Chapter Twenty-One
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Nox
Aggy flew up in bed, magic crackling around her, the ear-piercing sound returning before she had even untangled from the blankets.
My own heart was hammering as my shadow danced around me, giving me the option to hide.
Maybe I would have.
But it all happened too quickly to react.
The door flew across the room, cracking into matchsticks against the wall a few feet to my side.
Then Daemon’s body was dropped down onto the ground just inside the door.
Bloody.
Bruised.
Unmoving.
Before I could even let the cry that was building in my chest out, another figure was moving into the room.
“Sister,” Nemesis said, her voice this deep, sultry sound I hadn’t been anticipating. She reminded me a lot of our mother, actually.
“Nemesis,” I greeted her.
“You freed me,” she said, her shadows dancing around her as if they were alive themselves. “I owed you a debt,” she said, waving down at Daemon. “So, I brought you your demon. I believe he is broken,” she said, casting a disinterested glance at him, then looking at me once more. “We’re even.”
With that, and nothing more, she was gone.
“Did she have to break the door?” Aggy grumbled, climbing off the bed as I flew at Daemon, pressing my hands to his chest, wanting to make sure he was still alive.
It didn’t matter that he’d told me he was immortal. This was a whole new world. Who knew what was possible?
And while he looked like he’d had a building fall on him, he was still alive.
“He’s a demon?” Aggy asked, kneeling down on Daemon’s other side, her hand moving out to touch Daemon’s horn.
“Yes.”
“Interesting,” she said. “He’s kind of hot for a demon.”
I didn’t know how she could tell with how broken he was.
“Demons are immortal, right?” she asked.
“Right. He should heal. He heals really quickly.”
So we dragged him onto the bed.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
But none of the cuts sealed shut. None of the bruises faded.
“So… what now?” Aggy asked.
“I think I need to get help.”
“Help from who?”
“I don’t know.” Arick? His demon friends? “But we need to do something. Help me get him in the car.”
With that, we tore the sheets off the bed with Daemon on them and dragged him to the car.
There was a lot of grunting and grumbling as we got him into the backseat. But we managed it.
After that, we quickly emptied the room of all of our items, then climbed in the car ourselves.
“What happened to this window?” Aggy asked.
“Demons. Lesser demons,” I clarified as I drove, praying I remembered the way back to Arick.
Even if he couldn’t help, he could point me in the direction of Daemon’s friends and brother.
“Wow,” Aggy said as we drove, watching the changed world around us, the displaced people, the distraction.
“Yeah. It’s not good. You’ve missed a lot.”
“I’m almost glad I didn’t have to watch the world start to fall apart.”
The drive to Arick’s place felt like it took twice as long with the nearly-lifeless body of a man I loved in the backseat.
I flew up the driveway, parking the car just a foot or so from the front door.
It flew open nearly instantly.
“Wow,” Aggy said, looking at Arick. “You’re buzzing,” she added, looking at him.
“We need help. Something is wrong with Daemon,” I told Arick, climbing out to open the back door for him.
“I’m… not a healer,”Arick told me, his tone apologetic. “That’s never been what I’ve specialized in. I could… research,” he told me. “But I don’t know if I’d even have enough power to fix him with how much I am using on guarding the house.”
“What can I do? He can’t stay like this. He’s not healing. It’s been hours.”
Arick took a deep breath, looking over at Aggy. “You don’t do healing work either?” he asked.
“No. Protection work is more my thing.”
“Do you know anyone who does healing work?”
“Everyone is in hiding. Except…”
“Except who?” I asked, belly swirling.
“Lenore.”
“Wait… Lenore?” I asked, the name conjuring up a memory. “The witch who is with Lycus?”
“Yeah. Lenore was raised in a coven that focused on more nature-based work. She can heal. I mean… this might be a challenge even for her. But she’s the only one I know the location of right now.”
“Where?” I asked. I needed to go. Right then.
Arick gave me an address and general directions to follow.
“Aggy, we have to go. Now.”
“Actually, I hate to do this, but…”
“You’re staying?” I asked.
“I kind of wanted to talk to him about my plans,” she said, waving toward Arick.
I knew I shouldn’t have felt disappointed, like I was losing a good friend. I’d just met the girl. But there was a small rush of sadness that I hadn’t anticipated.
“Okay,” I agreed. “But… if you change your mind, maybe Arick can let me know?”
“Of course,” Arick agreed. “Do you need anything for your ride?”
“No. No. I just need to get going,” I said.
We said our goodbyes, and I climbed back in the car, hoping Aggie was in good hands but knowing she could handle herself.
“I’m going to get you some help,” I told Daemon, reaching back to pull the blankets back over him more. He felt cooler than usual. And he still hadn’t healed up at all. “Lenore is going to know what to do,” I assured him, even if I had no freaking idea if that was true or not.
