Bloodcraft (36 page)

“He can’t hear you.”

“And you can?” she shot back, her gaze slanting to his.

“My blood tells me everything.” His words made her blood run cold as the demon looked up toward where the shadows started to merge into dimly lit speckled moonlight. “But your lover is close. Spoils for the taking once I am released. Now come, daughter. Let us begin.”

Demon Leto’s fingers closed around her throat, and Victoria felt her breath catch, a feeling of foreboding filling her. There was something she hadn’t thought of, only it kept eluding her. She blinked, forcing herself to remain calm. Christian had rallied everyone. They were ready. They
had
to be ready or all would be lost. Once demon Leto assumed his true form, he would consume the life of every creature within a certain radius. It wouldn’t matter—human or supernatural—it would be a purge that no one would see coming.

The demon drew her close. For once, her blood wasn’t surging within her like a wild wave, desperate to defend itself from harm. It no longer needed to protect her, not when it was being commanded by someone else. No, instead, it trilled with delight as if it, too, was finally going home. Victoria hauled a strangled breath into her lungs and swallowed her revulsion as the creature pulled her to him until they were nearly nose-to-nose.

Intense green eyes bored into hers, heat blooming across every inch of her skin as the magic coursed into a frenzy. Her breath slowed to shallow gasps as she felt the blood magic inside of her start to coalesce. It pushed to her center and then up her throat. It felt as if her very soul was being sucked through her body into her skull. And then the expulsion started.

Her mouth opened in a soundless scream. Victoria’s entire body convulsed, rocked by spasms that shook her from head to toe as every last ounce of her power was drained from her body into the demon standing before her. Disoriented, she slumped onto her heels, feeling as if her bones had been liquefied. Her entire body felt like it was made of nothing but air, and her mind became filled with imaginary bees. A dull, buzzing sound filled her head. It hurt to think … to even open her eyes, but she forced herself to focus on Leto.

Flashes of light burst from his body as he, too, staggered backward. Black bands of iridescent magic swirled around him, faster and faster, until it was blinding. The frenetic movements made her feel nauseated and bile pooled in her throat as she pushed herself to her knees, her body swaying unsteadily. No wonder he hadn’t been threatened when she’d given in so easily—she could barely think past the mush in her brain.

Suddenly, the cavern grew bright as if the sun itself had appeared between them. Only there was no sun—it was the sight of a curse being broken. Victoria shielded her eyes, feeling the burst of power hit her like a hot blast. The light winked into darkness, and when she blinked the stars from her vision, all she could see was a form huddled on the ground.

A man’s form … one bound to nothing.

Leto was gone.

She fought the urge to shudder, knowing that what lay there was the furthest thing from human, and wished that she had the strength to slip the dagger tucked into her boot into his black heart. But making wishes when you didn’t have any magic at your disposal was a useless prospect. Gritting her teeth and grasping the dagger in hand, she willed herself to crawl forward on her hands and knees. Dirt caked beneath her fingernails, but with each grunt, she inched closer. She could do it.

A foot away from his nude, shivering form, the man turned, and Victoria blanched. He had her face. She’d seen the resemblance before, but it was nothing compared to
this
. His dark hair was long and framed a heart-shaped face. Those green eyes, the mirror image of hers, held her captive.

Why didn’t he look like a
demon
?

Instead, he looked as if he could be her father. Her
real
father.

“No,” she hissed. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. Her fingers tightened on the dagger. It was now or never—he was weak and she’d never have another chance like this. His eyes flicked to the weapon in her hand and he smiled.

“
Cruentus famulor
,” his lips murmured, and Victoria felt her body jerk in response as every remaining drop of blood within her obeyed his command. Her hand holding the dagger trembled as it curved upward, moving toward her own torso. Victoria’s eyes widened at the path of the blade, but nothing she did could stall the movement. She was sure he was going to kill her, but a hair’s breadth from her chest it stopped.

“We are one now,” the man said. “And you are my instrument to control.”

