And he struck.
In seconds, the tip of his dagger was embedded in her chest. Her eyes widened with...not confusion and pain, as hed expected, but with glee.
Thank you, she gasped out. That was easier than I thought.
Her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. She lay there, panting for breath, red blood spilling from her, her heartbeat no longer saving her, but killing her, pumping and pumping and pumping the life from her body.
Ill catch fire, turn to ash and re-form... Ill be stronger...and youll be forever mine.
No, he growled. No. He wouldnt believe it.
A laugh sounded in the distance.
He swung around, fighting another wave of dizziness and watching as a shadow slunk from the roof of the building next to him and down the wall. Red eyes glowed from the center of the darkness. Another shadow followed, and then another. Then shadows began to slink from the roof of the other building.
Demons.
So many, more than he could count. Perhaps more than he could fight on his own, but he relished the challenge. To leave was to invite them to hurt the humans nearby.
The pretty boy has been searching for me, I hear, an evil voice proclaimed. He wants to punish me for helping to slay his precious king.
A chorus of chuckles echoed.
Thane stepped into the spirit realm and grabbed his sword of fire, the flames producing a crackling yellow-and-blue light far hotter than the ones found in hell, for it was pure. The creatures looked like motor oil that had been mixed with blood and congealed. They were blobsand they were dangerous.
Ill kill you, he vowed through clenched teeth. The dizziness had magnified rather than faded, and he was having trouble staying on his feet. Falling...falling...no, catching himself, once again leaning against the building.
Lets find out, the evil voice cackled. Last one standing wins.
Each shadow slithered from the buildings, soaring through the air, and aiming for Thane.
He twirled his sword to his left, his right, and arced through the center, slicing several creatures through the stomach. The shadows sizzled and hissed, but none fell from the air. They continued to come at him. He palmed a dagger with his other hand, but the metal did no damage, whisking through and causing the creatures to laugh more heartily.
A breeze blew behind him, and he knew something was trying to sneak up on him.
He flared his wings, knocking several shadows away from him, and hurtled into the air, flipping over the creatures that had thought to take him from behind. More shadows converged. He struck, taking what constituted heads. Rather than fall, however, they vanished.
Thane knew it would be better to remain in perpetual motion, never allowing anyone to get a lock on him. He darted to the side of a building, then to the other side, then to the ground, then to the roof, sword constantly swinging. They followed him. Three times he almost fell. Once he hit his knees, but he managed to bounce back up.
Suddenly Bjorn flew into view, followed by Xerxes. Both men landed at his sides, flanking him. He was so overcome with relief he willingly dropped to his knees.
You dont call, you dont write, Bjorn said, leaping into motion, his sword of fire already drawn and swinging.
Tried, he gritted. Couldnt get through.
After what we had to give up to get here, after what we had to do to find you, you owe us, Xerxes said, swiping at the shadows with short swords.
Ill gladly pay the toll.
The minions of strife, Bjorn said. Always picking fights. Lets give them a spanking.
They split up, dividing the attention of the creatures, leaping, diving, flying this way and that, flipping, kicking, punching, but only the sword of fire caused any damage. One of the creatures finally managed to wrap itself around his head like a dark blanket, suffocating him.
Screams, screams, so many screams. They scraped at his ears, assaulted his mind. He thought he heard his friends shouting in the background, but...but...the screams, so loud, so loud, and they were his own, he realized, coming from him, from his past, from his present, blending together, bleeding so much, soaking him.
All too soon, scenes from his past sprang up and joined the party. The women hed bedded and left. The humans hed killed simply to get to demons. The warriors hed betrayed after his return from the demon dungeon. The times hed laughed when hed wanted to cry.
Then suddenly, a blaze of light erupted and the darkness left.
Thane fell forward, landing on his face. He blinked rapidly, the haze around him slowly thinning, even as blood dripped into his eyes. He saw Xerxes and Bjorn, still fighting the shadow creatures, going low, straightening, taking out ankles and knees to hobble. The two warriors stayed close, shielding Thane as best they could.
