“You remember me. You know you do.” Daimon kept pressing, feeling he was getting somewhere. “That’s why you came to me. We’ve always been close, always had each other’s backs. That’s why you came. You’re safe here. I’ll take care of you.”
He reached a hand towards the one Esher gripped the daemon’s ankle in.
Big mistake.
Esher snarled and twisted, dropping the wraith’s ankle to step between Daimon and his prey.
Daimon backed off as his brother advanced, flexing black claws as scarlet ringed his irises.
Cass was swift to act on the opening she had been given.
Green light burst from her palms and wrapped around the wraith, forming a circle of shimmering light around him.
Esher turned on her with a roar.
“Go!” Daimon grabbed Esher’s arm and pulled him back, cursing himself as ice spread across his brother’s skin.
He grunted as Esher elbowed him in the face.
Cass disappeared in a flash of crimson light.
He grappled with Esher, struggling to keep hold of him as he snarled and elbowed him again. Stars winked across Daimon’s vision as he took a hit to the nose, as blood streamed over his lips and heat spread across his face.
Outside, the rain pelted the garden, filling the air with the smell of earth, and lightning struck nearby.
Esher twisted free of his grip and dread washed through Daimon as he lunged for him, fear that his brother would leave and destroy anything that stood in his path. Wind howled through the house as he managed to grab hold of Esher again and his brother turned and slammed his palm against Daimon’s throat, grabbed him and hauled him into the air.
Daimon locked his hand around Esher’s wrist.
And hesitated.
His brief reluctance to use his ice against his brother cost him.
Esher slammed him into the nearest wooden pillar and the air burst from Daimon’s lungs as fire rolled across his back.
His vision tunnelled as he fought to breathe, struggling to get air into his burning lungs, and fear swamped him as his heart began to slow.
No.
Esher sneered at him, red invading the blue of his stormy eyes.
Daimon’s thoughts blurred and he tried to prise Esher’s hand from his throat, his actions sluggish and body slow to respond as his blood crawled through his veins and his heart stuttered.
Esher was using his power over water to control Daimon’s blood.
His brother was going to kill him.
Cass would be next.
That thought had icy talons forming over his fingers and he growled, the sound half-pain and half-rage, as he clawed at Esher’s arms, spilling blood that instantly froze in jagged red icicles.
Esher released him and he crashed to his knees, gasped in a breath. He stumbled onto his feet and staggered left, determined to reach Cass before Esher could and get her and himself away from his brother. He glanced back at him.
Esher roared and lunged for him.
Their mother appeared between them in a swirl of black smoke that spiralled downwards to blend into the layers of her dress.
She seized hold of Esher, gripping his shoulders in both hands.
Esher growled and lashed out at her, a vicious and savage beast as he clawed at her, drawing blood as vibrantly scarlet as her hair.
His nostrils flared as he drew in a deep breath.
He suddenly stilled.
Stared at her.
Through crimson eyes.
Daimon sank to his knees, unable to believe what he was seeing.
He had never seen Esher’s other side calmed by anything. He had never seen it so docile.
Persephone was soft and gentle as she lifted her hands to Esher’s face and framed it with her palms. “Let go. You have the wraith now, my love. You can rest.”
Esher drew down a breath, was still for a tense moment where Daimon didn’t dare move, and then he nodded and passed out. Persephone caught him as he fell, bringing him down gently to rest with his head on her knees. Outside, the weather instantly calmed.
“I do not have much time,” their mother said, her voice as soft and light as a summer’s breeze as her green eyes came to rest on Daimon, the flecks of gold in them sparkling. “The Underworld has been in an uproar. We have been trying to catch up with Esher from the moment he entered it, but whoever we sent to stop him ended up dead. In the end, our only hope was that he would find the one he was hunting so I might have an opportunity to reach him.”
She gently stroked Esher’s matted black hair and looked down at him, her gaze overflowing with the love she held for him and with relief.
