The Brightest Embers

by Jeaniene Frost

  “Ivy.” His voice was as broken as I felt in that moment. “I am so sorry.”

  “Don’t sound so dejected, my son,” Demetrius chided him. “Yes, I had initially intended to kill her right away, but now I’ve changed my mind. For one, it should be quite fun to let her watch what happens when I transform the spearhead from a hallowed weapon into a cursed one. Who knows? If she’s miserable enough, I might even let her live on for years.”

  Adrian lunged at him, but all those chains must have been anchored to something sturdy, because he made it only about a foot.

  “I’ll fucking kill you!” he snarled.

  Demetrius wagged a finger at him before returning his attention to the items on the table in front of him. They were rubber storage containers, of all things. He popped the lids off while smacking his lips appreciatively. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting to use what’s in these containers?”

  “I don’t care.”

  My voice was a whisper, and I hadn’t meant it to be. At last, I looked down and understood why Demetrius hadn’t bothered to tie me up, let alone use the same overkill restraints he’d used with Adrian. The holes in my sweater showed me the two places where I’d been shot. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to tell how many times that had happened. The entire front of my sweater was soaked through with blood, and when I tried to move, I couldn’t.

  But that wasn’t what forced a cry from me that I bit back as soon as I saw the pleasure light Demetrius’s face. It was my right arm. Or, to be more specific, the bloody, tied-off stump at the end of my elbow where my right arm should have been.

  “I couldn’t allow you to pull that slingshot out and ruin my plans, could I?” Demetrius said with vindictive satisfaction. “Don’t worry—you’ll see your arm again. I’ll retrieve it so I can transform the sling it contains into a cursed weapon, too, after I’m finished with the spearhead. And then you’ll either willingly remove the staff from your body so I can transform that, too, or I’ll cut it out of you, and that, my dear Davidian, you would regret.”

  “You think I want to live to see what you’ll do once you transform that spearhead?” I might be reduced to whispering from my massive injuries, but not even that could mask the hatred in my voice. “Kill me. It’ll be far preferable.”

  Demetrius clucked his tongue. “And murder my own grandchild along with you? What kind of monster do you think I am?”

  He knew. He knew!

  I’d thought I felt cold before. I hadn’t known the meaning of the word. When Adrian’s stunned gaze met mine, I couldn’t stop the tear that slipped out even though I hated to give Demetrius one more thing to gloat over.

  “I didn’t realize it until earlier today,” I whispered.

  “And you didn’t tell me?” The hurt in his eyes hit me like a sledgehammer. “How could you not tell me that?”

  “I’m sorry, Adrian!” I must’ve tried moving closer to him, because a fresh spurt of blood leaked out from my sweater. “I couldn’t tell you when...when I knew it would only hurt you, considering what was going to happen.”

  “See? All loved ones lie,” Demetrius said, his dark gaze landing on Adrian. “You disowned me and your entire race for lying to you, yet your own wife admits she is no different. Come now, Adrian, stop being petulant. If not for me keeping her from using that spearhead, she’d be dead, as would your unborn child. Can’t you see you have no reason to hate me? I am giving you everything you most want!”

  “More lies,” Adrian spat. “She’s bleeding out in front of you, yet you’re busy taunting her and playing with your Tupperware. She’s probably lost the baby already!”

  “She hasn’t,” Demetrius said, a wave of his hand dismissing the pool of blood around me. “I can still hear its heartbeat. And if she does lose it, I’ll raise it back to life. I already brought you back from the dead today. How else do you think my minions managed to get you wrapped in those chains without your shadows ripping them to pieces?”

  “He was dead?” I was sick at the thought, and sick over feeling grateful to Demetrius for bringing Adrian back.

  “Killed him myself,” Demetrius replied, and my momentary gratitude vanished. “He had to be shot repeatedly first, of course, which is why I made sure all my men were armed, and—”

  “The baby,” Adrian suddenly said, his gaze burning as he looked at Demetrius. “That’s how you’ve been able to track us lately. You used to be able to track me through our blood tie before I blocked you by tethering my soul to Ivy’s. But the baby isn’t tethered to anyone, and it has your blood, too.”

