by Amy Sumida
“Seren!” Varcan, the only Demon still in his normal body, shouted at me, the Sakeen in his hand. “I just want you, my love. Come to me, and I will spare your people and your husbands.”
“Stick that dagger up your ass, Backstreet Boy!” I shouted back.
Screams filled my ears. Raza and Killian were in bloody tumbles, taking down trees and rolling into the lake. I could barely see what was happening with Kill, his coils seemed to be everywhere, but Raza was giving as good as he got.
Then several things happened within a few seconds. Massive jaws came down on Extinguisher Rick Murdock, blood erupting as he was chomped in two. Hunter Eliane Blue launched a spear of ice at another Demon as it went for Camdan, but the distraction cost her and an enormous barb pierced her chest from behind. She was lifted into the air by that barb and tossed across the yard.
Extinguisher Carrie Sloane came running out of the house carrying a fucking rocket launcher. She went to one knee and calmly aimed. In seconds the rocket shrieked through the air, hitting one of the Demon beasts. They may have been immune to fire, but an explosion wasn't fire alone. The creature was torn apart, massive body parts flying. But then the flick of a wing sent Carrie careening into the courtyard's retaining wall. Her head hit the stone hard, leaving a smear of blood on the wall as she crumpled down it. A line of extinguishers replaced her, several shooting machine guns at the Demons as one of them dove for Carrie's rocket launcher. Several Demons moved toward them, and I knew those extinguishers were about to die.
I screamed in wordless rage, then shouted, “Eladeb lalek to Varcan now!”
Eladeb, who I'd posted in the treeline, just outside of the second ward, suddenly appeared before Varcan. Varcan frowned at his minion, clearly baffled at how Eladeb could pose a threat to him. He cocked his pretty blond head and lifted the Devil's Dagger, pulling it back to stab his own soldier. So much for loyalty. Varcan could have simply protected himself with his hakhil—which was what I'd expected him to do and the very reason why I'd been waiting on deploying Eladeb—but instead, Varcan decided to deal with his star-crossed minion and make an example out of him.
Dumb move.
I pulled a little remote out of my pocket and flipped up its protective cover. The red button shone like blood. Varcan glanced at me and just before he stabbed Eladeb, he winked. The bastard was showing off.
“Pride goeth before the fall, motherfucker,” I growled and pushed the button. Then I shouted, “Everyone down!”
As the Sakeen sliced Eladeb's throat, the receiver on his chest blinked. Varcan's eyes widened when he saw it, finally noticing how thick Eladeb's coat was. He turned toward me but didn't have the time for one last look. Varcan, Eladeb, and three of the monstrous Demons nearby were torn apart in the blast from the C-4 we'd rigged beneath Eladeb's winter coat.
Demon barbecue, anyone?
Chapter Fifty-Four
The ringing in my ears quickly vanished as my healing kicked in. Smoke and demonic shrieks hung in the air, the former making the latter sound even eerier. What I could see of the blast zone was blackened and bloodied, pieces of Demons scattered over it, and even those who'd been outside the danger zone had been knocked flat. In the dark, crimson center of the destruction, a black blade stood upright, its tip embedded in the earth.
The need to have the dagger in my hand overwhelmed me, and I was standing over it in an instant, moving so fast that I was able to look back and see the rain of embers fall on the spot I'd vacated. I snatched up the Sakeen, and its dark blade started to glow. A feeling of power, of dominion, washed through me, and my chin lifted with the arrogance of a god. The blade sang to me. Lovers reunited. It cooed and cajoled, urging me to use it, whispering what we could do together. They will rise beside us or kneel before us.
“Sweet Danu,” I gasped as I stared down at the Devil's Dagger.
Around me, Demons dropped, or in most cases rose, to their knees, shifting back into their true selves as they did. Despite their obvious surrender, no one approached the naked, terrified men. We were all shell-shocked, staring around at the destruction and death. Or they were, rather; I was still staring at the Sakeen. Then someone moved, running for one of the fallen soldiers, and I took a sharp breath as reason returned.
“Raza! Killian!” I shouted, absently shoving the dagger through the space between my belt and my waistband. The light winked out, and the whispers stopped. I searched the smoky yard urgently. “Raza! Kill!” my shouts turned into hysterical shrieks.
“We're okay!” Killian finally called to me.
I stumbled through the gore, toward the sound of my husband's voice. The smoke started to drift away, and I saw Killian limping toward me through the ghostly remnants. Raza had fared better than my Nathair-Sith and came swooping in to land beside me, naked and glorious.
“Raza!” I cried in relief, sparing a second to hug him before we turned toward Killian together.
Raza tucked his wings behind his back and stepped forward to help Kill.
“I'm fine.” Killian waved Raza off. “Just a little achy and really fucking cold. Which means I'm really fucking tired.”
“Can you take him inside?” I asked Raza. “And someone cuff those . . .” I trailed off as I saw that the sayadi and their lord had finally returned and were busy restraining what was left of Varcan's troops, then immediately laleking them away, presumably to Hell. “It's about time you guys showed up,” I grumbled as Astar approached me.
