Metal pierced flesh. Warm blood trickled. Pain arced through Koldos entire body. He gnashed his teeth and endured stoically. Hed gotten by without wings for a lifetime. He would get by again. But he mourned the fact that he would never again fly Nicola through the air. He would never again fly beside a fellow soldier. Once again he would be an oddity among his kind.
Better an oddity with love, than normal without it.
From the corner of his eye, he watched as one wing was placed on the floor, the beautiful feathers soaked in crimson, the muscles and tendons nothing more than raw meat.
And now, the other, Kafziel said.
Koldo kept his mind on Nicola. Her beautiful, smiling face. Her storm eyes, twinkling. She hugged him, overjoyed. She kissed him, thankful.
Worth it.
It wasnt long before the second wing joined the first, and Koldo was helped to his feet. His legs shook, and what was left of his back pulled and stretched and ached and stunga back that would next be whipped.
The human could spurn this gift, Isabella said sadly. She could refuse the Water, fight its effects.
He knew that, but he couldnt regret his choice. He would give Laila a chance. That was all he could do. He would never have to look back and wonder what would have happened if only hed tried.
I wont stop now, he said.
To Clerici you go, then, Adeodatus said with a nod.
Many blessings upon you, Koldo, the members announced in unison.
With what little strength he possessed, Koldo flashed to the river gate at Clericis temple. Already his eyesight was hazing. He knew the area by heart, however. There was no grass, only dirt. No trees, no flowers. Only more dirt and a fat stump that acted as the whipping post. In front of him stretched an iron gate he would soon bypassif he could walk.
He expected a guard to be there, whip in hand, but it was Clerici who stepped forward to greet him.
Hello, Koldo.
His knees buckled just in front of the whipping post, and he hit the ground hard. His breathing was choppy, but he could make out the scents of cinnamon and vanillaa combination that sprang from his own skin. As much as hed marked Nicola, she had marked him.
Im pleased with you, Koldo. You have placed anothers well-being before your own. Clerici closed the distance. You have no idea of the outcome, and yet still you do this.
Koldo closed his eyes and said not a word, asked not a single question.
What youre doing is a true expression of love, Clerici said, and I commend you.
Stop talking!
This is your last chance to walk away.
A muscle ticked below his eye.
Very well, Clerici said.
A pause...and then the first blow fell.
Leather against decimated flesh, and leather won, sending bits of skin, muscle and blood flying. Koldo locked his jaw. The second blow fell. The third. The fourth. His jaw hurt so badly from trying to contain his screams he was certain hed popped the bones out of place.
This time, he imagined Laila rising from Zacharels couch and shedding the sickness as if it were an unwanted winter coat. He imagined the two sisters hugging, laughing, then discussing spiritual laws, learning and growing and putting demons in their placebeneath their feet.
The fifth blow. The sixth.
He had no flesh left, he was sure. Every muscle in his body was tight, shaking, burning. Black spots winked through his vision.
The seventh. Eighth. Ninth.
Tenth. Eleventh. Twelfth.
Finally Koldo could hold back no longer. A cry of agony burst from him.
Thirteenth. Fourteenth. Fifteenth.
He breathed in through his nostrils, short, gasping pants, and breathed out through his mouth. The whip continued to fall. He couldnt pass out. He had to be able to get himself through that gate on his own. Had to get to the Water and back through the gate. Otherwise, all of this would have been for nothing.
After thirty blows, the whip at last stopped.
Done. Its done.
Koldos head lolled forward, his cheek resting on the stump.
Never forget the Most High has girded you with strength, Clerici told him before stalking away.
The gate in front of him opened with a whine. Girded him with strength? Yes, that was true. The code was in his heart, burning as hotly as his back.
He could do this.
He crawled forward, black still winking through his line of sight. Once he passed the iron, dirt gave way to grass, cushioning his hands and knees. Yes, he could do this.
