Incubus (47 page)

“Well,” Seth said. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

The next instant, Illydia turned and attacked Karayan. I heard Karayan’s short grunt of pain, but I

didn’t see what happened with her—Seth used the distraction to rush toward me.

I locked my eyes on him, clenching the sword tighter in my hands. Seth feinted to my left and I

swung clumsily out with the sword. I saw his smile return; he knew now that I wasn’t gifted with this

weapon. I adjusted my grip.
I just have to nick him,
I told myself.
Even a scratch will slow him down.

But Seth didn’t give me a chance. It became quickly clear why he never joined us for sparring

sessions in the basement. He was a brilliant fighter, his instincts spot on. He might have managed to

hide his skill from me when he’d let those boys at school beat him up—
One more trap he’d laid for

me,
I now realized—but he’d never have been able to hide his skill from Hale or Matthew or Gretchen

in a sparring match.

Seth danced around me, striking my lower back again. I stumbled, clinging to the sword like a

crutch. Dimly, I realized it was holding me back. Insane as it seemed, I had to get rid of the sword. I

needed my hands free to be able to defend myself, or Seth would slowly take me apart.

I fell back, circling Seth until I was between him and the mission’s main entrance. Behind me,

Lucas and Cassie were still struggling to move the beam locking the mission’s massive doors shut.

“Lucas,” I shouted. He turned, hearing me. I threw the sword toward him with all my might, then

spun back to Seth.

I heard the sword clatter behind me, then—half a heart beat later—I heard it scrape against the

floor as someone picked it up. Satisfied that Lucas had some way to defend himself and Cassie, I

brought my hands up in loose fists. Seth’s smile deepened.

“I’ve actually been looking forward to this,” he said. “After all that training, I’d love to see how

you hold up in a real fight.” He darted forward, jabbing for my face with brutal speed. I jerked back,

struggling to keep my footing. Seth fought fast. He didn’t pull his punches. I struggled to keep my

defenses up, blocking blow after blow. “You’re not half bad,” he said, smiling with exertion.

Press the attack,
I told myself grimly. If I kept him on defense, I’d have a better chance of

controlling the fight. I lunged forward, feinting. When Seth moved, I drove my other fist into the side

of his face. He took the punch like a boxer, shaking it off with a hard grin.

“You’re ready to play rough? That’s cool,” he said. Any illusions I had about controlling the fight

dispelled rapidly. Seth drove me back, foot by foot, until I knocked into one of the sanctuary’s

columns. He buried two fists into my stomach, one after the other. I gasped, my body trying to double

over, but Seth grabbed the front of my shirt and slammed my back against the column. He pinned me

there and stared levelly into my eyes. “A for effort.”

An overwhelming swell of terror pulsed through me. It was all I could do to keep my feet. Behind

Seth, Illydia approached, inspecting her nails nonchalantly. My eyes darted to the back wall where

Karayan slumped, breathing raggedly.

“That was fast,” Seth said.

“I was expecting more of a challenge.” Illydia shrugged.

“You break all your toys.” Seth shook his head, amused.

“Speaking of...” Illydia’s eyes shifted to my face.

“Right.” Seth glanced back at me, shrugging. “Nothing personal, but I can’t leave a powerful Lilitu

just lying around. Last chance. Wanna help change the world?”

I slammed my knee up into his groin. It connected solidly. Seth’s eyes bulged and he dropped to

one knee, releasing me instantly. I pushed off the column, diving for Illydia. She spread her arms,

ready for me. We collided, and Illydia staggered back a few steps. She recovered quickly, latching her

arms around me.

“Mine,” I heard Seth hiss behind me.

Illydia sighed, irritated. She twisted, dropping to one knee without letting go of me. The force of

her movement ripped me off my feet. She released me and I hit the ground, rolling to my side and

sliding a few feet away on the cold stone floor. Before me I could see Seth straightening. Murder

glinted in his eyes. I stood, ears still ringing from my fall.

