Nicola pushed the smallest chair next to the bed, struggling under its weight. The demons snickered at her. Angered, Koldo stepped toward her, intending to help her, but immediately forced himself to still. Now wasnt the time to reveal himself. He would frighten her.
The demons caught his aborted action and scowled at him. So much for ignoring him.
Youre not welcome here, Koldo, Lefty said.
Responding to a demon invited conversation. Conversation invited lies. Koldo wasnt so foolish as that. But he wasnt surprised the creature knew his name. With as many demonic kills as Koldo had made throughout the centuries, the entire underworld knew of him.
We can make you leave, Righty proclaimed.
Fine. He was foolish. He said, You can try. No matter what, they would fail.
Nicola reached out and gently patted her sisters hand. Oh, did I tell you? Blaine won the race.
The monitors beeped steadily, the comatose girl never moving, never twitching.
Sighing, Nicola sat back in the chair and began to relay the trials of her workday.
This time, he would help her, Koldo decided. To start, he would have to do something to ensure she listened to him, and actually acted on what he said.
That was the only way she would come out of this.
And perhaps it was his only way out, too. In saving her, he might finally find some sort of atonement.
Atonement. The word echoed in his mind. It was something he sometimes craved, but not something he deserved. Sometimes, when he closed his eyes, he could still hear the agonized screams hed caused...could still feel the barb of his victims fear.
Clenching his fists, he resolved himself. He could do this. And so could she.
Youre going to get better, La La, she suddenly announced, as though drawing hope from his thoughts. You have to recover. I wont allow anything else. Im the big sister, and you have to do whatever I tell you to do. Nothing else is acceptable.
Gaze locked on Koldo, Righty bent down and whispered into her ear. Spreading poison.
The color drained from her cheeks.
Lefty squeezed her shoulder, and she slumped forward, as though some of her energy had evaporated in a puff of smoke.
She stopped talking victory, and went back to discussing her day.
Koldo rubbed the back of his neck. What had just happened was a prime example of the life she had probably always led, pulling herself up only to be knocked down again.
Well, no more.
His body tensed all over again, preparing for war. But this was different than what hed felt when Nicola had first entered the room. There was no sense of anticipation, no hint of excitement. He just wanted to flat-out raze his enemy into the ground.
He held out his hand and summoned a sword of fireanother gift every Sent One received from the Most High. One he always had a right to use.
Righty and Lefty jolted to attention, gnarled wings popping from their backs.
You sure you want to do this? Righty asked with a gleeful smile. The horns on the creatures head grew...grew...becoming monstrous ivory towers. Fangs stretched between his lips, extending past his jaw. Youll walk away, but youll be in pieces.
The same grotesque transformation overtook Lefty, little sparks of fire flashing underneath his scales.
Koldo didnt bother with a response. He simply launched forward, blade arcing through the air. The two demons flew apart, moving out of harms way. He expected the action and went low as he landed, twisting to the right. Flames slicked over Rightys thigh.
The demon grunted from the pain, the scent of burned hair filling the room.
Koldo jumped up, kicking a leg forward and a leg backward, nailing both of his opponents at the same time. He landed, and they recovered enough to leap at him, punching. He blocked one, but purposely took the others abuse, grabbing on to Leftys arm and holding tight as he used the appendage as leverage to swing up both of his legs into Rightys throat with a brutal slam slam of his booted feet. Then he flipped Lefty over and tossed him to his back to stomp on the creatures face. Bone crunched, suddenly a jigsaw puzzle that needed to be put back together.
Before the second stomp, Lefty rolled to his feet and bounded on the bedthe females utterly unawareand, without pausing to consider a wiser way, slammed into Koldos back. A long, thick tail wound around his middle, squeezing. The hook on the end sliced all the way to Koldos intestines.
Lefty raised sharpened claws, intending to slash through his windpipe, but Koldo flashed to the other side of the bed. The moment he landed, he leaned forward and grabbed the end of the creatures tail, jerking and spinning Leftys entire body.