The sound of rushing water greeted his ears, and he forced himself to keep moving. Ruined skin pulled taut. Mutilated muscle tore further. One yard, two...he plodded along, flashing several feet when he could. Mist soon saturated the air.
There were two rivers. The River of Life and the River of Death. Everyone who entered the gates had a choice. Life or Death. Blessing or Cursing. One soothed with a cool breeze, the other smoldered with a stinging wind. One was clear and pure, the other dark and murky. There were those who had actually chosen death, deciding to sever their connection to the Most High. Willingly falling, wanting no part of the heavenly laws.
At the edge of the River of Life, Koldo withdrew a small vial from an air pocket and filled it to the brim, his hand shaking. Cant drop it. If he tried to take more than the allotted vial, even if he spilled the contents before leaving this area and sought only to replenish, the Council would know and he would lose everything hed already sacrificed, plus the Waterand he would never again be allowed to this point.
He fit the cork in the center. The moment it was secure, he placed the vial in an air pocket and breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, to get the vial to Zacharels cloud.
He couldnt manage great distances, would have to take this a little at a time. First, he crawled to the gate. Then, he flashed to the edge of the cloud. Then, he flashed to the next cloud over, then the next, hopping along, getting closer and closer to Zacharels.
No, he realized a short while later. He wasnt. He was going in circles around Clericis temple, ending up only where his gaze led him. Frustration joined a cornucopia of other emotions.
He pictured Zacharels cloud. I can do this. Flashed
And appeared in the middle of the sky, nothing to anchor him. He plummeted toward the earth, wind beating at him, and oh, did that hurt. If he landed at this speed, he would burst into too many pieces to put back together.
He pictured Nicolas home. It was closer, more manageable. If he could just get there, he could summon Zacharel. Not to help him, but to claim the Water and take it to Laila. Before it was too late.
Come on. One more time. He flashed
Was still in the sky, only lower.
Flashed again
This time, he appeared in Nicolas living room and landed on his stomach with a heavy thump. He raised his gaze. There was the couch hed left behind, the dark brown carpet with frayed and tattered edges. Oh, thank the Most High. Struggling to breathe, he reached up with a quaking hand and removed the vial from the air pocket.
Zacharel, he tried to project. As weak as he was, he couldnt quite manage it.
A shadow fell over him. I wondered how long it would take you to fight off my poison and find us, a voice saida voice he recognized. I just didnt know youd already be in the condition I wanted you.
Dread shot through him. Not her. Anyone but her. He tried to hide the vial, but he wasnt fast enough. Sirena stepped on his wrist, holding him immobile.
Im part Fae, and as you know, some Fae possess special abilities. I can block the power of others for short periods of time. Thats why you couldnt flashand why you couldnt find us. The container was ripped from his hand, and a stiletto was dug into the wounds in his back, making him hiss. What do we have here? A moment passed. She laughed heartily. The Water of Life. How wonderful.
Let me see that, another voice commanded.
No. No, no, no. Not anyone but Sirena, he corrected. Not his father.
Another shadow. Another laugh, this one deep, rumbling. It certainly is. His woman must be sick. He must be trying to save her.
Pop. The cork fell to the floor and rolled just in front of him.
Please, Koldo said, willing to beg.
Sirenas stiletto dug ever deeper.
Oh, how I like that word on your lips, Nox saidjust before pouring the precious liquid on the floor.
No. No! After everything hed sufferedeverything he would soon suffer at his fathers handLailas chance was wasted. He squeezed his eyes closed. He could do this again, and he would, but it might be too late.
The Water splashed over Koldos face, cool and soothing, but he pressed his lips tightly together, not allowing a single drop into his mouth. He wasnt to partake of the Water until his back was totally healed. To do so now was to suffer, unhealed, for all eternity.
