“Sure,” Maddy said. Kynan laughed to himself. Whatever the joke was, he wasn’t sharing. Probably because he knew she wouldn’t think it was funny.
“Be right there.” After he’d seen the woman onto the bus, Xia returned and stood in front of her, hands on his hips. He gave Vahid a thorough once-over, then glared at Kynan. Xia and Kynan had made a peace of sorts, but there was an unpleasant history between them. Xia was bound to her best friend, Alexandrine, and had firsthand experience of Kynan’s past behavior difficulties. Only Nikodemus knew more about Kynan’s issues than Xia. Briefly, Xia touched his fingers to his forehead before he addressed Maddy. “How the fuck did this happen?”
“My choice, Xia.”
“Bullshit. You hate him.”
“Now isn’t the time to discuss that. All you need to know is that this is what I wanted.” She touched his arm and then gestured at the buildings. “What is all that?”
“Twenty-three human women were in there.” Not much upset him, but he was plenty upset now. “All of them pregnant. All of them chained up. The ones who are well enough are being transported out.”
She walked to the bunkhouse door. Kynan joined her, as horrified as she was by the rows of cots. Harsh was at one end of the room, examining one of the women. He’d been a physician before he manifested, and from time to time his medical experience came in handy. From the looks of things, he needed a team of doctors to help.
Now that she was confronted with the reality of what Sessani had been doing here, she didn’t want to accept what she was seeing. Not all the women were street witches. Some of them were normal, everyday, not-an-atom-of-magic humans. They couldn’t possibly have consented to this. Addison straightened from one of the beds and hefted a canvas bag over one shoulder. Like Xia, she had a steadying hand on a woman’s arm.
“We can’t just send them home,” Maddy said to no one in particular. Even in the short term these women needed medical care and the opportunity to decide what they would do if they were early enough in their pregnancies to safely terminate them. With the right magic, it could be done.
Xia softly said, “Not right away.”
The kin did not abandon their children. But would any of these women want contact with the demons who’d fathered their children? No one would force that on them, but leaving them with no options and no support was inhuman by any standard.
“These are just the pregnant ones.” Xia’s voice was tightly controlled. “Most of the women and children are in another part of the compound. Older boys are over there.” He indicated the direction with his chin. “There aren’t any older girls here.”
Maddy looked away, trying to pick out which building that was. It was easy to tell which housed the very young children, since women with children-in-arms or toddlers exited one of the buildings at a steady pace.
Xia pulled out the knife he wore at his waist and slid a finger over and around the entwined blades that made up the deadly cutting surface. He’d spent years honing the intertwined blades, sharpening every surface, and it was so infused with magic that the moment he took it from its scabbard, she felt the lure of its power. “Harsh says some of the women in there”—he meant the building he’d just left—“need to go to a hospital.” His voice turned hard. “One of them was dead. Probably for a couple of days. They left her there.”
“No,” Maddy said in a low voice.
“If you hadn’t found out about them, if you hadn’t been keeping on us about this shit, how many more women would have died? How many of those boys would have been raised into slavery? How many more girls would have disappeared?” He looked away and then back. “We should have paid more attention to you and your street witches. We should have realized what happened to Gray wasn’t an isolated thing or that what happened to Addison was more than that loser Infante trying to go big time.”
She gripped the edge of the door. “It’s all right, Xia.” She’d done it. A fierce joy spread through her. She’d stopped Sessani. Kynan curved his hand over the back of her neck, and she leaned toward him, grateful for the contact. “We’re here, and this is over for them.”
On their way to the building where Nikodemus waited, Xia grabbed a handful of Kynan’s shirt and yanked. At the same time, he had his knife out and pressed under Vahid’s chin. His eyes had turned an unnatural blue.
“Xia. Stop it.”
He ignored her. “When I heard you and Maddy were off-grid, I knew you were responsible. I was ready to come after you. But this? You sick bastard. Fuck you for doing this to her. Fuck. You.”
