Demon Day (46 page)

Already over it, I frowned, and looked
to Tomas for confirmation of what had been said. He gave a small
nod.

“
That’s it?’ I muttered.
But it makes no sense. I’m not part of his Coven, and–”

“
And thank the gods for
that,” Gwendolyn butted in. Recovering fully from her sudden rage,
she drew herself up tall. “Well, my consort and his loyal
subordinate have spoken out of turn yet again, I see.” She gave
said mate a lethal look. “No matter, such things can be dealt with.
Come along, he is waiting, and the night grows old.”

Gwendolyn waited until Tomas clasped
her extended hand. They left the room, but not before his dark gaze
pinned Daphne for the briefest of moments, and she returned the
unreadable look with a deep nod. She motioned me to walk, and since
I had no choice, I did.

We climbed a steep and narrow
staircase and exited into a long, high ceilinged passage. The paint
on the walls was flaking and the corners of yellowed wallpaper
curled down almost to the floor in some places. The dry, moldy
smell was intense. It smelt like vampire and my nature recoiled,
disgusted. And for once I didn’t fight the feeling. I noted the
building was empty of life apart from us. Where was the rest of
Nest? There were no humans to hunt so where had they all
gone?

“
Are we the only ones
here?” I asked Daphne in a low murmur that managed to echo loudly
down the empty hallway.

Tomas glanced over his shoulder, his
eyes two black pits, unreadable.

“
Yes,” Daphne spoke low in
my ear, her cold lips so close they brushed across my earlobe. “The
Nest has been sent to look for the grimoire. Cael managed to
discover from the fairy High Lord that he had hidden it somewhere
in the city.” Her eyes darted forward to the back of Gwendolyn’s
dark head. “But they won’t find it,” she said with a hint of
excitement. “They’ll never find it.”

We exited the building into the empty
street where Tomas had fed from me.

Raindrops spattered on my face, and I
blinked, wiped them from my nose, and breathed in
deeply.

I stopped mid-breath my heart
soaring.

Sunlight. I could smell
sunlight.

Chapter Ten

Breandan was alone. He stood at the
base the stone steps with his hands fisted together, head back,
eyes closed. He was magnificent. Lean body taut he burned with
silver light. His black tattoos were outlined starkly against his
pale skin, and taut dark edges seemed to glow. His wings rested
tightly against his back, and his tail weaved lazily through the
air. He breathed deeply, this I could tell from the steady rise and
fall of his chest though what he tasted in the air I could not say.
The angered expression on his face was intense, and when his head
snapped forward, he opened his eyes, and focused completely on our
bond. His gaze became a weapon that flew through the air and
speared Tomas, who stumbled half a step back.

Rain fell heavily and soaked our
clothes. My hair plastered to my head in a matter of moments, and
water ran from my fingertips in small streams, droplets flicking
wildly as I trembled.

Delirious with relief I lurched
forward then paused, wincing, expecting someone to grab me. No one
stopped me. I shot a wide-eyed look at Daphne.

She tried to smile, but it tumbled
from her face leaving behind a worried frown. Her eyes flicked to
Tomas and squinted in pain. I too looked to my vampire and saw he
watched Breandan with a look of resigned acceptance that he tried
to hide with defiance. I took a more confident step, and when no
one moved I rushed forward. As I passed Tomas, I ignored the
frisson of longing that seemed to spark between us, and jumped down
the steps of the house. The rainwater trickled ahead of me like a
shallow river until I stilled on the last step, my heart thumping
wildly.

Breandan’s gaze was still fixed on
Tomas, but I felt him greet me with joy. Through the bond, I felt
how scared he had been for me, and how glad he was now that I was
near.

Turning my concentration from the
demons at my back, I focused on him and him alone. I took a hold of
my nature and reached out. His hand was already there, and our
fingers laced together to clutch tightly. A pulse of light danced
across our palms and lit the dark street briefly, but no more. It
was nothing but a flash of harmless light. I breathed out. My eyes
drifted closed and peace swept over me. His presence was a balm
that revived and refreshed me. Sighing, I let my hand fall to my
side and so did he.

