Chapter Two
Christa
The pull to Dakata’s demon came unexpectedly, but Christa loved her brother enough not to fuss about the inopportune moment. Leaving the pretty brunette she’d been chatting up with a smile of apology and no explanation, Christa translocated to Dakata’s home in the demon realm. She could easily sense a feeling of urgency like no other from her demon half. Dakata lived in the human realm. To be here, at this time, said nothing good would come of it.
As the air shimmied, Christa noted the arrival of her other brothers, Luka and Benra.
Dakata gave them all a grateful look, but Christa barely acknowledged that. She was far too distracted by the sight of Silas, Dakata’s blissful one, who stood at his side looking… devastated. Pale, yet somehow determined. Christa was positive Dakata would not have willingly brought his blissful one to the demon realm.
Dakata was the first demon in eons to find a ‘blissful one’, the person fate believed was the other half of their soul. It was so rare, Christa and many other demons believed they were a myth. The demon realm, like the human would, would have its gossips, spreading word that Dakata was here with someone special, before he left again.
Christa had no time to ask questions when Merihem, ‘controller’ of the demon and earth realm—aka the bringer of death to those who crossed a line and hurt others—and Dakata’s best friend, appeared.
“What happened?” he asked without preamble, his attention on Silas. Christa could see his eyes widen at the sight.
“Who did Kisha fucking tell about the blissful bond?” Dakata demanded, in such a way Christa’s demon side got antsy.
What’s with you?
Silence.
Was there something Christa was missing? Kisha, a demon who liked to gossipmonger, would never be one to cause trouble on purpose. He was harmless, as far as Christa could fathom.
“How would I know?” Merihem’s expression grew dark. “Has he done something?”
“Who’s this pretty?” Luka questioned, talking over Merihem, his gaze directly on Silas.
Christa almost laughed aloud at her brother's utter lack of tact and his apparent wish to get his face rearranged. He’d clearly not read the room.
“My blissful one, that’s not why I summoned you,” Dakata snapped, so hard his teeth clacked in the ensuing silence.
“Well, that’s sad, he seems like he’d be fun to get to know,” replied Benra, adding a purr to his voice.
Dakata seldom came to the demon realm, which meant that whatever the situation was, it was serious.
Realizing her brothers were trying to get a rise out of Dakata, Christa slapped Benra around the back of his enormous head, rolling her eyes at him. “Give over. A blissful one, if I got my demon school teaching right, is a sacred gift and I won’t intervene if Daks decides to rip out your intestines and tie them in a bow for being a dick.”
“You’re all making a great fucking impression,” Dakata snapped. “Shall we get to the damn reason I need your help? We don’t have the time to sit around and fucking chat about Silas. Silas’s sister, Wanda, was taken by two demons. Dougal said—”
“Dougal? Who’s Dougal?” Luka asked, frowning at everyone.
“It doesn’t matter who Dougal is,” Dakata growled. “We need to find who took Wanda and fast because she’ll not survive away from her tree.”
Christa’s demon side became antsy again.
What is with you?
Can’t you sense it?
Sense what? Christa opened herself while listening to Silas.
“From the forest,” Silas added quietly, as if that explained everything. Christa figured Silas was referring to being a dryad.
We must help.
What do you think we’re doing here? Christa asked her demon side, not paying attention to the ongoing conversation.
Seeing Dakata raise his free hand and make a rude gesture behind Silas’s back at Luka, Christa moved and gave him a slap the same as Benra got. Her demon strength was the same as her brothers, and she wasn’t scared to wield it.
“I’m just worried about Wanda. Please?” Silas murmured softly, bringing everyone’s attention to him.
“I’ll do all the proper formal introductions later, for now. Christa, my sister,” Dakata pointed at Luka, “Loud mouth Luka, and big gob Benra next to him.”
“Hello,” Silas murmured, looking at the last man in the room.
“And that’s Merihem, my childhood friend,” Dakata finished.
“Yo.” Merihem jerked his chin. “So, shall we get back to the matter at hand if it’s so urgent?”
“It is,” Silas said, lifting the bow he held, as if to make his point. “We have to find her. She’ll be so stressed it will use her energy up quickly.”
We need to find her.
Christa thought her demon was on something, because its behavior was just plain bizarre.
“Do we know why they took her?” Merihem asked, looking at Dakata.
“They took her thinking she was my blissful one…” As Dakata spoke, his demon emerged and roared in fury.
Silas laid a hand on his arm. That was all it took for Dakata’s demon to become calm.
“How lovely,” Christa murmured, the bond between them evident in the way Silas stared at her brother. Christa had given no real thoughts to a lasting relationship with anyone. Yet…
Dakata glanced at Merihem. “Merihem, can you feel any new soul down here?”