As the fiend careened forward, Koldo flashed behind him and swung his sword. The demon tried to dodge, but wasnt fast enough. Fire met scales and bone, and scales and bone immediately lost. The demons arm detached, spraying black blood over the floor.
Blood the humans would never see.
A howl of agony erupted as Lefty grabbed the appendage and flew out the window, into the afternoon sunlight. Unlike Sent Ones, demons couldnt regenerate limbs. The creature would have to have the arm reattached.
Deep down, Koldo knew this would not be their last battle.
Cursing, Righty turned in a half circle, his gnarled wings sweeping in Koldos direction. He could have dodged, but he chose to allow the end of one wing to clip his ankles, knocking them together, sending him flying to the floor. The beads in his beard rattled as he hit, air bursting from his lungs. He pretended to lose his hold on the sword, and the weapon vanished.
Righty dived on top of him, just as hed wanted, fangs bared. Koldo punched with all of his might, and broke the demons nose, sending fragments of cartilage into his rotting brain. Then, Koldo flashed behind him, summoning the sword of fire, swinging. The demon shot forward, staying low. But not low enough. The scent of smoke and sulfur filled the air. A loud thump sounded. One of the creatures horns was now missing.
Features contorted with rage, the demon hopped to hoofed feet, black blood leaking down his face, from his busted nose. Roaring, he lunged. Twisting left, twisting right, Koldo stepped into the battle dance. Righty knew when and where to move, sometimes managing to avoid injury. They tangoed from one side of the room to the other, up the walls, down the walls, on the floor, across the ceiling, rolling over the bed, falling through Nicola as she continued to chat with her sister, not so much as a hitch in her breath.
Koldo released the sword and grabbed a fistful of fur on the demons chest. He launched the creature through the far wall. A second later, the fiend raced back into the room.
The girl is mine, Righty snarled, stalking a circle around him. Mine! Ill never let her go.
You were foolish when you decided to follow Lucifer rather than the Most High, and youre foolish now, to think you can best me. You fight from a place of defeat, and you always will. Long ago, the Most High had crushed all the forces of hell. But still the creatures struck at humans, determined to hurt those the Most High loved.
And the Most High loved all humans. He wanted to adopt them, as Hed done the Sent Ones.
A hiss of rage sounded. Ill show you defeat! Rather than initiating a full-scale attack, the demon backed one step away, two...three. A slow grin lifted the corners of his lips. Yes, Ill show you defeat. Very, very soon. With that, he disappeared through the wall.
Koldo waited, at the ready, but the demon never returned. No doubt, hed gone to recruit a few of his friends.
Ill be ready.
Only problem was, very, very soon told Koldo nothing. In their realm, one day could be as long as a thousand years and a thousand years as short as one day.
What the heck is going on? Nicola exclaimed. Its like two boulders have been lifted from my shoulders. As she spoke, a smile lit her entire face, transforming her from plain to exquisite. Her pale skin took on a radiant sheen, her eyes becoming the color of summer rather than winter.
The moisture in his mouth dried.
Oh, La La. Its wonderful!
Wonderful, yes, but still the toxin flowed through her veins. That would have to be dealt with.
He would have to find a way to gently reveal himself to her, something hed never done with a human. He would have to garner her trust, something hed never before cared to try. But when? How? And how would she react?
Be as shrewd as a serpent yet as harmless as a dove, Germanus used to tell him.
Funny, but Koldo was far less assured of his success with the girl than hed been with the demons.
CHAPTER THREE
The next day
THE ELEVATOR DINGED, and the double doors slid open. Nicola Lane stepped inside the small enclosure, relieved to find she was alone. She was
Not alone, she realized with a jolt of surprise. Oh, wow. Okay. In the far corner, a very tall, very muscled man shifted from the shadows. How could she have missed him, even for a second?