Kynan didn’t react. There was no change in the level of the magic he was holding. “If things hadn’t worked out the way they did, I was hoping Nikodemus would send you after me. He sent Durian, but I knew if you found out, you wouldn’t stay home. Does that help?”
“You keep her safe. Understand me? Safe. We need her. We need her magic. We need her brains. We need her courage.”
“I’m not arguing.”
“Xia.” Maddy kept her tone light. She stepped between the two of them and pushed Xia’s wrist until the blades of his knife weren’t pointing at Vahid’s throat. “Everything’s all right.”
Xia looked at her and snarled. “It’s me, Maddy. Not some stupid fuck who doesn’t know better. I was there when he pulled memories of you out of Alexandrine’s head. I was fucking there. I know what he did.”
“It’s as right as it can be, how about that?”
“You deal straight with her.” He let go of Kynan’s shirt. “That’s all I’m saying.” He stepped back, but his eyes continued to glow an unsettling neon blue. “You let me know if he’s not doing what he should.”
“You should, Winters,” Kynan said. “Promise him.” There was a hint of compulsion because he meant what he said.
“Stop it,” Xia said. “Leave her alone.”
“Maddy Winters is mine.”
“I promise,” she said. “Xia, I promise I will tell you if he does anything he shouldn’t.” She glanced at Kynan. “Please tell me that doesn’t include cheating when you game.”
“I don’t cheat,” Kynan said. “I don’t have to. I can whip him at any game any time.”
“Fuck you.” But Xia sheathed that knife of his.
Maddy lifted her hands, glad some of the tension had broken. “Just trying to get clear on the parameters.”
“Let’s go, honey.” Kynan looped his arm around her shoulders and gave Xia a smile he intended as a taunt.
She dug an elbow into his side, hard. “Stop being an ass.”
“I’m the best ass you’ve ever had.”
“Are you trying to set him off? Stop it.” Her earpiece chirped again, and Nikodemus’s voice said, “Winters. We need you here now.”
CHAPTER 29
With twenty kinds of magic interacting, the compound was making everyone jumpy, including Kynan. The magic laid down to keep the local humans away was bad enough, but underneath it roiled the abomination of what Sessani had been doing here. There was a reason she’d isolated herself where she did.
Kynan lengthened his stride toward the building where Nikodemus waited for them. As far as he was concerned, Sessani needed to be dead. She’d had her chance to comply with the rules, and she hadn’t done it. Fucking witch. Winters took several quick steps to keep pace. Vahid, taller and not limited by human physiology, had no trouble keeping up.
Kynan’s sworn, living and dead, swirled through him, a continuous source of power he no longer needed to suppress. His affinity with Nikodemus was definitely changed. Though the threat of a permanent break between them had diminished, neither of them believed their difficulties were over. Nikodemus remained bent about his loss of a direct oath from Winters. Too bad. She was his now and staying that way.
The two sworn posted outside the main building bowed to him as he swept past with all the arrogant confidence that came with his rank. Inside, the perverted magic intensified. Winters shuddered, a reaction that boomeranged among the thre
e of them. He stopped in the doorway outside where Nikodemus was meeting with the other kin and the mages and witches who had survived to be taken into custody. He made eye contact with Vahid. “Will you be okay seeing Sessani?”
“I’m fine.” His answer was quiet but truthful.
“Good. That’s good that you’re fine.” Kynan thumped Vahid’s shoulder once. “You did good. Xia’s an asshole, but he’s right to be pissed at me for what I did. No reason for you to have trouble with him.” He brought Vahid to him, and compulsion flowed from him to Vahid. “When we get in there, you color inside the lines, got me?”
Vahid didn’t answer, and he didn’t get so much as an echo of agreement, so he turned to the compulsion into an outright order. “You cannot harm her. This is Nikodemus’s show. Do not interfere.”
Vahid shoved his hands in his pockets and said, “I will not disobey you.”