Illydia and Seth moved in. They ringed me around, and a dull fear roiled through my stomach. I

turned my head, trying to keep both Seth and Illydia in view. It wasn’t possible. Seth swung and I

focused on him, blocking the blow and skittering back. Illydia swiped a claw across my back. My

sweater took the brunt of the attack, but I felt a cool draft along my back as her claw sliced a hole

through the knit. They took turns striking at me. All I could do was react, shying away from one

directly into the path of the other. If I glanced at Illydia, Seth pressed his attack. If I focused on

defending myself from Seth, Illydia raked a claw against my back. It was less than a minute before

Illydia’s claws finally ripped through the fabric of my shirt, slicing deep grooves into my skin. I let

out a hiss of pain, spinning to face her.

“Stop.” I panted. “Stop toying with me.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Illydia asked. “I don’t think you’ll like the alternative.”

I heard Seth chuckling at my back. I spun around to face him, and Illydia caught my arms and

wrenched them back. I jerked against her, but she held me fast.

“So, here we are,” Seth said. “I was hoping this would end differently, but I’m not totally

surprised.”

Karayan?
I closed my eyes, willing her to hear me.

Yeah, yeah.
She sounded tired, and I could feel the pain of her injuries through the link. But she

stirred on the floor. She looked up, and her eyes found me.
That doesn’t look good.

My daggers,
I thought at Karayan, picturing my fall through the window from the roof above.

Awesome. Crawling through broken glass,
she responded. But I felt her push slowly to her hands

and knees.

“Sorry there’s no time for a long goodbye, but I’d rather
not
be here when the Guard arrives.” Seth

rested a hand on my cheek. “It’s been real.”

“Seth,” I whispered, my voice catching in my throat.

His eyes didn’t leave my face. “I’ll make it quick.”

“Get your hands off of her,” Lucas said. He stood at the edge of the seal, Senoy’s sword in hand.

“Easy, lover boy.” Seth looked at him, irritated. “I’ll be around to deal with you in just a sec.”

“You’ll have to deal with her first,” Lucas said, nodding at something behind us with his head.

Seth and I turned at the same time.

Karayan approached, a Guard dagger clutched in each of her hands. “So I’m wondering,” she said,

keeping her voice light. “If we can’t see your powers, can you see ours?”

Karayan’s curving wings snapped down around her slender figure, trailing a smoky haze through

the air as they passed.

Seth jerked away from me, suddenly tense. “Illydia?”

“A ploy,” Illydia said, tightening her grip on me. “She’s got no fight left.”

“Care to make a bet on that?” Karayan moved forward with sure steps. Illydia released me, turning

to face Karayan. “No?” Karayan asked, her tone mocking. Illydia glanced at Seth, uncertain.

With her back to me, I grabbed Illydia’s arm, locking her elbow straight and throwing my weight

forward against her. Illydia let out a shrill growl and cloaked herself instinctively, stumbling forward.

It made no difference to us—both Karayan and I could see through the hazy protection of her

wings without any effort. Karayan moved, slicing one of the daggers across Illydia’s wing. Instantly

Illydia’s cloak vanished. She stood, reeling and wounded, in the heart of the mission.

Seth ran toward Illydia. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from us. “We’ll pick this up

later,” he said, heading back toward the seal.

Karayan,
I thought to her.

Way ahead of you,
she replied.
Keep them separated.

I sprinted for Seth. He saw me coming half a second too late. I jumped him and we fell crashing to

the floor as Illydia stumbled away from us. The impact knocked the breath out of both of us.

Here,
I heard Karayan in my mind. I looked up as Karayan tossed the dagger to me. I focused on

the flash of metal. The arc of the dagger seemed to slow, tumbling end over end in an almost lazy

spiral. It was a simple matter to push my hand forward and clasp the dagger’s hilt. Time snapped back

into full speed. Seth’s eyes fastened on the blade. He scrambled away from me-right in front of the

cloaked Karayan.

“Sethayl!” Illydia screamed.

