Katie's Hope (Rhyn Trilogy, Book Two) (14 page)

Katie hesitated. Jared morphed again into a
massive creature. It beckoned for them to follow with one paw and
knocked the burning door out of the way. She trailed it, wanting
nothing more than two minutes of relative peace so she could summon
a portal. Hannah clung to her arm as they entered the hallway.

Jared launched himself at the demon barreling
toward them. Katie gasped and flattened herself against the wall as
they soared past them. She grabbed Hannah’s hand and bolted for the
back stairwell at the far end of the hall. Steadying herself
against the walls of the winding stairs, she ran as fast as she
could without stumbling, aware of what likely followed them. Barks
and roars from further down the stairs made her stop and grip the
railing.

“This way!” Hannah cried, pointing to the
doorway they’d just passed to one of the mid-level floors. Katie
followed her into another hallway on the floor where the castle’s
serving staff lived. This hall was smaller and narrower. Hannah
stopped at an intersection, and Katie took her hand again,
continuing down the hall toward the second stairwell.

Her breathing as loud and ragged as Hannah’s,
Katie paused for a deep breath inside the larger stairwell. Hannah
draped an arm over her, gasping for breath. Katie heard nothing
pursuing them and closed her eyes, focusing hard. Rhyn’s energy
filled her. She visualized the portal and the basement. As soon as
the portal appeared, she dragged Hannah through it, racing to the
glowing door on the other side.

Only when they both emerged into the basement
did she stop to catch her breath. Hannah dropped to the floor
beside her, and Lankha inched away while Toby smiled.

“Master Kris has ordered an evacuation,”
Henri, Kris’s secretary, said as he approached. “He said you’d know
where to go, Katherine.”

She nodded, sucking in air.

“How did you do that?” Hannah asked, turning
to her. “We were somewhere else …”

“I’ll explain later,” Katie promised. “I’m
not waiting for any demons to find us. Lankha, pick up Toby.”

She closed her eyes and focused again.

They crossed unimpeded through the portal and
onto the island Sanctuary, one of four such sites bridging the
mortal and immortal worlds. Sanctuaries were managed by a convent
of women who cared for the lost and injured. Katie didn’t recognize
the woman who greeted them and ushered them into the small fortress
on an undeclared-- hidden by magic-- island in the Caribbean. She
led them into a courtyard lined on all four sides with lopsided
doors.

“Master Kris said you were coming. We have
several refugees here already,” the woman in the long brown robe
said. “We’re assigning quarters as soon as they arrive and
providing a hot meal afterwards. Ladies, you are in these two
rooms.” She pointed to two doors. “The healer can stay there, and
the angel-- ”

“With me,” Katie said.

“Then you can take the larger of the two
rooms. I’ll wait while you look around your quarters.”

Katie knew from experience there wasn’t much
to see. Lankha was nearly buckling under the weight of Toby. She
opened the door to her tiny room, taking in the two twin beds with
sagging metal frames. Lankha set Toby down on one before they
joined Hannah in the courtyard.

“Is it normally this … exciting around here?”
Hannah asked as they walked to the cafeteria.

“Seems to be so far,” Katie admitted. “Nice
of Kris to abandon you upstairs like that.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean for that to happen,”
Hannah said, sounding unconvinced. Katie glanced at her troubled
sister, unable to help the guilt she felt at Hannah’s look.

“He means well. He said he sent someone to
find you,” she forced herself to say. “He’s kinda got a whole bunch
of people to worry about.”

“I know, Katherine. I’m not upset at him. I
just wasn’t expecting to be confronted with … what were those
things?”

“Demons.”

“Not what you want to see when you’ve just
taken the most heavenly bath.”

“Probably not.”

“You did really good back there,” Hannah
said, turning her winning smile on Katie. “I’m impressed, little
sis.”

Despite her anger at her sister, Katie felt
the warm smile affect her. Hannah used that smile to charm everyone
from waiters to potential boyfriends, but it was nice to have her
sister smile at her rather than remark about how disappointed she
was.

“You think Kris is okay?” Hannah asked, her
smile fading. “I feel like we ran off and left him.”

“You don’t want to be there to see how bad
things get,” Katie advised.

“You don’t worry about Rhyn?”