Winters touched Vahid’s arm. “You can’t make her be what you deserved in a mother. Nothing fixes this or makes it better. What you can do is let her see you in there. Free.”
“I do not need your advice, witch.”
“It’s going to be funny as hell when she gets tired of your attitude and kicks your ass.” Kynan laughed to relieve some of the tension. It didn’t help. “Oh, it’ll happen. Guaranteed. You’re being a dick, but you come by it naturally, and if I were you, I’d be bugging out.” He brought him in for one last touch. “Do what she said. Get in there and show that witch how badly she’s screwed.”
Normally, Winters would have already been inside with Nikodemus. No lie, he took unwarranted satisfaction walking in with Winters at his side. Vahid too, because that Sessani witch was going to get served.
Nikodemus lounged on a chair in a room cleared of all other furniture. His gesture at them to come close was every bit as arrogant as Kynan’s entry. Point well made. Nikodemus knew when and how to make a statement to humans who remained impressed by symbols of power. Older mages and witches were always offended when demons surrounded themselves with the trappings of royalty. A throne. An army of warriors. A room full of demons of power.
There was one other human sworn to Nikodemus: Paisley Nichols, now Nichols-Phillipikos. She stood to one side of Nikodemus, quiet, withdrawn, and so pale Kynan wondered whether someone should call Harsh. He was busy with the humans, but Paisley didn’t look so good. Her particular gift was the ability to strip magekind of the lives they had taken. The process wasn’t pleasant, and it was obvious she’d just done so for seven of them in a row. He hoped they hurt for a long time.
Kynan let Winters and Vahid precede him into the room. His dead sworn stirred in response to the heavily guarded magekind standing ten feet from Nikodemus. Seven of them cut off from their magic, all of them stripped of the lives that had preserved their youth. Sessani, still defiant, stood at the front of the captives.
Fucking witch. She hadn’t changed since the days she’d worked with Magellan. Her apparent age remained late twenties, clear evidence she’d committed ritual murders to extend her life. He came to a halt, as did Maddy and Vahid, who stood with their hands clasped behind their backs. Vahid did exactly what he’d asked of him; to stand at his side, free.
The presence of his first two living sworn in centuries steadied him as his rage came front and center. Sessani had worked with Magellan while that mage had refined the first of the killing rituals that had decimated the kin once the practice went wide. He’d personally watched her butcher his kind.
“Nikodemus.” Kynan touched three fingers to his bowed head. Winters and Vahid did the same. Sessani glared at Vahid, a look full of venom. He hoped she choked on it.
We will have vengeance, his sworn whispered. He wanted that, too. He wanted vengeance for Vahid, for himself, for every one of his sworn, and all the others Sessani had killed or enslaved.
“Kynan Aijan.” Nikodemus motioned them closer. “Counselor. Vahid. Thank you for coming so quickly.” He sat forward, hands on the arms of the chair. His bodyguards moved closer, Carson included.
Kynan said, “We are here to bear witness to the crimes committed by Neda Sessani.”
“You,” Sessani said in raspy Farsi. She lifted a hand and pointed at Vahid.
Vahid stood with his legs apart, hands now loosely clasped in front of him, and offered no reaction to her.
Her arm shook. “You brought this down on us. You. You betrayed me and all those raised with you.”
“No.” Nikodemus replied in Farsi, too. His words were curt. Another of Nikodemus’s sworn translated the Farsi to English. “You brought this on yourself.”
“I do not hear demons speak.” She continued in Farsi. “You should all be dead or slaves. I do not hear those who should be slaves.”
“Maddy.” Nikodemus held out a hand, and she walked toward him. He switched to English. “Explain to Ms. Sessani why we’re here. She’s had the basic speech, but I’m not sure she understands. She needs the legalese version.”