Then his focus turned inward, and my
perception of him completely winked out of existence.

I was so shocked by the unexpected
disconnect I lost my sense of direction –since Breandan acted as my
centre of being – and I stumbled off the last step. He sidestepped
me and I had to use my tail to steady my faltering movement.
Straightening, I looked between him and those who stood above us.
Somewhere in the haze of my consciousness, I glimpsed a
forewarning. The death of one of my loves was upon me, and it was
inescapable.

Lightning flashed above in a fork of
bright light highlighting the vampires from behind so they seemed
malevolent shadows gilded with a gloom darker than the night.
Thunder boomed and the ground shook, yet the profound reverberation
did not cover Gwendolyn’s sudden and creepy giggles.

“
No, fairy. It will not
happen,” Tomas said appose to nothing. “This is my territory. On
this ground I decide how this will be resolved.”

“
We have a score to
settle,” Breandan replied.

The vampire’s shoulders lifted in what
could be passed as a shrug. “Your ways mean nothing to
me.”

The rain fell so hard the water on the
concrete ran over the tops of my boots. My clothes were stuck to me
uncomfortably, and I pushed my hair back off my face, wiping it
roughly as I did. The clouds flashed with a myriad of colors, and
beneath my confusion, I felt a jolt of excitement at the weather.
My nature buzzed, my skin goose pimpled, and I shivered.

“
I see,” Breandan said
after a pause, and a flash of irritation down the bond was abruptly
erased by the nothing. “Then only one thing can be
done.”

My fairy turned to face me and bowed
low at the hip, one hand pressed to his heart.

Tomas moved forward. “No,” he
growled.

Gwendolyn blinked with a faked
diffidence, and put a hand on his arm. “Stop.” Tomas’ snarl cut off
and his head dipped in submission to his Queen. Gwendolyn leaned on
the rusted railings and snickered. “Priestess. We never got a
chance to fight like the warriors we are, but I live in hope you
will be victorious so we may yet meet on the battlefield.” She
paused, her gaze briefly switching to her mate who stood stiffly at
her side. “That is if I ever convince my consort to retract his
claim on you as his plaything.” She giggled madly, ringlets
bouncing, and gods didn’t I want to scratch her pouty face
off.

Not that I ever did fully understand
what was happening around me, but right then, I was completely
lost. I looked at Breandan for answers as to what the hell was
going on.

He watched Tomas with a fierce
concentration like he was waiting for something. I tired reading
the vampires expressions and ended up more confused for Daphne
looked horrified, and Tomas anxious. Though I knew Gwendolyn was
crazy, the twinkle in her eye looked anticipatory rather than
manic. What the hell was the Queen talking about? What was going
on? Breandan was here beside me, he had come to save me, and her
lunatic subordinates were scattered across the city looking for the
grimoire. I was about to escape and so Tomas’ reaction kind of made
sense, Daphne seemed weird anyway, but my main worry was Gwendolyn.
She seemed happy, jovial, even.

I turned to Breandan to gauge his
reaction, and that was the only reason I saw his fist flying toward
my face. I ducked, more like my legs gave out in shock, and I hit
the ground with a frantic splash. His stamping foot came a moment
later, cracking the concrete when it landed between my legs. I
scrambled on all fours before I rolled backward, and gained my
feet.

I bent my knees and held out a hand,
palm up. “Breandan!”

He paced; eyes measuring
and stone cold. He took note of my movement – searched for a
weakness. He was
fighting
me. He took a feinting step toward me, beautiful
face etched with deadly intent, and I had no choice but to feint
back.

Breandan came at me again, face blank
of emotion.

I was terrified. Absolutely, heart
stopping, terrified. It was all I could do to keep him from
smashing into me. Whirling on my heel, I turned to dart
away.