Raza headed toward the house with Killian, a protective wing around his beast brother as he sent a dark look around the demolished yard and at the sayadi.
Astar nodded to Raza and Kill as they passed, but then his stare went warily to the Sakeen at my waist. “I left Wayne in charge of administering the antidote and then had to help lalek the humans to him.”
“Are they all safe?” I asked as Tiernan and Daxon joined us.
“Most,” he said with a grim glance to his right.
The barriers were down, all but mine. I quickly waved a hand, disintegrating my wall of thorns, but I could already see bodies lying in the grass. And they weren't the only corpses. Extinguishers and hunters both had dead to collect. I let out a long, mournful breath as I watched the bodies of our fallen get carried inside reverently.
“Seren?” Tiernan squeezed my hand.
“Huh?” I looked over at him.
“Astar is talking to you,” Tiernan said gently.
“Oh, sorry.” I focused on the Lord of Hell. “What were you saying?”
“The Sakeen?” Astar looked pointedly at the blade. “May I have it?”
“Yeah, uh. Would you mind grabbing it yourself?” I angled my hip out so the hilt was within his reach. “It was speaking to me and I'd rather not hear that voice again.”
Astar lifted his brows but immediately claimed the dagger. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was out of my possession. Then Raza stepped out of the house, Killian close on his heels, and met my gaze. He held my stare as he came down the stairs. I had almost lost them and my body had yet to accept that they were all right. I needed a few hours to hold my husbands tightly.
“I'm sorry for your losses,” Star said sincerely. “This is not how we normally conduct battles. I feel as if we've failed you.”
“Your team had a job to do, and you did it,” Killian said as he and Raza joined us. His limp was gone, and he had several layers of clothing on, including his leather hoodie; he'd known better than to wear it into this particular battle.
Astar nodded crisply at Kill and looked down at the dagger in his hand. “I must return this to Hell.”
“Go,” I said. “Before someone else steals it.”
Astaroth lifted his head and smiled softly at me. “It's been an honor to work with you, Twilight Star.”
“You as well, Hell Star,” I shot back.
Astaroth chuckled. “Farewell, my friends.” He nodded to my husbands, then vanished in a rain of embers.
Chapter Fifty-Five
We had six dead—Extinguishers Rick Murdock, Carrie Sloane, and John Teagan; Hunters Eliane Blue and Manachan Windstorm; and Sir Donnan from Tiernan's Guard. There were also twelve humans dead. The Extinguishers took possession of the human bodies; they'd see that the dead were returned to their families.
We left Drostan's place in shambles, but he refused our offers to help him clean up, beyond the burning of Demon corpses. The house hadn't been damaged, merely used, and the yard would require gardeners to fix in the Spring. Drostan vowed that it was worth the ruined trees and blackened earth to not only know that Varcan was dead, but to also have seen him die.
After gathering our things and our dead, my husbands, our knights, and I got on a plane and flew to San Francisco, making our final report to the Councils in the air. From the airport, we went straight to Gentry Technologies and then into Fairy, specifically, the Twilight Kingdom. My father had a fleet of shiny new cairs waiting for us on the other side of the rath. When we drove through the gates of Castle Twilight, past the gleaming amethyst walls, it was to find our children waiting on the castle steps with Cat and my father.
Cries of “Mommy!” and “Daddy!” were music to my ears, as was the happy barking of a Twilight puka.
I burst out of the cair and ran to my babies, arms opening and tears running down my cheeks. The body of Sir Donnan was carried out of one of the cairs behind me, and I saw my father frown at it. I shook my head at him as I hugged my children. I couldn't let our reunion be darkened by death. As I fawned over my children, their fathers surrounded us, waiting for their turn.
I finally stopped kissing and hugging my babies and let my husbands have them. They were immediately replaced by Cat, my puka best friend. She nestled her sleek gray muzzle along my cheek as I hugged her huge, hound body, and went still as if she could sense the churning emotions inside of me. I was so relieved to be home, to be with my family, but this last battle had cost us, and the pain of that would haunt me for a while.
I kissed Cat's cheek and stood up to go into my father's arms, just as my children were doing with their fathers. “Dad,” I whispered as he hugged me tightly.
“What happened?” King Keir asked gravely as he stroked my hair.
“So much. But we're okay. We're going to be okay.”
My dad nodded as he stepped back to look me over. “You've never looked more like your mother than you do at this moment.”
It was a bittersweet compliment, and a tear trickled down my cheek as I felt the depth of it. I didn't ask him why. I knew. My mother had been a strong woman, and she'd been lucky enough to be loved by two wonderful men, but she had to hide her love for my biological father and keep me from him. Her happiness was never complete, always stained by the absence of someone she loved and the sacrifices that came with being an extinguisher. I loved her, and I was proud that he saw her in me, but I also refused to be like her.
I exhaled the pain and vowed to focus on what the dead had given me—what they had given all of us. Their lives had paid for mine. They had bought my happiness and that of my children. I wouldn't let their sacrifice be worthless. Varcan was dead, which meant that the Demon drugs were off human streets, and he would never come after me again. The Sakeen was back with its rightful owner, and Astaroth was back to ruling his portion of Hell. I had to celebrate that—to own my triumphs and let them lift me above my sorrow.