Merihem’s hands came together, palms flat against each other. His eyes shut and his lips moved as he used his demon half.
“What’s he doing?” Silas whispered to Dakata.
“He’s a ‘controller’ of souls in this realm and yours. He’ll find her, I promise, and everything will be fine.”
Merihem’s eyes opened. They were black and sat in his deep-red skinned face. They were as scary as the black pit of hell, which Christa had once visited. “She’s in the Dusken part of the realm.”
“Fuck!” Luka moaned in complaint.
Berna shook his head. “That’s not good, man.”
“Shut up,” Christa snapped, her demon emerging. She was as tall as her brothers, only more slender in the body, and her hair reached her ass, flowing over her breasts. “Can you pinpoint her?”
Her demon was ready to fight. Christa was still trying to fathom why, besides the obvious that her brother needed help. Not one to fight her demon side preferred to use seduction rather than her fists and claws.
“Yes. There are about twenty others with her.” Merihem’s eyes became unfathomable pools. “Guards, I suspect by the formation of them.”
“Battle stance?” Dakata asked when Silas made a sound of distress.
“Yes.” Merihem closed his eyes once more, and his hands parted. There, in the space between them, sat what he could see. It was an impressive skill available to the ‘controller’.
This ability to project what he could see between the force of his hands was a talent only two other demons had in their realm.
Silas stepped closer, his hand reaching out. “No,” Dakata murmured. “It’s harmful to touch.”
Luka and Berna came closer at the same time as Christa, looking at the image, assessing who had a death wish.
“Isn’t that Rainar?” Christa spat, pointing at the vision of the biggest demon closest to… to the demon gods, was that Wanda? Fury darkened her eyes as her demon hands clawed, ready to rip apart anyone who had laid marks on the pale skin of…
Christa felt the shudder ripple through her, her heart pounding as her body heated.
No!
Yes, her demon purred.
“It appears so,” Dakata answered, but Christa was struggling to understand what the hell was wrong with her.
Stop pretending.
“Silas, you stay here—”
“I don’t think so.” Silas gave Dakata a look that suggested he’d be spending precious hours wasting his time and energy if he argued. “She’ll need me, so I’m coming.” He looked so angelic, yet his steel will came through to all in the room.
Christa ignored the toing and froing between her brothers.
Who’s pretending? Not me!
You know what she is to us.
No, I damn well don’t!
Feel her.
Christa didn’t know how to do anything but that as she stared at the beaten woman, who, despite the marks on her skin, was beautiful—captivating.
“We need to do a four point attack. I’ll take out Rainar while Silas grabs his sister. Merihem, once Silas has Wanda, would you send them straight back to the forest? You know the location.”
Christa’s demon didn’t care what the plan was, she just wanted to get to Wanda and Christa’s human side couldn’t disagree. She could wait to explore the reason why until she was alone, because she needed her wits about her for now. Dusken was the worst part of the realm. It was not a place where any decent demon went, and Christa had never been.
Following Dakata, they all translocated. There, in the shady darkness, the coppery stench of blood, lust, and death permeated the dank air.
Silas made a distressed sound as Christa tuned into Dakata’s thoughts, a talent she had. She felt him search the darkness, then they followed him as he crept forward silently with Silas.
Within inches of the first guard, Dakata let go of Silas’s hand and tucked it into his pants pocket to keep him close. The move gave Christa a moment of affection towards her older brother, who was being too cute for words.
The moment got lost when a millisecond later, Dakata broke the neck of the first guard, lowering him silently to the floor. He repeated the move three more times before they got close to the door of the rundown building. Its windows had been painted black in an attempt to hide the interior.
Christa wasn’t into blood and scat play, but the smells suggested that was what went on inside. Christa held back the urge to rush in with an iron will—something she got from being the only girl amongst strong-willed brothers—at the anguished cries that came through the cracks in the wood.
Christa’s lips parted in protest as Silas burst through the door, his bow and arrow aimed in the room. An arrow sailed through the air, but Christa didn’t see if it met its mark as Dakata blocked her view. Then, Merihem charged in and went to town on the demons as all hell broke loose.
Silas leapt over furniture, arrows flying, heading for Wanda, who was slumped and tied to a chair in the center of the filthy room.
Christa had never been a rampaging demon, yet as she followed a blood soaked Merihem into the room to form a battle formation around the others, she was ready to rip apart some demons for daring to touch what was most precious to her.
The thought registered, but the direness of the situation as more demons poured into the room to protect Rainar held all her focus.
“Get them out of here,” Dakata’s demon hissed. The moment Silas and Wanda disappeared, he spun, his furious gaze locked on Rainar. “You are dead.”
He would be, but only after he’d suffered for laying hands on Wanda. He would know pain, and she was just the demon to help deliver it!