Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Everything spun around Skarde.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Blade coming for his head.
Boom!
Cade rammed into Bannos, sending Gemma’s body flying. He dragged Skarde to the far side of the still-open portal. “Dying is not acceptable. You can’t leave me alone with this shit. I don’t know what to do.”
“I cannae… I don’t have the right tools for an exorcism. We’ve lost.”
“Fontaine said… Has it ever worked when you do it the way it’s ‘supposed’ to be done? Have you ever separated a demon from a human or vampire?”
Had he?
Skarde wracked his mind, replaying countless encounters.
He shook his head. “Last year I had one leave the body voluntarily when the human was too wounded to recover, and then we fought. That’s the first time I got a demon out of its vessel. Usually I have to kill both the demon and the possessed body, together.”
“Fight it your way, then.”
“My way?” Tried it. Hadn’t worked. What was the alternative?
His mind blanked, completely empty of options.
The chaos between VanFliet’s people, the Assassins, and Petra’s people blurred around him. He should be in the zone, listening to his gut, sure of what to do. But he didn’t see a clear path in his mind like he normally did.
There was no gorgeous smile from Gemma. No hint of her left in the demon moving from stone to stone around the portal, realigning them to allow its people through. She was unreachable. He had no way to apologize. Their last interaction would remain steeped in bitterness.
He couldn’t focus on a solution since none involved her survival. None gave him a chance to right his wrongs. To tell her how much he adored her. Loved her.
Fuck, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t see how to save her.
He couldn’t do anything.
“Your way,” Cade whispered.
Maybe the way to fight a demon was to accept that dark part of himself that he’d absorbed when he fought the demon king. Took a demon to fight a demon.
You don’t fight it.
Command it to your bidding.
The gut feeling, conscience, instinct, or whatever the hell it was, came from deep in his soul, somewhere he never visited. Hot damn, his internal voice was back.
It never steered him wrong. Okay, maybe it had once or twice. Most of the time, though, it was right.
“Help me up,” Skarde rasped out.
Cade’s made no move to help. “I think I might’ve misspoken. You look like shit. What’re ye going to do? Ye can’t even stand up. There’s no fucking way you’ll do what’s needed. Killing her is the only way, isn’t it? Once I do, it’ll abandon her body, right?”
Skarde grabbed Cade’s arm tight and yanked himself upright. “This isn’t something you can do. It has to be me.”
“Bullshit. I’m as strong as you. Just as good a fighter. I can kill her and it.”
“Cade…” He sighed. “No.”
The demon paced the portal as it awaited its cohort.
Cade threw off his hold and marched toward the demon, sword out.
Skarde massaged his forehead and readied himself for the stupidity about to unfold. He’d interfere if he thought his brother might die. First, he’d let Cade get his ass handed to him.
Cade ran at Bannos, knives out with a bellow that would make their father’s ghost proud, not that either brother gave two shits about making the old man happy. The half grin on Gemma’s possessed face… his poor brother.
She moved faster than any vampire, missing all the knives headed for her and catching Cade on the pass with a knife slice down his arm.
Using his momentum against him, the demon caught Cade’s arm, pivoted, and twisted the limb at an abnormal angle—at least one bone had definitely broken—before slamming him to the ground.
Ouch.
His stubborn brother didn’t give up; Skarde hadn’t expected anything less. Cade sprang up, broken arm dangling and useless, to strike again. The demon, bored of the situation, dodged the strike and launched him into the stone archway that surrounded the portal.
Cade fell to the ground, crumpled into a heap.
That was Skarde’s cue.
He took one step toward Bannos when something flew at the demon, emitting a warrior’s cry.
VanFliet.
All Skarde could do was watch. He would give VanFliet credit for bravery, but the beat down the demon gave him—now pinning him to the ground and pummeling his face—made him feel sorry for VanFliet. But the vampire was his blood brother. The code demanded he step in.
Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the inner part of himself.
He reached for the darkness, the tempting power he fought to keep buried.
It slithered its way upward, slow at first as if wary.
Yet, it wasn’t an independent entity. Skarde wasn’t possessed.
It was more an essence, an energy he sensed that went beyond his vampire nature.
Heart of a warrior, body of a vampire, and power of a demon.
Energized, he prowled toward Bannos. The demon had already discarded VanFliet, though the vampire was still breathing, and slayed a few humans to drink the blood from their corpses—such a demon thing to do.
A demon thing.
Yes, a demon thing. It was a creature doing what it knew to do. That didn’t make it evil. Perhaps, based on human standards, it may be seen as such, but Skarde wasn’t human. He needed to stop judging these beings using human paradigms.
“Bannos,” he demanded its attention. “That body isn’t yours to have. It’s mine.”
Gemma’s body kicked VanFliet out of its way, turning slowly. It lunged.
Skarde moved quickly. Given the wide-eyed look he got when it tripped and fell to its knees, he’d shocked the demon.
Without flinching, Skarde struck it mid-throat, knocking Bannos fully to the ground.
With a knee on the chest of Gemma’s possessed body, he gripped it in a chokehold.
In the demon language, which Skarde hadn’t realized he understood or could speak fluently, he hissed, “Get. Out.”
The eyes bugged.
Between one breath and the next, Bannos Gemma’s body went boneless and fell to the ground. The demon, now in mist form, hovered for a moment before taking solid form. It couldn’t survive long as a solitary entity in this realm. It would need to possess a body to continue its existence.
He roared, “Cade, over here. Now. Get her out of here.”
Cade limped his way to them.
Skarde maintained eye contact with Bannos.
He resumed speaking in the demon’s language, words only the two of them would understand.
