Blood of the Demon (34 page)

Moderately reassured, he surrendered to an exhausted slumber. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but he was jostled awake when the car made a bumpy turn. Sitting up, he looked around. “Where are we?”

“Old gas station,” Taeg answered, his voice clipped.

The dilapidated white shack was stained a dull brown from the sandy dirt of the road. There wasn’t a soul in sight.

“Why are we—?”

“I called them earlier and told them I’d meet them here.” Taeg put the car into Park and opened the door, stepping outside without another word. He headed toward the shack.

What?

Opening his door, Keegan exited the car and started after Taeg. He was only a few feet away when Ronin stepped out from the side of the building.

“Ronin.” His brother looked fine. They both did.

Ronin turned to look at him, and much to Keegan’s surprise the expression that crossed his face was almost pitying. Why would he look at him like that?

Just then, Cresso stepped into view, followed by Dagan.

“Dagan?” He’d expected his little brother to be with Brynn. Did that mean... was she here?

Heart soaring, he waited expectantly for her to come into view. But nothing. His brothers all watched him silently, wary looks on their faces, and it all fell into place—Brynn wasn’t coming. She wasn’t even here. No, Taeg had helped her exchange herself for him.

Sudden fury slammed into him and he focused every bit of it on Taeg. “You. How could you?”

“Hey, wait a sec—”

Keegan lunged at him, practically flying those last few feet. His brother stumbled backward, holding onto him but not fighting back.

“Wait. Stop,” the others yelled.

He ignored them, concentrating his rage on beating the shit out of Taeg.

“Stop it,” Taeg finally yelled. “I have a plan.”

A plan? Keegan paused. “Brynn... ”

“We’re getting her back,” he said. “All of us. I promise.”

“What are you planning?”

“We’re going in. We’re gonna stop this and get your girl back.” Taeg gave him a measuring look. “I really hope you’ve got it in you, bro.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, whatever that mechanism is that triggers your powers, you’re gonna have to figure it out fast. Because, dude, we’re gonna need you to breathe fire.”

Chapter Thirty

The inside of Mammon’s tent was every bit as opulent as Brynn expected, and just as creepy and disgusting. How was it even possible that this demon had fathered Keegan and his brothers?

After Keegan left, Mammon had directed the guards to bring her inside and guard her while he prepared himself for ‘ultimate rule.’ Whatever that entailed. That had been two hours ago. She’d spent the time searching for an escape, but guards manned every inch of the place, clearly prepared for her to try something. She was totally stuck in here.

This sucked.

Please, Taeg, keep Keegan safe.

It killed her to think she might never see him again. But maybe... just maybe...

No. She couldn’t allow herself to hope. Right now, she had to focus on stopping Mammon. If there were no other possibilities, she knew the one thing that would stop him: her death.

But Mammon wouldn’t kill her. No, he’d resort to torture until he broke her. If it came down to it, and she was unable to destroy him, she’d have to take herself out of the equation.

Could she take her own life to prevent the apocalypse?

She took a deep, calming breath.
If there is no other choice, you’ll have to.

At last, Mammon returned. “I know it’s a bit rustic, but this is only the beginning. Once my empire is established and the rubbish is cleared away, this will make an excellent base.”

“Rubbish?” Brynn echoed in disbelief, rubbing her tender arms. The demons who’d deposited her in here were brutes. “You mean the pyramids?”

Mammon shrugged. “They are simply the relics of an ancient past no one cares about. The monuments that will be built for me will make these pyramids pale in comparison.”

She stared at him for a moment, then laughed. “Wow, you really do have a big ego, don’t you?”

He didn’t seem the least bit offended. “I am merely confident in my ability to be the ultimate ruler, my dear.” He headed to a small dining table and lifted the tablecloth, reaching underneath it for a medium-sized wooden chest. He deposited it on top of the table, opened it, and took something out.

Her heart squeezed tight when she realized what it was. “The
Book
,” she whispered.

“Lovely, isn’t it?”

It was. Mesmerizing, in fact. She took several steps toward it before Mammon snatched it up. “Not so fast, my dear.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to tell me how to work the resurrection spell. I thought I made that clear during our dreamscaping.”

“Dreamscaping?”

“The term I use for our telepathic communication. It is one of my best discoveries, and one I have kept secret from those fools at the Council.”

Brynn shook her head. “I won’t do it.”

Mammon’s amusement disappeared. The evil glint in his eye made her gulp and take a step back. “Oh, but you will. Or the demon you love will die.”

“You swore you wouldn’t harm him.” Fear weakened her knees. Had Mammon not kept his word?

“I swore I would let him leave unharmed. But I didn’t swear that I wouldn’t have my men hunt him down once he’d gone, or that I wouldn’t kill him if he came back.”

Anxiety and fury gnawed at her stomach. “You can’t do that.”