Victoria hauled a breath into her aching chest, her gaze never sliding from the dagger’s tip at her breast. She pushed forward, a drop of blackly red blood smearing the front of her white bodice as she impaled herself on the unforgiving point of the blade. Pain flowered along her nerve endings, but with it came clarity. “There’s one thing you need to learn about me,” she said, “I am no one’s instrument.”

Something like anger flashed in the man’s eyes as he stood. She could see the shaking of his limbs even as he drew himself to his full height. He crooked his wrist and a black cloak appeared out of nowhere. He shrugged into it, a spasm of pain shimmering over his features. Victoria frowned. She needed help—she needed Brigid.

“
Effero amulet
,” she whispered, her tongue thick in her mouth. Nothing happened for an extended moment. Suffocating her fear, she repeated the command, her nails digging into her flesh, and after a second, something whizzed through the air. She caught the amulet in her fist and summoned the strength of her ancestor. “
Evoco Brigid
,” she screamed with everything she could muster. “I summon you.”

Brigid hadn’t failed her yet. Victoria knew that she wouldn’t now.

The crystal flared red in her palm as her fist closed around it. Energy stormed toward her as Brigid’s full power leapt from the jewel to her body. The crystal crumbled to dust in her hand as her starved body absorbed every last bit of magic Brigid had to offer.
Thank you
, she told her ancestor silently as she stared at the colorless fragments of the pendant.

The amulet was gone and this was her last stand.

Without hesitating, she flung a blast toward the man. It caught him square in the chest, pinning him against the wall. She strode up to him, dragging the dagger from her chest inch by painful inch. Her blood still obeyed him, but her mind was strong. Holding him in place with the force of her will, Victoria fought the blade, twisting it with brute force and pushing her palm against it until it bled. Finally, her hands slick with blood, it was pointed toward him.

“You will never control me,” she hissed and slammed the heel of her palm against the dagger’s hilt. It smashed into the rippling skin of his rib cage and met steel-like resistance before falling to the floor. He wasn’t human, she reminded herself. He may appear to be human, but even now she could see the greenish reptilian cast of his flesh and the imperceptible scales that only
looked
like skin.

Leto was a demon … and a powerful one.

His face registered no surprise at her failed attack, and to her surprise, Leto laughed. The sound was devoid of any humor. “I expected as much from you. I did not see the amulet coming, but believe me, I shall take great pleasure in consuming Brigid’s magic once you learn your place. I can taste it now, along with the pungent tang of your fear.” He closed his eyes and licked his lips.

“I am not afraid of you.”

“You should be.”

Her lips curled back from her teeth. “Why? You are a demon, but I am the product of so much more than you alone. We both know why you felt you had to poison me—it was
you
who was afraid of me. Just as you are now. The scent of your fear reeks to high heaven.”

“You confuse fear with respect.”

Victoria frowned at the tinge of pride in his voice and leaned close. “Neither of those sentiments will save you.”

“Show me.”

Maybe it was the condescending tilt of his words, or the apathetic look on his face, but Victoria had a sudden desire to inflict pain. She’d meant to kill him to rid the world of his scourge, but now she wanted to punish him. She wanted him to feel the panic she felt. She wanted him to
fear
her.

“
Incendo maleficus
,” she said, watching as a yellow-rimmed ball of fire formed between her fingers. It was a spell she’d learned from Gabriel, born of dark magic and evil intentions. She felt it was fitting for the occasion. “Demons deserve to die in hell,” she told him as she released the fire. Victoria didn’t wait to see the fire engulf him in flames—she shoved both hands forward and focused on magnifying the spell so that the fire fountained from top to bottom in the cave.

She was so intent on burning him to ashes that she didn’t realize that her own skin started to blister and peel in sheets from her exposed limbs. She screamed as the cut of a thousand blades whittled across her skin, but when she looked down, she saw nothing. There was no fire touching her. It was at the far end of the cavern, obscuring Leto from view. She frowned and released the spell.

Leto stood there—singed but alive. And watching her, a calculating smirk on his lips.

Victoria stared down at her arms, watching the bubbled and roasted skin there.
Impossible
.

“
Curo
,” she said. Her skin healed and flattened, the redness disappearing. She didn’t want to look up to confirm what she already knew, but she had to. Her eyes slid to the man and her breath caught in her throat. He, too, had healed.

