Gods and Demons (Blood and Darkness Book 3) Page 6

Valentina smirked. “Are we supposed to seduce the demons into submission?”

  Josephine rolled her eyes and snorted. “They aren’t only for seduction. Oyster pearls can also be used to extract information when used correctly.”

  My eyes widened. It made sense. Romance usually led to soul baring. “Thanks. These might come in handy.”

  We marched off toward the swamps with Samuel gripping the bag of supplies for dear life.

  Valentina taunted him. “Last chance to change your mind.”

  He muttered under his breath and stomped off ahead of us, sending Valentina into an eruption of giggles.

  My light mood darkened as we approached the outer edges of the city. A darkness pulled at me like a magnet. The air was thick with the stench of sludge and smoke. War drums beat in the distance—an ominous rhythm, seductive as it was terrifying.

  Our hiding spot wasn’t far from the Three Blind Mice. The three of us crouched in a thicket of brush and thorns. I pulled my hood up and motioned for them to do the same. We downed the vials of potion and crept into the Quarter.

  Keeping to the shadows and alleyways, we moved through the city undetected. I couldn’t help but notice broken store front windows, overturned vehicles, and blood curdling screams echoing in the streets. New Orleans and its people were caught in a state of debauchery and destruction.

  As we rounded the corner toward Pirate’s Alley, a group of humans was pinned to the ground, a couple of hellhounds salivating over them. I started forward, but Valentina pulled me back.

  She whispered, “We can’t risk it.”

  I clenched my fists. “We can’t just let them die.”

  Samuel shook his head, his eyes as wide as saucers. “We can’t help them.” His words lingered in the air like smoke.

  They were right. If I rushed in to save them, the hellhounds and every other demon in the city would pounce on us. I couldn’t risk the exposure. Not when we were so close. But I couldn’t stop the ache in my chest for those poor souls who were about to meet their demise.

  I drew in a sharp breath through gritted teeth. “We should get back. I can feel my magic willing me to shift. I can’t control my emotions in here.”

  Valentina looked at me with concern. “I feel it too. If we stay any longer we’re going to be sitting ducks.”

  Samuel crinkled his brow. “I don’t understand. Can the demons sense us?”

  I shook my head. “Not at the moment, but if I shift it will send out a wave of magic like a lighthouse beacon.”

  A lump formed in his throat as he began to back away from us. His hand shook, and his lips trembled.

  Valentina narrowed her eyes at him. “Samuel, get a hold of yourself.”

  His knees wobbled as he moved further away from us. His eyes darted around like a mad-man.

  My heart raced. He was going to expose us. “Samuel. Take a deep breath and come back over here. You are going to get us all killed.”

  It was like he couldn’t hear us. His heart thumped wildly in his chest and sweat poured down his face. He was having a full-blown supernatural panic attack.

  Valentina froze. “Samuel, stay where you are. Don’t move another muscle.”

  All the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. A shadow demon slithered a few feet behind him.

  I whispered, “Look at me. You need to stay perfectly still.”

  He spun around and gasped as the shadow demon pounced on him. His body twisted like a rag doll as he hit the ground. Valentina pulled me into the shadows and covered my mouth just as I was about to scream.

  Samuel cried out in agony. “Help me! Somebody, help me!”

  I started forward, but Valentina had me in an iron grip. She shook her head. “No. We can’t help him. You have to let him go.”

  I struggled against her and her grip got tighter. I had no idea she was this strong. Her limbs were like cold steel. Her heart and her breathing were calm and steady, making me feel even more erratic.

  The shadow demon seeped into Samuel’s mouth. His eyes twisted in horror as black sludge poured out of his every crevice. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. His eyes rolled back into his head and his body went limp.

  Bile began to creep up in my throat as we waited for Samuel’s lifeless body to decompose. Every minute felt like an eternity. Nothing happened.

  I shot Valentina a look and she let go of my arms. I took a step forward to get a closer look just as Samuel rose to his feet.