I've heard it said that a mentally healthy person is happy because of who they are, not because of others. They're happy because they are satisfied and complete in themselves. If that's true, I must be a sick woman, because I couldn't be happy without my family. I might be content, but I'd never be as incandescently happy as I was with my husbands. And they had survived. The men I loved stood beside me, holding our children and smiling brightly. Just as incandescent as I was. So, I lifted my chin, let that joy sink into me, and smiled at my father.
“Ah, there you are,” King Keir whispered in approval. “Welcome home, Seren.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Then I turned to my children, curled my fingers into claws, raised them menacingly, and growled, “Who wants to hear about Demons?”
My babies shrieked in delight, then shouted, “I do! I do!”
My husbands smiled both indulgently and contentedly as we headed into the castle, our children safe in their arms. Anu hadn't shown up to thank us, but I knew he'd been watching over us in his own way. As far as that cryptic message carved on a boulder in Hell, I wasn't going to worry about it. Astar was right, it worked out well for me if the Demons wanted to believe it, and it was entirely possible that it had already come to pass. I had shined the light of justice on Hell, returning a stolen dagger and some runaway Demons. But even if there was more to it and my work with Hell and its Demons wasn't over, I wouldn't waste time worrying about it now. Not with those beautiful faces grinning at me, surrounding me in love. Love and laughter should never be wasted. I intended to treasure every bit I was given and do everything in my power to encourage more of it.
Hell could kiss my ass.
A Special Look
Keep reading for a special look into the next book in the Twilight Court Series:
Shame the Devil
Chapter One
“Take that, bad Demon!” Rowan shouted as she attacked her father.
“Agh!” Killian took Rowan's sword between his side and arm, holding it tightly as he fell to the ground. “I'm dying! You got me!”
Rowan's auburn curls were bound back in a braid that I'd tucked into her black vest. Her entire outfit was black—a miniature version of extinguisher combat gear. I knew she was going to be a hunter one day, but for now, she liked to imitate me—something that tickled me pink. In fact, I was geared up as well, brandishing a wooden sword similar to hers. I “stabbed” Killian with it.
“Ugh! Mercy!” Killian cried out and flopped dramatically onto the rug.
We were in Rowan's bedroom, hunting a bad Demon around the bed and stacks of toys, pretending we were tracking it through a city. We'd only recently been made aware of the Demons—and the Angels, for that matter, though I'd yet to meet one of them—and I'd told my children all about them (a clean version, of course). Now, they were a common villain in our make-believe.
From the bed, Catriona, my Twilight puka bestie, yipped encouragingly as she supervised our mission. She bent down on her front legs and growled at Killian as if he really were an evil Demon.
Demons weren't actually evil. I had dealt with some bad ones, but I'd also met a Lord of Hell who had saved my life and his team of sayadi—Demon hunters. Demons were created by Anu to populate the planet of Hell and maintain a balance with humans. The Demons, those who were strong enough to leave Hell, are supposed to gently influence humans toward naughty, and sometimes evil, acts. They are bound by Anu's laws to not force humans though, only influence, and they are never to outright hurt people. They are especially not to interfere with fairies, who are Danu's children and therefore off-limits. When Demons break these rules and run off to do whatever they like, the Lords of Hell and their sayadi hunt the criminals down and bring them back to Hell for punishment.
Angels, conversely, were made to populate the planet of Heaven and to influence humans toward good. The powerful Angels, like powerful Demons, can lalek—travel to wherever they can envision, similar to twilighting but without the limitation of a specific time of day or the use of a rath. The Angels have their own laws, though I don't know any of them yet. I expect they're similar to those that Anu gave the Demons, and they can't force humans to be good or mess with fairies.
There's an animosity between the two races—Angels and Demons—since they're kind of pitted against each other to influence humans. They've been to war over it in the past, but currently have a truce. You see, if they do their jobs well, the humans get sent to their planet after death—Hell for punishment or Heaven for rewarding. But it's not an eternal verdict. The souls are sent for balancing. Once they are back in balance, they are returned to Earth to
be reborn. Just like humans, Angels and Demons are also balanced after death, with the caveat that anything done to fulfill their purpose of influencing humans and either rewarding or punishing those human souls on Heaven or Hell, is not counted against them. So, yes, a Demon soul can end up in Heaven while an Angel could wind up in Hell.
But Varcan, the Demon I had hunted with Astaroth, the Lord of Hell, was not in Heaven. His soul was in Hell, being punished by the King of Hell himself, Lucifer the Morning Star. Why such special treatment? Because Varcan, who was a friend of Lucifer's, betrayed his king and stole the Sakeen—Lucifer's prized, magical dagger. Yeah, I'm told Lucifer was pretty pissed. Lucifer is also a pure soul, like me (another bit of recent news), who is incorruptible. Pure doesn't mean he's innocent, though. In fact, he's evidently cunning, cruel, and merciless—all the attributes necessary to ruling Hell.
