Kiss of the Betrayer (A Bringer and the Bane Novel) (6 page)

He lowered his head, unable to meet her accusing glare, and blinked back the stinging regret. That night would be forever burned into his mind. “I was coming to see you—to ask for your hand.” The words lodged in his throat. “But my friends convinced me to first have a drink in celebration.” His gaze cut to her face. “I lost track of time.”

“Ah, your friends.” Her head nodded slowly, as if contemplating his explanation. “Still blaming others for your actions, I see.”

“No, I don’t blame anybody for my mistakes.” He took a step toward her, holding out his hands pleadingly, needing her to understand how deep his regret cut. “I was so happy, Esmeralda.”

Her lip twitched in a sneer. “Pretty words spoken so easily.”

“My father had given his approval to our marriage and entrusted me with documents to deliver to your father. A wedding agreement, I think.” He had never discovered what the papers were for, only that the information within them had directly led to the murder of Esmeralda’s father. “I drank too much, gambled too much, and lost the very coat off my back, including the documents I was to give your father.”

The demon shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, Luc.”

“I searched for you, Esmeralda.” He lowered his arms and took a step toward the demon. She tensed as if to attack. “I never stopped.”

“Where, Luc? Where did you search? In the taverns? Or perhaps you looked for me under the skirts of all those whores you slated your lust with.” Esmeralda bared her fangs in a feral snarl. “You never looked, because you were the one who led the Bane to my father.”

He exhaled heavily, the fight going out of him. “I never stopped hoping.” No excuse could erase his failure. “I’m sorry, Esmeralda.”

“Esmeralda is dead,” the demon snapped, her yellow eyes bright and accusing. “No matter how many tears of regret you cry, I am a demon.” She slowly lowered to the ground in a crouch. “Because of you, I will forever battle the darkness that threatens to consume my soul. None of your heartfelt apologies can bring back my father.” Her smile turned feral. “My only comfort in life will be the memory of your face as I bleed the life from your body.”

All these years he’d blamed himself for her death. The guilt bit doubly hard knowing her fate had been worse than death. There was not recompense for his failure, no fix for his night of indulgence. The woman he’d loved had paid more dearly than he’d ever imagined.

“And now?” he asked.

“I kill you.” Her statement held no inflection of emotion. It was said as absolute fact, an imminent event.

“Rell?” Jade said. “Please.”

The demon spun to face her sister. “Please what, Jade? Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind.”

“Don’t do this.” Jade’s voice wavered. “The cost to you is not worth it.” She paused. “He is not worth it.”

Esmeralda hissed. “If you had done as you promised, he’d be dead and I wouldn’t have to clean up your mess.”

Luc saw Jade flinch from her sister’s words.

“You will not be able to kill me,” he said.

Rell’s gaze snapped to him and she gave another humorless laugh. “You’re still arrogant.”

He stayed her with a hand. “You’re not strong enough.”

“You underestimate me, traitor.” Her muscles flexed. “I’m going to enjoy proving you wrong.”

“Rell, stop,” Jade shouted a second before Esmeralda sprang.

Luc had little time to prepare before the demon came at him, talons and fangs bared. He dove to the side and rolled, wrapping his arm around Rell’s legs. She spread her wings and pulled herself upward. Her ascent lifted him off the ground, but with his full powers he was as strong as she was and far heavier.

They plummeted the few feet back to earth. He landed on his knees and released her legs and then tackled Rell, pinning her under his body. Jade attacked, nearly knocking him off her sister, but he held tight. She grabbed his braid and pulled, sending shocks of pain through his head. He let go of one of Rell’s shoulders to palm Jade’s chest, and shoved. Her grip slipped free of his hair and she tumbled head over heels away from him.

Rell raked at his face, her talons leaving a stinging path across his cheek. The warm blood pooled and ran down his face. She smiled and swiped at him again, but he caught her wrists and restrained them.

“You cannot win, Esmeralda.” He used her name, hoping to draw out some of the girl he’d known thirteen years ago. “I’m a Bringer.”

She stopped fighting and looked at him. Her gaze leveled on his cheek. If she weren’t a demon, bent on killing him, he’d say her expression was one of sudden hopelessness.

