Chapter 54
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
“You.” The sound that came from Helaina was that of a mouse. Callum barely heard it over the rageful humming in his ears.
They both knew this intruder.
“Dolion.” Callum spat out the name like it was a putrid taste on his tongue. Dolion’s royal-blue leathers looked clean and high priced. He was the same snide pretty boy that they had sent packing from this place decades ago. That gave Callum an awful feeling.
Decades.
He shouldn’t be a pretty boy any longer. He should be old, well into his seventies by now.
But there he stood, as young as the day he left.
“Did you miss me, love?” A crooked smile snaked its way across Dolion’s lips. “I’ve missed you.”
Helaina’s already pale skin had gone ghost white. She looked like she might keel over. Was she even breathing?
Callum’s deranged side was fighting to come out. He had been denied death on their recent patrols. Perhaps Dolion’s arrival could soothe that ache. “You knew what the cost would be if you showed your face here again.”
Helaina’s head darted back and forth between them. “He’s . . . he’s one of you?”
“Fuck no,” Callum spat again, eyes drifting down to the lifeless deer at Dolion’s feet.
Dolion looked bored, picking between his teeth with his smallest finger. “Always so hostile, Callum. So predictable. You, however”—he pointed to Helaina—“you continue to be full of surprises.”
The teleporter was tempted to use his power to get to Dolion, to slit his spineless throat right then and there.
He thought better of it as he surveyed his opponent, the bloodless animals before him.
Something was very wrong, and leaving Helaina’s side for even a heartbeat was a gamble he couldn’t take.
“Tell me how you know him.” Helaina’s voice shook, but there was a hint of suspicion there.
Callum answered, not looking away from Dolion. “He came here once, seeking his trial. He proved to be nothing more than a self-absorbed twit. He never cared about protecting anyone, he only wanted power. So we sent him back.”
Dolion’s lip twitched slightly. “I did what he told me to do. I trained until my hands bled, and when it was finally my time—my turn—he denied me my rite. Your captain denied me my very purpose.”
Callum’s eyes narrowed. “You should be an old man by now.”
Dolion smirked. “How observant of you.”
“What have you done, Dolion?” Callum gripped his daggers tighter.
“I got the power I deserved.” Dolion rolled his neck, and his blue eyes became a glowing bloodred. Daggerlike canines grew past his lips, capable of shredding tendons and muscle.
“You’re a fucking undead,” Callum proclaimed, still not believing the transformation before him.
“Some call it a curse.” Dolion’s tongue danced at the tips of his canines.
“Of course it’s a curse! Your soul will be in pieces, traveling the hell realms for eternity.”
“You’d have to kill me first.” Dolion’s eyes glinted with challenge, begging Callum to try. “So much time wasted here, watching all of you follow Theodon around like helpless pups.”
There it was, the jealousy.
Dolion had been here for years, training and trying to become worthy of what the bone dagger could offer.
Theo had discovered early on that he had made a mistake in bringing him here.
No matter how lethal and impressive Dolion appeared, there was something deeply lacking within him. He could never be worthy.
“Theo knew you wouldn’t pass. It was a mercy denying you the dagger.”
“Mercy?” Dolion seethed. “Was it merciful when you brought me down to those dungeons? Carrying out my mortal punishment?”
Callum smirked, he couldn’t help it. “That was your own doing. You tried to steal the dagger. Did you think Theo would let you leave unscathed?”
They had let him keep his life, sending him back to the mortal lands with his tail between his legs. A second mercy.
Dolion ignored the question. “I’m here for what’s mine, Cal. Return my property, or become another corpse at my feet.” He took a step over the deer, palming his sword and flashing those unholy red eyes.
It was dusk now, the light of the sky fading to black.
“There is nothing here that belongs to you,” Callum snapped. “I’ll give you one chance. Leave!”
“I can’t do that.” Dolion kept one palm on his sword, the other hand raised to point at Helaina.
“See, I’ve spent every night dreaming of how I would use her.
I’ve fantasized about draining that delicious body to the brink of death .
. .” Dolion’s eyes looked ravenous. “I’ve spent years imagining all the ways I’d fuck her. ”
Helaina took a cautious side step behind Callum’s right shoulder.
“Speak another vile word about her, and I’ll drag you back to your favorite cell,” Callum warned.
“There’s no need, Callum, she’ll tell you herself. Go on, Helaina, tell him how close we were back then,” Dolion goaded.
“Stop it,” Helaina’s soft voice pleaded.
“Tell him how you let me touch you, how you begged for it like a starved whore. How you whined for me and nearly cried when I asked you to be my wife.”
