Incubus (93 page)

my nostrils flare, and my vision seemed to sharpen.

I reached for the daggers I’d tucked into the back of my belt. My hand closed on thin air. I must

have lost them in the fall. Desperate, I scanned the floor, but I couldn’t pick out my daggers amid the

scattered shards of glass.

Across the room, the stranger spoke. “I wondered if you would return,” he said. His voice, though

soft, was full of power. He drew a sword from its scabbard. The soft metallic ringing sent a chill

through my bones.

And then, as though he had all the time in the world, the stranger stood.

Chapter 19

Blood seeped through my fingers, still clamped tightly against my leg. The adrenaline was doing its

job; pain receded from the front of my mind and I was able to scan the sanctuary, taking silent

inventory of my options. They were few. Votives cast a flickering glow around the seal even as they

chased dark shadows into the corners of the sanctuary.

The stranger moved toward me, the tip of his sword just inches from the ground. Something about

the way he carried it left no doubt in my mind; he was a master swordsman, and I had only moments

to get out of his reach.

I planted my good foot against the stone column to my left and kicked. At the same time, I thrust

my arms forward, doing my best to aim my body toward the only shelter I could see. The force of the

kick sent me sliding across the slick stone floor toward the pews Seth and I had crowded at the back of

the sanctuary earlier that day. My aim was true. I reached the edge of the pews as the stranger’s

footsteps pounded against the floor behind me. I scrambled under the first heavy pew, every nerve in

my body buzzing with the need to get away from him.

The pews were long and solid. Every four feet or so, a pair of sturdy legs propped up the pew,

straining to support the weight of the thick wooden bench. I grabbed onto the feet, using them like a

horizontal ladder to pull myself forward rung by rung, shimmying farther under the pew for

protection.

I reached out for the next leg-when the entire length of the pew lifted off of me. I bit back a

scream whipping onto my back. The stranger had hauled the pew up and sent it flying to one side. It

hit another pew, the force of their collision knocking both pews over. They impacted against the floor

with a resounding crash. The stranger glanced down at me, unfazed by the effort it must have taken to

toss the massive pew aside. Panic drove me to move. I rolled under the bank of pews, desperate for

whatever shelter they could provide, knowing it was only a temporary reprieve. I felt his hand close

around my shoe, but I twisted my foot and kicked back, hard. My shoe came off in his hand. I

scrambled deeper under the mass of pews, back toward the front of the sanctuary. My eyes lit on the

small rose carving, the release to the secret door. If I was going to survive this, I needed to get out of

here.
Now.

I heard wood scraping harshly against the floor as the stranger picked up another pew and tossed it

aside. I clawed my way forward, fingernails digging uselessly for purchase against stone. I reached the

edge of the pews, hauled myself free, and stood.

I choked back another scream as white-hot agony shot through my leg. I forced my body to move,

darting across the seal toward the mission’s secret entrance. I couldn’t afford to look back. I poured

everything into reaching that far wall, that small carving of the rose.

Each step shot arcs of pain through my leg, but I shoved the pain to the back of my mind. My

vision blurred at the edges, my breath coming ragged and forced. But, somehow, I reached the carving.

I pushed my good hand flat against the rose, felt the slight give as a latch released within the wall.

And then he caught me.

He grabbed the back of my sweater and whipped me around like a rag doll. I hit the ground, rolling

back across the seal and skidding to a stop in front of the bank of pews I’d just escaped from.

Stunned, I couldn’t do more than roll onto my back. Red and gold swirls clouded my vision. I

could hear him coming, but my senses were disoriented. I reached a hand up to the edge of the pew

and struggled to sit.

The stranger grabbed the front of my shirt and hauled me to my feet. My hands clamped around

his fist instinctively. I found myself staring into his eyes.

“Where is it?” It was a command more than a question. I stared at him, uncomprehending. His

expression hardened, and he pushed me back with the slightest effort. I sprawled onto the pew. Before

I could regain my balance, he leveled the sword at my throat, resting the icy blade against my neck. “It

will go easier for you, if you cooperate.”

“I don’t know what you want,” I said, my voice hoarse.

“The
vessel.
”

My mouth opened, but the protest died on my lips. Behind the stranger, I could see Seth edging

along the dark wall of the sanctuary, holding something in his hands. A surge of hope filled my chest.

The stranger, seeing something in my expression, turned.

Before he had time to spot Seth in the shadows, I kicked the sword out of his hands. It skittered

across the floor. The stranger turned toward it and I lunged to my feet, meaning to dart the other way.

But he was faster than I had anticipated. His hand closed around my throat, hauling me up until we

were face to face for the second time.

“I will not be baited,” he said. I clawed at his hand, but it was like a vise around my throat. If he

put any more pressure into his grip, I wouldn’t be able to speak.

“The salt,” I screamed at Seth. “Scatter the salt on the seal! You can stop the ritual!”

The stranger froze, giving me a sharp look. Something was wrong.

He turned back towards the seal, giving me a clear view into the heart of the sanctuary. We saw

Seth at the same instant, returning the vessel to the center of the seal. The stranger released me,

lunging for Seth.

“Spill it,” I screamed. “Seth, you have to spill the salt!”

Seth looked up, confusion clouding his eyes. He stepped back as the stranger barreled toward him.

Moonlight speared into the sanctuary, flooding the seal with silvery light. The stranger skidded to

a stop just beyond the seal, transfixed.

Smoky black ribbons rose up around the vessel in twining spirals of shadow.

“No,” I whispered. “
No.
”

The ritual was complete.

The stranger retreated across the stone floor to take up his sword. I limped toward Seth, fighting

the growing pain in my leg. “We have to get out of here,” I whispered.