Seth dropped flat to the floor, but the dagger sliced a line across his back. He howled in agony.

Illydia barreled for Karayan, dropping her human aspect. Her face changed, coal-black eyes glared

murder, gleaming black claws protruded from hands as pale as a corpse.

Illydia smashed into Karayan, clawing at her face. Great gashes tore open along Karayan’s cheek.

She screamed, trying to bring the dagger up to defend herself. But Karayan had never been trained to

fight with weapons—and since this opponent could see her, she was outmatched. Karayan’s cloak fell

away as the concentration she needed to maintain it snapped.

Seth scrambled back from the fighting Lilitu. He eyed the secret door, still standing open, then

glanced back at his sister. I could see the conflict in his eyes. He wanted to help Illydia—but he was

getting ready to bolt.

I took a step toward Seth. His eyes snapped to my face, his features tensing.

Then I heard Karayan’s ragged gasp of pain. I had a fraction of a second to decide. I abandoned

Seth and leapt to help Karayan.

Illydia swiped for Karayan again, her wicked claws still gleaming with Karayan’s blood. Karayan

dodged back, but she was slowing and her eyes were lidded heavily with pain.

“Behind you!” Seth shouted.

Illydia turned on me, claws poised to strike-but I
had
trained with these weapons. She pounced. I

knocked her hand aside and buried the dagger in her heart. I felt the impact all the way to my shoulder.

I jerked back and the dagger came free. A small pool of dark blood stained the front of Illydia’s shirt.

Her face went slack. A moment later, she pitched forward onto the sanctuary floor.

“No.” Seth’s face was ashen, staring at the body of his sister. His eyes rose until they found me.

They burned with pure, roiling hatred.

I tightened my grip on the dagger reflexively.

Outside, we heard a car squeal to a stop.

“Short-sighted, Braedyn.” Seth’s voice was calm, but something in it made my skin crawl.

Behind us, someone pounded on the mission’s front door. “Braedyn? Are you in there?” It was

Dad.

“Go around the side,” I shouted. “There’s another entrance.”

Seth stepped back away from me, eyeing his escape route. “Don’t forget who won this round,” he

said. “The seal is open.” He turned and stepped onto the seal. Twining ribbons of shadow swirled up

and around him, pulling him out of this world. Another car squealed to a stop outside, followed

quickly by a third. Doors opened and slammed outside, voices filling the night.

Karayan handed my dagger back with a shaking hand. “I think that’s my cue.”

“You’re hurt,” I said.

“You think?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, but she smiled.

“Karayan.” I laid a hand on her arm. “Stay with us. We can take care of you.”

“Sorry, Braedyn,” Karayan said. And she did look sorry. “But I’ve been down this road. It didn’t

work out so good.”

“Braedyn?” Dad raced through the mission’s secret door. His eyes scanned the room until they

fastened on me. I sensed Karayan cloaking herself, withdrawing into the shadows.

“Dad.” I wanted nothing more than to run to him.

But as I started across the floor, someone else spoke.

“Daughter of Lilith.” The powerful voice froze my steps. I turned. Senoy was looking directly at

me. “Braedyn.” His voice thick with pain. “Come closer.”

Chapter 21

Senoy’s eyes followed me across the room. I approached hesitantly, stopping several feet away from

where he knelt on the cold stone floor.

“Are you really—?” But I knew the answer. “You’re one of the Three.”

I heard Dad breathe in sharply at the secret door.

“You have nothing to fear from me, Lilitu,” Senoy said. “I would speak with you.” A spasm of

pain contorted his handsome features. Almost without thinking, I knelt beside him.

“Braedyn?” Dad took a step toward me, his voice tight with fear.

“Get help,” I said. “He’s hurt.”

Dad hesitated, then turned and ran back out through the secret door.

“He has genuine love for you,” Senoy said. Then his face wrenched with another wave of pain.

“Maybe you should save your strength,” I said. “The Guard is here, they’ve got med kits in every

car.”