Callum could feel the white-hot anger flooding his entire body as he sensed Helaina’s terror deepening.
“Don’t worry, love, my offer is still very much on the table. You’ll still be my wife, my personal blood source for all eternity. After you fulfill your other duties, of course.”
Two large bodies emerged from the darkness behind Dolion.
Fuck.
Balor and Benon, the infamous Butcher Brothers.
Callum had believed the twin assassins to be mortal.
By the looks of their eyes, that was no longer the case.
Callum’s desire for torment came from vengeance.
These two just enjoyed the slaughter. Faces ugly as sin, they flashed their nasty, rotten teeth. No, not teeth—fangs.
Helaina’s hand gripped his arm hard, holding on like she might slip off a cliff’s edge.
“It was them that night . . .” she stuttered. “The eyes I saw in the dark. They attacked Aaron and Agatha.”
Balor smoothed back his slick hair, eyeing Helaina. “It was an easy mistake. That pretty little thing smelled so much like you, being a descendant of the War God and all. When we realized we took the wrong one, we made her death . . . relatively quick. The boy simply got in the way.”
Callum’s snarl sounded deep within his throat.
“Come on, Helaina, you don’t want to get me angry, do you?” Dolion crooned. “I’ll make the first bite so sweet, I promise.” His voice was deceivingly gentle as he marched forward with an outstretched hand.
Callum heard her retreat a step.
“Don’t run,” Callum warned. She wasn’t fast enough to outrun three undead.
She squeezed his forearm again, signaling she understood.
“How did you find her, Dolion? Even Theo couldn’t sniff her out until now.” Callum was stalling for time, hoping he could keep Dolion talking . . . play to his ego.
“Oh, she was well hidden. But we were fortunate enough to meet her dear uncle Fessyk. He was more than willing to bargain, a little information in exchange for a crown.”
Callum felt Helaina’s grip tighten.
“Once I knew where she was, the only problem was the shield. Getting inside was easy enough; it was getting her out that was troublesome. Matthias’s enchantment was rather irritating. We spent a few years trying to break it. Finally, we had to . . . persuade him to undo it.”
Queen Malinda, they had killed her to get to Helaina.
“And still the obstinate prick refused to comply. Of course, there’s always another way. She could leave if she did so willingly. A little time, a little . . . patience. And oh, she was more than willing, weren’t you, princess?”
Callum braced a hand over Helaina’s collarbone to ensure she was still breathing. He hoped his touch communicated his thoughts. I’m not letting him take you.
“But then Helaina and I had a little incident. She was supposed to come with me but disobeyed. I paid dearly for that mistake. I took my time, ensuring I wouldn’t fail twice.
” He was watching Helaina very closely. “I suppose the credit goes to Fessyk. He suggested that if we truly broke your family, they would finally send you away. And if you were completely shattered, you would agree to go.”
Callum vowed to find her uncle and fillet him alive, starting with his toes.
“It took more time than expected. But what’s a couple years to us, right, Cal? And it paid off. Your parents really did think they were arranging a marriage for you in the wastes, by the way. You were just never supposed to make it there.”
And she hadn’t, but only because the Troika had found her first.
“Imagine my surprise when you disappeared, only for those shadows of yours to call me back here, of all places.”
Her fingers on his skin were so cold, her hands shaking. “How . . . how did you break my family?”
Dolion let his gaze run straight through her. “You don’t think your brother became a fan of the drink all on his own, do you? I may have guided him on that path of self-sabotage, a little push.” He winked.
Callum felt her stumble, heard her collapse to the ground, but refused to take his eyes off the enemy.
“You bastard, you coerced him,” Callum gritted out.
“What does that mean?” He barely heard her frantic whisper. “Callum, what does that mean?”
“All their kind have it. It’s a control over the body and mind. They’re pathetic parasites that manipulate unsuspecting souls. Force you to speak lies or perform like puppets. They take your free will. All they need is a touch, or a taste of blood.”
She let out a mangled sob.
“Blood your uncle so kindly provided. Pity I couldn’t crawl into that little head of yours and force you to leave Oakmire. It would have saved us a lot of headaches—but every time I tried, it just never fucking worked on you.”
Helaina whimpered.
“Now, enough with the dramatics. Come with me and let your friend run back to his master. Or you can watch us slaughter him right here and now, and have more blood on your hands. Is that what you want? It’s three on one . . . just like last time.”
She actually seemed to consider obeying his command.
Callum brandished his daggers.
He felt a gust of wind, a shadow passing over. The trees shook as a dark silhouette lined up right next to his own.
Callum grinned. “Two on three,” he corrected.