“Your face.” The words choked from her throat. “It’s healing.”

The gashes still hurt but it was no longer the sting of an open wound. Tingles of fire burned along his cheek. He let go of her wrist, still ready for her attack, and touched his face. Rounded welts marred the once-smooth surface but there was no longer wet blood, not even a scab.

He lowered his hand and pushed off to stand, stepping away from her. Jade lay on the ground, propped on her elbows, watching him.

“You have your powers?” Rell rolled to her hands and knees, her eyes boring into him. “But how is that possible?”

He said nothing. She was still a demon and even his guilt wouldn’t allow him to reveal the one secret that could turn the tides against the fight with the Bane.

“Tell me,” she hissed.

She stood and took a step toward him. Gone was any resemblance to the girl Esmeralda. Greed burned in her yellow eyes. He felt her push of compulsion. If he hadn’t been brought to full power, he would have told her everything, or been dead.

“Tell me.” Urgency drenched her words.

He turned, walked to Jade, and offered her his hand. Anything to avoid the regret Rell’s crazed look of need stirred in him.

Jade glanced from her sister to his hand. She hesitated and then accepted. Warmth and an almost imperceptible tingle passed from her hand into his. He pulled her to her feet. Jade blinked and tugged her hand free. Had she felt it too?

“Luc,” Rell barked. He turned and faced her. “You owe me an answer. How?”

He pushed aside the call to purge his soul of wrongdoing and confess everything to her. His answer would never even the score and could cost thousands their lives. “I’d never tell a Bane.”

“Bane because of you,” she snarled at him. “Nothing has changed. The glorious Luc Le Daun is still only concerned for himself. Even when given the chance to make right your past, you still betray me. I might not be able to kill you, but I can certainly cause you pain.”

“No!” Jade jumped to her feet and stumbled to stand between Luc and the demon. “You can’t win. Go.” She wrapped her arms around her body. “I won’t let you risk your soul. Go.”

Esmeralda stared at Jade for several seconds, unmoving. Perhaps the light played tricks on him, but he thought the yellow glow of the demon’s eyes darkened to green. He narrowed his gaze, but when Esmeralda’s stare slid to him, her eyes were once again those of a demon.

“I
will
find a way to kill you.” She unfurled her wings and again crouched. “You may thank my sister for your reprieve tonight, traitor.”

With a powerful leap, she soared through the treetops and disappeared into the night.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

Jade watched her sister ascend until the canopy of leaves swallowed Rell, leaving her alone with Luc. Pain bit into her palms as she squeezed her hands into fists and tried to control her panic. Would Luc retaliate? After all, she had tried to kill him.

He stared at the sky as if waiting for Rell to return. She bit back the urge to tell him he’d be waiting a long time. She knew her sister’s demon nature too well. There would be nothing but revenge on Rell’s mind. Forgiveness was a rare occurrence.

Only once before had her sister shown compassion to a stranger. Though Rell rarely spoke of him, when she had, it had been with a dreamy air. Jade had deduced two things: that he was human and the bond between them had been far more than curiosity.

Then one day, suddenly, Rell told her to never speak of him again. The days that followed had been dark, her sister sometimes sitting for hours in silence like a stone gargoyle. Something inside Rell had been forever changed.

Worry poked at Jade now. Hopefully, tonight’s events hadn’t pushed Rell more deeply into the demon realm. At least Rell hadn’t killed Luc, for certainly his murder would have frayed and weakened the delicate thread of humanity that still bound Rell to her old life.

Luc turned and glared at her. Jade tensed.

“You’ll come with me,” he said.

She shook her head. “No.”

“We have much to discuss.”

“What? Catching up? To discuss old times?” She wrapped herself in her anger. “We have nothing to say to each other.”

His gaze darted around the clearing, avoiding eye contact with her. “These woods are not safe.”

Not with you here.
“So
now
you’re concerned for my safety?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her, unblinking. She stilled her impulse to fidget and instead mirrored his action. She wouldn’t let him bully her.