  I thought I couldn’t be shocked by anything else, yet I was wrong as Demetrius’s slow smile confirmed Adrian’s suspicions.

  “Blood calls to blood, son, always. When I heard it again, I thought it was your blood breaking through your tethering to call to me, but it wasn’t. I didn’t realize that until I was about to break the Davidian’s head open, and realized I heard two heartbeats coming from her body instead of one.”

  Adrian stared at me, and the knives formed by his shadows blunted until they were no more than wisps against the writhing, inky darkness around him. Then he looked at Demetrius.

  “You have the spearhead and the other hallowed weapons, so you have everything you want, except for me. But you can have me if you heal Ivy, and leave her and the child alone. Do that, and I swear I will stand by your side for the rest of my life.”

  “Adrian, don’t,” I gasped. “You can’t!”

  “Yes, I can,” he said, and didn’t look away from Demetrius. “You can punish me as you see fit, and you can direct me to use my shadows as if they were your own. All this I give to you in exchange for the life and safety of Ivy and my child.”

  “You think your word is sufficient for me to believe you?” Demetrius mocked. But from the sudden gleam in his eyes, he was tempted. Not even he was a good enough actor to hide that.

  “You have more than my word,” Adrian said, his voice hardening as he ignored my continued pleas for him not to do this. “As long as they are alive, you also have matchless incentive for me to remain loyal to you, because we all know the first thing you’d do if I wasn’t.”

  “I do have a temper,” Demetrius agreed.

  “So do I,” Adrian said, flashing a cruel smile at his father. “And if you think I’ve caused you problems over the past several years, you don’t want to see what I’m capable of if you break this deal. I don’t care if you control all the realm gateways and our people crown you king, I will lay waste to your universe if you betray me on this.”

  Demetrius stared at Adrian. Then he began to chuckle in that low, malevolently amused way that was unique to him. Those deep rumbles of mirth soon gave way to full roars of laughter.

  “I knew you’d come back to me! I didn’t expect it to be under these circumstances, but life never fails to surprise, does it? Besides, you are far stronger now than you would have been had you never left. Very well, my vicious, vengeful son. I agree to your terms, with the understanding that if either of us betrays them, countless bodies will drop, starting with hers.”

  “Agreed,” Adrian said even as I screamed, “No!”

  At last, Adrian looked at me. “We both gave it our best shot to beat him, Ivy, and we both failed. All we can do now is make the best of what’s left.”

  Tears spilled down my cheeks, and they felt warm against skin that had grown so cold. “I can’t let you do this, Adrian.”

  “Ivy,” he said with a sigh. “It’s already done.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  DEMETRIUS, OF COURSE, was completely unconcerned with the aftereffects of smashing Adrian’s life and our relationship with one blow. “Now that that’s settled, back to more important things,” he said.

  I wanted to continue arguing with Adrian, to find the right words tha
t would somehow stop him from making the worst mistake of his life, but all of a sudden, I was too exhausted to even speak. It shouldn’t be a surprise. I didn’t know how I was still conscious after all the blood I’d lost, both from my bullet wounds and from getting half my right arm hacked off. If Demetrius or someone else hadn’t put a tourniquet on it, I definitely would have bled to death already.

  Demetrius returned to carefully emptying the contents of the plastic containers into a huge bowl that was absolutely not plastic. Instead, it shone as brightly as gold, and knowing the demon’s avarice, it probably was gold. Adrian gave the sawdust that Demetrius poured into it a knowing look.

  “Is that what I think it is?”

  “What else?” Demetrius said, then slanted a look at me. “You have no idea, though, do you?”

  “I don’t care,” I said, but Demetrius was in full bragging mode, so he told me anyway.