Must have landed on the Phoenix, he thought. That had to be her still-warm skin cushioning himno, not warm, but hot. Too hot. Somehow, in death, she was heating up, about to catch fire, all on her own.
Just as shed promised.
One of the shadows slunk over, staying low, darting out of the way anytime Bjorn or Xerxes struck, and managed to latch on to Kendras bare leg. The creature laughed manicallyjust before Xerxes beheaded it.
The shadow vanished, and Thane saw that a flame had finally sparked at the end of Kendras toe. That flame intensified, spread. Soon, her entire foot was engulfed. Her ankle. Her calf.
The enemy thinned and the remaining few realized they couldnt win and backed up. They attached themselves to building walls and slithered up, up and over the roof.
Cowards!
Thane scrambled away from Kendras body. Her thighs were the next to catch flame, then her torso, her arms, her chest. Her face. Her hair. Every inch of her was doused, cracklingand then she was gone, ash floating through the air.
She would re-form. Shed promised that, too. She would be stronger.
He would be her slave.
Every ounce of his being rejected the notion.
Xerxes stomped to Thanes side. You all right, my man?
His voice sounded far away. Thane tried to open his mouth to speak but he didnt have the strength.
Bjorn took a step toward him, stopped and frowned. He looked down at his wrist, where there was a black scratch, then back to Thane. Confusion gleamed in his rainbow eyes. His frown deepened. His knees collapsed.
Xerxes popped up to race to him, but
Bjorn vanished.
Vanished as if hed flashedan ability he didnt possess. Or, as if someone or something had flashed him.
What just happened? Xerxes shouted. Bjorn. Bjorn!
Thane struggled to sit up. His friends. He had to help his friends. They were the world to him. Meant everything. He was nothing without them. But the dizziness returned, flooding his head, and weakness spilled into his limbs, and he could only lie there, pantinguntil he blacked out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
NICOLA SAT BESIDE her sisters hospital bed. So much had changed since the last time theyd done this terrible dance, and yet, Laila still hurtled toward death.
If were ever again in that situation, and I have a feeling we will be, I want you to let me go.
No, Nicola had said then.
Never, she said now.
Before, she had been without hope. Now, she was different. Stronger. Smarter. She knew there was a better way. But her sister didnt, and changing her mind was what mattered right now.
Her precious Laila, she thought, tears beading in her eyes. There were tubes in her sisters chest and arms. Her skin had already yellowed. She had slipped into a coma the doctors said she would never wake from. She was drugged but not without pain, her features pinched and her muscles tensed.
Every time Nicola repeated what shed learned from Koldo, Lailas vitals strengthenedbut the moment she stopped talking, those vitals plummeted. Sleep had become Nicolas enemy.
Zacharel had done what he could to keep Laila alive, but in the end, hed needed help. So, hed flown Laila to the hospital. Hed stationed two Sent Ones at Nicolas sides, and they were now standing in the hallway, giving her some time with her sister. To say goodbye.
Where are you, Koldo?
Hed been missing for two days. Zacharel was out looking for him.
Zacharel, who had told her that Koldo had gone to procure more Water, just because Nicola had asked, and that he should have returned by the end of the first day. That wasnt all hed told her, of course. Even remembering the rest, Nicola shuddered.
Your man was whipped. Before that, he was commanded to give up something precious to him. His mind has to be a mess. I have asked our leader for the details, but they are not his to share.
So badly she had wanted to go back to those few minutes inside Zacharels cloud and stop Koldo from leaving. But thats why hed flashed without telling her where he was going. So that she couldnt. He was doing this for her. Suffering for her.
I have to find him. Yet, she couldnt leave her sister to...to... She just couldnt leave her sister alone.
And what if Koldo had been asked to give up Nicola?
Her stomach twisted into a thousand little knots, and she had to swallow back a moan of grief.
This is it for me, Co Co.