“No,” she whispered, eyes going wide.

“Yes,” he said. “I told you that we are one. You cannot hurt me with magic, no matter how much you want to.”

Victoria swallowed, her mind racing. She’d lost the only advantage she had if she couldn’t defeat him with magic. He had to have a weakness! What
was
it? If she couldn’t overcome him, she needed someone who could. She needed someone who could banish him to his own dimension. She needed the Vardlokkur.

She turned and ran.

†††

“Is that
Tori
?”

The incredulous voice belonged to Angie, but Christian didn’t care. His tortured gaze fell on the slim figure running at top speed across the landscaped lawns. His relief was cut short by the second figure not far behind her. It looked like a person, but he was too far away to be certain. He squinted, but his senses tingled like a livewire. That was no man.

“Demon,” Freyja said at his side, her thoughts echoing his.

Lucian cleared his throat and frowned. “It doesn’t look like the demon that attacked us. Is that its true form?”

“It’s the form of choice in this dimension,” Freyja said.

“Why doesn’t she use her magic and kill it?” Angie grabbed the crossbow at her side and raised it to look through the sights. “He’s gaining on her.”

Christian frowned. The same thought had occurred to him. Unless … somehow the demon had found a way to inhibit her magic, or even worse, had taken it. A cold sensation unfurled at the base of his spine at the realization—
that
was how the demon had broken free of the curse tying him to the cat familiar. Victoria was running because she had nothing left to fight him with. But if it did have her full power, why would it hesitate to kill them all? Unless it needed her.

His nostrils flared, adrenaline coursing through his body as he turned to give the signal. Supernatural creatures of every persuasion gathered behind him, with Freyja and her army at the fore. Every single Vampire Council member was there, along with Aliya and an enormous contingent of witches. All in all, they totaled nearly a hundred strong. Surely they could take down one rogue demon, or at least distract it enough to give Victoria a chance to escape its clutches.

Christian’s gaze fell on his brother. He didn’t know what had caused his crisis of conscience or why Lucian was suddenly so solicitous of his wellbeing. His brother’s face was blank and so was that of the female at his side. Lena. He had released her as her maker and now her loyalties were tied to Lucian. She’d proven that earlier. Once he’d been able to count on her, but betrayal had a way of undermining centuries of trust. No, his brother had a secondary agenda—Lucian did nothing that did not serve his own interests in some way. He did not trust either of them where Victoria was concerned.

He nodded to David and the other elders—their strength would be needed—and gave the sign. Half of the group melted into the surrounding forest. They would have a better chance of success if they attacked from the rear.

Christian stared at Freyja. “The demon is the target. Get Victoria to safety if you can. Angie, I want you to stay here.”

“No!” she argued. “She’s my friend and I’m not going to stand here like some useless human.”

“You could get kill—”

“You’re not the boss of me, Christian Devereux,” she said and Christian fought back a grin. “Why don’t you worry about what you have to do and let me worry about me? Stop staring at me like I’m nothing but a blood bag—go save my best friend from that lunatic.”

Christian shook his head. Angie’s courage never failed to impress him. “As you wish, but stay with Lucian.” His brother’s gaze slammed into his before nodding tightly. Christian hoped that he wasn’t putting Angie in danger, but given that she’d arrived at Fontainebleau with Lucian and Lena, keeping them together meant that Angie would be safer and she could keep an eye on Lucian. Angie nodded after a long moment, and Christian sped down the steps as the first wave of the attack began.

The witches’ spells bombarded the demon, but he deflected them easily. Some kind of barrier spell around them prevented any of the vampires or werewolves from getting too close. They touched the invisible line and howled in agony, which left the witches and the warlocks as their only line of offense—at least until they could take the demon out and bring down the barricade.

Victoria’s arms were waving madly and she was shouting something that he couldn’t decipher. Aliya and the other high priestesses redoubled their efforts, their spells exploding like fireworks in the twilight sky, and Leto stumbled. Christian frowned as he noticed Victoria stumble and fall, too. He could feel her agony as if it were his own.