  “This is all that remains of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the very one whose fruit prompted mankind’s original sin. Nothing else in all the realms compares to its darkness. Even a sprinkling of this can turn the most hallowed of items into a cursed relic in an instant, but you don’t have to believe me. See for yourself. Bring the prisoner!”

  The doors opened and four more minions came in. I almost didn’t recognize the person they had tied with ropes between them because he was covered in layers of dirt and blood. But when he lifted his head and his long black hair fell back, I recognized him and let out a silent scream.

  Not Costa, too!

  Adrian also appeared shocked. “What are you doing here?”

  “Came with Brutus,” Costa mumbled. “Zach said that we hadn’t been forbidden from helping like he had, so he sent us.”

  “And despite my men carelessly killing all the monks, now I have a human to handle the hallowed items that might otherwise kill me or my minions if we touched them,” Demetrius said archly.

  That was why he’d kept Costa alive. Of course it hadn’t been out of any sense of compassion or mercy.

  “So, Michael was forbidden from coming?” Demetrius laughed. “I do so love when Archons are required to play by rules that I am free to ignore.” Then that coal-colored stare landed on me. “You know this means God wants humanity to suffer. Otherwise, why would He forbid His general from stopping me from reopening the realm gateways?”

  I had no idea. It wasn’t because I’d be the one to stop him. I’d given that my best shot and had come up far short.

  “Think about it,” Demetrius continued. “If God knows everything, then He knew that if you came to this island without Michael, you would fail. Yet He still forbade Michael from coming with you. How does it feel to know despite all your efforts, it was foreordained that you never stood a chance?”

  I looked away. I didn’t want to admit that Demetrius was right, but at the moment, it was hard to call him wrong. Maybe this had been part of a plan. A huge, humanity’s-gonna-get-it plan, with me leading everyone straight into demons’ arms.

  “Stop baiting Ivy,” Adrian said in a flat tone. “Aren’t you tens of thousands of years too old to use mere words to wound?”

  “I would prefer to use knives, but that would break our agreement,” Demetrius said, his brow arching. “But you’re right, back to business. Dip the tip of the pilum into the bowl,” he ordered Costa, and the minions holding him loosed the ropes from around him and shoved him forward.

  That was when I saw that he’d been holding the long stick all along. As Demetrius had pointed out, Costa was a regular guy with no supernatural lineage and no demon-tethering ties like the minions, so the pilum had no effect on him. It didn’t even appear to be pulling him toward the spearhead, wherever that was.

  Costa cast a grim look at me, then folded his arms around the pilum and didn’t move. “I won’t do it unless you let me treat Ivy’s wounds with manna.”

  A snort escaped Demetrius. “You are very lucky that my people murdered all the other humans here, or I’d kill you for daring to assume that you could bargain with me.”

  “Let him do it,” Adrian said wearily. “You’ve already agreed to let Ivy live. Why wait until she dies and you have to drain more of your power to raise her to honor our deal?”

  Demetrius sighed. “Because I’d like to see her dead at least once. Still, you’re right. Raising people drains me of strength, and I’ve already depleted a great deal of my power by killing Blinky so he couldn’t get to the spearhead before I could, causing the eclipse to come early, and then by raising you, Adrian. Very well.” He turned back to Costa. “Give it to her, but first, drop the hallowed weapons right where you stand.”

  Costa’s mouth dipped downward. Seeing it, Demetrius laughed. “You didn’t expect me to let you near the Davidian while you were holding them, did you?”

  From Costa’s expression, he had been hoping Demetrius would be that stupid, but of course, the demon wasn’t. Costa dropped the pilum. Then he reached behind him and pulled something from behind his back. When he dropped it and I saw the crimson, purple and gold cloth wrapped around it, I realized he’d been carrying the spearhead with him, too.

  It was only twenty feet away. So close, yet also an unbridgeable distance considering my physical condition and being in a room filled with minions and an über-powerful demon.

  Then Costa came over to me and knelt next to me, his expression twisting when he looked at my sawed-off arm. His expression grew even darker when he lifted my sweater and saw the bullet holes I still didn’t want to look at. Instead, I watched as he pulled a bag of manna from his jeans pocket that was bulging full. He had come to the island prepared.