A language he’d apparently picked up when the king of all demonkind tried to possess him last year.
He’d rid himself of that demon—not easily—and killed it.
But he’d kept parts of its essence, parts that made him faster and granted him the ability to communicate with demons. “Do you recognize who I am?”
“It’s not possible. Rune is dead. I’m the new king.”
Yep, he’s dead. But I can sell you this lie. “So you are. In your realm, where you came from, you may rule, but not here. Never will you be king here.”
The demon gnashed its teeth.
Skarde wasn’t impressed.
Arms up like an empress Petra ordered, “Kill him. Kill all the vampires!”
Bannos swung a meaty fist at the witch, connecting with her face. She flew into the wall, landing with her neck at an angle not compatible with life. Bannos didn’t spare her a second glance.
Told you so, stupid witch. Skarde shook his head. No summoner survived their attempts to bring forth and command something more powerful than themselves.
Time to do everything he could to convince this new demon king to leave their world.
“I’m trapped here, bound inside this vampire body in a realm that only weakens us.
The witches think they can control us. The humans are easy to possess, but their bodies aren’t strong and they have ways to banish us.
You’ve been drawn here against your will, along with the others.
The one way to survive in this realm is to inhabit a host body.
The very air depletes our strength. It’s your choice whether you stay, but let me be clear.
This is my world.” He projected the air of every entitled human royal he’d ever met.
“It’s mine. You will live by my rules if you stay.
Rule one? Stay out of her.” He pointed the knife at Gemma. “She’s mine.”
Bannos tensed. “Why should I believe anything you say? Your assassin tried to kill me before you disappeared. Obviously, she failed.”
Shit. Skarde couldn’t access Rune’s memories.
Bluff.
The demon growled and, blades out, it dove for his chest. Finally, he could fight brutally without worrying about disfiguring or killing Gemma.
Moving twice as fast as before, Skarde sliced the demon’s wrists, forcing the knives Bannos held to the ground.
A quick jab—make that two—between the ribs, and one for good luck into the stomach…
a solid knee to the nuts, and Bannos was down.
“And what were you doing that I felt I had to kill you?” He stared until the demon submitted.
He lifted Bannos by its hair and held the knife to his throat.
“You’ll never obey my rules here, will you?
I’ll kill you if you stay. But since you came over by force, I’ll offer you one last chance.
Go home and rule that realm. Or die here, today. I don’t care which.”
“You’re still an asshole.”
He pressed the blade against Bannos’s neck, drawing blood.
“Home. I’ll go home,” the demon sputtered.
Skarde yanked the demon to its feet. “Let’s not meet again. Stay on your side of any new portals.”
He flung the demon toward the whirling light vortex of the gateway. It paused before it jumped, saying, “This isn’t over, Rune.” And then it vanished.
With an otherworldly roar, the manticore broke the crystals off their posts.
“Now you show up? Where were you ten minutes ago when this would’ve been helpful?
” Skarde asked. He noticed Petra’s body wasn’t where she’d landed.
Her header into the wall should’ve snapped her neck, but there was no sign of her anywhere.
Damn it. Another witch he’d have to chase after to eliminate. Later.
“That was your show. Even I can’t take down a demon.”
Skarde limped over to where Cade held Gemma on his lap.
“She’s alive. Unconscious, but alive. She’ll need blood if she wakes up.” His brother glanced up.
VanFliet limped over and frowned down at Gemma. “You think she’ll be okay? I mean, normal and not broken in her mind? She said she’d help me.”
Skarde kneeled and took Gemma into his arms. He shook her gently, being careful not to hurt her. “Come on, Gemma, wake up.”
Nothing.
“Please, Gemma.” He tried shaking her harder. I need you.
He bit his wrist to make it bleed and waved it in front of her mouth and nose.
Still no response.
“We have to get out of here. I don’t trust this crowd.” Skarde licked his wrist to close the wound.
VanFliet held out his hand to help Skarde up. He took the offering after setting Gemma on the ground, putting his body between her and VanFliet.
They stared at each other for endless moments.
“She knows a way to help me,” VanFliet said. “You’re not taking her anywhere. We made a pact to help each other.”
“She’s coming with me.”
“No.” VanFliet reached out to restrain him.
He knocked off the offending hand and snarled as he pressed VanFliet backward until the other vampire’s back hit the wall. “I just forced a fucking demon to run home with his tail tucked. Do you want to fight me?”
VanFliet struggled without success against Skarde’s grip. He wheezed out, “What have you become?”
“Shut up and stop fidgeting. It’s irritating.” He leaned in close and whispered, “She comes with me. Her fight isn’t over. But I swear to you on the bond we made long ago—blood brothers forever—I will help her find what’s needed to help you. We will return.”
“You swear?” Desperation tinged VanFliet’s tone.
“Yes. Make sure your people don’t kill the Hunters.
It’d sure be nice if you let them stay tonight, provided you can guarantee no one will try to eat them.
” He released his hold on his former ally and turned to pick up Gemma, ignoring the pain burning with every movement.
One foot in front of the other. Faster. And faster.
He held her close against his chest, his vision blurring over his failure to rescue her sooner as he and Cade jogged out of the keep.
He’d been broken and lost until she came crashing into his life.
Without her to keep him whole, Skarde feared he would fall apart.
A shudder of helplessness ate at him as he fought to keep himself upright on the horse. Two hours to daylight.
Don’t be lost, Gemma. Wake up as the Gemma I love, not a damaged shell.
Blood roared through his veins as terror grabbed ahold of his heart. With every moment she didn’t wake up his future drifted further into bleakness.