Lailas voice pierced the silence of the room, and Nicola jolted with shock. Clear gray eyes watched her, no hint of pain evident.
Inside her, hope and confusion collided with the shock, creating a heady mixture that left her dizzy. Youre awake.
Just for a moment. Chapped lips curved in a soft smile. You have to let me go, my love. Its time.
No. Absolutely not! I told you before. I cant. I wont. Nicola vehemently shook her head. You can beat this.
A weak chuckle reverberated between them. Always the strong one...as well as the sensitive one. I dont want you looking back on this and blaming yourself. You did everything you could. I refused to listen. And I dont want you afraid. Im not. Not any longer.
Im not afraid, either. Im just devastated. Youll get better. Koldo went to get you special Water. It helped you before, and
No, my love, Im ready now. Ive been hovering between the natural and the spiritual for a while, and I got some things worked out with the Most High. He really is wonderful, you know. I asked for a chance to say goodbye, and He granted it.
Not goodbye. I want you to stay, she whispered brokenly.
I know you do, but the fear... It was ugly and I let it ruin me. At least now Im going to a better place, and one day well be together again. For now, you have a life to live. The things youre going to teach people... Look at what youve done for Koldo already.
Laila
I love you, Co Co. So softly spoken.
Dont do this. Please.
Its already done.
There would be no changing her sisters path, she realized. The tears escaped, flowing down Nicolas cheeks, one after the other, burning her skin. She reached out, took her sisters fragile hand and linked their fingers.
I love you, too, La La.
Laila smiled againand breathed her last.
* * *
NICOLA WALKED THE STREETS of her childhood neighborhood in a numbed daze. At her request, her guards had flown her here and now followed discreetly behind her. She couldnt stop picturing the way her sisters head had lolled to the side, the spark fading from her eyes, leaving them glassy, dull. Machines had beeped like crazy, and nurses had rushed inside. But that time, they hadnt tried to save the girl. Theyd known they couldnt.
Theyd turned off the machines, patted Nicola on the shoulder and left her alone.
Silence had surrounded her. Such heavy, oppressive silence. She had only been able to sit there, tears continuing to slide down her cheeks.
How was she supposed to go on from here?
She was shaking by the time she reached the house theyd grown up in. The house where theyd laughed and talked and played. The house where theyd read storybooks to Robby.
Located in historic midtown, the house had yellow stucco and exposed red brick. There were bushes and flowers and bright green grass, plus a cement pathway leading to the steps of a wraparound porch.
The hospital faded from her mind, replaced by a vision of Laila peering out from the window, watching for Nicola to return from the doctor. The moment she had emerged from the car, her sister had smiled at her through the glass, relieved to be together again.
Together again. Something they wouldnt have while Nicola was down here.
Nicolas knees collapsed. Grief was suddenly razor sharp inside her, cutting her up, ruining the numbness. For so long, Laila had been her only companion. Laila was the only one who had ever shared the many travesties of their lives. Laila had cried with her and mourned with her and hurt with her and helped rally her when she was at her lowest.
And now...now...
Give me time alone, Nicola choked out to her guards. Please.
A moment passed as they debated, but in the end they walked away and rounded the corner at the end of the street.
A fresh round of tears welled in her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks, one after the other, faster and faster, until she was sobbing, shaking uncontrollably, sorrow and despair rising up, consuming her. Sunlight beat down on her, but she couldnt feel the sting. She was cold inside. So cold.
Her sister was a part of her. Thered never been a Nicola without a Laila.
Her sobs increased until she was hunched over and heaving. Had she eaten, she would have thrown up all over the driveway. But she hadnt, and she could only gag and choke and remember and despair. The new owners and their neighbors must have been at work, because no one came out to check on her. She was glad.
Eventually, though, she calmed. She stayed there, crouched on the cement, her forehead pressing into her hands, her eyes swollen and nose stuffed. Death wasnt the end, she reminded herself. The grave couldnt win. She would see her sister again. She would.