Nox dropped to his knees, anchored his hand under Koldos chin and forced him to look up. Were going to have fun, you and I.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
THANE LEFT THE HUMAN hed just pleasured slumped on the floor of the bathroom stall and entered the nightclub. The things hed just done to her...the things shed asked him to do... She was his third female that night. His eighth in the past three days. Usually he could control his desires. But here, this week, the more females hed bedded, the more hed wanted, even needed. Sex had become all he could think about.
Hed stopped hunting the demons entirely.
Something was wrong with himand yet still he wanted another female. He wasnt sure his body could take it, however. His head was fogged, his limbs trembling.
A strobe light cast colorful rays over the dance floor. Loud, pounding rock music blasted from speakers, and bodies writhed all around, blurring together. Multiple perfumes and colognes scented the air, creating a sickening collage. He stalked from the building and the heat and into the cool of the night.
Pebbles along the sidewalk caused him to trip. The moon was a mere sliver, the sky dark, and only a few stars were visible. There were streetlamps, but the beams were weak, highlighting only small circles.
Currently, his wings were hidden in an air pocket. His robe conformed to his body in the shape of a T-shirt and pants, both black. A wave of dizziness hit him as he continued to surge forward, and he had to lean against the side of a building to remain upright.
Bjorn, Xerxes, he projected. He hadnt spoken to them since...his first few days in Auckland, he realized with a frown. That wasnt like him. That wasnt like them. Why hadnt they at least tried to converse with him?
They would come here and they would pull him out of this spiral. The three of them would track the demons together. Fight together. Win together.
Silence.
His frown deepened. They would never ignore him. They loved him.
Something had to be wrong with them, too.
Hey, you, a female voice called.
He stopped at the entrance of a back alley and turned only because he recognized the voice. It was the woman hed left in the bathroom. She looked different vertical. Her clothes were mussed, wrinkled, and her dark hair in the same condition. Brown eyes sparkled with excitement. Color was bright in her cheeks.
A sense of foreboding hit him as he struggled to concentrate on her.
You left something behind, she said, almost within reach. She held out her arm, her fist closed.
A feather? Show me.
Slowly her fingers uncurled. But...nothing rested on her palm.
And that is?
A smile curved the corners of her lips. Your pride.
Anger slammed through him. He had been judged one too many times lately. What of yours? I spoke only five words to you before you went to that bathroom stall with me.
Her amusement only increased. Want to know a closely guarded secret of the Phoenix, Sent One? We can become anyone. As she spoke, her countenance morphed. Dark hair became gold and scarlet. Brown eyes became green. Rounded ears developed points at the end. Human teeth grew fangs.
The Phoenix.
His Phoenix. Kendra.
A second later, her image changed again. To the female hed bedded earlier today. A second later, her image changed again. To the female hed bedded before that. Another change. The female hed bedded last night. On and on she morphed her appearance, until he saw all eight of the supposedly human females hed taken.
He swallowed a mouthful of dark curses. How did you know where Id go?
I didnt. I followed you. She flicked her hair over her shoulder. But you didnt know, did you, and didnt have any idea. Thats not very soldierly of you, now, is it?
Stealthily he reached behind him, into the air pocket he kept tied to his waist. His fingers closed around the hilt of a dagger.
You took me back to my people, and they forced me to wed a warrior. But I ran away the morning after the ceremony and used the cash Id stashed away to have my slave bands removed. There are people who specialize in that, you know.
Your husband will come for you.
Yes. Hell come for you, too. A tinkling laugh. Want to know another well-guarded secret of the Phoenix? When we arent slaves, we can enslave. Every time you slept with me these past few days, your need for me increased. Didnt it?
The anger budded into sharp, jagged rage. She wanted him addicted to her body. Hed been a prisoner before, and hed vowed never to endure such a hell again. Had vowed to destroy anyone who even tried.
He always kept his vows.
He didnt give himself time to think about his actions and how low he was about to sinkor the punishment he might face. He didnt waste time threatening the girl. Threats obviously wouldnt work with her.
Im no ones slave, he said.