  We both let out a gasp. He wasn’t supposed to get up. As he turned to walk down the street, I caught one last glimpse of his face. His eyes were empty.

  My heart raced. “They’ve figured out how to possess a body without killing it.”

  Valentina eyes hardened. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

  Josephine took one look at us and knew. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Did he suffer?” Her hands trembled as she clasped them in front of her.

  My mouth was dry. I was still stunned. “It…it happened so fast. I told him not to move but…” I couldn’t gather my thoughts. My heart raced as I stood before her. How do you tell a woman that she just lost her only son?

  Valentina pressed her shoulders back and stuck her chin out. “He’s been possessed by a shadow demon. His soul is no longer with us.” Her tone was matter of fact and devoid of any emotion.

  Josephine’s mouth gaped open. “How is that possible? No human body can hold a shadow demon intact.”

  Valentina avoided eye contact. “We don’t know. They must have figured out a way to preserve the shell.”

  Josephine snapped, “How can you be so cold about this? Samuel was…is my son, not just some shell.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

  Her sorrow snapped me out of my shock. “Josephine, she didn’t mean to offend you. It happened right in front of us. It’s an image that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I’m so sorry.”

  A low rumble shook the floorboards as Josephine’s white wolf sprang from the balcony. His body turned and twisted as he shifted in mid-air. By the time his feet hit the ground, he was human.

  I stepped back as I locked eyes with him. He stood up straight and glowered down at me. His skin was white, but he had Samuel’s eyes. He towered over us the way Seven did. The veins in his neck bulged.

  Josephine reached up and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Silas, it’s not their fault. Stand down.”

  Silas growled. “It is their fault. They could have helped him. Instead they stood by and let that monster take my son.”

  My pulse raced. All this time, he was just the white wolf who stood by Josephine’s side. I imagined him to be a loyal pet or a dutiful soldier, but her lover? It never crossed my mind. But it all made sense. The name of her home—The Wolf and Crescent. Samuel’s fiery temper. He was part Witch and part wolf, a combination that was highly unstable. Crescent Witches drew upon the earth, whereas wolf magic was carnal and animalistic.

  I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but there was nothing we could do. We couldn’t get to him in time.”

  Valentina eyed Silas curiously. “Are you Lupi or Rougarou? What pack do you belong to?”

  He shot her a look of contempt. “It doesn’t matter. My loyalty is to this coven. I have no pack. And now, thanks to you, I have no son.”

  His words stung. I took a deep breath. “I promise you, I will avenge Samuel. Cerberus’s demons will pay for every life they have taken.”

  Silas spat, “And what about the lives you have taken. Who will answer for those?”

  Valentina’s eyes flashed red. “I get that you are grieving, but you need to watch your tone. Remember who you are speaking to.”

  Josephine rubbed his arm. “Please Silas, let it go. Samuel chose to go with them. He wanted to prove to you how brave he was.”

  Silas hung his head down and buried his face in his hands. His body heaved as he wept. Josephine hummed softly to him.

  My heart broke for them as a renewed anger coursed through my
veins.

  Valentina motioned toward the door. “We should go. Give them some space. We can wait for Dragos outside.”

  I nodded. As we reached the door, Silas called out. “I am the last of the Ulfhednar pack, but I will join whatever pack you wish as long as I am on the battlefield when the fighting begins.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You’re a berserker?” Legend had it that they died out centuries ago. I had never come across one before.

  Silas nodded.

  Valentina nodded back. “We’ll be in touch.”

  As we stepped out onto the wet marshland, a tingling sensation spread through my veins. Dragos sauntered toward us with a lifeless Nadia tossed over his shoulder.

  He grinned when he saw us. “Piece of cake. So, what’s going on in the city?”

  I groaned. “We’ll explain on the way.”

  He threw Valentina a quizzical look.

  She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Oh, we have quite the tale for you.”