“I wish I could stay longer,” she whispered.
Daimon glanced at the garden. The seasons were at war with his mother present, flowers attempting to grow as if it was spring and birds singing mating calls even as the autumnal colours remained.
She looked at him. “Take care of him. He has been through so much.”
Daimon nodded.
Persephone lingered.
He dropped his gaze, aware of the reason she was hesitating to return to the Underworld. Long gashes cut across her shoulders and her chest, seeping blood. His father was going to be furious with Esher when she returned and he saw the state of her, and she didn’t want to get Esher into more trouble.
She stroked Esher’s cheek, bent over and pressed a kiss to his dirty forehead. “Rest. Get better.”
And then she was gone.
The ground shook violently, the tremor rocking Esher where he lay on his back on the golden straw mats.
When the quake stopped, Daimon pulled his phone from his pocket and fired off a message. In less than a heartbeat, his brothers surrounded him, together with Caterina, Megan, Eva and Marinda.
And Aiko.
Tears spilled down her cheeks and she sobbed as she darted forwards.
Keras grabbed her arm and held her back.
She looked back at his brother and then at Daimon.
Daimon nodded. “Mother was here. He won’t wake for a while. It’s safe.”
Keras released her.
Aiko sank to her knees beside Esher, caressed his cheek and murmured things to him in Japanese.
She lifted her head, her dark eyes bleak and tears glistening on her cheeks. “We should clean him.”
Daimon wanted to do that too, but he shook his head. “Esher needs to rest right now.”
He didn’t want to risk disturbing his sleep.
“I’ll take him to his room.” Keras moved around Esher, stooped and carefully lifted him, and when he looked at Daimon, Daimon nodded at him, silently thanking his brother for doing it for him.
Aiko followed Keras, and Daimon trailed after them, leaving his brothers to guard the wraith.
When he reached the door of his room, he slid the panel open.
Cass immediately turned to face him, relief filling her blue eyes chased by anger as they narrowed on his nose. “Oh, that beast.”
She hurried to him and he didn’t chastise her about the term she insisted on using for Esher as she fussed over him, was too relieved to see she was safe too. His nose ached as she brushed her fingers down it and then the pain was gone, the stuffiness clearing and allowing him to breathe through it again.
“I could get used to having you around,” he murmured and stroked his knuckles lightly across her cheek. “Thanks for that, and for leaving when I asked.”
“If I had known he was going to make mincemeat of your nose, I would have stayed.” She petted it with a slight pout to her lips. “Your beautiful nose.”
“It’ll be fine. Not the first time it’s been broken and it won’t be the last.” He dragged his gaze away from her as Keras emerged from Esher’s room to his left. He nodded. Looked back at Cass and caught the question in her eyes. “Mother made Esher sleep. He needs rest now. I’m not sure how long the gift Mother used will last.”
“I can do a spell that will keep him asleep for a f
ew days.”
Gods, could his sorceress get any more wonderful?
He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Thank you.”
She wrinkled her nose when he pulled back. “You taste like blood.”
He followed her as she swept from the room, her head held high and shoulders back, not missing the nerves she was doing her best to mask as she strode with purpose towards Esher’s room.
A flicker of relief danced across her delicate features as she reached the doorway and saw it was only Keras and Aiko in the room with Esher.
Although he also didn’t miss how she kept firmly to the right, as far from Keras as she could get.
He gave his oldest brother a questioning look as he entered the room and came to stand next to Aiko, but Keras refused to look at him, kept his green eyes locked on Esher where he lay on the bedding in the middle of the room.
Cass kneeled by his head and swirls of blue, purple and black emanated from her palms, drifted over Esher’s head and disappeared into his mouth and nose as he inhaled.
She lifted her gaze to Daimon, and then settled it on Aiko. “He should sleep for at least seventy-two hours. I can renew the spell then if necessary.”