“You can walk beside me, or…”

He let his threat hang in the air. Not again. Last time she’d defied Luc, he’d thrown her over his shoulder, bum in the air, and carried her through town. Heat infused her cheeks at the memory.
Bloody barbarian
. How could her sister have loved him? Stubbornness and a twinge of desperation bolstered her determination. She would
not
go with him.

“Or what? You’re going to manhandle me again? Or maybe tie me up and drag me back to town?”

A few telling seconds of silence stretched between them. “If it comes to that.”

Her foot inched toward the tangle of trees.

He lowered his arms. “Don’t.”

She stepped to the side, gaining a full body length’s distance from him. “I won’t go with you.”

“Yes.” He glided toward her. “You will.”

She spun, but before she could run, he gripped the neck of her tunic and yanked her off her feet. The edge of her collar bit into her skin, choking her. His other arm wound around her waist. She flailed in an unsuccessful attempt to free herself. Hard muscle slammed into her back as he pulled her against him. Her feet dangled above the ground.

“Now.” His breath warmed her ear. “Will you walk, or shall I carry you?”

The collar of her tunic tightened against her throat, cutting off most of her air. She tried to wiggle free but the pressure around her waist increased. Her head pounded from the lack of blood and breath fighting to flow free, but still she couldn’t allow herself to give in. Never would she be at his mercy.

Her right temple lay along his left cheek. With a painful blow, she smashed her head against his face and delivered a hard thrust of her elbow into Luc’s rib. A grunt erupted against her ear and his hold loosened, but not enough to slip free. With as much power as she could leverage, she fisted her hand and delivered a blow over her shoulder, punching him in the neck.

He gasped for air and released her. Her body fell forward and she landed on her hands and knees. Like a dog, she scrambled away from him and toward the cover of branches.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Luc choked out.

Jade’s body lifted from the ground, her arms and legs pawing uselessly in the air. He flipped her like a rag doll and once again she was hanging, head down, over his shoulder. His arm pinned her legs against his chest, immobilizing her.

“Put me down!” She pummeled his back and was rewarded with a solid smack to her backside. She flinched but the sting only lasted a second, almost instantly replaced by the soothing caress of his hand. She gasped, both at his boldness and the pleasurable sensation he was creating. “Damn you.”

Her words sputtered against the smooth leather of his vest. With every step he took, her face bounced off his back and her indignation grew. Saplings and thorny branches brushed her cheeks, increasing her humiliation. For a split second she wished her sister would defy her nature to plot revenge and come back to save her.

Jade gripped Luc’s long braid and yanked. He smacked her rear end again before reaching around to reposition his white-blond rope of hair over to the front of his shoulder. Each breath she tried to consume was volleyed back out of her body by his bouncing gait.

“My head aches from hanging upside down.” She waited for some sign of sympathy, but he continued to weave his way through the dark and twisted trees, saying nothing. “Did you hear me? I think I’m going to vomit.”

Her half-truth failed to move him. Tension bled from her and she gave up her fight. Her body hung limp. She resigned herself to the possibility of being carried ass-end-up through town. Scrub and brambles passed below her with each long stride.

A movement in the trees to her right drew her attention. It was only a flash and then gone. She squinted into the murky dimness of the surrounding forest. There it was again. A shadow within a shadow.

“Luc.” He said nothing but his step slowed. “Luc,” she whispered, the quiet call more effective than her previous shrieks.

Luc stopped. Forms emerged from the protection of the trees. Thieves. Any other interruption would have been welcome, but she knew these men, recognized them from the docks. They were not only dangerous—but deadly as well. Luc was tough to kill, but she certainly was not.

Luc’s hands slid up Jade’s thighs and tightened, slowly pulling her back over his shoulder to set her on her feet. His gaze remained riveted on the four men blocking his path.

“Thieves,” Jade whispered. Without releasing or looking at her, he slowly spun her to face the men. She gasped. “And there are three behind us.”

Twigs snapped and four more men emerged, two from his right and two to his left. They were completely surrounded.

“What are we going to do?”

She’d asked the question as if certain he’d protect her. There was only one problem.

“I have no weapons.”

Jade looked over her shoulder and spoke through gritted teeth. “You
are
a weapon, idiot.”