Katie hesitated, her hand going to the tattoo
at her neck. “I do, but I know he’s the scariest thing out there. I
don’t think anything can hurt him.”

She found herself hoping Gabriel made it here
before Rhyn did. She’d been so pissed at him, she’d told him what
she’d planned to keep from him. A sense of desperation almost took
her strength away. She dropped to her knee and pretended to retie
her shoe.

Gabriel was coming for her and the life
growing within her. She could barely fathom what that meant. She
didn’t understand much of the Immortal world, but she knew Death
always won. In Gabriel’s mind, he’d already killed her, or he
wouldn’t have looked at her with regret instead of pity.

“Hannah, I need to lie down,” she said and
rose unsteadily. “Go eat and I’ll see you later.”

She turned without waiting for her sister to
respond and made her way to her room. Her emotions crippled her,
and she flung herself on the bed, sobbing.

* * *

Rhyn slammed Tamer to the ground one last
time, too incensed to notice his half-brother was trying
desperately to tap out. Kiki grabbed his arm and yanked to get his
attention.

“Enough, Rhyn!” he shouted.

Rhyn blinked and stepped back. Tamer was
still for a long moment, until Kiki shoved a foot beneath his belly
and rolled him over. The large man gasped for air, his eye swollen
already.

“Can we count you in?” Kiki asked.

Tamer nodded. Kiki extended a hand and pulled
him up. Rhyn paced, eyeing Erik, whose bloodied nose had finally
stopped bleeding. His tactics would never earn anything but scorn
from Kris, but they worked.

“I’ll send my men,” Tamer grunted. “Tell
Kris-- next time he wants something-- to call instead of sending
this animal.”

“Enough from both of you,” Kiki said. “I
think we need to get a few things straight before we go.”

Rhyn ceased pacing, and Erik frowned.

“One, what do we want to do about Sasha?”

“Kill him,” Tamer said without
hesitation.

“Yep,” Erik agreed.

“Let Darkyn have him,” Rhyn growled.

“The consensus is that Sasha dug his own
grave,” Kiki said. “Two, what are we going to do when Kris chooses
the Code and his oath over our unanimous vote to kill Sasha?”

Three pairs of eyes went to Rhyn, who stood
ready to take on any of them that mentioned leaving the
Council.

“We fucking live with it,” Tamer said with a
scowl. “Even though Sasha is going to kill us all.”

“Very well,” Kiki said. “Next, how soon can
you all have your men to the castle to kill some demons? Mine are
on the way.”

“As are mine,” Erik said.

“I’ll send them now,” Tamer said.

“Best Council meeting ever,” Kiki declared.
“Rhyn, to the castle?”

Rhyn gave a nod, hands clenching at the
thought of facing off against some demons. Kiki tucked his iPad
under his arm and opened a portal through which all three went
before Rhyn followed. They emerged into the castle, and he sensed
the demons before he’d even set foot into the hallway outside of
Kris’s conference room. A blow sent him smashing into a wall, and
he morphed instantly, diving at the demons chasing his brothers as
they retreated through the burnt doorway of Kris’s chambers to
search for weapons. He tore through the demons and panted as he
waited for his brothers.

“I see Kris on the park,” Kiki called from
the window. “Never seen so many demons!”

Tamer emerged from Kris's chamber into the
hallway first, armed with a scythe and a bo, while Erik followed
with a long sword. Kiki trailed with nothing more than his iPad and
a long knife. Rhyn snorted at him as Kiki strapped the iPad around
his body.

They charged through the hall toward the
stairs and descended to the main floor. Rhyn was the first to
engage any demon in his way while Tamer and Erik beheaded every
creature that crossed their paths. Rhyn led them down the main
floor and out the front door, slamming into one of Kris’s Immortals
by accident.

“Rhyn, you idiot!” Tamer shouted.

Rhyn righted himself, unconcerned, and
barreled toward the demons. Kris’s two-to-one advantage had
dwindled, and Darkyn didn’t hesitate to unleash every demon he
could. Kris and a few of his Immortals were surrounded in the
middle of the park while demons darted from the forest to attack
pockets of Immortals. The snow was drenched with blood, like an
Immortal snow cone. Kris, he knew, was the best Immortal warrior
ever known.