  The weight of a thousand crimes seemed to fall on my shoulders as we made our way back to the ship. Our world was changing faster than I could keep up with. With the addition of demonic possession and shape shifting berserkers, we might be in more danger than I thought.

  Nine

  Dragos stared at me in disbelief as I finished bringing him up to speed just outside the Harpy Forest. He nearly dropped Nadia, who was still unconscious from the sleep spell he placed on her.

  I sighed. “It’s crucial that we get into Elysium. No matter the cost.” I glanced at Nadia and winced, but any residual guilt I felt was minimal compared to the alternative.

  Dragos nodded. “We are doing the right thing, Gray.”

  Valentina let out a low whistle as Aldric approached. “Well, look who it is, the Harpies’ new pet. Are your thumbs green yet?” She shot him a look of disgust.

  Dragos chuckled as he laid Nadia down on the stone bench. The tension between Aldric and I was thick. He stood there with his hands to his sides, looking at me like he’d seen a ghost. The awkwardness only increased as Iris and Nemesis soared down to join us. The flapping of their wings was starting to grate on my nerves.

  I motioned to the bench. “Here she is, delivered as promised. Now, it’s your turn.”

  Iris and Nemesis exchanged a smirk. Iris reached down and caressed Nadia’s cheek and cooed in her ear. “Welcome to your new home. We have your room all ready for you.”

  My stomach turned and guilt started to claw at my lungs. I could only imagine what they were going to do to her. I took a deep breath and forced those thoughts away.

  Valentina cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt your little prisoner love fest, but when are you taking us to Elysium?”

  Iris chuckled. “That’s not going to happen.”

  My heart fluttered, and all the blood rushed to my feet. “We had a deal.”

  Iris twirled a strand of her multicolored hair. “I said I would consider it. I never gave you my word.”

  Dragos’s eyes shifted. “We have given you what you asked for. You will let us in.”

  She batted her eyelashes at him. “I have another condition.”

  Dark magic coursed through my veins like wildfire. I gritted my teeth to stay in control. “What else could you possibly want?”

  Iris placed a hand on Aldric. “Should you tell her, or should I?”

  My heart raced. It thumped in my chest like a war drum. I swallowed hard as a lump formed in my throat, the taste of bile coating the back of my tongue.

  Aldric looked me square in the eye. “I want to break our link.”

  My head spun and the air left my lungs. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Silence and disbelief permeated around me. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse.

  I opened my eyes and forced my voice back into my throat. “Who are you? What happened to the man I fell in love with? Break our link? Please, Aldric, tell me you don’t really want that.”

  Aldric looked at me with watery eyes. “It’s for the best, Gray. I’m not good for you. I’ll just slow you down. I need to be here right now…on my own. As long as we’re linked, I can still feel you in my head.” I was going to be sick.

  Dragos snapped, “The only way to break the link is if one of you dies. I can promise you that person will not be Gray.” He narrowed his eyes down at Aldric.

  I shuddered at the thought of the empty hole that would spread through my heart at the removal of Aldric’s blood magic. The ground beneath me felt like it was moving. Valentina wrapped an arm around my waist to steady me.

  Nemesis snickered. “No one is dying. There is another way to break the link.”

  Iris chimed in. “Gray just needs to link to another. Once the ceremony is complete, Aldric’s link will be severed.”

  I shrugged Valentina off as my blood filled with rage. “And then? Will we have your word?”

  Iris nodded. “Yes. No more tricks. When Aldric is no longer linked to you, I will take you to Elysium myself.”

  I clenched my fists and turned to Aldric. “This is what you really want?”

  He looked down at the ground and then back up at me. “I’m sorry.”

  I snickered and spun on my heel, leaving without another word as I sprinted away from the forest.

  By the time I had reached the ship, Dragos and Valentina had caught up to me. They eyed me cautiously as we sailed toward the Hall of Secrets. The Narcissus magic scratched at the back of my throat. It took all of my strength to hold myself back from pounding on the floor and splitting the ship open.

