Rise of the Fae (33 page)

Her head rang with Seraphine’s screams. She tried to grab the stick to remove it, but it burned her palms and she was unable.

Danika rushed to her side and grabbed the stick, yanking it from Selene’s belly and tossing it away. Selene shuddered as blood poured from her wound. Danika laid her gently on her back.

“Mason!” she cried. “Mason, help!” Danika pressed her palms over the wound.

Selene’s vision dimmed. Inwardly she searched for Seraphine, who had curled into a ball, barely moving.

“Seraphine?” Selene called. “Stay with me.”

Mason and Neeman ran into the room.

“She’s been stabbed with that stick,” said Danika. “What do we do?”

Mason picked up the stick and dropped it immediately. “Demon stick.” He knelt by Selene’s side and picked up her head. “Selene, can you hear me?”

She blinked and metallic-tasting blood gurgled in her throat. “Seraphine… She’s dying.”

Neeman joined the group. “What do we do? What happens if her other half dies?”

“I don’t know,” said Mason.

“Maybe we should let it,” said Danika.

“No,” said Selene. “We have to save her. She’s part of me. She is me. If she goes, I go.”

Never before had Selene felt so much compassion for that side of herself, but it finally dawned on her. Seraphine was the one who’d kept her alive. Seraphine was her strength, her protector. She needed Seraphine. Without her, what was she? Who was she?

“Give her blood,” said Danika.

Selene shook her head. She’d never fed on blood before. Just the thought of it made her cringe.

“It strengthened you, Mason. Maybe it will help Seraphine.” Danika stared at the group. “She can have mine. She saved my life more than once tonight.”

“No,” said Neeman. He locked eyes with Selene. “It should be me.”

She knew what this would mean. If she drank from him, they would be joined. From the state of her runes, if they did this, there would be no turning back.

“Neeman—”

“I know what it means,” he said.

She stared at him, fear coursing through her.

“You need to hurry,” said Danika. “This bleeding isn’t slowing.”

Neeman bit into his wrist and held it to her lips. She resisted swallowing as the blood flowed into her mouth. The liquid filled too quickly and she had no choice but to swallow. The effect was instantaneous. Seraphine gasped and Selene lurched off the floor grabbing Neeman’s wrist with both hands and pulling it to her.

* * * *

Fear twisted in Neeman like a coiled snake. His fear was a mixture of possibly losing Selene, or possibly being bonded to her forever. He had no idea which scared him worse. But there was no time to think of that now. What ever happened, happened.

The pull of her sucking on his vein was a sensation that was purely visceral and completely satisfying.

When her eyes opened they were green orbs tinged amethyst. Desire stirred him deep within. He lifted the hem of her shirt to see her wound sealing shut.

Holding her close, he stroked her hair. Mason and Danika got up from the floor and left without a word, closing the door behind them.

He allowed Selene to drink from him for another minute and then he pulled his wrist away and licked the wound shut.

He stared into her eyes, not sure who looked back at him. She sucked in a sharp breath and the runes beneath her t-shirt glowed bright. The golden color pulled him in, like a thread connected them. He wanted to kiss her, to feel her, to make love to her. Though she’d drunk from him, he’d been filled in a way that completed him somehow. As if this was what he’d waited for. She was who he was meant for.

“Thank you for healing me.” She met his gaze and the runes faded once more. “I know how hard that must have been for you.”

“I don’t know that you do,” he replied.

She pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around her knees, drawing them up to her chest.

“Who was that man?” he asked.

“Lorcan.”

“The one who tortured you.”

She stared at him unblinkingly. “I’m sorry Seraphine lied to you back at the office and pretended to be me. It was the only way we knew how to keep you safe.” She reached out and ran her fingers down the slashes on one of his arm.

“We?” He’d never heard her speak about her inner demon as a “we” before.

She blew out a breath. “We have a lot to talk about. But right now we need to make sure the rest of the demons are gone.”

It was strange to hear her being so logical. But he and Mason had taken off so quick, who knew what was happening in the rest of the city.

He got to his feet and helped her up as well. They stood for a minute holding each other.