  “You should use some yourself,” I said, although it was becoming much harder to talk. “You look awful.”

  “You first,” he said, forcing a smile as he smeared both hands with the sticky substance, then put one over my stump and the other over what was probably the worst of my bullet holes.

  I braced for the pain that always came when flesh was forced to rapidly repair itself, yet nothing happened. Costa’s expression grew stricken and he grabbed a bigger handful from the bag, then placed the new batch over my stomach.

  Nothing. Not even a tingle. When I glanced at my arm, the end still looked open and mangled, too.

  “You’re not healing,” Costa said in anguish.

  I wasn’t, which meant only one thing. My wounds were mortal. Now all we had was our worst enemy’s word that he’d bring me back after I died, which would be very soon.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  ADRIAN’S FACE WAS several degrees past stricken. I had never seen him look so tortured, and his gaze filled with tears.

  “No,” he whispered.

  “Yes!” Demetrius said delightedly. “Looks like I get my wish to see her dead once after all.”

  If my severed limb had been anywhere nearby and I’d had the strength, I would have thrown it at him. I had resigned myself to dying, but I hadn’t wanted it to be like this.

  “Let me free,” Adrian said, twisting against his chains. “I won’t let her die alone.”

  “She’s not alone. She’s right there,” Demetrius said with an exasperated wave in my direction.

  Adrian stopped struggling and he lasered a glare at Demetrius. “Once you’re done here, I am leaving with you and I’ll probably never see her again. You can give me this.”

  Demetrius sighed. “From admiringly vicious to depressingly sentimental. Very well, since this will indeed be one of your last moments with her, why not?” Then his gaze narrowed. “I don’t need to remind you that I am now Ivy’s only hope of resurrection, so if you try anything, you will lose her forever. Then, of course, I’ll murder your friend and your gargoyle in ways that will haunt your nightmares for decades to come.”

  Brutus was alive? Despite my circumstances being
as grim as they could get, the thought cheered me. I had feared the worst after realizing that Demetrius had bounced back so quickly after Brutus’s attack, not to mention the gargoyle’s absence now.

  “Understood,” Adrian said coldly. “Now release me.”

  Demetrius nodded at his minions. From their expressions, they didn’t want to do this, but since they were standing on the grainy remains of minions who had probably pissed Demetrius off, no one argued. They hurried over and began to unlock and then unwind the chains from around Adrian.

  “Now, no more delays. Dip the end of the pilum in the bowl, boy,” Demetrius said to Costa.

  Costa got up, giving me an apologetic look. Then his face turned to stone as he took the pilum and brought it over to the table. I knew what Demetrius had said about the power of the ground-up remains of that infamous tree, but I still hoped nothing would happen when the end of that long stick touched the sawdust-like contents in the huge golden bowl.

  All the air felt like it was sucked out of the room, and the pilum, which had been a deep shade of brown, turned black as pitch before my next blink. I hadn’t realized how much energy I’d been siphoning from the pilum until everything that was hallowed about it abruptly vanished. My vision narrowed, my body turned to ice and I might have even briefly passed out, because the next thing I knew, I was gathered in Adrian’s arms.

  “It’s okay,” he was crooning, and I realized he was rocking me, only because I saw him moving. I couldn’t feel it, nor could I feel his arms around me. I couldn’t feel anything anymore.

  “Adrian,” I whispered. I wanted to say more, but I lacked the ability. Had I died and Demetrius had already brought me back? No. That couldn’t be. If he had, I wouldn’t still be paralyzed by weakness from my injuries and blood loss.

  “Shh,” he said, kissing me. “You’ll be all right soon.”

  Here you go lying to me again, I thought, unable to say it out loud. Nothing would be all right soon, least of all me. Even if I were brought back, that would only mean I’d keep living to miss him every day, plus regret how I’d failed all those people in the realms, plus doomed Adrian to their same fate.