  The ache in my chest was suffocating. I had just gotten Aldric back and now I was losing him again. But this time was different. He was leaving me of his own free will. How could everything change so quickly? Just over a month ago we were planning our wedding, and today we were discussing breaking our link. The first true link blessed by our goddess, Diana, soon to be reduced to only a distant memory.

  As we neared the docks to the Hall, my anxiety grew. I would have to choose another, new blood and new energy. I wondered if this out-of-body feeling was what dreaming was like, hazy, slow moving, and disorienting.

  I took a seat by the fire in The Keeper’s study just as Valentina handed me a drink. My glass swirled with the aromas of honey and smoke, an aged whiskey that warmed my throat as it trickled down.

  The Keeper and Tobias sat on the edge of their seats as I recounted the events of the day, including Aldric’s request. Their mouths dropped open in shock as the words “break the link” hung over us like a dark cloud.

  Tobias sprang to his feet. “I will kill him for this. How dare he desert you?”

  I flung my glass into the fire. “You will not! You have already done enough. This is all your doing. You just couldn’t keep your mouth shut about his parents, could you? And for what? So you could make yourself look better? From now on, stay out my business.”

  He shrunk back as a look of confusion spread across his face. “Gray, I…I didn’t mean to hurt you. He had a right to know.”

  I snapped, “Well, your sudden need to do the right thing has hurt him more than it could ever hurt me. You pushed him over the edge and he’s not coming back this time.”

  The Keeper folded his hands in his lap. “Tobias, I think it’s best you leave.” Tobias’s eyes pleaded with me before he finally nodded and stomped out the door.

  Valentina raised an eyebrow at me and handed me a fresh glass. “Not to sound insensitive, but who are you going to link to?”

  I sighed and closed my eyes as I downed my replacement glass of whiskey. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Dragos, who had been quiet since we left the forest, cleared his throat. “She’s going to link to me.”

  We locked eyes, and in that moment, I knew. Dragos would do anything for me, he would never go against me, and he would never abandon me. He would sever his own link with Jane because I needed him to. And he wasn’t doing it for the war, or the gods, or the fate of the world. He was doing
it for me. In my four hundred years, I had never felt so lost yet so loved at the same time. The push and pull in my body was beginning. My blood already pumped through his veins, and now my Narcissus magic wanted to merge with it.

  “Gray, can I have a word?” Dragos stood in the doorway to the armory as I sharpened my daggers.

  The feel of cold steel against my palm was comforting. I turned it over in my hand and chucked it at my target—a wooden mannequin with missing limbs. My dagger raced through the air with ease and landed smack dab in its head and stuck there.

  I grunted as I pulled it out. “What’s on your mind?”

  He chuckled. “Remind me to never be on the other side of your throwing arm. I just wanted to make sure you really want to go through with this. I don’t want to look like a fool.”

  I snickered. “Oh, you mean like me?” I threw another dagger, this time aiming for the heart.

  He rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I want to link with you. I always have. I know I’m just a consolation prize, but I don’t want you to dread it.”

  I let out a deep sigh. “Dragos, you mean more to me than that. I would never insult you in that way. I’m just…angry.”

  He nodded and ran a hand through his black hair. “I know. So am I. I can’t stand seeing you hurt like this. It took everything I had not to crush his throat.”

  I plunged a dagger into the table, cracking it open. Splinters of wood sprayed out. “If anyone is going to do that, it’s going to be me. But that’s not gonna make me feel better. Nothing will.”

  Dragos handed me another dagger. “Time will. I promise you.”

  All we had was time. Infinite days and endless nights of time.

  I stopped myself mid-throw and turned to face him. “Don’t worry. I’ll be ready to link when The Keeper summons us. You won’t regret this.”

  He smiled and brushed a strand of dark hair out of my eyes. “I have no doubt.” He gave me a wink and left me to my target practice.

  The silence was deafening as I stood there, dagger in hand and full of rage. I flung it on the ground and let out a low guttural scream.