“This isn’t over. As soon as we are sure everything is fine, we will have this conversation,” he said.

She bit the inside of her cheek and nodded. “I don’t think I could get away from you now if I tried.”

Her passive expression made him wonder what meaning her words really held.

He opened the door and stepped into the front room. Danika was busy on her phone and Mason walked over and hugged Selene.

He pushed her to arm’s length and opened his mouth.

“I know you’re mad at me,” she said. “I don’t blame you. I lied to you. To all of you. But I was trying to do the right thing.”

Mason closed his mouth and pulled her into a hug again. “I’m glad you’re okay, baby sister.”

Danika ended her call and strode over. “William is at the office with Siad and the house security. We should get over there. There are dead demons all over the ground and vamps are starting to gather in the area. We need to get this thing contained.”

“What about Garon and the kings and the Russians?” asked Neeman.

She shook her head. “Alexi is dead. Vinton is dead. Garon and Eliander are missing. Chase is also dead.” She blew out a breath. “This is a huge mess. I don’t know how we’re going to contain it. On top of that, Sinya has gone into labor.”

“The baby’s early,” said Neeman.

“Yes. Doc is with them now.” Danika pinched the bridge of her nose. Mason gathered her in his arms.

“War is coming,” said Mason. “This was only the beginning. Someone has made a deal with the demons. More will come. Many more.”

“This is bigger than a coven war. Vampires will be divided between siding with the demons and fighting against them,” said Danika.

“We need to get on top of this now. Send a message to the High Council. Call all the trackers back,” said Mason.

“I can call every one I know,” said Neeman. “We’ll need them on our side if we are to survive.”

“First things first,” said Danika. “Let’s clean up the mess. Tomorrow we will start strategizing. Garon and Eliander are on the run, if they’re still alive, as is Melton. It will take them a couple of days to regroup.”

“There’s something you’re all missing,” said Selene. “The portal to the demon realm. If we can find it, and close it, we may be able to finish this thing before it starts.”

Danika stared at her. “Can you do that?”

“I’ll need to heal first, but I believe I can.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Let’s move,” said Danika. “I want my uncle’s sorry remains off my office steps as soon as possible.”

The mood between Selene and Neeman was tense as they helped carry the bodies of the demons to the SUV’s and stacked them in the back. Neeman had called everyone that was left of the Tracking Squad from Coven House to come help. It was a bleak sight.

Less than two dozen trackers were alive in Chicago. And that included the humans who had been trained. As much as she hated to suggest it, she’d mentioned to Neeman that he might want to ask the human trackers if they wanted to become vampyr. The look he’d given her made the tension between them skyrocket to a new level.

Mason picked up the dead Vampire with the long white hair. Chase, Danika’s uncle. Danika had insisted that Chase be put in the dumpster instead of taken with them. Selene looked on as Mason dumped the body inside and lit it on fire. Selene wished she could gain the same satisfaction by watching Lorcan’s body burn. But his time would come.

“We should get you to Coven House to rest,” Neeman said, throwing two tentacles into the SUV.

“What about up there?” She pointed to the broken window in the side of the building.

“It’s already done. Alexi’s body is in the other SUV as is Vinton’s.”

“And Sherman?”

“He’ll live. His driver picked him up an hour ago.”

She nodded. “Things are going to get ugly here, aren’t they?”

He wiped his palms on his pants. “Yes. But not today.” He slammed the trunk closed. “Come on, let’s get you rested and then we can talk.”

Selene’s body sagged. Seraphine still hadn’t spoken to her since the demon stick incident. But she knew Seraphine was still in there. She felt her, deep inside her cage, curled in a ball. It worried Selene. Maybe Neeman was right, maybe rest would help.

* * * *

Selene trudged up the stairs of Coven House to the second floor landing. All around coven members stared and whispered. News travelled in the Vampire society faster than among mean teenagers in her old high school. Several of the house slaves had gathered in the entryway as well, their eyes frightened and their voices animated. She supposed she should feel the same way. After all, this was about as bad as this world could get.

Beings that were stronger, faster and all around deadlier than any they’d met were about to flood in and destroy everything, or take it prisoner.