Rhyn tackled one of the demons who took down
Kris’s wingman and slashed its throat open. He fought with
unrestrained fury, not wanting to stop and think of the most
ridiculous thought ever to cross his mind. That he, a half-demon,
half-Immortal who had spent the better part of his years in Hell,
was looking at becoming the first of his brothers to father a
hatchling …

Confusion and rage blinded him, and he threw
himself into the battle, not noticing the nicks and bruises his
opponents inflicted upon him. He focused on the taste of their warm
blood and on tearing them limb from limb.

In his blood-filled haze, he heard one of his
brothers shout, and the demons shift their focus from Kris’s small
group-- which Rhyn defended-- to the warriors pouring out of
portals onto the small battlefield. He fought until the yard was
lit only by the castle’s outer lighting, then onward to dawn, free
after so long restraining himself around the Immortals and
humans.

Stability. It was a word Andre had used that
Rhyn never understood. For once, Rhyn knew some sort of stability
within himself, no doubt because of his bond to Katie.

He tore apart a demon and stood breathless,
seeking his next opponent, only to see the body-strewn park was
empty of living demons in the early morning light. He panted,
agitated by the snowfall and not having anything else to kill.
Everywhere around him, the Council’s Immortals were finishing off
the few demons remaining.

“Rhyn?” Kiki asked uneasily as the half-demon
approached.

“You’ll have a sword to the throat if you
don’t transform,” Kris snapped.

Rhyn growled but shifted to his human shape.
His skin and clothing was soaked with demon blood, and Kiki gave
him a long look.

“Where’s Katie?” Rhyn demanded.

“They’re fine. I evacuated the castle,” Kris
said. His white hair was streaked red with blood, his roving gaze
tired. “Kiki, I owe you. Whatever you said to bring the others
back, thank you.”

“You can thank Rhyn for beating some sense
into us,” Kiki replied.

Rhyn met his eldest brother’s gaze, not
expecting any words of appreciation and not disappointed. Kris
turned away and maneuvered through the piles of dead-dead Immortals
and demons toward Tamer.

“Kiki, I need a count of living and dead-dead
Immortals!” he ordered.

Irritation flashed across Kiki’s face, and
Rhyn raised an eyebrow in warning.

“Fine,” he grated.

“The Council needs to come with me,” Kris
added. “That includes you, Rhyn.”

“You can leave Rhyn out,” Erik said.

“I’ll sit outside the door to make sure no
one leaves,” Rhyn suggested. The dangerous note in his voice drew
Kris’s attention. Kris looked at each of the brothers then back at
him, as if forced to acknowledge what-- or who-- had compelled them
back. He said nothing of his thoughts but strode into the
castle.

Rhyn didn’t want to follow. He wanted to
track any remaining demons in the forest and kill them, too. He
trailed his brothers. Kris didn’t go far, just far enough to be out
of earshot of the Immortals.

“We need to find Sasha,” he said grimly.

“And kill him,” Erik added, earning a sharp
look.

“He took the vial of blood he brought with
him,” Kris said. “The next time the demons attack, they may be
immune to death by our hands. Kiki, Rhyn, check our father’s crypt.
You two come with me.”

Tamer grumbled but obeyed, and Rhyn shook out
his tense body.

“The last thing I want to do is go down
there,” Kiki said. “You’re not pissed about the display, are
you?”

Rhyn eyed him and started down the hall, not
caring what his brother thought of anything at the moment. He
trotted through the body-littered floor to the back stairwell. Kiki
followed him through to the basements, and Rhyn stopped in front of
the door to his father’s crypt. The door hung by a single hinge. He
saw before entering that the sarcophagus was gone.

He explored the crypt, gaze going to the
display of his mother on one wall. He felt the sense of foreboding
again, the unseen danger toward Katie. His eyes traveled to where
his father had lain.

The son of a demon and an Immortal had turned
out too fucked up for anyone to tolerate. He doubted Katie would be
anything like a demon mother, and yet, he could see the both of
them ending up as his father and mother did: dead-dead before their
child was six. He wondered what a half-human son would be like, and
his thoughts went to Gabriel, who started out human before turning
Immortal. Bitterly, he realized he didn’t know who had the best
chance of killing them: the Dark One, the demons, or one of his
brothers.