The doors closed, sealing her inside with him. I dont judge by outward appearance. I really do not judge by outward appearance. But oh, wow, wow, wow, he had to be a time-traveling Viking sent here to abduct modern women to give to his men back homebecause theyd killed all the women in their village.
I watch too much TV.
He certainly gave off an all-dangerous-all-the-time vibe. And now, it was too late to avoid a possible pillaging.
Her heart fluttered, the warped beat making her light-headed.
Floor? he asked, his deep voice filled with more jagged edges than a shattered mirror.
Lobby, she managed to reply, and he pressed the appropriate button.
It was a miracle the entire elevator didnt split apart from the force he used.
There was an exaggerated shake, and the cart began to descend. The scent of morning sky andthis could have been mere fantasy on her partrainbows filled the small enclosure, and every waft came from the man. It was, quite possibly, the best cologne shed ever smelled, and like the ladies in the AXE commercials, she had to battle the urge to lean into him and sniff his neck.
And wouldnt he just love that? He would demand to know what the heck she was doing, she would panic and her heart would give out, just as Lailas had, and...and...she wasnt going to think about her beautiful, precious Laila right now. She wasnt going to think about losing another loved one. First her mother, father and br No, she wasnt going to think about that, either. She would break down.
And was that delicious heat coming from the Viking, too? For the first time in years, Nicola felt enveloped by warmth, the cold from her medications and poor circulation finally chased away.
The man turned and leaned against the wall, facing her fully. In that moment, she decided very tall, very muscled wasnt an adequate description for him. The tallest, most muscled man shed ever seen in person or on TV worked better, but again, the description failed to capture the essence of his absolute gigantorness. He. Was. Huge.
And okay, yeah, he was also quite beautiful despite his murdering-and-pillaging aura. He had bronze skin, a gleaming bald head and a black beard tied by three crystal beads. His eyes were a surprising shade of gold, and capped by two thick brows with a prominent arch in the center. He wore a white linen shirt and white linen pants, each garment flowing as fluidly as water. On his feet was a pair of combat boots.
And she was studying him as if he were a bug under a microscope, she realized, horrified by her behavior. Nicola had often gone to school with electrodes taped to her chest and tubes sticking out of her clothing, so she knew the pain of a single wide-eyed stare. Her attention darted to the glittery pink tennies her twin had given her for their birthday last year.
Im quite large, I know, he said in an accent she couldnt place. At least he hadnt sounded offended.
Still, her stomach bottomed out. Hed noticed her examination of him, and now sought to...comfort her for her rudeness? How unexpected and sweet. Well, then, she would be brave.
She raised her chin and forced herself to meet his gaze. Maybe Im just amazingly tiny, she said, trying for humor.
His eyelids narrowed menacingly, hiding all that gold, leaving only the black of his pupils. Do not lie, even through implication. Not for any reason, not even to be nice.
Her fingers went numb, and her heart once again fluttered. He was okay with staring, but joking was a killing offense. Good to know.
Lies are the language of evil, he added in a gentler tone.
A gentler tone, but still intense.
The elevator stopped, the doors opened and a short, heavyset man took a step inside.
Youll take the next elevator, the big guy announced.
The smaller man instantly froze. He licked his lips, backed up. You know what? Youre right. I will. He spun and raced away.
For a moment, Nicola considered following his lead. There was being polite, and there was being wise, and the two didnt always intersect. The fact that the Viking wanted to be alone with her couldnt bode well.
The doors began to draw together. Now was her chance to run.
But... she couldnt do it. You didnt yell at him, she pointed out, unsure why she was having trouble keeping quietand why shed stayed. You seem like such an equal-opportunity yeller.
I didnt yell at you, either, he said with a frown. A moment passed. He nodded as if hed just realized something important. Youre sensitive. Ill be more careful.
What, he dreaded her wrath?
He studied her as intently as shed studied him, causing her to squirm. You are five-two, arent you?
Five two and a half, thank you. She never forgot that very important half!
Thats a somewhat decent height for a woman, I suppose.
For an eight-year-old boy, too, she grumbled.