It wasn’t a long drive from Arick’s to the demon clubhouse.
Though, ‘clubhouse’ was a pretty absurd way to describe their home. Estate.
It was a mansion made of gray stone and impossibly large windows.
There was also a ton of privacy, thanks to the woods that surrounded it.
Honestly, it was gorgeous.
If I were a stupidly wealthy immortal, it was the kind of place I would want to live in.
But there was no time for admiration.
I flew up the driveway and rushed out of the car, going into the back to grab Daemon.
He grunted as I shifted him around, making my heart soar. I mean, sure, he was probably grunting in pain. But it was the biggest reaction I’d gotten out of him since Nemesis dropped him in the motel room.
“That’s it. Come back to me,” I demanded as his arms flailed and his legs kicked. “If you could… just… help me get you to the door…”
As if understanding me, or maybe just reacting instinctively, his legs did a little walking—though a lot more dragging—as I carried and pulled and dragged him to the front door, where I laid on the doorbell.
It opened almost immediately.
Then there he was.
Bael.
There was no mistaking the family resemblance, even if Bael definitely had a moodier look to him.
“Daemon?” he asked, his gaze landing on his brother.
How could I explain everything we’d been through? What he’d endured? How we’d gotten here? Without waxing on for an hour?
“I… didn’t know what else to do,” I told him. “I got him free.” That was… true enough. Even if Nemesis had technically done it the last time. “And I just… I brought him home.”
“Ace!” Bael roared, the force in his voice making his horns poke out of his dark hair.
And that sound also did something else.
But not to Bael. To Daemon.
A weak, rumbling growl moved through him.
Then, suddenly, wings flew out from behind Daemon’s back, shooting out, and… wrapping me up.
“Whoa,” I gasped, suddenly enclosed in their warmth.
They weren’t bird-like wings with downy feathers. They were more like a bat. But also weirdly, velvety smooth.
I just barely managed to resist the urge to rub my cheek against them.
Alright, fine.
I didn’t manage anything. I would have absolutely done it if Daemon hadn’t collapsed from whatever energy expelling his wings had sapped from his already weak body.
“Shit,” another voice said, but I was on my knees on the ground, holding up Daemon as his wings stayed tight around me. “Daemon, man, we’re not gonna hurt your girl.”
“Shoulda known he was out Claiming someone,” another voice said.
“Daemon, hey, you have to, like, suck your wings back in,” I said, patting his leg. “Come on. You don’t have the energy for this,” I added, pressing my forehead to the side of his head. “Please, they need to help you.”
I wanted to believe he heard me, that some part of him was still able to respond to me. But I knew it was more likely that he just ran out of energy to keep them out.
So they fell.
Then disappeared.
“Arick said Lenore might be able to heal him,” I told the demons gathered all around.
There were women inside the house, watching from a distance, giving the demons space to lift Daemon and carry him into the house.
One of the demons hung back, all blond hair and a big, comfy-looking grandpa sweater.
Ace.
Their leader.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I’m Nox.”
“And, Nox, what happened to Daemon?”
“That’s a bit of a long story.”
“Luckily, I have time,” he said, waving an arm out to invite me inside.
“Can Lenore help Daemon?” I asked.
“I’m mildly uncomfortable with how you know us, but we don’t know you.”
“And by that, he means It’s nice to meet you, Nox,’ ” a pretty blonde said as we walked into the library.
That must be Jo, Ace’s woman. The nurse-turned-immortal. Through some sort of magical whammy that involved pieces of souls or something like that. For some reason, that part had been a lot less interesting to me than the whole demon thing, so I hadn’t been paying that close of attention.
Ace moved over toward the fire, and I remembered Daemon saying that he was always cold. That they all were, but it was worse for Ace for some reason.
“You’re Jo,” I said, wanting to give the woman a smile, but I didn’t seem capable right then.
“I am. I’m going to go check on Daemon, but I wanted to remind my man to play nice . You’ll keep an eye on him, right?” she asked the woman leaning in the doorway with her pale blonde hair in a bun and gold wire-rimmed glasses on her face.
“Sure,” the woman said.
“I’m sorry; I don’t know you.”
“Charlotte,” she said, giving me a tight smile. “I’m with Bael.”
“Oh! You must be the professor, then.”
“She is,” Ace said, eyes slitting at me, suspicious. I couldn’t blame him.
“Well, that makes this part easier, I guess,” I said.
“How’s that?” Ace asked.
“Because everything that Daemon and I have gone through since we met has to do with the old gods,” I told them.
Then I launched into it. From the first time I saw him in the basement, the trips to Arick’s and the Underworld, and everything in between.
Minus the spice.
And maybe playing down my weaknesses.
“Have you tried to give Daemon the ambrosia?” Ace asked.
“I didn’t think he could have it,” I admitted.
“He likely can’t,” Charlotte agreed. “Or, at least, it probably won’t do anything. You said it was Oizys who had Daemon?”
