Fire with Fire (Demonblood Series #2) (21 page)

After several seconds of silence Bones nods. “Okay, then. We stay close together. Aria, you listen for hostile demon presence in the area. If you hear any, send them away and let us know. Lucky, you get your bow in hand and be ready to use it. Only use the stones in extreme emergency, and give us fair warning first. Gyan—” Bones stops and looks blank. “Gyan, you just try not to get killed, I guess.”

“Bones—” Aria starts, and then stops. He looks up at her, and she nervously licks her lips. “I…I just hope we don’t run into too many at once. I’ve never used mind control on more than maybe a dozen or so demons at one time before. If there’s more than that, I fear—”

“Then we retreat or go another direction. Or if we get in trouble, Lucky throws some
veneficus calx
.”

Aria still looks unsure, but nods at Bones. He gives her leg a reassuring squeeze, shifts back into a hellhound, and one by one we begin our slow march over the border.

We had decided it would be better to use a cautious approach at first. It’ll make it easier to get a read on our surroundings, as opposed to charging in guns blazing. The hounds’ long noses point and sniff in every direction, and Aria’s eyes are aglow with concentration as she surveys the landscape. Carefully, I reach behind my back and withdraw a poisoned arrow, straining it against my bow. The bag of
veneficus calx
rests securely around my neck, tucked inside my cloak. I don’t exactly love the idea of being a walking, talking bomb, but I like the idea of being unprotected even less. As long as they stay in their protective pouch, I’m safe. They will only explode if removed. So I take my chances.

None of us speak as we slip from the relative safety of Dryndara to the peril of Hlbafa. I’m having an eerie sense of déjà vu about this trip, and as we pass the wooded area where Ivy and Cody’s bodies were discovered, I clench my teeth and strengthen my resolve.

Just think of Kieron.

Sometime later, Bones phases out and approaches Aria. “What do you see? Anything?” The rest of us gather around her in a loose circle.

She shakes her head. “Nothing for miles. And what do I feel? Weak, spread out…one here, one there, none powerful, and all many miles away.”

“How much further do we have to go?” Bones asks, looking at me this time. I reach down into my boot and pull out the page I’d ripped from the grimoire. I study it for a moment and shove it back into my boot. “It’s kinda hard to tell distance-wise, but we’re definitely on the right path. We’ll reach the lava river right around this bend, and I’m guessing it’s maybe fifty or so miles…”

My voice trails off as Bones and I exchange a private look. We both know time is of the essence, not only to sneak through the area unnoticed, but to finish this before I turn into a worthless human pumpkin. This means we’re going to have to pick up the pace quite a bit. It also gives us less time to react if we’re spotted or attacked. But we have no choice.

The countryside becomes a blur as we race alongside the lakes of molten flame. Suddenly Aria pulls Kyrie to a halt, and the rest of us, under her silent command, stop as well. “We are close,” she whispers, her emerald eyes wide. “Very close. I feel them everywhere…around the bend, over that hill…they cluster around an underground lair in the center of the village, just behind those trees there—”

As she’s speaking, Gyan twists his body back and pulls out something from beneath his jacket. His body jerks violently. In a fraction of an instant, Aria’s severed head flies past me, landing on the ground beside Bones. Gyan pushes her headless corpse off Kyrie and smirks as it turns to ash. “I’ve heard enough out of her. Well, now that we’re here, let the fun begin!”

Too shocked to fully comprehend what just happened, I can only stare at Gyan, mouth agape, my arms slack at my side. Bones lets out a ferocious growl and lunges, knocking into Kyrie. The startled horse staggers and falls, giving an earsplitting cry. But Gyan is standing several feet away, wagging his finger.

“Naughty, naughty, little puppy.”

Teeth bared, Bones flies in Gyan’s direction again, only to be met with open space. “Doesn’t he ever learn?” Gyan asks me drolly.