“Oh, but I can.” Mammon laughed as he looked at the
Book
and stroked it, his eyes glazing over for a moment. He refocused on her. “I can have them hurt you, too, darling. That’s the problem with blood oaths. You are only bound to your literal words.”

Brynn swallowed back her curses. “If you want me to perform the spell, you’ll have to give me the
Book
.”

“I don’t think so. I will open it for you, and you can read the spell.”

“What makes you think I’ll even be able to read it? It isn’t written in English, is it?”

“You are the heir. It is meant for you to read.”

“Yeah, maybe.” She shrugged. “Or I might have to examine it closely to figure out how to use it.”

Mammon frowned at the
Book
, but he must have decided she had a point because he approached her. Brynn resisted the urge to back away, clenching her fists tight. Every instinct in her body told her to flee, which was difficult to ignore.

He stopped in front of her and held up the
Book
. There were only two thick, metal plates, held together by gold hinges and a clasp. “What do you see?”

Brynn stared at it for a moment. “Nothing. Maybe if you open it?”

“Damnation.” He turned it back toward him and clumsily worked the clasp, opening it before he flipped it back to face her.

Brynn examined the hieroglyphs engraved on the metal, trying to get a reading off them. But it was just a bunch of pictures she couldn’t read. “Sorry. It’s all Greek to me.”

A low snarl rose from his chest. “If you are lying to me, I swear—”

“I’m not.”

He lowered the
Book
with a muttered curse. Brynn took an involuntary step back at the rage in his eyes. For a moment, she feared he would strike her. But instead, he whirled to pace about the tent, grumbling things she couldn’t understand. At last, he turned to face her again, training his features into a calm mask.

“Hold it. Tell me what happens then.” He held it out to her, but kept a tight grasp on it.

She gasped as the cool metal made contact with her fingers. Its immediate pull urged her to use her senses to read its memories. She didn’t dare think about resisting. She had to know... she had to.

Closing her eyes, she gave herself over to the
Book
. She saw a man—Iyri—chanting in a language that was foreign, yet familiar, while he etched the images into the metal. He uttered a spell of protection, making it indestructible. A gorgeous woman stood by his side, her belly softly rounded with child. He felt equal measures of love and despair for her. He must protect her at all costs. Not only her but his child. His bloodline.

“Use this gift, children of my loins. Ultimate protection. If needs be, ultimate power. Call it forth as you will, and use it wisely.”

Iyri performed the spell, and the bodies of the resurrected rose from the earth around him. But he was caught before he could finish it; a dagger plunged into his heart. The bodies fell to the ground and crumbled to dust.

The memories stopped abruptly, flinging Brynn back to the present. She choked on her breath, phantom pain shooting in her chest at the spot where the dagger had struck Iyri.

Mammon’s hands trembled. “What? What is it?”

So that was it.

It appeared Iyri had kept a little secret all of his own, something no one could determine by simply reading the incantations. No, only someone who read memories would know what the spell did.

Wouldn’t Mammon be surprised when he learned the truth?

Steeling her gaze, Brynn glanced up at Mammon. “I can read the words now.”

He breathed, an unholy light glimmering in his eyes. “Go on. Do it.”

Fighting back the shadow of a smile that threatened to creep onto her face, she started to chant.

“From the bowels of earth I call to thee, to protect and shadow over me. Until the need for guard is waived, and you are called back to your grave.”

She recognized the meaning behind the words even though they weren’t in any language she’d ever heard before. Immediately, the earth around her rumbled but she continued on, ignoring it.

Mammon tore his gaze away from the
Book
, his attention drawn outside to the rumbling of what felt like a mini-earthquake. “Is it done?”

Oh, it was done. “Yes.”

His lips curled back to reveal his teeth, and he yanked the
Book
out of her hands, striding toward the exit. Curious, Brynn followed. She stepped outside the tent and gasped.

Knowing what was about to happen was very different from actually seeing it.

Bodies, no more than skeletons, dug themselves out of the earth. The ground not more than ten feet in front of them crumbled upward as dozens of mummified corpses rose from it. The scene was beyond terrifying, like the worst horror movie come to life.

“Oh, sweet heavens.” Covering her mouth, Brynn inched backward.

Mammon’s minions screamed and scattered at the sight of the zombies. One unlucky demon didn’t move fast enough and was torn apart, the zombies feasting on his limbs. As they ate, flesh modeled itself over bare bones.

Beside her, Mammon watched in fascination, the
Book
held tightly in his grasp. “Is it like this all over your world?”

“No, just in the vicinity of where the
Book
is.”

His lips curled into a grin. “And they all answer to me.”

Well...

Several pig-like demons ran toward them, shadowed by a small group of zombies. Brynn instinctively jumped backward and moved to hide behind Mammon. He grabbed one of the demons by the neck.

“Kill her,” he ordered, propelling the demon toward her.

He moved to obey, drawing a dagger out of its sheath. But that was as far as he got before three zombies leapt on him.