She faced Sessani and the others. “Neda Sessani. My name is Maddy Winters. I am chief legal counsel for Nikodemus. I am sworn to the warlord Kynan Aijan and through him to Nikodemus. You are now in territory controlled by Nikodemus. You were informed of the requirements for all magekind residing in his territory, and you were given an opportunity to adhere to those rules. Breeding programs are prohibited, and you have been brought into compliance with that prohibition. The enslavement of demonkind is also prohibited. Therefore your magehelds have been freed. Further, you have been divested of the lives of kin obtained during or because of a ritual murder.”
Sessani sneered. “Everything I have done has been in service of the protection of innocent humans. Demons have used humans to procreate for centuries. They indwell and destroy lives. You are a traitor to your kind.”
“Your objections do not stand. Nonconsensual relations between demonkind and humans are not permitted. In the case of procreative intercourse, no consent is possible without full disclosure. Indwells without full consent are also prohibited.”
“I do not recognize the authority of any demon.”
Winters smiled.
He loved it when Winters was in shark mode. “That’s a problem only if you failed to comply with the rules as they have been explained to you. Strictly speaking, we don’t care what you think as long as you’re not breaking rules. If you have any questions, feel free to call my office. We have all the documentation you require, including a lengthy FAQ and some white papers, available in print and the digital format of your choice, all the rules and helpful tips for peaceful co-existence. I believe you’ve been given the number and the website URL. We can send you links to download them if you need them.”
The witch drew herself up. “I no longer hear you.”
“Remind me again who you’re protecting,” Winters said in clipped tones. “It can’t be humans like the one you sent to my house. You have human women chained up in this compound. We understand one of them died while in your custody. Nikodemus takes all such deaths seriously. There will be consequences if you are found responsible for any of those incidents.”
“If a few suffer for the greater good, how is that wrong?” Sessani looked pointedly at Vahid. “I have myself made sacrifices to protect humans.”
“This compound is forfeit.” She surveyed the other magekind. “All accounts were frozen as of the time of Ms. Sessani’s refusal to comply with the rules of this territory. Those of you who can establish that you did not receive sufficient notice of the period in which you were to come into compliance are entitled to file a grievance with me. Until such grievances are processed and a determination is made, all monies remain frozen. Assets not related to this operation will be returned to you or your estate once our examination is complete. We have a team of forensic accountants to review the books, accounts, and any and all assets uncovered during our investigation. You, your heirs, or legal representatives are welcome to hire experts to review our results.”
“Traitor.” Sessani
didn’t seem to understand her predicament. “I denounce you.”
“Please,” she said. “The louder the better.”
“You have no right to interfere here.” Sessani pointed at Nikodemus. “You are not sovereign here.”
From his chair, Nikodemus said, “The facts say different.”
Winters cleared her throat. “Nikodemus welcomes all magekind and extends his protection under the circumstances explained to you earlier. There is swift punishment for anyone, demonkind or magekind, who breaks covenant.”
Sessani lifted a hand, a black blade gripped between her fingers. No magic involved, because she remained dead-dropped. Before Winters had even blinked, the knife was speeding toward her. Time elongated. Kynan counted the revolutions as the weapon traveled toward her. She turned sideways, one hand up, reaching, ready to grab the blade when it was close enough.
Vahid shouted, arm outstretched to push her out of the way.
Not necessary, though Kynan appreciated his effort. Vahid was a hair too late. Winters’ fingers closed around the handle. Nikodemus was on his feet, eyes silver.
The extension of nanoseconds to seconds ended. Winters stood straight, eyes locked on Sessani, the knife in her hand, a fierce grin on her face.
Vahid’s hand collided with her shoulder. He about knocked her off her feet. “Poison!”
Winters turned to Vahid, a question forming between them. Kynan launched himself at Sessani, and when he came to a halt, he had Sessani’s heart in his hand.
CHAPTER 30
Pain flared against Maddy’s palm, and she looked down to find her fingers clenched around nothing. Sessani’s heart was not in her hand. She could have sworn it was. A roar of triumph rose in her, not hers, Kynan’s. Her fingers tightened reflexively around nothing even though she felt the burn of the magic that turned Sessani’s heart to ash.
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