“Thank you,” Aiko said.
When she went to kneel beside his brother, Daimon stopped her, stepping into her path.
“How much do you know about my brother?” He searched her eyes.
They were open, clear, not a hint of malice or fear in them as she said, “I know about his past. Esher told me everything.”
Good. That was good. But he needed to be sure she knew what she was in for, because when Esher came around, he was going to be delicate. The slightest thing was liable to set him off again.
“When Esher… flips… he’s a different person. He might not remember what he’s done when he comes around.” Daimon held her gaze, needing to know she was listening to him. “He might not want to remember. Esher was never big on killing. Not really. His other side… it doesn’t care. It’s happiest when it’s killing. Esher won’t be strong enough to handle remembering that. Mother said he killed everyone they sent after him. If he remembers that…”
She nodded. “I won’t probe. I promise.”
She tried to pass him, but he didn’t let her.
He looked back at his brother, darkness coursing through him, howling at him to keep everyone away from him and keep him safe. He needed to protect Esher.
A hand came to rest on his shoulder.
Drawing his focus to Cass where she now stood beside him.
Her blue eyes were soft as she murmured, “Let Aiko look after him too.”
It was hard, but somehow Daimon managed to nod and step aside.
Keras remained silent, a sceptical edge to his eyes that Aiko noticed. It was enough to halt her in her tracks.
“I won’t disturb his sleep,” she said, a pleading edge to her expression as she faced his brother. “I promise.”
Keras stared at her for a tense minute.
Finally nodded.
Aiko was quick to move to Esher, to kneel beside him and brush her fingers across his brow.
Daimon looked at Keras.
“We have a wraith to question.”
Chapter 29
Sixty-seven hours, fourteen minutes and twenty-two seconds had passed since Keras had placed a veil on the wraith using his shadows.
Sixty-seven hours, fourteen minutes and twenty-three seconds in which he hadn’t slept.
Sixty-seven hours, fourteen minutes and twenty-four seconds in which Eli hadn’t uttered a damned word.
Keras loomed over the daemon they had locked in Esher’s cage in a separate building on the mansion grounds, staring down at him where he dared to sleep.
Sleep.
His head canted to his left, green gaze assessing, hunger igniting.
Hunger to reach between the heavy enchanted bars of the cage and drag the fiend kicking and screaming up from his slumber.
Fatigue blurred his thoughts together into a pleasing stream of bloodshed, a thousand outcomes that flickered before his eyes.
“Keras?” The soft voice belonging to the sorceress invaded his thoughts, purging them from his mind, leaving it blank by the time he looked across at her where she stood in the doorway.
Daimon right behind her.
His brother kept a close eye on him, a wary edge to his gaze and his posture. He was contemplating whisking Cassandra away from him.
Had she told Daimon that he had threatened her?
He doubted it.
He looked into her eyes, seeking the answer there, and she tensed, the briefest tightening of her shoulders that drew a reaction from his brother. Daimon wrapped an arm around her and ushered her into the room. Her confidence returned in a heartbeat, silver stars sparking in her eyes as she narrowed them on Keras.
“We came to relieve you. Ares’s orders. You need to eat.” Daimon kept his distance from Keras.
Kept Cass firmly away from him.
But she hadn’t told him.
It was there in his eyes.
She had kept their conversation to herself.
Most probably a good thing.
If Daimon knew he had threatened her, his brother would want his head. It was right there in his pale blue eyes as they glittered with ice, on the verge of turning white. That dangerous, possessive side of their blood rearing its ugly head.
He scoffed.
That side of his blood was poison.
It caused him nothing but agony.
If he could cut it out of him, he would.
His right hand twitched with the urge to lift to his chest, to sink claws into his flesh to remove the thing responsible for pumping that poison around his system.
Something he was better off without.
He didn’t need a heart.
Cassandra and Daimon stared at him. Waiting.
