last block or so, something had been following us. The storm would make it harder to track the scent.

  As we passed a row of shops, I picked up the scent again. This time it was closer—and definitely not human. My fingers closed around Sam’s wrist, and, without explanation, Azi dragged her into the small space between two of the buildings.

  “What the hell are you—”

  It covered her mouth and leaned close. For a moment, the smell of her overrode my senses and sent a powerful spark of desire to my core. One of the drawbacks to being locked in here was that with the demon in the driver’s seat, each sensation was magnified. It inhaled, savoring the sudden spike of anger, and grinned when the smallest tuft of lust seeped through.

  “Be still and stay silent,” it whispered against her ear. My lips
brushed the edge and a wave of longing rolled over me. I wanted to tell Sam I missed her, to let her know that I would find a way out of this. But no matter how loud I roared, she wouldn’t hear me. It was the demon’s words that came from my lips. “We are being followed.”

  The alley was devoid of light, but my senses were inhuman. I saw every detail of her face, from the worried gleam in her eyes to the sudden tension in her body. She gave a slight nod and Azi removed my hand from her mouth.

  Get Sammy out of there, I growled. I fought for dominance, failed, then let out an enraged yell. If anything happens to her…

  “We will be fine.” The demon’s assurance was for both of us.

  Movement on the street distracted it momentarily, and a large black blur flew at us from the far end of the alley. Azi pushed Sam to the ground as the hulking mass crashed into me.

  Growling filled the air. The creature perched on my chest snarled, viscous black fluid oozing from between rows of jagged red teeth. I knew what it was because Azi did—a carnivus, a vicious dog-like thing from the depths of hell, used as frontline soldiers in war.

  “Impossible,” Azi said, greeting the beast with a snarl of its own. It gripped the thing’s head on both sides and hefted away with as much force as my body could muster. I was far stronger than other humans, but still had limitations. Matching the strength of a full-grown carnivus was definitely one of them.

  “Hey,” Sam called. The sound was followed almost immediately by a large object hurdling my way. It connected with the beast’s head, eliciting a savage howl. The pressure against Azi’s grip vanished and the carnivus whirled and charged. “Shit!” she mumbled before scattering in the opposite direction.

  Get up, I snapped. That thing is going to rip her to fucking shreds!

  Azi leaped to my feet and sprang into action. A rush of fury poured from the demon and my body soared over the charging beast and landed in a graceful crouch a few feet in front of Sam. Whirling, it faced the charging bastard just as the thing pounced.