Was I running away? Hell yes! I was
running away. I was no match for him physically, and magic was no
good to me here. I could grasp it, but nothing happened when I
tried to use it.

Breandan dived over my head, spinning
in an intricate tumble of flips to land with a soft splash ahead of
me, expression contemptuous.

I shot a wild look at the vampires
watching us. Tomas leaned forward apprehensively. The skin seemed
overly stretched on his face as he stared at me.

Breandan lunged for me again and this
time he clipped my arm as I shifted out of the way. I cried out, my
arm wrenched in my socket, and crumpled.

I did not understand what was
happening. What had I missed? Did he covertly signal to me or try
to transmit his plan to me through the bond, but I had missed it –
too busy sneering at Gwendolyn?

Breandan slowly stalked over and
picked me up. My heart stuttered in relief. Then he heaved me
overhead, swung round, and tossed me. I hit the concrete steps with
a loud thump, and it felt like my bones snapped, shuddered, and
ground together trying to escape through my flesh. I lay there for
a few beats before rolling onto my side. Only once my body flared
with heat and healed – my blood returning to my extremities rather
than rushing around my ears and blocking the painful rasp of my own
breath – did instinct scream at me to pull myself
together.

I hauled myself into a crouch, tail
lashing from side to side causing the air to whistle. My wings
lifted, sprung out, and I straightened raising my fists. Something
akin to pride flickered in his expression, but I shook off the
feeling that I had missed something. It did no good to hope when it
was clear Breandan had made his choice and given up on
me.

Before my fairy could lay his hands on
me again Tomas appeared, a phantom shrouded in a cloud of smoke. He
grabbed my arm, spun, dismissing my body weight as if it were a
feather, and threw me across the space out of harm’s
way.

Wings catching the wind I landed on my
feet, skidded across the rain-slicked floor, pivoted, and careened
to a stop.

Tomas snarled menacingly, fangs bared
and eyes pitch black. “I am here, fairy. Do your worst.” He
crouched low to the floor, compact body lithely pacing to the side
so he was not boxed in.

Breandan tilted his head almost
imperceptivity, as if to say ‘about time’. He had what he wanted,
forcing Tomas to fight, to defend me.

Ancient vampire and youthful fairy
circled each other. The heavens rumbled again and lightning
streaked across the night in fiery rods of blue and purple. Why
when death approached, did the world hold its breath? Wariness.
Mother Nature herself perceived the danger these demonic forces
embodied, as the air became still, and after a final crash of
thunder, it was quiet.

It came to me in a sickening bout of
clarity. This was it. This fight determined my future. The crucial
moment in time that would send me down one road or the other. I had
thought that moment had already come and gone as I faced my own
personal demon – a human who had come to represent everything
hateful and wrong in the world. How wrong I was. Love, not hate,
would define me, and there were none more dear than the demons
before me.

Breandan moved first – lashing out to
curve a hook at Tomas’ cheek. The vampire dodged and slipped around
his back to snap for the nape of his neck.

With a deep breath in, hands fisted, I
took three long strides and dove in with a roundhouse kick that
Breandan took to the side of the head. My leg snapped back to slam
my heel into the soft flesh at Tomas’ throat. It was hard to
control my body since everything was wet, and there was little
grip, but still I managed to execute my moves with enough speed and
force to do damage.

I skipped back, swaying on the spot,
ready to end this. I threw myself into the fight, parried, and
kicked, knowing I had no choice but to keep up. Both boys pushed me
back, flung me away, and slid me behind them as they landed strike
after strike on the other. Always did I slip back into the melee,
doing my best to make them stop, make them see it did not have to
end like this.

It should not have been possible. I
should have been pummeled, but I was there, and in a flurry of
stances, I forced them to acknowledge I was an equal contender in
this clash. They had to fight me back and that complicated things.
They had to be mindful of hurting me whilst trying to inflict fatal
damage on each other.