My body reacts faster than my mind as my arm whips up and snaps the bow, sending an arrow at Gyan’s head. It sails unimpeded and lodges into the side of a tree.

“And apparently, you don’t learn very fast, either,” his voice whispers in my ear, followed by a quick peck on my cheek. Before I can even turn he’s gone again, standing safely several yards away.

“You traitor!” I scream, flailing my arms in anger. “You scumbag piece of shit! You…traitor!” Bones and the other hounds sprint to my side. Gyan gives an amused chuckle as he leans his lanky body against the tree.

“Traitor implies I was ever on your side to begin with, you arrogant little bitch.”

Bones creeps in front of me, positioning himself between Gyan and myself. I don’t know if I’m more angry or flabbergasted.
What is going on?

“I thought you were my friend,” I say, trying to stop the whirling in my head. “I thought we were
all
your friends…”

“Funny. And
I
thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with my sweet Geneviève. But you had other plans in mind when you decided to kill her for…how did you put it? Oh, yeah…
for cheap thrills
. You were bored, she was there. You dusted her on our fifth commitment anniversary because you were
bored
. I’ve waited a long time for the perfect opportunity to get my payback for what you did. And now that the time is here, I can say it was
definitely
worth the wait—”

“What?!
Who? But how…?” My voice falters as Gyan raises his hand to his lips and lets out two short whistles. Almost immediately, dozens of ominous figures emerge from the shadows and surround us.

“Here they are, Xandria,” Gyan says to the tall, blonde woman approaching us. “On the proverbial silver platter, just as promised. Told you this would work.”

The woman Gyan had called Xandria appraises me, then glances at Bones and the other hounds. “This is her?” Gyan nods. “And which hound is the murderer?”

Gyan points at Bones. “The one in front. But I should get extra for the other two, don’t you think? Now you’re even. They killed five of yours; you can take five of theirs—”

“I know how to add, thank you very much.” She turns to a tall, stocky demon with snakelike eyes and black markings on his face. “Take them to the dungeon with the other one and lock them up. I’ll be there shortly.”

The demon nods and grabs my arm roughly, jerking me backwards. Bones growls and snaps at his hand, but the creature gives him a ferocious kick that sends him flying. Alik and Khalil leap up, growls low in their throats and fangs bared, but they’re quickly subdued by the leader’s henchmen.

“Let’s just kill them now,” Gyan says, clapping his hands excitedly. “No use in prolonging the inevitable. Except for that one,” he adds, pointing at me. “I want her alive awhile. Plus, I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she sees the treatment her precious boyfriend has been getting.”

I glare at him with hate in my eyes and bile in my throat. We are obviously outnumbered. There’s no point in even thinking about trying to fight. But I
will
kill Gyan if it’s the last thing I do.

“Why are you doing this?” I croak as I’m dragged past him. “Why? If it’s something I did, why punish all of them?” I wave my hand toward Bones, Khalil and Alik, but my question includes Kieron as well.

Gyan follows right behind me. “You see, it’s funny what losing someone you love can do to a demon. It makes us snap in the worst, cruelest ways imaginable. I didn’t want just
you
to suffer. That’s too easy. I wanted you to watch the ones you love suffer. See how much you like it.”

“Are you crazy?!” I scream. “You don’t think I know how much it hurts?! I’m sorry I killed your girlfriend or whatever she was. I didn’t know!”

“Well, now you do.”

“If you’re mad at me then let them go—just take me!” I squirm around trying to get out of the guard’s firm embrace, but to no avail. He grips me like a vise.

“Well, that would deny me the fun of watching you see your loved ones suffer, now wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t care about these losers—”

“Shut up!” a voice commands, and someone whaps me across the back of the head. I’m bound and dragged along a small footbridge that crosses the lava lake, and toward the center of the Hlbafa village. Bones, Alik, and Khalil follow, heads held low…knives, arrows, and fireballs aimed in their direction. More and more demons approach. By the time we reach the heart of the town, we’re surrounded by several dozen, easy.