“I’m almost positive, yeah.”
“What are you thinking?” Ace asked.
“That she not only physically tortured him, but mentally tormented him as well. Maybe enough to… break his spirit.”
“That was what Nemesis said. She mentioned him being ‘broken.’ At the time, I thought she just meant the state of him.”
“Maybe she did,” Charlotte said. “We will have to see what Lenore has to say.”
“Can I go see him?” I asked, looking at Ace. “Please?”
“I doubt I would be able to keep you away,” he said, waving toward the steps.
“I’ll take you to his room,” Charlotte said, giving me a tight smile before we fell into step on the wide staircase to the second floor.
The place was massive. Daemon’s room was no exception. I was pretty sure it was bigger than any apartment I’d ever had.
There were classic touches: the wide crown molding, the large windows, the beautiful hardwood floors. But Daemon had put personal touches in the space too.
The walls featured both modern pop art and classic prints of beautiful women. He had a record player and a five-CD changer straight out of the aughts. A massive TV was mounted to the wall over an old brick fireplace.
Then there was the bed itself.
It was massive—bigger, even, than a king—and featured a black velvet headboard and all-black bedding.
Daemon was set on the bed, all of his clothes stripped away, save for a small hand towel someone had draped over his privates.
“When Red was unable to heal,” Jo said, reading my mind, “she had a hidden cross etched into her skin. We wanted to be thorough.”
“Does he have a cross?”
“No,” Jo told me, shaking her head sadly.
My gaze slid to the woman with the long black hair who was standing over Daemon, her fine-boned hand held over his face, her eyes closed.
“Please tell me he’s going to be okay,” I demanded when her eyes opened and landed on me.
“I think he has a… fractured essence.”
“What? What is a fractured essence?”
“It’s sort of like… like a crack in the soul,” Jo translated for me.
Lenore nodded. “It’s preventing him from regenerating.”
“Okay. How do we fix it? Do you have some sort of magical caulking?”
I didn’t mean to be funny. And there was nothing humorous about this situation. But several people gathered let out little awkward chuckles, including Daemon’s brother.
On the bed, Daemon let out a howling sound—something animalistic and pained.
My heart cracked at the sound.
“This is better,” I told them.
“Better than what?” Bael asked, dubious.
“Until we got here, he was just… practically dead. No movement. No sounds. No nothing.”
“He Claimed you,” Lenore said, watching me.
“With his wings?” I asked.
“It’s… more than that. But, yes.”
“What are you thinking?” Jo asked her.
“That maybe… maybe the Claiming—and his connection to Nox—could help. When he thought she was being threatened in some way—“
“No one threatened her,” Bael interrupted.
“You kind of snarled,” I told him. “Out of shock, I’m sure. But you did.”
“You did,” Jo confirmed.
“And since he’s so out of it, he might have thought it was worse than it was,” Lenore said. “Which helped him surface enough to try to protect you. I think your love could help heal him. In time.”
“You do love him, don’t you?” Jo asked, watching me.
“I… yes.” It was not the time for lying. Not with Daemon’s life on the line.
“Well, maybe just… care for him,” Lenore suggested. “See if it helps.”
“What if it doesn’t?”
“I will do some research. There has to be a way to heal a fractured essence. But while I work on it, be here with him. Talk to him, clean his wounds. See if he starts to surface.”
“I can do that,” I confirmed.
I felt wholly inept.
But if all he needed was someone to love him, who else could do that better than me?
Once everyone made their way out, I went into the bathroom, got some water and a washcloth, then went back to wipe the blood away from his handsome, but bruised and swollen, face.
“Your family thinks I can maybe help heal you,” I told him, feeling silly, but willing to trust the process. “I’m not sure they weren’t just blowing smoke,” I went on. “But I’ll play along until they figure something else out.”
As I washed his wounds, I told him all the things he’d missed: saving Aggy, freeing Nemesis, the visit from my mom and sister, going back to Arick, and even my first impressions of his loved ones.
Save for the occasional grunt or hiss when I cleaned a particularly nasty wound, he showed nearly no signs of life.
“I have no idea what I’m doing here, Daemon,” I said, climbing up on the bed, suddenly exhausted. Not my body or my mind—the ambrosia was still doing its job on that front.
I was soul tired.
It had been an exhausting few months. With the last week full of soaring highs and sinking lows.
This, though, was the lowest.
“You have to come back, okay?” I said, sliding closer to him. Reaching down, I drew the blankets over us both. “We have so much we need to talk about still. Like… I still don’t know your favorite ice cream. Or what season you like best. If you see a future with me,” I finished in a small voice as I carefully lowered my head to Daemon’s chest.
“I love you, you know,” I said as I drifted closer to sleep. “I’ll love you even if you stay stuck in there. But I would really, really like it if you came back...”