Instead of replying, Seth tensed. “Look,” he said. I turned, and my breath caught in my throat.

A slender form stepped through the rift between our worlds, gaining substance in half a heartbeat.

She had long, pale blond hair that fell in undulating waves down her back. She was small, shorter than

Seth by a good six inches. Her limbs were delicate, perfectly proportioned. She was achingly

beautiful.
Of course,
I thought numbly.
She’s Lilitu.
She held a weapon loosely in one hand. It was

shorter than the stranger’s sword, but too long to be considered a knife. The curved blade was

tarnished with age, but the edge tapered to a cruel point. Strange glyphs ran the length of the blade.

The handle, what I could see of it, was a dark and twisted metal.

The Lilitu looked up. Her dark eyes landed on Seth and she moved. The weapon spun through the

air directly toward him. I acted without thought, diving into Seth. We hit the floor as the weapon

skittered to the ground behind us. Seth let out a surprised gasp. I rolled off of him, back up onto my

feet.

“Stay back,” I hissed. I couldn’t spare the time to check if he was injured. I spun back around,

expecting the Lilitu’s attack any moment.

Instead, she was eyeing the stranger.

He stood at the edge of the seal, as if unwilling or unable to step onto the stone. He lifted his

sword, ready to strike.

“Go back, Lilitu,” he said, his voice ringing with authority. “Tell your sisteren that this land is not

for-” The stranger’s words choked off with a wet cough.

I fell back against one of the sanctuary’s columns, struggling to make sense of what I was seeing.

The blade of the Lilitu’s weapon speared out from the front of the stranger’s chest. His sword fell

from his hands to clatter against the stone floor. A second later, he followed, dropping to his knees. He

raised a hand to his chest. It hovered helplessly near the base of the blade. An expression of genuine

shock crossed his face. I stared. His blood was strangely light, almost pearlescent. Not human. Not

Lilitu.

Seth stepped away from the stranger, his face grimly satisfied. He dragged his hand across his

jeans, wiping off a spattering of the pearlescent blood. Almost as an afterthought, he kicked the

stranger’s sword out of his reach. The stranger watched, numb, as his sword skittered to the far edge of

the room.

A piercing scream ripped through the sanctuary.

I tore my eyes away from the stranger, searching for the source of the sound. Lucas and Cassie

stood in the open doorway of the sanctuary’s hidden entrance. Lucas found the opening after I

unlatched it. Lucas caught Cassie and held her tightly. She turned into him, burying her face against

his shoulder. Her scream choked off, and the sudden silence was broken only by the ragged breath of

the dying stranger.

My thoughts felt sluggish, thick. I looked back at Seth.

He walked past the stranger, ignoring him as though he held no more threat than a statue. Seth’s

confidence seemed to grow with each step. The Lilitu opened her arms. A smile curved across her

sensual lips.

“Brother,” she said. Her voice was richly amused. “You look well.”

“I am better now,” Seth replied. “Illydia. It’s been far too long.”

They embraced, and Illydia’s laughter rang through the sanctuary like peals from a golden bell.

My eyes landed on the large square carving directly across the sanctuary from where I stood. In

the border, I saw the pair of Lilitu Angela had identified for us. The brother and sister who’d attacked

this mission all those long centuries ago. My eyes shifted back to Seth and Illydia. Brother. Sister.

Seth was the incubus.

Chapter 20

The world seemed to tilt, and in an instant the floor was rushing toward me. I moved sluggishly, just

managing to throw out my hands before impact. I sprawled on the floor and felt something warm and

slick beneath me.
Blood,
an inner voice noted dimly.
My blood.
The thought left no residual emotion

in its wake.

I saw two forms slipping along the wall of the sanctuary. Lucas and Cassie. Somewhere inside me,

a shock of alarm blared. My body tried to motivate me to move, to get up, to escape. But the impulse

was buried deep, muted by the thick blanket of shock settling over my thoughts.

Lucas dropped beside me, murmuring something into my ear. His hands moved to my thigh, gently

easing the blood-soaked fabric of my ripped jeans aside to reveal a deep gash. I heard him curse

quietly, then he was wrestling his sweatshirt off, tearing at the fabric with his teeth. Cassie hovered

behind us, eyes wide and terrified. I couldn’t feel anything.

I turned to Seth and Illydia. They pulled back from their embrace, greeting one another with

genuine affection. I saw their lips move, heard the lilting sounds of their speech, but none of their

words registered. We were of no consequence to them; they didn’t even glance at us as Lucas worked

feverishly to tend my wound.

He fashioned a makeshift tourniquet from the ruins of his sweatshirt, then tied it around my leg.

That got my attention. Pain slammed my consciousness back into place, driving the haze from my

mind. I couldn’t hold back a growl of pain.

Lucas’s face twisted with empathy. “Can you stand?” he whispered. I shook my head no. I’d

burned through all that adrenaline. It had left me wrung out and weak and slow.

“Take Cassie and go,” I said.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“The seal,” I started. I didn’t need to finish the thought.

Lucas winced. “We’ll worry about it later,” he said. “Put your arm around my neck.”

I tried. I clung to his neck. Lucas stood, hauling me to my feet. We took one step, then another.

And then my arm lost what little strength it had and I started to slide back to the floor. Lucas caught

me around the middle, guided me down safely. He looked into my eyes, helplessly.

“Lucas.” I gripped his hand tightly, trying to force him to understand. “If you wait for me, none of

us will make it out of here.”

“I’ll carry you.”

“Someone has to get out,” I insisted. “Someone has to warn the Guard.”

Lucas clenched his jaw, glanced at Cassie. But any hope he might have had that she could deliver

the news evaporated when he saw her. She had collapsed against the base of a column, her arms