“Get some rest,” Daimon said, his words carefully weighed, his gaze cautious.
Keras inclined his head and walked to the door, paused there to look back at the sorceress. “Keep him cloaked.”
She must have heard the thinly veiled threat in his voice because her spine stiffened and fire lit her eyes. “I know how to do this spell, thank you. It will not fail.”
When she looked as if she might strike him, he found himself lingering. His cheekbone heated with the memory of the blows she had delivered to it, dealing pain that had surprised him and caught him completely off guard. He knew she had seen one of his deepest, darkest secrets in that moment.
His gaze flickered to Daimon.
Another thing she hadn’t told his brother.
Perhaps the sorceress wasn’t so bad after all. She was strong, capable, and as much as it sickened him to say it, it was clear she felt something for Daimon.
All six of his brothers mated.
He pondered that as he walked away, heading for the main house across the moonlit garden.
If oblivion claimed him now, he could rest easy knowing they weren’t alone.
No, he couldn’t.
He still had a duty to fulfil.
Once it was done, so was he.
He couldn’t go on like this.
Shadows wrapped around him, cloaking him from the world just long enough that he could slide a pill from the box in his pocket and place it on his tongue. The effect was instantaneous, cold washing through him, spreading to erase the poison that coursed in his veins, and stealing some of his fatigue with it.
The shadows dissipated as he stepped up onto the wooden walkway that led to the bathhouse.
Ares leaned with his back against the stone wall of the showers, his long legs crossed at the ankle, his black jeans and T-shirt making him blend in with the night. The sparks of fire that danced in his dark eyes gave him away.
“There you are.” Ares’s deep growl rolled over him. “Thought for a moment I was going to have to come and get you myself.”
Keras stopped level with him and looked across at hi
m. “The wraith will not speak.”
Ares shook his head, his wild tawny hair brushing his broad shoulders. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to let you go poking around in his head. It’s too dangerous, Keras. You’re too tired from having to cloak the bastard. If you tried to read his memories—”
Keras held his right hand up and Ares fell silent.
He knew the risks.
Eli was a strong daemon, an old daemon. He would be able to resist Keras’s mind probe and there was a chance it would drain Keras further, leaving him vulnerable.
But they were getting nowhere.
He had spent the last three days torturing the daemon, doing everything short of looking into his mind to get the answers he wanted. Aiko had even tried to read the daemon, but the male’s mind had blocks in place. Whatever Keras tried, Eli withstood it all, refusing to break.
Unlike his body.
Keras had broken bones, must have fractured every one in the daemon’s body at some point, and had stood by as Cassandra had used spells to put him back together, tearing agonised screams from him that Keras’s shadows had greedily absorbed.
Cal had even taken a shot at the daemon, intent on making him pay for what had happened to their sister. His youngest brother had revealed a dark streak as black as Keras’s own one, had revelled in using his power over air to choke the daemon, suffocating him and pushing him close to dying more than once.
Cal was hungry for another go at the daemon. All of his brothers were.
But Keras was determined to be the one to make him speak.
The only path left open to him was cracking the daemon’s mind open.
Ares remained hot on his heels as he strode into the main room of the mansion. Aiko was coming out of the kitchen to his right as he entered, a tray of food clutched in her hands.
The petite raven-haired woman paused and nodded at him. “Esher is looking brighter today. Cass helped me clean him.”
He could see the relief that gave her, even felt a glimmer of it himself, the barest hint of comfort that was there and gone in the blink of an eye as the pill erased it.
“That’s good.” He managed to layer relief into those two words, knowing she would want to hear it.
She smiled and bobbed her head again before continuing across the long living room, passing the low wooden dining table where the others sat and then the couches that formed the TV area at the other end of it. She disappeared around the corner and he caught a glimpse of her through the open panels to his left as she hurried along the covered wooden walkway, heading for Esher’s room.
Daimon: Guardians of Hades Series Book 6 Page 26