A blindfold is placed over my eyes, and my world goes black. I hear laughing. “Bones? Bones, where are you?” I call out frantically. A low yap behind me tells me he’s not far away, but I’m terrified we’ll be separated. I need him to phase out so I can talk to him. But I know he won’t now—he’d be way too vulnerable.

“Silence!” a voice yells, and a hand slaps me hard across the face. Reeling from the unexpected blow, I trip on something and fall. Mocking laughter surrounds me.

“This is almost too easy,” another voice says. “I thought she was supposed to be some kind of warrior.”

Another raucous laugh. “She’s not so tough after all.”

I grit my teeth, stand up, and continue walking. What else can I do? I’m good, but I can’t fight fifty demons at once, even with Bones and the others to help. The stones are still safely hidden beneath my cloak, but I can’t very well use them with everyone so close. And even if I hadn’t been relieved of my crossbow and arrows, it’s not like I could use them on this swelling crowd. I’d be lucky to take out two or three max before my own certain death.

No, fighting is not an option right now. My gut tells me to play it cool, and, judging from the way Bones and the others are behaving, they’re of the same mind.
Good.
We just need time to think, to figure things out. They’re taking us somewhere; hopefully we’ll be kept together. Bones and the others can shift back, and we can figure a way out of this predicament. That is, of course, if we aren’t killed first.

After what seems like hours, we stop. I hear a pounding, the creaking of a door, and when I’m pushed forward again, the soft ground has been replaced by concrete. “Bones?” I call out, bracing myself for the impact of a flying fist. I hear his soft whimper behind me, but thankfully this time there’s no punch to the face.

“Throw them in there with the other,” a haughty voice commands.

With the other? Do they mean Kieron?

“Move it!” a voice behind me shouts, giving me a shove.

“It’d be a lot easier if I could see,” I snap. “What’s the point in blindfolding me, really? Afraid I’m gonna tell people where your super cool secret hideout is? As if anyone cares! And it’s not like the hellhounds can’t see where we’re going. Whoever said you guys were the dumbest demons around gave you
way
too much credit—” The blow of a giant hand cracks across my cheek again.

“Shut that mouth or I’ll shut it for you. Permanently,” a voice growls.

“Stop here,” says another.

The blindfold is finally removed, and as my eyes adjust I see we’re in a darkened dungeon. The walls are made of ancient grey stone, as is the floor, partially hidden beneath stray batches of yellow straw. The air is stale with the pungent stench of rotten eggs. The low ceiling gives me an instant feeling of claustrophobia. Overall, the place has all the charm of a medieval torture chamber.

“Mind putting my blindfold back on?” I ask, disgusted by the filth.

Suddenly I gasp and stagger back, my horrified eyes locked on the body hanging slack and motionless in midair, as if suspended by invisible ropes.

“Kieron!” I scream.

I start toward him, but before I’ve taken three steps, the zap of an invisible electrical force sends me flying back across the room in excruciating pain. I skid across the straw-covered floor on my butt, stopping only when my back slams up against a cold, concrete wall. A rat scurries past, and I stagger to my feet. Kieron hasn’t flinched.

I close my eyes to shut out the mocking laughter.
I was wrong
.
I wasn’t supposed to come here.

And now I will die here.

“Lower the shield,” the woman commands.

A short, old man with pinched features waves his hands in small circles and mutters some words under his breath.
Must be
their demon-witch
,
I think to myself. What Tatiana would be, had she traded the use of her magical powers with demons in exchange for immortality.

Xandria turns to me with a wicked smile. “No demon alive can escape from this prison. Not even your pretty lover boy here, and don’t think he didn’t try.” She glances at Kieron. “Poor thing must’ve worn himself out again. That’s okay, he needs his sleep. It’s no fun playing with my toys when they’re broken.” She turns to the others. “Put those two in that cage,” she says, pointing to Alik and Khalil, “and these two in the far back.” She points to Bones and me.