Neeman placed his hand on her lower back and guided her up to their room. Their room, what a strange thought.

“Neeman?”

They stopped and turned. William was walking across the landing.

“Danika would like to meet—”

“Not now,” Neeman said.

William’s brows furrowed and he licked his lips. “I…well…”

“Not now, William. Tell Danika I’ll be down later.”

William’s gaze shifted between the two of them and he nodded and headed toward the other side of the house.

Neeman looked at her and she swallowed. His grim expression tied a knot in her stomach.

“After you,” he said.

She continued up to the room. As the door closed behind them, the silence of the room was suffocating.

“Why don’t you go lie down?” Neeman said.

“Are you going to lie down with me?” Why had she asked that?

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he said.

She sighed. Her nerves were so jittery there was no way she’d be able to sleep. She walked to the couch and sat, crossing her arms and her legs.

“Don’t do this,” he said. “Get some rest. I’ll stay out here and we can talk later.”

“I don’t want to talk later. I want to talk now.”

She stared at his box on the table. The one she’d saved from the collapse.

“Why do you have to be like this?” he asked. “Why can’t you just do as I say, for once?”

“Because I’m not good at taking orders.”

“Oh yeah? Really? Well you’ve been letting someone order you around here.” He threw himself into the overstuffed chair to her left.

And so it began.

She nodded and stared at her hands. “Yes, I have. Lorcan is the High Elder of the fae.”

“The one who tortured you.”

“Yes.”

“Your ex-lover.”

She caught his gaze. Telling the truth was the only way they would get through this.

“Yes we had sex. But he was never my lover.”

“So tell me. What were you sent here to do?”

She hung her head in her hands and stared at her feet. Blood stained her shoes and she rubbed them together in an effort to remove some of the spots.

“I was sent here to kidnap Danika and take her to Lorcan.”

“Why?”

She looked up. “Because the fae are afraid of what Mason can do. They wanted to take Danika to their realm where Mason would follow and then trap him there.”

Neeman sat forward resting his hands on his knees. “But what made them think they could contain him? He’s the strongest being I’ve ever seen.”

“He is, but the magick of the fae rivals that of even demons. As a unit, they can combine their power. There are few things more formidable that a collective of fae.” She shifted in her seat. “I meant what I said before. Seraphine knocked you out to save you. We had to get Danika to Lorcan to get him to fulfill the promise he made. I knew that you’d try to stop me. But if we didn’t take her…”

“What?”

“If we hadn’t, then he would’ve taken you to the fae realm instead. On top of that, he wouldn’t have stopped coming until he had her. What we did ensured he wouldn’t be able to harm any of us, ever again.”

“Why me?” he asked.

She stared at him. “Come on, Neeman, I know you aren’t that dumb.”

“Tell me.” His eyes were intense.

She took in his features: his fine Roman nose, his strong jawline, and lush lips, which split slightly in the middle. His handsome face sported a gash above his left eye and the deep shadows under his eyes told her he hadn’t been sleeping well. His blond hair stuck up all over. His scruffy stubble made her heart pound.

For the first time in hours, Seraphine sat up and took notice.
“Tell him.”

He was going to make her say it. In a way, she understood. Just a day ago, she’d completely rejected him. He wasn’t going to be made a fool of again.

He moved from his chair to sit on the table in front of her. His nearness made her pulse quicken. He leaned in so that their hands almost touched.

“Tell me,” he said again.

“Tell you what?” Her insides squirmed like a bowl full of caterpillars.

“Tell me why he thought taking me would hold such sway over you.”

He wasn’t going to give her an inch.

“Okay fine.” She threw up her hands. “Do you want to hear I have feelings for you? That you were right and I lied when I said I didn’t have feelings? To tell you I’d do just about anything to keep you safe, including sending my brother’s mate off to be locked up by my sadistic SOB ex? Because that’s all true. And I’d do it again a thousand times to keep you safe. “

“Why?”

“Because I love you. I’ve never been in love before and I’m not entirely sure I like the feeling, but I do. I love you. Is that what you want to hear me say?”